Two Buddhas, p82In the Lotus Sūtra’s narrative, Śāriputra is the first śrāvaka to receive the Buddha’s prediction of his future buddhahood. “When Śāriputra heard this,” Nichiren wrote, “he not only cut off the illusions arising from primal ignorance and reached the stage of the true cause [for liberation] but was acclaimed as the [future] tathāgata Padmaprabha [Lotus Light]. … This was the beginning of the attainment of buddhahood by all beings of the ten realms.”
For Nichiren, … the Lotus Sūtra’s message that persons of the two lesser vehicles could attain buddhahood was not about extending this possibility to a group of previously excluded individuals but, rather, established the mutual inclusion of the ten realms as the ground that, for the first time, opened buddhahood as a real possibility to anyone.
Category Archives: d7b
Believe These Words and Revere Them
The Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 2, the 3rd chapter on “A Parable” states:
“He who does not put faith in this sūtra and slanders it, [will commit the sin of exterminating the seed of Buddhahood in all the people in the whole world. Or, suppose those who frown at and harbor doubt about the teaching of this sūtra . . . despise, hold in contempt, hate, envy, and bear a deep grudge against those who read, recite, copy, and uphold this sūtra. What would such people get in return? You should listen carefully.] Such people will fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering upon death, [where their suffering will last endlessly, for a kalpa after another…, until they fall into the world of beasts becoming a huge serpent as long as 500 yojana in length.]”
The same sūtra, fascicle 7, the 20th chapter on the “Never Despising Bodhisattva” also asserts: “[Some of the four categories of Buddhists (monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen) had impure minds. They got angry, spoke ill of him, saying, ‘Where did this ignorant monk come from?’ They struck him with a stick, a piece of wood, a piece of tile or a stone.] They were tormented in the Hell of Incessant Suffering for as long as 1,000 kalpa for the sin of persecuting a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra.”
The Nirvana Sūtra, too, declares: “If one avoids good teachers who preach the True Dharma and instead takes refuge in false dharmas, one will sink into the Hell of Incessant Sufferings, undergoing all the sufferings with his huge body of 84,000 square yojana.”
Examining many sūtras, we thus see they all regard slandering the True Dharma the most serious crime. How sad it is that people [in Japan] all should wander out of the gate of the True Dharma into the prison of evil dharma! Such ignorance is causing everyone [in Japan, high and low,] to be pulled by the rope of evil teachings and caught forever by the net of slandering the True Dharma! In this life such wanderers are lost in the mist of delusions; in the next life they will sink to the bottom of flaming hell. How sad it is! How terrible it is!
You should promptly discard your false faith and take up the true and sole teaching of the Lotus Sūtra at once. Then this triple world of the unenlightened will all become Buddha lands. Will Buddha lands ever decay? All the worlds in the universe will become Pure Lands. Will Pure Lands ever be destroyed? When our country does not decay and the world is not destroyed, our bodies will be safe and our hearts tranquil. Believe these words and revere them!
Risshō Ankoku-ron, Treatise on Spreading Peace Throughout the Country by Establishing the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Pages 141-142
Those Who Abandon the Lotus Sūtra
The śrāvaka disciples such as Śāriputra, Kāśyapa, Ānanda, and Rāhula, who were guaranteed to be future Buddhas in the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra through the three cycles of the Buddha’s preaching (dharma, parable, and past relationships) had learned the Lotus Sūtra far in the past, 3,000 dust-particle kalpa (aeons) ago, from a bodhisattva who was the 16th prince of the Great Universal Wisdom Buddha, namely Śākyamuni Buddha today. Nevertheless, due to evil karma they abandoned the Lotus Sūtra, embracing such Mahāyāna sūtras as the Flower Garland Sūtra, Wisdom Sūtra, Sūtra of Great Assembly, Nirvana Sūtra, Great Sun Buddha Sūtra, Revealing the Profound and Secret Sūtra, and Sūtra of Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life or Hinayāna Āgama sūtras. While doing so, they gradually declined in status to the realms of heavenly and human beings and finally to the three evil realms. As a result for as long as 3,000 dust-particle kalpa they spent much of their time in the Hell of Incessant Suffering, some of their time in the seven major hells, once in a long while in the other one hundred or so hells, and on rare occasions in the realms of hungry souls, beasts, and asura. It was after the 3,000 dust-particle kalpa (aeons) that they were able to be born in the realm of human or heavenly beings.
Therefore, it is stated in the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 2 (chapter 3), “They will always stay in hell, strolling in it as though it were a garden, and remain in other evil realms as if they were at home.” Those who committed the ten evil acts will fall into such hells as the hell of regeneration and that of black ropes, where they spend 500 or 1,000 years. Those who committed the five rebellious sins, are destined to the Hell of Incessant Suffering for as long as one medium kalpa before being reborn. Those who abandoned the Lotus Sūtra, however, will fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering and remain there for innumerable number of kalpa, though their sin does not seem to be as terrible as the sin of murdering parents.
