Oko Sermon November 2008
Reverend Shogu Kimura
November 9, 2008
“The Opening Of The Eyes” (“Kaimokusho”)
Although I and my disciples may encounter various difficulties, if we do not harbor doubt in our hearts, we will as a matter of course attain Buddhahood. Do not have doubts simply because heaven does not lend you protection. Do not be discouraged because you do not enjoy an easy and secure existence in this life. (Gosho, p. 574; MW-2, p. 205)
Nichiren Daishonin wrote “The Opening of the Eyes” (“Kaimoku-sho”) during his exile in Sado, in the second month of the ninth year of Bun’ei (1272), while residing at the Tsukahara Sanmaido Hall, piled deep in snow. He wrote this Gosho at a time when he faced one of the most difficult adversities of his life. However, his spirit was extremely focused and joyful. This is apparent from the above Gosho passage.
In this excerpt, Nichiren Daishonin teaches us never to harbor doubts in our faith and practice of the Three Great Secret Laws, no matter what difficulties may arise to impede our progress. He assures us that when we thoroughly believe in the benefits of the Lotus Sutra and devote our lives to it, we will naturally be able to attain the life condition of enlightenment without fail. The Daishonin, himself, as the votary of the Lotus Sutra, relays this conviction to us, his disciples and followers.
In a preceding segment of this Gosho, the Daishonin discusses a parable that appears in the Nirvana Sutra (Nehan gyo). It exemplifies his conduct as the votary of the Lotus Sutra.
The story is about a poor woman who had no home and no one to aid or protect her. She was all alone in the world. To make matters worse, she was beset by illness and hunger, so she took to the road and wandered about, begging for food.
She was staying at an inn when she gave birth to a child. The master of the inn had no compassion. He told her that she was no longer welcome and drove her away. The woman clutched her newborn baby and set out on a journey in search of a place where she and her child could live safely and peacefully.
She encountered terrible wind and rain. Living outdoors, she endured the bitter cold. She continued on, even though she was continuously bitten by mosquitoes, snakes, hornets, and poisonous insects.
Before long, she came upon a large river. It was necessary for the woman with her baby in her arms to cross this river. However, the recent torrential rains had caused the river to swell. Whirlpools swirled in its swift current. The mother clasped her child tightly in her arms and tried her best to cross the river. Gradually, she began to lose her strength, as the forceful current tugged on her legs.
If she had abandoned her baby at that point, she could probably have proceeded alone to safety. However, like most mothers, she would not abandon her child. She tried her best to cross the river. As she continued her struggle, she was completely drained of her strength. In the end, both mother and child were swallowed by the swift current and drowned.
As a result of the benefits of her love and compassion—the benefits of the mother’s love and sheer determination to protect her child—she was reincarnated as the god Bonten (Skt. Brahma). Thus, she was reborn into the realm of heavenly deities, which is higher than the world of humans.
In the Nirvana Sutra, the Buddha instructs Manjushri that, if he wishes to defend the true Law, he should emulate this poor woman. Like the mother who tried at all costs to protect her child in the raging river, he should not begrudge his life to defend the true Law. The same holds true for the bodhisattvas who protect the Law. By so doing, they can naturally achieve complete emancipation, even if they do not work for it by carrying out various Buddhist practices.
The poor woman protected her child not because she wanted to be reborn as Bonten, but because she loved her baby. Based on her maternal instinct, she was entirely focused and determined to save her child, regardless of all consequences. She hugged her baby closely and, unfortunately, both mother and child lost their lives. In the same way, those who seek true Buddhism must not begrudge their lives in putting forth efforts in their Buddhist practice.
This parable contains important lessons for us in our own faith. Nichiren Daishonin gives us an analysis by applying these issues to his own life. The poor woman represents those in the Latter Day of the Law, who lack the treasure of the Law and who possess no previous bond with Shakyamuni (hommi uzen). The woman also represents an individual who possesses compassion. She is none other than Nichiren Daishonin. The inn signifies the defiled society in which we live—the saha world.
The Daishonin makes this profoundly significant statement:
The child she bears is the heart that has faith in the Lotus Sutra, one of the three factors leading to enlightenment. (Gosho, p. 573; MW-2, p. 203)
“The child,” the baby who was born, represents faith in the Lotus Sutra. The child is further characterized as “one of the three factors leading to enlightenment” (literally, “the child who possesses the causal wisdom to perceive [the Buddha nature].” This means to achieve ultimate understanding or enlightenment. How, then, is one able to achieve this enlightenment? Originally, a person attained enlightenment through wisdom. However, those of us in the Latter Day of the Law are characterized by the principle of substituting faith for wisdom (ishin daie). We substitute our faith in the Lotus Sutra for wisdom.
