The perpetuation of the Truth

The purpose of Buddha’s work has been laid down, the assurance given to his followers, and the foundation of the Sole Road [One Vehicle] explained. The further revelation naturally turns to how the destiny is to be worked out by the Bodhisattvas. The essence of Bodhisattvaship in this sense consists in the adoration paid to the sacred text of the Lotus, the embodiment of universal truths – adoration not only in worship through ceremonies and recitations, but in practicing its precepts and preaching its truths to others; in short, in living the life of Truth according to the sermons of the Lotus. The Bodhisattva is the messenger of the Tathāgata, the one sent by him, who does the work of the Tathāgata, who puts absolute faith in Buddha and his Truth, and lives the life of Truth, especially by working to propagate the truths of the Lotus among the degenerate people of the Latter Days. [Tathagata (Jap. Nyorai) means the “Truth-winner” and, at the same time, “Truth-revealer.”] Thus, chapter 10, entitled the ” Preacher,” consists of the injunctions given to the Bodhisattvas to live worthy of their high aim and in obedience to Buddha’s message and commission.

A vision follows the injunction, a miraculous revelation, as well as an apocalyptic assurance (chapter 11, entitled “The Apparition of the Heavenly Shrine”). A vast shrine (stupa) adorned with the seven kinds of jewels appears in front of Śākyamuni as he is preaching; heavenly hosts surround it, waving banners, burning incense, playing music; the air becomes luminous, iridescent, fragrant; the sky resounds with heavenly music and chanted hymns. Suddenly, the scene is totally transformed, as we see in apocalyptic literature generally. A voice is heard from within the shrine in the praise of Śākyamuni’s work and sermons. In the midst of the celestial glories and the hosts of heavenly beings, the Heavenly Shrine is opened, and therein is seen seated the Buddha Prabhūtaratna [Many Treasures, Jap. Tahō], who long since passed away from his earthly manifestation, and has now appeared, to adore Śākyamuni, who is still working in the world. The dramatic situation reaches its climax when the old Buddha invites the present one, and the two sit side by side in the Shrine. The joint proclamation made by them is to prepare the disciples for the approaching end of Śākyamuni’s earthly ministry, and to encourage and stimulate them to the work to be done after the master’s passing away. “Revere the Truth revealed in this holy book, and preach it to others! Anyone who will fulfil this task, so difficult to do, is entitled to attain the Way of Buddha, beyond comparison. He is the child of Buddha, the eyes of the world, and will be praised by all Buddhas.”

The admonition is further encouraged by the prophetic vyākaraṇa [prediction of future Buddhahood] given to Devadatta, the wicked cousin of Buddha, who, because of his long connection with Śākyamuni, will, in spite of his wickedness, attain Buddhahood at a certain future time. Moreover, the assurance of the final perfection is vividly impressed by the instantaneous transformation of a Nāga (Serpent-tribe) [dragon] girl, who now appears as a preacher of the Perfect Truth and one of the Tathāgata’s messengers. The final conversion of the typical wicked man and of the innocent girl indicate that Buddhahood is to be realized by all; and these episodes were always a source of inspiring faith and encouraged trust in the efficacy of the excellent truth revealed in the book.

After the apocalyptic scene and the miraculous conversion, other practical admonitions are given to the future Buddhas. Two ways of spreading the truth are indicated, one the way of vigorous polemic, the repressive and aggressive method of propaganda, and the other the way of pacific self-training, the gentle, persuasive method (chapters 13 and 14, entitled respectively the “Exertion,” or “Perseverance,” and the “Peaceful Training”). The peaceful training in meditation and watchfulness over self was a source of great inspiration to many Buddhists; but greater, at least so far as Nichiren is concerned, was the power inspired by the admonition to perseverance. Indeed, the characteristic feature in Nichiren’s ideal consisted in translating into life the exhortations to strenuous effort, in what he called the ” reading of the Scripture by the bodily life,” which meant actual life, fully in accordance with the truths taught in the book, especially with the exhortations, encouragement, and assurances contained in this chapter on ” Perseverance.” As we shall see later, in every hardship and peril which Nichiren encountered, he derived consolation from Buddha’s reassurance, and stimulating inspiration from the vows uttered by his disciples to sacrifice everything for the sake of the Truth, and to endure perils, sustained by firm belief in the mission of the Tathāgata’s messengers. (“Primeval” is used here and in the sequel of beings, attributes, and relations in a transcendent sphere of reality, in distinction from the world of historical manifestation.)

With these exhortations given to future Buddhas closes the first grand division of the book, which is the revelation of the Sole Road [One Vehicle] proclaimed by Śākyamuni in the “manifestation” aspect of his personality. With the fifteenth chapter opens the revelation of his true, eternal, primeval personality, together with the apparition of his primeval disciples, the vows they take, and the mission entrusted to them.

