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