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On Persecutions Befalling the Buddha
- Shonin Gonanji -
Now in the second year of Koan (1279), it is twenty seven
years since I first proclaimed the true teaching at Seicho-ji
temple. It was noon on the twenty-eighth day of the fourth
month in the fifth year of Kencho (1253), on the southern
side of Jibutsu-do Hall in the Shobutsu-bo of the temple,
located in Tojo Village. Tojo is now a district, but was
then a part of Nagasa District in Awa Province. Here is
located what was the second, but is now the country's most
important shrine to the Sun Goddess, built by Minamoto no
Yoritomo, founder of the Kamakura shogunate. The Buddha
fulfilled the purpose of his advent in a little over forty
years; T'ien-t'ai took about thirty years, and Dengyo, some
twenty years. I have repeatedly spoken of the indescribable
persecutions they suffered during those years. For me it
took twenty-seven years, and the persecutions I faced during
this period are well known to you all.
The Lotus Sutra reads, "Since hatred and jealousy
abound even during the lifetime of the Buddha, how much
worse will it be in the world after his passing?" Shakyamuni
Buddha suffered innumerable persecutions: For ninety days
he was forced to eat horse fodder; a huge boulder was dropped
on him, and though it missed him, his foot was injured and
bled; a group of eight priests led by Sunakshatra, outwardly
acting as the Buddha's disciples but in spirit siding with
Brahmans, watched every moment of the day and night for
a chance to kill him; King Virudhaka killed great numbers
of the Shakya clan; King Ajatashatru had many of Shakyamuni's
disciples trampled to death by wild elephants and subjected
the Buddha to a series of severe tribulations. Such were
the persecutions that took place "in the Buddha's lifetime."
In the more than two thousand years "after his passing,
"no one, not even Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, T'ien-t'ai
or Dengyo, encountered any of the still greater persecutions
predicted to occur. No one can say they were not votaries
of the Lotus Sutra, but if they were, why did none shed
even a drop of blood, as did the Buddha, nor suffer even
greater trials? Could the sutra's predictions be false and
the Buddha's teachings nothing but great lies?
However, in these twenty-seven years, Nichiren was exiled
to the province of Izu on the twelfth day of the fifth month
in the first year of Kocho (1261), was wounded on the forehead
and had his left hand broken on the eleventh day of the
eleventh month in the first year of Bun'ei (1264). He was
to be executed on the twelfth day of the ninth month of
the eighth year of Bun'ei (1271), but was instead exiled
to the province of Sado. In addition, many of his disciples
were murdered or executed, banished or heavily fined. I
do not know whether these trials equal or surpass those
of the Buddha. Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo
came nowhere near me in what they endured. Had it not been
for the advent of Nichiren in the Latter Day of the Law,
the Buddha would have been a great liar and the testimony
given by Taho and all the other Buddhas would have been
false. In the twenty-two hundred and thirty years since
the Buddha's death, Nichiren is the only person in the whole
world to fulfill the Buddha's prophecy.
In the Latter Day of the Law of both Shakyamuni and the
Buddhas before him, the rulers and people who despised the
votaries of the Lotus Sutra seemed to be free from punishment
at first, but eventually they were all doomed to fall. Among
those who attacked Nichiren, there were at first no signs
of punishment. During these twenty-seven years, the Buddhist
gods who vowed to protect the votary of the Lotus Sutra--Bonten,
Taishaku, the gods of the sun and moon, and the Four Heavenly
Kings--did little to help Nichiren. But by now they have
realized in terror that unless they fulfill the oath they
swore before the Buddha, they will fall into the hell of
incessant suffering. Consequently they are now earnestly
carrying out their vow by punishing those who attacked the
votary of the Lotus Sutra. The deaths of Ota Chikamasa,
Nagasaki Tokitsuna and Daishin-bo, for example, who were
all thrown from their horses, can be attributed to their
treachery against the Lotus Sutra. There are four kinds
of punishment: general and individual, conspicuous and inconspicuous.
The massive epidemics, nationwide famines, insurrections
and foreign invasion suffered by Japan are general punishment.
Epidemics are also inconspicuous punishment. The tragic
deaths of Ota and the others both conspicuous and individual.
Each of you should summon up the courage of a lion and
never succumb to threats from anyone. The lion fears no
other beast, nor do its cubs. Slanderers are like howling
jackals, but Nichiren's followers are like roaring lions.
Hojo Tokiyori and Hojo Tokimune, the past and present regents,
pardoned me when they found I was innocent of the accusations
against me. The regent will no longer take action on any
charge without confirming its validity. You may rest assured
that nothing, not even a person possessed by a powerful
demon, can harm Nichiren, because Bonten, Taishaku, the
gods of the sun and moon, the Four Heavenly Kings, Tensho
Daijin and Hachiman are safeguarding him. Strengthen your
faith day by day and month after month. Should you slacken
even a bit, demons will take advantage.
We common mortals are so foolish that we do not fear the
warnings in the sutras or treatises so long as they do not
concern us directly. But you must be fully prepared for
the havoc Hei no Saemon and Adachi Yasumori, in their outrage,
will wreak upon us. People are now being sent to Tsukushi
to fight the Mongols; consider yourself in the same position
as those who are on their way or who are already at the
battlefield. So far our believers have not experienced anything
so terrible. The warriors in Tsukushi, however, now face
a dreadful fate, and if they are killed in battle, they
will be doomed to fall into hell. Even if we too should
meet such severe trials, we will attain Buddhahood in the
future. Our present tribulations are like moxa cautery,
minor pain necessary to remove greater pain.
You need not frighten those peasant believers from Atsuhara,
but you should encourage them in every way possible. Tell
them to be prepared for the worst. Do not expect good times,
but take the bad times for granted. If they complain of
hunger, tell them about the hell of starvation. If they
grumble that they are cold, tell them of the eight freezing
hells. If they say they are frightened, explain to them
that a pheasant sighted by a hawk, or a mouse stalked by
a cat, is as desperate as they are. I have repeated the
foregoing almost daily for the past twenty-seven years.
Yet with Nagoe no Ama, Shofu-bo, Noto-bo, Sammi-bo and others,
who are so cowardly, close-minded, greedy, and filled with
doubt, it is like pouring water on lacquerware or slicing
at thin air.
There was something very strange about Sammi-bo. However,
I was afraid that any admonition would be taken by the ignorant
as mere jealousy of his wisdom, and therefore, I refrained
from speaking out. In time his wicked ambition led to treachery,
and finally to his doom during the Atsuhara Persecution.
If I had scolded him more strictly, he might have been saved.
I did not mention this before because no one could understand
it. Even now the ignorant will say that I am speaking ill
of the deceased. Nevertheless, I mention this for the benefit
of other believers. I am sure that those who persecuted
the believers at Atsuhara were frightened by the fate of
Sammi-bo.
Even if others are clad in armor and instigate, my disciples
should never do the same. If there are some who prepare
for fighting, please write to me immediately.
With my deep respect,
Nichiren
The first day of the tenth month
This letter should be kept by Shijo Kingo.
Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, page
239.
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