SGI-USA Study Curriculum

Learning from the Gosho: The Eternal Teachings of Nichiren Daishonin
by SGI President Ikeda

Lecture 17 - Reply to Myoho Bikuni (1)

A Person of Justice Invites Persecution

Life is a journey. Nichiren Daishonin's entire life was a difficult journey that frequently brought him to the precipice between life and death. As he put it, "As mountains pile upon mountains and waves follow waves, so do persecutions add to persecutions and criticisms augment criticisms" (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 2 [2nd ed.], p. 99).

A number of men and women accompanied him on that arduous path. From a secular standpoint, they did not benefit in the least from doing so; they were persecuted, badgered and even ridiculed. Yet they maintained their allegiance to the Daishonin, filled with the sense of wonder in being alive at the same time as he.

Life is a journey. Today, those followers who advanced throughout their lives with the Daishonin, the original Buddha, shine with a brilliant hue --- as they will throughout eternity.

Myoho Bikuni, (1) the recipient of the letter we will now begin studying, (2) was one such individual. Of all the letters the Daishonin wrote, this is one of the longest. It even has the flavor of a concise autobiography.

This Gosho conveys the sublime spirit of the Daishonin, who continually exerted himself for the people's happiness. This time we will study a portion from the latter half of the letter.

Why are there obstacles? Why is a person of justice persecuted? The Daishonin explains why, illuminating the underlying mechanism at work.

What emerges is the stark contrast between those who continually ask themselves how they should live and those who live by their wits, principally concerned with protecting what they already have.

The Daishonin's Sole Desire: To Protect the People

My situation is the same [as the T'ang general Li-ju Hsien]. Although I brought forth [this teaching of the True Law] out of the desire to help the people of Japan, l am not allowed even to enter the province of my birth, and now, too, I have left the province of my exile. In living secluded deep in this mountain [Mount Minobu], I resemble Li-ju Hsien.

Since I have no wife or children in either my native province or in my place of exile, there is certainly no need for me to grieve [as Li-ju Hsien must have]. Still, apprehensive thoughts of my parents' graves lying untended and of people dear to me weigh on my heart. My feelings are beyond words to express. (Gosho Zenshu, p. 1415)

At the start of this passage, the Daishonin refers to an incident during the reign of Chinese emperor Tai-tsung of the T'ang dynasty in the eighth century. A general named Li-ju Hsien had led a great army northward, but his forces were defeated by the enemy and he was taken prisoner. He then spent 40 years in captivity. During that time, he took to wearing the region's clothes and even married a local woman and had children.

He was allowed to wear T'ang dress only on New Year's Day. His yearning for his home did not wane so when T'ang forces attacked the land, he approached the T'ang camp alone. Because he was wearing the local people's clothes, though, Li-ju Hsien was mistaken for the enemy and nearly killed.

The opportunity eventually came for him to appeal to the T'ang emperor, Te-tsung, but suspicions still lingered. In the end he was sent alone into exile to a distant land in the south.

Though he was sincerely patriotic, he could neither see his home nor be with the wife and children he had left behind. What a cruel fate! What grief Li-ju Hsien must have felt!

The Daishonin compares his own situation to Li-ju Hsien's. Although he expounded the Lotus Sutra solely out of the desire to "help the people of Japan," he could not return to his native Awa. And having left Sado Island, his erstwhile place of exile, he was confined to the recesses of Mount Minobu.

In the Daishonin's home province, ruling power was in the hands of Tojo Kagenobu (3) and members of the Hojo family. It appears that they unjustly prohibited him from entering the region.

Of course, the Daishonin never married or had children. Still, he says he is anxious about the condition of his parents' graves and anxious to see people dear to him. When the Daishonin thought about his home, the faces of many friends and relatives must have come to mind. He certainly did not forget people with whom he had formed connections. The Daishonin was a person of such warmth.

