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Chanting Growers Group (2013-∞)
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On Practicing the Buddha’s Teachings
Background
ON examination [of the Lotus Sutra], we find that those who are born in this land and believe in this sutra when it is propagated in the Latter Day of the Law will be subjected to hatred and jealousy even greater than that which arose in the lifetime of the Thus Come One. In that age, the master who taught and converted the people was the Buddha, and his disciples were great bodhisattvas and arhats. Moreover, the Buddha expounded the Lotus Sutra only after he had developed and trained the living beings who were to hear it, including the human and heavenly beings, the four kinds of believers, and the nonhuman beings such as the eight kinds of beings. Still, many of them harbored hatred and jealousy.
Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, though the teaching, the people’s capacity, and the time for propagation are in accord, we must expect all the more hostility. For this is the age when quarrels and disputes prevail, and the pure Law is obscured and lost.Moreover, the teacher is but an ordinary practitioner, and his disciples come from among evil people defiled by the three poisons. For this reason, people shun the good teacher and associate with evil teachers.
What is more, once you become a disciple or lay supporter of the votary who practices the true Lotus Sutra in accord with the Buddha’s teachings, you are bound to face the three types of enemies. Therefore, from the very day you listen to [and take faith in] this sutra, you should be fully prepared to face the great persecutions of the three types of enemies that are certain to be more horrible now after the Buddha’s passing. Although my disciples had already heard this, when both great and small persecutions confronted us, some were so astounded and terrified that they even forsook their faith. Did I not warn you in advance? I have been teaching you day and night directly from the sutra, which says, “Since hatred and jealousy toward this sutra abound even when the Thus Come One is in the world, how much more will this be so after his passing?”2 You have no reason at all to be frightened when you see or hear that I have been driven from my dwelling place, wounded, and, having incurred the wrath of the rulers, sent into exile in distant provinces twice.
Question: The votaries who practice according to the Buddha’s teachings should “enjoy peace and security in their present existence.” Why then are you beset by the three powerful enemies?
Answer: Shakyamuni Buddha faced the nine great persecutions for the sake of the Lotus Sutra. In the distant past, Bodhisattva Never Disparaging was likewise attacked with staves, tiles, and stones. Chu Tao-sheng was banished to a mountain in Su-chou, the Tripitaka Master Fa-tao was branded on the face, and the Venerable Āryasimha was beheaded. The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai was opposed by the seven schools of the north and the three schools of the south, and the Great Teacher Dengyō was hated by the six schools [of Nara]. The Buddha and these bodhisattvas and great sages were all votaries of the Lotus Sutra, yet they suffered great persecutions. If you deny that they practiced according to the Buddha’s teachings, then where can you find those who did? This is the age of conflict in which the pure Law has been lost. Moreover, in this evil country, the ruler, his ministers, and even the common people are without exception tainted by evil. They have opposed the correct teaching and revered erroneous doctrines and teachers instead. Therefore, demons have burst into the country, causing the three calamities and seven disasters to strike again and again.
This is indeed an accursed time to live in this land! However, the Buddha has commanded me to be born in this age, and it is impossible for me to go against the decree of the Dharma King. And so, as the sutra dictates, I have launched the battle between the provisional and the true teachings. Donning the armor of endurance and girding myself with the sword of the wonderful teaching, I have raised the banner of the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, the heart of the entire eight volumes of the Lotus Sutra. Then, drawing the bow of the Buddha’s declaration, “I have not yet revealed the truth,” and notching the arrow of “honestly discarding the provisional teachings,” I have mounted the carriage drawn by the great white ox and battered down the gates of the provisional teachings. Attacking first one and then another, I have refuted opponents from the eight and ten schools, such as the Nembutsu, True Word, Zen, and Precepts. Some have fled headlong while others have retreated, and still others have been captured to become my disciples. I continue to repulse their attacks and to defeat them, but legions of enemies exist who oppose the single Dharma King and the handful who follow him. So the battle goes on even today.
“The Lotus Sutra is the teaching of shakubuku, the refutation of the provisional doctrines.” True to the letter of this golden saying, in the end, every last one of the believers of the provisional teachings and schools will be defeated and join the retinue of the Dharma King. The time will come when all people will abandon the various kinds of vehicles and take up the single vehicle of Buddhahood, and the Mystic Law alone will flourish throughout the land. When the people all chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the wind will no longer buffet the branches, and the rain will no longer break the clods of soil. The world will become as it was in the ages of Fu Hsi and Shen Nung.8 In their present existence the people will be freed from misfortune and disasters and learn the art of living long. Realize that the time will come when the truth will be revealed that both the person and the Law are unaging and eternal. There cannot be the slightest doubt about the sutra’s promise of “peace and security in their present existence.”
Question: How should one practice if one is to be faithful to the Buddha’s teachings?
Answer: The Japanese people of this age are one in their opinion of what practice accords with the Buddha’s teachings. They believe that, since all vehicles are opened up and incorporated in the one vehicle of Buddhahood, p.393no teaching is superior or inferior, shallow or profound, but all are equal to the Lotus Sutra. Hence the belief that chanting the Nembutsu, embracing the True Word teaching, practicing Zen meditation, or professing and reciting any sutra or the name of any Buddha or bodhisattva equals following the Lotus Sutra.
But I insist that this is wrong. The most important thing in practicing the Buddhist teachings is to follow and uphold the Buddha’s golden words, not the opinions of others. Our teacher, the Thus Come One Shakyamuni, wished to reveal the Lotus Sutra from the moment he first attained the way. However, because the people were not yet mature enough to understand, he had to employ provisional teachings as expedient means for some forty years before he could expound the true teaching of the Lotus Sutra.
In the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra, which serves as an introduction to the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha drew the line between the provisional teachings and the true teaching, and clearly distinguished the expedient means from the truth. He declared, “[Preaching the Law in various different ways], I made use of the power of expedient means. But in these more than forty years, I have not yet revealed the truth.” The eighty thousand bodhisattvas, including Great Adornment, understood perfectly why Shakyamuni had preached the provisional teachings, demonstrated that they were nothing more than expedient means, and finally discarded them entirely. They expressed their understanding by declaring that one “will in the end fail to gain unsurpassed enlightenment” by embracing any of the sutras that were preached before the Lotus Sutra and that require countless kalpas of practice [to attain Buddhahood].
Finally the Buddha was ready to preach the Lotus Sutra, the revelation section of his entire body of teachings, and stated, “The World-Honored One has long expounded his doctrines and now must reveal the truth.” He also warned, “[In the Buddha lands of the ten directions there is only the Law of the one vehicle], there are not two, there are not three, except when the Buddha preaches so as an expedient means,” and taught, “honestly discarding expedient means” and “not accepting a single verse of the other sutras.” Thus, ever since that time, the Mystic Law, “the Law of the one vehicle” of Buddhahood, has been the only teaching that enables all people to become Buddhas. Although no sutra other than the Lotus Sutra can provide even the slightest benefit, the scholars of the Latter Day claim that all sutras must lead to enlightenment because they were expounded by the Thus Come One. Therefore, they arbitrarily profess faith in any sutra and follow whatever school they choose, whether True Word, Nembutsu, Zen, Three Treatises, Dharma Characteristics, Dharma Analysis Treasury, Establishment of Truth, or Precepts. The Buddha said of such people, “If a person fails to have faith but instead slanders this sutra, immediately he will destroy all the seeds for becoming a Buddha in this world. . . . When his life comes to an end he will enter the Avīchi hell.” Thus the Buddha himself concluded that one’s practice accords with the Buddha’s teachings only when one bases one’s faith firmly on the standard of these sutra passages, believing fully that “there is only the Law of the one vehicle.”
Question: Then it would be wrong to say that faith in any sutra or any Buddha of the expedient and provisional teachings equals faith in the Lotus Sutra. But what of those who believe only in the Lotus Sutra and carry out the five practices set forth in the sutra or follow the practices described in the “Peaceful Practices” p.394chapter? Could we not say that their practice accords with the Buddha’s teachings?
Answer: Anyone who practices Buddhism should first understand the two types of practice—shōju and shakubuku. All the sutras and treatises fall into one or the other of these two categories. Though scholars in this country may have studied Buddhism extensively, they do not know which practice accords with the time. The four seasons continually repeat themselves, each in turn manifesting its own characteristics. In summer it is hot; in winter, cold. Flowers blossom in spring, and fruit ripens in autumn. Therefore, it is only natural to sow seeds in spring and reap the harvest in fall. If one sowed in autumn, could one harvest in spring? Heavy clothing is useful in bitter cold, but of what use is it in sweltering heat? A cool breeze is pleasant in summer, but what good is it in winter? Buddhism works in the same way. There is a time when the Hinayana teachings are disseminated for the benefit of humanity, a time when the provisional Mahayana doctrines are disseminated for the benefit of humanity, and a time when the true Mahayana teaching is spread to enable people to obtain the fruit of Buddhahood. The two millennia of the Former and Middle Days of the Law required the spread of the Hinayana and provisional Mahayana teachings, but the first five hundred years of the Latter Day call for only the Lotus Sutra, the pure and perfect teaching of the one vehicle of Buddhahood, to be spread abroad widely. As predicted by the Buddha, now is the age of quarrels and disputes when the pure Law becomes obscured and lost, and the provisional and true teachings are hopelessly confused.
When one must face enemies, one needs a sword, a stick, or a bow and arrows. When one has no enemies, however, such weapons are of no use at all. In this age, the provisional teachings have turned into enemies of the true teaching. When the time is right to propagate the teaching of the one vehicle, the provisional teachings become enemies. When they are a source of confusion, they must be thoroughly refuted from the standpoint of the true teaching. Of the two types of practice, this is shakubuku, the practice of the Lotus Sutra. With good reason T’ien-t’ai stated, “The Lotus Sutra is the teaching of shakubuku, the refutation of the provisional doctrines.”
The four peaceful practices18 [in the “Peaceful Practices” chapter] correspond to shōju. To carry them out in this age would be as foolish as sowing seeds in winter and expecting to reap the harvest in spring. It is natural for a rooster to crow at dawn, but strange for him to crow at dusk. Now, when the true and the provisional teachings are utterly confused, it would be equally unnatural for one to seclude oneself in the mountain forests and carry out the peaceful practice of shōju without refuting the enemies of the Lotus Sutra. One would lose the chance to practice the Lotus Sutra.
Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, who is carrying out the practice of shakubuku in strict accordance with the Lotus Sutra? Suppose someone, no matter who, should unrelentingly proclaim that the Lotus Sutra alone can lead people to Buddhahood, and that all other sutras, far from enabling them to attain the way, only drive them into hell. Observe what happens should that person thus try to refute the teachers and the doctrines of all the other schools. The three powerful enemies will arise without fail.
Our teacher, the Thus Come One Shakyamuni, practiced shakubuku during the last eight years of his lifetime, the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai for more than thirty years, and the Great Teacher p.395Dengyō for more than twenty. I have been refuting the provisional doctrines for more than twenty years, and the great persecutions I have suffered during this period are beyond number. I do not know whether they are equal to the nine great persecutions suffered by the Buddha, but surely neither T’ien-t’ai nor Dengyō ever faced persecutions as great as mine for the sake of the Lotus Sutra. They encountered only hatred, envy, and slander, whereas I twice incurred the wrath of the rulers and was exiled to remote provinces. Furthermore, I was nearly beheaded at Tatsunokuchi, wounded on the forehead [at Komatsubara], and slandered time and again. My disciples have also been exiled and thrown into prison, and my lay supporters have been evicted and had their fiefs confiscated. How can the persecutions faced by Nāgārjuna, T’ien-t’ai, or Dengyō possibly compare with these? Understand then that the votary who practices the Lotus Sutra exactly as the Buddha teaches will without fail be attacked by the three powerful enemies.
In the more than two thousand years that have passed since the Buddha’s advent, Shakyamuni himself, T’ien-t’ai, and Dengyō were the only three who perfectly carried out the Buddha’s teachings. Now in the Latter Day of the Law, Nichiren and his disciples and lay believers are just such practitioners. If we cannot be called votaries faithful to the Buddha’s teachings, then neither can Shakyamuni, T’ien-t’ai, or Dengyō. Could Devadatta, Kokālika, Sunakshatra, Kōbō, Jikaku, Chishō, Shan-tao, Hōnen, Ryōkan, and others like them be called votaries of the Lotus Sutra? Could Shakyamuni Buddha, T’ien-t’ai, Dengyō, or Nichiren and his disciples and lay believers be the practitioners of the Nembutsu, True Word, Zen, Precepts, or other schools? Could the Lotus Sutra be called an expedient and provisional teaching, and the sutras of the Nembutsu and other schools be the Lotus Sutra? None of this could ever be possible, even if east were to become west and west become east; even if the earth and all its trees and plants were to fly up and become the heavens, and the sun, the moon, and the stars were to tumble down and become the earth.
What a great pity it is that all the Japanese people are delighted to see Nichiren and his disciples and lay believers suffer at the hands of the three powerful enemies! What befell another yesterday may befall oneself today. Nichiren and his followers have but a short time to endure—merely the time it takes for frost or dew to vanish in the morning sun. When our prayers for Buddhahood are answered and we are dwelling in the true land of Tranquil Light where we will experience the boundless joy of the Law, what pity we will feel for those who sink to the bottom of the great citadel of the Avīchi hell and meet extreme suffering there! How they will envy us then!
Life flashes by in but a moment. No matter how many terrible enemies you may encounter, banish all fears and never think of backsliding. Even if someone were to cut off our heads with a saw, impale our bodies with lances, or shackle our feet and bore them through with a gimlet, as long as we are alive, we must keep chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Then, if we chant until the very moment of death, Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions will come to us instantly, exactly as they promised during the ceremony at Eagle Peak. Taking our hands and bearing us on their shoulders, they will carry us to Eagle Peak. The two sages,19 the two heavenly kings,20 and the ten demon daughters will guard us, while all the heavenly gods and benevolent deities will raise a canopy over our heads and unfurl p.396banners on high. They will escort us under their protection to the treasure land of Tranquil Light. How can such joy possibly be described!
Nichiren
The fifth month of the tenth year of Bun’ei (1273), cyclical sign mizunoto-tori
To all my followers
Keep this letter with you at all times and read it over and over.
Background
ON examination [of the Lotus Sutra], we find that those who are born in this land and believe in this sutra when it is propagated in the Latter Day of the Law will be subjected to hatred and jealousy even greater than that which arose in the lifetime of the Thus Come One. In that age, the master who taught and converted the people was the Buddha, and his disciples were great bodhisattvas and arhats. Moreover, the Buddha expounded the Lotus Sutra only after he had developed and trained the living beings who were to hear it, including the human and heavenly beings, the four kinds of believers, and the nonhuman beings such as the eight kinds of beings. Still, many of them harbored hatred and jealousy.
Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, though the teaching, the people’s capacity, and the time for propagation are in accord, we must expect all the more hostility. For this is the age when quarrels and disputes prevail, and the pure Law is obscured and lost.Moreover, the teacher is but an ordinary practitioner, and his disciples come from among evil people defiled by the three poisons. For this reason, people shun the good teacher and associate with evil teachers.
What is more, once you become a disciple or lay supporter of the votary who practices the true Lotus Sutra in accord with the Buddha’s teachings, you are bound to face the three types of enemies. Therefore, from the very day you listen to [and take faith in] this sutra, you should be fully prepared to face the great persecutions of the three types of enemies that are certain to be more horrible now after the Buddha’s passing. Although my disciples had already heard this, when both great and small persecutions confronted us, some were so astounded and terrified that they even forsook their faith. Did I not warn you in advance? I have been teaching you day and night directly from the sutra, which says, “Since hatred and jealousy toward this sutra abound even when the Thus Come One is in the world, how much more will this be so after his passing?”2 You have no reason at all to be frightened when you see or hear that I have been driven from my dwelling place, wounded, and, having incurred the wrath of the rulers, sent into exile in distant provinces twice.
Question: The votaries who practice according to the Buddha’s teachings should “enjoy peace and security in their present existence.” Why then are you beset by the three powerful enemies?
Answer: Shakyamuni Buddha faced the nine great persecutions for the sake of the Lotus Sutra. In the distant past, Bodhisattva Never Disparaging was likewise attacked with staves, tiles, and stones. Chu Tao-sheng was banished to a mountain in Su-chou, the Tripitaka Master Fa-tao was branded on the face, and the Venerable Āryasimha was beheaded. The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai was opposed by the seven schools of the north and the three schools of the south, and the Great Teacher Dengyō was hated by the six schools [of Nara]. The Buddha and these bodhisattvas and great sages were all votaries of the Lotus Sutra, yet they suffered great persecutions. If you deny that they practiced according to the Buddha’s teachings, then where can you find those who did? This is the age of conflict in which the pure Law has been lost. Moreover, in this evil country, the ruler, his ministers, and even the common people are without exception tainted by evil. They have opposed the correct teaching and revered erroneous doctrines and teachers instead. Therefore, demons have burst into the country, causing the three calamities and seven disasters to strike again and again.
