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NICHIREN

THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

MASAHARU ANESAKI, M.A., Litt.D.

PROFESSOR OF THE SCIENCE OF RELIGION

AT THE IMPERIAL UNIVERSITY OF TOKIO AND

PROFESSOR OF JAPANESE LITERATURE AND LIFE AT

HARVARD UNIVERSITY, 1913-IS

CAMBRIDGE
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS

LONDON: HUMPHREY MH^FORD

Oxford University Press

I916

Mkfci^vJY MORSE STEPHClie

PREFACE

SINCE the appearance of Professor James' " Varieties of
Religious Experience," the attention of scholars has been
strongly drawn toward men of original religious experience,
with emphasis on the psychological point of view, disregard-
ing doctrinal considerations. A conspicuous result of the
change brought about by this book is that religious psy-
chology has been extended from a study of material taken
from the average masses, to the study of strong personalities
and their characteristic faith. The primary motive of the
present work is to contribute to this newer branch of religi-
ous psychology a study of a man who has been compara-
tively unknown to Western scholars. Another impetus to
thepublication of this study was derived from the encourage-
ment given by Professor Royce. After reading his book,
" The Problem of Christianity," I presented to him an essay
on the Buddhist conception of life, as a counterpart of his
chapter on the Christian doctrine of life. A reference to
Nichiren made in that paper led me to tell the senior
philosopher of Harvard more about the Buddhist prophet.
The present volume is a result of his advice and encourage-
ment to write something on Nichiren.

Nichiren's personality has various peculiar interests of
its own. Besides the points which I have tried to bring out
in this book, it is deserving of special mention that a great
amount of material for the study of his life is available in his
numerous writings, amounting to more than four hundred
essays and epistles. Not only have most of them been
proved to be authentic, but about one-third are preserved

SllOSG

VI PREFACE

in Nichiren's original hand-writing, while many others have
come down to us in old manuscripts made by his disciples or
later followers. These authentic writings contain ample and
trustworthy sources for the study of his Ufe and thought,
and nearly every step of his development, his struggles, and
his faith can be clearly traced in them; for Nichiren was a
man who told much about himself, his experiences and am-
bitions, his thoughts and sentunents. Moreover, he was an
unexcelled calligrapher, and his autographs have a char-
acteristic vividness of expression, due to the picture-like
forms of the Chinese ideographs. Thus, not only can his
thoughts and the incidents of his life be learned from his
own words and sentences, but the modulations and changes
of sentiment and emotion can be closely followed in his
writings. It is rare that the works of an ancient author are so
well preserved and furnish us so abundantly with the means
of investigating his career and ideas as in this case.^ In the
present sketch all traditions and legends of later growth
have been excluded, and all the main points, as well as
many minor details, are related exclusively on the basis of
Nichiren's own statements. For this reason it may be re-
garded as virtually a record of Nichiren's own confessions,
and as such, it will, I hope, be found a useful study in the
religious psychology of a prophetic leader.

To the intrinsic interest of the Hfe of Nichiren as a Buddh-
ist reformer of the thirteenth century, may be added the
fact that there has been a noteworthy revival of his teach-
ing and spirit in modern Japan. Details about this revival,
as well as the growth of Nichiren's influence after his death,

^ Omitting remarks on editions of his writings, I note here that these writ-
ings are cited in this book from Rev. B. Kato's edition, of 1904, and that the
majority of the autographs are now accessible in splendid photographic
reproductions.

PREFACE vii

will be treated in my forthcoming book on the Religious and
Moral Development of the Japanese. Perhaps I may be
permitted to say a little concerning my personal relation to
the Nichirenite revival. It was during my stay in England
and India that my dear friend, Chogyu Takayama, was con-
verted to Nichiren's faith and that I criticized him in cor-
respondence. Takayama's conversion caused a great stir,
and though there were adverse critics, there were also
enthusiastic admirers, especially among the younger genera-
tion, who flocked to the ardent convert and his accepted
prophet. Since then, many societies have been organized
for the study ■ — both historical and religious — of Nichiren,
and their membership comprises students and scholars,
lawyers and business men, military and naval officers.
When I returned to Japan in June, 1903, my friend had
already been dead six months; but his influence was rapidly
growing, and he who had once been called " the Nietzsche
of Japan " was regarded as the standard-bearer of the
Nichirenite revival. The task of editing Takayama's writ-
ings gave me occasion to study the process of his conversion,
together with the life and personality of his prophet.
Further studies have brought me into closer and closer
touch with Nichiren's faith and thoughts. The conse-
quence is that in writing this book I have always been
tempted to tell the story fully, and have found it difficult to
decide how much should be omitted. At any rate, I offer
this little volume to the public with a full confidence that
I have not misrepresented the great teacher.

I cannot let this book appear without expressing my deep
gratitude to Professor Josiah Royce and Professor George F.
Moore. The former, as I have said above, showed his inter-
est in the subject and gave me valuable aid by reading
through the manuscript and suggesting various points that

viii PREFACE

might with advantage be recast, for all of which I am very
grateful. Professor Moore has kindly revised the manu-
script, made arrangements for publication, and consented
to read the proofs. Indeed, without such encouragement
and assistance from my fatherly colleagues at Harvard this
publication would not have been possible. The present
volume will always recall to me pleasant memories of my
delightful stay at Harvard, during my two years of work
there. I hope that I may soon give another humble sign of
my homage to Harvard by a publication dealing with the
religious and moral history of Japan, which was the subject
of my lectures there.

M. Anesaki.
Cambridge, Massachusetts,
June gth, 1915,

the six hundred and thirty-fourth anniversary of the arrival
of the Mongol armada at the Bay of Hakata.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

NicraREN AND His Time ^^^^

Nichiren the prophet 3

The social degeneracy and a Buddhist prediction 4

The poHtical situation of his time 6

The " degenerate Buddhism "; the four schools of Buddhism . 7

CHAPTER II

Nichiren's Birth, Studies, and Conversion. The
Lotus of Truth

Nichiren's childhood and the years of his study 12

The final resort of his faith and the " Sacred Title " of the

Scripture 15

The Lotus of Truth; its general nature 18

The introduction and the exposition of the ideal aim 19

The perpetuation of the Truth 22

The revelation of the real entity of Buddha's personahty ... 26

The " consummation and perpetuation " 29

Nichiren's personal touch with the Scripture 30

CHAPTER III

Nichiren's Public Appearance and Persecution

His proclamation of his new faith ^^

His warning and the first exile 36

His perilous experiences and the " Stanzas of Perseverance " . 39

Reflections on the relations of his mission 41

CHAPTER IV

An Interlude and a Narrow Escape

His pugnacious spirit and his tender heart 46

His mother and his old master 47

The peril of the pine forest and the escape 49

His missionary journeys and converts 50

X CONTENTS

CHAPTER V

The Threatening Mongol Invasion and the
Sentence of Death

The arrival of the Mongol envoys and Nichiren's renewed re-
monstrance 52

Prosecution and sentence of death; the narrow escape and a
" resurrection " 54

Release from death and second exile 58

CHAPTER VI

The Exile in Sado and the Ripening of Nichiren's
Faith in His Mission

A calm reflection and the attainment of faith in his mission . . 60

His life in solitary exile 63

" The Heritage of the Great Thing Concerning Life and Death " . 65
" Opening the Eyes "; the ethical aspects of reUgious life and

faith 68

Absolute trust in Buddha's prophetic assurance 70

A better time, and Nichiren's thought about sin 73

CHAPTER VII

The Climax of Nichiren's Life; the Graphic Repre-
sentation OF THE Supreme Being

Peace in exile; the object of religious worship 76

The Supreme Being and the doctrine of " mutual participa-
tion " 79

The Supreme Being; the union of the Truth and his Person . . 81
"The ReaUty as It is" and the personal reahzation of Buddha-
hood 82

The revelation of the Great Mandala and further thoughts on
his mission 85

CHAPTER VIII

Release and Retirement; Further Confirmation
OF His Faith

Nichiren's attitude toward the government and the nation . . 89
His return to Kamakura and the last breach with the govern-
ment 91

His retirement and his reason for retiring from the world ... 93

CONTENTS XI

CHAPTER IX fr. V^^

A Paradise on Earth and the Holy See

Minobu, the place of retirement 97

The world and the individual; the ideal and the actual .... 98

" The Testimony Common to all Buddhas " loi

The true Buddhist creates a paradise everywhere 104

The Kingdom of Buddha and the Holy See 108

" The Three Great Mysteries " 109

CHAPTER X

Silent Prayer and Anxious Watching

The hope of the future and the present danger 112

The curse on the infidels 116

The curse and the sense of sinfulness, individual and national . 117

Dedication of good to fellow-beings 119

Sense of indebtedness and fellowship 1 20

Nichiren's world-wide scheme 124

The Mongol invaders and their final defeat 125

The holy person and the holy place 129

CHAPTER XI

The Last Stage of Nichiren's Lite and His Death

His ideas about illness and death 131

His last moments and his legacy 133

APPENDIX

The Buddhist Conception of Reality

I. The fundamental tenets of Buddhism concerning reality . . 137

II. Tendai's doctrines of the Middle Path and reality .... 148

Chronological Table 157

NICHIREN
THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST
PROPHET

CHAPTER I

NICHIREN AND HIS TIME

IF JAPAN ever produced a prophet or a religious man of
prophetic zeal, Nichiren was the man. He stands almost
a unique figure in the history of Buddhism, not alone be-
cause of his persistence through hardship and persecution,
but for his unshaken conviction that he himself was the
messenger of Buddha, and his confidence in the future of his
religion and country. Not only one of the most learned men
of his time, but most earnest in his prophetic aspirations, he
was a strong man, of combative temperament, an eloquent
speaker, a powerful writer, and a man of tender heart. He
was born in 1222, the son of a fisherman, and died in 1282, a
saint and prophet.

His time was a most significant epoch in the history of
Japan, in political and social, religious and moral aspects.
New energies were at work on every side, and new inspira-
tions were the need of the time. Nichiren passed his Hfe of
sixty years in combating the prejudices of the age and in
giving warnings to the authorities and the people, not only
in reUgious matters but in state affairs. His personality was
partly a product of his time, but he Hved both in the past
and in the future, being convinced of his predestined mes-
sage and aspiring for future reaHzation of his ideals.

4 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

Nearly. seven hundred years had passed since the intro-
duction of Buddhism into Japan. It had become the
religion of the state, and its hierarchies had attained
the power and dignity of state authorities, but inner decay
was manifesting itself, and the corruption of the clergy was
becoming appaUing. The central government, firmly estab-
lished since the seventh century, was disintegrating through
the degeneration £)i the court bureaucracy. The actual
power was transferred to the hands of the miUtary clans.
The passing of the luxury and grandeur, " Peace and Ease,"
of the court nobles in Miyako, and the estabhshment of the
miUtary dictatorship at Kamakura, far away in an eastern
province, impressed the people immensely. The cherry
blossoms, in full bloom, were suddenly scattered by a frosty
storm. Not only did the poets so feel and sing, but the
people were aware of the great changes going on around
them.

In addition to these changes, the minds of the Buddhist
leaders were in turmoil, excited by the prophecy of a great
crisis to occur about that time — a crisis not only for Japan,
but for the whole world. An old Buddhist tradition dis-
tinguished three periods of the Buddhist reUgion {Dharma,
or Law) after the death of its founder. The first thousand
years made up the age of the Perfect Law, in which the
monastic discipline was strictly observed and the behevers
were sincerely pious. The second millennium, the age of the
Copied Law, was a time during which faith and morality de-
clined, but piety was shown in the foundation of numerous
temples and sanctuaries. The third age, the ten thousand
years after that, was to be the age of the Latter Law, a reign
of vice and strife. Though there were minor variations in
the tradition as regards the time divisions, all Japanese
Buddhists beheved in the apocalyptic legend as a whole.

NICHIREN

THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

REPRODUCTION OF AN AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT
BY NICHIREN

HIS TIME 5

And since they put Buddha's death in 949 b.c, they be-
lieved that the last of the three ages began in the year 1052
A.D., twenty-four years after the death of the Regent Michi-
naga, with whom the pomp and splendor of the court life in
Miyako reached its culmination.

What form of Buddhism would be best suited to the
coming days of degeneration was a question which had
occupied the thought of many Buddhist leaders since the
ninth century. Saicho, who founded a new centre of Buddh-
ism on Mount Hiei, near the then new capital Miyako, in
the beginning of the ninth century, meant the foundation to
be a preparation for the approaching days of the third age.
He said: " Approaching is the end of the age of the Copied
Law, and nigh is coming that of the Latter Law; the ripe
time for the propagation of the unique truth expounded
in the Lotus of Truth." ^ Thenceforward, none of the
leaders escaped the influence of the prophecy, and serious
thought on the Latter Days was growing during the eleventh
and twelfth centuries. And it was Nichiren who came to the
front as the most ardent follower of Saicho, and was des-
tined to encounter perils on that account.

When Nichiren appeared in public with his cry of warning,
two hundred years had passed since the supposed beginning
of the Latter Days. The vicissitudes of the rising and falling
clans, culminating in the establishment of the military dic-
tatorship by the Minamotos, seemed to manifest the dan-
gerous signs of the times. The irremediable corruption of
the hierarchies gave clamorous testimony to the decline of
the religion. Let us consider the poHtical and religious con-

' Or, The Lotus of the Perfect Truth, Saddharma-pundarika in Sanskrit,
the most important scripture of Japanese Buddhism, of which we shall learn
more later on.

6 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

ditions against which Nichiren stood forth as a warning
prophet.

Early in the thirteenth century, the power of the ruling
clan Minamoto passed gradually into the hands of their
usurping major-domos, the Hojo family. The latter ruled
with the modest title of Shikken, or Commissioners, with the
puppet dictatorship ostensibly over them. Their govern-
ment was famous for strict execution of justice and for sim-
plicity of administration; and the Commissioners themselves
set examples of simple life and stern justice. But their
modesty was, in the eyes of those who regarded them as
usurpers, merely a means to their ambition — the ambition
to secure popularity — and their equity but a method of
solidifying their rule. Indeed, the Hojos understood how
to sacrifice everything in titulo to the power de facto, and to
become the real rulers of the nation by pushing aside the
Imperial family and the titulary Dictator. A firm peace was
established, and economic conditions prospered; but there
was something lacking in it. There prevailed a feeling
among the thoughtful minority that the " country of the
gods " ^ was not being actually ruled by its legitimate rulers,
the descendants of the Sun-goddess.

Availing themselves of this unexpressed dissatisfaction,
the Imperial party framed a plot against the Hojos in 1 2 2 1 ,
a few months before the birth of Nichiren. The plot was
defeated, and the Commissioner government dared to banish
prominent members of the Imperial family to remote islands,
and to put an infant on the throne. Thus, the Hojo power
was consolidated and immensely increased, although these
rulers still retained the modest title of Commissioner. The

' This appellation of Japan came into vogue after the latter half of the
twelfth century, and was closely connected with the belief that the Imperial
family were descendants of the Sun-goddess, the chief national deity.

HIS TIME 7

resentment of the discontented patriots only grew deeper
in consequence of the forcible suppression of the move-
ment, but politically their cause had already been hope-
lessly lost. It was under these circumstances that Nichiren
appeared on the pubhc platform as a spokesman of the
patriotic cause whose utterances were deeply tinged with
religious fervor. He declared that the nation would be
ruined, unless the fundamental principle of the national
Hfe should be restored, that is, unless the people were
governed by rulers legitimate both in title and authority.
Herein lay the national standpoint of his rehgious ethics,
and this plea attracted to his teaching many warriors who
were imperialists in principle or covert malcontents against
the existing regime. This was also the reason why the Ho jo
government, as we shall presently see, treated the clamorous
protestant as a traitor.

Turning to another matter, the religious conditions, Nichi-
ren saw similar evils, closely connected with the political
and social disorders. The far-reaching plan of Dengyo, the
reformer of the ninth century, for estabHshing the centre
of Japanese Buddhism on Mount Hiei and unifying its
church organization, had been partly realized. But even
this partial attainment of the ideal of a state church was
of merely temporary duration, because the relations estab-
Hshed between the church hierarchy and the government
bureaucracy had had a corrupting influence on both of
them. The centralization of government and the conse-
quent accumulation of wealth in the capital were con-
comitant with the development of ecclesiastical power and
the growth of secular aims and motives among the clergy.
The government fell into the hands of the Fujiwara oli-
garchy, who now became the supporters of the church with

8 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

its rituals and mysteries; and the priesthood degenerated
into tools of the ambitious aristocrats, by promising
them the supernatural aid of religion, -afi^ by supplying
them with elaborate ceremonies for the gratification of
their over-refined tastes. The final result was the collapse
of the effeminate court nobihty and the rise of the military
class. To the eyes of those — few in number — who ad-
hered to the ideal of Dengyo, the political disintegration
seemed to be a necessary consequence of the ecclesiastical
degeneration. Nichiren was one of these, and the one who
was most severe in attacking the existing regime — both
political and ecclesiastical.

The chief cause of the degeneration of the Buddhist
Church lay, as Nichiren thought, in its promiscuous adop-
tion of Shingon mysticism, a form of Buddhism contami-
nated with Hinduism and other alien elements. It was this
admixture that appealed to the court nobles and supplied
them with brilliant spectacles and occult mysteries. It was
this secularization, or vulgarization, of religion that had
obscured the high ideals of Dengyo and reduced his institu-
tions on Hiei to instruments of greed and vice. Even after
the fall of the Fujiwara nobles, the supporters of Hiei, this
rehgion of occult rites exercised its influence far and wide
among the people at large through the superstitious prac-
tice of magic and sorcery. Therefore, Nichiren's bitterest
attacks were directed against this corrupt religion and its
centre, Hiei. He firmly believed that the sole way to restore
Dengyo's religion consisted in adhering faithfully and
exclusively to the scripture, the Lotus of Truth.

Another form of Buddhism, in which Nichiren saw a curse,
was the worship of the Buddha Amita. This was a special
development of Buddhist faith which emphasized the

HIS TIME 9

simple-hearted devotion to Amita, the Buddha of Infinite
Light and Life, the Lord of the Western Paradise. This
worship seemed to Nichiren to be a desertion of the Buddha
Sakya-muni, the genuine founder of Buddhism and the Lord
of the Universe, as he was revealed in the Lotus of Truth.
The gospel of salvation by the all-redeeming grace of
Amita Buddha had crept into the institutions of Hiei, and,
later, produced an independent sect, through the personal
inspiration of the pietist Honen and by its appeal to dis-
tressed hearts in the turbulent times toward the end of the
twelfth century. Amita Buddha was, in the eyes of Nichiren,
nothing but a usurper of the true dignity of Buddha, and
the piety of multitudes toward the supposed savior but a
manifestation of the hysterical tendency of the age. Nichi-
ren boldly declared that those who believed in this usurper
were destined to fall to the nethermost hell, while the Shin-
gon mysticism was denounced by him as a religion that was
ruining the vitality of the nation.

Nichiren's third object of attack was a school of Buddhist
monastic discipline. In the twelfth century a reaction
against the corruption of the hierarchy took, with certain
reforming leaders, the shape of enforcing a strict observance
of the monastic rules. They systematized the principles of
Buddhist ethics from the standpoint of monastic discipline.
This school was called Ritsu, or Disciplinary School, and
developed a one-sided rigorism, which manifested in the
course of time the evils of formalism. Training in morality,
under rules, cultivated a tendency to practise virtue merely
for the sake of individual salvation. Self-satisfaction easily
grew into self-conceit, which often tempted the adept in
these extraordinary ways of life to make his attainments
the means of attracting popular admiration and reverence.

lO NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

Moreover, the slavish and formal observance of disciplinary
rules which had originally been intended for Hindu monks,
aroused antagonism in those who adhered to Japanese ideas
and customs. Nichiren, as a nationalist and an advocate of
a broader Buddhism, could not fail to protest vigorously
against the Ritsu Buddhists. He called them traitors to
their country.

The introduction of .9, ncv\j Buddhist school, called Zen, or
the Meditative School, increased the religious confusion.
Zen was a simple method of training intuitive insight by the
practice of meditation, which aimed at revealing the pri-
mordial purity of the cosmic soul in each individual soul.
Riddle-like questions were given by the master which the
disciples had to solve, sitting in meditation, by avoiding the
usual process of reasoning and trying to discover an unex-
pected light by a flash of illumination. This new method of
mental training and spiritual drill commended itself to the
minds of miHtary men, and they found in it a very beneficial
exercise for keeping their composure and preparing for
resolute action. Not only did Zen reject systematic thought
on religion and ethics, but it induced those robust but rude
men to take pride in self-assertion and often to run to an
excess of individualism. Nichiren saw in this new method
of Buddhist meditation a rebellion against the genuine
Buddhism of the Lotus, as well as a fruitful source of
rampant selfishness. " Devil " was the name given by
Nichiren to the Zenist, and the " devils " were threatening
the national integrity of Japan and the authority of the
true Buddhism.

Shingon occultism ruining the nation, Ritsu methodism
betraying the country to foreign customs, Amita-Buddhism
leading people to the hells, and Zen meditation alluring men
to devilish pride — these four were declared by Nichiren to

HIS TIME II

be the greatest curses of the age. The violent antagonism
of Nichiren was due to his exclusive faith in the teachings
of the scripture, Lotus, as representing the genuine and
deepest truth of Buddhism. Now, we shall see why and
how he arrived at this conviction, and what the Lotus of
Truth is.

CHAPTER II

NICHIREN'S BIRTH, STUDIES, AND CONVERSION
The Lotus of Truth

NICHIREN was born on the seacoast of the south-
eastern corner of Japan, in a fishing village surrounded
on the north by undulating hills and washed by the dark
blue waves of the Pacific Ocean on the south. Tidal waves
have washed away the part of the seacoast where his
father's house stood, and today the spot is pointed out in
the depths of the wonderfully clear water, on the rocky
bottom of the sea, where lotus flowers are said to have
bloomed miraculously at the birth of the wonderful boy.
His father was a fisherman, and doubtless the boy was often
taken out in the father's boat, and must have enjoyed the
clear sky and pure air of the open sea. When in later years,
during his retirement in the mountains, a follower sent him a
bunch of seaweed to eat, the old hermit wept as he called to
mind his early memories of the seaweeds, which are, indeed,
a charming sight as they are seen through the transparent
water. Far away from the effeminating air of the Imperial
capital, far away from the turmoils and agitations of the
Dictator's residence, the boy grew up in the fresh and in-
vigorating atmosphere of a seaside village, in the midst of
unadorned nature — wooded hills and green trees, blue
waters and sandy beaches. The inspiration of nature and
the effect of association with the simple, sturdy people are
manifest in each step of Nicheren's later career, in his
thoughts and his deeds. The new light was to come out of

STUDIES AND CONVERSION 1 3

the East for the salvation of the Latter Days — this pro-
phetic zeal of Nichiren is in large measure to be attributed
to his idea about his birth, and to the surroundings of his
early life.

In 1233, when the boy was eleven years old, his parents
sent him to a monastery on the hill known as Kiyozumi,
the " Clear Luminosity," near his home. The reason is not
given, but it was in no way an exceptional or extraordi-
nary step; in those days many a father did the same, whether
from motives of piety or for the sake of the boy's future
career. The peaceful and innocent days of the boy novice
passed; he was made an ordained monk when he was fif-
teen years old, and the religious name given by his master
was Rencho, or " Lotus-Eternal." Doubts grew with learn-
ing, because too many tenets and practices were included in
the Buddhist religion of his days, and the keen-sighted
youth was never satisfied with the incongruous mixture in
the religion he was taught. " My wish had always been," he
tells us in his later writings,^ " to sow the seeds for the at-
tainment of Buddhahood, and to escape the fetters of births
and deaths. For this purpose I once practised, according to
the custom of most fellow-Buddhists, the method of repeat-
ing the name of Amita Buddha, putting faith in his redeem-
ing power. But, since doubt had begun to arise in my mind
as to the truth of that belief, I committed myself to a vow
that I would study all the branches of Buddhism known in
Japan and learn fully what their diverse teachings were."
His distress of mind was, however, not over a merely intel-
lectual problem, but was a deeply religious crisis; and,
indeed, the young monk was then passing through so vio-
lent a struggle of religious conversion that he at last fell
into a swoon, following a fit of spitting blood. It is said

* Nichiren' s Works (ed. Kato, Tokyo, 1904), p. 1770.

14 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

that during this swoon he saw, in vision, Kokuzo, the deity
of wisdom.

This happened when Rencho was seventeen years old, and
in the next year we find him studying under a teacher of
Amita-Buddhism in Kamakura, the residence of the Com-
missioners. The uneasiness of the young monk was not
allayed, and his quest of truth was not satisfied by the
teachers who were accessible in the provinces. Rencho then
went to Hiei, the greatest centre of Buddhist learning and
discipline, where he stayed from 1243 to 1253, pursuing a
varied course of study and training. During these years he

.also visited other centres of Buddhism, where special
branches of Buddhism were taught and practised, and
extended his study even to Shinto and Confucianism.
The results of all this study and investigation are shown,
not only in the erudition of his later writings, but in the
comprehensive breadth of his doctrine. But the range of
his studies never diverted him from his central problem:
What is the true form and the unique truth of Buddhism ?
On the contrary, as he progressed in knowledge, the con-

( viction gradually grew strong in his mind that the truth is
one, and that the essence of the Buddhist religion — nay, of
human Hfe — is not manifold. " I had gone to many centres
of the religion," he says in reminiscence, " during those
twenty years, in the quest of Buddhist truths. The final

f conclusion I arrived at was that the truth of Buddhism
must be one in essence. Many people lose themselves in
the labyrinth of learning and studies, through thinking that
every one of the diverse branches might help to the attain-
ment of Buddhist ideals." ^ Wherein, then, did the young
zealot find the unique truth ?

^ Works, pp. 1770-71.

STUDIES AND CONVERSION 1 5

Fierce internal struggles, wide study, and prolonged
thought brought this sincere seeker after truth to the final
conviction that the scripture, " The Lotus of Truth," was
the deposit of the unique truth, the book in which the Lord
Buddha had revealed his real entity, and on which the great
master Dengyo had based his religion and institutions. The
name Rencho was now exchanged for Nichiren, which means
Sun-Lotus; the Sun, the source of universal illumination,
and the Lotus, the symbol of purity and perfection, were his
ideals. Nichiren's firm behef was that the Lotus of Truth
was not only the perfect culmination of Buddhist truth,
but the sole key to the salvation of all beings in the latter
days of degeneration. Thus, all other branches of Bud-
dhism, which deviated from the principle of the exclusive
adoration of this scripture, were denounced as untrue to
Buddha, as we have already seen in Nichiren's condemna-
tion of the prevalent forms of Buddhism. Nichiren's idea
was the restoration of Buddhism to its original purity, and to
the principles propounded by Dengyo; but what he under-
stood by restoration was quite different from our modern
idea of historical criticism. The truths are eternal, but the
method should be a simple one, available for all, especially
for men of the Latter Days, and without regard to differences
among them in wisdom and virtue. These convictions of
Nichiren had a comphcated background of philosophical
thought, in accord with the general trend of Buddhist specu-
lation, and as a result of his learning. But all these doctrines
and arguments were fused by the white-heat of his faith and
zeal; that is, he simplified the whole practice of religion to
an easy method, that of uttering the " Sacred Title " of the
Scripture.

The Sacred Title meant the exclusive adoration of the
truths revealed in the book, Lotus, practised in the repetition

l6 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

of the formula: " Namu Mydho-renge-kydj'^ that is, "Ado-
ration be to the Scripture of the Lotus of the Perfect Truth! "
sj This formula is, according to Nichiren, neither merely the
title of the book, nor a mere symbol, but an adequate em-
bodiment of the whole truth revealed in that unique book,
when the formula is uttered with a full belief in the truths
therein revealed, and with a sincere faith in Buddha as the
lord of the world. Nichiren's thought on this point will be
more fully expounded further on, but here let us see just
what he meant by the Lotus of Truth. He wrote later, in
1275, explaining his position, as follows:

All the letters of this Scripture are indeed the Hving embodiments
of the august Buddhas, who manifested themselves in the state of
supreme enlightenment. It is our physical eyes that see in the book
merely letters. To talk in analogy, the pretas (hungry ghosts) see fire
even in the water of the Ganga, while mankind sees water, and the
celestial beings see ambrosia. ^ This is simply due to the difference of
their respective karmas, though the water is one and the same. The
blind do not perceive anything in the letters of the Scripture; the
physical eyes of man see the letters; those who are content with self-
annihilation see therein emptiness; whereas the saint (Bodhisattva)
realizes therein inexhaustible truths, and the enlightened (Buddhas)
perceive in each of the letters a golden body of the Lord Sakya-muni.
This is told in the holy text in the teaching that those who recite the
Scripture are in possession of the Buddha's body. Nevertheless, pre-
judiced men thus degrade the holy and sublime truth.i

What, then, is taught in this book which Nichiren es-
teemed so highly, and what led Nichiren to his conviction ?
The Lotus of the Perfect Truth, or Myoho-renge-kyo in
Sinico-Japanese, is an equivalent of the extant Sanskrit
text, Saddharma-pundarika-sutra.^ The book circulated in

* Works, p. 1165; cp. ibid., 1126, 1184, 1313, 1317, 1533, etc.

"^ The Saddharma-pundarika-sutra, edited by H. JCem and B. Nanjio,
St. Petersburg, 191 2. An English translation by Kern is in Vol. xxi of the
Sacred Books of the East; the French translation of E. Burnouf is entitled,
Le Lotus de la Bonne Loi. Beside Kumarajiva's version (Nanjio's Catalogue,

STUDIES AND CONVERSION 1 7

China and Japan in a Chinese translation produced by
Kumarajiva in 407. The translation was so excellent in the
beauty and dignity of its style that it supplanted all other
translations, and was regarded as a classical writing in
Chinese, even apart from its religious import. It was on
the basis of this book that Chi-ki, the Chinese philosopher-
monk of the sixth century, created a system of Buddhist
philosophy of religion.' This system was called the Tendai
school, from the name of the hill where Chi-ki lived; and
it was this system of religious philosophy and philosophical
religion that was transplanted by Dengyo to Japan as the
corner-stone of his grand ecclesiastical institutions.

Nichiren discovered, during his stay on Hiei, that Den-
gyo's far-reaching scheme of unifying Japanese Buddhism
in his institutions on Hiei had been totally obscured and
corrupted by the men of Hiei itself, who had imported de-
generate elements of other systems. This thought induced
Nichiren to make a zealous attempt at restoring Dengyo's
genuine Buddhism, and therefore the orthodox Tendai
system. This could be done only by concentrating thought

no. 134), there are two Chinese translations; and one of them produced by
Dharmaraksa (Nanjio's Catalogue, no. 138), is much nearer to the extant
Sanskrit text than the former. Now as to the rendering of the title, Dharma-
raksa has for sad the word meaning " true " or " right," like Kern's render-
ing " true," while Kumarajiva's rendering myo is understood to mean " per-
fect," " mysterious," " subtle." Here the rendering the " Lotus of the Per-
fect Truth " is according to Nichiren's exegesis.

Moreover, Nichiren, after comparing the two Chinese versions, decidedly
preferred Kumarajiva's. The reasons given are several, exegetic and doc-
trinal; but here it suffices to say that we reproduce passages of the book
from Kumarajiva's translation, and as interpreted by Nichiren. For our
object is to show how Nichiren derived inspiration from the book through
Kumarajiva's version, and chiefly according to the Tendai exegesis. Refer-
ences are made to a Japanese translation by Yamakawa, and for the sake of
comparison the Sanskrit text and Kern's translation are referred to.

^ See Appendix, on the Buddhist Conception of Reality, Part II,

1 8 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

and devotion upon the sole key of Buddhist truths, as pro-
mulgated by the two great masters — that is, upon the
Lotus of Truth, especially in Kumarajiva's version.

The book, Lotus, was acknowledged by nearly all Buddh-
ists to be sermons deUvered by Buddha in the last stage of
his ministry, and, as such, called forth the highest tributes
from most Buddhists of all ages. Critical study of Buddhist
literature will doubtless throw more light on the formation
and date of the compilation; but even apart from minute
analysis, we can safely characterize the book as occupying
the place taken in Christian literature by the Johannine
writings, including the Gospel, the Apocalypse, and the
Epistles. The chief aim of the Lotus, both according to the
old commentators and to modern criticism, consists in
revealing the true and eternal entity of Buddhahood in the
person of the Lord Sakya, who appeared among mankind
for their salvation. In other words, the main object is to
exalt the historic manifestation of Buddha and identify
his person with the cosmic Truth {Dharma), the universal
foundation of all existences.

This main thesis of the book is illustrated, supported, and
exalted in manifold ways, and there are many side-issues
and episodes. Similes and parables, visions and prophecies,
warnings and assurances, doctrinal analysis and moral in-
junctions — all these ramify from the central strand or are
woven into it. The whole composition is a symphony in
which the chief motive is the identifying of Buddha and
Dharma, but the melodies, the instruments, the movements,
and even the key-notes vary from part to part; and, na-
turally, the inspirations imparted by the book varied from
time to time, in accordance with the temperaments, the
needs and aims, of different ages and persons. Thus, in
describing the outlines of the sermons and narratives con-

STUDIES AND CONVERSION 19

tained in this wonderful religious book, let us pay attention
to the different phases which were emphasized by different
teachers, and especially to the points which inspired
Nichiren in the several stages of his Ufe.

