Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin

8/14/2019 Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin

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Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1999 26/34

Bodily Reading of the Lotus StraUnderstanding Nichirens Buddhism

Ruben L. F. HABITO

Nichirens reading of the Lotus Stra, which he regarded as the quintes-sence of kyamuni Buddhas teaching following the Tendai tradition,determined the content of his teaching as well as the course of his religiouscareer. This paper rst looks at the Lotus Stras teaching on its own read-ing and then, surveying Nichirens writings to see how he understood theact of reading the Lotus Stra, lays out the elements involved in the wayhe actually did read it. A closer examination of Nichirens bodily read-ing (shikidoku) of the Lotus Stra offers a key for understanding histeaching and practice in the context of the wider Mahyna Buddhist tra-

dition, and also throws fresh light on the mystical and prophetic dimen-sions of his religious vision.

Keywords: Nichiren Lotus Stra shikidoku ichinen sanzen

IN JAPANS MODERN PERIOD a number of inuential Japanese thinkers aswell as social and political activists have looked up to the thirteenth-century Buddhist gure Nichiren as an inspiration for their thoughtand action, portraying Nichiren in ways that have furthered their ownreligious, political, and/or nationalist agenda (TAMURA and MIYAZAKI

1972, MARUYAMA 1981).1 Nichirens teaching also spawned a numberof Japans new religions that came into existence during this period,and these offer their own particular and contrasting images of Nichiren.

Given the variety of images of Nichiren presented in Japan today,not excluding the outright distortions based on his one-dimensionalportrayals as religious zealot or right-wing nationalist, Sat Hiroo, aleading scholar of Japanese medieval religion and society, has recentlyemphasized the continuing need for critical studies that would offermore historically grounded pictures of Nichiren, the person and his

thought, in the context of his own epoch (SAT 1997).

1 See also the review of these two volumes in the present issue.


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In this paper we will pursue the question: how did Nichiren readthe Lotus Stra, considered by him as central among all Buddhistscriptures? Here we are seeking a key toward better understanding his

thought and teaching, attempting a glimpse into his inner life as heresponded to the issues and problems of his times.In our rst section we will look at the Lotus Straitself for its teach-

ing on its own reading. We will then turn to Nichirens own writings inthe second section to see how he understood what is involved in read-ing the Lotus Stra, and in the third, through these writings, examinehow he actually did so, to understand how his reading determined thenature of his religious message and set the course of his career.

The Lotus Stra on Reading the Lotus Stra

The Lotus Stra has played a major role in the spread and develop-ment of Buddhism through East Asia, and has deservedly been thesubject of extensive studies from different angles. Portions and differ-ent recensions of Sanskrit texts of the Lotus Stradiscovered in severallocations have been edited and published, and there are three extantChinese translations out of six said to have been composed (KARA-SHIMA1992). The most inuential and widely used version is Kumra-

jvas Chinese translation, the Miaofalianhuajing, dated 406 (T. no.262). This version was preferred by the Chinese Tiantai thinkers, andit was also taken by Nichiren as authoritative.

HIRAKAWAAkira, a Mahyna scholar, has noted that in the rst part(chapters 1 to 9) the underlying theme is the veneration of stupascontaining the Buddhas relics, whereas in the second part (fromchapter 10) the predominant theme comes to be the reception andpropagation of the Straas the way to the attainment of supreme andperfect enlightenment (1989, pp. 33236). It is in the context of this

theme of receiving and keeping (dhra) the Stra, that is, in accept-ing its teaching and keeping it faithfully as ones guide in life, andconsequently of propagating and expounding (desa) it to others,that the act of reading the Strais situated and understood.

In the tenth chapter, entitled Teacher of the Dharma (dharmabhaka), we nd the following passage, one among several referringto the reception and propagation of the Lotus Stra.

Those who receive and keep (dhrayiyanti), read (vca-yiyanti), make known (praksayiyanti), expound (sagrha-

yiyanti), copy (likhiyanti), and, having copied, constantly keepin memory (anumariyanti), and from time to time consider(vyavalokayiyanti) even a single stanza of this Teaching; who,

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at that book (being read and recited), feel veneration for theTathgatas, treat them with respect due to revered Teachers,honor, esteem, venerate them; who shall venerate that book

with owers, incense, perfumed garlands, ointment, powder,clothes, umbrellas, ags, banners, music, and so on, and withacts of reverence such as bowing and joining hands, in short,Medicine King, any young men or women of good family whoshall receive or joyfully accept even a single stanza of thisTeaching, to all of them, Medicine King, I predict their beingdestined to supreme and perfect enlightenment.

(KERN and NANJIO 1977, p. 225: 310)2

The passages in various chapters describing the series of meritorious

acts prescribed vis--vis the Strareveal slight changes in the Sanskritterminology used to describe the particular acts, of which reading isone. But throughout, the same attitude of devoted reception and con-comitant readiness to proclaim the teaching of the Stra to othersunderlies each act. Such devoted reception of the Stra, leading to itsproclamation and exposition, calls forth the very presence of theTathgata himself in bodily form.

Again, Medicine King, on any place on earth where this teach-ing is discussed (bhyeta) or taught (deyeta) or copied

(likhyeta) or studied (svdhyyeta) or recited in chorus (sa-gyeta), on that very place, Medicine King, one should con-struct a Tathgata shrine (caitya), high and spacious, andconsisting of my magnicent treasures, though without needfor placing any relics of the Tathgata. Why not? For the bodyof the Tathgata is all together there already in that place.Whatever place on earth this teaching is expounded or taughtor read (pahyeta) or recited in chorus or copied, or kept inwritten form, there, honoring and venerating it as one would a

stpa, let offerings be made, with all sorts of owers, incense,perfumed garlands, ointment, powder, clothes, umbrellas,ags, banners, streamers, with all manner of song, music,dance, musical instruments, rhythm, and choral shouts. Andthose beings, Medicine King, who come to the Tathgatashrine saluting it, making offerings or viewing it, all of them,are to be known as beings approaching perfect and supremeenlightenment. (KERN and NANJIO 1977, pp. 231: 7232: 5)

The signicant point to note in this passage is the identication of this

Teaching (dharma-paryya) with the body of the Tathgata (tathgata-

2 KERN 1884 was consulted, but I take responsibility for the English translations.

HABITO: Bodily Reading of the Lotus Stra 283


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rira), deserving the very same reverence and veneration as the lat-ter. Through such veneration, the devotee is likewise destined to therealization of supreme and perfect enlightenment.

