The fact that wooden statues carved from timber or painted images made from plant-based pigments can possess the life of a Buddha becomes possible only through the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life(ichinen sanzen). Within the three thousand realms in a single moment of life, the “world of the land” refers to the insentient realm of plants and earth. When ta single moment of lifehe of the Mystic Law is established, even grasses, trees, and the very land itself manifest the workings of Buddhahood.

The doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life exists solely within the Lotus Sutra, and because it was the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai who clearly grasped and systematized it, only through the Lotus Sutra and the T’ien-t’ai teachings can the life of a Buddha be brought forth within an insentient Buddha image.

The essential meaning of this section is as described above. Yet it goes without saying that the expression “the Lotus Sutra and the T’ien-t’ai school” here does not refer to the actual T’ien-t’ai school as it later became corrupted by Shingon doctrine. Rather, it refers to Nichiren Daishonin’s own teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which stands upon the true and correct Law.

“The doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life arises from the concept of the three realms of existence. ”

The philosophy of the three thousand realms in a single moment of life represents the ultimate principle of Buddhism. In the theoretical teaching (Shakumon) of the Lotus Sutra, it is explained—though only in part—in the “Expedient Means” chapter under the concept of “the true aspect of all phenomena.”

However, in the theoretical teaching the world of the land had not yet been clarified. Only in the essential teaching (Honmon), in the “Lifespan” (Juryō) chapter, is the full content of the three thousand realms revealed. The one who clearly systematized this life-philosophy taught in the Lotus Sutra was the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai.

As High Priest Nichikan points out:
“In the Words and Phrases and Profound Meaning, T’ien-t’ai illuminates the thousand aspects of reality but does not explicitly reveal the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life. Only in volume five of Great Concentration and Insight (Mohe Zhiguan) does he directly explain the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life.”

Thus, T’ien-t’ai elucidated the thousand “thusnesses” in Words and Phrases and Profound Meaning, and finally, in Great Concentration and Insight, fully systematized the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life.

Volume five of Great Concentration and Insight states:

“One mind contains the ten worlds.
Each of the ten worlds contains ten worlds,
making one hundred worlds.
Each world possesses the thirty kinds of worlds;
thus the hundred worlds constitute three thousand worlds.
These three thousand dwell within a single moment of mind.
If mind does not exist, all ceases.
If even the slightest mind exists, it contains all three thousand.”

Here, let us consider the meaning of the three realms of existence within this doctrine.

The The Doctrine of Three Thousand Realms in a Single Moment of Life states:

“[Because of the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds] living beings in any one of the Ten Worlds possess all Ten Worlds, and this therefore makes a total of a hundred worlds. Each of these hundred worlds possesses the ten factors, and this makes a thousand factors. Each of these thousand factors possesses the three realms, the realm of living beings, of the environment, and of the five components, and this makes three thousand realms.

The forms and appearances that are manifested in the hundred worlds all represent the principle of temporary existence and hence pertain to the truth of temporary existence. The thousand factors all represent the principle of non-substantiality and hence pertain to the truth of non-substantiality. The three thousand realms all represent the principle of  the Dharma body and hence pertain to the truth of the Middle Way.”(WND2, p.83)

The On the Principle of Three Thousand Realms in a Single Moment of Life quotes the Profound Meaning:

“What exists in name is the realm of living beings, and what exists in reality are the realm of the five components and the realm of the environment. These make up the three realms of existence. The phenomena that comprise the thousand factors apply to all three realms of existence. Hence we speak of the three thousand realms.”(WVD2, p.75)

It further cites the Great Concentration and Insight:

“With regard to what is present in life at a single moment, if we did not employ the concept of the Ten Worlds, we would be unable to explain everything that is encompassed there. If we did not employ the concept of the three truths, we could not fully explain the principle that is at work here. If we did not speak of the ten factors, we could not explain all the workings of cause and effect. And if we did not have the concept of the three realms of existence, we could not fully cover life and its environment.”(WVD2, p.75)

In other words, without the three kinds of worlds—living beings, the land, and the five aggregates—one cannot fully account for both the principal beings (the sentient) and the dependent environment (the insentient).

The text continues:

Therefore living beings whose ears are touched by the daimoku are living beings who will gain merit. And when we speak of all living beings, this category of all living beings includes plants and trees, tiles and pebbles. （WND2, The Doctrine of Three Thousand Realms in a Single Moment of Life, p.88）

Here, grasses, trees, tiles, and stones represent the world of the land, and for the first time the Buddhahood of both sentient and insentient beings is clarified.

