Oko Sermon
Reverend Shogu Kimura
April, 2009
The Determination to Never Slacken in One’s Faith and Practice
We have already come upon April of the “Year of Revealing the Truth and Upholding Justice.” The long-awaited tozan pilgrimage—the first of the five Commemorative Overseas Believers General Tozan—will take place this month. I am certain that overseas believers worldwide are advancing in high spirits and with ever-increasing devotion to achieve the tozan and shakubuku objectives of participating in the Commemorative General Tozan Pilgrimage and doubling the number of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth.
At the beginning of this year, the Overseas Department announced the three objectives for 2009 as follows:
- To conduct safe and successful tozan pilgrimages.
- To widely declare the significance of this “Year of Revealing the Truth and Upholding Justice” and to carry out shakubuku.
- To consistently do Gongyo and chant Daimoku, fostering the spirit of many in body, one in mind.
I am certain that each of you made your individual determinations and started your activities at the beginning of the year, based on these objectives. Now, we are one quarter into the “Year of Revealing the Truth and Upholding Justice.” Today, I would like to talk to you about our determination to never slacken in our faith and practice.
The Parable of the Poisoned Arrow
The following story is told in the Culamalunkya Sutra (Sen’yu-kyo):
A young philosopher discarded his non-Buddhist beliefs and took faith in Buddhism. He was intent on trying to resolve the issues of the day that were often discussed in religious and philosophical circles. Is time in this world finite or infinite? Is space in this world finite or infinite? Are the spirit and the physical entity identical or separate? Does the Buddha exist after death? These were all issues that could not be resolved experientially. Shakyamuni learned that this young man was saying that he did not feel like following the Buddhist practices until he found a resolution to these issues. He admonished the youth by relaying the following story to him. Suppose there is a man shot by a poisoned arrow. He will certainly die if the poison travels throughout his body. However, he stops the person who tries to pull out the arrow. He says that he does not feel like having the arrow removed and receiving treatment until he finds out the characteristics, the family heritage, and the name of the person who shot the arrow. He wants to find out first about the type and properties of the bow and arrow that were used. Thus, he rejects treatment until his questions are answered. Ultimately, the man will die, because he refused the treatment to eliminate the poison in his body. Shakyamuni instructed the young man that, likewise, if a person does not carry out the Buddhist practices to eliminate his earthly desires, and instead, persistently pursues the resolution of issues that cannot be resolved, he will eventually descend into the depths of suffering. He will never be able to overcome basic human suffering. At this point, the young man realized his mistake for the first time and began to assiduously practice Buddhism.
The Importance of Actual Practice
This is the famous “Parable of the Poisoned Arrow.” This story contains many significant points, but for our purposes today, we will focus on the importance of carrying out our Buddhist practice. The man in the story never acted to remove the poisoned arrow from his body and, as a result, he will die, because he did not eliminate the poison and regain his health. This teaches us the importance of true action and actual practice. Our High Priest Nichinyo Shonin gave the following guidance concerning this point:
Faith does not signify the intellectual, emotional, or volitional aspects of the human psyche, such as conviction and trust. Faith cannot be characterized as such without the experience of actual practice. Therefore, the Daishonin states the following in his Gosho, “On the Doctrine of Ichinen Sanzen” (“Ichinen sanzen hōmon”): “Even though one has compounded one hundred or one thousand kinds of medicines, if he never takes them, he will never recover from his illness. Even though one’s storehouse may be full of treasures, if he does not open it, he will starve to death. Likewise, if one does not know to take the medicine in his pocket he will die.” (Gosho, p. 110) We must sincerely reflect upon these words. In other words, simply appreciating the Gohonzon does not constitute faith. Accordingly, even if you devotedly study the doctrines and carefully learn the profound principles of Buddhism, you will only acquire an academic understanding—a theoretical perspective, unless you can manifest your absolute conviction in the Gohonzon in your actions. It is clearer than the brightest fire that no one can attain enlightenment solely through theory or academic knowledge.(Dai-Nichiren, 2007, Vol. 2, p. 33)
The Objective of Faith and Practice
As Nichiren Shoshu believers, our objective is to practice true Buddhism to establish happiness in our own lives and to establish true peace in society. Through the actual practice of true Buddhism, we must break the chains of earthly desires, karma, and suffering. We must develop the three virtues of the property of the Law—which is the purity of life; wisdom—which is the capacity to correctly realize the truth; and emancipation—which is an emancipated life condition that transcends hardships and suffering. Our goal is to establish a life condition of peace and tranquility in which we are able to overcome all adversities and powerfully advance in our lives. Furthermore, we must not keep these virtues and this good fortune only to ourselves. We must share these with others through the actual practice of shakubuku in order to establish a peaceful society. This is the true spirit of rissho-ankoku—securing the peace of the land through the propagation of true Buddhism. Our High Priest Nichinyo Shonin states:
