The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra - sgilibrary.org

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The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra

Nichiren, follower of the Great Teacher
Kompon [Dengyo]

N AM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO. Hinayana teachings, were able to be
Question: Is it possible, with- reborn in heaven,1 and that men, sim-
out understanding the meaning of the ply by respecting the three treasures,
Lotus Sutra, but merely by chanting were able to escape being swallowed by
the five or seven characters of Nam- a huge fish.2 How much more effec-
myoho-renge-kyo once a day, once a tive, then, is the daimoku of the Lotus
month, or simply once a year, once a Sutra, which is the very heart of all
decade, or once in a lifetime, to avoid the eighty thousand sacred teachings
being drawn into trivial or serious acts of Buddhism and the eye of all the
of evil, to escape falling into the four Buddhas! How can you doubt that by
evil paths, and instead to eventually chanting it you can escape from the
reach the stage of non-regression? four evil paths?

Answer: Yes, it is. The Lotus Sutra, wherein the Bud-
Question: You may talk about fire, dha honestly discarded expedient
but unless you put your hand in a means, says that one can “gain entrance
flame, you will never burn yourself. through faith alone.”3 And the Nirvana
You may say “water, water!” but unless Sutra, which the Buddha preached in
you actually drink it, you will never the grove of sal trees on the last day
satisfy your thirst. Then how, just by of his life, states, “Although there are
chanting the daimoku of Nam-myoho- innumerable practices that lead to en-
renge-kyo without understanding what lightenment, if one teaches faith, then
it means, can you escape from the evil that includes all those practices.”
paths of existence?
Answer: They say that, if you play a Thus faith is the basic requirement
koto strung with a lion’s sinews, then for entering the way of the Buddha. In
all the other kinds of strings will snap. the fifty-two stages of bodhisattva prac-
And if you so much as hear the words tice, the first ten stages, dealing with
“pickled plum,” your mouth will be- faith, are basic, and the first of these
gin to water. Even in everyday life ten stages is that of arousing pure faith.
there are such wonders, so how much Though lacking in knowledge of Bud-
greater are the wonders of the Lotus dhism, a person of faith, even if dull-
Sutra! witted, is to be reckoned as a person of
We are told that parrots, simply by correct views. But even though one
twittering the four noble truths of the has some knowledge of Buddhism, if
one is without faith, then one is to be

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THE DAIMOKU OF THE LOTUS SUTRA

considered a slanderer and an icchan- also say that, if one leaf of the san-
tika, or person of incorrigible disbelief. dalwood tree unfurls, it can eradicate
the foul odor of the eranda trees for
The monk Sunakshatra observed the a distance of forty yojanas. In this
two hundred and fifty precepts, mas- case, our evil karma may be likened to
tered the four stages of meditation, and the eranda trees or the water, and the
was versed in all the twelve divisions of daimoku of the Lotus Sutra may be
the scriptures, while Devadatta memo- likened to the rhinoceros horn or the
rized the sixty thousand non-Bud- sandalwood leaf.
dhist teachings and the eighty thousand
Buddhist teachings, and could manifest Diamonds are so hard that almost no
eighteen miraculous powers4 with his substance will cut them, and yet they
body. And yet it is said that these men, can be cut by a sheep’s horn or a tur-
because they had knowledge but no tle’s shell. The limbs of the nyagrodha8
faith, are now in the great citadel of tree are so stout that the largest birds
the Avichi hell. Mahakashyapa and can perch on them without breaking
Shariputra on the other hand lacked them, and yet they are vulnerable to
knowledge but had faith, and the Bud- the tailorbird,9 which is so tiny it could
dha accordingly predicted that they almost build its nest on the eyelashes of
would become the Thus Come Ones a mosquito. Here, our evil karma is
Light Bright and Flower Glow, re- analogous to the diamond or the nya-
spectively. The Buddha stated, “If one grodha tree, and the daimoku of the
should harbor doubt and fail to be- Lotus Sutra, to the sheep’s horn or the
lieve, one will fall at once into the tailorbird. Amber draws dust, and a
evil paths.”5 These words refer to those magnet attracts iron particles; here our
who have knowledge but are without evil karma is like the dust or iron, and
faith. the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra is like
the amber or the magnet. If we con-
And yet contemporary scholars ask, sider these [analogies, we can see why]
“How is it possible, simply by chanting we should always chant Nam-myoho-
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with faith but renge-kyo.
no understanding, to avoid the evil
paths?” If we accept the words of the The first volume of the Lotus Sutra
sutra, these scholars themselves can states, “Throughout incalculable, innu-
hardly avoid falling into the great cita- merable kalpas it is rare that one may
del of the Avichi hell. hear this Law.”10 And the fifth volume
says, “As for this Lotus Sutra, through-
Thus, as we have seen, even those out immeasurable numbers of lands
who lack understanding, so long as one cannot even hear its name.”11 Thus
they chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, can it is an extremely rare thing to hear the
avoid the evil paths. This is like lotus name of the Lotus Sutra. Though the
flowers, which turn as the sun does, Buddhas Sushanta12 and Many Trea-
though the lotus has no mind to direct sures made their appearance in the
it, or like the plantain that grows with world, they did not utter so much as
the rumbling of thunder, though this the name of the Lotus Sutra. And
plant has no ears to hear it.6 Now we though the Thus Come One Shakya-
are like the lotus or the plantain, and the muni made his advent expressly for the
daimoku of the Lotus Sutra is like the purpose of preaching the Lotus Sutra,
sun or the thunder. he kept the name of that sutra a secret
and never referred to it for a period of
People say that, if you tie a piece of forty-two years. It was only when he
living rhinoceros horn to your body reached the age of seventy-two that he
and enter the water, the water will not
come within five feet of you.7 They

