Nichiren Shonin on Prayer (kito/inori)
By Graham Lamont
Introductory Remark
I have found it quite difficult through the years to convince most people who call themselves Nichiren Buddhists to accept what Nichiren Shonin actually says and to believe that his historically authenticated words, based on the Sutra, are what we should take as the basis of Nichiren Buddhism. In many ways this position is quite simple and logical but so many people wish to substitute their own ideas or the ideas of their teachers (cult leaders or so-called high priests). They simply want to do whatever they want to do or else they desire some authority figure based on his own charisma or relying on various supposed secret documents and transmissions, to tell them what to do.
Such people are examples of relying on people, not relying on the Dharma; that is, relying on charismatic or worldly authority rather the plain words of the sutras or sermons of the Buddha. It is against such reliance on mere human authority the Buddha warns us (Daihatsunehangyo Nyoraisho hon (T.12.401b).
The present writer claims no such charismatic or secret power; he asserts no personal authority but simply wishes to present what is the obvious teaching of the Lotus Sutra as expounded by Nichiren Shonin himself in his genuine works.
Nichiren Shonin's Teachings Concerning Prayer:
One of the topics which is most important in Nichiren Shonin's writings and in the lives of those who follow him is prayer (in Japanese, kito or inori). Today we see many twisted views on what Nichiren Shonin says about prayer: certain groups claim that it is merely appealing to a "Buddha within you" with no objective, transcendent being involved; yet ironically it is these very groups which also claim to have a monopoly on the means of prayer: they say that one must receive one of their mandalas or else be part of their organization or follow their leader, be it a "high priest" or the "kaicho-sensei" (president and teacher), or offer prayer in a particular temple, to a particular mandala. It seems that for people who proclaim that they are merely appealing to the "Buddha within", they place an uncommonly disproportionate emphasis on external and even specific objects, treated as magical fetishes. These same people sneer at and doubt the Hokekyo (Dharma Flower Sutra) or Lotus Sutra and demean the Lord Buddha Shakya as He is revealed in that Sutra.
Let us, however, be guided by the authentic and clear words of Nichiren Shonin on the right way of prayer:
First we shall consider Nichiren Shonin's instructions for successful prayer in a brief letter to Lord Niita, which still survives (ironically) at Taisekiji, the center of the dark vortex of anti-Shakya hatred and blasphemy since at least the 1340's:
"The Sutra is the Hokekyo, the Foremost Great Dharma [i.e., Great Vehicle Dharma] of Exoteric and Esoteric. The Buddha is the Buddha Shakya the Foremost Supreme Buddha. The Practicer (gyoja) resembles the Practicer of the Hokekyo. The three matters (san ji) having corresponded to the single vow of the lay donor will surely be achieved, will it not?" (Niita dono gosho, STN, v. 2, no. 368, p. 1752)
In contrast to what the heretics (such as those cited before) state, we see in this brief passage that there is no contradiction between the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha Shakya, and the Practicer of the Hokekyo (Nichiren Shonin and those who follow him and who are 'different persons with the same mind' (itai doshin)); the 'three matters' are separate but necessarily conjoined. There is no doubt as to the Supremacy of the Lotus Sutra among all the Sutras preached by the Buddha and the Supremacy of the Buddha Lord Shakya among all the Buddhas of the Ten Directions, for they are merely His Branch Bodies, His Entourage (Ichidai Goji zu, STN, v. 3, 2342); this Sutra and this Buddha are objective entities of Enlightenment. Modestly, Nichiren Shonin says he only 'resembles' the Practicer of the Hokekyo as he explains elsewhere:
"In the Sutra it says, the person who 'can preach this Sutra' [T.9.34a], who 'can keep this Sutra' [T.9.46a] is 'then the Messenger of the Tathagata.' [T.9.30c] The person of the eight fascicles, one fascicle, one chapter, one verse or even the person who chants the Daimoku is the Messenger of the Tathagata. The person who in the beginning, the middle and the end does not abandon it but passes through great persecutions (or difficulties) is the Messenger of the Tathagata. Nichiren's mind is not completely that of the Messenger of the Tathagata; it is because he is an unenlightened worldling (bombu). Though in his mind the three poisons are deep, and his whole person is an unenlightened worldling, when he says in his mouth, 'Namu Myoho renge kyo,' he resembles the Messenger of the Tathagata. When we search the past he resembles the Bodhisattva Fukyo. When we make inquiry of the present he does not differ from '[the Dharma Teacher on whom is inflicted] sword, cudgel, tile and stone.' [T.9.32a] Could there be any doubt that he 'is going to visit the Place of Enlightenment?'" [T.9.62a] (Shijo Kingo dono gohenji, STN, v. 2, 1668)
Despite his imperfect state, the Messenger of the Buddha's steadfast adherence to the Hokekyo in the face of terrible persecutions that this entails, assures him of Supreme Buddhahood itself. When those who steadfastly follow Nichiren Shonin rightly follow his example in chanting the Daimoku with faith and spreading the True Dharma, then even in our imperfections we, too, resemble the Messenger of the Tathagata (Buddha).
