人気ブログランキング | 話題のタグを見る

日蓮大聖人『御書』解説

nichirengs.exblog.jp
ブログトップ
2020年 05月 15日

The Treatise of Establishing the Correct Teachings for the Peace and Security of the Nation.2 立正安国論二

Original text

The Daishitsu Sutra says: “When the teachings of the Buddha truly become hidden and lost, people will all let their beards, hair, and fingernails grow long, and various Laws will be forgotten and ignored. At that time, a huge roar will resound through the sky, the earth shakes, everything moves like a ring of water, the city's walls will split and tumble, and all houses and dwellings will collapse. Trees' roots, branches, leaves, petals, and fruits will lose their ingredients. With the exception of the heavens in the pure place, all the regions of the world of desire will lose the seven flavors and the three kinds of vitality, until not a trace of them remains anymore. All the good discussions that lead people to emancipation will be at this time lost. The flowers and fruits that grow in the earth will become few flavors and are not delicious. Their wells, fountains, and ponds will all go dry, the land everywhere will be salted and will crack open. A result, these become barren hills and valleys. All the mountains will be swept by fire, and the heavens and dragons will no longer rain. The seedlings of the crops will all wither and die, all the growing plants will perish, and even the weeds will cease to grow. Soil will fall down like a rain, all is darkness and the sun and moon no longer shed their light. All the four directions will be afflicted by drought, and evil omens will appear again and again. The ten kinds' evil and greed, anger, and stupidity will dramatically increase.

People treat their parents like a deer. People or longevity, physical strength, dignity, and enjoyment will decrease. Avoiding the pleasure of the worlds of human and rapture, they will fall into the wicked road. Malevolent kings and monks committing these evil acts will slander and destroy my correct Law, causing the people in the worlds of humanity and rapture to lose sight of the correct roads. At that time the benevolent deities, heavens' kings, and kings who take pity on people, will abandon this impure and wicked nation, and all will head for other regions”.

The Benevolent Kings Sutra states: “When a nation becomes disordered, it is the demons that first show signs of rampancy. Because the demons become rampant, all the people of the nation become disordered. Disputes occur between the ruler and his vassals, among the crown prince and royal princes, and among government officials, each asserting their own opinions. Abnormal phenomena appear in the heavens and on the earth, the twenty-eight constellations, the stars, and the sun and moon appear at irregular times and in irregular positions and numerous bandits rise up”.

The same sutra also states: “Now when I use the five types of eye to clearly perceive a past, present, and future, I see that in their past existences all the rulers served five hundred Buddhas, and that is the reason that they were able to become emperors or sovereigns. That is the reason that all the various sages and arhats are born in their nations and bring about great benefits. But when the fortune of these rulers runs out, all the saints will abandon them and leave. Once all the saints have left, then the seven disasters are certain to arise”. That is all.

The Yakushi Sutra preaches, "If the disaster occur when there are the ruling class and great king, the following calamities will occur: the calamity of both illness and pestilence among the populace, the calamity of invasion from foreign country, the calamity of revolt from within, the calamity of abnormal orbit among the constellations, the calamity of solar eclipse and moon eclipse, the calamity of unseasonable wind and rain, and the calamity of bringing no rain timely."

The Ninno Sutra says: “The great king, the region where my teachings now hold sway over consists of ten billion Mt. Sumeru and ten billion suns and moons. Surrounding each Mount Sumeru, there are four continents. In its southern continent, there are sixteen big countries, medium-sized countries of five hundred, and ten thousand small-sized countries. In these states, seven types of fearful disasters occur. This is because all the rulers agree that these are real disasters. What kind of disaster do you think it will be?

The sun and moon move irregularly and the seasons appear in the wrong order. A red sun or a black sun appears, and two, three, four, or five suns come out at the same time, or it becomes an eclipse and loses its light. And when one, two, three, four, or five rings appear around the sun. This is the first calamity.

The second kind of calamity is when the twenty-eight constellations behave abnormally including Venus, broom star, Saturn, demon star, fire star, water star, wind star, gong star, the southern stars, the Big Dipper, the five garrisons, and the stars representing the ruler, the three ministers, and other government officials.

Huge fires consume the nation, and the people are all burned to death, or when there are outbreaks of demon fire, dragon fire, fire of heavens, mountain god fire, human fire, forest fire, or bandit fire, this is the third kind of calamity.

Huge floods drown the populace. The seasons come out of order and there is rain in winter, snow in summer, thunder and lightning in winter. Changing seasons in reverse, ice frost and hail fall in June, and red, black, or green rain, and falls dirt, stones, sand, or gravel, the great rivers and streams run backward, mountains are afloat and stones are washed away. This becomes the fourth kind of calamity.

Huge winds blow the people to death, and the lands, the mountains and rivers, and the trees and forests are all at one time wiped out and great winds come out of season, and black wind, red winds, green winds, winds of heavens, earthly winds, fire winds, and water winds blow. When such change happens, this is the fifth kind of calamity.

Heavens and the ground and the whole country are stricken by terrible heat so that the air seems to be on fire, and the hundred plants wither and the five kinds of grain fail to ripen, the ground is red and scorched and the inhabitants all perish, when such change will happen. This is the sixth kind of calamity.