The above passage can be read as a connecting link between therst part of the Lotus Stra, whose message is the efcacy of the vener-ation of the Tathgatas relics for attaining enlightenment, and thesecond part, whose underlying theme is the importance of receivingand keeping and expounding this (Lotus) Straon behalf of others.

In other passages throughout the Lotus Strathere is a warning ofthe persecution that the bearers and expounders of the Teaching (ofthe Lotus Stra) will be inevitably subjected to and will need to endure.In all this they will be under the special protection of the Tathgatas.

This Teaching, Medicine King, has been rejected by many peo-ple even during the lifetime of the Tathgata. What more so,then, after his entry into nal nirvana? Again, Medicine King,young men and women of good family are to be considered asinvested with the robes of the Tathgata. Further, the Tathgatasof the different regions will watch over them and be with them,who, after the Tathgatas entry into nal nirvana, will accept infaith (sraddhadhiyanti), read (vcayiyanti), copy (likhiyanti),do homage to (sat-kariyanti) and honor as Teacher (guru-

kariyanti), and proclaim this Teaching on behalf of others.(KERN and NANJIO, pp. 230: 9231: 6)

In the Kumrajva Chinese translation, the passage corresponding tothe above (Sanskrit-based translation) reads as follows.

This sutra, during the time when the Tathgata was still pres-ent, had aroused such enmity and envy among many. Howmuch more so, then, after his entry into nirvana? Know then,Medicine King: After the Tathgatas entry into nirvana, those

who copy, keep, read, recite, venerate, and expound it to oth-ers, will be covered by the Tathgatas robe. They will also beprotected and watched over by the Tathgatas of other regionsin the present aeon. (T. 9, 31b)

A comparison of the Sanskrit text with the Chinese translations willreveal differing nuances in the various passages in question. This itself

would constitute an interesting topic for investigation, as it wouldthrow some light on the development of thinking on the Lotus Straasit was transmitted from India to China. Since for Nichiren the authori-

tative text was Kumrajvas translated version (and, needless to say,not the Sanskrit text), the nuances in the translation become signi-cant elements for historical elucidation. In the example above, the



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shift from simply having been rejected by many people to hasaroused such enmity and envy among many is signicant, in that itled Nichiren to see actual events of his time in the light of this passage

with much greater clarity, and vice versa, it enabled him to understandthis passage in the light of the events of his time, further bolstering hisconviction of the truth and historical accuracy of the predictions ofthe Stra.

In short, the underlying attitude that supports the entire series ofmeritorious acts regarding the Stra that includes its reading is one

whereby one receives and keeps it with reverence and devotion. It isthe devoted and faithful acceptance of this Straand its teaching,upholding it as the beacon and guide of ones life and practice, that

opens the gate to supreme and perfect enlightenment. And thisacceptance is inseparable from the readiness to proclaim the Teach-ing to all, that they may also receive it as such, and thus attainsupreme and perfect enlightenment, notwithstanding oppositionfrom, rejection by, or persecution by others. Thus, reading the Strais understood in the context of this total attitude of devoted receptionand willingness to offer oneself for its propagation.

This attitude of receiving and keeping (dhra) scriptures asefcacious in attaining supreme enlightenment is also taught in the

Prajpramit sutras, some of which are considered to have beencomposed earlier than the Lotus Stra, and whose inuence on the lat-ter on this point is thereby reasonably supposed (HIRAKAWA 1989, pp.333, 511). Certain passages in the Eight-Thousand Verse Prajpramiton receiving and keeping and reading the sutra, in fact closely resem-ble those in the Lotus Stra(CONZE 1962, pp. 7677, 27274).

Receiving and keeping scriptures is presented not only as ensuringones realization of supreme perfect enlightenment (anuttara-samyak-sabodhi), but also as efcacious for the attainment of various kinds of

merit and worldly benet. This understanding opens the way to a signi-cant line of development regarding the reading of sutras. We are refer-ring here to the dhra tradition, which owered later into forms ofpractice cultivated in esoteric Buddhism (UJIIE 1987, pp. 5468).

The twenty-rst chapter of the SanskritLotus Stra(twenty-sixth inKumrajvas Chinese version) deals with various dhrawhose recita-tion is considered efcacious for different kinds of worldly benet.These include the prevention or cure of illnesses, protection from dif-ferent kinds of dangers and calamities, and so on. We must note,

though, that this chapter, as well as other sections that include refer-ences to dhrain this sense, is considered by (some) scholars to be alater addition to the text.



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Any young man or woman of good family who receives andkeeps (dhrayet), reads (vcayet), comprehends (paryavpnu-yt), and practices (pratipatty) and follows (sapdayet) even a

single stanza from the teaching of this Saddharmapu^arka,that young man or woman of good family, Medicine King, willon that account accrue countless merits. Then the bodhisattvaMedicine King immediately said to the Blessed One: To those young men and women of good family, O Blessed One, whobear in body (kya-gato) and bear in a book (pustaka-gato) theteaching of this Saddharmapu^arka, we will give these versesto keep in mind and recite (dhra-mantra-padni) for theirguard, defense, and protection.

(KERN and NANJIO 1977, pp. 395:9396:3)

What is signicant here is that the dhrathat will ensure protectionfrom various calamities are offered to those who receive and keep theStra. Also, the compound dhra-mantra-pada, which is frequentlyused in later, more systematized, forms of esoteric Buddhism, appearsin a way that links the term dhrawith those formulas ensuring pro-tection from calamities and the reception of various kinds of worldlybenet.

In the larger (and later) Prajpramitsutras there are passages

that suggest the connection between dhraand dhra. Here wend the compound dhra-dhra, which is understood to meanthe (unborn) dharma heard and kept to heart (UJIIE 1987, pp.5556). In short, to receive and hold on to this unborn dharma,

which is no other than the truth of emptiness (nyat), the centraltheme of the Prajpramit sutras, is thereby to be in possession ofgreat wisdom (mah-praj) itself, and such possession of wisdomaccompanies twentyfold kinds of merit and power. This power is relatedto wondrous abilities (abhij) and the use of skillful means (upya) in

the propagation of the dharma received and kept to heart (T. no. 221,8. 26c27a, 256b).The connection between the notion of receiving and keeping

(dhra) Buddhist scriptures as not only ensuring the attainment ofenlightenment but also being efcacious in the attainment of meritand worldly benet, and the short verses or formulas (dhra-mantra-

padni) whose recitation is understood to bring about such merit andbenet, is a point that calls for further textual and historical inquiry(UJIIE 1987, p. 54ff).