At the time, it was common and even regarded as natural for priests to marry. The Shasekishu, (4) a collection of tales portraying the social conditions of the day, describes such things in detail. It even relates the account of an elderly priest who encouraged all priests he met to marry, so as to have someone to provide for them in old age.

Despite the trend of his times, the Daishonin always conducted himself as a true priest. Nevertheless, society was rife with rumors that he, a man of impeccable integrity, was a "lawless priest," i.e., that he broke the precepts. His bad reputation, based entirely on malicious fabrication, spread far and wide (MW5, 6). This situation --- like that of children striking their parent --- was completely absurd.

Through and through, the Daishonin's spirit was to prevent the country from going astray and to help the suffering multitudes. He had profound compassion for the people. But the Japanese not only failed to understand his spirit --- they trampled on it.

In taking the actions that he did, the Daishonin was prepared for such reaction. No matter how wise or good people may be, if they fail to fight when it is necessary to do so, they will not attain Buddhahood. They will not achieve victory as human beings. Instead, they will eventually fall into the state of Hell. Nichiren Daishonin fervently upheld the Buddha's admonitions.

Those who don't speak the truth when it is time to may avoid danger. Those who don't take courageous action may be able to live in peace and security. This is probably what wily and cunning people do.

But if someone were trying to kill your parents, you would naturally try to warn them. If someone is clearly about to set out on the wrong path, isn't it one's duty to correct the person? Therefore, the Daishonin urged people to return to the correct path, to go forward along it.

The Daishonin did not expect that those in power would readily accept the truth. He didn't necessarily see them as having the sincerity to be concerned about justice or think about people's well-being. Rather, it was as plain as day to him that by raising the cry to establish the peace of the land through the propagation of the True Law, he would call forth great persecution.

He could not abide in silence. No matter what the outcome, as a Buddhist and a human being, he had no choice but to declare with all truth and honesty what was correct and what was mistaken. Like other "emissaries of the Buddha," he took action "because he treasured the Buddhist Law and did not fear secular rules" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 1412). For the sake of truth, he did not fear authority. For precisely that reason, he met with great persecution. That's why, whatever the difficulties he faced, the brilliance of the Daishonin's humanity will shine eternally.

Stand-alone Faith Yields Great Benefit

Yet, I feel joy. Although their bodies have perished, the warriors who, true to their ways, marched forward in the cause of their lord, taking the lead in crossing the Uji and Seta rivers, (5) made names that will be known in ages to come.

For the cause of the Lotus Sutra, I, Nichiren, have likewise been driven from my dwelling and attacked on many occasions, suffering wounds on my body. My disciples have been killed. I have twice been condemned to exile in distant regions. And, once, I was almost beheaded. All this I bore for the sake of the Lotus Sutra.

The Buddha preaches in the Lotus Sutra that more than 2,200 years after his death, in the 95th 500-year period [i.e., at the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law] when the Lotus Sutra is about to spread throughout the world, the Devil of the Sixth Heaven will take possession of people, abusing, striking, banishing or killing those who happen to take faith in this sutra, in an attempt to prevent them from propagating the sutra's teachings. He goes on to say that those who stand in the vanguard at that time win benefit as great as though they had given offerings to the Buddhas of the three existences and the 10 directions. And the Buddha also promises that he will transfer to such persons the benefits resulting from his own trials and the ascetic practices he underwent as a bodhisattva. (Gosho Zenshu, p. 1415)

Why, amid persecution, does the Daishonin say that he feels joy? Just as in battle warriors fight in the front ranks so they can make names for themselves that later generations will remember, the Daishonin stood up in the vanguard of the struggle to propagate the Lotus Sutra.

He says that at the time of kosen-rufu, enemies of the Buddha will appear and persecute the votaries of the Mystic Law. Those who lead the way in the struggle at that time, he asserts, will receive all the benefit that caused Shakyamuni to attain Buddhahood.

It is important to push ourselves to advance on the forefront. It all comes down to self-motivation, conviction and the spirit to stand alone. Those who do activities only because they are told to do so, or out of a sense of obligation, will not experience true Joy.

