SGI-USA Study Curriculum
Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra
by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda
The Daishonin Established the 'Object of
Worship Never Known Before'
Sho-i sha ga. Butsu zo shingon. Hyaku sen man noku.
Mushu sho butsu. Jin gyo sho-butsu. Muryo doho. Yumyo shojin.
Myosho fu mon. Joju jinjin. Mi-zo-u ho. Zui gi sho setsu.
Ishu nange.
What is the reason for this? A Buddha has personally
attended a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a million,
a countless number of Buddhas and has, fully carried out
an immeasurable number of religious practices. He has exerted
himself bravely and vigorously, and his name is universally
known. He has realized the Law that is profound and never
known before, and preaches it in accordance with what is
appropriate, yet his intention is difficult to understand.1
Joju jinjin. Mi-zo-u ho.
He has realized the Law that is profound and never
known before....2
All People Are Entities of the Mystic Law
According to this passage, the Mystic Law in which we believe
is the supreme teaching that has "never been known
before." When I read these words, I feel as though
the dawn were spreading before my eyes.
In the past, Shakyamuni served countless Buddhas and carried
out an immeasurable number of religious practices. This
passage says that as a result of his arduous practice for
enlightenment over a period of countless kalpas, he "has
realized the Law that is profound and never known before."
T'ien-t'ai explains that "profound" means "reaching
the very foundation of enlightenment." And "never
known before" indicates that until then, no one had
known of this Law, and that Shakyamuni himself hadn't known
of it until he attained enlightenment.
It was therefore certainly beyond the ken of the people
of the nine worlds, including the people of the two vehicles
and the bodhisattvas. That's why a little later in the "Expedient
Means" chapter Shakyamuni says, "[The true entity
of all phenomena] can only be understood and shared between
Buddhas."3
In other words, it is a Law that can only be comprehended
by Buddhas.
The Lotus Sutra Makes Public the 'Secret
Teaching' for Attaining Buddhahood
The Lotus Sutra is the teaching that reveals this "Law
... never known before," this Law that "can only
be understood and shared between Buddhas."
The pre-Lotus Sutra teachings were all expounded "according
to others' minds" (Jpn zuitai), that is, according
to the capacities of the people of the nine worlds. For
the people of the nine worlds, therefore, the Lotus Sutra
is a teaching they have never before heard; and in this
sense, too, it is a Law "never known before."
The Lotus Sutra makes public to all people the "secret
teaching" "understood and shared [only] between
Buddhas" that has never been known before. A genuine
"secret teaching" is not something kept to oneself,
hidden from others and used to create an aura of mystery
or to appropriate authority to oneself.
The Nikken sect's authoritarianism is evidence that they
totally fail to understand the heart of the Lotus Sutra.
When the proper "time" arrives, a genuine "secret
teaching" should be expounded vociferously and spread
to cure the ills of all humankind and its brilliant force
thus proven. That is the purpose of this "secret teaching,"
of this "Law that is profound and never known before."
In many Gosho, Nichiren Daishonin refers to the Gohonzon
of the Three Great Secret Laws as a "great mandala
that has never before been known."
" In one place, he says: "Even in the Lotus Sutra
Shakyamuni only revealed it (the Gohonzon) in the 'Life
Span' chapter; and in the 'Supernatural Powers' (Jpn Jinriki)
chapter he entrusted it to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth"
(MW-3, 64-65).
In another place, he states:
After the Buddha's death, in the two thousand years of
the Former and Middle Days of the Law, not even the term
"object of worship of the essential teaching"
was mentioned, let alone the object itself being inscribed....
T'ien-t'ai, Miao-lo and Dengyo... never expounded it....
Nichiren was the first to inscribe this great mandala. (MW-1,
211)
Nichiren Daishonin bestowed upon all people of the Latter
Day of the Law the great "secret teaching" known
only to Buddhas in the form of the "object of worship
that has never before been known." And toward that
end he underwent great persecutions.
We should always bear in mind the Daishonin's immense compassion
as revealed by his actions to spread this teaching. And
for the same reason we should always practice faith based
on a profound sense of gratitude and joy.
The "Law that is profound and never known before"
manifests in our lives when we have ardent faith in the
"great mandala that has never before been known."
Advance With the Pride of Bodhisattvas of
the Earth Who Are Creating a New Dawn of Human History
President Toda explained the passage "He has realized
the Law that is profound and never known before," as
follows: "This refers to the establishment of the Dai-Gohonzon
of the Buddhism of sowing in Nichiren Daishonin's own life."
The "Law that is profound and never known before"
does not exist somewhere else. it manifests in the living
bodies, the actual lives of us [who embrace the Gohonzon].
