The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra

Chapter12()

Main Text

On the eighth day of the fourth month, I met with Hei no Saemon. In contrast to his behavior on previous occasions, his manner was quite mild, and he treated me with courtesy. An accompanying lay priest asked me about the Nembutsu, a layman asked about the True Word school, and another person asked about Zen, while Hei no Saemon himself inquired whether it was possible to attain the way through any of the sutras preached before the Lotus Sutra. I replied to each of these questions by citing passages from the sutras.

Then Hei no Saemon, apparently acting on behalf of the regent, asked when the Mongol forces would invade Japan. I replied: “They will surely come within this year. I have already expressed my opinion on this matter, but it has not been heeded. If you try to treat someone’s illness without knowing its cause, you will only make the person sicker than before. In the same way, if the True Word priests are permitted to try to overcome the Mongols with their prayers and imprecations, they will only bring about the country’s military defeat. Under no circumstances whatever should the True Word priests, or the priests of any other schools for that matter, be allowed to offer up prayers. If each of you has a real understanding of Buddhism, you will understand this matter on hearing me explain it to you.

“Also, I notice that, although advice from others is heeded, when I offer advice, it is for some strange reason invariably ignored. Nevertheless, I would like to state certain facts here so that you may think them over later. The Retired Emperor of Oki was the sovereign of the nation, and the acting administrator [Hōjō Yoshitoki] was his subject, [and yet the latter attacked and defeated the retired emperor]. Why would the Sun Goddess permit a subject to attack a sovereign, who should be like a father to him? Why would Great Bodhisattva Hachiman allow a vassal to attack the lord with impunity? And yet, as we know, the sovereign and the courtiers supporting him were defeated by Hōjō Yoshitoki. That defeat was no mere accident. It came about because they put their faith in the misleading teachings of the Great Teacher Kōbō and the biased views of the great teachers Jikaku and Chishō, and because the priests of Mount Hiei, Tō-ji, and Onjō-ji, in their opposition to the Kamakura shogunate, offered prayers for its defeat. Thus their curses ‘rebounded upon the originator,’²⁴ and as a consequence the sovereign and his courtiers were forced to suffer defeat. The military leaders in Kamakura knew nothing of such rituals, so no prayers to subdue the enemy were offered; thus they were able to win. But if they now depend on such prayers, they will meet the same fate as the courtiers.

“The Ezo people of northern Japan have no understanding of the principles of birth and death. Andō Gorō²⁵ was a pious man who knew the law of cause and effect and erected many Buddhist halls and pagodas. How could it happen, then, that the Ezo beheaded him? In view of these events, I have no doubt that, if these priests are allowed to go on offering prayers for victory, Your Lordship will meet with some untoward event. And when that happens, you must not under any circumstances say that I failed to warn you.” Such was the stern manner in which I addressed him.

Notes

24. Lotus Sutra, chap. 25. In the sutra, the sentence reads in the future tense. It was changed here to fit the context of this letter.

25. Andō Gorō (n.d.) was a magistrate who exercised jurisdiction over the northern part of Japan in the time of the regent Hōjō Yoshitoki (1163–1224).

Lecture

The Meeting with Hei no Saemon on April 8

This passage describes the third “remonstration with the sovereign” (kokka kangyo). Nichiren Daishonin once remarked, “I have achieved three high achievements,” referring to the three times he admonished the government for the sake of the nation.

• The First Remonstration (1260): In the seventh month of the first year of Bun’o, the Daishonin submitted On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land (Rissho Ankoku Ron) to Hojo Tokiyori. He warned that unless the people abandoned erroneous teachings and embraced the True Law, the nation would face the twin disasters of internal rebellion and foreign invasion.

• The Second Remonstration (1271): In the ninth month of the eighth year of Bun’ei, just before the Tatsunokuchi Persecution, he declared to Hei no Saemon, “Nichiren is the pillar and beam of Japan. To lose me is to topple the pillar of the nation.” He again predicted the two disasters, but the authorities responded only with increased rage.

• The Third Remonstration (1274): This occurred on the eighth day of the fourth month, following his pardon and return from Sado. Regent Tokimune intended to offer formal protection to the Daishonin, but it was a mere formality, treating him as an equal to the Zen or Nembutsu sects. The Daishonin rejected this compromise. When Hei no Saemon asked when the Mongols would attack, he replied, “Certainly within this year.” He issued a final warning that continued slander of the Law would lead to the nation’s ruin.

At the time of the first warning in 1260, no one dreamed of a Mongol invasion. Yet Kublai Khan was already building a vast empire and preparing orders to invade Japan. The Daishonin’s foresight was the conduct of a True Buddha. His predictions were realized through the Bun’ei and Koan Mongol campaigns, bringing the fires of war to Japan.

Curing the Root Cause: Knowing the Origin of the Illness

The Daishonin writes: “If a person who does not know the origin of an illness tries to cure it, the illness will only grow worse.”

Anyone knows that to cure a disease, one must identify the cause before applying the correct remedy. While modern medicine has made remarkable progress, it often focuses on treating symptoms after they appear. When one pathogen is removed, a stronger one may emerge. This “patchwork” approach is seen not only in medicine but also in politics, economy, and education. Leaders often apply superficial, temporary fixes to societal crises, allowing deep-seated “illnesses” to accumulate until they explode.

A true leader responsible for the prosperity of a nation must investigate the fundamental cause of the disasters that threaten it. The Daishonin’s true intent in identifying the “origin of the illness” was to reveal the root of human suffering. In Rissho Ankoku Ron, he addressed the question, “What error gives rise to such disasters?” He demonstrated that the philosophy of the oneness of body and mind (shikishin funi) offers the correct view of life, society, and the universe. Only through this Great Law can the most fundamental solutions be found, enabling science, medicine, and all culture to truly serve humanity.

The Principle of “The Curse Returning to its Source”

The Daishonin pointed to the Jokyu War (1221) to show how reliance on erroneous teachings leads to national ruin. During that conflict, the Imperial Court—relying on the prayers of the Nembutsu and Shingon sects—attempted to overthrow the Shogunate. Despite the absolute authority traditionally held by the Emperor, his forces suffered a crushing defeat, and three retired emperors were exiled.

The Daishonin explained that the very prayers used to “curse” the Shogunate became the source of the Court’s own destruction. This is the principle of “the curse returning to the one who cast it” (genjaku o honnin).

This principle was vividly demonstrated in the life of Hei no Saemon. Fourteen years after the Atsuhara Persecution (where he executed three of the Daishonin’s disciples) and eleven years after the Daishonin’s passing, Hei no Saemon was caught in a power struggle. Accused of conspiracy, he and his son Munemitsu committed suicide, while his eldest son was exiled to Sado, and his entire clan was arrested.

We see the same evidence in modern times. During World War II, the military government established State Shinto and oppressed the Soka Gakkai, imprisoning first president Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and second president Josei Toda. The result was the total defeat of Japan and a tragic end for the leaders of that time. These are the undeniable actual proofs of genjaku o honnin.