The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra

Background

This work is an autobiographical account covering the events of an important period in Nichiren Daishonin’s life—from the time shortly before the Tatsunokuchi Persecution through his two-and-a-half-year exile on Sado Island to his eventual retirement to Mount Minobu. In the course of his struggles over this period of nine years, the Daishonin fulfilled the predictions in the Lotus Sutra concerning its votary and established himself in both word and deed as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.

This letter was written in the second year of Kenji (1276) and addressed to the lay nun Kōnichi, a widow who lived in Awa, the Daishonin’s native province. Her son had earlier converted to the Daishonin’s teachings, and through him she herself became a convert. Some time after her conversion, her son died. But she overcame her deep sorrow and remained a sincere believer in the Daishonin’s Buddhism to the end of her life.

The chronicle of events begins in 1268 when the Mongol empire sent a delegate to Japan to demand that the nation acknowledge fealty to the Mongols. The predictions of foreign invasion made in On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land had started to come true. The Daishonin once more remonstrated with the Kamakura authorities and religious leaders, but they ignored his repeated warnings and instead struck out against him and his followers. At this point the Daishonin urges his disciples never to yield to persecution but to devote their whole lives to propagating the Mystic Law.

His undaunted struggle incurred further wrath from the regime and from the other religious schools and finally led to the Tatsunokuchi Persecution. Later in his work The Opening of the Eyes, the Daishonin points to that attempt on his life as the immediate cause for him to reveal himself as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law. In the passage that follows, the Daishonin speaks of his life on Sado. He expresses joy in the knowledge that he was the only one who fulfilled the prophecy in the Lotus Sutra concerning the votary who is exiled more than once.

After he returned to Kamakura in 1274, he remonstrated with the regime for yet a third time. When the government again spurned his counsel, he left Kamakura to live in the recesses of Mount Minobu, where this letter was written. Just five months later, the Mongol forces attacked Japan. The cause for this, he states, was the nation’s slander of the Lotus Sutra. In conclusion, the Daishonin expresses appreciation to the lay nun Kōnichi for having sent a letter to him at his lonely retreat on Mount Minobu.

 

 

Introduction

In providing this lecture on “The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra,” I will divide this introductory session into three parts:

1. The origin and background of this work.

2. A summary of the main points of this work.

3. The fundamental intent (Gonen) of this work.

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Part I: The Origin of the Work

This Gosho is also known as the “Sado Account” (Sado Sho). It was written in March of the second year of Kenji (1276), when Nichiren Daishonin was 55 years old. This was the third year since his retirement to Mount Minobu in May of the 11th year of Bun’ei (1274); thus, it is clear it was composed at Minobu.

The text describes the geography of his residence:

“Here I am surrounded by four mountains, Shichimen to the west, Tenshi to the east, Minobu to the north, and Takatori to the south. Each is high enough to touch the sky, and so steep that even flying birds have trouble crossing them. In their midst are four rivers called Fuji, Haya, Oshira, and Minobu. In the middle, in a ravine some hundred yards or so across, I have built my hut.”

This letter was addressed to the Lay Nun Konichi of Awa Province (modern-day Chiba Prefecture). She lived in Amatsu, below Mount Kiyosumi. While her husband was said to be from a warrior family, her exact biography remains unclear. Her devotion was exceptional; having lost her husband and then her young son, Yashiro, she nevertheless maintained a pure and sincere faith, which led the Daishonin to bestow such an important work upon her.

The work begins with the arrival of the Mongol envoy in 1268 and chronicles the nine years of the Daishonin’s “actions”—his struggles to fulfill the prophecies of the Rissho Ankoku Ron—until his entry into Mount Minobu. As stated in “The Persecutions Befalling the Sage,” his entire life was a fulfillment of the prophecies concerning the Buddha of the Latter Day. The nine years recorded here are the most critical, for as he wrote in The Opening of the Eyes: “On the twelfth day of the ninth month of last year, between the hours of the rat and the ox (11:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.), this person named Nichiren was beheaded. It is his soul that has come to this island of Sado “ This indicates his Hosshaku Kempon (casting off the transient and revealing the true).

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Part II: Summary of the Work

The work chronicles nine years of the Daishonin’s life from 1268 to 1276. The main points are as follows:

1. Fulfillment of Prophecy: The Daishonin declares that the prophecies in his Rissho Ankoku Ron were perfectly fulfilled with the Mongol threat, surpassing any “future record” of the Buddha.

2. Encouragement to Disciples: He admonishes his followers never to be cowardly. Discarding one’s life for the Law is the way to attain Buddhahood, transforming “stones into gold” and “dung into rice.”

3. Third Remonstration: The other sects, fearing defeat in debate, conspired with government authorities to eliminate the Daishonin. He warned Hei no Saemon that persecuting the “envoy of the Buddha” would lead to internal strife and foreign invasion.

4. The Arrest: On September 12, 1271, Hei no Saemon led hundreds of soldiers to arrest the Daishonin. A soldier named Sho-bo struck the Daishonin’s face with a scroll of the Lotus Sutra. The Daishonin shouted, “Look at Hei no Saemon gone mad! You are toppling the Pillar of Japan!”

5. Rebuke at Hachiman Shrine: On the way to his execution, he scolded the gods Tensho and Hachiman for failing to protect the Votary of the Lotus Sutra.

6. Tatsunokuchi Persecution: As the executioner raised his sword, a luminous object like a moon streaked across the sky. The soldiers were terrified and fled. Shijo Kingo accompanied him, prepared to die by his side.

7. Echi and Sado Decision: While staying at the residence of Homma Rokuro Saemon in Echi, celestial omens continued. News reached Kamakura that the country’s unrest was due to the Daishonin’s persecution, but his exile to Sado was finalized anyway.

8. The Principle of Obstacles: On Sado, the Daishonin faced extreme cold and hunger. He rejoiced, knowing he was fulfilling the sutra. He explained that those who practice correctly will inevitably encounter the “Three Obstacles and Four Devils,” the greatest being the “Devil of the Sixth Heaven” (the sovereign).

9. The Tsukahara Debate: Hundreds of priests from northern Japan gathered to debate the Daishonin. He defeated them all effortlessly, like “a sharp sword cutting a melon.” Many converted on the spot.

10. Internal Strife Prediction: He predicted that a battle would soon break out in Kamakura. Within 100 days, the “Hojo Disturbance” occurred. Homma Rokuro Saemon, seeing the prophecy come true, vowed never to chant the Nembutsu again.

11. Pardon: In 1274, he was pardoned and returned to Kamakura.

12. Final Remonstration: He told Hei no Saemon the Mongols would attack within the year and that Shingon prayers would only ruin the nation.

13. The Failed Rain Prayer: The government asked a Shingon priest to pray for rain. When it failed and was followed by a destructive windstorm, many realized the Daishonin was right.

14. Entry into Minobu: Following the rule of “leaving the country after three ignored warnings,” he moved to Minobu. In October, the Mongols attacked as predicted.

15. Retribution for Slander: He explains that the miserable aspects of death shown by corrupt priests are proof of their slander of the Law.

16. Seven Pieces: He explains “Head breaking into seven pieces” as a failure of spiritual and mental function, comparing himself to Honen and Kobo.

17. Conclusion: He praises Lay Nun Konichi for her faith, calling her an “envoy of Shakyamuni Buddha” for sending word to his lonely retreat.

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Part III: The Fundamental Intent of the Work

The true intent of this Gosho is to reveal Nichiren Daishonin as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, possessing the three virtues of Sovereign, Teacher, and Parent.

His life of enduring great persecutions was for one purpose: to establish the Dai-Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary, bestowed upon all humanity on October 12, 1279. As he wrote in “On Repaying Debts of Gratitude”: “Nichiren’s compassion is so great that Nam-myoho-renge-kyo will flow for ten thousand years and more into the future.”

As President Ikeda stated in his lectures on The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind Established in the Fifth Five-Hundred-Year Period after the Thus Come One’s Passing :

“The essence of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism is the Three Great Secret Laws, and among them, the core is the Great Object of Devotion (Gohonzon). Without knowing this core, any discussion of his teachings is like ‘blind men describing an elephant.’ If we view his entire life of propagation from the standpoint of the establishment of the Dai-Gohonzon on October 12, 1279, the true meaning of all his preachings and actions becomes clear.”

 

 

Chapter1(Fulfillment of the Prophecy and Persecution)

Main Text

ON the eighteenth day of the intercalary first month of the fifth year of Bun’ei (1268), an official letter arrived from the great Mongol empire in which those barbarians of the west¹ declared their intention to attack Japan. My prediction in On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land, which I wrote in the first year of Bunnō (1260), cyclical sign kanoe-saru, has been fulfilled to the letter. My admonitions have surpassed even those set forth in the yüeh-fu poems of Po Chü-i,² and my prophecies are not inferior to those of the Buddha. Can there be anything more wondrous in this latter age? If our land were governed by a worthy ruler or sage sovereign, then the highest honors in Japan would be bestowed upon me, and I would be awarded the title of Great Teacher while still alive. I had expected to be consulted about the Mongols, invited to the war council, and asked to defeat them through the power of prayer. Since that did not happen, however, I sent letters of warning to eleven of our country’s leaders in the tenth month of the same year.

If there were a worthy person in this country, he would immediately think, “What a wonder! This is surely no ordinary matter. The Sun Goddess and Great Bodhisattva Hachiman must be offering a way to save Japan through this priest.” In actuality, however, priests of the other schools cursed and deceived my messengers. The government officials ignored or refused to reply to my letters, and even when they did reply, they deliberately neglected to report the content of my letters to the regent. Their behavior was highly irregular. Even if the letters concerned only some personal matter of mine, the government officials should nevertheless pass them on to the ruler for his due attention, this being the proper way of government. But in this case, the letters were a warning of dire things to come that would affect the destiny not only of the regent’s government but of every other official as well. Even if the officials did not heed my warning, to slander my messengers was going too far. This came about because all Japanese, high and low, have for a long time now shown hostility toward the Lotus Sutra. Thus they have piled up great offenses and become possessed by demons. The official letter from the Mongols has deprived them of the last remnants of sanity. In ancient China, King Chou of the Yin dynasty refused to heed the admonitions of his loyal minister Pi Kan and instead cut out Pi Kan’s heart. Later his dynasty was overthrown by the kings Wen and Wu of the Chou. King Fu-ch’a of the state of Wu, instead of listening to the remonstrances of his minister Wu Tzu-hsü, forced the latter to commit suicide.³ Eventually Fu-ch’a was killed by King Kou-chien of the state of Yüeh.

Thinking how tragic it would be if our country were to meet with a similar fate, I risked my reputation and life to remonstrate with the authorities. But just as a high wind creates great waves, or a powerful dragon brings forth torrential rains, so my admonitions called forth increasing animosity. The regent’s supreme council met to discuss whether to behead me or banish me from Kamakura, and whether to confiscate the estates of or execute my disciples and lay supporters, or to imprison or exile them to distant places.

 

Notes

1. The “barbarians of the west” is the set phrase that the Chinese invented to describe the tribes in the west, and the Daishonin applied it to the Mongols.

2. Po Chü-i (772–846) was a Chinese poet-official noted for his Hsin Yüeh-fu, “New Yüeh-fu,” a series of poems in yüeh-fu or ballad form criticizing social and political ills of the time.

3. Fu-ch’a (d. 473 b.c.e.) was the twenty-fifth ruler of the state of Wu. His father was killed by Kou-chien, king of the state of Yüeh, and Fu-ch’a took revenge two years later by defeating him in battle. Kou-chien proposed a peaceful settlement with Fu-ch’a, but really planned to attack the state of Wu again. Wu Tzu-hsü, a loyal minister of Fu-ch’a, discovered the plot and urged the king to kill Kou-chien, but the king would not listen. Instead, he compelled Wu Tzu-hsü to commit suicide in 485 b.c.e.

 

Lecture

The Mongol Threat and the Prophecy Fulfilled

In 1260, the year Nichiren Daishonin submitted “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land” (Rissho Ankoku Ron) to Hojo Tokiyori, Khubilai Khan ascended as the emperor of the Mongol Empire. This coincidence is deeply significant. Upon his accession, Khubilai issued orders to Goryeo (modern-day Korea) to prepare for an invasion of Japan. Simultaneously, the Daishonin issued a stark warning in his treatise regarding the “calamity of invasion from abroad.”

While the Japanese people could not have imagined the storm brewing across the sea, the Mongol plans were already in motion. Khubilai, a leader of unprecedented ambition, had built the largest empire in human history, spanning Asia and Eastern Europe. In 1266, he dispatched envoys to Goryeo with a letter demanding Japan’s submission.

The letter was a mixture of diplomatic overtures and veiled threats, asserting that “all nations should seek harmony” with the Mongol Empire and warning the King of Japan to “consider this well” before the use of arms became necessary. Though the initial envoys were deterred by the treacherous seas, Khubilai’s fury led to a second mission in 1267. By 1268, the message finally reached the Kamakura Shogunate.

This event marked the precise fulfillment of the prophecy the Daishonin had made eight years prior. In response, he wrote “On the Origin of the Ankoku Ron,” declaring that among all the high-ranking priests in Japan, he alone possessed the “method to counteract this evil.” However, the Shogunate, blinded by their devotion to the Nembutsu, Zen, and Ritsu schools, ignored his sincere warning.

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Superiority to Secular Verse and Prophecy

“ My admonitions have surpassed even those set forth in the yüeh-fu poems of Po Chü-i, and my prophecies are not inferior to those of the Buddha. Can there be anything more wondrous in this latter age?“

The Daishonin emphasizes that the Rissho Ankoku Ron is not merely a political critique but a profound work of prophecy. While the Daishonin authored many vital doctrinal works like the Opening of the Eyes or The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind, the Ankoku Ron stands alone in its external impact and historical weight.

High Priest Nikkan explained three reasons why this work surpasses the secular wisdom of poets like Bo Juyi:

1. Immediate Warning: Unlike poets who used the past to mirror the present, the Daishonin pointed directly to the causes of impending disaster.

2. Forceful Admonition: While secular writers might be ignored or used selectively, the Daishonin spoke with absolute conviction and “strong words” to awaken the nation.

3. Spiritual Rectification: It did not merely correct political errors but identified the root cause of suffering in slander of the Law, offering a path to eternal peace.

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The Eleven Letters and the Spirit of Compassion

In October 1268, facing the indifference of the authorities, the Daishonin sent eleven letters to the Shogunate’s top officials and the heads of major temples, demanding a public debate to determine the truth of Buddhist teachings.

He knew this act would invite life-threatening persecution. To his disciples, he wrote: “Do not be alarmed… Do not think of your wives or children. Fear not authority. In this life, sever the bonds of birth and death and attain the fruit of Buddhahood.” His motivation was never self-interest; it was a gushing spring of great compassion for the suffering of all living beings. This spirit of “not begrudging one’s life” (fujishaku shinmyo) was later mirrored by the first president of the Soka Gakkai, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi. During WWII, when the military dictatorship demanded the nation embrace State Shinto, Makiguchi stood firm, declaring that only the Mystic Law could save the nation. Just as the Shogunate’s persecution of Nichiren led to the Mongol invasion, the wartime government’s imprisonment of Makiguchi and Josei Toda resulted in the unprecedented devastation of Japan in the Pacific War.

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The Principles of Governance and Reason

The Kamakura Shogunate’s legal foundation was the Goseibai Shikimoku (the Joei Code), established in 1232. It was inspired by Prince Shotoku’s Seventeen-Article Constitution and Chinese legalism but was fundamentally rooted in reason (dori).

The Daishonin pointed out that if those in power truly respected the spirit of the law and the “way of governance,” they would have an obligation to hear his warnings. He argued that the safety of the state depends on the integrity of its politics, and the integrity of Buddhism depends on the clarity of the sutras.

Tragically, then as now, when power becomes tyrannical, the law is no longer a tool for the protection of the people but a weapon for the rulers. The Daishonin’s struggle was to restore the “law of reason” to society, ensuring that the voice of truth was never silenced by the arrogance of power.

 

 

Chapter2(Inspiring Disciples with the Spirit of Propagation at the Cost of One’s Life)

Main Text

Hearing this, I rejoiced, saying that I had long expected it to come to this. In the past, the boy Snow Mountains offered his body for the sake of half a verse, Bodhisattva Ever Wailing sold his body, the boy Good Treasures threw himself into a fire, the ascetic Aspiration for the Law peeled off his own skin, Bodhisattva Medicine King burned his own arms, Bodhisattva Never Disparaging was beaten with sticks and staves, the Venerable Āryasimha was beheaded, and Bodhisattva Āryadeva was killed by a non-Buddhist, [all because of their devotion to Buddhism].

These events should be considered in terms of the time in which they occurred. The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai declared that practice “should be that which accords with the time.”⁴ The Great Teacher Chang-an states, “You should let your choices be fitting and never adhere solely to one or the other.”⁵ The Lotus Sutra represents a single truth, but the way of its practice varies greatly according to the people’s capacity and the time.

The Buddha made a prophecy, saying: “After my death, during the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law that follows the two millennia of the Former and Middle Days, a person will appear who will propagate only the heart of the Lotus Sutra, the five characters of the daimoku. At that time an evil ruler will be in power, and evil monks, more numerous than the dust particles of the land, will argue with one another over the various Mahayana and Hinayana sutras. When the votary of the daimoku challenges the monks, they will incite their lay supporters to abuse, beat, or imprison him, to confiscate his lands, to exile or behead him. In spite of such persecutions, he will continue his propagation without ceasing. Meanwhile the ruler who persecutes him will be beset by rebellion, and his subjects will devour each other like hungry spirits. Finally the land will be attacked by a foreign country, for Brahmā, Shakra, the gods of the sun and moon, and the four heavenly kings have ordained that other countries shall assault a land that is hostile to the Lotus Sutra.”⁶

None of you who declare yourselves to be my disciples should ever give way to cowardice. Neither should you allow concern for your parents, wife, or children to hold you back, or be worried about your property. Since countless kalpas in the past you have thrown away your life more times than the number of dust particles of the land for the sake of your parents, your children, or your lands. But not once have you given up your life for the Lotus Sutra. You may have tried to practice its teachings to some extent, but whenever you were persecuted, you backslid and ceased to live by the sutra. That is like boiling water only to pour it into cold water, or like trying to strike fire but giving up halfway. Each and every one of you should be certain deep in your heart that sacrificing your life for the Lotus Sutra is like exchanging rocks for gold or dung for rice.

Now, at the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law, I, Nichiren, am the first to embark on propagating, throughout Jambudvīpa, the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, which are the heart of the Lotus Sutra and the eye of all Buddhas. During the 2,220 or more years since the Buddha’s passing, not even Mahākāshyapa, Ānanda, Ashvaghosha, Nāgārjuna, Nan-yüeh, T’ien-t’ai, Miao-lo, or Dengyō has propagated them. My disciples, form your ranks and follow me, and surpass even Mahākāshyapa or Ānanda, T’ien-t’ai or Dengyō! If you quail before the threats of the ruler of this little island country [and abandon your faith], how will you face the even more terrible anger of Yama, the lord of hell? If, while calling yourselves the Buddha’s messengers, you give way to fear, you will be the most despicable of persons!

 

Notes

4. The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra.

5. The Annotations on the Nirvana Sutra.

6. This is not an actual quotation, but Nichiren Daishonin’s view of what Shakyamuni must have believed, based on various passages in the Lotus Sutra and other sutras.

 

Lecture

The Single Law and the Diversity of Practice

“The Lotus Sutra represents a single truth, but the way of its practice varies greatly according to the people’s capacity and the time.“

This passage explains the fundamental spirit of Buddhist practice. In the Letter to the Sage Nichimyo, Nichiren Daishonin quotes Great Master Chang-an: “You should let your choices be fitting and never adhere solely to one or the other.” He further explains that the practice to attain Buddhahood depends on the age. In ancient times, if there was no paper, practitioners would use their own skin; if there was no oil, they would burn their own arms to provide light for the Law. However, in an age where paper is abundant, there is no need to peel off one’s skin (WND-1, p.324).

This comparison highlights the difference between the severe austerities of Boy Snow Mountains (Sessen Doji) or Bodhisattva Medicine King (Yakuo) and the practice required in the Latter Day of the Law. Today, the Mystic Law of the “depths of the text” has appeared. Our practice is to believe in this Law and immediately perceive the truth. While we do not need to perform the physical sacrifices of the past, the Daishonin mentions them to teach that the fundamental spirit of practice lies in a dedicated seeking mind (kudo-shin).

In the two thousand years of the Former and Middle Days of the Law, people were born with “already planted seeds of goodness” (hon-i-u-zen). They could reach enlightenment through Shakyamuni’s Buddhism. During that time, Shoju (the gentle method of leading others) was appropriate. However, in the Latter Day, people have no such seeds (hon-mi-u-zen). Shakyamuni’s teachings have lost their power to save. The only path to Buddhahood is the Nam-myoho-renge-kyo of the Three Great Secret Laws.

Nichiren Daishonin explains in The Opening of the Eyes: “These two methods of shōju and shakubuku are like water and fire. Fire hates water, water detests fire. The practitioner of shōju laughs with scorn at shakubuku. The practitioner of shakubuku laments at the thought of shōju. When the country is full of evil people without wisdom, then shōju is the primary method to be applied, as described in the “Peaceful Practices” chapter. But at a time when there are many people of perverse views who slander the Law, then shakubuku should come first, as described in the “Never Disparaging” chapter. “ (WND-1, 285).

Today, Japan and the world are lands where slander of the Law prevails. Therefore, the essence of Buddhist practice in this age is summarized in two words: Shakubuku.

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Propagation at the Cost of One’s Life (Shishin Guho)

The current momentum of the Soka Gakkai is like the rising sun, and the waves of Shakubuku have reached the entire world. This great development was built solely upon the practice of “not begrudging one’s life” by the first three presidents.

The Daishonin’s words to his disciples are severe: “Neither should you allow concern for your parents, wife, or children to hold you back, or be worried about your property. “ What a profound state of mind it must have taken for the Buddha of the Latter Day to say this to his followers! True faith is the resolve to remain dedicated to propagation even when facing life-threatening obstacles.

He writes: “Since countless kalpas in the past you have thrown away your life more times than the number of dust particles of the land for the sake of your parents, your children, or your lands. But not once have you given up your life for the Lotus Sutra.” No matter how hard one works for family happiness or material wealth, these provide no absolute solution; life remains a cycle of delusions. However, the Human Revolution achieved through Buddhism offers a fundamental solution that never crumbles. In a modern society where life is often treated lightly—lost in wars or accidents—people are searching for a philosophy that provides a true sense of fulfillment. That eternal, unchanging philosophy is the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin.

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The Heart of the Sutra Unspread for 2,220 Years

Shakyamuni Buddha predicted the future in the Great Collection Sutra, dividing the time after his passing into five 500-year periods:

1. Age of Enlightenment

2. Age of Meditation

3. Age of Reading, Reciting, and Listening

4. Age of Building Temples and Stupas

5. Age of Quarrel and Dispute (The start of the Latter Day), when the “Pure Law” would be lost.

For over two thousand years, great teachers like Mahakashyapa, Ananda, Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, T’ien-t’ai, and Dengyo appeared. They understood the Law of three thousand realms in a single moment of life (ichinen sanzen), but they did not spread it openly. As noted in The Opening of the Eyes: “Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu knew it in their hearts but did not speak of it.”

There are four reasons why they remained silent:

1. They themselves were not the ones commissioned to spread it.

2. The capacity of the people at that time was not ready.

3. The Buddha had not yet transferred the Law to them.

4. The correct time had not yet arrived.

They were “Theoretical Bodhisattvas” (shakko no bosatsu), whereas the Latter Day required the “Bodhisattvas of the Earth” (jiyu no bosatsu). Now, in the Fifth Five-Hundred-Year Period, the world is filled with conflict and greed. Shakyamuni’s Buddhism has lost its efficacy.

Just as predicted in the Medicine King chapter—“In the last five-hundred-year period, propagate it widely (Kosen-rufu) throughout the world”—Nichiren Daishonin appeared as the Buddha of the Latter Day to reveal Nam-myoho-renge-kyo for the salvation of all living beings.

 

 

Chapter3(The Slander of the Nembutsu Believers and the Hostility of Hei no Saemon-no-jo)

Main Text

[While the regent’s government could not come to any conclusion,] the priests of the Nembutsu, the observers of the precepts, and the True Word priests, who realized they could not rival me in wisdom, sent petitions to the government. Finding their petitions were not accepted, they approached the wives and widows of high-ranking officials and slandered me in various ways. [The women reported the slander to the officials, saying:] “According to what some priests told us, Nichiren declared that the late lay priests of Saimyō-ji and Gokuraku-ji have fallen into the hell of incessant suffering. He said that the temples Kenchō-ji, Jufuku-ji, Gokuraku-ji, Chōraku-ji, and Daibutsu-ji should be burned down and the honorable priests Dōryū and Ryōkan beheaded.” Under these circumstances, at the regent’s supreme council my guilt could scarcely be denied. To confirm whether I had or had not made those statements, I was summoned to the court.

At the court the magistrate said, “You have heard what the regent stated. Did you say these things or not?” I answered, “Every word is mine. However, the statement about the lay priests of Saimyō-ji and Gokuraku-ji falling into hell is a fabrication. I have been declaring this doctrine [that the schools they belonged to lead to hell] since before their deaths.

“Everything I said was with the future of our country in mind. If you wish to maintain this land in peace and security, it is imperative that you summon the priests of the other schools for a debate in your presence. If you ignore this advice and punish me unreasonably on their behalf, the entire country will have cause to regret your decision. If you condemn me, you will be rejecting the Buddha’s envoy. Then you will have to face the punishment of Brahmā and Shakra, of the gods of the sun and moon, and of the four heavenly kings. Within one hundred days after my exile or execution, or within one, three, or seven years, there will occur what is called the calamity of internal strife, rebellion within the ruling clan. This will be followed by the calamity of foreign invasion, attack from all sides, particularly from the west. Then you will regret what you have done!” Hearing this, the magistrate Hei no Saemon, forgetting all the dignity of his rank, became wild with rage like the grand minister of state and lay priest [Taira no Kiyomori].

 

Lecture

The Conspiracy of the Rival Priests

“[While the regent’s government could not come to any conclusion,] the priests of the Nembutsu, the observers of the precepts, and the True Word priests, who realized they could not rival me in wisdom, sent petitions to the government. Finding their petitions were not accepted, they approached the wives and widows of high-ranking officials and slandered me in various ways.“

After losing the rain-making challenge to Nichiren Daishonin, Ryokan, rather than admitting the errors of his own doctrine, despicably organized a league of slandering monks in Kamakura to oppose the Daishonin. This group included Ryokan himself, Nen-a Ryochu of Komyo-ji, Gyomin of Jokokyo-ji, and leaders from other major temples such as Kencho-ji and Jufuku-ji.

On the 8th day of the 7th month in 1271, Gyomin of Jokokyo-ji challenged the Daishonin to a debate through a document known as “Gyomin’s Initial Letter of Difficulty.” In it, he accused the Daishonin of slandering all other sutras as “falsehoods” and calling the Zen sect the “doctrine of heavenly devils.”

The Daishonin replied on the 13th of that same month, essentially stating:

“A private debate on these various points would be difficult to carry out. Therefore, let a public inquiry be held before the authorities to determine the truth of the matter. This is what I most earnestly desire.”

Seeing through the conspiracy, the Daishonin realized it was no longer the stage for private discussion with a mere pawn like Gyomin. Having received this reply, Gyomin conspired with Ryokan to file a formal complaint with the high court (Monchujo). However, because the charges were groundless, the court could not take them up.

Desperate, Ryokan and his cohorts resorted to slandering the Daishonin to high-ranking ladies and widows of the ruling clan. They falsely claimed: “Nichiren says that the late lords of Saimyo-ji and Gokuraku-ji have fallen into the hell of incessant suffering. He says Kencho-ji and other great temples should be burned to the ground, and the heads of Masters Doryu and Ryokan should be cut off.”

In that era, high-ranking court women and the widows of powerful men held immense hidden influence. Devout followers of Ryokan, these women appealed to the Regent and his officials. Consequently, the Daishonin was eventually summoned to the tribunal to be questioned. This text poignantly illustrates that Ryokan was the embodiment of the “devilish nature” whose sole purpose was to obstruct the spread of the correct Law.

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The Prophecy of the Two Disasters

“If you condemn me, you will be rejecting the Buddha’s envoy. Then you will have to face the punishment of Brahmā and Shakra, of the gods of the sun and moon, and of the four heavenly kings. Within one hundred days after my exile or execution, or within one, three, or seven years, there will occur what is called the calamity of internal strife, rebellion within the ruling clan. This will be followed by the calamity of foreign invasion, attack from all sides, particularly from the west.“

This passage warns that if the Votary of the Lotus Sutra is persecuted, the protective deities of the universe will be angered. Following exile or execution, internal rebellion will break out, followed by invasion from a foreign power.

In his 1268 writing, The Rationale for Writing “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land”, the Daishonin clarified the cause of these disasters:

“Hōnen and Dainichi. Their bodies were possessed of demons, and they went about deluding the people of both high and low station throughout the country, until everyone had become a Nembutsu believer or else joined the Zen school. Those who continued to pay respect to Mount Hiei became surprisingly few and lacking in ardor, and throughout the country the priests who were authorities on the Lotus Sutra or the True Word teachings found themselves ignored and rejected.

As a result, the Sun Goddess, Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, and the gods of the seven shrines of Sannō, who guard and protect Mount Hiei, as well as the other great benevolent deities who protect the different parts of the nation, could no longer taste the flavor of the Law. Their power and brilliance waned, and they abandoned the country. Thus the demons gained access to the nation and brought about disasters and calamities. These disasters, as I stated in my memorial, were omens signifying that our country would in the end be destroyed by a foreign nation.“

Both prophecies were fulfilled. The “disaster of foreign invasion” was realized through the arrival of Mongol letters in 1268 and the subsequent invasions of 1274 and 1281. The “disaster of internal strife” was fulfilled by the rebellion of Hojo Tokisuke in the 2nd month of 1272—perfectly matching the Daishonin’s prediction.

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Prophecy and the Five Eyes

In the Rissho Ankoku Ron (1260), the Daishonin first predicted internal strife. During the Tatsunokuchi Persecution, he boldly repeated this to Hei no Saemon-no-jo. Remarkably, on the 16th day of the 1st month in 1272, he warned Lord Rokuro Saemon that a war was imminent; the rebellion broke out just 20 days later.

Generally, a “prophecy” is a guess about the future. However, in Buddhism, it is not mystical or a mere revelation. It is an insight into the future based on a profound understanding of reality and the law of cause and effect. While many secular “prophets” fail because their predictions are based on emotion or shallow analysis, the Daishonin’s prophecies were based on the eternal perspective of Buddhist history and life philosophy.

From the perspective of the Five Eyes ($Gogen$), the highest level of foresight is the Buddha Eye:

1. Physical Eye: The eye of ordinary humans; limited by distance, darkness, and obstacles.

2. Heavenly Eye: The eye of heavenly beings; sees through distance and darkness.

3. Wisdom Eye: The eye of the Voice-hearers; perceives the truth of “emptiness.”

4. Dharma Eye: The eye of the Bodhisattvas; understands the Law to lead all people.

5. Buddha Eye: The eye that encompasses all the previous four, seeing clearly through the three existences (past, present, future) and the ten directions.

A Buddha is the supreme prophet. As stated in The Sage Knows the Three Existences: “One who is called a sage is one who knows the three existences in detail.”

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The Certainty of Kosen-rufu

Just as the Daishonin’s prophecies of disaster came true, the prophecy of Kosen-rufu (wide propagation) is an absolute truth. Shakyamuni Buddha predicted in the Medicine King chapter that the Law would spread throughout the world in the “fifth five-hundred-year period” after his passing.

Regarding this, the Daishonin wrote in The True Aspect of All Phenomena:

“At first only Nichiren chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, but then two, three, and a hundred followed, chanting and teaching others. Propagation will unfold this way in the future as well. Does this not signify “emerging from the earth”? At the time when the Law has spread far and wide, the entire Japanese nation will chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, as surely as an arrow aimed at the earth cannot miss the target.” (WND-1, p. 385)

He also declared that while Buddhism originally flowed from West (India) to East (Japan), it would now return from the East (Japan) to the West (India and the world). This return flow is a “good omen” of the sunrise of the Mystic Law. Therefore, it is clear that Nichiren Daishonin established his Buddhism with the prerequisite of global propagation.

 

 

Chapter4(The Second Remonstration and the Wrath of the Authorities)

Main Text

On the twelfth day of the ninth month in the eighth year of Bun’ei (1271), cyclical sign kanoto-hitsuji, I was arrested in a manner that was extraordinary and unlawful, even more outrageous than the arrest of the priest Ryōkō, who was actually guilty of treason, and the Discipline Master Ryōken, who sought to destroy the government.⁷ Hei no Saemon led several hundreds of armor-clad warriors to take me. Wearing the headgear of a court noble, he glared in anger and spoke in a rough voice. These actions were in essence no different from those of the grand minister of state and lay priest, who seized power only to lead the country to destruction.

Observing this, I realized it was no ordinary event and thought to myself, “Over the past months I have expected something like this to happen sooner or later. How fortunate that I can give my life for the Lotus Sutra! If I am to lose this worthless head [for Buddhahood], it will be like trading sand for gold or rocks for jewels.”

Shō-bō, Hei no Saemon’s chief retainer, rushed up, snatched the scroll of the fifth volume of the Lotus Sutra⁸ from inside my robes, and struck me in the face with it three times. Then he threw it open on the floor. Warriors seized the nine other scrolls of the sutra, unrolled them, and trampled on them or wound them about their bodies, scattering the scrolls all over the matting and wooden floors until every corner of the house was strewn with them.

I, Nichiren, said in a loud voice, “How amusing! Look at Hei no Saemon gone mad! You gentlemen have just toppled the pillar of Japan.” Hearing this, the assembled troops were taken aback. When they saw me standing before the fierce arm of the law unafraid, they must have realized that they were in the wrong, for the color drained from their faces.

Both on the tenth [when I was summoned], and on the twelfth, I fully described to Hei no Saemon the errors of the True Word, Zen, and Nembutsu schools, as well as Ryōkan’s failure in his prayers for rain. As his warriors listened, they would burst into laughter, and at other times become furious. But I will not go into the details here.

Ryōkan prayed for rain from the eighteenth day of the sixth month to the fourth day of the following month, but I blocked his prayers so that no rain came. Ryōkan prayed himself into a sweat, but nothing fell except his own tears. There was no rain in Kamakura, but on the contrary, strong gales blew continually.

At this news I sent a messenger to him three times, saying: “If a person cannot manage to cross a moat ten feet wide, how can he cross one that is a hundred or two hundred feet? Izumi Shikibu,⁹ a licentious woman, violated one of the eight precepts by writing poetry, but still she made it rain with a poem. The priest Nōin, although he broke the precepts, was successful in bringing rainfall with a poem. How is it possible then that hundreds and thousands of priests, all of whom observe the two hundred and fifty precepts, gather to pray for rain and can do no more than raise a gale, even after one or two weeks of prayer? It should be clear from this that none of you will be able to attain rebirth in the Pure Land.” Ryōkan read the message and wept in vexation, and to others he reviled me.

When I reported what had happened with Ryōkan, Hei no Saemon attempted to defend him, but it was hopeless. In the end he was unable to utter a word. I will not record all of our conversation as it was too detailed.

 

Notes

7. Ryōkō and Ryōken plotted against the Kamakura government; their plots were discovered, and they were put to death. Ryōkō was executed in 1251, and Ryōken in 1261.

8. The fifth volume includes chapters twelve to fifteen; the thirteenth, or “Encouraging Devotion,” chapter says the votary of the Lotus Sutra will be attacked with swords and staves. The “nine other scrolls of the sutra” that appears in the sentence after next indicates those of the other seven volumes of the Lotus Sutra, plus the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra in one volume and the Universal Worthy Sutra in one volume. These two sutras are regarded as, respectively, the prologue and epilogue to the Lotus Sutra.

9. Izumi Shikibu (b. c. 976) was a poet of the Heian period, noted for her passionate love affairs. Nōin (b. 988), who appears in the following sentence, was a poet-priest who lived in Kyoto. The works of Izumi Shikibu and Nōin both include poems praying for rain.

 

Lecture

The Fifth Volume of the Lotus Sutra

When Shoshibo, a high-ranking retainer of Hei no Saemon-no-jo, snatched a scroll of the Lotus Sutra from the Daishonin’s robes, it was—mystically enough—the fifth volume. This volume contains four chapters: “Devadatta” (12th), “Encouraging Devotion” (13th), “Peaceful Practices” (14th), and “Emerging from the Earth” (15th). The “Encouraging Devotion” chapter is particularly significant because it contains the verse describing how the “three powerful enemies” will appear to obstruct the propagation of the sutra after the Buddha’s passing.