This is indeed an accursed time to live in this land! However, the Buddha has commanded me to be born in this age, and it is impossible for me to go against the decree of the Dharma King. And so, as the sutra dictates, I have launched the battle between the provisional and the true teachings. Donning the armor of endurance and girding myself with the sword of the wonderful teaching, I have raised the banner of the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, the heart of the entire eight volumes of the Lotus Sutra. Then, drawing the bow of the Buddha’s declaration, “I have not yet revealed the truth,” and notching the arrow of “honestly discarding the provisional teachings,” I have mounted the carriage drawn by the great white ox and battered down the gates of the provisional teachings. Attacking first one and then another, I have refuted opponents from the eight and ten schools, such as the Nembutsu, True Word, Zen, and Precepts. Some have fled headlong while others have retreated, and still others have been captured to become my disciples. I continue to repulse their attacks and to defeat them, but legions of enemies exist who oppose the single Dharma King and the handful who follow him. So the battle goes on even today.
“The Lotus Sutra is the teaching of shakubuku, the refutation of the provisional doctrines.” True to the letter of this golden saying, in the end, every last one of the believers of the provisional teachings and schools will be defeated and join the retinue of the Dharma King. The time will come when all people will abandon the various kinds of vehicles and take up the single vehicle of Buddhahood, and the Mystic Law alone will flourish throughout the land. When the people all chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the wind will no longer buffet the branches, and the rain will no longer break the clods of soil. The world will become as it was in the ages of Fu Hsi and Shen Nung.8 In their present existence the people will be freed from misfortune and disasters and learn the art of living long. Realize that the time will come when the truth will be revealed that both the person and the Law are unaging and eternal. There cannot be the slightest doubt about the sutra’s promise of “peace and security in their present existence.”
Question: How should one practice if one is to be faithful to the Buddha’s teachings?
Answer: The Japanese people of this age are one in their opinion of what practice accords with the Buddha’s teachings. They believe that, since all vehicles are opened up and incorporated in the one vehicle of Buddhahood, p.393no teaching is superior or inferior, shallow or profound, but all are equal to the Lotus Sutra. Hence the belief that chanting the Nembutsu, embracing the True Word teaching, practicing Zen meditation, or professing and reciting any sutra or the name of any Buddha or bodhisattva equals following the Lotus Sutra.
But I insist that this is wrong. The most important thing in practicing the Buddhist teachings is to follow and uphold the Buddha’s golden words, not the opinions of others. Our teacher, the Thus Come One Shakyamuni, wished to reveal the Lotus Sutra from the moment he first attained the way. However, because the people were not yet mature enough to understand, he had to employ provisional teachings as expedient means for some forty years before he could expound the true teaching of the Lotus Sutra.
In the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra, which serves as an introduction to the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha drew the line between the provisional teachings and the true teaching, and clearly distinguished the expedient means from the truth. He declared, “[Preaching the Law in various different ways], I made use of the power of expedient means. But in these more than forty years, I have not yet revealed the truth.” The eighty thousand bodhisattvas, including Great Adornment, understood perfectly why Shakyamuni had preached the provisional teachings, demonstrated that they were nothing more than expedient means, and finally discarded them entirely. They expressed their understanding by declaring that one “will in the end fail to gain unsurpassed enlightenment” by embracing any of the sutras that were preached before the Lotus Sutra and that require countless kalpas of practice [to attain Buddhahood].
Finally the Buddha was ready to preach the Lotus Sutra, the revelation section of his entire body of teachings, and stated, “The World-Honored One has long expounded his doctrines and now must reveal the truth.” He also warned, “[In the Buddha lands of the ten directions there is only the Law of the one vehicle], there are not two, there are not three, except when the Buddha preaches so as an expedient means,” and taught, “honestly discarding expedient means” and “not accepting a single verse of the other sutras.” Thus, ever since that time, the Mystic Law, “the Law of the one vehicle” of Buddhahood, has been the only teaching that enables all people to become Buddhas. Although no sutra other than the Lotus Sutra can provide even the slightest benefit, the scholars of the Latter Day claim that all sutras must lead to enlightenment because they were expounded by the Thus Come One. Therefore, they arbitrarily profess faith in any sutra and follow whatever school they choose, whether True Word, Nembutsu, Zen, Three Treatises, Dharma Characteristics, Dharma Analysis Treasury, Establishment of Truth, or Precepts. The Buddha said of such people, “If a person fails to have faith but instead slanders this sutra, immediately he will destroy all the seeds for becoming a Buddha in this world. . . . When his life comes to an end he will enter the Avīchi hell.” Thus the Buddha himself concluded that one’s practice accords with the Buddha’s teachings only when one bases one’s faith firmly on the standard of these sutra passages, believing fully that “there is only the Law of the one vehicle.”
Question: Then it would be wrong to say that faith in any sutra or any Buddha of the expedient and provisional teachings equals faith in the Lotus Sutra. But what of those who believe only in the Lotus Sutra and carry out the five practices set forth in the sutra or follow the practices described in the “Peaceful Practices” p.394chapter? Could we not say that their practice accords with the Buddha’s teachings?
Answer: Anyone who practices Buddhism should first understand the two types of practice—shōju and shakubuku. All the sutras and treatises fall into one or the other of these two categories. Though scholars in this country may have studied Buddhism extensively, they do not know which practice accords with the time. The four seasons continually repeat themselves, each in turn manifesting its own characteristics. In summer it is hot; in winter, cold. Flowers blossom in spring, and fruit ripens in autumn. Therefore, it is only natural to sow seeds in spring and reap the harvest in fall. If one sowed in autumn, could one harvest in spring? Heavy clothing is useful in bitter cold, but of what use is it in sweltering heat? A cool breeze is pleasant in summer, but what good is it in winter? Buddhism works in the same way. There is a time when the Hinayana teachings are disseminated for the benefit of humanity, a time when the provisional Mahayana doctrines are disseminated for the benefit of humanity, and a time when the true Mahayana teaching is spread to enable people to obtain the fruit of Buddhahood. The two millennia of the Former and Middle Days of the Law required the spread of the Hinayana and provisional Mahayana teachings, but the first five hundred years of the Latter Day call for only the Lotus Sutra, the pure and perfect teaching of the one vehicle of Buddhahood, to be spread abroad widely. As predicted by the Buddha, now is the age of quarrels and disputes when the pure Law becomes obscured and lost, and the provisional and true teachings are hopelessly confused.
When one must face enemies, one needs a sword, a stick, or a bow and arrows. When one has no enemies, however, such weapons are of no use at all. In this age, the provisional teachings have turned into enemies of the true teaching. When the time is right to propagate the teaching of the one vehicle, the provisional teachings become enemies. When they are a source of confusion, they must be thoroughly refuted from the standpoint of the true teaching. Of the two types of practice, this is shakubuku, the practice of the Lotus Sutra. With good reason T’ien-t’ai stated, “The Lotus Sutra is the teaching of shakubuku, the refutation of the provisional doctrines.”
The four peaceful practices18 [in the “Peaceful Practices” chapter] correspond to shōju. To carry them out in this age would be as foolish as sowing seeds in winter and expecting to reap the harvest in spring. It is natural for a rooster to crow at dawn, but strange for him to crow at dusk. Now, when the true and the provisional teachings are utterly confused, it would be equally unnatural for one to seclude oneself in the mountain forests and carry out the peaceful practice of shōju without refuting the enemies of the Lotus Sutra. One would lose the chance to practice the Lotus Sutra.
Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, who is carrying out the practice of shakubuku in strict accordance with the Lotus Sutra? Suppose someone, no matter who, should unrelentingly proclaim that the Lotus Sutra alone can lead people to Buddhahood, and that all other sutras, far from enabling them to attain the way, only drive them into hell. Observe what happens should that person thus try to refute the teachers and the doctrines of all the other schools. The three powerful enemies will arise without fail.
Our teacher, the Thus Come One Shakyamuni, practiced shakubuku during the last eight years of his lifetime, the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai for more than thirty years, and the Great Teacher p.395Dengyō for more than twenty. I have been refuting the provisional doctrines for more than twenty years, and the great persecutions I have suffered during this period are beyond number. I do not know whether they are equal to the nine great persecutions suffered by the Buddha, but surely neither T’ien-t’ai nor Dengyō ever faced persecutions as great as mine for the sake of the Lotus Sutra. They encountered only hatred, envy, and slander, whereas I twice incurred the wrath of the rulers and was exiled to remote provinces. Furthermore, I was nearly beheaded at Tatsunokuchi, wounded on the forehead [at Komatsubara], and slandered time and again. My disciples have also been exiled and thrown into prison, and my lay supporters have been evicted and had their fiefs confiscated. How can the persecutions faced by Nāgārjuna, T’ien-t’ai, or Dengyō possibly compare with these? Understand then that the votary who practices the Lotus Sutra exactly as the Buddha teaches will without fail be attacked by the three powerful enemies.
In the more than two thousand years that have passed since the Buddha’s advent, Shakyamuni himself, T’ien-t’ai, and Dengyō were the only three who perfectly carried out the Buddha’s teachings. Now in the Latter Day of the Law, Nichiren and his disciples and lay believers are just such practitioners. If we cannot be called votaries faithful to the Buddha’s teachings, then neither can Shakyamuni, T’ien-t’ai, or Dengyō. Could Devadatta, Kokālika, Sunakshatra, Kōbō, Jikaku, Chishō, Shan-tao, Hōnen, Ryōkan, and others like them be called votaries of the Lotus Sutra? Could Shakyamuni Buddha, T’ien-t’ai, Dengyō, or Nichiren and his disciples and lay believers be the practitioners of the Nembutsu, True Word, Zen, Precepts, or other schools? Could the Lotus Sutra be called an expedient and provisional teaching, and the sutras of the Nembutsu and other schools be the Lotus Sutra? None of this could ever be possible, even if east were to become west and west become east; even if the earth and all its trees and plants were to fly up and become the heavens, and the sun, the moon, and the stars were to tumble down and become the earth.
What a great pity it is that all the Japanese people are delighted to see Nichiren and his disciples and lay believers suffer at the hands of the three powerful enemies! What befell another yesterday may befall oneself today. Nichiren and his followers have but a short time to endure—merely the time it takes for frost or dew to vanish in the morning sun. When our prayers for Buddhahood are answered and we are dwelling in the true land of Tranquil Light where we will experience the boundless joy of the Law, what pity we will feel for those who sink to the bottom of the great citadel of the Avīchi hell and meet extreme suffering there! How they will envy us then!
Life flashes by in but a moment. No matter how many terrible enemies you may encounter, banish all fears and never think of backsliding. Even if someone were to cut off our heads with a saw, impale our bodies with lances, or shackle our feet and bore them through with a gimlet, as long as we are alive, we must keep chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Then, if we chant until the very moment of death, Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions will come to us instantly, exactly as they promised during the ceremony at Eagle Peak. Taking our hands and bearing us on their shoulders, they will carry us to Eagle Peak. The two sages,19 the two heavenly kings,20 and the ten demon daughters will guard us, while all the heavenly gods and benevolent deities will raise a canopy over our heads and unfurl p.396banners on high. They will escort us under their protection to the treasure land of Tranquil Light. How can such joy possibly be described!
Nichiren
The fifth month of the tenth year of Bun’ei (1273), cyclical sign mizunoto-tori
To all my followers
Keep this letter with you at all times and read it over and over.
The Three Obstacles and Four Devils
Background
THE two men you sent have arrived here, bringing your various offerings. I also heard that the priest Ben1 has written about your sincerity in his letter.
In this letter I want to advise you about what is most important for you. In the Former and Middle Days of the Law, the world did not fall into decline because sages and worthies appeared frequently, and the heavenly gods protected the people. In the Latter Day of the Law, however, people have become so greedy that strife rages incessantly between sovereign and subject, parent and child, elder and younger brother, and all the more so among people who are unrelated. When such conflict occurs, the gods abandon the country, and then the three calamities and seven disasters begin, until one, two, three, four, five, six, or seven suns appear in the sky. Plants and trees wither and die, large and small rivers dry up, the earth smolders like charcoal, and the sea becomes like boiling oil. Eventually flames fill the atmosphere, arising from the hell of incessant suffering and reaching the Brahmā heaven. Such is the devastation that will occur when the world reaches its final dissolution.
Everyone, regardless of rank or status, considers it natural for children to obey their father, for subjects to be loyal to their sovereign, and for disciples to follow their teacher. Recently, however, it appears that the people of our day, drunk with the wine of greed, anger, and foolishness, make it a rule to betray their sovereign, despise their parents, and scoff at their teachers. You should read again and again the previous letter in which I explained that one should of course obey one’s teacher, sovereign, and parents, but should they commit wrongs, admonishing them is in fact being loyal to them.
Recently your elder brother, Uemon no Sakan, was again disowned by your father. I told your wife when she came to visit me here that he was certain to be disowned again, that I was apprehensive about how it would affect you, Hyōe no Sakan, and that she should be prepared for the worst. This time I am sure that you will give up your faith. If you do, I have not the slightest intention of reproaching you for it. Likewise, neither should you blame me, Nichiren, when you have fallen into hell. It is in no way my responsibility. It is an undeniable fact that fire can at once reduce even a thousand-year-old field of pampas grass to ashes, and that the merit one has formed over a hundred years can be destroyed with a single word.
Your father, Saemon no Tayū, now seems to have become an enemy of the Lotus Sutra, yet your brother, Uemon no Tayū Sakan, will now become one of its votaries. You, who think only of immediate affairs, will obey your father, and deluded people will therefore praise you for your filial devotion. Munemori obeyed his father’s tyrannous commands and was finally beheaded at Shinohara. Shigemori disobeyed his father and preceded him in death. Who was truly the filial son? If you obey your father who is an enemy of the Lotus Sutra and abandon your brother who is a votary of the one vehicle, are you then being filial? In the final analysis, what you should do is resolve to pursue the Buddha way single-mindedly just as your brother is doing. Your father is like King Wonderful Adornment, and you brothers are like the princes Pure Storehouse and Pure Eye. The age is different, but the principle of the Lotus Sutra remains the same. Recently the lay priest of Musashi abandoned his vast territory and his many subjects in order to retire from all worldly affairs. If you ingratiate yourself with your father for the sake of a small private estate, neglect your faith, and fall into the evil paths, you should not blame me, Nichiren. Yet despite my warnings, I feel that this time you will discard your belief.
I state this out of pity because, though you have been faithful until now, you may still fall into the evil paths. If, by one chance out of a hundred or a thousand, you should decide to follow my teaching, then confront your father and declare: “Since you are my father, I should by rights obey you, but since you have become an enemy of the Lotus Sutra, I would be unfilial if I were to do so in this matter. Therefore, I have resolved to break with you and follow my brother. If you should disown him, be aware that you are disowning me too.” You should not have the slightest fear in your heart. It is lack of courage that prevents one from attaining Buddhahood, although one may have professed faith in the Lotus Sutra many times since innumerable kalpas ago.
There is definitely something extraordinary in the ebb and flow of the tide, the rising and setting of the moon, and the way in which summer, autumn, winter, and spring give way to each other. Something uncommon also occurs when an ordinary person attains Buddhahood. At such a time, the three obstacles and four devils will invariably appear, and the wise will rejoice while the foolish will retreat. I have long been waiting to tell you this, either through my own messenger or by some other means. So I greatly appreciate your sending these messengers to me. I am sure that, if you were about to abandon your faith, you would not have sent them. Thinking it may still not be too late, I am writing this letter.
To attain Buddhahood is difficult indeed, more difficult than the feat of placing a needle atop the Mount Sumeru of this world and then casting a thread from atop the Mount Sumeru of another world directly through the eye of this needle. And the feat is even more difficult if it must be done in the face of a contrary wind. The Lotus Sutra states: “A million million ten thousand kalpas, an inconceivable time will pass, before at last one can hear this Lotus Sutra. A million million ten thousand kalpas, an inconceivable time will pass, before the Buddhas, World-Honored Ones, preach this sutra. Therefore its practitioners, after the Buddha has entered extinction, when they hear a sutra like this, should entertain no doubts or perplexities.” This passage is extremely unusual even among the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra. From the “Introduction” to the “Teacher of the Law” chapters, human and heavenly beings, the four kinds of believers, and the eight kinds of nonhuman beings—those at the stage of near-perfect enlightenment or below—were many in number, but there was only one Buddha, the Thus Come One Shakyamuni. Thus, these chapters are of great import, but may appear insignificant. The twelve chapters from “Treasure Tower” to “Entrustment” are the most important of all. This is because it is in these chapters that, in the presence of Shakyamuni Buddha, there appeared the treasure tower of Many Treasures. It was as if the sun had emerged in front of the moon. The Buddhas of the ten directions were seated under the trees, and it was as if the grasses and trees of the worlds in the ten directions had been set afire. It was in this setting that the above passage was expounded.
The Nirvana Sutra states: “People have been suffering since numberless, uncountable kalpas ago. The bones one leaves behind in a kalpa pile up as high as Mount Vipula near Rājagriha, and the milk one sucks is equal to the water of the four seas. The blood one sheds surpasses the quantity of water in the four seas, and so do the tears one sheds in grief over the death of parents, brothers and sisters, wives, children, and relatives. And though one used all the plants and trees growing on the earth to make four-inch tallies to count them, one could not count all the parents one has had in the past existences of life.” These are the words the Buddha uttered lying in the grove of sal trees on the final day of his life. You should pay the strictest attention to them. They mean that the number of parents who gave birth to you since innumerable kalpas ago could not be counted even with tallies made by cutting all the plants and trees growing on all the worlds of the ten directions into four-inch pieces.