This thought on the two aspects of Buddha’s personality is a consummate outcome of religious and philosophical speculation on the transient and the everlasting aspects of Buddha’s person and work – a matter touched upon before, when we characterized the book, Lotus, as the Johannine literature of Buddhism. And now, in the last half, is revealed the primeval Buddhahood or the entity and functions of the Buddhist Logos [the active rational and spiritual principle that permeates all reality]. So long as the Buddhists regard their master as a man who achieved Buddhahood at a certain time, they fail to recognize the true person of Buddha, who in reality from eternity has been Buddha, the lord of the world. So long as the vision of Buddhists is thus limited, they are unaware of their own true being, which is as eternal as Buddha’s own primeval nature and attainment. The Truth is eternal, therefore the person who reveals it is also eternal, and the relation between master and disciples is nothing but an original and primeval kinship. This is the fundamental conception, which is further elucidated by showing visions reaching to the eternally past as well as to the everlasting future.

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The introduction and the exposition of the ideal aim

The [Lotus Sutra] opens with a prelude played in the serene light of the stage, the Vulture Peak idealized, which is illumined by the rays emitted from Buddha’s forehead. He sits immersed in deep contemplation, and yet in the air made brilliant by his spiritual radiance are seen not only innumerable Buddhas and saints, who move in the luminous air, but existences of all kinds, down to those in the nethermost purgatories. Heavenly flowers pour upon the place, the quaking of the earth heralds the approach of an extraordinary occasion, and the congregation is deeply moved with amazement and admiration – men and gods, saints and ascetics, demons and serpent-kings – all are tense with wondering expectation of what the Lord Buddha is going to reveal. (Chapter 1, Introduction.)

Buddha arises out of contemplation, and what he reveals is that the real import of the Dharma is beyond the ordinary comprehension or reasoning, and that only those who put faith in the unique truth promulgated by all Buddhas are enabled to grasp it. What he now means to disclose is the truth of the Sole Road (Ekayāna) [One Vehicle] which has enabled the Buddhas of the past to attain Buddhahood, and which is destined to lead all beings, the future Buddhas, to the same attainment. The Truth is one and the goal the same; but the means and methods are not, because the beings to be enlightened are various in character, capability, and inclination. Thus, all Buddhas have entered upon their training and work for the purpose of leading all beings to the same height of attainment they themselves have reached, and Śākyamuni is one of these. Yet, mindful of the varying dispositions of the beings to be instructed, Buddha has opened three gateways, one for those who are keen for knowledge and illumination in philosophical truths, that is, for the Śrāvakas; the second for those who are inclined to meditation and self-seclusion – the Pratyekabuddhas; and the third for those who wish to perfect themselves along with others – the Bodhisattvas. Although these three ways are different in method and in result, they are destined finally to converge to one and the same Sole Road of Buddhahood. The opening of the different gateways is due to the “tactfulness” (upāya-kauśalya) [skillful means] of Buddha’s educative method, while the basis of all lies in the same Truth, and the aim is universal enlightenment. This idea of tactfulness, or pedagogic method, gave to many Buddhist thinkers a clue to explain the diversity existing within Buddhism, and we shall later see how Nichiren made use of this explanation. (Chapter 2, Expedients)

The discourse now proceeds to further elucidation of the relation between the final aim and the educative methods. Three parables are adduced for this purpose: the parable of rescuing children out of a burning house; the parable of bringing a prodigal son to the consciousness of his original dignity and properties; and the simile of the rainwater nourishing all kinds of plants (chapters 3-5). Śākyamuni, our master, is at the same time the father of all beings, who tries and does everything to save his errant children. The truth he teaches is the universal truth which can finally be realized by all beings in various existences, just as rainwater, one in essence and taste, enables all sorts of plants to grow and flourish, each according to its capacity and disposition. Thus, the tactful achievement of Buddha’s revelation is possible, because he has himself realized the truth of existence, and his person is the embodiment of universal Dharma.

What is set forth is the aim of all Buddhas, and the efficacy of the truth they reveal to lead all beings to enlightenment. The leader in this work is found in the person of Śākyamuni, and naturally all of his disciples are assured of the highest attainment and made representatives of the future Buddhas. This assurance, called vyākaraṇa, is a prophetic revelation given to those earnest Buddhists who would engage themselves to practice the moral perfection of the Bodhisattva.

The Bodhisattva is a Buddhist who has expressed his desire to perfect himself by saving others and taken the vow (praṇidhāna) [the aspiration or resolution undertaken by a Bodhisattva at the outset of his spiritual career] in presence of a Buddha, as his master and witness, and who lives his life, dedicating all his goods to the spiritual welfare of all fellow beings. When a Bodhisattva takes the vow, and his zeal proves worthy of his determined vow, the Buddha, his witness, assures the Bodhisattva of his future attainment, and reveals his destiny by prophesying how and when the final end of Buddhahood will be attained. The vow (Jap. seigwan, Skt. praṇidhāna), the dedication (Jap. ekō, Skt. pariṇamaṇa), and the assurance (Jap. juki, Skt. vyākaraṇa), make up the three cardinal points in Buddhist ethics for the achievement of the Bodhisattva ideals.

In accordance with this principle of Buddhist ethics, the discourse of the Lotus proceeds (in chapters 6-9), to reveal the vyākaraṇa given by Śākyamuni to his disciples, assuring them their future destiny, as well as telling the remote causes accumulated for its fulfilment. The vyākaraṇas given in these chapters are indeed prophecies, but Buddhist thought has never been satisfied without referring future accomplishments to their past causes. This is the reason why chapter 7 tells how the start was made by Śākyamuni, in a remote past, when he was a prince and took the vows of Bodhisattvaship before the Buddha Mahābhijnā-jnānābhibhū [Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence], and how, ever since, the connection between himself and his disciples has been maintained. Just as the vows taken by that prince, have been accomplished and his master’s vyākaraṇa fulfilled, so will the destiny of his present disciples surely be attained. And thus the prophetic assurance is extended to all Buddhists of the future. These discourses have been a great inspiration to many earnest Buddhists, who have journeyed on the way to their perfection with confidence in the assurance given in these chapters.

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The Lotus of Truth; its general nature

The [Lotus Sutra] was acknowledged by nearly all Buddhists to be sermons delivered by Buddha in the last stage of his ministry, and, as such, called forth the highest tributes from most Buddhists of all ages. Critical study of Buddhist literature will doubtless throw more light on the formation and date of the compilation; but even apart from minute analysis, we can safely characterize the book as occupying the place taken in Christian literature by the Johannine writings, including the Gospel, the Apocalypse, and the Epistles. The chief aim of the Lotus, both according to the old commentators and to modern criticism, consists in revealing the true and eternal entity of Buddhahood in the person of the Lord Śākya, who appeared among mankind for their salvation. In other words, the main object is to exalt the historic manifestation of Buddha and identify his person with the cosmic Truth (Dharma), the universal foundation of all existences.

This main thesis of the [Lotus Sutra] is illustrated, supported, and exalted in manifold ways, and there are many side issues and episodes. Similes and parables, visions and prophecies, warnings and assurances, doctrinal analysis and moral injunctions – all these ramify from the central strand or are woven into it. The whole composition is a symphony in which the chief motive is the identifying of Buddha and Dharma, but the melodies, the instruments, the movements, and even the keynotes vary from part to part; and, naturally, the inspirations imparted by the book varied from time to time, in accordance with the temperaments, the needs and aims, of different ages and persons. Thus, in describing the outlines of the sermons and narratives contained in this wonderful religious book, let us pay attention to the different phases which were emphasized by different teachers, and especially to the points which inspired Nichiren in the several stages of his life.

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The final resort of his faith and the “Sacred Title” of the Scripture

Fierce internal struggles, wide study, and prolonged thought brought this sincere seeker after truth to the final conviction that the scripture, “The Lotus of Truth,” [Lotus Sutra] was the deposit of the unique truth, the book in which the Lord Buddha had revealed his real entity, and on which the great master Dengyō had based his religion and institutions. The name Renchō was now exchanged for Nichiren, which means Sun-Lotus; the Sun, the source of universal illumination, and the Lotus, the symbol of purity and perfection, were his ideals. Nichiren’s firm belief was that the Lotus of Truth was not only the perfect culmination of Buddhist truth, but the sole key to the salvation of all beings in the latter days of degeneration. Thus, all other branches of Buddhism, which deviated from the principle of the exclusive adoration of [the Lotus Sutra], were denounced as untrue to Buddha, as we have already seen in Nichiren’s condemnation of the prevalent forms of Buddhism. Nichiren’s idea was the restoration of Buddhism to its original purity, and to the principles propounded by Dengyō; but what he understood by restoration was quite different from our modem idea of historical criticism. The truths are eternal, but the method should be a simple one, available for all, especially for men of the Latter Days, and without regard to differences among them in wisdom and virtue. These convictions of Nichiren had a complicated background of philosophical thought, in accord with the general trend of Buddhist speculation, and as a result of his learning. But all these doctrines and arguments were fused by the white heat of his faith and zeal; that is, he simplified the whole practice of religion to an easy method, that of uttering the “Sacred Title” of the [Lotus Sutra].

The Sacred Title meant the exclusive adoration of the truths revealed in the book, Lotus, practised in the repetition of the formula: “Namu Myōhō-renge-kyō,” that is, ”Adoration be to the Scripture of the Lotus of the Perfect Truth!” This formula is, according to Nichiren, neither merely the title of the book, nor a mere symbol, but an adequate embodiment of the whole truth revealed in that unique book when the formula is uttered with a full belief in the truths therein revealed and with a sincere faith in Buddha as the lord of the world.

