Robin Beck

Tantric Sources of Nichiren's Mandala Gohonzon?

I have long held the theory that, prior to Nichiren, the Daimoku and Lotus Sutra Mandala were part of an esoteric practice. On Mandala 013 Nichiren wrote something like: "More than 2230 years have passed since the Great Awakened Blessed One entered Nirvana. During that interval, this unprecedented Great Mandala for understanding the human mind had yet to exist in Jambudvipa."

Then, on about 97 extant mandalas: "Since the Buddha's passing, more than 2200 years have passed. During that interval of time, this unprecedented Great Mandala has never appeared in Jambudvipa." {Butsu-metsu-do-go ni-sen ni-hyaku san-ju yo nen no aida ichienbudai no uchi mi-zo-u dai-man-da-ra nari}

Both of these phrases infer that there were no precedents. However, on Mandala 016, he wrote, "More than 2230 years have passed since the Great Awakened Blessed One entered Nirvana. During that interval, this Great Honzon had never appeared in the three countries India, China, and Japan. Some knew it, but chose not to propagate it widely; while others did not know it at all. Our Compassionate Father hid this Buddha-Wisdom and left it behind for blessing of the future generations of the last 500 years. At this time, Bodhisattva Superior Practices makes his advent and widely propagates it."

So there he is saying there were precedents, but these were not publicly disclosed. What would some know, but refrain from revealing publicly; while others did not know at all? To me, that strongly infers an esoteric {Mikkyo} tradition. We find similar hints in the Goibun / Gosho: "This mandala is in no way my invention. It is the object of devotion that depicts Shakyamuni Buddha, the World-Honored One, seated in the treasure tower of Many Treasures Buddha .."

That is from a Reply to Nichinyo, translated in WND as the Real Aspect of the Gohonzon, dated August 23 1277. From what I can gather, this is a :C" Gosho, though records are confusing. The list at the Coffeehouse has a Reply to Toki Jonin written that day; but SGI has no such Gosho in WND.
{SGI has "The Problem to Be Pondered Night and Day" dated 1274, not 1277} "Real Aspect of the Gohonzon" is the only Goibun I can find dated 23 August 1277. However, it appears this is not the authentic one. In the same Goibun, these words were attributed to Nichiren, "Therefore, this Gohonzon shall be called the great mandala never before known; it did not appear until more than 2,220 years after the Buddha’s passing."

Also: Reply to Niiama, Nii amagozen gohenji, dated 16 Feb 1275, an "A" Goibun: "Shakyamuni Buddha, the Lord of Teachings, treasured this Gohonzon in his heart for numberless major world system dust particle kalpas, and even after he appeared in this world, he did not expound it until more than forty years after his first preaching."

In Aspiration for the Buddha Land, dated 11/23/1271 {not authenticated} "In the twenty-two hundred and more years since the Buddha’s passing, and in India, China, Japan, and throughout Jambudvipa, 'Vasubandhu and Nagarjuna clearly perceived the truth in their hearts, but they did not teach it.'" {This cites Maka Shikan, “Vasubandhu and Nagarjuna clearly perceived the truth in their hearts, but they did not teach it. Instead, they employed the provisional Mahayana teachings, which were suited to the times.”}

Kaimoku Sho: "Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu were aware of it but did not bring it forth into the light."

Senji Sho: "Question: Do the scholars Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu say anything about this principle [of Namu-myoho-renge-kyo]?. Answer: Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu knew about it in their hearts, but they did not expound it in words."

Again, Nichiren seems to contradict himself, even in the same letter. He says it was not his invention, that others before him knew it, that Shakyamuni revealed it. Then he says it is unprecedented, or never before known? The only way to reconcile this is that Nichiren believed the Gohonzon and Daimoku were revealed by the Buddha, but became an esoteric teaching after the Buddha's passing. As such, it was known to some; but they kept it as a confidential practice; while others never heard of it. There are several other references in the Goibun; such as in "Totaigi Sho" {a "B" Goibun} and Letter from Teradomari, an "A" Goibun dated 22 Oct 1271. I shall go over those in another post.

In the past, when we had these discussions, defenders of the "Nichiren as True Buddha" Doctrine offered up a number of counter quotations as "proof" that Nichiren originated the practice himself; with no precedents. For example; Reply to Kyo’o {Reply to Kyo'o is not authenticated; possibly "B"}: "The Gohonzon was never known, let alone inscribed, by anyone in the Former or Middle Day of the Law." ... "I, Nichiren, have inscribed my life in sumi ink, so believe in the Gohonzon with your whole heart."

Does anyone have any more of those? Any thoughts?

Posted by rbeck at May 14, 2009 01:40 PM