Contemplation: Wishing Together

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

Wishing together with all sentient beings:
Do not commit evil.
Do everything that is good.
Purify the mind.
This is the teaching of all the Buddhas.

Shichi Butsu Tsukaige (excerpt), as recited at Tendai Buddhist Institute

New Year's Eve, 2013 with the Sangha

We will meet for meditation, teachings, and socializing on New Year's Eve 2013, starting at 7:30pm in our usual Tuesday evening location in the Walden Room of the UUCA.  Bring in the new year with a bodhisattva's pure intention:  could there be a better way to do it?

Of course, everyone is welcome to join us for this event and all our regular activities.

Other sangha festivities may follow at a different venue.  I hope to see you there.

Coming Attractions: Series on the Bodhisattva Precepts

In 2013, our Sunday morning Dharma talks and discussions will be centered around a text known as the Brahma Net Sutra, translated most recently into English by Martine Batchelor and published as The Path of Compassion (available at Amazon and other fine retailers; check bookfinder.com for used copies). 

This text is of central importance to us for practical reasons.  It directs our attention to the fundamental matter of conducting ourselves as bodhisattvas in the world.  We will use this text to provoke this question from many different perspectives:  how ought one to conduct one's life, to act in the world, in order to fulfill the Buddha-path?

Also, this text is of great historical and doctrinal importance to Tendai Buddhism.  The founder of our school in Japan, Saicho (also known as Dengyo Daishi, as he is referred to in our sutra service), built the training and ordination program that became the Tendai school on the foundation of the Brahma Net Precepts.  One might say that the specific characteristics of Tendai Buddhism, this is among the most distinctive.  The Brahma Net Precepts are big part of what make Tendai Buddhism Tendai Buddhism.

Martine Batchelor's translation of this sutra is valuable to us for a number of reasons.  The introduction is lengthy, and while it is particularly appropriate for beginners, experienced practitioners will also learn from it.  I encourage everyone to find a copy, read it, reflect on it seriously, and join us for a discussion on this remarkable cluster of teachings. 

It is not necessary to "do the homework" to participate in and benefit from the Dharma discussion.  But as with so many Dharma practices, you get out of it what you put into it...

I look forward to cultivating the highest intentions for 2014 with you.

Schedule Changes over the Holidays

Our sangha's practice schedule will be altered somewhat due to my travel plans over the holidays.  For the last two Sundays in December 2013 (the 22nd and the 29th), Junsen Nettles will lead meditation practice in lieu of the sutra chanting service at Yoga in Daily Life, at the usual time of 9:30am.  I will return to lead the sutra chanting service on January 5, 2014.

Regarding Tuesday evening meditation at the UUCA:  we will not meet Tuesday, December 24 of this year, which is Christmas Eve.  Meditation will resume the following Tuesday as is our wont.

Finally, we are preparing something special for December 31 (a Tuesday this year).  Expect an announcement describing this soon.

Thanks!

Contemplation: Awaken! Take Heed!

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

Let me respectfully remind you:
Life and death are of supreme importance.
Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost.
Each of us should strive to awaken.
Awaken!
Take heed.  Do not squander your life.

The "Evening Gatha" as recited at Tendai Buddhist Institute

No Meditation This Evening

Due to inclement weather, tonight's meditation service at the UUCA will be cancelled.  Please practice at home and stay off the icy roads, especially after dark.  We look forward to seeing you Sunday morning for the sutra service.

Contemplation: Not Easy

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

Spiritual growth is not easy, it is not intended to be a hobby or an activity for dilettantes.  Tendai Buddhadharma is a sacred path that leads to a better life and world.

Monshin Naamon, from the paper "Tendai Overseas and its Future"

***

Here is a brief overview and discussion of the relevant papers given at the recent Symposium on Tendai Buddhism outside Japan.  Enjoy.

Contemplation: Basis of International Tendai

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

I propose the basis of International Tendai, for laity and ordained, should be awakening of the participant through practices, devotion, and study. This in turn leads to positive contributions to self, family, society, and the environment, engaged service to others, integration of the sacred and the provisional to attain peace and equanimity on earth and an assurance of liberation, now and in the future.

from the paper "Tendai Overseas and its Future" by Monshin Paul Naamon, given at the Commemorative Special Symposium for the 40th Anniversary of Tendai Buddhism Overseas, near Mt Hiei, Japan.  

Programming Notice: Off to Japan

Jikan will be away from the blog and out of town (in Japan actually) until late Saturday, back in time to lead next Sunday's service. 

Coming Events: Potluck at Chez Jikan

I hope you can join us for sangha togetherness and sangha food at 6pm on Sunday, 8 December, at our residence in Alexandria.  What to bring?  Yourself and, if you like, some food (meatless dishes please).  Please RSVP to Jikan at JikanAnderson at gmail.com and ask for directions to our place if you need them.

This is how we will commemorate Rohatsu this year.

Contemplation: Leading...

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

The Tathagatas of past, present, and future intrinsically lead sentient beings to be exposed to the Buddha's knowledge and insight and attain the patience which comes from [realizing the truth of] non-arising.  [The Buddha] appears in this world due to the conditioned co-arising of his great deeds.

Great Master Chih-i, quoted in Paul L. Swanson's Foundations of T'ien-T'ai Philosophy, p. 248.

***

Find here:  many helpful resources for beginners

Contemplation: What is there to Gain?

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

Wandering beings, thus, resemble dreams
And also the banana tree, if you examine well.
No difference is there, in their own true nature,
Between the states of suffering and beyond all sorrow.

Thus, with things devoid of true existence,
What is there to gain, and what to lose?
Who is there to pay me court and honors,
And who is there to scorn and to revile me?

Pain and pleasure, whence do these arise?
And what is there to give me joy and sorrow?
In this quest and search for perfect truth,
Who is craving, what is there to crave?

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 158

Contemplation: Generate This Wisdom

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

 All these branches of the doctrine
The Powerful Lord expounded for the sake of wisdom.
Therefore they must generate this wisdom
Who wish to have an end to suffering.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 137

Contemplation: The Pain of Others

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

...therefore I'll dispel the pain of others
For it is simply pain, just like my own.
And others I will aid and benefit,
For they are living beings, just like me.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 123

Contemplation: The Sunlight of a Cloudless Sky

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

Why does the mind, intent on filthiness,
Neglect the fresh young lotus blossom,
Opened in the sunlight of a cloudless sky,
To take joy rather in a sack of dirt?

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 118

Contemplation: Worldly People

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

One moment friends,
The next, they're bitter enemies.
Even pleasant things arouse their discontent.
Worldly people--hard it is to please them!

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 111

***

Reminder: Join our BigTent group here!

An Introduction to the Sutra Service; Or, There Are No "Empty" Rituals

We have begun practicing our sutra service on Sunday mornings (and I hope you can join us).  I would like to offer a few words of introduction and description of the service in order to show how it works as a meditation practice, and how it can inform one's everyday life in a way that is deeply meaningful and helpful to oneself and others.  This is important because many of our sangha members have not had the opportunity to participate in this type of practice yet, due to limitations on our space and time that are no longer relevant.

I should address the sentiment I often hear from people who are interested in Buddhism but positively averse to anything that resembles a "ritual."  In our practice, there are no "empty rituals;" we are not indulging in some kind of rote exercise in followerdom or, what may be worse, lux exoticism.  On the contrary:  all Buddhist practices (and for that matter nearly everything we do on a day-to-day basis) are precisely rituals that make meaning for us, that give some kind of insight into how to conduct our lives.  The purpose of engaging in them is not to act the part of the Better Buddhist; Lisa Bright at Earth Sangha is right to insist that Buddhism, in the end, is not about Buddhism, but about the big picture.