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THE DAIMOKU OF THE LOTUS SUTRA

first began to intone Myoho-renge- will enjoy immeasurable good fortune.
kyo, the daimoku of the sutra. How- The Lotus Sutra of the Correct Law
ever, the people of faraway countries says that, if one hears this sutra and
such as China and Japan were unable to proclaims and embraces its title, one
hear of it at that time. It was over a will enjoy merit beyond measure. And
thousand years before China heard so the Supplemented Lotus Sutra of the
much as the name of the sutra, and Wonderful Law says that one who
another three hundred and fifty or accepts and upholds the name of the
more years before it was heard in Japan. Lotus Sutra will enjoy immeasurable
good fortune. These statements indi-
Thus, encountering this sutra is as cate that the good fortune one receives
rare as the blossoming of the udumbara from simply chanting the daimoku is
flower, which occurs but once in three beyond measure.
thousand years, or the one-eyed turtle
finding a floating piece of sandalwood, To accept, uphold, read, recite, take
which happens only once in innumer- delight in, and protect all the eight
able, boundless kalpas. volumes and twenty-eight chapters of
the Lotus Sutra is called the compre-
Suppose one were to place a needle hensive practice. To accept, uphold, and
in the earth point up and throw down protect the “Expedient Means” chapter
tiny mustard seeds at it from the palace and the “Life Span” chapter is called
of the great king Brahma in the heav- the abbreviated practice. And simply
ens. One could sooner impale a mus- to chant one four-phrase verse or the
tard seed on the point of a needle in daimoku, and to protect those who
this way than encounter the daimoku do so, is called the essential practice.
of the Lotus Sutra. Or suppose one Hence, among these three kinds of prac-
were to place a needle upright on top tice, comprehensive, abbreviated, and
of the Mount Sumeru in one world essential, the daimoku is defined as the
and then, standing atop the Mount essential practice.
Sumeru of another world on a very
windy day, were to try to cast a thread Question: How great are the bless-
so that it reached the other mountain ings contained within the five charac-
and passed through the eye of the nee- ters of Myoho-renge-kyo?
dle. One could sooner thread a needle
in this way than encounter the dai- Answer: The great ocean contains all
moku of the Lotus Sutra. the numerous rivers that flow into it,
the great earth contains all sentient and
Therefore, when you chant the insentient beings, the wish-granting
daimoku of this sutra, you should be jewel is capable of showering down in-
aware that it is a more joyful thing than numerable treasures, and the heavenly
for one who was born blind to gain king Brahma rules over all the three-
sight and see one’s father and mother, fold world. The five characters of
and a rarer thing than for a man who Myoho-renge-kyo are comparable to
has been seized by a powerful enemy to these. All beings of the nine worlds, as
be released and reunited with his wife well as those in the world of Buddha-
and children. hood, are contained within them. And
since all beings of the Ten Worlds are
Question: What passages of proof contained within them, so are their
can be cited to show that one should environments.
chant only the daimoku?
Let us first examine the fact that the
Answer: The eighth volume of the five characters, Myoho-renge-kyo, con-
Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law tain within them all teachings. The sin-
states that one who accepts and up- gle character kyo, or “sutra,” is the king
holds the mere name of the Lotus Sutra

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THE DAIMOKU OF THE LOTUS SUTRA

of all sutras, and all the other sutras are systems. The second version contains
encompassed by it. The Buddha ap- , verses, and the third version
peared in the world and over a period contains , verses in forty-eight
of fifty years preached eighty thousand chapters. Outside of these three ver-
sacred teachings. At that time the life sions, only the smaller texts such as
span of human beings is said to have the eighty-volume and sixty-volume
been one hundred years. The Buddha versions14 are preserved in China and
passed away in the middle of the night Japan.
on the fifteenth day of the second
month of the year with the cyclical sign In addition, there are the Hinayana
mizunoe-saru.13 Thereafter, during some Agama sutras, and the various Maha-
ninety days of summer, or the period yana sutras of the Correct and Equal
from the eighth day of the fourth month and the Wisdom periods. Among the
until the fifteenth day of the seventh latter, the Sanskrit text of the Ma-
month of the same year, one thousand havairochana Sutra devotes a total of
arhats gathered at the compilation hall thirty-five hundred verses simply to the
and set down all the sutras. explanation of the five characters of the
mantra avarahakha,15 to say nothing of
After that, during the one thousand the countless verses it uses to describe
years of the Former Day of the Law, all the seeds, august forms, and samayas16
these various sutras spread throughout of the various honored ones. In China,
the five regions of India, but they did however, the text exists in a mere six-
not reach as far as China. It was only in or seven-volume form. The Nirvana
the fifteenth year of the Middle Day of Sutra, which the Buddha preached in
the Law [, years after the Buddha’s the sal grove on his last day, is pre-
passing] that Buddhist sutras were first served in China in a version that is
introduced to China. This was in the only forty volumes long, though in this
year with the cyclical sign hinoto-u, the case, too, the Sanskrit versions of the
tenth year of the Yung-p’ing era (C.E. text have many more volumes. All
) in the reign of Emperor Ming of these various sutras are followers of the
the Later Han dynasty. From that time Lotus Sutra, the most profound teach-
until the year with the cyclical sign ing of the Thus Come One Shakya-
kanoe-uma, the eighteenth year of the muni. In addition, all the sutras ex-
K’ai-yüan era (C.E. ) in the reign of pounded by the seven Buddhas of the
Emperor Hsüan-tsung of the T’ang past,17 the thousand Buddhas, or the
dynasty, a total of  translators went Buddhas of countless kalpas ago, as well
over to China, taking with them , as those expounded by the Buddhas
sutras, works on discipline, and treatises presently living in the ten directions,
comprising , volumes contained are followers of the single character kyo
in  scroll cases. All of these sacred of the Lotus Sutra.
writings are followers of the single
character kyo of the Lotus Sutra. Thus, in the “Medicine King” chap-
ter of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha ad-
Among the sutras that the Buddha dresses Bodhisattva Constellation King
preached during the more than forty Flower, saying that, just as the ocean is
years before he expounded the Lotus foremost among all the rivers, streams,
Sutra, there is one called the Great and and other bodies of water, just as
Vast Buddha Flower Garland Sutra. Mount Sumeru is foremost among all
This sutra is preserved in the dragon the mountains, and just as the moon is
king’s palace in three versions. The first foremost among the heavenly bodies,
version contains as many chapters as [so the Lotus Sutra is likewise among
the dust particles of ten major world all the sutras]. The Great Teacher

