2 Rissho Kosei-kai. Ten Blessings. The World of the Lotus Sutra. Family Education Held in Sri Lanka. Buddha's Wisdom Changes Your Life

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1 Buddha's Wisdom Changes Your Life 2011 Volume 65 2 Rissho Kosei-kai Chapter 3 of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings Ten Blessings Magnificently Adorned Bodhisattva, deeply moved by the teaching of Innumerable Meanings, describes his understanding of the profoundness and power of the teaching to the Buddha, and asks him, From where does this sutra (which has inconceivable powers of blessing) come? Where is it headed? Where will it live? Be pleased to explain this for all people. The World-Honored One addresses him, This teaching originally comes from the home of all the buddhas, goes toward the aspiration of awakening of all the living, and lives wherever bodhisattvas practice, and then explains about the ten powers of blessing, which people can attain through the practice of this teaching. He explains, The first power of blessing is that this sutra leads a not-yet-awakened bodhisattvas to aspire to buddhahood: and moreover, it leads all the living to aspire to removing suffering, and giving happiness, joy, or impartiality [the four kinds of compassion]; or to donation, morality, diligence, perseverance, meditation, or wisdom [the Six Perfections]. It also leads them to aspire to saving others, to doing good deeds, or so on. The second power of blessing is that those who understand this sutra will master innumerable meanings. The third power of blessing is that those who understand the teachings will not be distracted by the afflictions, even though they still have them in the minds, will not be afraid of changes in their surroundings, and will raise the mind of compassion for those who don t know the Buddha s teachings. The fourth power of blessing is that those who under- Family Education Held in Sri Lanka From January 13 through 19, Reverend Takayo Maruyama, head of the Tokyo Research Institute for Family Education, visited Sri Lanka. The Family Education workshop for leaders was held at the Sri Lanka Dharma Center on January 14 and 15, and a lecture was held on January 17 in Kandy. Many non-member participants said that Rev. Maruyama s discussion was very important for present-day parents, and they wished to have more lectures on family education in the future. With the support and understanding of the mayor of Piliyandala City, a lecture on childcare during infancy was also held on 18. The World of the Lotus Sutra stand even one phrase in this sutra can save others by preaching the teaching, even though they haven t saved themselves yet, and will become part of the entourage of the buddhatathagatas. If they do so, the Buddha will directly preach the Dharma to them. The fifth and sixth powers of blessing are that those who receive and embrace, read, and recite, and copy this sutra will be of help to the world through their words and deeds, although they have not completely removed their afflictions yet, and that they will separate them from their delusions or suffering by preaching the teaching. The seventh, eight, ninth, and tenth powers of blessing are that those who understand this sutra more deeply, practice it, and preach it to others will not only save people at large but also achieve enlightenment and that they will finally attain the same state as the Buddha. And then, all things move together, and many things are offered to the Buddha, the bodhisattvas and shravakas, and to the great assembly. When Magnificently Adorned Bodhisattva and many other bodhisattvas firmly vow to promulgate this sutra everywhere after the Tathagata s extinction, the World-Honored One says, Now, you have truly become children of the Buddha. Please bring the teaching of the Great Vehicle to all people. Therefore, everyone in the great assembly fully rejoices and leaves, receiving and embracing the teaching in the mind. NO IN P E AC E After the lecture, many participants talked with Rev. Maruyama about their problems, and said that the lecture helped them to have confidence in their child-rearing skills. The leaders of the Sri Lanka Dharma Center, who have been focusing on family education, learned a lot from Rev. Maruyama, and received much encouragement from her. In fact, they were so inspired that they said they would like to spread family education more widely in Sri Lanka.

