Take Two: What Is the Nembutsu?

For months, I’ve had on my to-do list to go and fix up the Wikipedia article about the nembutsu (or nian-fo in Chinese). I had started contributing to that article way back in 2006 shortly after I first got interested in Pure Land Buddhism, and occasionally update or add details. The article was flagged for some quality control issues recently, and I decided to help clean it up.

Some of my early contributions in Wikipedia way back in the day… can’t believe it’s been 18 years.

As I began to write some updates to the article, though, and trying to distill what the nembutsu is within the Pure Land tradition, I realized that this is a really tough question. There’s centuries of interpretations, layers of culture, and divergent viewpoints. I tried to summarize this in an older article, but after reading over that article, I realized that I didn’t quite hit the mark there either.

So, let’s try this again.

Pure Land Buddhism is a large, broad, organic tradition within Mahayana Buddhism (an even bigger tradition). It is not centrally-organized, but follows many trends and traditions across many places and time periods. However, these traditions all have a couple things in common:

  1. Reverence toward the Buddha of Infinite Light (a.k.a. Amitabha Buddha, Amida, Emituofo, etc.). The nature of who or what Amitabha Buddha is is open to interpretation though.
  2. Aspiration to be reborn (as in one’s next life) in the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha. There have been many ways to interpret what exactly this means, but I am sticking to the most simple, literal interpretation for now.

In any case, these two things are what make the “Cult of Amitabha” what it is. By “cult” I mean the more traditional, academic definition, not the modern, negative definition. Amitabha is to Mahayana Buddhism, what the Virgin Mary is to Catholicism.

Every Pure Land tradition across Buddhist history is mostly focused on #2: how to get to the Pure Land. The early Pure Land Sutras spend much time describing how great Amitabha Buddha is, and how getting to the Pure Land is so beneficial towards one’s practice, but differ somewhat on how get reborn there.

One early sutra, the Pratyutpanna Sutra is one of the first to mention Amitabha and the Pure Land at all, but it very strongly emphasizes a meditative approach, in order to achieve a kind of samadhi. According to Charles B Jones, being reborn in the Pure Land wasn’t even mentioned in this sutra, nor Amitabha’s origin story. It was a purely meditate text. Nonetheless, this sutra was highly favored by the early Chinese Pure Land Buddhists, namely the White Lotus Society started in the 5th century by Lushan Huiyuan.

The main textual source for being reborn in the Pure Land is from the Immeasurable Life Sutra, also called the Larger [Sukhavati Vyuha] Sutra. This is where we see the famous 48 vows of the Buddha, including the most important, the 18th vow (highlights added):

設我得佛。十方衆生至心信樂。欲生我國乃至十念。若不生者不取正覺。唯除五逆誹謗正法

(18) If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten quarters who sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves to me, desire to be born in my land, and call my Name, even ten times, should not be born there, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment. Excluded, however, are those who commit the five gravest offences and abuse the right Dharma.

translation by Rev. Hisao Inagaki

This is where things get interesting, in my opinion.

The Chinese character 念 (niàn) was used to translate the Buddhist-Sanskrit term Buddhānusmṛti or “recollection of the Buddha”. But, according to Jones, the Chinese character 念 had multiple nuances in Chinese:

  • To mentally focus on something.
  • A moment in time.
  • Reciting the Confucian Classics aloud.

And in fact each one of these interpretations can be applied to the nembutsu (Chinese niànfó) because it means niàn (念) of the Buddha (fó, 佛).

But which is it: concentration, a moment of recollection, or verbal recitation?

Most of the early Chinese Buddhist teachers like Tanluan, Daochuo and Shandao all promoted a mix: usually visualization was the superior method, but verbal recitation was a fallback for people who couldn’t dedicate themselves to visualization-meditation and ritual. The earliest Buddhist teachers mostly emphasized the visualization-meditation approach, but by Shandao’s time (7th century) the verbal recitation was deemed the most effective method.

Later, in Japan, the monk Genshin (not to be confused with the game…) summarizes these various methods in his 10th century work, the Ojoyoshu. It was a high quality work and even praised by Chinese monks when it was sent over as part of Japan’s diplomatic missions. But Genshin came to the same basic conclusion: the nembutsu can be any one of the three.

Finally we get to Buddhist teachers like Honen (12th century), who taught that the verbal recitation was the only viable choice. Honen praised past methods, but his target audience was a mostly illiterate population, as well as monks whose monastic institutions had largely declined into corruption and empty ritual. So, for such people, better to rely on Amitabha Buddha’s compassion and recite the verbal nembutsu wholeheartedly.

Multi-lingual sign at the temple of Chion-in in Kyoto, Japan where Honen’s mausoleum rests.

This approach isn’t that different from the Chinese approach which varied by teacher or patriarch but through Shandao’s influence had a parallel development. Some teachers emphasized the efficacy of simply reciting the nembutsu (much like Honen), others added the importance of concentration while reciting the nembutsu.

However, turning back to the Larger Sutra, let’s go back to the 48 vows. The 19th and 20th vows state:

(19) If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten quarters, who awaken aspiration for Enlightenment, do various meritorious deeds and sincerely desire to be born in my land, should not, at their death, see me appear before them surrounded by a multitude of sages, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.

(20) If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten quarters who, having heard my Name, concentrate their thoughts on my land, plant roots of virtue, and sincerely transfer their merits towards my land with a desire to be born there, should not eventually fulfill their aspiration, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.

So, taken together, the 18-20th vows cover the various interpretations of 念 we discussed above. All of them are included in Amitabha’s vows to bring across anyone who desires to be reborn there. The common theme is sincerity (至心 zhì xīn). If you look at the original Chinese text, all three include “sincerity”.

Further, when asked about how many times one should recite the nembutsu, Honen replied:

“….believe that you can attain ojo [往生, rebirth in the Pure Land] by one repetition [of the nembutsu], and yet go on practicing it your whole life long.”

So, let’s get down to business: what is the nembutsu / niànfó ?

Based on the evidence above, I believe that the nembutsu is any of these Buddhist practices described above, taken under a sincere aspiration to be reborn in the Pure Land. It’s about bending one’s efforts and aspirations toward the Pure Land.

If you are calculating how to be reborn, or if your heart’s not 100% into it, then it may be a waste of effort.

Instead, if you feel unsure, study the Buddhist doctrines, get to know the Pure Land sutras, read about past teachers and if you feel fired up about, recite the nembutsu, or do whatever moves you. You will just know when. The more you put into it, the more you get out of it too.

Amitabha’s light shines upon all beings, like moonlight, and if you feel inspired by it, just know that you’re already halfway to the Pure Land.

Namu Amida Butsu

Chinese versus Japanese Character Readings

Way back in high school, like most American kids, I had to study things like Spanish, French, etc. I took German for two years in high school, but I didn’t find it very interesting, and I didn’t like my teacher very much. So, I never put in much effort. Later, one of my friends told me that we offered Mandarin Chinese at my high school, and I was just beginning my “teenage weeb phase”, so I was definitely curious.1

Our teacher, Mrs. Wu, was a very nice elderly teacher, even though she was in over her head dealing with a bunch of teenagers. Still, exploring something exotic like Chinese language really interested 16-year old me, and I was a pretty motivated student. I tried to learn both Traditional Chinese characters (used in Taiwan) and Simplified characters (Chinese mainland). My best friend at the time was Taiwanese-American, and I used to practice with his immigrant parents.

Anyhow, long story short, once I got into college, I focused on other priorities, and gradually, I forgot my Chinese studies.

Lately, I have been dabbling in Duolingo and learning Chinese again. I forget why, but I guess it’s partly fueled by nostalgia, but also because I already know how to read many Chinese characters through my studies of Japanese.

It’s been fascinating to see how Japanese kanji (Japanese-imported Chinese characters), and modern Chinese characters overlap and yet differ. The important thing to bear in mind is that Japan (like other neighboring countries), imported Chinese characters at an earlier stage in history, and over centuries the usage, pronuncaition and such have all diverged.

Take this easy sentence in Chinese:

All of these Chinese characters are used in Japanese, and without any prompts, I can read this and get the gist of what its saying, but there’s some notable divergences.

These Chinese sentence above is:

日本菜和中国菜
rì běn caì hé zhōng guó caì

A Japanese equivalent might be:

日本料理と中国料理
nihon ryōri to chūgoku ryōri

A few interesting things to note.

  • The character 菜 is used in modern Chinese to mean food in general, but in Japanese it means vegetables. So the usage has diverged. I noticed that Chinese
  • The country names, 中国 and 日本 are used by both languages, but the pronunciation has also diverged considerably. 中国 is pronounced zhōng guó in Chinese, and chūgoku in Japanese. You can kind of hear the similarities, but also the pronunciation has diverged for centuries.
  • The character 和 (hé) is used in Chinese to mean “and”, but in Japanese a system of particles is used instead. Interestingly, 和 is used in Japanese, for example the old name of Japan was Yamato (大和) or modern words like heiwa (平和, “peace”). The pronunciation is wa, so it has diverged as well.

On thing I haven’t really delved into is the native Japanese readings for Chinese characters. Chinese characters are a foreign, imported writing system to Japan, so native words sound completely different even when written with Chinese characters. The word for 中国 (chūgoku) derives from Chinese, but 中 by itself is pronounced as naka (“middle”) which is a native Japanese word (not imported).

Anyhow, this is just a quick overview of how two entirely different languages both adopted the same writing system, but have diverged over time. If you add in languages like Vietnamese and Korean that also adopted Chinese characters, the picture is even more fascinating.

P.S. Through Duolingo, I learned that the Chinese word for hamburger is hàn-bǎo-bāo.

Chinese has to import foreign words using Chinese characters that at least kind of sound like the original. Japanese uses a second syllabary system, katakana, to approximate the same thing, although in the past Chinese characters were used as well. Hence, America is usually written as amerika アメリカ, but in more formal settings it is called beikoku 米国 (compare the pronunciation with Chinese měi guó).

1 The fact that my high school even offered Chinese language at that time (1990’s America) is pretty unusual, but I am grateful for the option. Also, thank you Mrs Wu if you ever happen to read this.

May 2024 Update

Hello dear readers,

The last few weeks have flown by, and I realized that I hadn’t blogged anything for the past 2-3 weeks!

The good news is that nothing is wrong (this time): everything is fine, but I am just busy with both work and family. Most of it is good busy, too.

I have several posts in draft, but all of them require a bit of research, and I just haven’t had the time to sit down and finish. And, as always, I am playing too much Fire Emblem in my spare time.1

Hopefully in the next week, I can go back to a regular cadence again.

Anyhow, thanks for your patience, and I hope you’ll enjoy the content coming up.

1 I am simultaneous playing through Three Houses (again), Three Hopes, and Engage in what little spare time I have.

Ecumenism

I have been avidly playing the game Fire Emblem: Three Houses since fall of last year. Yes, the game is that good. But also the game makes you think about things too, including religion.

One of my favorite characters in the game, is the leader of the Golden Deer House, Claude von Riegan (also mentioned here and here), voiced in English by Joe Zieja. Claude’s background is unusual for the game’s cast, and he keeps his identity close to his vest, but needless to say he’s had a very worldly upbringing, and sees things different than the other students who mostly grew up in Fódlan. He is just as ambitious as Edelgard, but prefers to meet his goals in a more hands-off, less forceful way.1

Unlike most of his fellow students, who grew up within the Church of Seiros, Claude tends to be pretty cynical about Fódlan’s only religious organization, and regularly questions it (this is also important to certain elements of the plot, but that’s beside the point).

Anyhow, I wanted to share something he said that I think is worth considering (possibly out of order, I lost track of which is which):

Even though I tend to be an ardent Buddhist, I think what Claude is saying here is a healthy to look at the world and its religions. If you consider religions past and present, there have been countless gods and goddesses, rituals, liturgical languages, and so on. Even in in the same religions, practices and views diverge over time. This may offend purists, but it’s impossible to avoid, let alone manage.

Further, Buddhism has never been a particularly evangelical religion. It’s not in a race to win converts (minus a few cults), for a variety of reasons. First, this is in keeping with the Buddhist notion of metta (“goodwill”) that as long as other people have a belief system that helps them, not hinders or makes them feel bad, then that is fine. Second, the danger of imposing one’s beliefs on others is that it’s almost always fueled by ego and one’s own delusion anyway. A person’s religious beliefs, even Buddhist ones, are almost always a reflection of one’s own mind, and have to be taken with a grain of salt. Third, the Buddha clearly wanted people to take refuge in the Dharma of their own volition, and not by coercion. Even the Five Precepts are phrased as “I undertake” not as a command. Similarly with the practice of the nembutsu in Pure Land Buddhism. There’s nothing in the Buddhist canon that tells people to recite, or not recite it. It’s up to each individual to work with the tools offered in the Buddhist toolkit and apply them as best as they can. Like Claude says above, if you find a support system that works, great. This is no less true within Buddhism and its many traditions as well.

It’s generally better, and healthier for one’s own mental state, to let others be who they are, believe what they will, as long as its helpful, not harmful. The tighter one grasps, the more exhaustion and grief they inflict upon themselves, and others.

There are almost as many as variations on religious beliefs as there are people, so like the analogy of the Blind Men and the Elephant, each person is trying to feel their way through life using what resources, background and knowledge they have. Even within Buddhism, each person has their own “spin” on what the Buddha was, or what his teachings were.

It’s imperfect, but we all have to start from somewhere.

P.S. If you own a Switch, try Fire Emblem: Three Houses. 😋

1 Bit of a tangent, but of the three lords in Three Houses, I feel that Dmitri plays the role of the “conservative”, trying to restore his kingdom and the Church the way it was. Claude is the “liberal” trying to open things up and hoping it will change Fódlan, while Edelgard is the “revolutionary” who wants to change things directly (i.e. through force).

Basic Japanese Particles, Part 2

In our last episode, we talked about some basic, fundamental particles used in the Japanese language. Today, we’ll cover some other, essential particles: “ni” に, “de” で, “yo” よ, and “ne” ね. The first two are often required for parts of speech, but the second two are often used to provide “flavor” or “nuance” to conversation. All of them are frequently used, and necessary to speak Japanese well.

As with the previous post, this post assumes you know how to read hiragana script. If not, now would be a good time to review. Kanji will be kept to a minimum for now.

The targeting particle: に

The particle に (ni) is used in many ways in Japanese, but it’s best to think of it as a particle that provides a target for a verb. Credit goes to Tae Kim for coming up with this explanation.

The に particle is not used for direct objects. As we saw in the last post, the を (wo) particle fulfills that role.

たなかさんにCDをあげた。

I gave Mr Takana the CD

Instead, the に (ni) particle is used when a verb relates to something, but not as a direct objection. A couple examples:

へやにはいる。

To go into a room

also:

でんしゃにおりる。

To get off a train

In both cases, a verb relates to a noun, but it’s not directly doing something to the noun. The に particle simply specifies the targets of the verb. A lot of verbs in Japanese are intransitive verbs, more so than English, so they won’t take direct objects anyway, and in such cases, に is often used.

You can also target time with a verb:

くじにでる。

I will leave at 9 o’clock

One other important note: に is also used in passive speech to designate the agent of the passive action (e.g. “it was done by who”). I still consider this a target, but that’s just me.

たなかさんにすしをたべられた。

The sushi was eaten by Mr Tanaka

The context particle: で

This is another very useful particle. The で (de) particle is used to explain context for things. This includes:

  • Where something took place.
  • Something was done with something.
  • Something will take place within a time frame.

It’s hard to explain, but pretty easy to use once you get the hang of it.

がっこうでごはんをたべた。

I ate lunch (lit. meal) at school

Or:

フライパンでつくった。

[I] cooked with a frypan

Another often overlooked example is:

レゴであそんだ。

[We] played with legos.

And finally for time:

ごふんでつく。

[we will] arrive in five minutes.

The assertive particle: よ

The よ (yo) and ね (ne) particle below are both “nuance” particles. They are not used for parts of speech like many of the particles we’ve seen so far. Instead, these particles are put at the end of sentences to provide nuance to a sentence.

The よ (yo) particle is used to assert something. This is often done to either:

  • Present new information, or
  • Make a point

As with any culture, if you are too assertive, this can annoy other people, but there are many times this is used in Japanese without sounding rude or overly assertive.

Let’s compare these two sentences:

きょうはさむい。

Today is cold.

with:

きょうはさむいよ。

Today is cold.

When translating to English, the meaning is the same. However, the nuance is different. The first sentence is matter of fact, with no nuance. The second sentence assumes that the listener either didn’t know it was cold, or that you are trying to remind the listener that it is cold (therefore you should dress warm).

The soliciting particle: ね

As with the よ (yo) particle, the ね (ne) particle expresses nuance only, but tends to convey something different. Where よ (yo) asserts something, the ね (ne) particle solicits feedback from the listener. This is often used in Japanese language to either solicit agreement from others, but also to downplay one’s opinion (e.g. soften it), thereby making it a bit more polite.

Using the example sentence above, let’s change the nuance a bit:

きょうはさむいね。

Today is cold [don’t you think?].

Here, the speaker is making a point, but doing it in a more solicitous way, hoping to garner agreement with the listener. This is obviously less assertive, and more conciliatory to the listener.

It’s very common to also combine the two to both assert something, but not too strongly:

きょうはさむいよね。

Today is cold [don’t you think?].

You’re still asserting something information, but also pulling back a bit too, so it’s often a happy medium in conversation.

Conclusion

There are a lot more particles in Japanese language, and we haven’t covered all use-cases of these particles either, but even knowing this much gives you a solid foundation, once the usage sinks in. The best way to learn particle usage isn’t memorizing grammar, but instead learning sentence patterns, preferably from real Japanese media (books, TV, etc). Once you’ve seen a sentence pattern 50 times, you can generally get the gist of it. If you’ve seen it 500 times, you probably are pretty familiar with it. 😙

Celebrating the Buddha’s Birthday

Next week, according to the solar calendar, is the Buddha’s birthday. Many communities observe this holiday using the lunar calendar, and different communities use different lunar calendars, so the dates will vary quite a bit. I use the Japanese-Buddhist calendar which in turn uses the Western calendar since the 19th century, thus April 8th.1

But I digress.

How does one celebrate the Buddha’s birthday?

Based on my limited experience in Japan and such, Buddhist holidays tend to be pretty laid back affairs. Buddhist temples usually do not hit you over the head with religious teachings, but often do hold local festivals maybe with a sermon or two. There’s no pressure for holiday shopping or even attending a temple. The reality is that Buddhism is not an evangelical religion; people are welcome to come as they are, and approach at their own pace.

Instead, the Buddha’s birthday is a time of joy and reflection.

The appearance of a buddha is, according to tradition, exceedingly rare and even if one is not alive during the time of a buddha, the buddha’s teachings and influence on the world last for many generations. If one lived in an age where the Dharma, the teachings of the Buddha, did not exist or were obscured, then one could not benefit from them.

Thus, even for us living 2,500 years2 after the Buddha Shakyamuni (e.g. Siddhartha Gautama), we can still learn from the Buddha, apply the teachings as best we can, and thereby break the cycle of rebirth. The Buddha-Dharma is good medicine that one can take as one needs, and apply to their life as they see fit.

So, on April 8th, or whatever day you celebrate, take a moment to reflect on the historical Buddha, enjoy the warm weather, and don’t hesitate to do something good and noble that day.

Namo Shakyamuni Buddha

P.S. Featured image is Shakyamuni Buddha flanked by a guardian named Vajrapani. Notice the strongly Greek artistic style, including Vajrapani who looks similar to Hercules. This was made in Gandhara almost 2,000 years ago. Countless cultures and people have paid homage to Shakyamuni Buddha just as we do now. 🥳

1 Rant: Given that Christmas is observed on December 25th, despite Jesus’s birth very obviously not taking place in December (the Romans did not collect taxes in winter), the specific date for celebrating an event really isn’t that important. One date is as good as another, as long as the tradition is meaningful for people. I do prefer observing holidays using the solar calendar since it’s just so much easier to observe and plan out, though. Lunar calendars are fascinating in their own way, but they’re opaque and confusing to anyone who doesn’t fully understand them.

2 random history fact: by the time the Romans had subjugated places like Egypt and Mesopotamia, these places already had 2,000 years of culture and tradition. The Akkadian language was still in use for religious ceremonies and documents, despite the Akkadian empire of Sargon being gone for more than a thousand years. And all of this is but a drop in the bucket compared to geologic time of the Earth.

Chanting the “Jigage”: Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sutra

The Lotus Sutra, one of the most important sutras of Mahayana Buddhism, is the size of an epic novel, and thus much too large to recite cover to cover. Even reciting a single chapter can be daunting because each chapter contains a large narrative section, and one or more verse sections that recap the narrative.

For this reason, certain verse sections have become popular for chanting because they get to the heart of the Lotus Sutra and convey its essential teachings, in a manageable size.

Popular examples (among others) include the Kannon Sutra, the verse section of chapter 16, and the opening section of chapter 2. Both are actively recited in Nichiren and Tendai sect home services. Today we will focus on the big verse section at the end of chapter 16, called the jigagé (自我偈) in Japanese.

Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra is the big reveal of the sutra: Shakyamuni Buddha is not just a historical figure that lived in 5th century India, and member of the warrior-caste Shakya clan, but is also, on another level, a timeless Buddha that has pretty much existed since a remote, incalculable past:

Since I attained Buddhahood the number of kalpas [aeons] that have passed is an immeasurable hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions, trillions, asamkhyas [in other words, a mind-boggling amount of time]. Constantly I have preached the Law [a.k.a. the Dharma], teaching, converting countless millions of living beings, causing them to enter the Buddha way, all this for immeasurable kalpas.

Translation by Burton Watson

I believe this part of an important theme not just in the Lotus Sutra but Mahayana Buddhism in general: the Dharma is a timeless, eternal law of reality and the various Buddhas simply embody it. The Dharma is what matters, not one particular Buddha or another. You can see hints of this in older Buddhist sutras such as the Vakkali Sutta (SN 22.87) in the Pali Canon, but I believe that Mahayana Buddhism took it to its logical conclusion.

Later in the same verse section is the famous lines:

My pure land is not destroyed, yet the multitude see it as consumed in fire, with anxiety, fear and other sufferings filling it everywhere….But those who practice meritorious ways, who are gentle, peaceful, honest and upright, all of them will see me here in person, preaching the Law [a.k.a. The Dharma]

Translation by Burton Watson

To me, this reinforces that even in the worst, most desolate times, the Dharma is always there, and anyone who seeks it sincerely will find it even when others cannot see it. I’ve talked about this passage often in the Nirvana Day posts I’ve made in the past, among other places.

Anyhow, let’s move on now to the liturgy itself.

Liturgical Language

Because this is a chant used in Japanese Nichiren and Tendai traditions, among others, I am posting it as-is in Japanese, more specifically Sino-Japanese: the original Classical Chinese that it was recorded in, but with historical Japanese pronunciation. You are welcome to recite in English, or any other language, there is no restriction.

For this liturgical text, I relied on a few sources, plus I double-checked the spellings using physical sutra books I have at home. I am fairly certain it’s accurate.

Also, I formatted the text similar to how it is formatted in real service books.

Translation

I decided not to post the translation side-by-side with the text, the way I do with the Heart Sutra and such. This is due to formatting reasons on the blog, plus also length of the text makes this more difficult. I may revise this later.

For now, I highly recommend checking out a modern translation here by the excellent Dr Burton Watson. The Buddhist Text Translation Society also has an excellent translation here. The chant below is the first narrative section that goes all the way to the first verse section.

Disclaimer and Legal Info

I hereby release this into the public domain. Please use it as you see fit, but if you attribute it to this site, greatly appreciated. Also, please bear in mind this is an amateur work, and should not be taken too seriously.

Dedication

I dedicate this effort to all sentient beings everywhere. May all beings be well, and may they all attain perfect peace.

