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

Chapter6(Revealing the Buddha and the Law to Be Propagated in the Latter Day of the Law)

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Question: Some 2,230 years have now passed since Shakyamuni Buddha passed away. Among all the sutras, which sutra is fitted for an age like this and will spread and benefit all living beings?

The Great Collection Sutra speaks of five successive five-hundred-year periods, of which our present age corresponds to the fifth period. This fifth of the five-hundred-year periods is described as an age of conflict when the pure Law will become obscured and lost. The Buddha here is saying that at that time people’s hearts will be contentious and wicked, and they will be overwhelmed with greed and anger; because of this, strife and warfare alone flourish, and, among the various Buddhist doctrines, those that had earlier spread widely such as the pure Law of the True Word, Zen, and Nembutsu schools and of the observers of the precepts will become obscured and lost.

On examining the first, second, third, and fourth of the five-hundred-year periods, we see that, although the Great Collection Sutra belongs to the teachings in which the truth had not yet been revealed concerning the way of attaining Buddhahood, the state of affairs in the world did not differ in the slightest from the Buddha’s predictions. Considered in this light, his golden words that our present time will be an age of conflict when the pure Law will become obscured and lost could not possibly be false.

Yet, if that is so, are we then to assume that, now in the Latter Day of the Law, none of the Buddhist doctrines are of any efficacy, or that none of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas can benefit the people? Are we then to do nothing and pay no homage to any Buddha or bodhisattva? Are we to practice no teaching whatsoever, to be left with no one at all to turn to? How are we to prepare our minds for the existences that are to come?

Answer: Now, the Latter Day of the Law, is the time when only the seven characters of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo—which is the heart of the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra that Shakyamuni Buddha, who achieved enlightenment in the remote past, Bodhisattva Superior Practices, Bodhisattva Boundless Practices, and others must spread—will spread throughout this country; and there will be advantage and benefit for all people, and the blessings of Bodhisattva Superior Practices will flourish. This will happen because it is clearly stated in the sutra. Those who are firm in their aspiration for the way and sincere in their resolve should inquire about this matter in detail.

Lecture

Here, the Daishonin poses the question of what one should do about one’s next life if, just as predicted in the Great Collection Sutra (Daijikkyo) that the pure Law will become obscured and lost in the Latter Day of the Law, no teaching brings benefit in the Latter Day. In response, he clarifies that in the Latter Day of the Law, Bodhisattva Superior Practices (Jogyo) will propagate Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the heart of the Lotus Sutra, thereby bringing benefit to living beings.

First, he raises the question: Since the present time corresponds to more than 2,230 years after the passing of Shakyamuni Buddha, which sutra among the entire body of sutras will spread in accordance with the time and bring benefit to living beings?

He then cites the sentiment held by people in general at the time: According to the prediction of the five five-hundred-year periods in the Great Collection Sutra, the Latter Day of the Law is described as an age when “quarrels and disputes will arise, and the pure Law will become obscured and lost,” which suggests that neither any teaching nor any Buddha or bodhisattva will be able to benefit living beings.

The phrase “quarrels and disputes will arise, and the pure Law will become obscured and lost” refers to the passage in the Great Collection Sutra that reads, “In the fifth five hundred years, quarrels and disputes will arise among the adherents of my teachings, and the pure Law will become obscured and lost.” In other words, within Shakyamuni’s Buddhism, conflict and contention will be ceaseless, and the Buddha’s correct teaching will perish. Here, the term “firm” (kengo) means fixed or established, and “an age of conflict” (tojo-kengo, literally “firm in conflict”) refers to an era in which Buddhism falls into disorder and strife prevails. Living beings intensely driven by the three poisons of greed, anger, and foolishness fill the world, and even within Buddhism, the distinctions between provisional sutras and true sutras, and between correct teachings and erroneous teachings, become obscured.

Incidentally, among the five five-hundred-year periods set forth in the Great Collection Sutra, the “first five hundred years” is the age “firm in emancipation” (gedatsu-kengo), a time when practitioners of the Buddhist way flourish and are able to attain emancipation and enlightenment. During this period in India, Mahakashyapa, Ananda, and others propagated the Hinayana sutras.

The “second five hundred years” is the age “firm in meditation” (zenjo-kengo), a time when living beings practice Mahayana, enter into meditative concentration (samadhi), calm their minds, and devote themselves to contemplation. During this period, the provisional Mahayana sutras spread, and living beings practiced them and maintained meditation.

The “third five hundred years” is the age “firm in reading, reciting, and listening” (dokuju-tamon-kengo), a time centered on reading and reciting the sutras and listening to the preaching of the Law. This was the era when Buddhism spread to China and Japan, and the translation, interpretation, and debate of the scriptures were actively carried out.

The “fourth five hundred years” is the age “firm in building many stupas and temples” (tazo-toji-kengo), a time when living beings construct numerous stupas and temples. During this period, many temples and pagodas were erected in China and Japan.

