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Admonitions Against Slander
The Hoben chapter, Volume One of the
Lotus Sutra, states, "The wisdom of all Buddhas is infinitely
profound and immeasurable." T'ien-t'ai explains, "'Infinitely
profound' indicates the reality attained by the Buddha, which
is as vast as a wide and unfathomable riverbed. Because the
riverbed is infinitely deep, the water of the Buddha wisdom
is 'immeasurable.'"
The sutra and interpretation make clear that
the path to enlightenment lies within the two elements of
reality (kyo) and wisdom (chi). Reality means
the entity of all phenomena in the universe, and wisdom means
the perfect manifestation of this entity in the individual's
life. When the reality is an infinitely broad and deep riverbed,
the water of wisdom will flow ceaselessly. Enlightenment is
the fusion of wisdom and reality.
All the sutras expounded prior to the Lotus
Sutra are provisional teachings which cannot lead to enlightenment
because they separate wisdom and reality. However, the Lotus
Sutra joins the two. It expounds the purpose for which the
Buddhas appear in this world: to open the door to the Buddha
wisdom, to reveal it, to let all beings know it and enter
into it. All people can attain enlightenment by realizing
this wisdom of the Buddha.
The Hoben chapter states that the Buddha
wisdom is far beyond the understanding of the people of the
two vehicles: "Neither men of Learning (shomon)
nor sages of Realization (engaku) are able to comprehend
it." What then are these two elements of reality and
wisdom? They are simply Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Shakyamuni called
forth the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, his disciples from ages
past, to give them this Law which is the essence of his teachings.
The Lotus Sutra states that Bodhisattva Jogyo
and the other Bodhisattvas of the Earth will appear in the
first five hundred years of the Latter Day of the Law to propagate
the Mystic Law, the crystallization of reality and wisdom.
This sutra makes it perfectly clear. Who could possibly dispute
it? I, Nichiren, am neither Bodhisattva Jogyo nor his messenger,
but I was the first to begin the propagation of the Mystic
Law and have already taught it extensively. Bodhisattva Jogyo
received the water of wisdom of the Mystic Law from Shakyamuni
Buddha to let it flow into the wasteland of the people's lives
in the evil period of the Latter Day. That is the function
of wisdom. Shakyamuni entrusted this teaching to Bodhisattva
Jogyo, and now Nichiren propagates it in Japan. In general,
this transfer was made to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, but
specifically, to Bodhisattva Jogyo himself. If you confuse
the general with the specific even in the slightest, you will
never be able to attain enlightenment and will wander through
endless lifetimes of suffering.
For example, the men of Learning in Shakyamuni's
time received the seed of enlightenment from Shakyamuni in
the distant past when he was the sixteenth son of Daitsu Buddha.
Therefore, they cannot attain enlightenment by following Amida,
Yakushi or any other Buddha. Or, to give another example,
if someone brings home water from the ocean, his entire family
can use it. Should they refuse even a single drop of water
and instead go seek water from some other ocean, they would
be terribly misguided and foolish. In the same way, if one
should forget the original teacher who brought him the water
of wisdom from the great ocean of the Lotus Sutra and instead
follow another, he is sure to sink into the endless sufferings
of life and death.
A disciple should abandon even his teacher
if the teacher is misguided. However, this is not always necessary.
He should decide according to the laws of both society and
Buddhism. With no knowledge of Buddhist law, most priests
in the Latter Day grow so conceited that they despise the
original teacher and flatter new-found patrons. Only honest
priests who desire little and are happy with whatever they
have can be called "priests" in the true sense of
the word. Volume One of the Hokke Mongu states, "A
priest who has yet to attain enlightenment should humble himself
before the supreme law and all Buddhist saints. Then, he has
true modesty. When he manifests the Buddha wisdom, he will
be a true priest."
In the Nirvana Sutra Shakyamuni stated, "If
even a good priest sees someone slandering the Law and disregards
him, failing to reproach him, to oust him or to punish him
for his offense, then that priest is betraying Buddhism. But
if he takes the slanderer severely to task, drives him off
or punishes him, then he is my disciple and one who truly
understands my teachings." Never forget this admonition
against ignoring another's slander of Buddhism. Both master
and disciple will surely fall into the hell of incessant suffering
if they see enemies of the Lotus Sutra and fail to reproach
them. The Great Teacher Nan-yueh wrote, "They will fall
into hell with evil men." To seek enlightenment without
repudiating slander is as futile as trying to find water in
the midst of fire or fire in the midst of water. No matter
how sincerely one believes in the Lotus Sutra, any violation
of its teachings will surely cause him to fall into hell,
just as one crab leg will ruin a thousand pots of lacquer.
This is the meaning of the passage in the Lotus Sutra, "The
poison has penetrated deeply, causing them to lose their true
minds."
The Lotus Sutra teaches us: "In lifetime
after lifetime they were always born together with their masters
in the Buddha lands throughout the universe," and "If
one seeks out the teacher of the Law, he will soon attain
the way of the Bodhisattva. If he follows and studies under
this teacher, he will be able to see Buddhas equal in number
to the sands of the Ganges River." T'ien-t'ai interprets
this, saying, "One who first began to aspire for enlightenment
when following this Buddha will follow him again and attain
a stage of faith from which he can never backslide."
Miao-lo adds, "One who first hears about the Law from
some Buddha or bodhisattva will return to the same Buddha
or bodhisattva to attain enlightenment." Above all, follow
no one but your original teacher and go on to attain Buddhahood.
Shakyamuni is the original teacher for all people, as well
as their sovereign and their parent. Because I have expounded
this teaching, I have been exiled and almost killed. As the
saying goes: "Good advice is harsh to the ear."
But still I am not discouraged. The Lotus Sutra is like the
seed, the Buddha like the sower and the people like the field.
If you go against these principles, in your next lifetime,
not even I, Nichiren, can save you.
With my deep respect,
Nichiren
The third day of the eighth month in the second
year of Kenji (1276)
Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin,
Vol. 1, page 163.
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