Words by Sixty-seventh High Priest Nikken Shonin
spoken at The 1994 General Meeting of Nichiren Shoshu believers
August 28, 1994
Hello, all of you, who have come to this Head Temple Taisekiji from 26 far-away countries -- Austria, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Dominica, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Panama, Philippines, Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, and United States of America -- and welcome to this great general meeting of Nichiren Shoshu believers! Thank you for all your efforts to make such long, long journeys. It really makes me feel glad when I see your lively, healthy faces.
Such a splendid general meeting held with a large-scale assembly of 4,469 overseas believers from regions all over the world has never before been seen in previous ages. You all understand that the significance of gathering here as Bodhisattvas of the Earth is incomparably profound.
Accordingly, I would like to say a few words about the meaning of the teachings of our founder, the Daishonin, and discuss the meaning of this gathering.
The Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin is the Three Great Secret Laws -- the Object of Worship, High Sanctuary, and Daimoku of the Essential Teachings.
In religion, the most vital matter is that the object of faith be based on the correct principle, that it possess the highest, unparalleled virtue, and that it be endowed with the vast capacity to lead and save every kind of living being.
Therefore, it is crucial to form a relationship with the correct object of faith. If one were to worship a fox or a snake, one's life would interact with that object and be influenced by it, taking on the lowly characteristics of animality. If one takes faith in any of the many other incomplete, inferior objects of faith, one will experience a correspondingly incomplete effect and one's will life become unhappy. In religion, choosing the correct object of faith is vital because the believer is always influenced by it. For this reason, the Daishonin says:
"As the object of worship, one should use that which is superior."
Moreover, 26th High Priest Nichikan Shonin taught:
"The object of worship is the presence with which [the believer) forms a relation. The presence gives rise to wisdom, and wisdom leads to practice. Thus if the presence is incorrect, wisdom and practice will therefore also be incorrect."
The non-Buddhist religions fundamentally violate the principle of causality. In comparison, Buddhism is superior because it correctly teaches the law of causality spanning the three existences, in relation to the Buddha and in relation to living beings. Within Buddhism, the laws and Buddhas of Mahayana Buddhism teach a broader truth and practice than those taught by Hinayana Buddhism. Mahayana is therefore superior to Hinayana.
Again, among all the Mahayana sutras, it is the Lotus Sutra that teaches the mutual possession of the ten worlds and ichinen sanzen by explicating the ultimate reality of all phenomena taught in the Hoben chapter of the theoretical teaching and the doctrine that Shakyamuni actually attained Buddhahood in the remote past taught in the Juryo chapter of the essential teaching. In this way, the Lotus Sutra reveals the principle that can save all living beings and offers proof of that principle. For this reason, the Lotus Sutra is superior to all the other Mahayana sutras.
Next, for the sake of the age known as Mappo that would begin 2,000 years later, Shakyamuni Buddha summoned Jogyo Bodhisattva, the leader of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, and transferred to him the fundamental Law of kuon ganjo, the heart of the Juryo chapter of the essential teaching. Also, the entire explication of the qualifications of the fundamental Buddha is contained within the eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra from the Juryo chapter to the Jinriki chapter. The fundamental Buddha and fundamental Law of the Buddhism of sowing are none other than Nichiren Daishonin (who appeared in Mappo to propagate the coalescence of essentials of the Law entrusted to Jogyo Bodhisattva) and Myoho-Renge- Kyo (the entity of the Daishonin's life). This fundamental Buddha and Law are therefore superior to the theoretical and essential teachings of Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra, the Buddhism of harvest.
This Gohonzon -- wherein the Person is itself the Law -- is true ichinen sanzen, the non-engendered, originally-existing Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. As the absolute truth of the universe, it is endowed with the totality of cause and effect throughout the realm of the ultimate reality. Therefore, the principle for the salvation of all living beings has been decisively established once and for all. This is the power of the Law.
This Gohonzon -- wherein the Law is in itself the Person -- is moreover Nichiren Daishonin, who possesses the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent of the Buddhism of sowing for the age of Mappo, and who is the rebirth of the Buddha of Intrinsically Perfect Wisdom of kuon ganjo Eternally here throughout the three existences, He leads us living beings and gives rise to great benefit through His boundless compassion, which will never pass away through eternity. This is the power of the Buddha.
