SGI-USA Study Curriculum

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra
by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda

Myoho-renge-kyo is the Lotus Sutra of the Latter Day

Featuring SGI President Ikeda's series of lectures on the "Hoben "(Expedient means) and "Juryo" (Life Span of the Thus Come One) chapters of the Lotus Sutra. President Ikeda titled this "Preliminary Thoughts."

To this day, memories of my mentor, Josei Toda, the second Soka Gakkai president, lecturing on the Lotus Sutra, come vividly to mind like scenes in a great painting.

After the war, the Soka Gakkai was in a state of ruin as a result of the campaign of suppression that had been waged against it by the militarist government. At that time, President Toda began efforts to reconstruct the organization by delivering lectures on the Lotus Sutra to a handful of members.

As a participant in the seventh series of lectures he gave, I heard him speak on Sept. 13, 1948. That was in the autumn of my 21st year. The venue was the old Soka Gakkai Headquarters in Nishi-Kanda.

"I see that everyone's arrived," he began. There were 50 to 60 people present. President Toda, his eyes sparkling behind his glasses, gazed around the meeting place, which consisted of two small rooms. Then he cleared his throat and began lecturing in a frank and open manner.

I was instantly awestruck, electrified by the profound ideas, the great and intense confidence, the compassionate cry of concern for the world and humankind that seemed to gush from his very being.

President Toda would never toy or joke around with difficult ideas or concepts. His lectures were compassionate, straightforward and lucid. Yet they glowed with the light of extremely profound truth. They conveyed philosophy rooted directly in life experience and in the Law that pervades the infinite universe. They were filled with breathtaking drama and joyous music. At one point, as I listened to him speak, the sun seemed to rise in my heart, and everything became illuminated brilliantly before my eyes.

That night, while still filled with the thrill and excitement I felt during the lecture, I wrote a poem in the pages of my journal:

How I marvel at the greatness and profundity of the Lotus Sutra.
Isn't it the path to salvation for all humankind?
The teaching that enlightens one to the origin of life and the universe,
The fundamental principle revealed to enable all people to acquire the loftiest character and happiness ---
Are not all these to be found in the Lotus Sutra?

I am 21 years old.

Since setting out on my journey of life, what did I contemplate, what did I do, what did I make the wellspring of my happiness?
From this day on, I will advance bravely.
From this day on, I will live resolutely.
I will live within the life of the Great Law, win over my sufferings.
True sadness inspires one to lead a great life.
I now see the true Great Path and perceive the true nature of life.

Astonished at his profundity and breadth of knowledge, someone once asked President Toda, "When did you study these things?"

Smiling warmly, he replied: "While in prison during the persecution, I chanted sincere daimoku, and I studied. As a result, these things seem to have come to me. The 80,000 sutras in fact refer to my own life."

These lectures arose from the vast state of life of President Toda, who had awakened to the essence of Buddhism while in prison.

The Lotus Sutra of the Former, Middle and Latter Days

Later on, President Toda developed the format for his lectures on the Lotus Sutra. He instituted beginners classes on the "Hoben" and "Juryo" chapters specifically for those who had recently taken faith.

His lectures, so brilliant and full of conviction, planted the essence of Buddhism in the hearts of his listeners, even without their being aware of it. For these persons new to faith, many of whom thought of Buddhism only in terms of Shakyamuni, President Toda began each series of lectures by emphasizing that although people in different times spoke of the "Lotus Sutra," the form in which the Lotus Sutra is expressed differs according to the age --- depending on whether it is the Former, Middle or Latter Day of the Law.

President Toda used to say:

Everyone casually assumes that the Lotus Sutra indicates the 28 chapter text by that name. But there are in fact three kinds of Lotus Sutra.

