Robin Beck

Kaimoku -- Opening One's Eyes Part Four

Previously, I wrote:

That said, Taisekiji Nichiren Shoshu apparently views the three virtues {san-toku} or 'the Buddha as sovereign, parent, & teacher' as Buddhism 100, or a core Buddhist principle. Furthermore, they reassign these three attributes or virtues from Shakyamuni Buddha to Nichiren himself. AYIIIIEE!!!! They view the historical person, Nichiren, not the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha, as "The True Object of Worship" in terms of the Person.

The "BACKGROUND" for Soka Gakkai's translation of the Kaimoku Sho begins "This treatise is one of Nichiren Daishonin's most important writings, for he revealed himself here to be the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law who possesses the three virtues of sovereign, teacher and parent."

This startling conclusion, which contradicts the point Nichiren makes over and over, is based entirely on one sentence that appears near the end of the Soka Gakkai's translation of the Kaimoku Sho:

"I, Nichiren, am sovereign, teacher, father and mother to all the people of Japan. "

The Gosho Zenshu is in modern Japanese. It does not show the original text. It is said that the Gosho Zenshu version of Kaimoku Sho was translated from an annotated copy and the sentence was interpreted, based on notes, rather than literally translated. IIRC, Nichiko Hori oversaw the Japanese translations in the Gosho Zenshu. The source was a collection called the Gosho Shinpen.

The Nichiren Shu's rough equivalent of the "Gosho Zenshu" is translated from the "Showa Teihon Nichiren Shonin Ibun."

"The Showa Teihon does not have a modern version of Nichiren's gosho in it - only the original. There is a seven volume set whose name I can't think of right now which consists of only those gosho deemed authentic. These have the original on the top half and the modern Japanese on the bottom. My understanding is that the top half of these seven volumes are taken from the Showa Teihon. It is these seven volumes that are the basis of the current University of Hawaii translations." -- Ryuei

I was told that the same sentence in The Nichiren Shu's English version reads something like:

"I, Nichiren, am like a compassionate father and mother to all the people of Japan. "

The rest of that paragraph, from the Soka Gakkai's English most current version reads, ''But the men of the Tendai sect [who do not refute the misleading sects] are all great enemies of the people. As Chang-an has noted, 'One who rids the offender of evil is acting as his parent.' '

My take is that Nichiren compares himself to a compassionate parent because he scolded the people of Japan for their errors. He was not reassigning the "the three virtues of sovereign, teacher and parent" from Shakyamuni Buddha to himself. In 1264, Nichiren wrote, "This passage means that to us living beings the Thus Come One Shakyamuni is our parent, our teacher, and our sovereign." and "Although Amida, Medicine Master, and other Buddhas are sovereigns to us living beings, they are neither parents nor teachers. "

In 1270, Nichiren had written, "Shakyamuni, the World-Honored One, who is our father and mother and is endowed with the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent ... " In 1272, "Thus Shakyamuni Buddha alone fulfills the three functions of sovereign, teacher, and parent."

But, but, ... that was before Tatsu-no-kuchi! After Tatsu-no-kuchi he revealed that he, not Shakyamuni, was the True Buddha? Right?

In 1275, Nichiren would write, ... Shakyamuni, our real sovereign, parent and enlightened teacher ... "Then, in 1276, "Shakyamuni is the original teacher for all people, as well as their sovereign and their parent."

Next, in 1277, more than four years after the Kaimoku Sho, he wote "this present country of Japan is the domain of Shakyamuni Buddha. Not only do the Sun Goddess, Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, Emperor Jimmu and all the other gods as well as the ruler of the nation on down to the common people all dwell within his realm, but he is a Buddha to whom we are greatly indebted on three accounts. First, he is our sovereign; second, he is our teacher; and third, he is our parent mong all the Buddhas of the ten directions, only Shakyamuni Buddha is endowed with these three virtues.."

In 1279, "Strangely enough, they do not follow Shakyamuni, who is their sovereign, teacher, and parent. "

Soooo, why is there this radical discrepancy between what Nichiren wrote and all the other Nichiren schools teach; versus the innovative Taisekiji dogma that Soka Gakkai still promotes? Is it all about one sentence that the Nichikan {sic} Shoshu Taisekiji School believes conveys a secret doctrine? Exactly where did the compilers of the "Gosho Zenshu" find the words "sovereign & teacher" in that sentence? Did the Nichiren Shu redact the text to conceal Nichiren's true identity? Enquiring minds want to know.

In "Kaimoku -- Opening One's Eyes Part Five", I shall look more closely at the reason for this discrepancy of translation, the pedigree of the copies of this Gosho, and, maybe, a tangential issue – that of Nichiren's letters written in Kanji, as opposed to those written in kana, or a mixture of both scripts.

to be continued ...
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Note: Apparently, the Gosho Shinpen [or Goshô Shimpen] is the rough Taisekiji equiivalent of the Showa Teihon Nichiren Shonin Ibun. The Showa Teihon differs in that the "C" Goibun are not included in the main section; these are in a supplement. The Showa Teihon main section includes both "A" and "B" Goibun

The Goshu Zenshu is evidently Taisekiji's modern Japanese version of the Gosho Shinpen. It has modern Japanese only. The Nichiren Shu has something somewhat similar in seven volumes. This seven volume set includes only "A" Goibun, with some "B" Goibun deemed authentic enough. This seven volume set has both the orginal, on top, and the modern Japanese on the bottom. From what I undestand, the modern Japanese is annotated with alternate readings.

As far as I know, neither the Gosho Shinpen nor the Goshu Zenshu distinguish the "A", "B", or "C".

Posted by rbeck at May 31, 2006 11:37 AM