May 2006 Oko Sermon Reverend Shogu Kimura
Aniruddha was the second son of Dronodana, a grandson of King Simhahanu, and cousin to Shakyamuni Buddha. He had three names: Muhin, Nyoi, and Muryo, meaning “no poverty,” “do anything at will,” and “get meat without hunting” respectively. Each of these names was given for a profound reason.
Looking
at his past lives, we see that once, in a time of famine, there lived
a venerable Pratyekabuddha named Rida who, like everyone else, was
starving. When he had eaten nothing for seven days, Rida happened
upon a hunter who lived deep in the forest. The hunter had a pot of
cooked millet and when Rida begged for some, the hunter gave it all
to him.
(Gosho:
Ueno-dono
go-henji)
Good morning everyone. Today, on this occasion of the May Oko sermon in our expression of gratitude to our master Nichiren Daishonin, I have sincerely recited the sutras and chanted Daimoku together with you. Moreover, I have sincerely prayed for you to eliminate your sins and negative karma from this and infinite past lifetimes; for you to redouble your faith; for you to enjoy a safe and long life; for peace and harmony to reign in your home; for all matters to proceed forth smoothly; and for the successful achievement of all your great objectives in this and future existences. I am certain that the Daishonin would be truly pleased to see so many of you in attendance today.
This month, I will continue where I left off last month, in my explanation of the gosho, “The Merit of Offering” (Ueno-dono go-henji). Those of you who have the English version, please turn to page 9. In the Japanese Gosho, please turn to page 824.
Last month, I spoke first about Lord Nanjo Tokimitsu, the recipient of this letter. Then, I described the ten major disciples of Shakyamuni. Let us now focus on today’s passage.
The first part of the passage reads as follows:
Aniruddha was the second son of Dronodana, a grandson of King Simhahanu, and cousin to Shakyamuni Buddha. He had three names: Muhin, Nyoi, and Muryo, meaning “no poverty,” “do anything at will,” and “get meat without hunting” respectively. Each of these names was given for a profound reason.
Aniruddha and Shakyamuni were cousins. Shakyamuni’s father, King Shuddhodana, and Aniruddha’s father, King Dronodana, were brothers. The Daishonin explained that Aniruddha had three names: Muhin, Nyoi, and Muryo. The first name, Muhin, signified the fact that Aniruddha would never experience poverty in this lifetime, since he had amassed good fortune in his previous lives, through his good deeds. The second name, Nyoi, the second name, referred to Aniruddha’s ability to do all things at will. The third name, Muryo, meant that Aniruddha was able to obtain meat without hunting for it.
Aniruddha possessed these mysterious virtues. The Daishonin continued in the ensuing passage to explain the karmic causes which enabled Aniruddha to obtain such virtues.
Looking at his past lives, we see that once, in a time of famine, there lived a venerable Pratyekabuddha named Rida who, like everyone else, was starving. When he had eaten nothing for seven days, Rida happened upon a hunter who lived deep in the forest. The hunter had a pot of cooked millet and when Rida begged for some, the hunter gave it all to him.
As a consequence of his virtuous act, the hunter was able to live a prosperous and meritorious life and for the next ninety-one kalpas, he was reborn again and again to a life of ease in the Worlds of Humanity and Rapture. Finally, he was born a prince, son of Donodana.
In the distant past, ninety-one kalpas ago, a wealthy man lived in a certain village. This wealthy man had two sons. The older boy was named Rida, and the younger boy was named Arida. The wealthy man always taught his sons that things up high would eventually fall down; things that seem permanent would inevitably disappear one day; those who are born would die without fail; and all encounters are destined to end in separation. On his deathbed, the wealthy man told his sons, “You must not divide the inheritance that I am leaving you. You must cooperate with each other as brothers and make good use of the fortune. You would never be able to tie an elephant with a single string, for example, but a rope made of numerous strings would be able to withstand an elephant’s strength. In the same way, you must never live apart from one another and you must never divide your wealth.”
In the beginning, the two brothers kept their father’s word and cooperated with each other. Then, the younger brother Arida married a woman. Several days after their marriage, Arida’s wife began to complain. She said, “You are like your brother’s slave. The inheritance belongs to both of you equally, but you always need your older brother’s permission to use any of that money. Can’t you do anything about it?”
As the younger brother listened to his wife complaining over and over again, he eventually forgot about his father’s final wish. He went to his older brother and asked him to divide the fortune and to give him his half. Finally, after the older brother realized that he would be unable to change his younger brother’s mind, he divided the fortune and gave half to him.
The younger brother and his wife were delighted to receive such a windfall, and they squandered it without making any plans. Before long, they were penniless.
