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The Pure and Far-reaching Voice
The ruler known as Duke Huan of Ch'i loved to wear purple
garments [and as a result the people of his state all did
likewise]. The ruler known as King Chuang of Ch'u disliked
women with thick waists, and as a result all the courtesans
in the state strove to acquire slim waists, and many of
them starved to death in the process. Thus what pleased
one man, the ruler, was followed by all the people in the
country, even though it did not necessarily accord with
their own personal tastes. To give an analogy, the ruler
is like a great wind that bends the grass and trees, or
a great ocean that draws to itself all the rivers and streams.
If the grass and trees do not bend before the wind, will
they not be broken and toppled? And if the little streams
do not find their destination in the great ocean, what other
destination will they find?
The ruler of a state is someone who in his former existence
far excelled other people in keeping the great precepts,
and as a result Heaven and Earth and the various deities
gave their permission for him to become a ruler. The degree
of merit that he acquired through the keeping of the precepts
determines what country he rules. Two or three persons are
not chosen to be ruler, [but only one,] and the deity kings
of Earth and Heaven, the oceans and the mountains, all gather
around and protect him. How then could the people of that
state turn their backs on their sovereign?
Even if the ruler should commit evil or perverse deeds,
the first, second or third time he does so, the deities
will refrain from punishing him. But if he carries out acts
that are displeasing to the heavenly gods and other deities,
then they will at first cause prodigies and strange happenings
to appear in the sky and on the earth in order to reprimand
him. And if he goes too far in his misdeeds, the heavenly
gods and other benevolent deities will abandon and depart
from his state. Or, if the merit that the ruler has acquired
by observing the precepts should be entirely exhausted,
then when the time comes his state may simply perish. Or,
again, if his crimes and evil deeds pile up in excessive
numbers, then his state may be overthrown by a neighboring
kingdom. And whether for good or evil, the people of the
state will invariably share the same fate as the ruler.
Such is the way of the world. And such, too, is the way
with Buddhism. The Buddha long ago entrusted [the protection
of] his teachings to the ruler. Therefore, even though wise
men who are sages or worthies may appear, if they do not
abide by the authority of the ruler, they will not be able
to carry out the propagation of Buddhism. And even if it
should later be propagated, it will without fail meet with
great obstacles.
King Kanishka lived some four hundred years or more after
the passing of the Buddha and ruled according to his will
in the kingdom of Gandhara. He gathered five hundred arhats
around him and paid honor to them, and he caused the Daibibasha
Ron to be compiled in two hundred fascicles. But all
the believers in the kingdom were followers of the Hinayana
teachings, and it was very difficult for the Mahayana teachings
to make any progress there. Moreover, King Pushyamitra led
the five regions of India in wiping out the teachings of
the Buddha and cutting off the heads of Buddhist monks,
and no one, no matter how wise, could oppose him.
Emperor T'ai-tsung was a very worthy ruler. He acknowledged
the Learned Doctor Hsuan-tsang as his teacher and embraced
the teachings of the Hosso school, and none of his subjects
ventured to do otherwise. The Hosso school is a branch of
Mahayana, but it teaches the doctrine of five distinct natures,
which represents a grave calamity within the realm of Buddhism.
This is an evil doctrine, worse than any of the fallacious
teachings expounded by non-Buddhist religions, and should
never have gained approval in any of the three countries
of India, China and Japan. In the end, it was discredited
in Japan by the Great Teacher Dengyo. And yet, though the
Hosso school was greatly in error, Emperor T'ai-tsung put
faith in its teachings, and no one opposed his example.
The Shingon sect bases itself upon the Dainichi, Kongocho
and Soshitsuji sutras. These are known as the three
sutras of Dainichi. In the reign of Emperor Hsuan-tsung,
the Learned Doctors Shan-wu-wei and Chin-kang-chih brought
them to China from India. Emperor Hsuan-tsung held these
sutras in the highest respect and regarded them as superior
to the teachings of the Tendai and Kegon schools. Moreover,
he believed them to surpass the Hosso and Sanron teachings
as well. As a result, everyone in China came to believe
that the Dainichi Sutra is superior to the Lotus
Sutra. And in Japan, too, down to the present time, people
have believed that the Tendai sect is inferior to the Shingon
sect. The eminent priests of To-ji and of the Tendai sect,
who pursue the Shingon teachings, are guilty of arrogance,
surpassing arrogance, in what they do!
If one places the Dainichi and Lotus sutras side
by side and examines them without partiality or prejudice,
he will see that the Dainichi Sutra is like the light
of a firefly, while the Lotus Sutra is like the full moon;
that the teachings of the Shingon sect are like the crowds
of little stars, while those of the Tendai sect are like
the shining sun. A person who is prejudiced in the matter
will say, "You have not fully understood the profound
principles of the Shingon sect, and so you go on endlessly
speaking ill of it." But more than six hundred years
have passed since the Shingon sect was brought to China,
and more than four hundred years since it spread to Japan,
and I have generally acquainted myself with the various
attacks and rebuttals that have been made by teachers during
that time. The Great Teacher Dengyo was the only person
who truly grasped the fundamental nature of this sect's
teachings. Nevertheless, this sect today is the foremost
offender in all of Japan. What is superior it takes to be
inferior, and what is inferior it takes to be superior,
and that is the reason why now, when its prayers are being
used in an attempt to ward off the Mongol invaders, such
prayers are on the contrary about to bring the invaders
down upon us.
The Kegon sect was founded by the Dharma Master Fa-tsang.
Because Empress Tse-t'ien had placed her faith in that sect,
it enjoyed such great favor that none of the other sects
could compete with it. Thus it would seem that the relative
merit of the sects has been determined by the power and
authority of the ruler, and not by the doctrines that they
teach.
Even scholars and teachers who have realized the profound
meaning of Buddhism cannot prevail over the ruler's authority.
Those who on occasion attempted to do so met with great
persecution. The Venerable Aryasimha was beheaded by King
Dammira, Bodhisattva Aryadeva was murdered by a Brahman,
Chu Tao-sheng was forced to withdraw to a mountain in Su-chou,
and the Learned Doctor Fa-tao was branded on the face and
banished to the region south of the Yangtze.
I, Nichiren, am not worthy to be called a votary of the
Lotus Sutra, nor to be counted among the members of the
Buddhist priesthood. Moreover, I once followed along with
the other people of my time in calling on the name of the
Buddha Amida. The priest Shan-tao, who was reputed to be
a reincarnation of the Buddha Amida, said, "[Of those
who call on the name of the Buddha Amida,] ten persons out
of ten and a hundred persons out of a hundred will be reborn
in the Pure Land. However, not one in a thousand can be
saved [by the Lotus and other sutras]." The priest
Honen, who was revered as a reincarnation of Bodhisattva
Seishi, interpreted this statement, saying, "In the
latter age, of those who chant the Nembutsu but mix it with
other practices such as devotion to the Lotus Sutra, not
one person in a thousand will be saved. But of those who
embrace the Nembutsu alone, ten persons out of ten will
be reborn in the Pure Land."
For the past fifty years or more, all people throughout
this country of Japan, both wise men and foolish, have honored
this doctrine and placed faith in it, and not a one has
questioned it. Only I, Nichiren, differ from all the others
in that I point out that the Buddha Amida, in his original
vow, pledged to save everyone "excepting only those
who commit the five cardinal sins or who slander the True
Law." And I also point out that, according to the Lotus
Sutra, "One who refuses to take faith in this sutra
and instead slanders it immediately destroys the seeds for
becoming a Buddha in this world.... After they die, they
will fall into the Avichi Hell." These statements show
Shan-tao and Honen to be slanderers of the True Law, and
therefore they have surely been abandoned by the Buddha
Amida upon whom they rely. And since they themselves have
already rejected all the other Buddhas and sutras, they
cannot possibly look to them for salvation. Just as the
Lotus Sutra states, there can be no doubt that they are
destined to fall into the hell of incessant suffering.
But since all the people throughout Japan are disciples
of Shan-tao and Honen, I naturally cannot escape suffering
such a great hardship [ when I make such statements]. This
is the reason why people hate me and ceaselessly plot in
secret to do me injury.
I will leave aside the various persecutions that I suffered
earlier and merely mention that last year, on the twelfth
day of the ninth month, I incurred the wrath of the government
authorities, and on the night of the same day was to have
been beheaded. Somehow or other, I lived to see the morning,
and came instead to this island province of Sado, where
I have been residing ever since. I have been abandoned by
the world, abandoned by the Law of the Buddha, and Heaven
shows me no pity. I am one who has been cast aside by both
secular and Buddhist realms.
And yet you have had the sincerity to send your messenger
all the way here to me, along with offerings for the third
annual memorial service for your beloved mother, a matter
of utmost importance in your lifetime. For the past two
or three days I have felt as if I were dreaming. I feel
like the Temple Administrator of Hossho-ji who, in exile
on the island of Iogashima, was suddenly confronted by the
youth who had long served him. When Yang Kung, the barbarian
of the north, had been taken captive in China and was being
brought south, he saw the wild geese crossing the sky and,
[thinking that they must have come from his homeland in
the north,] he sighed with emotion. Yet his feelings on
that occasion could scarcely have equaled mine.
It is stated in the Lotus Sutra: "If there is someone,
whether man or woman, who in the time after my passing secretly
teaches to one person even a single phrase of the Lotus
Sutra, let it be known that he is the envoy of the Buddha,
sent to carry out the Buddha's work." One who recites
even one word or phrase of the Lotus Sutra and who speaks
about it to another person is the emissary of the Lord Buddha
Shakyamuni. And I, Nichiren, humble person though I am,
have received Lord Shakyamuni's royal command and come to
this country of Japan. Thus it is apparent from the sutra
that anyone who speaks a word of slander against me will
be committing a crime that will condemn him to the hell
of incessant suffering, and anyone who offers so much as
a word or a phrase on my behalf will acquire greater blessings
than if he had made offerings to countless Buddhas.
Shakyamuni Buddha is the lord of all Buddhist teachings,
the leader and teacher of all human beings. The eighty thousand
teachings he expounded are all of them golden words; the
twelve divisions of the sutras are all of them true. The
prohibition against the speaking of falsehoods that he observed
over countless millions of kalpas has produced this entire
body of sutras. Thus there can be no doubt about the truth
of any of them.
However, this represents the general view. Analyzed more
specifically, the teachings that issued from the Buddha's
golden mouth may be divided into the various categories
of Hinayana and Mahayana, exoteric teachings and esoteric
teachings, and provisional and true sutras. The Lotus Sutra
says, "Honestly discarding the provisional teachings,
[I will expound only the supreme Way]." It also says,
"The World-Honored One has long expounded his doctrines
and now must reveal the truth." In view of these pronouncements,
who could doubt [that the Lotus Sutra represents the ultimate
truth]? And to this was added the testimony of Taho Buddha,
and all the other Buddhas extended their tongues to the
Brahma Heaven as further proof.
Thus the entire text of this sutra is in fact three texts,
each phrase is three phrases, and each word is three words,
for the benefit of the Lotus Sutra is such that even a single
word of it embodies the threefold blessings of Shakyamuni,
Taho, and all the other Buddhas of the ten directions.
