The Lotus of Truth; its general nature

The [Lotus Sutra] was acknowledged by nearly all Buddhists to be sermons delivered by Buddha in the last stage of his ministry, and, as such, called forth the highest tributes from most Buddhists of all ages. Critical study of Buddhist literature will doubtless throw more light on the formation and date of the compilation; but even apart from minute analysis, we can safely characterize the book as occupying the place taken in Christian literature by the Johannine writings, including the Gospel, the Apocalypse, and the Epistles. The chief aim of the Lotus, both according to the old commentators and to modern criticism, consists in revealing the true and eternal entity of Buddhahood in the person of the Lord Śākya, who appeared among mankind for their salvation. In other words, the main object is to exalt the historic manifestation of Buddha and identify his person with the cosmic Truth (Dharma), the universal foundation of all existences.

This main thesis of the [Lotus Sutra] is illustrated, supported, and exalted in manifold ways, and there are many side issues and episodes. Similes and parables, visions and prophecies, warnings and assurances, doctrinal analysis and moral injunctions – all these ramify from the central strand or are woven into it. The whole composition is a symphony in which the chief motive is the identifying of Buddha and Dharma, but the melodies, the instruments, the movements, and even the keynotes vary from part to part; and, naturally, the inspirations imparted by the book varied from time to time, in accordance with the temperaments, the needs and aims, of different ages and persons. Thus, in describing the outlines of the sermons and narratives contained in this wonderful religious book, let us pay attention to the different phases which were emphasized by different teachers, and especially to the points which inspired Nichiren in the several stages of his life.

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NICHIREN: THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

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The final resort of his faith and the “Sacred Title” of the Scripture

Fierce internal struggles, wide study, and prolonged thought brought this sincere seeker after truth to the final conviction that the scripture, “The Lotus of Truth,” [Lotus Sutra] was the deposit of the unique truth, the book in which the Lord Buddha had revealed his real entity, and on which the great master Dengyō had based his religion and institutions. The name Renchō was now exchanged for Nichiren, which means Sun-Lotus; the Sun, the source of universal illumination, and the Lotus, the symbol of purity and perfection, were his ideals. Nichiren’s firm belief was that the Lotus of Truth was not only the perfect culmination of Buddhist truth, but the sole key to the salvation of all beings in the latter days of degeneration. Thus, all other branches of Buddhism, which deviated from the principle of the exclusive adoration of [the Lotus Sutra], were denounced as untrue to Buddha, as we have already seen in Nichiren’s condemnation of the prevalent forms of Buddhism. Nichiren’s idea was the restoration of Buddhism to its original purity, and to the principles propounded by Dengyō; but what he understood by restoration was quite different from our modem idea of historical criticism. The truths are eternal, but the method should be a simple one, available for all, especially for men of the Latter Days, and without regard to differences among them in wisdom and virtue. These convictions of Nichiren had a complicated background of philosophical thought, in accord with the general trend of Buddhist speculation, and as a result of his learning. But all these doctrines and arguments were fused by the white heat of his faith and zeal; that is, he simplified the whole practice of religion to an easy method, that of uttering the “Sacred Title” of the [Lotus Sutra].

The Sacred Title meant the exclusive adoration of the truths revealed in the book, Lotus, practised in the repetition of the formula: “Namu Myōhō-renge-kyō,” that is, ”Adoration be to the Scripture of the Lotus of the Perfect Truth!” This formula is, according to Nichiren, neither merely the title of the book, nor a mere symbol, but an adequate embodiment of the whole truth revealed in that unique book when the formula is uttered with a full belief in the truths therein revealed and with a sincere faith in Buddha as the lord of the world.

Nichiren’s thought on this point will be more fully expounded further on, but here let us see just what he meant by the Lotus of Truth. He wrote later, in 1275, explaining his position, as follows:

“All the letters of this Scripture are indeed the living embodiments of the august Buddhas, who manifested themselves in the state of supreme enlightenment. It is our physical eyes that see in the book merely letters. To talk in analogy, the pretas (hungry ghosts) see fire even in the water of the Gangā [Ganges River], while mankind sees water, and the celestial beings see ambrosia. This is simply due to the difference of their respective karmas, though the water is one and the same. The blind do not perceive anything in the letters of the Scripture; the physical eyes of man see the letters; those who are content with self-annihilation see therein emptiness; whereas the saint (Bodhisattva) realizes therein inexhaustible truths, and the enlightened (Buddhas) perceive in each of the letters a golden body of the Lord Śākyamuni. This is told in the holy text in the teaching that those who recite the Scripture are in possession of the Buddha’s body. Nevertheless, prejudiced men thus degrade the holy and sublime truth.”

What, then, is taught in this book which Nichiren esteemed so highly, and what led Nichiren to his conviction? The Lotus of the Perfect Truth, or Myōhō-renge-kyō in Sinico-Japanese [Chinese as adapted and used by Japanese], is an equivalent of the extant Sanskrit text, Saddharma-puṇḍarīka-sūtra. The book circulated in China and Japan in a Chinese translation produced by Kumārajīva in 407.

The translation was so excellent in the beauty and dignity of its style that it supplanted all other translations, and was regarded as a classical writing in Chinese, even apart from its religious import. It was on the basis of this book that Chih-i, the Chinese philosopher-monk of the sixth century, created a system of Buddhist philosophy of religion. This system was called the T’ien T’ai school, from the name of the hill where Chih-i lived; and it was this system of religious philosophy and philosophical religion that was transplanted by Dengyō to Japan as the cornerstone of his grand ecclesiastical institutions.

(Of the two Chinese translations, the one produced by Dharmarakṣa is much nearer to the extant Sanskrit text than Kumārajīva’s. Now as to the rendering of the title, Dharmarakṣa has for sad the word meaning “true” or “right,” while Kumārajīva’s rendering myō is understood to mean “perfect,” “mysterious,” “subtle.” Here the rendering the “Lotus of the Perfect Truth ” is according to Nichiren’s exegesis. Moreover, Nichiren, after comparing the two Chinese versions, decidedly preferred Kumārajīva’s. The reasons given are several, exegetic and doctrinal; but here it suffices to say that we reproduce passages of the book from Kumārajīva’s translation, and as interpreted by Nichiren. For our object is to show how Nichiren derived inspiration from the book through Kumārajīva’s version, and chiefly according to the T’ien T’ai exegesis.)

Nichiren discovered, during his stay on Hiei, that Dengyō’s far-reaching scheme of unifying Japanese Buddhism in his institutions on Hiei had been totally obscured and corrupted by the men of Hiei itself, who had imported degenerate elements of other systems. This thought induced Nichiren to make a zealous attempt at restoring Dengyō’s genuine Buddhism, and therefore the orthodox T’ien T’ai system. This could be done only by concentrating thought and devotion upon the sole key of Buddhist truths, as promulgated by the two great masters — that is, upon the Lotus of Truth, especially in Kumārajīva’s version.

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NICHIREN: THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

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