The Reconstruction of HachimanShrine Chapter2
Concerning the reconstruction of Hachiman Shrine, I was worried that someone would surely slander you to the ruler. For two generations your family, both your father and you yourselves, has been in the service of the ruler, and thus ultimately you are in a position of obligation. Even if something goes against your wishes, does that mean you should take a less than respectful attitude toward him? Were you to have acted as a wise man would, had you been ordered by your lord to engage in the reconstruction work at Hachiman Shrine, no matter the circumstances, I think you would have had to excuse yourselves. If slanderous officials fortunately say this and that and attempt to exclude you, you should be delighted. For you to wish instead to engage in the reconstruction work is a mistake.
But let us set this aside. One who has upheld the five precepts in one’s previous lifetime is born as a human being in this one. Thus, no matter how worthless one may appear to be, if the authorities, such as the ruler of the land, accuse one of an offense without cause, the protective deities will be angry. How much truer will this be if one’s life is threatened. The deities will simply abandon such persons.
Speaking more specifically, there are 4,589,659 deities protecting the 4,589,659 men and women in Japan. Nonetheless, there seems to be no way to escape the great disaster of invasion from another country. The reason is that all 4,589,659 persons have not only been abandoned by the deities, but also forsaken by the gods of the six heavens of the world of desire and the four meditation heavens, Brahmā, Shakra, the gods of the sun and moon, and the four heavenly kings.
Despite this, the ruler of Japan and others believe that nothing untoward will happen since they are praying to Great Bodhisattva Hachiman. But because his personal power was unequal to the task, did not Hachiman burn down his own sacred shrine and hide himself? Still the authorities fail to reflect on their grave offenses, and think that by rebuilding the sacred shrine, they will gain the protection they seek.
Now all 4,589,659 people in Japan have been abandoned by Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, all the emanation Buddhas of the ten directions, the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, and the bodhisattvas of the sahā world and other worlds. All the Brahmās, Shakras, gods of the sun and moon, and four heavenly kings of all the worlds of the ten directions have abandoned them. How, then, is it conceivable that the powers of the Sun Goddess and Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, trifling minor gods of Japan, will be up to the task?
Let us say that at such a time as this you were to build Hachiman Shrine and this country were to suffer defeat at the hands of a foreign land. I have known for some time now that if this were to happen, just as dust builds up in depressions and water accumulates in low spots, the people of Japan, from the ruler on down to the ordinary populace, would criticize you.
They would cry out, “The true identity of Great Bodhisattva Hachiman is Amida Buddha.2 Uemon no Tayū is the follower of one who claims that Nembutsu leads to the hell of incessant suffering. He also says, ‘Burn or throw in the water images of Amida Buddha. Burn down his halls of worship. Cut off the heads of Nembutsu priests.’ It is because the follower and supporter of such a man built Hachiman Shrine that Great Bodhisattva Hachiman has never used it. That is the reason this nation has been attacked.”
How will you respond when they carry on in this way? But I think, because the heavens were already aware of this matter, that that is why you were removed from the post of superintendent of the building project. And I wonder whether your removal from involvement in the reconstruction of the temple attached to Hachiman Shrine is not also the design of the heavens.
Notes
2. In some of his writings Nichiren Daishonin refers to the people’s belief that the true identity of Hachiman is Amida Buddha. He says, “And though they appear to pay reverence to Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, they claim that his true identity is Amida Buddha” . And also, “Many people in the world today claim that Great Bodhisattva Hachiman is a manifestation of Amida Buddha” . Because indigenous Japanese deities such as Hachiman were regarded as local manifestations of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, Hachiman was incorporated into Buddhism as Great Bodhisattva Hachiman. In the Kamakura period (1185–1333), with the increasing popularity of Pure Land beliefs, most people came to regard Great Bodhisattva Hachiman as a manifestation of Amida Buddha. The Daishonin asserted that Great Bodhisattva Hachiman is a manifestation of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings.