Category Archives: LS32

Daily Dharma, d15b

Daily Dharma – July 27, 2023

I have expounded many sūtras. I am now expounding this sūtra. I also will expound many sūtras in the future. The total number of the sūtras will amount to many thousands of billions. This Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand.

The Buddha declares these lines to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. At the beginning of this Sūtra, the Buddha held back from teaching because he thought people might not be ready to hear it. He also said that the Dharma he teaches cannot be understood by reasoning. We need both faith and understanding to practice the Wonderful Dharma. The Buddha also reminds us to appreciate how difficult faith and understanding are, both for ourselves and others.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

LS32

Day 1

Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory

Day 1 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the Buddha’s expounding of the Sutra of Innumerable Teachings and what happened afterward, we consider Maitreya’s response to seeing eighteen thousand worlds in the east.

The congregation saw from this world the living beings of the six regions of those worlds. They also saw the present Buddhas of those worlds. They also heard the Dharma expounded by those Buddhas. They also saw the bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās and upāsikās of those worlds who had already attained [the various fruits of] enlightenment by their various practices. They also saw the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas [of those worlds] who were practicing the Way of Bodhisattvas [in various ways] according to the variety of their karmas which they had done in their previous existence, and also according to the variety of their ways of understanding [the Dharma] by faith. They also saw the past Buddhas [of those worlds] who had already entered into Parinirvana. They also saw the stupas of the seven treasures which had been erected to enshrine the śarīras of those Buddhas after their Parinirvana.

Thereupon Maitreya Bodhisattva thought:

“The World-Honored One is now displaying a wonder [, that is, a good omen]. Why is he displaying this good omen? The Buddha, the World-Honored One, has entered into a samadhi. Whom shall I ask why he is displaying this inconceivable, rare thing? Who can answer my question?”

He thought again:

“This Mañjuśrī, the son of the King of the Dharma, has already met innumerable Buddhas and made offerings to them in his previous existence. He must have seen this rare thing before. Now I will ask him.”

At that time the bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās, upāsikās, gods, dragons, and other supernatural beings thought, “Whom shall we ask why the Buddha is emitting this ray of light, that is, why he is displaying this wonder?”

At that time the congregation included the four kinds of devotees: bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās and upāsikās. They also included gods, dragons, and other supernatural beings. Maitreya Bodhisattva, wishing to have his doubts removed, and also understanding the minds of the congregation, asked Mañjuśrī:

“Why is the World-Honored One displaying this good omen, this wonder? Why is he emitting a great ray of light, illumining eighteen thousand worlds to the east, and causing us to see those beautifully-adorned worlds of the Buddhas?”

See The Cult of Maitreya

Daily Dharma, d12b

Daily Dharma – July 26, 2023

Bhikṣus, know this! I can enter skillfully deep into the natures of all living beings. Because I saw that they wished to hear the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle and that they were deeply attached to the five desires, I expounded the teaching of Nirvāṇa to them. When they heard that teaching, they received it by faith.

The Buddha gives this explanation to the Bhikṣus (monks and nuns) gathered to hear him teach in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. As difficult as it is to hear the Buddha’s highest teaching, he would not give it to us unless we were ready to receive it. Still, we who would receive it must set aside his earlier teachings as a means to our personal happiness, and see them as preparations to learn how to benefit all beings. Our faith in the Buddha is the confidence that we will become as enlightened as he is, and that he is helping all of us on the path to that enlightenment.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Innumerable, LS32

Another Innumerable Day Before Day 1

Having last month considered second of the 10 beneficial effects of this sutra, we consider the third of the 10 beneficial effects of this sutra.

“O you of good intent! Third, this sutra’s unimaginable power for beneficial effect is this: If there are living beings who can hear this sutra— whether a section of it, whether a verse of it, or whether a phrase—they will gain awareness of hundreds of millions of myriads of meanings. Then, even though they have delusive worldly passions, it will be as if their delusive passions do not exist. They will not feel that taking birth or experiencing death are things that need to be feared; they will give rise to a mind of compassion for all living beings; and they will come to have a dauntless attitude with regard to all things.