The tradition that developed especially in East Asian Buddhismthat regards the act of reading/reciting sutras in itself as meritorious,effective in transferring merit for deceased persons, as well as bring-



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ing about worldly benet for the reader/reciter and for those towhom the reader/reciter wishes to transfer the merits, is a theme thatcan also be further elucidated in this regard.

Incidentally, it is of interest also to note that there is a Sanskrit termfor the verb to read (adhi-i), which means to turn over in onesmind, but that the Sanskrit verb that appears in the Lotus Strain theseries of meritorious acts as we saw in several passages quoted above isvcwhich implies to read aloud or to recite. The use of this verbvcinstead ofadhi-iin the Lotus Strawould thus imply a type of read-ing that involves vocalization (recitation). In Kumrajvas Chinese,the verb frequently used is the compound dusong, which clearlydenotes a vocalized way of reading, that is, a recitation. There are

cases in the Chinese, however, where the two characters could also beread separately, to mean reading and reciting. The elucidation of thisnuance (that is, whether the two characters are to be read as a com-pound, or separately) in the various passages delineating the series ofmeritorious acts vis--vis the Lotus Stra remains a task for furtherinvestigation.

For Nichiren, the recitation of the very title of the Lotus Stra(Myh-renge-ky), the Japanese pronunciation of Kumrajvas trans-lated title, takes on the twofold efcacy described above, that is, of

assuring the attainment of perfect enlightenment, as well as ensuringprotection from harm and other kinds of worldly benet. Nichirensemphasis on the practice of reciting the title of the Lotus Stra(,daimoku), which had different stages of development in his own career,brings together the Lotus Strateaching on dhraon the one hand,and dhra on the other. This is a point signicant precisely in thediscussion of the historical backgrounds of Nichirens use ofdaimoku,

which hitherto has focused on its precursors in Heian Buddhism, theinuence of Hnens recitation of nenbutsu, and other factors in

Japanese Buddhist history (TAKAGI 1973). Extending the scope ofinquiry to include Mahyna (or even to the Nikya) Buddhist tradi-tion would offer a more comprehensive picture of the backgrounds ofNichirens religious thought and Buddhist character.3

Mystic Truth (UMyh): Nichirens Religious Vision

One of the early treatises written by Nichiren, Shugo kokka ron!DB(On protecting the country; 1259), is a systematic and well-documented


3 For example, the possible connections ofdhraand mantra practices with vidy(Pli,=incantations) as depicted in the Pli Buddhist canon deserves further attention in thisregard. See MIYASAKA1971, pp. 274332.


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account of his religious project: the propagation of the teaching ofthe Lotus Straas the only effective way for assuring the protection ofthe land and the salvation of the people. This was composed after

over twenty years of spiritual pursuit that involved sojourns to theknown religious centers of the period (including Mt. Hiei andKamakura), and poring over sutras and commentaries, to determinekyamunis true teaching amidst the many Buddhist scriptures andschools of Buddhist thought handed down through China and Koreato Japan. The following passage, citing Chinese Tiantai commentatorMiaolo U (Zhanran /5), offers us an initial lead on how Nichirenunderstood the reading of the Lotus Stra:

Great Teacher Miaolo writes: If foolish and ignorant persons

of the Latter Age practice the Lotus Stra, they will behold thebodhisattva Samantabhadra, as well as the Buddha Prabhta-ratna, and the Buddhas of the ten different directions, thusproclaiming that it is the Easy Path. Also, Even with a dis-persed mind, without entering into samdhi, sitting, standing,walking, singleminded, keep the Lotus Stra in mind. This isto be interpreted as intending to save the foolish and ignorantpersons of the Latter Age (of the Dharma). Dispersed mindis the opposite of mind in samdhi. To read and recite theLotus Stra refers to one who reads and recites the eight vol-umes, or one volume, or one letter, or one stanza, or oneverse, or its title (daimoku), to one in whom arises a singlemoment of rejoicing (at hearing even one verse of the Stra),and up to the ftieth person in succession who hears the Strabeing expounded in turn, in whom the merits of hearing andrejoicing accrues. Sitting, standing, walking means one doesnot discriminate among the four postures. Singlemindedrefers neither to the mind of samdhi nor to the universalmind, but to the singlemindedness of a mind normally dis-

persed in everyday life. To keep the letters of the Lotus Strain mind means that the letters of this Straare different fromthose of all other sutras. In this case, even to read only oneletter is by that very act also to include eighty thousand treas-ure chambers of letters, and to receive the merits of all theBuddhas. (STN1: 11011)

The citation from Miaolo Zhanran (from the Zhiguan Fuxing ChuanHongjueh?)e, T. no. 1912) is a summary of several passagesin the Lotus Stra(Ch. 28, The Encouragement of Samantabhadra,

T. 9.61b,c) that describe the merits of practicing (that is, receivingand keeping, reading, copying, and expounding to others) the LotusStrain this earthly realm. It afrms that those who do so practice the



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Lotus Strain this way will behold Samantabhadra, as well as Prabh-taratna Buddha, and the Buddhas of the ten different directions.This equation of practicing the Lotus Stra with beholding Buddha

is afrmed by Nichiren in another place in the same treatise, citingalso the same passages of the twenty-eighth (Samantabhadra) chapterof the Lotus Stra.

In the Lotus Strais written: If there is anyone who practicesthe Lotus Stra, and receives and keeps it in this earthly realm,let them keep in mind that this is with the protection of thewondrous powers of Samantabhadra. This sentence meansthat if ordinary beings of the Latter Age believe in the LotusStra, it is according to the power of the benecial guidance of

Samantabhadra. Again, it is written, If anyone receives andkeeps, reads, correctly remembers, practices, and copies thisLotus Stra, know that such a person sees kyamuni Buddha.It is the same as being able to hear this Strapreached fromthe very mouth of the Buddha himself. Let it be known thatsuch a person does homage to kyamuni Buddha himself. According to this passage in the Stra, the Lotus Straandkyamuni Buddha are one and the same. (STN1: 123)

