The Three Calamities and Seven Disasters
(Sansai shichinan)
Okyobi Sermon, August, 2005
Reverend Shogu Kimura
Introduction
My sermon this month is on the three calamities and seven disasters (Sansai shichinan). At the end of last year, as many as 300,000 people fell victim to the great earthquake that hit the offshore region of Sumatra, in the Republic of Indonesia and the ensuing tsunami in the Indian Ocean. Everyday, newspapers and television news programs report about various disasters that occur around the world. Our master, Nichiren Daishonin, wrote about the condition of the land during his lifetime. In the opening paragraph to his treatise, Rissho ankoku-ron (“On Securing the Peace of the Land through the Propagation of True Buddhism”), he states:
In recent years, there are unusual disturbances in the heavens, strange occurrences on earth, famine and pestilence, all affecting every corner of the empire and spreading throughout the land.(Gosho, p. 234; MW-2, p.3)
The conditions in our world today are no different from those during the Daishonin’s time.
Nichiren Daishonin confirmed that the numerous catastrophic incidents that occurred during his life were none other than the three calamities and seven disasters, as expounded in the sutras. In various Goshos, such as the Rissho ankoku-ron, he discussed the source of these catastrophes, and he revealed the essential key that would bring an end to them.
What are the Three Calamities and Seven Disasters?
The three calamities are three types of tragic occurrences, and they are categorized into two forms: the greater and lesser three calamities. According to A Treasury of Analyses of the Law (Kusha-ron), the three greater calamities are fire, wind, and water, and the three lesser calamities are high grain prices and famine, warfare, and pestilence.
The seven disasters are the seven types of occurrences caused by slandering the True Law, and these are described in such sources as the Lotus Sutra, The Sutra of Golden Light (Konkomyo-kyo), The Sutra of the Great Assembly (Daishik-kyo), The Sutra of the Benevolent King (Ninno-kyo), and The Sutra of Medicine Master Buddha (Yakushi-kyo). There are slight variations among the sutras. The seven disasters in The Sutra of Medicine Master Buddha (Yakushi-kyo), for example, are listed as follows:
- Pestilence – epidemics that cause many people to die.
- Foreign invasion and aggression.
- Internal strife – internal division and friction among partners.
- Extraordinary changes in the heavens, such as those signaled by the appearance of comets and meteors.
- Solar, lunar, and stellar irregularities.
- Abnormal weather, such as unseasonable storms.
- Abnormal climatic conditions, such as prolonged droughts.
It is evident that many of the catastrophes that are currently occurring in our world today can, indeed, be characterized as the three calamities and seven disasters.
The Causes for the Three Calamities and Seven Disasters.
It is essential for each of us, who embrace and practice True Buddhism, to thoroughly understand, from the standpoint of Buddhism, the reasons for the continued occurrence of these disasters.
The first cause of these catastrophes is the permeation of slander throughout the land. Nichiren Daishonin pointed out that the cause for the occurrence of irregularities in the world, such as abnormal weather throughout the planet, great earthquakes, epidemics, famines, foreign invasions, and uprisings, lay in the increasing number of people in a nation who slander True Buddhism.
Nichiren Daishonin wrote the following in the Rissho ankoku-ron:
The people of today all turn their backs upon what is right; to a man, they give their allegiance to evil. This is the reason that the benevolent deities have abandoned the nation and departed together, that sages leave and do not return. And in their stead come devils and demons, disasters and calamities that arise one after another. (Gosho, p. 234; MW-2, p.5-6)
In other words, the erroneous ideologies and religions that spread around the world bring harm to the people. The entire society is affected as a result.
In the Gosho, “Reply to Nii-ama” (Nii-ama gozen gohenji), Nichiren Daishonin stated:
In the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law, slanderous priests will fill the entire world, so that all heavenly gods will be enraged and comets will appear in the sky and the earth will shake like the movement of huge waves. (Gosho, p. 764; MW-3, p.66)
Thus, when slander permeates the world, when people’s hearts are filled with evil, and when individuals revere heretical teachings and priests and turn their backs on True Buddhism, the heavenly deities will be enraged. They will cause the three calamities and seven disasters to appear, in order to alert the people to their slanderous ways.
The second cause of the three calamities and seven disasters is the prevalent condition in which the hearts of the people are steeped in the three poisons.
Nichiren Daishonin wrote the following:
And now, in addition, a votary of the Lotus Sutra has made his appearance, so that the people of Japan, on top of their stupidity, give way to anger, favoring erroneous teachings and viewing the correct teaching with hatred. In a country where the three poisons (of greed, anger, and stupidity) prevail to such a degree, how can there be peace and stability? In the kalpa of decline, the three major calamities will occur, namely, the calamities of fire, water and wind. And in the kalpa of decrease, the three minor calamities will occur, namely, famine, pestilence and warfare. Famine occurs as a result of greed, pestilence as a result of stupidity, and warfare as a result of anger.(Gosho, p. 1385; MW-7, p.187)
The Daishonin teaches that, when the world is full of slander, the three poisons of greed, anger, and stupidity will gradually dominate the hearts of the people. When these three poisons fill the lives of the populace, both the individuals and the entire nation deteriorate into the condition of suffering. The three lesser calamities of famine, warfare, and pestilence will occur as a result.
Furthermore, in the Gosho, “On Omens” (Zuiso gosho), the Daishonin stated:
If the minds of the people are obsessed with evil, there will be ominous changes in the heavens and terrible calamities on earth. (Gosho, p. 920; MW-4, p.151)
Accordingly, as the amount of people in society who are steeped in the three poisons as a result of slander grows, and as the propagation of slanderous teachings increases, natural disasters and calamities will occur one after another. The people, in turn, will experience tremendous suffering.
The Principle of Oneness of Life and Its Environment (Esho funi)
Buddhism teaches that there is a strong causal relationship between the human heart and the land. This is based on the principle of the oneness of life and its environment (esho funi). This doctrine refers to the unification of our subjective selves (shoho) with the environment – the land (eho) that surrounds us.
In the Gosho, “True Entity of Life” (Shoho jisso sho), the Daishonin wrote:
All beings and their environments in any of the Ten Worlds … are, without exception, the manifestations of Myoho-Renge-Kyo. (Gosho, p. 664; MW-1, p.89)
In other words, the entire world in which we live and all of us, the people who live therein, are manifestations of Myoho-Renge-Kyo. The Daishonin explained that everything exists within the Mystic Law. Both our subjective selves and the surrounding environment possess a relationship of oneness. Nichiren Daishonin further wrote in his Gosho, “On Attaining Buddhahood” (Issho jobutsu sho):
If the minds of the people are impure, their land is also impure, but if their minds are pure, so is their land. There are not two lands, pure or impure in themselves. The difference lies solely in the good or evil of our minds. (Gosho, p. 46; MW-1, p.4)
Here, the Daishonin revealed that the land – the environment (eho) – can be transformed positively or negatively, according to the people – the subjective selves (shoho) – who inhabit it.
Conclusion (How to Eradicate the Three Calamities and Seven Disasters)
Nichiren Daishonin wrote the following passage in his Gosho, “On Eradicating Calamities and Disasters” (Sainan taiji sho), based on the principle of the oneness of life and its environment.
Question: How is it possible to promptly eradicate these calamities and disasters?
Answer: You must correct the erroneous ways of the slanderers. If you fail to do so, you will be unable to eradicate these calamities and disasters, even if you pray endlessly.(Gosho, p. 198)
Indeed, these directions are identical to those set forth in the Rissho ankoku-ron:
Rather than offering up ten thousand prayers for remedy, it would be better simply to outlaw this one evil doctrine that is the source of all the trouble! (Gosho, p. 241; MW-2, p. 24)
This is how to eradicate the three calamities and seven disasters. In the Gosho, “The Essentials of the Lotus Sutra” (Hokke shuyo sho), Nichiren Daishonin decisively stated:
After the land falls into such chaotic ruin, Jogyo and other sages will make their advent into this world to establish the three doctrines of the Essential Teaching. Then, Myoho-Renge-Kyo will be propagated, without fail, in all the lands in the four directions – the entirety of the heavens and the seas. (Gosho, p. 739)
After the occurrence of various disasters and calamities that caused chaos in the land, the four great Bodhisattvas, who signify the True Buddha Nichiren Daishonin, made their advent into this world. The Daishonin established the Buddhism of the Three Great Secret Laws of the Essential Teaching. As a result, Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo will be widely propagated throughout the world.
We must uphold these golden words and look upon the three calamities and seven disasters as harbingers of the prosperity of Buddhism, characterized by the propagation of the Three Great Secret Laws in the Latter Day of the Law. We must shakubuku the people who are suffering from their affiliations with erroneous religions and ideologies, and we must propagate the True Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin. As a result, we can prevent the tragic occurrences of man-made and natural calamities and disasters. Furthermore, we will be able to establish a truly peaceful world in which all people can put forth their greatest efforts and live joyfully.
To accomplish this, we who embrace and uphold True Buddhism must stop the slander throughout the land by continuously doing shakubuku and widely propagating the correct teachings of Nichiren Daishonin’s True Buddhism throughout society.
Let each one of us accept the great mission and responsibility of achieving kosen-rufu, and let us all unite together as priests and lay believers to attain this objective.