If you see what we have deep in our minds,
And assure us of our future Buddhahood,
We shall feel as cool and as refreshed
As if we were sprinkled with nectar.
Maudgalyāyana, Subhūti and Mahā-Kātyāyana sing these verses to the Buddha in Chapter Six of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha knows that our habits of thought and behavior have developed over many lifetimes. We cannot clear them away by ourselves. In the Lotus Sūtra, he assures many of his disciples personally of the certainty of their enlightenment. He shows that this universe has innumerable Buddhas, and tells all of us who hear this teaching that we too should be certain of our enlightenment. When we take the Buddha’s voice to heart, and release the grip we have on our fears, and open ourselves to the joy within ourselves and the world.
Having last month considered the third set of peaceful practices, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.
Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
Anyone who wishes to expound this sūtra
Should give up jealousy, anger, arrogance,
Flattery, deception and dishonesty.
He should always be upright.
He should not despise others,
Or have fruitless disputes about the teachings.
He should not perplex others by saying to them:
“You will not be able to attain Buddhahood.”
Any son of mine who expounds the Dharma
Should be gentle, patient and compassionate
Towards all living beings.
He should not be lazy.
In the worlds of the ten quarters,
The great Bodhisattvas are practicing the Way
Out of their compassion towards all living beings.
He should respect them as his great teachers.
He should respect the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones,
As his unsurpassed fathers.
He should give up arrogance
So that he may expound the Dharma without hindrance.
This is the third set of peaceful practices.
A man of wisdom should perform all this.
Anyone who performs these peaceful practices
Will be respected by innumerable living beings.
In chapter 14, “A Happy Life,” Mañjuśrī praises the bodhisattvas of great attainment who have vowed to spread the sutra, and asks the Buddha how it might be propagated by those bodhisattvas with as yet little experience and by novices to religious practice. In reply, the Buddha expounds four types of peaceful practice: actions, words, thoughts, and vows.
The peaceful action of the body … is to abide in action (ācāra) and intimacy (gocara), as follows:
(a) The bodhisattva here abides in a state of patience, is gentle and agreeable, is neither hasty nor overbearing, and is unperturbed of mind. He is not deceived by the dharmas, but sees all things as they really are and does not proceed along the undivided way.
(b) The bodhisattva is not intimate with kings, princes, ministers, or courtiers, with yoga practitioners, religious wanderers, Ājīvikas, Jainas, or Lokāyatas, with caṇḍālas [dancers, singers, and actors], the poor, pork butchers, dealers in fowl, or hunters, nor with actors or entertainers. Nor does he wish to find favor with women, nor meet with them, and if he visits the homes of others, does not converse with any girl, daughter, or wife. Further, he observes that all dharmas are empty: that all things are correctly established, are not inverted, preserve their condition, are like space, are cut off from all verbal interpretations and expressions, are unborn, do not come forth, are unmade, are not unmade, are neither so or not . . . that they are cut off from all attachment, and that they are produced through inversion of thought.
The peaceful action of words. … The bodhisattva who wishes to propagate this teaching should abide in the peaceful stage [of speech]. When he speaks to others, he should not point out errors in others’ teachings, speak ill of others, criticize them, nor find fault with them. By refraining from so doing, he will be able to teach intimately and deeply.
The peaceful action of thought. … The bodhisattva does not criticize, revile, or feel contempt for those who follow other teachings, he does not say that others will never attain buddhahood, and he dislikes disputations. Without discarding the power of his compassion, he regards the tathāgatas as fathers and the bodhisattvas as teachers. The bodhisattvas in all directions of space he worships and reveres from his deepest heart.
The peaceful action of vows. … Concerning those who have not as yet aspired after enlightenment, the bodhisattva should make the vow: “These living beings are poor in wisdom. They have not heard, known, realized, questioned, believed, or followed the words which secrete the deep meaning of the Tathāgata’s skillful means. Further, they have not tried to enter into this teaching and realize it. When I attain supreme and perfect enlightenment, wherever people are, I will move their hearts through my mystic supernatural powers and cause them to believe, to enter into the teaching, to gain realization of it, and to achieve maturity.” The sutra then goes on to say: “This Law-Flower Sutra is the foremost teaching of the tathāgatas and the most profound of all discourses. I give it to you last of all, just as that powerful king at last gives the brilliant jewel he has guarded for long. Mañjuśrī! This Law-Flower Sutra is the mysterious treasury of the buddha-tathāgatas, which is supreme above all sutras. For long has it been guarded and not prematurely declared; today for the first time I proclaim it to you all.”
