This is a translation of an installment of a Soka Gakkai Study Department series, published in the March 2024 issue of the Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal.
In the fourth month of 1277, Nichiren Daishonin wrote “On the Four Stages of Faith and the Five Stages of Practice” (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 783) in which he answers questions from Toki Jonin, a disciple who lived in Shimosa Province.[1]
What appears to be a draft or a copy of Jonin’s original letter exists today. In it, he writes: “Even though I learned about Buddhism and met an exceptional teacher, I have been unable to see him. So I will end up forgetting the teachings that I have learned, and if this continues, I will be unable to eradicate my negative karma and will fall into Avichi hell for a long time.”[2]
Jonin then asks how he should practice the Lotus Sutra each day and how he should think about the precepts.
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo Contains All the Buddha’s Teachings
In reply, Nichiren first refers to the Lotus Sutra’s principle of the four stages of faith and the five stages of practice.[3] Based on this, he says that because the Lotus Sutra is an excellent teaching, it can, unlike other sutras, lead people of the Latter Day of the Law to enlightenment, even those whose capacity to understand and practice Buddhism is limited.
He then emphasizes that we should “carefully ponder” Miao-lo’s six-character statement in The Annotations on “Great Concentration and Insight” (commentaries on T’ien-t’ai’s Great Concentration and Insight): “The truer the teaching, the lower the stage [of those it can bring to enlightenment]” (WND-1, 784).
In addition, Nichiren states that faith is the foundation of practice. He explains that the stage of hearing the name and words of the truth,[4] which corresponds to faith, is the stage of practitioners of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day.
For those beginning their practice in the Latter Day, he says that they should not practice the five paramitas,[5] which include almsgiving and keeping the precepts, but should substitute faith for wisdom and “chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo exclusively” (WND-1, 786).
To support his point, he cites T’ien-t’ai’s Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra: “Set aside formal practices but maintain the principle.” This means to set aside specific prescribed practices, such as the observance of various precepts, and to realize the truth within oneself and live based upon it. Moreover, he quotes Miao-lo’s Annotations on the “Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra” to indicate that in terms of practicing the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day, embracing the Mystic Law is itself observing the precepts (see WND-1, 787).
Another reason practices other than chanting daimoku are unnecessary, he explains, is that all the Buddha’s teachings are contained in Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. As in his previous writings, he makes clear that the core of Nichiren Buddhist practice is chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with faith in the Mystic Law.
The letter continues with a question: “If a person simply chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with no understanding of its meaning, are the benefits of understanding thereby included?” Nichiren answers with a metaphor: “When a baby drinks milk, it has no understanding of its taste, and yet its body is naturally nourished” (WND-1, 788). He then quotes Chang-an and Miao-lo to reiterate the point that all teachings are contained in Nam-Myoho-renge-kyo. Even without understanding its meaning, he says, those who have faith and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo will derive its full benefit.
The Level of Attainment of Nichiren’s Disciples
The letter continues with another question: “When your disciples, without any understanding, simply recite with their mouths the words Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, what level of attainment do they reach?” (WND-1, 788).
Nichiren answers that they not only go beyond the practitioners of other sutras but “surpass by a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, million times” the founders of various other schools. He then calls out: “I entreat the people of this country: Do not look down upon my disciples!” (WND-1, 788).
He explains that they are great bodhisattvas who in their former lives practiced under Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Hiranyavati[6] and Ganges Rivers, and in their future lives they will be endowed with the benefit of the fiftieth person[7] (WND-1, 788–89).
He emphasizes: “They are like an infant emperor wrapped in swaddling clothes, or a great dragon who has just been born. Do not despise them! Do not look on them with contempt!” (WND-1, 789).
Finally, Nichiren denounces the three great teachers Kobo, who founded the True Word school in Japan, and Jikaku and Chisho of the Tendai school, for undermining the Lotus Sutra by espousing the True Word teachings (esoteric teachings), despite the Great Teacher Dengyo having declared the Lotus Sutra to be foremost among all sutras. Nichiren closes his letter by stating that it is a pity the rulers had failed to heed his advice, reiterating his warning that if these false teachings are not curtailed, “then without a doubt the nation will be destroyed, and its people will fall into the evil paths” (WND-1, 790).