And Nichiren Shonin further states with regard to the prayers of this person who
practices the Sutra:
"If there were one instance in a thousand where the various Bodhisattvas, devas and humans, the Eight Sections and so on, the Two Saints, the Two Devas, the Ten Rakshasas and so on do not come to guard the Practicer of the Hokekyo, they would have the fault of slighting Shakya and the Buddhas above and deceiving the Nine Realms below. Though the Practicer of necessity is untrue, and though of inferior wisdom, and though impure of body, and though not endowed with the virtues of the precepts, if he or she says, 'Namu Myoho renge kyo', they must guard him or her. Do not abandon the gold because the sack is filthy. If one despises the [foul-smelling]iran (eranda tree), one cannot have the [fragrant] candana (tree); if one condemns the pond in the gully as impure, one cannot take the lotuses: if they condemn the Practicer, they will be breaking their vows. Because the True and Counterfeit [Dharmas] have already passed, one who keeps the precepts would be 'like a tiger in the marketplace' and a wise person rarer than a unicorn's horn. Until one awaits the moon, one should rely on a lamp; in a place without jewels, gold and silver are also treasure. One should repay the white crow's favor to the black crow. One should repay the saintly monk's favor to the worldling monk. If he or she fervently prays, 'Haste, haste to benefit living beings,' how can our prayers not be fulfilled?" (Kito Sho, STN, v. 1, 679-680)
Even though Nichiren Shonin (and those who follow his example in faith) were untrue in the sense of being only worldlings of no virtue and enlightenment, their future Buddhahood and the attainment of their prayers and vows is made certain by the power of their faith and the power of the Sutra and the Buddha. What is important is not their personal shortcomings but their belief and worship.
Thus, in the Letter on the Urabon (Obon) Festival, Nichiren Shonin states of his disciple Master Jibu:
"This monk is without precepts, without wisdom, has never kept the Two Hundred Fifty Precepts, and keeps not one of the Three Thousand Types of Deportment. Although his wisdom is classed with oxen and horses and his deportment resembles a monkey, what he reveres is the Buddha Shakya and the Dharma he believes is the Hokekyo; for example, he is like a serpent holding a jewel and like a dragon bearing the sacred relics on its head." (STN, v. 2, 1775-1776)
If we examine these four texts we find that the keeper or the Practicer of the Hokekyo, even one who merely chants "Namu Myoho renge kyo", may be flawed, inferior, certainly not of a high spiritual attainment in itself; but such a person will still be efficacious in prayer so long as belief in the absolute Dharma, the Hokekyo, and reverence for the absolute Buddha, Lord Shakya, are present, the gold of the Buddha's Truth wrapped inside the dirty bag of the unworthy Practicer: "do not cast away the gold because the bag is filthy" (Kito Sho, STN, v. 1. 679).
Always the Hokekyo and Lord Shakya are the Supreme, even though the Practicer, the Messenger of the Buddha, is lowly. Note that if the various beings such as the gods were to fail to respond to proper prayer by the Lotus Sutra, they would be guilty of "the fault of slighting Shakya" as well the other Buddhas, Who, in any case, are Branched-off Bodies (funjin) of the One, Eternal Buddha Shakya.
Nichiren Shonin places great emphasis on not degrading Lord Shakya; for example, he states that the worldly troubles of Japan, let alone the punishment of its people in the next life, stem from such degradation and rejection of Lord Shakya and the Hokekyo:
"Let us set aside the fact that, because the present country of Japan goes against (somuki) the Hokekyo and abandons (sutsuru) the Buddha Shakya, in the after-life they will fall to Avici Hell. In the present life they necessarily shall meet great calamities." (STN, v. 2, 991)
"The fact that in this age [Japan] is about to be seized is because they set Lord Shakya at naught (or, slight Lord Shakya)." (STN, v. 2, 1371)
Those who are not stubborn icchantikas (i.e., those who stubbornly lack faith) can easily see that the exalted nature and power of the Practicer of the Hokekyo (Hokekyo no gyoja) lie not in some inherent metaphysical or spiritual exaltedness but in the power of Lord Shakya and the Hokekyo, in both of which the Practicer must have faith.
