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Thesis on the Fundamental Object of Veneration
The 25th day of the fourth month of the tenth year of Bun.ei [1273], at 52 years of age In the fifth fascicle of the Universal Desistance from Troublesome Worries in order to See Clearly (Maka Shikan), it says, “The one mind is endowed with ten [psychological] realms of dharmas, and, since each dharma realm is again endowed with all of the others, it becomes a hundred dharma realms. Each dharma realm is provided with thirty kinds of existential space. So we then have a hundred dharma realms, which become three thousand kinds of existential spaces. These three thousand are contained in a single instant of mind. If there is no mind, then that is the end of it. But even the minutest existence of mind is endowed with the three thousand.” The text continues until, “Because it becomes what is called the objective realm of Utterness, it is here where the meaning lies.” Whether you have three thousand existential spaces or three thousand such qualities, the result is the same, even if the way of going about it is different. Another text says that each realm is endowed with the three kinds of existential space. A question is asked: Does the Recondite Significance of the Dharma Flower Sutra specify the term “the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen)”? The answer given is that Myōraku (Miao-lo) says, “It is not specified.” The question is asked: Does the Textual Explanations of Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke Mongu) mention the term “the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen)”? The answer is given: Myōraku (Miao-lo) says, “It is not mentioned.” The question is asked: How does Myōraku (Miao-lo) explain this? The answer is given: “Neither of the two texts has yet mentioned the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen).” The question is asked: Do the first, second, third, and fourth fascicles of the Universal Desistance from Troublesome Worries in order to See Clearly (Maka Shikan) mention the term “the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen)”? The answer is given: “No, not at all.” The question is asked: How can you prove this? The answer is given: Myōraku (Miao-lo) states, “On coming to the exposition on how to correctly contemplate the dharmas in the Universal Desistance from Troublesome Worries in order to See Clearly (Maka Shikan), he particularly uses the three thousand existential spaces as a guide.” Then there is a query: In the second fascicle of the Recondite Significance of the Dharma Flower Sutra, it says, “Again, each dharma realm contains the nine other dharma realms. In those hundred dharma realms, there are a thousand of the such qualities.” In the first fascicle of the Textual Explanations of Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke Mongu), it says, “As each one of the senses and its object is endowed with the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas, each one is again equipped with its own ten respective realms of dharmas. Then, in each one of these ten [psychological] realms of dharmas, there are ten such qualities, which bring it to one thousand.” In the Recondite Significance of Kannon,it says, “If the ten dharma realms are so mutually endowed, which makes them come to a hundred realms of dharmas, then there are a thousand kinds of the such qualities of nature and appearance obscurely hidden in the mind. They may not be before our eyes, but the mind is fully endowed with them.” The question is asked: Is the term “the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen)” mentioned in the first four volumes of the Universal Desistance from Troublesome Worries in order to See Clearly (Maka Shikan)? The reply is given: Myōraku (Miao-lo) says, “It is not.” The question is asked: How does he explain this? Answer: In the fifth fascicle of the Broad Elucidation, it says, “If you aspire to a correct contemplation, the complete practice has not yet been fully discussed. Moreover, there are twenty-five dharmas to work through, which in practice give rise to understanding. In all conscience, they are to be endured as an expedient means for correct observance. For this reason, the first six fascicles all may be counted as bringing about understanding.” Also in the same text, it says that it is for this reason that when the Universal Desistance from Troublesome Worries in order to See Clearly (Maka Shikan) comes to explain how one should contemplate the dharmas correctly, the three thousand existential spaces were particularly cited as a guide. Therefore, it is the final superlative of the ultimate discourse. This is why Shōan [Zhang An, 561-632 CE], in the middle of his introduction, affirms that it is Tendai’s (T’ien T’ai) discourse on the gateway to the Dharma, which he himself practised in his innermost being. Indeed he had a reason for this and entreats those who seek to read this work not to seek karmic relations elsewhere. That wise person Tendai (T’ien T’ai) widely disseminated the Dharma for thirty years. During twenty-nine years, he expounded all the implications of the Recondite Significance of the Dharma Flower Sutra and the Textual Explanations of Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke Mongu). He also made clear the five periods and eight teachings, as well as the hundred realms of dharmas and the thousand such qualities. Not only did he refute the fallacies of the previous five hundred years, but he also brought to light that which had not yet been expounded by the Indian teachers of dogma. The Universal Teacher Shōan said, “Even the Indian Nāgārjuna (Ryūju) is not of the same calibre of Tendai (T’ien T’ai), so why should we go as far as to trouble ourselves talking about the scholars of China? This is not boastful arrogance. The nature of his Dharma is just as it is.” What hopelessness it was that the latter scholars of Tendai (T’ien T’ai) chose to let those thieves, the founders of the Kegon [Flower Garland] and the Shingon [Mantra] Schools, steal and spirit away the weighty treasure of the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen), and then, ironically, they became fellow disciples of those schools. The Universal Teacher Shōan already knew this, when he commented with grief, “Should this principle fall away in the future, it will be bleak indeed.” The question is asked: What is the difference between the hundred realms, the thousand such qualities, and the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen)? The reply is given: The hundred realms and the thousand such qualities are limited to the realm of sentient existence, whereas he one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen) comprises both the sentient and the non-sentient. Not quite understanding, it is asked: If the ten such qualities extend to the non-sentient, then do you mean to say that plants and trees are endowed with mind and are able to become Buddhas like sentient beings? The reply is given: This is a matter that is difficult to believe and difficult to understand. With Tendai (T’ien T’ai), there are two things that are difficult to believe and difficult to understand. One is the difficulty of believing and understanding in regards to the gateway of the teaching. The other is the difficulty of believing and understanding in regards to the gateway to contemplation. The difficulty of believing and understanding, concerning the gateway of the teaching, is that the Buddha preached, in all the sutras prior to the Dharma Flower, that people of the two vehicles and people of incorrigible disbelief will not ever become Buddhas in the future, and that the Lord of the Teaching, Shākyamuni, became correctly enlightened initially during his historical lifetime. However, when we come to both the temporary and original gateways of the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), both of these arguments are demolished. A Buddha with two contradictory statements like fire and water, can anyone believe him? This is what is difficult to believe and difficult to understand, as regards the gateway of the teaching. What is difficult to believe and difficult to understand, concerning the gateway to contemplation, is the hundred realms of dharmas, the thousand such qualities, and the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen), as well as the two dharmas of mind and materiality of the ten such qualities, in regards to that which is insentient. Nevertheless, the two kinds of image, both those that are painted and those carved in wood, have been permitted in the canons, within and outside the Buddha teaching, as fundamental objects of veneration. But what lies behind the significance of this comes solely from the school of Tendai (T’ien T’ai). If the cause and fruition of mind and materiality were not placed upon plants and trees, it would be of no advantage to reverently depend on wooden and painted images as fundamental objects of veneration. Mistrustfully, it is asked: In which texts are the two dharmas of the cause and fruition of the ten such qualities being in plants, trees, abode and terrain, to be found? The answer is given: In the fifth fascicle of the Universal Desistance from Troublesome Worries in order to See Clearly (Maka Shikan), it says, “The existential space of abode and terrain is again endowed with the ten kinds of dharma [such qualities]. Therefore, an evil abode and terrain has its appearance, nature, substance, and strength.” In the sixth fascicle of the Explanatory Notes, it says, “Appearance only exists as materiality. Substance, strength, action, and karmic relations take on the combined significance of materiality and mind. Cause and fruition only exist as mind, and reward only as materiality.” In the Discourse of the Vajra Scalpel, it says, “Accordingly, a blade of grass, a tree, a pebble, or a speck of dust, each one has the Buddha nature, the cause to bring about its fruition, as well as being endowed with the karmic circumstances and consequential causes for becoming a Buddha.” The question is asked: Now having heard where these teachings come from, what is the meaning of contemplating the mind? The answer is given: Through contemplating the mind, we observe that we may see the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas within it. This is what is called contemplating the mind. It is as though we may see the six organs of sense of other people, but because, we do not see these six sense organs on our own faces, we do not know they are there. However, on being confronted with a clear mirror, we then see for the first time that we too have these six organs. For instance, even though all the sutras in various places refer to the six paths of the unenlightened and the four sage-like tendencies, without looking into the clear mirrors of either the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō) or the Universal Desistance from Troublesome Worries in order to See Clearly (Maka Shikan), which was expounded by the Universal Teacher Tendai (T’ien T’ai), we cannot know about our being endowed with the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas, the thousand such qualities, and the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen). The question is asked: In what text of the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō) is “the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen)” to be found, and how does Tendai (T’ien T’ai) explain this? The answer is given: In the first fascicle of the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō) in the Chapter on Expedient Means, it says, “By being a sentient being, I wish to open their Buddha knowing and perception.” This is the nine realms of dharmas being endowed with the realm of the Buddha. In the Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata, it says, “It is a universally primordial infinity, since I became a Buddha. My allotted lifespan comprises incalculable asōgi kalpas and dwells in eternity without coming to an end. All you good people, even now the allotted lifespan of when I originally attained to the practice of the bodhisattva path has yet to be exhausted. It will be again twice that number.” This sutric text is the Buddha being endowed with the nine realms. In the sutra it says, “Daibadatta (Devadatta), after going through boundless kalpas in various hells, finally reaches the state of becoming a Buddha, whose title and name is the Tathāgata Tennō.” This is the realm of the dharmas of hell being endowed with the Dharma realm of the Buddha. In the sutra it says, “The first was named Ramba”, and continues until, “Only those of you who ably hold on to and protect the name of the Dharma Flower will have immeasurable happiness.” This is the realm of dharmas of hungry demons being endowed with the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas. In the sutra it says, “The Dragon King’s daughter”; the text continues until, “became universally and correctly enlightened”. This is the realm of animality being endowed with the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas. In the sutra it says, “Baji the Ashura King”; the text continues until, “On hearing the one metrical hymn or the one phrase, they will attain to the universal and correct awakening.” This is the realm of dharmas of the shura (ashura) being endowed with the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas. In the sutra it says, “Supposing that people for the sake of the Buddha”; the text continues until, “All of them have already attained to the Buddha path.” This is the realm of dharmas of humanity being endowed with the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas. In the sutra it says, “Daibon the Deva King”; the text continues until, “just like us, will certainly attain the Buddha harvest.” This is the deva (ten) realm of dharmas being endowed with the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas. In the sutra it says, “Sharihotsu (Shariputra)”; the text continues until, “the Tathāgata Kekō”. This is the realm of dharmas of the hearers of the voice being endowed with the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas. In the sutra it says, “Those who seek to be enlightened by karmic relationships, monks and nuns”; the text continues until, “by putting your palms together with a mind of reverence and wishing to hear the path to complete fulfilment.” This is the realm of dharmas of those enlightened by karmic relationships being endowed with the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas. In the sutra it says, “The countless numbers of Bodhisattvas who spring up from the earth”; the text continues until, “the truly pure universal Dharma”. This is the bodhisattva realm of dharmas being endowed with the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas. In the sutra it says, “Sometimes I speak of my own person, and sometimes I talk about others”, which is to say that the Buddha realm is endowed with the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas. The question is asked: If, on looking at the six organs of sense on my own face or on somebody else’s, I cannot see the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas, how can I believe in them? The answer is given: It says in the Tenth Chapter on the Dharma as a Teacher in the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), “It is difficult to believe and difficult to understand.” In the Eleventh Chapter on Seeing the Vision of the Stupa made of Precious Materials, it refers to “the six difficult and nine easy acts”. The Universal Teacher Tendai (T’ien T’ai) says, “Because both the temporary and original gateways contradict the past sutras, they are difficult to believe and difficult to understand.” The Universal Teacher Shōan says, “In view of this fact, the Buddha makes it his overriding concern. How could you take this to be easy to understand?” The Universal Teacher Dengyō (Dengyō Daishi) says, “The Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō) is by far the most difficult to believe and difficult to understand, because it is according to his own enlightened mind. Those who had the correct disposition of being in the world during the Buddha’s lifetime had, in addition, their deeply entrenched karmic relationship with him, the Lord of the Teaching Shākyamuni,the Buddha Abundant Treasure (Tahō Nyorai, Prabhūtaratna), all the Buddha emanations of the ten directions, the countless numbers of bodhisattvas who sprang up from the earth, as well as the Bodhisattva Universally Worthy (Fugen, Samantabhadra) and Maitreya (Miroku), to help goad them into understanding. Yet, even then, there were people who failed to believe. Five thousand left their seats. Deva (ten)and men moved elsewhere. If it was like this during the correct and formal phases of the Dharma of Shākyamuni, how is it going to be at the beginning of its final phase? Were you to glibly believe, then it would not be the correct Dharma.” The question is asked: As regards the sutric texts and the explanations of Tendai (T’ien T’ai) and Shōan, there are no ensnaring doubts. Only, what is being said is that fire is water and black is white. Supposing that even these are things that were said by the Buddha, it is difficult to believe and accept them. Every now and then I take a look at other people’s faces. But they are limited to the realm of humanity, and I cannot see any of the other realms. And again it is the same with my own face. How can I bring about a mind of faith? Answer: If you look at other people’s faces, sometimes there is joy; sometimes there is anger; and sometimes equanimity. Sometimes there appears greed; at other times, they reveal stupidity, or even flattering deceit. Anger is hell. Greed is the hungry demon. Stupidity is animality. Flattering deceit is the shura (ashura). Joy is the deva (ten). And equanimity is the quality of humankind. In the physical aspect of the faces, the six paths of the unenlightened are altogether present. In contrast, the four sage-like tendencies are latent, but not manifest. So, you do not see them. However, if you look carefully for details, they become apparent. The question is asked: Even though my understanding about the six paths of the unenlightened is not entirely clear, on the whole, I must agree that it seems to be that we are furnished with them. But how is it that the four sage-like tendencies are not apparent at all? The answer is given: Previously you doubted the six paths of the unenlightened being within the realm of humanity. Nevertheless, you agreed with me, through my emphasizing this point, by putting forward analogies. So should it not be the same with the four sage-like tendencies? In an endeavour to add some justification, I will recapitulate a ten thousandth part. The transitory nature of what we call our existential space is right before our eyes. So how can you say that the realm of the two vehicles does not exist in the realm of dharmas of humanity? A wicked man with no regrets can love and show affection to his wife and children. This is an aspect of the bodhisattva realm. Only the Buddha realm is difficult to discern. However, by the fact that we are endowed with the nine other realms, you must emphatically believe it and have no doubt. In the text of the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), where it explains the realm of humanity, it says, “By being a sentient being, I wish to open their own Buddha knowing and perception.” In the Sutra on the Buddha’s Passing over to Nirvana, it says, “Even though the people who study the universal vehicle (daijō, mahāyāna) only have eyes of flesh, when they study the Buddha teaching, they become the eyes of the Buddha.” The common mortal born in the final era in the realm of dharmas of humanity, with faith in the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), is because the realm of dharmas of humanity is also endowed with that of the Buddha. The question is asked: What the Buddha says about each of the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas being mutually furnished with the same ten realms is understandably clear. Nonetheless, naturally it is difficult for our inferior minds to believe and accept that we are endowed with the Dharma realm of the Buddha. Now, this time if I do not acquire faith, I shall become a person of incorrigible disbelief. I beg you to show your universal loving-kindness and make me believe, so that I may be saved from the hell of incessant suffering. The answer is given: If you do not already believe, after having seen and heard the sutric text of the sole reason for the appearance of the Buddha in this world of cause and karmic circumstances, then how can anyone, from Shākyamuni to the bodhisattvas of the four dependencies, save and protect you from disbelief? Still, by all means I will try to tell you. [These four dependencies are the four important principles, on which the practitioner relies – i) to practise according to the Dharma and not according to the person who expounds it, ii) to practise according to the intended significance of the Dharma, and not the superficial meaning of the words that are used, iii) to practise according to one’s inner wisdom and not according to one’s acquired knowledge, iv) to practise according to the real aspect of the middle way as it is expounded in the Sutra on the Implications Without Bounds (Muryōgi-kyō), and none other.] There were people who could not be enlightened through meeting the Buddha, but, on hearing Anan and others, they were able to attain to the path. There exist two opportunities. One is by seeing the Buddha and attaining to the path through the Dharma Flower. The second is without seeing the Buddha and attaining to the path through the Dharma Flower. Besides, before the Buddha teaching, many of the Taoists and Confucianists in China, as well as the Brahmans and followers of the four Vedas in India, were able, through these karmic relationships, to come to the correct view of life. Again, there were many bodhisattvas and common mortals, who, by listening to the sutras of the universal vehicle (daijō, mahāyāna) of the Flower Garland, the equally broad (hōdō, vaipulya) and wisdom (hannya, prajña) periods, came to be aware of their karmic relationship with the seeds sown in the primordial distance by the Buddha Daitsū. One might suppose these were the people who were enlightened on their own, through the scattering of blossoms and the falling of leaves, or those who attained to the path outside the Buddha teaching. Then there are those people who did not have a karmic relationship with the seeds sown in the past and became attached to the provisional teachings or the individual vehicle (sanzō). Even if they find the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), they are unable to escape their vision of these provisional and individual vehicles (shōjō, hīnayāna). Because they accept their individual viewpoint to be the correct meaning, they take the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō) to be the same as the teachings of the individual vehicle (sanzō), or the Flower Garland Sutra (Kegon, Avatāmsaka), or the Sutra on the Buddha Dainichi, or place it even lower. All these teachers are inferior to the wise and sage-like men of the Confucian and Brahmanic doctrines. For the time being, let us put this aside. To formulate the mutual possession of the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas is like fire in a stone or flowers within a tree. Still, even though this is hard to believe, these things do happen on meeting with the right karmic affinities and are quite credible. Nevertheless, dragon fire comes out of water, and dragon water is produced from fire, even though it is not known why. But, because there is this manifest evidence, it becomes believable. Already you believe that the realm of humanity contains another nine realms. Then why are you not able to include the realm of the Buddha? The Emperors Gyō [2357-2255 BCE] and Shun [2255-2205 BCE], as sage-like men, were impartial to all people. This is a part of the Buddha realm within that of humanity. What the Bodhisattva Not Holding Anyone or Anything in Contempt Ever (Jōfukyō, Sadapāribbhūta) saw in mankind was the person of the Buddha. And Prince Sitta became the person of the Buddha, out of the realm of humanity. Surely this manifest evidence should make you believe. (From here on, keep this strictly to yourself.) The question is asked: Shākyamuni, Lord of the Teaching, was the Buddha who cut off the three delusions [greed, stupidity, and anger] and is lord of the abodes of all the realms of dharmas of the ten directions, as well as being lord and prince of all the bodhisattvas, people of the two vehicles, deva (ten),and humankind. Whenever he went about, there was Bonten (Brahmā) on the left and Taishaku (Indra) in attendance on the right. Monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen, as well as the eight kinds of man-like non-humans followed behind, and the Vajra Holders led the way in front. Through the preaching of the Dharma store of eighty thousand teachings, he made all attain emancipation. How could a Buddha such as this dwell in the individual minds of common mortals such as us? Again, if we are to discuss the meaning of the former teachings and those of the temporary