The Eternal Buddha
We should worship the Original Buddha Sakyamuni, who declares his eternity in the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren says in the Kaimokusho:
“All the sects except the Tendai Sect worship wrong objects. The Kusha, Jojitsu, and Ritsu Sects worship Buddha Sakyamuni regarded as the person who eliminated illusions and attained enlightenment for the first time under the Bodhi-tree. They are as wrong as a crown prince who thinks that he is the son of a subject. The Kegon, Shingon, Sanron and Hosso Sects are Mahayana. The Hosso and Sanron Sects worship Buddha Sakyamuni as defined in the provisional Mahayana. They are as wrong as a crown prince who thinks that he is the son of a military officer. The Kegon and Shingon Sects despise Buddha Sakyamuni and worship Buddha Vairocana. They are as wrong as a prince who deserts his father and follows another king of unknown ancestry. The Jodo Buddhists hold that Buddha Amitabha is their Buddha, and do not worship Buddha Sakyamuni. They do not know that Buddha Amitabha is one of the manifestations of Buddha Sakyamuni. The Zen Buddhists are like a man of low birth who criticizes his parents when he gets some position in society. They despise the Buddhas and sutras. All these sects worship wrong objects. In ancient times people did not know their fathers. They were like birds and beasts. The sects who do not know the Chapter of the Duration of the Life of the Tathagata in the Lotus Sutra are like beasts. They do not know the favors of Buddha Sakyamuni.”
The Pure Land of the Eternal Buddha
This Saha-World is the Pure Land of the Eternal Buddha Sakyamuni. In the Kanjin-honzon-sho Nichiren says:
“During the fifty years of his teaching from the time of his enlightenment under the Bodhi-tree till his Parinirvana under the Sala-tree, the Buddha expounded many sutras. In these sutras he described a wide variety of pure lands, such as the Pure Land of Flower-Store, the Pure Land of Esoteric Adornment, the Pure Land of Three Transformations, the Pure Land of Peaceful Life, and the Pure Land of Emerald. These pure lands are either the abodes of the followers of the Lesser Vehicle, or of the partially-enlightened Bodhisattvas, or of the perfectly enlightened Bodhisattvas. These pure lands are, however, impermanent. They are established only in the kalpa of composition. The expounder of these sutras is the historical Buddha, and the Buddhas of these pure lands are the manifestations of the historical Buddha. Therefore, when the historical Buddha enters into Parinirvana, the Buddhas of these pure lands pass away, and their pure lands also disappear. But the Saha-World of the Original Buddha is the eternal pure land, free from the three calamities and the four kalpas. In this eternal world the Buddha never disappeared in the past, nor is to appear in the future. All living beings under him are one with him because they have the wisdom of the Buddha in their minds.”
The True Object of Worship
To Nichiren’s eyes, in this Pure Land of the Eternal Buddha Sakyamuni, all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas gather centering around the Sacred Title. The congregation in this arrangement should be the Honzon, or the true object of worship. Nichiren says in the Kanjin-honzon-sho:
“A Stupa of treasures is hanging in the sky above the Saha-World of the Eternal Buddha. The letters of myohorengekyo are seen in the center of the stupa. On either side of the letters are seen Buddha Sakyamuni and the Many-Treasures Buddha. Buddha Sakyamuni is accompanied by the four Bodhisattvas headed by Superior-Practice. Another team of four Bodhisattvas including Manjusri and Maitreya are sitting in the lower seats. All the other Bodhisattvas, including those taught by the historical Buddha Sakyamuni and those who have come from the other worlds, are sitting on the ground. The Buddhas who have come from the worlds of the ten quarters are also on the ground. This shows that these Buddhas are the manifestations of the Eternal Buddha Sakaymuni and that the worlds of theirs are the manifestations of the Saha-World of the Eternal Buddha Sakyamuni. We should worship all these Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in this arrangement. This is the Honzon, or the true object of worship. This Honzon was not revealed during the lifetime of the Buddha except when he expounded the eight consecutive chapters (15 to 22) of the Lotus Sutra.”
