Recitation of the Hoben and Juryo Chapters
In the letter that you sent by messenger, you say that you used to recite one chapter of the Lotus Sutra each day, completing the entire sutra in the space of twenty-eight days, but that now you simply read the Yakuo chapter once each day. You ask [if this is satisfactory, or] if it would be better to return to your original practice of reading each chapter in turn.
In the case of the Lotus Sutra, one may recite the entire sutra of twenty-eight chapters in eight volumes every day; or one may recite only one volume, or one chapter, or one verse, or one phrase, or one word; or one may simply chant the daimoku, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, only once a day, or chant it only once in the course of a lifetime; or hear someone else chant it only once in a lifetime and rejoice in the hearing; or rejoice in hearing the voice of someone else rejoice in the hearing, and so on to fifty removes from the original individual who first chanted the daimoku.
In such a case, of course, the spirit of faith would become weak and the feeling of rejoicing much diluted, like the vague notions that might occur to the mind of a child of two or three, or like the mentality of a cow or a horse, unable to distinguish before from after. And yet the blessings gained by such a person are a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand times greater than those gained by persons of excellent innate ability and superior wisdom who study other sutras: persons such as Shariputra, Maudgalyayana, Monju and Miroku, who had committed to memory the entire texts of the various sutras.
The Lotus Sutra itself tells us this, and the same opinion is expressed in the sixty volumes of commentary by T'ien-t'ai and Miao-lo. Thus, the sutra states [concerning these blessings], "Even if their quantity were to be measured with the Buddha wisdom, their limit could not be found." Not even the wisdom of the Buddha can fathom the blessings such a person will obtain. The Buddha wisdom is so marvelous that it can know even the number of raindrops that fall in this major world system of ours during a period of seven days or twice seven days. And yet we read that the blessings acquired by one who recites no more than a single word of the Lotus Sutra are the one thing alone it cannot fathom. How, then, could ordinary persons like ourselves, who have committed so many grave offenses, be capable of understanding such blessings?
Great as such blessings may be, however, it is now some twenty-two hundred years and more since the Buddha's passing. For many years, the five impurities have flourished, and good deeds in any connection are rare indeed. Now, even though a person may do good, in the course of doing a single good deed he accumulates ten evil ones, so that in the end, for the sake of a small good, he commits great evil. And yet, in his heart, he prides himself on having practiced "great good" -- such are the times we live in.
Moreover, you have been born in the remote land of Japan, a tiny island country in the east separated by two hundred thousand ri of mountains and seas from the country of the Buddha's birth. What is more, you are a woman, burdened by the five obstacles and bound by the three obediences. How indescribably wonderful, therefore, that in spite of these hindrances, you have been able to take faith in the Lotus Sutra!
Even the wise or the learned, such as those who have pored over all the sacred teachings propounded by the Buddha in the course of his lifetime, and who have mastered both the exoteric and esoteric doctrines, are these days abandoning the Lotus Sutra and instead reciting the Nembutsu. What good karma must you have formed in the past, then, to have been born a person able to recite even so much as a verse or a phrase of the Lotus Sutra!
When I read over your letter, I felt as though my eyes were beholding something rarer than the udumbara flower, something even less frequent than the one-eyed turtle encountering a floating log with a hollow in it that fits him exactly. Moved to heartfelt admiration, I thought I would like to add just one word or one expression of my own rejoicing, endeavoring in this way to enhance your merit. I fear, however, that as clouds darken the moon or as dust defiles a mirror, my brief and clumsy attempts at description will only serve to cloak and obscure the incomparably wonderful blessings you will receive, and the thought pains me. Yet, in response to your question, I could scarcely remain silent. Please understand that I am merely joining my one drop to the rivers and the oceans or adding my candle to the sun and the moon, hoping in this way to increase even slightly the volume of the water or the brilliance of the light.
First of all, when it comes to the Lotus Sutra, whether one recites all eight volumes, or only one volume, one chapter, one verse, one phrase, or simply the daimoku or title, you should understand that the blessings that result are in all cases the same. It is like the water of the great ocean, a single drop of which contains water from all the countless streams and rivers, or like the wish-granting jewel, which, though only a single jewel, can shower all kinds of treasures upon the wisher. And the same is true of a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand or a hundred thousand such drops of water or such jewels. A single character of the Lotus Sutra is like such a drop of water or such a jewel, and all the hundred million characters of the Lotus Sutra are like a hundred million such drops or jewels.
On the other hand, a single character of the other sutras, or the name of any of the various Buddhas, is like one drop of the water of some particular stream or river, or like only one stone from a particular mountain or a particular sea. One such drop does not contain the water of countless other streams and rivers, and one such stone does not possess the virtues that inhere in innumerable other kinds of stones.
Therefore, when it comes to the Lotus Sutra, it is praiseworthy to recite any chapter you have placed your trust in, whichever chapter it might be.
Generally speaking, among all the sacred teachings of the Tathagata, none has ever been known to contain false words. Yet when we consider the Buddhist teachings more deeply, we find that even among the Tathagata's golden words there exist various categories, such as Mahayana and Hinayana, provisional and true teachings, and exoteric and esoteric doctrines. These distinctions arise from the sutras themselves, and accordingly we find that they are roughly outlined in the commentaries of the various scholars and teachers.
To state the essence of the matter, among the doctrines propounded by Shakyamuni Buddha in the fifty or more years of his teaching life, those put forward in the first forty or so years are of questionable nature. We can say so because the Buddha himself clearly stated in the Muryogi Sutra, "In these more than forty years, I have not yet revealed the truth." And in the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha himself proclaims concerning its every word and phrase: "Honestly discarding the provisional teachings, I will expound only the supreme Way."
Moreover, Taho Buddha appeared from the depths of the earth to add his testimony, declaring, "The Lotus Sutra ... All that you [Shakyamuni Buddha] have expounded is the truth." And the Buddhas of the ten directions all gathered at the assembly where the Lotus Sutra was being preached and extended their tongues to give further support to the assertion that within the Lotus Sutra there is not a single word that is false. It was as though a great king, his consort and his most venerable subjects had all with one accord given their promise.
Suppose that a man or a woman who recites even a single word of the Lotus Sutra should be destined to fall into the evil paths because of having committed the ten evil acts, the five cardinal sins, the four major offenses or countless other grave misdeeds. Even though the sun and moon should never again emerge from the east, though the great earth itself should turn over, though the tides of the great ocean should cease to ebb and flow, though a broken stone should be made whole or the waters of the streams and rivers cease to flow into the ocean, no woman who has put her faith in the Lotus Sutra would ever be dragged down into the evil paths as a result of worldly offenses.
If a woman who has put her faith in the Lotus Sutra should ever fall into the evil paths as a result of jealousy or ill temper or because of excessive greed, then Shakyamuni Buddha, Taho Buddha and the other Buddhas of the ten directions would immediately be guilty of breaking the vow they have upheld over the span of countless major kalpas never to tell a lie. Their offense would be even greater than the wild falsehoods and deceptions of Devadatta or the outrageous lies told by Kokalika. But how could such a thing ever happen? Thus a person who embraces the Lotus Sutra is absolutely assured of its blessings.
On the other hand, though one may not commit a single evil deed in his entire lifetime, but instead observe the five precepts, the eight precepts, the ten precepts, the ten good precepts, the two hundred and fifty precepts, the five hundred precepts, or countless numbers of precepts; though he may learn all the other sutras by heart, make offerings to all the other Buddhas and bodhisattvas and accumulate immeasurable merit; if he but fails to put his faith in the Lotus Sutra; or if he has faith in it but considers that it ranks on the same level as the other sutras and the teachings of the other Buddhas; or if he recognizes its superiority but constantly engages in other religious disciplines, practicing the Lotus Sutra only from time to time; or if he associates on friendly terms with priests of the Nembutsu, who do not believe in the Lotus Sutra but slander the Law; or if he thinks that those who insist the Lotus Sutra does not suit the people's capacity in the latter age are guilty of no fault, then all the merit of the countless good acts he has performed throughout the course of his life will suddenly vanish. Moreover, the blessings resulting from his practice of the Lotus Sutra will for some time be obscured, and he will fall into the great citadel of the Avichi Hell as surely as rain falls from the sky or rocks tumble down from the peaks into the valleys.
Yet even though one may have committed the ten evil acts or the five cardinal sins, so long as he does not turn his back on the Lotus Sutra, he will without doubt be reborn in the Pure Land and attain Buddhahood in his next existence. On the other hand, we read in the sutra that even a person who observes the precepts, embraces all other sutras and believes in the various Buddhas and bodhisattvas, if he fails to take faith in the Lotus Sutra, is certain to fall into the evil paths.
Limited though my ability may be, when I observe the situation in the world these days, it seems to me that the great majority of both lay believers and members of the clergy are guilty of slandering the Law.
But to return to your question: As I said before, though no chapter of the Lotus Sutra is negligible, among the entire twenty-eight chapters, the Hoben chapter and the Juryo chapter are particularly outstanding. The remaining chapters are all in a sense the branches and leaves of these two chapters. Therefore, for your regular recitation, I recommend that you practice reading the prose sections of the Hoben and Juryo chapters. In addition it might be well if you wrote out separate copies of these sections.
The remaining twenty-six chapters are like the shadows that accompany a form or the value inherent in a jewel. If you recite the Juryo and Hoben chapters, then the remaining chapters will naturally be included even though you do not recite them. It is true that the Yakuo and Devadatta chapters deal specifically with women's attainment of Buddhahood or rebirth in the Pure Land. But the Devadatta chapter is a branch and leaf of the Hoben chapter, and the Yakuo chapter is a branch and leaf of the Hoben and Juryo chapters. Therefore, you should regularly recite these two chapters, the Hoben and Juryo. As for the remaining chapters, you may turn to them from time to time when you have a moment of leisure.
Also, in your letter you say that three times each day you bow in reverence to the seven characters of the daimoku, and that each day you repeat the words Namu-ichijo-myoden ten thousand times. However, at times of menstruation you refrain from reading the sutra. You ask if it is acceptable to recite the daimoku and the Namu-ichijo-myoden [without facing the object of worship] at such times. You also ask whether you should refrain from reading the sutra merely during your menstrual period, or, if not, how many days following the end of your period you should wait before resuming recitation of the sutra.
This is a matter that concerns all women and about which they always inquire. In past times, too, we find many persons addressing themselves to this question concerning women. But because the sacred teachings put forward by the Buddha in the course of his lifetime do not touch upon this point, no one has been able to offer any clear scriptural proof upon which to base an answer. In my own study of the sacred teachings, though I find clear prohibitions against the impurity of certain sexual acts or the consumption of meat or wine or the five spicy foods on specific days of the month, I have never come across any passage in the sutras or treatises that speaks of avoidances connected with menstruation.
While the Buddha was in the world, many women in the prime of life became nuns and devoted themselves to the Buddhist Law, but they were never shunned on account of their menstrual period. Judging from this, I would say that menstruation does not represent any kind of pollution coming from an external source. It is simply a characteristic of the female sex, a phenomenon related to the perpetuation of the seed of birth and death. Or in another sense, it might be regarded as a kind of chronically recurring illness. In the case of feces and urine, though these are substances produced by the body, so long as one observes cleanly habits, there are no special prohibitions to be observed concerning them. Surely the same must be true of menstruation. That is why, I think, we hear of no particular rules for avoidance pertaining to the subject in India or China.
Japan, however, is a land of the gods. And it is the way of this country that, although the Buddhas and bodhisattvas have manifested themselves here in the form of gods, strangely enough, these gods, in many cases, do not conform to the sutras and treatises. Nevertheless, if one goes against them, one is likely to incur actual punishment.
