Reply to Takahashi Nyudo
Our compassionate father Shakyamuni Buddha, the Greatly Enlightened World-Honored One, made his appearance
in central India at the time when the human life span measured a hundred years, and for the sake of all living beings set
forth the sacred teachings of his lifetime. The persons living at the same time as Shakyamuni Buddha had already formed profound
karmic ties with him in the past, and hence they were able to attain the Way. But Shakyamuni was much concerned about how
to save those who would live after his passing, and so he put his eighty thousand sacred teachings into written form. Among
the sacred teachings of his lifetime, he entrusted the Hinayana sutras to the Venerable Mahakashyapa, and the Mahayana sutras,
as well as the Lotus and Nirvana sutras, to Bodhisattva Monjushiri.
But the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, the heart of the eighty thousand sacred teachings and the
very eye of the Lotus Sutra, he did not entrust to Mahakashyapa or Ananda, nor would he transfer them to the great bodhisattvas
such as Monju, Fugen, Kannon, Miroku, Jizo or Nagarjuna. These great bodhisattvas hoped that he would do so, and requested
it of him, but the Buddha would not consent. Instead he summoned the venerable figure Bodhisattva Jogyo forth from the depths
of the earth, and in the presence of the Buddha Taho and the other Buddhas of the ten directions, the Tathagata Shakyamuni,
seated in the tower adorned with seven kinds of precious gems, entrusted the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo to Bodhisattva
Jogyo.
The reason for this was as follows. All the beings who live after the Buddha's passing are children
of the Buddha, and he thinks of them all equally with compassion. But, just as it is customary for a physician to prescribe
medicine according to the particular ailment he is treating, so for the first five hundred years after his passing, the Buddha
commanded that Mahakashyapa, Ananda and other disciples should give to all living beings the medicine of the Hinayana sutras.
For the following five-hundred-year period, he decreed that Bodhisattva Monjushiri, Bodhisattva Miroku, Bodhisattva Nagarjuna
and Bodhisattva Vasubandhu should bestow upon all living beings the medicine of the Kegon, Dainichi, Hannya and other Mahayana
sutras. And for the time of the Middle Day of the Law, a thousand years after his passing, he decreed that Bodhisattva Yakuo,
Bodhisattva Kanzeon and others should bestow upon all living beings the medicine of the remaining teachings, with the exception
of Myoho-renge-kyo, the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra.
With the coming the Latter Day of the Law, however, with regard to these Hinayana sutras, Mahayana sutras
and the Lotus Sutra - which were entrusted respectively to Mahakashyapa, Ananda and others, to the bodhisattva Monju, Miroku
and others, and to Yakuo, Kannon and others - though the words of these sutras still remain, they will no longer serve as
medicine for the illnesses of living beings. The illnesses will be too grave, and these medicines too ineffectual. At that
time, Bodhisattva Jogyo will make his appearance in the world and bestow upon all living beings of Jambudvipa the five characters
of Myoho-renge-kyo.
At that time, the people will all look upon this bodhisattva as an enemy. They will be like so many
monkeys faced with a dog, or like demons eyeing human beings with spite. [They will treat him] like Bodhisattva Fukyo in times
past, who was not only cursed and hated by all people but was attacked with sticks and staves, rocks and tiles, or like the
monk Kakutoku, who was nearly put to death.
At that time, Mahakashyapa and Ananda will hide themselves on Eagle Peak or disappear into the Ganges
River. Miroku and Monju will withdraw to the inner court of the Tushita Heaven or retire to the Fragrant Mountain, and Bodhisattva
Kanzeon will return to the western region and Bodhisattva Fugen to the eastern region. Though there will be those who practice
the various sutras, no one will guard and protect such people, and therefore they will be unable to bring benefit to the people.
Though there will be persons who chant the names of the various Buddhas, the heavenly gods will not lend them protection.
They will be as helpless as calves separated from their mothers or pheasants sighted by hawks.
And at that time the great demons from the worlds of the ten directions will come crowding into the
continent of Jambudvipa and will take possession of the four categories of Buddhists, causing them to inflict injury on their
parents or to do away with their own brothers and sisters. In particular, these demons will enter into the hearts of those
monks and nuns throughout the nation who appear to be wise or who seem to be diligent in observing the precepts, and through
them will practice deception upon the ruler of the nation and his ministers.
At that time, if there should be someone who, receiving the protection of Bodhisattva Jogyo, bestows
only the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra, the five characters of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, upon all persons, then those four categories
of Buddhists as well as the other prominent monks will hate him as though he were their parents' enemy or a foe from some
previous existence, or will regard him with loathing as though he were a sworn enemy of the imperial house or someone bent
on revenge.
At that time, great changes will take place in the heavens. There will be eclipses of the sun and moon,
great comets will streak across the sky, and the earth will quiver and shake as though it were a waterwheel. Following this
will come the disaster of rebellion within one's own domain, in which the ruler of the nation, his brothers, and the other
great men of the nation will be attacked and killed. And then will come the disaster of invasion from abroad, when the land
will be attacked by a neighboring nation, and the people will be taken prisoner or commit suicide, and everyone within the
country, whether high or low, will encounter great tribulation.
All of this will come about solely because the person who is propagating the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra
under the protection of Bodhisattva Jogyo is abused, struck, exiled and threatened with execution. For we read in the sutra
that Bonten, Taishaku, the gods of the sun and moon and the Four Heavenly Kings inscribed an oath in the presence of the Buddha
at the assembly where the Lotus Sutra was being preached, vowing that if anyone should show enmity toward the votary of the
Lotus Sutra, they would chastise that person with greater vehemence than if he were the sworn enemy of their own father and
mother.
Now I, Nichiren, have been born in the country of Japan. When I hold up the bright mirror of the Lotus
Sutra and the other sutras to the faces of the persons living in this country, I see that matters do not differ in the slightest
from what the sutras predict. Just as the Buddha foretold, great changes are taking place in the heavens and prodigies are
appearing on earth.
For some time now I have known that this nation is destined for destruction. I knew that, if I reported
this to the ruler, and if it were still possible that the nation might be preserved in peace and safety, then he would surely
ask me to clarify [the meaning of my words]; but if the nation were indeed doomed, then the ruler would not heed my advice.
And if he did not heed my advice, then I knew that I would most likely be condemned to exile or execution. Yet the Buddha
has warned us: "If, while understanding this matter, you still hesitate to risk your life and therefore do not declare it
to the people, then you are not only my enemy but the deadly enemy of all living beings and are bound to fall into the great
citadel of the Avichi Hell."
At this point I became troubled as to how to proceed. If I spoke out with regard to this matter, there
was no telling what might become of me. My own safety was of little concern, but suppose that my parents, brothers and perhaps
even one other person out of a thousand or ten thousand should follow me. They, too, would surely be hated by both the ruler
and the common people. And if they were so hated, then, not having a full understanding of the Buddhist teachings, they would
find it difficult to endure the attacks of others. Though they had supposed that, by practicing the Buddha's Law, they would
gain peace and security, in fact they would find that, because they had embraced this teaching, they were beset by great hardships.
In that case they would then slander this Law as a distorted teaching and therefore fall into the evil paths. How pitiful
that would be!
But if, on the other hand, I failed to speak out on this matter, then not only would I be going against
the vow I made to the Buddha, but I would become the deadly enemy of all living beings and be condemned without fail to the
Avichi Hell. Thus, though I had debated which course of action to take, I made up my mind to speak out.
I felt that once I had begun to speak out, it would not do to falter or desist along the way, and so
I spoke out with ever-increasing vigor. Then, just as the Buddha's words in the sutra had predicted, the ruler grew hostile
and the common people began to attack me. And because they treated me with enmity, heaven grew enraged, the sun and moon displayed
great changes in their behavior, and huge comets appeared. The earth shook as though it would turn over, internecine strife
broke out within the nation, and a foreign country attacked from without. All happened just as the Buddha had predicted, and
there was no longer any doubt the I, Nichiren, am the votary of the Lotus Sutra.
Last year when I left Kamakura and took refuge here, I had intended to stop and speak with you and the
others, since it was on my way, but in the end I failed to do so. In addition, I have failed to reply to your earlier communication,
though I certainly had no particular intention of neglect. How could I ever feel distantly toward any of you? Even in the
case of the Nembutsu priests, the Zen people and the Shingon teachers, as well as the ruler of the nation and other men of
authority, all of whom bear me such hatred - I admonish them because I want to help them, and their hatred for me makes me
pity them more than ever. How could I, then, think lightly of those who, even for a day, have acted as allies and extended
me their sympathy?
Actually I am relieved when persons who have wives and children to worry about keep their distance from
me out of fear of the world's reaction. I have no power to save those who ally themselves with me, and in addition they may
risk having what small estates they possess taken away from them. It pains me to think how this must distress their wives
and children and their followers, who have no real understanding of the situation.
In the second month of last year I was granted pardon, and on the thirteenth day of the third month
I left the province of Sado, arriving in Kamakura on the twenty-sixth day of the same month. On the eighth day of the fourth
month, when I met with Hei no Saemon, he questioned me about various matters, and in the course of the discussion asked when
the Mongols would launch their invasion.
"They will come this year," I replied. "And in regard to this matter, except for me, there is no one
who can save this country of Japan! If you want to save the nation, then you should cut off the heads of all the Nembutsu,
Zen and Ritsu priests in Japan and expose them to view on Yuinohama beach. But I suppose it is too late for that now.
"Everyone thinks that I am simply intent upon speaking ill of the Nembutsu teachers and the Zen and
Ritsu priests. But these people are of little consequence. It is the Shingon sect with its evil doctrines that is putting
a terrible curse upon this fair country of Japan! The Great Teachers Kobo and Jikaku were misled by these teachings and have
brought this country to the brink of ruin. Though a country may be destined to be destroyed in two or three years anyway,
if one has the Shingon priests offer up prayers for its safety, then it will be attacked before a year or even half a year
is out!" These are the things I told him.
Being so fiercely hated merely for trying to give advice that would save others, I suppose that, when
I was pardoned from exile, I should have left Sado and hidden myself somewhere far off in the midst of the mountains or by
the distant seashore. But instead I went to Kamakura, because I hoped to explain the situation one last time to Hei no Saimon
and thereby save those people who might manage to survive an attack on Japan. After offering my admonition, I knew I should
not remain any longer in Kamakura and so I set off, letting my feet carry me where they wished. And since you were on the
way, I thought how much I would like to see all of you once more, even though it might be an imposition. But though the thought
came to me a thousand times, I found my heart torn by conflicting considerations, and in the end I passed you by.
The reason is this. The province of Suruga is the domain of the lord of Sagami, and the Fuji area in
particular is full of those related to the widows of high-ranking officials. These people bear me great rancor because they
look upon me as an enemy of the late lay priests of Saimyo-ji and Gokuraku-ji. I was afraid that, if they heard I had visited
you, it would bring grief to you all. Even up until now, I have feared causing trouble for you and so did not reply to your
earlier communication. I have repeatedly warned the priests not under any circumstances to go anywhere near the area of Kajima
in Fuji, and yet even so, I am apprehensive about what may happen.
As to this matter of the Shingon sect, I suppose you may have doubts. No matter how I explain it in
terms of doctrine, you may find it hard to follow me. However, you should understand from the facts before your very eyes!
The Retired Emperor of Oki was the eighty-second sovereign. He reigned more than two thousand years
after the time of Emperor Jimmu; he was the Sun Goddess manifested in human form. Who would venture to oppose such a ruler?
Moreover, from the time of Emperor Kimmei to that of the Retired Emperor of Oki, the various great doctrines
and secret doctrines of Buddhism, introduced from China, Paekche, Silla and Koguryo, were revered and preserved at Mount Hiei,
To-ji, Onjo-ji, the seven major temples of Nara, and elsewhere throughout Japan. All this was done to protect the nation and
to guard the safety of its ruler.
The Retired Emperor of Oki, vexed that power had been seized by Kamakura, enlisted the aid of the high-ranking
priests of Mount Hiei, To-ji and other temples, and set them to performing rituals for the demise of Yoshitoki. This continued
not for just a year or two, but for years on end, the priests praying and casting their spells. Yet the Gon no Tayu never
so much as dreamed of what was happening, and did not for his part have a single prayer ritual conducted. Perhaps he thought
that, even if such a ritual were to be performed, it would prove ineffective. In any event, the Son of Heaven was defeated
in battle and exiled to the island province of Oki.
One who becomes the sovereign of Japan embodies the living spirit of the Sun Goddess; he becomes ruler
by virtue of the power of the ten good precepts he has observed in previous existences. How then could anyone among the common
people of the country possibly overthrow him? To illustrate, even if a father should be at fault, it would be like a son who
is blameless hating a father who is culpable. Even though the father might be guilty of some grave error, would Heaven ever
permit the son to punish him?
Then, what grave error caused the Retired Emperor of Oki to meet with this shame? It came about solely
because he allied himself with the Shingon priests of Japan, who are the deadly enemies of the Lotus Sutra!
