The Workings of Brahmā and Shakra

Chapter3(Demonstrating That Great Persecutions Befall the Votary of the Lotus Sutra)

Main Text

And yet somehow, despite all these many persecutions, the Buddha at length managed to preach the Lotus Sutra. A passage from this sutra states, “Since hatred and jealousy toward this sutra abound even when the Thus Come One is in the world, how much more will this be so after his passing?”⁸ This passage means that, even while the Buddha was alive, the enemies of the Lotus Sutra offered fierce opposition; all the more will they harass those who, in the latter age, preach and believe in a single character or even a single brushstroke in the Lotus Sutra.

In light of this passage, it would seem that no one during the more than 2,220 years since the Buddha expounded the Lotus Sutra has lived it as the Buddha himself did. Only one who has met with great persecution can be said to have mastered the Lotus Sutra. The great teachers T’ien-t’ai and Dengyō would appear to have been votaries of the Lotus Sutra, but they did not meet persecutions as severe as the Buddha did in his lifetime. They encountered only minor opposition—T’ien-t’ai from the three schools of the south and seven schools of the north, and Dengyō from the seven major temples of Nara. Neither of them was persecuted by the ruler of the state, attacked by sword-brandishing multitudes, or abused by the entire nation. [According to the Lotus Sutra,] those who believe in the Lotus Sutra after the Buddha’s passing will suffer obstacles more terrible than those of the Buddha. Yet neither T’ien-t’ai nor Dengyō met oppression as harsh as what the Buddha did, let alone persecutions that were greater or more numerous.

When a tiger roars, gales blow; when a dragon intones, clouds gather.⁹ Yet a hare’s squeak or a donkey’s bray causes neither winds nor clouds to arise. As long as the foolish read the Lotus Sutra and the worthy lecture on it, the country will remain quiet and undisturbed. But it is stated that, when a sage emerges and preaches the Lotus Sutra exactly as the Buddha did, the nation will be thrown into an uproar, and persecutions greater than those during the Buddha’s lifetime will arise.

Now I am not a worthy, let alone a sage. I am the most perverse person in the world. However, my actions seem to be in exact accord with what the sutra teaches. Therefore, whenever I meet great difficulties, I am more delighted than if my deceased parents had returned to life, or than one who sees the person one hates meet with some mishap. I am overjoyed that I, a foolish man, should be regarded as a sage by the Buddha. Suppose there are wise persons who strictly observe the two hundred and fifty precepts and are revered by the entire nation more than the lord Shakra is by all heavenly beings. Yet what if, in the eyes of Shakyamuni Buddha and the Lotus Sutra, they are as sinister as Devadatta? They may appear respectworthy now, but what horrors await them in their next life!

Notes

8. Lotus Sutra, chap. 10.

9. This refers to a traditional Chinese saying. According to popular belief, the roaring of a tiger causes the wind to arise, and the chanting of a dragon produces rain. Nichiren Daishonin cites these beliefs to indicate that a great action invites repercussions of the same magnitude.

Lecture

In this section, in contrast to the numerous persecutions Shakyamuni faced during his lifetime, the Daishonin cites the phrase “how much more after his passing” from the “Teacher of the Law” (Hosshi) chapter of the Lotus Sutra. He demonstrates that those who preach the Lotus Sutra after the Tathagata’s passing will face even greater persecutions than those encountered during Shakyamuni’s lifetime. He declares that he himself is the only one undergoing such great trials exactly in accord with the sutra’s text, expressing his profound joy at reading the Lotus Sutra with his very life.

The fact that there will be hardships greater than Shakyamuni’s nine great ordeals after his passing is described in the “Peaceful Practices” (Anrakyu) chapter, which states that this sutra “arouses much enmity in the world and is difficult to believe,” and is also recorded in the “Encouraging Devotion” (Kanji) chapter as the onslaught of the three powerful enemies.

However, during the more than 2,200 years from the Buddha’s passing until the appearance of the Daishonin, even the Great Teachers T’ien-t’ai and Dengyō, who were hailed as practitioners of the Lotus Sutra, encountered hardships that did not come close even to Shakyamuni’s nine great ordeals.

In the case of the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai, although he was resented by the leaders of the three schools of the south and seven schools of the north, he was never hated by the ruler of the nation or ordinary laypeople. Furthermore, those leaders eventually recognized the correctness of T’ien-t’ai’s teachings and submitted to him, and the people throughout the country came to revere him.

In the case of the Great Teacher Dengyō as well, his hardships remained minor trials, consisting merely of being envied and slandered by the high-ranking priests of the seven great temples of Nara. Neither the ruler nor the laypeople became his enemies. Moreover, after an official debate in the imperial court, these high-ranking priests also eventually submitted to Dengyō.

Thus, the persecutions faced by T’ien-t’ai and Dengyō did not even equal those of Shakyamuni, and were far removed from the scripture’s prediction of “how much more after his passing.” The Daishonin alone has read this prophecy of the Lotus Sutra with his very life.

The reason for this is that when an ignorant person merely recites the Lotus Sutra or a wise person simply lectures on it, all living beings do not escape the threefold world and six paths to attain Buddhahood; therefore, the Devil King of the Sixth Heaven does not inflict severe persecutions.

However, when a sage appears and preaches the Lotus Sutra just as the Buddha did, all living beings are able to attain enlightenment. Consequently, the Devil King of the Sixth Heaven descends into the threefold world and six paths with his followers to cause obstacles far greater than the nine great ordeals, persecuting the sage and hindering the preaching of the Lotus Sutra.

Therefore, the Daishonin states that he himself, though regarded by the people as the most perverse person in the world, is indeed the “sage” who meets persecutions greater than Shakyamuni’s, exactly in accord with the passage “how much more after his passing” in the “Teacher of the Law” chapter, and he regards this as his greatest joy.

The phrase, “though I am an ignorant man, to be regarded as a sage by the Buddha,” signifies nothing less than that Nichiren Daishonin, while appearing as an ordinary priest, is the True Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.

In contrast, he cites the example of Ryōkan, who opposed and persecuted the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day, showing that Ryōkan is identical to Devadatta during the Buddha’s lifetime and that his fall into hell is absolutely certain.

The person described here as “reputed to be a wise man, strictly observing the two hundred and fifty precepts…” is unmistakably Ryōkan.

Regarding how Ryōkan was “revered by the myriad people more than they revere Shakra, the king of the gods,” “Questions and Answers between a Sage and an Ignorant Man” (Seigu Mondō-shō) similarly states: “In particular, the venerable Ryōkan of Gokuraku-ji is revered by everyone from the ruler on down to the myriad laypeople as a living Tathagata.” (cf. GZ, 475)

That Ryōkan was a figure who would “be viewed with wonder by Shakyamuni Buddha and the Lotus Sutra as being just like Devadatta” is due to his persecution of Nichiren Daishonin using every possible means.

“The Letter to Shimoyama” (Shimoyama Go-shōso) states the following:

“Here is a priest named Ryōkandō [Ryōkan]… He never lets his three robes leave his body any more than if they were his own skin, and guards his single begging bowl as though it were his own two eyes. He strictly observes the two hundred and fifty precepts and maintains the three thousand rules of conduct. Ignorant laymen and women of the world, from the ruler on down to the myriad people, wonder if he is the Bodhisattva Jizō appearing from Mount Karatika or Mahakashyapa descending from Eagle Peak. When I examine the ‘Encouraging Devotion’ chapter in the fifth volume of the Lotus Sutra, it states that in the latter age there will be three types of powerful enemies of the Lotus Sutra. I see now that this man is indeed the third type of enemy.” (cf. GZ, 349)

Furthermore, “The Petition of Yorimoto” (Yorimoto Chinjo) describes how Ryōkan persecuted Nichiren Daishonin, the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra, and manipulated political authority in an attempt to take his life:

“Furthermore, the official document states that the chief priest of Gokuraku-ji is revered as a manifestation of the Buddha. This claim is difficult to accept. The reason is that Sage Nichiren is exactly as described in the sutras—the envoy of the Buddha who attained enlightenment in the remote past, the manifestation of Bodhisattva Superior Practices, the practitioner of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra, and the great leader of the fifth five-hundred-year period. Ryōkan submitted a petition calling for this sage to be beheaded, attempting to have him executed. Though the execution was halted by some turn of events and changed to远流 (exile) to Sado Island, was this not entirely the doing of the venerable Ryōkan? The text of his petition is attached separately. Although Ryōkan preaches during his night sermons on the six days of fasting that one should not even cut live grass, he nevertheless petitioned for the execution of a priest who propagates the true correct teaching of the Lotus Sutra. Is this not a flagrant contradiction? Is this priest not indeed one who has been possessed by heavenly devils?” (cf. GZ, 1157)

Just as Devadatta sought to take Shakyamuni’s life, Ryōkan attempted to end the life of Nichiren Daishonin, the True Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law. Therefore, just as Devadatta fell into hell, Ryōkan’s fall into hell is absolutely certain.

In contrast, the Daishonin declares that even if the people of the world view him as a perverse and ignorant man, because he has read the prophecies of Shakyamuni and the words of the Lotus Sutra with his very life, he is “regarded as a sage by the Buddha.”

Here, “perverse person” (hekijin) means a twisted or eccentric individual. Nichiren Daishonin was viewed as a perverse man by ordinary people, and this was particularly the shared perception among the members of the shogunate.

The Daishonin himself explains the reason for this in “The Treatment of Illness” (Yagenta-dono Go-返事):

“In the first place, Nichiren is the most perverse person in Japan. The reason is that because everyone believes in the Buddhas Amida, Dainichi, and Yakushi—whom they revere more highly than their own parents and consider more important than their lords—I have asserted that such beliefs cause the three disasters and seven calamities to surpass those of previous eras, and the heavenly signs and earthly tremors to exceed those of the past. I have declared without a moment’s pause that in this life they will ruin themselves and destroy the nation, and in the next life fall into the great Avici hell. It is because I have cried this out continuously that I have met with such great persecutions. It is like a summer insect flying into a flame, or a mouse venturing in front of a cat. Is this not like a beast that fails to protect itself despite knowing the danger? Since losing my life stems entirely from my own choice, I am indeed a perverse person.” (cf. GZ, 1226)

Nichiren Daishonin denounced all erroneous sects as the root of disasters and the cause for falling into the hell of incessant suffering, and for this, he faced severe persecutions. In the eyes of ordinary people, he appeared only as a perverse person who deliberately brought disasters upon himself.

However, the Daishonin refuted erroneous sects and underwent great trials solely to awaken the people to the correct teaching and enable them to attain Buddhahood. Though he appeared perverse to ordinary minds, when illuminated by the mirror of the Lotus Sutra and seen through the Buddha eye of Shakyamuni, the Daishonin is precisely the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra and the True Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law. In other words, facing great persecutions is the very proof of a true sage. Therefore, he rejoices in the hardships brought about by reading the Lotus Sutra with his very life.