When we scrutinize the sutras and treatises with care, we find that there is a doctrine called the zuiho bini precept that corresponds to such cases. The gist of this precept is that, so long as no seriously offensive act is involved, then, even though one should depart to some slight degree from the teachings of Buddhism, one should avoid going against the manners and customs of the country. This is a precept expounded by the Buddha. But it appears that some wise men, unaware of this fact, claim that because the gods are demon-like beings, they are unworthy of reverence. And by insisting upon the rightness of their views, it appears that they do injury to the faith of many believers.
If we go by this zuiho bini precept, then since the gods of Japan have in most cases desired that prohibitions be observed regarding the period of menstruation, people born in this country would probably do well to be aware of and honor such prohibitions.
However, I do not think that such prohibitions should interfere with a woman's daily religious devotions. I would guess that it is persons who never had any faith in the Lotus Sutra to begin with who tell you otherwise. They are trying to think of some way to make you stop reciting the sutra, but they do not feel they can come right out and advise you to cast the sutra aside. So they use the pretext of bodily impurity to try to distance you from it. They intimidate you by telling you that if you continue your regular devotions during a period of pollution, you will be treating the sutra with disrespect. In this way they mean to trick you into committing a fault.
I hope you will keep in mind all that I have said regarding this matter. On this basis, even if your menstrual period should last as long as seven days, if you feel so inclined, then dispense with the reading of the sutra and simply recite Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Also, when making your devotions, you need not bow facing the sutra.
If unexpectedly you should feel yourself approaching death, then even if you are eating fish or fowl, if you are able to read the sutra, you should do so, and likewise chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Needless to say, the same principle applies during your period of menstruation.

Reciting the words Namu-ichijo-myoden amounts to the same thing. But it is better if you just chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, as Bodhisattva Vasubandhu and the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai did. There are specific reasons why I say this.
Respectfully,
Nichiren

Encouragement to a Sick Person
I have heard that you are suffering from illness. Is this true? The uncertainty of this world is such that even the healthy cannot remain forever, let alone those who are ill. Thoughtful persons should therefore prepare their minds for the life to come. Yet one cannot prepare his mind for the next life by his own efforts alone. Only on the basis of the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, the original teacher of all living beings, will he be able to do so.
However, the Buddha's teachings are various, perhaps because people's minds also differ greatly. In any event, Shakyamuni taught for no more than fifty years. Among the teachings he expounded during the first forty years and more, we find the Kegon Sutra, which says, "The mind, the Buddha and all living beings -- these three things are without distinction"; the Agon sutras, which set forth the principles of suffering, emptiness, impermanence and egolessness; the Daijuku Sutra, which asserts the interpenetration of the defiled aspect and the pure aspect; the Daibon Hannya Sutra, which teaches mutual identification and non-duality; and the Muryoju, Kammuryoju and Amida sutras, which emphasize rebirth in the Land of Perfect Bliss. All these teachings were doubtless expounded in order to save all living beings in the Former, Middle and Latter Days of the Law.
Nevertheless, for some reason of his own, the Buddha declared in the Muryogi Sutra, "[Expounding the Law in various ways,] I made use of the power of expedient means. But in these more than forty years, I have not yet revealed the truth." Like a parent who has second thoughts about the transfer deed he has written out earlier, he looked back with regret upon all the sutras he had expounded during the past forty years and more, including those which taught rebirth in the Land of Perfect Bliss, and declared [that no matter how earnestly one may practice them,] "...in the end one will never attain supreme enlightenment, even after the lapse of countless, limitless, inconceivable asogi kalpas." He reiterated this in the Hoben chapter of the Lotus Sutra, saying, "Honestly discarding the provisional teachings, I will expound only the supreme Way." By "discarding the provisional teachings," he meant that one should discard the Nembutsu and other teachings preached during the period of those forty-some years.
Having thus obviously regretted and reversed his previous teachings, he made clear his true intention, saying, "The World-Honored One has long expounded his doctrines and now must reveal the truth," and "The Tathagata long kept silence with regard to this essential truth and was in no haste to preach it." Thereupon Taho Buddha emerged from below the earth and added his testimony, declaring what Shakyamuni had said to be true, and the Buddhas of the ten directions assembled in the eight directions, extending their long, broad tongues until they reached the palace in the Brahma Heaven. All the beings of the two worlds and the eight kinds, who were gathered at the two places and three assemblies, without a single exception witnessed this.
Yet, setting aside evil persons and non-Buddhists, who do not believe in Buddhism, even among the followers of Buddhism we find those who [reject this testimony and instead] have devout faith in the provisional teachings preached before the Lotus Sutra, such as the Nembutsu. They devote themselves to reciting it ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand or as many as sixty thousand times each day, but do not chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, not even once in ten or twenty years. [In light of the above sutra passages,] are they not like a person who clings to the transfer deed already nullified by his parent and refuses to accept its revised version? They may appear to others as well as to themselves to have faith in the Buddha's teachings, but if we go by what the Buddha actually taught, they are unfilial persons.
This is why the second volume of the Lotus Sutra states, "Now this threefold world is all my domain. The living beings in it are all my children. Yet this world has many cares and troubles from which I alone can save them. But, even though I teach and instruct them, they neither believe nor accept." This passage means that to us living beings, the Tathagata Shakyamuni is our parent, teacher and sovereign. Amida, Yakushi and other Buddhas may be a sovereign to us living beings, but they are neither a parent nor a teacher. Shakyamuni is the one and only Buddha who is endowed with all three virtues and to whom we owe the most profound debt of gratitude. There are parents and parents, yet none of them can equal him. There are all manner of teachers and sovereigns, but none so admirable as he. Could those who disobey the teaching of the one who is their parent, teacher and sovereign not be abandoned by both heavenly gods and earthly deities? They are the most unfilial of all children. It is for this reason that the Buddha said, "But, even though I teach and instruct them, they neither believe nor accept." Even though they may follow the sutras preached before the Lotus Sutra and practice them for a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand or a hundred thousand kalpas, if they do not believe in the Lotus Sutra and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo even once, they can only be termed unfilial. They will therefore be abandoned by the sacred ones of the three existences and the ten directions and hated by the deities of both heaven and earth. This represents the first [of the five guides for propagation].
Even those people who commit the five cardinal sins, the ten evil acts, etc., or innumerable other wrong doings may attain the Way if only their faculties are keen. Devadatta and Angulimala are representative of such people. And even those of dull faculties may attain the Way, provided they are free of misdeeds. Shuddhipanthaka is an example. Our faculties are even duller that those of Shuddhipanthaka. We can discern the colors and shapes of things no better than a sheep's eye. In the vast depths of our greed, anger and stupidity, we commit the ten evil acts every day, and although we may not commit the five cardinal sins, we perpetrate similar offenses daily.
Moreover, every single person is guilty of slander of the Law, an offense exceeding even the ten evil acts or the five cardinal sins. Although few people slander the Lotus Sutra with actual words of abuse, there is none who values it. Some appear to value the sutra, but in fact, they do not believe in it as deeply as they do in the Nembutsu or other teachings. And even those with profound faith do not reproach the enemies of the Lotus Sutra. No matter what great good deed one may perform, even if he reads and transcribes the entirety of the Lotus Sutra a thousand or ten thousand times or masters the meditation to perceive ichinen sanzen, should he but fail to denounce the enemies of the Lotus Sutra, he will be unable to attain the Way. To illustrate, it is like the case of someone in the service of the imperial court. Even though he may have served for a decade or two, if he knows someone to be an enemy of the emperor but neither reports him to the throne nor feels personal enmity toward him, all the merit of his past services will be thereby negated, and he will instead be charged with a crime. You must understand that people of this age are slanderers of the Law. This represents the second [of the five guides for propagation].
The thousand years beginning from the day after the Buddha's passing are called the Former Day of the Law, a period when those who upheld the precepts were many, and people attained the Way. The thousand years of the Former Day are followed by the Middle Day of the Law, which also lasts a thousand years. During this period, many people broke the precepts and few attained the Way. The Middle Day is followed by the ten thousand years of the Latter Day of the Law. During this period, people neither uphold the precepts nor break them; only those without precepts fill the country. Moreover, it is called a defiled age, an age rife with disorder. In an uncorrupted age, called a pure age, the wrong is discarded while the right is observed, just as crooked timber is planed according to the markings of a carpenter's line. During the Former and Middle Days of the Law, the five impurities begin to appear, and in the Latter Day, they are rampant. They rage not only like huge waves, whipped by a strong gale, battering the shore, but also like waves crashing one against another. [Among the five impurities,] the impurity of thought is such that, as the Former and Middle Days of the Law gradually pass, people transmit an insignificant heretical teaching while destroying the unfathomable True Law. It therefore follows that more people fall into the evil paths because of errors with respect to Buddhism than because of secular misdeeds.
Now the two thousand years of the Former and Middle Days of the Law have already passed, and it has been more than two hundred years since the Latter Day began. Now is the time when, because the impurity of thought prevails, more people fall into the evil paths with the intention of creating good causes than they do by committing evil. As for evil acts, even ignorant people may recognize them for what they are, and refrain from committing them. This is like extinguishing a fire with water. But people think that good deeds are all equal in their goodness; thus they adhere to lesser good and do not realize that, in so doing, they bring about major evil. Therefore, even when they see sacred structures related to Dengyo, Jikaku and others that are neglected and in disrepair, they leave them as they are for the simple reason that they are not halls dedicated to the Nembutsu. Instead, they build Nembutsu halls beside those sacred structures, confiscate the lands that have been donated to them and offer them instead to the halls they have erected. According to a passage of the Zobo Ketsugi Sutra, such deeds will bring few benefits. You should understand from the above that even if one performs a good deed, should it be an act of lesser good that destroys great good, then it will cause one to fall into the evil paths.
The present age coincides with the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law. Gone completely are those people with the capacity to attain enlightenment through either the Hinayana or provisional Mahayana sutras. There now remain only those whose capacity is suited solely to the true Mahayana sutras. A small boat cannot carry a large rock. Those who are evil or ignorant are like a large rock, while the Hinayana and provisional Mahayana sutras as well as the Nembutsu are like a small boat. If one tries to cure virulent sores with hot-spring baths, because the ailment is so serious, such mild treatment will be to no avail. For us in this defiled age of the Latter Day, embracing the Nembutsu and other teachings is like working rice paddies in winter; it does not suit the time. This represents the third [of the five guides for propagation].
One should also have a correct understanding of the country. People's minds differ according to their land. For example, a mandarin orange tree south of the Yangtze River becomes a triple-leafed orange tree if it is transplanted to the north of the Huai River. Even plants and trees, which have no mind, change with their location. How much more, then, must beings with minds differ according to the place!
A work by the Tripitaka Master Hsuan-tsang called Daito Saiiki Ki, or Record of the Western Regions, describes many countries in India. According to the nature of the country, there are countries whose inhabitants are undutiful to their parents, and others where people observe filial piety. In some countries, anger prevails, while in others, stupidity is rampant. There are countries devoted solely to Hinayana, others devoted solely to Mahayana, and still others where both Mahayana and Hinayana are pursued. There are countries wholly given over to the killing of living creatures, countries wholly given over to thieving, countries where rice abounds, and countries which produce much millet. So great is the variety of countries [in India].
Then, what teaching should our country of Japan learn if its people are to free themselves from the sufferings of birth and death? As for this question, the Lotus Sutra states, "After the passing of the Tathagata, I will cause this sutra to spread widely throughout the continent of Jambudvipa and never allow it to perish." This passage means that the Lotus is a sutra related to the people of Jambudvipa, the continent of the south. Bodhisattva Miroku said, "There is a small country in the eastern quarter whose people are related solely to the Mahayana." According to this passage from his treatise, within Jambudvipa, there is a small country in the eastern quarter where the capacity of the people is especially suited to the Mahayana sutra. Seng-chao in his commentary remarks, "This sutra is related to a small country in the northeast." This indicates that the Lotus Sutra has a connection to a country in the northeast. The Eminent Priest Annen states, "All in my country of Japan believe in the Mahayana." Eshin in his Ichijo Yoketsu says, "Throughout all Japan, all people share the same capacity to attain Buddhahood through the perfect teaching [of the Lotus Sutra]."
