On the Five Guides for Propagation

On the Five Guides for Propagation

Background

IT seems to me that, just as one searches out some potent medicine when one is attempting to cure a critical illness, so there is nothing as effective as the essential Law in rescuing those who have committed the cardinal sins or have slandered the Law.

In the category of time periods we have the Former, the Middle, and the Latter Days of the Law. In the category of teachings we have Hinayana and Mahayana, the partial and the perfect teachings, the provisional and the true, and the exoteric and the esoteric. In the category of countries there are two types, those that are central to the propagation of the teachings and those that are peripheral. In the category of the people’s capacity to understand the teachings, there are differences depending upon whether the person has already committed the cardinal sins or has not done so, and whether the person has already slandered the Law or has not done so. In the category of teachers there are ordinary teachers and sage teachers; persons of the two vehicles and bodhisattvas; bodhisattvas of other worlds and bodhisattvas of this world; and bodhisattvas of the theoretical teaching and bodhisattvas of the essential teaching.

Hence, when the four ranks of bodhisattvas appeared in the world after the Buddha’s passing and spread the teachings, acting as successors to the Buddha, they did not expound the sutras and doctrines in a reckless manner.

Generally speaking, one should not suddenly set about transmitting this great doctrine of the Lotus Sutra to persons who are ignorant and have not slandered that great doctrine. On the other hand, to persons who are evil and who have already slandered this true Mahayana teaching, one should preach it with forcefulness.

Thus in the second volume of the Lotus Sutra the Buddha addresses these words to Shāriputra: “Do not preach this sutra to persons who are without wisdom.”1 And again in the fourth volume, when the Buddha addresses Bodhisattva Medicine King and the eighty thousand great men, he says: “This sutra is the storehouse of the secret crux of the Buddhas. It must not be distributed or recklessly transmitted to others.”2 The meaning of these passages is that one must not thoughtlessly preach the Lotus Sutra to persons who are ignorant and have not done anything to slander the correct teaching.

In the seventh volume of the Lotus Sutra, the “Never Disparaging” chapter, however, it says: “And if he happened to see any of the four kinds of believers far off in the distance, he would purposely go to where they were . . . Among the four kinds of believers there were those who gave way to anger, their minds lacking in purity, and they spoke ill of him and cursed him, saying, ‘This ignorant monk—where does he come from?’ . . . some among the group would take sticks of wood or tiles and stones and beat and pelt him.”

The approach described in the passages quoted from the second and fourth volumes of the sutra and that described in the passage from the seventh volume are as different as heaven and earth, or as fire and water.

——————————————–～（omitted)～——————————————

In order to propagate this great Law that I am speaking about, one surely ought to have in one’s possession all the teachings put forth by the Buddha in his lifetime, and to be thoroughly familiar with the commentaries of the eight schools. In the past I possessed many copies of the sacred teachings. But in the course of undergoing two exiles and encountering various major persecutions, I have lost a scroll here and a scroll there, there are places where a word or two have dropped out or copyists’ errors are found, or a sutra or more have been severely damaged. If I remain silent and do nothing about the situation, then when my lifetime is over, I will almost certainly lead my disciples into error and confusion. Therefore, before I become too old to know what I am doing, I am attempting to put my papers into order.

I have heard that within the province of Etchū where you and Ōta Kingo have your fiefs, and in the various temples in the nearby regions, there are many copies of the sacred teachings. You and he are major figures among my lay supporters and therefore I pray you will help fulfill my wish in this regard.

The Nirvana Sutra says: “Within the Order there are wise disciples who understand profound doctrines, while in secular circles there are pure-minded lay supporters. Thus the Buddha’s Law will long endure.”60 Thus the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai talked Mao Hsi61 and others into supporting him, and the Great Teacher Dengyō had Kunimichi and Hiroyo62 to rely upon.

