Chanting Growers Group (2013-∞)

[PassTheDoobie]

"All people equally possess the Buddha nature. That is why we respect and value everyone.”

The Buddhism of the Sun - Illuminating the World, [36] To My Dear Friends of the Youth Division - Part 4 [of 5], Humanism - Action Based on Gratitude is the Essence of Nichiren Buddhism, Youth Will Ensure the Eternal Future of Worldwide Kosen-rufu, April 2018 Daibyaku-renge, translation released January 2019

 

[PassTheDoobie]

“The Daishonin writes: ‘If the Law that one embraces is supreme, then the person who embraces it must accordingly be foremost among all others. And if that is so, then to speak ill of that person is to speak ill of the Law’ (WND –1, 61). Here, the Daishonin affirms that embracing the unsurpassed Mystic Law is superior to having any social position, recognition or honour. By the same token, slandering those who embrace the Law is equivalent to slandering the Law itself.”

The Buddhism of the Sun - Illuminating the World, [36] To My Dear Friends of the Youth Division - Part 4 [of 5], Humanism - Action Based on Gratitude is the Essence of Nichiren Buddhism, Respecting and Treasuring Our Fellow Members as Buddhas, April 2018 Daibyaku-renge, translation released January 2019

 

[PassTheDoobie]

good friend ［善知識］ ( kalyāna-mitra;  zen-chishiki): Also, good companion. One who leads others to the correct teaching, or helps them in their practice of the correct teaching. In this sense, good friend may also be called good teacher. A good friend is contrasted with an evil friend, who leads people away from the way of Buddhist practice and into the evil paths, that is, into suffering. Buddhism teaches that, in pursuing the way to enlightenment, one should associate with a good friend to strengthen one’s faith and practice. In the “Devadatta” (twelfth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha describes Devadatta, who tried to kill him, as a good friend who in a past life instructed him in the Lotus Sutra. Shakyamuni states that it is therefore because of Devadatta that he was able to attain enlightenment and save living beings. The “King Wonderful Adornment” (twenty-seventh) chapter of the sutra describes the two brothers Pure Storehouse and Pure Eye as good friends to their father, King Wonderful Adornment, because they converted their father to the correct teaching. This chapter defines a good friend as “the great cause and condition by which one is guided and led, and which enables one to see the Buddha and to conceive the desire for supreme perfect enlightenment.”

 

[PassTheDoobie]

The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings

The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings

Chapter Sixteen: The Life Span of the Thus Come One
Twenty-seven important points

Point Two, regarding the words “You must listen carefully and hear of the Thus Come One’s secret and his transcendental powers.”

The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: This passage supports the concept of one who is eternally endowed with the three bodies. Various interpretations on these words have been transmitted.
As for the transcendental powers, the actions that are carried out instant by instant, motion by motion, by us living beings are regarded as transcendental powers. Thus the voices of the wardens of hell punishing the offenders are all to be termed transcendental powers. The countless things in the three thousand realms that undergo the process of birth, abiding, change, and extinction, are all in themselves embodiments of transcendental powers.

But in the view of Nichiren and his followers, the realization and understanding of the concept of attainment of Buddhahood in one’s present form is what is meant by “the Thus Come One’s secret and his transcendental powers.” For outside of the attainment of Buddhahood, there is no “secret” and no “transcendental powers.”

The eternally endowed three bodies mentioned here are gained through a single word. And that single word is “faith” or “to believe.” Therefore the sutra says, “We will believe and accept the Buddha’s words” (chapter sixteen). You should stop and consider the meaning of these two words “believe” and “accept.”

Point Three, regarding the words “But good men, it has been immeasurable, boundless hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayutas of kalpas since I in fact attained Buddhahood.”

The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: “I in fact” is explaining that Shakyamuni in fact attained Buddhahood in the inconceivably remote past. The meaning of this chapter, however, is that “I” represents the living beings of the Dharma-realm. “I” here refers to each and every being in the Ten Worlds. “In fact” establishes that “I” is a Buddha eternally endowed with the three bodies. This is what is being called “fact.” “Attained” refers both to the one who attains and to the thing attained. “Attain” means to open or reveal. It is to reveal that the beings of the Dharma-realm are Buddhas eternally endowed with the three bodies. “Buddhahood” means being enlightened to this.