This, then, is the rst point we can note about Nichirens understand-

ing of reading the Lotus Stra: to do so is no less than to encounterkyamuni himself face to face. In other words, the Lotus Stra istaken by Nichiren to be the very embodiment of kyamuni Buddha,and thus calls for reception and homage as such. To read the LotusStra, then, in this whole context, is not simply to peruse the lettersand words of the text in order to understand what it conveys, but toengage oneself in a whole cycle of acts centered on receiving andkeeping the Stra, including reciting, copying, expounding it to oth-ers, doing homage to it with offerings of owers and incense, and so

on.In short, to receive and keep the Lotus Stra is by that very act to

receive and keep kyamuni Buddha himself. For Nichiren, readingthe Lotus Stra is placing oneself in the very presence of kyamuniBuddha. Writing this treatise On Protecting the Nation at the age ofthirty-eight, Nichiren set forth a basic feature of his religious vision inthe above passage that he was to realize more and more deeply, expe-rientially, as he continued in his mission of propagating the LotusStra amidst the tumultuous situation of his times. We shall see the

actualization of this feature in his life and career in our third section.A second point to be noted concerning Nichirens understandingof reading the Lotus Strais the emphasis that even to read one letter



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is by that very act also to include eighty thousand chambers of letters,and to receive the merits of all the Buddhas. In afrming this,Nichiren is simply taking the teaching of the Lotus Straitself on the

matter (KERN and NANJIO 1977, pp. 224ff., T. 9.30c).Nichirens exposition of the character myU, the rst in the ve-character title of the Lotus Strain Kumrajvas translation, developsthe Lotus Strateaching further.

The character myderives from sad in the language of India,and is rendered miao in Chinese. Mymeans endowed andendowed has the meaning of perfection. Each character ofthe Lotus Stra, each and every letter, contains within it all theother 69,384 characters that comprise the Stra. For example,

one drop of water of the Great Ocean contains within it the water from all the rivers that ow into it. The magic wish-fullling jewel, though only the size of a mustard seed, has thecapacity to shower all the treasures one could wish for.

(STN1: 398)

This Straconsists of eight volumes in twenty-eight chapters,with 69,384 characters. Each and every character contains thecharacter my, and is thus a manifestation of Buddha with thirty-two distinguishing marks and eighty wondrous features. Every

being of the ten worlds manifests the Buddha realm withinones own self. As Miaolo writes, just as the fruit of buddha-hood is contained in all the other nine realms, so it is with theothers (as containing the fruits of every other). (STN1: 570)

This notion that one contains all derives from a Mahyna traditionexpounded in the Avatasaka Stra, developed in different ways byChinese and Korean Buddhist commentators. One important exposi-tion of this notion is Tiantai Master Zhih-is notion of one thought

encompassing three thousand realms (ichinen sanzensX), whichNichiren took on as an underlying element of his own religiousunderstanding of reality (see KANNO 1992).

Nichiren refers specically to this notion of ichinen sanzenin manyof his own writings, and amplies on it in his major treatise dealing

with the one important matter in my life(Nichiren tshin no ichidaijicXus), Kanjin honzon sh?D (On contemplating thetrue object of worship, STN1: 702ff.). For Nichiren, the principle ofichinen sanzenis what undergirds the teaching on the buddhahood of

all sentient beings. It is the father and mother of all Buddhas (STN1:897), as well as the seed of buddhahood (STN1: 711). This seed ofbuddhahood becomes something very concrete as Nichiren equates it



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with the ve characters of the title of the Lotus StraMyh-renge-ky.

Manifesting great compassion for those who do not know thisichinen sanzen, the Buddha wrapped up this gem in a ve-

character phrase which he adorned around the necks of thechildish ones of the Latter Age. (STN1: 720)

The recitation of the ve-character phrase Myh-renge-ky thusbecomes the concrete and practical way wherein this principle ofichinen-sanzenis activated and realized. What easier way is there to the realiza-tion of buddhahood than the recitation of this phrase, which contains

within itself all the treasures of the universe, all the truths in theteachings of all the Buddhas?

We see how Nichiren has developed the teaching of the Lotus Strato the effect that reading and reciting even a single stanza leads oneto the realization of buddhahood and to the reception of an innitestore of merits. With the Tiantai doctrine ofichinen sanzenin the back-ground, he takes the ve-character title of the Lotus Straand afrmsits recitation as opening the gate to the realization of buddhahood forall sentient beings in the Latter Age of the Dharma. This recitation isan efcacious and meritorious act that encompasses all other kinds ofactions vis--vis the Lotus Stra, centered on receiving and keeping it

with faith and devotion-reading, reciting, copying, expounding it,propagating it so that others may also receive and keep it, and so on.

Nichiren himself of course not only recited the title in this way withthis understanding, but also habitually read the text of the Lotus Stra.Through the major part of his career he carried with him a manu-script of the Lotus Stra that he continued to annotate in his ownhand, inserting relevant passages from the Tiantai commentaries orfrom other sutras, serving as a concordance used in his own preach-ing and writing (YAMANAKA1980).

For his followers, he prescribed the simple recitation of the title in

ve characters, preceded by namo(Jpn. namu) from the Sanskrit invo-cation expressing homage and veneration. As already noted above,this simple recitation of the title in an act of homage is understood asopening the reciter to the innite treasure house contained in theLotus Stra, and destines such a person to supreme enlightenment,not to mention assuring untold merit and worldly benet.

The recitation of the title of the Lotus Stra(daimoku), however, isnot simply prescribed in a way that is equally valid and efcacious inall places and at all times. This practice is taught by Nichiren as espe-

cially suited in a concrete place in this earthly realm (the sahworld),namely the country of Japan, in a given time in history, that is, theperiod of the Latter Age of the Dharma, in other words, Nichirens



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own country and historical time.This is the third point to be noted concerning Nichirens under-

standing of what is involved in reading (and practicing) the Lotus

Stra: it was accompanied by an acute consciousness of the signi-cance of the time and the place of its reading (and practice).The Latter Age of the Dharma, generally believed by people of

Nichirens period to have been ushered in with the year 1052, is con-sidered as a degenerate age wherein many would appear wearing theapparel of those supposed to be bearers of the Dharma but who areactually its maligners and despisers. It is thus a period of history whenpeople who think they are acting in the name of the Dharma of kya-muni are in fact going against it, even persecuting those who are its

true bearers. Nichiren sees this situation as already predicted in theLotus Stra, referring to the passage already cited above, wherein thisStrahad aroused envy and enmity among many (STN1: 327).

Nichirens view of his country Japan, with regard to its suitabilityfor the practice of the Lotus Stra, is presented in the context of histeaching on the ve items, namely, of the Teaching, the Capacity,the Time, the Country, and the Sequence of Propagation (laterchanged into the Teacher). The people of the country of Japan areafrmed as having a capacity suited solely to the (teaching of the)

Lotus Stra (STN1: 324).Reading the Lotus Strawithin the context of his given place(Japan) and historical time (the Latter Age of the Dharma), wherein

what he considered as slanders against the Dharma proliferatedspecically with the growing popularity and acceptance of Hnenspractice of the recitation of Amidas name (nenbutsu), Nichiren takesa further step regarding the reading (and practice) of the Lotus Stra.

