Letter to the Priests of Seichō-ji

Background

This letter was written in the first month of the second year of Kenji (1276), while Nichiren Daishonin was living at Minobu. As the title indicates, it was addressed to the priests of Seichō-ji on Mount Kiyosumi, the temple to which the Daishonin had been sent as a child to study.

Seichō-ji was founded in 771 by a priest named Fushigi, who enshrined there an image of Bodhisattva Space Treasury that he had carved from an oak tree. Bodhisattva Space Treasury was believed to possess wisdom and good fortune as vast as the universe.

Seichō-ji, which belonged to the Tendai school, at first became a center for the study of the Lotus Sutra. Then it fell under the influence of the True Word school, which promoted esoteric rituals, and later adopted Pure Land teachings, which relied on Amida Buddha. Nichiren Daishonin was formally ordained at the age of sixteen and later left the temple to visit the great centers of Buddhist learning so as to further his study of Buddhism. The Daishonin says in this letter that he had obtained “a great jewel,” meaning that he attained Buddha wisdom. He then went on to deepen his understanding of the sutras and other works in the Buddhist tradition. Eventually, in 1253, twenty years after he had entered Seichō-ji, he proclaimed the teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo for the first time.

 

 

Introduction

This treatise was written on the eleventh day of the first month in Kenji 2 (1276), when Nichiren Daishonin was fifty-five years old, and was sent from Mount Minobu to the assembly of Seichō-ji in Awa Province.

At the beginning, it states: “I request to borrow commentaries on the Shingon doctrine; this is because of the uprising of the Shingon priests.” This refers to the incident of December 26, 1275, when the Shingon monk Kyōnin sent a petition demanding a doctrinal debate. In response, the Daishonin declared: “The decision between true and false, whether secular or Buddhist, must without fail be made in a public forum. (…) Report this swiftly to the court, and quickly arrange a face-to-face debate, so that erroneous views may be overturned” (Gosho Zenshu, p.184, Reply to a Communication from Gōnin). Thus, the possibility arose of a public debate with the Shingon school. To prepare for this, Nichiren composed this treatise, requesting the loan of commentaries on both Tendai and Shingon doctrines, while also giving instruction to the monks of Seichō-ji.

Although the immediate recipient may have been one of the resident priests of Seichō-ji, the letter is addressed to “The Assembly of Seichō-ji in Awa Province.” Within the text, Nichiren addresses them twice as “the assembly of Seichō-zan” or simply “the assembly,” and in the postscript he again states, “Read this aloud to the assembly.” From this, we may conclude that it was intended for the entire monastic community of Seichō-ji, conveyed through Sado-bō Hyōe and Ajari Suke.

The main points of the treatise are as follows. It begins with New Year’s greetings and the request for the loan of Shingon and Tendai commentaries. Then Nichiren remarks: “This year in particular must be the year when the true and false in Buddhism are to be clarified,” thereby anticipating a public debate with the Shingon school. He further explains that the persecutions he had endured—exile, the threat of execution, and other ordeals—were the result of his having directly received the great wisdom of Bodhisattva Space Treasury, thereby discerning the superiority and inferiority of the various Buddhist schools and refuting the false views of Shingon, Zen, and Pure Land. Yet however much he might be hated or persecuted, the predictions of the Risshō Ankoku Ron had been fulfilled, for Japan was now facing both internal strife and foreign invasion. This, he insists, was because “the entire nation had turned to erroneous teachings,” and only by rejecting false doctrines and upholding the correct one, as taught by Nichiren, could the country be saved.

Next, Nichiren speaks directly to the monks of Seichō-ji, reminding them of the profound debt of gratitude they owe him. Unless they regard the Daishonin as both their parents and as the Three Treasures, he sternly warns, they will fall into poverty in this life and into the Avīci Hell in the life to come. He also expresses compassion for Lady Hokke, the widow of the manor steward, who, though often foolish and weak in faith, was a person indebted to his parents. Out of gratitude, he prays earnestly that she not fall into the evil paths in her next existence.

Finally, Nichiren emphasizes that it is the Lotus Sutra that correctly reveals both past and future. It was on this basis that he could foresee the Mongol invasion before it occurred, thereby proving that he himself is the true practitioner of the Lotus Sutra. He strongly urges the monks of Seichō-ji to awaken to the correct teaching.

This treatise overflows with the Daishonin’s profound compassion for the people of Seichō-ji with whom he shared long-standing ties, and is imbued throughout with his inexhaustible gratitude and spirit of repayment for the great wisdom he had received directly from Bodhisattva Space Treasury.

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Nichiren Daishonin and Seichō-ji in Awa

Let us here consider the relationship between Nichiren Daishonin and Seichō-ji in Awa.

Nichiren Daishonin was born on February 16, 1222, in the village of Kominato, Tōjō District of Awa Province, the son of Mikuni no Tayū and his wife Umegiku. His childhood name was Zennichimaro. From his own words, “From early childhood I have been devoted to learning” (Gosho Zenshu, p.1292,Refuting Ryōkanand the Others), we see that he had a natural love for study from an early age. Recognizing his exceptional qualities, his parents arranged for him, at the age of twelve (1233), to enter Seichō-ji under the guidance of Dōzen-bō, where he took his first steps in the study of Buddhism: “At the age of twelve I climbed Mount Kiyosumi in my home district and began to reside at Seichō-ji” (Gosho Zenshu, p.370, Questions and Answers on the Object of Devotion).