Namu Shakamuni Buddha

The Lotus Sutra sixteenth chapter, verse section

Preamble

Classical ChineseJapanese Romanization
妙法蓮華経
如来寿量品
第十六		Myo ho ren ge kyo
nyo rai ju ryo hon
dai ju roku

Verse Section

Classical ChineseJapanese Romanization
自我得仏来
所経諸劫数
無量百千万
億載阿僧祇		Ji ga toku butsu rai
sho kyo sho kos-shu
mu ryo hyaku sen man
oku sai a so gi
常説法教化
無数億衆生
令入於仏道
爾来無量劫		jo sep-po kyo ke
mu shu oku shu jo
ryo nyu o butsu do
ni rai mu ryo ko
為度衆生故
方便現涅槃
而実不滅度
常住此説法		i do shu jo ko
ho ben gen ne han
ni jitsu fu metsu do
jo ju shi sep-po
我常住於此
以諸神通力
令顛倒衆生
雖近而不見		ga jo ju o shi
i sho jin zu riki
ryo ten do shu jo
sui gon ni fu ken
衆見我滅度
広供養舎利
咸皆懐恋慕
而生渇仰心		shu ken ga metsu do
ko ku yo sha ri
gen kai e ren bo
ni sho katsu go shin
衆生既信伏
質直意柔軟
一心欲見仏
不自惜身命		shu jo ki shin buku
shichi jiki i nyu nan
is-shin yoku ken butsu
fu ji shaku shin myo
時我及衆僧
倶出霊鷲山
我時語衆生
常在此不滅		ji ga gyu shu so
ku shutsu ryo ju sen
ga ji go shu jo
jo zai shi fu metsu
以方便力故
現有滅不滅
余国有衆生
恭敬信楽者		i ho ben riki ko
gen u metsu fu metsu
yo koku u shu jo
ku gyo shin gyo sha
我復於彼中
為説無上法
汝等不聞此
但謂我滅度		ga bu o hi chu
i setsu mu jo ho
nyo to fu mon shi
tan ni ga metsu do
我見諸衆生
没在於苦海
故不為現身
令其生渇仰		ga ken sho shu jo
motsu zai o ku kai
ko fu i gen shin
ryo go sho katsu go
因其心恋慕
乃出為説法
神通力如是
於阿僧祇劫		in go shin ren bo
nai shitsu i sep-po
jin zu riki nyo ze
o a so gi ko
常在霊鷲山
及余諸住処
衆生見劫尽
大火所焼時		jo zai ryo ju sen
gyu yo sho ju sho
shu jo ken ko jin
dai ka sho sho ji
我此土安穏
天人常充満
園林諸堂閣
種種宝荘厳		ga shi do an non
ten nin jo ju man
on rin sho do kaku
shu ju ho sho gon
宝樹多花果
衆生所遊楽
諸天撃天鼓
常作衆伎楽		ho ju ta ke ka
shu jo sho yu raku
sho ten kyaku ten ku
jo sa shu gi gaku
雨曼陀羅華
散仏及大衆
我浄土不毀
而衆見焼尽		u man da ra ke
san butsu gyu dai shu
ga jo do fu ki
ni shu ken sho jin
憂怖諸苦悩
如是悉充満
是諸罪衆生
以悪業因縁		u fu sho ku no
nyo ze shitsu ju man
ze sho zai shu jo
i aku go in nen
過阿僧祇劫
不聞三宝名
諸有修功徳
柔和質直者		ka a so gi ko
fu mon san bo myo
sho u shu ku doku
nyu wa shichi jiki sha
則皆見我身
在此而説法
或時為此衆
説仏寿無量		sok-kai ken ga shin
zai shi ni sep-po
waku ji i shi shu
setsu butsu ju mu ryo
久乃見仏者
為説仏難値
我智力如是
慧光照無量		ku nai ken bus-sha
i setsu butsu nan chi
ga chi riki nyo ze
e ko sho mu ryo
寿命無数劫
久修業所得
汝等有智者
勿於此生疑		ju myo mu shu ko
ku shu go sho toku
nyo to u chi sha
mot-to shi sho gi
当断令永尽
仏語実不虚
如医善方便
為治狂子故		to dan ryo yo jin
butsu go jip-pu ko
nyo i zen ho ben
i ji o shi ko
実在而言死
無能説虚妄
我亦為世父
救諸苦患者		jitsu zai ni gon shi
mu no sek-ko mo
ga yaku i se bu
ku sho ku gen sha
為凡夫顛倒
実在而言滅
以常見我故
而生憍恣心		i bon bu ten do
jitsu zai ni gon metsu
i jo ken ga ko
ni sho kyo shi shin
放逸著五欲
墮於悪道中
我常知衆生
行道不行道		ho itsu jaku go yoku
da o aku do chu
ga jo chi shu jo
gyo do fu gyo do
随応所可度
為説種種法
毎自作是念
以何令衆生		zui o sho ka do
i ses-shu ju ho
mai ji sa ze nen
i ga ryo shu jo
得入無上道
速成就仏身		toku nyu mu jo do
soku jo ju bus-shin

P.S. I’ve been posting a lot of Japanese-Buddhist liturgy from various sources, and this is the last one I will post for a while. The ones I have posted so far on the blog cover the most common sutra chants, so anyone curious to get started in a tradition (or rediscover a tradition) should hopefully find what they need. Good luck!

