The Meaning of the Sacred Teachings of the Buddha’s Lifetime

Main Text

It would appear, however, that in the correspondence of some of the later followers of these men this opinion has been stated, namely, that the Lotus Sutra is to be regarded as the difficult-to-practice way, and though the sutra itself is admirable, it is not suited to the capacities of people of this latter age. If in saying this they were slandering the Lotus Sutra, this would be an offense, but they claim that they are merely saying that after one gains rebirth in the Pure Land there will be time enough to come to a true understanding of the Lotus Sutra. I feel strongly in my heart that this is a most mistaken opinion.

The Meaning of the Sacred Teachings of the Buddha’s Lifetime

 

Background

THE four teachings are, first, the Tripitaka teaching; second, the connecting teaching; third, the specific teaching; and fourth, the perfect teaching.

First is the Tripitaka teaching, which is set forth in the Āgama sutras. These sutras do not clarify anything other than the six paths of existence. They merely make clear the principle of cause and retribution that leads to rebirth in these six paths (the realms of hell, hungry spirits, animals, asuras, human beings, and heavenly beings).

When dealing with living beings, they explain that there are ten worlds, namely, hell, hungry spirits, animals, asuras, human beings, heavenly beings, voice-hearers, cause-awakened ones, bodhisattvas, and Buddhas. But when dealing with the environment, they speak only of six paths, and hence it may be said that they deal only with six worlds.

Because these sutras do not clarify anything outside the six paths, they do not mention that outside of the threefold world there are also places called pure lands in which one may be reborn. Also, although they state that Buddhas may appear one after another in the three existences of past, present, and future, they do not mention that Buddhas are simultaneously present in the various regions in the ten directions.

The term Tripitaka, or “three collections,” refers to the sutra collection (also called the meditation collection), the vinaya collection (also called the precepts collection), and the treatise collection (also called the wisdom collection). But in fact the sutra collection not only deals with meditation but also with precepts and wisdom; the vinaya collection deals not only with precepts but also with meditation and wisdom; and the treatise collection deals not only with wisdom but also with meditation and precepts.

The term “precepts collection” refers to the five precepts, the eight precepts, the ten good precepts, the two hundred and fifty precepts, and the five hundred precepts. The term “meditation collection” refers to flavor meditation (the name of a kind of meditation), pure meditation, and free-of-outflows meditation.1

The term “wisdom collection” refers to a wise understanding regarding the principles of suffering, non-substantiality, impermanence, and non-self.

With regard to the relative superiority of precepts, meditation, and wisdom, the sutras state that those who merely observe the types of precepts mentioned above will remain ordinary people who are reborn in the human or heavenly realms of the world of desire, the lowest of the worlds that make up the threefold world.

Those who merely practice the types of meditation mentioned above, even though they do not observe precepts, will through the power of meditation acquire the benefits deriving from the observance of precepts. Among practitioners of the various types of meditation, those who practice flavor meditation and pure meditation will be reborn in the world of form and the world of formlessness, the other two worlds that make up the threefold world. Those who practice free-of-outflows meditation will reach the state of voice-hearer or cause-awakened one, will completely cut off the illusions of thought and desire, and enter the realm known as “reducing the body to ashes and annihilating consciousness.”

With regard to wisdom, because those who cultivate it understand the nature of the body and mind characterized by suffering, non-substantiality, impermanence, and non-self, they will naturally be endowed with the benefits deriving from the observance of precepts and practice of the types of meditation mentioned above and will achieve the state of voice-hearer or cause-awakened one.

From this it is apparent that meditation is regarded as superior to the observance of precepts, and wisdom is regarded as superior to meditation. Nevertheless, in principle the Tripitaka teaching centers on precepts, and that is why in the Legacy Teachings Sutra, which represents a summation of the Āgama sutras, it is precepts that are expounded.

Though this teaching states that there are six paths, or worlds, in terms of the environment and ten worlds in terms of living beings, because it concentrates on the environment, these sutras are referred to as ones that make clear the six paths. Again, though in its discussion of living beings it makes clear that there are ten worlds, it treats the enlightenment of the cause-awakened one, the bodhisattva, and the Buddha as being no higher than that of the voice-hearer. Therefore it is termed simply the teaching regarding the voice-hearer. That is, it is the teaching that treats the enlightenment achieved by the Buddha, the bodhisattva, and the cause-awakened one as the “reducing of the body to ashes and annihilating of consciousness.”

