Ennin's Diary: Full Text Available Online

Ennin, also known as Jikaku Daishi, is an important historical figure and a great bodhisattva.  He was a direct disciple of the founder of Tendai Buddhism in Japan, Saicho, and also spent a significant amount of time in China mastering the esoteric teachings known as Vajrayana in Tibet and as mikkyo in Japan.  He made great sacrifices along the way; his commitment to the teachings and to the benefit of all beings is exemplary. 

A translation of Ennin's diary has been made available free online.  I strongly encourage anyone with an interest in Buddhism, and especially those who are sangha members, to give it a read.  It is a record of one person's travels in a very turbulent time in Chinese history, and also of his spiritual training.  Find it here:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

(the scanning work was done by committee, which is why we have six files instead of one).

May all beings benefit!

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.

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?

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?

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? 

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?

Lotus Sutra Study Questions 5

(All references are to the Murano translation)

In chapter five of the Lotus Sutra, Buddha Shakyamuni explains the meaning of his teaching in earlier chapters through another parable.  Buddha compares his teaching activity to a great cloud that waters the entire world evenly and equally.  Some plants grow only a little; some grow great and tall.  Different plants and trees grow with different characteristics, according to their pattern.  All of them grow in the presence of the nourishment offered by the cloud, but all of them grow differently according to their capacities to grow.  Buddha's teaching is like that:  the Dharma is available to all, and everyone who accepts it makes whatever use of it he or she can, and grows accordingly.

There are different ways to understand this, depending on how you understand the term "Buddha."  Might it mean the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, in the role of a savior to all beings, metaphysically drawing all those who suffer toward the light?  Might it refer instead to the Buddha-nature within each of us?  There are other alternatives.  Reflect on this question and see where it leads you.

This chapter invites all of us to consider our own capacity as students of the teaching.  Here we are, fortunate enough to have an opportunity to learn and to grow; how can we make the best use of this opportunity?  Consider different ways in which you might expand your capacity to practice wisdom and compassion.

Portable & Complete Surangama Study Questions

I went ahead and organized the series of study questions we used in recent months in our study of the Surangama Sutra in one document.  It is available for free at this link.  It is my hope that it helps open up the teachings to people who are not familiar with them, and in that way perhaps plants a seed or two.

Enjoy...

Surangama Sutra Study Questions, Part 10

Back to the heart of the matter...

Part 10:  "Fifty Demonic States of Mind," pags 391-404

*The title of this section evokes the supernatural, a world of demons and spirits.  What are the fifty demonic states described?  How do they emerge, naturally or supernaturally or otherwise?  In what context are they presented?

*Is there a way in which this material follows logically from previous sections in this sutra? If so, how does it follow?

*How does body relate to mind and vice versa in this section?

***

I wish to extend the virtue of these verses to all sentient beings.  Together may we progress along the Buddha path of liberation.
--"Soeko," from the Tendai Daily Service

Surangama Study Questions, part 7

Back to the heart of the matter...

"Four Clear and Definitive Instructions on Purity," pages 263-276

*How would you characterize the Buddha's ethical teachings in this section?  What is emphasized?  Is there anything one might expect to find here that is not definitely indicated?

*For whom are these teachings given (i.e., monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen...)?  For anyone and everyone under all circumstances?

Surangama Study Questions, part 6

Back to the heart of the matter...

Surangama Sutra, part 6:  "Twenty-Five Sages," pages 205-259

*This section opens with another of Ananda's particularities.  What is Ananda after here; what is he trying for?  How does the Buddha respond?

*Once again, Buddha Shakyamuni adjusts his teaching method to suit the needs of his students.  What does he do in this chapter?

*There is a certain symmetry or correspondence  between Part 6 and Part 3, "The Matrix of the Thus-Come One."  How does this later section develop, or reinforce, or recontextualize (choose the verb you like) that earlier section's teachings?

*What are the unique capacities and practices of "the Bodhisattva who Hears the Cries of the World," Avalokiteshvara (also known as Kanzeon, Kannon, Guan Yin, Kwanseum)?  Why does Manjushri recommend this path for Ananda, and for beings in "the Dharma's ending-time"?

*We will discuss what is meant by the Dharma-ending age, and its relevance to this Sutra and our tradition of Buddhism, Tuesday evening.

Surangama Study Questions, 5

Back to the heart of the matter...

On Part 5:  "Instructions for Practice," pages 169-201.

*Here, the Buddha seems to shift tactics in teaching the Sangha.  He relies less on elaborate logic than in previous sections, and more on concrete analogies:  objects such as a scarf or the sound of a bell that can be experienced with the senses of those present.  Why do you suppose the Buddha takes this approach at this point?

*What are some of the Buddha's specific instructions for the practice of the Path?  How do these emerge from or relate to the material presented previously?

*This may be a good time to consider the elements of the supernatural that are described in the sutra.  The Buddha's hands are webbed and his skin appears as purple-toned gold; at one point, the light of all the Buddhas in all directions floods the hall.  How does this impact you as a reader?  How do your values, preconceptions, and expectations interact with this spectacle?  By contrast, how might the members of a Chinese farming village in the year 1000 respond to hearing it, do you imagine?

Surangama Study Questions, 4

Back to the heart of the matter...


On Part 4, "The Coming into Being of the World of Illusion," pp. 141-166

*Here, in an exchange with Purna and (again) Ananda, the Buddha resolves many of the outstanding issues from the previous sections.  To do this, he describes the way n which the world that ordinary beings like us experience seems to arise.

*What is meant by "adding understanding to understanding"?

*What is the difference between a Buddha (one who "gets it") and an ordinary being?

*How does experience arise for an ordinary being?

*Ananda gets scolded again:  for what?  What is the Buddha trying to teach him at this point?

PS:  The chapter "The Interfusing of the Primary Elements" (pages 153-158) may make for difficult reading at first, but diligence is rewarded because in this section the teaching of Buddha nature is presented directly in clearly.  All it takes is some patience with the unfamiliar and, to some American readers, seemingly high-flown language.  Enjoy!

Surangama Sutra Study Questions, 3

With the intention of getting to the heart of the Great Matter, another installment of Surangama Sutra study questions:  "The Matrix of the Thus-Come One," pages 89-137

*Context:  "Matrix of the Thus-Come One" in this text translates the Sanskrit term Tathagatagarbha (Tathagata means "Thus Come One" and garbha means something like "matrix," but there are other translations available).  This concept is also translated as Buddha-nature or Buddha-potential in contemporary discourse, and is a familiar doctrine in other materials we have read together such as the Awakening of Faith or the Sutra of Complete Enlightenment.

*The Buddha categorically reviews each part of the known world through several classification systems (the five aggregates and so on).  He argues in each case that nothing apparent comes into being on its own, nor by causes and conditions.  This appears to contradict the Buddhist teaching of dependent origination, according to which everything comes into being and falls away by causes and conditions, so it is important to consider this bold claim carefully.   How is it that the Buddha rejects the idea that things arise and have their being (such as it is) due to causes and conditions?  What is he getting at here?

*Meanwhile, the sutra also claims that all these categories are in themselves the Matrix of the Thus-Come One.  Is there anything that is not so, according to the Sutra?  What does it mean in practical to consider consciousness and objects of consciousness as the space or mind or potential of the Buddha?

*Checking in on Ananda:  by p. 137, he seems to be coming around to the Buddha's way of thinking and practicing.  What has he learned so far, and what does he have left to learn in your view?

Surangama Sutra Study Questions, part 2

I found last night's discussion of the Surangama Sutra's introduction and first few chapters to be engaging, lively, and bright.  It was a joy to peek into the meaning of the Buddha's teachings together.  As before, these questions are intended to promote a thoughtful engagement with the teachings and to get into the heart of the matter.

For Part II, "The Nature of Visual Awareness," pages 41-86:

*General advice:  It helps to approach this section with a gentle sense of humor.

*A sangha member, Kansei, describes this section as being like a Socratic dialogue:  Ananda puts forward a proposition, and the Buddha demonstrates how that proposition is upside-down and backwards.  What does this method tell us about the Buddha's approach to teaching and learning?  How does the Buddha expect people to learn?  Another way to approach this question:  What is it that Ananda has avoided doing in his own practice?  What is the Buddha trying to teach Ananda, and through his example, us here and now?

*The question, "What is the nature of visual awareness?" is considered at length in this section.  Why is this of concern?  What is the purpose behind laboring over this particular point?

*What is the nature of visual awareness, according to the Buddha?  Why does this matter?  Related question:  What does it mean to be "without outflows"?

Surangama Sutra Study Questions, part 1

Our sangha is reading the Surangama Sutra, in the 2009 Buddhist Text Society edition.  These questions are intended to promote a meaningful discussion of the most important aspects of the text.  I will post more as we advance through the sutra.

For pages 5-28 (including the Prologue, "The Request for Dharma," and "The Location of the Mind"):

*What is going on with Ananda?  What is he up to?  What is his problem?

*How would you describe Buddha Shakyamuni's teaching style in this section?


For pages 29-38 ("The Conditioned Mind and the True Mind"):

*What is the difference between the conditioned mind and the true mind?

*Does this distinction shed any light on Ananda's present situation and his attempts at spiritual practice?

A Gatha from the Vajrasamadhi Sutra

I hope this brief verse (gatha) makes the same impression on you as it does for me:

Objects that are produced by causes and conditions,
Those objects are extinguished and unproduced.
Extinguish all objects subject to production and extinction,
And those objects will be produced and unextinguished.

This is from the Vajrasamadhi-Sutra (published as Cultivating Original Enlightenment, by Robert Buswell, which includes a brilliant exposition of the text by the great Korean master Wonhyo).

At this link, you can find a version of this gatha that you can print, cut down to size, and pin to your cubicle wall or the space just above the kitchen sink, for reflecting at regular intervals.

Recommended Reading

If you are just getting started in practice with our group, or would simply like to understand better what we are up to, you will find these books particularly useful. These are books to be read slowly, more than once, with a contemplative attitude and an eye toward practice.

Start with The Awakening of Faith, translated by Hakeda. This is, in some important respects, a foundational text for East Asian Buddhism generally. The Hakeda translation is particularly helpful with notes and other supports.

Next, take a very careful look at The Way of the Bodhisattva, also translated as A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life, by Santideva. (The Sanskrit title for this one is Bodhicaryāvatāra, for clarity's sake.) This book is a necessity for understanding Mahayana Buddhism as practiced in North America especially, and is inherently good.

If these books leave you feeling more confusion than clarity, try Paul Williams' book Mahayana Buddhism, and then give The Awakening of Faith another try.

The most important text in the Tendai school of Buddhism is the Lotus Sutra. It assumes a certain background in Mahayana Buddhism generally, which is why I recommend reading this one after developing some background if you haven't done so yet. There are several translations available to you. The best one for our purposes is The Lotus Sutra by Murano, but it may be difficult to come by. The second best is The Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma, by Leon Hurvitz; it was reprinted in 2009, and readily available at bookstores new and used. If neither of these are available to you, get a copy of The Threefold Lotus Sutra by Kato. The Burton Watson translation is less useful than these.

If you want to put these teachings into practice, an understanding of the ethical framework within which we work is essential to the task. Martine Batchelor's The Path of Compassion is a translation of the Brahma Net Sutra, which is the basis for the precepts we have taken in the Tendai school since our founding by Saicho himself.

Finally, if you absolutely must read books on meditation and you cannot stop yourself, consider Chih-i's classic Stopping and Seeing, translated by Cleary.

Last thing: the best tool I have found for locating well-priced used books is called Bookfinder. If you struggle to find any of the above items, give bookfinder a try before you give up and move on.