THE DHARMA FLOWER SUTRA SEEN THROUGH
THE ORAL TRANSMISSION OF NICHIREN DAISHÔNIN
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The Sutra on the White Lotus Flower-Like Mechanism
Of the Utterness Of the Dharma (Myôhô Renge Kyô),
The Twelfth Chapter on Daibadatta (Devadatta)

The first important point with regard to Daibadatta (Devadatta).

In the eighth volume of the Textual Explanation of the Dharma Flower Sutra it says, “While in the teachings of the original archetypal state his dimension was pure and fresh (honmon), but in the teachings derived from the external events of the Buddha Shākyamuni’s life and work (shakumon) he was revealed as being ‘Afflicted by the Devas’.”

The Oral Transmission on the Meaning of the Dharma Flower Sutra states that the original dimension of Daibadatta (Devadatta) is Monju (Mañjushri). [He is one of the more important bodhisattvas of the universal vehicle (mahâyâna) who is the personification of the wisdom of all the Buddhas.] The teachings of the original archetypal state (honmon) imply that his original dimension was pure and fresh. [In India where the universal vehicle (mahâyâna) was evolved, “pure and fresh” is the opposite of “hot and dusty.”] But in the teachings derived from the external events of the Buddha Shākyamuni’s life and work (shakumon), the person Daibadatta (Devadatta) was shown to be “Afflicted by the Devas.” Pure and cool suggests water as a representation of the cycles of living and dying as being none other than nirvana [in the sense that is the absolute quality of all existence (shinnyo, tathâta)]. “Afflicted by the Devas” suggests fire and that our troublesome worries (bonnô) are not separate from enlightenment [since both of these conditions are activities of the mind]. Now Nichiren and those that follow him reverently recite Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô which means to devote our lives to and found them on (Nam) the Utterness of the Dharma [entirety of existence] (Myôhô) permeated by the underlying white lotus flower-like mechanism of the interdependence of cause, concomitancy and effect (Renge) in its whereabouts of the ten realms of dharmas (Kyô) and are themselves feeling that our troublesome worries (bonnô) are not separate from enlightenment [which is also in our heads] and the cycles of living and dying are none other than nirvana. Daibadatta (Devadatta) is another name for Myôhô Renge Kyô [which entails his real identity as the absolute quality of existence] and in a past life he was the sannyasi Ashi (Asita) [sannyasi being an Indian ascetic]. Ashi is another name for the Utterness of the Dharma. In the Chinese transliteration of this Sanskrit name the syllable “a” in Ashi means “being devoid of”.

The Dharma that has no identity of self is the Utterness of the Dharma. In the eighth volume of the Textual Explanation of the Dharma Flower Sutra it says, “It is by means of the Dharma that has no identity of self [which is the highest teaching] whereby sentient beings are cleansed”. Since the name of the sannyasi Ashi is another expression for the three thousand realms of dharmas that are inherent in the one instant of thought, therefore you should think about the one instant of thought containing three thousand existential spaces which has no particular identity of its own.

At that time the Buddha told all the bodhisattvas, devas, humankind and the monks, nuns and also both the male and female believers: “During the course of innumerable kalpas I have continuously been born as the sovereign of a kingdom where I have made the vow to make the endeavour to achieve a mind that is unsurpassably enlightened without ever thinking of abandoning the necessary practices to attain it (taiten). I have always striven for the fulfillment of the six means that ferry sentient beings over the sea of living and dying to the shore of nirvana (haramitsu, pâramitas).”
[The six means that ferry sentient beings over the sea of living and dying to the shore of nirvana (i.e. the six (haramitsu, pâramitas). 1) (fuse, dâna) charity or giving including the teaching of the truth to others; 2) (jikai, shîla) keeping the rules of the monastic order; 3) (ninjoku, kshânti) patience under insult; 4) (shôjin, vîrya) diligence, concentration and progress; 5) (zenjô, dhyana) fixed meditation or deep contemplation; 6) (chie, prajñâ) wisdom, the power to discern reality which is to understand existence in terms of the one instant of thought containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen). It is this last of these six means that carries sentient beings such as us across the sea of incarnate lives to the shore of nirvana.] I practiced charity in my mind without any stinginess whatsoever: elephants, horses, the seven precious materials, provinces, cities, wives, children, slaves or servants; even my head, eyes, marrow, brain, body, flesh, hands or feet. Nor did I spare my bodily existence. At that time the lifespan of humankind and the people was incredibly long. For the sake of the Dharma, I threw away and abandoned the kingdom and throne entrusting the power of the state to the crown prince. I beat on a drum and proclaimed to the four quarters that I was seeking the Dharma. Is there anyone who can explain the universal vehicle to me? Until the end of my life I shall make offerings to and be an errand boy to such a person.” At that time there was a sannyasi who addressed the sovereign saying, “I am in possession of the universal vehicle which has the title of the Sutra on the White Lotus Flower-like Mechanism of the Utterness of the Dharma. You do not contradict me so I will be pleased to explain it to you.”

