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Encouragement to a Sick Person
No matter what great deed one may perform, even if he reads and
transcribes the entirety of the Lotus Sutra a thousand or ten thousand
times or masters the meditation to perceive ichinen sanzen, should
he fail to denounce the enemies of the Lotus Sutra, he will be unable to
attain the Way. Good morning everyone. Today, on this occasion of the February Oko sermon in our expression of gratitude to our master Nichiren Daishonin, I have sincerely recited the sutras and chanted Daimoku together with you. Moreover, I have sincerely prayed for you to eliminate your sins and negative karma from this and infinite past lifetimes; for you to redouble your faith; for you to enjoy a safe and long life; for peace and harmony to reign in your home; for all matters to proceed forth smoothly; and for the successful achievement of all your great objectives in this and future existences. I am certain that the Daishonin would be truly pleased to see so many of you in attendance today. Today, we have observed the Oko Sermon and the Otanjo-e Ceremony, commemorating the birthday of Nichiren Daishonin. Since I spoke about the Daishonin’s birthday during our last Okyo-bi gathering, I will not focus on it here. The gosho passage that we just recited is from “Encouragement to a Sick Person” (Nanjo-hyoe-shichiro dono gosho). This gosho was written on the 13th day of the 12th month of the 1st year of Bun’ei (1264). It was a letter addressed to Lord Nanjo Hyoe-shichiro, the father of Nanjo Tokimitsu. A month prior to writing this gosho, the Daishonin encountered the Komatsubara Persecution. At the time, one of his disciples was killed and two others were critically wounded. The Daishonin himself suffered a deep cut on the right side of his forehead, inflicted on him by a sword held by Tojo Kagenobu, the steward of the land. Furthermore, he suffered a broken left arm. It was a tremendous persecution that almost took his life. In this letter, the Daishonin revealed that he is, indeed, the foremost votary of the Lotus Sutra in Japan. This letter, written under these circumstances, is also known as the “Gosho on the Komatsubara Persecution” (Komatsubara honan sho). Hyoe Shichiro was a devout follower of the Nembutsu sect. However, he received instruction from the Daishonin and decided to discard his faith in the Nembutsu and to embrace the Lotus Sutra. Although he had made the decision to embrace the Lotus Sutra, he was unable to make a clean separation from Nembutsu. He continued to waver in his heart about whether or not he should follow the Lotus Sutra or the Nembutsu. In this letter, the Daishonin stated: Remember that to discard the Lotus Sutra and become a believer in the Nembutsu is to be like a rock from a mountain peak hurtling down to the valley below, or like rain in the skies falling to the ground. There is no doubt that such a person will fall into the great Avichi Hell. The Daishonin strictly prohibited Hyoe Shichiro from holding an attachment to the Nembutsu, and he instructed him to uphold True Buddhism, as a disciple of the Dashonin, the true votary of the Lotus Sutra. Meanwhile, Lord Nanjo suffered a serious illness, and he received this letter from the Daishonin. As a result of the Daishonin’s prayers, the lord recovered temporarily. He was profoundly touched by the Daishonin’s instructions. He completely severed his ties with the slanderous Nembutsu and made a determination to uphold absolute faith in the Lotus Sutra. On the 8th day of the 3rd month of the 2nd year of Bun’ei (1265), three months after Nanjo Hyoe Shichiro received this letter, he passed away. Indeed, Nanjo Hyoe Shichiro achieved his essential condition of enlightenment through his faith, as the Daishonin described in another gosho: Since your deceased husband was a votary of this sutra, he doubtless attained enlightenment. In the letter, the Daishonin first comforted Nanjo Hyoe Shichiro on his illness. Then, he explained the five guides for propagation, consisting of the teaching, the people's capacity, the time, the country, and the sequence of propagation. He expounded the true teaching of the Lotus Sutra and urged him to completely discard the Nembutsu. Let me briefly explain the five guides for propagation: 1. A correct understanding of the teaching: This means that, although there are various religions in the world – and even though there are differences among Buddhist teachings, such as the Hinayana and Mahayana doctrines – it is essential to distinguish which among them is the true and supreme teaching. 2. A correct understanding of the people’s capacity: This represents the understanding of our spiritual attitude and capacity, as individuals in this world, to try to embrace the teaching of the Buddha. 3. A correct understanding of the time: This is to understand the three periods of the Former, Middle, and Latter Days of the Law and to realize that the Daishonin’s Buddhism of the Sowing of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo must be propagated in the Latter Day of the Law. The Former Day of the Law referred to a time when the teachings of Shakyamuni were correctly transmitted among people and his doctrines led them to effective practice and enlightenment. The Middle Day of the Law characterized a period when the teachings and practice remained effective, as in the Former Day of the Law, but when there was no enlightenment. Then, in the Latter Day of the Law, the teachings of Shakyamuni became ineffective; the teachings remained but they were incapable of providing true practice and enlightenment. It was at this point that the Daishonin expounded the supreme teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. 4. A correct understanding of the country: This means to discern the nature of the people of a particular nation, their customs, their beliefs, and their social environment. It is to understand the causal associations of propagating True Buddhism. However, this does not mean that we condone slanderous teachings. 