The peril of the pine forest and the escape

This visit to his native place was an interlude in the perilous life of Nichiren; affectionate reminiscences of his childhood were associated with a pious desire to perpetuate these early relationships to eternity. But the interlude was destined to be interrupted; wherever Nichiren, the apostle of the Truth, went, the shadow of danger attended him. The shadow now was embodied in the person of the local chief who had tried to kill him immediately after the assembly at Kiyozumi. When Nichiren parted from the abbot and left the village convent where they had met, his adversary was waiting for him. It was early in the evening on an autumn day (the eleventh of the eleventh month 1264) that Nichiren, accompanied by a few disciples from among the monks and some believing warriors, was making his way through the gloom of a pine forest. The pursuer, with hundreds of his troops cut off the way. The danger was imminent. “Shooting arrows flew like rain drops,” Nichiren narrates, “and the sparks from clashing swords were like lightning. One of my disciples was instantly killed, two others severely wounded, and I myself received a blow (on the forehead). There seemed to be no hope of escape, but I was saved – how, I cannot explain. Thus, my gratitude toward the Lotus of Truth has ever since grown deeper.” The wound on his forehead was left to remind him of his narrow escape. The orphan boy of the warrior disciple who had died in his defense became Nichiren’s favorite disciple and served the prophet with an inherited devotion.

Although the attack seems to have been prompted by diverse motives, Nichiren saw in it a plot organized by the Amita-Buddhists. It had the effect of confirming his conviction of the falsity of Amita-Buddhism, and the truth of his own religion; and, what was far more important, of strengthening the faith of Nichiren and his followers that he was a man sent and protected by the Lord Śākyamuni, and by his Truth. The belief in his mission which had been growing since his days in Izu reached a stage in which the self-consciousness of the prophet is more explicitly proclaimed. After having told of the incident, in the letter above cited, and quoting the same passages of the scripture he cited in his writings in Izu, Nichiren tells more of himself.

“There are many in Japan who read and study the Lotus of Truth; there are, again, many who are attacked because they have conspired against others; but there is none who is abused because of (his revering) the Lotus of Truth. Thus, none of the men in Japan who hold to the Scripture have yet realized what is stated in the [Lotus Sutra] (since everyone who really holds to it must encounter perils on that account); the one who really reads it is none other than I, Nichiren, who put in practice the text, ‘We shall not care for bodily life, but do our best for the sake of the incomparable Way.’ Then I, Nichiren, am the one, supreme one, the pioneer of the Lotus of Truth.”

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His mother and his old master

In the autumn of the following year (1264), while Nichiren was thus carrying on his propaganda, both polemic and persuasive, the illness of his mother called him to his native place. When he arrived at home, his mother was seemingly dead. The pious son was, however, not disheartened, but went on to pray that her life might be restored. His prayer was heard, or his supernormal power proved efficacious, and gradually the aged mother recovered her health. Not only was his mother’s restored health a great joy to Nichiren, but the demonstration of his miraculous powers led him at once to take a step toward the fulfilment of a pious desire long since cherished by him, the conversion of his old master Dōzen, the abbot of Kiyozumi, who still remained a believer in Amita and practised Shingon mysteries. The three objects of reverence and gratitude in Nichiren’s religious ethics, as we shall see later, were a man’s parents, ruler, and master. Nichiren’s parents had long since been converted to his faith – the father had died six years before; but his efforts to convert the rulers were still unsuccessful, and his old master had never been subject to his influence, from the day of the first sermon in the assembly hall of Kiyozumi eleven years before. Nichiren now visited the abbot at a monastery in the country, explained his own conviction, expressed his pious desire for his master’s conversion, exposed the old man’s error, tenderly persuaded him to enter on the true way. But alas! the man was now too old and weak to abandon the religious practices to which he had long been accustomed and become his former pupil’s convert. He appreciated Nichiren’s kindly intention, thanked him for his zeal, and wept with conflicting emotions; but the meeting was, after all, a failure. This remained a great regret to Nichiren throughout his life. (After the old man’s death, Nichiren, in 1276, still tried to mitigate this sorrow, by dedicating to the dead master a writing of spiritual admonition.)

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His pugnacious spirit and his tender heart

It was in the second month of 1263, that Nichiren was released from his banishment in Izu. The reason for the release is unknown, but his return was a triumph for Nichiren. By the rising of the mob, and during his exile, his abode had been devastated, his disciples ill-treated, and some of his lay followers threatened with confiscation of their properties. Yet they remained faithful to the prophet and his instructions; and when the master came back to Kamakura, they flocked to him, and welcomed him with tears of joy. It seems that some of them wished to see their master mitigate his trenchant attacks upon other Buddhists, believing that the true religion could be propagated without antagonizing others. This is reflected in Nichiren’s strong insistence, in an essay written immediately after his return, on the proposition that an exclusive devotion to the unique truth of the Lotus is the necessary condition to salvation. It was impossible for him to modify his attitude, for he was a man who had passed through perils and was thereby strengthened in the conviction of his own mission and destiny. He now preached in a manner more intransigent than before and drew a strong contrast and a sharp line of demarcation between his gospel and Amita-Buddhism as well as Shingon mysticism. The forcible arguments and vehement invectives, directed especially against these two schools, exhibit the method of Nichiren’s proselyting, which he now stated explicitly and systematically.

Irreconcilably pugnacious toward his opponents, yet tenderly persuasive toward his followers, Nichiren almost always combined these two sides of his propaganda; but the writings produced within a few years after the first exile show, decidedly more than the earlier ones, a wonderful combination of the two. The delicate sentiment shown in his tender persuasions is now remarkably united with admonitions to honest faith and pure heart. The essay referred to above, written in the form of a catechism, is an example of this. After affirming the necessity of an exclusive devotion to the Lotus, it proceeds to emphasize the efficacy of simple-hearted faith:

“If you desire to attain Buddhahood immediately, lay down the banner of pride, cast away the club of resentment, and trust yourselves to the unique Truth. Fame and profit are nothing more than vanity of this life; pride and obstinacy are simply fetters to the coming life. … When you fall into an abyss and someone has lowered a rope to pull you out, should you hesitate to grasp the rope because you doubt the power of the helper? Has not Buddha declared, “I alone am the protector and savior”? There is the power! Is it not taught that faith is the only entrance (to salvation)? There is the rope! One who hesitates to seize it, and will not utter the Sacred Truth, will never be able to climb the precipice of Bodhi (Enlightenment). … Our hearts ache and our sleeves are wet (with tears), until we see face to face the tender figure of the One, who says to us, “I am thy Father.” At this thought our hearts beat, even as when we behold the brilliant clouds in the evening sky or the pale moonlight of the fast-falling night. … Should any season be passed without thinking of the compassionate promise, “Constantly I am thinking of you?” Should any month or day be spent without revering the teaching that there is none who cannot attain Buddhahood? Devote yourself whole-heartedly to the “Adoration to the Lotus of the Perfect Truth,” and utter it yourself as well as admonish others to do the same. Such is your task in this human life.

It must not be ignored, however, that even this writing contains a sharp argument against the opponents of the Lotus.

Another instance of tenderness is shown in a letter written to a lady who had asked about the rules to be observed during her monthly period. This was regarded by Japanese custom as a pollution, and women in this state were forbidden to approach Shinto sanctuaries. Her question, therefore, was, what she should do about the [Lotus Sutra] during that time. Nichiren deems it unnecessary to observe any precaution in that respect and admonishes her to recite the [Lotus Sutra]  as usual. Yet he adds that, if, because of the habit and custom, she has scruples about doing so, she need not hold the rolls of the [Lotus Sutra] ; it will suffice to pronounce the Sacred Title. Delicate consideration and counsel of this kind are by no means rare in Nichiren’s instructions, but they become more frequent after his return from exile. In general, we see how and residence among the simple country folk had tempered Nichiren’s spirit, making him more gracious and sympathetic. His close contact with the people of Izu, especially the fisherman and his wife who sheltered him there, led him to give his instruction a more popular form and to take a deeper personal interest in his followers.

