Expound Myōhō Renge Kyō to those
Who receive Myōhō Renge Kyō
And put Myōhō Renge Kyō on their heads,
And who do not seek
Any other sūtra
Or think of the books of heresy!
Tao-sheng: Five Kinds of Eunuchs
Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p285He should not approach or make friend with anyone of the five kinds of eunuchs.
The first kind are the men who are born impotent (jātipaṇḍaka), those whose original constitutions do not allow them to get an erection. The second are eunuchs whose organs are small and weak (āpatpaṇḍaka). The third refers to the men who are impotent for a half of [every] month (pakṣapaṇḍaka), which means that for half a month they change [feeling] for women. The fourth are men who are impotent because of jealousy (īrṣyāpaṇḍaka): they cannot become potent by themselves, but seeing others perform sex, they immediately become jealous, and by way of jealousy they become potent. Fifth, the men who cannot ejaculate (āsaktaprādurbhāvīpaṇḍakaḥ). They can become potent only after others touch their bodies first.
10 Wonders in Hsuan Hua’s Commentary on the Lotus Sutra
In reading Hsuan Hua’s Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, I’ve been repeatedly impressed with the depth of the work. Particularly impressive has been the use of explanatory footnotes. Here’s an example from Volume 3, Chapter 2, Expedients.
Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v3, p204All of the Tathāgatas,
By countless skillful means,
Will lead all living beings across
To realize the Buddhas’ nonoutflow wisdom.
Of those who have heard the Dharma,
None will fail to become a Buddha.These six lines refer to “the oneness of people.” The Dharma Flower Sutra can be understood through the ten wonders of the door of the original and the ten wonders of the door of the derivative.
A note at this point references this note at the end of the chapter.
Editorial Note About the Ten Wonders:
In the Fahua xuanyi (Profound Meanings of the Dharma Flower), Master Zhiyi of the Tiantai School explains the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sūtra through three groupings of ten wonders. In his commentary, Venerable Master Hua refers only to the first two:
- The ten wonders of the door of the derivative (Ch.門十秒)
- The ten wonders of the door of the original (Ch.本門十分)
- The ten wonders of the contemplation of the mind (Ch.觀心十秒)
1. The ten wonders of the door of the derivative pertain to the first half of the Dharma Flower Sutra (chaps. 1-14). The Tiantai School classifies the Dharma that Śākyamuni Buddha taught from the time of his awakening until he started teaching the Dharma Flower Sutra as the Dharma of the Three Vehicles of Sravakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and Bodhisattvas, and the teaching of the Dharma Flower Sutra as the One Vehicle Dharma, the Buddha Vehicle. Based on his explanation. of “the essence of things as they really are (諸法實相)”in chapter a “Skillful Means,” Master Zhiyi asserts that the Dharma set forth for the Three Vehicles is introduced to expediently unfold the ultimate teaching. The Dharma of the Three Vehicles is provisional. The Dharma Flower Sutra is the ultimate teaching, which is the perfect teaching of the One Vehicle – that is, the Buddha Vehicle. The perfect teaching of the One Vehicle transcends the contradistinction between the provisional and the ultimate, in that the provisional is the ultimate and the ultimate is the provisional. The provisional and the ultimate are nondual; this nonduality embodies “the essence of things as they really are.” From the perspective of the perfect teaching, both the provisional and the ultimate possess “wonders” or “subtleties.” This is known as the wonder that transcends dualities.
The ten wonders of the first half of the Dharma Flower Sūtra, which elucidate the subtleties of the Buddha’s provisional manifestations (“the derivative”), are the wonders of:
i. His state of thusness: the ultimate truth that all Buddhas hold in reverence and realize.
ii. His wisdom: a Buddha’s omniscient wisdom arising from such realization.
iii. His practice: all practices leading to that realization.
iv. His position: the realization of varied attainments.
