Letter to Misawa (Misawa-sho)
Oko Sermon October 2004
Reverend Shogu Kimura
Although the people who study Buddhism outnumber the dust particles of the earth, those who actually become Buddhas are fewer than the number of dust particles one can place on his fingernail. This the Lord Buddha Shakyamuni clearly states in the Nirvana Sutra. On reading it, I wondered why it should be so difficult, but after some thought, I realized the most plausible answer. Although one studies Buddhism, it is difficult to practice it correctly because of the foolishness of his mind, or because, even though one may be wise, he follows an evil teacher and fails to realize that he is being misled. Moreover, even though one may encounter a good teacher and the sutra of the true teaching and thereby learn the True Law, inevitably, at the time when he resolves to free himself from the sufferings of birth and death and attain Buddhahood, he will encounter the three obstacles and four devils, just as surely as a shadow follows the body and rain is accompanied by clouds. Even if you should manage to overcome the first six, if you are defeated by the seventh, you will not be able to become a Buddha. (Gosho, p. 1202; MWND-3, p. 251)
Good morning everyone. Today, on this occasion of the October 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 your 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.
The Gosho passage for today is from the “Letter to Misawa” (Misawa-sho). This Gosho was written on the 23rd day of the 2nd month of the 4th year of Kenji, 1278. Nichiren Daishonin, who was living in Minobu, was 57 years old when he wrote this letter to Misawa Kojiro who lived in what is now Shibakawa-cho in Fuji County in Shizuoka Prefecture, a great distance from the Head Temple. Very little is known about Misawa’s background. He was apparently a lay believer who decided to take the tonsure and become a lay priest (nyudo). Apparently, he was also a steward who managed a fief. He embraced True Buddhism prior to the Tatsunokuchi Persecution. However, after the Daishonin experienced the great persecution and was exiled to Sado, Misawa distanced himself from the Daishonin, probably because he, as the steward of a fief, feared reprisals from the imperial court and the feudal government.
The long period of silence caused the Daishonin to worry about Misawa. He was concerned that Misawa may have abandoned his faith, and he thought about sending someone to Misawa to inquire about his safety and well-being. It was at such a time when Misawa wrote the Daishonin with a question concerning Buddhist doctrine. In addition to the letter, Misawa sent the Daishonin various offerings. Enclosed in the same package was a white quilted robe, which Utsubusa-no-ama-gozen asked Misawa to send to the Daishonin. The Daishonin expressed his sincere joy in finding out that Misawa had not abandoned his faith and that he was upholding True Buddhism.
The explicit reason for writing this Gosho was to acknowledge Misawa’s letter and to thank him for the gokuyo offerings. Another significant reason that the Daishonin wrote this letter was to make known the strong faith and practice, characterized by different bodies but one mind, of the Hokkeko believers in the Atsuhara region of Fuji, and to proclaim the significance of establishing powerful faith to resolutely withstand great obstacles and persecutions. This is evident from the fact that the Atsuhara Persecution occurred in the 9th month of the following year.
The passage on which we are focused today represents the first section of the Daishonin’s letter. It contains the Daishonin’s strong admonition to the priests and lay believers in the Fuji area, never to abandon their faith no matter how strongly the three obstacles and four devils may work to defeat them and, in particular, no matter how the Devil of the Sixth Heaven (tenji-ma) may alter its form to persecute them.
Let me now present my explanation by dividing the passage into sections.
The first part of the passage reads as follows:
Although the people who study Buddhism outnumber the dust particles of the earth, those who actually become Buddhas are fewer than the number of dust particles one can place on his fingernail. This the Lord Buddha Shakyamuni clearly states in the Nirvana Sutra. On reading it, I wondered why it should be so difficult, but after some thought, I realized the most plausible answer.
The Daishonin explained how it is clearly stated that the number of people who study and practice Buddhism is as numerous as the dust particles that make up the earth, but how the number of people who actually become Buddhas is as few as the dust particles that one can place on his fingernail. The Daishonin wondered why it should be so difficult to achieve Buddhahood. Saying that he realized the most plausible answer, the Daishonin continued:
Although one studies Buddhism, it is difficult to practice it correctly because of the foolishness of his mind, or because, even though one may be wise, he follows an evil teacher and fails to realize that he is being misled.