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Reflections on the relations of his mission

As a man trained in the analytic method of Buddhist philosophy, Nichiren proceeded to determine the position he occupied in the perpetuation of the religion, after the model of his great master T’ien T’ai, deriving his material from the five conditions, or “principles,” of his mission. First, as to the doctrine, his gospel was based exclusively on the [Lotus Sutra], which was the perfect consummation of Buddhist doctrines, before which the teachings of all other branches of Buddhism must lose weight and authority. Second, as to the capacity of the people taught, mankind in the degenerate age of the Latter Days could be trained only by the simplest expression of truth, not by a complicated system of doctrine, nor by an intricate process of meditation and mysteries. Third, as to the time, his time was the age of the Latter Law, in which the [Lotus Sutra] alone would remain available for the salvation of all. Fourth, as to the country of its promulgation, Japan was the land where the true Buddhism would prevail, and whence it should be propagated throughout the whole world. Lastly, as to the order of the successive rise and fall of systems, all other forms of Buddhism had severally done their work, and Nichiren’s time was ripe for the acceptance of the Lotus, as the sole authority in religion. All the five conditions for the supremacy of the Lotus seemed to Nichiren to be fulfilled, and he regarded himself as the man destined to accomplish the work of realizing the prophecies contained in the Scripture.

This was his conviction and consolation; yet it is noteworthy that the personal thesis is not so clearly and vividly stated in this essay [“Treatise on the Doctrine, the Capacity, the Time, and the Country”], as it is in his later writings. Let us cite his own words. After having explained the five conditions, he says:

“One who would propagate the Buddhist truth, by having convinced himself of the five principles, is entitled to become the leader of the Japanese nation. One who knows that the Lotus of Truth is the king of all scriptures, knows the truth of the religion If there were no one who ‘read’ the Lotus of Truth, there could be no leader of the nation; without a leader, the nation could do naught but be bewildered, … and fall to the nethermost hells in consequence of degrading the Truth.”

After these remarks, he enumerates the passages concerning the difficulties to be encountered by the promulgators of the Truth, meaning to apply the passages to himself. It was these convictions that consoled Nichiren in the midst of dangers and inspired him with a firm belief in the future of his mission. But his conviction regarding his destiny, as well as his remote connection with the sages of the past, remained to be more exactly defined in writings from his second exile. In the essay before us, we see a decided progress in Nichiren’s trust in the Lotus of Truth, which had started on a doctrinal basis, and was destined to bring him to more personal conviction of his prophetic mission.

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His perilous experiences and the “Stanzas of Perseverance”

Nearly ten years had passed since Nichiren had proclaimed his new gospel, and these years had been full of adventures and dangers. The threats and perils heaped upon him, as well as the disasters which filled the people with terror, seemed to him not mere chance, but the necessary consequence of the conflict between the blindness of the people and the compassionate cure proposed by him. All this – the causes and effects, the present calamities and the future destiny – gave him new assurance that every prophecy in the [Lotus Sutra] would certainly be fulfilled. The thing which most strongly confirmed his faith in the [Lotus Sutra] and his enthusiasm for it was the discovery that every phrase of the vows of perseverance, as set forth in the chapter on “Perseverance” [chapter 13], had been, and was being, realized, step by step, in his own life. The ardent spirit of the vows found its closest counterpart and echo in his fiery personality and perilous career.

See what the Scripture tells us! Buddha’s disciples, beholding the amazing vision of the Heavenly Shrine, and hearing the encouraging exhortation, take together the vows of fidelity and endurance.

O Exalted One! be little anxious for us!
After Thy great decease,
In the evil ages full of fears and dangers,
We shall proclaim the supreme Scripture.

This was what Nichiren had done, and he was now suffering for it.

There will then surely be malignant men,
And they will deride us and abuse us,
Lay upon us with weapons and sticks.

All these things we shall bear with endurance and perseverance. Does this not mean, Nichiren thought, the laymen, the rulers, and the people, who antagonize the Truth because of their dislike for righteousness? Did they not threaten him with sword and fire?

Again:

In the Latter Days there will be monks,
Who, being malicious and crooked in mind,
Will pretend to have attained what is not really attained,
And their minds will be full of vain pride.

Were not the monks always the instigators of the persecutions? Traitors to Buddha, companions of devils, worshippers of strange deities, men of vain pride these are Nichiren’s bitter enemies. Is not the prophecy being fulfilled by them? Further:

There will be those who dwell in forests (āraṇyaka),
Living in tranquility and wearing the regular robes;
They pretend to practice the true monastic life,
And despise all other men.