Until his formal ordination, he lived at the temple, attending to his teacher, joining in Buddhist services, and devoting himself to study. His fellow monks, Jōken-bō and Gijō-bō, instructed him in the basics of Buddhist learning. Nichiren later wrote: “Those two were my teachers when I was young, just as the priests Konchō and Gyōhyō had first been disciples of Dengyō but later became his teachers” (Gosho Zenshu, p.324, On Repaying Debts of Gratitude). Thus, they laid the foundation of his Buddhist training.

Seichō-ji, one of the leading temples in Awa, is said to have been founded in 771 by the priest Fushigi, who carved and enshrined an image of Bodhisattva Space Treasury. Later, in the Jōwa era, the Great Teacher Jikaku (Ennin) established twelve monastic quarters there, and the temple flourished as a center of Tendai and Shingon esotericism.

From the outset, Zennichimaro made a vow before the image of Bodhisattva Space Treasury: “Please grant that I become the wisest person in Japan. At the age of twelve I made this vow” (Gosho Zenshu, p.1292, Refuting Ryōkanand the Others).

When exactly it was said that he “received the jewel of wisdom from Bodhisattva Space Treasury” is unclear, but in 1237, at the age of sixteen, Zennichimaro received ordination from Dōzen-bō and took the name Renchō. After ordination, he pursued further study and contemplation, but soon confronted profound doubts, as various writings record:

1. Why, when the esoteric True Word teachings were revered as the great law for protecting the nation, did the Taira clan perish before the Minamoto? Why, in the Jōkyū Disturbance, did the imperial forces fall, and the three retired emperors suffer exile at the hands of the Kamakura warriors?

2. Why did practitioners of the Pure Land school manifest evil signs at the time of death?

3. Why did so many schools—Shingon, Zen, Pure Land, and others—each claim to embody the true intent of the Buddha’s lifetime teachings, when surely there must be only one that accorded with the Buddha’s true will, and only one supreme sutra?

Yet Seichō-ji, being “in a remote province and though called a temple, there were no learned priests to teach” (Gosho Zenshu, p.370, Questions and Answers on the Object of Devotion). Its library of scriptures and commentaries was inadequate, and Dōzen-bō himself was “foolish and a Nembutsu practitioner” (Gosho Zenshu, p.888, The Tripitaka Master Shan-wu-wei), unable to resolve such fundamental doubts.

Therefore Nichiren journeyed widely in pursuit of answers. He later wrote: “Because I thought that even if I did not study the branches and leaves of the various schools, if only I could grasp their essence it would suffice, I traveled widely from the age of twelve or sixteen until thirty-two, over twenty years, studying at Kamakura, Kyoto, Mount Hiei, Onjō-ji, Mount Kōya, Tennō-ji, and other temples throughout the land” (Gosho Zenshu, p.1407,Condolences on a Deceased Husband).

Eventually, as recorded in this treatise: “On the twenty-eighth day of the fourth month of Kenchō 5 (1253), in the hall of Dōzen-bō at Seichō-ji in Tōjō, Awa, before Jōen-bō and a small assembly, I first proclaimed this teaching, and for over twenty years thereafter have never retreated.” Thus he declared for the first time the teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the essence of the Three Great Secret Laws, raising his voice in refutation of all other schools, and proclaiming the founding of his movement. At this time, he also adopted the name Nichiren.

Nichiren’s choice of Seichō-ji as the place to begin propagation was threefold: First, as this treatise says, “in order to repay my debt of gratitude to Bodhisattva Space Treasury,” who had enabled him to become the wisest in Japan; second, to guide his ordination teacher Dōzen-bō, the monks of Seichō-ji, and by extension his parents and the people of Awa, to the correct Law; and third, because he saw Tōjō in Awa as symbolically the very center of Japan, sanctified by the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, and thus the most fitting place to begin propagation.

The Komatsubara Persecution and Later Years

However, the very first proclamation of propagation—the refutation of the Pure Land teaching as leading to the Avīci Hell—fulfilled the sutra’s prediction that “those who propagate it will be much hated and hard to believe.” Hostility immediately arose. Upon hearing this, Tōjō Kagenobu, the steward of the district and an ardent Nembutsu believer, became enraged, and the Daishonin’s life was quickly placed in jeopardy.

At that time, it was Jōken-bō and Gijō-bō who sheltered Nichiren and secretly guided him from Seichō-ji to Renge-ji in Saijō. The Daishonin praised their deed, saying:

“When I was hated by Kagenobu and driven from Mount Kiyosumi, you hid me and helped me escape. This was the foremost service to the Lotus Sutra. You need have no doubt about your salvation in future lives.” (On Repaying Debts of Gratitude, Gosho Zenshu, p.324)

And again:

“When the steward’s rage flared, you left Seichō-ji together with Gijō-bō. Consider this to be service to the Lotus Sutra, and by so doing you will free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death.” (Questions and Answers on the Object of Devotion, Gosho Zenshu, p.373)

Meanwhile, as noted in this treatise, Kagenobu slaughtered the temple’s sacred deer and tried to force both Seichō-ji and Futama-dera to convert to the Nembutsu. In opposition to his unjust schemes, Nichiren supported the manor’s proprietor in a land dispute, winning the case and thereby protecting both temples from Kagenobu’s grasp. This incident surely deepened Kagenobu’s enmity toward Nichiren. It is thought that Lady Hokke, the wife of the manor steward, came to revere Nichiren’s teaching through this connection.