v. The three principles: The three principles are thusness, meditation upon and understanding of it, and extension of this understanding to all its workings. The three, taken from chapter to of the Dharma Flower Sutra, “The Dharma Teacher,” are respectively symbolized by the Tathagata’s room, which represents compassion; the Tathagata’s robe, which represents gentleness and forbearing; and the Tathagata’s throne, which represents the emptiness of all phenomena. These three principles guide the propagation of the Dharma Flower Sutra. Although they are three in name, they are none other than the One Vehicle Dharma, the supreme truth. The One Buddha Vehicle is replete with these three principles.
vi. His response: In stillness, without thought, the Buddha responds to every situation. Transcending time, he manifests everywhere at once. This is an inconceivably wondrous response. It is also like a bright mirror, clear and translucent, that reflects any number of images without discrimination. Without the least effort, it reflects whatever is there.
vii. His spiritual powers: All the spiritual powers that the Buddha applies in saving living beings accord with the One Vehicle teaching, without distinctions of inferiority and superiority.
viii. His teaching the Dharma: The Buddha can skillfully and perfectly explain all kinds of Dharma according to principle, inspiring all living beings to unfold, show, awaken to, and realize the knowledge and vision of the Buddhas.
ix. His retinue: The Buddha has a great retinue of faithful followers.
x. His benevolence: The Buddha benefits living beings by inspiring them to undertake various practices.
2. The ten wonders of the door of the original pertain to the second half of the Dharma Flower Sutra (chaps. 15-28). This section discusses the eternal, original Buddha. Through manifesting in various forms to save living beings, Śākyamuni Buddha reveals his origins in the distant past. The Buddha actually realized Buddhahood immeasurable, limitless billions of koṭis of nayutas of cons ago. Since then, the Buddha has always remained in the Sahā world, teaching the Dharma to transform living beings, as described in chapter 16, “The Tathagata’s Life Span,” and other chapters. While the first half of the sutra focuses on the Buddha’s expedient teaching of the Three Vehicles to unfold the One Buddha Vehicle, the second half reveals the Buddha’s distant origins through his various provisional manifestations.
The ten wonders of the second half of the Dharma Flower Sutra differ from those of the first set. They elucidate the subtleties of the Buddha’s eternal origins (“the original”), from which his provisional manifestations derive. These ten wonders are:
i. The formative stage of practice
ii. The fruition of awakening
iii. His (Buddha) land
iv. His response
v. His spiritual powers
vi. His teaching of the Dharma
vii. His retinue
viii. His nirvana
ix. His life span
x. His benevolence
Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for June 12, 2025
[Universal-Sage Bodhisattva said to the Buddha:]
Anyone who keeps Myōhō Renge Kyō [while it is] propagated in the Jambudvipa, should think, ‘I can keep Myōhō Renge Kyō only by the supernatural powers of Universal-Sage.’
Tao-sheng: Approaching the Place
Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, pp285What are the proper things the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should approach? He should not approach kings, princes, ministers or other government directors.
Approaching with familiarity also has a beginning and an end. Not approaching the place where confusion arises means approaching li with familiarity. What follows next is concerned with the beginning of approaching the place.
Lokāyatas
They refer to those who counter what people in the world argue for
or Anti-Lokāyatas
They refer to those who try hard to cling to what [people in the world] argue for.
He should not approach naṭas or other various amusement-makers
They refer to those who make up their bodies in order to perform [various magical plays].
Awakening Oneself and Awakening Others
In reading Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s 14-volume commentary on the Lotus Sutra – I’m currently on the sixth volume – I’ve been setting aside hundreds of quotes that I want to keep available. By the time I complete the entire commentary I expect to have thousands of quotes. What I’m going to do with it all is unknown. However, I periodically come across something I feel needs to be posted sooner rather than later. This is one such quote.
Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v4, p105-107As we walk the path to Buddhahood, we should do all kinds of good deeds to help us succeed–that is the most important thing. We should do good deeds whenever we can and to the best of our ability. What are good deeds? They are deeds that help and benefit others. Bodhisattvas “benefit themselves and benefit others, awaken themselves and awaken others.” Do these kinds of things.
“I’ve heard that a lot,” you say.
Really? How many times?
