Gosho Zenshu - Part 06
"The passage is thus saying that the Buddhahood that 'I in fact attained' is immeasurable and boundless in both the past and the future."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-753)
"'Thus Come One' indicates the living beings of the threefold world. When we observe these living beings through the eye of the 'Life Span' chapter, we can perceive these beings in the Ten Worlds exactly as they are in their original state."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-753)
"The countless entities in the three thousand worlds which are undergoing the process of birth, duration, change and extinction are all in themselves embodiments of [the Thus Come One's] transcendental powers."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-753)
"[Planting] good roots means [chanting] daimoku."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-754)
"'Distraught' [in 'distraught with pain,' (LS16, 228)] means to be deprived of breath. They [the children] have become distraught because they lack the life of the 'Life Span' chapter."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-754)
"'They fall writhing to the ground' (LS16, 228) indicates that they fall into the Avichi hell."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-754)
"'Mind' [in 'completely out of their minds' (LS16, 228) refers to the seeds of enlightenment sown [by the Buddha]."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-755)
"'All' [of 'meet all the requirements' (LS16, 228)] here means that this is the highly effective medicine of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo that includes the ten thousand practices, ten thousand good acts, and the various paramitas."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-755)
"Within the five characters of the daimoku there is not a single thing that is not included. Therefore, if we take a dose of it, we will 'quickly be relieved of our sufferings" [LS16, 228].
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-755)
"The fact that now Nichiren and his followers chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is an indication that they have not departed from their original minds."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-755)
"[Those who practice the Mystic Law are the] original possessors of this highly effective medicine."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-755)
"'The poison has penetrated deeply' describes the state of those with strong emotional attachment to the slanderous doctrines of the provisional teachings. As a result, they cannot believe in and accept the great effective medicine of the Lotus Sutra."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-755)
"[Regarding joju shi seppo,] 'Always here' refers to the place where the votaries of the Lotus Sutra abide ... 'Here" is the saha world ... Preaching the law' is the sound of the words of all living beings as they preach the Law through the wisdom that is freely received and employed, a part of their original make-up. Now that we have entered the Latter Day, preaching the Law means chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-756)
"'I leave this' indicates that it is for the Latter Day of the Law. 'Here' means the country of Japan in the continent of Jambudvipa."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-756)
"[Regarding ji ga (both meaning "self") toku (meaning "to obtain" or be endowed") bur rai (combined form of butsu, or Buddha, and rai, "come")] the Buddha endowed with ji [the nine worlds] and ga [Buddahood] has come [to this world]."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-756)
[Regarding the passage, 'You should take it and not worry that it will not cure you,'] "From the time we swallow it, we become eternally endowed with the three enlightened bodies. Thus we are cured of the sickness of [attachment to] the vision of the Buddha who first attained enlightenment in this life under the Bodhi tree."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-756)
"The revelations in the 'Life Span' chapter make clear that 'all of them will see me here in person' indicates the principle of ichinen sanzen. Now Nichiren and his followers who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo are the very persons to whom this refers."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-757)
"The assembly at Eagle Peak has not yet dispersed."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-757)
"The Great Teacher Miao-lo compared those who do not understand the truth of the Juryo chapter to animals who know no debt of gratitude. In the Lotus Sutra itself, the phrase, 'king of the sutras,' [appearing in the Yakuo, (twenty-third) chapter] signifies the virtue of sovereign, and the phrase, 'This sutra can save all the people,' represents the virtue of teacher. The phrase, 'like Daibonten who is the father of all the people,' indicates the virtue of parent.
"Now Nichiren and his disciples who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo are the fathers of all living beings, for we save them from the torments of the hell of incessant suffering. The Nirvana Sutra states, 'The sufferings of all living beings are the sufferings of the Buddha.' And I say, 'The sufferings of all living beings are Nichiren's own sufferings."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-758)
"'Practicing the way' indicates those in the four noble worlds [from Learning to Buddhahood], and 'not practicing the Way' indicates those in the six lower worlds. Further [among the six lower worlds,] 'practicing the Way' signifies those in the worlds of Anger, Humanity and Heaven, while 'not practicing the Way' signifies the three evil paths of Hell, Hunger and Animality. In the final analysis, in the Latter Day of the Law, the votaries of the Lotus Sutra are 'practicing the Way' while slanderers are not. The 'Way' [for the people in the Latter Day of the Law] is the Lotus Sutra. T'ien-t'ai states, 'The Buddhist Way specifically means this sutra [the Lotus Sutra].' Now Nichiren and his followers who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo are those who 'practice the way,'while those who do not chant are those who 'do not [practice the way]'."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-758)
"[The phrase, 'at all times I think to myself,'] refers specifically to Shakyamuni Buddha and in a more general way to the [beings of the] ten worlds."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-758)
"The ji (self) of Ji ga toku burai (Since I attained Buddhahood) represents the beginning, while shin (body) of soku joju busshin (quickly acquire the body of a Buddha) represents the end. In other words, the jigage from beginning to end elucidates the self [because ji plus shin form the word 'oneself']."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-759)
"The jigage section represents the 'body that freely receives and employs,' or the 'body of limitless joy'."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-759)
"[Concerning the term 'remote past' in the Life Span chapter] The culmination of this chapter is the [principle of the] attainment of enlightenment in the remote past. 'Remote past' means unmoving, uncreated, in its original state."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-759)
"The term 'unsurpassed way' refers to the Buddha originally endowed with the three enlightened properties, who is revealed in the 'Life Span' chapter. Outside of this, there is no other 'body of the Buddha' to be acquired.
"Now Nichiren and his followers who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo will without doubt 'acquire the body of a Buddha'."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-759)
"'Originally endowed' means unaffected, unadorned, just as it originally is."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-759)
"The Buddha eternally endowed with the three properties is the votary of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day of the Law."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-760)
"The object of worship is the entity of the life of the votary of the Lotus Sutra."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-760)
"This Gohonzon is based on the passage, 'the Thus Come One's secret and his transcendental powers.'
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-760)
"Joy is to share wisdom and compassion with self and other."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-761)
"When both oneself and others have wisdom and compassion, this is called joy."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-761)
"The Chinese character ku of kudoku means to extinguish evil and toku [read as doku in the combination kudoku] means to bring forth good."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-762)
"This scriptural passage means that a person who has the purification of the six sense organs sees the major world system just as lapis lazuli or a clear mirror reflects everything. Now when Nichiren and his followers chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they see and understand all phenomena as though they were reflected in a bright mirror. This bright mirror is the Lotus Sutra; and, specifically, it is the 'Treasure Tower' chapter."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-763)
"The word 'I' here [in the passage, 'since I attained Buddhahood,' LS16, 227] refers to the Buddha when he was carrying out the true cause of his original enlightenment. This passage concerning how the Buddha 'originally practiced the bodhisattva way' indicates practices such as those of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging'.
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-768)
"When Bodhisattva Fukyo bowed in reverence to the four categories of people [monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen], the Buddha nature inherent in the lives of these arrogant people bowed back to him. This is the same as how, when one bows facing a mirror, the reflected image bows back."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-769)
"Bodhisattva Never Disparaging's (Fukyo's) practice to pay reverence to people is compassionate, for he taught that all people are to become Buddhas. Though he was attacked with sticks and staves, tiles and stones by those who would not listen to him, he continued to expound the true teachings and thereby caused them to form a relationship with Buddhism. He did so because he possessed compassion."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-769)
"[The actions of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging are] reverence simultaneously for oneself and others."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-769)
"The passage is thus saying that the Buddhahood that 'I in fact attained' is immeasurable and boundless in both the past and the future."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-753)
"'Thus Come One' indicates the living beings of the threefold world. When we observe these living beings through the eye of the 'Life Span' chapter, we can perceive these beings in the Ten Worlds exactly as they are in their original state."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-753)
"The countless entities in the three thousand worlds which are undergoing the process of birth, duration, change and extinction are all in themselves embodiments of [the Thus Come One's] transcendental powers."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-753)
"[Planting] good roots means [chanting] daimoku."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-754)
"'Distraught' [in 'distraught with pain,' (LS16, 228)] means to be deprived of breath. They [the children] have become distraught because they lack the life of the 'Life Span' chapter."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-754)
"'They fall writhing to the ground' (LS16, 228) indicates that they fall into the Avichi hell."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-754)
"'Mind' [in 'completely out of their minds' (LS16, 228) refers to the seeds of enlightenment sown [by the Buddha]."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-755)
"'All' [of 'meet all the requirements' (LS16, 228)] here means that this is the highly effective medicine of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo that includes the ten thousand practices, ten thousand good acts, and the various paramitas."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-755)
"Within the five characters of the daimoku there is not a single thing that is not included. Therefore, if we take a dose of it, we will 'quickly be relieved of our sufferings" [LS16, 228].
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-755)
"The fact that now Nichiren and his followers chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is an indication that they have not departed from their original minds."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-755)
"[Those who practice the Mystic Law are the] original possessors of this highly effective medicine."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-755)
"'The poison has penetrated deeply' describes the state of those with strong emotional attachment to the slanderous doctrines of the provisional teachings. As a result, they cannot believe in and accept the great effective medicine of the Lotus Sutra."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-755)
"[Regarding joju shi seppo,] 'Always here' refers to the place where the votaries of the Lotus Sutra abide ... 'Here" is the saha world ... Preaching the law' is the sound of the words of all living beings as they preach the Law through the wisdom that is freely received and employed, a part of their original make-up. Now that we have entered the Latter Day, preaching the Law means chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-756)
"'I leave this' indicates that it is for the Latter Day of the Law. 'Here' means the country of Japan in the continent of Jambudvipa."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-756)
"[Regarding ji ga (both meaning "self") toku (meaning "to obtain" or be endowed") bur rai (combined form of butsu, or Buddha, and rai, "come")] the Buddha endowed with ji [the nine worlds] and ga [Buddahood] has come [to this world]."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-756)
[Regarding the passage, 'You should take it and not worry that it will not cure you,'] "From the time we swallow it, we become eternally endowed with the three enlightened bodies. Thus we are cured of the sickness of [attachment to] the vision of the Buddha who first attained enlightenment in this life under the Bodhi tree."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-756)
"The revelations in the 'Life Span' chapter make clear that 'all of them will see me here in person' indicates the principle of ichinen sanzen. Now Nichiren and his followers who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo are the very persons to whom this refers."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-757)
"The assembly at Eagle Peak has not yet dispersed."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-757)
"The Great Teacher Miao-lo compared those who do not understand the truth of the Juryo chapter to animals who know no debt of gratitude. In the Lotus Sutra itself, the phrase, 'king of the sutras,' [appearing in the Yakuo, (twenty-third) chapter] signifies the virtue of sovereign, and the phrase, 'This sutra can save all the people,' represents the virtue of teacher. The phrase, 'like Daibonten who is the father of all the people,' indicates the virtue of parent.
