Category Archives: WONS

WONS

The Merit of Chanting the Five-Character Daimoku

It is preached in the Lotus Sūtra … that the merits of all the sūtras preached during the period of 40 years or so are all stored in the one Lotus Sūtra and the threefold bodied Buddhas in all the worlds throughout the universe are all Buddhas in manifestation of the one Śākyamuni Buddha. Therefore, “one Buddha equals all Buddhas,” and the two characters of myō and hō include all Buddhas. Accordingly, the merit of chanting the five-character daimoku of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is enormous indeed. On the other hand, the titles of various Buddhas and sūtras are expedient teachings, which were opened to reveal the true one by the Lotus Sūtra. The five-character daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra is the one that opened them to reveal the true teaching, and therefore we should chant the daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra.

Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō, Treastise on Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 20-21

d4b, WONS

Why the Buddha Expounded the Lotus Sūtra

Dividing the preachings of fifty years in His lifetime into two, provisional and true, Śākyamuni Buddha Himself clearly declared that we should discard provisional sūtras and seek refuge in the true sūtras. Thus, it is stated in the second chapter on “Expedients” of the Lotus Sūtra that the Buddha preached provisional sūtras in forty years or so because He was afraid that “the people would be unable to understand and sink in pain if He praised only the way to Buddhahood.” He, nevertheless, was also concerned that “if I guide people merely with Hinayāna dharma, even just one person, I would be committing the sin of greed.” Therefore, in order to avoid committing such a sin and upholding “His basic purpose of leading people into Mahāyāna teaching,” the Buddha expounded the Lotus Sūtra, achieving His purpose.

Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 27

d15b, d16b, d25b, d26b, WONS

The Arrival of the Stupa of Seven Treasures

Everyone, you and I and heaven and earth, know that the Buddha is a man of truth. It is not one or two persons but hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands of people who know this. Gods, dragons, and asura demons in the triple world of illusion (realm of desire, realm of form and formless realm) know it. All the people, gods, men of the Two Vehicles and great bodhisattvas who have gathered together from all over India, four continents of the world, six heavens in the realm of desire, realm of form, formless realm and from all the worlds in the universe know this. They all heard the Buddha condemn the men of the Two Vehicles. Upon returning to their own lands, they told everyone what they had heard from Śākyamuni Buddha in the Sahā World. Therefore, everyone in the entire universe without exception knew that such men of the Two Vehicles as Kāśyapa and Śāripūtra would never achieve Buddhahood and that they therefore should not give offerings to them.

Nevertheless, the Buddha suddenly retracted His words and stated in the Lotus Sūtra, preached in the last eight years, that the men of the Two Vehicles could obtain Buddhahood. How could a large assembly of men and gods believe in this? Not only did they find it hard to believe, they began finding contradictions between the Lotus and earlier sūtras. As a result His preachings over fifty years were about to be judged false. While they were wondering whether or not it was that the Buddha had not revealed the truth during the first forty years or so of His preaching and that it was a demon in heaven appearing to be the Buddha who preached the Lotus Sūtra in the last eight years, the Buddha seriously proceeded to define the times, places and names of those men of the Two Vehicles as future Buddhas. That is to say, the Buddha declared in which lands and when they would attain Buddhahood and what disciples they would have then.

Lord Śākyamuni Buddha in effect seemed to have contradicted Himself. It was not without reason that non-Buddhist heretics (gedō) laughed at Him as a big liar. Accused of contradiction in His own words by the dumbfounded crowd of men and gods, Lord Śākyamuni Buddha tried in vain to dispel their doubts by explaining them away one way or another. Just when the Buddha was having a difficult time to quiet them, the Buddha of Many Treasures of the Hōjō (Treasure Purity) World to the east emerged from the earth in front of Him aboard the great Stupa of seven treasures, 500 yojana high and 250 yojana wide, and ascended up high in the sky. It was as though the full moon appeared over the mountain range in the midst of a pitch-dark night. From this great Stupa of seven treasures hanging in the sky without touching the earth or sky sounded the crisp voice of the Buddha of Many Treasures attesting that Śākyamuni Buddha spoke truly. It is declared in the Lotus Sūtra, chapter 11 on the “Appearance of the Stupa of Treasures”:

Just then resounded the loud voice of the Buddha of Many Treasures in the stupa of treasures praising Śākyamuni Buddha, “Excellent, excellent! You, Śākyamuni Buddha, have preached to this large crowd the Sūtra of the Lotus Flowers of the Wonderful Dharma, representing the great wisdom of the Buddha, who perceived the absolute truth in every phenomenon and who makes no distinction among all living beings. It teaches the way of bodhisattvas, and is recognized and upheld by various Buddhas. You are right; You are correct. What You, Śākyamuni Buddha, have preached is all true.”