Nichiren Daishonin never again set foot on Mount Seichō. He later wrote:

“Because of repeated petitions by the steward Tōjō Saemon-no-jō Kagenobu, together with Lord Gokurakuji-dono, Fuji-saburō Nyūdō, and all the Nembutsu believers, disputes repeatedly arose. Eventually, conflict broke out, and when Lord Gokurakuji sided unjustly against me, the roads into Tōjō District were blocked. Thus, for many years I have been unable to visit, even to see the graves of my parents.” (Condolences on a Deceased Husband, Gosho Zenshu, p.1413)

The Daishonin’s return to Awa came only twelve years later, in the autumn of Bun’ei 1 (1264), when he went to visit his ailing mother. On that occasion, not only did he pray for her recovery, but she regained her health and lived another four years. Thereafter, the Daishonin often stayed at Renge-ji in Saijō and continued his propagation throughout Awa.

Then, on November 11, 1264, at the invitation of Kudō Yoshitaka, lord of Amatsu, Nichiren and his disciples passed through Komatsubara in Tōjō. There, they were ambushed by hundreds of Nembutsu followers under Kagenobu’s command. The Daishonin was struck on the forehead and wounded on his left hand. His disciples were also attacked—Kyōnin-bō was killed instantly, two others gravely injured, and Kudō Yoshitaka himself was slain in the fray. Nichiren later recalled:

“I was wounded on the head and struck on the left hand… One disciple was slain on the spot, two others gravely injured, and I myself was slashed and beaten nearly to death. Yet somehow I survived.” (Encouragement to a Sick Person, Gosho Zenshu, p.1498)

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Reunion with Dōzen-bō

Three days later, on November 14, Nichiren reunited with his former teacher Dōzen-bō at Renge-ji in Saijō, for the first time in twelve years. This meeting is described in detail in On the Tripiṭaka Master Shubhakarasiṃha. Believing this might be their final encounter, Nichiren spoke sternly:

“Because you have made five images of Amida Buddha, you will fall into the hell of incessant suffering five times.” (The Tripitaka Master Shan-wu-wei, Gosho Zenshu, p.889)

Though Dōzen-bō, timid and foolish by nature, seemed somewhat awakened by Nichiren’s forceful words, in the end his faith remained unreliable. He passed away two months later, on March 16, Kenji 2 (1276).

In order to repay his teacher’s kindness, Nichiren wrote On Repaying Debts of Gratitude (Hōon-shō). There he said:

“The late Dōzen-bō was an earnest teacher and did not bear hatred toward me. But being timid and clinging to Seichō-ji, he feared the steward Kagenobu and priests such as Enchi and Jitsujō, who harassed him like Devadatta or Kokalika. He even abandoned some of his disciples. For this reason, I doubt his future existence. Yet perhaps his one merit lies in that those persecutors went before him to ruin, punished by the ten demon daughters of the Lotus Sutra. Thus, I pray that this will lighten his karma.” (On Repaying Debts of Gratitude, Gosho Zenshu, p.323)

Although lamenting his teacher’s weakness, Nichiren nevertheless performed the Hōon-shō with deep sincerity, reading it aloud atop Mount Minobu and again at Dōzen-bō’s grave at Seichō-ji, offering its merit for his salvation.

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Longing for His Native Awa

Nichiren also revealed his deep yearning for his homeland in a letter written to Kōnichi-bō of Amatsu in March 1276:

“I have thought of returning once more to see the graves of my parents. Yet it is a rule, both secular and religious, that one who dons brocade must not return home. Were I to return with nothing to show, it would be deemed unfilial. Still, my longing is so strong that whenever the wind blows or clouds rise from the east, I step outside and gaze toward my native land. Even if the people of my home feel no sympathy for me, still, because they are from my country, I feel a deep fondness for them.” (Letter to Kōnichi-bō, Gosho Zenshu, p.928)

Thus, for Nichiren Daishonin, Awa and Seichō-ji were places of profound karmic bond, where he had grown, studied, and made his great vow. Never did a day pass when he did not think of repaying his debts of gratitude to the people connected with that land through the propagation of the correct Law.

 

 

Chapter1(Refuting Shingon, the Evil Law That Brings Ruin to the Nation)

LET us congratulate each other on the coming of the New Year! Since you paid me no visit last year, I have been worried that something unfortunate might have occurred. If you have a chance to call on me, would you borrow for me from the priest Ise-kō The Treatise on the Ten Stages of the Mind, The Precious Key to the Secret Treasury, A Comparison of Exoteric and Esoteric Buddhism, and the other commentaries of the True Word school? I need them in order to refute the True Word priests who have for some time been clamoring against me. Bring with you also volumes one and two of Great Concentration and Insight. I would also appreciate Tung-ch’un and The Supplement to “The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra,” if they are available. Borrow The Collection of Tendai Documents, which is owned by Kanchi-bō, the disciple of Enchi-bō. I have heard people say that he possesses not only that, but other relevant writings. Please borrow them as well, and tell him that I will return them as soon as possible. This year the question of which Buddhist teachings are right and which are wrong will definitely be resolved.

Tell Jōken-bō, Gijō-bō, and the other priests on my behalf: “Nichiren has often been on the verge of being killed. Twice he was exiled and once almost beheaded. This is not because of any worldly wrongs on his part. [As a youth,] he received great wisdom from the living Bodhisattva Space Treasury. He prayed to the bodhisattva to become the wisest person in Japan. The bodhisattva must have taken pity on him, for he presented him with a great jewel as brilliant as the morning star, which Nichiren tucked away in his right sleeve. Thereafter, on perusing the entire body of sutras, he was able to discern in essence the relative worth of the eight schools as well as of all the scriptures.”

