In [Chapter 16], the “Duration of the Life of the Tathagata,” it is explained that, while Sakyamuni is provisionally appearing in the limited figures of his manifestations, in reality, he is eternal and infinite. This is called “opening the near to reveal the distant,” or “opening the provisional to reveal the truth,” or similar expressions. Moreover, the first half of the Sutra, from Chapters One to Fourteen, is called Provisional, Imprinted, or Secondary (Shakumon), because Sakyamuni expounded it by means of his provisional duplicate; and the second half, from Chapter Fifteen to the final Chapter Twenty-eight, is called Original or Primary (Hommon), because Sakyamuni expounded it in the form of the Original Buddha (Hombutsu).
Introduction to the Lotus SutraCategory Archives: LS32
Day 20
Day 20 completes Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, and concludes the Fifth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month heard Maitreya’s doubts, we consider a handsome, black-haired man twenty-five years old who points to men a hundred years old and says, ‘They are my sons.’
“World-Honored One! It is difficult for anyone in the world to believe this. It is as difficult as to believe a handsome, black-haired man twenty-five years old who points to men a hundred years old and says, ‘They are my sons,’ or as to believe men a hundred years old who point to a young man and say, ‘This is our father. He brought us up.’ You are like the young man. It is not long since you attained enlightenment. But it is many thousands of billions of kalpas since the great multitude of these Bodhisattvas began to practice the Way strenuously in order to attain the enlightenment of the Buddha. During that time they entered into, stayed in, and came out of many hundreds of thousands of billions of samadhis, and obtained great supernatural powers. They performed brahma practices for a long time. They learned good teachings one by one, and obtained the ability to answer questions skillfully. They are regarded as the treasures of the world of men by all the people of the world because they are rare. Today you say that, after you attained the enlightenment of the Buddha, you caused them to aspire for enlightenment, taught them, and led them into the Way to Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.
“World-Honored One! You did these deeds of great merit although it is not long since you attained Buddhahood. We believe that your words given according to the capacities of all living beings are infallible, and that we understand all that you know. But the beginners in Bodhisattvahood after your extinction, if they hear these words of yours, will not receive them by faith but commit the sin of violating the Dharma. Therefore, World-Honored One! Explain all this so that we may be able to remove our doubts and that the good men in the future may have no doubts when they hear these words of yours!”
The Daily Dharma from May 12, 2018, offers this:
World-Honored One! It is difficult for anyone in the world to believe this. It is as difficult as to believe a handsome, black-haired man twenty-five years old who points to men a hundred years old and says, ‘They are my sons,’ or as to believe men a hundred years old who point to a young man and say, ‘This is our father. He brought us up.’
Maitreya Bodhisattva explains his perplexity to the Buddha in Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha had just revealed that he was who taught all the Bodhisattvas who have appeared from underground to continue teaching the Wonderful Dharma after the extinction of the Buddha. Maitreya realizes that his doubts are no different from those of those gathered to hear the Buddha teach and asks the Buddha to explain. When our experience does not match what the Buddha teaches, we should not keep silence and just accept what he tells us. It is only through sincere questioning that we find the Buddha’s mind and make it our own.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 19
Day 19 concludes Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices, and begins Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground.
Having last month heard the Parable of the Priceless Gem in the Top Knot, we consider the reason for expounding the Lotus Sūtra lastly.
“Mañjuśrī! This Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is the most excellent and profound teaching of all the Tathāgatas. Therefore, I expound it lastly just as the powerful king gave the brilliant gem lastly, the one which he had kept [in his topknot) for a long time.
“Mañjuśrī! This Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is the treasury of the hidden core of the Buddhas, of the Tathāgatas. It is superior to all the other sūtras. I kept it [in secret] and refrained from expounding it for the long night. Now I expound it to you today for the first time.”
Nothing needs to be added to this declaration.
Day 18
Day 18 concludes Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, and begins Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.
Having last month considered the third set of peaceful practices, we repeat in gāthās and conclude today’s portion of Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.
Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
Anyone who wishes to expound this sūtra
Should give up jealousy, anger, arrogance,
Flattery, deception and dishonesty.
He should always be upright.He should not despise others,
Or have fruitless disputes about the teachings.
He should not perplex others by saying to them:
“You will not be able to attain Buddhahood.”Any son of mine who expounds the Dharma
Should be gentle, patient and compassionate
Towards all living beings.
