Shingyō Hikkei: Shijō Kingo Nyōbō Gosho

Letter to the Wife of Shijō Kingo

Is there anything which is brighter than the sun and the moon? Is there anything which is more pure than the lotus blossom? The Lotus Sutra is the sun and the moon and the lotus flower. Therefore, it is called the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law
I, Nichiren, am also like the sun and moon and the lotus flower.

(Explanatory note)

There is nothing which is brighter than the sun and moon. There is nothing which is purer than the lotus blossom. The content of the Lotus Sutra is indeed the brightness of the sun and moon and the pureness of a lotus blossom. Therefore, it is called the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law. The sun and moon and the lotus blossom are Nichiren’s life and soul. (This is indeed the origin of Nichiren’s name.)

Reprinted from the Shingyō Hikkei

Daily Dharma – Nov. 16, 2023

[This] pure world of mine is indestructible.
But the [perverted] people think:
“It is full of sorrow, fear, and other sufferings.
It will soon burn away.”

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. When we are not aware of our own potential for enlightenment, and of the Ever-Present Buddha Śākyamuni who is helping us and all beings to reach this potential, we can easily sink into despair. So long as we are preoccupied with suffering, when we live as if our purpose were to feel good as much as possible and feel bad as little as possible, we long for escape from this world of conflict. As we continue to grow the Buddha’s own mind within us, we see how this world is being transformed. When we know where we are going, all obstacles become stepping stones.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Day 11

Day 11 continues Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City


Having last month considered the reaction of the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in east, we consider the reaction of the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in southeast.

“Bhikṣus! The great Brahman-[heavenly-]kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the southeast, who saw their palaces illumined more brightly than ever, danced with joy. They also wondered why [their palaces were so illumined]. They visited each other and discussed the reason. There was a great Brahman-heavenly-king called Great-Compassion among them. He said to the other Brahmans in gāthās:

Why is it
That we see this light?
Our palaces are illumined
More brightly than ever.

Did a god of great virtue or a Buddha
Appear somewhere in the universe?
We have never seen this [light] before.
Let us do our best to find [the reason].

Let us go even to the end of one thousand billion worlds,
And find the place from where this light has come.
A Buddha may have appeared somewhere in the universe
In order to save the suffering beings.

“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion [ worlds] went to the northwest, carrying flower-plates filled with heavenly flowers, in order to find [the place from where the light had come]. Their palaces also moved as they went. They [reached the Well-Composed World and] saw that Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata was sitting on the lion-like seat under the Bodhi tree of the place of enlightenment, surrounded respectfully by gods, dragon-kings, gandharvas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men, and nonhuman beings. They also saw that the sixteen princes were begging the Buddha to turn the wheel of the Dharma. Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings worshipped the Buddha with their heads, walked around him a hundred thousand times, and strewed heavenly flowers to him. The strewn flowers were heaped up to the height of Mt. Sumeru. The Brahman-heavenly-kings offered flowers also to the Bodhi-tree of the Buddha. Having offered flowers, they offered their palaces to the Buddha, saying, ‘We offer these palaces to you. Receive them and benefit us out of your compassion towards us!’ In the presence of the Buddha, they simultaneously praised him in gāthās with all their hearts:

Saintly Master, God of Gods!
Your voice is as sweet as a kalavinka’s.
You have compassion towards all living beings.
We now bow before you.
You, the World-Honored One, are exceptional.
You appear only once in a very long time.

No Buddha has appeared
For the past one hundred and eighty kalpas.
The three evil regions are crowded;
And the living beings in heaven, decreasing.

Now you have appeared in this world
And become the eye of all living beings.
As their refuge, you are saving them.
As their father, you are benefiting them
Out of your compassion towards them.
We are now able to see you
Because we accumulated merits
In our previous existence.

“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings, having praised the Buddha with these gāthās, said, ‘World-Honored One! Turn the wheel of the Dharma and save all living beings out of your compassion towards them!’ Then they simultaneously said in gāthās with all their hearts:

Great Saint, turn the wheel of the Dharma
And reveal the reality of all things!
Save the suffering beings
And cause them to have great joy!

