It was in September 1969, a half-century ago, that I received a typed airmail letter from the great British historian Dr. Arnold J. Toynbee (1889–1975). He invited me to visit him in London, writing that he wished to have “a fruitful exchange of views on a number of fundamental problems of our times which deeply concern us all.”
Dr. Toynbee had visited Japan two years earlier (in 1967). He was very interested in Buddhism and had heard about the Soka Gakkai from leading thinkers in a number of fields.
Important Issues Facing Contemporary Society
In May 1972 and again in May 1973, Dr. Toynbee and I engaged in discussions, spanning a total of 40 hours, about important issues facing contemporary society. One of the major topics we focused on during our conversation was life and death.
I still remember him commenting with a serious expression that society’s leaders fail to address the question of life and death, completely sidestepping it. As a result, he said, they are unable to provide any fundamental resolution to the problems confronting the world now and in the future.
Resolving the Question of Life and Death
Why are we born into this world? Why do we undergo the four sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death?
Shakyamuni’s wish to resolve the problem of these four sufferings is what motivated him to leave his home and go out into the world in search of enlightenment.
Dr. Toynbee said that he personally sought to find answers to the problem of life and death in higher religion—in particular, Mahayana Buddhism, in which he placed great hope.
Buddhism Directly Confronts the Problem of Death
Second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda often said, “The ultimate problem that Buddhism must resolve is the problem of death.”
Instead of abhorring death, Mahayana Buddhism directly confronts it and correctly positions it within the larger context of life. This is also clearly explained in Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings through such principles as the “originally inherent nature of birth and death” and the “oneness of life and death.”
In this final installment of the subseries “Toward a Century of Health: The Wisdom for Leading a Long Life of Good Fortune and Benefit,” let us examine the Buddhist view of life and death based on several passages from the Daishonin’s writings.
The Key Principle of “Attaining Buddhahood in One’s Present Form”
Since your deceased husband was a votary of this [Lotus] sutra, he doubtless attained Buddhahood just as he was. You need not grieve so much over his passing. On the other hand, to grieve is only natural for ordinary people. Could the lamenting of all the great enlightened disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha at his passing have been meant to show the behavior of ordinary people?
You should by all means perform as much good as you possibly can [by offering prayers] for the sake of your deceased husband. (“Hell Is the Land of Tranquil Light,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 458)
This is a passage from a letter of encouragement Nichiren Daishonin sent to the lay nun Ueno (the mother of Nanjo Tokimitsu), who was widowed at a young age when she lost her husband, Nanjo Hyoe Shichiro. Nichiren shares with her the key principle of “attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form,”[1] explaining at the close of this letter [composed on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Nanjo Hyoe Shichiro’s death], “I have written [here] my long-cherished teachings” (WND-1, 458).
Hyoe Shichiro had been afflicted by a grave illness. Encouraged by the Daishonin, however, he remained steadfast in his faith up to his death.
When Hyoe Shichiro died, his son Tokimitsu was just seven years old, and the lay nun Ueno was expecting her youngest son (Shichiro Goro). Having lost her family’s pillar of support while pregnant and caring for her young children, she must have experienced unimaginable grief and anxiety.
In his letter, Nichiren Daishonin firmly reassures her that since her late husband was a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra, “he doubtless attained Buddhahood just as he was” (WND-1, 458).
“A Buddha in Life and a Buddha in Death”
In the preceding section of this letter, Nichiren Daishonin writes:
When he [Nanjo Hyoe Shichiro] was alive, he was a Buddha in life, and now he is a Buddha in death. He is a Buddha in both life and death. This is what is meant by that most important doctrine called attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form. (WND-1, 456)
He describes here the principle of “attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form.” It is not a teaching of attaining Buddhahood after death as taught in many other Buddhist schools. Those who dedicate their lives to the Mystic Law can attain Buddhahood just as they are in this lifetime.
Hyoe Shichiro remained a sincere practitioner of the Lotus Sutra, so he was a Buddha in life and a Buddha in death, Nichiren declares. Therefore, he tells the lay nun Ueno, she should not grieve over his passing. He wholeheartedly encourages her that, viewed from the Buddhist teaching of the eternity of life, she has no cause to worry.
