SGI-USA Study Curriculum

THE ENTRANCE-LEVEL TEXTBOOK

PART 3: Basic Terms

Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism begins with the awareness that a persons have the potential to achieve enlightenment. That idea is the epitome of Mahayana Buddhism, one of the two principal divisions of Buddhism, which arose in India after Shakyamuni's death from. a movement to widely spread the Buddha's teachings. Its followers did not shut themselves off from society, as some early Buddhist groups did, but instead worked to spread Buddhism throughout the population and to assist others on the path to enlightenment. Mahayana is thus characterized by a spirit of compassion and altruism, known as the spirit of the bodhisattva.

Eventually Mahayana Buddhism was introduced to China, where it gave rise to various schools. One of the most important was that founded by T'ien-t'ai (538-597), known as the T'ien t'ai or Tendai school. It teaches that the Lotus Sutra is the highest of all the Mahayana sutras, and that a thing, both living and inanimate, possess a dormant potential for enlightenment. This doctrine is summarized in the theory known as ichinen sanzen. The doctrines of the sect were further developed and codified by Miao-lo (711-782), the patriarch of the school.

T'ien-t'ai Buddhism, as we have seen, was introduced to Japan in the ninth century by Dengyo Daishi, who had studied its doctrines in China. Later, in the thirteenth century Nichiren Daishonin studied at Mount Hiei, the headquarters of the Tendai sect in Japan, and came to realize that the Lotus Sutra constitutes the heart of all Buddhism. Soon after, he began teaching the substance of his realization.

According to his teaching, the workings of the universe are all subject to a single principle or law. By deeply understanding that law, individuals can unlock the hidden potential of their own lives and achieve perfect harmony with their environment.

Nichiren Daishonin defined the universal law as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, a formula that represents the essence of the Lotus Sutra and is known as daimoku. Furthermore, he filly manifested that law within his own life and gave concrete form to it by inscribing the Gohonzon, which enables believers to call forth the Law from within their lives through practice and attain enlightenment. In his treatise "The True Object of Worship," he concludes that believing in and chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon, which is the crystallization of the universal law, will reveal the Buddha nature inherent in each individual.

All phenomena are subject to the strict law of cause and effect. Consequently, the state of an individual's life - one's destiny, in other words -is the summation of all previous causes. By chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, we create the supreme cause, a cause that can offset negative effects from the past.

Enlightenment is not a mystical or transcendental state, as many might assume. Rather it is a condition of the highest wisdom, vitality and good fortune wherein we can shape our own destiny, find fulfillment in daily activities and come to understand and appreciate our purpose in being alive.

Three Great Secret Laws

The Three Great Secret Laws are the Object of Worship of True Buddhism (honmon no honzon), the Daimoku of True Buddhism (honmon no daimoku) and the High Sanctuary of True Buddhism (honmon no kaidan). These constitute the core of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism.

The Object of Worship of True Buddhism is the mandala on which Nichiren Daishonin inscribed his life as the Buddha of absolute freedom of kuon ganjo, or the infinite past. The High Sanctuary of True Buddhism is the place where the object of worship is enshrined, and the Daimoku of True Buddhism is the invocation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which one chants with faith in the object of worship. Of these three, the object of worship is the basis of the Three Great Secret Laws, embodying all three within itself, and thus is also called the One Great Secret Law.

After Shakyamuni Buddha's passing, his successors and many other Buddhist scholars, such as Nagarjuna in India and T'ien-t'ai in China, made their advent in order to propagate the Buddha's teachings. However, none of them ever revealed or expounded the Three Great Secret Laws. Only Nichiren Daishonin did so. The term true Buddhism (honmon) used 'in conjunction with the Three Great Secret Laws denotes the essence of the Lotus Sutra, which Nichiren Daishonin taught is implicit in "Juryo," the sixteenth 'chapter of the Lotus Sutra. This principle, the Mystic Law, was explicitly revealed for the first time by Nichiren Daishonin.

