Category Archives: WONS

800years, WONS

800 Years: Even the Slightest Belief in the Lotus Sūtra

QUESTION: Suppose ordinary people, priests or lay persons, uphold, read and write or let others read and write the entire Lotus Sūtra without understanding its meaning. Or perhaps they focus on just one of its fascicles, or the four important chapters (chapters 2, 14, 16 and 25), or even just the verse at the end of the “Life Span of the Buddha” chapter without fully appreciating the depth of the sūtra. Suppose there are people who, though they do not read and write the sūtra themselves, show respect by pressing their palms together in the form of gasshō, bow in front of it, offer incense and flowers to it. Or suppose there are people who, though they do not practice these things themselves, are happy seeing others perform such practices, and rejoice that this sūtra is spreading all over the country. Can such people, due to their own merit of having practiced a little, avoid committing worldly sins and be reborn in the realms of human and heavenly beings just as Hinayana sages on the first stage of sainthood are always reborn in the realms of humans and gods without falling into the three evil realms (hell, realm of hungry souls and that of beasts and birds)? Can they in the end perceive the Lotus Sūtra or be reborn in the Pure Lands all over the universe or become Buddhas with their present bodies? I would like to hear about this in detail.

ANSWER: Though my understanding of the sūtra is not profound, as I contemplate the spirit of the Lotus Sūtra and the Nirvana Sūtra, as well as their interpretations by T’ien-t’ai and Miao-lê, it seems to me that those who possess even the slightest belief in the Lotus Sūtra without holding any enmity against its teaching will not fall into the evil realms even if they commit evil deeds.

Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō, Treastise on Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 1-2

800years, WONS

800 Years: The Merits of Ignorant People in the Latter Age of Degeneration

[T]he sin of not believing in and slandering the Lotus Sūtra is explained in detail in the “Parable” chapter. The sin of slandering the upholders of the Lotus Sūtra is preached in the “Teacher of the Dharma” chapter. The merits of those who believe in the Lotus Sūtra is expounded in the “Variety of Merits” and “Merits of Rejoicing at Hearing This Sūtra” chapters. Slandering the dharma means going against the teaching and rejoicing at hearing the dharma means to be obedient to the teaching. Do you think those who understand the preciousness of the Lotus Sūtra even for a moment without quite understanding its meaning are going against the teaching or being obedient to it? Aren’t the merits of ignorant people in the Latter Age of Degeneration holding a religious service in honor of or rejoicing at hearing the Lotus Sūtra even for a moment preached in scriptures? Besides, according to the interpretations of T’ien-t’ai and Miao-lê, it was an act of slandering the True Dharma when Buddhist masters of other schools regarded such Lotus practices as a child building a sand Stupa for play, rejoicing at hearing a verse or phrase of the sūtra, or the person rejoicing at hearing the sūtra equal to the practices for sages and wise people preached in the pre-Lotus sūtras.

Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō, Treastise on Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 7

800years, WONS

800 Years: Discarding False Faith

Examining many sūtras, we thus see they all regard slandering the True Dharma the most serious crime. How sad it is that people [in Japan] all should wander out of the gate of the True Dharma into the prison of evil dharma! Such ignorance is causing everyone [in Japan, high and low,] to be pulled by the rope of evil teachings and caught forever by the net of slandering the True Dharma! In this life such wanderers are lost in the mist of delusions; in the next life they will sink to the bottom of flaming hell. How sad it is! How terrible it is!

You should promptly discard your false faith and take up the true and sole teaching of the Lotus Sūtra at once. Then this triple world of the unenlightened will all become Buddha lands. Will Buddha lands ever decay? All the worlds in the universe will become Pure Lands. Will Pure Lands ever be destroyed? When our country does not decay and the world is not destroyed, our bodies will be safe and our hearts tranquil. Believe these words and revere them!

Risshō Ankoku-ron, Treatise on Spreading Peace Throughout the Country by Establishing the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Pages 141-142

800years, WONS

800 Years: Losing Their Right Mind

The reason why such śrāvaka disciples as Śāripūtra and Maudgalyāyana were in the Hell of Incessant Suffering for as long as 3,000 or 500 (million) dust-particle kalpa was not because they committed the crime of ten evil acts, five rebellious sins, or eight rebellious sins such as treason. It was simply because they met “evil friends,” abandoned the faith in the Lotus Sūtra, and moved to the faith in the expedient teachings. Grand Master T’ien-t’ai explains this in his Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 6, “Upon meeting an ‘evil friend,’ people lose their right mind.” The right mind refers to the mind of putting faith in the Lotus Sūtra, and losing the right mind means abandoning the faith in the Lotus Sūtra and putting faith in other sūtras. Therefore, it is preached in the Lotus Sūtra, “The Life Span of the Buddha” chapter, “No matter how effective a medicine is, such a person will never take it.” This is explained by Grand Master T’ien-ta’i in his Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 6, “A person who has lost his right mind will not take a good medicine, no matter how effective it is, choosing instead to roam about the street of life and death, and run away to foreign countries.”

Kyōdai-shō, A Letter to the Ikegami Brothers, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 75

800years, WONS

800 Years: Fire and Water and Faith

Of the people who put faith in the Lotus Sūtra today, some have faith like fire while others have it like water. Those who have faith like fire refer to those who become enthusiastic upon listening to the preaching but their passion cools down as times goes by, and eventually forget the teaching. On the other hand, those whose faith is like water mean those whose faith is like a ceaselessly flowing water, namely those who retain their faith without retreating.

