Letter to Horen / WND pg. 505 (continued)
Letter to Horen / WND pg. 505 (continued)
In the declaration concerning sutra readings that you, the Honorable Horen, have sent to me, you state, "To mark the thirteenth year of the departure of my late beloved father I have performed a five-time recitation of the one vehicle sutra, the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law."
Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, is known by the title World-Honored One of Great Enlightenment. The character that signifies "honored" can be interpreted as "lofty," and the character for "lofty" can be interpreted as "filial piety." Shakyamuni Buddha is honored with the title World-Honored One because, among all the persons noted for their filial devotion, he is the most outstanding.
The body of Shakyamuni Thus Come One was golden-hued and endowed with thirty-two features. Among these thirty-two was an unseen crown of the head, which means that, although the Buddha was sixteen feet tall, the Brahman of the Bamboo Staff school (18) was unable to measure his height, and the deity Brahma was unable to see the top of his head. Hence the name "an unseen crown of the head." And he gained this characteristic because he was a great man who was foremost in filial devotion.
There are two classics on filial piety. One is a non-Buddhist work The Classic of Filial Piety by the sage known as Confucius. The other is a Buddhist text, the work known now as the Lotus Sutra. Though one text is Buddhist and the other not, with regard to this point, their import is the same.
What inspired Shakyamuni to devote himself to religious practice over kalpas equal in number to dust particles in an effort to attain Buddhahood? It was nothing other than the ideal of filial devotion. All the living beings of the six paths and the four forms of birth are our fathers and mothers. Therefore, as long as Shakyamuni was unable to treat them all with filial devotion, he refrained from becoming a Buddha.
The Lotus Sutra offers a secret means for leading all living beings to Buddhahood. It leads one person in the realm of hell, one person in the realm of hungry spirits, and thus one person in each of the nine realms of existence to Buddhahood, and thereby the way is opened for all living beings to attain Buddhahood. The situation is like the joints in a piece of bamboo: if one joint is ruptured, then all the joints will split. Or it is like the move known (19) as shicho in the game of go: if one stone is declared "dead," then many stones will "die." The Lotus Sutra also is like these.
Metal has the power to cut down trees and plants, and water has the power to extinguish any kind of fire. In like manner, the Lotus Sutra has the power to bring all living beings to the state of Buddhahood.
Among the living beings of the six paths and the four forms of birth there are both men and women. And these men and women all were our parents at some point in our past existences. Therefore, as long as even one of these fails to attain Buddhahood, then we ourselves cannot become Buddhas.
Hence people of the two vehicles are referred to as those who do not know how to repay their debt of gratitude, and it is taught that they will never be able to attain Buddhahood. This is because they do not universally manifest their sense of filial devotion.
The Buddha became enlightened to the Lotus Sutra, and as a result of the filial devotion that he showed to the mothers and fathers of the six paths and the four forms of birth, his person was endowed with blessings.
And these blessings enjoyed by the Buddha can be transferred by him to people who put their faith in the Lotus Sutra. It is like the food eaten by a loving mother, which turns into milk for the nourishment of her baby. For the Buddha has said, "Now this threefold world is all my domain, and the living (20) beings in it are all my children."
Shakyamuni, the lord of teachings, takes these blessings and, in the form of the words that make up the Lotus Sutra, brings them to the mouths of all living beings for them to taste. A baby does not know the difference between water and fire, and cannot distinguish medicine from poison. But when the baby sucks milk, its life is nourished and sustained. Although one may not be versed in the Agama sutras the way Shariputra was, although one does not have the understanding of the Flower Garland Sutra that Bodhisattva Moon of Deliverance had, and although one has not committed to memory all the sacred teachings set forth by the Buddha in the course of his lifetime, as had Bodhisattva Manjushri, if one listens to even one character or one phrase of the Lotus Sutra, one cannot fail to attain Buddhahood. (21)
The five thousand people of overweening pride lacked faith, having listened to the Lotus Sutra but failed to understand it. But because they did not slander it, after three months had passed, they were able to attain Buddhahood. These are the people referred to when the Nirvana Sutra says, "Whether they have faith or do not have faith, all shall be reborn in the immovable land of Buddhahood." In the case of the Lotus Sutra, even though people may not have faith in it, so long as they do not slander it, then once they have heard it, they will attain Buddhahood, strange as it may seem. It is like a person bitten by the reptile known as the seven-step snake. He may go one step, or as many as seven steps, but by that time the poison will have had its mysterious effect upon him, and he will be unable to take an eighth (22) step. Or it is like the seven-day embryo in the womb. Within seven days' time, the embryo will invariably change shape. It will never retain the same shape for eight days.