The True Word school, among others, attempts to destroy the Lotus Sutra. It is essential to refute the True Word teachings, so in preparation I first attacked the errors of the Zen and Nembutsu schools. I have good reason for my accusations. I will reserve discussion of the rights and wrongs of Buddhist schools in India and China for some other time, but as for Japan, all the people have discarded the correct teaching of the Lotus Sutra and are therefore without exception destined to fall into the evil paths. This is because, at each and every temple, the True Word school invariably exists side by side with the Lotus school, just as a shadow follows the body. Thus, to the practice of the Lotus Sutra that accords with the Law is added the eighteen paths,¹ and to the practice of repentance is added one based on the Amida Sutra. And in conferring titles upon priests of the Tendai school, the True Word procedure predominates, while that of the Lotus Sutra is relegated to a secondary position.

In reality, the True Word sutras belong to the provisional teachings preached before the Lotus Sutra and are inferior even to the Flower Garland or the Wisdom sutras. Yet Jikaku and Kōbō were confused on this point and held that the True Word sutras were equal or even superior to the Lotus Sutra. The eye-opening ceremony for a newly made image of the Buddha² is therefore conducted with the mudra of the Honored One Buddha Eye and the mantra of the Buddha Mahāvairochana. As a result, all the wooden and painted images of the Buddha in Japan have been rendered soulless and sightless, and in consequence, have been possessed by the heavenly devil, bringing ruin upon their own worshipers. This is why the imperial court [in Kyoto] is about to perish. Now the evil teaching of the True Word school has made its appearance in Kamakura and threatens to destroy all of Japan.

The Zen and Pure Land schools also hold extremely perverted views. I knew that if I declared this it would certainly cost me my life. Yet I was determined to requite the favor of Bodhisattva Space Treasury. With this in mind, on the twenty-eighth day of the fourth month in the fifth year of Kenchō (1253), I pointed out the errors of the various schools for the first time to a priest called Jōen-bō and to some of the people on the southern side of the image hall in Dōzen-bō’s quarters at Seichō-ji temple in Tōjō Village of Awa Province. During the more than twenty years since then, I have spoken out with unremitting zeal, and I have been either driven from my dwelling or exiled. In former days Bodhisattva Never Disparaging was beaten with staves; now Nichiren must face the sword.

All the people in Japan, both wise and foolish, from the sovereign on down to the common people, say that the priest Nichiren is no match for the scholars, teachers, great teachers, and eminent priests of old. I waited for the right time to dispel their distrust of me. The time finally came when a great earthquake occurred in the Shōka era, followed by the appearance of a huge comet in the Bun’ei era.³ Observing these, I made this prediction: “Our country will suffer two terrible disasters: internal strife and foreign invasion. The former will take place in Kamakura in the form of internecine strife among the descendants of the acting administrator.⁴ The latter may come from any direction, but that from the west⁵ would be the most violent. This latter will occur solely because all the Buddhist schools in Japan are incorrect, and Brahmā and Shakra will therefore command other countries to attack us. So long as the country refuses to heed me, it will certainly be defeated, even if it has a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand generals as brave as Masakado, Sumitomo, Sadatō, Toshihito, or Tamura. If these words of mine prove false, then the people are free to believe in the distorted views of the True Word, Nembutsu, and other schools.” This is the prediction that I have made known far and wide.

 

Notes

1. The eighteen paths refer to the True Word school’s mandala worship. The school’s Womb Realm and Diamond Realm mandalas each contain nine primary objects of devotion. True Word practitioners join their fingers in eighteen different ways when they meditate on these eighteen objects of devotion.

2. This refers to the ceremony for imbuing a newly made Buddha image with spiritual properties, thus making it an object of devotion. The honored one Buddha Eye, described in the esoteric True Word teaching, represents the virtues of the five types of vision (see Glossary).

3. References are to the earthquake that struck Kamakura in 1257 and to the comet that appeared in 1264.

4. Reference is to Hōjō Yoshitoki (1163–1224), the second regent of the Kamakura government, who defeated the imperial forces during the Jōkyū Disturbance (1221) and established the regency’s control over western Japan. “Internecine strife” refers to the uprising in the second month of 1272, when Hōjō Tokisuke staged an ill-fated rebellion against his younger half brother, the regent Hōjō Tokimune.

5. Indicates the Mongol empire.

 

Lecture

In this treatise, Nichiren Daishonin first requests one of the resident priests of Seichō-ji that, if he should have an opportunity to visit Minobu, he borrow from Ise-no-kimi within the temple certain Shingon doctrinal commentaries, as well as T’ien-t’ai texts such as Great Concentration and Insight, Tōshun, Fushōki, and other Tendai commentaries and collections like the Shūyōshū. Since Seichō-ji was a Tendai-affiliated Shingon esoteric temple, such texts were evidently preserved there.

The reason for this request was, as previously mentioned, that at the end of the preceding year, a dispute had arisen with the Shingon monk Kyōnin, and there were rumors of a Shingon uprising and the prospect of a formal doctrinal confrontation. In preparation, the Daishonin was making every effort to collect Tendai and Shingon scriptures and commentaries so as to be fully prepared.

Indeed, in the Postscript to the Treatise on Repaying Debts of Gratitude, written in the seventh month of that same year, he states: “Privately, people were saying there would likely be a religious debate, so I sought sutras and commentaries in all directions, dispatching many people to temples throughout the provinces” (Gosho Zenshu, p.330). From this we see that he had been actively sending disciples across the country to gather materials in readiness for a doctrinal debate.