If they hear the Dharma, some will attain enlightenment;
Others will be reborn in heaven.
The living beings in the evil regions will decrease;
And those who do good patiently will increase.

“Thereupon Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata gave his tacit consent to their appeal.

The Daily Dharma from March 31, 2023, offers this:

If they hear the Dharma, some will attain enlightenment;
Others will be reborn in heaven.
The living beings in the evil regions will decrease;
And those who do good patiently will increase.

The Brahma-Heavenly-Kings of the Southeast sing these verses to Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. They are imploring that Buddha to share his highest teaching with them, and demonstrating that they are ready to receive it. Those living in evil regions are in great difficulty, because they do not know how to keep from reinforcing their delusions and truly benefit themselves. When a Buddha appears to show all beings the world as it is, he helps us to shed our delusions. But we must still come to him and show through our respect for him that we are ready for his teaching.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Writings from Nichiren in the Handbook for Members

Recently I completed adding the Shingyō Hikkei, a handbook for members of the Nichiren sect, to the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church website. For the next 12 days I’m going to post the excerpts from Nichiren’s writings included in the handbook.

Below is a performance of a song included in the handbook. The lyrics are from a poem by Nichiren, which reads in English:

Even the clouds of saddness
That spread over me
Would be blown clear away
By the winds of Mt. Eagle
Filled with the sound of the Lotus Sutra

Shingyō Hikkei: Risshō Ankoku-ron

Treatise on Spreading Peace throughout the Country by Establishing Righteousness

You should promptly convert your wrong faith to the belief in the true and one vehicle faith. Then this world will all become the land of the Buddha. Will the land of the Buddha decay? Ten directions Will become the “treasure land.” Will the “treasure land” be destroyed? When the land does not decay and is not destroyed, your body is safe and your heart tranquil. Believe these words and revere them.

(Explanatory note)

Presented to the ex-Regent of the Kamakura shogunate, Hōjō Tokiyori, the “Treatise on Spreading Peace throughout the Country by Establishing Righteousness” consists of questions and answers between a master of a house and his guest. The following is the master’s last advice to the guest to have faith:

You have to change your faith as soon as possible and convert yourself to the Lotus Sutra which is the supreme teaching of the Buddha. Then the Triple World — the entire world — will all become the land of the Buddha. How can the land of the Buddha decay? Also the ten directions — all the lands — will become the “treasure land.” How can the “treasure land” be destroyed?

If there is no decay or destruction of the land, the life of the inhabitants will be peaceful and their hearts will be tranquil and happy. This is not my arbitrary opinion, but it is based on Buddhist scriptures. It is as I explained it before, and you should have no objection. You should believe in my words open mindedly and respect them from your heart. It is the road to the right religion and peace of society.

Reprinted from the Shingyō Hikkei

Daily Dharma – Nov. 15, 2023

When he sat on that seat, the Brahman-heavenly-kings rained heavenly flowers on the area extending a hundred yojanas in all directions from that seat. From time to time withered flowers were blown away by fragrant winds and new flowers were rained down. [The Brahman-heavenly-kings] continued this offering to him for fully ten small kalpas. [After he attained Buddhahood also,] they continued raining flowers until he passed away.

The Buddha describes the life of an ancient Buddha named Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, when that Buddha took the seat from which he would become enlightened, the gods who created his world recognized the immense benefit all beings were about to receive and showed their joy by filling the skies with these beautiful flowers. After that Buddha became enlightened, gods from innumerable other worlds came to his world to make offerings, giving up the pleasures of their own worlds. The enlightenment of any being extends beyond the personal contact we have with that being. It changes the entire universe.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Day 10

Day 10 concludes Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood, and opens Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City.


Having last month considered the reaction of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha’s sixteen sons, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City.

“Thereupon the sixteen princes, having praised the Buddha with these gāthās, begged the World-Honored One to turn the wheel of the Dharma, saying, ‘World-Honored One! Expound the Dharma, and give peace and many benefits to gods and men out of your compassion towards them!’ They repeated this in gāthās:

You, the Hero of the World, are unequalled.
Adorned with the marks
Of one hundred merits,
You have obtained unsurpassed wisdom.
Expound the Dharma and save us
And other living beings of the world!