Listen:  The purpose of engaging in these practices, the sutra service included, is to make it possible for us to be less and less bound by forces of habit that are out of our control, and more and more capable of conducting ourselves in an awake and creative way in every moment. 

The sutra service shows us how to do that, how to actualize our capacity for awakening in each moment.  It gives an outline for how to transform one's day, week, and year into an intentional practice, meditation-in-action, enlightened conduct.  It takes little imagination to see how the pieces fit together, especially with a few pointers.

After the service opens, the leader and the sangha take on the character of a chorus.  We recite all this together harmoniously.  From the start, the sutra service is an exercise in taking refuge in the right things (the wisdom of the three jewels) and not the wrong ones (distractions, harmful habits, untrustworthy projects of this world).  The service begins with this decision regarding what we, as a group value.  We choose to value the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha's teachings.  And we choose to value each other.  We recite together certain verses that have Japanese titles for convenience (translation for these would be cumbersome and inelegant), but we recite the verses themselves in English.  Here are the main points, in order (and there is a logic to the order in which we recite these--it is not as though this is a random assortment of pieties, as some may assume):

Sangemon. Here, we take honest stock of ourselves:  where we have been, and where we are going.  We recognize the habits of body, speech, and mind that are not helpful to ourselves or others (think, for instance, of envy, pride, hatred, greediness, closed-mindedness...), and we affirm that we do not wish to follow that path any longer.  Instead, we wish to do the next part:

Kaikyoge.  In this verse we rejoice in the opportunity to cultivate the qualities of wisdom and compassion.  This opportunity is not to be taken for granted, so we affirm that we will open our minds and seek the root while we can in the here and now.  We cultivate the aspiration to Wake Up.

What we have done so far sets the foundation for anything else one might do.  If one reflects on Sangemon and Kaikyoge at the start of one's day, then anything else one might do becomes a form of meditation insofar as one is able to maintain the thread of awareness and to keep the aspiration going.  This is one way in which the formal service can teach us a thing or two.  For the purposes of the service, the Thing To Do is to recite a selection of the Buddha's teachings, affirming, again, that this is what we value and what we wish to cultivate in ourselves and in our world.  Hence:

The Sutra.  Usually, we recite the Heart Sutra in our service.  Tendai temples usually recite the Lotus Sutra (selections of it) and the Amitabha Sutra as well, among others.  The point is that in announcing the teachings of the Buddha, we become like a chorus of Buddhas, telling the truth  about our condition.  After this and one or two other elements like it...

Hogo.  This verse looks back into historical time, to our spiritual ancestors Shakyamuni Buddha, Chih-i (sometimes spelled Zhiyi and referred to as Tendai Daishi), and Saicho (sometimes referred to as Dengyo Daishi).  All three of them told the truth in difficult times.  In spirit, we are looking back in history to all those men and women who have affirmed the path of wisdom and compassion, and showing gratitude and respect.  The last line of the verse looks to the future; we affirm our intention to bring this path forward into time, benefiting all.

Soeko closes the chanting portion of the service.  In this verse, we dedicate the merits of the practice we have done.  What does that mean?  When one does anything virtuous, a certain sort of positive energy or momentum is generated.  Then what?  We could choose to be stingy and horde all that positivity to ourselves, claiming for ourselves whatever good comes of it.  Or we could be negligent and just let it dissipate into nothingness.  Instead of these alternatives, we choose to share it and multiply it by affirming that these merits belong to all of animated life, so that together, we may "progress along the Buddha path of liberation."

Just as we close the service with Hogo and Soeko, one can close one's day reflecting a sense of gratitude into the past, and a sense of purpose into the future, and dedicate whatever virtuous acts one has engaged in to the benefit of all:  may these deeds become a cause for the awakening of all beings.  With this attitude, each day can become a meaningful ritual rather than a jumbled and out-of-control series of actions imposed on you; one can reflect back on each day without regret at having wasted time or opportunity.

And that is why I say that the sutra service demonstrates or models the Buddhist path of meditation in action.  It shows how to lay the groundwork for a life that has purpose, dignity, and joy.  And that is why I encourage everyone to participate fully in the sutra service.  (I should add, parenthetically, that there is much more to discover in the service than what I have gestured toward here...)

Enjoy your practice!

Contemplation: The Great Cloud (Redux)

Review the guidelines for practice and take this up as your object of contemplation:

The teaching of the Buddhas
Is always of one flavor
And fulfills the entire world.
Anyone who practices little by little
Obtains the fruit of the path.
O Kashyapa,
The Dharma which the Buddha teaches
Is just like the great cloud which enriches human flowers
With the rain of one flavor,
So that each attains its fruits.
O Kashyapa!
You should know that I reveal the Buddha-path
Using various explanations and illustrations
And that this is my skillful means.
All of the Buddhas are just like this.
I will now teach the highest truth for your sake:
There are no shravakas who attain Nirvana.
What you practice is the bodhisattva-path;
And if you practice step by step,
You will all become Buddhas.

excerpted from The Lotus Sutra, chapter 5, as recited at the Tendai Buddhist Institute

***

Join us at our BigTent group!

Goodbye, YahooGroups. Hello, BigTent.

For several years now, we have used YahooGroups to maintain our email list and to organize ourselves for events.  This is no longer possible because YahooGroups has become entirely useless for these purposes.  To give some idea of the kinds of difficulties we have had with YahooGroups, two longstanding members of our sangha have been unable to participate in it, and new people who are interested in joining are systematically turned away.  This is completely unacceptable.

Hence, starting now, we are migrating away from YahooGroups and toward a site called BigTent.  You can find our BigTent group here.  If you are currently receiving emails from our Yahoo Group, you will receive an invitation from me to join the BigTent group on Monday, 7 October.  I encourage anyone who is interested in these teachings to join the BigTent group, explore it, and participate. 

Thank you for your understanding and forbearance as we navigate the difficult terrain of contemporary technology.

Complete Lotus Sutra Study Guide Now Available

Earlier this year, our sangha read the Lotus Sutra together chapter by chapter.  I posted some guidance for each week's reading on this very blog.  Taken together, these offer a useful if informal approach to reading this fundamental Buddhist scripture.  I put them together in this document (just follow the links) in exactly that spirit.

I hope this is useful and helps people actualize the heart of the teachings of the Lotus Sutra in their everyday lives.  Enjoy!

The Six Paramitas: An Introduction

A few years back, I wrote brief introductions for each of the Six Paramitas, which are fundamental aspects to the spiritual path.  This is where beginners are often asked to begin in Mahayana Buddhism, even though one may have been exposed to teachings such as the Four Noble Truths in their religions-of-the-world survey course.  These Six offer a straightforward and accessible way to get going and keep going in practice.  I encourage you to familiarize yourself with them and cultivate them as best you can.  Follow the links below for details:

Introduction:  On Making a Commitment

Dana, or Generosity

Sila, or Ethics

Ksanti, or Patience

Virya, or Perseverance

Dhyana, or Meditation

Prajna, or Wisdom

Contemplation: My Constant Habit

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

At all times and in any situation,
Mindfulness will be my constant habit.
This will be the cause whereby I aim
To meet with teachers and fulfill the proper tasks.

By all means, then, before I start this work,
That I might have the strength sufficient to the task,
I will reflect upon these words on mindfulness
And lightly rise to what is to be done.

The lichen hanging in the trees wafts to and fro,
Stirred by every breath of wind;
Likewise, all I do will be achieved,
Enlivened by the movements of a joyful heart.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, pp. 108-109.

***
Reminder:  Join us Sunday mornings for meditation in Del Ray, Alexandria, VA!

Potluck for Sangha Togetherness: 6 October 2013

Let's get together next weekend!  On Sunday, October 6 (after our 9:30am meeting for meditation and services at Yoga in Daily Life in Del Ray), about noon, come by our house in Alexandria with some vegetarian food to share.  This is an informal, comfortable, family-style sort of Dharma event.  I do hope you can make it.

RSVP to me by email (JikanAnderson at gmail.com) if interested and I will give you the address and directions if you need them. 

Contemplation: Heroic Perseverance

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

Heroic perseverance means delight in virtue.
Its contrary may be defined as laziness:
An inclination for unwholesome ways,
Despondency, and self-contempt.

Complacent pleasure in the joys of idleness,
A craving for repose and sleep,
No qualms about the sorrows of samsara:
These are the source and nurse of laziness.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p.98

Second Weekly Meditation Meeting Added: Alexandria, VA

I am delighted to announce that our sangha is adding a second weekly meeting to our regular schedule of practices.

We will continue to meet on Tuesday evenings at 7:30pm at the UUCA, as has been our custom for years. 

In addition, we will meet on Sunday mornings at 9:30am at Yoga in Daily Life in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria.  This meeting will develop into a regular sutra service and meditation as we gather the necessary accoutrements and more of us learn the basics of participating in the service.  The first few weeks will be of the nature of an orientation and introduction to practice; more and more elements of the service will be introduced as we progress and grow.  So, this meeting is particularly appropriate for beginners to Buddhism generally, or experienced practitioners who are interested in learning more about Tendai Buddhist practice in particular.  We are meeting in the upstairs shrine area. 

Find us at:
2402 Mt. Vernon Avenue,
Alexandria, VA 22301

The Tuesday evening meditation meeting will be led primarily by Junsen Chris Nettles.  The Sunday morning service and meditation will be led primarily by Jikan Daniel Anderson.  We are one sangha, one branch of the Tendai Buddhist Institute, meeting twice weekly. 

Everyone is welcome.  We hope to see you there.

Contemplation: The Austerity of Patience

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

Good works gathered in a thousand ages,
Such as deeds of generosity,
Or offerings to the blissful ones--
A single flash of hatred shatters them.

No evil is there similar to hatred,
No austerity to be compared with patience.
Steep yourself, therefore, in patience--
In all ways, urgently, with zeal.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 78 (translation altered)

Contemplation: Lack of Vigilance

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

Lack of vigilance is like a thief
Who slinks behind when mindfulness abates.
And all the merit we have gathered in
He steals, and down we go to lower realms.

Defilements are a band robbers
Waiting for their chance to bring us injury.
They steal our virtue, when their moment comes,
And batter out the life of happy destinies.

Therefore, from the gateway of awareness,
Mindfulness shall not have leave to stray.
And if it wanders, it shall be recalled,
By thoughts of anguish in the lower worlds.

 Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 66.

Contemplation: Maintain Awareness

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

All you who would protect your minds,
Maintain awareness and your mental vigilance.
Guard them both, at cost of life and limb--
Thus I join my hands, beseeching you.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 65

Contemplation: Perfection of Morality

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

Where, indeed, could beings, fishes, and the rest
Be placed, to shield them totally from suffering?
Deciding to refrain from harming them
Is said to be perfection of morality.

The hostile multitudes are vast as space--
What chance is there that all should be subdued?
Let but this angry mind be overthrown
And every foe is then and there destroyed.

To cover all the earth with sheets of hide--
Where could such amounts of skin be found?
But simply wrap some leather round some feet,
And it's as if the whole earth has bee covered!

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, pp. 63-64

Contemplation: Generosity Perfected

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

The true intention to bestow on every being
All possessions--and the fruits of such a gift:
By such, the teachings say, is generosity perfected.
And this, as we may see, is but the mind itself.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 63

Contemplation: Mindfulness' Rope

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

Those who wish to keep a rule of life
Must guard their minds in perfect self-possession.
Without this guard upon the mind,
No discipline can ever be maintained.

Wandering where it will, the elephant of mind,
Will bring us down to the pains of deepest hell.
No worldly beast, however wild,
Could bring upon us such calamities.

If, with mindfulness' rope,
The elephant of the mind is tethered all around,
Our fears will come to nothing,
Every virtue drop into our hands.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 62

Contemplation: In My Lifetime

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

In my lifetime, love in every heart;
In my lifetime, peace, peace on earth!

Song overheard at Albuquerque International Sunport, 3 August 2013

Contemplation: Briefly Lent to Me

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

The appearance of the buddhas in the world,
True faith and the attainment of the human form,
An aptitude for good:  all these are rare.
And when will all this come to me again?

Today, indeed, I'm hale and hearty,
Have enough to eat, and am without affliction.
And yet this life is fleeting and deceptive.
This body is but briefly lent to me.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 56

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 28

With Chapter 28, the Lotus Sutra comes to a conclusion.  This chapter introduces us to the bodhisattva Samantabhadra (his name is Fugen in Japanese, and sometimes translated as Universal Sage Bodhisattva in English).  Samantabhadra makes a series of vows to protect the Lotus Sutra teachings, and to protect those who put them into practice.  This comes after Buddha Shakyamuni explains what one must do in order to access these teachings in the time after his passing (which is to say, right now): 

1. Secure the protection of the Buddhas, 2. plant the roots of virtue, 3. reach the stage of steadiness [in proceeding to enlightenment], and 4. resolve to save all living beings (pp.336-337, Murano translation).

Samantabhadra is associated with action and activity in the world.  What does it mean that the Lotus ends by giving him the last word?  Looking back through all 28 chapters, what relationship do you see between the contemplative teachings and the activities described in this sutra?

Contemplation: I Will Abide and Train

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

Just as all the Buddhas of the past
Embraced the awakened attitude aof mind,
And in the precepts of the bodhisattvas
Step by step abode and trained,

Just so, and for the benefit of beings,
I will also have this attitude of mind,
And in those precepts, step by step,
I will abide and train myself.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 52

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 27

Chapter 27 of the Lotus Sutra describes the importance of family and family relations in Buddhist practice.  This is expressed in somewhat mythic terms in the sutra.  The most important point is to consider the ways in which familial relationships can become fundamental aspects of everyday Dharma practice:  how we relate to others is a fundamental aspect of how we conduct ourselves, and with whom do we interact more than our families and the members of our household?  Our parents, siblings, children, and extended family can encourage us in practice, and help us work through doubt and distraction--and we can do the same for them.

Family can also function as a metaphor for how members of a sangha can cooperate together on the basis of mutual respect and care.  The contemporary writer and practitioner Peter Hershock has an excellent essay on this topic at the Journal of Buddhist Ethics; while Hershock's language is a bit wonky, his ideas are very much worthy of careful reflection.

How does this chapter describe family relationships among Dharma practitioners?  Do you notice anything unusual or extraordinary about the particular family described in this chapter?  More generally, what does a healthy and supportive family look like?  What is the relationship between our conduct with each other and our practice of Dharma together?

Contemplation: No Hindrance, Therefore No Fear

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

The bodhisattva lives Prajnaparamita
With no hindrance in the mind:
No hindrance, therefore no fear

from the Heart Sutra

Contemplation: Ground and Sustenance

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

Like the earth and the pervading elements,
Enduring as the sky itself endures,
For boundless multitudes of living beings,
May I be their ground and sustenance.

