大聖人様のお言葉 十 Words of Daishonin. 10

　第一　薬草喩品の事 　

　記の七に云く「無始の性徳は地の如く、大乗の心を発するは種の如し。

　On “The Words and Phrases,” volume seven, says, “The inborn Buddha nature that is without beginning or end is comparable to the earth, and arousing the heart and mind of seeking the Great Vehicle is comparable to the seeds.

　二乗の心を発するは草木の芽茎(げきょう)の如し。

　Arousing the heart and mind of seeking the two vehicles of voice-hearers and pratyekabuddhas is comparable to the sprouts and stalks of the plants.

　今初住に入るは同じく仏乗の芽茎等を成ずるが如し」と。

　 After that, when one enters the first stage of security and arouses the aspiration for Buddhahood, this is comparable to developing in a similar fashion the sprouts and stalks of the Buddha vehicle.”

　第三　雖一地所生 一雨所潤(すいいちじしょしょう・いちうしょにん)等の事

　Point Three, on the passage “Though all these plants and trees grow in the same earth and are moistened by the same rain, each has its differences and particulars.”

　一地とは迹門の大地、一雨とは本門の義天、一地とは従因至果、一雨とは従果向因、末法に至つて従果向因の一雨を弘通するなり。

　The “same earth” represents a teaching ‘from cause to effect,’ while the “same rain” represents a teaching ‘from effect to cause.’ Now that the Latter Day of the Law has arrived, we are propagating the “same rain” that represents the teaching ‘from effect to cause.’

　一雨とは題目に余行を交えざるなり。

　This “same rain” or “single rain” is the title unmixed with any other religious practice.

　一地とは五字の中の経の一字なり、一雨とは五字の中の妙の一字なり、法蓮華の三字は三千万法・中にも草木なり。

　The “same earth” or “single earth” represents the character kyō in the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo. The “same rain” or “single rain” represents the character myō. The other three characters, hō, ren, and ge, are the ten thousand phenomena of the three thousand worlds, particularly the plants and trees.

　三乗・五乗・七方便・九法界なり云云。

　 Also they are the three vehicles, the five vehicles, the seven expedient means, and the nine worlds.

　第四　破有法王(はうほうおう) 出現世間の事

　Point Four, the passage “The Dharma King, destroyer of being, / when he appears in the world / accords with the desires of living beings, / preaching the Law in a variety of ways.”

　又云く有と云うは我等が煩悩生死なり、

　Also the “being” stands for the realm of earthly desires and of birth and death.

　此の煩悩生死を捨てて別に菩提涅槃有りと云うは権教権門の心なり。

　The essence of the provisional teachings and the provisional doctrines is that one must cast aside the realm of earthly desires and of birth and death and enter a different realm, which is that of enlightenment and nirvana.

　今経の心は煩悩生死を其の儘(まま)置いて菩提涅槃と開く所を破と云うなり。

　But the essence of the present sutra, the Lotus, is that, while remaining right here in the realm of earthly desires and of birth and death without changing, one can achieve a state of enlightenment and nirvana. This is what is termed “destroyer.”

　

　第五　我観一切(がかんいっさい) 普皆平等(ふかいびょうどう) 無有彼此(むうひし) 愛憎之心 我無貪著 亦無限礙(やくむけんげ)の事

　

　Point Five, on the words “I look upon all things / as being universally equal, / I have no mind to favor this or that, / to love one or hate another. / I am without greed or attachment / and without limitation or hindrance.”

　御義口伝に云く、此の六句の文は五識なり。

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: The six lines of verse that make up this passage refer to the five levels of consciousness.

　我観一切普皆平等とは九識なり、

　The words “I look upon all things / as being universally equal” represent the ninth consciousness.

　無有彼此とは八識なり、

　The words “I have no mind to favor this or that” concern the eighth consciousness.

　愛憎之心とは七識なり、

　The words “I have no mind to love one or hate another” concern the seventh consciousness.

　我無貪著とは六識なり、

　The words “I am without greed or attachment” concern the sixth consciousness.

　亦無限礙とは五識なり、

　And the words “I am without limitation or hindrance” concern the other five consciousnesses.

　我等衆生の観法の大体なり。

　These five levels of consciousness constitute the basic nature of the way in which we living beings view things.

　今日蓮等の類い南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉る者は、豈我観一切普皆平等の九識の修行に非ずや。

　Now Nichiren and his associates, who humbly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, are practicing the ninth consciousness, that is, “I look upon all things / as being universally equal,” are they not?

　爾らば無有彼此に非ずや、

　And because they do so, they have no mind “to favor this or that,” have they?

　愛憎之心に非ずや、

　They have no mind “to love one or hate another,” have they?

　我無貪著に非ずや、

　They are “without greed or attachment,” are they not?

