THE ULTIMATE PRINCIPLE OF BUDDHISM
NICHIREN DAISHONIN'S EMBODIMENT OF NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO:
THE PERSON AND THE LAW
REVEREND YOSAI YAMADA CHIEF PRIEST
APRIL 14, 1985
In this lecture, I would like to explain the ultimate principle of Buddhism, which is Nam-Myoho-Renge- Kyo of the Three Great Secret Laws, and how Nichiren Daishonin embodied it as the object of worship so that all people in the Latter Day of the Law could attain Buddhahood.
I am aware that you have been taught many things about this. I know that you have been told that if there is a person to wham you should have devotion, it should be the Daishonin. Further, I knew that you have been taught, that if there is a law which you should revere, it is Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. Further, I know that you have been told to treasure and hang on to your Gohonzon, no matter what happens. But obviously, the Gohonzon does not appear to be a person, although it could perhaps contain a law. For these reasons, I have chosen this subject of "The Person and the Law" to clarify the Object of Worship in Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism.
"Honzon" or object of worship, means something which one reveres above all things -- something to which one devotes one's life. In the "Oral Teachings", the "Ongi Kuden", Nichiren Daishonin teaches us:
"'Nam' derives from Sanskrit and signifies devotion. There are two objects of devotion: The Person and the Law -- that is devotion to Shakyamuni and the Lotus Sutra."
Doesn't this appear to contradict what you have been taught? The Daishonin says the Person is Shakyamuni, and the Law is the Lotus Sutra. You must be asking, "What is the meaning of Shakyamuni, and what is the meaning of the Lotus Sutra?" According to "Exegesis on 'The True Object of Worship'" set forth by the 26th High Priest Nichikan Shonin, there are six types of Shakyamuni. They are:
1. The Shakyamuni of the Tripitaka teaching,
2. The Shakyamuni of the connecting teaching,
3. The Shakyamuni of the specific teaching,
4. The Shakyamuni of the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra
5. The Shakyamuni of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra, and
6. The Shakyamuni of the teaching hidden in the depths of the Lotus Sutra.
Now you must be asking: "Why are there so many Shakyamuni's?" It is because the name "Shakyamuni" means the same as "Buddha". So, of the teachings I mentioned, the first five identities were manifested by the historical Shakyamuni Buddha who appeared in India as Guatama Buddha.
The last one, the Shakyamuni of the teaching hidden in the depths of the Lotus Sutra was manifested by Nichiren Daishonin who appeared in the Latter Day of the Law and expounded Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, the ultimate Law hidden in the depths of the Juryo chapter of the Lotus Sutra.
Therefore, from the viewpoint of the Daishonin, "Shakyamuni" mentioned in the passage I read, is not Guatama Buddha of India. In this quotation, "Shakyamuni" indicates the Original Buddha who expounds the supreme teaching of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, which we cannot find, but which the True Buddha can reveal fran the depths of the Juryo Chapter of the Lotus Sutra. The Daishonin used "Shakyamuni" and "Buddha" interchangeably whenever he interpreted the Lotus Sutra fran the viewpoint of his enlightenment. They have exactly the same meaning.
Now, your next question must be, "Then what is the Lotus Sutra cited in the passage above?" According to the doctrine of Nichiren shoshu, there are three kinds of supreme teaching of Lotus Sutra which can lead people directly to enlightenment in accordance with their capacity and the times. They were expounded for the people of the Former, Middle and Latter Day of the Law.
The Lotus Sutra of the Former Day of the Law is Shakyamuni's sutra of the same name. The Lotus Sutra of the Middle Day of the Law is T'ien-t'ai's "Maka Shikan", which expounds the principle of ichinen sanzen; and the Lotus Sutra of the Latter Day of the Law is Nam- Myoho-Renge-Kyo of the Three Great Secret Laws.
The lotus Sutra indicated in this morning's passage is neither that of the 28 chapter Lotus Sutra nor T'ien-t'ai's Lotus Sutra, Ichinen Sanzen. The Daishonin writes in "A Reply to lord Ueno":
"Now in the Latter Day of the Law, neither the Lotus Sutra, nor other sutras are valid. Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo alone is valid."
So, whenever the Daishonin refers to the Lotus Sutra as the teaching to be spread in the Latter Day of the Law, he means the essence of the Lotus Sutra, Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. Thus devotion to Shakyamuni and the Lotus Sutra means, devotion to Nichiren Daishonin and Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, the Law only the True Buddha could expound. So what you have learned about the Person and Law you should revere, so far is true.
Now, the object of worship to which my explanation refers can be viewed in these two ways -- from the standpoint of the Person and from the standpoint of the Law. The Person is still Nichiren Daishonin, and the Law still is Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo.
Nichiren Daishonin discovered the Law of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo within the workings of the universe in the infinite past, and realized that it was also the entity of his own life. Furthermore, he inscribed this ultimate Law -- the entity of his life -- in the form of a Mandala, so that future generations could share his enlightenment.
