On the twelfth of the ninth month of the eighth year of the Bun’ei Era (1274) two days after I was summoned by the Council of State, I was arrested. The way I was arrested seemed unusual and unlawful. It was far larger in scale than the arrest of Ryōgyō who rebelled against the Kamakura Shogunate in 1251, or of Taifu no Risshi (Miura Ryōken) who planned to overthrow the shogunate in 1261. Led by Hei no Saemonnojō, Deputy Commander of the Board of Retainers, several hundreds of soldiers clad in armor and ebōshi hat with glaring eyes and shouting angrily came to arrest me.

Contemplating the truth of the matter, the way of governing the country by the Kamakura Shogunate was like that of the late dictator Lay Priest Taira no Kiyomori, who brought this country to ruin by arrogating power. This was a serious mistake. Witnessing this outrageousness, I said to myself, “This is what I have always been longing for. How lucky I am to be able to sacrifice my life for the sake of the Lotus Sūtra. To be beheaded and lose my malodorous head is like exchanging sand for gold and pebbles for jewels.”

At that moment, Shō-bō, a ranking vassal of Saemonnojō, rushed at me, snatched the fifth fascicle of the Lotus Sūtra from my bosom, beat my face with it three times, and tore it to pieces. Other soldiers scattered the remaining nine fascicles of the Threefold Lotus Sūtra, stepped on them, wrapped themselves in them, scattering them all over the straw mats or the wooden floor of the house.

Seeing their riotous behavior, I uttered in a loud voice, “How interesting! Everybody, look at Hei no Saemonnojō Yoritsuna losing his head! He is now going to fell the pillar of Japan.” It appeared that Saemonnojō and his vassals as well as onlookers were all struck dumb and astonished. Nichiren was the one in disgrace with the shogunate and therefore, he should have appeared nervous under such circumstances, but on the contrary, it was the poor soldiers who looked like cowards and were pale with fear perhaps because they were regretful of having torn and scattered the sacred sūtra.

Shuju Onfurumai Gosho, Reminscences: from Tatsunokuchi to Minobu, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Biography and Disciples, Volume 5, Page 1

The fifth volume of Nichiren’s writings is dedicated to his biography and that of his disciples. Rather than doctrine these focus on events and provide a glimpse into what Nichiren’s life resembled in 13th Century Japan.

This letter, in particular, is praised in the Introduction as “an irreplaceable source for writing his biography.” I find the fragment I’ve quoted above says much about Nichiren, his attitude about his persecution and the unshakable faith he held in the Lotus Sūtra. I smile as I imagine the soldiers dancing around, wrapped in sūtra scrolls, stopping, suddenly embarrassed at the realization of their inappropriate conduct, and Nichiren amid the chaos looking every bit the Pillar of Japan.

The living Aizen Myōō appeared to me in the glow of the sunset on New Year’s Day. I have become the twenty-third successor to the dharma transmitted from the Great Sun Buddha.

Twenty-fifth day of the sixth month in the sixth year of Kenchō (1254)

Nichiren presents this to the New Buddha.

The living Fudō Myōō also appeared to me in the light of the full moon from the 15th through the 17th day of the same month. I have become the twenty-third successor to the dharma transmitted from the Great Sun Buddha.

Twenty-fifth day of the sixth month of the sixth year of Kenchō (1254)

Nichiren presents this to the New Buddha

Fudō Aizen Kanken-ki, Record of Seeing Fudō and Aizen Myōō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Biography and Disciples, Volume 5, Pages 1

I’ve included this letter from 1254 as an example of why Nichiren writes 24 years later in 1278, “Now, as far as my theology goes, I would like you to think that what I have expressed before being banished to Sado Island can be equated with the forty or so years in which Śākyamuni had taught before revealing the Lotus Sūtra (that is, the truth and true aims of the Buddha were not directly divulged in those years).” Misawa-shō, A Letter to Lord Misawa of Suruga, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 241. I will be pointing back to this when I get to the letters criticizing Kamakura Era trends in Mikkyo thought.

Needless to say, this event had a lasting impact. As the Introduction to this letter states:

The impact on Nichiren from this experience of seeing Aizen and Fudö was such that he would always inscribe Sanskrit characters representing the two divine protectors of Buddhism (seed-letters) when drawing his Mandala.

