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October 2004
Oeshiki Ceremony Address Nichiren Daishonin states in, “On Securing the Peace of the Land through the Propagation of True Buddhism,”
In the world, all people are against what
is right; every person enters into evil. Therefore, benevolent divinities
abandon the country, sages leave and do not return. And in their stead
come devils and demons, disasters and calamities that arise one after
another. Good morning, everyone. I sincerely respect and thank you for making your pilgrimage to the Oeshiki Ceremony at the temple to express gratitude to the True Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin, especially those of you who came a long distance from out-of-town and who have difficulty getting transportation. We only have two months remaining in this year called “The Year of Refuting Heresy and Revealing the Truth.” “Refuting Heresy and Revealing the Truth” means to do Shakubuku. Therefore, I would like to talk about the importance of Shakubuku. “Shaku” literally means bend or break, and refers to speech that refutes or corrects wrong ideas. “Buku” or “fuku” literally means surrender, and means to convince others to do right things. Thus, Shakubuku is to teach people who do not yet know the True Law and who do not believe the True Teaching of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism that the cause of suffering and unhappiness come from wrong ideas and religions, and that Nichiren Daishonin’s teaching is the only way to attain true happiness. The first significance of Shakubuku is compassion. Nichiren Daishonin states in, “Admonition of Bodhisattva Hachiman,”
I have been only striving to put the five and seven
characters of Myoho-Renge-Kyo into the mouths of all the people in the
country of Japan. This is like the compassion of a mother to put her milk
into her baby’s mouth. Nichiren Daishonin describes that Shakubuku is like a nurse. A baby tries to reject drinking milk when she does not want to drink. However, a mother puts her milk into her baby’s mouth no matter how her baby cries, because she is really concerned about her baby’s future. The baby will eventually appreciate that her mother nursed her with all her love, even though she may not realize it when she is a baby. The mother indicates us (both Nichiren Shoshu priests and believers), the baby indicates non-believers, and the milk indicates the True Law. We do Shakubuku to non-believers because we are really concerned about their future and happiness, not for our self-satisfaction or because someone forced us to do Shakubuku. “I want you to become happy based on your faith and practice.” This consideration is Shakubuku. Even if they get angry or frustrated, we must be patient and we must not give up doing Shakubuku. The second significance of Shakubuku is to achieve Kosen-Rufu (Rissho Ankoku). All the people in the world become Buddhas through a true Buddhist practice. Then, naturally, world peace will be achieved and the entire world will become the Buddha land. This is called Kosen-rufu. Nichiren Daishonin states in, “On Securing the Peace of the Land through the Propagation of True Buddhism,”
In the world, all people are against what
is right; every person enters into evil. Therefore, benevolent divinities
abandon the country, sages leave and do not return. And in their stead
come devils and demons, disasters and calamities that arise one after
another. The reason for rising disasters and calamities are that people are against the True Law and they believe in wrong religions. If the number of people who practice Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism decrease, we will have no protection from benevolent divinities - this world will become worse and worse. If we do not do Shakubuku, it is quite possible to be caught up in disasters and calamities because we live in this world. Therefore, it is very important to do Shakubuku which is the only way to establish peace in one’s life and society as a result of embracing this True Law. Next, I would like to talk about the benefit of Shakubuku. First of all, we can attain Buddhahood by doing Shakubku. Nichiren Daishonin states in, “Admonitions against Slander,” Both master and disciple will surely fall into incessant suffering if they see enemies of the Lotus Sutra and fail to reproach them… To wish to attain Buddhahood without remonstrating slanders of Buddhism is like trying to find water in the midst of fire, or fire in the midst of water. It is useless. It is useless. (“Soyadono Gohenji” Gosho, p. 1040: Ref. MWND Vol. I p. 165) Nichiren Daishonin admonishes us that if we do not do Shakubuku, both priests and lay believers will fall into incessant suffering. This means that if we do Shakubuku, we can attain Buddhahood without fail. Secondly, the benefit of Shakubuku is the benefit of “Lessening One’s Karmic Retribution.” We made the causes to suffer and slander in our past life. Therefore, we have to suffer long and heavy through both the present and the future. However, by doing Shakubuku and encountering difficulties and persecutions, our suffering will be light and short and we can thus eradicate all of our slanders. In the Gosho, “On Persecutions Befalling the Sages,” Nichiren Daishonin states,
Even if we encounter this severe
persecution, we will attain Buddhahood in the future. For example, this
is like moxa cautery. You feel pain at the time, but if this becomes
medicine for the future, it is painful, but it is not painful. Maybe some of you do not know what moxa cautery actually is. Moxa cautery is an ancient Chinese method of treatment for pain that is still used today. Moxa is a plant that is dried and made into a small cone-like shape. It is placed on the area of the body that is causing pain, and then lit on fire. As the moxa burns down, the body area becomes hot and you feel the pain of heat. Then the moxa is removed and all the pain goes away, including the original body pain. Nichiren Daishonin teaches us that the pain of eradicating our slanders is like the pain of moxa cautery. It is actually medicine for our future. Therefore, we should consider that the time we encounter the difficulty is the time to eradicate our past slander, and we must strive to do Shakubuku. In order to do Shakubuku correctly, it is very important to do morning and evening Gongyo, and chant Daimoku everyday. Earnest and Honest attitudes toward Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism have good influences in our daily lives, and we receive trust from people in society, and thereby, we can accomplish our Shakubuku. In order to practice this Buddhism correctly, it is very important to have absolute faith in the Dai-Gohonzon of Nichiren Daishonin, read the guidance of the High Priest, receive instruction from the Chief Priest and behaves based on this. As a result, there will be no doubt that we will receive the benefit of attaining Buddhahood. Please understand what I said, and maintain a strong conviction as a disciple of Nichiren Daishonin and as a Hokkeko member of Nichiren Shoshu. Furthermore, each of us must firmly recognize our mission as a priest and/or a believer of Nichiren Shoshu toward Kosen-rufu. I would like to conclude my sermon by reading a passage from the Gosho, “On Securing the Peace of the Land through the Propagation of True Buddhism,”
Not only I believe in this, but I will warn others of
their errors! Thank you for your kind attention. |