Here, the Daishonin presented two reasons why we cannot easily become Buddhas. First, he stated that it is “the foolishness of (our) mind,” and the second reason is that we “follow an evil teacher.”
What happens when we possess a foolish mind? From the standpoint of Buddhism, this describes a person who has nominal faith and who does not understand the true significance of faith. As a result, such a person cannot attain the life condition of Buddhahood, even if he encounters True Buddhism and the correct teacher.
People who possess a foolish mind are fundamentally problematic. They do not understand the necessity of upholding faith. They have no seeking spirit, and strong faith does not well forth from within them. They do not perform actual practice, and they do not make an effort to learn about True Buddhism. They may possess some degree of faith, practice, and study, but they have individual problems, because they also possess strong arbitrary perspectives, they are not sincere, and they are tremendously arrogant.
What, then, is faith? It is none other than believing in the will of the Daishonin and performing gongyo and Daimoku to the Gohonzon. Believing in the Gohonzon – this is an obvious criterion for being a Nichiren Shoshu priest or lay believer. However, there are those who find it difficult to thoroughly believe in the will of the Daishonin and put forth their efforts in their practice. What is prayer? It is to pray for kosenrufu, based on the Daishonin’s teachings and according to the directions of our High Priest. We may all think that we understand prayer, but in fact, we may not possess a complete understanding of it. The way in which we pray may function to distort the necessity of upholding faith.
Do you think that prayers to the Gohonzon will come true if we pray only for our own profit and fulfillment of personal desires? I think not. “I want money.” “Please make sure that I find a nice girlfriend.” “Please make me win the lottery.” “I hate Ms. So-and-so, so please make her life miserable.” “Since I’m chanting Daimoku, please make sure I, alone, will become happy.” People who pray in this way are only interested in using the Gohonzon. Those who take advantage of the Gohonzon in this way possess a fundamentally distorted assessment of True Buddhism. The Daishonin’s Buddhism must be an integral part of our daily lives. What does this mean? When we wake up in the morning, we brush our teeth, we eat breakfast, we go to work or to the temple, and we go to perform our daily routine. These personal aspects of our daily lives are all a part of our Buddhist practice. In spite of this, when our Buddhist practice is a part of our daily lives, we may begin to pray for unreasonable things and ultimately may try to take advantage of the Gohonzon. We tend to set our daily life as the first priority and our Buddhist practice as our secondary activity. Our attitude in creating such a distorted priority, is indeed, the very reason for our unanswered prayers. As a matter of course, our prayers will never come true if we never pray for kosenrufu and if we constantly pray for personal fulfillment. If we chant Daimoku only to gain our own personal advantage, we are far from chanting the kind of Daimoku that manifests our faith in the will of the Daishonin. In essence, we must always uphold our Buddhist practice as our first priority. If all the personal desires of all mankind came true what would happen? Invariably, our world would be destroyed. A society that rampantly manifests the personal desires of all people would be a truly cruel world. The minds of all people in the Latter Day of the Law are essentially impure. As years go by, the hearts of people in this world are growing increasingly vile. This is because our world itself is vile. The vile spirit of the people creates a vile world. The Daishonin described this world through phrases such as “the muddled confusion and evil of the Latter Day of the Law” (mappo joku aku) and “the disintegration of the Pure Law” (byaku ho inbotsu).
The Daishonin’s Buddhism appears forth from these wretched conditions, just as the beautiful white lotus blossom appears from the muddy pond. The Daishonin’s benefits are not characterized by mere fulfillment of personal desires; they represent the supreme benefits that will actually bring forth world peace and kosenrufu.
Are there some among you who feel that you are praying sincerely but that everything goes contrary to what you are praying for to the Gohonzon? There are times when things do not go as we please, the more seriously we pray. As common mortals, we are definitely limited by our human eyes and wisdom. It is only human for us to evaluate matters based only upon conditions at any given point and time. The benefits of the Buddha cannot be evaluated by a narrow perspective that only looks upon the current situation. Even if the immediate results are not what we originally desired, when we cast an eye beyond the immediate conditions into the future, we will come upon a time when we can look back at this point and realize that, in fact, these were the best results for us.
In order to offer true prayers and in order to amass true benefits, it is essential for us to first chant sincere Daimoku, visit to worship at the Head Temple and the local temple, participate in meetings, and perform shakubuku. Moreover, we must offer our personal prayers to eradicate our individual karmic sins. By so doing, we will be able to make our prayers come true.
