Nichiren Daishonin—His Lifelong Vow and Great Compassion

Question: In the evil world of the latter age, what should ordinary men and women take as their object of devotion?

Answer: They should make the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra their object of devotion. (WND-2, 787)

He further explains:

As the object of devotion one should select that which is superior. … Shakyamuni, Mahavairochana, and all the other Buddhas of the ten directions were born from the Lotus Sutra. Therefore, as the object of devotion I now take that which is capable of bringing forth such life force. (WND-2, 788–89)

Nichiren makes clear his perspective on the object of devotion, stating that the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which has given birth to all manner of Buddhas, should be the object of devotion. 

Subsequently he criticizes the assertions of the founder of the True Word school, Kukai (also known as Great Teacher Kobo), as well as the third and fifth chief priests of the Tendai school, Ennin (Jikaku) and Enchin (Chisho), who held that the Mahavairochana Sutra is superior to the Lotus Sutra.

In this context, Nichiren references popular attitudes toward him, remarking:

At present the priests of the Tendai, True Word, and other schools throughout Japan, as well as the ruler, his ministers, and the common people, all question whether the priest Nichiren is to be regarded as superior to the Great Teachers Kobo, Jikaku, and Chisho. (WND-2, 789)

In response to this situation, he states that he “would in turn ask them if they think that the Great Teachers Kobo, Jikaku, and Chisho are to be regarded as superior to Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions” (WND-2, 789). Nichiren refers to the Nirvana Sutra, which states, “Rely on the Law and not upon persons,” and asserts, “To proclaim that the Lotus Sutra is foremost is to ‘rely on the Law’” (WND-2, 790).

He sternly refutes the error of employing objects of devotion to offer prayers based on the esoteric teachings of the True Word school, considering the historical defeat of emperors and retired emperors who had such prayers offered. He firmly warns against asking priests of the True Word teachings to pray for the defeat of the enemy, as it will cause the nation’s downfall. At that time, a second invasion by the Mongol Empire was anticipated. Japan’s imperial court and the Kamakura shogunate had ordered temples and shrines to pray to subdue the foreign invaders. Traditionally, such prayers were offered to suppress enemies or devils by calling on the power of gods and Buddhas.

Nichiren continues that, as a forerunner of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, he has propagated an unprecedented mandala, the Gohonzon, as the object of devotion, with the understanding that doing so would invite great opposition. He then states his wish to repay his debts of gratitude, stating, “I earnestly pray that the blessings deriving from such activities may be transferred to my parents, my teacher, and to all living beings” (WND-2, 798). He concludes the letter by urging Joken-bo to single-mindedly believe in and pray to the Gohonzon.

Life in Minobu

What was Nichiren’s life like in Minobu? He describes it in his 1276 letter “The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra”:

Here I am surrounded by four mountains, Shichimen to the west, Tenshi to the east, Minobu to the north, and Takatori to the south. Each is high enough to touch the sky, and so steep that even flying birds have trouble crossing them. In their midst are four rivers called Fuji, Haya, Oshira, and Minobu. In the middle, in a ravine some hundred yards or so across, I have built my hut. I cannot see the sun in the daytime or the moon at night. In winter there is deep snow, and in summer the grass grows thick. Because so few people come to see me, the trail is very hard to travel. This year, especially, the snow is so deep that I have no visitors at all. (WND-1, 779)

Having overcome numerous hardships and two exiles, Nichiren was losing physical strength.^[4] The harsh life in Minobu, too, was a great burden on his health, and he wrote to his disciples how he was growing thinner year by year (see WND-1, 779 and “The Reconstruction of Hachiman Shrine,” WND-2, 949).

Also, from the twelfth month of 1277, he suffered from diarrhea and abdominal pain, which appear to have been symptoms of a severe gastrointestinal disorder.

In the sixth month of 1278, when his condition worsened, he managed to keep it under control thanks to medicine that Shijo Kingo had provided.^[5] However, in a letter sent to the younger of the Ikegami brothers, Munenaga, he indicates that his condition again declined in the tenth month of that year, then improved a bit only to worsen again (see “A Harsh Winter Deep in the Mountains,” WND-2, 807). He further states, “As it keeps getting colder and colder, and our clothing is thin and food scarce, no one ventures out” (WND-2, 807).

Though in terms of his health, food, clothing and housing, his circumstances were extremely harsh, Nichiren poured his all into encouraging many disciples, including Shijo Kingo, the Ikegami brothers and Nanjo Tokimitsu, who were facing persecution. He also provided detailed instructions on how to respond to the Atsuhara Persecution.

A Most Valuable Life

After the harsh interrogation of the farmer disciples of Atsuhara, Nichiren sent a letter on the sixth day of the eleventh month, in 1279, to Tokimitsu, who had sheltered his disciples at his personal residence during the persecution with little regard for his own safety. In the letter, he stated, “I write this letter in deep gratitude for your dedication throughout the events at Atsuhara” (“The Dragon Gate,” WND-1, 1003).^[6]

Nichiren called out to his young disciple Tokimitsu, who was battling the Atsuhara Persecution along with him, writing, “My wish is that all my disciples make a great vow” (WND-1, 1003). “Vow” here means the great wish of a bodhisattva to lead all living beings “so that we and other living beings all together may attain the Buddha way” (WND-1, 1003). To this disciple who was facing harsh trials, Nichiren taught the way to lead a life of the highest purpose and greatest value. 

