The Prism of the Lotus Sutra (9)

by Atsushi Kanazawa

The Lion

The "Introductory" chapter of the Lotus Sutra says, "I see also the buddhas, the holy masters, the lions, expounding the sutra, mystic and supreme." Here the buddhas are referred to as lions. On hearing the word lion, we tend to visualize the king of beasts bounding across a vast savannah in hot pursuit of prey, its long, thick, golden mane blowing in the wind. But we are probably thinking of the African lion. The Indian lion, on the other hand, considered to be endangered, is still the king of beasts, but is a little smaller, with quite thick legs and only a modest mane.

Why should the Buddha have been likened to a lion? One reason, which can be inferred from the phrase "lion's roar" used in connection with the Buddha, is the persuasiveness of the Buddha's voice and words. Just as one roar by a lion can make all nearby animals tremble, so too do living beings listen intently to what the Buddha says and prostrate themselves before him. The lion could be said to give apt expression to that most important aspect of the Buddha, namely, someone who preaches the Dharma to living beings. It could perhaps be said that the following statement near the start of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings refers to this same aspect of the Buddha: "They are like a trainer of elephants and horses who never fails to train well, or like a majestic and brave lion that inevitably subdues and overpowers all beasts."

Likewise, in the chapter "A Happy Life" in the Lotus Sutra, it seems quite appropriate that the fearlessness of a buddha as he boldly goes anywhere to preach the Dharma should be likened to that of a lion king: "Fearlessly he will roam like a lion king. The radiance of his wisdom will shine like the sun. If he should dream, he will see only the wonderful, seeing the tathāgatas seated on lion thrones, preaching the Law to hosts of surrounding bhikshus." It is also known from this passage that the seat of a buddha, who is worthy of being called a lion, is sometimes called a "lion throne." We should not forget the figure of the Buddha seated on a lion throne beneath trees adorned with precious gems as he preaches the Dharma.

Further, in the chapter "Springing Up out of the Earth," we read: "Thereupon Śākyamuni Buddha addressed Maitreya Bodhisattva: 'Do you all, with one mind, don the armor of zeal and exhibit a firm will, [for] the Tathāgata now intends to reveal and proclaim the wisdom of buddhas, the sovereign and supernatural power of buddhas, the lion eagerness of buddhas, and the awe-inspiring forceful power of buddhas.'" This tells us that the term lion eagerness, reflected in Japanese expressions such as one meaning something like "furious lion-like activity," can be traced back to the Lotus Sutra and makes it all the more meaningful.

The Sea

The Chinese character for sea includes the element for mother, and the French word for mother, mère, is similar to mer, the French word for sea. In Chinese (and also Japanese) and in French the sea is thus associated with motherliness or womanliness. What about India? Was it perhaps associated with a more masculine image of a boundless expanse of nothing but water?

In chapter 3 of the Lotus Sutra, "A Parable," we read: "[But when] the Buddha, with various reasonings and parables, speaks so skillfully, one's heart is peaceful as the sea. On hearing, my nets of doubts were broken." Again, in chapter 5, "The Parable of the Herbs," we read: "The Buddha by this parable tactfully reveals and with various expressions proclaims the One Law; [but of] the Buddha-wisdom it is as a drop in the ocean." One might conclude that for the people of India, too, the sea was associated with the image of a graceful "mother" or the image of a vast all-encompassing expanse filled to the brim with water. But in the extant Sanskrit text there is no word corresponding to sea or ocean in these passages. These analogies may have been devised by the translator Kumārajīva, taking into account Chinese perceptions of the sea.

Chapter 19, "The Merits of the Preacher," includes the following passage: "With the eyes received from his parents he will see all the three-thousand-fold world, within and without, Mount Meru, Sumeru and its Iron Circle, and the other mountains and forests, great oceans, rivers, and waters, down to the Avīci hell, up to the Summit of Existence." This would suggest that for the people of India, the ocean, like mountains such as Mount Sumeru, may have been no more than an enormous representational figure forming part of our three-thousand great-thousand-fold world.

That may be the case, but I would also like to draw attention to the following passage in the chapter "The All-Sidedness of the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World," a chapter known also as the Kuan-yin Sutra and widely recited: "His is the wondrous voice, voice of the world-regarder, Brahma-voice, voice of the rolling tide, voice all world-surpassing, therefore ever to be kept in mind, with never a doubting thought. Regarder of the Cries of the World, pure and holy, in pain, distress, death, calamity, able to be a sure reliance, perfect in all merit, with compassionate eyes beholding all, boundless ocean of blessing! Prostrate, let us revere him."

It is here stated that Avalokiteś vara, or Regarder of the Cries of the World, a "sure reliance," possesses a voice like the sound of the tide. It was in fact this phrase in the Lotus Sutra that became the source of the title Kaichōon (Sound of the tide) for a fine collection of poems translated into Japanese from other languages by the noted author and translator Bin Ueda (1874-1916) and published in 1905.

Sutras

Two years have already passed since we began turning our attention to various terms mentioned in the Lotus Sutra and inquiring into how they relate to its teachings. This installment is the final one in this series, which started with "The White Lotus," and we will end with "Sutras." Buddhism has its origins in sermons about the "knowledge of enlightenment" gained by Shakyamuni beneath the bodhi tree when he became the Buddha, sermons that he gave to as-yet-unenlightened beings. These teachings are usually referred to as sutras, of which there are an enormous number. The Lotus Sutra is just one of them, but both in quality and in quantity it is the "king" of sutras. For those of us who aspire to the bliss of buddhahood, sutras may be described as the greatest of treasures, to be constantly listened to, understood, and kept in mind, even though it is difficult for those of us lacking in wisdom to comprehend and realize their true meaning.

The chapter "The Merits of the Preacher" says: "If [anyone] keeps the Law-Flower Sutra, his body will be utterly pure, as that pure lapis lazuli; all the living will delight to see it. And as in a pure, bright mirror every image is seen, the bodhisattva, in his pure body, sees everything in the world. He himself alone sees clearly what others do not see."

What does it mean to keep the Law-Flower Sutra (the Lotus Sutra)? So long as one is able to do this, one's body will, it is said, become as pure as lapis lazuli and one will know everything that is not known to others. When we today hear the words Lotus Sutra, a sutra in the form of a book immediately springs to mind, and thinking that we can easily pick it up whenever we feel like it, we are apt to handle it casually. But we should not forget what it says in the chapter "Discrimination of Merits": "If anyone after the extinction of the Tathāgata receives and keeps, reads and recites it, preaches it to others, either himself copies it or causes others to copy it, and pays homage to the sutra, he need no longer erect stupas and temples or build monasteries and make offerings to the monks." "Pays homage to" means to handle with care and the utmost sincerity.

Note: All excerpts from the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings, the Lotus Sutra, and the Sutra of Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue are from The Threefold Lotus Sutra [[[Kosei Publishing]] Company, 1975], with slight revisions.

Atsushi Kanazawa is a Professor in the Faculty of Buddhism at Komazawa University, Tokyo. He specializes in the Indian philosophy of language and the history of Indian philosophy and culture.

Source

https://rk-world.org/dharmaworld/dw_2015julysept_prism-of-the-lotus-sutra-9.aspx