Empathizing With Others
At the same time, Nichiren Daishonin empathizes with and warmly embraces the lay nun Ueno, saying that the fact that Shakyamuni’s leading disciples lamented their teacher’s death shows that it is only natural for ordinary people to grieve.
Though we may have an intellectual grasp of the Buddhist concept of birth and death and the meaning of life, when actually faced with our own imminent death or the death of a loved one, we cannot help but be deeply shaken and feel grief and sorrow.
Nevertheless, the Daishonin reminds us to continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo “as much as we possibly can” (see WND-1, 458)—that is, to transform our grief into prayers for the eternal happiness of the deceased.
Offering Prayers for the Deceased
I can almost hear Nichiren Daishonin’s warm voice assuring the lay nun, “Your deceased husband is guaranteed to attain Buddhahood, so keep chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo for him just as you are.”
You may lose a loved one who has not practiced Nichiren Buddhism themselves. But as long as we, their family members or friends who do practice, continue to chant for them, there is nothing to worry about. We pass on to them the benefits we have accumulated through our Buddhist practice—this is the true meaning of offering prayers for the deceased in Nichiren Buddhism.
The important thing is to chant sincerely and maintain faith in the Mystic Law; it is not superficial formalities. And nowhere in the Daishonin’s writings does it say that prayers for the deceased are ineffective unless offered by priests.
In The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Nichiren declares:
Now when Nichiren and his followers perform ceremonies for the deceased, reciting the Lotus Sutra and chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the ray of light from the daimoku reaches all the way to the hell of incessant suffering and makes it possible for them [the deceased] to attain Buddhahood then and there. (OTT, 17)
Through chanting, we can guide even those residing in the world of hell to attain Buddhahood.
As If Greeted by a Thousand Buddhas
In “The Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life,” Nichiren Daishonin writes:
How can we possibly hold back our tears at the inexpressible joy of knowing that [at the moment of death] not just one or two, not just one hundred or two hundred, but as many as a thousand Buddhas will come to greet us with open arms! (WND-1, 216–17)
When members leave this world embraced in the daimoku of their family and fellow Soka Gakkai members, it is indeed as if they were being greeted by a thousand Buddhas. We celebrate and see off these heroic ordinary people who have dedicated their lives to kosen-rufu.
This is why the transition into death can be experienced with “inexpressible joy” (WND-1, 216). Herein lies the essence of the Mystic Law, which enables us to savor joy in both life and death.
Just as a brilliant sunset gloriously illuminating the heavens promises a beautiful sunrise in the morning, maintaining “a correct and steadfast mind at the moment of death”[2] (see WND-1, 218) guarantees a wonderful, hope-filled departure into the next existence.
Entering the Path of Eternal Buddhahood
Dying with the wish to continue working for kosen-rufu in our next lifetime is proof that we have lived a regret-free life based on the Mystic Law and that we will enjoy a triumphant state of being forever one with the world of Buddhahood.
We have all witnessed countless fellow members happily expressing such positive determinations for their next lives. Through steadfastly polishing themselves over long years of Buddhist practice, Soka Gakkai members quite naturally enter the path of eternity, happiness, true self and purity[3] throughout past, present and future.
Nichiren Daishonin states: “Passing through the round of births and deaths, one makes one’s way on the land of the Dharma nature, or enlightenment, that is inherent within oneself” (OTT, 52). We can serenely make our way on the “land of our dharma nature”—the realm of Buddhahood—which is inherent within us in both life and death.
Each of us can enjoy a golden journey through-out eternity filled with the “boundless joy of the Law,”[4] as we follow the path of our vow.
The Mystic Law Is the Sun Illuminating the Sufferings of Birth and Death
Of course, we all experience the sufferings of aging and death differently. Nanjo Tokimitsu’s brother Shichiro Goro died at the young age of 16. Nichiren Daishonin writes about him, saying, “I know that in heart he has gone to join his father in the pure land of Eagle Peak”[5] (“Letter of Condolence,” WND-2, 887). The world of Buddhahood shines brilliantly in the depths of the lives of all who remain steadfast in faith, come what may. The “treasures of the heart” (“The Three Kinds of Treasure,” WND-1, 851) they have accumulated can never and will never be destroyed. Nichiren promises that all who dedicate their lives to the Mystic Law, whatever their situation, will definitely attain Buddhahood.