Shakubuku is the best way to lead all people throughout the world to happiness. It is a matter of course that shakubuku is performed for the good of society and all people. Shakubuku not only promotes the achievement of Buddhahood for oneself and others, but also brings peace and tranquility to the world and its environment, based on the principle of “oneness of life and its environment” (esho funi). Happiness not only for the individual but also for all mankind and true world peace can be actualized through shakubuku. Today, when the world is manifesting extreme turmoil as a result of the poisonous effects of slander, the most important action that we can take is to do shakubuku. In short, the definitive strategy to actualize the principles set forth in the Rissho ankoku-ron is none other than to do shakubuku. (Dai Nichiren, 2009-2, p. 37)
Concrete Action
As we previously learned in the parable of the poisoned arrow, it is crucial to take concrete action in order to achieve our goals. High Priest Nichinyo Shonin repeatedly states, “After all, Buddhism constitutes actual practice and experience.” (Dai-Nichiren, 2006, Vol. 6, p. 110) The objectives of actual practice for the overseas believers in this “Year of Revealing the Truth and Upholding Justice” are characterized by four pillars: the tozan pilgrimage; shakubuku; doing Gongyo and chanting Daimoku; and the achievement of unity based on the principle of many in body, one in mind (itai doshin). These are concrete objectives of actual practice in our Buddhist practice for ourselves and for others. Our High Priest Nichinyo Shonin gives the following explanation of the significance of carrying out concrete action in our Buddhist practice:
What is faith? Faith is not a theoretical concept. First and foremost, faith signifies our actual practice, as we sit before the Gohonzon ... with our backs straight and ... our palms together in prayer, as we directly face the Gohonzon and chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo... Therefore, by all means, we must act. We cannot accomplish shakubuku unless we launch ourselves into action, based on our practice for oneself and others. Since the people of the Latter Day of the Law do not possess the seed of Buddhahood (honmi uzen), they will not come to us in search of the Law....As a matter of course, we must assertively reach out to them by doing shakubuku. We must definitively state that the faith they are upholding is erroneous and their perspective on faith is mistaken. We must firmly tell them that they cannot achieve happiness unless they embrace the true Buddhism of the Daishonin. If we do not do this, then we are not doing shakubuku. Indeed, actual practice is extremely essential. …We will never be able to gain happiness for ourselves if we simply sit and take no action.
(Sermon by High Priest Nichinyo Shonin, Fourth Hokkeko Summer Training Meeting, 2006; Shakubuku yomon, p. 102)
Precautions Concerning Actual Practice
High Priest Nichinyo Shonin cautions us as we proceed in our actual practice:
Whenever you attempt to perform a good deed, many kinds of obstacles and devils, including those from within your own heart, will invariably emerge, one after another, to try to impede the advancement of kosen-rufu. The Daishonin writes in his Gosho, “A Sage and an Unenlightened Man” (“Shogu mondo sho”): “The human heart is like water that assumes the shape of whatever vessel it occupies, and the nature of beings is like the reflection of the moon undulating on the waves. Now you insist that you will be firm in this faith, but another day you are bound to waver. Though devils and demons may come to tempt you, you must not allow yourself to be distracted.” (Gosho, p. 409; MW-5, p. 119) The Daishonin strictly admonishes us by saying that, even though we may be determined to advance without ever slackening, “the human heart is like water that assumes the shape of whatever vessel it occupies, and the nature of beings is like the reflection of the moon undulating on the waves.” He explains that the human heart is fickle. When all is going well, we are calm and composed. However, when misfortunes occur or when obstacles and devils arise to impede us, it is only human nature to become alarmed and to panic. To help us avoid such a reaction, the Daishonin cautions us by saying, “though devils and demons may come to tempt you, you must not allow yourself to be distracted.” He explains to us that our mental preparedness during normal times is important. He urges us to be cautious and to keep calm and composed even when misfortunes suddenly occur or when obstacles and devils appear before us. (Dai-Nichiren, 2008-9, p. 24)
No matter what obstacles and devils we may encounter, we must continue to follow the directions of our High Priest, who has received the Lifeblood Heritage of the Law. We must be courageous and continue to uphold our faith, based on our absolute conviction in the Dai-Gohonzon.
Now that one quarter of the “Year of Revealing the Truth and Upholding Justice” has passed, let us reaffirm our determination to put into action the three objectives for this year. Let us all assemble at the Head Temple, where the Dai-Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary of true Buddhism is enshrined and where our High Priest resides. Furthermore, let us do shakubuku for our own happiness and for the happiness of others and advance together cheerfully, cautiously, and with great devotion.