Now is the time when you, disciples of Nichiren, should make up your mind. Exchanging this spoiled body for the Lotus Sūtra is like exchanging a stone for gold and dung for rice.
Shuju Onfurumai Gosho, Reminiscences: from Tatsunokuchi to Minobu, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Biography and Disciples, Volume 5, Pages 24
When we open the Lotus Sūtra, we can see its teachings as clearly as looking at our face in a mirror. It is similar to recognizing the color of grasses and trees as the sun rises. It is stated in the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning, “The truth has not been revealed during the first forty years or so.”
Sennichi-ama Gozen Gohenji, A Reply to My Lady Nun Sennichi, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 145-146
The quote about truth not being revealed in the first 40 years of Śākyamuni’s teaching is used throughout Nichiren’s writings to support the revelation in Chapter 2, Expedients, of the Lotus Sutra:
“Śāriputra! I also expound various teachings to all living beings only for the purpose of revealing the One Buddha-Vehicle. There is no other vehicle, not a second or a third. Śāriputra! All the present Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters also do the same….”
With that I mind, I think it is useful to read the context in which the Buddha says, “[A]fter more than forty years the truth has not yet been revealed.”
Using the Reeves translation:
At that time Magnificently Adorned Bodhisattva spoke once again to the Buddha: “World-Honored One, the Dharma preached by the World-Honored One is inconceivable. The ability and nature of living beings is also inconceivable. And the gateway to the Dharma of emancipation is also inconceivable. Though we no longer have doubts about any of the Dharma preached by the Buddha, out of fear that various living beings will be perplexed, we repeatedly ask the World-Honored One about it.
“For the more than forty years since the Tathagata attained the Way, for the sake of the living you have continued to preach—the meaning of the four modes of all things, the meaning of suffering, the meaning of emptiness, of impermanence, of no enduring self, the absence of greatness, the absence of pettiness, non-arising, non-extinction, one character, absence of character, Dharma nature, Dharma character, being originally empty and quiet, non-coming, non-going, non-appearing, and non-disappearing.
“Those who have heard it have obtained the warm Dharma, the highest Dharma, the best Dharma in the world. They have obtained fruits of a stream-enterer, fruits of being a once-returner, fruits of being a nonreturner, fruits of being an arhat, and the pratyekabuddha way. They have aspired to become awakened. They have ascended the first stage, the second stage, and the third stage, and reached the tenth stage.
“In what sense is what you preached in the past, the meaning of all the buddhas, different from what you preach today? One hears that if bodhisattvas practice only the profound and unexcelled Great Vehicle Sutra of Innumerable Meanings, without fail they will soon attain unexcelled awakening. Is that true? Please, World-Honored One, out of compassion and pity for all, analyze this for the sake of living beings everywhere, and leave no doubt in the minds of all those in the present and future who hear the Dharma.”
Then the Buddha said to Great Adornment Bodhisattva: “Good, good! Great and good son, you have raised good questions for the Tathagata about the subtle and wonderful meaning of the profound and unexcelled Great Vehicle. You should know that you will greatly enrich many, pleasing human and heavenly beings, and relieving living beings from suffering. This is the truth of great compassion, a truth that is not in vain. For this reason you will surely and quickly attain unexcelled awakening. You will also enable all living beings in the present and future to accomplish unexcelled awakening.
“Good sons, after sitting upright for six years under the bodhi tree at the place of the Way, I could attain supreme awakening. With the eyes of a buddha I could understand that not all the teachings could be proclaimed. Why was that? I knew that the natures and the desires of living beings were not the same. As their natures and their desires were not the same, I taught the Dharma in various ways. I used the power of skillful means to teach the Dharma in various ways. And after more than forty years the truth has not yet been revealed. This is why there are differences in the way living beings take the Way and why they do not attain unexcelled awakening quickly.
“Good sons, the Dharma is like water that washes away dirt. Just as the water in a well, a pond, a stream, a river, a valley, a ditch, or a great sea is equally effective in washing away all kinds of dirt, so Dharma water effectively washes away the filth that afflicts living beings.
“Good sons, the nature of water is the same, but a stream, a river, a well, a pond, a valley stream, a ditch, and a great sea are distinct and different from each other. The nature of the Dharma is like this. There is equal effectiveness and no differentiation in washing away the waste of afflictions, but the three teachings, the four fruits, and the two ways are not one and the same.
“Good sons, though the water washes equally well, a well is not a pond, a pond is not a stream or a river, and a valley stream or a ditch is not a sea. Just as the Tathagata, the world’s hero, is free in the Dharma, all of the teachings in his sermons are like this. Though early, middle, and late teachings equally wash away the delusions of living beings, the beginning is not the middle, and the middle is not the end. Teachings at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end are the same in expression but different in meaning.
As a bonus, I offer this quote from Ichidai Goji Keizu, Genealogical Chart of the Buddha’s Lifetime Teachings in Five Periods (Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 242):
The Sūtra of Infinite Meaning states: “The Buddha has been preaching various teachings through expedient means in order to lead all the people to the True Dharma. For forty years or so till today – (three weeks for preaching the Flower Garland Sūtra, 12 years for the Āgama sūtras, 30 years for the Hōdō sūtras and the Wisdom Sūtra, totaling 42 years; the Treatise on the Dharma World, too, states 42 years) – the truth has not been revealed” (in chapter 2, “Preaching”). The sūtra also preaches: “By means of the pre-Lotus sūtras, one will never attain supreme Buddhahood no matter how long one practices his training. Why? Because the great direct way to enlightenment is not preached in those sūtras, hence one encounters many difficulties in walking in steep and dangerous ways” (chapter 3, “Ten Merits”). It further preaches, “There is no suffering in practicing the great direct way” (chapter 3, “Ten Merits”).
I hope to touch on these topics in the final days of this 21-day stay-cation retreat.
There are ten similes preached in the “Medicine King Bodhisattva” chapter, the first of which is the simile of a great ocean. Let me speak of this simile. In the continent of Jambudvīpa, where we human beings live, there are 2,500 rivers. In the continent of Aparagodānīya there exists 5,000 rivers. Altogether 25,900 rivers flow in the four continents lying in the four directions from Mt. Sumeru. Some of these rivers are as long as 100 or 250 miles. Others are as short as 25 miles, 100 yards, or six feet. None of these rivers, however, can compare to an ocean in depth.
Likewise, the Lotus Sūtra is supreme among all the sūtras—all the sūtras expounded before the Lotus Sūtra such as the Flower Garland Sūtra, the Āgama sūtras, the Hōdō sūtras, the Wisdom Sūtra, the Revealing the Profound and Secret Sūtra, the Amitābha Sūtra, the Nirvana Sūtra, the Great Sun Buddha Sūtra, the Diamond Peak Sūtra, the Sūtra on the Act of Perfection, and the Sūtra of Mystic Glorification—all the sūtras preached by Śākyamuni Buddha, the Great Sun Buddha, the Buddha of Infinite Life, Medicine Master Buddha as well as all the sūtras preached by all the Buddhas in the past, present and future.
Yakuō-bon Tokui-shō, The Essence of the “Medicine King Bodhisattva” Chapter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 28
Miao-lê also preaches in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra: “If a phrase of the Lotus Sūtra fills your heart, you can be sure it will help you to reach the other shore of enlightenment. If you contemplate and practice the Lotus Sūtra, it is sure to be a ship which can cross the great ocean of birth and death and reach the other shore of enlightenment. Rejoice at hearing the Lotus Sūtra and always expound the sūtra by becoming a master or an attendant. Whether you believe or abandon it, the Lotus Sūtra can open the way to Buddhahood once you hear it. Whether you follow or disobey the Lotus Sūtra, you will become a Buddha in the end because of the merit of having heard the sūtra.” I think that the phrases, ”Whether you believe it or abandon it” and “Whether you follow or disobey the Lotus Sūtra” are truly impressive.
Ichidai Shōgyō Tai-I, Outline of All the Holy Teachings of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 84
Sectarian students, confused with doctrines of their own schools or not knowing the sixteenth chapter on “The Life Span of the Buddha” of the Lotus Sūtra, mistake the moon in the water for the real one; they try to go into the water to grasp this illusion or tie it up with a rope. In T’ien-t’ai’s words “they look at only the moon in the pond, without knowing the moon in the sky.”
Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 49
It is preached in the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 7 (“Medicine King Bodhisattva” chapter), “This sūtra is a good medicine for the diseases of the people of the Jambudvīpa.” Bear in mind that this scriptural statement is preached in the Lotus Sūtra. Although the holy teachings of the Buddha preached during His lifetime are all the words of the Buddha, which from the eternal past have never been in error, this Lotus Sūtra especially is the most truthful of all the true teachings as Śākyamuni Buddha Himself states, “Having abandoned the expedients, I preach this sūtra honestly.” This is why the Buddha of Many Treasures bore witness to the truth of the Lotus Sūtra and various Buddhas gathered from all the worlds throughout the universe stretched their tongues ̄to touch the Brahma Heaven. How then can the Lotus Sūtra be false?
Kaen Jōgō Gosho, Writing About Lengthening the Life Span, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Pages 112-113
The human mind is indefinite and ever changing. While I already thought it was wonderful that you had faith in me while I was in Sado Province as an exile, you now sent Lord Lay Priest, your husband, all the way here on Mt. Minobu. How kind you are! We have been separated by provinces, and years and months have gone by, thus I was afraid that you had become lax in your faith. Knowing that your faith is all the more steadfast, earning a great deal of merit, however, I can’t help but believe the relationship we share is not limited to one or two lifetimes.
Since it is difficult to have faith in the Lotus Sūtra, Śākyamuni Buddha helps us to believe in the sūtra by appearing as a child, parent, or wife of a human being. You have parents but no child. As it is preached in the Lotus Sūtra, “All beings living in it (the Sahā World) are My own children,” Lord Preacher Śākyamuni Buddha is the compassionate father of Lord Lay Priest of Kō and My Lady the Nun. And I, Nichiren, am your child, though in order to save the people of Japan I was not born in Sado and stayed in Kamakura instead. This good relationship we shared in the past is valuable.
Kō Nyūdō-dono Gohenji, A Reply to Lord Lay Priest of Kō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 158-159
In the Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, Miao-lê writes: “The single moment of understanding by faith is foremost of the practices in the essential section.” The first of the four depths of faith in the time when the sūtra was taught is the single moment of understanding by faith and the first of the five stages of practice after the Buddha’s passing away is the stage of rejoicing. Within these two can be found all 100 realms, 1,000 aspects, and 3,000 modes of existences as if in a treasure chest. They are the gate out of which all the Buddhas of all time and space emerge.
Shishin Gohon-shō, The Four Depths of Faith and Five Stages of Practice, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page101
I wonder what the Buddha had in mind when He declared in the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning, “I had preached the Dharma variously through expedient means without revealing the truth for forty years or so.” The Buddha thus invalidated the teachings of all the sūtras preached in the first 40 years or so, including such teachings as “Rebirth in the Land of Utmost Bliss,” like an outdated living will of parents. The Buddha further stated in this sūtra, “With those teachings, no one can attain enlightenment even if one practices them for innumerable and incalculable kalpa.” In the second chapter on the “Expedients” of the Lotus Sūtra the Buddha also preached, “Honestly discarding the expedient teachings, I will expound only the unsurpassed way.” He preaches to us to discard expedient teachings. It means that we should abandon the teachings that were expounded during the forty years or so, …
Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō-dono Gosho, A Letter to Lord Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 139.
In the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra, it was revealed that the Buddha had attained perfect enlightenment in the eternal past, making it untenable to assert that He attained Buddhahood for the first time in this world. Thus the Eternal Buddha doctrine destroyed the Buddhahood resulting from the Four Teachings (all Buddhist scriptures other than the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra). As the Buddhahood resulting from the Four Teachings became untenable, the way leading to Buddhahood shown in those Four Teachings proved to be invalid. Thus the Ten Realm doctrine preached in the pre-Lotus and the theoretical section of the Lotus was destroyed and the doctrine of causal relationship among the eternal Ten Realms was established in the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra. This is the doctrine of the “true cause and true result.” In this relationship the Nine Realms are all included in the realm of the Eternal Buddha, and the realm of the Buddha is in each of the eternal Nine Realms. This is truly the “mutually-possessed characteristics of the Ten Realms,” “100 realms and 1,000 aspects of existence” and “3,000 in one thought.”
Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 48-49