Lotus World has this to say about Aizen Myōō (Ragaraja Vidyaraja):

These esoteric deities are the kings of mystic knowledge who represent the power of the buddhas to vanquish blind craving. They are known as “kings of mystic knowledge” because they wield the mantras, mystical spells made up of Sanskrit syllables imbued with the power to protect practitioners of the Dharma from all harm and evil influences. The Vidyarajas appear in terrifying wrathful forms because they embody the indomitable energy of compassion that breaks down all obstacles to wisdom and liberation.

Lotus World has this to say about Fudō Myōō (Acalanatha Vidyaraja):

Achalanatha Vidyaraja is the chief of the five kings of mystic knowledge in esoteric Buddhism. He is very popular in Japan as a destroyer of demons, black magic, sickness; and all forms of evil. He is also revered in Japan as the protector of the nation . According to some interpretations he represents the transmutation of the sufferings of birth and death into the bliss of nirvana.

Achalanatha Vidyaraja is considered a wrathful form or manifestation of Mahavairochana Buddha, who personifies the Dharma-body or Truth-body of the Buddha. He is shown surrounded by flames that consume all karmic obstacles. His sword of wisdom cuts through greed, anger, and ignorance. He uses his lasso to bind the forces of evil but also to catch and draw near those in need of self-control and discipline. The rock he sits on represents his overcoming of the hindrances to enlightenment but also his immovable determination to liberate all beings.

I am grateful to have been born a human with this precious body due accumulated causes and conditions in my past existences. According to the sūtra, I must have encountered and given offerings to ten trillion Buddhas in the past. Even though I did not place my faith exclusively in the Lotus Sūtra, thus slandering the True Dharma and being born poor and lowly in this life as a result, my merit of giving offerings to the Buddhas was so great that I was born as a believer of the Lotus Sūtra.

Interpreting this, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai (sic) states, “It is like a person who falls to the ground but does not stay there and rises from the ground instead.” Those who fall to the ground get up from the ground instead. Likewise, the grand master states, slanderers of the Lotus Sūtra fall on the ground of the three evil realms and the realms of human and heavenly beings; however, due to their reverse relationship to the Lotus Sūtra they will be led by the hand of the sūtra into the realm of Buddhas.

Hokke Shōmyō-shō, Treatise on the Testimony of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Pages 185

While chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō I enjoy pondering how I arrived where I am today, the “accumulated causes and conditions in my past existences.” Would we learn faster if we could remember our past mistakes?

Here ends the fourth volume of the Writings of Nichiren Shōnin.

What kinds of doctrines are expounded in such a precious sūtra entitled the Lotus Sūtra? Beginning with the “Expedients” chapter in the first fascicle, the sūtra expounds that bodhisattvas, Two Vehicles (Śrāvaka and Pratyekabuddha) and ordinary people are all able to attain Buddhahood, though there is no actual proof yet. Suppose a guest visits you for the first time. He looks fine, speaks politely, and there is nothing dubious about his words, but until you confirm the truth about him, it would be difficult to believe him from merely his words. In such a case, if something important happens one after another to confirm his words, you can trust him thereafter without hesitation.

Although we believed the doctrine of attainment of Buddhahood by all living bewings because it was preached by the Buddha, it was difficult for some to fully accept it because of the lack of actual proof. However, it all became clear when the most important doctrine of becoming a Buddha with one’s present body was expounded in the “Devadatta” chapter in the fifth fascicle of the Lotus Sūtra. It is like turning black lacquer into white or purifying dirty water by putting a wish-fulfilling gem in it. The Buddha helped a small snake, who was actually a daughter of the dragon king, attain Buddhahood with her present body. From that moment, no one could have the slightest doubt about all men attaining Buddhahood. Therefore, the Lotus Sūtra expounds attainment of Buddhahood by all people after the model of enlightenment of women. Grand Master Dengyō of Mt. Hiei, who first spread the true meaning of the Lotus Sūtra in Japan, annotated in his Outstanding Principles of the Lotus Sūtra, “Neither the dragon girl, who became a Buddha to preach the dharma, nor the people who heard her preach the dharma needed a roundabout way to Buddhahood. They immediately attained Buddhahood with their present bodies by the power of the Wonderful Dharma.”

Sennichi-ama Gozen Gohenji, A Reply to My Lady Nun Sennici, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Pages 146-147

The story of the attainment of enlightenment by the 8-year-old daughter of Dragon King Sagara is often held up as an example of the promise that women can become Buddhas. The fact that the Dragon King’s daughter goes through an instant metamorphosis to become an adult man before instantly becoming a Buddha disappoints those who wish to see a female human become a Buddha. The real lesson here is made manifest when she is described as “a small snake, who was actually a daughter of the dragon king.” Viewed from this perspective, the small female snake’s transformation into an adult man who becomes a Buddha is a clear message – even animals can attain Buddhahood, thus showing that all nine realms contain the door to the 10th realm, Buddhahood.

The declaration that women can become Buddhas comes in the following chapter, Encouragement for Keeping this Sūtra, when Maha-Prajapati Bhikṣunī and Yasodhara Bhikṣunī and six thousand other bhikṣunīs in the congregation are assured of their future Buddhahood.

Some of my disciples pretend to know the details of doctrines. They are mistaken. The odaimoku, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, is the essence of the Lotus Sūtra. It is like a human being’s spirit. If any other teachings were to be added to the odaimoku, it would be the cause of great trouble. It would be like the Empress marrying two Emperors, or committing adultery. The teachings of the Lotus Sūtra did not spread far enough during the Ages of the True Dharma and the Semblance Dharma. This was because these periods were intended for other sūtras.

We are presently living in the Latter Age of Degeneration. The Lotus Sūtra and other sūtras are no longer efficacious in bringing about enlightenment. Only the odaimoku can accomplish this. This is not my arbitrary opinion. It was so-arranged by the Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures, various Buddhas from all over the universe, and numerous great bodhisattvas from beneath the earth such as Superior Practice Bodhisattva.

It is a serious mistake to mix other teachings with the odaimoku. For example, when the sun rises, we no longer need to use lamps. When it rains, the dew is of no use. A baby does not need any nourishment except for milk. We do not need to add supplements to effective medicine.

Ueno-dono Gohenji, A Reply to Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 119

In these first 38 days, I’ve have repeatedly expressed what could be construed as doubts about relying solely on the odaimoku – Day 30, Day 24 and Day 18. Clearly this letter nixes that discussion.

Deceived by Devadatta, King Ajātaśtru became an enemy of the Buddha but his Minister Jīvaka was devoted to the Buddha and continued to have faith, the merit of which seems to have helped King Ajātaśtru. In Buddhism there is an important teaching that virtue stored within will naturally rise to the surface. Never-Despising Bodhisattva in the Lotus Sūtra bowed to passersby, saying, “I have heartfelt respect for you.” The “Lion-Roaring Bodhisattva” chapter in the Nirvana Sūtra says that all sentient beings have the Buddha-nature. It is stated in the Awakening of Faith in Mahayana by Bodhisattva Aśvaghosa, “As the wisdom of enlightenment works within, delusions are exterminated and, in turn, the Dharma body of enlightenment appears.” The same is preached in the Treatise on the Stages of Yoga Practice written by Bodhisattva Maitreya. These passages all mean that the internally hidden virtue will spontaneously rise to the surface.

Sushun Tennō Gosho, The ‘Emperor Shushun’ Letter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 119

This “hidden virtue” complements the “intention” discussed on Day 35.

QUESTION: Why don’t you encourage people to contemplate the three thousand existences contained in one thought, instead of only advocating the chanting of the daimoku?

ANSWER: The two characters in the name Japan bring together all 66 provinces, with all their people, animals, and wealth without a single exception. Likewise, don’t the two characters for India bring together all 70 of its countries? Miao-lê says, “As a summation of the whole sūtra the entirety of the Lotus Sūtra is included in the daimoku.” He also says, “By way of summary the ten realms or ten aspects are used to indicate the entirety of the 3,000 existences.” Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī and the Venerable Ānanda used the daimoku of Myōhō Renge Kyō to indicate the entirety of the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra in three assemblies over the period of the last eight years of the Buddha’s teaching; and to indicate that this is what they meant the sutra begins with the words “Thus have I heard.”

QUESTION: If someone chanted Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō without understanding its meaning will the benefit of understanding still be received?

ANSWER: When a baby nurses, it does not comprehend the taste; nevertheless, it receives the benefits of the milk naturally. Did anyone know the ingredients or extinguish fire; and even though fire consumes many things, can we say it does this deliberately? This is Nāgārjuna and T’ien-t’ai’s idea! I am merely repeating it.

Shishin Gohon-shō, The Four Depths of Faith and Five Stages of Practice, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Pages 106-107

This letter was written in response to questions about how to develop one’s faith, how to practice one’s faith, and how to understand the daimoku and teachings of the Lotus Sūtra. Nichiren’s answers nicely explain the role of the first moment of faith and the practice of chanting daimoku. I’ll resist the temptation to post the entire letter.