In another writing [“A Comparison of the Lotus Sutra and Other Sutras”], he states: “The great lantern that illuminates the long night of the sufferings of birth and death, the sharp sword that severs the fundamental darkness inherent in life, is none other than the Lotus Sutra” (WND-1, 1038).
The Mystic Law is the sun that illuminates the sufferings of birth and death. It is the sharp sword that severs fundamental darkness or ignorance.[6] Those whose lives are illuminated by the Mystic Law will not be defeated by the fear of death. And at the deepest level, all anxiety will vanish.
Through faith in Nichiren Buddhism, we can transform a life afflicted by the four sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death into one brimming with the joy of the four virtues of eternity, happiness, true self and purity.
“The Thus Come One Is All Living Beings”
Point Four, regarding the passage [from “The Life Span of the Thus Come One,” the 16th chapter of the Lotus Sutra] “The Thus Come One perceives the true aspect of the threefold world exactly as it is. There is no ebb or flow of birth and death, and there is no existing in this world and later entering extinction” [The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, p. 267].
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The “Thus Come One” is the living beings of the threefold world.[7] When we look at these living beings through the eyes of the “Life Span” chapter, we can see and understand the true aspect of these beings who in their original states possess the Ten Worlds.
The aspects or characteristics of the threefold world are birth, aging, sickness and death. But if we look at birth and death in terms of their true nature, then there is no birth or death. And if there is no birth or death, then there is no ebb or flow. [Yet it is not that birth and death do not exist.] To look on birth and death with repulsion and try to escape from them is termed delusion, or a viewpoint of acquired enlightenment.[8] Seeing and understanding the originally inherent nature of birth and death is termed awakening, or original enlightenment.
Now when Nichiren and his followers chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they realize the originally inherent nature of birth and death, and the originally inherent nature of ebb and flow.
We may also say that nonexistence and existence, birth and death, ebbing and flowing, existing in this world and entering extinction, are all, every one of them, actions of the eternally abiding inherent nature. (see OTT, 127–28)[9]
This passage from The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings elucidates the eternity of life, the originally inherent nature of birth and death, and the originally inherent nature of ebb and flow.
It begins: “The ‘Thus Come One’ is the living beings of the threefold world. When we look at these living beings through the eyes of the ‘Life Span’ chapter, we can see and understand the true aspect of these beings who in their original states possess the Ten Worlds” (OTT, 127).
Here, Nichiren Daishonin explains that the term Thus Come One, or Buddha, refers not only to Shakyamuni, but to all living beings in the threefold world—the real world in which they live. This is because, he says, when viewed through the eyes of the Buddha of time without beginning in the “Life Span” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, we can see and understand that “all living beings in their original states inherently possess the Ten Worlds,”[10]
including the highest life state of Buddhahood. “In their original states” here means inherently or innately. In other words, all living beings are endowed with the Ten Worlds, including Buddhahood. All are entities of the Mystic Law embodying the principle of “three thousand realms in a single moment of life.”[11]
Both Birth and Death Are Varying Aspects of the Mystic Law
Next, Nichiren Daishonin says: “The aspect or characteristics of the threefold world are birth, aging, sickness, and death” (OTT, 127). No one in this world can escape the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death.
“But if we look at birth and death in terms of their true nature,” Nichiren continues, “then there is no birth or death. And if there is no birth or death, then there is no ebb or flow. [Yet it is not that birth and death do not exist.]” (see OTT, 127). Viewed from the Buddhist perspective of the eternity of life throughout past, present and future, both birth and death are phenomena inherent in life. They are varying aspects of the Mystic Law, and everything does not end with death.
Mr. Toda often explained this by saying that when we die, our lives merge with the universe.
The Wisdom Transcending the Two Extremes of Annihilation and Permanence
If we remain attached to the dualism of existence and nonexistence, we will adopt one of the two erroneous views, that of either annihilation or permanence.[12] Annihilation is the view that everything ends with death, while permanence is the view that some sort of immortal soul or spirit separate from the body continues after death.