Then, the younger brother and his wife visited the older brother and asked him for a loan. The older brother asked no questions and granted them their wish. The younger brother and his wife squandered away the money from the older brother and once again, they went back to the older brother to ask for more, and the older brother obliged. They repeated this six times. Finally, when the younger brother and his wife returned for the seventh time to ask for more money, the older brother was cross with them. He said, “Try to recall our father’s wishes on his deathbed. He was worried about you and that was why he left us those instructions. I will give you the money once last time. This time, use it wisely.”
The younger brother and his wife took the older brothers warning to heart and curbed their pursuit of luxury. They worked assiduously and amassed a great fortune.
Several years later, Rida, the older brother, lost his fortune. He visited his younger brother and asked him for a loan. The younger brother told him, “You had the gall to lecture us, when my wife and I went to you for money. How dare you come to me now!” The younger brother did not give his older brother any money. He did not even give him food.
It was upsetting to Rida, the older brother, to see his younger brother in this state. Rida determined to become a priest.
Several years thereafter, the younger brother and his wife were once again poor. They tried to make a living by selling firewood. There was a famine, and great numbers of people were starving.
One day, when Arida, the younger brother, was selling firewood near the palace, he encountered a priest. Somehow, Arida was compelled to make an offering to the priest. This priest was none other than his older brother Rida, but the younger brother did not recognize him. Arida, the younger brother, called upon the priest and said, “Honorable one, would you accept an offering of food even if it is modest?” The priest replied, “I will accept any food that will sustain my body.” Then, the younger brother Arida presented the priest with an offering of a meal of millet, which he had obtained by selling firewood that day.
As he was returning to his home, Arida, the younger brother, caught a rabbit. As he walked, the rabbit turned into a human corpse that hung around Arida’s neck. Try as he might, he was unable to get rid of the dead body, so he returned home, dragging it around his neck. When he arrived home, however, the corpse had transformed into pure gold. When Arida broke off a golden arm, another golden arm of pure gold appeared in its place. When he broke off the neck, another golden neck appeared in its place. Before long, Arida became a man of tremendous wealth.
Thereafter, Arida lived for countless lifetimes, through ninety-one kalpas, as King Taishaku and as human kings. In the end, he was reborn as Aniruddha, a disciple of Shakyamuni.
The passage continues:
Aniruddha’s golden rice bowl was never empty. He became an Arhat and acquired the power of divine insight enabling him to view all the major world systems at one time. In the fourth volume of the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha predicted that in the future, Aniruddha would become a Buddha called Universal Brightness (Fumyo). The Great Teacher Miao-lo commented on this as follows: “Although a bowl of millet is trivial, he offered all that he had and because the recipient of the offering was a venerable sage, he received meritorious consequences.” In other words, a bowl of cooked millet may be trifle, but for a hunter who had nothing else to eat, it was precious. Because the hunter offered everything he had to the starving sage, he became an admirable man worthy of splendid rewards.
The bowl of millet that Arida offered to the priest was extremely “trivial” – a modest meal. However, that offering represented everything he had and it was truly sincere. This made the offering invaluable. At the time, the bowl of millet represented the only food in Arida’s possession that would enable him to keep from starving. When a person was starving, what he needed the most was not beautiful clothing, a house, or even money. The offering of food at a critical time, when everyone was starving, represented a truly “significant” gift.
Shakyamuni predicted that Aniruddha would become a Buddha called Universal Brightness (Fumyo), in the future. The name “Universal Brightness” signified the complete illumination of the world with the light of the Mystic Law (Myoho). This title was not limited only to Aniruddha; it came to signify all future enlightenment.
Then, the Daishonin made reference to the words of Miao-lo. The “recipient” (which was literally referred to as the “field”) represented the Three Treasures of the Buddha, the Law, and the Priesthood. In other words, the essential issue was that making an offering to the Three Treasures characterized the supreme form of offering. Doing so would enable people to amass great fortune and to receive tremendous benefits as a result. The priest to whom Arida presented the offering was none other than a pratyekabudda. The younger brother Arida gave an offering to a pratyekabuddha.
Today, I focused my sermon on the spirit of the gokuyo offering, as illustrated by the brothers Rida and Arida. When we give the matter some thought, we will realize that our Myoshin-ji Temple and the successive Chief Priests have been protected and supported by the precious gokuyo offerings of the believers. The older brother, Rida, would probably not have survived if it were not for the donation from his younger brother. In the same way, without your gokuyo offerings, the Daishonin’s True Buddhism would not have been propagated as it currently has been in the San Francisco area. I am convinced that, in this world, full of confusion and delusions, in the Latter Day of the Law, the benefits of presenting gokuyo offerings and supporting and protecting the temple are truly tremendous and are even more superior to the benefits received by the brothers Rida and Arida for their offering.
I would like to conclude my sermon for today by sincerely praying for your ever-strengthening devotion, your continued good health, and for the increasing prosperity of Myoshin-ji Temple.
Next month, I plan to continue my sermon on this gosho, so if you have your own copy of the Gosho, please bring it with you.
I extend my sincere appreciation to you for your attendance today.