When Nichiren reappeared in Kamakura, the hatred of the rival Buddhists toward him was implacable. Especially Ryōkwan, the abbot of Gokuraku-ji and the greatest philanthropist of the time, being incensed by Nichiren’s fierce proclamation, charged him with disturbing the public order, and demanded a retraction from him. Nichiren defended himself against the charges, and challenged his opponent to a public debate. Ryōkwan was revered by the nobility and the people as the greatest teacher of Buddhist discipline, and was regarded as an incarnation of the Buddha Bhaiṣajya-guru, or Medicine-master, because of his care for the sick and infirm; and a man of such high position as the abbot of a monastery endowed by the government was deemed to be too dignified to enter a public debate with a beggar-like monk. Then in the summer the country suffered from a long drought, and when Ryōkwan’s mystic ritual seemed to be fruitless to bring a rainfall, Nichiren vehemently accused the former of being a vain hypocrite. Intrigue against Nichiren was going on behind the scenes among the court ladies of the Hōjō, who were all admirers of Ryōkwan. Public accusations were also made from various sides. At last, on the tenth of the ninth month, 1271, Nichiren was called into court to explain himself. He declared that his accusers were great liars, and repeated his warning about the imminent Mongol invasion, to the same effect as in his previous utterances. The man who was most offended and irritated was Hei no Saemon, the major-domo of the Hōjō, a fervent believer in Amita-Buddhism. Two days later, while the question was still pending in the court, Nichiren sent to him the essay, Risshō Ankoku Ron, together with a letter almost amounting to an ultimatum. The breach was too wide to be closed; the critical moment was at hand.
On the morning of the same day, the twelfth, probably while Nichiren’s ultimatum was still on the way, a body of troops, led by the major-domo himself, surrounded Nichiren’s hut. Nichiren stood on the veranda with the rolls of the [Lotus Sutra] in his hands. The soldiers hesitated to attack him, but he made no resistance. When the soldiers finally seized him, he loudly exclaimed, “Behold, the Pillar of Japan is now falling.” He was tried before the Supreme Court on the charge of high treason. The judgment was immediately pronounced, and it seems to have been a sentence of banishment; but his life was left to the mercy of the custodian, Nichiren’s opponent himself, Hei no Saemon – a method of disposing of cases not unusual in that age. In the evening, the prisoner was carried around on horseback in the city, and late in the night he was carried to Tatsu-no-kuchi, the Dragon’s Mouth, the execution ground, about two miles from Kamakura. As he passed the Red Bridge in the middle of the town, he commanded the guard to stop. While the amazed soldiers obeyed and the crowd were wondering what was going to happen, the giant monk dismounted from the horse and stood facing north, toward the sanctuary of Hachiman. Hachiman, or the EightBanners Deity, was the patron god of the Minamotos, and a magnificent temple dedicated to him was erected at Kamakura when it was the seat of the Dictatorial government. It ever remained the holiest sanctuary of the military headquarters and the Dictator’s residence. The Red Bridge was on the great avenue running through the middle of the city, from the front of the Hachiman temple to the seashore. There the prisoner monk stood, and fixing his gaze on the seat of worship, spoke thus:
“0 Hachiman! Art thou really a divine being? When the Great Master Dengyō gave lectures on the Lotus of Truth, thou didst honor him by offering a purple robe. Now, I, Nichiren, am the one, the supreme one, who lives the life of the Lotus of Truth. There is no fault in me, but I am proclaiming the Truth, simply in order to save all the people of this country from falling down to the nethermost hells because of their degrading the Lotus of Truth. Should the Mongols subjugate this country, wouldst thou, 0 Hachiman, together with the Sun-Goddess, alone be safe? Moreover, when our Lord Śākyamuni revealed the Lotus of Truth, all the Buddhas came together from the ten quarters; and when innumerable hosts, including the deities and saints of India, China, and Japan, were present in the congregation, each of you took oath to guard those who should work to perpetuate the Truth. Now thou oughtest to come here and fulfil thy oath, and why dost thou not do it? … When, tonight, I, Nichiren, shall be beheaded and go to the Paradise of Vulture Peak, I shall declare before our Lord Śākyamuni that thou, Hachiman, and the Sun-Goddess have not fulfilled your oaths. Art thou not afraid of that?”
Then Nichiren mounted his horse and rode dignifiedly on. The soldiers and the crowd were amazed, and everyone was questioning with himself, “Is he mad, or is he really a superman?” Superstitious awe was mingled with high admiration; pity and sympathy were displaced by the thought, “What extraordinary audacity! The sign of a supernatural power! ”
Along the road on which Nichiren’s guard proceeded many of his believers wept and cried, some of them daring even to approach him. He took farewell of them, either in silence or with a word of consolation. The faithful warrior, Kingo, together with his brothers, accompanied his master to the execution ground, and Nichiren later expressed his high appreciation of their fidelity unto death. Most of Nichiren’s monk disciples had been arrested and imprisoned; and to them, after his miraculous escape from death, he wrote consoling letters.
