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Encouragement to a Sick Person
I have heard that you are suffering from illness. Is this
true? The uncertainty of this world is such that even the
healthy cannot remain forever, let alone those who are ill.
Thoughtful persons should therefore prepare their minds
for the life to come. Yet one cannot prepare his mind for
the next life by his own efforts alone. Only on the basis
of the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, the original teacher
of all living beings, will he be able to do so.
However, the Buddha's teachings are various, perhaps because
people's minds also differ greatly. In any event, Shakyamuni
taught for no more than fifty years. Among the teachings
he expounded during the first forty years and more, we find
the Kegon Sutra, which says, "The mind, the
Buddha and all living beings - these three things are without
distinction"; the Agon sutras, which set forth
the principles of suffering, emptiness, impermanence and
egolessness; the Daijuku Sutra, which asserts the
interpenetration of the defiled aspect and the pure aspect;
the Daibon Hannya Sutra, which teaches mutual identification
and non-duality; and the Muryoju, Kammuryoju
and Amida sutras, which emphasize rebirth in the
Land of Perfect Bliss. All these teachings were doubtless
expounded in order to save all living beings in the Former,
Middle and Latter Days of the Law.
Nevertheless, for some reason of his own, the Buddha declared
in the Muryogi Sutra, "[Expounding the Law in
various ways,] I made use of the power of expedient means.
But in these more than forty years, I have not yet revealed
the truth." Like a parent who has second thoughts about
the transfer deed he has written out earlier, he looked
back with regret upon all the sutras he had expounded during
the past forty years and more, including those which taught
rebirth in the Land of Perfect Bliss, and declared [that
no matter how earnestly one may practice them,] "...in
the end one will never attain supreme enlightenment, even
after the lapse of countless, limitless, inconceivable asogi
kalpas." He reiterated this in the Hoben chapter
of the Lotus Sutra, saying, "Honestly discarding the
provisional teachings, I will expound only the supreme Way."
By "discarding the provisional teachings," he
meant that one should discard the Nembutsu and other teachings
preached during the period of those forty-some years.
Having thus obviously regretted and reversed his previous
teachings, he made clear his true intention, saying, "The
World-Honored One has long expounded his doctrines and now
must reveal the truth," and "The Tathagata long
kept silence with regard to this essential truth and was
in no haste to preach it." Thereupon Taho Buddha emerged
from below the earth and added his testimony, declaring
what Shakyamuni had said to be true, and the Buddhas of
the ten directions assembled in the eight directions, extending
their long, broad tongues until they reached the palace
in the Brahma Heaven. All the beings of the two worlds and
the eight kinds, who were gathered at the two places and
three assemblies, without a single exception witnessed this.
Yet, setting aside evil persons and non-Buddhists, who
do not believe in Buddhism, even among the followers of
Buddhism we find those who [reject this testimony and instead]
have devout faith in the provisional teachings preached
before the Lotus Sutra, such as the Nembutsu. They devote
themselves to reciting it ten times, a hundred times, a
thousand times, ten thousand or as many as sixty thousand
times each day, but do not chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, not
even once in ten or twenty years. [In light of the above
sutra passages,] are they not like a person who clings to
the transfer deed already nullified by his parent and refuses
to accept its revised version? They may appear to others
as well as to themselves to have faith in the Buddha's teachings,
but if we go by what the Buddha actually taught, they are
unfilial persons.
This is why the second volume of the Lotus Sutra states,
"Now this threefold world is all my domain. The living
beings in it are all my children. Yet this world has many
cares and troubles from which I alone can save them. But,
even though I teach and instruct them, they neither believe
nor accept." This passage means that to us living beings,
the Tathagata Shakyamuni is our parent, teacher and sovereign.
Amida, Yakushi and other Buddhas may be a sovereign to us
living beings, but they are neither a parent nor a teacher.
Shakyamuni is the one and only Buddha who is endowed with
all three virtues and to whom we owe the most profound debt
of gratitude. There are parents and parents, yet none of
them can equal him. There are all manner of teachers and
sovereigns, but none so admirable as he. Could those who
disobey the teaching of the one who is their parent, teacher
and sovereign not be abandoned by both heavenly gods and
earthly deities? They are the most unfilial of all children.
It is for this reason that the Buddha said, "But, even
though I teach and instruct them, they neither believe nor
accept." Even though they may follow the sutras preached
before the Lotus Sutra and practice them for a hundred,
a thousand, ten thousand or a hundred thousand kalpas, if
they do not believe in the Lotus Sutra and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
even once, they can only be termed unfilial. They will therefore
be abandoned by the sacred ones of the three existences
and the ten directions and hated by the deities of both
heaven and earth. This represents the first [of the five
guides for propagation].