With regard to the practice of the voice-hearers, there are seven stages of worthiness and seven stages of sagehood. The six paths represent the stage of ordinary persons.

——————————————-～omitted～———————————————–

 

There are three types of non-Buddhist thinkers. First are those who propound ideas that are outside the range of Buddhist teaching (the ninety-five varieties of non-Buddhist teaching). Second are the non-Buddhist thinkers known for appropriating Buddhism (upholders of a doctrine that resembles Hinayana teachings). Third are the non-Buddhist thinkers known for plagiarizing Buddhism (non-Buddhist teachers who plagiarize Mahayana teachings but do not understand the wonderful Law).

Now in the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, people are certainly self-empowered, and yet they are not self-empowered. This is because one’s own self, or life, at the same time possesses the nature of all living beings in the Ten Worlds. Therefore this self has from the beginning been in possession of one’s own realm of Buddhahood and of the realms of Buddhahood possessed by all other living beings. Therefore when one attains Buddhahood one does not take on some new or “other” Buddha identity.

Again, in the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, people are certainly other-empowered, and yet they are not other-empowered. The Buddhas, who are considered separate from us, are actually contained within our own selves, or the lives of us ordinary people. Those Buddhas manifest the realms of Buddhahood of all living beings in the same manner as we do.

I will omit here the explanation of the other two categories, the self- and other-empowered and the causelessly empowered.

In the sutras preached prior to the Lotus Sutra, this principle of the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds is not stated. Therefore, if one wishes to attain Buddhahood, one must necessarily develop a loathing for the other nine realms of existence, since these other nine realms are not seen as a part of the realm of Buddhahood. And hence these sutras declare that one must invariably wipe out evil and put an end to earthly desires in order to become a Buddha, since they do not recognize that the ordinary person is part of the makeup of the Buddha. In other words, human and heavenly beings and evil persons must wipe out their own identity before they can become Buddhas.

This is what the Great Teacher Miao-lo has termed the Buddhahood that represents the loathing for, rejection, and cutting off of the other nine realms. Therefore persons who follow the teachings set forth in the sutras preached prior to the Lotus hold the view that when the Buddha takes on a form in the nine lower realms of existence, this simply represents a manifestation of his incomparably wonderful supernatural powers of transformation, for they do not realize that these nine realms of existence have from the beginning been present in and displayed in the Buddha’s life. Thus if we inquire into the truth of the matter, we will find that the sutras prior to the Lotus show us only a provisional type of Buddha and do not reveal any way in which ordinary people can attain Buddhahood. They declare that one should strive to attain Buddhahood by cutting off earthly desires and rejecting the nine lower realms. But in fact there is no Buddha who exists separate from the nine realms, and therefore there cannot in fact be any ordinary person who attains salvation in this manner. Nor is there any realm of the bodhisattva that exists separate from the realm of human beings.

The fact is simply this: in the sutras preached prior to the Lotus, the Buddha of the Lotus Sutra manifested himself in the Ten Worlds at times as a recipient of the teachings, at times as a propounder of them, as an evil person, a good person, or a non-Buddhist thinker. And the true evil persons, good persons, non-Buddhist thinkers, and other ordinary people practiced these provisional teachings taught to them as an expedient means, supposing them to be the true teaching. It was only when the Lotus Sutra was preached that they came to realize that these were merely an expedient means. Then they became aware that they had not in fact cut off the illusions of thought and desire or illusions about the true nature of existence, and that they had not achieved real salvation.

I will discuss the principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of life in more detail on another occasion.

This sutra, the Lotus, is myō, or wonderful, in two ways. As a commentary states, “This sutra sets forth two kinds of myō.”51 One is the comparative myō, the other the absolute myō.

The term “comparative myō” means that the Lotus Sutra is being considered in comparison to the sacred teachings of the first four periods of the Buddha’s preaching life. The earlier teachings, those preached prior to the Lotus Sutra, are despised. These sutras preached prior to the Lotus Sutra are referred to as still limited, while the Lotus Sutra is referred to as all-encompassing.