Chanting the “Hobenpon”: Chapter Two of the Lotus Sutra

The Lotus Sutra, one of the most important sutras of Mahayana Buddhism, is the size of an epic novel, and thus much too large to recite cover to cover. Even reciting a single chapter can be daunting because each chapter contains a large narrative section, and one or more verse sections that recap the narrative.

For this reason, certain verse sections have become popular for chanting because they get to the heart of the Lotus Sutra and convey its essential teachings, in a manageable size.

Popular examples (among others) include the Kannon Sutra, the verse section of chapter 16, and the opening secction of chapter 2. Both are actively recited in Nichiren and Tendai sect home services. Today we will focus on the opening section of chapter 2, called the hōbenpon (方便品) in Japanese.

Chapter 2 of the Lotus Sutra introduces the concept of Expedient Means (Sanskrit upāya), the idea (alluded to in earlier Buddhists texts) that the Buddha’s teachings and practices are flexible and meant to accommodate the capacity of the follower, guiding them along until they reach the ultimate truth (e.g. Enlightenment). Later, the chapter leans on this concept to further teach that any effort along the Buddhist path is not wasted, and every bit counts. But the chant above is for the just the opening section, which teaches that full Enlightenment is a deeply profound concept, but something only the Buddhas can truly understand between one another, so it’s a pretty lofty goal (e.g. that’s why the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas do what they can to help).

“Shariputra, ever since I attained Buddhahood, I have widely expounded my teachings through many stories of past relationships and many parables, and by countless means have led the people to renounce all their attachments.”

Translation by Burton Watson

Let’s move on now to the liturgy itself.

Liturgical Language

Because this is a chant used in Japanese Nichiren and Tendai traditions, among others, I am posting it as-is in Japanese, more specifically Sino-Japanese: the original Classical Chinese that it was recorded in, but with historical Japanese pronunciation. You are welcome to recite in English, or any other language, there is no restriction.

For this liturgical text, I relied on a few sources, plus I double-checked the spellings using physical sutra books I have at home. I am fairly certain it’s accurate.

Also, I formatted the text similar to how it is formatted in real service books.

Translation

I decided not to post the translation side-by-side with the text, the way I do with the Heart Sutra and such. This is due to formatting reasons on the blog, plus also length of the text makes this more difficult. I may revise this later.

For now, I highly recommend checking out a modern translation here by the excellent Dr Burton Watson. The Buddhist Text Translation Society also has an excellent translation here. The chant below is the first narrative section that goes all the way to the first verse section.

Disclaimer and Legal Info

I hereby release this into the public domain. Please use it as you see fit, but if you attribute it to this site, greatly appreciated. Also, please bear in mind this is an amateur work, and should not be taken too seriously.

Dedication

I dedicate this effort to all sentient beings everywhere. May all beings be well, and may they all attain perfect peace.

Namu Shakamuni Buddha

The Lotus Sutra second chapter, opening section

Preamble

Original ChineseJapanese Romanization
妙法蓮華経
方便品第二		Myo ho ren ge kyo
ho ben pon dai ni

Verse Section

Original ChineseJapanese Romanization
爾時世尊
従三昧
安詳而起
告舎利弗		Ni ji se son
ju san mai
an jo ni ki
go sha ri hotsu
諸仏智慧
甚深無量
其智慧門
難解難入		sho buc-chi e
jin jin mu ryo
go chi e mon
nan ge nan nyu
一切声聞
辟支仏
所不能知
所以者何		is-sai sho mon
hyaku shi butsu
sho fu no chi
sho i sha ga
仏曾親近
百千万億
無数諸仏
尽行諸仏。		butsu zo shin gon
hyaku sen man noku
mu shu sho butsu
jin gyo sho butsu
無量道法
勇猛精進
名称普聞
成就甚深		mu ryo do ho
yu myo sho jin
myo sho fu mon
jo ju jin jin
未曾有法
随宜所説
意趣難解
舎利弗		mi zo u ho
zui gi sho setsu
i shu nan ge
sha ri hotsu
吾従成仏已来
種種因縁
種種譬諭
広演言教		go ju jo buc-chi rai
shu ju in nen
shu ju hi yu
ko en gon kyo
無数方便
引導衆生
令離諸著
所以者何		mu shu ho ben
in do shu jo
ryo ri sho jaku
sho i sha ga
如来方便
知見波羅蜜
皆已具足
舎利弗		nyo rai ho ben
chi ken ha ra mitsu
kai i gu soku
sha ri hotsu
如来知見
広大深遠
無量無礙
力無所畏		nyo rai chi ken
ko dai jin non
mu ryo mu ge
riki mu sho i
禅定解脱三昧
深入無際
成就一切
未曾有法		zen jo ge das-san mai
jin nyu mu sai
jo ju is sai
mi zo u ho
舎利弗
如来能種種分別
巧説諸法
言辞柔軟		sha ri hotsu
nyo rai no shu ju fun betsu
gyo ses-sho ho
gon ji nyu nan
悦可衆心
舎利弗
取要言之
無量無辺		ek ka shu shin
sha ri hotsu
shu yo gon shi
mu ryo mu hen
未曾有法
仏悉成就
止舎利弗
不須復説		mi zo u ho
bus-shitsu jo ju
shi sha ri hotsu
fu shu bu setsu
所以者何
仏所成就
第一希有
難解之法		sho i sha ga
bus-sho jo ju
dai ichi ke u
nan ge shi ho
唯仏与仏
乃能究尽
諸法実相		yui butsu yo butsu
nai no ku jin
sho ho jis-so

