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日蓮大聖人『御書』解説

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2020年 08月 09日

20. Nichiren Addresses the Warning to Hojo Tokimune (1)

             Japanese edition

 In this situation, there is no way out of the difficulty.

In October of the next month, Nichiren made up his mind and gave his disciples a letter and sent it to each place concerned. These partners were Hojo Tokimune in the first on the list, the very important person of the Shogunate, and various temples.

It was an uncanny action by Nichiren.

Hoki-bo went to the residence of Yadoya Nyudo with a letter from Nichiren. But he was stopped by a robust gate-keeper.

Hoki-bo talked to a vassal who transmits a message.

“I am Hoki-bo Nikko of Nichiren Shonin. I brought the letter to Lord Kamakura”.

On the other hand, Nichiro faced the military headquarters and stood at the front door while holding a letter. The gate-keeper stopped Nichiro. Nichiro is not afraid of.

“I, called Nichiro of the disciple of Nichiren Shonin, and I brought this letter to the Lord Heino Saemonnojo.”

Nissho went to Gokurakuji Temple.

“I have the letter for the monk Ryoukan of Gokurakuji here.”

Nichiji came into the Kenchoji Temple.

“Here is a letter for the priest Doryu of the Kenchoji Temple.”

The letter of Nichiren extended to 11 places in total. The other party which he sent is Tokiyori Hojo, Yoritsuna Taira, Yadoya Nyudo, Yagenta Hojo of the shogun's vassal, Doryu of Kenchoji temple, Ryoukan of Gokurakuji, and the administrator of the Hall of the Great Buddha, Jufukuji, Jokomyoji, Tahoji, Chorakuji Temple, that’s all.

Nichiren wished for the confrontation with seven temples of Kamakura in front of Tokimune Hojo of the ruler. Seven temples including Kenchoji Temple are because he is a ringleader destroying a country.

Nichiren attacks the essential qualities of these seven temples. He writes down feelings of this time by the letter that he sent to the nun monk Myoho as follows on September 6 in the Koan first year (in 1278).

“Moreover, after the state power shifted to the east and the years went by, many of the leaders of the Shingon sect which lost the ruler of the country made their way to Kamakura, where they flattered themselves with the Kamakura shogunate. Because they had originally been priests of high standing, they were able to make various deceptions to gain favor and to have themselves appointed superintendents of various temples in Kamakura. In addition, the Nembutsu priests, taking advantage of their position as counselors to those in power, became chief priests of the Hall of the Great Buddha, Chorakuji, Gokurakuji, and other temples, while persons of the Zen sect came to be respected as chief priests of Jufukuji, Kenchoji, and other temples. Thus, in Kamakura offenses were committed that were a million times graver than that which brought about the failure of the Retired Emperor of Oki”.

The reason why the Retired Emperor Gotoba was defeated in the Jokyu Disturbance and exiled to Oki Island 50 years ago and died there was because of the wicked religions. These wicked people move to Kamakura in the east and they gain the favor of Hojo and incline the country. A country is going to perish again now in front of Mongolia without determining the wicked and the correct. The evil priests become rooted in the ground in front of Tokimune. I am the only one who can chase the Mongolia away.

屋内, テーブル が含まれている画像自動的に生成された説明

        Hojo Tokimune. From Wikipedia


Hojo Tokimune heard an attendant reading the missive from Nichiren aloud. Yasumori Adachi watches and facial expression of Tokimune at the side motionlessly.

Out of the 11 missives Nichiren sent, the letter which he sent to the regent Tokimune is extremely refined. It is overflowing with reverence to the Japanese ruler. He uses many parallelisms and writes it as if singing. This dignity harks in the Rissho-Ankoku-Ron (Treatise that Establishes the Correct Religion for the Safety of Nation)' which he gave to father Hojo Tokiyori of Tokimune. Nichiren devoted the same effort to his son, Tokimune. This missive was submitted through the Yadoya Nyudo of the regent's vassal the same as Tokiyori.

“I, Nichiren, have the honor to inform you of your excellency.

On the eighteenth day of January of this year, the letter was received from the western barbarians, the great Mongol Empire. Nichiren's idea came true as with 'the Rissho Ankoku-Ron', Nichiren had compiled it gathering the precious words of the various sutras some years ago. Nichiren is in some sense a sainthood because a saint knows the future. Hence, I would like to warn you about this matter respectfully again. You must stop supporting Kenchoji, Jufukuji, Gokurakuji, Tahoji, Jokomyoji temple,the Hall of the Great Buddha, and other temples at once. If you do not do so, you will assuredly be attacked from four directions repeatedly. You must act quickly to pray for victory against the Mongol and to bring peace and security to our nation. And the task of praying to subdue them cannot be accomplished without Nichiren. When a vassal will warn the king, that nation will take its correct course, and when a son will have advice, the family will continue to be right. The safety and danger to the nation depend upon the honesty and dishonesty of politics, and the correct and wicked of Buddha's Law is decided by reflecting the bright mirror of the texts of the sutra.

In the first place, this country is a land of the gods, and the gods will not condone impoliteness. The seven heavenly gods, the five gods of the land, and the other benevolent deities are beings who guard and protect the only teaching of Buddha. Moreover, the Lotus Sutra is their food and honesty are their powers. The Lotus Sutra states, “the various Buddhas of saviors of the world abide in the supernatural place, and in order to please living beings they display immeasurable supernatural powers.” When a nation casts aside the sole teachings, how would the benevolent deities fail to display anger? The Benevolent Kings Sutra says, “Once the sages have left, then the seven disasters are certain to arise.” Olden days, the king of Wu failed to hear the warning of Wu Zixu and thereby brought about his own destruction. The evil rulers Ketsu and Chu put to death their loyal ministers Ryuhou and Hikan and as a result lost their thrones. And now Japan is about to be deprived by Mongolia. Is this not a distress? Is this not a surprise?

If you fail to adopt the advice of Nichiren, you will surely repent later. Nichiren is the messenger of the Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra says, “He is the envoy of the Tathagata. He has been dispatched by the Tathagata and carries out the task of the Tathagata.” And the act of various Buddhas of the three existences of past, present, and future is the Lotus Sutra. I have sent letters of warning to various other persons, and it is my hope that you, the leader, summon them all, discuss the matter, and let me know your judgment on it. As a conclusion, prayers that are being offered up should be suspended, and the representatives of the various sects should be summoned from you so that they debate with me. And please decide the correct and wicked of the Buddha's Law! There is the beautiful pine tree in the depths of the valley, but if the skilled gardener is unaware of this existence, the error is in his. Dressing in beautiful clothes in the dark, but if people fail to recognize him, this is due to their stupidity.

In the three countries of India, China, and Japan, the judgment of the Law of Buddha was decided by the ruler, who was King Ajatashatru and the rulers of the Ch'en and Sui dynasties and Emperor Kammu. I am not urging any private opinion or prejudice, stating it solely out of unswerving loyalty. I do not state for my own sake. I state it for the sake of the gods, for the sake of the ruler, for the sake of the nation and for the sake of all living beings.

         Sincerely Yours,

         Nichiren

The eleventh day of October in the fifth year of Bun'ei [1268].

Respectfully presented to Yadoya Nyudo.” ‘Letter to Tokimune Hojo.’

Yasumori has begun to be angry.

“What an arrogant and impolite letter!”

Tokimune was meditating while closing his eyes.



Continued



Life of Nichiren. Vol. 1. Contents



by johsei1129 | 2020-08-09 16:51 | LIFE OF NICHIREN | Trackback | Comments(0)


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