Then Lord Śākyamuni and His funjin Buddhas manifested in various worlds all over the universe too attested to the truth of the Lotus Sūtra as it is stated in its twenty-first chapter of “The Divine Powers of the Buddha”:

At this point, Śākyamuni Buddha displayed a great superhuman power in the presence of a large crowd, including not only the countless bodhisattvas, such as Mañjuśrī, who had long lived in this Sahā World, but also other men and non-human beings. He stretched out His broad, long tongue upward until its tip reached the Brahma Heaven and emitted the rays of light from all of His pores to shine on the entire universe. All Buddhas sitting on the lion-shaped thrones under the jeweled trees in their respective worlds in the whole universe also stretched out their broad, long tongues and emitted countless rays of light.

“Then Śākyamuni Buddha,” says the twenty-second chapter on the “Transmission” of the Lotus Sūtra, “sent back those funjin Buddhas who had come from all over the universe to their homelands, and said to the Buddha of Many Treasures, ‘May this Stupa of the Buddha of Many Treasures be where it was.’ ”

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 41-43

WONS

Dōmyō-jin and Dōshō-jin

The human body is equipped with two shoulders — left and right — and a god resides on each one. One of the gods is called Dōmyō-jin and the other is Dōshō-jin. The King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, Sun Deity and Moon Deity cause these two gods to protect us from the time of our conception in the womb to the end of our lives, by sticking near us like our shadow and eyes. They report to the heavenly beings about our misdeeds and virtuous actions without fail. This is preached in the Flower Garland Sūtra, which is expounded by Grand Master T’ien-t’ai in his Great Concentration and Insight, fascicle 8.

Shijō Kingo-dono Nyōbō Gohenji, A Reply to the Wife of Lord Shijō Kingo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Pages 121-122

d25b, WONS

‘Divine Powers of the Buddha’ Omens

The Buddha, moreover, showed the ten supernatural powers in the “Divine Powers of the Buddha” chapter. These divine powers were far superior to the omens displayed in the “Introductory” and “Emergence of the Bodhisattvas from the Earth” chapters. In the case of the “Introductory” chapter, the rays of light emitted from the forehead of the Buddha shone on 18,000 lands to the east. Compared to this, similar rays of light shown in the “Divine Powers of the Buddha” chapter shone on all the worlds throughout the universe. The trembling of the earth described in the “Introductory” chapter was limited to the triple thousand worlds, but the great earthquakes of the “Divine Powers of the Buddha” chapter covered all the worlds of numerous Buddhas, where the earth trembled in six different ways. Compared to the great omens described in the “Divine Powers of the Buddha” chapter, other omens were indeed inferior.

Zuisō Gosho, Writing on Omens, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 123

WONS

The Totality of the Buddhist Law

The true Buddhist way does not exist outside of the truth in the mundane world. It is stated in the Sūtra of the Golden Splendor, “If one fully understands the worldly law, one knows the Buddhist law.” It is preached in the Nirvana Sūtra, “Non-Buddhist scriptures and commentaries in the secular world all were in reality preached by the Buddha. They are nothing but Buddhist teachings.” The Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 6, also declares, “All the activities and daily works of people in the secular world do not contradict the truth preached by the Buddha.” Collating the two scriptural citations from the Sūtra of the Golden Splendor and the Nirvana Sūtra with that from the Lotus Sūtra, Grand Master Miao-lê explains the mind of the Buddha. According to Grand Master Miao-lê, although the two sūtras (the Sūtra of the Golden Splendor and the Nirvana Sūtra) seem doctrinally profound, their doctrines are superficial when compared to the Lotus Sūtra. Namely, in those two sūtras the worldly law is explained in connection to the Buddhist law. In the Lotus Sūtra, however, the worldly law is interpreted as the totality of the Buddhist law. The pre-Lotus sūtras preach, “Everything is begotten from the mind, which is like the great earth. Grass and trees which grow on the earth is like all things that exist.” The Lotus Sūtra, on the contrary, states, “the mind is the great earth, which is grass and trees.” The pre-Lotus sūtras would say, “Mind is as clear as the moon, and as pure as a flower,” whereas the Lotus Sūtra would say, “The moon is nothing but mind, and flower is nothing but mind.”