It was some time past midnight when Nichiren arrived at Tatsu-no-kuchi. Everything was ready for his execution; soldiers surrounded the place; the official witness, Hei no Saemon, was sitting in a chair, the executioner standing behind. Nichiren sat down on a straw mat, joined his hands in worship, uttered the Sacred Title, and, stretching out his neck, awaited the stroke of the sword. Suddenly, and miraculously, as he himself and others believed, the sky was ablaze with light. “Something bright, like a ball of fire, flew from the southeast to the northwest, and every one’s face was clearly visible in its light. The executioner became dizzy, and fell; soldiers were panic-stricken, some running away, others prostrate even on horseback.” Everything was in confusion, and the execution was no longer possible.
Chapter 5 The Threatening Mongol Invasion And the Sentence of Death
Becoming a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra is brought about by a long causal relationship from the past. Even among trees and plants, some of them are carved into Buddhist statues because of their long karmic relationship. Some trees are carved into provisional Buddhas, not true ones, due to the long causal relationship from the past existences.
Shohō Jisso-shō, Treatise on All Phenomena as Ultimate Reality, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 79
Ajita, know this, these great Bodhisattvas
Have studied and practiced
The wisdom of the Buddha
For the past innumerable kalpas.
They are my sons because I taught them
And caused them to aspire for great enlightenment.
The Buddha sings these verses to his disciple Maitreya, also known as Invincible (Ajita) in Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sutra. In the story, great Bodhisattvas have just appeared from under the ground of this world of conflict after the Buddha asks who will continue to teach and practice this Lotus Sūtra after the extinction of the Buddha. None of those gathered to hear the Buddha teach, including other great Bodhisattvas such as Maitreya, had ever seen them before. Late in his life Nichiren realized that he was a reincarnation of Superior-Practice, the leader of the Bodhisattvas from underground, and that we who practice the Lotus Sūtra are his followers. Our lives are much greater than we realize, as are our capacities, our patience, our wisdom and our merit. It is through the Wonderful Dharma that we awaken to all these and clarify the Buddha Land we live in now.
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Having last month considered the plea of Maha-Prajapati Bhikṣunī, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, with Yaśodharā Bhikṣunī’s prediction of future Buddhahood.
Thereupon Yaśodharā Bhikṣunī, the mother of Rāhula, thought, “I am not among the persons whom the World-Honored One mentioned by name and assured of their future attainment of [Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi].”
The Buddha said to Yaśodharā:
“You will perform the Bodhisattva practices under hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas in the future. You will become a great teacher of the Dharma under those Buddhas. You will walk the Way to Buddhahood step by step, and finally become a Buddha in a good world. The name of that Buddha will be Emitting-Ten-Million-Rays-Of-Light, the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. The duration of the life of that Buddha will be many asaṃkhyas of kalpas.”
Thereupon Mahā-Prajāpatī Bhikṣunī, Yaśodharā Bhikṣunī, and their attendants had the greatest joy that they had ever had. They sang in a gāthā before the Buddha:
You, the World-Honored One, are our leader.
You give peace to gods and men.
Hearing that you assured us of our future Buddhahood,
We are relieved and satisfied.
Having sung this gāthā, the bhikṣunīs said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! We also will expound this sūtra in other worlds.”
According to the biographical literature about the Buddha, Devadatta was a rival of Prince Siddhārtha in the military arts. Early sutras say he brought schism to the Saṃgha. For example, according to the Saṃghabhedakkhandhaka (Cullavagga, V11.3) Devadatta offered to replace the Buddha, then advanced in years, at the head of the Saṃgha. “WorldHonored One, you are old and aged; entrust the community to me.” The Buddha refused and censured his self-interest. In anger, Devadatta left the Saṃgha. Thereupon the Buddha announced that Devadatta’s speech and conduct bore no relation to Buddhism. Devadatta went to Prince Ajātaśatru, incited him to usurp the throne, and planned various schemes for the Buddha’s destruction. Nevertheless, all his plans failed: his hired assassins became converted, the rock he threw from the top of Vulture Peak merely grazed the Buddha, and the maddened elephant prostrated itself before Śākyamuni. Devadatta then decided to provoke a schism in the Saṃgha, and went to the Buddha proposing five rules to be made compulsory for monks (bhikṣus):
That they should spend their lives in the forest (āraññaka); entering a town should be a sin.
That they should live only on what they had received through begging (piṇdapātika); receiving food requested should be a sin.