All the Shingon priests go through a secret ritual called kanjo, in which pictures of Shakyamuni Buddha
and others are painted on an eight-petaled lotus and the participant treads on them with his feet. And because those who took
part in this bizarre ritual were treated with reverence by the Retired Emperor of Oki as the supervisors of various temples,
power passed into the hands of his common subjects and he met with disgrace in this life.
Now this great evil doctrine of Shingon has spread to the region of Kamakura, deceiving the members
of the ruling clan and threatening to bring about the destruction of Japan. This is a matter of the gravest import, and I
have not discussed it even with my disciples. Instead I have dissembled, pretending ignorance and filling their ears only
with attacks upon Nembutsu and Zen. But since my own admonitions continue to go unheeded, without begrudging my life, I will
in addition tell my disciples what the true situation is.
When I do so, they will be even more perplexed than ever. [They will say that] no matter how admirable
or worthy of respect Nichiren may be, he can scarcely surpass Jikaku and Kobo. I fear I will never succeed in banishing all
their doubts. How can I dispel them?
When all others may hate me, the fact that you have placed even a bit of trust in me and, moreover,
have come all the way here to visit me, cannot be ascribed to the karma of your present life alone. Surely we must share some
bond from a previous existence!
I am much distressed to hear that your illness has become so serious. However, swords exit to cut down
enemies, and medicine exists to cure sickness. King Ajatashatru murdered his father and made himself an enemy of the Buddha.
But after foul sores broke out on his body, he converted to the Buddha's teachings and embraced the Lotus Sutra, whereupon
his sores healed and he prolonged his life by forty years.
Moreover, the Lotus Sutra states that it is "beneficial medicine for the illnesses of all the people
of Jambudvipa." The people of this world of ours, the continent of Jambudvipa, are suffering from illness, but the Lotus Sutra
will be their medicine. Now in your case, the three requirements are already present, so how could you fail to recover? But
if you cherish doubts, then it is beyond my power to help you. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Please have Kakujo-bo and Hoki-bo read this to you from time to time and listen well, listen well!
Nichiren
The twelfth day of the seventh month
Reply sent to His Lordship Takahashi Rokuro Hyoe Nyudo
Reply to the Followers
Your messenger, who left on the nineteenth day of the third month, arrived here with your letter at
the Hour of the Dog (around 8:00 P.M.) on the twenty-first. Now Nichiren’s lifelong prayer and desire will be achieved
in an instant. And this fits the Buddha’s prediction regarding the fifth five hundred years, just as one half of a tally
matches the other. In the end, if the slanderous proponents of the Shingon, Zen and other sects are summoned and brought together
to confront me, and right and wrong are decided, the people of Japan will all become my disciples and followers. Of my disciples,
the priests will become teachers to the emperors and retired emperors, while the lay believers will be ranked as the ministers
of the left and right. And moreover, everyone in the entire land of Jambudvipa will come to revere this teaching. What happiness!
What happiness!
Nichiren
The twenty-first day of the third month in the first year of Koan (1278)
Reply to the Followers
Reply to the Mother of Lord Ueno
I have received the offerings that you sent for the forty-ninth day ceremony marking the passing of
your son, the late Nanjo Shichiro Goro. As noted on the list, they consist of two strings of coins, one horseload of polished
rice, one horseload of yams, pounded bean curd, konnyaku, one basket of persimmons, fifty citrons and other items. For the
sake of your son’s repose, I have recited the entire Lotus Sutra once and the Jigage several times, and chanted the
daimoku a hundred thousand times.
The sutra known as the Lotus Sutra is a scripture that has no match among all the sacred teachings of the
Buddha’s lifetime. And, as indicated by its words "between Buddhas" it can only be understood between one Buddha and
another. Those at the stage of near-perfect enlightenment or below, on down to ordinary mortals, cannot fathom it. This is
why Bodhisattva Nagarjuna stated in his Daichido ron that persons below the level of Buddha should simply have faith, and
in that way they can attain Buddhahood.
In the Hosshi chapter in the fourth volume of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha states: "Yakuo, now I say to you,
I have preached various sutras, and among those sutras the Lotus is the foremost!" In the fifth volume it says: "Monjushiri,
this Lotus Sutra is the secret storehouse of the Buddhas, the Thus Come Ones."
Among the sutras, it holds the highest place. In the seventh volume we read: "...so this Lotus Sutra is
likewise. Among all the sutras, it holds the highest place." And we also read: "This sutra shines the brightest ... it is
the most honored."
These passages of scripture do not represent some doctrine that I have put forward on my own. They are the
truthful words of the Buddha, and hence it is impossible that they could be in error.
If someone born to a commoner family should claim that he stands equal to a samurai, he would surely be
faulted. And how much more so if he should claim that he is equal to the ruler of the nation, or even superior to the ruler!
Not only would he himself be punished, but his father and mother and his wife and children would be made to suffer as well.
It is like the case of a great fire that burns down houses, or of a great tree that, in falling, brings down the little trees
around it as well.
It is the same with the Buddhist teachings. People who rely on the various sutras expounded in the Kegon,
Agon, Hodo and Hannya periods, such as the Dainichi or the Amida Sutra, regard the one they believe in as best, without distinguishing
the relative worth of the sutras. Thus they say, "Our Amida Sutra is equal to the Lotus Sutra," or "It is superior." Fellow
believers, hearing their own sutra praised in this way, think it is a cause for joy. On the contrary, however, they are committing
a serious offense, and the teachers of such doctrines, their disciples and their lay followers will fall as swiftly as flying
arrows into the evil paths.
However, those who declare that the Lotus Sutra is superior to all the other sutras are justified in doing
so. In fact, they will enjoy great benefits. This is because their declaration accords with what the sutra itself says.
Prefacing the Lotus Sutra is a work called the Muryogi Sutra. It is like the vanguard of generals who go
before the procession of a great king to quell disturbances. This Muryogi Sutra states: "In these more than forty years, I
have not yet revealed the truth." These words are like the great bows that the generals carry to drive away the king’s
enemies with arrows, or the swords with which they cut those enemies down. They are like a royal proclamation, sharp as a
sword, directed to the members of the Kegon sect who read only the Kegon Sutra, the priests of the Ritsu sect with their Agon
sutras, the Nembutsu believers with their Kammuryoju Sutra, and the Shingon teachers with their Dainichi Sutra, chastising
them for failing to follow the Lotus Sutra and bringing them to submission. They are like Yoshiie attacking Sadato, or Yoritomo
destroying the forces of Kiyomori. These words of the Muryogi Sutra, "In these more than forty years..." are the sword and
rope of King Fudo, or the bow and arrows of King Aizen.
When the late Nanjo Goro made his way across the mountains of death and the river of three crossings, the
soldiers who escorted him and repulsed the mountain bandits of earthly desires and the pirates of past offenses and allowed
him to proceed safely to the pure land of Eagle Peak were these words of the Muryogi Sutra: "In these more than forty years,
I have not yet revealed the truth."
The Hoben chapter in the first volume of the Lotus Sutra states: "The World-Honored One has long expounded
his doctrines and now must reveal the truth." And it also says: "[I] ... honestly discarding expedient means, will preach
only the unsurpassed way." In the fifth volume we read: "Only the bright jewel that is in his topknot..." "This one jewel
exists only on the top of the king’s head," and "...the way that powerful ruler did when he took the bright jewel he
had guarded for so long and finally gave it away."
The import of these passages is this. The great collection of scriptures has been brought to this country
of Japan, numbering 7,399 volumes, and each one of these various scriptures is a follower and retainer of the Lotus Sutra.
To illustrate, the men and women in this country of Japan number 4,994,828, but all are subjects of one man, the ruler of
the country.
As for the significance of these various scriptures, let me give an analogy that even an uncomprehending
woman can understand immediately. Suppose that one is building a great pagoda. In addition to the lumber to be used in the
pagoda itself, one gathers together a large quantity of small timbers and uses them to build a scaffolding ten or twenty feet
in height. After one has done this, one uses the original lumber to construct the pagoda. And when the pagoda is completed,
one then removes the scaffolding and discards it, leaving the pagoda in place.
Now the scaffolding represents the various other sutras, and the great pagoda, the Lotus Sutra. When the
Buddha preached the other sutras, he was in effect erecting a scaffolding in preparation for the preaching of the Lotus Sutra.
In the same manner as the sutra describes when it says, "honestly discarding expedient means," persons who
put their faith in the Lotus Sutra should first cast aside and fling away the Namu Amida Butsu invocation based on the Amida
and other sutras, the teachings of the Shingon sect based on the Dainichi and other sutras, and the two hundred and fifty
precepts of the Ritsu sect based on the Agon sutras and other teachings, and then they should embrace the Lotus Sutra alone.
When one is preparing to build a great pagoda, the scaffolding is of great importance. But once the pagoda is completed, then
the scaffolding is removed and thrown away. This is the meaning of the passage about "honestly discarding expedient means."
Though the scaffolding is necessary to complete the pagoda, no one would ever dream of discarding the pagoda
and worshipping the scaffolding. And yet the persons who seek the way in the world today spend their whole lives reciting
Namu Amida Butsu only, and never once chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. They are like persons who discard the pagoda and worship
the scaffolding. They are examples of the secular saying -- seemingly wise, but actually foolish.
The late Shichiro Goro did not take after other people in Japan today. Though he was still a youth, he followed
in the footsteps of his sagacious father. And at an early age, having not yet turned twenty, he began chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo,
and thus he became a Buddha. This is what the sutra means when it says, "... then not a one will fail to attain Buddhahood."
I hope that if you, his loving mother, are thinking with longing about your son, you will chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and pray
to be reborn in the same place as the late Shichiro Goro and your husband, the late Lord Nanjo.
Seeds of one species are after all seeds of the same species, while seeds of a different species are seeds
of a different species. If all of you nurture the seeds of Myoho-renge-kyo in your hearts, then you all will be reborn in
the land of Myoho-renge-kyo. When the three of you are reunited there face to face, how great your joy will be!
Now when we open the Lotus Sutra and read what it says, we find these words: "The Thus Come One will
cover them with his robe, and they will also be protected and kept in mind by the Buddhas who are now present in other regions."
The meaning of this passage is that the Buddhas of the ten directions will all assemble in throngs and fill
in the lands to the east, west, north and south, in the eight directions, the major world system and all the four hundred
billion nayutas of lands. They will be seated side by side like the stars in the heavens or the rows of rice and hemp plants
on the earth, and will guard and protect the votaries of the Lotus Sutra just as the various ministers and subjects guard
and protect the heir of a great ruler.
To be guarded by the Four Heavenly Kings and their retainers is a great honor. But with the protection of
all the numberless Four Heavenly Kings, all the stars and constellations, all the deities of the sun and moon, all the Taishakus
and Bontens, one can be completely confident. Moreover, all the persons of the two vehicles, all the bodhisattvas, Bodhisattva
Miroku in the inner court of the Tushita heaven, Bodhisattva Jizo on Mount Kharadiya, Bodhisattva Kanzeon on Mount Potalaka,
and Bodhisattva Monjushiri on Mount Clear and Cool, each together with all their followers, will guard and protect the votaries
of the Lotus Sutra, so one may indeed rest assured. And furthermore, Shakyamuni, Taho and all the other Buddhas of the ten
directions will come of their own accord and watch over one through all the hours of the day and night, which is an honor
beyond the power of words to express.
It was this splendid sutra that the late Goro put his faith in and through which he attained Buddhahood.
And today, on the forty-ninth day following his passing, all the Buddhas have surely gathered about him in the pure land of
Eagle Peak, seating him on their palms, stroking his head, embracing him and rejoicing, welcoming him with affection as one
would welcome a moon that has just risen or blossoms that have just burst into bloom.
When we consider why the Buddhas of the three existences and the ten directions should so firmly protect
the Lotus Sutra, we come to understand that it is only natural. For the Lotus Sutra is the father and mother of the Buddhas
of the three existences and the ten directions; it is their wet nurse and their lord.
The creatures called frogs feed on the sound of their mother’s voice, and if they are not able to
hear their mother’s voice, they will not grow. The insect called a kalakula feeds on wind, and if the wind does not
blow, it will not grow. Fish must have water, and birds depend upon trees to build their nests in. In the same way, for the
Buddhas, the Lotus Sutra is their source of life, their sustenance and their dwelling. As fish live in water, so the Buddhas
live in this sutra. As birds dwell in trees, so the Buddhas dwell in this sutra. As the moon’s reflection lodges in
the water, so the Buddhas lodge in this sutra. You should understand that in a land where this sutra does not exist, there
can be no Buddhas.
In ancient times there lived a ruler named King Rinda who ruled over the southern continent of Jambudvipa.
What was it that this king required for sustenance? He listened to the neighing of white horses, and this became his food.
As long as the white horses neighed, he grew more youthful, his complexion glowed, his spirit was vigorous, his physical strength
remained undiminished, and he was able to conduct the affairs of state justly. Therefore, a great many white horses were gathered
and cared for in his country. In this respect, he was like the ruler of Wei, who gathered a great many cranes, or Emperor
Te-tsung, who loved fireflies. The white horses would neigh only if there were white swans who were singing, and, accordingly,
a number of white swans were also gathered.
One time for some reason all the white swans disappeared, and, as a result, the white horses no longer neighed.
So the king’s sustenance came to an end, and he was like full-blown blossoms that wilt under the dew, or a round moon
that becomes shrouded in clouds. When it became apparent that the king was about to expire, his consort, his heir, the great
ministers and all the people throughout the kingdom turned pale, like a child who has just been separated from its mother,
and wet their sleeves with tears, crying, "What shall we do? What shall we do?"
In that country there were many non-Buddhist followers, persons like the members of the Zen sect, the Nembutsu
priests, the Shingon teachers and the Ritsu priests of our own time. In addition, there were disciples of the Buddha, persons
like the members of the Hokke [Lotus] sect today. These two groups were on very bad terms, as incompatible as fire and water
or as hostile toward one another as the peoples called Hu and Yaeh.
The ruler issued a proclamation saying, "If these non-Buddhist followers cause the horses to neigh,
then I will abolish the Buddhist teachings and put my faith entirely in the non-Buddhist doctrines, honoring them as the heavenly
deities do Taishaku. But if the disciples of the Buddha cause the horses to neigh, then I will cut off the heads of all the
non-Buddhist followers, seize their dwellings and hand them over to the disciples of the Buddha."
At this the non-Buddhist followers turned pale with fear, and the disciples of the Buddha fell to lamenting.
But since that alone would not resolve matters, the non-Buddhist followers took their turn first. For seven days they carried
out their practices, but no white swans gathered round, and the white horses failed to neigh.
Then it was the turn of the Buddha’s disciples, and they were assigned the next seven days for the
performance of their prayers. At that time there was a young monk named Ashvaghosha or Horse Neigh, who, relying upon the
Lotus Sutra, the object of the deepest respect for all the Buddhas, for seven days offered his prayers, whereupon white swans
came flying to the platform where he was praying. As soon as one of these birds would utter a cry, one of the white horses
would neigh. The king, hearing the sound of the neighing, rose up from his sickbed, and all the persons who had gathered there,
beginning with the ruler’s consort, turned toward Ashvaghosha and bowed to him in reverence.
So the white swans came, one, two, three, then ten, a hundred and a thousand, filling the kingdom. And the
white horses neighed, one horse, two horses, then a hundred, a thousand white horses, all constantly neighing. When the king
heard this sound, his face became that of a thirty-year-old man. His mind was as clear and bright as the sun, and his administration
was upright and fair, so that the rain of amrita fell down from the heavens, the common people bowed before his commands as
though before a wind, and the kingdom prospered for countless ages.
The Buddhas are similar to this. Taho Buddha, during the time when the Lotus Sutra does not appear, remains
extinct; but in an age when this sutra is recited, he makes his appearance in the world. And the same is true of Shakyamuni
Buddha and all the other Buddhas of the ten directions.
Since the Lotus Sutra possesses this wonderful power, how could any person who upholds this sutra be abandoned
by the sun Goddess, by Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, or by Great Bodhisattva Fuji Sengen? This is truly reassuring!
On the other hand, if a country should oppose this sutra, then no matter how sincerely its people may
offer up prayers, that country will inevitably experience the seven disasters. You may be certain that it will be overthrown
and destroyed by another country, like a ship that encounters a storm in the midst of the ocean, or like grass and trees that
are withered by a great drought.
In a similar manner, in Japan today, no matter how prayers are offered up, because the people make light
of Nichiren and his followers, the votaries of the Lotus Sutra, none of their various ways of praying are effective, and instead
the forces of the great kingdom of the Mongols come to attack. Already the country is on the verge of destruction. Watch carefully
from now on. Matters cannot continue as they are at present. You should understand once and for all that this is entirely
due to the fact that the people all harbor enmity toward the Lotus Sutra.
It has now been forty-nine days since your son, the late Goro, passed away. Though impermanence is the way
of all things, even one who merely hears the news of a persons having passed away finds it hard to bear. How much more deeply,
then, must his mother or his wife grieve! I believe I can understand something of your feelings.
Though children may be young in years or more mature, though they may be ugly or even physically handicapped,
their parents love them nonetheless. In your case, your child was a son, and in addition, he was blessed in every way, and
he had a warm heart. When your husband, the late Lord Ueno, preceded you in death, he was still in the prime of life and your
grief on that occasion was no shallow matter. Had you not been pregnant with his child, I know you would have followed him
through fire and water. Yet when this son was safely born, you felt that it would be unthinkable to entrust his upbringing
to another so that you could put an end to your life. Thus you encouraged yourself and spent the following fourteen or fifteen
years raising your children.
How, then, are you to endure what has happened? You must have thought that in the future you would have
two sons to rely upon. And yet on the fifth day of the ninth month of this year, this younger son, like the moon hidden in
the clouds, like blossoms scattered by the wind, passed from sight. As you wondered whether or not you were dreaming, lamenting
at how long the dream goes on, you felt that this would have two sons to rely upon. And yet on the fifth day of the ninth
month of this year, this younger son, like the moon hidden in the clouds, like blossoms scattered by the wind, passed from
sight. As you wondered whether or not you were dreaming, lamenting at how long the dream goes on, you felt that this dream
is indeed like reality, and forty-nine days had already passed. And if it is indeed real, how will you bear it? The full-blown
flower remains on the tree, while the bud just about to open has withered away. The aged mother remains behind, while the
young son has departed. How heartless is the transience of the world!
Now you must shun and abandon this heartless world, entrusting yourself to the Lotus Sutra, in which the
late Goro placed his faith, and quickly reach the eternally abiding and indestructible pure land of Eagle Peak. Your son’s
father is on Eagle Peak; his mother remains in the saha world. I sympathize with the feelings of the late Goro, who is in
the interval between the two of you.
There is much more that I would like to say, but I shall end here.
With my deep respect,
Nichiren
The twenty-fourth day of the tenth month
Reply to the mother of Lord Ueno
Reply to Tokimitsu
I have received the horseload of polished rice and ginger that you sent me.
While he was still living a secular life, Aniruddha, the son of King Dronodana, was a descendant of
the wheel-turning king who was the true ruler of India, a grandson of King Simhahanu, a nephew of King Shuddhodana, and a
son to King Dronodana. He was a person of noble descent known throughout the whole land. Moreover, his house was visited by
twelve thousand people each day: six thousand came to borrow from the wealth of his family, and the other six thousand came
to pay back what they owed. Not only was he this wealthy, but he later became foremost in divine insight, and the Buddha prophesied
in the Lotus Sutra that he would become the Buddha Universal Brightness.
If we examine what great goodness he performed in past existences, we find that a long time ago there
was a hunter who supported himself by capturing beasts in the mountains. He also raised millet for food, but, since he lived
in a time of famine, there was almost nothing to eat. As he was eating the single bowl of millet that was his only food, a
sage, a pratyekabuddha named Rida, appeared and begged him for it, saying, "I have not eaten for seven days. Let me have your
food." The hunter replied, "I have put it in a vessel defiled by a common person of the secular world, and moreover have tainted
the food by starting to eat it"; but the sage said, "Just let me have it. If I do not eat now, I shall die." Though ashamed
of its unworthiness, the hunter offered him the food. After eating the millet, the sage returned the bowl to the hunter, having
left just one grain of millet remaining. This millet turned into a wild boar. The wild boar changed into gold and the gold
was transformed into a corpse. The corpse then changed into a man made of gold. Whenever the hunter pulled off one of the
golden man’s fingers and sold it, a new finger would appear in its place. Thus, for ninety-one kalpas the hunter was
reborn as a wealthy man, and in his present existence he was called Aniruddha and became a disciple of the Buddha. Although
it was a paltry amount of millet, because it sustained the life of a sage in a famished country, he received a wonderful reward.
The Venerable Mahakashyapa was the worthiest of all the Buddha’s disciples. In terms of lineage,
he was the son of the wealthy Nyagrodha of the kingdom of Magadha. The floor of his house was covered with one thousand straw
mats, each seven feet thick. Even those mats of lesser quality were each worth a thousand ryo of gold. The household assets
included 999 plows, each worth a thousand ryo of gold, and sixty storehouses, each with 340 koku of gold inside. Such was
the immensity of his wealth. His wife had a gold-colored body, which shed light to a distance of sixteen ri. Her beauty exceeded
even that of Lady Soto’ori Hime of Japan and surpassed even that of Lady Li of China. This husband and wife conceived
a desire to seek the way, and became disciples of the Buddha. In the Lotus Sutra, it was predicted that the husband would
become the Buddha Light Bright. If we were to inquire into the past existences of these two people, we would find that because
one had offered a bowl of wheat to a pratyekabuddha, he was later born as the Venerable Mahakashyapa. The other was a poor
woman who had a sculptor of Buddhist images [a previous incarnation of Mahakashyapa] beat a gold coin of hers into gilding
for a statue of the Buddha Vipashyin, and who later became this person’s wife.
Although I, Nichiren, am not a sage, I have become known as the defender of the Lotus Sutra. For this,
not only have I been hated and assailed by the ruler of the country, but my disciples and even those who visit me have been
reviled or struck, or have had their fiefs confiscated, or have been driven from their dwellings. Because they live under
such a ruler, even people with seeking minds do not visit me. This has been the case for some time, but this year, in particular,
because of epidemics and famine, very few people have come to visit.
Just as I was thinking that, even if I remained free from illness, I would surely die of starvation,
the wheat that you sent arrived. It is more wonderful than gold and more precious than jewels. Rida’s millet changed
into a golden man. How, then, could Tokimitsu’s wheat fail to turn into the characters of the Lotus Sutra? These characters
of the Lotus Sutra will become Shakyamuni Buddha and then a pair of wings for your deceased father, flying and soaring to
the pure land of Eagle Peak. On returning, they will cover your body and guide you.
With my deep respect,
Nichiren
The eighth day of the seventh month in the first year of Koan (1278)
Reply to Lord Ueno
Reply to Yasaburo
In your letter you say, "Although I am an ignorant layman, among the teachings I have heard from you,
I was especially impressed by the passage in the second volume of the Lotus Sutra that says, 'Now this threefold world [is
all my domain...]'" This passage means that this present country of Japan is the domain of Shakyamuni Buddha. Not only do
the Sun Goddess, Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, Emperor Jimmu and all the other gods as well as the ruler of the nation on down
to the common people all dwell within his realm, but he is a Buddha to whom we are greatly indebted on three accounts. First,
he is our sovereign; second, he is our teacher; and third, he is our parent. Among all the Buddhas of the ten directions,
only Shakyamuni Buddha is endowed with these three virtues. Therefore, even if all the people of the country of Japan were
to serve Shakyamuni Buddha wholeheartedly just as they now do Amida Buddha, because they would be placing him side by side
with another Buddha and treating him in the same manner, that would still be a grave error. For example, though someone were
one's own ruler and a wise man besides, if one were to shift one's allegiance to the king of another country, and while dwelling
in Japan pay honor to the King of China or Koguryo and slight the sovereign of Japan, could such a person be called one who
honors the great sovereign of this country?
This is all the more true in the case of the priests of Japan, who without exception have shaved their
heads and donned their robes as disciples of the Tathagata Shakyamuni. They are not the disciples of Amida Buddha. Nevertheless,
priests who have no halls in their temples where Shakyamuni is enshrined or where the Lotus Sutra meditation is practiced,
or who have no painted or wooden images [of Shakyamuni] nor even a copy of the Lotus Sutra, are setting aside Shakyamuni Buddha,
who is endowed with all three virtues. Throughout the country, in each district, village and household, they erect more images
than there are people of Amida Buddha, who possesses not a single one of these virtues, and chant the name of Amida Buddha
exclusively, sixty or eighty thousand times a day. Although such acts appear to be most admirable, when we view the matter
in light of the Lotus Sutra, we find that these pious people are guilty of offenses heavier than those of wicked men who commit
the ten evil acts daily. Impious men do not rely on any Buddha whatsoever, so they cannot be accused of having changed their
loyalties. Moreover, if they should become pious people, they might even devote themselves to the Lotus Sutra. Yet it seems
impossible that the people of Japan today could ever incline their hearts with more seriousness and affection toward Shakyamuni
Buddha than toward Amida Buddha, or toward the Lotus Sutra than toward the Nembutsu. Thus, they are evildoers who only resemble
virtuous people. And among evildoers, they are the worst of the most terrible slanderers and icchantika in all the world.
Concerning such people, Shakyamuni Buddha declared in the second volume of the Lotus Sutra, "After they die, they will fall
into the hell of incessant suffering."
The priests of Japan today are all men of great evil, surpassing even Devadatta or the Venerable Kokalika.
And because lay people revere them and make them offerings, this country is being transformed before our eyes into the hell
of incessant suffering. Countless people are in their present bodies undergoing starvation and pestilence, horrible agonies
such as were never known in previous ages, and in addition, they will be attacked by a foreign power. This is due solely to
the workings of Bonten, Taishaku, the gods of the sun and moon, and other deities.
In all Japan, I, Nichiren, alone have understood why such things are happening. At first I pondered
whether or not I should speak out. Yet what was I to do? Could I turn my back on the teachings of the Buddha who is father
and mother to all living beings? Resolving to bear whatever might befall me, I began to speak out, and in these more than
twenty years I have been driven from my dwelling, my disciples have been killed, I have been wounded, exiled twice and finally
came close to being beheaded. I spoke out solely because I have long known that the people of Japan would meet with great
suffering and felt pity for them. Thoughtful persons should therefore realize that I have met these trials for their sake.
If they were people who understood their obligations or who were capable of reason, then out of two blows that fall upon me,
they would receive one in my stead. But far from it--rather, they arouse hatred toward me, which is something I cannot understand.
And lay people, not having heard the truth of matters, drive me from my dwelling place or hate my disciples. It is beyond
comprehension. For example, even if one unknowingly mistook his parent for an enemy and reviled or struck and killed him,
how could he escape the guilt of that offense? These people do not recognize their own belligerence but instead think that
I, Nichiren, am belligerent. They are like a jealous woman who glares with furious eyes at a courtesan and, unaware of her
own disagreeable expression, complains that the courtesan's gaze is frightening.
These things have happened solely because the ruler failed to inquire of me [about the truth of the
Buddhist doctrines]. The reason he did not investigate is because the people of this country are guilty of so many offenses
that their evil karma has destined them without fail to be attacked by a foreign country in this present existence and to
fall into the hell of incessant suffering in the next--[you should explain matters in this way].
Then declare to your opponent: "I believe all this because it is clearly apparent in the sutras. Even
though you may attack and threaten worthless persons such as ourselves or drive us from our homes, in the end you will never
get away with it. Not even the Sun Goddess or Bodhisattva Hachiman could compel the obedience of this priest [Nichiren], let
alone common mortals! Thus we hear that he has never quailed in the face of successive persecutions but has become all the
more firmly determined."
If that priest says something in reply, respond by asking if what you have just said is to be accounted
a distorted view. Ask him if the Lotus Sutra does not indeed contain a passage to the effect that Shakyamuni Buddha is our
parent, our teacher and our sovereign. If he says that it does, demand to know if there is another passage stating that Amida
Buddha is his parent, sovereign and teacher: Yes or no? If he replies that such a sutra passage exists, inquire if he then
has two fathers. If he says that there is no such passage, then demand to know why he has abandoned his parent and is cherishing
another person altogether. In addition, you should assert that the Lotus Sutra in no way resembles the other sutras, quoting
the passage, "In these more than forty years, [I have not yet revealed the truth.]" If he cites the passage, "She shall directly
go to the tranquil and happy land," then demand to know if this means that he yields the point on which you have just cornered
him, and if so you should further explain the meaning of this passage.
You must be firmly resolved. Do not begrudge your fief; do not think of your wife and children. Do not endanger
the Dharma by relying upon others. You should simply make up your mind. Look at the world this year as a mirror. When so many
have died, the fact that you have survived until now was in order that you might meet this opportunity. Here is where you
will cross the Uji River. Here is where you will ford the Seta. This event will determine whether you win honor or whether
you disgrace your name. It is said that human form is hard to obtain and that the Lotus Sutra is difficult to believe. Be
resolved that Shakyamuni, Taho and the Buddhas of the ten directions will all gather and enter into your body to assist you.
If you should be summoned to see the steward, you should first explain all this thoroughly.
With my deep respect,
Nichiren
The fourth day of the eighth month in the third year of Kenji (1277), cyclical sign hinoto-ushi
Rissho Ankoku Ron
Once there was a traveler who spoke these words in sorrow
to his host:
In recent years, there are unusual disturbances in the
heavens, strange occurrences on earth, famine
and pestilence, all
affecting every corner of the empire and spreading throughout the
land. Oxen and horses lie
dead in the streets, the bones of the
stricken crowd the highways. Over half the population has
already been carried
off by death, and in every family someone
grieves.
All the while some put their whole faith in the "sharp
sword" of the Buddha Amida and intone this
name of the lord of
the Western Paradise; others believe that the Buddha Yakushi will
"heal all ills," and recite the
sutra that describes him as
the Tathagata of the Eastern Region. Some, putting their trust
in the passage in the
Lotus Sutra that says, "Illness will vanish
immediately, and he will find perpetual youth and eternal
life," pay homage
to the wonderful words of that Sutra;
others, citing the passage in the Ninno Sutra that reads: "The
seven difficulties
vanish, the seven blessings at once
appear," conduct ceremonies at which a hundred preachers
expound the sutra at a
hundred places. There are those who
follow the secret teachings of the Shingon sect and conduct
rituals by filling
five jars with water; and others who devote
themselves entirely to Zen-type meditation and perceive the
emptiness of
all phenomena as clearly as the moon. Some write
out the names of the seven guardian spirits and paste them on
a
thousand gates, others paint pictures of the five mighty
bodhisattvas and hang them over ten thousand thresholds, and
still
others pray to the gods of heaven and the deities of earth
in ceremonies conducted at the four corners of the capital and
on
the four boundaries of the nation; certain that government on
the national and local levels is carried out in a benevolent
manner.
But despite all these efforts,they merely exhaust
themselves in vain. Famine and disease rage
more fiercely than
ever, beggars are everywhere in sight, and scenes of death fill
our eyes. Cadavers pile up
in mounds like observation platforms,
dead bodies lie side by side like planks on a bridge.
If we look about, we find that the sun and moon continue
to move in their accustomed orbits, and
the five planets
follow the proper course. The three treasures of Buddhism
continue to exist, and the period of
a hundred reigns [during
which the Bodhisattva Hachiman vowed to protect the nation]
has not yet expired. Then
why is it that the world has already
fallen into decline and that the laws of the state have come to
an end? What
is wrong? What error has been committed?
The host then spoke: I have been brooding alone upon this
matter, indignant in my heart, but now
that you have come, we can
lament together. Let us discuss the question at length.
When a man leaves family life and enters the Buddhist
way, it is because he hopes to attain Buddhahood
through the
teachings of the Dharma. But attempts now to move the gods fail
to have any effect, and appeals to
the power of the Buddhas
produce no results. When I observe carefully the state of the
world today, I see ignorant
people who give way to doubts because
of their naivete. Therefore they look up at the heavens and
mouth their
resentment, or gaze down at the earth and sink deep
into anxiety.
I have pondered the matter carefully with what limited
resources I possess, and have searched rather
widely in the
scriptures for an answer. The people of today all turn their
backs upon what is right; to a man,
they give their allegiance to
evil. That is the reason why the benevolent deities have
abandoned the nation, why
sages leave and do not return, and in
their stead come devils and demons, disasters and calamities that
arise one after
another. I cannot keep silent on this matter. I
cannot suppress my fears.
The guest said: These disasters that befall the empire,
these calamities of the nation -- I am not
the only one pained by
them; the whole populace is weighed down with sorrow. Now I have
been privileged to enter
your home and to listen to these
enlightening words of yours. You speak of the gods and sages
taking leave and
of disasters and calamities arising side by side
-- upon what sutras do you base your views? Could you describe
for
me the passages of proof?
The host said: There are numerous passages that could be
cited and a wide variety of proofs.
For example, in the Konkomyo
Sutra we read: "[The Four Heavenly Kings said to the Buddha,]
'Though this sutra exists
in the nation, the rulers have never
allowed it to be propagated. In their hearts they turn away from
it, and
they take no pleasure in hearing its teachings. They do
not serve it, respect it, or sing its praises. Nor
are they
willing to respect ... or give material support to the four kinds
of Buddhist who embrace the sutra.
In the end, they have
made it impossible for us and the countless other heavenly beings
who are our followers to hear
the teachings of this profound and
wonderful Dharma. They have deprived us of the sweet dew of its
words and cut
us off from the flow of the True Law, so that our
majesty and strength are drained away. Thus the number of beings
who
occupy the four evil paths increases and the number who enjoy
the human and heavenly states decreases. People fall
into the
river of birth and death and turn their backs on the road to
nirvana.
"'World-Honored One, we, the Four Heavenly Kings, as well
as our various followers and the yakshas
and other beings,
observing this state of affairs, have decided to abandon this
nation, for we have no more heart to
protect it. And it is not
we alone who cast aside these rulers. All the great benevolent
deities who guard
and watch over the countless different regions
of the country will also invariably reject them. And once we and
the
others have abandoned and deserted this country and the
rulers will fall from power. Not a single person in the entire
population
will possess a heart of goodness; there will be
nothing but binding and enslaving, killing and injuring, anger
and contention.
Men will slander each other or fawn upon one
another, and the laws will be twisted until even the innocent are
made
to suffer. Pestilence will become rampant, comets will
appear again and again, two suns will come forth side by side
and
eclipses will occur with unaccustomed frequency. Black arcs and
white arcs will span the sky as harbingers of
ill
fortune, stars will fall, the earth will shake, and noises
will issue from the wells. Torrential rains and violent
winds
will come out of season, there will be constant famine, and
grains and fruits will not ripen. Marauders
from many other
regions will invade and plunder the nation, the people will
suffer all manner of pain and affliction,
and there will be no
place where one may live in safety.'"
The Daijuku Sutra says: "When the principles of Buddhism
truly become obscured and lost, then people
will all let their
beards, hair and fingernails grow long, and the laws of the world
will be forgotten and ignored.
At this time, loud noises will
sound in the air and the earth will shake; everything in the
world will begin to move
as though it were a waterwheel. City
walls will split and tumble, and all houses and dwellings will
collapse.
Roots, branches, leaves, petals and fruits will lose
their medicinal properties. With the exception of the five
highest
heavens in the world of form, all the regions of the
worlds of form and desire will become deprived of the seven
flavors
and the three essences that nourish life and
human society, until nothing remains alive any more. All the
good
discourses that lead men to emancipation will at this time
disappear. The flowers and fruits that grow in the earth
will
become few and will lose their flavor and sweetness. The wells,
springs and ponds will all go dry, the land
everywhere will turn
brackish and will crack open and warp into hillocks and gullies.
All the mountains will be swept
by fire and the heavenly dragons
will no longer send down rain. The crops will all wither and
die, all living
creatures will perish, and even the grass will
cease to grow any more. Dust will rain down until all is
darkness
and the sun and the moon no longer shed their light.
"All the four directions will be afflicted by drought,
and evil omens will appear again and again.
The ten kinds of
evil behavior will increase greatly, particularly greed,
anger and stupidity, and people will think
no more of their
fathers and mothers than does the roe deer. Living beings will
decline in numbers, in longevity,
physical power and enjoyment.
They will become estranged from the pleasures of human and
heavenly existence and all
will fall into the evil states of
existence. The wicked rulers and monks who perform these ten
kinds of evil behavior
will destroy the True Law of the Buddha
and make it impossible for sentient beings to be born in the
human and heavenly
states of existence. At that time the various
benevolent deities and heavenly rulers, who would ordinarily take
pity
on living beings, will abandon this nation of confusion and
evil and all will make their way to other regions."
The Ninno Sutra states: "When a nation becomes
disordered, it is the spirits which first show signs
of
rampantcy. Because these spirits become rampant, all the people
of the nation become disordered. Invaders
come to plunder the
country and the common people face annihilation. The ruler, the
high ministers, the heir apparent
and the other princes and
government officials all quarrel with each other over right and
wrong. Heaven and earth
manifest prodigies and strange
occurrences; the twenty-eight constellations, the stars, the
sun and the moon appear
at irregular times and in irregular
positions, and numerous outlaws rise up."
The same sutra also states: "When I look at the three
ages of past, present and future with the five
types of vision, I
see that all the rulers of nations were able to attain the
position of emperor or king because in
past existences they
served five hundred Buddhas. And this is the reason that all the
various sages and arhats
are born in their nations and are
assisting them to gain great advantage. But if a time should
come when the good
fortune of these rulers runs out, then all the
sages will abandon them and depart. And once the sages have
departed,
then the seven disasters are certain to arise."
The Yakushi Sutra states: "If disasters and calamities
should befall members of the ruling kshatriya
class and
anointed kings, such disasters will be as follows: the
calamity of disease and pestilence among the populace;
the
calamity of invasion and plunder from foreign lands; the calamity
of revolt within one's own domain; the calamity
of irregularities
and strange occurrences among the stars and constellations; the
calamity of eclipses of the sun and
moon; the calamity of
unseasonable wind and rain; and the calamity of rain that fails
to fall even when the season for
it has come and gone."
In the Ninno Sutra, the Buddha addresses [King
Prasenajit] in these words: "Great King, the region
where my
teachings now hold sway consists of a hundred billion Sumeru
worlds with a hundred billion suns and moons.
Each of these
Sumeru worlds comprises four great continents. In the empire of
the south, which is Jambudvipa,
there are sixteen great nations,
five hundred medium-sized nations, and ten thousand small
nations. In these nations,
there are seven types of fearful
calamities that may occur. All the rulers of these nations agree
that these are
indeed calamities. What, then, are these
calamities?
"When the sun and moon depart from their regular courses,
when the seasons come in the wrong order,
when a red sun or a
black sun appears, when two, three, four or five suns appear at
the same time, when the sun is eclipsed
and loses its light,
or when one, two, three, four or five coronas appear around the
sun, this is the first calamity.
"When the twenty-eight constellations do not move in
their regular courses, when the Metal Star,
when the Broom
Star, the Wheel Star, the Demon Star, the Fire Star, the Water
Star, the Wind Star, the Ladle Star, the
Southern Dipper, the
Northern Dipper, the great stars of the Five Garrisons, and all
the many stars that govern the
ruler, the three high ministers
and the hundred other officials -- when each of these stars
manifests some peculiar
behavior, this is the second calamity.
"When huge fires consume the nation and the people are
all burned to death, or when there are outbreaks
of demon fire,
dragon fire, heavenly fire, mountain god fire, human fire, tree
fire or bandit fire -- when these prodigies
appear, this is
the third calamity.
"When huge floods drown the population, when the seasons
come out of order and there is rain in winter,
snow in summer,
thunder and lightning in the winter season and ice, frost and
hail in the sixth month, when red, black
or green rain falls,
when mountains of dirt and stones come raining down, or when it
rains dust, sand or gravel, when
the rivers and streams run
backward, when mountains are afloat and boulders are washed away
-- when freakish happenings
of this kind occur, this is the
fourth calamity.
"When huge winds blow the people to their death and the
lands, the mountains and rivers and the trees
and forests are all
at one time wiped out, when great winds come out of season or
when black winds, red winds, green
winds, heavenly winds, earthly
winds, fire winds and water winds blow -- when prodigies of this
kind occur, this is
the fifth calamity.
"When heaven and earth and the whole country are stricken
by terrible heat so that the air seems
to be on fire, when the
hundred plants wither and the five grains fail to ripen, when
the earth is red and scorched
and the inhabitants all perish --
when prodigies of this kind occur, this is the sixth calamity.
"When enemies rise up on all four sides and invade the
nation, when rebels appear both within the
ruler's family and
without, when there are fire bandits, water bandits, wind bandits
and demon bandits and the population
is subjected to
devastation and disorder, and fighting and plundering break out
everywhere -- when prodigies of this
type occur, this is the
seventh calamity."
The Daijuku Sutra says: "Though the ruler of a state may
have for countless existences in the past
practiced the giving of
alms, observed the precepts and abided by the principles of
wisdom, if he sees that my Law,
the Dharma of the Buddha, is in
danger of perishing and stands idly by without doing anything to
protect it, then all
the inestimable store of good causes that he
has accumulated through the practices just mentioned will be
entirely wiped
out, and his country will become the scene of
three inauspicious occurrences. The first is high grain prices,
the
second is warfare, and the third is pestilence. All the
benevolent deities will abandon the country, and although
the
king may issue commands, the people will not obey them. The
country will constantly be invaded and vexed by
neighboring
nations. Violent fires will rage out of control, evil winds and
rains will abound, the waters will
swell and overflow, and the
inhabitants will be blown about by winds or swept away by floods.
The paternal and maternal
relatives of the ruler will join in
plotting revolt. Before long, the ruler will fall gravely ill,
and after his
life has come to an end, he will be reborn in one
of the major hells .... And the same fate will befall the ruler's
consort,
his heir, the high ministers of the state, the lords of
cities, the village heads and generals, the magistrates of
districts,
and the government officials."
The passages I have quoted from these four sutras are
perfectly clear -- what person in ten thousand
could possibly
doubt their meaning? And yet the blind and the deluded trust to
heretical doctrines and fail to
recognize the correct teachings.
Therefore, throughout the empire these days people are inclined
to turn away from
the Buddhas and the sutras and no longer
endeavor to protect them. In turn, the benevolent deities and
sages abandon
the nation and leave their accustomed places. As a
result, demons and followers of heretical doctrines create
disaster
and inflict calamity upon the populace.
The guest thereupon flushed with anger and said: Emperor
Ming of the Later Han dynasty, having comprehended
the
significance of his dream of a golden man, welcomed the teachings
of Buddhism brought to China by missionaries leading
white
horses. Prince Shotoku, having punished Mononobe no
Moriya for his opposition to Buddhism, proceeded to
construct
temples and pagodas in Japan. Since that time, from the supreme
ruler down to the numberless masses,
people have worshiped the
Buddhist statues and devoted their attention to the scriptures.
As a result, in the monasteries
of Mount Hiei and of the
southern capital at Nara, at the great temples of Onjo-ji and
To-ji, throughout the land within
the four seas, in the five
areas adjacent to the capital and the seven outlying regions,
Buddhist scriptures have been
ranged like stars in the sky and
halls of worship have spread over the land like clouds. Those
who belong to the
lineage of Shariputra meditate on the moon
atop Eagle Peak, while those who adhere to the traditions of
Haklenayasha
transmit the teachings of Mount Kukkutapada.
How, then, can anyone say that the doctrines of Shakyamuni are
despised
or that the three treasures of Buddhism are neglected?
If there is evidence to support such a contention, I would like
to
hear all the facts!
The host, anxious to clarify his words, replied: To be
sure, Buddha halls stand rooftop to rooftop
and sutra storehouses
are ranged eave to eave. Priests are as numerous as bamboo
plants and rushes, monks as common
as rice and hemp seedlings.
The temples and priests have been honored from centuries past,
and every day respect is
paid them anew. But the monks and
priests today are fawning and devious, and they confuse the
people and lead
them astray. The ruler and his ministers lack
understanding and fail to distinguish between truth and heresy.
The Ninno Sutra, for example, says: "Evil monks, hoping
to gain fame and profit, in many cases appear
before the ruler,
the heir apparent or the other princes and take it upon
themselves to preach doctrines that lead to
the violation of the
Buddhist Law and the destruction of the nation. The rulers,
failing to perceive the truth
of the situation, listen to and put
faith in such doctrines, and proceed to create regulations that
are perverse in
nature and do not accord with the rules of
Buddhism discipline. In this way they bring about the
destruction of
Buddhism and of the nation."
The Nirvana Sutra says: "Bodhisattvas, have no fear in
your hearts because of such things as wild
elephants. But evil
friends -- they are what you should fear! If you are killed by a
wild elephant, you
will not fall into any of the three evil
paths. But if evil friends lead you to your death, you are
certain to
fall into one of them!"
The Lotus Sutra says: "There will be monks in that evil
age with perverse views and hearts that are
fawning and crooked
who will say they have attained what they have not attained,
being proud and boastful in heart.
Or there will be
forest-dwelling monks wearing clothing of patched rags and living
in retirement who will claim they
are practicing the true Way,
despising and looking down on the rest of mankind. Greedy for
profit and nourishment,
they will preach the Dharma to
white-robed laymen and will be respected and revered by the world
as though they were
arhats who possess the six super natural
powers.... Constantly they will go about among the populace,
seeking in this
way to slander us. They will address the rulers,
high ministers, Brahmans and great patrons of Buddhism as well as
the
other monks, slandering and speaking evil of us, saying,
'These are men of perverted views who preach the doctrines of
heretical
sects!'... In a muddied kalpa, in an evil age there
will be many different things to fear. Demons will take
possession
of others and through them curse, revile and heap
shame on us.... The evil monks of that muddied age, failing to
understand
the Buddha's expedient means, how he preaches the
Dharma in accord with what is appropriate, will confront us with
foul
language and angry frowns; again and again we will be
banished."
In the Nirvana Sutra, the Buddha says: "After I have
passed away and countless hundreds of years
have gone by, all the
sages of the four stages will also have passed away. After
the Former Day of the Law has
ended and the Middle Day of the Law
has begun, there will be monks who will give the appearance of
abiding by the rules
of monastic discipline. But they will
scarcely ever read or recite the sutras, and instead will crave
all kinds
of food and drink to nourish their bodies. Though they
wear the robes of a monk, they will go about searching for
alms
like so many huntsmen, spying sharply and stalking softly. They
will be like a cat on the prowl for mice.
And constantly they
will reiterate these words: 'I have attained the state of arhat!'
Outwardly they will seem to be
wise and good, but within they
will harbor greed and jealousy. [And when they are asked to
preach the Dharma,]
they will conceal it, like Brahmans who have
taken a vow of silence. They are not true monks -- they merely
have
the appearance of monks. Consumed by their erroneous views,
they slander the True Law."
When we look at the world in the light of these passages
of scripture, we see that the situation
is just as they describe
it. If we do not admonish the evil monks, how can we hope to do
good?
The guest, growing more indignant than ever, said: A wise
monarch, by acting in accord with heaven
and earth, perfects his
rule; a sage, by distinguishing between right and wrong, brings
order to the world. The
monks and priests of the world today
enjoy the confidence of the entire empire. If they were in fact
evil monks,
then the wise ruler would put no trust in them. If
they were not true sages, then men of worth and understanding
would
not look up to them. But now, since worthies and sages do
in fact honor and respect them, they must be nothing less
than
paragons of their kind. Why then do you pour out these wild
accusations and dare to slander them? To
whom are you referring
when you speak of "evil monks"? I would like an explanation!
The host said: In the reign of Emperor Gotoba there was a
priest named Honen who wrote a word entitled
the Senchaku Shu
states: "The Chinese priest Tao-ch'o distinguished between
the Shodo or Sacred Way teachings and the
Jodo or Pure Land
teachings and urged men to abandon the former and immediately
embrace the latter. First of all,
there are two kinds of Sacred
Way teachings [the Mahayana and the Hinayana]. Judging from
this, we may assume
that the esoteric Mahayana doctrines of
Shingon and the true Mahayana teachings of the Lotus Sutra are
both included
in the Sacred Way. If that is so, then the
present-day sects of Shingon, Zen, Tendai, Kegon, Sanron, Hosso,
Jiron
and Shoron -- all these eight schools are included in
the Sacred Way that is to be abandoned.
"The priest T'an-luan in his Ojo Ron Chu states: 'I
note that Nagarjuna's Jujubibasha Ron says: "There
are two ways
by which the bodhisattva may reach the state in which there is no
retrogression.
One is the Difficult-to-Practice-Way, the other is the
Easy-to-Practice-Way."'
"The Difficult-to-Practice-Way is the same as the Sacred
Way, and the Easy-to-Practice-Way is the Pure
Land Way. Students
of the Pure Land sect should first of all understand this point.
Though they may previously
have studied teachings belonging to
the Sacred Way, if they wish to become followers of the Pure Land
school, they must
discard the Sacred Way and give their
allegiance to the Pure Land teachings."
Honen also says: "The Chinese priest Shan-tao
distinguished between correct and incorrect practices
and urged
men to embrace the former and abandon the latter. Concerning the
first of the incorrect practices, that
of reading and reciting
sutras, he states that, with the exception of the recitation of
the Kammuryoju Sutra and the
other Pure Land sutras, the
embracing and recitation of all sutras, whether Mahayana or
Hinayana, exoteric or esoteric,
is to be regarded as an incorrect
practice. Concerning the third of the incorrect practices, that
of worshiping,
he states that, with the exception of worshiping
the Buddha Amida, the worshiping or honoring of any of the other
Buddhas,
bodhisattvas or deities of the heavenly and human worlds
is to be regarded as an incorrect practice. In the light
of this
passage, it is clear that one should abandon such incorrect
practices and concentrate upon the practice of the
Pure Land
teaching. What reason would we have to abandon the correct
practices of the Pure Land teaching, which
insure that, out of a
hundred persons, all one hundred will be reborn in the Western
Paradise, and cling instead to
the various incorrect practices
and procedures, which could not save even one person in a
thousand? Followers
of the Way should ponder this carefully!"
Honen further states: "In the Jogen Nyuzo Roku we
find it recorded that, from the six hundred volumes
of the
Daihannya Sutra to the Hojoju Sutra, the exoteric and
esoteric sutras of Mahayana Buddhism total 637 words in
2,883
volumes. All of these should now be replaced by the recitation
of the single Mahayana phrase [the Nembutsu].
You should
understand that, when the Buddha was preaching according to the
capacity of his various listeners, he for
a time taught the two
methods of concentrated meditation and unconcentrated
meditation. But later, when he revealed
his own enlightenment,
he ceased to teach these two methods. The only teaching that,
once revealed, shall never
cease to be taught, is the single
doctrine of the Nembutsu."
Again Honen states: "The passage which says that the
practitioner of the Nembutsu must possess three
kinds of mind
is found in the Kammuryoju Sutra. In the commentary on that
sutra, we read: 'Someone asked: "If
there are those who
differ in understanding and practice from the
followers of the Nembutsu, persons of heretical and
mistaken
belief, how can one make certain that their perverse and
differing views will not cause trouble?"' We
also see that these
persons of evil views with their different understanding and
different practices are compared to
a band of robbers who call
back the travelers who have already gone one or two steps along
their journey. In my
opinion, when these passages speak of
different understanding, different practices, varying doctrines
and varying beliefs,
they are referring to the teachings of the
Sacred Way."
Finally, in a concluding passage, Honen says: "If one
wishes to escape quickly from the sufferings
of life and death,
one should confront these two superior teachings and then proceed
to put aside the teachings of the
Sacred Way and choose those of
the Pure Land. And if one wishes to follow the teachings of the
Pure Land, one
should confront the correct and incorrect
practices and then proceed to abandon all those that are
incorrect and devote
one's entire attention to those that are
correct."
When we examine these passages, we see that Honen quotes
the erroneous explanations of T'an-luan,
Tao-ch'o and Shan-tao
and establishes the categories he calls Sacred Way and Pure Land,
Difficult-to-Practice-Way and
Easy-to-Practice-Way. He then
takes all the 637 works in 2,883 volumes that comprise the
Mahayana sutras of the
Buddha's lifetime, including those
bodhisattvas, and deities of the heavenly and human worlds, and
assigns them all
to the Sacred Way, the Difficult-to-Practice-Way
and the incorrect practices categories, and urges men to
"discard,
close, ignore and abandon" them. With these four
injunctions, he leads all people astray. And on top of that
he
groups together all the sage monks of the three countries of
India, China and Japan as well as the students of Buddhism
of the
ten directions, and calls them a "band of robbers," causing the
people to insult them!
In doing so, he turns his back on the passages in the
three Pure Land sutras, the sutras of his own
sect, which
contain Amida's vow to save everyone "except those who commit the
five cardinal sins or slander the True
Law." At the same
time, he shows that he fails to understand the warning contained
in the second volume of the
Lotus Sutra, the most important sutra
expounded in the five preaching periods of the Buddha's life,
which reads: "One
who refuses to take faith in this sutra and
instead slanders it.... After he dies, he will fall into the hell
of incessant
suffering."
And now we have come to this later age, when men are no
longer sages. Each enters his own dark
road, and all alike
forget the direct way. How pitiful, to see them vainly lending
encouragement to these false
beliefs! And as a result, everyone
from the ruler of the nation down to the humblest peasant
believes that there
are no true sutras outside the three Pure
Land sutras, and no Buddhas other than the Buddha Amida with his
two attendants.
Once there were men like Dengyo, Gishin, Jikaku and
Chisho who journeyed ten thousand leagues across
the waves to
acquire the sacred teachings, or visited all the mountains and
rivers of Japan to acquire Buddhist statues
which they held in
reverence. In some cases they built holy temples on the peaks of
high mountains in which to
preserve those scriptures and statues;
in other cases they constructed sacred halls in the bottoms of
deep valleys where
such objects could be worshiped and honored.
As a result, the Buddhas Shakyamuni and Yakushi shone side by
side, casting
their influence upon present and future ages, while
the Bodhisattvas Kokuzo and Jizo brought benefit to the
living
and the dead. The rulers of the nation contributed
counties or villages so that the lamps might continue to burn
bright
before the images, while the stewards of the great estates
offered their fields and gardens [to provide for the upkeep
of
the temples].
But because of this book by Honen, this Senchaku Shu, the
Lord Buddha Shakyamuni is forgotten and
all honor is paid to
Amida, the Buddha of the Western land. The Lord Buddha's
transmission of the Law is ignored,
and Yakushi, the Buddha of
the Eastern Region, is neglected. All attention is paid to
the three works in four
volumes of the Pure Land scriptures,
and all the other wonderful teachings that Shakyamuni proclaimed
throughout the
five periods of his preaching life are cast aside.
If temples are not dedicated to Amida, then people no longer have
any
desire to support them or pay honor to the Buddhas enshrined
there; if monks do not chant the Nembutsu then people quickly
forget
all about giving those monks alms. As a result, the halls
of the Buddhas fall into ruin, scarcely a wisp of smoke
rises
above their mossy tiles; and the monks' quarters stand empty and
dilapidated, the dew deep on the grasses in their
courtyards.
And in spite of such conditions, no one gives a thought to
protecting the Law or to restoring the temples.
Hence the sage
monks who once presided over the temples leave and do not return,
and the benevolent deities who guarded
the Buddhist teachings
depart and no longer appear. This has all come about because of
this Senchaku Shu of Honen.
How pitiful to think that, in the
space of a few decades, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of
people have been
deluded by these devilish teachings and in so
many cases confused as to the true teachings of Buddhism. If
people
favor perverse doctrines and forget what is correct, can
the benevolent deities be anything but angry? If people
cast
aside doctrines that are all-encompassing and take up those that
are incomplete, can the world escape the plots
of demons? Rather
than offering up ten thousand prayers for remedy, it would be
better simply to outlaw this one
evil doctrine that is the source
of all the trouble!
This time the guest was truly enraged and said: In the
ages since our original teacher, the Buddha
Shakyamuni, preached
the three Pure Land sutras, the priest T'an-luan had originally
studied the four treatises but
abandoned them and put all his
faith in the Pure Land teachings. Similarly, the priest Tao-ch'o
ceased to spread
the multifarious doctrines of the Nirvana
Sutra and devoted all his attention to the practices of the
Western Region.
The priest Shan-tao discarded the incorrect
practices and concentrated on the single practice of the Pure
Land, and
the priest Eshin collected passages from various
sutras to form his work, stressing the importance of a single
practice,
the Nembutsu. Such was the manner in which these men
honored and respected the Buddha Amida, and uncountable numbers
of
people as a result were able to gain rebirth in the Pure Land.
Of particular note was the venerable Honen, who as a
child entered the monastery on Mount Hiei.
By the time he was
seventeen, he had worked his way through all sixty volumes of
Tendai literature and had investigated
all the eight
sects and mastered their essentials. In addition, he had
read through the entire body of sutras
and treatises seven times,
and exhausted all the works of exegesis and biography. His
wisdom shone like the sun
and moon, and his virtue exceeded that
of the earlier teachers.
In spite of all this, he was in doubt as to the proper
path to salvation and could not make out the true
meaning of
nirvana. Therefore he read and examined all the texts he could,
pondered deeply and considered every
possibility, and in the end
put aside all the sutras and concentrated on the single practice
of the Nembutsu.
In addition, he received confirmation of his
decision when Shan-tao miraculously appeared to him in a dream,
and he
proceeded to spread his doctrines among friends and
strangers in all four corners of the land. Thereafter, he was
hailed
as a reincarnation of the Bodhisattva Seishi, or was
revered as Shan-tao reborn. In every quarter people of eminent
and
lowly birth alike bowed their heads in respect, and men and
women from all over Japan sought him.
Since that time, the springs and autumns have succeeded
each other and the years have accumulated.
And yet you insist
upon putting aside the venerable teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha
contained in the Pure Land sutras
and willfully speak evil of the
writings concerning the Buddha Amida. Why do you try to blame
the sacred age of
Honen for the disasters of recent years, going
out of your way to slander the former teachers of Pure Land
doctrine
and to heap abuse on a sage like Honen? You are, as
the saying goes, deliberately blowing back the fur and hunting
for
flaws in the leather, deliberately piercing the skin in hopes
of drawing blood. From ancient times to the present,
the world
has never seen such a speaker of evil! You had better learn a
little caution and restraint. When
you pile up such grave
offenses, how can you hope to escape punishment? I am afraid
even to sit here in your company.
I must take up my staff and be
on my way!
The host, smiling, restrained his guest and said: Insects
that live on smartweed forget how bitter
it tastes; those who
stay long in privies forget how foul the smell is. Here you
listen to my good words and think
them wicked, point to a
slanderer like Honen and call him a sage, mistrust a true teacher
and take him for an evil monk.
Your confusion is great indeed,
and your offense anything but light. Listen to my explanation of
how this confusion
arose and let us discuss the matter in detail.
The doctrines that Shakyamuni Buddha preached in the
course of his lifetime can be assigned to five
distinct preaching
periods. The order in which they were preached can be
established, and they can be divided into provisional
and true
teachings. But T'an-luan, Tao-ch'o and Shan-tao embraced the
provisional teachings and forgot about the
true ones, went by
what had been taught in the earlier period of the Buddha's life
and discarded what was taught later.
They were not the kind of
men who delve into the deep places of Buddhist doctrine.
Honen in particular, though he followed the practices
advocated by these earlier men, was ignorant
as to the source
from whence they came. How do we know this? Because he lumped
together all the 637 Mahayana
scriptures with the 2,883 volumes
of text, and along with them all the various Buddhas and
bodhisattvas and the deities
of the heavenly and human worlds,
and urged people to "discard, close, ignore and abandon" them,
with these four injunctions
corrupting the hearts of all people.
Thus he poured out perverted words of his own invention and took
absolutely no
cognizance of the explanations put forth in the
Buddhist scriptures. His is the worst kind of baseless talk, a
clear
case of defamation. There are no words to describe it, no
way to censure it that is not too mild. And yet men
all put
faith in this baseless talk of his, and without exception pay
honor to his Senchaku Shu. As a consequence,
they revere the
three sutras of the Pure Land and cast all the other sutras
aside; they look up to one Buddha alone,
Amida of the Land of
Bliss, and forget about the other Buddhas. A man such as Honen
is in truth the archenemy
of the other Buddhas and the
scriptures, and the foe of sage monks and ordinary men and women
alike. And now his
heretical teachings have spread throughout
the eight regions of the country; they have penetrated every on
of the ten
directions.
You became quite horrified when I blamed an earlier
period for the disasters that have occurred in
recent years.
Perhaps I should cite a few examples from the past to show you
that you are mistaken in your feelings.
The second volume of the Maka Shikan quotes a passage
from the Shih Chi or Records of the Historian
which says: "In
the closing years of the Chou dynasty, there were persons who let
their hair hang down, went about naked
to the waist, and did not
observe the rites and regulations." The Guketsu commentary on
the Maka Shikan, in the
second volume, explains this passage by
quoting from the Tso Chuan as follows: "When King P'ing of
the Chou first moved
his capital east to Lo-yang, he saw men by
the Yi River who let their hair hang down and performed
sacrifices in the
fields. Someone who had great understanding
said: 'In less than a hundred years the dynasty will fall, for
the
rites are already neglected.'" From this it is evident that
the portent appears first, and later the disaster
itself comes
about.
The Maka Shikan passage goes on to say: "Juan Chi of
the Western Chin dynasty was a man of extraordinary
talent, but
he let his hair grow like a mass of brambles and left his belt
undone. Later, the sons of the aristocracy
all imitated him,
until those who behaved in a churlish and insulting manner were
thought to be acting quite naturally,
and those who were
restrained and proper in their behavior were ridiculed as mere
peasants. This was a sign that
the Su-ma family, the rulers of
the Chin dynasty, would meet with their downfall."
Similarly, the Nitto Junrei Ki or Record of a Pilgrimage
to China in Search of the Law by Jikaku
Daishi records that in
the first year of the Hui-ch'ang era (841), Emperor Wu-tsung of
the T'ang dynasty commanded the
priest Ching-shuang of
Chang-ching temple to transmit the Nembutsu teaching of the
Buddha Amida in the various temples.
Ching-shuang spent three
days in each temple, going about from one temple to another
without ever ceasing.
In the second year of the same era, soldiers from the
land of the Uighurs invaded the borders of
the T'ang empire.
In the third year of the same era, the regional commander in the
area north of the Yellow River suddenly
raised a revolt. Later,
the kingdom of Tibet once refused to obey orders from China, and
the Uighurs repeatedly
seized Chinese territory. On the whole,
the conflicts and uprisings were like those that prevailed at the
time
when the Ch'in dynasty and the military leader Hsiang Yu
were overthrown, and the towns and villages were devastated by
fire
and other disasters. What was even worse, Emperor Wu-tsung
carried out a vast campaign to wipe out Buddhist teachings
and
destroyed a great many temples and monasteries. He was never
able to put down the uprisings, and died in agony
shortly after.
(This is the essence of Jikaku's original passage.)
In view of these events, we should consider the fact that
Honen was active during the reign of Emperor
Gotoba, around the
Kennin era (1201-1203). And, as everyone knows, in 1221 the
Retired Emperor Gotoba was thwarted
in his attempt to assert the
authority of the throne, and he and two other retired emperors
were forces into exile.
Thus China provided an earlier
example of how the Pure Land teachings brought about the fall of
an emperor, and our
own country offers similar proof. You should
not be in doubt about the matter or consider it strange. The
only
thing to do now is to abandon evil ways and take up those
that are good, to cut off this affliction at the source, to cut
it
off at the root!