Thus you have had a countless number of parents in your past existences, yet during that time you have never encountered the Lotus Sutra. From this we see that it is easy to have parents, but very difficult to encounter the Lotus Sutra. Now if you disobey the words of a parent, one who is easy to come by, and follow a friend of the Lotus Sutra, one who can rarely be encountered, you will not only be able to attain Buddhahood, but will also be able to lead to enlightenment the parent whom you disobeyed. For example, Prince Siddhārtha was the eldest son of King Shuddhodana. His father wanted him to succeed to the throne and rule the nation, and actually made him crown prince, but the prince went against his father’s wishes and escaped from the palace at night. The king was angry at him for being unfilial, but after Siddhārtha had attained Buddhahood, he set about first of all to convert his parents, King Shuddhodana and Lady Māyā.
No parent would ever urge his son to renounce the world in order to attain Buddhahood. But however that may be, in your case, the observers of the precepts and the priests of the Nembutsu school have egged your father on to join with them so that they may make both you and your brother abandon your faith. I am told that Priest Two Fires8 is persuading others to chant one million Nembutsu in an attempt to cause discord among people and destroy the seeds of the Lotus Sutra. The lay priest of Gokuraku-ji seemed to be an admirable person. But deluded by the Nembutsu priests, he treated me with enmity, and as a result, he and his entire clan have been all but ruined. Only the lord of Echigo9 has survived. You may think that those who believe in Priest Two Fires are prospering, but you should see what has become of the Nagoe clan, who paid for the building of Zenkō-ji temple, Chōraku-ji temple, and Daibutsu-den! Again, the lord of Sagami is the ruler of Japan, but by his conduct he has called down on himself an enemy almost as great as the land of Jambudvīpa.
Even if you abandon your brother and take his place in your father’s favor, you will never prosper in a thousand or ten thousand years. There is no knowing what will become of you even in the near future. How can you be certain of lifelong prosperity? Therefore, you should resolve to give all your thought to your happiness in the next existence. Having written all this, it occurs to me that this letter may be futile, and I tire of going on. But it may serve as a reminder to you in the future.
With my deep respect,
Nichiren
The twentieth day of the eleventh month
Reply to Hyōe no Sakan
Background
THE two men you sent have arrived here, bringing your various offerings. I also heard that the priest Ben1 has written about your sincerity in his letter.
In this letter I want to advise you about what is most important for you. In the Former and Middle Days of the Law, the world did not fall into decline because sages and worthies appeared frequently, and the heavenly gods protected the people. In the Latter Day of the Law, however, people have become so greedy that strife rages incessantly between sovereign and subject, parent and child, elder and younger brother, and all the more so among people who are unrelated. When such conflict occurs, the gods abandon the country, and then the three calamities and seven disasters begin, until one, two, three, four, five, six, or seven suns appear in the sky. Plants and trees wither and die, large and small rivers dry up, the earth smolders like charcoal, and the sea becomes like boiling oil. Eventually flames fill the atmosphere, arising from the hell of incessant suffering and reaching the Brahmā heaven. Such is the devastation that will occur when the world reaches its final dissolution.
Everyone, regardless of rank or status, considers it natural for children to obey their father, for subjects to be loyal to their sovereign, and for disciples to follow their teacher. Recently, however, it appears that the people of our day, drunk with the wine of greed, anger, and foolishness, make it a rule to betray their sovereign, despise their parents, and scoff at their teachers. You should read again and again the previous letter in which I explained that one should of course obey one’s teacher, sovereign, and parents, but should they commit wrongs, admonishing them is in fact being loyal to them.
Recently your elder brother, Uemon no Sakan, was again disowned by your father. I told your wife when she came to visit me here that he was certain to be disowned again, that I was apprehensive about how it would affect you, Hyōe no Sakan, and that she should be prepared for the worst. This time I am sure that you will give up your faith. If you do, I have not the slightest intention of reproaching you for it. Likewise, neither should you blame me, Nichiren, when you have fallen into hell. It is in no way my responsibility. It is an undeniable fact that fire can at once reduce even a thousand-year-old field of pampas grass to ashes, and that the merit one has formed over a hundred years can be destroyed with a single word.
Your father, Saemon no Tayū, now seems to have become an enemy of the Lotus Sutra, yet your brother, Uemon no Tayū Sakan, will now become one of its votaries. You, who think only of immediate affairs, will obey your father, and deluded people will therefore praise you for your filial devotion. Munemori obeyed his father’s tyrannous commands and was finally beheaded at Shinohara. Shigemori disobeyed his father and preceded him in death. Who was truly the filial son? If you obey your father who is an enemy of the Lotus Sutra and abandon your brother who is a votary of the one vehicle, are you then being filial? In the final analysis, what you should do is resolve to pursue the Buddha way single-mindedly just as your brother is doing. Your father is like King Wonderful Adornment, and you brothers are like the princes Pure Storehouse and Pure Eye. The age is different, but the principle of the Lotus Sutra remains the same. Recently the lay priest of Musashi abandoned his vast territory and his many subjects in order to retire from all worldly affairs. If you ingratiate yourself with your father for the sake of a small private estate, neglect your faith, and fall into the evil paths, you should not blame me, Nichiren. Yet despite my warnings, I feel that this time you will discard your belief.
I state this out of pity because, though you have been faithful until now, you may still fall into the evil paths. If, by one chance out of a hundred or a thousand, you should decide to follow my teaching, then confront your father and declare: “Since you are my father, I should by rights obey you, but since you have become an enemy of the Lotus Sutra, I would be unfilial if I were to do so in this matter. Therefore, I have resolved to break with you and follow my brother. If you should disown him, be aware that you are disowning me too.” You should not have the slightest fear in your heart. It is lack of courage that prevents one from attaining Buddhahood, although one may have professed faith in the Lotus Sutra many times since innumerable kalpas ago.
There is definitely something extraordinary in the ebb and flow of the tide, the rising and setting of the moon, and the way in which summer, autumn, winter, and spring give way to each other. Something uncommon also occurs when an ordinary person attains Buddhahood. At such a time, the three obstacles and four devils will invariably appear, and the wise will rejoice while the foolish will retreat. I have long been waiting to tell you this, either through my own messenger or by some other means. So I greatly appreciate your sending these messengers to me. I am sure that, if you were about to abandon your faith, you would not have sent them. Thinking it may still not be too late, I am writing this letter.
To attain Buddhahood is difficult indeed, more difficult than the feat of placing a needle atop the Mount Sumeru of this world and then casting a thread from atop the Mount Sumeru of another world directly through the eye of this needle. And the feat is even more difficult if it must be done in the face of a contrary wind. The Lotus Sutra states: “A million million ten thousand kalpas, an inconceivable time will pass, before at last one can hear this Lotus Sutra. A million million ten thousand kalpas, an inconceivable time will pass, before the Buddhas, World-Honored Ones, preach this sutra. Therefore its practitioners, after the Buddha has entered extinction, when they hear a sutra like this, should entertain no doubts or perplexities.” This passage is extremely unusual even among the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra. From the “Introduction” to the “Teacher of the Law” chapters, human and heavenly beings, the four kinds of believers, and the eight kinds of nonhuman beings—those at the stage of near-perfect enlightenment or below—were many in number, but there was only one Buddha, the Thus Come One Shakyamuni. Thus, these chapters are of great import, but may appear insignificant. The twelve chapters from “Treasure Tower” to “Entrustment” are the most important of all. This is because it is in these chapters that, in the presence of Shakyamuni Buddha, there appeared the treasure tower of Many Treasures. It was as if the sun had emerged in front of the moon. The Buddhas of the ten directions were seated under the trees, and it was as if the grasses and trees of the worlds in the ten directions had been set afire. It was in this setting that the above passage was expounded.
The Nirvana Sutra states: “People have been suffering since numberless, uncountable kalpas ago. The bones one leaves behind in a kalpa pile up as high as Mount Vipula near Rājagriha, and the milk one sucks is equal to the water of the four seas. The blood one sheds surpasses the quantity of water in the four seas, and so do the tears one sheds in grief over the death of parents, brothers and sisters, wives, children, and relatives. And though one used all the plants and trees growing on the earth to make four-inch tallies to count them, one could not count all the parents one has had in the past existences of life.” These are the words the Buddha uttered lying in the grove of sal trees on the final day of his life. You should pay the strictest attention to them. They mean that the number of parents who gave birth to you since innumerable kalpas ago could not be counted even with tallies made by cutting all the plants and trees growing on all the worlds of the ten directions into four-inch pieces.
Thus you have had a countless number of parents in your past existences, yet during that time you have never encountered the Lotus Sutra. From this we see that it is easy to have parents, but very difficult to encounter the Lotus Sutra. Now if you disobey the words of a parent, one who is easy to come by, and follow a friend of the Lotus Sutra, one who can rarely be encountered, you will not only be able to attain Buddhahood, but will also be able to lead to enlightenment the parent whom you disobeyed. For example, Prince Siddhārtha was the eldest son of King Shuddhodana. His father wanted him to succeed to the throne and rule the nation, and actually made him crown prince, but the prince went against his father’s wishes and escaped from the palace at night. The king was angry at him for being unfilial, but after Siddhārtha had attained Buddhahood, he set about first of all to convert his parents, King Shuddhodana and Lady Māyā.
No parent would ever urge his son to renounce the world in order to attain Buddhahood. But however that may be, in your case, the observers of the precepts and the priests of the Nembutsu school have egged your father on to join with them so that they may make both you and your brother abandon your faith. I am told that Priest Two Fires8 is persuading others to chant one million Nembutsu in an attempt to cause discord among people and destroy the seeds of the Lotus Sutra. The lay priest of Gokuraku-ji seemed to be an admirable person. But deluded by the Nembutsu priests, he treated me with enmity, and as a result, he and his entire clan have been all but ruined. Only the lord of Echigo9 has survived. You may think that those who believe in Priest Two Fires are prospering, but you should see what has become of the Nagoe clan, who paid for the building of Zenkō-ji temple, Chōraku-ji temple, and Daibutsu-den! Again, the lord of Sagami is the ruler of Japan, but by his conduct he has called down on himself an enemy almost as great as the land of Jambudvīpa.
Even if you abandon your brother and take his place in your father’s favor, you will never prosper in a thousand or ten thousand years. There is no knowing what will become of you even in the near future. How can you be certain of lifelong prosperity? Therefore, you should resolve to give all your thought to your happiness in the next existence. Having written all this, it occurs to me that this letter may be futile, and I tire of going on. But it may serve as a reminder to you in the future.
With my deep respect,
Nichiren
The twentieth day of the eleventh month
Reply to Hyōe no Sakan
140
The Dragon Gate
Background
A WATERFALL called the Dragon Gate exists in China. Its waters plunge a hundred feet, swifter than an arrow shot by a strong warrior. It is said that a great many carp gather in the basin below, hoping to climb the falls, and that any that succeeds will turn into a dragon. Not a single carp, however, out of a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand, can climb the falls, not even after ten or twenty years. Some are swept away by the strong currents, some fall prey to eagles, hawks, kites, and owls, and others are netted, scooped up, or even shot with arrows by fishermen who line both banks of the falls ten chō wide. Such is the difficulty a carp faces in becoming a dragon.
There were once two major warrior clans in Japan, the Minamoto and the Taira. They were like two faithful watchdogs at the gates of the imperial palace. They were as eager to guard the emperor as humble mountain folk are to admire the full moon on the fifteenth night of the eighth month as it rises from behind the mountains. They marveled at the elegant parties of the court nobles and their ladies, just as monkeys in the trees are enraptured by the sight of the moon and the stars glittering in the sky. Though of low rank, they longed to find some way to mingle in court circles. But even though Sadamori of the Taira clan1 crushed the rebellion of Masakado, he was still not admitted to court. Nor were any of his descendants, including Masamori. Not until the time of Masamori’s son, Tadamori, were any of the Taira clan granted permission to enter the court. The next in line, Kiyomori, and his son Shigemori, not only enjoyed life among court nobles, but saw the moon rise when Kiyomori’s daughter became the emperor’s consort, and the sun appear when his grandson became emperor.
Attaining Buddhahood is no easier than for men of low status to enter court circles, or for carp to climb the Dragon Gate. Shāriputra, for example, practiced bodhisattva austerities for sixty kalpas in order to attain Buddhahood, but finally could persevere no longer and slipped back into the paths of the two vehicles.2 Even some of those who formed ties with the Lotus Sutra in the days of the Buddha Great Universal Wisdom Excellence sank into the sufferings of birth and death for the duration of major world system dust particle kalpas. Some others who received the seeds of Buddhahood in the even more remote past suffered for the length of numberless major world system dust particle kalpas. All these people practiced the Lotus Sutra, but when harassed in one way or another p.1003by the devil king of the sixth heaven, who had taken possession of their rulers and other authorities, they backslid and forsook their faith, and thus wandered among the six paths for countless kalpas.
Until recently these events seemed to have had no bearing on us, but now we find ourselves facing the same kind of ordeal. My wish is that all my disciples make a great vow.3 We are very fortunate to be alive after the widespread epidemics that occurred last year and the year before. But now with the impending Mongol invasion it appears that few will survive. In the end, no one can escape death. The sufferings at that time will be exactly like what we are experiencing now. Since death is the same in either case, you should be willing to offer your life for the Lotus Sutra. Think of this offering as a drop of dew rejoining the ocean, or a speck of dust returning to the earth. A passage from the third volume of the Lotus Sutra reads, “We beg that the merit gained through these gifts may be spread far and wide to everyone, so that we and other living beings all together may attain the Buddha way.”4
With my deep respect,
Nichiren
The Dragon Gate
Background
A WATERFALL called the Dragon Gate exists in China. Its waters plunge a hundred feet, swifter than an arrow shot by a strong warrior. It is said that a great many carp gather in the basin below, hoping to climb the falls, and that any that succeeds will turn into a dragon. Not a single carp, however, out of a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand, can climb the falls, not even after ten or twenty years. Some are swept away by the strong currents, some fall prey to eagles, hawks, kites, and owls, and others are netted, scooped up, or even shot with arrows by fishermen who line both banks of the falls ten chō wide. Such is the difficulty a carp faces in becoming a dragon.
There were once two major warrior clans in Japan, the Minamoto and the Taira. They were like two faithful watchdogs at the gates of the imperial palace. They were as eager to guard the emperor as humble mountain folk are to admire the full moon on the fifteenth night of the eighth month as it rises from behind the mountains. They marveled at the elegant parties of the court nobles and their ladies, just as monkeys in the trees are enraptured by the sight of the moon and the stars glittering in the sky. Though of low rank, they longed to find some way to mingle in court circles. But even though Sadamori of the Taira clan1 crushed the rebellion of Masakado, he was still not admitted to court. Nor were any of his descendants, including Masamori. Not until the time of Masamori’s son, Tadamori, were any of the Taira clan granted permission to enter the court. The next in line, Kiyomori, and his son Shigemori, not only enjoyed life among court nobles, but saw the moon rise when Kiyomori’s daughter became the emperor’s consort, and the sun appear when his grandson became emperor.
Attaining Buddhahood is no easier than for men of low status to enter court circles, or for carp to climb the Dragon Gate. Shāriputra, for example, practiced bodhisattva austerities for sixty kalpas in order to attain Buddhahood, but finally could persevere no longer and slipped back into the paths of the two vehicles.2 Even some of those who formed ties with the Lotus Sutra in the days of the Buddha Great Universal Wisdom Excellence sank into the sufferings of birth and death for the duration of major world system dust particle kalpas. Some others who received the seeds of Buddhahood in the even more remote past suffered for the length of numberless major world system dust particle kalpas. All these people practiced the Lotus Sutra, but when harassed in one way or another p.1003by the devil king of the sixth heaven, who had taken possession of their rulers and other authorities, they backslid and forsook their faith, and thus wandered among the six paths for countless kalpas.
Until recently these events seemed to have had no bearing on us, but now we find ourselves facing the same kind of ordeal. My wish is that all my disciples make a great vow.3 We are very fortunate to be alive after the widespread epidemics that occurred last year and the year before. But now with the impending Mongol invasion it appears that few will survive. In the end, no one can escape death. The sufferings at that time will be exactly like what we are experiencing now. Since death is the same in either case, you should be willing to offer your life for the Lotus Sutra. Think of this offering as a drop of dew rejoining the ocean, or a speck of dust returning to the earth. A passage from the third volume of the Lotus Sutra reads, “We beg that the merit gained through these gifts may be spread far and wide to everyone, so that we and other living beings all together may attain the Buddha way.”4
With my deep respect,
Nichiren
Daily Encouragement
Daily Encouragement
What is the secret to victory? Mr. Toda once described that in a certain sense life is a gamble. "If you are lucky, you will win," he said. "But if you are unlucky, then sometimes no matter how hard you try you lose. This is a hard fact." That is why, in addition to ability, good fortune is essential. The key to creating good fortune is found in faith and daimoku. I hope that you will all act in accord with the fundamental Law of Buddhism and lead victorious lives filled with unsurpassed good fortune.
—Daisaku Ikeda
Daily Encouragement
What is the secret to victory? Mr. Toda once described that in a certain sense life is a gamble. "If you are lucky, you will win," he said. "But if you are unlucky, then sometimes no matter how hard you try you lose. This is a hard fact." That is why, in addition to ability, good fortune is essential. The key to creating good fortune is found in faith and daimoku. I hope that you will all act in accord with the fundamental Law of Buddhism and lead victorious lives filled with unsurpassed good fortune.
—Daisaku Ikeda
On the Ten Worlds
IT is said that if persons of the two vehicles do not free themselves from the threefold world, then the Ten Worlds that make up the realm of phenomena will lack in number.
Question:1 If one does not understand the principle of the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds, is it possible for one to free oneself from transmigration in the six paths of existence, or transmigration with differences and limitations, and gain birth in the land of transmigration with change and advance?
Answer: Persons of the two vehicles have already cut off the illusions of thought and desire and have no further cause to be reborn in the threefold world. Therefore why should they be reborn in a land in the threefold world? Thus we know that persons of the two vehicles will never be reborn in the six paths.
Hence the second volume of The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra states: “There are three types of persons who are born in the land of transmigration with change and advance: persons of the two vehicles who follow the Tripitaka teaching; persons of the three vehicles who follow the connecting teaching; and persons in the thirty stages of bodhisattva practice2 as set forth in the specific teaching.”
Persons in these three categories have all cut off the illusions of thought and desire and are able to be born in the land of transmigration with change and advance. They will never again be reborn in the impure lands of transmigration with differences and limitations, transmigration in the threefold world.
Objection: The Hinayana teachings speak only of the six paths that are the product of the mind. They do not discuss the six paths that are possessed by the mind. Therefore persons of the two vehicles are unable to make the six worlds manifest in themselves or to describe how these worlds are a possession of the mind. How then can they cut off the illusions of thought and desire that are associated with the six worlds and remove themselves from the six paths?
The “Life Span” chapter of the Lotus Sutra says, “In all the worlds the heavenly and human beings and asuras . . . ”3 But by these words, “heavenly and human beings and asuras,” it is referring to the persons of the two vehicles who follow the teachings of the sutras that precede the Lotus Sutra and the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra; to the bodhisattvas of the three teachings;4 and to those who follow the teaching of the fifth period, the perfect teaching.5 These are surely persons who have not yet fully cut off p.159the illusions of thought and desire, are they not?
Answer: The principle of the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds is the most profound doctrine of the Lotus Sutra, the very heart of the teachings of this school of ours. In the sutras that were preached in the forty and more years preceding the Lotus Sutra it was kept secret and never revealed.
But in the sutra teachings set forth in those forty and more years, we find numberless ordinary mortals who were able to cut off the illusions of thought and desire, reach the stage where they are free of outflows, and attain the unconditioned state represented by the two types of nirvana.6 Bodhisattvas as countless as particles of dust were able to overcome the general and specific types of illusion7 and to quickly transcend the bonds that tie them to the two categories of transmigration.8
Although in the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra the Buddha, speaking of the sutras preached in the preceding forty and more years, says, “I have not yet revealed the truth,” still we must allow that in these sutras that preceded the Lotus, persons of the three vehicles were able to gain benefits. And although in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha says that he is “honestly discarding expedient means,”9 in another passage [Shāriputra] says that he “saw how the bodhisattvas received prophecies that in time they would attain Buddhahood.”10
These passages indicate, do they not, that through the teachings set forth in the sutras preceding the Lotus, it was possible to gain a certain amount of benefit?
In the sutras that precede the Lotus, however, there are two matters that are not discussed. There is no discussion of the true Buddha of perfect endowment, nor is there any discussion of the fact that the Buddha attained enlightenment in the infinitely remote past. Therefore even bodhisattvas who have advanced as far as the stage of near-perfect enlightenment are still attached to the idea that the Buddha attained enlightenment for the first time in the recent past. In this sense, bodhisattvas and persons of the two vehicles are the same as those in the realms of heavenly and human beings, prevented by doctrines that mislead them from once and for all cutting off the illusions of earthly desires and the realm of birth and death. This is why the Buddha says, “I have not yet revealed the truth.”
But it is quite wrong to insist that because the principle of the mutual possession of the six worlds is not revealed in these sutras, one therefore cannot remove oneself from the six worlds through such sutras.
If there is mutual possession of the six worlds, there must be mutual possession of the Ten Worlds. Through the provisional teachings, one can understand that the differences that distinguish the six worlds from one another are the product of the mind. And when one meditates on these products [the six worlds and their differences] of the mind, then one cannot fail to [eliminate the illusions of thought and desire and] understand that the four noble worlds, whether upper or lower, are attainable. [In this sense, therefore, one can, through the sutras that precede the Lotus, remove oneself from the six worlds.]
A third objection is raised, as follows: The arguments you have outlined would seem to be quite in accord with reason. But if we examine the order in which the sacred teachings of the Buddha’s lifetime were put forward, we see that unless and until the wisdom associated with the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra and the observation of the mind11 is brought into play, then the state of the Buddha of perfect endowment can never be attained. Therefore, persons of the provisional teachings still remain in the state of ordinary p.160mortals and can never gain even the fruits of the provisional teachings that you mention.
The non-Buddhist teachers appeared in the five regions of India and propounded four inverted views. In order to refute these four inverted views, the Thus Come One appeared in the world and set forth the principles of suffering, non-substantiality, and so on. He did this in order to dispel the confusion created by the non-Buddhist teachers.
Thus, to dispel the non-Buddhist view that such a thing as the self exists, he took up the position of non-self, setting aside fire, as it were, and going along with water. People therefore assumed that if they adhered firmly to this concept of non-self, they could cut off the illusions of thought and desire and free themselves from the six paths, but this was in fact the source of their misunderstanding. Thus they maintained the view that both body and mind must be wiped out. These [non-Buddhist and Buddhist views] correspond to the two views, namely, that life ends with death and that the self is permanent, expounded in sutras such as the Great Collection Sutra.
There are, for example, non-Buddhist believers who have not yet freed themselves from outflows but who believe that they have attained the way. From the point of view of the wisdom that is free of outflows, however, they have not in fact emerged from the threefold world of unenlightened beings. To suppose that one can emerge from the threefold world without doing so through the Buddhist teachings is to make a baseless assumption.
The persons of the two vehicles who follow the teachings of Hinayana are similar in nature. When the Buddha preached the Hinayana teachings at Deer Park, these persons set aside the non-Buddhist view that the self exists and adopted the view that the self does not exist. For the next forty and more years, however, they failed to change their opinion, but continued to inhabit the thatched hut of the Hinayana teachings, never for a moment setting foot outside.
Again, in the case of the bodhisattvas of the Mahayana teachings, though they were told how the Ten Worlds are the product of the mind, the doctrine of the mind’s possession of the Ten Worlds was not revealed to them. Or in some cases they cut off the body and mind associated with the nine worlds and embraced the idea of advancing to the highest world, that of Buddhahood. Because they did so, they supposed that they could cut off the three categories of illusion, remove themselves from transmigration with change and advance, and instead gain birth in the land of Tranquil Light. But in supposing they could wipe out the nine worlds, they were falling into the view that life ends with death, and in supposing that they could advance and climb up to the world of Buddhahood, they were falling into the view that the self is permanent. To suppose that one can eliminate the permanently abiding body and mind associated with the nine worlds is to be confused and misled as to the true nature of these nine worlds.
Again the Great Teacher Miao-lo states, “But if we speak of the observation of the mind, it does not accord with the principles.”12
The meaning of this passage of commentary is that the Hinayana method of observation of the mind does not accord even with the principles of the Hinayana teaching.
And the ninth volume of T’ien-t’ai’s Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra says, “Those who follow the seven expedient means13 will never reach complete and final extinction.”
This passage of commentary means that bodhisattvas who follow the first p.161three teachings of the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings14 will in truth never attain Buddhahood.
But, although in the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra the Buddha says, “I have not yet revealed the truth,” it would appear that persons of the three vehicles can attain the way. And though in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha says he is “honestly discarding expedient means,” elsewhere in the sutra [Shāriputra] says that he “saw how the bodhisattvas received prophecies that in time they would attain Buddhahood.”
In the T’ien-t’ai school three standards of comparison are set forth. In the second standard, that which deals with the time when the Buddha’s instruction begins and when it reaches completion, there are persons who first established a relationship with the Lotus Sutra in the distant past.15 In order to guide them to the Lotus Sutra, in the sutras that precede the Lotus it is allowed that such persons can to some extent attain the way by practicing the three vehicles. But what they have in fact attained is only the stage of maturity in the three stages of sowing, maturing, and harvesting. This view represents that of the theoretical teaching.
When this view is compared to that of the essential teaching and that of the observation of the mind, one sees that it does not accord with the true principles, but is merely a position temporarily allowed. If we judge it in terms of the true principles, we see that such persons have failed to understand the original enlightenment attained by the Thus Come One in the far distant past and have no knowledge of the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, and therefore they can never transmigrate beyond the six paths.
Hence the commentary says, “Such persons are outside the vehicle of the perfect teaching and therefore are called non-Buddhists.”16 And in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha declares, “Good men, [the Thus Come One observes how among living beings there are] those who delight in lesser teachings, meager in virtue and heavy with defilement.”17
From this we can see that both the sutra and the commentary are perfectly clear on the principle involved here.
Answer: Your objection would seem to be based on a strict adherence to your personal view but it is not in accord with principle. The reason is that the teachings of the Thus Come One are designed to fit the capacities of the hearers and are not put forward for no reason at all. Therefore he devised the four teachings of method, including the sudden teaching, and the four teachings of doctrine, including the Tripitaka teaching, to fit persons of eight different types of capacity. It is wrong to assert that such teachings bring no benefit at all to those who embrace them. Hence the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra says, “Therefore the way [enlightenment] living beings gained was not uniform but differed in different cases.”
To be sure, the same sutra later says, “They will in the end fail to gain unsurpassed enlightenment.” But although it makes this admission, this does not mean that the three doctrines [of the four noble truths, the twelve-linked chain of causation, and the six pāramitās] and the doctrines of the four stages of Hinayana enlightenment are of no benefit at all. It is simply a difference between those who attain enlightenment immediately and those who become enlightened only after spending many long kalpas in the process. It is not a fact, as you assert, that no one can in any sense gain the way through such methods.
Thus there are also those who acquire the three insights and the six transcendental powers, or bodhisattvas p.162who are capable of manifesting their physical forms everywhere. Though they may not practice the threefold contemplation in a single mind and thereby cut off the three categories of illusion that originate in the same single mind, they have already acquired the wisdom to analyze all into non-substantiality and can cut off the illusions of thought and desire. Therefore how could they fail to remove themselves from the twenty-five realms that make up the threefold world?
Hence the commentary states, “If when I [the Buddha] encounter living beings I should cause them to practice the lesser vehicle, I would be guilty of stinginess and greed, but such a thing would be impossible. I would merely be allowing them to remove themselves from the twenty-five realms of the threefold world.”18
This passage, one should understand, says that such a thing “would be impossible,” but it does allow that one can remove oneself from the threefold world. It is simply that such persons have not perceived the non-substantiality that is beyond comprehension and have therefore been unable to manifest the wisdom associated with that non-substantiality beyond comprehension. But one cannot deny that they have to some small degree given rise to an understanding of non-substantiality. If one argues that they have not, through the wisdom of non-substantiality, been able to cut off the illusions of thought and desire, then is this not the same as the view held by Chih-tsang of K’ai-shan-ssu temple that real voice-hearers were not present at the assembly of the Lotus Sutra?
The point is even clearer when we consider that this sutra, the Lotus, says that it is honestly discarding provisional teachings and preaching the one true teaching that is pure and perfect. And speaking of the voice-hearers who had gained benefit through the sutras preached prior to the Lotus, it says, “[All were arhats whose] outflows had come to an end, who had no more earthly desires.”19 And it also states, “[Because if there are monks] who have truly attained the status of arhat, then it would be unthinkable that they should fail to believe this Law.”20 And it further says, “When they have gone three hundred yojanas along the steep road, [he] conjures up a city.”21 If the voice-hearers referred to here had been no different in any way from ordinary people, then it would have been impossible for them to have gone even one step, much less the full five hundred yojanas of the steep road described in the text.
Again, the Lotus Sutra states: “[After I have entered extinction, there will be other disciples who will not hear this sutra and will not understand or be aware of the practices carried out by the bodhisattvas, but who], through the blessings they have been able to attain, will conceive an idea of extinction and enter into what they believe to be nirvana. At that time I will be a Buddha in another land and will be known by a different name. Those disciples, though they have conceived an idea of extinction and entered into what they take to be nirvana, will in that other land seek the Buddha wisdom and will be able to hear this sutra.”22
This passage, referring to persons who have already attained the stage of enlightenment known as arhat, but were not present at the assembly when the Buddha preached the Lotus Sutra, shows that they have entered the nirvana of no remainder and have been reborn in the Land of Transition, where they will hear the preaching of the Lotus Sutra. If this is true and they have already been reborn in the Land of Transition, then how can one say that they have not yet cut off the illusions of thought and desire? That is why T’ien-t’ai and Miao-lo in their p.163commentaries refer to such persons as those who “will hear this sutra in another land.”23
And again, referring to the bodhisattvas of the sutras that were preached prior to the Lotus, the Buddha says in the Lotus Sutra, “So when these living beings see me for the first time and listen to my preaching, they all immediately believe and accept it, entering into the wisdom of the Thus Come One.”24
From this we should understand that the bodhisattvas of the sutras preached prior to the Lotus have cut off the three categories of illusion and entered into the Buddha wisdom. Therefore the commentary says, “The Buddha wisdom shown at the beginning and that at the latter time are alike in representing the principle of perfect and immediate enlightenment.”25 Another commentary also says, “Therefore if we examine the first sutra and the last sutra, we see that in meaning they are both concerned with the Buddha wisdom.”26
If all these various passages from the sutras and commentaries are meaningless, then we must assume that the assurances of truthfulness contained in the Buddha’s pronouncement about honestly discarding provisional teachings, about the “one great reason”27 [for which the Buddhas appear in the world], or the statement “The Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law . . . all that you [Shakyamuni Buddha] have expounded is the truth!”28—all these pronouncements are invalid. But surely the words “all that you have expounded is the truth” are meant to apply to the entire eight volumes of the Lotus Sutra, are they not?
If they are not, then the supernatural powers shown by Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the emanations of Shakyamuni from the ten directions when they extended their tongues upward to the Brahma heaven, the assurances given by the Buddhas of the three existences that the sutra is true and free from any falsehood—all these are mere empty froth and bubbles!
However, with regard to your point that Hinayana followers fail to understand that both the idea of the permanence of the self and the idea of the annihilation of life by death must be discarded, it is true that, in comparison to the Mahayana teachings, the understanding of Hinayana followers is similar to that of non-Buddhist believers. But this does not mean that it is without any benefit at all.
Again, you have cited the passage in Words and Phrases that says, “Those who follow the seven expedient means will never reach complete and final extinction,” and the passage that states, “But if we speak of the observation of the mind, it does not accord with the principles.” But these simply mean that, in comparison to the great benefits to be gained through the perfect and true teaching, the benefits gained through the seven expedient means are inferior in nature and in this sense are described in the commentaries as “never reaching complete and final extinction” and as “not according with the principles.”
For the fourth time objections are posed: If we consider the sacred teachings of the Buddha’s lifetime in the light of the observation of the mind set forth in the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra, then their true nature is as easily perceived as a mango held in the palm of one’s hand. That is to say, when the great doctrines of the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra are expounded, then the great doctrines set forth in the sutras preached prior to the Lotus are cancelled out. When the great doctrines of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra are expounded, then both the theoretical teaching and the teachings of the sutras that precede the Lotus are cancelled out. And when the p.164great doctrine of the observation of the mind is expounded, then the essential teaching, the theoretical teaching, and the teachings of the earlier sutras are all cancelled out.
Such is the nature of the sacred teachings set forth by the Thus Come One, namely, that they overcome delusions step by step, beginning with doctrines that are shallow and moving forward to those that are profound.
But the Thus Come One did not preach for the sake of one person alone. If he had not expounded the great way in order to dispel delusion, it would be difficult for anyone to escape from the realm of birth and death.
The sutras preached prior to the Lotus contain eight types of teaching. Of the four teachings of method, the sudden teaching is set forth in the Flower Garland Sutra, and the gradual teaching in the sutras of three flavors,29 while the secret teaching and the indeterminate teaching30 are found throughout the sutras of the first four flavors.
Of the four teachings of doctrine, the Tripitaka teaching is found in the Āgama sutras and the Correct and Equal sutras, the connecting teaching in the Correct and Equal sutras and the Wisdom sutras, and the specific and perfect teachings are found throughout the sutras of the first four flavors with the exception of those preached in Deer Park.31
These eight types of teachings were each of them designed for persons of different types of capacity, and therefore they differ in the particular doctrines they contain. The Buddhas who set forth the four teachings of doctrine are different from one another, and persons of one particular capacity who receive the teachings designed for them know nothing about the Buddhas of the teachings designed for other types of persons. Therefore the commentary says, “Each living being sees only the particular Buddha appropriate to him standing alone before him.”32
It is perfectly clear that beings in the human and heavenly realms are to observe the five precepts and the ten good precepts, that those of the two vehicles are to embrace the four noble truths and the twelve-linked chain of causation, and that bodhisattvas are to practice the six pāramitās, and after three asamkhya kalpas or a hundred major kalpas,33 or after kalpas equal in number to dust particles or more numerous than them,34 or after countless asamkhya kalpas,35 they may achieve enlightenment, while in the case of bodhisattvas of the perfect teaching, “the first time they conceive the desire to do so, they can attain enlightenment.”36
Thus there is a difference in the teachings directed to people of different capacities. Because there is a difference in the teaching, there is also a difference in the practice to be carried out. And because there is a difference in the practice, there is a difference in the fruits or results attained. Thus we know that beings of different capacities are not alike in the benefits that they gain.
