Chapter3(Refuting the Erroneous Doctrines of the Various Schools That Contradict the Buddha’s Teachings)
Question: The Flower Garland school propounds the doctrine of the five teachings and declares all the other sutras to be inferior, and the Flower Garland Sutra, superior. The True Word school puts forth the doctrine of the ten stages of the mind, declaring that all the other sutras, being exoteric teachings, are inferior, while the True Word school, because it represents the esoteric teachings, is superior. The Zen school rejects all the sutras as belonging to the realm of written teachings and asserts “a separate transmission outside the sutras, independent of words or writing.” Because enlightenment, they say, is gained merely by sitting and facing the wall, the Zen school alone is superior. The Pure Land school sets forth two kinds of practices, correct and sundry. The Lotus Sutra and the various other sutras are rejected as belonging to the category of sundry practices, and hence one is urged to “discard, close, ignore, and abandon” them. The three Pure Land sutras, on the other hand, they claim, are adapted to the people’s capacity and are wonderful sutras belonging to the realm of correct practices. Thus each school in its conceit maintains its own biased attachment. But which one represents the true intention of Shakyamuni Buddha?
Answer: Each school declares its own sutra to be superior, all other sutras being dismissed as inferior, and on this basis labels itself the correct school. But their arguments are based merely upon the words of the teachers and not upon the Buddha’s teaching. Only the Lotus Sutra was proclaimed superior by the Buddha himself when he expounded the simile of the five flavors, likening them to the teachings of the five periods. He also declared that of all the various sutras that he “has preached, now preaches, and will preach,” in terms of the path of attaining Buddhahood, none could rival the Lotus Sutra. These statements are in truth the Buddha’s own golden words.
Therefore, when people declare that their own sutra surpasses the Lotus Sutra, or that their own school is superior to the Lotus school, they are like persons of inferior rank calling someone of high rank a commoner, or retainers whose families have for generations been in the service of a certain lord turning against him and declaring him to be their servant. How can they escape grave retribution?
On the other hand, the assertion that the various other sutras rank below the Lotus Sutra is not based upon the words of the teachers, but is plainly stated in the text of the sutra itself. In this respect, it is like a ruler asserting that he is superior to his subjects, or a samurai calling a commoner a person of low rank. What penalty could this possibly bring? This sutra, the Lotus, represents the true intention of the Buddha and the prime concern of T’ien-t’ai and Miao-lo.
Notes
14. A comparative classification of the Buddhist sutras. The five teachings are the Hinayana teaching, the elementary Mahayana teaching, the final Mahayana teaching, the sudden teaching, and the perfect teaching. The perfect teaching indicates the Flower Garland and Lotus sutras, between which the Flower Garland Sutra is assigned the higher place.
15. A classification established by Shan-tao of the Chinese Pure Land school. “Correct practices” are practices for attaining rebirth in the Pure Land of Amida Buddha. The term is used in contrast to “sundry practices,” or all Buddhist practices not directed toward Amida Buddha.
16. Hōnen does not use these words in this particular form, however. Nichiren Daishonin took these words from The Nembutsu Chosen above All and put them together as a set.
Lecture
Next, he addresses how the Kegon, Shingon, Zen, and Pure Land schools each claim superiority for their own tradition, clarifying that these are all erroneous doctrines devised by human teachers in contradiction to the Buddha’s own words.
[The text states:]
“The Flower Garland school propounds the doctrine of the five teachings and declares all the other sutras to be inferior, and the Flower Garland Sutra, superior. The True Word school puts forth the doctrine of the ten stages of the mind, declaring that all the other sutras, being exoteric teachings, are inferior, while the True Word school, because it represents the esoteric teachings, is superior. The Zen school rejects all the sutras as belonging to the realm of written teachings and asserts “a separate transmission outside the sutras, independent of words or writing.” Because enlightenment, they say, is gained merely by sitting and facing the wall, the Zen school alone is superior. The Pure Land school sets forth two kinds of practices, correct and sundry. The Lotus Sutra and the various other sutras are rejected as belonging to the category of sundry practices, and hence one is urged to “discard, close, ignore, and abandon” them. The three Pure Land sutras, on the other hand, they claim, are adapted to the people’s capacity and are wonderful sutras belonging to the realm of correct practices. Thus each school in its conceit maintains its own biased attachment. But which one represents the true intention of Shakyamuni Buddha?”
The Kegon school was founded in China during the early Tang dynasty by Tu-shun, transmitted through Chih-yen, and brought to completion by Fa-tsang. In Japan, it is said to have been established by Shinsho in the twelfth year of Tenpyo (740).
In the first volume of The Treatise on the Five Teachings of Kegon (Huayan yisheng jiaoyi fenzhang), Fa-tsang established the doctrinal classification of the five teachings and ten schools. The five teachings divide the Buddhist teachings of Shakyamuni’s lifetime into five categories:
- The Hinayana teaching
- The elementary Mahayana teaching
- The final Mahayana teaching
- The sudden teaching
- The perfect teaching
Through this classification, he asserted that the Kegon Sutra is the supreme scripture.
In particular, among the perfect teachings that expound the One Vehicle endowed with perfect harmony, he maintained that the Kegon Sutra expounds the wondrous doctrine of perfect harmony and is distinct from all other sutras; thus he termed it the Distinct One Vehicle (bekkyo ichijo) and asserted its superiority over the Lotus Sutra.
In What It Means to Slander the Law, the Daishonin states:
” The Flower Garland school speaks of the five teachings, into which it divides all the preachings of the Thus Come One’s lifetime, and among these regards the Flower Garland and Lotus sutras as the highest. And of these two sutras, it places the Flower Garland Sutra in the supreme position. This is the doctrine accepted by the three schools of southern China and the seven schools of northern China, the patriarchs and teachers of the Flower Garland school, and the Great Teacher Kōbō of Tō-ji temple in Japan.” (WND-2, p. 259).
He further refutes this:
“When Fa-tsang, Ch’eng-kuan, and others divided all the teachings of the Buddha’s lifetime up into the so-called five teachings, they assigned the Lotus Sutra and the Flower Garland Sutra to the category known as the perfect teaching and held the opinion that the Flower Garland Sutra is superior to the Lotus Sutra. Although the Flower Garland Sutra, which they favored, contains no mention of the fact that persons of the two vehicles can attain Buddhahood or that the Buddha attained enlightenment in the inconceivably remote past, they believed that it did in fact teach these two doctrines. Hence, though the Lotus Sutra is superior to the Flower Garland Sutra in this respect, they asserted that it is inferior to the Flower Garland Sutra, a view that is highly erroneous.” (WND-2, p. 265).
Furthermore, the Great Teacher Kobo (Kukai), the founder of the Japanese Shingon school, established the doctrinal classification of the ten stages of the mind in his Treatise on the Ten Stages of the Mind (Jujushinron), evaluating the relative superiority of various sutras and schools, and asserted that Shingon esoteric Buddhism is supreme. The ten stages of the mind are based on the “Stages of the Mind” chapter of the Mahavairochana Sutra, which expounds ten categories of states of the minds of living beings. “Stage of mind” (jushin) refers to knowing the true aspect of one’s own mind as it really is.
In The Lineage Chart of the Teachings of Shakyamuni’s Lifetime and the Five Periods, the ten stages of the mind described in the Precious Key to the Secret Treasury (Hizo hoyaku) are shown as follows:
- The mind of the common mortal, animal-like in its desires (evil common mortals)
- The foolish, child-like mind that observes moral precepts (good common mortals)
- The infant-like, fearless mind (non-Buddhists)
- The mind that recognizes only the aggregates and no self (voice-hearers)
- The mind that frees itself from the seeds of karmic causes (cause-awakened ones)
- The Mahayana mind that feels concern for others (Hosso school)
- The mind that realizes that the mind is unborn (Sanron school)
- The mind that is in harmony with the one true way (Lotus school / Tendai)
- The mind that realizes the ultimate absence of an inherent nature (Kegon school)
- The secret, adorned mind (Shingon school)
Kobo assigned the state of mind of the Tendai Lotus school, which expounds the One Buddha Vehicle, to the eighth stage (“the mind that is in harmony with the one true way”), and that of the Kegon school, which expounds the ultimate absence of inherent nature and dependent origination, to the ninth stage (“the mind that realizes the ultimate absence of an inherent nature”). He asserted that true attainment of Buddhahood is possible only through the tenth stage (“the secret, adorned mind”) of the Shingon school, which expounds the realization of the ultimate secret truth revealed by Mahavairochana Tathagata.
Moreover, in his Treatise on the Distinction between Exoteric and Esoteric Teachings (Benkenmitsu nikyoron), Kobo classified all the Buddhist teachings of Shakyamuni’s lifetime into exoteric and esoteric teachings according to their doctrinal content, asserting that esoteric teachings are superior.
In the Zen school, relying on the passage in the Sutra of the Questioning of the Buddha by the Great Heavenly King Brahma which states: “The Buddha declared: ‘I possess the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, the marvelous mind of nirvana, the true aspect without form, the subtle and wondrous Law; not established on words, it is a special transmission outside the scriptures… and I entrust it to Mahakashyapa,'” they claim that the Buddha’s true intention was directly transmitted from mind to mind without using oral teachings, and that one can attain enlightenment through seated meditation without relying on scriptural texts.
In other words, claiming that the essence of Buddhism lies outside all sutras, they asserted that the Zen school alone, which attains enlightenment through seated meditation facing a wall, is superior.
In the Pure Land school, Shan-tao of China divided Buddhist practice into two types—correct practices and miscellaneous practices—in his Commentary on the Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life Sutra. He designated practices directed toward Amida Buddha as correct practices, while dismissing all other Buddhist practices as varied, useless miscellaneous practices.
Honen, the founder of the Japanese Pure Land school, stated in his Passages on the Selection of the Nembutsu in the Original Vow (Senchaku-shu) that reading and reciting the Lotus Sutra is also a miscellaneous practice, denigrating it as a practice that cannot lead to rebirth in the Pure Land of Perfect Bliss.
In The Nembutsu as the Path to the Incessant Hell, the Daishonin writes:
“In Japan the founder of the Pure Land school is the Honorable Hōnen. At the age of seventeen he studied all the Buddhist scriptures, worked his way through the sixty volumes of the T’ien-t’ai doctrines, studied the doctrines of all the eight schools of Buddhism, and was hailed as one who had mastered the essential meaning of the sacred teachings of the Buddha’s lifetime. He became known as a man whose wisdom was unmatched throughout the world, the foremost scholar of Mount Hiei.
But the heavenly devil took possession of his body and, rendering useless all the wisdom gained through his broad studies and vast learning, led him to reject the Tendai school, the crown of all the schools of Buddhism, and instead become a teacher of the Nembutsu doctrine, which stands outside the teachings of the eight schools. It was as though one were to cast aside one’s position as a high minister or court noble and instead become a mere commoner.
He wrote a work entitled The Nembutsu Chosen above All in which he rejected the sacred teachings put forward by the Buddha in the five periods of his preaching life and instead propounded the single doctrine of the Nembutsu and rebirth in the Pure Land.
In the Decline of the Law Sutra, the Buddha states: “[After I have entered nirvana], in the troubled times when the five impurities prevail, the way of the devil will flourish. The devil will appear in the form of Buddhist monks and attempt to confuse and destroy my teachings. . . . Those who do evil will become as numerous as the sands of the ocean, while the good will be extremely few, perhaps no more than one or two persons.” This passage, according to a statement issued by the Mount Hiei monastery, refers to the priest Hōnen.
Hōnen asserts that the single practice advocated by the Pure Land school represents the five correct practices, whereas the various other Mahayana teachings, whether provisional or true, exoteric or esoteric, are to be labeled as the five sundry practices. Therefore, like Shan-tao, he urges that the correct practice of the Pure Land teachings be regarded as the certain way of gaining rebirth in the Pure Land.” (WND-2, p. 28).
Having cited the doctrines of these various schools, the Daishonin poses the question of which of them truly represents the intention of Shakyamuni Buddha, and then proceeds to refute their errors in summary.
[The text states:]
“Answer: Each school declares its own sutra to be superior, all other sutras being dismissed as inferior, and on this basis labels itself the correct school. But their arguments are based merely upon the words of the teachers and not upon the Buddha’s teaching. Only the Lotus Sutra was proclaimed superior by the Buddha himself when he expounded the simile of the five flavors, likening them to the teachings of the five periods. He also declared that of all the various sutras that he “has preached, now preaches, and will preach,” in terms of the path of attaining Buddhahood, none could rival the Lotus Sutra. These statements are in truth the Buddha’s own golden words.
Therefore, when people declare that their own sutra surpasses the Lotus Sutra, or that their own school is superior to the Lotus school, they are like persons of inferior rank calling someone of high rank a commoner, or retainers whose families have for generations been in the service of a certain lord turning against him and declaring him to be their servant. How can they escape grave retribution?
On the other hand, the assertion that the various other sutras rank below the Lotus Sutra is not based upon the words of the teachers, but is plainly stated in the text of the sutra itself. In this respect, it is like a ruler asserting that he is superior to his subjects, or a samurai calling a commoner a person of low rank. What penalty could this possibly bring? This sutra, the Lotus, represents the true intention of the Buddha and the prime concern of T’ien-t’ai and Miao-lo.”
The Daishonin refutes the assertions of each school, stating: “The claim of each school that its own school is good is merely the word of human teachers and not the Buddha’s teaching.”
The claims made respectively by the Kegon, Shingon, Zen, and Pure Land schools—that their own school is superior and the Lotus Sutra is inferior—were merely arbitrary fabrications of the human teachers of those schools, entirely lacking any basis in the Buddha’s own words.
In Questions and Answers about Embracing the Lotus Sutra, the Daishonin states: ” If we merely rely upon the commentaries of various teachers and do not follow the statements of the Buddha himself, then how can we call our beliefs Buddhism? To do so would be absurd beyond description!” (WND-1, p. 56). Furthermore, in Refuting Ryōkan and the Others, he writes: “When I offered up my original prayer, I vowed that I would approach the various schools of Buddhism without prejudice or partiality regarding any particular one, but would judge them on the basis of proofs to be found in the Buddha’s own words and the light of reason. I would rely not upon the writings of the scholars, the translators, or the teachers of doctrine, but solely upon the sutra texts themselves.” (WND-1, p. 1050), maintaining a strict stance that doctrines lacking basis in the Buddha’s teachings must never be employed.
What, then, is stated in the Buddha’s own teachings?
In the Nirvana Sutra, Shakyamuni expounded the parable of the five flavors—milk, curd, raw butter, clarified butter, and ghee (daigo)—matching them to the teachings of the five periods of his lifetime, and clarified that the Lotus Sutra is indeed the supreme flavor of ghee.
That is, the Nirvana Sutra states:
“Although these various Mahayana Correct and Equal sutras accomplish immeasurable virtues, when compared with this sutra, no simile can match it—neither a hundredfold, a thousandfold, ten thousandfold, hundred millionfold, nor can any calculation or metaphor reach it. Good man, for example, from a cow comes milk, from milk comes curd, from curd comes raw butter, from raw butter comes clarified butter, and from clarified butter comes ghee. Ghee is the foremost. If one partakes of it, all illnesses are cured, and all medicines are contained within it. Good man, the Buddha is also like this. From the Buddha came the twelve divisions of scriptures, from the twelve divisions of scriptures came the sutras, from the sutras came the Correct and Equal sutras, from the Correct and Equal sutras came the Perfection of Wisdom, and from the Perfection of Wisdom came the Great Nirvana. It is just like ghee. Ghee is a metaphor for the Buddha nature.”
Here, what corresponds to ghee, the supreme flavor, is the “Great Nirvana” which reveals the Buddha nature; among these, the Nirvana Sutra is the transmission section of the Lotus Sutra, serving to reconfirm it as if striking hands together. In other words, the true essence of ghee is the Lotus Sutra itself.
Moreover, as mentioned earlier, the “Teacher of the Law” (tenth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra sets forth the three categories of preaching (past, present, and future), clarifying that the Lotus Sutra, which surpasses all three categories, stands foremost among all the sutras preached by Shakyamuni.
In this way, the statement “Among the paths to attaining Buddhahood, no sutra equals the Lotus Sutra” is the “true golden word of the Buddha,” leaving no room for doubt.
Therefore, the human teachers of the various schools who asserted that their own foundational scriptures were superior established erroneous doctrines that directly opposed the Buddha, committing the grave sin of slandering the Law.
Viewing other sutras as inferior from the standpoint of the Lotus Sutra is not the assertion of human teachers, but is entirely clear from the scriptural passages expounded by the Buddha himself; it is also the correct meaning consistently maintained by the Great Teacher Tendai and the Great Teacher Myoraku.