The quintessence of the Hokekyo is the Daimoku: as Nichiren Shonin writes, "the Essence, which is to say, the Five Characters 'Myo ho ren ge kyo.'" (Soyanyudo dono gari gosho, STN, v. 1, 902) This teaching derives the "Chapter of the Divine Powers of the Tathagatas" 21.
After the Buddhas of the Ten Directions have manifested their Divine Powers and the beings of the Ten Directions have saluted Lord Shakyamuni, He clearly preaches in the "Chapter of the Divine Powers of the Tathagatas" 21:
"The divine powers of the Buddhas are thus immeasurable, boundless, and inconceivable. Even if I by means of these divine powers for immeasurable, boundless hundreds of thousands of ten thousands of hundreds of thousands of asamkheyas of kalpas, for the sake of Entrustment preached the merit of this Sutra, I still could not exhaust it. If I speak of it in terms of the Essence, all of the Dharmas which are possessed by Tathagata, all of the Tathagata's Sovereign Divine Powers, all of the Tathagata's Stores of Secret Essentials, and all of the Tathagata's Most Profound Matters are in this Sutra proclaimed, shown, revealed and preached. For that reason you, after the Tathagata's Extinction, should single-mindedly receive and keep, read and recite, explain and preach, copy and write, and practice in accordance with the preaching." (T.9.52a)
This section is called "Forming the Essence and Transmitting It" (ketsuyo fuzoku). Again if those who are not icchantikas but have faith and discernment look at this text they see:
1) the inconceivable merit of the Sutra contained its Essence (yo)
2) the purpose is for Entrustment (fuzoku), specifically to the Bodhisattva Jogyo and His Bodhisattva companions and followers 'Who Sprang from the Earth', who are being addressed here.
3) the content of this Essence, the Secret Essential Dharma, the One Great Secret Dharma from which all of the Three Great Secret Dharmas emerge from the time of receiving, belong to the Tathagata, i.e., the Buddha Shakya.
4) the Hokekyo, taken in its Essential Dharma (yobo), is to be practiced "single-mindedly", that is not mixed with other Dharmas.
Thus one can see that there is no contradiction between the Hokekyo, its Essence, and Lord Shakya, for the Essence is from Lord Shakya's Practice and Attainment, as Nichiren Shonin fully affirms:
"The two dharmas of the causal practices and Effect virtues of Lord Shakya are fully possessed in the Five Characters 'Myo ho ren ge kyo'; when we receive and keep these Five Characters He [the Buddha] spontaneously (jinen ni) yields and assigns to us the merit of those causes and Effect." (The "Section on Spontaneous Yielding and Assigning" (jinen joyo dan) of the Kanjin honzon sho (STN,v. 1, 711))
In other words, the merit of the Essence, the Daimoku, of the Hokekyo is of Lord Shakya! It consists fully of His Practices as Bodhisattva (the cause) and the virtues or merit of the Effect or Fruit which is His Supreme Buddhahood. We see that this agrees completely with the Entrustment of the Essence in the Sutra. Indeed, Nichiren Shonin comments elsewhere:
"The written characters of this Sutra are identical to the Soul of the Tathagata Shakya (Shaka nyorai no mitama); because each and every one of the written characters is the soul of the Buddha, it is the person who shall practice this Sutra whom the Tathagata Shakya shall guard as His Own Eye (manako). He shall accompany that person even as the shadow accompanies a person's body. How should [the Practicer's] prayers not turn out?" (Kito Sho, STN, v. 1, 671)
It is because of the guardian presence of the Buddha Shakya's soul, His Essence, in the Sutra text itself that the prayers of the one who believes and practices this Sutra are successful. The Buddha regards the person who practices this Hokekyo as His Own Eye, the Eye of the World. Thus the Buddha Nichigatsutomyo in a much earlier eon, praised the Bodhisattva Myoko :
"You are the Eye of the World
Whom all adhere to and believe
Well able to serve and keep the Dharma Store" (The 'Chapter of the Preface 1'
(T.9.5a1-3)).
Nichiren Shonin further explains:
"Now even the merit of opening the eyes of one blind person can be expressed. How much more the merit of opening the eyes of all the people of the country of Japan. How much even more opening the eyes of the people of the whole continent of Jambudvipa that were blind. In the fourth [fascicle] of the Hokekyo,
'After the Buddha's Extinction
If one can understand its significance,
This one is the Eye
Of the worlds of gods and humans.'
