The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra
President Ikeda’s Lecture, May Issue (From the April–June 2012 Daibyakuenge)
Reveal the Highest Power of the Truth of Life!
On the clear day of May 3, 1951, Josei Toda was inaugurated as the second president of the Soka Gakkai. He defined the significance of that day as the “casting off the transient and revealing the true” (hossaku kenpon) of the Soka Gakkai, directly linked to Nichiren Daishonin.
President Toda said: “President Makiguchi used to say, almost as a habit, ‘The Soka Gakkai must cast off the transient and reveal the true.’ At first, no one understood what he meant. But through my two years of struggle in prison, I was finally able to respond to my late mentor: ‘Our lives are eternal. We are the Bodhisattvas of the Earth charged with the great mission of spreading the seven-character Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day of the Law.'”
With this, the Soka Gakkai as a whole gave rise to the magnificent realization: “We are the kin of the True Buddha, destined to spread the Law.” The proof of that realization was the inauguration of the second president.
Walk the Great Path of Your Mission!
The “casting off the transient and revealing the true” of the Soka Gakkai means nothing less than each individual standing up with the resolve of a disciple of Nichiren Daishonin to transform great hardships into Kosen-rufu.
A person who awakens to their fundamental state of life is truly great. The Daishonin demonstrated this through his conduct during the “Tatsunokuchi Persecution.” Using this persecution as a catalyst, he revealed his inner state—the Buddha of beginningless time (kuon ganjo), one with the Mystic Law—within his physical form as an ordinary person.
In this lecture, let us continue studying “The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra” to learn from this “revealing of the true” and the vast state of life of the King of Lions.
The Passage (Gosho Text)
Tonight I am going to have my head cut off. This is something I have wished for for several years. In this saha world, when I was a pheasant, I was caught by a hawk; when I was a mouse, I was eaten by a cat. Or I lost my life for the sake of my wife and children more times than there are dust particles on the earth. But never once have I given my life for the sake of the Lotus Sutra. Therefore, though I was born as a poor priest, unable to repay my debt of gratitude to my parents or to the nation, I will now offer my head to the Lotus Sutra and transfer the resulting merit to my parents, and what remains to my disciples and lay supporters. (WND-1, p. 767)
Commentary
A Stern Remonstrance to the Gods
On the night of September 12, 1271, the Daishonin was taken from the custody of the authorities and led toward Tatsunokuchi.
“Tonight I am going to have my head cut off.” These were the words the Daishonin spoke to his loyal disciple Shijo Kingo, who had rushed to his side. He told him that losing his life for the Lotus Sutra was something he had long desired. He felt that by offering his life, he could finally repay his debts of gratitude and share the resulting merit with his parents and all his followers.
On the way to the execution grounds, at Wakamiya Avenue, the Daishonin dismounted his horse and shouted a stern remonstrance to Great Bodhisattva Hachiman: “Are you truly a god? When the Lotus Sutra was preached, you vowed to protect its practitioners! I am the foremost practitioner in Japan, and I am guiltless! Why do you not fulfill your vow and come to my protection?”
He went so far as to say that if he were executed, he would report to Shakyamuni Buddha in the pure land that Hachiman and the Sun Goddess (Tensho Daijin) were gods who broke their vows. President Toda explained that this was a shout directed at the entire universe. The Daishonin taught us the fundamental posture of saving others and embracing them with benefit.
The Passage (Gosho Text)
I said, “You are a sorry fellow! You should be laughing at this great joy! Why don’t you keep your promise?” I had no sooner said this than a brilliant object as bright as the moon flew from the direction of Enoshima, shooting across the sky from southeast to northwest. (WND-1, p. 767)
Commentary
Victory Over All Demonic Forces
When they arrived at Tatsunokuchi and Shijo Kingo wept, saying “This is the end,” the Daishonin told him: “There is no greater joy than this. You should laugh!”
At that moment, a luminous object appeared from the direction of Enoshima. The soldiers were blinded and fell to the ground; the executioner could not strike. Despite the Daishonin’s urging—”Why do you delay? If it becomes light, it will be unsightly”—no one could act.
