Nichiren, Buddhist Prophet of the Truth

Nichiren
(1222-1282)
from Vienna Museum of Ethonology

1. Words of Nichiren

The Pillar of Japan

I will be the Pillar of Japan. I will be the Eyes of Japan. I will be the Great Ship of Japan. This is my vow, and I will never forsake it.

(Open the Eyes)

I am Nothing

I am nothing but a lowly and ignorant monk without precepts. Yet, when I think that such a person should be mentioned in the Lotus Sutra, which was taught more than two thousand years ago, and that the Buddha prophesied that that person would encounter persecution, I cannot possibly express my joy.

(Life in the Exile to Izu)

Do Not Concern of your Family and Property

None of you who declare yourself to be my disciples should ever give away to cowardice. Neither should you allow concern for your parents, wives, or children to hold you back, or be worried about your property.... Each and every one of you should be certain deep in your heart that sacrificing your life for the Lotus Sutra is like exchanging rocks for gold or dung for rice.

(On Actions).

I Would go to Hell with You

When I was going to be beheaded, you cried and wept, holding the bridle of my horse. How can I forget it as long as I live? If you should fall to hell because of your sins, I would not enter the heaven of Shakyamuni Buddha, no matter how he might invite me to Buddhahood, but I would go to hell with you. If I and you were in hell, Shakyamuni and the Scripture would surely be there.

(Letter to Kingo)

2. Nichiren's Theses on the Truth

During the exile to Sado, Nichiren asks himself again and again, "Am I not a messenger of the Law of the Lotus Sutra?" "Why the follower of the true Law suffers from persecution?" He speaks his innermost self.

"If one wishes to study the truth of Buddhism, one must first know the time." He speaks his mission as the prophet of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day. " No one can subjugate his faith: "Since one is born in the ruler's land, one's body is subject to him. But one's heart is not subject to him." (150 k)

3. Nichiren's Letters to the Faithful

His strong conviction as the prophet is based on his understanding of himself as a worthless monk. He is not an exemplary self-achieved Buddhist, but an instrument of the Law of the Lotus Sutra. Not self-perfection of the Buddhahood, but the establishment of the true Law is his mission.

Nichiren speaks his years of persecution and his conviction as the prophet of the true Law of the Lotus Sutra. He encourages the faithful to follow the narrow road of the Truth. (58 k)

4. Nichiren's Private Letters of Compassion

Because of Kingo's uncompromising faith in Nichiren and the Lotus Sutra, his samurai colleagues accused him of the disloyalty to his Lord. As a result, Kingo's Lord Ema reduced his holdings and inclined to transfer him to the remote area. Nichiren encourages him to stand firm in the faith of the Lotus Sutra and advises the conduct of life in the time of suffering. His compassion flows out to the faithful Kingo: "I would go to hell with you."

  • Letters to the Lady Sennichi

In the exile to Sado, Nichiren was going to die by starvation, but the Lady Sennichi and her husband, Abutsu-bo, the converted faithful, brought to him food and other necessities. Their faithful devotion had continued about one thousand days (sen-nichi) until his exile was pardoned, so did Nichiren name her Buddhist title, the Nun Sennichi.

Faith draws Compassion (1278)

Nichiren's reply to the Lady Sennichi when her husband brought her letter with some gift to Nichiren at Mount Minobu. The faithfulness of the lay follower draws Nichiren's revelation of the new truth. His compassion reveals the salvation of woman, which was previously abandoned in Buddhism. Nichiren speaks his unforgettable thanks to the Lady Sennichi's devotion at the exile: "Every single steward and Pure Land believer kept strict watch on my hut day and night, determined to prevent anyone from contacting with me. How could I forget in any lifetime that, under those circumstances, you and Abutsu-bo, carrying a wooden container of food on his back, came to me in the night again and again."

Consolation to the Widow Sennichi (1280)

The Lady Sennichi's husband had passed away in 1279. She sent her son to Nichiren at Minobu with his remains. Nichiren consoles her: "Heaven must regret and the earth lament that your husband has gone away and will never come again. You yourself must feel the same. Rely upon the Lotus Sutra as provender for your journey, and quickly set out for the pure land of Eagle Peak so that you can meet him there!"

Pure faith of a lay devotee moves Nichiren to pioneer the new revelation of the Truth. "Though no one else came to visit me, you, a woman, not only sent me various offerings but personally made the journey to see me. It was almost too amazing to be true. And in addition, you have now called on me here in Minobu. I know of no words with which to thank you."

5. Links for the Study of Nichiren

Establish the True Law of religion, and the nation will be peace. The true cause of national disasters is the corruption of religion. Nichiren, the messenger of the Lotus Sutra, urged the secular ruler to follow the true religious Law, presenting this thesis in 1260.

Letter From Sado

"Write the truth to the skin of the body if there is no paper and with the born if there is no pen." From the land of the exile, Nichiren writes the love of the Truth and seeks the meaning of suffering.

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