In Reply to a Communication from Gōnin, the Daishonin writes:
“Considering the causes that will bring about the ruin of Great Japan, I see that it lies with Kōbō, founder of the Shingon school at Tō-ji, and Jikaku, the third chief priest of Mount Hiei. Confused over the relative superiority of the Lotus Sutra and the Mahāvairocana Sutra, they obscured the true doctrine of the Great Teacher Dengyō, Japan’s foremost sage. Since then, the temples on Mount Hiei have followed Jikaku’s erroneous views, while the seven great temples of Nara have adhered to the false opinions of Kōbō. Consequently, sovereign and ministers have revered false teachers, and the people as a whole have returned to distorted views… Thus, evil doctrines are ever more respected, disasters increase in number, and now this country stands on the brink of destruction” (Goso Zenshu, p.185,).

Here the Daishonin asserts that the grave slander committed by Kōbō and Jikaku in subordinating the Lotus Sutra to the Mahāvairocana Sutra is the very root of calamities and the cause of national ruin. He concludes: “A letter cannot fully express words, words cannot fully convey the mind. Therefore I await a public forum in which to settle this matter” (ibid., p.185). Anticipating the possibility of such a debate, he declares, “This year especially must be the year when the true and the false in Buddhism are clarified.”

In the present treatise, the same refutation of Shingon is expressed. Because Seichō-ji was a Tendai–Shingon temple, he sought to expose the falsehood of Jikaku and Kōbō’s doctrines and to awaken the assembly of Seichō-ji from delusion by showing that Shingon was an “evil law leading to the ruin of the nation.”

His statement that he had received the “jewel of wisdom” directly from Bodhisattva Space Treasury and had thereby become “the wisest person in Japan” echoes The Tripitaka Master Shan-wu-wei: “From my youth I prayed to Bodhisattva Space Treasury, saying, ‘Make me the wisest person in Japan.’ Then, appearing before me, he became a high priest and bestowed upon me the jewel of wisdom, shining like the morning star” (Gosho Zenshu, p.888,). Please see the lecture on this writing for further explanation.

Although the Daishonin possessed natural intelligence from birth, through awakening to the supreme wisdom of the Mystic Law that pervades the universe he came to discern the relative superiority of all the eight schools and the entirety of the Buddhist canon, and he attacked their erroneous doctrines. For this reason, he was “time and again threatened with murder, twice exiled, and nearly beheaded.”

Later, he identifies why Shingon is an “evil law”: because it is “a school that causes the Lotus Sutra to be lost.” Specifically, Kōbō and Jikaku subordinated the Lotus Sutra, claiming that “Shingon and the Lotus should be combined,” “Shingon is primary, the Lotus is secondary,” or that “the Shingon sutras are equal to or surpass the Lotus Sutra.” These were the roots of their erroneous doctrines.

Regarding Kōbō Daishi, founder of Japanese Shingon, the Treatise on Repaying Debts of Gratitude records:
“In the fourteenth year of Kōnin (823), Kōbō Daishi became imperial preceptor, founded the Shingon school, and was granted Tō-ji temple. From this time the eight schools began to flourish. In distinguishing their relative superiority, he declared: first, Shingon’s Mahāvairocana Sutra; second, Flower Garland; third, the Lotus and Nirvāṇa Sutras, and so on. Thus he said: ‘Although the Lotus Sutra is true when compared with the Āgama, Wisdom, and other sutras, when compared with Flower Garland and Mahāvairocana it is mere childish theory. Shakyamuni Buddha himself, when compared with Mahāvairocana, is as insignificant as a vassal to his lord. The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai stole the “ghee” of Shingon and claimed that the Lotus was ghee’” (GZ, p.305).

Concerning Jikaku Daishi as well, he writes in the same treatise:
“Although Jikaku and Chishō are called disciples of the Great Teacher Dengyō, in heart they were not his disciples… Thus, Buddhism on Mount Hiei lasted in its pure form for only three generations—Dengyō, Gishin, and Enchō. Thereafter, the chief priests of Mount Hiei became Shingon leaders in name, though retaining Tendai’s title and holdings. Jikaku and Chishō claimed that Tendai and Shingon were identical in principle, and everyone accepted this. Thus, in order to receive offerings for the eye-opening of images and statues, the Tendai monks turned wholly to Shingon. Eventually all of Japan fell to Shingon, and not a single follower of pure Tendai remained” (GZ, p.308).

By subverting the Buddha’s intent, lowering the Lotus Sutra and Shakyamuni, and corrupting the Tendai school with Shingon mud, these false doctrines threatened to “come to Kamakura and destroy the nation of Japan.” Therefore the Daishonin sternly refuted Shingon and sought a public debate, even if it meant provoking the Shingon priests into confrontation.

Regarding his statement that “all wooden or painted images in Japan have become soulless and without eyes because they are consecrated with Shingon mantras,” On Consecrating an Image of Shakyamuni Buddha Made by Shijo Kingo clarifies:
“The consecration of images and statues should be conducted only through the Lotus Sutra and T’ien-t’ai teachings… Paintings derive from plants and trees, and statues from wood; to infuse them with spirit is the power of the Lotus Sutra and T’ien-t’ai’s realization. For sentient beings this is called attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form; for trees and plants it is called their enlightenment. After T’ien-t’ai, however, some two hundred years later, Shan-wu-wei, Kimchi, and Amoghavajra fabricated the Shingon school, stealing the explanations of the Lotus Sutra and T’ien-t’ai and inserting them into the Mahāvairocana Sutra, deceiving later scholars in China and Japan. Unaware of this theft, all people believed and submitted, and for over five hundred years this error has persisted. Therefore, statues and images consecrated before Shingon appeared are wondrous and efficacious, but temples and pagodas established afterward are lacking in benefit” (GZ, p.1144).

