 |
On Prolonging Life
There are two types of illness: minor and serious. Early
treatment by a skilled physician can cure even serious illnesses,
not to mention minor ones. Karma also may be divided into
two categories: mutable and immutable. Sincere repentance
will eradicate even immutable karma, to say nothing of karma
which is mutable. The seventh volume of the Lotus Sutra
states, "This sutra is beneficial medicine for the
illnesses of all mankind." These words can be found
in no other sutra. All the Buddha's teachings are golden
words of truth; for countless aeons, they have never contained
the slightest falsehood. The Lotus Sutra is the truth of
all truths taught by the Buddha, for it includes his declaration
that he would now honestly discard the provisional teachings.
Taho Buddha confirmed the truth of the Lotus Sutra and all
other Buddhas lent their tongues in testimony. How, then,
could it be false? Moreover, this sutra contains the greatest
of all secrets. Many women suffer from illness, and now
in the fifth five-hundred-year period or a little more than
twenty-five hundred years after the Buddha's death, the
Lotus Sutra is "beneficial medicine" for them
also.
King Ajatashatru broke out in huge leprous sores all over
his body on the fifteenth day of the second month of his
fiftieth year. Not even the skills of his renowned physician
Jivaka were enough to cure him. It was foretold that he
would die on the seventh day of the third month and fall
into the hell of incessant suffering. All the pleasures
of his more than fifty years suddenly vanished, and the
sufferings of an entire lifetime were gathered into three
short weeks. His death was predetermined by his immutable
karma. But then the Buddha taught him the Lotus Sutra once
more, through the teachings that became the Nirvana Sutra.
The king immediately recovered from his illness, and the
heavy sins which had burdened his heart vanished like dewdrops
in the sun.
More than fifteen hundred years after the Buddha passed
away, there lived a man in China called Ch'en Ch'en. It
was prophesied that he would die at the age of fifty, but
by following the precepts of the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai,
he was able to prolong his life by fifteen years, and lived
to be sixty-five. The Buddha taught that Bodhisattva Fukyo
also transformed his immutable karma and prolonged his life
through his practice of the Lotus Sutra. Ajatashatru, Ch'en
Ch'en and Fukyo were men, not women, but they did prolong
their lives by practicing the Lotus Sutra. Ch'en Ch'en lived
before the fifth five-hundred-year period, so his change
of karma was as extraordinary as rice ripening in winter
or chrysanthemums blossoming in summer. Today it is as natural
for a woman to change her immutable karma by practicing
the Lotus Sutra as it is for rice to ripen in fall or chrysanthemums
to bloom in winter.
When I, Nichiren, prayed for my mother, not only was her
illness cured, but her life was prolonged by four years.
Now you too have fallen ill, and as a woman, it is all the
more timely for you to try believing in the Lotus Sutra
and see what it will do for you. In addition, you can go
to Shijo Kingo, who is not only an excellent physician but
a votary of the Lotus Sutra.
Life is the most precious of all treasures. Even one extra
day of life is worth more than ten million ryo of
gold. The Lotus Sutra surpasses all other teachings because
of the Juryo chapter. The greatest prince in the
world would be of less consequence than a blade of grass
if he died in childhood. If he died young, even a man whose
wisdom shone as brilliantly as the sun would be less than
a living dog. Hasten to accumulate the treasure of faith
and quickly conquer your illness.
I should speak to you frankly, but while some people will
accept advice, others feel they are not being correctly
understood. It is extremely difficult to fathom another
person's mind. I have experienced difficulties on many occasions.
You do not readily accept advice, so I will not counsel
you directly. Just pray to the Gohonzon frankly and sincerely,
without help from anyone. When Shijo Kingo came to see me
in the tenth month of last year, I told him how grieved
I was about your illness. He replied that you were probably
not overly concerned then because your illness was not yet
serious, but that it would definitely become critical by
the first or the second month of this year. His words saddened
me deeply. Your husband also told me that he depends on
you as a staff to lean on and a pillar for support. He is
very worried about you. He is a man who never gives in to
defeat and shows the greatest concern for his own kin.
If you are unwilling to take proper care of yourself, it
will be very difficult to cure your illness. One day of
life is more valuable than all the treasures of the universe,
so first you must muster sincere faith. This is the meaning
of the passage in the seventh volume of the Lotus Sutra
which states that burning one's little finger as an offering
to the Buddha and the Lotus Sutra is better than donating
all the treasures of the universe. A single life is worth
more than the universe. You still have many years ahead
of you, and moreover, you have found the Lotus Sutra. If
you live even one day longer, you can accumulate that much
more good fortune. How precious life is!
Write down your name and age in your own handwriting and
send it to me quickly, so I can pray to the gods of the
sun and moon. Your son Iyo-bo is also extremely worried
about you, so together we will offer the jigage to
those gods.
Respectfully,
Nichiren
Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, page
229.
|
