A True Priest, the Pot Headed Priest(2)
GOING UP TO THE CAPITAL AND SPREADING THE DHARMA
[6]
His resolve to preach widely and transmit the Wonderful Dharma
having become firmly established, and having beheld with his own
eyes wondrous signs of the Buddhas and patriarchs, Master
Nisshin lost no time in setting out for the capital. He was twenty-
one at the time, and it was near the end of the first month of the
year Æei 34 (junior Fire, Snake) [1427].
On the eighth day of the second month of the same year, he first
began to preach in the vicinity of the Returning Bridge (Modori-
bashi) on First Avenue in the capital. He chanted the Wonderful
Dharma [i.e., the daimoku] and firmly rebuked the error of
slandering the Dharma. Before his time, Bodhisattva Nichizo had I
similarly spread the doctrines of the [Hokke] sect in the Einin era
[1293-1298]. That was the beginning of the spread of [faith in] the
king of sutra in the capital. At that time, the followers of other
schools who slander the Dharma had profound attachments to the
provisional teachings that could not immediately be controlled, so
[Nichizo's] admonitions about doctrine and observance were not
strict. Since then, with the passage of time, there were many
people of the one [Hokke] sect who, like those of other sects,
visited the shrines of deities who protect the provisional teachings
[other than the Lotus], or who passed heretical amulets on the
gates of their homes and looked up to them with reverence.
However, when they came to hear Nisshin's teachings, a great
change occurred.
Because no one of the sect, monk or layperson, would give him
a night's lodging, Nisshin went day and night to the roadside near
the Returning Bridge. Using a stone as a seat and raising an
umbrella, he chanted the daimoku as loudly as he could and
vigorously preached the errors of other sects. He declared that
sutra other [than the Lotus] do not lead to Buddhahood, and he
clarified the sin of slandering the Dharma, which leads to the hells.
He preached that, through the power of the wondrous sutra of the
one vehicle, there is not a single person who shall not attain
Buddhahood, expounding the scriptural passages in detail and
recommending the Wonderful Dharma that accords with both the
time and human capacity. However, people both high and low
frowned and grew angry, or clapped their hands and laughed. What
is more, men and women of other sects pelted him with rocks and
tiles, while monks and nuns who slandered the true teaching
plotted single-mindedly to do him harm. There was no one who
treated him cordially or approached him. However, Nisshin truly
expounded the doctrine, now rebuking [errors], now citing sutra to
demonstrate his point. His wisdom opened [the meaning of] the
sutra of the Buddha's lifetime and the treatises written about them,
while his eloquence was like flowing water that knows no
obstruction. At first people shunned and despised him, but later
they revered and esteemed him. Day after day, they congregated
to hear him preach. It so happened that two men from Kajiori
Village (also called Kajiwara) in Shimagami district of Settsu
Province, Uno Magozaemon and Nishimura Hikohyoe, came up to
the capital and mingled with the crowd, where Nisshin sat
preaching at the Returning Bridge and heard him. Because of good
karma from the past, they at once realized the truth of his
teaching. Both bent their heads and stepped beneath the umbrella
to receive his Dharma. [Later they helped Nisshin establish his first
temple.] Not only men and women of other sects bent their heads
in faith and acceptance, but persons of the Hokke sect also
reformed the impurity of their slanders of the Dharma. In this way,
the spread of the Lotus Sutra [in the capital] was begun by Master
Nichizo, while the fact that people came to adhere strictly to the
admonitions of the sect was solely because of Nisshin's teaching.
After that, the sect prospered and the Wonderful Dharma spread all
the more. That followers of the Nichiren sect today in both city and
countryside strictly avoid slanderous acts is due largely to the
virtuous achievement of Master Nisshin.
At that time, there was a stone near the Returning Bridge on
which Master Nisshin seated himself to preach. From then on, it
was called the “preaching stone.” It is said that whoever sat on it
by mistake, even briefly, or those who treated it disrespectfully,
received some supernatural warning. In the past it was called the
Seimei Stone [possibly in memory of the yin-yang master Abe no
Seimei]. For some reason, in the year Genroku 15 (senior Water,
Horse) [1702], on the sixteenth day of the eighth month, the stone
was moved to the Honpoji. Since the Oei era, it had weathered 280
years, remaining undisturbed. It had never been moved anywhere,
and then finally it happened to be brought to Master Nisshin’s chief
place of practice. Surely this is most mysterious.