When we worship gods or Buddhas, we begin with the phrase of “namu.” Namu is an Indian word that has come to mean “offering of life to Buddhas and gods” in China and Japan. Our social standing is determined in part by possessing a spouse and children, retainers, fiefs, and gold and silver, though some people do not have these. Regardless of whether we possess these or not, no one possesses treasure more precious than life. Accordingly, sages and wise men in the past have donated their lives to the Buddhas in order to attain Buddhahood.

That is to say, Young Ascetic in the Snow Mountains offered his own body to a demon in order to learn a holy teaching consisting of eight Chinese characters. Medicine King Bodhisattva burned his own elbow and offered it to the Lotus Sūtra as a light. In Japan, Prince Shōtoku peeled the skin of his own hand to write the Lotus Sūtra on it, and Emperor Tenchi burned his third finger as an offering to Śākyamuni Buddha. These are deeds of sages and wise men, which are impossible for us ordinary people to emulate.

Nevertheless, ordinary people can become Buddhas by fully understanding the meaning of the word of “kokorozashi (intention)” and practicing it. What is the intention? When we consider this in detail, it refers to the doctrine of spiritual contemplation. What does the doctrine of spiritual contemplation mean? It means the way of practicing the teaching of the Buddha according to the intent of the Buddha, not necessarily according to what is literally said in the sutra. For example, if a man donates his only set of clothes, which he wears for the cause of the Lotus Sūtra, this is the same as peeling his own skin for the sake of the Dharma. Suppose there is a man during the time of a famine who offers to the Buddha the only food he has to stay alive for a day. This is the same as offering his life to the Buddha.

These offerings are as meritorious as the offering of an elbow by Medicine King Bodhisattva or the offering by Young Ascetic in the Snow Mountains of his own body to a demon. Therefore, we can say that the self-sacrificial offerings of sages are phenomenal whereas the offerings of ordinary people according to the intent of the Buddha are noumenal. The doctrine of offering, one of the six practices for bodhisattvas to attain enlightenment, preached in the Great Concentration and Insight, part seven, refers to this noumenal offering, i.e. the practice of offering according to the intent of the Buddha.

Jiri Kyuō Gosho, Phenomenal Offering and Noumenal Offering, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 98

Intention is something I find vital in all things. I see this Intention reflected in the Lotus Sūtra in the latter half of Chapter 2, Expedients:

Those who, after the extinction of a Buddha,
Were good and gentle,
Have already attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha.

Those who, after the extinction of a Buddha,
Erected billions of stupas,
And who purely and extensively adorned [those stupas]
With treasures
Such as gold, silver, crystal,
Shell, agate, ruby, and lapis lazuli,
And who offered those adornments to his śarīras;
Or those who made the mausoleum [of the Buddha]
With stone, bricks, or clay,
Or with many kinds of wood,
Such as candana, aloes, or agalloch;
Or those who made the mausoleum of the Buddha
With heaps of earth
In the wilderness;
Or the boys who made the stupa of the Buddha
With heaps of sand by playing,
Have already attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha.

Those who carved an image of the Buddha
With the [proper] physical marks in his honor
Have already attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha.

Those who made an image of the Buddha
With the seven treasures;
Or those who made it
Of copper, copper-gold alloy, nickel,
Pewter lead, tin, iron, wood, or clay;
Or those who made it in plaster work,
Have already attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha.

Those who drew or caused others to draw in color
A picture of the Buddha adorned with his physical marks,
Each mark representing one hundred merits,
Have already attained the enlightenment of the Buddha.

The boys who by playing drew
A picture of the Buddha
With a piece of grass or wood,
Or with a brush,
Or with the back of their fingernails,
Became able to accumulate merits one by one.
Having great compassion towards others,
They attained the enlightenment of the Buddha,
Taught only Bodhisattvas,
And saved many living beings.

Those who respectfully offered
Flowers, incense, streamers, and canopies
Enshrined in a stupa-mausoleum;
Or those who caused men to make music
By beating drums, by blowing horns and conches,
And by playing reed-pipes, flutes, lyres, harps,
Lutes, gongs, and copper cymbals,
And offered the wonderful sounds produced thereby
To the image or picture of the Buddha;
Or those who sang joyfully in praise of him for his virtues;
Or those who just murmured [in praise of him],
Have already attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha.

Those who, without concentrating their minds,
Offered nothing but a flower to the picture of the Buddha,
Became able to see
Innumerable Buddhas one after another.

