The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra

Chapter3(The Slander of the Nembutsu Believers and the Hostility of Hei no Saemon-no-jo)

Main Text

[While the regent’s government could not come to any conclusion,] the priests of the Nembutsu, the observers of the precepts, and the True Word priests, who realized they could not rival me in wisdom, sent petitions to the government. Finding their petitions were not accepted, they approached the wives and widows of high-ranking officials and slandered me in various ways. [The women reported the slander to the officials, saying:] “According to what some priests told us, Nichiren declared that the late lay priests of Saimyō-ji and Gokuraku-ji have fallen into the hell of incessant suffering. He said that the temples Kenchō-ji, Jufuku-ji, Gokuraku-ji, Chōraku-ji, and Daibutsu-ji should be burned down and the honorable priests Dōryū and Ryōkan beheaded.” Under these circumstances, at the regent’s supreme council my guilt could scarcely be denied. To confirm whether I had or had not made those statements, I was summoned to the court.

At the court the magistrate said, “You have heard what the regent stated. Did you say these things or not?” I answered, “Every word is mine. However, the statement about the lay priests of Saimyō-ji and Gokuraku-ji falling into hell is a fabrication. I have been declaring this doctrine [that the schools they belonged to lead to hell] since before their deaths.

“Everything I said was with the future of our country in mind. If you wish to maintain this land in peace and security, it is imperative that you summon the priests of the other schools for a debate in your presence. If you ignore this advice and punish me unreasonably on their behalf, the entire country will have cause to regret your decision. If you condemn me, you will be rejecting the Buddha’s envoy. Then you will have to face the punishment of Brahmā and Shakra, of the gods of the sun and moon, and of the four heavenly kings. Within one hundred days after my exile or execution, or within one, three, or seven years, there will occur what is called the calamity of internal strife, rebellion within the ruling clan. This will be followed by the calamity of foreign invasion, attack from all sides, particularly from the west. Then you will regret what you have done!” Hearing this, the magistrate Hei no Saemon, forgetting all the dignity of his rank, became wild with rage like the grand minister of state and lay priest [Taira no Kiyomori].

Lecture

The Conspiracy of the Rival Priests

“[While the regent’s government could not come to any conclusion,] the priests of the Nembutsu, the observers of the precepts, and the True Word priests, who realized they could not rival me in wisdom, sent petitions to the government. Finding their petitions were not accepted, they approached the wives and widows of high-ranking officials and slandered me in various ways.“

After losing the rain-making challenge to Nichiren Daishonin, Ryokan, rather than admitting the errors of his own doctrine, despicably organized a league of slandering monks in Kamakura to oppose the Daishonin. This group included Ryokan himself, Nen-a Ryochu of Komyo-ji, Gyomin of Jokokyo-ji, and leaders from other major temples such as Kencho-ji and Jufuku-ji.

On the 8th day of the 7th month in 1271, Gyomin of Jokokyo-ji challenged the Daishonin to a debate through a document known as “Gyomin’s Initial Letter of Difficulty.” In it, he accused the Daishonin of slandering all other sutras as “falsehoods” and calling the Zen sect the “doctrine of heavenly devils.”

The Daishonin replied on the 13th of that same month, essentially stating:

“A private debate on these various points would be difficult to carry out. Therefore, let a public inquiry be held before the authorities to determine the truth of the matter. This is what I most earnestly desire.”

Seeing through the conspiracy, the Daishonin realized it was no longer the stage for private discussion with a mere pawn like Gyomin. Having received this reply, Gyomin conspired with Ryokan to file a formal complaint with the high court (Monchujo). However, because the charges were groundless, the court could not take them up.

Desperate, Ryokan and his cohorts resorted to slandering the Daishonin to high-ranking ladies and widows of the ruling clan. They falsely claimed: “Nichiren says that the late lords of Saimyo-ji and Gokuraku-ji have fallen into the hell of incessant suffering. He says Kencho-ji and other great temples should be burned to the ground, and the heads of Masters Doryu and Ryokan should be cut off.”

In that era, high-ranking court women and the widows of powerful men held immense hidden influence. Devout followers of Ryokan, these women appealed to the Regent and his officials. Consequently, the Daishonin was eventually summoned to the tribunal to be questioned. This text poignantly illustrates that Ryokan was the embodiment of the “devilish nature” whose sole purpose was to obstruct the spread of the correct Law.

The Prophecy of the Two Disasters

“If you condemn me, you will be rejecting the Buddha’s envoy. Then you will have to face the punishment of Brahmā and Shakra, of the gods of the sun and moon, and of the four heavenly kings. Within one hundred days after my exile or execution, or within one, three, or seven years, there will occur what is called the calamity of internal strife, rebellion within the ruling clan. This will be followed by the calamity of foreign invasion, attack from all sides, particularly from the west.“

This passage warns that if the Votary of the Lotus Sutra is persecuted, the protective deities of the universe will be angered. Following exile or execution, internal rebellion will break out, followed by invasion from a foreign power.

In his 1268 writing, The Rationale for Writing “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land”, the Daishonin clarified the cause of these disasters:

“Hōnen and Dainichi. Their bodies were possessed of demons, and they went about deluding the people of both high and low station throughout the country, until everyone had become a Nembutsu believer or else joined the Zen school. Those who continued to pay respect to Mount Hiei became surprisingly few and lacking in ardor, and throughout the country the priests who were authorities on the Lotus Sutra or the True Word teachings found themselves ignored and rejected.

As a result, the Sun Goddess, Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, and the gods of the seven shrines of Sannō, who guard and protect Mount Hiei, as well as the other great benevolent deities who protect the different parts of the nation, could no longer taste the flavor of the Law. Their power and brilliance waned, and they abandoned the country. Thus the demons gained access to the nation and brought about disasters and calamities. These disasters, as I stated in my memorial, were omens signifying that our country would in the end be destroyed by a foreign nation.“

Both prophecies were fulfilled. The “disaster of foreign invasion” was realized through the arrival of Mongol letters in 1268 and the subsequent invasions of 1274 and 1281. The “disaster of internal strife” was fulfilled by the rebellion of Hojo Tokisuke in the 2nd month of 1272—perfectly matching the Daishonin’s prediction.

Prophecy and the Five Eyes

In the Rissho Ankoku Ron (1260), the Daishonin first predicted internal strife. During the Tatsunokuchi Persecution, he boldly repeated this to Hei no Saemon-no-jo. Remarkably, on the 16th day of the 1st month in 1272, he warned Lord Rokuro Saemon that a war was imminent; the rebellion broke out just 20 days later.

Generally, a “prophecy” is a guess about the future. However, in Buddhism, it is not mystical or a mere revelation. It is an insight into the future based on a profound understanding of reality and the law of cause and effect. While many secular “prophets” fail because their predictions are based on emotion or shallow analysis, the Daishonin’s prophecies were based on the eternal perspective of Buddhist history and life philosophy.

From the perspective of the Five Eyes ($Gogen$), the highest level of foresight is the Buddha Eye:

1. Physical Eye: The eye of ordinary humans; limited by distance, darkness, and obstacles.

2. Heavenly Eye: The eye of heavenly beings; sees through distance and darkness.

3. Wisdom Eye: The eye of the Voice-hearers; perceives the truth of “emptiness.”

4. Dharma Eye: The eye of the Bodhisattvas; understands the Law to lead all people.

5. Buddha Eye: The eye that encompasses all the previous four, seeing clearly through the three existences (past, present, future) and the ten directions.

A Buddha is the supreme prophet. As stated in The Sage Knows the Three Existences: “One who is called a sage is one who knows the three existences in detail.”

The Certainty of Kosen-rufu

Just as the Daishonin’s prophecies of disaster came true, the prophecy of Kosen-rufu (wide propagation) is an absolute truth. Shakyamuni Buddha predicted in the Medicine King chapter that the Law would spread throughout the world in the “fifth five-hundred-year period” after his passing.

Regarding this, the Daishonin wrote in The True Aspect of All Phenomena:

“At first only Nichiren chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, but then two, three, and a hundred followed, chanting and teaching others. Propagation will unfold this way in the future as well. Does this not signify “emerging from the earth”? At the time when the Law has spread far and wide, the entire Japanese nation will chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, as surely as an arrow aimed at the earth cannot miss the target.” (WND-1, p. 385)

He also declared that while Buddhism originally flowed from West (India) to East (Japan), it would now return from the East (Japan) to the West (India and the world). This return flow is a “good omen” of the sunrise of the Mystic Law. Therefore, it is clear that Nichiren Daishonin established his Buddhism with the prerequisite of global propagation.