Even if one does a great good deed, even if one reads andcopies the entire Lotus Straa thousand or ten thousand times,

or even if one succeeds in the contemplation path of threethousand worlds in a single thought-moment, should one failto denounce the enemies of the Lotus Stra, one will not beable to attain the Way. (STN1: 321)

In other words, given a situation wherein the Lotus Strais misunder-stood or made light of or maligned, a true practitioner will not becontent to ignore this fact and keep ones practice (of the Lotus Stra)to oneself. Rather, taking to heart this slander of the Dharma, a true

practitioner will not hesitate to denounce these slanderers.For example, if a court ofcial who may have served ten ortwenty years, upon knowing that an enemy of the Ruler is in



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the vicinity, does not report such a one nor feels personalenmity toward such, the merits gained in those years of servicewill not only be erased, the ofcial will even be held liable for

crime. (STN1: 32122)In sum, we have noted three points regarding the way Nichiren

understood what reading the Lotus Stra involved. First, reading theLotus Strais encountering kyamuni face to face, putting oneself inthe very presence of the Buddha. Second, to read (and recite) even asingle stanza or a single verse of the Lotus Stra is to be assured ofattaining enlightenment as well as various kinds of worldly benet.

And the single stanza or verse that is most apt for such reading/

recitation is the very title of the Lotus Straitself, encompassing all itscontents. Third, to read the Lotus Strais to do so in the context of aspecic time and place, calling for a reading of contemporary eventsand situations and correlating these with the teaching of the LotusStra. Nichiren understood himself to be located in the place mostconducive to its reading, namely, Japan, and in the specic time ofhistory wherein it is most efcacious, the Latter Age of the Dharma.The Lotus Stra, in other words, is likened to a most potent medicinecapable of curing the gravest kind of illness.

These three points related to reading the Lotus Stra constitutebasic components of his self-understanding and Buddhist vision.

tani Gyk, a noted Nichiren doctrinal scholar, has authored avolume focusing on the Chinese-Japanese compoundjuji1 (ju, toreceive; ji, to keep) as a key to understanding Nichirens whole out-look and religious vision (TANI 1984). tani examines key passages

wherein this compound occurs in Nichirens writings, including quo-tations from various sutras and commentaries by Chinese masters,making a strong case for the centrality ofjujiin the whole structure ofNichirens thought. Taking the cue from tani, we can afrm this atti-tude of receiving and keeping the Lotus Straas dening Nichirenslife and career and enabling him to present his own sense of identityas a practitioner of the Lotus Stra (Hokeky no gyjaTu).

And in the light of the three points noted above regarding Nichirensreading of the Lotus Stra, such a practitioner is one who embodiesthe Buddhas mystic Dharma(myhU) in ones very being, in theconcrete time and place that one lives ones life.

We will now see how this understanding of reading the Lotus Stradetermined the course of action Nichiren took in his life, and how thisin turn brought about consequences that conrmed him in his reading.



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Practicing the Lotus Stra: Prophetic Mission

In the treatise On Protecting the Nation, as Nichiren lays out hisreligious vision based on the teaching of the Lotus Stra, he points outhow he looks at and listens to current social conditions (STN1: 98)and cross-reads what he sees and hears in actual events of his time

with Buddhist scripture.Nichiren opens his famous treatise Rissh ankoku ronCH (On

establishing the right Dharma and peace in the country) with adescription of the social chaos evident to anyone at the time, with

vivid depictions of the oxen and horses lying dead in the streets,skeletons sprawled in all directions (STN1: 209). He looks for causesof the turmoil as well as possible solutions in Buddhist scriptures, cor-relating the actual situation with his reading. He comes to the conclu-sion that the neglect as well as slander of kyamunis Dharma asenshrined in the Lotus Stralay at the bottom of it all. This slander ofthe true Dharma was being perpetrated, in Nichirens eyes, in largemeasure through the spread of Hnens teaching of the recitation ofthe name of Amida Buddha. On the basis of his reading of the LotusStra, Nichiren understood Amida Buddha to be merely one of themany emanations of the eternal kyamuni. To focus ones devotionon one or another of the emanations without mention of the truesource would constitute a slight to kyamuni Buddha himself, and

would be tantamount to a slander of the true Dharma. And the factthat the political authorities/military rulers allowed the proliferationof this practice was to be considered an ofcial sanction of such slan-der.

After Nichiren came to this conclusion, namely, that the cause ofthe social chaos that was aggravating the suffering of the people of thetime lay in this agrant slander of the true Dharma, the logical stepfor him to take was to try to stop such a state of affairs, sparing no

efforts toward this objective. Rissh ankoku ronwas written and presentedto the political authorities precisely to convince them to take the nec-essary steps that would ease the prevailing social turmoil by attackingthe root of the problem.

Throughout his life, Nichiren would keep having recourse to theLotus Strato shed light on the social and political events of his time,reading these events in the light of the Lotus Stra and, vice versa,reading the Lotus Stra in the light of what was actually happeningaround him.

The threat of Mongol invasions (brought to ofcial attention with awritten message delivered in 1268, and actually initiated in 1274 and1281), and the internal political intrigues within the ruling families of



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the time, in particular, were signicant events that reconrmedNichiren in his convictions, as they were events that he predicted onthe basis of his reading of the Lotus Stra.

Nichirens public pronouncements and actions, in particular thoseenjoining the political and military authorities to take specic meas-ures to stop what he saw as the slander of the Dharma, clearly derivefrom this religious conviction, based on his reading of the Lotus Strain the light of the events of his day. Such pronouncements and actionsin turn led to his persecution and exile by the authorities. These expe-riences of persecution further reafrmed his conviction of the truthof the teaching and the accuracy of his own reading of the Lotus Stra.

Nichirens fundamental attitude came to be manifested in and

through this cross-reading of the Lotus Straon the one hand, and theevents of his day and general situation of his time on the other: it wasnot a mere disinterested, objective reading, as it were, but a thor-oughly committed stance that presupposed his willingness and readi-ness to give his whole life to what the Dharma entailedsetting asideall attachment to ones own life and limb (ware shinmy o aisezua#(Xf). This is a phrase that appears in the Lotus Strathat Nichi-ren cites time and again in his many writings (STN1: 102). In other

words, Nichiren was ready and willing to give his very life for the

Dharma in whatever way it entailed, with a stance that the Lotus Straitself required. And this stance was maintained throughout his career,as he endured persecution after persecution on behalf of the Dharma.

