Dharma Talk 2/21/10
Dojojin Shugo – Protective Deities for the Place of Practicing Buddhism
This is a short letter written by Nichiren Shonin to Toki Jonin a lay follower who had donated 5 kammon of coins. This letter was written on the 13th of December though the year isn’t given, however Nichiren was living at Mt. Minobu at the time.
In the first paragraph Nichiren relates how his hermitage in the mountains is far from town, we also know from other letters that even without the consideration of distance, the snows made travel impossible during this time of year. Nichiren says that because of the struggles of day to day living such as finding food and taking care of clothing and basic living it is necessary to interrupt the reciting of the sutra and the preaching of the Dharma must be neglected. So when he received the donation from Toki Jonin he felt that the daughters of Kishimojin had sent an oracle to help supporters of Buddhism.
As some of you may know from visiting the web page and looking at the online streaming there is a notice there requesting donations to help support the online content. For those who may be watching this live today you can see there the amount that is needed monthly and the amount that has been raised so far.
While it is true that UStream is a free online video streaming service over which this service and others can be broadcast. Yet while UStream is free the high speed internet connection here at the temple is not. Regardless of whether you have cable or DSL you know that they all cost money. Also hosting the temple’s web page and domain registration also cost money. All of these take temple resources. In the past I have personally covered all of these expenses. I will be honest with you, when you take advantage of offerings at the temple and do not make a contribution it is as if you are taking money away from the temple. I’ll also be honest in saying that I can no longer support all the temple expenses out of my pocket.
Donations are what make spreading the Dharma possible. I do not get a salary for being a priest, the temple couldn’t afford that any way. But I do think it is reasonable that people be asked to make donations to support the spread of the Dharma. Your donation doesn’t have to be much it can be a few dollars here and there. If everyone participates then even a little bit accumulates.
So, if the temple can’t raise the money to pay for the online services then they may go away. It seems that if people aren’t willing to make a donation for the benefit of participating in the Dharma then it isn’t important to continue doing it.
Nichiren states in his letter quoting from the Great Concentration and Insight by Tien T’ai; “As devils respectfully avoid the Hall of Indra, evil demons are unable to invade the place of practicing Buddhism indiscriminately when a powerful god protects it. When a lord of a castle is a coward, his soldiers are also frightened. The mind is the lord of the body, which is always guarded by the gods named Domyo and Dosho. When the mind is steadfast, the body is guarded well. If the god of a body is like this, how much more so whit the god of the place of practicing Buddhism!”
In much the same way, when the Dharma is protected and when efforts are made to support the teaching and spread of the Dharma then our lives are also protected. If me merely rely on the efforts of others without making an effort on our own then we can not expect reward or protection from the Dharma.
I have heard it said frequently by many people from Buddhist countries, in particularly from Japan, that Buddhist temples in America won’t last. That Americans don’t really appreciate the gift of a temple or the importance of supporting the effort to spread the Dharma. It is said that Americans are too selfish to understand what it takes to support the spread of the Dharma.
And to a certain extent I sometimes have to agree with the observation, yet I don’t understand why it is that way. If you walk into any Christian, Muslim or Jewish house of worship you see the accumulated efforts of devoted followers, efforts backed up with financial donations. Yet for some reason Americans seem to think that Buddhist temples will just pop up without making any monetary donation. That somehow Buddhism will flourish magically when no other religion has flourished without donations.
I hear people frequently who will lament that there is not temple near them or there is no priest near them, and yet when there is a temple near by those who enjoy it’s benefit don’t support it. This temple is not unique in that, it is happening all over both in and out of Nichiren Shu.
When people visit the temple or take advantage of services offered without making a donation it is as if they are taking away from the temple. This is similar to the story of a thief who plotted to steal the golden head of the King Devil of the Sixth Heaven that was enshrined in a Buddhist temple in an area where Buddhism was not highly regarded. One day the thief finally got into the temple and while holding the head of the statue heard the teaching of the Dharma. So the thief chanted Namu Buddha and the head came off and he was able to carry it away.
Later in this story the thief is caught and confesses to his grave crime. It is said that the people of the area were so impressed that they abandoned their previous beliefs and began to practice Buddhism. Nichiren states; “Surmising from this instance of a thief, even a sinner can be relieved of a great burden if one believes in the Three Treasures of Buddhism.”
Practitioners of Buddhism receive the benefit of their practice in accord with their effort.
The character myo in the title of the Lotus Sutra or in the Odaimoku that we chant Nargajuna says I his Great Wisdom Discourse that “it can transform poison into medicine” Grand Master T’ien-t’ai also explains it this way, “The guarantee of future Buddhahood by the Two Vehicles in the Lotus Sutra is the conversion of poison into medicine.”
This myo is activated by our sincere efforts. By our efforts not by the efforts of others. It is no benefit to merely take without giving.
Nichiren closes his letter with this; “I am confident that even a misfortune can become happiness. How much more so with the protection of the ten female raksasa demons! Just as wood fuels a fire and wind multiplies an insect called karagura, happiness will prosper.”
So even if we think our individual contribution isn’t significant or that it won’t matter because it is small, we are being shortsighted. Even a small thing can accumulate to be a large thing. A small effort today can make a large impact on our lives in the future, but it takes that initial effort.
We know from our study of the history of the Buddha and of Nichiren, they both depended entirely upon the generous support of countless people. Buddhism today is no different. It is no different from any other religion either. I ask each of you today to consider this, but also to consider this not just from the stand point of this temple and the effort here today, but also to look at every aspect of your lives. How often do we freely take the fruits of others without making an effort of our own.
I was once told that the question is whether we are passengers on the bus, going where ever it takes us but always limited to the route, or are we the driver of our own bus, free to determine what route we follow and what sights we see?
In the Lotus Sutra Kishimojin and her daughters vow to protect practitioners of the Lotus Sutra, yet that protection is based upon our own efforts to practice. And so too it is with this temple and the spread of the Dharma in Charlotte. It’s future, it’s protection will be determined by the efforts of the people who practice here.