“Several dozen times.”
Well, how many times have you put it into practice? Sure, you may have heard so much of “benefiting oneself and benefiting others; awakening oneself and awakening others.” But how much have you put into practice? How many “others” have you benefited? How many “others” have you caused to become awakened? One? Two? Probably none. If you have not even benefited or awakened one or two people, what use is your having heard of it? No use at all. The Path must be followed. Do it truly! Do it sincerely! Plant your feet firmly on the ground and do the work diligently and reliably. What is meant by doing it truly? The same deed can be done differently by different people. Others may do it with the thought of benefiting themselves, but if you can do it with the thought of benefiting others, then you have done it truly.
Some people may understand a matter or a principle and leave it at that, not worrying about whether anyone else understands it. Once you understand it yourself, you should then teach it to others and help them to understand. That is to awaken oneself and awaken others. In general, there are different ways of doing things in this world. One person may be selfish and seek personal benefit, while another person may do nothing but benefit other people. Those who are selfish and seek their own benefit go to the hells. Why? They are simply too selfish and obsessed with personal benefit. Those who benefit others may also go to the hells. Why? They go to rescue living beings in the hells. Their goal is to undergo suffering themselves in order to teach those in the hells how to leave suffering and attain bliss. Earth Store Bodhisattva, for example, is constantly in the hells being a friend to all the hungry ghosts. But he has gone there by choice, with the intention of leading the ghosts from suffering to bliss.
There are a lot of confused people in the world, and I will pass on to them whatever understanding I have. That is called “awakening oneself and awakening others; benefiting oneself and benefiting others.” To sum it up, there are different ways of doing everything. It is like what I just said before: one person may do it to benefit himself, while someone else will do it to benefit others. If you want to know what certain people are like, just observe and see whether what they do is for their own benefit or for the benefit of others. That is what you should take note of.
Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for June 11, 2025
It is not difficult
To put the great earth
On the nail of a toe
And go up to the Heaven of Brahman.It is difficult
To read Myōhō Renge Kyō
Even for a while in the evil world
After my extinction.
Tao-sheng: Dwelling in the Four Dharmas
Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p284-285In the earlier ages it was not yet hard to keep the sūtra. [But] if it is very hard to keep it [in the latter age], the low level of knowledge and self-confidence [are the probable causes]. Hence, Mañjuśrī asked [the Buddha] about the way to guide learners in the evil age.
Although keeping the sūtra in the latter age involves a lot of evils, if they dwell in four dharmas, the latter age does not mean suffering. Dwelling in them certainly leads to security; hence, it is said, “dwelling securely.” As regards the dharmas for teaching the Path, the practical modus operandi are as follows.
“Mañjuśrī! What are the proper practices the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should perform? He should be patient, mild and meek. He should not be rash, timorous, or attached to anything. He should see things as they are. He should not be attached to his nonattachment to anything. Nor should he be attached to his seeing thing as they are. These are the proper practices the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should perform.
{First, by dwelling securely in the place where
the bodhisattva acts, in the place that he approaches with familiarity, he shall be able to set forth this scripture for the sake of living beings.}When, having entered li, [the bodhisattva] fulfills it, he is in “the place [where the bodhisattva] acts.” Although he has not yet entered li, if he is familiar with it and close to it, he is in “the place he approaches with familiarity.” Also they are, as beginning and end, conjoined as one thing [or Dharma].
{If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva dwells on the ground of forbearance;
if he is gentle, agreeable, good, and acquiescent, not given to fits of
violence, nor at heart becoming alarmed;}He who is in “the place [where the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas] acts” regards from beginning to end forbearance as the primary [virtue]. These five virtues belong to the beginning.
{if, further, he performs no
act with respect to the dharmas, but views the dharmas in keeping with
their true marks;}So far the virtues of having li in mind have been explicated; now the abilities of “viewing” and “performing” are introduced. These four things constitute the end of “the place [where the bodhisattva mahāsattvas] acts.”
