SGI-USA Study Curriculum
Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra
by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda
The Gohonzon is the True Entity of All Phenomena
Yui butsu yo butsu. Nai no kujin. Shoho jisso. Sho-i
shoho. Nyo ze so. Nyo ze sho. Nyo ze tai. Nyo ze riki. Nyo
ze sa. Nyo ze in. Nyo ze en. Nyo ze ka. Nyo ze ho. Nyo ze
honmak kukyo to.
The true entity of all phenomena can only be understood
and shared between Buddhas. This reality consists of the
appearance, nature, entity, power, influence, internal cause,
relation, latent effect, manifest effect and their consistency
from beginning to end. (LS-2,
24)1
Today, once again, let us study the essence of the Lotus
Sutra.
In my last lecture, I discussed the wisdom of the Buddha
who has realized the true entity existing in all things
from the standpoint of the sutra passage revealing the ten
factors of life.
In the Gosho "The
True Entity of Life," Nichiren Daishonin clarifies
the fundamental meaning of the true entity of the ten factors.
The Daishonin wrote "The
True Entity of Life" in reply to a question from
his disciple Sairenbo regarding the above passage of the
"Expedient Means" chapter. Sairenbo, who is thought
originally to have been a scholar-priest of the Tendai school,
was an avid student of Buddhism.
The Daishonin plainly states at the outset of this Gosho
that the passage of the Lotus Sutra explaining the ten factors
of life "means that all beings and their environments
in any of the ten worlds, from Hell at the lowest to Buddhahood
at the highest, are, without exception, the manifestations
of Myoho-renge-kyo" (MW-1, 89). In other words, all
life (all phenomena), which undergoes constant and manifold
changes, is the manifestation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (the
true entity).
The entire universe is itself the Mystic Law. All things
in nature are the song, the dance, the drama, the poem,
the sparkling, the birth and death, suffering and joy, constant
vicissitudes, advance and the supreme joy of the Mystic
Law.
We practice faith to become genuinely aware of the true
entity of all phenomena and to manifest it actively in our
own lives. Through faith we can develop a great state of
absolute freedom in our lives.
Of the ten factors of life, "consistency from beginning
to end" does not mean simply that the nine factors
from "appearance" to "manifest effect"
are perfectly integrated in each of the ten worlds - so
that if someone or something is in the world of Hell, for
instance, then all factors of that person or thing will
be in the state of Hell. The Daishonin clarifies that it
indicates consistency on a more fundamental level: that
all nine factors in any of the ten worlds are fundamentally
manifestations of Myoho-renge-kyo.
To view all things as manifestations of Myoho-renge-kyo
is to perceive the true entity of all phenomena. This is
the wisdom of the Buddha.
In another Gosho, the Daishonin clearly says, "The
ten factors of life are Myoho-renge-kyo" (Gosho Zenshu,
p. 415). Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the fundamental law of the
universe (the true entity) that ceaselessly manifests as
life in the ten worlds (all phenomena).
One who becomes enlightened to the Mystic Law as the fundamental
truth of the universe is the Buddha. The Buddha's enlightened
state of life is expressed as the Gohonzon. Therefore, the
ten factors of life ultimately indicate the Gohonzon.
President Toda explained this, saying:
The ten factors thus become an abbreviated explanation of
the form of the Gohonzon. That's why the "Expedient
Means" chapter is very important.
On the surface, they are just the ten factors; this is
on the level of doctrinal study of sutras. But from the
standpoint of the enlightenment of Nichiren Daishonin, on
the level of his perception of the truth in the depths of
his being, they become a description of the Gohonzon.
In other words, from the standpoint of the Daishonin's
Buddhism, the true entity of all phenomena is none other
than the Gohonzon.
In terms of the Gohonzon, "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo Nichiren"
inscribed down the center of the Gohonzon corresponds to
the true entity, and the beings of the ten worlds appearing
on either side represent all phenomena. In terms of the
doctrine of ichinen sanzen, ichinen (a single life-moment)
corresponds to the true entity, and sanzen (3,000 realms)
to all phenomena.
When we pray to the Gohonzon of actual ichinen sanzen,
as beings of the nine worlds, our daily activities, illuminated
by Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, reveal the true entity of all phenomena.
The Daishonin says, "The living beings of the ten worlds
are all Buddhas of the true entity of all phenomena"
(Gosho Zenshu, p. 830). Our lives just as they are - whether
in the world of Hell or the world of Humanity - can shine
as the embodiment of the true entity, that is, of Myoho-renge-kyo.