2 Guidance by President Niwano Grandmotherly Solicitude by Nichiko Niwano President of Rissho Kosei-kai While the situation is not limited to our present era, an overabundance of material things seems to be detrimental to the human heart. Especially in recent times, the sad reality is that many people cannot be bothered even where the lives of their own relatives are concerned, let alone those of strangers, which has given rise to a strong trend toward a society in which increasing numbers of people lead solitary lives with little contact with relatives or neighbors. When I think of what we need in the midst of this trend, someone comes to mind. Ryokan ( ) of Echigo Province (today s Niigata Prefecture) was descended from a prominent family, yet he renounced home life to become a monk. One day, his younger brother, who had inherited the family estate, asked him to reason with his dissipated son, Umanosuke. Yet while staying with his younger brother s family, Ryokan did not give a single lecture to the son, and was finally preparing to depart. The nephew, Umanosuke, must have been secretly relieved that Ryokan had said nothing to him, but as the monk was about to leave, Umanosuke followed the courteous custom of helping him to fasten his straw sandals. Umanosuke felt something wet drop onto his hand. When he looked up, he could see tears falling from his uncle s eyes. The day that Ryokan s tears touched him, Umanosuke was able to bring his reckless behavior under control at last. Fondness for drinking was distracting the nephew from shouldering his responsibility as the family s son and heir. Ryokan must have been thinking of how he would feel if he were in the same position and in this frame of mind of accepting that difficulty as his own, the teardrops of compassion he shed, moved his nephew to experience a change of heart. Moving on to a different topic, I recall that when I was a young man, I was the director of Rissho Kosei-kai s Dissemination Department. The first time that I had an overnight study session with many of the ministers who headed Dharma Centers in the Ome Retreat Center in western Tokyo, a telegram was delivered to me. It was from the wife of the mentor who had overseen my education for many years. She was concerned about me and wanted to encourage me. The telegram read: Please do your very best! I remember even now how much strength and inspiration I drew from it. We human beings receive the courage and strength to live in those moments when we know that someone nearby is looking on, that someone is watching over us. When a mentor generously guides a disciple, very much like a kindly grandmother loving her grandchildren, we call such a warm, kind heart a demonstration of grandmotherly solicitude. It is essential in our daily lives that we show this kind of heartfelt consideration toward others, in other words, that we exhibit grandmotherly solicitude.

3 Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra, The Universal Gateway of the Bodhisattva Kannon, describes how Kannon takes on a variety of forms in order to guide living beings, and immediately rescues us when we encounter danger if we pray to this bodhisattva. While we cannot reach the same level of unrestricted freedom as the Bodhisattva Kannon, even we can become people of whom others will say, I can manage my feeling about suffering just by thinking about that person, or I develop peace of mind just by being near that person. In the past, when ministers used to come to our house to consult about problems, as suppertime approached Founder Niwano would always say to them, Come and eat with us. They all enjoyed having supper together. In fact, they had come about a serious matter, but they went home as if all of the clouds had been cleared away from their minds. Many of us tend to think of grandmotherly solicitude as intrusive or meddlesome. However, when we see it as just single-mindedly reaching out to others with compassion, and being thoughtful and caring, then by sharing a meal, saying a few words of thanks, or even expressing gratitude wordlessly, grandmotherly solicitude can be soothing and bring people together. Members of Rissho Kosei-kai strive to become people whose hearts overflow with such attentive kindness, but while being considerate of others, we also need to keep in mind their emotional state and their individual circumstances. Our Dharma Centers are meant to serve as oases where people in the neighboring communities can relax physically and find peace of mind. Therefore, each and every one of us as a member of a Dharma Center should take the initiative in becoming a more caring, humane person. I earnestly pray that such kindheartedness will continue to spread through our local communities, so that there will be fewer tragic events of the kind that have become all too common in today s society. From Kosei, February Translated by Kosei Publishing Company.