Thus, according to the opinions of my virtuous predecessors, such as Shakyamuni Buddha, Bodhisattva Miroku, the Tripitaka Master Shuryasoma, The Tripitaka Master Kumarajiva, the Dharma Teacher Seng-chao, the Eminent Priest Annen and the Supervisor of Monks Eshin, people in the country of Japan have a capacity suited solely to the Lotus Sutra. Those who put into practice even a phrase or a verse of this sutra are certain to attain the Way, for it is the teaching related to them. This may be likened to iron particles drawn by a magnet or dewdrops collecting on a mirror. Other good practices such as the Nembutsu are unrelated to our country. They are like a magnet that cannot attract iron or a mirror that is unable to gather dew. For this reason, Annen states in his interpretation, "If it is not the true vehicle, one is doubtless deceiving both oneself and others." This passages means that one who instructs the people of Japan in a teaching other than the Lotus Sutra is deceiving not only oneself but others, too. One therefore must always consider the country when propagating the Buddhist teachings. One should not assume that a teaching suited to one country must necessarily be suited to another as well. This constitutes the fourth [of the five guides for propagation].
Furthermore, in a country where Buddhism has already spread, one must also take into account the sequence of propagation. It is the rule in propagating Buddhism that one must always learn the characteristics of the teachings that have already spread. To illustrate, when giving medicine to a sick person, one should know what kind of medicine was administered before. Otherwise, different kinds of medicine may conflict and work against one another, killing the patient. Likewise, different teachings of Buddhism may conflict and interfere with each other, destroying the practitioner. In a country where non-Buddhist teachings have already spread, one should use Buddhism to refute them. For example, the Buddha appeared in India and defeated the Brahmans; Kashyapa Matanga and Chu-fa-lan went to China and attacked the Taoists; and Prince Jogu was born in the country of Japan and put Moriya to the sword.
The same principle applies in the realm of Buddhism itself. In a country where the Hinayana has spread, one must vanquish it by means of the Mahayana sutras, just as Bodhisattva Asanga refuted the Hinayana teachings upheld by Vasubandhu. In a country where provisional Mahayana has been propagated, one must conquer it with the true Mahayana, just as the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai Chih-che defeated the three schools of southern China and the seven schools of northern China. As for the country of Japan, it has been more than four hundred years since the two sects of Tendai and Shingon have spread here. [During this period,] it has been determined that all four categories of Buddhists -- priests, nuns, laymen and laywomen -- have capacities suited to the Lotus Sutra. All people, whether good or evil, wise or ignorant, are endowed with the benefit of the fiftieth hearer. They are like the K'unlun Mountains, where no worthless stone is to be found, or the mountain island of P'eng-lai, where no harmful potion is known.
However, within the past fifty years or so, a man of flagrant slander named Honen appeared. He deceived all the people by showing them a stone that resembled a jewel and persuading them to discard the jewel they already possessed in favor of it. This is what the fifth volume of the Maka Shikan means when it refers to "treasuring tiles and pebbles and calling them bright jewels." All the people are clutching ordinary rocks in their hands, convinced that they are precious jewels. That is to say, they have discarded the Lotus Sutra to chant the name of Amida Buddha. But when I point this out, they become furious and revile the votary of the Lotus Sutra, thereby increasing all the more their karma to fall into the hell of incessant suffering. Here I have explained the fifth [of the five guides for propagation].
You, heeding my assertion, discarded the Nembutsu and embraced the Lotus Sutra. But by now you must surely have reverted to being a follower of the Nembutsu. Remember that to discard the Lotus Sutra and become a believer in the Nembutsu is to be like a rock from a mountain peak hurtling down to the valley below, or like rain in the skies falling to the ground. There is no doubt that such a person will fall into the great Avichi Hell. Those related to the sons of Daitsu Buddha had to spend the duration of sanzen-jintengo, and those who received the seed of Buddhahood in the remote past, the length of gohyaku-jintengo, [in the evil paths]. This was because they met with very evil companions and discarded the Lotus Sutra, falling back to the provisional teachings such as the Nembutsu. As the members of your family seem to be Nembutsu adherents, they certainly must be urging it upon you. That is understandable, since they themselves believe in it. You should consider them, however, as people deluded by the followers of the diabolical Honen. Arouse strong faith, and do not heed what they say. It is the way of the great devil to assume the form of a venerable monk or to take possession of one's father, mother or brother in order to obstruct one's next life. Whatever they may say, no matter how cleverly they may try to deceive you into discarding the Lotus Sutra, do not assent to it.
Stop and consider. If the passages of proof [offered to support the claim] that the Nembutsu does in truth lead to rebirth in the Pure Land were reliable, then in the past twelve years during which I have been asserting that the Nembutsu believers will fall into the hell of incessant suffering, would they consistently have failed to refute me, no matter with whom they lodged their protests? Their contention must be feeble indeed! Teachings such as those left behind by Honen and Shan-tao have been known to me, Nichiren, since I was seventeen or eighteen. And the arguments that people put forth these days are no improvement.
Consequently, since their teachings are no match for mine, they resort to sheer force of numbers in trying to fight against me. Nembutsu believers number tens of millions, and their supporters are many. I Nichiren, am alone, without a single ally. It is amazing that I should have survived until now. This year, too, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, between the hours of the Monkey and the Cock (around 5:00 P.M.), on the highway called Matsubara in Tojo in the province of Awa. I was ambushed by hundreds of Nembutsu believers. I was alone except for about ten men accompanying me, only three or four of whom were capable of offering any resistance at all. Arrows fell on us like rain, and swords descended like lightning. One of my disciples was slain in a matter of a moment and two others were gravely wounded. I myself sustained cuts and blows, and it seemed that I was doomed. Yet, for some reason, my attackers failed to kill me; thus I have survived until now.
This has only strengthened my faith in the Lotus Sutra. The fourth volume [of the sutra] says, "Since hatred and jealousy toward this sutra bound even during the lifetime of the Buddha, how much worse will it be in the world after his passing!" The fifth volume states, "The people will resent [the Lotus Sutra] and find it extremely difficult to believe." In the country of Japan there are many who read and study the Lotus Sutra. There are also many who are beaten in punishment for attempting to seduce other men's wives, or for theft or other offenses. Yet not one person has ever suffered injury on account of the Lotus Sutra. It is clear, therefore, that those Japanese who embrace the sutra have yet to experience the truth of the above sutra passages. I, Nichiren, alone have read the sutra with my entire being. This is the meaning of the passage that says, "We do not hold our own lives dear. We value only the supreme Way." I, Nichiren, am therefore the foremost votary of the Lotus Sutra in Japan.
Should you depart from this life before I do, you should report to Bonten, Taishaku, the Four Great Heavenly Kings and Great King Emma. Declare yourself to be a disciple of the priest Nichiren, the foremost Great Heavenly Kings and Great King Emma. Declare yourself to be a disciple of the priest Nichiren, the foremost votary of the Lotus Sutra in Japan. Then they cannot possibly treat you discourteously. But if you should be of two minds, alternately chanting the Nembutsu and reciting the Lotus Sutra, and fear what other may say about you, then, even though you may identify yourself as Nichiren's disciple, they will never accept your word. [If that should happen,] do not resent me later. Yet, since the Lotus Sutra answers one's prayers for matters of this life as well, you may still survive your illness. In that case, I will by all means visit you as soon as possible and talk with you directly. Words
With my deep respect,
Nichiren
The thirteenth day of the twelfth month in the first year of Bun'ei (1264)

Reply to Lord Hakiri Saburo
In Kamakura there are disciples of mine named Chikugobo, Ben Ajari and Daishin Ajari. It would be well if you summoned them, showed them due respect, and held discussions with them. I will tell you in outline my important teachings. They are also fairly well acquainted with the great Law that has never before been propagated in Japan, and therefore you would do well to study under them.
[In your letter, you say in essence:] "As soon as your letter reached me, the doubts that I had previously entertained were swept away, just as when a strong wind blows away the layers of cloud and the bright moon comes into view. However, for persons of the present age, whether they are of high position or low, this doctrine of yours is difficult to believe. The reason is that the Lotus Sutra promises that those who practice the Law of the Buddha 'will enjoy peace and security in this life and good circumstances in the next.' If this is so, then why is it that the priest Nichiren, though he calls himself a votary of the Lotus Sutra, should meet with so many difficulties? People are saying that it must be because his teachings do not accord with the Buddha's will."
However, with regard to these groundless criticisms, [it is clear that the difficulties I encounter] are due to my karma from past existences. Just because I have incurred the wrath of the government authorities, that is no reason for you to suddenly be surprised.
By way of explanation, if you will examine the text of the Lotus Sutra, you will find it stated that, in the Latter Day of the Law, when a person practices the Lotus Sutra just as it teaches, he is bound to meet with many difficulties. This is made perfectly clear in the text, and anyone who has eyes need only look to see what is there.
Thus, for example, the fourth volume of the Lotus Sutra says: "Since hatred and jealousy [toward this sutra] abound even during the lifetime of the Buddha, how much worse will it be in the world after his passing!" And the fifth volume reads: "In the world at that time the people will resent [the Lotus Sutra] and find it extremely difficult to believe." It also says: "There will be many ignorant people who will curse and speak ill of us, and will attack us with swords and staves, and with rocks and tiles." And it continues: "There will be monks in that evil age [with perverse views...]. Or there will be forest-dwelling monks wearing clothing of patched rags and living in retirement.... 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 supernatural powers. 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.... Demons will take possession of others and through them curse, revile and heap shame on us.... again and again we will be banished."
The Dainehan Sutra says: "Icchantika, persons of incorrigible disbelief, pretend to be arhats, living in deserted places and speaking slanderously of the Mahayana sutras. When ordinary people see them, they suppose that they are all true arhats and speak of them as great bodhisattvas." It also says: "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 who narrow their eyes, stalking softly. They will be like a cat on the prowl for mice."
And the Hatsunaion Sutra states: "There are also icchantika who resemble arhats [but who commit evil deeds]."
Now when I hold up this bright mirror [of the sutra texts] and turn it toward the country of Japan, all is reflected there without the slightest obscurity. The "forest-dwelling monks wearing clothing of patched rags and living in retirement"--who are they? Those who are "respected and revered by the world as though they were arhats who possess the six supernatural powers" -- who are they? "When ordinary people see them, they suppose that they are all true arhats and speak of them as great bodhisattvas" -- to whom does this refer? Those who "give the appearance of abiding by the rules of monastic discipline but scarcely ever read or recite the sutras" -- who are they?
As we see from the passages of scripture, Shakyamuni with his Buddha eye observed the situation that would prevail at the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law. If, when that age has arrived, there were to be no persons of the type that the Buddha describes, then the World-Honored One would be guilty of false and baseless talk. [And if that were to be the case, then] who would put faith in the theoretical and essential teachings of the Lotus Sutra, and in the doctrine of the eternally inherent Buddha nature which was preached in the grove of sal trees?
Now when, in order to prove the truth of the Buddha's words, I, Nichiren, read these sutra passages, applying them to this country of Japan, [I interpret them as follows]. The passage about "forest-dwelling monks" [who are] "living in deserted places" refers to [the priests of] Kencho-ji, Jufuku-ji, Gokuraku-ji, Kennin-ji, Tofuku-ji and the other temples of the Zen, Ritsu and Nembutsu sects in Japan. These diabolical temples have appeared in the world in order to bring destruction upon the Buddhist temples of Mount Hiei and the other temples of the Hokke [Lotus] or Tendai sect.
