Tuesday 30 April 2013

Daily Gosho - Happiness in This World


Think this Gosho extract says it all really, doesn't it! Come what may, whatever the obstacle, continue advancing forward, side by side with our mentor...then the life of absolute freedom will surely be ours. Yay to that!

"Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to enjoy. Regard both suffering and joy as facts of life, and continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. no matter what happens. How could this be anything other than the boundless joy of the Law? Strengthen your power of faith more than ever."

(Happiness in This World - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 681) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=681 Selection source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shimbun, November 10th, 2012

Background
In the third month of 1275, about one year before this letter was written, Nichiren Daishonin warned Shijo Kingo, his loyal samurai follower who was an early convert, that as a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra he must be prepared to meet further difficulties and hardships.
In the present work, the Daishonin explains the nature of true happiness. It lies, he says, in chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Suffering is unavoidable, he adds, encouraging Shijo Kingo to “regard both suffering and joy as facts of life, and continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, no matter what happens.” The Daishonin emphasizes that this is the way to experience “the boundless joy of the Law,” or the state of Buddhahood.

Thursday 25 April 2013

Daily Gosho - Letter to Horen


Thinking of my current situation - my karma to be in this type of situation - but how I view the situation is up to me! Do I view it as a challenge, and chance to transform my karma and sufferings - or not, and succumb to my karmic sufferings... I just need to 'see' it differently :)

"Hungry spirits see the waters of the river as fire, human beings see them as water, and heavenly beings see them as amrita. The waters are the same in all cases, but each type of being sees them differently, according to the effects of its karma."

(Letter to Horen - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 517) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=505&m=0&q= Selection source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shimbun, November 9th, 2012 

Background
Soya Kyoshin, to whom this letter was addressed, lived in Soya Village in Katsushika District of Shimosa Province. Sometime around 1260 he converted to the Daishonin’s teachings. Then, around 1271, he became a lay priest, whereupon Nichiren Daishonin bestowed upon him the Buddhist name Horen (Law Lotus). At the time he received this letter, Kyoshin had been practicing the Daishonin’s Buddhism as one of the leading believers in the area for about fifteen years.
This somewhat lengthy letter was written at Minobu in the fourth month of the first year of Kenji (1275), when the Daishonin was fifty-four years old. It is one among nine extant writings that the Daishonin sent to Kyoshin, two of which were written in classical Chinese, their contents clearly indicating that he was highly educated.
The Daishonin had just received from Kyoshin a written declaration of the sort commonly read aloud at a memorial service, in which he explained that he had recited the Lotus Sutra to commemorate the thirteenth anniversary of his father’s death. In addition, Kyoshin mentioned that he had been performing a recitation of the verse section of the sutra’s “Life Span” chapter daily since the time of his father’s passing. In response, the Daishonin tells him that his devotion to the sutra is the truest form of filial piety, since only the Lotus Sutra can lead one’s parents, and all other living beings, to Buddhahood.
Here the Daishonin introduces the ancient Chinese story of the calligrapher Wu-lung and his son I-lung in order to illustrate how immeasurable the merit is that Kyoshin has been transferring to his deceased father through his continued recitation of the verse section of the “Life Span” chapter.
In the story, the calligrapher I-lung transcribes the title of each volume of the Lotus Sutra. As a result, he is able to save his father from his terrible distress in the hell of incessant suffering. But even such benefits as these, the Daishonin encourages Kyoshin, cannot compare to the benefits to be obtained from reciting the sutra. The Daishonin tells him that the verse section of the “Life Span” chapter represents the very heart of the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra, and that the benefits to be gained from reciting it can only be calculated and expressed by a Buddha.
The Daishonin also gives his disciple instructions in various other teachings. He discusses the wonderful rewards to be gained by one who praises and makes offerings to the votary of the Lotus Sutra of the Latter Day of the Law. He also discusses the great gravity of the offense incurred by one who slanders the votary.
With regard to specific details about the practice of the Lotus Sutra, the Daishonin points out that the way to practice its teachings will necessarily vary with the times, and that a person of wisdom is one who perceives the times correctly and spreads the teachings accordingly. And he declares that practice in the Latter Day means spreading the Lotus Sutra without begrudging one’s life. Because he himself has carried out precisely this sort of practice, the Daishonin says, he has been persecuted by the authorities and is detested by all the people of Japan. And, he notes, he was earlier forced to live under bitter conditions at a bleak and desolate location in exile on Sado Island and is now dwelling where there are no provisions at all, in an isolated mountain valley called Minobu. The Daishonin mentions how moved he is that Kyoshin has come all the way to see him in such a forsaken place.
Commenting upon his three remonstrations with the Kamakura authorities, the Daishonin proclaims that it is their disregard for his warnings and persecution of him that have brought down upon the country a string of major calamities.
And at the very end of this letter, the Daishonin explains why some people who slander the Lotus Sutra seem not to receive any punishment at all. Those who slander the correct teaching in existence after existence, he says, are condemned to the hell of incessant suffering and will receive no further warnings in this lifetime for their slanderous deeds.
For further details regarding this matter, the Daishonin asks Horen to refer to the Lotus Sutra and the Nirvana Sutra. It is also discussed in The Opening of the Eyes (pp. 279–80).