Mounting Tensions in Suruga Province
In the fifth month of 1277, a month after he wrote “On the Four Stages of Practice and the Five Stages of Faith,” he sent “The Workings of Brahma and Shakra” (WND-1, 798) to his disciple Nanjo Tokimitsu in Ueno Village of the Fuji District in Suruga Province.[8] At that time, Tokimitsu had begun to face pressure from those with close ties to the Kamakura shogunate.
The main branch of the Hojo clan ruled Suruga Province, holding the position of military governor to oversee military and administrative affairs. A widow of a high-ranking official, Lady Kasai, exerted especially strong influence in Fuji area.
She was the widow of the fifth regent, Hojo Tokiyori, and the mother of the eighth and sitting regent, Tokimune. She was also the daughter of Hojo Shigetoki, the son of the second regent and a staunch Nembutsu believer, and despised Nichiren as an enemy of Tokiyori and Shigetoki (see “Reply to the Lay Priest Takahashi,” WND-1, 608). Moreover, she followed Ryokan of Gokurakuji temple.
Originally, the Nanjo family served the Kamakura shogunate as retainers but came to directly serve the main branch of the Hojo clan. Until recently, Tokimitsu, a scion of the Nanjo family, has been referred to as the steward of Ueno Village. But recent research suggests that the main branch of the Hojo clan was the steward and Ueno Village was one of the estates it held the rights to. Tokimitsu managed the lands on behalf of the main branch of the Hojo clan as their retainer, serving as a local deputy delegated with the authority to manage the land and collect taxes.
Tokimitsu’s father, Nanjo Hyoe Shichiro, is thought to be the first in the Nanjo family to take faith in Nichiren’s teachings. Because this was a district in which Lady Kasai exerted considerable influence, Tokimitsu’s father taking faith was likely unwelcome among his relatives and community members, leading them to pressure the family to abandon their faith in the Lotus Sutra.
In his letter to Tokimitsu, Nichiren conveys his concern for him, writing: “Both those who are close to you and those who are not will unexpectedly admonish you as if they were your true friends, saying, ‘If you believe in the priest Nichiren, you will surely be misled. You will also be in disfavor with your lord’” (“The Workings of Brahma and Shakra,” WND-1, 800). Devilish functions that seek to obstruct people’s faith can sneak up on them before they know it.
Nichiren then warns: “Those possessed by a great devil will, once they succeed in persuading a believer to recant, use that person as a means for making many others abandon their faith” (WND-1, 800). He names three people who abandoned their faith, about whom he observes, “Greedy, cowardly and foolish, they nonetheless pass themselves off as wise persons” (WND-1, 800).
Nichiren counsels Tokimitsu to treat these cases as cautionary examples. He likely sensed that the devilish functions first targeted Tokimitsu and then would go after other disciples in Suruga. He wanted Tokimitsu to be aware of his role as the leader for believers in the province and arouse his faith.
He continues:
Some people, despite their shallow understanding, pretend staunch faith and speak contemptuously to their fellow believers, thus often disrupting the faith of others. Leave such people strictly alone. The time will certainly come when, by the workings of Brahma, Shakra, and other gods, the entire Japanese nation will simultaneously take faith in the Lotus Sutra. At that time, I am convinced, many people will insist that they too have believed since the very beginning. (WND-1, 800)
Nichiren advises Tokimitsu how to deal with those who try to tempt him with feigned kindness:
Tell them sardonically, “I deeply appreciate your warning. However, you should save your admonishment for yourselves. I know well that our lord does not approve of my faith. The idea of your threatening me in his name is simply absurd. I was contemplating visiting you all and giving you some advice, but you came here before I could follow through.” (WND-1, 800)
The letter, filled with such detailed instruction, brims with Nichiren’s sincere concern and encouragement for his 19-year-old disciple, who was striving amid mounting troubles in the Fuji area.
(To be continued in an upcoming issue.)