That they should wear only clothes made of rags from dust heaps (paṃsukūlika); receiving the clothing of the laity should be a sin.
That they should dwell at the foot of a tree (rukkhamūlika); entering a dwelling should be a sin.
That they should not eat fish or meat; doing so should be a sin. (Some sources say “milk and butter” instead of “fish and meat.”)
When the Buddha refused to sanction these rules, Devadatta went to Vesāli (Vaiśālī), won five hundred Vajji (Vṛji) monks to his way of thinking, and set up a separate community at Gayāsisa.
The early sutras record that Devadatta fell into hell for his evil action in splitting the Saṃgha.
While Nichiren was warning the nation of the possible calamity of a foreign invasion, the Mongol conquerors of the Asiatic continent were preparing for an expedition to the eastern islands. The Korean peninsula had already been subjugated, but the Hōjō government did not yet fully realize the situation, although they must have had some knowledge of it. It is a question whether Nichiren had had any definite information when he wrote the warning essay in 1257-60. (One theory is that Nichiren must have known the situation on the continent well enough, even early in the fifties, because while he was in Hiei he had most probably made investigations about the feasibility of going to China as he desired. On the other hand, we know that the Chinese, Dōryu, Nichiren’s bitterest opponent, came to Japan in 1246, and another Chinese in 126o.) At any rate, a panic was caused when, in 1268, an envoy from Kublai, the Mongol emperor, was reported to be proceeding to Japan by way of Korea. This embassy had not reached Japan; but it was a triumph for Nichiren, when, in 1268, another envoy urged a definite answer to the Khan’s demand for the payment of tribute, and the government and the people realized the gravity of the situation. Nichiren now went back to Kamakura and renewed his appeal to the government. “Recall my prophetic warning given eight years ago! Is it not now being realized? Is there any man beside Nichiren who can repel this national danger? Only the one who knows the real cause of the situation can command it.” Thus he argued.
As this appeal remained unanswered, the prophet determined to take more radical measures. After two months, he sent letters to the high officials of the government and to the abbots of the great monasteries, urging them to abandon their former faith and practices, and to adopt Nichiren’s religion. There are eleven of these letters, each carrying its own special warning.
At the same time he sent a circular to his followers, in which he says:
“In consequence of the arrival of the Mongol envoy, I have sent eleven letters to various officials and prelates. Prosecution will surely overtake Nichiren and his followers, and either exile or death will be the sentence. You must not be at all surprised. Strong remonstrances have intentionally been made, simply for the purpose of awakening the people. All is awaited by Nichiren with composure. Do not think of your wives and children and households; do not be fearful before the authorities! Make this your opportunity to sever the fetters of births and deaths, and to attain the fruit of Buddhahood! etc.”
All these letters are dated the eleventh of the tenth month, 1268, eight months after the arrival of the Mongol envoy. We know nothing about the effect of the remonstrances, but there are indications that the government authorities summoned some of Nichiren’s warrior followers and examined their connection with Nichiren’s propaganda. Meanwhile, Nichiren himself is believed to have left Kamakura, and to have been on missionary journeys, during about two years after this event. This silence and retirement, if they are real, seem to have been a period of preparation for another and decisive step, which he contemplated for the purpose of remonstrance and combat; and the psychological condition of Nichiren during this period may perhaps be compared to the retirement of Christ to Galilee before his last entry into Jerusalem. At any rate, toward the end of 1270, we again see Nichiren in Kamakura, and in a letter dated the twenty-eighth of the eleventh month, 1271, we read his resolution, as he was maturing his plans for the ensuing combat. It says:
“I was once exiled on account of my cause, the Lotus of Truth. Something seems still to be lacking until I shall be executed. Wishing that this might happen, I sent strong remonstrances to various authorities. Now, my life has reached the fiftieth year. Why should I expect to live very much longer? Let me dedicate this life, with you, to the unique truth of the Lotus – the bodily life which is destined once finally to be abandoned in an uncultivated field.”
In the following summer of 1271, we find him engaged in a contest with other Buddhists in a ritual against a drought. After this, events moved rapidly, leading to a sentence of death pronounced upon the aggressive prophet.
Chapter 5 The Threatening Mongol Invasion And the Sentence of Death
It is said that he who seeks great fame is not ashamed of a minor disgrace. I have a great wish of spreading the seven-character daimoku of “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō” over the land of Japan, and further to China and Korea. Is it a sign of my wish coming true that the state letter of the Great Mongol Empire threatening to attack Japan has arrived, causing serious worries to the people in this country? I, Nichiren, predicted this long ago. This is the greatest distinction in the world.
Bettō Gobō Gohenji, A Reply to the Head Priest, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Biography and Disciples, Volume 5, Pages 165
