Reply to Yasaburō

Main Text

[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 . . . ]’”¹ 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. For example, though someone were our own ruler and wise besides, if we were to shift our allegiance to the ruler of another country—for instance, if, while dwelling in Japan, we were to pay honor to the king of China or Koryŏ and slight the sovereign of Japan—could we be called persons who honor the great sovereign of this country?

This is all the more true in the case of the priests of Japan, who without exception have shaved their heads and donned their robes as disciples of the Thus Come One Shakyamuni. They are not the disciples of Amida Buddha. However, priests who have no halls in their temples where Shakyamuni is enshrined or where the Lotus meditation² is practiced, and who have neither painted nor wooden images [of Shakyamuni] nor even a copy of the Lotus Sutra, have set aside Shakyamuni Buddha, who is fully endowed with the three virtues. In each district, village, and household throughout the country, they have erected more images than there are people of Amida Buddha, who possesses not a single one of these virtues, and they chant the name of Amida Buddha exclusively, sixty thousand or eighty thousand times a day. Although such acts appear to be most admirable, when we view the matter in the light of the Lotus Sutra, we find that these good people are guilty of offenses heavier than those of wicked men who daily commit the ten evil acts. Evil people do not rely on any Buddha whatsoever, so they cannot be accused of disloyalty. Moreover, if they should become good people, they might even devote themselves to the Lotus Sutra. Yet it is difficult to imagine that the people of Japan could ever turn their hearts with more seriousness and affection toward Shakyamuni Buddha than Amida Buddha, or toward the Lotus Sutra than the Nembutsu. Thus, they are evildoers who only resemble virtuous people. And among evildoers, they are the worst of the most terrible slanderers and icchantikas, or persons of incorrigible disbelief, in all Jambudvīpa. With regard to such people, Shakyamuni Buddha declared in the second volume of the Lotus Sutra, “When his life comes to an end he will enter the Avīchi hell.”³

The priests of Japan today are all men of great evil, surpassing even Devadatta or the Venerable Kokālika. And because lay people revere them and make them offerings, this country is being transformed before our very eyes into the hell of incessant suffering, where countless people in their present existence, in addition to undergoing starvation, pestilence, and horrible agonies unknown in previous ages, will be attacked by a foreign power. This is due solely to the workings of deities like Brahmā, Shakra, and the gods of the sun and moon.

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. 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.”

Notes

1. Lotus Sutra, chap. 3. This passage indicates the Buddha’s three virtues: “Now this threefold world is all my domain [the virtue of sovereign], and the living beings in it are all my children [the virtue of parent]. Now this place is beset by many pains and trials. I am the only person who can rescue and protect others [the virtue of teacher].”

2. A meditation established by T’ien-t’ai on the basis of the Lotus Sutra, aimed at perceiving the ultimate reality. Carried out over a twenty-one-day period, it combined both walking and seated meditation, worship of the Buddha, repentance, and sutra chanting.

3. Lotus Sutra, chap. 3.

Lecture

As indicated by its title, this Gosho was addressed to a believer named Yasaburo. While Yasaburo is easily confused with Funamori Yasaburo (Yasaburo the shipwright) of Kawana in Izu, they are said to be entirely different individuals. According to one theory, he is identified as Saito Yasaburo of Numazu in Suruga Province (modern-day Numazu City, Shizuoka Prefecture).

This letter is a kind and meticulous response from Nichiren Daishonin, who was residing at Mount Minobu, to Yasaburo’s request for guidance regarding his preparation and mental attitude for an upcoming doctrinal debate with a practitioner of the Pure Land (Nembutsu) school. It is dated August 4th in the third year of Kenji (1277), written when the Daishonin was 56 years old. However, the original manuscript in the Daishonin’s own hand no longer exists.

The structure of this letter can be broadly divided into two main sections. The first section spans from the opening sentence—“Though I am an ignorant layperson, what I found deeply profound when I heard it was…”—to the phrase, “You should speak along these lines, saying that you have heard such is the case.” In this section, the core arguments that Yasaburo should assert during the debate with the Pure Land believer are laid out in a highly logical and systematic manner.

The second section begins from the line, “Now, if that priest objects, you should counter by saying…” and continues to the very end of the letter. Here, the Daishonin demonstrates the concrete methods of propagation (shakubuku) to be utilized during the debate, as well as the necessary mental attitude to maintain.

Furthermore, at the very end of the letter, the Daishonin writes: “Look at the world this year as your mirror. The only reason you have survived until now, despite the deaths of so many others, is so that you might encounter this crucial moment. This is precisely where you must cross the Uji River! This is where you must cross the Seta! It will determine whether you raise your name high or lose it forever.” Based on this passage, it is strongly inferred that Yasaburo was a samurai warrior.

Because passages reflecting Yasaburo’s perspective are interwoven with those expressing the Daishonin’s own standpoint, the text can be somewhat complex to decipher. To clarify, the opening line—“Though I am an ignorant layperson, what I found deeply profound when I heard it was the passage in the second volume of the Lotus Sutra that says, ‘Now this threefold world…’”—is written from Yasaburo’s perspective. It serves as a prepared statement or script for him to speak directly to his opponent.

In other words, it means: “As a layperson, I do not possess a profound knowledge of Buddhist doctrines. However, among the teachings I received from Nichiren Daishonin, the point that truly convinced me and that I hold most sacred is that Shakyamuni Buddha alone is the Buddha who possesses the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent, as expounded in the ‘Similes and Parables’ chapter of the Lotus Sutra.” Following this opening, the Daishonin articulates his own profound thoughts and perspective. This was undoubtedly because he expected Yasaburo to thoroughly understand the content, make the Daishonin’s spirit his own, and confront his opponent with absolute conviction.

“Although such acts appear to be most admirable…” to “…This is due solely to the workings of deities like Brahmā, Shakra, and the gods of the sun and moon.

People of that era viewed those who earnestly practiced the Nembutsu as noble and wonderful. Indeed, looking only at the surface, a deep sense of piety appears to be a virtuous quality.

However, we must understand that once we step inside to examine the actual object of devotion and the core doctrines of their faith, worshipping an erroneous object of devotion and believing in teachings that oppose the Correct Law constitutes a profound spiritual offense (slander of the Law) far worse than any secular, worldly misdeed.

Generally speaking, an evil person who has no connection to religion does not worship any Buddha to begin with. Therefore, they are free from the danger of committing the ultimate Buddhist offense of setting aside the correct Buddha to worship a false one. Instead, their misdeeds remain confined to far lighter secular transgressions. Furthermore, out of the very suffering caused by their worldly evils, the possibility remains that they may eventually seek correct faith.

In contrast, those who appear to be “good citizens” tend to conform to general societal trends. Because of this, it is exceedingly difficult for them to break away from the Amida Buddha faith, which the entire nation has embraced.

This Buddhist error of slandering the Law and becoming an icchantika (a person of incorrigible disbelief) is a supreme offense that causes one to fall into the Avici hell (the hell of incessant suffering). Therefore, the Daishonin declares that “the priests of contemporary Japan” who teach such distorted doctrines to the populace are great evil-doers even more sinful than Devadatta and Kokalika, who hated and harmed Shakyamuni Buddha.

Furthermore, the Daishonin points out that because the laypeople throughout Japan are deceived by these ordained priests and revere them, they are inadvertently aiding the icchantikas. As a result, not only are they destined to fall into the Avici hell after death, but the Avici hell is also manifesting in their present existence, causing them to undergo various forms of intense suffering.

The famines and epidemics that occurred year after year were prime examples of this phenomenon. So too was the Mongol invasion, which had already become a reality in the autumn of the eleventh year of Bunei (1274) and threatened to strike again at any moment. These disasters are described as “the design of Brahma, Shakra, the sun, and the moon.”

In essence, because the entire nation esteems distorted teachings and false teachers while persecuting Nichiren Daishonin—the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra—the protective deities (shoten zenjin) are inflicting strict punishment upon the people of Japan. This is the fundamental truth the Daishonin teaches.

Needless to say, while “the design of Brahma, Shakra, the sun, and the moon” refers to punishment for turning against the Correct Law, it also represents a profound compassionate design to make people awaken to the errors of their faith during their present lifetime.

If they awaken through the severity of this chastisement, discard their belief in false teachings, and establish correct faith in the True Law, they can escape the Avici hell in the next life and eradicate various calamities in this existence.

The passage from the “Similes and Parables” chapter of the Lotus Sutra states: “Now this threefold world is all my domain, and the living beings in it are all my children. But now this place is rife with many burning cares, and I alone am capable of bringing rescue and protection.” This demonstrates that Shakyamuni Buddha is the Buddha of immense benefit who possesses the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent for all living beings in this saha world.

Specifically, the line “Now this threefold world is all my domain” corresponds to the virtue of the sovereign. “The living beings in it are all my children” corresponds to the virtue of the parent. “I alone am capable of bringing rescue and protection” corresponds to the virtue of the teacher.

Inevitably, Japan lies within this “threefold world.” Therefore, the Daishonin states that “this contemporary nation of Japan is entirely the domain of Shakyamuni Buddha,” meaning that Japan is a territory governed by Shakyamuni.

This passage, which establishes that Shakyamuni Buddha rules over the saha world (including Japan) with the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent, is cited throughout many of the Daishonin’s writings. Whenever he refutes the Pure Land school’s worship of Amida Buddha, he almost invariably does so from this pivotal perspective.

Amida Buddha is strictly the lord of the Western Pure Land and is a Buddha entirely unrelated to the living beings of this saha world. To worship this unrelated Buddha of another land is exactly like slighting the king of one’s own country to revere the king of a foreign nation.

In clarifying the supreme truth of the doctrine hidden in the depths of the “Life Span” chapter (Sujū Montai Dokui Hommon), the Daishonin first established the standpoint of provisional-true relativity (gonjitsu sotai). To lead people to the Lotus Sutra, he shattered the provisional faith in Amida Buddha and elevated Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of the Lotus Sutra.

Accordingly, Shakyamuni Buddha is raised here specifically for the purpose of refuting the Amida faith. At the deepest level of the Daishonin’s ultimate intent, it goes without saying that the Shakyamuni Buddha of the sowing hidden in the depths of the text—namely, the Tathagata of the absolute freedom of the original infinite past (the Buddha of limitless joy from time without beginning)—is the true Buddha who possesses the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent for all living beings in the Latter Day of the Law.

“In all Japan, I alone understand why such things are happening.…” to “…And please add something along these lines:“

The Daishonin clearly and understandably outlines the ultimate cause-and-effect relationship wherein the entire populace of Japan is slandering the Law and consequently bringing disasters upon the land. He describes how he, as the only person in all of Japan to recognize this truth, stood up to rebuke this slander, and he analyzes the psychological structure of the populace who responded to his rebukes with persecution.

This section of the letter is profoundly important, as it echoes the following famous passage from The Opening of the Eyes (Kaimoku-sho):

“Here Nichiren considers as follows: Already over two hundred years have passed since the world entered the Latter Day of the Law. I was born in a remote land, and moreover, I am a person of low station and a priest of humble learning. While being born again and again amid the six paths, I have perhaps at times been born as a great ruler in the human or heavenly world, and have bent the multitudes to my will as a great wind bends the branches of small trees. And yet at such times I was not able to become a Buddha.

I studied the Hinayana and Mahayana sutras, beginning as an ordinary practitioner with no understanding at all and gradually moving upward to the position of a great bodhisattva. For one kalpa, two kalpas, countless kalpas I devoted myself to the practices of the bodhisattva, until I almost reached the stage of non-regression. And yet I was dragged down by the powerful and overwhelming influences of evil, and I never attained Buddhahood. I do not know whether I was among the third group who failed to take faith when the sons of Great Universal Wisdom Excellence Buddha preached the Lotus Sutra and again failed to attain Buddhahood during the lifetime of Shakyamuni Buddha, or whether I faltered and fell away from the teachings that I heard numberless major world system dust particle kalpas ago and thus have been reborn in this age.

While one is practicing the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, one may surmount all kinds of difficulties occasioned by the evil forces of worldly life, or by the persecutions of rulers, non-Buddhists, or the followers of the Hinayana sutras. And yet one may encounter someone like Tao-ch’o, Shan-tao, or Hōnen, priests who seemed thoroughly conversant with the teachings of the provisional and the true Mahayana sutras but who were in fact possessed by devils. Such men seem to praise the Lotus Sutra most forcefully, but in fact they belittle the people’s capacity to understand it, claiming that its principles are very profound but human understanding is slight. They mislead others by saying that “not a single person has ever attained Buddhahood” through that sutra, or that “not even one person in a thousand” can be saved by it. Thus, over a period of countless lifetimes, people are deceived as often as there are sands in the Ganges, until they [abandon their faith in the Lotus Sutra and] descend to the teachings of the provisional Mahayana sutras, abandon these and descend to the teachings of the Hinayana sutras, and eventually abandon even these and descend to the teachings and scriptures of the non-Buddhist doctrines. I understand all too well how, in the end, people have come in this way to fall into the evil paths.

I, Nichiren, am the only person in all Japan who understands this. But if I utter so much as a word concerning it, then parents, brothers, and teachers will surely censure me, and the ruler of the nation will take steps against me. On the other hand, I am fully aware that if I do not speak out I will be lacking in compassion. I have considered which course to take in the light of the teachings of the Lotus and Nirvana sutras. If I remain silent, I may escape persecutions in this lifetime, but in my next life I will most certainly fall into the hell of incessant suffering. If I speak out, I am fully aware that I will have to contend with the three obstacles and four devils. But of these two courses, surely the latter is the one to choose.

If I were to falter in my determination in the face of persecutions by the sovereign, however, it would be better not to speak out. While thinking this over, I recalled the teachings of the “Treasure Tower” chapter on the six difficult and nine easy acts. Persons like myself who are of paltry strength might still be able to lift Mount Sumeru and toss it about; persons like myself who are lacking in supernatural powers might still shoulder a load of dry grass and yet remain unburned in the fire at the end of the kalpa of decline; and persons like myself who are without wisdom might still read and memorize as many sutras as there are sands in the Ganges. But such acts are not difficult, we are told, when compared to the difficulty of embracing even one phrase or verse of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day of the Law. Nevertheless, I vowed to summon up a powerful and unconquerable desire for the salvation of all beings and never to falter in my efforts.

It is already over twenty years since I began proclaiming my doctrines. Day after day, month after month, year after year I have been subjected to repeated persecutions. Minor persecutions and annoyances are too numerous even to be counted, but the major persecutions number four. Among the four, twice I have been subjected to persecutions by the rulers of the country. The most recent one has come near to costing me my life. In addition, my disciples, my lay supporters, and even those who have merely listened to my teachings have been subjected to severe punishment and treated as though they were guilty of treason.” (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, pp. 238–240)

Reading this passage alongside Reply to Yasaburo allows us to deeply appreciate the state of mind of the Buddha of the Latter Day, Nichiren Daishonin. Spurred by supreme great compassion, he stood up to confront the slander of the Law, fighting through the onslaught of immense persecutions without a single thought of retreat.

In particular, the final sentence of this section—“The mind of this priest [Nichiren] is such that even Tensho Daijin or Great Bodhisattva Hachiman could never hope to make him submit, much less an ordinary mortal. Therefore, he feels no fear even when facing major crises repeatedly, but grows ever more resolute”—is framed from Yasaburo’s perspective, describing the magnificent stance of Nichiren Daishonin. Because the Daishonin’s practice of refuting slander through shakubuku was born entirely from an immense compassion to save all living beings, it could never be halted by any force whatsoever.

Additionally, within this section, the Daishonin states: “Those who possess understanding should realize that this priest is undergoing hardships for their sake. Therefore, if he is to receive two blows, they should think to receive one in his stead.” This statement is directed toward the ordained disciples, following the line, “Furthermore, the lay believers, without thoroughly listening to or understanding the teachings…” While the latter group—the laypeople—know little of Buddhist doctrine, their ignorance does not absolve them. Wrong is still wrong, and they cannot escape the severe offense of joining forces with slanderous priests to persecute the Daishonin.

Ultimately, the root cause of the entire nation being lost in the darkness of slandering the Law lies in the sovereign’s refusal to seek out the Correct Law. The reason the ruler fails to seek the true teaching despite the Daishonin’s repeated remonstrations is that the populace of the nation is weighed down by excessive negative karma. Consequently, it has been strictly determined that they must undergo immense punishment across both the present and future existences.