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1) The Rissho Ankoku Ron
2) Rationale for Submitting the Rissho Ankoku Ron
3) Postscript to the Rissho Ankoku Ron
(From the Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 2.)

The Rissho Ankoku Ron (On Securing the Peace of the Land
through the Propagation of True Buddhism) was written in
1260 and submitted to Hojo Tokiyori, the most powerful man
in the Japanese government. The document takes the form of
a dialog between a host (who symbolizes Nichiren) and a
traveler who is stopping at his house. It has been said
that Nichiren's teaching begin and end with the Rissho
Ankoku Ron.

RISSHO ANKOKU RON

Once there was a traveler who spoke these words in sorrow to his host:

In recent years, there are unusual disturbances in the heavens, strange
occurrences on earth, famine and pestilence, all affecting every corner
of the empire and spreading throughout the land. Oxen and horses lie
dead in the streets, the bones of the stricken crowd the highways. Over
half the population has already been carried off by death, and in every
family someone grieves.

All the while some put their whole faith in the "sharp sword"1 of the
Buddha Amida and intone this name of the lord of the Western Paradise;
others believe that the Buddha Yakushi will "heal all ills,"2 and recite
the sutra that describes him as the Tathagata of the Eastern Region.
Some, putting their trust in the passage in the Lotus Sutra that says,
"Illness will vanish immediately, and he will find perpetual youth and
eternal life,"3 pay homage to the wonderful words of that Sutra; others,
citing the passage in the Ninno Sutra that reads: "The seven
difficulties vanish, the seven blessings at once appear,"4 conduct
ceremonies5 at which a hundred preachers expound the sutra at a hundred
places. There are those who follow the secret teachings of the Shingon
sect and conduct rituals by filling five jars with water;6 and others
who devote themselves entirely to Zen-type meditation and perceive the
emptiness of all phenomena as clearly as the moon. Some write out the
names of the seven guardian spirits7 and paste them on a thousand gates,
others paint pictures of the five mighty bodhisattvas8 and hang them
over ten thousand thresholds, and still others pray to the gods of
heaven and the deities of earth in ceremonies9 conducted at the four
corners of the capital and on the four boundaries of the nation; certain
that government on the national and local levels is carried out in a
benevolent manner.

But despite all these efforts,they merely exhaust themselves in vain.
Famine and disease rage more fiercely than ever, beggars are everywhere
in sight, and scenes of death fill our eyes. Cadavers pile up in mounds
like observation platforms, dead bodies lie side by side like planks on
a bridge.

If we look about, we find that the sun and moon continue to move in
their accustomed orbits, and the five planets 10 follow the proper
course. The three treasures of Buddhism11 continue to exist, and the
period of a hundred reigns [during which the Bodhisattva Hachiman vowed
to protect the nation]12 has not yet expired. Then why is it that the
world has already fallen into decline and that the laws of the state
have come to an end? What is wrong? What error has been committed?

The host then spoke: I have been brooding alone upon this matter,
indignant in my heart, but now that you have come, we can lament
together. Let us discuss the question at length.

When a man leaves family life and enters the Buddhist way, it is because
he hopes to attain Buddhahood through the teachings of the Dharma. But
attempts now to move the gods fail to have any effect, and appeals to
the power of the Buddhas produce no results. When I observe carefully
the state of the world today, I see ignorant people who give way to
doubts because of their naivete. Therefore they look up at the heavens
and mouth their resentment, or gaze down at the earth and sink deep into
anxiety.

I have pondered the matter carefully with what limited resources I
possess, and have searched rather widely in the scriptures for an
answer. The people of today all turn their backs upon what is right; to
a man, they give their allegiance to evil. That is the reason why the
benevolent deities have abandoned the nation, why sages leave and do not
return, and in their stead come devils and demons, disasters and
calamities that arise one after another. I cannot keep silent on this
matter. I cannot suppress my fears.

The guest said: These disasters that befall the empire, these calamities
of the nation -- I am not the only one pained by them; the whole
populace is weighed down with sorrow. Now I have been privileged to
enter your home and to listen to these enlightening words of yours. You
speak of the gods and sages taking leave and of disasters and calamities
arising side by side -- upon what sutras do you base your views? Could
you describe for me the passages of proof?

The host said: There are numerous passages that could be cited and a
wide variety of proofs. For example, in the Konkomyo Sutra we read:
"[The Four Heavenly Kings said to the Buddha,] 'Though this sutra exists
in the nation, the rulers have never allowed it to be propagated. In
their hearts they turn away from it, and they take no pleasure in
hearing its teachings. They do not serve it, respect it, or sing its
praises. Nor are they willing to respect ... or give material support to
the four kinds of Buddhist13 who embrace the sutra. In the end, they
have made it impossible for us and the countless other heavenly beings
who are our followers to hear the teachings of this profound and
wonderful Dharma. They have deprived us of the sweet dew of its words
and cut us off from the flow of the True Law, so that our majesty and
strength are drained away. Thus the number of beings who occupy the four
evil paths increases and the number who enjoy the human and heavenly
states decreases. People fall into the river of birth and death and turn
their backs on the road to nirvana.

"'World-Honored One, we, the Four Heavenly Kings, as well as our various
followers and the yakshas14 and other beings, observing this state of
affairs, have decided to abandon this nation, for we have no more heart
to protect it. And it is not we alone who cast aside these rulers. All
the great benevolent deities who guard and watch over the countless different
 regions of the country will also invariably reject them. And once
we and the others have abandoned and deserted this country and the
rulers will fall from power. Not a single person in the entire
population will possess a heart of goodness; there will be nothing but
binding and enslaving, killing and injuring, anger and contention. Men
will slander each other or fawn upon one another, and the laws will be
twisted until even the innocent are made to suffer. Pestilence will
become rampant, comets will appear again and again, two suns will come
forth side by side and eclipses will occur with unaccustomed frequency.
Black arcs and white arcs will span the sky as harbingers of ill
fortune, stars will fall, the earth will shake, and noises will issue
from the wells. Torrential rains and violent winds will come out of
season, there will be constant famine, and grains and fruits will not
ripen. Marauders from many other regions will invade and plunder the
nation, the people will suffer all manner of pain and affliction, and
there will be no place where one may live in safety.'"

The Daijuku Sutra says: "When the principles of Buddhism truly become
obscured and lost, then people will all let their beards, hair and
fingernails grow long, and the laws of the world will be forgotten and
ignored. At this time, loud noises will sound in the air and the earth
will shake; everything in the world will begin to move as though it were
a waterwheel. City walls will split and tumble, and all houses and
dwellings will collapse. Roots, branches, leaves, petals and fruits will
lose their medicinal properties. With the exception of the five highest
heavens in the world of form, all the regions of the worlds of form and
desire15 will become deprived of the seven flavors16 and the three
essences17 that nourish life and human society, until nothing remains
alive any more. All the good discourses that lead men to emancipation
will at this time disappear. The flowers and fruits that grow in the
earth will become few and will lose their flavor and sweetness. The
wells, springs and ponds will all go dry, the land everywhere will turn
brackish and will crack open and warp into hillocks and gullies. All the
mountains will be swept by fire and the heavenly dragons will no longer
send down rain. The crops will all wither and die, all living creatures
will perish, and even the grass will cease to grow any more. Dust will
rain down until all is darkness and the sun and the moon no longer shed
their light.

"All the four directions will be afflicted by drought, and evil omens
will appear again and again. The ten kinds of evil behavior18 will
increase greatly, particularly greed, anger and stupidity, and people
will think no more of their fathers and mothers than does the roe deer.
Living beings will decline in numbers, in longevity, physical power and
enjoyment. They will become estranged from the pleasures of human and
heavenly existence and all will fall into the evil states of existence.
The wicked rulers and monks who perform these ten kinds of evil behavior
will destroy the True Law of the Buddha and make it impossible for
sentient beings to be born in the human and heavenly states of
existence. At that time the various benevolent deities and heavenly
rulers, who would ordinarily take pity on living beings, will abandon
this nation of confusion and evil and all will make their way to other
regions."

The Ninno Sutra states: "When a nation becomes disordered, it is the
spirits which first show signs of rampancy. Because these spirits
become rampant, all the people of the nation become disordered. Invaders
come to plunder the country and the common people face annihilation. The
ruler, the high ministers, the heir apparent and the other princes and
government officials all quarrel with each other over right and wrong.
Heaven and earth manifest prodigies and strange occurrences; the
twenty-eight constellations,19 the stars, the sun and the moon appear at
irregular times and in irregular positions, and numerous outlaws rise
up."

The same sutra also states: "When I look at the three ages of past,
present and future with the five types of vision, I see that all the
rulers of nations were able to attain the position of emperor or king
because in past existences they served five hundred Buddhas. And this is
the reason that all the various sages and arhats are born in their
nations and are assisting them to gain great advantage. But if a time
should come when the good fortune of these rulers runs out, then all the
sages will abandon them and depart. And once the sages have departed,
then the seven disasters are certain to arise."

The Yakushi Sutra states: "If disasters and calamities should befall
members of the ruling kshatriya20 class and anointed kings,21 such
disasters will be as follows: the calamity of disease and pestilence
among the populace; the calamity of invasion and plunder from foreign
lands; the calamity of revolt within one's own domain; the calamity of
irregularities and strange occurrences among the stars and
constellations; the calamity of eclipses of the sun and moon; the
calamity of unseasonable wind and rain; and the calamity of rain that
fails to fall even when the season for it has come and gone."

In the Ninno Sutra, the Buddha addresses [King Prasenajit]22 in these
words: "Great King, the region where my teachings now hold sway consists
of a hundred billion Sumeru worlds23 with a hundred billion suns and
moons. Each of these Sumeru worlds comprises four great continents. In
the empire of the south, which is Jambudvipa, there are sixteen great
nations, five hundred medium-sized nations, and ten thousand small
nations. In these nations, there are seven types of fearful calamities
that may occur. All the rulers of these nations agree that these are
indeed calamities. What, then, are these calamities?

"When the sun and moon depart from their regular courses, when the
seasons come in the wrong order, when a red sun or a black sun appears,
when two, three, four or five suns appear at the same time,24 when the
sun is eclipsed and loses its light, or when one, two, three, four or
five coronas appear around the sun, this is the first calamity.

"When the twenty-eight constellations do not move in their regular
courses, when the Metal Star,25 when the Broom Star, the Wheel Star, the
Demon Star, the Fire Star, the Water Star, the Wind Star, the Ladle
Star, the Southern Dipper, the Northern Dipper, the great stars of the
Five Garrisons, and all the many stars that govern the ruler, the three
high ministers and the hundred other officials -- when each of these
stars manifests some peculiar behavior, this is the second calamity.

"When huge fires consume the nation and the people are all burned to
death, or when there are outbreaks of demon fire, dragon fire, heavenly
fire, mountain god fire, human fire, tree fire or bandit fire26 -- when
these prodigies appear, this is the third calamity.

"When huge floods drown the population, when the seasons come out of
order and there is rain in winter, snow in summer, thunder and lightning
in the winter season and ice, frost and hail in the sixth month, when
red, black or green rain falls, when mountains of dirt and stones come
raining down, or when it rains dust, sand or gravel, when the rivers and
streams run backward, when mountains are afloat and boulders are washed
away -- when freakish happenings of this kind occur, this is the fourth
calamity.

"When huge winds blow the people to their death and the lands, the
mountains and rivers and the trees and forests are all at one time wiped
out, when great winds come out of season or when black winds, red winds,
green winds, heavenly winds, earthly winds, fire winds and water winds
blow -- when prodigies of this kind occur, this is the fifth calamity.

"When heaven and earth and the whole country are stricken by terrible
heat so that the air seems to be on fire, when the hundred plants wither
and the five grains27 fail to ripen, when the earth is red and scorched
and the inhabitants all perish -- when prodigies of this kind occur,
this is the sixth calamity.