This Mandala is what we call the Gohonzon, the True Object of Worship, and as we read through the Gosho, we find that, depending upon the situation, the Daishonin at times explains the object of worship in terms of the Person and at other times in terms of the Law. The following passages approach the object of worship in terms of the Person.
The Gosho, "The Three Great Secret Laws" says:
"The Object of worship indicated in the Juryo chapter is Shakyamuni, the Buddha always in this world,who has possessed the three enlightened phrases of life since time without beginning."
Who is this Buddha who is always in this world? By now you know that this Shakyamuni is the Original Buddha from Kuon Ganjo, the Shakyamuni of the universal and unchanging law hidden in the Juryo chapter. In "Requital for the Buddha's Favor", the Daishonin writes:
"Throughout the world as wall as in Japan, the people should all revere the Shakyamuni of the essential teaching as the object of worship."
Who is this "Shakyamuni of the essential teaching?" It is the Buddha of the revealed teaching of the Juryo-hon, Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo -- The True Buddha Nichiren Daishonin.
In "On Persecutions Befalling the Buddha", the Daishonin writes:
"Had it not been for the advent of Nichiren in the Latter Day of the Law, the Buddha would have been a great liar and the testimony given by Taho and all other Buddhas would have been false. In the twenty-two hundred and thirty years since the Buddha's death, Nichiren is the only person in the whole world to fulfill the Buddha's prophecy."
And of course this is true. Many beings and representatives assembled at Eagle Peak when the Buddha preached the Lotus Sutra. A great treasure tower rose out of the earth, and Taho Buddha said in a great voice, "Excellent! Excellent, Shakyamuni! All that you have said is true."
Thereafter, this teaching was transferred to a magnificent figure for future propagation. All beings returned to their respective worlds,but the sound of the Law embodied in this teaching that could make even evil men and those of incorrigible disbelief into Buddhas in this world, was never heard on Eagle Peak.
In the "Opening of the eyes" -- twenty-two hundred and thirty years after, Nichiren Daishonin, facing his contemporary Japan, wrote:
"I, Nichiren, am sovereign, teacher, father and mother to all the people of Japan."
These words were written in the face of an imminent national disaster. Of what use is a Buddha if he remains apart from the crisis of his contemporary society without comment when he knows the way to avoid calamity? Nichiren Daishonin never failed in this respect as Person, nor did he fail future generations in Japan or the world over in terms of the law.
So the following passages will discuss the Object of Worship in terms of the Law, and "The Debate on the Object of Worship" answers an important question for those of us alive now:
"QUESTION: What should common mortals in the evil-filled
batter Day of the Law choose as their object of worship?
ANSWER: They should make it the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra."
In "Earthly Desires are Enlightenment", The Daishonin writes:
"The teaching which I, Nichiren, am now propagating may seem limited, but it is actually most profound. This is because it goes even deeper than the teaching expounded by T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo. It reveals the three important matters (The Three Great Secret Laws) contained in the Juryo chapter of the essential teachings."
"The True Object of Worship" says:
"The essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra and true Buddhism are both pure teachings that lead directly to Buddhahood. However, Shakyamuni's is the Buddhism of the harvest, and this is the Buddhism of sowing. The core of his teaching is one chapter and two halves (the latter half of the Yujutsu chapter, the entire Juryo chapter, and the first half of the Fumbetsu Kudoku chapter) and for me it is the five characters of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo."
There is a profound implication here. This is another way of saying that with the five characters of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, the Buddha becomes the great sewer, the world and its people become a great field, and Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo is the seed of Buddhahood for those who have made no good causes for enlightenment wherever they are, whoever they may be.
In "The Three Great Secret Laws", the Daishonin writes:
"Now in the Latter Day of the Law, the Daimoku which Nichiren chants is different from that of previous ages. Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo is the practice both for one's own self and for the sake of others. It is composed of the five characters of name,substance, quality, function end influence."
With these Gosho passages in mind, now let me try to discuss the Object of Worship in terms of the Person more simply.
In declaring himself to be the votary of the Lotus Sutra, the Daishonin vowed to spend his life in propagation the essence of the Lotus Sutra, Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. To him, Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo was the Lotus Sutra of the Latter Day of the Law.
In the Lotus Sutra, its propagation in the Latter Day of the Law was entrusted to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, headed by Bodhisattva Jogyo. In making the vow to spread the true Law, Nichiren Daishonin thus took upon himself the mission of Bodhisattva Jogyo and, just as the Lotus Sutra predicted would happen to its votary, he was assailed by constant persecution and troubled by the three powerful enemies.
His teachings were rejected out of hand by priests of other sects, who feigned enlightenment when they had not yet reached it. And his life was threatened by lay and religious authorities, jealous of their power and seeking to hold sway over the people.
The Daishonin, however, was never deterred by these threats and abuses, and persisted in his propagation efforts, Finally, he was taken to be beheaded at Tatsunokuchi. The execution attempt failed, but in a large sense, it spelled the end of Nichiren Daishonin's life in the capacity of Bodhisattva Jogyo.
