Oko Sermon June 2008
Reverend Shogu Kimura
June 08, 2008
“Repaying Debts Of Gratitude” (“Ho'on-sho”)
Gosho Passage
If Nichiren’s compassion is truly great and encompassing, Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo will spread for ten thousand years and more, for all eternity, for it has the beneficial power to open the blind eyes of every living being in the country of Japan, and it blocks off the road that leads to the hell of incessant suffering. (Gosho, p. 1036; MW-4, p. 272)
1. Background of the Gosho
“Repaying Debts of Gratitude” (“Ho’on-sho”) was written by Nichiren Daishonin on the 21st day of the seventh month of the second year of Kenji (1276), when he was 55 years of age. He wrote it in Minobu to express his debt of gratitude to his former master Dozen-bo. The Gosho is addressed to Joken-bo and Gijo-bo of Mt. Kiyosumi.
When Nichiren Daishonin was twelve years old, he left his home Kominato, in Awa (presently the area around Amatsu Kominato-cho in Awa, Chiba Prefecture) and entered the priesthood at Seichoji, an old temple on Mt. Kiyosumi, located far from his home. He was diligent in his service and studies. Dozen-bo was his master during this initial period. Joken-bo and Gijo-bo were two priests who were senior to the Daishonin at the temple. They taught him how to read and write, based on a curriculum of general studies and Buddhist scriptures.
Nichiren Daishonin received word that his former master had passed away on the 16th day of the third month of the second year of Kenji (1276). He expressed strong emotions upon hearing the news. He stated:
When I heard the news of his (Dozen-bo’s) death, I felt as though, whether I had to walk through fire or wade through water, I must rush to his grave, pound on it, and recite a volume of the Lotus Sutra. (Gosho, p. 1031; MW-4, p. 258)
The Daishonin continues:
However, it often happens with worthy men that, although they do not think of themselves as having retired from the world, other people assume that they have, and therefore, if they were to come rushing out of retreat for no good reason, people would suppose that they had failed to accomplish their purpose. For this reason, no matter how much I might wish to visit his grave, I feel that I cannot do so. (ibid.)
Even though Nichiren Daishonin’s former master had passed away, the Daishonin did not leave Minobu, since only three years had passed since he had gone into seclusion. Moreover, the possibility of an imminent debate with a Shingon priest forced him to focus on preparing for the occasion.
The Daishonin, therefore, wrote “Repaying Debts of Gratitude” (“Ho’on-sho”) as a tribute to his former master. He directed the disciple who delivered this letter (assumed to be Minbu Niko) to read it aloud at the destination. He further instructed Minbu Niko, Joken-bo, and Gijo-bo to read the text of this Gosho two or three times, at Kasagamori, in memory of their master and as an expression of gratitude to him. He also instructed them to read it once at Dozen-bo’s grave. He presented these instructions in a separate cover letter titled, “Postscript to Repaying Debts of Gratitude” (“Ho’on sho okuri-bumi”).
2. Significance of the Gosho
In analyzing this Gosho, Nichikan Shonin, the Twenty-sixth High Priest of the Head Temple, divided this writing into three major parts. (Exegesis on “Repaying Debts of Gratitude”-1 [Ho’on sho mondan jo]; Reki-zen 6-5).
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The Importance of Repaying One’s Debt of Gratitude
In the opening paragraph of this Gosho, the Daishonin explains an old belief describing how even lowly animals strive to repay their debts of gratitude. He writes, “If even lowly creatures know enough to do this, then how much more should human beings!” (Gosho, p. 999; MW-4, p. 171) He states that repaying one’s debt of gratitude is a moral act that all humans must perform as a matter of course. This is all the more true for the disciples of the Buddha. They must sincerely express their debt of gratitude as explained in the principle of the four debts of gratitude—debts owed to one’s parents, to one’s teacher, to the three treasures, and to one’s sovereign. Then, the Daishonin proceeds to explain the true meaning of repaying one’s debt of gratitude, as set forth by Buddhist doctrine.
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Revealing the Essential Principle of Repaying One’s Debt of Gratitude
Next, in the second section, the Daishonin explains that, in order to express one’s appreciation based on the four debts of gratitude, a person “can hope to do so only if he studies and masters the Buddhist teachings, becoming a person of wisdom.” (MW-4, p. 172) Nichiren Daishonin states that he entered the priesthood with the singular determination to repay his debt of gratitude. Before long, it became apparent to him that all the Buddhist sects that wielded power in Japan at the time—such as Shingon, Zen, and Nembutsu, among others—were going against the intention of the Buddha. He reasoned that denouncing the slanderous practices of these sects would lead to repaying one’s debt of gratitude to the Buddha. In particular, he thoroughly denounced the outrageous principles upheld by the Shingon sect. He did so because the heritage of Seichoji Temple was directly in line with Jikaku, the third Head Priest of the Tendai sect, who had intermixed the Tendai teachings with the esoteric Shingon teachings. It represented the Daishonin’s final effort to denounce and correct his late master, who ultimately failed to discard the heretical teachings of Tendai esotericism.