"When enemies rise up on all four sides and invade the nation, when
rebels appear both within the ruler's family and without, when there are
fire bandits, water bandits, wind bandits and demon bandits28 and the
population is subjected to devastation and disorder, and fighting and
plundering break out everywhere -- when prodigies of this type occur,
this is the seventh calamity."

The Daijuku Sutra says: "Though the ruler of a state may have for
countless existences in the past practiced the giving of alms, observed
the precepts and abided by the principles of wisdom, if he sees that my
Law, the Dharma of the Buddha, is in danger of perishing and stands idly
by without doing anything to protect it, then all the inestimable store
of good causes that he has accumulated through the practices just
mentioned will be entirely wiped out, and his country will become the
scene of three inauspicious occurrences. The first is high grain prices,
the second is warfare, and the third is pestilence. All the benevolent
deities will abandon the country, and although the king may issue
commands, the people will not obey them. The country will constantly be
invaded and vexed by neighboring nations. Violent fires will rage out of
control, evil winds and rains will abound, the waters will swell and
overflow, and the inhabitants will be blown about by winds or swept away
by floods. The paternal and maternal relatives of the ruler will join in
plotting revolt. Before long, the ruler will fall gravely ill, and after
his life has come to an end, he will be reborn in one of the major hells
.... And the same fate will befall the ruler's consort, his heir, the
high ministers of the state, the lords of cities, the village heads and
generals, the magistrates of districts, and the government officials."

The passages I have quoted from these four sutras are perfectly clear --
what person in ten thousand could possibly doubt their meaning? And yet
the blind and the deluded trust to heretical doctrines and fail to
recognize the correct teachings. Therefore, throughout the empire these
days people are inclined to turn away from the Buddhas and the sutras
and no longer endeavor to protect them. In turn, the benevolent deities
and sages abandon the nation and leave their accustomed places. As a
result, demons and followers of heretical doctrines create disaster and
inflict calamity upon the populace.

The guest thereupon flushed with anger and said: Emperor Ming of the
Later Han dynasty, having comprehended the significance of his dream of
a golden man, welcomed the teachings of Buddhism brought to China by
missionaries leading white horses.29 Prince Shotoku,30 having punished
Mononobe no Moriya for his opposition to Buddhism, proceeded to
construct temples and pagodas in Japan. Since that time, from the
supreme ruler down to the numberless masses, people have worshiped the
Buddhist statues and devoted their attention to the scriptures. As a
result, in the monasteries of Mount Hiei31 and of the southern capital
at Nara, at the great temples of Onjo-ji and To-ji,32 throughout the
land within the four seas, in the five areas adjacent to the capital33
 and the seven outlying regions, Buddhist scriptures have been ranged
like stars in the sky and halls of worship have spread over the land
like clouds. Those who belong to the lineage of Shariputra meditate on
the moon atop Eagle Peak,34 while those who adhere to the traditions of
Haklenayasha transmit the teachings of Mount Kukkutapada.35 How, then,
can anyone say that the doctrines of Shakyamuni are despised or that the
three treasures of Buddhism are neglected? If there is evidence to
support such a contention, I would like to hear all the facts!

The host, anxious to clarify his words, replied: To be sure, Buddha
halls stand rooftop to rooftop and sutra storehouses are ranged eave to
eave. Priests are as numerous as bamboo plants and rushes, monks as
common as rice and hemp seedlings. The temples and priests have been
honored from centuries past, and every day respect is paid them anew.
But the monks and priests today are fawning and devious, and they
confuse the people and lead them astray. The ruler and his ministers
lack understanding and fail to distinguish between truth and heresy.

The Ninno Sutra, for example, says: "Evil monks, hoping to gain fame and
profit, in many cases appear before the ruler, the heir apparent or the
other princes and take it upon themselves to preach doctrines that lead
to the violation of the Buddhist Law and the destruction of the nation.
The rulers, failing to perceive the truth of the situation, listen to
and put faith in such doctrines, and proceed to create regulations that
are perverse in nature and do not accord with the rules of Buddhism
discipline. In this way they bring about the destruction of Buddhism and
of the nation."

The Nirvana Sutra says: "Bodhisattvas, have no fear in your hearts
because of such things as wild elephants. But evil friends -- they are
what you should fear! If you are killed by a wild elephant, you will not
fall into any of the three evil paths. But if evil friends lead you to
your death, you are certain to fall into one of them!"

The Lotus Sutra says: "There will be monks in that evil age with
perverse views and hearts that are fawning and crooked who will say they
have attained what they have not attained, being proud and boastful in
heart. Or there will be forest-dwelling monks wearing clothing of
patched rags and living in retirement who will claim they are practicing
the true Way, despising and looking down on the rest of mankind. Greedy
for profit and nourishment, they will preach the Dharma to white-robed
laymen and will be respected and revered by the world as though they
were arhats who possess the six super natural powers36 .... Constantly
they will go about among the populace, seeking in this way to slander
us. They will address the rulers, high ministers, Brahmans and great
patrons of Buddhism as well as the other monks, slandering and speaking
evil of us, saying, 'These are men of perverted views who preach the
doctrines of heretical sects!'... In a muddied kalpa, in an evil age
there will be many different things to fear. Demons will take possession
of others and through them curse, revile and heap shame on us.... The
evil monks of that muddied age, failing to understand the Buddha's
expedient means, how he preaches the Dharma in accord with what is
appropriate, will confront us with foul language and angry frowns; again
and again we will be banished."

In the Nirvana Sutra, the Buddha says: "After I have passed away and
countless hundreds of years have gone by, all the sages of the four
stages37 will also have passed away. After the Former Day of the Law has
ended and the Middle Day of the Law has begun, there will be monks who
will give the appearance of abiding by the rules of monastic discipline.
But they will scarcely ever read or recite the sutras, and instead will
crave all kinds of food and drink to nourish their bodies. Though they
wear the robes of a monk, they will go about searching for alms like so
many huntsmen, spying sharply and stalking softly. They will be like a
cat on the prowl for mice. And constantly they will reiterate these
words: 'I have attained the state of arhat!' Outwardly they will seem to
be wise and good, but within they will harbor greed and jealousy. [And
when they are asked to preach the Dharma,] they will conceal it, like
Brahmans who have taken a vow of silence. They are not true monks --
they merely have the appearance of monks. Consumed by their erroneous
views, they slander the True Law."

When we look at the world in the light of these passages of scripture,
we see that the situation is just as they describe it. If we do not
admonish the evil monks, how can we hope to do good?

The guest, growing more indignant than ever, said: A wise monarch, by
acting in accord with heaven and earth, perfects his rule; a sage, by
distinguishing between right and wrong, brings order to the world. The
monks and priests of the world today enjoy the confidence of the entire
empire. If they were in fact evil monks, then the wise ruler would put
no trust in them. If they were not true sages, then men of worth and
understanding would not look up to them. But now, since worthies and
sages do in fact honor and respect them, they must be nothing less than
paragons of their kind. Why then do you pour out these wild accusations
and dare to slander them? To whom are you referring when you speak of
"evil monks"? I would like an explanation!

The host said: In the reign of Emperor Gotoba there was a priest named
Honen who wrote a word entitled the Senchaku Shu38 states: "The Chinese
priest Tao-ch'o39 distinguished between the Shodo or Sacred Way
teachings and the Jodo or Pure Land teachings40 and urged men to abandon
the former and immediately embrace the latter. First of all, there are
two kinds of Sacred Way teachings [the Mahayana and the Hinayana].
Judging from this, we may assume that the esoteric Mahayana doctrines of
Shingon and the true Mahayana teachings of the Lotus Sutra are both
included in the Sacred Way. If that is so, then the present-day sects of
Shingon, Zen, Tendai, Kegon, Sanron, Hosso, Jiron and Shoron41 -- all
these eight schools are included in the Sacred Way that is to be
abandoned.

"The priest T'an-luan42 in his Ojo Ron Chu states: 'I note that
Nagarjuna's Jujubibasha Ron says: "There are two ways by which the
bodhisattva may reach the state in which there is no retrogression. One
is the Difficult-to-Practice-Way, the other is the
Easy-to-Practice-Way."'

"The Difficult-to-Practice-Way is the same as the Sacred Way, and the
Easy-to-Practice-Way is the Pure Land Way. Students of the Pure Land
sect should first of all understand this point. Though they may
previously have studied teachings belonging to the Sacred Way, if they
wish to become followers of the Pure Land school, they must discard the
Sacred Way and give their allegiance to the Pure Land teachings."

Honen also says: "The Chinese priest Shan-tao43 distinguished between
correct and incorrect practices and urged men to embrace the former and
abandon the latter. Concerning the first of the incorrect practices,
that of reading and reciting sutras, he states that, with the exception
of the recitation of the Kammuryoju Sutra and the other Pure Land
sutras, the embracing and recitation of all sutras, whether Mahayana or
Hinayana, exoteric or esoteric, is to be regarded as an incorrect
practice. Concerning the third of the incorrect practices, that of
worshiping, he states that, with the exception of worshiping the Buddha
Amida, the worshiping or honoring of any of the other Buddhas,
bodhisattvas or deities of the heavenly and human worlds is to be
regarded as an incorrect practice. In the light of this passage, it is
clear that one should abandon such incorrect practices and concentrate
upon the practice of the Pure Land teaching. What reason would we have
to abandon the correct practices of the Pure Land teaching, which insure
that, out of a hundred persons, all one hundred will be reborn in the
Western Paradise, and cling instead to the various incorrect practices
and procedures, which could not save even one person in a thousand?
Followers of the Way should ponder this carefully!"

Honen further states: "In the Jogen Nyuzo Roku44 we find it recorded
that, from the six hundred volumes of the Daihannya Sutra45 to the
Hojoju Sutra,46 the exoteric and esoteric sutras of Mahayana Buddhism
total 637 words in 2,883 volumes. All of these should now be replaced by
the recitation of the single Mahayana phrase [the Nembutsu]. You should
understand that, when the Buddha was preaching according to the capacity
of his various listeners, he for a time taught the two methods of
concentrated meditation and unconcentrated meditation.47 But later, when
he revealed his own enlightenment, he ceased to teach these two methods.
The only teaching that, once revealed, shall never cease to be taught,
is the single doctrine of the Nembutsu."

Again Honen states: "The passage which says that the practitioner of the
Nembutsu must possess three kinds of mind48 is found in the Kammuryoju
Sutra. In the commentary on that sutra,49 we read: 'Someone asked: "If
there are those who differ in understanding and practice from the
followers of the Nembutsu, persons of heretical and mistaken belief, how
can one make certain that their perverse and differing views will not
cause trouble?"' We also see that these persons of evil views with their
different understanding and different practices are compared to a band
of robbers who call back the travelers who have already gone one or two
steps along their journey. In my opinion, when these passages speak of
different understanding, different practices, varying doctrines and
varying beliefs, they are referring to the teachings of the Sacred Way."

Finally, in a concluding passage, Honen says: "If one wishes to escape
quickly from the sufferings of life and death, one should confront these
two superior teachings and then proceed to put aside the teachings of
the Sacred Way and choose those of the Pure Land. And if one wishes to
follow the teachings of the Pure Land, one should confront the correct
and incorrect practices and then proceed to abandon all those that are
incorrect and devote one's entire attention to those that are correct."

