Chanting Growers Group

[Guest]

Yep! I remember when all you guys got together in LV and didn't sound like chanting to me. That was right before the hurricane. I wasn't there but that seems like 3 years ago to me. I'm still waitiing for the day when we can all get together. Do Gongyo then smoke and party. Would love to put faces to the energy that ties you together. Haven't seen PTD in 6 years. Always appreciate all your posts and suggested reading whether I respond to it all or not. Love to you all, SG

 

[Guest]

Can Enlightenment Save the Planet?

Can Enlightenment Save the Planet?

I really dont think so... but here is an article that might open a few minds as i see too much preaching here.

http://www.naturalism.org/consciousness_evolving.htm

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Hey kids!

Don't forget, I am now a full time university student learning a foreign language that does not use "letters". Everything I know how to say, I can now read and write. The work load to memorize all this shit has been overwhelming! (like two to fours hours a day of study with two hours a day of class time.)

It's been a pain in the ass, but I am so grateful to the Gohonzon that somehow I am keeping up in a class with all asian class mates that already know how to write. I am experiencing a time of profound escalation of comprehension of all things in my life. My desire is fueled by the impossible dream of being able to do shakubuku as fluently as I do in English, in this foreign language. It may take years, but that is my goal.

As a result of having the correct ichinen (focused life force), I think, the computer got a virus last week that completely kept me from entering any posts, right at a time when I needed to focus on school. Sorry! But such a benefit! What was frustrating and over my head last week has become very clear this week! I am so happy!

All my study of the Daishonin's teachings are only re-enforcing what I already knew to be correct. It is as though I have been guided by some force to choose randomly different gosho that re-enforce the teaching of my mentors. I look forward to sharing that with you. I hope to do so soon. I would have presented more of the lectures on the Juryo chapter, but am having trouble accessing them today. Sorry Bud!

Please know that I am thinking of each of you every day.

Baseado! If speaking with conviction means preaching, then you just did the same thing!

Thomas

 

[Guest]

Did you not read the article, are you not interested in it ?.

 

[Babbabud]

OK PTD breaks over ... come on brother we need some post Just another bodhissatva looking for some brotherly inspiration
Lots of hard physical labor for this old buddhist this week looking for a hand

 

[Babbabud]

heehe sorry brother guess i should have looked at the thread before posting ... I have a huge smile right now ... so happy to hear of your learning and great experience. Sorry to be such a butt .... Your post really mean alot to me ... i guess youi know that though
Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Guest]

Baseado,
I read the article, and I do not know how what they are proposing that is any different than what Nichiren Daishonin teaches as well as what Shakyamuni Buddha taught.

The ten worlds contain the Lower six paths and the four noble paths. The four nable paths will open the path to enlightenment for all life, I believe.

Only the heart activates the Noble Paths of Life. As Nichiren says, "It is the heart that is most important."

President Ikeda says, "It is the heart that matters most. One simply can not understand Buddhism without a pure and seeking spirit stemming from the depths of one's heart. When we practice with the awareness that we might only encounter the Gohonzon once in a hundred million or ten billion years, a profound sense of appreciation fills our heart each time we peform gongyo." Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra V.4,p.286)

Is this preaching or understanding how to apply buddhism into daily life? I think it is the latter of the two mysaelf.

Nichiren Daishonin says, "Buddhism can no more be seperated from the reality of life, than a body can be seperated from it's shadow."

Understanding how to apply Buddhist concepts into our daily lives is how Enlightenment of plants, animals, and all life will occur in today's reality, I belive.

It is the responsibility of each person to assure the peace and security of humanity and society at large.

Chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo to the Gohonzon, gives one the courage to step up to the plate and take a swing at creating peace for all humanity, instead of sitting in the dugout and watching others winning in the game of life, creating peace in others people lives.

Baseado, no preaching, just confidence in the Wonderful Law of Life of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.

Nichiren teaches to use the three proofs of Buddhism, Theoretical, Documentary, and Actual Proof. All three proofs must be met for a true Buddhist practice with deep faith to emerge from within the individual., I belive.

Avid

 

[Babbabud]

Lessons

Lessons

PTD Please forgive my flippant post this morning. I should have read the thread ... I just assumed you hadnt posted and was trying to stir the pot up a little bit . Brother I had no idea that you were going to any sort of school or doing anything other that your normal routine. Please take a break and use your time and energy to study. I dont want you to feel like you must post just to keep my interest, my interest is peaked and I feel like you should spend your energy working torwards your class. Ive recently read that part of the road to enlightment is showing maturity in your study habits .... this old stoner knows his way to the SGI site and also have my WND book .... I will be fine . Im sure that if my good buddy Avid Learner sees me bouncing off the walls looking lost he will post something for me.

Good luck in learning what I know to be a very difficult language

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Guest]

PTD. Learning kanji? I was a student somewhat, but I was not very good. I have a couple of books, but I just look at the figures and go blank. smile

Good Luck!

Avid

 

[PassTheDoobie]

This Bud, Is For You!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra (33)

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra (33)

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra
by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda

Humankind Thirsts for the Mystic Law's 'Highly Effective Medicine'

Bu ken shi to. Kuno nyo ze. E sho kyobo. Gu ko yakuso. Shiki ko mimi. Kai shitsu gu-soku. Toshi wago. Yo shi ryo buku. Ni sa ze gon. Shi dai ro-yaku. Shiki ko mimi Kai shitsu gu-soku. Nyoto ka buku. Soku jo kuno. Mu bu shugen.

"The father, seeing his children suffering like this, follows various prescriptions. Gathering fine medicinal herbs that meet all the requirements of color, fragrance and flavor, he grinds, sifts and mixes them together. Giving a dose of these to his children, he tells them: 'This is a highly effective medicine, meeting all the requirements of color, fragrance and flavor. Take it and you will quickly be relieved of your sufferings and will be free of all illness."' (LS16, 228)

Nichiren Daishonin's Strict, Fatherly Love

This passage describes the scene where the excellent physician, the children's father, sees that his children have drunk poison and are suffering and gives them medicine that he prepares. Is there any parent who, seeing his or her children suffer, would not try to relieve their pain? The image comes to mind of a father desperately hurrying to grind down medicinal herbs in a mortar to quickly prepare the medicine and saying, "You must feel bad. Just hang in there a little longer. I'm going to give you some medicine to drink."

The Buddha, similarly, shares the sufferings of all people as though they were his own.

True sympathy means to relieve people of their suffering and give them joy; it is not simply to direct one's pity toward them. The- Buddha joins with people in their worries and struggles until he has actually eliminated their suffering and imparted true happiness and peace of mind to them.

At one point in the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni says, "I am the father of living beings and I should rescue them from their sufferings and give them the joy of the measureless and boundless Buddha wisdom..." (LS3, 59).

Shakyamuni's compassion is like the love of a merciful mother who sympathizes unconditionally with people in their suffering. At the same time, it is also the strict love of a merciful father who wages a thorough struggle to actually remove that suffering and impart true peace and comfort.

The Lotus Sutra reveals the Buddha's "strict, fatherly love." The pre-Lotus Sutra teachings present only fragmentary glimpses of the "motherly love" of the Buddha's compassion. The Great Teacher Dengyo says, 'The pre-Lotus Sutra teachings preach only love. While they contain a little of the teaching of the Buddha's motherly aspect, they lack the teaching of strictness." It is important to understand that the fundamental causes of suffering cannot be eliminated with merciful, motherly love alone.

The Buddha can save all people precisely because he possesses the virtuous qualities of both a strict father and a merciful mother.

This is particularly true now in the Latter Day of the Law, which is much more impure than Shakyamuni's age. Today, the three poisons of greed, anger and stupidity are ingrained in people's lives much more deeply. It is no easy matter to remove such suffering. Therefore, as the "strict father of the Latter Day," Nichiren Daishonin resolutely conducted dialogue to move people in the depths of their lives.

Josei Toda, the second Soka Gakkai president, explained: "This teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the love of a strict father. Reward and punishment are very strict in this Buddhism. Since it is not motherly love, there is both scolding and love, each where it is due, each with the aim of steadfastly leading people to happiness. This is fatherly love."

"Strict father" and "merciful mother" are of course metaphors indicating the Buddha's virtuous qualities. They are not, by any means, attempts to make hard-and-fast claims about the roles of mothers and fathers in the home. In many cases, in fact, the mother is much stronger than the father.

We Originally Possess the Highly Effective Medicine

In the parable, the father combines the medicinal herbs he has selected and makes a highly effective medicine that is outstanding in color, fragrance and flavor and gives this to his children. In terms of the principle of "relieving suffering and imparting joy," this corresponds to both "relieving suffering" and "imparting joy."