They will preach to laymen,
Simply for the sake of fame and profit;
And yet they will be revered by the people,
As if they were endowed with the six supernormal powers. …

Are not all abbots and bishops men of this kind? Observe how some of them pretend to be Arahants and are believed by the people!

In the evil days of the ages full of turbulence
There will be many fears and dangers; There will be men possessed by devils, And they will abuse and insult us.

By revering Buddha and putting confidence in him,
And by wearing the armor of forbearance,
We shall endure all these perils,
For the sake of proclaiming this Scripture.

We shall never be fearful in sacrificing our bodily life, But always regard the true Way as the highest cause;
And thus we shall, throughout all coming days,
Stand for the cause committed to us by Buddha.

O Exalted One! Thou may’st be assured,
Even when the vicious monks of the turbulent ages,
Being ignorant of the sermons preached by Buddha,
According to his tactful method,
Shall revile and rebuke us;
And we be repeatedly driven out of our abodes, And kept away from our sanctuaries.
Even then, we shall endure all these injuries,
By ourselves to Buddha’s decree.

In whatsoever cities or villages,
There may be any who would seek the Truth,
Thither we shall surely go
And preach the Truth entrusted to us by Thee.

We are Thy messengers, O Exalted One!
We have nothing to fear from any people,
We shall proclaim the Truth, to deserve Thy commission.
Thou may’st be assured and rest secure.

Now we take these vows in Thy presence,
And in the presence of all Buddhas
Who have come from the ten quarters.
May’st Thou, O Buddha, know our intention and determination!

Nichiren saw all this being fulfilled in himself but had to anticipate yet more persecutions. In later years he referred most earnestly to the passage which tells how the preachers of the true religion should be repeatedly expelled from their dwellings, because it was his actual experience. Thus, he found all his career foretold in the [Lotus Sutra], and deemed that he was faithfully observing the vows of perseverance. “The Twenty Stanzas of Perseverance” was his favorite expression, which he was proud to embody in his life.

He formulated these reflections and hopes in an essay, and in its conclusion his convictions are vividly set forth:

“It is said in the chapter in the Scripture on Perseverance (chapter 13) that, in the fifth five hundred years of the religion, there would appear opponents of the Truth, of three kinds. The present time is just in this period of the fifth five centuries, and I see clearly the existence of the three kinds of opponents. … It is said in the fourth fascicle of the Scripture: Even in the life-time of the Tathāgata, there are manifold animosities shown toward this Scripture; how much more will it be so after his passing away?” Again, in the fifth fascicle: “All over the world, the people find it so difficult to believe that they antagonize (the Truth).” Further on: “We shall not care for bodily life, but do our best for the sake of the incomparable Way” and similarly, in the sixth fascicle: “We shall sacrifice even our life.” … From what we see in these passages it is evident that we are not entitled to be propagators of the Lotus of Truth, unless we call forth the hatred of the three kinds of opponents. One who does so is the propagator of the Truth, and yet he is destined to lose life on this account.”

We can here see clearly how Nichiren was prepared for any perils, and how ready to encounter even greater dangers, leaving his fate to the destiny of the true Buddhist as prophesied in the Scripture. To him dangers and persecutions were the very signs of his being the genuine believer of the Truth.

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His warning and the first exile

Out of pity, not only for the people stricken by these calamities, but on account of the superstitious practices in which they took refuge, Nichiren pondered in his mind the question, What are the causes of these evils, and how can they be averted?

In attacking the problem, Nichiren’s thought naturally turned to the unique authority of the Lotus [Sutra], in contrast to the syncretistic practices of the prevailing Buddhism. Yet he was not satisfied until he had made a further investigation of the sacred books and found various prophecies concerning calamities which should befall the people who degraded the true Buddhist religion by resorting to superstitions. He retired, for this investigation, to a monastery furnished with a good library. There he wrote and rewrote his ideas, which finally took shape in an essay entitled “Risshō Ankoku Ron,” which means “The Establishment of Righteousness and the Security of the Country.”