Expound the Dharma, reveal the Dharma,
And cause us to obtain that wisdom!
If we attain Buddhahood,
Others also will do the same.

You, the World-Honored One, know
What all living beings have deep in their minds,
What teachings they are practicing,
And how much power of wisdom they have.

You know their desires, the merits they obtained,
And the karmas they did
In their previous existence.
Turn the wheel of the unsurpassed Dharma!

The Daily Dharma from Sept. 21, 2022, offers this:

You, the World-Honored One, know
What all living beings have deep in their minds,
What teachings they are practicing,
And how much power of wisdom they have.

The children of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha proclaim this to their father in a story told by Śākyamuni Buddha in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. In our preoccupation with our pursuits in this world of conflict we are so focused on our schemes that we have forgotten the Buddha’s wisdom dormant in us all. With the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha leads us to an unfamiliar and even uncomfortable way of seeing the world. But it is only when we leave the false safety of our delusions that we can truly benefit ourselves and others.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Shingyō Hikkei

In 1966, Nichiren Shu established what it called the Protect the Dharma Movement. This movement sought to create a unity of faith and training that would focus and thus amplify efforts to propagate the Lotus Sutra. To that end, Watanabe Kōin, Chief Administrator of the  Nichiren Sect Headquarters, created the Shingyō Hikkei, a handbook for members of the Nichiren Sect.

Writing in the Preface to the handbook in April 1972, Kōin said:

Sufferings of people today could be said to arise from a spiraling egotism. Only the way of Bodhisattva as expounded in the Lotus Sutra can put an end to it. Today the ideal world still seems out of our reach. Once believers of the Lotus Sutra unite themselves, and receive divine response, however, it is next to nothing to overcome worldly interests and desires. Unfortunately there has not been concerted effort among the members of the Nichiren Sect although many have distinguished themselves in scholarship and training. Therefore, just as Japan had established a unified public education system, we intend to focus our efforts in strengthening faith and training of all members of Nichiren Sect through a unified system of faith and training. Beginning with the 750th anniversary (1972) of the birth of our Founder we hope to carry out a great revolution in order to establish the faith and training for the members of the Nichiren Sect.

We realize that opinions differ, but we earnestly urge you to have a broad outlook and join us in a movement which has just been started to bring about the unified system of faith and training so that all Nichiren Sect members who believe in the same faith, no matter which temple or church they may belong to, may be able to learn this unified basic program and be worthy as “Followers of Nichiren,” as Nichiren Shonin put it. We believe that all members of the Nichiren Sect should be able to perform services together, join in discussion sessions, and live together with the same goal of “obtaining Buddhahood together.”

In 1978, the Nichiren-shū Shūmin, the Nichiren sect headquarters, published the first English translation of the Shingyō Hikkei.

In September 1978, Matsumura Juken, Chief Administrator, Nichiren Sect Headquarters, wrote in the introduction to the English translation:

When our Founder Nichiren Daishonin spread the Odaimoku “Namu Myoho Renge-kyo” representing the teaching of the Lotus Sutra, which is the essence of the Buddha’s heart, he pointed out that it should be spread not only in Japan but also throughout the world. In accordance with this, I believe that the Protect the Dharma unity of faith and training movement should also be widely spread overseas. I therefore urged the prompt publication of an English translation of the Shingyō Hikkei. Reverend Kyotsu Hori, Bishop of Hawaii Nichiren Mission, kindly took responsibility for translating it into English. As a result of his efforts we have finally come to greet the day of its publication. I would like to express my deep gratitude to him.

I sincerely hope that those overseas arm themselves with this Shingyō Hikkei and strive to practice the faith and training by reciting (by mouth), keeping (in mind), and practicing (by body) the heart of the Lotus Sutra and the teachings of our Founder, so that this world may become bright and secure, and that everyone may enjoy the life in the land of the Buddha.

I pray from the bottom of my heart that each of the overseas ministers may engage in active missionary works.

I found several copies of the English translation of the Shingyō Hikkei on a dusty shelf in a classroom of the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church. I gave a copy to my son, who recently joined the church. I’ve also put the text of the book on the church website. You can find it here.