　亦無限礙に非ずや。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　【薬草喩品五箇の大事】

　They are “without limitation or hindrance,” are they not?

Chapter Five: The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs. Five important points

　第三　捨是身已(しゃぜしんい)の事

　

　Point Three, on the words “when he has cast off his present body” in the passage “This disciple of mine, / the great Maudgalyāyana, / when he has cast off his present body, / will be able to see eight thousand, / two hundred ten thousand million / Buddhas, World-Honored Ones.”

　御義口伝に云く、此の文段より捨・不捨の起こりなり。　

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines says: From this passage arises the question of whether one casts off one’s present body or does not cast it off.

　転捨にして永捨に非ず。

　To cast off means to do so temporarily or provisionally but not to cast off for all time.

　転捨は本門なり。永捨は迹門なり。

　Casting off temporarily is representative of the essential teaching, while casting off eternally is representative of the theoretical teaching.

　此の身を捨つるは煩悩即菩提・生死即涅槃の旨に背くなり云云。

　But to assert that one must cast off one’s present body in fact goes against the principles that earthly desires are enlightenment without change and that the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana as they are.

　

　所詮日蓮等の類い・南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉るは捨是身已なり、不惜身命の故なり云云。

　In the end, however, when Nichiren and his associates humbly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they have already “cast off” their present bodies. This is because, in doing so, they will show that they do not hesitate to give up their lives.

　又云く、此の身を捨(ほどこ)すと読む時は法界に五大を捨すなり。

　Also, if we take the word “to cast off” in the sense of “to offer up,” then the one offers up the five elements that make up one’s body to the Dharma-realm.

　捨つる処の義に非ず。

　But this is not the same thing as casting one’s body away.

　是の身を捨てて仏に成ると云うは権門の意なり、かかる執情を捨つるを捨是身已と説くなり。

　To assert that one must cast off one’s present body before one can attain Buddhahood is a doctrine of the provisional teachings. The true meaning of “casting off one’s body” consists in casting aside one’s feelings of attachment to such doctrines.

　此の文は一念三千の法門なり。　

　This passage on casting off the body is an expression of the concept of three thousand realms in a single moment of mind.

　捨是身已とは還帰本理(げんきほんり)、一念三千の意なり。

　“Casting off one’s body” means returning to and embracing the fundamental principle, which is the three thousand realms in a single moment of mind.

　妙楽大師の「当に知るべし、身土・一念三千なり。　

　This is what the Great Teacher Myoraku means when he says in his commentary On “Great Concentration and Insight,” volume five, “You should understand that one’s mind and its environment at a single moment encompass the three thousand realms.

　故に成道の時、此の本理に称(かな)いて一心一念法界に遍(あまね)し」と釈するは此の意なり云云。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　【授記品四箇の大事】

　

　Therefore, when one attains the Buddha way, one puts oneself in accord with this fundamental principle, and one’s body and mind at a single moment pervade the entire realm of phenomena.”

Chapter Six: Bestowal of Prophecy. Four important points

第一　化城(けじょう)の事

　Point One, concerning “the phantom city”

　御義口伝に云く、化とは色法なり。

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: The word “phantom,” refers to the element of form or the body.

　城とは心法なり。

　The word “city,” refers to the element of the mind.

　此の色心の二法を無常と説くは権教の心なり。

　The provisional teachings declare that these two elements of body and mind are characterized by impermanence.

　法華経の意(こころ)は無常を常住と説くなり。

　But the message of the Lotus Sutra is the assertion that this impermanence is in fact a state of permanent abiding.

　化城即宝処なり。

　That is, the phantom city is the treasure land as it is, the place where the treasure is to be found.

　所詮、今・日蓮等の類い・南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉る者は、色心を妙法と開くを化城即宝処と云うなり。

　After all, now Nichiren and his associates, people who humbly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, gain enlightenment into the fact that our bodies and minds are the Wonderful Law itself, namely, that the phantom city is the treasure land as it is.

　十界皆化城・十界各各宝処なり。

　The Ten Worlds (Note) are all of them phantom cities as they are, and each of these Ten Worlds is a treasure land without change.

　化城は九界なり、宝処は仏界なり。

　Or again, the phantom city is the nine worlds other than Buddhahood, and the treasure land is the state of Buddhahood.

　化城を去つて宝処に至ると云うは五百由旬の間なり。　

　From the phantom city to the treasure land is a distance of five hundred yojanas.

　此の五百由旬とは見思・塵沙・無明なり。

　This distance of five hundred yojanas is symbolic of the illusions of thought and desire, of the dust and sands that impede religious practice, and of darkness or ignorance.

　此の煩悩の五百由旬を妙法の五字と開くを化城即宝処と云うなり。

　To understand that these five hundred yojanas of earthly desires are the five characters of the Wonderful Law means to realize that the phantom city is the treasure land as it is.

