“Letter to Niike” (Niike gosho)”
Oko Sermon for January 2005
Reverend Shogu Kimura
“Knowledge without faith” describes those who may be knowledgeable about the Lotus Sutra but do not believe in it. These people will never attain Buddhahood. Those of “faith without knowledge” may lack knowledge but believe , and can attain Buddhahood. These are not merely my own words but are explicitly stated in the sutra. In the second volume of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha said to Shariputra, “It is by faith and not by your own intelligence that you can attain enlightenment.” This explains why even Shariputra unsurpassed in his intelligence, was able to attain Buddhahood only by embracing and firmly believing in the sutra. Knowledge alone could not bring him to enlightenment. If Shariputra could not reach enlightenment through his vast knowledge, how can we, of little knowledge, dare to dream that we may attain Buddhahood if we do not have faith? The sutra explains that people in the Latter Day of the Law will be arrogant, though their knowledge of Buddhism is trifling, and will show disrespect to the Priest, neglect the Law and thereby fall into the evil paths. If one truly understands Buddhism, he should show this in his respect for the Priest, reverence for the Law and offerings to the Buddha. Shakyamuni Buddha is not among us now, so you must respect the person with enlightened wisdom as you would the Buddha himself. (Shimpen gosho, p. 1461; MWND-1, p. 253)
Good morning everyone. Today, on this occasion of the first Oko sermon for 2005, 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.
As some of you may know, in December of last year, two centers in Taiwan were newly designated as temples. Our High Priest visited Taiwan for this occasion. The first is Hon’in-zan Myogyo-in in T’ai-chung City and the other is Honkyo-zan Myosho-in in the eastern province of I-lan. Now, in spite of the various obstacles that arise and impede our progress, Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism is steadily and surely advancing forth step by step towards worldwide kosenrufu. This is characterized by the priests and lay believers who devote themselves every day to true Buddhism, based on the directions set forth by our High Priest. Here in America, let us also advance forth in total unity between priesthood and laity, upholding the spirit of not begrudging our lives for the sake of the Law, as we progress towards kosenrufu in America.
In an address that our High Priest presented during his visit to Taiwan, he stated:
There is an old Chinese writing known as “Mencius.” There is an anecdote in it, which explains how a good rain fills the rice paddies and fields with water. Even though the water immerses the land in this way, it eventually subsides.
However, as you know, water wells forth ceaselessly in a spring. Rain or shine, the spring continues to produce water.
Mencius, who wrote this illustration, said, “Such is the life of one who lacks the essential spirit.” Rainwater covers the ground with water, but it soon subsides. This characterizes a condition that is lacking in essential spirit. Thus, this is what Mencius meant when he stated, “Such is the life of one who lacks the essential spirit.”
By contrast, spring water never ceases to flow. Mencius described it by saying, “Such is the life of one who possesses the essential spirit.”
The life of a person who possesses the essential spirit of faith will never wane, even if he lacks intellect, since he has a solid base of faith. However, the life of a person who lacks faith will wane and disappear, even if he possesses intellect. In other words, his faith will disintegrate because he lacks the essential spirit.
Our faith must never be like the water that collects in the rice paddies. It must forever be like the ceaseless flow of the spring. If the essential spirit of faith is solid, a person will never entertain thoughts of renouncing his faith. Based on these directions from our High Priest, I will focus my sermon today on the gosho, “Letter to Niike.”
The Daishonin first described the phrase, “Knowledge without faith” (uge mushin). This represented a person who possessed knowledge concerning the doctrines of Buddhism but who lacked faith, which will enable him to believe in those doctrines. Next, the Daishonin presented the phrase, “Faith without knowledge” (ushin muge). This meant that an individual possessed faith in Buddhism but did not have any knowledge of the Buddhist teachings. As this gosho explained, the latter type of person is superior to the former type. One who possesses “knowledge without faith” will never be able to attain Buddhahood, since such a person is violating one of the fourteen slanders.
What, then, characterizes “lack of faith” in Buddhism? The Daishonin stated in the “Orally Transmitted Teachings” (On gi kuden):
Lack of faith signifies doubts. In other words, a person who lacks faith is skeptical of the truth.
