Tientai the Great teaches:
"The Prose & Verse of The Lotus Sutra
Measuring the Life of The One That Has Come - Chapter 16
Page 4
An explanation of the chapter's title:
The One That Has Come (Nyorai):
This is the general title of all the Buddhas in the ten directions from the past, the present and the future; of the Two Buddhas, the Three Buddhas, and the source and manifestation of the Buddhas. More specifically it is the title of the original threefold body of enlightenment.
Measuring the Life (Juryo):
This describes the measure of the merits & virtues of all the Buddhas in the ten directions from the past, the present and the future; of the Two Buddhas, the Three Buddhas, and the source and manifestation of the Buddhas. Now it is the main description of the merits & virtues coming from the original threefold body of enlightenment.
Therefore this is called:
The Chapter on Measuring the Life of The One That Has Come (Nyorai Juryo Hon).
The name The One That Has Come (Nyorai) has a very important meaning - we will now clarify the ideas of the duality and the trinity of The One That Has Come - this will make other illustrations easier to understand.
The Duality of The One That Has Come:
The Discourse on The Attainment of Reality1 says:
“The vehicle that comes into this world from the path of absolute reality and attains enlightenment is called The One That Has Come”.
The vehicle is the absolutely true wisdom.
The reality is the absolutely true object.
The spiritual path is the cause.
Enlightenment is the effect.
If we only discussed the vehicle, there would be no absolute truth to be known.
If we only discussed the reality, there would be no one to know the absolute truth.
When object and wisdom are blended, cause and effect will follow.
When the object has not yet been totally revealed, it is considered to be the cause.
When its source has been fathomed, it is considered to be the effect.
Upon awakening to the meaning of the spiritual path, the vehicle comes into this world from the path of absolute reality and attains enlightenment. This is called The Spiritual Body of The One That Has Come 2.
Because of the wisdom of absolute reality, the vehicle is on the path of absolute reality. It comes and is born into the threefold existence of this world 5 and is revealed as having become truly enlightened. This is called The Body that is the Living Response of The One That Has Come 4.
The Trinity of The One That Has Come:
The Great Discourse 6 says:
“In understanding according to the Dharma and teaching according to the Dharma we speak of The One That Has Come.”
A. The Absolutely True Object:
Being neither cause nor effect, with or without a Buddha enlightened to it, its nature and appearance are always as they are, being the same everywhere in all places. Therefore it is said to be ‘The One That (Is As-It-Is)’. It is unchanging but upon appearing in this world it is said that it ‘Has Come’.
This indicates The Spiritual Body of The One That Has Come 2.
B. The Absolutely True Wisdom:
The wisdom that comes from the absolutely true path of reality attains the wonderful enlightenment. This wisdom is called ‘according to the principle of reality’. From the principle it is said to be ‘The One That (Is As-It-Is)’ From the wisdom it is said that it ‘Has Come’ This is The Body that is the Living Reward of The One That Has Come 3. Therefore The Discourse says: “In understanding according to the Dharma…we speak of The One That Has Come”
C. By means of The Absolutely True Object & Wisdom Being Blended, one is here and there able to reveal that which has truly become enlightened. Quicksilver is blended with gold, with which one can paint images of many colors. Merits and virtues are refined with the Spiritual Body, which here and there responds, manifests and goes away. And so there are the eight signs of attaining enlightenment and the turning of the wheel of the Wonderful Dharma.7 This is The Body that is the Living Response of The One That Has Come4. Therefore The Discourse says: “In teaching according to the Dharma we speak of The One That Has Come"
Footnotes:
1. The Discourse on The Attainment of Reality: (S. Satyasiddhi Sastra) Written by Harivarman, translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva.
2. The Spiritual Body of The One That Has Come: (S. Dharma-kaya Tathagata) The Body of the Dharma, of Spiritual Truth, that is everywhere in all places whether one is aware of it or not. The embodiment of spirituality that pervades all things. The ground of the one mind, the spiritual realm; It could also be translated 'Spiritual Life'. It is the totality of what is, whether we are aware of it or not. It is everything that the materialist would call the world, or existence, but it is invested with life or spirit; What some might call God.
3. The Body that is the Living Reward of The One That Has Come: (S. Sambhoga-kaya Tathagata) Literally, The Body of Reward; The embodiment of wisdom and virtues that is awareness of the spiritual truth, and that is the reward of spiritual merit for the causes made on the spiritual path. Although a direct translation here would be 'body' (S. kaya) I have chosen to add the word 'living' to emphasize the fact that this 'body' is not just an inanimate mass but rather a living spiritual entity.
4. The Body that is the Living Response of The One That Has Come: (S. Nirmana-kaya Tathagata) Literally, The Body of Response; The manifestation of the Buddha; The body or, more precisely, life that is manifested in this world in response to the spiritual needs of living beings of faith.
5. The threefold existence: The past, present & future, that is, the temporal world that we all live in as mortal beings.
6. The Great Discourse: (S. Maha Prajna Paramita Sastra) Major work by Nagarjuna on The Sutra on the Perfection of the Great Wisdom (S. Maha Prajna Paramita Sutra) translated by Kumarajiva
7. The eight signs of attaining enlightenment:
a. Descent into the Tusita Heaven awaiting birth in this world
b. Entry into the womb
c. Birth into this world
d. Leaving home
e. Subjugation of the devil
f. Attainment of enlightenment
g. Teaching of the Dharma
h. Entering into Nirvana
The turning of the wheel of the Wonderful Dharma: Teaching of the Dharma generally, and more specifically teaching the The Lotus Sutra."
Tientai also stated (modified slightly from Ansanna):
"As Tientai stated, "The three thousand realms of existence are all possessed by life in a single moment.... But if there is the slightest bit of life, it contains all the three thousand realms." He is referring to the non-duality of "a single moment of mind/life" ( subjective ) and the "three thousand realms." ( objective )
This is known as the actual embodiment of the principle of "The three thousand realms in a single moment of mind/life"
The provisional teachings only state that all phenomena arise from the mind or that they are subordinate to the mind while the Lotus teaches that the true aspect is inseparable from all phenomena and that all phenomena, just as they are, are themselves the true aspect/reality. ."
Someone asked,
"I have been struggling most recently with how Nichiren approached the question of the subject-object dynamic. In a round about way, its related to my flopping around on the Dharmakaya concept. Basically, I am wondering if the Dharmakaya can be understood as a sort of transcendent subjective (I realize that I am being very clumsy with the treatment of the subtle concepts).
I recalled the concept of the fusion of objective reality with subjective wisdom (jp kyochi myogo) and found in the SG dictionary that the concept is set forth in Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra - one of Chih-i's commentaries on the Lotus Sutra. Basically, it is a description of the enlightened state, in my understanding, where the subjective is fused with objective reality.
It is my understanding that Nichiren taught that one is able to achieve this fusion when one chants.
I was wondering if anyone could elaborate on this idea or if anyone has any knowledge of how Chih-i explains the concept.
Thanks"
Were you only able to become one with the Law while chanting, it would be impossible to benefit the people or surmount life's hardships or persecutions. A person is one with the Law and equal to the Three Bodied Tathagata Shakyamuni when one lives the Lotus Sutra whether chanting, converting others, or doing the laundry. There is a reason the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren teach that faith is first and foremost. If it were only possible to become the Buddha while chanting, we would only opt to chant and would be no better than the forest dwelling monks or those who practice Zazen or Vippisana for hours on end. We chant to become the Buddha to benefit the living.
Now let me explain little more about the concept of the fusion of subject and object:
3000 Worlds in a Momentary Existence is intimately tied to The Fusion of Subject and Object.
You are what you eat is another expression of an understanding of Fusion of Subject and Object [not taken literally]. From the very first, we were all taught you become what you devote (Namu) yourself to. 3000 Worlds in a Momentary Existence of Life and the Mutual Possession of the Ten Worlds explains the Fusion of Subject and Object. There are two ways to look at the Ten Worlds and their mutual possession. The first is that everyone possess all ten. The other way is that everyone gravitates to one or several of the worlds. From moment to moment, those who are in the Lower Six Worlds are transformed, principally by conditions into remaining in the Lower Six while those in the Four Higher Worlds transform themselves principally through causes requiring great effort through will power consciousness (Ichinen).
If we look at the objects of the beings in the ten worlds, we will see that the objects perfectly match the subjects (and the environments in which we find the various beings also is perfectly reflected). For example:
A 600 lb morbidly obese man's object is food. He is nearly always thinking about food, talking about food, procuring food, or eating food. whenever he sees food, whether on TV or in a restaurant, he experiences hunger and even while eating giant portions of food he is never satieted. The man's house is a mess with plates and half eaten bowls of food scattered all over his house, the sink stacked with dishes, and an extra jumbo sized refrigerator. The man's heart, liver, and muscles are immersed in fat. This man spends most of his life in the World of Hunger. This man has attained the Kyochi Myogo (Fusion of Subject and Object) of the World of Hunger.
Another example,
A Buddha's Object are the Law and the Original Buddha, the living teacher of all Buddhas throughout the Ten Directions. This Buddha is Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the Three Bodied Tathagata posessing the Law Body of Namu Myoho renge kyo. A Buddha is always thinking of the Law, the Master of Teachings Lord Shakya of the Original doctrine, and "By what shall I cause the masses of beings to be able to enter the Supreme Way and rapidly attain Buddhahood." Whenever he sees a person, through his words and behavior, he teaches the Law. His abode is the Land of Eternal Quiescent Light. He glows with the radiance of the Thus Come One. This man spends most of his time in the World of Buddhahood. This man has attained the Kyochi Myogo (Fusion of Subject and Object) of the World of Buddhahood.
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