On Omens

Background

This letter was written at Minobu in the first year of Kenji (1275), when Nichiren Daishonin was fifty-four years old. As the closing part of this letter is missing, the identity of its recipient is uncertain, but it is generally thought to have been addressed to Shijō Kingo, a samurai and one of the Daishonin’s most loyal followers. Shijō Kingo was at this time facing opposition from his lord and his fellow samurai on account of his faith.

In the tenth month of 1274, the Mongols launched a massive attack against the southern part of Japan. The next year, Khubilai Khan again sent envoys, threatening another invasion if the Japanese government did not acknowledge fealty to the Mongol empire. On Omens interprets the Mongol threat and other recent calamities in the light of the Daishonin’s teaching.

In the beginning of this letter, the Daishonin discusses the omens that appeared when Shakyamuni Buddha expounded the Lotus Sutra in terms of the principle of the oneness of life and its environment. Expanding on this principle, he explains that, when the people’s six sense organs, or perceptive faculties, are deluded, extraordinary changes occur in the heavens and on earth. This reflects the truth that, while life and its environment may seem to be two independent phenomena, fundamentally they are one and inseparable.

Next, the Daishonin explains that the Buddha’s preaching is always preceded by omens, whose magnitude reflects the depth of the teaching about to be revealed. Thus the portents heralding the preaching of the Lotus Sutra were greater than those preceding any other sutra. Moreover, the signs presaging the essential teaching (latter half) of the Lotus Sutra far surpassed those introducing the theoretical teaching (former half). The Daishonin refers to the emergence of the treasure tower and the appearance of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth as omens revealing the superiority of the essential teaching over the theoretical teaching. Furthermore, he says, the great portents of the “Supernatural Powers” chapter surpass even those, and foretell that the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo indicated in the depths of the “Life Span” chapter will spread widely in the Latter Day of the Law.

The Daishonin then turns to the upheavals and strange occurrences in the Japan of his own time. All of these, he concludes, occur because people oppose the votary of the Lotus Sutra, who propagates its essence in the Latter Day. Specifically, he warns that, because of the slander perpetrated by Nembutsu and True Word priests, Japan will be destroyed by a foreign country. And, he says, the people suffer from great calamities because they are persecuting “a single monk . . . who embraces the correct teaching”—that is, the Daishonin. In this way, he reassures his follower of the correctness of his teaching and emphasizes the inevitability of persecution.

Chapter1(To explain the principles of esho funi, the oneness of life and its environment)

STRANGE occurrences in the heavens astound all people, and calamities on earth disturb everyone. When the Buddha was about to preach the Lotus Sutra, he caused the five omens and the six omens to appear. Of these, the omen of the earth shaking indicates that the earth quaked and trembled in six different ways. The meaning of the six ways is explained in the third volume of the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai’s Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra: “[One of the six is that] the east rises and the west falls. The eastern quarter corresponds to the color blue and governs the liver, and the liver governs the eyes. The western quarter corresponds to the color white and governs the lungs, and the lungs govern the nose. Hence the east rising and the west falling indicates that the benefits of the sense of sight appear, and in response, the earthly desires of the sense of smell disappear. Similarly, when the benefits of the sense of smell appear, in response, the earthly desires of the sense of sight disappear. In like manner, the rise and fall of the other directions signifies the appearance of benefit and the disappearance of earthly desires with respect to the other sensory organs.”

Concerning this, the Great Teacher Miao-lo said: “One’s six sense organs represent the points of the compass. It has already been established that the sense of sight and that of smell represent east and west. It follows, then, that the sense of hearing and that of taste correspond to north and south. Center¹ corresponds to the mind, and the four directions, to the body. The body is endowed with the four sense organs, and the mind is generally related to all four. Hence the mind induces rise or fall with respect to [the sensory functions of] the body.”²

The ten directions are the “environment,” and living beings are “life.” To illustrate, environment is like the shadow, and life, the body. Without the body, no shadow can exist, and without life, no environment. In the same way, life is shaped by its environment. The eyes are formed by the eastern quarter. From this we know that the tongue is formed by the southern quarter; the nose, the western; the ears, the northern; the body, all four quarters; and the mind, the center. Therefore, when the people’s five sense organs break down, the four quarters and the center will be startled and shaken, and, as signs of the consequent destruction of the land, mountains will collapse, grasses and trees will wither, and rivers will run dry. When the people’s eyes, ears, and other sense organs are startled and disturbed, changes will occur in the heavens, and when their minds are agitated, the earth will quake.

Notes

1. That is, of the compass. The point at which the four directions converge.

2. The Annotations on “The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra.”

Lecture

This writing was composed in the first year of Kenji (1275), when Nichiren Daishonin was fifty-four years old. Because the end portion is missing, the recipient is uncertain, though it is generally thought to have been Shijō Kingo.