In the word “since” (irai), the element i (already, or having passed) refers to the past, and the element rai (coming) refers to the future. And the present is included in these two elements i and rai.

The passage is thus saying that “I [or the beings of the Dharma-realm] in fact revealed” the Buddhahood that is immeasurable and boundless in both past and future. It is referring to the hundred worlds and thousand factors and the three thousand realms in a single moment of life. The two words “hundred” and “thousand” in the sutra passage refer to the hundred worlds and the thousand factors. These then represent the reality of three thousand realms in a single moment of life.

Now Nichiren and his followers, those who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, are the original lords of teachings of the “Life Span” chapter. Generally speaking, the bodhisattvas of the theoretical teaching are not the sort of persons who are qualified to handle this chapter. For they employ an approach in which the theoretical teaching is on the surface and the essential teaching is in the background, while Nichiren and his followers employ an approach in which the essential teaching is in the forefront and the theoretical teaching is in the background.

Be that as it may, this chapter does not represent the teaching that is essential for the Latter Day of the Law. The reason is that this chapter embodies the Buddhism of the harvest suitable for the time when the Buddha was in the world. But only the five characters of the daimoku constitute the Buddhism of sowing that is suitable for the present time. Thus, the Buddhism of the harvest is for the time when the Buddha was in the world, and the Buddhism of sowing is for the time after his passing. Hence it is the Buddhism of sowing that is needed in the Latter Day of the Law.

 

[weedtoker]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[Weird]

The Emergence of the Treasure Tower


At that time in the Buddha’s presence there was a tower adorned with the seven treasures, five hundred yojanas in height and two hundred and fifty yojanas in width and depth, that rose up out of the earth and stood suspended in the air. Various kinds of precious objects adorned it. It had five thousand railings, a thousand, ten thousand rooms, and numberless streamers and banners decorated it. Festoons of jewels hung down and ten thousand million jeweled bells were suspended from it. All four sides emitted a fragrance of tamala leaves and sandalwood that pervaded the whole world. Its banners and canopies were made of the seven treasures, namely, gold, silver, lapis lazuli, seashell, agate, pearl, and carnelian, and it was so high it reached to the heavenly palaces of the four heavenly kings. The beings of the heaven of the thirty-three gods rained down heavenly mandarava flowers as an offering to the treasure tower, and the other heavenly beings, the dragons, yakshas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, and mahoragas, the human and nonhuman beings, an assembly of thousands, ten thousands, millions, offered all kinds of flowers, incense, necklaces, streamers, canopies, and music as alms to the treasure tower, paying it reverence, honor, and praise.
At that time a loud voice issued from the treasure tower, speaking words of praise: “Excellent, excellent! Shakyamuni, world-honored one, that you can take the great wisdom of p.210equality, a teaching to instruct the bodhisattvas, guarded and kept in mind by the buddhas, the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law, and preach it for the sake of the great assembly! It is as you say, as you say. Shakyamuni, world-honored one, all that you have expounded is the truth!”

---> https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/lsoc/Content/11

 

[PassTheDoobie]

“Although I and my disciples may encounter various difficulties, if we do not harbour doubts in our hearts, we will as a matter of course attain Buddhahood.”

(The Opening of the Eyes - WND, Vol. 1, page 283)

 

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“If one lights a fire for others, one will brighten one’s own way.”

(“On the Three Virtues of Food”, WND-ll page 1060)

 

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Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

“No matter how active we have been in the past and what glorious accomplishments we have achieved, if we stop striving in our Buddhist practice in our final years, we will have given in to defeat."

The New Human Revolution—Volume 30, Awaiting the Time 4, translation released January 2019

 

[PassTheDoobie]

The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings

The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings

Chapter Sixteen: The Life Span of the Thus Come One
Twenty-seven important points

Point Four, regarding the passage “The Thus Come One perceives the true aspect of the threefold world exactly as it is. There is (u) no (mu) ebb or flow of birth and death, and there is no existing in this world and later entering extinction.”