The profound perspective of Buddhism, in contrast, is that life is eternally abiding and that birth and death are just its aspects or phases. In other words, in the phase of death, life goes dormant and exists as a potential, and in the phase of birth, it becomes active and manifests itself in the physical world.
Each individual life can be likened to a wave in the ocean. When a wave rises from the ocean, that is life, and when it merges back into the ocean, that is death. This process continues eternally, without beginning or end.
“Seeing and Understanding the Originally Inherent Nature of Birth and Death”
Nichiren Daishonin says: “To look on birth and death with repulsion and try to escape from them is termed delusion, or a viewpoint of acquired enlightenment.[13] Seeing and understanding the originally inherent nature of birth and death is termed awakening, or original enlightenment” (OTT, 127).
The “originally inherent nature of birth and death” means that birth and death are innate aspects of our eternal lives. From the standpoint of the eternity of life throughout past, present and future, there is no reason to abhor or fear death.
At the same time, in today’s society, which tends to ignore the reality of death, the wisdom of Buddhism strongly articulates a fundamental view of existence based on the principle of the oneness of life and death.
Firmly Establishing the State of Buddhahood in Our Lives
For us, to live in accord with the “originally inherent nature of birth and death” means to live based on the Mystic Law and to face death grounded in the Mystic Law—this is what is meant by “actions of the eternally abiding inherent nature” (OTT, 128).
How should one live and die? Nichiren Buddhism seeks to enable all people to attain an unshakable state of life and behave with dignity and composure. Because of the originally inherent nature of birth and death, we need to strive our hardest to the very end to firmly establish the state of Buddhahood within us in this lifetime.
It has been 75 years since first Soka Gakkai President Tsunesaburo Makiguchi died in prison for his beliefs during World War II, standing firm amid persecution by the militarist authorities. He remained steadfast in faith until the very end. Today, the unprecedented struggle for kosen-rufu that began with our noble founder has spread to 192 countries and territories worldwide.
The Eternal Bond of Mentor and Disciple in the Realm of the Mystic Law
The great vow for kosen-rufu and the fighting spirit to achieve it are passed on from mentor to disciple. By living with this shared commitment of mentor and disciple, we can attain the same life state as the Buddha—a life state imbued with the noble virtues of eternity, happiness, true self and purity. This is the meaning of “birth and death in the realm of Buddhahood”[14] and the “originally inherent nature of birth and death.”
The Lotus Sutra says, “Those persons who had heard the Law dwelled here and there in various Buddha lands, constantly reborn in company with their teachers” (LSOC, 178). [15] Mentors and disciples connected by the Mystic Law are always together, forever carrying out bodhisattva practice side by side. This is the greatest life journey there is.
Appreciating the Preciousness of Each Moment
When we understand the eternal nature of our lives, we can endlessly deepen and expand our life state. By chanting and taking action based on the Mystic Law—which is eternally abiding across the three existences of past, present and future—we can appreciate the preciousness of each moment of our existence. We can make every irreplaceable moment a treasure for opening the way to eternity.
Dr. Margarita Vorobyova-Desyatovskaya, a leading Russian scholar of the Lotus Sutra, observed that despite living in an age of advanced technology and space travel, human life continues to follow the unchanging law of birth, aging, sickness and death. Those who believe in the power of the Lotus Sutra, she added, are able to overcome all difficulties and sufferings without fear.[16]
Be Pioneers of a Century of Life!
Josei Toda often said that once people understand the true eternal nature of life, we’ll be able to elevate the life state of humankind. The spread of the Buddhist view of life and death will enrich our world. As pioneers in the effort to awaken others to their highest potential, we have a leading role to play in helping to free people from the four sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death.
The time has come when our noble mission as courageous Bodhisattvas of the Earth—linked by karmic ties enduring throughout past, present and future—will shine with ever-greater importance and brilliance.
With each of us freely and dynamically taking action, let’s continue to illuminate global society as people who embody the hope-filled spirit of “joy in both life and death.” Let’s work together to create a wonderful Century of Life!
Translated from the December 2019 issue of the Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai monthly study journal.
References
- Attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form: This means attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime just as one is, without undergoing endless eons of Buddhist practice. ↩︎
- “A correct and steadfast mind at the moment of death” is manifested by those who continue to follow the Buddha way, confident that they will attain Buddhahood in this lifetime, and thus greet death with a spirit of great fulfillment. ↩︎
- Eternity, happiness, true self and purity are known as the four virtues. Describing the noble qualities of the Buddha’s life, the four are explained as follows: “eternity” means unchanging and eternal; “happiness” means tranquillity that transcends all suffering; “true self” means true and intrinsic nature and “purity” means free of illusion or mistaken conduct. ↩︎
- Boundless joy of the Law: The supreme and ultimate happiness of the Buddha, the benefit of the Mystic Law. ↩︎
- Eagle Peak, or the pure land of Eagle Peak, is a term symbolizing the eternal state of Buddhahood. ↩︎
- Fundamental darkness or ignorance: The most deeply rooted illusion inherent in life, said to give rise to all other illusions. The inability to see or recognize the truth, particularly, the true nature of one’s life. ↩︎
- Threefold world: The world of unenlightened beings who transmigrate within the six paths (from hell through the realm of heavenly beings). The threefold world consists of, in ascending order, the world of desire, the world of form, and the world of formlessness. In a general sense, it refers to the saha world in which we dwell. ↩︎
- Acquired enlightenment: This is used in contrast with “original enlightenment.” According to the doctrine of original enlightenment, enlightenment is not something that one acquires through religious practice but something that exists in one’s original state of life. From this viewpoint, “acquired enlightenment” falls into the category of delusion, not true enlightenment. ↩︎
- The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings is a two-volume record of lectures that Nichiren Daishonin gave on certain key passages of the Lotus Sutra while he was residing on Mount Minobu. It was recorded by Nikko Shonin. The present passage is from a section in “Chapter Sixteen: The Life Span of the Thus Come One / Twenty-seven important points.” ↩︎
- Ten Worlds: A classification of ten distinct states of life that forms the foundation for the Buddhist view of life. They are: 1) the world of hell, 2) the world of hungry spirits, 3) the world of animals, 4) the world of asuras, 5) the world of human beings, 6) the world of heavenly beings, 7) the world of voice-hearers, 8) the world of cause-awakened ones, 9) the world of bodhisattvas and 10) the world of Buddhas. ↩︎
- Three thousand realms in a single moment of life (Jpn ichinen-sanzen): A philosophical system established by the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai of China based on the Lotus Sutra. The “three thousand realms” indicates the varying aspects that life assumes at each moment. At each moment, life manifests one of the Ten Worlds. Each of these worlds possesses the potential for all ten within itself, thus making one hundred possible worlds. Each of these hundred worlds possesses the ten factors and operates within each of the three realms of existence, thus making three thousand realms. In other words, all phenomena are contained within a single moment of life, and a single moment of life permeates the three thousand realms of existence, or the entire phenomenal world. ↩︎
- The two views of annihilation and permanence: This refers to two erroneous ways of viewing death—two extremes. The view of annihilation is the mistaken attachment to the notion that life begins with birth and ends with death. According to this view, there is only the present life, and death represents a complete cessation of existence both physical and spiritual. The view of permanence is also the mistaken notion that what exists here in the present is permanent and unchanging. This view rejects causality, so that neither practicing good nor practicing evil produces any change in one’s condition. Shakyamuni Buddha rejected these two extremes and expounded the Middle Way, which he taught is the true and correct path in life. ↩︎
- See footnote 8. ↩︎
- Birth and death in the realm of Buddhahood means to freely undergo the cycle of birth and death based on the realization that our lives are entities of the Mystic Law, and that life and death are inherent functions of that universal law. Further, it is to embody the immense compassion and life force inherent in the universe and practice the Buddha way in lifetime after lifetime in order to lead all living beings to enlightenment. ↩︎
- From “The Parable of the Phantom City,” the 7th chapter of the Lotus Sutra. ↩︎
- See Margarita I. Vorobyova-Desyatovskaya, “Modern Significance of the Lotus Sutra,” in The Journal of Oriental Studies, vol. 8 (1998 issue), p. 75. ↩︎
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