The Benevolent Kings Sutra says, “For a thousand ri around the seven disasters will not occur.” And the Lotus Sutra says, “[I will also shield and guard those who uphold this sutra], making certain that they suffer no decline or harm within the area of a hundred yojanas.”63 If the ruler of a nation propagates the correct teaching, then he is certain to be rewarded with results such as these. And if the people of the nation adhere to and protect this teaching, then how could any great disasters occur within their families? Again, the eighth volume of the Lotus Sutra says, “Their wishes will not be in vain, and in this present existence they will gain the reward of good fortune.”64 And it says, “In this present existence he will have manifest reward for it.”65 And also, “He will in his present existence be afflicted with white leprosy.”66 And again, “Their heads will split into seven pieces.”67 And in the second volume, “If this person [should slander a sutra such as this], or on seeing those who read, recite, copy, and uphold this sutra, should despise, hate, envy, or bear grudges against them, . . . When his life comes to an end he will enter the Avīchi hell.”68 And in the fifth volume, “If people speak ill of and revile him, their mouths will be closed and stopped up.”69

The Great Teacher Dengyō states: “Those who praise him will receive blessings that will pile up as high as Mount Calm and Bright, while those who slander him will be committing a fault that will condemn them to the hell of incessant suffering.”70 Mount Calm and Bright is another name for Mount Sumeru, and the hell of incessant suffering is another name for the Avīchi hell. If the ruler of a nation slanders the upholders of the correct teaching, he will lose his position of authority, and if the people of the nation speak ill of its votaries, they will perish. In fact, if the entire nation does not join in accepting and applying this teaching, then it will surely suffer the fate of rebellion within the state and attack from abroad.

When a votary of the highest order is slandered, then the seven great disasters71 occur. When a votary of the middle order is slandered, one of the twenty-nine disasters72 will occur. And when a votary of the lowest order is slandered, one of the innumerable disasters will occur.

[According to another account], when the seven great disasters occur, it means that there are seven votaries who are being slandered. The first of the seven disasters consists of extraordinary changes in the sun and moon. Within the category of the first of the seven disasters, there are five great disasters. These are when the sun and moon depart from their regular courses and the seasons come in the wrong order, when a red sun or a black sun appears, when two, three, four, or five suns appear at the same time, when the sun is eclipsed and loses its light, or when one, two, three, four, or five coronas appear around the sun.73 And a sutra says, “When two moons appear side by side.”74

In our own country at the present time, the great disasters that have yet to appear are two suns and two moons together. All the other great disasters have for the most part made their appearance. If we hold up this test as a mirror in which to reflect the face of Japan as it is now, we see that there must almost certainly be a great votary of the Lotus Sutra in the country. And those who slander him have already received great punishment. Therefore, why should those who have faith in him not receive great blessings?

Now I hope that the two of you will exert yourselves to the best of your ability to help achieve my wish and test the golden words of the Buddha.

If we proceed in the manner described in the sutra texts and still there is no response, then the statement by Shakyamuni Buddha, “Honestly discarding expedient means [I will preach only the unsurpassed way]”;75 the statement by Many Treasures Buddha, “All that you [Shakyamuni] have expounded is the truth,” which gave witness to the veracity of the Buddha’s pronouncements; as well as the proof of sincerity that the emanation Buddhas of the ten directions gave when they extended their tongues up to the Brahma heaven, would be mere words that are void of truth. But that would surpass even the great falsehoods of Devadatta, and would outdo the huge lies of Kokālika. It would be as terrible as though the sun and moon had fallen to earth, as though the great earth itself had turned upside down, and we might then cry out to the heavens, fling ourselves on the ground and beat our breasts.

That could never be, however, and this is rather the time when we should conduct ourselves like King T’ang of the Yin dynasty, who piled up firewood and prepared to sacrifice his own body,76 or King Shīlāditya, who thrust his face into the flames and prayed that the fire might be extinguished.77

If, when you read this letter, it seems to accord with the practices that you have carried out in past existences, I hope you will make up your minds to lend me your assistance. I am hoping that you will send a messenger with this letter as quickly as possible to the northern province [of Etchū], and that, as soon as you receive a reply from Ōta Kingo, you will let me know whether he can be of assistance. If you and he can assist me in fulfilling this wish, it will be as if the bright gems of the K’un-lun Mountains, though you had not even sought for them, were to fill your storehouses, or the wonderful jewels of the great ocean, though you had not sent for them, were to appear in the palm of your hand.

With my deep respect,

Nichiren

The tenth day of the third month of late spring

To

the lay priest Soya

Ōta Kingo

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Background

This letter by Nichiren Daishonin, dated the tenth day of the third month in 1275, was addressed to two disciples, Soya Kyōshin and Ōta Jōmyō, also known as Ōta Kingo, who lived in the province of Shimōsa. Both were samurai who were introduced to the Daishonin’s teachings by Toki Jōnin, who lived in the same area. The three worked in unison to support the Daishonin and spread his teachings.

