Hoza Discussion
Chapter 16
“The Eternal Life of the
Tathagata”
Part 1
Definitions First
Transcendent powers
• Divine power; a permeating vision, a
deep understanding of knowing.
Cannot be attained by human beings
• Great universal life energy which
gives us life
Definitions
• Kalpa - a long time (eon)
• Nayuta - 100 billion
• Asamkhyeya - uncountable number
• Three Thousand Great Thousand Fold
World - the result of adding together
three kinds of thousand worlds
(small, medium, large)
Definitions
First
Thousand Worlds
Small = a solar system
Medium = a galaxy
Large = a nebula
Definitions
Divine Eagle Peak
• Also called the Divine Vulture Peak
• Literally, the place where Shakyamuni
Buddha was preaching
• Symbolizes teaching anywhere and
everywhere
Definitions
Abiding in all other places
• Everywhere besides the saha world,
which is this world, the world of
suffering
• Everywhere else too
Mandara (mandarava)
flowers
Definitions
• Heavenly flowers which come down
when buddhas teach.
• We are happy when we see them
Definitions
All those deluded living beings, by reason
of their bad karma, cannot hear the name
“Three Treasures”
• Those who are swayed by their own
desire and allow their desires to over
shadow their own Buddha-Nature
Definitions
Infinitely does my wisdom-light shine
• The light of the Buddha’s wisdom
shines everywhere.
• That light will be the guiding light to
those in darkness.
• All people can be awakened to their
own Buddha-Nature through this
light.
Importance
• This chapter is considered to be the
most important in the Lotus Sutra. It is
the heart of the sutra.
• In Chapter 2 “Skillful Means” we
learned the importance of using
appropriate methods to bring each
person to the ultimate Truth
• Chapter 16 reveals the “ultimate Truth”
Commentary
•
•
•
•
•
Three Treasures
Four Noble Truths
Eightfold Path
Six Paramitas (Perfections)
Law of Dependent Origination
• ALL GOOD BUT THEY FOLLOWERS WERE
DEPENDENT ON HIM
Commentary
• Presents the Truth of the Eternal
Original Buddha
• Ever was, ever will be, and is
everywhere
• Power that causes all things to exist
• Since the Eternal Original Buddha’s life
is infinite, and we share that essence –
our lives are infinite.
1+1=1
• This Buddha is the Eternal Original
Buddha which can exist in any form and
therefore appears appropriately to all
beings.
• Shakyamuni Buddha manifested the
Dharma in the form of a person whom
human beings could see directly.
• The Buddha appears when we realize
this existence in all of us
Cannot Interpret Literally
• “I am always on Divine Eagle Peak” is
not a reference to a specific place , but
instead refers to infinite space.
• The message he brings is about the
Eternal Original Buddha that exists in all
living beings, throughout time and in
every place.
Eternal Life
• Followers began to understand they
had potential to become buddhas
• Time for Shakyamuni to tell the whole
story
• We are the living appearance of the
Buddha and our lives are connected
with the Eternal life of the Buddha.
Eternal Life
Our physical bodies will eventually die, just
like old clothes that wear out. But our true
nature is not our physical body. It is the
Buddha-Nature.
We are actually living
the same life as the
Eternal Buddha.
Law of Transience
President Niwano said that even though
our human life is finite, we are endowed
with the ability to understand the eternal
Truth, the Law of Transience
To know the Law of Transience is to know
everlasting life.
Law of Transience
• This Eternal Buddha, the force that gives us life,
is the same as the Truth. It is the same as the
Dharma. It is both inside our bodies and outside.
It is everywhere. It is life itself.
• Being released from fear of death,
knowing the joy of having eternal life, we
are then free to advance in our personal
growth and to contribute toward the
liberation of others.
Law of Transience
• Do you think about your own death?
• How comfortable are you with the idea of
dying?
• Do you believe that your life is infinite?