The first is the Lotus Sutra of Shakyamuni. This is the 28 chapter sutra of that name; this Lotus Sutra benefited people during Shakyamuni's lifetime and during the Former Day of the Law. Presently, in the Latter Day, however, even if you should carry out the practices [of the Former Day] of reading and reciting this sutra and copying it, you will gain no benefit thereby. Our recitation of the "Hoben" and "Juryo" chapters during morning and evening Gongyo does not come from this earlier practice --- it has a different significance.

The Lotus Sutra of the Middle Day of the Law is T'ien-t'ai's Maka Shikan (Great Concentration and Insight). The Lotus Sutra for this period of the Latter Day is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the "seven-character Lotus Sutra" hidden in the depths of the "Juryo" chapter. You need to understand that there are three kinds of Lotus Sutra and how they are related to one another. In addition to these, there is another Lotus Sutra that, while not capable of being substantiated in a precise historical sense, was recognized alike by Nichiren Daishonin, Shakyamuni, T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo; this is the "24 character Lotus Sutra" expounded by Bodhisattva Fukyo.

Shakyamuni of India taught the "28 chapter Lotus Sutra" for those alive during his lifetime and in the Former Day. T'ien-t'ai of China expounded the Maka Shikan for human beings of the Middle Day of the Law. And Bodhisattva Fukyo expounded the so-called "24 character Lotus Sutra" for the people of the Middle Day of a Buddha called lonno.

President Toda explained that despite the differences in the age and the form in which the teaching was expressed, these are all in fact the same Lotus Sutra. President Toda called the Lotus Sutra as thus conceived the "manifold Lotus Sutra."

The Lotus Sutra, therefore, is not simply the "Lotus Sutra of Shakyamuni." It is also the "Lotus Sutra of T'ien-t'ai" and the "Lotus Sutra of Bodhisattva Fukyo." To President Toda, who had become enlightened to the Lotus Sutra's essence, this was clear.

In the course of listening to his broad-ranging lectures, his listeners, as a matter of course, could engrave distinctions between the "Lotus Sutra of Shakyamuni" and the "Lotus Sutra of Nichiren Daishonin" in their lives.

What do the different expressions of this "manifold Lotus Sutra" have in common? Ultimately, it is the teaching that "everyone equally has the potential to become a Buddha." There are, however, great differences in how Shakyamuni and Nichiren Daishonin expressed this teaching.

Whereas Shakyamuni expressed it as the "28 chapter Lotus Sutra."  Nichiren Daishonin, to enable all human beings of the Latter Day to attain Buddhahood, revealed the ultimate principle of the Lotus Sutra as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

In the "Essence of the Lotus Sutra" (Hokke Shuyo Sho) the Daishonin says: "Nichiren throws away the general and the outlined and selects the essential. The essence is the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo transmitted to Bodhisattva Jogyo" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 336).

The five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, which constitute the Lotus Sutra's essence --- that is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo of the Three Great Secret Laws --- are the Lotus Sutra appropriate to this age of the Latter Day of the Law. President Toda therefore termed the Daishonin's teaching the "Lotus Sutra of the Latter Day."

The Lineage of Votaries of the Lotus Sutra

Someone who expounds a teaching that can enable all people to attain Buddhahood is certain to encounter persecution. Even Shakyamuni underwent a succession of great persecutions.

Moreover, the Lotus Sutra itself states that whoever spreads the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day of the Law is certain to encounter numerous persecutions even greater than those Shakyamuni faced. Such passages and phrases as: "Since hatred and jealousy abound even during the lifetime of the Buddha, how much worse will it be in the world after his passing?"; "the three powerful enemies"; and "hatred abounds, and it is hard to believe"; and the teaching of "the six difficult and nine easy acts" all serve to clarify this point.

A votary who endures all of these great persecutions and perseveres in spreading the teaching among the people of the Latter Day embodies the heart of the Lotus Sutra. Enduring persecution to spread the teaching to others is, in fact, an expression of compassion.

Just as the sutra predicts, the life of Nichiren Daishonin, who appeared in the Latter Day, was a succession of great persecutions. The Daishonin, noting that he had encountered persecutions matching in every respect those that the sutra predicts will befall its votary, declares himself to be the "votary of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day" and the Buddha of the Latter Day.

At the same time, the Daishonin also designates Shakyamuni, T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo as votaries of the Lotus Sutra of their respective ages. They were all predecessors who expounded the Lotus Sutra out of their desire for the people's happiness; and they were persecuted as a result.

In addition, in many places in the Gosho, the Daishonin praises and offers the greatest encouragement to his followers, such as Shijo Kingo, who struggled to overcome great difficulties and persevered with faith, not begrudging their lives. He called them "votaries of the Lotus Sutra." To one woman (the mother of Oto Gozen) who visited him in exile on the island of Sado, bringing her young daughter with her on the arduous journey, he goes so far as to say, "You are undoubtedly the foremost votary of the Lotus Sutra among all the women of Japan" (MW-3, 52). And he gives her the name Nichimyo Shonin (Sage Nichimyo).

Buddhism Means Taking Action --- Among People and in Society

He also writes, "At the time of kosen-rufu, all people in the entire world will become votaries of the Lotus Sutra" (Gosho Zenshu, P. 834). He thus indicates the principle that anyone in the world may become a votary of the Lotus Sutra.

"Votaries of the Lotus Sutra" refers to those who dedicate themselves to the mission of saving all people throughout the entire world and over the 10,000 years and more of the Latter Day of the Law. And kosen-rufu indicates a situation in which individuals, basing themselves on the Mystic Law, contribute to others and to society as "votaries," that is, as people of action.

Accordingly, the Soka Gakkai's founding president, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, and the second president, Josei Toda, who struggled against the country's militarist regime and propagated the Law for the people's happiness without begrudging their own lives, certainly have a place in this lineage of votaries of the Lotus Sutra.

The 65th high priest, Nichijun, lauded President Makiguchi as "an emissary of the Buddha from birth," and he praised President Toda as "the forerunner of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth."

President Toda initiated the great struggle to spread the "Lotus Sutra of the Latter Day" for those laboring in extreme distress under the conditions that ensued following World War II.

"I want to banish the word misery from this world." "I want to rid the world of poverty and sickness [by enabling all to become prosperous and healthy]." This roar of my mentor, who, like a lion, stood up alone, still resounds in my ears. This cry of the spirit is none other than the "heart of the Lotus Sutra."

Buddhism always means action and practice. Enabling people to overcome their difficulties and establish lives of supreme happiness requires dialogue, thoroughgoing dialogue. In such action and practice beats "the heart of the Lotus Sutra."

The "Buddhism Hidden in the Depths of the Sutra" Is Open to All

In his lectures, President Toda often spoke as follows:

Nichiren Daishonin read the Lotus Sutra from the standpoint of its most profound inner-level recesses. The Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai read the surface meaning of the Lotus Sutra and interpreted its passages and phrases most skillfully...

When I say Nichiren Daishonin read the Lotus Sutra, bear in mind that he was not reading the Lotus Sutra Shakyamuni expounded just as it was, he was reading it in terms of the meaning contained in its depths, from his state of life as the Buddha of the Latter Day. This is what he indicates when he refers to "the theoretical teaching that I read" and "the 'Juryo' chapter in my inner enlightenment."

In his lectures, President Toda strictly distinguished between the "surface reading," or reading from the standpoint of Shakyamuni and T'ien-t'ai, and the "deep reading," or reading from the standpoint of Nichiren Daishonin; and he explained the correct way to read the sutra in the Latter Day.

Just what kind of reading is this "deep reading"? In a nutshell, it is to read the sutra from the standpoint of the vast state of life of the original Buddha who desires to enable all people of the Latter Day to attain true happiness.