In the “Expedient Means” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, however, the Buddha declares, “The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, wish to open the door of Buddha wisdom to all living beings.” Thus, living beings of the eight different types of capacity and the four evil paths all become like the Thus Come One Shakyamuni, possessing all five types of vision, possessing in one world all the Ten Worlds and in the Ten Worlds all the hundred worlds.
When we stop to consider the sutras preached prior to the Lotus from this standpoint, we see that the Buddhas depicted in them do not possess within their own world [of Buddhahood] the worlds of the two vehicles, and that the persons of the two vehicles do not p.165possess the world of the bodhisattva. Thus human and heavenly beings in the threefold world have no hope of ever attaining Buddhahood. They do not realize that the cutting off of illusions carried out by beings of the two vehicles or by bodhisattvas is tantamount to the cutting off of their own illusions. They recognize that the wisdom possessed by beings of the three vehicles or the four vehicles37 can free such beings from the four evil paths. But they imagine that all these different worlds are separate from one another and do not realize that they are all a single entity.
In the sutras preached in this early period, it was supposed that persons of the two vehicles simply cut off the illusions of thought and desire within their own two worlds of voice-hearer and cause-awakened one. It was not realized that, in doing so, they also cut off the illusions of thought and desire within their own six lower worlds as well. And the same error applied, too, in the view of bodhisattvas expounded in those sutras. It was supposed that bodhisattvas endeavored to cut off the three categories of illusion within their own bodhisattva world, but it was not realized that, in doing so, they also cut off the three categories of illusion within their own six lower worlds and the worlds of the voice-hearer and cause-awakened one.
But once one gains enlightenment into the truth, then one will understand that the beings of one world are the beings of the Ten Worlds, and the beings of the Ten Worlds are the beings of one world. Thus, if the illusions of thought and desire are not cut off in the six lower worlds, then they can never be cut off in the worlds of the two vehicles.
Though this is the case, the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra takes measures to correct the view that the first nine of the Ten Worlds are all separate from one another, making clear the principle of the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds as a step to enable one to become a Buddha of perfect endowment. Thus it does not disdain the limited benefits gained by those who followed the sutras preached before the Lotus. Hence the Lotus speaks of those “whose outflows of the threefold world had come to an end,”38 who “have gone three hundred yojanas,” or who “see me for the first time.”
Again the persons of the two vehicles who are depicted in the sutras prior to the Lotus as having entered nirvana have not in fact cut off the illusions of thought and desire and hence have not freed themselves from the six lower worlds. But since the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra is designed to show that persons of the two vehicles can actually attain Buddhahood, it says, “in that other land . . . [they] will be able to hear this sutra.” And since the Lotus Sutra has already stated that “in that other land . . . [they] will be able to hear this sutra,” we know that in the sutras preached prior to the Lotus there was no such thing as a Land of Transition.
And from this we know that in fact in these sutras there is no such thing as a Land of Actual Reward or a Land of Eternally Tranquil Light either. In order to show that bodhisattvas can attain Buddhahood, the Land of Actual Reward and the Land of Tranquil Light are temporarily postulated as existing. But since the world of the bodhisattva contains the worlds of the persons of the two vehicles, if persons of the two vehicles cannot attain Buddhahood, then bodhisattvas cannot attain Buddhahood either, for bodhisattvas will not have fulfilled their vow to save innumerable living beings.
If persons of the two vehicles lose themselves in the concept of non-substantiality and endeavor to annihilate their own existence, then bodhisattvas p.166also must lose themselves in the concept of non-substantiality and endeavor to annihilate their own existence. If ordinary mortals cannot escape from the six paths, then persons of the two vehicles cannot escape the six paths.
Since these sutras do not even make clear the existence of the Land of Transition, which is an inferior realm, they of course do not make clear the existence of the Land of Actual Reward or the Land of Tranquil Light, which are superior realms.
If through these sutras one could actually cut off the illusions of thought and desire, then why would the sutras not make clear the existence of a Land of Transition? And if through these sutras bodhisattvas could in fact reach the Land of Actual Reward or the Land of Tranquil Light, then why could persons of the two vehicles not reach the Land of Transition?
When these sutras speak of how bodhisattvas can free themselves from ignorance, they are postulating the existence of a Land of Actual Reward and a Land of Tranquil Light, though in such sutras these two kinds of lands do not in fact exist. In such sutras, the Land of Actual Reward and the Land of Tranquil Light are merely shown as phantom lands within the Land of Sages and Common Mortals. Thus when the Lotus Sutra speaks of those who “have gone three hundred yojanas,” it does not mean that such persons have actually freed themselves from the threefold world.
The theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra simply expounds the principle of the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds in terms of one who has gained enlightenment for the first time. It does not necessarily make clear the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds as it appears to one who has been in a state of original enlightenment from the beginning. Therefore in the theoretical teaching the members of the great assembly who receive instruction and the Buddha of perfect endowment who delivers the instruction are all beings who have gained enlightenment for the first time. And since this is the case, how can they avoid falling into the erroneous view that enlightenment is something that they did not possess originally but have now acquired?
One should understand that when the Buddhas of the four teachings of doctrine become Buddhas of perfect endowment, they do so in terms of the views expounded in the theoretical teaching. Therefore in the theoretical teaching, practitioners are ignorant of the Buddha who has been enlightened since time without beginning. Therefore the theoretical teaching lacks a revelation of that which is without beginning and without end, and does not possess any such outlook. It also lacks the principle of the body and mind that are constantly abiding and are without beginning.
When the Buddha says [in the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra], “These phenomena are part of an abiding Law,”39 he is speaking of that which in the future will be constantly abiding, not that which has been constantly abiding since past times.
Unless and until the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds is revealed in terms of what has always been in existence from the beginning, then there can be no world of Mahayana bodhisattvas that has existed from the beginning. From this you should understand, therefore, that persons of the two vehicles in the theoretical teaching have not yet cut off the illusions of thought and desire, and bodhisattvas in the theoretical teaching have not yet freed themselves from illusions about the true nature of existence. And ordinary mortals in the six paths do not dwell in the six worlds that have existed from the beginning. Thus emancipation attained by these p.167people exists in name only but not in actuality.
Therefore when we come to the “Emerging from the Earth” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, we find that, speaking of the bodhisattvas of the sutras prior to the Lotus and of the theoretical teaching of the Lotus, who are supposed to have freed themselves from illusions about the true nature of existence, it says, “fifty small kalpas . . . seem [to the members of the great assembly] like only half a day.” The reason the time seems to them so short is that they fail to realize that, in the case of the Buddha who has been enlightened since the far distant past, the Buddha of perfect endowment described in the “Life Span” chapter, time is neither long nor short but transcends the duality of long and short.
The sort of cutting off of illusions that characterizes the teachings of the earlier sutras and the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra is similar to the non-Buddhist practice of cutting off illusions with an outflows-ridden teaching.40 As soon as one ceases to practice it, illusions will arise again. The root and origin of illusions is a failure to understand the Buddha who has been enlightened since the far distant past.
Therefore Maitreya, who has cut off the first forty-one of the forty-two levels of ignorance, fails to recognize any of the multitude of beings as numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds who have emerged from the earth, the four kinds of practitioners who, with regard to the practices set forth in the essential teaching, have asked the Buddha to expound the teaching, have praised the teaching, have attained immediate benefit from it, and have formed a bond with it.
If Maitreya had already cut off at least a portion of the ignorance that is without beginning and had realized at least a portion of the essential nature of phenomena that pervades the Ten Worlds and is without beginning, how could he fail to recognize bodhisattvas who had attained the stage of near-perfect enlightenment? Or even if he did not recognize bodhisattvas in the stage of near-perfect enlightenment, how could he fail to recognize practitioners who had attained immediate benefit from the Buddha’s teaching and those who had formed a bond with it?
But when Maitreya says, “In this whole multitude there is not one person that I know,”41 this is the clearest kind of proof that in fact he has not yet cut off the three categories of illusion.
When we come to the revelation of the essential teaching, we see that the teachings put forth in the sutras preached prior to the Lotus and in the theoretical teaching of the Lotus are defined as doctrines that accord with the minds of others [and not with the Buddha’s own mind]. Bodhisattvas who follow such teachings are relegated to the realms of heavenly or human beings or asuras, beings who are described in the Lotus Sutra as those who “will become attached to the five desires and be caught in the net of deluded thoughts and imaginings,”42 or are referred to in the passage that reads, “Because of the befuddlement of ordinary people . . .”43 The commentary also refers to them when it says that “when the Buddha sat in the place of meditation, he did not gain a single truth.”44
Thus we know that when the Buddhas of the Tripitaka and connecting teachings are represented as having cut off the illusions of thought and desire, and when the Buddhas of the specific and perfect teachings are represented as having cut off illusions about the true nature of existence, none of them in fact have actually cut off illusions of thought and desire or illusions about the true nature of existence. And when the Buddha seems to say that they p.168have, he is merely speaking in a manner that accords with the minds of others. Though the beings whom he has instructed suppose that they have cut off the three categories of illusion, they have in fact not cut them off at all.
In replying to my earlier objections, you say that I am endorsing the theory of Chih-tsang of K’ai-shan-ssu temple that real voice-hearers were not present at the assembly of the Lotus Sutra. But in your own argument are you not seconding the opinion of Fa-yün of Kuang-che-ssu temple, who held that when the Lotus Sutra was preached, there were in fact real voice-hearers present?
T’ien-t’ai, however, has demonstrated that both these views are false. Chih-tsang concluded that in the sutras preached prior to the Lotus there were no real voice-hearers, while Fa-yün held that in the Lotus there were. But both views leave room for doubt and criticism.
T’ien-t’ai states, “In the sutras preached prior to the Lotus there were voice-hearers, but in the Lotus itself, there were none. In the deluded minds of the persons who were receiving instruction, there were voice-hearers, but in the view of a person of outstanding virtue [such as the Buddha] there were no voice-hearers.”45 In this passage, he shows that objections of the type you put forth represent the kind of relative standpoint typical of the sutras preached prior to the Lotus and the theoretical teaching of the Lotus. But from the standpoint of the essential teaching of the Lotus, such objections are invalid [and cannot be used to prove that in the earlier sutras persons of the two vehicles were able to free themselves from the threefold world].
Again you have said that the passage by T’ien-t’ai that reads, “Those who follow the seven expedient means will never reach complete and final extinction,” and that by Miao-lo that reads, “But if we speak of the observation of the mind, it does not accord with the principles” simply mean that, in comparison to the great benefits gained through the perfect teaching, the benefits gained through the sutras preached prior to the Lotus are inferior in nature and in this sense are described as “never reaching complete and final extinction” and as “not according with the principles.”
But how then do you interpret the passage in Miao-lo’s Diamond Scalpel that reads, “If one concentrates solely on the pure aspects of the essential nature of things, one will fail to conform even to the truth of things propounded by the Hinayana teaching. What then will become of the principle of the Buddha nature?”46
This passage of commentary about failure “to conform even to the truth of things propounded by the Hinayana teaching,” however, should under ordinary circumstances not be cited, as it pertains to a teaching of the greatest secrecy.
You have said that the passage in the Lotus Sutra that reads, “The Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law . . . all that you have expounded is the truth!” shows that, in the theoretical teaching of the Lotus, it is admitted that one may attain the way through the sutras preached prior to the Lotus. This establishes the principle that one may in fact attain the way through such sutras.
But this passage is simply saying that, in comparison to the sutras preached prior to the Lotus, the theoretical teaching of the Lotus represents an exposition of the truth. The theoretical teaching, however, does not reveal the fact that the Buddha gained enlightenment in the far distant past. It therefore belongs to the realm in which the Buddha has “not yet revealed the truth.”
Therefore in the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra, when Bodhisattva p.169Great Adornment and the other bodhisattvas say that persons have gained various benefits in the first forty and more years of the Buddha’s preaching life, the Buddha replies by saying that he has “not yet revealed the truth.”
Again, in the “Emerging from the Earth” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Maitreya voices doubts, saying, “When the Thus Come One was crown prince, you left the palace of the Shākyas and sat in the place of meditation not far from the city of Gayā, and there attained supreme perfect enlightenment. Barely forty years or more have passed since then.”
But the Buddha replies, “In all the worlds the heavenly and human beings and asuras all believe that the present Shakyamuni Buddha, after leaving the palace of the Shākyas, seated himself in the place of meditation not far from the city of Gayā and there attained supreme perfect enlightenment. But good men, it has been immeasurable, boundless hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayutas of kalpas since I in fact attained Buddhahood.”47
When the Buddha says it has been an infinitely long time “since I in fact attained Buddhahood,” he is indicating that everything contained in the teachings that precede the “Life Span” chapter represent a time when he had “not yet revealed the truth.”
Therefore volume nine of The Annotations on “The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra” says, “In the passage [of Words and Phrases] that begins with ‘the seven expedient means of earlier times’ and continues to ‘the truthful [words of the Thus Come One],’48 the provisional teachings known as the seven expedient means may seem to represent only the provisional teachings of the earlier period. But when we compare these to the doctrine on attainment of Buddhahood set forth in the essential teaching, we know that in both the provisional doctrines and in the [relatively] true doctrines [of the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra], the Buddha was speaking in a manner that accords with the minds of others.”
From this passage of commentary we can clearly understand that the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra belongs to the category of teachings in which the Buddha speaks in a manner that accords with the minds of others.
Regarding the passage in the “Life Span” chapter that reads, “All that I preach is true and not false,” T’ien-t’ai in his commentary states, “As far as living beings of the teaching of perfect and immediate enlightenment are concerned, of the two types of teachings, the theoretical teaching and the essential teaching, one is true, and the other, false.”49
The ninth volume of On “The Words and Phrases” comments on this as follows: “Therefore one should understand that what is truth in the theoretical teaching is falsehood when seen in the light of the essential teaching.”
It has already been established that the theoretical teaching is false and there is no need to discuss that point here. But with regard to the words in the Lotus Sutra that read, “All that you [Shakyamuni Buddha] have expounded is the truth!” it is correct to say that, when compared with the essential teaching, the theoretical teaching may be termed false. But when we come to discuss the truth or falsehood of all the teachings preached at the Lotus Sutra assembly, it may be said that both the essential teaching and the theoretical teaching are true.
Thus, for example, when in the theoretical teaching [Shāriputra] understood on hearing the doctrine preached, there were those who were slow to realize the truth and understood only after hearing the parables or learning of their past relationship with Shakyamuni. And yet in terms of the p.170whole assembly at which the Lotus Sutra was preached, it cannot be said that they failed to hear and understand the truth. Therefore they are included among those who awakened to the Buddha’s preaching.
Volume nine of On “The Words and Phrases” states, “With regard to the expedient teachings, both the teaching on the cause of Buddhahood and the teaching on the effect of Buddhahood are false. When, in the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra, the teaching on the cause of Buddhahood is revealed, the teaching on the effect of Buddhahood in the essential teaching of the sutra has yet to be put forth; thus there is one truth, but there is one falsehood. When the essential teaching is revealed, both types of teaching may be deemed true.”
This passage of commentary means that, before the essential teaching is revealed, the theoretical teaching, when compared to the essential teaching, still deserves to be called false. But once the essential teaching has been revealed, then the cause of Buddhahood expounded in the theoretical teaching is seen to be none other than the effect of Buddhahood as expounded in the essential teaching. Like the moon in the sky and the moon reflected in water,50 they are part of a single inherently existing Law, and both the essential teaching and the theoretical teaching are revealed as constantly abiding throughout the three existences of past, present, and future.
That which enables all living beings to gain enlightenment for the first time is what is known as the perfect cause set forth in the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra. And the original enlightenment of all living beings is what is known as the perfect effect set forth in the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra. This is what a passage of commentary means when it says, “One practices the one perfect cause and achieves the one perfect effect.”51
Thus when we discuss these matters of doctrine, we must realize that, unless and until the essential teaching is revealed, it is impossible through the sutras preached prior to the Lotus or through the theoretical teaching of the Lotus to free oneself from the six paths. How then could one ever free oneself from the nine worlds [and enter the tenth, that of Buddhahood]?
IT is said that if persons of the two vehicles do not free themselves from the threefold world, then the Ten Worlds that make up the realm of phenomena will lack in number.
Question:1 If one does not understand the principle of the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds, is it possible for one to free oneself from transmigration in the six paths of existence, or transmigration with differences and limitations, and gain birth in the land of transmigration with change and advance?
Answer: Persons of the two vehicles have already cut off the illusions of thought and desire and have no further cause to be reborn in the threefold world. Therefore why should they be reborn in a land in the threefold world? Thus we know that persons of the two vehicles will never be reborn in the six paths.
Hence the second volume of The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra states: “There are three types of persons who are born in the land of transmigration with change and advance: persons of the two vehicles who follow the Tripitaka teaching; persons of the three vehicles who follow the connecting teaching; and persons in the thirty stages of bodhisattva practice2 as set forth in the specific teaching.”
Persons in these three categories have all cut off the illusions of thought and desire and are able to be born in the land of transmigration with change and advance. They will never again be reborn in the impure lands of transmigration with differences and limitations, transmigration in the threefold world.
Objection: The Hinayana teachings speak only of the six paths that are the product of the mind. They do not discuss the six paths that are possessed by the mind. Therefore persons of the two vehicles are unable to make the six worlds manifest in themselves or to describe how these worlds are a possession of the mind. How then can they cut off the illusions of thought and desire that are associated with the six worlds and remove themselves from the six paths?
