samma-sambodhi

[samma-sambodhi]

— SKILLFUL MEANS — (pt.4)

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Lotus Sutta [chapter 2]

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That is why, O Śāriputra, I devised the method of teaching

The way to extinguish all suffering through nirvana.

EVEN THOUGH I TAUGHT NIRVANA,

IT IS NOT THE TRUE EXTINCTION.

[Every] existing thing from the very beginning

Has [always had the mark of quiescence.]

The heirs of the buddhas who practice this path

Will thereafter become buddhas in the future.

WITH THE POWER OF SKILLFUL MEANS

I HAVE PRESENTED THE TEACHINGS OF THE THREE VEHICLES.

YET ALL OF THE BHAGAVATS

TEACH THE PATH OF THE SINGLE VEHICLE.

This great assembly

Should now rid itself of confusion.

The words of the buddhas are not inconsistent.

THERE IS [ONLY] THE SINGLE VEHICLE;

There is no other.

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[samma-sambodhi]

— SKILLFUL MEANS — (pt.3)

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Lotus Sutta [chapter 2]

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Having a body adorned with the marks of a buddha,

Emitting a ray of light that illuminates the worlds

And revered by immeasurable sentient beings,

I TEACH THE SIGNS OF THE TRUE ASPECTS

OF THE PHENOMENAL WORLD.

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O Śāriputra! You should now know

That [ORIGINALLY I MADE A VOW

TO MAKE ALL SENTIENT BEINGS MY EQUAL

WITHOUT ANY DIFFERENCE.]

(I cannot stress the importance of this single statement. The vow to make us aspire to become Buddhas through the One Vehicle, only revealed in the Lotus Sutta, the very essence of Buddhism - Sammã-sambodhi)

Now I have already fulfilled this vow

That I made in the past.

I will lead and inspire all sentient beings

And cause them to enter the path of the buddhas.

If I met sentient beings

And taught them till the end the path of the buddhas,

Those with little understanding

Would be confused and perplexed

And would not accept the teaching.

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I know that these sentient beings

Have never cultivated the roots of good merit.

They are attached to the desires of the five senses,

Disordered by delusion and passion,

And have fallen into the three troubled states of being

Because of these desires.

They are wandering through

The six transmigratory states,

Tormented by every kind of suffering.

They are continually being born as tiny embryos

In one world after another.

These people of few qualities and little merit

Are afflicted by various sufferings.

They enter into the jungle of sixty-two false views

Such as “This exists” or “This does not exist.”

They are so firmly and deeply attached to false teachings

That they cannot get rid of them.

They are arrogant, proud, deceitful, and dishonest.

They have heard neither the names

Nor the True Dharma of the buddhas

For thousands of myriads of koṭis of kalpas.

Such people are difficult to save.

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Photo by: @maxrivephotography

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[samma-sambodhi]

— SKILLFUL MEANS — (pt.2)

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Lotus Sutta [chapter 2]

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In the buddha worlds of the ten directions

THERE IS ONLY THE DHAMMA OF THE SINGLE VEHICLE.

Apart from the skillful means of the buddhas,

THERE IS NEITHER A SECOND NOR A THIRD [VEHICLE].

A BUDDHA [MERELY USES PROVISIONAL WORDS]

IN ORDER TO LEAD SENTIENT BEINGS.

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ALL THE BUDDHAS APPEAR IN THE WORLD

TO TEACH THE WISDOM OF THE BUDDHAS.

[ONLY THIS] ONE THING IS REAL,

THE OTHER TWO (Arahant & Paccekabuddha) ARE NOT TRUE.

In the end,

A BUDDHA DOES NOT SAVE SENTIENT BEINGS

THROUGH AN INFERIOR VEHICLE.

THE BUDDHAS THEMSELVES

ABIDE IN THE MAHAYANA (The Lotus Sutta);

The Dhamma that they have attained,

Is adorned with meditation, wisdom, and power;

And through these they save the sentient beings.

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I would be ungenerous

If I were to lead and inspire even a single person

Through an inferior vehicle,

Having attained the highest path,

The universal Dharma of the Mahayana (The Lotus Sutta).

This is simply not possible.

IF ANYONE TAKES REFUGE IN THE BUDDHA ,

THE TATHĀGATA WILL NOT DECEIVE HIM.

A Tathāgata has neither stinginess nor jealousy

And has detached himself

From the evils of the phenomenal world.

That is why the buddhas of the ten directions

Are the only ones who have no fear.

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[samma-sambodhi]

— SKILLFUL MEANS — (pt.1)

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Lotus Sutta [chapter 2]

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Thereupon the Bhagavat, wanting to elaborate the meaning of this further, uttered these verses:

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In the fourfold assembly there were five thousand

Monks and nuns who were excessively proud,

Laymen who were arrogant,

And laywomen who were unaccepting.

They did not see their own defects,

Being faulty in self-discipline,

And clung to their shortcomings;

These of little wisdom have already left.

Through the virtuous dignity of the Buddha

The dregs of the assembly have departed.

Having little virtue,

These people were incapable of accepting this Dharma.

Free of useless twigs and leaves,

Only the pure essence of this assembly remains.

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O Śāriputra, listen carefully!

ALL THE BUDDHAS TEACH THE DHARMA

THAT THEY HAVE ATTAINED

THROUGH the immeasurable power of SKILLFUL MEANS,

For the sake of sentient beings.

Completely knowing their intentions,

Their various ways of practice,

Their wishes and capacities,

And the good and bad karma

Of their previous lives,

The Buddha gladdens all sentient beings

With the power of words and skillful means,

USING EXAMPLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

The Buddha teaches BY MEANS OF SUTRAS, VERSES,

STORIES of his PAST DEEDS, and of PAST EVENTS,

Miraculous TALES, explanatory tales,

ALLEGORIES, POEMS, and exegeses.

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THE BUDDHA TEACHES NIRVANA

TO THOSE WITH DULL FACULTIES,

WHO ARE SATISFIED WITH LOWLY ASPIRATIONS

And attached to birth and death,

Who have not practiced the profound path

In the presence of innumerable buddhas

And are confused by suffering.

Having devised this skillful means

I enable them to enter the wisdom of the buddhas.

BUT I HAVE NEVER SAID

THAT ALL OF YOU WOULD ATTAIN

THE PATH OF THE BUDDHAS.

I have never said this

Because the occasion never arose. NOW IS PRECISELY THE RIGHT TIME for me

To teach definitively the Mahayana.

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[samma-sambodhi]

— THE DAIMOKU OF THE LOTUS SUTTA —

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The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

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WITHIN THIS SINGLE CHARACTER  KYŌ ARE CONTAINED ALL THE SUTRAS IN THE WORLDS THROUGHOUT THE TEN DIRECTIONS. It is like the wish-granting jewel that contains within it all manner of treasures, or the vastness of space that encompasses all phenomena.

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And because this single character kyō of Myoho-renge-kyo is the supreme achievement of the Buddha’s lifetime of teaching, the other four characters, MYŌ-HŌ-REN-GE , LIKEWISE [SURPASS] ALL THE OTHER EIGHTY THOUSAND DOCTRINES THAT THE BUDDHA TAUGHT.

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Photo by: Dinatelhamiphotography

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[samma-sambodhi]

— THE DRUM AT THE GATE OF THUNDER —

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The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

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A WOMAN WHO EMBRACES THE LION KING OF THE LOTUS SUTTA NEVER FEARS ANY OF THE BEASTS OF HELL or of the realms of hungry spirits and animals. ALL THE OFFENSES COMMITTED BY A WOMAN IN HER LIFETIME ARE LIKE DRY GRASS, AND THE SINGLE CHARACTER [MYO] OF THE LOTUS SUTTA IS LIKE A SMALL SPARK. When a small spark is set to a large expanse of grass, NOT ONLY THE GRASS BUT ALSO THE BIG TREES and large stones WILL ALL BE CONSUMED. Such is the power of the fire of wisdom in the single character myo.

