This is a translation of an installment of a Soka Gakkai Study Department series, published in the January 2024 issue of the Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal.
With the attack on Japan by the Mongol forces of the Yuan dynasty[1] in the tenth month of 1274 (known as the Battle of Bun’ei), “the calamity of invasion by foreign lands” Nichiren Daishonin had warned of became a reality.
The invasion ended with the Mongols’ sudden withdrawal. But a few months later, they dispatched five official envoys, including the Yuan bureaucrat Du Shizhong, a Mongolian native, who arrived in Murotsu, Nagato Province[2] on the fifteenth day of the fourth month in 1275.
Their purpose was to demand Japan pay tribute to the Mongol Empire. Rather than treating them as diplomats, however, the Kamakura shogunate immediately took them prisoner, transferred them to Kamakura and, on the seventh day of the ninth month, beheaded them at Tatsunokuchi.
Nichiren soon learned about the executions from a report by the lord Nishiyama, a disciple who had just returned home to Suruga Province[3] from Kamakura. In his response, Nichiren writes, “It is indeed a pity that … the innocent Mongol envoys have been beheaded” (“The Mongol Envoys,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 628), expressing regret and anger at the shogunate’s brutality and his sympathy for the envoys.
Three years later in 1278, Nichiren again criticized the shogunate for its mistake: “How pitiful that Hei no Saemon and the lord of Sagami[4] failed to heed me! If they had, they would surely not have beheaded the envoys from the Mongol empire who arrived a few years ago. No doubt they regret it now” (“A Father Takes Faith,” WND-1, 845).
The Writing of ‘The Selection of the Time’
After the beheadings, in 1275, when growing tensions with the Yuan dynasty raised fears in Japan that the Mongols would retaliate, Nichiren wrote “The Selection of the Time,”[5] one of his five major writings.[6]
He begins the work stating its main theme: “When it comes to studying the teachings of Buddhism, one must first learn to understand the time” (WND-1, 538). When propagating Buddhism, he explains, “the time” is the key criterion; one should spread the Buddhist teaching that best corresponds to the time.
From the Buddhist perspective, “time” here refers to a period in which a particular teaching should be taught.
He then provides scriptural proof for the assertion that the essence of the Lotus Sutra, the Mystic Law, will spread throughout the world during the fifth 500-year period after Shakyamuni’s passing (the start of the Latter Day of the Law). The evidence comes from the sutra’s “Former Affairs of the Bodhisattva Medicine King,” the 23rd chapter, where it reads “After I have passed into extinction, in the last five-hundred-year period you must spread it abroad widely throughout Jambudvipa [the entire world] and never allow it to be cut off” (The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, p. 330).
He also confirms that this fifth 500-year period is an evil age. It is a time when eminent priests possessed by evil demons[7] (arrogant false sages) will deceive the rulers and the common people (arrogant laypeople) so that they persecute the person of wisdom (the votary of the Lotus Sutra) who propagates the true teachings of the Buddha.
Because persecuting the Lotus Sutra’s votary constitutes the grave slander of destroying the correct teaching, he then says that Shakyamuni, Many Treasures and the Buddhas of the ten directions will urge the heavenly gods and benevolent deities to warn the rulers against this slander. These warnings, he says, comprise strange occurrences and unusual disturbances appearing in abundance in the heavens and on earth.
Moreover, he states that if the rulers disregard this warning, “then great struggles and disputes such as have never been known in the past will break out in Jambudvipa” (“The Selection of the Time,” WND-1, 542). At that time, the people, fearing for their lives, “in one voice will chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” (WND-1, 542).
Esoteric Teachings Will Ruin the Nation
Next, Nichiren details the history of the spread of Buddhism in India, China and Japan during the Former, Middle and Latter Days of the Law.[8] He declares that he is “the foremost votary of the Lotus Sutra in the entire land of Jambudvipa” (WND-1, 552) because he has endured the persecutions that the sutra predicts will befall one who propagates the correct teaching.
As he recounts this history, Nichiren repeatedly asserts that until he appeared, the true meaning of the Lotus Sutra had never been taught. He then raises the question about the name and nature of this profound teaching to be spread throughout the world at the beginning of the Latter Day. In response, he says, “But first, before clarifying this Law, there are three important concerns that I must mention” (WND-1, 560). These are the erroneous teachings of the Buddhist schools of his day, “the Nembutsu school, the Zen school, and the True Word school” (WND-1, 561).
But there is something even worse than these, he writes, “so evil that it is a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, million times more difficult to believe” (WND-1, 569). This refers to the conduct of the third chief priest of the Tendai school, Jikaku. Until Jikaku’s time, the Tendai school revered the Lotus Sutra above all other sutras, in line with the teachings of its founder, the Great Teacher Dengyo. But Jikaku lost sight of his mentor’s true intent and advocated the erroneous doctrine that the esoteric teachings are superior to the Lotus Sutra.
Nichiren strictly denounces this error. He warns that if True Word priests, who uphold teachings that are ruinous to the country, perform esoteric prayers to defeat the Mongols, those prayers will “rebound upon the originator”[9] (WND-1, 573) and bring ruin to the nation.
The Person Who Upholds the Lotus Sutra Is Foremost
When he wrote “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land” in 1260, Nichiren condemned as the “one evil” (WND-1, 15) to be outlawed the doctrine known as the exclusive practice of the Nembutsu.[10] That was because it disparages the Lotus Sutra and leads people to slander the correct teaching, thus inviting the nation’s ruin.
When he wrote “The Selection of the Time” 15 years later, his greatest concern was society’s tendency to rely on the prayers of esoteric Buddhism. In particular, amid the intensifying national crisis over a feared invasion, he begins to point out the errors of the one school he had previously avoided refuting: the Tendai school. This school had gravely erred by holding the doctrines and practices of the esoteric teachings to be superior to the Lotus Sutra.
Nichiren recalls how he had foreseen the calamities of internal revolt and foreign invasion and publicly warned of them: “Three times now I have gained distinction by having such knowledge” (“The Selection of the Time,” WND-1, 579). Further, he asserts that these calamities are actually good omens that portend the spread of the correct teaching because they will lead people to seek it.
He writes:
Little streams come together to form the great ocean, and tiny particles of dust accumulate to form Mount Sumeru. When I, Nichiren, first took faith in the Lotus Sutra, I was like a single drop of water or a single particle of dust in all the country of Japan. But later, when two people, three people, ten people, and eventually a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, and a million people come to recite the Lotus Sutra and transmit it to others, then they will form a Mount Sumeru of perfect enlightenment, an ocean of great nirvana. Seek no other path by which to attain Buddhahood! (WND-1, 579–80)
He continues by referencing the Great Teacher Dengyo and the Lotus Sutra, and he declares that a person who upholds the Lotus Sutra, which is foremost among sutras, is foremost among all people.
Urging on his disciples, he says: “Try practicing as the Lotus Sutra teaches, exerting yourselves without begrudging your lives! Test the truth of Buddhism now! Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” (WND-1, 584).
Lastly, he urges that we in this evil, slanderous age dedicate our lives to upholding the correct Law and correct teaching as Bodhisattva Never Disparaging and others did in the Lotus Sutra, confident in the protection of the heavenly gods and benevolent deities.
In “The Selection of the Time,” Nichiren declares three things about himself: He is “the foremost votary of the Lotus Sutra in the entire land of Jambudvipa” (WND-1, 552), who propagates the great Law never before known; he is the wisest person in Japan, because he understands the cause of the disasters affecting the nation; and he is the foremost sage because his warnings of the calamities of internal revolt and foreign invasion have come to pass. These statements show his intent to clarify that he is the correct teacher of the Buddhism of sowing in the Latter Day.
At a time of “great struggles and disputes such as have never been known in the past” (WND-1, 542), Nichiren sought to eliminate the slander that was causing them. To do so, he established the great pure Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and he called on his disciples to take resolute and unsparing action to spread it throughout the world.
Intensifying Criticism of the Esoteric Teachings
In the twelfth month of that year (1275), Nichiren received a letter from the True Word priest Gonin at his residence in Minobu. Gonin apparently sought to engage Nichiren in a religious debate to determine which Buddhist teachings were correct and which in error.
Nichiren responded that same day in “Reply to a Communication from Gōnin”:
To determine what is correct and what is not correct in matters relating to Buddhist doctrine when one is living in the countryside is, regrettably, like wearing fine brocade garments and wandering about in the dark [where no one can see them], or like a fine pine growing in the depths of the valley where no woodcutter can judge its true worth.
In addition, attempts such as this to arrive at agreement on points of doctrine are likely to become a cause for dispute. If you really wish to settle this matter, then I think that notification should be given to the imperial court and to the government in Kanto so that an official record may be drawn up and a clear decision as to the truth of the matter arrived at. (WND-2, 608)
The next month (the first month of 1276) Nichiren wrote to a priest he knew at Seicho-ji temple in his home province of Awa.[11] He asked: “Would you borrow for me … commentaries of the True Word school? I need them in order to refute the True Word priests who have for some time been clamoring against me” (“Letter to the Priests of Seicho-ji,” WND-1, 650). The materials requested included works by Kobo, the True Word school’s founder.
He also asks for Great Concentration and Insight and other writings related to the Tendai school. “This year the question of which Buddhist teachings are right and which are wrong will definitely be resolved” (WND-1, 650) he states, indicating he was preparing for a public debate with Gonin and other True Word priests.
After moving to Minobu, Nichiren intensified his criticisms of not only the True Word school (True Word esotericism centering on To-ji temple) but also the Tendai school, which had adopted esoteric practices of the True Word school.
This is when both the imperial court and the shogunate, fearing another attack, ordered various temples to conduct esoteric prayers to thwart the Mongols.
Nichiren knew this would only backfire. To try to prevent it, he wrote one work after another to refute the True Word teachings. These included: “Distinguishing the Lotus Sutra from the True Word Sutras” (written in 1274), “On the Five Guides for Propagation,” “The Teaching, Practice, and Proof,” “Three Tripitaka Masters Pray for Rain,” ”Discrepancies between the Provisional and the True Teachings,” “Reply to the Lay Priest Takahashi,” “On Omens,” “Rulers of the Land of the Gods” and “The Selection of the Time” (written in 1275).
(To be continued in an upcoming issue)
Peace for Humankind
In 1964, when Ikeda Sensei was writing his lectures on “The Selection of the Time” against the backdrop of the Cold War and an escalating nuclear arms race, he responded to fears of the outbreak of World War III by adamantly stating:
Let us decide right now that it is World War II to which the Daishonin refers when he speaks of ‘great struggles and disputes such as have never been known in the past.’ Whatever happens, we cannot permit another world war to occur. Let us pray to the Gohonzon with strong determination to prevent such a thing at all costs, pledging to dedicate our lives ungrudgingly to the cause of propagating the Law. Let us definitely achieve kosen-rufu—the dream of lasting peace and happiness for all humanity![12]
In 2006, in response to a question referring to the above passage, Ikeda Sensei stated:
Nichiren Buddhism is first and last a Buddhism of peace. Nichiren Daishonin sought to bring peace to the entire world. Hence his adamant insistence on establishing the True Law and propagating the Lotus Sutra so that this goal of peace for all humanity could in fact be realized.
The Daishonin was utterly convinced we could change even the most dire and painful reality, including the danger of war, and, indeed, that it was imperative we do so. This conviction underlies his unwavering determination to create a peaceful society by widely disseminating the teachings of Buddhism.