Shakyamuni Buddha expounded a vast array of teachings as preparation for the revelation of the Lotus Sutra, the highest of all his sutras. Because the Lotus Sutra contains the Three Great Secret Laws implicit 'in its teaching, it enabled the people of his age and of the Former and Middle Days of the Law to attain enlightenment. However, in the Latter Day of the Law, the period beginning 2,000 years after Shakyamuni's death, his Lotus Sutra was no longer adequate to save the people. For the people of this age, Nichiren Daishonin directly revealed the Three Great Secret Laws, the fundamental doctrine for all people to attain Buddhahood. The innumerable teachings of all Buddhas throughout the three existences of past, present and future, including Shakyamuni Buddha, are ultimately integrated 'in the Three Great Secret Laws.

1.  OBJECT OF WORSHIP OF TRUE BUDDHISM

The Object of Worship of True Buddhism possesses the two aspects of the Law and the Person. The object of worship in terms of the Law is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, or the actuality of ichinen sanzen, which is the ultimate Law indicated in the depths of the 'Juryo" chapter of the Lotus Sutra. The object of worship 'in terms of the Person is Nichiren Daishonin, or the Buddha of absolute freedom of kuon ganjo, who made his appearance as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law. The object of worship perfectly endowed with the aspects of both Law and Person is the Dai-Gohonzon, which the Daishonin inscribed on October 12, 1279, as the fulfillment of the ultimate purpose of his advent in the world.

In Japanese, an object of worship is called a honzon, which means object of fundamental respect. The object of worship in any religion is the foundation of faith, and therefore it is most important for the believers. The Object of Worship of True Buddhism, which embodies the ultimate Law permeating all life and the universe, is the supreme object of fundamental respect for all people to attain true happiness. However, it should not be viewed as an external power or deity. As we will see when we study the Gosho "The Real Aspect of the Gohonzon," in a subsequent installment of this study material, the Gohonzon exists so that we may tap and bring forth the "Gohonzon within us," our innate Buddha nature.

To understand the relationship of this object of worship revealed by Nichiren Daishonin and Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra, we must consider the meaning of the essential teaching (honmon). The term essential teaching indicates the latter fourteen chapters of the twenty-eight-chapter Lotus Sutra, in which Shakyamuni Buddha revealed that he originally attained enlightenment in the distant past rather than 'in the present life as his disciples had understood.

In the essential teaching, specifically in the 'Juryo" chapter, Shakyamuni implied the existence of the fundamental Law, which had led him to attain Buddhahood in the distant past but did not explicitly reveal what it was. Nichiren Daishonin later stated that this Law was "hidden in the depths" of the Juryo" chapter of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra.

The Daishonin himself was the one who clearly revealed the great Law that Shakyamuni Buddha had not taught explicitly but had implied in the 'Juryo" chapter. Because the Daishonin manifested this Law in concrete form and made it accessible to all people, his Buddhism is often called the "true Buddhism" hidden in the depths of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra. He expounded Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which is the fundamental seed of Buddhahood, and embodied it in the Gohonzon (Go is an honorific prefix to honzon) as the object of worship for all people in the Latter Day of the Law to gain enlightenment.

The object of worship in terms of the Person is the Buddha whom all people revere. In the Latter Day of the Law, Shakyamuni, the historical founder of Buddhism 'in India, is no longer the Buddha who can lead us to enlightenment; Nichiren Daishonin is the Buddha who enables all people to attain Buddhahood through the revelation of the great Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Therefore, the Daishonin is called the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.

The Law to which the Daishonin was enlightened within himself is the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the principle inherent in all phenomena of the universe. In this sense, he is the embodiment of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo - the Buddha who is one with the Law. This is called the oneness of the Person and the Law.

Nichiren Daishonin inscribed his enlightened condition of life in the form of the Gohonzon. Thus the Gohonzon, or the object of worship, is also the embodiment of the oneness of the Law - the ultimate Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo - and the Person, the Daishonin who embodied the Law within his life.

2. DAIMOKU OF TRUE BUDDHISM

The Daimoku of True Buddhism is the invocation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which includes the aspects of faith, practice and study. We have faith in the object of worship, practice the invocation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and study its meaning. Practice in turn includes both practice for oneself and for others.