The Daishonin writes in his letter Persecution by Sword and Staff:

“I, Nichiren, have met with persecution by both sword and staff. As I mentioned before, I was attacked with a sword at Matsubara in Tōjō and later at Tatsunokuchi. No one else has met with such persecution [for the sake of the Lotus Sutra] even once, but I have met with it twice. As for being attacked with staves, I have already been struck in the face by Shō-bō with the fifth scroll of the Lotus Sutra. The fifth scroll was used as a staff to strike me, and it is this very scroll that carries the passage that [votaries of the Lotus Sutra] will be attacked with staves. What a mysterious passage of prediction! Shō-bō hit me before dozens of people, and, though I knew it was for the sake of the Lotus Sutra, being an ordinary person, I felt miserable and ashamed. Had I had the strength, I would have wrested it from him, trampled on and broken it, and thrown it away. However, it was in fact the fifth scroll of the Lotus Sutra.

This brings to mind a story. A father, anxious about his son’s future, thrashed the boy with a bow made of zelkova wood because he refused to study. At the time, the son resented his father’s action and hated the zelkova bow. However, he applied himself to his studies so much that eventually he [mastered Buddhism], thereby achieving emancipation himself and benefiting others. In retrospect, he saw that he owed his achievements to his father’s thrashings. It is said that he erected a memorial tablet made from a zelkova tree for the repose of his deceased father.

It is the same with me. When I attain Buddhahood, how will I be able to forget my obligation to Shō-bō? “(WND-1, p.964)

From the perspective of Observation of the Mind (Kanjin), the Daishonin explains in The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings (OTT):

“The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The word “encouraging” refers to the converting of others. The word “devotion” refers to one’s own practice. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo embraces both the converting of others and one’s own religious practice.

Now Nichiren and his followers are encouraging others to adopt Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and to make it their own practice.”(OTT, p109).

In our modern age, we do not face the “sword and staff” or exile as the Daishonin did. We have the Soka Gakkai, a harmonious community advancing toward Kosen-rufu like a ship with its sails full of wind. For us, the spirit of “Encouraging Devotion” lives on in the practice of Shakubuku—sharing the Law with others. The “Encouraging Devotion” chapter was a prophecy for Shakyamuni, a proof of identity for the Daishonin, and for us, it is the clear mirror of our faith and the “Will and Decree” for achieving Kosen-rufu.

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Toppling the Pillar of Japan

As he faced execution, Nichiren Daishonin roared at Hei no Saemon-no-jo, the mastermind of the persecution:

“How amusing! Look at Hei no Saemon gone mad! You gentlemen have just toppled the pillar of Japan.“

This was a cry that only the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law could utter. To admonish the most powerful man in the land with such a “great voice” while being led to his death is beyond the capacity of an ordinary person. As the Daishonin noted, the soldiers turned pale, realizing the illegality and gravity of their actions.

This declaration of being the “Pillar of Japan” is echoed in The Opening of the Eyes:

“I will be the pillar of Japan. I will be the eyes of Japan. I will be the great ship of Japan. This is my vow, and I will never forsake it!” (WND-1, p.281)

When compared to the Daishonin’s majestic behavior, the final moments of other religious leaders seem like a flickering firefly before the sun. While traditional accounts of Jesus say he cried out in exhaustion, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, the Daishonin stood with absolute conviction, protected by the heavenly deities. We should advance bravely on the great path of Kosen-rufu, carrying the Daishonin’s “Lion’s Roar” in our hearts.

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Ryokan’s Failure to Bring Rain

During the great drought of 1271, the priest Ryokan publicly claimed he would save the people through his prayers for rain. The Daishonin challenged him:

“If the Honorable Ryōkan brings about rainfall within seven days, I, Nichiren, will stop teaching that the Nembutsu leads to the hell of incessant suffering and become his disciple, observing the two hundred and fifty precepts. But if no rain falls, that will show clearly that the Honorable Ryōkan is deliberately confusing and misleading others, though he appears to be observing the precepts.” (WND-1, The Letter of Petition from Yorimoto, p.808)

Ryokan was delighted and gathered over 120 disciples to pray. However, despite their desperate efforts, not a drop fell. He asked for a seven-day extension, but the result was even worse: a severe drought accompanied by violent winds that never ceased.

Despite this clear defeat, Ryokan did not repent. Instead, he deepened his resentment and used his influence to plot the Tatsunokuchi Persecution. The Daishonin rebuked him, saying:

“If one cannot cross a moat ten feet wide, can one cross a moat that is twenty or thirty feet wide? If you cannot bring about rainfall, which is easy, how can you attain rebirth in the pure land and achieve Buddhahood, which is difficult?” (WND-1, The Letter of Petition from Yorimoto, p.808)

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Crossing the One-Foot Trench

In this analogy, the “one-foot trench” refers to bringing rain, while the “ten or twenty-foot trench” refers to attaining Buddhahood. If Ryokan’s teachings were powerless in a worldly matter, they certainly could not lead to eternal enlightenment.

Applying this to our lives:

• The 10 or 20-Foot Trench: The establishment of absolute happiness (Buddhahood) and Kosen-rufu.

• The 1-Foot Trench: Our daily life, actions, and behavior.

Whether our daily lives are rooted in the Gohonzon or something else determines our future. In Buddhism, victory is decided in each moment. By winning over small challenges today, we secure the glory of a great victory tomorrow. Even a massive mountain is an accumulation of tiny specks of dust. Similarly, the great goal of Kosen-rufu is won through a steady, persistent, and “grassroots” struggle in our daily reality.

 

 

Chapter5(Remonstrating with the Benevolent Deities at Wakamiya Hachiman)

Main Text

That night of the twelfth, I was placed under the custody of the lord of the province of Musashi¹⁰ and around midnight was taken out of Kamakura to be executed. As we set out on Wakamiya Avenue,¹¹ I looked at the crowd of warriors surrounding me and said, “Don’t make a fuss. I won’t cause any trouble. I merely wish to say my last words to Great Bodhisattva Hachiman.” I got down from my horse and called out in a loud voice, “Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, are you truly a god? When Wake no Kiyomaro¹² was about to be beheaded, you appeared as a moon ten feet wide. When the Great Teacher Dengyō lectured on the Lotus Sutra, you bestowed upon him a purple surplice as an offering. Now I, Nichiren, am the foremost votary of the Lotus Sutra in all of Japan, and am entirely without guilt. I have expounded the doctrine to save all the people of Japan from falling into the great citadel of the hell of incessant suffering for slandering the Lotus Sutra. Moreover, if the forces of the great Mongol empire attack this country, can even the Sun Goddess and Great Bodhisattva Hachiman remain safe and unharmed? When Shakyamuni Buddha expounded the Lotus Sutra, Many Treasures Buddha and the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions gathered, shining like so many suns and moons, stars and mirrors. In the presence of the countless heavenly gods as well as the benevolent deities and sages of India, China, and Japan, Shakyamuni Buddha urged each one to submit a written pledge to protect the votary of the Lotus Sutra at all times. Each and every one of you gods made this pledge. I should not have to remind you. Why do you not appear at once to fulfill your solemn oath”? Finally I called out: “If I am executed tonight and go to the pure land of Eagle Peak, I will dare to report to Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, that the Sun Goddess and Great Bodhisattva Hachiman are the deities who have broken their oath to him. If you feel this will go hard with you, you had better do something about it right away!” Then I remounted my horse.

 

Notes

10. The lord of the province of Musashi refers to Hōjō Nobutoki, the governor of Musashi Province (1267–1273) and concurrently the constable of Sado Province. He is also referred to as “the former governor of Musashi” in this letter.

11. The main street in Kamakura, running from north to south. Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine stands along the street, where Nichiren Daishonin reprimanded Great Bodhisattva Hachiman.

12. Wake no Kiyomaro (733–799) was a high-ranking court official who thwarted the attempt of the priest Dokyō to usurp the throne and suffered persecution as a result.

 

Lecture

The Doctrine of the Protective Deities Abandoning the Nation

The concept of Shin-tenjo (the deities ascending to heaven) is described in On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land (Rissho Ankoku Ron):

“I have pondered the matter carefully with what limited resources I possess, and have looked a little at the scriptures for an answer. The people of today all turn their backs upon what is right; to a person, they give their allegiance to evil. This is the reason that the benevolent deities have abandoned the nation and departed together, that sages leave and do not return. And in their stead devils and demons come, and disasters and calamities occur.” (WND-1, p. 7)

This means that when a nation turns against the correct Law and slanders the True Way, the protective deities—who are supposed to guard the Votary of the Lotus Sutra—are deprived of the “flavor” of the Law (Nam-myoho-renge-kyo). Weakened and starving, they lose their spiritual power and abandon the land they were sworn to protect.

Nikko Shonin, in his Twenty-six Admonitions, warned future disciples:

“Followers should be prohibited from visiting Shinto shrines… Still more, is it not regrettable for those who possess the ‘vessel’ of the Law to visit temples and shrines where demons have taken up residence? This is not my own personal view; it is based on the sutras and the Daishonin’s writings.” (Gosho Zenshu, p. 1617)

Furthermore, the third successor, Nichimoku Shonin, stated in his petition: “Our nation is a land of the gods, but the gods do not accept improper etiquette.” Anything other than the “flavor” of the Mystic Law is considered improper etiquette (hirei), causing the deities to lose their brilliance.

In Japan, “clan deity” (ujigami) worship has existed since ancient times, where tribes formed cults around ancestral spirits. Eventually, Sun Goddess Amaterasu and Great Bodhisattva Hachiman were established as the national deities. However, since the introduction of Buddhism in 538 AD and the eventual victory of the pro-Buddhist faction over the Shinto-exclusive faction, Japan began its path as a Buddhist nation. The fundamental flaw in Shinto is making the deities themselves the object of devotion. Deities only gain power and protect the land when they “taste” the correct Law. From this principle, it is clear that the defeat of the anti-Buddhist faction was inevitable, and even modern national tragedies can be viewed as the consequence of forcing the entire nation to worship Amaterasu by government mandate.

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Is Bodhisattva Hachiman a True Deity?

In this passage, Nichiren Daishonin rebukes Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, demanding to know why there is no protection while he, the foremost Votary of the Lotus Sutra, is facing such great persecution. According to the doctrine of Shin-tenjo, Hachiman was clearly absent from the shrine at that time. So, what was the Daishonin’s true intent?

In this context, a deity like Hachiman does not refer to a physical entity, but rather a function or an operation of life force. Therefore, whether or not a “god” is physically present in a shrine is not the point. Rather, the Daishonin summoned the “Hachiman within his own life” and directed that function toward the shrine. The Hachiman of the Daishonin’s life is identical to the life force that permeates the entire universe.

In the “Introduction” (1st) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the benevolent deities gather immediately to hear Shakyamuni’s preaching. This included Shakra, the four heavenly kings, and the great deities of the sun and moon. The Sun Goddess Amaterasu and Great Bodhisattva Hachiman were also among this assembly. These deities vowed in the “Peaceful Practices” (14th) and “Entrustment” (22nd) chapters to protect the Votary of the Lotus Sutra day and night.

In the Daishonin’s time, as well as today, traditional shrines and temples have become places where “demons” reside because they lack the correct Law. Visiting such places only stains one’s life with the “three evil paths” and “four evil paths,” leading to suffering. Thus, the Daishonin’s rebuke at the shrine was not directed at a physical building, but was an act based on the principle of “the universe is the self, and the self is the universe”—a profound perspective on life philosophy.

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The Foremost Votary of the Lotus Sutra in Japan

The declaration, “Nichiren is the foremost Votary of the Lotus Sutra in Japan,” expresses his absolute conviction as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.

In The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings (OTT), it is stated:

“The object of devotion is thus the entity of the entire life of the votary of the Lotus Sutra.” (OTT, p. 142)

This reveals that the Daishonin’s very being is the Gohonzon—it is the declaration that he is the Object of Devotion in terms of the Person (Nin-honzon). His behavior is identical to the behavior of the Buddha of Self-Enjoyment (Ji-juyu-hoshin) from the remote past (kuon ganjo).

High Priest Nichikan explained this: “The Honzon of the Person is the reincarnation of the Buddha of Self-Enjoyment of the remote past… the compassionate Nichiren Daishonin.” He also taught that “fact” (ji) means to practice exactly as things are. To practice the “fact” means to act out the behavior of the original Buddha in the Latter Day without the slightest deviation.

Further scriptural proof can be found in The Entity of the Mystic Law:

“The practice performed by Shakyamuni… at the stage of ‘name and function’ in the remote past was transferred to the person of Nichiren… in the present time.” (Gosho Zenshu, p. 877)

Also, in The One Hundred and Six Articles:

“Nichiren’s practice today does not differ in the slightest from the behavior of the stage of ‘name and function’ in the remote past.” (Gosho Zenshu, p. 863)

And: “I, Nichiren, am the one who is solely worthy of honor throughout heaven and earth from the remote past.”

 

 

Chapter6(The Tatsunokuchi Persecution and the Casting Off of the Transient and Revealing of the True)

Main Text

Out on Yui Beach as the party passed the shrine there, I spoke again. “Stop a minute, gentlemen. I have a message for someone living near here,” I said. I sent a boy called Kumaō to Nakatsukasa Saburō Saemon-no-jō [Shijō Kingo], who rushed to meet me. I told him, “Tonight, I will be beheaded. This is something I have wished for many years. In this sahā world, I have been born as a pheasant only to be caught by hawks, born a mouse only to be eaten by cats, and born human only to be killed attempting to defend my wife and children from enemies. Such things have befallen me more times than the dust particles of the land. But until now, I have never given up my life for the sake of the Lotus Sutra. In this life, I was born to become a humble priest, unable to adequately discharge my filial duty to my parents or fully repay the debt of gratitude I owe to my country. Now is the time when I will offer my head to the Lotus Sutra and share the blessings therefrom with my deceased parents, and with my disciples and lay supporters, just as I have promised you.” Then the four men, Saemon-no-jō and his brothers, holding on to my horse’s reins, went with me to Tatsunokuchi at Koshigoe.

Finally we came to a place that I knew must be the site of my execution. Indeed, the soldiers stopped and began to mill around in excitement. Saemon-no-jō, in tears, said, “These are your last moments!” I replied, “You don’t understand! What greater joy could there be? Don’t you remember what you have promised?” I had no sooner said this when a brilliant orb as bright as the moon burst forth from the direction of Enoshima, shooting across the sky from southeast to northwest. It was shortly before dawn and still too dark to see anyone’s face, but the radiant object clearly illuminated everyone like bright moonlight. The executioner fell on his face, his eyes blinded. The soldiers were filled with panic. Some ran off into the distance, some jumped down from their horses and huddled on the ground, while others crouched in their saddles. I called out, “Here, why do you shrink from this vile prisoner? Come closer! Come closer!” But no one would approach me. “What if the dawn should come? You must hurry up and execute me—once the day breaks, it will be too ugly a job.” I urged them on, but they made no response.

They waited a short while, and then I was told to proceed to Echi in the same province of Sagami. I replied that, since none of us knew the way, someone would have to guide us there. No one was willing to take the lead, but after we had waited for some time, one soldier finally said, “That’s the road you should take.”

Setting off, we followed the road and around noon reached Echi. We then proceeded to the residence of Homma Rokurō Saemon. There I ordered sake for the soldiers. When the time came for them to leave, some bowed their heads, joined their palms, and said in a most respectful manner: “We did not realize what kind of a man you are. We hated you because we had been told that you slandered Amida Buddha, the one we worship. But now that we have seen with our own eyes what has happened to you, we understand how worthy a person you are, and will discard the Nembutsu that we have practiced for so long.” Some of them even took their prayer beads out of their tinder bags and flung them away. Others pledged that they would never again chant the Nembutsu. After they left, Rokurō Saemon’s retainers took over the guard. Then Saemon-no-jō and his brothers took their leave.

 

Lecture

This chapter centers on the Daishonin’s conduct at the Tatsunokuchi execution grounds and describes the events surrounding it. This was the precise moment when the Daishonin “cast off the transient and revealed the true” (hosshaku kempon). As the procession headed toward the execution site and passed in front of the Goryo Shrine at Yuigahama, the Daishonin dispatched a young boy named Kumaomaru to the nearby residence of Shijo Kingo in Hase to inform him of the impending ordeal. Even if Kingo had been prepared for such a crisis, the gravity of the situation must have been a profound shock. Regardless, he rushed to the Daishonin’s side, barely taking the time to gird on his sword.

The Faith of Shijo Kingo and Our Resolve

Among the Daishonin’s followers, Shijo Kingo stands as one of the most staunch believers, alongside figures such as Ikegami Munenaka and Toki Jonin. Notably, during the life-or-death crisis of the Tatsunokuchi Persecution, Kingo was the only disciple among many who accompanied the Daishonin to the execution grounds with the resolve to die by his side. Therefore, studying Kingo’s faith remains deeply significant for us today, 700 years later.

Shijo Kingo (formally Shijo Nakatsukasa Saburo Saemon-no-jo Yorimoto) came from a distinguished samurai family. His lord, Ema Mitsutoki, was a grandson of Hojo Yoshitoki, but he was also a devout follower of Ryokan of Gokuraku-ji temple—the primary instigator of the persecutions against the Daishonin. Despite such an adverse environment, Kingo maintained his strong faith and earned the Daishonin’s utmost trust. His courage and faith serve as a mirror for future generations. The reason his name shines even today is solely due to his spirit of “not begrudging one’s life” (fushaku shimmyo)—his absolute devotion to protecting and following Nichiren Daishonin as the True Buddha.

The Daishonin praised Kingo’s resolve at Tatsunokuchi as follows:

“At the time of my persecution on the twelfth, not only did you accompany me to Tatsunokuchi, but also you declared that you would die by my side. This can only be called wondrous.

How many are the places where I have thrown away my life in past existences for the sake of my wife and children, lands and followers! I have given up my life on the mountains and the seas, on the rivers, on the seashore, and by the roadside. Never once, however, did I die for the Lotus Sutra or suffer persecution for the daimoku. Hence none of the ends I met enabled me to attain Buddhahood. Because I did not attain Buddhahood, the seas and rivers where I threw away my life are not Buddha lands.

In this life, however, as the votary of the Lotus Sutra, I was exiled and put to death—exiled to Ito and beheaded at Tatsunokuchi. Tatsunokuchi in Sagami Province is the place where Nichiren gave his life. Because he died there for the Lotus Sutra, how could it be anything less than the Buddha land? The sutra reads, “In the Buddha lands of the ten directions there is only the Law of the one vehicle.” Does this not bear out my assertion? The “Law of the one vehicle” is the Lotus Sutra. No true teaching other than the Lotus Sutra exists in any of the Buddha lands of the ten directions. The sutra continues, “There are not two, there are not three, except when the Buddha preaches so as an expedient means.” This being so, then every place where Nichiren meets persecution is the Buddha land.

