This was put together in preparation for a video call with the Lexington Sangha on November 13, 2011. Of course anybody else who wants to use it as a study guide is more than welcome. And comments or questions to this board are also welcome. Hopefully you all know how much I enjoy discussion!
Background
This chapter is part of the “essential section” or “hommon” of the Lotus Sutra. This section starts with Chapter 16 where the Buddha reveals his attainment of enlightenment in the remotest past, and the continuation of his existence, helping other beings to become enlightened, for an unimaginable amount of time into the future. The section contains examples of Bodhisattvas leading beings to enlightenment, tying closely to the Buddha’s declaration in Chapter 2 that he “teaches only Bodhisattvas” and Taho Buddha’s declaration in Chapter 12 that the Lotus Sutra is the “Dharma for Bodhisattvas.” One way to think of this essential section is that it contains instructions and examples for what we as Bodhisattvas can do.
The “provisional section” or “shakumon” of the Lotus Sutra that precedes Chapter 16 covers the assurance that the Sravakas who hear the teachings of the Buddha and the Pratyekabuddhas who have understood the principles of reality have not become completely enlightened. The Buddha tells them that since he is teaching the Lotus Sutra, all of them will continue their practice and reach perfect enlightenment.
Elements of Chapter 18
Chapter 18 opens with a question from Maitreya Bodhisattva, who has already been assured that he will become a Buddha. Maitreya asks, “How many merits will come to those who enjoy hearing this Lotus Sutra?” The Buddha answers with a simile. First he asks those listening to imagine either an ordained person or lay person hearing this Lotus Sutra, enjoying it, then repeating it to the best of their ability to someone else. That second person then does the same with a third person, on until a fiftieth person hears what the forty-ninth person has picked up and enjoys it.
The Buddha then describes someone else who makes exorbitant offerings to innumerable people, then leads those people to attain the enlightenment of Sravakas or Pratyekabuddhas. He asks Maitreya how great the merits are of this almsgiver and teacher. Maitreya answers that while the merits from giving alms are great, the merits of teaching the Dharma are greater.
The Buddha agrees, but then says that for this fiftieth person who enjoys hearing whatever has survived the imperfect transmission of the Lotus Sutra through forty-nine other people, the merits are incomparably greater. Even greater are the merits of the first person who hears the Sutra and then transmits it to someone else.
Questions
The first thing we could consider here is, What is the difference between the two teachings? How do we understand that the merits of this Lotus Sutra are greater than those that come from giving alms or leading people by the pre-Lotus teachings? What does it mean that this chapter is in the “essential section” of the Sutra. Is it also contrasting the essential and provisional sections?
We might also consider what we mean by merits. Are these Buddha brownie-points? What does it mean to have them? What do we do with them?
Another thing to think about is what gets transmitted from the first person to the fiftieth person. We all knows how stories get modified as they are told. Some elements are lost. Others are added. What remains? What gets lost?
The last question I have (hoping of course that there will be others) is, “What does this Chapter mean for us as Bodhisattvas?
I keep getting questions about what I recommend as books about Buddhism for people either starting out, or who have been practicing awhile and want to broaden their knowledge. So I finally decided to pull some books off my shelves and write down some ideas. If you have any ideas for more, please feel free to post them.
First, for relative beginners, which of course is all of us:
Buddhism for Today, Nikko Niwano - This is an overview of the Lotus Sutra and some of the central ideas in it. Good for getting a toehold on this difficult, but of course wonderful book.
The Sutra of Hui-Neng, Thomas Cleary, translator. Hui-Neng was the fifth and last patriarch of Zen in China. His story tells why, and also shows how the Buddha’s teachings were transformed in their encounter with Chinese culture.
Early Buddhist Discourses, John Holder, Translator – Good anthology from the first of the Buddha’s teachings.
The Visible Here and Now, Ayya Khema. Her commentary on the Buddha’s teachings on the rewards of spiritual practice. She is another modern author who brings the Dharma down to earth.
When Things Fall Apart, Pema Chodron – This is about dealing with difficulty in life, and how the main difficulty is our not wanting difficulties. It’s about learning to live securely in an unstable world.
Old Path, White Clouds, Thich Nhat Hanh – This is another biography of the Buddha, done in TNH’s typical warm, simple style.
A Path with Heart, Jack Kornfield – Another more modern author with his take on meditation and how this fits with the Buddha’s teachings.
Being Nobody, Going Nowhere, Ayya Khema – She starts with meditation, then makes the entire book a meditation. This is a good book to read several times.