Practice for oneself is to chant daimoku with faith in the Gohonzon. Practice for others is to urge and instruct other people to chant daimoku. We study not simply for intellectual understanding but so that our knowledge can be transformed through practice into correct wisdom for living and for teaching others about the Law. Ultimately all three aspects are inseparable.

Daimoku, or the invocation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, literally means the devotion of one's life (namu or nam) to Myoho-renge-kyo. Myoho-renge-kyo is the tide of Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra as it was translated into Chinese, but here daimoku signifies the Mystic Law itself. Thus the Daimoku of True Buddhism entails believing in the' Object of Worship of True Buddhism indicated 'in the depths of the 'Juryo" chapter of the Lotus Sutra and chanting the daimoku of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Only when we have faith in the Gohonzon and chant daimoku can we obtain the great benefit of "attaining Buddhahood in our present form" (sokushinjobutsu) and enjoy the limitless power of the Gohonzon overflowing in our lives.

The most fundamental practice for the attainment of Buddhahood includes practice for oneself, or daily gongyo, and chanting of daimoku, and practice for others, which includes any activities carried out to promote understanding and faith in the Daishonin's Buddhism among the people.

3. ICHINEN SANZEN LAW OF TRUE BUDDHISM

The High Sanctuary of True Buddhism is where we place the Object of Worship of True Buddhism (the Gohonzon) and chant the Daimoku of True Buddhism (Nam-myohorenge-kyo) to it. A high sanctuary originally meant a place where priests vow to observe various Buddhist precepts. The purpose of keeping Buddhist precepts is "to stem injustice and stop evil" within oneself. In the Daishonin's Buddhism, however, it is unnecessary to observe special precepts. When we discard erroneous beliefs and sincerely take faith in the Gohonzon, and thus strive 'in our Buddhist practice correctly, we begin keeping the precept of the Daishonin's Buddhism.

Furthermore, the Daishonin's Buddhism is a teaching open not only to priests but to all people. Since all who put their faith in the Gohonzon will be prevented from suffering and evil, and will attain enlightenment through their Buddhist practice, wherever the Gohonzon is enshrined can be regarded as a high sanctuary in the Daishonin's Buddhism.

Nichiren Daishonin instructed that at the time of kosen-rufu, the high sanctuary to enshrine the Dai-Gohonzon, which was bestowed upon the entire world, be built as a place to pray for all people's happiness and lasting worldwide peace and prosperity. This high sanctuary is called the "actual" high sanctuary.

The actual high sanctuary should be built in accord with the progress of kosen-rufu, which is made through believers' efforts to exert themselves in the practice for self and others. The Sho-Hondo at Taiseki-Ji was constructed with this significance.

Places where individual believers enshrine the Object of Worship of True Buddhism and chant daimoku for themselves and others with strong faith toward kosen-rufu can be considered as significant as the actual high sanctuary.

THE FIVE GUIDES FOR PROPAGATION

The five guides for propagation (goko) provide the criteria for demonstrating that Nam-myoho-renge-kyo of the Three Great Secret Laws taught by Nichiren Daishonin is the supreme Law to be propagated in the Latter Day of the Law. These guides entail a correct understanding of (1) the teaching, (2) the people's capacity, (3) the time, (4) the country and (s) the sequence of propagation.

The five guides were established by Nichiren Daishonin as a standard for comparative evaluation of the various Buddhist teachings. They are interpreted as criteria that we must employ to correctly understand the supreme Law and that we must consider in propagating the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. The five guides may be briefly explained as follows:

1. CORRECT UNDERSTANDING OF THE TEACHING

To understand the teaching means to recognize differences among religions, particularly the many Buddhist teachings, and discern right from wrong, profound from shallow and superior from inferior. The Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai of China classified all of Shakyamuni's teachings by establishing "the five periods and eight teachings" system and demonstrated the superiority of the Lotus Sutra over all other sutras.

Nichiren Daishonin established the principle of "the fivefold comparison" to show that Nam-myoho-renge-kyo of the Three Great Secret Laws hidden in the depths of the "Juryo" chapter is the most profound teaching that enables all people in the Latter Day of the Law to attain Buddhahood.