Of all the places in the sahā world, it is at Tatsunokuchi in Katase of Sagami Province in Japan that Nichiren’s life dwells. Because he gave his life there for the sake of the Lotus Sutra, Tatsunokuchi deserves to be called the Land of Tranquil Light. This is what the “Supernatural Powers” chapter means when it states, “Whether in a garden, a forest . . . or in mountain valleys or the wide wilderness . . . in such places have the Buddhas entered nirvana.”

You accompanied Nichiren, vowing to give your life as a votary of the Lotus Sutra. Your deed is a hundred, thousand, ten thousand times greater than that of Hung Yen, who cut open his stomach and inserted the liver of his dead lord, Duke Yi [to save him from shame and dishonor]. When I reach Eagle Peak, I will first tell how Shijō Kingo, like myself, resolved to die for the Lotus Sutra.” (The Persecution at Tatsunokuchi, WND-1, p. 196 / GZ, 1113)

Hong Yan was a minister to Duke Yi of the state of Wei in ancient China. While away on a mission, his lord was killed by invaders, and his liver was left discarded. To hide his lord’s shame, Hong Yan cut open his own belly, placed the liver inside, and died. The Daishonin lauded Kingo’s faith as being incomparably superior to even such legendary loyalty. Because of this pure-hearted faith, the Daishonin sent Kingo over 30 letters, offering detailed guidance on daily life, family, and his conduct as a samurai, showing the profound trust and affection he held for him.

“It is the end!” and the Daishonin’s Rebuke

When the party arrived at the execution site, Kingo cried out, “It is the end!” These words were likely all he could muster in his grief. Seeing this, the Daishonin rebuked him, saying:

“I replied, “You don’t understand! What greater joy could there be? Don’t you remember what you have promised?” (WND-1, p. 767 / GZ, 914)

In this exchange, we feel the boundless affection between mentor and disciple. Through the Tatsunokuchi Persecution, the Daishonin cast off his transient status as an ordinary person and revealed his true identity as the Buddha of the Self-Enjoyment Body from the remote past (Kuon Ganjo no Juseyu Hoshin Nyorai). In The Opening of the Eyes, he writes: “On the twelfth day of the ninth month of last year, between the hours of the rat and the ox (11:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.), this person named Nichiren was beheaded. It is his soul that has come to this island of Sado” (WND-1, p. 269). This signifies his attainment of Buddhahood in his present form. Thus, his “joy” at the execution site was the joy of having fulfilled the predictions of the Lotus Sutra and his absolute conviction as the True Buddha.

For Shijo Kingo, who stood ready to offer his life, this moment also solidified his own attainment of Buddhahood. The “promise” the Daishonin referred to was the vow Kingo and other disciples had made to discard their lives for the sake of the Law. This was not a sudden accident but a fulfillment of the sutra’s words. While it was natural for Kingo, as a human being, to weep at the sight of his mentor’s impending execution, the Daishonin’s stern yet warm encouragement reveals the profound bond of “unbegrudging faith” between mentor and disciple.

The Luminous Object and the Protection of the Shoten Zenjin

The account describes a luminous object, like a moon, flying from the direction of Enoshima (Southeast) toward the Northwest, shining so brightly that the executioner was blinded. This was a clear manifestation of protection by the Buddhist gods (shoten zenjin).

The Daishonin explains this in The Persecution at Tatsunokuchi:

“Among the three heavenly sons of light, the god of the moon saved my life at Tatsunokuchi by appearing as a shining object, and the god of the stars descended four or five days ago to greet me. Now only the god of the sun remains, and he is certain to protect me. How reassuring! How encouraging! The “Teacher of the Law” chapter states, “I will dispatch persons magically conjured who will act to guard and protect them.” This passage leaves no room for doubt. The “Peaceful Practices” chapter reads, “Swords and staves will not touch him.” The “Universal Gateway” chapter states, “The executioner’s sword will be broken to bits!” There is nothing false in these sutra passages. The strong and steadfast power of faith is precious indeed.” (WND-1, p. 196 / GZ, 1114)

The “luminous object” was a manifestation of the Moon Heavenly Son and his kin. Earlier, the Daishonin had strictly rebuked the Great Bodhisattva Hachiman for failing to fulfill the vow to protect the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra. This SHissei (shout of rebuke) awakened the protective functions of the universe.

Regarding this phenomenon, President Ikeda offers the following scientific and Buddhist insight:

“Scientists would explain this as a ‘fireball’ or a large meteorite. Fireballs can reach a brightness of tens of billions of candlepower and are accompanied by thunderous sounds. We do not claim this was a ‘miracle’ in the sense of something that defies science; it is natural that it can be explained scientifically. However, the fact that this occurred at the exact second the Daishonin was about to be beheaded—after he had summoned the protective deities—is something science cannot explain. This belongs to the realm of Buddhism.”

A similar phenomenon occurred later at the residence of Homma Rokuro Zaemon in Echi, where a star-like object descended into a plum tree, terrifying the soldiers. President Ikeda notes:

“The probability of such phenomena occurring twice in succession at the exact moments of life-or-death crisis is one in billions or trillions. To dismiss this as mere coincidence is impossible. Only the Buddhist principle of the ‘oneness of life and its environment’ (esho funi) can truly clarify the reality of these events.”

 

 

Chapter7(The Wonder of the Moon Heavenly Son and the Persecution of Disciples and Lay Followers)

Main Text

That evening, at the hour of the dog (7:00–9:00 p.m.), a messenger from Kamakura arrived with an order from the regent. The soldiers were sure that it would be an official letter to behead me, but Uma-no-jō, Homma’s deputy, came running with the letter, knelt, and said: “We were afraid that you would be executed tonight, but now the letter has brought wonderful news. The messenger said that, since the lord of Musashi had left for a spa in Atami this morning at the hour of the hare (5:00–7:00 a.m.), he set off at once and rode for four hours to get here because he feared that something might happen to you. The messenger has left immediately to take news to the lord in Atami tonight.” The accompanying letter read, “This person is not really guilty. He will shortly be pardoned. If you execute him you will have cause to regret.”

Now it was the night of the thirteenth. There were scores of warriors stationed around my lodging and in the main garden. Because it was the middle of the ninth month, the moon was very round and full. I went out into the garden and there, turning toward the moon, recited the verse portion of the “Life Span” chapter. Then I spoke briefly about the faults of the various schools, citing passages from the Lotus Sutra. I said: “You, the god of the moon, are Rare Moon, the son of a god, who participated in the ceremony of the Lotus Sutra. When the Buddha expounded the ‘Treasure Tower’ chapter, you received his order, and in the ‘Entrustment’ chapter, when the Buddha patted your head with his hand, in your vow you said, ‘We will respectfully carry out all these things just as the World-Honored One has commanded.’ You are that very god. Would you have an opportunity to fulfill the vow you made in the Buddha’s presence if it were not for me? Now that you see me in this situation, you should rush forward joyfully to receive the sufferings of the votary of the Lotus Sutra in his stead, thereby carrying out the Buddha’s command and also fulfilling your vow. It is strange indeed that you have not yet done anything. If nothing is done to set this country to rights, I will never return to Kamakura. Even if you do not intend to do anything for me, how can you go on shining with such a complacent face? The Great Collection Sutra says, ‘The sun and moon no longer shed their light.’ The Benevolent Kings Sutra says, ‘The sun and moon depart from their regular courses.’ The Sovereign Kings Sutra says, ‘The thirty-three heavenly gods become furious.’ What about these passages, moon god? What is your answer?”

Then, as though in reply, a large star bright as the Morning Star fell from the sky and hung in a branch of the plum tree in front of me. The soldiers, astounded, jumped down from the veranda, fell on their faces in the garden, or ran behind the house. Immediately the sky clouded over, and a fierce wind started up, raging so violently that the whole island of Enoshima seemed to roar. The sky shook, echoing with a sound like pounding drums.

The day dawned, and on the fourteenth day, at the hour of the hare, a man called the lay priest Jūrō came and said to me: “Last night there was a huge commotion in the regent’s residence at the hour of the dog. They summoned a diviner, who said, ‘The country is going to erupt in turmoil because you punished that priest. If you do not call him back to Kamakura immediately, there is no telling what will happen to this land.’ At that some said, ‘Let’s pardon him!’ Others said, ‘Since he predicted that war would break out within a hundred days, why don’t we wait and see what happens.’”

I was kept at Echi for more than twenty days. During that period seven or eight cases of arson and an endless succession of murders took place in Kamakura. Slanderers went around saying that Nichiren’s disciples were setting the fires. The government officials thought this might be true and made up a list of over 260 of my followers who they believed should be expelled from Kamakura. Word spread that these persons were all to be exiled to remote islands, and that those disciples already in prison would be beheaded. It turned out, however, that the fires were set by the observers of the precepts and the Nembutsu believers in an attempt to implicate my disciples. There were other things that happened, but they are too numerous to mention here.

 

Lecture

Having majestically triumphed over the Tatsunokuchi Persecution through the protection of the Buddhist gods (shoten zenjin), the Daishonin temporarily took up residence at the estate of Honma Rokurozaemon. While he waited there for the Shogunate’s official verdict, he continued to remonstrate with the authorities, just as he had rebuked the protective deities in the previous chapter.

The first half of this chapter describes the arrival of a messenger from Kamakura carrying a letter from the Regent. When the content of the letter—which stated that the Daishonin “shall be pardoned”—became known, the guards and Honma Rokurozaemon must have felt a great sense of relief. One can only imagine the immense joy felt by Shijo Kingo.

The Proof of Innocence and Political Intrigue

“ The accompanying letter read, “This person is not really guilty. He will shortly be pardoned. If you execute him you will have cause to regret.“

This passage makes it undeniably clear that Nichiren Daishonin was innocent. It also exposes the fact that this great persecution was a sinister plot orchestrated by Hei no Saemon-no-jo (Taira no Yoritsuna) and the priest Ryokan.

Upon learning of the incident, Hojo Tokimune, the Regent, issued an official letter to Musashi-no-kami Nobutoki ordering the stay of execution. However, because Nobutoki had left at 6:00 a.m. that morning for a retreat at the hot springs in Atami, the letter—which should have followed the chain of command—reached the Daishonin first. It is likely that Nobutoki, sensing the volatile political atmosphere, fled to Atami to avoid responsibility.

The postscript of this letter shows that Tokimune explicitly recognized the Daishonin’s innocence, stating he was “innocent.” This reveals that the Tatsunokuchi Persecution was an act carried out solely on the arbitrary authority of Hei no Saemon-no-jo. Although this was a clear abuse of power, Hei no Saemon-no-jo held significant influence within the Hojo clan at the time, allowing him to bypass official procedures.

The Rise of the Tokuso Autocracy

Hei no Saemon-no-jo (Taira no Yoritsuna) served as the house steward (kaishi) for the Regent’s family. Originally, his status was lower than that of the shogunal vassals (gokenin). However, as the Hojo clan consolidated power into an autocracy (Tokuso dictatorship) after the death of the third shogun, Minamoto no Sanetomo, the influence of the private officials of the Hojo family—known as the uchikanrei—grew immensely.

In the early days of the Kamakura Shogunate, a system of collective leadership existed to balance the interests of powerful clans like the Miura and Chiba. However, after Regent Hojo Tokiyori eliminated these rival clans, the Hojo family monopolized all key government posts. By the time Tokimune became Regent, the official deliberative bodies had become mere formalities. Important state affairs were decided in private meetings (yorigai) by the vassals of the Tokuso (the Hojo main line).

As the head of these vassals, Hei no Saemon-no-jo wielded absolute power, controlling military and police affairs. Had the Shogunate followed the legal procedures established in the Goseibai Shikimoku (the legal code), the Daishonin would never have faced such an illegal persecution.

The Dignity of the True Buddha

While staying at the Honma estate, the Daishonin offered sake and food to the guards. Moved by his profound dignity, many of these officials converted or became his followers. This is vividly captured in the description of Honma’s deputy, Uma-no-jo, who “ran to the Daishonin, knelt down, and presented the official letter.” For a government official to kneel before a prisoner was unheard of; it is a testament to the awe-inspiring presence of Nichiren Daishonin as the True Buddha.

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Scriptural Foundation: The Protection of the Buddhist Gods

“When the Buddha expounded the ‘Treasure Tower’ chapter, you received his order, and in the ‘Entrustment’ chapter, when the Buddha patted your head with his hand, in your vow you said, ‘We will respectfully carry out all these things just as the World-Honored One has commanded.’ “

This passage clarifies that absolute protection is guaranteed to the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra. The Daishonin’s rebuke of the Moon Heavenly Son based on the phrase “respectfully carry out all as the World-Honored One has commanded” (Nyo seson choku to gu bugyo) from the “Entrustment” (Shokurui) chapter is rooted in the vow made by the bodhisattvas to protect the practitioner.

In The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings (Ongi Kuden), the Daishonin explains that “the Buddhist gods and bodhisattvas are rebuked by Nichiren and his followers based on this vow.”

The “command” in the “Treasure Tower” chapter refers to the three proclamations by Shakyamuni Buddha, calling for someone to propagate the sutra after his passing. In the “Entrustment” chapter, the Buddha entrusts the Law to all gathered, symbolized by the “Threefold Stroking of the Head” (Sanma no fuzoku). This ritual represents the transfer of the Buddha’s wisdom and life-state to his disciples.

The entire ceremony of the Lotus Sutra, which shifts from Eagle Peak to the Ceremony in the Air, exists to reveal Nam-myoho-renge-kyo—the essence of the Law for the Latter Day. While the “Entrustment” chapter involves the “theoretical” bodhisattvas, the Daishonin clarifies that its true intent refers to the “Bodhisattvas of the Earth” led by Bodhisattva Superior Practices (Jogyo), who are the true “Great Givers” (Dai-seshu) of the Law in the Latter Day.

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Schemes in Kamakura and the Departure for Sado

While the Daishonin spent over twenty days at Echi, the officials in Kamakura debated his fate. During this time, a series of arsons and murders occurred in Kamakura. The enemies of the Daishonin—followers of the Precepts (Ritsu) and Nembutsu schools—slandered the Daishonin’s disciples, claiming they were the culprits.

As a result, more than 260 disciples were placed on a blacklist to be exiled or executed. These cowardly schemes were designed to force a sentence of exile to Sado upon the innocent Daishonin.

The Daishonin’s compassion during this trial is seen in the Letter to Priest Nichiro In Prison (also known as the Tsuchiro Gosho):

“TOMORROW I am to leave for the province of Sado. In the cold tonight, I think of what it must be like for you in prison, and it pains me. Admirable Nichirō, because you have read the entirety of the Lotus Sutra with both the physical and spiritual aspects of your life, you will also be able to save your father and mother, your six kinds of relatives, and all living beings. Others read the Lotus Sutra with their mouths alone, in word alone, but they do not read it with their hearts. And even if they read it with their hearts, they do not read it with their actions. It is reading the sutra with both one’s body and mind that is truly praiseworthy! Since the sutra teaches that “the young sons of heavenly beings will wait on him and serve him. Swords and staves will not touch him and poison will have no power to harm him,” certainly nothing untoward will befall you. When you are released from prison, please come as quickly as you can. I am eager to see you, and to show you that I too am well.” (WND-1, p. 204 / GZ, 1213)

Sent to his disciple Nichiro on the eve of his departure for the freezing lands of Sado, this letter reflects the Daishonin’s boundless mercy. Even as he faced exile to a harsh environment, his only concern was for the well-being of his disciples. This serene and vast life-state is truly that of the True Buddha.

 

 

Chapter8(The Delight in the Law at Tsukahara Sammai-do)

Main Text

I left Echi on the tenth day of the tenth month (1271) and arrived in the province of Sado on the twenty-eighth day of the same month. On the first day of the eleventh month, I was taken to a small hut that stood in a field called Tsukahara behind Homma Rokurō Saemon’s residence in Sado. One room with four posts, it stood on some land where corpses were abandoned, a place like Rendaino in Kyoto. Not a single statue of the Buddha was enshrined there; the boards of the roof did not meet, and the walls were full of holes. The snow fell and piled up, never melting away. I spent my days there, sitting in a straw coat or lying on a fur skin. At night it hailed and snowed, and there were continual flashes of lightning. Even in the daytime the sun hardly shone. It was a wretched place to live.

I felt like Li Ling,¹³ who was imprisoned in a rocky cave in the land of the northern barbarians, or the Tripitaka Master Fa-tao, who was branded on the face and exiled to the area south of the Yangtze by Emperor Hui-tsung. Nevertheless, King Suzudan received severe training under the seer Asita to obtain the blessings of the Lotus Sutra, and even though Bodhisattva Never Disparaging was beaten by the staves of arrogant monks and others, he achieved honor as votary of the one vehicle.¹⁴ Therefore, nothing is more joyful to me than to have been born in the Latter Day of the Law and to suffer persecutions because I propagate the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo. For more than twenty-two hundred years after the passing of the Buddha, no one, not even the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai Chih-che, experienced the truth of the passage in the sutra that says, “It [the Lotus Sutra] will face much hostility in the world and be difficult to believe.”¹⁵ Only I have fulfilled the prophecy from the sutra, “again and again we will be banished.”¹⁶ The Buddha says, in reference to those who “listen to one verse or one phrase [of the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law],” that “I will bestow on all of them a prophecy [that they will attain supreme perfect enlightenment].”¹⁷ Thus there can be no doubt that I will reach supreme perfect enlightenment. It is the lord of Sagami above all who has been a good friend to me. Hei no Saemon is to me what Devadatta was to Shakyamuni Buddha. The Nembutsu priests are comparable to the Venerable Kokālika, and the observers of the precepts to the monk Sunakshatra. The age of the Buddha is none other than today, and our present age is none other than that of the Buddha. This is what the Lotus Sutra describes as the “true aspect of all phenomena” and as “consistency from beginning to end.”¹⁸

The fifth volume of Great Concentration and Insight states, “As practice progresses and understanding grows, the three obstacles and four devils emerge in confusing form, vying with one another to interfere.” It also states, “It will only be like a boar rubbing against the golden mountain; like the various rivers flowing into the sea; like logs making a fire burn more briskly; or like the wind swelling the body of the kālakula insect.” These passages mean that, if one understands and practices the Lotus Sutra just as it teaches, in accordance with the people’s capacity and at the right time, then these seven obstacles and devils will confront one. Among them, the devil king of the sixth heaven [is the most powerful. He] will possess one’s sovereign, parents, wife or children, lay supporters, or evil persons, and through them will attempt in a friendly manner to divert one from one’s practice of the Lotus Sutra, or will oppose one outright. The practice of Buddhism is always accompanied by persecutions and difficulties corresponding in severity to whichever sutra one may uphold. To practice the Lotus Sutra will provoke particularly harsh persecutions. To practice as it teaches, and in accordance with the time and the people’s capacity, will incite truly agonizing ordeals.

