Opening of the Eyes, Part 1
July, 2004
Reverend Shogu Kimura
When a little boy is given moxibustion treatment, he will hate his mother for a time; when a seriously ill person is given good medicine, he will complain without fail about its bitterness. And we met with similar complaints about the lotus Sutra, even in the lifetime of the Buddha. How much more severe is the opposition after his passing, especially in the Middle and latter Days of the Law and in a far off country like Japan? As mountains pile upon mountains and waves follow waves, so do persecutions add to persecutions and criticisms augment criticisms. (Opening of the Eyes, Part 1, Gosho, p. 540)
Today, on this occasion of the Okyo-bi Ceremony for July, I have sincerely recited the sutras and chanted Daimoku together with you. I have also offered my heartfelt prayers for the peaceful repose of all the deceased individuals for whom you have requested a memorial. Moreover, I have sincerely prayed for you to eliminate your sins and negative karma from this and 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; and for the ultimate continuation of the Law. I have also prayed for the further advancement of the Myoshin-ji Chapter of the Hokkeko.
Today’s Gosho passage is from “The Opening of the Eyes” (Kaimoku sho). Since I briefly talked about the background of this Gosho during last month’s sermon, I will not explain it here today.
I am certain that those who have raised children can truly understand what I am about to say. Children love to play outside. They like to run outdoors and, frequently, when they concentrate too hard on playing, they become careless. They fall and scrape their knees. When this happens, a mother cleans the wound and applies medication. As she does so, she would pray that her child’s wound would heal quickly. Because the child is in pain, he may scream and cry and tell his mother that he hates her.
When a child is sick with a cold, a mother feeds him bitter medicine. The mother may be his most favorite person in the world, but because the medicine is so bitter, the child may think of her as a demon when she feeds it to him. Bitter medicine is difficult for adults to take, let alone the children. Even if adults know in their minds that the medicine is good for them, it is still difficult to take. However, the cold would not get better quickly if they did not take the medicine.
These are natural occurrences in our daily lives. Most people rely on medicines when they suffer minor cuts or illnesses.
Let me present another example. Imagine that this personally happens to you. A boil on your finger is infected. You leave it alone for two or three days, and you notice that it has doubled in size. You know that if you do nothing, it will grow increasingly large and the painful. You would like to relieve the discomfort by opening the infection and draining it, but you cannot bring yourself to endure the pain of doing so. What would you do?
Ultimately, you would probably endure the pain and drain the infection so that your sore would heal as soon as possible. It is incredibly painful when you squeeze out the infection, but when you overcome the pain and the toxin is drained, the boil has a chance to heal.
In the Gosho passage for this month, the Daishonin uses similar examples to explain the importance of the True Law. The situations I presented are all tangible to our very eyes, and they are events that occur in our daily lives. However, our earthly desires, karma, karmic sins, and benefits are not tangible items. We are able to evaluate and resolve things that are tangible to us. However, we are unable to evaluate, treat, and heal matters that concern our inner selves – that is, matters that concern the karmic sins from our past lifetimes. When compared to the aforementioned examples these karmic sins are equivalent to the wound, to the germs that cause colds, and to the infection.
As I stated previously, as in the case of the wound, treating and resolving the karma and karmic sins would involve a great variety of pain. As we live our normal daily lives, we would encounter various problems and obstacles without fail. I am certain that not one of you can say that you have never encountered a problem in your life. When you attempt to overcome these problems and hardships, you will invariably encounter pain, as you would when you attempt to heal a wound.
This is why the Buddha expounded the Daimoku – Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
As soon as we are born into this life, we carry the burden of the four sufferings of birth, old age, sickness, and death. Moreover, as we live our lives, we experience the sufferings brought forth by our individual karmic causes. Needless to say, our suffering will be different as a result of the individual karma with which we were born. The suffering can never be resolved if we ignore it. The suffering would intensify the longer it is ignored. It is comparable to a situation in which a person may fall and injure himself; if he does not clean the wound, germs may enter it and eventually infect other areas of his body.