To recognize that Nam-myoho-renge-kyo of the Three Great Secret Laws is the greatest teaching in the Latter Day of the Law is to have a correct understanding of the teaching.

2. CORRECT UNDERSTANDING OF THE PEOPLE'S CAPACITY

Capacity means the life-tendency of the people, the nature of their connection to Buddhism, and their ability to understand and believe in Buddhist teachings. In short, to understand the people's capacity means to know what it is the people seek, or to know by what teaching they can attain enlightenment.

The people of the Latter Day of the Law are those who have not been able to create good causes for enlightenment through Buddhist practice in their past existences. In other words, they have not yet received the seed of Buddhahood, as had those who practiced during Shakyamuni's lifetime and the Former and Middle Days of the Law.

Therefore, they must receive the seed of enlightenment directly by practicing the "Buddhism of sowing" in which the "seed" for attaining Buddhahood is planted directly within the "soil" of their lives. The Buddhism of sowing is the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin, the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, which plants the original seed of Buddhahood, or Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, in people's lives.

Recognizing that all people in the Latter Day of the Law can attain enlightenment only through the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo contained in the depths of the "Juryo" chapter is to have a correct understanding of the people's capacity.

3. CORRECT UNDERSTANDING OF THE MIDDLE WAY

Time is something we sense through the movement or changes in the world in which we live. All functions of human life change in accordance with the flow of time. Based on this understanding, the development of Buddhism following Shakyamuni's death is divided into three periods known as the Former, Middle and Latter Days of the Law.

Generally speaking, the Former Day is the time in which the spirit of a Buddha's teaching can be transmitted correctly among the people, and that teaching leads many people to enlightenment. The Middle Day is the period 'in which that teaching gradually becomes obscured and is reduced to formality, In the Latter Day of the Law, it completely loses the power to lead people to enlightenment.

In the case of Shakyamuni's Buddhism, the Former and Middle Days of the Law are each said to have lasted 1,000 years, consecutively, after Shakyamuni's death. The Latter Day of the Law is thus held to begin 2,000 years after Shakyamuni's passing. At this time, Shakyamuni's Buddhism becomes powerless to benefit the people. Therefore, at the beginning of the Latter Day, Nichiren Daishonin made his advent to propagate Nam-myoho-renge-kyo of the Three Great Secret Laws.

To correctly understand the time is to know that the Law that is to spread in this time period is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo of the Three Great Secret Laws. The present time in which we live corresponds to the Latter Day of the Law, and to know both the time and what teaching should be propagated in accordance with the time is indispensable.

4. CORRECT UNDERSTANDING OF THE COUNTRY

Each country has unique geographical and climatic conditions. Political, economic and education systems, society, culture, ideology and religion also differ from one country to another. To recognize the country implies giving deep consideration to the method by which the Law is to be propagated and revealing the teachings in a proper manner by grasping the social situation and conditions of each country.

The Daishonin wrote that some countries actively slander the True Law, some are completely ignorant of it, some are exclusively Hinayana, some exclusively Mahayana and others both Hinayana and Mahayana. Japan, he said, was an exclusively Mahayana country but one filled with people who slander the True Law. He concluded, therefore, that 'in Japan in his day, inferior teachings should be denounced and the Mystic Law assertively spread to save all people, including even those who opposed it.

Today, the Daishonin's Buddhism is spreading throughout the world, but the method of propagation will differ according to the unique situation of each country. To understand the country means that 'in spreading the Mystic Law, one must correctly discern the customs and culture of the society and make clear the necessity for faith in the Mystic Law accordingly.

5. CORRECT UNDERSTANDING OF THE SEQUENCE OF PROPAGATION

The significance of this criterion is that one should not propagate a teaching inferior to those that have already spread. The teaching to be propagated must be superior to those that have prevailed up to the present. Those who propagate teachings inferior to the prevailing teaching will be unable to save the people and rather will exert a harmful influence on society.