The “Life Span” chapter of the Lotus Sutra says, “In all the worlds the heavenly and human beings and asuras . . . ”3 But by these words, “heavenly and human beings and asuras,” it is referring to the persons of the two vehicles who follow the teachings of the sutras that precede the Lotus Sutra and the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra; to the bodhisattvas of the three teachings;4 and to those who follow the teaching of the fifth period, the perfect teaching.5 These are surely persons who have not yet fully cut off p.159the illusions of thought and desire, are they not?
Answer: The principle of the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds is the most profound doctrine of the Lotus Sutra, the very heart of the teachings of this school of ours. In the sutras that were preached in the forty and more years preceding the Lotus Sutra it was kept secret and never revealed.
But in the sutra teachings set forth in those forty and more years, we find numberless ordinary mortals who were able to cut off the illusions of thought and desire, reach the stage where they are free of outflows, and attain the unconditioned state represented by the two types of nirvana.6 Bodhisattvas as countless as particles of dust were able to overcome the general and specific types of illusion7 and to quickly transcend the bonds that tie them to the two categories of transmigration.8
Although in the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra the Buddha, speaking of the sutras preached in the preceding forty and more years, says, “I have not yet revealed the truth,” still we must allow that in these sutras that preceded the Lotus, persons of the three vehicles were able to gain benefits. And although in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha says that he is “honestly discarding expedient means,”9 in another passage [Shāriputra] says that he “saw how the bodhisattvas received prophecies that in time they would attain Buddhahood.”10
These passages indicate, do they not, that through the teachings set forth in the sutras preceding the Lotus, it was possible to gain a certain amount of benefit?
In the sutras that precede the Lotus, however, there are two matters that are not discussed. There is no discussion of the true Buddha of perfect endowment, nor is there any discussion of the fact that the Buddha attained enlightenment in the infinitely remote past. Therefore even bodhisattvas who have advanced as far as the stage of near-perfect enlightenment are still attached to the idea that the Buddha attained enlightenment for the first time in the recent past. In this sense, bodhisattvas and persons of the two vehicles are the same as those in the realms of heavenly and human beings, prevented by doctrines that mislead them from once and for all cutting off the illusions of earthly desires and the realm of birth and death. This is why the Buddha says, “I have not yet revealed the truth.”
But it is quite wrong to insist that because the principle of the mutual possession of the six worlds is not revealed in these sutras, one therefore cannot remove oneself from the six worlds through such sutras.
If there is mutual possession of the six worlds, there must be mutual possession of the Ten Worlds. Through the provisional teachings, one can understand that the differences that distinguish the six worlds from one another are the product of the mind. And when one meditates on these products [the six worlds and their differences] of the mind, then one cannot fail to [eliminate the illusions of thought and desire and] understand that the four noble worlds, whether upper or lower, are attainable. [In this sense, therefore, one can, through the sutras that precede the Lotus, remove oneself from the six worlds.]
A third objection is raised, as follows: The arguments you have outlined would seem to be quite in accord with reason. But if we examine the order in which the sacred teachings of the Buddha’s lifetime were put forward, we see that unless and until the wisdom associated with the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra and the observation of the mind11 is brought into play, then the state of the Buddha of perfect endowment can never be attained. Therefore, persons of the provisional teachings still remain in the state of ordinary p.160mortals and can never gain even the fruits of the provisional teachings that you mention.
The non-Buddhist teachers appeared in the five regions of India and propounded four inverted views. In order to refute these four inverted views, the Thus Come One appeared in the world and set forth the principles of suffering, non-substantiality, and so on. He did this in order to dispel the confusion created by the non-Buddhist teachers.
Thus, to dispel the non-Buddhist view that such a thing as the self exists, he took up the position of non-self, setting aside fire, as it were, and going along with water. People therefore assumed that if they adhered firmly to this concept of non-self, they could cut off the illusions of thought and desire and free themselves from the six paths, but this was in fact the source of their misunderstanding. Thus they maintained the view that both body and mind must be wiped out. These [non-Buddhist and Buddhist views] correspond to the two views, namely, that life ends with death and that the self is permanent, expounded in sutras such as the Great Collection Sutra.
There are, for example, non-Buddhist believers who have not yet freed themselves from outflows but who believe that they have attained the way. From the point of view of the wisdom that is free of outflows, however, they have not in fact emerged from the threefold world of unenlightened beings. To suppose that one can emerge from the threefold world without doing so through the Buddhist teachings is to make a baseless assumption.
The persons of the two vehicles who follow the teachings of Hinayana are similar in nature. When the Buddha preached the Hinayana teachings at Deer Park, these persons set aside the non-Buddhist view that the self exists and adopted the view that the self does not exist. For the next forty and more years, however, they failed to change their opinion, but continued to inhabit the thatched hut of the Hinayana teachings, never for a moment setting foot outside.
Again, in the case of the bodhisattvas of the Mahayana teachings, though they were told how the Ten Worlds are the product of the mind, the doctrine of the mind’s possession of the Ten Worlds was not revealed to them. Or in some cases they cut off the body and mind associated with the nine worlds and embraced the idea of advancing to the highest world, that of Buddhahood. Because they did so, they supposed that they could cut off the three categories of illusion, remove themselves from transmigration with change and advance, and instead gain birth in the land of Tranquil Light. But in supposing they could wipe out the nine worlds, they were falling into the view that life ends with death, and in supposing that they could advance and climb up to the world of Buddhahood, they were falling into the view that the self is permanent. To suppose that one can eliminate the permanently abiding body and mind associated with the nine worlds is to be confused and misled as to the true nature of these nine worlds.
Again the Great Teacher Miao-lo states, “But if we speak of the observation of the mind, it does not accord with the principles.”12
The meaning of this passage of commentary is that the Hinayana method of observation of the mind does not accord even with the principles of the Hinayana teaching.
And the ninth volume of T’ien-t’ai’s Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra says, “Those who follow the seven expedient means13 will never reach complete and final extinction.”
This passage of commentary means that bodhisattvas who follow the first p.161three teachings of the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings14 will in truth never attain Buddhahood.
But, although in the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra the Buddha says, “I have not yet revealed the truth,” it would appear that persons of the three vehicles can attain the way. And though in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha says he is “honestly discarding expedient means,” elsewhere in the sutra [Shāriputra] says that he “saw how the bodhisattvas received prophecies that in time they would attain Buddhahood.”
In the T’ien-t’ai school three standards of comparison are set forth. In the second standard, that which deals with the time when the Buddha’s instruction begins and when it reaches completion, there are persons who first established a relationship with the Lotus Sutra in the distant past.15 In order to guide them to the Lotus Sutra, in the sutras that precede the Lotus it is allowed that such persons can to some extent attain the way by practicing the three vehicles. But what they have in fact attained is only the stage of maturity in the three stages of sowing, maturing, and harvesting. This view represents that of the theoretical teaching.
When this view is compared to that of the essential teaching and that of the observation of the mind, one sees that it does not accord with the true principles, but is merely a position temporarily allowed. If we judge it in terms of the true principles, we see that such persons have failed to understand the original enlightenment attained by the Thus Come One in the far distant past and have no knowledge of the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, and therefore they can never transmigrate beyond the six paths.
Hence the commentary says, “Such persons are outside the vehicle of the perfect teaching and therefore are called non-Buddhists.”16 And in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha declares, “Good men, [the Thus Come One observes how among living beings there are] those who delight in lesser teachings, meager in virtue and heavy with defilement.”17
From this we can see that both the sutra and the commentary are perfectly clear on the principle involved here.
Answer: Your objection would seem to be based on a strict adherence to your personal view but it is not in accord with principle. The reason is that the teachings of the Thus Come One are designed to fit the capacities of the hearers and are not put forward for no reason at all. Therefore he devised the four teachings of method, including the sudden teaching, and the four teachings of doctrine, including the Tripitaka teaching, to fit persons of eight different types of capacity. It is wrong to assert that such teachings bring no benefit at all to those who embrace them. Hence the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra says, “Therefore the way [enlightenment] living beings gained was not uniform but differed in different cases.”
To be sure, the same sutra later says, “They will in the end fail to gain unsurpassed enlightenment.” But although it makes this admission, this does not mean that the three doctrines [of the four noble truths, the twelve-linked chain of causation, and the six pāramitās] and the doctrines of the four stages of Hinayana enlightenment are of no benefit at all. It is simply a difference between those who attain enlightenment immediately and those who become enlightened only after spending many long kalpas in the process. It is not a fact, as you assert, that no one can in any sense gain the way through such methods.
Thus there are also those who acquire the three insights and the six transcendental powers, or bodhisattvas p.162who are capable of manifesting their physical forms everywhere. Though they may not practice the threefold contemplation in a single mind and thereby cut off the three categories of illusion that originate in the same single mind, they have already acquired the wisdom to analyze all into non-substantiality and can cut off the illusions of thought and desire. Therefore how could they fail to remove themselves from the twenty-five realms that make up the threefold world?
Hence the commentary states, “If when I [the Buddha] encounter living beings I should cause them to practice the lesser vehicle, I would be guilty of stinginess and greed, but such a thing would be impossible. I would merely be allowing them to remove themselves from the twenty-five realms of the threefold world.”18
This passage, one should understand, says that such a thing “would be impossible,” but it does allow that one can remove oneself from the threefold world. It is simply that such persons have not perceived the non-substantiality that is beyond comprehension and have therefore been unable to manifest the wisdom associated with that non-substantiality beyond comprehension. But one cannot deny that they have to some small degree given rise to an understanding of non-substantiality. If one argues that they have not, through the wisdom of non-substantiality, been able to cut off the illusions of thought and desire, then is this not the same as the view held by Chih-tsang of K’ai-shan-ssu temple that real voice-hearers were not present at the assembly of the Lotus Sutra?
The point is even clearer when we consider that this sutra, the Lotus, says that it is honestly discarding provisional teachings and preaching the one true teaching that is pure and perfect. And speaking of the voice-hearers who had gained benefit through the sutras preached prior to the Lotus, it says, “[All were arhats whose] outflows had come to an end, who had no more earthly desires.”19 And it also states, “[Because if there are monks] who have truly attained the status of arhat, then it would be unthinkable that they should fail to believe this Law.”20 And it further says, “When they have gone three hundred yojanas along the steep road, [he] conjures up a city.”21 If the voice-hearers referred to here had been no different in any way from ordinary people, then it would have been impossible for them to have gone even one step, much less the full five hundred yojanas of the steep road described in the text.
Again, the Lotus Sutra states: “[After I have entered extinction, there will be other disciples who will not hear this sutra and will not understand or be aware of the practices carried out by the bodhisattvas, but who], through the blessings they have been able to attain, will conceive an idea of extinction and enter into what they believe to be nirvana. At that time I will be a Buddha in another land and will be known by a different name. Those disciples, though they have conceived an idea of extinction and entered into what they take to be nirvana, will in that other land seek the Buddha wisdom and will be able to hear this sutra.”22
This passage, referring to persons who have already attained the stage of enlightenment known as arhat, but were not present at the assembly when the Buddha preached the Lotus Sutra, shows that they have entered the nirvana of no remainder and have been reborn in the Land of Transition, where they will hear the preaching of the Lotus Sutra. If this is true and they have already been reborn in the Land of Transition, then how can one say that they have not yet cut off the illusions of thought and desire? That is why T’ien-t’ai and Miao-lo in their p.163commentaries refer to such persons as those who “will hear this sutra in another land.”23
And again, referring to the bodhisattvas of the sutras that were preached prior to the Lotus, the Buddha says in the Lotus Sutra, “So when these living beings see me for the first time and listen to my preaching, they all immediately believe and accept it, entering into the wisdom of the Thus Come One.”24
From this we should understand that the bodhisattvas of the sutras preached prior to the Lotus have cut off the three categories of illusion and entered into the Buddha wisdom. Therefore the commentary says, “The Buddha wisdom shown at the beginning and that at the latter time are alike in representing the principle of perfect and immediate enlightenment.”25 Another commentary also says, “Therefore if we examine the first sutra and the last sutra, we see that in meaning they are both concerned with the Buddha wisdom.”26
If all these various passages from the sutras and commentaries are meaningless, then we must assume that the assurances of truthfulness contained in the Buddha’s pronouncement about honestly discarding provisional teachings, about the “one great reason”27 [for which the Buddhas appear in the world], or the statement “The Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law . . . all that you [Shakyamuni Buddha] have expounded is the truth!”28—all these pronouncements are invalid. But surely the words “all that you have expounded is the truth” are meant to apply to the entire eight volumes of the Lotus Sutra, are they not?
If they are not, then the supernatural powers shown by Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the emanations of Shakyamuni from the ten directions when they extended their tongues upward to the Brahma heaven, the assurances given by the Buddhas of the three existences that the sutra is true and free from any falsehood—all these are mere empty froth and bubbles!
However, with regard to your point that Hinayana followers fail to understand that both the idea of the permanence of the self and the idea of the annihilation of life by death must be discarded, it is true that, in comparison to the Mahayana teachings, the understanding of Hinayana followers is similar to that of non-Buddhist believers. But this does not mean that it is without any benefit at all.
Again, you have cited the passage in Words and Phrases that says, “Those who follow the seven expedient means will never reach complete and final extinction,” and the passage that states, “But if we speak of the observation of the mind, it does not accord with the principles.” But these simply mean that, in comparison to the great benefits to be gained through the perfect and true teaching, the benefits gained through the seven expedient means are inferior in nature and in this sense are described in the commentaries as “never reaching complete and final extinction” and as “not according with the principles.”
For the fourth time objections are posed: If we consider the sacred teachings of the Buddha’s lifetime in the light of the observation of the mind set forth in the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra, then their true nature is as easily perceived as a mango held in the palm of one’s hand. That is to say, when the great doctrines of the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra are expounded, then the great doctrines set forth in the sutras preached prior to the Lotus are cancelled out. When the great doctrines of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra are expounded, then both the theoretical teaching and the teachings of the sutras that precede the Lotus are cancelled out. And when the p.164great doctrine of the observation of the mind is expounded, then the essential teaching, the theoretical teaching, and the teachings of the earlier sutras are all cancelled out.
Such is the nature of the sacred teachings set forth by the Thus Come One, namely, that they overcome delusions step by step, beginning with doctrines that are shallow and moving forward to those that are profound.
But the Thus Come One did not preach for the sake of one person alone. If he had not expounded the great way in order to dispel delusion, it would be difficult for anyone to escape from the realm of birth and death.
The sutras preached prior to the Lotus contain eight types of teaching. Of the four teachings of method, the sudden teaching is set forth in the Flower Garland Sutra, and the gradual teaching in the sutras of three flavors,29 while the secret teaching and the indeterminate teaching30 are found throughout the sutras of the first four flavors.
Of the four teachings of doctrine, the Tripitaka teaching is found in the Āgama sutras and the Correct and Equal sutras, the connecting teaching in the Correct and Equal sutras and the Wisdom sutras, and the specific and perfect teachings are found throughout the sutras of the first four flavors with the exception of those preached in Deer Park.31
These eight types of teachings were each of them designed for persons of different types of capacity, and therefore they differ in the particular doctrines they contain. The Buddhas who set forth the four teachings of doctrine are different from one another, and persons of one particular capacity who receive the teachings designed for them know nothing about the Buddhas of the teachings designed for other types of persons. Therefore the commentary says, “Each living being sees only the particular Buddha appropriate to him standing alone before him.”32
It is perfectly clear that beings in the human and heavenly realms are to observe the five precepts and the ten good precepts, that those of the two vehicles are to embrace the four noble truths and the twelve-linked chain of causation, and that bodhisattvas are to practice the six pāramitās, and after three asamkhya kalpas or a hundred major kalpas,33 or after kalpas equal in number to dust particles or more numerous than them,34 or after countless asamkhya kalpas,35 they may achieve enlightenment, while in the case of bodhisattvas of the perfect teaching, “the first time they conceive the desire to do so, they can attain enlightenment.”36
Thus there is a difference in the teachings directed to people of different capacities. Because there is a difference in the teaching, there is also a difference in the practice to be carried out. And because there is a difference in the practice, there is a difference in the fruits or results attained. Thus we know that beings of different capacities are not alike in the benefits that they gain.
In the “Expedient Means” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, however, the Buddha declares, “The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, wish to open the door of Buddha wisdom to all living beings.” Thus, living beings of the eight different types of capacity and the four evil paths all become like the Thus Come One Shakyamuni, possessing all five types of vision, possessing in one world all the Ten Worlds and in the Ten Worlds all the hundred worlds.
When we stop to consider the sutras preached prior to the Lotus from this standpoint, we see that the Buddhas depicted in them do not possess within their own world [of Buddhahood] the worlds of the two vehicles, and that the persons of the two vehicles do not p.165possess the world of the bodhisattva. Thus human and heavenly beings in the threefold world have no hope of ever attaining Buddhahood. They do not realize that the cutting off of illusions carried out by beings of the two vehicles or by bodhisattvas is tantamount to the cutting off of their own illusions. They recognize that the wisdom possessed by beings of the three vehicles or the four vehicles37 can free such beings from the four evil paths. But they imagine that all these different worlds are separate from one another and do not realize that they are all a single entity.