The Daishonin "read the Lotus Sutra with his life" by practicing with the spirit of not begrudging his life. The essence of the Lotus Sutra the Daishonin risked his life to propagate is the "Lotus Sutra of the Latter Day," the "Lotus Sutra hidden in the depths of the sutra" --- that is, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

Considered from this standpoint, the 28 chapters of the Lotus Sutra become in their entirety an explanation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. A "deep reading," hence, is to read the Lotus Sutra from the standpoint of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

When we recite the "Hoben" and "Juryo" chapters during Gongyo, we do so not from the standpoint of the Lotus Sutra of the Former or Middle Day of the Law but from that of Nichiren Daishonin's teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

Commentary With Great Wisdom for People's Happiness, Rooted in Daily Life

Nichiren Daishonin lectured on the 28 chapter Lotus Sutra from the standpoint of the teaching hidden in its depths, and Nikko Shonin recorded his lectures in the form of the "Ongi Kuden" (Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings). To revive the heart of the Lotus Sutra and enable all people of the Latter Day to attain Buddhahood, the Daishonin, out of his immense compassion, explains exactly how the passages of the sutra should be read.

This deep reading of the Lotus Sutra might be termed an "interpretation from the standpoint of the Daishonin's enlightenment." It is not simply a theoretical explanation of the sutra but a reading that articulates the spirit of the sutra passages from the single perspective of how all people in the world can become happy.

In other words, it was a commentary geared to action, for practice. It was a commentary for all human beings, on human life and on living. Rather than representing simply "knowledge," the "Ongi Kuden" is a "reading" of great wisdom that precisely and boldly clarifies the Lotus Sutra's relevance to the age and to reality.

"Hidden in the depths" may give an impression of some mystery closed off to most people. But that is certainly not the case. On the contrary, the true value of the "Buddhism hidden in the depths" lies in its being widely open to all people and becoming a living, pulsing force that invigorates the age and society.

The members of the Nikken sect have turned this basic tenet completely on its head. They twist the teaching of the "Buddhism hidden in the depths," get hung up on rigid interpretations, and cloak themselves in a shell of authority. They have turned the world of priests and temples into a world of special privilege, and they have turned the Gohonzon into a tool for controlling people. While not carrying out a satisfactory practice themselves, they spend their time in desultory pursuits, allowing the roots of their humanity to decay. Their conduct is truly fearful. They have killed the Daishonin's spirit.

At any rate, in these lectures I would like to discuss the Lotus Sutra's connection with the age and with society, reading from the "Ongi Kuden" and basing my words on President Toda's lectures.

The Benefit of Reciting the Sutra

As you know, chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, or the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra, is termed the "prime practice" and reading or reciting the "Hoben" and "Juryo" chapters is called the "supplementary practice."

The 26th high priest, Nichikan, explains the relationship between the primary and supplementary practices by comparing them to food and seasoning, respectively. In other words, when eating rice or noodles, the "primary" source of nourishment, you use salt or vinegar as seasoning to help bring out, or "supplement," the flavor.

The benefit from carrying out the primary practice is immense. When you also recite the "Hoben" and "Juryo" chapters, it has the supplementary function of increasing and accelerating the beneficial power of the primary practice.

Our basic way of Gongyo is to regard chanting daimoku as its primary component and reciting the "Hoben" and "Juryo" chapters as supplementary.

The benefit of chanting daimoku is immeasurable and boundless. Indeed, there is infinite power in, chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo just one time. The Daishonin says, "If you recite these words of the daimoku once, then the Buddha nature of all living beings will be summoned and gather around you" (MW-5, 112). Also, he teaches that the benefit of chanting one daimoku is equal to that of reading the entire Lotus Sutra, that of chanting 10 daimoku is equal to reading the sutra 10 times, that of 100 daimoku is equal to reading the sutra 100 times, and that of 1,000 daimoku is equal to reading the sutra 1,000 times.

Accordingly, there is no need to go to unreasonable lengths to read the sutra when, for example, you are sick. If, as a result of forcing yourself to do a complete Gongyo at such times, your condition should worsen, then, rather than increasing your benefit, it may in fact have the opposite effect of destroying your joy in faith and thus generating negative value.

At such times, it may be best to simply read the "Hoben" and Jigage portions of the sutra and chant daimoku, or to just chant daimoku. Buddhism is reason. The important thing, therefore, is for each person to make wise judgments that will enable him or her to carry out a practice of Gongyo filled with joy.

The Lotus Sutra As Read From the Daishonin's Standpoint

The primary practice of the Daishonin's Buddhism is to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the ultimate truth of the highest Buddhist teaching. Since we are carrying out the supreme primary practice, anything less than the highest supplementary practice would be of no help at all.

The supplementary practice the Daishonin chose is the Lotus Sutra, which represents the purpose of Shakyamuni Buddha's advent in this world. Of the sutras 28 chapters, he chose for recitation the "Hoben" chapter, which is the "essence of the theoretical teaching" (Gosho Zenshu p. 1015), and the "Juryo" chapter, , "the essence of the essential teaching" (Ibid., p. 1016).

During the Daishonin's time, as well, his followers read and recited these two chapters. In one Gosho, for example, he says:

Among the entire twenty-eight chapters, the "Hoben" chapter and the "Juryo" chapter are particularly outstanding. The remaining chapters are in a sense the branches and leaves of these two chapters. Therefore for your regular recitation, I recommend that you practice reading the prose sections of the "Hoben" and " Juryo" chapters (MW-6, 10).

He teaches that since the "Hoben" and "Juryo" chapters constitute the foundation of the Lotus Sutra's 28 chapters, these two chapters should be read dally.

Gongyo and daimoku are the roots that, as it were, enable you to grow into a great tree. The tree of your life strengthens and thickens as a cumulative result of your continuing practice of Gongyo and daimoku. While it may not be possible to see any changes from one day to the next, because of the daily nourishment a consistent practice affords, your life will one day become towering and vast like a great tree. As you carry out a steady practice, you will develop a state of life of absolutely indestructible happiness.

As I mentioned earlier, however, it goes without saying that the "Hoben" and "Juryo" chapters we recite are those of the Lotus Sutra as seen from Nichiren Daishonin's standpoint of the "teaching hidden in depths."

Nichikan explains that we read the "Hoben" chapter to "refute" its surface meaning and "borrow" its phrases, and that we read the "Juryo" chapter to "refute" its surface meaning and "reveal" the profound message hidden in it. Reading these chapters from the standpoint of the Daishonin's Buddhism, we refute their surface meaning; it is as though we are saying: "The Lotus Sutra of Shakyamuni has no power of benefit in the Latter Day."

At the same time, from the Daishonin's standpoint, we also read it "to lend praise to the greatness of the Gohonzon through the Lotus Sutra." This way of reading it corresponds to "borrowing" its words and "revealing" its hidden teaching.

While there are meticulous arguments to support and substantiate this explanation, for the time being I would simply like to confirm the point that in reading the "Hoben" and "Juryo" chapters, we do so from the standpoint of the Daishonin's Buddhism.

Your Chanting Voices Reach the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

I imagine some of you may wonder how reading sutra passages you cannot understand could bring about any benefit. Let me reassure you that definitely there is benefit from carrying out this practice.

The Daishonin says:

A baby does not know the difference between water and fire, and cannot distinguish medicine from poison. But when he sucks milk, his life is nourished and sustained. Although one may not be versed [in various sutras]... if one listens to even one character or one phrase of the Lotus Sutra, one cannot fail to attain Buddhahood (MW-7, 104-05).

Just as a baby grows larger without realizing it by drinking milk, if you earnestly chant the Mystic Law with faith in the Gohonzon, your life definitely will come to shine with immeasurable good fortune and benefit.

To cite another example: Dogs have a language in the world of dogs, and birds have a language in the world of birds. While people cannot understand these languages, fellow dogs and fellow birds can certainly communicate with one another. Also, even though some people do not understand scientific jargon or a particular language, others can communicate very well through these languages.