Loving-Kindness, Sharon Salzberg – Guide for working with our emotions and cultivating the intention of benefitting all beings.
Who Ordered this Truckload of Dung, Ajahn Brahm – The author is from England and was ordained as a Theravada (Hinayana) monk in Thailand. It contains some wonderful stories and analogies, using his almost Pythonesque sense of humor.
The Good Heart, His Holiness the Dalai Lama – This taken from a series of lectures and discussions on the Christian Gospels. It shows the many parallels and differences between what Jesus taught and what the Buddha taught.
And for more advanced readers:
Buddha Dharma, Numata Center – This is a massive compilation of excerpts from a wide range of Sutras. You get the early teachings, stories of the Buddha’s life, wisdom teachings, Amida Buddha, and even excerpts from the Lotus Sutra.
Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman – Not exactly a Buddhist text, but there is a tremendous amount of material on working with the mind. Mr. Goleman has also done a series of interviews with the Dalai Lama in a companion work called Destructive Emotions.
The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way, Jay Garfield, translation and commentary – This is Nagarjuna’s take on emptiness and dependent origination. Not an easy read, but you will come away from it with a new appreciation of what emptiness is, and more importantly what existence is.
The Heart of Dogen’s Shobogenzo, Norman Waddell and Masao Abe, translators – Another very difficult but rewarding book. Anybody who thinks Zen is about ignoring the Buddha’s teachings and just sitting is in for a wonderful surprise.
The Diamond Sutra, Mu Soeng, translator – Another of the Wisdom Sutras. Any translation is probably ok, but this is my favorite. “A rose is not a rose. Therefore we call it a rose.” Believe it or not, these two sentences will make sense after you’ve read this. Thich Nhat Hanh also has a good commentary on this sutra.
The Heart Sutra, Red Pine, translation and commentary – This is one of the shortest sutras, but extremely potent. Red Pine gives a thoughtful and detailed examination of one of the most well-known teachings of the Buddha.
The Lotus Sutra, Senchu Murano, translator – There are several other translations available, but this is my favorite. Definitely not an easy read either, but it has a way of working on you that is inexplicable.
Fire in the Lotus, Daniel Montgomery – Can be hard to find a copy of this, but it’s the best take I’ve seen on the history and ideas of Nichiren Buddhism. I’ve heard there will be a new edition out soon. Let’s hope so!
The Nichiren Order of North America, the body that oversees all of the Nichiren Shu temples in the continental U.S. and Canada, came out a few weeks ago with a small pamphlet entitled “A Guide to the Nichiren Shu.” It covers a creed of Nichiren Shu, pledges of lay members, how to set up and maintain a home altar, descriptions of home practice, and a section about various temple activities, including commemorative days of Nichiren Shu. It seems to have been intended for current Nichiren Shu members, or at least people already familiar with Buddhism.
This morning at our temple in Lexington, we talked about this guide. The consensus is that we still need to come up with something for beginners, the people who have heard of Buddhism but don’t know yet what it’s about. We need to address questions like, Who was the Buddha? What is enlightenment? Why would someone want to be enlightened? Who was Nichiren? What can we learn about living today from how he lived 750 years ago?
Those questions can be addressed more specifically another time, but variations of them did come up in our conversation this morning. The first part of the creed says: “We consider the Lotus Sutra as personally experienced by Nichiren Shonin to be the foundation of our life.” What does that “personally experienced” part mean? Isn’t just the Lotus Sutra the foundation of our life?
There is more to the Lotus Sutra than just a printed book that we revere. The Sutra itself says we have to live it. Nichiren talked about “reading the Sutra with my body” meaning putting its teachings into practice and making it a part of his life. We who follow the Lotus Sutra need to act by the teachings, not just learn the theory. This is how we personally experience the Sutra. And using Nichiren’s experience of the Sutra as a guide doesn’t mean just copying what he did in his life. We have to nourish the same faith in our hearts that he had. Then the actions will come out naturally and be suited to our time.
The Guide has a half page on the pledges of lay members. We probably spent more time on this than any other part of the pamphlet. The first pledge about following Nichiren’s teachings and doing the duties of a Nichiren Shu member created some confusion. I suppose I haven’t been doing my job as a priest! We read some of Nichiren’s instructions as part of our formal services. These include having faith in the Omandala Gohonzon, and encouraging others to do the same, even with just a word or phrase. There are many other instructions and images he gave to his followers while he was alive, and we would do well to study all of those. But this one probably sums them up. Our first duty as a Nichiren Shu member is to conduct our lives by the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Shonin. We should also support other Nichiren Shu members in our practice, and help to maintain the temples, home altars and other facilities we use to nourish the seed of Buddhahood in all beings.
