How Those Initially Aspiring to the Way Can Attain Buddhahood through the Lotus Sutra

Background and Summary（Short Story）

This letter, believed to be written in 1277, discusses the importance of the Lotus Sutra as the true teaching of Buddhism. It emphasizes that the sutra can benefit all people, counters the prevailing belief that it is too profound for the current age, and highlights its power to bring salvation and end disasters. The author asserts that even those who slander the Lotus Sutra can attain Buddhahood through their connection with it. It also assures women of Buddhahood, unlike earlier teachings. The conclusion states that revering the Law and chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo manifests the Buddha nature in ourselves and the world.

Main Text

When we revere Myoho-renge-kyo inherent in our own life as the object of devotion, the Buddha nature within us is summoned forth and manifested by our chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. This is what is meant by “Buddha.” To illustrate, when a caged bird sings, birds who are flying in the sky are thereby summoned and gather around, and when the birds flying in the sky gather around, the bird in the cage strives to get out.

How Those Initially Aspiring to the Way Can Attain Buddhahood through the Lotus Sutra

Background

QUESTION: Of the eight schools, the nine schools, or the ten schools,1 which is the true school founded by Shakyamuni Buddha?

Answer: The Lotus school is the school founded by Shakyamuni. We know this because of the statement that, of all the sutras “I [Shakyamuni] have preached, now preach, and will preach,”2 the Lotus Sutra is foremost. These words were spoken by Shakyamuni Buddha himself. Therefore, [the school based on] the Lotus Sutra is known as the Buddha-founded school and is also called the Lotus school. It is also known as the Tendai school.

For this reason, the Great Teacher Dengyō states in his commentary, “The Lotus school, which T’ien-t’ai elucidated, represents the school founded by Shakyamuni, the World-Honored One.”3 In none of the sutras other than the Lotus does one find a passage concerning [the relative superiority of] all the sutras that “I have preached, now preach, and will preach.” Here, the sutras that the Buddha has preached refer to the various sutras expounded by the Buddha in the more than forty years before he preached the Lotus Sutra. Those he now preaches refer to the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra. Those he will preach refer to the Nirvana Sutra. The Buddha thus firmly decreed that, transcending these three categories of sutras, the Lotus Sutra alone constitutes the school that assures the attainment of Buddhahood.

The various other schools were founded by bodhisattvas or teachers in the period after the Buddha had entered nirvana. Should we now turn our backs upon the Buddha’s decree and follow the schools established by the bodhisattvas and teachers? Or should we ignore the words of the bodhisattvas and teachers and follow the school established by the Buddha? Or should we entrust ourselves to either course as the feeling strikes us, and uphold whatever sutra or doctrine suits our inclination? The Buddha knew long ago that we would have doubts of this kind, and therefore he clearly designated the sutra to be embraced by those who are truly aspiring to the way in this defiled and evil age of the Latter Day of the Law.

A sutra says: “Rely on the Law and not upon persons. Rely on the meaning of the teaching and not on the words. Rely on wisdom and not on discriminative thinking. Rely on sutras that are complete and final and not on those that are not complete and final.”4 The meaning of this passage is that one should not rely upon the words of the bodhisattvas and teachers, but should heed what was established by the Buddha. It further means that one should not rely upon the teachings of the True Word, Zen, and Nembutsu schools, which are based upon the sutras of the Flower Garland, Āgama, Correct and Equal, and Wisdom periods,5 but should uphold the sutras that are complete and final. And by relying upon “sutras that are complete and final,” it means upholding the Lotus Sutra.

Question: Observing Japan at the present time, we see that the obstacles presented by the five impurities are very grave, that quarrels and disputes occur incessantly,6 and that people’s minds are consumed with anger and their thoughts filled with jealousy. In such a country and at such a time as this, what sutra ought to be propagated?

Answer: This is a country in which the Lotus Sutra should be propagated. Therefore, the Lotus Sutra itself says, “I will cause it to be widely propagated throughout Jambudvīpa and will see that it never comes to an end.”7

The Treatise on the Stages of Yoga Practice states that there is a small country situated to the northeast where the Mahayana teachings of the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law should be spread.8 And the Reverend Annen states, “This refers to our country of Japan.”9 From the point of view of India, Japan is indeed situated to the northeast.

Moreover, the Supervisor of Priests Eshin states in his Essentials of the One Vehicle Teaching, “Throughout Japan, all people share the same capacity to attain Buddhahood through the perfect teaching. Whether at court or in the countryside, whether far or near, all alike turn to the single vehicle; and whether priests or lay believers, whether eminent or humble, all can hope to attain Buddhahood.”

