The Teachings for Victory, vol. 3

By Daisaku Ikeda

Nichiren Daishonin's writings provide a practical formula forenabling all people to achieve victory in every aspect of their livesand attain an unshakable state of happiness.This volume of Learning from Nichiren's Writings: The Teachingsfor Victory contains SGI President Daisaku Ikeda's lectureson nine of Nichiren's letters:“On the Offering of a Mud Pie”“A Father Takes Faith”“How Those Initially Aspiring to the Way CanAttain Buddhahood through the Lotus Sutra”“Letter to the Lay Priest Nakaoki”“Letter to Konichi-bo”“The Good Medicine for All Ills”“The Four Debts of Gratitude”“On the Treasure Tower”“Letter from Teradomari”President Ikeda elucidates the importance of studying Nichiren's writingsas the foundation of Nichiren Buddhism as practiced by the Soka GakkaiInternational. His lectures bring Nichiren's immense wisdom, compassion,and courage into focus for the present age. In reading and studying theselectures, we learn how to apply in daily life Nichiren's profound philosophyfor inner transformation and victory for both ourselves and others.The Teachings for Victory will empower you to develop the strength andwisdom to bring forth your inherent potential.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
• Release date: Mar 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781938252884

Book preview

West.

CHAPTER

1

ON THE OFFERING OF A MUD PIE

YOUTH, BE PROUD SUCCESSORS TO THE STRUGGLE TO RESTORE THE TRUE SPIRIT OF BUDDHISM!

The Passage for Study in This Lecture

The fourth volume of the Lotus Sutra states: "If there is someone who seeks the Buddha way and for the space of a kalpa¹ presses palms together in my presence and recites numberless verses of praise, because of these praises of the Buddha he will gain immeasurable blessings. And if one lauds and extols those who uphold this sutra, one’s good fortune will be even greater."²

The point of this passage is that one will gain greater blessings by giving alms to the votary of the Lotus Sutra, who in the evil world of the latter age is so intensely hated, than by giving alms to the Buddha for a whole medium kalpa.

What is more, although your late father was a warrior, he had an abiding faith in the Lotus Sutra, and thus—you were only a child at the time—I know that he ended his life in the frame of mind of a true believer. And now you have succeeded him and likewise are firm in your faith in this sutra. Though his spirit is hidden now in the grasses, I am sure he must be very pleased. And how happy he would be if only he were still alive!

Persons who uphold this sutra, though they may be strangers to one another, will meet on Eagle Peak.³ And how much more certain is it that you and your late father, because you both have faith in the Lotus Sutra, will be reborn there together!

Others may live to fifty or sixty and still have their fathers with them to share the gray-haired years. But in your case you lost your father at a very early age, and hence were deprived of his instruction and guidance. When I think of what this must have meant for you, I cannot restrain my tears.

I, Nichiren, had profound hopes of aiding the country of Japan, but the people of Japan, high and low alike, all seemingly bent on the destruction of the nation, not only did not heed my advice, but again and again treated me with animosity. Powerless to do otherwise, I retired to this mountain forest. And now word has come of an attack by the forces of the great kingdom of the Mongols. I am deeply grieved, pondering how things might have been had they only listened to my advice. When I think that they must all suffer as the people of Iki and Tsushima⁴ have suffered, my tears flow without end.

This is not something I state now for the first time. For the past twenty years or more⁵ I have never spared my voice in shouting it out loud. Well, so be it, so be it!

This letter deals with matters of great importance, so you should ask someone to read this letter and listen carefully. Though others may slander us, we are teachers of the Law who take no heed of such a thing. (WND-2, 499–501)

LECTURE

At the ceremony where he entrusted the baton of kosen-rufu to his youthful successors on March 16, 1958, more than five decades ago, my mentor, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, declared: The Soka Gakkai is the king of the religious world! This powerful and inspiring pronouncement still reverberates in my heart today.

Youth have the passion and power to create new value. They have the energy to pioneer new frontiers. As long as youth with the mission of Bodhisattvas of the Earth continue to emerge with joy and vigor, the future of our movement is sure to grow and flourish.

Over these many decades, I have dedicated myself to kosen-rufu with the spirit that every day is March 16. I have realized every plan and vision of my mentor. I have not a single regret.

The baton of kosen-rufu Mr. Toda passed on was in fact a brightly burning torch of religious revolution. Both he and his mentor, Soka Gakkai founding President Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, believed that religion should exist to realize human happiness and to create peace. It was this conviction that inspired them to initiate a religious revolution. Since its inception, the Soka Gakkai (originally, the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, or Value-Creating Education Society) has been dedicated to this cause.