Nichiren’s thought on this point will be more fully expounded further on, but here let us see just what he meant by the Lotus of Truth. He wrote later, in 1275, explaining his position, as follows:

“All the letters of this Scripture are indeed the living embodiments of the august Buddhas, who manifested themselves in the state of supreme enlightenment. It is our physical eyes that see in the book merely letters. To talk in analogy, the pretas (hungry ghosts) see fire even in the water of the Gangā [Ganges River], while mankind sees water, and the celestial beings see ambrosia. This is simply due to the difference of their respective karmas, though the water is one and the same. The blind do not perceive anything in the letters of the Scripture; the physical eyes of man see the letters; those who are content with self-annihilation see therein emptiness; whereas the saint (Bodhisattva) realizes therein inexhaustible truths, and the enlightened (Buddhas) perceive in each of the letters a golden body of the Lord Śākyamuni. This is told in the holy text in the teaching that those who recite the Scripture are in possession of the Buddha’s body. Nevertheless, prejudiced men thus degrade the holy and sublime truth.”

What, then, is taught in this book which Nichiren esteemed so highly, and what led Nichiren to his conviction? The Lotus of the Perfect Truth, or Myōhō-renge-kyō in Sinico-Japanese [Chinese as adapted and used by Japanese], is an equivalent of the extant Sanskrit text, Saddharma-puṇḍarīka-sūtra. The book circulated in China and Japan in a Chinese translation produced by Kumārajīva in 407.

The translation was so excellent in the beauty and dignity of its style that it supplanted all other translations, and was regarded as a classical writing in Chinese, even apart from its religious import. It was on the basis of this book that Chih-i, the Chinese philosopher-monk of the sixth century, created a system of Buddhist philosophy of religion. This system was called the T’ien T’ai school, from the name of the hill where Chih-i lived; and it was this system of religious philosophy and philosophical religion that was transplanted by Dengyō to Japan as the cornerstone of his grand ecclesiastical institutions.

(Of the two Chinese translations, the one produced by Dharmarakṣa is much nearer to the extant Sanskrit text than Kumārajīva’s. Now as to the rendering of the title, Dharmarakṣa has for sad the word meaning “true” or “right,” while Kumārajīva’s rendering myō is understood to mean “perfect,” “mysterious,” “subtle.” Here the rendering the “Lotus of the Perfect Truth ” is according to Nichiren’s exegesis. Moreover, Nichiren, after comparing the two Chinese versions, decidedly preferred Kumārajīva’s. The reasons given are several, exegetic and doctrinal; but here it suffices to say that we reproduce passages of the book from Kumārajīva’s translation, and as interpreted by Nichiren. For our object is to show how Nichiren derived inspiration from the book through Kumārajīva’s version, and chiefly according to the T’ien T’ai exegesis.)

Nichiren discovered, during his stay on Hiei, that Dengyō’s far-reaching scheme of unifying Japanese Buddhism in his institutions on Hiei had been totally obscured and corrupted by the men of Hiei itself, who had imported degenerate elements of other systems. This thought induced Nichiren to make a zealous attempt at restoring Dengyō’s genuine Buddhism, and therefore the orthodox T’ien T’ai system. This could be done only by concentrating thought and devotion upon the sole key of Buddhist truths, as promulgated by the two great masters — that is, upon the Lotus of Truth, especially in Kumārajīva’s version.

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Nichiren’s childhood and the years of his study

Nichiren was born on the seacoast of the southeastern corner of Japan, in a fishing village surrounded on the north by undulating hills and washed by the dark blue waves of the Pacific Ocean on the south. Tidal waves have washed away the part of the seacoast where his father’s house stood, and today the spot is pointed out in the depths of the wonderfully clear water, on the rocky bottom of the sea, where lotus flowers are said to have bloomed miraculously at the birth of the wonderful boy. His father was a fisherman, and doubtless the boy was often taken out in the father’s boat and must have enjoyed the clear sky and pure air of the open sea. When in later years, during his retirement in the mountains, a follower sent him a bunch of seaweed to eat, the old hermit wept as he called to mind his early memories of the seaweeds, which are, indeed, a charming sight as they are seen through the transparent water. Far away from the effeminating air of the Imperial capital, far away from the turmoils and agitations of the Dictator’s residence, the boy grew up in the fresh and invigorating atmosphere of a seaside village, in the midst of unadorned nature – wooded hills and green trees, blue waters and sandy beaches. The inspiration of nature and the effect of association with the simple, sturdy people are manifest in each step of Nichiren’s later career, in his thoughts and his deeds. The new light was to come out of the East for the salvation of the Latter Days – this prophetic zeal of Nichiren is in large measure to be attributed to his idea about his birth, and to the surroundings of his early life.

In 1233, when the boy was eleven years old, his parents sent him to a monastery on the hill known as Kiyozumi, the “Clear Luminosity,” near his home. The reason is not given, but it was in no way an exceptional or extraordinary step; in those days many a father did the same, whether from motives of piety or for the sake of the boy’s future career. The peaceful and innocent days of the boy novice passed; he was made an ordained monk when he was fifteen years old, and the religious name given by his master was Renchō, or “Lotus-Eternal.” Doubts grew with learning, because too many tenets and practices were included in the Buddhist religion of his days, and the keen-sighted youth was never satisfied with the incongruous mixture in the religion he was taught. “My wish had always been,” he tells us in his later writings, “to sow the seeds for the attainment of Buddhahood, and to escape the fetters of births and deaths. For this purpose I once practised, according to the custom of most fellow-Buddhists, the method of repeating the name of Amita Buddha, putting faith in his redeeming power. But since doubt had begun to arise in my mind as to the truth of that belief, I committed myself to a vow that I would study all the branches of Buddhism known in Japan and learn fully what their diverse teachings were.”

His distress of mind was, however, not over a merely intellectual problem, but was a deeply religious crisis; and, indeed, the young monk was then passing through so violent a struggle of religious conversion that he at last fell into a swoon, following a fit of spitting blood. It is said that during this swoon he saw, in vision, Kokuzō, the deity of wisdom.

This happened when Renchō was seventeen years old, and in the next year we find him studying under a teacher of Amita-Buddhism in Kamakura, the residence of the Commissioners. The uneasiness of the young monk was not allayed, and his quest of truth was not satisfied by the teachers who were accessible in the provinces. Renchō then went to Hiei, the greatest center of Buddhist learning and discipline, where he stayed from 1243 to 1253, pursuing a varied course of study and training. During these years he also visited other centers of Buddhism, where special branches of Buddhism were taught and practiced, and extended his study even to Shinto and Confucianism. The results of all this study and investigation are shown, not only in the erudition of his later writings, but in the comprehensive breadth of his doctrine. But the range of his studies never diverted him from his central problem: What is the true form and the unique truth of Buddhism? On the contrary, as he progressed in knowledge, the conviction gradually grew strong in his mind that the truth is one, and that the essence of the Buddhist religion – nay, of human life – is not manifold. “I had gone to many centers of the religion,” he says in reminiscence, “during those twenty years, in the quest of Buddhist truths. The final conclusion I arrived at was that the truth of Buddhism must be one in essence. Many people lose themselves in the labyrinth of learning and studies, through thinking that every one of the diverse branches might help to the attainment of Buddhist ideals.” Wherein, then, did the young zealot find the unique truth?

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The “degenerate Buddhism”; the four schools of Buddhism

Turning to another matter, the religious conditions, Nichiren saw similar evils, closely connected with the political and social disorders. The far-reaching plan of Dengyō, the reformer of the ninth century, for establishing the center of Japanese Buddhism on Mount Hiei and unifying its church organization, had been partly realized. But even this partial attainment of the ideal of a state church was of merely temporary duration because the relations established between the church hierarchy and the government bureaucracy had had a corrupting influence on both of them. The centralization of government and the consequent accumulation of wealth in the capital were concomitant with the development of ecclesiastical power and the growth of secular aims and motives among the clergy. The government fell into the hands of the Fujiwara oligarchy, who now became the supporters of the church with its rituals and mysteries; and the priesthood degenerated into tools of the ambitious aristocrats, by promising them the supernatural aid of religion, and by supplying them with elaborate ceremonies for the gratification of their over refined tastes. The final result was the collapse of the effeminate court nobility and the rise of the military class. To the eyes of those – few in number – who adhered to the ideal of Dengyō, the political disintegration seemed to be a necessary consequence of the ecclesiastical degeneration. Nichiren was one of these, and the one who was most severe in attacking the existing régime – both political and ecclesiastical.

The chief cause of the degeneration of the Buddhist Church lay, as Nichiren thought, in its promiscuous adoption of Shingon mysticism, a form of Buddhism contaminated with Hinduism and other alien elements. It was this admixture that appealed to the court nobles and supplied them with brilliant spectacles and occult mysteries. It was this secularization, or vulgarization, of religion that had obscured the high ideals of Dengyō and reduced his institutions on Hiei to instruments of greed and vice. Even after the fall of the Fujiwara nobles, the supporters of Hiei, this religion of occult rites exercised its influence far and wide among the people at large through the superstitious practice of magic and sorcery. Therefore, Nichiren’s bitterest attacks were directed against this corrupt religion and its center, Hiei. He firmly believed that the sole way to restore Dengyō’s religion consisted in adhering faithfully and exclusively to the scripture, the Lotus of Truth.

Another form of Buddhism, in which Nichiren saw a curse, was the worship of the Buddha Amita. This was a special development of Buddhist faith which emphasized the simple-hearted devotion to Amita, the Buddha of Infinite Light and Life, the Lord of the Western Paradise. This worship seemed to Nichiren to be a desertion of the Buddha Śākyamuni, the genuine founder of Buddhism and the Lord of the Universe, as he was revealed in the [Lotus Sutra]. The gospel of salvation by the all-redeeming grace of Amita Buddha had crept into the institutions of Hiei, and, later, produced an independent sect, through the personal inspiration of the pietist Hōnen and by its appeal to distressed hearts in the turbulent times toward the end of the twelfth century. Amita Buddha was, in the eyes of Nichiren, nothing but a usurper of the true dignity of Buddha, and the piety of multitudes toward the supposed savior but a manifestation of the hysterical tendency of the age. Nichiren boldly declared that those who believed in this usurper were destined to fall to the nethermost hell, while the Shingon mysticism was denounced by him as a religion that was ruining the vitality of the nation.

Nichiren’s third object of attack was a school of Buddhist monastic discipline. In the twelfth century a reaction against the corruption of the hierarchy took, with certain reforming leaders, the shape of enforcing a strict observance of the monastic rules. They systematized the principles of Buddhist ethics from the standpoint of monastic discipline. This school was called Ritsu, or Disciplinary School, and developed a one-sided rigorism, which manifested in the course of time the evils of formalism. Training in morality, under rules, cultivated a tendency to practice virtue merely for the sake of individual salvation. Self-satisfaction easily grew into self-conceit, which often tempted the adept in these extraordinary ways of life to make his attainments the means of attracting popular admiration and reverence.

Moreover, the slavish and formal observance of disciplinary rules that had originally been intended for Hindu monks, aroused antagonism in those who adhered to Japanese ideas and customs. Nichiren, as a nationalist and an advocate of a broader Buddhism, could not fail to protest vigorously against the Ritsu Buddhists. He called them traitors to their country.

The introduction of a new Buddhist school, called Zen, or the Meditative School, increased the religious confusion. Zen was a simple method of training intuitive insight by the practice of meditation, which aimed at revealing the primordial purity of the cosmic soul in each individual soul. Riddle-like questions were given by the master which the disciples had to solve, sitting in meditation, by avoiding the usual process of reasoning and trying to discover an unexpected light by a flash of illumination. This new method of mental training and spiritual drill commended itself to the minds of military men, and they found in it a very beneficial exercise for keeping their composure and preparing for resolute action. Not only did Zen reject systematic thought on religion and ethics, but it induced those robust but rude men to take pride in self-assertion and often to run to an excess of individualism. Nichiren saw in this new method of Buddhist meditation a rebellion against the genuine Buddhism of the Lotus [Sutra], as well as a fruitful source of rampant selfishness. “Devil” was the name given by Nichiren to the Zenist, and the “devils” were threatening the national integrity of Japan and the authority of the true Buddhism.

Shingon occultism ruining the nation, Ritsu methodism betraying the country to foreign customs, Amita-Buddhism leading people to the hells, and Zen meditation alluring men to devilish pride – these four were declared by Nichiren to be the greatest curses of the age. The violent antagonism of Nichiren was due to his exclusive faith in the teachings of the scripture, Lotus, as representing the genuine and deepest truth of Buddhism. Now, we shall see why and how he arrived at this conviction, and what the Lotus of Truth is.

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The political situation of his time

Let us consider the political and religious conditions against which Nichiren stood forth as a warning prophet.

Early in the thirteenth century, the power of the ruling clan Minamoto passed gradually into the hands of their usurping major-domos, the Hōjō family. The latter ruled with the modest title of Shikken, or Commissioners, with the puppet dictatorship ostensibly over them. Their government was famous for strict execution of justice and for simplicity of administration; and the Commissioners themselves set examples of simple life and stern justice. But their modesty was, in the eyes of those who regarded them as usurpers, merely a means to their ambition – the ambition to secure popularity – and their equity but a method of solidifying their rule. Indeed, the Hōjōs understood how to sacrifice everything in titulo to the power de facto, and to become the real rulers of the nation by pushing aside the Imperial family and the titulary Dictator. A firm peace was established, and economic conditions prospered; but there was something lacking in it. There prevailed a feeling among the thoughtful minority that the “country of the gods” was not being actually ruled by its legitimate rulers, the descendants of the Sun-goddess.

Availing themselves of this unexpressed dissatisfaction, the Imperial party framed a plot against the Hōjōs in 1221, a few months before the birth of Nichiren. The plot was defeated, and the Commissioner government dared to banish prominent members of the Imperial family to remote islands, and to put an infant on the throne. Thus, the Hōjō power was consolidated and immensely increased, although these rulers still retained the modest title of Commissioner. The resentment of the discontented patriots only grew deeper in consequence of the forcible suppression of the movement, but politically their cause had already been hopelessly lost.

It was under these circumstances that Nichiren appeared on the public platform as a spokesman of the patriotic cause whose utterances were deeply tinged with religious fervor. He declared that the nation would be ruined, unless the fundamental principle of the national life should be restored, that is, unless the people were governed by rulers legitimate both in title and authority. Herein lay the national standpoint of his religious ethics, and this plea attracted to his teaching many warriors who were imperialists in principle or covert malcontents against the existing régime. This was also the reason why the Hōjō government, as we shall presently see, treated the clamorous protestant as a traitor.

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The Social Degeneracy and a Buddhist Prediction

[At the time of Nichiren’s birth,] nearly seven hundred years had passed since the introduction of Buddhism into Japan. It had become the religion of the state, and its hierarchies had attained the power and dignity of state authorities, but inner decay was manifesting itself, and the corruption of the clergy was becoming appalling. The central government, firmly established since the seventh century, was disintegrating through the degeneration of the court bureaucracy. The actual power was transferred to the hands of the military clans. The passing of the luxury and grandeur, “Peace and Ease,” of the court nobles in Miyako, and the establishment of the military dictatorship at Kamakura, far away in an eastern province, impressed the people immensely. The cherry blossoms, in full bloom, were suddenly scattered by a frosty storm. Not only did the poets so feel and sing, but the people were aware of the great changes going on around them.

In addition to these changes, the minds of the Buddhist leaders were in turmoil, excited by the prophecy of a great crisis to occur about that time — a crisis not only for Japan, but for the whole world. An old Buddhist tradition distinguished three periods of the Buddhist religion (Dharma, or Law) after the death of its founder. The first thousand years made up the age of the Perfect Law, in which the monastic discipline was strictly observed, and the believers were pious. The second millennium, the age of the Copied Law, was a time during which faith and morality declined, but piety was shown in the foundation of numerous temples and sanctuaries. The third age, the ten thousand years after that, was to be the age of the Latter Law, a reign of vice and strife. Though there were minor variations in the tradition as regards the time divisions, all Japanese Buddhists believed in the apocalyptic legend as a whole.

And since they put Buddha’s death in 949 B.C., they believed that the last of the three ages began in the year 1052 A.D., twenty-four years after the death of the Regent Michinaga, with whom the pomp and splendor of the court life in Miyako reached its culmination.

What form of Buddhism would be best suited to the coming days of degeneration was a question which had occupied the thought of many Buddhist leaders since the ninth century. Saichō, who founded a new center of Buddhism on Mount Hiei, near the then new capital Miyako, in the beginning of the ninth century, meant the foundation to be a preparation for the approaching days of the third age. He said: “Approaching is the end of the age of the Copied Law, and nigh is coming that of the Latter Law; the ripe time for the propagation of the unique truth expounded in the Lotus of Truth” [Lotus Sutra]. Thenceforward, none of the leaders escaped the influence of the prophecy, and serious thought on the Latter Days was growing during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. And it was Nichiren who came to the front as the most ardent follower of Saichō and was destined to encounter perils on that account.

When Nichiren appeared in public with his cry of warning, two hundred years had passed since the supposed beginning of the Latter Days. The vicissitudes of the rising and falling clans, culminating in the establishment of the military dictatorship by the Minamotos, seemed to manifest the dangerous signs of the times. The irremediable corruption of the hierarchies gave clamorous testimony to the decline of the religion.

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NICHIREN: THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

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Nichiren And His Time

If Japan ever produced a prophet or a religious man of prophetic zeal, Nichiren was the man. He stands almost a unique figure in the history of Buddhism, not alone because of his persistence through hardship and persecution, but for his unshaken conviction that he himself was the messenger of Buddha, and his confidence in the future of his religion and country. Not only one of the most learned men of his time, but most earnest in his prophetic aspirations, he was a strong man, of combative temperament, an eloquent speaker, a powerful writer, and a man of tender heart. He was born in 1222, the son of a fisherman, and died in 1282, a saint and prophet.

His time was a most significant epoch in the history of Japan, in political and social, religious and moral aspects. New energies were at work on every side, and new inspirations were the need of the time. Nichiren passed his life of sixty years in combating the prejudices of the age and in giving warnings to the authorities and the people, not only in religious matters but in state affairs. His personality was partly a product of his time, but he lived both in the past and in the future, being convinced of his predestined message and aspiring for future realization of his ideals.

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NICHIREN: THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

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T’ien T’ai’s Doctrines of The Middle Path and Reality – Part 2 of 2

Though T’ien T’ai distinguishes the ten kinds of existence, he emphasizes the interchangeability of their natures and the interdependence of their existence. Take, for instance, the case of Buddha. Although he is above all others, he has in no wise lost the character of the others, or he could not arouse in himself compassion for others. Even in him, the nature of the extremely vicious is still inherent, the only difference between his nature and that of others being that in him the inferior qualities are subdued, and not allowed to work. Similarly, with all others, even in the beings in the hells, Buddhahood, and humanity, and other capacities are still extant, though latent. Viewed in this way, the ten realms of existence and their respective natures are interchangeable and communicable. This point is formulated as the theory of the “mutual participation ” of all existences [Ichinen Sanzen]; and since all ten are present, whether actually or potentially, in each of the ten, the interrelations among them are hundredfold, that is, ten times ten.

To develop and explain the doctrine of the “mutual participation” [Ichinen Sanzen], T’ien T’ai formulated the conditions of existence in any realm in the ten categories of being. The classification is taken from the Lotus Sutra, in which these categories are adored as the key to Buddha’s insight into the world. They are: 1. Essence; 2. attribute; 3. manifestation or mark; 4. potency; 5. function; 6. first cause; 7. secondary cause; 8. effect; 9. retribution; and 10. the consummate unity of all nine. We can easily see that these categories are nothing but an extension and amplification of the original tenet of causality (paticca-samppāda [dependent origination]).

By causality we usually understand today the necessary connection existing between an antecedent and its consequent. But the Buddhist conception of causality is more flexible and is applied to the same kind of necessary link, to any relation of interaction, interdependence, correlation, or co-ordination, founded on an intrinsic necessity. The necessity may be a link existing between the beings or phenomena, or between the thing and the knowledge of it, or vice versa. In this respect, the Buddhist idea of causation covers the same ground as the ratio efficiens [productive reason], as formulated in Scholastic philosophy. Although all these relations may finally be reduced to the terms of antecedent and consequent, the Buddhist would not confine the causal relation within the idea of time relation.

This is a consequence of the conception that all existences are correlated by the virtue of the same dharmatā [nature of a thing], and that therefore the relations existing among them are mutual, both in reality and in thought. The cause, in the usual sense of the word, conditions the consequence, but the consequence no less conditions the cause, though the mode of conditioning differs. A cause without its consequence is nonsense, and, at least so far, the former is conditioned by the latter. In this way, the application of causality was extended, and the formula of causality, cited above in the original wording by Buddha, may be applied to the ten categories, as the mutual relations conditioning one the other. Take, for instance, the categories of “essence,” “attribute,” and “mark.” Because there is an essence, its attributes manifest themselves; because there are attributes, we know that there is the essence; because there are attributes, the marks appear; because there are marks, the attributes are discernible, etc. In this way the mutual dependence of the categories is established, and applied to the existence of every being, which is made up of a certain configuration and concatenation of the conditions, and in which the conditions of the categories are necessarily present.

It may make the position of T’ien T’ai clearer to speak, in this connection, of a division of Buddhist thought about the idea of causality. The question was whether causality should be understood as a serial causation or as a relation of mutual dependence, and the difference between the two conceptions involved the difference between a static and a dynamic view of the world.

The one school, which took the serial view of causality, traced, forward and backward, the evolution of the phenomenal world out of the primeval entity, and the involution of the former into the latter. The other school emphasized the interrelation and coordination of things, almost without regard to the questions of origin and final destiny. The latter was T’ien T’ai’s position and is known by the name “Reality-View,” in contradistinction to the “Origination-View” or “Emanation Theory,” of the other. Whatever the difference may signify, and whatever the original teaching of Buddha may have been, the “Origination View” always inclined to take the derivative phenomena more or less as illusions; while the “Reality-View” devoted its attention to a close examination of existences as they are and inclined to justify every being as a necessary phenomenon in the world of mutual interdependence. The former aims at reabsorption of the individual minds into the primeval Mind, while the latter sees in the full presentation of facts and relations the consummate realization of universal enlightenment. Thus, almost contrary to our expectation, the philosophy of the “Origination View” is static, while the “Reality-View” tends to be dynamic. The theory of “mutual participation” [Ichinen Sanzen] was a result of T’ien T’ai’s conception of causality in terms of correlation and coordination.

Another group of categories, to explain life in group (dhātu [the ultimate constituents of a whole]) is threefold: the stage on which a certain group of beings play their role and manifest their nature; the constituents which supply materials and components to the stage; and the individuals making up the realm.

Now all of these kinds of being, and the categories of existence, are essential to the consideration of reality, of the true nature of any being. The Middle Path view consists in taking up all these conditions of being, and in summing them up in one term, that is, “Reality” – the reality as it is, as it is conditioned, as it is grounded, and as it ought to be. Thus, in this view of reality is expressed the conception of Dharma as the consummation of the various views held by different schools, and as the final unification of the manifold aspects implied in the term Dharma. In fine, the T’ien T’ai Buddhist conception of reality consists in harmoniously uniting all aspects of existence, and in realizing the working of the many-sided Dharma, even in one being; even in one particle of dust, as the followers of T’ien T’ai are fond of saying.

To recapitulate, T’ien T’ai had examined the manifold views of reality, and found justification in each of them; and his ambition was to unify them, by looking at every particular existence as if it were an adequate representative of the whole cosmos (dharma dhātu). His conception of reality is equivalent to seeing everything sub specie aeternitatis [in a universal perspective], but his aeternitas [the divine personification of eternity] differed greatly from that of Spinoza in being not monistic, but “according to the three thousand aspects” [Ichinen Sanzen] – ten realms to each of ten, this hundred in the ten categories of existence, and this thousand multiplied by the three categories of group existence.

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