SGI-USA Study Curriculum
Learning from the Gosho: The Eternal Teachings of Nichiren Daishonin
by SGI President Ikeda
Lecture 7 - The
One Essential Phrase (1)
People Who Chant Daimoku Are Never Deadlocked
All people share the wish to lead truly joyous lives. Everyone
hopes he or she can meet death with a sense of having led
a fulfilled existence. In reality, though, these aspirations
are seldom met. What, then, should one do?
One of Nichiren Daishonin's disciples put the question
this way: "Can one attain Buddhahood just by chanting
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo?" Buddhahood is an immense state
in which life is joyful and death is joyful, too. The question,
in other words, is whether it is possible to attain such
a wonderful state of life by simply chanting daimoku.
The lady Myoho-ama posed this candid and straightforward
question, this inquiry on the most fundamental of issues,
to the Daishonin. While several of the Daishonin's followers
were known as Myoho-ama, the one who received this reply
is thought to have lived in what is today Okanomiya in Numazu,
Shizuoka Prefecture.
In the Daishonin's day, the suffix -ama indicated a laywoman
of deep faith who, as a sign of her commitment to Buddhism,
had cut her hair from waist- to shoulder-length.
Myoho-ama was in a sense asking this question as a representative
of all people of the Latter Day of the Law. The Gosho we
will now begin studying (1) is the Daishonin's reply. Let
us study it with this in mind.
First, for you to ask a question about the Lotus Sutra
is a rare source of good fortune. In this age of the Latter
Day of the Law, those who ask about the meaning of even
one phrase or verse of the Lotus Sutra are much fewer than
those who can hurl great Mount Sumeru to another land like
a stone, or those who can kick the entire galaxy away like
a ball. They are even fewer than those who can embrace and
teach countless other sutras, thereby enabling the priests
and laymen who listen to them to obtain the six mystic powers.
(2) Equally rare is a priest who can explain the meaning
of the Lotus Sutra and clearly answer questions concerning
it. The Hoto chapter in the fourth volume of the Lotus Sutra
sets forth the important principle of six difficult and
nine easy acts. Your asking a question about the Lotus Sutra
is among the six difficult acts. (The Major Writings of
Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 221)
Nichiren Daishonin praises Myoho-ama, telling her that
to ask about the Lotus Sutra is itself extremely rare and
a source of great good fortune.
The Lotus Sutra explains the doctrine of the "six
difficult and nine easy acts." In addition to those
that the Daishonin describes here, the nine easy acts include
such feats --- all of them impossible from the standpoint
of common sense --- as walking across a burning prairie
carrying a bundle of hay on one's back without getting burned.
The point is that, compared with the six difficult acts,
even such things are easy.
The six difficult acts are: to propagate the Lotus Sutra
widely, to copy it or cause someone else to copy it, to
recite it even for a short while, to teach it to even one
person, to hear of the Lotus Sutra and inquire about its
meaning, and to accept and maintain faith in the Lotus Sutra
after Shakyamuni's passing.
Myoho-ama's asking the Daishonin about the Lotus Sutra
corresponds to the noble act of inquiring about its meaning.
In addition, the Daishonin points out, it is extremely rare
to encounter a person who can correctly answer such a question.
Myoho-ama may well have been hesitant to pose her question,
uncertain of the propriety of doing so. But the Daishonin's
encouragement doubtless put her mind at ease and lifted
her spirits. This was Nichiren Daishonin's way with the
people.
In contrast, there are those who take others to task for
asking questions, saying things like, "What's that?
Don't you even know that?" There are those who put
on airs of self-importance when teaching others. Such people
fail to realize that they are in effect negating the Daishonin's
Buddhism.
First Soka Gakkai president Tsunesaburo Makiguchi once
remarked:
There was a certain teacher who, when a pupil asked a question,
would scold the child saying, "Don't you know that
yet? You're a real numskull!" But the pupil asked the
question because he wanted to learn the answer, not because
he wanted to have his intelligence evaluated. This is a
case of the teacher failing to recognize the demands of
the situation and instead passing judgment.
