Chapter 19
The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma

 

SUMMARY

The teacher of the Dharma is not only a priest or a monk but also a layman who keeps, reads, recites, expounds or copies the Lotus Sutra. All of you who listen to these lectures are also teachers of the Dharma if you practice the teachings of the sutra. This chapter reveals that the teacher will have their five organs and mind purified. They will gain the eight hundred to twelve hundred merits of the body and mind.

EXPLANATIONS

"The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, will be able to obtain eight hundred merits of the eye, twelve hundred merits of the ear, eight hundred merits of the nose, twelve hundred merits of the tongue, eight hundred merits of the body, and twelve hundred merits of the mind." (P.269, L.6.):

The conditions needed for you to purify your senses are to keep, read, recite, expound or copy the Lotus Sutra. They are called the Five Kinds of Practices for the Dharma teacher.

It is very easy to copy the sutra these days. You just use a copy machine or a scanner. However, before the printing machine was invented, all scriptures had to be written by hand, character-by-character. Centuries ago, those written texts were traded with other valuable merchandise and spread to other countries through the Silk Road and other routes of trading for hundreds of years.

It is very important to copy the sutra even today. If you would like to copy the Lotus Sutra with a pen or fude, please let Rev. Kanai know. He will advise you on how to go about copying the sutra.

The number of merits, either eight hundred or twelve hundred, is very symbolic. Hindu people often use numbers like 4, 8, and 9 as representing perfect numbers. "Four" represents front, back, left and right or the four directions (N. E. W. S.); "Eight" means the preceding four plus the other four intermediary corners (NE. NW. SE. SW.); and "nine" symbolizes the preceding eight plus the center. 800 and 1200 are multiples of 4 and 8.

Priests chant the above phrases while they perform kito blessing.

It is important to realize the reasons why we purify our senses and why we practice the five codes of keeping, reading, reciting, expounding, and copying the sutra. It is for the peace and happiness for all of us. It is the way of the Bodhisattva.

"I will tell you of the merits of those who fearlessly expound to the great multitude this sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. They will be able to obtain the excellent eyes adorned with eight hundred merits. Their eyes will be pure because of this adornment. With their eyes given by their parents, they will be able to see Mt. Sumeru, the surrounding iron Mountains, and the other mountains, and the forests, ocean and rivers." (P.269. L.22.):

We can see the bottom of hell to the highest heaven with our eyes given by our parents. There is one condition for this; it is to expound the Lotus Sutra fearlessly. It means that we must preach without discrimination, prejudice or preconception. Then our minds naturally will be purified.

"The good men and women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this sutra, will be able to obtain twelve hundred merits of the ear. With their pure ears, they will be able to recognize all the various sounds and voices inside and outside the one thousand millions Sumeru-worlds, down to the Avici hell and up to the Highest heaven." (P. 270, L. 15.):

The conditions to obtain twelve hundred merits of the ear are to keep, read, recite, expound or copy the Lotus Sutra.

Prince Shotoku, who established the constitution of Japan for the first time in 604 AD, was able to listen to ten different testimonies at the same time, and gave each of them a correct response. He was one of the very first practitioners of the Lotus Sutra in Japan.

"Their ears given by their parents will be purified, not defiled. With their natural ears, they will be able to recognize the sounds of voices of the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds." (P. 271, L.5.):

"They will be able to recognize the voices of elephants, horses and cows; the sounds of carts, gongs, bells, conch-shell horns, and of drums, lyres, harps, reed-pipes and flutes. Although they recognize pure and sweet songs, they will not be attached to them." (P.271, L. 9):

The natural ears means that we hear or listen regardless of the time or the condition of our bodies and minds. Our feelings differ from time to time, depending on the environment. When we are hungry, we may not give our attention to others, but while we are eating, we tend to listen to others easier; therefore, business meetings often taken place while eating. The natural ears also means not to form attachment to a good voice or bad voice, or hash voice or gentle voice. Do not be attached to one type of voice but rather, listen to all voices.

"The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this sutra will be able to obtain eight hundred merits of the nose." (P.273, L.14.):

With developments of technology and science, we can see and listen to the other side of the world through the radio, TV, and the Internet at home. A computer that even detects different odors may be soon developed. According to the Lotus Sutra, one can detect not only the smell of elephants and lions, but also underground reserves of gold, silver, and copper.

"The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this sutra will be able to obtain twelve hundred merits of the tongue. Anything which tastes good, bad, delicious, distasteful, bitter or astringent, will become as delicious as the nectar of heaven and not distasteful when it is put on their tongues." (P.278, L.20.):

The sense of taste is different depending on our body and mind. When we are happy, food tastes good, when unhappy, food tastes bad even though we may be eating the same thing. The digestive process is also different depending on the conditions of our body and mind.

St. Nichiren was exiled to Sado Island in the Japan Sea at the age of 50, in 1272. He was placed in a shelter with a broken roof and walls at the snow-covered Tsukahara Cemetery in November. The Kamakura Government wished him to die there, so food was not given to him. However, Abutsubo, who tried to kill Nichiren but was later converted, brought food for him at midnight with his wife. A practitioner of the Sutra will not starve to death.

"When they expound the Dharma to the great multitude with their tongues, they will be able to raise deep and wonderful voices, to cause their voices to reach the hearts of the great multitude so that the great multitude may be joyful and cheerful." (P.278, L.25.):

The merits of the tongue mean not only taste but also voices and speeches like those blessed with a silver tongue. A Dharma teacher will have beautiful voices and please others that listen to their messages. People who have heard the rumor of the beautiful voice will also come to listen to the teachings.

"The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this sutra, will be able to obtain eight hundred merits of the body. Their bodies will be able to become as pure as lapis lazuli." (P.280, L.26.):

The sutra explains that the teacher’s body will be able to have his body purified like lapis lazuli just as a reflection is seen in a clear mirror. The mirror has no self. Because the mirror has no self, it clearly reflects things just as they are. When a person faces the teacher who practices the Five Codes, their wrong conducts are reflected in his mind and he will thus repent his wrong conducts. There are a few stories of a person or an animal who faced the Buddha Sakyamuni repented their wrong conducts, like the drunken elephant that tried to smash and kill the Buddha, or Hariti/Kishimo who sucked children’s blood.

"The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this sutra will be able to obtain twelve hundred merits of the mind." (P.282, L.13.):

We inherited the five organs from our parents. We cannot change the shapes of the organs without surgery. Animals also have the five senses but many are much more keenly developed than human beings. However, human beings have a much more developed brain and we are able to control our minds. When we control our minds, our faces can change to be gentle.

The five senses of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching are the five characters of "Myo-Ho-Ren-Ge-Kyo." Nichiren Shonin said that when the rays of the five characters in "Myo-Ho-Ren-Ge-Kyo" shine in the body of a person, they would become an honorable one. It is called the Gohonzon. When our bodies are purified, we receive the 800 or the 1200 merits of the organs. All human beings originally possess the honorable merits. We must rediscover the Gohonzon that we have originally possessed.

"When they expound the scriptures of non-Buddhist schools, or give advice to the government, or teach the way to earn a livelihood, they will be able to be in accord with the right teachings of the Buddha. They will be able to know all the thoughts, deeds, and words, however meaningless, of the living beings of the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds each of which is composed of the six regions. (P.282, L.22.):

The teacher of the Dharma, when their body and mind is purified, is able to talk about any worldly matter according to the right teachings of the Buddha. They can also talk about the constitution, economy, business, farming, or industry according to the Buddha’s teachings.

The teacher of the Dharma is able to read the mind and to know what is important and what is not for any particular person. Therefore, the teacher can lead us correctly in a short amount of time.

When Shijo Kingo, one of Nichiren’s disciples, asked Nichiren that he wanted to become a priest, Nichiren Shonin advised him to serve his master, Lord Echi, obediently as a samurai warrior. St. Nichiren said, "To serve your master (in your work) is to practice the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. The sutra says that worldly politics and economy are not against its ultimate reality."

So, let us practice Buddhism in our daily lives.

~ Namu Myohorengekyo ~