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SGI-USA Study Curriculum
Learning from the Gosho: The Eternal Teachings of Nichiren Daishonin
by SGI President Ikeda
Lecture 4 - The Izu Exile (2)
But I would like to mention one thing in particular. When
the steward of this district requested that I pray for his
recovery from illness, I wondered if I should accept it.
But since he showed me some degree of faith in [the Lotus
Sutra], I decided I would appeal to the Lotus Sutra. If
I did, I saw no reason why the ten demon daughters should
not join forces to aid me. I therefore addressed the Lotus
Sutra, Shakyamuni, Taho and the other Buddhas of the ten
directions, the Sun Goddess, Hachiman and the other heavenly
and earthly deities, both major and minor. I was sure that
they would consider my request and respond by producing
a sign of his recovery. Certainly they would never forsake
me, but would respond as attentively as a person rubs a
sore or scratches an itch. And as it turned out, the steward
recovered. In gratitude he presented me with a statue of
the Buddha which had appeared from the sea along with a
catch of fish. This was on account of his illness --- an
illness which I am certain was inflicted by the ten demon
daughters. This benefit will certainly pass on to you and
your wife. (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol.
2, p. 55) (1)
Manifesting the Entity of the Buddha in Our Lives
How can I help everyone become happy?" "How can
I enable everyone to receive great benefit?" This is
the Buddha's constant thought.
Nichiren Daishonin says that the benefit that he has received
will assuredly become the benefit of Funamori Yasaburo and
his wife. The benefit that votaries of the Lotus Sutra gain
through their activities is shared by those who support
them. The great benefit of the SGI in advancing the worldwide
propagation of the Mystic Law is in its entirety the SGI
members' good fortune and benefit.
A little more than a month after the Daishonin was exiled
to Izu, Ito Hachiro Zaemon, the steward of the district,
fell gravely ill. His symptoms were so severe that the Daishonin
says, "It appeared that he would certainly die"
(Gosho Zenshu, p. 1225).
All the power and influence in the world cannot cure one's
illness, or even extend one's life for an hour. Wealth,
status and worldly power essentially count for nothing in
the face of the fundamental sufferings in life: birth, old
age, sickness and death. To Nichiren Daishonin, the steward
was a human being like anyone else; his sufferings were
no different from the sufferings of all living beings.
But if the afflicted person does not believe in the Mystic
Law, then even the prayers of the Buddha will not accomplish
anything. Buddhism is reason. Because the steward had evinced
a degree of faith, the Daishonin, with his immense compassion,
could cure his illness.
The steward, having escaped death, greatly appreciated
the Daishonin's concern for him and presented him with a
wooden statue of Shakyamuni that a fisherman had found at
sea.
This was a time when faith in Amida Buddha and other creeds
was widespread, and initially the Daishonin's call had been
to return to the prime point of Shakyamuni. It was no doubt
that with that spirit he accepted the statue --- not as
an object of worship. Also, it is possible that as the original
Buddha he may have had a kind of fondness for the statue
of Shakyamuni, as if for a child.
The Daishonin says that his benefit as the votary of the
Lotus Sutra will pass on to Yasaburo and his wife. The Buddha's
constant prayer is to share his benefit with all others.
When the Daishonin was taken from Kamakura to the execution
grounds at Tatsunokuchi, he remarked to Shijo Kingo, who
had rushed to his side, "Now I will present my severed
head to the Lotus Sutra and share the blessings therefrom
with my parents, and with my disciples and believers"
(MW-I, 181). This is the spirit of the original Buddha.
By contrast, there are those, like the members of the Nichiren
Shoshu priesthood today, who are under the illusion that
they are absolute, who arrogantly suppose themselves to
be different from and better than others. In light of the
Gosho, such people are definitely not practicing the Daishonin's
Buddhism.
We, living beings, have dwelt in the sea of the sufferings
of birth and death since time without beginning. But now
that we have become votaries of the Lotus Sutra, we will
without fail attain the Buddha's entity which is as indestructible
as a diamond, realizing that our bodies and minds that have
existed since the beginningless past are inherently endowed
with the eternally unchanging nature, and thus awakening
to our mystic reality with our mystic wisdom. Then how can
we be in any way different from the Buddha? Shakyamuni Buddha,
the lord of teachings, who declared in the remote past of
gohyaku-jintengo, "I am the only person who can rescue
and protect others" (LS3, 70), is none other than each
of us, living beings. This is the Lotus Sutra's doctrine
of the three thousand realms in a single moment of life,
and the conducts of the Buddha who says "I am always
here, preaching the Law" (LS16, 229). How valuable,
then, are the Lotus Sutra and Shakyamuni Buddha for us,
but we, ordinary people, are never aware of it. This is
the meaning of the passage in the Juryo chapter, "[l
am always here, but through my transcendental power] I make
it so that living beings in their befuddlement do not see
me even when close by" (LS16, 229). The difference
between delusion and enlightenment is like the four different
views of the grove of sal trees. (2) Let it be known that
the Buddha with the three thousand realms in a single moment
of life is any living being in any of the realms of existence
who manifests his inherent Buddhahood. (MW-2, 55-56)
I think we can interpret this as Nichiren Daishonin's human
rights declaration.
People drifting in a sea of suffering, like the statue
of the Buddha that appeared from the sea, are in fact entities
of the Buddha. We ourselves are the Shakyamuni Buddha who
attained enlightenment in the remote past. A true practitioner
of the Lotus Sutra remembers this. The Daishonin says that
through the practice of the Mystic Law, we can definitely
attain "the Buddha's entity which is as indestructible
as a diamond."
We can attain a happy life state that shines like a diamond,
solemn and indestructible under all circumstances. And we
can do so in this lifetime. The Lotus Sutra exists to enable
all people to attain such a state.
The "Buddha who is a common mortal" specifically
refers to the Daishonin. But in a general sense, it also
indicates the followers of the Daishonin who are one with
him in spirit. And the "Lotus Sutra's doctrine of the
three thousand realms in a single moment of life" is
the teaching proclaiming that all people are Buddhas.
Specifically, it is the Gohonzon --- the actual embodiment
of this principle that a life-moment possesses 3,000 realms
--- that enables all people to become Buddhas. When we actively
base our lives on the Gohonzon, wisdom and vitality well
forth, and we enter a rhythm of total and complete victory.
Since the Gohonzon is "always here, preaching the
Law," by chanting daimoku we can, under any circumstances,
gain the wisdom to know the proper course of action. The
Daishonin says, "When the skies are clear, the ground
is illuminated" (MW-I, 82). Similarly, when the sun
of wisdom rises in our lives, the correct path becomes apparent.
"Living beings in their befuddlement" means people
who, failing to grasp this, suppose the Buddha or Shakyamuni
to be a remote, abstract being.
The demon who appeared before Sessen Doji (3) was Taishaku
in disguise. The dove which sought the protection of King
Shibi was the god Bishakatsuma. (4) King Fumyo, (5) who
returned to the castle of King Hansoku, was Shakyamuni Buddha,
the lord of teachings. The eyes of common mortals cannot
see their true identities, but the eyes of the Buddha can.
As the sutra states, the sky and the sea both have paths
for birds and fish to come and go. A wooden statue [of the
Buddha] is itself a golden Buddha, and a golden Buddha is
a wooden statue. Aniruddha's (6) gold was seen first as
a hare and then as a corpse. Sand in the palm of Mahanama's
(7) hand turned into gold. These things are beyond ordinary
understanding. [Similarly] a common mortal is a Buddha,
and a Buddha a common mortal. This is exactly what is meant
by the doctrine of the three thousand realms in a single
moment of life and by the phrase, "I in fact attained
Buddhahood" (LS16, 225) [which declares that the common
mortal is the Buddha of the Juryo chapter].
Thus it is quite possible that you and your wife have appeared
here as reincarnations of the World-Honored One of Great
Enlightenment [Shakyamuni], the lord of teachings, in order
to help me. (MW-2, 56-57)
When we change our state of life, our view of everything
alters. Seen with the eyes of common mortals, a common mortal
appears simply as a common mortal; but seen with the eyes
of the Buddha, ordinary people, just as they are, are Buddhas.
Yasaburo and his wife appeared to the Daishonin's enlightened
eyes as reincarnations of Shakyamuni, the lord of teachings.
In contrast to the present age, in the Daishonin's day
people who hunted or fished for a living were accorded low
social status. The Daishonin regards Yasaburo and his wife,
who were involved in such work, as Buddhas. He applauds
and reveres them with palms together. By the common sense
of 13th century Japan, this would have been unthinkable.
A Buddha is someone who holds others in the highest regard;
the ability to do so is his intrinsic virtue. Kosen-rufu
means promulgating this attitude of respect for human beings.
When the Daishonin wrote this letter, he was an alleged
criminal. Socially, he was in the absolute worst situation.
Nonetheless, he based himself on the highest state of life.
By contrast, the authorities who persecuted the Daishonin,
and the evil priests in league with them, may well have
thought themselves to occupy the high ground. But these
were people who, "despising and looking down on all
humankind" (LS13, 193), in fact inhabited the lowest
and most pitiful state of life.
Although the distance between Ito and Kawana is short,
we are not allowed to communicate openly. I am writing this
letter for your future reference. Do not discuss these matters
with other people, but ponder them yourselves. If anyone
should learn anything at all about this letter, it will
go hard with you. Keep this deep in your heart, and never
speak about it. With my deepest regard. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Nichiren
The twenty-seventh day of the sixth month in the first
year of Kocho (1261)
To be sent to Funamori Yasaburo
(MW-2, 57)
In concluding the letter, the Daishonin shows great concern
for his followers' situation. Ito is only a short distance
from Kawana. But under the circumstances, the Daishonin
could not encourage them directly --- even sending a letter
was dangerous. The Daishonin's situation was as severe as
ever, so he may have had Yasaburo's messenger wait while
he hastily composed this response.
From start to finish, every line of the letter exudes the
Daishonin's sense of gratitude to Yasaburo and his wife.
He praises them highly, saying that they are surely votaries
of the Lotus Sutra. He compares them to his own mother and
father, Buddhist gods, and reincarnations of Shakyamuni,
the lord of teachings.
Since it might put them in danger if it became known that
they had even received a letter from the Daishonin, he tells
them, "Keep this deep in your heart," so great
was his concern.
It is a very warm letter. The Daishonin's warm character
drew people to him. There were probably disciples who were
attracted to the Daishonin by the depth of his thought or
philosophy, and others who approached the Buddhist teaching
for transforming one's destiny that he espoused out of a
sense of desperation, as though grasping at straws. But
what most drew people to the Daishonin was no doubt his
profound humanity.
The people who hated and envied the Daishonin could not
understand this. To those who look down on others, even
actions of the greatest sincerity, undertaken out of respect
for others, appear distorted. The state of the world today
is such that egoism is taken for granted. In such an environment,
we struggle to spread the correct Buddhist teaching and
to encourage others. We carry out the work of Buddhas and
bodhisattvas.
In light of this Gosho, we are all entities of the Buddha
"as indestructible as diamonds." With great sincerity
we are looking after and encouraging friends, as though
embracing them with our very lives. Through such continued
action, we solidify the entity of the Buddha in our lives.
Walt Whitman sings, "Henceforth I ask not good-fortune,
I myself am good-fortune...." (8)
Good fortune does not lie far away. Our lives themselves
are entities of good fortune, entities of happiness as indestructible
as diamonds. That's what this Gosho resoundingly proclaims.
(This concludes President Ikeda's lecture
on "The Izu Exile. ")
Notes:
1."Funamori Yasaburo moto gosho" (Gosho Zenshu,
pp. 1445-46), written in June 1261 when the Daishonin
was 40. Editor's note: For purposes of internal consistency,
in the text of the Gosho there may occasionally be slight
discrepancies with previously published translations.
2. The grove of sal trees where Shakyamuni expounded his
last teaching, the Nirvana Sutra, and passed away. The
Zobo ketsugi Sutra defines the grove of sal trees in four
different ways, according to the capacities and life states
of common mortals, people of the two vehicles, bodhisattvas
and the Buddha.
3. The name of Shakyamuni in a previous lifetime. In order
to test Sessen Doji's seeking spirit, the god Taishaku
appeared before him in the form of a hungry demon.
4. When Shakyamuni in a past existence practiced austerities
as King Shibi, Taishaku, to test his sincerity, assumed
the form of a hawk, and Bishukatsuma, who serves Taishaku,
that of a dove. In order to save the dove, Shibi gave
his life, offering his flesh to the hungry hawk.
5. King Fumyo was Shakyamuni's name when he was engaged
in the practice of observing the precepts in a previous
existence. Captured by King Hansoku, Fumyo was about to
be executed. Lamenting that he had promised offerings
to a certain monk, but now would have to break his promise,
he received a grace period of seven days. Fumyo thereupon
returned to his country, gave the offerings to the monk,
and transferred the throne to his son. After proclaiming
that keeping promises is the most important precept, he
returned to his captor. Hansoku was so impressed by Fumyo's
sincerity that he released him and converted to Buddhism.
6. Aniruddha was one of Shakyamuni's 10 major disciples,
known as the foremost in divine insight. The above story
is found in the Hokke mongu.
7. Mahanama was one of the five monks ordered by Shakyamuni's
father, the king, to accompany Shakyamuni when he forsook
the secular world and entered religious life. According
to the Zoichi-agon Sutra, Mahanama is said to have possessed
occult powers. The story of "sand in his palm turning
into gold" is found in Tstung-i's Tendai sandaibu
hochu.
8. Walt Whitman, "Song of the Open Road," Leaves
of Grass (New York: Everyman's Library, 1968), p. 125.
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