In the sutras preached in this early period, it was supposed that persons of the two vehicles simply cut off the illusions of thought and desire within their own two worlds of voice-hearer and cause-awakened one. It was not realized that, in doing so, they also cut off the illusions of thought and desire within their own six lower worlds as well. And the same error applied, too, in the view of bodhisattvas expounded in those sutras. It was supposed that bodhisattvas endeavored to cut off the three categories of illusion within their own bodhisattva world, but it was not realized that, in doing so, they also cut off the three categories of illusion within their own six lower worlds and the worlds of the voice-hearer and cause-awakened one.
But once one gains enlightenment into the truth, then one will understand that the beings of one world are the beings of the Ten Worlds, and the beings of the Ten Worlds are the beings of one world. Thus, if the illusions of thought and desire are not cut off in the six lower worlds, then they can never be cut off in the worlds of the two vehicles.
Though this is the case, the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra takes measures to correct the view that the first nine of the Ten Worlds are all separate from one another, making clear the principle of the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds as a step to enable one to become a Buddha of perfect endowment. Thus it does not disdain the limited benefits gained by those who followed the sutras preached before the Lotus. Hence the Lotus speaks of those “whose outflows of the threefold world had come to an end,”38 who “have gone three hundred yojanas,” or who “see me for the first time.”
Again the persons of the two vehicles who are depicted in the sutras prior to the Lotus as having entered nirvana have not in fact cut off the illusions of thought and desire and hence have not freed themselves from the six lower worlds. But since the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra is designed to show that persons of the two vehicles can actually attain Buddhahood, it says, “in that other land . . . [they] will be able to hear this sutra.” And since the Lotus Sutra has already stated that “in that other land . . . [they] will be able to hear this sutra,” we know that in the sutras preached prior to the Lotus there was no such thing as a Land of Transition.
And from this we know that in fact in these sutras there is no such thing as a Land of Actual Reward or a Land of Eternally Tranquil Light either. In order to show that bodhisattvas can attain Buddhahood, the Land of Actual Reward and the Land of Tranquil Light are temporarily postulated as existing. But since the world of the bodhisattva contains the worlds of the persons of the two vehicles, if persons of the two vehicles cannot attain Buddhahood, then bodhisattvas cannot attain Buddhahood either, for bodhisattvas will not have fulfilled their vow to save innumerable living beings.
If persons of the two vehicles lose themselves in the concept of non-substantiality and endeavor to annihilate their own existence, then bodhisattvas p.166also must lose themselves in the concept of non-substantiality and endeavor to annihilate their own existence. If ordinary mortals cannot escape from the six paths, then persons of the two vehicles cannot escape the six paths.
Since these sutras do not even make clear the existence of the Land of Transition, which is an inferior realm, they of course do not make clear the existence of the Land of Actual Reward or the Land of Tranquil Light, which are superior realms.
If through these sutras one could actually cut off the illusions of thought and desire, then why would the sutras not make clear the existence of a Land of Transition? And if through these sutras bodhisattvas could in fact reach the Land of Actual Reward or the Land of Tranquil Light, then why could persons of the two vehicles not reach the Land of Transition?
When these sutras speak of how bodhisattvas can free themselves from ignorance, they are postulating the existence of a Land of Actual Reward and a Land of Tranquil Light, though in such sutras these two kinds of lands do not in fact exist. In such sutras, the Land of Actual Reward and the Land of Tranquil Light are merely shown as phantom lands within the Land of Sages and Common Mortals. Thus when the Lotus Sutra speaks of those who “have gone three hundred yojanas,” it does not mean that such persons have actually freed themselves from the threefold world.
The theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra simply expounds the principle of the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds in terms of one who has gained enlightenment for the first time. It does not necessarily make clear the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds as it appears to one who has been in a state of original enlightenment from the beginning. Therefore in the theoretical teaching the members of the great assembly who receive instruction and the Buddha of perfect endowment who delivers the instruction are all beings who have gained enlightenment for the first time. And since this is the case, how can they avoid falling into the erroneous view that enlightenment is something that they did not possess originally but have now acquired?
One should understand that when the Buddhas of the four teachings of doctrine become Buddhas of perfect endowment, they do so in terms of the views expounded in the theoretical teaching. Therefore in the theoretical teaching, practitioners are ignorant of the Buddha who has been enlightened since time without beginning. Therefore the theoretical teaching lacks a revelation of that which is without beginning and without end, and does not possess any such outlook. It also lacks the principle of the body and mind that are constantly abiding and are without beginning.
When the Buddha says [in the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra], “These phenomena are part of an abiding Law,”39 he is speaking of that which in the future will be constantly abiding, not that which has been constantly abiding since past times.
Unless and until the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds is revealed in terms of what has always been in existence from the beginning, then there can be no world of Mahayana bodhisattvas that has existed from the beginning. From this you should understand, therefore, that persons of the two vehicles in the theoretical teaching have not yet cut off the illusions of thought and desire, and bodhisattvas in the theoretical teaching have not yet freed themselves from illusions about the true nature of existence. And ordinary mortals in the six paths do not dwell in the six worlds that have existed from the beginning. Thus emancipation attained by these p.167people exists in name only but not in actuality.
Therefore when we come to the “Emerging from the Earth” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, we find that, speaking of the bodhisattvas of the sutras prior to the Lotus and of the theoretical teaching of the Lotus, who are supposed to have freed themselves from illusions about the true nature of existence, it says, “fifty small kalpas . . . seem [to the members of the great assembly] like only half a day.” The reason the time seems to them so short is that they fail to realize that, in the case of the Buddha who has been enlightened since the far distant past, the Buddha of perfect endowment described in the “Life Span” chapter, time is neither long nor short but transcends the duality of long and short.
The sort of cutting off of illusions that characterizes the teachings of the earlier sutras and the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra is similar to the non-Buddhist practice of cutting off illusions with an outflows-ridden teaching.40 As soon as one ceases to practice it, illusions will arise again. The root and origin of illusions is a failure to understand the Buddha who has been enlightened since the far distant past.
Therefore Maitreya, who has cut off the first forty-one of the forty-two levels of ignorance, fails to recognize any of the multitude of beings as numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds who have emerged from the earth, the four kinds of practitioners who, with regard to the practices set forth in the essential teaching, have asked the Buddha to expound the teaching, have praised the teaching, have attained immediate benefit from it, and have formed a bond with it.
If Maitreya had already cut off at least a portion of the ignorance that is without beginning and had realized at least a portion of the essential nature of phenomena that pervades the Ten Worlds and is without beginning, how could he fail to recognize bodhisattvas who had attained the stage of near-perfect enlightenment? Or even if he did not recognize bodhisattvas in the stage of near-perfect enlightenment, how could he fail to recognize practitioners who had attained immediate benefit from the Buddha’s teaching and those who had formed a bond with it?
But when Maitreya says, “In this whole multitude there is not one person that I know,”41 this is the clearest kind of proof that in fact he has not yet cut off the three categories of illusion.
When we come to the revelation of the essential teaching, we see that the teachings put forth in the sutras preached prior to the Lotus and in the theoretical teaching of the Lotus are defined as doctrines that accord with the minds of others [and not with the Buddha’s own mind]. Bodhisattvas who follow such teachings are relegated to the realms of heavenly or human beings or asuras, beings who are described in the Lotus Sutra as those who “will become attached to the five desires and be caught in the net of deluded thoughts and imaginings,”42 or are referred to in the passage that reads, “Because of the befuddlement of ordinary people . . .”43 The commentary also refers to them when it says that “when the Buddha sat in the place of meditation, he did not gain a single truth.”44
Thus we know that when the Buddhas of the Tripitaka and connecting teachings are represented as having cut off the illusions of thought and desire, and when the Buddhas of the specific and perfect teachings are represented as having cut off illusions about the true nature of existence, none of them in fact have actually cut off illusions of thought and desire or illusions about the true nature of existence. And when the Buddha seems to say that they p.168have, he is merely speaking in a manner that accords with the minds of others. Though the beings whom he has instructed suppose that they have cut off the three categories of illusion, they have in fact not cut them off at all.
In replying to my earlier objections, you say that I am endorsing the theory of Chih-tsang of K’ai-shan-ssu temple that real voice-hearers were not present at the assembly of the Lotus Sutra. But in your own argument are you not seconding the opinion of Fa-yün of Kuang-che-ssu temple, who held that when the Lotus Sutra was preached, there were in fact real voice-hearers present?
T’ien-t’ai, however, has demonstrated that both these views are false. Chih-tsang concluded that in the sutras preached prior to the Lotus there were no real voice-hearers, while Fa-yün held that in the Lotus there were. But both views leave room for doubt and criticism.
T’ien-t’ai states, “In the sutras preached prior to the Lotus there were voice-hearers, but in the Lotus itself, there were none. In the deluded minds of the persons who were receiving instruction, there were voice-hearers, but in the view of a person of outstanding virtue [such as the Buddha] there were no voice-hearers.”45 In this passage, he shows that objections of the type you put forth represent the kind of relative standpoint typical of the sutras preached prior to the Lotus and the theoretical teaching of the Lotus. But from the standpoint of the essential teaching of the Lotus, such objections are invalid [and cannot be used to prove that in the earlier sutras persons of the two vehicles were able to free themselves from the threefold world].
Again you have said that the passage by T’ien-t’ai that reads, “Those who follow the seven expedient means will never reach complete and final extinction,” and that by Miao-lo that reads, “But if we speak of the observation of the mind, it does not accord with the principles” simply mean that, in comparison to the great benefits gained through the perfect teaching, the benefits gained through the sutras preached prior to the Lotus are inferior in nature and in this sense are described as “never reaching complete and final extinction” and as “not according with the principles.”
But how then do you interpret the passage in Miao-lo’s Diamond Scalpel that reads, “If one concentrates solely on the pure aspects of the essential nature of things, one will fail to conform even to the truth of things propounded by the Hinayana teaching. What then will become of the principle of the Buddha nature?”46
This passage of commentary about failure “to conform even to the truth of things propounded by the Hinayana teaching,” however, should under ordinary circumstances not be cited, as it pertains to a teaching of the greatest secrecy.
You have said that the passage in the Lotus Sutra that reads, “The Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law . . . all that you have expounded is the truth!” shows that, in the theoretical teaching of the Lotus, it is admitted that one may attain the way through the sutras preached prior to the Lotus. This establishes the principle that one may in fact attain the way through such sutras.
But this passage is simply saying that, in comparison to the sutras preached prior to the Lotus, the theoretical teaching of the Lotus represents an exposition of the truth. The theoretical teaching, however, does not reveal the fact that the Buddha gained enlightenment in the far distant past. It therefore belongs to the realm in which the Buddha has “not yet revealed the truth.”
Therefore in the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra, when Bodhisattva p.169Great Adornment and the other bodhisattvas say that persons have gained various benefits in the first forty and more years of the Buddha’s preaching life, the Buddha replies by saying that he has “not yet revealed the truth.”
Again, in the “Emerging from the Earth” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Maitreya voices doubts, saying, “When the Thus Come One was crown prince, you left the palace of the Shākyas and sat in the place of meditation not far from the city of Gayā, and there attained supreme perfect enlightenment. Barely forty years or more have passed since then.”
But the Buddha replies, “In all the worlds the heavenly and human beings and asuras all believe that the present Shakyamuni Buddha, after leaving the palace of the Shākyas, seated himself in the place of meditation not far from the city of Gayā and there attained supreme perfect enlightenment. But good men, it has been immeasurable, boundless hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayutas of kalpas since I in fact attained Buddhahood.”47
When the Buddha says it has been an infinitely long time “since I in fact attained Buddhahood,” he is indicating that everything contained in the teachings that precede the “Life Span” chapter represent a time when he had “not yet revealed the truth.”
Therefore volume nine of The Annotations on “The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra” says, “In the passage [of Words and Phrases] that begins with ‘the seven expedient means of earlier times’ and continues to ‘the truthful [words of the Thus Come One],’48 the provisional teachings known as the seven expedient means may seem to represent only the provisional teachings of the earlier period. But when we compare these to the doctrine on attainment of Buddhahood set forth in the essential teaching, we know that in both the provisional doctrines and in the [relatively] true doctrines [of the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra], the Buddha was speaking in a manner that accords with the minds of others.”
From this passage of commentary we can clearly understand that the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra belongs to the category of teachings in which the Buddha speaks in a manner that accords with the minds of others.
Regarding the passage in the “Life Span” chapter that reads, “All that I preach is true and not false,” T’ien-t’ai in his commentary states, “As far as living beings of the teaching of perfect and immediate enlightenment are concerned, of the two types of teachings, the theoretical teaching and the essential teaching, one is true, and the other, false.”49
The ninth volume of On “The Words and Phrases” comments on this as follows: “Therefore one should understand that what is truth in the theoretical teaching is falsehood when seen in the light of the essential teaching.”
It has already been established that the theoretical teaching is false and there is no need to discuss that point here. But with regard to the words in the Lotus Sutra that read, “All that you [Shakyamuni Buddha] have expounded is the truth!” it is correct to say that, when compared with the essential teaching, the theoretical teaching may be termed false. But when we come to discuss the truth or falsehood of all the teachings preached at the Lotus Sutra assembly, it may be said that both the essential teaching and the theoretical teaching are true.
Thus, for example, when in the theoretical teaching [Shāriputra] understood on hearing the doctrine preached, there were those who were slow to realize the truth and understood only after hearing the parables or learning of their past relationship with Shakyamuni. And yet in terms of the p.170whole assembly at which the Lotus Sutra was preached, it cannot be said that they failed to hear and understand the truth. Therefore they are included among those who awakened to the Buddha’s preaching.
Volume nine of On “The Words and Phrases” states, “With regard to the expedient teachings, both the teaching on the cause of Buddhahood and the teaching on the effect of Buddhahood are false. When, in the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra, the teaching on the cause of Buddhahood is revealed, the teaching on the effect of Buddhahood in the essential teaching of the sutra has yet to be put forth; thus there is one truth, but there is one falsehood. When the essential teaching is revealed, both types of teaching may be deemed true.”
This passage of commentary means that, before the essential teaching is revealed, the theoretical teaching, when compared to the essential teaching, still deserves to be called false. But once the essential teaching has been revealed, then the cause of Buddhahood expounded in the theoretical teaching is seen to be none other than the effect of Buddhahood as expounded in the essential teaching. Like the moon in the sky and the moon reflected in water,50 they are part of a single inherently existing Law, and both the essential teaching and the theoretical teaching are revealed as constantly abiding throughout the three existences of past, present, and future.
That which enables all living beings to gain enlightenment for the first time is what is known as the perfect cause set forth in the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra. And the original enlightenment of all living beings is what is known as the perfect effect set forth in the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra. This is what a passage of commentary means when it says, “One practices the one perfect cause and achieves the one perfect effect.”51
Thus when we discuss these matters of doctrine, we must realize that, unless and until the essential teaching is revealed, it is impossible through the sutras preached prior to the Lotus or through the theoretical teaching of the Lotus to free oneself from the six paths. How then could one ever free oneself from the nine worlds [and enter the tenth, that of Buddhahood]?
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/lsoc/Content/20
CHAPTER 20
The Bodhisattva Never Disparaging
At that time the Buddha said to the bodhisattva mahasattva Gainer of Great Authority: “You should understand this. When monks, nuns, laymen, or laywomen uphold the Lotus Sutra, if anyone should speak ill of them, curse, or slander them, he will suffer severe recompense for his crime, as I have explained earlier. And I have also explained earlier the benefits gained by those who uphold the sutra, namely, purification of their eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
“Gainer of Great Authority, long ago, an immeasurable, boundless, inconceivable number of asamkhya kalpas in the past, there was a buddha named Awesome Sound King Thus Come One, worthy of offerings, of right and universal knowledge, perfect clarity and conduct, well gone, understanding the world, unexcelled worthy, trainer of people, teacher of heavenly and human beings, buddha, world-honored one. His kalpa was called Exempt from Decay and his land was called Great Achievement.
“This buddha Awesome Sound King during the age when he lived preached the Law for heavenly and human beings and asuras. For those who were seeking to become voice-hearers he responded by preaching the doctrine of the four noble truths so that they could transcend birth, aging, sickness, and death and eventually attain nirvana. For those seeking to become pratyekabuddhas he responded by preaching the doctrine of the twelve-linked chain of causation. For the bodhisattvas, as a means to p.308lead them to supreme perfect enlightenment, he responded by preaching the doctrine of the six paramitas so that they could eventually gain the buddha wisdom.
“Gainer of Great Authority, this buddha Awesome Sound King had a life span of kalpas equal to the sands of four hundred thousand million nayutas of Ganges Rivers. His Correct Law endured in the world for as many kalpas as there are dust particles in one Jambudvipa. His Counterfeit Law endured in the world for as many kalpas as there are dust particles in the four continents. After this buddha had finished bringing great benefit to living beings, he passed into extinction.
“After his Correct Law and Counterfeit Law had come to an end, another buddha appeared in the same land. He too was named Awesome Sound King Thus Come One, worthy of offerings, of right and universal knowledge, perfect clarity and conduct, well gone, understanding the world, unexcelled worthy, trainer of people, teacher of heavenly and human beings, buddha, world-honored one. This process continued until twenty thousand million buddhas had appeared one after the other, all bearing the same name.
“After the original Awesome Sound King Thus Come One had passed into extinction, and after his Correct Law had also passed away, in the period of his Counterfeit Law, monks of overbearing arrogance exercised great authority and power. At this time there was a bodhisattva monk named Never Disparaging. Now, Gainer of Great Authority, for what reason was he named Never Disparaging? This monk, whatever persons he happened to meet, whether monks, nuns, laymen, or laywomen, would bow in obeisance to all of them and speak words of praise, saying, ‘I have profound reverence for you, I would never dare treat you with disparagement or arrogance. Why? Because you will all practice the bodhisattva way and will then be able to attain buddhahood.’