In the well-known Gosho "On the Treasure Tower,"
the Daishonin says, "Those who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo,
irrespective of social status, are themselves Treasure Tower
and likewise they themselves are Taho Buddha" (MW-1,
30).
We should erect the Treasure Tower of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
within our lives, he is saying. This is the spirit that
imbues the passage "He has realized the Law that is
profound and never known before."
Not only Shakyamuni, but all people can awaken to the "Law
that is profound and never known before." All people
can establish the Treasure Tower in their lives and shine
brilliantly as entities of the Treasure Tower. In time,
the earth will teem with countless shining Treasure Towers
of life. From the standpoint of the Daishonin's Buddhism,
this will constitute the actual proof of the passage "He
has realized the Law that is profound and never known before."
We are opening an unprecedented dawn in human history by
means of the great and unprecedented Mystic Law.
Because it is a teaching never known before, votaries and
courageous Bodhisattvas of the Earth have to appear to spread
it. President Toda said, "We are members of the Soka
Gakkai family, Bodhisattvas of the Earth, who have emerged
from the earth to accomplish the unprecedented widespread
propagation of the Law." It is we who have inherited
President Toda's spirit and are striving to carry out this
"practice never known before."
Please be confident that in advancing this "unprecedented
movement of kosen-rufu" we will receive immeasurable
and boundless good fortune and blessings, the likes of which
have never been known before.
The SGI Puts the Daishonin's 'Intention'
Into Practice
Zui gi sho setsu. Ishu nange.
... and [he] preaches it [this Law] in accordance with
what is appropriate, yet his intention is difficult to understand.4
In this passage, Shakyamuni explains why the "door
to the wisdom" of the Buddhas is difficult to understand
and difficult to enter.
Shakyamuni indicates that the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings
were expounded according to the various capacities of the
people of the nine worlds and that he has not yet explained
his intention - that is, the Buddha's true intention in
expounding his teaching - and that no one has yet comprehended
it.
It is no simple matter to directly expound the "Law
that is profound and never known before," which the
Buddha has attained as the result of bold practice. That's
because the difference in level of understanding between
the Buddha and other beings is so great.
Even were the Buddha to expound the true teaching, should
the people's understanding be incomplete, there would be
the danger they would develop doubt, destroy the Law and
fall into the three evil paths of existence.
Shakyamuni, immediately after attaining the Way beneath
the Bodhi tree, at first hesitated to expound the Law. However,
he realized that unless he expounded his teaching right
then and there, people would be forever locked in the darkness
of delusion. Herein lay the inner conflict of Shakyamuni,
who pioneered the Way for the enlightenment of all human
beings. Overcoming his dilemma, he began to expound the
Law.
So that people could gain a correct and unerring understanding
of the Law, Shakyamuni, exercising every ounce of his wisdom,
continuously pondered how he could convey his enlightenment
to as many people as possible. He taxed his ingenuity. Such
was Shakyamuni's compassion. Wisdom is born of compassion.
The teachings for people of the three vehicles (of Learning,
Realization and Bodhisattva) certainly were set forth according
to the people's various capacities. The Buddha expounded
the way of the voice-hearers, the way of the pratyekabuddhas,
and the way of the bodhisattvas, tailoring each teaching
to the understanding of each of these groups. In this way,
he enabled them to arrive at the "door to the wisdom"
of the Buddhas. This was the expedient purpose of the provisional
teachings that preceded the Lotus Sutra.
In this passage, Shakyamuni says that he "preaches
it in accordance with what is appropriate." In other
words, he expounds the Law in accordance with what is appropriate
to the capacities of the people.
The Buddha's true intention was always to expound the supreme
vehicle of Buddhahood, the path for all people to become
Buddhas. However, the voice-hearers and the pratyekabuddhas
do not understand this. Having grown attached to provisional
teachings, they fail to understand that the Buddha's true
intention is to enable all people without exception to become
Buddhas. They do not comprehend the true teaching that makes
all people Buddhas. This is the meaning of the words "his
intention is difficult to understand."
Needless to say, the Buddha did not go out of his way to
make his preaching difficult to understand. Rather, the
Buddha's intention is difficult to understand because of
the disbelief and the attachments of those who receive his
teaching.
When people's hearts are closed, they cannot readily accept
even sound reasoning. This suggests just how fearful is
attachment to mistaken ideas. Such attachment can destroy
a persons life.