The second important point on the sentence, “I am in possession of the universal vehicle which has the title of the Sutra on the White Lotus Flower-like Mechanism of the Utterness of the Dharma. You do not contradict me, so I will be pleased to explain it to you.”

The Oral Transmission on the Meaning of the Dharma Flower says that with regard to the explanation of the Sutra on the White Lotus Flower-like Mechanism of the Utterness of the Dharma [and the sannyasi Ashi’s injunction.] “You do not contradict me, so I will be pleased to explain it to you,” the ideogram for “if” can be read and understood as “you”.

Tendai comments on this by saying “the sovereign accepted the teaching and reverently practiced it”. Now, Nichiren and those that follow him reverently recite Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô which means to devote our lives to and found them on (Nam) the Utterness of the Dharma [entirety of existence] (Myôhô) permeated by the underlying white lotus flower-like mechanism of the interdependence of cause, concomitancy and effect (Renge) in its whereabouts of the ten realms of dharmas (Kyô). Without contradicting Nichiren, they are pleased to explain the significance of the Dharma Flower Sutra. The sannayasi Ashi here means Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô.

On hearing the words of the sannyasi the sovereign was delighted and overjoyed. From then onwards he followed the sannyasi giving him all that he needed: collecting fruit, drawing water, gathering firewood and preparing his meals; even to the point of letting the sannyasi use the sovereign’s person as a seat or a bed. Neither the sovereign’s mind nor body was ever worn down. He reverently served the sannyasi in this manner for a thousand years in order to understand the Dharma. He served the sannyasi diligently and waited upon him so that he would lack nothing.

The third important point on the passage: collecting fruit, drawing water, gathering firewood and preparing meals.

The Oral Transmission on the Meaning of the Dharma Flower Sutra states that collecting fruit in this particular passage refers to the kinds of troublesome worries (bonnô) brought about by thoughtlessness (chi). Drawing water refers to the kinds of troublesome worries (bonnô) brought about by greed (don). Gathering firewood represents the kinds of troublesome worries (bonnô) brought about by anger (jin) and preparing food represents the kinds of troublesome worries (bonnô) brought about by haughtiness (man). Here in the text of the Dharma Flower Sutra are eight kinds of subservience listed that the sovereign performed for the sannyasi Ashi. Outside of these eight kinds of subservience the sovereign did not perform any other activity in order to receive the transmission of the Sutra on the White Lotus Flower-like Mechanism of the Utterness of the Dharma.

Now, Nichiren and those that follow him, reverently recite Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô which means to devote our lives to and found them on (Nam) the Utterness of the Dharma [entirety of existence] (Myôhô) permeated by the underlying white lotus flower-like mechanism of the interdependence of cause, concomitancy and effect (Renge) in its whereabouts of the ten realms of dharmas (Kyô). This can be equated with the thousand years of the sovereign’s subservience to the sannyasi Ashi. Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô again stands for the three thousand existential realms in every instant of mental activity (ichinen sanzen). This is the remedy to heal the errors of greed, anger, thoughtlessness and haughtiness.

Thereupon the World Honoured One, wishing to reiterate the significance of what he had said, expressed it in the form of a metric hymn.

I am aware of kalpas past
when I was the king of a secular state
I never took pleasure in the five desires [1) for wealth, 2) sexual love, 3) eating and drinking, 4) renown and 5) sleep].
I beat on a gong to proclaim
to the four directions of the compass
that I was in search of the person
who was in possession of the all-embracing Dharma
who was also capable of explaining its meaning.
I would become that person’s server and slave.
At that time there was the sannyasi Ashi
who came to propose to the great king saying,
I am in possession of the subtle Utterness of the Dharma
which is a rarity in the ordinary world.
If you are capable of doing the necessary practices
I must indeed expound it for you.
Thereupon the sovereign was enthralled
and his heart was filled with joy.
He immediately followed the sannyasi
and offered him everything he needed.
The king collected firewood, picked fruits and berries
so as to make offerings to the sannyasi
at the appropriate seasons.
Because the sovereign was taken up with
and engrossed in the concept of the Utterness of Dharma,
his body and mind never became worn out or fatigued.

The fourth important point on the line. “Because the sovereign was taken up with and engrossed in the concept of the Utterness of the Dharma, his body and mind never became worn out or fatigued.”

The Oral Transmission on the Meaning of the Dharma Flower Sutra says that the two words “body” and “mind” refer to the acceptance of the transmission that both the physical and psychological aspects [of our lives] are the Utterness of the Dharma [which is the entirety of existence].

Now, Nichiren and those that follow him reverently recite Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô which means to devote our lives to and found them on (Nam) the Utterness of the Dharma [entirety of existence] (Myôhô) permeated by the underlying white lotus flower-like mechanism of the interdependence of cause, concomitancy and effect (Renge) in its whereabouts of the ten realms of dharmas (Kyô). Thereby their Buddha natures become manifest with their respective persons just as they are. “Mind and body never becoming worn out or fatigued” refers to the one instant of thought containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen) [in the sense that this equation points to the tirelessness and eternity of both physical and mental existence].

