大聖人様のお言葉 十一 Words of Daishonin 11

　第一　法師の事

　

　Point One, concerning “the teacher of the Law”

　御義口伝に云く、法とは諸法なり、

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: The word “Law” here stands for the various phenomena of existence.

　師とは諸法が直ちに師と成るなり、

　The word “teacher” indicates that all these various phenomena act directly as our teacher.

　森羅三千の諸法が直ちに師と成り・弟子となるべきなり。

　That is, the varied and numberless phenomena of the three thousand realms act directly as our teacher and become our disciples.

　今日蓮等の類い・南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉る者は法師の中の大法師なり。　

　Now Nichiren and his associates, who humbly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, are the greatest among the teachers of the Law.

　

　諸法実相の開覚(かいかく)顕はれて見れば地獄の灯燃猛火(とうねんみょうか)・乃至仏果に至る迄・悉く具足して一念三千の法師なり。　

　 For when one reaches a realization of the true aspect of all phenomena, then one will find that everything, from the burning fierce fires of hell to the effect of attaining Buddhahood, exists in one’s minds, and that one is a teacher of the Law concerning the principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of mind.

　又云く法とは題目、師とは日蓮等の類いなり。　

　Or again the word “Law” in the title “The Teacher of the Law” represents the title, and the word “teacher” represents Nichiren and his associates.

　第二 成就大願 愍衆生故(みんしゅじょうこ) 生於悪世 広演此経の事

　Point Two, on the persons who “have fulfilled their great vow, . . . because they pity living beings, they are born in this evil world so they may broadly expound this sutra.”

　 御義口伝に云く、大願とは法華弘通なり、

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: The “great vow” refers to the propagation of the Lotus Sutra.

　愍衆生故とは日本国の一切衆生なり、

　“Because they pity living beings” refers to all the living beings in the country of Japan.

　生於悪世の人とは日蓮等の類いなり、

　The persons who “are born in this evil world” are Nichiren and his associates.

　広とは南閻浮提なり、

　“Broadly” means to expound the sutra throughout the continent of the whole world.

　此経とは題目なり。

　 “This sutra” refers to the title.

　今日蓮等の類い南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉る者なり。

　The above passage refers to Nichiren and his associates, who chant the title, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

第七 衣座室(えざしつ)の事

　Point Seven, on the robe, the seat, and the room in the passage “Medicine King, if there are good men and good women who, after the Tathagata has entered extinction, wish to expound this Lotus Sutra for the four kinds of believers, how should they expound it? These good men and good women should enter the Tathagata’s room, put on the Tathagata’s robe, sit in the Tathagata’s seat, and then for the sake of the four kinds of believers broadly expound this sutra.”

　御義口伝に云く、衣座室とは法報応の三身なり、空仮中の三諦、身口意の三業なり。

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: The robe, the seat, and the room represent the three bodies of the Buddha, the Dharma body, the reward body, and the manifested body; the three truths, the truth of non-substantiality, the truth of temporary existence, and the truth of the Middle Way; and the three categories of action, actions of the body, mouth, and mind.

　今日蓮等の類い南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉る者は此の三軌を一念に成就するなり。

　Now Nichiren and his associates, who humbly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, are fulfilling these three rules of preaching represented by the robe, the seat, and the room in each moment of their minds.

　

　衣とは柔和忍辱の衣、当著忍辱鎧(とうじゃくにんにくがい)是なり。　

　The robe is the robe that is “gentle and forbearing” (chapter ten), as well as that which is referred to in the passage that says, “We . . .will put on the armor of perseverance” (chapter thirteen, Encouraging Devotion).

　

　座とは不惜身命の修行なれば空座に居するなり。　

　The seat signifies devoting oneself to the practice without begrudging one’s life. This means to reside in the seat of emptiness.

　室とは慈悲に住して弘むる故なり、母の子を思うが如くなり。

　The room denotes propagating the true Law with great compassion. It is just as a mother feels toward her child.

　豈一念に三軌を具足するに非ずや。

　

　And are we not fulfilling these three rules of preaching in each moment of our minds?

第八 欲捨諸懈怠(けたい) 応当聴此経(おうとうちょうしきょう)の事

　Point Eight, on the passage “If you wish to put aside all sloth and negligence, / you must listen to this sutra.”

　御義口伝に云く、諸の懈怠とは四十余年の方便の経教なり。悉く皆懈怠の経なり。

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: The words “all sloth and negligence” refer to the teachings of the sutras that were expounded as expedient means during the more than forty years following the Buddha’s enlightenment. These are all sutras of “sloth and negligence.”

　此経とは題目なり。

　“This sutra” indicates the daimoku.

　

　今日蓮等の類い・南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉るは、是れ即ち精進なり。

　Now Nichiren and his associates, who humbly chant daimoku, or Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, are diligent in their efforts.

　応当聴此経は是なり。

　This is why the sutra says, “You must listen to this sutra.”

　応(まさ)に日蓮に此の経を聞くべしと云えり云云。

　

　This is exactly what it means that you must listen to Nichiren what this sutra means.

第十二 若人欲加悪 刀杖及瓦石 則遣変化人(そっけんへんげにん) 為之作衛護(しいさ・えご)の事

　Point Twelve, on the passage “If someone thinks to do evil to the preachers / with swords and staves or with tiles and stones, / I will dispatch persons of my incarnation / who will act to guard and protect them.”

　御義口伝に云く、変化人とは竜口守護の八幡大菩薩なり。

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: “Persons of my incarnation” is the guardian and protector, the Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, who appeared at Tatsunokuchi.

　今日蓮等の類い・南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉る者を守護す可しと云う経文なり。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　法師品十五箇の大事

　This passage in the sutra indicates that such deities will guard and protect Nichiren and his associates, who now chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo humbly.

　Chapter Ten: The Teacher of the Law. Sixteen important points

　第一 宝塔の事 　

　Point One, concerning “the treasure tower”

　文句の八に云く「前仏已に居し、今仏並びに座す、当仏も亦然なり」と。

　Words and Phrases, volume eight, says, “The former Buddha, Many Treasures, is already there in the tower. The present Buddha, Shakyamuni, seats himself beside him. Future Buddhas will also do likewise.”

　御義口伝に云く、宝とは五陰(おん)なり。

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: The word “treasure” stands for the five components of life, form, perception, conception, volition, and consciousness.

　塔とは和合なり。

　The word “tower” means unity.

　五陰和合を以て宝塔と云うなり。

　The five components functioning in harmony are designated a treasure tower.

　此の五陰和合とは妙法の五字なりと見る、是を見とは云うなり。

　The harmony of the five components emerges or is seen in the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo. This is the meaning of the word ken, to emerge or to be seen.

　今日蓮等の類い・南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉る者は見宝塔なり。

　Now Nichiren and his associates, who humbly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, see the emergence of the treasure tower.

第三 四面皆出(しめんかいすい)の事

　

　Point Three, on the passage “All four sides emitted a fragrance of tamālapatra and sandalwood that pervaded the whole world.”

　文句の八に云く「四面出香(しめんすいこう)とは四諦の道風・四徳の香を吹くなり」と。

　Words and Phrases, volume eight, says, “The words ‘All four sides emitted a fragrance’ mean that the wind of the way represented by the four noble truths wafts a fragrance of the four virtues or pāramitās, namely, happiness, true self, purity, and eternity.”

　御義口伝に云く、四面とは生老病死なり。

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: The words “four sides” stand for birth, aging, sickness, and death.

　四相を以て我等が一身の塔を荘厳するなり。

　We use the aspects of birth, aging, sickness, and death to solemnly adorn the towers that are our bodies.

　我等が生老病死に南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉るは併(しかしなが)ら四徳の香を吹くなり。

　And when, while in these four states of birth, aging, sickness, and death, we humbly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, we cause them to waft forth the fragrance of the four virtues.

　南無とは楽波羅蜜、妙法とは我波羅蜜、蓮華とは浄波羅蜜、経とは常波羅蜜なり。

　Nam stands for the pāramitā of happiness, myōhō for the pāramitā of true self, renge for the pāramitā of purity, and kyō for the pāramitā of eternity.

第五 見大宝塔 住在空中の事　

　Point Five, on the passage “At that time the four kinds of believers saw the great treasure tower in the air.”

　

　御義口伝に云く、見大宝塔とは我等が一身なり。

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: The words “saw the great treasure tower” refer to our individual bodies.

　住在空中とは我等衆生・終に滅に帰する事なり。

　“In the air” refers to the fact that we living beings in the end will pass away and return to our origin.

　今日蓮等の類い・南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉りて信心に住する処が住在空中なり。　

　Now when Nichiren and his associates humbly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and maintain their faith in it, they are “in the air.”

　虚空会に住するなり。　　

　They are in the Ceremony in the Air.

　第六 国名宝浄 彼中有仏 号曰多宝の事

　Point Six, on the passage “Long ago, an immeasurable thousand, ten thousand, million asamkhyas of worlds to the east, in a land called Treasure Purity, there was a Buddha named Many Treasures.”

　御義口伝に云く、宝浄世界とは我等が母の胎内なり。

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: The Treasure Purity World is the wombs of our mothers.

　有仏とは諸法実相の仏なり。

　“There was a Buddha” refers to the Buddha with the true aspect of all phenomena.

　爰を以て多宝仏と云うなり。

　Here he is called Many Treasures Buddha.

　胎内とは煩悩を云うなり。

　The womb is the realm of earthly desires.

　煩悩の淤泥(おでい)の中に真如の仏あり。

　The Buddha of the true aspect of reality resides in the midst of the mud and mire of earthly desires. This refers to us living beings.

　我等衆生の事なり。

　This refers to us living beings.

　今日蓮等の類い・南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉るを当体蓮華の仏と云うなり云云。

　

　Now when Nichiren and his associates humbly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they are the entity Buddhas of the lotus.

　第七 於十方国土 有説法華経処 我之塔廟 為聴是経故 涌現其前 為作証明 讃言善哉(さんごんぜんざい)の事

　Point Seven, on the passage “If, after I have become a Buddha and entered extinction, in the lands in the ten directions there is any place where the Lotus Sutra is preached, then my funerary tower, in order that I may listen to the sutra, will come forth and appear in that spot to testify to the sutra and praise its excellence.”

　御義口伝に云く、十方とは十界なり。

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: The words “ten directions” refer to the Ten Worlds.

　法華経とは我等衆生・流転の十二因縁なり。

　The Lotus Sutra explains the twelve-linked chain of causation that determines the unceasing changes that we living beings undergo.

　仍(よっ)て言語の音声を指すなり。

　Therefore the words “Lotus Sutra” refer to the sound of our words.

　善哉とは善悪不二・邪正一如なり。　

　The words “its excellence” tell us that good and evil are not two different things, and that wicked and correct are a single entity.

　今日蓮等の類い・南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉る処を多宝涌現と云うなり。

　

　Now the place where Nichiren and his associates humbly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is where the Buddha Many Treasures comes forth and makes his appearance.

　第十一 摂諸大衆 皆在虚空の事

　

　Point Eleven, on the passage “Immediately Shakyamuni Buddha used his transcendental powers to lift all the members of the great assembly up into the air.”

　御義口伝に云く、大衆とは聴衆なり、皆在虚空とは我等が死の相なり。

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: “The great assembly” is the listeners. “All the members of the great assembly up into the air” represents the state of our existence after death.

　今日蓮等の類い・南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉る者は生死即涅槃と開覚するを皆在虚空と説くなり、生死即涅槃と被摂(ひしょう)するなり。

　Now when Nichiren and his associates humbly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they are realizing that the sufferings of birth and death are none other than nirvana, a state that is described in the phrase “all up into the air.” We are lifted up for the sufferings of birth and death are none other than nirvana as they are.

　大地は色法なり、虚空は心法なり。　

　The earth represents the element of the body, while the air represents the element of the mind.

　

　色心不二と心得可きなり。

　But we should understand that body and mind are not two different entities.

　虚空とは寂光土なり。

　The air represents the Land of Eternally Tranquil Light.

　

　又云く虚空とは蓮華なり。経とは大地なり、妙法は天なり、

　Also, in terms of Myoho-renge-kyo the air represents renge, earth represents kyō, and heaven represents myōhō.

　虚空とは中なり。

　The air is what exists in the middle between heaven and earth.

　一切衆生・仏菩薩、蓮華に座するなり。

　Among all the living beings there will be bodhisattvas who sit in the lotus seat.

　此れを妙法蓮華経と説かれたり。

　This is what is expressed in the words Myoho-renge-kyo.

　経に云く「若在(にゃくざい)仏前・蓮華化生(けしょう)」と。

　Hence the “Devadatta” chapter of the Lotus Sutra says, “In future ages if there are good men or good women who, on hearing the ‘Devadatta’ chapter of the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law, believe and revere it with pure hearts and harbor no doubts or perplexities, they will never fall into hell or the realm of hungry spirits or of animals, but will be born in the presence of the Buddhas of the ten directions, and in the place where they are born they will constantly hear this sutra. If they are born among human or heavenly beings, they will enjoy exceedingly wonderful delights, and if they are born in the presence of a Buddha, they will be born by transformation from lotus flowers.”

第十三 若有能持 則持仏身の事

　Point Thirteen, on the passage “For the sake of the Buddha way / in immeasurable numbers of lands / from the beginning until now / I have widely preached many sutras, / and among them / this sutra is foremost. / If one can uphold this sutra, / then he will be upholding the Buddha’s body as he is.”

　御義口伝に云く、法華経を持ち奉るとは我が身仏身と持つなり。

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: To uphold the Lotus Sutra is to uphold belief in the fact that our bodies are the Buddha’s body.

　則の一字は生仏不二なり。

　The word “as he is” indicates that living beings and the Buddha are not two different things.

　上の能持の持は凡夫なり。

　The first “uphold” in the phrase “If one can uphold this sutra” stands for ordinary mortals.

　持つ体は妙法の五字なり。

　The entity to be upheld is the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo.

　仏身を持つと云うは一一文文皆金色仏体の故なり。

　We speak of this as “upholding the Buddha’s body” because each and every word of the Lotus Sutra is the golden-colored body of the Buddha.

　さて仏身を持つとは、我が身の外に仏無しと持つを云うなり。

　To uphold the body of the Buddha means that outside of our own bodies there is no Buddha.

　理即の凡夫と究竟即の仏と二無きなり。

　That is, the ordinary mortal at the stage of being a Buddha in theory, is not different from the Buddha at the stage of ultimate enlightenment.

　即の字は「即の故に初後不二」の故なり云云。

　Because the word "as he is" indicates the fact that the first and last are no different from one another.

　第十四 此経難持の事

　Point Fourteen, on the words “This sutra is hard to uphold” in the passage “This sutra is hard to uphold; / if one can uphold it even for a short while / I will surely rejoice / and so will the other Buddhas. / A person who can do this / wins the admiration of the Buddhas. / This is what is meant by valor, / this is what is meant by diligence. / This is what is called observing the precepts / and practicing dhūta. / This way one will quickly attain / the unsurpassed Buddha way. / And if in future existences / one can read and uphold this sutra, / he will be a true son of the Buddha, / dwelling in a land spotless and good.”

　御義口伝に云く、此の法華経を持つ者は難に遇(あ)わんと心得て持つなり。

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: One who upholds this Lotus Sutra upholds it with the understanding that one will encounter difficulties.

　されば即為疾得(そくいしっとく)無上仏道の成仏は、今日蓮等の類い・南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉る是なり云云。

　And the attainment of Buddhahood referred to in the words “This way one will quickly attain / the unsurpassed Buddha way”—this is now what Nichiren and his associates attain when they humbly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

第十六 是名持戒(ぜみょうじかい)の事

　Point Sixteen, on the words “I name it as upholding precepts”

　御義口伝に云く、此の経文にて三学倶伝(ぐでん)するなり。

　Orally Transmitted Doctrines say: All three types of learning are encompassed in this passage of the sutra.

　虚空不動戒・虚空不動定・虚空不動慧、三学倶(とも)に伝うるを名づけて妙法と曰うと。

　In his Questions and Answers on Regulations for Students of the Tendai Lotus School, Dengyō states, “The spacelike immovable precepts, the spacelike immovable meditation, and the spacelike immovable wisdom—these three all together are transmitted under the name the Wonderful Law.”

　戒とは色法なり。 　

　Precepts pertain to the element of the body.

　定とは心法なり。

　Meditation pertains to the element of the mind.

　慧とは色心二法の振舞なり。

　Wisdom pertains to the actions of the two elements of the body and the mind.

　倶(ぐ)の字は南無妙法蓮華経の一念三千なり。

　The words “all together” in the statement above refer to the state of three thousand realms in a single moment of mind, which is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

　伝とは末法万年を指すなり。

　“Transmitted” indicates that it is transmitted to the ten thousand years of the Latter Day of the Law.

　今日蓮等の類い・南無妙法蓮華経と唱え奉り、権教は無得道・法華経は真実と修行する、是は戒なり。　

　Now Nichiren and his associates humbly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, putting into practice the doctrine that the provisional teachings do not lead to the attainment of the way but that the Lotus Sutra represents the real truth, and this corresponds to the precepts. 防非止悪(ぼうひしあく)の義なり。The precepts are intended to prevent errors and put an end to evil.

　持つ所の行者・決定無有疑(けつじょうむうぎ)の仏体と定む、是は定なり。　

　The practitioner who upholds the principle of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is certainly “a person who assuredly and without doubt / will attain the Buddha way” (chapter twenty-one, Supernatural Powers), and this certainly corresponds to meditation.

　三世の諸仏の智慧を一返の題目に受持する、是は慧なり。　

　The wisdom of the Buddhas of the three existences of past, present, and future is embraced and upheld in each single recitation of the title, and this corresponds to wisdom.

　此の三学は皮肉骨・三身・三諦(さんたい)・三軌(さんき)・三智等なり。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　宝塔品二十箇の大事

　

　These three types of learning correspond to skin, flesh, and bones, to the three bodies of a Buddha, to the three truths, to the three rules of preaching, and to the three kinds of wisdom.

　Chapter Eleven: The Emergence of the Treasure Tower. Twenty important points

つづく　　To be continued