During his exile in Sado (12711274), Nichiren undergoes a periodof self-examination, reecting over the events of his life that led tothis present state of isolation and intense suffering. It is during thistime that the sense of his own identity and calling as a practitioner ofthe Lotus Stra comes to him in all clarity, conrming him in all hedid and stood for since commencing his public career.

A passage from the Nirva Stra, which Nichiren considers a sis-ter sutra to the Lotus, goes into particular detail about persecutionsand sufferings that will inevitably be the lot of those who propagatethe Dharma. Nichiren takes this passage as a mirror of his own life,and as he looks at the recent events that occurred to him he is able toafrm the correspondence.

This passage of the sutra corresponds exactly with what I haveexperienced bodily. By now all doubts have melted away, andthe tens of thousands of barriers have been overcome. Let me

match each phrase of the sutra with my own bodily experi-ence. You will be despised, etc. As the Lotus Strasays, You will be despised, hated, envied, etc. In the past twenty years



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this is exactly the kind of treatment I have receivedcontemptand arrogance. You will be made to appear ugly. Or, youwill be poorly clad. This is what happened to me. You will be

poorly fed. This is what happened to me You will seek worldlywealth in vain. This happened to me. You will be born to apoor family. This happened to me. You will meet with perse-cution from rulers, etc. This happened to me. How can oneever doubt these words of the sutra? The Lotus Strasays, Youwill be banished time and again. The above passage refers tomany similar things. (STN1: 602)

In short, Nichiren comes to a very deep and personal realization thatwhat he reads in the Lotus Strahas come to be actualized in his own

life experience, and vice versa, that his own life experience is preciselythe very realization and authentication of the Lotus Stra.

Looking at the present society, is there anyone other thanNichiren who is maligned and despised, hit with sticks, etc., onbehalf of the Lotus Stra? Indeed, if it were not for Nichiren,this one phrase of prediction would be false. (STN1: 559)

The same point is emphasized in a letter to Toki Jnin ), oneof his closest followers, written soon after his pivotal treatise Kaimoku

sh (The opening of the eyes, 1272).In the Lotus Stra(chapter on Beholding the Precious Stupa)it is written If in time of the nal conagration one carried aload of dry grass and entered it without getting it burned, thatwould not be difcult. But after my nal nirvana, to keep thissutra and expound it to even one person, that indeed wouldbe difcult. It is Nichiren himself that these words refer to.Again (in the chapter on the Exhortation to Steadfastness) it iswritten: There will be those ignorant people who will slander

and malign us, and beat us with swords and sticks, etc. Again,(in the chapter on the Story of the Bodhisattva Medicine King,the chapter on Exhortation to Steadfastness, etc. ) the Buddhamakes a prediction: In the fth ve hundred years after mynal nirvana, there will be a practitioner of the Lotus Strawhowill be subjected to slanderous treatment by ignorant persons,and who will be struck with swords and sticks and stones andbricks, and will be exiled and condemned to death, etc. Nowif it were not for Nichiren, all these predictions of kyamuni,Prabhtana Buddha, and the Buddhas of the ten directions would be great lies. (STN1: 639)

Nichirens experience of persecutions and hardships on account of



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his mission of propagating the Lotus Strabecomes the very conrma-tion of the truth of the teaching of the Lotus Stra, as its words arerealized in his very body. In this sense he understands himself as an

embodiment of the Dharma as taught in the Lotus Stra.This is the source of Nichirens joy that pervades his being even inthe midst of his tribulations, in the face of the outward failure of hisendeavors to get a hearing with the leaders of Japan of his day, and inspite of his utter inability to convert but a handful of people to hismessage. This apparent failure at obtaining external results leads himto a self-imposed retreat at Mt. Minobu, where he spent his nal years.During this last period of his life at Mt. Minobu, he looks back at themain events of his life, especially the different kinds of trials and tribu-

lations undergone in his mission of propagation of the Lotus Stra,and writes the following:

O what a joy it is to be able to give ones life for the LotusStra! If one is able to let go of this stinking head that one car-ries about, it is like trading sand for gold, exchanging a stonefor a pearl. (STN1: 963)

In these musings of Nichiren in the later period of his life, we nd aconrmation of the same structure that has been operative through-out his career, as regards his way of reading the Lotus Stra. It is a wayof reading the Strain the light of the events of his day and age and ofthe vicissitudes of his own life, and vice versa, of reading the events ofhis age and the various ups and downs of his own life in the light ofthe Lotus Stra.

O what great joy! It is just as King Dan was beleaguered by thehermit Ashi and attained the merits of the Lotus Stra, and thebodhisattva Fugy was beaten by sticks of arrogant bhikkusand thus became a Practitioner of the One Vehicle. And now,

Nichiren, born in the Latter Age of the Dharma and propagat-ing the five-character Myh-renge-ky, is also subjected to thesame treatment. For more than two thousand two hundredyears after the nal nirvana of the Buddha, perhaps not eventhe Great Teacher Tiantai was able to put into practice thepassage of the Strathat says the whole world will resent theDharma and will nd it very hard to believe. Regarding thepassage they will be banished time and again, it is Nichirenalone who has fullled it. The Buddha has predicted: Thosewho receive and keep even a single stanza, a single verse of

this sutra, I will confer buddhahood. This refers to myself.There is not the slightest doubt of the attainment of supremeperfect enlightenment. Thus, the Regent Hj Tokimune



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himself has been my worthy friend in the Dharma. Taira noSaemon is to me as Devadatta was to kyamuni. The nenbutsufollowers are like Kokalika, and the Vinaya followers are like

Sunakatra Bhikkhu. kyamunis lifetime on earth is rightnow. Now is kyamunis lifetime on earth. This is the veryessence of the Lotus Stra that teaches the true nature of allphenomena, and the ultimate nature of beginning and end.

(STN1: 971)

Nichiren is thus able to read every event of his life and every elementsurrounding it as a fulllment of particular predictions of the LotusStra. Conversely, he is able to read the text of the Lotus Straas the

very mirror of the events happening in his life.

We are given a glimpse of Nichirens inner life throughout all thesevicissitudes in a passage from his treatise Senji sh* (On the selec-tion of the time), also written at Mt. Minobu, as he recalls the publicpronouncements he had made to the authorities on three separateoccasions. These were predictions of his that had just been fullled,namely, internal rebellion and invasion (by the Mongols) from theoutside.

