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Lotus Sutra Expounds the Attainment We as Nichiren Buddhists follow the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. In this Sutra, the Buddha expounds that every being has Buddha-nature so that every¬one is eligible to attain Buddhahood. This is based on the reality of the equal and great compassion that the Buddha has towards all sentient beings. However, some people criticize the Lotus Sutra. They read it without understanding its deeper meaning. They say things like, "When I read the Lotus Sutra, it discrimi¬nates against women." The most common example of this that is given is the attain¬ment of Buddhahood by the daughter of the Dragon-King in the Devadatta chapter of the Lotus Sutra. In this story of the daughter's attainment of Buddhahood, there are some statements which can be misinterpreted and would seem to discrim¬inate against women. This is a case where looking at the time and the country and their customs will help in the understand¬ing of what the Sutra is actually teaching. Mahayana Buddhist scriptures, such as the Lotus Sutra, were compiled about 2,000 years ago, and they reflect strongly the social environment and culture of the time. For example, in the beginning of the Devadatta chapter, when a king prac¬ticed almsgiving to complete the six paramitas, he offered not only his posses¬sions and his body but also his "wives, children, menservants and maidservants" all as offerings. Living in the mod¬ern age, we do not accept the king's words as they are. We should understand the social environment of the age, be it the king's time or our present time. When we read the Sutra with our belief in human rights of this present time, we understand that the wives, chil¬dren and servants have their own inde¬pendent personality and human rights just as the King does. They are, in our present understanding, free and indepen¬dent persons. Nichiren Shonin, our founder, under¬stood, believed in and received the Lotus Sutra in an age of discrimination based on ranks and status. He realized the impor¬tance of the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and comprehended its deep view of human rights and the equality of all beings. It is impressive to think that in this "middle age" that he lived in that he had belief in and comprehended this spirit of equality and respect. It is this spirit which being disseminated by Nichiren Shonin which is present in our society today. Proof of Manjusri - A daughter of the Dragon-King attains Buddhahood with a female body In the latter half of the Devadatta chapter, a dialogue begins with Bodhisattvas Manjusri and Accumulated-Wisdom. Replying to a question by Accumulated¬Wisdom, Manjusri reveals that he enlight¬ened innumerable Bodhisattvas at the palace of the dragon-king in the sea. Bodhisattva Accumulated-Wisdom prais¬es Manjusri with gathas (verse). Manjusri states, "In the sea I expounded only the Lotus Sutra." Accumulated¬ Wisdom asked, "The Sutra is exceedingly profound and wonderful. This is the trea¬sure of all the sutras. It is rare in the world. Do you know anyone who acted according to this sutra so strenuously that the one has already become a Buddha quickly?" Manjusri answered, "Yes," and introduced an eight-year old daughter of the Dragon-King Sagara. The daughter of the Dragon-King was clever, practiced well and "She aspired for Bodhi in ksana and reached the stage of irrevocability." She is compassionate and "has already attained Bodhi," Manjusri states. His words obviously proved that the daughter of the Dragon-King had attained Buddhahood quickly with her female dragon body. Later in the Chapter she would turn into a man, but why? This "transformation into a man" is a very important event to understand and is eas¬ily misunderstood. Doubt of Bodhisattva Accumulated-Wisdom - clinging to the attainment of Buddhahood after practicing for a long period of kalpas Accumulated-Wisdom could not believe instantly the proof of Manjusri that the daughter of Dragon-King attained Buddhahood. "I do not believe that this girl can attain perfect enlightenment in a moment, said Accumulated¬Wisdom. That is because he was attached to a fixed thought that any per¬son would not be able to attain Buddhahood until after seeking enlight¬enment for innumerable kalpas and accumulating merits by practicing aus¬terities like Sakyamuni Buddha had done. Attaining Buddhahood after prac¬ticing for a long period of kalpas is dif¬ferent from attaining Buddhahood with one's present body. This concept is also stated as attaining Buddhahood in a future life by changing body. Testimony of the Daughter of the Dragon-King - Only the Buddha Knows No sooner had the doubt of Accumulated-Wisdom been cast to Manjusri, that the daughter of Dragon¬King appeared at the scene, praised