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Revealing the Three Great Secret Laws
In the “Postscript to Joken-bo and Gijo-bo” (“Ho’on sho okuri-bumi”), the Daishonin wrote, “In the enclosed treatise I have written matters of the utmost gravity.” (Gosho, p. 1038, MW-4, p. 275) Nichikan Shonin explained that “matters of the utmost gravity” in this passage “correctly revealed the Three Great Secret Laws of the Essential Teaching, which fundamentally represent matters of the utmost gravity.” (Exegesis on “Repaying Debts of Gratitude”-1 [Ho’on sho mondan jo]; Reki-zen 6-5). In other words, the matters of utmost gravity, as revealed at the end of this Gosho, signify none other than the Three Great Secret Laws of the Essential Teaching, which were not propagated heretofore by T’ien-t’ai and Dengyo—the respective true masters of the two thousand years spanning the Former and Middle Days of the Law.
In this Gosho, the Daishonin first presents an explanation of the True Object of Worship of the Essential Teaching (honmon no honzon). He teaches that this great mandala, inscribed by Nichiren Daishonin himself, has emerged in the Latter Day of the Law, and all the people of Japan and the entirety of Jambudvipa (the whole world) must embrace it. This is the essential truth of the Buddhism of the sowing of the true cause, which will enable all people to attain enlightenment.
Secondly, the Daishonin refers to the High Sanctuary of the Essential Teaching. However, he does not go into any detail on this issue in this Gosho.
Thirdly, he focuses on the Daimoku of the Essential Teaching. He writes:
In Japan, China, India, and all the other countries of the world, every person, regardless of whether he is wise or foolish, shall set aside other practices and join in the chanting of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. (MW-4, p. 271)
Thus, the Daishonin presents his explanation of the Three Great Secret Laws.
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Conclusion of the Gosho
The Daishonin writes:
If in this present existence I am so fearful for my life that I fail to speak out, then in what future existence will I ever attain Buddhahood? Or in what future existence will I ever be able to bring salvation to my parents and my teacher? With thoughts such as these uppermost in my mind, I decided that I must begin to speak out. (Gosho, p. 1029; MW-4, pp. 253-254)
He declares his single-minded determination to uphold the four debts of gratitude and states that he did not begrudge his life to sincerely strive to propagate the Lotus Sutra. He is convinced that, without fail, the effects of his efforts would reach the spirits of his father, mother, and former teacher, and enable them to attain enlightenment. The Daishonin thus explains the essence of repaying one’s debt of gratitude and concludes this Gosho by stating the following:
The benefit that I have been speaking of will surely accumulate in the life of the late Dozen-bo. (Gosho, p. 1037; MW-4, p. 274)
3. Essential Issues of Faith and Practice Presented in the Passage
Regarding this month’s Gosho passage, Nichikan Shonin explained that “Nichiren’s compassion” refers to the virtue of the parent; the “power to open the blind eyes of every living being in the country of Japan” signifies the virtue of the teacher; and “it blocks off the road that leads to the hell of incessant suffering” represents the virtue of the sovereign. Thus, Nichikan Shonin teaches that Nichiren Daishonin, who possesses the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent in his single entity, is the True Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law. Moreover, Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, which will be propagated for ten thousand years and all eternity throughout the Latter Day of the Law, is none other than the Dai-Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary of true Buddhism, which incorporates the entirety of the Three Great Secret Laws.
With his tremendous compassion as the True Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, Nichiren Daishonin declares that the great Buddhism of the Three Great Secret Laws will permeate Japan and the entire world and will be taught and propagated throughout the ten thousand years and eternity of the Latter Day of the Law. This true Buddhism, established by the Daishonin himself, will continuously save all mankind from the agony of the hell of incessant suffering. Nichiren Daishonin teaches us that the profound compassion of the Buddha will be the beacon that illuminates the future, regardless of the desolation in the people’s hearts, as they live today amidst the profound evil that characterizes the Latter Day of the Law, and regardless of the erroneous teachings and negative influences that mislead and delude the people, confuse society as a whole, destroy our natural environment, and lead nations into utter chaos. The Daishonin proclaims that, without fail, the compassion of the Buddha will bring salvation to all mankind for ten thousand years and all eternity.
With conviction, I can say that today, in many countries around the world, there is a steep increase in the number of people who uphold and embrace Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism. The voices chanting Daimoku resound loudly in all areas of the globe, and the footsteps of those who march toward the achievement of worldwide kosen-rufu proceed forth.
With great compassion, Nichiren Daishonin declared that he would propagate the true Buddhism of the Three Great Secret Laws of the Essential Teaching to the entire world and bring salvation to all mankind in the ten thousand years and all eternity of the Latter Day of the Law. We must make his aspiration our own. Let’s try our best to propagate the Law, so that we can contribute to the achievement of even a fraction of the Daishonin’s objective. We must be convinced that doing so will be the most significant way for us, as disciples and followers of Nichiren Daishonin, to repay our debt of gratitude to him.
As a short-term goal, we must strive to achieve the designated objectives set forth for the significant occasion in 2009 of the 750th Anniversary of Revealing the Truth and Upholding Justice through the Submission of the Rissho ankoku-ron. Let us advance together with great devotion in our practice for ourselves and for others, under the guidance of our High Priest Nichinyo Shonin.