The content discusses the auspicious portents that appeared when the Buddha expounded the Lotus Sutra. In particular, it points out that the omens at the time of the “Supernatural Powers” (Jinriki) chapter—where the transmission of the Law in the Latter Day of the Law was entrusted—were especially outstanding. Among these omens, the great trembling of the earth is highlighted as symbolic of shaking the six sense faculties of people, showing through actual phenomena how the propagation of the Mystic Law in the Latter Day stirs immense waves throughout society.

The omens described in the sutra are unusual changes occurring in the natural world. But Nichiren clarifies that the natural world and human life are in an inseparable relationship of “the oneness of life and its environment” (esho funi). This writing thus contains a profound exposition of the wondrous reality of life.

Text

“The ten directions are the dependent reward, while living beings are the primary reward. For example, dependent reward is like a shadow, and primary reward like the body. Without the body there can be no shadow; without the primary reward there is no dependent reward. Moreover, the primary reward is formed through the dependent reward.”

Modern Explanation

“Living beings” refers to the subjects engaged in the activity of life. “The ten directions” is an expression, following upon east, west, south, north, etc., meaning the land, the environment, the universe itself. The relationship between the life-subjects and their environment is that of primary reward (shōhō) and dependent reward (ehō).

The primary reward is the living subject that manifests karmic recompense. Dependent reward is the environment upon which the primary reward depends. Thus, their relationship is that of body and shadow. But is the environment merely an unreal shadow, without actual existence? Not so. The primary reward is in fact formed through the dependent reward.

The living body, materially and spiritually, continually takes in from the external world what is necessary for its activity. Substances forming the body, as well as air and water essential to life, must be replenished every moment. Mental activity likewise requires constant stimulation from the outside world to function healthily. Experiments have shown that if all external stimuli are cut off, mental activity falls into hallucination and disorder.

Life activity is distinguished from inanimate phenomena by its subjectivity and autonomy. Even the simplest primitive life possesses functions to maintain itself and means to perpetuate its species. It actively interacts with its surroundings to obtain substances needed for its purposes. In this, the primary reward is truly the “body,” and the dependent reward its “shadow.”

“Recompense” itself is like the mechanism of life activity. Without primary reward, there can be no dependent reward. Hence the saying, “Without the body there is no shadow; without the primary reward, no dependent reward.” Yet conversely, the primary reward exists only by virtue of the dependent reward. There can be no primary reward apart from environment. This inseparability of the two is what is called esho funi—the oneness of life and its environment.

Deeper Meaning

But the relationship described here goes even deeper and subtler: the movements of the mind of the primary reward bring about changes in the dependent reward. Here the environment is grasped as a mirror reflecting the state of life.

Fluctuations within an individual’s mind are not easily visible from outside. Superficial daily movements may be seen through changes in expression, but the profound upheavals arising within the collective hearts of society cannot be read from faces. Such vast inner shifts are reflected in the mirror of the environment, becoming known only through natural calamities and unusual phenomena.

This profound truth of life is hard to grasp with ordinary wisdom. Only through the principles of Buddhism and the penetrating insight of the Buddha can the reality be perceived. This is the meaning of the Daishonin’s words:

“When the five sense organs of living beings are about to be destroyed, the center and the four quarters will be shaken. Thus, as a sign that the land is about to collapse, first the mountains will crumble, the grasses and trees wither, and the rivers dry up. When the eyes and ears of people are startled, there will be heavenly portents. When people’s hearts are moved, the earth will quake.”

Chapter2(Revealing the Auspicious Signs of the Lotus Sutra)

What sutra was ever preached without the earth trembling in six different ways? This occurred each time the Buddha expounded a sutra. However, when the Buddha was about to expound the Lotus Sutra and the earth quaked in six different ways, the people were particularly astonished. Bodhisattva Maitreya asked a question about this phenomenon, and Bodhisattva Manjushrī answered. All of this occurred because the omen was greater in both magnitude and duration than when the other sutras were preached, and thus the question, too, was much more difficult to resolve. That is why Miao-lo said, “Was any Mahayana sutra ever preached without multitudes of people gathering, without the Buddha emitting a ray of light from between his eyebrows, without flowers raining down from heaven, or without the earth quaking? However, none of them ever produced such great doubt.”³ This comment means that, although there were omens for all the other sutras as well, none was ever as great as those that occurred when the Lotus Sutra was expounded. For that reason, the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai said, “People say that, when a spider weaves its web, it means that some happy event is near, and that, if a magpie chatters, it foretells the coming of a guest. Even minor things are presaged by some sign. How then could great affairs be without omens? By means of the near, the distant is revealed.”⁴ Thus when he expounded the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha manifested great portents never seen during his more than forty years of preaching.