The teaching that "meets all the requirements of color, fragrance and flavor" that the Buddha has given people is the wisdom of the Lotus Sutra. The Buddha's teaching does not merely relieve suffering. Like a father who bestows his entire estate upon his children, the Buddha imparts his wisdom --- which is the seed of happiness --- upon all people.

The ultimate expression of this teaching is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Nichiren Daishonin left behind Nam-myoho-renge-kyo of the Three Great Secret Laws as the effective teaching that meets all requirements of color, fragrance and flavor.

Because this "medicine" is excellent in color, fragrance and flavor, people can take it with peace of mind. In this connection, the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai of China indicates that color, fragrance and flavor correspond to the three types of learning, or the disciplines of precepts, meditation and wisdom the fundamental elements that a practitioner of Buddhism needs to master. He explains that color corresponds to precepts, fragrance to meditation, and flavor to wisdom.

In Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, color corresponds to the high sanctuary of true Buddhism, fragrance to the object of worship of true Buddhism, and flavor to the invocation or daimoku of true Buddhism.

"He grinds, sifts and mixes them together" refers to the grinding down of the medicinal herbs and the combination of the proper ingredients. This might be likened to the process of producing pure extract. Shakyamuni concentrated the essence of all of his teachings in the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren Daishonin "ground, sifted and mixed together" the causes (practices) and virtues (effects) of all Buddhas and expressed the result as the Three Great Secret Laws.

Regarding the words, "meet all the requirements," Nichiren Daishonin says, "'All' here means that this is the highly effective medicine of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo that includes the ten thousand practices, ten thousand good acts and the various paramitas" (Gosho Zenshu, p 755). And, "Showing profound compassion for those ignorant of the gem of ichinen sanzen, the True Buddha wrapped it within the single phrase Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, with which he then adorned the necks of those living in the Latter Day" (The Major Writings of Nichiren Dai shonin, vol. 1, p. 82).

Medicine produces its effect only if ingested. In metaphorical terms, the doctrine of "the three thousand realms in a single moment of life" (ichinen sanzen) established by T'ien-t'ai is not the medicine for the people of the Latter Day --- the people of the Latter Day cannot ingest it as it is. How can it be made simpler and more clear, so that anyone can ingest it (i.e., practice it)? It is the Buddha's work, as an excellent physician, to find a solution to this problem.

Encouraging the children to drink the medicine, the father tells them: "This is a highly effective medicine, meeting all the requirements of color, fragrance and flavor. Take it and you will quickly be relieved of your sufferings and will be free of all illness."

From the standpoint of the Daishonin's Buddhism, this passage indicates the benefit of the Gohonzon. The Gohonzon is the highly effective medicine for those who are suffering. Its great benefit is such that, in the words of Nichikan Shonin, "No prayer will go unanswered, no offense will remain unforgiven, all good fortune will be bestowed and all righteousness proven." It truly "meets all the requirements." As for those who embrace the Gohonzon, not only will their sufferings quickly vanish, but they will realize a state of life that is happy and free of ailment.

President Toda characterized the father's words here as the "Buddha's promise." In other words, from the standpoint of its implicit meaning, this sutra passage represents Nichiren Daishonin's declaration that all people of the Latter Day of the Law can definitely become happy.

The Daishonin says:

Within the five characters of the daimoku there is not a single thing that is not included. Therefore, if we take a dose of it, we will "quickly be relieved of our sufferings." (Gosho Zenshu, p. 755)

Everyone is entitled to become happy. And it is the prerogative of those experiencing the greatest suffering to become the happiest. Those who work the hardest can develop their lives far more than others. This is the mystic nature of faith. People who advance together with those experiencing the greatest suffering are genuine Buddhists.

Suffering Is Necessary To Bring Out the Full Flavor of Joy

In any age, ordinary people suffer the greatest under the weight of society's strains and distortions. None are more miserable than those who follow foolish leaders.

Individuals of true greatness never forget that the people are the true treasure of society. When Victor Hugo completed Les Mise'rables, he appended to the work a brief preface in which he wrote that as long as "ignorance and poverty persist on earth, books such as this cannot fail to be of value." (1)

"I want to rid the world of misery" --- this was President Toda's heartfelt proclamation. He was an unparalleled leader who always advanced together with the people.

When lecturing on the passage of the "Life Span" chapter we are studying, Mr. Toda, with characteristic humor, once remarked:

We have come to this saha world in order to enjoy ourselves. But without a dash of suffering, we couldn't savor the full flavor of joy. The fact of the matter is that the world, far from being a place of amusement, is full of suffering.

Those listening to him learned that as long as they possessed the "highly effective medicine" of the Mystic Law, they each could cross the raging seas of society and establish a state of life of profound calm and composure. How such broadminded words of a true spiritual leader dispelled the dark clouds of unease and shed light into the hearts of people living amid the confusion of the postwar era! This is the way of a true leader. No matter how exhausted he was, whenever he found members who were suffering or worn out, President Toda poured his entire being into encouraging them. With the same spirit and immense life force, SGI members today embrace those who are struggling or sick.

All of you have been taking action with this spirit. Even with your own pressing concerns, you drive yourselves to try your best to encourage those in dire need. And when you hear reports about how people have become happy or gained benefit through faith, it dispels all sense of fatigue. The SGI has created such a network of people helping one another become happy. The SGI is a great castle of happiness created by the hearts of ordinary people. No one can destroy this noble solidarity of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth.

Nichiren Daishonin observes that even though people of power can destroy Buddha images or temples, they are powerless to destroy Buddhism itself (Gosho Zenshu, p. 182). And it is impossible for someone's spirit to be destroyed from without. As long as we have beautiful unity, the world of the Mystic Law is absolutely indestructible.

We live in a time when the three poisons are particularly strong and we suffer just as the children in the parable suffered from the poison they drank. The deadlock of the present age is due to people having forgotten their inner revolution. This is the lesson we must learn from the 20th century. In every field, people search for a philosophy to remove the poisons in their hearts. All humankind thirsts for the "highly effective medicine" of the Mystic Law.

Nichiren Daishonin says that followers who practice the Mystic Law are the "original possessors of this highly effective medicine" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 755). Our compassionate practice to relieve others of suffering and give them joy will doubtless become a great harbinger to the revival of the heart and the revival of humanism in the 21st century.

1. Cited from the Penguin Books edition, 1982.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra (34)

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra (34)

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra
by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda

Using the Buddha's Wisdom to Correct Society's Distortions

Go sho shi chu. Fu shis^shin ja. Ken shi ro-yaku. Shiki ko gu ko. Soku-ben buku shi. Byo jin jo yu. Yo shis^shin ja. Ken go bu rai. Sui yak-kangi monjin gu-shaku ji byo. Nen yo go yaku. Ni fu ko buku. Sho-i sha ga. Dokke jinnyu. Ship^ponshin ko. O shi ko shiki ko yaku. Ni i fu mi.

"Those children who have not lost their senses can see that this is good medicine, outstanding in both color and fragrance, so they take it immediately and are completely cured of their sickness. Those who are out of their minds are equally delighted to see their father return and beg him to cure their sickness, but when they are given the medicine, they refuse to take it. Why? Because the poison has penetrated deeply and their minds no longer function as before. So although the medicine is of excellent color and fragrance, they do not perceive it as good." (LS16, 228)

Everyone wants to become happy and get along well with others. No one starts out wanting to be miserable or to live with others in a state of mutual hatred and contempt.

In reality, however, we find people living under just such conditions. Often people tumble down the slope of misfortune due to errors in judgment that result from preoccupation with trivialities. They may come into conflict or even start wars with one another over issues that, in the larger scheme of things, are truly insignificant.

Nichiren Daishonin says:

Fish want to survive; they deplore their pond's shallowness and dig holes to hide in, yet tricked by bait, they take the hook. Birds in a tree fear that they are too low and perch in the top branches, yet bewitched by bait, they too are caught in snares. (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 34).

Although in their hearts people desperately seek happiness, at crucial junctures they in fact move in the opposite direction. The sick children in the above passage represent people with distorted lives and foolish minds who are unable to judge things correctly.

The Buddha uses the light of wisdom to guide distorted lives in the correct direction, the direction of happiness. This is the lesson of the parable of the skilled physician and his sick children.

'True Mind' Means a Mind of Belief in the Mystic Law

Among the children who drank poison, some have not yet lost their minds. These children, perceiving the medicine prepared by their father to be excellent in color and fragrance, drink it without hesitation. And their sickness is immediately cured.