Buddhist history unfolded in the order of the propagation of Buddhist teachings - from Hinayana to provisional Mahayana teachings, and then from provisional Mahayana to true Mahayana teachings. In the Latter Day of the Law, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo of the Three Great Secret Laws, the essence of the Lotus Sutra, is what should be propagated. To recognize this is to have a correct understanding of the sequence of propagation.

THE FIVEFOLD COMPARISON

The fivefold comparison is one set of criteria for the comparative evaluation of systems of thought and religions, especially of the Buddhist teachings. It is a standard that concerns the "correct understanding of the teaching," the first of the five guides for propagation.

The fivefold or five successive levels of comparison are: (1) Buddhism is superior to non-Buddhism, (2) Mahayana Buddhism is superior to Hinayana Buddhism, (3) true Mahayana (the Lotus Sutra) is superior to provisional (pre-Lotus Sutra) Mahayana, (4) the essential teaching (latter half) of the Lotus Sutra is superior to the theoretical teaching (former halo, and (5) the Buddhism of sowing (Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism) is superior to the Buddhism of the harvest (Shakyamuni's Buddhism).

Nichiren Daishonin established the principle of the fivefold comparison in his writing, "The Opening of the Eyes," in order to demonstrate the supremacy of Nam-myohorenge-kyo of the Three Great Secret Laws over all other teachings. The fivefold comparison can be briefly explained as follows:

1. BUDDHISM IS SUPERIOR TO NON-BUDDHIST TEACHINGS

Non-Buddhist teachings included Brahmanism in India and Confucianism and Taoism in China.

Non-Buddhist teachings are not as profound as Buddhism in that they do not reveal the causal law of life penetrating past, present and future. Without such a causal view of life and the world, the teachings cannot serve as a guideline for the people's ultimate, happiness.

Only through Buddhism, which elucidates the profound law of causality working within one's life, can all people attain absolute happiness.

Buddhism attributes the cause of all phenomena that bring about human happiness or unhappiness to the law of cause and effect functioning in the life of each individual, thereby enabling us to realize that the path to happiness lies within our lives, rather than outside. In contrast, non-Buddhist teachings generally ascribe the cause of such phenomena to external factors such as a transcendent beings or deities.

This is why this comparison is called 'in Japanese the comparison of the "Inner Way" (Buddhism) with the "Outer Way" (non-Buddhist teachings).

2. MAHAYANA BUDDHISM IS SUPERIOR TO HINAYANA BUDDHISM

Hinayana Buddhism is a teaching for those who aim only at personal emancipation. In contrast, Mahayana Buddhism aims at enlightenment both personal and for others. Hinayana Buddhism is expounded for persons of the two vehicles (Learning and Realization) and belongs to the teachings of what is known as the Agon period, the second of the five periods in T'ien-t'ai's classification of Shakyamuni's teachings according to the order of preaching. It is called Hinayana (lesser vehicle) because it leads only a limited number of people to enlightenment.

Hinayana Buddhism regards earthly desires as the cause of all suffering and asserts that suffering is eliminated only by eradicating those earthly desires. Hinayana practitioners aim at emancipation through austere practices. However, the ultimate goal of their practice can only be achieved at death, when both body and Mind-the sources of suffering-are extinguished.

Their practice has accordingly been derided by Mahayanists as the teaching of "annihilating one's consciousness and reducing ones body to ashes" Such a teaching, far from enabling all people to attain enlightenment, is entirely impossible to practice.

In contrast, Mahayana Buddhism is the teaching that expounds the bodhisattva practice as the means toward the happiness of both oneself and others. It is called Mahayana (greater vehicle) because it can carry many people to enlightenment.

Where Hinayana teaches the elimination of earthly desires, Mahayana aims at redirecting and transforming them into a source of enlightenment by awakening people to their Buddha nature and establishing the Buddha nature as their fundamental state of life.

3. THE MAHAYANA IS SUPERIOR TO PROVISIONAL MAHAYANA

True Mahayana, or the Lotus Sutra, is a full and direct statement of Shakyamuni's enlightenment. In contrast, provisional Mahayana, or the pre-Lotus Sutra Mahayana teachings, were expounded in various ways according to the people's capacity in order to prepare them to understand the Lotus Sutra.

In the classification of Shakyamuni's teachings, provisional Mahayana is identified with such teachings as those of the Kegon, the Hannya, the Amida and the Dainichi sutras, which deny the potential for Buddhahood for the people of the two vehicles. In contrast, true Mahayana reveals with concrete examples that all people, including those of the two vehicles, can attain enlightenment.

4. THE ESSENTIAL TEACHING OF THE LOTUS SUTRA IS SUPERIOR TO THE THEORETICAL TEACHING

The twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra are divided into two parts, the theoretical teaching and the essential teaching, according to the role and status of Shakyamuni Buddha depicted in each. The theoretical teaching consists of the first fourteen chapters of the Lotus Sutra, and the essential teaching, the latter fourteen chapters.

In the same manner as the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings, the theoretical teaching takes the form of preaching by the historical Shakyamuni who first attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree near the town of Gaya in India. Thus the theoretical teaching was expounded by Shakyamuni in a transient role or aspect that he had assumed in order to save the people.

In contrast, the essential teaching, especially its core, the 'Juryo" chapter, takes the form of preaching by Shakyamuni, who discarded his transient status and revealed his true identity as the Buddha who had attained Buddhahood in the remote past. The Buddha of the essential teaching is called a true Buddha, as opposed to the provisional Buddha of the pre-Lotus Sutra and theoretical teachings, who conceals his true identity.

The essential teaching treats Buddhahood as a reality manifested in the life of Shakyamuni Buddha, who gained his original enlightenment in the inconceivably distant past. Though Shakyamuni of the essential teaching had already attained Buddhahood, he was nevertheless born into this world as a common mortal, thus showing through his own example that Buddhahood is inseparable from ordinary human experience. For this reason, the essential teaching is considered superior to the theoretical teaching.

5. THE BUDDHISM OF SOWING IS SUPERIOR TO THE BUDDHISM OF THE HARVEST

This is a comparison between Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism of sowing, which reveals the Law of Nam-myohorenge-kyo indicated in the depths of the Juryo chapter, and the Buddhism of the harvest, Shakyamuni's essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra.

The process by which the Buddha leads people to enlightenment may be divided into three stages, called 41 sowing, maturing and harvesting." The Buddha first plants the seed of enlightenment in people's lives by teaching them the Law, then nurtures it through his preaching to elevate their capacity, and finally brings them to full enlightenment just as ripened grain is finally harvested.

The Buddhism of the harvest is for only those who have already accumulated good causes, that is, who have already received the seed of enlightenment from Shakyamuni in the remote past and nurtured it through Buddhist practice over the course of many lifetimes. For this reason, the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra was propagated for the sake of the people during Shakyamuni's lifetime and the Former and Middle Days of the Law, who had already received the seed of Buddhahood in prior lifetimes.

In contrast, the Buddhism of sowing, Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, implants the fundamental seed of Buddhahood, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, directly in the lives of the people of the Latter Day of the Law, who by definition have never accumulated good fortune through Buddhist practice in the past. Consequently, they can manifest Buddhahood only by receiving the seed of enlightenment, that is, by embracing the great Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo hidden in the depths of the "Juryo" chapter, the core of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra.

Although Shakyamuni Buddha revealed his enlightenment in the remote past as the effect of his Buddhist practice, he did not specify the original cause for his enlightenment, that is, the Law that led him to the supreme state of Buddhahood. In other words, Shakyamuni did not clarify the fundamental Law he himself had practiced to attain enlightenment.

Nichiren Daishonin disclosed that Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the ultimate cause for the enlightenment of all Buddhas, as well as the fundamental Law that Shakyamuni Buddha had practiced to attain enlightenment. Nichiren Daishonin embodied this Law in the form of the object of worship, the Gohonzon of the Three Great Secret Laws.

The comparison of the Daishonin's Buddhism and that of Shakyamuni Buddha concludes the fivefold comparison and declares that the Daishonin's Buddhism of sowing is the only way to enlightenment for all people in the Latter Day.