The blurring of the distinction between recognition of
facts and judgmentalism lies at the heart of the intellectual
malaise of the present age.
This is a brilliant insight.
Many of the Daishonin's letters are replies to questions
from followers. The Daishonin no doubt had an air of openness
and accessibility about him that made it possible for people
to ask him anything.
Where there is an atmosphere of lively discussion, where
people can say or ask anything, it is bright and joyful.
In such an environment there is growth. The rhythm of kosen-rufu,
of moving forward, is there.
While sounding extremely difficult, the nine easy acts
are, for the most part, physical and external in nature,
and relate to mystic powers --- to what might be called
"supernatural abilities." But revolutionizing
one's life through following the correct teaching is in
fact far more difficult than working "miracles"
of this kind.
As a matter of fact, modern materialist civilization, while
accomplishing countless "miracles" that were formerly
impossible, has not brought about human happiness. The doctrine
of the six difficult and nine easy acts sounds a shrill
warning against the limitations of this approach.
This is a sure indication that if you embrace the Lotus
Sutra, you will certainly attain Buddhahood in your present
form. Since the Lotus Sutra defines our life as the Buddha's
property of the Law, our mind as the Buddha's property of
wisdom and our actions as the Buddha's property of action,
all who embrace and believe in even a single phrase or verse
of this sutra [i.e., Nam-myoho-renge-kyo] will be endowed
with the benefit of these three properties. (MW-I, 221)
The Daishonin says that those who practice the Mystic Law
will attain Buddhahood in their present form, meaning in
this existence. Each of us, just as we are, will come to
shine as a Buddha. This is human revolution.
The teachings expounded prior to the Lotus Sutra taught
that the Buddha's body is the property of the Law; the Buddha's
mind, the property of wisdom; and the Buddha's compassionate
conduct, the property of action. The Buddha was always presented
as an extraordinary being to be revered from afar.
By contrast, the Lotus Sutra explains that ordinary people
are themselves Buddhas. This is. a landmark teaching. The
Lotus Sutra explains that the Buddha endowed with the three
enlightened properties is the common mortal of kuon ganjo.
Nichiren Daishonin says that when we embrace the Mystic
Law, our lives become the property of the Law; our minds,
the property of wisdom; and our actions, the property of
action.
One's life is the property of the Law --- this means that
one's life, one's determination, which is an entity of the
oneness of body and mind, becomes one with the Mystic Law.
Our life, or determination itself, becomes the wish for
kosen-rufu. We become able to wholeheartedly devote ourselves
to others' happiness.
When we chant daimoku with appreciation at having the rare
opportunity to dedicate our lives to such a noble mission,
immense vitality wells forth. From the depths of our lives,
we tap the wisdom to encourage others and show actual proof.
And our conduct, as the Buddha's property of action, translates
into value-creating activities perfectly responding to the
needs of our circumstances and of those around us.
The basis for this is daimoku. Prayer --- deep prayer from
the very marrow of your life. A person of deep prayer, a
person who constantly chants the daimoku of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo,
is never deadlocked.
The Mystic Law Is the Essential Wisdom for Becoming Happy
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is only one phrase, but it contains
the essence of the entire sutra. You asked whether one can
attain Buddhahood only by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo,
and this is the most important question of all. It is the
heart of the entire sutra and the substance of its eight
volumes.
The spirit within one's body may appear in just his face,
and the spirit within his face may appear in just his eyes.
Included within the word Japan is all that is within the
country's sixty-six provinces: all of the people and animals,
the rice paddies and other fields, those of high and low
status, the nobles and the commoners, the seven kinds of
gems (3) and all other treasures. Similarly, included within
the title, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, is the entire sutra consisting
of all eight volumes, twenty-eight chapters and 69,384 characters
without exception. (MW1, 221-22)
The eyes are indeed the window to the soul. The eyes express
a person's life in its totality. Similarly, the immense
energy of a nuclear explosion is expressed by the succinct
formula E=m(c squared). (4)
While these are merely analogies, the single phrase Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
is the key that unlocks the limitless energy of life. The
Gohonzon of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo contains all the wisdom
of Buddhism and the Lotus Sutra.
Second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda once said: "The
Gohonzon is truly great. But because this is so simple,
people fail to understand it."
Because the Law is profound, its practice is simple. The
more technology advances, machines become simpler to operate.
Mr. Toda went so far as to liken the Gohonzon to a "happiness-manufacturing
machine." And the switch for turning this machine on
is chanting daimoku for oneself and others. It could be
said that Nichiren Daishonin distilled Buddhism down to
an essence of irreducible simplicity for the sake of all
people.
It seems all too simple. When television was invented,
though, people were no doubt amazed at how extremely simple
and convenient it was. Now television is taken for granted;
no one thinks of it as mysterious anymore. The same will
be true of the Mystic Law when kosen-rufu is achieved.
President Toda predicted that 200 years later everyone
would finally understand the significance of our efforts.
He also said, "As science progresses, the validity
and correctness of Buddhism will be increasingly borne out."
The air around us is filled with radio waves of various
frequencies. While these are invisible, a television set
can collect them and turn them into visual images. The practice
of chanting daimoku to the Gohonzon aligns the rhythm of
our own lives with the world of Buddhahood in the universe.
It "tunes" our lives, so to speak, so that we
can manifest the power of Buddhahood in our very beings.
The Daishonin indicates in this Gosho that Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
is the heart of the entire Lotus Sutra. It is the "eye"
and essential core of Buddhism. A comprehensive compilation
of wisdom for helping people become happy, Buddhism has
at its essence the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra, or Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
This is why everything becomes a source of value, everything
is brought to life, when we base ourselves on daimoku. The
Daishonin teaches that myo in Nam-myoho-renge-kyo means
"to revive, to return to life." Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
rejuvenates all knowledge; it revitalizes our daily lives.
People today have a great deal of knowledge. But even though
vast bodies of knowledge have been developed in scientific
technology, psychology, sociology, economics, politics and
other fields, confusion and turmoil in the world continue
unabated. The words of an ancient Greek philosopher, "There
are those who lack wisdom even while knowing many things,"
seem increasingly relevant. People today are like travelers
who wander through a vast desert in search of water, unaware
that there is a spring right under their feet.
We possess the essential wisdom for revolutionizing human
life and manifesting great states of life. We possess the
supreme jewel of humankind. Therefore, we are the people
of the greatest wisdom and wealth.
President Toda said: "While people today are extremely
greedy, they do not desire the vast benefit of attaining
Buddhahood. On this point they could be called unselfish,
people of modest wants, or just plain foolish."
With "great greed" for attaining Buddhahood,
let us continue working to develop the state of life of
absolute happiness --- the state in which life itself is
an irrepressible joy --- in our own lives, while enabling
friends to do the same.
Notes:
1. "Myoho-ama Gozen Gohenji" (Gosho Zenshu,
pp. 1402-03), written in July 1278, when the Daishonin
was 57. The Gosho text here may differ in places from
what appears in The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
or other previously published translations. This is so
that the wording of the English text will accord more
smoothly with the modern Japanese translation of the original
Japanese Gosho. (The author is using a modern Japanese
rendering of the classical Japanese original as the basis
of his lectures in this series).
2. Six mystic powers: Expounded in the Kusha Ron, they
are: 1) the power to appear anywhere at will; 2) the power
to observe all phenomena in the world, no matter how large
or small, near or far, 3) the power to understand all
sounds and languages 4) the power to read minds, 5) the
power to know people's past lifetimes; and 6) the power
to be free from all innate desires.
3. Seven kinds of gems: They differ slightly according
to different scriptures. The "Emergence of the Treasure
Tower" (11th) chapter of the Lotus Sutra defines
them as: gold, silver, lapis, coral, agate, pearl and
carnelian. From the standpoint of faith, they indicate
the seven jewels of the Treasure Tower.
4. Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared.
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