4 The Teaching of Founder Nikkyo Niwano Putting Others First During the time just after I had founded Rissho Kosei-kai, I was still doing business as a milk dealer. However, I devoted my days to teaching the Dharma, so I did not concentrate my attention on work. This rapidly led to the decline of my milk business. My wife, who managed our family budget, dreaded the prospect of our worsening financial situation. She began to grumble, Performing religious activities may be good, but if you continue in this way, things will go downhill for us. It s time you stopped. I tried to persuade her, Practicing the bodhisattva way is to think of others first, without considering one s own needs. She disagreed, saying, We don t have enough rice to eat, even for tomorrow. You should think a little more about your own family before continuing your activities. Then I would often say to her, Think carefully about this. People live, giving top priority to themselves, but things never go just as they want them to. They end up suffering or becoming involved in conflicts with each other. We should learn from this that we cannot be happy if we think in a self-centered way. As the teaching says, there will be nothing to worry about if we live our lives putting others first. This has always been my firm conviction, and it has never wavered. From Kaisozuikan 5 (Kosei Publishing Co.), pp Information Feb The series of the In the Footsteps of the Founder by Rev. Kosho Niwano was concluded in January issue. We will begin a new series of essays by the same author in the coming March issue. Rissho Kosei-kai is a lay Buddhist organization whose holy scripture is the Threefold Lotus Sutra. It was established by Founder Nikkyo Niwano and Cofounder Myoko Naganuma in This organization is composed of ordinary men and women who have faith in the Buddha and strive to enrich their spirituality by applying his teachings to their daily lives. At both the local community and international levels, we, under the guidance of President Nichiko Niwano are very active in promoting peace and well-being through altruistic activities and cooperation with other organizations. Rissho Kosei-kai Sacramento San Jose Colorado Vancouver, Canada Seattle London, The United Kingdom Geneva, Switzerland Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Sukhbaatar Venezia, Italy Kathmandu, Nepal Paris, France The subjects of President Niwano s first calligraphy of this year are the characters hoto, which means the lamp of the Dharma, and gassho, which means the joining of the palms together in a prayerful manner. As I mentioned in the January issue, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the President s inheritance of the Lamp of the Dharma from the Founder. Therefore, this year is a great turning point. Why did he choose the subject, hoto, for his first calligraphy? To know the President s wish, it may be necessary to ask ourselves what the inheritance of the Lamp of the Dharma actually is. In Japan, there is a popular long-distance relay road race called ekiden. In this race, all the runners in each group have to complete a run of their assigned sections of the course, and then hand their sashes to the next. If even one runner drops out of the race, the efforts of others in his or her group will go up in smoke. I think only a runner who has been handed the sash can understand the weight of responsibility involved. We can t imagine the weight of the inheritance of the Lamp of the Dharma. However, the President expressed some of his feelings about the inheritance as part of his New Year s Guidance for Why don t we gather ourselves and read his guidance once again? Then, let s make his wish our own, and vow to further our efforts in spirituality. (Kotaro Suzuki) Lumbini Delhi, India Sakhalin, Russia Klamath Falls Hong kong San Francisco Los Angeles RKI of North America (Irvine) Shanghai Taipei Dhaka Mayani Patiya Domdama s Bazar Satbaria Laksham Raozan Dallas San Antonio Kona Maui Tainan Chittagong, Bangladesh New York Tampa Bay Hawaii Taichung Jilung Colombo, Sri Lanka Oklahoma Tokyo, Headquarters Pusan Masan Kolkata Kandy-Wattegama Polonnaruwa Habarana Galle Chicago Dayton San Mateo Seoul, Korea Denver Pingtung San Diego Las Vegas Arizona Singapore Bangkok, Thailand RKI of South Asia Sao Paulo, Brazil Mogi das Cruzes Sao Miguel Sydney, Australia Rissho Kosei-kai International Branches SHAN ZAI Volume 65 (February 2011) Published by Rissho Kosei-kai International Fumonkan, Wada, Suginami-ku, Tokyo, Japan TEL: FAX: shanzai@kosei-kai.or.jp Senior Editor; Rev. Kotaro SUZUKI Editor; Ms. Shiho MATSUOKA Editorial Staff; Ms. Akiko IMAFUJI, Ms. Yukino KUDO, Ms. Kaoru SAITO, Ms. Mayumi ETO, Ms. Shizuyo MIURA, Ms. Sayuri SUZUKI and Ms. Etsuko NAKAMURA SHAN ZAI will sometimes be published in other languages in addition to Japanese, English, Chinese, Portuguese, and Thai. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at the above address. Please request permission to use contents of SHAN ZAI to Rissho Kosei-kai International.

5 Live Broadcasting on Web Shakyamuni Buddha s Nirvana Day Ceremony Feburary 15th is the day of Shakyamuni Buddha s Nirvana. We will broadcast the ceremony at the Great Sacread Hall both in English and Japanese to the overseas branches on live by Internet. Everyone can participate in it from your location. Please join the ceremony through Internet!!! Date and Time: Tuesday, February 15th 9:00 a.m. (Japan Time) If you have any questions, please get in touch with Ms. Miura, Rissho Kosei-kai International. address: shizuyo.miura@kosei-kai.or.jp shizuyo.miura@kosei-kai.or.jp

6 Instruction to participate in Shakyamuni Buddha s Nirvana Day Ceremony Dear All, Shakyamuni Buddha s Nirvana Day Ceremony will be held on February 15, Using WebEx; meeting system on the web, overseas branches can participate in the ceremony at each place. Please find the following instruction. 1. Activating web browsing application and connecting to The site named Rissho Kosei-Kai WebEx Enterprise Site shall be opened. 2. You can find two topics of meeting in the Browse Meetings in this site. We prepare two meetings for Japanese and English. Choose whichever you want to join and click Join. 1

7 3. Please provide your information; 1. Your name, 2. address, 3. Meeting password. The meeting password is nirvana And then, click Join Now. And click Yes if the security warning dialog box appears. 4. When the meeting starts, the dialog box of Join Integrated VoIP appears. Please click Yes. You can hear the sound and voice. 5. You can find a video in the window, and there are two buttons under the video. Left button is for Undock the video panel, and right one is for View in full screen mode. If you want to watch the video in large size, please click these buttons. 2

