Anuttara-puja: The Unsurpassable Worship

It is believed that in earlier versions of the Bodhicaryāvatāra the second and third chapters were a single chapter (See Crosby and Skilton, p. xxxiii and p. 9) dealing with  a form of Mahāyāna liturgy known as the anuttara-pūja, or “unsurpassable worship” that is also known as the saptāṅgavidhi, or “seven-branched worship,” though there are also forms with only three or five parts or more than seven. According to the Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism the three-part liturgy consists of:

1. confession of transgressions,

2. rejoicing in the virtue or merit of others, and

3. dedication of merit. Sometimes the third part is instead a request for the buddha’s to teach the Dharma (see the entries in the Princeton Dictionary for pūjā and triskandhaka).

According to Crosby and Skilton, a sūtra translated into Chinese in the late second century, the Dispelling the Regrets of Ajātaśatru Sūtra, outlines a five-part ritual consisting of:

1. going for refuge in the Three Treasures,

2. confession of transgressions,

3. rejoicing in the virtue or merit of others,

4. requesting the buddhas to teach

5. arousal of the awakening mind (Crosby and Skilton, pp. 9-10).

The locus classicus of the seven-branched worship are the “Verses on the Vows of Universal Sage” (S. Bhadracaryā-praṇidhāna-gāthā) which appears at the very end of the Flower Garland Sutra (Ibid, pp 9-10, and the Princeton Dictionary entries for pūjā, Bhadracarīpraṇidhāna, and saptāṅgavidhi, and also Cleary, pp. 1511-1518). Crosby and Skilton note that in Śāntideva’s other work, an anthology of sutra passages called the Compendium of Training  (S. Śikṣā Samuccaya) reference is made to the verses (Crosby and Skilton, p. 9). So these parts of a Mahāyāna liturgy were well known to Śāntideva. The seven-branched version consists of:

1. praise or obeisance (S. vandanā; J. raikyō-shobutsu; 禮敬諸佛),

2. worship or making offerings (S. pūjana; J. kōshu-kuyō; 廣修供養),

3. confession of transgressions (S. pāpadeśanā; J. sange-gosshō; 懺悔業障),

4. rejoicing in the virtues or merit of others (S. anumodana; J. zuiki-kudoku; 隨喜功德),

5. requesting the buddhas to teach (S. saṃcodana or dharmacakrapravartanacodana; J. shōten-bōrin; 請轉法輪),

6. begging the buddhas not to abandon beings by entering nirvāṇa (S. prārthanā or (aparinirvṛtādhyeṣaṇa; J. shōbutsu-jūse; 請佛住世), and

7. dedication of merit (S. pariṇāmanā; J. fukai-ekō; 普皆廻向)

If chapters one and four of the Bodhicaryāvatāra are included with chapters two and three then a nine-part liturgy emerges (Ibid, pp. 10-11). This would consist of:

1. praise of the awakening mind in chapter one,

2. going for refuge at the end of chapter one and in verses 26 and 46-54 of chapter two,

3. making offerings in verses 1-25 of chapter two,

4. confession of transgressions in verses 27-45 and 55-66 of chapter two,

5. rejoicing in the virtues or merit of others in verses 1-3 of chapter three,

6. requesting the buddhas to teach in verse 4 of chapter three,

7. begging the buddhas not to abandon beings in verse 5 of chapter three,

8. dedication of merit in verses 6-21 of chapter three, and

9. arousal of the awakening mind in verses 22-33 of chapter three and all of chapter four.

Many of these elements are also present in Tiantai Buddhist practice. The Lotus Samādhi outlined by Tiantai Zhiyi in his Great Calming and Contemplation consists of the following ten items (Swanson, pp. 305-311 and 1807-1814):

1. adorn and purify the meditation chamber,

2. purify the body,

3. make an offering of your physical, verbal, and mental deeds,

4. petition the buddhas,

5. pay homage to the buddhas,

6. performing the “fivefold repentance”:

   1. repenting of the offences committed through the six senses,

   2. petitioning the buddhas to expound the Dharma,

   3. rejoicing in the presence of virtue,

   4. transferring one’s merits,

   5. arousing the vow to save all beings.

7. circumambulate the buddha image,

8. recite the Lotus Sūtra,

9. sit in meditation

10. realize the true aspect of reality.

It can be seen that many of the items listed as parts of the Lotus Samādhi and the fivefold repentance are also part of the seven-branch liturgy or even the nine parts of the first four chapters of the Bodhicaryāvatāra, though they are in a different order. Many of these items are also part of the structure of Nichiren Shū services and ceremonies, and in particular the Dedication to the Lotus Sutra Ceremony (J. Rai Hokke-shiki; 禮法華式) which is the Nichiren Shū version of the Lotus Samādhi.

The Shutei Nichiren Shū Hōyo Shiki also describes Ten Rightous Practices that are the ten core stages of Nichiren Shū services, and many of these also correspond to the items found in the first four chapters of the Bodhicaryāvatāra. These ten are (Hirai & McCormick, pp. 263-276):

1. invocation (S. adhyeṣaṇā; J. kanjō; 勸請): This is a sincere request for the manifestation and compassionate protection of the Three Treasures and all the buddhas for the blessings of the Dharma to fall like rain upon all sentient beings. (Ibid, p. 263)

2. worship (S. vandanā; J. raihai; 禮拜 simplified as 礼拜): The performance of acts of reverence in a spirit of sincerity so as to arouse faith and inspire others. (Ibid, pp. 263-269)

3. extolling (S. stotra; J. sandan; 讚歎): Extolling the virtues of reciting the Lotus Sūtra and Odaimoku before and after doing so in order to arouse respect and faith. (Ibid, pp. 269-271)

4. sūtra reading and reciting from memory (S. svādhyāya; J. dokuju; 讀誦 simplified as 読誦). (Ibid, pp. 271-272)

5. directing thoughts (J.unzō; 運想): To reflect deeply on meaning of the sūtra passages that were recited and to bring about a pure mind for the Odaimoku chanting that is to follow. (Ibid, p. 272)

6. daimoku chanting (J. shōdai; 唱題). (Ibid, p. 273-274)

7. transfer of merit (S. pariṇāmanā; J. ekō; 廻向 simplified as 回向). (Ibid, pp. 274-275)

8. declaring vows (S. praṇidhāna; J. hotsugan; 發願 simplified as 発願). (Ibid, pp. 275-276)

9. taking the Three Refuges (S. triśaraṇa; J. sanki; 三歸 simplifed as 三帰). (Ibid, p. 276)

10. valediction (J. busō; 奉送): Giving a reverent send-off to all that attending sacred beings. (Ibid, p. 276)

At this point, let’s review the nine elements or parts of Mahayana liturgies that appear in the first four chapters of the Bodhicaryāvatāra and how they are utilized and understood in Nichiren Shū liturgies.

Praise or obeisance is the first part of the seven-branch liturgy. As mentioned above, praise of the awakening mind and those who have aroused and developed it is the theme of the first chapter of the Bodhicaryāvatāra. It appears that praise is equivalent to the “righteous practice” of “worship” in Nichiren Shū, which is described in the Hōyō Shiki in terms of the various postures and prostrations appropriate to Nichiren Shū practice. The “worship” or giving of “offerings” occurs in the first 25 verses of the second chapter, Śāntideva imaginatively offers up the whole world and himself as a slave of the buddhas and their sons (the bodhisattvas) and imagines himself serving them as one would a guest by bathing them, adorning them, and offering them food and drink, and many other pleasing things. Here we see the cultivation of the perfection of giving, by offering up everything that one is and everything that one knows to the buddhas and offering to do all that one can to help the buddhas benefit all sentient beings. All of this culminates in the taking of refuge in the 26th verse. All three of these could be associated with the third of the ten items of the Lotus Samādhi, to “make an offering of your physical, verbal, and mental deeds” which is specifically done by paying homage to the Three Treasures by performing prostrations while singing the liturgical hymn (J. shōmyō) that is known as Sanbō-rai, or “Worship of the Three Treasures,” in Nichiren Shū. Sanbō-rai is usually supposed to follow the shōmyō called Dōjō-ge, or “Verse on the Place of Practice,” that opens most services and itself expresses homage to the Three Treasures. Of course, all of the shōmyō used in Nichiren Shū involve one or more of the liturgical elements of praising, offering, or taking refuge.