It was for the benefit of all sentient beings
that I diligently sought after
the all-embracing Dharma.
Also it was not for myself
that I derived no pleasure from the five desires [1) for wealth, 2) sexual love, 3) eating and drinking, 4) renown and 5) sleep].
Hence in the role of a sovereign
in my quest for this Dharma
and finally realizing the state of enlightenment,
it is I who is talking to you now.

The Buddha then said to the monks: The sovereign at that time was I in person. The sannyasi at that time is now Daibadatta (Devadatta). It was due to the friendship of the then Daibadatta (Devadatta) that I was fully able to realize to the full the six kinds of observance that take people from the shores of mortality to the shore of nirvana (haramitsu, pâramitâ). [They are 1) charity, giving including imparting the Dharma to others; 2) keeping the moral precepts of the religious order; 3) patience and forbearance under insult; 4) diligent zeal and progress; 5) meditation or contemplation; 6) wisdom, the power to discern the reality of existence. It is this last observance (haramitsu, pâramitâ) which carries the practitioners across the seas of incarnate life to the shore of nirvana.] Also I learned compassion and the joy of renouncing worldly things. Again I was able to arrive at an existence that is endowed with the thirty-two distinguishing physical characteristics of a Buddha. [These are 1. flat soles, 2. the wheel of the Dharma on the soles of his feet, 3. slender fingers, 4. tender limbs, 5. webbed fingers and toes, 6. round heels, 7. long legs, 8. muscular legs like those of a royal stag, 9. arms reaching below the knees, 10. retracted penis like that of a stallion, 11. an arm span equal to the height of the body, 12. light radiating through the pores of his body, 13. curly black body hair, 14. a golden-hued body, 15. light radiating from his person three meters in all directions, 16. firm tender calves, 17. legs, palms, shoulders and the neck of the same proportions, 18. fleshy armpits, 19. a dignified stance like that of a lion, 20. a body that stands up straight, 21. full shoulders, 22. forty teeth, 23. firm white teeth, 24. four white canine teeth, 25. full jowls like those of a lion, 26. a saliva that adds to the taste of food, 27. a broad flat tongue, 28. a voice that is resonant and can penetrate long distances, 29. blue eyes, 30. eyes full of compassion, 31. a curl of white hair between his eyebrows, 32. a glandular protraction at the top of the head.] Along with the eighty secondary distinctive marks of a Buddha, it is endowed with a presence that is of a pure powdered golden hue. Furthermore I have acquired the ten powers of a Buddha. [These are 1) what is right or wrong in every situation; 2) what is the karma of every being, past, present and future; 3) all the stages of meditative liberation (zenjô, dhyâna) and concentration (sanmai, samâdhi); 4) what are the powers and faculties of all beings; 5) the desires and moral direction of every being; 6) the actual circumstances of every individual; 7) the tendencies and the consequences of all dharmas; 8) the causes of why people die and of every kind of good and evil; 9) the finality of all beings in nirvana and 10) the elimination of every kind of illusion or delusion.] In addition, I am endowed with the four kinds of fearlessness. [They are 1) the fearlessness of the Buddha which arises from his total enlightenment, 2) the perfection of his character, 3) fearless with regard to opposition and 4) the ability to end all suffering.] Apart from all this I am capable of the four dharmic virtues [which are 1) giving what others like in order to induce them to become involved with the Buddha teaching, 2) affectionate speech with the same purpose, 3) conduct profitable to others in order to lead people onto the path of Buddhahood, 4) cooperation with and the adaption of oneself to others so as to lead them into the truth], together with the eighteen uncommon merits of a Buddha. [These are 1) faultlessness in body, an absence of afflictions because of religious practice with its monastic precepts, meditation, wisdom and compassion; 2) faultlessness in speech and the perfect power to make people become enlightened; 3) faultlessness in having no attachment to