Category Archives: WONS

WONS

The ‘Three Hindrances’ and ‘Four Devils’

The Great Concentration and Insight by Grand Master T’ien-t’ai is the greatest of his works and contains the essence of the holy teachings of Śākyamuni Buddha preached in His lifetime. About 500 years or so since Buddhism was brought into China, the wisdom of the three Southern and seven Northern masters was comparable to the sun and moon, and their virtue resounded in the whole world. Yet they were at a loss as to the profundity, comparative superiority, and sequence of His lifetime preaching. It was then that Grand Master T’ien-t’ai not only explained the Buddhism of Śākyamuni Buddha once more but also extracted the wish-fulfilling gem from the storehouse of the five Chinese characters of the Lotus Sūtra entitled “3,000 existences contained in one thought,” giving it to all the people in India, China, and Japan.

This doctrine of the Great Concentration and Insight was explained for the first time in China. Even the commentators in India were unable to explain it. Grand Master Chang-an, therefore states at the beginning of the Great Concentration and Insight, “The clear and modest doctrine of the Great Concentration and Insight had never been heard of,” and the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 3, declares, “Even the Great Wisdom Discourse by Nāgārjuna in India cannot compare to it.”

In particular, the “3,000 existences contained in one thought” doctrine expounded in the Great Concentration and Insight, fascicle 5, is all the more profound. When we speak of this doctrine, it is inevitable that devil’s will come to hinder us. Put another way, when devils do not come to hinder us, we know the True Dharma is not involved. Therefore, it is stated in the Great Concentration and Insight, fascicle 5, “As practicing and understanding of the ‘tranquility and contemplation’ progress, the ‘three hindrances and four devils’ compete to interfere with the practicer. … Do not follow them or fear them. When one follows them, one will fall into the evil realms; and if one is afraid of them, one will be unable to master the True Dharma.” This is exactly what I have experienced with my own body. Also, this should be a clear mirror for my disciples and followers to reflect upon. Please practice with reverence, thereby producing nourishment for the future practicers of the Lotus Sūtra.

The “three hindrances” in this citation refer to evil passions, evil karma, and painful retributions. The evil passions are the obstacles arising from the three poisons of greed, anger, and stupidity; the evil karma refers to the obstruction arising from wives and children; and the painful retributions are obstructions caused by the rulers of a country, parents, and others. Among the “four devils” that cause hindrances is the king of devils in the Sixth Heaven in the realm of desire.

Kyōdai-shō, A Letter to the Ikegami Brothers, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 83-84

WONS

The Most Obstinate Person

Now, I, Nichiren, am not a wise man, much less a sage. I am the most obstinate person in the whole country. However, as my experience coincides with what is said in the sūtra, I will be delighted upon encountering a severe peril as if my parents were reborn or personal enemies encounter a mishap. It is most delightful for a foolish person to be regarded by the Buddha as a sage.

Ueno-dono Gohenji, A Reply to Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 112

WONS

A Man of Shallow Faith

A man of shallow faith pretends to have right faith and is contemptuous towards other followers, so as to harm the faith of others. Leave such people alone. By the intention of the King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, and other deities, I believe that such a time will certainly come when all the people of Japan will simultaneously believe in the Lotus Sūtra. I am sure that many people then will say, “I have believed in this sūtra all along.”

Ueno-dono Gohenji, A Reply to Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 112

d15b, d18b, WONS

11th Day of the 11th Month

On the 11th day of the 11th month this year, on the thoroughfare of Matsubara in Tōjō, Awa Province, about four to six o’clock in the afternoon, hundreds of nembutsu followers ambushed me. I was accompanied by about ten people, of whom only three or four were strong enough to fight. Arrows shot by nembutsu followers were falling like rain, and their swords were attacking us like lightning. One of my disciples was killed at the spot and two others were seriously wounded. I also was hit and wounded, and faced mortal danger, but somehow I escaped death and am still alive today. My faith in the Lotus Sūtra has been strengthened as I experienced persecutions such as this.

It is said in the 10th chapter of “The Teacher of the Dharma” in the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 4, “Many people hate it (the Lotus Sūtra) with a passion, even in My lifetime. Needless to say, more people will do so after My death.” And in the 14th chapter of “Peaceful Practices,” fascicle 5, it states, “Many people in the world would have hated it (the Lotus Sūtra) and few would have believed it.” There are many people in Japan who read and study the Lotus Sūtra. Many people are punished because they steal or commit adultery, but no one has been punished due to his faith in the Lotus Sūtra. Therefore, none of the followers of the Lotus Sūtra in Japan have practiced the Sūtra as is preached. Only I, Nichiren, have truly read it. This is what the chapter of “Encouragement for Upholding This Sūtra” states: “We will not spare even our lives. We treasure only unsurpassed enlightenment.” Therefore, I, Nichiren, am the foremost practicer of the Lotus Sūtra in Japan.

Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō-dono Gosho, A Letter to Lord Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 145-146.

WONS

The Gravest Level of Hell

The gravest level of hell is that of the Hell of Incessant Suffering. This hell is 20,000 yojana in length and width, and measures 80,000 yojana each in the eight directions. Most of those who fall into this hell will have their bodies enlarged to 80,000 yojana. Their bodies become as soft as cotton and the hell fire burns as voraciously as a fire in a heavy wind, or as deadly as a red-hot iron ball.

In brief, the sinners in the Hell of Incessant Suffering are punished with a devastating fire. There are 13 routes through which a fire spreads in our bodies. There are two fires that start at the feet and go to the head, and there are two fires that start in the head and go down to the feet. There are two other fires that enter from the back and reach the chest. Another set of twin fires enters from the chest and reaches the back. Yet another set of twin fires enters from the left side and reaches the right side. Yet another set of twin fires enters from the right side and reaches the left side. A final single fire descends from the neck down as if clouds are circling a mountain.

The bodies of the sinners that fall into this hell flare up like dried grass burning. Frantically running to and fro, they cannot find any refuge. I am merely explaining the suffering of fire and have left out the various other sufferings for now. Had the Buddha fully expounded the extreme suffering of this hell, people would die from shock. This is probably why the Buddha never preached on this.

Kōnichi Shōnin Gohenji, A Reply to Rev. Kōnichi, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers II, Volume 7, Page 154

d17b, WONS

Opening the Way for Women of the Latter Age

[T]he example of the dragon girl becoming a Buddha does not mean only her. It means the attainment of Buddhahood by all women. In the Hinayāna sūtras preached before the Lotus Sūtra a woman is not thought of in terms of attaining Buddhahood. Various Mahāyāna sūtras appear to recognize women attaining Buddhahood or going to the Buddha land, but only after they changed themselves to the good by giving up the evil. This is not an immediate attainment of Buddhahood in this world, which can only be possible through the “3,000 in one thought” doctrine. Therefore, what the Buddha promised in those Mahāyāna sūtras is in name only. On the other hand, the attainment of Buddhahood by the dragon girl in the Lotus Sūtra is meant as an example among many, opening the way for women of the Latter Age to attain Buddhahood or reach the Buddha land.

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 90

2buddhas, LS32, d18b, d19b, WONS

Rejecting Peaceful Practices

[Nichiren] explicitly rejected the “four kinds of practice” set forth in the chapter as unsuited to the present era. Those practices had been appropriate, he said, in the preceding eras, the ages of the True Dharma and the Semblance Dharma, but they were not suited to the Final Dharma age. “The four peaceful practices [in the “Ease in Practice” chapter] correspond to shōjū,” he wrote. To carry them out now in the mappō era would be as misguided as sowing seeds in winter and expecting to reap the harvest in spring. Rather, Nichiren saw the situation in Japan in his day as demanding the shakubuku approach: “The present era is defined in the sūtras as an age of quarrels and disputes, when the pure dharma will be obscured and lost. At this point, the provisional and true teachings have become utterly confused. … When the time has come for the one vehicle to spread, the provisional teachings become enemies. If they generate confusion, they must be refuted from the standpoint of the true teaching. Of the two propagation methods, shōjū and shakubuku, this is shakubuku as it pertains to the Lotus Sūtra.”

Two Buddhas, p 169
WONS

The Treasure Mountain of the One-Vehicle Teaching

Just as no crooked tree exists on a mountain of treasures and no corpses remain in an ocean, the dead bodies of slanderers of the True Dharma will never be accepted into the ocean of Buddhism nor will the twisted trees of icchantika ever take root on the treasure mountain of the one-vehicle teaching. And yet the shards and broken tiles of those who committed the five rebellious sins (killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, killing an arhat, injuring the Buddha’s body, and causing disunity in the Buddhist order) and the polluted water of the four major sins (adultery, stealing, killing a person and telling a lie about his spiritual attainment) are allowed to enter the ocean of Buddhism and the treasure mountain of the one-vehicle teaching. Therefore, those who study Buddhism, wishing to be better off in the next life must be careful not to commit the sin of slandering the Lotus Sūtra.

Shuju Onfurumai Gosho, Reminiscences: from Tatsunokuchi to Minobu, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Biography and Disciples, Volume 5, Pages 43

d27b, WONS

Absolutely True Without Violating Precept Against Lying

The Buddha in the past as an ordinary person practiced Hinayāna sūtras. Having received the Five Precepts, He strictly upheld the fourth precept: not to tell lies. He did not breach this precept at the cost of His fortune or His life. Next, practicing the Mahāyāna precepts, He observed the Ten Major Precepts, the fourth of which prohibits telling lies. As he firmly upheld this precept for immeasurable kalpa (aeons), He finally was able to become a Buddha with a long and wide tongue, one of the 32 characteristics of the Buddha. This long and wide tongue of the Buddha covers the Buddha’s face, reaching the hair of His head. Or, it is said, it reaches the Brahma Heaven. There are five seal like letters on the tongue, which is bronze in color. Two gems under the tongue pour out nectar. These characteristics all stem from the virtue of observing the precept of not lying. With this tongue the Buddha has said, “Even if the eyes of various Buddhas throughout the past, present, and future should fall on the great earth, no woman in this dharma world would be able to become a Buddha.” Therefore, it seems that all women in the world can never attain Buddhahood regardless of what happens in the world.

Accordingly, once born as a woman, it seems useless even if she is chosen as the Empress, Empress Dowager, or Grand Empress Dowager. It seems to be worthless also for a woman to practice meritorious acts or perform Buddhist services. It is inexplicable, however, that the attainment of Buddhahood by women is allowed in this “Medicine King Bodhisattva” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra. Is this sūtra deceitful, or is that sūtra not truthful? Is either guilty of lying? One Buddha is making two opposing statements, which is impossible to believe.

However, it is preached in the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning, “The truth has not been revealed in 40 years or so,” and in the Nirvana Sūtra, “The Buddha has never uttered a false word, but if people make a false statement, He will follow their mind.” When we contemplate these scriptural statements, it seems untrue that the Buddha has ever negated rebirth in the Pure Land or attaining Buddhahood by women. It is preached in the Lotus Sūtra, “As for the Buddha’s Dharma, the truth will necessarily be revealed after a long time;” and “the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma … is nothing but true.” Contemplating these statements, I believe the Lotus Sūtra, that preaches certain rebirth in the Pure Land or attainment of Buddhahood by women, is absolutely true without violating the precept against lying.

Yakuō-bon Tokui-shō, The Essence of the “Medicine King Bodhisattva” Chapter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 33-34

WONS

Understanding that Buddhas Naturally Possess the Nine Realms

Because the pre-Lotus sūtras do not make clear the mutual possession of the Ten Realms, those who adhere to these sūtras must reject the nine realms in order to become Buddhas. For they do not understand that the nine realms are included in the realm of Buddhas. Therefore, they claim that living beings cannot become Buddhas until evil passions and delusions are eliminated. This is because the truth that the characteristics of ordinary people are included in a Buddha is not preached. Consequently, they maintain that getting rid of the characteristics of human beings, heavenly beings, and evil people must be accomplished first in order to become Buddhas. Grand Master Miao-lê called this “the Buddhahood sought by rejecting and avoiding the delusions of the nine realms.” Those who believe in the pre-Lotus sūtras see the Buddhas that appear in front of them as beings of the nine realms. They believe this is due to the mysterious and divine powers of the Buddhas because they do not understand that the Buddhas naturally possess the nine realms.

Ichidai Shōgyō Tai-I, Outline of All the Holy Teachings of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 91-92