Oko Lecture in Praise of Nichiren Daishonin
Reverend Shogu Kimura
May, 2010
Overcoming Hardships and Doing Shakubuku
I have now been preaching these doctrines for more than twenty years and have repeatedly encountered persecutions day after day, month after month, and year after year. There have been countless minor persecutions, and I have been subjected to four major persecutions. On two occasions, I have been persecuted by the government authorities. The recent incident almost took my life. Furthermore, my disciples, my followers, and even common people who merely came to listen to my sermons have suffered harsh punishment, as though they were treasonous insurgents. (Gosho, p. 539)
This passage is from the Gosho, “The Opening of the Eyes” (“Kaimoku-shō”). Nichiren Daishonin wrote this document when he was 51 years of age, in the second month of the ninth year of Bun’ei (1272), approximately four months after he was exiled to Sado. This is a significant work that is one of his five major writings.
Nichiren Daishonin established true Buddhism on the twenty-eighth day of the fourth month of the fifth year of Kencho (1253) and started to propagate the Daimoku of Myoho-Renge-Kyo. He states the following about what he encountered:
There have been countless minor persecutions, and I have been subjected to four major persecutions. On two occasions, I have been persecuted by the government authorities. (Gosho, p. 539)
The Daishonin underwent the Matsubagayatsu Persecution, when his lodging was set on fire; he was exiled to Ito; he was sentenced to death at Tatsunokuchi; and he was banished to Sado. During a period of less than twenty years, the Daishonin experienced a relentless series of major and minor persecutions.
In particular, he encountered the severe persecution of being sentenced to be beheaded at Tatsunokuchi on the twelfth day of the ninth month of the eighth year of Bun’ei (1271) and was exiled to Sado Island. This was the harshest punishment of the time, which was reserved for treasonous individuals who sought to overthrow the government. Just the thought of such grave circumstances was enough to thoroughly frighten the Daishonin’s disciples and followers. The Tatsunokuchi Persecution was a major incident, in which the feudal government of Kamakura wielded its power as the ultimate authority and persecuted the Daishonin. Furthermore, without any justifiable reason, the government authorities tried to behead Nichiren Daishonin.
Being exiled to Sado was an extremely severe sentence tantamount to death. No one was expected to return alive from there.
Under these circumstances, there were some disciples and followers who abandoned their faith. Although there were some who harbored distrust in Nichiren Daishonin, there were more who feared being imprisoned and having their land confiscated by the authorities. They feared for their lives and sought peace and stability in their daily existence. As a result, they abandoned their faith.
In light of such behavior exhibited by his disciples and followers, Nichiren Daishonin wrote “The Opening of the Eyes” (“Kaimoku-shō”), as he endured the snow at the Sammai-do, his lodging in Tsukahara on Sado Island. He explained and revealed to the world that he, Nichiren Daishonin, is none other than the votary of the Lotus Sutra, as predicted in the Lotus Sutra, and that he is, indeed, the True Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.
The Daishonin states the following in the Gosho, “Reply to the Lay Nun Myōichi” (“Myōichi ama gozen-goshōsoku”):
Those who uphold faith in the Lotus Sutra are as though they are in winter. Never does winter fail to turn into spring. Since olden times, not a soul has witnessed or heard of fall following winter. Never has anyone heard of a believer in the Lotus Sutra turning back into a common mortal. (Gosho, p. 832)
No one was expected to return alive from being exiled to Sado, but Nichiren Daishonin, as the votary of the Lotus Sutra, managed to return unharmed. The Daishonin’s lodging in Sado was called the Sammai-dō Hall, but contrary to the grandeur that it seems to signify, it had no walls, and snow blew freely into the room. It was a structure that could hardly be called a house. Under such harsh conditions, it would have been extremely difficult for anyone to merely survive, much less be concerned about the faith of his disciples and followers and be able to pray for their development. We must deeply appreciate the Daishonin’s tremendous compassion in writing this Gosho, despite the severe lack of basic necessities, such as paper. We must take to heart the actual proof that he was able to return safely from the Sammai-dō in Tsukahara, and we must uphold our conviction in his golden words that winter never fails to turn into spring. Furthermore, we must pray for the happiness of ourselves and others and open our path to enlightenment.