And you, the Honorable Horen, are at present in a similar situation. The blessings of Shakyamuni Buddha have already been transferred to your person. And your person is a continuation of the face and form of your departed father.
It is like a seed that puts forth sprouts, or a flower that produces fruit. Though the flower falls, the fruit remains; though the seed is hidden from sight, the sprout is visible to us.
Thus the blessings that you yourself enjoy are in fact treasures belonging to your late father. When the pine flourishes, the cypress will rejoice; when the grasses wither, the orchids weep. And if even feelingless beings such as plants and trees can behave in this way, then how much more so those who have feelings, let alone those who are bound together as father and son?
In your declaration regarding sutra readings, you state: "From the morning when my compassionate father closed his eyes to the thirteenth anniversary of his passing, I have recited the verse section of the 'Life Span' chapter before Shakyamuni Thus Come One and have transferred the merits to the departed."
At present it would appear that the people of Japan put faith in the teachings of the Buddha. But in ancient times, before the Buddhist teachings were introduced to this country, people knew nothing about either the Buddha or his teachings. It was only after the battle between Moriya and Prince Jogu that some people took faith in Buddhism, though others did not.
The situation was similar in China. After Matanga had introduced Buddhism to China, he held a debate with the Taoists. When the Taoists were defeated in debate, then for the first time there were people who put their faith in Buddhism, though there were many more who did not.
In China there was a man named Wu-lung who was highly skilled at calligraphy and was often requested to write things for other people. But regardless of where the request came from, he absolutely refused to write out any passages from the Buddhist sutras. When he was on his deathbed, he summoned his son I-lung to his side and said: "You have been born into our family and have inherited talent in the art of calligraphy. Out of filial devotion to me, you must never transcribe the Buddhist sutras. In particular, do not transcribe the Lotus Sutra! Lao Tzu, whom I honor as my teacher, bears the title Honorable One of Heaven. Heaven cannot have two suns in it; and yet, in the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha declares that 'I am the only person [who can rescue and protect (23) others].' I find such a claim suspicious in the extreme. If you fail to heed my dying words and transcribe any of the Buddhist texts, I will instantly change into an evil spirit and put an end to your life."
After he said this, his tongue split into eight pieces, his head broke into seven parts, blood spurted from his five sense organs, and his life came to an end. But his son, unable to judge good from bad, was unaware that his father had manifested these evil signs and had fallen into the Avichi hell because he had slandered the correct teaching. Therefore, the son abided by the dying words of his father, never transcribing Buddhist sutras, much less allowing himself to recite such texts.
And so he continued awhile in this manner. The ruler of that time was called Ssu-ma. This ruler, wishing to have some sutra texts transcribed in connection with a Buddhist celebration, inquired as to who was the most skilled calligrapher in all of China, and was informed that it was I-lung. He summoned I-lung and explained his wishes, but I-lung repeatedly refused the work. The ruler, unable to prevail upon him, resigned himself to employing someone else to write out the sutra text, but he was dissatisfied with the results. Summoning I-lung once more, he said: "You inform me that it is out of respect for your father's dying wishes that you refuse to undertake the sutra transcriptions I have requested. Though I hardly regard that as a valid excuse, I will accept it for the time being. I therefore ask only that you write out the title of the sutra."
Three times the ruler issued his command, but I-lung continued to decline. The ruler, his countenance clouded over with anger, said: "All of heaven and earth are within the jurisdiction of the ruler! And if that is so, then your late father, too, is a subject of mine, is he not? You have no right to slight an official undertaking simply because of private reasons. You must transcribe at least the title of the sutra. If you refuse, even though the place may be the site of a Buddhist celebration, I will have you beheaded at once!"
Therefore, I-lung transcribed just the title of the sutra. He wrote "Myoho-renge-kyo, Volume One," and so on for each volume, down to Volume Eight.
When evening came, he returned to his home and said to himself with a sigh: "I have violated my father's dying words and, because the ruler's command left me no choice, have transcribed a Buddhist sutra and behaved in an unfilial way. The gods of heaven and the deities of earth must surely be looking upon me with anger and regarding me as an unfilial son."
So saying, he retired for the night. In that night's dream a brilliant light appeared, shining like the morning sun, and a heavenly being stood in his courtyard, accompanied by countless followers. In the air above the head of the heavenly being there were sixty-four Buddhas. I-lung pressed his palms together and said, "Who may this heavenly being be?"
The being replied: "I am your father, Wu-lung. Because I slandered the teachings of the Buddha, my tongue split into eight pieces, blood spurted from my five sense organs, my head broke into seven parts, and I fell into the hell of incessant suffering. The terrible torments I endured at the time of my death were hardly bearable, but the sufferings that followed while I was in the hell of incessant suffering were a hundred, thousand, million times worse. The pains a person would feel in the human realm if he were to have his fingernails pried off with a dull knife or his head cut off with a saw, if he were forced to walk over live coals or were confined in a cage of thorns, would be as nothing compared with my pains. I longed for some way to tell you of my plight but could think of none. How inexpressible was my regret at the fact that, at the time of my death, I warned you never to transcribe the words of the Buddhist sutras, and that I left that as my last instruction. But it was too late for regrets, and no matter how I despised myself for what I had done, or cursed my tongue, it was to no avail.
"Then yesterday morning the single character myo, which begins the title of the Lotus Sutra, came flying through the air above the cauldron that is the hell of incessant suffering, and there changed into a golden-hued Shakyamuni Buddha. This Buddha possessed the thirty-two features, and his face was like the full moon. He spoke in a thunderous voice, saying, 'Even those who have destroyed enough good causes to fill the entire realm of phenomena, if they hear the Lotus Sutra just once, will never fail to attain enlightenment.'
"Then from this one character myo a heavy rain began to fall that extinguished the flames of the hell of incessant suffering. King Yama tipped his crown in a gesture of respect, the wardens of hell put aside their staffs and stood at attention, and all the transgressors in hell looked around in astonishment and asked what had happened.
"Then the character ho appeared in the air and underwent the same kind of transformation, followed by the character ren, the character ge, and the character kyo. In this way sixty-four characters (24) appeared and became sixty-four Buddhas. Sixty-four Buddhas appearing in the hell of incessant suffering were like sixty-four suns and moons coming out in the sky. Amrita, or sweet dew, then descended from the sky and fell upon the transgressors.
"The transgressors asked the Buddhas why these wonderful things were happening. The sixty-four Buddhas answered, saying: 'Our golden-hued bodies do not come either from sandalwood or from jeweled mountains. They come from the eight times eight characters, the sixty-four characters that make up the titles of the eight volumes of the Lotus Sutra, which were transcribed by I-lung, the son of Wu-lung, who is here in the hell of incessant suffering. The hand of I-lung is part of the body fathered by Wu-lung, and the characters written by that hand are as though written by Wu-lung himself.'
"When the Buddhas had spoken in this way, the transgressors in the hell of incessant suffering said: 'When we were in the saha world, we, too, had sons and wives and followers. We have wondered why none of them performed religious acts for our repose, and thought that perhaps, although they were performing acts of goodness, the effect was too weak to reach us here. We sighed and sighed, but to no purpose. One day, two days, one year, two years, half a kalpa, a whole kalpa went by, and then at last we met with a good friend who was able to save us.'