• If so, how does this idea influence your daily
thinking and behavior?
Part 2
Line by Line Discussion
The Eternal Life of the Tathagata
1. “Since I became Buddha,
The number of kalpas which have passed
Are infinite myriads
Of kotis of years beyond measure.
2. “I have ceaselessly expounded the Dharma,
3. Teaching and transforming countless kotis
of beings,
4. Enabling them to enter the Buddha Way.
“In the innumerable kalpas since then,
5. I employed skillful means to reveal my
nirvana
6. In order to ferry living beings to the
other shore.
But, in truth, I did not die and cross
over―
7. I always abide here teaching the
Dharma.
1.
2.
3.
4.
“Indeed, I am always dwelling in this world.
However, using my transcendent powers,
I cause living beings with distorted minds
To be unable to see me, although I am near.
5. “All who perceive that I have perished,
Everywhere worship my relics;
All who cherish and long for me,
Look up with thirsting hearts.
“At last, when living beings humbly believe,
1. Are upright in character and gentle in mind,
2. And wish with all their hearts to see the
Buddha,
Even at the cost of their lives,
3.
4.
5.
6.
“Then I, along with all the Sangha
Appear together on Divine Eagle Peak.
At that time, I tell all living beings,
That I am always here and did not pass away.
Having the use of the power of skillful means,
I thus manifest both my presence and passing.
“If, in other lands, there are living beings
Who are reverent and faithful,
I am with them as well
To teach the unsurpassed Dharma.
You, not hearing of this,
Merely think I am gone.
“I look upon all living beings
Sinking in the sea of suffering.
They reach out in desperation,
Because I do not yet show myself.
“When their hearts are filled with deepest
longing,
I then come forth to teach the Dharma.
“Such are my transcendent powers.
Throughout time beyond measure,
I am always on Divine Eagle Peak
And abiding in all other places.
“When living beings see, at this kalpa’s end,
1. The time of great fires burning,
2. Tranquil and calm is this land of mine―
Filled with human and heavenly beings,
Gardens and groves, halls and pavilions
With every kind of gem adorned,
Jeweled trees full of blossoms and fruits.
3. Here, all living beings take their pleasure,
4. And heavenly beings strike heavenly
drums―
Always making many kinds of music,
5. Showering mandara flowers
On the Buddha and his great assembly.
1. “My pure land is never destroyed,
2. Yet all see it as consumed by fire
And filled with every kind of
Grief, horror, pain, and distress.
3. “All those deluded living beings,
By reason of their bad karma,
Throughout immeasurable kalpas
Cannot hear the name ‘Three Treasures.’
Part 3
Threefold Body of
the Buddha
But those who perform virtuous deeds,
Who are gentle and of upright nature,
[Appropriate behavior if on the Bodhisattva Path]
They can all see
5 kinds of eyes with which to see,
Eye of material body – lowest view
Divine eye of celestial beings - scientific
Eye of wisdom - philosophical
Eye of the law - artistic
Eye of the Buddha - compassionate
The Buddha seeing through the eye, not with
the eye
That I am here teaching the Dharma
In the Pali Cannon
Tathagata is divided into two parts
1. Entity – innate original power, existence
2. Working – expression of power, action
Threefold Body of the Buddha
1. Law –body – Dharmakāya – entity
Example – Eternal Original Buddha
Truth = Buddha = Dharma
“Whoever sees the Dhamma sees me;
whoever sees me sees the Dhamma.”
2. Reward-body - Sambhogakāya – bliss
Example - Amida
3. Mutation-body - Nirmanakāya –
teacher – Example Shakyamuni
At times, for the sake of them all,
I teach that a buddha’s lifetime is infinite;
[ Eternal Original Buddha]
To those who see a buddha after a very
long time
I teach that a buddha is rarely met. – we
must personally and earnestly seek the
teachings
Know the preciousness Voluntarily make an effort Cultivate the roots of virtue by study and practice
Strive to see the Buddha Knowing that he always exists
“Such is the power of my wisdom!
