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日蓮大聖人『御書』解説

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2020年 07月 25日

13.'Rissho Ankokuron and the fateful meeting with Nikko'. (1)

            Japanese edition


テキスト自動的に生成された説明

 The first page of ‘the Rissho-Ankokuron'. Nakayama Hokekyoji Temple possession.


Nichiren went west from Kamakura. He put on the shade hat in a traveling style and carried a load on my back. His step is early as if it is moved by something. And he looked around as if he deeply impressed a terrible sight of the destruction on his mind.

The horses come and go frequently. Wagons pass through with timbers for the recovery from a disaster.

Nichiren has seen the major earthquake, and remembered one sentence of Daishitsu Sutra, which he had learned in Enryakuji Temple.

“If the Law of Buddha hides and becomes extinct, all the mustaches and the hairs and the fingernails of people would become longer, and the various Laws will be forgotten. At that time, a loud voice will be caused in the thin air, and it shakes the ground, furthermore, all the ground will vibrate like water rings widely.”

When the Law of Buddha loses influence, the mustache of people is long, and both the hair and the fingernails are long. A good theory of the world is in this way forgotten. There is a great acoustic in the sky at this time, and an earthquake is generated. It moves the ground like a ripple on the water. The Daishitsu Sutra describes the Law of Buddha and the relations of the disaster in this way.

Nichiren left the Sagami country and entered Suruga. For visiting Jitsuso-ji Temple of the Mt. Iwamoto.

This temple still exists in Fuji city, Shizuoka.

The history is old.

Jisso-ji Temple was founded by Chi’in (1145) of the Tendai sect in 1148. The outstanding feature was that complete Buddhist scriptures were stored in it. Enchin Chisho (note), the Tendai-zasu (head priest of the Tendai sect), brought a huge amount of scriptures from Tang.

Nichiren was feeling the need to read the complete Buddhist scriptures again.

Also, there were many priests in this temple. They are all young. Among them was a young priest named Hoki-bo.

Still 12 years old. He would be in the sixth grade today, but in this age when there was no educational system, everyone, samurai and monks alike, came into the world from their youth. He has been learning the doctrine of the Tendai. Hoki-bo Nikko who inherited the trace of Nichiren later was a priest who lived in this Jissoji temple.

Boy Hoki-bo passed by 37-year-old Nichiren. He looked at Nichiren and felt that he was different from the Buddhist priest who met until now.

Hoki-bo looked back, but Nichiren passed without paying attention to him.

Hoki-bo asked the gate-keeper of Jissoji.

"Who is that Buddhist priest?"

“He is a person called Nichiren.”

The friend who was aside was surprised.

"What is Nichiren? He is the priest who is notorious in Kamakura. What does he do here? He's not going to do a shakubuku, is he?”

Hoki-bo heard it.

“Shakubuku?”

The young Buddhist priest nodded.

“He seems to attack Nembutsu and Zen hard. That's the rumor I hear.”

The gate-keeper muttered.

“Well, that Buddhist priest is telling you that he wants to see all the Buddhist sutras of this temple.”

“How would he see the sutra? If it is his age, he may have already finished the study of all the Buddhist sutras.”

“The reason is unclear, but he shuts himself in the storehouse of the Buddhist sutra after coming here and is reading something or other.”

The scrolls of the sutra are filled on a shelf in the storehouse of sutras of Jitsusoji.

Nichiren sat straight in front of a small desk and opened the scroll of sutras. And did not move while sitting down slowly and completely.

It snowed at night.

He read a sutra of scroll while relying on a light of the plate.

On the other hand, boy Hoki-bo is full of curiosity. He slightly opened the door and watched the situation.

Hoki-bo was born in Kajigasawa, manorial Ohi, Koma district of Kai country, Yamanashi prefecture. Father was called Ohi Kitsuroku of the Ki family of Enshu province, and mother was called Myphuku in daughters of the Fuji Yui clan. Because he lost a father when he was young, mother married a person of Amishima again, the Hoki-bo was grown by Yui of the grandfather.

Climbed to the Forty-Nine Temple of the Tendai sect at 7 years old and had learned Chinese classical literature, art of tanka poetry, a Japanese book, and studied to acquire the doctrine of Tendai. Because Nichiren became a priest at the age of 12 years old, the maturity degree of the Law of Buddha is considerably early.

Hoki-bo was interested in the Buddhist priest who came over from Kamakura.

According to his rumor, it is said that Nichiren trained himself in the Enryakuji Temple of Mt. Hiei. The Enryakuji Temple is the birthplace of the Japanese Tendai sect and it is a longed-for sacred place for Hoki-bo. Became all the more interested. Friends called Nichiren an evil Buddhist priest, but curiosity surpassed it. He may understand what kind of person it is if he heard a talk.

Nichiren had been absorbed in reading the sutra without getting tired.


Time passed, and the new year began. The brook of the thaw flows. The light from a window lights up the written words.

At that time, I heard a voice from the outside of the door.

“May I come in?”

Nichiren took his eyes off a text of a sutra for an instant and answered.

“Please step this way.”

When the door was opened, Hoki-bo sat straight and lowered his head.

He wanted to talk with Nichiren, but because the priest was staying in the storehouse of Buddhist sutra right a long, there was not that opportunity at all. So he decided to take the plunge and knock on the door.

Nichiren smiled at the young Hoki-bo.

“Please enter without restraint.”

Nichiren is also sincere for young people who are in training.

Hoki-bo entered a room under tension and sat straight in front of Nichiren.

Nichiren smiles at Hoki-bo.

“What can I do for you?”

“Excuse me, are you priest Nichiren of Kamakura?”

"Precisely.”

“My name is Hoki-bo and I am studying in this temple. I want to ask you directly.”

Nichiren nodded smilingly. Even in his later years, Hoki-bo never forgot the smile on his face.

“Excuse me, but what are you checking?”

Nichiren looked slightly puzzled.

Hoki-bo continues talking.

“For the past six months since you arrived here, you have been reading sutras without speaking to anyone in this temple. I've been wondering if you were researching something important.”

Nichiren laughed. Hoki-bo has never seen such a bright smile.

“Did you worry? In fact, I thought of the major earthquake of last year and I saw all the Buddhist sutras and wanted to ascertain it.”

“What did you ascertain?”

The eyes of Hoki-bo have begun to shine. Lips of Nichiren tightened in response to the earnest look of the boy.

“It is the root of evil. A natural disaster, famine and a pestilence are spreading now in Japan. There are no people who do not grieve. Why do these kinds of things happen and what should we do to prevent this? Reading all the Buddhist sutras of Buddha, I wanted to ascertain it.”

Hoki-bo leaned forward.

Nichiren showed several memos which were on the side.

“I am writing it now. It is named 'the Rissho Ankokuron'. (Paper of Establishing the Correct Religion for the Safety of the Nation)'. The disaster of the present world is caused by Honen, the founder of the Nembutsu sect of Buddhism. This country will ruin if we do not exterminate this.”

Hoki-bo was astonished.

“Priest Honen? Is it really that Priest Shonin? He climbed Mt. Hiei is 13 years old, and his wisdom is equal to the sun or the moon, and the virtue is said to have surpassed the priest Genko of the teacher. Though priest Honen was exiled, he spread Nembutsu over a lifetime. What do you say that is wrong with the shonin?”

Hoki-bo thought.

(After all, is this priest Nichiren an evil Buddhist priest as the rumors say?)

It seemed the eyes of the Hoki-bo produced doubt for an instant. Nichiren slightly had a smile as if he expected this reaction beforehand, and he continued talking.

“Those who always eat smartweed become numb to its bitterness. Those who are in the toilet forget how smelly the smell is. The person does not notice that he is used to being wrong. People are forgetting the Lord and honoring the Buddhas of the West through Honen's "Choice of the Nembutsu," betraying the true commission and putting aside the Buddhas of the East, and only focusing on the four volumes and three parts of the sutras, in vainly throwing away the scriptures of the five times of a generation. If it is not a temple of the Amidha, everybody stops the will of offering to Buddha and if it is not a person of Nembutsu, everybody forgets thoughts of almsgiving. After all, the noble Buddhist priest who was residing there leaves and does not return and the correct god of protecting us does not come back. Therefore, a demon comes, a devil comes, disaster is caused, and difficulty occurs .

Deplorable enough, over the past several decades, many people by tens of millions have been deluded by this devilish doctrine, and have gotten to lose sight of Buddhism. Therefore, rather than offering a myriad of prayers and rituals, first and foremost, it is vital to eliminate the single wicked cause.”


テキスト, 手紙自動的に生成された説明

       ‘Origin of Rissho Ankoku-Ron’

Hoki-bo was overwhelmed by Nichiren and hesitated for an instant, but finally spoke.

“When you say "to forbid," do you mean punish the Nembutsu sect?”

Nichiren shook his head.

“It is not so. It is to stop the offerings to the Nenbutsu sect of Buddhism. A bigger evil happens if you do not stop it in a hurry.”

"To believe in Nembutsu invites an evil spirit, and the god of protection goes away." Hoki-bo has never heard such a tale at all. It's hard to believe.

“Why would stopping the offerings to them prevent disaster?"

“An evil is to be generated from a person after all. If we give an offering to a good person and stop it to the wicked, disasters disappear, and peace reigns over the land. If it is so, one must stop the offering to a priest of the evil religion.”

“What happens if you do not stop an offering to a priest of Nembutsu? Do you say that a misfortune bigger than now is caused?”

Nichiren had the sutra in his hand.