It is not necessary to go somewhere far away or to become
someone special. Regardless of whether we experience suffering
or joy, as long as we sincerely continue to pray to the
Gohonzon and take action for kosen-rufu, then, just as we
are, we will definitely become Buddhas of the true entity
of all phenomena. And we can fulfill our own unique mission.
In fact, through our practice of faith we become able to
express the unimpeded workings of ichinen sanzen in our
day-to-day existence and throughout our lives.
The 26th high priest, Nichikan Shonin, says in his exegesis
on "The
True Object of Worship": "When we single-mindedly
chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, our lives in their entirety become
the object of worship."
Through carrying out the practice of the Mystic Law for
ourselves and others, our lives become the Gohonzon. We
can in fact make our lives shine as entities of the Mystic
Law.
President Toda said: "By worshiping the Gohonzon and
chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the Gohonzon thoroughly penetrates
our lives. When we open our eyes and look at the universe,
there we find the Gohonzon. And when we close our eyes and
look deeply within, the Gohonzon clearly appears there,
too, all the while increasing in strength and coming to
shine still more brightly."
Fundamentally, the entire universe is the true entity of
all phenomena and the Gohonzon. Fundamentally, our own lives
are also the true entity of all phenomena and the Gohonzon.
Therefore, when we worship the Gohonzon, through the dynamic
exchange between the universe and our lives, our own true
entity, that is, our lives as the entity of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo,
comes to shine. The wisdom of the Buddha inherent in our
lives wells forth. The courage to take compassionate action
arises in our hearts. And we enter the golden path of happiness.
How great, indeed, is the Gohonzon! How wondrous is the
wisdom of the Lotus Sutra! Let us deeply engrave in our
hearts that the Gohonzon itself is the embodiment of inexhaustible
happiness and wisdom, and the Lotus Sutra of the Latter
Day of the Law.
The Mutual Possession of the Ten Worlds
and 'Ichinen Sanzen
Through explaining the ten factors and the true entity
of all phenomena, Shakyamuni has more or less expressed
the contents of the wisdom of the Buddha. Later on in the
"Expedient
Means" chapter, he explains the Buddha's one teaching
(the one Buddha vehicle) that "opens the door of,"
"shows," "awakens living beings to,"
and "induces them to enter" the path of the Buddha
wisdom. And he clarifies that the three types of teachings
(the three vehicles) expounded before the Lotus Sutra for
the voice-hearers, pratyekabuddhas and bodhisattvas are
expedient means. This is called the "replacement of
the three vehicles with the one vehicle."
Since the passage explaining the true entity of the ten
factors indicates the gist of the replacement, it is termed
the concise replacement of the three vehicles with the one
vehicle. The Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai of China established
his essential doctrine of ichinen sanzen on the basis of
this passage and the concept of the mutual possession of
the ten worlds.
The teaching of the Lotus Sutra that opens the wisdom of
the Buddha to all people is the revelation that all beings
of the nine worlds are endowed with the world of Buddhahood.
Based on this mystic principle, T'ien-t'ai expressed the
inscrutable true entity through the concepts of the mutual
possession of the ten worlds (that each of the ten worlds
is endowed with all ten worlds) and the hundred worlds and
thousand factors (that each of the hundred worlds is endowed
with the ten factors).
The realm of the environment is then clarified when we
come to the indication, in the "Life Span" chapter
of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra, that this
saha world is the land where the Buddha dwells eternally.
On this basis, T'ien-t'ai develops the doctrine of ichinen
sanzen, explaining that the thousand factors contain the
three realms.
In this connection, Nichiren Daishonin says, "The
doctrine of ichinen sanzen arises from the ten factors contained
in the first volume [of the eight volumes] of the Lotus
Sutra" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 412).
And so we see that the passage explaining the true entity
of the ten factors is a crucial one indicating that the
beings of the ten worlds can all become Buddhas.
To say that the beings of the ten worlds all possess the
ten factors of appearance, nature, entity, power, influence,
inherent cause, relation, latent effect, manifest effect
and their consistency from beginning to end, is nothing
less than an affirmation that, as seen with the eye of the
Buddha, there is no difference between the life of the Buddha
and the lives of others. The enlightenment of all people,
therefore, is a certainty.