Ueno-dono Gohenji, A Reply to Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 126

WONS

Nichiren’s Boundless Compassion

This daimoku chanting has not yet been spread in the world. For 2,225 years after the extinction of the Buddha no one has chanted this yet. I, Nichiren, alone have been chanting “Namu Myōhōrengekyō, “Namu Myōhōrengekyō without saving my voice.

As you know, the size of waves depends on the strength of the winds, the height of a fire depends on firewood, the size of lotus flowers depends on the size of the ponds, the quantity of rain depends upon dragons; the deeper the roots of a tree are, the wider its branches grow; and the farther away a river begins, the longer it flows. The Chou dynasty lasted seven hundred years because King Wen paid much attention to propriety and filial piety. Early destruction of the Ch’in dynasty was due to the tyranny of its First Emperor.

With Nichiren’s boundless compassion, “Namu Myōhōrengekyō” will be heard forever even beyond the ten thousand year-period. It has the merit of curing the “blindness” of all the people in Japan, blocking the way to hell. This merit is superior to those of Dengyō, T’ien-t’ai, Nāgārjuna, and Kāśyapa. Practice for a hundred years in the Pure Land is not worth the merit of chanting the daimoku for one day in this defiled world. Propagation of the daimoku in a two thousand year-period following the death of the Buddha is not worth as much as spreading the daimoku for even a short while in the Latter Age of Degeneration. This is not from my wisdom; it is solely due to the time in which I live. In spring, flowers bloom; in autumn, fruits ripen; in summer, it is warm; and in winter, it is cold; they all go along with the laws of nature.

Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 58.

WONS

Śākyamuni Buddha Is Our Very Master

It can’t be helped if they do not know these things. However, I have been trying for the last 28 years to stop their delusion and tell them that Śākyamuni Buddha is our very master by citing a passage from the “Parable” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, “This triple world is My domain, in which all living beings are My children.” They not only refused to believe me but also shot an arrow at me, cut me, tried to kill me, exiled me and banished me. Therefore, the Great Bodhisattva Hachiman burned his shrine and went back to heaven. This is what I stated in my “Risshō-ankoku-ron (Treatise on Spreading Peace Throughout the Country by Establishing the True Dharma)” which I submitted to the shogunate.

Chimyō-bō Gohenji, A Reply to Chimyō-bō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 207

WONS

The Eye of Buddhas

Only when the Lotus Sūtra is placed before the wooden or painted image of the Buddha with 31 marks of physical excellence, does the image become the Buddha of the pure Perfect Teaching. The Sūtra of Meditation on the Universal Sage Bodhisattva, therefore, speaks of the Buddha of the Lotus Sūtra, “The threefold body of the Buddha is produced from the Hōdō.” “Hōdō” in this sense does not mean the Hōdō period of preaching by the Buddha, but it means the Lotus Sūtra. The Sūtra of Meditation on the Universal Sage Bodhisattva also preaches, “This Mahāyāna sūtra is the eye of Buddhas; it enables them to obtain the five kinds of eyesight.”

Mokue Nizō Kaigen no Koto, Opening the Eyes of Buddhist Images, Wooden Statues or Portraits, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 91

WONS

Two Meanings of Daimoku

The daimoku has two meanings: the daimoku which was practiced during the Ages of the True Dharma and Semblance Dharma, and that which is practiced in the Latter Age of Degeneration. During the Age of the True Dharma, Bodhisattvas Vasubandhu and Nāgārjuna chanted the daimoku solely for the sake of their own practice. During the Age of the Semblance Dharma, Grand Masters Nanyüeh and T’ien-t’ai chanted only the daimoku, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō; they, too, chanted it for their own practices, not to guide other people. Their daimoku was a practice for attaining enlightenment based on the teaching of the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra. The daimoku which I, Nichiren, recite today in the Latter Age of Degeneration is the daimoku of Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, which, unlike that of the previous ages, is not merely the practice for personal enlightenment but it is the practice also for benefitting others. This five-character daimoku is not just a title of the Lotus Sūtra; it contains the five profound meanings of the name, entity, quality, function and teaching.

Sandai Hiho Honjo-ji, The Transmission of the Three Great Secret Dharmas, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 289-290

d7b, d20b, d32b, WONS

‘Such Persons’

Putting aside secular matters, regarding those who go against the Buddhist dharma, it is preached in the “Parable” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 2, “When such persons pass away, they will fall into the Avīci Hell.”

QUESTION: What kind of people are such persons?

ANSWER: The passage cited above from the “Parable” chapter is preceded by a statement saying, “Only I can save living beings. However, there are some who do not believe in what I teach them.” Then in the same chapter, following a clause, “If a person fails to have faith,” it is stated, “Such a person may frown to show displeasure” and “Upon seeing those who read, recite, copy, and uphold this sūtra, such a person will despise, hate, envy and harbor a grudge against them.” It is preached in the fifth fascicle (“Appearance of Bodhisattvas from the Earth” chapter), “Those who are skeptical of the Lotus Sūtra and do not hold faith in it will inevitably fall into the evil realms.” It is also stated in the eighth fascicle (“Encouragement of the Universal Sage Bodhisattva” chapter), “There will be such persons who despise and abuse the faithful (practicers of the Lotus Sūtra) saying, ‘You are a lunatics. It is useless to carry out such a practice. It will gain you nothing!’ ” The “such persons” mentioned in the “Parable” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra refer to these people who slander the Lotus Sūtra.

Soya Jirō Nyūdō-dono Gohō, Response to Lay Priest Lord Soya Jiro, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers I, Volume 6, Page 65