Given that (before I published this article) a Google search for “Protect the Dharma Movement” would get you exactly zero articles, one can assume the movement fizzled out. Whether Nichiren Shu headquarters lost interest, or the overseas ministers dropped the ball, the result is the same.

That’s unfortunate.

While I have many doctrinal arguments with Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai, one cannot fault the top-down direction of this global organization that focuses members on their practice.  Go to any group meeting at a home or a chapter session at a community center and you feel right at home.  It’s like going to Starbucks. No matter where you go, you know you’re in Starbucks and you know what you’ll get.

That’s not what you get with the confederation of temples that is Nichiren Shu. Less like Starbucks, the temples in America (the only ones I have experience with) are more like independent Italian restaurants. The restaurants are recognizable as Italian, but each has a different focus and flavor. The shami who left to strike out on his own focusing solely on Shodaigyo services has established the first pizzeria of the bunch.

I regularly attend services at four different temples. In order to do that I am required to  have four different service books. Woe be to the random online visitor to another temple. Yes, for the most part, one can count of reciting Hoben Pon and Jiga Ge, but not always. Never at that pizzeria and only occasionally at restaurants that like to vary the menu each week.

All things are possible if people are united in one spirit. Nothing can be accomplished if they are not united.

It’s ironic that this quote from Nichiren comes from his Treatise on Cooperation.

The original Protect the Dharma Movement had an element that sought to bind everyone together in the effort to propagate the Lotus Sutra.

At eight o’clock every morning we, members of the Nichiren Sect, wherever we are and whatever we are doing, should direct our hearts towards Lord Sakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Shonin, who reside on Mt. Minobu, and recite the Odaimoku and say a prayer for the protection of the Dharma.

Let us all practice this prayer and encourage our neighbors to join us.

The way you recite the Odaimoku is up to you. It may be voiced or silent; it may be said three times or ten times. The point is for everybody, no matter where he lives, to say a prayer at the same time in one mind.

If Nichiren Shu in America is going to continue to act as independent Italian restaurants, it would be nice if they could settle on a single act such as the Protect the Dharma Movement prayer to establish a little more itai doshin.

Daily Dharma – Nov. 14, 2023

Rivers come together to form an ocean. Particles of dust accumulate to become Mt. Sumeru. When I, Nichiren, began having faith in the Lotus Sutra, it was like a drop of water or a particle of dust in Japan. However, when the sutra is chanted and transmitted to two, three, ten, a million and a billion people, it will grow to be a Mt. Sumeru of perfect enlightenment or the great ocean of Nirvāṇa. There is no way other than this to reach Buddhahood.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his essay on Selecting the Right Time (Senji-shō). In our quest for enlightenment, we may become discouraged by the enormity of our task. When we sweep away one delusion, another appears. When we benefit one being, the needs of millions more become clear. Nichiren reminds us persevering though these difficulties and strengthening our faith in the Buddha’s wisdom are more important than any outcome we seek.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Day 9

Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.


Having last month consider the prediction for Mahā-Kāśyapa, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.

Thereupon Great Maudgalyāyana, Subhūti and Mahā-Kātyāyana trembled, joined their hands together with all their hearts, looked up at the World-Honored One with unblenching eyes, and sang in gāthās in unison:

Great Hero, World-Honored One!
King of the Dharma of the Śākyas!
Give us your voice
Out of your compassion towards us!
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.

Suppose a man came
From a country suffering from famine.
Now he saw the meal of a great king.
He did not partake of it in doubts and fears.
After he was told to take it by the king,
He took it at once.
We are like that man.
We know the defects of the Lesser Vehicle.
But we do not know how to obtain
The unsurpassed wisdom of the Buddha.

Although we hear you say [to us],
“You will become Buddhas,”
We are still in doubts and fears about it,
Just as that man was about the meal.
If you assure us of our future Buddhahood,
We shall be happy and peaceful.

You, the Great Hero, the World-Honored One,
Wish to give peace to all the people of the world.
If you assure us of our future Buddhahood, we shall be
Like the man who was permitted to take the meal.

See The Plight of the Famished