The guest, looking somewhat mollified, said: Though I
have not yet probed deeply into the matter,
I believe I
understand to some degree what you are saying. Nevertheless,
both in Kyoto, the capital, and in Kamakura,
the headquarters of
the shogun, there are numerous eminent Buddhist leaders and key
figures in the clergy. And
yet none of them has so far appealed
to the shogun concerning this affair or submitted a memorial to
the throne.
You, on the other hand, a person of humble position,
think nothing of spewing out offensive accusations. Your
assertions
are open to question and your reasoning lacks
authority.
The host said: Though I may be a person of little
ability, I have reverently given myself to the
study of the
Mahayana. A blue fly, if it clings to the tail of a thoroughbred
horse, can travel ten thousand miles,
and the green ivy that
twines around the tall pine can grow to a thousand feet. I was
born as the son of the one
Buddha, Shakyamuni, and I serve the
king of the scriptures, the Lotus Sutra. How could I observe the
decline of
the Buddhist Law and not be filled with emotions of
pity and distress?
Moreover, the Nirvana Sutra states: "If even a good
priest sees someone slandering the Law and disregards
him,
failing to reproach him, oust him or to punish him for his
offense, then that priest is betraying Buddhism.
But if he takes
the slanderer severely to task, drives him off or punishes him,
then he is my disciple and one who truly
understands my
teachings."
Although I may not be a "good priest." I certainly do not
want to be accused of "betraying Buddhism."
Therefore, in order
to avoid such charges, I have cited a few general principles and
given a rough explanation of the
matter.
Long ago in the Gennin era (1224), petitions to the
throne were submitted time and again by the two
temples of
Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei and Kofuku-ji in Nara, and as a result
an Imperial command and a letter of instruction
from the
shogunate were handed down, ordering that the wood blocks used in
printing Honen's Senchaku Shu be confiscated
and brought to the
Great Lecture Hall of Enryaku-ji temple. There they were burned
in order to repay the debt
owed to the Buddhas of the past,
present and future. In addition, orders were given that the
menials who are attached
to the Gion Shrine would dig up and
destroy Honen's grave in Kyoto. Then, Honen's disciples Ryukan,
Shoko, Jokaku,
Sassho and others were condemned by the
government to exile in distant regions, and were never pardoned.
In view of these facts, how can you say that no one has
submitted a complaint to the authorities
concerning these
matters?
The guest, continuing to speak in a mild manner, replied:
One could hardly say that Honen is the
only one who disparages
sutras and speaks ill of other priests, [since you do the same
thing yourself]. However,
it is true that he takes the 637
Mahayana scriptures with their 2,883 volumes of text, along with
all the Buddhas and
bodhisattvas and the deities of the heavenly
and human worlds, and urges people to "discard, close, ignore,
and abandon"
them. There is no doubt that these four injunctions
are his very words; the meaning of the passage is quite clear.
But you keep harping on this one little "flaw in the jewel" and
severely slandering him for it. I do not know
whether he spoke
out of delusion or out of true enlightenment. Between you and
Honen, I cannot tell which is wise
and which is foolish, or
determine whose assertions are right and whose are wrong.
However, you assert that all the recent disasters are to
be traced to the Senchaku Shu of Honen,
speaking quite volubly on
that point and elaborating on the meaning of your assertion. Now
surely the peace of
the world and the stability of the nation are
sought by both ruler and subject and desired by all the
inhabitants of
the country. The nation achieves prosperity
through the Buddhist Law, and the validity of the Law is proven
by
the people who embrace it. If the nation is destroyed and the
people are wiped out, then who will continue to pay
reverence to
the Buddha? Who will continue to have faith in the Law?
Therefore one must first of all pray for
the safety of the nation
and then work to establish the Buddhist Law. Now if you know of
any means whereby disasters
can be prevented and troubles brought
to an end, I would like to hear about it.
The host said: There is no doubt that I am the foolish
one -- I would never dare claim to be wise.
However, I would
just like to quote a few passages from the scriptures.
Concerning the means for insuring order in
the nation, there are
numerous passages in both Buddhist and non-Buddhist text, and it
would be difficult to cite them
all here. Since taking up the
study of Buddhism, however, I have frequently given thought to
this matter, and
it seems to me that prohibiting those who
slander the Law and paying respect to monks who follow the
Correct Way is
the best way to assure stability within the nation
and peace in the world at large.
In the Nirvana Sutra we read: "The Buddha said, 'With the
exception of one type of person, you may
offer alms to all kinds
of persons and everyone will praise you.'
"Chunda said, 'What do you mean when you speak of
"one type of person"?'
"The Buddha replied, 'I mean the type described in this
sutra as violators of the commandments.'
"Chunda spoke again saying, 'I am afraid I still do not
understand. May I ask you to explain
further?'
"The Buddha addressed Chunda, saying: 'By violators of
the commandments I mean the icchantika.
In the case of all other
types of persons, you may offer alms, everyone will praise you,
and you will achieve great
rewards.'
"Chunda spoke once more, asking, 'What is the meaning of
the term icchantika?'
"The Buddha said, 'Chunda, suppose there should be
priests or nuns, lay men or women who speak careless
and evil
words and slander the True Law, and that they should go on
committing these grave acts without ever showing
any inclination
to reform or any sign of repentance in their hearts. Persons of
this kind I would say are following
the path of the icchantika.
"'Again there my be those who commit the four grave
offenses or are guilty of the five cardinal sins,
and who,
though aware that they are guilty of serious faults, from the
beginning have no trace of fear or contrition
in their hearts, or
if they do, give no outward sign of it. When it comes to the
True Law, they show no inclination
to establish it and help to
protect it over the ages, but rather speak of it with malice and
contempt, their words replete
with error. Persons of this kind
too I would say are following the path of the icchantika. With
the exception
of this one group of people called icchantika,
however, you may offer alms to all others and everyone will
praise you.'"
Elsewhere in the same sutra, the Buddha spoke in these
words: "When I recall the past, I remember
that I was the king of
a great state in this continent of Jambudvipa. My name was
Sen'yo, and I loved and venerated
the Mahayana scriptures. My
heart was pure and good and had no trace of evil, jealousy or
stinginess. Men
of devout faith, at that time I cherished the
Mahayana teachings in my heart. Once, when I heard the Brahmans
slandering
these teachings, I had them put to death on the spot.
Men of devout faith, as a result of that action, I never
thereafter
fell into hell."
In another passage it says: "In the past, when the
Tathagata was the ruler of a nation and practiced
the way of the
bodhisattva, he put to death a number of Brahmans."
Again it says: "There are three degrees of killings: the
lower, middle and upper degrees. The
lower degree constitutes
the killing of any humble creature, from an ant to any of the
various kinds of animals.
(Only the killing of a bodhisattva who
has deliberately chosen to be born in animal form is excluded.)
As a result
of a killing of the lower degree, one will fall into
the realm of Hell, Hunger, or Animality, and will suffer all the
pains
appropriate to killing of the lower degree. Why should
this be? Because even the animals and other humble creatures
possess
the roots of goodness, insignificant though those roots
may be. That is why a person who kills such a creature must
suffer
full retribution for his offense.
"Killing any person from an ordinary mortal to an anagamin constitutes what is termed the middle degree.
As a
consequence of such an act of killing, one will fall into the
realm of Hell, Hunger, Animality, and will suffer
all the pains
appropriate to a killing of the middle degree. The upper degree
of killing refers to the killing
of a parent, and arhat, a person
who has reached the state of pratyekabuddha or Realization, or a
bodhisattva who has
completed his efforts and will never
retrogress. For such a crime one will fall into the hell of
incessant suffering.
Men of devout faith, if someone were to
kill an icchantika, that killing would not fall into any of the
three categories
just mentioned. Men of devout faith, the
various Brahmans that I have said were put to death -- all of
them were
in fact icchantika."
In the Ninno Sutra we read: "The Buddha announced to King
Prasenajit, 'Thus I entrust the protection
of my teachings to the
ruler of the nation rather than to the monks and nuns. Why do I
do so? Because the
monks and nuns do not possess the kind of
power and authority that the king has.'"
The Nirvana Sutra states: "Now I entrust the True Law,
which is unexcelled, to the rulers, the ministers,
the high
officials, and the four kinds of believers. If anyone should
vilify the True Law, then the high officials
and four kinds of
believers should reprimand him and bring him to order."
It also states: "The Buddha said, 'Kasho, it is
because I was a defender of the True Law that I have
now been
able to attain this diamond-like body.... Men of devout
faith, defenders of the True Law need not observe the
five
precepts or practice the rules of proper behavior. Rather
they should carry knives and swords, bow and arrows,
prongs and
lances.'"
Again the Buddha said: "Even though there may be those
who observe the five precepts, they do not
deserve to be called
practitioners of the Mahayana. But even if one does not observe
the five precepts, if he
defends the True Law, then he may be
called a practitioner of the Mahayana. Defenders of the True Law
ought to
arm themselves with knives and swords, weapons and
staves. Even though they carry swords and staves, I would call
them
men who observe the precepts."
The Buddha likewise said: "Men of devout faith, in past
ages in this very city of Kushinagara a Buddha
appeared whose
name was Kangi Zoyaku Nyorai or the Buddha Joy Increasing. After
this Buddha passed away, the True
Law that he had taught remained
in the world for countless millions of years. Finally, only
forty more years were
left before the Law was due to come to an
end.
"At that time there was a monk named Kakutoku who
observed the precepts. There were many monks
at this time who
violated the precepts, and when they heard this monk preaching,
they all conceived evil designs in
their hearts and arming
themselves with swords and staves, attacked this teacher of the
Law.
"At this time the ruler of the kingdom was named Utoku.
He received reports of what was happening
and, in order to defend
the Law, he went at once to the place where the monk was
preaching the Law and fought with all
his might against the evil
monks who did not observe the precepts. As a result, the monk
who had been preaching
the Law was able to escape grievous
injury. But the king received so many wounds from the knives and
swords, prongs
and lances, that there was not a spot on his body
the size of a mustard seed that remained unharmed.
"At this time the monk Kakutoku praised the king, saying
'Splendid, splendid! You, O King, are now
a true defender of the
True Law. In ages to come, this body of yours will surely become
a boundless vessel of
the Law!'
"At that time, the king had already heard the teachings
of the Law, and he felt great joy in his
heart. Thereupon his
life came to an end, and he was reborn in the land of the Buddha
Ashuku, where he became
the principal disciple of the Buddha.
Moreover, all the military leaders, citizens and associates to
the king who had
fought beside him or had rejoiced in his effort
were filled with an unflagging determination to achieve
enlightenment,
and when they died, all of them were reborn in the
land of the Buddha Ashuku.
"Later, the monk Kakutoku also died, and he too was
reborn in the land of the Buddha Ashuku, where
he became second
among the disciples who received the direct teachings of the
Buddha. Thus, if the True Law is
about to come to an end, this
is the way one ought to support and defend it.
"Kasho, the king who lived at that time was I myself, and
the monk who preached the Law was the Buddha
Kasho. Kasho,
those who defend the True Law enjoy this kind of boundless
reward. As a consequence, I have
been able to obtain the
distinguishing characteristics that I possess today, to adorn
myself with them, and to put on
the Dharma Body that can
never be destroyed."
Then the Buddha declared to the Bodhisattva Kasho: "For
this reason, lay believers who wish to defend
the Law should arm
themselves with swords and staves and protect it in this manner.
"Men of devout faith, in the age of confusion and evil
after I have passed away, the nation will
fall into neglect and
disorder, men will plunder and steal from one another, and the
common people will be reduced to
starvation. Because of hunger,
many men at that time will declare their determination to leave
their families
and become monks. Men such as these may be called
shavepates. When this crowd of shavepates see anyone who
is
attempting to protect the True Law, they will chase after him and
drive him away, or perhaps even kill him or do
him injury. That
is why I give permission for monks who observe the precepts to
associate with and keep company
with laymen who bear swords and
staves. For even though they carry swords and staves, I would
call them men who
observe the precepts. But although they may
carry swords and staves, they should never use them to take
life."
The Lotus Sutra says: "One who refuses to take faith in
this sutra and instead slanders it immediately
destroys the seeds
for becoming a Buddha in this world.... After he dies, he will
fall into the hell of incessant suffering."
The meaning of these passages from the sutras is
perfectly clear. What need is there for me
to add any further
explanation? If we accept the words of the Lotus Sutra, then we
must understand that slandering
the Mahayana scriptures is more
serious than committing the five cardinal sins. Therefore one
who does so will
be confined in the great fortress of the hell of
incessant suffering and cannot hope for release for countless
aeons.
According to the Nirvana Sutra, even though you may give
alms to a person who has committed one of the five cardinal sins,
you
must never give alms to a person who has slandered the Law.
He who kills so much as an ant will fall into one of the three
evil
paths, but he who helps to eradicate slander of the Law will
ascend to the state from which there can be no retrogression.