Kyōdai-shō, A Letter to the Ikegami Brothers, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 73
Three Virtues of Master, Teacher and Parent
Therefore, it is preached in the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 2 (chapter 3 on “A Parable”): “This triple world is My domain. Living beings therein are all My children. Now there are many sufferings in this world, and only I can save them all. Though I taught this to them, they did not believe Me, because they were attached to greed and defilement.” These statements mean that Śākyamuni Buddha is the parent, the teacher and the master for the people. For us, the Buddha of Infinite Life and Medicine Master Buddha are masters, but not parents or teachers. Only Śākyamuni Buddha is the compassionate Buddha who possesses the three virtues of the master, teacher and parent. There are many kinds of parents, but no one is as great as Śākyamuni. There are also many kinds of teachers and masters, but no one is superior to Him. If people are against the Buddha’s teachings, they will be abandoned by the gods of heaven and earth. They are the most undutiful; therefore, it is preached, “Though I taught this to them they did not believe Me.”
Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō-dono Gosho, A Letter to Lord Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 140.
Could Lotus Sūtra Words Prove To Be Empty?
If those words of the sūtra prove to be empty, Venerable Śāriputra will not be Flower Light Buddha, as stated in the Lotus Sūtra. Likewise, Venerable Kāśyapa will not be Light Buddha, Venerable Maudgalyāyana will not be Tamalapatra-candana Fragrance Buddha, Ānanda will not be Mountain Sea Wisdom Supernatural Power King Buddha, Bhikṣunī Mahā-Prajāpatī will not be Gladly Seen by All Living Beings Buddha, and Yaśodharā will not be Endowed with Ten Million Glowing Marks Buddha. The teaching of the “3,000 dust-particle kalpa” expounded in the “Parable of Magic City” chapter will be a useless discussion; and that of the “500 (million) dust-particle kalpa” in “The Life Span of the Buddha” chapter will be a lie. Probably Lord Śākyamuni will fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering; the Buddha Many Treasures will be burnt in the fire in the Hell of Incessant Suffering; Buddhas in manifestation in all the worlds in the universe will fall into the eight horrible hells; and all the bodhisattvas will be tortured with 136 kinds of torment. How could such things happen? They will never happen, as I am sure that all the people in Japan will come to chant “Namu Myōhōrengekyō.”
Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 58-59.
Our Spiritual Parent
We can compare the Buddha’s method with that of parents who raise their children with tender loving care. Most of the time, the children are not aware of how much is being done for them. They take their parents’ love for granted. Often they fully appreciate all that their parents have done for them only after the parents have died. Then they wish they had displayed more gratitude when they had the chance. The parents, on the other hand, must be careful, and not give their children everything they ask for. Pampered children can quickly become spoiled and helpless. Their parents will not be able to care for them forever.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraDeparting from the Passivity of the Lesser Vehicle
The narrative … told by the four sravakas is called the “Parable of the Rich Man and His Poor Son.” As we can see from what they have said, the Lesser Vehicle which they had been following stressed escape from this world of sorrows into a pure world of contemplation. Its concept of enlightenment was also passive. It concluded that “nothing is different from anything else,” and “there is nothing more to seek.” This view rejected the reality of this world and the necessity of working to change it. The Great Vehicle, on the other hand, interpreted the same doctrine [that nothing is substantial] positively as becoming a buddha in this world and transforming it into a buddha-world. Enlightenment is to be achieved within the turmoil of our daily life, not in silent seclusion. The four “hearers” now realize that they, too, have obtained the wonderful law of the Great Vehicle and have departed from the passivity of the Lesser Vehicle.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraA Father and His Children
The Lotus Sutra contains seven parables, three of which are best known. The first is the “Parable of the Burning House of the Triple World” in Chapter Three. The second is the “Parable of the Rich Man and His Poor Son” in Chapter Four. The “Parable of the Physician and His Children” is presented in Chapter Sixteen. These three parables allegorically show the relationship between the Buddha and living beings by presenting a parental relationship. That is, faith in the Buddha is similar to the faith of a child in his father; and the Buddha’s compassion toward living beings is like a father’s love for his children. In other words, natural feelings drawn from the norms of everyday life eventually lead us toward faith in the Buddha.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraThe Blessed Sardine
We can come to faith only by encountering the absolute Buddha and believing his words. This is an act beyond the working of our knowledge. In Chapter Two, the Buddha says, “Sariputra, know this! The Buddhas do not speak differently.” The Buddhas speak truth. We can recognize that truth even when it is beyond our full understanding.
On the other hand, this does not mean that we should believe blindly. There is a Japanese saying that “even the head of a sardine seems blessed if you have faith in it.” This is not what we mean by faith. We can maintain a belief that is inspired by the experience of something beyond our ordinary capacities. We can evaluate it by means of our intellect and reason, and form our own mental attitudes. The title of Chapter Four, “Understanding by Faith,” refers to this process of the formation of our own psychological attitudes.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraTo Believe, Accept, and Understand
In Chapters One and Two, Sakyamuni firmly declared that the true teaching of the Buddha is the One Vehicle of the Lotus Sutra. He urged us to believe and accept it from the bottom of our hearts. In Chapter 4, he unveils how we can believe, accept, and understand it properly. In the previous chapters, Sariputra had been the principal direct listener to Sakyamuni’s preaching. Here his place is taken by four other important “hearers.” They are Subhuti, Maha-Katyayana, Maha-Kasyapa, and Maha-Maudgalyayana. [Maha means “great” in Sanskrit.]
Introduction to the Lotus Sutra