In this essay Nichiren fearlessly pointed out the degeneracy of the people and the foolishness of the rulers. The heaviest responsibility for the miseries of the time he ascribed to Amita-Buddhism, by which both the government and the people were led astray from righteousness. Moreover, he gave a prophetic warning to the nation that, if it did not turn at once to the unique Truth, the country would experience more disastrous calamities, especially a foreign invasion and a rebellion. His vehement expression runs as follows:

“Of all the misfortunes but one remains that we have not yet experienced, the misfortune of foreign invasion. … When I consider thee Scriptural prophecies and then look at the world around me, I am bound to confess that both the gods and the minds of the people are confused. You see the fulfilment of the prophecy in the past; dare we say that the remaining prophecies will fail of their fulfilment?”

(This prediction foreign invasion was based on statements in several Buddhist books, and its realization in the following years immensely strengthened Nichiren’s faith.)

This warning was followed by an admonition to the nation to be converted to Nichiren’s religion, based on the sermon of the [Lotus Sutra]. The vehement prophet would not be satisfied unless all other forms of Buddhism were suppressed and their leaders severely punished. Thus he concludes:

“Woe unto them! They have missed the entrance into the gate that leads to the true Buddhism and have fallen into the prison-house of the false teachings. They are fettered, entangled, bewildered. Whither will their blind wanderings lead them?

“Ye men of little faith, turn your minds and trust yourselves at once to the unique Truth of the Righteous Way! Then ye shall see that the three realms of existence are (in reality) the Kingdom of Buddha, which is in no way subject to decay; and that the worlds in the ten directions are all Lands of Treasures, which are never to be destroyed. The Kingdom is changeless, and the Lands eternal. Then how shall your bodies be otherwise than secure and your minds serene in enlightenment?”

Not only were these words preached to the masses on the streets and in the parks, but the written document was presented to the government authorities (in the seventh month of 1260). The government was shocked, the ecclesiastical dignitaries were enraged, and instigation from behind the scenes stirred up a mob which attacked Nichiren’s hermitage and burnt it down. Nichiren escaped the peril through the darkness of the night, and fleeing out of Kamakura, went on a missionary journey in adjacent provinces. There, more converts were made, and among them not a few of the warrior class, the local chiefs who were not under the direct control of the Dictator. The suspicion in which the government held Nichiren increased, and when he came back to Kamakura in the following year, he was officially arrested, and finally sentenced to banishment and sent to the desolate shore of the peninsula Izu (in the fifth month of 1261).

In this place of exile, Nichiren found bare shelter with a fisherman and his wife amid threatening dangers. How deeply he felt his obligations to these simple and faithful converts is shown in the letters written to them later, wherein they are likened to Nichiren’s parents, perhaps in a former life. His hardest trials did not last long. More converts were made, and Nichiren’s message found a sincere response in the unprejudiced hearts of the country folk. Yet he was an exile; he had been repeatedly attacked and had some narrow escapes from death; his future showed no bright prospects, and his hope of converting the nation as a whole seemed to be very remote, if not totally vain. His thought turned to the question whether his mission would be fulfilled, and he re-examined the [Lotus Sutra] with reference to this problem.

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His proclamation of his new faith

The young monk, now no longer a seeker after truth, but a reformer filled with ardent zeal, bade farewell to the great center of Buddhism on Hiei and went back to the old monastery on Kiyozumi, which he had left fifteen years before. He visited his parents, and they were his first converts. His old master and fellow monks welcomed him, but to their minds Nichiren, the former Renchō, was nothing more than a promising young man who had seen the world and studied at Hiei. Keeping silence about all his plans and ambitions, Nichiren retired for a while to a forest near the monastery. Everyone in the monastery supposed that he was practicing the usual method of self-purification, which they themselves employed; but, in fact, Nichiren was engaged in a quite different task, and occupied with his original idea, neither shared nor guessed by anyone else.

The seven days of his seclusion, as the tradition says, was a period of fervent prayer, in preparation for launching his plan of reformation and proclaiming his new gospel. When his season of meditative prayer had reached the stage when he was ready to transform it into action, Nichiren one night left the forest and climbed the summit of the hill which commands an unobstructed view of the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. When the eastern horizon began to glow with the approaching daybreak, he stood motionless looking toward the East, and as the golden disc of the sun began to break through the haze over the vast expanse of waters, a loud voice, a resounding cry, broke from his lips. It was “Namu Myōhō-renge-kyō” “Adoration be to the Lotus of the Perfect Truth!” This was Nichiren’s proclamation of his gospel to heaven and earth, making the all-illumining sun his witness. It happened early in the morning of the twenty-eighth day of the fourth lunar month 1253. (See explanation of dates here.)