A person with great strength can bear and carry all manner of heavy things. So it is also with people who keep faith with this sutra: they can shoulder the great responsibilities of ultimate enlightenment, and they can carry living beings away from the path of recurring births and deaths. They are capable of ferrying others even though they still cannot ferry themselves. Suppose a ship’s captain is rendered immobile by a serious affliction and must therefore remain on shore. But he has a fine, reliable vessel that is always equipped with everything needed to ferry others, which he makes available and on which they embark. So it is also with those who keep faith with this sutra: while enduring the circumstances of living in the five conditions of existence—the whole of their being constantly beset by one hundred and eight serious afflictions, one after another— they remain on this shore of ignorance, aging, and death. But they have this fine, reliable, all-ferrying sutra, equipped with infinite meanings, that is able to rescue living beings: those who practice it as expounded will attain deliverance from the cycle of births and deaths. O you of good intent! This is known as the inconceivable power of the third beneficial effect of this sutra.

Underscore: Even though they have delusive worldly passions, it will be as if their delusive passions do not exist. They will not feel that taking birth or experiencing death are things that need to be feared; they will give rise to a mind of compassion for all living beings; and they will come to have a dauntless attitude with regard to all things.

Daily Dharma, d11b

Daily Dharma – July 25, 2023

How good it is to see a Buddha,
To see the Honorable Saint who saves the world!
He saves all living beings
From the prison of the triple world.

The Brahma Heavenly-Kings of the Zenith sing these verses in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. They gave up their kingdoms, their subjects and their homes to travel across innumerable worlds to hear the Wonderful Dharma. They inspire our devotion by showing how important this teaching is to them. For us who know of the Ever-Present Buddha Śākyamuni, we recognize that the Buddha exists everywhere, even in our triple world of form, formlessness and desire. When we let go of the delusions that imprison us, and recognize this Buddha in our midst, we find ourselves in the Buddha’s pure land.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

LS32, Universal Sage

Between Day 32 and Day 1: The Body and the Mind

Having last month considered the unwholesome and harmful karmic acts produced by your sense faculty of speech, we consider how to amend both body and mind.

At this time the buddhas will send forth rays of bright light that illuminate the practitioner’s body, causing the practitioner to become spontaneously joyful in body and mind and to bring forth great mercy and compassion pervasively in thoughts of all things. The buddhas will then extensively expound ways of great compassion and benevolence for the practitioner’s benefit. Furthermore, they will teach the practitioner to use kind words and to follow the six ways of harmony and respect. Hearing these teachings and commands, the practitioner’s heart will overflow with joy, and he or she will then fully internalize and master them without laziness or pause.

An ethereal voice will again fill the air, intoning thus:

“You must now amend both body and mind! The body, by killing, stealing, and behaving licentiously, and the mind, by conceiving various unwholesome things, produce the ten harmful karmic actions as well as the five grievous acts. Moreover, their monkey-like and glue-like attachments to things everywhere thoroughly permeate all of the six sense faculties. All of the karmic actions of these six faculties – their branches, twigs, flowers, and leaves – extend fully throughout the three realms, the twenty-five states of existence, and all places where beings take birth, and they function to facilitate ignorance, aging, death, and others of the twelve factors that cause suffering. You cannot but be immersed in the eight improper practices and the eight conditions in which it is difficult to see a buddha. You must now amend yourself of unwholesome and harmful karmic acts such as these!”

After hearing these words, the practitioner should then inquire of the voice in the air:

“At what place may I now practice the way of self-amendment?”