The Daishonin emphasizes the importance of this passage,
saying:
The ultimate purpose of the Buddha's advent in this world
is the Lotus Sutra, the fundamental teaching that enables
all living beings to enter the Buddha Way. This doctrine,
however, is to be found only in the four-character phrase
of the true entity of all phenomena.... This single phrase
contains immense meaning. (Gosho Zenshu, p. 1139)
Refutation of the Tendai School for Their
Lack of Practice
Truly epochal significance attaches to the fact that, from
the standpoint of the Daishonin's teaching, the true entity
of all phenomena is the Gohonzon.
The purpose of Buddhism was to perceive the true entity
of all phenomena in one's own heart through the practice
of observing one's mind and perceiving the Law therein.
The ultimate target was to awaken to the true entity that
is at one with all phenomena.
However, this spirit was distorted by later Tendai scholars.
The Tendai school in the Daishonin's day had declined even
to the point of repudiating the value of Buddhist practice.
Their view, simply put, was that since the true entity was
at one with all phenomena, then it was fine for things to
be just as they were; one was a Buddha even if he or she
carried out no practice. They had become completely degenerate;
they had killed the spirit of the founder, T'ien-t'ai.
Simply saying that reality, mired in pollution and suffering,
is itself the true entity cannot possibly lead to any improvement
in people's lives or in society. To this day, the tendency
to readily view present conditions with rose-colored glasses
and neglect action needed to bring about positive change
remains deeply ingrained in Japanese people's outlook on
religion and on life.
Nichiren Daishonin fought against this decadent Tendai
school. It could even be said that the priests of the Tendai
school used the teaching of the true entity of all phenomena
to justify their own decadence. In this respect they resemble
the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood today.
Nichiren Daishonin revived the wisdom of the Buddha who
perceived the true entity of all phenomena as a guideline
for people to strive toward in their Buddhist practice and
use to attain Buddhahood. That is, he inscribed the Gohonzon
that embodies the enlightened life of the Thus Come One
of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (Nichiren Daishonin) for all people
throughout the world during the Latter Day of the Law.
The Daishonin's Buddhism teaches not that we should merely
observe the true entity of all phenomena within our lives
but that we should strive to make the reality of our lives
and our environment shine as the true entity of all phenomena.
It is a philosophy of change and improvement for causing
all phenomena - our lives and society - to shine as the
entity of the Mystic Law.
With the light of the wisdom of the true entity of all
phenomena we can dispel the darkness of illusion arising
from ignorance of this wisdom. In that sense, our existence
itself is light. Ours is a struggle to brighten and illuminate
the place where we are. When we become light, then, no matter
where we are, there can be no darkness in that realm.
The Daishonin initiated a great struggle of religious reformation
to refute the decadence and degeneration of the Buddhist
world. And we, who have a direct connection in faith with
the Daishonin, are carrying on this struggle.
The Nichiren Shoshu priesthood today - similar to the Tendai
school in the Daishonin's time but incomparably more reprehensible
- has trampled upon the spirit of the founder, Nichiren
Daishonin. Neglecting practice and whiling away their lives
in dissipation, they have thoroughly defiled the spirit
of Buddhism. Therefore, we have struggled dauntlessly against
them. Fighting against evil is the proof of a true disciple
of the Daishonin.
The Benefit of Reading the Passage Three
Times
What significance attaches to our reading this passage
explaining the true entity of the ten factors three times
when we recite the sutra during our practice of gongyo each
morning and evening?
This is based on a statement the Daishonin makes in the
Gosho "The Doctrine of Ichinen Sanzen." He explains
that reading the ten factors three times signifies the manifestation
of the three truths of non-substantiality, temporary existence
and the Middle Way in our lives. This means that our lives
manifest the three enlightened properties of the Law, wisdom
and action. It also means that our lives manifest the three
virtues of the property of the Law, wisdom and emancipation.
Our lives shine as Buddhas embodying enlightenment (the
property of Law) endowed with wisdom (the property of wisdom)
and compassion (the property of action and emancipation).
The Daishonin teaches, "There is increased benefit
in reading [this passage] three times" (Gosho Zenshu,
p. 412). In short, we read it three times to proclaim that
our lives are noble Buddhas and increase our benefit of
faith.
In general, every time we do gongyo and chant daimoku,
we praise the Buddha nature in our own lives. We also praise
the Buddha nature in the lives of all others, and we commune
with the Buddha nature of the universe. What a solemn ceremony
this is! How fortunate we are to live according to the principle
of faith manifesting itself in daily life!
Notes:
- Ed. Note: All quotations from the Lotus Sutra are from:
The
Lotus Sutra, tran. Burton Watson (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1993). All citations from this work
will be given in the text and abbreviated as follows:
LS followed by the chapter number, and then the page number.
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