The eighth volume of The Annotations on “Great Concentration and Insight” states, “So long as a person does not try to depart from the sufferings of birth and death and aspire to the Buddha vehicle, the devil will watch over him like a parent.” This passage means that, even though a person may cultivate roots of goodness, so long as he practices Nembutsu, True Word, Zen, Precepts, or any teaching other than the Lotus Sutra, he will have the devil king for a parent. The devil king will possess and cause other persons to respect him and give him alms, and people will be deluded into believing that he is a truly enlightened priest. If he is honored by the sovereign, for instance, the people are sure to offer him alms. On the other hand, a priest who incurs the enmity of the ruler and others [because of the Lotus Sutra] is surely practicing the correct teaching.

Devadatta was the foremost good friend to the Thus Come One Shakyamuni. In this age as well, it is not one’s allies but one’s powerful enemies who assist one’s progress. We find examples before our very eyes. The Hōjō clan in Kamakura could not have firmly established itself as the ruler of Japan had it not been for the challenges posed by Yoshimori and the Retired Emperor of Oki.¹⁹ In this sense these men were the best allies the ruling clan could have. For me, Nichiren, my best allies in attaining Buddhahood are Kagenobu, the priests Ryōkan, Dōryū, and Dōamidabutsu, and Hei no Saemon and the lord of Sagami. I am grateful when I think that without them I could not have proved myself to be the votary of the Lotus Sutra.

 

Notes

13. Li Ling (d. 74 b.c.e.) was a military commander who led the Chinese forces in an attack on the nomadic Hsiung-nu tribes living north of China and was taken prisoner by them.

14. The one vehicle here means the teaching of the Lotus Sutra.

15. Lotus Sutra, chap. 14.

16. Ibid., chap. 13.

17. Ibid., chap. 10.

18. Here “the true aspect” refers to the principle that the votaries of the Lotus Sutra meet with persecutions, and “all phenomena” to the fact that persecutions befell both Shakyamuni and Nichiren Daishonin. In the phrase “consistency from beginning to end,” “beginning” refers to Shakyamuni’s age and “end” to the Daishonin’s age.

19. Wada Yoshimori (1147–1213) and the Retired Emperor Gotoba (1180–1239). Yoshimori was the chief of military police under Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the Kamakura regime, but in 1213 turned against the Hōjō clan only to be defeated and killed. Gotoba attempted to overthrow the Kamakura regime in 1221, but was defeated and exiled to Oki (the Jōkyū Disturbance). Hence he was called the Retired Emperor of Oki. Clashes such as these established the power of the Hōjō regents.

 

Lecture

Nichiren Daishonin arrived on Sado Island on the 28th day of the 10th month. By the 1st day of the 11th month, he was settled at Tsukahara Sammai-do. He resided there for five months until the 2nd day of the 4th month, 1272 (the ninth year of Bun’ei). On the following day, he moved to the residence of Ichinosawa Nyudo, where he lived until his pardon and departure from Sado in the 3rd month of 1274.

The area surrounding Tsukahara Sammai-do was a desolate field used for discarding the dead, far from being fit for human habitation. Sado exile was reserved for the most serious offenders, such as political prisoners or those guilty of murder; to be sent there was essentially a death sentence.

For the Daishonin, the environment was particularly hostile as Sado was a stronghold of Nembutsu followers. Slanderers had spread rumors that he was a great criminal of Kamakura and a villain who taught that the Nembutsu leads to the hell of incessant suffering—teachings they claimed were unforgivable by heaven and earth. Consequently, many approached him with murderous intent.

Abutsu-bo and his wife, who are today revered as mirrors of faith, were originally devout Nembutsu practitioners in Sado. However, when Abutsu-bo went to Tsukahara Sammai-do to debate and refute the Daishonin, he was so struck by the Daishonin’s dignity that he abandoned his former beliefs and converted. Thereafter, Abutsu-bo and his wife served the Daishonin with absolute devotion, disregarding the dangers and the wind and snow to provide for him during his deprived life in exile.

Furthermore, the Daishonin arrived just as the island was entering the depths of winter. In the freezing cold of Sado, the bitterness must have pierced the skin every day. In his Aspiration for the Buddha Land, he writes:

“When I was living in Kamakura in Sagami, I thought that the changing of the seasons must be the same in all the provinces, but in the two months that have passed since I arrived in this northern province of Sado, icy winds have blown without pause, and though there have been times when the frost and snow stopped falling, I have never seen the sunlight. I feel the eight cold hells in my life now.” (WND-1, p. 213 / GZ, 955)

The only protection against this cold was a hut with a ceiling of ill-fitting boards and ruinous walls. He slept on animal skins spread on the floor and wore only a straw cape. An ordinary person would have frozen to death within days. It is beyond our capacity to fully grasp that Nichiren Daishonin, the True Buddha, endured such a horrific environment.

The Dilapidated Shrine and Extreme Deprivation

Tsukahara Sammai-do is described as a shrine of Ikken Shimen (one ken on each of the four sides). In architectural terms, this refers to a structure with four main pillars. It would be a mistake to interpret this simply as a six-foot-square room (the standard length of one ken), as that would barely equal the area of two tatami mats. Since the Daishonin mentions there was no statue of the Buddha in the hall, there was likely an altar, making the space even smaller and barely functional for daily life. While “Ikken Shimen” is a technical term, the building was undoubtedly small and decrepit.

The Daishonin describes the ceiling boards as not meeting and the walls as ruinous, indicating the extreme poverty of his dwelling. Regarding food, even after moving to Ichinosawa, he writes in Letter to the Lay Priest Ichinosawa:

“The rations of food that I received from the headman were very scanty. And since I had a number of disciples with me, we often had no more than two or three mouthfuls of rice to a person. Sometimes we portioned out the food on square trays made of bark, and sometimes we simply received it in the palms of our hands and ate it then and there.” (WND-1, p.529, GZ, p.1329)

The quantity was so small that any ordinary person would have succumbed to hunger. The people of Sado likely expected the Daishonin to eventually starve to death. His words, “Whether on the road or in the province, it was thought that I would either be killed or die of starvation,” reflect the dire straits of his existence.

Without adequate food, clothing, or heat in the freezing cold, the Daishonin’s life-state was beyond imagination. Reflecting on his environment, it is clear that no ordinary person could have survived. Clothing, food, and shelter are the basic conditions for human life, yet all three were at their absolute worst—conditions far beyond human comprehension. While we may shiver at the sight of icicles or feel dread at a sudden thunderstorm, there is a vast gulf between our experience and the reality of Tsukahara.

The Daishonin was in constant peril. As he notes in The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra:

“One said: “Nichiren, the notorious enemy of Amida Buddha and an evil teacher to all people, has been exiled to our province. As we all know, exiles to this island seldom manage to survive. Even if they do, they never return home. So no one is going to be punished for killing an exile. Nichiren lives all alone at a place called Tsukahara. No matter how strong and powerful he is, if there’s no one around, what can he do? Let’s go together and shoot him with arrows!”” (WND-1, p.771, GZ, p.917)

He could not spend a single moment in peace, facing both the fury of nature and the threat of sudden attack by enemies of the Law. Yet, it was in the midst of this that he wrote many of his most important works.

Prolific Writings in Exile

Despite the extreme lack of paper—as he noted in The Sado Letter, “There is no paper in the province of Sado”—the Daishonin authored over 30 significant works during this period, including The Opening of the Eyes, The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind Established in the Fifth Five-Hundred-Year Period after the Thus Come One’s Passing, and The Entity of the Mystic Law. His ability to do so under such circumstances is an inconceivable feat that makes us deeply feel the immense compassion of the True Buddha to save all people in the Latter Day of the Law.

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The Philosophical Core: Consistency of Past and Present

“The age of the Buddha is none other than today, and our present age is none other than that of the Buddha. This is what the Lotus Sutra describes as the “true aspect of all phenomena” and as “consistency from beginning to end.””(WND-1, p.770, GZ, p.916)

Buddhism is a great philosophy that explains the ultimate reality of life and the fundamental principle of the universe. Whether we speak of the Buddha’s lifetime or the present era of the Latter Day, the underlying current and essence of the times is life itself.

The shifts in eras and the transformation of society progress through a complex intertwining of various causes and effects, yet at the ultimate foundation, a strict law of life prevails. This law of life is the great philosophy of Ichinen Sanzen (three thousand realms in a single moment of life) and the philosophy of the Lotus Sutra.

When we speak of the “Buddha’s lifetime,” it is not a matter of the past. The events that unfolded then are the very reality of the Latter Day of the Law. This present moment itself already mirrors the future. Here, the struggle between the Buddha and devilish functions is described in terms of the very source of life. The relationship between Shakyamuni and Devadatta, or Nichiren Daishonin and Hei no Saemon, is not a matter of the past. The fierce battle between Buddha and Mara is the true aspect of life—it is “consistent from beginning to end” (honmatsu kukyo to) and is reflected exactly in our struggles today.

Ultimately, only the life-state of the Buddha can defeat devilish functions. When we perceive this essence of life, we realize that the struggle of the Soka Gakkai is the greatest revolution—one rooted in the very source of life, building the foundation for the undercurrent of the times.

 

 

Chapter9(The Tsukahara Debate and the Calamity of Internal Strife)

Main Text

In the yard around the hut the snow piled deeper and deeper. No one came to see me; my only visitor was the piercing wind. Great Concentration and Insight and the Lotus Sutra lay open before my eyes, and Nam-myoho-renge-kyo flowed from my lips. My evenings passed in discourse to the moon and stars on the fallacies of the various schools and the profound meaning of the Lotus Sutra. Thus, one year gave way to the next.

One finds people of mean spirit wherever one goes. The rumor reached me that the observers of the precepts and the Nembutsu priests on the island of Sado, including Yuiamidabutsu, Shōyu-bō, Inshō-bō, Jidō-bō, and their followers—several hundred of them—had met to decide what to do about me. One said: “Nichiren, the notorious enemy of Amida Buddha and an evil teacher to all people, has been exiled to our province. As we all know, exiles to this island seldom manage to survive. Even if they do, they never return home. So no one is going to be punished for killing an exile. Nichiren lives all alone at a place called Tsukahara. No matter how strong and powerful he is, if there’s no one around, what can he do? Let’s go together and shoot him with arrows!” Another said, “He was supposed to be beheaded, but his execution has been postponed for a while because the wife of the lord of Sagami is about to have a child. The postponement is merely temporary, though. I hear he is eventually going to be executed.” A third said, “Let’s ask Lord Rokurō Saemon to behead him. If he refuses, we can plan something ourselves.” There were many proposals about what to do with me, but the third proposal [mentioned above] was decided on. Eventually several hundred people gathered at the constable’s office.²⁰

Rokurō Saemon addressed them, saying: “An official letter from the regent directs that the priest shall not be executed. This is no ordinary, contemptible criminal, and if anything happens to him, I, Shigetsura, will be guilty of grave dereliction. Instead of killing him, why don’t you confront him in religious debate?” Following this suggestion, the Nembutsu and other priests, accompanied by apprentice priests carrying the three Pure Land sutras, Great Concentration and Insight, the True Word sutras, and other literature under their arms or hanging from their necks, gathered at Tsukahara on the sixteenth day of the first month [in 1272]. They came not only from the province of Sado but also from the provinces of Echigo, Etchū, Dewa, Mutsu, and Shinano. Several hundred priests and others gathered in the spacious yard of the hut and in the adjacent field. Rokurō Saemon, his brothers, and his entire clan came, as well as lay priest farmers,²¹ all in great numbers. The Nembutsu priests uttered streams of abuse, the True Word priests turned pale, and the Tendai priests called loudly to vanquish the opponent. The lay believers cried out in hatred, “There he is—the notorious enemy of our Amida Buddha!” The uproar and jeering resounded like thunder and seemed to shake the earth. I let them clamor for a while and then said, “Silence, all of you! You are here for a religious debate. This is no time for abuse.” At this, Rokurō Saemon and others voiced their accord, and some of them grabbed the abusive Nembutsu followers by the neck and pushed them back.

The priests proceeded to cite the doctrines of Great Concentration and Insight and the True Word and the Nembutsu teachings. I responded to each, establishing the exact meaning of what had been said, then coming back with questions. However, I needed to ask only one or two at most before they were completely silenced. They were far inferior even to the True Word, Zen, Nembutsu, and Tendai priests in Kamakura, so you can imagine how the debate went. I overturned them as easily as a sharp sword cutting through a melon or a gale bending the grass. They not only were poorly versed in the Buddhist teachings but contradicted themselves. They confused sutras with treatises or commentaries with treatises. I discredited the Nembutsu by telling how Shan-tao fell out of the willow tree, and refuted the story about the Great Teacher Kōbō’s three-pronged diamond-pounder and of how he transformed himself into the Thus Come One Mahāvairochana.²² As I demonstrated each falsity and aberration, some of the priests swore, some were struck dumb, while others turned pale. There were Nembutsu adherents who admitted the error of their school; some threw away their robes and beads on the spot and pledged never to chant the Nembutsu again.

The members of the group all began to leave, as did Rokurō Saemon and his men. As they were walking across the yard, I called the lord back to make a prophecy. I first asked him when he was departing for Kamakura, and he answered that it would be around the seventh month, after his farmers had finished their work in his fields. Then I said: “For a warrior, ‘work in the fields’ means assisting his lord in times of peril and receiving fiefs in recognition of his service. Fighting is about to break out in Kamakura. You should hasten there to distinguish yourself in battle, and then you will be rewarded with fiefs. Since your warriors are renowned throughout the province of Sagami, if you remain here in the countryside tending to your farms and arrive too late for the battle, your name will be disgraced.” I do not know what he thought of this, but Homma, dumbfounded, did not utter a word. The Nembutsu priests and the observers of the precepts and lay believers looked bewildered, not comprehending what I had said.

 

Notes

20. The constable of Sado Province was Hōjō Nobutoki, the lord of Musashi Province, who lived in Kamakura. Homma Rokurō Saemon, the steward of Niiho in Sado, served in the office as the deputy constable of the province.

21. Lay priest farmers were individuals who, though they take religious vows, do not enter a temple but continue to farm and live in their own homes.

22. The Chinese Pure Land leader Shan-tao (613–681) was said to have so earnestly desired rebirth in the Pure Land that he attempted to hang himself on a willow tree, but instead fell out of the tree and mortally injured himself. According to legend, when Kōbō was about to leave China to return to Japan, he threw his three-pronged diamond-pounder in the air; it was later found on top of Mount Kōya in Japan. On another occasion, when he was debating with eminent Buddhist leaders at court, he is said to have transformed himself into Mahāvairochana Buddha, the Buddha revered by the True Word school.

 

Lecture

This chapter illustrates the famous “Tsukahara Debate” and the Daishonin’s prophecy concerning the “persecution of internal strife.”

Upon learning that “Nichiren, the arch-enemy of Amida Buddha and a person of evil influence to all living beings,” had been exiled to Sado, hundreds of Nembutsu priests and observers in the province became incensed, shouting that he must not be allowed to live. However, Honma Rokuro Saemon cautioned them, saying, “I have strict orders from the authorities. You must not harm him physically. Instead, confront him with your doctrines.” Thus, they gathered to engage in a religious debate. Not only from Sado, but from vast regions—Echigo, Etchu, Dewa, Oshu, and Shinano—priests of various sects descended upon him. The scale of this gathering proves how far Nichiren Daishonin’s name had already resonated throughout Japan.

Overwhelming and defeating hundreds of hostile and hateful opponents in debate is a feat of extreme difficulty. In this victory, we cannot help but marvel at the Daishonin’s immense life-force as the True Buddha.

Furthermore, as the priests were departing, the Daishonin called out to Honma Rokuro Saemon and clearly prophesied the “persecution of internal strife,” commonly known as the “February Rebellion.” Remarkably, this prophecy was fulfilled within less than a month. Despite being in exile and cut off from all information, the Daishonin observed the true aspect of heaven and earth. This wisdom of the “Buddha of the Self-Enjoyment Body” (jiseuyu hoshin) is nothing other than the “immovable wisdom of the void” (koku fudo-e) inherent in life. His overwhelming life-force during the debate was the manifestation of the “Manifested Body” (musa ojin), and his survival in the freezing cold of Sado without sufficient food, clothing, or shelter fully demonstrated the “Dharma Body” (musa hosshin).

Thus, the Daishonin’s conduct as the “Object of Devotion in terms of the Person,” embodying “three thousand realms in a single moment of life” (ichinen sanzen) through actual practice, was clearly manifested to the world at the beginning of his Sado exile.

“Scanning the Great Concentration and Insight and the Lotus Sutra with his eyes, while chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with his mouth”

This is a vital piece of documentary evidence showing that while Nichiren Daishonin read the Lotus Sutra from a scholarly standpoint, his actual practice was the chanting of Daimoku, rather than the recitation of the entire Lotus Sutra.

High Priest Nikkan refuted the erroneous views of the Minobu sect and others who, contrary to the Daishonin’s intent, emphasized the recitation of the entire sutra. In his work The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings Concerning the Essential Meaning of the Lotus Sutra (Mappo Sosho Sho), he quotes the Daishonin:

“Great Concentration and Insight and the Lotus Sutra lay open before my eyes, and Nam-myoho-renge-kyo flowed from my lips.“

Those who blindly cling to the recitation of the entire Lotus Sutra without understanding the essence of the Daishonin’s Buddhism do so because they are ignorant of the immense power of the Gohonzon.

What, then, is the Buddhist practice that accords with the Daishonin’s true intent? For us in the Latter Day of the Law, there are two aspects: the Primary Practice and the Auxiliary Practice. The Auxiliary Practice consists of reciting the Hoben (2nd) and Juryo (16th) chapters from the standpoint of “discarding the transient and using the essential.” The Primary Practice is the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the Law of Ichinen Sanzen hidden in the depths of the text. Even these two key chapters are used only to aid and manifest the profound benefit of the Primary Practice.

The fact that the Daishonin’s copy of the Lotus Sutra was worn and soiled by his hands was not due to constant recitation, but because he used it for study and preaching. Even in study, the true intent remained the five characters of the Daimoku; the Lotus Sutra served as “supporting evidence.”