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THE DAIMOKU OF THE LOTUS SUTRA

Miao-lo says in his commentary that to view the treasures that lay within.
the Lotus Sutra is “foremost among all To give an analogy, even though there
the sutras preached in the past, now are people and animals, plants and trees
being preached, or to be preached in on the earth, without the light of the
the future.”18 sun or moon, even those with good
eyes cannot make out their shapes and
Within this single character kyo are colors. It is when the sun or moon
contained all the sutras in the worlds rises that one can discern for the first
throughout the ten directions. It is like time what these things really look like.
the wish-granting jewel that contains The sutras that preceded the Lotus
within it all manner of treasures, or the Sutra were shrouded in the darkness
vastness of space that encompasses all of a long night, and the essential and
phenomena. And because this single theoretical teachings of the Lotus Sutra
character kyo of Myoho-renge-kyo is were like the sun and moon.
the supreme achievement of the Bud-
dha’s lifetime of teaching, the other Among the bodhisattvas with their
four characters, Myo-ho-ren-ge, like- two good eyes, the cross-eyed people
wise surpass all the other eighty thou- of the two vehicles, ordinary people
sand doctrines that the Buddha taught. with their blind eyes, or icchantikas
who have been blind since birth, there
Coming now to the character myo, were none who could make out the
the Lotus Sutra says, “This sutra opens true color or shape of things by means
the gate of expedient means and shows of the earlier sutras. But when the
the form of true reality.”19 The Great Lotus Sutra was preached and the
Teacher Chang-an states, “Myo means moon of the theoretical teaching came
to reveal the depths of the secret store- forth, first the bodhisattvas with their
house.”20 The Great Teacher Miao-lo two good eyes gained enlightenment,
says of this, “To reveal means to and then the cross-eyed people of the
open.”21 Hence the character myo means two vehicles. Next the blind eyes of
to open. ordinary people were opened, and then
even icchantikas, who had been blind
If there is a storehouse full of trea- from birth, were able to establish a
sures but no key, then it cannot be relationship with the Lotus Sutra that
opened, and if it cannot be opened, assured them that their eyes would one
then the treasures inside cannot be day open. All this was due entirely to
seen. The Buddha preached the Flower the virtue of the single character myo.
Garland Sutra, but he did not therein
expound the key to open this sutra. There are two myo, or mystic, prin-
Likewise, in the more than forty years ciples expounded in the Lotus Sutra,
that followed, he preached the sutras of one in the first fourteen chapters,
the Agama, Correct and Equal, and which constitute the theoretical teach-
Wisdom periods as well as the Medita- ing, and one in the latter fourteen
tion Sutra, but he did not reveal their chapters, which constitute the essential
meaning. Their doors remained closed, teaching.22 From another point of view,
and therefore no one could understand there are twenty mystic principles,23
these sutras. Even though people ten in the theoretical teaching and ten
thought they understood, their under- in the essential teaching; or there are
standing was in fact distorted. sixty mystic principles,24 thirty in the
theoretical teaching and thirty in the
But then the Buddha preached the essential teaching. From yet other
Lotus Sutra and in this way opened the points of view, forty mystic principles25
storehouses of the sutras. And for the may be discerned in each half of the
first time in more than forty years, all
the people of the nine worlds were able

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THE DAIMOKU OF THE LOTUS SUTRA

Lotus Sutra. By adding these to the The Great Teacher Miao-lo remarks,
forty mystic principles concerning the “Because it can cure what is thought to
observation of the mind,26 the single be incurable, it is called myo, or won-
character myo will be found to contain derful.”27
fully one hundred and twenty myo, or
mystic, principles. In general, there are four kinds of
people who have great difficulty in at-
One fundamental myo, or mystic, taining Buddhahood or rebirth in the
principle underlies every one of the pure land. First are those predestined for
, characters that make up the the two vehicles,28 second are icchan-
Lotus Sutra. Hence the Lotus Sutra tikas, third are those who cling to the
comprises a total of , mystic prin- doctrine of void,29 and fourth are those
ciples. who slander the Law. But through the
Lotus Sutra, all of these people are able
Myo in India is rendered as sad, and to become Buddhas. That is why the
in China, as miao. Myo means to be Lotus Sutra is called myo.
fully endowed, which in turn has the
meaning of “perfect and full.” Each Devadatta was the eldest son of King
word and each character of the Lotus Dronodana and a nephew of King
Sutra contains within it all the , Shuddhodana [the father of the Bud-
characters that compose the sutra. To dha Shakyamuni], which made him the
illustrate, one drop of the great ocean Buddha’s cousin. He was also the elder
contains within it the waters of all brother of the Buddha’s disciple, the
the various rivers that flow into the Venerable Ananda. He was thus by no
ocean, and a single wish-granting jew- means a person of low station in the
el, though no bigger than a mustard southern continent, Jambudvipa. He
seed, is capable of showering down the became a disciple of the monk Sudaya30
treasures that one could wish for with and entered the religious life. From the
all the wish-granting jewels. Venerable Ananda he learned the eigh-
teen miraculous powers, and he com-
To give another analogy, plants and mitted to memory the sixty thousand
trees are withered and bare in autumn teachings of the non-Buddhist schools
and winter, but when the sun of spring and the eighty thousand teachings of
and summer shines on them, they put Buddhism. He observed the five ascetic
forth branches and leaves, and then practices31 and appeared almost more
flowers and fruit. Before the preaching saintly than the Buddha himself. Think-
of the Lotus Sutra, the people in the ing to make himself a leader like the
nine worlds were like plants and trees Buddha, he dared to commit the crime
in autumn and winter. But when the of disrupting the Buddhist Order by
single character myo of the Lotus Sutra establishing his own ordination platform
shone on them like the spring and on Mount Gayashirsha32 and inviting the
summer sun, then the flower of the as- Buddha’s disciples over to his side. He
piration for enlightenment blossomed, confided to Crown Prince Ajatashatru:
and the fruit of Buddhahood or rebirth “I intend to kill the Buddha and become
in the pure land emerged. the new Buddha. You must kill your
father, the king [Bimbisara], and be-
Bodhisattva Nagarjuna in his Treatise come the new king in his place!”
on the Great Perfection of Wisdom says,
“[The Lotus Sutra is] like a great phy- After Crown Prince Ajatashatru had
sician who can change poison into in fact killed his father, Devadatta kept
medicine.” This quotation occurs in watch on the Buddha’s activities and
a passage in Great Perfection of Wisdom with a large stone caused his blood to
that explains the virtues inherent in flow. He also struck and killed the nun
the character myo of the Lotus Sutra.