The proclamation of the Lotus of Truth, with the sun as witness, was, indeed, the first step in translating into action the ideal symbolized in his name, the Sun-Lotus. After this unique proclamation, Nichiren came back among human beings, and at noon of the same day, in an assembly hall facing south, he preached his new doctrine, and denounced the prevailing forms of Buddhism, to an audience composed of his old master and fellow monks, and many others. There was none who was not offended by his bold proclamation and fierce attack. Murmurs grew to cries of protest; and when the sermon had been finished, everyone assumed that the poor megalomaniac was mad. The feudal chief ruling that part of the country was so incensed that he would not be satisfied with anything short of the death of the preposterous monk. This lord, who was Nichiren’s mortal foe throughout the subsequent years of his mission, was watching to attack Nichiren, who was now driven out of his old monastery. His master, the abbot, pitied his former pupil, and gave instruction to two elder disciples to take Nichiren to a hidden trail for escape. It was in the dusk of evening that Nichiren made his escape in this way. The sun, which at its rising had beheld Nichiren’s proclamation, the sun which at noon had witnessed Nichiren’s sermon, set as the hunted prophet made his way through the darkness of a wooded trail; only the evening glow was in the sky. What must his thoughts have been? What prospect could he have cherished in his mind for his future career and for the destiny of his gospel?

The expelled prophet now went on missionary journeys in the neighboring provinces, and finally settled down in Kamakura, the seat of the Dictatorial government. While he was studying further the religious and social conditions of the time and looking for an opportunity to appear again in public, the city of Kamakura was the scene of many frightful events. There were rumors of plots against the Hōjōs, and family strife arose among them; in addition to these things, storms, inundations, earthquakes, famines, comets, followed one another in swift succession. The people were panic-stricken, and the government could only resort to the offerings at Shinto sanctuaries and to the Buddhist rites of the Shingon mysteries. Nichiren himself describes the conditions as follows [in the “Risshō Ankoku Ron”]:

“We have seen many signs in heaven and in earth; a famine, a plague – the whole country is filled with misery! Horses and cows are dying on the roadsides, and so are men; and there is no one to bury them. One half of the population is stricken, and there is no house that has entirely escaped.

“Hence many minds are turning to religion. Others, again, in accordance with the doctrines of the Secret Shingon, use copious sprinkling of holy water from the five vases. … Some write the names of the seven gods of luck on pieces of paper and affix them by the hundreds to the door-posts of their houses, whilst others do the same with the pictures of the five Great Powerful and the various (Shinto) gods of Heaven and Earth. … But let men do what they will, the famine and the plague still rage; there are beggars on every hand, arid the unburied corpses line the roads.”

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Nichiren’s personal touch with the Scripture

Of great importance, in Nichiren’s view, was the story of the Bodhisattva Sadāparibhūta [Never-Despising Bodhisattva], a previous life of Buddha himself, told in the 20th chapter. The story is this: While Buddha was still striving for Buddhahood, he was a monk, and used to salute every person he met as a future Buddha, because he was convinced that everyone was destined eventually to be so. The people, however, took this salute as an insult, and in turn insulted and abused the monk. He endured all this, but never changed his way of saluting others, or his conviction that everyone was a Buddha-to-be. Therefore, he was called the “Constantly-revering.” (The Sanskrit name Sadā-paribhūta certainly means the “Constantly abused,” but Kumārajīva rendered the name by the “Constantly-revering,” that is, Sadā-aparibhūta, or with a different termination, indicating the present participle. Japanese, Jō-kufyō.) This story is told as an occurrence in the past, and also as an example for all Buddhists, especially for those living among the evil-disposed men of degenerate ages. It was this aspect of the story, indicating an underlying bond connecting the true Buddhist of the past with his successor in any age, that inspired Nichiren and kept him ever perseverant throughout all persecutions. Thus, in his mind this story of the “Constantly-revering” saint was nothing else than another version of his own life, which was also foretold in the vows of endurance as recorded in the thirteenth chapter. The same spirit of endurance for the sake of the Truth, and the same life in emulation and practice of the ardent vows of the ancient saints — this was what he found in the story, and derived from it incentive and consolation.

