11. Enemy of Buddhism in the life of Nichiren. Ryōkan of Gokurakuji Temple. (3)

Japanese edition

A child came over and put his both hands on the floor in front of Ryokan.

"Teacher. It's time".

Ryōkan nodded and stood up. It is time for sermon.

He goes ahead through the long corridor.

The disciple of the attendant let him change a caparison of Ryokan and changed it into a simple canonical robe. The appearance of the charity monk must not be gorgeous.

The main hall of a Buddhist temple was crowded with several hundred audience.

The noise is continued.

When dozens of disciples appeared there including Ryokan in the lead, a shout of joy echoed.

“Priest Ryokan!”.

Women exclaim and shed tears and cover the face with a sleeve. Men waved their hand and called the name of Ryokan. Buddhist priest and nuns put hands together and advocate Nembutsu.

It is a place of the sermon of the priest and the outlandish scene of which cannot think.

Shigetoki Hojo admired the enthusiasm that spent a immoderate degree for Ryokan of the common people of Kamakura.

Ryokan answered with a smile in a place of the sermon.

A shout of joy does not readily stop. Ryōkan was praised as the holiest priest now in Kamakura, he was a charisma who is said in the present times.

When Ryokan cleared his throat lightly before long, the hall finally fell silent.

“Thank you for coming during a busy time of yours. I will teach you eight Buddhist commandments today. It is the teachings of religious precepts. The person who wants to sleep sleeps wouldn't be a problem.”

Children chuckle, and their heads were given a light poke by parents.

There were Kyoninbo Nichigyo and Chikugobo Nichiro of the disciple of Nichiren in audience.

Kyoninbo stood up.

“Priest Ryōkan. We respect priest Ryōkan. Anyone of Kamakura loves the holy priest”.

It was a sudden remark, but Ryokan nodded smilingly.

“The road became large, and the port was maintained thanks to priest Ryokan and became still more livable than before. It's thanks to priest Ryokan”.

Ryōkan smiled at him.

“You are praising me too much”.

Laughter happens in audience. It was good until here.

Nichiro had a smile and stood up.

“However, such a construction will have trouble. The trouble needs the expenditure of the money in particular. You take a rice of the common people at the checkpoint and buy up the wood of the mountain and sell highly. Such a project will be difficult if you do not do so”.

The spectators began to talk in whispers.

“If it is not priest Ryokan, a person cannot behave such a way. You are really precious. From old days a priest of the Ritsu sect is good at business and borrowing and loaning the money, isn't it?”.

Kyoninbo speaks rapid continuously.

“If it is a true priest, he should know the depth of the Buddhism, and it thinks with a true priest who show a way of becoming Buddha to people, but you do not seem to be able to fit into the priest, don't you?”.

Ryōkan cocked an eye at disciples. Buddhist priests of Gokurakuji send away two people while the hall rustles.

When Kyoninbo goes away, he shouted.

“I am called Kyoninbo Nichigyo of the disciple of priest Nichiren who lives in the valley of Matsuba”.

“Similarly, I am Chikugobo Nichiro”.

“Priest Nichiren is telling that the Lotus Sutra is the best religious teachings. If wants to hear sermon, please come to the valley of Matsuba!”.

Two people were rushed and were gone.

Still Ryokan was smiling.

“They are amusing character”.

And he assumed a grave look for an instant.

The believers of Nembutsu became terribly afraid whereas Nichiren attacked them with the text of basic sutra.

It was unjust, they bend a doctrine of Honen of the teacher and tried for defence.

Though Honen had denied all denominations in 'the Selection of Nembutsu', the believers of Nembutsu bent a doctrine by severe accusation of Nichiren and has begun to advocate the rebirth on the pure land by the various ascetic practices.

Nichiren accuses the worse change in doctrine of desperation of the Nembutsu priests sharply.

“Until some seven or eight years ago, they asserted widely and irresponsibly that practices other than the Nembutsu could never lead to rebirth in the Pure Land. The Reverend Shantao declared 'even one person in a thousand' cannot be rescued. In addition, in Honen's 'the Selection of Nembutsu', he urged people to abandon various practices and likened those who followed them to a band of robbers. Then, in these last four or five years, the person appeared who preached a different doctrine, asserting that there are sutras proving that those who urge others to chant the Nembutsu as advocated in 'the selection of Nembutsu' are in fact slandering the Law, and that both the Nembutsu priests and their followers are destined to fall into the hell of incessant suffering. When this doctrine first appeared, the Nembutsu believers uniformly doubted, exclaiming, ‘Who are the evil heretics who insist that reciters of the Nembutsu will fall into the hell of incessant suffering?’. But then they began to realize some reasons why Nembutsu believers were fated to fall into the hell of incessant suffering. One by one, they proceeded to examine 'the Selection of Nembutsu' more closely. And, perhaps because they realized that in fact it is a writing that slanders the Law, they rejected its assertion that as 'not even one person in a thousand' cannot be rescued by other practices, and each of them came to accept the view that practices other than the Nembutsu can lead to rebirth in the Pure Land. But this was merely something that they proclaimed with their mouths. In their minds, they continued as before to believe that “not even one person in a thousand”. The lay followers of Nembutsu are unaware that their inner minds are slandering the Law. Deceived by pronouncements that practices other than the Nembutsu can lead to rebirth in the Pure Land, the lay believers seem to become thinking that the Nembutsu proponents are not in fact slandering the Lotus Sutra and that it is wrong for the upholders of the sacred teachings to accuse them of slandering of the Lotus Sutra. They say that other practices can lead to rebirth in the Pure Land, these Nembutsu proponents are committing a greater slander of the Law than those who openly declared that not one person in a thousand can be saved by such practices. While at the same time making others believe that there was not fault on their doctrine, they are plotting to spread only the Nembutsu. This is the trap of evil spirit”. ‘On Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra’

To be continued to 12.Outbreak of the major earthquake of Shoka that led to the protest to the nation.

Life of Nichiren. Vol. 1. Contents