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The Bodies and Minds of Ordinary Beings

BACKGROUND:

The opening and concluding portions of this Gosho have been lost, so its date and recipient are both unknown. From the contents of this extant portion of the letter, however, it would seem that Nichiren Daishonin wrote it at Mount Minobu to one of his devoted believers.

The title, "The Bodies and Minds of Ordinary Beings," derives from the first sentence of this Gosho. It is also called the "Zuijii Gosho." The original is preserved at Taiseki-ji, the head temple of Nichiren Shoshu.

In the beginning of this letter, the Daishonin declares that all the sutras expounded before the Lotus Sutra are to be classified as Zuitai, or "according with the minds of others." That is, they are provisional teachings accommodated to the people's understanding. The Lotus Sutra, on the other hand, is called zuijii, or "according with [the Buddha's] own mind." It is the true teaching in which the Buddha directly revealed his own enlightenment. The provisional teachings set forth only partial aspects of the truth, for they are expounded in accordance with the people's capacity, while the true teaching or Lotus Sutra expounds the truth in its entirety. The Daishonin asserts that those who take faith in the Lotus Sutra, even without understanding its meaning, will naturally gain immeasurable benefit.

He then briefly traces the history of the transmission of the Lotus Sutra in the three countries of India, China, and Japan during the Former, Middle, and Latter Days of the Law following Shakyamuni Buddha's death. In so doing, he uses the analogy of three kinds of messengers: the extremely clever kind, who relays his lord's message without error; the somewhat clever messenger, who interpolates his own words into the lord's message and thus confuses it; and the messenger who is not clever at all but nevertheless relays the message honestly. These three kinds of messengers, the Daishonin says, correspond respectively to the Buddhist teachers of the Former, Middle, and Latter Days of the Law.

The greater part of his discussion in this letter focuses on the Middle Day of the Law, when the message of the Lotus Sutra became overshadowed by other teachings in China, the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai made clear the supremacy of the Lotus Sutra when he met in debate with leaders of the ten schools of the north and south. After T'ien-t'ai's death, however, the central position of the Lotus Sutra was obscured by the introduction from India of the Hosso, Kegon, and Shingon schools. The Great Teacher Miao-lo to some extent revived T'ien-t'ai's teaching, but his efforts fell short of restoring the Lotus Sutra to its former, uncontested place of honor.

In Japan, the supreme position of the Lotus Sutra was established by the Great Teacher Dengyo, the founder of the Japanese Tendai sect. However, during the same period, Kobo established the esoteric Shingon sect, and Dengyo's successors eventually fell under its influence, placing the Lotus Sutra on the same level as the esoteric teachings. This the Buddhism based on the Lotus Sutra became obscured.

The Daishonin here criticizes the arguments put forth by such teachers as Shan-wu-wei, Hsuan-tsang, Kobo, Jikaku and Chisho, pointing out that they have no basis in the Buddhist sutras. In contrast, the Hosshi (tenth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra clearly states: "Among all the sutras I [Shakyamuni Buddha] have preached, now preach and will preach, this Lotus Sutra is the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand," thus showing the Lotus Sutra to be the most profound teaching. When he sought to make the purport of this passage clear to all, the Daishonin says, he met with persecution; hence various calamities have occurred. In contrast, however, he explains that those who support the votary of the Lotus Sutra will gain the same benefit as they would by serving the Lotus Sutra itself. He praises the faith of the letter's recipient, who, at a time of widespread hunger and privation, had sent an offering of bamboo shoots to him at Mount Minobu.

Designed by Will Kallander