“If one continues to slander the Law of Buddha and does not stop the evil doctrine, the sutra preaches that seven great calamities would be generated in the country. There are five disasters in front of us. The calamity of disease and pestilence among the populace, the calamity of abnormal changes among the stars and constellations, the calamity of eclipses of the sun and moon, the calamity of unseasonable wind and rain, the calamity of a lacking rain.

If people desire a secure land and wish to pray for peace in their present and future existence, waste no time, and should immediately eliminate slanders. Why do I say this? It is because five of seven disasters have already fallen at once, and the other two have yet to occur. That is the disaster of foreign invasion and the disaster of revolt from within. It is, so to speak, 'the disaster of warfare', 'the disaster of both invasion and plunder by foreign countries', 'the disaster of bandits to invade from the four directions'.

What would you do if the disasters which remained occur simultaneously side by side by a fault of the evil Law? The monarch rules the nation by keeping order, the people possess their farms and keep the world. However, if marauders come from other regions to invade the nation and revolt breaks out within the country, people's farms are plundered. Will they not be shocked? Will they not panic? If the nation is lost and homes are destroyed, where will you flee? If you truly desire your own peace and security, should you not first pray for the peace of the four directions?”

Hoki-bo put his hand on the floor and gave a voice as soon as the talk of Nichiren was finished.

“Priest Nichiren, I am still clumsy greenhorns, but please make me your disciple!”

Hoki-bo intuitively saw that if he approached this person, he could walk the way to Buddha correctly. The words fell from his lips at a moment when he thought so.

Nichiren's reply was as compassionate as his own parents.

“There are already disciples to me, but they are having trouble eating every day. However, if it is good, you think of me to be a father, and let's practice Buddhism together throughout life.”

Hoki-bo promises.

“I live in this temple. I will take care not to inconvenience you. Please add me to one of your disciples.”

Nichiren nodded twice and thrice powerfully while having a smile.

“Hoki-bo is my disciple from today. Because it is a rule to add the word of Nichi to the name of my disciple, I will think about the name that is good for Hoki-bo.”

Hoki-bo was surprised that Nichiren permitted to become a disciple too easily, furthermore, was surprised by receiving the Buddhist name of the word ‘Nichi’ in the future.

"I thank you for your kindness.”

The Hoki-bo put enough of his hands on the floor and left Nichiren's room.

Although Nichiren met Hoki-bo in February of the second year of the Shoka era (1258), by a curious coincidence, father Myonichi of Nichiren passed away on February 14th. Nichiren, who hurried an admonishment to the Kamakura Shogunate, did not come back to his hometown. But he writes it as 'February 14th in the Shoka era' in the end of "the Gist of the Sacred Teachings of the Buddha's Lifetime" written at this time. It is strongly speculated that it is a reason for mourning over the death of father.

He kept his sorrow of the death of the father, and Nichiren further continued writing.

A draft of "Rissho Ankoku-Ron", beginning the sentence with "When the passenger came, he lamented," later a national treasure, was completed at Iwamoto Jisso-ji Temple. Nichiren intended to give it to Tokiyori Hojo, who was a real ruler of the Shogunate.

Tokiyori became a priest as a common person, and he said Saimyoji Nyudo and handed over the regent's post to Hojo Nagatoki of brothers-in-law, but Tokiyori still had the real power at the Kamakura Shogunate in those days.

He must hurry. The great disaster is continuing.

Nichiren writes down the situation of the disaster of Kamakura of those days with 'the Origin of Rissho-Ankoku-Ron' as follows.

“On the twenty-third day of August the first year of the Shoka era (1257), among the hours of the dog and the wild boar (around 9:00 p.m.), there occurred an earthquake of unprecedented magnitude. In the second year of the same era, on the first day of August, there was a great storm. In the first year of the Shogen era (1259), the great pestilence had broken out, and throughout the four seasons of the year after, the great pestilence continued without abating. By this time more than half the people of the nation had been invited to death. The ruler of the country who was alarmed at this state of affairs commanded the people of Buddhism and the non-Buddhist that various prayers be offered. These, however, failed to produce even the slightest effect. On the contrary, famine and pestilence raged more fiercely than ever. I, Nichiren, observing this state of secularism, thought about almost all the Buddhist sutras There I discovered the reason why these prayers are without effect and on the contrary actually making the situation worse. At last, I wrote one dissertation out of necessity and named it `The Rissho-Ankoku-ron.'"


Note


Enchin Chisho

Kounin 5 (814) - Kanpei 3 (891). Founder of the Teramon school of Tendai Buddhism in the early Heian period. He was the fifth head of Enryakuji Temple. He was called Chisho Daishi. A native of Sanuki. His family name was Wake. He is said to be the nephew or niece of Kukai. Studied under Gishin at Enryaku-ji and learned both exoteric and esoteric Buddhism. Nichiren Daishonin severely criticized Chisho for distorting the Lotus Sutra, which was the primary doctrine.



Continued to (2)







by johsei1129 | 2020-07-25 10:53 | LIFE OF NICHIREN | Trackback | Comments(0)


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