Those who "wear clothing of patched rags" and "give the appearance of abiding by the rules of monastic discipline" are the present-day "observers of the precepts" with their surplices made from five, seven or nine pieces of cloth. Those who are "respected and revered by the world" and "spoken of as great bodhisattvas" are men like Doryu, Ryokan and Shoichi. The "world" that looks up to them refers to the ruler and men of authority of our present age. And the "ignorant people" and "ordinary people" [referred to in these scriptural passages] are all the people of Japan, both high and low.
I, Nichiren, am a common mortal, and therefore I am unable to take faith in the Buddha's teaching. But with regard to what I am saying here, I know the situation as clearly as one knows fire or water when he touches a hand to it.
According to the scripture, if a votary of the Lotus Sutra should appear, he will be cursed and reviled, attacked with swords and staves, and banished. But if one applies this passage of the sutra to the world today, there is not a single person whom it fits. Who then should be looked upon as the votary of the Lotus Sutra?
Could it be that the enemies of the Lotus Sutra have made their appearance, but that there is no one who upholds the sutra? But that would be like saying that there is an east but no west or that heaven exists but earth does not. Were this the case, the words of the Buddha would be no more than lies, would they not?
It may seem like self-praise on my part, but having pondered this, I will give credence to the words of the Buddha. I, the priest Nichiren, am the votary referred to in the scripture.
Moreover, the Buddha, speaking of the events of his past, says in the Fukyo chapter [of the Lotus Sutra]: "At that time there was a bodhisattva named Jofukyo (Never Despising).... They cursed and abused him...Some among the people would beat him with sticks and staves, and stone him with rocks and tiles." In this way, Shakyamuni Buddha cited his own practice in the past to encourage and hearten [the votary of the Lotus Sutra] at the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law.
[In the past,] Bodhisattva Fukyo was beaten with sticks and staves for the sake of the Lotus Sutra, and was at once able to attain the supreme stage of myogaku. Now I, Nichiren, for the sake of the same sutra, have in my present existence been attacked with swords and staves, and have twice been banished to distant places. Can there be any doubt, therefore, that in the future I shall attain the wonderful fruit of Buddhahood?
After the passing of the Tathagata Shakyamuni, the four ranks of saints appeared in the Former and Middle Days of the Law and worked to propagate the Lotus Sutra, but even at that time they encountered numerous difficulties. Thus among the successors in the line of Shakyamuni's teachings, the twentieth, Bodhisattva Aryadeva, was killed, and the twenty-fifth, the Venerable Aryasimha, had his head cut off. The eighth successor, Buddhamitra, and the thirteenth, Bodhisattva Nagarjuna, each carried a red flag and stood before the entrance to the ruler's palace [in hopes of attracting his notice], the former for twelve years and the latter for seven years.
Chu Tao-sheng was banished to a mountain in Su-chou, the priest Fa-tsu was murdered, the Tripitaka Master Fa-tao was branded on the face, and the Dharma Teacher Hui-yuan was berated and accused. The Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai confronted in debate the leaders of the ten schools of northern and southern China, and the Great Teacher Dengyo refuted the erroneous views of the six sects of Nara.
Depending upon whether these men happened to live in the time of wise rulers or foolish ones, their views were accepted or rejected, but in no case were they untrue to the Buddha's will. Even during the Former and Middle Days of the Law, they encountered such difficulties. How much more likely then is one to meet difficulties in the Latter Day! For the sake of the Lotus Sutra, I have already called down upon myself the anger of the authorities, but I count that as the greatest good fortune. It is like exchanging tiles and rubble for gold and silver.
And yet I cannot help but grieve as I recall the words of the Ninno Sutra: "Once the sages have departed, then the seven disasters are certain to arise." The seven disasters include major droughts and great military uprisings.
The Saishoo Sutra states: "Because evil men are respected and favored and good men are subjected to punishment, the stars and constellations, along with the winds and rains, all fail to move in their proper seasons."
Now who are meant by "evil men [who] are respected and favored"? They are men such as those whom I spoke of earlier. And who is meant by "good men [who] are subjected to punishment"? He is the one whom I mentioned above, who has "again and again been banished." And the passage on the "stars and constellations" refers to the strange and portentous occurrences that have taken place in the skies and on the earth during the past twenty years or so.
If these passages from the sutras are true, then the banishment of Nichiren is a portent that foretells the downfall of the nation. Even before I incurred the displeasure of the authorities, I foresaw that this would happen and stated the reason in the "Rissho Ankoku Ron." Who can doubt that what I say is true? And that is why I grieve.
It has now been 2,222 years since the passing of the Buddha. During the thousand years of the Former Day of the Law, Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu and others acted as the Buddha's envoys, propagating his teachings. However, they propagated only the two teachings of Hinayana and provisional Mahayana and did not propagate the teachings of true Mahayana.
Some five hundred years after the beginning of the Middle Day of the Law, the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai appeared in China in order to refute the erroneous views of the schools of the north and south and to establish the correct teaching. In the area of doctrinal study, he propounded the theory of the five periods, and in the realm of meditative practices, he set forth the concept of ichinen sanzen. All of China joined in praising him as a Little Shakyamuni. And yet, [of the three types of learning,] he propounded perfect meditation and perfect wisdom, but he did not spread the perfect precepts.
Then, eighteen hundred years after the passing of the Buddha, the Great Teacher Dengyo appeared in Japan and refuted the erroneous views that had been held by the six sects of Buddhism during the two hundred or more years since the time of Emperor Kimmei. In addition, he propounded the precepts of perfect and immediate enlightenment that T'ien-t'ai had not spread. These are the great precepts of perfect and immediate enlightenment administered at the ordination platform on Mount Hiei.
Nevertheless, in the more than two thousand years since the Buddha's passing, though there have been tens of thousands of temples built in the three lands of India, China and Japan, there have been no temples or pagodas dedicated to the lord of the essential teaching, nor has anyone propagated the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, which were specifically entrusted to the countless bodhisattvas who emerged from the earth. Although there are scriptural passages saying that they should be propagated [in the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law], throughout the entire nation no one has propagated them. Is this because the time and the people's capacity were not yet ripe?
The Buddha, speaking of the future, said: "In the fifth five hundred years after my death, widely declare and spread [the Lotus Sutra] and never allow its flow to cease." The Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai predicted: "In the fifth five hundred years, the Mystic Way shall spread and benefit mankind far into the future." And the Great Teacher Dengyo wrote: "The Former and Middle Days are almost over, and the Latter Day is near at hand. Now indeed is the time when the one vehicle expounded in the Lotus Sutra will prove how perfectly it fits the capacities of all people." These passages from the sutra and its commentaries all refer to events that will take place at the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law.
Moreover, a Brahman of India once said, "One hundred years after I pass away, the Buddha will appear in the world.". And a Confucian scholar predicted, "One thousand years from now, Buddhism will be transmitted to China." Thus, even such predictions by ordinary persons are found to tally with the truth. How much more trustworthy, therefore, should be the pronouncements of persons such as Dengyo and T'ien-t'ai, to say nothing of the clear predictions that come from the golden mouths of the Buddhas Shakyamuni and Taho!
Truly you must understand that the time has come for the lord of the essential teaching to make his advent and for the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, which have never before been propagated, to spread throughout the world. Can there be any doubt of it?
However, there are persons who have repeatedly heard these matters from the priest Nichiren and yet, now that I have met with these great difficulties, have abandoned their faith. You, on the other hand, have heard my teachings only once or twice, and then only for an hour or two. And yet I understand that you have not abandoned your faith but continue to stand by it. This cannot be due solely to the causes formed in your present existence. The Great Teacher Miao-lo writes: "Therefore we know that if, in the latter age, one is able to hear the Law even briefly, and if, having heard it, one then arouses faith in it, this comes about because of the seeds planted in a previous existence." And he also says: "Being born at the end of the Middle Day of the Law, I have been able to behold these true words of the sutra. Unless in a previous existence one has planted the seeds of auspicious causation, then it is truly difficult to encounter such an opportunity."
The Lotus Sutra says: "Persons who in past existences have made offerings to tens of billions of Buddhas will be reborn in the realm of human beings and take faith in this Lotus Sutra." And the Nirvana Sutra states that persons who give alms to as many Buddhas as there are sands in the Hiranyavati and Ganges rivers will be reborn in a later evil age and take faith in this [Lotus] sutra.
King Ajatashatru was an evil man who killed his father and imprisoned his mother. Nevertheless, when he came to the assembly where the Buddha was preaching the Nirvana Sutra and heard the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, he not only recovered from the sores that had broken out [as a result of his evil deeds] in his present existence, but his life was prolonged by forty years; and, even though he did not originally possess the roots of faith, in the end he reached the first stage of security, obtaining Shakyamuni's prediction that he would attain Buddhahood.
Devadatta was a man of incorrigible disbelief, the worst in the entire world. In all the earlier sutras preached during the lifetime of the Buddha, he was cast aside as hopeless. But with the preaching of the Lotus Sutra, it was predicted that he would eventually attain Buddhahood and become known as the Tathagata Heavenly King.
Judging from these examples, we may conclude that for evil people living in the latter age, the attainment of Buddhahood does not depend upon whether their offenses are slight or grave, but solely upon whether or not they have faith in this sutra.
In your case, you are a member of a warrior family, an evil man who day and night is involved in the business of killing. Since you have not left your household [to be become a priest] but have remained a warrior to the present, by what means can you escape the three evil paths? You should think about this very carefully.
The heart of the Lotus Sutra is the revelation that one may attain the supreme enlightenment in one's present state, without change of original status. This means that, without casting aside one's karmic impediments, one can still attain the Buddha Way. Thus T'ien-t'ai says, "The other sutras predict Buddhahood for the good but not for the evil.... Only this [Lotus] sutra predicts Buddhahood for all." And Miao-lo says, "Only in the perfect teaching are the reverse relationship and the positive relationship ultimately one. In the other three types of teachings, the two relationships are entirely separate."
I perhaps ought to go into the question of whether or not enlightenment can be gained through the various sutras preached prior to the Lotus Sutra, but this is a matter to be discussed with someone thoroughly familiar with Buddhist terms and categories. Nevertheless, there are disciples of mine to whom I have taught the essentials with regard to this point, and so you may summon them and hear the gist of the matter from them. At such a time I will write you further on the subject.
With my deep respect,
Nichiren
The third day of the eighth month in the tenth year of Bun'ei (1273), reverse marker of Jupiter in the sign mizunoto-tori

Rebuking Slander of the Law and Eradicating Sins
I have read your letter carefully. In the past as well, when I was exiled to the province of Izu on account of the Lotus Sutra, I rejoiced at heart, though when I say so I suppose people will think that I am speaking immodestly.
If, since the beginningless past, I had ever incurred blame for the sake of the Lotus Sutra, whether I was sincerely devoted to it or not, would I then have been born in this lifetime as a mere common mortal? [Therefore, when I was condemned to exile,] though I felt downcast for a while, seeing that it was for the sake of the Lotus Sutra, I was also delighted, for I thought that I might thereby eradicate to some small extent the sins of my previous existences. However, the various grave offenses represented by the ten evil acts, the four major offenses, the six major offenses, the eight major offenses, the ten major offenses, the five sins that condemn one to the hell of incessant suffering, the slander of the True Law, and the sin of incorrigible disbelief, accumulated since the beginningless past, must be huger than huge mountains, deeper than the great sea.
When it comes to the five cardinal sins, the commission of even one of them will condemn one to the hell of incessant suffering for the space of an entire kalpa. A kalpa is the length of time it takes for the life span of human beings to decrease from eighty thousand years to ten years, decreasing at the rate of one year every hundred years, and then to increase again to eighty thousand years at the same rate. One who murders one's parent will fall into the hell of incessant suffering and undergo its terrible pain without a moment's respite for such a period of time.