Infinitely does my wisdom-light shine!
My lifetime is of countless kalpas,
The result of age-long good karmic practice.
“Those of you who have wisdom,
Give rise to no doubt about this!
Bring doubt forever to an end:
The Buddha's words are true, not false.
PART 4
Parable of the
Physician’s Children
Parable of the Physician’s Children
Parable of the Physician’s Children
Who is the physician?
Who are the children?
What is the medicine?
What is the moral of
the story?
How the Buddha teaches us
“Soon I will enter nirvana…”
If the Buddha stays in the world, living beings tend
to get lazy, greedy and attached to illusion
So, he appears to enter nirvana so that we will
regain our focus, practice, and true understanding
“Just as a physician with skillful meansTo bring his deranged children to sanityAnnounces his death although truly alive,
But cannot be charged with falsehood;”
“ So also do I--a father, and parent to this
world- To relieve all suffering and disease,
Announce my death although truly alive
For the sake of people with delusions.”
Why can’t the doctor and Buddha be
charged with falsehood?
Buddha says, “I am like this physician.”
•
Buddha
•
Founder Niwano
•
All Dharma Teachers
How can you be like the physician?
“ Because by always seeing me, they
give rise to complacency and conceit”
Why?
Wouldn’t they be better off to be in contact
with the father (doctor/Buddha) on a daily
basis?
“Become selfishly attached to the 5
desires, and fall into evil ways.”
• The poisons are - illusions produced
by the 5 desires/senses
1. Wealth
2. Sex
3. Food
4. Fame
5. Sleep
Lessons
1. We use bad judgment and engage in
harmful behavior when we avoid the
teachings. When we are in daily contact
with the teachings, we are equipped with
the tools to avoid obsessions, delusions,
and poor choices.
2. All the children in the story, no matter how
ill or delusional, were delighted to see
their father on his first return.
The Medicine
Good herbs of color, smell, and flavor
(various kinds are needed = skillful means)
1. Medicine for removing illusions
2. Medicine for making them/us gain True wisdom
3. Medicine to develop spirit of service to others
- To pound the herbs – makes them easily digested
- To sift the herbs – to remove impurities
“I always know living beings,
Those who practice the Way and those who do
not,
And, for their sake, expound many and various
teachings,
To rescue each of them accordingly,
Ever making this my thought:
‘How can I make living beings
Obtain entry into the unsurpassable Way
And quickly accomplish embodiment as
buddhas?”
We Must Use the Tools
• The physician (Buddha) never became
angry with the children
• Father comes home AFTER they take the
medicine - Self-discipline is required on
our part - it is a sacred task for us to take
the medicine in our hands and put it into
our own mouths
Every opportunity is the seed for growth!
PART 5
Application
Eternal Buddha is Universal Life Energy
(Energy/Consciousness)
• The true essence of humankind and
all things, are a part of this.
• Live in confidence and harmony with
the Universal Laws (Dharma). This is
a true way and understanding of the
Path.
In Buddhism for Today
• CH 2 of the Lotus Sutra teaches philosophy and
ethics (understanding “Oneness”)
• With the understanding gained in Ch 16, we see
the spiritual teachings of a religion that offers us
the ability to remove suffering
(this is not possible by study only)
One reason that Buddhism is often seen not as a religion,
is because Shakyamuni did not talk about a god
external to us, that controlled our destiny, or to whom
we could pray and in turn, be saved.