However, under such circumstances, we, who uphold faith in Nichiren Shoshu, are able to recognize that we are dealing with our inherent karma and that we can overcome it with our faith and practice. Consequently, we chant the Daimoku of Nam-myoho-renge-ko. Needless to say, when we attempt to overcome these problems and obstacles, we may experience added pain and days of increased torment, just as we may feel pain when we attempt to drain an infection. In spite of the discomfort and pain, we can enjoy the joy of good health when our colds are over and when our wounds heal. In the same way, when our problems and obstacles are overcome, we can experience the true joy of life and faith. This signifies the intangible and invisible benefits of chanting Daimoku.
I am certain that, in your daily lives, you encounter serious and not-so-serious problems and obstacles concerning your families, your work, and your personal relationships. You may have experienced situations in which you overcame one problem only to find that you had come upon another problem. You may have wondered why you encountered such hardships, when you were upholding this faith. To say that such difficult times were caused by your karma would be simplistic, even though there may be some truth to such a statement. I am certain that there is more to such problems than karma. There is no doubt that problems and obstacles represent hardships. However, the Daishonin wrote the following in his Gosho:
The propagation of the Buddhist Law does indeed follow the times. For what I have done, I have been condemned to exile, but it is a small suffering to undergo in this present life and not one worth crying over. In future lives I will enjoy immense happiness, a thought that gives me great satisfaction. (Gosho, p. 578)
The Daishonin referred to his exile as a small suffering. He did so because he knew that this suffering would turn into immense happiness in the future. Immense happiness signifies true joy. According to this explanation, the hardships that we experience not only represent our karma or suffering but also joy. Because we experience hardships, we, as common mortals, are able to chant Daimoku. As a result of chanting Daimoku, we can amass tremendous benefits that are intangible and invisible. Moreover, we are able to transform the suffering into immense happiness. If we did not experience hardships, we would find it difficult to chant Daimoku and we would be unable to amass benefits. If we are too happy and fortunate and have no worries, we, as common mortals, would never realize the importance of chanting Daimoku. Thus, when problems and obstacles arise, the Daishonin may be presenting us with opportunities to chant Daimoku.
The Daishonin stated:
The propagation of the Buddhist Law does indeed follow the times.
For us, the Hokkeko believers of Myoshin-ji Temple, the present time represents the successful achievement of the “Ceremony in Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Establishment of Myoshin-ji Temple,” in unity characterized by different bodies but one mind. It also represents our goal of the doubling of our Hokkeko membership – the believers sharing a bond with the Bodhisattvas of the Earth – by 2009, for the “750th Anniversary of the Revelation of the Truth Through the Writing of the Rissho ankoku ron.”
When we decide to achieve an objective and begin to put such determination into action, we will, without fail, encounter obstacles and hardships. This is known as the three obstacles and four devils. However, we, the priests and lay believers of Nichiren Shoshu possess the power to transform such hardships into joy and to overcome them by chanting Daimoku and by encouraging one another.
If we did not embrace this faith, we would be forced to think of resolutions in our own minds and to pursue what we feel may be the correct means to such resolution. As a result, we would be unable to find a resolution and we may lose the spirit to live. How does embracing this faith ensure our happiness? We have received the ultimate medicine from the Buddha, in the form of Daimoku. Thus, even if we encounter problems, we have a means to overcome such obstacles. When we attempt to overcome our problems and transform our karma, the Daishonin provides us with immeasurable power, through the benefits of Daimoku. This is absolutely impossible in other religions.
How wonderful this is! The Daimoku that we chant every day is the same supreme Daimoku that can save all mankind in the Latter Day of the Law. Moreover, it is the same Daimoku as that chanted by the Daishonin.
I ask you all not to consider your problems to be hardships and nothing else. I ask you to chant Daimoku to overcome your problems, to transform them into true happiness, to amass benefits, and to advance forth for the sake of the ultimate propagation of True Buddhism – Kosenrufu.
I would like to conclude my address on the occasion of this Okyo-bi Ceremony today by sincerely praying for all of you to redouble your faith, for every area to achieve Kosenrufu of True Buddhism, and for the continued development of the Myoshin-ji Chapter. I sincerely appreciate the efforts that you have made to attend this ceremony today.