Since we're alive we ought to live with freshness and vigor. If we're going to run, then we should run with all our might. That way we can manifest great strength and realize tremendous benefit.

The Daishonin speaks of the time "when the Lotus Sutra is about to spread throughout the world." That time is truly right now. The sonorous voices of people chanting the Mystic Law can now be heard in 128 countries. This is an age without precedent in Buddhism's history. Right now, we are correctly and profoundly actualizing these words of the Daishonin. What noble lives we are leading!

Nichiren Daishonin explains the reason why he meets obstacles, saying, "This is entirely for the sake of the Lotus Sutra." It is not, he indicates, for any other reason; it is entirely because he is spreading the Mystic Law.

While it might seem that people today are carrying out the same actions, some may deep down be motivated by the desire to protect personal interests. Some may be doing so out of vanity. Some may have calculating minds.

Ultimately it comes down to whether --- even if others are not aware of our efforts --- we are truly praying and working for kosen-rufu. This difference, while inconspicuous and very subtle, is the decisive factor. And it becomes apparent in whether we attain Buddhahood, whether we realize ultimate victory as human beings.

Buddhism Is Suited to a Global Age

When in the past Bodhisattva Never Disparaging (Jap. Fukyo) spread the Law, respected monks and nuns, known for their wisdom and for upholding all 250 rules of the monk's regulations, gathered in a great assembly and cunningly enticed the laymen and laywomen to slander and attack Bodhisattva Never Disparaging. But Bodhisattva Never Disparaging never thought of turning back and continued to spread the Lotus Sutra, until finally he attained Buddhahood.

Bodhisattva Never Disparaging of the past is the present Shakyamuni Buddha. The respected monks who envied and attacked him fell into the Avichi hell (6) for a thousand kalpas. Even though they praised thousands of sutras including the Kammuryoju (7) and Amida sutras, hailed the names of all Buddhas, invoked the Nembutsu of Amida Buddha, and day and night read the Lotus Sutra, because they had viewed the true votary of the Lotus Sutra with enmity, neither the Lotus Sutra, nor the Nembutsu teaching nor the precepts could save them, and they fell into the Avichi hell for a period of a thousand kalpas.

Those monks at first regarded Bodhisattva Never Disparaging with disdain, but later had a change of heart and themselves took action to serve him, following him as slaves would obey their master. Nevertheless, they could not avoid falling into the hell of incessant suffering.

The people of Japan who are now hostile toward Nichiren are the same. No, my situation is completely different from that of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging --- he was scorned and beaten, but he was never sent into exile by the ruler. He was struck with sticks and staves, tiles and rocks, but he was not wounded or nearly beheaded.

For more than 20 years, I have been continually vilified and attacked by sticks and staves, tiles and rocks. In addition, I have been wounded, exiled, and even nearly beheaded. My disciples have had their lands confiscated, been jailed, sent faraway, driven away from their homes, or had their rice paddies and fields stolen. They have been treated even worse than night robbers, thieves, pirates, mountain bandits and rebels. (Gosho Zenshu, pp. 1415-16)

Kosen-rufu is a movement to open the eyes of all people to their Buddha nature. In a dialogue that he conducted toward the end of his life, Joseph Campbell ( 1904-87), an American authority on comparative mythology, remarked:

When the world changes, then the religion has to be transformed...today there are no boundaries. The only mythology that is valid today is the mythology of the planet --- and we don't have such a mythology. The closest thing I know to a planetary mythology is Buddhism, which sees all beings as Buddha beings. The only problem is to come to the recognition of that. (8)

According to Campbell, myths are value systems that give the people of an age or era meaning in life and joy. He identifies Buddhism --- which, as he puts it, "sees all beings as Buddha beings" --- as the thought system best suited to an age of "one world."

Bodhisattva Never Disparaging perceived the Buddha nature in all people and bowed in reverence to them as he walked along. As a result, people rejected and persecuted him.