It was by the command of the True Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin, that you have gathered here at the Head Temple for today's great general meeting.
Chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to this Gohonzon is the Daimoku of the Essential Teachings. Regarding this Daimoku, there is the Daimoku of faith and the Daimoku of practice. The Daimoku of faith is to believe in one's mind that there is no other path to become a Buddha except this Gohonzon. That is, when one believes in the Gohonzon in one's mind, one's mind becomes imbued with the Gohonzon.
The Buddhahood of the Gohonzon forthwith becomes one with one's deluded life condition of the nine worlds. Based on absolute faith in the Object of Worship of the Essential Teachings, one realizes the True Cause of Original Enlightenment of the Buddhism of sowing of kuon ganjo, wherein there is no distinction between Buddhahood and the nine worlds Next, as for the Daimoku of practice, when one places one's palms together and chants the Daimoku with one's mouth, one's body becomes imbued with the Gohonzon. The nine worlds, the entity of one's delusion, become one with the Buddhahood of the Gohonzon.
Through the practice of the Daimoku of the Essential Teachings, one's life of the nine worlds attains the True Effect of Original Enlightenment of the Buddhism of sowing of kuon ganjo. These, the True Cause and True Effect, are from first to last possessed by a single moment of life. This is the actual entity and appearance of the true "mutual possession of the ten worlds, one hundred worlds, one thousand aspects, and ichinen sanzen" and the true "attainment of Buddhahood in one's present form" in the Buddhism of sowing of the Essential Teachings.
To go into this a little more, in immediate terms, the Daimoku of the Essential Teachings is to continuously chant while exhaling. At that time, it is best if one's mind, mouth, and body. that is, the three categories of action (mental, verbal, and physical), are correctly oriented to the Gohonzon If this is the case, the Daimoku of faith embodies the spirit, "isshin yokken butsu (single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha)" and the Daimoku of practice embodies the spirit, "fu ji shaku shinmyo (they do not hesitate to even give their lives)."
In short, the highest state of mind is chanting Daimoku with a firm determination to uphold and protect the True Law and to do shakubuku and work to achieve Kosen-rufu. When inhaling as well, one should be of the state of mind that embodies the spirit, "single- mindedly desiring to see the Buddha." One's mind should be firmly oriented to the Gohonzon. The mysterious state of the simultaneous oneness of the True Cause and True Effect is a mind of delight arising from deep spiritual stability, a mind of joy wherein one actually experiences a surpassing, wonderful condition of life enveloped by the Mystic Law and the compassion of the Daishonin.
In short, it is only through the practice of chanting Daimoku to the Gohonzon that one can eradicate the offenses that one has continually committed and accumulated since before one was born.
Furthermore, it is through one's life in the present receiving the mysterious virtue of the Buddha and one's various delusions as a common mortal directly in of themselves becoming the entity of the Mystic Law that one attains happiness in the two existences of present and future.
It is important that you always exert yourself in the practice of chanting the Daimoku, without slacking off Along with receiving the unsurpassed, wonderful reward, you will be able to teach others with conviction about the vast merit of the Daimoku and the merit of correct faith. Concerning this, the Daishonin teaches:
"Now that the age of Mappo has begun, the Daimoku Nichiren is now chanting differs from that of previous ages. It is the Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo which encompasses both jigyo (practice for oneself) and keta" (teaching and leading others).
As this guidance of the Daishonin indicates, for us, the path to becoming a Buddha lies in always correctly chanting the Daimoku, realizing and experiencing its merit, practicing the shakubuku of others with that spirit as a foundation and teaching them about the power of the Mystic Law, and becoming a person who upholds the Mystic Law.
This year, Nichiren Shoshu performed a special Daimoku activity for 100 days starting on January 1st, with a standard of each person chanting 5,000 Daimoku per day. I know that believers overseas also participated in this Daimoku activity in each of your respective countries. The merit thus accumulated is truly immeasurable and infinite, impossible to calculate by any means.