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NOT ONLY WILL ALL OFFENSES VANISH, BUT THEY WILL BECOME SOURCES OF BENEFIT. This is what changing poison into amrita means. For example, black lacquer will turn white when white powder is added. A woman’s offenses are like the lacquer, and the words Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, like the white powder.

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[samma-sambodhi]

— OPENING THE EYES OF IMAGES —

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The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

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A person gives utterance to speech on two occasions: On one occasion, it is to tell other people what one does not oneself believe in an effort to deceive them. That person’s voice in this case “accords with others’ minds.”

On the other, it is to voice what one truly has in mind. Thus one’s thoughts are expressed in one’s voice.

The mind represents the spiritual aspect, and the voice, the physical aspect. THE SPIRITUAL ASPECT MANIFESTS ITSELF IN THE PHYSICAL. A person can know another’s mind by listening to the voice. THIS IS BECAUSE THE PHYSICAL ASPECT REVEALS THE SPIRITUAL ASPECT.

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THE PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL, WHICH ARE ONE IN ESSENCE, MANIFEST THEMSELVES AS TWO DISTINCT ASPECTS; THUS THE BUDDHA’S MIND FOUND EXPRESSION AS THE WRITTEN WORDS OF THE LOTUS SUTTA.

THESE WRITTEN WORDS ARE THE BUDDHA’S MIND IN A DIFFERENT FORM. THEREFORE, THOSE WHO READ THE LOTUS SUTTA MUST NOT REGARD IT AS CONSISTING OF MERE WRITTEN WORDS, FOR THOSE WORDS ARE IN THEMSELVES THE [BUDDHA’S MIND].

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[samma-sambodhi]

— THE GIFT OF RICE —

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The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

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THE TRUE PATH LIES IN THE AFFAIRS OF THIS WORLD. The Golden Light Sutra states, “TO HAVE A PROFOUND KNOWLEDGE OF THIS WORLD IS ITSELF BUDDHISM.”

The Nirvana Sutra states, “ALL OF THE NON-BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES AND WRITINGS IN SOCIETY ARE THEMSELVES BUDDHIST TEACHINGS, NOT NON-BUDDHIST TEACHINGS.”

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When the Great Teacher Miao-lo compared these passages with the one from the sixth volume of the Lotus Sutra that reads, “NO WORLDLY AFFAIRS OF LIFE OR WORK ARE EVER CONTRARY TO THE TRUE REALITY,” he revealed their meaning and pointed out that ALTHOUGH THE FIRST TWO SUTRAS ARE PROFOUND, since THEIR MEANING IS still SHALLOW AND FAILS TO APPROACH THAT OF THE LOTUS SUTRA, [they relate secular matters] in terms of Buddhism, whereas THE LOTUS SUTRA EXPLAINS THAT IN THE END [[SECULAR MATTERS ARE THE ENTIRETY OF BUDDHISM.]]

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THE ESSENCE OF THE SUTRAS PREACHED BEFORE THE LOTUS SUTRA IS THAT ALL PHENOMENA ARISE FROM THE MIND.

To illustrate, they say that the mind is like the great earth, while the grasses and trees are like all phenomena.

BUT IT IS NOT SO WITH THE LOTUS SUTRA. It teaches that the mind itself is the great earth, and that the great earth itself is the grasses and trees.

THE MEANING OF THE EARLIER SUTRAS IS THAT CLARITY OF MIND IS [LIKE] THE MOON, AND THAT PURITY OF MIND IS [LIKE] A FLOWER.

BUT IT IS NOT SO WITH THE LOTUS SUTRA. IT IS THE TEACHING THAT THE MOON [ITSELF] IS MIND, AND THE FLOWER [ITSELF] IS MIND.

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You should realize from this that polished rice is not polished rice; it is life itself.