Nichiren sent the Kanjin-honzon-sho to Toki Tsunenobu with the following words:
“I wrote a little about the introspection of our mind. I am sending this writing to you, Ota-dono, Kyoshin-gobo, and others. This is of vital importance to me. Do not tell this to others carelessly. You can tell this only to your confidential friends. This article carries many questions and few answers. This kind of writing has never been seen before. This will surprise the readers. You can show this to someone else, but should not read this in the presence of as many as three or four people. This has not been written for the past two thousand two hundred and twenty and odd years since the extinction of the Buddha. I do not mind if I be persecuted by the government. I say this because the present time is in the period of the fifth five hundred years after the extinction of the Buddha. I hope that by reading this you will be able to go to the Pure Land of Mt. Sacred Eagle with me and see Buddha Sakyamuni, the Many-Treasures Buddha, and the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters.”
The Honzon is in more detail described in Nichiren’s letter to Nichinyo-gozen:
“The five letters of the title of the Lotus Sutra are placed in the center. The Four Quarter Kings are on the four sides of the Stupa of treasures. Buddha Sakyamuni and the Many-Treasures Buddha stand side by side with the Four Bodhisattvas who are the disciples of the Eternal Buddha Sakyamuni. The Universal-Sage, Manjusri, and other Bodhisattvas take the lower seats together with Sariputra, Maudgalyayana, and other Sravakas. The Sun-god, the Moon-god, the Mara-king of the sixth heaven, the dragon-kings, and the asuras take their positions in the north and the south together with the Acala-king and the Raga-king. The wicked Devadatta and the little daughter of the dragon-king sit in a corner. The Mother-of-devils and the ten raksasis, who can kill all the people of the world, are also present. The tutelary gods of Japan, that is, Tensho-Daijin, Hachiman Daibosatsu, the seven-generation gods of heaven, the five-gener-ation gods of earth, and the other major and minor gods of Japan also join the congregation. In a word, all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and the other living beings in the world live in this Honzon, and reveal their original sacredness by the light of the fivc letters of the Wonderful Law. This is the Honzon, the true object of worship.”
Nichiren called this Honzon “Dai-mandara” in the same letter:
“I wrote this Dai-mandara two hundred and odd years after the beginning of the Age of Degeneration. This has never been written by Nagarjuna or Vasubandhu or Tendai or anyone else before. How strange! I wrote this as an emblem of the propagation of the Lotus Sutra. But this is not my invention at all. This is the Honzon which Buddha Sakyamuni sitting in the Stupa of the Many-Treasures intended to write with the cooperation of the Buddhas who were his manifestations.”
The Dai-mandara is to show how the title of the Lotus Sutra is worshipped by the Buddhas and others. Nichiren explains this in the Honzon-mondo-sho as follows:
“Question: We are sinful men living in the evil world in the Age of Degeneration. Whom should we worship?
“Answer: Worship the title of the Lotus Sutra.
“Question: On what authority do you say so?
“Answer: In the Chapter of the Teacher of the Law in Vol. 4 of the Lotus Sutra it says, ‘Medicine-King Bodhisattva! Erect a large Stupa adorned with the seven treasures at any place where this sutra is expounded or read or recited or copied or placed. You need not enshrine the relics of the Buddha in this Stupa because the perfect body of the Buddha exists therein. In the Chapter of the Nature of the Tathagata in Vol. 4 of the Mahaparinirvana-sutra it says, ‘Kasyapa! The Law is the teacher of the Buddhas. Therefore, the Buddhas honor the Law, and make offerings to it. Because the Law is eternal, the Buddhas are eternal.’ Tendai Daishi says in his Hokke-zammai, ‘Make a high altar in the monastery, and put a copy of the Lotus Sutra on it. It is not necessary to place an image or the relics of the Buddha or other sutras on it.’ The title of the Lotus Sutra is the Go-honzon of Buddha Sakyamuni, of the Many-Treasures Buddha, and of the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters. As the Buddha and Tendai Daishi did, I also worship the Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra is the parents of Buddha Sakyamuni and the eyes of the Buddhas. All the Buddhas, including Sakyamuni and Maha-Vairocana, were born from the Lotus Sutra.”