"So all of us have become followers and are about to ascend to the heaven of the thirty-three gods. I have come to pay my respects to you before we go." Thus spoke the heavenly being.
In his dream I-lung was filled with joy. After he and his father had parted, he had wondered in what world he would see him again. But now he could see the figure of his father and encounter the Buddhas as well. The sixty-four Buddhas then announced: "We are serving no particular master. You shall be our patron. From today on, we will guard and protect you as though you were our parent. You must continue to be diligent. When your life ends, we will without fail come and lead you to the inner court of the Tushita heaven." Such was the promise they made.
I-lung, filled with awe, swore an oath, saying, "From this day forth, I will never transcribe so much as a single character of the non-Buddhist scriptures." It was similar to the oath taken when Bodhisattva Vasubandhu vowed never again to recite Hinayana sutras, or when Nichiren pledged that he would never recite the name of Amida Buddha.
After I-lung awakened from his dream, he reported to the ruler what had happened. The ruler then issued a proclamation, saying, "The Buddhist ceremony that I undertook is hereby completed. You will write a prayer describing the events that have taken place." I-lung did as he was instructed. As a result, people in China and Japan came to take faith in the Lotus Sutra. These events are described in the Chinese work entitled The Lotus Sutra and Its Traditions.
Notes
18. When a Brahman attempted to measure Shakyamuni's height with his bamboo staff, he discovered that his staff was too short to take the measurement.
19. A move in the game of go. It occurs when a particular stone and all the stones that have been set in place to protect it are rendered immobile by the move of one's opponent. At this point, the stones are said to be "dead."
20. Lotus Sutra, chap. 3.
21. As described in the "Expedient Means" chapter of the Lotus Sutra, those who left the assembly, thinking that they had understood what they had not.
22. This story of the seven-step snake appears in The Great Commentary on the Abhidharma.
23. Lotus Sutra, chap. 3.
24. Sixty-four represents the total number of characters that I-lung transcribed, eight for each of the sutra's eight volumes. "Myoho-renge-kyo" comprises five characters, and the volume number, three characters.
(to be continued)
Letter to Horen / WND pg. 505 (continued)
In the declaration concerning sutra readings that you, the Honorable Horen, have sent to me, you state, "To mark the thirteenth year of the departure of my late beloved father I have performed a five-time recitation of the one vehicle sutra, the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law."
Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, is known by the title World-Honored One of Great Enlightenment. The character that signifies "honored" can be interpreted as "lofty," and the character for "lofty" can be interpreted as "filial piety." Shakyamuni Buddha is honored with the title World-Honored One because, among all the persons noted for their filial devotion, he is the most outstanding.
The body of Shakyamuni Thus Come One was golden-hued and endowed with thirty-two features. Among these thirty-two was an unseen crown of the head, which means that, although the Buddha was sixteen feet tall, the Brahman of the Bamboo Staff school (18) was unable to measure his height, and the deity Brahma was unable to see the top of his head. Hence the name "an unseen crown of the head." And he gained this characteristic because he was a great man who was foremost in filial devotion.
There are two classics on filial piety. One is a non-Buddhist work The Classic of Filial Piety by the sage known as Confucius. The other is a Buddhist text, the work known now as the Lotus Sutra. Though one text is Buddhist and the other not, with regard to this point, their import is the same.
What inspired Shakyamuni to devote himself to religious practice over kalpas equal in number to dust particles in an effort to attain Buddhahood? It was nothing other than the ideal of filial devotion. All the living beings of the six paths and the four forms of birth are our fathers and mothers. Therefore, as long as Shakyamuni was unable to treat them all with filial devotion, he refrained from becoming a Buddha.
The Lotus Sutra offers a secret means for leading all living beings to Buddhahood. It leads one person in the realm of hell, one person in the realm of hungry spirits, and thus one person in each of the nine realms of existence to Buddhahood, and thereby the way is opened for all living beings to attain Buddhahood. The situation is like the joints in a piece of bamboo: if one joint is ruptured, then all the joints will split. Or it is like the move known (19) as shicho in the game of go: if one stone is declared "dead," then many stones will "die." The Lotus Sutra also is like these.