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THE DAIMOKU OF THE LOTUS SUTRA

Utpalavarna who had reached the state marks the duration of a kalpa might be
of arhat. Thus he committed fully three worn completely away, they would con-
of the five cardinal sins. tinue to suffer in the Avichi hell. How
astounding, then, that in the “Devadat-
In addition, with the Venerable ta” chapter of the Lotus Sutra Shakya-
Kokalika as his disciple and King Ajata- muni Buddha should reveal that Deva-
shatru as his patron, Devadatta began to datta was his teacher in a past existence
attract followers from everywhere, until and should predict that he would attain
throughout the five regions of India enlightenment in the future as a Thus
with its sixteen great states, five hun- Come One called Heavenly King! If the
dred middle-sized states, and ten thou- sutras preached before the Lotus Sutra
sand small states, every soul guilty of are true, then the Lotus Sutra must
one, two, or three of the cardinal sins be an outrageous lie. But if the Lotus
was a member of his group. They gath- Sutra is true, then the previous sutras
ered about him as the various rivers must be guilty of perpetrating the wild-
gather in the great ocean, or as plants est deceptions.
and trees gather on a great mountain.
As the wise gathered about Shariputra, If Devadatta, who committed three
and those with transcendental powers of the five cardinal sins and in addition
flocked to Maudgalyayana, so did evil was guilty of countless other grave of-
persons throw in their lot with Deva- fenses, could become the Thus Come
datta. One Heavenly King, then there can be
no doubt that the other evildoers who
As a result, the great earth, which is committed only one or two of the car-
, yojanas thick and rests on a dinal sins will surely attain the way as
windy circle33 as hard as a diamond, well. For if the great earth itself could
nevertheless split open, plunging Deva- be overturned, then the plants and
datta alive into the great citadel of the trees on it would as a matter of course
hell of incessant suffering. His leading be overturned. And if one can crush
disciple Kokalika also fell into hell alive, the hardest stone, one can certainly
as did the Brahman’s daughter Chincha, bend the pliant grasses. Therefore, the
King Virudhaka, and the monk Sunak- Lotus Sutra is called myo.
shatra. Moreover, the people of India
with its five regions and sixteen great Coming now to the subject of
states, five hundred middle-sized states, women, we find that they are strongly
and ten thousand small states all ob- condemned in both the Buddhist and
served this. Those in the six heavens non-Buddhist writings. The works
of the world of desire and in the four known as the Three Records and the Five
meditation heavens, all beings in both Canons of the Three Sovereigns and
the worlds of form and formlessness,34 Five Emperors of ancient China depict
including Brahma, Shakra, the devil them as fawning and crooked. For this
king of the sixth heaven, and King reason, disaster is said to have come
Yama, likewise witnessed their fate. about because of the three women of
antiquity.35 Thus women are identified
All the beings throughout the major as the cause of the downfall of a nation
world system and the worlds of the ten and its people.
directions heard about this, and unani-
mously concluded that, even though as The Flower Garland Sutra, the first
many kalpas should pass as there are great teaching that the Buddha preach-
dust particles of the land, Devadatta and ed following his enlightenment, states,
the others would never escape from the “Women are messengers of hell who
great citadel of the hell of incessant suf- can destroy the seeds of Buddhahood.
fering, and that, though the stone that They may look like bodhisattvas, but at

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THE DAIMOKU OF THE LOTUS SUTRA

heart they are like yaksha demons.”36 water is a pliant substance, when its
The Nirvana Sutra, the Buddha’s last path is blocked by some hard object
teaching that he delivered in the grove such as a rock or a mountain, it will
of sal trees, says, “All rivers and streams split into two streams or turn aside,
are invariably winding and devious, and flowing now this way, now that. Wom-
all women are invariably fawning and en are the same; their minds are soft
crooked.” It also says, “If all the desires and weak. Though they may believe
and delusions of all the men through- that a certain course is right, if they
out the major world system were come up against the strong will of a
lumped together, they would be no man and find their way blocked, then
greater than the karmic impediment of they will turn in some direction quite
one single woman.” different from the one they originally
intended.
When the Flower Garland Sutra says
that women “can destroy the seeds Again, though you may trace pic-
of Buddhahood,” it means that they tures on the surface of the water, noth-
scorch and burn the seeds that would ing of what you have drawn will
otherwise allow them to become Bud- remain. Women are the same, for lack
dhas. When clouds mass in the sky in of steadfastness is their basic character.
a time of great drought and heavy Hence they will think a certain way at
rain falls to earth, then countless with- one moment, and then a moment later
ered plants and trees everywhere will have quite a different view. But the
put forth blossoms and bear fruit. But basic character of a Buddha is honesty
this is not true of seeds that have and straightforwardness. Hence wom-
been scorched. They will never sprout; en, with their devious ways, can never
rather the heavy rain makes them rot. become Buddhas.

