Gosho 当体義抄 The Entity of the Mystic Law

問う、南岳(なんがく)・天台・伝教等の大師法華経に依(よ)つて一乗円宗の教法を弘通(ぐつう)し給うと雖(いえど)も未(いま)だ南無妙法蓮華経と唱えたまわざるは如何(いかん)、

Question: The great teachers such as Nan-yüeh, T’ien-t’ai, and Dengyō employed the Lotus Sutra to spread widely the perfect teaching of the one vehicle, but they did not recite Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Why is that?

Question: Although great teachers, such as Nanyue, Tientai, and Dengyō propagated their teachings based on the one vehicle of Buddhahood of the Lotus Sutra, or the perfect teaching, they never chanted Nam-Mhoho-Renge-Kyo. What do you think？

若(も)し爾(しか)らば此の大師等は未(いま)だ当体蓮華を知らず又(また)証得したまわずと云うべきや、

Does this mean that they did not know about the lotus of the entity, or that they failed to understand it?

If this is true, should we conclude that those great teachers were not aware of the true entity of Renge [Myoho-Renge-Kyo] or did not realize it?

答う南岳大師は観音(かんのん)の化身(けしん)・天台大師は薬王の化身なり等云云、

Answer: It is said that the Great Teacher Nan-yüeh was an incarnation of Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World’s Sounds, and that the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai was an incarnation of Bodhisattva Medicine King.

Answer: The Great Teacher Nanyue was an incarnation of Bodhisattva who Perceives the World’s Sounds, while the Great Teacher Tiantai was an incarnation of Bodhisattva Medicine King.

若(も)し爾(しか)らば霊山(りょうぜん)に於て本門寿量の説を聞きし時は之を証得すと雖も在生(ぞんしょう)の時は妙法流布(るふ)の時に非(あら)ず、

If so, then they were present on Eagle Peak when the Buddha preached the “Life Span” chapter of the essential teaching, and at that time they became enlightened to the lotus of the entity. But when they appeared in the world [as Nan-yüeh and T’ien-t’ai, respectively], they knew it was not the right time to spread the Mystic Law.

If this is the case, then when they listened to the sermon on Eagle Peak on the Life Span chapter of the essential teaching [of the Lotus Sutra], they understood the meaning [of the true entity of Myoho-Renge-Kyo]. However, the era of these teachers was not the time to propagate the mystic Law.

故に妙法の名字を替(か)えて止観(しかん)と号し一念三千・一心三観を修し給いしなり、

Therefore, for the words “Mystic Law” they substituted the term “concentration and insight” and instead engaged in the meditation on the three thousand realms in a single moment of life and in the practice of the threefold contemplation in a single mind.

Thus, they referred to the Great Concentration and Insight instead of the name of the mystic Law and carried out the practice of the threefold contemplation in a single mind, based on the principle of ichinen sanzen （three thousand realms in a single life-moment）.


　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　つづく To be continued
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