The Daishonin says, "'Mind' means the heart which believes in the Lotus Sutra" (MW-1, 135), and he speaks of "the Buddha nature which is the people's true mind" (MW-1, 136). "True mind" is nothing other than the Buddha nature. People, while laboring under various illusions, can believe in the Lotus Sutra precisely because in the depths of their lives they possess the Buddha nature.

The parable then goes on to explain the situation of the children who have lost their minds. These children, too, greatly rejoice upon seeing their father return and beseech him to cure them. But when the essential medicine is given to them, they cannot bring themselves to drink it. That's because the poison has penetrated deeply and they are no longer lucid.

In other words, the power of the Buddha nature cannot manifest on account of deep-seated illusions. Although they seek happiness-and although the fundamental cause for becoming happy is right before their eyes-they fail to realize it.

Unable to recognize the "medicine of excellent color and fragrance" for what it is, they suspect that it is bad. Not only do they fail to believe in the Mystic Law, they actively reject it. They are certainly distorted people who confuse good and evil, true and false.

In the "Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings," Nichiren Daishonin says:
"The poison has penetrated deeply" describes the state of those with strong emotional attachment to the slanderous doctrines of the provisional teachings. As a result, they cannot believe in and accept the great effective medicine of the Lotus Sutra. (Gosho Zenshu, p. 755)

"Strong emotional attachment to the slanderous doctrines of the provisional teachings" indicates the distorted judgment and attitude of those who criticize superior teachings out of attachment to inferior teachings.

Broadly speaking, this might be said to describe the attitude of those who forget the spirit of self-improvement and advancement and become attached to a shallow way of life and who, moreover, criticize those who live earnestly and with a lofty spirit.

Regarding the parable of the excellent physician, Josei Toda, the second Soka Gakkai president, said, "When we first read these passages, they seem to describe Shakyamuni's day. But when we examine them carefully, we find that they are prophetic words pointing to this time of the Latter Day of the Law."

This sutra passage certainly sheds light on the absurd conditions of Japanese society today.

Although people seek care, ultimately they refuse to drink the medicine. In the depths of their hearts everyone desires to live in earnest. But the power of good in the human spirit-that of earnestness, courage, benevolence and wisdom- has grown weak.

That's because society lacks a firm philosophy or system of thought. And as a result people's sense of values is unstable; they confuse good and evil, truth and falsehood, selflessness and selfishness, the lofty and the base.

Buddhism terms the illusion that pleasurable circumstances can continue indefinitely the "four mistaken views." This is the perspective on eternity, happiness, true self and purity of someone who lives only for the pursuit of pleasure. This is the shallow outlook of someone convinced that momentary pleasures, money and worldly fame will continue forever, that they are "fun" and that such a way of life is true to oneself and "wonderful."

For those caught up in such thinking, Shakyamuni first expounded the teaching of "impermanence, suffering, selflessness and non-substantiality" and severely criticized attachment to pleasure. And after he had raised the state of life of these people through expedient teachings, he expounded the Lotus Sutra in which he finally revealed the true aspect of the indestructible virtues of eternity, happiness, true self and purity.

To illustrate, let us consider happiness. The happiness of the four mistaken views, as expressed by the sentiment, "If I' m happy now, nothing else matters," can produce no vital force or true brilliance in one's life.

But the happiness that may be gained by carrying out activities for kosen-rufu comprises true comfort and joy that wells forth from the very depths of one's being. It is happiness of a completely different kind.

Constantly going out to offer people encouragement, thinking, "I wonder how that person is doing," or "Is that person in high spirits?" is certainly a laborious undertaking. But in the course of such continual dialogue, we see smiles return to the faces of friends formerly mired in suffering, and people overcome the turbulent waves of destiny and become revitalized.

The joy and sense of reward we feel at such times far surpasses what we might experience from watching a great drama. This is a way of life genuinely based on eternity, happiness, true self and purity.

With pride as SGI members, let us lead lives richly imbued with the virtues of eternity, happiness, true self and purity. Let us create in our environments a fresh brilliance of life and a correct sense of values. Let us dauntlessly spread the philosophy of the dignity of life and let us carry out the actions of bodhisattvas. The path to transforming a society of distorted values lies in carrying out such efforts.

Bu sa ze nen. Shi shi ka min. I doku sho chu. Shin kai ten-do. Sui ken ga ki. Gushak^kuryo. Nyo ze ko yaku. Ni fu ko buku. Ga kon to setsu hoben. Ryo buku shi yaku. Soku sa ze gon. Nyoto to chi. Ga kon sui ro. Shi ji i shi. Ze ko ro-yaku. Kon ru zai shi. Nyo ka shu buku. Mot^tsu fu sai.

"The father thinks to himself: My poor children! Because of the poison in them, their minds are completely befuddled. Although they are happy to see me and ask me to cure them, they refuse to take this excellent medicine. I must now resort to some expedient means to induce them to take the medicine. So he says to them: 'You should know that I am now old and worn out, and the time of my death has come. I leave this good medicine here for you now. You should take it and not worry that it will not cure you."' (LS16, 228)

Seeing the children who adamantly refuse to drink the medicine, the father thinks, "My poor children!" These are tremendously moving words. They convey the immense mercy of the Buddha, who seeks to lead everyone without exception, to happiness. Still, the father does not attempt to force them to drink the medicine.

The distortions lurking in the depths of people's hearts cannot be changed by compulsion. It is important that people take up the medicine and drink it of their own accord. This is because the correct vision to perceive one's own condition directly and free of distortion is already present in such action.

Out of his merciful concern for the children and his desire for them to manifest true self-motivation, the father, rather than compel them, uses his wisdom to get them to take the medicine on their own accord.

"How can I prompt them to decide to drink the medicine?" he wonders. "I'll use an expedient means to cause them to drink it."

The expedient means he chooses is to announce that he will soon die. The father tells them: "I have grown old and weak, and it appears that I will soon die. I will leave the medicine here for you to drink. You need not worry that your sufferings will not be cured, for they will be cured without fail." He then sets out and sends someone to announce that he has died.

The father has not actually died; he merely causes the children to think that he has. In this way, he seeks to purge them of their tendency to depend on him and in so doing correct their internal distortions.

An expedient means, as I have said many times, is an expression of the Buddha's compassion. If the Buddha were always present in the world, people would become dependent. Under such circumstances, the Buddha could not attain the objective of raising people to the same state of life as his own. So the Buddha arouses immense compassion and, as the ultimate expedient means, appears to enter extinction.

On one level, "I leave this good medicine here for you now" refers to Shakyamuni leaving the Lotus Sutra for those in the world after his death. What does this passage indicate from the standpoint of the Daishonin's Buddhism?

In the "Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings " Nichiren Daishonin says, ''1 leave this' indicates that it is for the Latter Day of the Law. 'Here' means the country of Japan in the continent of Jambudvipa" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 756). He characterizes Japan as a country filled with "people of incorrigible disbelief" (MW-1, 38). The Daishonin appeared in a land of people of incorrigible disbelief and he left behind the great law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo for the people of the Latter Day.

Regarding the passage "You should take it and not worry that it will not cure you," the Daishonin says that "you" indicates all people of the Latter Day, and "take" means embracing Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and chanting daimoku. He says:

From the time we swallow it, we become eternally endowed with the three enlightened bodies. Thus we are cured of the sickness of [attachment to] the vision of the Buddha who first attained enlightenment in this life under the Bodhi tree. (Gosho Zenshu, p. 756)

"The sickness of [attachment to] the vision of the Buddha who first attained enlightenment in this life under the Bodhi tree" refers to the tendency to view Shakyamuni as the Buddha who attained enlightenment for the first time during his lifetime in India. As long as we suppose there is a separation between the Buddha and other people, we cannot recognize the tremendous life that exists within us.

The Mystic Law is the great teaching that enables each person to realize that he or she is originally a Buddha. When the immense life of the Buddha manifests within our being, all our sufferings disappear like morning dew in the rays of the sun.

When that happens, we are in the state of "not worrying that it will not cure us." We need not worry about anything. We will definitely become happy. This is what the Buddha declares.

 

[Guest]

Thnx for the reply Avid.

I too wonder at the mysteries of life but i guess i use a different model to measure them.

Peace

Sempre, Baseado.

 

[Guest]

Baseado.
As long as you are wondering, that is what is most important, I feel. smile.

