Category Archives: WONS

WONS

Hierarchy of Gods and Their Merits

Incomparably superior to the Wheel-turning Noble King are the Four Great Heavenly Kings including Vaiśravaṇa, who are the great kings of the Four Continents. Indra is the lord of Trāyastriṃsá (the heaven of the 33 gods) while the King of Devils in the Sixth Heaven dwells on top of the realm of desire and controls the triple world. They acquired such good fortune by virtue of observing the ten good precepts to the highest degree and through giving the root of goodness equally to all without discrimination. The King of the Mahābrahman Heaven, who is the lord of the triple world, dwells on the summit of the world of form waited on by the King of Devils and Indra, and he controls the triple-thousand worlds. This is the merit received from having practiced not only the meditation to eliminate worldly passions but also the Four Infinite Virtues (of benevolence, compassion, giving joy, and selflessness).

Hōren-shō, Letter to Hōren, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 46

d3b, WONS, 2buddhas

Chanting and Seeing the Buddha in One’s Mind

Like other Buddhists of his day, Nichiren understood the six paths as actual cosmological realms into which beings are born repeatedly in accordance with their deeds, and the four holy paths of śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and buddhas, as higher states achieved through cultivation. But at the same time, he understood all ten realms as lying “within ourselves.” In his major treatise “On the Contemplation of the Mind and the Object of Worship” (Kanjin honzon shō), Nichiren explains this by way of illustration. When one looks at another person’s face, they appear sometimes ecstatic, sometimes furious, and sometimes calm, or they might wear expressions of foolishness or perversity. Rage, he explains, is the hell realm; greed, the realm of hungry ghosts; foolishness, the realm of beasts; perversity, the asura realm; joy, the heavenly realm; and calm, the human realm. The four holy paths do not appear outwardly but can be known by introspection. Our understanding that all things are insubstantial and fleeting reflects the realms of the two vehicles of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas within our own mind. The affection that even a hardened criminal feels for his wife and children is an expression of the inner bodhisattva realm. Because the nine realms within one’s own mind can thus be demonstrated, Nichiren says, one should believe that the buddha realm is present as well.

In the above quotation, “seeing” the Buddha in one’s mind might suggest a specific cognition or insight, but for Nichiren, this meant chanting the daimoku, the expression of faith in the Lotus Sūtra. Though he encouraged study and intellectual understanding of the Buddhist teachings, the benefits of the daimoku, he said, are the same whether chanted by a wise person or a foolish one. He illustrated this by the analogies of fire that burns without intent to do so, or a newborn infant nourished unknowingly by its mother’s milk. At the beginning of [Chapter 2], when Śākyamuni Buddha first begins to speak, his opening words are: “Profound and immeasurable is the wisdom of the buddhas.” “What is this wisdom?” Nichiren asks. “It is the embodiment of the real aspect of all dharmas, the ten suchnesses realized by the Buddha. What is that embodiment? It is Namu Myōhō-renge-kyō.”

Two Buddhas, p70-71
WONS

Clarifying the Truth of the Buddhist Dharma

The wise do not forget times of distress, even though they may be in times of peace and tranquility. The foolish, on the other hand, do not realize approaching danger and continue to enjoy living in comfort. It is said that a great fire fears a small amount of water, and a large tree pays attention to a small bird so that its twigs will not be broken off. Likewise, wise persons are always cautious not to slander the Mahāyāna teachings. Consequently, in the event such an offense is committed, Bodhisattva Vasubandhu vowed to cut off his tongue; Bodhisattva Aśvaghoṣa said he would behead himself. Moreover, Grand Master Chi-ts’ang served Grand Master T’ien-t’ai as a stepladder; Tripitaka Master Hsüan-chuang made a trip to India, the land of the Buddha, in search of the Dharma; Tripiṭaka Master Amoghavajra went to India in order to resolve his doubt; and Grand Master Dengyō went abroad to China to master the Dharma. They thus risked their lives in order to clarify the truth of the Buddhist Dharma and to uphold it.

Toki-dono Gosho, A Letter to Lord Toki, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 117

d21b, WONS, 2buddhas

Opening the Buddha Realm within the Nine Realms

Nichiren took the ichinen sanzen concept that Zhiyi had briefly delineated and made it the foundation of his teaching. For Nichiren, ichinen sanzen was “the father and mother of the buddhas.” He often referred to it in its “short form,” so to speak, as the mutual inclusion of the ten dharma realms… . Because the “ten suchnesses” (referred to at the beginning of the “Skillful Means” chapter) and the mutual inclusion of the ten realms are both concepts integral to the single thought-moment that is three thousand realms, the one implied the other, and Nichiren could take “the real aspect of all dharmas” or the ten suchnesses as pointing to the mutual inclusion of the ten realms. For him, this teaching was unique to the Lotus Sūtra and was what qualified it as the “wonderful dharma.” In one passage, he writes: “The sūtras that the Buddha preached for more than forty years before the Lotus do not set forth the mutual inclusion of the ten realms. And because they do not set forth the mutual inclusion of the ten realms, one cannot know the buddha realm within one’s own mind, and because one does not know the buddha realm within one’s own mind, the buddhas do not manifest externally either. … But now with the Lotus Sūtra, the buddha realm within the nine realms was opened, and those who had heard the Buddha’s forty and more years of preaching — bodhisattvas, persons of the two vehicles, and ordinary beings of the six paths — could for the first time see the buddha realm within themselves.”

Two Buddhas, p69-70
WONS

An Excellent Medicine

On reflection, in order to cure a serious sickness we have to prepare an excellent medicine. Likewise to save offenders of the five rebellious sins and slanderers of the True Dharma, there is no way but to administer to them the essential dharma (five characters of myō, hō, ren, ge, and kyō).

Soya Nyūdō-dono-gari Gosho, A Letter to Lay Priest Lord Soya, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 147.

d18b, d19b, d25b, WONS

Persuasive and Aggressive Propagation

Now, two ways of propagation, the persuasive and aggressive, are incompatible with each other just as water and fire are. The fire dislikes the water, and the water hates the fire. Those who prefer the persuasive tend to laugh at those who practice the aggressive and vice versa. So, when the land is full of evil and ignorant people, the persuasive means should take precedence as preached in the “Peaceful Practices” (14th) chapter of the Lotus Sūtra. However, when there are many cunning slanderers of the True Dharma, the aggressive means should take precedence as preached in the “Never-Despising Bodhisattva” (20th) chapter.

It is the same as using cold water when it is hot and fire when it is cold. Plants and trees are followers of the sun, so they dislike the cold moon. Bodies of water are followers of the moon, so they lose their true nature when it is hot. As there are lands of evil men as well as those of slanderers of the True Dharma in this Latter Age of Degeneration, there should be both aggressive and persuasive means of spreading the True Dharma. Therefore, we have to know whether Japan today is a land of evil men or that of slanderers in order to decide which of the two ways we should use.

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 111

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Giving the Soul of the Lotus Sūtra to Your Baby

The Sun Goddess Amaterasu, giving a gem to her brother, Susanoo-no-mikoto, gave birth to a beautiful son. She named him Masaya-akatsu, meaning “my son and the Sun God.” Similarly, as I, Nichiren, gave the soul of the Lotus Sūtra to your baby soon to be born, your baby will be just like my own. It is said in the Lotus Sutra: “There is a great gem as valuable as anything in the world;” and “this gem of unsurpassed value (Lotus Sutra) is given to man without asking.” Moreover, Śākyamuni Buddha stated: “Everybody is My child.” I feel the same way. I feel as though I were given a precious child without asking. How fortunate I am! It is a blessing! I will write you again.

Shijō Kingo Nyōbō Gosho, A Letter to the Wife of Shijō Kingo, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 60-62

d3b, d19b, WONS

Difficulty in Meeting the Lotus Sūtra

The Lotus Sūtra preaches in chapter 2, “Expedients,” of the first fascicle that to have the opportunity to hear teachers of this sūtra is rare even during innumerable kalpa (aeons) of time. The sūtra also states in chapter 14, “peaceful Practices,” of the fifth fascicle that it is difficult to hear even the title of the Lotus Sūtra in the innumerable countries. The above indicates how difficult it is for us to meet the Lotus Sūtra, and problems involved to even hear the title of the Lotus Sūtra. Therefore, the Suśānta Buddha and the Buddha of Many Treasures, who appeared in the world before the time of Śākyamuni Buddha did not even mention the title of the Lotus Sūtra. Even Śākyamuni Buddha, who appeared in this world to expound the Lotus Sūtra, did not reveal its title for 42 years, until at the age of 72 He finally chanted the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma and expounded the sūtra for the first time in India. Nothing, however, not even the name of the sūtra was heard in such large countries as China, or Japan. Nothing about this sūtra was heard of for over 1,000 years after the extinction of the Buddha. Finally, after 1,350 years or so, only the title of the Lotus Sūtra was made known.

This is why the opportunity to encounter the Lotus Sūtra is compared to uḍumbara flowers, which are said to blossom only once in 3,000 years. The difficulty is also compared to the story of a one-eyed turtle finding a floating piece of wood in the ocean in order to dry its shell once in innumerable kalpa (aeons). Suppose that one sets up a needle on the earth and throws a poppy seed down from the palace of the King of the Mahā-brahman Heaven high up in the sky in such a way as the tip of the needle pierces through the seed. This is almost impossible, yet it is even more difficult to encounter the Lotus Sūtra after the passing of the Buddha. Suppose one sets up a needle on top of Mt. Sumeru and throws a piece of string on a windy day from another Mt. Sumeru standing too far to see. It is impossible to thread the needle set up on the first Mt. Sumeru. It is, however, even more difficult to experience the daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra.

Therefore, you should realize that being able to chant the daimoku of this sūtra is an experience more wonderful than a blind person gaining his eyesight and seeing his parents for the first time and rarer than a man being captured by a mighty enemy and being released by a special pardon to be reunited with his wife and children.

Hokke Daimoku Shō, Treatise on the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 38-39

WONS

Reason for Transmigrating the Six Realms

The reason why those who had received the seed of Buddhahood in the eternal past have been transmigrating the six realms (lower states of existence) ever since for as long as “500 dust-particle kalpa” without attaining Buddhahood, and those who had heard the Lotus Sūtra at the time of the Great Universal Wisdom Buddha have been undergoing transmigration in the six realms ever since for the “3,000 dust-particle kalpa” was because they abandoned the great teaching of the Lotus, seeking refuge instead in expedient and Hinayāna sūtras preached forty years or so before the Lotus Sūtra. Later they gave up faith in those expedient sūtras, too, and thus have continued to transmigrate through the six realms.

Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 42

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Holding on to Unwavering Faith

Not only I, Nichiren, but also my disciples will reach the land of Buddha unfailingly so long as we all hold on to unwavering faith no matter what difficulty confronts us. I have always told my disciples not to have a doubt about the lack of heavenly protection and not to lament the lack of tranquility in this world. I am afraid, however, that they might all have doubts about these and no longer listen to me. It seems only natural that ordinary people, in face of reality, will forget what they promised. Having pity on their families, my lay followers must lament being separated from wives and children in this world. However, had they ever been truly separated from their beloved families throughout many lives in the past? Had they ever been separated for the sake of Buddhism? Theirs must have been the same sad separation. I, Nichiren, should continue upholding the Lotus Sūtra and go to the Pure Land of Mt. Sacred Eagle, so that I will be able to return to this world to guide the people.

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 109