On Reprimanding Hachiman Chapter20
The Land of the Moon50 is another name for India, the place where the Buddha made his appearance in the world. The Land of the Sun is another name for Japan. Is there any reason why a sage should not appear here?
The moon moves from the west eastward,51 a sign of how the Buddhism of India spread in an easterly direction. The sun rises in the east, an auspicious sign of how the Buddhism of Japan is destined to return to the Land of the Moon.
The light of the moon is not very bright, for the Buddha taught [the Lotus Sutra in India] for only eight years of his life. But the light of the sun is brilliant, outshining the moon, an auspicious sign of how the Buddhism of Japan is destined to illuminate the long darkness of [the Latter Day of the Law, which begins with] the fifth five-hundred-year period.
The Buddha took no measures to correct those who slander the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, because while he was in the world there were no such persons. But in the Latter Day of the Law the formidable enemies of the single vehicle are everywhere in sight. Now is the time to benefit the world in the same manner as Bodhisattva Never Disparaging. You who are my disciples, each of you should work diligently at this, work diligently at this!
Nichiren
The twelfth month in the third year of Kōan [1280], cyclical sign kanoe-tatsu
Notes
50. The Land of the Moon (Chin Yüeh-chih) was a name for India used in China and Japan. In the latter part of the third century b.c.e., a central Asian tribe called the Yüeh-chih ruled a part of northern India. Since Buddhism was brought to China via this territory, the Chinese regarded the land of the Yüeh-chih (moon tribe) as India itself.
51. This refers to the direction of the moon’s apparent motion. While the moon rises in the east and sets in the west like the sun, because of the direction of its orbit around the earth, each night it appears a little farther to the east of its position in the sky the previous night.