The ethereal voice will then immediately reply, saying:

“Śākyamuni Buddha is Vairocana – the One Who Is Present in All Places. Where this buddha abides is called Perpetual Tranquil Light, where perpetuity is perfectly achieved, where the perfect truth of self is constituted, where perfect purity casts off the aspects of existence, where perfect happiness is no longer a characteristic that occupies body and mind, where phenomena are no longer perceived as having or not having aspects, where likewise there is serene liberation as well as perfect wisdom. As these are features of the ever-abiding Dharma, you must accordingly contemplate the buddhas of the ten directions!”

See Amending Both Body and Mind

LS32

Day 32

Day 32 covers Chapter 28, The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, closing the Eighth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 32 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the arrival of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, we consider Universal-Sage’s question.

World-Honored One! Tell me how the good men or women who live after your extinction will be able to obtain this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma!”

The Buddha said to Universal-Sage Bodhisattva:

“The good men or women will be able to obtain this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma after my extinction if they do the following four things: 1. secure the protection of the Buddhas, 2. plant the roots of virtue, 3. reach the stage of steadiness [in proceeding to enlightenment], and 4. resolve to save all living beings. The good men or women will be able to obtain this sūtra after my extinction if they do these four things.”

Thereupon Universal-Sage Bodhisattva said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! If anyone keeps this sūtra in the defiled world in the later five hundred years after [your extinction], I will protect him so that he may be free from any trouble, that he may be peaceful, and that no one may take advantage [of his weak points]. Mara, his sons, his daughters, his subjects, his attendants, yakṣas, rākṣasas, kumbhāṇḍas, piśācakas, kṛtyas, pūtanas, vetādas or other living beings who trouble men shall not take advantage [of his weak points]. If anyone keeps, reads and recites this sūtra while he walks or stands, I will mount a kingly white elephant with six tusks, go to him together with great Bodhisattvas, show myself to him, make offerings to him, protect him, and comfort him, because I wish to make offerings to the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. If he sits and thinks over this sūtra, I also will mount a kingly white elephant and appear before him. If he forgets a phrase or a gāthā of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, I will remind him of it, and read and recite it with him so that he may be able to understand it. Anyone who keeps, reads and recites the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma [after your extinction], will be able to see me with such joy that he will make more efforts. Because he sees me, he will be able to obtain samadhis and a set of dhārāṇis. The set of dhārāṇis will be the dhārāṇis by which he can memorize repetitions of teachings, the dhārāṇis by which he can memorize hundreds of thousands of billions of repetitions of teachings, and the dhārāṇis by which he can understand the expediency of the voice of the Dharma.

The Daily Dharma from April 19, 2023, offers this:

Thereupon Universal-Sage Bodhisattva said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! If anyone keeps this sūtra in the defiled world in the later five hundred years after [your extinction], I will protect him so that he may be free from any trouble, that he may be peaceful, and that no one may take advantage [of his weak points].”

Universal-Sage Bodhisattva (Fugen, Samantabhadra) makes this vow to the Buddha in Chapter Twenty-Eight of the Lotus Sutra. In this world of conflict, it can seem like very few people are practicing the Buddha Dharma with us. Nichiren compared those beings alive in this world of conflict to the amount of soil in the whole earth, while those who keep and practice the Lotus Sūtra are like the dirt under a fingernail. The vow of Universal-Sage reminds us that innumerable beings support our practice and that in turn, we support them with our practice.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Daily Dharma, d9b

Daily Dharma – July 23, 2023

If you see what we have deep in our minds,
And assure us of our future Buddhahood,
We shall feel as cool and as refreshed
As if we were sprinkled with nectar.

Maudgalyāyana, Subhūti and Mahā-Kātyāyana sing these verses to the Buddha in Chapter Six of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha knows that our habits of thought and behavior have developed over many lifetimes. We cannot clear them away by ourselves. In the Lotus Sūtra, he assures many of his disciples personally of the certainty of their enlightenment. He shows that this universe has innumerable Buddhas, and tells all of us who hear this teaching that we too should be certain of our enlightenment. When we take the Buddha’s voice to heart, and release the grip we have on our fears, and open ourselves to the joy within ourselves and the world.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

LS32

Day 31

Day 31 covers Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva.

