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Understandingof Thelotussutra The JapaneseAssociationJapanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies Jburnal of]indian andBudtthist Studies Vbl. 63, No. 3, March 2015 (17) Features ofNichiren's Understanding of the Lotus Sutra: Ichinen sanzen and MyOhO goji Wp(rANABE HOy6 understanding of What are thecharacteristic pointsofNichiren's H g (1222-1282) the Lotus Sutra? First, we have to confirm that Nichiren thought the theoretical foundation of =f- the Lotus Sutra is centained in the concept of Ichinen sanzen " {il =' (three thousand realms in a single thought) first conceived by Zhiyi ig ac (538-598), the founder of the Tiantai School, in his work Mbhe zhiguan gEojIEee (The Great Calming and Contempla- `CThree that nobody could understand the teaching of tion) . Secondly, Nichiren believed thousand realms in a single thought" in the age ofmqppo- *tik (latter age ofthe dharma). "Myd- Because of this, he upheld and practiced the Lotus Sutra only by chanting its title, h6-ren-ge-kyO." Everybody knows that this was Nichiren's way of accepting the Lotzts Sti- tra in order to spread it not only in Japan but also throughout the world even into the mod- ern age. would to few items of background knowl- BeforeI go intothedetails,I liketo refer a edge ofBuddhism. As is well known, Buddhism was founded in India, was spread north and south to become Mahay5na Buddhism and Theravdda Buddhism respectively. In Japan, Saich6 Rki (767-822) introduced Tiantai Buddhisrn from China and spread the Lotus Sutra, and insisted on fusing the fbur teachings ofperfection, esoteric, precepts and meditation. However, the Pure Land Buddhism became popular. Genshin taE (942- "ftetrk, 1O17) wrote the ojdyo-shfi al!keesc and Ibhijo-yo-ketsu and H6nen tiEirk (1133- 1212) wrote the Sk3njaku hongan nenbutsushti ueV<t7ts vaf2 'Ctssc. These books had great influence over the entire Japan and caused the Pure Land Buddhism to spread. Many Bud- dhist denominations in Japan accepted Pure Land Buddhisrn even today. When Nichiren started his career as a Buddhist monk, he confronted the Pure Land Bud- dhism that spread throughout Japan by H6nen and his disciples. Nichiren wrote the Shugo i) kokkaron tiiffNawh, a year before the Rissho ankokuron [iZIEfftNwh when he was thirty-seven years old. In this work he criticized H6nen and his Pure Land Buddhism. - - 1111 NII-Electronic Library Service The JapaneseAssociationJapanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies (18) Features ofNichiren's Understanding ofthe Lotus Sutra (H, wn'iANABE) Nichiren said in his Shugo kokkaron that Genshin did not describe his true ideas suMciently in his Qioj,6shti, but they were well described in his Ibhij'O ybketsu, written ten years later; Nichiren explained the eight most dreadfu1 hells in the beginning ofhis Kbn ho-b6sho- eeff tlkte ).2) His explanation here was in fact a summary of Clidyoshfi.3) Many parts ofNichi- ren's teachings were related somehow to Hbnen and his Pure Land Buddhism. With this point ofview, let me discuss how Nichiren devoted himself to the propagation of the Lotus Suira by examining his Shugo kokharon. He wrote tbe book when he was thirty-eight years old at Matsubagayatsu in Kamakura. He built a smal1 hut there after he proclaimed his new faith and was ejected from Kiyosumi [[emple at the age ofthirty-two. It is generally thought that Nichiren's religious thought had a political aspect in light of the fact that he presented his Rissho- ankokziron to Hojo- [Ibkiyori atze eeme, a man in power aMliated with the Karnakura Shogunate. Nichiren was attacked at Matsubagayatsu in Au- gust, I260, a month after his presentation ofthe Rissho- ankokuron. He was exiled to Izu in 1261 and attacked again at Komatsubara in 1264. Nichiren was almost executed at [latsu- noknchi in 1271 and exiled to Sado. Through these persecutions he identified himself as a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra. However, he said in his Kbimohasho" ma e }19 that he con- vinced himselfofbeing the Great Bodhisattva ofSuperior Practice (JOgyd Bosatsu nlttig me ) from the underground after he experienced the Four Major Persecutions. Meanwhile in 1262 in the 1<y6kijikokusho- Xee ee apt, he said that propagation ofthe Lotus Slaitra, as the future book ofthe Buddha, should have been based on the Five Categories ofteaching, ca- "order" pacity, time, country and order. Later, in the Kdimokusho", he said that was re- "teacher" placed by because ofhis identification as the Great Bodhisattva of Superior Prac- tice. After writing the Kbimokusho", he wrote ACyoraimetsuge gogohyakusaishi kanjin honzonshO anJIItapaEEillilEueaGenJ"7Nijt4p at Sado Island and explained the impor- "the tance ofupholding the title of the Lotus SZitra (Odaimoku S3sc E), and described Honzon ofmapp6" (JRUiCDJ4scpt) and elucidated why he had to carry out his duty as the Great Bodhisattva of Superior Practice. Also after he entered into Minobusan, he wrote the Slenjisho- ncHlitg) and Hjonjo- W,eell) to describe the details ofhis teaching. According to his five major works, his faith in the absolute necessity ofpropagating the Lotus Shrtra became more purified tlllrough his many persecutions. That is the general un- derstanding ofNichiren's teaching. On the other hand, the theme of the Shz{go kokkaron was salvation by upholding the Lo- -1112- NII-Electronic Library Service The JapaneseAssociationJapanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies Features ofNichiren's Understanding ofthe Lotus Sutra (H. WAmNABE) (19) tus Satra in turbulent times as stated in the Rissh6 ankokuron. It criticized H6nen and his Pure Land Buddhism. He thought that Genshin understood that the Pure Land Buddhism was expedient, and that the Lotus Sutra and the Nirvana Sittra were the essential teachings of Buddhism. I think that it is important to discuss his initial understanding of Buddhism and why he praised the Lotus Stitra with his S;ijugo kokkaron in order to see how he developed his Bud- dhist philosophy. [lhis is the main theme ofthis essay. The Shugo kokkaron consists of a prologue and seven chapters. I want to discuss several important points ofeach chapter from the beginning. 1. DiMculty ofBeing Born as a Human being In the beginning of the Shugo kokkanron, Nichiren described how difficult it was to be bom as a human being. Upon refleetion, I consider myself fortunate to have been bom in the Sah5 Wbrld in Japan and to have unexpectedly escaped the three evil realms, fbr our chances of being bern in the evil realrns are as numerous as the number ofdust particles in all the worlds ofthe universe while our chances 4) ofbeing born in the human realm are as small as the amount ofsoil on a fingemail. In this way he emphasized how fortunate he was to be born in Japan, and how important it was fbr him to encourage himself to live with true Buddhism and seek enlightenrnent. The Shugo kokharon has generally been treated in close connection with Nichiren's criti- cism ofH6nen and his Pure Land teaching in the RisshO ankokuron. There may be a goed reason fbr this treatment, as it is true that in the Shugo kokkaron Nichiren fbund profbund meaning in the five periods of the Buddha's life, criticized H6nen and his Pure Land Bud- dhism, and expressed that the true intention of the Buddha was fbund in the Lotus Shrtra and Nirvana Sutra. However, it seems more important to note that these aspects found in the Shtrgo kokkaron should have sprung from Nichiren's basic awareness ofthe meaning of his own birth as a human being and his deep sense that he had a mission to try and real- ize the ultimate teaching of Buddha and propagate it in Japan, the land in which he ob- tained his own birth as a human being. He talked about the diMculty of being born as a human again in his Sleishun tenno' gosho MueiEgas# later written at Minobusan. In it, it is written: It is not easy to be bom as a human being in this world. The chance ofth{s happening, as stated in -1113- NII-Electronic Library Service The JapaneseAssociationJapanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies (20) Features ofNichiren's Understanding ofthe Lotus Sleitra (H. wrr/kNABE) the IVirvana Sutra, is as small as the amount of dirt on a fingernail though there may be an immea- 5) surable amount of soil on the earth. We know that those praises are a starting point ofhis understanding ofBuddhism. 2. The Five Periods of the Buddha's Life 2.1. Ibhidai gojizu As is well known, Zhiyi divided the Buddha's life into the five periods. They were the period ofthe Avatamsaka Sutra (etwM), A'gama Sutras (Fnjftff), Vaipulya Sutr[zs (JE gatsuE"), Pncv'n"opin'amitd Ssitras (rentM) and the Lotus-AJIrvana Sbetra (2ikfffi ' zeasff) . This is the traditional understanding of Buddha's teachings in the Tiantai school. 6) Nichiren also accepted this idea. Nichiren explained this idea not only in his Shugo kokkaron but also in other writings. di When he taught it to his disciples and fbllowers, he depicted it in the two Ilrhidui gojizu -,flitEliHIsee t{:Elileepa in 1260 and 1268. He also drew the lbhicini gojikeizu pa fbur times in 1275, 1276, 1279 and 1280, and others. r 22.1. S5kyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of Many IYeasures, and the Buddhas in Tbn Directions In the second section of the Shugo kokkaron, to determine whether the Lotus-IVirvana SzitrcLs or the triple Pure Land sutras will continue to lead people to salvation fbrever,7) "Sakyamuni Nichiren said, declared that the Lotus Sutra was supreme of all the sutras that he had preached, was preaching, and would be preaching. The Many Treasures Buddha at- tested the truth of the Lotus Shrtra. Buddhas manifested in various worlds all over the uni- verse also verified the truth of the Lotus Sutra by touching the Brahma-Heaven with their own tongues.
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