the Buddha's virtue and also talked about her own attainment of Buddhahood saying, "Only you (the Buddha) know that I attain Bodhi because I heard the Dharma." The daughter talked about her own attainment of Buddhahood and vowed to save all living beings from suf¬ferings by expounding the teachings of the Great Vehicle. As the Truth of Buddhahood is described in the Expedients chapter of the Lotus Sutra, it states "Only the Buddhas attained the reality of all things." The testimony of the daughter of Dragon-King is all reasonable and true. Manjusri, who enlightened the daughter, admitted her attainment of Buddhahood, but for other people gath¬ering there, it was hardly to be believed that it was immediate unless the daugh¬ter would show her appearance as a Buddha. As what they felt at least was what a Buddha should look like. "I need to see it to believe it," was the attitude of the group. Doubt of Sariputra - Clinging to Five Impossibilities of men Sariputra asked the daughter questions as a representative of the whole audience. This part of the chapter is the most com¬mon to be misunderstood as being dis¬crimination against women. "You said that you had attained unsurpassed enlightenment before long. This is diffi¬cult to believe because the body of a woman is defiled and not a recipient of the teachings of the Buddha. How could you attain unsurpassed Bodhi? The enlightenment of the Buddha is far off It can be reached by those who accumulate the practices and perform each of the Six Paramitas with strenuous efforts for innu¬merable kalpas. Also a woman has five impossibilities. She cannot become 1. the Brahman-Heavenly-King, 2. King Sakra, 3. King Mara, 4. a wheel-turning¬holy-king, and 5. a Buddha. How could you become a Buddha quick¬ly while being a woman?" In Sariputras words, "The enlightenment of the Buddha is far off," is about attain¬ing Buddhahood after practicing for a long period of kalpas. This is the same doubt that Bodhisattva Accumulated¬Wisdom was having. Sariputra also men¬tions that the body of a woman is defiled, and there are five impossibilities that would make her unable to become a king of a heavenly realm, a king in the human world or much less become a Buddha. This is discrimination against women, which is not the teaching of the Lotus Sutra. This idea is being presented here as a wrong idea, to be denied as incorrect thought. Sariputra, who is recognized as the wisest disciple of the Buddha, threw out this doubt to the multitude. This kind of prej¬udice against women had been flourish¬ing in Buddhism during the time before the Lotus Sutra and in the society of ancient India. In the society of ancient India, distinctions of rank, of caste and of sex were important social concepts. Women had to deal with sexual discrimi¬nation as being impure or evil. Sakyamuni Buddha denied the caste sys¬tem and established a Buddhist sangha (community). He also accepted a group of women's wishes to establish a sangha for nuns. It is recognized as a revolution¬ary event in the Eurasian world at that time. He was slowly changing the ideas of the society. However, from the beginning of the Buddhist sangha and the accep¬tance of nuns, women were still subjugat¬ed. Women were considered a distur¬bance for monks and also as transgressors of the law, so precepts for nuns were much stricter than for the monks. Their status in the Sangha was not equal to the monks at first. The idea that women would not be able to attain Buddhahood due to their five impossibilities appeared in Buddhist scriptures that were formed after Sakyamuni Buddha's death. Since the thirty-two major marks of any Buddha were described as characteristics of a male body, a woman couldn't be a Buddha. This misconception was used to discriminate against women inside and outside of the sangha. Therefore, women were dealt with as being not able to attain Buddhahood unless they were reborn as men. In the Lotus Sutra, the Devadatta chapter denies the strong idea of the five impossibilities of women for the first time. In the next issue we will discuss the expe¬dients that the Daughter gives to show her enlightenment to the ignorant multi¬tude and see that even in today's society, discrimination is present in many forms. We need to study the Lotus Sutra and understand the concepts of equality that it brings. There are no castes, status or physical features that make us more or less sentient beings in this world. We are all here together. The Dragon princess reveals her true aspect To clear Sariputra's beliefs about women and the five impossibilities (Lotus Sutra pg. 201, Murano version), the Dragon-king's daughter offered a very precious gem to the Buddha. This act of offering the gem worth one thousand million Sumeru-worlds or the great universe, intimates attainment of Buddhahood. The