When we examine these passages, we see that Honen quotes the erroneous
explanations of T'an-luan, Tao-ch'o and Shan-tao and establishes the
categories he calls Sacred Way and Pure Land, Difficult-to-Practice-Way
and Easy-to-Practice-Way. He then takes all the 637 works in 2,883
volumes that comprise the Mahayana sutras of the Buddha's lifetime,
including those bodhisattvas, and deities of the heavenly and human
worlds, and assigns them all to the Sacred Way, the
Difficult-to-Practice-Way and the incorrect practices categories, and
urges men to "discard, close, ignore and abandon" them. With these four
injunctions, he leads all people astray. And on top of that he groups
together all the sage monks of the three countries50 of India, China and
Japan as well as the students of Buddhism of the ten directions, and
calls them a "band of robbers," causing the people to insult them!

In doing so, he turns his back on the passages in the three Pure Land
sutras,51 the sutras of his own sect, which contain Amida's vow to save
everyone "except those who commit the five cardinal sins or slander the
True Law."52 At the same time, he shows that he fails to understand the
warning contained in the second volume of the Lotus Sutra, the most
important sutra expounded in the five preaching periods53 of the
Buddha's life, which reads: "One who refuses to take faith in this sutra
and instead slanders it.... After he dies, he will fall into the hell of
incessant suffering."54 And now we have come to this later age, when men
are no longer sages. Each enters his own dark road, and all alike forget
the direct way. How pitiful, to see them vainly lending encouragement to
these false beliefs! And as a result, everyone from the ruler of the
nation down to the humblest peasant believes that there are no true
sutras outside the three Pure Land sutras, and no Buddhas other than the
Buddha Amida with his two attendants.55 Once there were men like Dengyo,
Gishin,56 Jikaku and Chisho who journeyed ten thousand leagues across
the waves to acquire the sacred teachings, or visited all the mountains
and rivers of Japan to acquire Buddhist statues which they held in
reverence. In some cases they built holy temples on the peaks of high
mountains in which to preserve those scriptures and statues; in other
cases they constructed sacred halls in the bottoms of deep valleys where
such objects could be worshiped and honored. As a result, the Buddhas
Shakyamuni and Yakushi57 shone side by side, casting their influence
upon present and future ages, while the Bodhisattvas Kokuzo and Jizo58
 brought benefit to the living and the dead. The rulers of the nation
contributed counties or villages so that the lamps might continue to
burn bright before the images, while the stewards of the great estates
offered their fields and gardens [to provide for the upkeep of the
temples].

But because of this book by Honen, this Senchaku Shu, the Lord Buddha
Shakyamuni is forgotten and all honor is paid to Amida, the Buddha of
the Western land. The Lord Buddha's transmission of the Law is ignored,
and Yakushi, the Buddha of the Eastern Region, is neglected.59 All
attention is paid to the three works in four volumes of the Pure Land
scriptures,60 and all the other wonderful teachings that Shakyamuni
proclaimed throughout the five periods of his preaching life are cast
aside. If temples are not dedicated to Amida, then people no longer have
any desire to support them or pay honor to the Buddhas enshrined there;
if monks do not chant the Nembutsu then people quickly forget all about
giving those monks alms. As a result, the halls of the Buddhas fall into
ruin, scarcely a wisp of smoke rises above their mossy tiles; and the
monks' quarters stand empty and dilapidated, the dew deep on the grasses
in their courtyards. And in spite of such conditions, no one gives a
thought to protecting the Law or to restoring the temples. Hence the
sage monks who once presided over the temples leave and do not return,
and the benevolent deities who guarded the Buddhist teachings depart and
no longer appear. This has all come about because of this Senchaku Shu
of Honen. How pitiful to think that, in the space of a few decades,
hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of people have been deluded by
these devilish teachings and in so many cases confused as to the true
teachings of Buddhism. If people favor perverse doctrines and forget
what is correct, can the benevolent deities be anything but angry? If
people cast aside doctrines that are all-encompassing and take up those
that are incomplete, can the world escape the plots of demons? Rather
than offering up ten thousand prayers for remedy, it would be better
simply to outlaw this one evil doctrine that is the source of all the
trouble!

This time the guest was truly enraged and said: In the ages since our
original teacher, the Buddha Shakyamuni, preached the three Pure Land
sutras, the priest T'an-luan had originally studied the four treatises61
 but abandoned them and put all his faith in the Pure Land teachings.
Similarly, the priest Tao-ch'o ceased to spread the multifarious
doctrines of the Nirvana Sutra62 and devoted all his attention to the
practices of the Western Region. The priest Shan-tao discarded the
incorrect practices and concentrated on the single practice of the Pure
Land, and the priest Eshin63 collected passages from various sutras to
form his work,64 stressing the importance of a single practice, the
Nembutsu. Such was the manner in which these men honored and respected
the Buddha Amida, and uncountable numbers of people as a result were
able to gain rebirth in the Pure Land.

Of particular note was the venerable Honen, who as a child entered the
monastery on Mount Hiei. By the time he was seventeen, he had worked his
way through all sixty volumes of Tendai literature65 and had
investigated all the eight sects66 and mastered their essentials. In
addition, he had read through the entire body of sutras and treatises
seven times, and exhausted all the works of exegesis and biography. His
wisdom shone like the sun and moon, and his virtue exceeded that of the
earlier teachers.

In spite of all this, he was in doubt as to the proper path to salvation
and could not make out the true meaning of nirvana. Therefore he read
and examined all the texts he could, pondered deeply and considered
every possibility, and in the end put aside all the sutras and
concentrated on the single practice of the Nembutsu. In addition, he
received confirmation of his decision when Shan-tao miraculously
appeared to him in a dream,67 and he proceeded to spread his doctrines
among friends and strangers in all four corners of the land. Thereafter,
he was hailed as a reincarnation of the Bodhisattva Seishi, or was
revered as Shan-tao reborn. In every quarter people of eminent and lowly
birth alike bowed their heads in respect, and men and women from all
over Japan sought him.

Since that time, the springs and autumns have succeeded each other and
the years have accumulated. And yet you insist upon putting aside the
venerable teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha contained in the Pure Land
sutras and willfully speak evil of the writings concerning the Buddha
Amida. Why do you try to blame the sacred age of Honen for the disasters
of recent years, going out of your way to slander the former teachers of
Pure Land doctrine68 and to heap abuse on a sage like Honen? You are, as
the saying goes, deliberately blowing back the fur and hunting for flaws
in the leather, deliberately piercing the skin in hopes of drawing
blood. From ancient times to the present, the world has never seen such
a speaker of evil! You had better learn a little caution and restraint.
When you pile up such grave offenses, how can you hope to escape
punishment? I am afraid even to sit here in your company. I must take up
my staff and be on my way!

The host, smiling, restrained his guest and said: Insects that live on
smartweed forget how bitter it tastes; those who stay long in privies
forget how foul the smell is. Here you listen to my good words and think
them wicked, point to a slanderer like Honen and call him a sage,
mistrust a true teacher and take him for an evil monk. Your confusion is
great indeed, and your offense anything but light. Listen to my
explanation of how this confusion arose and let us discuss the matter in
detail.

The doctrines that Shakyamuni Buddha preached in the course of his
lifetime can be assigned to five distinct preaching periods. The order
in which they were preached can be established, and they can be divided
into provisional and true teachings. But T'an-luan, Tao-ch'o and
Shan-tao embraced the provisional teachings and forgot about the true
ones, went by what had been taught in the earlier period of the Buddha's
life and discarded what was taught later. They were not the kind of men
who delve into the deep places of Buddhist doctrine.

Honen in particular, though he followed the practices advocated by these
earlier men, was ignorant as to the source from whence they came. How do
we know this? Because he lumped together all the 637 Mahayana scriptures
with the 2,883 volumes of text, and along with them all the various
Buddhas and bodhisattvas and the deities of the heavenly and human
worlds, and urged people to "discard, close, ignore and abandon" them,
with these four injunctions corrupting the hearts of all people. Thus he
poured out perverted words of his own invention and took absolutely no
cognizance of the explanations put forth in the Buddhist scriptures. His
is the worst kind of baseless talk, a clear case of defamation. There
are no words to describe it, no way to censure it that is not too mild.
And yet men all put faith in this baseless talk of his, and without
exception pay honor to his Senchaku Shu. As a consequence, they revere
the three sutras of the Pure Land and cast all the other sutras aside;
they look up to one Buddha alone, Amida of the Land of Bliss, and forget
about the other Buddhas. A man such as Honen is in truth the archenemy
of the other Buddhas and the scriptures, and the foe of sage monks and
ordinary men and women alike. And now his heretical teachings have
spread throughout the eight regions of the country; they have penetrated
every on of the ten directions.

You became quite horrified when I blamed an earlier period69 for the
disasters that have occurred in recent years. Perhaps I should cite a
few examples from the past to show you that you are mistaken in your
feelings.

The second volume of the Maka Shikan quotes a passage from the Shih Chi
70 or Records of the Historian which says: "In the closing years of the
Chou dynasty, there were persons who let their hair hang down, went
about naked to the waist, and did not observe the rites and
regulations." The Guketsu commentary on the Maka Shikan, in the second
volume, explains this passage by quoting from the Tso Chuan71 as
follows: "When King P'ing of the Chou first moved his capital east to
Lo-yang, he saw men by the Yi River who let their hair hang down and
performed sacrifices in the fields. Someone who had great understanding
said: 'In less than a hundred years the dynasty will fall, for the rites
are already neglected.'" From this it is evident that the portent
appears first, and later the disaster itself comes about.

The Maka Shikan passage goes on to say: "Juan Chi72 of the Western Chin
dynasty was a man of extraordinary talent, but he let his hair grow like
a mass of brambles and left his belt undone. Later, the sons of the
aristocracy all imitated him, until those who behaved in a churlish and
insulting manner were thought to be acting quite naturally, and those
who were restrained and proper in their behavior were ridiculed as mere
peasants. This was a sign that the Su-ma family, the rulers of the Chin
dynasty, would meet with their downfall."

Similarly, the Nitto Junrei Ki or Record of a Pilgrimage to China in
Search of the Law by Jikaku Daishi records that in the first year of the
Hui-ch'ang era (841), Emperor Wu-tsung of the T'ang dynasty commanded
the priest Ching-shuang of Chang-ching temple to transmit the Nembutsu
teaching of the Buddha Amida in the various temples. Ching-shuang spent
three days in each temple, going about from one temple to another
without ever ceasing.

In the second year of the same era, soldiers from the land of the
Uighurs73 invaded the borders of the T'ang empire. In the third year of
the same era, the regional commander in the area north of the Yellow
River suddenly raised a revolt. Later, the kingdom of Tibet once refused
to obey orders from China, and the Uighurs repeatedly seized Chinese
territory. On the whole, the conflicts and uprisings were like those
that prevailed at the time when the Ch'in dynasty and the military
leader Hsiang Yu were overthrown, and the towns and villages were
devastated by fire and other disasters. What was even worse, Emperor
Wu-tsung carried out a vast campaign to wipe out Buddhist teachings and
destroyed a great many temples and monasteries. He was never able to put
down the uprisings, and died in agony shortly after. (This is the
essence of Jikaku's original passage.)

In view of these events, we should consider the fact that Honen was
active during the reign of Emperor Gotoba, around the Kennin era
(1201-1203). And, as everyone knows, in 1221 the Retired Emperor Gotoba
was thwarted in his attempt to assert the authority of the throne, and
he and two other retired emperors were forces into exile.74 Thus China
provided an earlier example of how the Pure Land teachings brought about
the fall of an emperor, and our own country offers similar proof. You
should not be in doubt about the matter or consider it strange. The only
thing to do now is to abandon evil ways and take up those that are good,
to cut off this affliction at the source, to cut it off at the root!

The guest, looking somewhat mollified, said: Though I have not yet
probed deeply into the matter, I believe I understand to some degree
what you are saying. Nevertheless, both in Kyoto, the capital, and in
Kamakura, the headquarters of the shogun, there are numerous eminent
Buddhist leaders and key figures in the clergy. And yet none of them has
so far appealed to the shogun concerning this affair or submitted a
memorial to the throne. You, on the other hand, a person of humble
position, think nothing of spewing out offensive accusations. Your
assertions are open to question and your reasoning lacks authority.