[The 'Chapter of the Jeweled Stupa' 11:T.9.34b20-21]
....and so on. It preaches that the person who keeps the Hokekyo is the eye of the gods and humans of all worlds" (Oto gozen goshosoku, STN, v. 2, 1101). It is by keeping the Hokekyo, which is the Supreme Teaching of the Buddha, Lord Shakya, and which contains His Soul, that the keeper of the Sutra becomes as the Eye of the Buddha, the Eye of All Worlds. Such a person then obtains the great merit of opening the eyes of spiritually blind beings and his or her prayers surely are most efficacious.
Nichiren Shonin prayed by means of the Daimoku but he did not on that account abandon the Sutra text, for the Sutra itself admonishes "read and recite, explain and preach, copy and write, and practice in accordance with the preaching," as we saw above. Nichiren Shonin therefore compiled a "Prayer Sutra" (Kito kyo), which consisted of certain passages from the twenty-eight chapters and eight fascicles (scrolls)of the Hokekyo. When he compiled and copied out these texts, at the end of each of the fascicles of the Sutra he added his own words of faithful testimony:
"The Sublime Truth of the Hokke is the Golden Words of Lord Shakya. One ought to produce the mind of faith; there will be no empty falsehood." (STN, v. 3, 2208 ll. 3, 9, 2209 l. 4, 2211l. 4, 2212 l.1, 2214 l. 4, 2216 l. 1, 2218 l. 1)
What could be clearer than these words of the Patriarch? The Ineffable Truth of the Lotus Sutra is in the very Golden Words Lord Shakya for, as he says, "It is only the Hokekyo alone that is the Sublime Preaching of the Golden Mouth of Lord Shakya Perfectly Full with the Three Bodies' (STN, v. 2, 1165 ll.13-14) and "the Real Preaching of the Perfect Buddha Who Truly Attained in the Most Distant Past" (STN, v. 1, 135 ll. 7-8). We see that success in prayer lies in the Truth of the Hokekyo itself and that this Truth is the very Golden Words of Lord Shakya. The Buddha Shakya, Enlightened since the Most Distant Past, and His Sutra are unequivocally true, but the success of prayer in practical terms depends on the faith of the one who prays.
Concerning these Sutra texts that he compiled, Nichiren Shonin further testifies:
"I, Nichiren, too, by reciting these compilations of texts and making prayers and vows to the Buddha and the devas (gods) every day since the day I began to believe, though I have encountered all sorts of great hardships, yet because the meritorious power of the Hokekyo and the Golden Words of Lord Shakya are profound and serious, up to now I have been safe. With regard to that, if the Practicers of the Hokekyo have no backsliding in the mind of faith or false affection in their persons, but leave themselves to the Hokekyo in all things and practice in accordance with the Golden Words, they will for certain even in this life, not to speak of the afterlife, end disasters and extend the life span, obtain the reward of the Superior, Sublime Great Effect and accomplish the Great Vow of 'widely proclaiming and diffusing'" (Kitokyo Sojo, STN, v. 1, 689-690).
Once again Nichiren Shonin's words, like the words of the Sutra, are very clear. The Saint prayed "to the Buddha", meaning the Buddha Shakya, for he says elsewhere, "How joyful! To serve the Master of Teachings Lord Shakya Whom I have not yet seen. I vow (or, wish) that I might first lead the ruler of the country who harms me. And for the disciples who aid me, I shall address Lord Shakya" (Kembutsu Miraiki, STN, v. 1, 742). Nichiren Shonin rejoiced to serve Lord Shakya on Whom he depended. And he states in no uncertain terms that he has been maintained in security, despite his many persecutions, because of the profound power of the Lotus Sutra and the Truth of the Golden Words of the Buddha Lord Shakya, and indeed the Sutra and the Buddha Shakya's Words are the same in his teaching.
It is evil people who separate the Buddha Shakya and the Lotus Sutra, claiming to follow the sutra while despising and disobeying Lord Shakya; Nichiren Shonin writes of
his own time:
"Now more than two hundred and twenty years into the Latter Dharma, ..... they entirely look up to groups of icchantikas and rely on them as leaders and, reverencing blasphemers against the Dharma, make them national teachers. Taking up the Classic Filial Piety of Confucius, they beat their parents' heads. While chanting the Lotus Sutra of Lord Shakya in their mouths, they go against the Master of Teachings" (Soya nyudo dono gari gosho, STN,v. 1. 900).
