Guidance from Sixty-eighth High Priest Nichinyo Shonin
On the Occasion of the February Kōsen-rufu Shōdai Ceremony
February 7, 2016
Reception Hall, Head Temple Taisekiji
Good morning everyone! On this occasion of the February Kōsen-rufu Shōdai Ceremony, conducted here today at the Head Temple, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to the large number of participants in attendance.
As you know, February is the month when our founder, Nichiren Daishonin, was born. On February 16 in the first year of Jō’ō (1222), 794 years ago, Nichiren Daishonin made his advent into this world at Kataumi, located in Tōjō County of Awa Province (presently Kamogawa City in Chiba Prefecture). The advent of the True Buddha Nichiren Daishonin in the Latter Day of the Law already had been prophesized in the Lotus Sutra by Shakyamuni Buddha 3000 years earlier. Shakyamuni Buddha taught the following in the Wondrous Powers of the Tathagata (Jinriki; twenty-first) chapter of the Lotus Sutra:
Just as the sunlight or the moonlight dispels the darkness, this person will practice [Myoho-Renge-Kyo] in the world and eliminate [the fundamental] darkness of all living beings.
(Hokekyo, p. 516)
Concerning this passage, the Daishonin teaches the following in the Gosho, Letter to Jakunichi-bō (Jakunichi bō-gosho):
The sutra states, “Just as the sunlight or the moonlight dispels the darkness, this person will practice [Myoho-Renge-Kyo] in the world and eliminate [the fundamental] darkness of all living beings.” Carefully ponder on the meaning of these words. “This person will practice [Myoho-Renge-Kyo] in the world” means that Bodhisattva Jōgyō makes his advent in the first five hundred years of the Latter Day of the Law, reveals the light of the five characters of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, and illuminates the fundamental darkness and the darkness of earthly desires. The efforts of Nichiren and his followers to have all the people in the country of Japan embrace the Lotus Sutra are the work of the envoy of Bodhisattva Jōgyō.
(Gosho, pp. 1393-1394)
This passage from the Wondrous Powers of the Tathagata chapter of the Lotus Sutra is the very passage where Shakyamuni Buddha prophesized that Nichiren Daishonin would make his advent in the Latter Day of the Law. The Daishonin’s transient status is [the reincarnation of] Bodhisattva Jōgyō (Superior Practice), while his true identity is the True Buddha from the infinite past of kuon-ganjo.
Shakyamuni Buddha restrained the bodhisattvas [taught by the Buddha] of the theoretical teaching from propagating the true Law after his passing. Instead, in the Emerging from the Earth (Jūji yujutsu; fifteenth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, he summoned forth the bodhisattvas [taught by the Buddha] of the essential teaching, including Bodhisattva Jōgyō, the leader of all the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. He then transmitted to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth the essence of the Lotus Sutra, Myoho-Renge-Kyo as the essential Law in four phrases, entrusting them with future propagation in the Latter Day of the Law.
The Daishonin made his advent in the Latter Day of the Law as the reincarnation of Bodhisattva Jōgyō. However, his status as Bodhisattva Jōgyō is a provisional identity in every regard. From the standpoint of his inner realization, the Daishonin is the reincarnation of the Buddha with the property of intrinsically perfect wisdom from the infinite past of kuon-ganjo. The Twenty-sixth High Priest Nichikan Shonin stated the following in his writing, The Meaning Hidden in the Depths (Montei hichin-shō):
From the superficial perspective of his external status, he is Nichiren, the reincarnation of Superior Practice (Jōgyō). Based on the profound mystery of his inner realization, he is Nichiren, the reincarnation of the Buddha with the property of perfect wisdom. Thus, let it be known that the true identity is the Buddha with the property of perfect wisdom. The provisional identity constitutes Bodhisattva Jōgyō, and revealing the true entity is Nichiren.
(Six-Volume Writings, p. 49)
Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, Shakyamuni’s Lotus Sutra of the surface meaning of the words is no longer effective to cure the illnesses of all living beings. The attainment of enlightenment for those without the seed of Buddhahood in the Latter Day of the Law only can be realized through the advent of the True Buddha from the infinite past of kuon-ganjo and his supreme teaching. The Daishonin teaches the following in the Gosho, Reply to Priest Takahashi (Takahashi nyūdo dono-gohenji):
In the Latter Day of the Law, however, the Hinayana sutras entrusted to Mahakashyapa, Ananda, and others; as well as the Mahayana sutras entrusted to Bodhisattvas Manjushri, Maitreya, and others; as well as the Lotus Sutra entrusted to Bodhisattva Medicine King, Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, and others—all these teachings can no longer work as medicine to treat the people’s illnesses. Only the words of these sutras are still in existence. The illnesses of the people will be too serious while these medicines are too ineffective. At that time, Bodhisattva Jōgyō will make his advent, in order to bestow upon all people in the entire world the five characters of Myo-Ho-Ren-Ge-Kyo.
(Gosho, p. 887)
Furthermore, the Daishonin expounds the following in the Gosho, Reply to Ueno (Ueno dono-gohenji):
Now, in the age of the Latter Day of the Law, neither the Lotus Sutra nor the other sutras have the power to save the people. Only Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo can lead all people to Buddhahood.
(Gosho, p. 1219)
The mystic Law (Myōhō) that the Daishonin upholds now is not just the five characters of Myo-Ho-Ren-Ge-Kyo as the title of the Lotus Sutra. It is, in fact, the five characters of Myo-Ho-Ren-Ge-Kyo of the true Law of the infinite past of kuon-ganjo. These five characters of Myo-Ho-Ren-Ge-Kyo constitute the original Law through which Shakyamuni Buddha as well as all the Buddhas of the three existences attained enlightenment. It is the fundamental Law that saves all living beings throughout the three existences. The five characters of Myo-Ho-Ren-Ge-Kyo, the true Law of the inconceivably remote past of kuon, signify the Myoho-Renge-Kyo of the oneness of the person and the Law. In terms of the person, it is the reincarnation of the Buddha with the property of intrinsically perfect wisdom of the infinite past of kuon-ganjo. It is the True Buddha Nichiren Daishonin, who made his advent in the Latter Day of the Law. In terms of the Law, it is the true Law of the infinite past of kuon-ganjo.
This is the month when our founder Nichiren Daishonin, the True Buddha in the Latter Day of the Law, was born. I sincerely pray that all of us will offer our sincere congratulations on the birth of the True Buddha Nichiren Daishonin. At the same time, I wish that, as disciples and followers of the Daishonin, the priests and lay believers will unite in the spirit of itai dōshin and devote themselves to their practice without begrudging their lives, aiming toward the achievement of kōsen-rufu throughout the entire world. Our immediate goal is to achieve a membership of 800,000 Hokkeko believers by 2021, when we will commemorate the 800th Anniversary of the Advent of our Founder Nichiren Daishonin. I sincerely hope that all the chapters will achieve their own goals without fail, so that, with this achievement, we will be able to repay our debts of gratitude for the vast and boundless benefits of our founder Nichiren Daishonin.