Metal has the power to cut down trees and plants, and water has the power to extinguish any kind of fire. In like manner, the Lotus Sutra has the power to bring all living beings to the state of Buddhahood.
Among the living beings of the six paths and the four forms of birth there are both men and women. And these men and women all were our parents at some point in our past existences. Therefore, as long as even one of these fails to attain Buddhahood, then we ourselves cannot become Buddhas.
Hence people of the two vehicles are referred to as those who do not know how to repay their debt of gratitude, and it is taught that they will never be able to attain Buddhahood. This is because they do not universally manifest their sense of filial devotion.
The Buddha became enlightened to the Lotus Sutra, and as a result of the filial devotion that he showed to the mothers and fathers of the six paths and the four forms of birth, his person was endowed with blessings.
And these blessings enjoyed by the Buddha can be transferred by him to people who put their faith in the Lotus Sutra. It is like the food eaten by a loving mother, which turns into milk for the nourishment of her baby. For the Buddha has said, "Now this threefold world is all my domain, and the living (20) beings in it are all my children."
Shakyamuni, the lord of teachings, takes these blessings and, in the form of the words that make up the Lotus Sutra, brings them to the mouths of all living beings for them to taste. A baby does not know the difference between water and fire, and cannot distinguish medicine from poison. But when the baby sucks milk, its life is nourished and sustained. Although one may not be versed in the Agama sutras the way Shariputra was, although one does not have the understanding of the Flower Garland Sutra that Bodhisattva Moon of Deliverance had, and although one has not committed to memory all the sacred teachings set forth by the Buddha in the course of his lifetime, as had Bodhisattva Manjushri, if one listens to even one character or one phrase of the Lotus Sutra, one cannot fail to attain Buddhahood. (21)
The five thousand people of overweening pride lacked faith, having listened to the Lotus Sutra but failed to understand it. But because they did not slander it, after three months had passed, they were able to attain Buddhahood. These are the people referred to when the Nirvana Sutra says, "Whether they have faith or do not have faith, all shall be reborn in the immovable land of Buddhahood." In the case of the Lotus Sutra, even though people may not have faith in it, so long as they do not slander it, then once they have heard it, they will attain Buddhahood, strange as it may seem. It is like a person bitten by the reptile known as the seven-step snake. He may go one step, or as many as seven steps, but by that time the poison will have had its mysterious effect upon him, and he will be unable to take an eighth (22) step. Or it is like the seven-day embryo in the womb. Within seven days' time, the embryo will invariably change shape. It will never retain the same shape for eight days.
And you, the Honorable Horen, are at present in a similar situation. The blessings of Shakyamuni Buddha have already been transferred to your person. And your person is a continuation of the face and form of your departed father.
It is like a seed that puts forth sprouts, or a flower that produces fruit. Though the flower falls, the fruit remains; though the seed is hidden from sight, the sprout is visible to us.
Thus the blessings that you yourself enjoy are in fact treasures belonging to your late father. When the pine flourishes, the cypress will rejoice; when the grasses wither, the orchids weep. And if even feelingless beings such as plants and trees can behave in this way, then how much more so those who have feelings, let alone those who are bound together as father and son?
In your declaration regarding sutra readings, you state: "From the morning when my compassionate father closed his eyes to the thirteenth anniversary of his passing, I have recited the verse section of the 'Life Span' chapter before Shakyamuni Thus Come One and have transferred the merits to the departed."
At present it would appear that the people of Japan put faith in the teachings of the Buddha. But in ancient times, before the Buddhist teachings were introduced to this country, people knew nothing about either the Buddha or his teachings. It was only after the battle between Moriya and Prince Jogu that some people took faith in Buddhism, though others did not.
The situation was similar in China. After Matanga had introduced Buddhism to China, he held a debate with the Taoists. When the Taoists were defeated in debate, then for the first time there were people who put their faith in Buddhism, though there were many more who did not.