Today we are in much the same situation except that many priests and lay people who claim to be followers of Nichiren Shonin, in fact, disbelieve his straight forward words and turn vehemently against Lord Shakya, Whom the Saint has clearly exalted as the Supreme Buddha. These various sects such as the so-called Nichiren Shoshu and the Soka Gakkai affect the name "Lotus Sutra", but dismiss Lord Shakya and refuse to recognize Him as the Eternal Buddha. Of such people Dengyo Daishi says, "Although they praise the Hokekyo, on the contrary they kill the Hokke's heart. (Hokkeshuku, Dengyo Daishi zenshu, v. 3, 252). They are, in fact, murderers of the heart, the central meaning, of the Lotus Sutra and in their falsification of the Saint's authentic teachings, teachings based squarely on the Golden Words of the Sutra, they are, in fact, showing the greatest enmity towards Nichiren Shonin:
"Furthermore, no matter how much they chant, everyone who has enmity towards Nichiren first must necessarily fall to the Unremitting Hell and after immeasurable kalpas (eons) become Nichiren's disciples and should attain Buddhahood" (Kyo'o gozen gosho, STN, v. 1, 687).
Whether they openly declare their enmity towards Nichiren Shonin (as some modern "Nichiren Buddhists" actually do!) or secretly abolish all he said while praising him with perjured lips, their fate is clear: they will fall to the Unremitting Hell.
Returning to the above text on prayer, we find that Nichiren Shonin then teaches that other Practicers of the Hokekyo will have their prayers answered here and hereafter, provided that they:
a) do not backslide in their faith: "by no means have a backsliding mind or have a fearful mind!" (STN, v. 1, 737)
nor should they be "false in their affections", a phrase which may refer to insincerity but which has been interpreted to mean "although the other person's faith is erroneous, fearing lest they lose their temper, one says nothing" (Kempon Hokke Seiten, p. 528). In which case, it means that shakubuku (the vehement assertion of Truth against error) is a necessary pre-condition for successful prayer.
c) give themselves up to the Hokekyo, for 'Namu' in the Daimoku means 'kimyo', literally, 'return one's life' (Ji ri kuyo gosho, STN, v. 2. 1262) and Nichiren Shonin advises: "Whatever vexatious matters there may be, one should only bear in mind only the Hokekyo" (Kyodai sho, STN, v. 1, 933).
d) practice in accordance with what the Buddha Shakya has stated in the Sutra; many people say they practice but desire openly or secretly to change the Dharma and its practice according to their own personal likes and dislikes, as in the cases of exclusive practice of the Lotus Sutra or of shakubuku. Even Nichiren Shonin as a person was tempted to follow his own opinions and inclinations but remained faithful to the Hokekyo:
"....when the person who practices the Hokekyo says in one breath 'Namu Myoho renge kyo' and in another says 'Namu Amida Butsu' and so on, it is like mixing excrement or putting sand and rocks into rice. When in the text of the Hokekyo it preaches, 'Only desiring to receive and keep the Great Vehicle Sutra Canon' and so on to 'do not receive even one verse of the other sutras' and so on, it refers to this. The scholars of the world think that it is not wrong even to mix other practices into the Hokekyo. Although I Nichiren also think that it is indeed so, the Sutra text is not thus" (Akimoto dono gosho (Letter to Lord Akimoto), STN, v. 2, 1730).
So even if people practice the Hokekyo, if they go against the Golden Words of Lord Shakya in the Sutra, or degrade the Sutra or mix it with other teachings, they cannot really expect the great reward promised to the True Practicer of the Lotus Sutra; many are the sects that pay lip service to the Sutra but do not understand its true significance; even many of those who claim to be followers of Nichiren Shonin do not practice in accordance with the straightforward words of the Sutra: they put their leaders' authority above the Sutra or they prefer other teachings to those of the Hokekyo or they say, "I'll do whatever I please." Even the greatest cult leader can mislead, let alone their foolish followers. For Nichiren Shonin warns, "Even though it be a Bodhisattva Equal to Enlightened, the great evil demon called 'Ignorance of the Original Rank' enters persons, and hinders the Sublime Enlightened One's merits which we call the Hokekyo. How much more with everyone below that [bodhisattva rank]" (Kyodai sho STN, v. 1, 923). How can one deny that there are many such people in the world today? Their attitudes can only lead to disaster here and hereafter, even if these people plant for themselves the seed of Buddhahood, which will mature in distant eons to come. The way to guard against these demonically inspired enemies of the Dharma is by holding fast in faith to the clear words of the Sutra. Those who think that as long as they chant the Daimoku, all will be well, even though they subscribe to false doctrines which defame the Hokekyo itself, are sadly self-deluded, for the Patriarch says:
"The gold which a foolish person keeps and the gold which a wise person keeps, the fire which a fool lights and the fire which a wise person lights have no distinction. But when one chants contrary to the heart of this Sutra there is that distinction." (Matsuno dono gohenji (Reply to Lord Matsuno), STN, v. 2, 1265)
The heretics of various lineages deny that the Hokekyo is the highest and absolute teaching of the Buddha, claim this Sutra is a forgery, denigrate the Eternal Lord Shakya, put their faith in human authorities, high priests and cult leaders, trust in "secret documents" that are crude forgeries, yet, chanting the Daimoku, claim that everything will be "guaranteed" wonderful and successful for themselves. They, indeed, are fools to degrade the Sutra and the Eternal Buddha. They follow neither the Sutra nor the Patriarch, the Messenger of the Buddha: their fate is described above in Nichiren Shonin's words (Kyo'o gozen gosho STN, v. 1, 687). The Sutra itself condemns such people:
"If there are those who in regard to this Sutra
Produce doubts and do not believe,
They will thereupon fall to the Evil Ways of Rebirth"
(The 'Chapter of the Bodhisattvas Who Sprang from the Earth' 15: T.9.42a).