To illustrate, it is like the wish-granting jewel. One
such jewel is the same as a hundred such jewels. One jewel
can rain down countless treasures, and a hundred jewels
can likewise produce inexhaustible treasures. Or it is like
grinding up a hundred medicinal plants to make a pill, or
to make a hundred pills. Whether it be one pill or a hundred,
in either case, the medicine will have the power to cure
sickness. Or, again, it is like the great sea: each drop
contains all the various streams that pour into the ocean,
and the ocean itself contains the flavors of all the streams
that flow into it.
Myoho-renge-kyo is a general name, while the twenty-eight
chapters each have their particular names. Similarly, Gasshi
is the general name for India, while, more specifically,
India is divided into five regions. Or we speak of Japan,
which is a general name, or name the sixty-six provinces
when we wish to be more specific.
The wish-granting jewels are the relics of Shakyamuni Buddha.
The dragon kings received them and carried them on their
heads, and Taishaku held them in his hand and caused treasures
to rain down. The reason why the body and bones of the Buddha
can become wish-granting jewels is because the great precept
he observed over a period of innumerable kalpas imbued his
body with its fragrance and permeated his bones, so that
they became jewels capable of saving all beings.
People say that a dog's fangs will dissolve when they come
in contact with the bones of a tiger, or that a fish's bones
will melt in the breath of a cormorant. Or they say that
if one uses the sinews of a lion to make strings for a koto
and plucks them, then strings made from the sinews of other
animals will automatically snap, even though no one cuts
them. The Buddha's preaching of the Law is called the lion's
roar, and the Lotus Sutra is the foremost roar of the lion.
A Buddha has thirty-two features. Each of these features
is adorned with a hundred blessings that he has acquired.
The protuberant knot of flesh on the crown of his head,
the tuft of white hair between his eyebrows and the other
features are like fruit, while the practices that the Buddha
has carried out in the past are like flowers that produce
so many blessings; in this way, the thirty-two features
come to appear in the body of the Buddha.
One feature of the Buddha is the unseen crown of his head.
Shakyamuni Buddha's body was sixteen feet in height, but
a Brahman known as the Bamboo Staff was unable to measure
it. When he attempted to see the top of Shakyamuni's head
he was unable to do so. Bodhisattva Oji likewise was unable
to see the top of the Buddha's head, and so was the deity
Daibonten. If one inquires as to the reason, he will find
that in the past the Buddha bowed his head to the ground
in order to pay reverence to his parents, his teacher and
his sovereign, and he acquired this feature as a result.
The foremost among the Buddha's thirty-two features is
his pure and far-reaching voice. Lesser kings, great kings,
and wheel-turning kings all possess this feature in some
degree. Therefore, a single word from one of these kings
is able to destroy the kingdom or to insure order within
it. The edicts handed down by rulers represent a type of
pure and far-reaching voice. Ten thousand words spoken by
ten thousand ordinary subjects cannot equal one word spoken
by a king. The works known as the Three Records and
the Five Cannons represent the words of lesser kings.
That which brings order to this small kingdom of Japan,
which enables the deity Daibonten to command the inhabitants
of the threefold world, and which enables the Buddha to
command Daibonten, Taishaku and the other deities, is none
other than this pure and far-reaching voice. The Buddha's
utterances have become the works that compose the body of
sutras and bring benefit to all living beings. And among
the sutras, the Lotus Sutra is a manifestation is writing
of Shakyamuni Buddha's intent; it is his voice set down
in written words. Thus the Buddha's mind is embodied in
these written words. To illustrate, it is like seeds that
sprout, grow into plants and produce rice. Though the form
of the rice changes, its essence remains the same.
Shakyamuni Buddha and the written words of the Lotus Sutra
are two different things, but their heart is one. Therefore,
when you cast your eyes upon the words of the Lotus Sutra,
you should consider that you are beholding the living body
of the Buddha Shakyamuni.
Shakyamuni Buddha is already aware that you have sent offerings
all the way here to the province of Sado. It was in truth
a most loyal and devoted thing for you to do.
With my deep respect,
Nichiren
The ninth year of Bun'ei (1272)
Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 5, page
135.
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