Avid

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra (35)

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra (35)

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra
by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda

Bodhisattvas Are the Buddha's Emissaries Who Lead People to Happiness

Sa ze kyo i. Bu shi ta-koku. Ken shi gen go. Nyo bu i shi. Zeji sho shi. Mon bu haiso. Shin dai uno. Ni sa ze nen. Nyaku bu zai sha. Jimin gato. No ken kugo. Konja sha ga. On so ta-koku. Ji yui koro. Mu bu jiko. Jo e hikan. Shin zui shogo. Nai chi shi yaku. Shiki ko mimi. Soku shu buku shi. Doku byo kai yu. Go bu mon shi. Shi^chi toku sai. Jin ben rai ki Gen shi ken shi.

"Having given these instructions, he [the excellent physician] then goes off to another land, where he sends a messenger home to announce, 'Your father is dead.'

"At that time the children, hearing that their father has deserted them and died, are filled with great grief and consternation and think to themselves: If our father were alive, he would have pity on us and see that we are protected. But now he has abandoned us and died in some other country far away. We are shelterless orphans with no one to rely on!

"Constantly harboring such feelings of grief, they at last come to their senses and realize that the medicine is in fact excellent in color and fragrance and flavor, and so they take it and are healed of all the effects of the poison. The father, hearing that his children are all cured, immediately returns home and appears to them all once more." (LS16, 228 - 229)

The Bodhisattvas of the Earth Are Messengers Sent by the Buddha

What will become of things after I am gone?" This is the constant thought of a genuine leader. That a leader should attend to the present goes without saying; it is constantly thinking about the future and taking action to perfectly set the stage for future generations that distinguishes an outstanding leader.

Leaders concerned only with their own time are egoists. Those who come after such leaders and future society will suffer.

Simply put, concern for the future defines one's quality of leadership. This is an essential principle, and it holds true in all areas.

The Buddha, moreover, is a great leader among leaders who has stood up for the eternal happiness of all beings. "How can I save people after my passing?" This is the greatest issue facing the Buddha; therein lies his true mission.

The sutra passage "He sends a messenger home to announce. . .," which we are now studying, is the will of Shakyamuni who went to great lengths to clarify this point.

The excellent physician, having prepared the effective medicine and set out on a journey, sends home a messenger who announces to the children that their father has died in the course of his travels.

The children are thunderstruck. Filled with grief, they finally open their eyes and realize that the effective medicine their father left behind is in fact "excellent in color and fragrance and flavor," and they take it. As a result, they are completely cured of the sickness from which they were suffering.

The important point here is that the father induces the children to take the effective medicine by concealing himself. As long as he had remained at their side, the children had refused to take the medicine and simply sank deeper into suffering. Under these circumstances, the father used the expedient means of having someone inform the children that he had died in another land. He could thus finally cause his beloved children to take the medicine and so lead them to happiness.

The excellent physician, needless to say, is Shakyamuni himself, and the children are the people in the world after Shakyamuni's passing.

The children's grief upon hearing the sad news of their father's death --- "We are shelterless orphans with no one to rely on!" --- is the heartfelt cry of people who have lost the Buddha. It could also be said to represent the cry of people today whose lives, cut off from the cool, fresh waters of a reliable philosophy, have become parched and dry.

What, then, is the effective medicine? It is the teaching left behind by the Buddha. It is the Law. According to the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai of China, "highly effective medicine" means the sutras and teachings of the Buddha (Hokke Mongu [Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra]).

In summation, the parable of the excellent physician and his sick children indicates how the Buddha (the excellent physician) uses the expedient means of his death to enable the people in the world after his passing (the children) to believe in the teaching (the effective medicine) he has left behind. This is a restatement of the principal theme of the entire "Life Span of the Thus Come One" (16th) chapter.

The passage "he sends a messenger home to announce" begs the question: Just who exactly is the messenger sent by the excellent physician?

The messenger, bearing the message of the excellent physician, communicates the news of the father's death to the children. Entrusted with the father's spirit to somehow lead the children to happiness, he fulfills a vital role in enabling them to take the medicine.

Perhaps without this messenger the children would have lost their lives on account of the illness. In fact, the messenger represents people with the most important mission from the standpoint of Buddhism. The "messenger [sent] home to announce" represents those who can communicate the correct Buddhist teaching to people after the Buddha's passing; it indicates the "messengers of the Thus Come One" who can spread the hopeful teaching of Buddhism in an age bereft of hope.

Regarding this point, Nichiren Daishonin clearly states, "The 'messenger' in our time refers to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth who will appear in the beginning of the Latter Day" (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, pp. 74 - 75).

"He sends a messenger home to announce" refers to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, who will shoulder the task of propagation after Shakyamuni's death. That these bodhisattvas will gallantly appear in the evil world of the Latter Day, when Shakyamuni's teaching has lost its power to lead people to enlightenment, and spread the effective medicine of the Mystic Law left behind by the Buddha is indeed a message of hope.

On one level, Nichiren Daishonin struggled to spread the Mystic Law as the reincarnation of Bodhisattva Superior Practices (Jogyo), leader of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth.

Needless to say, on the level of the implicit doctrine of the Lotus Sutra, he is the original Buddha who left behind the great beneficial medicine of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo that can lead all people throughout the Latter Day to enlightenment. The Daishonin is himself the "excellent physician" and the "father" of all people.

Accordingly, from this standpoint the messenger is none other than those who advance kosen-rufu in strict accord with the Daishonin's teachings.

On one level as Bodhisattvas of the Earth, and on another as followers of the original Buddha, we are emissaries of the Thus Come One who tell others about the supreme teaching of the Mystic Law and show actual proof of its greatness. This is the honorable status we all enjoy.

Never before in the history of Buddhism has there been a popular movement that has spread the correct Buddhist teaching to such an extent, or led so many people to happiness, as ours. More than anything else, this reality, this role that we have played, attests to the fact that we are the noble emissaries of the Buddha.

Nichiren Daishonin calls out to his disciples:

Now we are at the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law and I, Nichiren, am the first to set out on the worldwide propagation of Myoho-renge-kyo. These five characters are the heart of the Lotus Sutra and the source of the enlightenment of all Buddhas.... My disciples, form your ranks and follow me, and you shall surpass even Mahakashyapa or Ananda, T'ien-t'ai or Dengyo! (MW-I, 176)."

"I have opened the way to world kosen-rufu," the Daishonin says. "My disciples, follow me! And accomplish a great mission surpassing even that of Mahakashyapa and Ananda, T'ien-t'ai or Dengyo!"

As "messengers sent to announce," it is our mission to carry out this spirit of the original Buddha and spread the Mystic Law throughout the entire world.

Even the excellent physician could not have saved the children without a messenger. Similarly, without the popular movement of Bodhisattvas of the Earth who embrace the great effective medicine of the Mystic Law, the people of the sick present age cannot be saved.

Together, let us proudly advance along the glorious path of life of Bodhisattvas of the Earth.

We Are Struggling Solely for the Sake of Living Beings

Sho zen-nanshi. O i unga. Ha u nin no. Sesshi ro-i. Komo zai fu. Hot^cha. Seson. Butsu gon. Ga yaku nyo ze. Jobutsu irai. Muryo muhen. Hyaku sen man noku. Nayuta. Asogi ko. I shujo ko. I hoben-riki. Gon to metsu-do. Yaku mu u no. Nyo ho setsu ga. Komo ka sha. Niji seson. Yoku ju sen shigi. Ni setsu ge gon.

"Good men, what is your opinion? Can anyone say that this skilled physician is guilty of lying?"

"No, World-Honored One."

The Buddha said: "It is the same with me. It has been immeasurable, boundless hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayuta and asamkhya kalpas since I attained Buddhahood. But for the sake of living beings I employ the power of expedient means and say that I am about to pass into extinction. In view of the circumstances, however, no one can say that I have been guilty of lies or falsehoods."

At that time the World-Honored One, wishing to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying.... (LS16, 229)

After concluding the parable of the excellent physician and his sick children, Shakyamuni puts the question to his disciples: "Can anyone say that this skilled physician is guilty of lying?"

"What do you think?" he asks them. "You certainly wouldn't say that he is lying, would you?"

He waits for the disciples to indicate their assent, and then says, "It is the same with me," and goes on to explain his spirit by way of analogy to the excellent physician.

This is another passage conveying the atmosphere of heartfelt give-and-take that Shakyamuni cultivated with his disciples. It certainly was not one-way communication. Shakyamuni was not arbitrary or dogmatic. It is indeed difficult to find leaders with such magnanimity in society today.

Shakyamuni's spirit in expounding his death as an expedient means comes down to the one phrase, "for the sake of living beings." While possessing an immeasurable span of life, to save others he used the power of expedient means to reveal his own extinction.