The true success of prayer depends upon right faith that is, having firm, unwavering faith in the right object of faith.
In explaining prayers, Nichiren Shonin writes to the zemmon Domyo (a kind of
tonsured layman):
"I have understood about the prayers for your own father, so I shall present prayers before the Buddha. In prayers although there are Open (Manifest) Prayer and Open Response, Open Prayer and Hidden Response, Hidden Prayer and Hidden Response, and Hidden Prayer and Open Response, the essence (kan'yo) is just that if you form the Mind of Faith of this Sutra, what is vowed for [the two worlds] present and future should be fulfilled. The Golden Words where in the third {fascicle] of the Hokekyo it says, 'Although there are demons and demonic people, they all guard the Buddha Dharma.' [T.9.20c9] and in the seventh [fascicle] it says, 'The disease at once shall be extinguished and they shall not die without growing old, ' [T.9.54c26] should not be doubted" (Domyo zemmon gosho, STN, v. 2, 1256 (No.227)).
Here again Nichiren Shonin shows clearly what prayer involves: as the Practicer of the Hokekyo, he receives the plea of a believer and presents it in prayer "before the Buddha." This Buddha, both from his theoretical status and from the fact that Nichiren Shonin carried with him a statue of Lord Shakya, can only be that Lord Shakyamuni Who, as we saw, is the Supreme Buddha. The present circumstance involves prayers for a parent, perhaps for posthumous benefit or, given the subsequent quotation from the "Chapter of the Bodhisattva Yakuo" 23, perhaps for healing. Elsewhere Nichiren Shonin writes to Konichibo:
"And so, even though the late Lord Yashiro was an evil person, if the mother who bore him laments and mourns day and night before the Presence (hozen) of the Buddha Shakya, how could that person not be at peace?" (Konichibo gosho STN, v. 2, 1160)
What is being spoken of in this instance are prayers for a deceased child by a believing parent in front of the statue of the Buddha Shakya, the objectively-existing Buddha. Thus the Patriarch states to lady Nichigen:
"Lord Shakya is the one moon in the heavens and the various Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and so on are the reflections floating in the myriad bodies of water.The person who erects one image of Lord Shakya is a person who constructs the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten directions" (Nichigennyo Shaka Butsu kuyo ji, STN, v. 2, 1623).
It is meritorious to make and worship the image of Lord Shakya, Who encompasses all other Buddhas, who are merely His Branched-off Bodies (funjin). Since Nichiren Shonin constantly contrasts the Buddha Shakya as Lord, Teacher, and Parent in contrast to other Buddhas such as Amida (Amitabha) and Dainichi (Vairocana), he is clearly referring to a specific, objective really-existing Buddha, not simply, as some heretics have claimed, the Buddha Nature or the Buddha within oneself as potentiality. This is shown also by the fact that Nichiren Shonin dismisses the doctrine of the Buddha as Dharma Body (hosshin) as merely a doctrine common to all Mahayana sutras:
"Though in the forty fascicles of the final Daihatsunehangyo between the Twin [Sal] Trees and the various Great Vehicle Sutras outside of that before and after the Hokke, not excepting one character or one line, they preach the beginninglessness and endlessness of the Dharma Body, the Revelation of the Original (kempon) of the Response Body and the Recompense Body is not preached (Kaimoku sho (Opening the Eyes), STN, v. 1, 553).