The new Tower of Sixty-thousand for the current era was then established through this practice of the Daimoku. This is a wonderful tower that majestically expresses the chanting of the Daimoku of jigyo and keta by the friends of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth in Japan and the entire world, our conviction in its great benefit, and the broad path toward Kosen-rufu we are building into the realm of the ultimate reality. Therefore, these two accomplishments -- the practice of the Daimoku and the
establishment of the tower -- were not done for the prosperity of Buddhism during this year alone. Taken together, they are a major, pure undertaking that will have meaning for world Kosen-rufu extending into the future.
Another of this year's accomplishments that can be offered as actual proof of the prosperity of Buddhism is the construction of this building, the Kofu-bo. Today, at this very time, over 4,400 believers from many countries are gathered here. This is an outstanding large hall comparable to the best in Japan, since it can comfortably accommodate 6,000 people. Since "Kofu" is an abbreviation of Kosen-rufu, both the name and substance of this Kofu-bo are definitely a befitting way to proclaim the daybreak of the widespread propagation of the Great Law from this time forward. This is a most profoundly meaningful building.
Furthermore, the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood published a new Japanese edition of the Daishonin's writings this past July 16th, in commemoration of the day the Daishonin submitted the Rissho Ankoku Ron. In this edition, the various errors in the many editions of the Gosho published in the past by Nichiren Shoshu and other religions have been corrected, making this new edition the most trustworthy and accurate. I firmly believe that this was a most tremendous way to repay our debt of gratitude to the True Buddha. I also am convinced that the merit of publishing this will manifest itself as forward progress in the Kosen-rufu of both Japan and the world.
Over and above what I have discussed so far, the most recent actual proof this year of the prosperity of Buddhism is today's great general meeting with all of you, some 4,400 members from 26 countries, following upon the great gathering of sixty thousand members from Japan held on July 24th.
You have assembled here at the command of Nichiren Daishonin, the True Buddha of kuon ganjo. This means that the Daishonin has strictly warned the people in the SGI around the world who are repudiating Buddhism that they have already lost their qualification to propagate the True Law. I think that the significance of your having gathered here today at the Head Temple Taisekiji, where the soul of the Law of Nichiren Daishonin dwells, can be generalized as encompassing the following three purposes.
First, it is for the sake of saving many people from delusion, to point out the unhappiness that arises from various errors in thinking, and from errors in religion in particular, and to refute mistaken teachings and reveal the truth.
Second, it is for us to revere the inner realization of the True Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin, who as a common mortal became enlightened to the Entity of the Law of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo in the remotest past of kuon ganjo. It is to further strengthen our conviction in the path we are taking, the path by which we living beings, through the practice of the Daimoku, will attain true happiness and emancipation as a Buddha of Myoho-Renge of the same nature as the True Buddha.
Third, you have gathered at today's general meeting for the sake of your mission for world Kosen-rufu, the propagation of the Buddhism of the Three Great Secret Laws of the Essential Teachings. In "The Selection of the Time," the Daishonin gives this guidance, stating that the time will come when the world's people will all chant the five or seven characters of the Mystic Law:
"That which is to come after "the Pure Law has become obscured and lost" is the Great Pure Law of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, the heart and core of the Lotus Sutra. This is what should be propagated and spread throughout the continent of Jambudvipa -- with its eighty thousand kingdoms, their eighty thousand rulers, and the ministers and countless subjects in the domain of each ruler -- so that it may be chanted by all persons, just as the name of Amida is now chanted by the mouths of the monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen throughout Japan.'"
Because the Mystic Law is endowed with the great principle that will lead every aspect of the lives of all people throughout the entire world to true happiness, it possesses the goodness that all people in the world should definitely take faith in. This is the reason for these golden words of the Daishonin. In Nichiren Shoshu, we are resolved to join hands with every believer in every country and press ahead to propagate the Daishonin's Buddhism around the world, overcoming all difficulties by making every arrangement and every kind of effort with unity between priesthood and laity. Let's strive to achieve the target for each member to shakubuku one person, and move forward to build a sturdy, great path for Kosen-rufu.
I am praying for the health, happiness, and increased faith and understanding of all believers in every country of the world. Thank you.