Guidance from Sixty-eighth High Priest Nichinyo Shonin On the Occasion of the June Kosen-rufu Shodai Ceremony
June 2, 2007
Reception Hall, Head Temple Taisekiji
Good evening, everyone. On the occasion of the June Kosen-rufu Shodai Ceremony, which was moved a day ahead due to the Summer Study Tozan for Hokkeko believers, I would like to express my appreciation to the large number of participants here today.
As we enter into the month of June, I trust that all of you are striving hard, day and night, for the accomplishment of our pledge.
The Never Disparaging chapter (Fukyo-hon) of the Lotus Sutra states:
At that time, the four kinds of believers who were overbearingly arrogant—the monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen who had looked with contempt on this monk and given him the name Never Disparaging—saw that he had gained great transcendental powers, the power to preach pleasingly and eloquently, and the power of great goodness and tranquility. When they heard his preaching, they all took faith in him and willingly became his followers.
(Hokekyo, p. 502)[1]
The above passage refers to Bodhisattva Never Disparaging (Fukyo-bosatsu) who had appeared in the Middle Day of the Law after the death of a Buddha named Awesome Sound King Buddha (Ionno-butsu), and preached that the Buddha nature is inherent in all common mortals. Bodhisattva Never Disparaging performed the practice of “paying homage,” bowing in reverence to everyone he met as he recited the following phrase:
I have profound reverence for you; I would never dare treat you with disparagement or arrogance. Why? Because you are all practicing the Bodhisattva Way and are certain to attain Buddhahood. (ibid., p. 500)[2]
Even to people far away, he would say:
I would never dare disparage you, because you will all surely attain Buddhahood! (ibid., p. 500)[3]
Bodhisattva Never Disparaging performed the practice of paying homage to whomever he met. However, the four kinds of arrogant believers (zojoman no shishu), who are the monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen—in other words, men and women who had entered the priesthood and men and women who practiced as lay believers—began to bear animosity against Bodhisattva Never Disparaging, saying:
We have no idea where this ignorant monk comes from, declaring that he does not disparage us and bestows upon us a prediction that we will surely attain Buddhahood. We have no use for such prophecies of fabrication and irresponsible predictions.
(ibid., p. 500)They vilified and criticized him through these words. Nevertheless, Bodhisattva Never Disparaging never bore any hatred or anger toward them, even though he was being cursed and vilified, criticized and slandered. He never stopped performing the practice of paying homage, and bowed in reverence to everyone he met, always reciting the phrase, “You are certain to attain Buddhahood!” (ibid., p.501)
And because of this, the four kinds of arrogant believers would beat Bodhisattva Never Disparaging with sticks and staves and throw tiles and stones at him. He nevertheless persevered in his practice of revering others even as he fled his attackers, repeating loudly from afar, “I would never disparage you, because you will all one day attain Buddhahood!”
Then, when it was time for his life to end, Bodhisattva Never Disparaging—thanks to the merit he had accumulated from continuing his practice of revering others—was able to hear the verses of the Lotus Sutra through the Air preached by the Buddha Awesome Sound King. He thus obtained the virtue of the purification of the six sense organs. Bodhisattva Never Disparaging then managed to prolong his life until the age of two hundred billion nayuta, and he continued to preach the Lotus Sutra to the people.
As a result, the four kinds of arrogant believers who had once belittled, insulted, and oppressed Bodhisattva Never Disparaging by attacking him with sticks and stones—the very people who derided him with the name Never Disparaging—saw how he had gained great transcendental powers, the power to preach pleasingly and eloquently, and the power of great goodness and tranquility from the merit accumulated through his unwavering practice of venerating others; and, hearing his preaching, they all took faith in him and willingly became his followers.
The meaning of great transcendental power is to possess and display supernatural powers. The power to preach pleasingly and eloquently is the ability to give sermons with unrestricted ease. The power of great goodness and tranquility is the power to observe the truth and put one’s mind at ease, maintaining a stable life-condition with neither body nor mind easily influenced by the environment.
In Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra (Hokke mongu), these three powers correspond to both the three categories of action of body, mouth, and mind and the Three Rules of Preaching—the Robe, the Throne, and the Room. It is stated:
The practice of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging in which he preached that the Buddha nature is inherent in all common mortals, that he never disparaged them and deeply respected them, corresponds to the Throne of the Buddha and to the karma [category of action] of the mind. The forbearance of being cursed and vilified, criticized and slandered, and being beaten and pelted with sticks, tiles and stones corresponds to the Robe of the Buddha and the karma [category of action] of the mouth. His unfaltering practice of paying homage to the people with deep compassion corresponds to the Room of the Buddha and the karma [category of action] of the body. (Mongu, p. 451 [condensed])
Bodhisattva Never Disparaging acquired the three great powers due to the great benefit of paying homage, as he actualized the Three Rules of Preaching through the three categories of action, and this enabled the four kinds of arrogant believers to embrace the Lotus Sutra. Indeed, they had to come and take faith and become Bodhisattva Never Disparaging’s followers when they observed the three great powers that he possessed.
I believe this illustrates the significance of our practice, especially with regards to the practice of shakubuku[4].
In doing shakubuku, it is essential to have the power of persuasion. When we lack this power, others will not be easily convinced. Therefore, we must adorn ourselves with the power of persuasion. If, however, we just use well-crafted words, it will also not convince others to take faith.
Nichiren Daishonin stated in the Gosho, “Letter to Horen”:
It is almost impossible for ordinary people to take faith in this sutra. What use, then, is there in practicing it? This being the case, it would seem that when someone who wishes to expound the Lotus Sutra is able to show clearly visible proof in the here and now, there will be persons who take faith.
(Gosho, p. 814)
Thus, when doing shakubuku, the most persuasive power is the manifestation of the actual proof of benefits.
It is of vital importance that the people we shakubuku are able to see for themselves the great transcendental power, the power to preach pleasingly and eloquently, and the power of great goodness and tranquility as possessed by Bodhisattva Never Disparaging. Then, they will be able to come and take faith, just like the four kinds of arrogant believers, who all took faith and became Bodhisattva Never Disparaging’s followers when they heard him preach.
For that to happen, we must first strive to endeavor in the practice for oneself and others. Once we are able to do so, we will surely become naturally endowed with great transcendental power, the power to preach pleasingly, and eloquently, and the power of great goodness and tranquility through the immense merit of the Mystic Law (Myoho). In the “Orally transmitted teachings,” Nichiren Daishonin stated,
Today, the votaries such as I, Nichiren, and my disciples who chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, are Bodhisattva Fukyo of the Latter Day of the Law. (Gosho, p. 1778)
When we are able to gain these three great powers just like Bodhisattva Never Disparaging, we will naturally come to possess great persuasive power that will manifest through our body, mouth, and mind, and this will become useful when we perform shakubuku.
For example, when we do shakubuku, even a single word could be subtly endowed with the benefit of the power to preach pleasingly and eloquently, and will earn the other person’s trust. Nothing can be done if the other party refuses to believe what we say when we are performing shakubuku. Without appropriate words, behavior, and frame of mind, we will be unable to achieve shakubuku. The moment we uphold absolute faith in the Dai-Gohonzon and exert ourselves in the practice for oneself and others, we can change ourselves, and others will also change due to the immeasurable merits of the Mystic Law (Myoho). Eventually we will be able to accomplish shakubuku and this is what we call the power of the Mystic Law.
Today, the priesthood and laity are working hard toward the achievement of our goals of “Doubling the number of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth” and “Gathering at the Great Assembly of 75,000 believers” in 2009.
In conjunction with this great undertaking, I would like to conclude my address today by sincerely praying that every single one of you will be able to do shakubuku with absolute conviction, in order to achieve the Honorable Retired High Priest Nikken Shonin’s directives for the year 2009.
[1] Watson, Burton, trans: The Lotus Sutra, pp. 267–8. Columbia University Press, New York: 1993
[2] ibid.,266-7
[3] ibid.,267
[4] The act of persuading non-believers to take faith in Nichiren Shoshu