　化城即宝処とは即の一字は南無妙法蓮華経なり。

　In this statement that the phantom city is the treasure land as it is, the single word “as they are” is symbolic of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

　念念の化城・念念の宝処なり。

　Each moment of mind in the phantom city is a moment of mind in the treasure land.

　

　我等が色心の二法を無常と説くは権教なり。　

　The provisional teachings assert that the elements of our bodies and minds are characterized by impermanence.

　常住と説くは法華経なり。　

　But the Lotus Sutra asserts that they are permanently abiding.

　無常と執する執情を滅するを即滅化城と云うなり。

　To wipe out all attachment to this concept of impermanence means to wipe out the phantom city.

　第六　即滅化城の事

　

　Point Six, on the words “wipe out the phantom city” in the passage “At that time the leader, knowing that the people have become rested and are no longer fearful or weary, wipes out the phantom city and says to the group, ‘You must go now. The place where the treasure is is close by.’”

　御義口伝に云く、我等が滅する当体は化城なり。

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: The entities or bodies of ours will be wiped out. In this sense it is a phantom city.

　此の滅を滅と見れば化城なり。

　That is, if we take this wiping out as a true wiping out or extinction, then our bodies are a phantom city.

　不滅の滅と知見するを宝処とは云うなり。

　But if we have the wisdom to see that this wiping out is not a true wiping out or extinction but only an aspect of eternal life, then it is a place of treasure, a treasure land.

　是を寿量品にしては而実不滅度(にじつふめつど)とは説くなり。

　This is what the “Life Span” chapter means when it says, “But in fact I have not passed to extinction.”

　滅と云う見を滅するを滅と云うなり。

　To wipe out the concept of wiping out itself is the true wiping out.

　三権即一実の法門之を思う可し。

　This is the doctrine embodied in the assertion that the three vehicles expounded in the provisional teachings are in fact the one vehicle of the true teaching as they are.

　或は即滅化城とは謗法の寺塔を滅する事なり。

　Also, the words “wipe out the phantom city” refer to the wiping out of the temples of the slanderers of the Law.

　

　今、日蓮等の類い・南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉る者は化城即宝処なり。

　Now, when Nichiren and his associates humbly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they are revealing that the phantom city is none other than the treasure land as it is.

　我等が居住の山谷曠野(こうや)・皆皆常寂光の宝処なり云云。

　

　 These mountain valleys and broad plains where we live are all, every one of them, treasure lands of Eternally Tranquil Light.

第七　皆共至宝処(かいぐし・ほうしょ)の事

　Point Seven, on the passage “Now you must press forward diligently / so that together you may all reach the place where the treasure is.”

　御義口伝に云く、皆とは十界なり。

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: The word “all” refers to the Ten Worlds.

　共とは如我等無異なり。

　The word “together” refers to the words of the Buddha in chapter two, Expedient Means “hoping to make all persons / equal to me, without any distinction between us.”

　至とは極果の住処なり。

　The word “reach” means to arrive at the level of the highest effect, the state of Buddhahood.

　宝処とは霊山なり。

　“The place where the treasure is,” the treasure land, is Spirit Mountain.

　日蓮等の類い・南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉る者は一同に皆共至宝処なり。　

　Nichiren and his associates who humbly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, one and all will “together reach the place where the treasure is.”

　共の一字は日蓮に共する時は宝処に至る可し。

　This one word “together” means that, as long as they are together with Nichiren, they will reach the treasure land.

　不共ならば阿鼻大城に堕つ可し云云。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　【化城喩品七箇の大事】

　

　But if they are not together with him, they will fall into the great citadel of the Avīchi (Note) hell.

　　　Chapter Seven: The Parable of the Phantom City. Seven important points

第一 衣裏(えり)の事

　Point One, concerning the parable of the jewel in the robe in the “Prophecy of Enlightenment for Five Hundred Disciples” chapter

　御義口伝に云く、此の品には無価(むげ)の宝珠を衣裏に繋(か)くる事を説くなり。

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: This chapter tells the story of the priceless jewel that was sewn into the lining of a man’s robe.

　所詮日蓮等の類い南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉る者は一乗妙法の智宝(ちほう)を信受するなり。

　After all, it means that Nichiren and his associates, who humbly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, have accepted and taken faith in the wisdom jewel of the Wonderful Law of the one vehicle.

　信心を以て衣裏(えり)にかくと云うなり。

　

　Faith is the sewing into the robe.

　第二　酔酒而臥(すいしゅにが)の事

　Point Two, on the passage “World-Honored One, it was like the case of a man who went to the house of a close friend and, having become drunk on wine, lay down to sleep.”

