"Myoho-renge-kyo is likened to the lotus. The mahamandara flower in heaven and the cherry blossom in the human world are both celebrated flowers, but the Buddha chose neither to compare to the Lotus Sutra. Of all the flowers,he selected the lotus blossom to symbolize the Lotus Sutra. There is a reason for this.Some plants first flower and then produce fruit, while in others fruit comes forth before flowers. Some bear only one flower but many fruit, others send forth many flowers but only one fruit, and still others produce fruit without flowering. Thus there are all manner of plants, but the lotus is the only one which bears flowers and fruit simultaneously. The benefit of all the other sutras is uncertain, because they teach that one must first make good causes and only then can one become a Buddha at some later time. The Lotus Sutra is completely different. A hand which takes it up immediately attains enlightenment,and a mouth which chants it instantly enters Buddhahood, just as the moon is reflected in the water the moment it appears from behind the eastern mountains, or as a sound and its echo arise simultaneously. It is for This reason that the sutra states, "Among those who hear of this Law, there is not one who shall not attain Buddhahood." This passage means that if there are a hundred or a thousand people who embrace this sutra, without a single exception all one hundred or one thousand of them will become Buddhas." (MW-4, 305)
Good morning, everyone. Today we are celebrating the birthday of the Daishonin, called the Otanjo-e ceremony, and the monthly oko ceremony. Everyone who has made pilgrimage here to the temple today is showing that they honor and respect the Three Great Secret Laws. Your faith is like a precious Jewel. Nichiren Daishonin talks about the true mind of faith in the Gosho:
"What we call faith is nothing extraordinary. As a woman cherishes her husband, as a man will give his life for his wife, as parents will not abandon their children, or as a child refuses to leave his mother, so should we put our trust in the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni, Taho, and all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions, as well as the heavenly gods and benevolent deities, and chant Nam-myoho-renge- kyo. This is what is meant by faith. Moreover, you should ponder the sutra passages "Honestly discarding the provisional teachings" and "Not accepting even a single verse from any of the other sutra" and never be of a mind to abandon them, just as a woman will not throw away her mirror or as a man always wears his sword." (MW-5, p. 303)
As you can see from this passage, faith is not a mysterious or unusual thing. Faith is sincere practice in oneness with the Daishonin, the Gohonzon, and the High Priests, which are the Three Treasures of Buddhism. It also means not accepting other religious teachings, as well. When you have this kind of mind you will be able to receive and know real benefit from the Gohonzon.
Nichiren Daishonin was born at noon on February 16, 1222, in Kominato, which is now called Chiba prefecture. His father's name was Nukina-Jiro Shigetada and his mother's name was Umegiku-nyo. The Daishonin was not some kind of imaginary or supernatural being; he was an ordinary human being who was born from his parent's love. This viewpoint is very different from that of most other religions whose central figures are supra-human buddhas or gods. The date of the Daishonin's birth, February 16, has a mystic connection with the date of Shakyamuni Buddha's death on February 15. Shakyamuni was the Buddha whose teachings appeared in the Former and Middle Days of the Law while Nichiren Daishonin is the True Buddha in the Latter Day of the Law.
The Daishutsu Sutra tells of Byakuho onmotu which means "the Pure Law will be lost." Shakyamuni, himself, predicted that his own teachings would lose their power and disappear 2,000 years after his death. In this way, Shakyamuni proved that the True Buddha of Kuon Ganjo (the Latter Day of the Law) will be reborn at that time and he will begin to propagate the fundamental basis of True Buddhism. It is also meaningful that in 1203, nineteen years before the Daishonin was born, India, home of Buddhist teaching, fell to Islamic forces and soon after Moslem teachings virtually replaced Buddhism.
Concerning his own birth, the Daishonin says, "I am a fisherman's son." (GZ, 370), and in "The Letter From Sado" he states, "Nichiren, who in this life was born poor and lowly to a chandala family." (MW-1,37)
Chandala (sendara) is an ancient Indian word that, although used as fisherman here, has a greater meaning. It means a wicked or unclean person such as a butcher. In the ancient Indian caste system, people in professions such as hunting, fishing, or butchering were considered even more lowly than slaves because their work involved the handling of dead bodies. Japan of the Daishonin's time did not exactly have the same kind of caste system as ancient India, but nonetheless, the Daishonin, the True Buddha in the Latter Day of the Law, was born to a household with one of the lowest standings in the feudal society of that time.
In contrast, Shakyamuni Buddha was born on April 8th about 2,500-3,000 years ago (depending on your sources) as the prince of a royal household. His princely lifestyle was one of comfort and prosperity. Even the Great Teacher T'ien-tai and Dengyo were of noble birth. In the Ongi Kuden (The Record of Orally Transmitted Teachings), the Daishonin states: The True Buddha in the Latter Day of the Law is an ordinary person. Also, he is an ordinary priest. Why, then, was the True Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin, born as such a lowly person?
