MindYourBuddha

1. Dukkha, (Truth of Suffering)
2. Samudaya, the arising or origin of Dukkha, (Truth of the Cause)
3. Nirodha, the cessation of Dukkha, (Truth of Extinction)
4. Magga, the way leading to the cessation of Dukkha, (Truth of the Path)

In short these five aggregates of attachment are dukkha.

Whatever is impermanent is dukkha

he who sees dukkha sees also the arising of dukkha, sees also the cessation of dukkha, and sees also the path leading to the cessation of dukkha.

... to be continued 

I observe that length of time as if it were only today.

Illustration by David Russell

It is as if, for example, there is a road, five hundred Yojanas long, steep dangerous and bad, an uninhabited and terrifying place. A large group of people wish to travel this road to reach a cache of precious jewels. Among them, there is a guide, intelligent, wise and clear-headed, who knows the road well, both its passable and impassable features. And who wishes to lead the group through this hardship.

Midway, the group he is leading grows weary and wishes to turn back. They say to the guide, we are exhausted and afraid, we cannot go forward. Its too far. We want to turn back now.

Their leader, who has many expedients, has this thought; How pitiful they are. How can they renounce the great and precious treasure and wish to turn back. Having had this thought, through the power of his expedient devices, he transforms a city in the center of the dangerous road, three hundred Yojanas in extent, and says to them.  Do not be afraid. Do not turn back, stay here now in this great city I have created just for you. If you go into this city, you will be happy and at peace. If you then wish to proceed to the jewel cache, you may do so.  Then the exhausted group rejoiced greatly, having gained what they had never had. We have now escaped this bad road and gained happiness and peace.  Then the group went forward and entered the transformed city; thinking that they had already been saved, they felt happy and at peace.

At that time, the guide, knowing that they were rested and no longer weary, made the city disappear, saying to them, all of you, come, let us go. The jewel cache is near. The great city was merely something I created from transformation to give you a rest.

This is suffering. This is the origination of suffering. This is the extinction of suffering. This the way to the extinction of suffering.

Ignorance causes Action
Action causes Consciousness
Consciousness causes Name and Form
Name and Form cause the Six Entrances [sense organs]
Six Entrances cause Contact
Contact causes Sensation [feeling]
Sensation causes Desire [craving or love]
Desire causes Clinging [grasping]
Clinging causes Existence [becoming]
Existence causes Birth
Birth causes Old Age and Death and Worry, Grief, Lamentation, Suffering and Distress

When ignorance is extinguished, actions are extinguished. When actions are extinguished, then consciousness is extinguished. When consciousness is extinguished, then name and form are extinguished. When name and form are extinguished, then the six sense organs are extinguished, then contact is extinguished. When contact is extinguished, then feeling is extinguished. When feeling is extinguished, then craving is extinguished. When craving is extinguished, then grasping is extinguished. When grasping is extinguished, then becoming is extinguished. When becoming is extinguished, then birth is extinguished. When birth is extinguished, then old age and death, worry, grief, suffering and distress are extinguished.

The doctrine of The Three Thousand Realms In One Mind forms the essence of the Makashikan, a twenty-section work in which Tien-tai Chin-i of China systematized various teachings included in the Lotus Sutra developed.  Nichiren, regarded Chin-i's doctrine of The Three Thousand Realms In One Mind as the essence of the Buddha's teachings.




In class we discussed this very important doctrine and I will attempt to explain it here.  Please leave comments correcting what I have misunderstood or omitted.

Our mind continuously cycles between different mental states.  This is easy to see.  We attend the christening of a newborn and you feel love for the child and the family.  Following the service you drop you car keys and bending over bang your head on the car - now your in pain and irritated at yourself; you pull out of the parking lot and get side-swiped by a stranger swerving all over the place - now your mad; the other driver grins at you, flips you off and speeds away - now your incensed and want revenge; you recklessly chase after him and hit a pedestrian - now your in your own private hell.  This example is a bit extreme but points out how we move continuously without notice through these various mental states.