The term “absolute myō” means that the sacred teachings of the Buddha’s lifetime are opened up and merged with the Lotus Sutra.

Again, the Lotus Sutra may be viewed from two aspects: one, that of what is opened up, and two, that of what is capable of opening up.

The passage in the Lotus Sutra on how the Buddhas “open, show, cause [living beings] to awaken to, and induce them to enter”52 the Buddha wisdom; the passage on how “all have attained the Buddha way”;53 or the word myō, or wonderful, that is implicit in each one of the 69,384 characters, the eight volumes and twenty-eight chapters of the entire Lotus Sutra—these are representative of the myō of the aspect that is capable of opening up. But persons who are in the habit of discussing the Lotus Sutra without fully understanding it merely gain the same type of benefit and advantage as from the sutras preached prior to the Lotus.

The teachings of the Āgama sutras are opened up and merged with the passage in the Lotus Sutra that states, “I use these nine devices, adapting them to the living beings when I preach, my basic aim being to lead them into the great vehicle.”54

The teachings of the Flower Garland Sutra are opened up and merged with the passage that reads, “In all the worlds the heavenly and human beings and asuras all believe that the present Shakyamuni Buddha . . .”55 The teachings of the Wisdom sutras are opened up and merged with the passage on the eighteen aspects of non-substantiality in the “Peaceful Practices” chapter.56

The teachings on rebirth in the World of Peace and Delight set forth in the Meditation Sutra and other sutras are opened up and merged with the passage in the Lotus Sutra that reads, “When her life here on earth comes to an end, she will immediately go to the World of Peace and Delight.”57

The teachings on how to practice with a distracted mind and still gain good roots58 are opened up and merged with the passage that reads: “[If persons with confused and distracted minds] . . . once exclaim, ‘Hail to the Buddha!’ then all have attained the Buddha way.”59 The teachings on all living beings are opened up and merged with the passage that states, “But now this threefold world is all my domain, and the living beings in it are all my children.”60 The teachings of the non-Buddhist texts are opened up and merged with the passage that reads, “If they should expound some text of the secular world or speak on matters of government or occupations that sustain life, they will in all cases conform to the correct Law.”61

The passages regarding the opening up and merging of the teachings on rebirth in the Tushita heaven, and on attainment of enlightenment by beings in the human and heavenly realms, are so numerous that I will not try to cite them here.

Persons who do not fully understand this sutra, the Lotus, look at passages in the sutra that say that, if one reads the sutra, one will be reborn in the human or heavenly realms;62 they look at passages that speak of going to the Tushita heaven or the heaven of the thirty-three gods;63 or they look at passages that speak of rebirth in [Amida’s] land of Peace and Sustenance;64 and they suppose that though one may practice the teachings of the Lotus Sutra in this impure land of ours, and though its principles may be very admirable, one cannot hope thereby to reach the stage where there is no more regression in one’s progress to enlightenment. So they assert that one must continue to be reborn again and again for long ages in this impure land, hoping for the dawn of [Maitreya’s] appearance some 5,670 million years in the future; or they claim that, when one is reborn in the realm of animals or that of human beings, the process of rebirth blots out all memory of previous existences and hence one can never put an end to one’s sufferings. Still others object that the Lotus Sutra represents a type of self-empowered religious practice and hence is very difficult to carry out.

Errors of this kind in all likelihood come from a failure to distinguish between the two roads to salvation, that put forward in the sutras prior to the Lotus and that of the Lotus. Persons who propound such views not only lead themselves astray into the darkness of delusion, but they blind the Buddha eye of all living beings.

The idea that one should seek rebirth in the Tushita heaven is found frequently in the Hinayana sutras, and in a few cases in the Mahayana sutras as well. The idea that one should strive for rebirth in the Western Paradise is found in many Mahayana sutras. All these passages are examples of that which should be opened up and merged [with the Lotus Sutra].

But according to the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, the Tushita heaven is to be counted among the lands of the Buddhas of the ten directions, the Western Paradise too is none other than one of the lands of the Buddhas of the ten directions, and the realms of human and heavenly beings are none other than such lands. When the Lotus Sutra addresses evil persons, it speaks of the evil that is a part of the Ten Worlds, and assures them that, since evil persons too are endowed with the five types of vision, even the most evil of all persons are capable of being saved. When it addresses women, it assures them that women are endowed with the Ten Worlds and that women in any of the Ten Worlds can attain Buddhahood. So long as one, through the Lotus Sutra, sets one’s mind on the attainment of perfect and true enlightenment, one can never be dragged back into the nine realms of unenlightened existence by the power of karma.