In "The Opening of the Eyes" he writes:
"A person called Nichiren was beheaded."
Though not literally killed, the Daishonin shed his transient, ephemeral identity before dawn on that date and embarked on a more important mission -- -- that is to realize his own enlightenment in a concrete form so that others could share in it.
Nichiren Daishonin had attained enlightenment as a youth while studying at Seicho-ji Temple. But that enlightenment had remained in the profound depths of his heart. Although he expressed it in the invocation of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, he had not given it visible form as the True Object of Worship.
Unfortunately, the people of his day couldn't understand the profound meaning of Nam-Myoho-Renge- Kyo. They understood it only superficially as dedication to the Lotus Sutra, or Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. The Tatsunokuchi Persecution gave the Daishonin the opportunity to embark on his great mission as the Original Buddha.
Only the Original Buddha is able to inscribe the Gohonzon, which is the entity of Nam-Myoho-Renge- Kyo. As the Original Buddha, the Daishonin served as the Object of Worship in terms of the Person while alive. In other words, his contemporary followers were able to attain Buddhahood by following his teachings and forming a relationship with his Buddhahood. But what of future generations after his death?
As you know, the Daishonin clarified the Object of Worship in terms of the Person in "The Opening of the Eyes" and the Object of Worship in terms of the Law in "The True Object of Worship". The Gohonzon can be called the Object of Worship not, only in terms of the Person but also in terms of the Law.
The Daishonin established the Gohonzon so that people who would came after his death could attain Buddhahood by chanting to it faithfully without fail. Let's consider the relationship between the Person and the Law, which is very important, and you'll understand why you are told to treasure and hold on to your Gohonzon, no matter what happens.
Nichiren Daishonin is the Buddha who is one with the Law. That is, in his enlightenment, Nichiren Daishonin realized that his own life was Nam- Myoho-Renge-Kyo. He later inscribed it in the form of the Gohonzon. Thus the Gohonzon too, embodies the oneness of the Person and the Law.
In other words, the purpose of his alternating descriptions, which I supported from the Gosho before, are to clarify that the Person is the Law, and the Law is the Person. Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo is the life of Nichiren Daishonin, and he embodied it in the form of a mandala. This is the Gohonzon.
In his "Reply to Lady Nichinyo" the Daishonin clearly teaches us the oneness of the Person and the Law:
"Dengyo the Great wrote,"The entity of ichinen sanzen is the Buddha who obtained enlightenment for himself..."
From this we should understand that ichinen sanzen, the totality of the universe and the Buddha enlightened to it are one entity. This is inherent in the Gohonzon. And the Daishonin goes on to say:
"Therefore, this Gohonzon is the supreme mandala which has not appeared until more than two thousand, two hundred and twenty years after Buddha's death."
Also, in his orally transmitted teachings on the Gohonzon, the Dai-Gohonzon, the ultimate Gohonzon which he inscribed as the basis for all other Gohonzons, and which he left for all mankind to worship -- is like a reflection of his figure in a pond. We cannot see or touch the person, but the Dai-Gohonzon is the manifestation and reflection of his enlightened life as Person and Law. In the "Reply to Kyo-O" the Daishonin writes:
"I, Nichiren, have inscribed my life in sumi ink."
This is another way of saying that he embodied his enlightened life in the form of the Gohonzon. But another implication of this sentence is that the Daishonin devoted his entire life to the establishment of the Gohonzon for mankind with the same compassion with which he declared to his troubled contemporary Japan:
"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."
If we look at Nichiren Daishonin's lifelong dedication to saving unhappy people, we became aware of his great compassion.
If we ponder the Mystic Law, we can understand its great power. In the struggle to propagate true Buddhism, both compassion and power are needed. In other words, both the Person and the Law are essential.
Since the Gohonzon is the embodiment of the Person and the Law, it contains both this compassion and power. By chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to the Gohonzon with sincere faith, we can attain the same compassionate life-condition as Nichiren Daishonin. Through this practice we can develop our own Buddha nature. Thus, there is no essential difference between his life and that of the common mortal's. This is the ultimate teaching of the Daishonin's Buddhism, and we believe that no other religion can approach it.
We can become the Buddha -- in complete unity with the Law -- no longer needing to think about how our lives are entities of the Mystic Law; but knowing it and also knowing that so are the lives of all others. This is true. But is it easy?
The Daishonin's compassion in the face of such question is always consistent and lasting. I would like to share this one passage from the Gosho with all of you. It was written for common mortals practicing to became Buddhas:
"You have less knowledge of Buddhism than I, and moreover you are lay believers with land, families and retainers. Therefore, it may be impossible for you to sustain your faith throughout life. This is why I have always told you that because of your positions, it would be better to feign ignorance of the Lotus Sutra. No matter what may happen in the future, be assured that I will never forsake you or neglect you." Thank you very much.