Buddha received the gem immediately. The Dragon-king's daughter said, "Look at me with your supernatural powers! I will become a Buddha [even] more quickly," than the length"bf time that the Buddha took to receive the gem. Then the Lotus Sutra states: "the congrega¬tion saw that the daughter of the dragon¬king changed into a man all of a sudden, per¬formed the Bodhisattva practices, went to the Spotless World in the south, sat on a jew¬eled lotus-flowers, attained perfect enlighten¬ment, obtained the thirty-two major marks and the eighty minor marks [of the Buddha] and [began to] expound the Wonderful Dharma to the living beings of the worlds of the ten quarters." When they saw the daughter becoming a Buddha and expounding the Dharma, all living beings including Bodhisattvas and Sravakas bowed to that Buddha with great joy. Innumerable living beings received merits of the Dharma such as reaching the stage of irrevocablitity and obtaining the assurance of their future attainment of enlightenment. The Devadatta Chapter concludes as Accumulated-Wisdom Bodhisattva, Sariputra and all the other living beings in the congregation received and understood the Dharma faithfully and in silence. Only the Buddha knew that the Dragon¬ king's daughter had attained Buddhahood. The congregation could not believe only with the proof of Manjusri and the daughter that she had attained Buddhahood prior to becoming a man. Upon becoming a man, the daughter revealed the thirty-two major marks and offered the merit of the Dharma and made them believe faithfully. Changing into a man In the Devadatta Chapter, the five impossibilities appear to be an incorrect view that must be refuted. Dragon-king's daughter also made the congregation believe her attainment of Buddhahood by changing her physical form into a man. How should we understand this? During Sakyamuni's time men had the power and control in society, while women occupied a lower and subservient status and position. The ability to enter the religious life and practice was limited to men. Because of these social norms the idea of women having to be reborn as a man became a condition for the attainment of Buddhahood. When a woman wished to enter a religious order, she had to renounce the life of a woman and live and think as a male monas¬tic. This is one origin of the idea of a woman changing into a man. Later, entry into religious life would require a woman to shave her head and wear the same robes as a man, thus eliminating her female identity. In Mahayana Buddhism this was the origin of the idea of physical transformation from a woman into a man. However, the Devadatta chapter provides us another perspective on the physical trans¬formation as a requirement for Buddhahood. The Dragon-king's daughter attained Buddhahood first with her present body. This is shown by the Buddha receiving the gem. Knowing the congregation was cling¬ing to the five impossibil¬ities of women, she became a man, and showed the thirty-two marks of a Buddha; thus convincing the con¬gregation that there was no distinction of gender in becoming a Buddha. Nichiren Shonin and women's Buddhahood Nichiren Shonin wrote a great deal about women's attainment of Buddhahood using the story of the Dragon-king's daughter. In the Hokke Daimoku Sho, written when he was 45, Nichiren Shonin discussed women's lower status in the sutras--from the Flower Garland Sutra to the Great Nirvana Sutra. Women were thought to have karmic diffi¬culties that prevented them from attaining Buddhahood. He also discussed that Dragon-king's daughter attainment of Buddhahood as follows: "Thus women were denied the ability to attain Buddhahood by other sutras. However, because Man)usri expounded a letter of Myo, wonderful, they were able to become Buddhas. It was so mysterious that Accumulated-Wisdom Bodhisattva, a pri¬mary, disciple of Many Treasure Buddha and Sariputra, the wisest disciple of Sakya¬muni Buddha explained the reason why the daughter was not allowed to become a Buddha according to sutras of Hinayana and Mahayana; however, their intention did¬n't get achieved and she became a Buddha. A passage in the Flower Garland Sutra stating, `One that has vanished a seed of Buddhahood,' and a passage in the Nirvana Sutra stating, As all rivers necessarily curve, women's mind also curve,' are meaningless now. A passage in the Silver Female Sutra and the Great Wisdom Discourse stating, `Women cannot attain Buddhahood for a long peri¬od,' is also useless. Accumulated-Wisdom Bodhisattva and Sariputra were surprised and shut their mouths, and the congregation was so joyful that they put their palms together to pay respect to the Buddha. This is all the merit of the letter, Myo." Nichiren Shonin also stated in Kaimoku Sho,. . . The example of the dragon girl becoming a Buddha does not mean only