The the six mental states and four spiritual states taught in Buddhism are:

• Hell - as defined by a mind consumed by anger.
• Hungry Spirits - as defined by a mind dominated by greed associated with the uncontrolled and unsatisfied desire for things.
• Animal - as defined by a mind that acts on instinct alone without wisdom, precaution or reservation and unconcerned by the consequences of its actions.
• Demons - as defined by a mind that is self-centered in everything.
• Human Beings - as defined by a mind that is aware of and operates above the four lower mental states.
• Heaven - as defined by a mind filled with the temporary joy to be found though the senses in experiencing the things in the world.  This joy is opposed to the unchanging joy gained through the Buddha's enlightenment.
• Shravakas - one who has learned by way of the Dharma
• Pratyekabuddhas - one who follows the way.
• Bodhisattvas - one who practices the way for the sake of others.
• Buddhas - one who has become awakened.

Buddhism teaches that we each have a great cause, which is to become enlightened.  Because we are born with a Buddha nature, ie., we are, 1. unawakened, 2. capable of mercy, 3. capable of compassion and 4. capable of joy, and we are human so we are pre-wired to find the meaning in our lives, and so we are endowed with both the characteristics and curiosity to advance spiritually.  The great cause is never played out in a single lifetime, instead it is subject to our interaction with our karma.  I have spoke earlier of karma as a force controlled by the accumulation of all our deeds in all our lifetimes.  The purpose of karma is to help you to become enlightened.  If you are an angry person, karma will present situations that exercise your anger so that you can understand your anger and move beyond it.  Having mastered your anger it no longer has control over you, freeing you to advance (be reborn) into a higher state.

Regardless of which state we are 'born into', there exists the potential for us to experience the other states of mind.  I say 'born into' because most of us live predominately (ie., consistently) in a single state of mind.  If you are a murderer, you were likely born into the state of Hell, and although you are still capable of experiencing any of the other nine states of mind, you mental state is dominated by anger.

We can envision our current existence as bounded within ring with 10 spheres attached to it, each sphere representing a state of mind.  Lets say if you were born into a state Hell, the sphere representing Hell is much bigger than the other nine spheres.  Assume the sizes of the spheres are proportional to the amount of time spent in the corresponding mental state, but for the sake of this example one sphere within the ring will always be the largest.

Buddhism teaches that life is permeated by a mechanism of cause-action-reaction that is directly influenced by our mental state - our attitude.  The doctrine of the Ten Suchnesses, states that all things (subjects) can be defined by its: (1) Scope (including appearance), (2) Nature, and (3) Essence. Its (4) Power and (5) Function define the subject’s potency and purpose in conducting Life’s activities. The next four characteristics define the causes and effects that connects the subjects past, present and future: (6) Latent Causes, (7) External Causes, (8) Potential Effects and (9) Manifest Effects.  The last characteristic, (10) Order, keeps everything working with one another in a consistent manner — assuring the continuity of existence.

Lets assume that your karma influences the causes, conditions and effects you experience.  Also, if your are murderer, your karma in this lifetime will share similarities with all the other murderers, so lets put all the murderers in your ring.

Now lets stack nine rings on top of yours, each with a different dominant sphere, with the top five rings starting with the ring for Human Beings, then Shravakas, Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas and lastly Buddhas, and divide all sentient beings into their respective rings.

In the doctrine of "Nothing has and Ego", Buddhism teaches that nothing exists in and of itself.  Humans are actually a frail species and can't exist without food and air.  Similarly vegetation needs water and sunlight to exist.  And so on and so on, we see that everything has a dependent nature.  The notion of being an individual  is a mental construct of the 'Self' which make us feel independent from the rest.   Some natural conclusions from this concept is that hurting or destroying other people or things in turn hurts or destroys you because we are all interdependent.  Additionally we are all interconnected because we all are made from the same stuff of life - atoms.  For these reasons, Buddhism teaches that the ego you experience is false, and that the true reality is that all of life is a unified shared experience and there is no ego.

In our tower of ten rings we see all people interconnected and affecting each other, working out their own karmic hindrances and moving through the various mental state of existence, and through rebirth moving amongst the rings.  For most of the time, with the exception of those spiritually mature beings, we carry out our life with ourselves as the center of focus.  Every action is calculated to derive either a benefit, or minimum harm to us, only in selected cases do we act as a collective. 

In the doctrine of "The Three Thousand Realms In One Mind", it states three perspectives where we think and act as a collective, putting aside our individual goals; the environment, the nation, and the world.  Now given that this work was developed a very long time ago, these three categories may seem reasonable, but they do not translate well to modern day.  Nevertheless we finally arrive at the source for the rather mystic title of the doctrine.  The number three thousand comes from ten mental states times ten suchnesses times ten human/spiritual realms times three worldly perspectives.  If we consider that in each moment of time this complex drama plays out and that because we are all interconnected it can be said that we share a common consciousness or one mind.

After I wrote this post I was looking on the net for a picture of Nichiren and coincidentally came across this video.  Enjoy, and no the singer is not me.

QUANTUM PHYSICS BACKS UP BUDDHISM’S 3,000 realms in a single moment of life
One particle has 3,000 different waves of potentality. This has now been scientificaly proven. Three Thousand Realms In a Single Moment of Life is fact. This means that Buddahood (as well as the other nine worlds) all exist within our lives and all ten worlds exist within each other!

In this story the Buddha speaking to Kashyapa says,

Suppose, in the three-thousand-great-thousandfold world there are growing on the mountains, along the rivers, and streams, in the valleys and on the land, plants, trees, thickets, forests, and medicinal herbs of various and numerous kinds, with names and colors all different.  A dense cloud, spreading over and everywhere covering the whole three-thousand-great-thousandfold world, pours down its rain equally at the same time.  Its moisture universally fertilizes the plants, trees, thickets, forests, and medicinal herbs, with their tiny roots, tiny stalks, tiny twigs, tiny leaves, their medium roots, medium stalks, medium twigs, medium leaves, their big roots, big stalks, big twigs, big leaves; every tree big or little, according to its superior, middle or lower capacity, receives its share.  From the rain of the one cloud, each according to the nature of its kind acquires its development, opening its blossoms and bearing its fruit.  Though produced in one soil and moistened by the same rain, yet these plants and trees are all different.

The parable reinforces the theme that there is but one truth the Buddha gives equally to all, yet we are nourished to the extent of our individual capacity.  As we continue our practice, we spiritually mature and partake of the truth to greater degrees.

http://mulattodiaries.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/tree-of-life-elliottmetal.jpg

In Buddhism For Today our companion study guide for The Threefold Lotus Sutra, our founder Nokkyo Niwano's commentary on this parable describe the parts of the tree as a metaphor for spiritual maturity.  Roots, stalks, twigs, and leaves indicate faith, precepts, meditation and wisdom.  Our faith is the most important part, because without it we cannot grow spiritually.  One cannot keep the precepts without faith.  Because of keeping the precepts, one can enter into the mental state of meditation and can also obtain wisdom.  Wisdom being defined as the ability to understand and hold in mind equally both differences and similarities.

Just as that great cloud, raining on all the plants, trees, thickets, forests, and medicinal herbs, and according to the nature of their seed perfectly fertilizing them so that each grows and develops, [so] the Law preached by the Tathagata is of one form (1) and flavor (2), that is to say, deliverance (3), abandonment (4), extinction (5), and finally the attainment of perfect knowledge (6).
...
The Tathagata knows this unitary essential Law, that is to say, deliverance, abandonment, extinction, final nirvana of eternal tranquility, ending in return to the void.

I was particularly struck by the phrase "return to the void", because I suddenly understood that we began in the void and that to contemplate the reality of all things, as is our purpose in meditation, is to try and experience our beginning.  The void is one of those eastern metaphysical terms with no easy relateable definition for a western audience.  In this one phrase, I came to recognize that the void is not the emptiness of things, for something cannot come from nothing.  Far from it, the void is only apparently empty because when we suspend our thinking mind we are confronted with silence, an apparent emptiness, but only because we are so used too being bombarded by our thoughts that our threshold is too high to sense the subtler forms of consciousness that are present all the time.  Its like being instantly transported from the front row of a rock concert to a church confessional, at first you can't hear anything, but gradually your senses attune to the ambient noise.   When we die, so I have read, our spirit subsumes back into a universal spirit and awaits the next cycle of rebirth.  The act of meditating, opens a window to this universal consciousness, unfettered by our ego, and allows us to experience something not confined by the limitations of our thinking mind.