“TREATISE OF GOVERNING THE COUNTRY” [9]
In carrying out his original pledge to spread the Wonderful
Dharma in the imperial capital, Nisshin admonished the shogun on
multiple occasions. In the year Eikyo 11 (junior Earth, Ram)
[1439], when he was thirty-three, he again admonished the Great
Barbarian-Subduing General Minamoto no Yoshinori [the sixth
Ashikaga shogun]. Lord Yoshinori grew enraged. Glaring, he said
in a rough voice, “The reason you have still not been taught a
lesson is that I have not yet given orders [to that effect]. If you
come appeal to me again, I will make sure that you are punished.”
Master Nisshin heard him out [and replied], “I am a disciple of the
Buddha, a vassal of the Dharma. How could I go against the
Buddha’s teaching out of fear of your commands? No matter what
punishments you may inflict on me when I appeal to you again, I
will be like the Venerable Aryasimha [, who was killed by King
Danmira, an enemy of Buddhism,] or the Tripitaka Master Fa-tao [,
who opposed Emperor Hui-tsung’s attempts to suppress
Buddhism]. Would it not rather be a great happiness to discard my
wretched body in this [one] insignificant life-time for the sake of the
Lotus Sutra and thus ensure that the great Dharma will remain for
ages to come?” So stating, he returned. After that, he composed
the Treatise on Establishing the True [Teaching] and Governing
the Country (Rissho jikoku ron) in one volume, modeling it on the
founder [Nichiren]’s Treatise on Establishing the True [Teaching]
and Bringing Peace to the Country (Rissho ankoku ron). He
intended to submit it in remonstration on the occasion of thirty-third
annual memorial service for Yoshinori's father, Rokuonin Yorimitsu.
In it he widely cited from the sutra, making clear that faith in wrong
teachers is the root cause of disorder in the realm. He set forth in
detail the words and principles of the Wonderful Dharma and
demonstrated that establishing the true teaching is the basis for
governing the land. Its words were indisputable and its reasoning
was clear. This writing is stored in the treasure repository of the
Honpoji.
PRISONMENT AND TORTURE [10]
No sooner had Nisshin finished the Rissho jikoku ron than
someone got word of it and slandered him in various ways to the
shogun, saying, "Priest Nisshin pay s no heed to my lord’s
prohibition but instead has composed a writing of appeal. This is
how he violates your order.” The shogun grew very angry on hearing
this but did not immediately order punishment. [Instead,] he
summoned eminent priests of the Zen and Nembutsu [sects]. The
shogun Lord Yoshinori addressed them as follows: "Priest Nisshin
has on several occasions appealed to me to take faith in the Lotus
Sutra. I do not believe nor have I accepted his appeals, but last
year he came to appeal to me again. At that time, I said that if he
came to memorialize me any further, I would have heavy
punishment inflicted on him. Nisshin replied, “I am a disciple of the
Buddha and a vassal of the Dharma. How could I go against the
Buddha’s teaching out of fear of your commands?’ So saying, he
returned. This is how he disregards my orders. Moreover, he has
now composed a treatise intending to memorialize me again. This
priest reveres the Lotus Sutra alone; he holds his person in
disregard but values the Dharma. I have not yet determined the
rights and wrongs of the other teachings. You priests must each
ascertain [in debate with Nisshin] in my presence the relative
profundity of the various sutra and whether or not they lead to
Buddhahood.”
In their hearts, the majority of the Zen and Nembutsu priests
feared to debate with Master Nisshin, so they replied to Lord
Yoshinori: “Of all the various Exoteric and Esoteric schools based
on the eighty thousand sacred teachings, there is none that does
not represent the essential teaching of the Buddha. How could the
Lotus Sutra alone be true? Moreover, when the Buddha was about
to enter nirvana, he entrusted the Dharma to the ruler and his
ministers. How could one propagate the Dharma if he goes against
your command? Nisshin is completely ignorant of Buddhism. What
point could there be in debating pros and cons with him’. All he
does is malign others. To fling away one’s life in vain, reaping the
worlds's derision, is to become a laughingstock. And even though
he may speak boldly now, if he is punished as serious criminals
are, he will at once abandon the Lotus Sutra and chant the sacred
name of [A] mida. We ask that you deal with him in this manner."
Slandering [ Nisshin] in various ways, they made this
recommendation. Lord Yoshinori did not know that, among the
teachings of the Thus Come One, there are various expedients
[and not all represent the ultimate truth]: nor did he know of men
like Aryasimha or Fa-tao, who went against the ruler's command in
order to teach the Dharma. He simply believed the errors and
deceptions of the Zen and Nembutsu priests, who were ignorant
and of limited ability. and he grew more and more enraged.