Wednesday 24 April 2013

Daily Gosho - The Opening of the Eyes


Persecutions galore this week! But I am absolutely determined to rise up above slander and abuse for the sake of the Law. My mission is too clear to give up. And as we know, when great evil occurs, great good follows so I mustn't be concerned but determine to carry on wholeheartedly and steadfastly...

"This I will state. Let the gods forsake me. Let all persecutions assail me. Still I will give my life for the sake of the Law."

(The Opening of the Eyes - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 280) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=220 Selection source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shimbun, November 8th, 2012


Background
This treatise is one of Nichiren Daishonin’s five most important writings, in which he reveals his identity as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law who possesses the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent. In the second month of the ninth year of Bun’ei (72), still in exile under harsh conditions on Sado Island, the Daishonin completed this work in two volumes and addressed it to Shijo Kingo, one of his leading disciples in Kamakura and a samurai who was in the employ of the ruling Hojo clan, on behalf of all his followers. When the Daishonin was taken to Tatsunokuchi in Kamakura in , Shijo Kingo accompanied him, having resolved to die by his side, and personally witnessed his triumph over execution. Also, he had journeyed to Sado to visit the Daishonin in exile and sent his messengers to him with writing materials and other necessities.
The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind, written in 1273, clarifies, from the viewpoint of the Law, the object of devotion that enables all people to attain Buddhahood. The Opening of the Eyes treats the same subject in terms of the Person; that is, it shows Nichiren Daishonin to be the Buddha who would establish the object of devotion for all humankind to achieve Buddhahood. The object of devotion is the embodiment of the Daishonin’s enlightenment to Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the Law implied in the depths of the Lotus Sutra.
Nichiren Daishonin’s life on the forbidding island of Sado was full of hardship; his hut was open to wind and snow, and he lacked food, clothing, and writing materials. In addition to his physical suffering, he was greatly troubled by the news that many of his followers in Kamakura had abandoned their faith. Feeling himself constantly facing the shadow of death, the Daishonin wrote this treatise to encourage his disciples as though it were his last will and testament.
Nichiren Daishonin later described his motives behind the work in his Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra: “After everyone had gone, I began to put into shape a work in two volumes called The Opening of the Eyes, which I had been working on since the eleventh month of the previous year. I wanted to record the wonder of Nichiren, in case I should be beheaded. The essential message in this work is that the destiny of Japan depends solely upon Nichiren. A house without pillars collapses, and a person without a soul is dead. Nichiren is the soul of the people of this country” ( p. 772).
The title The Opening of the Eyes means to enable people to see the truth, in other words, to free people from illusions and distorted views and awaken them to an understanding of the correct teaching and its correct teacher. The work describes the role the Daishonin played in championing the supremacy of the Lotus Sutra and in spreading its teachings, as he himself viewed and experienced it. A passage from this treatise reads: “On the twelfth day of the ninth month of last year, between the hours of the rat and the ox (11:00 P.M. to 3:00 A.M.), this person named Nichiren was beheaded. It is his soul that has come to this island of Sado” ( p. 269). It was through the Tatsunokuchi Persecution that Nichiren Daishonin revealed his true identity as the eternal Buddha. This passage refers to the death of a common person named Nichiren and indicates that from then on the Daishonin was to reveal in full his enlightenment as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.
Nichiren Daishonin begins this treatise with the words, “There are three categories of people that all human beings should respect. They are the sovereign, the teacher, and the parent” (p. 220). The three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent are equated with the qualifications of a Buddha. The virtue of sovereign is the power to protect all living beings; the virtue of teacher is the wisdom to lead all to enlightenment, and the virtue of parent means compassion to nurture and support them. These three virtues constitute a theme that runs throughout this treatise, and at the conclusion of this work the Daishonin declares, “I, Nichiren, am sovereign, teacher, and father and mother to all the people of Japan” (p. 287).
