In Buddhism, various Buddhas have been established as objects of devotion for different pious believers. Since each Buddha has a good reason for being venerated, Buddhism permits us to worship any or all of them. Nevertheless, the Most-Venerable-One should be One, just as the Truth is One. The second half of the Lotus Sutra (Hommon) emphasizes such a Buddhist position regarding unity of faith. As the object of faith is absolute, it must relate to the realm of eternity. Generally we think of Sakyamuni as a historical figure, bound by the limitations of time and space, and only a provisional manifestation of the infinite, eternal Buddha. According to the Lotus Sutra, however, every Buddha, including the historical Sakyamuni Buddha, is a representation of the eternal original being of Sakyamuni.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraCategory Archives: LS32
Day 10
Day 10 concludes Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood, and opens Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City.
Having last month conclude this portion of Chapter 7, we return to today’s portion of Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood and the prediction for Subhūti.
Thereupon the World-Honored One, having understood the wishes of the great disciples, said to the bhikṣus:
“In his future life, this Subhūti will see three hundred billion nayutas of Buddhas, make offerings to them, respect them, honor them, praise them, perform brahma practices, complete the Way of Bodhisattvas, and become a Buddha on the final stage of his physical existence. He will be called Beautiful-Form, 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. The kalpa in which he will become that Buddha will be called Having-Treasures; and his world, Treasure-Born. The ground [of his world] will be even, made of crystal, adorned with jeweled trees, and devoid of mounds, pits, rubble, thorns and dirt. Jeweled flowers will cover the ground to purify it. The people of that world will live in buildings of wonderful treasures. His disciples in Śrāvakahood will be numberless, beyond calculation or comparison. The Bodhisattvas will be many thousands of billions of nayutas in number. The duration of the life of that Buddha will be twelve small kalpas. His right teachings will be preserved for twenty small kalpas. The counterfeit of his right teachings will be preserved also for twenty small kalpas. That Buddha will always stay in the sky, expound the Dharma to the multitude, and save innumerable Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas.
Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
Bhikṣus!
Now I will tell you.
Listen to me
With one mind!Subhūti, a disciple of mine,
Will be able
To become a Buddha
Called Beautiful-Form.He will make offerings
To many billions of Buddhas, and practice
According to the practices of the Buddhas,
And finally attain great enlightenment.On the final stage of his physical existence,
He will obtain the thirty-two physical marks,
And become as beautiful and as wonderful
As a mountain of treasures.The world of that Buddha
Will be the purest.
Anyone will be happy to see it.
That Buddha will save
Innumerable living beings
Of that world.Many Bodhisattvas
In the world of that Buddha
Will be clever.
They will turn
The irrevocable wheel of the Dharma,
And adorn that world.The Śrāvakas in that world also
Will be countless.
They will have the six supernatural powers,
Including the three major supernatural powers.
They will have the eight emancipations.
They will be exceedingly powerful and virtuous.The supernatural powers
Employed by that Buddha
For the expounding of the Dharma
Will be inconceivable.As many gods and men
As there are sands in the River Ganges
Will join their hands together
And listen to the words of that Buddha.The duration of the life of that Buddha
Will be twelve small kalpas.
His right teachings will be preserved
For twenty small kalpas.
The counterfeit of his right teachings
Also will be preserved for twenty small kalpas.
See The Arhats
The Arhats
In the realm of the Buddha’s enlightenment, everything should be basically equal; there cannot be any discrimination between better and worse. But the “hearers” and “private Buddhas” tend to distinguish their own personal enlightenment from that of Sakyamuni. Consequently, even if they do attain a certain enlightenment of their own, it is not the enlightenment of the Buddha. They do not become Buddhas themselves. Instead they are called arhats, perfected ones, and are set apart from the general run of humanity.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraDay 9
Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.
Having last month heard of Śākyamuni’s impartiality, we consider the variety among the plants.
Those who live among gods and men,
Or those who live with a wheel-turning-holy-king,
Or with King Sakra or with King Brahman,
May be likened to the small herbs.Those who know the Dharma-without-āsravas,
Who attained Nirvana,
And who obtained the six supernatural powers,
Including the three major supernatural powers,
May be likened to the middle herbs.
So may those who live alone in mountains or forests,
Who practice dhyāna-concentrations,
And who attained the enlightenment of cause-knowers.Those who seek the stage of the World-Honored One,
Who practice endeavors and concentration of mind,
And who wish to become Buddhas,
May be likened to the large herbs.My sons [, that is, the Bodhisattvas]
Who seek
The enlightenment of the Buddha exclusively,
Who believe that they will become Buddhas definitely,
And who have compassion towards others,
May be likened to the short trees.The Bodhisattvas
Who turn the irrevocable wheel of the Dharma
By their supernatural powers,
And who save many thousands of myriads
Of millions of living beings,
May be likened to the tall trees.
The Spirit of Bodhisattvas
It says in Chapter Five, the “Simile of the Herbs,” that all the many varieties of sentient beings receive the rainfall of the Buddha’s compassion to attain Buddhahood. This means that anyone can become a Buddha. According to his teachings in the Lotus Sutra, he aimed at leading his disciples from the Lesser Vehicle to the attainment of Buddhahood, just like the proponents of the Greater Vehicle. Then, in the final verse of the “Simile of Herbs,” he said:
You, hearers, have not yet attained true extinction. But now you are practicing the way of Bodhisattvas. Continue to study and practice, and you, too, will become Buddhas (p. 114).
