On Dealing with Disaster

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In view of these passages, should one not set aside all other affairs and consider first of all why these disasters occur? If one does not do so, then more and more such disasters are bound to occur! Such is my humble opinion. I leave it to others to accept or reject it.

On Dealing with Disaster

Background

THE aim of this memorial is to inquire into the causes that bring about such disasters to the nation as major earthquakes, strong winds that blow out of season, serious famines, great outbreaks of epidemics, or major military uprisings, and the steps to be taken in dealing with them.

The Golden Light Sutra states: “[The four heavenly kings said to the Buddha], ‘Though this sutra exists in the nation, the ruler has never allowed it to be propagated. In his heart he turns away from it, and he takes no pleasure in hearing its teachings. He neither makes offerings to it, honors it, nor praises it. Nor is he willing to honor or make offerings to the four kinds of Buddhists who embrace the sutra. In the end, he makes it impossible for us and the countless other heavenly beings who are our followers to hear this profound and wonderful teaching. He deprives us of the sweet dew of its words and cuts us off from the flow of the correct teaching, so that our majesty and strength are drained away. Thus the number of beings who occupy the evil paths increases, and the number who dwell in the human and heavenly realms decreases. People fall into the river of the sufferings of birth and death and turn their backs on the road to nirvana.

“‘World-Honored One, we, the four heavenly kings, as well as our various followers and the yakshas and other beings, observing this state of affairs, have decided to abandon this nation, for we have no heart to protect it. And it is not we alone who cast aside this ruler. All the great benevolent deities who guard and watch over the countless different regions of the country will also invariably reject him. And once we and the others abandon and desert this nation, then many different types of disasters will occur in the country, and the ruler will fall from power. Not a single person in the entire population will possess a heart of goodness; there will be nothing but binding and enslaving, killing and injuring, anger and contention. People will slander each other or fawn upon one another, and the laws will be twisted until even the innocent are made to suffer. Pestilence will become rampant, comets will appear again and again, two suns will come forth side by side, and eclipses will occur with unaccustomed frequency. Black arcs and white arcs will span the sky as harbingers of ill fortune, stars will fall, the earth will shake, and noises will issue from the wells. Torrential rains and violent winds will come out of season, famine will constantly occur, and grains and fruits will not ripen. Marauders from many other regions will invade and plunder the nation, the people will suffer all manner of pain and affliction, and no place will exist where one may live in safety.’”

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When I read this passage, it seems to me that, in order to avoid being condemned as a “betrayer of the Buddha’s teaching,” I must not be fearful of how others may judge my actions, but must proclaim that the Honorable Hōnen and the followers of his teachings are destined to fall into the great citadel of the Avīchi hell. If so, among the clerics and lay believers who heed and understand my argument, there will be some at least who have a change of heart.

But if, having once perused what I have written, they do not carry out the measures recommended in the passages I have quoted, then how can they escape the fate described in the Great Collection Sutra when it says: “Though for countless existences in the past the ruler of a state may have practiced the giving of alms, observed the precepts, and cultivated wisdom, if he sees that my teaching is in danger of perishing and stands idly by without doing anything to protect it, then all [the inestimable roots of goodness that he has planted through the practices just mentioned] will be entirely wiped out, and his country will become the scene of three inauspicious occurrences. . . . After his life has come to an end, he will be reborn in the great hell.”

The passage in the Benevolent Kings Sutra states, “If a time should come when the good fortune of these rulers runs out, . . . then the seven disasters are certain to arise.” And the passage in the Great Collection Sutra says that “though for countless existences in the past the ruler of a state may have practiced the giving of alms, observed the precepts, and cultivated wisdom, . . . all [the inestimable roots of goodness that he has planted through the practices just mentioned] will be entirely wiped out.”

In view of these passages, should one not set aside all other affairs and consider first of all why these disasters occur? If one does not do so, then more and more such disasters are bound to occur!

Such is my humble opinion. I leave it to others to accept or reject it.

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Background

There is no record of the date of this writing, but a passage from the text reads, “Now we receive reports that this land of ours is beset by various kinds of disasters. From the eighth month of the eighth year of Kenchō [1256] until the second month of the second year of Shōgen [1260], various disasters . . . occurred . . . until it almost seems as though the entire population of the nation will be wiped out.” Since the period mentioned ends in the second month of 1260, it appears that Nichiren Daishonin produced this work shortly thereafter.

In the fourth month of that year the name of the era changed from Shōgen to Bunnō. In the seventh month of that same year, by then called the first year of Bunnō, the Daishonin submitted his treatise On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land to the retired regent Hōjō Tokiyori, who was still the principal political authority in the nation. It can be assumed, then, that this current work was produced several months before that official treatise. Also, in the previous year (1259), the Daishonin had written another major treatise addressing the subject of the security of the land and its people, entitled On the Protection of the Nation.