‘We are Bodhisattvas of the Earth’
Ikeda Sensei: Just prior to his inauguration as second Soka Gakkai president, Josei Toda poured his heart and soul into lecturing on “On the Four Stages of Faith and the Five Stages of Practice” for members of the youth division.
He told us that though we may be poor, have many problems in our lives and lack any social status or distinction, the fact that we are practicing the Mystic Law meant that we are actually great bodhisattvas who have made offerings to countless Buddhas over many long eons. We have aroused faith in the Law through the teachings of as many Buddhas as there are grains of sand in the Hiranyavati and Ganges rivers and share deep karmic bonds. And by extension, Mr. Toda assured us, we are Bodhisattvas of the Earth.
As great bodhisattvas who made a vow in the remote past, we chose voluntarily to be born in the Latter Day of the Law, to leap into the midst of this world, and strive to realize happiness for ourselves and for others. No one is nobler, more honorable or blessed with more good fortune and benefit.[9]
From the February 2025 Living Buddhism
References
- Shimosa Province: Present-day northern Chiba Prefecture and its surrounding areas. ↩︎
- Translated from Japanese. Nichiren Shu shugaku zensho (Complete Doctrinal Writings of the Nichiren School), 3rd ed., edited by Rissho Daigaku Nichiren Kyogaku Kenkyujo, vol. 1, (Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin, 1989), pp. 180–181. ↩︎
- Stages of faith in and practice of the Lotus Sutra formulated by T’ien-t’ai (538–97) in Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra based on “Distinctions in Benefits,” the 17th chapter of the Lotus Sutra. The four stages of faith are for those who embrace the Lotus Sutra during Shakyamuni’s lifetime, and the five stages of practice are for believers in the sutra after Shakyamuni’s death. In the present writing, Nichiren Daishonin defines the correct stage for practitioners in the Latter Day of the Law to be the first of the four stages of faith and the first of the five stages of practice, that is, to believe in and understand the Lotus Sutra even for a moment and to rejoice on hearing the sutra. ↩︎
- The second of the six stages of practice, stages in the practice of the Lotus Sutra formulated by T’ien-t’ai in his Great Concentration and Insight, volume 1. The stage at which one hears the name of the truth or reads the words of the sutras and thereby understands intellectually that all beings are potential Buddhas and that all phenomena are manifestations of the Buddhist Law. ↩︎
- Five paramitas: Five of the six paramitas, six practices required of Mahayana bodhisattvas to attain Buddhahood, omitting the paramita of obtaining wisdom. The Sanskrit pāramitā means “perfection.” The six paramitas are: 1) almsgiving (offering money and materials, as well as expounding teachings); 2) keeping the precepts; 3) forbearance (persevering through hardship); 4) assiduousness (being tireless in practice); 5) meditation (concentrating one’s mind on the truth); and 6) wisdom obtained through perfection of the five previous practices. The doctrine of the five paramitas considers that faith is being substituted for wisdom, which it therefore omits. ↩︎
- Hiranyavati River: Another name for the Ajitavati, the river flowing through Kushinagara in India where Shakyamuni entered nirvana. Shakyamuni is said to have died in a grove of sal trees near its west bank. It is given as an example of a river that is smaller than the Ganges. The Nirvana Sutra states that those who have practiced under buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Hiranyavati River will be born in the evil age, and study and commit the correct teaching to memory and refrain from slandering it. ↩︎
- Continual propagation to the fiftieth person: A principle taught in “Benefits of Responding with Joy,” the 18th chapter of the Lotus Sutra, describing the benefits of rejoicing upon hearing the sutra. Suppose, it says, that, after Shakyamuni Buddha’s death, a person was to hear the Lotus Sutra and rejoice, then preach it to a second person, who also rejoices and in turn preaches it to a third, and so on, until a fiftieth person hears the sutra. The benefit this person receives by hearing the sutra and responding with joy, even fifty times removed from the first, would be immeasurable. ↩︎
- Ueno Village of the Fuji District in Suruga Province: Present-day Fujinomiya City, Shizuoka Prefecture. ↩︎
- March 2017 Living Buddhism, p. 49. ↩︎
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