This spirit of compassion no doubt deeply penetrated the lives of those gathered when he expounded the Law. For those who open-mindedly and wholeheartedly caught the mentor's spirit, Shakyamuni could hardly have appeared guilty of lies or falsehoods. As we learned before, all that the Buddha preaches "is true and not false."

This points to the fundamental difference between an expedient means and a lie. The distinguishing characteristic of an expedient means is that it arises from profound compassion for others, and contributes to improvement in their lives. This is the essential point.

In a general discussion of leadership in society, the German philosopher Karl Jaspers argues: "Both of them, democrat and tyrant, address themselves to the people.... Which of them will meet with success can be decided in each instance only by the people themselves; the decision they reach is a decision over themselves." (1)

Outwardly, democratic leaders and dictators appear similar in that they both appeal to the people.

In every case, therefore, it is ultimately the people themselves who must determine whether leaders' words are true or false. It is the people's choice which direction in which they will advance. Therefore, the only way is for the people themselves to become wise.

And a Buddhist has to speak the truth and spare nothing of his or her life in taking resolute action for the people (i.e., "for the sake of living beings").

In an age swirling with affectation and vanity, the members of the SGI have steadfastly taken action "for the sake of living beings." With confidence in this and while showing splendid proof of this, let us joyfully advance, setting our sights on May 3, 2005.

We will next begin studying the jigage section, which develops the contents of the prose section of the "Life Span" chapter in beautiful verse.

1. Karl Jaspers, The Origin and Goal of History, trans. Michael Bullock (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., 1953), p. 167.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Hope everyone is chanting lots of Daimoku!

Peace!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra (36)

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra (36)

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra
by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda

The 'Jigage' Is a Song in Praise of the 'Greater Self'

The morning sun of the new century has arisen in the sky above the world, and in the great sky of our hearts.

The SGI is the sun of the world. Each of us, therefore, is a sun-like existence. The brilliance of our lives illuminates our homes, our communities and society at large.

The sun burns on its own. It is a scorching ball of fire. Nichiren Daishonin says, "In the breast of the Buddha is a great fire" (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 7, p. 98). It is the fire of great compassion that impels the Buddha to go into the midst of those laboring under suffering and thoroughly burn away their misery. It is the light of the Buddha's great wisdom to lead all people to enlightenment.

The fire of the Buddha continues to burn eternally. It definitely never goes out. The Daishonin says that even if the entire world were underwater and about to be washed away, still this huge fire could not be extinguished (MW-7, 98).

The Buddha continues to illuminate people's lives eternally throughout the future. The source of this light is the "Life Span of the Thus Come One" (16th) chapter of the Lotus Sutra. And the jigage section that concludes the chapter contains the inextinguishable flame of the Buddha's immense compassion and the light of the Buddha's great wisdom.

We will now at last commence our study of the jigage section.

What Is the 'Jigage'?

In the first place, what does ge in jigage mean? It is a transliteration of the Sanskrit term gatha, which is also sometimes rendered as keta or kada. In short, it means "verse."

To put it another way, a text that relates the Buddha's teaching or that praises the virtues of the Buddha and bodhisattvas through verse is termed ge. And ge are Buddhist scriptures that are easily recited and memorized. Since this ge begins with the words ji ga toku burrai, it is called the jigage.

The English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) remarked, "A great poem is a fountain forever overflowing with the waters of wisdom and delight."(1) The jigage is truly an inexhaustible wellspring of wisdom and delight. It is a true paean to freedom.

The benefit that accrues to those who read and recite the jigage is vast and immeasurable.

Nichiren Daishonin says that the jigage "represents the soul of the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra" (MW-7, 111). He also states:
The Buddhas throughout the ten directions looked up to the Jigage as their teacher and attained Buddhahood. The Jigage is like a father and a mother to the persons of the world. A person who embraces the Juryo chapter of the Lotus Sutra is sustaining the life of the Buddhas. (MW-7, 111-12)

He teaches that the lives of all Buddhas of the past, present and future, as well as in the ten directions, flow inexhaustibly through each of our lives. Accordingly, he indicates, to become the enemy of one who embraces the jigage is tantamount to becoming an enemy of all Buddhas over the three existence's of past, present and future.

Just what is the life of the Buddha contained in the jigage that the Daishonin praises so highly?

The prose section of the "Life Span" chapter that we studied last time [Jan. 26 World Tribune] concludes with the words, "At that time the World-Honored One, wishing to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying..." (LS 16, 229).

The teaching that the Buddha expounds in the prose section of the "Life Span" chapter is indeed repeated in the jigage. It might be said that the jigage was born of the Buddha's determined spirit to somehow convey, and enable all people to understand, this teaching.

But the jigage does not only repeat the teaching of the chapter's prose section. The jigage is still more clearly intended for the future and more strongly imbued with the Buddha's compassion.

The 'Jigage' Is Directed Toward the Future, Toward Humankind

The prose section of the "Life Span" chapter reveals Shakyamuni's eternal life. It clarifies that he attained the way long ago, in the remote past, and reveals that he has ceaselessly continued to instruct people in this saha world during the interval since his enlightenment. And for the benefit of future generations, it explains that the Buddha's life span is such that he has "constantly abided here without ever entering extinction" (LS16, 227).

However, the jigage expands further upon these words directed to the future, and lauds still more highly the Buddha's inextinguishable life. This is the interpretation of the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai of China (Hokke Mongu [Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra], vol. 10)

The jigage explains that whenever people seek the Buddha, the Buddha appears in the world, and the land where the Buddha appears becomes a Buddha land of peace and tranquillity.

But if the Buddha constantly abides in this world, without ever entering extinction, then why cannot people see him? And what can they do to become able to see him? This, too, is explained in the jigage. It might be said that the jigage reveals the key to the formation of the profound bond between the Buddha and disciples of seeking mind, the eternal bond of mentor and disciple existing over the three existence's of life. As I mentioned before (Sept. 8, 1995, World Tribune), Shakyamuni starts preaching the "Life Span" chapter in response to a question put to him by Bodhisattva Maitreya. But the "Life Span" chapter taken as a whole was not expounded merely for the benefit of Maitreya and the others assembled there. Rather, it is a teaching clearly intended for the people of later ages, for us.

Accordingly, the true audience of the "Life Span" chapter is composed of all people in the world after Shakyamuni's passing and, in particular, those of the Latter Day of the Law. The jigage is in truth a message for future generations of humankind.

Also, as you know, the final line of the jigage explains the Buddha's constant wish: "How can I cause living beings to gain entry into the unsurpassed way and quickly acquire the body of a Buddha?" (LS 16, 232). The jigage in its entirety exudes the Buddha's compassionate desire to somehow enable all people to establish in their hearts a state of true happiness.

Each word of the jigage is imbued with the Buddha's compassion to enable all people to become Buddhas. From the standpoint of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, everyone is an entity of the Mystic Law; all people are Buddhas. And the jigage praises the benefit we attain when we open our eyes to this truth.

The jigage section of the sutra profoundly calls out to each of us to advance along the path of truth and of genuine happiness --- as clarified in the prose section of the chapter --- that is open to all people.

The Daishonin says that each character of the Lotus Sutra is a "golden Shakyamuni" (MW-5, 164). And he explains that when we read or recite the jigage, whose golden characters number 510, each of these characters become a sun and a Buddha, illuminating all worlds and the entire universe, and leading all people to happiness (MW-7, 113).

The jigage illuminates the lives of all people. Every day in the morning and evening we recite this scripture, the ultimate treasure of humankind. Therefore our benefit is great beyond measure.

Not only do we recite the jigage, but we also practice it and prove its truth. We are communicating and spreading the benefit of the jigage to all people. Nichiren Daishonin and all Buddhas of the three existence's and the 10 directions no doubt praise our efforts. How wonderful! How truly fortunate we are!

The 'Jigage' Represents Oneself

What it means to say that each character is a Buddha is that the jigage expresses the life of the Buddha in its totality.

In the "Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings," Nichiren Daishonin says:

The ji (self) of ji ga toku burrai (since I attained Buddhahood) represents the beginning, while shin (body) of soku joju busshin (quickly acquire the body of a Buddha) represents the end.

In other words, the jigage from beginning to end elucidates the self [because ji plus shin form the word oneself]. (Gosho Zenshu, p. 759)

In other words, the Daishonin teaches that the jigage from beginning to end explains the Buddha's self or life.

Nichiren Daishonin indicates that the body of the jigage in its entirety, coming between the words ji and shin, signifies the actions and conduct of oneself. Thus the "Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings" says, "The jigage section represents the 'body that freely receives and employs,' or the 'body of limitless joy"' (Gosho Zenshu, p. 759).