At this point, I would like to use the example of food. Take, for example, fancy French gourmet cooking. It's so delicious and it looks so beautiful. Eating in a fancy French restaurant is so luxurious. But we can't make those fancy gourmet recipes without the original basic ingredients. In terms of cause and effect, the fancy dinner is the effect and the basic food, the chicken or meat or what have you, is the cause. You can't make chocolate mousse without chocolate. Fancy gourmet cooking is very expensive. Only a limited number of people can afford it. Also, this kind of cooking is very rich and if you tried to eat it every day, you would soon become sick and eventually die of something like heart disease. But anyone can go to the store and buy basic food. It is also much better for you to eat plain, nourishing food. Simple meals are better for the health.
Shakyamuni Buddha was born to a royal family and was described as having "thirty-two distinguishing features" and "eighty characteristics". We could call him a "fancy, gourmet Buddha!" Why did Shakyamuni appear in the world in such a form? Shakyamuni's luxurious appearance was necessary because the people of his time needed to see that kind of figure in order to believe his teachings. They needed a luxurious figure of a Buddha rather than the original form. The disciples of Shakyamuni had already formed a bond with the Buddha because they had received the sowing of the Mystic Law in Kuon Ganjo (time without beginning). From that lime on, they practiced Shakyamuni's Buddhism little by little.
Nichiren Daishonin says this of their arduous progress in the Gosho, "Letter To The Brothers",
"Maudgalyayana and others were not doomed to wander through the evil paths for the period of sanzen-jintengo or gohyaku-jintengo because they had committed the ten evils or five cardinal sins. Nor was it because they had committed any of the eight rebellious acts. It was because they met someone who was an evil influence, and discarded the Lotus Sutra to take faith in the provisional teachings." (MW-1,135)
Why, if the seed was sown, did these early disciples take so long, almost an eternity, to attain enlightenment? The answer is they were beguiled by their own ideas and they discontinued their practice in spite of having received the seed of true Buddhist teaching in Kuon Ganjo. Consequently, they gave themselves over to the wrong Buddhist teachings and fell into evil paths time after time. Therefore, they lost their opportunity to meet with True Buddhism. Nichiren Daishonin states in the "Letter On The Beginning of Spring":
"If you discontinue the practice now, sadly, you must pass through [the time periods of] sanzen-Jintengo and gohyaku-jintengo." (GZ, 1585)
So, we must make up our minds, here and now, never to discontinue our practice of True Buddhism. At last, when Shakyamuni's disciples were able to hear the sixteenth chapter of the Lotus Sutra, they were finally able to remember the True Buddha of Kuon Ganjo and so, they attained Buddhahood. If they had practiced correctly in Kuon Ganjo, they could have saved themselves needless suffering.
Going back to my earlier question, Why was Nichiren Daishonin born as an ordinary human being, just like us? Using my metaphor of food, why was he a plain meat and potatoes Buddha? The answer is that he shows to all living beings that any kind of person, even the most common of people, can attain enlightenment if they practice this True Buddhism, This life of absolute happiness is available to all human beings universally and with complete equality. Shakyamuni's Buddhism was discriminatory in that it only offered enlightenment for those who had already received the seed and had practiced the Buddhist way for a very long time. This may be a little hard to understand, but please try to think of the food example. No matter how fancy the recipe, the basic substance is food.
I think you can see that 700 years ago, Nichiren Daishonin, the Original Buddha of Kuon Ganjo, appeared and that all the Buddhas, including Shakyamuni, are like shadows of the Original Buddha who appear in various forms. Just like there are many ways to cook the same kind of food, there are many differences among human beings. Buddhas, too, take on many different aspects or appearances in order to lead those who have discontinued the practice and forgotten the Original Buddha back to enlightenment. These are the Three Existences of Buddhahood.
With fancy cooking, it's sometimes impossible to tell what's in it. You lose sight of the true form. Therefore, Shakyamuni said in the Sutra of Infinite Meanings (Muryogi Sutra), "In these more than forty years I have not yet revealed the truth." This is why Shakyamuni, himself, disavowed all his earlier teachings.
The topic of this lecture is a very lengthy one so I will continue it next month. Today's point is that Nichiren Daishonin is the basis of True Buddhism and all the rest of the Buddhas, including Shakyamuni, are merely shadows of the True Buddha. Please try your best to understand this. It would also be a good idea to read this sermon one more time before next month's Oko ceremony. I sincerely pray for your peace, happiness, true faith and good health. Thank you.
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