Day 31 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the effect of the two son’s demonstration of supernatural powers, we consider the Buddha’s prediction for the King Wonderful-Adornment.

“Pure-Eyes Bodhisattva had already practiced the samādhi for the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma for a long time. Pure-Store Bodhisattva had already practiced the samādhi for the release from evil regions in order to release all living beings from evil regions for many hundreds of thousands of billions of kalpas.

“Now the queen practiced the samādhi for the assembly of Buddhas, and understood the treasury of their hidden core. The two sons led their father by these expedients and caused him to understand the teachings of the Buddha by faith and to wish [to act according to those teachings].

“Thereupon King Wonderful-Adornment, Queen Pure-Virtue, and their two sons came to that Buddha. The king was accompanied by his ministers and attendants; the queen, by her ladies and attendants; and their two sons, by forty-two thousand men. They worshiped the feet of that Buddha with their heads, walked around the Buddha three times, retired, and stood to one side.

“Thereupon the Buddha expounded the Dharma to the king, showed him the Way, taught him, benefited him, and caused him to rejoice. The king had great joy. The king and queen took off their necklaces of pearls worth hundreds of thousands, and strewed the necklaces to the Buddha. The necklaces flew up to the sky [seven times as high as the tala-tree], and changed into a jeweled platform equipped with four pillars. On the platform was a couch of great treasures, and thousands of millions of heavenly garment were spread [on the couch]. The Buddha [went up,] sat cross-legged [on the couch], and emitted great rays of light. King Wonderful-Adornment thought, ‘The Buddha is exceptional. He is exceedingly handsome. He has the most wonderful form.’

“Thereupon Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha said to the four kinds of devotees, ‘Do you see this King Wonderful-Adornment standing before me with his hands joined together, or not? This king will become a bhikṣu under me, strenuously study and practice the various ways to the enlightenment of the Buddha, and then become a Buddha called Sala-Tree-King in a world called Great-Light in a kalpa called Great-Height-King. Sala-Tree-King Buddha will be accompanied by innumerable Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas. The ground of his world will be even. [King Wonderful-Adornment) will have these merits.’

The Daily Dharma from March 1, 2023, offers this:

The king and queen took off their necklaces of pearls worth hundreds of thousands, and strewed the necklaces to the Buddha. The necklaces flew up to the sky [seven times as high as the tāla-tree], and changed into a jeweled platform equipped with four pillars. On the platform was a couch of great treasures, and thousands of millions of heavenly garments were spread [on the couch]. The Buddha [went up,] sat cross-legged [on the couch], and emitted great rays of light. King Wonderful-Adornment thought, ‘The Buddha is exceptional. He is exceedingly handsome. He has the most wonderful form.’

The Buddha uses this description as part of the story of King Wonderful-Adornment in Chapter Twenty-Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. This King was led by the supernatural powers of his children to meet Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star- King Flower-Wisdom Buddha who was teaching the Wonderful Dharma in that world. The King and his wife the Queen were both so inspired by that Buddha that they allowed the symbols of their wealth and power to be transformed into a sacred platform from which the Buddha could lead all beings to enlightenment. When they found that Buddha, the beauty of his wisdom far outshone the beauty of their jewels.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Daily Dharma, d22b

Daily Dharma – July 22, 2023

Anyone who not only understands
This sūtra by faith
But also keeps, reads and recites it,
And copies it, or causes others to copy it,
And strews flowers, incense,
And incense powder to a copy of it,
And lights lamps of the perfumed oil
Of sumanas, campaka, and atimuktaka
Around the copy of this sūtra
And offers the light thus produced to it,
Will be able to obtain innumerable merits.
His merits will be as limitless as the sky.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. This teaching contains the Buddha’s highest wisdom, leads all beings to enlightenment, and calls us to transform our personal suffering into an aspiration to benefit all beings. The joy and clarity we gain by practicing and respecting this sūtra is beyond what we can imagine in our state of attachment and delusion.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com