The body or self that "freely receives and employs" represents realizing that the entire universe is in fact oneself and freely receiving and employing the power of the Mystic Law that is the wellspring of universal life. In other words, the Daishonin here indicates that the jigage expresses the state of life of absolute freedom of the original Buddha himself.

The jigage elucidates the vast and eternal state of life of indestructible happiness that is free of all hindrance and, moreover, exists forever, freely and joyously acting throughout the universe.

The "body that freely receives and employs" also refers to the ordinary outward appearance of the Buddha. It indicates the form of ordinary people as distinguished from that of a Buddha assuming august attributes.

The second Soka Gakkai president, Josei Toda, said that the jigage "is the scripture of the Buddha himself, and the scripture of us ourselves." It might be said that the jigage is a poem that praises the "greater self" and sings of the totally free state of life of this self.

The Daishonin says, "The example of one person represents the impartial truth inherent in all human beings" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 564). The jigage celebrates the self of the original Buddha of kuon ganjo and at the same time praises our own selves.

"One's-self I sing."(2) With these words, Walt Whitman, poet of the American people, begins his paean to humankind, Leaves of Grass.

Whitman, his words full of strength and conviction, sings:

In all people I see myself none more and not one a barley-corn less....
I know I am solid and sound....
I know I am deathless....
I know I am august....
I exist as I am, that is enough.(3)

Whitman, too, perceived a holy and most noble light within the human being, within the self. His spirit truly resonates with that of the jigage. Buddhism teaches the path whereby all people can become aware of this original greater self.

Shortly after he began his journey of propagation, Shakyamuni called out to a youth whom he met in the forest: "Seek out your self!"

"Seek out your self!" "Know your true self!" "Start digging right at your feet!" Herein lies the spring of happiness and the path of hope.

Therefore, President Toda always encouraged people to "live your own life," to "live true to yourself":

Whether you suffer from poverty or failure in business, or you are miserable because of marital discord, or you get injured falling over a charcoal brazier, ultimately all such sufferings are your own life. They are manifestations of the living phenomenon that is your self. When we view things in this way, we see that all occurrences in our daily existence are changes in our lives. The important thing, therefore, is to try to cause more positive changes and ceaselessly make efforts to secure happiness.

So the key is to live true to yourself.... You have to realize that living true to yourself is the only way. To live based on other people or circumstances, always thinking, "Things would be fine if that person would only do such-and-such," or "If the world were only like this then I could be happy," is a mistake, is it not?

No matter where we go, we can never escape from our self. Happiness and misery, everything in life, is contained in the single word oneself. Ultimately, victory or defeat in life comes down to a matter of disciplining and dignifying this inescapable thing that is the self.

A Joyous and Cheerful Year of Great Victory

One must not have a weak self that is blown this way and that depending on the direction of the wind. A person who can profoundly distinguish between true and false and who possesses a solid self will not be swayed by trivial rumors and hearsay.

We have to develop a towering self. The jigage praises the wonder and greatness of the true self, of the self that basks in the realization: "I am originally a Buddha!"

Last year when I visited Nepal, I spoke with some children of a local village near Katmandu on a hill commanding a fine view of the Himalayas.

They were all intelligent and charming. Their faces were radiant and their eyes shone. I said to them: "The Buddha was raised in view of the great Himalayas. He strove to become as great as these mountains. He cultivated himself to become a person of victory and towering majesty."

"Construct a self that is as majestic as the Himalayas!" This is the spirit of Buddhism. We can all definitely develop a self that is crowned with such victory.

This year, while joyously singing a song, while cheerfully humming the poem of life, let's advance with composure and dignity --- for the betterment of our own lives, for the happiness of others, and for world peace.

Our conduct is a great poem in praise of the self that shines eternally over the three existences.


Notes:

1. Percy Bysshe Shelley, Shelley's Defence of Poetry, ed. H.F.B. Brett-Smith (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1923), p. 48.
2. Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass (London: Everyman's Library, 1947), p. 1.
3. Ibid., p. 41.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra (37)

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra (37)

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra
by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda

We Can Attain the Buddha's Vast State of Life

Ji ga toku burrai. Sho kyo sho kosshu. Muryo hyaku sen man. Oku sai asogi. Jo seppo kyoke. Mushu oku shujo. Ryo nyu o butsu-do. Nirai muryo ko.

Since I attained Buddhahood
the number of kalpas that have passed
is an immeasurable hundreds, thousands, ten thousands,
millions, trillions, asamkhyas.
Constantly I have preached the Law, teaching, converting
countless millions of living beings,
causing them to enter the Buddha way,
all this for immeasurable kalpas. (LS16, 229)

Exactly a year has now passed since the Great Hanshin Earthquake. All too many precious lives were lost in that disaster, and there was all too much suffering. Never again should such a calamity occur.

From the bottom of my heart, I offer my profound condolences to those affected by the disaster and express my sympathies for the toils of those earnestly struggling for the region's reconstruction.

Every day I sincerely pray for the repose of those who lost their lives. And I am resolved to continue doing so henceforth.

The Kansai spirit is imperishable. Fight on, Hyogo! Carry on the struggle, Kansai! I will continue crying out, on your behalf, at the top of my lungs. I will continue sending you daimoku.

The Lotus Sutra is a scripture of revitalization: "Myo means to revive, that is, to return to life" (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 3, p. 23). The Mystic Law embodies hope, courage and confidence. The members of Kansai are now proving for us the great power of the Mystic Law, the great power of life. They are a light of hope for the entire world.

Today let us study a hope filled passage from this scripture of revitalization. We now commence our study of the jigage.

The Buddha Eternally Endowed With the Ten Worlds

As I mentioned last time (Feb. 2 World Tribune), the jigage explains matters pertaining to the Buddha himself. However, Josei Toda, the second Soka Gakkai president, made it a point to stress that the text can be read in two ways.

From a literal standpoint, "Since I attained Buddhahood" (ji ga toku burrai) means: since Shakyamuni became a Buddha. But a more profound meaning is found in the text when we interpret it from the standpoint of its implicit meaning.

Regarding the words "attained Buddhahood," my mentor taught: "The state of Buddhahood is not something that comes to us from without. Rather, this passage clearly describes the function of the Buddha that bounds forth from within our own lives."

In other words, from the standpoint of the sutra's literal meaning, this passage refutes the view that Shakyamuni attained enlightenment for the first time during his lifetime in India and clarifies that he in fact attained Buddhahood in the remote past, reiterating the teaching articulated earlier in the chapter that the Buddha's life is eternal.

But from the standpoint of its implicit meaning, this passage teaches that all people's lives are eternally endowed with the Buddha's three bodies or enlightened properties.

In the "Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings," Nichiren Daishonin indicates that this passage "refers to the three bodies of a Buddha" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 756). This passage elucidates the three bodies that are the fundamental life of the Buddha, and indicates that since the beginningless past of kuon ganjo, our lives, too, have been endowed with these three bodies. This is the meaning of the passage in the Daishonin's Buddhism.

In terms of the view of life's eternity expounded in the "Life Span of the Thus Come One" (16th) chapter, the world of Buddhahood, as well as the nine worlds, are inherent and simultaneously present in life. The Daishonin interprets ji ga toku burrai as meaning, "The Buddha endowed with both the nine worlds and Buddhahood has come [to this world]" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 756).

From the standpoint of the passage's implicit meaning, the Buddha who attained enlightenment in the remote past did not "become" a Buddha by having eradicated the nine worlds, but simultaneously possesses both the nine worlds and the world of Buddhahood. This is termed "eternally endowed with the ten worlds."

"Eternally endowed" means originally or inherently possessing. It describes the original essence of life that "was not worked for, that was not improved upon, but that exists just as it always has" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 759). This is also termed kuon or "uncreated." It is the original and true aspect of life just as it is.

To manifest the essence of life that exists just as it is means to develop and utilize fully the power inherent in our lives.

To illustrate, after a severe winter, fresh young shoots soon emerge. The tender new flora grow at a frantic pace and glisten in the morning sunlight. There is nothing the least halfhearted or tentative in their appearance. There is nothing whimsical or snide about them. Each moment, they live life to the fullest. They certainly don't become stubborn and inflexible. Through and through, they live true to themselves. As a result they shine, and achieve a marvelous harmony with everything around them.

This is the condition of life that the French author Romain Rolland (1866-1944) describes when he writes: "I have gained my own fulfillment! I have won mastery over my self! What possession could compare to this." (1)

What's more, we who have encountered the Mystic Law can open up our original selves and make our lives shine eternally. What a tremendous privilege this is! How truly fortunate we are!