8 6. Right side of the window of this meeting, you can find the panel of Chat. If you have any troubles or questions in the meeting, please let us know through the chat. We will reply soon through chat. 3

9 2011 Rissho Kosei-kai Oversea s Dharma Centers Rissho Kosei-kai International 5F Fumon Hall, Wada, Suginami-ku, Tokyo, Japan Tel: Fax: Rissho Kosei-kai International of North America (RKINA) 4255 Campus Drive, University Center A-245 Irvine, CA 92612, U.S.A. Tel : Fax: info@buddhistcenter-rkina.org Branch under RKINA Rissho Kosei-kai of Tampa Bay 2470 Nursery Rd.Clearwater, FL 33764, USA Tel: (727) rktampabay@yahoo.com Rissho Kosei-kai International of South Asia (RKISA) 201 Soi 15/1, Praram 9 Road, Bangkapi, Huankhwang Bangkok 10310, Thailand Tel : Fax: thairissho@csloxinfo.com Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Church of Hawaii 2280 Auhuhu Street, Pearl City, HI 96782, U.S.A. Tel: Fax: info@mail.rkhawaii.org Rissho Kosei-kai Maui Dharma Center 1817 Nani Street, Wailuku, Maui, HI 96793, U.S.A. Tel: Fax: Rissho Kosei-kai Kona Branch Mamalahoa Highway, Kailua, Kona, HI 96750, U.S.A. Tel & Fax: Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Church of Los Angeles 2707 East First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033, U.S.A. Tel: Fax: rk-la@sbcglobal.net Rissho Kosei-kai Dharma Center of San Antonio 6083 Babcock Road, San Antonio, TX 78240, U.S.A. Tel: Fax: tozuna48@yahoo.com Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Center of Arizona Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Center of Denver Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Center of San Diego Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Center of Las Vegas Rissho Kosei-kai of San Francisco 1031 Valencia Way, Pacifica, CA 94044, U.S.A. Tel: Fax: rkksf@sbcglobal.net Rissho Kosei-kai of Seattle s Buddhist Learning Center Pacific Highway South, Federal Way, WA 98003, U.S.A. Tel: Fax: rkseattle@juno.com Rissho Kosei-kai of Sacramento Rissho Kosei-kai of San Jose Rissho Kosei-kai of Vancouver Lotus Buddhist Circle 851 N San mateo Dr, San Mateo, CA 94401, U.S.A. Rissho Kosei-kai of New York 320 East 39th Street, New York, NY 10016, U.S.A. Tel: Fax: koseiny@aol.com Rissho Kosei-kai of Chicago 1 West Euclid Ave., Mt. Prospect, IL 60056, U.S.A. Tel & Fax: murakami3370@hotmail.com Rissho Kosei-kai Dharma Center of Oklahoma 2745 N.W. 40th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73112, U.S.A. Tel & Fax: ok.risshokoseikai@gmail.com Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Center of Dallas Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Center of Klamath Falls 724 Main St. Suite 214, Klamath Falls, OR 97601, U.S.A. Tel : Rissho Kosei-kai, Dharma Center of Denver 4340 E Kentucky Ave #345 Glendale CO 80234, U.S.A. Tel : Fax : Rissho Kosei-kai Dharma Center of Dayton 446 B Patterson Road, Dayton, OH 45419, U.S.A Risho Kossei-kai do Brasil Rua Dr. José Estefno 40, Vila Mariana, São Paulo-SP, CEP , Brasil Tel: Fax: hiromi_mat@yahoo.com Risho Kossei-kai de Mogi das Cruzes Av. Ipiranga 1575-Ap 1, Mogi das Cruzes-SP, CEP , Brasil Tel: Rissho Kosei-kai of Taipei 4F, No.10 Hengyang Road, Jhongjheng District, Taipei City 100 Tel: Fax: Rissho Kosei-kai of Taichung No.19, Lane 260, Dongying 15th St., East Dist., Taichung City 401 Tel: / Fax: Rissho Kosei-kai of Jilung Rissho Kosei-kai of Tainan No.45, Chongming 23rd Street, East District, Tainan City 701 Tel: Fax: Rissho Kosei-kai of Pingtung No.4, Lane 60, Minquan Road, Pingtung City, Pingtung County 900 Tel: Fax: Korean Rissho Kosei-kai 423, Han-nam-dong, Young-San-ku, Seoul, Republic of Korea Tel: Fax: krkk1125@hotmail.com Korean Rissho Kosei-kai of Pusan , Dae-Hyun-2-dong, Nam-ku, Kwang-yok-shi, Pusan, Republic of Korea Tel: Fax: Korean Rissho Kosei-kai of Masan Branches under the Headquarters Rissho Kosei-kai of Hong Kong Flat D, 5/F, Kiu Hing Mansion, 14 King s Road, North Point, Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of the People s Republic of China Tel: Fax: Rissho Kosei-kai of Ulaanbaatar 39A Apartment, room number 13, Olympic street, Khanuul district, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Tel & Fax: rkkmongolia@yahoo.co.jp

