Zen master Hakuin (1686–1769) was one of Japan’s great Zen masters. His final awakening came when he was forty-two. It is said in his biography that one night as he was reading the chapter on parables from the Lotus Sutra upon hearing a sequence of churrs from a cricket that was in the foundation stones of the temple, he had a deep awakening. He realized the profound principle of the Lotus Sutra after which he let out a shout then began to weep uncontrollably. He realized that all the awakenings he had before were mistaken as compared with this one.
In a letter to an old nun of the Nichiren Order Hakuin, at lest to my mind, provides us with more details of his awakening at forty-two though the Lotus Sutra which in Japanese is Myôhô Renge Kyô and in Sanskrit Saddharma-pundarika Sutra.
Even before reading this letter, I have always believed that Hakuin had a deep understanding of Mind. In his letter to the old nun, in clearest words, he affirms this. This is not the whole letter (sorry my typing skills are not that good), it is just some of the important parts of the letter which concern Mind. The whole letter I must tell you is quite amazing.
"This One Mind, derived from the two characters Myôhô mentioned above, when spread out includes all the Dharma worlds of the ten directions, and when contracted returns to the no-thought and no-mind of the self-nature. Therefore such things as "outside the mind no thing exists," "in the three worlds there is One Mind alone," and "the true appearance of all things," have been preached. Reaching this ultimate place is called the Lotus Sutra, or the Buddha of Infinite Life; in Zen it is called the Original Face, In Shingon the Sun Disc of the Inherent Nature of the Letter A, In Ritsu the Basic, Intangible Form of the Precepts. Everyone must realize that these are all different names for the One Mind.
One may ask: "What proof is there that the five characters Myôhô renge kyô point to the fountainhead of the one mind?" These five characters, just as they are, immediately serve as proof that can readily be substantiated. Why? Myôhô renge kyô is a title that sings the praises of the mysterious virtues of the One Mind. It is composed of words that point to and reveal the inherent character of this One Mind, with which all men are innately endowed...
In terms of the common man, he spoke of the appearance of the Buddha-nature itself, with which all are without a doubt endowed; in terms of sentient beings, once the vow to become a Buddha has been made, the Wondrous Law of the One Mind does not increase nor lessen one bit. It is just the same as the lotus: at the time that it lies amidst the mud and after it blossoms are scattered in the summer, it does not undergo any fundamental change whatsoever. Thus he provisionally likened the lotus plant to the Wondrous Law of the One Mind. Is this not irrefutable proof that the Buddha mind, with which all people are endowed, was called the Lotus Sutra of the Wondrous Law?
The word kyô [sutra] means "constant," in the same sense as the eternal, unchanging Buddha-nature. This kyô teaches that eternal, unchanging Buddha-nature does not increase in a Buddha nor decrease in a sentient being. It is of the same root as heaven and earth and is one substance with all things, and has not changed one iota since before the last kalpa began, nor will it change after it has ended. Moreover, Myôhô [Wondrous Law] is the substance of the Buddha mind. The Lotus Sutra was composed as a way of praising the Wondrous Law of the Buddha mind, and so it is nothing more than another name for the One Mind" (Philip B. Yampolsky, The Zen Master Hakuin, p. 88–89).
In Sanskrit, pundarika (J., renge) which means “white lotus” symbolizes spontaneous generation or in Sanskrit svayambhû. Adding to what Hakuin has already said, the Lotus also symbolizes Mind as an originative substance. This is a difficult notion to get our mind around but it is somewhat easier to grasp when we chant, for example, the title of the Lotus Sutra saying Namu Myôhô Renge Kyô. What we have to accept on faith is that the most primordial source or animative power which gives us the ability to chant this arises from the One Mind. If we were to directly engage with the One Mind as Hakuin did when he became enlightened, this originative substance would, so to speak, energetically anoint us. It would be like the Buddha saying, “Good job son” or “Good job daughter.” This too is the Buddha’s most sublime teaching (sad-dharma) or Myôhô.
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