The fact that this letter is written in classical Chinese and contains a number of important doctrinal points suggests a high level of education and Buddhist understanding on the part of the recipients.

In this letter, the Daishonin applies the principle of five guides for propagation to demonstrate that the essential Law that the Buddha entrusted to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth described in the Lotus Sutra is the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, the teaching to be spread widely in the Latter Day of the Law.

The five guides for propagation are (1) the teaching, (2) the people’s capacity, (3) the time, (4) the country, and (5) the sequence of propagation. In several writings, the Daishonin cites these as criteria for spreading the Buddhist teachings. The key point is to grasp the first criterion, the teaching to be propagated, which is determined by the other four criteria: the capacity of the people whom one addresses, the nature of the times, the conditions of the country or society, and the level of the teachings that have been spread there.

The Daishonin explains in some detail how the Buddhist teachings were propagated in terms of the time, that is, during the three periods of the Former, Middle, and Latter Days of the Law. He concludes that the Lotus Sutra is the teaching the Buddha intended for the Latter Day and speaks of the benefit that derives from faith in the sutra and the negative effects that accrue from rejecting or slandering it.

Toward the end of the letter, he asks the two recipients for assistance with a specific concern. He explains that, over the years of personal troubles he has experienced such as exiles and attacks, some of the stock of Buddhist scriptures and reference works he copied or collected have become lost or severely damaged. Such works are important, he says, for his propagation efforts and for the sake of the future.

Therefore he asks the two samurai followers, who have some influence in their localities, to assist him in obtaining copies of texts available at the temples in their vicinity.

Paper being a rare commodity at the time and the copying of texts a laborious and time-consuming task, fulfilling the Daishonin’s request would be no small undertaking. He therefore encourages them in their task of collecting the material, citing the passage in the Nirvana Sutra that says, “Within the Order there are wise disciples who understand profound doctrines, while in secular circles there are pure-minded lay supporters. Thus the Buddha’s Law will long endure.”

In closing, he urges them to practice exactly as the Lotus Sutra prescribes, assuring them that they will be fully rewarded.

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Notes

1. Lotus Sutra, chap. 3.

2. Ibid., chap. 10.

60. A summary of a passage from the Nirvana Sutra.

61. Mao Hsi was a high official of the Ch’en (557–589) dynasty in China who was highly respected by Emperor Hsüan and his successor. When T’ien-t’ai lectured on the title of the Lotus Sutra at Wa-kuan-ssu temple in Chin-ling, he listened and placed his faith in T’ien-t’ai’s teachings.

62. Ōtomo no Kunimichi (768–828) and Wake no Hiroyo (n.d.), who were court officials and sponsors of the Great Teacher Dengyō.

63. Lotus Sutra, chap. 26.

64. Ibid., chap. 28.

65. Ibid.

66. Ibid.

67. Ibid., chap. 26.

68. Ibid., chap. 3.

69. Ibid., chap. 14.

70. A Clarification of the Schools Based on T’ien-t’ai’s Doctrine.

71. Seven disasters referred to in the Benevolent Kings Sutra. See seven disasters in Glossary.

72. Dengyō in his Clarification of the Precepts classified the seven disasters referred to in the Benevolent Kings Sutra into twenty-nine categories.

73. These disasters are described in the Benevolent Kings Sutra.

74. A similar passage appears in the Great Crown of the Buddha’s Head Shūramgama Meditation Sutra translated by Pan-la-mi-ti in the early eighth century. This sutra is also simply known as the Shūramgama Sutra.

75. Lotus Sutra, chap. 2.

76. King T’ang was the founder of the Yin (Shang) dynasty that lasted from about the sixteenth century through about the eleventh century b.c.e. This event refers to the prayer for rain that, because of drought, he offered up seven years after his accession to the throne.

77. Shīlāditya was a king who ruled most of northern India in the seventh century and was a believer of Buddhism. According to The Record of the Western Regions, when he constructed a Buddhist monastery and held a ceremony, a fire broke out. Thereupon the king in person went into the flames and offered up prayers to extinguish the fire. As a result, the fire went out.

 

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