Now these days many people object to the idea of worshipping invisible spirit beings as nothing more than superstition or a scam by a priestly class to subordinate and control people. There are good reasons why people may feel that worshipping, bowing down to, giving offerings to, and taking refuge in beings who do not tangibly exist is a slight to our own dignity and autonomy. It may even be taken as an insult to our intelligence to be told we should take refuge in entities that we cannot even prove exist. People in Judeo-Christian-Islamic cultures also find the seeming worship or adoration paid to images and statues to be idolatrous. Certainly to have practitioners submit themselves uncritically and with such wholehearted devotion to masters or gurus or some kind of priestly class is an invitation to corruption and exploitation that only needs to be proved by consulting the news on any given day. Furthermore, many people come to Buddhism precisely because they believe it is a rational and scientific (or at least science-friendly) wisdom tradition (not a religion!), and upon encountering these kind of exhortations to devotional practice they are deeply troubled and even disillusioned. Some may reject these very traditional practices as being an inauthentic form of Buddhism because they do not match their preconceptions, and others may reject Buddhism entirely as just another obsolete religion whose aim is to put people under the control of a priestly class that claim to represent the demands of divine beings who cannot be directly appealed to.

While understandable, the rejection of these devotional aspects of Buddhist practice may be short-sighted. Certainly people should not become uncritical or subordinate themselves to a priesty class or practice a superstitious kind of idolatry. The Buddha even taught that one of the ten fetters that prevents liberation from suffering is to falsely believe that rules and observances can, in and of themselves, lead to liberation or awakening. The Buddha also taught that practitioners must be their own lamps and an island unto themselves in terms of their practice. So what is the aim of these devotional practices in Buddhism if it is not to create some kind of subordination or dependence on supernatural beings? The point is to acknowledge that there have been and are beings in the world (and perhaps even in heavenly realms and pure lands) who have admirable qualities and the virtue of the awakening mind, both in development and in its full-flowering. Appreciating the merit and wisdom of the buddhas and bodhisattvas and to be so moved as to offer praise is to uplift our own consciousness. It is meant to be edifying and inspiring to, at least imaginativly, lower our own ego, pay respect to, and put our lives at the service of the personification of our ideals. Finally, taking refuge is a matter of resolving to attain awakening by emulating the Buddha, learning and practicing the Dharma, and supporting and being supported by the Sangha of fellow practitioners. Through devotional practices such as praising, making offerings, and going for refuge we dedicate our hearts as well as our minds to our practice and the cultivation of the awakening mind in our daily lives.

In Nichiren Buddhism there is a verse that is sung called Honmon Sanki, which means “The Threefold Refuge of the Original Gate.” The Original Gate refers to the teachings of the latter half of the Lotus Sūtra which in Nichiren Buddhism is believed to contain the deepest and most profound teaching of Buddhism. In terms of this Original Gate, the Three Treasures that Nichiren Buddhists take refuge in is specifically the Buddha as the “Eternal Śākyamuni Buddha, our Original Teacher, who attained awakening in the remotest past,” the Dharma as “the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Teaching of Equality, the Great Wisdom, the One Vehicle,” and the Sangha as led by the “Original Teacher Superior Practice, our Founder, the Great Bodhisattva Nichiren Shōnin.”

The confession of transgressions follows in II.27-45, and appears again in verses II.55-66. This corresponds to fivefold repentance of the Lotus Samādhi. Except for the line “We can expiate our transgressions, do good deeds, and buddhahood by the merits of this sūtra,” in the Kaikyōge (Verses for Opening the Sūtra), confession or repentance does not play a part in most Nichiren Shū services. In the Dedication to the Lotus Sutra Ceremony of Nichiren Shū, however, there is a long passage for recitation called the Sangemon (懺悔文), or Statement of Repentance that expresses a practitioner’s deep reflection on, and regret for, all possible transgressions that may have been accumulated “since the infinite past,” and also his or her profound joy in encountering the Lotus Sūtra and the practice of Odaimoku that makes it possible to overcome it all. The Sangemon also borrows from the Contemplation of the Universal Sage Bodhisattva Sutra, the third part of the Threefold Lotus Sūtra, in the lines “The [Lotus] Sūtra states that the vast sea of evil karma is created from illusion to the truth. If I embrace the desire to repent my sins and sit erect in observance of the true aspects of life, I will see that the offences of mankind are just as frost and dew which dissipate in the warmth of the sun.”

Repentance is another practice that some people may find troubling if they have come from religious backgrounds where they were constantly made to feel inadquate or sinful and always wanting in the eyes of some god or savior figure. Repentance seems to be the practice of denigrating oneself in accordance with the demands of other people or an alleged divine being and then throwing oneself upon the mercy of the savior figure and promising to be more obedient in the future. This approach to repentance does nothing to uphold the dignity or even the integrity of responsible mature adults.