The unique doctrine of the Hokekyo in the Hommon (Chapters 15-28) lies in the revelation of the other two bodies of the Buddha, the Recompense and Response Bodies as the Eternal Original Buddha: all three bodies are Beginningless and Endless in contrast to the Beginningless and Endless Dharma Body of the other Sutras; to this Buddha, Lord Shakya, all other Buddhas are subordinate and this Buddha has Truly Attained in the Most Distant Past, Truly Practiced and Truly Realized (Ichidai goji zu, STN, v. 3, 2342). Other sutras and teachings "say that other Buddhas and their own Buddha are the same by virtue of the Intent of Non-differentiation (or, Equality) (byodo ishu) or they say that other Buddhas and their own Buddha are the same by virtue of the Non-differentiation (or, Equality) of the Dharma Body (hosshin byodo), "(STN, v. 1, 202) but the revelation that the various Buddhas are all Branched-off Bodies of Lord Shakya "does not even resemble the Intent of Non-differentiation (byodo ishu)" (Kaimoku sho (Opening the Eyes), STN, v. 1, 572). The Lord Shakya is thus a real Buddha, not merely an abstract principle of Enlightenment. If he were simply an abstract Dharma Body, He would be no different from any other Buddha in the Ten Directions. He would not be the One Eternally Living Buddha from whom all other Buddhas derive but merely be the abstract oneness or truth of all Buddhas and then the Hokekyo would be no different from any other Great Vehicle (Mahayana) Sutra.
We now return to the above-cited letter, Domyo zemmon gosho: after referring
to prayers to the Buddha, Nichiren Shonin subsequently states:
"The essence (kan'yo) is just that if you form the Mind of Faith of this Sutra, what is vowed for [the two worlds] present and future should be fulfilled. The Golden Words where in the third {fascicle] of the Hokekyo it says, 'Although there are demons and demonic people, they all guard the Buddha Dharma', and in the seventh [fascicle] it says, 'The disease at once shall be extinguished and they shall not die without growing old' should not be doubted."
Here there are two elements: the subjective aspect of faith without any doubt and the objective truths stated in the Hokekyo which are the object of that faith. What the Hokekyo says is the Truth: "The World Honored One as to the Dharma after a long time is certainly going to preach the Truth." (T.9.6a); to this fact the Buddha Taho has borne witness: "Excellent! Excellent! The World Honored One Shakyamuni has been able to preach for the great assemblies by means of the Sublime Dharma Flower Sutra, the Great Wisdom of Equality, the Dharma Which Teaches the Bodhisattvas, Which the Buddhas Protect and Recall. Just so. Just so. As the World Honored One Shakyamuni has preached, it is all true" (T.9.32c). "By faith you enter" (T.9.15b) into that Truth, the Supreme Dharma among all Teachings. The objective Supreme Truth of Shakyamuni, embodied in His Golden Words. Here the Patriarch cites passages, one showing that even evil beings will be compelled to guard the Truth and those who believe in that Truth and the other promising healing of illness. If we receive and keep the Supreme Truth of these Golden Words, then there can be no doubt that our vows, our prayers, our hopes for this world and the hereafter will be fulfilled. The Sutra states: "In the present world peace and security; in the afterlife (or later birth) a good place [of rebirth]" (The 'Chapter of the Parable of the Medicinal Plants' 5: T.9.19b). In both this birth and future births the Sutra aids those who have firm and enduring faith. Faith in the Truth will see us through now and in the future: this is the essence for Nichiren Shonin. There can be no doubt that the prayers based on such a steadfast and persevering Mind of Faith will be fulfilled:
"Though, if one points to the earth, one should miss, though there be one who snags the empty void (empty sky), though there be cases of the tide not coming in, though the sun come forth from the west, there cannot be an instance where the prayers of the Practicer of the Hokekyo are not fulfilled" (Kito sho, STN, v. 1, 679).
The prayers of the Hokekyo (no gyoja), based on the mind of faith, expressed by meeting the conditions mentioned above, are always availing in one way or another: that is the essence. The fundamental reason behind this, is that the Hokekyo, the Supreme Dharma, is the fulfillment of all hopes, as the Buddha says: "My Vow having been fulfilled, the multitude of hopes are likewise satisfied" (The 'Chapter of Receiving the Prophecy' 9: T.9.28c).
This Vow refers to the Supreme Vow of Buddha to cause all beings to attain Buddhahood:
"I originally established a Vow,
Desiring to cause all beings
To be equal to me without difference"
As I have vowed in the past,
Now it is already fulfilled;
I have converted all the multitude of beings
Causing them all to enter the Buddha Way" ('Chapter of Expedience' 2: T.9.8c).
As Nichiren Shonin explains in the Kaimoku sho (Opening the Eyes): "The General Vows of Shakya and the various Buddhas [to save] the multitudes of beings without limit are all fulfilled in this Sutra. The text, 'Now it is already fulfilled,' refers to this" (STN, v. 1, 581).