I will never forget President Toda lecturing on this passage [ji ga toku burrai] of the jigage. It was truly a great lecture.

"All of you, circle the characters ji (I) and toku (attained)," Mr. Toda said, his slightly hoarse voice resounding through the room. Everyone circled the two characters with their pencils. Some had a look of fascination, while others looked incredulous, with an expression that seemed to say, "Why are you having us do this?" President Toda gazed about the room, taking in everyone's reaction.

Then he continued:
When we put these two words together, we get "self-attained" (jitoku), and what is left over is "I, the Buddha, come" (ga burrai). "I" indicates the Dharma body or property of the Law; "Buddha" the bliss body or property of wisdom; and "come" the manifested body or property of action. In other words, these stand for the Buddha's three bodies or enlightened properties. So from the standpoint of the Daishonin's Buddhism, ji ga toku burrai means to attain, on one's own, the three enlightened properties .

"We attain, on our own, the Buddha's three enlightened properties." When we heard this, everyone was taken aback. In the phrase ji ga toku burrai, which we had read many times without clearly understanding, the two characters ji and toku now stood out conspicuously. He thus taught that Buddhahood is a state of life we achieve from within; that Buddhahood inherently exists within our own lives. And the participants could fully grasp his meaning.

President Toda's lecture was pervaded with his sincere wish to somehow teach us that all people are originally Buddhas, that ordinary people who chant the Mystic Law are Buddhas.

This was also Nichiren Daishonin's spirit. The Daishonin's free and nondogmatic interpretation of the Lotus Sutra in the "Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings," from the standpoint of the revitalization of the human being, is truly the crystallization of his immense compassion.

Let us now turn once again to the three bodies.

The Dharma body or property of the Law is the Mystic Law itself, the eternal and unchanging truth. Since this is the original entity of the self, it corresponds to ga (self) in ga burrai.

The bliss body is the Buddha's property of wisdom to awaken to the Mystic Law, and the benefit with which a Buddha is endowed in reward for awakening to the Law. Since a Buddha is someone awakened to his or her original self, the bliss body corresponds to butsu (Buddha) [which, in combination with rai, contracts to form burrai].

The manifested body indicates the Buddha's actions to lead people to enlightenment. Fundamentally, such actions arise from the Buddha's compassion. Since the Buddha appears where there are people, this body corresponds to rai (come).

These three bodies are the inherent properties of Shakyamuni who attained enlightenment in the remote past.

Dwelling at one with the eternal Law, the Buddha employs boundless wisdom and manifests immeasurable benefit to eternally lead all people to happiness. This Buddha who eternally leads people to enlightenment is Shakyamuni who attained enlightenment in the remote past. And Nichiren Daishonin is the Buddha who attained on his own the inherent and uncreated three bodies of the Buddha.

The three bodies represent the inherent power in one's life to enjoy one's existence to the fullest and lead others to happiness through the Mystic Law. To awaken to the true self that yearns for the happiness of oneself and others is the greatest of all joys, and the greatest peace of mind.

The "Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings" explains that we who follow the Daishonin are Buddhas originally possessing the three bodies: "Now when Nichiren and his followers chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they are acting as votaries of the phrase 'Since I attained Buddhahood' (ji ga toku burrai)" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 756).

When we chant the Mystic Law and carry out the practice for ourselves and others, we can attain the three bodies inherent in our lives. We can realize the same state of life as the Daishonin.

The three bodies become manifest in the lives of those who fight against adversity and struggle for kosen-rufu as Bodhisattvas of the Earth.

When friends suffer, we cannot stand by doing nothing. We cannot pretend not to notice. We take action for those around us --- even to the point of forgetting about our own immediate difficulties. The SGI is a gathering of such heroes and heroines of the people.

This was certainly evident in our fellow members' actions in Kansai at the time of the Great Hanshin Earthquake. "Defeat is unthinkable!" --- this was their spirit. Everyone was faced with calamitous circumstances, but they took action, wringing out every ounce of strength. Their actions, words and gestures of encouragement were sources of hope and courage to countless others.

Members sincerely turned to the Gohonzon to chant daimoku for suffering friends, even forgetting the passage of time. And, on seeing friends' agonized faces, they offered them words imbued with confidence and courage: "It's going to be all right. We can definitely overcome this!" The members were not directed to do this by anyone. Nor, for that matter, on the orders of someone else could people be expected to exert themselves so tirelessly.

When we are caught up in what others think, in formality or appearances, we cannot manifest the power eternally inherent in our lives. But we can manifest such power when we earnestly dedicate ourselves to others and to kosen-rufu.

The Buddha originally endowed with the three bodies --- the limitless power inherent in life --- vibrantly manifests in a person of such spirit, single-minded determination, and action.

In whom, if not in such a person, could the Buddha possibly appear? Just whom could the "Buddha endowed with the three bodies" possibly indicate? It is our lives that are described by the passage in the "Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings" that says:

The attainment of the Buddha Way takes millions of kalpas, but when you exert tremendous effort toward this goal with unwavering faith [in the Gohonzon], the three inherent bodies of the Buddha are manifested in an instant. (Gosho Zenshu, p. 790)

We ourselves can manifest the eternally inherent three bodies, the vast state of life of the Buddha. This is a state of life seldom attained even when sought, a state of life so grand that the very idea of seeking it rarely even occurs to people. Through the single word faith, through steadfastly embracing the Mystic Law, we can attain, on our own our inherent Buddhahood. As the sutra says, "This cluster of unsurpassed jewels has come to us unsought" (LS4, 87).

In our hearts we possess the supreme treasure. The courage to face any difficulty, boundless hope, burning passion and inexhaustible wisdom --- all of these are facets of the "originally inherent jewel" in our lives. Those who forge ahead in faith with this confidence are Buddhas. Their lives turn into "clusters of unsurpassed jewels." In lifetime after lifetime and world after world, they are people of wealth and influence, leading lives of great fulfillment.

Ultimately, Buddhahood is attained on one's own, not through someone else. It is something we achieve through our own efforts. Through faith in the Mystic Law, we can definitely manifest the great state of absolute freedom of the eternal and undying self. This is the essence of the jigage and the conclusion the "Life Span" chapter puts forth.


Notes:

1. Aisurukoto --- Romain Rolland no kotoba (To Love and To Live --- Words from Romain Rolland), trans. and ed. by Yuzura Ninagawa (Tokyo: Shakaishisosha, 1984), p. 81.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

We ourselves can manifest the eternally inherent three bodies, the vast state of life of the Buddha. This is a state of life seldom attained even when sought, a state of life so grand that the very idea of seeking it rarely even occurs to people. Through the single word faith, through steadfastly embracing the Mystic Law, we can attain, on our own our inherent Buddhahood. As the sutra says, "This cluster of unsurpassed jewels has come to us unsought" (LS4, 87).

In our hearts we possess the supreme treasure. The courage to face any difficulty, boundless hope, burning passion and inexhaustible wisdom --- all of these are facets of the "originally inherent jewel" in our lives. Those who forge ahead in faith with this confidence are Buddhas. Their lives turn into "clusters of unsurpassed jewels." In lifetime after lifetime and world after world, they are people of wealth and influence, leading lives of great fulfillment.

This sums it all up in two paragraphs. Those with faith will chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and understand what the above is saying. Others will read words and judge them without this missing ingredient of faith. The perceptions will be completely different. I hope anyone curious enough to be reading this, has faith to include the vital ingredient for comprehension of what is truely being conveyed.

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra (38)

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra (38)

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra
by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda

Strong are Those Who Continually Base Themselves on the Gohonzon

I do shujo ko. Hoben gen nehan. Ni jitsu fu metsu-do. Jo ju shi seppo. Ga jo ju o shi. I sho jin-zu-riki Ryo tendo shujo. Sui gon ni fu ken.

In order to save living beings,
as an expedient means I appear to enter nirvana
but in truth I do not pass into extinction.
I am always here, preaching the Law.
I am always here,
but through my transcendental powers
I make it so that living beings in their befuddlement
do not see me even when close by. (LS16, 229)

The Buddha Appears To Die As an Expedient Means

A great movement of discussion meetings, a flowering of human dialogue, is now unfolding throughout the length and breadth of Japan.

The discussion meeting is a wonderful forum of life. Where there is such joy, excitement, bounding vigor and solidarity of faith in the Gohonzon, the Buddhist gods of the universe all assemble, and the Buddhas and bodhisattvas envelop everyone in good fortune and benefit. Through such vibrant life-to-life interaction, the SGI is rapidly increasing in brilliance and strength.