As for the person who slanders the Lotus Sutra, though he may not be serious at heart, if he so much as manifests the outward appearance of animosity, or if he disparages the sutra even in jest, or if he makes light, not of the sutra itself, but of those who act in its name, then, the sutra says, he will fall into the hell of incessant suffering for countless kalpas of the kind described above.
The people who cursed and struck Bodhisattva Fukyo at first behaved with such animosity, though later they took faith and became followers of the Lotus Sutra, looking up to Fukyo and treating him with great respect, honoring him as the heavenly deities would Taishaku, and standing in awe of him as we do the sun and moon. However, they were unable to wipe out the great offense of their initial slander, so that for a thousand kalpas they were condemned to the Avichi Hell, and for twenty billion kalpas they were abandoned by the three treasures.
If one were to liken the [retribution for the] five cardinal sins and slander of the Law to illness, then the five cardinal sins would be comparable to sunstroke, which affects one suddenly. Slander of the Law, on the other hand, is like white leprosy, which does not appear to be so serious at first, but bit by bit becomes very serious indeed. Those persons who commit slander of the Law are in most cases reborn in the hell of incessant suffering, or, in some few cases, in one of the six lower paths. If they are reborn in the realm of human beings, then, the sutra tells us, they will suffer on account of poverty, low status, white leprosy and so forth.
When I, Nichiren, hold up the bright mirror of the Lotus Sutra before my own person, all is spotlessly revealed, and there can be no doubt that, in my previous existences, I was guilty of slandering the Law. If in my present existence I do not wipe out that offense, then in the future how can I escape the pains of hell?
How could I gather together all the grave offenses that I have accumulated in age after age since the far distant past and eradicate them all in my present lifetime, so that I may be spared great pain in the future? When I pondered this question, it occurred to me that now, in the present age [of the Latter Day of the Law,] slanderers of the Law fill every province of the nation. What is more, the ruler of the nation is himself the foremost perpetrator of such slander. If in such a time I do not expunge these heavy sins, then at what time can I expect to do so?
Now if I, Nichiren, insignificant person that I am, were to go here and there throughout the country of Japan denouncing these slanders, then innumerable persons among the four categories of Buddhists who follow erroneous doctrines would in one instant join their innumerable voices in reviling me. At that time the ruler of the nation, allying himself with those monks who slander the Law, would come to hate me and try to have me beheaded or order me into exile. And if this sort of thing were to occur again and again, then the grave offenses that I have accumulated over countless kalpas could be wiped out within the space of a single lifetime. Such, then, was the great plan that I conceived; and it is now proceeding without the slightest deviation. So when I find myself thus sentenced to exile, I can only feel that my wishes are being fulfilled.
Nevertheless, being no more than a common mortal, I have at times been apt to regret having embarked upon such a course. And if even I am beset by such feelings, then how much more so in the case of a woman such as your wife, who is ignorant of all the circumstances surrounding the matter! Persons like you and her do not fully comprehend the Buddhist teachings, and it pains me to think how greatly you must regret that you ever elected to follow Nichiren. And yet, contrary to what one might expect, I hear that you two are even firmer and more dedicated in your faith than I myself, which is indeed no ordinary matter! I wonder if Shakyamuni, the lord of teachings, himself may have entered and taken possession of your hearts, and it moves me so that I can barely restrain my tears.
The Great Teacher Miao-lo says in his commentary (Hokke Mongu Ki, seven): "Therefore we know that if, in the latter age, one is able to hear the Law even briefly, and if, having heard it, one then arouses faith in it, this comes about because of the seeds -planted in a previous existence." And he also says (Maka Shikan Bugyoden Guketsu, two): "Being born at the end of the Middle Day of the Law, I have been able to behold these true words of the sutra. Unless in a previous existence one has planted the seeds of auspicious causation, then it is truly difficult to encounter such an opportunity."
During the first forty or more years of his teaching life, Shakyamuni kept secret the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo. Not only that, he still remained silent concerning them when he preached the first fourteen chapters of the Lotus Sutra, which comprise the theoretical teaching. It was only with the Juryo chapter that he spoke openly regarding the two characters renge, which [represent the five characters Myoho-renge-kyo and] indicate the True Effect and the True Cause. The Buddha did not entrust these five characters to Monju, Fugen, Miroku, Yakuo or the others of their group. Instead he summoned forth the bodhisattva Jogyo, Muhengyo, Jyogyo, Anryugyo and their followers from the great earth of Tranquil Light and transferred the five characters to them.
What took place then was no ordinary ceremony. The Tathagata Taho, who lives in the world of Treasure Purity, made his appearance, seated in a tower that emerged from the earth and was adorned with seven kinds of gems. Shakyamuni Buddha purified four hundred billion nayuta worlds in addition to this major world system, planted them with rows of jewel trees measuring five hundred yojana high at intervals of an arrow's flight, placed a lion throne five yojana in height beneath each jewel tree, and seated on these thrones all the Buddhas from the ten directions, who were his emanations.
Thereupon Shakyamuni Buddha removed his dusty robe, opened the Treasure Tower, and took a seat beside the Tathagata Taho. It was as though the sun and moon were to appear side by side in the blue sky, or as though Taishaku and the King Born from the Crown of the Head were to sit together in the Hall of the Good Law. Monju and the other bodhisattvas of this world, as well as Kannon and the other bodhisattvas of the other worlds, were gathered together in open space throughout the ten directions like so may stars filling the sky.
At this time there were gathered together in this place the great bodhisattvas such as Dharma Wisdom, Forest of Merits, Diamond Banner, Diamond Repository and others, equal in number to the dust particles of the worlds of the ten directions, who had gathered at the seven places and eight assemblies of the Kegon Sutra and were disciples of Vairochana Buddha who sits on the lotus pedestal of the worlds of the ten directions; the Buddhas and bodhisattvas who had gathered like clouds at the Great Treasure Chamber when the Hodo sutras were preached; Subhuti, Taishaku and the thousand Buddhas who had gathered to hear the Hannya sutras; the four Buddhas and four bodhisattvas, belonging to the nine honored ones on the eight-petaled lotus, who appear in the Dainichi sutra; the thirty-seven honored ones of the Kongocho Sutra; and the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the worlds of the ten directions who gathered at the city of Kushinagara to listen to the Nirvana Sutra. All these figures were recognized by Monju, Miroku and the others of their group, who talked together with them, so it appeared that the great bodhisattvas Monju and Miroku were quite accustomed to their being in attendance.
But after those four bodhisattvas who emerged from the earth had made their appearance, then Bodhisattva Monjushiri, whose teaching Shakyamuni Buddha was the ninth to inherit, and who is the mother of the Buddhas of the three existences, as well as Bodhisattva Miroku, who will succeed Shakyamuni Buddha after his next rebirth - when these two, Monju and Miroku, stood beside these four bodhisattvas, they seemed to be of no significance whatsoever. They were like humble woodsmen mingling in the company of exalted lords, or like apes and monkeys seating themselves by the side of lions.
Shakyamuni summoned the four bodhisattvas and entrusted them with the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo. And this entrustment, too, was no ordinary affair, for the Buddha first manifested ten mystic powers. When Shakyamuni extended his long broad tongue upward as far as the limit of the world of form, all the other Buddhas did likewise, so that the tongues of the Buddhas extended up into the air above the four hundred billion nayuta worlds like a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand red rainbows filling the sky. Marvelous indeed was the sight!
In this manner the Buddha displayed the wonders of his ten mystic powers, and, in what is termed the transfer of the essence, he extracted the heart and core of the Lotus Sutra and transferred it to the bodhisattvas. He fervently enjoined them to bestow it after his passing upon all beings of the ten directions. After that, he again manifested yet another mystic power and entrusted this sutra, the Lotus, and the other sacred teachings preached during his lifetime, to Monju and the other bodhisattvas of this and other worlds, to the persons of the two vehicles, and to the heavenly and human beings, dragon deities, and others.
These five characters Myoho-renge-kyo were not entrusted even to Mahakashyapa, Shariputra or the other or the other disciples, though these men had from the outset attended the Buddha as closely as a shadow follows the form. But even setting that aside, why did the Buddha refuse to entrust them to the bodhisattvas such as Monju and Miroku? Even though they may have been lacking in capability, it would seem unlikely that he should reject them. There are in truth many puzzling aspects about the matter. But the fact was that the bodhisattvas from other worlds were rejected because their connection with this world was slight; or in other cases, although the bodhisattvas were of this saha world, they had only recently established connections with this world; or in still other cases, some were rejected because, although they were disciples of the Buddha, they had not been among his disciples when he first aroused the aspiration for enlightenment [in the remote past]. Thus among those who had been his disciples during the forty or more years preceding the preaching of the Lotus Sutra, or during the preaching of the theoretical teaching, the first fourteen chapters of the Lotus Sutra, there was not one who could be called an original disciple. We see from the sutra that only these four bodhisattvas had been the disciples of Shakyamuni, the lord of teachings, since the remote past of gohyaku-jintengo; from the time he had first aroused the aspiration for enlightenment, they had never followed any other Buddha, nor had they required the instruction of the theoretical and essential teachings.
Thus T'ien-t'ai says: "[The great assembly] witnessed the Bodhisattvas of the Earth alone making this pledge." And he also states: "These are my [Shakyamuni's] disciples, destined to propagate my Law." Miao-lo says: "The sons will disseminate the Law of the father." And Tao-hsien states: "Because the Law is that realized by the Buddha in the remote past, it was transferred to those who were his disciples in that distant time." Thus the five characters Myoho-renge-kyo were entrusted to these four bodhisattvas.
Nevertheless, after the Buddha's passing, during the thousand years of the Former Day of the Law, the thousand years of the Middle Day of the Law, and the two hundred twenty or more years that have elapsed since the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law, nowhere in India, China, Japan or any other place in the entire world have these four bodhisattvas so much as once made their appearance. Why is that?
Bodhisattva Monjushiri, though he was not specifically entrusted with the teachings of Myoho-renge-kyo, remained in this world for four hundred fifty years following the passing of the Buddha to spread the Mahayana sutras, and even in the ages thereafter he from time to time descended from the Fragrant Mountain or Mount Clear and Cool, assuming the form of an eminent monk in order to propagate the Buddhist teachings. Bodhisattva Yakuo took form of the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai, [Bodhisattva] Kanzeon became the Great Teacher Nan-yueh, and Bodhisattva Miroku became Fu Ta-shih. Moreover, the disciples Mahakashyapa and Ananda worked to spread the teachings of the Buddha after his passing for twenty and forty years, respectively. And yet in all this time, the Buddha's legitimate heirs, to whom the teachings of Myoho-renge-kyo had been entrusted, failed to make their appearance.
During this period of twenty-two hundred years and more, worthy rulers and sage rulers have honored painted images or wooden images of Shakyamuni, the lord of teachings, as their principal object of worship. But although they have made depictions of the Buddhas of the Hinayana and the Mahayana teachings; of the Kegon, Nirvana and Kammuryoju sutras; of the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra and of the Fugen Sutra; of the Buddha of the Dainichi and the other Shingon sutras; and of the Buddhas Shakyamuni and Taho of the Hoto chapter, the Shakyamuni of the Juryo chapter has never been depicted in any mountain temple or monastery anywhere. It is very difficult to fathom why this should be.
Shakyamuni Buddha made specific reference to the fifth five hundred years and never designated the two thousand years of the Former and Middle Days of the Law as the time for the propagation of the Lotus Sutra. The Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai said: "In the fifth five hundred years, the Mystic Way shall spread and benefit mankind far into the future," indicating that its propagation should be left to the future. The Great Teacher Dengyo wrote: "The Former and Middle Days are almost over, and the Latter Day is near at hand." In this way, he himself judged that the close of the Middle Day of the Law was not yet the time for the propagation of the Lotus Sutra.
Are we to assume, then, that the countless great bodhisattvas who sprang up from the earth intend to remain silent and unmoving and to go back upon the promise that they made when the teachings were entrusted to them by Shakyamuni, Taho and the other Buddhas of the ten directions?
Yet even the worthy men described in the non-Buddhist scriptures know that one must await the time. The cuckoo always waits until the fourth or fifth month to sing his song. Similarly, we read in the sutra that these great bodhisattvas must likewise wait until the Latter Day of the Law to appear.
Why do I say this? Both the inner and outer scriptures make clear that, before a certain destined event actually occurs, omens will always appear. Thus when the spider spins its web, it means that some happy event will take place, and when the magpie calls, it means that a visitor will arrive. Even such minor events have their portents. How much more so do major occurrences! Thus the six auspicious happenings described in the Jo chapter of the Lotus Sutra are great omens exceeding in magnitude any other major signs appearing in the entire life of Shakyamuni Buddha. And the great omens described in the Yujutsu chapter are immeasurably greater in magnitude than these.
Therefore, T'ien-t'ai says: "By observing the fury of the rain, we can tell the greatness of the dragon that caused it, and by observing the flourishing of the lotus flowers, we can tell the depth of the pond in which they grow." And Miao-lo states: "Wise men can see omens and what they foretell, as snakes know the way of snakes."
Now I, too, in discerning the significance of omens, must share some portion of the wise man's power. The great earthquake that struck 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.), and also the great comet that appeared in the first year of the Bun'ei era (1264), (when the reverse marker was in the sector of the sky with the cyclical sign kinoe-ne), on the fourth day of the seventh month - these are major portents such as have never before occurred during the twenty-two hundred or more years since the Buddha's passing. I wonder if they are not great signs indicating that those great bodhisattvas are now about to make their appearance in this world bearing the great Law.
Ten-feet-high waves do not rise up in a foot-wide pond, and the braying of a donkey cannot cause the winds to blow. Though the government of Japan today is in chaos and the common people cry out in distress, such conditions alone could scarcely cause the appearance of such major omens. Who knows but what these are great signs foretelling that though the Lotus Sutra has perished, it is in fact eternal!
During the two thousand and more years [since the Buddha's passing], there have been evil rulers who were cursed by their subjects and traitorous persons who were hated by all. But Nichiren, though guilty of no fault, has without respite for the past twenty years and more been cursed and abused, assaulted with swords and staves, and stoned with rocks and tiles, by people both high and low. This is no common affair!
Mine is like the case of Bodhisattva Fukyo, who, toward the end of the Law of the Buddha Ionno, was cursed and reviled over a period of many years. Moreover, Shakyamuni Buddha cited the example of this bodhisattva and predicted that, in the Latter Day of the Law, after his own passing, events would unfold in the same manner as in Fukyo's time. And yet whether here close at hand in Japan or whether in the far distant land of China, such a thing has never yet been known to happen for the sake of the Lotus Sutra.
Because people hate me, they do not mention the significance of my suffering. If I mention it myself, it may seem to be self-adulation. If I fail to mention it, however, I will commit the offense of negating the Buddha's words. I speak of it because to hold one's own life lightly but to value the Law is the way of a worthy man.
I, Nichiren, resemble Bodhisattva Fukyo. Whether the ruler of a nation murders his parents or a lowly subject does away with his father and mother, though the murderers differ greatly in social position, because the crime is identical, both will fall into the hell of incessant suffering. Similarly, though Bodhisattva Fukyo is destined to attain Buddhahood, can there be any doubt that I will gain the fruit of Buddhahood as well?
Bodhisattva Fukyo was cursed by arrogant monks who observed all the two hundred and fifty precepts. I, Nichiren, am slandered and reviled by Ryokan, who is known as the foremost observer of the precepts. The monks who cursed Fukyo, though they followed him in the end, still had to suffer in the Avichi Hell for one thousand kalpas. But Ryokan has yet to seek my teachings. Hence I do not know [the full gravity of his offense]. He may be destined to suffer in hell for countless kalpas. Pitiful! Pitiful!
Question: With regard to the great earthquake that occurred in the Shoka era, in your admonitory essay, the "Rissho Ankoku Ron," which you entrusted to Yadoya Nyudo for submission to His Lordship, the late lay priest of Saimyo-ji, on the sixteenth day of the seventh month 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), you stated your opinion that heaven and earth had become angered because people in Japan were destroying Buddhism by their reliance on Honen's Senchaku Shu, and that this error would bring about rebellion within the country and invasion from countries abroad. But now you say that the earthquake was an auspicious omen of the propagation of the Lotus Sutra. How do you explain the discrepancy between these two views?
Answer: That is a very good question. The fourth volume of the Lotus Sutra says: "Since hatred and jealousy toward this sutra abound even during the lifetime of the Buddha, how much worse will it be in the world after his passing!" And in the seventh volume, referring again to the time "after his passing" when things will be "much worse," the Buddha says: "In the fifth five hundred years after my death, widely declare and spread [the Lotus Sutra]." So we see that the hatred that abounds after the passing of the Buddha will come about in the fifth five hundred years when Myoho-renge-kyo will spread. And immediately following the above passage, the Buddha warns of dangers from "the devil, the devil's people, or the deities, dragons, yakshas and kumbhandas."
When the chief priest Hsing-man laid eyes on the Great Teacher Dengyo, he exclaimed, "The sacred words will not become extinct. Now I have encountered this man! All the doctrines that I have learned I will transfer to this acharya from the country of Japan." And the situation today is just the same. Now, in the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law, the time has come for the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo to be propagated so that all persons throughout the country of Japan may receive the seed of the Buddha's teachings.
When a woman of low station becomes pregnant with the ruler's child, the other women grow jealous and angered. And when a person of humble background is presented with a jewel from the king's crown, then great troubles are bound to arise. Thus the sutra says, "In the world at that time the people will resent [the Lotus Sutra] and find it extremely difficult to believe."
The Nirvana Sutra declares: "If troubles are inflicted upon a sage, then the country where he dwells will be attacked by other countries." And the Ninno Sutra states essentially the same thing. If I, Nichiren, am attacked, then from heaven and earth and the four directions, great calamities will pour down like rain, jet up like fountains, or come surging forward like waves. If the crowd of monks, those hordes of locusts who afflict the nation, and the ministers in power in the government persist in their ever-increasing slanders and accusations against me, then great disasters will occur in growing magnitude.
When an asura demon tried to shoot at the god Taishaku, his arrow rebounded and pierced him in the eye. And when the garuda birds attempt to attack the dragon king Anavatapta, flames erupt from their own bodies and consume them. Is the votary of the Lotus Sutra inferior to Taishaku or the dragon king Anavatapta?
The Great Teacher Chang-an wrote: "He who destroys or brings confusion to the Buddhist Law is an enemy of the Law. If one befriends another person but lacks the mercy to correct him, he is in fact his enemy." And he also says: "He who makes it possible for the offender to rid himself of evil thus acts like a parent to the offender."
All the people throughout Japan have been led astray by the wild assertions of Honen, who tells them to "discard, close, ignore and abandon" [all sutras other than the sutras of his sect], or of the men of the Zen sect, who speak of a "special transmission outside the sutras," so that there is not a single one who is not destined to fall into the great citadel of the hell of incessant suffering. So believing, over the past twenty years and more I have never ceased to cry out in a loud voice against these errors, fearing neither the ruler of the nation nor the common people. I am in no way inferior to the outspoken ministers Lung-p'eng and Pi Kan of old. I am like the thousand-armed Kannon, the bodhisattva of great compassion, who strives to rescue at once all the beings confined to the hell of incessant suffering.
When several children are caught in a fire, though the parents wish to save them all at the same time, having only two arms, they must decide which child to save first and which to leave until after. [The true teaching of the Buddha] is a parent with a thousand arms, ten thousand arms, or a hundred thousand arms. The sutras preached before the Lotus Sutra have only one or two arms, as it were. But the Lotus Sutra, which "instructs all living beings, causing them all to enter the Buddha Way," is a veritable bodhisattva of innumerable arms.
If we go by the Lotus Sutra and the commentary of Chang-an, then Nichiren is a compassionate father and mother to all the people of Japan. Heaven may be lofty, but it has sharp ears and can hear what is happening. Earth may be deep, but it has keen eyes with which to observe. Heaven and earth by now know [how the situation stands]. And yet I, who am father and mother to all people, am cursed and reviled and sent into exile. The abuses of government that have taken place in this country in the past two or three years are such as have never been heard of in former ages, and exceed all bounds of reason.
In you letter you mentioned your filial devotion to your deceased mother. Reading it, I was so moved that I could barely hold back my tears.
Long ago in China there were five young men, including Yuan-chung. They had originally been strangers from different districts and had different surnames, but they took a vow to be brothers and never turned against one another, and in time they amassed three thousand in treasure.
All the young men were orphans and, grieved at this fact, when they met an old woman along the road, they decided to honor her as their mother. They did so for twenty-four years, never going against her wishes in the slightest.
Then the mother suddenly fell ill and was unable to speak. The five sons gazed up at the sky and said, "Our efforts to care for our mother have not been appreciated, and she has been seized by an illness that prevents her from speaking. If Heaven will grant our filial feelings any recognition, we pray that it will restore the power of speech to her."
At that time the mother said to her five sons, "In past times I was the daughter of a man named Yang Meng of the district of T'ai-yuan. I was married to one Chang Wen-chien of the same district, but he died. At that time, I had a son named Wu-i. When he was seven rebellion broke out in the area, and I do not know what became of him. You, my five sons, have taken care of me for twenty-four years, but I have never told you of this. My son Wu-i had markings like the seven stars of the Big Dipper on his chest, and on the sole of his right foot he had a black mole." When she had finished saying this, she died.
As the five sons were accompanying her body to the burial ground, they encountered the magistrate of the district along the road. The magistrate happened to drop a bag containing important documents, and the five young men, being accused of stealing it, were arrested and bound. When the magistrate confronted them, he demanded, "Who are you?" whereupon the five young men told him all they had learned from their mother.
When he heard this, the magistrate almost toppled from his seat, gazing up at the heavens, then bowing to the earth in tears. He freed the five men from their bonds, led them to his seat, and said, "I am Wu-i, and it was my mother you took care of! For these past twenty-four years I have known many pleasures, but because I could never cease thinking about my beloved mother, they were never real pleasures to me!" In time he presented the five men to the ruler of the country, and each was appointed to be the head of a prefecture.
In this way, even strangers were rewarded when they came together and treated someone as a parent. How much more so will be the case with actual brothers and sisters when they treat each other kindly and take care of their own father and mother! How could Heaven possibly fail to approve?
Jozo and Jogen used the Lotus Sutra to lead their father, who held erroneous views, to salvation. Devadatta was an enemy of the Buddha, and was condemned by the sutras preached during the first forty or more years of the Buddha's teaching life. The moment of his death was terrifying; the earth split open and he fell into the hell of incessant suffering. But in the Lotus Sutra he was summoned back and received the prediction that he would become the Tathagata Heavenly King. King Ajatashatru killed his father, but just before the Buddha entered nirvana, he heard the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and was able to escape the great sufferings of the Avichi Hell.
This province of Sado is like the realm of beasts. Moreover, it is full of disciples of Honen who hate me a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand or a hundred thousand times more than did the people of Kamakura. I am never certain whether I am going to survive the day. But thanks to the warm support of both of you, I have managed to sustain my life thus far. When I consider this, I suppose that since Shakyamuni, Taho, and the other Buddhas of the ten directions and great bodhisattvas as well all make offerings and pay reverence to the Lotus Sutra, these Buddhas and bodhisattvas must be informing your parents each hour of the night and day [that you are assisting me]. And the fact that you now enjoy your lord's favor must also be due to the protection you receive from your parents.
Do not think of your siblings as siblings. Just think of them as your own children. It is true that, among children, there are those like the young of the owl, which are said to eat their own mother, or like those of the hakei beast, which watch for the chance to devour their own father. Though your own son Shiro takes care of his parents, if he is a bad person, perhaps there is nothing to be done. However, even a stranger, if you open up your heart to him, may be willing to lay down his life for you. So if you treat your younger brothers as though they were your own sons, they may become your allies for life, and of course it will make a favorable impression on others as well. And if you likewise think of your younger sisters as daughters, then why would they not respond with filial devotion?
When I was exiled to this place, I assumed that no one would come to visit me. But I have no fewer than seven or eight persons with me here, and if it were not for your consideration, I do not know how we could manage to keep the whole group in provisions. I am certain that this is all because the words of the Lotus Sutra have entered into your bodies in order to give us aid. I am praying that, no matter how troubled the times may become, the Lotus Sutra and the ten demon daughters will protect all of you, praying as earnestly as though to produce fire from damp wood or to obtain water from parched ground. There are many other matters to be discussed, but I will close here.
Nichiren

The Votary of the Lotus Sutra Will Meet Persecution
To Kawanobe and his people, Priest Yamato Ajari and the others, and all of my disciples and my followers Saburo Zaemon-no-jo and Toki
Respectfully, Nichiren
POSTSCRIPT: Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu were both scholars of a thousand works. However, they expounded only the provisional Mahayana teachings. Though they understood [the meaning of] the Lotus Sutra in their hearts, they did not declare it in words. (An oral transmission exists concerning this.) T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo went so far as to expound it, but they left unrevealed the object of worship of the essential teaching, the four bodhisattvas, the high sanctuary and the five characters of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Their reasons were, first, because the Buddha had not transferred these teachings to any of them, and second, because the time was not ripe and the people's capacity had not yet matured. Now the time has arrived, and the four bodhisattvas will surely make their advent. I, Nichiren, was the first to understand this. It is said that the flight of a bluebird heralds the appearance of the Queen Mother of the West, and that the singing of a magpie foretells the arrival of a guest. [In the same way, there are omens announcing the advent of the four bodhisattvas.] All those who consider themselves my disciples should know that now is the time for the four bodhisattvas to appear. Therefore, even if it should cost your lives, you must never discard your faith.
Toki, Saburo Zaemon-no-jo, Kawanobe, Yamato Ajari and the rest of you, gentlemen and priests, should read this letter to one another and listen. In this defiled age, you should always talk together and never cease to pray for your next life.
The fourth volume of the Lotus Sutra states: "Since hatred and jealousy [toward this sutra] abound even during the lifetime of the Buddha, how much worse will it be in the world after his passing!" The fifth volume says: "The people will resent [the Lotus Sutra] and find it extremely difficult to believe." The thirty-eighth volume of the Nirvana Sutra states, "At that time there were countless Brahmans.... Their hearts gave rise to fury." It also says, "At that time there were a countless number of Brahmans who plotted together and went in a body to King Ajatashatru of Magadha and said, 'At present there is a man of incomparable wickedness, a monk called Gautama. O King, you have never examined him, and this arouses much fear in us. All sorts of evil persons hoping to gain profit and alms, have flocked to him and become his followers. [They do not practice goodness, but instead use the power of spells and magic to win over men like] Mahakashyapa, Shariputra and Maudgalyayana.'" This well illustrates the meaning of the passage: "Since hatred and jealousy abound even during the lifetime of the Buddha..."
The Monk of Great Virtue Tokuichi reviled the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai Chih-che, saying: "See here, Chih-i, whose disciple are you? With a tongue less than three inches long you slander the teachings that come from the Buddha's long, broad tongue!" Tokuichi also said, "Surely he [T'ien-t'ai] must be perverse and insane." More than three hundred priests, including the high-ranking prelates of the seven major temples in Nara such as the Supervisor of Monks Gomyo and the Discipline Master Keishin, hurled abuse at the Great Teacher Dengyo, saying, "Just as in the Western Hsia land of Central Asia there was an evil Brahman named Devil Eloquence who deceived people, now in this eastern realm of Japan there is a shave-pated monk who spits out crafty words. Demons like this will attract to themselves those who are of like mind and will deceive and mislead the world."
However, Dengyo states in his Hokke Shuku: "Shakyamuni taught that the shallow is easy to embrace, but the profound is difficult. To discard the shallow and seek the profound requires courage. The Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai trusted and obeyed Shakyamuni Buddha and worked to uphold the Hokke [Lotus] school, spreading its teachings throughout China. We of Mount Hiei inherited the doctrine from T'ien-t'ai and work to uphold the Hokke school and to disseminate its teachings throughout Japan.
During the entire lifetime of the Buddha as well as the two thousand years of the Former and Middle Days of the Law that followed after his death, there were only three votaries of the Lotus Sutra. They were Shakyamuni Buddha himself, T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo. By contrast, Shan-wu-wei and Pu-k'ung of the Shingon school, Tu-shun and Chih-yen of the Kegon school, and the teachers of the Sanron and Hosso schools all interpreted the sentences of the sutra of the true teaching so that they accorded with the meaning of the provisional sutras. Scholars such as Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu inwardly grasped [the meaning of] the Lotus Sutra but did not outwardly speak of it. Not even the four ranks of saints in the Former Day of the Law could compare with T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo when it came to propagating the Lotus Sutra just as it teaches.
If the Buddha's prediction is true, there must be a votary of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day of the Law, and the great difficulties that he encounters will surpass those that occurred during the Buddha's lifetime. The Buddha himself underwent nine great ordeals. He was slandered by Sundari; he was offered stinking rice gruel; he was forced to eat horse fodder; King Virudhaka massacred the greater part of the Shakya clan; he went begging but his bowl remained empty; Chinchamanavika slandered him; Devadatta dropped a boulder from atop a hill [in an attempt to kill him]; and the cold wind forced him to seek robes for protection. And in addition, he was denounced by all the Brahmans, as I mentioned earlier. If we go by the prediction in the sutra [that hatred and jealousy will be "much worse" after the Buddha's passing], then T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo did not fulfill the Buddha's prophecy. In view of all this, it must be that a votary of the Lotus Sutra will appear at the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law, just as the Buddha predicted.
In any event, on the seventh day of the twelfth month in the tenth year of Bun'ei (1273), a letter from Hojo Nobutoki, the former governor of Musashi Province, reached the province of Sado. The letter, to which he had set his seal, read:

We have heard a rumor that Nichiren, the priest exiled to Sado, is leading his disciples in plotting some evil action. His scheme is nothing short of outrageous. From now on, those who follow that priest are to be severely punished. Should there be those who nevertheless still violate this prohibition, their names are to be reported. This is an official order.
Priest Kan'e
The seventh day of the twelfth month in the tenth year of Bun'ei.
To Echi-no Rokuro Zaemon-no-jo

This letter reads that I am "plotting some evil action." Brahmans slandered the Buddha, saying that Gautama was an evil man. I, Nichiren, have personally suffered each of the nine great ordeals. Among them, Virudhaka massacring the Shakya clan, going begging but being left with an empty bowl, and being forced to seek robes for protection from the cold wind have been great trials far surpassing those that occurred during the Buddha's lifetime. These are hardships that T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo never met. Truly you should know that, adding Nichiren to the other three, there is now a fourth votary of the Lotus Sutra, who has appeared in the Latter Day of the Law. How glad I am to fulfill the words of prophecy from the sutra: "How much worse will it be in the world after his passing!" How sad I feel that all the people of this country will fall into the Avichi Hell! I will not go into detail here, or this letter will become too involved. You should think this through seriously for yourselves.
Nichiren
The fourteenth day of the first month in the eleventh year of Bun'ei (1274), cyclical sign kinoe-inu
Postscript: All my disciples and followers should read and listen to this letter. Those who are in earnest should discuss it with one another.

Letter to Endo Saemon-no-jo
I have recently received an official pardon and am now returning to Kamakura. Can this be the year in which the passage, "By now the original vows that I made have already been fulfilled," comes true for me?
Had it not been for your protection, could I possibly have sustained my life? Could I have survived to be pardoned? All the achievements of my lifetime are solely thanks to you. The Lotus Sutra says, "The young sons of the heavenly deities will wait on and serve him. Swords and staves will not touch him, and poison will have no power to harm him." How reassuring this sutra is!
Such being the case, you must be an envoy sent by the heavenly gods Bonten and Taishaku. I will bestow my seals upon you as a promise that you will be reborn in [the Pure Land of] Eagle Peak. You should take one of them with you to your next existence. [When you arrive] at Eagle Peak, call out, "Nichiren, Nichiren!" and I will come to meet you at that time.
I will write to you again from Kamakura.
Nichiren
The twelfth day of the third month in the eleventh year of Bun'ei (1274), cyclical sign kinoe-inu

On Recommending This Teaching to Your Lord
I have received two kan of coins.
The foremost treasure of sentient beings is nothing other than life itself. Those who take life are doomed to fall into the three evil paths. Wheel-turning kings observed the precept of "not to kill" as the first of the ten good precepts. The Buddha preached the five precepts at the starting point of the Hinayana sutras and made "not to kill" the first of them. The Buddha also taught "not to kill" as the first of the ten major precepts in the Bommo Sutra of Mahayana. The Juryo chapter of the Lotus Sutra contains the blessings of Shakyamuni Buddha's precept "not to kill." Consequently, those who take life will be forsaken by all the Buddhas in the three existences, and the gods of the six heavens of the world of desire will not protect them. The scholars of our time are aware of this, and I, Nichiren, also have a general understanding of it.
However, the circumstances of killing vary, and the offense of the person killed may be heavy or light. If one kills the murderer of his parents, sovereign or teacher, then although he commits the same offense of killing, his grave sin will in effect become a lighter one. This, too, is something our contemporary scholars know. But even bodhisattvas with their great compassion, if they make offerings to the enemies of the Lotus Sutra, are certain to fall into the hell of incessant suffering. On the other hand, even those who commit the five cardinal sins, if they hate those enemies, will definitely be reborn in the human or heavenly realms. King Sen'yo and King Utoku, who had respectively destroyed five hundred and innumerable enemies of the Lotus Sutra, became the Shakyamuni Buddha of this world. Shakyamuni's disciples, such as Mahakashyapa,
Ananda, Shariputra, Maudgalyayana and other countless followers, were those who, at that time had been in the vanguard of the battle and had scattered the enemy, killing them, injuring them, or rejoicing in the fight. The monk Kakutoku became Kasho Buddha. He was a most compassionate votary of the Lotus Sutra who at that time urged King Utoku to attack the enemies of the sutra as he would one who has been betraying his father and mother since a previous lifetime.
Our present day corresponds to that time. If the ruler would accept Nichiren's words, he would become like the two kings. Yet he not only rejected them but actually sided with the enemies of the Lotus Sutra, so that the entire nation attacks me, Nichiren. From the ruler down to the common people, all have become slanderers whose offense exceeds even the five cardinal sins. All of you belong to the side of the ruler. Although in your heart you are of the same mind as Nichiren, your person is in service to your lord; thus it would seem extremely difficult for you to avoid the offense of complicity in slander. Nevertheless, you have communicated this teaching to your lord and urged him to take faith in it. How admirable! Even though he may not accept it now, you have been able to avoid the offense of complicity. From now on, you should be careful in what you say. The heavenly gods will protect you without fail, and I myself will tell them to do so.
Please take every possible precaution. Those who hate you will be all the more vigilant in watching for a chance to do you harm. Don't attend any further drinking parties at night. What dissatisfaction can there be in drinking in your wife's company alone? Even if you attend banquets with others in the daytime, never relax your guard. Your enemies will have no opportunity to attack you, unless they take advantage of a time when you are drinking. You cannot be too careful.
With my deep respect,
Nichiren
The twenty-sixth day of the ninth month

Letter to Ichinosawa Nyudo
In the first year of the Kocho era (1261), when the reverse marker of Jupiter was in the sector of the sky with the cyclical sign kanoto-tori, on the twelfth day of the fifth month, I incurred the displeasure of the government authorities and was exiled to the village of Ito in the province of Izu. It is the place where the sub-commander of the Imperial Guard Minamoto no Yoritomo was banished. However, before long, in the third year of the Kocho era (1263), the year with the cyclical sign mizunoto-i, on the twenty-second day of the second month, I was pardoned and allowed to return to Kamakura.
Then, in the eighth year of the Bun'ei era (1271), the year with the cyclical sign kanoto-hitsuji, on the twelfth day of the ninth month, I once more incurred the displeasure of the government and was summarily sentenced to have my head cut off. Because of certain circumstances, the execution was temporarily postponed. Instead, I was placed in the custody of the former governor of Musashi, who held the island province of Sado in the north as part of his feudal domain. In accordance with the designs of his retainers, I was sent to that island.
The inhabitants of the island are a wild and barbarous lot, with no understanding of the law of cause and effect. Needless to say, they treated me very roughly. Nevertheless, I did not harbor the slightest resentment against them. The reason is this: Even the ruler of the country of Japan, the lord of Sagami, whom one would expect to have at least some understanding of principles, failed to investigate the circumstances of my case, though I was in fact attempting to aid the nation. Instead, contrary to all reason and justice, he had me condemned to death. Therefore, even the good men among his subjects were not to be counted upon, and so there was surely no point in hating the evil ones.
Since the time I began declaring this teaching, I have resolved to dedicate my life to the Lotus Sutra and to spread my name in the pure lands of the Buddhas of the worlds in the ten directions. Hung Yen took the liver of his dead lord, Duke Yi of Wei, cut open his own stomach and inserted the liver before he died. Yu Jang, because his lord, Chih Po, had suffered disgrace, fell on his sword to avenge the wrong. These men went to such lengths to repay what was no more than a worldly debt of gratitude. The reason why people continue to transmigrate through the six paths for countless kalpas without ever being able to attain Buddhahood is because they begrudge their bodies and do not lay down their lives for the sake of the Lotus Sutra.
The bodhisattva called Kiken for a period of twelve hundred years burned his own body as an offering to the Buddha Pure Bright Excellence of Sun and Moon, and for seventy-two thousand years he burned his arms as an offering to the Lotus Sutra, after which he was reborn as Bodhisattva Yakuo. Bodhisattva Fukyo over a period of many kalpas suffered abuse and ridicule and was attacked with sticks and staves, tiles and rocks, all for the sake of the Lotus Sutra. But was he not reborn as Shakyamuni Buddha? Thus we can see that the path to Buddhahood requires different forms of practice depending upon the age.
In our present day, the Lotus Sutra is of course supreme as it was in the past. And yet, because the way of practicing it differs from age to age, even if one were to retire to the mountain forests and read and recite it, or live in the villages and expound its doctrines, or observe all the various precepts or even burn one's arms in offering, he would nevertheless fail to attain Buddhahood.
It would seem as though the teachings of Buddhism are now flourishing in Japan. And yet there is something strange in regard to these teachings, though people are unaware of it. They are like insects that unwittingly fly into a flame, or birds that enter the mouth of a serpent.
The teachers of the Shingon sect and the adherents of the Kegon, Hosso, Sanron, Zen, Pure Land and Ritsu sects all believe that they have grasped the Law and freed themselves from the sufferings of birth and death. But the founders who first established these sects failed to discern the true meaning of the sutras upon which they based their teachings. They proceeded only in a shallow manner, employing the sutras in a way that fitted with their own ideas. In doing so, they went against the Lotus Sutra, which means that their teachings were not in accord with the true intention of the Buddha. They were unaware of this, however, and as they proceeded to propagate their doctrines, both the rulers of the nation and the common people came to believe in them. In addition, these doctrines spread to other countries, and many years have gone by since they were first propagated. As a result, the scholars of this latter age, unaware that the founders of these sects were in error, look up to those who practice and propagate their teachings as men of wisdom.
If the source is muddy, the stream will not flow clear; if the body is bent, the shadow will not stand upright. Shan-wu-wei and the others who founded the Shingon sect were already destined for hell. Perhaps among them there were some who repented in time and hence managed to avoid falling into hell. Or perhaps there were some who merely propagated the teachings of their own sutras and neither praised nor attacked the Lotus Sutra, and thus, though they could not free themselves from the sufferings of birth and death, were nevertheless able to avoid falling into the evil paths. But the people of this latter age are not aware of these matters, and instead all alike put their faith in these teachings. They are like people who board a damaged vessel and set out upon the great sea, or like people who, drunk with wine, lie down to sleep in the midst of a fire.
When I, Nichiren, perceived this state of affairs, I immediately aroused the aspiration for enlightenment [in order to save them] and began to speak out regarding the matter. I was aware from the beginning that, no matter how I addressed them, the people of the time would probably not believe me, and that I would on the contrary most likely be sentenced to exile or execution.
The nation of Japan today has turned its back on the Lotus Sutra and cast aside Shakyamuni Buddha. For that reason, its people are not only bound to fall into the great citadel of the Avichi Hell in their next existence, but they will surely encounter great troubles in their present existence as well. That is to say, invaders will come from a foreign land, and everyone, from the ruler on down to the common people, will lament with a single voice.
To illustrate, if a thousand brothers join together to slay their parent, the burden of guilt will not be divided among them in a thousand portions. Rather each of every one of the brothers must [receive the full karmic retribution, and all alike will] fall into the great citadel of the hell of incessant suffering, to remain there for the space of a kalpa. And the same is true of [the people of] this country of Japan.
Since the far-off time of gohyaku-jintengo, this saha world has been the domain of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings. Of the vast earth, the skies, the mountains and seas, the plants and trees, there is not a single portion that belongs to any other Buddha. And all the living beings within it are likewise the children of Shakyamuni.
For example, it is said that at the beginning of the Kalpa of Formation, the god Bonten descends from on high and gives birth to the various beings who inhabit the six paths. Just as Bonten is then the parent of all those beings, in the same way Shakyamuni Buddha is the parent of all living beings in this world. Moreover, the Lord Buddha Shakyamuni is the enlightened teacher for all the living beings in this country of ours. It is thanks to our teacher that we can understand who our parents are. It is owing to Shakyamuni that we can distinguish black from white.
But because of the teachings of men like Shan-tao and Honen, who have been possessed by the Devil of the Sixth Heaven, the practitioners of the Nembutsu proceed to build Amida halls throughout the country. They build Amida halls in each district, each village and each hamlet, or the general populace build Amida halls in their own houses, or people make painted or wooden images of Amida Buddha to put up in their houses and dwellings. The name of Amida is on everyone's lips, some chanting it in a loud voice, some chanting it ten thousand times, some chanting it sixty thousand times [a day]. And persons with a degree of wisdom make haste to encourage them in these practices. This is like adding dried grass to a fire, or loosing winds to blow upon the waters and stir them up.
Of the inhabitants of this country, there is not one who is not a disciple and subject of the Lord Shakyamuni. If a person does not paint or carve a single image of Amida or of any Buddha other than Shakyamuni, or does not chant Amida's name, then, although he may be an evil person, he still has not clearly shown that he has rejected Shakyamuni Buddha. But all those persons who worship Amida Buddha exclusively have already clearly shown that they have rejected Shakyamuni Buddha. Those who chant the vain and profitless formula of the Nembutsu--they are the truly evil ones!
This Buddha, who is neither father nor mother to them, nor sovereign nor teacher, they treat with the kind of tenderness one might show to a beloved wife. At the same time, they cast aside Shakyamuni, our real sovereign, parent and enlightened teacher, and fail to open their mouths to recite the Lotus Sutra, which is like a wet nurse to us. How can they be called anything but unfilial?
And these unfilial persons number not just one or two, a hundred or a thousand; they include not just the inhabitants of one or two provinces. From the ruler on down to the common people, everyone in the entire land of Japan, without a single exception, is guilty of committing three of the cardinal sins!
As a result, the sun and moon change color and glare down on this, the earth shakes and heaves in anger, great comets fill the sky, and huge fires break out all over the land. Yet these persons fail to perceive their error and instead take pride in what they do, saying, "We unceasingly recite the Nembutsu, and in addition we build Amida halls and pay honor to Amida Buddha!"
Such ways may seem wise, but in fact they are worthless. Suppose there is a young couple. The husband is so in love with his wife, and the wife thinks so tenderly of her husband, that they completely forget about their parents. As a result, the parents go about in thin clothing, while the bedroom of the young couple is warm and snug. The parents have nothing to eat, while the young couple's stomachs are full. Such young people are committing the worst kind of unfilial conduct, and yet they fail to see that they are doing wrong. And a wife who would deliberately turn her back on her own mother, a husband who would go against his own father -- are they not guilty of an even graver offense?
Amida Buddha dwells in a region ten billion Buddha lands away and has not the slightest connection with this saha world. However one may claim [that such a connection exists], there is no basis for it. It is like trying to mate a horse with an ox, or a monkey with a dog!
I, Nichiren, am the only person who is aware of this. If, begrudging my life, I should refrain from speaking out, I would not only be failing to repay the debt of gratitude I owe to my country, but I would also be acting as the enemy of the Lord Buddha Shakyamuni. On the other hand, I knew from the outset that if I set aside my fears and declared matters exactly as they are, I would be sentenced to death. And even if I should escape the death penalty, I would surely be condemned to exile. So great is the debt of gratitude I owe the Buddha, however, that I have not let myself be intimidated by others but have spoken out on these matters.
Just as I anticipated, I was exiled no less than twice. During the second of these sentences, in the summer of the ninth year of the Bun'ei era (1272), I was sent to a place called Ichinosawa in Ishida Village in the province of Sado. The headman and his men in the region to which I had been assigned, in both official and unofficial matters, treated me with greater malice than if I had been a lifelong enemy of their parents or a foe from some previous existence. But the nyudo of the lodgings where I was put up, as well as his wife and servants, though they seemed fearful at first, privately came to look on me with pity, perhaps because of some bond formed between us in a previous existence.
The rations of food that I received from the headman were very scanty. And since I had a number of disciples with me, we often had no more than two or three mouthfuls of rice to a person. Sometimes we portioned out the food on square trays made of bark, and sometimes we simply received it in the palms of our hands and ate it then and there. The master of the house in private treated us with compassion. Though outwardly he appeared to be fearful of the authorities, at heart he had great pity for us, something that I will never forget in any future lifetime. At the time, he meant more to me than the very parents who gave me birth. However great the obligations I incurred with respect to him, I must endeavor to somehow repay them. Even more, I must not fail to do what I had promised him.
The nyudo was deeply concerned at heart about the life to come, and had for a long time devoted himself to chanting the Nembutsu. Moreover, he had constructed an Amida hall and dedicated his lands in offering to Amida Buddha. He was also afraid of how the steward of the area might react, and so he did not come forward and take faith in the Lotus Sutra. From his point of view, this was probably the most reasonable course to take. But at the same time, he will without doubt fall into the great citadel of the hell of incessant suffering. I had thought, for example, that even if I were to send him a copy of the Lotus Sutra, he would not be willing to abandon the practice of the Nembutsu out of his fear of worldly opinion, and so it would simply be like adding water to fire. There was no doubt that the flood of his slander of the Law would extinguish the small flame of his faith in the Lotus Sutra. And if he were to fall into hell, I, Nichiren, would in turn be to blame. Thus, while asking myself anxiously again and again what ought to be done, I have so far not sent him a copy of the Lotus Sutra.
[In the midst of all this,] I received word that the copy of the Lotus Sutra that I had earlier intended t