These three pronouncements were not made by myself,

Nichiren. They were solely made by the spirit of kyamuniTathgata that entered my own body. As for me I am besidemyself with joy. The Great Matter of ichinen sanzen that istaught by the Lotus Strais no other than this. (STN2: 1054)

The above passage in particular enables us to recall the three points(outlined in the previous section) related to how Nichiren under-stood what is involved in the reading of the Lotus Stra. These threepoints loom in the background as we view the course of Nichirenscareer, thoroughly grounded, empowered, and propelled as it was by

his habitual reading of the Lotus Stra.First, the awareness of the living presence of kyamuni Buddhaaccompanies Nichiren throughout the vicissitudes of his career. He isassured of this, of course, in his habitual reading of the Lotus Stra,not just in a conceptual manner, but in a very immediate and experi-entialone could saybodily manner. His major treatises and hisnumerous letters to his followers overow with this awareness that onecould only describe as mystical. A more detailed elaboration of thiskind of awareness as it comes to be manifested in his writings through-

out his career remains as an ongoing task that would throw freshrelief on Nichirens religious personality and vision. This kind ofawareness cannot be ignored nor downplayed in attempts to elucidate



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traditional doctrinal themes, such as Nichirens views of Buddha, hisunderstanding of the relationship between Buddha (kyamuni) andDharma (the Lotus Stra), and so on.

Second, this mystical awareness is also grounded in the experienceof what one could call a cosmic plenitude accompanying everythought, word, and action on behalf of the Lotus Stra. Based on thelatters teaching ofichinen sanzen, every thought (or word, or deed) isin itself a manifestation of the three thousand worlds. For Nichiren

what most clearly manifested this cosmic plenitudeencompassingevery thought, word, and deedwas no other than the very act ofrecitation of the ve-character title of the Lotus Stra. Nichiren doctri-nal scholars refer to this as ji no ichinen sanzenusX, a con-

cretized, particularized cosmic plenitude, as opposed to ri no ichinensanzen7usX, or conceptual, universal cosmic plenitude. Thelatter teaching is attributed to Chinese Master Tiantai, who developedit in the context of his exposition of Buddhist meditative practice.Nichiren is said to have taken a step further, bringing this notiondown to a very practical and concrete level, as he taught the direct

way to the realization of this cosmic plenitude in the recitation of theve-character title of the Lotus Stra, or daimoku.

His message to his listeners was simple: receive and keep the Lotus

Stra, and express this acceptance of the Lotus Stra in the devotedrecitation of its ve-character title. But beneath this simplicity lies anintricate understanding of ultimate reality that comes to be unraveledas one further delves into the various levels of this doctrine of cosmicplenitude in one thought, a doctrine arising out of Nichirens ownmystical awareness.

Third, what we have referred to above as Nichirens mystical aware-ness, embracing the sense of kyamunis abiding presence together

with the experience of cosmic plenitude, is realized in a given historical

time (the Latter Age of Dharma ) and concrete geographical location(Japan), in response to concrete events and situations that preciselyevoked and activated the power of the Lotus Sutra. The response Nichi-ren made to these situations and events as a practitioner of the LotusStraled to certain consequences that further conrmed for him thetruth of its teaching and deepened him in this mystical awareness.

The three points above, describing Nichirens understanding of whatis involved in reading the Lotus Stra, constitute the very central featuresof his thought and teaching, features that he actualized and embodied

himself in his own life and career. It was a life and career that can becharacterized from beginning to end as a thoroughgoing bodily read-ing of the Lotus Stra (hokeky shikidoku no isshT5us).



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Traditionally, shikidoku is a term that has been used in Nichirendoctrinal circles to refer mainly to the third aspect described above,namely the confirmation of the truth of his message in the experience

of persecutions and tribulations (see ASAI 1988, FUSE 1951, KITAGAWA1973, OKAMOTO 1982). What we have offered above is a description ofthe underlying ontological and cosmological framework behindNichirens words and actions in the political and social spheres. These

words and actions led inevitably to the persecutions, which in turnstrengthened and deepened Nichirens conviction regarding the truthof the Lotus Straand its teaching. He realized this truth in a concreteand bodily way, in a mystical awareness of the Buddhas immediate pres-ence that was simultaneous with an experience of cosmic plenitude

an awareness that brought untold inner joy and rapture in the face ofhis hardships and tribulations.

Concluding Reections: Understanding Nichirens Buddhism

The small band of dedicated followers that heeded Nichirens messageduring his lifetime continued his mission of propagation of the LotusStraafter his death. In due time adherents grew in numbers to becomea significant force in Japanese society.

As is usual in the process of the development of religious groups inhistory, disagreements arose among these followers regarding theinterpretation of Nichirens teaching on some key issues, leading tosectarian divisions. Also, since the Meiji era, various individuals andgroups have taken Nichirens teaching and action as an inspiration fortheir own, taking adversarial positions vis--vis other followers in theirrespective ways of interpreting Nichirens thought. In the light of thissituation, some concluding remarks are in order, to highlight someongoing tasks that would continue the directions taken by our limited

study.The doctrinal debates that created divisions among Nichirens fol-

lowers and interpreters include such issues as the primacy of Dharma vs. Buddha as Object of Worship (h-honzon tai nin-honzon), the primacy of meditation/contemplation vs. adherence to

the teaching (of the Lotus Stra) (kanjin-shugi tai kys-shugi?Do), the centrality of this earthly life versus that of the next life(genze-chshin tai raisei-chshin_D_D), in addition to thequestion of the extent of the inuence of the doctrine of originary

enlightenment (hongaku shis`) on Nichirens thought, amongothers. Intimately related to these debates is the question of authen-ticity of certain texts that protagonists of one or other side of these



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disputed issues take as a support of their particular standpoint.4

Without presuming to take sides in these doctrinal disputes, onecan point out that the uidity as well as the complexity of Nichirens

thought have given rise to differing and apparently conicting inter-pretations. For example, as we have seen from our study, Nichirensawareness of the immediate presence of kyamuni in the very read-ing and recitation of the Lotus Strais a feature of his religious world

view. But at the same time, his understanding of reality derives fromthe doctrine of ichinen sanzen, which grounds the experience of cos-mic plenitude in the recitation of the daimoku. As such, there are ele-ments in his religious teaching as evinced from his writings that wouldsupport either side of the debate on the primacy of Dharma vs. Bud-

dha as object of worship.Similarly, with the teaching on cosmic plenitude, or the concreterealization of the doctrine of three thousand worlds in one thought

with each recitation of the daimoku, one could maintain that this prac-tice of recitation of the five-character title of the Lotus Stra indeedcomprises all that is needed for the attainment of supreme and per-fect enlightenment, as well as all kinds of worldly benefit. And withthis, the need of actually perusing, not to mention understanding, the

various intricacies ofLotus Stradoctrine comes to be relegated to sec-

ondary importance. Conversely, however, it can also be affirmed thatit is precisely the teaching of the Lotus Strawherein the experienceof cosmic plenitude is grounded in the first place. In any case, eitherside of the debate on the primacy of contemplation/meditation vs.adherence to teaching can also find support in Nichirens own writings.