No matter how someone may claim to treasure the Law, if he or she persecutes those who spread it, rather than receiving benefit, he or she will be severely punished. Those who persecuted Bodhisattva Never Disparaging later regretted their actions, but they could not avoid retribution for the negative causes they had created.

This was all the more true for those who persecuted Nichiren Daishonin and never even felt remorse for their actions. The Daishonin says, "Even a small error will destine one to the evil paths if one does not repent of it" (MW4, 164). Not only did they subject the Daishonin to persecutions of an incomparably greater magnitude than those that befell Bodhisattva Never Disparaging, but they never came to regret their actions. In light of the Law of life, their retribution surely defies description.

By contrast, the lives of those who, no matter how they are vilified, thoroughly dedicate themselves to justice are infinitely bright. The sun of hope blazes in their hearts. The followers of the Daishonin who crossed mountains and rivers together with their mentor were filled with brilliant hope.

Living With Hope

Second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda once said:

When we consider the lives of great historical figures, we see that without being defeated by the difficulties or hardships of life they steadfastly maintained hope that might seem to ordinary eyes like a dream. Moreover, they lived out their lives without ever abandoning their hopes; they never capitulated.

They could do this, I think, because they were deeply convinced that their hope did not arise from selfish desires or egoism. It was based on a sincere wish for all people's happiness.

From the time the original Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin, at age 16 awoke to the great wish to lead all people to happiness, becoming enlightened to the great truth of the universe, until he reached 32, he engaged in study to confirm his conviction. Thereafter, until the day he died at 61, he never strayed a single step from the hope, the dream, of his youth to which he dedicated his entire life. Reflecting on his life, which represents the realization of this dream, is like gazing upon a magnificent palace....

What I wish most of my comrades, whether they be young or old, is that they will have firm hope in their lives and live with that optimistic spirit. Needless to say, we should remember that the inner resilience that enables us to live with an unwavering sense of hope and confidence derives from the Gohonzon, which embodies the oneness of the Person and the Law and is the life of Nichiren Daishonin.

Let us plant our feet firmly on the ground and live with brilliant hope. At the same time, let us strive to bring equally bright hope to others and help them gain a solid footing in life. (9)

My mentor lived his entire sublime life in just this way. Nichiren Daishonin teaches the wonder of a life lived with the great aspiration to create a new age in which the people take the lead. Let us advance ever forward, always with out sights on the future.

The great French author Victor Hugo ( 1802-85) cried: "What is the question of today? It is to fight. What is the question of tomorrow? It is to win." (10)

Notes:

1. Bikuni: a Japanese transliteration of the Sanskrit term bhikshuni, meaning "nun."
2. "Myoho Bikuni Gohenji" (Gosho Zenshu, pp. 1406-19), written in September 1278 when the Daishonin was 57.
3. Tojo Kagenobu: the steward of Tojo Village in Nagasa District of Awa Province. A passionate believer in the Nembutsu.
4. Shaseki-shu (Collection of Sand and Pebbles): a work by the Buddhist monk Muju Ichien (1226-1312) in 10 or 12 fascicles, written in 1279. A collection of notes, which reflect the spirit of Buddhism in the Kamakura period, about chance occurrences in daily life.
5. The Uji and Seta rivers were strategic points for defending Kyoto, the capital. They were also the focus of fighting in the struggle between the Minamoto and Taira clans.
6. Avichi Hell: the hell of incessant suffering.
7. The sutra setting forth meditation on Amida Buddha.
8. Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers, The Power of Myth, ed. Betty Sue Flowers (New York: Doubleday, 1988), pp. 21-22.
9. Remarks made on Jan. 1,1957. Josei Toda, Toda Josei Zenshu (Collected Works of Josei Today) (Tokyo: Seikyo Shimbunsha, 1983), vol. 3, pp. 292-93.
10. Translated from French: Victor Hugo, Victor Hugo Oeuvres Completes, vol. l5 (Paris: Le club francais du livre, 1970), p. 1247).

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