Oko Sermon January, 2007
Reverend Shogu Kimura
“Letter of Early Spring”
In the past, a common mortal living in a chaotic world afflicted by the Five Impurities attained Buddhahood because he made offerings to a votary of the Lotus Sutra who was starving, the same as I. Because the teachings of the Lotus Sutra are true, it is certain that your late father has attained Buddhahood through the virtue of your deeds. Thinking of your late brother, Goro, also in the pure land of Eagle Peak, his head lovingly caressed by his father, I cannot restrain my tears.
(The Gosho of Nichiren Daishonin Vol. I-101~104)
Good morning everyone. Today, on this occasion of the first Oko sermon for 2007, 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.
This gosho was written to Lord Nanjo Tokimitsu, in response to a gokuyo offering that he sent to the Daishonin in Minobu, to celebrate the New Year and the coming of early spring. It is dated the 20th day of the 1st month of the 5th year of Koan (1282). The original gosho no longer exists.
As you know, Lord Nanjo Tokimitsu, the great believer who established Taiseki-ji at Fuji, was the steward of Ueno in the Fuji region, located in Suruga Province. Throughout his life, he upheld strong faith in the Daishonin and followed him. He constantly presented gokuyo offerings to the Daishonin and provided him support and protection.
Ever since Tokimitsu was a child, he followed in the footsteps of his deceased father and upheld faith and worked as the steward of Ueno. Through the instruction he received from his mother, Ueno-ama, he grew up to be a fine individual. During Nikko Shonin’s propagation efforts in Suruga, Tokimitsu was active as a leader in the entire Fuji area. When the Atsuhara persecution occurred, he courageously protected the priests and lay believers who upheld true faith.
As a result, he received oppression from the feudal government of Kamakura. He had no horse on which to ride, he could not afford to adequately clothe his wife and children, and he continued to suffer hardships. Even in the midst of such hardships, he continued to send the Daishonin gokuyo offerings. He was truly admired for his pure faith. Particularly after Tokimitsu’s meritorious deeds during the Atsuhara persecution, the Daishonin referred to him as “Lord Ueno, the wise one.”
In the 8 years after entering Minobu, the Daishonin was challenged by health problems. He did not take a step out of Minobu during that time. The severe winter had come upon him, and the prolonged years of physical and spiritual exhaustion had taken their toll. In his advancing age, his health continued to weaken. The cold winter must have been particularly difficult for him.
As the Daishonin braved these conditions in the New Year, he received a gokuyo offering from Lord Tokimitsu. The Daishonin responded by sending this gosho.
The following phrases are respectively written in the preface and postscript of this gosho: “I am delighted o have read the journal by Hoki-dono,” and “Please do me the favor of requesting Hoki-dono to read and explain this letter to you, sentence by sentence.”
Hoki-dono refers to the Second High Priest Nikko Shonin. He became a disciple at the age of 13, at the Iwamoto Jissoji Temple. It was at that time that he received the priestly name of Hoki-bo Nikko. When this gosho was written, Nikko Shonin was at the residence of Lord Tokimitsu. It is apparent from these phrases that Nikko Shonin must have written a letter to the Daishonin, reporting on different issues, when the gokuyo offering was sent. It is also evident that the Daishonin’s response, expressing his delight, was channeled through Nikko Shonin.
Next, the Daishonin wrote:
The flowering trees, mountain grasses turning green; life’s exuberance at the start of spring fills everyone with joy. I have received the journal as well as a sack of rice, a bag of salt, thirty steamed rice cakes, and a sack of taro.
The Daishonin first expressed his New Year greeting and confirmed that he had received the gokuyo offerings of rice, salt, steamed rice cakes, and taro roots. The New Year also represents a point of departure into the rest of the year for us. It gives us an opportunity to make our determinations. Therefore, it is an extremely important and joyful time.
The Daishonin then stated:
Over the last three days, ten feet of snow fell into my garden. Deep within these mountains, valleys became peaks and peaks became stairways to heaven. Birds and deer sought refuge in my hermitage. The woodcutters and hunters’ path into these mountains was impassable. The robe I wore was thin and my food was running out. At night, I shivered in the cold like the legendary Kankucho bird and at dawn, I could think of naught, save descending to the village.
It is apparent from this passage that there was particularly heavy snow in Minobu, in the New Year of the 5th year of Koan (1282). The Daishonin wrote that there was 1 jo (approximately 3 meters or 10 feet) of snow. The heavy accumulation of snow made it impossible for people to travel to and from Minobu. He described how the snowfall had affected his daily life. Of course, this was a time when there were no heating devices like the ones we enjoy today. The passage informs us of the severe conditions of being snowed-in in those ancient times. The Daishonin explained that he received visits from birds and deer, but woodcutters and hunters did not dare to travel the mountains paths. The Daishonin further reported how scarce clothing and food had become for him. The severe winter nights in Minobu were indescribably cold, and they made him feel like the legendary bird in the snow mountains. Furthermore, the Daishonin explained that, during the day, the extreme conditions caused him to want to escape to the village.
The Kankucho is an imaginary bird that is said to live in the snow mountains of India. Since this bird does not make a nest for itself, it suffers from the horrendous cold at night.
Next, the Daishonin wrote:
The voice reciting the sutra fell silent and the heart of contemplation weakened. Just when I thought that I could no longer continue my faith in this life, thereby becoming unable to attain Buddhahood for Three Thousand Dust-particle Kalpas or Five Hundred Dust-particle Kalpas, your offerings arrived and revived me. I am grateful that I will be able to meet you again.
The tremendous snowfall had made it impossible for people to travel to and from Minobu. The Daishonin stated that food was scarce, and the voices reciting the sutras were falling silent. It was growing increasingly difficult for people to uphold the Buddhas and bodhisattvas in their hearts. This meant that, since the paths were impassable and people were unable to visit, there were almost no audible voices reciting the sutras. The Daishonin explained that he had been lamenting about how people would renounce their faith in this lifetime and, as a result, would be forced to suffer for an inconceivably long period that would seem like an eternity. The Daishonin went on to say that Lord Tokimitsu had sent various items of gokuyo offering in the nick of time, thus enabling him to prolong his life. Now he was hopeful that he would be able to meet Tokimitsu once again.
I am certain that the conditions in the Daishonin’s residence were far worse then we could ever imagine.
The Daishonin then wrote:
In the past, a common mortal living in a chaotic world afflicted by the Five Impurities attained Buddhahood because he made offerings to a votary of the Lotus Sutra who was starving, the same as I. Because the teachings of the Lotus Sutra are true, it is certain that your late father has attained Buddhahood through the virtue of your deeds. Thinking of your late brother, Goro, also in the pure land of Eagle Peak, his head lovingly caressed by his father, I cannot restrain my tears.
With my deepest respect.
The Daishonin explained that, when the Buddha was still a common mortal in the past, he was able to attain Buddhahood because he presented offerings to the votary of the Lotus Sutra, who was starving in the chaotic world characterized by the Five Impurities. He further declared that, if the Lotus Sutra represents the truth, the offerings that Lord Tokimitsu made to the Daishonin would bring him tremendous benefits that would enable his deceased father, Hyoe Shichiro, to attain Buddhahood without fail.
The Five Impurities consist of the following:
- Impurity of the age: This refers to the various negative phenomena that repeatedly occur in society and in our individual environments. This impurity functions to intensify disruptions such as famines, epidemics, and wars.
- Impurity of the people: This signifies our impurities as human beings. It causes our spiritual and physical defilement, and it produces negative effects; furthermore, it causes people to destroy the virtues of their human nature.
- Impurity of desire: This represents an instinctive delusion that is controlled by greed, anger, stupidity, arrogance, and doubt (the inability to embrace the truth because of doubts). It is a condition that is dictated by desires.
- Impurity of thought: This denotes impurities in people’s beliefs. It characterizes the presence of heretical thoughts and ideas. This impurity functions to cultivate distorted or prejudiced views.
- Impurity of life: This is the impurity of life itself. It refers to a condition in which distortion and chaos in one’s daily life affect the person’s existence and cause a shortened life span.
The Latter Day of the Law is characterized by a world overcome by these Five Impurities. We can understand what a tremendous benefit it is for us, in the Latter Day of the Law, to be able to embrace the Gohonzon, to chant Daimoku, and to make gokuyo offerings to the Buddha.
The Daishonin concludes this gosho by expressing his sincere emotion about how he is unable to restrain his tears, when he imagines how Tokimitsu’s deceased brother Goro is now in the pure land of Eagle Peak, how he has by now met the deceased father, and how the father must be lovingly caressing his son’s head.
Since we were born in the Latter Day of the Law, we will encounter numerous hardships in life. However, if we face a difficult situation and renounce our faith, it would be truly difficult to encounter the Daishonin’s True Buddhism once again. People may renounce their faith in a desperate attempt to escape from hardships, but in fact they must understand that renouncing their faith would cause the hardships to intensify. Common mortals renounce their faith because they do not understand that the True Buddhism of the Daishonin is the supreme teaching.
If we find that we are unable to eliminate our hardships and suffering, even after we encounter the supreme teaching of True Buddhism, it is important for us to consider the karmic sins from our past lifetimes and chant Daimoku. Those past karmic sins will vary in individual severity, but we will be able to entirely eliminate them without fail, through the supreme teaching of True Buddhism.
Our High Priest has designated this year “The Year of Action.” We must stand forth as individuals and take action. Without action, there will be no results. When we look upon our world today, we find tremendous delusions and impurities in wars, famines, and epidemics. Indeed, these are all manifestations of the Latter Day of the Law. Most people do not realize that these are all caused by slanders against True Buddhism.
We – the priests and lay believers of Nichiren Shoshu, who correctly embrace the Gohonzon – are the only individuals who are able to transform this deluded world, full of the Five Impurities, into a world where peace and happiness prevail. I ask you all to understand that this is the year of action, as we advance towards the great objective set forth in 2009. I ask you all to redouble your efforts in your performance of shakubuku.
I would like to conclude my first Oko sermon for this year by sincerely praying for your continued good health and great achievements throughout the year.
I express my heartfelt gratitude to you for your attendance today.