The Opening of the Eyes
Oko Sermon May 2004
Reverend Shogu Kimura
Although I and my disciples may encounter various difficulties, if we do not harbor doubt in our hearts, we will as a matter of course attain Buddhahood. Do not have doubts simply because Heaven does not lend you protection. Do not be discouraged because you do not enjoy an easy and secure existence in this life. This is what I have taught my disciples morning and evening, and yet they begin to harbor doubts and abandon their faith. Foolish men are likely to forget the promises they have made when the crucial moment comes. (Gosho, p. 574; MWND-2, p. 205)
Good morning everyone. Today, on this occasion of the May sermon in appreciation for our master Nichiren Daishonin, we have recited the sutras and chanted Daimoku together, to express our debt of gratitude to the Gohonzon. I have offered my sincere prayers for the expiation of all your negative causality from your past and present existences. I have also prayed for all of you to redouble your faith; for your safety and long life; for peace and stability in your families; for protection from all harm in this and future existences; and for us to be able to achieve our great objective. I am absolutely certain that the Daishonin would be pleased, indeed, to see so many of you in attendance here today.
The Gosho passage that we just read was from “The Opening of the Eyes” (Kaimoku sho). The Daishonin wrote this Gosho in the 2nd month of the 9th month of Bun’ei (1272), approximately four months after he was exiled to Sado. He was 51 years of age, and he wrote it at the Sammaido Hall in Tsukahara. This is considered to be one of the Five Major Writings of the Gosho.
After the Daishonin established True Buddhism on the 28th day of the 4th month of the 5th year of Kencho (1253) and propagated the Daimoku – Nam-myoho-renge-kyo – within a period of less than twenty years, he continuously experienced major and minor persecutions on a daily basis, such as arson and assault in his abode in Matsubagayatsu, exile to Ito, the pronouncement of his death sentence at Tatsunokuchi, and the exile to Sado. These persecutions were described in the following passage:
Minor persecutions and annoyances are too numerous to be counted, but the major persecutions number four. Among the four, twice I have been subjected to persecutions by the government itself. (Gosho, p. 539; MWND-2, p. 114)
In particular, the extreme forms of punishment, such as the attempted beheading at Tatsunokuchi on the 12th day of the 9th month of the 8th year of Bun’ei (1271), which was followed by the exile to Sado, represented the grave consequences suffered by the most heinous criminals who opposed the state at that time. This was enough to instill fear in many of the Daishonin’s disciples and followers, and some began to harbor doubts against him. The great persecution of Tatsunokuchi was carried out according to a conspiracy by the feudal government of Kamakura to use political means to persecute the Daishonin. In fact, the government authorities did not have a legitimate reason to sentence him to capital punishment and to do away with him.
Moreover, the exile to Sado at that time was tremendously severe punishment, and the convicts were not expected to return alive when they were exiled there.
Some disciples and followers wondered why the Daishonin, even though he was propagating True Buddhism, encountered such great persecutions. They began to doubt the veracity of the Daishonin’s teachings. Such disciples and followers abandoned their faith and, for a short while, the number of the Daishonin’s followers was in danger of dwindling to nothing. A major reason for the abandonment of faith by the disciples and followers was the declining trust in the Daishonin, but another reason was the fear of being persecuted, such as being imprisoned and being stripped of one’s rank. Moreover, they were afraid for their lives and they desired peace and stability in their daily lives.
The Daishonin understood the situation encountered by his disciples and followers, as he wrote this Gosho in the Sammaido Hall, completely covered by the heavy snow. He was, indeed, the very manifestation of the votary of the Lotus Sutra, as predicted therein. Thus, in this Gosho, the Daishonin revealed himself to be the True Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law. In particular, in this Gosho, “The Opening of the Eyes” (Kaimoku sho), the Daishonin revealed that he represented the object of worship in terms of the Person. In other words, the Daishonin revealed that he was the object of worship in terms of the Person of the Buddhism of the sowing in the Latter Day of the Law.
Now, I would like to explain this Gosho passage in short segments.
First, the passage reads:
Although I and my disciples may encounter various difficulties, if we do not harbor doubt in our hearts, we will as a matter of course attain Buddhahood.
This meant that Nichiren Daishonin and his disciples – that is, those who believe in the Daishonin’s teachings – regardless of the persecutions they may encounter, would eventually be able to achieve the life condition of enlightenment in their present form, as a matter of course, as long as they did not harbor any doubts.