He should not be lazy.In the worlds of the ten quarters,
The great Bodhisattvas are practicing the Way
Out of their compassion towards all living beings.
He should respect them as his great teachers.He should respect the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones,
As his unsurpassed fathers.
He should give up arrogance
So that he may expound the Dharma without hindrance.This is the third set of peaceful practices.
A man of wisdom should perform all this.
Anyone who performs these peaceful practices
Will be respected by innumerable living beings.
The Daily Dharma from June 18, 2018, offers this:
Anyone who wishes to expound this sūtra
Should give up jealousy, anger, arrogance,
Flattery, deception and dishonesty.
He should always be upright.
The Buddha sings these verses to Mañjuśrī in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra in which he describes the peaceful practices of a Bodhisattva. The way we live our lives can either reinforce our delusions or help us gain more clarity about how things really are. In these verses, the Buddha advises against these actions not because he will think less of us when we do them, but because when we find ourselves behaving these ways it is because we are not seeing things for what they are.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 17
Day 17 covers all of Chapter 12, Devadatta, and opens Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra.
Having last month learned Devadatta’s future and the future of those who receive this chapter, we consider Mañjuśrī and his efforts in the palace of Dragon-King Sagara.
At that time Many-Treasures, the World-Honored One, who had come from the nadir,’ was accompanied by a Bodhisattva called Accumulated-Wisdom. The Bodhisattva said to Many-Treasures Buddha, “Shall we go back to our home world?”
Śākyamuni Buddha said to Accumulated-Wisdom:
“Good man, wait for a while! A Bodhisattva called Mañjuśrī is coming. See him, talk about the Wonderful Dharma with him, and then go back to your home world!”
Thereupon Mañjuśrī came sitting on a one-thousand-petaled lotus-flower as large as the wheel of a chariot. He was accompanied by other Bodhisattvas who were also sitting on jeweled lotus-flowers. Mañjuśrī had sprung up from the palace of Dragon-King Sagara in the great ocean, gone up to the sky[, and traveled through the sky towards Mt. Sacred Eagle]. Having reached Mt. Sacred Eagle, he descended from the lotus flower, came to the two World-Honored Ones,” and worshipped their feet with his head. Having completed the worship, he came to Accumulated-Wisdom, exchanged greetings with him, retired and sat to one side.
Accumulated-Wisdom Bodhisattva asked Mañjuśrī, “You went to the palace of the dragon-king. How many living beings did you lead into the Way to Bodhi there?”
Mañjuśrī answered, “Their number is immeasurable, incalculable, inexplicable, unthinkable. Wait for a while! You will be able to see them.”
No sooner had he said this than innumerable Bodhisattvas, who were sitting on jeweled lotus-flowers, sprang up from the sea, came to Mt. Sacred Eagle, went up to the sky, and stayed there. All these Bodhisattvas had been led [into the Way to Bodhi] by Mañjuśrī. They had already performed the Bodhisattva practices. [Up in the sky] they [began to] expound the six pāramitās. Some of them were formerly Śrāvakas. When they were Śrāvakas, they expounded the Śrāvaka practices in the sky. Now they were acting according to the truth of the Void of the Great Vehicle.
Mañjuśrī said to Accumulated-Wisdom, “Now you see the living beings whom I taught in the sea.”
The Dragon Girl’s Example
The Buddha is a perfected being with a human personality. He is the ideal toward which all human beings strive. It had long been believed that to become such a perfect being takes an endlessly long period of training and practice. But [in Chapter 12, Devadatta,] the daughter of the Dragon-King attained enlightenment quickly. Her case is called, “The Attainment of Buddhahood in This Very Life.” It maintains that ordinary people have the possibility to attain enlightenment in their own bodies (during their present lifetimes), and teaches that the Buddha’s power works within the bodies of ordinary people. The idea of “the attainment of Buddhahood in this life” greatly influenced Japanese society after the Great Master Dengyo introduced it from China in 805. Dengyo, a Japanese scholar, had already read about it in the Lotus Sutra, but he found that the Chinese had worked it out in detail. Also, Nichiren explained this idea in Kanjin-honzon-sho (“A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation of the Most-Venerable-One”). In it he says, “Sakyamuni Buddha, who has attained Perfect Enlightenment, is our flesh and blood, and all the merits he has accumulated before and after attaining Buddhahood are our bones.”
