Absolute trust in Buddha’s prophetic assurance

Buddha, as he is represented as declaring himself in the chapter on Eternity, is the Tathāgata from all eternity and has ever been working to lead all sentient beings to maturity in Buddhahood. He is the Lord of Truth and Father of all, and we are his disciples and children. Religion is nothing but the way to enlightenment in this eternal relationship, and morality, nothing but the method of realizing the same truth in our life. We have ever been Buddha’s children, but, up to the present, we have been blind to his presence and work, just like the prodigal son in the parable in the fourth chapter of the [Lotus Sutra]. We are now awake to this everlasting fundamental relationship, and thereby shall surely attain Buddhahood, because the Tathāgata is constantly caring for us and watching over us, as he says:

Now, this threefold realm of existence is my dominion,
And all beings therein are my children.
Yet existence is full of troubles and tribulations,
I alone am the protector and savior. (Chapter 3)

Since I have attained Buddhahood, . .
I have constantly been preaching truths,
And helping innumerable beings to maturity,
Leading them in the Way of Buddhas;
Thus, innumerable aeons have passed in this work. (Chap. 16).

The duties of the true Buddhist, then, consist in fully knowing the vast scheme of Buddha’s salvation working upon us, in being convinced of our indebtedness to Buddha, and in requiting it by practicing the true morality.

Morality in human relation means, according to this point of view, a life of gratitude shown in fidelity to the Lord, obedience toward one’s master, and filial piety toward one’s parents; all other moral relations flow out of these fundamental ones. But this passive aspect of morality implies the active duty of showing gratitude by perpetuating the will of the benefactor. The ruled fulfills his duty by cooperating with the ruler in the maintenance of order and government, the disciple by propagating the truth taught by the master, and the child by perpetuating the life given by his parents. Similarly, with moral duties viewed from the standpoint of religion: the true faith consists in propagating the Truth, and in ourselves living the life of Truth as revealed by Buddha. This is what is inculcated in the [Lotus Sutra] and is the real import of the vows taken by the saints, the faithful disciples of Buddha.

The question for Nichiren, was, therefore, Is there anyone, in the present age of degeneration, who practices the true essence of the Buddhist religion? In order to answer this question, Nichiren proceeds anew to re-examine the stanzas of the chapter on Perseverance. The three kinds of opponents, the malicious laymen, the perverse monks, and the jealous hypocrites, have been actually embodied in Nichiren’s persecutors. The persecutions heaped upon him are letter by letter prophesied in the Scripture; the perils which the saints, consecrating themselves, promised Buddha to endure – abuse and derision, weapons and sticks, banishment and execution – these have all been experienced in Nichiren’s life. Is there, then, any room to doubt that Nichiren is the true Buddhist, the man who is realizing the prophecies about the propagator of the Truth in the Latter Days? If Buddha is really omniscient and his prophecies not falsehood; if the “Saints-out-of-Earth” are not liars and hypocrites, and their vows not vain; then Nichiren is surely the man who is fulfilling the vows of the old saints. Buddha is the primeval master, and Nichiren is now living the life of his primeval disciples. Primeval, therefore everlasting, and as true for the future as in the past ‐ he is the one predestined to be the leader, the savior of the coming ages. In short, Nichiren is the man who is “reading” the Truth by his life.

By such considerations, Nichiren justified himself in his polemic attitude. The precedence he gives to the “repressive” method in propaganda over the “persuasive” was the necessity of the time; it was the way ordained by Buddha, because the malicious men of the Latter Days could be converted only by arousing their utmost malice, and thereby exterminating their radical sins. (The idea is that radical sin can be exterminated only by arousing the sinful thought and deed to the utmost. Nichiren compares the “repressive” method to a surgical operation, without which certain kinds of disease cannot be cured. Later, we shall see more of his idea of sin.)

Let men’s eyes be opened to the existence and work of the true Buddha, and to the duties of the true Buddhist, and their sight will be clear enough to see in Nichiren the predestined manifestation of the primeval saint, the messenger of the Tathāgata. Expressing this thought with firm confidence, Nichiren says:

“Finally, let the celestial beings withdraw their protection, let all perils come upon me, even so, will I dedicate my life to this cause. … Be it in weal, be it in woe, to desert the Lotus of Truth means to fall to the hells. I will be firm in my great vow. Let me face all manner of threats and temptations. Should one say to me, “Thou mightest ascend the throne of Japan, if thou wouldst abandon the [Lotus Sutra] and expect future bliss through belief in the ‘Meditation on Amita’; or thy parents shall suffer capital punishment, unless thou utterest the name of the Buddha Amita, etc. Such temptations I shall meet unshaken, and shall never be allured by them, unless my principles be shattered by a sage’s refutation of them. Any other perils shall be the dust before a storm. I will be the Pillar of Japan; I will be the Eyes of Japan; I will be the Great Vessel of Japan. Inviolable shall remain these oaths!”

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NICHIREN: THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

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