The Vow of the Buddha to save all beings having been fulfilled only in the Hokekyo, the hopes of all beings have also been fulfilled only here; if this, the greatest of all vows, has been achieved in this sutra of universal attainment, then the lesser vows, worldly vows are also attained here. And those beings, formerly deprived of hope of attaining Supreme Buddhahood by lesser, provisional Buddhist teachings, shall out of gratitude assist the fulfillment of the prayers of the one who believes and practices the Hokekyo. The Two Vehicles' saints, formerly rejected for Buddhahood, and, indeed, all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of other sutras, now attain the Supreme Spiritual Goal in and through this Sutra, and out of gratitude will guard the one who practices this Sutra. It is even as a filial son will nonetheless desert his own father if the latter rebels against the king. (Ibid.) Those aspirants who followed, guarded and supported other, Provisional Buddhist teachings but who have been given final salvation by the Hokekyo will now reject those teachings and defend only the Hokekyo and those that practice this Sutra.
Yet despite such assurances, it might seem that prayers of the Hokekyo (no gyoja) are not always fulfilled. To understand this, we must again return to the letter to the zemmon Domyo quoted above:
"In prayers ..... there are Open (Manifest) Prayer and Open Response, Open Prayer and Hidden Response, Hidden Prayer and Hidden Response, and Hidden Prayer and Open Response...."
Nichiren Shonin has based this classification of the interrelationships between prayer and its response on a section of the Hokke gengi (Mysterious Principles of the Dharma Flower [Sutra]) by Tendai Daishi (538-597) which describes the interrelationship between the capacities (ki) of beings and the response to their karmic activities. (Fascicle 6A (T.33.748b,c) under the 'Sixth: Clarifying the Sublimity of Receptivity and Response' (Dairoku: myo kanno myo) Nichiren Shonin has taken the word for capacity (ki) and replaced it with the homophone (in the Japanese reading) for prayer (ki)) and has slightly rearranged the order. The Patriarch is simply applying the general idea of beings' capacity to receive teachings or benefits from the Buddha in a more specific way. From the Buddha's side there is always a 'skilled response' (ko o:T.33.748b7), but it is much like cases of worldly illness: there are immediate and protracted cures or, to use another image, there are those who are ripe or mature and those unripe or immature: the response is gauged to these varying capacities. According to the circumstances, good works and prayers may bring an immediate, open response or one that is hidden or effaced to wait for a future time. What is certain is that there is, indeed, always a response from the Lord Buddha, the Bodhisattvas and the guardian divinities, a response that is more than we may know:
"If the Master of Teachings Lord Shakya of the Pure Land of the Spiritual Mountain (ryozen jodo), the Buddha Taho of the Hojo World, the Branch-Body Buddhas of the Ten Directions, the Bodhisattvas of the Thousand Realms Who Sprang from the Earth, and so on, Brahma, Shakra, the Sun and the Moon, the Four Devas and so on did not add [their power] in a hidden manner and aid [us] openly, would we be peaceful and secure for even one hour or one day?" (Senji sho, STN, v. 2, 1061)
Though we may not recognize it, the Buddha Shakya, whether in His "own body or the body of another," always watches over us, even when we are going the wrong way:
"I ever know the masses of beings
Proceeding on the Way or not proceeding on the Way;
According to what will save them,
I preach for them all sorts of Dharmas.
I Myself ever form this thought:
'By what shall I cause the masses of beings
To be able to enter the Supreme Way
And rapidly achieve the Buddha Body?'"
(The "Chapter of the Measure of the Life Span of the Tathagata" 16: T.9.44a)
The Buddha Shakya is so utterly compassionate that, unlike the deities of other religions, who curse their enemies and betrayers into everlasting torment (as they claim), he even saves His worst enemy, the evil Devadatta, who tried to murder Him: the Buddha bestows on this Devadatta the prophecy of Supreme Buddhahood in chapter 12 of the Hokekyo (T.9.35a). Nichiren Shonin states: "Even to such an enemy the Buddha has no hostility. How much less would he abandon one who believes even once in the Buddha?" (Horen sho, STN, v. 1, 940-941) How then could the Buddha abandon those of us who believe in Him and His Supreme Teaching, the Hokekyo?!
Our prayers are, in reality, our response to this Buddha Shakya's eternal, continuous, wise and compassionate activity towards us and the various means of their fulfillment are "according to what will save" us. The Buddha Shakya (and thus also all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and various deities of the universe) never ignores or abandons us but perfectly responds to our prayers according to our needs or capacities, ever bearing in mind His highest vow to save all beings without exception.