“This monk did not devote his time to reading or reciting the scriptures, but simply went about bowing to people. And if he happened to see any of the four kinds of believers far off in the p.309distance, he would purposely go to where they were, bow to them, and speak words of praise, saying, ‘I would never dare disparage you, because you are all certain to attain buddhahood!’
“Among the four kinds of believers there were those who gave way to anger, their minds lacking in purity, and they spoke ill of him and cursed him, saying, ‘This ignorant monk—where does he come from, presuming to declare that he does not disparage us and bestowing on us a prediction that we will attain buddhahood? We have no use for such vain and irresponsible predictions!’
“Many years passed in this way, during which this monk was constantly subjected to curses and abuse. He did not give way to anger, however, but each time spoke the same words, ‘You are certain to attain buddhahood.’ When he spoke in this manner, some among the group would take sticks of wood or tiles and stones and beat and pelt him. But even as he ran away and took up his stance at a distance, he continued to call out in a loud voice, ‘I would never dare disparage you, for you are all certain to attain buddhahood!’ And because he always spoke these words, the overbearingly arrogant monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen gave him the name Never Disparaging.
“When this monk was on the point of death, he heard up in the sky fully twenty thousand, ten thousand, a million verses of the Lotus Sutra that had previously been preached by the buddha Awesome Sound King, and he was able to accept and uphold them all. Immediately he gained the kind of purity of vision and purity of the faculties of the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind that have been described above. Having gained this purity of the six faculties, his life span was increased by two hundred ten thousand million nayutas of years, and he went about widely preaching the Lotus Sutra for people.
“At that time, when the four kinds of believers who were overbearingly arrogant, the monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen who had looked with contempt on this monk and given him the name Never Disparaging—when they saw that he had gained great transcendental powers, the power to preach pleasingly and p.310eloquently, the power of great goodness and tranquillity, and when they heard his preaching, they all took faith in him and willingly became his followers.
“This bodhisattva converted a multitude of a thousand, ten thousand, a million, causing them to abide in the state of supreme perfect enlightenment. After his life came to an end, he was able to encounter two thousand million buddhas, all bearing the name Sun Moon Bright, and in the midst of their Law he preached this Lotus Sutra. Through the causes and conditions created thereby, he was also able to encounter two thousand million buddhas, all with the identical name Cloud Freedom Lamp King. In the midst of the Law of these buddhas, he accepted, upheld, read, recited, and preached this sutra for the four kinds of believers. For that reason he was able to gain purification of his ordinary eyes, and the faculties of his ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind were likewise purified. Among the four kinds of believers he preached the Law with no fear in his mind.
“Gainer of Great Authority, this bodhisattva mahasattva Never Disparaging in this manner offered alms to a vast number of buddhas, treating them with reverence and honor and praising them. Having planted these good roots, he was later able to encounter a thousand, ten thousand, a million buddhas, and in the midst of the Law of these buddhas, he preached this sutra, gaining benefits that allowed him to attain buddhahood.
“Gainer of Great Authority, what do you think? The bodhisattva Never Disparaging who lived at that time—could he be unknown to you? In fact he was none other than I myself! If in my previous existences I had not accepted, upheld, read, and recited this sutra and preached it for others, I would never have been able to attain supreme perfect enlightenment this quickly. Because in the presence of those earlier buddhas I accepted, upheld, read, and recited this sutra and preached it for others, I was able quickly to attain supreme perfect enlightenment.
“Gainer of Great Authority, at that time the four kinds of believers, the monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen, because anger arose in their minds and they treated me with disparagement and contempt, were for two hundred million kalpas never p.311able to encounter a buddha, to hear the Law, or to see the community of monks. For a thousand kalpas they underwent great suffering in the Avichi hell. After they had finished paying for their offenses, they once more encountered the bodhisattva Never Disparaging, who instructed them in supreme perfect enlightenment.
“Gainer of Great Authority, what do you think? The four kinds of believers who at that time constantly disparaged this bodhisattva—could they be unknown to you? They are in this assembly now, Bhadrapala and his group, five hundred bodhisattvas; Lion Moon and her group, five hundred nuns; and Thinking of Buddha and his group, five hundred laymen, all having reached the state where they will never regress in their search for supreme perfect enlightenment!
“Gainer of Great Authority, you should understand that this Lotus Sutra richly benefits the bodhisattvas mahasattva, for it can cause them to attain supreme perfect enlightenment. For this reason, after the thus come one has passed into extinction, the bodhisattvas mahasattva should at all times accept, uphold, read, recite, explain, preach, and transcribe this sutra.”
At that time the world-honored one, wishing to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying:
In the past there was a buddha
named Awesome Sound King,
of immeasurable supernatural powers and wisdom,
leading and guiding one and all.
Heavenly beings, human beings, dragons
joined in offering him alms.
After this buddha had entered extinction,
when his Law was about to expire,
there was a bodhisattva
named Never Disparaging.
The four kinds of believers at that time
scrutinized and adhered to the doctrines.
The bodhisattva Never Disparaging
would go to where they were
p.312and speak to them, saying,
“I would never disparage you,
for you will practice the way
and all of you will become buddhas!”
When the people heard this,
they gibed at him, cursed, and reviled him,
but the bodhisattva Never Disparaging
bore all this with patience.
When his offenses had been wiped out
and his life was drawing to a close,
he was able to hear this sutra
and his six faculties were purified.
Because of his transcendental powers
his life span was extended,
and for the sake of others
he preached this sutra far and wide.
The many people who adhered to the doctrines
all received teaching and conversion
from this bodhisattva,
who caused them to dwell in the buddha way.
When Never Disparaging’s life ended,
he encountered numberless buddhas,
and because he preached this sutra
he gained immeasurable blessings.
Bit by bit he had acquired merit
and quickly completed the buddha way.
Never Disparaging, who lived at that time,
was none other than myself.
And the four kinds of believers
who adhered to the doctrines then,
who heard Never Disparaging say,
“You will become buddhas!”
and through the causes thus created
encountered numberless buddhas—
they are here in this assembly,
a group of five hundred bodhisattvas,
and the four kinds of believers,
p.313men and women of pure faith
who now in my presence
listen to the Law.
In previous existences
I encouraged these persons
to listen to and accept this sutra,
the foremost in all the teachings,
unfolding it, teaching people,
and causing them to dwell in nirvana.
So in age after age they accepted and upheld
scriptures of this kind.
A million million ten thousand kalpas,
an inconceivable time will pass
before at last one can hear
this Lotus Sutra.
A million million ten thousand kalpas,
an inconceivable time will pass
before the buddhas, world-honored ones,
preach this sutra.
Therefore its practitioners,
after the Buddha has entered extinction,
when they hear a sutra like this
should entertain no doubts or perplexities
but should with a single mind
preach this sutra far and wide,
age after age encountering buddhas
and quickly completing the buddha way.
CHAPTER 20
The Bodhisattva Never Disparaging
At that time the Buddha said to the bodhisattva mahasattva Gainer of Great Authority: “You should understand this. When monks, nuns, laymen, or laywomen uphold the Lotus Sutra, if anyone should speak ill of them, curse, or slander them, he will suffer severe recompense for his crime, as I have explained earlier. And I have also explained earlier the benefits gained by those who uphold the sutra, namely, purification of their eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
“Gainer of Great Authority, long ago, an immeasurable, boundless, inconceivable number of asamkhya kalpas in the past, there was a buddha named Awesome Sound King Thus Come One, worthy of offerings, of right and universal knowledge, perfect clarity and conduct, well gone, understanding the world, unexcelled worthy, trainer of people, teacher of heavenly and human beings, buddha, world-honored one. His kalpa was called Exempt from Decay and his land was called Great Achievement.
“This buddha Awesome Sound King during the age when he lived preached the Law for heavenly and human beings and asuras. For those who were seeking to become voice-hearers he responded by preaching the doctrine of the four noble truths so that they could transcend birth, aging, sickness, and death and eventually attain nirvana. For those seeking to become pratyekabuddhas he responded by preaching the doctrine of the twelve-linked chain of causation. For the bodhisattvas, as a means to p.308lead them to supreme perfect enlightenment, he responded by preaching the doctrine of the six paramitas so that they could eventually gain the buddha wisdom.
“Gainer of Great Authority, this buddha Awesome Sound King had a life span of kalpas equal to the sands of four hundred thousand million nayutas of Ganges Rivers. His Correct Law endured in the world for as many kalpas as there are dust particles in one Jambudvipa. His Counterfeit Law endured in the world for as many kalpas as there are dust particles in the four continents. After this buddha had finished bringing great benefit to living beings, he passed into extinction.
“After his Correct Law and Counterfeit Law had come to an end, another buddha appeared in the same land. He too was named Awesome Sound King Thus Come One, worthy of offerings, of right and universal knowledge, perfect clarity and conduct, well gone, understanding the world, unexcelled worthy, trainer of people, teacher of heavenly and human beings, buddha, world-honored one. This process continued until twenty thousand million buddhas had appeared one after the other, all bearing the same name.
“After the original Awesome Sound King Thus Come One had passed into extinction, and after his Correct Law had also passed away, in the period of his Counterfeit Law, monks of overbearing arrogance exercised great authority and power. At this time there was a bodhisattva monk named Never Disparaging. Now, Gainer of Great Authority, for what reason was he named Never Disparaging? This monk, whatever persons he happened to meet, whether monks, nuns, laymen, or laywomen, would bow in obeisance to all of them and speak words of praise, saying, ‘I have profound reverence for you, I would never dare treat you with disparagement or arrogance. Why? Because you will all practice the bodhisattva way and will then be able to attain buddhahood.’
“This monk did not devote his time to reading or reciting the scriptures, but simply went about bowing to people. And if he happened to see any of the four kinds of believers far off in the p.309distance, he would purposely go to where they were, bow to them, and speak words of praise, saying, ‘I would never dare disparage you, because you are all certain to attain buddhahood!’
“Among the four kinds of believers there were those who gave way to anger, their minds lacking in purity, and they spoke ill of him and cursed him, saying, ‘This ignorant monk—where does he come from, presuming to declare that he does not disparage us and bestowing on us a prediction that we will attain buddhahood? We have no use for such vain and irresponsible predictions!’
“Many years passed in this way, during which this monk was constantly subjected to curses and abuse. He did not give way to anger, however, but each time spoke the same words, ‘You are certain to attain buddhahood.’ When he spoke in this manner, some among the group would take sticks of wood or tiles and stones and beat and pelt him. But even as he ran away and took up his stance at a distance, he continued to call out in a loud voice, ‘I would never dare disparage you, for you are all certain to attain buddhahood!’ And because he always spoke these words, the overbearingly arrogant monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen gave him the name Never Disparaging.
“When this monk was on the point of death, he heard up in the sky fully twenty thousand, ten thousand, a million verses of the Lotus Sutra that had previously been preached by the buddha Awesome Sound King, and he was able to accept and uphold them all. Immediately he gained the kind of purity of vision and purity of the faculties of the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind that have been described above. Having gained this purity of the six faculties, his life span was increased by two hundred ten thousand million nayutas of years, and he went about widely preaching the Lotus Sutra for people.
“At that time, when the four kinds of believers who were overbearingly arrogant, the monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen who had looked with contempt on this monk and given him the name Never Disparaging—when they saw that he had gained great transcendental powers, the power to preach pleasingly and p.310eloquently, the power of great goodness and tranquillity, and when they heard his preaching, they all took faith in him and willingly became his followers.
“This bodhisattva converted a multitude of a thousand, ten thousand, a million, causing them to abide in the state of supreme perfect enlightenment. After his life came to an end, he was able to encounter two thousand million buddhas, all bearing the name Sun Moon Bright, and in the midst of their Law he preached this Lotus Sutra. Through the causes and conditions created thereby, he was also able to encounter two thousand million buddhas, all with the identical name Cloud Freedom Lamp King. In the midst of the Law of these buddhas, he accepted, upheld, read, recited, and preached this sutra for the four kinds of believers. For that reason he was able to gain purification of his ordinary eyes, and the faculties of his ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind were likewise purified. Among the four kinds of believers he preached the Law with no fear in his mind.
“Gainer of Great Authority, this bodhisattva mahasattva Never Disparaging in this manner offered alms to a vast number of buddhas, treating them with reverence and honor and praising them. Having planted these good roots, he was later able to encounter a thousand, ten thousand, a million buddhas, and in the midst of the Law of these buddhas, he preached this sutra, gaining benefits that allowed him to attain buddhahood.
“Gainer of Great Authority, what do you think? The bodhisattva Never Disparaging who lived at that time—could he be unknown to you? In fact he was none other than I myself! If in my previous existences I had not accepted, upheld, read, and recited this sutra and preached it for others, I would never have been able to attain supreme perfect enlightenment this quickly. Because in the presence of those earlier buddhas I accepted, upheld, read, and recited this sutra and preached it for others, I was able quickly to attain supreme perfect enlightenment.
“Gainer of Great Authority, at that time the four kinds of believers, the monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen, because anger arose in their minds and they treated me with disparagement and contempt, were for two hundred million kalpas never p.311able to encounter a buddha, to hear the Law, or to see the community of monks. For a thousand kalpas they underwent great suffering in the Avichi hell. After they had finished paying for their offenses, they once more encountered the bodhisattva Never Disparaging, who instructed them in supreme perfect enlightenment.
“Gainer of Great Authority, what do you think? The four kinds of believers who at that time constantly disparaged this bodhisattva—could they be unknown to you? They are in this assembly now, Bhadrapala and his group, five hundred bodhisattvas; Lion Moon and her group, five hundred nuns; and Thinking of Buddha and his group, five hundred laymen, all having reached the state where they will never regress in their search for supreme perfect enlightenment!
“Gainer of Great Authority, you should understand that this Lotus Sutra richly benefits the bodhisattvas mahasattva, for it can cause them to attain supreme perfect enlightenment. For this reason, after the thus come one has passed into extinction, the bodhisattvas mahasattva should at all times accept, uphold, read, recite, explain, preach, and transcribe this sutra.”
At that time the world-honored one, wishing to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying:
In the past there was a buddha
named Awesome Sound King,
of immeasurable supernatural powers and wisdom,
leading and guiding one and all.
Heavenly beings, human beings, dragons
joined in offering him alms.
After this buddha had entered extinction,
when his Law was about to expire,
there was a bodhisattva
named Never Disparaging.
The four kinds of believers at that time
scrutinized and adhered to the doctrines.
The bodhisattva Never Disparaging
would go to where they were
p.312and speak to them, saying,
“I would never disparage you,
for you will practice the way
and all of you will become buddhas!”
When the people heard this,
they gibed at him, cursed, and reviled him,
but the bodhisattva Never Disparaging
bore all this with patience.
When his offenses had been wiped out
and his life was drawing to a close,
he was able to hear this sutra
and his six faculties were purified.
Because of his transcendental powers
his life span was extended,
and for the sake of others
he preached this sutra far and wide.
The many people who adhered to the doctrines
all received teaching and conversion
from this bodhisattva,
who caused them to dwell in the buddha way.
When Never Disparaging’s life ended,
he encountered numberless buddhas,
and because he preached this sutra
he gained immeasurable blessings.
Bit by bit he had acquired merit
and quickly completed the buddha way.
Never Disparaging, who lived at that time,
was none other than myself.
And the four kinds of believers
who adhered to the doctrines then,
who heard Never Disparaging say,
“You will become buddhas!”
and through the causes thus created
encountered numberless buddhas—
they are here in this assembly,
a group of five hundred bodhisattvas,
and the four kinds of believers,
p.313men and women of pure faith
who now in my presence
listen to the Law.
In previous existences
I encouraged these persons
to listen to and accept this sutra,
the foremost in all the teachings,
unfolding it, teaching people,
and causing them to dwell in nirvana.
So in age after age they accepted and upheld
scriptures of this kind.
A million million ten thousand kalpas,
an inconceivable time will pass
before at last one can hear
this Lotus Sutra.
A million million ten thousand kalpas,
an inconceivable time will pass
before the buddhas, world-honored ones,
preach this sutra.
Therefore its practitioners,
after the Buddha has entered extinction,
when they hear a sutra like this
should entertain no doubts or perplexities
but should with a single mind
preach this sutra far and wide,
age after age encountering buddhas
and quickly completing the buddha way.
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!
we survived the Valley Fire...chanting in the shelter with a bunch of buddhists from Cobb who lost their retreats, homes, lives, worldly possessions, but not their spirit!
Many followers of Adi Da Samraj were there, in spite of the cultiness, they had it down with chanting and spreading a calmness thru the place. Much appreciated indeed.
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!
Many thanks to the firefighters and volunteers who saved so many lives, you have my respect (Babbabud!!!!).
Nam Myoho Rengo Kyo!
we survived the Valley Fire...chanting in the shelter with a bunch of buddhists from Cobb who lost their retreats, homes, lives, worldly possessions, but not their spirit!
Many followers of Adi Da Samraj were there, in spite of the cultiness, they had it down with chanting and spreading a calmness thru the place. Much appreciated indeed.
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!
Many thanks to the firefighters and volunteers who saved so many lives, you have my respect (Babbabud!!!!).
Nam Myoho Rengo Kyo!
And isn't that what it is all about. Great story.