The book opens with a prelude played in the serene Ught
of the stage, the Vulture Peak idealized,' which is illumined
by the rays emitted from Buddha's forehead. He sits im-
mersed in deep contemplation, and yet in the air made bril-
liant by his spiritual radiance are seen not only innumerable
Buddhas and saints, who move in the luminous air, but
existences of all kinds, down to those in the nethermost
purgatories. Heavenly flowers pour upon the place, the
quaking of the earth heralds the approach of an extraordi-
nary occasion, and the congregation is deeply moved with
amazement and admiration — men and gods, saints and
ascetics, demons and serpent-kings — all are tense with won-
dering expectation of what the Lord Buddha is going to
reveal. (Chapter i. Introduction.)

Buddha arises out of contemplation, and what he re-
veals is that the real import of the Dharma is beyond the
ordinary comprehension or reasoning, and that only those
who put faith in the unique truth promulgated by all Bud-
dhas are enabled to grasp it. What he now means to disclose
is the truth of the Sole Road (Ekaydna) which has enabled
the Buddhas of the past to attain Buddahood, and which is
destined to lead all beings, the future Buddhas, to the same
attainment. The Truth is one and the goal the same; but
the means and methods are not, because the beings to be
enUghtened are various in character, capability, and inclina-
tion. Thus, all Buddhas have entered upon their training
and work for the purpose of leading all beings to the same

^ Cp. Anesaki, Buddhist Art, pp. 15-17, and plates II and VI.

20 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

height of attainment they themselves have reached, and
Sakya-muni is one of these. Yet, mindful of the varying
dispositions of the beings to be instructed, Buddha has
opened three gateways, one for those who are keen for
knowledge and illumination in philosophical truths, that is,
for the Srdvakas; the second for those who are incHned to
meditation and self-seclusion — the Pratyeka-buddhas ; and
the third for those who wish to perfect themselves along
with others — the Bodhisattvas. Although these three ways
are different in method and in result, they are destined finally
to converge to one and the same Sole Road of Buddha-
hood. The opening of the dififerent gateways is due to
the " tactfulness " {updya-kausalya) of Buddha's educative
method, while the basis of all lies in the same Truth, and
the aim is universal enlightenment. This idea of tactfulness,
or pedagogic method,^ gave to many Buddhist thinkers a
clue to explain the diversity existing within Buddhism, and
we shall later see how Nichiren made use of this explanation.
(Chapter ii.)

The discourse now proceeds to further elucidation of the
relation between the final aim and the educative methods.
Three parables are adduced for this purpose: the parable
of rescuing children out of a burning house; the parable of
bringing a prodigal son to the consciousness of his original
dignity and properties; and the simile of the rain-water
nourishing all kinds of plants (chapters iii-v). Sakya-
muni, our master, is at the same time the father of all
beings, who tries and does everything to save his errant
children. The truth he teaches is the universal truth which
can finally be realized by all beings in various existences,
just as rain-water, one in essence and taste, enables all sorts
of plants to grow and flourish, each according to its capacity
' "Accommodation."

STUDIES AND CONVERSION 21

and disposition. Thus, the tactful achievement of Buddha's
revelation is possible, because he has himself realized the
truth of existence, and his person is the embodiment of
universal Dharma.

What is set forth is the aim of all Buddhas, and the
efficacy of the truth they reveal to lead all beings to en-
lightenment. The leader in this work is found in the
person of Sakya-muni, and naturally all of his disciples are
assured of the highest attainment and made representa-
tives of the future Buddhas. This assurance, called vyd-
karana, is a prophetic revelation given to those earnest
Buddhists who would engage themselves to practise the
moral perfection of the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva is a
Buddhist who has expressed his desire to perfect himself by
saving others, and taken the vow (pranidhdna) in presence
of a Buddha, as his master and witness, and who lives his
life, dedicating all his goods to the spiritual welfare of all
fellow-beings. When a Bodhisattva takes the vow, and his
zeal proves worthy of his determined vow, the Buddha, his
witness, assures the Bodhisattva of his future attainment,
and reveals his destiny by prophesying how and when the
final end of Buddhahood will be attained. The vow (Jap.
seigwan, Skt. pranidhdna), the dedication (Jap. eko, Skt.
parindmand), and the assurance (Jap-jz^^i, Skt. •uydkarana) ,
make up the three cardinal points in Buddhist ethics for the
achievement of the Bodhisattva ideals.

In accordance with this principle of Buddhist ethics, the
discourse of the Lotus proceeds (in chapters vi-rx), to
reveal the vydkarana given by Sakya-muni to his disciples,
assuring them their future destiny, as well as telling the
remote causes accumulated for its fulfilment. The vydka-
ranas given in these chapters are indeed prophecies, but
Buddhist thought has never been satisfied without referring

22 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

future accomplishments to their past causes. This is the
reason why chapter vii tells how the start was made by
Sakya-muni, in a remote past, when he was a prince and
took the vows of Bodhisattvaship before the Buddha
Abhijnajnanabhibhu,^ and how, ever since, the connection
between himself and his disciples has been maintained.
Just as the vows taken by that prince, have been accom-
plished and his master's vydkarana fulfilled, so will the
destiny of his present disciples surely be attained. And
thus the prophetic assurance is extended to all Buddhists of
the future. These discourses have been a great inspiration
to many earnest Buddhists, who have journeyed on the way
to their perfection with confidence in the assurance given in
these chapters.

The purpose of Buddha's work has been laid down, the
assurance given to his followers, and the foundation of
the Sole Road explained. The further revelation naturally
turns to how the destiny is to be worked out by the Bo-
dhisattvas. The essence of Bodhisattvaship in this sense
consists in the adoration paid to the sacred text of the
Lotus, the embodiment of universal truths — • adoration not
only in worship through ceremonies and recitations, but in
practising its precepts and preaching its truths to others;
in short, in living the life of Truth according to the sermons
of the Lotus. The Bodhisattva is the messenger of the
X . Tathagata^ (Buddha), the one sent by him, who does the
*- — •- work of the Tathagata, who puts absolute faith in Buddha
and his Truth, and lives the Hfe of Truth, especially by

1 The name means " the Conqueror of Powers and Wisdom."

^ Tathdgala (Jap. Nyorai) means the " Truth-winner " and, at the same

time "Truth-revealer." Cp. Anesaki, Buddhist Art, pp. 3-5, and 8; also
" the article "Tathagata" to appear in Hasting's Encyclopaedia of Religion

and Ethics.

STUDIES AND CONVERSION 23

working to propagate the truths of the Lotus among the
degenerate people of the Latter Days. Thus, chapter x,
entitled the " Preacher," consists of the injunctions given
to the Bodhisattvas to live worthy of their high aim and in
obedience to Buddha's message and commission.

A vision follows the injunction, a miraculous revelation,
as well as an apocalyptic assurance (chapter xi, entitled
" The Apparition of the Heavenly Shrine "). A vast shrine
(stupa) adorned with the seven kinds of jewels appears in
front of Sakya-muni as he is preaching; heavenly hosts
surround it, waving banners, burning incense, playing
music; the air becomes luminous, iridescent, fragrant; the
sky resounds with heavenly music and chanted h^mns.
Suddenly, the scene is totally transformed, as we see in
apocalj-ptic Hterature generally. A voice is heard from
within the shrine in the praise of Sakya-muni's work and
sermons. In the midst of the celestial glories and the hosts
of heavenly beings, the Heavenly Shrine is opened, and
therein is seen seated the Buddha Prabhuta-ratna,^ who
long since passed away from his earthly manifestation, and
has now appeared, to adore Sakya-muni who is still working
in the world. The dramatic situation reaches its climax
when the old Buddha invites the present one, and the two
sit side by side in the Shrine. The joint proclamation made
by them is to prepare the disciples for the approaching end
of Sakya-muni's earthly ministry, and to encourage and
stimulate them to the work to be done after the master's
passing away. " Revere the Truth revealed in this holy
book, and preach it to others! Any one who will fulfil this
task, so difficult to do, is entitled to attain the Way of
Buddha, beyond comparison. He is the child of Buddha,

^ The name means " Accumulated Treasure " ; Japanese Ta/iJ.

24 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

the eyes of the world, and will be ptaised by all Buddhas."
(Chapter xi.) ^

The admonition is further encouraged by the prophetic
vydkarana given to Devadatta, the wicked cousin of Bud-
dha, who, because of his long connection with Sakya-muni,
will, in spite of his wickedness, attain Buddhahood at a
certain future time. Moreover, the assurance of the final
perfection is vividly impressed by the instantaneous trans-
formation of a Naga (Serpent-tribe) girl, who now appears
as a preacher of the Perfect Truth and one of the Tatha-
gata's messengers. The final conversion of the typical
wicked man and of the innocent girl indicate that Buddha-
hood is to be realized by all; and these episodes were always
a source of inspiring faith, and encouraged trust in the
efficacy of the excellent truth revealed in the book.

After the apocalyptic scene and the miraculous conver-
sion, other practical admonitions are given to the future
Buddhas. Two ways of spreading the truth are indicated,
one the way of vigorous polemic, the repressive and aggres-
sive method of propaganda, and the other the way of pacific
self- training, the gentle, persuasive method (chapters xiii
and xiv, entitled respectively the "Exertion," or "Per-
severance," and the " Peaceful Training^"! The peaceful
training in meditation anJ~watcHruIness over self was a
source of great inspiration to many Buddhists; but greater,
at least so far as Nichiren is concerned, was the power
inspired by the admonition to perseverance. Indeed, the

' Yamakawa, p. 364; Text, p. 256; SBE., pp. 242-243, verses 38-41.
The Chinese version makes a separate chapter out of the portion correspond-
ing to Text, pp. 256-266 (SBE., pp. 243-254). This chapter, no. xii, is
called the Devadatta, and Nichiren was very particular about this division,
for various reasons. In this volume we shall keep to Nichiren's di\ision; and
consequently the numbers of the several chapters after this are higher by
one than the numbers in the extant Sanskrit text.

STUDIES AND CONVERSION 25

characteristic feature in NichirenXideaixonsisted in trans-

lating into life the exhortations to strenuous effort, in
what he called the " reading of the Scripture by the bodily
life," which meant actual life, fully in accordance with the
truths taught in the book, especially with the exhortations,
encouragement, and assurances contained in this chapter
on " Perseverance." As we shall see later, in every hard-
ship and peril which Nichiren encountered, he derived
consolation from Buddha's reassurance, and stimulating
inspiration from the vows uttered by his disciples to
sacrifice everything for the sake of the Truth, and to endure
perils, sustained by firm beUef in the mission of the Tatha-
gata's messengers.

With these exhortations given to future Buddhas closes
the first grand division of the book, which is the revelation
of the Sole Road proclaimed by Sakya-muni in the '' mani-
festation " aspect of his personality. With the fifteenth
chapter opens the revelation of his true, eternal, primeval ^
personahty, together with the apparition of his primeval
disciples, the vows they take, and the mission entrusted to
them. 2

This thought on the two aspects of Buddha's personahty
is a consummate outcome of religious and philosophical
speculation on the transient and the everlasting aspects of
Buddha's person and work — a matter touched upon
before, when we characterized the book, Lotus, as the
Johannine literature of Buddhism. And now, in the last

^ [" Primeval " is used here and in the sequel of beings, attributes, and
relations in a transcendent sphere of reality, in distinction from the world of
historical manifestation. — Ed.]

^ Arthur Lloyd, in The Wheat among the Tares (p. 79) and The Creed of
Half Japan (p. 289), totally misinterprets the import, accepted by most
Japanese Buddhists, of the division of the book into these two parts.

26 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

half, is revealed the primeval Buddhahood or the entity
and functions of the Buddhist Logos. So long as the Buddh-
ists regard their master as a man who achieved Buddha-
hood at a certain time, they fail to recognize the true person
of Buddha, who in reahty from eternity has been Buddha,
the lord of the world. So long as the vision of Buddhists is
thus limited, they are unaware of their own true being, which
is as eternal as Buddha's own primeval nature and attain-
ment. The Truth is eternal, therefore the person who
reveals it is also eternal, and the relation between master
and disciples is nothing but an original and primeval kin-
ship. This is the fundamental conception, which is further
elucidated by showing visions reaching to the eternally past
as well as to the everlasting future.

Having been quickened by Buddha's urging, the Bod-
hisattvas in the congregation ask the Lord to entrust to
them the task of propagating and perpetuating the Truth.
Quite contrary to their expectation — and ours — they are
counselled to keep themselves quiet. While they are as-
tonished at the Lord's dissuasion, he summons the innumer-
able hosts of saints, who appear out of the earth from all
quarters. Among them four figures are conspicuous, who
were never known before to any in the assembly, and whose
names, they are told, are Visista-caritra, Ananta-caritra, etc.^
The endless hosts, following the four leaders, pay adoration
to Buddha, and pledge themselves to work for the perpetua-
tion of the Truth and the salvation of all beings. The
surprise of the other members of the assembly is voiced by
Maitreya, the highest of the Bodhisattvas, who asks Buddha,
" Who are these saints who have appeared out of earth ? "

^ The names mean, " Superior-conduct," " Endless-conduct." The
former, Jogyo in Japanese, was the one with whom Nichiren was most eager
to identify himself.

STUDIES AND CONVERSION 27

The answer is that they have existed from all eternity, and
have always been Sakya-muni's disciples — an answer
which puzzles the inquirers still more, because their idea
of Buddha as a man who no great while ago attained
Buddhahood under the Bodhi-tree at Gaya is incompatible
with the statement that these miraculous beings existing
from eternity are his disciples (chapter xv, entitled the
" Issuing-out-of-the-Earth ")• How Nichiren believed him-
self to be a reincarnation of Visista-caritra, or Jogyo, will be
seen later on ; and his reference to an eternal and primeval
discipleship to the eternal Buddha can be understood by
turning to this scene.

The sixteenth chapter, entitled the " Duration of the
Tathagata's Life," is meant to solve the puzzle, and to
reveal the eternal existence of Buddha's personality. The
Buddha who was born and is going to die, or to disappear
from among mankind, is but a manifestation, and his (ap-
parent) death is in order to dispel the disciples' vain hope
of having his earthly manifestation with them forever,
/Neither is birth the beginning, nor death the end of life;
the true life extends far beyond both of these commonly
assumed limits. Things come and pass away, but truth
abides; men are born and disappear, but life itself is imper-
ishable. 1 Buddhahood is neither a new acquisition nor a
quality destined to destruction. The One who embodies
the cosmic Truth, Buddha, the Tathagata, neither is born
nor dies, but Hves and works from eternity to eternity; his
Buddhahood is primeval and his inspiration everlasting.
How, then, can it be otherwise with any other beings, if
only they realize this truth and live in full consciousness of
it ? Thus, the revelation of the everlasting Ufe discloses the
infinite measure of the Tathagata's Ufe, which means at the
same time the share of the true Buddhists in the eternal

28 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

life of Buddha, and in the inextinguishable endurance of the
Truth.
' It was this teaching of the eternal life, both of Buddha

'*f and of ourselves, that inspired in Buddhist beUef boundless
strength, and led Tendai and Dengyo to systematize their
theory about the primeval dignity of Buddhahood and the
pre-established possibility of our supreme enlightenment.
Nichiren inherited and emphasized these doctrines as the
very basis of his religious thought, but we shall see later
how he apphed the conception of the primeval relationship
between the Lord and his disciples to the moral life of

^ mankind.

The climax of the revelation is followed by a series of en-
couraging assurances given by Buddha, and of enthusiastic
vows made by the disciples and celestial beings. The revela-
tion of the eternal past is thus followed by the assurance for
the everlasting future. The past and the future are united
in the oneness of the Truth, by the unity of purpose,
methods, and power, in all the Buddhas of all ages — in
short, in the Sole Road of Truth. This is the cardinal teach-
ing of the Lotus, as in other Buddhist books or systems; but
the special emphasis laid by the Lotus, particularly in the
x; last twelve chapters, is upon the question. Who shall really
be the one who will perpetuate and reahze this truth of the
. Sole Road? The Truth abides eternally, but it is an abstrac-
tion, a dead law, without the person who perpetuates the Hfe
_ of the Truth. The Buddha Sakya-muni, in his human mani^
festation, was the one, the Tathagata par excellence; but
who shall be the one in tne future, nay in the present, in
these days of degeneration and vice ? This was the question
of Nichiren, who at last, as the result of his hard experience
and perilous life, arrived at the conclusion that he himself

STUDIES AND CONVERSION 29

was the man destined to achieve the task of the Tathagata's
messenger.

All of the remaining chapters (xvii-xxviii), the " Con-
summation and Perpetuation " of the truths revealed,
have always been a strong inspiration to Buddhist piety.
The narratives and prophecies contained in them gave
consolation in various ways, and the saints in the stories
were the objects of pious devotion on the part of many
Buddhists. Especially the compassionate help promised to
Buddhists by Avalokitesvara, the god of mercy (chapter
xxv) , was regarded as a powerful incentive to grateful piety.
Other saints or deities appearing in these chapters were re-
garded as protectors of Buddhists, and their worship con-
sisted in devotion to them and dependence on their divine
grace. In short, for most Buddhists before Nichiren, the
admiration of these chapters and the worship of the divine
beings who appear in them amounted to praying for bene-
fits, and even to superstition.

Now Nichiren interpreted the " Consummation and Per-
petuation " in a totally different manner. The inspiration
he derived from these narratives was a spirit of emula-
tion, instead of mere piety; the life of the true Buddhist was
to be lived in emulating the courageous and compassionate
spirit of the divine beings and the vows they uttered. This
was due to Nichiren's peculiar conception of the whole
scripture, namely, that it was a book not to be read simply by
the eyes, or merely understood by the mind, but to be " read
by the body," that is, by flesh and blood. The truths
revealed therein were, for Nichiren, the records of the true
Buddhist Hfe, which was realized by the saints of the past,
and therefore to be striven for by all Buddhists of the
coming ages.

30 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

Seen in this light, the whole book, and especially the part
6n the " Consummation and Perpetuation," was a store-
house of exhortations and precepts, prophecies and assur-
ances, given to the future Buddhists, especially to those
living in the latter days of the world. For instance, take
chapter xxi, on the " Mysterious Power of the Tathagata."
It is not only a revelation of Buddha's own divine work, but
an assurance given to all Buddhists, that the " Mysterious
Power " should be realized and embodied in every Buddh-
ist's actual life. Nichiren regarded as of the highest impor-
tance a passage pointing to a definite person, designating
him as " this man."

Just as the light of the sun and moon
Expels all dimness and darkness,
So this man, living and working in the world,
Repels the^loom (of illusion) of all beings.*

How this statement was taken as a prophecy concerning the
leader of the true Buddhism in those days, that is, Nichiren
himself, will be seen as we follow his growing consciousness
of his mission. To take another instance, there is a passage
in chapter xxiii, on the Bodhisattva Bhaisajya-raja,^ fore-
telHng the propagation of the Lotus of Truth in the fifth
five hundred years after Buddha's death.^ Herein Nichiren
saw another prophetic assurance given to his mission.

Of great importance, in Nichiren's view, was the story of
the Bodhisattva Sadaparibhuta, a previous life of Buddha
himself, told in the twentieth chapter.* The story is this.
While Buddha was still striving for Buddhahood, he was
a monk, and used to salute every person he met as a future

• Yam., pp. 567-568; Text, chapter xx, verse 13, p. 394; SBE., p. 369.
2 The name means " Medicine-King "; Japanese, Yaku-wo.

^ Yam., p. 596; Text, p. 420, lines 13-14; SBE., p. 391.

* Sanskrit text, chapter xix.

STUDIES AND CONVERSION 3 1

Buddha, because he was convinced that every one was
destined eventually to be so. The people, however, took
this salute as an insult, and in turn insulted and abused
the monk. He endured all this, but never changed his way
of saluting others, or his conviction that every one was a
Buddha-to-be. Therefore he was called the " Constantly-
revering." ^ This story is told as an occurrence in the past,
and also as an example for all Buddhists, especially for those
living among the evil-disposed men of degenerate ages. It
was this aspect of the story, indicating an underlying bond
connecting the true Buddhist of the past with his successor
in any age, that inspired Nichiren and kept him ever per-
severent throughout all persecutions. Thus, in his mind this
story of the " Constantly-revering " saint was nothing else
than another version of his own life, which was also foretold
in the vows of endurance as recorded in the thirteenth
chapter. The same spirit of endurance for the sake of the
Truth, and the same life in emulation and practice of the
ardent vows of the ancient saints — this was what he found
in the story, and derived from it incentive and consolation.

The Lotus of Truth is a rich treasury of religious in-
spiration and moral precepts, prophetic visions and poetic
imagery, philosophical speculations and practical admoni-
tions. From this book, all ages, and every man in Bud-
dhist countries, derived some sort of instruction and in-
spiration, each according to his needs and disposition.
Most Buddhists of a speculative trend of mind occupied
themselves in elaborating the teaching of the oneness of

' The Sanskrit name Sada-paribhuta, certainly means the " Constantly-
abused," but Kumarajiva rendered the name by the " Constantly-revering,"
that is, Sadd-aparibhuta, or with a different termination, indicating the pre-
sent participle. Japanese, Jo-kitfyo.

32 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

Truth, the doctrine of the Sole Road, notwithstanding the
three gateways opened by Buddha in chapter ii, on " Tact-
fulness." Many others, inclined to fantastic imagination,
and delighted with supernatural glories, were keen for
heavenly visions and apocalyptic scenes. Many others,
again, found objects of worship in the deities of mercy and
benefaction, such as Avalokitesvara. Much was written on
the Lotus — philosophical treatises, miracle stories, poems,
and prayers; the book also inspired many painters and
sculptors, and we have a rich store of works of art whose
^subjects are taken from it.^ But there was none, until
Nichiren " read " the book in his original way, who derived
from it such a wonderful power of strenuous, militant life,
and thereby lived a hfe of striving toward the ardent zeal
exemplified by primeval disciples of Buddha. Indeed,
Nichiren deemed himself to be an embodiment of the
Scripture, a personal version of its teachings and prophecies
and a living testimony to them.

How did he carry out his Ufe in accord with this idea and
attain to a full conviction of his mission, foreordained in the
Lotus of the Perfect Truth ?

1 See Anesaki, Buddhist Art, Chapter I.

CHAPTER III

NICHIREN'S PUBLIC APPEARANCE AND
PERSECUTION

THE young monk, now no longer a seeker after truth, but
a reformer filled with ardent zeal, bade farewell to the
great centre of Buddhism on Hiei and went back to the old
monastery on Kiyozumi, which he had left fifteen years
before. He visited his parents, and they were his first con-
verts. His old master and fellow-monks welcomed him, but ,
to their minds Nichiren, the former Rencho, was nothing
more than a promising young man who had seen the world
and studied at Hiei. Keeping silence about all his plans and
ambitions, Nichiren retired for a while to a forest near the
monastery. Every one in the monastery supposed that he
was practising the usual method of self-purification which
they themselves employed; but, in fact, Nichiren was
engaged in a quite different task, and occupied with his
original idea, neither shared nor guessed by any one else.

The seven days of his seclusion, as the tradition says, was
a period of fervent prayer, in preparation for launching his
plan of reformation and proclaiming his new gospel. When
his season of meditative prayer had reached the stage when
he was ready to transform it into action, Nichiren one night*
left the forest and climbed the summit of the hill which
commands an unobstructed view of the vast expanse of the
Pacific Ocean. When the eastern horizon began to glow
with the approaching daybreak, he stood motionless looking
toward the East, and as the golden disc of the sun began to

34 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

break through the haze over the vast expanse of waters, a
loud voice, a resounding cry, broke from his lips. It was
" Namu Myoho-renge-kyo,^' " Adoration be to the Lotus of
the Perfect Truth! " This was Nichiren's proclamation of
his gospel to heaven and earth, making the all-illumining
sun his witness. It happened early in the morning of
the twenty-eighth day of the fourth lunar month (May 17)

1253-

The proclamation of the Lotus of Truth, with the sun as
witness, was, indeed, the first step in translating into action
the ideal symbolized in his name, the Sun-Lotus. After
this unique proclamation, Nichiren came back among
human beings, and at noon of the same day, in an assembly
hall facing south, he preached his new doctrine, and de-
nounced the prevailing forms of Buddhism, to an audience
composed of his old master and fellow-monks, and many
others. There was none who was not offended by his bold
proclamation and fierce attack. Murmurs grew to cries of
protest; and when the sermon had been finished, every one
assumed that the poor megalomaniac was mad. The feudal
chief ruling that part of the country was so incensed that he
would not be satisfied with anything short of the death of
the preposterous monk. This lord, who was Nichiren's
mortal foe throughout the subsequent years of his mission,
was watching to attack Nichiren, who was now driven out of
his old monastery. His master, the abbot, pitied his former
pupil, and gave instruction to two elder disciples to take
Nichiren to a hidden trail for escape. It was in the dusk of
evening that Nichiren made his escape in this way. The
sun, which at its rising had beheld Nichiren's proclamation,
the sun which at noon had witnessed Nichiren's sermon,
set as the hunted prophet made his way through the dark-
ness of a wooded trail; only the evening glow was in the

PREACHING AND PERSECUTION 35

sky. What must his thoughts have been ? What prospect
could he have cherished in his mind for his future career and
for the destiny of his gospel ?

The expelled prophet now went on missionary journeys in
the neighboring provinces, and finally settled down in
Kamakura, the seat of the Dictatorial government. While
he was studying further the religious and social conditions
of the time, and looking for an opportunity to appear again
in public, the city of Kamakura was the scene of many
frightful events. There were rumors of plots against the
Hojos, and family strife arose among them; in addition to
these things, storms, inundations, earthquakes, famines,
comets, followed one another in swift succession. The
people were panic-stricken, and the government could only
resort to the offerings at Shinto sanctuaries and to the
Buddhist rites of the Shingon mysteries. Nichiren himself
describes the conditions as follows : ^

We have seen many signs in heaven and in earth; a famine, a
plague — the whole country is filled with misery! Horses and cows are
dying on the road-sides, and so are men; and there is no one to bury
them. One half of the population is stricken, and there is no house
that has entirely escaped.

Hence many minds are turning to religion. Others, again, in accor-
dance with the doctrines of the Secret Shingon, use copious sprinkling
of holy water from the five vases. . . . Some write the names of the
seven gods of luck on pieces of paper, and afiix them by the hundreds
to the door-posts of their houses, whilst others do the same with the
pictures of the five Great Powerful and the various (Shinto) gods of
Heaven and Earth. . . . But let men do what they will, the famine
and the plague still rage; there are beggars on every hand, and the
unburied corpses line the roads.

1 The quotation is taken from the opening of Nichiren's essay, " Rissko
Ankokii Ron" of which more will be said later. The English is from the pen
of Arthur Lloyd, The Creed of Half Japan, pp. 307-309. The language of the
original is more rhetorical, in accordance with the style of the time; in later
years Nichiren wrote with less flowery rhetoric.

36 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

Out of pity, not only for the people stricken by these
calamities, but on account of the superstitious practices in
which they took refuge, Nichiren pondered in his mind
the question, What are the causes of these evils, and how
can they be averted ?

In attacking the problem, Nichiren's thought naturally
turned to the unique authority of the Lotus, in contrast to
the syncretistic practices of the prevailing Buddhism. Yet
he was not satisfied until he had made a further investiga-
tion of the sacred books and found various prophecies con-
cerning calamities which should befall the people who
degraded the true Buddhist religion by resorting to super-
stitions. He retired, for this investigation, to a monastery
furnished with a good library. There he wrote and rewrote
his ideas, which finally took shape in an essay entitled
" Rissho Ankoku Ron,'' which means " The Establishment of
RigKteousness and the Security of the Country." ^

In this essay Nichiren fearlessly pointed ourthe degen-
eracy of the people and the foolishness of the rulers. The
heaviest responsibility for the miseries of the time he
ascribed to Amita-Buddhism,^ by which both the govern-
ment and the people were led astray from righteousness.
Moreover, he gave a prophetic warning to the nation that,
if it did not turn at once to the unique Truth, the country
would experience more disastrous calamities, especially a

1 The first version was finished in 1259, and the final one in 1260. The
latter is shorter, and in the form of a dialogue. See Lloyd, chapter xxv, from
which the following quotations are made.

^ In this essay, the most vehement attack was directed against Amita-
Buddhism and its propounder Honen; while in Nichiren's other writings from
the same period attack was also directed against Zen. Later on, the two other
branches, Shingon and Ritsu, were similarly criticized — definitely, first in
the letters sent to the authorities in 1268. Hence the adverse criticism
against these four branches of Buddhism became an integral part of the
Nichirenite dogmatics.

PREACHING AND PERSECUTION 37

foreign invasion ' and a rebellion. His vehement expression
runs as follows:

Of all the misfortunes . . . , but one remains that we have not yet
experienced, the misfortune of foreign invasion. . . . When I consider
these Scriptural prophecies and then look at the world around me, I
am bound to confess that both the gods and the minds of the people
are confused. You see the fulfilment of the prophecy in the past ; dare
we say that the remaining prophecies will fail of their fulfilment ?

This warning was followed by an admonition to the nation
to be converted to Nichiren's religion, based on the sermon
of the Lotus. The vehement prophet would not be satisfied
unless all other forms of Buddhism were suppressed and
their leaders severely punished. Thus he concludes:

Woe unto them! They have missed the entrance into the gate that
leads to the true Buddhism, and have fallen into the prison-house
of the false teachings. They are fettered, entangled, bewildered.
Whither will their blind wanderings lead them ?

Ye men of little faith, turn your minds and trust yourselves at once
to the unique Truth of the Righteous Way! Then ye shall see that the
three realms of existence are (in reahty) the Kingdom of Buddha,
which is in no way subject to decay; and that the worlds in the ten
directions are all Lands of Treasures, which are never to be destroyed.
The Kingdom is changeless, and the Lands eternal. Then how shall
your bodies be otherwise than secure and your minds serene in en-
hghtenment ? ^

Not only were these words preached to the masses on the
streets and in the parks, but the written document was pre-
sented to the government authorities (in the seventh month
of 1260). The government was shocked, the ecclesiastical
dignitaries were enraged, and instigation from behind the
scenes stirred up a mob which attacked Nichiren's hermitage

^ This prediction was based on statements in several Buddhist books,
and its realization in the following years immensely strengthened Nichiren's
faith.

* The idea of the earthly paradise wUl be seen later. The English version
is partly Lloyd's, and partly mine.

38 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

and burnt it down. Nichiren escaped the peril through the
darkness of the night, and fleeing out of Kamakura, went
on a missionary journey in adjacent provinces. There, more
converts were made, and among them not a few of the war-
rior class, the local chiefs who were not under the direct
control of the Dictator. The suspicion in which the govern-
ment held Nichiren increased, and when he came back to
Kamakura in the following year, he was officially arrested,
and finally sentenced to banishment and sent to the desolate
shore of the peninsula Izu (in the fifth month of 1261).

In this place of exile, Nichiren found bare shelter with a
fisherman and his wife, in the midst of threatening dangers.
How deeply he felt his obhgations to these simple and faith-
ful converts is shown in the letters written to them later,
wherein they are likened to Nichiren's parents, perhaps in a
former life. His hardest trials did not last long. More con-
verts were made, and Nichiren's message found a sincere
response in the unprejudiced hearts of the country folk.
Yet he was an exile; he had been repeatedly attacked, and
had some narrow escapes from death; his future showed no
bright prospects, and his hope of converting the nation as a
whole seemed to be very remote, if not totally vain. His
thought turned to the question whether his mission would be
fulfilled, and he re-examined the Scripture with reference to
this problem.

Nearly ten years had passed since Nichiren had pro-
claimed his new gospel, and these years had been full of
adventures and dangers. The threats and perils heaped
upon him, as well as the disasters which filled the people
with terror, seemed to him not mere chance, but the neces-
sary consequence of the conflict between the bUndness of the
people and the compassionate cure proposed by him. All

PREACHING AND PERSECUTION 39

this — the causes and effects, the present calamities and the
future destiny — gave him new assurance that every pro-
phecy in the Scripture would certainly be fulfilled. The
thing which most strongly confirmed his faith in the Scrip-
ture and his enthusiasm for it was the discovery that every
phrase of the vows of perseverance, as set forth in the chap-
ter on " Perseverance," had been, and was being, realized,
step by step, in his own fife. The ardent spirit of the vows
found its closest counterpart and echo in his fiery per-
sonality and perilous career.

See what the Scripture tells us! Buddha's disciples,
beholding the amazing vision of the Heavenly Shrine, and
hearing the encouraging exhortation, take together the vows
of fidelity and endurance.

0 Exalted One! be little anxious for us!
After Thy great decease,
In the evil ages full of fears and dangers,
We shall proclaim the supreme Scripture.^

This was what Nichiren had done, and he was now suffering
for it.

There will then surely be maUgnant men,

And they will deride us and abuse us,

Lay upon us with weapons and sticks.

All these things we shall bear with endurance and perseverance.

Does this not mean, Nichiren thought, the laymen, the
rulers, and the people, who antagonize the Truth because of
their dislike for righteousness ? Did they not threaten him
with sword and fire ? Again:

In the Latter Days there will be monks,

Who, being malicious and crooked in mind,

Will pretend to have attained what is not really attained.

And their minds will be full of vain pride.