On the sixth day of the second month of the twelfth year of the
Eikyo era (senior Metal, Monkey) [1440], Nisshin was seized and
roughly thrown into prison. He was thirty-four at the time. His
prison cell measured four feet, five inches high, and its width
accommodated only four mats. Nails, seven or eight inches in
length, hung pointing down from the ceiling. At this time there were
eight people together in this cell. There had been thirty-six
originally, but the jailor, feeling pity had removed twenty-eight of
them to a broader, six-sided cell. The remaining eight could neither
sit nor stand readily, nor could they urinate and defecate as they
wished.
[On one occasion,] Master Nisshin was taken out into the prison
yard in the fierce heat of the summer sun. Firewood divas piled up,
and he was made to cross through the flames. Forced to confront
the fire, he was admonished, “If you think the pain will be hard to
bear, then quickly say the name of Amida. " Master Nisshin
replied, "The heat is truly difficult to bear. However, when one
commits the sin of slandering the Dharma, he will fall into the Hell
without Respite and be scorched in the flames of [the Hell of] Great
Heat, nothing can compare to the heat of those fires. How could I,
because I shunned a brief spell of suffering from this heat, plant the
seeds for long ages of torment?" And he chanted the daimoku in a
loud voice. Again, at night in the freezing cold of winter, he was led
out into the yard where the frost lay thick. There he divas stripped
naked, tied to a plum tree, and flogged throughout the night. “This
is what the suffering of cold is like. Why don’t you rely on Amida?”
Master Nisshin replied, “There is no way to describe how hard the
cold is to endure. However, one who receives the Dharma of an evil
teacher falls into the eight cold hells and is pierced by the ice of
[the Hell of] the Great Crimson Lotus. No comparison can describe
how many times the suffering of cold [in that hell] exceeds my
present torments. How could I, because I shunned a brief spell of
cold in this world, plant the seeds for long kalpas of suffering?’ He
did not flinch but chanted the daimoku in a loud voice. When day
dawned, Lord Yoshinori came to see the sight. Nisshin was chilled
from the night’s cold, and when he appeared to shiver slightly,
Yoshinori said, “Whom does the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra
fear, to tremble in this way?" Master Nisshin replied, "If you had
been treated like this, you would have soon frozen and perished. In
my case, thanks to the power of the Lotus Sutra, I am still alive.”
On another occasion, he was locked in a bathhouse that was
heated [with firewood] for three hours. At first his voice could be
heard loudly chanting the daimoku, but then it gradually subsided
until no sound could be heard. People said that he must have died.
But when they opened the door, Master Nisshin was there looking
just as he had before, chanting the Wonderful Dharma in a soft
voice. Or [at another time], he was tied to a ladder, and water was
scooped up in a ladle and poured into his mouth. He himself was
able to count up to thirty-six ladles-full; after that, he did not know
how many [he was forced to swallow]. Though he was tormented in
this way, he did not relax or weaken [in his resolve] even in the
slightest. [On occasion] bamboo skewers were applied to his
testicles, or [the blades of] hoes, heated red-hot, were placed in
his armpits. But although he was tortured in countless ways, he
gave no sign of being troubled or pained. At one time, a bamboo
saw sharp as a metal blade had been hung near his prison cell.
When Nisshin asked its purpose, the jailor replied, “It is a saw to
remove your reverence's head.” Nisshin then took the saw and
bashed it against the earthen floor of his cell. The jailor grew angry
and said, "Even if you break that saw, it will be to no purpose.
There are other saws, to put an end to your life." To this, Master
Nisshin declared, "I do not shun suffering in the slightest, nor do I
begrudge my life. But if you cut off my head with a sharp, sword
like blade such as this, it will be altogether too easy. Because my
life will be discarded solely in order that I may offer my body to the
Lotus Sutra and widely benefit others, I would wish the suffering to
be longer and more intense. That is why I am trying to dull this
sharp blade.” Truly, because of such deep resolve, he was able to
endure these many tortures, and his life was not harmed. His
bearing was as composed as ever. Filled inwardly with the virtues
of wisdom and meditation, he outwardly displayed forbearance and
compassion. Were it not for the protection of the Buddhas and
kami, who could do as he did?
CROWNED WITH A POT
Though subjected to numerous tortures, Master Nisshin did not
waver in the least. Out of resentment of his firm resolve, on one
occasion, a pot was heated until it glowed like flames and then
placed over his head. This too he endured well, and he gave no
sign of extreme pain. From that time on, people in the world all
called him “the pot-wearing saint.” It was because of this torture
that he came to be revered by this name. On another occasion,
Lord Yoshinori commanded that his tongue be cut out. The person
who received the order had pity on him, and, in his sympathy,
sliced off only a bit of the tip. After that, Master Nisshin lisped like
a child. The top of his head scarred where the pot had rested, so
he was unable to shave it as he wished and had to trim his hair
with scissors as it grew out. Thus his head looked like that of a
small boy [with a cropped haircut]. It remained so, even when he
grew old. Master Nisshin would joke, “The saying, ‘In old age, one
becomes a child again,’ must refer to me.” Thus, taken out [of his
cell], he was tormented in various ways, and returning to it, he
underwent numerous sufferings. The term of his im-prisonment
exceeded a year, lasting 503 days. Who else could have endured
as well as Master Nisshin did, unless he were the founder
[Nichiren] reborn? In the Honpoji, there is an object of worship
dated the first year of the Kakitsu era (1441) that he inscribed while
in prison. Day and night in his cell he chanted the Wonderful
Dharma and refuted [the doctrines] of false teachers. His voice
carried beyond the prison. Among those who heard him, there were
some who slandered him, and some who took faith and converted.