In fact, the three powerful enemies persecute the Lotus
Sutra's votaries precisely because, failing to understand
the heart of the Lotus Sutra ("his intention is difficult
to understand"), they remain attached to provisional
teachings. The sutra says, "The evil monks of that
muddied age, failing to understand the Buddha's expedient
means, how he preaches the Law in accordance with what is
appropriate, will confront us with foul language."5
Evil priests of the muddied Latter Day of the Law, failing
to understand that the teachings expounded before the Lotus
Sutra are all "expedient means" taught "in
accordance with what is appropriate," become attached
to these shallow teachings. As a result, they bear malice
toward and persecute the votaries of the Lotus Sutra, who
refute the teachings they uphold.
Those who fail to understand and who distort the Buddha's
true intention will persecute those who practice exactly
as the Buddha taught. And in any age the former will be
numerous and the latter few.
The Shout of Justice, the Victory of the
True Teaching
In a polluted and evil society, those who persecute the
Lotus Sutra's votaries will spread malicious rumors and
try to turn public opinion against the votaries. And they
will seek to drive off people of justice.
Since this is a muddied world of such inverted proprieties,
we need to persistently raise the cry of truth and justice.
We must win and show proof of the correct teaching.
After the Daishonin died, his correct teaching was protected
because Nikko Shonin stood up alone. Had Nikko Shonin remained
silent, then no doubt a history of the "justice of
the five senior priests" would have emerged. Instead,
Nikko Shonin strictly refuted the erroneous teachings of
the five senior priests.
The five senior priests did not understand the Daishonin's
"intention," the true intention of the original
Buddha. The Daishonin's sole "intention" was to
accomplish the widespread propagation of the object of worship
of the Three Great Secret Laws and enable all people of
the Latter Day of the Law to become happy.
The five senior priests lost sight of the spirit of the
Daishonin, who revealed the Three Great Secret Laws. Nikko
Shonin alone continually followed and served the Daishonin,
endured persecutions together with him and boldly developed
propagation of his teaching in strict accordance with the
mentor's instructions. Because he struggled as one in spirit
with the mentor, he understood the Daishonin's "intention."
You can tell whether the spirit of the mentor has been
handed down correctly by looking at the conduct of the disciple.
No matter how people may claim to uphold the Three Great
Secret Laws, if they are not taking action for kosen-rufu
out of the desire for the happiness of all people, then
we can only conclude that they have lost sight of the Daishonin's
"intention."
Seven hundred years after the Daishonin's struggle to spread
the teaching in the face of persecution, when his spirit
was truly on the verge of becoming extinguished, the Soka
Gakkai appeared. The Soka Gakkai is a body that has directly
inherited his true teaching and that advances in accord
with his will and decree.
The SGI, which is directly connected to the Daishonin,
and which thoroughly bases itself on the Gohonzon and the
Gosho, is the only body of harmoniously united believers
who are correctly passing on the Daishonin's "intention."
As glorious "verifiers of the correct teaching:"
let us speak out for kosen-rufu with lofty pride and dignity
and with golden eloquence, not begrudging our voices.
'If We Do Not Harbor Doubts in Our Hearts'
We Can Definitely Attain the Summit of Happiness
President Toda explained the meaning of the line "his
intention is difficult to understand" as it applies
to our practice as follows:
Whereas the Buddha sees what is to come, for us the future
is totally dark, and we can only see what has already passed.
For this reason, it is difficult for us to awaken to the
heart of the Gohonzon. It is enough that we believe wholeheartedly
in the Gohonzon, no matter what. If we do so, then we will
definitely receive benefit. It is no good if we start doubting
along the way.
He is discussing the ultimate meaning of faith. Firm faith
in the Gohonzon leads to the highest "wisdom."
This is the principle of "substituting faith for wisdom."
Nichiren Daishonin's "intention" is to enable
all people to become Buddhas. Therefore, it is impossible
that those who embrace the Daishonin's Buddhism throughout
their lives could fail to realize true happiness.
In the course of our practice, however, various things
arise on account of the negative causes and tendencies in
our own lives. There may be times when we think, "What
did I do to deserve this?" But we should not be swayed
every time some such phenomena arise; for it is already
certain that we will become happy in the end. We should
regard everything that happens to us in our practice to
reach the destination of happiness as our training. If we
do so, then later on we will see the profound "meaning"
and "intention" underlying each of these phenomena.
The Daishonin says, "If we do not harbor doubts in
our hearts, we will as a matter of course attain Buddhahood"
(MW-2, 205). Those who avoid succumbing to doubts no matter
what happens are winners in faith. They are people who truly
understand the Daishonin's "intention."
Notes:
- The
Lotus Sutra, trans. Burton Watson (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1993), pp. 23-24.
- Ibid., pp. 23-24.
- Ibid., pp. 23-24.
- Ibid., p. 24.
- Ibid., p. 195.
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