anything because he is in profound meditation; 4) perfect impartiality because he leads people to enlightenment without any distinction; 5) the mind of a Buddha is always in deep meditation (sanmai, samâdhi) even though he is walking, sitting or lying down; 6) a Buddha knows everything; there is nothing that can remain unknown to him; 7) a Buddha never tires of leading people to Buddhahood; 9) a Buddha never tires of helping people; 9) a Buddha never ceases to meditate on every dharma of the past, present and future; 10) a Buddha increasingly keeps up his perfect wisdom; 11) being enlightened a Buddha is always free from all attachment; 12) a Buddha has always the clear free function of the intelligence of the enlightened; 13) a Buddha has perfect bodily function that proceeds from his wisdom in teaching; 14) a Buddha has perfect oral function based on his wisdom; 15) a Buddha has perfect wisdom in teaching so as to cut away all afflictions; 16) a Buddha has an unrestricted perception of the past; 17) an unrestricted perception of the future and 18) an unrestricted perception of the present.] Moreover I am endowed with the reaches of the mind of the enlightened as well as being capable of teaching the path of enlightenment. Finally I have become universally and correctly enlightened as well as being capable of teaching the path of enlightenment. Finally I have become universally and correctly enlightened and also I have saved many sentient beings all on account of the beneficial friendship (zenchishiki) of Daibadatta (Devadatta). The Buddha then addressed the monks, nuns and lay believers both male and female saying: Daibadatta (Devadatta) will certainly attain the state of Buddhahood after the innumerable kalpas. He will be called the Tathâgata Sovereign of the Devas (Tennô Nyorai), Worthy of Offerings, Correctly and Universally Enlightened, Whose Knowledge and Conduct is Perfect, Completely Free from the Cycles of Living and Dying, With a Complete Understanding of the Realms of Existence, Lord Supreme, the Master who Brings the Passions and Delusions Under Control, the Teacher of Humankind and the Devas, the Buddha and the World Honoured One. His world will be called the Path of the Devas (Tendô). He will abide in the world for twenty medium kalpas where he will widely propagate the Utterness of the Dharma for the benefit of sentient beings. There will be as many sentient beings who are as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges who will attain the fruition of the individual vehicle (arakan, arhat). Countless sentient beings will be awakened to partial enlightenment due to affinities with the arts, science, music, literature and philosophy. Also there will be as many sentient beings that are as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges who will be awakened to the unsurpassable path of Buddhahood or attain the bodhisattva stage where they become fully aware of the Dharma essence (hosshô, Dharmatâ) that underlies all existence and who will never abandon their practice. After the Buddha Sovereign of the Devas (Tennô Butsu) has passed over to his final extinction in nirvana (hannehan, parinirvana) his Dharma in its correct form will last for twenty medium kalpas. As a reliquary his whole body intact will be placed in a stupa that has been built with seven precious materials [1) gold, 2) silver, 3) lapis lazuli, 4) crystal, 5) agate, 6) ruby and 7) cornelian]. Its height will be sixty yojanas and it will be forty yojanas wide. All the devas and ordinary people will scatter on it various kinds of flowers, smear fragrant ointments, burn incense, sprinkle coloured powders, scatter garments and garlands, erect tubular-shaped banners and precious parasols. They will play music and sing praise, render homage and make other offerings to this stupa made of the seven precious materials. Innumerable sentient beings will arrive at the highest stage of the individual vehicle (arakan, arhat). Innumerable sentient beings will become partially enlightened due to their affinities with the arts, music, literature, the sciences or philosophy (hyakushibutsu, pratyekabuddha). Also an inconceivable number of sentient beings will resolve to attain supreme enlightenment without ever renouncing their practices.