Even those people who commit the five cardinal sins, the
ten evil acts, etc., or innumerable other wrongdoings may
attain the Way if only their faculties are keen. Devadatta
and Angulimala are representative of such people. And even
those of dull faculties may attain the Way, provided they
are free of misdeeds. Shuddhipanthaka is an example. Our
faculties are even duller that those of Shuddhipanthaka.
We can discern the colors and shapes of things no better
than a sheep's eye. In the vast depths of our greed, anger
and stupidity, we commit the ten evil acts every day, and
although we may not commit the five cardinal sins, we perpetrate
similar offenses daily.
Moreover, every single person is guilty of slander of the
Law, an offense exceeding even the ten evil acts or the
five cardinal sins. Although few people slander the Lotus
Sutra with actual words of abuse, there is none who values
it. Some appear to value the sutra, but in fact, they do
not believe in it as deeply as they do in the Nembutsu or
other teachings. And even those with profound faith do not
reproach the enemies of the Lotus Sutra. No matter what
great good deed one may perform, even if he reads and transcribes
the entirety of the Lotus Sutra a thousand or ten thousand
times or masters the meditation to perceive ichinen sanzen,
should he but fail to denounce the enemies of the Lotus
Sutra, he will be unable to attain the Way. To illustrate,
it is like the case of someone in the service of the imperial
court. Even though he may have served for a decade or two,
if he knows someone to be an enemy of the emperor but neither
reports him to the throne nor feels personal enmity toward
him, all the merit of his past services will be thereby
negated, and he will instead be charged with a crime. You
must understand that people of this age are slanderers of
the Law. This represents the second [of the five guides
for propagation].
The thousand years beginning from the day after the Buddha's
passing are called the Former Day of the Law, a period when
those who upheld the precepts were many, and people attained
the Way. The thousand years of the Former Day are followed
by the Middle Day of the Law, which also lasts a thousand
years. During this period, many people broke the precepts
and few attained the Way. The Middle Day is followed by
the ten thousand years of the Latter Day of the Law. During
this period, people neither uphold the precepts nor break
them; only those without precepts fill the country. Moreover,
it is called a defiled age, an age rife with disorder. In
an uncorrupted age, called a pure age, the wrong is discarded
while the right is observed, just as crooked timber is planed
according to the markings of a carpenter's line. During
the Former and Middle Days of the Law, the five impurities
begin to appear, and in the Latter Day, they are rampant.
They rage not only like huge waves, whipped by a strong
gale, battering the shore, but also like waves crashing
one against another. [Among the five impurities,] the impurity
of thought is such that, as the Former and Middle Days of
the Law gradually pass, people transmit an insignificant
heretical teaching while destroying the unfathomable True
Law. It therefore follows that more people fall into the
evil paths because of errors with respect to Buddhism than
because of secular misdeeds.
Now the two thousand years of the Former and Middle Days
of the Law have already passed, and it has been more than
two hundred years since the Latter Day began. Now is the
time when, because the impurity of thought prevails, more
people fall into the evil paths with the intention of creating
good causes than they do by committing evil. As for evil
acts, even ignorant people may recognize them for what they
are, and refrain from committing them. This is like extinguishing
a fire with water. But people think that good deeds are
all equal in their goodness; thus they adhere to lesser
good and do not realize that, in so doing, they bring about
major evil. Therefore, even when they see sacred structures
related to Dengyo, Jikaku and others that are neglected
and in disrepair, they leave them as they are for the simple
reason that they are not halls dedicated to the Nembutsu.
Instead, they build Nembutsu halls beside those sacred structures,
confiscate the lands that have been donated to them and
offer them instead to the halls they have erected. According
to a passage of the Zobo Ketsugi Sutra, such deeds
will bring few benefits. You should understand from the
above that even if one performs a good deed, should it be
an act of lesser good that destroys great good, then it
will cause one to fall into the evil paths.
The present age coincides with the beginning of the Latter
Day of the Law. Gone completely are those people with the
capacity to attain enlightenment through either the Hinayana
or provisional Mahayana sutras. There now remain only those
whose capacity is suited solely to the true Mahayana sutras.
A small boat cannot carry a large rock. Those who are evil
or ignorant are like a large rock, while the Hinayana and
provisional Mahayana sutras as well as the Nembutsu are
like a small boat. If one tries to cure virulent sores with
hot-spring baths, because the ailment is so serious, such
mild treatment will be to no avail. For us in this defiled
age of the Latter Day, embracing the Nembutsu and other
teachings is like working rice paddies in winter; it does
not suit the time. This represents the third [of the five
guides for propagation].
One should also have a correct understanding of the country.
People's minds differ according to their land. For example,
a mandarin orange tree south of the Yangtze River becomes
a triple-leaved orange tree if it is transplanted to the
north of the Huai River. Even plants and trees, which have
no mind, change with their location. How much more, then,
must beings with minds differ according to the place!