The vital fact is that no matter how tyrannical the power, it was overwhelmed by the Daishonin’s state of life. His powerful determination to “save all living beings no matter what” shattered the devilish nature of authority.
Herein lies the significance of the Daishonin’s hossaku kenpon. He did not become a “special” or “transcendental” being; rather, in the form of a prisoner—the most oppressed ordinary person—he opened and revealed the highest, true power of life. In his later writings, he noted that “Nichiren” the common mortal died at Tatsunokuchi, but his spirit reached Sado as the True Buddha of the Latter Day.
The Gosho Text
I was kept at Echi for more than twenty days. During that period seven or eight cases of arson and an endless succession of murders took place in Kamakura. Slanderers went around saying that Nichiren’s disciples were setting the fires. The government officials thought this might be true and made up a list of over 260 of my followers who they believed should be expelled from Kamakura. Word spread that these persons were all to be exiled to remote islands, and that those disciples already in prison would be beheaded. It turned out, however, that the fires were set by the observers of the precepts and the Nembutsu believers in an attempt to implicate my disciples. There were other things that happened, but they are too numerous to mention here. (WND-1, p.769)
Commentary
Exile Decided by the Conspiracies of Evil Priests
After the order to halt the execution arrived from the Shogunate, the Daishonin’s treatment remained undecided, and he was held at Echi for more than twenty days. This delay suggests there were likely intense debates among the high-ranking officials of the Shogunate.
During this period, a storm of conspiracies by evil priests, who were desperate to prevent the Daishonin from being pardoned, blew fiercely and embroiled his disciples in Kamakura. According to this writing:
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Arson occurred multiple times and murders were frequent.
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False accusations (slander) claimed, “Nichiren’s disciples are setting the fires”.
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The government accepted these rumors as plausible and compiled a list of over 260 prominent disciples to be expelled or exiled.
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Rumors even spread that disciples already held in prison would be executed.
The Daishonin later states that the arson was, in fact, a plot orchestrated by the priests of the other schools. Even in his own precarious position, the Daishonin’s heart went out to his disciples who were struggling in Kamakura.
To a disciple who had been imprisoned, he sent words of deep concern:
“Tomorrow I am to leave for the province of Sado. In the cold tonight, I think of what it must be like for you in prison, and it pains me. ” (Letter to Priest Nichiro In Prison).”
He encouraged them by saying how noble it is to be able to “read” the Lotus Sutra with one’s very life.
Writing in the Freezing Tsukahara Sanmai-do
When the Daishonin departed Echi and crossed the mountains and seas, he finally arrived at the Sanmai-do, a small hall in the wild fields of Tsukahara on Sado Island. The conditions there were beyond what anyone could consider a livable environment:
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The boards of the ceiling did not meet.
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The four walls were in ruins.
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Snow fell and piled up without melting.
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At night, snow, hail, and thunder were ceaseless; during the day, even the sunlight could not reach inside.
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To make matters worse, Nembutsu followers were constantly seeking an opportunity to take his life.
From November 1st, the Daishonin spent his first freezing winter in this Sanmai-do. It was here that he authored several of his most significant works, including The Opening of the Eyes and Letter from Sado.
The light of his compassion, spirit, and great conviction contained in these writings still embraces the fighters for the spread of the Mystic Law throughout the world today. I am certain these works will continue to serve as a “spiritual source of light” illuminating humanity for all eternity. Out of the harshest circumstances, which felt like the darkest night, he caused the most magnificent Sun of Buddhism to rise brilliantly.
The Passage (Gosho Text)
Therefore, nothing is more joyful to me than to have been born in the Latter Day of the Law and to suffer persecutions because I propagate the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo. For more than twenty-two hundred years after the passing of the Buddha, no one, not even the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai Chih-che, experienced the truth of the passage in the sutra that says, “It [the Lotus Sutra] will face much hostility in the world and be difficult to believe.” Only I have fulfilled the prophecy from the sutra, “again and again we will be banished.”1 The Buddha says, in reference to those who “listen to one verse or one phrase [of the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law],” that “I will bestow on all of them a prophecy [that they will attain supreme perfect enlightenment].” Thus there can be no doubt that I will reach supreme perfect enlightenment. It is the lord of Sagami above all who has been a good friend to me. Hei no Saemon is to me what Devadatta was to Shakyamuni Buddha. The Nembutsu priests are comparable to the Venerable Kokālika, and the observers of the precepts to the monk Sunakshatra. The age of the Buddha is none other than today, and our present age is none other than that of the Buddha. This is what the Lotus Sutra describes as the “true aspect of all phenomena” and as “consistency from beginning to end.” (WND-1, p. 770)
Commentary
The Joy of Reading the Sutra with One’s Life
The Daishonin took pride in being the only one to “read” the sutra with his life—experiencing the banishments and hostility predicted therein. He even defined his persecutors, like Lord Tokimune or Hei no Saemon, as “good friends” (zenchishiki) or “positive influences,” because their actions allowed him to prove he was the Votary of the Lotus Sutra.
“The time of the Buddha is now, and our own time is that of the Buddha.” This principle remains unchanged today. To those at the center of Kosen-rufu, great evil acts as a foil that proves the greatness of good. If we live completely for the Mystic Law, we naturally come to realize that everything has meaning and can be used for the sake of Kosen-rufu. That is the state of Buddhahood.
The “King of Devils,” the most fierce of the three obstacles and four devils, often enters the bodies of influential people like sovereigns or parents to attack the practitioner. President Makiguchi often said we should “proactively bring out the devil to defeat it.” The three founding mentors of Soka have always led Kosen-rufu with the momentum to summon and see through these obstacles.
The Passage (Gosho Text)
Devadatta was the foremost good friend to the Thus Come One Shakyamuni. In this age as well, it is not one’s allies but one’s powerful enemies who assist one’s progress. We find examples before our very eyes. The Hōjō clan in Kamakura could not have firmly established itself as the ruler of Japan had it not been for the challenges posed by Yoshimori and the Retired Emperor of Oki. In this sense these men were the best allies the ruling clan could have. For me, Nichiren, my best allies in attaining Buddhahood are Kagenobu, the priests Ryōkan, Dōryū, and Dōamidabutsu, and Hei no Saemon and the lord of Sagami. I am grateful when I think that without them I could not have proved myself to be the votary of the Lotus Sutra. (WND-1, p. 770)
Commentary
“Persecutors are the Foremost Good Friends”
It is often our enemies, rather than our allies, who help us grow. Persecution brings out the honor and joy of being a practitioner. This is not about being “nice” to enemies; it is about fighting them and winning.
The Daishonin declares his victory by stating that he is “joyful.” This joy signifies winning the true battle of life: the attainment of Buddhahood. Even in the most wretched circumstances—the freezing cold of Sado or the threat of execution—he displayed a human power that no one could take away.
The Soka Gakkai: A Gathering of Bodhisattvas of the Earth
President Toda taught that hossaku kenpon also means “breaking through a deadlock.” When you feel you have hit a wall, you must summon great faith and practice to overcome it.
I took my first step toward world Kosen-rufu shortly after becoming the third president. Today, a global scrum of fighters for Kosen-rufu has spread. If the appearance of the Law is compared to a single day, the Daishonin’s struggle was the deepest part of the night. The prison struggles of Mr. Makiguchi and Mr. Toda were the time just before dawn. The Soka Gakkai’s “revealing of the true” is the “daybreak,” when the Sun of Buddhism begins to illuminate the earth.
Now, this Sun of Buddhism is like “youth at 8:00 AM,” brilliantly lighting the world. The Soka Gakkai is a group of Bodhisattvas of the Earth who appeared for the sake of Kosen-rufu. Our true potential is only beginning to be shown.
I want you, the youth, to stand up and demonstrate your own hossaku kenpon by breaking through deadlocks, creating infinite value, and running toward the completion of your mission!
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