We should worship the Lotus Sutra because the sutra is the eyes of the Buddhas, but to worship the Lotus Sutra means to worship the Eternal Buddha Sakyamuni because it was expounded by him. The Sutra-worship is not inconsistent with the Buddha-worship. Nichiren says in the Ho-on-jo:
“Not only we Japanese people but also all the people in the world should worship Buddha Sakyamuni, the expounder of the discourses of the Eternal Buddha in the Lotus Sutra. He is accompanied by the Many-Treasures Buddha, the other Buddhas, and the four Bodhisattvas headed by the Superior-Practice Bodhisattva.”
Anyone will be able to join the congregation described in the Gohonzon by having faith in it. Nichiren says in the Nichinyo-gozen-gohenji:
“Believe in this Go-honzon, and you will be able to enter the Stupa of treasures of this Go-honzon.”
The Go-honzon is, to tell the truth, not a thing made of ink and paper existing outside our mind, but an expression of the conditions of the spiritual world within ourselves. The same article runs:
“This Go-honzon can be found in the heart of the person who keeps the Lotus Sutra and chants Namu-myohorengekyo. His heart is the abode of the ninth consciousness, that is, of the ruler of the mind. Do not seek it elsewhere.”
The Go-honzon will protect you, and make you happy. It says in the same writing:
“Make offerings to this Go-honzon, and you will be happy not only in your present life but also in your next one. This Go-honzon will protect you just as a torch in the night or a carrier in the mountain does.”
Accordingly, one who chants Namu-myohorengekyo is a Buddha. In his Myoho-ama-gozen-gohenji Nichiren Says:
“The person who chants Namu-myohorengekyo is a Buddha. His body is the dharma-body of the Buddha; his mind, the reward-body of the Buddha; and his behavior, the manifestation-body of the Buddha.”
According to the discourses of the Eternal Buddha given in the Lotus Sutra, one can become a Buddha at once without any transformation. In the Myoichinyo-gohenji Nichiren says:
“According to the Lotus Sutra, one can become a Buddha immediately. There are two ways of attaining Buddhahood abruptly. In the discourses of the historical Buddha of the Lotus Sutra, one can become a Buddha at once by transforming oneself into a Buddha. In the discourses of the Eternal Buddha of the sutra, one can become a Buddha at once without any transformation.”
Those who act according to the Lotus Sutra are Buddhas, and their abode is the Pure Land of the Eternal Buddha Sakyamuni. In the Hokkeshu-naisho-huppo-kechimyaku Nichiren says:
“In this Age of Degeneration, the place where the Lotus Sutra is placed, or where the practicers of the Lotus Sutra are living, be they monks or laymen, men or women, noble or humble, is the Pure Land of Tranquil Light. Since the abode is the Pure Land, how can it be that the inhabitants are not Buddhas? Because the Law is wonderful, the keepers of the Law are honorable. Because they are honorable, their abode is admirable.”
Nichiren Pardoned
Nichiren was pardoned by the government on the fourteenth of the second month of 1274. His autobiography runs:
“The Nembutsu priests in the island met and discussed the matter. They said, ‘We shall die from hunger unless we do something. How can we expel Nichiren? What shall we do? Three priests: a leader of the Nembutsu Sect called Yui-Amidabutsu, a leader of the Ritsu Sect called Shoyubo, and a disciple of Ryokan called Dokan, hurried to Kamakura, and said to Musashi-no-kami (Hojo Nobutoki), ‘If Nichiren stays in that island any longer, all the temples will be destroyed and all the priests will die from hunger. He burns the image of Buddha Amitabha or throws it into a river. He climbs up the high mountain every day and night, and curses the government facing the sun and the moon. His loud voice can be heard everywhere in the province. Hearing this, Musashi-no-zenji (Hojo Nobutoki) said, ‘I do not think it necessary to report to the government. My private order will be enough. Banish or imprison the followers of Nichiren.’ Many followers of mine were put in prison or banished or deprived of their wives and children on the ground that they had walked passing me or given me something. But a letter of pardon dated on the fourteenth of the second month of the eleventh year of Bunnei reached me on the eighth of the third month.”