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2019年 09月 01日

The Treatise of Establishing the Correct Teachings for the Peace and Safety of the Nation.1 立正安国論一

The Treatise of Establishing the Correct Teachings for the Peace and Safety of the Nation.1 立正安国論一_f0301354_09404634.gif

 










 


The Treatise of Establishing the Correct Teachings for the Peace and Safety of the Nation

Original text

■Date of writing: On July 16, 1260, at the age of 39, Nichiren Daishonin personally brought the scroll to Hojo Tokiyori (former regent), who was then the de facto supreme authority in the Kamakura shogunate.

■Place of writing: Jissoji Temple in Suruga Province (now Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture) and Kamakura

■Background of writing: Nichiren Daishonin, who was in Kamakura at the time, criticized four sects: the Nembutsu sect, which was widespread among the people at the time; the Zen sect, which was widely practiced by samurai; the precept sect; and the Shingon sect, because he attributed earthquakes, storms, famines, and plagues to their false teachings, including the Jodo sect (Honen's Nembutsu sect).

 He admonished the government to immediately stop the state's protection of these false sects, because if political protection or financial support through donations were given to these sects, five of the seven disasters mentioned in the Yakushi Sutra would have already occurred, and the remaining two disasters (invasion from other countries and rebellion in one's own land) would occur.

 Nichiren Daishonin was not calling for the prohibition of the four sects, but rather for the end of political protection by the Kamakura Shogunate. He sought to correct the people's individual beliefs through the propagation of the Lotus Sutra by himself and his disciples (monks).

As a result of this admonition, Nichiren Daishonin incurred the wrath of the Kamakura Shogunate officials and Tokiyori, who believed in the Zen sect of Buddhism.

 At Jisso-ji Temple, where Nichiren Daishonin visited to write the Rissho Ankoku-ron, there was in the temple's collection a copy of the complete Buddhist sutras of Shakyamuni Buddha, which Enchin had brought from Tang China.

  At this time, Nichiren Daishonin met Nikko Shonin, who would later become his successor. Nikko Shonin immediately admired Daishonin's virtues and became his disciple. It is said that many of the students who later studied at Jisso-ji Temple became Daishonin's disciples.


[The text]


  There was a traveler who spoke these words to his host in sorrow:

In recent years, there have been unusual disturbances in the heavens, strange occurrences on earth, famine and pestilence, all affecting every corner of the empire and spreading throughout the land. Oxen and horses lie dead in the streets, and the bones of the stricken crowd the highways. Over half the population has already been carried off by death, and there is hardly a single person who does not grieve.



All the while some put their whole faith in the “sharp sword” of the Buddha Amida and intone the name of this lord of the Western Land; others believe that hearing the name of the Buddha Medicine Master will “heal all ills” and recite the sutra that describes the Tathagata of the eastern region. Some, putting their trust in the passage in the Lotus Sutra that says, “His illness will be wiped out and he will know neither old age nor death,” pay homage to the wonderful words of that sutra; others, relying upon the sutra passage that reads, “The seven disasters will instantly vanish, and the seven blessings will instantly appear,” conduct ceremonies at which a hundred priests expound the sutra at a hundred preaching platforms. There are those who follow the esoteric teachings of the Shingon school and conduct rituals in which they fill five jars with water, and others who devote themselves entirely to seated meditation and try to perceive the emptiness of all phenomena as clearly as the moon. Some write out the names of the seven guardian spirits and paste them on a thousand gates, others paint pictures of the five mighty bodhisattvas and hang them over ten thousand thresholds, and still others pray to the heavenly gods and earthly deities in ceremonies conducted at the four corners of the capital and on the four boundaries of the nation. Taking pity on the plight of the common people, the sovereign carries out government on the national and local levels in a benevolent manner.

But despite all these efforts, they merely exhaust themselves in vain. Famine and epidemics rage more fiercely than ever, beggars are everywhere in sight, and scenes of death fill our eyes. Corpses pile up in mounds like observation platforms, and dead bodies lie side by side like planks on a bridge.

If we look about, we find that the sun and moon continue to move in their accustomed orbits, and the five planets follow the proper course. The three treasures of Buddhism continue to exist, and the period of a hundred reigns has not yet expired. Then why is it that the world has already fallen into decline and that the laws of the state have come to an end? What is wrong? What error has been committed?

The host then spoke; I have been brooding alone and vexed by this matter. But now that you came here, we can share our sorrow. Let us discuss the question for a while. When a person leaves this world and becomes a Buddhist, it is because he hopes to attain Buddhahood through the teachings of the Buddha. But attempts now to pray to the gods are not working any more, appeals to the power of the Buddha produce no results. When I observe the state of the world today in detail, I see that people doubt their future for ignorance. Therefore, looking to the heavens, people vent their resentment and they deepen a complaint toward the ground.

When I, with my limited knowledge, read the sutras carefully, all people have gone against the correct and become completely devoted to evil. This is why the benevolent deities have abandoned each other in this country, as a result, saints take leave from their land and do not return. Seizing this opportunity, devils and demons come over and disasters and calamities occur. I cannot hold silent. I can hardly suppress my fears.

The guest said: These disasters in this world and calamities of the nation are befalling, I am not the only one pained by these, the whole populace is weighed down with sorrow. Now you have allowed me into your orchid's abode, and I have heard your good words of fragrance. You say that the guardian deities and sages have abandoned the nation and that is why calamities follow one after another. In which sutra can we find such an idea? I would like to hear the proof.

The host said: There are numerous sentences and a wide variety of proofs.

The Golden Light Sutra says: "'Though this sutra existed in that nation, its ruler has never allowed it to be propagated. He has a mind to turn away from it and does not desire to hear its teachings. In addition, he is unwilling to do offerings, show respect, or praise it. Though when the four kinds of believers saw a person who holds the true Law, they did not respect him and did not give offerings to him. In the end, he makes it impossible that we and kindred and the countless heavens hear these deepest wonderful teachings. He deprives us of the sweet dew of its words and cuts us off from the flow of the correct teaching, and makes our majesty and strength extinguish. Thus, while many bad tastes decrease the number of humans and heavens. People fall into the river of the sufferings of birth and death and turn their backs on the road to nirvana.

Oh, the person who is respected, after witnessing all this, we, the heavens' four kings, various its kindreds, the yaksas, and others will abandon such countries and do not have the mind to protect them. And casting aside this ruler is not we alone. Though there are all the heavens and the benevolent deities who guard the countless different countries, they will also abandon him. And once we abandon and desert this nation, then many different types of disasters will occur in the country, and the ruler will fall from power. Every single person will lose their goodness. The people will be only captured, murdered, and battle. People will slander each other or fawn upon one another, and the innocent will be criminalized. Pestilence rages, comets come out again and again, two suns come forth side by side, and a solar eclipse or a lunar eclipse occur with abnormal frequency. Black and white rainbows will span the sky as harbingers of ill fortune, stars will fall, the earth will shake, and deep rumbling will be heard from wells. Torrential rains and violent winds will come out of season, famine will constantly occur, and grains and fruits will not ripen. Marauders from many other regions will invade and plunder the nation, the people will suffer all manner of pain and affliction, and there will be no place where one may live in safety'”. The sutra says above.


Continued

Original Text.  Table of Contents



by johsei1129 | 2019-09-01 08:16 | WRITING OF NICHIREN | Trackback | Comments(0)


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