* This and following passages, Yam., pp. 389-393; Text, pp. 271-274;
SBE., pp. 259-261.

40 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

Were not the monks always the instigators of the persecu-
tions ? Traitors to Buddha, companions of devils, wor-
shippers of strange deities, men of vain pride — these are
Nichiren's bitter enemies. Is not the prophecy being ful-
filled by them ? Further:

There will be those who dwell in forests {aranyaka),
Living in tranquillity and wearing the regular robes;
They pretend to practise the true monastic hfe,
And despise all other men.

They will preach to laymen,

Simply for the sake of fame and profit;

And yet they wiU be revered by the people,

As if they were endowed with the six supernormal powers. . . .

Are not all abbots and bishops men of this kind ? Observe

how some of them pretend to be Arahants, and are believed

by the people !

In the evil days of the ages full of turbulence
There will be many fears and dangers;
There will be men possessed by devils,
And they will abuse and insult us.

By revering Buddha and putting confidence in him.

And by wearing the armor of forbearance,

We shall endure all these perils,

For the sake of proclaiming this Scripture.

We shall never be fearful in sacrificing our bodily Ufe,
But always regard the true Way as the highest cause;
And thus we shall, throughout all coming days,
Stand for the cause committed to us by Buddha.

O Exalted One! Thou may'st be assured,
Even when the vicious monks of the turbulent ages,
Being ignorant of the sermons preached by Buddha,
According to his tactful method.

Shall revile and rebuke us;

And we be repeatedly driven out of our abodes,

And kept away from our sanctuaries.

Even then, we shall endure all these injuries,

By keeping ourselves to Buddha's decrees.

PREACHING AND PERSECUTION 41

In whatsoever cities or villages,

There may be any who would seek the Truth,

Thither we shall surely go

And preach the Truth entrusted to us by Thee.

We are Thy messengers, O Exalted One!

We have nothing to fear from any people,

We shall proclaim the Truth, to deserve Thy commission.

Thou may'st be assured and rest secure.

Now we take these vows in Thy presence,

And in the presence of all Buddhas

Who have come from the ten quarters.

May'st Thou, O Buddha, know our intention and determination!

Nichiren saw all this being fulfilled in himself, but had to
anticipate yet more persecutions. In later years he referred
most earnestly to the passage which tells how the preachers
of the true religion should be repeatedly expelled from their
dwellings, because it was his actual experience. Thus he
found all his career foretold in the Scripture, and deemed
that he was faithfully observing the vows of perseverance.
" The Twenty Stanzas of Perseverance " was his favorite
expression, which he was proud to embody in his hfe.

He formulated these reflections and hopes in an essay, and
in its conclusion his convictions are vividly set forth : ^

It is said in the chapter in the Scripture on Perseverance (chap, xin)
that, in the fifth five hundred years of the religion, there would appear
opponents of the Truth, of three kinds. The present time is just in
this period of the fifth five centuries, and I see clearly the existence of
the three kinds of opponents. ... It is said in the fourth fascicle of
the Scripture: 2 " Even in the life-time of the Tathagata, there are
manifold animosities shown toward this Scripture; how much more
will it be so after his passing away ? " Again, in the fifth fascicle:^
" All over the world, the people find it so difficult to believe that they

' Works, p. 429.

* Yam., p. 327; Text, p. 230, lines 7-10, SEE., p. 219.

' Yam., p. 418, chapter xiv; Text, p. 290, line 12; SEE., p. 275.

42 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

antagonize (the Truth)." Further on: ^ " We shall not care for bodily
life, but do our best for the sake of the incomparable Way "; and
similarly, in the sixth fascicle: " We shall sacrifice even our hfe." . .
From what we see in these passages it is evident that we are not
entitled to be propagators of the Lotus of Truth, unless we call forth
the hatred of the three kinds of opponents. One who does so is the
propagator of the Truth, and yet he is destined to lose life on this
account.

We can here see clearly how Nichiren was prepared for
any perils, and how ready to encounter even greater
dangers, leaving his fate to the destiny of the true Buddhist
as prophesied in the Scripture. To him dangers and perse-
cutions were the very signs of his being the genuine believer
of the Truth.

As a man trained in the analytic method of Buddhist
philosophy, Nichiren proceeded to determine the position he
occupied in the perpetuation of the religion, after the model
of his great master Tendai,^ deriving his material from the
five conditions, or " principles ", of his mission. First, as to
the doctrine, his gospel was based exclusively on the
scripture, Lotus, which was the perfect consummation of
Buddhist doctrines, before which the teachings of all other
branches of Buddhism must lose weight and authority.
Second, as to the capacity of the people taught, mankind in
the degenerate age of the Latter Days could be trained only
by the simplest expression of truth, not by a compHcated
system of doctrine, nor by an intricate process of meditation
and mysteries. Third, as to the time, his time was the age of

^ Yam., p. 392, chapter xiii; Text, p. 273, verse 15; SBE., p. 260.

^ Works, pp. 424-429, dated the tenth of the second month (March i)
1262. The essay is entitled " Kyo-ki-ji-koku slid," or "Treatise on the
Doctrine, the Capacity, the Time, and the Country." Cp. the fivefold
knowledge {pancannu) of Buddha, concerning instruction, in Anguttara, v.
131: the principle, the truth, the degree, the time, and the congregation.

PREACHING AND PERSECUTION 43

the Latter Law, in which the scripture, Lotus, alone would
remain available for the salvation of all. Fourth, as to the
country of its promulgation, Japan was the land where the
true Buddhism would prevail, and whence it should be
propagated throughout the whole world. Lastly, as to the
order of the successive rise and fall of systems, all other
forms of Buddhism had severally done their work, and
Nichiren's time was ripe for the acceptance of the Lotus, as
the sole authority in religion. All the five conditions for the
supremacy of the Lotus seemed to Nichiren to be fulfilled,
and he regarded himself as the man destined to accomplish
the work of realizing the prophecies contained in the Scrip-
ture.

This was his conviction and consolation ; yet it is note-
worthy that the personal thesis is not so clearly and vividly
stated in this essay, as it is in his later writings. Let us cite
his own words. After having explained the five conditions,
he says:

One who would propagate the Buddhist truth, by having convinced
himself of the five principles, is entitled to become the leader of the
Japanese nation. One who knows that the Lotus of Truth is the king
of all scriptures, knows the truth of the religion. ... If there were
no one who " read " the Lotus of Truth, there could be no leader of the
nation; without a leader, the nation could do naught but be bewil-
dered, . . . and fall to the nethermost hells in consequence of degrad-
ing the Truth.^

After these remarks, he enumerates the passages concerning
the difficulties to be encountered by the promulgators of the
Truth, meaning to apply the passages to himself. It was
these convictions that consoled Nichiren in the midst of
dangers, and inspired him with a firm beHef in the future
of his mission. But his conviction regarding his destiny, as

* Works, p. 427.

44 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

well as his remote connection with the sages of the past,
remained to be more exactly defined in writings from his
second exile. In the essay before us, we see a decided prog-
ress in Nichiren's trust in the Lotus of Truth, which had
started on a doctrinal basis, and was destined to bring him
to more personal conviction of his prophetic mission.

CHAPTER IV

AN INTERLUDE AND A NARROW ESCAPE

IT was in the second month (April) of 1263, that Nichiren
was released from his banishment in Izu. The reason for
the release is unknown, but his return was a triumph for
Nichiren. By the rising of the mob, and during his exile, his
abode had been devastated, his disciples ill-treated, and
some of his lay followers threatened with confiscation of
their properties. Yet they remained faithful to the prophet
and his instructions; and when the master came back to
Kamakura, they flocked to him, and welcomed him with
tears of joy. It seems that some of them wished to see their
master mitigate his trenchant attacks upon other Buddhists,
believing that the true religion could be propagated without
antagonizing others. This is reflected in Nichiren's strong
insistence, in an essay written immediately after his return,^
on the proposition that an exclusive devotion to the unique
truth of the Lotus is the necessary condition to salvation.
It was impossible for him to modify his attitude, for he was a
man who had passed through perils and was thereby
strengthened in the conviction of his own mission and
destiny. He now preached in a manner more intransigent
than before, and drew a strong contrast and a sharp line of
demarcation between his gospel and Amita-Buddhism as
well as Shingon mysticism. The forcible arguments and

• The essay entitled " Ji-Hokke Mondo-sho ", or " A Catechism on the
Method of Holding the Lotus of Truth ", written in 1263. Works, pp. 465-
476. Further reference to this writing is made below.

46 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

vehement invectives, directed especially against these two
schools, exhibit the method of Nichiren's proselyting, which
he now stated explicitly and systematically.

Irreconcilably pugnacious toward his opponents, yet
tenderly persuasive toward his followers, Nichiren almost
always combined these two sides of his propaganda; but the
writings produced within a few years after the first exile
show, decidedly more than the earlier ones, a wonderful
combination of the two. The delicate sentiment shown in
his tender persuasions is now remarkably united with admo-
nitions to honest faith and pure heart. The essay re-
ferred to above, written in the form of a catechism, is an
example of this. After affirming the necessity of an exclusive
devotion to the Lotus, it proceeds to emphasize the efficacy
of simple-hearted faith : ^

If you desire to attain Buddhahood immediately, lay down the
banner of pride, cast away the club of resentment, and trust your-
selves to the unique Truth. Fame and profit are nothing more than
vanity of this Hfe; pride and obstinacy are simply fetters to the coming
life. . . . When you fall into an abyss and some one has lowered
a rope to pull you out, should you hesitate to grasp the rope because
you doubt the power of the helper ? Has not Buddha declared, " I
alone am the protector and savior " ? - There is the power! Is it not
taught that faith is the only entrance (to salvation) ? There is the
rope! One who hesitates to seize it, and will not utter the Sacred
Truth, win never be able to climb the precipice of Bodhi (Enlighten-
ment). . . . Our hearts ache and our sleeves are wet (with tears),
until we see face to face the tender figure of the One, who says to us,
" I am thy Father." ^ At this thought our hearts beat, even as when
we behold the brilliant clouds in the evening sky or the pale moon-
L'ght of the fast-falling night. . . . Should any season be passed
without thinking of the compassionate promise, " Constantly I
am thinking of you " ? * Should any month or day be spent without

^ Works, pp. 469-476.

^ Yam., p. 139; see below, p. 70.

* Yam., p. 473; Text, p. 326, line 7; SEE., p. 309.

* Yam., p. 473; Text, p. 326, line 11; SEE., p. 310.

PREACHING AND PERSECUTION 47

revering the teaching that there is none who cannot attain Buddha-
hood ? ... Devote yourself whole-heartedly to the " Adoration to
the Lotus of the Perfect Truth," and utter it yourself as well as ad-
monish others to do the same. Such is your task in this human life.

It must not be ignored, however, that even this writing
contains a sharp argument against the opponents of the
Lotus.

Another instance of tenderness is shown in a letter^ written
to a lady who had asked about the rules to be observed dur-
ing her monthly period. This was regarded by Japanese
custom as a pollution, and women in this state were for-
bidden to approach Shinto sanctuaries. Her question, there-
fore, was, what she should do about the Scripture during
that time. Nichiren deems it unnecessary to observe any
precaution in that respect, and admonishes her to recite the
Scripture as usual. Yet he adds that, if, because of the
habit and custom, she has scruples about doing so, she need
not hold the rolls of the Scripture; it will suffice to pro-
nounce the Sacred Title. Delicate consideration and counsel
of this kind are by no means rare in Nichiren's instructions,
but they become more frequent after his return from exile.
In general, we see how exile and residence among the simple
country folk had tempered Nichiren's spirit, making him
more gracious and sympathetic. His close contact with the
people of Izu, especially the fisherman and his wife who
sheltered him there, led him to give his instruction a more
popular form and to take a deeper personal interest in his ,
followers. i

In the autumn of the following year (1264), while Nichi-
ren was thus carrying on his propaganda, both polemic and
persuasive, the illness of his mother called him to his native

1 Works, pp. 477-485, dated the seventeenth of the fourth month
(May 15) 1264.

48 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

place. When he arrived at home, his mother was seemingly
dead. The pious son was, however, not disheartened, but
went on to pray that her life might be restored. His prayer
was heard, or his supernormal power proved efficacious, and
gradually the aged mother recovered her health. Not only
was his mother's restored health a great joy to Nichiren, but
the demonstration of his miraculous powers led him at once
to take a step toward the fulfilment of a pious desire long
since cherished by him, the conversion of his old master
Dozen, the abbot of Kiyozumi, who still remained a be-
liever in Amita and practised Shingon mysteries. The three
objects of reverence and gratitude in Nichiren's religious
ethics, as we shall see later, were a man's parents, ruler, and
master. Nichiren's parents had long since been converted to
his faith — the father had died six years before; but his
efforts to convert the rulers were still unsuccessful, and his
old master had never been subject to his influence, from the
day of the first sermon in the assembly hall of Kiyozumi
eleven years before. Nichiren now visited the abbot at a
monastery in the country, explained his own conviction,
expressed his pious desire for his master's conversion, ex-
posed the old man's error, tenderly persuaded him to enter
on the true way. But, alas ! the man was now too old and
weak to abandon the religious practices to which he had long
been accustomed and become his former pupil's convert. He
appreciated Nichiren's kindly intention, thanked him for his
zeal, and wept with conflicting emotions; but the meeting
was, after all, a failure. This remained a great regret to
Nichiren throughout his life.^

This visit to his native place was an interlude in the
perilous Hfe of Nichiren; affectionate reminiscences of his

^ After the old man's death, Nichiren, in 1276, still tried to mitigate this
sorrow, by dedicating to the dead master a writing of spiritual admonition.

PREACHING AND PERSECUTION 49

childhood were associated with a pious desire to perpetuate
these early relationships to eternity. But the interlude was
destined to be interrupted; wherever Nichiren, the apostle
of the Truth, went, the shadow of danger attended him.
The shadow now was embodied in the person of the local
chief who had tried to kill him immediately after the as-
sembly at Kiyozumi. When Nichiren parted from the abbot
and left the village convent where they had met, his adver-
sary was waiting for him. It was early in the evening on an
autumn day ^ that Nichiren, accompanied by a few dis-
ciples from among the monks and some beUeving warriors,
was making his way through the gloom of a pine forest.
The pursuer, with hundreds of his troops cut off the way.
The danger was imminent. " Shooting arrows flew Hke
rain drops," Nichiren narrates,^ " and the sparks from clash-
ing swords were Hke lightning. One of my disciples was
instantly killed, two others severely wounded, and I myself
received a blow (on the forehead). There seemed to be no
hope of escape, but I was saved — how, I cannot explain.
Thus my gratitude toward the Lotus of Truth has ever
since grown deeper." The wound on his forehead was left
to remind him of his narrow escape. The orphan boy of the
warrior disciple who had died in his defence became Ni-
chiren's favorite disciple, and served the prophet with an
inherited devotion.

Although the attack seems to have been prompted by
diverse motives, Nichiren saw in it a plot organized by the
Amita-Buddhists. It had the effect of confirming his con-
viction of the falsity of Amita-Buddhism, and the truth of
his own religion; and, what was far more important, of

* The eleventh of the eleventh month, that is, December i, 1264.

^ Works, p. 524; in an epistle addressed to Lord Nanjo, about a month
after the event. He refers to the incident in later writings in similar
words.

50 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

strengthening the faith of Nichiren and his followers that he
was a man sent and protected by the Lord Sakya-muni, and
by his Truth. The belief in his mission which had been
growing since his days in Izu reached a stage in which the
self-consciousness of the prophet is more explicitly pro-
claimed. After having told of the incident, in the letter
above cited, and quoting the same passages of the Scripture
he cited in his writings in Izu, Nichiren tells more of himself.

There are many in Japan who read and study the Lotus of Truth ;
there are, again, many who are attacked because they have conspired
against others; but there is none who is abused because of (his rever-
ing) the Lotus of Truth. Thus, none of the men in Japan who hold to
the Scripture have yet realized what is stated in the Scripture (since
every one who really holds to it must encounter perils on that account) ;
the one who really reads it is none other than I, Nichiren, who put in
practice the text, " We shall not care for bodily life, but do our best for
the sake of the incomparable Way." Then I, Nichiren, am the one,
supreme one, the pioneer of the Lotus of Truth. ^

Another interval, lasting nearly four years, followed the
peril at the Pine Forest, and it was a fruitful period in Ni-
chiren's harvest of converts! During these years Nichiren
went on missionary journeys in the eastern provinces, and
succeeded in converting many local lords. The first thing
which strikes us in the results of his propaganda is that there
were only a few among his disciples who had been Buddhist
'monks, and that most of his followers were recruited from
I among the warriors and feudal lords. Most of the warriors
converted by him remained laymen and became the " out-
side " supporters of Nichiren; but they dedicated to the
rehgion their brothers or sons who, after the years of their
novitiate, were ordained, and worked under the master in
disseminating his doctrine. The first converts made by

* A letter sent to Lord Nanjo, dated the thirteenth of the twelfth month
(January i, 1265). Works, p. 524.

PREACHING AND PERSECUTION 5 1

Nichiren, as we mentioned, were his parents, who were given
the Buddhist names Myonichi and Myoren respectively,
meaning " Perfection-Sun " and " Perfection-Lotus." The
first monk disciple was Nissho, who had been the master's
fellow-student on Hiei, and had followed him to Kamakura.
After this comes a list of converts from the warrior class, or
their sons and brothers. During the four years of which
we are now speaking, there was a notable increase in num-
bers, and it was in the years before and after Nichiren's
exile to Izu that his religion was planted in the provinces
of Awa and Kazusa, which have been its stronghold down
to the present time.

This chapter may properly conclude with quotations from
poems ascribed to the prophet on these missionary journeys.

Outside pours the rain, and its drops strike the windows.

Surely, it is not thy own nature, O rain, that makes thee fall aslant,^

But the wind that causes thee to beat so noisily on the sliding screens.

My body is all wet with the rain drops —
Nay, by my own tears, shed over calamities and perils;
And yet, under the " Umbrella-Forest " I am sheltered.
Now, even on this dreary evening.

These poems reflect the hardships he encountered every-
where, and make us vividly imagine a poor monk, clad in
simple gray robes, with a little bag in his hands and a straw
umbrella-hat on his head, passing stormy nights in cottages
or deserted shrines. The latter of the poems cited is said
to have been written in a shrine dedicated to Kwannon,
at Kasa-mori, or " Umbrella-Forest," which stands today
marking the site.

^ The word rendered " nature " also means " conscience," and " aslant,
oblique," means " crooked, vicious." Thus the didactic purpose of the verse
is clear.

CHAPTER V

THE THREATENING MONGOL INVASION AND
THE SENTENCE OF DEATH

WHILE Nichiren was warning the nation of the pos-
sible calamity of a foreign invasion, the Mongol
conquerors of the Asiatic continent were preparing for an
expedition to the eastern islands. The Korean peninsula
had already been subjugated, but the Hojo government did
not yet fully realize the situation, although they must have
had some knowledge of it. It is a question whether Nichiren
had had any definite information when he wrote the warning
essay in 1 257-60.^ At any rate, a panic was caused when, in
1268, an envoy from Kublai, the Mongol emperor, was re-
ported to be proceeding to Japan by way of Korea. This
embassy had not reached Japan; but it was a triumph for
Nichiren, when, in 1268, another envoy urged a definite
answer to the Khan's demand for the payment of tribute,
and the government and the people realized the gravity of
the situation. Nichiren now went back to Kamakura and
renewed his appeal to the goverrmaent. " Recall my pro-
phetic warning given eight years ago ! Is it not now being
realized ? Is there any man beside Nichiren who can repel
this national danger ? Only the one who knows the real
cause of the situation can command it." Thus he argued.

* One theory is that Nichiren must have known the situation on the con-
tinent well enough, even early in the fifties, because while he was in Hiei, he
had most probably made investigations about the feasibility of going to China
as he desired. On the other hand, we know that the Chinese, Doryu, Nichi-
ren's bitterest opponent, came to Japan in 1246, and another Chinese in
1260.

THE MONGOL PERIL 53

As this appeal remained unanswered, the prophet deter-
mined to take more radical measures. After two months, he
sent letters to the high officials of the government and to the
abbots of the great monasteries, urging them to abandon
their former faith and practices, and to adopt Nichiren's
religion. There are eleven of these letters, each carrying its
own special warning.

At the same time he sent a circular to his followers, in
which he says: ^

In consequence of the arrival of the Mongol envoy, I have sent
eleven letters to various officials and prelates. Prosecution will surely
overtake Nichiren and his followers, and either exile or death will be
the sentence. You must not be at all surprised. Strong remonstrances
have intentionally been made, simply for the purpose of awakening
the people. All is awaited by Nichiren with composure. Do not think
of your wives and children and households; do not be fearful before
the authorities! Make this your opportunity to sever the fetters of
births and deaths, and to attain the fruit of Buddhahood! etc.

All these letters are dated the eleventh of the tenth month
(November 16), 1268, eight months after the arrival of the
Mongol envoy. We know nothing about the effect of the
remonstrances, but there are indications that the govern-
ment authorities summoned some of Nichiren's warrior
followers, and examined their connection with Nichiren's
propaganda. Meanwhile, Nichiren himself is believed to
have left Kamakura, and to have been on missionary jour-
neys, during about two years after this event. This silence
and retirement, if they are real, seem to have been a period
of preparation for another and decisive step, which he con-
templated for the purpose of remonstrance and combat; and
the psychological condition of Nichiren during this period
may perhaps be compared to the retirement of Christ to
GaHlee before his last entry into Jerusalem. At any rate,

^ Works, pp. 617-618.

54 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

toward the end of 1270, we again see Nichiren in Kamakura,
and in a letter dated the twenty-eighth of the eleventh
month (January 11, 1271), we read his resolution, as he
was maturing his plans for the ensuing combat. It says:
" I was once exiled on account of my cause, the Lotus of
Truth. Something seems still to be lacking until I shall be
executed. Wishing that this might happen, I sent strong
remonstrances to various authorities. Now, my life has
reached the fiftieth year. Why should I expect to live very
much longer ? Let me dedicate this life, with you, to the
unique truth of the Lotus — the bodily life which is destined
once finally to be abandoned in an uncultivated field." ^
In the following summer of 1271, we find him engaged in a
contest with other Buddhists in a ritual against a drought.
After this, events moved rapidly, leading to a sentence of
death pronounced upon the aggressive prophet.

When Nichiren reappeared in Kamakura, the hatred of
the rival Buddhists toward him was implacable. Especially
Ryokwan, the abbot of Gokuraku-ji and the greatest phi-
lanthropist of the time,2 being incensed by Nichiren's fierce
proclamation, charged him with disturbing the pubHc order,
and demanded a retraction from him. Nichiren defended
himself against the charges, and challenged his opponent
to a public debate. Ryokwan was revered by the nobility
and the people as the greatest teacher of Buddhist dis-
cipline, and was regarded as an incarnation of the Buddha
Bhaisajya-guru, or Medicine-master,^ because of his care for
the sick and infirm ; and a man of such high position as the

^ Works, p. 635.

2 This man was the chief figure among those in whom Nichiren thought he
found an embodiment of the opponents of the third category. See above,
p. 41.

^ A special manifestation of Buddha.

THE MONGOL PERIL 55

abbot of a monastery endowed by the government was
deemed to be too dignified to enter a public debate with a
beggar-like monk. Then in the summer the country suf-
fered from a long drought, and when Ryokwan's mystic
ritual seemed to be fruitless to bring a rainfall, Nichiren
vehemently accused the former of being a vain hypocrite.
Intrigue against Nichiren was going on behind the scene
among the court ladies of the Hojo, who were all admirers
of Ryokwan. Public accusations were also made from
various sides. At last, on the tenth of the ninth month
(October 15, 1271), Nichiren was called into court to explain
himself. He declared that his accusers were great liars, and
repeated his warning about the imminent Mongol invasion,
to the same effect as in his previous utterances. The man
who was most offended and irritated was Hei no Saemon,
the major-domo of the Hojo, a fervent believer in Amita-
Buddhism. Two days later, while the question was still
pending in the court, Nichiren sent to him the essay,
Rissho Ankoku Ron, together with a letter almost amount-
ing to an ultimatum. The breach was too wide to be
closed; the critical moment was at hand.

On the morning of the same day, the twelfth, probably
while Nichiren's ultimatum was still on the way, a body of
troops, led by the major-domo himself, surrounded Nichi-
ren's hut. Nichiren stood on the veranda with the rolls of
the Scripture in his hands. The soldiers hesitated to attack
him, but he made no resistance. When the soldiers finally
seized him, he loudly exclaimed, " Behold, the Pillar of
Japan is now falling." He was tried before the Supreme
Court on the charge of high treason. The judgment was im-
mediately pronounced, and it seems to have been a sentence
of banishment; but his life was left to the mercy of the
custodian, Nichiren's opponent himself, Hei no Saemon — a

56 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

method of disposing of cases not unusual in that age. In the
evening, the prisoner was carried around on horseback in
the city, and late in the night he was carried to Tatsu-no-
kuchi, the Dragon's Mouth, the execution ground, about
two miles from Kamakura. As he passed the Red Bridge
in the middle of the town, he commanded the guard to stop.
While the amazed soldiers obeyed and the crowd were
wondering what was going to happen, the giant monk dis-
mounted from the horse and stood facing north, toward
the sanctuary of Hachiman. Hachiman, or the Eight-
Banners Deity, was the patron god of the Minamotos, and
a magnificent temple dedicated to him was erected at Kama-
kura when it was the seat of the Dictatorial government.
It ever remained the holiest sanctuary of the military head-
quarters and the Dictator's residence. The Red Bridge
was on the great avenue running through the middle of the
city,^ from the front of the Hachiman temple to the sea-
shore. There the prisoner monk stood, and fixing his gaze
on the seat of worship, spoke thus:

0 Hachiman! Art thou really a divine being ? When the Great
Master Dengyo gave lectures on the Lotus of Truth, thou didst honor
him by offering a purple robe. Now, I, Nichiren, am the one, the
supreme one, who lives the life of the Lotus of Truth.^ There is no
fault in me, but I am proclaiming the Truth, simply in order to save all
the people of this country from falling down to the nethermost hells
because of their degrading the Lotus of Truth. Should the Mongols
subjugate this country, wouldst thou, O Hachiman, together with the
Sun-Goddess, alone be safe ? Moreover, when our Lord Sakya-muni
revealed the Lotus of Truth, all the Buddhas came together from the
ten quarters; and when innumerable hosts, including the deities and
saints of India, China, and Japan, were present in the congregation,

1 Even today the temple and the avenue remain, almost as they were in
the thirteenth century. The site of the Red Bridge is near the place where
the railway viaduct crosses the central avenue of the city.

2 This expression, " Nippon dai-ichi no Hokke-kyo no gydja," in the origi-
nal, has appeared before, and is used more frequently from this time on.

THE MONGOL PERIL 57

each of you took oath to guard those who should work to perpetuate
the Truth. Now thou oughtest to come here and fulfil thy oath, and
why dost thou not do it ? . . . When, tonight, I, Nichiren, shall be
beheaded and go to the Paradise of Vulture Peak, I shall declare
before our Lord Sakya-muni that thou, Hachiman, and the Sun-
Goddess have not fulfilled your oaths. Art thou not afraid of that ? '

Then Nichiren mounted his horse and rode dignifiedly on.
The soldiers and the crowd were amazed, and every one was
questioning with himself, " Is he mad, or is he really a
superman ? " Superstitious awe was mingled with high
admiration; pity and sympathy were displaced by the ^
thought, *' What extraordinary audacity! The sign of a
supernatural power! "

Along the road on which Nichiren's guard proceeded many
of his behevers wept and cried, some of them daring even to
approach him. He took farewell of them, either in silence
or with a word of consolation. The faithful warrior, Kingo,
together with his brothers, accompanied his master to the
execution ground, and Nichiren later expressed his high
appreciation of their fidelity unto death. Most of Nichiren's
monk disciples had been arrested and imprisoned; and to
them, after his miraculous escape from death, he wrote
consoling letters.

It was some time past midnight when Nichiren arrived at
Tatsu-no-kuchi. Everything was ready for his execution;
soldiers surrounded the place; the official witness, Hei no
Saemon, was sitting in a chair, the executioner standing
behind. Nichiren sat down on a straw mat, joined his
hands in worship, uttered the Sacred Title, and, stretching
out his neck, awaited the stroke of the sword. Suddenly,^
and miraculously, as he himself and others beheved, the
sky was ablaze with light. " Something bright, like a ball of

Works, pp. 1392-1393; written five years later, in 1276.

58 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

fire, flew from the southeast to the northwest, and every
one's face was clearly visible in its light. The executioner
became dizzy, and fell; soldiers were panic-stricken, some
running away, others prostrate even on horseback." ^
Everything was in confusion, and the execution was no
longer possible.

This narrow escape, more unexpected and miraculous than
in any preceding cases, impressed Nichiren so deeply that
he regarded his life thereafter as a second Hfe — the life after
a resurrection. In a later writing he expressed this thought
as follows : ^

A man called Nichiren was beheaded at Tatsu-no-kuchi, a little after
midnight of the twelfth day of the ninth month last year. His soul
remained, and came here to the island of Sado; it wrote this, in the
midst of snow, in the second month of the year following, and leaves it
to posterity.

Another letter,^ written in 1277 to his beloved warrior
disciple Kingo, shows how gravely he regarded the crisis:

Over and over I recall to mind that you came following me when I
was going to be beheaded, and that you cried and wept, holding the
bridle of my horse. How can I forget that as long as I may live ? If
you should faU to the hells because of your grave sins (accumulated
in the past), I would not follow the call of my Lord Sakya, howsoever
he might invite me to Buddhahood, but I would surely be in the hell
where you are. If I and you are in the hells, Sakya Buddha and the
Scripture will surely be there together with us.

Another letter addressed to the same warrior, written
while the crisis was still fresh in his memory, says : *

Tatsu-no-kuchi is the place where Nichiren renounced his life. The
place is therefore comparable to a paradise; because all has taken

^ Works, p. 1394.

2 In the " Opening the Eyes." (Works, p. 804), written in 1272.

' Works, p. 1644; cp. p. 181 2.

* Seven days after the event {Works, p. 690).

THE MONGOL PERIL 59

place for the sake of the Lotus of Truth. . . . Indeed every place
where Nichiren encounters perils is Buddha's land. . . . Surely
when I shall be on \'ulture Peak, I shall inform our Lord of your
fidelity shown in your readiness to follow me to death.

The authorities were perplexed what to do. When the
day dawned, it was decided that the prisoner should be sent
to Echi, a village fifteen miles inland from Tatsu-no-kuchi.
When, at noon, he arrived there, he was received very rev-
erently into the mansion of the local chief, and the soldiers
of the guard began to Hsten to what the wonderful man said
and preached. Meanwhile, it seems, the government circle
were much disturbed by the failure of the execution, and a
faction among the officials seems to have raised its voice
against those who had urged that Nichiren should be put to
death. Late in the following night a special messenger came
from Kamakura, ordering that good care be taken of the
prisoner. Finally, he was sentenced to exile, and, nearly a
month later, he left Echi for the Island of Sado, which was
designated as his place of banishment.

CHAPTER VI

THE EXILE INSADO AND THE RIPENING OF
NICHIREN'S FAITH IN HIS MISSION

TEN days were spent in the journey from the southern
coast of Japan to the northern, and Nichiren now stood
on the exposed coast of Echigo, gazing upon the waves rag-
ing in a winter gale. On the way thither he had travelled
over hills and passes, crossed streams and valleys never
before trodden by him. Now, in the midst of winter,^ the
lands all along the northern coasts were covered with snow.
There he saw for the first time the Sea of Japan — this man
who hitherto had known only the Pacific Ocean. The gale
raged so continuously that he was obliged to stop at the
little haven of Teradomari for a week. All of his past life
seemed to him something like a series of frightful dreams,
yet the dreams were as real as any facts of human life —
nay, more real than anything else, because the records had
been written in his tears and blood. During his stay there,
while waiting to embark, he pondered over the past and the
future. " Mountains beyond rnountains " he had found in
his journey in coming thither, and " waves upon waves "
were raging in the sea before him. Similar had been his past
experience, and such was also the prospect of the coming
years. He examined and reviewed all the history of his life,

' He left Echi on the tenth day of the tenth month (November 13),
arrived at Teradomari on the twenty-first day (November 24), wrote the
letter quoted below on the following day, embarked for Sado on the twenty-
seventh (November 30), landed there on the following day (December i),
and was installed in an abandoned hut on the first day of the eleventh month
(December 4), 1271.

EXILE IN SADO 6l

comparing it with the words of the Scripture, and could only
arrive at the same conclusion he had come to in Izu, but now
upon more conclusive evidence.

Although every step of his perilous life had been a subject
of reflection in the light of the prophecies in the Scripture,
Nichiren had never before had an opportunity so well
suited to a comprehensive retrospect and profound medita-
tion as at this time. As he reviewed it, his career had step
by step fulfilled, almost to the letter, the prophecies con-
cerning the propagators of the Truth; and now he was
entering a new life, after a resurrection — the proper part of
his hf e as the man wholly dedicated to the cause of the Truth,
as well as to the spiritual welfare of all people in the coming
days of degeneration. " The one, the pioneer, who lives the
Hfe of the Lotus of Truth," was surely not a product of
chance, but a realization of the vows and promises recorded
in the Scripture. Then, why should not he, Nichiren, be in
vital continuity with some of those saints who had been
commissioned by Buddha to work in the future, and were
destined to suffer persecutions on that account ? Many
persons are mentioned who appeared in the assembly of the
Lotus, and took the vows to perpetuate the Truth. Who-
ever they might be, Nichiren must be one of them — this
was the conviction that was now firmly established in his
mind. This is stated in a letter addressed to one of his
earhest believers, Lord Toki, written one day after his ar-
rival at Teradomari. This letter ^ is the first of a series of
testimonies evincing Nichiren's consciousness that he was a
reincarnation of one of the saints in the prophecies.