A work by the Tripitaka Master Hsuan-tsang called Daito
Saiiki Ki, or Record of the Western Regions,
describes many countries in India. According to the nature
of the country, there are countries whose inhabitants are
undutiful to their parents, and others where people observe
filial piety. In some countries, anger prevails, while in
others, stupidity is rampant. There are countries devoted
solely to Hinayana, others devoted solely to Mahayana, and
still others where both Mahayana and Hinayana are pursued.
There are countries wholly given over to the killing of
living creatures, countries wholly given over to thieving,
countries where rice abounds, and countries which produce
much millet. So great is the variety of countries [in India].
Then, what teaching should our country of Japan learn if
its people are to free themselves from the sufferings of
birth and death? As for this question, the Lotus Sutra states,
"After the passing of the Tathagata, I will cause this
sutra to spread widely throughout the continent of Jambudvipa
and never allow it to perish." This passage means that
the Lotus is a sutra related to the people of Jambudvipa,
the continent of the south. Bodhisattva Miroku said, "There
is a small country in the eastern quarter whose people are
related solely to the Mahayana." According to this
passage from his treatise, within Jambudvipa, there is a
small country in the eastern quarter where the capacity
of the people is especially suited to the Mahayana sutra.
Seng-chao in his commentary remarks, "This sutra is
related to a small country in the northeast." This
indicates that the Lotus Sutra has a connection to a country
in the northeast. The Eminent Priest Annen states, "All
in my country of Japan believe in the Mahayana." Eshin
in his Ichijo Yoketsu says, "Throughout all
Japan, all people share the same capacity to attain Buddhahood
through the perfect teaching [of the Lotus Sutra]."
Thus, according to the opinions of my virtuous predecessors,
such as Shakyamuni Buddha, Bodhisattva Miroku, the Tripitaka
Master Shuryasoma, The Tripitaka Master Kumarajiva, the
Dharma Teacher Seng-chao, the Eminent Priest Annen and the
Supervisor of Monks Eshin, people in the country of Japan
have a capacity suited solely to the Lotus Sutra. Those
who put into practice even a phrase or a verse of this sutra
are certain to attain the Way, for it is the teaching related
to them. This may be likened to iron particles drawn by
a magnet or dewdrops collecting on a mirror. Other good
practices such as the Nembutsu are unrelated to our country.
They are like a magnet that cannot attract iron or a mirror
that is unable to gather dew. For this reason, Annen states
in his interpretation, "If it is not the true vehicle,
one is doubtless deceiving both oneself and others."
This passages means that one who instructs the people of
Japan in a teaching other than the Lotus Sutra is deceiving
not only oneself but others, too. One therefore must always
consider the country when propagating the Buddhist teachings.
One should not assume that a teaching suited to one country
must necessarily be suited to another as well. This constitutes
the fourth [of the five guides for propagation].
Furthermore, in a country where Buddhism has already spread,
one must also take into account the sequence of propagation.
It is the rule in propagating Buddhism that one must always
learn the characteristics of the teachings that have already
spread. To illustrate, when giving medicine to a sick person,
one should know what kind of medicine was administered before.
Otherwise, different kinds of medicine may conflict and
work against one another, killing the patient. Likewise,
different teachings of Buddhism may conflict and interfere
with each other, destroying the practitioner. In a country
where non-Buddhist teachings have already spread, one should
use Buddhism to refute them. For example, the Buddha appeared
in India and defeated the Brahmans; Kashyapa Matanga and
Chu-fa-lan went to China and attacked the Taoists; and Prince
Jogu was born in the country of Japan and put Moriya to
the sword.
The same principle applies in the realm of Buddhism itself.
In a country where the Hinayana has spread, one must vanquish
it by means of the Mahayana sutras, just as Bodhisattva
Asanga refuted the Hinayana teachings upheld by Vasubandhu.
In a country where provisional Mahayana has been propagated,
one must conquer it with the true Mahayana, just as the
Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai Chih-che defeated the three schools
of southern China and the seven schools of northern China.
As for the country of Japan, it has been more than four
hundred years since the two sects of Tendai and Shingon
have spread here. [During this period,] it has been determined
that all four categories of Buddhists - priests, nuns, laymen
and laywomen - have capacities suited to the Lotus Sutra.
All people, whether good or evil, wise or ignorant, are
endowed with the benefit of the fiftieth hearer. They are
like the K'unlun Mountains, where no worthless stone is
to be found, or the mountain island of P'eng-lai, where
no harmful potion is known.
