Condolences on a Deceased Husband Chapter10
But if I were to state these predictions honestly, then the ruler of the country would grow angry and the common people would refuse to listen to me. Not only that, but the Nembutsu believers, the Zen and Precepts priests, and the True Word teachers would undoubtedly become enraged and in their resentment would speak slanderously of me to the ruler and his ministers. I myself would face great difficulties, and my disciples, my lay supporters, and those who showed me the slightest degree of sympathy would be accused of crimes. My safety would be endangered, and the peril would perhaps extend even to my life.
Unless I had some astute plan in mind, it seemed best to remain silent and not to speak out. And yet in the classics of non-Buddhist literature it is said that if a worthy man knows that the world faces destruction and fails to speak out, then he is a mere toady, a sycophant, a person with no sense of obligation. Therefore the worthy men Kuan Lung-feng and Pi Kan spoke out fearlessly on matters that concerned the safety of the nation, even though it meant that Kuan Lung-feng’s head was cut off and Pi Kan’s breast torn open.
Turning to Buddhist literature, we find that the Buddha has warned that, if a person sees an enemy of the Lotus Sutra but fails to speak out against him because of fear of the world, then he is a foe of Shakyamuni Buddha. No matter how wise or good he may be, he will assuredly fall into the hell of incessant suffering. Such a person is like a son who sees someone about to kill his parents but fails to warn them, or a minister who sees someone bringing ruin on his sovereign but, fearful of the world, does not speak out in reprimand. Such behavior the Buddha prohibits.
For this reason, Bodhisattva Āryadeva, who was an envoy of the Buddha, was killed by a follower of the non-Buddhist teachings; the Venerable Āryasimha had his head cut off by King Dammira; the Chinese priest Chu Tao-sheng was driven into exile in a mountain in Su-chou; and the priest Fa-tao was branded on the face. All these men met with such fates because they honored the Buddhist teachings and did not quail before the authority of the ruler.
Thus in the reign of a worthy ruler, if there is a sincere desire to strengthen the Buddhist teachings, then the ruler will give heed to both sides of a debate and will take as his teachers those wise men who put forth the most compelling arguments. In this way the nation will be assured of peace and security. So we see that the rulers of the Ch’en and Sui dynasties in China summoned the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai Chih-che and set him to debating with the leaders of the various schools of northern and southern Buddhism,19 and Emperors Kammu and Saga in Japan arranged for the Reverend Saichō to debate with fourteen Buddhist leaders of Nara, the southern capital.20 Depending upon who was the winner in such debates, the rulers then established temples and set about propagating the correct teaching.
But other rulers such as Kings Mihirakula and Udayana in India, Emperors Wu-tsung and Ch’in-tsung in China,21 and Emperors Kimmei and Yōmei in Japan22 paid honor to evil spirits or non-Buddhist teachings, were followers of the Taoist priests, or worshipers of the gods. For that reason, they were implacable enemies of Shakyamuni Buddha and brought destruction upon themselves and disquiet to the world. During their reigns Buddhist sage priests encountered great difficulties.
Notes
19. The rulers of the Ch’en and Sui dynasties refer to Ch’en Shu-pao, the fifth and last sovereign of the Ch’en, and Emperor Yang Ti, the second sovereign of the Sui, respectively. The various schools of northern and southern Buddhism refer to the three schools of southern China and seven schools of northern China (see Glossary).
20. On the nineteenth day of the first month in 802, Emperor Kammu paid a visit to the temple at Mount Takao. He summoned more than ten eminent priests from the six schools and seven major temples of Nara, including Zengi, Shōyū, Hōki, Chōnin, Kengyoku, Ampuku, Gonzō, Shuen, Jikō, Gen’yō, Saikō, Dōshō, Kōshō, and Kambin, to come to the temple to debate with Saichō. But they were defeated by Saichō. Saichō is also known as the Great Teacher Dengyō. In 823, Emperor Saga, the fifty-second sovereign and the second son of Emperor Kammu, gave the name Enryaku-ji to the temple founded by Saichō on Mount Hiei.
21. Wu-tsung was the fifteenth emperor of the T’ang dynasty. He initiated a nationwide persecution of Buddhism in 845. But he was never able to put down the resulting uprisings and died in agony shortly after. Ch’in-tsung was the ninth emperor of the Northern Sung dynasty. He was captured by the Jurchen, a nomadic people of Manchuria, who established the Chin dynasty in northern China.
22. In the reign of Kimmei, the thirtieth emperor, Buddhism was first introduced to Japan by King Syŏngmyŏng of the Korean kingdom of Paekche. During the thirty and more years following it, however, the emperors, including Kimmei and his fourth son and the thirty-first sovereign, Emperor Yōmei, paid no reverence to Buddhism. Not until the time of the thirty-third ruler, Emperor Sushun, did Buddhism come to be honored by the Japanese court.