Thus the passage tells us that the monk Kakutoku was reborn as
the Buddha Kasho, and that King Utoku was reborn as
the Buddha
Shakyamuni.
The Lotus and the Nirvana sutras represent the very heart
of the doctrines that Shakyamuni preached
during the five periods
of his teaching life. Their warnings must be viewed with the
utmost gravity. Who
would fail to heed them? And yet those
people who forget about the Correct Way and slander the Law put
more trust
than ever in Honen's Senchaku Shu and grow blinder
than ever in their stupidity.
Thus some of them, remembering how their master looked in
life, fashion sculptures and paintings
of him, while others,
putting faith in his perverse teachings, carve wood blocks with
which to print his offensive words.
These images and writings
they scatter about throughout the area within the seas,
carrying them beyond the cities and
into the countryside until,
wherever honor is paid, it is to the practices of this school,
and wherever alms are given,
it is to the priests of this sect.
As a result, we see people cutting off the fingers of the
images of Shakyamuni and refashioning them
to form the gesture
appropriate to Amida, or renovating temples formerly dedicated to
Yakushi, the Buddha of the Eastern
Region, and fitting them with
statues of Amida, the lord of the Western Land. Or we find the
ceremony of copying
the Lotus Sutra, which has been carried out
for over four hundred years on Mount Hiei, being suspended and
the copying
of the three Pure Land sutras substituted in its
place, or the annual lectures on the doctrines of the Great
Teacher
T'ien-t'ai being replaced by lectures on the teachings of
Shan-tao. Indeed, the slanderous people and their associates
are
too numerous to count! Are they not destroyers of the Buddha?
Are they not destroyers of the Law? Are
they not destroyers of
the Priesthood? And all their heretical teachings derive from
the Senchaku Shu!
Alas, how pitiful, that others should turn their backs on
the enlightened prohibitions of the Buddha!
How tragic, that
they should heed the gross and deluded words of this ignorant
monk! If we hope to bring order
and tranquillity to the world
without further delay, we must put an end to these slanders of
the Law that fill the country!
The guest said: If we are to put an end to these people
who slander the Law and do away with
those who violate the
prohibitions of the Buddha, then are we to condemn them to death
as described in the passages
from the sutras you have just cited?
If we do that, then we ourselves will be guilty of inflicting
injury and death
upon others, and will suffer the consequences,
will we not?
In the Daijuku Sutra, the Buddha says: "If a person
shaves his head and puts on clerical robes, then,
whether that
person observes the precepts or violates them, both gods and men
would give him alms. In doing so,
they are giving alms and
support to me, for that person is my son. But if men beat and
abuse that person, they
are beating my son, and if they curse and
insult him, they are reviling me."
If we stop to consider, we must realize that, regardless
of whether one is good or bad, right or
wrong, if he is a priest
or monk, then he deserves to have alms and nourishment extended
to him. For how could
one beat and insult the son and still not
cause grief and sorrow to the father? The Brahmans who beat the
Buddha's
disciple Maudgalyayana to death with their staves have
for a long time been sunk in the hell of incessant suffering.
Because
Devadatta murdered the nun Utpalavarna, he has gone on
and on choking in the flames of the Avichi Hell. Examples
from
earlier ages make the matter perfectly clear, and later ages
fear this offense most of all. You speak of punishing
those who
slander the Law, but to do so would violate the Buddha's
prohibitions. I can hardly believe that such
a course would be
right. How can you justify it?
The host said: You have clearly seen the passages from
the sutras that I have cited, and yet you
can ask a question like
that! Are they beyond the power of your mind to comprehend? Or
do you fail to understand
the reasoning behind them? I certainly
have no intention of censuring the sons of the Buddha. My only
hatred
is for the act of slandering the Law. According to the
teachings of the Buddha who lived prior to Shakyamuni, slanderous
priests
would have incurred the death penalty. But in the sutras
preached since the time of Shakyamuni, priests of this type
have
merely been prevented from receiving alms. Now if all the four
kinds of believers within the four seas and
the ten thousand
lands would only cease giving alms to wicked priests and instead
all come over to the side of the good,
then how could any more
troubles rise to plague us or disasters come to confront us?
With this the guest moved off his mat in a gesture of
respect, straightened the collar of his robe,
and said: The
Buddhist teachings vary greatly and it is difficult to
investigate each doctrine in full. I have
had many doubts and
perplexities and have been unable to distinguish right from
wrong.
Nevertheless, this word by the venerable Honen, the
Senchaku Shu, does in fact exist. And it
lumps together all the
various Buddhas, sutras, bodhisattvas and deities and says that
one should "discard, close, ignore,
and abandon" them. The
meaning of the text is perfectly clear. And as a result of this,
the sages have departed
from the nation, the benevolent deities
have left their dwelling places, hunger and thirst fill the world
and disease
and pestilence spread abroad.
Now, by citing passages from a wide variety of
scriptures, you have clearly demonstrated the rights
and wrongs
of the matter. Therefore I have completely forsaken my earlier
mistaken convictions, and my ears and
eyes have been opened on
point after point.
There can be no doubt that all men, from the ruler down
to the common people, rejoice in and desire
the stability of the
nation and the peace of the world. If we can quickly put an end
to the alms that are given
to these icchantika and insure that
continuing support is instead given to the host of true priests
and nuns, if we
can still these "white waves" that trouble
the Ocean of the Buddha and cut down these "green groves" that
overgrow the
Mountain of the Law, then the world may become as
peaceful as it was in the golden ages of Fu Hsi and Shen Nung,
and
the nation may flourish as it did under the sage rulers Yao
and Shun. After that, there will be time to dip into
the
Waters of the Law and to decide which are shallow doctrines and
which are deep, and to pay honor to the pillars
and beams that
support the House of the Buddha.
The host exclaimed with delight: As the proverb says, the
dove has changed into a hawk, the sparrow
into a clam! How
gratifying! You have transformed yourself through your
association with me, and like the bramble
growing in the hemp
field, you have learned to stand up straight! If you will truly
give consideration to the
troubles I have been describing and put
entire faith in these words of mine, then the winds will blow
gently, the waves
will be calm, and in no time at all we will
enjoy bountiful harvests.
But a person's heart may change with the times, and the
nature of a thing may alter with its surroundings.
Just as the
moon on the water will be tossed about by the waves, or the
soldiers in the vanguard will be cowed by the
swords of the
enemy, so, although at this moment you may say you believe in my
words, I fear that later you will forget
them completely.
Now if we wish first of all to bring security to the
nation and to pray for our present and future
lives, then we must
hasten to examine and consider the situation and take measures as
soon as possible to remedy it.
Why do I say this? Because, of the seven types of
disasters described in the passage from the
Yakushi Sutra that I
cited earlier, five have already occurred. Only two have yet to
appear, the "calamity of
invasion from foreign lands" and the
"calamity of revolt within one's own domain." And of the three
calamities
mentioned in the passage from the Daijuku Sutra, two
have already made their appearance. Only one remains, the
"disaster
of warfare."
The different types of disaster and calamity enumerated
in the Konkomyo Sutra have arisen one after
the other. Only that
described as "bandits and marauders from other regions invading
and plundering the nation"
has yet to materialize. This is the
only trouble that has not yet come. And of the seven calamities
listed
in the Ninno Sutra, six are now upon us in full force.
Only one has not yet appeared, the calamity that occurs "when
enemies
rise up on all four sides and invade the nation."
Moreover, as the Ninno Sutra says, "When a nation becomes
disordered, it is the spirits which first
show signs of
rampantcy. Because these spirits become rampant, all the people
of the nation become disordered."
Now if we examine the present situation carefully in the
light of this passage, we will see that
the various spirits have
for some time been rampant, and many of the people have perished.
If the first predicted misfortune
in the sutra has already
occurred, as is obvious, then how can we doubt that the later
disasters will follow?
If, in punishment for the evil doctrines
that are upheld, the troubles that have yet to appear should fall
upon us one
after the other, then it will be too late to act,
will it not?
Emperors and kings have their foundation in the state and
bring peace and order to the age; ministers
and commoners hold
possession of their fields and gardens and supply the needs of
the world. But if bandits come
from other regions to invade the
nation, or if revolt breaks out within the domain and people's
lands are seized and
plundered, how can there be anything but
terror and confusion? If the nation is destroyed and families
are wiped
out, then where can one flee for safety? If you care
anything about your personal security, you should first of all
pray
for order and tranquillity throughout the four quarters of
the land, should you not?
It seems to me that, when people are in this world, they
all fear what their lot may be in the life
to come. So it is
that some of them put their faith in heretical teachings, or pay
honor to those who slander
the Law. It distresses me that they
should be so confused about right and wrong, and at the same time
I feel pity
that, having embraced Buddhism, they should have
chosen the wrong kind. With the power of faith that is in their
hearts,
why must they vainly give credence to heretical
doctrines? If they do not shake off these delusions that they
cling
to but continue to harbor false ideas, then they will
quickly leave the world of the living and fall into hell of
incessant
suffering.
Thus the Daijuku Sutra says: "Though the ruler of a state
may have for countless existences in the
past practiced the
giving of alms, observed the precepts and abided by the
principles of wisdom, if he sees that my
Law, the Dharma of the
Buddha, is in danger of perishing and stands idly by without
doing anything to protect it, then
all the inestimable store of
good causes that he has accumulated through the practices just
mentioned will be entirely
wiped out.... Before long, the ruler
will fall gravely ill, and after his life has come to an end, he
will be reborn
in one of the major hells.... And the same fate
will befall the ruler's consort, his heir, the high ministers of
the
state, the lords of cities, the village heads and generals,
the magistrates of districts, and the government officials."
The Ninno Sutra states: "If a man destroys the teachings
of the Buddha, he will have no filial sons,
no harmony with his
close relatives, and no aid from the heavenly deities. Disease
and evil spirits will come
day after day to torment him,
disasters will descend on him incessantly, and misfortunes will
dog him wherever he goes.
And when he dies, he will fall into
one of the three realms of Hell, Hunger or Animality. Even if he
should be
reborn as a human being, he will be destined to become
a slave in the army. Retribution will follow as an echo follows
a
sound or a shadow follows a form. A person writing at night
may put out the lamp, but the words he has written will
still
remain. It is the same with the destiny we create for ourselves
in the threefold world."
The second volume of the Lotus Sutra says: "One who
refuses to take faith in this sutra and instead
slanders it....
After he dies, he will fall into the hell of incessant
suffering." And in the Fukyo chapter in
the seventh volume, it
says: "For a thousand aeons they dwelt in the hell of incessant
suffering and underwent great
pain and torment."
In the Nirvana Sutra we read: "If a man separates
himself from good friends, refuses to listen
to the True Law and
instead embraces evil teachings, then as a result he will sink
down into the hell of incessant suffering,
where he will
experience indescribable torment."
When we examine this wide variety of sutras, we find that
they all stress how grave a matter it is
to slander the Law. How
pitiful, that all men should go out of the gate of the True Law
and enter so deep into
the prison of these perverse dogmas! How
stupid, that they should fall one after another into the snares
of these
evil doctrines, and remain for so long entangled in this
net of slanderous teachings! They lose their way in these
mist
and miasmas, and sink down amid the raging flames of hell. How
they must grieve! How they must suffer!
Therefore you must quickly reform the tenets that you
hold in your heart and embrace the one true
vehicle, the single
good doctrine of the Lotus Sutra. If you do so, then the
threefold world will all become the
Buddha land, and how could a
Buddha land ever decline? The regions in the ten directions will
all become treasure
realms, and how could a treasure realm ever
suffer harm? If you live in a country that knows no decline or
diminution,
in a land that suffers no harm or disruption, then
your body will find peace and security and your mind will be calm
and
untroubled. You must believe my words, heed what I say!
The guest said: Since it concerns both this life and the
lives to come, who could fail to agree with
you? Now when I
examine the passages you have cited from the sutras and see
exactly what the Buddha has said,
I realize that slandering is a
very grave offense indeed, that violating the Law is in truth a
terrible sin. I
have put all my faith in one Buddha alone,
Amida, and rejected all the other Buddhas. I have honored the
three
Pure Land sutras and set aside the other sutras. But this
was not due to any distorted ideas of my own conception.
I was
simply obeying the words of the eminent men of the past. And
the same is true of all the other persons in
the ten directions
who follow the Pure Land teachings.
But now I realize that to do so means to exhaust oneself
in futile efforts in this life, and to fall
into the hell of
incessant suffering in the life to come. The texts you have
cited are perfectly clear on this
point and their arguments are
detailed -- they leave no room for doubt. With your kind
instruction to guide me,
I have been able bit by bit to dispel
the ignorance from my mind.
Now I hope we may set about as quickly as possible taking
measures to deal with these slanders against
the Law and to bring
peace to the world without delay, thus insuring that I may live
in safety in this life and enjoy
good fortune in the life to
come. But it is not enough that I alone should accept and have
faith in your words
-- we must see to it that others as well are
warned of their errors!
