Category Archives: WONS

WONS

Consequences

The Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 7 (the “Never-Despising Bodhisattva” chapter) preaches: “Among the four kinds of devotees, there were some who had impurity in mind and gave way to anger. They spoke ill of the bodhisattva, called him an ignorant priest, … struck him with a stick or a piece of wood or a piece of tile or a stone. … Upon death, they underwent great torment in the Avīci Hell for 1,000 kalpa.” This scriptural statement means that those who abused the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra or struck him with a stick, unable to atone for their sins, had to suffer in the Avīci Hell for as long as 1,000 kalpa.

Ken Hōbō-shō, A Clarificaton of Slandering the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 114.

WONS

The Last 500-Year Period After Śākyamuni’s Extinction

QUESTION: In what age will the secret dharmas entrusted to Superior Practice and other bodhisattvas called out from the underground be spread?

ANSWER: The 23rd chapter, “The Previous Life of the Medicine King Bodhisattva” of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 7, preaches: “Propagate this chapter throughout this world during the last 500-year period after My extinction lest it should be lost.” Reading this passage in the sūtra respectfully, I see that the time for the secret dharmas to spread will be after the passage of the 2,000-year periods of the Ages of the True Dharma and the Semblance Dharma, namely during the fifth 500-year period after the death of the Buddha, which coincides with the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration, when it is believed that strife becomes rampant with Buddhism progressively declining to extinction.

Sandai Hiho Honjo-ji, The Transmission of the Three Great Secret Dharmas, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 287-288

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One Who Listens to the Lotus Sūtra Will Never Fail To Attain Buddhahood

The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is compared to a lotus flower. The māndāra flower in the heavenly realm and the cherry blossoms in the human world represent happiness. However, the Buddha doesn’t use them as symbols of the Lotus Sūtra. There is a reason why the Buddha chose this flower (the lotus) over all the flowers in the world to represent the Lotus Sūtra.

Some plants have flowers that bloom before bearing fruit, while others bear fruit before flowering. Some produce many fruits from a single flower, while others though having many flowers produce only one fruit, while still others have fruit without any flowers. But only the lotus flower bears fruit and a flower at the same time.

It is said that the merit of all the Buddhist scriptures (except the Lotus Sūtra) is found in the promise that men can become Buddhas after they have done good deeds, which means the attainment of Buddhahood is not certain. In the case of the Lotus Sūtra, however, when one touches it, one’s hands immediately become Buddhas, and when one chants it, one’s mouth instantly becomes a Buddha. For example, when the moon rises above the eastern mountain, its reflection immediately shows on the water. Sound and resonance also occur simultaneously. It is written (in the Lotus Sūtra) that one who listens to the Lotus Sūtra will never fail to attain Buddhahood. The meaning of this passage is that whether there be a hundred, or even a thousand people, all those who believe in this sūtra (the Lotus Sūtra) attain Buddhahood.

Ueno-dono Gozen Gohenji, Reply to My Lady, the Nun of Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers II, Volume 7, Page 58-59

WONS

24 Messengers of the Buddha

Setting aside for now the period when Śākyamuni Buddha lived in this world, there have been 24 messengers of the Buddha during the period of 2,200 years or so spanning the Age of the True Dharma, the Age of the Semblance Dharma, and the Latter Age of Degeneration since the passing of Śākyamuni Buddha. Namely 1. Mahākāśyapa; 2. Ānanda; 3. Madhyāntika; 4. Śaṇavāsa; 5. Upagupta; 6. Dhṛṭaka; 7. Mikkaka; 8. Buddha-nandi(ya); 9. Buddhamitra; 10. Pārśva; 11. Puṇyayaśas; 12. Aśvaghoṣa;13. Kapimāla; 14. Nāgārjuna; 15.
Āryadeva; 16. Rāhulata; 17. Saṃghanandi; 18. Saṃghayośas; 19. Kumārata; 20. Jayata; 21. Vasubandhu; 22. Manorhita; 23. Haklenayaśas; and 24. Ven. Siṃha. These twenty-four transmitters of the Buddhist Dharma are described in the Sūtra of Transmission of Buddhist Teaching by Śākyamuni Buddha Himself. These priests, however, are messengers of the Buddha spreading only the Hinayāna and the provisional Mahāyāna teachings. They are not the messengers of the Buddha spreading the true Mahāyāna teaching of the Lotus Sūtra.

Tayūsakan-dono Gohenji, Reply to Lord Ikegami Munenaka, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers I, Volume 6, Page 106

WONS

The Parent, Wet Nurse, and Master of Buddhas

Why do all the Buddhas in the entire universe throughout the past, present, and future protect especially the Lotus Sūtra? It is because the Lotus Sūtra is the parent, wet nurse, and master of Buddhas in the entire universe throughout the past, present, and future. They say that frogs feed, hearing the voice of their mothers; if they don’t hear the voice of their mothers, they will not feed and grow up. The Indian lizard called kṛkalāsa eats in the wind; it won’t grow if there is no wind. A fish lives in the water, and a bird makes a nest in the tree. Likewise, Buddhas live in the Lotus Sūtra. As the moon’s reflection resides in the water, Buddhas reside in the Lotus Sūtra. Therefore, you must remember that where there is no Lotus Sūtra, there are no Buddhas.