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and Josei Toda, the first and second Soka Gakkai presidents, no doubt rejoice at this harmonious solidarity. And Nichiren Daishonin surely praises all of you.

Once again, together let us study the Buddhist doctrine of life.

'As an Expedient Means I Appear To Enter Nirvana'

Shakyamuni, who attained Buddhahood in the remote past of gohyaku-jintengo, is the Buddha who eternally leads people to enlightenment over the three existences of past, present and future. Why does a Buddha, whose life is eternal, pass into extinction?

The answer is that he does so as an expedient means "in order to save living beings." In other words, the Buddha enters nirvana (that is, passes into extinction or dies) as an expedient means to lead people to enlightenment.

Nirvana indicates a state of tranquillity achieved by overcoming earthly desires. The Hinayana teachings, moreover, put forth the goal of "complete nirvana" attained by not only overcoming earthly desires of the mind, but by freeing oneself from the influence of the physical body itself, through death. For this reason, a Buddha's death was referred to as entering nirvana.

But the "Life Span of the Thus Come One" (16th) chapter of the Lotus Sutra indicates that the Buddha only appears to pass into extinction or enter nirvana as an expedient means. The truth is that, out of his compassion and wisdom, he eternally continues working to lead all people to happiness.

The profound stability of the Buddha's life derives from his ceaseless activity to save people --- just as the stability of a top derives from the rapidity of its spin. The Buddha's state of life, pervaded with compassion and wisdom, is one of absolute serenity and tranquillity.

True nirvana lies not in physical and spiritual extinction, but in the perfection of wisdom. Perfect wisdom is limitless and works in conjunction with compassion; it manifests as the Buddha's eternal activity to lead people to happiness. The sutra passage mentions the Buddha's "transcendental powers." Fundamentally, these are a function of the "compassion at one with wisdom" with which the Buddha's eternal life is endowed.

From the standpoint of the Daishonin's Buddhism, this perfect wisdom is an original attribute of our lives. We are eternally endowed with the Buddha's three enlightened properties. Those who have forgotten this original self are, as the sutra says, "befuddled."

The Buddha Is like a Concerned Parent Watching Over His Children

To the Buddha, "living beings in their befuddlement" are like children who have not yet reached the age of discernment.

Mischievous children may resent and feel constrained by a parent who constantly watches over them. But if the parent momentarily disappears from the child's sight, the child cries out for and tries to find him or her.

Similarly, only when the Buddha passes into extinction can befuddled people truly appreciate their fortune in having encountered the Buddha. He regards all people as his own children. Like a parent, the Buddha understands the people well and exerts himself in various ways on their behalf, employing all manner of expedient means. And passing into extinction is the ultimate expedient means at the Buddha's disposal.

The Buddha in fact constantly watches over the people, close at their side. He is "always here, preaching the Law," but purposely does not allow himself to be seen. Thus Shakyamuni says he makes it so that people "do not see me even when close by."

Why does the Buddha go to such lengths? It is necessary in order to awaken people to their true selves and enable them to become self-reliant.

Continuing this parent-child analogy, it is as though the Buddha is humoring us by playing a game of peek-a-boo or hide-and-seek.

Such games are thought to be very important for the psychological development of children. They cultivate a sense of assurance and trust that even though someone is not immediately visible, they are still somewhere, and will definitely reappear.

The development of such awareness gives rise to the power of self-reliance. In a sense, the parent dwells within the child's heart. In the child's heart there is someone in whom the child can firmly believe, even though that person may not presently be there. And as a result, the child becomes able to take action with a sense of freedom and self-assurance.

This principle remains operative even after we become adults. The sense of absolute peace of mind and unshakable trust we have when we know that someone will understand our efforts whether or not anyone else pays attention --- that there is someone in whom we can place our wholehearted trust --- is a source of great encouragement and, above all, strength.

And our relationship with the Buddha is not limited to this lifetime alone. The parent who constantly watches over the people is the eternal Buddha revealed in the "Life Span" chapter.

Yet befuddled people cannot even see the Buddha existing in their own hearts. For this reason, Nichiren Daishonin inscribed the life of the Buddha --- his own identity --- in the form of the Gohonzon. And this Gohonzon serves as a mirror for us to see the Gohonzon existing within ourselves.

In the Gosho "On the Treasure Tower," Nichiren Daishonin writes:
Abutsu-bo is the Treasure Tower itself, and the Treasure Tower is Abutsu-bo himself.... You, yourself, are a true Buddha who possesses the three enlightened properties. You should chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with this conviction. Then, the place wherein you dwell and chant daimoku is the place of the Treasure Tower. (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 30)

When we reverently pray to the Gohonzon, we manifest the life of the Gohonzon in ourselves. Illuminated by the mirror of the Gohonzon, the world of Buddhahood within spontaneously rises to the surface.

The Gohonzon, embodying the Daishonin's very soul, is the essence of the Buddha's life. Even though the Buddha is always here in the world in the form of the Gohonzon, unless people have faith, the Gohonzon will only appear to them as mere paper or wood. But it is in fact the embodiment of the noble life of the Buddha.

Regarding "always here" in the passage "I am always here, preaching the Law," the "Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings" says: "'Always here' refers to the place where the votaries of the Lotus Sutra abide. 'Here' is the saha world" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 756).

The Buddha is present wherever a person of action overcomes difficulties based on faith and correctly advances in life.

Regarding "preaching the Law," the "Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings" says: "'Preaching the Law' is the sound of the words of all living beings as they preach the Law through the wisdom that is freely received and employed, a part of their original make-up. Now that we have entered the Latter Day of the Law, preaching the Law means [chanting] Nam-myoho-renge-kyo" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 756).

The Buddha of limitless joy (the Buddha of compassion, at one with wisdom, who freely receives and employs the benefit of the Mystic Law) manifests in the lives of those who chant daimoku to the Gohonzon. In other words, the Daishonin teaches that by basing ourselves on faith we can tap the wisdom of the Buddha and manifest in our lives the Buddha's benefit.

When we have absolute confidence that we can overcome any and all sufferings through faith in the Gohonzon, our lives are bathed in the light of boundless hope, and limitless strength wells forth. This is the strongest and most secure way of life.

The passage "as an expedient means I appear to enter nirvana," according to President Toda, "sheds light on the question of why we die even though life is eternal." He taught that, viewed from the eternal state of one who perceives the oneness of birth and death, death is an expedient means.

President Toda often compared death to sleep. When we have been awake for a long time, we tire and go to sleep. And when we wake up after a sound sleep, our vitality is restored. After we have been alive for a long time, we grow weary and die. And then we set out on a new life with a fresh spirit.

Death is a period of "recharging" for our next existence. Those who dedicate themselves to the Mystic Law are immediately reborn, and in their new existences they rejoin their comrades struggling for kosen-rufu. They can lead fulfilling lives of mission according to their desires.

In Buddhism, therefore, there is neither fear of death, nor a defiant attitude toward death accompanied by sense of resignation. Firmly fixing our eyes on the truth that death is an expedient means, we can live through everything with dignity and composure. This is the way of life of a Buddhist. We can live with unremitting spirit and vigor in this lifetime and in every lifetime over the three existences.

However, as President Toda emphasized, even though life is eternal, our rebirth does not entail any discontinuity from one existence to the next.

From existences past to the present, and from the present to the future, our lives are continuous. The law of cause and effect operates eternally over past, present and future. The good and evil causes engraved in our lives do not simply disappear.

President Toda taught that after we die, our lives merge with and melt into the universe:

While our lives melt into the universe, they do not blend in with the lives of others. Each life retains its integrity and experiences joy or sadness depending on the person's actions while alive --- as though crying or laughing in a dream. And then, like someone waking up from a dream on account of some disturbance, a person is born once again in concordance with the proper external causes.

Therefore, we must not give up in this life using the rationale that "there's always my next lifetime." Nor can irresponsible or erratic behavior be justified on the grounds that "you only live once."

One's actions in previous existences are all engraved and contained in this lifetime. The causes for our present suffering or joy, happiness or misery, all lie in our own past actions.

But the Daishonin's Buddhism enables us to fundamentally reform our destiny. When we truly base ourselves on Buddhism's view of life's eternity, we realize the first thing to change is how we live in the present.

When we pray to the Gohonzon, change arises from the depths of our being. Strong, pure vitality abundantly wells forth. The iron chains of destiny are cut, and our original identity, the fresh and robust world of Buddhahood, appears.

Carrying out our human revolution means always living with exactly such new vitality.