The Buddha addressed the monks saying: In the ages to come, if there are men and women who are believing and convinced who will listen to this Chapter on Daibadatta (Devadatta) in the Sutra on the White Lotus Flower-like Mechanism of the Utterness of the Dharma with a purity of mind and faithful reverence without raising any doubts or quandaries, they will neither fall into the realms of suffering (jigokukai), nor into the dimensions of hunger, craving and addiction (gakikai), nor in the space of instinctual animality (chikushokai). They will be born in a place in the presence of the Buddhas of all the ten directions where they will continually hear this sutra. If they are born among the devas or humankind they will experience the superlative joy of Utterness. If these people come into existence right in front of the Buddha they will be borne by metamorphosis from a white lotus.

At that moment a bodhisattva called Chishaku (Accumulated Wisdom) was accompanying the World Honoured One Tahô (Abundant Treasures) in the direction of the lower regions. He said to this Buddha, “We ought to go back to our original terrain.” But the Buddha Shākyamuni said to the Bodhisattva Chishaku (Accumulated Wisdom), “Good Sir, you should wait a little while. Here is a bodhisattva called Monjushiri (Mañjushrî), whom you should meet in order to discuss the Utterness of the Dharma. Afterwards you can return to your original terrain.”

Then at that moment Monjushiri (Mañjushrî) was seated on a white lotus flower as large as a cart wheel that had a thousand petals. He was accompanied by other bodhisattvas who were also seated upon white lotus flowers of precious material. They had spontaneously surged up from the ocean that is the abode of the Dragon King Shakkara (Sâgara) where he had his palace. The bodhisattvas remained in empty space and then made their way to Spirit Vulture Peak (Ryôjûsen, Grdhakûta). Getting down from their lotus flowers they approached the Buddhas and bowed their heads in reverence, to the feet of the two World Honoured Ones. After having shown their obeisance they went in the direction of the Bodhisattva Chishaku (Accumulated Wisdom) where they all greeted each other and then sat to one side. The Bodhisattva Chishaku (Accumulated Wisdom) asked Monjushiri (Mañjushrî), “When you went to the palace of the dragons, what is the number of sentient beings you have converted? Monjushiri (Mañjushrî) replied, “Their number is incalculable. Such a number cannot be reckoned; the mouth cannot put this number into words nor can the mind work it out. But wait a minute, you can have proof.” The bodhisattva Chishaku (Accumulated Wisdom) had not yet finished talking to the innumerable bodhisattvas who were seated on white lotus flowers of a precious material. They had come out of the sea, arrived at Spirit Vulture Peak (Ryôjûsen, Grdhakûta) and were suspended in empty space. All these bodhisattvas had been converted and ferried across the seas of mortality to the realization of nirvana by Monjushiri (Mañjushrî). Equipped with all the bodhisattva practices they all explained the six practices which when practiced to perfection can ferry people over the seas of living and dying to the shore of nirvana (haramitsu, pâramitâ). [These are 1) charity, giving including imparting the Dharma to others; 2) keeping to the precepts of the monastic order; 3) patience under insult; 4) zeal and fervent progress; 5) profound meditation or contemplation; 6) wisdom, the power to discern what the truth is. It is this last pâramitâ that carries people across the seas of incarnate existence to the shore of nirvana.] Those who were originally people who exerted themselves to attain the highest of the teachings of the individual vehicle through listening to the Buddha teaching (shômon, shrâvaka) [people who would be the intellectuals of today] explained the merits of the practices of intellectual inquiry. Now all these bodhisattvas practice the meaning of the white lotus flower-like mechanism of cause, concomitancy and effect which are the constituents of the relativity (kû, shûnyatâ) that underlies the entirety of existence as understood in the teaching of the universal vehicle (daijô, mahâyâna). Monjushiri (Mañjushrî) said to Chishaku (Accumulated Wisdom), “This is how my conversion through teaching at the bottom of the sea has actually taken place.”

There and then the Bodhisattva Chishaku (Accumulated Wisdom) expressed his praise in terms of a metric hymn.

With universal wisdom, merits and bold-spirited
you have converted uncountable sentient beings
and ferried them across the sea of mortality
to the shore of nirvana.
Now this great assembly where we and I myself
have already seen and heard your exposition
of the real aspect of all dharmas
and have made the single vehicle of the Dharma apparently clear,
You have guided numerous sentient beings
towards a rapid attainment of enlightenment.

Monjushiri (Mañjushrî) said, “In the middle of the ocean I only continuously propagated and explained the Sutra on the White Lotus Flower-like Mechanism of the Utterness of the Dharma.”

The fifth important point on the above sentence in the sutra: “In the middle of the ocean I only continuously propagated and explained the Sutra on the White Lotus Flower-like Mechanism of the Utterness of the Dharma.”

The Oral Transmission on the Meaning of the Dharma Flower Sutra says that the word “I” designates Monjushiri (Mañjushrî) and the word “ocean” refers to the ocean of consecutive lives and deaths. The word “only” indicates that in the text “there is only one vehicle of the Dharma” [to cross over this ocean] and the word “continuously” refers to the phrase “I am continuously here explaining the Dharma.” Myôhô Renge Kyô are the words, languages, sounds and utterances that occur in the realms of dharmas that is the Dharma realm itself. Now, Nichiren and those that follow him reverently recite Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô which means to devote our lives to and found them on (Nam) the Utterness of the Dharma [entirety of existence] (Myôhô) permeated by the underlying white lotus flower-like mechanism of the interdependence of cause, concomitancy and effect (Renge) in its whereabouts of the ten realms of dharmas (Kyô). So the continuity of living and dying are the all-embracing ocean which is the sea that is not separate from the intrinsic quality of all suchness (shinnyo, tathatâ). As for the word “I”, it points to the wisdom of the realms of dharmas which is the Dharma realm that is embodied in the personage of Monjushiri (Mañjushrî).
 

Chishaku (Accumulated Wisdom) questioned Monjushiri (Mañjushrî) out of curiosity: “Is not this sutra profoundly deep and is it not subtle and all-embracing which among the sutras is the treasure of the Dharma that is rarely found in this world? Would it not be that if sentient beings were to diligently make an effort to practice the teachings of this text they would quickly attain the state of enlightenment?”

Monjushiri (Mañjushrî) said, “There is the daughter of the dragon king Shakkara (Sâgara) who has just become eight years old . . . ”

The sixth important point with regard to the above sentence from the sutric text, “There is the daughter of the dragon king Dhakkara (Sâgara) who has just become eight years old . . . ”

The seventh important point on the passage, “Before the Bodhisattva Chishaku (Accumulated Wisdom) was able to finish expressing his biased opinion, when the daughter of the dragon king (Ryûnyo) appeared in front of the two of them. She bowed respectfully then sat to one side and recited the following metric hymn.”

The Oral Transmission on the Meaning of the Dharma Flower Sutra says that this particular text clearly indicates that our inherent unenlightenment is in no way separate from the fundamental essence of the Dharma in the sense that it is enlightenment. It is for this reason that before the Bodhisattva Chishaku (Accumulated Wisdom) was able to finish his biased opinion, the dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo) made her reply in three and a half sentences in the form of a metric hymn. This kind of biased opinion stems from the first period of Shākyamuni’s provisional teachings which was not long after his enlightenment under the bodhi tree. This was a particular teaching (bekkyô) for his bodhisattva companions at that time. [It was expounded that the practices that led to the attainment of Buddhahood was a long process that was spread out over numerous kalpas as opposed to the ever-present essence of the Dharma that is in all of us.] These particular teachings (bekkyô) also represent our inherent unenlightenment. The reply of the dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo) is based on the all-inclusive teachings [of the Dharma Flower Sutra] which is the expression of the Dharma itself in the sense that it is the manifestation of enlightenment. The Bodhisattva Chishaku (Accumulated Wisdom) in this case represents our fundamental and inherent unenlightenment. [This is the part of us that does not want to look into or is completely bewildered as to what the constituents of life really are.] The dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo) represents women whose minds are opened up to the real essence of the Dharma which is enlightenment. As a result our inherent unenlightenment is not separate from enlightenment. In the same way our enlightenment contains all the ingredients of our inherent unenlightenment.

Now Nichiren and those that follow him reverently recite Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô which means to devote our lives to and found them on (Nam) the Utterness of the Dharma [entirety of existence] (Myôhô) permeated by the underlying white lotus flower-like mechanism of the interdependence of cause, concomitancy and effect (Renge) in its whereabouts of the ten realms of dharmas (Kyô) and thereby are comparable to Bodhisattva Chishaku (Accumulated Wisdom) who was unable to finish expressing his biased opinion. At the same time this can be regarded as the unenlightenment of the Bodhisattva Chishaku (Accumulated Wisdom) at his inability to believe that an eight year old girl could attain enlightenment in a fraction of a second. The phrase “inability to believe” means to have doubts and be at a standstill. To have doubts and be at a standstill is said to be our causal and basic insensibility. The reason why the dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo) is said to represent the real essence of the Dharma or enlightenment is when she says in the text of the Dharma Flower Sutra, “I make the teaching of the universal vehicle (daijô, mahâyâna) intelligibly clear in order to extricate sentient beings from suffering.”

The dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo) was the eight year old offspring of her father who was a dragon [rather like what we see in Chinese, Korean and Japanese traditional art]. The words “dragon king’s” and “daughter” imply that both father and daughter attained Buddhahood at the same time. The reason for this sutric passage concerning the daughter of the dragon king is that it has already been said that Ryûnyo was the daughter of the dragon king, so that we know that her father was the dragon king and that she was an eight year old girl. Hence it is in this Chapter on Daibadatta (Devadatta) where it emphasizes the point that women can attain to the state of Buddhahood. Her father attained enlightenment in the First and Introductory Chapter wherein all the eight dragon sovereigns are mentioned. Nevertheless we can say that both father and daughter attained enlightenment simultaneously in the sense that the First and Introductory Chapter is the prelude to the contents of the whole sutra.

“On hearing this teaching I have opened up my mind to the reality behind the seeming and [that all existence is endowed with a Buddha nature that even unwittingly strives for enlightenment (bodai, bodhi)]” are the words that the dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo) used when she reprimanded the Bodhisattva Chishaku (Accumulated Wisdom). As a result the Buddha is completely aware of the fact that it is only I who have reached enlightenment. Only the Buddha can verify this. When she referred to liberating sentient beings from suffering, she intended to save women in particular. The three sentences and a half in the form of a metric hymn of praise allude to each single instant of mental activity containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen). The line in the metric hymn, “profoundly acquainted with the ingredients of misdeeds and happiness and shining everywhere in all the ten directions”, refers to the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas (jikkai). What is especially noteworthy with regard to this eight year old daughter of the dragon king’s realization of Buddhahood is because it refers to the ancestors of the rulers and emperors who hold to the Dharma Flower Sutra. The first human sovereign of Japan was the Emperor Jimmu. The Emperor Jimmu was the son of Ugayafuki-aezu-no-mikoto who was the fifth of the five generations of divinities of the earth. The mother of Ugayafuki-aezu-no-mikoto was Princess Toyotama the daughter of the dragon king Shakara (Sagara) and an elder sister of the eight year old daughter of the dragon king (Ryûnyo). [Although the first legendary emperor of Japan was the Emperor Jimmu, much of the early chronology of this country is somewhat mythological and existed before records were written. However legends play an equal role in a nation’s literature as well as how the people of a country see themselves.] The profoundest and deepest implication is that the ancestors of the rulers of Japan were people who did the practices of the Dharma Flower Sutra. Accordingly this single chapter on the Daibadatta (Devadatta) is a sword and an esoteric Dharma to be worn at the waist wherever we may go in order to cut down the enemy that is our troublesome worries (bonnô), our inherent unenlightenment, also to cut through the ropes of living and dying to which we are attached and love so much. The Chinese Emperor Kôsu (Kao Tsu) 206 BCE who was the father of the Kan (Han) dynasty had a three foot sword which does not measure up to the blade of the single sword of wisdom. Utterness (Myô) is that blade of the single sword of wisdom with which we can cut through the ropes of living and dying as well as our troublesome worries (bonnô). Here in this text Daibadatta (Devadatta) represents blazing fire, the dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo) is shown to be a huge serpent and Monjushiri (Mañjushrî) is that sword of wisdom. There is an orally transmitted teaching that says all these personages in the sutric text are represented by the venerated vermillion manifestation of the sovereign whose wisdom is Immovable (Aka Fudô Myô’ô) who sits cross-legged and is surrounded by an aura of blazing fire, with a sword of wisdom that is wrapped around by a dragon in his right hand and a noose in his left. Daibadatta (Devadatta) represents our troublesome worries not being separate from enlightenment (bonnô soku bodai). The dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo) represents the cycles of living and dying being none other than the state of enlightenment attained by Shākyamuni (nehan, nirvâna). The name Monjushiri (Mañjushrî) can be translated as the “Merits of Utterness” which contain both the elements of living and dying as well as our troublesome worries (bonnô). This actual chapter in the sutra is able to lead people into understanding the meaning of existence [and what can be done about all that is wrong in our lives].

Profoundly acquainted
with the ingredients of wrongdoing and happiness
and shining everywhere in all the ten directions
as the entity of the Dharma
and the subtlety of Utterness
that is completely endowed
with the thirty-two special characteristics of a Buddha
along with the eight secondary marks
which are used to adorn the body of the Dharma
whom devas and humankind regard with veneration,
all the dragons and deities
look upon the Buddha with reverence and respect
as well as all the various kinds of sentient beings.
There are none who do not revere the enlightened.
Those who have heard that
I have attained Buddhahood,
only the Buddha can really prove this.
I make the teaching of the universal vehicle
intelligibly clear in order to extricate
sentient beings from suffering.

Thereupon Sharihotsu (Shariputra) said to the dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo), “You claim to have attained the unsurpassable path of enlightenment. This is something that is hard to believe. What is the reason for this? The bodies of women are obscene and they are not a receptacle for the Dharma. So how can they attain perfect enlightenment? The path to Buddhahood stretches out a long way. You have to pass through innumerable kalpas, diligently and laboriously accumulating practices and carrying them out to their perfection. Then it is only after such a mighty effort that you will attain such a realization. Furthermore the bodies of women have five inherent obstacles. In the first place they cannot become a sovereign of the Brahmanic devas (bontennô). Secondly they cannot become Taishaku [Indra, the sovereign of the thirty-three devas on Mount Sumeru, in the dimensions where desires and wants exist]. Thirdly women cannot become a sovereign of the demons (ma’ô). Fourthly women cannot become a holy sovereign whose chariot wheels roll everywhere without hindrance and in the fifth place they cannot attain Buddhahood. So how can a person with a body of a woman quickly realize the state of enlightenment?” [This passage refers to the Brahmanical prejudices that were common at the time of Shākyamuni which was around three thousand years ago.] At that time the dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo) was in possession of a precious jewel whose value was that of three thousand great thousands of dimensions of existence which she offered up to the Buddha who accepted it immediately.

The eighth important point on the passage, “At that time the dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo) was in possession of a precious jewel whose value was that of three thousand great thousands of dimensions of existence which she offered up to the Buddha who accepted it immediately.”

In the eighth volume of the Textual Explanation of the Dharma Flower Sutra it says that the dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo) making a gift of the jewel implies full understanding of the all-inclusive teaching of the Dharma Flower Sutra.

The Oral Transmission on the Meaning of the Dharma Flower Sutra says that the word “a” in the expression “a precious jewel” in the quotation in the title of this important point is symbolic of the Dharma or the realms of dharmas whose underlying white lotus flower-like mechanism of the interdependence of cause, concomitancy and effect permeates the entirety of existence (Myôhô Renge Kyô). The jewel itself refers to the whole (tai) of the white lotus flower-like mechanism of the interdependence of cause, concomitancy and effect permeates the entirety of existence (Myôhô). In this context the word “Utterness” (Myô) implies the totality of mind.

Whereas the word “dharmas” (hô) or Dharma (hô) imply the whole of physical existence, here the dharmas of physicality refers to the jewel itself, but the dharmas of the mind are the adjective “precious”. The Utterness of the Dharma (Myôhô) is the inseparability of matter and mind. The place where the concept of the one instant of mental activity is expressed is in the dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo) making an offering of the precious jewel to the Buddha [since each tiny event in our lives involves all space, all time simultaneously and without effort]. The eighth volume of the Textual Explanation of the Dharma Flower Sutra explains this as the dragon king’s daughter’s full understanding of the all-inclusive teaching of the Dharma Flower Sutra (enge) as being the one instant of mental activity containing three thousand existential spaces. While the precious jewel was still in the hand of the dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo) it symbolized the essential qualities of life which were the inherent workings in her mind that consisted in reality of the nine realms of dharmas only (kukai). When the Buddha accepted the precious jewel as a token of her enlightenment, it was no longer symbolic of her Buddha nature in theory. It became the manifestation of her realm of Buddhahood as a matter of fact. This realm of Buddhahood is the essence or nature of the Dharma and is sometimes referred to as “satori”.

Between these two actions we have the concept that our inherent Buddha nature is not separate from the cultivation of it through practice. The expression “very quickly”, which earlier in the sutric text is referred to as “in a fraction of a second”, can be equated with the “sudden attainment of the realization of Buddhahood”. In the expression “along with the Dharma gateways of a sudden confirmation of the fundamental terrain of Buddhahood”, all are the same as in the phrase “whereupon there will be a swift attainment to the unsurpassable path of Buddhahood”.

In the term “the reaches of the mind”, the words “the mind” represent the dharmas of the mind but the words “the reaches” refer to the dharmas of materiality.

When the dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo) says, “Watch me attain Buddhahood” [open up her inherent Buddha nature with her person just as it was], Sharihotsu (Shâriputra) thought sourly that she was talking about her own enlightenment. But in this situation she was scolding Sharihotsu (Shâriputra). The word “watch” or “observe” in the sense of paying attention is found in the six stages of practice in Tendai’s Desistance from Troublesome Worries in Order to See Clearly (Makashikan). [They are 1) all beings have an inherent and primordial Buddha nature at least in principle (risoku); 2) the apprehension of the title and theme (daimoku) as well as its meaning implies that those who learn it and have faith in it can open up their inherent Buddha nature with their persons just as they are (myôji soku); 3) those people (of the Tendai school), who go beyond words and their meaning as well as practicing and looking into themselves, are observing their minds (kangyô soku); 4) refers to the stage of semblance to purity (sôji soku); 5) applies to the people who are aware of the truth and are progressing into experienced proof (bunshin soku); 6) designates the attainment of perfect enlightenment (kukyô soku).] Here, in the words “to pay attention to” or “to watch” in the context of these six stages of practice, it should be understood that the second stage, which is the apprehension of the title and theme (daimoku) as well as its meaning, implies that those who learn it and have faith in it can open up their inherent Buddha nature with their persons just as they are. Consequently when people hear Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô they can single-mindedly sit at the place of the path of enlightenment [i.e. where they practice] and attain a realization of Buddhahood that is not unreal. To make the meaning of the sutric text clear with regard to the passage “she changed into a man” means that the dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo) had already arrived at the archetypal state of Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô which means to devote our lives to and found them on the Utterness of the Dharma [entirety of existence] permeated by the underlying white lotus flower-like mechanism of the interdependence of cause, concomitancy and effect in its whereabouts of the ten realms of dharmas.

“It was something that happened very quickly.
Sharihotsu (Shariputra) replied, “Yes it was very quick.”
The dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo) then said,
“Now, with the reaches of your mind
watch me attain Buddhahood.
Furthermore it will happen quicker than ever.”

There and then the whole assembly saw the dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo) suddenly turn into a man who was endowed with all the merits of the bodhisattva practices, after which she went off towards an immaculate realm of existence in the southerly direction where she sat upon a lotus flower of precious materials and realized the universally correct enlightenment with the thirty-two physical distinguishing features of a Buddha as well as the eighty secondary marks of the enlightened. There she expounded the Dharma for the benefit of all sentient beings. At that time all the bodhisattvas of the world that has to be endured (shaba sakai), as well as all the people who strove to attain the fruition of the individual vehicle through listening to the Buddha (shômon, shrâvaka), devas, dragons, the eight classes of sentient beings as well as humans and non-humans all saw the dragon king’s daughter (Ryûnyo) from afar attain the state of enlightenment, as well as expounding the Dharma to the devas and humankind in the assembly of that time. Their hearts were filled with joy and everybody rendered homage from a long way off. Uncountable sentient beings on hearing the Dharma came to understand it and arrived at the stage of non-regression (futaiten). Also innumerable sentient beings received the annunciation of their future attainment to the path of Buddhahood.

The earth trembled in that immaculate terrain (i.e. the east rose and the west sank; the west rose and the east sank; the north rose and the south sank; the south rose and the north sank; the middle rose and the borders sank; the borders rose and the middle sank). In the world that has to be endured (shaba sekai), three thousand sentient beings reached the stage of non-regression. Another three thousand persons were awakened to seeking enlightenment and also received the annunciation of their future Buddhahood. Both the Bodhisattva Chishaku (Accumulated Wisdom) and Sharihotsu (Shâriputra) as well as the whole assembly all took faith in and accepted what they saw.