Doubt in one’s heart describes the inability of a person to straightforwardly believe what he sees and hears; he is always suspicious and wonders whether or not something may be incorrect. Such doubt stems from various negative karma and earthly desires. The environment in which an individual is raised and the kind of upbringing that he receives may affect his doubting ways. Someone who has never been deceived would not think to doubt a person. Conversely, one who is always deceived would always doubt or distrust others. However, in both cases, the conditions of the individuals are entirely based on their own respective karmic bonds and life conditions. It is essential to know that, according to the Daishonin’s Buddhism, the environment in which one was raised is not significant. What is most important is the sincere attitude of faith that the person cultivates towards the Buddha. An individual who sincerely and assiduously upholds faith and practice is never influenced by his environment, and he never blames the Buddha for the dissatisfactions that he is experiencing in his life. Each time a person faces an inconvenient situation, he may wonder, “Maybe this Gohonzon is a mistake,” or “My faith and practice have gone awry because of the temple.” When thoughts such as these well up in the minds of people, they signify the presence of “not believing,” which is one of the fourteen slanders.
What effects would a person suffer if he manifested this condition of “not believing” in his life? The following excerpt is from the Parable (Hiyu) chapter of the Lotus Sutra:
If a person fails to have faith but instead slanders this sutra, immediately he will destroy all the seeds for becoming a Buddha in this world. When his life comes to an end, he will enter the Avichi hell. (Kaiketsu, p. 175)
This meant that the sins of not believing and slandering represented conduct that would prohibit people from attaining enlightenment. The passage further explained that, at the conclusion of their lives, they would fall into the hell of incessant suffering and suffer. Further in the passage, this doctrine explained the effects of their actions – about how those who descended into the hell of incessant suffering were then reborn as beast that were hated by people, that starved to death, and that were fed poison; they were beaten with sticks by children, and they suffered. The Parable (Hiyu) chapter further described numerous types of suffering that were caused by “not believing.” In the Daishonin’s gosho, “Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life” (Shoji ichi-daiji kechimyaku sho), he wrote:
The heritage of the Lotus Sutra flows within the lives of those who never forsake it in any lifetime whatsoever – whether in the past, the present or the future. But those who disbelieve and slander the Lotus Sutra will “destroy the seed for becoming a Buddha in this world.” Because they cut themselves off from the potential to attain enlightenment, they do not share the ultimate heritage of faith. (Gosho, p. 514; MWND-1, p. 23)
In other words, the Daishonin explained that, as the previous passage from the Parable (Hiyu) chapter clearly indicated, those who disbelieve and slander the Law would “destroy all the seeds for becoming a Buddha” and would lose the lifeblood heritage of the ultimate Law of life. Consequently, they would be unable to achieve enlightenment.
The ultimate heritage of the ultimate Law of life represents the process in which the essential seed of Myoho-renge-kyo that is necessary for attaining enlightenment is transferred from the True Buddha to the people and so on, throughout the three existences – resembling a process in which the lifeblood of a parent continues to be transferred to the children. To receive the seed of the Mystic Law from the True Buddha Nichiren Daishonin and to attain enlightenment as a result, one must first and foremost believe in and embrace the Mystic Law. Only when such belief is manifested can people attain enlightenment. Disbelief and slander would destroy the seeds for achieving Buddhahood. This meant that the lifeblood heritage of the ultimate Law of Myoho-renge-kyo would never flow within our lives. Needless to say, the essential source of the ultimate heritage of the Law flowed successively from the Daishonin to the current High Priest Nikken Shonin. Therefore, it is important for us to cultivate faith that would enable us to uphold and follow the directions of our High Priest.
As mentioned in the initial section of this gosho, regardless of how knowledgeable a person may be concerning the doctrines of Buddhism, if he possesses no faith towards the Daishonin’s Buddhism, towards the Gohonzon, and towards the Three Treasures of the Buddha, the Law and the Priesthood in the Latter Day of the Law in the Buddhism of the sowing, he would be absolutely prohibited from attaining enlightenment.
Shariputra appears in this gosho. I am certain that most of you have heard his name at least one time. Shariputra was one of the ten major disciples of Shakyamuni, and he was known to be foremost in wisdom and intellect. Without a doubt, since he was foremost in knowledge, he would have easily memorized the sermons expounded by Shakyamuni. Shariputra manifested the life condition of Learning from among the ten worlds that we all possess.
Let me briefly digress here. Where is our life condition situated? The other day, when Reverend Eijun Ishii of Hosho-ji Temple attended a district meeting during our temple’s 20th anniversary celebration, he stated the following:
Our life condition is already in the realm of Buddhahood at the point of the gojukai – Gohonzon acceptance – ceremony, when we became the disciples of the Daishonin. However, even though our base condition is Buddhahood, we are still fluctuating like a pendulum, from the life condition of Hell through the life condition of Buddhahood. Chanting Daimoku would enable us to calm this fluctuation and settle in forever in the life condition of Buddhahood.
Thus, everything is based on the singular element of faith. Shariputra was, in fact, older than Shakyamuni. This did not deter him from steadfastly following Shakyamuni and ultimately receiving the prediction of Buddhahood from him and actually attaining this condition. Needless to say, it is well known that when Shariputra died, Shakyamuni truly mourned his loss. Although Shariputra was foremost in knowledge, he still attained enlightenment through the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. He did not achieve Buddhahood by using his intellect to understand the True Law, even though he possessed superior knowledge. His enlightenment is based on none other then the Daimoku of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
When only knowledge and intellect are nurtured, they will eventually transform into arrogance, since the condition does not manifest “faith without knowledge.” We can never say that a person’s faith is great because he has been practicing for many years or because he has studied the doctrines well and has a good understanding of them. We must always chant Daimoku and never slacken in our performance of gongyo. Furthermore, we must search out ways to perform shakubuku, as we advance forth. Wouldn’t you agree that, only by doing so can we manifest the enlightened condition characterized by “faith without knowledge?”
On the occasion of a Daimoku ceremony in November of last year, our High Priest presented the following directions:
The Daishonin explained that we can “achieve benefits through our oral practice.” Here, the “oral practice” refers to the chanting that we perform with our mouths.
I assume that most of you have profound faith, so you must certainly have clearly chanted “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” during this Daimoku ceremony. In your daily performance of gongyo, you must open your mouth and clearly enunciate the words: “Niji butsu go. Sho bo-satsu. Gyu issai daishu …” as you read the sutras and as you chant: “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.” This is absolutely essential. If, for example, you say to yourself, “I have faith and I have every intention of practicing Buddhism, so I can skip gongyo today,” or even if you perform gongyo, if you do not open your mouth and enunciate properly, the Buddha nature within your life cannot be clearly manifested. Under such conditions, it would be difficult for you to receive true benefits. Moreover, you would receive few if any such benefits.
This is, indeed, the fundamental basis of faith. It is important to clearly recite the sutras and to steadfastly chant Daimoku. You will spend a lifetime in vain if you try to intellectually understand Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. If a person achieves such understanding, he does not need to chant Daimoku, since he would already be enlightened. However, there is no one among the people of the Latter Day of the Law, who is able to intellectually understand Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Thus, we must continue to perform gongyo and Daimoku.
Like the spring of water that never ceases to flow, let us firmly maintain the essential spirit that forms our solid foundation and continue to advance forth in our devotion to faith characterized by “faith without knowledge.”
This has been designated the “Year of Advancement with Unity between Priesthood and Laity.” Furthermore, the “Three Great Objectives for the Overseas Believers” are as follows:
- Let us assiduously perform Gongyo and Daimoku.
- Let us attend the Oko sermons and the kosenrufu Daimoku meetings.
- Let us achieve the objective of “one shakubuku per person each year.”
Throughout this year, let us all uphold solid, unshakable faith and construct a wonderful life, based on the directions from our High Priest.
I would like to conclude my sermon for the first Oko ceremony of this year by sincerely praying for your continued good health and great successes. Moreover, I heartily pray for your ever-increasing efforts throughout this year.
Please be cautious on the road, and return home safely. I sincerely appreciate your efforts to attend this ceremony today.