And when he was tortured, there were many who quickly realized
that he was no ordinary person and revered him.
YOSHINORI'S PUNISHMENT [12]
On the thirteenth day of the third month of the first year of the
Kakitsu era (junior Metal, Rooster) [1441], the shogun Lord
Yoshinori sent a messenger to demand of Nisshin in his prison
cell: "One who torments a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra will surely
receive punishment in this life — so it is written in the sutra itself. I
have tormented you harshly for more than a year now, but there is
no sign of anything untoward. Can the sutra be false? Or if not, it is
clear that you are surely no true practitioner of the Lotus" Master
Nisshin replied, "How could the sutra be false? And I am a true
practitioner of the Lotus. Before three years have passed, my lord
will surely incur punishment." The shogun sent a further message:
"What you say is foolish. If after three years were I to meet some
misfortune, how could one say it was specifically on account of
fermenting you?" Master Nisshin replied, "If you think three years
would be too late, then before a hundred days are out, you will
quickly incur heavy punishment." Hearing this, the shogun laughed
with derision. He was extremely angry. Declaring that he would
never lose his life, he passed the days in various counsels. Then,
on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, ninety-nine days after
the messenger had been sent [to Nisshin], the lay priest Akamatsu
Mitsusuke Shogu murdered the shogun Yoshinori in his mansion.
(This is related in the Summary of Reigns [Odai ichiran] and other
sources.) Thus Nisshin's words that Yoshinori would incur
punishment within a hundred days were fulfilled. In the past, the
regent in Kamakura, the governor of Sagarni [Hojo Tokimune],
exiled the founder \pard bkmkstart OCRUncertain061[Nichiren] to
the island of Sado, and within a hundred days fighting broke out in
his domain. On investigating the past case of the founder and
comparing with it the more recent case of Master Nisshin,
thoughtful persons, considering Yoshinori's immediate punishment,
will revere Nisshin's virtuous deeds and take faith in him.
Throughout the capital, men and women all said, "Because
Yoshinori inflicted various tortures on a noble priest, he met with
this misfortune." Word spread from the streets to every house. On
this account, the shogun's clan pardoned a great number of
criminals as a memorial offering for Lord Yoshinori. Their intent was
solely that Nisshin be pardoned and released, and to nullify
Yoshinori's offenses. But Master Nisshin refused to leave the
prison. He had borne grave sufferings and upheld the Lotus Sutra
without begrudging his life, solely in order to lead others to
embrace the Wonderful Dharma. The shogun had not discerned
this and brought disaster on himself. Master Nisshin announced, "If
those close to the shogun, down to the last man, do not now
receive this Wonderful Dharma that I uphold, I will never leave
prison." Yoshinori's family and retainers were unable to oppose
him, and the shogun's entire clan became devotees of the Lotus.
Thereupon Master Nisshin left prison. He was thirty-five at the time.
During his days of incarceration, he had tirelessly preached the
Dharma. Those who had muttered that it was only the noise of an
arrogant priest were many, while those who had taken faith were
few. From that point on, however, both high and low, men and
women, were awestruck by the power of Master Nisshin's virtue
and believed and revered him. Master Nisshin himself practiced
shakubuku all the more with respect to other sects and widely
declared the Hokke doctrine. Those who heard him directly at once
embraced the Dharma, while those to whom the word was passed
also converted as they heard it. There were very few who slandered
him and none who tried to do him harm. That same year,
Yoshinori's heir, Lord Yoshikatsu, at eight years of age, was
invested as shotgun by the emperor. However, on the twenty-first
day of the seventh month in the third year of the Kakitsu era (junior
Water, Boar) [1443], the Great Barbarian-Subduing General
Minamoto no Yoshikatsu fell from his horse and died an early
death. This was due to the sin of his father in tormenting a
practitioner of the Lotus. Nisshin's predictions of "three years" and
"a hundred days" came true as exactly as matching tallies. How
fearful! Was he not a sage who knew beforehand what was yet to
happen?