An article titled The Aims of the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai was published in the organization’s prewar journal, Kachi sozo (Value Creation). The article argues the need for religious revolution as a crucial foundation for reform in all other areas, including education, modes of living, and philosophy. It goes on to state that a religious revolution can be substantiated when we make actual positive results in people’s daily lives our standard of proof.

Mr. Toda stood up amid the devastation of postwar Japan to initiate a struggle to rid the world of all misery and unhappiness. He, too, was motivated by the conviction that the Soka Gakkai’s mission lay in carrying out a religious revolution for the sake of people’s happiness. And he taught that this revolution was to be realized through individual human revolution, or inner transformation.

Both Mr. Makiguchi and Mr. Toda criticized the state of affairs in Japan where religion had lost sight of such aims as personal transformation, human happiness, and positive social contribution. They stirred up a groundswell of dialogue to reestablish religion as a force that benefited people’s lives.

Mr. Toda’s declaration that the Soka Gakkai was the king of the religious world was a declaration of victory for that spirit, which is the heart of the Soka Gakkai. The word king here, I believe, also reflects the sense of responsibility Mr. Toda personally felt to work for the happiness of all humanity. Even after the ceremony on March 16, he urged us never to relax in our efforts to address errors and abuses within the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood. To the very end, he waged an unremitting struggle against negative influences that weaken and corrupt the human spirit.

The Soka Gakkai spirit is manifested in the towering challenge to carry on the struggle of Nichiren Daishonin who, in spreading the Mystic Law, propagated a teaching for the happiness and welfare of ordinary people everywhere.

Youth have an especially important mission as protagonists in this endeavor. With this point in mind, in this chapter I would like to discuss On the Offering of a Mud Pie,⁶ a letter Nichiren sent to his youthful disciple Nanjo Tokimitsu.

The Significance of the Struggle of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra

The fourth volume of the Lotus Sutra states: If there is someone who seeks the Buddha way and for the space of a kalpa presses palms together in my [Shakyamuni Buddha’s] presence and recites numberless verses of praise, because of these praises of the Buddha he will gain immeasurable blessings. And if one lauds and extols those who uphold this sutra, one’s good fortune will be even greater.

The point of this passage is that one will gain greater blessings by giving alms to the votary of the Lotus Sutra, who in the evil world of the latter age is so intensely hated, than by giving alms to the Buddha for a whole medium kalpa. (WND-2, 499)

Nichiren wrote On the Offering of a Mud Pie in November 1274 to thank Nanjo Tokimitsu for the sincere offerings he had sent.

Earlier that year, Nichiren had been pardoned from exile on Sado Island and had returned to Kamakura. Then, in May, he moved to Mount Minobu. A short two months later, in July, Tokimitsu visited him there. Tokimitsu was just sixteen at the time. This is thought to have been their first meeting in about nine years. Nichiren had visited the grave of Tokimitsu’s father, Nanjo Hyoe Shichiro, shortly after he died, and Tokimitsu, then age seven, most likely met him at that time.

Nichiren was delighted at what a fine young man Tokimitsu had become. In another letter, he declared that Tokimitsu was the image of his father when he was young, and had the same pure-hearted spirit in faith as his father.⁷

From various writings, it appears that Nichiren often thought of the deceased Hyoe Shichiro, fondly recalling his exemplary character and admirable devotion to faith. In one such letter, he also notes that when he traveled through Suruga Province on his way from Kamakura to Minobu, he wished he could have visited Hyoe Shichiro’s grave.⁸

It is not difficult for us to imagine, then, how overjoyed he must have been to receive an unexpected visit at Minobu from Tokimitsu—now grown so splendidly into a courageous young warrior possessing the mission of a Bodhisattva of the Earth.

In November 1274, four months after his encounter with Nichiren at his mountain dwelling, Tokimitsu sent him various offerings out of concern for his well-being. Nichiren, naturally, was deeply grateful for Tokimitsu’s sincere gifts and the thoughtfulness that prompted them. In addition to his thanks, his letter also contains important guidance for youth, overflowing with Nichiren’s wish to teach his young disciple principles of vital importance for future success.

First, Nichiren writes that the spirit of making offerings builds infinite good fortune in one’s life. He especially praises Tokimitsu’s sincerity, saying that since he is making offerings to the votary of the Lotus Sutra, who is propagating the correct Law in an evil age amid great persecution, he is sure to gain immeasurable benefits.