Next, there may be people who possess some level of faith, practice, and study, but they have difficulty achieving Buddhahood, because they also possess strong arbitrary perspectives, they are not sincere, and they are tremendously arrogant. Through the phrase, “the foolishness of his mind,” in the Gosho passage, the Daishonin particularly presents us with an admonition against these types of distorted attitudes that people can possess.
There are people in society who are labeled stubborn or obstinate. If they are extremely stubborn or obstinate in their faith, they may find such characteristics to be true obstacles to correctly performing their Buddhist practice and to cultivating their faith. Ultimately, such stubbornness and obstinacy may prove to be obstacles to their own enlightenment.
Such people are focused on themselves and strongly attached to their own egos. They are convinced that their thoughts and words are always correct. As a matter of course, they are certain that there is nothing wrong with their faith. They turn a deaf ear to the opinions and advice coming from those around them. Since they are not introspective or remorseful about themselves, they cannot promote improvement in all aspects of their lives. They base their lives on their thoughts, which they use to evaluate what they perceive to be the correct attitude in faith and practice. In other words, they do not believe in the will of the Daishonin. Their attitude in faith is based on a belief in their own minds and taking advantage of Buddhism.
We must all abandon our attachments to our egos and discard our insincere, incorrect attitudes, and we must all strive to uphold sincere faith.
Next, “following an evil teacher” is another cause that will prevent us from correctly upholding True Buddhism. Here, “an evil teacher” refers to the teachers of other sects. If you associate with the incorrect teachers of other sects, you will be unable to correctly learn about True Buddhism. Those who do not know about True Buddhism all think that the teachings of Zen, the doctrines of the Nembutsu, and the principles of Christianity are all similarly precious teachings.
If the teacher himself possesses an incorrect doctrine, then his disciples and followers would all immerse themselves in that incorrect doctrine. They would not even realize that their minds have been distorted.
In particular, in this country, Christian culture is deeply entrenched in our personal daily lives. If you do not come to worship at the temple and if you do not try to seek out the Buddhism of the Daishonin, our true master, you will inevitably distance yourselves from the teachings of our true master and from the correct path of True Buddhism. There may be those of you who feel that Christmas, Halloween, and Easter are not necessarily religious events. Even if you are convinced that Christianity is an incorrect religion, if you do not truly understand the essential nature of True Buddhism, then unbeknownst to you, you will find your lives harmed by the venomous elements of slander.
In recent times, there are those who were fortunate enough to embrace True Buddhism through Nichiren Shoshu but who formed a connection with Daisaku Ikeda, an erroneous teacher. As a result, such people are proceeding forth in the opposite direction from where they really want to go and, unbeknownst to them, they are drawn into the clutches of a new religion that is deceptively similar to True Buddhism.
We must believe and strictly adhere to the directions of our High Priest, and we must protect the temple in perfect unity between priesthood and lay believers.
Next, the Daishonin wrote:
(I)t is difficult to practice it correctly . . .. Moreover, even though one may encounter a good teacher and the sutra of the true teaching and thereby learn the True Law, inevitably, at the time when he resolves to free himself from the sufferings of birth and death and attain Buddhahood, he will encounter the three obstacles and four devils, just as surely as a shadow follows the body and rain is accompanied by clouds. Even if you should manage to overcome the first six, if you are defeated by the seventh, you will not be able to become a Buddha.
Even if we sincerely embrace True Buddhism and even if we are able to encounter a true teacher and perform the correct practice, we will inevitably encounter the three obstacles and four devils that will try to prevent us from attaining enlightenment.
Obstacles represent functions that prevent us from amassing the benefits and good karmic causes from our Buddhist practice and those that prevent us from achieving Buddhahood. What are the three obstacles and four devils? Some of you may already know them, but I would like to explain them at this point.
First, the three obstacles signify the obstacle of earthly desires (bonno-sho), the obstacle of karma (go-sho), and the obstacle of retribution (ho-sho).
The obstacle of earthly desires refers to conditions in which our earthly desires of greed, anger, and stupidity function to prevent us from upholding our faith and practice. An example of this type of obstacle can be seen in those who are completely overwhelmed by various superficial forms of desire, such as fame, wealth, and power, and who neglect their faith. Another example can be found in those who become emotional about problems in human relationships within the organization and who, as a result, distance themselves from the temple and the Hokkeko. In other words, these describe people who grow distant from faith because of their own foolishness.
The obstacle of karma represents situations in which people encounter strong opposition from their spouses or friends, as a result of their bad karma created by committing sins in their past lives. Various forms of threats and temptations from their environment prevent these people from upholding faith.
The next type is the obstacle of retribution. It signifies conditions in which the retribution for actions in the three evils paths of Hell, Hunger, and Animality prevents people from upholding their Buddhist practice. An example of this type of obstacle is persecution and oppression from the sovereign to prevent a person from continuing his faith.
The four devils consist of the hindrance of the five components (on-ma), the hindrance of earthly desires (bonno-ma), the hindrance of death (shi-ma), and the hindrance of the Devil of the Sixth Heaven (tenji-ma).
The hindrance of the five components refers to situations in which one of the five components (of form, perception, conception, volition, and consciousness), which constitute our physical and mental functions, causes distress and prevents us from performing our practice. An example of this is an illness that causes a person to become confused and to harbor doubts and that ultimately causes him to abandon faith.
The hindrance of earthly desires is similar to the obstacle of earthly desires in the three obstacles. It represents circumstances in which the earthly desires of greed, anger, and stupidity function as hindrances to faith.
The hindrance of death refers to tremendous difficulties and persecutions – that people experience as they strive forth in their faith and practice – which may lead to death and which function to cause people to doubt their faith.
The last type of hindrance, the Devil of the Sixth Heaven, signifies the most powerful obstacle. This hindrance is characterized by the direct workings of the Devil of the Sixth Heaven, who personifies the entirety of the functions of all other devils. In other words, those who successfully defeated the earlier three obstacles and the first three of the four devils will then directly encounter this Devil of the Sixth Heaven, who will work to prevent them from performing their practice and attaining enlightenment. It is a matter of course that people must defeat the earlier six obstacles and devils. Only when they defeat the final most tremendous and powerful Devil of the Sixth Heaven can they rid themselves of the suffering of birth and death and achieve the great benefit of enlightenment. Needless to say, kosenrufu would obviously be a part of these circumstances.
We must understand that the various problems and hardships that we encounter in our practice are all the workings of the obstacles and devils that seek to prevent us from attaining enlightenment. We must defeat these obstacles and devils with our strong faith and never-slackening practice, so that we can achieve the life condition of Buddhahood.
As I stated previously, no matter how sincerely you pray, you may not necessarily receive the results you expected. However, as our High Priest instructed us, if we offer our sincere prayers, we will be able to open forth paths to infinite life conditions. When you encounter a problem, I ask you to, first and foremost, sit before the Gohonzon and chant Daimoku – even for five minutes.
The most powerful devils cannot defeat the power of Daimoku. Obstacles and devils will be frightened off by sincere Daimoku. I ask you to thoroughly believe that this is possible. Our High Priest Nikken Shonin said:
We must perform our practice of chanting Daimoku. However, if you chant Daimoku once and do not continue to do so thereafter, you would not be practicing correctly. You must form a habit of chanting Daimoku first for any occasion – of course such occasions can be daily events. When you feel that you have a problem, immediately chant Daimoku before anything else. When you encounter a problem and you do not know how to handle it, you must immediately chant Daimoku. By so doing, without fail, you will attain tremendous benefits that will enable you to achieve enlightenment as a matter of course.
As common mortals in the Latter Day of the Law, we must never forget that we have come into this world with tremendously heavy karma from sins committed in our past lives. Accordingly, the actual ichinen sanzen of the Daishonin’s teaching exists precisely in the fact that the common mortals, who possess such heavy karma, are able to achieve the benefit of attaining enlightenment in their present form.
I ask all of you to truly understand these directions presented by our High Priest and to understand the significance of my sermon today, as you vigorously advance forth, never defeated by the devils in your daily lives.
I have talked about many things today, and with this, I would like to conclude my sermon for today.
I have received the certificates for the new kanji from our High Priest. I would like to present these certificates to them after this, and I ask you for your understanding and cooperation on this matter. I would like to conclude my sermon for today by sincerely praying for your continued good health and increased success in your activities. Thank you very much.