Now the Buddha is like the masses Women are doomed to the five ob-
of clouds, his teachings are like the stacles and the three types of obedi-
heavy rain, and the withered plants and ence. Hence the Silver-Colored Wom-
trees are like all living beings. When an Sutra says that, even if the eyes
they are watered by the rain of the of the Buddhas of the three existences
Buddhist teachings and observe the five were to fall to the ground, no woman
precepts, the ten good precepts, and could ever attain Buddhahood. Great
the meditational practices, all of which Perfection of Wisdom says that one could
bring merit, they will put forth blos- sooner catch the wind than grasp the
soms and bear fruit. The scorched mind of a woman.
seeds that never sprout even though the
rain falls on them, but instead rot, are Yet though all female beings were
comparable to women, who, though so despised in the various sutras, when
they encounter the Buddhist teachings, Bodhisattva Manjushri spoke the single
cannot free themselves from the suffer- character myo, a woman was instantly
ings of birth and death, but instead able to become a Buddha. So extraor-
turn away from the truth of Buddhism dinary was this occurrence that Bodhi-
and fall into the evil paths. This is what sattva Wisdom Accumulated, the fore-
the sutra means when it says that most disciple of the Buddha Many
women “can destroy the seeds of Bud- Treasures in the World of Treasure
dhahood.” Purity, and the Venerable Shariputra,
who was known among the Thus
The passage in the Nirvana Sutra Come One Shakyamuni’s disciples as
cited above says that, just as all rivers the foremost in wisdom, protested.
and streams twist and wind, so too are They said that, according to all the
women perverse and devious. Because Mahayana and Hinayana sutras that the

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THE DAIMOKU OF THE LOTUS SUTRA

Buddha had preached in the previous of the two vehicles, icchantikas, and
forty years and more, the dragon king’s women were described in the sutras
daughter could not possibly become a that preceded the Lotus Sutra as hav-
Buddha. And yet in the end their argu- ing scorched and killed the seeds that
ments were of no avail, and in fact she would have allowed them to become
did become a Buddha. Buddhas. But by holding fast to this
single character myo, they can revive
Thus the passage in the Buddha’s these scorched seeds of Buddhahood.
first sutra declaring that women “can
destroy the seeds of Buddhahood,” and T’ien-t’ai says: “The icchantikas, or
that in his final sermon in the sal grove persons of incorrigible disbelief, never-
about how “all rivers and streams are theless have minds, and so it is still
invariably winding and devious,” were possible for them to attain Buddhahood.
utterly contradicted, and the views But persons of the two vehicles have
reflected in the Silver-Colored Woman annihilated consciousness, and there-
Sutra and Great Perfection of Wisdom fore cannot arouse the mind that aspires
were proven to be nonsense. Wisdom to enlightenment. And yet the Lotus
Accumulated and Shariputra were Sutra can cure them, which is why it is
obliged to still their tongues and shut called myo, or wonderful.”41 Miao-lo
their mouths, while all the human and says: “The reason that the other sutras
heavenly beings present at the great are called ‘great’ but not myo is simply
gathering where the Lotus Sutra was that it is easy to cure those who have a
preached pressed their palms together mind, but difficult to cure those who
in an excess of joy. All this was due are without a mind. Because it [the
entirely to the virtue of the single char- Lotus Sutra] can cure what is thought
acter myo. to be incurable, it is called myo, or won-
derful.”42
In this southern continent of Jam-
budvipa there are twenty-five hundred These passages refer to the fact that
rivers, and every single one of them sutras such as the Great and Vast Bud-
is winding. They are devious like the dha Flower Garland Sutra, the Great
minds of the women of Jambudvipa. Collection Sutra, the Great Perfection
And yet there is one river called the of Wisdom Sutra, and the Great Nir-
Sahaya37 that follows a course as straight vana Sutra all have the character “great”
as a taut rope, flowing directly into the in their titles but not the character myo,
western sea. A woman who has faith in or wonderful. This is because they can
the Lotus Sutra will be like this river, only cure the living but are unable to
proceeding directly to the Pure Land cure the dead. The Lotus Sutra, how-
in the west.38 Such is the virtue inher- ever, can cure the dead as well as the
ent in the single character myo. living, and therefore it has the charac-
ter myo in its title [Myoho-renge-kyo].
Myo means to revive, that is, to
return to life. For example, it is said Thus, with the other sutras, persons
that, though the chick of a yellow who should by rights become Buddhas
crane may die, if the mother crane calls cannot do so. But with the Lotus Sutra,
the name of Tzu-an,39 then the dead even those who would ordinarily find
chick will come back to life. Or, in the it impossible to do so can attain Bud-
case of the fish and shellfish that have dhahood, not to mention those for
been killed because a poisonous bird whom it is relatively easy. This being
called a chen40 has entered the water, it the case, in the time since the Lotus
is said that, if they are touched with Sutra was preached, there ought not to
a rhinoceros horn, they will all be be a single person who adheres to the
brought back to life. Similarly, persons other sutras.

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THE DAIMOKU OF THE LOTUS SUTRA

Now the two thousand years of the Northeast of Eagle Peak, at a dis-
Former and Middle Days of the Law tance of some , ri beyond the
have passed, and we have entered the mountains and seas, there is a country
Latter Day of the Law. In such an age, called Mahachina [in Sanskrit]. We
it is a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, know it as China. Some fifteen hun-
million times more difficult for ordinary dred years after the Buddha’s passing,
people to attain Buddhahood or rebirth there appeared in this country a mes-
in the pure land than it was for even the senger of the Buddha called the Great
persons of the two vehicles or icchan- Teacher T’ien-t’ai Chih-che, who de-
tikas who lived when the Buddha was clared that women could never attain
alive. And yet people nowadays think Buddhahood through any teaching
that, by relying on the Meditation Sutra other than the Lotus Sutra.
or some other of the sutras preached in
the more than forty years before the Three thousand ri to the east of
Lotus Sutra, they can escape the suffer- China, there is a country called Japan.
ings of birth and death. How futile, how Some two hundred years after the
utterly futile! Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai passed away,
he was reborn in this country and
Women, whether they live at the bore the name of the Great Teacher
time of the Buddha or in the Former, Dengyo.45 He then wrote a work en-
Middle, or Latter Day of the Law, can- titled The Outstanding Principles of the
not attain Buddhahood through any Lotus Sutra in which he stated: “Nei-
teaching but the Lotus Sutra. None of ther teacher nor disciples need undergo
the other sutras expounded by any of countless kalpas of austere practice in
the Buddhas anywhere can help them. order to attain Buddhahood. Through
The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai Chih- the power of the Lotus Sutra of the
che, who heard the Buddha’s teachings Wonderful Law they can do so in their
at Eagle Peak43 and later attained an present form.” Thus he made clear
awakening in the place of meditation, why the dragon king’s daughter was
has stated unequivocally, “The other able to become a Buddha.
sutras only predict Buddhahood . . . for
men, but not for women; . . . This sutra It may seem somewhat difficult for
predicts Buddhahood for all.”44 women of the age we live in to attain
Buddhahood in their present form. But
The Thus Come One Shakyamuni, if they put their trust in the Lotus
in the presence of Many Treasures Sutra, there is no doubt that they will
Buddha and the Buddhas of the ten be reborn in the Pure Land of Perfect
directions, preached the Lotus Sutra Bliss. They will reach it more readily
over a period of eight years at the place than the rivers and streams flowing into
called Eagle Peak northeast of Raja- the great ocean, or more swiftly than
griha in the kingdom of Magadha. the rain falling from the sky.
The Great Teacher [T’ien-t’ai] Chih-
che was present and heard him preach. And yet we find that the women
“During my fifty years of teaching,” throughout Japan do not chant Nam-
said the Buddha, “I have preached myoho-renge-kyo. Instead they put
various sacred doctrines, all in order their faith in works such as the Two-
to bring benefit to living beings. In Volumed Sutra or the Meditation Su-
the sutras of the first forty-two years, tra, which can never lead women to
I taught that it was not possible for the pure land or to Buddhahood. They
women to attain Buddhahood. But intone the name of the Buddha Amida
now with the Lotus Sutra, I declare sixty thousand or a hundred thousand
that women can become Buddhas.” times a day. Amida is indeed the name
of a Buddha, and to invoke it would

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THE DAIMOKU OF THE LOTUS SUTRA

seem to be a laudable practice. But be- were their parents or brothers, and treat
cause the women who do so are rely- the upholders of the Lotus Sutra with
ing upon sutras that can never lead less respect than they would their
women to Buddhahood or to rebirth retainers or followers. And yet they
in the pure land, they are in effect claim that they are believers in the
merely counting other people’s riches. Lotus Sutra.
This comes about solely because they
are led astray by evil teachers. All the By contrast, Lady Pure Virtue gave
women of Japan face an enemy more permission for her sons, the two
fearful than tigers or wolves, mountain princes, to enter the Buddhist Order
bandits or pirates at sea, their parents’ and encouraged them to propagate the
foes or their husbands’ concubines. Lotus Sutra. Moreover, the dragon
Their real enemies are those who, in- king’s daughter took a vow, saying, “I
stead of teaching them the Lotus Sutra, unfold the doctrines of the great vehi-
teach them the Nembutsu. cle to rescue living beings from suffer-
ing.”46 These women surely took no
Only after chanting Nam-myoho- vow to practice only the teachings of
renge-kyo sixty thousand, a hundred the other sutras and to neglect the
thousand, or even ten million times a practice of the Lotus Sutra. Neverthe-
day, may women who put their faith in less, that is what the women of today
the Lotus Sutra, if they still have some do, paying all their attention to the
time to spare, now and then murmur practice of other sutras and none to
to themselves the name of Amida or that of the Lotus Sutra. You must
one of the other Buddhas. But women reform your thinking immediately.
these days spend their whole lives con- Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-
stantly reciting the name of Amida and renge-kyo.
busying themselves with matters con-
cerning the Nembutsu. They never Nichiren
recite the Lotus Sutra or give alms for
its sake. True, there are a few who have Completed at the hour of the sheep
the Lotus Sutra read by those who (:–: P.M.) at Seicho-ji temple
uphold its teachings. But they look up on the sixth day of the first month
to the Nembutsu priests as though they in the third year of Bun’ei (),
cyclical sign hinoe-tora.