So what is repentance in Buddhism? In Buddhism, repentance is not about feeling bad about oneself for transgressing against the arbitrary rules of a divine being or a priestly class. It is about coming to a realization that one’s thoughts, words, and deeds have been harmful to oneself and others. It is to recognize that one has been sabotaging one’s own life and causing more suffering for others who, ultimately, are not really other because we are all interdependent.  In Buddhism repentance is to reveal and feel regret for what was done unwholesomely or unskillfully but not to wallow in remorse. Rather, one resolves to do better, not out of obedience to some outside authority or standard but because one recognizes for oneself the value of refraining from making bad causes, and instead making the effort to cultivate good causes for the benefit of oneself and others. This recognition and resolve is itself a powerfully wholesome cause. At the very least, it leads to the restoration of the integrity and ease of mind of the practitioners, without which sincere practice is exceedingly difficult if not impossible. Furthermore, repentance in Buddhism is not simply about confessing misdeeds, it is also about turning away from delusion and ignorance and turning towards the true nature of reality through contemplative practice. This is the deeper and more important meaning of repentance in Buddhism: to repent of error and resolve to attain awakening. It is what the Lotus Samādhi calls the “great repentance” (Swanson, p. 1814).

The third chapter begins with three verses of rejoicing in the virtues or merit of others. The aim of this, as above with the other devotional practices, is to recognize virtue, and to acknowledge and find joy in it. This is important, because if one cannot appreciate virtue, then why would one try to emulate or cultivate virtue? In Nichiren Shū, the practice of sandan, or “extolling,” fulfills this function. There are several passages that can be used for sandan in Nichiren Shū practice, but the two most commonly used are the Kaikyōge, or “Verse for Opening the Sūtra,” that is said before the chanting of the Lotus Sūtra, and the Hōtōge, or “Treasure Tower Verse,”  that is recited after the chanting of the sūtra and the Odaimoku.

Requesting the buddhas to teach follows in verse III.4. Begging the buddhas not to abandon beings follows in verse III.5. The function of these requests for the buddhas and bodhisattvas and other benevolent beings to be present is fulfilled by the kanjō, or “invocation,” in Nichiren Shū services. There is also the bujō, or “Verse of Invitation,” that may be used in place of the Dōjō-ge and is also an invitation to the “buddhas and all wise sages” to come to the place of practice. In Nichiren Shū there are no outright requests or “begging” for the buddhas to teach the Dharma or remain in the world, probably because the whole basis of Nichiren Shū faith and practice is that the Eternal Śākyamuni Buddha has already taught the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma and in chapter 16 of the sūtra has already revealed that he is always present, if undetected, and always thinking about how to help all beings attain buddhahood quickly.

The dedication of merit is expressed in verses III.6-21. It may strike some readers that the aspirations expressed here, such as to become food and drink for those who hunger and thirst, or to give one’s body over to those who would abuse one or falsely accuse one of wrongoding, or to be a causeway or a light for sentient beings, sound very much like the things said by or about Jesus in the New Testament. The big difference is that these are not the attributes of a unique savior who must be entrusted to do these things for us. Rather, these are expressing the aspiration that every bodhisattva should have when arousing the awakening mind. In Nichiren Shū, the ekō, or “transfer of merit” that expresses the wish that the merit of our practice be shared with all beings is a major part of every service.

Finally the intent to arouse the awakening mind is expressed in verses III.22-33, while chapter four expresses further reflections and admonitionments to maintain one’s resolution to liberate all beings. In Nichiren Shū, services end with the hotsugan, or “declaration of vows,” namely the Four Great Bodhisattva Vows that express this same determination.

In the reflections expressed in the fourth chapter, “Vigilance Regarding the Awakening Mind,” Śāntideva considers the enormity of what it means to attempt to attain buddhahood and liberate all beings from suffering, but that it would disgraceful to go back on one’s promise to liberate all beings (IV.6). Furthermore, the life we are living is a rare opportunity to practice Buddhism, so we must not let this opportunity pass by in vain (VI.14-19). He compares the rarity of being able to attain the human state opportunity to the likelihood of a turtle poking its neck through the hole of a yoke floating in the ocean (IV.20). He admonishes himself not to become dejected by the difficulty of attaining buddhahood but to courageously make the effort now that one has aroused the mind of awakening. He also encourages himself by observing that our true enemies, the defilments, are internal, weaker than we think, and once eradicated they cannot return to plague us because they have nowhere else to go. He also determines to use the defilements to end the defilements, such as by turning his feelings of enmity against enmity itsef (IV.43). The chapter ends with a determination to be firm in his resolve and to follow the way of training to the end (IV.48).