August 2021
SACRED WORDS
First of all, I, Nichiren, wrote RISSHO ANKOKU RON motivated by the severe earthquake which occurred in the eighth month of the first year of Shoka(1257).
I then submitted it to Hojo Tokiyori, lay-priest of the Saimyoji Temple, in the seventh month of the first year of the Bunno (1260). The Shogunate; however, did not question to me about it, nor accept my suggestion.
The people might have thought that it would not be a crime to kill such a monk of whom the Shogunate had no use. With the secret consent of monks and lay followers of the Pure Land Sect, as well as certain men in power, thousands of people attacked to kill me in my hut at night. However, I was somehow saved from the attack that night, and those who attacked me were not punished at all because they had acted under the secret consent of those in power. The Shogunate thus greatly erred in governing.
Nichiren, The Shimoyama Letter
聖語
正嘉元年(1257)８月に起こった大地震を動機として『立正安国論』一巻を著し、文応元年(1260)７月に、今は故人となった最明寺時頼入道にこの書を提出しました。しかし、幕府はそれについて何もお尋ねなく、また提案したことも取り上げませんでした。人々は幕府が用いない僧侶なのだから、かような者を殺しても罪にはならないとでも思ったのか、浄土宗の僧侶や在家の者たちが、権力ある人もひそかに同意したとかで、夜中数千人の者ども共に私を殺そうとして、草庵に押し寄せてきたのでした。その夜襲った者たちは権力者に同意を得てあったのか、皆罰を受ける事もありませんでした。幕府はこのようにして政道を誤ったのでした。
日蓮聖人『下山御消息』
Matsu-ba-ga-yatsu Persecution
Rev. Shokai Kanai
On August 27, 1260 a ruthless mob tried to assassinate Nichiren Shonin by torching his small hut at night. A legend states that before the arson, a white monkey appeared and tugged on the sleeves of the Saint's robe, so he followed the monkey and climbed into the mountains to safety. (The hut’s location is now AnkokuRon-Ji, where Rev. Chishin Hirai, the former chief minister of the Nichiren Sect Mission of Hawaii, is the resident priest. You can see the small hill behind the temple.) After a while, when the 38 year-old Nichiren Shonin looked back from whence he came, his hut was already in a sea of fire. This is the beginning of many persecutions that followed in the Saint’s life.
The great Saint left Kamakura, staying at the house of Jonin Toki, who was the lord of present-day Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture, and gave lectures for 100 days on the Lotus Sutra. This was also the reason for opening Dai Aragyo-Do 100 Days Ascetic Training at this location.
Two thousand years have passed since Buddha’s death; the Mappo Era has already started. It is said that there was no salvation of Buddhahood even though there are Buddhist scriptures. Most people in the Mappo Era thought that "This world was considered as defiled as dirty soil without the salvation of Buddha. So, Saint Honen thought there was no salvation through the scriptures except relying on chanting the name of Amida Buddha, who was the only savior for the people in the Mappo Era. On the other hand, Saint Dogen thought the scriptures did not lead to salvation but believed that the awakening was only obtained by an individual's psychological experience by doing zazen. Saint Nichiren thought that the Lotus Sutra explained the law of heaven and earth. The teachings of Myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo shows the Buddha’s ultimate awakening; therefore, to chant the title of that sutra was the ability to change disasters of nature into a more harmonious world. It was a teaching that when the people acted according to the laws, peace and happiness of all sentient beings would naturally awaken to reality.
Similarly, when it is hot, you wear light clothes while when cold you wear thick clothes. Wear a mask when the plague is spreading, wash your hands, and get vaccinated. These are the current laws. Reach out to those in need, and drive safely according to traffic rules, then you will be blessed with safety and happiness. “Namu Myo-ho Ren-ge Kyo” is a vow that "I shall follow righteousness!” Act accordingly with your body, talk honestly with your mouth, and think virtuously with your heart. This is the rationale that will automatically bestow peace and happiness within you and with nature.
Diseases, accidents, disasters, and epidemics all occur because human beings do not obey the law of harmony. These are the warning signs for us all. If we obey the right laws, we will be more harmonious and content.
松葉ケ谷法難
金井勝海
松葉ケ谷法難とは、１２６０年７月１６日（聖寿満３８歳）冷酷な暴徒が夜半大聖人の住まいを放火して聖人を亡き者にしようと試みました。伝説によるとその放火の前に白い猿が現れ聖人の衣の袖を引っ張るので、猿に従うようにして山道を登って行きました。その場所はハワイ日蓮宗別院前主任平井智親上人が住職されているお寺で裏に小高い山があります。しばらくして今来た道を振り返ると草庵は火の海となっていました。これが今後続く大法難の始まりです。
大聖人は今後も続くであろう難をさけ、しばらくの間鎌倉を去り、今の千葉県市川市の領主であった富木常忍の館に留まり、１００日間の法華経講義をされたのです。これが現在の日蓮宗大荒行堂が開かれる起源ともなりました。
釈尊が滅度されてから２０００年を過ぎ、仏典はあっても仏の救いがないという末法時代で、「この世を仏の救いがない汚れた穢土として嫌い、西方往生を勧める念仏信仰、また経典を通してでは救われないが、座禅をすることによって個人の心理的体験により覚りを得るという禅信仰、とは大きく違い、日蓮聖人の宗教は天地の法則を説き明かす法華経、ブツダの覚りの究極を示す妙法蓮華経、一言に集約したお題目によって政治を変え、天変地変の災いを除き、人々が法則に従って行動し全人類の幸福を願う教えでした。
簡単に言うと、宇宙の法則に従い暑い時には薄着をして、寒い時は厚着をし、疫病が蔓延している時にはマスクをして、手を洗い、ワクチン接種を受け、困っている人には手を差し伸べ、交通規則に従って安全運転をすれば、安全と幸福に恵まれるというわけです。南無妙法蓮華経とは「私は正しい法則を身で行い、口で行い、心で行います」という誓いです。そうすればあえて祈らなくても、自然のうちに平和と幸福がもたらされるという道理です。
病気や事故や災害は皆、人間が調和の法則に従わない為に起こります。私達にとっては警告です。全人類が正法に従えば世界平和になり、幸せになるのです。