Contemplating this, I am sure that the bale of polished rice you donated is not just a bale of rice; it is life.

Jiri Kyuō Gosho, Phenomenal Offering and Noumenal Offering, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 99

WONS

Doctrines Progressively Closer to the Truth

Smiling gently, the master stopped the traveler and said:

They say that a knotgrass eater gets used to its sharp taste, and an insect living in a honey bucket does not smell its offensive odor. Affected by surroundings, people tend to lose their sense of judgement. So you take a good word for a bad one, call the slanderer of the True Dharma a holy man, and suspect the true teacher of being a false one. You are utterly confused and have committed a grave sin. Now listen carefully, I will explain in detail what caused your confusion.

Śākyamuni Buddha’s lifetime preachings in five periods were done in sequence and proper use of provisional and true teachings. He began with provisional doctrines which were easier to understand by less prepared people with lesser capacity. Gradually, the Buddha preached doctrines progressively closer to the truth and more difficult to comprehend, as the listeners became better prepared, until finally He revealed the ultimate truth in preaching the Lotus Sūtra.

Risshō Ankoku-ron, Treatise on Spreading Peace Throughout the Country by Establishing the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Pages 124-125

WONS

True Words of the Lotus Sūtra

The Buddha is a man of true words, and that is the reason why He is called a holy or great man. Wise men, sages, or non-Buddhist (geten and gedō) hermits must have been so named because they were men of true words. The Buddha is called a great man because He is superior to all these people. This great man, the Buddha declares in the second “Expedients” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra: “Buddhas have come to this world for the sole purpose of carrying out one important task.” He also declares in the Muryō-gi-kyō (Sūtra of Infinite Meaning): “The true teaching has not been revealed for some forty years since My enlightenment.” It is further stated in the second chapter of the Lotus Sūtra: “The truth will be revealed at long last, after preaching for a long time,” and “He will reveal it by casting aside all expedient means.” These words of the Buddha were attested to be true by the Buddha of Many Treasures in the “Appearance of the Stupa of Treasures” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, and various Buddhas in manifestation (funjin) also stuck out their long and broad tongues confirming the truth of these words in the “Divine Powers of the Buddha” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra. Under the circumstances who could cast doubt on the words in the Lotus Sūtra assuring that such Hinayāna sages (Two Vehicles) as Śāripūtra and Kāśyapa would be the future Flower Light Buddha and Light Buddha?

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 38

WONS

Aggressive Means or Persuasive Means of Propagation?

What sort of age is it, when such sagacious masters risk their lives in seeking and disseminating the dharma? Regarding this, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai teaches in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra: “Depending on the era, use an aggressive means of propagation at times and persuasive means at other times.” Grand Master Chang-an, T’ien-t’ai’s disciple, states in his Commentary on the Nirvana Sūtra: “Choose between the aggressive and persuasive means of propagation according to the age; do not stick to one means.” The Lotus Sūtra always preaches the same teaching, but there is a great difference in practicing or spreading its teaching depending on the ability of people and condition of the time. Then, what kind of teaching and in what way should we spread it in the Latter Age of Degeneration in this land of Japan?

Shuju Onfurumai Gosho, Reminiscences: from Tatsunokuchi to Minobu, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Biography and Disciples, Volume 5, Pages 23

WONS

Astray in a Dark Alley Leading to Hell

Now we live in a Latter Age. People are not saints, astray in a dark alley leading to hell, and are forgetting all about the direct route to Buddhahood. How sad it is that no one awakens them! What a pity it is that only false faith grows rampant!

Risshō Ankoku-ron, Treatise on Spreading Peace Throughout the Country by Establishing the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 122