At the outset Nichiren Daishonin discusses Confucianism, Taoism, Brahmanism, Hinayana, and provisional Mahayana Buddhism, and then moves on to the Lotus Sutra. He attributes the disasters ravaging Japan to the confusion in Buddhism and the failure by both rulers and subjects to recognize the supremacy of the Lotus Sutra. Here he cites two reasons why the sutra is supreme. One is that the theoretical teaching (the first half of the sutra) reveals that people of the two vehicles can attain enlightenment, a possibility utterly denied in the previous forty- two years of the Buddha’s preaching. This substantiates the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds and the statement that Buddhahood is open to all. The other reason is that, in the essential teaching (the latter half of the sutra), Shakyamuni Buddha proclaims that he first attained enlightenment in an unfathomably remote past.
The Daishonin states that Shakyamuni Buddha himself declared that the Lotus Sutra is “the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand.” In this sutra the Buddha implied the supreme teaching, as stated: “The doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life is found in only one place, hidden in the depths of the ‘Life Span’ chapter of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra” (p. 224). The Daishonin takes the position that only the revelation of the truth of Buddhism can save the nation and the people. This conviction, he says, has moved him to propagate the essence of the Lotus Sutra in spite of the persecution that he knew he would incur. He realized that his followers might doubt him because of the apparent failure of the gods to protect a votary of the Lotus Sutra. Therefore, he stated: “This doubt lies at the heart of this piece I am writing. And because it is the most important concern of my entire life, I will raise it again and again here, and emphasize it more than ever, before I attempt to answer it” (p. 243).
The second part of this treatise discusses the “Emerging from the Earth” and the “Life Span” chapters of the Lotus Sutra, where Shakyamuni Buddha summons forth countless bodhisattvas from beneath the earth and reveals that he actually attained enlightenment in the remote past, and that all the Buddhas of the other sutras are his emanations and all the bodhisattvas, his disciples. Nichiren Daishonin clarifies that the Buddha of the “Life Span” chapter is the teacher of all Buddhas.
At this point, an implicit analogy begins to emerge. The doubt held by Shakyamuni’s disciples about how he could possibly have taught the countless Bodhisattvas of the Earth in this life leads to the revelation of his true identity as the Buddha who attained enlightenment countless kalpas ago. Similarly, the doubt held by the Daishonin’s followers about why he has been exiled and suffered so many persecutions leads to an understanding of his true identity as the Buddha of the Latter Day.
Then the Daishonin mentions the principle of sowing, maturing, and harvesting. He points to the unsurpassed Law whereby all Buddhas attain enlightenment — Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. This Law is what lies in the depths of the “Life Span” chapter. Nichiren Daishonin directly teaches this Law, the true cause for attaining Buddhahood, and his Buddhism is called the Buddhism of sowing because it implants this “seed of enlightenment” in the lives of those who practice it. In this light, he possesses the virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent for humanity as a whole.
Nichiren Daishonin explains that each sutra has its own claim to excellence; he also gives examples of statements in which various sutras assert their own superiority to other teachings. But the Lotus Sutra alone declares that it is supreme among all sutras, and the Daishonin reconfirms its supremacy. The Lotus Sutra speaks of the three powerful enemies of the sutra and prophesies opposition and hostility toward the sutra and its votary. All this the Daishonin had himself encountered; all this is predicted in the sutra. As the votary of the Lotus Sutra, he vows to stake his life on the cause of saving all people, saying: “Let the gods forsake me. Let all persecutions assail me. Still I will give my life for the sake of the Law. . . . I will be the pillar of
Japan. I will be the eyes of Japan. I will be the great ship of Japan. This is my vow, and I will never forsake it” (pp. 280 –81). Then he assures his disciples that they will definitely attain Buddhahood as long as they do not permit themselves to be overcome by doubts, even when difficulties befall them.
In the final section of this treatise, Nichiren Daishonin explains that there are two ways to propagate the Lotus Sutra: shoju, or gentle persuasion, and shakubuku, or strict refutation. Here, the Daishonin argues that both methods should be used, because there are two kinds of countries, those whose people are ignorant of the correct teaching of Buddhism and those whose people deliberately oppose it. But Japan, as a nation that slanders the correct teaching, requires the shakubuku method. Then he concludes that to remove suffering and give joy to the people is the Buddha’s teaching. The Daishonin has devoted himself to refuting and rooting out the causes of human misery. For him, the exile to Sado was only a “small suffering” in this life. Indeed, he feels “great joy” because of the results he is confident will come in the future.