gateway, then the Lord of the Teaching Shākyamuni became correctly enlightened for the first time in his historical lifetime. But, when we look into his causal practices, either he was Prince Nōse, the Bodhisattva Judō, King Shibi, or Prince Satta. It was during this period of either three asōgi kalpas, a hundred kalpas, or for a period of kalpas that are liable to exceed the grains of dust, or for the incalculable asōgi kalpas, or from the time when he first resolved to attain to the bodhi mind, or even three thousand kalpas of grains of dust. He made offerings to seventy thousand, five thousand, six thousand, or seven thousand Buddhas, and, with the completion of the practices of accumulated kalpas, he has now become Lord of the Teaching Shākyamuni. Do you mean to say that the individual minds of all of us are endowed with the meritorious virtue of a Dharma realm of a bodhisattva, whose causal position is all those practices? If we discuss the effective position, then the Lord of the Teaching Shākyamuni is the Buddha who became correctly enlightened for the first time in his historical life. Over a period of forty years, he displayed and revealed his sublime and solemn physical Buddha manifestations. And, during the four teachings and through the articulate expounding of the former teachings, the temporary gateway, and the Sutra on the Buddha’s Passing over to Nirvana, he was able to benefit all beings. When it comes to the periods of the Flower Garland and the Teachings of the Three Receptacles, we have Birushana Buddha on the dais of the ten directions. In the sutras of the period of the teachings of the individual vehicle (sanzō), the Buddha cut the knots of misleading views and through the thirty-four states of mind, in order to attain to the path. In the Equally Broad (hōdō, vaipulya) and Wisdom (hannya, prajña) teachings, we have thousands of Buddhas, and, in the Sutra on the Buddha Dainichi and the Sutra on the Vajra Apex, there are one thousand two hundred or so World Honoured Ones. Then, there are the sublime and solemn physical Buddha manifestations of the four Buddha abodes – which are i) the dwelling place of humankind, deva (ten),and Buddha disciples, ii) the abode of hearers of the Buddha’s voice and the people who are enlightened due to karmic circumstances, iii) the abode of partially enlightened bodhisattvas, and iv) the abode of silence and illumination – all of which are mentioned in the Eleventh Chapter on Seeing the Vision of the Stupa made of Precious Materials, which belongs to the temporary gateway. In the Sutra on the Buddha’s Passing over to Nirvana, the Buddha is seen as sixteen feet high, or, alternatively, he reveals himself in either his large or small manifestations, or even as Birushana, and even as an embodiment that is not different from empty space. From the four kinds of body up to his entering nirvana at the age of eighty, he leaves his relics behind, for the effective benefit of the correct, formal, and final phases of the Dharma. If you are to have doubts about the original gateway, Shākyamuni was a Buddha, prior to a length of time that would amount to the grains of dust that go into the making of five hundred kalpas. Also, it is the same with his causal position. Since then, he has emanated his person in the existential spaces of the ten directions. In a lifetime of an articulate exposition of sage-like teaching, he taught and converted as many sentient beings as there are grains of dust. If we compare those who were converted through the original gateway to those who were converted through the temporary, then it could be likened to a drop of water in the great sea, or a speck of dust to a huge mountain. One bodhisattva, of the original gateway, confronted with the Bodhisattva Universally Worthy (Fugen, Samantabhadra) or Kannon (Avalokiteshvara), of the existential spaces of the ten directions, would not even compare with the disparity between Taishaku (Indra) and a monkey. Apart from this, are the people of the two vehicles of the realms of dharmas of the ten directions who have destroyed delusion and witnessed the fruition, Taishaku (Indra), the deva (ten)of the sun and moon, the Four Deva Kings, the Four Wheel Turning Deva Kings, down to the great flames of the hell of incessant suffering – are all the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas of our instant of thought or the three thousand existential spaces in our own minds? Even though this is what the Buddha preached, I cannot believe it. Then, we must take into consideration that all the sutras of the former teachings are real facts and words of truth. The Flower Garland Sutra (Kegon, Avatāmsaka) says, “Being the final superlative, it is free from empty delusion and without contamination, like empty space.” In the Sutra on the Benevolent King, it says, “When one has exhausted the source of troublesome worries (bonnō, klesha) and terminated at the fundamental nature, there remains the wisdom of utterness.” In the Sutra on the Vajra Wisdom that Ferries Beings to the Shores of Nirvana, it says, “There is nothing but immaculately pure goodness.” In the Awakening of Faith by the Bodhisattva Memyō, it says, “In the store of the Tathāgata, there is only immaculately pure and meritorious virtue.” In the Discourse on Cognition Only by the Bodhisattva Tenjin, we have, “It is said, when the remaining tainted and inferior tainted seeds appear in front of you during a samādhi like the vajra, you draw upon the chastely immaculate all round and clear original cognition. And, since it has no dependent environment, everything is relinquished and cast off forever.” If you measure the former teachings against the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), the former sutras are without number, and the time it took to expound them is so much longer. Since the Buddha has two arguments, you should stay with the former teachings. Memyō was the eleventh successor to the Dharma store, whose advent was foretold by the Buddha. Tenjin was the teacher of dogma of a thousand volumes and a universal scholar of the four dependencies. The Universal Teacher Tendai (T’ien T’ai) was an inconsequential monk from an obscure border town who did not write a single treatise. Who could believe him? Furthermore, I could even discard the many former teachings and adhere to the one, if there were a passage in the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō) that was understandably clear and on which one could at least depend. In which place in the text of the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō) is the clear and understandable textual proof of the mutual possession of the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas, the thousand such qualities, and the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen)? In the sutra we have, “He cut off the evil in all dharmas.” Neither Tenjin’s Discourse on the Dharma Flower nor the Bodhisattva Kenne’s Discourse on the Precious Nature has anything concerning the mutual possession of the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas. Not even the great Chinese teachers of dogma of the southern and northern schools, nor even any of the later teachers of the seven temples of Japan, have this concept. It is only Tendai (T’ien T’ai) who has this biased view that was solely passed on in error by Dengyō (Dengyō Daishi). This is what the Teacher of the State Shōryō meant when he said, “It is the mistake of Tendai (T’ien T’ai).” The Dharma Teacher Eon said, “However, when Tendai (T’ien T’ai) called the individual vehicle (shōjō, hīnayāna) the teaching of the Three Receptacles, he inadvertently got the names mixed up.” Ryōkō said, “It is only Tendai (T’ien T’ai) who has not yet fathomed the meaning of the Flower Garland Sutra (Kegon, Avatāmsaka).” Tokuichi said, “Aren’t you ashamed, Chi, you brat? Whose disciple do you think you are, with your tongue that is less than three inches? You slander the teachings of the time that were expounded with the Buddha’s long, broad tongue that covered his face!” The Universal Teacher Kōbō said, “The scholars of China wrangled with each other, in order to steal the ultimate, all-inclusive doctrine, which is the teaching of the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen), each one naming it as that of their own school.” The Dharma gateway of the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen) is a term that is lacking in the provisional and the real teaching of the Buddha’s lifetime. None of the masters of the four dependencies refer to this concept, and, since the scholars of China and Japan do not advocate it, how can one believe it? Your criticism is indeed most harsh. However, it is understandably clear that what comes out of the sutric texts is the disparity between the Dharma Flower and all the other sutras – what is not yet revealed and that which has already been revealed, the demonstration of the proof by the long, broad tongue of the Buddha, whether the people of the two vehicles become Buddhas or not, or whether the Buddha became enlightened in his historical lifetime, or if he was enlightened in the primordial infinity. With regard to the teachers of dogma, the Universal Teacher Tendai (T’ien T’ai) says, “Tenjin and Nāgārjuna (Ryūju) inwardly knew the truth, but withheld it, so as to properly conform to the times which were based upon the temporary doctrines. Nevertheless, the teachers of men, who came after, were biased in their understanding, and scholars invariably held on to their personal views, which finally led to stone throwing and abuse. Each clung to his own particular position and generally contravened the sage-like path.” The Universal Teacher Shōan said, “Even the Indian Universal Discourse is not of the calibre of Tendai (T’ien T’ai). So why should we go as far as to trouble ourselves talking about the scholars of China? This is not boastful arrogance. The nature of the Dharma is just as it is.” Tenjin, Nāgārjuna (Ryūju), Memyō, and Kenne had inwardly known the truth but withheld it, because the time had not yet arrived, and it was not right to propagate it. Among the teachers of humankind, before Tendai (T’ien T’ai), some kept such thinking to themselves, whereas others knew nothing of it. Of those teachers who came after, some at first refuted this concept, but later compliantly committed themselves to it, while others made no use of it whatsoever. But you have to understand the sutric text, “He cut off the evil in all dharmas.” Here, the Buddha is referring to a sutric text that came before the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō). On taking a closer look at it, in this text, he is understandably and clearly about to discuss the mutual possession of the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas, where he says, “By being a sentient being, I wish to open their own Buddha knowing and perception.” Tendai (T’ien T’ai), inspired by this sutric phrase, said, “If sentient beings had no Buddha knowing and perception, then why would he want to discuss their opening? As indeed you ought to know, sentient beings do have the knowing and perception of the Buddha inherently.” The Universal Teacher Shōan said, “If it were assumed that sentient beings did not have the knowing and perception of the Buddha, then why would he be about to open their awareness of it? If a poor woman did not have a treasure store, then why would he want to reveal it to her?” The points that are difficult to understand are these enormous problems concerning the Lord of the Teaching Shākyamuni that we have just been discussing. As these problems are an impediment to our understanding of the Buddha, it says in the sutra, “Of all the sutras I have expounded, am expounding, and will expound, this Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō) is the most difficult to believe and understand.” We next come to the six difficult and nine easy acts. The Universal Teacher Tendai (T’ien T’ai) said, “Because the temporary and original gateways contradict the past sutras, they are difficult to believe and to understand. It is a matter that is as hard as facing the tip of a halberd.” The Universal Teacher Shōan said, “In view of this fact that the Buddha makes it his overriding concern, how could you take this to be easy to understand?” The Universal Teacher Dengyō (Dengyō Daishi) said, “This Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō) is by far the most difficult to believe and most difficult to understand, because it is according to the Buddha’s own enlightened mind.” From the one thousand eight hundred or so years since the Buddha’s demise into nirvana, throughout the three countries of India, China, and Japan, there were only three people who were enlightened to and perceived this correct Dharma. They were Shākyamuni of India, the Universal Teacher Tendai (T’ien T’ai) of China, and Dengyō (Dengyō Daishi) of Japan. These three are the sage-like men of the Buddhist scriptures. The question is asked: What of Nāgārjuna (Ryūju) and Tenjin? The answer is given: These sage-like men knew it, but out of unselfishness, they did not talk about it. Instead, they expounded a portion of the temporary gateway, but said nothing of the original gateway, nor the contemplation of the mind. Perhaps the propensity of the hearers was right, but the time was not. Or it could be that neither their propensity nor the time was appropriate. After Tendai (T’ien T’ai) and Dengyō (Dengyō Daishi), many, many people understood it, through applying the wisdom of these two sages. Among these were Kashō of the Sanron School and the hundred or so persons from the three southern and seven northern schools of China, Hōzō and Shōryō of the Kegon School, Genjō Tripitaka and the Universal Teacher Ji.en of the Hossō School, Zenmui Tripitaka, Kongōchi Tripitaka and Fukū Tripitaka of the Shingon, and Dōsen of the Ritsu School. At first, they were in opposition to the teaching of the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen), but later they wholeheartedly and obediently committed themselves to it. Now, in order to restrain your harsh criticism, the Sutra on Implications Without Bounds (Muryōgi-kyō) says, “Let us imagine that the king of the realm and his queen had just had a prince born to them, and that he is only one day, two days, or seven days old, or that he is one month, two months, or seven months old, or one year, two years, or seven years old. Even though he is not able to administer the affairs of state, already he is honoured and respected by the ministers and citizens, and the children of all the great sovereigns are his companions. The king and queen attentively and with great love show him kindness and always speak to him gently. What is the reason for this? It is because of his being a little child. “Good people, those who hold to this sutra are just like this child. The king of the realm is all the Buddhas, and this sutra is the queen who in union gave birth to the bodhisattva prince. Let us suppose that this bodhisattva hears of this sutra, and then he reads and recites the one phrase or the one metric hymn, then reads and recites all the sutra once, twice, ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times. Or shall we assume he reads it a billion times, the number of grains of sand of the Ganges, or incalculable and numberless times? And yet, even though he is unable to realise the ultimate, true principle,” the text continues, “he will already be held in esteem and honoured by all the monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen, the eight categories of the non-human beings with human intelligence, and all the great bodhisattvas will keep him company.” The text continues until, “He will always be protected and borne in mind by all the Buddhas, and they will earnestly shelter him with their care and love, because he is a neophyte who is learning.” In the Sutra on Practising Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universally Worthy (Fugen, Samantabhadra) [Butsu Setsu Kan Fugen Bosatsu Gyōhō Kyō], it says, “This sutric canon of the universal vehicle (daijō, mahāyāna) is the treasure store of all the Buddhas and is the eye of all the Buddhas of the ten directions of the past, present, and future.” The text continues until, “...and is the seed from whence all the Tathāgatas of the past, present, and future come into being.” The text continues until, “through your practice of the universal vehicle (daijō, mahāyāna), your Buddha seeds will not expire.” Also, it says, “This sutra of the Equally Broad (hōdō, vaipulya) teachings is the eye of all the Buddhas. It is through this cause that all the Buddhas attain the five kinds of vision. The three kinds of body of the Buddha come into being out of the Equally Broad (hōdō, vaipulya) teachings. It is this gesture (mudrā) of proof of the universal Dharma that is substantiated in the sea of nirvana. Such an ocean as this is able to engender the immaculately pure three bodies of the Buddha. These three kinds of body are the fields of happiness of mankind and the deva (ten).” Now we should think about the lifetime of the Tathāgata Shākyamuni. We have the exoteric and the esoteric, the two teachings of the universal and the individual vehicle (sanzō), as well as the dependent sutras of all the schools, such as the Kegon and the Shingon. Then, taking all this into further consideration – the Buddha Birushana, on the lotus throne with petals pointing to the ten directions, the cloud of all the assembled Buddha Tathāgatas gathered together from all over the universe, the apparition of the thousand Buddhas whose defilements are fused into the nothingness of the relativity (kū, shūnyatā) of the Wisdom (hannya, prajña) sutras, and the twelve hundred world honoured ones of the Sutra on the Buddha Dainichi and the Sutra on the Vajra Apex – all these sutras articulately expound the causes and fruition that are close at hand. But they do not reveal the cause and fruition in the primordial infinity. Even though the Buddha talks about prompt, swift, and sudden attainment, his realisation in the immeasurability of the time span, like the grains of dust that make up three or five thousands kalpas, is missing, and the indications of the beginning and end of his converting and guidance are visibly lacking. On the one hand, the Flower Garland Sutra (Kegon, Avatāmsaka), or the Sutra on the Buddha Dainichi of the four teachings, that came before the Dharma Flower, appear to be similar to the particular teachings or the all-inclusive teaching. But, on the other hand, if you think it over, they are comparable to the Equally Broad (hōdō, vaipulya) teachings or the Three Receptacles doctrine, without approaching a comparison to those of the particular or the all-inclusive doctrines. As the fundamentally existing three causes for Buddhahood are absent in these sutras, then how should we determine what the Buddha seeds are? All the same, the day when the translators of the new editions returned to China, they saw and heard about Tendai’s (T’ien T’ai) one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen) and added it to the sutras that they would be bringing back with them. Or, they pretended it was, because they had received and committed this teaching to memory in India. Some of the scholars of Tendai (T’ien T’ai) were delighted that these teachings were the same as their own schools. Or they venerated the doctrines that had come from far away and showed contempt for those close at hand. Or they discarded the older teachings and embraced the new. This was an outcome of wicked and stupid thinking. However it may be, if the point to which we refer did not have the Buddha seed of the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen), then sentient beings becoming Buddhas, along with both carved and painted images becoming fundamental objects of veneration, would just be words without substance. I have not yet heard your perceptive understanding with regard to my great difficulties concerning the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen). The answer is given: In the Sutra on Implications Without Bounds (Muryōgi-kyō), it says, “Even though you have not attained to the six practices (pāramitā) that ferry one beyond the sea of mortality to the shore of nirvana, the benefit of all six will surely be in front of you.” In the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), it says, “wishing to hear the path to complete fulfilment”. In the Sutra on the Buddha’s passing over to Nirvana, it says, “Sat is the name for complete fulfilment.” The Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna (Ryūju) says, ‘Sat is six.” In the Annotations on the Profound Significance of the Four Theses of the Universal Vehicle on the Wisdom that is Unqualified and Unobtainable by being Dependent on its own Relativity,it says, “When sat is made clear, it means six, and, in the Dharma of India, six has the implication of complete fulfilment.” In the commentary referred to as the Auspicious Treasury,it says, “In translation, sat becomes complete fulfilment.” The Universal Teacher Tendai (T’ien T’ai) said, “Sat is a Sanskrit word which is translated here as utterness.” Were I to add any perceptive explanation, it would be sullying the original texts. In all events, the two dharmas of the causal practices and the culminating virtue of Shākyamuni were completely fulfilled through the five ideograms for Myōhō Renge Kyō, the Sutra on the White Lotus Flower-like Mechanism of the Utterness of the Dharma. Then, should we receive and commit to memory these five ideograms, we would naturally inherit the culminating virtue of those causal practices. When the four great hearers of the voice apprehended this, they said, “We inadvertently acquired this peerless cluster of jewels, without even looking for it.” This is the realm of the hearers of the Buddha’s voice in our own minds. “Equal to myself without any difference whatsoever, just as that which I vowed in ancient times, has already been entirely fulfilled. All sentient beings, through their conversion, will be led onto the Buddha path.” If the utterly enlightened Shākyamuni is our flesh and blood, then should not his causal practices be the marrow of our bones? In the Eleventh Chapter on Seeing the Vision of the Stupa made of Precious Materials, it says, “Those people who protect the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō) are precisely those who make offerings to the Buddha Abundant Treasure (Tahō Nyorai, Prabhūtaratna) and myself.” The text continues until, “Moreover, they make offerings to the radiant brightness that majestically sublimates all the dharma realms of all the Buddha emanations that are present.” Shākyamuni, Buddha Abundant Treasure (Tahō Nyorai, Prabhūtaratna), and all the Buddhas of the ten directions are the Buddha realm within. By inheriting and following this path, we will receive and attain their meritorious virtue. This is illustrated by, “If you listen to this sutra for only a moment, you will realise the ultimate, universal, and correct awakening.” In the Sixteenth Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata,it says, “However, since I really became a Buddha it is incalculable, boundless, hundreds of thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, nayuta kalpas ago.” The Shākyamuni in our individual minds is the primordial Buddha without a beginning who manifested his three bodies, prior to a time span equal to the grains of dust that go into the making of five hundred kalpas. In the sutra it says, “The allotted lifespan of when I originally attained to the bodhisattva path has yet to be exhausted. It will be again twice that number.” This is the bodhisattva realm in our own individual minds. The countless numbers of bodhisattvas who sprang up from the earth are the retinue of the Shākyamuni in our minds, just as the Dukes Tai and Shū were ministers of King Bu [Wu, c. 1020 BCE] of Shū and later were part of the court of the infant King Sei, or like the great minister Take-no-uchi, who was the supporting pillar of the Empress Jingū and afterwards became a minister of the Crown Prince Nintoku. The Bodhisattva Superior Practice (Jōgyō, Vishishtachāritra), Infinite Practice (Muhengyō, Anantachārita), Pure Practice (Jyōgyō, Vishuddhachārita), and Firmly Established Practice (Anryūgyō, Supratishthichārita) are the bodhisattvas of our individual minds. The Universal Teacher Myōraku (Miao-lo) said, “Really, you should know that the body and its terrain is the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen), because when one attains to the path, this fundamental principle, being substantiated in the one body and its one instant of mind, ubiquitously permeates through the realms of all the dharmas.” During the fifty or so years, which began at the site of Shākyamuni’s attainment to the path of silence and extinction and the Dharma realm of the lotus flower – which is the abode of the Tathāgata Dainichi in the Flower Garland Sutra (Kegon, Avatāmsaka) – until his demise in the Grove of the Sala Trees, this Buddha taught that the three esoteric and majestically sublime terrains and the three or four transformations of abodes and terrains, expounded in the Eleventh Chapter on Seeing the Vision of the Stupa made of Precious Materials, are all manifestations of a