Introduction to the Lotus SutraDay 16
Day 16 concludes Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures, and completes the Fourth Volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month considered how difficult it is to expound this sūtra, we conclude Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures.
Good men!
Who will receive and keep this sūtra,
And read and recite it
After my extinction?
Make a vow before me
[To do all this]!It is difficult to keep this sūtra.
I shall be glad to see
Anyone keeping it even for a moment.
So will all the other Buddhas.
He will be praised by all the Buddhas.
He will be a man of valor,
A man of endeavor.
He should be considered
To have already observed the precepts,
And practised the dhuta.
He will quickly attain
The unsurpassed enlightenment of the Buddha.Anyone who reads and recites this sūtra in the future
Is a true son of mine.
He shall be considered to live
On the stage of purity and good.Anyone, after my extinction,
Who understands the meaning of this sūtra,
Will be the eye of the worlds
Of gods and men.Anyone who expounds this sūtra
Even for a moment in this dreadful world,
Should be honored with offerings
By all gods and men.[Here ends] the Fourth Volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
The Daily Dharma from March 20, 2017, offers this:
It is difficult to keep this sūtra.
I shall be glad to see
Anyone keeping it even for a moment.
So will all the other Buddhas.
The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Eleven of the Lotus Sūtra. He is well aware of how hard it is to move from expedient teachings to the Wonderful Dharma. We have habits and attachments built up over many lifetimes, and live in a world that does not always support our practice. Still, one cannot underestimate the importance of trying, even for the briefest amount of time, to hold on to this teaching and bring it to life in this world.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 15
Day 15 concludes Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma, and opens Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures.
Having last month repeated how to expound this sūtra in gāthās, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma.
If anyone speaks ill of you, or threatens you
With swords, sticks, tile-pieces or stones
While you are expounding this sūtra,
Think of me, and be patient!My body is pure and indestructible.
I will appear in any of many thousands of billions of worlds
During many hundreds of millions of kalpas,
And expound the Dharma to the living beings.If a teacher of the Dharma expounds this sūtra
After my extinction,
I will manifest the four kinds of devotees:
Bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, and men and women of pure faith,
And dispatch them to him
So that they may make offerings to him,
And that they may lead many living beings,
Collecting them to hear the Dharma [from him].If he is hated and threatened
With swords, sticks, tile-pieces or stones,
I will manifest men and dispatch them to him
In order to protect him.If an expounder of the Dharma
Reads and recites this sūtra
In a retired and quiet place,
Where no human voice is heard,
I will show my pure and radiant body to him.
If he forgets a sentence or a phrase of this sūtra,
I will tell it to him
For his complete understanding.Anyone who expounds this sūtra to the four kinds of devotees,
Or reads or recites this sūtra in a retired place,
After doing these [three] virtuous things,
Will be able to see me.If he lives in a retired place,
I will dispatch gods, dragon-kings, yakṣas,
Demigods, and others to him,
And have them hear the Dharma [from him].He will expound the Dharma with joy.
He will expound it without hindrance.
He will cause a great multitude to rejoice
Because he is protected by all the Buddhas.Those who come to this teacher of the Dharma
Will be able to complete the Way of Bodhisattvas quickly.
Those who follow him and study will be able to see
As many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges.
The Daily Dharma for March 10, 2018, offers this:
If anyone speaks ill of you, or threatens you
With swords, sticks, tile-pieces or stones
While you are expounding this sūtra,
Think of me, and be patient!
The Buddha sings these verses to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. By patience, the Buddha does not mean to toughen ourselves and allow others to harm us. The patience he speaks of allows to increase our capacity to handle the mental suffering that comes when others abuse us. If we keep in mind that nothing anyone does can remove the seed of Buddha nature that is within them, and remember that this seed is within all beings, we can treat even those who mean us harm with respect and compassion, rather than contempt and derision.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 14
Day 14 covers all of Chapter 9, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Śrāvakas Who Have Something More to Learn and the Śrāvakas Who Have Nothing More to Learn, and opens Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma.
Having last month considered Ānanda’s reaction to the prediction of his future Buddhahood, we hear Śākyamuni’s prediction for Rāhula.