Similarly it might be said that when we are doing daimoku, we are speaking in the Buddhas and bodhisattvas language. Even though you may not understand what you are saying, your voice definitely reaches the Gohonzon, all Buddhist gods and all Buddhas and bodhisattvas over the three existence's and in the 10 directions; and that, in response, the entire universe bathes you in the light of good fortune.

At the same time, it is certainly true that if you study the meaning of the sutra based on this practice and with a seeking mind, you can as a matter of course deepen your confidence and strengthen your faith still further.

A Practice for Revitalization

When we do Gongyo and chant daimoku, we conduct a ceremony in which we praise the Gohonzon and the great Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. On one level, it could be said that Gongyo is a poem or a song of the highest and utmost praise for the Buddha and for Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the fundamental law of the universe. At the same time, when we do Gongyo, we praise the eternal life of the universe and the world of Buddhahood in our own lives.

President Toda once said:

When we turn to the east and salute the Buddhist gods, then and there the Buddhist gods within our own hearts soar out into the universe. Then, when we face the Gohonzon during the second prayer, the Buddhist gods all take their seats behind us.

If I were to salute the Buddhist gods right now, then, regardless of whether it was night or day, they would all take their seats behind me and salute the Gohonzon. And these Buddhist gods would all work to bring about what I desire.

When we worship the Gohonzon, right then and there the doors of the microcosm within us open completely to the macrocosm, and we can experience a sense of serene and great happiness, as though gazing out over the entire universe. We sense tremendous fulfillment and joy, and gain access to a great and inexhaustible source of wisdom. The microcosm that has been embraced by the universe in turn embraces the universe.

Gongyo is an invigorating "ceremony of time without beginning" that revitalizes us from the very depths of our being. Therefore, the important thing is to do Gongyo each day filled with a feeling of rhythm and cadence --- like a horse galloping through the heavens. I hope you will do Gongyo when you are relaxed and refreshed in both body and mind, and that you will perform this practice in such a manner that you can experience great satisfaction and fulfillment.

Practicing the "King of Sutras" Makes People Strong and Wise

The Lotus is the "king of sutras," the "scripture that calls out to all people." It is a scripture "living" right now; it embodies the Buddha's compassion and egalitarian outlook. It is a "renaissance scripture," overflowing with the spirit of revitalization, that makes human beings strong and wise. And the "Hoben" and "Juryo" chapters are the "eye" of the sutra.

No practice is as universally accessible to all people as the practice that Nichiren Daishonin set forth of reading the sutra and chanting daimoku. This is the Buddhist practice most accessible to all people.

During the Daishonin's lifetime, both priests and lay people assiduously recited the sutra and chanted daimoku. In modern society, however, for many people in Japan, sutras have become something distant and remote; the only exposure that most people in Japan have to the sutras is when they hear a priest intoning them at a funeral.

This state of affairs, this tendency to depend on priests --- which has come to be regarded as so natural that no one questions it --- has produced a spiritual foundation of blind obedience to religious authority. And it is the "fundamental evil" that has allowed members of the clergy to grow arrogant and decadent.

Today, however, as a result of the development of the Soka Gakkai International, people not only in Japan but in countries throughout the world are joyously chanting the Mystic Law and reciting the "Hoben" and "Juryo" chapters. This is a grand undertaking wholly without precedent in the history of Buddhism. This represents the great religious revolution of the 20th century.

Nichiren Daishonin's "people's Buddhism" is generating a great light of peace and happiness throughout the world. Millions are experiencing the beneficial power of the Mystic Law and are acting out the wonderful drama of their human revolution. More than anything else, it is this fact that most eloquently attests to the correctness of the SGI, which carries on the spirit of the Lotus Sutra in the present age.

As I work on these lectures, I have images of these many friends in mind. I would like to proceed as though carrying on a discussion with each of you while gazing up into a clear, blue sky, or strolling leisurely along a path through a field filled with fragrant, blooming flowers.

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