On Repaying Debts of Gratitude
Nichiren
Chapter29(Concluding the Refutation of the True Word School )
Main Text
Thus the doctrines of the True Word, Zen, and Nembutsu schools spread and prospered in Japan. Eventually, Takahira, the Retired Emperor of Oki who was the eighty-second sovereign, began making efforts to overthrow the acting administrator.105 Since he was the sovereign, the leader of the nation, people supposed that, even without assistance, it would be as easy as a lion pouncing on a hare, or a hawk seizing a pheasant. Moreover, for a period of several years appeals had been made at Mount Hiei, the temples of Tō-ji and Onjō-ji, and the seven major temples of Nara, as well as to the Sun Goddess, Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, and the deities of Sannō, Kamo, and Kasuga shrines,106 asking that the emperor’s enemies be subdued, and that the gods lend their aid. Yet when war broke out, the imperial forces were not able to hold out for more than two or three days. In the end, the three retired emperors were exiled to the provinces of Sado, Awa, and Oki, respectively,107 where their lives came to a close.
Moreover, not only was the prelate of Omuro,108 who was leading the prayers to subdue the enemies of the court, driven out of Tō-ji temple, but his favorite, the page Setaka,109 who was as dear to him as his very eyes, was beheaded. Thus, as the Lotus Sutra says, the curses in the end “rebound upon the originator.”110
But this is a trifling matter compared to what is to come. Hereafter, I have no doubt that the officials and the countless common people of Japan will without exception suffer a fate like that of heaps of dry grass to which a torch has been set, or like huge mountains crumbling and valleys being filled up, for our country will be attacked by enemies from abroad.
Notes
105. Hōjō Yoshitoki (1163–1224), the second regent of the Kamakura government.
106. Sannō Shrine on Mount Hiei is dedicated to the deity Mountain King. The Kamo shrines are two independent but closely related shrines located on the Kamo River in Kyoto. According to tradition, they were built in 678. They enjoyed the patronage of the imperial court and the shogunate. Kasuga Shrine in Nara was founded in 709 by Fujiwara Fuhito and dedicated to the deities associated with the Fujiwara family. Thus it served as both a clan shrine and a national shrine.
107. Gotoba was exiled to the island of Oki, and Juntoku to the island of Sado. Tsuchimikado was exiled to Tosa Province in Shikoku and later was moved to the neighboring province of Awa (different from the Awa Province in eastern Japan where the Daishonin was born).
108. The prelate of Omuro refers here to Prince Dōjō, a son of Emperor Gotoba, who entered the priesthood and lived at Ninna-ji temple of the True Word school in Kyoto.
109. Setaka (d. 1221) was a son of Sasaki Hirotsuna, the constable of Ōmi who rallied to the imperial cause during the Jōkyū Disturbance. Setaka served Dōjō at Ninna-ji temple but was killed after the disturbance.
Lecture
In this chapter, the errors of the Shingon (True word) sect are strictly refuted. Through the influence of slanderous teachings—specifically Shingon, Zen, and Nembutsu—the nation was led astray, eventually culminating in the Jōkyū Disturbance (1221) and the tragic downfall of the Imperial Court.
On May 15, the third year of Jōkyū, Retired Emperor Go-Toba raised an army in Kyoto. The Kamakura Shogunate immediately organized its forces, advancing upon Kyoto via three routes: the Tōkaidō, Tōsandō, and Hokurikudō. By June 14, the Imperial forces were defeated at Uji and Seta, and the Shogunate entered Kyoto. Only one month after raising his army—and after a mere single day of actual combat—the Retired Emperor suffered a total defeat. As a result, Retired Emperor Go-Toba was exiled to Oki Island, Juntoku to Sado Island, and Tsuchimikado to Awa Province.
Comparing the Imperial and Shogunate forces, one must consider three points: first, the distinction between sovereign and subject; second, the fact that the Court performed every possible esoteric ritual; and third, that they offered fervent prayers to various shrines. Under normal circumstances, it would be unthinkable for the Shogunate forces—who were mere subjects and did not rely on such rituals or prayers—to win so easily. Yet, the Court was utterly defeated in a single day. This occurred solely because they prayed to the erroneous Shingon sect.
Consequently, the Prince-Priest of Omuro, the head of these rituals, was expelled from Tōji Temple, and his beloved acolyte, Setaka, was executed. Thousands of court nobles and others involved in these prayers perished. This is the “actual proof” of the principle that “the curse returns to the originator” (Kan-jaku-o-hon-nin).
Furthermore, Nichiren Daishonin stated, “But this is a trifling matter compared to what is to come.” prophesying that unless these slanderous teachings were banned, the high-ranking officials and the entire populace of Japan would, without exception, be destroyed by a foreign invasion. He wrote:
“But this is a trifling matter compared to what is to come. Hereafter, I have no doubt that the officials and the countless common people of Japan will without exception suffer a fate like that of heaps of dry grass to which a torch has been set, or like huge mountains crumbling and valleys being filled up, for our country will be attacked by enemies from abroad.”
These are truly solemn words. Given that this was completely fulfilled 700 years later, we must stand in awe of the compassion and prophecy of the True Buddha and dedicate ourselves to the widespread propagation of the Law (Kosen-rufu). We should revere these golden words as an eternal principle that applies to any era as long as slander of the Law remains.
The Ho’on-sho (On Repaying Debts of Gratitude) was written in the second year of Kenji (1276), after the first Mongol invasion. The second invasion occurred in the fourth year of Kōan (1281). However, because Nichiren Daishonin, the True Buddha, was present in Japan, a mysterious great storm arose, and the nation was spared. The Daishonin stated: “Because I, Nichiren, am holding them back, the nation has remained peaceful until now. But when the slander becomes excessive, punishment will surely follow.”
Seven hundred years later, after accumulating further slanders and even launching severe persecutions against the Soka Gakkai—the organization upholding the True Law—our nation tasted the misery of national ruin under the atomic bombs. Recall the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the state of Tokyo and other major cities. A single atomic bomb caused hundreds of thousands to be burned to death in an instant. All major cities were decimated. Was this not exactly like “setting fire to stacked dry grass”? Was it not like “a great mountain crumbling and filling the valleys”?
Even looking toward the future, given the terrifying destructive power of nuclear weapons, if there should be further persecution of the Soka Gakkai as it strives for Kosen-rufu—thereby delaying its progress—the same “equation” suggests that disasters of unpredictable magnitude may occur.
It is our earnest prayer that, through the protection of the Buddhist deities and the will of the Buddha, the day of achieving Kosen-rufu may come even a day sooner. Let us advance powerfully toward that goal.
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