Advices to His Followers
It is regrettable that few enter the true Way. Nichiren wrote to Matsuno-dono:
“A fish lays many spawns, but few of them are hatched. An amratree puts forth many flowers, but few of them bear fruit. The same can be said of men. Many people aspire for enlightenment, but few enter the true Way. Ordinary men are not constant in pursuing enlightenment. They are retarded by bad environments. Many soldiers are armored, but few of them are brave.”
In the same letter he criticizes idle priests, saying that they are beasts in priestly robe:
“If you are too poor to offer anything to the Buddha, and if you have an opportunity to attain Buddhahood by giving up your life, study the teachings of the Buddha at the cost of your life. Your body will change into earth someday. Why do you grudge it? We cannot live for a hundred years. Our life is just a dream. It is difficult to be born as a man. Some monks study the teachings of the Buddha, but do not criticize the slanderers of the right teachings of the Buddha. They just pass time in playing and chattering. They are beasts in priestly robe. They are in the form of priests, but not priests at all. They are thieves because they steal the name of priests. You are a layman. You should chant Namu-myohorengekyo with your whole heart, make offerings to priests, and expound the sutra as far as you can.
Practice and Study are the two most important things for Buddhists to do. Nichiren says in the Shoho-jisso-sho:
“Believe in the most excellent Go-honzon in the world. Have faith in it, then you will be protected by Buddha Sakyamuni, the Many-Treasures Buddha, and the other Buddhas in the worlds of the ten quarters. Practice and study, or the teachings of the Buddha will be out of existence. Do yourself, and also tell others to clo so. Practice and study come from your faith.”
Be brave and do not be coward in propagating the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren says in his autobiography:
“If you are a follower of Nichiren, do not be a coward. Do not think of your parents, wife, child, or property. Many people have given up their lives for the sake of their parents, wives, children, or properties, but no one has for the sake of the Lotus Sutra. Some followers of mine believed in the Lotus Sutra and practised the teaching of it but gave up their faith when I was persecuted. Make up your mind! To exchange your body for the Lotus Sutra is to trade stone for gold or to barter dirt for rice. The five letters of myo, ho, ren, ge and kyo have not yet been propagated for the past two thousand two hundred and twenty and odd years since the extinction of the Buddha. The five letters were not propagated by Kasyapa or Ananda or Asvaghosa or Nagarjuna or Nangaku or Tendai or Myoraku or Dengyo. These letters are the essence of the Lotus Sutra, and the eyes of all the Buddhas. The present time is the beginning of the Age of Degeneration. The five letters should be propagated now in this world. I have begun to propagate them. You young men follow me and surpass Kasyapa, Ananda, Tendai and Dengyo.”
Our aim is to see that all the people of the world will respect the True Law, that is, the law expounded in the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren says in the Shonin-gohenji:
“My wish which I have been keeping for a long time may be fulfilled in the near future. The prophecy of the Buddha for the events to take place in the fifth five hundred years after his extinction has come true. Collect the priests of the Shingon, Zen and the other sects who slander the right teachings of the Buddha. Debate with them, and have them decide whether I am right or not. Then all the people of Japan will follow me, and my disciples will become the teachers of the Emperor and Ex-Emperors, and my lay followers will be given high positions of the State. Furthermore, all the people of the world will respect this Wonderful Law.”