The host said: Though I may be a person of little ability, I have
reverently given myself to the study of the Mahayana. A blue fly, if it
clings to the tail of a thoroughbred horse, can travel ten thousand
miles, and the green ivy that twines around the tall pine can grow to a
thousand feet. I was born as the son of the one Buddha, Shakyamuni, and
I serve the king of the scriptures, the Lotus Sutra. How could I observe
the decline of the Buddhist Law and not be filled with emotions of pity
and distress?

Moreover, the Nirvana Sutra states: "If even a good priest sees someone
slandering the Law and disregards him, failing to reproach him, oust him
or to punish him for his offense, then that priest is betraying
Buddhism. But if he takes the slanderer severely to task, drives him off
or punishes him, then he is my disciple and one who truly understands my
teachings."

Although I may not be a "good priest." I certainly do not want to be
accused of "betraying Buddhism." Therefore, in order to avoid such
charges, I have cited a few general principles and given a rough
explanation of the matter.

Long ago in the Gennin era (1224), petitions to the throne were
submitted time and again by the two temples of Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei
and Kofuku-ji in Nara, and as a result an Imperial command and a letter
of instruction from the shogunate were handed down, ordering that the
wood blocks used in printing Honen's Senchaku Shu be confiscated and
brought to the Great Lecture Hall of Enryaku-ji temple. There they were
burned in order to repay the debt owed to the Buddhas of the past,
present and future. In addition, orders were given that the menials who
are attached to the Gion Shrine would dig up and destroy Honen's grave
in Kyoto. Then, Honen's disciples Ryukan, Shoko, Jokaku, Sassho75 and
others were condemned by the government to exile in distant regions, and
were never pardoned.

In view of these facts, how can you say that no one has submitted a
complaint to the authorities concerning these matters?

The guest, continuing to speak in a mild manner, replied: One could
hardly say that Honen is the only one who disparages sutras and speaks
ill of other priests, [since you do the same thing yourself]. However,
it is true that he takes the 637 Mahayana scriptures with their 2,883
volumes of text, along with all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas and the
deities of the heavenly and human worlds, and urges people to "discard,
close, ignore, and abandon" them. There is no doubt that these four
injunctions are his very words; the meaning of the passage is quite
clear. But you keep harping on this one little "flaw in the jewel" and
severely slandering him for it. I do not know whether he spoke out of
delusion or out of true enlightenment. Between you and Honen, I cannot
tell which is wise and which is foolish, or determine whose assertions
are right and whose are wrong.

However, you assert that all the recent disasters are to be traced to
the Senchaku Shu of Honen, speaking quite volubly on that point and
elaborating on the meaning of your assertion. Now surely the peace of
the world and the stability of the nation are sought by both ruler and
subject and desired by all the inhabitants of the country. The nation
achieves prosperity through the Buddhist Law, and the validity of the
Law is proven by the people who embrace it. If the nation is destroyed
and the people are wiped out, then who will continue to pay reverence to
the Buddha? Who will continue to have faith in the Law? Therefore one
must first of all pray for the safety of the nation and then work to
establish the Buddhist Law. Now if you know of any means whereby disasters
 can be prevented and troubles brought to an end, I would like to
hear about it.

The host said: There is no doubt that I am the foolish one -- I would
never dare claim to be wise. However, I would just like to quote a few
passages from the scriptures. Concerning the means for insuring order in
the nation, there are numerous passages in both Buddhist and
non-Buddhist text, and it would be difficult to cite them all here.
Since taking up the study of Buddhism, however, I have frequently given
thought to this matter, and it seems to me that prohibiting those who
slander the Law and paying respect to monks who follow the Correct Way
is the best way to assure stability within the nation and peace in the
world at large.

In the Nirvana Sutra we read: "The Buddha said, 'With the exception of
one type of person, you may offer alms to all kinds of persons and
everyone will praise you.'

"Chunda76 said, 'What do you mean when you speak of "one type of
person"?'

"The Buddha replied, 'I mean the type described in this sutra as
violators of the commandments.'

"Chunda spoke again saying, 'I am afraid I still do not understand. May
I ask you to explain further?'

"The Buddha addressed Chunda, saying: 'By violators of the commandments
I mean the icchantika. In the case of all other types of persons, you
may offer alms, everyone will praise you, and you will achieve great
rewards.'

"Chunda spoke once more, asking, 'What is the meaning of the term
icchantika?'

"The Buddha said, 'Chunda, suppose there should be priests or nuns, lay
men or women who speak careless and evil words and slander the True Law,
and that they should go on committing these grave acts without ever
showing any inclination to reform or any sign of repentance in their
hearts. Persons of this kind I would say are following the path of the
icchantika. "'Again there my be those who commit the four grave offenses
77 or are guilty of the five cardinal sins, and who, though aware that
they are guilty of serious faults, from the beginning have no trace of
fear or contrition in their hearts, or if they do, give no outward sign
of it. When it comes to the True Law, they show no inclination to
establish it and help to protect it over the ages, but rather speak of
it with malice and contempt, their words replete with error. Persons of
this kind too I would say are following the path of the icchantika. With
the exception of this one group of people called icchantika, however,
you may offer alms to all others and everyone will praise you.'"

Elsewhere in the same sutra, the Buddha spoke in these words: "When I
recall the past, I remember that I was the king of a great state in this
continent of Jambudvipa. My name was Sen'yo, and I loved and venerated
the Mahayana scriptures. My heart was pure and good and had no trace of
evil, jealousy or stinginess. Men of devout faith, at that time I
cherished the Mahayana teachings in my heart. Once, when I heard the
Brahmans slandering these teachings, I had them put to death on the
spot. Men of devout faith, as a result of that action, I never
thereafter fell into hell."

In another passage it says: "In the past, when the Tathagata was the
ruler of a nation and practiced the way of the bodhisattva, he put to
death a number of Brahmans." Again it says: "There are three degrees of
killings: the lower, middle and upper degrees. The lower degree
constitutes the killing of any humble creature, from an ant to any of
the various kinds of animals. (Only the killing of a bodhisattva who has
deliberately chosen to be born in animal form is excluded.) As a result
of a killing of the lower degree, one will fall into the realm of Hell,
Hunger, or Animality, and will suffer all the pains appropriate to
killing of the lower degree. Why should this be? Because even the
animals and other humble creatures possess the roots of goodness,
insignificant though those roots may be. That is why a person who kills
such a creature must suffer full retribution for his offense.

"Killing any person from an ordinary mortal to an anagamin78 constitutes
what is termed the middle degree. As a consequence of such an act of
killing, one will fall into the realm of Hell, Hunger, Animality, and
will suffer all the pains appropriate to a killing of the middle degree.
The upper degree of killing refers to the killing of a parent, and
arhat, a person who has reached the state of pratyekabuddha or
Realization, or a bodhisattva who has completed his efforts and will
never retrogress. For such a crime one will fall into the hell of
incessant suffering. Men of devout faith, if someone were to kill an
icchantika, that killing would not fall into any of the three categories
just mentioned. Men of devout faith, the various Brahmans that I have
said were put to death -- all of them were in fact icchantika."

In the Ninno Sutra we read: "The Buddha announced to King Prasenajit,
'Thus I entrust the protection of my teachings to the ruler of the
nation rather than to the monks and nuns. Why do I do so? Because the
monks and nuns do not possess the kind of power and authority that the
king has.'"

The Nirvana Sutra states: "Now I entrust the True Law, which is
unexcelled, to the rulers, the ministers, the high officials, and the
four kinds of believers. If anyone should vilify the True Law, then the
high officials and four kinds of believers should reprimand him and
bring him to order."

It also states: "The Buddha said, 'Kasho,79 it is because I was a
defender of the True Law that I have now been able to attain this
diamond-like body80 .... Men of devout faith, defenders of the True Law
need not observe the five precepts81 or practice the rules of proper
behavior. Rather they should carry knives and swords, bow and arrows,
prongs and lances.'"

Again the Buddha said: "Even though there may be those who observe the
five precepts, they do not deserve to be called practitioners of the
Mahayana. But even if one does not observe the five precepts, if he
defends the True Law, then he may be called a practitioner of the
Mahayana. Defenders of the True Law ought to arm themselves with knives
and swords, weapons and staves. Even though they carry swords and
staves, I would call them men who observe the precepts."

The Buddha likewise said: "Men of devout faith, in past ages in this
very city of Kushinagara a Buddha appeared whose name was Kangi Zoyaku
Nyorai or the Buddha Joy Increasing. After this Buddha passed away, the
True Law that he had taught remained in the world for countless millions
of years. Finally, only forty more years were left before the Law was
due to come to an end.

"At that time there was a monk named Kakutoku who observed the precepts.
There were many monks at this time who violated the precepts, and when
they heard this monk preaching, they all conceived evil designs in their
hearts and arming themselves with swords and staves, attacked this
teacher of the Law.

"At this time the ruler of the kingdom was named Utoku. He received
reports of what was happening and, in order to defend the Law, he went
at once to the place where the monk was preaching the Law and fought
with all his might against the evil monks who did not observe the
precepts. As a result, the monk who had been preaching the Law was able
to escape grievous injury. But the king received so many wounds from the
knives and swords, prongs and lances, that there was not a spot on his
body the size of a mustard seed that remained unharmed.

"At this time the monk Kakutoku praised the king, saying 'Splendid,
splendid! You, O King, are now a true defender of the True Law. In ages
to come, this body of yours will surely become a boundless vessel of the
Law!'

"At that time, the king had already heard the teachings of the Law, and
he felt great joy in his heart. Thereupon his life came to an end, and
he was reborn in the land of the Buddha Ashuku, where he became the
principal disciple of the Buddha. Moreover, all the military leaders,
citizens and associates to the king who had fought beside him or had
rejoiced in his effort were filled with an unflagging determination to
achieve enlightenment, and when they died, all of them were reborn in
the land of the Buddha Ashuku.

"Later, the monk Kakutoku also died, and he too was reborn in the land
of the Buddha Ashuku, where he became second among the disciples who
received the direct teachings of the Buddha. Thus, if the True Law is
about to come to an end, this is the way one ought to support and defend it.

"Kasho, the king who lived at that time was I myself, and the monk who
preached the Law was the Buddha Kasho.82 Kasho, those who defend the
True Law enjoy this kind of boundless reward. As a consequence, I have
been able to obtain the distinguishing characteristics that I possess
today, to adorn myself with them, and to put on the Dharma Body83 that
can never be destroyed."

Then the Buddha declared to the Bodhisattva Kasho: "For this reason, lay
believers who wish to defend the Law should arm themselves with swords
and staves and protect it in this manner.

"Men of devout faith, in the age of confusion and evil after I have
passed away, the nation will fall into neglect and disorder, men will
plunder and steal from one another, and the common people will be
reduced to starvation. Because of hunger, many men at that time will
declare their determination to leave their families and become monks.
Men such as these may be called shavepates. When this crowd of
shavepates see anyone who is attempting to protect the True Law, they
will chase after him and drive him away, or perhaps even kill him or do
him injury. That is why I give permission for monks who observe the
precepts to associate with and keep company with laymen who bear swords
and staves. For even though they carry swords and staves, I would call
them men who observe the precepts. But although they may carry swords
and staves, they should never use them to take life."

The Lotus Sutra says: "One who refuses to take faith in this sutra and
instead slanders it immediately destroys the seeds for becoming a Buddha
in this world.... After he dies, he will fall into the hell of incessant suffering."

The meaning of these passages from the sutras is perfectly clear. What
need is there for me to add any further explanation? If we accept the
words of the Lotus Sutra, then we must understand that slandering the
Mahayana scriptures is more serious than committing the five cardinal
sins. Therefore one who does so will be confined in the great fortress
of the hell of incessant suffering and cannot hope for release for
countless aeons. According to the Nirvana Sutra, even though you may
give alms to a person who has committed one of the five cardinal sins,
you must never give alms to a person who has slandered the Law. He who
kills so much as an ant will fall into one of the three evil paths, but
he who helps to eradicate slander of the Law will ascend to the state
 from which there can be no retrogression. Thus the passage tells us
that the monk Kakutoku was reborn as the Buddha Kasho, and that King
Utoku was reborn as the Buddha Shakyamuni.

The Lotus and the Nirvana sutras represent the very heart of the
doctrines that Shakyamuni preached during the five periods of his
teaching life. Their warnings must be viewed with the utmost gravity.
Who would fail to heed them? And yet those people who forget about the
Correct Way and slander the Law put more trust than ever in Honen's
Senchaku Shu and grow blinder than ever in their stupidity.

Thus some of them, remembering how their master looked in life, fashion
sculptures and paintings of him, while others, putting faith in his
perverse teachings, carve wood blocks with which to print his offensive
words. These images and writings they scatter about throughout the area
within the seas,84 carrying them beyond the cities and into the
countryside until, wherever honor is paid, it is to the practices of
this school, and wherever alms are given, it is to the priests of this sect.

As a result, we see people cutting off the fingers of the images of
Shakyamuni and refashioning them to form the gesture appropriate to
Amida, or renovating temples formerly dedicated to Yakushi, the Buddha
of the Eastern Region, and fitting them with statues of Amida, the lord
of the Western Land. Or we find the ceremony of copying the Lotus Sutra,
which has been carried out for over four hundred years on Mount Hiei,
being suspended and the copying of the three Pure Land sutras
substituted in its place, or the annual lectures85 on the doctrines of
the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai being replaced by lectures on the teachings
of Shan-tao. Indeed, the slanderous people and their associates are too
numerous to count! Are they not destroyers of the Buddha? Are they not
destroyers of the Law? Are they not destroyers of the Priesthood? And
all their heretical teachings derive from the Senchaku Shu!

Alas, how pitiful, that others should turn their backs on the
enlightened prohibitions of the Buddha! How tragic, that they should
heed the gross and deluded words of this ignorant monk! If we hope to
bring order and tranquility to the world without further delay, we must
put an end to these slanders of the Law that fill the country!

The guest said: If we are to put an end to these people who slander the
Law and do away with those who violate the prohibitions of the Buddha,
then are we to condemn them to death as described in the passages from
the sutras you have just cited? If we do that, then we ourselves will be
guilty of inflicting injury and death upon others, and will suffer the
consequences, will we not?

In the Daijuku Sutra, the Buddha says: "If a person shaves his head and
puts on clerical robes, then, whether that person observes the precepts
or violates them, both gods and men would give him alms. In doing so,
they are giving alms and support to me, for that person is my son. But
if men beat and abuse that person, they are beating my son, and if they
curse and insult him, they are reviling me."

If we stop to consider, we must realize that, regardless of whether one
is good or bad, right or wrong, if he is a priest or monk, then he
deserves to have alms and nourishment extended to him. For how could one
beat and insult the son and still not cause grief and sorrow to the
father? The Brahmans who beat the Buddha's disciple Maudgalyayana to
death with their staves have for a long time been sunk in the hell of
incessant suffering. Because Devadatta murdered the nun Utpalavarna, he
has gone on and on choking in the flames of the Avichi Hell.86 Examples
from earlier ages make the matter perfectly clear, and later ages fear
this offense most of all. You speak of punishing those who slander the
Law, but to do so would violate the Buddha's prohibitions. I can hardly
believe that such a course would be right. How can you justify it?

The host said: You have clearly seen the passages from the sutras that I
have cited, and yet you can ask a question like that! Are they beyond
the power of your mind to comprehend? Or do you fail to understand the
reasoning behind them? I certainly have no intention of censuring the
sons of the Buddha. My only hatred is for the act of slandering the Law.
According to the teachings of the Buddha who lived prior to Shakyamuni,
slanderous priests would have incurred the death penalty. But in the
sutras preached since the time of Shakyamuni, priests of this type have
merely been prevented from receiving alms. Now if all the four kinds of
believers within the four seas and the ten thousand lands would only
cease giving alms to wicked priests and instead all come over to the
side of the good, then how could any more troubles rise to plague us or
disasters come to confront us?

With this the guest moved off his mat in a gesture of respect,
straightened the collar of his robe, and said: The Buddhist teachings
vary greatly and it is difficult to investigate each doctrine in full. I
have had many doubts and perplexities and have been unable to
distinguish right from wrong.

Nevertheless, this word by the venerable Honen, the Senchaku Shu, does
in fact exist. And it lumps together all the various Buddhas, sutras,
bodhisattvas and deities and says that one should "discard, close,
ignore, and abandon" them. The meaning of the text is perfectly clear.
And as a result of this, the sages have departed from the nation, the
benevolent deities have left their dwelling places, hunger and thirst
fill the world and disease and pestilence spread abroad.

Now, by citing passages from a wide variety of scriptures, you have
clearly demonstrated the rights and wrongs of the matter. Therefore I
have completely forsaken my earlier mistaken convictions, and my ears
and eyes have been opened on point after point.

There can be no doubt that all men, from the ruler down to the common
people, rejoice in and desire the stability of the nation and the peace
of the world. If we can quickly put an end to the alms that are given to
these icchantika and insure that continuing support is instead given to
the host of true priests and nuns, if we can still these "white waves"87
 that trouble the Ocean of the Buddha and cut down these "green groves"
that overgrow the Mountain of the Law, then the world may become as
peaceful as it was in the golden ages of Fu Hsi and Shen Nung,88 and the
nation may flourish as it did under the sage rulers Yao and Shun.89
 After that, there will be time to dip into the Waters of the Law and to
decide which are shallow doctrines and which are deep, and to pay honor
to the pillars and beams that support the House of the Buddha.

The host exclaimed with delight: As the proverb says, the dove has
changed into a hawk, the sparrow into a clam!90 How gratifying! You have
transformed yourself through your association with me, and like the
bramble growing in the hemp field, you have learned to stand up
straight! If you will truly give consideration to the troubles I have
been describing and put entire faith in these words of mine, then the
winds will blow gently, the waves will be calm, and in no time at all we
will enjoy bountiful harvests.

But a person's heart may change with the times, and the nature of a
thing may alter with its surroundings. Just as the moon on the water
will be tossed about by the waves, or the soldiers in the vanguard will
be cowed by the swords of the enemy, so, although at this moment you may
say you believe in my words, I fear that later you will forget them
completely. Now if we wish first of all to bring security to the nation
and to pray for our present and future lives, then we must hasten to
examine and consider the situation and take measures as soon as possible
to remedy it.

Why do I say this? Because, of the seven types of disasters described in
the passage from the Yakushi Sutra that I cited earlier, five have
already occurred. Only two have yet to appear, the "calamity of invasion
from foreign lands" and the "calamity of revolt within one's own
domain." And of the three calamities mentioned in the passage from the
Daijuku Sutra, two have already made their appearance. Only one remains,
the "disaster of warfare."

The different types of disaster and calamity enumerated in the Konkomyo
Sutra have arisen one after the other. Only that described as "bandits
and marauders from other regions invading and plundering the nation" has
yet to materialize. This is the only trouble that has not yet come. And
of the seven calamities listed in the Ninno Sutra, six are now upon us
in full force. Only one has not yet appeared, the calamity that occurs
"when enemies rise up on all four sides and invade the nation."

Moreover, as the Ninno Sutra says, "When a nation becomes disordered, it
is the spirits which first show signs of rampancy. Because these
spirits become rampant, all the people of the nation become disordered."

Now if we examine the present situation carefully in the light of this
passage, we will see that the various spirits have for some time been
rampant, and many of the people have perished. If the first predicted
misfortune in the sutra has already occurred, as is obvious, then how
can we doubt that the later disasters will follow? If, in punishment for
the evil doctrines that are upheld, the troubles that have yet to appear
should fall upon us one after the other, then it will be too late to
act, will it not?

Emperors and kings have their foundation in the state and bring peace
and order to the age; ministers and commoners hold possession of their
fields and gardens and supply the needs of the world. But if bandits
come from other regions to invade the nation, or if revolt breaks out
within the domain and people's lands are seized and plundered, how can
there be anything but terror and confusion? If the nation is destroyed
and families are wiped out, then where can one flee for safety? If you
care anything about your personal security, you should first of all pray
for order and tranquility throughout the four quarters of the land,
should you not?

It seems to me that, when people are in this world, they all fear what
their lot may be in the life to come. So it is that some of them put
their faith in heretical teachings, or pay honor to those who slander
the Law. It distresses me that they should be so confused about right
and wrong, and at the same time I feel pity that, having embraced
Buddhism, they should have chosen the wrong kind. With the power of
faith that is in their hearts, why must they vainly give credence to
heretical doctrines? If they do not shake off these delusions that they
cling to but continue to harbor false ideas, then they will quickly
leave the world of the living and fall into hell of incessant suffering.

Thus the Daijuku Sutra says: "Though the ruler of a state may have for
countless existences in the past practiced the giving of alms, observed
the precepts and abided by the principles of wisdom, if he sees that my
Law, the Dharma of the Buddha, is in danger of perishing and stands idly
by without doing anything to protect it, then all the inestimable store
of good causes that he has accumulated through the practices just
mentioned will be entirely wiped out.... Before long, the ruler will
fall gravely ill, and after his life has come to an end, he will be
reborn in one of the major hells.... And the same fate will befall the
ruler's consort, his heir, the high ministers of the state, the lords of
cities, the village heads and generals, the magistrates of districts,
and the government officials."

The Ninno Sutra states: "If a man destroys the teachings of the Buddha,
he will have no filial sons, no harmony with his close relatives, and no
aid from the heavenly deities. Disease and evil spirits will come day
after day to torment him, disasters will descend on him incessantly, and
misfortunes will dog him wherever he goes. And when he dies, he will
fall into one of the three realms of Hell, Hunger or Animality. Even if
he should be reborn as a human being, he will be destined to become a
slave in the army. Retribution will follow as an echo follows a sound or
a shadow follows a form. A person writing at night may put out the lamp,
but the words he has written will still remain. It is the same with the
destiny we create for ourselves in the threefold world."

The second volume of the Lotus Sutra says: "One who refuses to take
faith in this sutra and instead slanders it.... After he dies, he will
fall into the hell of incessant suffering." And in the Fukyo chapter in
the seventh volume, it says: "For a thousand aeons they dwelt in the
hell of incessant suffering and underwent great pain and torment."

In the Nirvana Sutra we read: "If a man separates himself from good
friends, refuses to listen to the True Law and instead embraces evil
teachings, then as a result he will sink down into the hell of incessant
suffering, where he will experience indescribable torment."

When we examine this wide variety of sutras, we find that they all
stress how grave a matter it is to slander the Law. How pitiful, that
all men should go out of the gate of the True Law and enter so deep into
the prison of these perverse dogmas! How stupid, that they should fall
one after another into the snares of these evil doctrines, and remain
for so long entangled in this net of slanderous teachings! They lose
their way in these mist and miasmas, and sink down amid the raging
flames of hell. How they must grieve! How they must suffer!

Therefore you must quickly reform the tenets that you hold in your heart
and embrace the one true vehicle, the single good doctrine of the Lotus
Sutra. If you do so, then the threefold world will all become the Buddha
land, and how could a Buddha land ever decline? The regions in the ten
directions will all become treasure realms, and how could a treasure
realm ever suffer harm? If you live in a country that knows no decline
or diminution, in a land that suffers no harm or disruption, then your
body will find peace and security and your mind will be calm and
untroubled. You must believe my words, heed what I say!