Tuesday 23 April 2013

Daily Gosho - The Good Medicine for All Ills


Wonderful news this week! A member in our district has been given the all-clear from the life-threatening condition she suffered with last year. We might think that because we practice, we will not encounter illness, but as we know this is one of the four sufferings which cannot be avoided. Similarly, we might view illness as a sign of weak faith. Not so! Illness, as this Gosho states, is a wonderful opportunity for us to strengthen our faith. It gives us the courage to determine to make the appropriate changes in our lifestyle, or obtain medical advice for example, and as Nichiren Daishonin writes, can be a springboard to enlightenment...

"And could not this illness of your husband's be the Buddha's design, because the Vimalakirti and Nirvana sutras both teach that sick people will surely attain Buddhahood? Illness gives rise to the resolve to attain the way."

(The Good Medicine for All Ills - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 937) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=937 Selection source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shimbun, November 7th, 2012


Background
This letter was written at Minobu to the lay nun Myoshin. The most widely accepted view suggests that it was written in the first year of Koan (1278); another view is that it was written in the first year of Kenji (1275). Few details about Myoshin are known. One explanation identifies her as the wife of the lay priest Takahashi Rokuro Hyoe, and if this is correct, she would have been an aunt of Nikko Shonin. In any event, she lived in Fuji District of Suruga Province and was a follower of Nichiren Daishonin.
This letter was a reply to a report from Myoshin about her husband’s illness. The Daishonin encourages her to view his illness as a manifestation of the Buddha’s compassion, since it has enabled him to arouse a determination to seek enlightenment— a determination that he previously lacked. He explains that, because of the sincerity of her husband’s recently awakened faith, he will certainly be able to eradicate the bad karma of his misdeeds; and even if he were to die now, he would experience the boundless joy of the Law that transcends both life and death.
When her husband eventually died of his illness, Myoshin was left with a young child. She maintained her faith after her husband’s death and visited the Daishonin often at Minobu to bring him offerings.

Friday 19 April 2013

Daily Gosho - What It Means to Hear the Buddha Vehicle for the First Time


How amazing that no matter how difficult the situation we find ourselves in, we can absolutely transform it by chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. Very liberating isn't it; to realise that we don't have to continue to suffer - there is a way forward *smiley face*

President Ikeda writes: "Buddhism teaches the principle of changing poison into medicine. Therefore, no matter what difficulties we may encounter, we can take them on with a positive attitude. All we have to do is keep pressing forward with deep confidence in the Daishonin’s words, “When great evil occurs, great good follows” (“Great Evil and Great Good,” WND-1, 1119). (March 18, 2011, World Tribune, p. 5) 

"What is the poison? It is the three paths of earthly desires, karma, and suffering that are our lot. What is the medicine? It is the Dharma body, wisdom, and emancipation. And what does it mean to change poison into medicine? It means to transform the three paths into the three virtues: the Dharma body, wisdom, and emancipation.... This is what the attainment of Buddhahood in one's present form means."