When foreign invaders attack the country from every direction and rebellion erupts from within and outside, bandits take advantage of fires, floods, winds, and ogres. Rampaging bandits cause all people to panic in terror, and the world enters into fight. This is the seventh kind of calamity.

The Sutra of Daishitsu says: “Though at countless existences in the past the ruler of a state have practiced the giving of alms, observed the religious precepts, and cultivated wisdom, if my teaching is in danger of perishing and stands idly by without protecting it, then all the inestimable roots of goodness that he has planted through the practices just mentioned will be entirely wiped out, and his country will invite the three inauspicious occurrences. The first is high grain prices, the second is warfare, and the third is pestilence.

All the benevolent deities will abandon the country, and although the ruler may command, the people will not obey him. The country will constantly be invaded by neighboring nations. Violent fires will rage out of control, fierce winds and rains will abound, the water will swell and overflow, and the inhabitants will be blown by winds or swept away by floods. The maternal or paternal relatives at the side of the ruler will revolt. Before long, the ruler will suffer from a serious illness, and after his life has come to an end, he will take rebirth in the grand hell. The king's consorts, the crown prince, ministers, barons, generals, local administrators, and officials will all receive the same fate". The above is the quotation from the sutra.

The passages I have quoted from these four sutras are perfectly clear, who could doubt it? And yet the blind and the deluded recklessly trust distorted doctrines and fail to recognize the correct teaching. Therefore, throughout this world, people are inclined to turn away from the Buddhas and the sutras, and no longer endeavor to protect them. Because of this, the benevolent deities and sages abandon the nation and leave their accustomed places. As a result, demons and evil spirits bring about disasters and cause calamities.

 Red faced, the guest said angrily: Emperor Ming of the Later Han dynasty, having comprehended the significance of his dream of a golden person, welcomed the teachings [of Buddhism] brought by white horses. In Japan, the opponents of Buddhism, led by Moriya of the Mononobe clan, were subdued by Prince Shōtoku, who subsequently constructed temples and pagodas. From that time, everyone, from the emperor down to the commoners, worshiped statues of Buddha and devoutly recited the sutras. As a result, in the monasteries of Mount Hiei and the southern capital at Nara, at the temples of Onjō-ji and Tō-ji, throughout the land bounded by the four seas, in the five countries of the capital area and along the seven roads, Buddha images and Buddhist scriptures have been ranged like stars in the sky, and halls of worship have spread like clouds. Priests following Shariputra pursue the Buddha’s wisdom as Shariputra did at Eagle Peak while other priests belonging to the Haklena School inherit Kashyapa’s practice of meditation. Who could possibly claim that the Buddhism taught by Shakyamuni is disrespected and the three treasures are disregarded? If there is proof to support what you say, I would like to hear it in detail.

 The host told him to persuade: Roofs of temples and pagodas about one another, while under their eaves, sutra repositories compete for space. Venerable priests are as common as bamboo trees or reeds, and monks are as plentiful as rice and hemp plants. For ages, the people have revered Buddhism, and their reverence and faith are renewed with each passing day. However, Buddhist priests today are arrogant, and they confuse the people and lead them astray. Kings and ministers do not realize this and cannot discern what is right or wrong in light of Buddhism.

 The Benevolent Kings Sutra says: “Evil monks, hoping to gain fame and profit, in many cases appear before the sovereign, the Crown Prince, or the princes, and preach the cause that leads to the destruction of the Buddha's Law and the nation. Failing to discern the fallacy of their words, the king devotedly trusts them, and proceeds to enact legislation willfully, disregarding the Buddha’s precepts. This means the cause and relationship of the destruction of Buddhism and the nation.

 The Nirvana Sutra states: “Bodhisattvas, have no fear of rampaging elephants. What you should fear are evil friends. . . Even if you are killed by a mad elephant, you will not fall into the three evil paths. But if you are killed by an evil friend, you are certain to fall into the three evil paths.”

 The Lotus Sutra says: Monks in the evil age will be cunning, have distorted minds and fawn over others. They think they have attained enlightenment though they have not. Their hearts filled with conceit and arrogance.

 Or wearing a shabby robe, a certain monk will place himself in quiet surroundings far removed from other people. Thinking that he carries out the true Buddhist practice, and looks down upon all others. Ruled by an insatiable desire for wealth and fame, evil monks will preach the doctrine for the lay believers. He will be respected in this world as if he is an arhat endowed with the divine powers of six kinds. Because in the midst of the great assembly he constantly tries to defame us [those propagating the Lotus Sutra], he will preach to the rulers, high ministers, Brahmans, householders, and other monks, slandering and blaming our errors, saying, ‘They are people of wicked views who preach non-Buddhist doctrines!'. A variety of terror will be filled in the evil age and in the wicked world. Demons will enter these people, pouring blame and harm on us. The evil monks of the defiled age do not understand the provisional and expedient teachings taught by the Buddha in accordance with the people’s capacity. Thus, they will speak ill of us and scowl with hatred, and we will be banished gain and again.


Continued

Original Text. Table of Contents.



by johsei1129 | 2020-05-15 21:32 | WRITING OF NICHIREN | Trackback | Comments(0)


<< Second Letter t...      Reply to Lord T... >>