It was perhaps because he understood this principle that the Honorable Hōnen, though he advocated the exclusive practice of the Nembutsu, in his Nembutsu Chosen above All in places omits the Lotus Sutra and the Mahāvairochana Sutra from the categories of sundry practices and the difficult-to-practice way that he condemns. I refer the reader to that work for details. And Eshin in his Essentials of Rebirth in the Pure Land also omits the Lotus Sutra from that category.

Even if the Honorable Hōnen and Eshin should claim in their writings that the Lotus Sutra belongs to the categories of sundry practices and the difficult-to-practice way and is therefore not suited to the capacities of people of this latter age, I, Nichiren, would never accept such an opinion, because it goes against the principles that underlie the sacred teachings of the Buddha’s entire lifetime and contradicts the truthful words spoken by the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three existences of past, present, and future. Such a doctrine could not exist.

It would appear, however, that in the correspondence of some of the later followers of these men this opinion has been stated, namely, that the Lotus Sutra is to be regarded as the difficult-to-practice way, and though the sutra itself is admirable, it is not suited to the capacities of people of this latter age. If in saying this they were slandering the Lotus Sutra, this would be an offense, but they claim that they are merely saying that after one gains rebirth in the Pure Land there will be time enough to come to a true understanding of the Lotus Sutra.

I feel strongly in my heart that this is a most mistaken opinion. And I would ask the people to listen to persons of wisdom and consider very carefully whether in saying this I myself am mistaken or not.

Nichiren

The fourteenth day of the second month in the second year of Shōka [1258]

Back to Top

Background

The Meaning of the Sacred Teachings of the Buddha’s Lifetime was written in the second month of 1258 in Kamakura. This was two years before Nichiren Daishonin submitted his treatise On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land to Hōjō Tokiyori, a former regent who was the de facto head of the Kamakura government, on the sixteenth day of the seventh month in 1260.

The Sacred Teachings of the Buddha’s Lifetime addresses the essential meaning of the lifetime teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha and makes clear that the Lotus Sutra is the fundamental reason for Shakyamuni’s advent in this world. In categorizing this entire body of teachings, T’ien-t’ai had devised a system of classification known as the five periods and eight teachings, and the Daishonin organizes his discussion around this system. At several points he presents his material in diagram form.

This work can be divided into two parts, the first summarizing the four teachings of doctrine, that is, the Buddha’s teachings classified into four categories in terms of their content. (Together with the four teachings of method, a classification in terms of the method of preaching, they compose the eight teachings.) In the latter part, the Daishonin examines the teachings of the five periods, summarizes the contents of those teachings expounded before the Lotus Sutra, and compares them with the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, determining which is superior and which more profound.

The first part gives a summary of each of the four teachings of doctrine: the Tripitaka teaching, the connecting teaching, the specific teaching, and the perfect teaching.

First, regarding the Tripitaka teaching (which T’ien-t’ai identifies as the Hinayana teachings), the Daishonin points out that teachings of this category clarify the cause and effect relationships operative in the six paths, or six lower realms of existence, and set forth the three types of learning—precepts, meditation, and wisdom—but they focus primarily on the observance of precepts. They are teachings suited to the capacities of voice-hearers and cause-awakened ones. These teachings set forth the stages of practice and awakening known as the seven stages of worthiness and seven stages of sagehood. The ultimate goal of the practice of these teachings is to cut off the illusions of thought and desire and never to be reborn among the six paths of the threefold world. It is the state attained by “reducing the body to ashes and annihilating consciousness.” For these reasons, Mahayana sutras that precede the Lotus Sutra hold that persons of the two vehicles are forever incapable of attaining Buddhahood. Next, the Daishonin addresses the extremely long time required in the practice of these teachings and the various illusions of thought and desire they aim to terminate. Finally he mentions the sutras and commentaries that comprise these teachings, the periods in which they were taught, and the schools that espouse them.

Second, concerning the connecting teaching, the Daishonin states that this corresponds to what he terms introductory Mahayana teachings, listing the sutras and commentaries upon which these teachings are based and the length of time required for their practice. He declares that neither the Tripitaka nor the connecting teaching reveals that ordinary people are endowed with the Buddha nature, or have the potential for enlightenment. He makes clear that these are teachings directed toward voice-hearers, cause-awakened ones, and bodhisattvas.

Third is the specific teaching, which, the Daishonin points out, is intended exclusively for bodhisattvas. This teaching sets forth fifty-two stages of practice and awakening. Since bodhisattva practice is directed at the salvation of others as well as oneself, and because persons of the two vehicles are thought to be concerned only with their own salvation, the specific teaching also looks down upon them, denying them the possibility of enlightenment.

Fourth is the perfect teaching, which the Daishonin divides into two categories: the perfect teaching associated with sutras taught before the Lotus Sutra, such as the Flower Garland, Wisdom, and Vimalakīrti sutras, and the perfect teaching of the Lotus Sutra. The pre-Lotus perfect teaching, like the specific teaching, recognizes fifty-two stages of bodhisattva practice. Unlike the specific teaching, however, these stages are viewed as mutually inclusive, without distinction in terms of profundity or superiority. In other words, ordinary people can attain Buddhahood without advancing through one after another of these stages and thereby eradicating earthly desires. Regarding the perfect teaching of the Lotus Sutra, the Daishonin says that he will leave this topic for later discussion.

The latter half of this work explains the five periods into which Shakyamuni’s teachings are categorized, addressing first the four periods before that of the Lotus Sutra. These are the Flower Garland, Āgama, Correct and Equal, and Wisdom periods. Summarizing the content of each, he states that the sutras and teachings of these periods are intended as expedient means with which to lead people toward an understanding of the Lotus Sutra. He affirms that these are teachings in which, as the Buddha states in the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra, “I have not yet revealed the truth.”

Next the Daishonin mentions the Buddhist schools that rely on the teachings of these four pre-Lotus Sutra periods, the Dharma Analysis Treasury, Establishment of Truth, and Precepts schools of the Hinayana, and the Flower Garland, Dharma Characteristics, and Three Treatises schools of the Mahayana. Examining the doctrines of each school, he concludes that those of the three Mahayana schools in general surpass the doctrines of the various Hinayana schools, but that none of the sutras upon which any of these schools base their teachings match the level of the Lotus Sutra.

Concerning the Lotus Sutra, the teaching of the fifth period, he states that, in order to understand the meaning of the sutra, it is necessary to first clarify where it stands among all of the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha’s lifetime. Interpreting passages that elucidate this point, he states that all of the teachings expounded by Shakyamuni prior to the Lotus Sutra were taught for the purpose of revealing the significance and meaning of the Lotus Sutra.

He then cites passages from the Lotus Sutra to show that the purpose of the sutra is to enable all people of the Ten Worlds to attain Buddhahood. He emphasizes that the benefit of “the fiftieth person who hears the sutra” and the benefit of “responding with joy” upon hearing it far surpass the benefit derived from long kalpas of practice stipulated in the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings. This, as Miao-lo says, demonstrates the power of the Lotus Sutra “by revealing that though their practice is shallow, the benefit that results is profound indeed.” Therefore, the Daishonin explains, the Lotus Sutra is most suited to the capacities of people of this latter age. In addition, quoting from works such as Seng-chao’s Afterword to the Lotus Sutra Translation and Eshin’s Essentials of the One Vehicle Teaching, he explains that Japan is a land in which the Lotus Sutra is destined to spread in the age after Shakyamuni Buddha’s passing.

Next, to clarify the teachings embodied in the Lotus Sutra, the Daishonin first points out the deep significance of the five characters of its title, Myoho-renge-kyo. Second, employing the principles of the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds and three thousand realms in a single moment of life, he reveals that all people can attain Buddhahood. Third, he introduces two aspects of the character myō, the comparative myō and the absolute myō, and explains the function of myō in opening up and merging all teachings with the ultimate truth of the Lotus Sutra.

Finally, he refutes as erroneous the contention of followers of the Pure Land school that “though the [Lotus] sutra itself is admirable, it is not suited to the capacities of people of this latter age.”

Home
Copied title and URL