Notes

3.The Annotations on “The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra.”

4. The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra.

Lecture

This section argues that the Lotus Sutra surpasses all previous scriptures in the profundity of its philosophy, as indicated by the greatness of the auspicious omens (zuishō) described.

Of course, for those who lack faith in Buddhism, such matters may seem to have little meaning. Even if the Lotus Sutra records that such marvelous portents appeared, some might object that this is nothing more than self-serving exaggeration. Moreover, in our present day, even among Buddhist scholars there is a strong view that Mahayana Buddhism—including the Lotus Sutra—was not taught by Shakyamuni himself but was created later.

Indeed, there is no definitive evidence with which to refute such a claim and prove that Shakyamuni himself preached it. Even if it were taught later by someone other than Shakyamuni, the essential point is how profoundly the Lotus Sutra expounds a philosophy of extraordinary depth.

What distinguishes Buddhism as having explored truths beyond the reach of any other religion is, above all, that it expounds the complete philosophy of life itself. This is clarified uniquely in the Lotus Sutra. On the basis of a correct grasp of life, it sets forth the principle for transforming the human being, society, and ultimately the very foundations of the land and nature.

Had the Lotus Sutra not appeared, Buddhism might have become either a denial of reality sinking into nihilism, or an escapist doctrine pursuing the fantasy of a Western Paradise far removed from this world. To be sure, even then, the perfection of its logical structure and the sharpness of its analytic methods would have far surpassed those of Christianity, Islam, or other traditions. Yet for that very reason, it would have bound people to a hopeless nihilism or escapism.

The Lotus Sutra for the first time corrected the distortions inherent in the pre-Lotus teachings, in a sense effecting a 180-degree reversal, and established Buddhism as a religion of essential salvation for living human beings in this present life. At the same time, we must note: it would be shallow and premature to conclude from this alone that the Lotus Sutra negated or discarded the analytic brilliance and logical perfection achieved by the earlier teachings.

The Lotus Sutra did not negate them on the same level, but rather subsumed and elevated them by opening the way to a deeper dimension of truth. That is, earlier Mahayana texts taught that the ultimate ideal state—the realm of Buddhahood—existed far removed from this world, in pure lands such as the Western Paradise. The Lotus Sutra, however, for the first time proclaimed that it exists within the very lives of living beings in this reality.

This does not mean that the Lotus Sutra denies the excellence of the Buddha realm, nor does it reject the stance of striving forward toward lofty ideals. Rather, it presupposes the earlier teachings and then clarifies the firm principle by which those ideals can be realized here and now.

Furthermore, the Lotus Sutra teaches the absolute life-state of Buddhahood—supreme happiness. This may seem, at first glance, to stand in stark opposition to the detailed analyses of human suffering developed in the Hinayana scriptures. Compared with the intellectual rigor of those analyses, the Lotus Sutra’s teaching might appear anti-intellectual. Yet in truth, its bold conclusion does not abandon those painstaking analyses, but rests firmly upon them and develops their implications.

Herein lies the superiority of the Lotus Sutra, which towers above all earlier scriptures. Even those who cannot accept the mystical portents as anything more than ornamental myth must, in the end, acknowledge this excellence. The Lotus Sutra presents such auspicious omens not only because they were accessible to the people of the time, but also because—at a deeper level—they expressed unchanging truths. For example, the omen of the earth trembling symbolically illustrates the stirring of people’s hearts and the transformation of society.

Such images belong to the concept of “secret and profound expedients.” Therefore, however unscientific they may appear, these portents are indispensable elements of the sutra.

Chapter3(Explaining the auspicious omens of the essential teachings of the Lotus Sutra)

The omens that heralded the essential teaching, however, were far greater than the omens that preceded the theoretical teaching, even more so than those had surpassed the omens that preceded the sutras expounded before the Lotus Sutra. The great quakes that occurred when an enormous treasure tower sprang up from the earth and bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds emerged from beneath the earth⁵ seemed like gales blowing over the ocean, creating great waves the size of mountains that tossed small boats about like reed leaves, engulfing even their sails. Therefore, while Maitreya had inquired of Manjushrī about the omens that appeared in the “Introduction” chapter, with regard to the great omens that occurred in the “Emerging from the Earth” chapter, he questioned the Buddha himself. Miao-lo explained this, saying: “The theoretical teaching concerns matters that are shallow and comparatively recent, and Manjushrī could be relied on to answer. But because the Buddha’s original enlightenment in the remote past is hard to comprehend, only the Buddha could be depended on for an explanation.”⁶ Although the Buddha did not explain matters concerning the theoretical teaching, Manjushrī generally understood. But he was unable to even begin to fathom matters connected with the essential teaching. And these great omens concerned events occurring in the Buddha’s lifetime.