In China there was a man named Wu-lung who was highly skilled at calligraphy and was often requested to write things for other people. But regardless of where the request came from, he absolutely refused to write out any passages from the Buddhist sutras. When he was on his deathbed, he summoned his son I-lung to his side and said: "You have been born into our family and have inherited talent in the art of calligraphy. Out of filial devotion to me, you must never transcribe the Buddhist sutras. In particular, do not transcribe the Lotus Sutra! Lao Tzu, whom I honor as my teacher, bears the title Honorable One of Heaven. Heaven cannot have two suns in it; and yet, in the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha declares that 'I am the only person [who can rescue and protect (23) others].' I find such a claim suspicious in the extreme. If you fail to heed my dying words and transcribe any of the Buddhist texts, I will instantly change into an evil spirit and put an end to your life."
After he said this, his tongue split into eight pieces, his head broke into seven parts, blood spurted from his five sense organs, and his life came to an end. But his son, unable to judge good from bad, was unaware that his father had manifested these evil signs and had fallen into the Avichi hell because he had slandered the correct teaching. Therefore, the son abided by the dying words of his father, never transcribing Buddhist sutras, much less allowing himself to recite such texts.
And so he continued awhile in this manner. The ruler of that time was called Ssu-ma. This ruler, wishing to have some sutra texts transcribed in connection with a Buddhist celebration, inquired as to who was the most skilled calligrapher in all of China, and was informed that it was I-lung. He summoned I-lung and explained his wishes, but I-lung repeatedly refused the work. The ruler, unable to prevail upon him, resigned himself to employing someone else to write out the sutra text, but he was dissatisfied with the results. Summoning I-lung once more, he said: "You inform me that it is out of respect for your father's dying wishes that you refuse to undertake the sutra transcriptions I have requested. Though I hardly regard that as a valid excuse, I will accept it for the time being. I therefore ask only that you write out the title of the sutra."
Three times the ruler issued his command, but I-lung continued to decline. The ruler, his countenance clouded over with anger, said: "All of heaven and earth are within the jurisdiction of the ruler! And if that is so, then your late father, too, is a subject of mine, is he not? You have no right to slight an official undertaking simply because of private reasons. You must transcribe at least the title of the sutra. If you refuse, even though the place may be the site of a Buddhist celebration, I will have you beheaded at once!"
Therefore, I-lung transcribed just the title of the sutra. He wrote "Myoho-renge-kyo, Volume One," and so on for each volume, down to Volume Eight.
When evening came, he returned to his home and said to himself with a sigh: "I have violated my father's dying words and, because the ruler's command left me no choice, have transcribed a Buddhist sutra and behaved in an unfilial way. The gods of heaven and the deities of earth must surely be looking upon me with anger and regarding me as an unfilial son."
So saying, he retired for the night. In that night's dream a brilliant light appeared, shining like the morning sun, and a heavenly being stood in his courtyard, accompanied by countless followers. In the air above the head of the heavenly being there were sixty-four Buddhas. I-lung pressed his palms together and said, "Who may this heavenly being be?"
The being replied: "I am your father, Wu-lung. Because I slandered the teachings of the Buddha, my tongue split into eight pieces, blood spurted from my five sense organs, my head broke into seven parts, and I fell into the hell of incessant suffering. The terrible torments I endured at the time of my death were hardly bearable, but the sufferings that followed while I was in the hell of incessant suffering were a hundred, thousand, million times worse. The pains a person would feel in the human realm if he were to have his fingernails pried off with a dull knife or his head cut off with a saw, if he were forced to walk over live coals or were confined in a cage of thorns, would be as nothing compared with my pains. I longed for some way to tell you of my plight but could think of none. How inexpressible was my regret at the fact that, at the time of my death, I warned you never to transcribe the words of the Buddhist sutras, and that I left that as my last instruction. But it was too late for regrets, and no matter how I despised myself for what I had done, or cursed my tongue, it was to no avail.
