Tag: 2ndEd

A conflagration is mentioned in the Sūtra of the Benevolent King as the third of the seven disasters, and the Lotus Sūtra places it first in its list of seven disasters. As the sky cannot be cut by a sword and water cannot be burned by fire, sages, wise people, people of good fortune, and accomplished scholars cannot be burned by fire.

For instance, there was a large town called Rājagṛha in ancient India. It had as many as 900 million private homes [sic]. However, the town was reduced to ashes by a great fire seven times. Grief stricken, the people were ready to abandon the town. This devastating turn of events caused the great king grief that knew no bounds.

At that time a wise man told the great king, “A conflagration is among the seven disasters and occurs when a sage leaves the land and the good fortune of the king is spent. Nevertheless, these conflagrations that destroyed the homes of the people did not come close to the royal palace. Based on this we know that the king was not to blame for the destruction but the people. Therefore, if we call the houses of the people ‘Royal Palaces,’ the god of fire will fear the name and avoid destroying them.” Thinking that he may be right, the king renamed the town Ōshajō (the Town of the Royal Palaces). As a result, the town never again suffered from a fire. Based on this, we can say that fire will never destroy a man of good fortune.

In stark contrast, the palace at Kamakura was burned, which, we know, is a sign that Japan has exhausted its good fortune. What is more, priests who slander the True Dharma continue to insist on praying for the subjugation of Nichiren. Are they not simply inviting more disasters to occur?

Ōshajō-ji, Town of Rājagṛha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 128-129

Compared to the pre-Lotus perfect teachings, the Lotus Sūtra is the most appropriate. Compared to the theoretical teachings (of the Lotus Sūtra), the essential teaching (of the Lotus Sūtra) is the most appropriate for all people. Keep the phrase “The truer the teaching the lower the stage” in mind and examine its meaning.

Shishin Gohon-shō, The Four Depths of Faith and Five Stages of Practice, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice,
Volume 4, Page108-109

When Śākyamuni Buddha denied his earlier teachings and revealed the truth, He stated positively, “The World Honored One expounds the true teaching after a long period [of expounding expedient teachings]; and I have been reticent on this truth [that is, the reality of all things,] for a long time.” The Buddha of Many Treasures then sprang up from the underground and declared that it was the truth, and the Buddhas of the ten directions gathered together and approved the truth by reaching their broad, long tongues to the palace of the Great King of the Brahma Heaven. All the audience at the three meetings at two places where the Buddha expounded the Lotus Sūtra witnessed them.

Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō-dono Gosho, A Letter to Lord Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin,
Doctrine 3, Pages 128

I, Nichiren, am the only one who knows this in Japan. If I speak out even one word of this, royal persecutions will never fail to befall my parents, brothers, and teachers. If I do not speak out, however, it would seem that I did not have compassion. Wondering whether or not I should speak out in the light of the Lotus, Nirvana and other sūtras, I came to realize that if I did not speak out, I would fall without fail into the Hell of Incessant Suffering in future lives even if nothing happened to me in this life. If I spoke out, I realized, the Three Hindrances and Four Devils would overtake me.

Vacillating between the two, that I should speak out and that I should not if I were to back down in the face of royal persecutions, I hit upon the “six difficulties and nine easier actions” mentioned in the eleventh chapter, “Appearance of the Stupa of Treasures,” in the Lotus Sūtra. It says that even a man as powerless as I can throw Mt. Sumeru, even a man with as little superhuman power as I can carry a stack of hay on his back and survive the disastrous conflagration at the end of the world, and even a man as ignorant as I can memorize various sūtras as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River. Even more so, it is not easy to uphold even a word or a phrase of the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration. This must be it! I have made a vow that this time I will have an unbending aspiration to Buddhahood and never fall back!

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin,
Doctrine 2, Page 51-52

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 25

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 29

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 78

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 47

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 161-162