Letter to Shimoyama（1st of 8th paragraph）

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And when these in turn proved ineffective, a great ordination platform was set up on Mount Hiei for administering the Mahayana precepts of the perfect and immediate enlightenment of the Lotus Sutra, and in this way order was restored.

Letter to Shimoyama（1st of 8th paragraph）

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I should perhaps go into further detail, but since this is a minor matter, I will say no more. Persons of understanding will be able to tell what I mean.

But there is a far greater error than the one I have been describing so far that has appeared in this country of ours, the gravest error of all in Japan and one that is as far apart from the one I have been describing as clouds are from mud. Because it has prevailed for so long, the country has been abandoned by Brahmā, Shakra, the gods of the sun and moon, the four heavenly kings, and the other heavenly gods, and the great benevolent deities who ordinarily guard and protect the nation have on the contrary now become its mortal enemies. Brahmā, Shakra, and the others who guard and protect the Lotus Sutra have addressed the sage ruler of a neighboring country, ordering him to chastise this country of Japan so that they may fulfill the vow they took in the presence of the Buddha.

Long ago, in the Former and Middle Days of the Law, the world entered a period of decline, a “muddied age.” But because it had only just entered such an age, the nation had not yet become disordered. Sages and worthies appeared from time to time and there was no end to rulers and high ministers who possessed virtue and good fortune. Hence there was no deviation from proper procedure in the affairs of government, and the common people were honest and upright. In order to correct minor faults, persons such as the Three Sovereigns, the Five Emperors, the Three Kings, and the Three Sages appeared, composing codes and canons so as to insure that the world would be well ordered.

And for a time the world was indeed well ordered. But then gradually, as the ages passed, sages and worthies ceased to appear and persons of virtue and blessing became scarce. The three calamities frequently beset the nation in great force, and the seven disasters surpassed in scale anything that earlier ages had known. The non-Buddhist codes and writings could no longer deal with the situation and it became necessary to follow the teachings of the Buddhist scriptures so as to insure order in the world. Because this was done, order was in fact insured for a time. But once more, as the world drew near to the latter age, there was a change. The evil committed by human beings became greater and more pronounced day by day, and month by month the ways of government fell into greater decline. The three calamities and seven disasters became more prevalent than ever before, and the precepts of the Hinayana teaching no longer manifested any power to cope with the situation.

At this time, in order to restore order to the age, the Hinayana precepts were set aside and the Mahayana teachings adopted, and when these in turn proved ineffective, a great ordination platform was set up on Mount Hiei for administering the Mahayana precepts of the perfect and immediate enlightenment of the Lotus Sutra, and in this way order was restored. In effect, the Great Teacher Dengyō in this way dismissed and put an end to the three ordination platforms where the Hinayana precepts had in the past been administered, and also dispensed with the Mahayana precepts administered by the Flower Garland, Three Treatises, and Dharma Characteristics schools.

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Background

One of Nichiren Daishonin’s ten major writings, Letter to Shimoyama is a petition to Shimoyama Hyōgo Gorō Mitsumoto, the steward of the district of Shimoyama near Mount Minobu in the province of Kai. The Daishonin wrote it on behalf of a priest named Inaba-bō Nichiei in the sixth month of 1277, while residing at Mount Minobu.

Inaba-bō Nichiei had been converted by Nikkō to the Daishonin’s teachings, and tried to convert Shimoyama Mitsumoto, who was Inaba-bō’s father (or, according to another account, his lord in the feudal system of the time). But Shimoyama, who was a believer in the Nembutsu, or Pure Land, teachings, furiously opposed the priest’s new-found faith. Hearing this, the Daishonin wrote a petition on behalf of Inaba-bō to persuade Shimoyama to discard the Pure Land teachings and take faith in the Lotus Sutra.

The petition explains the superiority of the Lotus Sutra to the Pure Land doctrines, and states that Inaba-bō’s conversion to the Lotus Sutra constitutes a distinguished act of loyalty to Shimoyama. Later, Shimoyama in fact gave up the Nembutsu and became a follower of the Daishonin’s teachings.

In the beginning paragraphs, the voice is that of Inaba-bō addressing his angry father or lord, Shimoyama. Inaba-bō explains that he has ceased reciting the Amida Sutra and instead taken up recitation of the Lotus Sutra because of an encounter with the Sage Nichiren. He says he went to Mount Minobu to listen to a lecture by the sage without the intention of taking faith. He writes very briefly of what he felt about the lecture.

The letter then outlines the Daishonin’s lecture from a third-party viewpoint. The lecture first introduces the five guides of propagation, the teaching, the time, the people’s capacity, the country, and the proper sequence of propagation. Then it describes the history of the spread of Buddhism in Japan. This begins with the Chinese priest Chien-chen (known in Japan as Ganjin), who brought the Hinayana precepts and T’ien-t’ai’s teachings to Japan but propagated only the former, which he thought were appropriate to the time. Later Dengyō appeared and studied T’ien-t’ai’s teachings and investigated thoroughly the doctrines of the six schools of Nara, demonstrating the superiority of the former over the latter. Dengyō also asserted that the Hinayana precepts should be abolished and replaced with the Mahayana precepts.

Next, the Daishonin describes the spread of Buddhism during the Former, Middle, and Latter Days of the Law. The Buddhist leaders in the first two periods knew the great Law of the Lotus Sutra but did not expound it because the time had not yet come for its propagation. As the Daishonin points out, the Latter Day is the time for the advent of Bodhisattva Superior Practices, who will spread the essence of the Lotus Sutra, which is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

Then the Daishonin refutes the views of Ryōkan, who attempted to restore the Hinayana precepts and who urged the shogunate to put to death his rival, Nichiren Daishonin. Basing his view on the Lotus Sutra, the Daishonin regards Ryōkan as the third of the three powerful enemies and himself as the votary of the sutra. He also describes the other persecutions he experienced.

He points out the errors of the shogunate and the Buddhist schools it supported, the Pure Land, True Word, and Zen schools. Moreover, he describes how Dengyō’s teachings were distorted by his successors, Jikaku and Chishō, who incorporated True Word teachings into the Tendai school. In addition, he asserts that the Pure Land and Zen schools have turned the people away from the Lotus Sutra. As a result of these errors, the three calamities and seven disasters have occurred.

The Daishonin explains that he submitted his work On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land to Hōjō Tokiyori, the retired regent and de facto leader of the shogunate, to identify the basic cause for these calamities. Not only was his advice unheeded, however, but he was subjected to various persecutions. Finally, without carrying out a full investigation, the shogunate exiled him to Sado Island. Because the internal strife he had predicted took place, he was pardoned from exile and summoned to an interview with Hei no Saemon, a powerful official of the shogunate. Hei no Saemon asked him when the Mongols would attack Japan, referring to another of the Daishonin’s prophecies. The Daishonin replied that it would occur within the year and warned Hei no Saemon that mistaken Buddhist teachings should not be relied on for prayers to protect the nation. When his admonitions went unheeded, he retired to Mount Minobu. Thus at this time the country appeared to be on the verge of ruin.

At the end of the letter, the voice returns to that of Inaba-bō Nichiei. He says that the Sage Nichiren regretted the turn events had taken, expressing great pity for the people. He says he himself has written down here only a part of the lecture, and urges Shimoyama to take faith in the sage’s teachings. He expresses his conviction that, in discarding the Nembutsu and embracing the Lotus Sutra, he had the happiness of his parents in mind, and is therefore exercising the highest form of filial piety.

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