her. It means the attainment of Buddhahood by all women. In the Hinayana sutra preached before the Lotus Sutra a woman is not thought of in terms of attaining Buddhahood. Various Mahayana sutras appear to recognize women attaining Buddhahood or going to the Buddha land, but only after they changed themselves to the good by giving up the evil. This is not an immediate attainment of Buddhahood in this world, which can only be possible through the `3,000 in one thought' doc¬trine. Therefore what the Buddha promised in those Mahayana sutras is in name only. On the other hand, the attainment of Buddhahood by the dragon girl in the Lotus Sutra is meant as an example among many, opening the way for women of the Latter Age to attain Buddhahood or reach the Buddha land." (Writings of Nichiren Shonin, Doctrine 2, p. 90) In his letter, Sennichi Ama Gozen Gohenji (A Reply to My Lady Nun Sennichi) sent from Mt. Minobu at his age of 57, Nichiren Shonin stated, "We believed after a fashion the doctrine of attainment of Buddhahood by all living beings because it was preached by the Buddha but could not believe it completely because of the lack of proof. Then it became all clear when the most important doctrine of becoming a Buddha with one's present body was expounded in the "Devadatta' chapter in the fifth fascicle of the Lotus Sutra. It is like turning black laxquer into white or purifying dirty water by putting a wish-fulfilling gem in it. The Buddha made a small snake, who is actually a daughter of the dragon-king, attain Buddhahood with her present body. At this moment, no one could doubt about all men attaining Buddhahood. Therefore, the Lotus Sutra expounds attainment of Buddhahood by all people after the model of enlightenment of women.... Hinayana sutras do not allow women to attain Buddhahood at all. Some Mahayana sutras seem to allow women's attainment of Buddhahood or reaching the Buddha land, but they are the Buddha's expedient words without substance. Realizing that only the Lotus Sutra expounds women's attainment of Buddhahood and therefore is the true sutra through which we can repay our mother's favors, I am trying to make all women chant the title (daimoku) of this sutra in order for them to repay their mothers' favors." Thus Nichiren Shonin was teaching women's attainment of Buddhahood throughout his life. He did not refer at all to "changing into a man" of the Dragon-king's daughter. Nichiren Shonin clearly under¬stood the attainment of Buddhahood by women since he dealt with men and women equally as having good potential to attain Buddhahood. Learn from Nichiren Shonin's concept of equality of men and women Nichiren Shonin also understood the rela¬tionship of men and women, or husband and wife supporting each other with com¬passion and trust. His letters addressed to individual followers were written according to their personalities; therefore some of his expressions might be misinterpreted as slighting women or treating women as sub¬ordinate to men if only a partial passage is read. For example, "the character for a woman means to rely on. Just as a wisteria plant coils around a pine tree, and women rely on men, you should rely on your hus¬band . . . ." (Shijo Kingo Dono Nyobo Gohenji, Nyonin Gosho, p. 94) or "To be a woman is to be obedient, and consequently she will have her way." (Kyodai Sho, A Phrase A Day, p. 136) But when we read the passages before and after those above, we clearly see that Nichiren Shonin taught the relationship of a husband and wife based on the teaching of the Lotus Sutra. Moreover, he stated that a man and a woman should support each other equally saying, "An arrow is directed by the power of its bow. The clouds move with the power of wind. The works of man (husband) are seeded by woman (wife)," (Toki Ama Gozen Gosho, A Phrase A Day, p. 136) "A wife treasures her husband while he sacrifices his life for her," (Ueno Dono Gohenji, A Phrase A Day, p. 130) “A husband is like a pillar of a house and his wife its beam. When the pillar falls, the beam collapses. Man is like legs and woman is like body. A bird's body being the wife and its wings her husband, when the wings fail, the bird cannot fly. Likewise, you must feel that you have lost your own soul after the death of your hus¬band." (Sennichi Ama Gozen Gohenji, A Phrase A Day, p. 130) These words are based Nichiren Shonin's understanding of the equality of men and women that is cultivated by having faith in the Lotus Sutra. Even today while women's liberation has improved the status of women, there remain some tendencies among men to dominate women. We should reassert our understand¬ing about the meaning of women's attain¬ment of Buddhahood expounded in the Lotus Sutra and study Nichiren Shonin's thoughts and ideas about equality of men and women and human respect. The End |