However, within the past fifty years or so, a man of flagrant
slander named Honen appeared. He deceived all the people
by showing them a stone that resembled a jewel and persuading
them to discard the jewel they already possessed in favor
of it. This is what the fifth volume of the Maka Shikan
means when it refers to "treasuring tiles and pebbles
and calling them bright jewels." All the people are
clutching ordinary rocks in their hands, convinced that
they are precious jewels. That is to say, they have discarded
the Lotus Sutra to chant the name of Amida Buddha. But when
I point this out, they become furious and revile the votary
of the Lotus Sutra, thereby increasing all the more their
karma to fall into the hell of incessant suffering. Here
I have explained the fifth [of the five guides for propagation].
You, heeding my assertion, discarded the Nembutsu and embraced
the Lotus Sutra. But by now you must surely have reverted
to being a follower of the Nembutsu. Remember that to discard
the Lotus Sutra and become a believer in the Nembutsu is
to be like a rock from a mountain peak hurtling down to
the valley below, or like rain in the skies falling to the
ground. There is no doubt that such a person will fall into
the great Avichi Hell. Those related to the sons of Daitsu
Buddha had to spend the duration of sanzen-jintengo,
and those who received the seed of Buddhahood in the remote
past, the length of gohyaku-jintengo, [in the evil
paths]. This was because they met with very evil companions
and discarded the Lotus Sutra, falling back to the provisional
teachings such as the Nembutsu. As the members of your family
seem to be Nembutsu adherents, they certainly must be urging
it upon you. That is understandable, since they themselves
believe in it. You should consider them, however, as people
deluded by the followers of the diabolical Honen. Arouse
strong faith, and do not heed what they say. It is the way
of the great devil to assume the form of a venerable monk
or to take possession of one's father, mother or brother
in order to obstruct one's next life. Whatever they may
say, no matter how cleverly they may try to deceive you
into discarding the Lotus Sutra, do not assent to it.
Stop and consider. If the passages of proof [offered to
support the claim] that the Nembutsu does in truth lead
to rebirth in the Pure Land were reliable, then in the past
twelve years during which I have been asserting that the
Nembutsu believers will fall into the hell of incessant
suffering, would they consistently have failed to refute
me, no matter with whom they lodged their protests? Their
contention must be feeble indeed! Teachings such as those
left behind by Honen and Shan-tao have been known to me,
Nichiren, since I was seventeen or eighteen. And the arguments
that people put forth these days are no improvement.
Consequently, since their teachings are no match for mine,
they resort to sheer force of numbers in trying to fight
against me. Nembutsu believers number tens of millions,
and their supporters are many. I Nichiren, am alone, without
a single ally. It is amazing that I should have survived
until now. This year, too, on the eleventh day of the eleventh
month, between the hours of the Monkey and the Cock (around
5:00 P.M.), on the highway called Matsubara in Tojo in the
province of Awa. I was ambushed by hundreds of Nembutsu
believers. I was alone except for about ten men accompanying
me, only three or four of whom were capable of offering
any resistance at all. Arrows fell on us like rain, and
swords descended like lightning. One of my disciples was
slain in a matter of a moment and two others were gravely
wounded. I myself sustained cuts and blows, and it seemed
that I was doomed. Yet, for some reason, my attackers failed
to kill me; thus I have survived until now.
This has only strengthened my faith in the Lotus Sutra.
The fourth volume [of the sutra] says, "Since hatred
and jealousy toward this sutra bound even during the lifetime
of the Buddha, how much worse will it be in the world after
his passing!" The fifth volume states, "The people
will resent [the Lotus Sutra] and find it extremely difficult
to believe." In the country of Japan there are many
who read and study the Lotus Sutra. There are also many
who are beaten in punishment for attempting to seduce other
men's wives, or for theft or other offenses. Yet not one
person has ever suffered injury on account of the Lotus
Sutra. It is clear, therefore, that those Japanese who embrace
the sutra have yet to experience the truth of the above
sutra passages. I, Nichiren, alone have read the sutra with
my entire being. This is the meaning of the passage that
says, "We do not hold our own lives dear. We value
only the supreme Way." I, Nichiren, am therefore the
foremost votary of the Lotus Sutra in Japan.
Should you depart from this life before I do, you should
report to Bonten, Taishaku, the Four Great Heavenly Kings
and Great King Emma. Declare yourself to be a disciple of
the priest Nichiren, the foremost votary of the Lotus Sutra
in Japan. Then they cannot possibly treat you discourteously.
But if you should be of two minds, alternately chanting
the Nembutsu and reciting the Lotus Sutra, and fear what
other may say about you, then, even though you may identify
yourself as Nichiren's disciple, they will never accept
your word. [If that should happen,] do not resent me later.
Yet, since the Lotus Sutra answers one's prayers for matters
of this life as well, you may still survive your illness.
In that case, I will by all means visit you as soon as possible
and talk with you directly. Words cannot all be set down
in a letter, and a letter will not adequately convey one's
thoughts, so I will stop for now.
With my deep respect,
Nichiren
The thirteenth day of the twelfth month in the first year
of Bun'ei (1264)
Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 6, page
19.
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