When the Buddha came to preach the “Supernatural Powers” chapter, he displayed ten supernatural powers. They were supernatural powers incomparably more wondrous than either the omens of the “Introduction” chapter or those of the “Treasure Tower” and “Emerging from the Earth” chapters. The ray of light that the Buddha emitted [from between his eyebrows] in the “Introduction” chapter illuminated eighteen thousand worlds in the eastern direction, but the great rays of light that he emitted [from all his pores] in the “Supernatural Powers” chapter illuminated all the worlds in the ten directions. While the quaking of the earth in the “Introduction” chapter was limited to the lands of a major world system, in the “Supernatural Powers” chapter the lands of the Buddhas of the ten directions quaked severely, and all the lands trembled in six different ways. The omens that have appeared in our time are exactly like this.⁷ The great omens of the “Supernatural Powers” chapter foretold that the essence of the Lotus Sutra would spread widely after the Buddha’s demise, when the two thousand years of the Former and Middle Days of the Law had passed and the Latter Day of the Law had begun. The sutra states, “Because after the Buddha has passed into extinction there will be those who can uphold this sutra, the Buddhas are all delighted and manifest immeasurable supernatural powers.”⁸ It also speaks of “the evil age of the Latter Day of the Law.”⁹

Question: Now all omens, whether good or bad, foretell something that will occur in an hour or two, a day or two, a year or two, or in seven or twelve years at the most. How could there be omens that foretell what will take place more than two thousand years later?

Answer: The event presaged by omens that appeared during the reign of King Chao of the Chou dynasty became a reality only after 1,015 years.¹⁰ King Kriki’s dream came true only after 22,000 years.¹¹ How, then, can you doubt the appearance of omens 2,000 and more years before the event?

Notes

5. In chapter 11 of the Lotus Sutra, the tower of Many Treasures Buddha emerges from beneath the earth. T’ien-t’ai explained that the tower appeared in order to verify the truth of the theoretical teaching and pave the way for the revelation of the Buddha’s original enlightenment in the remote past as taught in the essential teaching. The emergence of the tower is therefore regarded as an omen heralding the preaching of the essential teaching. In chapter 15, the earth opens and the countless Bodhisattvas of the Earth appear. They are later entrusted by the Buddha with the mission of propagating the Mystic Law in the Latter Day of the Law. Their appearance at this point in the sutra provides an opportunity for Shakyamuni to reveal his true identity, which he does in chapter 16, “Life Span.”

6. On “The Words and Phrases.”

7. This refers to the great earthquake that occurred in 1257, which will be referred to later in the text as the “great earthquake of the Shōka era.”

8. Lotus Sutra, chap. 21.

9. Ibid., chap. 17.

10. According to The Record of Wonders in the Book of Chou, in the twenty-fourth year (trad. date 1029 b.c.e.) of the reign of King Chao, the fourth ruler of the Chou dynasty in ancient China, on the night of the eighth day of the fourth month, five-colored rays of light spread across the sky, the earth shook in six different ways, and, though no rain fell, rivers, streams, wells, and ponds overflowed with water, and all the trees and grasses bloomed and bore fruit. King Chao was surprised, but the Grand Historian Su Yu performed divinations and announced, “A sage has been born in the western region. One thousand years from now, the words of this sage will be brought to this country.” It is said that, just as he predicted, 1,015 years after the Buddha’s passing, during the reign of Emperor Ming in the tenth year of the Yung-p’ing era (c.e. 67), the doctrines of Buddhism were introduced to China.

11. This story appears in the Protection Sutra. King Kriki was the father of Kāshyapa Buddha, the sixth of the seven Buddhas of the past, the last of whom is Shakyamuni. One day he dreamed about ten monkeys. Nine of the monkeys harassed the people of the city, robbed them of their food and drink, and went on a destructive rampage. One of the ten, however, would not join the others, but remained sitting in a tree. He was therefore tormented and expelled from the community of monkeys. When King Kriki asked Kāshyapa Buddha about this dream, the Buddha said, “It represents the evil latter age after the passing of Shakyamuni Buddha. The ten monkeys represent his ten kinds of disciples, only one of whom is a true shramana (practitioner) who renounces the world and endeavors to seek the way.”

Lecture

This section contrasts the “Trace Gate” (shakumon:theoretical teaching) and the “Essential Gate” (honmon:essential teaching) of the Lotus Sutra, showing that the Essential Gate far surpasses the Trace Gate, as indicated by the greater scale of the auspicious omens (zuishō). Moreover, even among the omens connected with the Essential Gate, it distinguishes between those associated with the Treasure Tower and Emerging from the Earth chapters, which still belong to the Buddha’s lifetime, and those of the Supernatural Powers (Jinriki) chapter, which are directed solely toward the Latter Day after the Buddha’s passing.