"Now Nichiren and his disciples who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo are the fathers of all living beings, for we save them from the torments of the hell of incessant suffering. The Nirvana Sutra states, 'The sufferings of all living beings are the sufferings of the Buddha.' And I say, 'The sufferings of all living beings are Nichiren's own sufferings."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-758)
"'Practicing the way' indicates those in the four noble worlds [from Learning to Buddhahood], and 'not practicing the Way' indicates those in the six lower worlds. Further [among the six lower worlds,] 'practicing the Way' signifies those in the worlds of Anger, Humanity and Heaven, while 'not practicing the Way' signifies the three evil paths of Hell, Hunger and Animality. In the final analysis, in the Latter Day of the Law, the votaries of the Lotus Sutra are 'practicing the Way' while slanderers are not. The 'Way' [for the people in the Latter Day of the Law] is the Lotus Sutra. T'ien-t'ai states, 'The Buddhist Way specifically means this sutra [the Lotus Sutra].' Now Nichiren and his followers who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo are those who 'practice the way,'while those who do not chant are those who 'do not [practice the way]'."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-758)
"[The phrase, 'at all times I think to myself,'] refers specifically to Shakyamuni Buddha and in a more general way to the [beings of the] ten worlds."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-758)
"The ji (self) of Ji ga toku burai (Since I attained Buddhahood) represents the beginning, while shin (body) of soku joju busshin (quickly acquire the body of a Buddha) represents the end. In other words, the jigage from beginning to end elucidates the self [because ji plus shin form the word 'oneself']."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-759)
"The jigage section represents the 'body that freely receives and employs,' or the 'body of limitless joy'."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-759)
"[Concerning the term 'remote past' in the Life Span chapter] The culmination of this chapter is the [principle of the] attainment of enlightenment in the remote past. 'Remote past' means unmoving, uncreated, in its original state."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-759)
"The term 'unsurpassed way' refers to the Buddha originally endowed with the three enlightened properties, who is revealed in the 'Life Span' chapter. Outside of this, there is no other 'body of the Buddha' to be acquired.
"Now Nichiren and his followers who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo will without doubt 'acquire the body of a Buddha'."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-759)
"'Originally endowed' means unaffected, unadorned, just as it originally is."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-759)
"The Buddha eternally endowed with the three properties is the votary of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day of the Law."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-760)
"The object of worship is the entity of the life of the votary of the Lotus Sutra."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-760)
"This Gohonzon is based on the passage, 'the Thus Come One's secret and his transcendental powers.'
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-760)
"Joy is to share wisdom and compassion with self and other."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-761)
"When both oneself and others have wisdom and compassion, this is called joy."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-761)
"The Chinese character ku of kudoku means to extinguish evil and toku [read as doku in the combination kudoku] means to bring forth good."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-762)
"This scriptural passage means that a person who has the purification of the six sense organs sees the major world system just as lapis lazuli or a clear mirror reflects everything. Now when Nichiren and his followers chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they see and understand all phenomena as though they were reflected in a bright mirror. This bright mirror is the Lotus Sutra; and, specifically, it is the 'Treasure Tower' chapter."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-763)
"The word 'I' here [in the passage, 'since I attained Buddhahood,' LS16, 227] refers to the Buddha when he was carrying out the true cause of his original enlightenment. This passage concerning how the Buddha 'originally practiced the bodhisattva way' indicates practices such as those of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging'.
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-768)
"When Bodhisattva Fukyo bowed in reverence to the four categories of people [monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen], the Buddha nature inherent in the lives of these arrogant people bowed back to him. This is the same as how, when one bows facing a mirror, the reflected image bows back."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-769)
"Bodhisattva Never Disparaging's (Fukyo's) practice to pay reverence to people is compassionate, for he taught that all people are to become Buddhas. Though he was attacked with sticks and staves, tiles and stones by those who would not listen to him, he continued to expound the true teachings and thereby caused them to form a relationship with Buddhism. He did so because he possessed compassion."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-769)
"[The actions of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging are] reverence simultaneously for oneself and others."
(Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ-769)