Thus, consecrations conducted with Shingon rituals, lacking the doctrines of “three thousand realms in a single moment of life” and “the enlightenment of plants and trees,” are not only meaningless but result in “images into which demons enter, destroying their donors.”

Compared with such a deceptive distortion of the Lotus Sutra, the doctrines of Zen and Pure Land are but shallow and trivial.

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“If I declare this, it will surely cost me my life…”

By this, the Daishonin meant that to proclaim that in the Latter Day of the Law there is no path to enlightenment other than Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, hidden in the depths of the “Life Span” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, is to bring down upon oneself the three types of enemies, the persecutions of which the Encouragement of the Bodhisattvas chapter clearly foretells. Yet out of his great vow to save all living beings from the darkness of suffering, he cried out on April 28, 1253, the first proclamation of the correct Law. Later, in The Opening of the Eyes, he recalled his determination at that time:

“If I speak out even a single word, persecutions will surely come from parents, brothers, teachers, and sovereign. If I remain silent, I will be guilty of lacking compassion. Considering this, I compared the Lotus Sutra and Nirvāṇa Sutra, and saw that if I keep silent, though I may avoid trouble in this life, I will surely fall into hell in the next. But if I speak, the three obstacles and four devils will certainly arise. Between these two courses, I must speak out. When persecutions come, if I am weak and retreat, I must stop at once. Thus I hesitated; then I encountered the passage of the ‘Treasure Tower’ chapter on the six difficult and nine easy acts. To carry out even one phrase or verse of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Age is more difficult than lifting Mount Sumeru, more difficult than surviving a great fire while carrying dry grass, more difficult than memorizing incalculable sutras. Yet I aroused the great resolve for enlightenment and vowed never to retreat” (GZ, p.200).

In proclaiming Nam-myoho-renge-kyo for the first time before the assembly of Seichō-ji, the Daishonin fulfilled the sutra’s prediction that “those who propagate it will be much hated.” This brought the immediate wrath of the steward Tōjō Kagenobu, forcing him from Seichō-ji and placing his very life in danger. With the aid of Jōken-bō and Gijō-bō, he escaped Mount Kiyosumi and later established a hermitage at Matsubagayatsu in Kamakura, beginning his lifelong propagation. Thereafter, as he states in The Opening of the Eyes, “Day by day, month after month, year after year, persecutions increase; minor troubles are countless, and great ordeals number four. Twice I was exiled, and twice nearly executed” (GZ, p.200).

As he recalls in this treatise, “For over twenty years I have never ceased, though at times driven from place to place, at times exiled.” Enduring the Izu Exile, the Komatsubara Persecution, the Tatsunokuchi Persecution, and the Sado Exile—ordeals far exceeding the trials of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging—he revealed his boundless compassion to save all living beings from misery and establish a world of peace and joy.

He declared: “If Nichiren’s compassion is truly great, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo will flow on for ten thousand years and beyond, into the eternal future. It will open the blind eyes of all people in Japan, and block off the road to hell” (GZ, p.329).

And again: “Because ordinary people of the Latter Day cannot grasp the principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, the Buddha, out of great compassion, wrapped this jewel in the five characters and hung it around the necks of infants in the final age” (GZ, p.254,The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind Established in the Fifth Five-Hundred-Year Period after the Thus Come One’s Passing).

That we today are able to encounter this exceedingly rare Law, and place our faith in the object of devotion embodying the Three Great Secret Laws, is solely the result of the Daishonin’s great compassion as the Buddha of the Latter Day, who endured persecution throughout his life to sow the seed of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

Finally, in this treatise, he recalls his earlier prediction in On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land that Japan would suffer internal strife and foreign invasion. Especially regarding foreign invasion, he states: “Because the entire nation has turned to erroneous teachings, Brahmā and Śakra have commanded foreign powers to attack this land.” In other words, this was a calamity self-inflicted by the Japanese people through slander of the Law, manifesting as the wrath of the heavenly deities.

At the time, his predictions had already come true: the rebellion of Hōjō Tokisuke in 1272, the Mongol invasion of 1274, and the certain prospect of a second Mongol invasion. In 1275, the Mongol envoy Du Shizhong and others arrived at Nagato and demanded renewed submission. When the bakufu executed five Mongol envoys at Tatsunokuchi in September of that year, Japan braced for another attack, dispatching warriors to Kyūshū and constructing coastal defenses.

Yet the Daishonin declared: “If they will not heed even Nichiren, then even if there are a hundred thousand generals like Masakado, Sumitomo, Sadatō, Toshiyori, or Tamura, they cannot prevail.” No number of brave warriors could defeat an invasion brought on by the nation’s own slander of the Law. Only by taking faith in the Daishonin, the Buddha of the Latter Day, and returning to the correct Law, could Japan be saved.

 

 

Chapter2(Teaching the Assembly at Seichō-ji about Profound Gratitude)

Above all, if the priests of Mount Kiyosumi treat me with less respect than they show their own parents or the three treasures, they will become wretched beggars in this life and will fall into the hell of incessant suffering in the next. I will explain why. The villainous Tōjō Saemon Kagenobu once hunted the deer and other animals kept by Seichō-ji, and tried to force the priests in the various lodging temples to become Nembutsu believers. At that time I pitted myself against Tōjō and supported the lord of the manor.⁶ I composed a fervent oath that read, “If the two temples Kiyosumi and Futama⁷ should come into Tōjō’s possession, I will discard the Lotus Sutra!” Then I tied it to the hand of the object of devotion, to which I prayed continuously. Within a year, both temples had been freed from Tōjō’s grasp. Certainly Bodhisattva Space Treasury will never forget this, so how can those priests who make light of me avoid being forsaken by the heavenly gods? Hearing me say this, the more foolish of you may think that I am invoking a curse upon you. But that is not so. I am warning you simply because it would be a pity if you should fall into the hell of incessant suffering after your death.

