Myohorengekyo Hosshikudokuhon Dai Juku(19) THE MERITS OF THE TEACHER OF THE LAW
In this "The merits of the teacher of the law", the merit of the person who preaches and promotes the teaching of "Lotus Sutra" is explained in particular. Here, "the teacher of the law" does not mean a professional monk. That is a teacher of teaching, and everyone who preaches teaching to others is the teacher of the law.
If anyone know even one of the wonderful teachings of the Lotus Sutra and have a desire to let other people hear or speak the teachings, then that person is the true teacher of the low.
The main point of the chapter 19
In this product, the Lotus Sutra dwells in a human being who is both painful and comfortable, and shows that a long-distance life is revealed. In other words, by realizing this teaching, the six roots of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind are inevitably clean and solemn. To tell. Therefore, it is emphasized that the five types of practice of the Lotus Sutra, reading, recitation, commentary, and penmanship, are indispensable.
In other words, in order to continue the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, it can be said that Chapter17 are believed, Chapter18 are joy, and Chapter19 are preached from the viewpoint of virtue.
Nichiren Shu Ishikawa Dojo statement
GOSHUHOSSHI(Five training methods)
The teacher of the law in the Lotus Sutra is the person who takes charge of the "Lotus Sutra", reads it, recites it, explains it, and copies it. Because of this, it is said to be a five training methods.
The first "acceptance" is to keep the faith of "Lotus Sutra" for a long time. It is the responsibility to keep faith firmly in your heart.
For the second reading, it is important to read the sutra first. After reading, proceed to the third recitation. To recite. By reciting the sutras, the teachings will follow. Up to this point, it is a line that benefits oneself in order to deepen one's faith and to know the teachings deeply.
The fourth commentary is a sermon. When you really understand the teachings, deep joy comes from your heart. Therefore you want to preach really be taught to those who do not know the teachings yet. It is a feeling that you cannot help preaching.
Furthermore, when it comes to the fifth copy, the Lotus Sutra is copied, or the teachings are written in a document and promoted. Commentary and penmanship are trainings that benefit others. The first three of the five will be for you and the latter two for others.
ROKKONSHOUJOU (Purification of the six roots of perception)
If the five types of training are practiced correctly, this person will have various merits in his eyes, ears, nose, body and mind. This infinite merit allows him to cleanse the six roots of his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and will. Purifying the six roots means that the mind becomes pure and that six roots can work freely.
Merit of the Eye
Clean ears are ears that can tell the truth no matter what you hear in the world. This clean ear will be able to distinguish not only humans in all worlds, but also the voices of animals, the voices of gods in the heavenly world, and the voices of bodhisattvas. Moreover, you will be able to hear the voice as it is. Even if you don't have heavenly ears, that is, ears with magical power, you can hear all kinds of voices as long as the human ears received from your parents are clean.
Merit of the Nose
A clean nose can scent any scent. It distinguishes the scents of all kinds of flowers, and also the scents of all living things such as humans, animals, men, women, and children. Furthermore, not only the human world but also all the scents such as Manjushaka-flowers in the heavenly world will be able to be distinguished. And if we read the sutras seriously, the scent of the sutras will be in the person's body. The teaching of this "Lotus Sutra", which preaches that humans have incense, is wonderful. The reason why a person has a fragrant scent is due to the person's training ability.
Merit of the tongue
There are two tongue merits. One is that the taste of food is improved, and the other is that the preaching has a great effect. If you preach with a clean tongue, the audience can enjoy the great joy and rich heart of hearing the preaching. For a person who preaches the correct teaching with a pure heart, the Buddha will also preach the teaching to that person. When that happens, my sermon becomes a sermon with the Buddha, not just my sermon.
Merit of the body
The Lotus Sutra explains that if you practice as a teacher of the law in five ways, you will have infinite merit and you will be able to become a pure body. And after a long period of training, the body is no longer just a substance. It becomes a spiritual being. The body can infinitely increase its sensitivity and purity through training. By training the body in the morning and evening, the life of the universe and the spirit of the earth become sensitive to the body. The life of the Buddha will be transferred.
Merit of the mind
The pure perceptual ability is a pure mind that is completely free of anxiety and hesitation. If you listen to a sutra or a phrase with such a pure mind, you will be able to understand the deep meaning of the infinite amount of words that cannot be measured even with a short phrase. You have to explain this to others. Even if it takes a month or even a year to explain the significance of that one phrase, there is an infinite number of things to explain. What you preach in this way is no different from what the Buddha preached, and does not go against the truth of the laws, that is, the truth of the universe.
In this "The merits of the teacher of the law", if you carry out the five kinds of training that the teacher of the law should do, you will be able to clean the six roots of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind, and it will be pure. Sutra preaches that the six roots has infinite merit.
Excerpt from "Reading the Lotus Sutra" by Shigeo Kamata