If we embrace the Gohonzon and perform our practice; if we assiduously perform the practice for ourselves in the form of gongyo and Daimoku; if we perform the practice for the sake of others through shakubuku; and if we maintain our practice without ever harboring doubts, then our path to enlightenment would open forth without fail. The Daishonin wrote about this in the following excerpt from the Gosho, “The True Object of Worship” (Kanjin no honzon sho):
Shakyamuni’s practices and the virtues he consequently attained are all contained within the single phrase Myoho-renge-kyo. If we believe in that phrase, we shall naturally be granted the same benefits as he was. (Gosho, p. 653; MWND-1, p. 64)
The next section of the passage reads:
Do not have doubts simply because Heaven does not lend you protection. Do not be discouraged because you do not enjoy an easy and secure existence in this life.
The Daishonin indicated that we must not have doubts about whether or not the heavenly deities would accord us protection, and we must not be discouraged when conditions in our lives are not easy and comfortable. It is true, indeed, that when we exert forth our efforts in our faith and practice, people will criticize us and those who are our superiors may oppose us. Everyone who practices will encounter obstacles without fail. Of course, the way in which these obstacles occur is never uniform, since our individual karmic bonds and past negative causality are all different. The essential point is that we must carry through our practice regardless of what circumstances we may encounter.
The next segment reads:
This is what I have taught my disciples morning and evening, and yet they begin to harbor doubts and abandon their faith.
Here, the Daishonin explained that he had taught his disciples that the votaries of the Lotus Sutra would suffer great obstacles without fail and that it was important, therefore, to uphold sincere faith and practice, day and night. However, when the Daishonin was almost beheaded and when he was actually exiled to Sado, the disciples harbored doubts and many of them abandoned their faith.
In concrete terms, what was the nature of the doubts harbored by these disciples? There were four general types of doubts. They wondered:
- Could it be that the Daishonin might not be the votary of the Lotus Sutra?
- Why do those who slander and persecute the Daishonin not suffer actual punishment?
- Why does the Daishonin not receive the protection of the heavenly deities?
- Could it be that the Daishonin’s way of performing propagation through shakubuku is wrong?
While these four types of doubts were interrelated, they were all based on a fundamental doubt in the Daishonin.
There is no guarantee that these same doubts would never occur to us in our present lives.
During the lifetime of the Daishonin, these doubts targeted the Daishonin and his teachings. Moreover, after the Daishonin’s lifetime, the doubts were focused on the successive High Priests – who led us in the Daishonin’s stead – and his directions. These represented the fundamental doubts in Buddhism.
Next, the passage continued:
Foolish men are likely to forget the promises they have made when the crucial moment comes.
By nature, fools tend to forget their promises at a critical time.
Let us look upon this in terms of the conditions of our own faith and practice. When, during the Gohonzon acceptance ceremony, the priest asks the new believers whether or not they promise to uphold the three pledges, they always respond that they would do so. These represent the pledges that we make to the Buddha.
We must never forget these pledges regardless of what great obstacles we may encounter. Only by eliminating slander, by embracing True Buddhism, and by upholding sincere faith and practice can we achieve the life condition of enlightenment in our present form.
As we have learned from the Gosho passage that we read today, as we carry through our faith and practice, we will encounter various obstacles. When this happens, there may be some who harbor doubts and abandon their faith. Thus, we must continue to sincerely embrace True Buddhism.
Doubts may start as small, insignificant matters, but they can mushroom into grave situations.
At this point, I would like to briefly focus on “doubts.”
In the Gosho passage that we read today, doubts represented the misgivings that people held against True Buddhism. Doubts, are also tremendously dangerous in the secular world.
If, in a family, a child cannot trust his parents, then the home would cease to be a safe and comfortable haven for that child. In a company, if there is no trust among superiors and fellow workers, then that company cannot thrive and develop. If one doubts a friend, then that negative feeling would be transmitted to that friend and that person, himself, would become an isolated soul who is trusted by no one.
Doubts represent unbecoming conduct in which one attempts to peer into the heart of another to try to assess his true nature.
It may be true that in our world today, we have come upon a time when we cannot implicitly trust all people. The news reportage that we repeatedly see on the television everyday concerns war, murder, and terrible accidents. This simply shows the degree to which the hearts of the people have become sullied and confused.
In fact, it may be difficult not to doubt others in our world today.
Doubts are brought forth by human weaknesses. We must possess a strong mind to be able to trust people.
Within the Hokkeko, doubts appear as obstacles to faith.
In order to uphold True Buddhism and to develop our faith characterized by different bodies but one mind, it is essential, as a matter of course, to trust one another. Obstacles will emerge without fail when we trust one another and advance forth to propagate the Law, in a unity based on different bodies but one mind. One such obstacle takes the form of rumors and bad-mouthing, based on feelings of resentment among the believers. Such rumors and resentment are all caused by doubts. Last month, I spoke about the seven types of arrogance. A person who possesses strong self-centered arrogance (ga man) will criticize others, without fail, when he believes that he is superior to others when, in fact, he is inferior to them. Furthermore, regardless of the reason, when a situation does not favor him, he would immediately blame and distrust others. He would spread unnecessary rumors to impress upon the people around him that he alone is correct. When these rumors spread, they will promote further distrust among people. Such rumors will function to destroy the unity of the Hokkeko organization. Ultimately, they can lead to one of the five cardinal sins – that is, of causing disunity among believers.
If mutual doubt exists within the Hokkeko, we cannot achieve unity based on different bodies but one mind.
The unity of different bodies but one mind in our organization does not represent a buddy group or a circle of friends who enjoy social interaction at the temple. There is no need to meet at a temple if a group of friends is gathering for a social get-together. The objective here is not a simplistic matter, such as getting along with one another as fellow believers or asserting the achievement of unity of different bodies but one mind merely because an individual gets along with a certain fellow believer. The temple represents a fundamental training hall for propagating True Buddhism, where all believers form a singular solid unity between priests and lay believers based on the teachings of the Daishonin and the directions of our High Priest. Indeed, for this reason, we must create true unity based on different bodies but one mind to propagate the Daishonin’s True Buddhism and we must assiduously perform our practice for ourselves and for others.
Most significant here are the absolute conviction and faith in the Gohonzon. Regardless of what obstacles we may encounter, we must continue to chant sincere Daimoku. Then, as a matter of course, we will achieve the life condition of Buddhahood. Those of us who can uphold this spirit would never foster doubts against fellow believers who are practicing True Buddhism. We would never engage in such conduct, which would prevent us from attaining the unity characterized by different bodies but one mind.
When we sit before the Gohonzon are we able to chant truly sincere Daimoku?
While we are chanting Daimoku, if we wonder whether or not this Gohonzon is really effective or whether or not our hardships would be truly resolved, then we would already be operating under a doubt and we would be committing the slander that is characterized by a lack of faith.
Let us remind ourselves that it is most essential to have absolute faith, conviction, and determination as we face the Gohonzon. If we feel that we are in danger of losing sight of the correct path, then, without fail, we must sit before the Gohonzon and chant sincere Daimoku.
In the Gosho, “The Royal Palace” (Oshajo no koto), the Daishonin stated:
Moreover, one could more easily catch the wind than fathom a woman’s mind. The fact that Nichigen-nyo’s prayers have gone unanswered is like a strong bow with a weak bowstring or a fine sword in the hands of a coward. It is in no sense the fault of the Lotus Sutra. (Gosho, p. 975; MWND-3, p. 73)
In other words, whether or not our prayers come true is not the fault of the Gohonzon. If there is a problem, it lies within our own lives. If our faith is weak or full of doubts, then our prayers, which should come true, would remain unfulfilled.
In the Daishonin’s Buddhism, faith is transformed into wisdom. Thus, we must single-mindedly uphold faith and put forth our utmost efforts to chant sincere Daimoku. By so doing, as a matter of course, we will gradually receive benefits.
Obviously, these benefits do not signify money, expensive jewelry, or luxury cars. True benefits will become a part of our lives, and they will remain so not only through the present lifetime but also through future existences.
As believers who uphold faith and practice in the Daishonin’s Buddhism, we must never be blinded by the superficial desires that appear before us. As long as we are alive, we will continuously encounter objects that will draw forth our desire. However, regardless of how much we satisfy these superficial personal desires, they will never become an inherent part of our lives, and we will never be able to take them with us to our future existences. This is the case for objects such as money, cars, and houses.
By contrast, if we put forth our utmost efforts in chanting sincere Daimoku and performing shakubuku, regardless of what conditions we may encounter, we would be able to take the amassed benefits with us to our next existence without fail. Even though we may live in a world that is full of defilement and confusion, we must uphold a strong spirit that would prevent us from doubting people and that would enable us to advance forth triumphantly and with dignity, through the surging storms in our lives.
We were fortunate enough to be born into this world as humans. Moreover, we were able to encounter the True Buddhism of the Daishonin. In addition, as fellow believers at Myoshin-ji Temple, we have been granted the opportunity by the Gohonzon to encourage our fellow believers of the Law and to unite in one mind to advance forth our faith and practice. We must never lose sight of these significant circumstances.
I ask you all to understand the true significance of the unity characterized by many bodies but one mind; to chant sincere Daimoku without ever harboring any doubts; and to advance forth in your faith and practice for yourself and for others, for the sake of achieving kosenrufu.
I would like to conclude my sermon for today by sincerely praying for your continued good health and for all of you to redouble your faith.
Thank you very much.