transitory nature of expedient means, such as a terrain of real reward and of silence and enlightenment. The terrains of peaceful nourishment, immaculate lapis lazuli, and the majestically sublime are the coming into being, the duration, the decline, and their disappearance into the nothingness of relativity (kū, shūnyatā). When the Lord of the Teaching, who was able to produce these various emanations of the Buddha, entered into nirvana, all these Buddhas who were his emanations passed into extinction. And naturally it was also the same regarding their respective terrains. The world in which we live at present is the time of the Sixteenth Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata of the original gateway and is free from the three calamities that come about with the collapse of a kalpa. It is an immaculate terrain that dwells in eternity. In times gone by, the Buddha has never ceased to be, nor does he come into being in the future. Those who are converted by him are of the same substance, which is the full endowment of the three thousand existential spaces in the one instant of mind in our individual minds. The reality of this had not yet been discussed in the fourteen chapters of the temporary gateway, because, even within the bounds of the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), the propensity of the hearers and the time had not yet matured. The Buddha did not even entrust the essence of the original gateway [the seven ideograms for Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō, the consecration and founding of one’s life on the Sutra on the White Lotus Flower-like Mechanism of the Utterness of the Dharma] to the Bodhisattva Mañjushrī (Monjushiri), the Bodhisattva Universally Worthy (Fugen, Samantabhadra), and the Bodhisattva Sovereign Medicine (Yaku’ ō, Bhaishajya-rāja), let alone anyone else. But he did entrust it, during his preaching of the eight vital chapters, to the countless numbers of bodhisattvas who sprang up from the earth at his summons. As for the real appearance of the Fundamental Object of Veneration (gohonzon), the original teacher is seated in the stupa made of precious materials in empty space above the world in which we live. And on the left and right of the [Nam] Myōhō Renge Kyō, there are Shākyamuni Buddha and the Buddha Abundant Treasure (Tahō Nyorai, Prabhūtaratna), flanked by the Four Bodhisattvas led by the Bodhisattva Superior Practice (Jōgyō, Vishishtachāritra). Then we have Mañjushrī (Monjushiri), Maitreya (Miroku), and others of the following of the Four Bodhisattvas, placed on seats nearby. All the bodhisattvas great and small from other regions, who were converted by the temporary teachings, are placed upon the ground, like commoners looking up to court officials and executives of state. All the Buddhas of the ten directions are also on the ground, so as to express the idea of temporary Buddhas on temporary terrains. Such an Object of Veneration (gohonzon) did not exist during the first fifty years when the Buddha was in the world. Its confines are only the final eight years of the eight vital chapters. During the two thousand years of the correct and formal phases of the Dharma of the Shākyamuni of the individual vehicle (shōjō, hīnayāna), Kashō (Mahākashyapa) and Anan (Ānanda) were in attendance on either side. The Shākyamuni of the provisional universal vehicle (daijō, mahāyāna), in the Sutra on the Buddha’s Passing over to Nirvana and the temporary gateway of the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), was flanked on either side by the Bodhisattva Mañjushrī (Monjushiri) and the Bodhisattva Universally Worthy (Fugen, Samantabhadra). Even though there were sculptures and paintings of these Buddhas throughout the correct and formal phases of the Dharma, the Buddha of the Sixteenth Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata had not yet been portrayed. Now that we have entered the final phase of the Dharma (mappō), should we not begin to reveal the representation of this Buddha? A question is posed: In the course of the two thousand years of the correct and formal phases of the Dharma, the bodhisattvas of the four dependencies, as well as the teachers of men, set up images and temples for various Buddhas and for the Shākyamuni of the individual vehicle (shōjō, hīnayāna), for the provisional universal vehicle (daijō, mahāyāna), the former teachings, and the temporary gateway. Yet, there is no instance of the Fundamental Object of Veneration (gohonzon) of the Sixteenth Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata of the original gateway and the four great bodhisattvas being venerated and honoured by rulers and their ministers, either in India, China, or Japan. I can understand most of what you say, but, because it has never been heard by former generations, my eyes and ears are taken aback, and my mind and thoughts are bewildered. Please explain this once more. I would like to hear it in detail. The answer is given: The eight fascicles and twenty-eight chapters of the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō) really begin with the four flavours [fresh milk, cream, curds, and butter, used as metaphors for the Flower Garland (Kegon), the teachings of the individual vehicle (sanzō), the equally broad (hōdō, vaipulya), and that of the wisdom (hannya, prajña) periods], and are all the sutras of a lifetime along with the Sutra on the Buddha’s Passing over to Nirvana. The period that begins at the site of the attainment to the path of silence and extinction and ends at the Wisdom (hannya, prajña) sutras, is the introduction. The ten fascicles that make up the Sutra on Implications Without Bounds (Muryōgi-kyō), the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), and the Sutra on the Bodhisattva Universally Worthy (Fugen, Samantabhadra) are the essential doctrine, and the Sutra on the Buddha’s Passing over to Nirvana is the transmission. [Nearly all the sutras can be divided into an introduction, an essential doctrine, and a transmission to be propagated widely. However, these divisions are often different, due to the conflicting viewpoints of the various schools.] Within the ten fascicles, which make up the essential doctrine, there is an introduction, an essential doctrine, and a transmission that is to be propagated widely. The Sutra on Implications Without Bounds (Muryōgi-kyō) and the Introductory Chapter of the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), are the introduction. The fifteen and a half chapters, from the Second Chapter on Expedient Means to the nineteenth line of the metric hymn in the Seventeenth Chapter on Discerning the Meritorious Virtues, are the essential doctrine. The eleven and a half chapters and the one fascicle, from the four ways of believing for the present time of the Chapter on Discerning the Meritorious Virtues to the Sutra on the Bodhisattva Universally Worthy (Fugen, Samantabhadra), are the transmission to be propagated widely. Moreover, within the ten fascicles of the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō) there are again two sutras, each one having its own introduction, essential doctrine, and a transmission to be propagated widely. The Sutra on the Implications Without Bounds (Muryōgi-kyō) and the Introductory Chapter of the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō) are the introduction. The eight chapters, from the Second Chapter on Expedient Means to the Eighth Chapter on the Prediction of Enlightenment for Five Hundred Disciples, are the essential doctrine, and the five chapters from the Tenth, on the Dharma as a Teacher, to the Fourteenth Chapter on Practising in Peace and with Joy, make up the transmission that is to be propagated widely. When we come to talk about the Lord of these teachings, then it was the Buddha, first correctly enlightened in his historical lifetime, whose correct Dharma was difficult to believe and difficult to understand. This is so, because it was expounded according to his own enlightened mind. He was able to reach beyond the past, present, and future, through expounding the previously nonexistent, but now existing, hundred realms of dharmas and the thousand such qualities. If we look into the karmic circumstances that bound this Buddha with his disciples in the past, it was when he was the sixteenth son of the Buddha Daitsū that he sowed the seeds of enlightenment in their lives. On proceeding further, it was through his karmic relationship with the four periods of teachings that came before the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), the Flower Garland (Kegon, Avatāmsaka), the teaching of the individual vehicle (shōjō, hīnayāna), the equally broad (hōdō, vaipulya), and the wisdom (hannya, prajña) periods, which brought about the awakening and perception of the seeds of enlightenment planted by the Buddha Daitsū. This was not the fundamental intention of the Buddha Daitsū. Rather, it was to clear away some of the poison. Ordinary people and those of the two vehicles, through their karmic relationship with the first of the four periods of teachings that came before the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), were gradually able to approach the Dharma Flower and discover the seeds that were sown in the primordial infinity and the propensity to free themselves from the provisional and to discover the real teaching. Moreover, when the Buddha was in the world, the eight vital chapters, or the one phrase, or the metric hymn, that were heard for the first time by humankind and deva (ten), became the seeds of their Buddhahood, which either grew towards maturity or became the seeds of the Buddha fulfilment. Some were liberated when they came to the Sutra on the Bodhisattva Universally Worthy (Fugen, Samantabhadra) and the Sutra on the Buddha’s Passing over to Nirvana. Then again, for others, it was during the correct, formal, and final phases of the Dharma that the individual and provisional doctrines became the karmic relationship whereby they were able to enter into the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), in the same way as the people who were familiar with the teachings of the first four periods and were able to discover their seeds of enlightenment during the lifetime of the Buddha. Again, the fourteen chapters of the original gateway possess an introduction, an essential doctrine, and a transmission to be propagated widely. The first half of the Fifteenth Chapter on the Bodhisattvas who Swarm up out of the Earth is the introduction. The remaining half that comes just before the Sixteenth Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathāgataand the first half of the Seventeenth Chapter on Discerning the Meritorious Virtues is the essential doctrine. The remaining chapters are the transmission that is to be widely propagated. When we come to discuss the lord of these teachings, it is not the Buddha Shākyamuni, first correctly enlightened in his historical lifetime. The dharma gateways that he expounded contrast with the temporary gateway, as much as the earth differs from sky. In addition to the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas and the primordial infinity, he made the existential spaces and the differentiation of abode and terrain apparent and provided the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen) with an envelope, just as a husk encloses the pith of bamboo. Furthermore, the temporary gateway, as well as the first four periods of the teachings prior to the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), the Sutra on Implications Without Bounds (Muryōgi-kyō) and the Sutra on the Buddha’s Passing over to Nirvana, were all preached according to the minds of others and therefore easy to believe and easy to understand. But the discourse of the original gateway is difficult to believe and difficult to understand, because it is according to the enlightened mind of the Buddha. In the original gateway, there is also an introduction, an essential doctrine, and a transmission that is to be propagated widely. From the Dharma Flower Sutra of the Buddha Daitsū of the past to the Flower Garland (Kegon, Avatāmsaka) of the present time – including the fourteen chapters of the temporary gateway and the Sutra on the Buddha’s Passing over to Nirvana, as well as all the sutras of the fifty or so years of a lifetime’s teaching, along with all the sutras of all the Buddhas of the past, present, and future of the ten directions, which are as countless as the grains of dust – these comprise the introduction to the Sixteenth Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata. Apart from the second half of the Fifteenth Chapter