Conclusion

(note: at least in some Nichiren traditions, this part is repeated 3 times. I am unclear if this is also done in the Tendai tradition.)

Original ChineseJapanese Romanization
所謂諸法
如是相
如是性
如是体
如是力
如是作
如是因
如是縁
如是果
如是報
如是本
末究竟等		sho i sho ho
nyo ze so
nyo ze sho
nyo ze tai
nyo ze riki
nyo ze sa
nyo ze in
nyo ze en
nyo ze ka
nyo ze ho
nyo ze hon
ma ku kyo to

Enjoying This Moment

This was a neat dialogue between two of the characters in Fire Emblem: Three Houses that I wanted to post here.1 It’s very Buddhist in my opinion.

Or as Leonard Nimoy said before his passing…

I am one of those people who likes to take lots of photos of scenery on my phone, but I admit whenever I do this, the photos just aren’t the same as the original experience. I never could fully explain this to myself until I saw the dialogue above.

It reminds me of a famous quote from the Analects of Confucius:

[9:17]  子在川上曰。逝者如斯夫 不舍晝夜。
The Master [Confucius], standing by a river, said,
“It goes on like this, never ceasing day or night!”

Translation by A. Charles Muller

Anyhow, that’s all I wanted to post. Enjoy! 🙏🏼

1 I haven’t talked about it as much lately, but I’ve been playing FE3H pretty much non-stop since last August, and am on my fifth play-through. I can confidently say this is one of my favorite all-time games.

Concentration, or Lack Thereof

This is me, most of the time.

I am the sort of person who is bad with names. I recently met some new neighbors, and they told me their names, and I made a point of remembering those names, but 5 minutes later, I had already forgotten one of them.

In the early Buddhist sutras, the Buddha described the mind as a monkey flitting from branch to branch:

Just as a monkey, swinging through a forest wilderness, grabs a branch. Letting go of it, it grabs another branch. Letting go of that, it grabs another one. Letting go of that, it grabs another one. In the same way, what’s called ‘mind,’ ‘intellect,’ or ‘consciousness’ by day and by night arises as one thing and ceases as another.

Assutavā Sutta (SN 12.61), translation by Ven. Thanissaro Bhikkhu

This inability to focus the mind prevents us from gaining any insight, being easily swayed by sensual lust, anger, or ignorance, unable to see the bigger picture. Centuries later, in the Parable of the Burning House of the Lotus Sutra, the kids in the burning house are so distracted by their toys, that they do not notice their father calling them to get out.

This notion of the unstable mind unable to see its own peril is found in every Buddhist tradition, and what drives much of the Buddhist practice. Recognizing one’s own mental patterns is the first step, an important one too, but another important step is to counteract this. One cannot stop the thoughts themselves, it’s just the way the mind of Homo sapiens works. Instead, one should look into Buddhist training to either withstand such thoughts, counteract them, or look past them. This isn’t a simple thing either. It’s quite difficult, and requires long-term training. But it is essential to one’s well-being.

When I catch myself brooding angry thoughts, or thinking something stupid and selfish, I often think about something Honen said in a famous catechism called the 145 Questions and Answers (ippyaku-shijūgo-kajō-mond, 百四十五箇条問答), namely question #69:

一。心に妄念のいかにも思はれ候は、いかがし候べき。

Q) When bad thoughts keep arising within my mind, what ought one to do?

答。ただよくよく念仏を申させ給へ。

A) The only thing to do is to repeat Nembutsu.

Quoted from Honen the Buddhist Saint page 56, with Japanese from http://kyokusho.g.dgdg.jp/benkyo/c145.htm

Because the Pure Land tradition of Buddhism is so large, there’s a lot of ways to interpret this. I don’t know the right answer. You should do your own research and decide for yourself. For some, this is using the nembutsu as a form of mindfulness practice (withstanding evil thoughts), while for others, this is acknowledging the grace of Amida Buddha, and that one is still destined to be reborn in the Pure Land (looking past evil thoughts).

This is not to replace the tradition of mindfulness meditation, either. It’s just not always possible to be sitting on a cushion meditating, so remembering Honen’s advice is a handy thing to do when you are going through life, and feeling your mind looping the same negative or unwholesome thoughts over and over.

Namu Amida Butsu