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[samma-sambodhi]

— DHAMMA DISCOURSE — (pt.8)

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[Innumerable Meanings Sutta - chapter 2]

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O you of good intent! I expounded the Four Noble Truths for the benefit of those seeking to become sāvakas during the initial period; yet, eight hundred million heavenly beings came down to hear the teaching and awakened the aspiration for enlightenment.

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I spoke about the sublimely profound twelve-linked chain of dependent origination at various locations during the middle period for the benefit of people seeking to become paccekabuddhas; nevertheless, innumerable living beings awakened the aspiration for enlightenment or remained as sāvakas.

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I next described kappas-long bodhisatta practice by expounding twelve types of comprehensive suttas, the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutta, and the similes of clouds and oceans in the Flower Garland Sutra (Avataṃsaka-sūtta); even so, a hundred thousand monks, hundreds of millions of myriads of human and heavenly beings, and innumerable living beings attained the fruit of entering the stream, attained the fruit of one remaining return, attained the fruit of non-returning, attained the fruit of arhatship, or stayed within their understanding of the principle of dependent origination as paccekabuddhas.

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O you of good intent! Accordingly, it should be known that EVEN THOUGH THE DISCOURSE IS THE SAME, ITS MEANING WILL VARY. Because the meaning varies, LIVING BEINGS HAVE VARIOUS UNDERSTANDINGS. BECAUSE THEIR UNDERSTANDING VARIES, SO ALSO DOES THEIR GRASP OF THE DHAMMA, THEIR ATTAINMENT OF ITS FRUITS, AND THEIR REALIZATION OF THE WAY.

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Photo by: Filiz Elaerts

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[samma-sambodhi]

— DHAMMA DISCOURSE — (pt.7)

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[Innumerable Meanings Sutta - chapter 2]

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O you of good intent! The Dhamma is like water that can wash away dirt and grime. Whether coming from a well or a pond, a stream or a river, a valley or a ditch, or an ocean, the water contained in all of these can effectively wash all kinds of dirt and grime away.

So it is also with the water of the Dhamma: it can cleanse living beings of the dirt of all delusive worldly passions.

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O you of good intent! The character of the water is the same even though streams, rivers, wells, ponds, valleys, ditches, and oceans are each different and distinct.

So it is also with THE CHARACTER OF THE DHAMMA: IT REMOVES AND WASHES AWAY THE DIRT OF DELUSIVE PASSIONS EQUALLY AND WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION; the three teachings, the four fruits, and the two ways, however, are not one and the same.

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O you of good intent! Although the water from all of these places is cleansing, a well is not a pond, a pond is neither a stream nor a river, and valleys and ditches are not oceans.

The Tathāgata—Hero of the World, in total command of the Dhamma—has expounded various teachings that are also like this.

The initial-period discourses, the middle-period discourses, and the latter-period discourses are all able to remove and wash away delusive worldly passions of living beings.

But the initial-period discourses are not the middle ones, and the middle-period discourses are not the latter ones.

The initial-, middle-, and latter-period discourses express the same thing, yet they [differ from each other in meaning].

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[samma-sambodhi]

— DHAMMA DISCOURSE — (pt.6)

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[Innumerable Meanings Sutta - chapter 2]

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With that, the Buddha said to the bodhisattva Fully Composed:

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Well done, you of great good intent! Well done! You have skillfully questioned the Tathāgata regarding this profound, unequaled, all-ferrying, transcendental essence. You should know that you will enable many to benefit, you will please and bring ease to human and heavenly beings, and you will relieve living beings of their suffering. This is great and real compassion—TRUST WHOLLY AND COMPLETELY THAT THIS IS TRUE.

By this direct cause and its outgrowths, you will surely realize and quickly achieve ultimate enlightenment; you will also enable all living beings, now and in the future, to realize and achieve ultimate enlightenment.

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O you of good intent! By virtue of sitting upright and properly for six years at the place of the Way beneath the bodhi tree, I realized and achieved the full dynamic of ultimate enlightenment.