The guest said: Since it concerns both this life and the lives to come,
who could fail to agree with you? Now when I examine the passages you
have cited from the sutras and see exactly what the Buddha has said, I
realize that slandering is a very grave offense indeed, that violating
the Law is in truth a terrible sin. I have put all my faith in one
Buddha alone, Amida, and rejected all the other Buddhas. I have honored
the three Pure Land sutras and set aside the other sutras. But this was
not due to any distorted ideas of my own conception. I was simply
obeying the words of the eminent men of the past.91 And the same is true
of all the other persons in the ten directions who follow the Pure Land
teachings.

But now I realize that to do so means to exhaust oneself in futile
efforts in this life, and to fall into the hell of incessant suffering
in the life to come. The texts you have cited are perfectly clear on
this point and their arguments are detailed -- they leave no room for
doubt. With your kind instruction to guide me, I have been able bit by
bit to dispel the ignorance from my mind.

Now I hope we may set about as quickly as possible taking measures to
deal with these slanders against the Law and to bring peace to the world
without delay, thus insuring that I may live in safety in this life and
enjoy good fortune in the life to come. But it is not enough that I
alone should accept and have faith in your words -- we must see to it
that others as well are warned of their errors!

Footnotes:
1.Sharp sword: Reference to Shan-tao's Hanju-san, in which he
says that calling on the name of Amida Buddha serves as a sword to cut
off earthly desires, karma and suffering.
2.Heal all ills: One of the twelve vows of Yakushi Buddha, which appear
in the Hongan-yakushi Sutra. This sutra also says that if one hears the
name of Yakushi Buddha, he can be free from all desires.
3.Passage from the Yakuo (23rd) chapter. Here this is a reference to a
practice of the Tendai sect.
4.Another reference to the Tendai sect,which held a ritual of prayers
based on this passage.
5.Ceremonies: According to the Ninno Sutra, a type of ceremony
originally held by the god Taishaku to defeat the evil king Chosho. The
ceremony of the Ninno Sutra was sometimes conducted to protect or bring
about peace.
6.Filling five jars with water: Ritual in which priests of the Shingon
sect placed five jars, colored white, blue, red, yellow, and black, on a
platform, and put into them, respectively, gold, silver, lapis lazuli,
pearls and crystal. In addition, they placed in these jars the five
grains, five herbs, and five types of incense, and then filled them with
water and set flowers in them. The ritual of filling the jars in this
manner was believed to eliminate disasters.
7.Seven guardian spirits: Spirits referred to in the Kyakuon-shinju Sutra.
8.Five mighty bodhisattvas: Reference in the Ninno Sutra. According to
this sutra, if a ruler embraces the correct teachings of Buddhism, these
five powerful bodhisattvas will protect him and the people in his
country.
9.Ceremonies: Ritual for protecting the country. The four corners of the
capital mean the northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest. In
these four corners of the capital, the god who eliminates epidemics and
the god of medicine were enshrined as protection against the invasion of
demons and evil spirits. These gods were also enshrined at the four
boundaries of the country for similar reasons. This ritual was often
held when an emperor became ill. In the Kamakura period (1185-1333) the gods
were enshrined at the four corners of the site of the government
buildings and at the four boundaries of Kamakura.
10.Five planets: Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury and Saturn. The more
distant planets remained undiscovered in thirteenth-century Japan.
11.Three treasures of Buddhism: The Buddha, Law, and Priesthood. The
sentence indicates that various sects of Buddhism are still prospering.
See also Three treasures in the Glossary.
12.This refers to an oracle said to have been received from Bodhisattva
Hachiman in the reign of the fifty-first sovereign, Emperor Heizei
(774-824). The "Rissho Ankoku Ron" was written in the reign of the
ninetieth sovereign, Emperor Kameyama (1249-1305).
13.Four kinds of Buddhists: Also called four kinds of believers:
priests, nuns, laymen and laywomen.
14.Yakshas: One of the eight kind of lowly (nonhuman) beings who protect
Buddhism. Originally Hindu demons, they were later incorporated into
Buddhism as protectors of the True Law, under the command of
Bishamonten, one of the Four Heavenly Kings. See also Eight kinds of
lowly beings in the Glossary.
15.Worlds of form and desire: First two divisions of the threefold
world, the world of unenlightened beings of the six paths. See also
Threefold world in the Glossary.
16.Seven flavors: Sweet, pungent, sour, bitter, salty, astringent, and
faint flavors.
17.Three essences: The power of earth, the power of worldly and Buddhist
laws, and the power of human life and society.
18.The ten kinds of evil behavior: Killing, stealing, committing
adultery, lying, deceiving, defaming, engaging in duplicity, greed,
anger, and stupidity.
19.Twenty-eight constellations: Celestial houses, divided into four
houses of seven major heavenly bodies each, corresponding respectively
to the four directions and four seasons of east, or spring; south,
summer; west, autumn; and north, winter.
20.Kshatriya: Second of the four classes or castes in ancient India: the
priestly class, military, and ruling class (Skt. kshatriya), farmers and
traders, and serfs.
21.Anointed kings: Rulers of major kingdoms. In ancient India, when the
ruler of a powerful kingdom ascended the throne, the rulers of smaller
kingdoms and their ministers poured water on his head.
22.Prasenajit: King of the country of Koshala. He converted to Buddhism
at the urging of his wife and through Shakyamuni's instruction and
endeavored to protect and support the Buddhist order.
23.Sumeru worlds: Planets. According to ancient Indian cosmology, each
world had a sun, a moon, and a great Mt. Sumeru at its center,
surrounded by four continents. The southern continent, Jambudvipa, was
considered to be the land where Buddhism spread.
24.Two, three, four or five suns appear at the same time: Reference to
an unusual phenomenon when the sun is seen as a multiple image. Such
illusions involving the sun have appeared in the form of many bright
disks arcing outward from the sun. Scientists say that they are caused
by reflection or refraction of light by ice crystals floating in the
stratosphere.
25.Metal Star: Venus. The Broom Star, the Fire Star and the Water Star
respectively mean comets, Mars and Mercury.
26.Different types of disaster caused by fire. Demon fire refers to
fires of unknown origin attributed to the anger of demons. Dragon fire
means fires ascribed to the wrath of dragons, who were thought to be
able to convert water to fire at will. This may have indicated fire
caused by lightening. Heavenly fire was said to be caused by the wrath
of Heaven, and mountain god fire -- possibly a reference to volcanic
eruptions -- by the wrath of mountain gods. Human fire refers to fires
caused by human error or negligence. Tree fire probably indicated forest
fires caused by spontaneous combustion, and bandit fire meant fires set
by invaders.
27.Five grains: Wheat, rice, beans, and two types of millet. Also
generic term for all grains, which is its meaning here.
28.Fire bandits, water bandits, wind bandits and demon bandits: Bandits
who do evil amid the confusion of disasters caused, respectively, by
fire, water and wind. Demon bandits are said to be abductors.
29.This refers to the tradition that Emperor Ming (27-75) dreamt of a
golden man levitating above the garden. He awakened from sleep and asked
his ministers about his dream. One of them said that he had once heard
of the birth of a sage in the western region during the reign of King
Chao of the Chou dynasty and that this sage had been called the Buddha.
The emperor sent eighteen missionaries in order to obtain the Buddha's
teachings. They brought Buddhist scriptures and images of the Buddha to
China in 67 A.D.
30.Shotoku (574-622): The second son of the thirty-first emperor, Yomei,
famous for his application of the spirit of Buddhism to government. As
the regent for Empress Suiko, he carried out various reforms. He revered
the Lotus Sutra, Shrimala Sutra and Vimalakitri Sutra, writing
commentaries on them.
31.Mt. Hiei: Site of Enryaku-ji temple, head temple of the Sammon school
of the Tendai sect. This school derives from Jikaku, the third high
priest of the Tendai sect, who incorporated the esoteric teachings of
the Shingon sect into the doctrine of his own sect, thereby causing
confusion.
32.Onjo-ji and To-ji: Onjo-ji is also called Mii-dera, the head temple
of the Jimon school of the Tendai sect. This school derives from Chisho,
the fifth high priest of the Tendai sect. To-ji (Eastern Temple) is a
principal temple of the Shingon sect, more properly called
Kyo'o-gokoku-ji.
33.Five areas adjacent to the capital: Areas under the direct control of
the emperor.
34.This refers to those who set store by the practice of meditation.
35.This refers to those who attach greater importance to abiding by the
teachings than to practicing meditation. Haklenayasha was the
twenty-third of Shakyamuni's twenty-four successors. Kukkutapada is near
Rajagriha, the capital of Magadha. Mahakashyapa transferred the
teachings to Ananda and died on this mountain.
36.Six supernatural powers: 1)The power of being anywhere at will; 2)
the power of seeing anything anywhere; 3) the power of hearing any sound
anywhere; 4) the power of knowing the thoughts of all other minds; 5)
the power of knowing past lives; and 6) the power of eradicating illusions.
37.Four stages: The four stages which the people of shomon (Learning)
can attain. The highest of the four is arhat.
38.Senchaku Shu: "The Sole Selection of Nembutsu," a two-fascicle work
written in 1198 at the request of Kujo Kanezane, which is the
fundamental justification of the Jodo sect. In it Honen, basing himself
on the three major sutras of the Jodo sect, exhorted people to discard
all teachings other than the Nembutsu teachings.
39.Tao-ch'o (562-645): The second patriarch of the Jodo school in China.
40.Sacred Way teachings and Pure Land teachings: The former are the
teachings which assert that one should practice in this real saha world
and attain enlightenment through his own effort. In contrast, the Pure
Land teachings define the saha world as a defiled world and assert that
one should aspire to rebirth in the western Pure Land by relying on the
power of Amida Buddha.
41.Sanron, Hosso, Jiron, and Shoron: Sanron literally means three
treatises and refers to the three treatises on which the Sanron sect is
based. They are Nagarjuna's Chu Ron and Junimon Ron and Aryadeva's Hyaku
Ron. This sect was founded by Chia-hsiang and introduced to Japan in
625. The Hosso sect aims at discovering the ultimate reality by
examining the aspects and characteristics of all things. The sect's
basic works are the Gejimmitsu Sutra, Yuishiki Ron and Yuga Ron. In the
period of the T'ang dynasty Hsuan-tsang brought this teaching from India
to China and his disciple Tz'u-en founded the sect. In 653, Dosho
brought this teaching to Japan after his study under Hsuan-tsang. The
Jinron sect was founded in China by Hui-kuang with Vasubandhu's Jujikyo
Ron (Treatise on the Ten Stages Sutra) as its basic teaching. The sect
prospered in the Liang dynasty but was later absorbed by the Kegon sect.
The Shoron sect was based upon Asanga's Shodaijo Ron (Collection of
Mahayana treatises). It prospered in the Ch'en and Sui dynasties but was
later absorbed by the Hosso sect.
42.T'an-luan (476-542): The founder of the Jodo school in China.
43.Shan-tao (613-681): Priest of the Jodo school in China during the
T'ang dynasty. In the Ojo Raisan (Praise of Rebirth in the Pure Land) he
classified Buddhist practices into the categories of correct and
incorrect. According to him, the correct practices are those directed
toward Amida Buddha. The correct practices are further divided into
five, that is: 1) reading and reciting, 2) meditating, 3) worshiping, 4)
calling on the name, and 5) praising and giving offerings. These five
practices are directed toward Amida Buddha, the Pure Land sutras and the
Pure Land. The incorrect practices are also divided into five, in the
same manner. The latter part of the text discuses the incorrect practices.
44.Jogen Nyuzo Roku: A list of the sutras which the priest Yuan-chao
selected at Emperor Te-tsung's command during the Cheng-yuan (Jap. Jogen)
era (785-804).
45.Daihannya Sutra: "Great Wisdom Sutra" (Skt. Mahaprajnaparamitasutra).
An extremely long sutra setting forth the doctrine of ku.
46.Hojoju Sutra: One-volume Mahayana sutra expounding the eternity of
the Law.
47.Two methods of concentrated meditation and unconcentrated meditation:
In the Kammuryoju Sutra, sixteen types of meditation and three kinds of
practices are described, which lead people to rebirth in the Pure Land.
In the first types of meditation, one concentrates his mind and
meditates on the splendor of the Pure Land and the features of the
Buddha and Bodhisattvas. These types of meditation are regarded as
"concentrated meditation." The other three types of meditation and the
three kinds of practices can be carried out even if one's mind is not
focused. Therefore, they are called "unconcentrated practice." Honen
regarded both concentrated and unconcentrated practices as practices
which the Buddha expounded in accordance with people's capacity. He
asserted that only the practice of Nembutsu was the Buddha's true
teaching as well as the sole teaching for the Latter Day of the Law.
Nembutsu is interpreted in various ways though it literally means to
meditate on Amida Buddha. Shan-tao and Honen took Nembutsu to mean
calling on the name of Amida Buddha and emphasized this practice.
48.Three kinds of mind: Three requisites for reaching the Pure Land: 1)
the sincere mind, 2) the mind of deep faith and 3) the mind of resolve
to attain the Pure Land.
49.Commentary on that sutra: Shan-tao's commentary, the Kammuryoju-kyo
Sho.
50.All the sage monks of the three countries: Those who propagated
Buddhism correctly. Indicates Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu in India,
T'ien-t'ai, Chang-an and Mia-lo in China, Dengyo and Gishin in Japan,
and so on.
51.Three Pure Land sutras: The basic scriptures of the Japanese Jodo
(Pure Land) sect. The Muryoju Sutra, the Kammuryoju Sutra and the Amida
Sutra.
52.This refers to the eighteenth of the forty-eight vows, described in
the Muryoju Sutra, that Bodhisattva Hozo (Skt Dharmakara), the name of
Amida Buddha before his enlightenment, made to bring all people to the
Pure Land.
53.Five preaching periods: See Five periods in the Glossary.
54.Lotus Sutra, chap. 3.
55.Two attendants: Bodhisattva Kannon and Seishi. See Kannon in the
Glossary.
56.Gishin (781-833): Dengyo's successor and the first chief priest of
Enryaku-ji, the head temple of the Tendai sect.
57.Shakyamuni and Yakushi: Buddhas whose images were enshrined in the
head temple of the Tendai sect on Mt. Hiei. It is said that the image of
Yakushi was enshrined as well as that of Shakyamuni because Yakushi
Buddha, having vowed to "heal all ills" (see footnote 2), represents the
parable of the excellent physician in the Juryo (16th) chapter of the
Lotus Sutra.
58.Kokuzo and Jizo: Kokuzo is a bodhisattva said to possess immeasurable
wisdom and blessings. An image of Bodhisattva Kokuzo was enshrined on
Mt. Hiei. Jizo is a bodhisattva entrusted by Shakyamuni Buddha with the
mission of saving people. It is said that he will appear during the
period from the death of Shakyamuni Buddha till the appearance of Miroku
Buddha, in order to instruct the people of the six worlds. This
bodhisattva's image also was enshrined on Mt. Hiei, together with that
of Kokuzo.
59.At the ceremony of the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha transferred his
teachings to the bodhisattvas of the theoretical teaching such as Yakuo
and entrusted them with the mission of propagating them in the Middle
Day of the Law. It is said that Bodhisattva Yakuo was later born as the
Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai in China and as the Great Teacher Dengyo in
Japan. Based on the Buddha's parable of the excellent physician in the
Juryo (16th) chapter, T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo used Yakushi Buddha (the
Buddha of Healing), lord of the Emerald World in the eastern part of the
universe, as an object of worship for their sect. In this sense, to
neglect the Buddha Yakushi and revere the Buddha Amida is to ignore the
Lord Buddha's transmission.
60.Three works in four volumes of the Pure Land scriptures: The
two-volume Muryoju Sutra, one-volume Kammuryoju Sutra and one-volume
Amida Sutra.
61.Four treatises: The Chu Ron, Junimon Ron and Dainichi Ron by
Nagarjuna as well as the Hyaku Ron by Aryadeva.
62.Nirvana Sutra: Sutra which expounds five bodhisattva deeds, as
against the single practice of the Jodo sect. See also Nirvana Sutra in
the Glossary.
63.Eshin (942-1017): The eighteenth chief priest of Enryaku-ji temple.
He put faith in the Pure Land teachings but later embraced the Lotus Sutra.
64.His work: Ojo Yoshu written in 985, which influenced people not only
in Japan but also in China.
65.Sixty volumes of Tendai literature: T'ien-t'ai's three major writings
(the Maka Shikan, the Hokke Mongu and the Hokke Gengi) consisting of
thirty volumes and Miao-lo's three commentaries on them which also
consist of thirty volumes.
66.Eight sects: Eight major sects of Buddhism well established in Japan
before the Kamakura period. Historically they fall into two categories:
the Kusha, Jojitsu, Ritsu, Hosso, Sanron and Kegon sects which prospered
in the Nara period (710-784), and the Tendai and Shingon sects which
appeared in the Heian period (794-1185).
67.Reference appearing in Honen's biography. According to this account,
Honen in a dream received permission from Shan-tao to spread the
practice of calling on the name of Amida Buddha and was entrusted with
the Pure Land teaching.
68.Former teachers of Pure Land doctrine: T'an-luan, Tao-ch'o and
Shan-tao.
69.An earlier period: The age in which Honen propagated the Pure Land
teaching.
70.Shih Chi: Work written by Ssu-ma Ch'ien of the Former Han dynasty,
recording history from the time of the legendary Yellow Emperor of
ancient China to that of Emperor Wu (140-87 B.C.) of the Former Han
dynasty.
71.Tso Chuan: Work attributed to Tso Ch'iu-ming of the Spring and Autumn
period (c. 770-403 B.C.). It is a commentary on the Ch'un Ch'iu or
Spring and Autumn Annals, a chronicle (722-481 B.C.) of twelve dukes of
the state of Lu.
72.Juan Chi (210-263): A Chinese poet.
73.Uighurs: A Turkish people of Central Asia who prospered from the
eight through the mid-ninth century.
74.This incident is known as the Jokyu disturbance. The wording of the
original has been expanded for clarity.
75.Ryukan (1148-1227), Jokaku (1133-1247), Sassho (dates unknown):
Priests of the Jodo sect. Ryukan is the founder of the Choraku-ji school
and also called Kaiku or Muga (his posthumous name). He studied the
Tendai doctrine under Koen at Enryaku-ji temple and lived at Choraku-ji
temple in Kyoto. Shoko is the founder of the Chinzei school and second
patriarch of the Jodo sect. At first he studied the Tendai doctrine on
Mt. Hiei, but he became Honen's disciple. Jokaku first studied the
Tendai doctrine, but converted to Honen's teaching and advocated the
doctrine of one-time recitation which teaches that if one once invokes
the name of Amida Buddha he can be reborn in the Pure Land. For this
reason, he was excommunicated by Honen. Sassho also studied Tendai
doctrine but later followed Jokaku's teaching. Still later, he went on
to found his own sect.
76.Chunda: A blacksmith in Pava Village who was deeply moved by
Shakyamuni's preaching and reverently prepared a meal for him. Soon
after leaving Chunda's house, Shakyamuni fell ill and passed away.
77.Four grave offenses: Those particularly grave among the ten evil
offenses. They are killing, stealing, committing adultery and lying.
78.Anagamin: (Jap. anagon) The third of four stages which shomon people
can attain. Also, one who has attained this stage. The fourth and
highest stage is arhat.
79.Kasho: Figure in the Nirvana Sutra who put thirty-six questions to
the Buddha and heard the Buddha's teachings. He is different from
Mahakashyapa (Jap. Kasho), one of the Buddha's ten major disciples.
80.Diamond-like body: A reference to the state of Buddhahood which can
neither decline nor be destroyed.
81.Five precepts: A basic code of Buddhism that prohibits killing,
theft, adultery, lying and intoxicating drink.
82.Buddha Kasho: One of the seven ancient Buddhas. Of these seven the
Buddha Kasho was the sixth to appear, and Shakyamuni Buddha, the
seventh.
83.Dharma Body: Buddha who is the embodiment of the Law.
84.Area within the seas: Japan. The phrase originally referred to China.
85.Annual lectures: Lectures held on the anniversary of T'ien-t'ai's
death on November 24 each year.
86.Avichi Hell: The hell of incessant suffering.
87.White waves: A Chinese term referring to rebels and outlaws. Here,
"white waves" indicates Honen and other priests of the Pure Land sect as
well as the followers of other misleading sects. "The Ocean of the
Buddha" signifies Shakyamuni's teachings. The phrase "green groves" and
"Mountain of the Law" in the next sentence likewise refer to evil men
and Shakyamuni's teaching respectively.
88.Fu Hsi and Shen Nung: Legendary ideal rulers of ancient China. Their
ages are to have been peaceful and ideal ones.
89.Yao and Shun: also legendary rulers said to have reigned after the
time of Fu Hsi and Shen Nung.
90.Expressions that appear in early Chinese literature. They indicate a
dramatic change.
91.Eminent men of the past: T'an-luan, Tao-ch'o, Shan-tao, Eshin and
Honen.
92.Gura: (Skt., kalakula) Imaginary insects which swell rapidly in
strong winds.


RATIONALE FOR SUBMITTING THE RISSHO ANKOKU RON

In the first year of the Shoka era (1257), when the reverse marker of
Jupiter was in the sector of the sky with the cyclical sign hinoto-mi,
on the twenty-third day of the eighth month, at the time when the Hour
of the Dog gives way to the Hour of the Boar (9:00 P.M.), there occurred
an earthquake of unprecedented magnitude. In the second year of the same
era (1258), cyclical sign tsuchinoe-uma, on the first day of the eighth
month, there was a great wind. In the third year (1259), cyclical sign
tsuchinoto-hitsuji, a major famine occurred. In the first year of the
Shogen era (1259), cyclical sign tsuchinoto-hitsuji, disease was
rampant, and throughout the four seasons of the second year (1260),
cyclical sign kanoe-saru, the sickness continued to rage without
abating. By this time, more than half the ordinary citizens of the
nation had been laid low by death. The rulers of the country, alarmed at
this state of affairs, turned to the scriptures of Buddhism and the
non-Buddhist writings for help, ordering that various prayers be
offered. These, however, failed to produce the slightest effect. On the
contrary, famine and disease raged more fiercely than ever.

I, Nichiren, observing this state of affairs, proceeded to consult the
various Buddhist scriptures. There I discovered the reason why these
prayers are without effect and on the contrary actually make the
situation worse, along with passages of proof to support it. In the end
I had no other recourse than to compile a work to present my findings,
entitling it "Rissho Ankoku Ron." In the first year of the Bunno era
(1260), cyclical sign kanoe-saru, on the sixteenth day of the seventh
month, at the Hour of the Dragon (7: 00-9: 00 A.M.), I handed it to the
lay monk Yadoya for presentation to His Lordship, the late lay monk of
Saimyoji.1 This I did solely that I might repay the debt of gratitude
that I owe to my native land.

The essence of my work, the "Rissho Ankoku Ron," is as follows. Long ago
it was said that this country of Japan would be ruled by seven heavenly
deities, five earthly deities, and a hundred kings, reigning one after
another in succession'. During the reign of Emperor Kimmei, the
thirtieth of the human sovereigns, Buddhism was for the first time
brought to Japan from the kingdom of Paekche.2 From that time until the
reign of Emperor Kammu, a period of some 260 years that saw the reigns
of twenty or more sovereigns, all the various Buddhist scriptures were
brought to Japan, as well as the six sects3 of Buddhism. At this time,
however, the Tendai and Shingon sects had not yet been introduced.

During the reign of Emperor Kammu, there was a young monk named Saicho,
who was a disciple of Priest Gyoho of Yamashina Temple. (He later came
to be known by the title Great Teacher Dengyo.) He made a thorough study
of the six sects that had been introduced to Japan earlier, as well as
of the Zen sect, but none of these seemed to satisfy him. Some forty
years earlier, in the reign of Emperor Shomu, a Chinese monk named
Ganjin had come to Japan and brought with him the commentaries of the
Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai. When Saicho read these, he for the first time
came to understand in essence the true meaning of Buddhism.

In the fourth year of the Enryaku era (785), Saicho founded a temple on
Mount Hiei4 in order to insure the continuance of peace in heaven and on
earth. Emperor Kammu paid honor to the new establishment, designating it
as a place of worship where prayers should be offered to the guardian
star of the ruler. He ceased to heed the teachings of the six sects and
instead gave wholehearted allegiance to the perfect doctrines of the
Tendai sect.

In the thirteenth year of the Enryaku era (794), the emperor moved the
capital from Nagaoka to the city of Heian.5 In the twenty-first year of
the same era (802), on the nineteenth day of the first month, the
emperor summoned fourteen learned scholars of the six sects from the
seven great temples of Nara, including such monks as Gonso and Choyo,6
to the temple called Takao-dera, and ordered them to engage Saicho in
debate. These enlightened masters of the six sects were not able to hold
their own against Saicho even for a single exchange of opinions, but
shut their mouths so tightly one might have mistaken them for noses. The
"Five Teachings" of the Kegon sect, the "Three Periods" of the Hosso
sect, the "Two Storehouses" and "Three Eras" propounded by the Sanron
sect,7 all of these doctrines were demolished by Saicho. The doctrines of
the six sects not only were refuted, but in fact served to reveal that
the other debaters were all guilty of slandering the Law. On the
twenty-ninth day of the same month, the emperor handed down an edict
criticizing the fourteen monks who had opposed Saicho. The fourteen
monks in turn drew up a letter apologizing for their conduct and
submitted it to the emperor.

Thereafter, one sovereign after another paid allegiance to Mount Hiei,
treating it with even greater deference than a filial son shows toward
his father and mother, regarding it with greater awe than the common
people manifest before the might of the ruler. At times the rulers
issued edicts to it, at other times they were obliged to give their
approval to its unjust demands. We may note in particular that Emperor
Seiwa8 was able to ascend the throne as a consequence of the powerful
prayers of Priest Eryo of Mount Hiei. The emperor's maternal
grandfather, the Kujo Minister of the Right, for this reason submitted a
written pledge of his fidelity to Mount Hiei. Minamoto no Yoritomo, the
founder of the Kamakura shogunate, it will be recalled, was a descendant
of Emperor Seiwa. And yet the government authorities in Kamakura, though
they may or may not be following the correct course in their
administration, ignore and turn their back on Mount Hiei. Have they no
fear of the punishment of Heaven?

Later, in the time of the Retired Emperor Gotoba, during the Kennin era
(1201-04), there appeared two men, Honen and Dainichi,9 who in their
arrogance believed that their understanding surpassed that of all
others. Their bodies were possessed by evil spirits, and they went about
deluding the people of both high and low station throughout the country,
until everyone had become a Nembutsu believer or else was hastening to
join the Zen sect. Those who continued to pay respect to Mount Hiei
became surprisingly few and lacking in ardor, and throughout the
country, the monks who were authorities on the Lotus Sutra or the
Shingon teachings found themselves ignored and rejected.

As a result, the deities Tensho Daijin, Hachiman, and the gods of the
seven shrines of the Sanno, who guard and protect Mount Hiei, as well as
the various other benevolent deities who protect the different parts of
the nation, were no longer able to taste the flavor of the Dharma. Their
power and brilliance waned, and they abandoned the country. Thus the
evil demons were able to gain access to the nation and to bring about
disasters and calamities. These disasters, as I stated in my "Rissho
Ankoku Ron," were omens signifying that our country would in the end be
destroyed by a foreign nation.

Later, in the first year of the Bun'ei era (1264), cyclical sign
kinoe-ne, on the fifth day of the seventh month, a comet appeared in the
east, and its light shone over the whole country of Japan. This is an
evil portent such as has never been seen before since the beginning of
history. None of the authorities on the Buddhist scriptures or the
secular writings could understand what had brought about such an ill
omen. I became even more grieved and distressed. Now, nine years after I
presented my work, the "Rissho Ankoku Ron," to the authorities, in the
intercalary first month of this year (1268), this letter has arrived
from the great kingdom of the Mongols. The events that have occurred
match the predictions made in my work as exactly as do the two halves of
a tally.

The Buddha left this prediction, saying: "More than one hundred years
after my passing, a ruler known as the Great King Ashoka will appear in
the world and will spread my relics far and wide." In the reign of King
Chao, the fourth ruler of the Chou dynasty, the Grand Historian Su Yu
made this prediction: "One thousand years from now, the teachings [of
the Buddha] will be spread throughout this country." Crown Prince
Shotoku predicted: "After my death, when two hundred years or more have
passed, the city of Heian will be established in the province of
Yamashiro." And the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai predicted: "Two hundred
years or more after my death, a person will be born in an eastern
country who will spread my Correct Law." All of these predictions were
fulfilled to the letter.

When I, Nichiren, observed the great earthquake of the Shoka era, and
the great wind and famine that occurred in the same era, as well as the
major outbreak of disease that took place in the first year of the
Shogen era, I made a prediction, saying: "These are omens indicating
that this country of ours will be destroyed by a foreign nation." I may
seem to be congratulating myself on having made such a prediction,
though in fact, of course, if our country should be destroyed, it would
most certainly mean the destruction of the Buddhist teachings as well.

The eminent Buddhist monks of our time seem to be of one mind with those
who slander the Law. In fact, they do not even understand the true
meaning of the teachings of their own sects. It is certain that, if they
should receive an Imperial command or instructions from the government
authorities to offer prayers in an effort to avert the evils that beset
the nation, they would only make the Buddhas and deities angrier than
they are already, and then the nation could not help but face ruin.

I, Nichiren, understand the steps that should be taken to remedy the
situation. Other than the sage of Mount Hiei,10 I am the only person in
all of Japan who does. Just as there are not two suns or two moons, so
two sages are not to be found standing side by side. If these words of
mine are false, then may I be punished by the Ten Goddesses, the ten
daughters of the demon mother who protect this Lotus Sutra that I
embrace. I say all this solely for the sake of the nation, for the sake
of the Law, and for the sake of others, not for my own sake. I will be
calling upon you in person, and so I am informing you of this. If you do
not heed my advice, you will surely regret it later.

Respectfully,
Nichiren

Bun'ei era, fifth year (1268), cyclical sign tsuchinoe-tatsu, fourth
month, fifth day

Footnotes:
1.Lay monk of Saimyo-ji: The retired regent, Hojo Tokiyori.
2.Paeckche: An ancient state on the Korean Peninsula.
3.Six sects: Sanron, jojitsu, Hosso, Kusha, Ritsu and Kegon, the six
major sects of Buddhism which flourished in the ancient Japanese capital
of Nara.
4.Temple on Mount Hiei: Enryaku-ji, the head temple of the Tendai sect
and site of the ordination center of Mahayana Buddhism. Dengyo
petitioned the throne for permission to erect the ordination center, and
it was completed by his successor, Gishin.
5.Heian: The ancient name of Kyoto.
6.Gonso and Choyo: Gonso (758-827) was a priest and scholar of the
Sanron sect at Daian-ji temple in Nara. Kobo Daishi, founder of the
Japanese Shingon sect, was his disciple. Details concerning Choyo are
unknown.
7.These are systems by which these sects sought to classify the body of
Buddhist scriptures. The "Five Teachings" of Kegon divides the sutras
into Hinayana, early Mahayana, advanced Mahayana, abrupt teachings and
perfect teachings. The "Three Periods" of the Hosso sect divides the
sutras into: 1) teachings that all is existence; 2) teachings that all
is void; and 3) teachings of the Middle Way. The Sanron's "Two
Storehouses" are teachings for shomon and teachings for bodhisattvas,
and the "Three Eras" of that sect are: 1) teachings that both the
subjective mind and its object exist; 2) teachings that only the mind
exists; and 3) teachings that both mind and object are void.
8.Emperor Seiwa (850-880): Prince Korehito, fourth son of the Emperor
Montoku. According to tradition, Montoku was unable to decide whether he
should name Korehito or another of his sons at his successor, and had
the two princes hold a sumo match to settle the matter. It is said that
Korehito won because of the prayers offered on his behalf by the priest
Eryo.
9.Dainichi: A twelfth-century Japanese priest who spread the Zen
teachings before Eisai, the founder of the Rinzai school. He was also
called Nonin. Because he was criticized for not having received his
teachings from a master, in 1189 he sent his two disciples to China to
have his teachings authenticated by a Zen master named Cho-an of Mt.
Yu-wang. Thereafter he named his sect the Nihon Daruma or Japanese
Bodhidharma sect.
10.Sage of Mount Hiei: The Great Teacher Dengyo.


POSTSCRIPT TO THE RISSHO ANKOKU RON

I compiled the above work in the first year of the Bunno era (1260),
when the reverse marker of Jupiter was in the sector of the sky with the
cyclical sign kanoe-saru. That is, I began the work during the Shoka era
(1257-58) and completed it in the first year of the Bunno era.

In the first year of the Shoka era (1257), cyclical sign hinotomi, on
the twenty-third day of the eighth month, at the time when the Hour of
the Dog gives way to the Hour of the Boar (9:00 P.M.), there was a
severe earthquake. Observing this event, I began compiling the work.
Later, in the first year of the Bunno era, on the sixteenth day of the
seventh month, I presented it to His Lordship, the late lay monk of
Saimyo-ji,1 by way of Yadoya Zemmon.2 Still later, in the first year of
the Bun'ei era (1264), cyclical sign kinoe-ne, on the fifth day of the
seventh month, when a great comet appeared, I became even more certain
of the origin of these disasters. Then, on the eighteenth day of the
intercalary first month of the fifth year of the Bun'ei era (1268), nine
years after the first year of the Bunno era, when I submitted the "Rissho Ankoku Ron," a letter came from the great kingdom of the Mongols
that lies to the west, threatening to attack our country. Again, in the
sixth year of the same era (1269), a second letter arrived. Thus the
prediction that I made in the "Rissho Ankoku Ron" has already proved to
be true. In view of this, we may suppose that the predictions I made
will continue to come true in the future as well.

This work of mine has now been substantiated by fact. But this has in no
regard happened because of my powers. Rather it has come about as a
response to the true words contained in the Lotus Sutra.

Copied on the eighth day of the twelfth month of the sixth year of the
Bun'ei era (1269), cyclical sign tsuchinoto-mi.

Footnotes:
1.Lay monk of Saimyo-ji: See p. 62, footnote 1.
2.Yadoya Zemmon: Yadoya Mitsunori, a lay priest and majordomo to Hojo
Tokiyori.

BACKGROUND:

In 1269, Mongol emissaries again arrived at Dazaifu, the government
outpost on the southern island of Kyushu. Nichiren Daishonin is believed
to have sent off another round of letters to top officials, which again
failed to produce a response. The "Postscript to the 'Rissho Ankoku Ron' " dated December 8, 1269, was appended to a copy of the "Rissho Ankoku
Ron," which he himself made, and warns that the prophecies made in that
document more than nine years ago were now coming true.