Using a passage in The Teacher of the Law, the tenth chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren explains that the blessings obtained by making offerings to the votary of the Lotus Sutra in the evil world of the Latter Day are greater than those obtained from making offerings to the Buddha. Incidentally, the same chapter also indicates that the offense of slandering the votary of the Lotus Sutra even for an instant in the time after the Buddha’s passing is far more serious than slandering the Buddha for an entire kalpa.⁹

Why does the Buddha place such importance on the votary of the Lotus Sutra? To understand this, it is essential to recognize the Buddha’s true intent as expressed in the Lotus Sutra—namely, that the Lotus Sutra is expounded to liberate people from suffering and lead them to enlightenment in the evil age after the Buddha’s passing.

From The Teacher of the Law chapter onward, the Buddha’s main focus in the Lotus Sutra is the sutra’s propagation after his demise. He states that one who preaches even a single verse of the Lotus Sutra in that latter age is an envoy of the Thus Come One (i.e., the Buddha), dispatched by the Thus Come One, and carrying out the work of the Thus Come One.¹⁰ From the perspective of those living in the evil age of the Latter Day, these envoys of the Thus Come One are people completely equal in nobility and dignity to the Thus Come One himself.

In other words, the votary of the Lotus Sutra, who embodies and propagates the Law, is one whose presence is of foremost importance in that latter age, because without this votary, the people would remain forever shrouded in darkness.

Nichiren states, The Law does not spread by itself: because people propagate it, both people and the Law are worthy of respect (GZ, 856).¹¹ No matter how excellent a teaching may be, if people who embody the Law don’t appear, then the Law will not spread and illuminate the world; the Law only truly comes to life through the actions of people.

In particular, the votary of the Lotus Sutra, who unerringly upholds and propagates Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, illuminates the darkness of humankind. Accordingly, praising this votary brings even more blessings than praising the Buddha.

Nichiren goes on to note, however, that the votary of the Lotus Sutra is intensely hated in the Latter Day of the Law. In this evil age, the votary refutes erroneous Buddhist teachings that go against Shakyamuni’s intent of and denigrate the Lotus Sutra. The votary boldly advances a religious revolution to restore the Buddha’s true intent. These actions inevitably arouse the three powerful enemies¹² and trigger harsh persecution.

In reality, Nichiren was subjected to just such persecution by the powerful religious and secular authorities of his day. He was nearly beheaded, sentenced to exile,¹³ and criticized and attacked by people throughout the land. Anyone who supported or made offerings to him was regarded with hostility and hatred. Only a person with an unwavering resolve to share his struggle would dare support or assist him. This profound spirit of dedication and commitment is a cause for accumulating limitless benefit. From this letter, we can sense that Nichiren recognized Tokimitsu’s profound, unwavering seeking spirit toward his mentor and his determination to strive alongside him.

In the light of the principles outlined in The Teacher of the Law chapter, it becomes apparent that in the evil world of the Latter Day, the supreme Law of Buddhism for the enlightenment of all people is brought to life through the existence and actions of the votary of the Lotus Sutra. Stated another way, Buddhism resides in the life of a person who strives with selfless dedication for the genuine happiness of humanity.

Actively involving oneself with people and their welfare is the first step to restoring the original intent of Buddhism that is the heart of Nichiren’s religious revolution.

Practitioners of the Lotus Sutra Are United by Eternal Bonds

What is more, although your late father was a warrior, he had an abiding faith in the Lotus Sutra, and thus—you were only a child at the time—I know that he ended his life in the frame of mind of a true believer. And now you have succeeded him and likewise are firm in your faith in this sutra. Though his spirit is hidden now in the grasses, I am sure he must be very pleased. And how happy he would be if only he were still alive!

Persons who uphold this sutra, though they may be strangers to one another, will meet on Eagle Peak. And how much more certain is it that you and your late father, because you both have faith in the Lotus Sutra, will be reborn there together!

Others may live to fifty or sixty and still have their fathers with them to share the gray-haired years. But in your case you lost your father at a very early age, and hence were deprived of his instruction and guidance. When I think of what this must have meant for you, I cannot restrain my tears. (WND-2, 499–500)

In this passage, Nichiren tells Tokimitsu how happy his father would surely be that his son has succeeded him as head of the Nanjo family and has inherited his dedication to faith in the Mystic Law. He further states that both father and son, as practitioners of the Lotus Sutra, are certain to be reunited in the future on Eagle Peak.

Life is eternal. Those who remain steadfast in their faith in the Mystic Law to the very end will be able to travel together through life’s unending journey enveloped in happiness and joy. In future existences, they will be reborn in the same places and be able to walk the great path of kosen-rufu together. No doubt Tokimitsu was deeply comforted and reassured by Nichiren’s words.