The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The “Thus Come One” is the living beings of the threefold world. When we look at these living beings through the eyes of the “Life Span” chapter, we can see and understand the true aspect of these beings who in their original states possess the Ten Worlds.

The aspect or characteristics of the threefold world are birth, aging, sickness, and death. But if we look at birth and death in terms of their true nature, then there is no birth or death. And if there is no birth or death, then there is no ebb or flow. Not only do birth and death not exist. To look on birth and death with repulsion and try to escape from them is termed delusion, or a viewpoint of acquired enlightenment. Seeing and understanding the originally inherent nature of birth and death is termed awakening, or original enlightenment.

Now when Nichiren and his followers chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they realize the originally inherent nature of birth and death, and the originally inherent nature of ebb and flow.

We may also say that nonexistence (mu) and existence (u), birth and death, ebbing and flowing, existing in this world and entering extinction, are all, every one of them, actions of the eternally abiding inherent nature.

“Nonexistence” indicates that the actions of Myoho-renge-kyo are none other than the Dharma-realm. “Existence” indicates that hell, just as it is, is the total entity of the Wonderful Law originally endowed with the Ten Worlds. “Birth” indicates the Wonderful Law appearing as birth in accordance with changing circumstances. “Death” is death as seen through the “Life Span” chapter, in which the Dharma-realm is at the same time the true aspect of reality. Because there is “ebb,” there is “entering extinction,” and because there is “flow,” there is “existing in the world.”

Thus [in terms of the three truths], nonexistence, death, ebbing, and extinction represent the truth of non-substantiality or emptiness. Existence, birth, flowing, and existing in the world represent the truth of temporary existence. And [the true aspect of the threefold world that] the Thus Come One perceives exactly as it is, is the truth of the Middle Way.

[In terms of the three bodies], nonexistence, death, ebbing, and extinction represent the eternally endowed reward body. Existence, birth, flowing, and existing in the world represent the eternally endowed manifested body. And [the true aspect of the threefold world that] the Thus Come One perceives exactly as it is, is the eternally endowed Dharma body.

These three bodies are our own single bodies. This is why [Words and Phrases, volume nine] says, “The single body is none other than the three bodies, a statement that is secret.” And this is also why it says, “The three bodies are none other than the single body, a statement that is secret.”

Thus the Buddha of the Lotus that is the entity of the Law (chapter eleven, point six), who is eternally endowed with the three bodies, is Nichiren and his disciples and lay supporters. That is because they embrace the title of honor, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

 

[Cvh]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[weedtoker]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[Weird]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[PassTheDoobie]

“Brilliant, everlasting victory in life is achieved through maintaining a spirit to continue seeking the way, challenging ourselves and fighting our hardest as long as we live."

The New Human Revolution—Volume 30, Awaiting the Time 4, translation released January 2019

 

[PassTheDoobie]

“Where there is unseen virtue, there will be visible reward."

(Unseen Virtue and Visible Reward - WND, Vol. 1, page 907)

 

[weedtoker]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[Cvh]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Weird]

QUESTION: The “Expedient Means” chapter in the first volume of the Lotus Sutra states, “The true aspect of all phenomena [can only be understood and shared between Buddhas. This reality consists of the appearance, nature . . . and] their consistency from beginning to end.” What does this passage mean?