The Lotus of Truth is a rich treasury of religious inspiration and moral precepts, prophetic visions and poetic imagery, philosophical speculations and practical admonitions. From this book, all ages, and every man in Buddhist countries, derived some sort of instruction and inspiration, each according to his needs and disposition. Most Buddhists of a speculative trend of mind occupied themselves in elaborating the teaching of the oneness of Truth, the doctrine of the Sole Road [One Vehicle], notwithstanding the three gateways opened by Buddha in chapter 2, on “Tactfulness.” Many others, inclined to fantastic imagination, and delighted with supernatural glories, were keen for heavenly visions and apocalyptic scenes. Many others, again, found objects of worship in the deities of mercy and benefaction, such as Avalokiteśvara [World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva]. Much was written on the Lotus – philosophical treatises, miracle stories, poems, and prayers; the book also inspired many painters and sculptors, and we have a rich store of works of art whose subjects are taken from it. But there was none, until Nichiren “read” the book in his original way, who derived from it such a wonderful power of strenuous, militant life, and thereby lived a life of striving toward the ardent zeal exemplified by primeval disciples of Buddha. Indeed, Nichiren deemed himself to be an embodiment of the Scripture, a personal version of its teachings and prophecies and a living testimony to them.

How did he carry out his life in accord with this idea and attain to a full conviction of his mission, foreordained in the Lotus of the Perfect Truth?

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The “consummation and perpetuation”

All of the remaining [Lotus Sutra] chapters (17-28), the “Consummation and Perpetuation” of the truths revealed, have always been a strong inspiration to Buddhist piety. The narratives and prophecies contained in them gave consolation in various ways, and the saints in the stories were the objects of pious devotion on the part of many Buddhists. Especially the compassionate help promised to Buddhists by Avalokiteśvara, the god of mercy (chapter 25), was regarded as a powerful incentive to grateful piety. Other saints or deities appearing in these chapters were regarded as protectors of Buddhists, and their worship consisted in devotion to them and dependence on their divine grace. In short, for most Buddhists before Nichiren, the admiration of these chapters and the worship of the divine beings who appear in them amounted to praying for benefits, and even to superstition.

Now Nichiren interpreted the “Consummation and Perpetuation” (chapters 17-28) in a totally different manner. The inspiration he derived from these narratives was a spirit of emulation, instead of mere piety; the life of the true Buddhist was to be lived in emulating the courageous and compassionate spirit of the divine beings and the vows they uttered. This was due to Nichiren’s peculiar conception of the whole [Lotus Sutra], namely, that it was a book not to be read simply by the eyes, or merely understood by the mind, but to be “read by the body,” that is, by flesh and blood. The truths revealed therein were, for Nichiren, the records of the true Buddhist life, which was realized by the saints of the past, and therefore to be striven for by all Buddhists of the coming ages.

Seen in this light, the whole book, and especially the part on the “Consummation and Perpetuation,” was a storehouse of exhortations and precepts, prophecies and assurances, given to the future Buddhists, especially to those living in the latter days of the world. For instance, take chapter 21, on the “Mysterious Power of the Tathāgata.” It is not only a revelation of Buddha’s own divine work, but an assurance given to all Buddhists, that the “Mysterious Power” should be realized and embodied in every Buddhist’s actual life. Nichiren regarded as of the highest importance a passage pointing to a definite person, designating him as “this man.”

Just as the light of the sun and moon
Expels all dimness and darkness,
So this man, living and working in the world,
Repels the gloom (of illusion) of all beings.

How this statement was taken as a prophecy concerning the leader of the true Buddhism in those days, that is, Nichiren himself, will be seen as we follow his growing consciousness of his mission. To take another instance, there is a passage in chapter 23, on the Bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja [Medicine King], foretelling the propagation of the Lotus of Truth in the fifth five hundred years after Buddha’s death. Herein Nichiren saw another prophetic assurance given to his mission.