Nichiren sent many letters expressing thanks for offerings Tokimitsu had sent and conveying encouragement. In one, written in the twelfth month of 1280, he states:

Having had numerous public works forcibly assigned to your little village, you yourself lack the horse you should be riding, and your wife and children lack the clothing they should be wearing. Your feeling anxious that the votary of the Lotus Sutra was probably being assailed by snow amidst the mountains and in want of food, and sending me one thousand coins even in such circumstances, is exactly like the poor woman giving a begging monk the single garment that she and her husband wore, or like Rida giving the millet in his jar to a pratyekabuddha.^[7]

How admirable, how noble! I will speak to you in more detail later. (“The Wealthy Man Sudatta,” WND-1, 1087)

This writing expresses Nichiren’s earnest concern and consideration for Tokimitsu.

A Compassionate Gaze for Each Person

From Minobu, Nichiren wrote letters to offer comfort to disciples living in various areas. When Toki Jonin from Shimosa Province^[8] visited him, he turned his thoughts to Jonin’s wife, the lay nun Toki, who had stayed behind at home. 

Nichiren writes her in the third month of 1276, saying, “Meeting here at this moment with Toki, I feel as if I were seeing you” (“The Bow and Arrow,” WND-1, 656).

The lay nun Toki had been caring for her mother-in-law, Jonin’s mother, while herself suffering from illness. After his mother passed, Jonin carried her ashes on his visit to Nichiren. Inquiring about his mother’s last moments and the family’s recent circumstances, Nichiren entrusted to Jonin, as he was about to return home, the letter quoted above addressed to the lay nun Toki. 

While encouraging those he met face to face, Nichiren always showed kind consideration toward the people supporting them.

Nichiren’s letter to the lay nun Sennichi in Sado brims with his concern for her as she grieved the loss of her husband, the lay priest Abutsu-bo. After expressing unwavering conviction that Abutsu-bo has attained enlightenment, he writes: 

The cherry blossoms, once scattered, have again come into bloom, and the fruit, once fallen, has formed again on the trees. The spring breezes are unchanged, and the scenes of autumn are just as they were last year. How is it that, in this one matter [of Abutsu-bo’s passing] alone, things should be so different from what they were, never to be the same again? (“The Treasure of a Filial Child,” WND-1, 1043)

Nichiren mourned along with other disciples who had lost loved ones, such as the lay nun Ueno and the lay nun Myoichi, who had lost their husbands, and the lay nun Konichi and Lord Matsuno and his wife, who had lost children, sharing with them his conviction that the deceased had attained Buddhahood. He strongly encouraged them to believe firmly that they would be reunited with their loved ones through strong faith and emphasized to them the enduring nature of the bonds they shared, which transcend life and death.

In the seventh month of 1281, Nichiren received a letter from Soya Kyoshin, a disciple in Shimosa Province. In it, Kyoshin apparently reported that he might be sent to the battlefront since the combined forces of the Mongol Empire had embarked on a second attack on Japan in the fifth month of that year. The day after receiving the letter, Nichiren promptly sent a reply, “The Refutation of the Three Great Teachers” (WND-2, 954).

In it he states:

Now you and I are joined together as teacher and lay supporter. … In what future existence shall we meet again? I urge you to single-mindedly aspire to be reborn in the pure land of Eagle Peak [where we will meet]. Though your body must face the perils of the present crisis, your mind is one with the mind of the Buddha. And though in your present existence you must enter the realm of asuras, in your future existence you will without doubt dwell in the Buddha land. (WND-2, 958–59)

Nichiren encourages Kyoshin that although as a warrior he may have to engage in battle, so long as he maintains faith, his heart is that of a Buddha.

Since the spring of that year, Nichiren’s health had deteriorated (see “Reply to the Lay Nun, Mother of Ueno,” WND-2, 973) to the extent that he had difficulty replying to his disciples’ letters (see “The Battle of Koan,” WND-2, 967). Despite that he took the trouble to write a disciple who had expressed concern about being sent into battle by clearly explaining the significance of meeting difficulties and teaching of the eternal nature of the bonds between mentor and disciple.^[9]

Nichiren’s life was characterized by his fierce criticism of evil priests and key government officials who believed in and propagated mistaken teachings and at the same time by his warm and compassionate encouragement to those who lived earnestly with sincere belief in his teachings. His words all originated from his great vow and compassion to eradicate the people’s suffering and enable them to enjoy the life state of a Buddha.

(To be continued in an upcoming issue.)

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Letters That Transcend Ages

Ikeda Sensei: The majority of Nichiren Daishonin’s letters to his disciples were composed after he was exiled to Sado Island, and more particularly, after he moved to Mount Minobu—that is, a time when it was difficult for him to meet with them in person.

His letters are an expression of his great compassion; they brim with concern and sensitivity for the feelings of his disciples facing harsh persecution, grieving over the loss of loved ones or weighed down by life’s hardships. Precisely because his letters are filled with heartwarming, life-to-life exchanges with his disciples, they transcend the ages and have the power to move readers deeply even today.^[10]

From the November Living Buddhism