Let me say a few words about the lay nun, the wife of the lord of the manor. Being a woman and foolish, when threatened by others, she must have thought that what they were saying was true. I pity her because, having forgotten her debt of gratitude, she will fall into the evil paths in her next existence. Despite that, however, she treated my parents with kindness, so I am praying that I may somehow be able to save her from that fate.

 

Notes

6. “The lord of the manor” refers to Hōjō Tomotoki, a younger brother of Hōjō Yasutoki, the third regent of the Kamakura government. His wife was called the lay nun of Nagoe, or Ōama (literally, elder nun). She became a lay supporter of the Daishonin, but later abandoned her faith.

7. These were temples located in Tōjō Village, Awa Province. Kiyosumi is another name for Seichō-ji, but little is known about Futama.

 

Lecture

In this chapter, it is stated that the assembly at Seichō-ji Temple had received profound favors from Nichiren Daishonin. He sternly admonished them that they should revere him as both their parents and as the Three Treasures; otherwise, in this life they would fall into poverty, and in the next life they would descend into the Avīci hell.

This great favor refers to the fact that Tōjō Saemon-no-jō Kagenobu, the steward of Tōjō village, sought to usurp the rights of the estate proprietor, bring both Seichō-ji and Ninama-dera under his control, and convert them to the Nembutsu. The Daishonin exerted himself on both secular and religious fronts to thwart this ambition.

Concerning Kagenobu’s schemes, there is a writing that states, “There were repeated legal suits, and in the end, armed conflict broke out. Lord Gokuraku-ji’s retainers bent justice” (On Memorial Offerings for a Deceased Husband, Gosho Zenshu, p.1413). This suggests that lawsuits over estate ownership were repeatedly contested in court and even escalated into armed clashes. Moreover, Gokuraku-ji Shigetoki, father of the regent Hōjō Nagatoki, sided with Kagenobu and twisted the law to his advantage. Some even say that Kagenobu was a retainer of Shigetoki.

The Tōjō family had originally been a powerful clan in Awa Province even before Minamoto no Yoritomo established the Kamakura shogunate. It is said that when Yoritomo was defeated at the Battle of Ishibashiyama and fled to Awa, they opposed him. Later, Yoritomo donated part of Tōjō village as sacred land to Ise Shrine, which suggests that he was the proprietor of the land at that time. After the Minamoto line ended in three generations, their remaining estates appear to have been distributed among the Hōjō clan.

The estate proprietress (ryōke no ama) is thought to have been the widow of Hōjō Tomotoki, known also as the Nun of Nagoe. Tomotoki was the younger brother of Masako, Yoritomo’s wife, and the second son of Hōjō Yoshitoki, the second regent. This explains how he became the lord of Awa-Tōjō. Tomotoki became a monk in 1242 amid power struggles within the Hōjō clan and died in 1245. After his death, his widow inherited the estate proprietorship.

Tomotoki’s son, Mitsutoki, in 1246 was accused of plotting with the retired shogun Yoritsune to oust the regent Tokiyori. He took the tonsure to atone and was confined to Ema in Izu Province. Later pardoned, he returned to Kamakura but ceded the headship to his son Chikatoki. Thus, although the Nagoe family was of high rank within the Hōjō clan, second only to the main line, they fell into decline due to their conflict with the main line. They produced no high officials such as members of the Council of State.

For this reason, Tōjō Kagenobu looked down upon the Nagoe family, despised the proprietress because she was a woman, and, relying on powerful figures like Shigetoki of Gokuraku-ji, sought to usurp her authority. In the Kamakura period, it was common for armed stewards (jitō) to encroach upon the rights of proprietors, and even if lawsuits were brought, the advantage usually lay with the stewards. In Kagenobu’s case, with “Lord Gokuraku-ji’s retainers bending justice,” it was nearly impossible for the proprietress’s side to prevail.

The passage in this treatise stating, “Within a year, both temples were freed from Tōjō’s control,” indicates that although Seichō-ji and Ninama-dera once fell under Kagenobu’s domination, they quickly returned to the proprietress’s hands. It suggests that the proprietress’s side won in court, forcing Kagenobu to withdraw. This was due to the Daishonin’s support for the proprietress, his fervent prayers with the solemn vow that, should Kagenobu triumph, he would abandon the Lotus Sutra, and his wisdom and assistance in defeating Kagenobu’s side in legal proceedings.

That the Daishonin sternly warned the monks of Seichō-ji that unless they revered him as their parents and as the Three Treasures they would fall into Avīci hell reflects the following: they must not forget the great debt of gratitude owed to the Daishonin, who had saved Seichō-ji from Kagenobu’s grasp and prevented its conversion to the Nembutsu. Yet in essence, this admonition must be understood as teaching that they should revere him as the sovereign, teacher, and parent of the Latter Day of the Law.

As for the faith of the proprietress Nun, the Reply to Niiama states: “The proprietress was shallow and foolish, sometimes believing and sometimes abandoning the faith; when she incurred the Daishonin’s censure, she had already forsaken the Lotus Sutra” (Gosho Zenshu, p.906). This shows that her faith was weak and unstable, and that the Daishonin was deeply concerned for her.

