Chapter6（Re-expounding That Myoho-renge-kyo Is the Heart and Entity of the Lotus Sutra）
Our contemporaries think of the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo only as a name, but this is not correct. It is the essence, that is, the heart of the Lotus Sutra. Chang-an stated, “Hence [T’ien-t’ai’s explanation of the title in] the preface conveys the profound meaning of the sutra. The profound meaning indicates the heart of the text.” According to this comment, Myoho-renge-kyo is neither the scriptural text nor its meaning, but the heart of the entire sutra. Those who seek the heart of the sutra apart from its title are as foolish as the turtle who sought the monkey’s liver outside the monkey, or the monkey who left the forest and sought fruit on the seashore.
Nichiren
The twenty-eighth day of the eleventh month in the third year of Kenji (1277), cyclical sign hinoto-ushi
To the lay priest Soya Jirō
Notes
7. This passage appears in Chang-an’s preface to The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra and refers to T’ien-t’ai’s own preface to the same work.
8. This story is found in the Storehouse of Various Treasures Sutra. There were once two turtles at the bottom of the sea. The female, being pregnant, had a desire to eat a monkey’s liver. The male surfaced and deceived a monkey into mounting his back, saying that he would carry the monkey to the other shore where the fruit was more bountiful. When the turtle carried the monkey into the ocean and tried to take his liver, the monkey said that he had left his liver behind on the top of a tree, and that if he could return there he would give it to the turtle. The turtle then carried the monkey back to the shore. No sooner had the turtle reached the shore than the monkey jumped off his back and scurried up a tall tree, where he mocked the turtle for his foolishness.
9. Soya Jirō Hyōe-no-jō Kyōshin (1224–1291), who lived in Soya Village in Shimōsa Province and was one of the leading believers in the area. He is thought to have been an officer of the high court of the Kamakura shogunate.
Lecture
In concluding this treatise as a whole, it is emphasized once again that the Daimoku of Myoho-renge-kyo is indeed the entity and heart of the Lotus Sutra, and that chanting this Daimoku is the essential key to attaining Buddhahood.
People generally tend to regard the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo simply as the title of the Lotus Sutra, but that is merely the view of those who do not understand the true origin and import of the sutra. The five-character Daimoku is not only the core of the Lotus Sutra, but also the heart, the entity, and the ultimate principle of all the sacred teachings expounded by Shakyamuni throughout his lifetime. The passage from the “Preface” to The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra (Hokke Gengi), recorded by the Great Teacher Chang-an, succinctly demonstrates this truth.
This passage represents the Great Teacher Chang-an’s own commentary on the “King of Prefaces” (Jo-o) in The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra, which was lectured by the Great Teacher Tiantai; Chang-an introduces his interpretation with the phrase “The compiler explains as follows.” Specifically, it is the commentary stating: “Now, the King of Prefaces sets forth the profound meaning of the sutra, and the profound meaning expresses the heart of the text…”
Here, the “King of Prefaces” refers to the preface of The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra expounded by the Great Teacher Tiantai, in which an explanation of the title Myoho-renge-kyo is set forth.
In response, the Great Teacher Chang-an interpreted that the “King of Prefaces,” which explains the title of the Lotus Sutra, expresses the “profound meaning of the sutra”—namely, the deep and subtle intent of the Lotus Sutra—and that this “profound meaning” in turn expresses the heart of the sutra’s text itself.
Citing this passage, Nichiren Daishonin reveals that the Daimoku of Myoho-renge-kyo is neither mere text nor simple doctrine, but the very heart of the entire Lotus Sutra as a whole.
In this way, because the Daimoku of Myoho-renge-kyo is the grand framework of Shakyamuni’s lifetime teachings and the entity and heart of the Lotus Sutra, the Daishonin concludes this letter by admonishing that seeking the Lotus Sutra apart from the profound heart inherent in the Daimoku is like the foolish tortoise who sought the monkey’s liver away from the monkey, or like the monkey who abandoned the mountain forests to search for tree fruit in the sea.