Background Buddhism and thus revitalize one’s life.
In the fall of , one year after he
This letter was written in the first
month, , for a woman of advanced had been pardoned from his exile in
years. Nothing is known about her Izu, Nichiren Daishonin returned to
other than that she was a new believer his birthplace in Awa Province. News
in Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism and of his mother’s grave illness and the
lived in Amatsu of Awa Province. This lessening of official pressures prompted
letter explains in plain terms the re- his decision to return home. However,
wards of the simple practice of Nam- Tojo Kagenobu, the steward of this dis-
myoho-renge-kyo by saying that this trict and a passionate believer in the
phrase and its components contain all Nembutsu, was still incensed over the
the powers of the Buddha, and that one Daishonin’s refutation of the Pure Land
who chants it can tap all the benefits of

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THE DAIMOKU OF THE LOTUS SUTRA

teachings eleven years earlier and was Citing the examples of Mahakashyapa
lying in wait for him. and Shariputra, he states that, even
without understanding, one can eradi-
The Daishonin’s primary concern cate any evil karma and accumulate
was to visit his mother, and their re- boundless benefit, as long as one car-
union seems to have had a great effect ries out the practice of chanting the
upon her and she quickly recovered. daimoku with firm faith.
Kudo Yoshitaka and the other disciples
in the area were anxious to see him In the second section, the Daishonin
and urged him to visit Kudo’s manor. clarifies the great blessings contained in
On the eleventh day of the eleventh the five characters of Myoho-renge-
month, , accompanied by messen- kyo, the title of the Lotus Sutra. He
gers sent to guide them, the group set explains three meanings of the charac-
out. When they reached a place known ter myo: to open, to be fully endowed,
as Komatsubara, they were ambushed and to revive. Finally, he states that
by Tojo Kagenobu and his Nembutsu only the Lotus Sutra enables women to
followers. Kudo, who came rushing to attain Buddhahood, and urges the
the Daishonin’s aid, and another dis- recipient of this letter to chant Nam-
ciple lost their lives. The Daishonin myoho-renge-kyo and forsake her at-
suffered a sword slash on his forehead tachment to the Nembutsu.
and had his left hand broken.
At the beginning of this letter, the
At considerable personal risk, the Daishonin calls himself a “follower of
Daishonin remained in Awa from  the Great Teacher Kompon.” Kompon,
through  and conducted vigorous meaning fundamental, is another name
propagation activities, working with for the Great Teacher Dengyo. He was
and among the people. In , the the founder of the Japanese Tendai
Daishonin stayed for a while at his school, which he based on the teach-
old temple, Seicho-ji, where he wrote ings of T’ien-t’ai of China. He traveled
several doctrinal treatises, including the to China to master T’ien-t’ai’s doc-
present letter. trines and, after returning to Japan,
repudiated all the schools based on the
This letter consists of two sections. Buddha’s provisional teachings and de-
In the first section, the Daishonin voted himself to propagating the Lo-
addresses the question of whether or tus Sutra. The phrase “follower of the
not one can benefit from chanting Great Teacher Kompon” implies that
the daimoku (Nam-myoho-renge-kyo) the Daishonin is the legitimate succes-
without understanding the meaning of sor to the Buddha’s teaching contained
the Lotus Sutra, and stresses the neces- in the Lotus Sutra.
sity of faith in attaining Buddhahood.

Notes 2. This story appears in the Great Com-
passion Sutra. According to the sutra, once
1. This story appears in the Sutra on the when a merchant was sailing the ocean, a
Wise and the Foolish. According to the huge fish called a makara was about to
sutra, while Shakyamuni was staying at swallow up his ship. Although the other
Shravasti, his disciple Ananda one day people aboard were in despair, he fixed his
taught the four noble truths to two parrots mind upon the three treasures and called
kept at the house of the Buddha’s patron upon the mercy of all the Buddhas. Seeing
Sudatta. That evening, an animal attacked him, the others joined him in sincere
and ate them, but they were said to have prayers with their palms joined, and the
been reborn in the heaven of the four makara ceased attacking them.
heavenly kings because of the benefit ob-
tained by repeating the four noble truths.

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THE DAIMOKU OF THE LOTUS SUTRA