on the Bodhisattvas who Swarm up out of the Earth, the whole of the Sixteenth Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata, and the first half of the Seventeenth Chapter on Discerning the Meritorious Virtues, the remainder can be referred to as the teachings of the individual vehicle (sanzō) that are distorting and incomplete and have not yet attained to the path, or teachings that conceal the real intention of the Buddha. If we are to discuss the natural inclination of those who follow these provisional teachings, then they are heavily sullied, with little virtue. They are immature and feel like unwanted orphans or birds and beasts who cannot appreciate the love of their parents. Besides the former teachings and the all-inclusive teachings of the temporary gateway, such teachings do not possess the cause for becoming a Buddha and cannot match the Sutra on the Buddha Dainichi and all the sutras of the individual vehicle (shōjō, hīnayāna). They are of even less value than the instructions of the teachers of men and the teachers of dogma of the seven schools, such as the Kegon and the Shingon Schools. Putting it strongly, the spirit of these teachings is not different from the teachings of the three receptacles, the interrelated teachings, or the particular teaching. For instance, even though these dharmas are said to be extremely profound, they have not yet discussed the seeds of enlightenment of Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō, as opposed to those seeds that were implanted by a Buddha in a distant past that nurtured and ultimately brought about emancipation. Instead, they propose that the body be reduced to ashes and that the mind and intellect be annihilated, as in the individual vehicle (shōjō, hīnayāna). In these doctrines, there is no suggestion of when the Buddha began and ended his teachings and guidance. Should such a person, as a queen, be made pregnant by an animal’s seed, the offspring would be even inferior to an outcast. For the time being, we will put this aside. On taking a first glance at eight chapters of the essential doctrine of the fourteen chapters of the temporary gateway during the lifetime of Shākyamuni, the people of the two vehicles are in the forefront, and the bodhisattvas and common mortals are set to one side. But, on thinking it over a second time, it is the common mortal who comes to the fore during the correct, formal, and final phases of the Dharma. In these three periods of the correct, formal, and final phases, it is the beginning of the final phase that becomes the correct phase. The question is asked: What evidence do you have for this? The answer is given: In the Tenth Chapter on the Dharma as a Teacher, it says, “Nevertheless, with this sutra, at present, the Tathāgata is much begrudged and envied. So how will it be after his passing over to nirvana?” In the Eleventh Chapter on Seeing the Vision of the Stupa made of Precious Materials, it says, “In order that the Dharma may be protracted unendingly,” continuing in the text until, “the Buddha emanations must be aware that this is his intention.” You should look at the Thirteenth Chapter on Exhorting the Disciples to Receive and to Hold to the Buddha Teaching and the Fourteenth Chapter on Practising in Peace and with Joy. This is indeed what the provisional gateway is about. Now we come to consider the original gateway, which was destined solely for the people of correct propensities at the beginning of the final phase of the Dharma of Shākyamuni (mappō). That is to say, we first take a look at the period when the seeds are those of the primordial sowing, nurtured by the Buddha Daitsū, and, afterwards through the first four periods of teachings prior to the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō) and the temporary gateway, they ripened. On coming to the original gateway, these seeds were brought to the attainment of both the Universal Enlightenment [Tōgaku] and the Enlightenment to Utterness [Myōgaku]. On taking a second look, the original gateway is quite unlike the temporary gateway, the introduction, the essential doctrine, as well as the transmission to be widely propagated of the original gateway, in that they all refer to the beginning of the final phase of the Dharma (mappō). The original gateway, when the Buddha Shākyamuni was in the world, and that of the beginning of the final phase of his Dharma (mappō) are a pure circle, but the former is his teaching of the harvest [the fulfilment of the seeds of enlightenment that were implanted by a Buddha in the distant past, which matured, and brought about emancipation]. However, this is the Buddha teaching of the seeds situated in the simultaneity of cause and effect of the Utterness of the Dharma (Myōhō, Saddharma). The former doctrine is based on the second half of the Fifteenth Chapter on the Bodhisattvas who Swarm up out of the Earth, the whole of the Sixteenth Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata, and the first half of the Seventeenth Chapter on Discerning the Meritorious Virtues. This later doctrine is the teaching of the five ideograms for Myōhō Renge Kyō only. The question is asked: What proof do you have for this? The answer is given: In the Fifteenth Chapter on the Bodhisattvas who Swarm up out of the Earth, it says, “At that time, all the bodhisattva great beings, who had come from other abodes and terrains and whose number exceeded eight times the grains of sand of the Ganges, stood up in the great assembly, placed their palms together in obeisance, and said to the Buddha, ‘World Honoured One, when, after the passing of the Buddha into nirvana, we are to be born into the Dimension that must be Endured (shaba sekai, sahā-lokadhātu), if you will allow us to guard, hold, read, recite, copy, and make offerings to this sutric canon, with zealous and unfailing progress, then surely we will broadly expound it throughout this terrain.’ “Then the Buddha said to the assembly of bodhisattva great beings, ‘Desist! Good people, there is no need for you to guard and hold to this sutra.’” The sutric content of the preceding five chapters, that follow the Tenth Chapter on the Dharma as a Teacher, are as contradictory as fire and water. At the end of the Eleventh Chapter on Seeing the Seeing the Vision of the Stupa made of Precious Materials, it says, “With a great voice, the Buddha addressed the monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen: ‘Is there anyone who is able to broadly propagate the Sutra on the White Lotus Flower-like Mechanism of the Utterness of the Dharma throughout the abode and terrain that we live in and endure?’” There is the instance when the lord of the teaching, being but one single Buddha, encouragingly raised this question. The great bodhisattvas such as the Bodhisattva Sovereign Medicine (Yaku’ ō, Bhaishajya-rāja), the deva (Brahmā) and Taishaku (Indra), the deva (ten) of the sun and moon, and the Four Deva Kings, took this to be a matter of grave concern, whereupon the Buddha Tahō and the Buddhas of the ten directions, as invited guests, added their consternation. All the bodhisattvas, on hearing this generous collaboration, made the vow, “We will not begrudge our lives”, because they wholeheartedly wished to comply with the Buddha’s will. Nevertheless, within the space of an instant, Shākyamuni contradicts himself, by forbidding the crowd of bodhisattvas – whose count exceeded eight times the number of grains of sand of the Ganges – to propagate the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō). Going forwards and backwards like this decidedly goes against ordinary understanding. The wise Universal Teacher Tendai (T’ien T’ai) led us to comprehend the six explanations of three previous reasons, as to why the Buddha prohibited the great bodhisattvas from propagating the sutra throughout the world in which we live, and three subsequent reasons for his summoning the bodhisattvas who spring up from the earth. What was implied is that the great bodhisattvas from all other directions, along with those who were converted through the temporary teachings, did not have the substantiation of the Shākyamuni, who is the essence of the Sixteenth Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata, bestowed upon them. These bodhisattvas were forbidden to propagate the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), because of the fundamentally evil qualities of the abodes and terrains, where the Dharma would be vilified at the beginning of the final phase of the Dharma of Shākyamuni (mappō). Then, he summoned the great bodhisattvas of the thousand realms of dharmas who sprang up from the earth, in order to confer upon the sentient beings of the world of humankind the five ideograms for Myōhō Renge Kyō, which are the essence of the Sixteenth Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata. Moreover, the great assembly of bodhisattvas, converted through the temporary teachings, were not the disciples of Shākyamuni when he first resolved to attain a mind of enlightenment. The Universal Teacher Tendai (T’ien T’ai) cites the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), “These are my disciples who are destined to propagate my Dharma.” Myōraku (Miao-lo) called to mind, “The sons who spread abroad the Dharma of the father are a benefit to the world.” In the Supplementary Adjustments and Annotations of the Textual Explanations, it says, “Since this is the Dharma of the primordial infinity, it was to be entrusted to the people who were enlightened in that primordial infinity.” In the sutra it says that, when the Bodhisattva Maitreya (Miroku) wished to clear his doubts, he remarked, “Even though we believe that what the Buddha says is correct, the words that he utters are never empty delusions, and his wisdom is completely pervasive and penetrating. Nevertheless, after the Buddha’s passing over to nirvana, bodhisattvas who are newly resolved to attain to enlightenment may not accept with faith that the Bodhisattvas who sprang up from the earth are the Buddha’s original disciples and that will give rise to the cause and karmic circumstances of the sin of negating the Dharma. It is only natural, World Honoured One, that we ask you to explain and take away our doubts, so that all good people, in generations to come, will not be sceptical when they hear of this matter.” The meaning of this text is that Maitreya (Miroku) implored the Buddha to expound the Dharma gateway of the Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata, for those who are to come after his passing over to nirvana. It says in the Sixteenth Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata, “Some lost their original minds and others did not.” The text continues until, “Those who did not lose their minds saw that this medicine was good both in appearance and flavour, whereupon they took it and were completely cured and relieved of their sickness.” All the bodhisattvas, people of the two vehicles, and deva (ten) – whose Buddha seeds had been planted in the primordial infinity, were later nurtured through their karmic relationship with the Buddha Daitsū, and through the four periods of teachings, that came before the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō) and the temporary gateway – attained the way when they heard the original gateway. In the sutra it goes on to say, “Those who had lost their minds were filled with joy when they saw that their father had arrived, and they earnestly begged him to cure their sickness. But, even though they were given the medicine, they dared not take it. This was because the spirit of the poison had penetrated deeply, and, having lost their original minds, they found the attractive and delicious preparation unpalatable.” The text continues until, “I really must contrive an expedient means, in order to make them take this medicine.” The text further explains, “‘I will now place this good and estimable medicine here. And you must take and make use of it, without worrying that it may not cure you.’ After giving these instructions, he again went off to another country, where he sent back a messenger to announce that he was dead.” In the Chapter on Discerning the Meritorious Virtues, it says, “For those of the time of the evil age of the final phase of Dharma (mappō).” The question is asked: What is meant by “he sent back a messenger to announce”? The answer is given: Within the four dependencies of the Buddha teaching, there are four categories. [These four dependencies are i) to practise according to the Dharma and not the person who expounds it, ii) to practise according to the intention of the Dharma and not just the words that are used to express it, iii) to practise according to one’s inner wisdom and not according to acquired knowledge, iv) to practise according to the real aspect of the middle way, as it is expounded in the Sutra on Implications Without Bounds (Muryōgi-kyō), and none other.] Those of the first of the four dependencies of the individual vehicle (shōjō, hīnayāna) appeared for the most part during the first five hundred years of the correct era of the Dharma. Those of the second of the four dependencies of the universal vehicle (daijō, mahāyāna) appeared for the most part during the latter five hundred years of the correct phase of the Dharma. Those of the third of the four dependencies of the temporary gateway mostly appeared during the thousand years of the formal phase of the Dharma, but a smaller number appeared during the beginning of its final phase. Those of the fourth of the four dependencies of the original gateway are the countless numbers of bodhisattvas who spring up from the earth and must certainly appear at the beginning of the final phase of the Dharma (mappō). The “messenger sent back to announce” is now the bodhisattvas who spring up from the earth. “This good and estimable medicine” is the theme and title, the substance, the purpose, the function, and the influence of Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō, which comprises the essentials of the Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata. The Buddha did not even confer this good medicine upon the bodhisattvas who were converted by the temporary teachings, let alone those from other directions. In the Chapter on the Reaches of the Mind of the Tathāgata, it says, “At that time, as many bodhisattva great beings as there are particles of dust that comprise a thousand existential spaces sprang up out of the earth in front of the Buddha, and, with a single mind, put their palms together, looked up with reverence at his venerable countenance, and said, ‘World Honoured One, after the Buddha’s passing over to nirvana, we must certainly propagate widely this sutra in the abodes and terrains where your emanations exist and in the places where you pass over to nirvana.’” Tendai (T’ien T’ai) said, “It appears that only the bodhisattvas who sprang up from the earth made this vow.” Dōsen said, with regard to the assignment, “This sutra was solely entrusted to those who sprang up from the nether directions. What is the reason for this? It is because the primordial Dharma was assigned to the people of the primordial attainment.” The Boddhisattva Mañjushrī (Monjushiri) was the disciple of the Buddha Fudō of the Golden Coloured Realm of the Eastern Direction. Kannon (Avalokiteshvara) was the disciple of the Buddha Muryōju of the Western Direction. The Bodhisattva Sovereign Medicine (Yaku’ ō, Bhaishajya-rāja) was the disciple of the Buddha Nichigetsu Jōmyotoku. The Bodhisattva Universally Worthy (Fugen, Samantabhadra) was the disciple of the Buddha Ho.i. In general terms, these bodhisattvas came to the existential realm that has to be endured (shaba sakai, sahāloka), in order to help Shākyamuni with his activity of converting people. But, as they were bodhisattvas of the former, temporary teachings and not in possession of the original Dharma, they were not qualified to propagate it during the final phase of the Dharma (mappō). In the sutra it says, “At that time, the World Honoured One,” and the text continues until, “in front of the assembly, he displayed the immensity of the reaches of his mind, by extending his long and broad tongue as far as the realm of Bonten (Brahmā).” Again, the text continues until, “all the Buddhas of the ten directions seated on their lion thrones did likewise, extending their long and broad tongues.” Now, in none of the sutras, whether they are of the universal or the individual vehicle (shōjō, hīnayāna) or whether they are exoteric or esoteric, is there a passage that describes Shākyamuni and all the other Buddhas seated and extending their tongues to the heaven of Bonten (Brahmā). The Sutra on the Buddha Amida (Amitabha Buddha) has the Buddhas extending their tongues and covering three thousand great thousand existential spaces, but they are words without substance. In the Wisdom Sutra, the Buddha’s tongue also covered three thousand great thousand existential spaces and emitted boundless light when he began to expound this sutra. But, this is completely without substance, since both of these texts are only the Pure Land and Wisdom (hannya, prajña) teachings, whose partial role was to obscure the Buddha’s enlightenment in the primordial infinity. After the Buddha revealed his ten immense reaches of his mind, as told in the Chapter on the Reaches of the Mind of the Tathāgata, he then entrusted and implicated the bodhisattvas who sprang up from the earth with the five ideograms of the Utterness of the Dharma (Myōhō, Saddharma). As it is recounted in the sutra, “At that time the Buddha said to Superior Practice’s (Jōgyō, Vishishtachāritra) great assembly of bodhisattvas, ‘Thus are the reaches of the minds of all Buddhas. They are incalculable, boundless, and cannot be thought through or deliberated upon. If, in order to entrust and implicate people in this sutra, by means of these spiritual powers, I were to recount its meritorious virtues, for incalculable and boundless hundreds, thousands of nayuta kalpas, I would not be able to explain them fully. So, I will mention these crucial points. They are all the dharmas that are in the possession of the Tathāgata, all the unrestricted reaches of the mind of the Tathāgata, all the esoterically essential stores of the Tathāgata, and all the extremely profound concerns of the Tathāgata. All these are proclaimed, shown, revealed, and expounded in this sutra.’” Tendai (T’ien T’ai) says, “In this chapter, from the line, ‘At that time, the Buddha said to Superior Practice (Jōgyō, Vishishtachāritra),’ and onwards, is the third stage of entrusting the bodhisattvas who sprang up from the earth with the assignment of binding together the essentials.” Dengyō (Dengyō Daishi) says, “Again, in the Chapter on the Reaches of the Mind of the Tathāgata, from, ‘So, I will mention these crucial points; it is all the dharmas that are in possession of the Tathāgata,’ and continuing until, ‘All these are proclaimed, shown, revealed, and expounded in this sutra,’ – what we can clearly infer from this is that all the dharmas that are in the possession of the Tathāgata are those of the karmic dimension of utter enlightenment. All the unrestricted reaches of the mind of the Tathāgata are also those of the karmic dimension of utter enlightenment, as well as the esoterically essential store of the Tathāgata. All are proclaimed, shown, revealed, and expounded in the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō).” These immense reaches of his mind were, through the five ideograms of the Sutra on the White Lotus Flower-like Mechanism of the Utterness of the Dharma, (Myōhō Renge Kyō), conferred upon the four Great Bodhisattvas Superior Practice (Jōgyō, Vishishtachāritra), Firmly Established Practice (Anryūgyō, Supratishthichārita), Pure Practice (Jyōgyō, Vishuddhachārita), and Infinite Practice (Muhengyō, Anantachārita). [The ten reaches of his mind are the following: i) to show that the Buddha does not tell fantastic untruths, ii) the emission of light from all the pores of the Buddha’s body shining into all existence of the ten directions, demonstrating where the wisdom of the Tathāgata can penetrate. iii) The Buddha clears his throat, in order to speak with gentleness that will be heard by all his hearers and also to be able to teach the truth without hindrance. iv) The Buddha snaps his fingers to show that he is expounding according to his own enlightenment. v) The Buddha brings about six earth tremors, so that the six organs of sense of sentient brings may be purified and that every stage of enlightenment may be awakened. vi) The great assembly and the Buddha are universally manifested to all sentient beings of the ten directions, in order to give them joy and also to show that the paths of all the Buddhas are identical. vii) The Buddha in the empty space of all the heavens, facing the great assembly that had come from the ten directions, announced in a strong voice that they should wholeheartedly venerate the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), so that it will be propagated to future generations. viii) The sentient beings who heard the Buddha’s voice from out of the empty space took refuge in his teaching, in order that all abodes and terrains would be filled with people who could hold to his teaching. ix) All the offerings made to the Buddha by all the sentient beings from the ten directions form a cloud-like canopy over all the assembled Buddhas, to show that only this sutra will be practised in the future. x) Since all the realms of existence of the ten directions are the Buddha terrain, this means that in the future all sentient beings will be able to open up and reveal their own Buddha nature and will understand the true nature of their abodes and terrains. According to the Textual Explanations of Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke Mongu), the first five of these reaches of his mind were for the time when Shākyamuni was in the world, and the last five were for the benefit of sentient beings in the future.] The first five of the reaches of his mind were for when the Buddha was in the world and the second five for when the Buddha had passed over to nirvana. However, if one were to discuss this more fully, then all these reaches of his mind were for the period after the Buddha’s passing over to nirvana. Hence, further on in the text, it says, “After the Buddha’s passing over to nirvana, because of their being able to hold to this sutra, all the Buddhas, by way of rejoicing, reveal their limitless spiritual powers.” In the following Chapter on the Assignment of the Mission, it says, “At that time the Buddha Shākyamuni stood up from his Dharma throne and revealed his universal reaches of the mind. With his right hand, he touched the tops of the heads of incalculable bodhisattva beings,” continuing until, “I entrust you with this assignment.” At first the bodhisattvas who sprang up from the earth, followed by those converted by the temporary teachings, and those who came from other directions, as well as Bonten (Brahmā), Taishaku (Indra), and the four Deva Kings, were all entrusted and implicated in this sutra – “All of the Buddha Emanations who came from the ten directions returned to their original terrains,” until, “The Stupa of the Buddha Abundant Treasure (Tahō Nyorai, Prabhūtaratna) had to be returned to its original place as well.” From the Chapter on the Bodhisattva Sovereign Medicine (Yaku’ ō, Bhaishajya-rāja) as far as the Sutra on the Buddha’s Passing over to Nirvana, after the bodhisattvas of the earth had departed, the Buddha once again entrusted the assembly of bodhisattvas converted by the temporary doctrines and the bodhisattvas from other regions with the commission of propagating the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō). This is the entrustment and implication and a final ordering of the details. It is asked doubtfully: During the two thousand years of the correct and formal era of the Dharma, did the thousands of realms of bodhisattvas, who sprang up from the earth, appear in the world of mankind to propagate this sutra widely? Naturally, they did not. Taken aback, it is then asked: If the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō) and the original gateway were to become the fundamental doctrine for when the Buddha had passed over to nirvana, and had been first conferred to the thousands of realms of bodhisattvas who sprang up from the earth, why did they not appear during the correct and formal eras of the Dharma to propagate them? Why is it? The answer given is: If I were to tell you, it would be as it was for all the people of all the existential realms [who refused to believe and slandered] in the final phase of the Dharma of the Buddha Ionnō. Or, if I were to vaguely disclose it to my disciples, it would degenerate into backbiting slander. Therefore, I desist and remain silent. Still, pursuing the question further, it is said that by not discussing it with you, I will fall into the error of holding back the truth. Then, the answer given is that, whether I advance or retreat, I shall fall into the chasm, so I will try to expound it to you. In the Chapter on the Dharma as a Teacher, it says, “So how will it be after his passing over to nirvana?” In the Sixteenth Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata, it says, “I