Practice and Study for Monastics and Lay People
Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s 14-volume commentary on the Lotus Sutra reflects his belief in a strong monastic foundation in Buddhism. He did not believe lay people were part of the Triple Jewel.
In Buddhism: A Brief Introduction, Master Hsuan Hua’s teachings are summarized.
People who believe in the Buddha’s teachings should formally take refuge with the Triple Jewel. The Triple Jewel is the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. The third of the three jewels, the Sangha, literally means “harmoniously united assembly.” In the Six Paramitas Sutra the Buddha noted three kinds of Sangha.
The first Is the Sangha of the Primary Meaning, consisting of the Sagely Sangha of Buddhas who abide by the Dharma. The second is the Sangha of the Sages. The third is the ‘field of blessings Sangha,’ comprised of the Bhikshus and Bhikshunis who receive and uphold the moral precepts.
The Sangha of the Buddhas consists of all the infinite numbers of Buddhas in the world-systems of the universe. In the Buddhist world, however, the word Sangha generally refers to the Bhikshu and Bhikshuni Sangha – the lowest of the three types mentioned by the Buddha. The use of the word “sangha” to refer to the common lay community is misleading and a departure from the traditional usage and meaning of the word, as will be explained later in this chapter.
Buddhism: A Brief Introduction, p65
Later, we’re told:
In the Sutra of Changes to Come, the Buddha taught that the Dharma will disappear from the world simultaneously with the disappearance of the Sangha of Bhikshus and Bhikshunis, since the Dharma relies on the Sangha for its existence in the world.
Buddhism: A Brief Introduction, p70
When Hsuan Hua established his school in America he sought out followers who would leave the home life and devote themselves to monastic life. His teachings reflect this. Consider this discussion on the need for practice with study found in his commentary on Chapter 3, A Parable, in the Lotus Sutra.
Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v4, p181-182I will tell you something that is extremely important. Do not let it fall on deaf ears and be forgotten. What is it? You must practice what you know. You cannot just read the sūtra and think, “I understand the principles,” and let it go at that. You must actually do what the sūtras say. The sutras tell you to get rid of your faults, so you must get rid of your faults. If you don’t get rid of your faults, you might as well not study the Buddhadharma. The Dharma teaches us to put others first and get rid of our faults. If you think that you can study the Buddhadharma and hold on to your imperfections, you are wrong. Everyone should pay special attention and keep this in mind. I’m not joking with you. If you don’t get rid of your faults and if you knowingly violate the rules, then you might as well not study the Buddhadharma at all. You are just a loafer among cultivators. Don’t goof off in the monastery or else you will certainly fall into the hells. Also, people who cultivate should watch over themselves and do their best to change their habits and faults.
I regard all you lay people equally, no matter who you are. I am not demanding perfection, nor am I insisting that you improve instantly, but I hope that you will gradually improve yourselves and get rid of your faults. You should know that I am deeply concerned for all of you and that I watch over you. I worry about your faults more than I do my own. Why? I hope that all of you will be better than me. I hope that you will blaze the trail for Buddhism in the West and be role models and pioneers in Buddhism. Don’t look upon yourselves lightly.
For me, Hsuan Hua’s teachings easily fit within my understanding of Nichiren Shu, where we have both priests who have left home and lay people. And I don’t particularly care that ordinary lay people are considered less important than priests. I also realized that a lot of Nichiren followers will balk at the idea that priests are important or even necessary. Such disputes are a distraction.
As followers of the Eternal Śākyamuni Buddha, especially here in America, we should all “blaze the trail for Buddhism in the West and be role models and pioneers in Buddhism.”
Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for June 10, 2025
“Ajita! Anyone who[, while he is staying outside the place of the expounding of the Dharma,] says to another person, ‘Let us go and hear the sūtra called Myōhō Renge Kyō which is being expounded [in that place],’ and cause him to hear Myōhō Renge Kyō even for a moment, in his next life by his merit, will be able to live with the Bodhisattvas who obtain dharanis. … He will be able to see the Buddhas, hear the Dharma from them, and receive their teachings by faith throughout his future existences.