5. A correct understanding of the sequence of propagation: This means that we must understand the teachings that prevail and determine the teachings that must be taught thereafter. In essence, this marks the demise of Shakyamuni’s doctrines and the time when the Daishonin’s teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo must be propagated throughout the world. Such was my brief explanation of the five guides for propagation. The Daishonin concluded the letter by stating that the Lord would be able to achieve tremendous benefits, even in his future lives, if he upheld his faith in the Lotus Sutra. The gosho passage for this month focuses on the second of the five guides for propagation: a correct understanding of the people’s capacity. As individuals in the Latter Day of the Law, we have amassed various forms of negative karma from past lives. As a whole, we slander the Lotus Sutra. Therefore, performing shakubuku is, indeed, the practice that best manifests the will of the Buddha. Performing shakubuku is the only way by which we can attain enlightenment. In other words, we may embrace Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and never commit slander, but if we do not denounce those among us who are enemies of the Lotus Sutra, then our non-action is tantamount to committing such slander ourselves. It is a fact that various obstacles and devils invariably appear when we perform shakubuku. As you are aware, the Daishonin presented instructions concerning shakubuku in this and various other gosho. In fact, at the time, the Daishonin’s parents, teacher, fellow disciples, and people close to him were all Nembutsu believers. While Nembutsu doctrines provide promises of passage to paradise, they characterize a slanderous teaching that will lead all people to the Avichi Hell. However, when the Daishonin spoke the truth to the Nembutsu believers, he was aware that most of them would not believe him. To make matters worse, they resented him, hated him, and tried to harm his life. It may appear merciful to please the people by lying to the people and expounding the merits of the Nembutsu, but in fact, it is behavior that truly lacks compassion. Even if people hated and doubted him, and even if he suffered numerous persecutions, the Daishonin declared that Nembutsu would cause people to fall into the Avichi Hell and that only Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is capable of leading them straight to enlightenment. This was a truly compassionate act. It is also true that we must “know the country” when we perform shakubuku. We must be mindful of achieving kosenrufu in America, as we perform shakubuku. It is important to understand how we can halt slander and teach the True Law. It is essential to devote ourselves to our daily performance of gongyo and daimoku and to attend events at the temple, in order to understand how to accomplish this and perform shakubuku. In this world, it is rare, indeed, to find people who practice Buddhism in the true sense. I am certain that you have experienced situations such as the following. When you tell people about the Daishonin’s Buddhism, there are those who say, “I now have a general understanding of the faith you practice – the Buddhism of the Daishonin. I think that it’s a wonderful teaching. I will practice, too, when I gain a general understanding of all of Buddhism.” Indeed, such an attitude seems reasonable. However, do you really think that it is possible to understand the entirety of Buddhism in one lifetime? Let us imagine that there is a person who has never eaten an apple. That individual puts forth a great deal of effort into researching the flavor of apples. He will find in documents that it is sweet, tart, juicy, and that it has other qualities. However, no matter how much research he conducts on the apple, he would never understand and experience the flavor on an apple unless he actually eats one. Taking just one bite of an apple would enable him to experience the flavor of an apple. In the same way, no matter how much time we devote to the study of Buddhism, we would never be able to gain an understanding of even a fraction of the teachings of the Buddha, since we are common mortals in the Latter Day of the Law. Rather than waste our time in such needless pursuits, it is far more productive and noble to embrace the Way of the Buddha and practice it as soon as possible. With the capacity that we possess, it is absolutely impossible to understand the profound essence of True Buddhism. However, by chanting daimoku, we can achieve a correct understanding of it in our lives and we can amass immeasurable benefits. Ultimately, we can attain enlightenment in our present form. Our 68th High Priest Nichinyo Shonin presented strict instructions on New Year’s day. He stated: Despite my predecessor’s accomplishments, the path ahead is still bound to be fraught with demons in the form of obstacles and obstructers seeking to impede the advance of the True Law and the True Teachings. It is, therefore, imperative that priesthood and laity single-mindedly cooperate in harmonious, tight-knit unity to achieve our cherished work – the kosenrufu of the True Cause to every corner of the world – by dedicating themselves to deepening their understanding of Nichiren Shoshu doctrine and propagating its teachings, exerting themselves thus to bring about the flourishing of the True Law. In particular, we must dedicate ourselves in our daily practice and with further unity as we prepare for the great milestone that lies three years ahead – the 750th Anniversary of the Daishonin’s Revealing the True and Upholding Justice through the Submission of the Rissho ankoku ron. As priests and lay believers of Nichiren Shoshu, let us exert our greatest efforts, so that we can successfully fulfill the objectives set forth by our High Priest. Our immediate goal is to participate in the actualization of doubling the number of our membership – the Bodhisattvas of the Earth – by the year 2009, and our ultimate goal is to achieve kosenrufu throughout the regions united by the four seas and the singular heavens. As priests and laity, let us form a solid unity and advance forth vigorously in our performance of gongyo, daimoku, and shakubuku. I would like to conclude my sermon for today by sincerely praying for your ever-increasing successes, continued good health, and for truly assiduous efforts in your activities. Thank you very much for your attendance and your kind attention throughout this lengthy service. |