Tokimitsu had lost his father at a young age, and his life since then had not been easy. Some people in the world, observes Nichiren, still have their elderly parents by their side; when Tokimitsu saw such families, he probably wished for his father to still be with him to provide further advice and instruction. This thought, Nichiren writes, moves him to tears.

A Compassionate Teacher Fostering Youth

It is truly a fortunate thing to have a mentor in life. Reading between the lines of this letter, we can sense his compassion to warmly watch over Tokimitsu in his father’s stead.

Indeed, in the many subsequent letters that he wrote to his young disciple, Nichiren not only teaches him about Buddhist principles but also offers detailed advice to guide him in his life and self-development. In The Four Virtues and the Four Debts of Gratitude, for instance, seeking to teach Tokimitsu the proper conduct for a person of wisdom, he outlines the four virtues of ancient China—namely, (1) filial piety toward one’s father and mother; (2) loyalty to one’s lord; (3) courtesy toward one’s friends; and (4) pity and kindness toward those less fortunate than oneself (WND-2, 636). He remarks that even when one cannot do anything concrete for one’s parents’ benefit, one can at the very least offer them a smile two or three times a day.¹⁴ This is an example of the kind of advice, brimming with the spirit of humanistic education, that he frequently gave Tokimitsu to help him become a person of outstanding character.

Mr. Toda also regularly emphasized the importance of being good sons and daughters, and this has been a focus of my guidance as well. I have consistently called on young people to bring joy to their parents who care for them and to express their heartfelt appreciation to them. I have always believed this to be crucial to the process of youth growing into fine adults.

Later in his youth, Tokimitsu would face great adversity—his home province of Suruga becoming the stage for the Atsuhara Persecution.¹⁵ Throughout, Nichiren did his utmost to train and foster Tokimitsu, praying for the spiritual and personal growth of his young disciple. When harassment of Nichiren’s followers in the Suruga area began to intensify, there were evidently people near Tokimitsu who tried to convince him to abandon his faith, using seemingly justifiable arguments. In response, Nichiren gave Tokimitsu detailed advice on the course of action he should take, instructing him to remain true to his beliefs.¹⁶ At the same time, he instilled a broader vision in his disciple’s heart, telling him that someday the entire Japanese nation will simultaneously take faith in the Lotus Sutra (WND-1, 800)—a declaration that the time of kosen-rufu would definitely come.

On another occasion during the Atsuhara Persecution, Nichiren lauded Tokimitsu as Ueno the Worthy for his unflagging efforts, and urged him to dedicate his life to the great vow of kosen-rufu (WND-1, 1003). And later, when the lingering effects of that persecution were still being felt, he reassured Tokimitsu with words of hope for the future, writing, Though we may suffer for a while, ultimately delight awaits us (WND-2, 882).

When a son was born to Tokimitsu, Nichiren proposed the name Hiwaka Gozen¹⁷ (WND-2, 884). Tokimitsu’s happiness, however, was short-lived; tragedy struck soon after when his younger brother Shichiro Goro died suddenly (see WND-2, 887). The government authorities in Kamakura also imposed heavy additional obligations on Tokimitsu (such as punitive taxes on his estate and demands to supply men for unpaid labor for public works), resulting in great economic hardship for him and his family.¹⁸ In addition, Tokimitsu faced numerous personal challenges, including serious illness.¹⁹ However, with Nichiren’s wholehearted encouragement each time, he was able to surmount every obstacle.

We could say that at each crucial juncture in his turbulent youth, Tokimitsu received guidance from Nichiren on vital points of faith for prevailing over the particular difficulty confronting him—whether it was persecution arising from his efforts for kosen-rufu or some personal karmic challenge in his own life.

Amid a relentless storm of obstacles and persecution, Tokimitsu staunchly protected his fellow practitioners in Atsuhara. In praise of his efforts, Nichiren declared: You already resemble the votary of the Lotus Sutra (WND-1, 1087). Tokimitsu had grown into a fine young leader, forging ahead on the path of kosen-rufu with the same dedicated commitment in faith as Nichiren.

The guidance to Tokimitsu can also be seen as guidance for all young people in the Latter Day of the Law. Even though youth today are unable to meet Nichiren in person, by studying his writings and exerting themselves for kosen-rufu just as he teaches, they can grow into people who live with the same spirit that he did.

Mr. Toda once asked me which of Nichiren’s disciples I liked best. When I answered Nanjo Tokimitsu, Mr. Toda smiled and nodded—a moment I