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The Grand
Ceremony of the Airing of the Sacred Treasures - Goreiho Mushibarai Daiho-e
The Goreiho Mushibarai Daiho-e or the Grand Ceremony of the Airing of the Sacred Treasures,
conducted at the Head Temple Taisekiji every year during the two days of April 6 and 7, is one of Nichiren
Shoshu's two great ceremonies, the other being the autumnal Gotai-e (Oeshiki) Ceremony. A great number of
extremely important treasures have been preserved by the priesthood during the long seven hundred year
period since the time of our founder Nichiren Daishonin. Once a year, great care must be taken to expel
moisture and harmful insects from these treasures so that they may be passed on to later generations far
into the future. At the same time, this momentous ceremony provides a chance for the many participating
worshippers to deepen their faith.
Here is a brief summary of the activities that occur during the Grand Ceremony of the Airing of the
Sacred Treasures in modern times. All of the events begin on April 6 with the Gokaihi Ceremony. After the
recitation of the Lotus Sutra and during the chanting of Daimoku at this Gokaihi Ceremony, His Holiness the
High Priest himself, conducts the ceremony of cleaning the accumulated dust from the face of the
Dai-Gohonzon with heavy paper specially made just for this occasion. This ceremony is followed in the
evening by a solemn procession. At this time, the approach road between the Nitenmon Gate and the
Mieido is aglow with the blaze of post fires. After following a long cortege of priests,
the High Priest solumnly faces the Mieido, ascends a prepared dais and begins a sermon on the Gosho. Thereafter, the
first day' s activities draw to a close with lectures provided by priests on the propagation of the Law.
At 2:30 a.m. of the second day, April 7, attending priests and members of the faith assemble at
Kyakuden (The Reception Hall) to worship at the Ushitora Gongyo Ceremony and pray single-mindedly with
the High Priest for the attainment of the worldwide propagation of the Law. Then at 7:00 a.m., the High
Priest makes his second appearance at the Mieido to rigorously observe the monthly Oko Ceremony in
gratitude to the Second High Priest Nikko Shonin. Subsequently, at 9:00 a.m., the eventful Airing of the
Sacred Treasures finally commences at Kyakuden (The Reception Hall). Preceding this, a great number of
sacred treasures stored within the Treasure Storehouse are transported into Kyakuden (The Reception
Hall). These Sacred Treasures are contained within three large black lacquered chests.
Each chest is mounted upon a litter and draped with a sacred gold brocade altar
cloth. Carried on priests' shoulders under the direction of the High Priest, the
chests, inscribed first with a Treasure Wheel, then a Circular Crane and lastly
a
Tortoise Shell, are transferred in sequence before those waiting in attendance at Kyakuden (The Reception
Hall). There, in the presence of the Chief Lay Representative of the Head Temple, the seal on the chest
marked with the Treasure Wheel is broken. The Daishonin' s bones, His dental
framework
and the incense burner, candlestick and evergreen vase that were used by the Daishonin when He prayed
for rain, are removed from the chest and placed on a table before the Gohonzon.
Next, as the High Priest and the General Administrator read off the names, various Gohonzons are
hung on large frames especially erected in the inner and outer sanctuaries, beginning with the Gohonzon
that has been called since ancient times "The Gohonzon inherited from master to disciple, inscribed by the
Daishonin, and continuing with Gohonzons inscribed by the Second High Priest
Nikko Shonin, the Third High Priest Nichimoku Shonin and other successive High
Priests of Nichiren Shoshu. Finally, the wide Gohonzon of the Transferal of the
Law which Nikko Shonin bestowed on Nichimoku Shonin at the time of the
establishment of Taisekiji, is hung in the middle of the outer sanctuary and at
this time, the recitation of the Lotus Sutra and the chanting of Daimoku are conducted.
After the Airing of the Gohonzons is completed, we move next to the handwritten scroll
compositions.