In this manner, up through the fourth five-hundred-year period, the historical transition of Buddhism unfolded just as described in the Great Collection Sutra. Therefore, the Daishonin states, “Although the way to attain Buddhahood had not yet been revealed in its truth, in secular and phenomenal matters the Buddha’s words did not err in the slightest,” and concludes, “When we consider the matter in this light, there can be no doubt that the golden words concerning the present age—that it will be an age of conflict when the pure Law becomes obscured and lost—will also prove unerring.” Thus, he declares with certainty that the aspect of the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law, the fifth five-hundred-year period, will unmistakably be an age of conflict in which the pure Law becomes obscured and lost, just as stated in the Great Collection Sutra.

He then concludes the question by asking: If that is the case, living beings will be unable to gain benefit through Shakyamuni’s teachings, and no Buddha or bodhisattva will bestow benefit upon them—so what is one to do? Here, “gaining benefit” (tokuyaku) and “benefiting living beings” (risho) share the same fundamental meaning, though tokuyaku is expressed from the standpoint of the living beings who receive the benefit, whereas risho is expressed from the standpoint of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas who bestow it.

Answer: Now, the Latter Day of the Law, is the time when only the seven characters of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo—which is the heart of the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra that Shakyamuni Buddha, who achieved enlightenment in the remote past, Bodhisattva Superior Practices, Bodhisattva Boundless Practices, and others must spread—will spread throughout this country; and there will be advantage and benefit for all people, and the blessings of Bodhisattva Superior Practices will flourish. This will happen because it is clearly stated in the sutra. Those who are firm in their aspiration for the way and sincere in their resolve should inquire about this matter in detail.

In answer to this question, the Daishonin states that while the Latter Day of the Law is indeed a lamentable age in which the pure Law becomes obscured and lost according to the other Mahayana sutras (the Great Collection Sutra), according to the Lotus Sutra, it is an age of hope in which Bodhisattva Superior Practices brings benefit to living beings with Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

From an initial standpoint (ichio), the statement “which are to be propagated by Shakyamuni Buddha who attained enlightenment in the remote past, Bodhisattva Superior Practices, Bodhisattva Boundless Practices, and others” refers to the Mystic Law possessed by Shakyamuni who attained enlightenment in the remote past, and propagated in the Latter Day of the Law by Bodhisattva Superior Practices, Bodhisattva Boundless Practices, and the others who received its entrustment from Shakyamuni. In the “Supernatural Powers of the Thus Come One” (twenty-first) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the heart of the Lotus Sutra was entrusted by Shakyamuni Buddha to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth led by Superior Practices; here, the Daishonin names together both the one who entrusts the Law and those to whom it is entrusted. Consequently, from a deeper standpoint (saio), in the preceding passage, “Shakyamuni Buddha who attained enlightenment in the remote past” signifies the aspect of Nichiren Daishonin’s inner enlightenment (naisho), while “Bodhisattva Superior Practices” signifies the aspect of the Daishonin’s outward action (geyu).

Regarding Bodhisattva Superior Practices in the phrase “now is the time when the benefit bestowed by Bodhisattva Superior Practices shall flourish,” as the Daishonin states in The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings (Ongi Kuden): “The Bodhisattvas of the Earth are called those taught by the Buddha in his original status (honge). ‘Original’ signifies the benefit dating from five hundred dust-particle kalpas in the remote past, a benefit without beginning and without end. These bodhisattvas are the persons who uphold the original Law. The original Law is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” (0751:12). Thus, he is the Buddha who upholds the fundamental Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and bestows benefit that is without beginning and without end.

Furthermore, the Law to be propagated in the Latter Day of the Law is “the seven characters of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which are the heart of the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra.”

“Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which is the heart of the Lotus Sutra,” refers to the single Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo of the benefit of sowing (geshu-yaku), hidden in the depths of the text of the “Life Span of the Thus Come One” (sixteenth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren Daishonin propagated this Nam-myoho-renge-kyo in the Latter Day of the Law as the Three Great Secret Laws: the object of devotion of the essential teaching, the daimoku of the essential teaching, and the sanctuary of the essential teaching.

The reason for this, as the Daishonin states with the words “the sutra text is perfectly clear,” is that when one reads the passages of the Lotus Sutra extending from the “Teacher of the Law” (tenth) chapter and the “Emergence of the Treasure Tower” (eleventh) chapter through the “Emerging from the Earth” (fifteenth) chapter, the “Life Span of the Thus Come One” (sixteenth) chapter, and the “Distinctions in Benefits” (seventeenth) chapter, and further to the “Supernatural Powers of the Thus Come One” (twenty-first) chapter and the “Entrustment” (twenty-second) chapter, it is evident that the great pure Law will appear and be propagated in the Latter Day of the Law.

From an initial standpoint, the Lotus Sutra was preached for the sake of those during the Buddha’s lifetime, but from a deeper standpoint, it was preached for the ages after his passing—and above all, for the Latter Day of the Law.

Therefore, declaring, “Those who are firm in their seeking mind and possess aspiration should inquire into and listen to this in detail,” the Daishonin urges people to seek the correct teaching and the correct teacher of the Latter Day of the Law.