The Omens of the Treasure Tower and the Bodhisattvas Emerging from the Earth

“The great treasure tower sprang forth from the earth; the countless bodhisattvas, emerging from beneath the ground, appeared together, and the great earth shook.”

The appearance of the Treasure Tower and the emergence of the Bodhisattvas from the Earth are as described in the textual paraphrase. In this passage, both are cited as omens belonging to the Essential Gate during the Buddha’s lifetime.

From the perspective of the ultimate teaching of the “seed of the Original Law hidden in the depths” (montoku geshu no hōmon), which is the great Law for the Latter Day, even the rituals of these chapters, as well as the teachings of the Trace Gate, and further even those of the provisional pre-Lotus sutras, can all be said to have been intended for the sake of the Latter Day. In particular, the appearance of the Treasure Tower represents the emergence of the Dai-Gohonzon of the Three Great Secret Laws, the essence of propagation in the Latter Day; and the appearance of the Bodhisattvas from the Earth signifies the entrustment of the mission of propagation in the Latter Day. For this reason, these events might more accurately be described as pertaining not merely to the Buddha’s lifetime but to the age after his passing.

Still, according to the textual sequence, the Treasure Tower appeared first to testify to the truth of the Trace Gate and, second, to prepare for the preaching of the Essential Gate. Thus it is treated as an omen of the Essential Gate during the Buddha’s lifetime. Likewise, the emergence of the Bodhisattvas from the Earth is presented, at least on the surface, as disciples of the Eternal Shakyamuni, appearing to bear witness to his immeasurable lifespan. Therefore, this too is regarded as an omen of the Essential Gate during the Buddha’s lifetime.

In contrast, the Supernatural Powers chapter is, by its very wording, nothing other than a ceremony of entrustment for the Latter Day. It is entirely for the time after the Buddha’s passing, not for his lifetime. Hence the ten supernatural powers manifested there are seen as portents of the great Law of Myōhō being spread in the Latter Day.

The Difference Between Trace Gate and Essential Gate

“The matters of the Trace Gate were not directly taught by the Buddha, yet Mañjuśrī largely understood them. The matters of the Essential Gate, however, were utterly beyond Mañjuśrī’s calculation. This great omen was for the Buddha’s lifetime.”

The Trace Gate is the teaching by which people of the Buddha’s time could attain release. It is the philosophy that reveals that the Buddha’s wisdom is inherent in the lives of all people, represented especially by the voice-hearers. Mañjuśrī, being said to have been the teacher of Shakyamuni in a past lifetime, possessed such wisdom that he could perceive this truth even without it being directly taught. Thus, when Maitreya questioned the meaning of the omens at the beginning of the Sutra, Mañjuśrī was able to reply.

By contrast, the Essential Gate is the ceremony to reveal the great Law for the beings of the Latter Day, expounding the life-state of Buddhahood that the Buddha himself had attained in the remote past. For Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, who still remained at the stage of bodhisattva practice, this was utterly beyond comprehension. Therefore, regarding the omens of the Essential Gate, he could not answer, and only the Buddha himself clarified their meaning.

Here the distinction is made explicit: the Trace Gate was for the liberation of people during the Buddha’s lifetime, without yet revealing the Buddha’s true identity, and was largely outward-directed. In contrast, the Essential Gate reveals the Buddha’s original enlightenment and unfolds that awakening itself as a living ceremony. This enlightenment is the very “essence of the Lotus Sutra.” The entrustment of this essence for the Latter Day of the Law takes place in the Supernatural Powers chapter, to the disciples of the Original Doctrine, who are in fact manifestations of the eternal self-enjoying body (jijuyūshin) from the infinite past.

The Ten Supernatural Powers

“The Buddha, reaching the Supernatural Powers chapter, revealed the ten supernatural powers. These were powers utterly unlike the previous two kinds of omens.”

The “previous two omens” refer to the six omens of the Introduction chapter (for the Trace Gate) and the omens of the Treasure Tower and Bodhisattvas from the Earth (for the Essential Gate during the lifetime).

The six omens of the Introduction chapter are:

The omen of preaching.
The omen of entering meditation.
The omen of a rain of flowers.
The omen of the earth quaking.
The omen of universal rejoicing.
The omen of rays of light.

In addition, there are six omens in other lands:

Seeing the six realms.
Seeing the Buddhas.
Hearing the Buddhas preach.
Seeing the four assemblies attain the path.
Seeing the bodhisattvas practice.
Seeing the Buddhas enter nirvana.

The ten supernatural powers of the Supernatural Powers chapter are:

The Buddha extends his tongue.
He emits light from his entire body.
At one time he clears his throat.
He snaps his fingers.
The earth quakes in six ways.
The assembly is universally visible.
A voice resounds in the air.
All beings bow in reverence.
Objects are scattered afar.
The worlds of the ten directions are united.

There is overlap between the six omens of the Introduction and the ten powers of the Supernatural Powers chapter, but when compared, the scale of the latter is vastly greater.

For example, in the Introduction chapter, the omen of the earth quaking is described simply: “This Buddha land quaked in six ways; this world quaked in six ways.” In the Emerging from the Earth chapter, the earth’s shaking at the appearance of the bodhisattvas is described: “The three-thousand-great-thousand-fold world of the saha land quaked and split apart, and from within emerged innumerable bodhisattva mahāsattvas simultaneously.”

But in the Supernatural Powers chapter, the omen of the earth quaking is described: “At one time they cleared their throats and together snapped their fingers. These two sounds reached to the worlds of the Buddhas throughout the ten directions, and the earth in all those lands quaked in six ways.”

Likewise, regarding the emission of light: in the Introduction chapter, “The Buddha emitted a ray of light from the tuft of white hair between his eyebrows, illuminating eighteen thousand worlds to the east without omission.” In contrast, in the Supernatural Powers chapter: “From every pore of his body he emitted innumerable, countless rays of light, illuminating universally the worlds of the ten directions.”

Thus, while the omens of the Introduction were confined to “this world” or “eighteen thousand worlds to the east,” those of the Supernatural Powers reached throughout the ten directions. This shows the difference in power between the Buddha of the Trace Gate, who is still a manifested, provisional Buddha who attained enlightenment in this lifetime, and the Buddha of the Essential Gate, who reveals his original enlightenment in the remote past. It also indicates the decisive difference in power between the Law of the Trace Gate and that of the Essential Gate.

Most importantly, the Law revealed in the Supernatural Powers chapter is already the great Law of the Latter Day—namely Nam-myoho-renge-kyo itself. Thus, it possesses the vast and profound power that encompasses the entire universe of the ten directions.

By comparison, the appearance of the Bodhisattvas from the Earth, who split open the saha world of the three-thousand-great-thousand-fold realm, was naturally limited to that scope because they appeared as the provisional traces of bodhisattvas.

The emission of light symbolizes the functioning of the Buddha’s wisdom, dispelling the darkness in people’s hearts. The quaking of the earth represents the stirring of doubt and reflection in people’s minds, the collapse of established values, and the awakening to the correct Law.

Chapter4(Revealing the essence of the great omen in the Latter Day of the Law)

Question: Why were the omens presaging the time after the Buddha’s passing greater than those that concerned his lifetime?

Answer: The earth moves in response to how the people’s six sense organs are affected. Depending on the extent of this influence, the six different ways in which the earth moves will vary in intensity. The sutras preached prior to the Lotus Sutra seem to extinguish people’s earthly desires [associated with their six sense organs], but in reality they do not. In contrast, the Lotus Sutra conquers the fundamental darkness [from which all earthly desires originate]. Hence the earth shakes severely. Moreover, there are many more evil people in this latter age than during the Buddha’s lifetime. It was for these reasons that the Buddha taught and showed that the omens that would appear in the Latter Day of the Law would be still greater than those of his own time.

Question: What proof can you offer?

Answer: The sutra states, “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 Setting aside the seven reigns of the heavenly deities and the five reigns of the earthly deities, in the more than two thousand years of the ninety reigns of human rulers, the great earthquake of the Shōka era and the extraordinary phenomenon that appeared in the heavens during the Bun’ei era¹³ were prodigies unprecedented in Japan. If the people are filled with joy, auspicious omens will appear in the heavens, and the god Shakra will shake the earth. If evil thrives in people’s minds, ominous changes will take place in the heavens and terrible calamities will occur on earth. The magnitude of the changes in the heavens varies in accordance with the degree of the people’s anger; the same is true of the disasters on earth. Japan today is filled with people, from the ruler on down to the general populace, with minds of great evil. The source of this evil has arisen in connection with me.

Notes

12. Lotus Sutra, chap. 10.

13. This refers to a huge comet that appeared in 1264.

Lecture

That the upheavals of the earth are reflections of the movements of the six sense organs is already indicated at the beginning of this writing, as shown in the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra by T’ien-t’ai. The pre-Lotus sutras taught the cutting off of earthly desires (bonnō) that contaminate the six faculties of life.

Yet the methods of the pre-Lotus sutras for eliminating desires were like cutting branches and leaves without reaching the root or trunk. By attempting to cut off one desire, other kinds of delusion inevitably arise. Moreover, the very desire one tries to eradicate becomes all the more intense, until it grows uncontrollable.

Buddhism classifies the countless delusions into three broad categories: delusions of views and thought (kenshiwaku), which arise in one’s judgments and thinking; delusions as numerous as particles of dust and sand (jinshawaku), the karmic burdens accumulated over the course of transmigration; and fundamental ignorance (ganpon no mumyō), which is the root of all the others. In the end, all delusions derive from this root darkness inherent in life itself.

Unless one shatters fundamental ignorance, the dark energies of delusion will never be extinguished. On the contrary, the more one meddles with the branches and leaves, the more violently those energies will surge forth, seeking an outlet.

What, then, is fundamental ignorance? Life is originally ichinen sanzen—three thousand realms in a single moment of mind—and is neither good nor evil. If one fully perceives the true nature of life and attains unity with its ultimate reality, one can guide life rightly and live a brilliant existence free of delusion. But without this realization, if one is dragged down by the life-states of the three evil paths or four lower realms, then inevitably life will be shrouded in delusion. Not knowing the true entity of one’s own life is what is called fundamental ignorance. When one awakens to “my life itself is Myōhō,” fundamental ignorance is broken and the fundamental Dharma nature is revealed.

The essence of the Lotus Sutra is to awaken to the life of Buddhahood inherent in the lives of all people. Its ultimate purpose is to enable all beings to realize: “My very being is the entity of Myōhō.” When this supreme principle of the Lotus Sutra is accomplished, then cutting off the three categories of delusion and transcending the five desires—taught in the pre-Lotus sutras—are naturally fulfilled. Indeed, once this root is transformed, the five desires themselves become indispensable functions of life, and delusions themselves become joys of living.

Concerning the relation between the six faculties and ignorance: among the six, the central one is the faculty of mind (ikon), and the faculty encompassing them all is the body (shinkon). This is clear from Miao-lo’s statement: “The center is the mind, the four directions are the body.” Mind is consciousness, body is form; the unity of form and mind is life itself. The basis upon which this life rests is fundamental Dharma nature and fundamental ignorance. Hence the passage, “Because the Lotus Sutra breaks through fundamental ignorance, there is great upheaval” (Gosho Zenshuu, p.1141), which concludes that movements of the six faculties manifest as upheavals of the earth.

The Great Evil Minds of the People

“Now in Japan, from the sovereign above down to the common people, the land is filled with beings of great evil intent. The root of this evil intent has arisen through Nichiren.”

This follows upon the earlier passage: “When people’s joy is great, auspicious signs appear in heaven… when people’s evil minds prevail, ominous changes appear in heaven… depending on the degree of anger, there are greater or lesser portents.” Here Nichiren applies this principle to the actual conditions of Japan. Naturally, he is indicating the cause of the great earthquakes and celestial disturbances of the Shōka and Bun’ei eras.

Whether good or evil, the intensity of people’s minds is indeed an important criterion, but even more critical is the object of that mind. The Daishonin here speaks of the people’s “great evil intent” because, when he rose up solely from boundless compassion to save all people, the people responded only with hatred and anger. This cannot be called anything other than great evil.

To oppose great good, to hate great good, is precisely what constitutes great evil. If the object were only some minor good, then no matter how intense the hatred or anger, it could only be called a small evil. Conversely, hatred or anger toward evil—whatever means it may take—can in itself be called good.

Toward the Original Buddha of the Latter Day, Nichiren Daishonin, the people of Japan in his time—from the shogunate rulers down to the common folk—harbored feelings of hatred and resentment, though to varying degrees. They hated the one who embodied the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent, the very person meant to save them. Thus it was truly “great evil intent.”

In the phrase, “The root of this evil intent has arisen through Nichiren,” lies the Daishonin’s absolute conviction: that he had stood up, for the salvation of all people, as the votary of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day of the Law.

Chapter5(Explaining the Causes of Celestial and Terrestrial Calamities)

There is a sutra entitled the Protection Sutra, one that came after the Lotus. It relates how King Ajātashatru went to the Buddha and asked, “Every year, my country has been beset by great droughts, violent gales, floods, famine, and pestilence. Moreover, we have been attacked by another nation. Why should all these disasters occur, when this is the very country in which the Buddha made his advent?”

The Buddha replied: “Splendid, splendid! It is admirable of you, O great king, to have asked this question. But you have committed many wrongs and evils. Among them, you killed your own father, and taking Devadatta as your teacher, you did me injury. Because these two offenses are so serious, your country is beset by innumerable disasters.” The sutra goes on to quote the Buddha as saying: “After my death, in the Latter Day of the Law, when monks like Devadatta fill the land, a single monk will appear who embraces the correct teaching. Those evil monks will exile and put to death this man of the correct teaching. They will violate not only the king’s consort but also the daughters of the common people, thereby filling the country with the seed of slanderers. For this reason, the nation will suffer various calamities and will later be invaded by another country.”

The priests of Nembutsu today are exactly like the evil monks mentioned in the above sutra. Moreover, the great conceit of the True Word school’s teachers exceeds that of Devadatta a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, million times. I will briefly describe the strangeness of the True Word school. Its priests paint a picture of the nine honored ones seated on an eight-petaled lotus in the center of the Womb Realm. Then they climb onto this picture, and stepping on the faces of the Buddhas, conduct their ceremony of anointment. It is as if they were trampling on the faces of their own parents or treading on their emperor’s head. Such priests as these fill the entire country and have become the teachers of both high and low. No wonder the nation faces ruin!

This is my most important teaching. I will explain it again on another occasion. I have written to you a little about it before, but do not speak of it indiscriminately to others. You have sent me expressions of your sincerity not just once or twice, but whenever an opportunity presented itself. I can find no words to express my appreciation.

Lecture

Explaining the Causes of Celestial and Terrestrial Calamities

Quoting passages from the Sutra of the Protection of the Nation, the first half of this letter clarifies the cause of the misfortunes befalling the Japanese people during the Daishonin’s lifetime—namely, the heavenly portents, terrestrial calamities, and the great national crisis of foreign invasion. The latter half demonstrates how the very predictions made in the Sutra of the Protection of the Nation regarding the conditions of the Latter Day of the Law correspond exactly to the actual state of affairs.

Within the scope of a nation that slanders the Law, the Daishonin singles out the True Word school (Shingon), illustrating some of its erroneous doctrines with simple and accessible examples.

In other words, when the Daishonin cites the case of King Ajātashatru, showing that heavenly and earthly calamities and the threat of foreign invasion arise from slander of the Law, he advances his argument one step further from the earlier discussion—that such calamities could be seen as auspicious signs of the appearance of the great Law—and strikes directly at the heart of the matter. These calamities are not “auspicious portents in heaven and tremors of Taishaku beneath the earth,” to be celebrated, but rather disasters arising from the intensification of people’s evil minds. Therefore, in order to resolve them, one must destroy and heal the underlying cause of the malady.

The Sutra of the Protection of the Nation itself makes this clear: “Those who slander the Law fill the nation, and they persecute the single votary of the true Law.” This, it says, is the very cause of all disasters. Thus, if one wishes to avert such calamities, the only way is to cease persecuting the votary of the true Law and instead take faith in him. In other words, to follow the teaching of Nichiren Daishonin is the sole means by which heavenly calamities may be subdued and the Japanese people spared from the peril of foreign invasion, which threatens the very destiny of the nation.

Here we must recognize the Daishonin’s overflowing conviction and profound compassion: that in the face of the actual suffering confronting the people and society, he alone stood as their savior. This also demonstrates that religion is never divorced from reality, nor does it exist in neglect of actual human circumstances.

Moreover, the letter also addresses the question: “Why should the nation in which Shakyamuni Buddha appeared be visited by so many disasters?” The answer indicates a profound principle—that the power of Buddhism manifests according to the attitude of the people who embrace it. Depending on the people’s faith, Buddhism can either bring forth its great power to establish a happy world, or, conversely, if slander prevails, that nation can fall into a misery even worse than a land without Buddhism. This passage thus conveys the crucial principle that the response of the people to the Law determines everything.

“This matter is my essential teaching”

The assertion in this letter—that the many disasters besetting the nation are the result of persecution of the Daishonin—serves as proof that Nichiren Daishonin is indeed the Original Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law. Accordingly, this is his supreme, most essential teaching. If expressed carelessly, however, it could be misinterpreted as arrogance and invite harsh persecution. From the Daishonin’s stance after entering Mount Minobu, it seems clear that his concern was how to ensure the perpetuation of the Law for all eternity. Likely from the conviction that needless persecution should not be invited, he admonished his disciples not to spread this truth recklessly: “Do not speak of this lightly to others.”

With regard to the issue of the True Word school, too, the Daishonin consistently exercised caution. This was because True Word doctrine had become so closely intertwined with Tendai that criticism of it inevitably raised subtle doctrinal issues. Moreover, the True Word school was deeply connected to political authority, especially the imperial court.

For these reasons, Nichiren Daishonin was extremely careful in addressing the matter of the True Word doctrine. This in itself offers a vital lesson: that in the struggle for propagation of the Law, one must not engage in mere reckless bravado. True courage must always be accompanied by the utmost prudence and wisdom in how one responds.