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The revelation of the real entity of Buddha’s personality

Having been quickened by Buddha’s urging, the Bodhisattvas in the congregation ask the Lord to entrust to them the task of propagating and perpetuating the Truth. Quite contrary to their expectation – and ours – they are counselled to keep themselves quiet. While they are astonished at the Lord’s dissuasion, he summons the innumerable hosts of saints, who appear out of the earth from all quarters. Among them four figures are conspicuous, who were never known before to any in the assembly, and whose names, they are told, are Viśiṣṭacāritra, Anantacāritra, etc. (Viśiṣṭacāritra, Jōgyō in Japanese, means “Superior Conduct.” Anantacāritra, Muhengyō in Japanese, Endless or Boundless Conduct. Jōgyō was the one with whom Nichiren was most eager to identify himself.)

The endless hosts, following the four leaders, pay adoration to Buddha, and pledge themselves to work for the perpetuation of the Truth and the salvation of all beings. The surprise of the other members of the assembly is voiced by Maitreya, the highest of the Bodhisattvas, who asks Buddha, “Who are these saints who have appeared out of earth?” The answer is that they have existed from all eternity and have always been Śākyamuni’s disciples – an answer that puzzles the inquirers still more, because their idea of Buddha as a man who no great while ago attained Buddhahood under the Bodhi-tree at Gayā is incompatible with the statement that these miraculous beings existing from eternity are his disciples (chapter 15, entitled the “Issuing-out-of-the-Earth”). How Nichiren believed himself to be a reincarnation of Viśiṣṭacāritra, or Jōgyō, will be seen later on; and his reference to an eternal and primeval discipleship to the eternal Buddha can be understood by turning to this scene.

The sixteenth chapter, entitled the “Duration of the Tathāgata’s Life,” is meant to solve the puzzle, and to reveal the eternal existence of Buddha’s personality. The Buddha who was born and is going to die, or to disappear from among mankind, is but a manifestation, and his (apparent) death is in order to dispel the disciples’ vain hope of having his earthly manifestation with them forever. Neither is birth the beginning, nor death the end of life; the true life extends far beyond both of these commonly assumed limits. Things come and pass away, but truth abides; men are born and disappear, but life itself is imperishable. Buddhahood is neither a new acquisition nor a quality destined to destruction. The One who embodies the cosmic Truth, Buddha, the Tathāgata, neither is born nor dies, but lives and works from eternity to eternity; his Buddhahood is primeval and his inspiration everlasting. How, then, can it be otherwise with any other beings, if only they realize this truth and live in full consciousness of it? Thus, the revelation of the everlasting life discloses the infinite measure of the Tathāgata’s life, which means at the same time the share of the true Buddhists in the eternal life of Buddha, and in the inextinguishable endurance of the Truth.

It was this teaching of the eternal life, both of Buddha and of ourselves, that inspired in Buddhist belief boundless strength, and led T’ien T’ai and Dengyō to systematize their theory about the primeval dignity of Buddhahood and the pre-established possibility of our supreme enlightenment. Nichiren inherited and emphasized these doctrines as the very basis of his religious thought, but we shall see later how he applied the conception of the primeval relationship between the Lord and his disciples to the moral life of mankind.

The climax of the revelation is followed by a series of encouraging assurances given by Buddha, and of enthusiastic vows made by the disciples and celestial beings. The revelation of the eternal past is thus followed by the assurance for the everlasting future. The past and the future are united in the oneness of the Truth, by the unity of purpose, methods, and power, in all the Buddhas of all ages – in short, in the Sole Road of Truth [One Vehicle]. This is the cardinal teaching of the Lotus, as in other Buddhist books or systems; but the special emphasis laid by the Lotus, particularly in the last twelve chapters, is upon the question, Who shall really be the one who will perpetuate and realize this truth of the Sole Road? The Truth abides eternally, but it is an abstraction, a dead law, without the person who perpetuates the life of the Truth. The Buddha Śākyamuni, in his human manifestation, was the one, the Tathāgata par excellence; but who shall be the one in the future, nay in the present, in these days of degeneration and vice? This was the question of Nichiren, who at last, as the result of his hard experience and perilous life, arrived at the conclusion that he himself was the man destined to achieve the task of the Tathāgata’s messenger.

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