After a brief narrative of the journey, the letter quotes
the passages to which Nichiren had paid special attention,

' Works, pp. 697-700; dated the twenty-second of the tenth month
(November 25), at eight o'clock in the morning.

62 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

interpreting the meaning of his life. The quotations are
similar, but in this letter a special emphasis is laid on pas-
sages in the thirteenth chapter on " Perseverance," such as,
" They will deride us and abuse us, and assail us with
weapons and sticks," " We shall repeatedly be driven out
of our abodes." He continues:

Nichiren has indeed been driven out repeatedly, and exiled twice.
The Lotus of Truth proclaims the truths which are universal to all
ages, past, present, and future. (What it says concerning the past is
to be true of the present, and what it announces to occur in the present
will be fulfilled again in the future.) Thus, the chapter on the Bodhi-
sattva Sadaparibhuta,^ telling what happened to him in the past, is
now being realized in (the life of one who is practising) what the
chapter on Perseverance tells, and vice versa. Then, surely (the man
who is now realizing) the Perseverance will be in future (the man who
practises the life of) Sadaparibhuta. Thus, Nichiren will be the Bodhi-
sattva Sadaparibhuta. .... (The chapter on Perseverance says
that in the future, in the days of the Latter Law, there will appear
eight billions of millions of saints who practise their vows.) Now, in
these days there are the three kinds of opponents of the Truth (as
exemplified in Nichiren's persecutors); and yet, if not one of those
millions of saints should appear, it would be something as if an ebb
were not followed by a flood; and as if the moon, when it had waned,
did not wax again. When the water is clear, the moonlight is reflected
in it; when a tree grows, birds abide in its branches. Nichiren is the
vicar of those saints, eight billions of millions in number, and is pro-
tected by them all.

The vicar of the innumerable saints who took the vows of
" Perseverance " was the Bodhisattva Sadaparibhuta.
Nichiren is not here quite as definite as he was in a letter
addressed to the same lord, more than one month later,
from Sado. In the latter ^ he says, in part:

During nearly two months since my arrival in this island of Sado,
icy winds have been constantly blowing, and, though the snowfall is

^ Chapter xx (Sanskrit Text, Chapter xix) ; see above, p. 30.
^ Works, pp. 702-703; dated the twenty-third of the eleventh month
(December 26), 1271.

EXILE IN SADO 63

sometimes intermitted, the sunlight is never seen. My body is pene-
trated by the cold, whereof (as is told concerning the cold hells) there
are eight kinds ... As I have written you, during the two thousand
and two hundred years since Buddha's death, various masters have
appeared in the world and labored to perpetuate the Truth, knowing
its import, and yet adapting it to the needs of the times. The great
masters Tendai and Dengy5 made explicit the purport of the Truth
(by uttering its Sacred Title), and yet they did not propagate it. One
who shall fulfil this task is to appear in this country. If so, may not
Nichiren be the man ? . . . The Truth has appeared and the omens
are already more clearly manifest than ever before. The Scripture
says, " There appeared four leaders, Visista-caritra," etc.

This is the first definite statement ^ about his personal con-
nection with Visista-caritra (Jap. Jogyo), the leader of the
saints called out of earth in the chapter on the " Apparition
of the Heavenly Shrine." From this time on, Nichiren re-
mained constant in the belief that his former life was that
of Visista-caritra, although he often referred to other saints
as his predecessors, and spoke as if he were a reincarnation
of one of them.

The place where Nichiren was abandoned was a hut in a
cemetery, little sheltered from wind and snow. No regular
supply of food reached him. He was clad only in coarse
hempen robes. It is a wonder how he survived these severi-
ties. He " felt in his body the eight kinds of icy cold," yet
there was a fire in his inner heart; he almost starved, but he
was provided with spiritual ambrosia. Yet he would have
died of cold and hunger, if a zealous adversary, who at first
attempted to kill him, had not been, contrary to his inten-
tion, converted by Nichiren. The man was a warrior who
had come thither in attendance on the ex-emperor, who had
been banished to the island more than fifty years before.

1 A reference to the same man is made in the first essay after his return
from Izu, {Works, p. 472), but is not directly referred to Nichiren himself.

64 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

He continued to live there, and was a devout Amita-Buddh-
ist. The honest but simple-minded man, having heard of
Nichiren's antagonism to Amita-Buddha, determined to
kill the devil monk. He approached the solitary hut, and
watched for an opportunity to stab the hated man, but was
involuntarily attracted by Nichiren's voice as he recited the
Scripture, and finally entered into religious discussion with
him, because he thought it not proper for a Buddhist and a
warrior to kill another without giving him warning and
attempting to convert him. The man, no match in learning
and piety for Nichiren, was converted by him whom he had
formerly hated. His wife followed the example of her hus-
band, and it was they who supplied Nichiren with food.
They remained faithful to him until death; and, as in the
case of the fisherman and his wife in Izu, the prophet never
forgot to be grateful to them. Several tender letters written
to them later are testimonies to the close relation estab-
lished between the master and his converts. Hatred and
persecution, on the one hand, but consolation and protec-
tion, both miraculous and human, on the other, all worked
to strengthen Nichiren's gratitude toward the Scripture and
his faith in his mission as the messenger of Buddha.

In this way the severest of the winter season was passed.
Several communications were meanwhile received from
Nichiren's followers on the mainland. By the time the
snow and frost began to melt and the sun was pouring down
its warm rays, the exile was no longer solitary and deserted,
but had about him a few converts, and was preparing to
continue his work. The work to be done was, of course, of
quite a different sort from that which he had done in combat-
ing others. The fifty years before the " resurrection " were
introductory to the proper part of his mission. There, in
.\ Sado, he was to arrive at the climax of his life, the revelation

EXILE IN SADO 65

of the profound truth of his gospel. This idea was a neces-
sary consequence of Nichiren's belief that his own Hfe was
an embodiment of the Lotus of Truth, because the Scripture
was always divided by interpreters into three parts, the
introduction, the climax, and the consummation and per-
petuation.^ Nichiren conceived his own mission in con-
formity with this division, and the task to be done in the
chmax of his life, now begun, was to reveal the essence of his
religion, which in the event proved to be the revelation of
the " Supreme Being " in a symboUc representation of the
universe.

For this ultimate revelation he had to prepare the way,
just as the revelation of the Tathagata's infinite hfe (chapter
xvi) had been preceded by the issuing of the innumerable
hosts of the primeval disciples (chapter xv). These prep-
arations consisted of a concise exposition of his doctrines,
and of a critical estimate of the relative values of various
rehgious and ethical systems. The exposition is contained
in an essay entitled, '' The Heritage of the Sole Great Thing
Concerning Life and Death," - together with a cognate
essay on " The Oral Instruction for the Attainment of
Buddhahood by Trees and Grasses." ^ After this, in the
same month, was finished the " Opening the Eyes," Nichi-
ren's greatest treatise on the ethical aspect of his religion,
with reference to his own mission as well as to his followers'
duties toward himself and Buddha. All these were com-

1 Taken as a whole, the nineteen chapters from the second to the twentieth
were regarded as the proper part, while in the two other divisions, the " mani-
fest " part and the " primeval " part, the proper part of the former consisted
of chapters ii-ix, and in the latter of xvi and a part of xvii.

2 Works, pp. 742-744; written on the eleventh of the second month
(March 12), 1272.

* Works, pp. 745-746; dated the twentieth (March 21).

66 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

pleted by the time the first winter in Sado was coming to
an end, and, with the return of vernal breezes, the outlook
was growing brighter. " Do even trees and grasses attain
Buddhahood ? " you ask. " But the truth is, Buddha
manifests himself as trees and grasses. The whole universe
in its essence is nothing but Buddha's own body." In these
utterances we can see the cosmological aspect of Nichiren's
doctrine, as well as the surroundings in which the words
were written down.

Now, let us see what is said concerning the Heritage of the
Great Thing.

What I call the Heritage of the Great Thing Concerning Life and
Death is nothing else than the Scripture, the Lotus of the Perfect
Truth. For the Sacred Title of the Lotus was handed down from the
two Buddhas, Sakya-muni and Prabhuta-ratna, to the Bodhisattva
Visista-caritra, when the Buddhas appeared in the Heavenly Shrine,
and from eternity the heritage has been kept without interruption.
" Perfect " represents death, ^ and " Truth," life; while life and death
make up the essence of the ten realms of existence — the essence
identical with that of the Lotus. . . . All that is born and dies is a
birth and death of the Scripture (Truth), the Lotus in its ultimate
reality. . . . Then, to utter the Sacred Title of the Lotus with the
conviction that the three are one — the three, that is, Sakya-muni,
the Buddha who from eternity has realized Buddhahood; the Lotus of
Truth, which leads all beings, without exception, to Buddhahood; and
we, beings in all the realms of existence. To utter the Sacred Title is,
therefore, the Heritage of the Sole Great Thing Concerning Life and
Death. This is the essential key to (the religious life of) Nichiren's
disciples and followers, namely, adherence to the Lotus of Truth. . . .

Wherever Nichiren's disciples and followers utter the Adoration of
the Lotus of the Perfect Truth ^ being united in heart, even in sepa-
rate existences, like the association existing between fish and water,

' Nichiren interpreted the word " Perfect " (Sanskrit, sad) to mean resur-
rection, the mysterious continuity and perpetuity of life through births and
deaths. In this sense death is but a phase in the perpetual flow of life, a
step to another manifestation of life. Therefore, this interpretation. This
thought of Nichiren's reminds us of Marcus Aurelius, when he said: Death,
like birth, is a revelation of nature.

EXILE IN SADO &J

there, lies the Heritage of the Sole Great Thing Concerning Life and
Death. This is the essence of what is promulgated by Nichiren. If it
should be fulfilled, the great vow of propagating (the Truth through-
out the Latter Days) over the whole world would be achieved. . . .

Will the Bodhisattva Visista-caritra appear in these days of the
Latter Law to open wide the gateway of the Truth, or will he not
appear? The Scripture tells us so; yet will it surely happen ? Will
the Bodhisattva appear, or not ? At any rate, I, Nichiren, have now
accomplished the pioneer work.

Whatever may happen to you, arouse in yourselves a strong faith
and pray that you may, at the moment of death, utter the Sacred
Title in clear consciousness and with earnest faith! Do not seek
besides this any heritage of the sole great thing concerning life and
death. Herein lies the truth of the saying that there is Bodhi even in
depravities, and Nirvana even in birth and death. i Vain it is to hold
the Lotus of Truth without this heritage of faith! I shall tell you
more about this at another time. In sincerity and reverence.

Nichiren had passed through many perils, and was now
going to reveal the kernel of his mission. For whose sake ?
Of course, for the sake of all beings living and going to
live; but his vision was chiefly directed toward the future.
Hence the *' coming myriad of years " was the motto of his
work. But could that task for the future be fulfilled without
a remote cause and solid foundation laid in the past ? All
beings are to be saved. The task is grand and the end
remote. The preparation for it must be proportionate to the
magnitude of the future accomplishment. The necessary
connection between the future and the past is shown in
the revelation of the Heavenly Shrine, before which all
primeval disciples of Buddha were summoned and took
the vow to perpetuate the Truth throughout the coming
ages. The link between the past and future is Nichiren,

1 This does not mean to nullify the distinction between enlightenment and
illusion, but to emphasize that truth is not to be sought beyond what we
deem this life of vices and the realm of birth and death. The point may be
seen in the synthesis of " vacuity " and " phenomenal reality," in the
" Middle Path," for which see the Appendix.

68 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

who represents in this country at this moment the solemn
pledge of salvation, and is commissioned to work in the
days of degeneration. Thus his person is the key to the
efficacious working of the everlasting Truth, which has its
origin in eternity and is destined to prevail forever in the
future.

This was Nichiren's conviction about his person and his
mission. In order to open the eyes of all fellow-beings to
this, it was necessary to bring them to the same enhghten-
ment concerning themselves. For this purpose, each must,
first of all, know the true relation existing between himself
and the eternal Buddhahood, which is represented, pre-
eminently, by the Lord Sakya, and is to be realized in one's
own self. This metaphysical relation between the Master
and the disciples, between the cosmos and the individual, is
the very foundation of all religion and ethics. Open the
eyes to this cardinal relation, then all enhghtenment will
naturally follow.

" There are three objects which every man ought to
revere, his lord, his master, and his parents; there are
three subjects which should be studied, Confucianism,
Hinduism, and Buddhism." Thus begins the essay on
*' Opening the Eyes." ^ The key-note — the emphasis on
the eternal Buddhahood — runs through all the argument,
but the melody varies, just as diverse systems of religion
and ethics are engaged in inculcating one and the same
principle of reverence to the same objects of veneration.
According to Nichiren, the manifold teachings existing are
but the varying aspects of the same cosmic principle; and
each of those systems represents a certain truth, while
errors come from sticking to a particular point of the teach-
ings. The Truth is touched, but the whole Truth is missed,

' Works, pp. 747-824; finished in the second month (March), 1272.

EXILE IN SADO 69

as squinting eyes, though not totally bhnd, distort images.
The full-opened eyes see the Truth of the everlasting rela-
tionship between ourselves and the eternal Buddhahood, in
which the Buddha, as revealed in the chapter on the
Eternal Life of the Tathagata, is the Lord ruhng over all
subjects, the Master leading his pupils to maturity, and
the Father who gives birth to the children. We are, from
all eternity, subjects of the Buddha, his disciples, and his
children; being essentially like him through the eternal
Truth. When seen in this light, every religion and ethical
system, compared with Nichiren's religion revealed in the
Lotus, is one of the preliminary steps leading up to the
ultimate truth. Yet men are bhnd or squinting and do not
see the whole truth in its full light.

Confucianism, being a system of humanitarian ethics,
limits its view of this relationship to the visible side of
human Hfe. Hinduism, worshipping Brahma or Vishnu as
the highest Lord, goes a httle beyond the actual world, yet
sees in those phantom gods the ultimate Being. There are
relative merits in these systems, but, after all, they are bhnd
or half bhnd to the true foundation of human relations and
reUgious worship. Buddhism opens our spiritual eyes to the
being of Buddha, our Lord, yet many Buddhists are too
" squint-eyed " to see his real nature and our proper rela-
tion to him. Nichiren criticizes these distorted forms of
Buddhism most severely, and shows less clemency toward
them than toward other religions. Especially Hinayana,
the way of those who are contented with mere knowledge
of certain truths or with sohpsistic transcendence in con-
templation, is further away from the true way than the
secular teachings of ethics which inculcate loyalty and
filial piety.

70 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

That Nichiren emphasized these virtues, together with
obedience to the master, is noteworthy as showing his keen
interest in moral Hfe. It must be observed, also, that this
ethical interest was not with him merely an adjunct of reli-
gious belief, but a vital criterion of religious truth. For to
worship Buddha and revere the Truth revealed by him
does not consist in devising rituals, or in contemplating
Buddha's truths in visionary ways, but in working out in our
own life the truths taught, by putting faith in Buddha as the
Lord, Master, and Father. Faith ought to be actualized in
Hfe, but is empty unless realized in the three cardinal
virtues named above. Nichiren's conviction that his hfe
was vitalizing the Lotus of Truth was another way of stating
his ethical interpretation of rehgion.

Buddha, as he is represented as declaring himself in the
chapter on Eternity, is the Tathagata from all eternity and
has ever been working to lead all sentient beings to maturity
in Buddhahood. He is the Lord of Truth and Father of all,
vand we are his disciples and children. Religion is nothing
Nbut the way to enlightenment in this eternal relationship,
and morality, nothing but the method of realizing the same
truth in our Hfe. We have ever been Buddha's children, but,
\up to the present, we have been blind to his presence and
work, just like the prodigal son in the parable in the fourth
chapter of the Scripture. We are now awake to this ever-
lasting fundamental relationship, and thereby shall surely
—attain Buddhahood, because the Tathagata is constantly
caring for us and watching over us, as he says:

Now, this threefold realm of existence is my dominion,
And all beings therein are my children.
Yet existence is full of troubles and tribulations,
I alone am the protector and savior.^ (Chap. in).

1 Verse 87; Text, p. 90; SEE., p. 88.

EXILE IN SADO 71

Since I have attained Buddhahood, . . .

I have constantly been preaching truths,

And helping innumerable beings to maturity,

Leading them in the Way of Buddhas;

Thus, innumerable aeons have passed in this work.' (Chap. xvi).

The duties of the true Buddhist, then, consist in fully know-
ing the vast scheme of Buddha's salvation working upon
us, in being convinced of our indebtedness to Buddha, and
in requiting it by practising the true morality.

Morahty in human relation means, according to this point
of view, a life of gratitude shown in fidelity to the Lord,
obedience toward one's master, and filial piety toward one's
parents; all other moral relations flow out of these funda-
mental ones. But this passive aspect of morality implies
the active duty of showing gratitude by perpetuating the
will of the benefactor. The ruled fulfills his duty by co-
operating with the ruler in the maintenance of order and
government, the disciple by propagating the truth taught
by the master, and the child by perpetuating the Hfe given
by his parents. Similarly with moral duties viewed from
the standpoint of religion: the true faith consists in prop-
agating the Truth, and in ourselves living the life of Truth
as revealed by Buddha. This is what is inculcated in the
Scripture, and is the real import of the vows taken by the
saints, the faithful disciples of Buddha.

The question for Nichiren, was, therefore, Is there any
one, in the present age of degeneration, who practises the
true essence of the Buddhist religion ? In order to answer
this question, Nichiren proceeds anew to re-examine the
stanzas of the chapter on Perseverance. The three kinds of
opponents, the malicious la^anen, the perverse monks, and

1 Verses 1-2; Text, p. 323; SBE., p. 307.

72 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

the jealous hypocrites, have been actually embodied in
Nichiren's persecutors. The persecutions heaped upon him
are letter by letter prophesied in the Scripture; the perils
which the saints, consecrating themselves, promised Buddha
to endure — abuse and derision, weapons and sticks, banish-
ment and execution — these have all been experienced in
Nichiren's life. Is there, then, any room to doubt that
Nichiren is the true Buddhist, the man who is realizing the
prophecies about the propagator of the Truth in the Latter
Days ? If Buddha is really omniscient and his prophecies
not falsehood; if the " Saints-out-of-Earth " are not liars
and hypocrites, and their vows not vain; then Nichiren is
surely the man who is fulfilling the vows of the old saints.
Buddha is the primeval master, and Nichiren is now living
the life of his primeval disciples. Primeval, therefore ever-
lasting, and as true for the future as in the past — he is
the one predestined to be the leader, the savior of the
coming ages. In short, Nichiren is the man who is " read-
ing " the Truth by his life.

By such considerations, Nichiren justified himself in his
polemic attitude. The precedence he gives to the " repres-
sive " method in propaganda over the " persuasive " was
the necessity of the time; it was the way ordained by Buddha,
because the malicious men of the Latter Days could be con-
verted only by arousing their utmost malice, and thereby
exterminating their radical sins.^ Let men's eyes be opened
to the existence and work of the true Buddha, and to the
duties of the true Buddhist, and their sight will be clear
enough to see in Nichiren the predestined manifestation

' The idea is that radical sin can be exterminated only by arousing the
sinful thought and deed to the utmost. Nichiren compares the " repressive "
method to a surgical operation, without which certain kinds of disease cannot
be cured. Later, we shall see more of his idea of sin.

EXILE IN SADO 73

of the primeval saint, the messenger of the Tathagata.
Expressing this thought with firm confidence, Nichiren says : ^

Finally, let the celestial beings withdraw their protection, let all
perils come upon me, even so, will I dedicate my life to this cause. . . .
Be it in weal, be it in woe, to desert the Lotus of Truth means to fall
to the hells. I will be firm in my great vow. Let me face all manner
of threats and temptations. Should one say to me, " Thou mightest
ascend the throne of Japan, if thou wouldst abandon the Scripture and
e.xpcct future bliss through belief in the ' Meditation on Amita ';
or thy parents shall sufTcr capital punishment, unless thou utterest
the name of the Buddha Amita," etc. Such temptations I shall meet
unshaken, and shall never be allured by them, unless my principles be
shattered by a sage's refutation of them. Any other perils shall be the
dust before a storm. I will be the Pillar of Japan; I will be the Eyes
of Japan ; I will be the Great Vessel of Japan.^ Inviolable shall remain
these oaths!

When Nichiren had finished the " Opening the Eyes,"
amidst the snows of winter, with the coming of the spring a
better time began for him. The governor of the island was
much attracted by his saintly life, as well as by his strong
personality. The government issued an order to protect the
exile; Nichiren was given an abode at Ichi-no-sawa, a place
on the slope of a range of hills. The local chief of this region
admired and protected him, showing him great respect; his
wife and son were converted. The place of exile became a
veritable centre of propaganda, and many flocked to hsten
to the sermons of the wonderful man. Nichiren reviewed
his past experience anew, in calm reflection; the hardships
he had gone through appeared in another light, and he now
recognized that they were all in expiation of the grave sins
accumulated from eternity through neglect or abandon-
ment of duty, or through not having always lived as the true
Buddhist. The strenuous repression of which he made so

^ In the " Opening the Eyes," Works, p. 8i6.

^ The Pillar means the supporter, the lordship; the Eyes, the mastership;
and the Great Vessel, the giver of life, the fatherhood.

74 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

much in his combative propaganda meant the repression not
only of others' illusions and vices, but of his own. In a letter ^
written about one month after the " Opening the Eyes," he
sums up the arguments expounded in that work, and speaks
of himself as follows:

That Nichiren suffers so much is not without remote causes. As is
explained in the chapter on the Bodhisattva Sadaparibhuta, all abuses
and persecutions heaped upon the Bodhisattva were the results of his
previous karma. How much more, then, should this be the case with
Nichiren, a man born in the family of an outcast fisherman, so lowly
and degraded and poor! Although in his soul he cherishes something of
the faith in the Lotus of Truth, the body is nothing but a common
human body, sharing beastlike life, nothing but a combination of the
two fluids, pink and white, the products of flesh and fish. Therein the
soul finds its abode, something like the moon reflected in a muddy
pool, like gold wrapped up in a dirty bag. Since the soul cherishes
faith in the Lotus of Truth, there is no fear even before (the highest
deities, such as) Brahma and Indra; yet the body is an animal body.
Not without reason others show contempt for this man, because there
is a great contrast between the soul and the body. And even this
soul is full of stains, being the pure moonlight only in contrast to the
muddy water; gold, in contrast to the dirty bag.

Who, indeed, fuUy knows the sins accumulated in his previous
lives ? . . . The accumulated karma is unfathomable. Is it not by
forging and refining that the rough iron bar is tempered into a sharp
sword ? Are not rebukes and persecutions really the process of refin-
ing and tempering ? I am now in exile, without any assignable fault;
yet this may mean the process of refining, in this life, the accumulated
sins (of former lives), and being thus deHvered from the three woeful
resorts. . . .

The world is full of men who degrade the Lotus of Truth, and such
rule this country now. But have I, Nichiren, not also been one of
them ? Is that not due to the sins accumulated by deserting the
Truth ? Now, when the intoxication is over, I stand here something
like a drunken man who having, while intoxicated, struck his parents,
after coming to himself, repents of the offence. The sin is hardly to be
expiated at once. . . . Had not the rulers and the people persecuted
me, how could I have expiated the sins accumulated by degrading the
Truth ?

^ Sent to his disciples on the mainland; written on the twentieth of the
third month (April 19), 1272. Works, p. 827-835.

EXILE IN SADO 75

Such reflections on his own sinfulness naturally led Nichi-
ren to apply the same principles to his followers. No one is
totally destitute of Buddha-nature, which is dormant in the
innermost recess of the soul ; but none is free from the sin of
having disregarded and disobeyed the Truth. Nichiren is
now fulfilling the oaths taken before Buddha, and thereby
expiating his sins through a severe discipline in hardships.
Persecutions are necessary accompaniments of the lives of
those who labor for the sake of the Truth, because of their
efforts to stir up the maUcious and perverse nature of their
fellow-beings, among whom the work of propagating the
Truth is done. But the perils are at the same time a means
of expiating the workers' own grave sins. Moreover, an
existence of any kind is never an individual matter, but
always the result of a common karma, shared by all born in
the same realm of existence. Hence the expiation made by
any one individual is, in fact, made for the sake of all his
fellow-beings. Both the persecutors and the persecuted
share the common karma accumulated in the past, and
therefore share also in the future destiny, the attainment
of Buddhahood. Nichiren's repression of others' maUce and
\dce is at the same time his own expiation and self-subjuga-
tion. How, then, should his followers not share his merit in
extinguishing the accumulated sins, and preparing for the
realization of the primeval Buddha-nature ? " Therefore,"
Nichiren exhorts his disciples, " beheve in me, and emulate
my spirit and work, in the firm faith that the Master is the

[Savior and leader! Work together, united in the same faith!
Then, the expiation of sins will be achieved for ourselves
and for all our fellow-beings, because we all share in the
common karma."

CHAPTER VII

THE CLIMAX OF NICHIREN'S LIFE; GRAPHIC
REPRESENTATION OF THE SUPREME BEING

A PEACEFUL summer had passed, the short days of
autumn followed one another, and the dreary winter
was nigh. The exile continued to ponder on his mission,
now more deeply and calmly than ever before. His faith
in his mission was firmly established, and his aggressive
propaganda was bearing fruit, not only in winning many
converts, but even in inspiring awe in his opponents.
Toward the end of the year in which he was banished, the
Mongols caused fresh alarm by sending a number of ships,
which were followed in the next year by another embassy.
Family strife broke out among the Hojos, and members of
the clan killed one another. All these events were inter-
preted by Nichiren and his followers as the results of the
injustice done the prophet, and also as a fulfilment of his
warning predictions. This was a triumph for Nichiren, but
what concerned him more was the future of the nation and
of the religion. In the Sacred Title he had given his religion
a standard and a form of worship suitable to every people
in the Latter Days; he had also explained who Buddha is,
and the relation between Buddha and ourselves. But the
object of worship had not yet been clearly defined. What
should it be ? How should it be presented to men's physical
and spiritual vision ? The next task, the consummation of
his activities hitherto, was the solution of this problem, the
revelation of the Supreme Being, and a preparation for the
complete fulfilment of his great mission.

THE SUPREME BEING 77

The thought had occupied him, as he tells us, since the
autumn (eleventh month) of 1272. The way in which he
solved the problem was quite characteristic of his philo-
sophical cast of mind, as well as of his practical nature —
philosophical, because Nichiren always emphasized the
Truth, the metaphysical basis of existence, and was never
content to worship a personal god, whether Buddha or any
other deity, merely as a being existing beside ourselves;
practical, because his special endeavor was to seize the very
quintessence of Truth, and to present it in a way so simple
and concrete that even the least intelUgent might be in-
spired and moved by it.

Surely, the Lord Sakya-muni, when understood as the
primeval Tathagata, is the ultimate entity of the universe,
and consequently the object of worship. Yet, when he is
simply represented, as he is represented by other Buddhists,
in an image, or in any other manner suggesting a particular
person, the erroneous conception immediately arises, that
the person is different from the Truth which he embodies.
On the other hand, Nichiren's rehgion was not the worship
of an abstract truth, but a Hfe to be lived by every being,
human, or other. Thus, the thing to be done was to unite
the Truth and the Person in a concrete representation, and
to regard it as the embodiment of the Supreme Being. This
had been partly accomplished in the formula of worship
symbolized in the Sacred Title. But this latter means of
religious worship, chiefly intended for oral utterance, was to
be supplemented by providing the soul with a representa-
tion of the Supreme Being which symbolized a perfect
union of the eternal Truth with the primeval person of
Buddha. The result was set forth in the " Spiritual Intro-
spection of the Supreme Being," an essay finished on the

78 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

twenty-fifth of the fourth month (May 13);^ and a tangible
symbolic representation was made on the eighth day of the
seventh month (August 21), 1273. Now let us see what the
idea and representation were.

The fundamental teaching of the Lotus concerning the
reality of the universe amounts to this, that every being
exists and subsists by virtue of the inexhaustible quahties
inherent in each. There are innumerable individuals, and
also groups of beings, including Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,
celestial beings, mankind, furious spirits, beings in the
purgatories, etc. Their respective characteristics are un-
mistakably distinct, but their qualities and conditions are
constantly subject to change, because in each of the beings
are inherent the qualities manifest in others, the differences
arising simply from the varying configuration of the mani-
fest and the potential qualities. Moreover, even taking the
existences as they are at a given moment, they cannot sub-
sist but by mutual interaction and influence. To subsist by
itself by no means signifies to be separate from others; on
the contrary, to interact one with another is the nature of
every particular being. These features of existence are the
laws or truths {dharma) , and the cosmos is the stage of the
infinite varieties and interactions of the dharmas, in other
words, the realm of " mutual participation." ^

These teachings are stated in the Lotus of Truth, and have
been explained and elucidated by many a great master of
the past; but they remain simply doctrines, so long as they
are merely understood, and not personally experienced.
Vain is all talk and discussion concerning existences and
reahty, unless the virtues of existence are realized in one's
own person. Noble and subhme may be the conception of

^ Works, pp. 928-949. ^ For these doctrines, see Appendix.

THE SUPREME BEING 79

the Supreme Being, but it is but an idol or image, a dead
abstraction, if we ourselves do not participate in its supreme
existence and realize in ourselves its excellent qualities. Thus,
worship or adoration means a realization of the Supreme
Being, together with all its attributes and manifestations,
first, through our own spiritual introspection, and, second,
in our hfe and deeds. The practice of introspection is car-
ried on in religious meditation. This, however, does not
necessarily mean intricate and mysterious methods, such as
are employed by many Buddliists; the end can be attained
by uttering the Sacred Title, and by gazing in reverence at
the graphic representation of the Supreme Being as revealed
by Nichiren. The truths of universal existence and " mutual
participation " remain abstractions if detached from the
true moral life; but any morality, however perfect it may
seem, is vain apart from the profound conviction in the
truth of the " mutual participation," and from an appre-
hension of our primeval relation to the Lord of the
Universe.

Thus, to participate in the virtues of the Supreme Being
is the aim of worship ; but that participation means nothing
but the restoration of our primeval connection with the
eternal Buddha, which is equivalent to the realization of our
own true nature. In other words, the true self of every
being is realized through full participation in the virtues of
the Supreme Being, who, again, reveals himself — or itself —
in the perfect life of every believer. The relation between
the worshipped and the worshipper exemplifies most clearly
the truth of '' mutual participation," because the wor-
shipped, the Supreme Being, is a mere transcendence if it
does not reveal itself in the believer's life, while the wor-
shipper reafizes his true being and mission only through the
elevating help {adhistdna) of the Supreme Being. Thus,

8o NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

^ mutual participation is at the same time mutual revelation
— realization of the true being through mutual relationship,
to be attained by us through spiritual introspection and
moral living. Religious worship, in this sense, is at the same
. time moral life; and moral relationships in the human world
\ are nothing but partial aspects of the fundamental correla-
tion between us and the Supreme Being. The point to be
emphasized in regard to this conception of the religious
relation is that the Supreme Being alone, without our wor-
ship of it in enlightenment and life, is not a perfect Being,
just as, without a child, " father " is but an empty name,
if not a contradiction in terms.

With these thoughts on the truth of mutual revelation,
and with a special emphasis on the necessity of a simple and
concrete representation of the Supreme Being, Nichiren
composed the treatise on " The Spiritual Introspection of
the Supreme Being, Revealed for the First Time in the Fifth
Five Centuries after the Tathagata's Great Decease." He
describes the symboHc representation as follows: ^

The august state of the Supreme Being (Svadi-devatd) is this: The
Heavenly Shrine is floating in the sky over the Saha world - ruled by
the Primeval Master, the Lord Buddha. In the Shrine is seen the
Sacred Title of the Lotus of the Perfect Truth, on either side of which
are seated the Buddhas Sakya-muni and Prabhuta-ratna, and also on
the sides, at a greater distance, the four Bodhisattva leaders, the
Visista-caritra and others. The Bodhisattvas like Manjusri and
Maitreya are seated farther down, as attendants of the former, while
the innumerable hosts of the Bodhisattvas, enlightened by the
manifestations of Buddha, sit around the central group, like a great
crowd of people looking up toward the court nobles surrounding the
throne.

1 Works, p. 940.

2 A name for the world, as the abode of mankind. For Nichiren's idea of
the world as a paradise, see below, pp. 104, 106-108.

THE SUPREME BEING 8l

In his graphic representation of this scene, Nichiren,
makes place for all other kinds of beings, men and gods,/
spirits and demons, all surrounding the central Sacred Title.
His idea was to represent adequately, from his point of
view, the perfect union of the Truth and the Person, mani-
fested not only in Buddhas and saints, but inherent even in
the beings immersed in illusion and vice. The whole was
intended to be a visible embodiment of the truth of cosmic
existence, as realized in the all-comprehensive conception of
" mutual participation, and illuminated by the all-enlight-
ening power of the Truth."

The universe is the stage of mutual participation and
reciprocal interaction, which proceed according to the
truths, or laws, of existence. Buddha, in his real entity, is
nothing but another name for this cosmos of orderly exis-
tence. Seen from this angle, the Truth is fundamental and
the Person is secondary; but the Truth and its laws cannot
exist nor work without everlasting wisdom, the cosmic soul '
which is the source of all wisdom, which ordains all laws and
causes all beings to exist. This is the personal aspect of the
universe, and is the real personality of the eternal Buddha.
Buddha, the Lord of Truth, as he declares himself to be, in
the second chapter of the Lotus, and the eternal Father of
the world, as he reveals himself in the sixteenth chapter, is
the Father and Master of all beings. This Buddha has ap-
peared, as is made known in the chapter on the Apparition j
of the Heavenly Shrine, in the person of two Buddhas,
Sakya-muni and Prabhuta-ratna; and this celestial mani-
festation was meant to show the efficacy of Buddha's
wisdom to lead all beings alienated from it to the full en-
lightenment of the universal truths. The basic truth of
existence and its everlasting laws are inherent in every
being, while the personal manifestations of Buddhahood are

82 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

working to bring all beings to full consciousness of their own
real nature. In other words, all beings, participating in the
primeval wisdom of the universe, are developing their proper
nature in conjunction with the educative activity of the
Buddhas. Taking this view of the cosmic movement, the
Supreme Being is nothing but the union of the Truth and
the Person, as realized in the person of Buddha and to be
realized in each of us.
/ This union is now graphically represented in the Cycle,
/ or Mandala, in the centre of which the Truth stands, sur-
rounded by all kinds of existences. And the Cycle is the
means to inspire our spiritual life with the truth of mutual
interaction, and to induce us to full participation in the
universal harmony. Seen in this light, the object of wor-
ship, the Supreme Being is to be sought nowhere but in
the innermost recess of every man's nature, because the
final aim of worship is the complete realization of the
Supreme Being in ourselves. Ethically speaking, Buddha
is our Lord and Father, but metaphysically the Lord and
Father is the means of perpetuating Truth and Life, which
are to be made actual by us. These two sides are united in
the act of rehgious worship, which is, on the one hand,
adoration of the universal Truth embodied in the person of
Buddha, and, on the other, the reahzation, in thought and
Hfe, of the Buddha-nature in ourselves. These principles of
ethical, metaphysical, and religious teaching were formu-
lated by Nichiren in a further exposition of the conception
of the Supreme Being, in the essay on " The Reality as It
Is," ^ written in the fifth month (June), that is, between
the composition of the " Spiritual Introspection " and the
revelation of the graphic representation in the Mandala.

^ Works, pp. 958-964.

THE SUPREME BEING 83

This conception of the Buddha-nature, and of its realiza-
tion in ourselves through worship, are consequences of the
time-honored theory of the Threefold Personality {tri-kdya)
of Buddha. But the characteristic feature in Nichiren's
ideas is that he never was content to talk of abstract
truth, but always applied the truth taught to actual life,
bringing it into vital touch with his own life. Ethics and
metaphysics are never to be separated, but to be united in
rehgion, and religion means a life actually embodying truth
and virtue. Truths are revealed and virtues inculcated in
the Lotus of Truth, and consequently the true rehgious Hfe
is equivalent to " reading the Scripture by person." Thus,
the essay, which begins with discussions of the metaphysical
entity of Buddha-nature, proceeds naturally to a considera-
tion of the Buddhist life, especially as exemplified in Nichi-
ren's own life. In it he says: ^

I, Nichiren, a man born in the ages of the Latter Law, have nearly
achieved the task of pioneership in propagating the Perfect Truth, the
task assigned to the Bodhisattva Visista-caritra. The eternal Buddha-
hood of Sakya-muni, as he revealed himself in the chapter on Life-
duration, in accordance with his primeval entity; the Buddha Pra-
bhuta-ratna, who appeared in the Heavenly Shrine, in the chapter on
its appearance, and who represents Buddhahood in the manifestation
of its eihcacy; the Saints (Bodhisattvas) who sprang out of the earth,
as made known in the chapter on the Issuing out of Earth — in reveal-
ing all these three,- 1 have done the work of the pioneer (among those
who perpetuate the Truth) ; too high an honor, indeed, for me, a com-
mon mortal! . . .

I, Nichiren, am the one who takes the lead of the Saints-out-of-
Earth. Then may I not be one of them ? If I, Nichiren, am one of
them, why may not all my disciples and followers be their kinsmen ?
The Scripture says, " If one preaches to anybody the Lotus of Truth,

* Works, pp. 959-964.

2 Nichiren meant the threefold aspects of Buddhahood, Dharma-kdya,
the eternal essence of Buddha Sakya-muni, Samhhoga-kdya, the blissful
manifestation in the person of Buddha Prabhuta-ratna, and Nirmdna-kdya,
the condescension and actual working of the Bodhisattvas.

84 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

even just one clause of it, he is, know ye, the messenger of the Tatha-
gata, the one commissioned by the Tathagata, and the one who does
the work of the Tathagata." ^ How, then, can I be anybody else than
this one ? . . .

By all means, awaken faith by seizing this opportunity! Live your
life through as the one who embodies the Truth, and go on without
hesitation as a kinsman of Nichiren! If you are one in faith with
Nichiren, you are one of the Saints-out-of-Earth ; if you are destined
to be such, how can you doubt that you are the disciple of the Lord
Sakya-muni from all eternity ? There is assurance of this in a word of
Buddha, which says: " I have always, from eternity, been instructing
and quickening all these beings." ^ No attention should be paid to
the difference between men and women among those who would prop-
agate the Lotus of the Perfect Truth in the days of the Latter Law.
To utter the Sacred Title is, indeed, the privilege of the Saints-out-of-
Earth. . . .

When the Buddha Prabhuta-ratna sat in the Heavenly Shrine side
by side with the Tathagata Sakya-muni, the two Buddhas hfted up the
banner of the Lotus of the Perfect Truth, and declared themselves to
be the Commanders (in the coming fight against vice and illusion).
How can this be a deception ? Indeed, they have thereby agreed to
(raise us mortal beings, to the rank of Buddha. I, Nichiren, was not
present there in the congregation, and yet there is no reason to doubt
the statements of the Scripture. Or, is it possible that I was there ?
Common mortal that I am, I am not well aware of the past, yet in the
present I am unmistakably the one who is realizing the Lotus of Truth.
Then in the future I am surely destined to participate in the com-
munion of the Holy Place. Inferring the past from the present and
the future, I should think that I must have been present at the Com-
munion in the Sky. (The present assures the future destiny, and the
future destiny is inconceivable without its cause in the past.) The
present, future, and past cannot be isolated from one another.

When I meditate on these things, my joy has no limit, in spite of the
miseries of the life of an exile. Tears in joy, tears in afflictions. . . .
I shed tears in thinking of the present perils and sufferings; my tears
cannot be checked even in the midst of rejoicing over the destiny of
Buddhahood that is before me. Birds and insects cry and weep, but
shed no tears; I, Nichiren, neither cry nor weep, yet no moment
passes without tears. These are shed, indeed, not on account of any
worldly matter but for the sake of the Lotus of Truth. If this be so,
these tears are drops of ambrosia. . . .

1 Yam., p. 321; Text, p. 227, line i; SEE., p. 216.

2 Yam., p. 445; Text, p. 310, verse 43; SEE., p. 293.

THE SUPREME BEING 85

In this document, the truths most precious to mc are written down.
Read, and read again; read into the letters and fix them into your
mind! Thus put faith in the Supreme Being, represented in a way
unique in the whole world! Ever more strongly I advise you to be
firm in faith, and to be under the protection of the threefold Buddha-
hood. March strenuously on in the ways of practice and learning!
Without practice and learning the Buddhist religion is nullified. Train
yourself, and also instruct others! Be convinced that practice and
learning are fruits of faith! So long as, and so far as, there is power in
you, preach, if it be only a clause or a word (of the Scripture) ! Namu
Mydho-renge-kyo! Namu Myolw-renge-kyo! Sincerely, in reverence.

Let me add: Herewith I have delivered to you the truths revealed
to me, Nichiren. Precious truths are specially transmitted to you.
What a mysterious dispensation ! . . . O, may I, Nichiren, be a kins-
man of the Saints-out-of-Earth, six myriads of Ganga-sands in num-
ber ? All this I do with the sole aim of leading all men and women in
this country, Japan (nay in the world), to the communion of those
who utter " Namu Mydhd-rcngc-kyo." Does not the Scripture say,
" The one called Visista-caritra . . . and he, (together with the three
other leaders) is the leader in utterance ? " ^ That you have become
my disciple is indeed the result of a remote connection. Keep this
letter carefully for yourself! Know that I, Nichiren, have therein
recorded the truths realized personally by myself! Good-by.^

The above essays were the introduction to the revelation
of the Supreme Being in graphic representation. When he
had thus expounded his thoughts, he undertook, in the sum-
mer of 1273, the work of the " revelation," the climax of his
hfe work. The design was as described above, and beneath
were added two postscripts. On the right side, " This is the
great Mandala, which has never before appeared through-
out the whole Jambu-dvlpa (world) during the two thousand

1 Yam., p. 431; Text, p. 300, lines 13-15; SEE., p. 284.

^ The import of the treatise is further expanded, on its practical side, in
the " Nyoselsu-Shugyd-shd," or " (Religious) Practice in Accordance with the
Statements of the Scripture," written in the same month; in its metaphysical
aspect, in the " Tdiai-gi-sho," or " Doctrine of the Entity," finished in the
autumn of the same year. Between these, on the eleventh of the fifth month
(May 28), was written the " Ken-Bulsu-mirai-ki" or the "Realization of
Buddha's Prophecies," which is cited below.

86 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

two hundred and twenty and more years elapsed since
Buddha's decease." On the left side, "Having been senten-
ced (to death) on the twelfth day of the ninth month, in
the eighth year of Bunnei, and having been later exiled afar
to the island of Sado, on the eighth day of the seventh
month, in the tenth year of the same, Nichiren makes this
representation, for the first time."

Whatever Nichiren's followers may claim about this
Mandala and the postscripts, and whatever criticism mod-
ern scholars may make, it remains an undoubted fact that
Nichiren attached the greatest importance to this work, as
being the pivotal point in his Hfe. After this, begins the
last part of his life, the consummation, and preparation for
the perpetuation, of his rehgion, in accordance with the
threefold division of the Scripture mentioned above.

Let me conclude this chapter by quoting another letter,
written at the same time with the " Reality as It Is." It is
entitled " The Realization of Buddha's Prophecies," ^ and
is an additional witness to Nichiren's firm conviction of his
mission.

What a great fortune it is to extinguish in this life the sins we have
accumulated from eternity by degrading the Truth! What a joy to
serve the Lord Sakya-muni, whom we had thought never to see or
hear! Let these be my earnest desires, first of all, to persuade the
rulers who have persecuted me, to announce to the Lord Sakya (the
names of those) of my followers who have assisted me; and to recom-
mend the highest good to my parents, who gave me birth, before
they die.^

I have seen, as in a vision, the spirit of the " Apparition of the
Heavenly Shrine." The text says,' " To grasp the world-mountain,
Sumeru, and to throw it to the innumerable lands of Buddhas in

' Works, pp. 973-978.

^ His parents had died before this time; but Nichiren spoke, not simply
for himself, but for all his followers.

' Yam., pp. 360-361; Te.xt, p. 253; SEE., p. 240.

THE SUPREME BEING 87

various directions — even this is not a thing impossible; but a thing
most difhcult would it be adequately to preach the Scripture in the
degenerate ages after Buddha's decease," etc.

The Great Master Dengyo said: " Sakya-muni has shown a clear
distinction between the shallow, which is easy to grasp, and the pro-
found, which is difticult to receive; and it should be the ambition
of a great man, leaving the shallow, to take up the profound. The
Great Master Tendai promulgated, in obedient faith in Lord Sakya,
the doctrines of the Lotus of Truth in the land of Cathay; a.nd our
school, having its centre at Hiei, is doing the same in Japan, in
accordance with the tradition of Tendai, for the sake of the Lotus
of Truth."

I, Nichiren, a native of Awa, am most probably the man whose mis-
sion it is, succeeding to the heritage of the three masters, to propagate
the doctrines of the Lotus of Truth throughout the ages of the Latter
Law. Now another is added to the three, and we shall be called the
four great masters of the three countries.

CHAPTER VIII

RELEASE AND RETIREMENT, FURTHER CON-
FIRMATION OF HIS FAITH

/ TT^ VER since Nichiren was exiled, his followers, especially
-L' the warriors connected with the government, had been
trying to have him recalled. Nichiren disapproved their
plan, and bade them abstain from agitation of that kind.
His idea seems to have been that the perils and sufferings
heaped upon him were necessary as a means of strengthen-
ing the evidence of his mission; it had ever been his con-
viction that the more faithful the propagator of the Truth
was, the stronger would be the opposition and the more
severe the persecution. Another reason, as we have seen
before, was the idea of expiation; his sufferings, as he con-
ceived it, were all to be endured as the necessary means of
expiating the sins accumulated from all eternity by estrange-
ment from the Lotus of Truth.

These subjective reasons for opposing efforts for his re-
lease were reinforced by an external consideration. All the
steps taken by him up to that moment had for their end the
conversion of the government and the nation to his faith.
He had done everything he could to bring this about, and
finally was sentenced to death. His return to the main
island would be useless, unless something new should hap-
pen to hasten the accomplishment of his ideals and ends.
His release would be acceptable only in case the govern-
ment authorities should repent of the measures they had
taken toward him, and be converted. " I shall never return,

RELEASE AND RETIREMENT 89

until they are willing to yield to my proposals." Judged
from several of his own utterances, this seems to have been
his determination.^

In this frame of mind, Nichiren was watching current
events, and looking for the possible repentance of the
government. What he especially desired was the fulfilment
of his prophecies about approaching dangers from internal
disturbances and foreign invasion. And, indeed, events
seemed more and more to confirm these predictions. While
Nichiren's case was pending, a Mongol ship with one hun-
dred men arrived, causing a panic, although it finally proved
not to be a warship. In the following years, 1272 and 1273,
Mongol envoys came repeatedly and urged a reply to the
messages of the Khan, and the Japanese government was
busily engaged in plans for defence, as well as in offering
prayers to Shinto and Buddhist deities. Beside the danger
from the Mongols, a serious struggle broke out between two
Hojo brothers, which ended in a fratricide. It was after this
event that the government, as has been related above,
ordered the governor of Sado to give Nichiren a better
abode, and to take good care of the exile. Nichiren regarded
these occurrences as signs of his success, and at the same
time rejoiced in his sufferings as being evidence of his mis-
sion. About this time, also, an influential member of the
Hojos, of the name Tokimori, began to revere Nichiren, and
often sent him presents and comforting letters. Although
Tokimori seems to have had the superstitious motive of
securing Nichiren's intercession with Buddha, and his
prayers to avert the threatened invasion, yet he gave pro-
gressive evidence of sincere conversion to Nichiren's religion.
This was another sign of Nichiren's triumph.

^ 1 For instance, Works, pp. 1414, 1416.

90 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

The Hojos were not unanimously hostile to Nichiren.
Tokimori, the elder, not only showed his good-will toward
him, but finally sent a precious sword as a token of the con-
version of his Samurai soul to the Lotus of Truth. Nichiren
thanked him heartily for it, and advised the convert further
to sohdify his faith. The letter reads: ^

I, Nichiren, am perhaps the most intractable man in Japan. I
warned you that all manner of disasters would take place, because you
worshipped Amita, Dainichi, and those Buddhas whom you held
dearer than your parents and more precious than your sovereign; and
that you were destined, in this world, to ruin yourselves and cause the
fall of the country, and in the future life, to sink to the nethermost hell.
Because I gave these warnings incessantly, I am suffering from perse-
cutions ... I am suffering from the perils heaped upon me by my
adversaries, three in kind, simply because I am the one who lives the
life of the Lotus of Truth. That you have become a follower of such a
man is something beyond common expectation; there must be some
significance in the fact. Be strenuous in your faith, and prepare
yourself to partake in the communion of the Paradise of Vulture
Peak!

You have sent one sword, with its mate, as your offering ... to the
Lotus of Truth. The swords were, while in your hands, weapons of
malice; now, being offered to Buddha, they are weapons of good. . . .
These swords will serve as staves in your journey beyond. Know that
the Lotus of Truth is the staff for all Buddhas on their way to enlight-
enment I Especially rely on me, Nichiren, as the staff and pillar! . . .
The Sacred Title will be your guidance and support on the journey
after death. The Buddhas Prabhuta-ratna and Sakya-muni, as well
as the four chief Bodhisattvas, will surely lead you by the hand. If
I should be there before you, I, also, will not fail to welcome you. . . .
I cannot Sc^y all I have to say in this letter. Put your faith in all the
deities (the guardians of the Truth)! March indefatigably on in the
way of faith, and reach your final destiny! Tell your ladies also of all
this! Sincerely in reverence.

This letter is indeed significant as evincing Nichiren's
affection for a member of the Hojos, and as a sign that they
were inclining more to him. It is dated the twenty-first of

^ Works, pp. 1032-1034.

RELEASE AND RETIREMENT 9I

the second month (March 30), 1274, just when the sentence
of release was on the way to Sado.

Nichiren had in various ways inspired awe in the Hojos,
and their own troubles caused them to think again of the
exile who had spoken like a prophet, and whose predictions
seemed to be having their fulfilment. The opinions of the
authorities were divided, and Nichiren still had many im-
placable enemies, but the Commissioner Tokimune finally
decided to recall Nichiren to Kamakura. It seems that an
intimation of this outcome had been given by Tokimori
in the message accompanying the swords. The edict for his
release was issued on the fourteenth of the second month
(March 23) , and reached Sado in the following month, two
weeks after the letter above quoted was written, on the
eighth of the third month (April 16). Nichiren complied
with the order, bade farewell to his followers in the island,
and left his abode of two years and a half, as signs of spring
were appearing after a long winter, on the thirteenth of the
third month (April 21). His religious opponents made at-
tempts on his life at several points on the way, but the
guards furnished by the government protected him, and
brought him in safety to Kamakura, where he arrived on
the twenty-sixth of the third month (May 4), after a
journey of two weeks.

It was a triumphal entry for Nichiren. Not only did his
old disciples and followers rejoice over the fulfilment of their
long-cherished hope, but the government circles seemed to
listen to Nichiren, and to seek his advice about the measures
to be taken in view of the threatened Mongol invasion. Ten
days after the return, on the memorable eighth of the fourth
month (May 15), Nichiren was invited to the Commis-
sioner's ofiice. It now became the duty of Hei no Saemon,

92 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

his bitter enemy, to communicate the good-will of the
Commissioner and to make advances to Nichiren. Let
Nichiren himself tell the story. ^

All of them received me courteously — something quite different
from their former attitude. Some asked me questions about Amita-
Buddha, others about the Shingon mysteries, others again about Zen.
Hei no Saemon himself put questions concerning the efhcacy of the
teachings current before the revelation of the Lotus. I replied to them
all by citing the Scriptures. Hei no Saemon, on behalf of His Excel-
lence, the Commissioner, asked me when the Mongols would come over.
I answered that they were to be expected within this year, etc.

Thus the officials showed some readiness to yield to Nichi-
ren's propaganda. He, on his part, did not fail to take the
opportunity to renew his strong remonstrances and warn-
ings. His attitude was as aggressive as before, and he
showed no disposition to compromise. Nothing would do
but that the nation as a whole should at once adopt his
religion, while all other religions should be prohibited, and
their leaders severely punished. He commented on the
many wrongs done by the Hojo government, not only to
himself, but to the religion of Buddha and to the country.
Nichiren retired from the palace, and the government was
put in a serious dilemma, whether to comply with the de-
mands of the intransigent prophet or to ignore him. Either
course seemed to them not only unwise but impracticable.
Finally they adopted a compromise, and offered the prophet
a great donation, together with high ecclesiastical rank and
a public grant for his propaganda. Although the document
embodying these proposals which is preserved by the Nichi-
renites is certainly not authentic, there is little doubt that
the authorities wished to see Nichiren's polemics subdued,

^ Works, p. 1406, in a writing containing his reminiscences, written in
1276 — two years after the event, therefore. Similarly, Works, p. ii6g
(written in 1275); pp. 1241, 1283, 1579.

RELEASE AND RETIREMENT 93

and to have him join in the prayers for the repulse of the
Mongol invaders. Naturally, the prophet would hear to no
compromise, but persisted in his demands.

While the question of Nichiren's propaganda was being
discussed, the government gave fresh evidence that it had
undergone no change of heart, but put its confidence as
before in the Shingon mysteries. It was a time of a long
drought, and the authorities called on the other Buddhists
to pray for rain, as was customary. Nichiren was very in-
dignant. He saw in the offers made to him a deceptive bait,
and in the measures taken for rain an open dishonor done to
himself. He protested again and again, but the govern-
ment always vacillated; while his opponents were renewing
their accusations and intrigues. The sequel of the tri-
umphal entry was an irreconcilable breach. Nichiren left
Kamakura, on the twelfth of the fifth month (June 17), and,
taking only a few disciples and retainers, set out for a place
among the mountains on the west side of Fuji.

The clamorous prophet was now suddenly changed to a
silent recluse or a voluntary exile. Five days' journey
brought him to his new abode, and the local chief of the
place, Lord Hakiri, one of his warrior followers, welcomed
him. A little hut was built in a deep valley in the midst of
high peaks, and there the recluse began his new life with a
few of his beloved disciples. This place, called Minobu,
became Nichiren's home for the last eight years of his life,
and, as we shall see later, he regarded it as a paradise on
earth because of his residence there.

The change was perhaps quite unexpected, even to his
intimate followers, but was a premeditated plan on the part
of Nichiren. Various motives have been conjectured for
this sudden turn in his Hfe, but he himself, better than any

94 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

one else, tells us why he made it. The simplest explanation
of the matter is given in the words: " I had always re-
solved to repeat my remonstrance three times, and to retire
if these attempts should prove a failure." Now the " three
times " is in accordance with an old Chinese proverb, and
Nichiren had delivered his message thrice: in 1260, when
he had presented his Rissho Ankoku Ron; in 1268, when he
had repeated the remonstrance as a kind of ultimatum ; and
now, when he had pressed his demands after the return from
Sado. But when we read between the lines, the retirement
meant a continuation of his life in exile. It had been his
determination not to return to Kamakura, unless the Hojos
should be completely converted, and now his return had
proved a failure. How could he remain peacefully in
Kamakura ? If he should continue his protests, his fate
was plain — another execution or another exile ! He was
not so blind as to expect anything better. Why should
he not become a voluntary exile, instead of a compulsory
one ? The reception of his third and last remonstrance was
the occasion of his retirement, but not its true cause. His
motives lay deeper. Let us see what they were.

The first was negative, the idea of expiation. We have
already seen that Nichiren conceived his suffering as expia-
tion. His idea was, " Expiation of my sins is the fulfilment
of my mission to perpetuate the Lotus of Truth to the
coming ages. Sins are not extinguished until the aim be
attained." Since his triumphal entry had proved a failure,
he must continue the expiation as he had been doing in Sado.
Naturally, he associated with expiation a measure of suffer-
ing. Whenever he suffered from the extreme cold of
Minobu, he must have reminded himself of his first winter
in Sado; and he always rejoiced to liken his suffering with
the self-castigation of Buddha during his years of self-train-

RELEASE AND RETIREMENT 95

ing among the mountains. " The height of the hermitage
is only seven feet, while the depth of snow is ten feet. Ice
makes up the walls, and the icicles are like the beads of gar-
lands decorating shrines." ^

Whenever his followers at a distance sent him food or
clothing, he wrote touching letters thanking them for the
presents, and likened his benefactors to his parents or to
those persons who suppHed food to Buddha. His life at
Minobu was one of extreme simplicity and austerity, and he
never left the obscure spot. The uninviting place, a small
piece of level ground, " as large as the palm of a hand,"
surrounded by high peaks, was his abode for eight years.
Here he constructed a hermitage, and rejected Lord Hakiri's
offer to erect a larger edifice. It was only in the year before
his death that he at last consented to the building of an
assembly hall of moderate size; but he enjoyed his abode
there as if it were a paradise.

" Expiation " was the thought that constantly occupied
his mind, but this idea was, after all, a negative one; the
positive, and by far more important, reason of his retire-
ment was his solicitude for the future of his reUgion. As we
have had repeated occasion to note, Nichiren associated
every step of his life with some feature of the Scripture, and
especially regarded his life in Sado as the chief part, the
climax, of his life. Now the last stage was to be inaugurated,
and dedicated to the consummation of his mission and to the
perpetuation of his religion, just as the last twelve chapters
of the Scripture made up the consummation of the Truth.
He had proclaimed the Sacred Title at the outset of his
ministry; he had furnished the object of worship and
spiritual introspection by the graphic representation of the
Supreme Being; one thing alone remained — to prepare for,

^ Works, p. IQ39 (written in 1280).

96 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

or establish, the central seat of his religion. These three
instruments of his propaganda were called the " Three
Mysteries." Although there are some allusions to them in
his writings before this time, Nichiren proclaimed this
trinity for the first time in the first essay written after his
retirement. This treatise is dated the twenty-fourth of the
fifth month (June 24) — just a week after his arrival at
Minobu. The great plan which he had long been meditating,
and the motive which led him to retire from the present
world, and to work for the future, was the estabhshment of
the " Kaidan" or the Holy See of the Catholic Church of
Buddhism.

In the essay just referred to he says :

What, then, is that mystery which Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu,
Tendai and Dengyo have not revealed during the more than two
thousand years since Buddha's decease ? It is nought else but the
Supreme Being {Honzon), the Holy See (Kaidan), and the five char-
acters of the Sacred Title (Daimoku), all according to the truth of
the primeval Buddhahood. . . .

Behold the tribulations and commotions coming one upon another!
They are, indeed, the signs heralding the appearance of the sages,
Visista-caritra and the others. They will appear and estabUsh the
Three Gateways to the truth of the primeval Buddhahood. Then,
throughout the four heavens and the four quarters will prevail uni-
versally the Lotus of the Perfect Truth. Can there by any doubt
about this ?

^ The essay is entitled " Hokke Shuyd-sho," or " A Treatise on the Quin-
tessence of the Lotus of Truth "; Works, pp. 1035-1045.

CHAPTER IX

A PARADISE ON EARTH AND THE HOLY SEE

THE place whither Nichiren retired was surrounded on
all sides by high mountains, and when his hermitage
was finished in summer time, he doubtless enjoyed cool
breezes rustUng in the green trees on the slopes. " Like
screens," he wrote to a lady in the following winter, " steep
peaks surround my abode. On the mountains trees and
grasses grow luxuriantly; in the valleys are rolling stones
and rocks. Wolves howl and monkeys cry, and the echoes
of their voices resound through hill and dale; deer plaintively
call the does, and crickets chirp noisily. Flowers that else-
where bloom in spring, bloom here in summer, and fruits do
not ripen till winter. Occasionally human figures are seen,
but they are only wood-cutters; or sometimes I have visits
from some of my comrades in religion. ^ His mind often
turned to retrospection on his past; but what now occupied
his quiet thought was rather the future destiny of his religion.
As the one foreordained to fulfil the prophecies of the
Lotus, he had gone through all perils, and was enjoying the
tranquillity of a hermit. A mere secluded life, however, was
not his mission. What should he do for the consummation
of his life-work, and for the perpetuation of his gospel ?
This was his question, and he formulated it immediately
after his arrival at Minobu. The result was the essay re-
ferred to at the close of the last chapter, which was, in fact,
intended to be the proclamation of Nichiren's plan, for the
accomplisment of which he was about to prepare.

1 Works, p. 1088; dated the sixteenth of the second month (March 14),

1275-

98 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

Nichiren's fervor never declined, but in his quiet life as a
recluse his mind was occupied, perhaps exclusively, with
enthusiasm for his ideal. His method was no longer
confined to vehement warnings to the nation, and fiery
attacks upon other Buddhists; he reflected calmly, and
examined again and again the meaning of the ideal Kingdom
of Buddha as the basis of the Buddhist Cathohc Church of
which his proposed Holy See should be the centre. He was
always firm in the conviction that the Holy See was to be
established in Japan, the land where the savior of the Latter
Days was destined to appear, and where he, the man, was
actually born and was doing the savior's work. Yet, on the
other hand, his work was not merely for the sake of a small
country, composed of many islands. Just as he recognized
in his own life two aspects, the actual and mortal, on the one
side, and the ideal and eternal, on the other, so he saw in
Japan a similar twofold significance, one, the physically
limited, and the other, to be realized through transformation
according to his high ideal. In this latter sense, Japan meant
for him the whole world. He said once: ^

The great master Myoraku says in his commentary on the Scrip-
ture, " The children benefit the world by propagating the Truth of the
Father." " The children " means here the Saints-out-of-earth; " the
Father " is the Lord Sakya-muni; " the world," Japan; " benefit "
means the attainment of Buddhahood; and " Truth," the Adoration
of the Lotus of Truth. Even now, this is not otherwise because " the
Father " means Nichiren; " the children," Nichiren's disciples and
followers; " the world," Japan; " benefit," the Ufe (of these men)
laboring to perpetuate (the Truth) and hasten the attainment of
Buddhahood; and " Truth " means the Sacred Title handed down to
us from Visista-caritra.

What he meant was this: Buddhahood, or Truth, is
eternal. It can be, and ought to be, made a fact in our own

1 In the " Dictated Portions of the Lectures on the Scripture "; the
lectures given during his retirement and recorded by his disciples.

THE HOLY SEE 99

life. Nichiren is the man sent to lead all to that life, and he is
now assisted by his followers, who are, therefore, the Saints
prophesied in the Scripture. The attainment of Buddha-
hood is not a matter of individuals or of the aggregate of
individuals, it is the embodiment of the all-embracing com-
munion of all beings in the organic unity of Buddhahood
which is inherent in them all. This realization is the King-
dom of Buddha, the establishment of the Land of Treasures,
as Nichiren had declared in his Rissho Ankokii Ron^ and ex-
plained on many occasions. Now this Kingdom of Buddha
is, properly speaking, immanent in the soul of every one,
but it can only be realized in the spiritual and moral com-
munity of those who are united in the Adoration of the
Lotus, and in the worship of the Supreme Being as revealed
by Nichiren. This community has been organized by
Nichiren, and is growing in the fellowship of his followers.
It is to be further extended among their countrymen, and
finally to the whole world. The individual, the nation, the
world, and the Kingdom of Buddha — these terms stand for
different aspects of the one ideal.^ The Holy CathoHc
Church of Buddhism is to have the world, the whole cosmos,
as its stage; while the cosmos is not to be conceived as a
mere universe in space, but essentially exists in the heart of
every true Buddhist. Buddha is the Father and Lord of the
Kingdom, and his children should strive for the reahzation
of the Kingdom both in their own lives and in the com-
munity of all beings.

Nichiren's thinking always aimed, as we have seen, to
unite two opposites, and to explain either by reference to the
other. This method was apphed to the relation between the
particular and the universal, between the world and the
individual, between human nature and Buddhahood. So

' See above, p. 37. ^ For more on this subject, see below, p. 108,

lOO NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

also with the Kingdom of Buddha. It is individual and uni-
versal at the same time; either aspect is incomplete apart
from the other; individual perfection is inconceivable with-
out the basis of the universal truth, while the universal com-
munity cannot exist apart from the spiritual enhghtenment
of every individual. The Kingdom means the complete
working out of the harmonious relation of these two aspects
of perfection — Buddhahood. Thus, we see that Nichiren's
mind was occupied as much as ever with his own mission and
actual life, while at the same time he was thinking no less
earnestly on the coming Kingdom of Buddha. He believed
himself to be the savior of the coming ages, and was there-
fore concerned for the future of his religion ; but the future
was foreshadowed in his present Hfe, and he saw a " Land
of Treasures " even in his own hermitage.

" Behold, the kingdom of God is within you!" This was
the creed of Nichiren also, witnessed by his life, confirmed by
the Scripture, and supported by his metaphysical specula-
tion. When he concentrated his thought on his own calling,
he was in communion with the saints in the Lotus; when he
expressed anxiety about his country, yet with confidence in
its destiny, he was a prophet and an ideal patriot; when he
reflected on his tranquil life among the mountains, he was
almost a lyric poet, glorifying his surroundings by his
religious vision; he was a scholastic philosopher when he
interpreted the truths of existence and the nature of the
religious community; and he was a mystic in his vision of
the future realization of Buddhahood in himself and in the
Kingdom of Buddha. Enough has now been said about his
conception of his mission, and we shall presently see how he
ideahzed his abode at Minobu; but before taking up this
poetic side of his character, let us examine a piece of his
scholastic mysticism.

THE HOLY SEE ' lOl

The mystical strain is stronger in the writings from the
years of quiet meditation at Minobu than in the preceding
period of storm and stress. The best example of this is an
essay written in 1279, after four years of retirement. It is
entitled, " The Testimony Common to all the Buddhas of
the Three Ages." ^ We reproduce the essay in extract.

It is said in the chapter on Tactfuhicss (chap, u): " According to
the model of teaching adopted by all the Buddhas of the three ages,
I proclaim the truth which has no distinction (but is universal)." ^
" The truth without distinction " means the perfect truth of the Sole
Road. For, in everything, in grasses and trees, in mountains and
streams, even in earth and dust, there are present the truths of
existence of the ten realms of existence {hokkai, or dharnia-dhdtu)
which participate in one another; while the Sole Road of the Lotus
of the Perfect Truth, which is immanent in our own souls, pervades
the paradises in the ten quarters and is everywhere present in its
entirety. The fruits (of truth), both proper and subsidiary,^ are
manifest in the excellence and grandeur and beauty of the paradises
in the ten quarters. All these fruits are inherent in our own soul, and
the soul is in reality identical with the Tathagata of the primeval
enlightenment (in his eternal entity), who is furnished with the three
aspects of his personality (the threefold kayo). How can there be any
other truth besides the soul (in this sense) ? One and the same truth
pervades the paradises in the ten quarters. This is the Sole Road, and
is therefore called " the truth without distinction." . . .

The perfection of truth in the Buddha's soul and the same perfection
in our soul are one, and it is inherent in us, and to be realized by our-
selves. Thus, there is no truth or existence besides the soul. What we
know as our soul (its appearance), its nature (or essence), and its
entity (or substance) — these three make up the three aspects of the
Tathagata's personaHty, (united in) the Tathagata of the primeval
enlightenment.

The Scripture teaches the manifestation (laksana), the essence (or
nature, sva-rasa) and the substance (sva-bhava) of reality. The
Tathagata of the primeval enlightenment is furnished with these three
categories of reahty; his body, or substance, is the cosmos, or the realm
of truth {dharma-dhdtu) , extending in ten directions; his essence,

1 In Japanese, Same Sho-Bulsu Sokan-mon; Works, pp. 1892-1913.

2 Verse 134; Text, p. 57; SEE., p. 57-58.

' This point is explained below; see Appendix.

I02 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

which is soul, is identical with the cosmos; and his manifestation in
glories is manifest in the cosmos also. Therefore our body is one with
the body of the Tathagata, furnished with the three aspects of the
primeval enlightenment; it is omnipresent, because it is nothing but a
manifestation of the sole Buddha, while all realities represent Buddha's
truths.

The paradise means a perfect union of the three aspects, realized in
the harmony between the existence and its stage,' the existence being
the proper fruit, and the stage the subsidiary. . . . The Paradise,
or Land of Purity, is the realm of serene light, and is pure, exempt
from all depravities; it exists in the soul of every being and is there-
fore called " The Spiritual Pedestal of the Lotus of the Perfect
Truth." . . .

Then the store of truths (Buddha's teachings), eighty-four thousand
in the number of its gateways,^ is nothing but the record and diary
of our own Ufe. Everybody rears and embraces this store of truths in
his own soul. Illusion occurs when we seek the Buddha, the Truth,
and the Paradise outside of our own self. One who has reahzed this
soul is called the Tathagata. When this state is once attained, (we
realize that) the cosmos in ten directions is our own body, our own soul,
and our manifestation, because the Tathagata is our own body and
soul.

Out of these three fundamental categories of reaUty spring the fol-
lowing seven, and make up the ten ^ which are the conditions of exis-
tence in the ten realms {dharma-dhdtu) . And the ten realms, surging
out of the one soul, are revealed in the gateways of truth, eighty-four
thousand in number. . . . Thus, the ten categories of existence are
united and realized in the origin, and in the consummation. The origin
lies in our ultimate being (as defined in the ten terms), and the con-
summation is embodied in the realization of Buddhahood. The beings
are the original (cause and substratum), and the Buddhas are the
consummation (result and fruit), because all Buddhas are manifested
out of the souls of all beings. And yet the Scripture says:

' This is an old Buddhist doctrine. By " Existence " (bhava) is meant the
nature of being which the individuals within a certain resort of existence
manifest, as the result of their common karma, in the qualities of the exis-
tence. The " stage " (dhdtu) means the environs and circumstances of the
existence. The former is, therefore, called the "proper fruit " of the common
karma, while the latter is the " subsidiary."

2 The whole extent of Buddha's teachings is said to have 84,000 different
aspects. The number is derived from the Tripitaka counted in ilokas.

' For the ten categories of existence, see the Appendix.

THE HOLY SEE 103

Now the threefold realm of existence is my dominion,
And all beings therein are my children.'

. . . This is because Buddha, the awakened, wakes us, who are dream-
ing the dreams of births and deaths. This awakening wisdom reaches
us like the voice of parents calling their dreaming children. Therefore
Buddha says that we are his children. Think of this! then Buddha is
the Father and we the children, both in the origin and in the consum-
mation, because the fundamental nature and the final destiny are one
in the Father and the children. When we perceive, thus, that the soul
is one in Buddha and in us, our dreams of births and deaths are broken,
and the primeval enlightenment is restored in our awakening. This is
the " attainment of Buddhahood in the present life." . . .

When Chuang-Ch'ou- dreamt that he became a butterfly, there was
none other than Chuang-Ch'ou, just as there was none besides himself
when he awoke and knew that he was not a butterfly. When we con-
sider ourselves to be mortals tormented by births and deaths, we are
immersed in illusion and delusion, as Chuang became a butterfly in
his dream. The original Chuang is restored when we realize that we
are the Tathagatas of the primeval enlightenment; this is the attain-
ment of Buddhahood in the present life. . . . The soul, the Buddha,
and existence, these three ' are laid up in our own soul, beside which
there is no reahty. This is the enlightenment, Buddhahood. When
the truth of the mutual participation between the one and the many,
between the particular and the universal, is fully realized, we shall
know that everything and all things are found in each existence in
the present life. . . . All truths revealed during the lifetime of the
Master are only truths existent in ourselves. Know this, and your
own entity is revealed. . . .

(All this is fully taught in the Lotus of Truth, and the way to grasp
it is to adore the Sacred Title.) Thus maintain harmony with the
Buddhas of all times and live the life of the Lotus of Truth! Thereby
you will attain the final enlightenment without impediment, and know
the relation between self-perfection and the enlightening of others.

This is the testimony common to all Buddhas of the three ages;
keep it as a precious mystery!

^ Chapter iii, verse 87; Text, p. 90; SEE., p. 88.

^ A Chinese philosopher of the Taoist school, who writes of his meta-
morphosis into a butterfly, in a dream. Cp. G. F. Moore, History of Religions,
Vol. I, pp. 56-58.

' The three are the spiritual essence of truths, the personal realization of
truths, and the objective manifestation of truths.

104 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

Every one who realizes the truth of the fundamental unity
is a Buddha, and every one who lives in accordance with this
enlightenment and works to propagate the Lotus of Truth is
the messenger of the primeval Tathagata. To such a man,
all that surrounds him preaches the truth, and the place of
his abode is a paradise. This idea of the connection between
the actual life and the primeval enlightenment inspired
Nichiren to such a degree that he always regarded his
abode as a Buddha-land. He voiced this feehng hke a lyric
poet, glorifying, thus, the hills and waters of Minobu. In
a note ^ (as in several others) , he gives utterance to these
thoughts :

When the autumn evening draws on, lonesomely, the surroundings
of the thatched hermitage are bedewed, and the spiders' webs hanging
from the eaves are transformed into garlands of jewels. Noiselessly,
deeply-tinged maple leaves come floating on the water that pours
from the bamboo pipes, and the water, colored in pattern, seems to
stream forth from the fountain of Tatsuta where the Brocade-weaving
Lady is said to abide. Behind the hermitage, the steep peaks rear
their heads aloft, where on the slopes the trees bear the fruits of " the
Unique Truth," and the singing crickets are heard among the branches.
In front, flow clear rivulets, makihg music like drums and flutes, and
the pools reflect the moonhght of " reaUty as it is." When the
limitless sky of "entity" is cloudless and the moon shines bright,
it seems as if the " darkness of the shrouding delusion " was gone
forever.

In the hermitage thus situated, throughout the day we converse, and
discuss the truths of the Unique Scripture, while in the evening and
late into the night is heard the gentle murmur of the recitation of
passages from the sacred text. Thus, we deem that to this place has
been transferred Vulture Peak, where Lord Sakya lived.

When fog veils the vaUey, and even when a gale is blowing, we go to
gather wood in the forest, or through the bedewed bushes down to the
dells to pick parsley leaves. . . . Reflecting on these conditions of my
present life, I often think, so it must have been with Buddha, when he

' Works, pp. 1297-1306. The title is " Minobu-san Gosho," or the
" Record of Minobu." It is dated the twenty-five of the eighth month
(September 2), 1275.

THE HOLY SEE 105

was in search of truth and disciplining himself in expiation and in
mortification.' . . .

Thus thinking, I sit on the mat of meditation, and in vision I see
every truth present to the mind, so that even the call of a deer to its
mate helps me to utter the innermost voice of my heart. Here I
realize why, being shrouded by the heavy clouds of illusion, we trans-
migrate through the nine,^ while the pure bright moonlight shines
within me, the illumination of the threefold aspects of reality ^ fused
into one, and the light of the threefold introspection of one and the
same soul.'' Thus, I put my thoughts into verse:

^Masses of clouds and thickening fog,
Heaping upon me and shrouding the world —
Let them be dispelled by a freshening breeze,
The wind that perpetually blows from Vulture Peak,
Whence streams forth the air of the eternal Truth.

In short, everything in Nichiren's surroundings suggested
to him something related to his ideal, and to his present
life in service to the Truth. The poet, however, was never
content merely to cherish these thoughts, but interpreted
his environment by the Scripture. Thus he writes about his
abode in the language of the Scripture, and describes his life

* There follow several illustrative stories about the former lives of
Buddha. All this is summed up in the verse:
Having ser\'ed the masters,
By collecting wood and gathering herbs,
And by fetching water for them,
I have at last attained this enlightenment —
The enlightenment in the Lotus of Truth. . . .
[Indeed, all this is the service of the Lotus of Truth. Similarly, all that
Nichiren has done and is doing is for the perpetuation of the Truth, and
the salvation of the beings of the Latter Days.]

^ Nine out of the ten resorts, that is, excepting Buddhahood. The nine
are: the Bodhisattava; the Pratyeka-buddha (self-satisfied recluse); the
Sravaka (one content with learning); the Celestial Being; mankind; the
Preta (hungry ghost); the Beast, the Asura (furious spirit), and the beings
in the hells.

' The three are, vacuity, phenomenal appearance, and the view of the
Middle Path. See Appendix.

^ The introspection of the soul under the three categories of reality.

Io6 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

there, as if it were illuminated by the glories of paradise.^
Not only Minobu, but every place connected with the hfe of
the prophet, of the one who is living the life of the Lotus of
Truth, was glorified by him. In a letter ^ written before he
left Sado, he says : " I, Nichiren, am a native of Awa, a prov-
ince of Japan where the Sun-goddess had her abode in the
beginning, and founded this nation,^ . . . She is indeed
the loving mother of the people of this country. There must
be some remote and mysterious connection with my life,
that I, Nichiren, was born in that province." In another
letter, written after his retirement in Minobu, he repeats the
same idea, and says: ^ " Although Awa is a province far
away from the centre, it is somewhat like the centre of
Japan, because the Sun-goddess found there her first abode.
. . . And I, Nichiren, began the propagation of the true
religion by proclaiming it, for the first time, there in Awa."
Sometimes, he speaks more mystically about his spiritual
presence everywhere. He wrote from Minobu to a nun in
Sado who had served him during his days of exile there,
saying in conclusion: ^ " When you long to see Nichiren,
look in reverence at the rising sun, or the moon rising in
evening. My person is always reflected in the sun and moon.
And moreover, hereafter I shall surely meet you in the
Paradise of Vulture Peak."

It is by mankind, in all kinds of existence, that the ideal
perfection is to be achieved, and therefore the stage of its

^ A passage of this purport is quoted on p. io8.

^ Sent to Hojo Tokimori, dated the twenty-first of the second month
(March 30), 1274; Works, p. 1034.

* This is not found in any legend, but it seems that Nichiren regarded the
southeastern corner of Japan as nearest to the place where the sun rises.

* Dated the sixteenth of the second month (March 15), 1275; Works,
p. 1092.

' Dated the sixteenth of the sixth month (July 10), 1275; Works, p. 1253.

THE HOLY SEE 107

realization is this world, the abode of mankind. The Buddh-
ist ideal of enlightenment is man's awaking to the funda-
mental unity of his present existence with the primeval
Buddhahood; while the key to make this world a hell or to
transform it into a heaven is in our own hands. The use
of the key consists in first calling forth the primeval Budda-
hood in the innermost recess of our own soul, and in
viewing this actual world as a heaven. This transfiguration
means not merely imagining that earth is heaven, but living
in conformity with the assumption, under the guidance of
the enlightened mind. This ideal was realized by Buddha
when he preached the Lotus of Truth on Vulture Peak, and
the scene of the revelation was transfigured into a paradise.
Nichiren had no doubt about the Scripture narrative, and
now, in Minobu, he was himself experiencing such a trans-
figuration of his own abode. In expressing this conviction,
he sometimes spoke, as we have seen, Uke a lyric poet; yet
his poetry was never a mere play of fancy, but an earnest
belief, founded on the authority of the Scripture, as well as on
his own experience. The union of poetic idealization and
religious speculation can be clearly seen in the passages
quoted above. Such was Nichiren's thought about the
paradise on earth, or rather on the proposition that this very
world is paradise ^ to those minds illumined by the truth of
the primeval enhghtenment.

This conception of the transfiguration of the world is very
important for the understanding of Nichiren's idea of the
CathoHc Buddhist Church, and to make it still clearer we
may quote another passage from the dictated portions of his
lectures on the Lotus.

^ In Japanese: "Shaba soku Jakko-do," that is, the Saha world itself
transfigured into the Realm of Serene Light.

I08 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

It is said in the Scripture:^ " At that time I shall appear on Vulture
Peak, together with my congregation." Here, "time" means the age of
the Latter Law, when the spiritual communion (betweei^ us and
Buddha) shall be realized; " I " means Sakya-muni; " with," the
Bodhisattvas; " congregation," the community of Buddha's disciples;
"together" implies the ten realms of existence; and "Vulture Peak "
is the Land of Serene Light. ... " Appear " means to make a
manifestation at Vulture Peak, while " Vulture Peak " means the
manifestation of the Supreme Being, that is, the abode of Nichiren's
followers who utter the Adoration of the Lotus of Truth. . . .

Any place where men practise the faith in the Sole Road of Adora-
tion, the adoration of the Lotus of Truth, there is the castle of the
eternal Serene Light, which is Vulture Peak. . . . Yet the pri-
meval (entity) of Vulture Peak is nowhere else than in this very
Saha world, especially in Japan, the Land of Sunrise; the Saha world
furnished with the perfection of the primeval stage, where the Lotus
of Truth is to be realized; the place where the unique Mandala will be
revealed and established — the Mandala embodying the primeval
import of what is taught in the chapter on the Life-duration, or the
Eternal Life, of the Tathagata.

Where there lives a true Buddhist, there is manifest in his
spirit and Hfe, the Mandala, the cycle embodying the cosmic
truth. Where the Truth is manifest, there, is realized the
eternal light of Buddhahood, and therefore the place is a
paradise. A natural corollary to this idea is that the v^^hole
realm of existence ought to be the stage of this realization.
But Japan, v^here the prophet of this gospel has appeared,
should be the centre of the Kingdom of Buddha. The man
has appeared, and the stage is determined. A definite
organization must now be provided for actually effecting
the transformation according to the instructions given by
the Prophet. This idea gradually crystallized in Nichiren's
mind into a definite plan for establishing the centre of the
universal church, the Holy See, the Kaidan. He had
cherished this idea since his days in Sado, and expressed it,

1 In the sixteenth chapter, Yam., p. 479; Text, p. 324, verse 6; SBE., p.
307-

THE HOLY SEE 109

as we have seen, in the first writing after his retirement.
More definite expression was given it in " The Perpetuation
of the Three Great Mysteries," ^ which he wrote on the
eighth of the fourth month (April 27), the day beheved to be
the birthday of Buddha, in 1281. It is also interesting to
notice that this year was made memorable by the remark-
able prediction Nichiren made to his followers concerning
the threatening Mongol invasion. Of this prediction we
shall speak later.

The treatise on the Three Mysteries begins with the ques-
. tion. What is meant by the following passage in the chapter
(xxi) on the Mysterious Power ? " In fine, all the truths
possessed by the Tathagata, all the mysterious powers under
the control of the Tathagata, all the stocks of mysteries
cherished by the Tathagata, all the profound things in the
hands of the Tathagata — all and every one of these have
been revealed and proclaimed in this Scripture." ^ This is
the famous legacy entrusted to the keeping of Visista-
caritra and other Saints-out-of-Earth. It had been explained
in various ways by Nichiren's predecessors, but he inter-
preted it to mean nothing but the Three Mysteries en-
trusted to himself, and destined to be fulfilled in the Latter

^ Works, pp. 2051-2054.

^ Yam., p. 563; Text, p. 391, line 2; SEE., p. 367.
Tendai's commentary bases its famous doctrine of the five " profound
principles " on this passage. The five are:

1. The Title . . . The Lotus of the Perfect Truth {Dliarma).

2. The Entity . . . The mysterious power {Vrsabhita).

3. The Principle . . . the stock of mysteries {rahasyam).

4. The Efficiency . . . the profound thing {gambhlra-sthanam).

5. The Doctrine . . . the revelation and proclamation [desitam).

This exegetical development is the basis of Nichiren's idea that the
Sacred Title implies all the five principles, and therefore represents the cosmic
truth in all its features.

no NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

Days, after his time. His interpretation was this: All
truths, mysteries, etc., are actuated by the personaHty of
the Tathagata, while the Tathagata is a perfect being be-
cause he is furnished with the three aspects of personality.
The three aspects are: the metaphysical entity {Dharma-
kdya), which is represented in Nichiren's religion in the
Supreme Being, or Mandala; the bHssful manifestation
(Sambhoga-kdya) , chiefly consisting in intellectual enlighten-
ment, which is represented by the Sacred Title; and the
actual manifestation {Nirmdna-kdya), the realization of
Buddha's mercy, which is to be established and organized in
the Holy See, the Sacred Place of Initiation.

Of these three, the first two had already been revealed by
Nichiren, and now the foundation of the third was to be laid.
He writes about this as follows : ^

When, at a certain future time, the union of the state law and the
Buddhist Truth shall be estabHshed, and the harmony between the two
completed, both sovereign and subjects wiU faithfully adhere to the
Great Mysteries. Then the golden age, such as were the ages under
the reign of the sage kings of old, will be realized in these days of de-
generation and corruption, in the time of the Latter Law. Then the
estabhshment of the Holy See will be completed, by imperial grant
and the edict of the Dictator, at a spot comparable in its excellence
with the Paradise of Vulture Peak. We have only to wait for the com-
ing of the time. Then the moral law {kaiho) will be achieved in the
actual life of mankind. The Holy See will then be the seat where all
men of the three countries (India, China, and Japan) and the whole
Jambu-dvlpa (world) will be initiated into the mysteries of confession
and expiation; and even the great deities, Brahma and Indra, will
come down into the sanctuary and participate in the initiation.

Although Nichiren expressed his idea about the time and
place of the establishment of the Holy See thus vaguely, he
was sure that it would come to pass, and it is related that he
despatched the ablest of his disciples to the foot of Fuji to

^ Works, p. 2053.

THE HOLY SEE III

select the spot for it. Whatever truth there may be in this
legend, his conception of the Church and its Holy See was
at the same time ideal and concrete. In the ideal, he es-
teemed every place where his religion should be practised as
a paradise; the church embraces all beings, and its stage is
the whole cosmos. But, on the other hand, the centre was
to be definitely established in a place considered to be
peculiarly the source of Hght and life, in Nichiren's own
country. Thus he combined his ideal paradise with the
universal church, and spent his days of retirement in silent
prayer for the fulfilment of his project. It is no wonder,
then, that he pronounced Minobu to be an earthly paradise,
and yet planned for the propagation of his religion through-
out the world.

CHAPTER X

SILENT PRAYER AND ANXIOUS WATCHING

NICHIREN'S faith in his own mission was firmly estab-
Hshed; all the events of his life proved to him the
truth of Buddha's prophecies concerning the messenger of
the Tathagata in the Latter Days. In the later years, his
thoughts turned more to the future of his religion and his
country. His serene delight among the mountains of Minobu
was an earnest of the terrestrial paradise that should come
in all the world. Probably he offered prayers to Buddha for
the fulfilment of this expectation, but he certainly did not
lay much weight on any special form of prayer, much less on
any ritual such as was employed by the Buddhists of the
time. For him, his life in silent retirement was the greatest
of prayers, because he believed that the concentrated
thought of a true Buddhist ruled the realm of truth, and
that by his thought and desire the fulfilment would be
hastened.

Though thus living for the future, the present could not be
excluded from his mind. In the autumn of the year in
which Nichiren retired from the world, the Mongols invaded
outlying islands in western Japan, devastated them, and
massacred the inhabitants. The invaders, further, suc-
ceeded in landing on the larger island of Kyushu, the seat
of the government of western Japan, and for a while,
occupied that part of the country. The people were in
consternation, and the government appealed for help to
Shinto and Buddhist deities by dedicating offerings and

ANXIOUS WATCHING II3

celebrating mysteries. Nichiren watched the passing events
with anxiety, but with a confident faith. His anxiety was
of a difTerent nature from the apprehension of the people. .
He was sure that his country was destined to be a fountain \
of blessing for the whole world through all coming ages.
Yet the government and the people were actually rebels
against the true religion of the Lotus, and had not re-
pented as yet of their grave sin in persecuting the prophet,
the messenger of Buddha. Therefore, he was no less con-
vinced that Japan was to suffer still greater calamities at
the hands of the Mongols. He could welcome the Mongol
invaders as instruments of chastisement for the sinful na-
tion, yet he could not harden his heart to the fate of his
people in their distress. Righteous indignation and yearn-
ing compassion were in conflict within him. He often
expressed himself in words like the following: "Behold, now,
the danger impending from the fierce Mongols ! When they
occupy the imperial residence and massacre the people as
they did in the western islands, you will undoubtedly ask
help of Nichiren. But it will then be too late. Repent, and
be converted to the true faith before the hour of the
utmost disaster arrives!"

He even went so far as to say that the Mongols were the
messengers of Buddha, sent for the chastisement of the un-
behevers living in his country. But he did not curse his fel-
low-countrymen and wish their ruin, nor did he believe that
Japan was doomed to such a fate. For example, in a letter
addressed to a lady he says : ^

You would perhaps rejoice to see my prophetic warning fulfilled, and
the Mongols occupying this country. But such a sentiment befits only
the common herd (and should not be cherished by my followers).
Every faithful follower of the Lotus of Truth should know that he is
living in a winter, but also that spring is sure to come after winter.

^ Works, p. 1186; dated the fifth month, 1275.

114 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

His thoughts concerning the threatening catastrophe seem
to be somewhat conflicting, though his course was clear.
He was a fervent patriot, but the country and nation he
hoped to see was one completely purged from the sin of
rejecting the Truth — the Japanese nation reconstructed and
transformed according to his own ideal; while the actual
nation was still false to Buddha and his religion. The pro-
spective chastisement of the nation by a foreign invasion
was something like a radical cure for a cancer. He saw in
the invaders the surgeons, but he never believed that the
patient would succumb to the operation. He cursed Japan,
but exalted her at the same time, according to these two
opposite points of view. This explains the paradoxical
character of his expressions in those days of great anxiety.
The paradoxes were never, in his own mind, contradictions,
but were conceived to be steps toward the fulfilment of his
aim.

During this crisis, especially in the year 1275, Nichiren
wrote several essays on the future of Japan, explaining also
his own attitude toward her perils. The most methodical of
them is one entitled " Sen-ji-Sho,'' ^ the " Selection of the
Times." After reviewing the phases of Buddhist history
since Buddha's death, he affirms again the conviction he
had often expressed before, that his time was the most signi-
ficant age in the propagation of Buddhism, being the fated
fifth five hundred years, in which, as Buddha predicted, a
decisive conflict was to take place between the true Buddh-
ism and its opponents. The persecutions heaped upon the
prophet, as well as the various calamities that befell the
nation, were the signs of the crisis when decision must be
made between the truth and falsehood, between the prophet

^ Works, pp. 1 189-1250.

ANXIOUS WATCHING 1 15

and his malignant opponents. To all this Nichircn had
borne witness, and now the greatest of the signs, the Mongol
peril, heralded the final conflict, to be followed by a miracu-
lous, or rather inevitable, conversion of the whole nation.
In other words, the imminent peril was regarded as one of
the preparatory steps to the establishment of the Holy See
in Japan.

In one passage in this essay he writes: ^

The Lord Sakya proclaimed to all celestial beings that when, in the
fifth five hundred years after his death, all the truths of Buddhism
should be shrouded in darkness, the Bodhisattva Visista-caritra
should be commissioned to save the most wicked of men who were
degrading the Truth, curing the hopeless lepers by the mysterious
medicine of the Adoration of the Lotus of the Perfect Truth. Can
this proclamation be a falsehood ? . . . If this promise be not vain,
how can the rulers and the people of Japan remain in safety, who,
being plunged in the whirlpool of strife and mahce, have rebuked,
reviled, struck, and banished the messenger of the Tathagata and his
followers commissioned by Buddha to propagate the Lotus of Truth ?

When they hear me say this, people will say that it is a curse; yet,
those who propagate the Lotus of Truth are indeed the parents of all
men Hving in Japan. ... I, Nichiren, am the master and lord of the
sovereign, as well as of all the Buddhists of other schools. Notwith-
standing this, the rulers and the people treat us thus maliciously.
How should the sun and the moon bless them by giving them light ?
Why should the earth not refuse to let them abide upon it ? . . .
Therefore, also, the Mongols are coming to chastise them. Even if all
the soldiers from the five parts of India were called together, and the
mountain of the Iron Wheel (Cakra-vala) were fortified, how could
they succeed in repelling the invasion ? It is decreed that all the in-
habitants of Japan shall suffer from the invaders. Whether this comes
to pass or not will prove whether or not Nichiren is the real propagator
of the Lotus of Truth.

Further on he says: ^

See! Presently, it will not be long before the Great Mongols will
send their warships, myriads in number, and attack this country.
Then, the sovereign and the whole people will surely abandon all the

^ Works, pp. 1 204-1 205. ^ Works, p. 1240.

Il6 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

Buddhist and Shinto sanctuaries they used to revere, and join in
crying Namu Mydho-renge-kyo, Naniu Myoho-renge-kyol and with
folded hands, pray, " O Master Nichiren, save us; 0 Master Ni-
chiren! "

Then he reviews the history of his persecutions, and the
fulfilment of his former predictions, to prove again that
to him was given the mission to establish the Buddhist
Catholic Church. The conclusion is: ^

The greatest of things is the estabhshment in Japan of this gate-
way of Truth. How could (the country) be safe, even for a day or an
hour, if Sakya-muni, the Lord of the Paradise of Vulture Peak, with
the Buddha Prabhuta-ratna, of the realm of Treasure-purity, their
manifestations filling the space in the ten quarters, the Saints-out-of-
Earth coming from the thousand worlds beneath, and the heavenly
beings, such as Brahma, Indra, the Sun, the Moon, and the four
Guardian Kinds, should withdraw (from this country) their protection
and assistance, visible and invisible ?

All this, especially the last sentence, was a curse indeed.
" Cursed be the nation which degrades and offends the
Unique Truth! " — this was Nichiren's attitude toward the
actual Japan. He rather welcomed the Mongols coming to
apply their rude surgery to the deep-seated disease of his
nation; yet he had entire confidence in the future destiny
of his country, for which, indeed, he himself had a grave
responsibility. For he was the messenger of Buddha, com-
missioned to establish the centre of the world's religion in
Japan for the sake of the coming myriad of years. The task
of awakening his countrymen rested solely upon his shoul-
ders, and he would fail of his duty if the nation remained
unfaithful to the religion. Although he saw in the coming
Mongol invasion an agency working for his cause, the final
burden of converting the nation was laid upon him. He
thus inseparably linked the threatening danger with his

^ Works, Y)\>. 1249-1250.

ANXIOUS WATCHING I17

idea of the future of Japan as well as with his own expiation
— the remorseful expiation of his sin of not having thus far
accompHshed all that he was set to do for the Unique
Truth.

The sense of sin lay heavy upon Nichiren's mind, in view
of the approaching danger. Japan would certainly sufTer
from the invaders, as the western islands had been devas-
tated. Was not this because the nation still remained blind
to the true Buddhism ? Was not he himself chiefly or solely
responsible for its blindness ? Would not all these perils
have been averted, if he had established the Holy See ?
"All the sufferings that befall my fellow-beings are, after all,
my own sufferings." ^ This was his great remorse, caused
by the sense of his own sinfulness as well as by concern for
his countrymen. His curse was not a product of mere self-
righteousness nor of mere hatred of others, but an expression
of his deep regret for his country and of his own ideal. There
was always, for him, a link between the present danger and
the future destiny, between the nation's curse and his own
expiation; and this connection was a result of his view of
the inseparable tie uniting the individual to the community -
in which he lives. We have already touched on this point,
in discussing Nichiren's ideas about the meaning of the
community in human life and in religion.^ Now, in his grave
concern about the threatening invasion, this thought found
emphatic expression. A letter which he wrote to a warrior
follower, in 1 280,^ is particularly instructive. After dwelling
much on the offence committed by the nation against the

1 Works, p. 2038, in the "Warning to the God Hachiman" — to be
referred to again below.

2 See above, p. 98.

' Works, pp. 1929-1940; dated the twenty-seventh of the first month
(February 28), 1280.

Il8 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

Lotus of Truth, he goes on to show how his sufferings were a
part of his mission, while he himself cannot but be respon-
sible for the people's folly and their calamities. The indi-
vidual is never apart from his family and nation ; how much
more then, must the leader of the nation, the spiritual father
of the coming ages, regret and hate his people's folly and
suffering! Further, he says: '

While Japan is being threatened by the attacks of the Great
Mongols, its people are having recourse to the mysteries which are
doomed to perish (the Shingon rituals). Are not the ominous records
(of their failures) plain in many previous cases ? How can a man who
knows this remain indifferent to the fact ? How sad it is that we have
to encounter great calamities, having been born in a country offending
and degrading truth and righteousness! Even if we could be per-
sonally acquitted of the sin of degrading the truth, how could we be
freed from the responsibihty for the offence committed by our families
and country ? If you would be exempt from the offence committed by
your family, endeavor to convert your parents and brothers and sisters!
The issue will be either that you will be hated by them, or that you will
finally convert them all. If you would be free from the offence com-
mitted by the country as a whole, make remonstrance to the rulers,
and be yourself prepared for death or exile! Is it not said in the Scrip-
ture,," Never shrink from sacrificing the body for the sake of the In-
comparable Way " ? This is explained (by a commentator) as follows:
" Insignificant is the bodily life compared with the grave and import-
ant cause of the Truth ; therefore strive to perpetuate the Truth even
at the sacrifice of the body! " That we have, from the remotest past
down to the present, not attained Buddhahood, is simply due to our
cowardice, in that we have always been afraid of these perils and have
not dared to stand up publicly for the Truth. The future will never be
otherwise, so long as we remain cowards. All this is deeply impressed
upon me by my personal experience.

Even among my followers there are those who dare not to proclaim
the Truth, but are content with personal faith alone, and even some
who desert the cause, aU because they are afraid of the dangers, and
care too much for the bodily Hfe, which is, in fact, as evanescent as the
dew. Indeed, as is said in the Scripture, " difl&cult to believe and hard
to grasp " is the Truth, and I know by my own experience how diffi-

^ Works, pp. 193 7-1938,

ANXIOUS WATCHING II9

cult it is to live the life of the Truth. Traitors are as innumerable as
the dust of the earth in all the world, while real believers are as rare as
motes on the fmgcr-nails. The oflfcndcrs are like the waters of the
ocean, while the defenders are only but a few drops of water.

Those who remain silent before the opponents of the Lotus of
Truth . . . will surely sink to the nethermost hells. Men who, being
cognizant of a treasonable plot, do not inform the rulers, are traitors,
even if they themselves were not involved in the plot. . . . Remon-
strances were made by me, Nichiren, because I knew this truth. A
sentence of death, and repeated banishment, were the consequence.
Seven years have now passed since I retired among these mountains,
wishing to be redeemed from sins, and freed from offences.

To the end of his life, Nichiren never ceased to express
these convictions in the strongest terms; but his faith in the
destiny of Japan was in no way shaken, nor his self-confi-
dence. On the contrary, the dangers threatening the coun-
try and the consternation of the people only strengthened
his belief in his great cause and in his own mission. In one
of the writings from his years of retirement, he says : ^

So far as, and so much as, my — Nichiren's — compassion is vast and
comprehensive, the Adoration of the Lotus of the Perfect Truth shall
prevail beyond the coming ages of ten thousand years, nay, eternally
in the future. This is the merit I have achieved, which is destined to
open the blind eyes of all beings in Japan (the world), and to shut off
the ways to the nethermost Avici hell. These merits surpass those of
Dengyo and Tendai, and are far beyond those of Nagarjuna and
Kasyapa. Is it not true that one hundred years' training in a heavenly
paradise does not compare with one day's work in the earthly world,
and that all service done to the Truth during the two thousand years
of the ages of the Perfect Law and the Copied Law is inferior to that
done in one span of time in the ages of the Latter Law ? All these
differences are due, not to Nichiren's own wisdom, but to the virtues
inherent in the times. Flowers bloom in spring, and fruits are ripe in
autumn; it is hot in summer, and cold in winter. Is it not time that
makes these differences ? Buddha announced, " This Truth shall be

^ In a letter addressed and dedicated to his old master Dozen, after his
death in 1276. The letter is entitled, " Ho-on-jo," or " In Recompense of
Indebtedness." {Works, pp. 1451-1512; the passage quoted, pp. 1509-
1510).

I20 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

proclaimed and perpetuated in the whole Jambu-dvlpa, in the fifth five
hundred years after my death; and it will avail to save all kinds of
devils and demons, celestial beings and serpent tribes," etc. ^ If this
prediction should not be fulfilled, all other prophecies and assurances
will prove false, the Lord Sakya-muni will fall to the Avici hell, the
Buddha Prabhtita-ratna will be burned in the infernal fires, while all
other Buddhas in the ten quarters will transfer their abodes to the
eight great hells, and all Bodhisattvas will suffer from pains, one
hundred and thirty-six in kind. How should all this be possible ? If
it is not, the whole of Japan (the world) will surely be converted to
the Adoration of the Lotus of the Perfect Truth.

Flowers finally return to the root, and the essence abides in the earth.
Let all these merits be dedicated to the soul of the deceased master
Dozen (who had once instructed Nichiren, and is the earth which had
nourished Nichiren's wisdom). Adoration be to the Lotus of the Per-
fect Truth!

This letter illustrates Nichiren's idea that his best attain-
ment should be dedicated to all those to whom he was in any
way indebted. But he regarded any such dedication as
vain, unless associated with, and practised as a part of, the
highest ideal of his religion, the estabHshment of the Three
Great Mysteries. Thus, preceding this conclusion, he
reaffirms his own mission to achieve that great task, and
expresses his confidence in the approaching fulfilment of his
ideal.

Nichiren had a keen sense of thankfulness for benefits of
every kind, just as he never excused those who did him
wrong. We have seen how he based his ethical theory on the
three relations in human fife, namely, the relation of a man
to his lord, his master, and his parents, and how earnestly he
desired to dedicate all his merits to his parents and friends,
and even to his persecutors. We have also noted how he
spoke of the men and women who supported him in the

1 This is a quotation from the " Daishuk-kyo," or the IMaha-sannipata
(Nanjio, no. 6i), which Nichiren often quoted in connection with the Lotus.

ANXIOUS WATCHING 121

worst days of his banishment as if they were reincarnations
of his own parents. Similarly, the letters written during his
retirement are full of expressions of affectionate gratitude
toward those who sent him food or clothing. To a nun who
sent him a bag of seaweed, the sight of which made him
homesick for his native place, he wrote : *

When I had nearly forgotten my native place, these seaweeds
you kindly sent me awakened in me yearning memories of the familiar
scenes of my boyhood. The weeds are like those I used to sec in the
waters of my native province, the same in color, form, taste, and smell.
May it be that they have been sent by my dear parents ? I cannot
help thinking so, foolish as it may seem.

In short, every one who nourishes him, the man who is
living for the sake of the Truth, is father or mother, and is
thus contributing to the Buddhist cause. In this way his
sense of personal indebtedness was always combined with
the consciousness of his high mission; there was nothing in
his hfe that did not present itself in these two aspects — the
immediate benefits, and the eternal cause; all practised in
the communion of the believers.

The close union of religion and ethics was a characteristic
feature in Nichiren's thought and life, and it appears in a
harmonious combination of his human sentiments with his
religious aspirations. An episode in these years of retire-
ment may serve as an illustration of this union. As has
been mentioned in connection with Nichiren's execution, one
of his warrior disciples, Shijo Kingo, was always a great
favorite of Nichiren. In the sixth month of 1 277, Kingo was
slandered to his lord b}^ religious opponents. Nichiren wrote
to his disciple, admonishing him never to waver in his faith
on account of the accusation, and composed for him a de-
fence to be presented to his lord. The lord remained in-

^ Works, pp. 1088-1094; dated the sixteenth of the second month (his
birthday), 1274.

122 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

flexible, and Kingo was finally deprived of his position and
emoluments; yet the faithful warrior not only remained
steadfast in his religion, but continued to show admirable
fidelity to the lord who had done him injustice. This
fidelity made such an impression on his lord that in the
following year he restored Kingo to his former position.

All Nichiren's letters about this affair, especially the last
ones, expressing his great joy at hearing of Kingo's restora-
tion, exhibit his affection for his disciples, as well as the way
in which he counselled and encouraged them. The most
touching of these letters is that which was written after
Kingo's visit at Minobu, whither he had come to express his
gratitude to the spiritual father after the lord had rein-
stated him. Nichiren had been anxious about Kingo's
return journey to Kamakura, fearing that his enemies might
attempt his life on the way through mountain-passes.
News had now come of his safe arrival, and Nichiren re-
joiced at the tidings, but advised continued caution.^

When you left me here to go back, my soul almost died in me; and
now I hear of your return to Kamakura without any danger. What a
joy and relief it is to me! I was so anxious about you that I asked
everybody that came from along your route. My anxiety was relieved,
step by step, when I was told that you had been seen at Yumoto, then
at Kozu, and at last at Kamakura. Hereafter, you must not come over
here, unless on urgent business. If you have anything to consult me
about, send a messenger! Indeed, your coming here the last time
caused me too much anxiety; think of my concern about you!

Commonly, your enemies have their eye on you when you are
beginning to forget them. If you should hereafter go on a journey,
never leave your horse behind you! Select your retainers and furnish
them with armor! You yourself must go on horseback.

It is said, " The protection of the gods is given to those who are
strong and prepared." The Lotus of Truth is a sharp sword, but its
effectiveness rests with the one who uses it. . . . Therefore, be strong

^ Works, pp. 1817-1820; dated the twenty-second of the intercalary
tenth month (December 7), 1278.

ANXIOUS WATCHING 1 23

and discipline your mind! . . . If your faith in the Lotus of Truth be
firm and strong, all perils will vanish before it. Thus thinking, be
steadfast in your faith!

One month before this visit, when Nichiren was informed
of Kingo's restoration, he wrote him a letter of encourage-
ment, which well shows how human sentiment and religious
aspiration were connected in Nichiren's mind.^

He who endures constant persecutions, in the beginning, in the mid-
dle, and to the end, is the messenger of the Tathagata. I, Nichiren, am
not quite the messenger of the Tathagata, for I am a common man.
Yet something like the messenger am I, who have twice been exiled on
account of the hatred of the three classes of my opponents. I am some-
thing like the messenger, because my mouth utters the Sacred Title of
the Lotus, although, for my person, I am just a common mortal, in-
flamed by the three kinds of passions.^ To seek a parallel in the past, I
am like the Bodhisattva Sadaparibhuta ; and in my present life are
being fulfilled the prophecies about the one who should suflfer from
sticks, and swords, and stones. Can I, then, entertain any doubt about
the fulfilment of the promise of being taken to the Holy Place ? How,
then, shall not those who are nourishing me (like you) enjoy the com-
munion of the Land of Purity ?

Thus, all those who Uve in communion, united by the
Adoration of the Lotus of Truth, are fellows of the universal
and eternal fraternity. Within the communion, however,
there are relations of parents and children, of master and
disciples — the aspects of human life which remain through
eternity, as in the case of the primeval Buddha and his
disciples, and similarly in that of the prophet and his fol-
lowers. Yet this relation does not mean mere subordina-
tion on the part of the disciples, but gratitude, and its fruit,
the perpetuation of the truth transmitted and committed
to them. This idea has already come out in the relations

' Works, p. 1792; dated the fifteenth of the ninth month (October 6),
1278.

^ Greed, hatred, and stupidity.

124 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

between Buddha and other beings, when we were considering
Nichiren's conception of the Supreme Being.^ Applied to
the fellowship of believers in the Buddhist Church, the same
kind of reciprocity of benefaction and gratitude, of entrust-
ing and perpetuation, exists between Nichiren and his
followers forever. Consequently, the Church is the organ
for perpetuating Nichiren's ideals through the efforts of his
followers. Seen in this light, every quickening and inspiring
legacy of thought left to his disciples was Nichiren's prepara-
tion for the future establishment of the Holy See; and he
believed that the approaching Mongol invasion would hasten
the realization of his ideal, which was to come about through
the repentance and conversion of the Japanese people.

Nichiren's great aim was to achieve his ideal of the Catholic
Church, with its centre in his own country. Believing that
he was himself the man to do this, and that the true import
and end of Buddhism had not been apprehended in earlier
times, even in India, he saw in vision a return of Bud-
dhism from Japan to India, and its propagation thence
throughout the world. He himself was always the cardinal
factor in this new era, but the time and place were essential
conditions of the realization of this universal Buddhism.
Thus, he writes: ^

That India was called the country of the Moon-tribe ^ was pro-
phetic of the appearance of Buddha (in that country). Our Fuso^ is

^ See above, p. 79.

2 In a treatise entitled, " Kangyo Hachiman Slid," or " Warnings given to
the God Eight Banners "; written in 1280. Works, 2021-2041; quotation
from p. 2040.

' That is, the Yuechis. The idea that India was the countrj' of the
Moon-tribe was combined with another tradition identifying the name India
with Indu, the moon.

* The name of a certain kind of tree called fuso was sometimes employed
by the Chinese as an appellation of Japan.

ANXIOUS WATCHING 1 25

called Japan, the Land of Sunrise. Must it not be the country where
the (predestined) Sage should appear ? The transit of the moon shifts
from west to east; this symbolizes the transmission of the Buddha's
religion to the East. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west;
this is an omen that the Buddhist religion shall return from the Land of
Sunrise to the country of the Moon-tribe. The moon is not bright all
the time, and just so (Buddha proclaimed the Perfect Truth) only
during eight years of his life.^ The sun surpasses the moon in bril-
Uancy, and in like manner (the Hght of the eastern Sage) is destined to
illumine the dark ages after the fifth five hundred years.

While Nichiren's thought was soaring on in such visions of
the coming Church, the Mongol menace also engaged his
mind. The " W^arning to the God Hachiman," above cited,
was indeed meant to be an emphatic monition — now, not to
the prejudiced people, but to the god who was beheved to be
the guardian of the country, and an embodiment of the na-
tion's militant virtues. Indeed, while the " Warning " was
in hand, 2 the Mongols were busily engaged in preparations
for sending their " Invincible Armada," as the last attempt
upon the island nation. When, in the year following (1281),
the prophet committed to writing the " Three Great
Mysteries," as his spiritual legacy, the armada had already
left the shores of China and were swarming along the Korean
coasts. One month later (in the fifth month, June), four
thousand warships appeared on Japanese waters, and came
to anchor in the bay of Hakata, in western Japan. The
excitement was great, and undoubtedly the news reached
the prophet's hermitage. The circular sent by him to his
followers is very characteristic.^

1 Buddhist tradition puts the preaching of the Lotus of Truth in the last
eight years of Buddha's ministry.

* It is dated the twelfth month, and therefore was written either in
December of 1280 or in January of 1281.

^ " The Circular about the Little Mongols "; Works, p. 2055.

126 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

Now the Little Mongols have come to attack Great Japan. All
my disciples and followers should keep silence, and not discuss the
matter either with others, or among themselves. Any one who violates
this command shall be excommunicated. Let this be made known
to all.

The circular is dated the sixteenth of the sixth month
(July 3), 1 28 1, when the defenders on the western coasts
were struggling against the arrows and bombs of the
Mongols. The expression is so terse that it can be taken
in more than one way, especially when we remember that
Nichiren had always seemed to hail the Mongols as an in-
strument to awaken the nation. But one thing is clear; in
this letter he used for the first time the phrase, " the Little
Mongols," the opposite of the usual designation, the " Great
Mongols." The Mongols, physically great and formidable,
were Uttle from the prophet's point of view; while, as
is evident from his previous writings, the actual Japan was
for him a degenerate nation, doomed to ruin, but the ideal
Japan was great and impregnable.

It was on the first of the intercalary seventh month
(August 15) of 1 28 1 that a storm destroyed the Mongol
armada, which had not effected a landing, and thus the
invasion proved a total failure. On the very day when the
Mongol warships were being shattered by the hurricane,
Nichiren wrote to a warrior disciple, who was probably
setting out to join the defenders, saying: ^

When the Mongols sent their ultimatum, coming on top of the pre-
vious calamities of earthquakes, etc., I gave warning to the authorities,
but they did not give heed. Now, Nichiren's predictions are being ful-
filled, and the battle is raging. All the people of the country will cer-
tainly become in this present life Asuras (furious spirits), and fall
hereafter to the nethermost hells. You may die in the battle. . . .
Yet be sure that we shall meet in the Paradise of Vulture Peak! Even
if you should share in the calamity, your soul is in communion with

1 Works, p. 2061.

ANXIOUS WATCHING 1 27

Buddha's soul. In this life you are participating in the life of the
" furious spirits," and yet you will surely be born in Buddha's land
after death.

All other letters written during a few months after the
great event are full of this sentiment. The prophet seems
not to attach much importance to the " great victory " won
by the help of a storm, which was believed by the people to
have been sent by divine intervention. In one of these
letters he says : ^

An autumn gale destroyed the enemy's ships, and now the people
boast of a great success, as if the commander of the enemy had been
captured; while the priests pretend that it was due to the efficacy of
their mysteries. Ask them whether they took the head of the Mongol
king? WTiatever they may say, make no other reply than this!

In reality, the defeat of the invaders was of momentous
consequence; most of the soldiers were drowned, though
the story that only three men escaped must be an exaggera-
tion. The people rejoiced, and the priests gloried in their
achievements in prayer; but Nichiren looked at the event
with a cool aloofness, probably thinking how remote the
fulfilment of his ideal was. He still insisted that the nation
could not really be saved, except by complete conversion.

Nichiren may have been mistaken, if he thought that the
success of an invasion by the Mongols would prove the truth
of his predictions; but he was certainly right in not being
elated by the victory. He was far-sighted enough to recog-
nize that the curse that rested on the nation was a long
way from being removed by the defeat of the Mongols.
Historians know today that the evils of the superstitious
mysteries against which Nichiren fulminated increased in
consequence of the unexpected end of the Mongol armada,

^ Sent to Lord Toki, the old warrior, and dated the twenty-second of the
tenth month (December 4) of 1281.

128 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

because the authorities were themselves too superstitious to
resist the exorbitant demands made by the Shinto and
Buddhist priests and sorcerers for further contributions
toward the support of mysteries and supplications, on which
much wealth was lavished. Priests were prized more
highly for their prayers than the fighters who had pre-
vented the Mongols from landing and kept them for three
months on the sea, until the storm came. Measures for
defence against future attacks, were concerted; but un-
wisely, from the strategic point of view, these measures were
confined to the land, little attention being paid to the navy.

y Yet a worse thing was the extravagant outlay in building
and decorating the temples and shrines of those deities who
were believed to have rescued the country; the expenditure
. on them being estimated to have been much more than for
any other purpose. Discontent was growing among the war-
riors, financial difficulties became more and more serious,
and the final result was the collapse of the Hojo government

^ in 1333, which was followed by social disintegration. The
defence was successful only by chance. Subsequent events
proved that that "miraculous" relief was largely responsible
for the age of war which lasted three hundred years after
the fall of the Hojos.

Whatever might have been the effect of the victory on
Nichiren's mind, it is interesting to notice that one of his
letters written not long after the event (dated the eleventh
day of the ninth month — October 22), takes a high flight,
and may be regarded as the crowning expression of his ideas
about himself and the transfiguration of this world. ^

1 Works^ pp. 2069-2070. There are many other passages dealing with the
coming transformation of this world. It was his belief that the conversion of
the whole world would result in the transformation of the earthly realm into
a paradise. Cp. Works, pp. 391, 402, 476, 1052, 2051, 2078, etc.

ANXIOUS WATCHING 1 29

This spot among the mountains is secluded from the worldly life,
and there is no human habitation in the neighborhood — east, west,
north, or south. I am now hving in such a lonely hermitage; but in my
bosom, in Nichiren's fleshly body, is secretly deposited the great
mystery which the Lord Sakya-muni revealed on Vulture Peak, and
has entrusted to me. Therefore I know that my breast is the place
where all Buddhas are immersed in contemplation; that they turn the
Wheel of Truth upon my tongue; that my throat is giving birth to
them; and that they are attaining the Supreme Enlightenment in my
mouth. This place is the abode of such a man, who is mysteriously
realizing the Lotus of Truth in his life; surely such a place is no less
dignified than the Paradise of Vulture Peak. As the Truth is noble,
so is the man who embodies it; as the man is noble, so is the place
where he resides. We read in the chapter on the " Mysterious Power
of the Tathagata " as follows: ^

" Be it in a forest, or at the foot of a tree, or in a monastery, . . .
on that spot erect a stupa dedicated to the Tathagata. For such a spot
is to be regarded as the place where all Tathagatas have arrived at the
Supreme Perfect Enlightenment; on that spot all Tathagatas have
turned the Wheel of Truth; on that spot all Tathagatas have entered
the Great Decease." Lo, whoever comes to this place will be purged of
all sins and depravities which he has accumulated from eternity, and
all his evil deeds will at once be transformed into merits and virtues.

' The twenty-first chapter, Yam., p. 564; Text, p. 391; SEE., p. 367.

CHAPTER XI

THE LAST STAGE OF NICHIREN'S LIFE
AND HIS DEATH

THE prophet had nearly reached the sixty-first year of
his age, and for some time his health had been im-
paired. " Since I retired to this place, I have never been out
of these mountains. During these eight years, illness and
age have brought me severe suffering, and both body and
mind seem to be crumbUng into ruin. Especially since last
spring, my illness has progressed, and from autumn to
winter my weakness has increased day by day. During
these ten days, I have taken no food, and my suffering is
aggravated by the severe cold in the midst of a huge snow-
fall. My body is like a piece of stone, and my chest is as
cold as ice." ^ The words are from a letter to a lady who had
sent him rice and rice-beer, thanking her for the comfort her
drink had brought him. Even a strong man of almost super-
human will, Uke Nichiren, was unable to resist the disease,
which was doubtless the result of constant strife and suffer-
ing through thirty years of his life. His mind was perhaps
preoccupied by his illness, and we have only eleven letters
from the ten months preceding his death; yet some of these
letters are still in a vigorous strain, and he dwells much on
the ideals of his mission, in contrast to the actual condition
of the country. He was a prophet to the last moment.

A letter that he wrote to Lord Toki is interesting as em-
bodying Nichiren's thoughts on disease. Toki had written

1 Dated the eighth of the twelfth month of the fourth year of Koan
(January 19, 1282). Works, p. 2082. These statements indicate that his
illness was a cancer of the digestive organs.

ILLNESS AND DEATH 131

to the Master about a plague that was raging in the country,
and, it seems, had asked his opinion. In reply, Nichiren
explained that there were two causes of the plague, one
bodily and the other mental, which were reciprocally related,
'and produced by the malicious devils, who seize every
opportunity of attack. The devils are, however, Nichiren
says, nothing but the radical vices existing in each one of
us from eternity; because both goods and ills are, accord-
ing to Tendai's conception of existence, inherent in our own
nature. Not only diseases, but all evils are only manifesta-
tions of the radical and innate vices, and there will be no
cure until these vices have been extirpated. Then the
question is, Why are the faithful believers of the Lotus of
Truth attacked by ills or devils ? For the solution of this
problem Nichiren has recourse to the doctrine of " mutual
participation." Just as the bliss of enlightenment in a
particular individual is imperfect unless this bliss is shared
by all fellow-beings, so ills may attack even the holders of
the Truth, even the messenger of the Tathagata, so long
as there exists any vice in the world in any of his fellow-
beings. And the believers of the Lotus are perhaps more
frequently attacked by ills, because the devils, regarding the
true Buddhists as their most formidable adversaries, aim
particularly at their lives.

Such was Nichiren's thought on illness in general. Ap-
plied to his own person, it was associated with his mission
to establish the Holy See. So long as the true Buddhism was
taught only in theory, as was done by Tendai and Dengyo,
the onset of the devils was not so violent as when the theory
was translated into practice, as it was by Nichiren. This was
the reason why he encountered so many perils as a result
of his aggressive propaganda ; they were to be explained in
the same way as the illnesses which attacked him and his

132 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

followers. In other words, the radical vices, and consequent
ills, were aroused to rage by Nichiren's propaganda, espe-
cially by his preparations for the establishment of the Holy
See. When this latter end should be completely achieved,
there would be no more room for the vices to have their evil
way. Seeing this, the devils run riot, for the purpose of
staying the progress of the cause. Thus, Nichiren saw in
the raging plague, and also in his own illness, a sign of the
approaching fulfilment of his aim. '' Does not the growing
stubbornness of the resistance show the strength of the sub-
jugating power ? Why, then, should not the true Buddhist
suffer, not only from illness but from perils of all sorts ? Is
not Nichiren's life itself a living testimony to this truth ? "
Thus he wrote in a letter dated the twenty-sixth day of the
sixth month, " 1282," * which he meant to be his own
sermon on illness and death, corresponding to Buddha's
sermon in the Book of the Great Decease. ^

" Our Lord Buddha revealed the Lotus of Truth on Vul-
ture Peak, during eight years, in the last phase of his earthly
life; then he left the Peak, and went northeastward to
Kusinagara, where he delivered the last sermon on the Great
Decease, and manifested death." This tradition occupied

1 Further study has led the author to the conclusion that this letter
really belongs in the year 1278, that is, four years earlier than it is dated
by the editor of the Works. In that year pestilence was raging, and Nichiren
was suffering greatly, too, from the illness which finally proved fatal. The
statement is left as it was first written, before this conclusion was arrived at,
because the difference of date does not in any way affect the significance
of what is said in the letter.

2 The Mahd-Parinirvdna-sulra, a Mahayana counterpart of the Pali
Mahd-Parinibbdna, for which see SBE, vol. xi. The Mahayana book on
Buddha's death was believed by Nichiren to have been preached subse-
quently to the revelation of the Lotus.

Nichiren's ideas about the radical vices are derived from Buddha's
attitude toward Mara. See Windisch, Buddha and Mara.

ILLNESS AND DEATH 1 33

the mind of Nichiren, who had lived a life of sixty years in
thorough-going conformity to, or emulation of, Buddha's
deeds and work. On the eighth of the ninth month (Octo-
ber 10), he left his beloved retreat at Minobu, where he had
lived for more than eight years. His intention had been to
go to a hot spring, but, probably because he was unable to
proceed farther, he stopped at Ikegami, near the modern
Tokyo, where he was welcomed by Lord Ikegami. The letter
he wrote on his arrival at Ikegami, to Lord Hakiri in Mino-
bu, was his last. This letter, dated the nineteenth (October
21), is full of delicate sentiment, and in it he again expresses
his thanks for the protection extended to him by Lord Hakiri
during more than eight years. He even gives thought to
such details as the care of the horse which, with its harness,
Lord Hakiri had presented him. Thenceforward, he lay on
a sickbed. During nearly a month he lectured again on his
old Risshd Ankoku Ron, with which he had launched upon
his career of conflict and danger. The lectures were unfor-
tunately not recorded, but we can imagine how the prophet
reviewed and reinterpreted the most significant document
of his whole life in the light thrown on it by his expe-
riences through more than twenty years.

His disciples and followers flocked to his bedside, and the
master charged them with the work to be done after his
death. Six elders were appointed to be the leaders, and they
took a vow to perpetuate the legacy of the master. Besides
them, an important appointment was made, of a boy ^ of
fourteen to whom was committed the task of converting the
Imperial family in Miyako. The motive of the selection is
not clear, but whatever it may have been, the boy subse-
quently proved himself deserving of the Master's confidence,

1 He was named Nichizo, concerning whom see the Chronological Table
at the end of the book.

134 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

and became the pioneer of the propaganda in the Imperial
capital.

When all had been finished, Nichiren's last hour ap-
proached. Early in the morning of the thirteenth day of
the tenth month (November 14), 1282, surrounded by his
devout followers, and reciting with them the Stanzas of
Eternity, the prophet passed away. The stanzas are: ^

Since I attained Buddhahood,

Aeons have passed, the number of which

Is beyond all measure, hundreds and thousands

Of miUions of bilhons, and immeasurable.

During this time I have constantly been preaching truths.

And leading innumerable beings to maturity.

Taking them on the Way of the Buddhas;

Thus, innumerable aeons have passed, ever in the same way.

For the sake of awakening all beings,

I manifest the Great Decease, by the method of tactfulness;

And yet in reaUty I never vanish.

But reveal truths by being eternally present. . . .

I am the Father of the world.

The One who cures all ills and averts disasters.

Since I see the mass of men infatuated,

I appear to die, although I am really hving.

For, if they saw me perpetually abiding among them,
They might grow slack,

Become careless, and being attached to the five passions.
Finally faU into the woeful resorts.

I am ever watching to see whether all beings

Are faithful to the Way or not;

And I preach to them various aspects of truth,

According to their capacities, and for the sake of their salvation.

Thus, my constant solicitude is,
How can all beings
Be led to the incomparable Way,
And ere long attain Buddhahood ?

1 Cp. Text, pp. 323 f.; SBE., vol. xxi, pp. 307 f.

APPENDIX

THE BUDDHIST CONCEPTION OF REALITY
I. The Fundamental Tenets of Buddhism

CONCERNING REALITY

BUDDHISM is a comprehensive system of thought. In it we
find a materialistic school, which denied the existence of the
mind and affirmed the reality of the external world; there was
also an extreme idealistic school, which explained all perceptions
and phenomena as illusions. Moreover, in Buddhist thought,
philosophical theories are intricately interwoven with religious
faith regarding the person of the founder; and, similarly, the
various ways of practising contemplation are inseparable from
ethical considerations which bear upon the religious, or ec-
clesiastical, community. The mind is minutely analyzed; yet
Buddhist psychology was not a theoretical study, but was con-
sidered to be a means of introspection in meditation, which in
turn very much influenced the psychological theories in question.
The law of causation was the chief tenet of Buddhist cosmology;
but for Buddhism this conception was highly teleological, being
understood in the sense of moral retribution. Morality is
taught, of course; and every Buddhist is expected to observe its
rules; the moral ideal, however, was not limited to human life,
but extended to all kinds of existence, visible and invisible. A
religious ethic, or a philosophical religion, or a religious philoso-
phy— each one of these designations may be applied to Buddh-
ism; while in the numerous schools within it different points
have been given prominence.

Thus, to abstract a phase of Buddhist thought, apart from
other factors, is as if one were to dissect a human body into parts,
and treat one of them as a unit. As a Buddhist simile expresses

138 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

it, none of the numerous diamonds studded on a net can be
touched without affecting all the others. Yet I shall try here to
take up one aspect of Buddhist thought concerning reality. It
would be an altogether hopeless task, if there were not a certain
continuity of thread even in the meshes of a net. And this con-
tinuity is given in the conception of Dhamma, which means
" law," or " truth." This is one of the Buddhist Trinity, the
others being Buddha and Sangha, that is, the person of the
founder and the community of believers. This Trinity is the
foundation of the Buddhist religion, and none of the three is
perfect apart from the others. It will presently appear how the
Buddhist conception expressed in the idea of Dhamma is sup-
ported by, and connected with, the faith in Buddha, the revealer
of truth. But I shall start with the idea of Dhamma, apart
from the other terms of the Trinity.

Dhamma (in Sanskrit, Dharma) is a very flexible term in
Buddhist terminology. It meant originally, in the Brahmanic
idea, " what endures," that is the law of social order. Buddha
adopted this term, divorced from its association with social
sanction, and used it to designate his teachings about the truths
of existence. These teachings were expressed in words and pre-
served in writings, although to the Buddhist they were not
merely letters or words, but truths, and therefore things, as well.
Buddha is the revealer of truths as they are in reality, and the
doctrines are proclaimed in accordance with the reality of things.
That is the reason why the word Dhamma, especially when used
in the plural, means things, or conditions, or realities, both mental
and physical. These things and conditions are not products of
chance, but exist and change according to the definite order of
laws, or truths. This order of truth is expressed pre-eminently
by the law of causation, which is assumed by Buddhism to be
universal and irrevocable throughout all changes of the world.
" That being present, this comes to be; because that has arisen,
this arises " — this is the key-note of the Buddhist view of the
world. The law of causation is applied to the physical and

BUDDHIST CONCEPTION OF REALITY 1 39

mental orders of existence, to the subjective and objective
aspects of our being. It is the essential nature of things and pro-
cesses that they are through and through ruled by the same
Dhamma of causation.

Partly because of the assumption of universal causality, and
partly because of its religious ideal of communion, Buddhism
assumes the basic unity of existence, notwithstanding the fact
that it admits apparent diversity. We comprehend the Dhamma
of the external existence, because the same Dhamma is inherent
in us; we understand other people, because they are beings sub-
sisting by the same Dhamma. Thus, the fundamental nature of
all Dhammas is one and the same. The fundamental nature of
existence {dhamma), in this sense of unity, is called dhammatd,
that is, the essential quality of being subject to the laws of
existence. Dhammas exist and become such as they are
(yathdbhutam), and yet they are one in nature and in relation.
Everything that is born and grows is subject to age, ills, and
death — this is the essential nature of things. All Buddhas, of
the past, present, and future, have attained, and will attain, the
highest freedom by treading the same way of perfection — this
is the universal qualification {dhammatd) of Buddhas. Buddha's
teachings and injunctions aim at the purification of the mind,
and are eflBicacious to lead us up to the supreme enlightenment —
this is the invariable import of the Dhamma. The term Dham-
mata applies to every one of these aspects of the universal nature.
The same idea is expressed adverbially by the word tathatayd,
that is, in accordance with nature, and as a noun by tathatd,
i. e., " as it is," or " Thalness.'^ Therefore, Buddha is called
Tathagata, the One who has attained the Truth of existence, the
Dhammata or Tathata of the world, and has come to reveal the
same truth to us. He is the Truth-winner and Truth-revealer.
Because the Dhammata is the same in him and us, his truth is
revealed to us, and we are enlightened by the same truth.

The Dhamma is the truth revealed by Buddha, the Lord of
Truth; yet he is not the creator of it. We are enlightened by the
truths taught by him, but we can be thus enlightened because

I40 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

our existence and nature are based on the same Dhammata that
is found in Buddha himself. The final Dhammata is the fountain
of Buddhist attainment and revelation, for Buddha as well as for
ourselves. The world of Dhammas is a perpetually flowing
stream; foam and flakes float on its surface, but one can attain
the tranquil ocean of Nirvana by pursuing the course of the
stream; after all, one and the same is the water in the fountain,
in the stream, and in the ocean. Seen in this way, the funda-
mental Dhammata of things and beings is the source of illusion
as well as of enlightenment, of vices as well as of virtues. One
who does not realize this unity is in illusion, while one who
has grasped the Dhammata or Tathata, is a Buddha. It is said:

All are subject to the laws (dhammas) of ill.

Of age, as well as of death ;

Beings exist according to the laws.

(yathd dhammd, tat ha stta). {Anguttara, v. 57.)

The deluded are distressed by these changes, while the enlight-
ened man is not troubled by them because he knows the truth.
The Truth is permanent, even independent of persons who are
troubled by it, or are enlightened in it. Again, it is said:

Where there is birth, age and death necessarily follow. This realm

(of causal nexus) is perpetual, regardless of the Tathagata's appearing

or not appearing (in this world) ; and the stability of truth {dhammd-

ithiti) and the order of truth {dhammd-niydmatd) follow their necessary

and natural concatenation. The Tathagata has comprehended this,

and penetrated into the Truth; having comprehended and penetrated

into it, he announces and preaches it, makes it known, estabUshes

and reveals it, and makes it clear and visible. .„ .

[Samyutla, 12. 20.)

Herein is a point of great importance, which gave rise to two
opposite interpretations of Buddha's teachings. One school
understood in this thesis the permanent stability of the Dhamma,
meaning thereby external existence; while the other interpreted
the stability of truth as existing in our own mind. The difference
may be stated thus: The school which emphasized the objec-
tive import of the Dhamma ran to an extreme verging on

BUDDHIST CONCEPTION OF REALITY 141

materialism, asserting the reality of the external order, and
denying the mind, on the ground of the doctrine of non-ego. The
opposite direction was taken by the other school, which saw no
meaning in what is usually spoken of as the objective world,
apart from its significance as a manifestation of the universal
Dhammata. The consequence was that the truth of existence
was to be realized only in the enlightened mind of a Buddha, and
that, therefore, reality belonged, not to the world of visible diver-
sity, but to the realm of transcendental unity. The former ten-
dency was represented by the Sarvasti-vadins, the men who
asserted that "all exists"; who were opposed by nearly all
others, though the extreme transcendental view was not uni-
versally accepted. Before taking up the opposition, we must
inquire what Buddha's own position was.

Buddha always explicitly repudiated the two extremes, the
Permanence-view (Sassata-vada) and the Nihilistic view {Uc-
cheda-vdda) , that is, the views which either assert or deny the
reality of the external world per se. He once said to his great
disciple, Kaccana:

The world, for the most part, holds either to a belief in being
{atthi) or to a belief in non-being (natthitam). But for one who, in the
light of the perfect insight, considers how the world arises, belief in the
non-being of the world passes away. And for one who, in the light of
the perfect insight, considers how the world ceases, belief in the being
of the world passes away. . . . That all is e.xistent (sabbam atthi) is
one extreme; that all is non-existent {sabbam natthi) is another ex-
treme. The Tathagata, avoiding the two extremes, preaches his truth,

which is the Middle Path. ,„ ,,. , .

{Samyutta, 12. 15; Warren, p. 165.)

The former view is that of common-sense realism, which
Buddha refuted by showing how change and decay actually go
on before our eyes. Buddha opposed this kind of realism, not
by denying reality altogether, but by demanding a change in the
conception of reality, a transfer of the idea of reality from the
conception of permanent external existence to that of becoming
ruled by the law of causation. On the other hand, the nihilistic

142 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

theory differs from Buddha's position in a very subtle manner,
because Buddha rejects the idea of permanence, yet sees reaUty
in things and processes; both being Dhammas by virtue of the
same law. He accepts the assertion that nothing exists in the
sense that nothing persists by itself; but he rejects the same
assertion by making a counter-affirmation that reality consists
in the stability and order of truth, of the law of causation. This
is what he called the Middle Path, as he preached the Middle
Path in his ethics, rejecting both the hedonistic life and ascetic
self- mortification.

The Buddhist realism above referred to was in fact not so
materialistic as it was believed to be by the opposing schools.
Yet it concentrated its efi'ort upon an analysis of the Dhammas,
as if they were merely external existences, and neglected the
significance of Buddha's Tathagataship, which consisted in his
having grasped the truth of existence in his enlightened mind.
The realists missed the point in their conception of Dhamma,
because they proceeded to its analysis, apart from the ideal inter-
pretation of the Dhammas as given by Buddha himself. Thus,
this school of realists was controverted by adducing the personal
example of Buddha, and by emphasizing the significance of faith
in him as the Tathagata, in the conception and interpretation of
reality. In other words, the opposition took the orthodox course
of never separating the conception of Dhamma from the per-
sonality of Buddha as the Truth-winner and Truth-revealer.

Now, not speaking of the extreme transcendentalism, the
orthodox theory of the Middle Path may be formulated in the
following way:

Buddha has unquestionably said that the truth-order exists
and works, regardless of whether a Tathagata appears, or not.
But, who among Buddhists could, without his revelation of
Dhamma, have realized that truth ? In fact, the external-
realist asserts the truth-order in consequence of Buddha's
teaching; and Buddha taught this because the truth was grasped
by him. This we say, not merely in the sense that Buddha is our
authority in this matter, but in the sense that the truth-order

BUDDHIST CONCEPTION OF REALITY 1 43

would remain a meaningless entity or process, unless there were
at least one man who had realized it and interpreted its meaning.
Undoubtedly, the truth-order may be working, even while you
or I do not realize it. Yet it has become known to us through
Buddha's revelation, and then in our own enlightenment. En-
lightenment and revelation are the essential factors in the nature
of the truth-order, because the conception truth-order does not
mean a dead entity, nor a merely external order, but implies a
realization of its import in the enlightened mind, which repre-
sents the ideal order of existence.

Otherwise expressed, the world, the realm of truths (dhammd-
dhdtu), as a whole, is the stage on which the beings in the world
attain their own Dhammata; and therefore the world, subsisting
by itself, but without knowing its own meaning — its own truth-
order — is an imperfect manifestation of its real nature. Only a
half, and the inferior half, of reality, of the real nature of exist-
ence, is rightly to be conceived as the merely external existence;
the other half, the essential and integral half, is first revealed to
us when we bring to light our own real nature. It is a realization
of the Dhammata, on my part or yours; this is, however, not a
merely individual work, but the enlightenment of an individual
mind as a part of the world, nay, as the key to the revelation and
realization of its real nature. Reality (Sanskrit, dharma-tathatd,
dharma-svabhava) is nothing but a full realization of the true
nature; and in the true nature of the world, the ideal inter-
pretation plays no less part than what is erroneously called
external existence. The conception of reality becomes meaning-
less, unless an integral part, or aspect, is realized through at
least one individual. What then is the significance of enlighten-
ment on the part of an individual ?

Here is conspicuously shown the significance of Buddha's at-
tainment and revelation, by which he plays an integral part in
the world's truth-order, and herein lies the importance of his per-
sonality as the Truth-winner and Truth-revealer. It is in his per-
son that the real import of existence has come to light; it is in his
enlightenment in the fundamental nature (dhammata) of the

144 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

world that the cosmos has found its own mouth-piece, the repre-
sentative, the embodiment, of its truth-order; it is through his
revelation that the world, including ourselves and many other
beings of different sorts, has gained the key to the interpretation
and comprehension of its real meaning. Knowing and seeing,
enlightenment and revelation — all are nothing but the essential
nature of the truth-order, by which the meaning of existence,
and therefore of reality, is made explicit, or can be evolved.
Wherefore it is said:

The Exalted One knows knowing, sees seeing; he is the One who
has become the eyes (of the world); he is the One who has become
knowledge (or enlightenment); he is the One who has become truth;
he is the One who has become Brahma (the highest deity of Brah-
manism); he is the instructor, the revealer, the One who pours out
good, the One who gives immortality; the Lord of Dhamma, that is
the Tathagata. {Samyutta, 35. 116, etc.)

Buddha, the Tathagata, is the prototypical representative of
the seer, of the knower, of the one who has realized his own
true nature, together with that of the whole world. In short,
Buddha's enlightenment is the interpretation of the world, which
means not simply a process in an individual mind, but plays an
integral part in the existence of the world, being a revelation of
its own meaning — a self-realization of the world, so to speak.
This is the view of the Middle Path.

Now, let me further expound the Buddhist conception of the
relation betw^een the world and the individual, which gives the
key to the understanding of its conception of reaUty.

The individual, as such, is neither real, in the commonly
asserted sense of being a personally persistent entity, nor unreal,
in the sense that it has no place in existence. It is unreal, be-
cause it is subject to constant change; but it is real, as a product
of causation, as a manifestation of character accumulated by
karma. Either of these points of view leads to the thesis,
" There is no (substantial) e^o." But Buddhism sees in the
person of the Tathagata a real individual, the individual par excel-
lence, because the Dhammata of the universe is represented,

BUDDHIST CONCEPTION OF REALITY 145

embodied, realized, in his person as the Tathagata. It is in the
personal enlightenment of universal truths in Buddha that the
realm of Dhamma has come to self-consciousness, to the full
realization of its meaning. In other words, the person of the
Tathagata is not an individual personality, in contradistinction
to other individuals, but in communion with all others. When
I say " all others," I mean it, not as an aggregate of separate
individuals, nor as a haphazard crowd of individuals, but as
unified in the basic unity of the Dhammata, and united in the
realization of the universal communion. This is the teaching of
the Ekaydna, of which we shall see more presently. An indi-
vidual, according to Buddhism, is no more a mere individual,
if, and so far as, he identifies himself with others; his ego is
transformed to a universal self. Buddhism does not call this
transformed and expanded self a self, but a Tathagata, or a
" being of truth " {dhammd-bhulo , dhamwd-kdya), as in the case
of Buddha.

Looked at in this way, any individual is a Tathagata who
realizes the universal Dhammata of the universe, not only in his
ideas, but in his life, and lives the life of the universal self. So long
as, and so far as, he regards himself as separate from others,
every individual is only a partial, and therefore imperfect, mani-
festation of his own real nature {dhammatd) , while every one is
destined to attain the height, or depth, of his own true self in
communion with all others, by virtue of the basic unity of the
fundamental Dhammata. When this ideal is attained, even
partially, one has so far realized his real self, which is no longer
an ego in the sense that he once cherished. He is the same per-
son in appearance, but in reality his self is so far transformed.
What thus happens resembles the metamorphosis of an insect.
Buddha, in recalling his former lives, designates his former self
by the pronoun " /," but he is at the same time most emphatic
in distinguishing his former "/" — even the "/" when he lived
as a prince or a recluse — and calls himself " Tathagata," in the
third person, as the designation of his true personality and high
dignity. The same title may be applied to anybody who reaches

146 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

the same attainment as Buddha; and, in fact, Buddha called
every one of the same attainment a Tathagata. In short, every
one who has found his own real nature in the fundamental Dham-
mata of all existences, that is, in communion with the Tatha-
gatas, is one who has become truth, become insight, and thereby
identified himself with the universe. It is in the conception of
reality attained by such a person that the universe is realizing
its universal Dhammata.

A necessary consequence of this idea about the relation
between the individual and the world is the teaching of the
Ekayana. It means the one and the same way for all the Tatha-
gatas of the past, present, and future. It is the Way, and at the
same time the Ideal — the way to realize the truth of universal
communion, and the ideal to be reached by that way. It is also
the foundation of existences, and the goal of the way, because an
ideal is vain without foundation, and the two are simply two
aspects of the same Dhammata. Buddha said:

The Perfectly Enlightened of the past, and the Buddhas of the future,
As well as the present Perfectly Enlightened One who dispels sorrows

from many —
All have lived, do live, or will live,
By revering Dhamma; this is the Dhammata of all Buddhas.

{Samyutta, 6. i. 2; com. S. 47. 18.)

This unity of the Ekayana is manifested in the Buddhist com-
munity, which, though limited in its visible manifestation, is to be
extended without limit to include all beings of every possible des-
cription, and of all ages. Thus, the Buddhist community is a real-
ization of the universal communion of all Buddhas and Buddhas-
to-be, who are — or ought to be — united in the revelation of the
final Dhammata. This is the reason why Buddha disdained any
one who, being satisfied with the tranquillity of his mind, re-
mains a solitary sage. Such a sage is called a Pacceka-buddha, or
self-satisfied wise man, and is regarded not only as a selfish man,
but one who does not see the real light, either his own, or that

BUDDHIST CONCEPTION OF REALITY 1 47

of the world. The Tathagata, on the contrary, is an individual
who is no longer an individual merely, but has identified himself
with all others.

Thus, the Tathagata is the ideal person in the Buddhist reli-
gion, and it is only in the life of the Tathagata that the full mean-
ing of the universe is realized. This ideal is called also Dhamma,
which here means " norm," as Mrs. Rhys Davids correctly ren-
ders it. The moral norm and religious ideal for every Buddhist
consists in attaining, as Buddha has shown by his own example,
the supreme enlightenment in the truth-order and the funda-
mental nature of the world, in accordance with the truth of
existence, and by treading the same One Road, in company with
the Buddhas of all ages. The Buddhist ideal, seen in this light,
necessarily demands the life of fellowship, in which the real
continuity of life, or the Dhammata of existence, is first realized.
In this fellowship, an individual no longer remains a separate
being, but becomes a personal embodiment of the universal life —
" das Objectwerden des Subjects," to borrow the Hegelian ter-
minology. The " communion of saints " transforms our self into
the universal self; and therein is brought to light the true nature
of reaUty.

To sum up, the Buddhist conception of reality is the existence
in which the universal nature of existence is realized in the
enlightened mind which is the realization of the all-embracing
fellowship. It rejects reality apart from this personal enlighten-
ment; it rejects an enlightenment in a secluded self — the
former being externalism and the latter transcendentalism. But
both aspects of being embraced and " aufgehoben " in the
realization of the universal Dhammata. In short, the true con-
ception of reality is brought to light only in the unity of Buddha,
Dhamma, and Sangha.

148 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

11. Tendai's Doctrines of the Middle Path
AND Reality

Tendai-Buddhism is a school representing, most faithfully and
elaborately, the Middle Path of the Buddhist doctrine. It is a
school founded, in the sixth century, by a Chinese monk from
Tendai, named Chi-ki ; and its chief aim was to achieve a higher
synthesis of the external-realism of materialistic tendency and
the acosmism of transcendental extreme. It further elaborated
the theory of reality along the line of the thought above indi-
cated, and on the basis of the " Lotus of Truth." This book, as
has been observed above, may be called the Johannine Gospel
of Buddhism. It tries to solve the problems of reality by the
key given in the identification of Buddha's enlightenment with
cosmic truth.

Omitting further reference to the book, I here cite a saying
which became the starting point of Tendai's theory of reality.
The saying is a verse in Nagarjuna's Madhydmika Sdslra, or
Treatise on the Middle Path. It says:

Everything arises according to causation;

We regard it as a vacuity {sunyatd),

(But) it is phenomenal reality by virtue of appearance,

Which is at the same time the Middle Path. (p. 503.)

Vacuity {sunyatd, or sunnatd in Pali) is an ancient term used in
Buddhism, and meant something beyond common sense or
ordinary ratiocination (cp., for instance, Samyutta, 55, 52; 20,
7; etc.). It was not a mere negation, as it is often understood;
but speculations at which we must now glance clustered about it.
" Vacuity " was understood by the transcendentalists to mean
the voidness of phenomenal things, and so the real entity was
interpreted as being beyond all distinctions and causal relations.
This position is most fully stated in the one hundred thousand
slokas of the Prajna-paramita, a book aiming at " the annihila-
tion of all relativities " by an almost endless repetition of
neither, nor. But this annihilation was always carefully dis-

BUDDHIST CONCEPTION OF REALITY 1 49

tinguished from the nihilistic view (uccheda) that nothing exists,
because the Buddhist vacuity supposes a something beyond
relativities, unknowable, yet attainable in meditation.^ Now
Nagarjuna accepted the transcendentalist standpoint, but at
the same time admitted an apparent reality (prajdnpti) in
what is given (upadd). What he called the Middle Path was a
synthesis of the two points of view. In spite of his adherence to
the Middle Path, which was the precious inheritance of Buddhist
thought, he did not give a definite statement of it, but left it to
the domain of contemplative vision, attainable by only a select
few. Thus, it was Tendai's task to draw a more positive and
definite conclusion from Nagarjuna's statement of the Middle
Path, and for this purpose he translated the two extreme views
into the terms of universality and particularity.

Vacuity, according to Tendai, means nothing but the non-
being of a particular existence apart from the universal Dham-
mata. We speak of this or that thing or substance, quality or
condition, and think it to be a reaUty, in and by itself. Nothing
is more erroneous than this, because we know that nothing in
this world, visible or tangible, exists without causal nexus. It is
a Dhamma, a thing or condition, because it is a manifestation of
the Dhamma, the law of causation. Vacuity does not mean the
voidness of any existence in itself, but vanity of the view that
sees in it a reality apart from the fundamental Dhammata.

Thus, the thesis of vacuity implies the antithesis, that what is
apparently existing is a reahty, in the sense that it is given, given
as something the meaning of which must be sought deeper and
higher. In other words, an abstract universality is a vacuity, not
less than a mere particularity; either is a mere abstraction apart
from a datum. A particular datum may be an appearance, and
yet be a product of the universal law of causality, and a manifes-
tation of the fundamental nature of existence. A thing or a con-

1 It was this aspect of Buddhism, concisely put in the " Diamond Cutter,"
that attracted Lafcadio Hearn's poetic genius, and was connected by him
with Spencerian agnosticism.

ISO NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

dition exists actually, and although it is subject to decay, and
may disappear according to causality, it is so far a reality —
a phenomenal appearance.

The synthesis amounts to afl&rming both vacuity and appear-
ance at the same time. The conception of vacuity has shown us
that a particular existence is void, when taken in itself; but it
points to the reality of the universal, as an outcome of a thor-
oughgoing negation of relativity. On the other hand, the
idea of phenomenal appearance has demonstrated that there is
a reality in phenomena which is no less essential to our concep-
tion of being than the reality attached to the universal. The
world of the universal, the unity of all things in the funda-
mental nature {dhammatd), is the foundation of every particular
existence, pre-existent to all particular manifestations. Yet its
manifestations in concrete beings, Dhammas, are as real as the
pre-existent universals, being subject to the laws, Dhammas,
which rule all. That they are ruled by the same laws shows their
unity in the basis. The particular derives its being from the
universal nature of things, while the universal could not fully
realize its true nature without manifesting itself in a particular.
Both are real, but either by itself is imperfectly real. The Mid-
dle Path consists in uniting the two aspects of existence, univer-
sal and particular, and in seeing therein the true reality. To
this argument, the consideration of Buddha's personality gave
the key, and we shall see how it is developed.

As to the relation between the particular and the universal, the
case of Buddha is not only an example, but the typical represen-
tative. He was born as a human being, passed through mental
struggles, and finally attained Buddhahood, and lived the fifty
years of his ministry as the Truth-revealer. This is an actual
life of a particular person, and no one can deny its facts, except
the docetists,^ against whom the orthodox Buddhists took a
united stand. Yet he was a Buddha, because he was enlightened
in cosmic truths and realized the universal nature of Buddha-

1 Cp. the author's article on " Docetism (Buddhist) " in the Encyclo-
paedia of Religion and Ethics.

BUDDHIST CONCEPTION OF REALITY 151

hood, which is called Bodhi, or Enlightenment. He is Bodhi
incarnate, so to speak, and Bodhi is the universal and funda-
mental nature {dhammatd) of the spiritual existence, which is pre-
existent to appearance of particular Buddhas, and the a priori
basis of their attainment. The epithet " Tathagata " is an ade-
quate expression of the relation between the universal Bodhi and
particular Buddhas. Buddha's personal life is a particular phe-
nomenon, and the significance of his Buddhahood is lost, is a
vacuity, when considered apart from the Truth he has attained
and revealed to us. Yet the Truth {tathd) is a mere abstraction,
a dead name, unless there appears a Tathagata in concrete
human life. The true reality in the person of Buddha consists
in the dignity of the Tathagata attained by a particular person,
in virtue of the universal Bodhi which is the essential condition
of his communion with the Buddhas of the past and of the
future.

This solution of the relation between the particular and the
universal in the person of Buddha as the Tathagata serves, at the
same time, as the solution of the questions which arose concern-
ing the acquisition or inherence of Buddhahood. Buddhahood
is an acquisition, viewed from the standpoint of phenomenal
appearance, as is actually shown in the career of Buddha. But
it is, at the same time, inherent in his nature, and also in each of
us, because without the pre-existent universal Buddhahood, a
Buddha loses the foundation of his dignity. He has become a
Tathagata by treading the same way, the One Road, as all other
Tathagatas, and by thus entering the communion of Buddha-
hood; and this apparent acquisition is the necessary develop-
ment of the Buddhahood inherent in an individual and pre-
existent to individual persons. The standpoint of the Middle
Path thus emphasizes equally both the a posteriori acquisition
and the a priori inherence of Buddhahood, because either one of
these two aspects, without the other, is an imperfect idea of the
Buddha as such. In other words, Buddha is really a man, and
verily the Truth. As a man he has realized the truth of the one-
ness of existence; he is the Truth- winner. The person in whom

152 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

the Dhammata of the universe has come to light, and who has
" become Truth," " become knowledge," cannot but be the
adequate representative of the Dhammata, that is, the Tathata.
The Lord of Truth, the Ruler of the Realm of Truth, derives his
dignity from the very source of Truth, and therefore he can work
as the Truth-revealer. The actual human manifestation is a
condescension on the part of the universal Truth; while the
latter is first embodied and actualized in the former.

The universal Buddhahood is called Dharma-kaya, or " Truth-
body," while the personal Buddha is Nirmana-kaya, or " Con-
descension-body "; and these two, together with another, the
Sambhoga-kaya, or " Bliss-body," the spiritual manifestation
of Buddhahood, make up the Buddhological Trinity. This
doctrine of the Trinity is a very old one in Buddhism, and Tendai
emphasizes the unity of the three, because the three aspects,
considered as a unity, constitute the only right view of Buddha's
person, and of the true reality exemplified in his person.

The Trinity of Buddha's person, however, is not limited to
him alone, but in each of us is inherent the corresponding Trinity,
or, as we may conveniently express it, the unity of the universal
foundation and the particular manifestation. A concrete human
being is a reality, but his full meaning is based on humanity in
general. There is a man, and he is the man who would embody in
his person the essential nature of humanity, not in the abstract,
but concretely. The universal " humanity " is the " Truth-
body " of every human being, and his life under particular
conditions is his " Condescension-body," while his own self-
consciousness, and the influence that he means to exert upon his
fellow-beings constitute his " Bliss-body." In short, the unity
of the universal man and the particular man is the reality of man.

The same remark applies to every other kind of existence, and
Tendai assumes, in accordance with Buddhist tradition, ten
different realms of sentient beings. The nethermost one is the
hell (naraka), or rather purgatory, where beings of extreme
viciousness, deprived of the light of wisdom, are tormented by
their own vices. The furious spirit (asura) is a manifestation of

BUDDHIST CONCEPTION OF REALITY 1 53

hatred and greed; the hungry ghost (preta) represents never-
satisfied greed, combined with stupidity; the beast (tiryak) is the
life of stupidity and bUndness; the heavenly worlds (deva) are
the abodes of those beings who are intoxicated with pleasure and
careless of others. These five, together with mankind (manusya),
are the six stages of transmigration. Above these, are two kinds
of beings who are self-satisfied in their own attainment in medita-
tion or learning, and make no further effort to realize the vitality
of the universal communion, represented by the learned Srdvaka
and the self-contented Pralyeka-buddha, above referred to.
The Bodhisattva is a being, who, having attained a certain
height of spiritual illumination, is striving earnestly for the sal-
vation of others. Above them all stands Buddha, in whom the
universal communion and the fundamental nature of all beings
are realized in idea and life, and who, by virtue of his wisdom and
mercy, leads other beings to the same light. Thus, in every
being in each of these classes there is manifested the relation of
the universal and the particular, the concrete life of the universal
Dhammata; but it is in Buddha alone that the full light of uni-
versal truths and the all-embracing communion are realized.

Though Tendai thus distinguishes the ten kinds of existence,
he emphasizes the interchangeability of their natures and the
interdependence of their existence. Take, for instance, the case
of Buddha. Although he is above all others, he has in no wise
lost the character of the others, or he could not arouse in himself
compassion for others. Even in him, the nature of the extremely
vicious is still inherent, the only difference between his nature
and that of others being that in him the inferior qualities are
subdued, and not allowed to work. Similarly with all others,
even in the beings in the hells, Buddhahood, and humanity, and
other capacities are still extant, though latent. Viewed in this
way, the ten realms of existence and their respective natures are
interchangeable and communicable. This point is formulated
as the theory of the " mutual participation " of all existences; ./
and since all ten are present, whether actually or potentially, in

154 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

each of the ten, the interrelations among them are hundredfold,
that is, ten times ten.

To develop and explain the doctrine of the " mutual participa-
tion," Tendai formulated the conditions of existence in any
realm in the ten categories of being. The classification is taken
from the Lotus, in which these categories are adored as the key
to Buddha's insight into the wo rid. ^ They are: i. Essence;
2. attribute; 3. manifestation or mark; 4. potency; 5. func-
tion; 6. first cause; 7. secondary cause; 8. effect; 9. retri-
bution; and 10. the consummate unity of all nine. We can
easily see that these categories are nothing but an extension
and amplification of the original tenet of causality {paticca-
samuppdda) .

By causality we usually understand today the necessary con-
nection existing between an antecedent and its consequent.
But the Buddhist conception of causality is more flexible, and
is applied to the same kind of necessary link, to any relation of
interaction, interdependence, correlation, or co-ordination,
founded on an intrinsic necessity. The necessity may be a link
existing between the beings or phenomena, or between the
thing and the knowledge of it, or vice versa. In this respect, the
Buddhist idea of causation covers the same ground as the ratio
efficiens, as formulated in Scholastic philosophy. Although
all these relations may finally be reduced to the terms of ante-
cedent and consequent, the Buddhist would not confine the
causal relation within the idea of time relation.

This is a consequence of the conception that all existences are
correlated by the virtue of the same dhammata, and that there-
fore the relations existing among them are mutual, both in
reality and in thought. The cause, in the usual sense of the word,
conditions the consequence, but the consequence no less condi-

1 The formula is found in the second chapter of the book (p. 30 in the
Kern-Nanjio edition). The Sanskrit text has five categories and their ulti-
mate union: What {ye te dhanndh), how {yatha te dharmah), of what con-
dition {yadrsas te dharmah), with what marks (yal-laksnands le dluirmdh), of
what entity (yat-svabhavds te dharmah), and the summation of the five.

BUDDHIST CONCEPTION OF REALITY 1 55

tions the cause, though the mode of conditioning differs. A
cause without its consequence is nonsense, and, at least so far, the
former is conditioned by the latter. In this way, the application
of causality was extended, and the formula of causality, cited
above in the original wording by Buddha, may be applied to the
ten categories, as the mutual relations conditioning one the other.
Take, for instance, the categories of "essence," "attribute," and
" mark." Because there is an essence, its attributes manifest
themselves; because there are attributes, we know that there
is the essence; because there are attributes, the marks appear;
because there are marks, the attributes are discernible, etc. In
this way the mutual dependence of the categories is established,
and applied to the existence of every being, which is made up
of a certain configuration and concatenation of the conditions,
and in which the conditions of the categories are necessarily
present.

It may make the position of Tendai clearer to speak, in this
connection, of a division of Buddhist thought about the idea of
causality. The question was whether causality should be under-
stood as a serial causation or as a relation of mutual dependence,
and the difference between the two conceptions involved the
difference between a static and a dynamic view of the world.

The one school, which took the serial view of causality, traced,
forward and backward, the evolution of the phenomenal world
out of the primeval entity, and the involution of the former into
the latter. The other school emphasized the interrelation and
co-ordination of things, almost without regard to the questions
of origin and final destiny. The latter was Tendai's position,
and is known by the name " Reality- View," in contradistinction
to the " Origination- View " or " Emanation Theory," of the
other. Whatever the difference may signify, and whatever the
original teaching of Buddha may have been, the " Origination-
View " always inclined to take the derivative phenomena more
or less as illusions; while the " Reality- View " devoted its at-
tention to a close examination of existences as they are, and
inclined to justify every being as a necessary phenomenon in the

156 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

world of mutual interdependence. The former aims at reabsorp-
tion of the individual minds into the primeval Mind, while the
latter sees in the full presentation of facts and relations the con-
summate realization of universal enlightenment. Thus, almost
contrary to our expectation, the philosophy of the " Origination-
View " is static, while the " Reality- View " tends to be dynamic.
The theory of " mutual participation " was a result of Tendai's
conception of causality in terms of correlation and co-ordination.

Another group of categories, to explain life in group (dhdtu) is
threefold : the stage on which a certain group of beings play their
rdle and manifest their nature; the constituents which supply
materials and components to the stage; and the individuals
making up the realm.

Now all of these kinds of being, and the categories of existence,
are essential to the consideration of reality, of the true nature of
any being. The Middle Path view consists in taking up all these
conditions of being, and in summing them up in one term, that is,
" Reality " — the reality as it is, as it is conditioned, as it is
grounded, and as it ought to be. Thus, in this view of reality is
expressed the conception of Dhamma as the consummation of
the various views held by different schools, and as the final
unification of the manifold aspects implied in the term Dhamma.
In fine, the Tendai Buddhist conception of reality consists in
harmoniously uniting all aspects of existence, and in realizing the
working of the many-sided Dhamma, even in one being; even in
one particle of dust, as the followers of Tendai are fond of saying.

To recapitulate, Tendai had examined the manifold views of
reality, and found justification in each of them; and his ambition
was to unify them, by looking at every particular existence as if
it were an adequate representative of the whole cosmos {dharma-
dhdtu). His conception of reality is equivalent to seeing every-
thing sub specie aeternitatis, but his aeternitas differed greatly
from that of Spinoza in being not monistic, but " according to the
three thousand aspects " — ten realms to each of ten, this
hundred in the ten categories of existence, and this thousand
multiplied by the three categories of group existence.

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE

The Period before NicraREN

A.D.

500-800 The introduction of Buddhism and its establishment

in Japan.

538 (or 552) Buddhism officially introduced into Japan.

593-622 The reign of Prince-regent Shotoku, the great organi-

zer and patron of Buddhism.

720-760 The flourishing period of Nara, the era of " Heavenly

Peace."

800-1000 The age of ecclesiastical organization.

767-822 Saicho, or Dengyo Daishi, the founder of the Hiei

institutions, on the basis of Tendai Buddhism.
774-835 Kukai, or Kobo Daishi, the organizer of Shingon

mysticism.
942-1007 Genshin, the abbot of Eshin-in, the greatest of the

pioneers of Amita-Buddhism.

1000-1200 The age of ecclesiastical degeneration.

1 1 57 and 1 1 59 The civil wars which gave occasion to the rise of the

mihtary clans.
1 1 59-1 1 85 The reign of the Taira clan, in Miyako.

1 186 The establishment of the Minamoto Dictatorship at

Kamakura.

- 1200-1300 The age of religious reformation.

1133-1212 Honen, the propounder of Amita-Buddhism.

1155-1213 Jokei, the reformer of Ritsu, or the disciplinary school

of Buddhism.
1140-1215 Eisai, the introducer of Zen Buddhism, of the Rinzai

school.
1 200-1 253 Dogen, the great Zen master, of the Sodo school.

1 2 19 The Hojos thrust aside the Minamotos.

1 221 The defeat of the Imperial party.

158 NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

Nichiren's Lifetime
1222 Nichiren born (2d month, i6th day; March 30).

1233 Nichiren sent to Kiyozumi.

1237 Nichiren ordained; his rehgious struggles.

1243-53 Nichiren studying at Hiei and other centres of

Buddhism.

1253 Nichiren proclaims his religion " to the universe "

and to mankind (4th m. 28th d.; May 17).

1253-58 Nichiren on missionary journeys, and resident in Ka-

makura.

1258-59 Nichiren studying at the library of the Iwamoto

monastery.

1260 " The EstabUshment of Righteousness and the

Security of the Country " presented to the Hojo
government. (7th m. i6th d.; August 24).

1260 Nichiren attacked by a mob (8th m. 27th d.; Octo-

ber 3).

1261-63 Nichiren exiled to Izu (arrived there 5th m. 12th d.;

June nth).

1262 Nichiren formulates his five theses.

1263 Nichiren released and returned to Kamakura (2d m.
22d d.; April i).

1264-68 Nichiren on missionary journeys, chiefly in his native

province.

1264 The peril in the Pine Forest (nth m. nth d.; De-
cember i).

1268-69 Mongol envoys come to Japan.

1268 Nichiren renews his remonstrance and sends letters to

the authorities and prelates (loth m. i ith d. ; Novem-
ber 16).

1269-70 Nichiren on missionary journeys, probably in Kai.

1 271 Nichiren returns to Kamakura, and the final issue

fought.

1 27 1 Nichiren arrested and sentenced to death; the nar-

row escape at Tatsu-no-kuchi (9th m. 1 2th d. ; October
17).

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 1 59

1271-74 Nichiren exiled to Sado, an island in the Sea of Japan.

1271 Nichiren starts from Echi for Sado (loth m. loth d.;

November 13).
1 27 1 Nichiren stays at Teradomari, the port for Sado,

(21 — 27th d.; November 24-30).

1 27 1 Nichiren arrives at Sado (28th d.; December i).

1272 " Opening the Eyes " finished (2d m.; March).

1273 " The Spiritual Introspection of the Supreme Beings "
finished (4th m. 25th d.; May 13).

1273 The graphic representation of the Supreme Being

made (7th m. 8th d.; August 21).

1273 Several other important essays written.

1274 The sentence of release arrives at Sado (3d m. 8th d.;
April 16).

1274 Nichiren arrives at Kamakura (3d m. 26th d.;

May 4).
1274 Nichiren called to the government office (4th m. 8th

d.; May 15).
1274 Nichiren leaves Kamakura (5th m. 12th d.; June 17).

1274-82 Nichiren Uves in retirement in Minobu.

1274 Nichiren arrives at Minobu (5th m. 17th d.; June 22).

1274 "A Treatise on the Quintessence of the Lotus of

Truth " finished (5th m. 24th d.; June 29).

1274 Mongols invade western islands, in autumn.

1275 " The Selection of the Time," and other writings.

1276 " In Recompense of Indebtedness," and other writ-
ings.

1277-78 The incident of Kingo, Nichiren's beloved disciple.

1281 " The Three Great Mysteries " finished (4th m. 8th

d.; April 27).
1 281 The great armada of the Mongols arrives at the Bay

of Hakata (5th m. 21st d.; June 9).
1 281 Nichiren sends a circular, the " Epistle of the Little

Mongols " (6th m. i6th d.; July 3).
1281 The Mongol armada destroyed (int. 7th m. istd.;

August 16).

l6o NICHIREN, THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

1282 Nichiren leaves Minobu (9th m. 8th d.; October loth).

1282 Nichiren arrives at Ikegami, and writes his last letter

(9th m. 19th d.; October 21).

1282 Nichiren dies (loth m. 13th d.; November 14th).

The Period atter NicraREN's Death

1300-1500 The rise of Nichirenite Buddhism and its conflicts

with other forms of Buddhism.

1283 A convention of Nichiren's disciples; his writings

brought together (the first anniversary of his death).

1289 The first schism; Nikko deserts Minobu.

1294 Nichizo starts his propaganda in Miyako, later a

great centre of the Nichirenite propaganda.

129s Nichiji starts on a missionary journey to the north;

beheved to have gone to Yezo and Siberia.

1342 Nichizo, the great apostle of Nichiren, dies.

1314-92 Nichiju, the missionary in Miyako and in the north.

1385-1464 Nichiryu, the missionary in the central provinces.

1407-88 Nisshin, the persecuted.

1422-1500 Niccho, the organizer of the Minobu institutions.

1536 The persecution of the era Temmon, the severest blow

given to the Nichirenite movement.

14 DAY USE

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