Those who bowed to the image of the Buddha,
Or just joined their hands together towards it,
Or raised only one hand towards it,
Or bent their head a little towards it
And offered the bending to it,
Became able to see innumerable Buddhas one after another.
They attained unsurpassed enlightenment,
Saved countless living beings,
And entered into the Nirvana-without-remainder
Just as fire dies out when wood is gone.

Those who entered a stupa-mausoleum
And said only once “Namo Buddhaya,”
Without even concentrating their minds,
Have already attained the enlightenment of the Buddha.

Those who heard the Dharma
In the lifetime of a past Buddha
Or after his extinction
Have already attained the enlightenment of the Buddha.

By definition, a Noumenal Offering is “[an offering] as it is in itself, as distinct from [an offering] as it is knowable by the senses through phenomenal attributes.” Or, in other words, the Intention.

See also Small Good Deeds from the Introduction to the Lotus Sutra.

Life is fleeting! No matter how many powerful enemies join forces against you, do not retreat and never be afraid. Even if your head is sawed off, your torso pierced through with a spear, and your feet shackled and drilled with a gimlet, you should continue chanting “Namu Myōhō-renge-kyō” as long as you have life. If you die chanting it, Śākyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures, and Buddhas in manifestation throughout the universe will immediately come flying, lead you by the hand or carry you on their shoulders to Mt. Sacred Eagle as they had promised at the assembly on Mt. Sacred Eagle. At that moment, two sages (Bodhisattvas Medicine King and Brave Donor), two heavenly kings (World Holding and Vaiśravaṇa), and ten female rākṣasa demons will protect you, upholders of the Lotus Sūtra, and various gods and deities will hold up a canopy over your head, wave banners, guard you, and certainly will send you to the Jeweled Land of Tranquil Light. Is not this the utmost happiness?

Nyosetsu Shugydō-shō, True Way of Practicing the Teaching of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Pages 87-88

These are the assurances that hold special meaning for me, promises of compassion on the other shore.

[T]he two Buddhas, Śākyamuni and Many Treasures, are functions of the substance, that is the five characters of myō, hō, renge, and kyō. In other words, the Lotus Sūtra is the Original Buddha. “The Life Span of the Buddha” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra mentions the Buddha’s “hidden core and divine powers.” The hidden core of the World Honored One refers to the substance of the Original Buddha possessing the threefold body (Dharma Body, Reward Body, and Accommodative Body). The divine powers mean the three bodies of manifested Buddhas as functions of the Original Buddha (substance). Also, we unenlightened people can fundamentally be the Original Buddha with three bodies of the substance, and the Buddha’s three bodies are functions and manifestations of the Original Buddha. If this is true, although we believed that Śākyamuni Buddha provided the three virtues of master, teacher and parent to us, instead it was we unenlightened people who provide three virtues to the Buddha. The reason why we say this is based on T’ien-t’ai’s interpretation in the ninth fascicle of the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra that, “The Tathagata (Thus-come One) is a common term for all Buddhas in ten directions in the past, present, and future, two Buddhas (True Body and Accommodative Body), three Buddhas (Dharma Body, Reward Body, and Accommodative Body), the Original Buddha and Buddhas in manifestation.” In this annotation, the Original Buddha refers to unenlightened people and Buddhas in manifestation mean Buddhas. However, there is a difference between unenlightened people and enlightened Buddhas, and those people are unaware that both people and Buddhas originally possess the same threefold bodies either as substance or function.

T’ien’tai, therefore, makes clear that all things and phenomena in the ten realms are manifestations of the ultimate reality. Since ultimate reality is another name of the Lotus Sūtra, what he states is that all things and phenomena are equal to the Lotus Sūtra. It is a reality of a hell showing hell’s appearance. If its appearance turns into that of the realm of hungry spirits, it is no longer a hell. “All phenomena as ultimate reality” means that Buddhas show Buddhas’ appearance, unenlightened people show their appearance, and the true appearance of all things is the truth of the Lotus Sūtra.

Shohō Jissō-shō, Treatise on All Phenomena as Ultimate Reality, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 76

Two things I consider of note here:

• [A]lthough we believed that Śākyamuni Buddha provided the three virtues of master, teacher and parent to us, instead it was we unenlightened people who provide three virtues to the Buddha.
• It is a reality of a hell showing hell’s appearance. If its appearance turns into that of the realm of hungry spirits, it is no longer a hell. “All phenomena as ultimate reality” means that Buddhas show Buddhas’ appearance, unenlightened people show their appearance, and the true appearance of all things is the truth of the Lotus Sūtra.

And in pondering this I chant Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.