On Consecrating an Image of ShakyamuniBuddha Made by Shijō Kingo
Chapter5(Describing the Blessings of the God of the Sun)
Main Text
Your daily records also indicate that each year, during the ninety-day period from the eighth day of the fourth month through the fifteenth day of the seventh month, you perform acts of devotion to the god of the sun. The god of the sun lives in a palace made of the seven kinds of treasures. This palace occupies an area of 816 ri or 51 yojanas. In the midst of it dwells the god of the sun, attended by two consorts, Victorious and Invincible. To his right and left range the seven luminaries and the nine luminaries,7 and in front of him stands the heavenly goddess Marīchi. The god of the sun rides a chariot made of the seven treasures and drawn by eight fine horses, and in the space of one day and one night he circles about the four continents, acting as an eye to all the living beings who dwell in them.
In the case of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas as well as the other deities, we hear that they bestow superb blessings, but with our dull eyes we have yet to see it. In the case of the sun deity, however, there can be no doubt, for his blessings are before our very eyes. Were it not for Shakyamuni, the lord of teachings, how could such blessings as these be bestowed? And were it not for the power of the wonderful sutra of the one vehicle, how could such marvels appear before us? It is wondrous to contemplate!
In inquiring how to repay this deity for his favor, we find that, in the ages before the appearance of Buddhism, people of a discerning nature all bowed before him or presented offerings, and all of them received evidence of blessings in return. At the same time, those who turned against him were all punished.
Now if we consider what the Buddhist writings have to say, we may note that the Golden Light Sutra states, “The god of the sun and the god of the moon, because they listen to this sutra, are able to obtain vitality in abundance.” And the Sovereign Kings Sutra states, “Through the power of this sutra king, these luminaries are able to circle the four continents.”
You should understand, therefore, that it is the power of the Buddhist Law that enables the deities of the sun and moon to make their rounds of the four continents. The Golden Light and Sovereign Kings sutras are mere expedient teachings leading to the Lotus Sutra. When compared with the Lotus Sutra, they are like milk compared with ghee, or metal compared with precious gems. And yet, inferior as these sutras are, they enable the heavenly deities to circle the four continents. How much more power can these deities gain, then, by tasting the sweet ghee of the Lotus Sutra!
Therefore, in the “Introduction” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, we find the deities of the sun and moon ranged side by side with the god of the stars. And in the “Teacher of the Law” chapter, it is predicted that the deity of the sun will attain supreme perfect enlightenment and be known as the Thus Come One Fire-Sustaining.8
In addition to all this, your late father initiated this worship of the sun deity, and you have succeeded him in the second generation, carrying on these ceremonies over a long period of time. So how could the deity possibly abandon you?
I, Nichiren, have also put my trust in this deity, and in this manner have carried on my struggles in Japan over the past several years. Already I have the feeling that I have achieved victory. Such clear blessings can only be attributed to this deity.
There are many other admirable points in your daily records, but I cannot go into them all in this letter.
Notes
7. The seven luminaries are the sun, the moon, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn. The nine luminaries are the seven luminaries, comets, and a heavenly body called Rahu (Skt), said to cause eclipses.
8. The “Teacher of the Law” chapter itself does not mention that the god of the sun will receive the name Fire-Sustaining Thus Come One. It does, however, predict supreme enlightenment for all those who uphold even a single phrase or verse of the sutra. In commenting on this passage in Words and Phrases, T’ien-t’ai cites the Awakening to True Meditation Sutra, which says that the four heavenly kings shall all become Buddhas named Fire-Sustaining. In his Annotations on “The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra,” Miao-lo in turn suggests that the gods of the heavenly bodies and others will also attain Buddhahood under this name. Nichiren Daishonin appears to have accepted Miao-lo’s interpretation.
Lecture
It appears that the Shijō family had, for generations, revered the Sun Deity (Nitten no Tenshi / 日天子). To worship this deity as an object of faith is, strictly speaking, slander of the Law, just as worshiping Buddha statues as actual objects of devotion is slander. However, for reasons explained earlier in the first chapter (“On the Erecting of a Shakyamuni Image”), the Daishonin nevertheless permitted their faith in the Sun Deity.
This Sun Deity is said to have been present in the assembly of the Lotus Sutra and vowed to protect those who uphold the True Law. The Golden Light Sutra explains that the Sun and Moon deities increase their vitality by hearing the correct Law. The phrase “this sutra” in that context does not refer literally to the Golden Light Sutra, but to the Buddha’s True Law—the Lotus Sutra, and ultimately Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the Mystic Law of the Latter Day of the Law.
