‘Object of Worship of the Origin Teaching’

Whether imagined as Dharma or as Buddha, Nichiren’s “object of worship of the origin teaching” is perfectly inclusive. As Dharma, its all-encompassing nature has already been discussed: Myōhō-Renge-Kyō contains all teachings, all phenomena, all merits. As Buddha, it is no less embracing:

Zentoku Buddha in the eastern quarter, Dainichi in the center, the [other] Buddhas of the ten directions, the seven Buddhas of the past, the Buddhas of the three time periods, Superior Conduct and the other bodhisattvas, Mañjuśrī and Śāriputra, the great heavenly King Brahma, King Māra of the sixth heaven, King Indra, the sun god, the moon god, the gods of the stars, the seven stars of the Big Dipper, the twenty-eight constellations, the five stars, the seven stars, the eighty-four thousand countless stars, the asura kings, the kami of heaven, the kami of earth, the mountain kami, the kami of the seas, the kami of the clans, the kami of the villages, the persons who rule the various lands in all worlds— which of them is not the Lord Śākyamuni? Tenshō Daijin and Hachiman Daibosatsu also have Śākyamuni, master of teachings, as their original ground (honji). Śākyamuni is like the single moon in the sky, while the various Buddhas and bodhisattvas are like its reflections in myriad bodies of water. One who makes an image of Śākyamuni [thereby] makes [images of] all Buddhas of the ten directions.

This passage appears to draw on the Lotus Sutra’s representation of all Buddhas as emanations of Śākyamuni, as well as on Mikkyō concepts of an all-pervading Dharma-body Buddha. One notes not only that all Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and Buddhist tutelary deities emanate from Śākyamuni, but that the Japanese kami all have Śākyamuni as their original ground. This reflects Nichiren’s distinctive, Lotus-centered honji-suijaku thought, in which all kami are seen as the local manifestations of Śākyamuni. (Page 272-273)

Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism