Reply to Yasaburo

From the October 2012 issue of the Daibyakurenge — Lecture by SGI President Ikeda

A Battle of Words of the “Shared Struggle of Mentor and Disciple” to Open the Path of Kosen-rufu

It was 55 years ago, on October 17, 1957, when I headed for Kansai. It was for the first court hearing of the “Osaka Incident.”

This incident was a malicious, trumped-up charge in July of that same year, where I was arrested and detained on baseless allegations of election law violations. Even though I was innocent, I was indicted by the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office. Finally, facing the demonic nature of power, a courtroom battle was about to begin to prove my innocence and proclaim our justice to the end.

Predicting that the trial would be a long battle, I would be coming to Osaka more than ever before. Accompanying my wife, it was a visit to express our gratitude to the people of Kansai who would be supporting us. On the very night of our arrival, I immediately visited one home, and followed that with three more home visits.

“The Battle Has Finally Begun”

The next day, October 18, marked the first court hearing, signaling the start of a struggle that would last for more than four years until we won a verdict of not guilty in January 1962.

That evening, I visited Kobe. Meeting with the energetic members of Hyogo, my own fighting spirit burned even more fiercely. I wrote in my diary:

“The battle has finally begun. Know that now is the time for faith to advance. My friends, let us advance resolutely toward the next victory. I, too, will fight!”

At that time, the Soka Gakkai, beginning with Kansai, was developing rapidly. Even when mocked by society as a “gathering of the poor and the sick,” we turned even those slanders into pride, holding our heads high and saying, “A truly powerful religion is one that dives into the midst of those who are suffering the most, giving them the hope and courage to live on!” Burning with the noble mission of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, we launched into one-on-one dialogues that sparked life connecting with life.

The ordinary people, who had previously done nothing but weep over their painful destiny, now courageously raised their voices and took action as the main protagonists in building a new society. They stood up, burning with hope for life. This is exactly what the numerous human rights struggles that shine in human history have aimed for.

However, the rise of the Soka Gakkai as a new popular force must have provoked resentment and fear among Japan’s established authorities. The tyrannical power imposed oppression upon us. Yet, it is the Buddhism of Nichiren to confront this with the “heart of a lion king” and triumph over it.

“People, hold your heads high! Unite! Proclaim Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land! Courageously dive into the ocean of dialogue!” The mentor proclaims justice, and shouts to the disciples as an inseparable entity.

Nichiren Daishonin taught us that this “battle of words through the shared struggle of mentor and disciple” is precisely the driving force to open the path for kosen-rufu. Only when we act exactly as our mentor taught—”Shout as Nichiren shouts” and “Fight as I fight”—can we find the eternal and unchangeable great path to victory.

This time, we will study “Reply to Yasaburo,” in which the Daishonin instructs his follower to proclaim justice just as their mentor does.

Gosho Passage 1

[I SUGGEST you begin the religious debate with these words:] “Although I am an ignorant layman, among the teachings I have heard, I was especially impressed by the passage in the second volume of the Lotus Sutra that reads, ‘Now this threefold world [is all my domain . . . ]’” This sutra passage means that this country of Japan is the domain of Shakyamuni Buddha. In addition to the fact that all the gods, such as the Sun Goddess, Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, and Emperor Jimmu, and all the people, from the ruler of the nation on down, dwell within his realm, he is the Buddha to whom we living beings are greatly indebted for three reasons. First, he is our sovereign; second, he is our teacher; and third, he is our father. Among all the Buddhas of the ten directions, only Shakyamuni Buddha is endowed with these three virtues. Therefore, even if all the people of the country of Japan were to serve Shakyamuni Buddha wholeheartedly just as they now do Amida Buddha, if they were to place him side by side with another Buddha and treat him in the same manner, that would still be a grave error.

Lecture: The Disciple’s Growth Is the Mentor’s Deepest Wish

Apart from being a lay follower, details regarding Yasaburo, the recipient of this letter, remain unknown. However, since the Daishonin encourages him at the end of the letter by citing the meritorious deeds of achieving a spearhead victory at Uji and Seta, it is inferred that he was a samurai.

It appears that for some reason, Yasaburo was to engage in a doctrinal debate with an ordained priest of the Nembutsu sect. He reported this to the Daishonin in Minobu and received guidance on how to respond. This letter is the reply to that report. At the very end, the Daishonin states, “If you should be summoned by the steward, you should first explain these points thoroughly.” This suggests that it was anticipated that Yasaburo might have to appear before the local estate steward to present his arguments.

Furthermore, this letter was written in August of the third year of Kenji (1277), three years after the Daishonin entered Mount Minobu. This period overlaps with the time when prominent disciples of the Daishonin, such as Shijo Kingo, the Ikegami brothers, and Nanjo Tokimitsu, were in the midst of severe hardships.

“Reply to Ueno,” which we studied last time, was also written in May of the third year of Kenji (1277). That letter is a text in which the Daishonin taught the “humanistic philosophy of victory” to Nanjo Tokimitsu, who was beginning to face various forms of pressure from those around him.

Moreover, it was in June of this same year that Shijo Kingo was pressured by his lord to “abandon the Lotus Sutra” due to false accusations made by others. To repel this evil and clarify the truth, the Daishonin immediately drafted the petition known as “The Letter Written on Behalf of Shijo Kingo” (Yorimoto Chinjo). In that same month of June, the Daishonin also wrote “The Shimoyama Letter” (Shimoyama Goshoko), which served as a petition for Inaba-bo Nichiei, who was persecuted for converting to the correct teaching.

Looking at the circumstances surrounding many disciples in this way, the situation Yasaburo faced was by no means an isolated personal incident. Each event was undoubtedly a manifestation of the “three obstacles and four devils” and a persecution arising from the “three powerful enemies” that inevitably conflict with the advancement of kosen-rufu.

It can be said that the time had finally come for the disciples to stand up and fight alongside their mentor. In this letter, the Daishonin sends wholehearted encouragement to a lay follower, teaching him to fight courageously as a disciple, just as he, the mentor, had fought. This is a writing through which we can revere the core of the Daishonin’s view of mentor and disciple, which is the “shared struggle of mentor and disciple.”

The Passage “Now This Threefold World” from the “Simile and Parable” Chapter

At the beginning of this letter, it reads: “Although I am an unlearned layperson who does not understand Buddhism well, among the teachings I have heard, what I found deeply sacred is the passage in the second volume of the Lotus Sutra that says, ‘Now this threefold world…'” It appears that the Daishonin wrote the content Yasaburo should state in the debate from Yasaburo’s own perspective.

The phrase “now this threefold world” refers to the scriptural text from Chapter 3, “Simile and Parable,” which states:

“Now this threefold world is all my domain, and the living beings in it are all my children. And now this place is rife with many troubles; I alone am able to save and protect them.”

In response to this, the Daishonin confirms that “this present country of Japan is the domain of Shakyamuni Buddha.” He then reveals that for the deities and people dwelling there, Shakyamuni Buddha is the “Buddha of great debt of gratitude” who possesses the three virtues of “sovereign, teacher, and parent.” He clarifies that among all the Buddhas of the ten directions, Shakyamuni Buddha alone is the Buddha charged with the duty to teach and guide us.

However, even if the people of Japan were to revere Shakyamuni Buddha as earnestly as they currently revere Amida Buddha, who is highly popular today, to revere the Buddha of this world and a Buddha of another world side-by-side is ultimately a great error.

The Daishonin exposes that, in particular, although the various priests of Japan entered the Buddhist order as disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha, they have abandoned their fundamental teacher and his ultimate teaching, the Lotus Sutra, acting instead like disciples of Amida Buddha and causing the people to enshrine and chant to Amida Buddha.

This is a grave evil that reverses the fundamental and the trivial, causing people to commit slander of the Law and fall into the Avichi hell. Therefore, he severely points out, “These people resemble good people but are actually evil people. Among evil people, they are the number one slanderers of the Law in the entire world (Jambudvipa), people of incorrigible disbelief (icchantika).” He condemns them as being worse than Devadatta and others who opposed Shakyamuni.

The instruction “Do not mistake the master, teacher, and parent to whom you owe a great debt of gratitude” must have been a deeply convincing rationale for Yasaburo, who as a lay samurai served a single lord at the risk of his life. If he spoke exactly as his mentor instructed, even when facing priests of the Nembutsu sect, he could clearly refute their error of making Amida Buddha their foundation.

Buddhism to Save Real Human Beings

Now, the angle from which the Daishonin refutes the Nembutsu teaching in this letter can also be viewed as a re-examination of the fundamental purpose: “For what reason did the Buddha appear in this world?” And that purpose is none other than to completely save all the ordinary people suffering in this world.

Shakyamuni is the one who, fully understanding the difficulty of fighting in the Saha world where suffering never ends, deliberately made a vow to appear and save those most crushed by misfortune. And the Lotus Sutra is a scripture that seeks to transform this reality filled with suffering into an ideal world worthy of being called a Buddha land, starting from the inner transformation of the people living within it. That is, the purification of the Buddha land, and the reality that this Saha world is itself the Land of Tranquil Light.

With great compassion, Shakyamuni resolved, “Even if everyone else abandons you, I alone will never leave this Saha world; I will live out my life alongside the people here and will absolutely make them happy.” Since the remote past, he has tirelessly engaged in a great struggle for the relief of ordinary people.

In contrast, Amida Buddha represents the teaching of “loathing this impure world and longing for the Pure Land.” He is a Buddha who encourages people to cast aside this Saha world of defilement and seek salvation in another pure land. Looking at it from this perspective, to neglect Shakyamuni Buddha, who has a profound connection to this Saha world, and to revere a Buddha of another land as the foundation, is a “great error” that confuses the fundamental and the secondary.

What the Daishonin severely criticizes is the sin of the priests—the intellectuals and leaders of the time—who held this inverted view and led many people astray. It even caused the laypeople, who uncritically revered the trends of society, to unconsciously participate in evil.

The inversion of the people’s values, which serves as the foundation of an era and society, eventually collapses the spiritual ground upon which they stand. Great famines, major epidemics, internal conflicts among rulers, disturbances, and wars resulting from foreign invasions were the calamities that struck a society with confused thoughts, plunging the people into immense suffering.

Gosho Passage 2

In all Japan, I alone understand why such things are happening. At first I pondered whether or not I should speak out. Yet what was I to do? Could I turn my back on the teachings of the Buddha who is father and mother to all living beings? Resolving to bear whatever might befall me, I began to speak out, and in these more than twenty years I have been driven from my dwelling, my disciples have been killed, and I have been wounded, exiled twice, and finally was nearly beheaded. I spoke out solely because I had long known that the people of Japan would meet with great suffering, and I felt pity for them. 

Lecture: A Great Struggle of Compassion Spanning “More Than Twenty Years”

The priests of the various sects in Japan, as well as all ordinary people, have fallen into an “inversion of the fundamental and the secondary” by slighting Shakyamuni Buddha, who has the deepest connection and to whom they owe the greatest debt of gratitude, thereby inviting great suffering. The Daishonin was the only person who knew this truth. Nay, he did not merely know it; he courageously initiated a righteous battle of words to rectify that error.

This section records his profound resolve when he embarked on the great struggle for kosen-rufu, starting with the declaration of the establishment of his teaching in the fifth year of Kencho (1253), as well as his footsteps of propagating the Law while enduring and overcoming great persecutions, even facing the death penalty, for over twenty years since then.

Above all, we must never forget the single point that the Daishonin initiated the battle with a resolve unsparing of his life (fushaku shinmyo), stating, “Let my body become whatever it may.”

In addition, the expression “more than twenty years” of fighting is recorded nearly twenty times across various Gosho. The Daishonin welcomed the 20th anniversary of the establishment of his teaching while in exile on Sado Island. We cannot help but revere this as the crystallization of a history of completely enduring and overcoming great hardships predicted in the sutras, such as “being cursed and vilified,” “being attacked with swords and staves,” and “banished again and again.”

Why did he fight while deliberately accepting the hardships that preceded him? He states, “It was entirely because I knew in advance that all the living beings of Japan would face great suffering, and I lamented for them.”

“Lamentation” here means the lament of sharing suffering, and the empathy and compassion of standing beside those who are suffering. This represents the meaning of “removing suffering” within the concept of “removing suffering and imparting joy” (bakku roku), allowing us to revere the deep heart of great compassion.

It can be described as an uncontrollable urge to think not only of present suffering but also of the distress that living beings will receive in the future, wishing to decisively eradicate that suffering from its root. For that purpose, he does not begrudge receiving great hardships, does not fear them, and does not flee from them. This is the great struggle of Buddhist compassion.

In The Opening of the Eyes, it is stated: “When it comes to enduring hardships and the excellence of compassion, one might even feel fear.” Because of this great compassion, the Daishonin roared like a lion for justice without fear.

Mr. Toda, who cited this passage from The Opening of the Eyes, remarked:

“The practice of shakubuku must also be filled with conviction, manifest as an expression of great compassion, and filled with courage. Where there is conviction, it will always be filled with courage.”

Gosho Passage 3

Thoughtful persons should therefore realize that I have met these trials for their sake. If they were people who understood their obligations or who were capable of reason, then out of two blows that fall on me, they would receive one in my stead. But far from it—rather, they arouse hatred toward me, which is something I cannot understand. And lay people, not having heard the truth, either drive me from my dwelling place or hate my disciples. It is beyond comprehension. For example, even if unwittingly we mistook our parents for enemies and reviled or struck and killed them, how could we avoid the guilt of that offense? These people, failing to recognize their own rudeness, seem to think that I am rude. They are like a jealous woman with furious eyes who, unaware that when she glares at a courtesan her own expression is disagreeable, instead complains that the courtesan’s gaze is frightening.

Explain that these things have happened solely because the ruler has failed to inquire [about Buddhist doctrines]. And that the reason no inquiry has been made is that the people of this country are guilty of so many offenses that their evil karma has destined them unfailingly to be attacked by a foreign country in this lifetime and to fall into the hell of incessant suffering in the next.

[And please add something along these lines:] “I believe this because it is clearly recorded in the sutras. Even though you may attack and threaten insignificant persons like ourselves or drive us from our homes, in the end you will never get away with it. The resolve of this priest is such that it is most unlikely that even the Sun Goddess or Great Bodhisattva Hachiman can make him obey, let alone ordinary persons! That is why we hear that he has never quailed, even in the face of repeated persecutions, but has instead become all the more firmly determined.”

Lecture: Consistently Living a Life of Repaying One’s Debt of Gratitude to One’s Mentor

While enduring numerous great persecutions, the Daishonin resolutely continued to shout for justice. This was for the sake of the people. And it was a battle to reclaim the true meaning of Buddhism. If they are “people of understanding” who can look directly at this truth, they ought to think, “He suffered hardships for our sake,” the Daishonin states.

Furthermore, the Daishonin cries out that if they understand gratitude and possess minds of understanding, they should receive “one of the two blows of the staff” destined for the Daishonin in his stead.

In accordance with the text, this describes the proper attitude of the Buddhist practitioners of that time. In reality, however, the priests who were supposed to be knowledgeable about Buddhism not only failed to understand the Daishonin’s struggle, but conversely persecuted the Daishonin and his followers. And the laypeople, deceived by evil priests, also joined the side of the persecutors along with those slanderous monks.

The Daishonin points out: “These people do not recognize their own harshness but think only of Nichiren’s harshness.”

Even though they themselves have become distorted and are slandering the Lotus Sutra, they fail to realize it, and instead criticize the Daishonin’s words of refuting error and revealing the truth as “being mistaken.” This is exactly the state of “poison having penetrated deeply, causing them to lose their original minds.”

This is the dreadfulness of slandering the Law. In the eyes of a distorted person, a straight and correct person appears distorted.

To change this society, the Daishonin initiated an unsparing struggle. In the darkness of ignorance where no one had yet awakened, he began the struggle for justice all alone. Moreover, it was a battle of words launched with the absolute conviction that followers would surely follow later. How profoundly grateful we must be.

The Birth of “Disciples Who Fight Alongside Their Mentor”

To walk a correct life and live better, we need justice—a norm that shows the correct way to live as a human being. We need hope that enables us to move toward happiness. For that purpose, courage to confront difficulties is indispensable. It is the existence of the mentor of Buddhism who demonstrates and teaches these qualities through his own life.

There is no greater happiness than having a mentor. There is no loftier honor than being able to fight alongside one’s mentor. Gratitude to that mentor becomes the source for continuing to walk a correct life.

Repaying one’s debt of gratitude to the mentor and fighting alongside them. Let us confirm that the Lotus Sutra expounds a grand transformation from “disciples saved by the mentor” to “disciples who save people by standing upon the same vow as the mentor.” In other words, only when disciples of shared struggle appear is the Lotus Sutra’s philosophy of popular relief completed.

In this letter, did the Daishonin not wish for the disciple to “stand alone” as the protagonist of kosen-rufu? Furthermore, unless a disciple inherits the faith of “standing alone,” they cannot confront the respective Buddhist persecutions they face. It seems to me that he is shouting, “Disciples, fight as I fight!” and “Stand alone and achieve victory!”

I, too, stood up with the determination to definitively realize Mr. Toda’s battle for kosen-rufu. Since my youth, I have revered the guidance, “If they understand gratitude and possess minds of understanding, they should receive one of the two blows of the staff in his stead,” applying it to my own life. Reading this together with Mr. Toda at his home is also an unforgettable history. To protect Mr. Toda, I maintained the resolve to stand at the forefront of all great persecutions on behalf of my mentor. At the time of the “Osaka Incident,” I fought through with the determination not to let anyone lay a single finger on Mr. Toda.

Now, at the end of this section, the Daishonin instructs Yasaburo to declare the following regarding his mentor, Nichiren Daishonin: “You should state to the relevant parties that even when facing repeated major crises, my mentor has not the slightest fear in his heart, but is ever more resolute, fighting on with increasing vigor.”

No matter what era we face, we will fearlessly shout for justice while causing the mentor’s intense lion’s roar to blaze within our own lives.

Gosho Passage 4

You must be firmly resolved. Do not begrudge your fief; do not think of your wife and children. And do not depend on others. You must simply make up your mind. Look at the world this year as a mirror. The reason that you have survived until now when so many have died was so that you would meet with this affair. This is where you will cross the Uji River. This is where you will ford the Seta. This will determine whether you win honor or disgrace your name. This is what is meant when it is said that it is difficult to be born as a human being, and that it is difficult to believe in the Lotus Sutra. You should pray intently that Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions will all gather and take possession of your body to assist you. If you happen to be summoned before the steward, you should first explain all this thoroughly.

Lecture: “Simply Make Up Your Mind”

Next, the Daishonin goes on to offer specific advice regarding Yasaburo’s response to the counterarguments of the priest he is debating. It is extremely specific, instructing him, “You should declare this to your opponent.” And by telling him to “attack them” and “attack them,” he is teaching the intense spirit of shakubuku.

Receiving this, he drives into Yasaburo the “mental attitude” required as a follower of Nichiren to challenge the battle of words for kosen-rufu, as well as the struggle against the three obstacles and four devils that will conflict with him. One cannot win the fierce battle of kosen-rufu with a half-hearted, naive attitude.

As shown in the phrase “be ever diligent,” it means to approach the battle with prayers, preparation, and actions for absolute victory. And at its core, there must be no doubt, fear, or negligence. It means to “make up your mind”—to decide that “I will absolutely win.”

To witness a critical battle for the Law, a battle of words for kosen-rufu, and to be able to praise Buddhism and shout for the mentor’s justice through one’s own body, voice, and actions—there is no greater honor than this.

“The Reason You Have Survived Until Now… Is So That You Might Encounter This State of Affairs”

When we think about it, in this time of the Latter Day of the Law, being able to encounter the Mystical Law and walk the path of worldwide kosen-rufu together as Soka Gakkai members and as mentor and disciple of Soka is itself the ultimate glory. It is a life that shines like gold.

Mr. Toda remarked:

“When life is difficult in a troubled world, we must consider why we were born. It is our past destiny (shukuju) to be born with the role of achieving kosen-rufu under the mandate of the Daishonin. The issue is whether one understands this or not.”

In the course of a long life, when we confront a struggle where we feel “this is the decisive moment” or “now is the critical battle,” it is an experience that resonates with this Gosho passage. Alongside my mentor and my fellows, I too have many times engaged in fierce struggles where I engraved in my life the words, “It is so that you might encounter this state of affairs.” I am sure it is the same for all of you, my comrades.

The Daishonin teaches that the debate Yasaburo is about to face is a golden opportunity to leave one’s name eternally in the battle for kosen-rufu, just like a battle where a samurai wins honor.

The example cited there is the battle of Uji and Seta. Since ancient times, those places were strategic points when marching into Kyoto. Many famous generals risked their lives to break through those points ahead of others and win honor. For me, this passage is a text that I reverently studied deeply with my fellows in Kansai in the midst of the “Osaka Campaign,” which startled society by achieving what was thought to be impossible.

“Now is the time” to make a breakthrough for kosen-rufu, and it is the critical juncture for transforming one’s own destiny. When we decide this for ourselves, pray, and take action, the path to victory will surely open. To perceive a time of great struggle as a chance for a grand transformation, and to joyfully challenge it—this is the way of life of a true hero and a wise person.

A Powerful “Prayer” That Decides the Battle

There is one more point I would like to confirm here regarding the powerful “prayer” and “determination” in facing battle that the Daishonin teaches Yasaburo. Namely, it is the instruction: “You should perceive that Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and all the other Buddhas of the ten directions will gather, enter your body, and assist you.”

Through powerful prayer, all Buddhas will “enter one’s body” and “assist” us. In other words, the world of Buddhahood inherent in our lives will open and manifest, life force will surge forth, and wisdom will be exerted endlessly. It is an instruction to fill one’s life with the overflowing “energy of the world of Buddhahood” and decisively win the match.

If all Buddhas enter one’s body in place of oneself, it is only natural that their attendants, the various Bodhisattvas, and the heavenly gods and benevolent deities, will follow and work with all their might.

To a single lay follower, the Daishonin taught how to pray and fight with such intensity. It is the faith of our Soka Gakkai that has fought in direct alignment with this heart. That is why we have fought as the army of the Buddha.

With Friends of Shared Struggle in the Land of My Mission

On October 19, 1957, the day after the first court hearing of the “Osaka Incident,” I visited Kyoto, encouraged the comrades who were fighting together with me, and traveled toward the Uji area.

At that time, as I gazed at the flow of the Uji River, a historic battlefield famous for the race to be the first to attack, there was a thought that welled up within my chest. For myself, for the future of the Soka Gakkai, and for the future of kosen-rufu, a battle that would decide the outcome had begun, just like that “Battle of the Uji River.”

For the justice of Buddhism, to praise my mentor, I will shatter all obstacles and difficulties and absolutely win! I determined in my heart that it was precisely for this purpose that I encountered this trial now.

“Wherever you are, wherever a struggle is waged for human rights, for justice, for truth, there are your compatriots,” are the deeply meaningful words of Mazzini, a revolutionary who formed the society “Young Italy” about 180 years ago and fought to build a new era of Italian unification.

A struggle for rights, justice, or truth is never someone else’s business or irrelevant to anyone, even if it appears to be the action of a single individual. Therefore, even if one seems to have initiated the battle all alone, compatriots are always there. Comrades of shared struggle are there. One’s own victory does not belong to oneself alone; one becomes a victor for all those who are similarly agonizing and suffering.

“Buddhism is a matter of victory or defeat.”

No matter what time it is, and whether it is anywhere in Japan or anywhere on Earth, the place where a Bodhisattva of the Earth stands up and courageously launches a battle of words to propagate the Lotus Sutra is the grand main battlefield of kosen-rufu. The moment and place where a single person stands up becomes the treasured land of mission—the “Uji and Seta”—to prove the justice of Buddhism.

Therefore, my beloved comrades, my youth of the succession, definitively win through today! Achieve total victory right where you are now!

Having been born at this very time due to a wondrous past connection, I am resolved to fight throughout my life alongside my disciples who strive for kosen-rufu in accordance with their mission as Bodhisattvas of the Earth.