By revealing the three kinds of worlds, the concrete fields where the ten worlds manifest—the environment, the stage of living—become clear, and the three truths of emptiness, provisional existence, and the Middle Way are established. Without the five aggregates, living beings, and the land, this structure cannot stand. Thus, the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life must always be developed on the basis of the the concept of the three realms of existence.

Nichiren Daishonin did not leave this doctrine as mere theory. He established its practical embodiment in the Gohonzon of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo—the Three Great Secret Laws.

Hence his words:

The fact is that the meditation on three thousand realms in a single moment of life and the method of meditation known as threefold contemplation in a single mind are contained within the five characters Myoho-renge-kyo. And these five characters, Myoho-renge-kyo, are also contained within the single life of each of us. (WND2, The Doctrine of Three Thousand Realms in a Single Moment of Life, p.85)

We should engraved this deeply in our hearts.

“It is the power of the Lotus Sutra that can infuse such paintings and statues with a “soul” or spiritual property. This was the realization of the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai. In the case of living beings, this doctrine is known as attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form; in the case of painted and wooden images, it is known as the enlightenment of plants and trees. ”

Here, “the power of the Lotus Sutra” refers unmistakably to the Gohonzon of the Three Great Secret Laws, the ultimate ichinen sanzen hidden in the depths of the text—Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. When even a single wooden or painted image is infused with life through Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the entire image functions exactly as a living Buddha. This is the principle of the enlightenment of plants and trees (sōmoku jōbutsu).

In The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind Established in the Fifth Five-Hundred-Year Period after the Thus Come One’s Passing, Nichiren writes:

If insentient beings are endowed with the ten factors, is it correct to assume that plants and trees have minds and can attain Buddhahood like sentient beings?(WND1, p.355)

While acknowledging that this is a difficult doctrine, he continues:

Both the Buddhist and the non-Buddhist scriptures permit wooden or painted images to be used as objects of devotion, but T’ien-t’ai and his followers were the first to explain the principle behind this practice. If a piece of wood or paper lacked the cause and effect [of Buddhahood] in either the material or the spiritual aspect, it would be futile to rely on it as an object of devotion.(WND1, p.356)

Thus, fundamentally even insentient plants and trees possess the life of the ten worlds and three thousand realms, and are capable of attaining Buddhahood. When viewed from the standpoint of sentient beings, the doctrine becomes attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form; when viewed from insentient beings, it becomes the enlightenment of plants and trees.(sōmoku jōbutsu)

High Priest Nichikan distinguished two forms of sōmoku jōbutsu:

1. “Unchanging original enlightenment”—plants and trees, as they are, reveal their inherent Buddhahood;

2. “Enlightenment of wooden or painted images”—insentient forms become the actual body of the Buddha through the power of the Daishonin’s Buddhism.

Nichiren Daishonin writes:

The oral tradition says that the Buddha can become grass and trees. This means that the Shakyamuni Buddha of the “Life Span” chapter can manifest himself in grass and trees.(WND2, The Oral Tradition regarding the Enlightenment of Plants, p.430)

Furthermore:

When spring comes and conditions of wind and rain prevail, then even the mindless plants and trees will all put forth buds, blossom in glory, and make their presence known to the world. And when autumn arrives with its conditions of autumn moonlight, then plants and trees will all ripen and bear fruit. Then they will nourish all sentient beings, sustain their lives, bring them to maturity, and in the end manifest both the virtue and the functions of Buddhahood. Can anyone doubt this? If even the mindless plants and trees can do so, how much truer should this be of human beings?(WND2, The Unanimous Declaration by the Buddhas of the Three Existences　regarding the Classification of the Teachings and Which Are to Be Abandoned and Which Upheld, p.861)

Thus, when a human being dies, their sentient life returns to the universe and becomes insentient. Through the power of the Mystic Law, even that insentient state can be transformed and elevated—this is the principle behind memorial tablets (stupas) and their efficacy.

However, as the Daishonin warns:

“Unless the seed of Buddhahood—ichinen sanzen hidden in the depths of the text—is present,
neither the enlightenment of sentient beings
nor the wooden or painted object of devotion can be real.”

Therefore, the foundation of all enlightenment—whether of sentient or insentient beings—is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

“This Buddha is indeed the living Buddha.”

On the surface, this refers to the image of Śākyamuni created by Shijō Kingo. But on a deeper level, the Buddha referred to in this passage is none other than the Gohonzon of the Three Great Secret Laws.

The Gohonzon is the very embodiment of ichinen sanzen, and—as Nichiren states:

“I have inscribed my life itself
in sumi ink upon this mandala.”

Thus, the Gohonzon is the living life of the Buddha. Because the object of devotion is one with the Original Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, Nichiren Daishonin himself, it is truly the living Buddha.