The SGI has inherited this spirit and is taking positive action for the happiness of all humankind. Fifty years ago, the second Soka Gakkai president, Josei Toda, stood alone amid the devastation wrought by war and declared: “I don’t want to see the Japanese people plunged into greater depths of suffering than they have experienced so far. … Who will save, who will help, this suffering world? Now is precisely the time to widely spread Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings—the time to carry out kosen-rufu.”[13]
• • •
Predictions or prophecies represent one form of wisdom for teaching the eternal Law that pervades the three existences of past, present, and future. That eternal Law is not visible. The Buddha manifests the Law in outward form through wisdom, and thereby encourages people’s faith. …
It is when the wisdom to understand the eternal Law is manifest in “form,” expressed in “action,” and revealed as “actual proof” that the Law spreads.
Kosen-rufu cannot be achieved unless each of us constantly takes action to spread the Law to one person after another.[14]
From the December 2024 Living Buddhism
References
- Officially called the Great Yuan dynasty, established by Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan in 1271, who by that time had defeated central and northern China. The Yuan persisted for about a century, until it was finally defeated and replaced by the Ming dynasty. ↩︎
- Murotsu, Nagato Province: Present-day Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture. ↩︎
- Suruga Province: Present-day central Shizuoka Prefecture. ↩︎
- In this writing, the lord of Sagami refers to Hojo Tokimune, the eighth regent of the Kamakura shogunate. When this title appears in other writings of Nichiren Daishonin, it can also mean his father, the fifth regent, Hojo Tokiyori. ↩︎
- After composing the manuscript, Nichiren likely revised it, completing it before writing “On Repaying Debts of Gratitude,” which was written in 1276. It is possible that after finishing the work, he further revised it to create a final version. ↩︎
- Five works regarded as most important among Nichiren’s ten major writings: 1) “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land,” 2) “The Opening of the Eyes,” 3) “The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind,” 4) “The Selection of the Time” and 5) “On Repaying Debts of Gratitude.” ↩︎
- The ending verse section (known as the twenty-line verse) of “Encouraging Devotion,” the 13th chapter of the Lotus Sutra reads, “Evil demons will take possession of others and through them curse, revile and heap shame on us” (The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, p. 233). The “others” mentioned here correspond to the three powerful enemies, or three types of enemies—three types of arrogant people who persecute those who propagate the Lotus Sutra in the evil age after Shakyamuni Buddha’s death. Miao-lo (711–82) defines them in his work The Annotations on “The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra” based on descriptions in the verse section of the “Encouraging Devotion” chapter quoted above. The three types of enemies are arrogant lay people, arrogant priests and arrogant false sages, the last being the most formidable and dangerous. ↩︎
- Three consecutive periods or stages into which the time following a Buddha’s death is divided. These are also referred to as the periods of the Correct Law, the Counterfeit Law and the Decadent Law (or the Final Law). They describe the declining effectiveness of a Buddha’s teaching over time. ↩︎
- Those who attempt to harm practitioners of the Lotus Sutra will only bring harm to themselves. This is explained in “The Universal Gateway of the Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World’s Sounds,” the 25th chapter of the Lotus Sutra, which reads, “Suppose with curses and various poisonous herbs someone should try to injure you. … [T]he injury will rebound upon the originator” (LSOC, 345). ↩︎
- The exclusive practice of the Nembutsu: To devote oneself solely to the practice of the Nembutsu so as to attain rebirth in the pure land, discarding all other practices. The Nembutsu here indicates the practice of repeatedly calling on the name of Amida Buddha. Honen (1133–1212), the founder of the Japanese Pure Land (Jodo) school, defined the exclusive practice of the Nembutsu as the essence of his teaching and encouraged all people to concentrate on that single practice. ↩︎
- wa Province: Present-day southern Chiba Prefecture. ↩︎
- The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 1, p. 166. ↩︎
- Ibid., pp. 166–67. ↩︎
- Translated from Japanese. Daisaku Ikeda, “Gosho no sekai” (The World of Nichiren Daishonin’s Writings), in Ikeda Daisaku zenshu (The Complete Works of Daisaku Ikeda), vol. 33, (Tokyo: Seikyo Shimbunsha, 2009), pp. 117–18. ↩︎
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