THE THREE OBSTACLES AND FOUR DEVILS

Nichiren Daishonin writes:

The doctrine of ichinen sanzen revealed in the fifth volume of the Maka Shikan is especially profound. If you propagate it, devils will arise without fail. Were it not for these, there would be no way of knowing that this is the true teaching. One passage from the same volume reads, "As practice progresses and understanding grows, the three obstacles and four devils emerge, vying with one another to interfere.... You should be neither influenced nor frightened by them. If you fall under their influence, you will be led into the paths of evil. If you are frightened by them, you will be prevented from practicing true Buddhism." This quotation not only applies to Nichiren but also is the guide for his disciples. Reverently make this teaching your own and transmit it as an axiom of faith for future generations. (MW-I, 145)

In the phrase "if you propagate it" in the above quotation, "propagate it" indicates the practice for oneself and for others, that is, believing in Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism oneself as well as teaching it to other people. When we devote ourselves to this practice, hindrances that stand in the path of faith will emerge without fail. The Daishonin teaches that were it not for these, there would be no way of knowing that this is the true teaching. Thus the emergence of such obstacles is indisputable proof that we are practicing the True Law.

In the passage quoted above from the fifth volume of the Maka Shikan (Great Concentration and Insight), T'ien-t'ai says that when we believe in and practice the True Law, hindrances will emerge that work to prevent us from doing so. These are categorized as the three obstacles and four devils.

T'ien-t'ai warns that when these obstacles and devils emerge, "vying with one another to interfere" we "should be neither influenced nor frightened by them." For, if we fall under their influence or are frightened by them, we cannot reach our ultimate objective, that is, to attain Buddhahood; on the contrary, we will verge off onto the paths of evil. For this reason, Nichiren Daishonin says this warning of T'ien-t'ai's is the guide for his disciples; he exhorts them to make it their own and transmit it as an unchanging axiom of faith for 10,000 years and more, far into eternity.

Immediately following the above-quoted passage, the Daishonin explains the "three obstacles and four devils" as follows:

The three obstacles in this quotation are bonno-sho, go-sho and ho-sho. Bonno-sho are the obstacles to one's practice which arise from greed, anger, stupidity and the like; go-sho are the obstacles posed by one's wife or children, and ho-sho are the hindrances caused by one's sovereign or parents. Of the four devils, the functions of the Devil of the Sixth Heaven are of this last kind. (MW-I, 145)

In the term three obstacles, the word obstacles indicates hindrances or impediments that stand in the path of our faith and practice and prevent us from carrying them out.

The three obstacles are:

1. The obstacle of earthly desires (bonw-sho), or obstacles to faith. and practice that arise from earthly desires such as greed, anger and stupidity;
2. The obstacle of karma (go-sho), or obstacles caused by bad karma created by committing any of the five cardinal sins or ten . acts. In the above quotation, the Daishonin explains this with the example of opposition to one's faith by a spouse or children; and
3. The obstacle of retribution (ho-sho), or obstacles of painful retribution for actions in the three evil paths or for slander against the True Law. The passage quoted above cites obstacles to Buddhist practice caused by one's sovereign and parents as examples.

In the term four devils, the word devil can be translated as "robber of life:' "murderer," "destroyer" and so on. As these translations suggest, devils deprive the practitioner's life of its internal brilliance as an entity of the Mystic Law and kill that life. Whereas obstacles are the functions that obstruct the practice of faith, devils are the workings that additionally destroy life itself.

Today we can understand devils not as malevolent spirits but as negative functions inherent in life itself.

The four devils are:

1. The hindrance of the five components, that is, those obstructions caused by one's physical and mental functions;
2. The hindrance of earthly desires, or obstructions that arise from the three poisons - greed, anger and stupidity - and disrupt one's faith;
3. The hindrance of death, in the sense that death makes it impossible for practitioners to continue their practice. To be shocked by a fellow believer's death and harbor doubts about the validity of faith on that account is also the working of this obstruction; and
4. The hindrance of the Devil of the Sixth Heaven. This "king of devils" makes free use of the fruits of others' efforts for his own pleasure. The Daishonin teaches that he symbolizes the fundamental darkness inherent in life. He is said to possess the bodies and minds of those in power and make them persecute practitioners.