Ueno-dono Haha-ama Gozen Gohenji, A Response to My Lady the Nun, Mother of Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 181

WONS

Grave Sickness Requires Special Medicine

Therefore, although what was realized in the minds of such great masters might be the same, Aśvaghoṣa and Nāgārjuna were superior to Kāśyapa and Ānanda with the dharma they spread; T’ien-t’ai was superior to Aśvaghoṣa and Nāgārjuna, and Dengyō was superior to T’ien-t’ai. As the world declines into the Latter Age, and the wisdom of the people becomes shallower, the teaching of the Buddha grows more profound. Ordinary sickness can be cured by ordinary medicine, but grave sickness requires special medicine. The weak need the strong for assistance.

Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 57.

d26b, WONS

The Indispensable Dharmas Summed Up by the Four Phrases

It is preached in the 21st chapter on the “Divine Powers of the Buddha” in the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 7: “In short, all the teachings of the Buddha, all the unhindered, divine powers of the Buddha, all the stores of the secret lore of the Buddha, and all the profundities of the Buddha are revealed and explained in this sūtra.” Grand Master T’ien-t’ai explains this in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra saying, “These four are the gist of the Lotus Sūtra.”

QUESTION: What are the indispensable dharmas summed up by the four phrases?

ANSWER: They are the honzon (most venerable one), kaidan (precept dais) and the five-character daimoku, which Śākyamuni Buddha had practiced in the eternal past upon attaining enlightenment with the true aspect of all phenomena, and which is now preached in the 16th chapter on “The Life Span of the Buddha” in the Lotus Sūtra. They had been kept in secrecy during the years Śākyamuni preached the pre-Lotus sūtras ever since He attained Buddhahood for the first time in this world under the bodhi tree, through the preaching of the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra, until He began revealing the eternal life of the Buddha in the 15th chapter, “Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground,” in the essential section of the sūtra.

Lord Śākyamuni Buddha did not teach these great secret dharmas to such great bodhisattvas as Samantabhadra and Mañjuśrī, attendants of the Buddha throughout the past, present and future, not to speak of other disciples below them. Therefore, the formality of preaching these secret dharmas was quite different from that of preaching the pre-Lotus sūtras and the 14 chapters in the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra. It took place in the land of eternal, tranquil light, with the Eternal Buddha as the lord preacher completely equipped with the three bodies (Dharma, Reward and Accommodative Bodies) of a Buddha, and the listeners were of one body with the Buddha.

Appropriate for such an occasion, in order to enhance the attainment of Buddhahood in the eternal past the Buddha especially called out from the bottom of the land of eternal tranquil light the four bodhisattvas such as Superior Practice Bodhisattva who had been disciples of the Original Śākyamuni Buddha since the eternal past, and He entrusted them with these three great secret dharmas. Precept Master Tao-hsien stated, “As the doctrines to be transmitted were those which had been attained in the eternal past, they were entrusted to the disciples of the Eternal Buddha ever since the eternal past.”

Sandai Hiho Honjo-ji, The Transmission of the Three Great Secret Dharmas, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 286-287

WONS

Due to the Good Karma You Accumulated

It is easier to begin putting faith in the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra than to keep on believing in it to the very end. It is as though water flows in the direction of the wind and the color of flowers fade with dew.

You have steadfastly maintained your true faith in the Lotus Sūtra till today, which is very rare. How do you think you have had such a strong true faith in the Lotus Sutra? It was solely due to the good karma you accumulated during your lives in the past, in addition to the divine protection of the Buddha.

Matsuno-dono Nyōbō Go-henji, A Response to the Wife of Lord Matsuno, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 244

WONS

True Pracicers of Buddhism

During the 2,000 years following the death of Śākyamuni Buddha, besides the three sages of Śākyamuni Buddha, T’ien-t’ai, and Dengyō, the only true practicers of Buddhism are I, Nichiren, my disciples, and lay followers in the Latter Age of Degeneration. If you do not call us true pracicers of Buddhism, you cannot call the three sages of Śākyamuni Buddha, T’ien-t’ai, and Dengyō true practicers, either!

Nyosetsu Shugyō-shō, True Way of Practicing the Teaching of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 87

WONS

The Sin of Slandering the True Dharma

The sin of slandering the True Dharma, though repented, is 1,000 times as heavy as that of the five rebellious sins, to say nothing of slanderers of the True Dharma who do not repent and thus would never be released from the Avīci Hell. Therefore, it is preached in the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 2, (“A Parable” chapter): “Upon seeing those who read, recite, copy and uphold this sūtra, if a person should despise, hate, envy or bear grudges against them, … he will fall into the Avīci Hell, be confined there for a whole kalpa, and be born there again when the kalpa ends. He will repeat this cycle innumerable times.”

Ken Hōbō-shō, A Clarificaton of Slandering the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 114.