(What It Means to Hear the Buddha Vehicle for the First Time - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.2, page 743) Selection source: The teachings of Buddhism for Beginners, Seikyo Shimbun, October 28th, 2012

Thursday 18 April 2013

Tuesday 16 April 2013

Daily Gosho - Concerning the Statue of Shakyamuni Buddha Fashioned by Nichigen-nyo


Reminding me of the simultaneity of cause and effect, and how important it is for my prayer to be strong and my goals clear. How can the universe fail to respond!

"When you shake your head, your hair sways; when your mind begins to work, your body moves. When a strong wind blows, the grass and trees can no longer remain still; when the earth shakes, the seas are atremble. Thus if one can move Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, can the grass and trees fail to respond, can the waters remain calm?"

(Concerning the Statue of Shakyamuni Buddha Fashioned by Nichigen-nyo - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.2, page 811) Selection Source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shinbun, November 5th, 2012

Monday 15 April 2013

Daily Gosho - On the Buddha's Prophecy


Started today off with my morning gongyo and the prayer that I would talk to the people who need Gohonzon today. 15 phone calls later, I have high hopes for good attendance at this week's discussion meetings.
BUT! I am still waiting for this month's guest to emerge from the earth. Lovely Bodhisattva of the Earth - where are you hiding?! As Nichiren says, shakubuku isn't easy, well for me anyway. Would love to hear of your victories in this area. I will continue to chant, as part of my Actual Proof Campaign, to bring guests to meetings and help them make an eternal connection to the Mystic Law. Gohonzon receiving can come later :)

 "I pray that before anything else I can guide and lead the ruler and those others who persecuted me. I will tell the Buddha about all the disciples who have aided me, and before I die, I will transfer the great blessings deriving from my practice to my parents who gave me life."

(On the Buddha's Prophecy - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 402) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=398 Selection source: SGI President Ikeda's guidance, Seikyo Shimbun, November 4th, 2012


Background
Nichiren Daishonin was fifty-two years old when he wrote this letter during his exile at Ichinosawa on the island of Sado in 1273. It is addressed to his disciples and lay supporters in general.
The title, On the Buddha’s Prophecy, points to two prophecies: One is Shakyamuni Buddha’s prediction that the votary of the Lotus Sutra will appear at the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law and spread the sutra’s teachings despite great persecutions. The other is the Daishonin’s own prophecy that in the Latter Day and on into the eternal future his teachings will spread throughout the world to benefit humankind.
This letter can be divided into seven sections according to content: (1) Nichiren Daishonin relates that it is a greater blessing to be born in the Latter Day of the Law and to have faith in the Lotus Sutra than to have met Shakyamuni Buddha or the great sages who appeared in the Former and Middle Days of the Law; (2) he cites statements and prophecies made by Shakyamuni and other Buddhist teachers concerning the Latter Day of the Law, the greatness of the Lotus Sutra, and the persecutions that will surely befall its votary; (3) he outlines the decline of Shakyamuni’s Buddhism and proclaims that the correct teaching of Buddhism will spread throughout the world in the Latter Day; (4) he identifies himself as the votary of the Lotus Sutra, that is, the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law; (5) he shows that Buddhism is no longer alive in India or China, and that the correct teaching of Buddhism will arise in the eastern land of Japan; (6) he expands on his prophecy by comparing the omens that have appeared in his age with those that appeared in Shakyamuni’s; and (7) he declares that the supreme Law is now arising and warns his followers that carrying out widespread propagation will be difficult.


Wednesday 10 April 2013

Daily Gosho - Letter from Sado


Thinking about this sentence, I've realised that actually my enemy this week is my own negativity. I've pushed through it, and visiting members this week has really helped push through this wall of darkness, I'm glad to report :)

"Only by defeating a powerful enemy can one prove one's real strength."

(Letter from Sado - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 302) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=301 Selection source: SGI President Ikeda's guidance, Seikyo Shimbun, November 3rd, 2012


Background
This letter was written on the twentieth day of the third month, 1272, some five months after Nichiren Daishonin had arrived on the island of Sado to begin his exile there. He addressed it to Toki Jonin, a samurai serving as a leading retainer to Lord Chiba, the constable of Shimosa Province, to Saburo Saemon (Shijo Kingo) in Kamakura, and to other staunch followers. Nichiren Daishonin had been banished on the tenth day of the tenth month, 1271. Charges of treason had been brought against him by Ryokan, the chief priest of Gokuraku-ji temple in Kamakura, and by Hei no Saemon, deputy chief of the Office of Military and Police Affairs. Hei no Saemon was resolved to execute the Daishonin at Tatsunokuchi before he was to be delivered to the custody of Homma Shigetsura, the deputy constable of Sado. The attempt at execution was unsuccessful, however, and after a delay of almost a month Homma’s warriors escorted the Daishonin to the coast of the Sea of Japan. After a delay there caused by bad weather, the Daishonin finally arrived on Sado on the twenty eighth day of the tenth month.
Nichiren Daishonin was housed at first in a dilapidated structure known as Sammai-do, where he lived exposed to the wind and snow that blew in through gaps in the roof and walls. After five months he was able to move to more comfortable quarters at Ichinosawa. The Daishonin engaged in debates with Pure Land and other priests and actively propagated his own teachings. While on Sado he wrote two major treatises, The Opening of the Eyes and The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind. In the second month, 1274, the Daishonin was pardoned and returned to Kamakura on the twenty-sixth day of the third month.
In this writing the Daishonin first states that the only way to attain Buddhahood is to be willing to offer one’s life, one’s most precious possession, to Buddhism. Next, he says that the method of propagation known as shakubuku is appropriate to this age, and that one can attain Buddhahood only by dedicating oneself to it. He then declares that he is the “pillar, sun, moon, mirror, and eyes” of and “father and mother” to the country; these are symbolic references to the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, who is perfectly endowed with the three virtues of parent, teacher, and sovereign. He also mentions his earlier prophecies in On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land concerning political upheaval and violent feuds within the country.
Lastly, he gives an elaborate explanation of karma or destiny, stating that his present difficulties arise from the fact that he slandered the Lotus Sutra in a past existence. Using himself as an example, he elucidates to his disciples the kind of spirit and practice by which they can alter their karma. He adds that persons who try to propagate the correct teaching of Buddhism vigorously will invariably face opposition, and that such opposition in reality presents an opportunity for them to change their karma. Those who have given up their faith and instead criticize are admonished that their actions bear the heaviest consequences. He compares their lack of vision to fireflies who laugh at the sun.


Monday 8 April 2013

Daily Gosho - The Opening of the Eyes



So as we enter the sixth month of the Actual Proof Campaign, how are we feeling? Would love to hear of your victories so far. I made some big determinations, and it seems like the devils have woken up and started their attack! Big negativity this week! But as Nichiren writes, the key to our victory is to to not give up; continually striving forward...

"Although I and my disciples may encounter various difficulties, if we do not harbour doubts in our hearts, we will as a matter of course attain Buddhahood."

(The Opening of the Eyes - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 283) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=283 Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, November 2nd, 2012

Background
This treatise is one of Nichiren Daishonin’s five most important writings, in which he reveals his identity as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law who possesses the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent. In the second month of the ninth year of Bun’ei (72), still in exile under harsh conditions on Sado Island, the Daishonin completed this work in two volumes and addressed it to Shijo Kingo, one of his leading disciples in Kamakura and a samurai who was in the employ of the ruling Hojo clan, on behalf of all his followers. When the Daishonin was taken to Tatsunokuchi in Kamakura in , Shijo Kingo accompanied him, having resolved to die by his side, and personally witnessed his triumph over execution. Also, he had journeyed to Sado to visit the Daishonin in exile and sent his messengers to him with writing materials and other necessities.
The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind, written in 1273, clarifies, from the viewpoint of the Law, the object of devotion that enables all people to attain Buddhahood. The Opening of the Eyes treats the same subject in terms of the Person; that is, it shows Nichiren Daishonin to be the Buddha who would establish the object of devotion for all humankind to achieve Buddhahood. The object of devotion is the embodiment of the Daishonin’s enlightenment to Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the Law implied in the depths of the Lotus Sutra.
Nichiren Daishonin’s life on the forbidding island of Sado was full of hardship; his hut was open to wind and snow, and he lacked food, clothing, and writing materials. In addition to his physical suffering, he was greatly troubled by the news that many of his followers in Kamakura had abandoned their faith. Feeling himself constantly facing the shadow of death, the Daishonin wrote this treatise to encourage his disciples as though it were his last will and testament.
Nichiren Daishonin later described his motives behind the work in his Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra: “After everyone had gone, I began to put into shape a work in two volumes called The Opening of the Eyes, which I had been working on since the eleventh month of the previous year. I wanted to record the wonder of Nichiren, in case I should be beheaded. The essential message in this work is that the destiny of Japan depends solely upon Nichiren. A house without pillars collapses, and a person without a soul is dead. Nichiren is the soul of the people of this country” ( p. 772).
The title The Opening of the Eyes means to enable people to see the truth, in other words, to free people from illusions and distorted views and awaken them to an understanding of the correct teaching and its correct teacher. The work describes the role the Daishonin played in championing the supremacy of the Lotus Sutra and in spreading its teachings, as he himself viewed and experienced it. A passage from this treatise reads: “On the twelfth day of the ninth month of last year, between the hours of the rat and the ox (11:00 P.M. to 3:00 A.M.), this person named Nichiren was beheaded. It is his soul that has come to this island of Sado” ( p. 269). It was through the Tatsunokuchi Persecution that Nichiren Daishonin revealed his true identity as the eternal Buddha. This passage refers to the death of a common person named Nichiren and indicates that from then on the Daishonin was to reveal in full his enlightenment as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.
Nichiren Daishonin begins this treatise with the words, “There are three categories of people that all human beings should respect. They are the sovereign, the teacher, and the parent” (p. 220). The three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent are equated with the qualifications of a Buddha. The virtue of sovereign is the power to protect all living beings; the virtue of teacher is the wisdom to lead all to enlightenment, and the virtue of parent means compassion to nurture and support them. These three virtues constitute a theme that runs throughout this treatise, and at the conclusion of this work the Daishonin declares, “I, Nichiren, am sovereign, teacher, and father and mother to all the people of Japan” (p. 287).
At the outset Nichiren Daishonin discusses Confucianism, Taoism, Brahmanism, Hinayana, and provisional Mahayana Buddhism, and then moves on to the Lotus Sutra. He attributes the disasters ravaging Japan to the confusion in Buddhism and the failure by both rulers and subjects to recognize the supremacy of the Lotus Sutra. Here he cites two reasons why the sutra is supreme. One is that the theoretical teaching (the first half of the sutra) reveals that people of the two vehicles can attain enlightenment, a possibility utterly denied in the previous forty- two years of the Buddha’s preaching. This substantiates the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds and the statement that Buddhahood is open to all. The other reason is that, in the essential teaching (the latter half of the sutra), Shakyamuni Buddha proclaims that he first attained enlightenment in an unfathomably remote past.
The Daishonin states that Shakyamuni Buddha himself declared that the Lotus Sutra is “the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand.” In this sutra the Buddha implied the supreme teaching, as stated: “The doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life is found in only one place, hidden in the depths of the ‘Life Span’ chapter of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra” (p. 224). The Daishonin takes the position that only the revelation of the truth of Buddhism can save the nation and the people. This conviction, he says, has moved him to propagate the essence of the Lotus Sutra in spite of the persecution that he knew he would incur. He realized that his followers might doubt him because of the apparent failure of the gods to protect a votary of the Lotus Sutra. Therefore, he stated: “This doubt lies at the heart of this piece I am writing. And because it is the most important concern of my entire life, I will raise it again and again here, and emphasize it more than ever, before I attempt to answer it” (p. 243).
The second part of this treatise discusses the “Emerging from the Earth” and the “Life Span” chapters of the Lotus Sutra, where Shakyamuni Buddha summons forth countless bodhisattvas from beneath the earth and reveals that he actually attained enlightenment in the remote past, and that all the Buddhas of the other sutras are his emanations and all the bodhisattvas, his disciples. Nichiren Daishonin clarifies that the Buddha of the “Life Span” chapter is the teacher of all Buddhas.
At this point, an implicit analogy begins to emerge. The doubt held by Shakyamuni’s disciples about how he could possibly have taught the countless Bodhisattvas of the Earth in this life leads to the revelation of his true identity as the Buddha who attained enlightenment countless kalpas ago. Similarly, the doubt held by the Daishonin’s followers about why he has been exiled and suffered so many persecutions leads to an understanding of his true identity as the Buddha of the Latter Day.
Then the Daishonin mentions the principle of sowing, maturing, and harvesting. He points to the unsurpassed Law whereby all Buddhas attain enlightenment — Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. This Law is what lies in the depths of the “Life Span” chapter. Nichiren Daishonin directly teaches this Law, the true cause for attaining Buddhahood, and his Buddhism is called the Buddhism of sowing because it implants this “seed of enlightenment” in the lives of those who practice it. In this light, he possesses the virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent for humanity as a whole.
Nichiren Daishonin explains that each sutra has its own claim to excellence; he also gives examples of statements in which various sutras assert their own superiority to other teachings. But the Lotus Sutra alone declares that it is supreme among all sutras, and the Daishonin reconfirms its supremacy. The Lotus Sutra speaks of the three powerful enemies of the sutra and prophesies opposition and hostility toward the sutra and its votary. All this the Daishonin had himself encountered; all this is predicted in the sutra. As the votary of the Lotus Sutra, he vows to stake his life on the cause of saving all people, saying: “Let the gods forsake me. Let all persecutions assail me. Still I will give my life for the sake of the Law. . . . I will be the pillar of Japan. I will be the eyes of Japan. I will be the great ship of Japan. This is my vow, and I will never forsake it” (pp. 280 –81). Then he assures his disciples that they will definitely attain Buddhahood as long as they do not permit themselves to be overcome by doubts, even when difficulties befall them.
In the final section of this treatise, Nichiren Daishonin explains that there are two ways to propagate the Lotus Sutra: shoju, or gentle persuasion, and shakubuku, or strict refutation. Here, the Daishonin argues that both methods should be used, because there are two kinds of countries, those whose people are ignorant of the correct teaching of Buddhism and those whose people deliberately oppose it. But Japan, as a nation that slanders the correct teaching, requires the shakubuku method. Then he concludes that to remove suffering and give joy to the people is the Buddha’s teaching. The Daishonin has devoted himself to refuting and rooting out the causes of human misery. For him, the exile to Sado was only a “small suffering” in this life. Indeed, he feels “great joy” because of the results he is confident will come in the future.


