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Record
of the Orally Transmitted
Teachings of Nichiren Daishonin
- Ongi Kuden -
Chapter 24: Bodhisattva Wonderful
Sound [Myo'on Bosatsu]
To work out solutions according to the suffering of others is compassion and
is called bodhisattva. Bodhisattva Myo'on is all living beings of
the ten worlds. 'Wonderful' means mystic. 'Sound' means the words,
speech, sounds and voices uttered by all living beings which are themselves the
sounds and voices of Myoho Renge Kyo. Now 'Wonderful sound' means
the chanting of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo by Nichiren and his disciples. This
[chanting] is the 'Wonderful Sound' in the present age of Latter Day of
the Law. The reason that the Daimoku is the mystic sound is because it
transforms earthly desires into enlightenment and the sufferings of birth and
death into nirvana. To work out solutions according to the suffering of others
is compassion and is called bodhisattva. (Gosho
Zenshu p. 774)
The sutra states, "At that time, Shakyamuni Buddha emitted a beam
of bright light from the knob of flesh [on his head], one of the features
of a great man, and emitted a beam of light from the tuft of white hair between
his eyebrows illuminating the Buddha worlds in the eastern direction equal in
number to the sands of one hundred eighty thousand million nayutas of Ganges."
(LS p. 290, 3LS p. 312)
These two marks result from filial conduct and obedience to one's teacher. To
uphold the Lotus Sutra is the pinnacle for all filial behavior. The 'white
tuft' indicates the carnal desire of the father and the 'knob of flesh,'
the carnal desire of the mother. The red and white fluids appear in this sutra
as these two marks. The 'knob of flesh' represents the wisdom of true
being that accords with conditions and the white tuft, the principle of true
being that is unchanging. Now Nichiren and his disciples who chant Nam Myoho
Renge Kyo are endowed with these two marks. When we are first born, we are
red in color; this corresponds to the knob of flesh. And the white bones that
remain after our death correspond to the mark of the white tuft. Our red color
at birth indicates the wisdom of true being that accords with conditions, while
our white bones after death indicate the principle of true being, which is
unchanging. This should be kept secret and not told to others.
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