Guidance from Sixty-eighth High Priest Nichinyo Shonin On the Occasion of the July Kosen-rufu Shodai Ceremony July 1, 2012 Reception Hall, Head Temple Taisekiji Good morning, everyone! On this occasion of the July Kōsen-rufu Shodai Ceremony, conducted here today at the Head Temple, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to the large number of participants in attendance. The month of July already has arrived. I believe that you are striving forth toward the achievement of your shakubuku goals, day and night, based on the unity between priesthood and laity, in the spirit of itai-dōshin. The Grand Ceremony Commemorating the Completion of the Major Renovation of the Image Hall (Mieidō) at the Head Temple will be conducted this November. Therefore, I hope that all Hokkeko chapters will have achieved this year’s shakubuku goals by the end of October so that we can formally report our achievement to the three treasures on this occasion. As we endeavor to carry this out, we should naturally expect to encounter inevitable difficulties and obstacles. However, if all of the members in each chapter make concerted efforts to chant Daimoku and joyfully stand up in their practice of shakubuku, aiming toward their goals, I am certain that they will receive protection from the Buddha, so that they can conquer every obstacle and accomplish their goals. Yozan Uesugi gave the following words of wisdom: Do it, and it will be done; don’t do it, and it will not be done. If something is left undone, this is because no one did it. I hope you will strive further in your practice with the conviction to achieve your goals, keeping these words in mind, “Do it, and it will be done.” As you are well aware, if we look at today’s chaotic world, we can see that the minds of the people are extremely distressed and ceaseless conflicts occur everywhere, both at home and abroad. Chaos is creating even more confusion, and misfortune is leading to further misfortune. The people are clueless to the solution and remain stuck pointlessly in turmoil. In order to overcome these difficulties, there is no alternative other than practicing the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin, the True Buddha in the Latter Day of the Law. We must realize that this is the most important mission and responsibility for us to fulfill now. The Daishonin teaches the following in “Reply to Lord Hyōe sakan” (“Hyōe sakan dono-gohenji”): In the age of the Latter Day of the Law, the greed of the people has grown so strong that disputes constantly arise between sovereign and retainer, parent and child, elder and younger brother, and even more so between persons who are unrelated. As a result, the guardian deities abandon the country, and the three calamities and seven disasters occur. One, two, three, four, five, six, or seven suns appear in the sky; trees and plants wither and die; rivers run dry; the land smokes like burning charcoal; the seas become like boiling oil. Finally, the flames of the hell of incessant suffering rise from below, and reach to the Brahma Heaven. (Gosho, p. 1182) As this Gosho passage clearly teaches, in the Latter Day of the Law, the people have become so greedy that they constantly get into conflicts, based on their own self-interest. Even those who are related, such as parent and child or elder and younger brother, become at odds with each other. This is even more the case among those who are unrelated. They engage in vicious fights in a most unseemly way. Finally, the distressed minds of the people extend their influence to the realm of the environment, and this leads to the frequent occurrence of the three calamities and seven disasters. The land falls to ruin and becomes a world of defilement. Such evil phenomena repeat in a never-ending cycle. The minds of the people become increasingly undermined, resulting in a worsening condition of endless confusion. In the Risshō ankoku-ron, the Daishonin explains the root cause of these evil phenomena: When I, with my limited knowledge, read the sutras, I find that all people have gone against the correct Law and become wholly devoted to evil doctrines. This is why all the guardian deities have abandoned this country and sages have left this land, not to return. Seizing this opportunity, devils and demons rush in, bringing disasters and calamities. This is most fearful. We must speak out! (Gosho, p. 234; The Gosho of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 2, p. 3) The fundamental cause for the minds of the people to become distressed, for the world to become chaotic, and for the occurrence of the three calamities and seven disasters is solely due to the poison of slander. Since this is the case, unless we eradicate this slander, we never will be able to achieve the establishment of each individual’s happiness, world peace, and the realization of the Buddha land. The Daishonin teaches the following in “Reply to Lord Soya” (“Soya dono-gohenji”): The Nirvana Sutra states: Suppose a decent priest becomes aware of one who slanders the correct Law. If he lets the slanderer be, without reproaching, expelling, and correcting him by exposing his faults, we should know that this priest is an enemy of Buddhism. On the other hand, if this priest expels, reproaches, and corrects the slanderer by exposing his faults, this priest is my disciple, as well as a true practitioner of my teachings. You must etch this admonishment indelibly into your mind. If a priest and his followers become aware of an enemy of Buddhism, and let the slanderer be, without reproaching him, there is no doubt that all of them will fall into the hell of incessant suffering. The Great Teacher Nan-yueh states, “They will fall into hell with evil men.” Trying to attain enlightenment without admonishing slander of the Law is like seeking water in fire or fire in water. How useless! How vain! No matter how earnestly one upholds faith in the Lotus Sutra, a single act of slander will cause one to fall into hell without fail. It is like a single crab leg, which can ruin a thousand pots of lacquer. This is what is meant by, “The poison has penetrated deeply, causing them to lose their true mind.” (Gosho, pp. 1039-1040) We now must etch these golden words into our minds and fearlessly stand up and do shakubuku as the followers of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. When we view the world, we can see that many people suffer from the poison of erroneous teachings, including the followers of the Soka Gakkai. The Daishonin states in the Gosho, “On Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra” (“Shō hokke daimoku-shō”): In the Latter Day of the Law, there are many who lack the seed of Buddhahood, while few possess it. Thus, there is no doubt that people [in the Latter Day of the Law] will fall into the evil paths. [Since they are going to fall into the evil paths anyway,] we should strongly teach and make them listen to the Lotus Sutra and let them form a poison-drum relationship with it. Thus, it is certain that now is the time to create reverse relationships by propagating the Lotus Sutra. (Gosho, p. 231) It is my wish that you will follow these golden words and shakubuku as many people as possible. This is the ultimate act of compassion to save all living beings. I pray from the bottom of my heart that you will strive in your practice with a dauntless spirit, aiming toward both our short and long-term goals—the achievement of our shakubuku goals for this year and the accomplishment of worldwide kōsen-rufu.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 09:05:22 +0000