The holy person and the holy place

Whatever might have been the effect of the victory on Nichiren’s mind, it is interesting to notice that one of his letters written not long after the event (dated the eleventh day of the ninth month), takes a high flight, and may be regarded as the crowning expression of his ideas about himself and the transfiguration of this world.

“This spot among the mountains is secluded from the worldly life, and there is no human habitation in the neighborhood – east, west, north, or south. I am now living in such a lonely hermitage; but in my bosom, in Nichiren’s fleshly body, is secretly deposited the great mystery which the Lord Śākyamuni revealed on Vulture Peak and has entrusted to me. Therefore, I know that my breast is the place where all Buddhas are immersed in contemplation; that they turn the Wheel of Truth upon my tongue; that my throat is giving birth to them; and that they are attaining the Supreme Enlightenment in my mouth. This place is the abode of such a man, who is mysteriously realizing the Lotus of Truth in his life; surely such a place is no less dignified than the Paradise of Vulture Peak. As the Truth is noble, so is the man who embodies it; as the man is noble, so is the place where he resides. We read in the chapter on the ‘Mysterious Power of the Tathāgata’ as follows:

” ‘Be it in a forest, or at the foot of a tree, or in a monastery, … on that spot erect a stupa dedicated to the Tathāgata. For such a spot is to be regarded as the place where all Tathāgatas have arrived at the Supreme Perfect Enlightenment; on that spot all Tathāgatas have turned the Wheel of Truth; on that spot all Tathāgatas have entered the Great Decease.’ Lo, whoever comes to this place will be purged of all sins and depravities which he has accumulated from eternity, and all his evil deeds will at once be transformed into merits and virtues.”

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NICHIREN: THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

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