Thus far it has been seen that various obstacles and difficulties, occur 'in the course of Buddhist practice, vying with one another to harass the practitioner. As discussed, such obstructions arise from earthly desires such as greed, anger and stupidity, or take the form of opposition from spouses, children or parents, or present themselves as troubles of body and mind, or death. These, however, are not obstacles and devils in and of themselves. Rather, they become such when practitioners allow their faith and resolve to be swayed by them.

The Daishonin writes: "Something uncommon also occurs when an ordinary person attains Buddhahood. At such a time, the three obstacles and four devils win invariably appear, and the wise will rejoice while the foolish will retreat" (MW-2, 288). If and when troubles and difficulties arise, it is important to overcome them with the spirit of the wise, over-joyed and convinced that they can be an opportunity of great advancement toward the attainment of enlightenment.

This is the principle of tenju kyoju, literally "changing the heavy and receiving it more lightly." Here "the heavy" signifies heavy karma that we have accumulated since the remotest past by slandering the True Law.

Through the working of the law of causality, grave offenses (causes) - such as serious slander that we committed 'in past existences - have retribution (effects) in our present life. Needless to say, the heavier the offenses we commit, the severer the retribution we receive. "Changing the heavy and receiving it more lightly" means that we can change heavy karma from the past and experience its effect to a lesser degree, thereby expiating it.

What makes the lessening of karmic retribution possible? It is the working of the benefit the practitioner accumulates by protecting the Law, that is, by believing in and practicing the True Law.

With regard to the principle of lessening karmic retribution, Nichiren Daishonin writes:

If one's heavy karma from the past is not expiated within this lifetime, he must undergo the sufferings of hell in the future, but if he experiences extreme hardship in this life, the sufferings of hell will vanish instantly When he dies, he will obtain the blessings of Rapture and Tranquillity, as well as those of the three vehicles and the supreme vehicle. (MW-I, 17)

Referring to the same principle in his "Letter From Sado," the Daishonin quotes the following passage from the Hatsunaion Sutra (Sutra of the Great Passing): "It is due to the blessings obtained by protecting the Law that one can diminish in this lifetime his suffering and retribution" (MW-I, 40). He illustrates this principle with the following example:

[Nichiren's] situation is like that of a peasant heavily in debt to his lord and others. As long as he remains on the estate, they are likely to defer his debts from one year to the next, rather than mercilessly hounding him. But as soon as he tries to leave, everyone will rush over and demand that he repay everything at once. Thus the sutra states, "It is due to the blessings obtained by protecting the Law that one can diminish ... his suffering and retribution." (MW-1, 41)

Since the infinite past, we have accumulated much heavy karma. In the passage quoted above, this bad karma is likened to enormous debts that a peasant owes to his lord and others. The same is true with the effects of the heavy karma such as slander that one accumulated in Past existences. Unless we embrace the True Law, we will be obliged to carry such a karmic debt and to suffer karmic retribution in this present life and perhaps in future lifetimes as well.

In the simile, the peasant remaining on the estate indicates transmigration within the six paths (from Hell through Heaven). The peasant leaving the estate signifies that by taking faith in and practicing the True Law, we break through the sufferings of the transmigratory state and start advancing toward the state of absolute happiness, that is, Buddhahood. Continuing in our practice, we can completely expiate our heavy karma from the past by experiencing at once in this present life all the karmic retribution that we would otherwise have had to undergo 'in lifetime after lifetime to come, yet in a greatly lessened form.

Therefore, when we encounter various hardships in the course of Buddhist practice, we can consider them as the retribution of slanderous deeds in the past, effects that would otherwise have had to be experienced to a greater degree and over a much longer period of time. We can be confident that, because of the benefit obtained by believing in and propagating the Law, we can expiate our bad karma by experiencing its effects to a lesser degree. It is important that, with this conviction, we exert ourselves in faith, practice and study even more courageously than before.