Up until this point I also could not reconcile the concept of meditative void with the concept of void or the formlessness of nature as taught in Buddhism.  How I understood formlessness or non-form was by imaging that we turn the heat up on the world such that everything is reduced to either a gas or a melted blob of goo.  There are no longer are any structures, people, cars, roads, plants, mountains, etc., just gas and a layer of liquid goo.  Now, no matter if its a gas or liquid its easier to see that everything is just some combination of elements from the periodic chart that we learned in high school chemistry.  And from that perspective its easy to drill down to everything being made up of atoms and sub-atomic particles.  Particle physicists know that the space between the particles we know of, is orders of magnitude larger in volume that the particles account for.  And the space, or void, is not empty.  In fact, like little kids, we smash things together to see what's inside.  The only reason why we think its empty space is because our instruments are not refined enough to see into it.   Similarly our mind is not a sufficiently enough refined instrument to explore other states of consciousness.  I believe now, that these two voids are one and the same. 

You can't avoid drawing parallels between the strangeness of quantum physics and the strangeness of everyday unexplained phenomena.  In quantum physics light particles have a property of non-locality, that is they can exist at two places at the same time.  Could this also be the mechanism by which two people half a world apart experience the very same thought at the same time.   This may support an argument that consciousness and matter are the same.

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1 "One form" means that all forms or appearances are manifestations of reality.
2 "One flavor" is interpreted as the One-vehicle Law, or the Law of Equality.
3 Deliverance from mortality.
4 Abandonment of attachments or abandonment of the view that nirvana means total extinction.
5 Extinction here means the Middle Path, that is, neither mortal existence nor total extinction.
6 Perfect knowledge is the wisdom concerning all seeds.

This a wonderful parable about a father and son, and the loss and recovery of their relationship, much like the biblical story of the Prodigal Son.  The story starts with the the boy running away from home to others countries where he wanders for fifty years, unsuccessful in his endeavors and living a poor and desperate existence.  His wanderings eventually bring him back, and unaware, to his native country and to his fathers city.  Meanwhile, the father having searched always for the son, becomes very prosperous at home but filled with regret that he no longer has a son to leave all his possessions to, and so never speaks of his son.  The son used to hiring out as a unskilled laborer finds himself at his fathers house, but doesn't recognize the father who is surrounded by opulence, attendants and the citizenry.  Thinking that he is worthless and fearing that he could be enslaved by this king, the son runs away, but not before the father recognizes him.  The father immediately sends men to bring the son back, but the son confirming his fears, resists and collapses on the ground.  The father witnessing the event sends word to his men to release the son.  The son delighted by the turn of events, leaves to seek shelter and food.  The father reconsiders his strategy and sends new men to address the son, this time with humble demeanor and dressed shabbily, and with the offer of work shoveling dirt, for which the son will be paid double and in advance for his labors.

The father witnessing his son in labor, gaunt and filthy with dirt and desiring to be reunited with the son, takes on the appearance of a common laborer to supervise the son, thereby placing him in close contact with the son.  With continued employment the father, looks after the son, slowly increasing his wages and responsibilities and putting in his mind that he should be the son the father never had.  The son happy with his new situation, remains fixed in his attitude that he is still a humble hireling, and so continues his labors under the fathers direction for twenty years, over which time the sons builds his confidence and is allowed to come and go as he pleases.  Now the father is taken ill and knowing he will soon die tells the son it is his will for the son to become aware of all the fathers possessions treasures and operations, because he is trusted and has in-fact become a son to him.  The son accepts, but remains convinced he is unworthy of the task.

After a time, the father believing his sons attitude has enlarged, assembles the relatives, kings, minsters, citizens along with the son and proclaims to all that the son is truly his son who left the family at a early age, and that all his possessions are hereby transferred to the son who is well acquainted with his wealth and business.  Upon hear the news the son reflects:

Without any mind for or effort on my part these treasures now come of themselves to me

You have to love the tactful ways of the Buddha.  He knows we are attached to inferior ideas and are not ready to aspire to become a buddha even though it is our birthright as we come into this world with a buddha nature.  Yet he is patient, and teaches us according to our capacities, providing us with the three vehicles to make us spiritually mature.

The parable stresses the importance of attitude.  We are poor in the sense that we are not looking to become buddha.  Instead we come to Buddhism because we are broken, suffering and need relief.  In this state, we are open only to what Buddhism teaches about suffering and how uncover its roots and to find relief.  Only after our pain subsides do we become open to the deeper levels of the teachings.  We continue refining ourselves through learning, daily practice and selfless compassion for all, and eventually gain an appreciation for our great cause - to become buddha.

The sons final words, reaffirm that enlightenment is not something we pursue and attain - its already in us waiting to be revealed.

I'm taking a moment to write to a classmate who is going through a difficult phase of her life.

A,

I'm writing because I hope it will help you think differently about your circumstances and hopefully improve your outlook on life.  I don't claim to have any answers, I only offer what is working for me.

I believe our attitude is perhaps the only thing we can truly control in life.  I also believe its the most influential tool we have.  In Buddhism class we are being taught a great many things that we know to be true but find difficult to incorporate into the chaos of our daily life.  One fundamental truth is that life plays out through a endless cycle of causes and effects that are unpredictable, impossible to control and creates an inescapable undertow in our lives.  The feeling that your being swept away is universal. 

The process is described in the Buddhist principal of "The Ten Suchnesses", wherein stuff (i.e., people, events, things) continually combines under various conditions producing effects which in-turn create new conditions and stuff to arise and combine ... in perpetual motion.  Its quite natural to feel like we are just food for this machine. 

Just as your new recovery buddy has recently come into your life, so people, events and things continually arise and fade away in your life as they have in all your previous lives.  This process I believe is the handiwork of karma, which I also believe we should think of as a teacher.  I look at karma as a force similar to gravity, in that it can't be seen but its effects are experienced in a real way.  To me, karma has only one purpose, to teach you to become enlightened.  I like to think of it as a manifestation of all the Buddhas - another example of their clever and tactful ways.

Karma works by continually teaching you what you need to know which is determined by tallying up all your deeds over all your lives.  If you do bad things you get more bad things, not because of retaliation or tit-for-tat, but so that you have more situations to investigate, glean insight and learn from.  Once you understand the message karma is giving you, you will be free from those situations or at least their impact on you will be greatly lessened or eliminated.  The key therefore is not to ignore the opportunity karma presents, but investigate it deeply. 

It may helpful to step out of yourself and pretend you are a private investigator.  You have one client - A, and your job is to impassively investigate what makes A tick.  When A has an emotional reaction to a situation, you analyze the conditions, figure out why things developed, from the perspectives of all the parties involved, and make note of A's reaction.  Then assess if the emotional reaction was appropriate given an objective assessment of the situation.  You proceed in this manner and after a while you recognize you keep spiraling down to the same core reasons - perhaps fear of rejection, lack of self-love, need for security, perhaps A has been unfairly wronged in life and has come to believe she deserved it.  The core reasons are the roots for all of A's suffering.

    why --> because
                 but why --> because
                                    but why --> because
                                                       but why --> because
                                                                          ahh!

For many of us the need to be accepted by others (perhaps a mother, father, or mate) far exceeds the need to love ourselves.  We crave acceptance and this causes us to act irrationally - against our nature.  We base our self-esteem on the love or acceptance reflected back to us from others.  The reflection is further distorted by our biases so that what we perceive is likely not even closely in-sync with the opinions of us from the people we interact with.  How often have we found out afterward that our impressions of how people thought about us was completely wrong.

It may help to escape this trap by reminding yourself that everyone has a buddha nature, i.e., a capacity for compassion for others and an innate desire to become spiritually awakened.  For this reason, an attitude of self-hate also condemns the buddha, which for Buddhists is inconceivable. Always remember that the buddha took a vow to lead all sentient beings sinking in a sea of suffering to nirvana.  When we focus on these ideas we find strength and purpose and feel better about ourselves.  We begin to derive our self worth not from external factors but from internal virtues. 

The people that are causing you to suffer are also suffering, and for you to put your suffering aside and do some act of kindness for them in recognition of their buddha nature is the buddha-seeds that alter the outcome of the cycle of cause and effect.  Your experiences will mirror your attitude.  When you feel yourself getting angry, let that sensation be a trigger to remember your buddha nature, your purpose.  Take a long deep breath and be open to the message karma is sending you.

The Buddha rising from contemplation addresses Sariputra saying how the law is so subtle, so very profound and so difficult to comprehend.

Only a buddha together with a buddha can fathom the Reality of All Existence, that is to say all existence has such a form, such a nature, such a embodiment, such a potency, such a function, such a primary cause, such a secondary cause, such an effect, such a recompense, and such a complete fundamental whole.

The so called 'Ten Suchnesses' is a fundamental Buddhist teaching.