The meaning of this passage is that the people of Japan, whether they live in Kyoto, Kamakura, Tsukushi, Chinzei, or Michinoku,10 whether they live nearby or far away, are endowed with the capacity to attain Buddhahood solely through the one vehicle teaching of the Lotus Sutra, and that Japan is therefore a country where high and low, eminent and humble, those who observe the precepts and those who break them, men and women alike, can all attain Buddhahood through the Lotus Sutra. Just as there are no ordinary stones in the K’un-lun Mountains and no poisons on the mountain island of P’eng-lai, so Japan is purely and wholly a country of the Lotus Sutra.

And yet we find people who, while declaring with their mouths that the Lotus is inherently a wonderful sutra and that no one could therefore refuse to take faith in it, nevertheless spend night and day, morning and evening, reciting the name of Amida Buddha. They are like people who sing the praises of a particular medicine and yet morning and evening dose themselves on poison.

Or there are those who declare that the Nembutsu and the Lotus Sutra are essentially one. They are like persons who claim that ordinary stones are the same as gems, senior monks identical to junior monks, and poison equivalent to medicine.

In addition, there are many who hate, envy, resent, slander, despise, and look down on the Lotus Sutra. The sutra says, “It will face much hostility in the world and be difficult to believe.”11 It also says, “Since hatred and jealousy toward this sutra abound even when the Thus Come One is in the world, how much more will this be so after his passing?”12 These predictions of the sutra have come about without the slightest deviation.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　～（omitted)～

The third group is made up of monks living in secluded places. These monks have all the outward signs of being holy men. They possess only the prescribed three robes and one begging bowl, and live in seclusion in a quiet spot in a mountain forest, so that everyone looks up to them as though they were the arhats living at the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, and all people revere them as though they were Buddhas. When these men see the monks who read and uphold the Lotus Sutra in accordance with its teachings, they hate and envy them, calling them great fools or holders of grave erroneous views, claiming that they are completely lacking in compassion, and that they preach non-Buddhist doctrines. And because the ruler looks up to such men and believes what they say, everyone down to the common people gives alms to them as though they were Buddhas. Thus the Buddha taught that persons who read and uphold the Lotus Sutra in accordance with its teachings will invariably be hated by these three types of enemies.

Question: Is there any evidence to indicate that one should embrace in particular the name of the Lotus Sutra in the same way that people embrace the name of a particular Buddha?

Answer: The sutra states, “The Buddha said to the demon daughters, ‘Excellent, excellent! If you can shield and guard those who accept and uphold the mere name of the Lotus Sutra, your merit will be immeasurable.’”58 The meaning of this passage is that, when the ten demon daughters made a vow to protect those who embrace the title of the Lotus Sutra, the World-Honored One of Great Enlightenment praised them, saying, “Excellent! Excellent! The blessings you will enjoy for protecting those who accept and uphold Nam-myoho-renge-kyo will be impossible to fathom! They will be splendid blessings! Truly wonderful!” This passage implies that we ordinary people, whether we are walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, should chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

As for the meaning of Myoho-renge-kyo: The Buddha nature inherent in us, ordinary people; the Buddha nature of Brahmā, Shakra, and the other deities; the Buddha nature of Shāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, and the other voice-hearers; the Buddha nature of Manjushrī, Maitreya, and the other bodhisattvas; and the Mystic Law that is the enlightenment of the Buddhas of the three existences, are one and identical. This principle is called Myoho-renge-kyo. Therefore, when once we chant Myoho-renge-kyo, with just that single sound we summon forth and manifest the Buddha nature of all Buddhas; all existences; all bodhisattvas; all voice-hearers; all the deities such as Brahmā, Shakra, and King Yama; the sun and moon, and the myriad stars; the heavenly gods and earthly deities, on down to hell-dwellers, hungry spirits, animals, asuras, human and heavenly beings, and all other living beings. This blessing is immeasurable and boundless.

When we revere Myoho-renge-kyo inherent in our own life as the object of devotion, the Buddha nature within us is summoned forth and manifested by our chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. This is what is meant by “Buddha.” To illustrate, when a caged bird sings, birds who are flying in the sky are thereby summoned and gather around, and when the birds flying in the sky gather around, the bird in the cage strives to get out. When with our mouths we chant the Mystic Law, our Buddha nature, being summoned, will invariably emerge. The Buddha nature of Brahmā and Shakra, being called, will protect us, and the Buddha nature of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, being summoned, will rejoice. This is what the Buddha meant when he said, “If one can uphold it [the Mystic Law] even for a short while I will surely rejoice and so will the other Buddhas.”59

All Buddhas of the three existences, too, attain Buddhahood by virtue of the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo. These five characters are the reason why the Buddhas of the three existences appear in the world; they are the Mystic Law whereby all living beings can attain the Buddha way. You should understand these matters thoroughly and, on the path of attaining Buddhahood, chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo without arrogance or attachment to biased views.

Nichiren

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Background

This letter is generally thought to have been written in the third year of Kenji (1277), though differing opinions assign it to as early as 1271 or even as late as 1282. Its recipient was a woman called the lay nun Myōhō who lived at Okamiya in Suruga Province. Little is known about her, other than that she was widowed in 1278 and also lost an elder brother. She appears to have maintained steadfast faith throughout her life. She is the same lay nun who received The One Essential Phrase from Nichiren Daishonin in 1278.

“Those initially aspiring to the way” in the letter’s title refers to the people of this latter age, who were generally considered to have planted few roots of merit in prior lifetimes. Written in question-and-answer form, it first establishes that, among the various schools of Buddhism, only that based upon the Lotus Sutra represents the school founded by Shakyamuni Buddha himself, for this sutra alone expresses the Buddha’s true intention.

Through the first few sets of questions and answers, the Daishonin explains that, whether viewed in terms of the teaching, the people’s capacity, the time, or the country, the Lotus is the only sutra to be propagated in Japan during the Latter Day of the Law. Unlike the provisional teachings, which are suited to some people but not to others, the Lotus Sutra is unique in enabling all people to attain Buddhahood.

In Nichiren Daishonin’s time, the idea prevailed that the Lotus Sutra, being extremely profound, was far beyond the capacity of people born in the Latter Day of the Law, and that only the relatively easy Nembutsu teachings could save them by leading them to rebirth in Amida’s Pure Land. The Daishonin counters by asserting that, in this age, the seven characters of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which represent the heart and core of the Lotus Sutra, can benefit all people. This is the Law to be propagated by Bodhisattva Superior Practices.

Referring to the many disasters then besetting Japan, Nichiren Daishonin points out that prayers for the nation’s welfare based on the provisional teachings no longer produce results. To make fire, he says, three things are needed: a good piece of steel, a good flint, and good tinder. Similarly, one needs three elements—a good teacher, a good believer, and a good teaching—before prayers can be answered and the nation restored to peace. The Lotus Sutra, being foremost among the Buddha’s teachings, is just such a “good teaching” that can answer prayers and end disasters.

A theme running through this writing is the Lotus Sutra’s universal power of salvation. The Daishonin says that, regardless of whether people do or do not possess the power of understanding, the most important thing is to let them form a bond with the Mystic Law. Thus he emphasizes that in the evil age of the Latter Day one should assertively teach p.889Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the heart of the Lotus Sutra, rather than some lesser, provisional teaching, for even those who slander the Lotus Sutra will eventually attain Buddhahood by virtue of the “poison-drum relationship,” or the reverse connection that they thereby form with it. He also makes clear for the lay nun Myōhō’s benefit that the Lotus Sutra, unlike the earlier teachings, guarantees Buddhahood for women as well as for men.

The conclusion explains that the Law of Myoho-renge-kyo, the five characters of the sutra’s title, is identical to the Buddha nature inherent in our own lives and in all things in the universe. When we revere this Law, the essence of our own life, and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, we simultaneously manifest the Buddha nature, both in ourselves and in the world around us.

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Notes

1. The eight schools are the Dharma Analysis Treasury, Establishment of Truth, Precepts, Dharma Characteristics, Three Treatises, Flower Garland, Tendai, and True Word schools. The nine schools comprise these eight plus the Zen school, and the ten schools are those nine plus the Pure Land school.

2. Lotus Sutra, chap. 10.

3. The Outstanding Principles of the Lotus Sutra.

4. Nirvana Sutra. These injunctions are termed the “four reliances,” but they are also known as the “four standards.”

5. Collectively, the provisional teachings preached prior to the Lotus Sutra, according to T’ien-t’ai’s classification of sutras. See five periods in Glossary.

6. The Great Collection Sutra describes the last five-hundred-year period, corresponding to the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law, as a time when quarrels and disputes will occur among rival schools and the pure Law, or Shakyamuni’s Buddhism, will be lost. This period is termed the “age of conflict.”

7. Lotus Sutra, chap. 28.

8. No such passage appears in the extant version of The Treatise on the Stages of Yoga Practice. However, Annen’s Extensive Commentary on the Universally Bestowed Bodhisattva Precepts attributes a similar statement to this work.

9. On the Universally Bestowed Bodhisattva Precepts.

10. Tsukushi is an ancient name for what is presently Fukuoka Prefecture or the entire island of Kyushu. Chinzei is also an ancient name for Kyushu. Michinoku is an ancient name for northeastern Japan. Also called Mutsu.

11. Lotus Sutra, chap. 14.

12. Ibid., chap. 10.

58. Lotus Sutra, chap. 26.

59. Ibid., chap. 11.

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