During this Ceremony, Gosho written by Nichiren Daishonin, as well as documents and letters written by
Nikko Shonin, Nichimoku Shonin and others are exposed for ventilation. After His Holiness the High Priest
ascends the central dais and recites the Lotus Sutra, he reads The Minobu Transfer Document and The
lkegami Transfer Document (ancient copies), as well as The Articles of Procedure After Nikko, that is the
document written by Nikko Shonin in which He transfers the Law to Nichimoku Shonin. Following this, the
names of Gosho with which most people are familiar are read, such as In Celebration of Spring, Three Shingon Masters Pray for Rain, The Kalpa of Decrease, Treasures Have No Value Compared With the
Law, The Gift of Rice, King of the Lions Gosho, The Bodies and Minds of Ordinary Beings, In
Remonstrance of Bodhissattva Hachiman and Offering of Three Blades of Straw. In 1967, twenty-six of the
Daishonin's scroll manuscript Gosho were designated Important National Cultural Assets.
In addition to these, there are many other manuscripts, including a great number copied by Nikko
Shonin, such as the Rissho Ankoku Ron, Capturing the Essential Teachings of the Lotus Sutra, On the
Four Stages of Faith and Five Stages of Practice and The Eight Volumes of the Lotus Sutra, as well as
copies of letters and Gosho, such as Reply to Lord Ueno and Reply to Kubo-ama and letters written to
other disciples. There are epistles by Nichimoku Shonin and Nichido Shonin, Nichido Shonin's
Godendodai, which is a draft manuscript known as the oldest extant writing about the life of the Daishonin,
as well as Nichikan Shonin's manuscript of the Rokkan-sho. Symbolizing seven hundred years
of history and tradition, these copious Sacred Treasures are truly a magnificent sight.
The Gosho and other documents brought before the participating believers are aired at the hands of
the priests. Many priests sit before a long table in front of the inner sanctuary, fan the un-scrolled
parchments with Japanese folding fans, and then re-roll them. Handling these irreplaceable Sacred
Treasures scrupulously with white-gloved hands to prevent any possible damage, the priests store them
once again in the lacquer chests in proper succession, which brings the ceremony to a close.
After the Daishonin's death, five of the six elder disciples, including Nissho and Nichiro
insisted that the letters, which the Daishonin wrote using Japanese syllabic
characters (called kana, rather than scholarly Chinese characters), were mere acknowledgments for offerings
from sincere believers or for the purpose of clarifying basic and often critical
misinterpretations. It was believed that, if they left these writings for
future generations, they would bring disgrace upon the reputation of the
Daishonin. As a result, the five elder priests either tore up or burned some of
the Daishonin's letters. In the final analysis, it must be said that these five
elder priests, who had not received the transmission of the Living Essence of
the Law, did not understand that the Daishonin is the True Buddha who
came to save all existence in the Latter Day of the Law. The words He spoke and the writings
He left behind, therefore, are the Buddha's Golden Words and should be greatly revered. Besides admonishing
them for their misunderstanding, the Daishonin's legitimate successor, Nikko Shonin, worked to collect the
Gosho that had been widely dispersed, and to catalogue and write explanations of the major works for
future generations. He even went so far as to take up the brush and make copies of the Gosho, to prevent
the Daishonin's sacred teachings from being lost.
It is
only because the successive High Priests, who have continually transferred the Law of Myoho-Renge-Kyo
from Nikko Shonin, even at the risk of Their own lives and the lives of members
in faith, that we are able to behold
these most holy of sacred teachings today.
As in this Goreiho-Omushibarai-e, the Grand Ceremony of the Airing of the
Sacred Treasures, which exemplifies the Nichiren Shoshu tradition of
transmitting the Daishonin's Buddhism exactly as He taught for future
generations, we must instill within ourselves that great spirit of protection of
the True Law. It may also be said that participation in this ceremony signifies our faith in this one and only, absolute pure
Supreme Law, and that the Law of Myoho-Renge-Kyo will thoroughly take root in society and
continue to spread throughout the entire world.
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