“Nichiren shall state a wonder”

On the 16th day of the 1st month, 1272, in Sado, Nichiren Daishonin prophesied the “persecution of internal strife” to Honma Rokuro Saemon. On the 11th day of the 2nd month, actual battle broke out. This was the “February Rebellion,” a conspiracy involving Hojo Tokisuke, the elder half-brother of the Regent Hojo Tokimune.

Because Tokisuke was not the son of the main wife, the leadership of the clan had gone to his younger brother, Tokimune. Harboring resentment, Tokisuke’s plot for rebellion was discovered, leading to a clash. Although the conflict was eventually suppressed, the sight of the Regent and his brother fighting so uglily reflected the state of society—the people’s hearts were shaken, and chaos escalated.

Honma, far removed from Kamakura and separated by the sea, had no inkling of such military conflict. He had been leisurely planning for the farming season in the 7th month. When the Daishonin’s prophecy was fulfilled with such accuracy, striking at the very foundation of the Shogunate, Honma was utterly astounded and began to feel a sense of awe toward the Daishonin.

This “wonder” was not based on the spells or supernatural powers used by ordinary fortune-tellers or exorcists. As indicated in the Rissho Ankoku Ron (On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land) submitted to Hojo Tokiyori in 1260, this prophecy was based on a rigorous penetration of Buddhist philosophy. Buddhism is a “Great Philosophy of Life” and a “Science of Life” that fully explains the life of the vast universe. Thus, the True Buddha’s profound insight was proven as a flawless prophecy.

In the Letter to the Sage Nichimyo, written from Sado in the 5th month of 1272, the Daishonin describes the social climate:

“From Kamakura in Sagami Province to the northern province of Sado is a journey of more than a thousand ri over treacherous mountains and raging seas. There are sudden onslaughts of wind and rain, bandits lurk in the mountains, and pirates lie in wait on the sea. The people at every stage and every post town are as bestial as dogs or tigers, and you must have felt as though you were undergoing the sufferings of the three evil paths in this life. Moreover, we live in troubled times. Since last year rebels have filled our country, and finally, on the eleventh day of the second month of this year, a battle broke out. It is now almost the end of the fifth month, but society has not yet been restored to peace and security.” (WND-1, p. 325 / GZ, p.1217)

Through his travels and the reports brought by his visiting disciples, the Daishonin saw that society was deteriorating exactly as he had warned. Of the seven disasters, only one remained: “the disaster of invasion from foreign lands.”

In The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings (Ongi Kuden), the Daishonin states:

” The varied sufferings that all living beings undergo—all these are Nichiren’s own sufferings.” (OTT, p.138, GZ, p.758)

Because of this great compassion and sense of responsibility to lead the suffering masses to happiness and prosperity, the Daishonin carried out the “Great Shakubuku” (great refutation) without a moment’s rest, even in the midst of severe persecution. Herein lies the true essence of Nichiren Daishonin’s prophecy.

 

 

Chapter10(The Composition of “The Opening of the Eyes” as the True Buddha)

Main Text

After everyone had gone, I began to put into shape a work in two volumes called The Opening of the Eyes, which I had been working on since the eleventh month of the previous year. I wanted to record the wonder of Nichiren, in case I should be beheaded. The essential message in this work is that the destiny of Japan depends solely upon Nichiren. A house without pillars collapses, and a person without a soul is dead. Nichiren is the soul of the people of this country. Hei no Saemon has already toppled the pillar of Japan, and the country grows turbulent as unfounded rumors and speculation rise up like phantoms to cause dissension in the ruling clan. Further, Japan is about to be attacked by a foreign country, as I described in my On Establishing the Correct Teaching. Having written to this effect, I entrusted the manuscript to Nakatsukasa Saburō Saemon-no-jō’s messenger. The disciples around me thought that what I had written was too provocative, but they could not stop me.

Just then a ship arrived at the island on the eighteenth day of the second month. It carried the news that fighting had broken out in Kamakura and then in Kyoto, causing indescribable suffering. Rokurō Saemon, leading his men, left on fast ships that night for Kamakura. Before departing, he humbly begged for my assistance with palms joined.

He said: “I have been doubting the truth of the words you spoke on the sixteenth day of last month, but they have come true in less than thirty days. I see now that the Mongols will surely attack us, and it is equally certain that believers in Nembutsu are doomed to the hell of incessant suffering. I will never chant the Nembutsu again.”

To this I replied: “Whatever I may say, unless the lord of Sagami heeds my words, the people of Japan will not heed them either, and in that case our country will surely be ruined. Although I myself may be insignificant, I propagate the Lotus Sutra and therefore am the envoy of Shakyamuni Buddha. The Sun Goddess and Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, who are insignificant, are treated with great respect in this country, but they are only petty gods as compared with Brahmā, Shakra, the gods of the sun and moon, and the four heavenly kings. It is said, however, that to kill someone who serves these two gods is equal to the sin of killing seven and a half ordinary persons. The grand minister of state and lay priest and the Retired Emperor of Oki perished because they did so. Thus, persecuting me is incomparably worse than molesting the servants of those two gods. As I am the envoy of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, the Sun Goddess and Great Bodhisattva Hachiman should bow their heads before me, press their palms together, and prostrate themselves. The votary of the Lotus Sutra is attended by Brahmā and Shakra on either side, and the gods of the sun and moon light his path before and behind. Even if my counsel is heeded, if I am not given due respect as the votary of the Lotus Sutra, then the country will perish. How ominous that the authorities have turned hundreds of persons against me and have even banished me twice! This country is surely doomed, but since I have asked the gods to withhold their punishment on our land, it has survived until now. However, that punishment has finally descended because these unreasonable actions continued. And if my counsel is not heeded on this occasion, the gods will cause the Mongol empire to send its forces to destroy Japan. That would seem to be the kind of disaster that Hei no Saemon is intent upon calling forth. When it happens, I doubt that you and your followers can find any safety even on this island.” After I had finished speaking, Homma, looking deeply perplexed, set off on his way.

The lay believers, hearing of this, said to one another, “Perhaps this priest has some kind of transcendental powers. How terrifying! From now on, we had better cease giving any alms or support to the Nembutsu priests and the observers of the precepts.” The observers of the precepts, who were followers of Ryōkan, and the Nembutsu priests said, “[Since this priest predicted the outbreak of rebellion in our country,] perhaps he is one of the conspirators.” After this things grew somewhat quieter.

 

Lecture

The Opening of the Eyes: Revealing the True Buddha

“I have composed a two-volume work entitled The Opening of the Eyes. I have written it with the thought that, should I be beheaded, I would leave behind Nichiren’s wondrous legacy.”

In 1272 (the ninth year of Bun’ei), the year following his exile to Sado Island, Nichiren Daishonin authored The Opening of the Eyes (Kaimoku Sho). This was followed in 1273 by The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind (Kanjin no Honzon Sho) and On the Entity of the Mystic Law (Totai Gi Sho).

While The Opening of the Eyes reveals the “Object of Devotion in terms of the Person,” The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind reveals the “Object of Devotion in terms of the Law.” Together with On the Entity of the Mystic Law, these three works establish the “Threefold Sequence of Teaching, Practice, and Proof” during his life in Sado.

Having “cast off the transient and revealed the true” (hosshaku kempon) during the Tatsunokuchi Persecution to manifest his identity as the True Buddha, the Daishonin wrote in The Opening of the Eyes:

“On the twelfth day of the ninth month of last year, between the hours of the rat and the ox (11:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.), this person named Nichiren was beheaded. It is his soul that has come to this island of Sado and, in the second month of the following year, snowbound, is writing this to send to his close disciples. [The description of the evil age in the “Encouraging Devotion” chapter seems] terrible, but [one who cares nothing about oneself for the sake of the Law has] nothing to be frightened about. Others reading it will be terrified. This scriptural passage is the bright mirror that Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions left for the future of Japan, and in which the present state of the country is reflected. It may also be regarded as a keepsake from me.” (WND-1, p. 269, GZ, p.223)

In the conclusion of the same treatise, he declared: “I, Nichiren, am sovereign, teacher, and father and mother to all the people of Japan.” (WND-1, p.287, GZ, p.237)  Trough this, he made clear that he is the True Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, endowed with the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent.

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“The Existence of Japan Depends Entirely on Nichiren”

This phrase expresses the profound conviction of the True Buddha regarding the core purpose of The Opening of the Eyes. Arriving at Tsukahara on Sado in late 1271, the Daishonin began writing this massive work almost immediately, completing it within three months under conditions of extreme deprivation and severe cold.

As he described it as a “bright mirror” and a “legacy,” it was written as a spiritual will. Having already resolved to face death, he held the secret conviction of fulfilling the propagation of the Law. His state of mind was one of “propagating the Law even at the cost of one’s life” (fujishaku shinmyo).

“The existence of Japan depends entirely on Nichiren”—what a magnificent declaration of resolve. He sought neither the help of the heavens nor feared any hardship; he was dedicated solely to the propagation of the True Law. His vow to lead all people to the Lotus Flower of the Law was not a fragile or abstract notion. It was a resolve that would not yield even if tempted with the throne of Japan or threatened with the execution of his parents. For the Daishonin, for whom filial piety was paramount, the threat against his parents must have been the hardest to bear, yet he stood firm.

The Daishonin’s words can only be understood through the spirit of saving the people. In his time, Japan was a nation of “reverse relationship” (gyakuen), where the majority slandered the Law. Today, we have entered the era of “positive relationship” (jun’en), where the time is ripe for the widespread propagation of the Mystic Law.

However, we must never forget that beneath the surface of happiness and prosperity lies a life-and-death struggle for construction. Without this spirit of construction, there can be no great fortune across the present and future. As stated in the Letter to Toki: “The wise man, while dwelling in security, laments the approaching danger; the sycophant, while in the midst of danger, laments his lack of security.”

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“Even if Nichiren is Employed, if He is Revered Incorrectly, the Nation Will Perish”

This is a stern “admonition” based on the principle of cause and effect. The Daishonin warned that even if the authorities appeared to “use” or listen to him, if they revered him incorrectly—treating him like a mere fortune-teller or a ritualist for prayers—the nation would still face destruction.

Indeed, his prophecy of “invasion from abroad” came true with the Mongol invasions of 1274 and 1281. Although the nation avoided total annihilation due to the Daishonin’s presence in Japan, the Hojo regency was eventually ruined by the economic strain of the wars.

Centuries later, Japan’s excessive slander of the Law eventually led to its total defeat in World War II. Yet, because the Dai-Gohonzon established by the Daishonin remained, and because of the selfless actions of the first president Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and second president Josei Toda, the “poison was changed into medicine.” Their struggle decided the survival of the nation and gave birth to the unparalleled leadership of Toda.

History will eventually prove that the subsequent rise of Japan was rooted in this truth. The mission of the Soka Gakkai is to manifest the “proof of the nation” mentioned in The Selection of the Time. Our prayer is simple: “If the Soka Gakkai is truly the gathering for the propagation of the True Law, let the proof of the realization of Kosen-rufu be shown to our nation, to all of Asia, and to the entire world.” This is the essence of the Soka Gakkai, devoid of personal ambition or fame.

Commentary by Nikkan Shonin on the Mongol Invasions:

Question: According to the Taiheiki, Japan defeated the Mongols. Does this mean the Daishonin’s prophecy failed? Answer: This warning was a word of great compassion and loyal admonition. Just as a father warns his child that their errors will lead to ruin—doing so only to ensure the child’s safety—the Daishonin warned of the Mongol attack to ensure the peace of the nation.

Question: The Taiheiki says the victory was due to the “divine power” of the gods. Doesn’t this contradict the claim that the protective deities had abandoned the land? Answer: The deities abandon those who slander the Law, but they always protect the heads of the believers. The moon reflects in clear water, not in muddy water. There are two reasons the deities assisted: First, the Kamakura shogunate showed signs of repentance by pardoning the Daishonin and ceasing their interference. Second, it was because Nichiren Daishonin himself protected the nation.

 

 

 

Chapter11(The Persecution by Nobutoki and the Official Pardon)

Main Text

Then the Nembutsu priests gathered again in council. “If things go on this way,” they said, “we will die of starvation. By all means, let’s rid ourselves of this priest! Already more than half the people in the province have gone over to his side. What are we to do?”

Yuiamidabutsu, the leader of the Nembutsu priests, along with Dōkan, a disciple of Ryōkan, and Shōyu-bō, who were leaders of the observers of the precepts, journeyed in haste to Kamakura. There they reported to the lord of the province of Musashi: “If this priest remains on the island of Sado, there will soon be not a single Buddhist hall left standing or a single priest remaining. He takes the statues of Amida Buddha and throws them in the fire or casts them into the river. Day and night he climbs the high mountains, bellows to the sun and moon, and curses the regent. The sound of his voice can be heard throughout the entire province.”

When the former governor of Musashi heard this, he decided there was no need to report it to the regent. Instead he sent private orders that any followers of Nichiren in the province of Sado should be driven out of the province or imprisoned. He also sent official letters containing similar instructions. He did so three times. I will not attempt to describe what happened during this period—you can probably imagine. Some people were thrown into prison because they were said to have walked past my hut, others were exiled because they were reported to have given me donations, or their wives and children were taken into custody. The former governor of Musashi then reported what he had done to the regent. But quite contrary to his expectations, the regent issued a letter of pardon on the fourteenth day of the second month in the eleventh year of Bun’ei (1274), which reached Sado on the eighth day of the third month.

The Nembutsu priests held another council. “This man, the archenemy of the Buddha Amida and slanderer of the Reverend Shan-tao and the Honorable Hōnen, has incurred the wrath of the authorities and happened to be banished to this island. How can we bear to see him pardoned and allowed to return home alive!”

While they were engaged in various plots, for some reason there was an unexpected change in the weather. A favorable wind began to blow, and I was able to leave the island. The strait can be crossed in three days with a favorable wind, but not even in fifty or a hundred days when the weather is bad. I crossed over in no time at all.

Thereupon the Nembutsu priests, observers of the precepts, and True Word priests of the provincial capital of Echigo and Zenkō-ji temple in Shinano gathered from all directions to hold a meeting. “What a shame that the Sado priests should have allowed Nichiren to return alive! Whatever we do, we must not let this priest make his way past the living body of the Buddha Amida.”²³

But in spite of their machinations, a number of warriors from the provincial government office in Echigo were dispatched to escort me. Thus I was able to pass safely by Zenkō-ji, and the Nembutsu priests were powerless to stop me. I left the island of Sado on the thirteenth day of the third month, and arrived in Kamakura on the twenty-sixth day of the same month.

 

Notes

23. The living body of the Buddha Amida indicates the statue of Amida Buddha enshrined at Zenkō-ji temple in the province of Shinano (present-day Nagano Prefecture).

 

Lecture

By reading this treatise, one can clearly perceive the true state of the religious world during the time of Nichiren Daishonin and the extent of its corruption. This chapter, in particular, vividly exposes the repulsiveness and vulgarity of the worlds of Hungry Spirits and Asuras, where monks became obsessively sensitive only to their own livelihood and interests, resorting to any means necessary to protect their personal gain.

The lives of monks were not always this way. Originally, their conduct was strictly regulated and overseen under the Taiho Code. However, as the era began to reflect the “Five Impurities” of the Latter Day of the Law toward the end of the Heian period, order began to crumble. A surge of “overnight priests”—those who entered the priesthood merely to evade taxation—led to a disastrous decline in the quality of the clergy. Furthermore, temples received vast estates from the nobility and samurai class; they were inundated with constant requests for prayers and received enormous offerings and donations. They turned the priesthood into a mere business, entering the clergy solely to secure their own living. Thus, they were transformed into utterly unproductive entities.

The Nirvana Sutra prophesied the disgraceful conduct of future monks as follows:

“They will appear to observe the precepts, but will rarely recite the sutras. Greedy for food and drink, they will nourish only their own bodies. Although they wear the surplice (kasaya), they are like a hunter who peers narrowly as he stalks his prey, or like a cat watching a mouse. They will constantly declare, ‘I have attained the state of Arhat.’ Though they appear wise and virtuous on the outside, they harbor greed and jealousy within. They are like Brahmans who have taken a vow of silence. In truth, they are not shramanas (monks) but merely wear the guise of shramanas. Their distorted views will flourish, and they will slander the True Law.”

It is startling to see how perfectly this description matches the reality of that time, as if reflected in a mirror. One cannot help but conclude that such monks were not only a useless burden to society but, in fact, a harmful presence.

Even more abhorrent was the tie between the clergy and state power. The rulers of the day relied on the prayers of monks to suppress disasters, and for this reason, they held the clergy in high esteem. The authorities utilized religion as a tool to manipulate the masses, while the monks, seeking fame and profit, skillfully ingratiated themselves with those in power.

Figures such as Nen’a of the Nembutsu school, Doryu of the Zen school, and Ryokan of the Precepts school wielded political influence and basked in the height of their prosperity. In such an era, Nichiren Daishonin advocated the supreme and only True Law, exposed the root of all false religions, and declared the “Four Dictums.” It is only natural that these monks, who had been slumbering in their indolence, were struck with terror. One can easily understand how they, for the sake of self-preservation, readily and openly conspired with the state authorities to take action against him.

Even today, we witness an ugly collusion between erroneous religious doctrines and state power. At the root of their actions, there is neither philosophy nor ideal; there is only the desire for self-preservation. Therefore, if it serves to expand their influence or achieve personal glory and advancement, they do not hesitate to say or do things that are diametrically opposed to their own past statements.

Moreover, in their pursuit of expanding their power, they will fawningly accommodate any side and easily align themselves with any authority. Their way of life is unprincipled to the extreme. There is no possibility that such established religions, devoid of any guiding philosophy, could possess the power to lead people to happiness. Much less are they qualified to discuss the future of a nation. One can only feel pity for those who fail to see through this, led astray by sweet words and dragged along by mere custom.

 

 

Chapter12(The Third Remonstration with the Sovereign)

Main Text

On the eighth day of the fourth month, I met with Hei no Saemon. In contrast to his behavior on previous occasions, his manner was quite mild, and he treated me with courtesy. An accompanying lay priest asked me about the Nembutsu, a layman asked about the True Word school, and another person asked about Zen, while Hei no Saemon himself inquired whether it was possible to attain the way through any of the sutras preached before the Lotus Sutra. I replied to each of these questions by citing passages from the sutras.

Then Hei no Saemon, apparently acting on behalf of the regent, asked when the Mongol forces would invade Japan. I replied: “They will surely come within this year. I have already expressed my opinion on this matter, but it has not been heeded. If you try to treat someone’s illness without knowing its cause, you will only make the person sicker than before. In the same way, if the True Word priests are permitted to try to overcome the Mongols with their prayers and imprecations, they will only bring about the country’s military defeat. Under no circumstances whatever should the True Word priests, or the priests of any other schools for that matter, be allowed to offer up prayers. If each of you has a real understanding of Buddhism, you will understand this matter on hearing me explain it to you.

“Also, I notice that, although advice from others is heeded, when I offer advice, it is for some strange reason invariably ignored. Nevertheless, I would like to state certain facts here so that you may think them over later. The Retired Emperor of Oki was the sovereign of the nation, and the acting administrator [Hōjō Yoshitoki] was his subject, [and yet the latter attacked and defeated the retired emperor]. Why would the Sun Goddess permit a subject to attack a sovereign, who should be like a father to him? Why would Great Bodhisattva Hachiman allow a vassal to attack the lord with impunity? And yet, as we know, the sovereign and the courtiers supporting him were defeated by Hōjō Yoshitoki. That defeat was no mere accident. It came about because they put their faith in the misleading teachings of the Great Teacher Kōbō and the biased views of the great teachers Jikaku and Chishō, and because the priests of Mount Hiei, Tō-ji, and Onjō-ji, in their opposition to the Kamakura shogunate, offered prayers for its defeat. Thus their curses ‘rebounded upon the originator,’²⁴ and as a consequence the sovereign and his courtiers were forced to suffer defeat. The military leaders in Kamakura knew nothing of such rituals, so no prayers to subdue the enemy were offered; thus they were able to win. But if they now depend on such prayers, they will meet the same fate as the courtiers.

“The Ezo people of northern Japan have no understanding of the principles of birth and death. Andō Gorō²⁵ was a pious man who knew the law of cause and effect and erected many Buddhist halls and pagodas. How could it happen, then, that the Ezo beheaded him? In view of these events, I have no doubt that, if these priests are allowed to go on offering prayers for victory, Your Lordship will meet with some untoward event. And when that happens, you must not under any circumstances say that I failed to warn you.” Such was the stern manner in which I addressed him.

 

Notes

24. Lotus Sutra, chap. 25. In the sutra, the sentence reads in the future tense. It was changed here to fit the context of this letter.

25. Andō Gorō (n.d.) was a magistrate who exercised jurisdiction over the northern part of Japan in the time of the regent Hōjō Yoshitoki (1163–1224).

 

Lecture

The Meeting with Hei no Saemon on April 8

This passage describes the third “remonstration with the sovereign” (kokka kangyo). Nichiren Daishonin once remarked, “I have achieved three high achievements,” referring to the three times he admonished the government for the sake of the nation.

• The First Remonstration (1260): In the seventh month of the first year of Bun’o, the Daishonin submitted On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land (Rissho Ankoku Ron) to Hojo Tokiyori. He warned that unless the people abandoned erroneous teachings and embraced the True Law, the nation would face the twin disasters of internal rebellion and foreign invasion.

• The Second Remonstration (1271): In the ninth month of the eighth year of Bun’ei, just before the Tatsunokuchi Persecution, he declared to Hei no Saemon, “Nichiren is the pillar and beam of Japan. To lose me is to topple the pillar of the nation.” He again predicted the two disasters, but the authorities responded only with increased rage.

• The Third Remonstration (1274): This occurred on the eighth day of the fourth month, following his pardon and return from Sado. Regent Tokimune intended to offer formal protection to the Daishonin, but it was a mere formality, treating him as an equal to the Zen or Nembutsu sects. The Daishonin rejected this compromise. When Hei no Saemon asked when the Mongols would attack, he replied, “Certainly within this year.” He issued a final warning that continued slander of the Law would lead to the nation’s ruin.

At the time of the first warning in 1260, no one dreamed of a Mongol invasion. Yet Kublai Khan was already building a vast empire and preparing orders to invade Japan. The Daishonin’s foresight was the conduct of a True Buddha. His predictions were realized through the Bun’ei and Koan Mongol campaigns, bringing the fires of war to Japan.

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Curing the Root Cause: Knowing the Origin of the Illness

The Daishonin writes: “If you try to treat someone’s illness without knowing its cause, you will only make the person sicker than before.”

Anyone knows that to cure a disease, one must identify the cause before applying the correct remedy. While modern medicine has made remarkable progress, it often focuses on treating symptoms after they appear. When one pathogen is removed, a stronger one may emerge. This “patchwork” approach is seen not only in medicine but also in politics, economy, and education. Leaders often apply superficial, temporary fixes to societal crises, allowing deep-seated “illnesses” to accumulate until they explode.

A true leader responsible for the prosperity of a nation must investigate the fundamental cause of the disasters that threaten it. The Daishonin’s true intent in identifying the “origin of the illness” was to reveal the root of human suffering. In Rissho Ankoku Ron, he addressed the question, “What error gives rise to such disasters?” He demonstrated that the philosophy of the oneness of body and mind (shikishin funi) offers the correct view of life, society, and the universe. Only through this Great Law can the most fundamental solutions be found, enabling science, medicine, and all culture to truly serve humanity.

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The Principle of “The curses rebounded upon the originator“

The Daishonin pointed to the Jokyu War (1221) to show how reliance on erroneous teachings leads to national ruin. During that conflict, the Imperial Court—relying on the prayers of the Nembutsu and Shingon sects—attempted to overthrow the Shogunate. Despite the absolute authority traditionally held by the Emperor, his forces suffered a crushing defeat, and three retired emperors were exiled.

The Daishonin explained that the very prayers used to “curse” the Shogunate became the source of the Court’s own destruction. This is the principle of “the curses rebounded upon the originator” (genjaku o honnin).

This principle was vividly demonstrated in the life of Hei no Saemon. Fourteen years after the Atsuhara Persecution (where he executed three of the Daishonin’s disciples) and eleven years after the Daishonin’s passing, Hei no Saemon was caught in a power struggle. Accused of conspiracy, he and his son Munemitsu committed suicide, while his eldest son was exiled to Sado, and his entire clan was arrested.

We see the same evidence in modern times. During World War II, the military government established State Shinto and oppressed the Soka Gakkai, imprisoning first president Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and second president Josei Toda. The result was the total defeat of Japan and a tragic end for the leaders of that time. These are the undeniable actual proofs of genjaku o honnin.

 

 

Chapter13(Amidado Hoin’s Prayer for Rain: Invoking a Violent Storm)

Main Text

When I returned home, I heard that the Dharma Seal of the Amida Hall²⁶ had been asked to pray for rain from the tenth day of the fourth month. This Dharma Seal is the most learned priest of Tō-ji and the teacher of the prelate of Omuro.²⁷ He has mastered the True Word esoteric teachings of the great teachers Kōbō, Jikaku, and Chishō, and has memorized all the doctrines of the various schools such as Tendai and Flower Garland. He began praying for rain on the tenth day, and on the eleventh a heavy rain fell. There was no wind, but only a gentle rain that fell for a day and a night. The regent, the lord of Sagami, was said to have been so deeply impressed that he presented the Dharma Seal with thirty ryo in gold, a horse, and other gifts as a reward.

When the people of Kamakura heard this, eminent and humble alike clapped their hands, pursed their lips, and laughed with derision, saying: “That Nichiren preached a false kind of Buddhism and came near to getting his head cut off. He was finally pardoned, but instead of learning his lesson, he goes on slandering the Nembutsu and Zen schools, and even dares to speak ill of the esoteric teachings of True Word. How fortunate that we have had this rain to serve as proof of the power of True Word prayers!”

Faced with such criticisms, my disciples became quite downcast and complained that I had been too provocative in my attacks on the True Word school. But I said to them, “Just wait a while. If the evil teachings of the Great Teacher Kōbō could be correct and in fact produce effective prayers for the welfare of the nation, then the Retired Emperor of Oki would surely have been victorious in his struggle with the Kamakura shogunate, and Setaka,²⁸ the favorite boy attendant of the prelate of Omuro, would not have had his head cut off. Kōbō in his Treatise on the Ten Stages of the Mind states that the Lotus Sutra is inferior to the Flower Garland Sutra. In his Precious Key to the Secret Treasury he claims that the Shakyamuni Buddha of the ‘Life Span’ chapter of the Lotus Sutra is an ordinary person, and in his Comparison of Exoteric and Esoteric Buddhism he calls the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai a thief. Moreover, Shōgaku-bō²⁹ in his Rules of Rites for Revering the Buddha’s Relics states that the Buddha who preached the one vehicle of the Lotus Sutra is not even worthy to tend the sandals of a True Word master. The Dharma Seal of the Amida Hall is a follower of the men who taught these perverse doctrines. If such a man could show himself superior to me, then the dragon kings who send down the rain must be the enemies of the Lotus Sutra, and they will surely be chastised by the gods Brahmā and Shakra and the four heavenly kings. There must be more to this than meets the eye!”

“What do you mean by ‘more than meets the eye’?” my disciples asked with a scornful smile.

I replied: “Shan-wu-wei and Pu-k’ung both caused rain to fall in answer to their prayers, but it is recorded that they also brought about high winds. When Kōbō prayed for rain, it fell after twenty-one days had passed. But under such circumstances, it is the same as though he had not caused it to rain at all, since some rain is naturally bound to fall in the course of a twenty-one-day interval. The fact that it happened to rain while he was praying for it is in no way remarkable. What is really impressive is to cause it to fall through a single ceremony, the way T’ien-t’ai and Senkan³⁰ did. That is why I say there must be something peculiar about this rain.”

I had not even finished speaking when a great gale began to blow. Houses of every size, Buddhist halls and pagodas, old trees, and government buildings all were swept up into the air or toppled to the ground. A huge shining object flew through the sky, and the earth was strewn with beams and rafters. Men and women were blown to their death, and many cattle and horses were struck down. One might have excused such an evil wind if it had come in autumn, the typhoon season, but this was only the fourth month, the beginning of summer. Moreover, this wind did not blow throughout the country, but struck only the eight provinces of the Kanto region, and in fact only the two provinces of Musashi and Sagami. It blew strongest in Sagami; and within Sagami, it blew strongest in Kamakura; and within Kamakura, it blew strongest at the government headquarters, Wakamiya, and the temples Kenchō-ji and Gokuraku-ji. It was apparent that it was no ordinary wind, but rather the result of the Dharma Seal’s prayers alone. The people who had earlier pursed their lips and laughed at me suddenly turned sober, and my disciples too were astonished and expressed their wonder.

 

Notes

26. The Dharma Seal of the Amida Hall refers to the True Word priest Kaga Jōsei, who was the superintendent of the Amida Hall in Kamakura.

27. The prelate of Omuro refers to Prince Dōjō (n.d.), a son of Emperor Gotoba who had entered the priesthood. This generally means the title of a retired emperor or prince who entered the priesthood and lived at Ninna-ji, a True Word temple in Kyoto. Omuro is another name for Ninna-ji.

28. Setaka (d. 1221) was the sixth son of Sasaki Hirotsuna, a warrior who supported Emperor Gotoba. He was the cherished favorite of the prince-priest Dōjō at Ninna-ji, and was beheaded in 1221 at the time of the Jōkyū Disturbance.

29. Shōgaku-bō (1095–1143), also called Kakuban, was the precursor of the New Doctrine branch of the True Word school.

30. Senkan (918–983) was a priest of the Tendai school. In the summer of 962, when Japan was suffering from drought, the emperor ordered him to offer prayers for rain. It is said that, immediately after the imperial envoy reached him, he caused rain to fall.

 

Lecture

In response to the third national remonstration, the Shogunate defiantly answered by ordering Shingon practitioners to pray for rain. One could hardly imagine a more reckless act. At this point, the Daishonin abandoned the Shogunate and entered Mount Minobu. By rejecting the Correct Law and daring to utilize the erroneous teachings that lead to national ruin, the Shogunate determined its own destruction by its own hand. It was the height of folly.

Regarding the three national remonstrations, as previously stated, the “Selection of the Time” (Senji-sho) notes: “I have had three opportunities to gain distinction” (WND-1, p. 579). According to this passage, in the first and second instances, he refuted the Nembutsu and Zen sects, and in the third, he turned his refutation toward the Shingon sect.

Here, let us clarify how the Shingon sect, at its very source, established erroneous doctrines and became the cause of national ruin. In India, shortly after Shingon Esotericism was established, the land was invaded by Arab Muslims from the west, and the entirety of India fell under foreign rule for several hundred years. During this period, Buddhist and Hindu temples were destroyed, and monks were slaughtered. Consequently, practitioners of Indian esotericism fled to China in succession. This was the eighth century, and the proof of “Shingon leads to national ruin” had already clearly manifested in India. This was the reason why the “Three Tripitaka Masters” (Shan-wu-wei, Chin-kang-chih, and P’u-k’ung) traveled to China.

The Shingon sect as a distinct school was established in China, and its founder was Shan-wu-wei. Originally a prince of the kingdom of Udyāna in India, he was envied by his brothers and driven from the throne. He then entered the priesthood and studied esoteric teachings. The esotericism he learned was not a philosophical understanding of Buddhism but a school that sought attainment through physical ritual, heavily influenced by non-Buddhist traditions such as Yoga.

Shan-wu-wei traveled to China carrying the Mahavairocana Sutra. At that time, China maintained active diplomatic relations with India, and Buddhist monks from India were specially favored. However, in China, the erroneous “three schools of the south and seven of the north” had already been refuted by the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai, and the religious world had been unified under the T’ien-t’ai school. Under these circumstances, Shan-wu-wei manipulated the meditation master I-hsing, a T’ien-t’ai monk who harbored dissatisfaction with his own school. After learning the T’ien-t’ai doctrines from him, Shan-wu-wei taught utter nonsense, claiming: “The Mahavairocana Sutra I brought is identical to the Lotus Sutra in India. Shakyamuni Buddha, addressing Shariputra and Maitreya, discarded the mudras and mantras of the Mahavairocana Sutra to preach only the principle under the name of the Lotus Sutra. Conversely, Mahavairocana Buddha, addressing Vajrasattva, preached the Lotus Sutra under the name of the Mahavairocana Sutra.”

Deceived by these clever words, I-hsing wrote the Annotation on the Mahavairocana Sutra, thereby assisting Shan-wu-wei’s proselytization in China. Furthermore, Shan-wu-wei skillfully utilized his royal lineage to win the profound faith of Emperor Hsüan-tsung, rapidly spreading the Shingon errors. Following him, Chin-kang-chih and P’u-k’ung also arrived from India to spread Shingon esotericism. These three are known as the “Three Tripitaka Masters of Shingon” in China. Shan-wu-wei died showing signs of falling into hell. The Daishonin attributes this to two great slanders: claiming the Mahavairocana Sutra was superior to the Lotus Sutra, and asserting that Mahavairocana Buddha was superior to Shakyamuni Buddha. The Great Tang Empire, which had boasted unprecedented prosperity in Chinese history, declined and eventually perished as these evil Shingon laws became prevalent. In China as well, Shingon clearly manifested the actual proof of national ruin.

The founder of the Shingon sect in Japan was Kūkai (Kōbō). He traveled to Tang China in the same fleet as the Great Teacher Dengyō and studied Shingon esotericism under Hui-kuo at Ch’ing-lung-ssu temple. He returned to Japan with over two hundred volumes of sutras, treatises, and commentaries, including the Birushana and Diamond Crown sutras.

However, the methods Kūkai used to spread Shingon were nothing more than tricks to deceive the simple-minded. It is said that upon his departure from China, he stood on the beach at Ming-chou and threw a three-pronged ritual stick (sanko) toward Japan, vowing to establish his primary temple wherever it landed. This is how Mount Kōya was allegedly discovered. Furthermore, after returning to Japan, he gathered various sects at the imperial court to establish Shingon; it is claimed that when he formed the “wisdom fist” mudra and faced south, his mouth suddenly opened, and he transformed into the Dharma-body Buddha. It is also said that in the spring of the ninth year of Kōnin (818), when an epidemic ravaged the land, his prayers using the Heart Sutra stopped the plague, and the sun shone brilliantly even at night.

All of these are tales akin to child’s play. However, just as people returning from study abroad in the Meiji and Taishō eras were prized, he was able to use his status as a high priest returning from Tang China to easily delude the masses.

Kūkai’s erroneous doctrines are evident in his works such as The Ten Abodes of the Mind, The Precious Key to the Secret Treasury, and The Comparison of Exoteric and Esoteric Teachings. To list a few: First, in The Ten Abodes of the Mind, he claims that compared to the Flower Garland and Mahavairocana sutras, the Lotus Sutra is a “mere work of childish theory” (kiron). Second, in the Rules of the Rite for the Relics of the Buddha, he asserts that when compared to the Dharma-body Mahavairocana Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha is in the “region of darkness” and is not even worthy of being a sandal-bearer. Third, he claimed the T’ien-t’ai school was a thief that had stolen the “daigo” (supreme butter) flavor from the Shingon Sutra of the Six Paramitas.

These were the great lies of Kūkai’s particular style—erroneous teachings born of arrogance and prejudice, found nowhere in the sutras. Regarding the third point, the Sutra of the Six Paramitas was first brought to China during the Tang dynasty. The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai lived earlier, during the Chen and Sui dynasties. How could T’ien-t’ai, who had already passed away, have stolen from a sutra that had not yet arrived? The “daigo” flavor was established by T’ien-t’ai during his lifetime. Kūkai’s arguments were utterly nonsensical.

Was it not Kūkai, rather than T’ien-t’ai, who was the “thief of the Law”? The Shingon doctrine relies on the three sutras (Mahavairocana, Diamond Crown, and Susiddhikara), along with treatises such as The Treatise on the Mind Aspiring for Enlightenment and Kūkai’s own works. These claim that everything consists of the six great elements (earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness), that Buddhas and ordinary beings are identical, and that all Buddhas and bodhisattvas are divided into the Diamond Realm (representing wisdom) and the Womb Realm (representing principle), unified ultimately by Mahavairocana Buddha. However, it is clear that these doctrines were constructed by stealing the T’ien-t’ai teachings of “three thousand realms in a single moment of life” (ichinen sanzen) and the Lotus Sutra’s philosophy of “opening the near and revealing the distant.”

Moreover, Kūkai gained fame not so much through Shingon itself but through civil engineering projects, such as building embankments for irrigation ponds to cultivate new fields. Spreading erroneous religious doctrines on the back of such worldly fame is a tactic no different from the low-level religions of today.

The theory that “Shingon leads to national ruin” was proven by the Jōkyū Disturbance in Japan. It was also made manifest in China during Emperor Hsüan-tsung’s reign, evidenced by the tragedy of Yang Kuei-fei and internal administrative chaos resulting from his devotion to the erroneous Shingon law, which ultimately forced his abdication. Therefore, the “Letter to Misawa” states: “Earlier I mentioned the Zen, Nembutsu, and Precepts schools. But, of the many schools of Buddhism, the True Word is the very teaching that brought ruin upon China and will destroy Japan as well.” (WND-1, p. 897, GZ, p. 1490).