This led into the next question about ancestors. Why is there so much of an emphasis on ancestors in this practice? Part of it is to go against the habitual idea we have about coming from nowhere, or of creating ourselves. When we think of what the people before us did to make it possible for us to be alive today, we go against this habit and start to create a mind of gratitude.
But what does reverence mean? Do we have to think that all of our ancestors were wonderful people who always did everything right? There was a story about a woman whose mother died several years ago. Shortly after this happened she had lunch with a friend whose own mother had also died recently. The first question her friend asked this woman was, “Has the whitewashing started yet?” There is an axiom that we should say nothing but good of the dead. But if this is misunderstood it can lead to making them seem like something they are not. Everyone has flaws. Everyone struggles with the situations in their lives and nobody always makes the right choices. We can remember our ancestors even with their warts. We don’t have to gloss over their failures or the mistakes they made. Ultimately this helps us to become more tolerant of our own struggles, and those of the people alive with us today.
One man in our group talked about how for years he resented his parents and how they raised him. Then as he learned more about his father growing up as an orphan, and his mother growing up as one of a dozen children, he came to realize that they did the best they could with what they had. Some of the things he wanted of them they were simply not capable of. What’s wonderful though is that once he had this realization, his own mind became more peaceful. This is the point. We don’t harm our ancestors by resenting them or even ignoring them. And we don’t benefit them by just wishing them well. We improve our own minds by showing reverence to them. We learn to see things for what they are.
In our temple we do a version of memorial services at Higan and Obon. At those services we have a list of the ancestors of all temple members and we wish for all of them to be free of suffering and realize the enlightenment of the Buddha. Having regular memorial services for specific ancestors is not part of American culture, but maybe we should do it more often. Especially if there is a relative for whom someone still has some resentment, going through the process of welcoming the protective deities, reciting the Sutra, and dedicating our merit for their benefit can be very powerful.
Then there is a question of who our ancestors are. We usually think of our them as parents, grandparents and other blood relatives who have come before us. But truly then can be anyone who has had an effect on our lives. This is of course obvious when people have been adopted, or not raised by their biological parents. It can also be when we want to recognize and appreciate someone who has been a special influence in our lives, whether we are related to them or not. It is good of course to start with our own families, but it doesn’t need to be limited to them.
We also talked about “Training every Morning and Evening.” Ideally we are practicing all the time with every breath we take. In reality most of us aren’t there yet. One of the tools we have in our Nichiren Shu tradition is a home altar where we can practice every day where we live. We also have temples where it is good to practice with other people, but the home altar is another means of making the Lotus Sutra part of our lives. If we can do it every morning and evening, that’s wonderful. If we can just do it daily, that’s wonderful. If we can only bow in reverence to it as we hurry out the door on our way to work in the morning, that’s a start.
I have found that taking the time, even if it’s only 15 minutes, to read from the Lotus Sutra, think about what it means, and dedicate myself to the benefit of all beings, that always makes things go better in my day. No, I don’t always do things as well as I want. But I wonder how many more problems there would be if I weren’t practicing at all. There is a standard exchange I have with one of our members. He tells me that this is a difficult practice. I tell him that not practicing is even more difficult.
Reading the descriptions in the pamphlets of all the items on the altar, one member asked, Is this all just attachment? She knows of someone who spent $1000 on a statue for her altar. Is this what we have to do? Isn’t that just showing off, feeding our egos by trying to make our altar better than someone else’s?
Many years ago I got a letter from a prison inmate who wanted me to help him convince the officials where he was incarcerated that he needed candles, incense, statues and flowers for the altar in his cell. I wrote back that the only thing he needed for his altar is a mind of faith. If he is able to get the other items, that’s great. Otherwise he has to use what’s available.
We talked about how this is like what people use to equip their kitchens. Some people don’t use their kitchens at all. Some only use a microwave to cook. Others have elaborate setups with all sorts of gadgets that other people may not even know how to use. What we have on our altars is like this. Nichiren said that it’s enough to just have a copy of the Lotus Sutra, or a single statue. If we also want to use candles, incense, food offerings and flowers, and we know what they mean and how to use them, then that’s wonderful. But it is not good to be competitive about it, comparing our altars with what other people have. If we get an idea for something to add to our own, that can be nice. But for some people a very simple altar can be as effective as the grand display at Minobusan Kuonji.
Finally we talked about the Omandala Gohonzon as part of the altar. But since that could easily generate another thousand words, I’ll leave it for another post.