When the disciples—that is, Buddhists of the Lesser Vehicle—attain their enlightenment and reach extinction (nirvana), they leave the world and enter a state of blissful liberation. But Bodhisattvas never leave the world. They remain here in this world of ours, with all its evils and sufferings, and even help “hearers” save themselves from sufferings, too. Therefore they don’t aim merely at entering into extinction (nirvana) by themselves. (They want all beings to enjoy the same happiness.) The “hearers,” on their part, by listening to and accepting the Lotus Sutra, have now begun to share in its spirit, the spirit of Bodhisattvas. They, too, will now remain in the world, keep practicing the Bodhisattva Way, and finally become Buddhas. The Buddha tells them that this world is where they will attain “true” extinction.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraDay 8
Day 8 concludes Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith, and closes the second volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month considered the poor son’s inheritance, we consider how the Buddha is like the rich man.
You are like the father.
Knowing that we wished
To hear the Lesser Vehicle,
You did not say to us, “You will become Buddhas.”
You said of us to others:
“Though they are my disciples, they are Śrāvakas.
They eliminated āsravas,
But attained only the Lesser Vehicle.”You said to us:
“Expound the most excellent Way [to Bodhisattvas]!
Those who practice the Way
Will be able to become Buddhas.”By this order of yours
We expounded the unsurpassed Way
To the great Bodhisattvas
With various stories of previous lives,
With various parables and similes
And with various discourses.•Hearing the [Way, that is, the] Dharma from us,
Those sons of yours
Thought it over day and night,
And practiced it strenuously.Thereupon the Buddha assured them
Of their future Buddhahood, saying to them:
“You will become Buddhas
In your future lives.”You expounded the real thing,
That is, the store
Of the hidden core of the Buddhas
Only to the Bodhisattvas.
You did not expound
This truth to us.
Departing from the Passivity of the Lesser Vehicle
The narrative … told by the four sravakas is called the “Parable of the Rich Man and His Poor Son.” As we can see from what they have said, the Lesser Vehicle which they had been following stressed escape from this world of sorrows into a pure world of contemplation. Its concept of enlightenment was also passive. It concluded that “nothing is different from anything else,” and “there is nothing more to seek.” This view rejected the reality of this world and the necessity of working to change it. The Great Vehicle, on the other hand, interpreted the same doctrine [that nothing is substantial] positively as becoming a buddha in this world and transforming it into a buddha-world. Enlightenment is to be achieved within the turmoil of our daily life, not in silent seclusion. The four “hearers” now realize that they, too, have obtained the wonderful law of the Great Vehicle and have departed from the passivity of the Lesser Vehicle.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraDay 7
Day 7 concludes Chapter 3, A Parable, and begins Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith.
Having last month considered the consequences for slandering the sūtra, we learn to whom to expound the Lotus Sūtra.
Therefore,
I tell you.
Do not expound this sūtra
To people of no wisdom!Expound it to clever people
Who have profound wisdom,
Who hear much,
Who remember well,
And who seek
The enlightenment of the Buddha!Expound it to those who have seen
Many thousands of myriads
Of millions of Buddhas
And planted the roots of good
In their previous existence,
And who are now resolute in mind!Expound it
To those who make efforts,
Who have compassion towards others,
And who do not spare their lives!Expound it to those
Who respect others,
Who have no perfidy in them,
Who keep away from ignorant people,
And who live alone
In mountains or valleys!Śāriputra!
Expound it to those
Who keep away
From evil friends,
And who approach
Good friends!Expound it to the Buddha’s sons
Who keep the precepts
As cleanly and as purely
As they keep gems,
And who seek
The sūtra of the Great Vehicle!Expound it to those
Who are not angry
But upright, gentle,
Compassionate
Towards all others,
And respectful to the Buddhas!
The Ultimate Truth
The idea of the One Vehicle can be applied to the secular world as well. The diversification of world culture has created differences in ideas, or in the ways of thinking, among nations. Human culture has developed as a result of our search for the ultimate truth. In the process of cultural advancement through the pursuit of ultimate truth, conflicts often emerge due to our many theoretical differences. History tells us that these confrontations sometimes lead to bitter disputes or even war. Despite all differences in the process, however, these theories or ideas must eventually be unified, because they are all leading to the one single goal of the ultimate truth. The Lotus Sutra clarifies this concept through the teaching of the One Vehicle.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraDay 6
Day 6 continues Chapter 3, A Parable
Having last month heard in gāthās the dangerous, dreadful denizens of the burning house, we hear the house-owner warn his children.
At that time the house-owner
Was standing outside the gate.
He heard a man say to him:
“Some time ago
Your children entered this house to play.
They are young and ignorant.
They are engrossed in playing.”
Hearing this,
The rich man was frightened.
He rushed into the burning house.In order to save them
From burning to death,
He told them
Of the dangers of the house:
“There are demons and poisonous vermin here.
Flames have already spread all over.
Many sufferings are coming
One after another endlessly.
There are poisonous snakes,
Lizards, vipers,
Yakṣas, kumbhanda demons,
Small foxes, foxes, dogs,
Crested eagles, eagles,
Kites, owls and centipedes here.
They are unbearably hungry and thirsty.
They are dreadful.
These sufferings are difficult to avoid.
Worse still, there is a big fire.”Though the children heard his warning,
They were still engrossed in playing.
They did not stop playing
Because they were ignorant.