A survey of the three works mentioned above shows that On the Protection of the Nation presents an overall examination of the Buddhist teachings and a complete refutation of The Nembutsu Chosen above All; this work, On Dealing with Disaster, studies the basic cause for the disasters striking the country; and On Establishing the Correct Teaching combines and summarizes the two for an official presentation.

At the beginning of this writing, the Daishonin defines “the aim of this memorial,” which is to inquire into the causes that have brought about disasters in the nation and the steps to be taken to deal with them. But the addressee of this memorial is not mentioned. In the closing remark the Daishonin writes, “Such is my humble opinion. I leave it to others to accept or reject it.” From this it can be surmised that the memorial served as a draft for On Establishing the Correct Teaching.

The following is a brief overview of On Dealing with Disaster with comparisons made to On Establishing the Correct Teaching.

On Dealing with Disaster consists of seventeen pairs of questions and answers, preceded by a section introducing excerpts from various sutras. On Establishing the Correct Teaching contains ten questions and nine answers, the final question being actually an expression of resolve by the questioner that serves as a closing statement.

The first question raises the point that, while disasters have been rampant and various kinds of prayers have been conducted to quell them, none of these has been effective. Citing sutra passages, the Daishonin answers that the ruler and the people have rejected the correct Buddhist teachings. Protective deities and sages have therefore abandoned the country, and as a result disasters have occurred one after another. This explanation of the cause for disasters is also expressed in the first question and answer of On Establishing the Correct Teaching.

To the second question of this work—why the people have discarded the correct teachings—the Daishonin points out the influence of evil monks. He later specifically identifies Hōnen, founder of the Pure Land school in Japan. This accords with the third question and answer in On Establishing the Correct Teaching. Prior to this, On Establishing the Correct Teaching presents abundant sutra passages that support the idea that the deities and sages have abandoned the nation. In the present work, this is done at the beginning of the text, before the first question.

Next, the third question asks whether these evil monks appear among the Buddha’s disciples, to which the answer is yes. The fourth is, will they destroy the correct teaching with a teaching that resembles it or with an obviously evil one? The Daishonin says they attack the correct teaching with inferior teachings that resemble it, and that such acts will lead to the destruction of Buddhism and the nation. Asked about doctrinal evidence, he cites sutra passages. This topic is not addressed in On Establishing the Correct Teaching.

Questions six and seven ask about the identity of these evil monks, to which the Daishonin answers that Hōnen is the prime example, and that Hōnen’s work Nembutsu Chosen above All represents the principal source of slander of the Law, points the Daishonin supports by quoting extensively from that work. This explanation accords with the fourth question and answer in On Establishing the Correct Teaching.

Question eight asks, if Nembutsu Chosen above All is the primary cause of disaster, then why is it that disasters occurred even before its appearance, and the Daishonin attributes the cause to disregard of the five constant virtues, or humanistic principles, and attacks on Buddhism such as the abolition of Buddhism by a Chinese ruler. Question nine considers whether the present-day disasters have been caused by such disregard. In essence, the Daishonin describes Hōnen’s assertion that “giving alms to, worshiping, or praising any Buddhas or sutras other than Amida are all mere ‘sundry practices,’” as a violation of the five constant virtues. Question ten makes a similar inquiry about disasters that occurred before the introduction of Buddhism to China and Japan, which cannot be attributed to slander of the Buddhist Law. To this the Daishonin cites passages to indicate that violation of the five constant virtues essentially corresponds to the violation of the five precepts in Buddhism. Asked about documentary evidence, the Daishonin refers to passages from the sutras and commentaries. In one of them, Confucius is cited as talking about a sage. Asked who the sage was, the Daishonin cites Confucius as saying there is a sage in the west known as Shakyamuni.

Questions thirteen and fourteen concern why practitioners of the Lotus and True Word sutras also must face disasters arising from slander, and why, among slanderers, there are those who appear to escape disaster. In reply, the Daishonin first indicates that even the practitioners of the Lotus Sutra cannot completely avoid the disasters striking society, and also refers to personal conditions of karma, practice, and understanding. He then explains that the retribution for slanders may appear in this life or the next, or even later. On Establishing the Correct Teaching does not touch on the above points.

Following this, questions fifteen and sixteen address the action to be taken to deal with these disasters. The Daishonin says it is to put an end to slander of the Law, and the way to accomplish this is to stop offering financial support to Buddhist teachers and schools who slander the Lotus Sutra.

In response to this, the following questions are posed and answered: Is it not an offense to discontinue offerings to Buddhist priests? And is it not also an offense to denounce priests in such a manner? The Daishonin answers by citing sutra passages that call for just this sort of action in dealing with those who act against the Buddha’s intent, stating that it is not blameworthy to do so. On Establishing the Correct Teaching likewise recommends that no alms be given to such Buddhist schools and priests.

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