Daily Practice - latest SGI-UK e-bulletin out now!

Latest issue of the SGI-UK e-bulletin is online now at http://www.sgi-uk.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/sgi_e_bulletin_issue93.pdf featuring the wonderful members of SGI-UK (and beyond!)


Wednesday 3 April 2013

Daily Gosho - The Two Kinds of Faith


Bit of a morning, this morning. Pesky work getting in the way of my life, lol. And so decision time - crack through yet more emails, or go to the Gohonzon, remembering the promise I made to be victorious during my morning gongyo. Gohonzon won, but I was reminded that this is a daily battle - to keep that consistent practice alive, with water-like faith and not succumb to the devilish functions around me. Let's keep winning!

"Today there are people who have faith in the Lotus Sutra. The belief of some is like fire while that of others is like water. When the former listen to the teachings, their passion flares up like fire, but as time goes on, they tend to discard their faith. To have faith like water means to believe continuously without ever regressing."

(The Two Kinds of Faith - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 899) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=899 Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, October 31st, 2012


Background
Nichiren Daishonin wrote this letter at Minobu to Nanjo Tokimitsu, the steward of Ueno Village in Suruga Province, in the second month of the fourth year of Kenji (1278). The previous year had been a time of turmoil. A serious drought had devastated crops, and the resulting famine brought countless hardships. In addition, an epidemic had swept the area, causing many deaths. At the same time, the threat of a second invasion by Mongol forces contributed to a general feeling of unease.
In this letter, Nichiren Daishonin expresses his gratitude for Nanjo’s offerings and praises him for his deep sincerity. He introduces the concept of the two kinds of faith: faith like ephemeral fire and faith like ever-flowing water. The Daishonin lauds Nanjo’s faith as being like the latter.

Tuesday 2 April 2013

Anniversary of Josei Toda's death in 1958

Thinking today of the achievements of our Second President of Soka Gakkai, Josei Toda, and his dedicated, continual efforts for the sake of worldwide peace... http://www.joseitoda.org/