Thus for everything that lives,
As far as are the limits of the sky,
May I provide their livelihood and nourishment
Until they pass beyond the bonds of suffering.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 51-52

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 26

When it comes to Chapter 26 of the Lotus Sutra, "Study Questions" are not exactly possible from the point of view of practice.  This is because the practice described in it is not amenable to discussion.  It is not a teaching to be contemplated; it is something to be tried and experienced.  You have to be "game" for it, willing to try with an open mind.  By analogy:  you can try to question and discuss what the flavor of honey is, debate it and dissect it conceptually, take a stand for or against this or that characteristic you ascribe to it... or you can be smart about it and just taste some honey yourself. 

This practice is the chanting of dharani.  Each dharani is a series of syllables, not unlike a spell or incantation, that is charged with a certain capacity.  For instance, in Chapter 26, a number of dharani are transmitted to the assembly by different bodhisattvas, with the approval of Buddha Shakyamuni, in order to protect those who practice the teachings of the Lotus Sutra.  Chanting dharani is a spiritual practice that can serve a particular function in ordinary life, but are ultimately intended as means to the realization of the Dharma.

Contemplation: A Guard for the Protectorless

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

May I be a guard for those who are protectorless,
A guide for those who journey on the road.
For those who wish to go across the river
May I be a boat, a raft, a bridge.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 51

Programming Notice

We will resume our regularly scheduled discussion of the Lotus Sutra, starting with Chapter 25 on the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, at our next meditation meeting:  Tuesday, 25 June.  I look forward to seeing you there.

Contemplation: A Treasure Ever Plentiful

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

For sentient beings, poor and destitute,
May I become a treasure ever plentiful,
And lie before them closely in their reach,
A varied source for all that they might need.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva p. 50

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 25

Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra is among the most frequently chanted Buddhist texts in East Asia.  Its popularity may reflect its accessibility and the profundity of its message.  In content, this chapter sings the praises of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, whose name is translated in the Chinese editions variously as the one who hears the cries of the world, the world-voice-perceiver, the cry regarder; in all these translations, the essential point is that Avalokiteshvara represents the capacity to recognize and respond to the sufferings of others, even at a distance.  This capacity is compassion.

When the sutra calls on us to contemplate the power of the Cry Regarder, what the sutra is asking us to do on one level is to contemplate the power of compassion, and to cultivate that ability in ourselves. We have the capacity to do it.  It is in our power to develop in this way.  We ought to do it. This is how I have been taught to understand this chapter.

Other meanings are also available, and can be just as meaningful in regards to practice.  For instance, in some traditions practitioners are advised to recite the name of Avalokiteshvara, calling on her by name for aid (in the form of Guan Yin, Kanzeon, or Kwanseum).  This is another way to understand the sutra's repeated insistence that we should contemplate the power of the Cry Regarder.  And the famous Tibetan mantra OM MANI PEME HUM?  That, also, is an invocation to Avalokiteshvara; it is considered by many in this tradition to be the most important of Buddhist practices, and also the most accessible to all.  Anyone can cultivate this capacity, and more than one method exists to do it.  As the sutra says, this is a "Universal Gate" of practice.

Please take this contemplation to heart.  Consider:  what are some contexts in which you can start to this contemplation on the power of compassion?

Contemplation: The Doctor, Nurse, and Medicine

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

For all those ailing in the world,
Until their every sickness has been healed,
May I myself become for them
The doctor, nurse, the medicine itself.

Raining down a flood of food and drink,
May I dispel the ills of thirst and famine.
And in the ages marked by scarcity and want,
May I myself appear as drink and sustenance.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 50

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 24

Chapter 24 of the Lotus Sutra tells the story of someone named Wonderful Voice bodhisattva (Gadgadasvara in Sanskrit, Myo-on in Japanese).  Much of the chapter gives an elaborate frame narrative that describes Wonderful Voice's intentions toward and relationship with Shakyamuni Buddha.  The portion of this chapter that is likely of most relevance to our sangha's current survey of the sutra overall is this one, in the words of Shakyamuni Buddha:

"This Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva protects all living beings in this Saha-World.  He transforms himself into one or another of these various living beings in this Saha-World and expounds this sutra to all living beings without reducing his super-natural powers, [his power of] transformation, and his wisdom.  He illumines this Saha-World with the many [rays of light] of his wisdom, and causes all living beings to know what they should know.  He also does the same in the innumerable worlds of the ten quarters, that is, in as many worlds as there are sands in the River Ganges.  He takes the shape of a Sravaka and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by a Sravaka.  He takes the shape of a Pratyekabuddha and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by a Pratyekabuddha.  He takes the shame of another Bodhisattva and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by a Pratyekabuddha.  He takes the shape of a Buddha and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by a Buddha.  He takes these various shapes according to the capacities of those who are to be saved" (page 313).

Does this recall to memory any themes you have encountered so far in your study of this sutra?  Is it directly in line with these themes, or does it introduce something new or unfamiliar to you? 

Keep an eye on this idea of a Bodhisattva appearing in different forms to suit the capacities of those who need help in future chapters of this sutra.

Contemplation: Pillars of International Tendai

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

I propose the pillars of International Tendai, for laity and ordained, should be:

1. Spiritual awakening of the participant through practices, devotion and study,
2. positive contributions to self, family, society, and the environment,
3. engaged service to others 
4.  integration of the sacred and the provisional to attain peace and equanimity on earth and an assurance of liberation from dukkha, now and in future lives.

Monshin Naamon, Abbot of the Tendai Buddhist Institute

Lay Leadership Training for Tendai Practitioners

This is big news.  The Lay Leadership program will give an avenue for training and practice for laypersons in our sangha, which will deepen and enrich sangha life for all of us.  I could not be more excited by this, which is why I bring it up here.  The vision for the future of our community internationally included here is itself worth reflecting on.

The following is reproduced entirely from the June 2013 Shingi, which is the newsletter of the Tendai Buddhist Institute.   The author is my teacher, Monshin Naamon.

I propose the pillars of International Tendai, for laity and ordained, should be:

1. Spiritual awakening of the participant through practices, devotion and study,
2. positive contributions to self, family, society, and the environment,
3. engaged service to others 
4.  integration of the sacred and the provisional to attain peace and equanimity on earth and an assurance of liberation from dukkha, now and in future lives."

We have already accomplished some of the goals in a number of ways. We have lay and ordained members on the Tendai-shu New York Betsuin board of director's. We include lay participation in the daily and meditation services. We educate the laity at a very informed level through activities, such as the monthly sutra class, as well as the weekly discussions.

  

A continued move in this direction is the Lay Leadership Program. This program is a one year long training program that is intended to bring appropriate lay people into a more active role in the temple and sangha experience, and provide leadership at the lay level for Tendai in North America. In many ways such people would be referred to as shinja in Japan.

The training will provide the lay leaders skills to assist the temple or sangha leader in organizing and hosting services and practices. They will be taught how to lead meditations, set up the ken-mitsudan and other ceremonial elements for services, maintenance and other ongoing roles, and perform various sangha member functions.

The program will encompass a one year long period. The first year will include a four-day long leadership retreat (this year starting the Wednesday evening of July 17th through the Sunday afternoon of July 21st), attend at least two retreats, attend the New Year's eve service, and attend a concluding training session next summer at a time similar to this year's leadership retreat. Additionally, there will be online training each month for which the participant will be responsible.

In order to participate in the training a person must have been a member in good standing of a Tendai sangha for at least two years, must receive the recommendation of the sangha or temple leader, have taken refuge, and submit a formal application.

As mentioned before this is not training to be a priest and does not result in ordination. Ordination is physically and emotionally demanding.  It is clearly not for everyone.  However, the lay leadership program, while not being physically and emotionally demanding requires a commitment to the Buddhist Path and to one's sangha brothers and sisters. It can be a very rewarding activity and provides a mechanism by which one will be rewarded with a deepening of their spiritual path.

If you are interested in participating please contact Monshin for an application and more information. This is another step in Tendai's development outside of Japan. I look forward to exploring this new dimension with dedicated sangha members.

In peace and love,  

Gassho . . . Monshin

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 23

This is about trust, faith, and commitment:  sticking to something that is sacred, something you value, even when you do not know how it will turn out, and even if it means making intensive sacrifices of one kind or another to make it work.  That is Chapter 23, which is presented as a past-life story of Medicine King Bodhisattva. 

As the story goes, in a time long ago one Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva made an offering of his body to a Buddha named Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue by consuming fine incense and fragrant oils and setting his body alight with the pure intention of dedicating himself to the Dharma.  There was no way to know how this method would turn out, but in the story, it worked:  he was transformed, radiating intense light for an exceptionally long interval of time, and after finally dying, he took rebirth again in the company of the same Buddha.  After building many multitudes of stupas (monuments) for that Buddha's own mortal remains, Gladly-Seen Bodhisattva burnt off his own arms as an offering out of devotion to those stupas, again without knowing in advance how this would work.  His body was restored to health, intact, and he learned from the experience.

Sakyamuni Buddha goes on in this chapter to state that "Anyone who aspires for, and wishes to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, should offer a light to the stupa of the Buddha by burning a finger or a toe" (304).  There are Buddhist communities in which this practice is taken literally to this day; one can speculate that the self-immolations that have become famous in the last hundred years in Buddhist countries may have some relation to this practice.  In any event,  I do not wish for anyone to do this in our sangha.  Instead, I suggest what may be more difficult sacrifices:

*Offer your doubts and fears to the Buddha in your heart and set them on fire, imagining them to smell like sweet incense and to shine with the light of ten thousand suns.

*Offer your ignorance, arrogance, short-sightedness, cowardice, closed-mindedness, selfishness, hatred, jealousy, impatience, pride, aggression, and any other poisons of the heart in the same way, in a spirit of devotion.

*Respect the multitude of sentient beings you meet as though they contain the living relics of the Buddha in the way this ancient Bodhisattva did.  Because they do.  Use both arms if you can.

This leaves only one question:  what remains after these poisons are burned away and resolve into emptiness?  What is left behind?

Contemplation: Ocean of Great Good

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

The intention, ocean of great good,

That seeks to place all beings in the state of bliss,
And every action for the benefit of all:
Such is my delight and all my joy.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 49

Contemplation: Rejoice in Virtue

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

With joy I celebrate
The virtue that relieves all beings
From the sorrows of the states of loss,
And places those who languish in the realms of bliss.

And I rejoice in virtue that creates the cause
Of gaining the enlightened state,
And celebrate the freedom won
By living beings from the round of pain.

And in the buddhahood of the protectors I delight
And in the stages of the buddhas' offspring.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 49

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 22

Chapter 22 of the Lotus Sutra is very brief.  In it, Buddha Shakyamuni entrusts or transmits (depending on the translation) the teachings to the assembly.  He is asking them to "keep, read, recite, and expound" the teachings presented in this Sutra.  Following this, many of the supernatural elements that so prominently feature in the second half of the sutra are sent away from sight, including the Buddha Ancient Treasures.

Practically speaking, what does it mean to keep and expound or uphold this teaching?  In terms of practice or conduct in everyday life, what is the Buddha asking for?  What kind of practice is outlined in this Sutra, as you understand it? 

Programming Notice

I will be away from the keyboard for the next week.  This means the contemplation and Lotus Sutra series are both on hiatus until I return, and I will be slow in responding to email.  I look forward to seeing you on my return.

Contemplation: The Bodhisattva who is Ill, 4

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

[The bodhisattva] is not bound by the conditions of his birth, and hence he is able to preach the [Dharma] for living beings and liberate them from their bonds.  As the Buddha has said, if one is in bonds himself, to suppose he can free others from their bonds is hardly reasonable.  But if one is himself free of bonds, it is perfectly reasonable to assume he can free the bonds of others.  Therefore the bodhisattva must not conjure up bonds for himself.

Vimalakirti Sutra, p. 70

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 21

Chapter 21 of the Lotus Sutra describes the miraculous supernatural activities of the Buddhas.  These are capacities that exceed the ordinary, repetitive, and mundane expectations and limits we experience in everyday samsaric life.  Of interest in this chapter is the relationship between this extraordinary Buddha-capacity and the opportunities for Buddhist practice that present themselves in this life.

The first kind of supernatural activity of the Buddhas is described here (all quotations from the Murano translation of the Lotus Sutra):

[The Buddha] stretched out his long and broad tongue upwards until the tip of it reached the World of Brahman.  Then he emitted rays of light with an immeasurable variety of colours from his pores.  The light illumined all the worlds of the ten quarters.  The Buddhas who were sitting on the lion-like seats under the jewelled trees also stretched out their broad and long tongues and emitted innumerable rays of light.  Sakyamuni Buddha and the Buddhas under the jewelled trees displayed these  supernatural powers of theirs for one hundred thousand years.  Then they pulled back their tongues, coughed at the same time, and snapped their fingers.  These two sounds [of coughing and snapping] reverberated over the Buddha-worlds of the ten quarters, and the ground of those worlds quaked in the six ways. (pp. 292-293)

I have been taught that the long, broad tongue of the Buddha represents the teachings of the Buddha s represented in the sutras and commentaries:  a deep and extensive canon of material, far-reaching.  Reflect on the light and sounds and unnaturally flexible duration of time described in this passage.  What might the different elements here mean if understood as symbolic language?  What is this passage attempting to communicate in its imagery?

The second kind of supernatural activity of the Buddhas is a bit more subtle.

all the teachings of the Tathagata, all the unhindered, supernatural powers of the Tathagata, and all the profound achievements of the Tathagata are revealed and expounded explicitly in this sutra (p. 294).

Review what you have learned so far in this sutra.  What are the most important achievements and capacities of the Buddha as presented in this sutra?  Just what teaching is the Buddha asking his disciples to follow, and how is he instructing them to practice here?  This chapter may offer a helpful point of departure in reflecting on this.

Contemplation: The Bodhisattva who is Ill, 3

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

"This ailing bodhisattva should also think to himself: 'This illness of mine has no reality, no existence, and the illnesses of other beings likewise have no reality and no existence."

Vimalakirti Sutra, Watson translation, p. 70

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 20

Lotus Sutra chapter 20 tells the story of a bodhisattva called Never Despising (a previous incarnation of Buddha Shakyamuni).  This bodhisattva's life describes a helpful and profound practice that benefits oneself and others.  I encourage everyone to work with this practice.  Here is the gist of it:

Bodhisattva Never Despising responded internally to anyone he met in the same way, regardless of whether they agreed with him or treated him unkindly:

"I do not despise you
Because you will practice the Way
And become Buddhas."

Lotus Sutra, p. 289, Murano translation.

What does this mean?  It means that in all situations, Never Despising refused to give up on anyone as worthless, valueless, or hopeless.  He refused to assume anyone was, in the last analysis, his enemy, or some source of evil.  Instead, he recognized in everyone without exception their capacity for awakening, a capacity he himself was cultivating.  Put differently, he understood the spiritual unity of all life, and made it his practice to recognize this in everyone.

How is this helpful?  Well, for starters:

Those who were attached to [wrong] views
Were led into the Way
To the enlightenment of the Buddha
By this Bodhisattva.