For all mothers throughout the world, their children represent precious lives that nothing could ever replace. They are willing to endure any hardships for the sake of their children. In the same way, those who seek faith would also feel that this practice could not be replaced by anything else. I am certain that many of you constantly feel this way, and I ask each of you to take this issue to heart.
Nichiren Daishonin applies the passage to his own life and indicates that “the child is … one of the three factors leading to enlightenment.” In other words, he states that faith in the Lotus Sutra represents the important “child” that leads him to enlightenment. The Daishonin’s exile is exemplified by the phrase, “Being driven out [of the inn]…”
The phrase “the fact that both mother and child are drowned” means that, even though Nichiren Daishonin encountered great persecutions from the feudal government, he continued to uphold his faith in the Lotus Sutra and never ceased to do so—even when he was sentenced to death. This signifies the process in which the Daishonin discarded his provisional identity and revealed his true identity (hosshaku kempon) during the Tatsunokuchi Persecution. The reincarnation of the woman as the god Bonten symbolizes birth into the world of Buddhahood. In other words, the Daishonin explains that he cast off his provisional identity and revealed his true identity as the Buddha of the remote past of kuon. He declares that there in Sado, as he wrote this treatise, “The Opening of the Eyes,” his life condition represented his reincarnated form as the god Bonten.
Thus, the parable of the drowning mother and child in the Nirvana Sutra directly applies to Nichiren Daishonin’s conduct as the votary of the Lotus Sutra.
Next, the Daishonin writes:
The power of karmic reward extends to all of the ten worlds, even to the realm of Buddhahood. (Gosho, p. 574; MW-2, p. 204)
People in the world are influenced by karma in various ways. Everyone is born with his individual karma. Our individual lives are controlled by our karma. Furthermore, one’s behavior in one’s current life turns into karma that influences one’s future life. The principle of cause and effect—good causes produce good effects and negative causes make negative effects—remains unchanged. It is the same for people in the life condition of hell to those in the life condition of Buddhahood, including the Buddha himself. However, the fact that the poor woman was reborn in the realm of the heavenly deities cannot be easily explained by principles such as karma and cause and effect. The Daishonin continues:
Her case is different from the ordinary rules of Buddhist practice. (Gosho, p. 574; MW-2, p. 204)
This means that the ordinary principle of cause and effect in Buddhism cannot directly explain the fact that this mother was reborn as Bonten. It was the single-minded caring for her child—not unlike the Buddha’s compassion—that enabled the woman to achieve the effect of being reborn in the realm of heavenly deities.
Let us apply this to our own faith and practice. Like the poor woman, we are unable to perform any special practice, and we do not possess the wisdom to grasp true Buddhism. However, Nichiren Daishonin explains that we can still attain enlightenment. We must cultivate the same spirit and single-minded devotion as the woman who steadfastly held onto to her child. We must face the Gohonzon with the same devotion, chant the mystic Law (Myoho) and manifest the single-minded determination to resolve any hardship. As a result, we will be able to open the most wonderful life condition within ourselves. Furthermore, we will be able to overcome any suffering. This cannot be explained through theory alone.
The single-minded determination based on our faith brings forth the power to shake the core of all things and to turn all impossibilities into possibilities.
Thus, our single-minded attitude in faith is most essential. All things begin and end with one’s single-minded determination. This characterizes Nichiren Daishonin’s conduct as the votary of the Lotus Sutra. There is absolutely no difference for all of us who uphold this practice.
The passage on which we are focused today reads as follows:
Although I and my disciples may encounter various difficulties, if we do not harbor doubt in our hearts, we will as a matter of course attain Buddhahood. Do not have doubts simply because heaven does not lend you protection. Do not be discouraged because you do not enjoy an easy and secure existence in this life. (Gosho, p. 574; MW-2, p. 205)
The Daishonin explains that we must exert ourselves in faith in the same way that the Daishonin conducted himself as the votary of the Lotus Sutra. We must have the same absolute conviction that he held toward the practice of the Lotus Sutra.
We are quickly approaching 2009, the 750th Anniversary of Revealing the Truth and Upholding Justice through the Submission of the Rissho ankoku-ron. We are working toward our objectives of Doubling the number of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth and Gathering at the Great Assembly. Let us renew our conviction, keeping in mind that success begins and ends with our individual, single-minded determination.
I ask you to uphold a strong sense of mission, as you achieve great successes in your shakubuku efforts. Let us make it our goal to participate in the tozan pilgrimage next year, together with the people whom we have introduced to true Buddhism. Let’s exert our utmost efforts during the remaining two months of this year.