WITH THE INSIGHT OF A BUDDHA I PERCEIVED THAT NOT EVERYTHING SHOULD BE EXPLAINED. What is the reason for this? It is that THE CONDITIONED DESIRES OF ALL LIVING BEINGS ARE NOT THE SAME.

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[Since conditioned desires differ, ways of expounding the Dharma are many and various.]

FOR MORE THAN FORTY YEARS I HAVE EXPOUNDED THE DHARMA in all manner of ways through adeptness in skillful means, BUT THE CORE TRUTH HAS STILL NOT BEEN REVEALED . That is why living beings differ regarding realization of the Way, and do not realize and quickly achieve ultimate enlightenment.

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Photo by: Daniele Franchi

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[samma-sambodhi]

— DHAMMA DISCOURSE — (pt.5)

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[Innumerable Meanings Sutta - chapter 2]

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World-honored One! FOR MORE THAN [FORTY YEARS], ever since achieving enlightenment, the Tathāgata, for the benefit of living beings, has continuously discoursed on the principle of the four modes of all phenomena, the meaning of suffering, and the meaning of emptiness; on everchangingness, nonexistence of self, non-greatness, non-smallness, non-origination, and non-cessation; on the formlessness of all things; and on the natures and aspects of phenomena being intrinsically empty and tranquil—neither coming nor going, neither appearing nor disappearing.

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Those who hear you variously realize the stage of an ardent mind, the stage of attaining the highest still-unsettled condition, . . . the fruit of arhatship; or the way of paccekabuddha; or the awakening of the aspiration for enlightenment (bodhicitta). . . all the way to the tenth stage of development in bodhisatta practice.

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[In what way does the essence of what you have just now expounded differ from that of all the doctrines you have expounded in the past], such that you say that a bodhisatta who practices the deeply profound, supreme, all-ferrying Infinite Meanings Sutta will surely realize—and quickly achieve ultimate enlightenment? This is the matter in question.

I earnestly wish that the World-honored One, out of compassion for all, would explain this in detail for the benefit of living beings far and wide, and ensure that those who hear this teaching in the present and in the future are not left enmeshed in doubt.

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Photo by: Moacool

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[samma-sambodhi]

— NINE CONSCIOUSNESSES —

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Nine levels of discernment.

The first five consciousnesses correspond to the five sense sif sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.

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The sixth consciousness integrates the perception of the five senses into coherent images and makes judgements about the external world.

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The seventh consciousness corresponds to the inner spiritual world and generates awareness of the self and the ability to distinguish good from evil.

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The eighth consciousness, called the alaya-consciousness, receives the results of one's good and evil deeds and stores them as karmic potentials or "seeds," which produce the reward of either happiness or suffering accordingly.

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The ninth consciousness, called amala-consciousness, remains free from all karmic impurity, is defined as the basis of all life's functions and is identified with the true aspect of life, or the Buddha nature.

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Image: Masao Saito, 1984

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[samma-sambodhi]

— ENEMIES OF THE CORRECT TEACHING —

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... to understand the passage in the Nirvana Sutra that speaks of carrying out one’s duty “even though it costs him his life,” we should look at the passage later on in the same sutra that says,

“There are icchantikas, or persons of incorrigible disbelief. THEY PRETEND TO BE ARHATS, living in deserted places and SPEAKING SLANDEROUSLY OF THE CORRECT AND EQUAL SUTRAS OF THE GREAT VEHICLE. When ordinary people see them, they all suppose that they are true arhats and speak of them as great bodhisattvas.”

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Speaking of the third of the three types of enemies, the Lotus Sutra says,

“Or there will be forest-dwelling monks wearing clothing of patched rags and living in retirement . . . they will be respected and revered by the world as though they were arhats who possess the six transcendental powers.”

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And the Parinirvana Sutra says,

“There are also icchantikas who resemble arhats but who commit evil deeds.”

These passages from the sutras speak of powerful enemies of the correct teaching. Such enemies are to be found not so much among evil rulers and evil ministers, among non-Buddhists and devil kings, or among monks who disobey the precepts. Rather THEY ARE THOSE GREAT SLANDERERS OF THE LAW WHO ARE TO BE FOUND AMONG THE EMINENT MONKS WHO APPEAR TO BE UP HOLDERS OF THE PRECEPTS AND MEN OF WISDOM.

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The Great Teacher Miao-lo, speaking of such men, says,

“The third [group] is the most formidable of all. This is because the second and third ones are INCREASINGLY HARDER TO RECOGNIZER FOR WHAT THEY REALLY ARE.”

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The Slection of The Time — Nichiren Daishonin

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[samma-sambodhi]

— THE SELECTION OF THE TIME —

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The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

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The seventh volume of the Lotus Sutra states,

"Just as among all the mountains, Mount Sumeru is foremost, so this Lotus Sutra is likewise.

AMONG ALL THE SUTRAS, IT HOLDS THE HIGHEST PLACE."

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THE SUTRAS THAT THE BUDDHA PREACHED EARLIER such as the Flower Garland, Wisdom, and Mahavairochana sutras, the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra, which he preached at the same time as the Lotus Sutra, and the Nirvana Sutra, which he was to preach later, altogether amounting to the five thousand or seven thousand volumes, as well as the sutras of the land of India, the dragon king’s palace, the heaven of the four heavenly kings, the heaven of the thirty-three gods, and the sun and moon, and those of all the worlds in the ten directions, [ARE LESSER MOUNTAINS] such as the Dirt Mountains, the Black Mountains, the Small Iron Encircling Mountains, or the Great Iron Encircling Mountains [IN COMPARISON TO THIS LOTUS SUTRA] that has been brought to Japan, for it is comparable to Mount Sumeru.

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The seventh volume also says, “A PERSON WHO CAN ACCEPT AND UPHOLD THIS SUTRA IS LIKEWISE [FOREMOST] AMONG ALL LIVING BEINGS.”

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Photo of Mount Sumeru, Indonesia

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[samma-sambodhi]

— THE ONE VEHICLE (EKAYÃNA) —

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The teaching that enables all people to attain Buddhahood. The Lotus Sutra teaches that the three vehicles, or the teachings for voice-hearers (savakas), cause-awakened ones (paccekabuddha), and bodhisattas, ARE NOT ENDS IN THEMSELVES AS WAS PREVIOUSLY TAUGHT, but means to lead people to the One Vehicle, which encompasses and elevates the three vehicle teachings.

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The One Vehicle is also referred to as the single vehicle, the Buddha vehicle, the one Buddha vehicle, the one vehicle of Buddhahood, the one supreme vehicle, or the supreme vehicle of Buddhahood.

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Photo 'Zoom', by Casey Horner

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[samma-sambodhi]

— THE SELECTION OF THE TIME — Nichiren, disciple of Shakyamuni Buddha (pt.3/3)

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The BUDDHA REVEALED THAT HE HAD ATTAINED ENLIGHTENMENT COUNTLESS KALPAS IN THE PAST, which puzzled his listeners as greatly as if he had asserted that an old man of a hundred was the son of a man of twenty-five. And he also expounded the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, explaining that the nine worlds have the potential for Buddhahood and that Buddhahood retains the nine worlds.

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THUS A SINGLE WORD OF THIS LOTUS SUTRA IS AS PRECIOUS AS A WISH-GRANTING JEWEL, AND A SINGLE PHRASE IS THE SEED OF ALL BUDDHAS.

We may leave aside the question of whether Shakyamuni’s listeners at that point possessed the capacity to understand such doctrines or not. The fact is that the time had come for him to preach them. As the sutra says, “[NOW] IS THE VERY TIME WHEN I MUST DECISIVELY PREACH THE GREAT VEHICLE.”

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Photo by: Denny Bitte

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