 

 

Chapter3(Encouraging Faith in the Practitioners of the Lotus Sutra)

 

Notes

8. Sado is another name for Nikō (1253–1314), one of the six senior disciples of the Daishonin. Āchārya Suke is believed to have been a follower of the Daishonin and a confidant of the lord of Tōjō Village. According to another view, he was one of the priests of Seichō-ji temple.

 

Lecture

At the conclusion of this writing, the Daishonin reveals that it is the Lotus Sutra which clarifies matters of the past and the future, and that he himself, who knows what is yet to occur, is indeed the true practitioner of the Lotus Sutra. He warns that if even the assembly at Seichō-ji forget the great debt they owe him, they will without doubt fall into the Avīci hell.

The Daishonin also states that the very reason the Lotus Sutra is supreme lies in the fact that it reveals both the enlightenment attained in the inconceivably remote past of five hundred dust-particle kalpas, and that disciples such as Śāriputra will in the future attain Buddhahood.

As is written in The Opening of the Eyes: “When I compare the first forty-odd years with the last eight years [of the Buddha’s preaching], although there are many differences, even the scholars of the world permit and I myself also deeply believe that the two outstanding points are that the two vehicles can attain Buddhahood and that the Buddha attained enlightenment in the remote past” (Gosho Zenshu, p.190). That the two vehicles can attain Buddhahood and the Buddha’s enlightenment in the remote past are precisely what fundamentally distinguish the Lotus Sutra from the pre-Lotus teachings, sweeping aside the provisional doctrines of non-attainment for the two vehicles and revealing the true attainment of Buddhahood—truth within truth itself. Therefore, it is determined that if one disbelieves or slanders the Lotus Sutra, one will fall into the Avīci hell. This is confirmed by Many Treasures Buddha and the Buddhas of the ten directions, as the passage states: “The Bodhisattvas of the Earth, Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, Brahmā, Śakra, the sun and moon deities, the four heavenly kings, the ten demon daughters—all vowed to protect the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra.” Thus all bodhisattvas and benevolent deities guard those who teach and practice this true Law.

Since the Lotus Sutra correctly expounds the three existences of life—past, present, and future—the true practitioner of the Lotus Sutra perceives these three existences without error. To know the three existences correctly is itself proof of being a Buddha.

Although the original manuscript of this writing no longer survives, some versions record the passage as “Regarding matters of the past and of the future—I am indeed the true practitioner of the Lotus Sutra.”

Nichiren himself said, “I have never yet seen Tsukushi… How pitiable, how pitiable it would be to fall into the Avīci hell.”

The Daishonin’s prediction of the great ordeal of foreign invasion did not arise from any knowledge of Kyushu or from familiarity with Mongol affairs, but because he was a Buddha who had mastered the Law and drew his conclusions from the principles set forth throughout the sutras.

In On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land he cites the explicit passages of the four sutras—Medicine Master Sutra, Great Collection Sutra, Golden Light Sutra, and The Benevolent Kings Sutra: “Of the seven calamities listed in the Medicine Master Sutra, five have already suddenly appeared while two yet remain—the calamities of foreign invasion and internal strife. Of the three calamities of the Great Collection Sutra, two have already manifested while one remains—the calamity of warfare. Though the various disasters listed in the Golden Light Sutra have all appeared one after another, the calamity of hostile forces invading the nation has yet to come. Of the seven calamities of the The Benevolent Kings Sutra, six are now rampant while one has yet to appear—the calamity of the four quarters invading the nation” (Gosho Zenshu, p.31). He then admonishes the authorities: “The earlier disasters are obvious—why doubt the later ones? When the remaining calamities occur due to the offense of evil teachings, what then will you do?” (Gosho Zenshu,p.31). These predictions have already been borne out by events.

In The Selection of the Time he writes: “Secular texts say that one who knows what has not yet emerged is called a sage. Buddhist texts say that one who knows the three existences is called a sage. I have had three occasions of heavenly illumination” (Gosho Zenshu, p.287). As these words show, Nichiren Daishonin, who knew the future, is indeed the sage and the Original Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.

He declares that if even the assembly at Seichō-ji forget or betray the great debt they owe this Daishonin, they will certainly fall into the Avīci hell, and he warns them sternly so that they will not regret it later when the Mongol armies invade and plunge the country into great suffering.

Similarly, The Selection of the Time contains a passage with the same intent: “How pitiful, how lamentable that the people of Japan will all fall into the great citadel of the Avīci hell… Even now behold it—when the great Mongol nation sends tens of thousands of warships to attack Japan, from the highest to the lowest they will abandon all Buddhist temples and all Shinto shrines, and with one voice cry out, ‘Namu Myoho-renge-kyo! Namu Myoho-renge-kyo!’ They will press their palms together and beg for help, shouting ‘Nichiren Shōnin! Nichiren Shōnin!’… Even the eminent monks of Japan will then wish to chant ‘Namu Nichiren Shōnin,’ but it may be too late. How pitiable, how pitiable” (Gosho Zenshu, p.286).

The Selection of the Time was written in 1275, and as this writing dates from the first month of the following year, it is clear—as noted earlier—that Japan was at that time seized with terror at the imminent second Mongol invasion. This is precisely why the Daishonin harshly rebuked the pernicious teachings of True Word, which he saw as a national calamity, and why he composed this treatise to break the delusions of the people of Seichō-ji with whom he had former ties, to bring them to the true Law, and to save them from the torments of Avīci hell.

That the addressee of this writing is marked as “To the Assembly at Seichō-ji” and the notation appended “Read this aloud before the assembly in front of the Kokūzō Bodhisattva” is a manifestation of this great compassion.