CH 2
“Head”
Manjushri
CH 16
to
to
to
“Heart”
Maitreya
Guiding - personal enlightenment (arhats)
to
Supreme Enlightenment (bodhisattvas)
Empowerment
• Philosophy changes to spiritual connection,
we know our essence is the same as the
Eternal Original Buddha
• We feel compassion, a sense of purpose
and gratitude for life
• Suffering is eliminated by focusing on our true
essence (connection) and practicing
Shakyamuni Buddha regarded this universe
as a result of cause and effect
Appropriate Methods (Innumerable)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Reverse psychology – for very strong-headed people
Explain Dharma – Buddha plants “seeds”
Musubi – deeply reflect = new perspective/direction
Child’s problems – parent’s chance to reflect
See small, positives – gratitude creates action
Working relation to Buddha – daily connection
Verbalize gratitude – goes into your spiritual ATM
(during hard times, you can draw strength from it)
Liberation
• Teaching daily examples from life
• Sharing your Dharma journey
(Knowing “how” and “why” is very
important)
• Forgiveness for ourselves and others
• “Doing for others” takes us out of our ego
• If you lose “connection”, re-establish it
• Shakyamuni said - if possible try and
solve our problems by human
knowledge, technology, and endeavor
(animals and stones are not objects of worship, prayed
to for healing or illness - use all things appropriately)
• Suffering of life and death can not be
eliminated by mental dependence on an
external force
• Yet, internally we are subject to illusion
“Make the self your light,
Make the Law (Truth) your light.”
- Shakyamuni Buddha
Universal Truth = the Great Life
(Original/Eternal Buddha)
“Namu” – Taking refuge and joy in the
Truth
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo
This is the expression of our practice of
taking refuge in the Truth with our entire
heart and mind
What is the Dharma (Law)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Exists both within and outside us
The Truth that permeates the Universe
No distinction between inside and outside
“The Great Life” that causes everything in this
world to exist and live
Taking refuge with our heart and mind
The power or rule that causes everything to exist
The power for everything to exist
The will to live
The innate/natural or will to grow and develop
Universal Life
Three bodies of the Buddha
The Eternal Original Buddha
Why is Chapter 16 the core?
• The Buddha’s true entity and life are
manifested
• We learn that the entity of the Buddha is
not the Shakyamuni seen by disciples, but
the Eternal Original Buddha
• To see that the Eternal Original Buddha
always exists in all places, and at all times
“Believe and discern it”
• Buddha was a reasonable person. He did not
command his disciples to simply “believe.”
• He said “believe and discern” which means
believe it after understanding it.
Buddhism emphasizes belief based on understanding
“Behold the Truth”
This speaks for the character of his teachings
In today’s language = “scientific spirit”
- view it
- study it
- understand it
The 5 Organs of Good Conduct
•
•
•
•
•
Sense of belief – ‘knowing’ in the heart
Sense of endeavor – constant spiritual effort
Sense of memory – focused on Truth
Sense of meditation – balanced life
Sense of wisdom – free from ego and illusion
Eternal Original Buddha is an
absolute existence
We could compare it to the air. It
always exists around us and even
within our bodies. We can’t live
without it, yet we usually don’t
think about its existence.
The true nature of Shakyamuni Buddha is the Original
(Eternal) Buddha, and the Buddha in that sense, has neither
a beginning nor and ending.
The Original Buddha continually resides in this world,
permeating everyone and everything –
always giving us life energy.
Because we share this essence that is Eternal,
we also have an eternal aspect.
When we fix this awareness fully in our hearts and minds,
our lives are truly bright and free. We are filled with courage
and a positive spirit.
IF YOU FORGET -- YOU CAN REMEMBER AT ANY TIME
Realize
• Every encounter, phenomena, and all the
teachings of sages, and wise ones, are all
manifestations of Eternal Buddha’s
compassion in guiding us
• With a firm practice and faith, we can live in
harmony – undistracted by change
GOALS
• Understand the compassionate working
of the Eternal Buddha in guiding us
though all phenomena
• Acquire that same compassion, when
guiding others on the Path
• Understand the entity and workings of
the Eternal Buddha
• Establish a firm understanding and
faith in the Dharma through
experience
Discussion
• Do we always see and feel the
Eternal Buddha?
• In what way do we feel that
compassion on a daily basis?
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