Translations and Commentaries
The following are links to my translations or adaptations of translations and/or commentaries on Buddhist texts that I have found of particular interest over the years.
Writings by Nichiren
Reply to Lord Ueno - WNS7 #20 (ST 394); WND1 #157
Writings attributed to Nichiren
On Attaining Buddhahood in a Single Lifetime - WND1 #1
Resources for those who want to understand the Lotus Sutra
The following are links to translations and commentaries that comprise my study program for those interested in being able to read and understand the Lotus Sutra for themselves. The texts chosen for this are those which cover the life and teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha and the teachings and ideals of Mahayana Buddhism. I hope that anyone who reads these texts will be better prepared to understand the Lotus Sutra without having to rely on anyone else to tell them what it means in terms of the general Buddhist and Mahayana background that the Lotus Sutra assumes its readers are already deeply familiar with.
Guide to Shantideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life
Provisional Teachings selected by Sot’aesan
The next two sets of links are translations of and commentaries on five provisional sutras and three Zen writings that are used in Won Buddhism, a new religion from Korea. Before becoming a member of Nichiren Shu, I was introduced to Won Buddhism by Rev. Bokin Kim, the daughter of Won Buddhism’s third Prime Dharma Master Daesan (1914-1998). I practiced Won Buddhism for many years and learned many valuable teachings and methods of practice with them. When I joined Nichiren Shu and later became a Nichiren Shu priest I reevaluated what I had learned from the perspective of the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings in general, Nichiren’s teachings, and the teachings of Tiantai Buddhism that Nichiren had based his teachings upon. I found that many of the things they teach are in harmony with these teachings. I also found that the teachings and remarkable personal example of the founder of Won Buddhism, Bak Jungbin (1891-1943), later called the Great Master Sotaesan, showed how the Buddha Dharma can be lived in the modern world under very challenging circumstances. He taught and led his order during the years of the Japanese occupation of Korea that ended when the Allies defeated Japan at the end of WWII.
Won Buddhism started as The Society for the Study of Buddha Dharma. It was established by Sotaesan after he had a spiritual awakening on April 28, 1916. In 1947, the Society was renamed Won Buddhism by Sotaesan’s successor, Jeongsan. Jeongsan, renamed the order Won Buddhism, because “Won” is the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese character 圓 that can mean “circle,” “complete,” or “perfect.” So Won Buddhism is the Buddhism of the circle that symbolizes the Dharma-body Buddha, or it can be said to be complete or perfect Buddhism. A fair characterization of Won Buddhism is that it is a progressive and humanistic form of Korean Buddhism.
After Sotaesan’s enlightenment, he read the scriptures of the world’s different religions. Upon reading the Diamond Sutra, he felt that it expressed what he had awakened to. He said, “The Buddha Shakyamuni is truly the sage of all sages. Though I have attained the Way [supreme enlightenment] without any teacher’s guidance, my aspiration and the course of ascetic practice for attaining the Way coincide, upon reflection in many points, with what the Buddha Shakyamuni did and said. Hence, I choose the Buddha Shakyamuni as the origin of my enlightenment. When I open a religious order in the future, I will establish a perfect and complete one with Buddha-dharma as the main tenets of the doctrine.” (The Scriptures of Won Buddhism, p. 167)
As part of Sotaesan’s program to teach a revitalized and modernized form of Buddhism, he selected five sutras and three Zen texts from the Buddhist canon to use in teaching his contemporaries about Buddhism. I have found his selection intriguing because he assumed that his followers knew nothing about Buddhism and would have to learn it beginning with the most simple and basic teachings. From a Nichiren and Tiantai perspective, this selection presents only the provisional teachings of skillful means in comparison with what is taught and presented in the Lotus Sutra. Nevertheless, I think it is a helpful selection for those who wish to learn about basic Buddhist insights and values, and even those who follow the Perfect teaching of the Original Gate of the Lotus Sutra should be familiar with these teachings as the Perfect teaching presumes that one has already assimilated them. Even where I have found divergences from Nichiren Buddhist teaching and practice, it has provided me with an opportunity to reflect upon and appreciate how Nichiren and Tiantai, basing themselves upon the Lotus Sutra, have provided us with teachings that enable us to transcend provisional perspectives and awaken to the true intention of the Buddha Dharma of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha.
Sutras chosen by Sot’aesan:
Five Merits of the Virtuous Sutra
Discernment of Karmic Recompense Sutra
Zen texts chosen by Sot’aesan:
The Ten Ox Herding Pictures with Accompanying Verses