"Then yesterday morning the single character myo, which begins the title of the Lotus Sutra, came flying through the air above the cauldron that is the hell of incessant suffering, and there changed into a golden-hued Shakyamuni Buddha. This Buddha possessed the thirty-two features, and his face was like the full moon. He spoke in a thunderous voice, saying, 'Even those who have destroyed enough good causes to fill the entire realm of phenomena, if they hear the Lotus Sutra just once, will never fail to attain enlightenment.'
"Then from this one character myo a heavy rain began to fall that extinguished the flames of the hell of incessant suffering. King Yama tipped his crown in a gesture of respect, the wardens of hell put aside their staffs and stood at attention, and all the transgressors in hell looked around in astonishment and asked what had happened.
"Then the character ho appeared in the air and underwent the same kind of transformation, followed by the character ren, the character ge, and the character kyo. In this way sixty-four characters (24) appeared and became sixty-four Buddhas. Sixty-four Buddhas appearing in the hell of incessant suffering were like sixty-four suns and moons coming out in the sky. Amrita, or sweet dew, then descended from the sky and fell upon the transgressors.
"The transgressors asked the Buddhas why these wonderful things were happening. The sixty-four Buddhas answered, saying: 'Our golden-hued bodies do not come either from sandalwood or from jeweled mountains. They come from the eight times eight characters, the sixty-four characters that make up the titles of the eight volumes of the Lotus Sutra, which were transcribed by I-lung, the son of Wu-lung, who is here in the hell of incessant suffering. The hand of I-lung is part of the body fathered by Wu-lung, and the characters written by that hand are as though written by Wu-lung himself.'
"When the Buddhas had spoken in this way, the transgressors in the hell of incessant suffering said: 'When we were in the saha world, we, too, had sons and wives and followers. We have wondered why none of them performed religious acts for our repose, and thought that perhaps, although they were performing acts of goodness, the effect was too weak to reach us here. We sighed and sighed, but to no purpose. One day, two days, one year, two years, half a kalpa, a whole kalpa went by, and then at last we met with a good friend who was able to save us.'
"So all of us have become followers and are about to ascend to the heaven of the thirty-three gods. I have come to pay my respects to you before we go." Thus spoke the heavenly being.
In his dream I-lung was filled with joy. After he and his father had parted, he had wondered in what world he would see him again. But now he could see the figure of his father and encounter the Buddhas as well. The sixty-four Buddhas then announced: "We are serving no particular master. You shall be our patron. From today on, we will guard and protect you as though you were our parent. You must continue to be diligent. When your life ends, we will without fail come and lead you to the inner court of the Tushita heaven." Such was the promise they made.
I-lung, filled with awe, swore an oath, saying, "From this day forth, I will never transcribe so much as a single character of the non-Buddhist scriptures." It was similar to the oath taken when Bodhisattva Vasubandhu vowed never again to recite Hinayana sutras, or when Nichiren pledged that he would never recite the name of Amida Buddha.
After I-lung awakened from his dream, he reported to the ruler what had happened. The ruler then issued a proclamation, saying, "The Buddhist ceremony that I undertook is hereby completed. You will write a prayer describing the events that have taken place." I-lung did as he was instructed. As a result, people in China and Japan came to take faith in the Lotus Sutra. These events are described in the Chinese work entitled The Lotus Sutra and Its Traditions.
Notes
18. When a Brahman attempted to measure Shakyamuni's height with his bamboo staff, he discovered that his staff was too short to take the measurement.
19. A move in the game of go. It occurs when a particular stone and all the stones that have been set in place to protect it are rendered immobile by the move of one's opponent. At this point, the stones are said to be "dead."
20. Lotus Sutra, chap. 3.
21. As described in the "Expedient Means" chapter of the Lotus Sutra, those who left the assembly, thinking that they had understood what they had not.
22. This story of the seven-step snake appears in The Great Commentary on the Abhidharma.
23. Lotus Sutra, chap. 3.
24. Sixty-four represents the total number of characters that I-lung transcribed, eight for each of the sutra's eight volumes. "Myoho-renge-kyo" comprises five characters, and the volume number, three characters.
(to be continued)
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