Thereupon the Buddha said to Rāhula:
“In your future life you will become a Buddha called Walking-On-Flowers-Of-SevenTreasures, the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. [Before you become that Buddha,] you will make offerings to as many Buddhas, as many Tathāgatas, as the particles of dust of ten worlds. [Before you become that Buddha,] you will become the eldest son of those Buddhas just as you are now mine.
“The adornments of the world of Walking-On-Flowers-OfSeven-Treasures Buddha, the number of the kalpas for which that Buddha will live, the number of his disciples, the duration of the preservation of his right teachings, and the duration of the preservation of the counterfeit of his right teachings will be the same as in the case of Mountain-Sea-Wisdom-Supernatural-PowerKing Tathāgata.
“After you become the eldest son of the [Mountain-Sea-Wisdom-Supernatural-Power-King] Buddha, you will attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi [, and become Walking-On-Flowers-Of-SevenTreasures Buddha].”
Nichiren offers this explanation for the length of time needed for Rāhula to become a Buddha:
The śrāvaka disciples such as Ānanda, and Rāhula, who were guaranteed to be future Buddhas in the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra through the three cycles of the Buddha’s preaching (dharma, parable, and past relationships) had learned the Lotus Sūtra far in the past, 3,000 dust-particle kalpa (aeons) ago, from a bodhisattva who was the 16th prince of the Great Universal Wisdom Buddha, namely Śākyamuni Buddha today. Nevertheless, due to evil karma they abandoned the Lotus Sūtra, embracing such Mahayana sutras as the Flower Garland Sūtra, Wisdom Sūtra, Sūtra of Great Assembly, Nirvana Sūtra, Great Sun Buddha Sūtra, Revealing the Profound and Secret Sūtra, and Sūtra of Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life or Hinayana Āgama sutras. While doing so, they gradually declined in status to the realms of heavenly and human beings and finally to the three evil realms. As a result for as long as 3,000 dust-particle kalpa they spent much of their time in the Hell of Incessant Suffering, some of their time in the seven major hells, once in a long while in the other one hundred or so hells, and on rare occasions in the realms of hungry souls, beasts, and asura. It was after the 3,000 dust-particle kalpa (aeons) that they were able to be born in the realm of human or heavenly beings.
Kyōdai-shō, Letter to the Ikegami Brothers, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 73
Day 13
Day 13 covers all of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples.
Having last month concluded Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples, we begin again with Pūrṇa, the son of Maitrāyanī.
Thereupon Pūrṇa, the son of Maitrāyanī having heard from the Buddha the Dharma expounded with expedients by the wisdom lo£ the Buddha] according to the capacities of all living beings, and having heard that [the Buddha] had assured the great disciples of their future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, and also having heard of the previous life of the Buddha, and also having heard of the great, unhindered, supernatural powers of the Buddhas, had the greatest joy that he had ever had, became pure in heart, and felt like dancing [with joy]. He rose from his seat, came to the Buddha, and worshipped him at his feet with his head. Then he retired to one side of the place, looked up at the honorable face with unblenching eyes, and thought:
‘The World-Honored One is extraordinary. What he does is exceptional. He expounds the Dharma with expedients by his insight according to the various natures of all living beings of the world, and saves them from various attachments. The merits of the Buddha are beyond the expression of our words. Only the Buddha, only the World-Honored One, knows the wishes we have deep in our minds.’
The Introduction to the Lotus Sūtra offers this explanation of Pūrṇa’s exception:
“Hearers” of the Lesser Vehicle usually sought as their goal the fulfillment of their own private training. They expected others to imitate the strict practices which they performed, and had little patience with ordinary people caught up in the problems of everyday life.
Purna was an exception. He looked like a sravaka, but he went about preaching the law to common people, and doing so with such eloquence that he was able to cause many of them to aspire to supreme-perfect-enlightenment. Therefore, in reality he was not a sravaka at all, but a Bodhisattva (one who devotes his life to helping others). Any Bodhisattva must also be a preacher (otherwise he cannot help anyone), and that is why a Bodhisattva is called a “teacher of the law.” From Chapter Ten on, the Lotus Sutra will clarify the mission of Bodhisattvas. (Here it is only suggested.)
Introduction to the Lotus Sutra