In this way, the Shingon sect was extremely evil at its very source; how much worse are its later branches? While the Daishonin stated in various writings that Shingon ruins the nation, Zen is the work of heavenly devils, and Nembutsu leads to the hell of incessant suffering, High Priest Nikkan clarified that this was an initial categorization. Ultimately, all three sects lead to the incessant hell, are the work of heavenly devils, and cause national ruin. An evil law that casts people into hell cannot be anything other than the work of devils and a cause of ruin.

Rain Prayers and the Correctness of the Law

In June 1271, Ryōkan of Gokuraku-ji performed a rite for rain and failed spectacularly. Regarding this, the “Petition of Hyōe no Saemon no Jō Yoritomo” states: “On the eighteenth day of the sixth month in 1271, when there was a great drought, Nichiren heard that Ryōkan was performing a rite to save the people. He said, ‘Though this is a small matter, I will use it to let everyone know the power of my teaching.’ He sent a message to Ryōkan saying: ‘If you bring rain within seven days, I will discard my teaching… and become your disciple. If no rain falls, it will be clear that your claim to be a keeper of the precepts is a great deception.’ In ancient times, there were many examples of deciding the superiority of teachings through rain prayers, such as Gomyō versus Dengyō, and Shubin versus Kūkai.”

Nichiren Daishonin heard that Ryōkan publically claimed he would save the masses from the suffering of the drought. While praying for rain is a minor matter, it has historically been used to determine the correctness of Buddhist laws. To convince everyone of the truth of his Buddhism, the Daishonin predicted Ryōkan’s failure. He declared that if it rained within seven days, he would admit error and become Ryōkan’s disciple. He sought to decide the truth of the Law through actual proof.

“Three Tripitaka Masters Pray for Rain” states: “In judging the relative merit of Buddhist doctrines, I, Nichiren, believe that the best standards are those of reason and documentary proof. And even more valuable than reason and documentary proof is the proof of actual fact.” (WND-1, p. 599, GZ, p.1468). Documentary, theoretical, and actual proof are the three criteria for judging a religion. This shows that the Daishonin sought to prove the correctness of his Buddhism through a rigorous, almost scientific method.

Whether in the “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land” or any other writing, the Daishonin always cites precise documentary evidence, clarifies Buddhist philosophy as theoretical proof, and invariably demonstrates actual evidence. He substantiated his public declarations without the slightest deviation.

There are many historical examples of rain prayers. In China, Shan-wu-wei brought rain during the reign of Hsüan-tsung, but a violent wind simultaneously arose and ravaged the land. In the case of Chin-kang-chih, rain fell on the seventh day, but a great gale blew so fiercely that an order for his deportation was even considered. P’u-k’ung also brought both rain and violent winds.

In Japan, during the great drought of 824, Kūkai was ordered by the Emperor to pray for rain. First, Shubin prayed and brought rain within seven days, but only in Kyoto and not in the countryside. Kūkai then prayed, but even after twenty-one days, no rain fell. Finally, the Emperor prayed himself, and it rained. Shockingly, Kūkai claimed credit for this rain—a truly appalling act.

In contrast, when the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai prayed using the Lotus Sutra, it was neither a deluge nor accompanied by wind; he brought a “sweet rain” that saved the land from a great drought during the Chen dynasty. Similarly, the Great Teacher Dengyō brought a moderate rain on the third day of a drought in 818, moistening the earth. The Emperor was so overjoyed that he permitted the establishment of the Mahayana Ordination Platform.

Thus, the contest between the Lotus Sutra and the erroneous Shingon law is unmistakable when judged by actual proof.

Furthermore, as shown in this era, in April 1274, Kaga Hoin (also known as Amida-dō Hoin), who was revered as the most learned man of Tō-ji temple, prayed and brought rain. However, a violent gale began to blow. Ironically, this wind struck most fiercely at the residences of the powerful who slandered the Correct Law—the Shogunate in Kamakura, the Wakamiya Shrine, and temples like Kenchō-ji and Gokuraku-ji where erroneous monks resided.

“Letter to Hōren” states: ” The answer is simply to examine the proof that is close at hand, and thus to take hold of faith that is far off.” (WND-1, p. 511, GZ, p.1045). According to this passage, the “proximate actual proof” was the violent gale brought by Kaga Hoin’s Shingon prayers, which ravaged Kamakura. From this, one should have gained “faith in what is distant”—namely, that praying through Shingon would lead to national ruin. In October of that same year, just as the Daishonin had predicted, the first Mongol invasion took place.

 

 

Chapter14(The Mongol Invasion Strikes After the Retreat to Mount Minobu)

Main Text

I had been determined all along that, if after three attempts to warn the rulers of the nation my advice still went unheeded, I would leave the country. With that thought in mind, I accordingly left Kamakura on the twelfth day of the fifth month and came here to Mount Minobu.

In the tenth month of the same year (1274), the Mongols launched their attack. Not only were the islands of Iki and Tsushima³¹ assaulted and captured, but the forces of the Dazaifu government office in Kyushu were defeated as well. When the military leaders, the lay priest Shōni and Ōtomo,³² received word of this, they fled, and the remaining warriors were struck down without difficulty. [Though the Mongol forces withdrew,] it was apparent just how weak Japan’s defenses would be if they should launch another attack in the future.

The Benevolent Kings Sutra says, “Once the sages have departed, then the seven disasters are certain to arise.” The Sovereign Kings Sutra states, “Because evil people are respected and favored and good people are subjected to punishment, marauders will appear from other regions, and the people of the country will meet with death and disorder.” If these pronouncements of the Buddha are true, then evil men certainly exist in our country, and the ruler favors and respects such men while treating good men with enmity.

The Great Collection Sutra states, “The sun and moon no longer shed their light. All the four directions will be afflicted by drought. . . . The wicked rulers and monks who perform these ten evil acts will curse and destroy my correct teaching.” In the Benevolent Kings Sutra we read, “Evil monks, hoping to gain fame and profit, in many cases appear before the ruler, the crown prince, or the other princes, and take it upon themselves to preach doctrines that lead to the violation of the Buddhist Law and the destruction of the nation. The ruler, failing to perceive the truth of the situation, listens to and puts faith in such doctrines. . . . In this way he brings about the destruction of Buddhism and of the nation.” And the Lotus Sutra speaks of the “evil monks of that muddied age.”³³ If these passages in the sutras are true, then there must unquestionably be evil monks in this country. The crooked trees are destined to be cut down on a treasure mountain, and dead bodies are rejected by the great sea. Though the great sea of the Buddhist Law and the treasure mountain of the one vehicle may admit the shards and rubble of the five cardinal sins or the dirty water of the four major offenses,³⁴ they have no room for the “dead bodies” of those who slander the Law, or for the “crooked trees” who are icchantikas, persons of incorrigible disbelief. Therefore, those who endeavor to practice the Buddhist Law and who care about what happens to them in future lives should know what a fearful thing it is to slander the Lotus Sutra.

 

Notes

31. Iki and Tsushima are islands off the coast of Kyushu in southern Japan. The Dazaifu office was the administrative center of Kyushu, Iki, and Tsushima, and served as a foreign affairs conduit as well as a rallying point in the case of foreign invasion. During the Mongol attack of 1274, it was a focal point of defense against the Mongols.

32. Shōni is Shōni Sukeyoshi (1198–1281), the constable of Chikuzen. Ōtomo is Ōtomo Yoriyasu (1222–1300), the constable of Bungo.

33. Lotus Sutra, chap. 13.

34. The four major offenses are precepts for monks, dealing with killing, theft, sexual misconduct, and lying.

 

Lecture

Nichiren Daishonin, after offering three warnings to the nation that went unheeded, finally departed from Kamakura to settle in a simple hermitage deep within Mount Minobu. While this appeared on the surface to be a departure from a nation that slandered the Correct Law, his true intent was to pray for the security of Japan and to await the time for future Kosen-rufu (worldwide propagation). Furthermore, for the sake of the eternal preservation of the Law, he sought with profound foresight to firmly and deeply establish the foundation for the training of his disciples.

The Ninno, Saishoo, and Daishuju Sutras all teach that the unhappiness of individuals and families stems from erroneous ideologies and philosophies. They further explain that the ruin of an entire nation originates from low-grade and evil systems of thought.

Our daily existence is the manifestation of our life activities, and that which governs the deepest part of life is ideology, philosophy, and religion. Therefore, if one’s life is based on evil ideologies or low-grade philosophies—or if one lives according to a mistaken view of life and society—life itself becomes tainted and habituated to states such as the Three Evil Paths (Hell, Hunger, and Animality) or the Four Evil Paths.

Such inner impurity forms narrow personalities in individuals and exposes distortions within the fabric of society. Consequently, the leaders born from such families, societies, and nations will, like madmen, misdirect the country’s future and lead the world into chaos.

The influence of ideology upon human life is terrifying precisely because it is invisible. By the time its impact becomes visible to the eye, the ideology or philosophy has already penetrated deeply into both individual lives and society.

Among all influences, that of religion is the most profound. Should a religion be erroneous, the spiritual vibration emanating from the object of devotion is transmitted strongly to our lives through the power of faith, weakening our life force without us even realizing it. Such life activities no longer harmonize with the rhythm of the universe, and the results manifested in one’s life become a continuous cycle of suffering and misfortune.

History demonstrates the horror of erroneous ideologies and religions. Western Christianity has a history of suppression and persecution against heretics and pagans that completely ignored the sanctity of life. Islam shares a similar history. Nazi racial theory gave rise to individuals who committed atrocities. Soviet Communism used military force to block the liberalization of Czechoslovakia, ruthlessly trampling upon humanity. There are countless other historical facts of tragedies that can only be described as madness or cruelty.

Beyond these, the poisonous effects of religion in India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, as well as the erroneous religions in Japan, fundamentally result from the destruction of human goodness and the clouding of life by evil sects, false doctrines, and distorted wisdom.

This is not merely a matter of history; we must recognize that modern society is rife with the poisonous influence of low-grade, evil religions. The lethargy of modern people, bouts of insanity, split personalities, and the manifestations of Animality, Hunger, and the world of Anger (Asura) are playing out before our eyes. The demonic power that religion exerts over human life is truly formidable.

The era of the “Five Impurities” in the Latter Day of the Law is underpinned by simultaneous confusion in the religious world. From such soil, evil and low-grade religions proliferate, giving rise to monks skilled in distorted wisdom. In response, arrogant and tyrannical leaders and politicians emerge. Thus, the nation follows a tragic path toward its downfall.

The representative of the “evil monks” described in the Daishuju and Ninno Sutras was Ryokan of Gokuraku-ji Temple. While adhering to an utterly low-grade religion, he enjoyed immense fame, status, and reverence. The “evil rulers” were the authorities of the Shogunate, most notably Hei no Saemon-no-jo Yoritsuna, who wielded absolute power, including control over military and police forces.

Ryokan and Hei no Saemon conspired for their own self-interest and committed the outrage of persecuting Nichiren Daishonin, the Buddha of the Latter Day. Once these three elements—evil Law, evil monk, and evil ruler—were all present, the crisis of national survival became an absolute certainty.

 

 

Chapter15(Proving Slander of the Lotus Sutra Through the Phase of Death)

Main Text

Many people wonder why anyone should pay heed to a person like myself who speaks ill of Kōbō, Jikaku, and others of their group. I do not know about other regions, but I know that the people everywhere in the province of Awa have good reason to believe what I say. They have seen the proof right before their eyes. Endon-bō of Inomori, Saigyō-bō and Dōgi-bō of Kiyosumi, and Jitchi-bō of Kataumi were all eminent priests; but one should inquire what kind of deaths they met with. However, I will say no more of them. Enchi-bō spent three years in the great hall of Seichō-ji copying the text of the Lotus Sutra in a laborious fashion, bowing three times as he copied each character. He had memorized all ten volumes, and every day and night recited the entire sutra twice for a period of fifty years. Everyone said that he would surely become a Buddha. But I alone said that he, along with Dōgi-bō, was even more certain to fall into the depths of the hell of incessant suffering than were the Nembutsu priests. You would do well to inquire carefully just how these men met death. If it had not been for me, people would have believed that these priests had attained Buddhahood.

You should realize from this that the manner of the death of Kōbō, Jikaku, and the others indicated that a truly miserable fate was in store for them. But their disciples contrived to keep the matter secret, so that even the members of the imperial court never learned of it. Hence these men have been looked up to with increasing reverence in later times. And if there had been no one like me to reveal the truth, they would have gone on being honored in that manner for endless ages to come. The non-Buddhist teacher Ulūka [turned to stone at his death], but eight hundred years later [his errors were brought to light and] the stone melted and turned to water. And in the case of another non-Buddhist teacher, Kapila, a thousand years passed before his faults were brought to light.³⁵

People are able to be born in human form because they have observed the five precepts in a previous existence. And if they continue to observe the five precepts in this life, then the twenty-five benevolent deities will protect them, and Same Birth and Same Name, the two heavenly messengers who have been with each of them since birth on their shoulders, will guard them. So long as they commit no fault, the demons will have no chance to do them harm. And yet in this country of Japan, there are countless people who cry out in misery. We know, too, that the people on the islands of Iki and Tsushima had to suffer at the hands of the Mongols, and what befell the defenders of the Dazaifu. What fault were the people of this country guilty of that they should meet with such a fate? One would surely like to know the answer. One or two of the persons there may have been guilty of evil, but is it possible that all of them could have been?

The blame lies entirely in the fact that this country is filled with the disciples of those who despised the Lotus Sutra—True Word priests who follow the doctrines handed down from Kōbō, Jikaku, and Chishō; Nembutsu priests who are latter-day disciples of Shan-tao and Hōnen; and the followers of Bodhidharma and the other patriarchs of the Zen school. That is why Brahmā, Shakra, the four heavenly kings, and the other deities, true to the vows they took when the Lotus Sutra was expounded to split into seven pieces the head [of anyone who troubles a preacher of the sutra],³⁶ have sent down this punishment.

 

Notes

35. Kapila was the founder of the Sāmkhya school, one of the six main schools of Brahmanism in India. According to The Annotations on “Great Concentration and Insight,” he transformed himself into a stone because he was afraid of death. But when Bodhisattva Dignāga wrote a verse of admiration on the stone, it cracked into pieces, thereby revealing the falsity of Kapila’s teachings a thousand years after his death.

36. Lotus Sutra, chap. 26. It states, “If there are those who fail to heed our spells and trouble and disrupt the preachers of the Law, their heads will split into seven pieces.”

 

Lecture

“ one should inquire what kind of deaths they met with“

People today, especially the youth, tend not to believe in life after death, and the terror of the Great Avici Hell is likely beyond their imagination. If that is the case, how should we interpret the passage from the “Similitude and Parable” (Hiyu) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, which states: “If a person fails to have faith but instead slanders this sutra, he will immediately destroy all the seeds for becoming a Buddha in this world… When his life comes to an end, he will enter the Avici Hell”?

Certainly, for most people today, the word “Hell” only brings to mind scenes from ancient scrolls—mountains of needles, seas of blood, and swirling Great Flames. This is because established Buddhist schools have treated the concept of Hell as a mere fable or fairy tale, leading the public to believe it as such. Consequently, people do not even perceive the contradiction in the common saying that a deceased person “has become a Buddha” even if they “went to Hell.” Much of the responsibility for this confusion lies with these established religions.

In reality, however, Hell is nothing other than a state of suffering within our own lives. A person writhing in the agony of a severe, karmic disease is, in themselves, a manifestation of Hell. The tragedy of a nation engulfed in war—where the land is scorched, lives are lost, and loved ones are torn away—is Hell itself.

Regarding the question of life after death, limiting the existence of life to this world alone gives rise to various doubts. If life were to emerge and vanish purely by chance, why would there be such vast differences in the abilities, personalities, and physical appearances of individuals? While theories of genetics and environment may offer partial explanations, they fail to clarify why a person is born with specific genes or into a particular environment in the first place.

Buddhism teaches: “If you want to understand the causes that existed in the past, look at the results as they are manifested in the present. And if you want to understand what results will be manifested in the future, look at the causes that exist in the present.” Our current state is a result; we must seek its cause in our past actions (karma). Likewise, our future effects reside in our present causes. Therefore, the “phase of death” (rinju-no-so) is the culmination of the causes made during this lifetime, and it is also the manifestation of the reward or retribution that the life will experience after death.

Thus, in his writing The Importance of the Moment of Death, Nichiren Daishonin emphasizes that the moment of death is the most important matter in Buddhism: ” The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom reads, “Those with a dark complexion at the moment of death will fall into hell.” The Protection Sutra reads, “There are fifteen types of signs that appear at one’s death showing that one will fall into hell. There are eight types of signs showing that one will be reborn in the realm of hungry spirits. There are five types of signs showing that one will be reborn in the realm of animals.” The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai’s Great Concentration and Insight reads, “The body turning dark represents the darkness of hell.”

Looking back, I have been studying the Buddha’s teachings since I was a boy. And I found myself thinking, “The life of a human being is fleeting. The exhaled breath never waits for the inhaled one. Even dew before the wind is hardly a sufficient metaphor. It is the way of the world that whether one is wise or foolish, old or young, one never knows what will happen to one from one moment to the next. Therefore I should first of all learn about death, and then about other things.””(WND-2, p.759, GZ, p.1404)

Furthermore, in The Teaching, Practice, and Proof, he points out that those who propagated distorted doctrines showed signs of falling into Hell at their death, stating: “Nothing is more certain than actual proof. Look at the sudden death of Shan-wu-wei and the unexpected disaster that beset I-hsing, or how Kōbō and Jikaku died. Could they have met such horrible fates if they were actually votaries of the correct teaching?”(WND-1,p.478, GZ, p.1279)

Nothing is more rigorous than the law of cause and effect. There can be no “bonus” and no deception. Whether one upheld and practiced the Correct Law, or adhered to and performed false teachings—the totality of one’s actions in this life is settled at the moment of death.

When we believe in and accept the Mystic Law (Myoho), and live our entire lives based on it, we can manifest a magnificent state at the moment of death. That state leads directly to absolute happiness throughout the eternal future. Therefore, we should strive vibrantly in our faith for attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime.

Leonardo da Vinci once said: “As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well used brings happy death.” These words eloquently express the meaning of life after death.

Seen in this light, modern people should solemnly observe the reality of the signs at the moment of death, and the “actual proof of general punishment” (sobatsu) brought about by the Mongol invasions—all of which arose from false teachings and false teachers, eventually leading to “the head being broken into seven pieces.” We must treat the gravity of slandering the Lotus Sutra with the utmost seriousness.