10 Rissho Kosei-kai of Sukhbaatar 18 Toot, 6 Orts, 7 Bair, 7 Khoroo, Sukhbaatar district, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Rissho Kosei-kai of Sakhalin 1-72 Amyrskaya Street, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk , the Russian Federation Tel & Fax: Rissho Kosei-kai (Geneva) 1-5 route des Morillons P.O Box 2100 CH-1211 Geneva 2 Switzerland Tel: Fax: rkkgva@wcc-coe.org Rissho Kosei-kai of the UK Rissho Kosei-kai of Venezia Castello Venezia Ve Italy Tel: Contact to Rissho Kosei-kai (Geneva) Rissho Kosei-kai of Paris 86 AV Jean Jaures Tentin Paris, France Tel: Contact to Rissho Kosei-kai (Geneva) Rissho Kosei-kai of Sydney Rissho Kosei-kai of Singapore International Buddhist Congregation (IBC) 5F Fumon Hall, Wada, Suginami-ku, Tokyo, Japan Tel: Fax: ibcrk@kosei-kai.or.jp Rissho Kosei-kai of South Asia Division 201 Soi 15/1, Praram 9 Road, Bangkapi, Huaykhwang Bangkok 10310, Thailand Tel: Fax: Thai Rissho Friendship Foundation 201 Soi 15/1, Praram 9 Road, Bangkapi, Huaykhwang Bangkok 10310, Thailand Tel: Fax: thairissho@csloxinfo.com Rissho Kosei-kai of Sri Lanka 382/17, N.A.S. Silva Mawatha, Pepiliyana, Boralesgamuwa, Sri Lanka Tel: Fax: Rissho Kosei-kai of Polonnaruwa No. 29 Menik Place, Kaduruwela, Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka Rissho Kosei-kai of Habarana 151, Damulla Road, Habarana, Sri Lanka Rissho Kosei-kai of Galle Suwisal Bataganwila, Imaduwa, Sri Lanka Rissho Kosei-kai of Kandy-wattegama 12 Station Road, Kapugastota, Sri Lanka Branches under the South Asia Division Delhi Dharma Center B-117 (Basement Floors), Kalkaji, New Delhi , India Tel: Fax: sakusena@hotmail.com Rissho Kosei-kai of Kolkata E-243 B. P. Township, P. O. Panchasayar, KOLKATA , India Rissho Kosei-kai of Kathmandu Ward No. 3, Jhamsilhel, Sancepa-1, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Nepal Tel: Fax: nrkk@wlink.com.np Rissho Kosei-kai of Lumbini Shantiban, Lumbini, Nepal Other Groups Rissho Kosei-kai Friends in Shanghai 114, Nanshi Si Road, Zenruzhen, Putuo-qu, Shanghai, China Rissho Kosei-kai of Bangladesh 85/A Chanmari Road, Lalkhan Bazar, Chittagong, Bangladesh Tel/Fax: Rissho Kosei-kai of Dhaka House No.465, Road No-8, D.O.H.S Baridhera, Dahka Cand.-1206, Bangladesh Tel: Rissho Kosei-kai of Mayani Mayani Barua Paya, Mirsarai, Chittagong, Bangladesh Rissho Kosei-kai of Patiya Patiya, Post office road, Patiya, Chittagong, Bangladesh Rissho Kosei-kai of Domdama Domdama, Mirsarai, Chittagong, Bangladesh Rissho Kosei-kai of Cox s Bazar Phertali Barua Para, Cox s Bazar, Bangladesh Rissho Kosei-kai of Satbaria Satbaria, Hajirpara, Chandanish, Chittagong, Bangladesh Rissho Kosei-kai of Laksham Dupchar (West Para), Bhora Jatgat pur, Laksham, Comilla, Bangladesh Rissho Kosei-kai of Raozan West Raozan, Ramjan Ali Hat, Raozan, Chittagong, Bangladesh