The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra

Background and Summary（Short Story）

This text is an autobiographical account of Nichiren Daishonin’s life, covering his struggles and accomplishments. It includes his exile on Sado Island, the Tatsunokuchi Persecution, and his retirement to Mount Minobu. The letter was written in 1276 to a convert named Kōnichi, expressing gratitude for her support. It discusses the Mongol invasion and the Daishonin’s warnings to the authorities, which were ignored. Despite persecution, he urges his disciples to propagate the Mystic Law and reveals himself as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law. The letter concludes by mentioning the nation’s slander of the Lotus Sutra and the Mongol attack on Japan.

Main Text

Each and every one of you should be certain deep in your heart that sacrificing your life for the Lotus Sutra is like exchanging rocks for gold or dung for rice.

My disciples, form your ranks and follow me, and surpass even Mahākāshyapa or Ānanda, T’ien-t’ai or Dengyō! If you quail before the threats of the ruler of this little island country [and abandon your faith], how will you face the even more terrible anger of Yama, the lord of hell? If, while calling yourselves the Buddha’s messengers, you give way to fear, you will be the most despicable of persons!

The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra

 

Background

ON the eighteenth day of the intercalary first month of the fifth year of Bun’ei (1268), an official letter arrived from the great Mongol empire in which those barbarians of the west1 declared their intention to attack Japan. My prediction in On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land, which I wrote in the first year of Bunnō (1260), cyclical sign kanoe-saru, has been fulfilled to the letter. My admonitions have surpassed even those set forth in the yüeh-fu poems of Po Chü-i,2 and my prophecies are not inferior to those of the Buddha. Can there be anything more wondrous in this latter age? If our land were governed by a worthy ruler or sage sovereign, then the highest honors in Japan would be bestowed upon me, and I would be awarded the title of Great Teacher while still alive. I had expected to be consulted about the Mongols, invited to the war council, and asked to defeat them through the power of prayer. Since that did not happen, however, I sent letters of warning to eleven of our country’s leaders in the tenth month of the same year.

If there were a worthy person in this country, he would immediately think, “What a wonder! This is surely no ordinary matter. The Sun Goddess and Great Bodhisattva Hachiman must be offering a way to save Japan through this priest.” In actuality, however, priests of the other schools cursed and deceived my messengers. The government officials ignored or refused to reply to my letters, and even when they did reply, they deliberately neglected to report the content of my letters to the regent. Their behavior was highly irregular. Even if the letters concerned only some personal matter of mine, the government officials should nevertheless pass them on to the ruler for his due attention, this being the proper way of government. But in this case, the letters were a warning of dire things to come that would affect the destiny not only of the regent’s government but of every other official as well. Even if the officials did not heed my warning, to slander my messengers was going too far. This came about because all Japanese, high and low, have for a long time now shown hostility toward the Lotus Sutra. Thus they have piled up great offenses and become possessed by demons. The official letter from the Mongols has deprived them of the last remnants of sanity. In ancient China, King Chou of the Yin dynasty refused to heed the admonitions of his loyal minister Pi Kan and instead cut out Pi Kan’s heart. Later his dynasty was overthrown by the kings Wen and Wu of the Chou. King Fu-ch’a of the state of Wu, p.764instead of listening to the remonstrances of his minister Wu Tzu-hsü, forced the latter to commit suicide.3 Eventually Fu-ch’a was killed by King Kou-chien of the state of Yüeh.

Thinking how tragic it would be if our country were to meet with a similar fate, I risked my reputation and life to remonstrate with the authorities. But just as a high wind creates great waves, or a powerful dragon brings forth torrential rains, so my admonitions called forth increasing animosity. The regent’s supreme council met to discuss whether to behead me or banish me from Kamakura, and whether to confiscate the estates of or execute my disciples and lay supporters, or to imprison or exile them to distant places.

Hearing this, I rejoiced, saying that I had long expected it to come to this. In the past, the boy Snow Mountains offered his body for the sake of half a verse, Bodhisattva Ever Wailing sold his body, the boy Good Treasures threw himself into a fire, the ascetic Aspiration for the Law peeled off his own skin, Bodhisattva Medicine King burned his own arms, Bodhisattva Never Disparaging was beaten with sticks and staves, the Venerable Āryasimha was beheaded, and Bodhisattva Āryadeva was killed by a non-Buddhist, [all because of their devotion to Buddhism].

These events should be considered in terms of the time in which they occurred. The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai declared that practice “should be that which accords with the time.”4 The Great Teacher Chang-an states, “You should let your choices be fitting and never adhere solely to one or the other.”5 The Lotus Sutra represents a single truth, but the way of its practice varies greatly according to the people’s capacity and the time.

The Buddha made a prophecy, saying: “After my death, during the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law that follows the two millennia of the Former and Middle Days, a person will appear who will propagate only the heart of the Lotus Sutra, the five characters of the daimoku. At that time an evil ruler will be in power, and evil monks, more numerous than the dust particles of the land, will argue with one another over the various Mahayana and Hinayana sutras. When the votary of the daimoku challenges the monks, they will incite their lay supporters to abuse, beat, or imprison him, to confiscate his lands, to exile or behead him. In spite of such persecutions, he will continue his propagation without ceasing. Meanwhile the ruler who persecutes him will be beset by rebellion, and his subjects will devour each other like hungry spirits. Finally the land will be attacked by a foreign country, for Brahmā, Shakra, the gods of the sun and moon, and the four heavenly kings have ordained that other countries shall assault a land that is hostile to the Lotus Sutra.”6

None of you who declare yourselves to be my disciples should ever give way to cowardice. Neither should you allow concern for your parents, wife, or children to hold you back, or be worried about your property. Since countless kalpas in the past you have thrown away your life more times than the number of dust particles of the land for the sake of your parents, your children, or your lands. But not once have you given up your life for the Lotus Sutra. You may have tried to practice its teachings to some extent, but whenever you were persecuted, you backslid and ceased to live by the sutra. That is like boiling water only to pour it into cold water, or like trying to strike fire but giving up halfway. Each and every one of you should be certain deep in your heart that sacrificing your life for the Lotus Sutra is like exchanging rocks for gold or dung for rice.