In the The Doctrine of Attaining Buddhahood in Ones Present Form it is written:
It is written in the sutras that you gods of the sun and moon feed upon the Law of the Buddha and thereby increase your brilliance and power. Persons who destroy the flavor of the Buddhist Law are in effect depriving you gods of your strength. They are enemies of all living beings. (WND1, p.1057)
That is, the heavenly gods such as the Sun and Moon deities regard the flavor of the Buddha’s Law as their sustenance. Therefore, when human beings uphold the True Law, these deities can fully exercise their protective functions. Conversely, if the people slander the True Law, the deities instantly lose their strength and in the end abandon their protection of the land altogether. The passage from the Golden Light Sutra concerning this principle is also cited in On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land.
The sutra states:
“Even though this sutra exists within that land, if it has never been propagated,
if the people give rise to a mind of rejection, refuse to hear it,
fail to offer reverence or praise,
and if the four kinds of believers do not respect or make offerings to those who uphold the sutra—
then we and our countless retinues of heavenly beings
will be unable to hear this profound Law.
We will be deprived of the taste of nectar
and lose the flow of the True Law,
and thus lose all brilliance and strength.
Evil realms will increase,
gods and humans will decline,
beings will fall into the river of birth and death
and stray from the path to nirvana.
World-Honored One, seeing such conditions,
we Four Heavenly Kings and all our attendants,
together with the yakshas,
will abandon that land and cease to protect it.
Nor will we be the only ones to abandon its king—
all other great benevolent deities
who protect countless lands
will likewise forsake it.”
It is well understood that the term “this sutra” in this passage does not refer merely to the Golden Light Sutra, but to the Lotus Sutra, and ultimately Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
The Sun Deity (Nitten) refers not so much to the sun as a physical object, but to the life-force of the sun. The immense energy of the sun nurtures all living things on earth; without it, neither human beings nor any living organisms could survive. The blessings that the sun and moon bestow upon earthly life are beyond measure.
At the same time, the sun itself moves in harmony with all other celestial bodies within the vastness of the universe. This dual function—of nurturing life and maintaining harmonious cosmic motion—is what is expressed by the term “Sun Deity.”
其の上日蓮も又此の天を恃みたてまつり、日本国にたてあひて数年なり。
既に日蓮かちぬべき心地す
Because this letter was written in Kenji 2 (1276), “for several years now” likely refers to the period beginning around Bun’ei 8 (1271). In a letter to Shijō Kingo dated the 21st day of the 9th month of Bun’ei 8 (1271), Nichiren Daishonin states:
“Of the three celestial bodies, the Moon Deity manifested as a shining object and saved me at Tatsunokuchi,
the Star Deity (Venus) appeared before me four or five days earlier,
and now only the Sun Deity remains.
Surely he too will protect me—I am confident of this, confident indeed.”
(Gosho 1114:01)
If we consider this passage alongside the line in the present writing—
“For several years I too have relied upon this deity and have stood firm against the whole nation of Japan”—
we may glimpse something of the Daishonin’s inner life after the Tatsunokuchi Persecution and his manifestation of Buddhahood in his original identity.
From the very beginning, when he adopted the name “Nichiren” (“Sun-Lotus”), the Sun Deity must have been deeply meaningful to him. But after the Tatsunokuchi Persecution, when he revealed his true identity as the Buddha of the Latter Day who illuminates the darkness of the ten thousand years to come, the Sun Deity must have appeared even closer to him.
Fundamentally, Nichiren Daishonin himself was like the Sun—dispelling the darkness. In the unity of subject and environment (esho funi), it is to be understood that the heavenly deities—especially the Sun Deity—actively protected him. This was something he could sense with absolute clarity.
Thus, “for several years I have stood against the nation of Japan” means that for many years he had directly confronted the slanderous priests of Japan and the worldly powers misled by them. Throughout this period, while enduring persecution that threatened his very life, he was protected by the heavenly deities as the Buddha of the Latter Day.
Therefore he declares, “Already I feel that Nichiren is certain to win.”
This means that no earthly power nor devilish force was able to defeat him, proving that his Buddhism is indeed the powerful and victorious Great Law.
Furthermore, this statement—“I feel certain that Nichiren will triumph”—can be understood as his clear realization that for all future ages, the True Law will unfailingly spread throughout the world.
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