The last reformer of Japanese Buddhism

Nichiren was born the son of a fisherman in Awa (Chiba Prefecture), and entered the priesthood under Dozen of Seicho-ji Temple. He underwent tonsure at 16 and took the name Zeseibo Rencho. He left on a long study voyage which took him to Mt Hiei near Kyoto, the most important Tendai monastery, where he remained for ten years.

He disapproved of the Tendai interpretation of the Doctrine and of the passion for Amida worship, which was rejecting Shakyamuni for Amida. He believed that the true spirit of the Doctirne was to be found in 'The Lotus of the Wonderful Law', a Tendai canonical text.

But because he believed that not everyone would understand it, he declared that the very essence was in its title and that it corresponded to the Buddha's state of enlightenment.

Shakyamuni is another name of the historical founder of Buddhism. He was the son of Shuddhodana, the king of the Shakyas, a small tribe whose kingdom was located in the foothills of the Himalayas south of what is now central Nepal. Shakya of Shakyamuni is taken from the name of this tribe and muni means sage or saint. His family name was Gautama (Best Cow) and his given name was Siddhartha (Goal Achieved), though some scholars say this is a title bestowed on him by later Buddhists in honor of the enlightenment he attained.

The Tendai School

The Japanese Emperor Kammu moved the capital from Nara to the area around Mount Hiei. around 788 AD. It was one of those strange practical jokes of history: Kammu, a devoted Confucian, originally moved the capital in order to get away from the Buddhists. Kammu took a liking to a young priest, and sent him to China in 804 to further his training as a Buddhist priest. While in China, the yound priest Saicho became a follower of the T’ien T’ai school; on his return, he converted the Hiei temple to Tendai, the Japanese name for T’ien T’ai.

The Tendai school was based on the Lotus Sutra, which was the foundational text of all Mahayana Buddhism. The Lotus Sutra claims to be the last definitive teaching of Buddha. In it, the Buddha reveals the “Greater Vehicle” (in Sanskrit, Mahayana) which allows for salvation for a larger number of people. Buddhahood is open to all people rather than to a few; the teaching of Buddhist law, then, is of paramount importance.

Establishment

Nichiren Daishonin determined to take on the awesome challenge of confronting the entrenched, established sects and religious authorities. Calling upon the people of his age and the future to take faith in the wonderful mystic law of the Lotus Sutra, he boldly declared the founding of his true Buddhism on April 28th 1253.

He taught that the practice which perfectly accords with the times and the capacity of the people is the chanting of the invocation “Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo”. Beginning with this declaration, Nichiren Daishonin struggled unceasingly to propagate the heart of the Lotus Sutra, the profound law which he cherished.

Nichiren was convinced that his country could only redeem itself if it returned to the Good Law which he would communicate to the world. He wanted to convert both the government and the people, adn baegan to publish numerous warnings and to preach in the streets of Kamakura, condemming all other schools. His vehemence was such that he was exiled to the Izu peninsula in 1261. Once pardoned, he resumed his attacks.

Condemned to death he only just escaped execution in 1271, but he was banished once more. Within three years he was back at Kamakura and with his disciples went to live on Mount Minobu, to the west of Fuji, which has since become a popular shrine.

The Lotus Sutra is composed of twenty-eight chapters which the faithful believe “transmit the Law” representing the culmination of the essence of the teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha. The Law is transmitted in beautiful prose and verse in terms of humorous parables, allegories, metaphors, fantastic descriptions of supernatural visions and metaphysical discussion. This panoramic totality gives it dimensions of cosmic proportions in space and time.

The variegated nature of the Lotus teachings is associated with Sakyamuni’s inclination to exercise “tactfulness” and “expedience” to accommodate all manner of capacities and temperaments that exist among his listeners. Ultimately these different gateways lead to the Path.

Tag: Nichiren Daishonin