3. Lotus Sutra, chap. . attributes of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, in
4. The eighteen miraculous powers are particular, their vows to lead all people to
a variety of actions and appearances that supreme enlightenment. The term is often
Buddhas and bodhisattvas manifest in order used in the esoteric teaching.
to lead people to enlightenment. Explana-
tions vary depending on the sutra. 17. The seven Buddhas of the past are
5. Lotus Sutra, chap. . Shakyamuni and the six Buddhas who pre-
6. The Nirvana Sutra says, “Though the ceded him.
plantain grows with the rumbling of thun-
der, it has neither the ears to hear it nor the 18. The Annotations on “The Words and
mind to feel it.” The sight of plantains Phrases of the Lotus Sutra.”
refreshed after a thundershower may well
have given rise to the belief that “the plan- 19. Lotus Sutra, chap. .
tain grows with the rumbling of thunder.” 20. Preface by Chang-an to The Pro-
7. According to Pao-p’u Tzu, when put found Meaning of the Lotus Sutra.
into the water, a rhinoceros horn made 21. The Annotations on “The Profound
into the form of a fish keeps the water Meaning of the Lotus Sutra.”
away by three feet. 22. The mystic principle of the theoreti-
8. The banyan tree, which is found in cal teaching is that the Buddha discards the
tropical and subtropical Asiatic regions, provisional teachings and reveals the true
usually around thirty to forty feet tall. Its teaching, the Lotus Sutra, which allows
abundant foliage offers cool shade from the people of the two vehicles to attain Bud-
sun. dhahood. The mystic principle of the
9. An imaginary bird. It is also said to essential teaching is that the Buddha dis-
be the name of a kind of worm. The cards his transient status and reveals his true
source of this passage has not been traced. identity as the Buddha who attained en-
10. Lotus Sutra, chap. . lightenment countless kalpas ago.
11. Ibid, chap. . 23. Principles set forth by T’ien-t’ai in
12. A Buddha mentioned in the Larger his Profound Meaning. The ten mystic prin-
Wisdom Sutra and The Treatise on the Great ciples of the theoretical teaching are based
Perfection of Wisdom. on the concepts of the true aspect of all
13. According to The Record of Wonders phenomena and the replacement of the
in the Book of Chou, Shakyamuni died on three vehicles with the one vehicle of Bud-
the fifteenth day of the second month in dhahood. The ten mystic principles of the
the fifty-second year of the reign of King essential teaching are set forth on the basis
Mu ( B.C.E.) of the Chou dynasty. of the revelation of the Buddha’s original
14. The eighty-volume Flower Garland enlightenment numberless major world sys-
Sutra, called the new translation, was trans- tem dust particle kalpas ago, as expounded
lated by Shikshananda (–) in the in the “Life Span” chapter.
T’ang dynasty, and the sixty-volume Flower 24. Added to each of the two sets of ten
Garland Sutra, called the old translation, mystic principles—the ten mystic princi-
was translated by Buddhabhadra (–) ples of the theoretical teaching and the ten
in the Eastern Chin dynasty. mystic principles of the essential teach-
15. The five characters of a, va, ra, ha, ing—are the ten mystic principles grasped
and kha indicate, respectively, the five uni- from the relative standpoint and the ten
versal elements of earth, water, fire, wind, mystic principles grasped from the absolute,
and space. The esoteric True Word school or all-encompassing, standpoint.
holds this to be one of the secret truths 25. Thirty mystic principles related to
revealed by Mahavairochana Buddha. This the life of sentient beings, the Buddhist
one word was used as a mantra (secret word Law, and the nature of one’s mind, or the
or syllable) and was said to express the Law within, plus ten in either the theoreti-
Buddha’s quality, wisdom, appearance, and cal teaching or the essential teaching.
practice. 26. To perceive or awaken to the ulti-
16. The seeds refer here to Sanskrit mate reality inherent in one’s life. This is
orthographic symbols used to represent particularly stressed in T’ien-t’ai’s practice,
various Buddhas and bodhisattvas in the in which meditation is focused on the true
esoteric teaching. The samayas are various nature of one’s mind rather than some ex-
terior object.
27. The Annotations on “Great Concentra-
tion and Insight.”

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THE DAIMOKU OF THE LOTUS SUTRA

28. This refers to the two of the five ruler and helped bring about the downfall
groups into which people are by nature of the state.
divided according to the Dharma Charac-
teristics school. People in these two groups 36. This statement is not found in the
can eventually attain the state of arhat and extant Chinese versions of the Flower Gar-
that of pratyekabuddha, respectively. land Sutra. However, A Collection of Trea-
sures written by Taira no Yasuyori during
29. This refers to non-Buddhists who the Jisho era (–) cites it as a quota-
held fast to the view of void, denying the tion from the Flower Garland Sutra.
causal law, and, according to the pre-Lotus
Sutra teachings of Buddhism, could not at- 37. A legendary river in the continent
tain Buddhahood. of Aparagodaniya located to the west of
Mount Sumeru.
30. Sudaya was a Brahman master who
taught Devadatta occult powers, according 38. The Daishonin elsewhere teaches
to the Increasing by One Agama Sutra. that faith in the Lotus Sutra will enable
anyone, man or woman, to attain Buddha-
31. Here, austerities established and prac- hood in one’s present form as an ordinary
ticed by Devadatta. According to The Great mortal. However, because the recipient of
Commentary on the Abhidharma, they were: this letter was still strongly attached to the
() wearing only clothing discarded by oth- views of the Pure Land school, the Daisho-
ers after washing and mending it; () ob- nin explained his teaching in a way that she
taining food only by begging; () eating could readily understand.
only once a day; () always seating oneself
outside under a tree; and () never eating 39. A figure described in a Chinese leg-
salt or other food possessing the five tastes. end. When he saw a yellow crane being
sold on the road, he felt pity for it, offered
32. A mountain whose summit resem- his clothes in exchange for it, and set it
bled an elephant’s head, located about . free. When he died, the crane flew down
km southwest of Gaya in Magadha. In Chi- to his grave and continued calling his name
na it was translated as the Elephant-Headed for three years. As a result, he came back to
Mountain. life.

33. The circle formed first when a 40. A hawk-like bird with poisonous
world takes shape and living beings appear feathers that appears in Chinese works.
in it in the kalpa of formation. According
to The Dharma Analysis Treasury, the power 41. Great Concentration and Insight.
of the karma of living beings first causes 42. On “Great Concentration and Insight.”
a small wind to arise in space. This wind 43. T’ien-t’ai is said to have been the
grows and forms the windy circle thought reincarnation of Bodhisattva Medicine King,
to lie at the base of a world. Upon this cir- who was present at the assembly on Eagle
cle a watery circle and then a gold circle Peak, because he attained an awakening
take shape, and upon them the land itself is through the “Medicine King” chapter of
formed, with its Mount Sumeru, seas, and the Lotus Sutra.
mountains. 44. The Words and Phrases of the Lotus
Sutra.
34. The two divisions of the threefold 45. In the early ninth century, Dengyo
world, the realm where unenlightened went to China and learned the T’ien-t’ai
beings transmigrate within the six paths. teachings. After returning to Japan, he
Beings in the world of form have material established the Tendai (Chin T’ien-t’ai)
form but are free from desires, and those in school and devoted himself to upholding
the world of formlessness are free from T’ien-t’ai Buddhism. It is said that Tao-sui,
both desire and the restrictions of matter. one of Dengyo’s masters in China, identi-
fied him as the reincarnation of T’ien-t’ai,
35. Mo Hsi of the Hsia dynasty, Ta Chi referring to T’ien-t’ai’s prediction.
of the Yin dynasty, and Pao Ssu of the 46. Lotus Sutra, chap. .
Chou dynasty. All were favorites of the

154