Lotus Sutra, p. 290

Through this practice, Never Despising helped those around him transform hatred and ignorance into wisdom. 

This week's study question is rhetorical:  are you willing to give this practice a try?

Contemplation: The Bodhisattva who is Ill, 2

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

"What is meant by realizing there is nothing to grasp at?  It means having done with dualistic views.  What is meant  by dualistic views?  It means viewing this as internal, or viewing that as external.  [Have done with such views] and there will be no more grasping at things."

Vimalakirti Sutra, p. 69

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 19

Lotus Sutra chapter 19 describes the merits of someone who teaches the meaning of the Lotus Sutra to others.  These merits involve an extraordinary refinement of the five senses and the discriminative mind (citta).  For instance, such a one can gain unusual kinds of knowledge through the sense of hearing, including the voices of beings that people do not ordinarily hear. 

This chapter suggests that teaching is itself a kind of spiritual practice, and that this practice bears certain kinds of fruit:  from teaching comes knowledge, that is the pattern.  Thinking back on earlier chapters in this Sutra, where do you see ideas about teaching and learning develop?  What kinds of knowledge is valued in this Sutra?  How does this chapter fit into that context?

Contemplation: The Bodhisattva who is Ill

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

Then Manjushri asked Vimalakirti, "How should a bodhisattva go about comforting and instructing another bodhisattva who is ill?"

Vimalakirti replied, "Tell him about the impermanence of the body, but do not tell him to despise or turn away from the body.  Tell him about the sufferings of the body, but do not tell him to strive for nirvana.  Tell him that the body is without ego, but urge him to teach and guide living beings.  Tell him of the emptiness of the body, but do not tell him of its final extinction.  Tell him to repent of former offenses, but do not tell him to consign them to the past.  Tell him to use his own illness as a means of sympathizing with the illness of others, for he should understand their sufferings throughout the countless kalpas of their p ast existence, and should think how he can bring benefit to all living beings.  Tell him to recall the good fortune he has won through religious practice, to concentrate on a life of purity, and not to give way to gloom or worry.  He should cultivate constant diligence, striving to become a king of physicians who can heal the ailments of the assembly.  This is how a bodhisattva should comfort and instruct a bodhisattva who is ill so as to make him feel happy." 

Vimalakirti Sutra, trans. B. Watson, pp. 67-68

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 18

The topic of Lotus Sutra chapter 18 is rejoicing in practice and in learning.  Rejoicing is a spiritual practice in its own right.  It also has a role in magnifying, if you will, the energy or effect of the activities one rejoices in.  Karma is like that:  for an action to be complete, one first forms an intention to do something, then carries out the intended act, and finally takes satisfaction in having done it.  Two thirds of all karma (at least) is mental and volitional, having to do with intentions regarding future actions and attitudes regarding past actions.

All of this means that intentionally and earnestly celebrating the attainments of others amounts to participating in that attainment, karmically-speaking.  Rejoicing in one's own virtuous actions, one's Buddhist activities, redoubles the strength of the seeds planted.  Seeds bear fruit:

Needless to say, boundless will be the merits
Of the person who hears this sutra with all his heart,
And expounds its meanings,
And acts according to its teachings.

Lotus Sutra, Murano translation, p. 268

I encourage you to rejoice in the wholesome deeds and activities of others, and the good qualities of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. 

Having heard much of the Lotus Sutra and hopefully taken it to heart, what is to be rejoiced in?  Reflect on what you have learned so far:  How can you incorporate these teachings into your spiritual practice?  Into your everyday conduct with others and on your own?

Contemplation: Inherent Baselessness

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

The inherent baselessness of physical and mental objects is called reality.

Li Tonxuan, Entry into the Realm of Reality, trans. T. Cleary, p. 21

Coming Attraction: Introduction to Buddhist Practice

Mark your calendars:  on April 21, we are presenting an Introduction to Buddhist Practice.  You can find out all the details on where and when at this link.  We hope to see you there!  Please spread the word...

Programming notice: Nembutsu practice next week

At next week's meditation, I will give an introduction to nembutsu practice; our regular Lotus Sutra programming will return the following week.

If this is new to you, consider having a look at a post I wrote on it some years back, or perhaps at Thich Nhat Hanh's helpful book on the subject.

This is an accessible, joyful practice that anyone can take up and benefit from.

Enjoy!

Contemplation: Shoya

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

I expound the transient verse
in the early evening--Listen!
Illusion  is deep enough and bottomless;
the ocean of life and death has no limits.
The ship that takes us from this life's suffering
is not yet departing;
now is not the time to sleep.

Shoya, as recited at Tendai Buddhist Institute.

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 17

Chapter 17 of the Lotus Sutra describes the merits of someone who learns, understands, and "upholds" or teaches to others the meaning of this sutra, particularly in regard to the previous chapter on the lifespan of the Buddha.  The Buddha advises his listeners that, if they should happen to meet such a person...

You should think:
'He will go to the place of enlightenment before long.
He will be free from asravas and free from causality.
He will benefit all gods and men'

Lotus Sutra, Murano translation, p. 262

I should emphasize here that this is not out of the capacity of ordinary laypersons and householders.  It merely requires the willingness to listen to the teachings, reflect on them, and integrate them into your everyday life activities as much as you can:  to practice them.

Reviewing earlier chapters:  what does it mean to teach or "uphold" this sutra?  Are words necessary?  What is the relation between practice and teaching in this sense?

Contemplation: Kokon

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

I expound the transient verse in the early evening.
Listen!

Today's sun is passing, our life is getting older and today,

what joyfulness remains,
is like a fish living in a teaspoon of water.
Now everyone endeavor diligently to rescue the burning intellect;
be mindful that life is suffering, empty, and transient.
Don't be self-indulgent.
Follow the mindful path.

Kokon, as recited at Tendai Buddhist Institute

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 16

Buddha Shakyamuni, at the end of Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra, states:

I am always thinking:
"How shall I cause all living beings
To enter into the unsurpassed Way
And quickly become Buddhas?"

Murano translation, p. 249

Chapter 16 is a significant and often-discussed chapter.  In it, Buddha Shakyamuni makes two startling claims that fly in the face of convention and expectation.  To summarize:  while the Buddha  appears to live and die as an ordinary man, in reality, this is simply a trick or a ruse; the real Buddha is by nature very, very ancient, not dying and not taking birth, but the personal or historical Buddha appears to be mortal.  Why does the Buddha take this appearance?  So that beings will not become complacent in practice or take the teachings for granted in their present lives.

Question: What Buddha is eternal and always abiding, according to the teachings you have read so far in the Lotus Sutra?  On behalf of whom or what is Buddha Shakyamuni speaking here?

Contemplation: Goya Noge

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

I expound the transient verse in the late evening--listen!

Time light transmigrates, reaching to the beings of the five kalpas.
Transience fills our conscious thoughts;
it always dwells with the king of death.
I wish together with all practitioners
to practice the path and attain tranquility and quiescence.

 Goya Noge, as recited at Tendai Buddhist Institute.

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 15

Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sutra strongly emphasizes supernatural and fantastic narrative elements:  Buddha Shakyamuni, for instance, emanates many replicas of himself into space.  While these characteristics of the chapter may test some readers' willingness to suspend disbelief, they serve an important function in presenting new shades of meaning in teaching.  Here is one example:

Remember how the Buddha named Ancient Treasures appeared before the assembly to congratulate the Buddha on teaching the core doctrines of the Lotus Sutra, the absolute view that all beings have the nature of Buddhas?  In this chapter, a similar-but-different event happens.  Now that the Buddha has given some detailed instructions on how to practice and live the teachings, we see next...

the ground of the Saha-World, which was composed of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds, quaked and cracked, and many thousands of billions of Bodhisattva-mahasattvas sprang up from underground simultaneously.  Their bodies were golden-coloured, and adorned with the thirty-two marks and with innumerable rays of light [...].  They came up here because they heard these words of Sakyamuni Buddha.

Lotus Sutra chapter 15, pp. 228-229, trans. Murano.

*Compare and contrast these two situations:  the Buddha Ancient Treasures appearing in Chapter Eleven, and the uncountable bodhisattvas emerging in response the Buddha's teaching in Chapter Fourteen as presented here in Chapter Fifteen.  What can be learned from these repeated motifs in new contexts?

*What is the relationship between the exhortations to practice in a rigorous way and the previous teachings presented in this sutra on the availability of Buddhahood to all?

Contemplation: Awaken! Take Heed!

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

Let me respectfully remind you:
Life and death are of supreme importance.
Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost.
Each one of us should strive to awaken.
Awaken!
Take heed!
Do not squander your life!

as recited at Tendai Buddhist Institute

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 14

The previous chapter found the assembly of the Buddha making a public commitment to practice and promote the teachings, without really knowing just what they were committing to, out of trust in the Buddha and faith in the Dharma.  This is very much like any meaningful relationship, in which one enters in good faith and accepts that the outcome may be very different from anything one might have reasonably expected.

Chapter 14 finds the Buddha giving specific instructions to the assembly on how one who upholds the Lotus Sutra should conduct him or herself in the world.  This conduct is simultaneously a form of practice and a way of teaching others (with or without words).  These instructions are quite detailed; here is a representative selection (despite the gendered language in this translation, I have been taught that the Buddha's advice applies to both men and women equally):

Anyone who wishes to expound this sutra
Should give up jealousy, anger, arrogance,
Flattery, deception, and dishonesty.
He should always be upright.

He should not despise others,
Or have fruitless disputes about the teachings.
He should not perplex others by saying to them,
"You will not be able to attain Buddhahood."

Any son of mine who expounds the Dharma
Should be gentle, patient and compassionate
Towards all living beings.
He should not be lazy.

In the worlds of the ten quarters,
The great Bodhisattvas are practicing the Way
Out of their compassion towards all living beings.
He should respect them as his great teachers.

(Lotus Sutra, Murano translation, p. 219).

How does this advice relate to the teachings on Buddha-nature and skillful means we have seen in earlier chapters? 

As a thought experiment, consider what a community might be like in which everyone aspires to the sort of conduct that the Buddha outlines in the passage above.

Contemplation: All Is Integrated

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

with the threefold contemplation in a single thought [realizing that reality simultaneously has the threefold aspects of emptiness, conventional existence, and the Middle], one [realizes that] all is integrated and that there is not one color or scent that is not the Buddha-nature.  Without traversing the three aeons one immediately completes the practice of a [Bodhi]sattva, and without transcending one thought, one directly approaches the fruit of [the ultimate Buddha Maha]vairocana.  One fulfills perfect awakening on a seat of space.  The triple body [of the Buddha] is perfectly complete, and there is no one [who is] superior.   This result is truly the goal of this [Tendai] school.

Gishin,  The Collected Teachings of the Tendai Lotus School,  pp. 135-136

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 13

With Chapter 13, we have reached the midpoint of the Lotus Sutra.  After hearing the teachings of the Ekayana and the potential for awakening of all beings, those assembled to hear the sutra promise the Buddha to put the teachings into practice:

Because we are your messengers,
We are fearless before multitudes.
We will expound the Dharma.
Buddha, do not worry!

(Murano trans., p. 208-209).

As we will see in later chapters, particular instructions on how to practice this teaching follow from this vow.  For now, it is worthwhile to reflect on the power of making a firm commitment to doing something honorable, even if you might not know exactly what that entails or what the consequences may be.

Just what are the Buddha's disciples committing to here?  What is the nature of that commitment?

Contemplation: Practice is required

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

The conscious mind is dark and depressed; it has wandered from the right path and does not improve.  The nature of the mind is to be noisy and cluttered, and it rejects the jeweled vehicle instead of accepting it.  This is due to the dominance of cravings which obstruct the sun of wisdom like a dark cloud, and the prevalence of the cycle of birth and death, which causes the boat of contemplation to sink in the sea of suffering.  Thus the three wisdoms are hidden of themselves, and the three virtuous qualities are not manifest because of this.  Therefore practice is required.

Gishin, The Collected Teaching of the Tendai Lotus School, p. 119

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 12

Historians have shown that Chapter Twelve of the Lotus Sutra is a later addition to the text; it was not in Kumarajiva's translation from the Sanskrit to the Chinese (this was done around the year 400 CE).  It is noteworthy in part because it seems to come in out of nowhere, disrupting the flow of the narrative, and differs from the previous chapters stylistically.

The content of the chapter is in keeping with the rest of the sutra, however.  The all-beings-can-become-Buddhas theme is reiterated with the example of a girl who, through the purity of her practice, becomes fully realized in an instant. 

What does this mean in terms of practice?

Contemplation: The Torch of Wisdom

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

The four types of regulating and rectifying bring about the illumination of perfect quiescence in one life.  The five categories of preparatory practices train one's uncontrolled physical, verbal, and mental actions.  Though one experiences craving, one nevertheless can gain enlightenment concerning bodhi-wisdom.  By contemplating [the cycle of] birth and death one is awakened to Nirvana.  One crosses over this realm of delusion on the raft of practice, and thus completes this doctrine.  Where else can one seek the torch of wisdom [that illuminates] this dark room?

Gishin, The Collected Teachings of the Tendai Lotus School,   p. 105

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 11

...and then, something totally unexpected happens:

Thereupon a stupa of the seven treasures sprang up from underground and hung in the sky before the Buddha.  The stupa was five hundred yojanas high and two hundred and fifty yojanas wide and deep.  It was adorned with various treasures.  It was furnished with five thousand railings and ten million chambers.  It was adorned with innumerable banners and streamers, from which jeweled necklaces and billions of jeweled bells were hanging down.  The fragrance of tamalapattra and candana was sent forth from the four sides of the stupa to all the corners of the world...  (page 181)

A stupa is a kind of reliquary, sometimes called a pagoda in east Asia or a chorten in Tibetan.   Its purpose is to house the remains of an enlightened being.  This particular stupa emerges from the earth in the middle of the Buddha's discourse, and hovers in the sky before the assembly, miraculously.  A loud voice is heard from within the stupa:

"Excellent, excellent!  You, Sakyamuni, the World-Honoured One, have expounded to this great multitude the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Teaching of Equality, the Great Wisdom, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.  So it is, so it is.  What you, Sakyamuni, the World-Honoured One, have expounded, is all true" (page 181).

 Within this stupa is an ancient Buddha called Ancient Treasures, from a time immeasurably past and a world system that does not even exist any longer.  The two Buddhas--Sakyamuni in our time, Ancient Treasures from so long ago--sit together in the stupa, as one.  They are clearly of one mind; they are harmonious in their conduct.

After this, Buddha Sakyamuni manifests other miracles and expresses the importance of understanding what is going on in this sutra and explaining it to others.  What is going on here?   How you explain this?

Now would be a good time to consider the role of surprises and the miraculous in this Sutra.  What purpose do these interruptions serve?

What is the significance of this meeting of contemporary enlightened activity and ancient enlightened activity?  Is there any gap between them?  What does this tell us of the relations among past, present, and future? 

Contemplation: The Bonds of Suffering are Severed Forever

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

Reality is unchanging and inherently has no marks of coming or going.  The nature of phenomena is to conform to habitual tendencies and function in the realm of distinctions.  Therefore Twelve-Fold Conditioned Co-Arising revolves and creates karma, and the causes and results of the three ways [of craving, karma, and suffering] alternate without rest.  If one is deluded concerning this reality, this inflames the cycle of birth and death.  If one understands this meaning, the bonds of suffering are severed forever. 

Gishin, The Collected Teachings of the Tendai Lotus School, p. 75

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 10

In Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha explains how one should teach the Lotus Sutra.  Here is one particularly relevant passage:

How should the good men or women who live after my extinction expound this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to the four kinds of devotees when they wish to?  They should enter the room of the Tathagata, wear the robe of the Tathagata, sit on the seat of the Tathagata, and then expound this sutra to the four kinds of devotees.  To enter the room of the Tathagata means to have great compassion toward all living beings.  To wear the robe of the Tathagata means to be gentle and patient.  To sit on the seat of the Tathagata means to see the voidness of all things.  They should do these [three] things and then without indolence expound this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to Bodhisattvas and the four kinds of devotees.

 Lotus Sutra, trans. Senchu Murano, p. 177

As the text progresses, look for other instances where both the literal meaning of a passage and its metaphoric meaning (as in the room, robe, and seat of the Buddha this time) offer insights into practice.  What does the Buddha expect of someone who would attempt to expound this text?

From what you have read so far in this sutra, can you infer what the Buddha might expect of someone who is interested in learning the Dharma?

Contemplation: One Great Purpose

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

All Buddhas appear in the world for one great purpose.  Though distinctions are made as to the three vehicles, ultimately [they all] rely on the One Vehicle.  Therefore Sakyamuni descended to this world to be born in the royal palace, left home, and attained the Path according to his capability.  He preached many different sermons; some were at first direct and later gradual, some were at first gradual and later direct, but all were taught as inducements to the Lotus Sutra.

 Gishin,   The Collected Teachings of the Tendai Lotus School,  p. 49

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 9

Chapter Nine of the Lotus Sutra is relatively brief and straightforward.  In it, the Buddha announces that Ananda (his personal attendant) and Rahula (his son from his early days as a prince) will both become Buddhas, along with 2,000 other sravakas.  All of them are delighted with this news.

Sravakas are practitioners who are committed to a path of renunciation and personal liberation:  the so-called Hinayana.  Here, the Buddha declares again that all the approaches he has presented so far, including the sravaka vehicle, leads inevitably to Buddhahood.

Do you notice a pattern developing from chapter to chapter here?  What is the Buddha going with this?

Contemplation: Many Explanations

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

Reality itself is beyond verbalization, but one must use conventional language to encounter reality.  The Path cannot be grasped through discussion, but stages [of attainment] can be discerned through the process of discussion.  Therefore many explanations are conventionally presented for the sake of beings in this realm of suffering, and to teach [the truth for the sake of] the deaf and the blind.

Gishin, The Collected Teachings of the Tendai Lotus School, p. 45.

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 8

Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sutra picks up a theme developed in Chapter Six, in which four of the Buddha's foremost disciples are predicted to become Buddhas themselves.  In Chapter Eight, the Buddha declares that five hundred more of His disciples are destined to Buddhahood. 

Also, another parable is presented:  imagine that a friend has sewn into your jacket or shirt a jewel of limitless value, but you have forgotten about it and have wandered around struggling for cash, ignorant of the real wealth you possess.  Buddha-nature is like that:  it is yours and has been all along (everyone's really), but you may need someone to point this out to you and convince you to check the hem of your jacket...

In this chapter, two trends in the text come together:  first, the prediction that some disciples will become Buddhas, a club that is becoming less and less exclusive as the sutra progresses; and second, the reiterated teaching of Buddha-nature in all.  What do you make of this?  Where do you suppose the Buddha is going with this teaching?  More to the point, where does this lead in terms of practice and everyday life?

Contemplation: Aspirations

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

The ability to respond to the Buddha's teaching is not the same for all sentient beings; it depends on their aspirations and desires.  The teachings of the Noble One rely on these transformational conditions and thus are different for each person.

Gishin, The Collected Teachings of the Tendai Lotus School, p. 11

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 7

Chapter Seven develops the ideas on teaching and learning in the earlier chapters by moving them into the field of leadership.  The Buddha leads the community, His students, by providing them with situations in which they can learn together, sometimes by extraordinary means.  This is to say that the Buddha's leadership is guided first and foremost by the intention to guide beings toward Buddhahood and away from the habits that cause trouble.

To explain this point, the Buddha gives a parable in which a group of people have begun taking a journey under the leadership of a wise guide.  The guide, knowing that the travelers he is responsible for are not mentally or physically capable of accomplishing the journey without a rest in the middle, magically manifests a resting place at the midway point.  Here we are now, everyone!  The travelers are delighted and, importantly, their capacity for travel improves because they have learned to trust their ability to achieve their goals.  Once they have rested adequately, the guide then explains the complete truth:  we have further to go, but now that we are rested and experienced, we can accomplish this easily.  So they do.

In terms of Buddhist doctrine, the magical city that has been conjured up as a skilful means is the teaching of nirvana, and the real destination is Buddhahood.  There is a sectarian overlay in this parable, because some Buddhist schools do teach that the first and only goal of practice is in fact nirvana.  In this chapter, the Buddha claims that this is not so:  nirvana is a peaceful experience that is not ultimately real and is not the final goal of practice, because it lacks all the capacities and capabilities of Buddhahood. 

I would prefer not to engage in sectarian squabbling.  Instead, I would like to direct our attention to this question of leadership.  How would you describe the Buddha's leadership of the sangha (community) in this chapter?  Is it of a piece with the teaching philosophy we have seen in earlier chapters, or is it a new development?  Also, what do you think of the metaphor of travel used in this chapter? 

Contemplation: Nature of Reality is Beyond Words

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

I humbly submit that true reality is without marks and not something known through discrimination.  The nature of reality is beyond words.  How can it be adequately grasped through conceptualization?  Nevertheless the Great Hero [the Buddha] transmitted the truth by relying on forms and images in accordance with [the capabilities of] sentient  beings.

 Gishin, The Collected Teachings of the Tendai Lotus School in One Fascicle, p. 5

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 6

In Chapter Six, the Buddha declares that four of his disciples--Maha-Kasyapa, Maha-Maudgalyayana, Subhuti, and Maha-Katyayana--will become Buddhas, and predicts the future circumstances in which this will happen.

What is that about?  How does this development relate to what we have seen so far in this text? Where might this go from here?

Contemplation: The Same Rain of the Dharma

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your object of contemplation:

Although my teachings are of the same content to anyone
Just as the rain is of the same taste,
The hearers receive my teachings differently
According to their capacities
Just as the plants receive
Different amounts of the rain water.

I now expediently reveal the Dharma with this simile.
I expound one truth with various discourses.
This simile is only one of the expedients
Employed by my wisdom,
Just as a drop of sea water is
Part of the great ocean.

Though I water all living beings of the world
With the same rain of the Dharma,
They practice the teachings
Of the same taste differently
According to their capacities,
Just as the herbs and trees
In thickets and forests
Grew gradually according to their species.

The Buddhas always expound
The teachings of the same taste
In order to cause all living beings of the world
To understand the Dharma.
Those who practice the teachings continuously
Will obtain [various fruits of] enlightenment.

The Lotus Sutra, trans. Murano, pages 112-113.