ANSWER: It means that all beings and environments in the Ten Worlds, from hell, the lowest, to Buddhahood, the highest, are without exception manifestations of Myoho-renge-kyo. If there is an environment, living beings are bound to dwell there. A commentary states, “Living beings and their environments always manifest Myoho-renge-kyo.”1 Another says: “The true aspect invariably manifests in all phenomena, and all phenomena invariably manifest in the ten factors. The ten factors invariably manifest in the Ten Worlds, and the Ten Worlds invariably manifest in life and its environment.”2 And “Both the beings and the environment of the Avīchi hell exist entirely within the life of the highest sage [Buddha], and what is more, the life and the environment of Vairochana [Buddha] never transcend the lives of common mortals.”3 These explanations are precise and clear. Who could have doubts? Thus, the entire realm of phenomena is no different than the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo.
Even the two Buddhas, Shakyamuni and Many Treasures, in performing the functions of the benefit of the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, manifested themselves as the two Buddhas, and seated together in the treasure tower, nodded in mutual agreement.
No one but Nichiren has ever revealed teachings like these. Though T’ien-t’ai, Miao-lo, and Dengyō knew about them in their hearts, they never put them into words. They went about their lives keeping this knowledge to themselves. And there was good reason for this. The Buddha had not entrusted them with the task, the time had not yet come, and they had not been the Buddha’s disciples from the distant past. Only Superior Practices, Boundless Practices, and the other foremost leaders and guiding teachers among the Bodhisattvas of the Earth can not only appear during the first five hundred years of the Latter Day of the Law and spread the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, the essence of all phenomena, but also give concrete form to the ceremony of the two Buddhas seated side by side in the treasure tower. The reason is that what they are to spread and give concrete form to is none other than the teaching of the actual three thousand realms in a single moment of life in the “Life Span” chapter of the essential teaching.
p.384Therefore, the two Buddhas, Shakyamuni and Many Treasures, are Buddhas who are functions [of Myoho-renge-kyo]. It is Myoho-renge-kyo that is the true Buddha.4 This is what is described in the sutra as “the Thus Come One’s secret and his transcendental powers.”5 The “Thus Come One’s secret” refers to the entity of the Buddha’s three bodies, and it refers to the true Buddha. “His transcendental powers” refers to the functions of the three bodies, and it refers to provisional Buddhas. A common mortal is an entity of the three bodies, and a true Buddha. A Buddha is a function of the three bodies, and a provisional Buddha. In that case, though it is thought that Shakyamuni Buddha possesses the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent for the sake of all of us living beings, that is not so. On the contrary, it is common mortals who endow him with the three virtues.
The “Thus Come One” is explained clearly in T’ien-t’ai’s commentary as follows: “The Thus Come One is a general designation for the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three existences, for the two Buddhas, the three Buddhas,6 the true Buddha, and provisional Buddhas.”7 The “true Buddha” here means common mortals, whereas “provisional Buddhas” means Buddhas. However, because of the difference between ordinary people and Buddhas that stems from the disparity between delusion and enlightenment, ordinary people are unaware that they are endowed with both the entity and the functions of the three bodies.
“All phenomena” in the sutra refers to the Ten Worlds, and the “true aspect,” to what they actually are. The “true aspect” is another name for Myoho-renge-kyo; hence all phenomena are Myoho-renge-kyo. Hell’s displaying the form of hell is its true aspect. When hell changes into the realm of hungry spirits, that is no longer the true form of hell. A Buddha displays the form of a Buddha, and a common mortal, that of a common mortal. The entities of all phenomena are entities of Myoho-renge-kyo. That is the meaning of “the true aspect of all phenomena.” T’ien-t’ai states that the profound principle of the true aspect is the originally inherent Myoho-renge-kyo.8 This interpretation identifies the phrase “true aspect” with the theoretical teaching and “the originally inherent Myoho-renge-kyo” with the essential teaching. You should ponder this interpretation deep in your heart.
Although not worthy of the honor, I, Nichiren, was nevertheless the first to spread the Mystic Law entrusted to Bodhisattva Superior Practices for propagation in the Latter Day of the Law. I was also the first, though only Bodhisattva Superior Practices is so empowered, to inscribe [the object of devotion as] the embodiment of Shakyamuni Buddha from the remote past as revealed in the “Life Span” chapter of the essential teaching, of Many Treasures Buddha who appeared when the “Treasure Tower” chapter of the theoretical teaching was preached, and of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth who arrived with the “Emerging from the Earth” chapter. Though people may hate me, they cannot possibly alter the fact of my enlightenment.

---> https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/40