now leave it here.” In the Chapter on Discerning the Meritorious Virtues, it says, “the time of the evil generations of the final phase of the Dharma (mappō)”. And, in the Chapter on the Bodhisattva Sovereign Medicine (Yaku’ ō, Bhaishajya-rāja), “After the fifth five hundred years, there will be broad propagation throughout the world of mankind.” In the Sutra on the Buddha’s Passing over to Nirvana, it says, “For example, there are seven children who are all equally loved by their parents. Nevertheless, they are particularly concerned for one that is sick.” By the clear mirror of the passages just quoted, we can infer and realise what the intentions of the Buddha are. The Buddha did not come into the world just for the people who were on Vulture Peak (Ryōjusen, Gridhrakūta) during the eight years of teaching, but for humanity during the correct, formal, and final phases of the Dharma. It was not merely for the people of the two thousand years of the correct and formal phases of the Dharma, but for those at the beginning of the final era of the Dharma, like myself. The so-called “one that is sick” points to those who revile and slander the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō) after the Buddha’s passing over to nirvana. “I now leave it here,” refers to the phrase, “They found this attractive and tasty remedy unpalatable.” The thousands of realms of bodhisattvas and their realms of dharmas that sprang up from the earth did not appear during the correct and formal phases of the Dharma, as the propensities of the people and the time were not right. The thousand years of the correct Dharma was for the individual vehicle (shōjō, hīnayāna) and the provisional universal vehicle (daijō, mahāyāna). The great bodhisattvas of the four dependencies had karmic relationships with these provisional and individual teachings (shōjō, hīnayāna), which became their implanted seeds that were liberated whilst the Buddha was in the world. If the bodhisattvas who sprang up from the earth had appeared at that particular time and taught the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō), they would have been greatly slandered. This would have destroyed the benefit of the emancipation of the great bodhisattvas of the four dependencies, whose basic capacities and dispositions were for the first four periods of teachings, prior to the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō). In the middle and towards the end of the formal phase of the Dharma, the Bodhisattva Kannon (Avalokiteshvara) was reborn as Nangaku, and the Bodhisattva Sovereign Medicine (Yaku’ ō, Bhaishajya-rāja) as Tendai (T’ien T’ai). The temporary gateway was taught in the open, and the original gateway held in reserve. Tendai exhaustively expounded the significance of the hundred realms and the thousand such qualities and the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen), teaching everything as being its own intrinsicality and aspects of the whole. But he did not actually put into practice nor propagate the five ideograms for Myōhō Renge Kyō, nor the Fundamental Object of Veneration (gohonzon) of the original gateway. In the final analysis, there existed propensities for the all-inclusive teachings, but it was not the right time. Now, at the beginning of the final phase of the Dharma (mappō), the followers of the individual vehicle (shōjō, hīnayāna) attack the universal doctrine, and the people who follow the provisional teachings demolish those of the real universal vehicle (daijō, mahāyāna). East and west are muddled together, and heaven and earth are turned upside down. The people of the four dependencies, converted by the temporary teachings, are hidden away and no longer before us. And the deva (ten)have abandoned their abodes, no longer guarding and protecting them. This is the time when the bodhisattvas, who spring up from the earth, begin to appear, solely to administer to the immature sentient beings the five ideograms for Myōhō Renge Kyō. This is in fact the implication of, “By slandering, they fall into evil, and it is on account of this that they seek to acquire benefits.” My disciples, take this into account: The thousands of bodhisattvas who sprang up from the earth are the disciples of the Lord of the Teaching Shākyamuni, when he first resolved to attain to the mind of enlightenment. They did not come to the site of the attainment to the path of silence and extinction. Nor did they visit the grove of sala trees at the end, thereby falling into the error of lacking filial piety. They were not even present during the fourteen chapters of the temporary teachings, and left their seats before the last six chapters of the original gateway. They remained only for the first eight chapters of the original gateway, then left. Such noble and honourable bodhisattvas made their promise to Shākyamuni, the Buddha Abundant Treasure (Tahō Nyorai, Prabhūtaratna), and all the other Buddha emanations and received the teaching of the Utterness of the Dharma (Myōhō, Saddharma). So are they not supposed to appear at the outset of the final phase of the Dharma (mappō)? Indeed you must know that when the Four Bodhisattvas appear, propagating the Buddha teaching by refuting erroneous concepts, they will become like the wise king who admonishes and goads the foolish ones. And, when they proselytize, refuting the misconceptions of others, they will be like the monks who hold to and spread the correct Dharma. The question is asked: What does the text of the Sixth Chapter on the Disclosure of the Future Record of Those who Will Attain Enlightenment say about the final phase? The answer is given: After the fifth of the five five-hundred-year periods, there will be the broad propagation throughout the world of humankind. When the Universal Teacher Tendai (T’ien T’ai) forecast the future, he said, “The fifth five hundred years will be irrigated by the path that is Utterness.” Myōraku (Miao-lo) says in his predictions, “The beginning of the final phase of the Dharma will not be without its deep-rooted advantages.” The Universal Teacher Dengyō (Dengyō Daishi) said, “The correct and formal phases of the Dharma have almost slipped by, and the final phase of the Dharma (mappō) is terribly close.” His explanation of “terribly close” implies that his time was not the correct period. The Universal Teacher Dengyō (Dengyō Daishi) was in Japan, when he made the prophecy concerning the beginning of the final phase of the Dharma (mappō): “In regard to the age, it will be the end of the formal phase and the beginning of the final phase of the Dharma. If we enquire about the country, then it will be to the east of Kara [China] and to the west of Matsukatsu [Korea], that is to say Japan. And, when we take a look at the people, they will be the beings of the five pollutions of a kalpa in decay [i. when it suffers deterioration, which brings about the impairment of views, ii. such as selfishness, cynicism, etc., in which iii. the troublesome worries (bonnō, klesha) of wanting, anger, pride, and doubts prevail; as a result, iv. human miseries increase, and happiness wanes, v. causing our bodies to be polluted and the quality of our lives reduced; it will be a time of war and strife].” As it says in the sutra, “So much begrudged and envied, so how will it be after his passing over to nirvana?” There is a good reason for these words. The explanation of war and strife points to the two present calamities of treachery within our boundaries and the threat of invasion from the Western Sea. This is the time when the thousands of realms of bodhisattvas, who spring up from the earth, are to appear, in order to give support to the Shākyamuni of the original gateway and to establish in this country the Fundamental Object of Veneration (gohonzon) for the world of humankind. This Object of Veneration (gohonzon) has never been seen in India or China. Even though it was Prince Shōtoku of Japan who established Shitennōji Temple, the time had not yet come, so the fundamental object of veneration was the Buddha Amida (Amitabha Buddha), whose world was elsewhere. The Emperor Shōmu built the Tōdaiji Temple, whose lord of the teaching was that of the Flower Garland Sutra (Kegon, Avatāmsaka), but he did not reveal the real significance of the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke-kyō). It was the Universal Teacher Dengyō (Dengyō Daishi) who divulged its true meaning in general terms. But, as the time had not arrived, he did not make manifest the Four Bodhisattvas of the original gateway and instead set up an image of the sovereign of the eastern direction with webbed hands and feet. What really transpired was that this Fundamental Object of Veneration (gohonzon) of our school was bequeathed to the thousands of realms of bodhisattvas who sprang up from the earth. These bodhisattvas, bound to the Buddha’s command, are close at hand underground. They did not appear in the correct and formal phases of the Dharma. But, if they do not appear in the final phase of the Dharma (mappō), they will be bodhisattvas whose words are nothing but barefaced lies. And the same applies for the predictions of Shākyamuni, the Buddha Abundant Treasure (Tahō Nyorai, Prabhūtaratna), and all the other Buddha emanations, whose prophecies will be no more than frothy bubbles. On taking these facts into consideration, there have been earthquakes, comets, and other calamities, unlike those of the correct and formal phases of the Dharma. These were not violent changes brought about by karura (garuda), shura (ashura), or dragon spirits. So are these not the particular presages that announce the appearance of the Four Great Bodhisattvas? Tendai (T’ien T’ai) said, “On seeing the intensity of the downpour, we know the size of the dragon that makes it. On seeing the bloom of the lotus flowers, we can judge the depth of the pond.” Myōraku (Miao-lo) said, “Wise men know what the future holds, as serpents know their own nature.” When the sky is clear, the earth brightens. Shouldn’t the person who knows the Dharma Flower derive benefits from worldly dharmas? The person who is unaware of the one instant of mind containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen) is what causes the universal loving-kindness of the Buddha to wrap this idea into a jewel of five ideograms and hang it around the neck of foolish people of the final era of the Dharma of Shākyamuni. The Four Great Bodhisattvas will guard and protect such a person, in no way differently from the Dukes Tai and Shū’s assistance and support for King Bun [Wen, c.1050 BCE], or the way the four white-haired elders waited upon and served the Emperor Kei [r. 194-188 BCE]. The 25th day of the fourth month of the tenth year of Bun.ei [1273] This was written down by Nichiren
Postscript to the Thesis
The 26th day of the fourth month of the tenth year of Bun.ei [1273], at 52 years of age I respectfully acknowledge your gift of one summer kimono, three sticks of ink, and five writing brushes. I have written down some notes concerning the Dharma gateway for the contemplation of the mind and present them to you, Lord Ōta, the Venerable Kyōshin, and the others. This matter is the all-embracing concern of the very person of Nichiren. This letter ought to be kept secret. But, should it be seen by people not doubly motivated, it may help to open new ground. This thesis criticizes a great deal and offers few answers, as it contains things that have never been heard of previously. No doubt it will startle and move the ears and eyes of those who read it, or hear it being read. For instance, even if you do show it to other people, you must not read it to three or four people at the same sitting. Since the two thousand two hundred twenty years after the Buddha’s passing over to nirvana, what is the heart of this thesis has never been put forward. I now proclaim it, in spite of the persecutions by the state, and wait expectantly for the fifth five-hundred-year period. I earnestly beg that the people who come to read it will exert strong faith, so that both master and disciple together will pay their respects to the Immaculate Terrain of Spirit Vulture Peak (Ryōjusen, Gridhrakūta), and reverently gaze upon Shākyamuni, the Buddha Abundant Treasure (Tahō Nyorai, Prabhūtaratna), and all the Buddha emanations. With awe and respect, A reply to Lord Toki
Volcanic rock pounded by the ocean waves, Upolu Island, Western Samoa
Martin Bradley, The Buddha Writings of Nichiren Daishōnin, ISBN: 2-913122-19-1, 2005,
 The Buddha Writings of Nichiren Daishōnin by Martin Bradley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License. |
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