　御義口伝に云く、酒とは無明なり、無明は謗法なり、

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: The wine stands for ignorance, and ignorance leads to slander of the Law.

　臥とは謗法の家に生るる事なり、

　To lie down means to be born into a family that slanders the Law.

　三千塵点の当初(そのかみ)に悪縁の酒を呑みて五道六道に酔い廻(めぐ)りて今謗法の家に臥したり。

　At the past a number of years equal to the dust of the microcosm, certain persons drank the wine of evil influence; as a result, in a drunken state they kept transmigrating through the five or six lower realms of existence, and now they have been born into families that slander the Law.

　酔とは不信なり、覚とは信なり。　　　

　To be drunk means to be lacking in faith; to sober up means to have faith.

　

　今日蓮等の類い・南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉る時、無明の酒醒(さ)めたり。

　Now, when Nichiren and his associates humbly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they are in effect sobering up from the wine of ignorance.

　又云く酒に重重之れ有り。

　Also, when it comes to wine, there are various gradations.

　権教は酒・法華経は醒めたり。

　The provisional teachings represent a certain kind of wine, in relation to which the teachings of the Lotus Sutra represent a state of sobering up.

　本迹相対する時、迹門は酒なり、始覚の故なり、

　And as to the relationship between the theoretical teaching and the essential teaching, the theoretical teaching represents a kind of wine, because it depicts the Buddha as having attained enlightenment for the first time during his lifetime in India.

　本門は醒めたり本覚の故なり。

　 The essential teaching represents a sobering up from this wine, because it reveals that the Buddha originally attained enlightenment in the remote past.

　又本迹二門は酒なり、南無妙法蓮華経は醒めたり。

　Also, both the theoretical teaching and the essential teaching is to represent a kind of wine, while Nam-myoho-renge-kyo represents the sobering up from this wine.

　酒と醒むるとは相離れざるなり。

　The wine and the sobering up from it are mutually inseparable.

　酒は無明なり、醒むるは法性なり。

　The wine is ignorance, and the sobering up from it is the realization of the Dharma nature.

　法は酒なり、妙は醒めたり。

　Hō, or “dharmas” (phenomena), stands for wine, and myō, or “wonderful,” stands for the sobering up.

　妙法と唱うれば無明・法性体一なり。

　When we chant myōhō, or the Wonderful Law, we are expressing the idea that ignorance and a realization of the Dharma nature are in fact a single entity.

　止の一に云く「無明塵労・即ち是菩提」と。

　Thus volume one of Great Concentration and Insight says, “The ignorance and dust of earthly desires are none other than enlightenment as they are.”

　第三　身心遍歓喜の事

　

　Point Three, on the words “in body and mind we are all filled with joy” in the passage “Now we have heard from the Buddha / these solemn prophecies, / and how each in turn will bestow a prophecy on his successor, / and in body and mind we are all filled with joy.”

　御義口伝に云く、身とは生死即涅槃なり。心とは煩悩即菩提なり。

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: “Body” here refers to the principle that the sufferings of birth and death are none other than nirvana without change, while “mind” refers to the principle that earthly desires are none other than enlightenment as it is.

　遍とは十界同時なり。

　“All” refers to the fact that all the Ten Worlds participate simultaneously.

　歓喜とは法界同時の歓喜なり。

　“Joy” refers to the joy experienced by the entire Dharma-realm simultaneously.

　此の歓喜の内には三世諸仏の歓喜納まるなり。　

　Within this joy is contained the joy of all the Buddhas of the three existences of past, present, and future.

　今日蓮等の類い・南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉れば我則歓喜とて釈尊・歓喜し給うなり。

　Now because Nichiren and his associates humbly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Shakyamuni Buddha experiences joy, as he indicates in the words in chapter eleven, Treasure Tower, “I will surely rejoice.”

　歓喜とは善悪共に歓喜なり。

　This joy is shared by the good and evil realms alike.

　十界同時なり。

　It is shared by the Ten Worlds simultaneously.

　深く之を思う可し云云。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　【五百弟子品三箇の大事】

　 You must give careful thought to this.　

Chapter Eight: Prophecy of Enlightenment for Five Hundred Disciples. Three important points

　第一　学無学の事

　Point One, on the terms “learners” and “achievers” in the “Prophecies Conferred on Learners and Achievers” chapter

　学・無学の人とは日本国の一切衆生なり。

　These “learners and achievers” are all the living beings in the country of Japan.

　智者愚者をしなべて南無妙法蓮華経の記を説きて而強毒之(にごうどくし)するなり。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　人記品二箇の大事

　 On all of them, wise and foolish alike, we bestow the prophecy of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, “preaching to them forcefully, though it angers them” as volume ten of Words and Phrases says.

　Chapter Nine: Prophecies Conferred on Learners and Achievers. Two important points

つづく　To be continued