Now, at the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law, I, Nichiren, am the first to embark on propagating, throughout Jambudvīpa, the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, which are the heart of the Lotus Sutra and the eye of all Buddhas. During the 2,220 or more years since the Buddha’s passing, not even Mahākāshyapa, Ānanda, Ashvaghosha, Nāgārjuna, Nan-yüeh, T’ien-t’ai, Miao-lo, or Dengyō has propagated them. My disciples, form your ranks and follow me, and surpass even Mahākāshyapa or Ānanda, T’ien-t’ai or Dengyō! If you quail before the threats of the ruler of this little island country [and abandon your faith], how will you face the even more terrible anger of Yama, the lord of hell? If, while calling yourselves the Buddha’s messengers, you give way to fear, you will be the most despicable of persons!

[While the regent’s government could not come to any conclusion,] the priests of the Nembutsu, the observers of the precepts, and the True Word priests, who realized they could not rival me in wisdom, sent petitions to the government. Finding their petitions were not accepted, they approached the wives and widows of high-ranking officials and slandered me in various ways. [The women reported the slander to the officials, saying:] “According to what some priests told us, Nichiren declared that the late lay priests of Saimyō-ji and Gokuraku-ji have fallen into the hell of incessant suffering. He said that the temples Kenchō-ji, Jufuku-ji, Gokuraku-ji, Chōraku-ji, and Daibutsu-ji should be burned down and the honorable priests Dōryū and Ryōkan beheaded.” Under these circumstances, at the regent’s supreme council my guilt could scarcely be denied. To confirm whether I had or had not made those statements, I was summoned to the court.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　～（omitted）～

I would reply by saying that, if Nichiren is not a votary of the Lotus Sutra, then who is? Is Hōnen a votary, who in his writings ordered people to throw the Lotus Sutra away? Is the Great Teacher Kōbō a votary, who said that Shakyamuni Buddha was still in the region of darkness? Or are Shan-wu-wei and Jikaku votaries, who taught that, although the Lotus Sutra and the Mahāvairochana Sutra are equal in terms of principle, the latter is superior in practice?

Again, this matter of the head being split into seven pieces—one need not imagine the kind of split made by a sharp sword. On the contrary, the Lotus Sutra says that the split is like that of the “branches of the arjaka tree.”37 In a person’s head there are seven drops of liquid, and outside there are seven demons. If the demons drink one drop, the person’s head begins to ache. If they drink three drops, his life will be endangered, and if they drink all seven drops, he will die. People in the world today all have heads that have split apart like the branches of the arjaka tree, but they are so steeped in evil karma that they are not even aware of the fact. They are like persons who have been injured while they were asleep or in a state of drunkenness, and have not yet become conscious of their injury.

Rather than saying that the head is split into seven pieces, we sometimes say that the mind is split into seven pieces. The skull bone under the scalp cracks or even breaks apart at the time of death. Many people of our own period had their heads split open in the great earthquake of the Shōka era (1257) or at the time of the appearance of the great comet in the Bun’ei era (1264). At the time their heads split p.779open, they had a severe coughing condition, and when their five solid internal organs38 failed to function correctly, they suffered from dysentery. How could they have failed to realize that they were being punished because they slandered the votary of the Lotus Sutra!

Because venison is tasty, the deer is hunted and killed; because oil can be obtained from the turtle, the turtle loses its life. If a woman is beautiful, there will be many who envy her. The ruler of a nation has much to fear from other nations, and the life of a man with great wealth is constantly in danger. One who abides by the Lotus Sutra will inevitably attain Buddhahood. Therefore, the devil king of the sixth heaven, the lord of this threefold world, will become intensely jealous of anyone who abides by the sutra. This devil king, we are told, attaches himself like a plague demon to people in a way that cannot be detected by the eye. Thereafter, like persons who gradually become drunk on fine old wine, rulers, fathers and mothers, wives and children gradually become possessed by him and are filled with jealousy toward the votary of the Lotus Sutra. And that is precisely the situation we face today in the world around us. Because I chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, I have for over twenty years been driven from place to place. Twice I have incurred the wrath of the authorities, and in the end I have retired to this mountain.

Here I am surrounded by four mountains, Shichimen to the west, Tenshi to the east, Minobu to the north, and Takatori to the south. Each is high enough to touch the sky, and so steep that even flying birds have trouble crossing them. In their midst are four rivers called Fuji, Haya, Oshira, and Minobu. In the middle, in a ravine some hundred yards or so across, I have built my hut. I cannot see the sun in the daytime or the moon at night. In winter there is deep snow, and in summer the grass grows thick. Because so few people come to see me, the trail is very hard to travel. This year, especially, the snow is so deep that I have no visitors at all. Knowing that my life may end at any time, I put all my trust in the Lotus Sutra. In these circumstances, your letter was particularly welcome. It seemed almost like a message from Shakyamuni Buddha or from my departed parents, and I cannot tell you how grateful I was. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

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