The Buddha repeatedly in different ways cautions Sariputra that there is no way a non-buddha can fully understand this law and that the law can only be taught to a bodhisattva.  Sariputra, being a sravaka, along with all the pratyekabuddhas, and all the bhikshus, bhikshunis, upasakas and upasikas just don't have the mental chops needed.

As expected, Sariputra for himself and the sake of the assembly implores the buddha to teach this law, but the buddha refuses.  Sariputra requests twice more and after the third request the buddha agrees.

At this point 5,000 of the assembly walk out to which he buddha says: "Now this assembly has no twigs and leaves but only those who are true and real."

On the surface this seem like an insult, but as I learned in class, this is yet another example of the buddha stactful way of teaching.  These disciples were conceited and felt they had attained all that there was to be attained, and so their minds were set against hearing the buddha.  The buddha realized that in some future cycle, they too would be ready to accept the teaching so there was no point in stopping them.  Still 'twigs and leaves' coming from the buddha is harsh!

At this point the buddha recalls the events of his awakening, where he encounters all the other buddhas who implore him to roll the dharma wheel (teach). For twenty-one days beneath the bodhi tree he considers this knowing that the mind of sentient beings cannot understand what has been revealed to him and so the task is seemingly impossible.  The buddha considers the lotus and how some of the flowers are still underwater and some are just breaking the surface and some rise above into the light, and for the sake of those that may have the capacity to understand, he agrees to teach.

Now comes the problem of how to teach.  As we saw in Chapter 2 - Preaching, man comes in a variety of natures, and his mind is continuously migrating among the six realms of existence (various mental states).  The buddha decides with the approval of all the other buddhas that although there is only one truth and that only through the One Great Vehicle can we become a buddha, the law will be taught in three vehicles.  Men may learn accordingly to their capacity.  The stupid and ignorant, those tied to their cravings may still learn and occasionally walk the path.  Those people of faith who practice, but do so solely for their only enlightenment will find relief from their sufferings.  But only the bodhisattva, who practices for the sake of others may become a buddha.  The teachings will need to be prepared skillfully, with a gentle voice, tactfully and in many different forms (by reasoning, parables, biography, etc) to penetrate the minds of all beings. 

The Buddha says to Sariputra the buddhas appear in the world only on account of the one very great cause - because the buddhas desire to cause all living beings to open their eyes to the Buddha-knowledge.

Of yore I made a vow
Wishing to cause all creatures
To rank equally without difference to me.

We discussed this concept further in class.  Because each of us has a buddha nature, each has a very great cause, which is to become buddha.  Just as it is rare for the buddha to come into the world to enlighten mankind, so to is it so special that you and I are in the world.  Since it is our mission to express our buddha nature, the more we respect ourselves, the more we respect the buddha nature.  This is our great cause.

There is a passage in this chapter which I will make my mantra.

 By the Buddhist-way which I walk,
 I desire universally to cause all creatures
 To attain the same Way along with me.
 ...
 Know that nothing has an independent existence
 And that buddha-seeds spring from a cause.

Our reverend offered some helpful thoughts about encouraging the buddha nature in others.  Not by a forcible argument, but by putting attention to any small good deed, do you show others the good inside them.

We pick-up the story on Divine Vulture Peak where the Buddha has just concluded teaching the assembly the Law of Innumerable Meanings.  After a couple of pages describing the more notable luminaries in attendance, the Buddha enters contemplation - a meditative state where his mind and body remain motionless.  With the assembly settled in quiet reverence, the sky opens raining down flowers while the universal-buddha-world shook in six ways.

Then the Buddha sent forth from the circle of white hair between his eyebrows a ray of light, which illuminated eighteen thousand worlds in the eastern quarter, so that there was nowhere it did not reach, downward to the Avici hell and upwards to the Akanishtha heaven.  In this world were seen in those lands all their living creatures in the six states of existence; likewise were seen the buddhas existing at present in those lands; and there could be heard the sutra-laws those buddhas were preaching; there could also be seen there bhikshus, bhikshunis, upasakas and upasikas who had practiced and attained the Way; further were seen the bodhisattva-mahasattvas, who walked the bodhisattva-way from various causes, with various discernments in faith, and with various appearances; likewise were seen the buddhas who had entered final nirvana; and there were seen the stupas made of the precious seven for relics of the buddhas, which were erected after the buddhas entered final nirvana.

Wow, what an opening!  Maitreya Bodhisattva is the first to speak, not to the Buddha so as not to disturb him, but to Manjursi, who has been in the company of other buddhas.  Whats happening Manjursi - to which, as we have come to expect Manjursi repeats in flowing verse the situation and the question and concludes by saying, the Buddha has something important to say - he is preparing to preach the great law.

Manjursi continues by telling a story set in the "time of yore".  There once was a buddha named Sun Moon Light Tathagata who taught the law:

For those who sought to be sravakas he preached response to the Law of the Four Noble Truths for the overcoming of birth, old age, disease, and death and finally [leading to] nirvana; for those who sought pratyekabuddhahood he preached response to the Law of Twelve Causes; for the bodhisattvas he preached response to the Six Parimitas to cause them to attain Perfect Enlightenment and to accomplish perfect knowledge.

Now Sun Moon Light Tathagata was not alone, the story says there were twenty thousand buddhas all with the same name.  I'm guessing the reference here is to 20,000 rebirths of the same buddha.  The last of the Sun Moon Light Tathagatas, also a great teacher experienced a similar moment - addressing a large assembly of followers and emitting a beacon of light from his forehead and at that time there was one in the assembly, a bodhisattva named Mystic Light.  When the Sun Moon Light Tathagatas ended his contemplation, he announces that the Bodhisattva Virtue Treasury, also present, will be the next buddha, then he through Mystic Light, preaches The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law, after which he enters nirvana.  Mystic Light having retained the  The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law, in-turn taught it to all, including the sons of this Sun Moon Light Tathagata who all became buddhas - the last of which was Burning Light.  Among the eight hundred disciples of Burning Light was Fame Seeker, so named because although he had read and recited many sutra, he had retained none.

At this point Manjursi says to Maitreya, that Maitreya was in a former birth Fame Seeker and that he was Mystic Light.  What! Before I read this I never considered that Buddhists might have had there own particular sense of humor.  This stuck me as a kick in the pants, maybe even insulting, but I'm probably just projecting my own pride on poor Maitreya.  

In class, we learned that three of the characters hold a special significance.

Maitreya represent compassion
Manjursi represent wisdom
Virtue Treasury represent practice.

These three are different levels of advancement as bodhisattvas.  Out of compassion comes wisdom and from wisdom comes practice.  There is a nature progression when learning Buddhism.  First the sravaka - one who hears the voice of Buddha and thereby reaches enlightenment.  This is the the lowest of the four noble states.  The next holy state is pratyekabuddhahood - one who attains enlightenment by completely apprehending the Law of Twelve Causes.  The pratyekabuddhahood attain enlightenment through their own independent practice without a teacher.  The next noble state is the bodhisattva - a being in the final stage prior to attaining buddhahood. One who seeks enlightenment not for himself but for all sentient beings.  The last noble state is the buddha - one who is enlightened.

Just like the lotus flower, born in mud, ascending towards the light and emerging beautifully unspoiled by its origin, so the Lotus Flower Sutra promotes our evolution as Buddhists.

The chapter concludes with the verse.

Now the Buddha sends forth a ray
To help reveal the Truth of Reality.
Be aware, all of you!
Fold your hands and with all your mind await!
The Buddha will pour the rain of the Law
To satisfy those who seek the Way.
If those who seek after the three vehicles
Have any doubts or regrets,
The Buddha will rid them of them
So that none whatever remain

The Ten Merit is the concluding chapter of The Sutra of Innumerable Meanings.  It speaks of the merits we will gain by understanding the teaching of this sutra.  It begins with a curiously worded set of questions asked of the Buddha by the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva GreatAdornment:

From what place does this Sutra come?  For what place does it leave?  At what place does it stay?

In the study group we learned that the place the Sutra comes from is the compassion the Buddhas feel for all people.  The target of the Sutra is the aspiration of all who seek buddha-hood, and the place it stays is to be found wherever people practice it.

The first merit as spoken by Buddha is:

Good sons! 
First, this sutra makes the unawakened bodhisattva aspire to buddha-hood,
makes a merciless one raise the mind of mercy,
makes a homicidal one raise the mind of great compassion,
make a jealous one raise the mind of joy,
makes an attached one raise the mind of detachment,
makes a miserly one raise the mind of donation,
makes a arrogant one raise the mind of keeping the commandments,
makes an irascible one raise the mind of perseverance,
makes an indolent one raise the mind of assiduity,
makes a distracted one raise the mind of meditation,
makes an ignorant one rise the mind of wisdom,
makes one who lacks concern for saving others raise the mind of saving others,
makes one who commits the ten evils raise the mind of keeping the ten virtues ,
makes one who aspires for existence aspire to the mind of nonexistence,
makes one who has inclinations towards apostasy build the mind of non-retrogression,
makes one who commits defiled acts raise the mind of undefilement,
and
makes one who suffers from delusions raise the mind of detachment

Or rephrased in this simple list:
 1. unawakened
 2. capable of mercy
 3. capable of compassion
 4. capable of joy
    attachment
 1. donation of time, money or knowledge
 2. keeping the precepts
 3. perseverance to say on the path
 4. assiduity, or to pursue the path without distraction
 5. to meditate always on the ultimate reality of things
 6. to show wisdom in all actions and compassion for all beings

The first set of items marked one to four are considered the qualities of the Buddha nature found in everyone.  These give us the ability to aspire to budda-hood.  The second set of items marked one to six are the Six Perfections (Parametis) which along with the Eightfold Path form the practice of Buddhism.  The Eightfold Path can be practiced individually but the Six Perfections require engagement with the sanga (community).

The remaining merit powers are as follows:

(II)  you will understand fully the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings
(III)  all delusion will fade, you will have no fear of rebirth, you will be compassionate and obtain the courage to obey all the laws
(IV)  you will become the attendant of the Buddha and be taught the law directly by the Buddha and be protected by all the Buddhas
(V,VI)  you will understand the teaching and be able to teach without fault to others           
(VII-X)  as you teach this sutra to others, you will come to see the mind of Buddha. 

I found this chapter difficult to read and understand.  The focus is on how the Buddha taught the law for the forty years after he became enlightened.  It starts by the Buddha admitting that the laws as they appeared to him under the Bodhi tree "had such various appearances as to be inexpressible".  One can imagine the challenge that lay before the Buddha to find a way to express the law.  The Buddha also realized that man continually transmigrates among the six realms of existence which are the following various mental states:

Hell - as defined by a mind consumed by anger.
Hungry Spirits - as defined by a mind dominated by greed associated with the uncontrolled and unsatisfied desire for things.
Animal - as defined by a mind that acts on instinct alone without wisdom, precaution or reservation and unconcerned by the consequences of its actions.
Demons - as defined by a mind that is self-centered in everything.
Human Beings - as defined by a mind that is aware of and operates above the four lower mental states.
Heaven - as defined by a mind filled with the temporary joy to be found though the senses in experiencing the things in the world.  This joy is opposed to the unchanging joy gained through the Buddha's enlightenment.

As you can imagine there would be a endless variety of mindsets that the law would need to penetrate.  The Buddha says,

As they (man) have innumerable natures and desires, your preaching to them should be immeasurable, and as your preaching is immeasurable its meaning should be innumerable.  This is because the teaching with innumerable meanings originates from one Law.  What is this one Law?  It is the truth.  What is the truth? It is non-form, which transcends the discrimination of all things.  Things are equal in having the buddha-nature.  This fact is the truth and the real aspect of all things.

Its interesting that the Buddha says "for forty years the truth has not been revealed", indicating that his teaching up to that time were to prepare the minds of men for the truth.  We all have to reach a spiritual maturity before we can receive the truth.

I may never fully appreciate the meaning of the one Law but I am encouraged that all things are equal in having a buddha-nature.  To me, for now, this means I should stop thinking of myself as distinct and separate from everything in the world and refocus on how I am alike and dependent on everything in the world.

As is the practice of our church study group we hold a Hoza session after Sunday service.  The purpose of the Hoza is to share issues we are going though and provide support by reflecting on how to apply Buddha's teaching to the problems of the day.  I'm always surprised by the great variety of problems facing people. Many are based on difficult or non-existent family relationships, and although the circumstances differ, the suffering is real.  No matter how terrible the issue, our Reverend always shows great compassion and reminds us that the way to advance is through our suffering.  He is the first to say we are beautiful persons with a strong Buddha nature and that everything in all our lives happens for a reason and it is our purpose to find out why.

I have a long way to go to understand the teachings and put them into daily practice but seeing how this holy man lives gives me hope.