The Daishonin wrote, “Those who uphold faith in the Lotus Sutra are as though they are in winter.” Here, he means that those who uphold true Buddhism and do shakubuku will be persecuted by those around them and will be envied and slandered by others. They will encounter these severe conditions, just as Nichiren Daishonin experienced, as he incurred the hatred of the entire nation, even to the point of being exiled.
Sometimes we must tell our friends and family members that they cannot achieve true happiness unless they uphold this practice. We also tell them that they must abandon their current faith. Since we must refute their current religion, at times, we may incur their resentment. Even in the face of such adversity, we must maintain a compassionate heart and continue to tell people about the true Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin. By so doing, we are able to successfully achieve shakubuku and eradicate our negative karma. We eliminate the causes for our own suffering and resolve our own troubles and worries. This allows us to open our life condition without fail, just as winter never fails to turn into spring.
Even if we are currently experiencing tremendous suffering and hardships, if we thoroughly uphold correct faith in the Dai-Gohonzon, chant Daimoku, and put forth our utmost efforts in doing shakubuku, we will be able to overcome all obstacles without fail, just as winter always turns into spring. Regardless of the severe difficulties that we may be experiencing in our lives at this time, we must never abandon hope. First and foremost, we must face reality and advance in our practice to do shakubuku with strong faith. This, in turn, will bring resolution to all of our problems.
Our determination to overcome difficulties and do shakubuku is the same as yearning for spring during the winter. We must single-mindedly pray for kosen-rufu, and do shakubuku with many in body, one in mind (itai dōshin), based on chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo with faith in the Dai-Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary of the Essential Teaching. We must be convinced that by so doing, we indeed will be able to resolve our own individual hardships and suffering and also actualize true world peace.
The passage, “Those who uphold faith in the Lotus Sutra are as though they are in winter,” expounds the same principle as the passage, “Great evil is always followed by great good.” (“On Great Evil and Great Good,” “Daiaku daizen-gosho”). Thus, even if we should come upon a period in our lives when we experience tremendous difficulties, equivalent to the most severe winters, as long as we uphold correct faith and practice based on the three treasures of the Buddha, the Law, and the priesthood, we eventually will be showered with great benefits without fail, much like the warmth of spring always follows the harsh conditions of winter.
“Never does winter fail to turn into spring.” We must never lose sight of the Daishonin’s words and advance with devotion, doing Gongyo and Shodai in our practice for ourselves, and doing shakubuku in our practice for others, regardless of what difficulties we may encounter.
Our High Priest stated the following on the occasion of the Kosen-rufu Shodai Ceremony in March of 2006:
We must uphold strong faith and resolutely eliminate the three obstacles and four devils (sansho shima). Herein lies the invaluable nature of our Buddhist practice. True benefits will come forth from this invaluable practice. It is most essential to continue our practice, based on absolute conviction in the Dai-Gohonzon, because the devils could never triumph over the Buddha. Even so, the outcome is ultimately dependent on the strength of our faith. Since it is only natural to encounter various forms of persecutions, oppression, and obstacles in our advancement toward kosen-rufu, we must face them squarely and deal with them in their entirety. This characterizes strong faith. Indeed, this is exemplified by the passage, “If devils did not arise to vie against one another to impede us, we would never know that this is the true Law.” As I have said, no matter what difficulties we may encounter, we must overcome them and exert forth our utmost efforts to uphold strong faith and do shakubuku. We must sincerely understand that, by so doing, we will be able to achieve enlightenment this lifetime. (Daibyakuho, March 16, 2006)
Since the General Meeting of the Great Assembly of 75,000 Believers on July 26 of last year, all Nichiren Shoshu priests and lay believers have been making great strides toward the objective of increasing the number of believers by 50 percent by the year 2015. Success or failure clearly will become evident depending on our efforts during the next five years.
Nichiren Daishonin has stated in the Gosho that numerous obstacles will arise and vie with one another to impede our progress, until we can successfully achieve our great goals. However, we can certainly attain them without fail if all of us make a sincere vow to uphold our practice, form a solid unity with the priests, and follow the directions of our High Priest.
Let us all make a firm determination today to achieve the shakubuku goal for our chapter this year. Furthermore, let us advance together to achieve the objective set for 2015.