Again, the trajectory of Nichirens whole career, and his religiousproject as delineated in his treatises, testify to his belief in the impor-tance of this life and this world as the field in which the Lotus land isto be realized. It is clear enough from his writings that he regarded

this present earthly (sah) world as kyamunis domain, and that oneis able to meet kyamuni face to face in the course of ones engage-ment in the tasks of propagating the Lotus Stra. However, in his let-ters, especially those written at Mt. Minobu in the closing years of hislife, he also expresses his ardent expectation of meeting kyamuniface to face after his death.

The question of the inuence of the Tendai doctrine of originaryenlightenment on Nichirens thought is a matter of ongoing debateamong Nichiren scholars and doctrinalists, and is also related to the

three issues noted above (see STONE 1990 and 1999).


4 See STONE 1990, and the articles by Sueki and Stone in this volume.


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In short, on a surface level, Nichirens religious thought can be saidto manifest a multivalence that opens itself to the conicting readingsin fact taken by his followers in later eras. Making the distinction of

several phases in Nichirens career and consequently in his thinkinghas so far been a convenient way of accounting for this multivalence.This of course is not to be entirely discounted, as there is evidencethat Nichiren did deepen his understanding of or even change hismind about certain aspects of his own teaching, that is, comparing hisearly writings with his later ones, and so on. However, making tooclear-cut distinctions in the periods of his career, such as the sectariantraditional twofold pre-Sado and post-Sado division, or the threefold-phase structure proposed by TAMURA (1965), or the fourfold-phase

structure presented by SASAKI (1979), tends to blur a more importantdimension, namely the thread of continuity in Nichirens thought andvision that one could trace from his early writings to his latest.

While keeping in mind the historical span of time in which Nichi-ren set forth his thoughts in his many writings, as we attempt toplumb Nichirens thought on a deeper level, we can perhaps reconsider

what appears as the multivalence in his thought, in the light of whatMircea Eliade described (as a recurrent theme in his many works), asmanifestations of a coincidentia oppositorum. This term refers to the

convergence of conceptually contradictory features or notions in areligious phenomenon or experience. For example, the experience ofthe immediate presence of kyamuni Buddha is simultaneous withthe concrete experience of cosmic plenitude (ichinen sanzen), ground-ing an affirmation of both the personal as well as impersonal dimen-sions of ultimate reality in his religious vision. Also, the figure ofkyamuni Buddha in his mind points to a universaltruth, that is, theteaching of the Lotus Stra, and at the same time is also a concrete and

particular embodimentof that truth. Further, kyamuni is understood

as beyond the confines of this earthly, historical world, that is, in arealm oftranscendence, but yet is also affirmed as continually acting inthis world out of compassion, in a dimension ofimmanence.

We could go on to pursue this lead in examining other facets ofNichirens thought with this heuristic tool, namely, the notion of coin-cidentia oppositorumas operative in Nichiren, and this may serve us tobetter understand and appreciate different sides in the various debatedissues in his religious teaching. This heuristic tool could also be usefulin the further investigation of texts in dispute with regard to their

authenticity. There has been a noted tendency on the part of scholarswho have pursued these issues to approach texts with a predeterminedframework of what they regard as Nichirens authentic thought,



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based on sectarian doctrinal positions (see ASAI 1945). An apprecia-tion of this multivalence, grounded on a recognition of coincidentiaoppositorumin Nichirens religious vision, would at least forestall facile

judgments in this regard (that is, for or against one or the other sideof a contested doctrinal issue, or for or against the authenticity of aparticular text), and would call for a more careful, meticulous, andsystematic investigation of the manifold elements involved.

From our limited study as presented in this essay, we can see howNichirens Buddhism stands within the wider Mahyna Buddhist tra-dition, as a development stemming from the religious world of theLotus Stra. And pursuing this heuristic device of coincidentia opposi-torum, we can perhaps describe Nichirens religious thought as a mystico-

prophetic kind of Buddhism.The prophetic aspect of his teaching has been well-developed inMasaharu ANESAKIs classic English language study, entitled Nichiren,the Buddhist Prophet (1916). Nichirens critiques of the sociopoliticalorder of his time, his sense of mission toward a transformation of soci-ety based on his project of establishing kyamunis domain on earth,constitute what Anesaki develops as the prophetic aspect of his Bud-dhist vision.

The mystical side of Nichiren is also briey noted by ANESAKI (pp.

101ff.), though, we might add, inadequately. He bases his treatmentof this mystical dimension of Nichirens teaching on a text that latercame to be disputed for its authenticity.5Anesaki (p. 101) commentsthat this mystical strain is stronger in the writings from the years ofquiet meditation at Minobu than in the preceding period of stormand stress.

However, as we have seen in our present study, this mystical dimen-sion in Nichiren is inseparable from his prophetic words and actionsthat occasioned the persecutions he suffered repeatedly throughout

his career. These in turn triggered and furthered the deepening of hismystical experience of the Buddhas immediate presence and of cos-mic plenitude. What must be emphasized in this context is the factthat this mystical dimension is palpable and operative precisely inthose periods of storm and stress in Nichirens life.

In short, in Nichiren, these two categories, mystical and prophetic,which depict differing modes of religious being, are seen in conver-gence and mutual interpenetration throughout his career. We are


5

The Testimony Common to all the Buddhas of the Three Ages, Sanze shobutsu skan-mon kys hairyX[rko/C, STN2: 1686ff. See ASAI 1945, pp. 28081. Othershave followed Asai in questioning the authenticity of this particular treatise. See also STONE1990, for a full translation and discussion of the issues surrounding this text.


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afforded a glimpse of the richness of his inner life, encompassingthese two modes of religious being, as we behold the intricate dimen-sions of his bodily reading of the Lotus Stra.

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Documents

Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin