Preface

This book is the product of years of studying and practicing the teachings of Śākyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Shōnin. When I first began practicing Buddhism, I was taking a survey course on Asian religion with Dr. William Grosnick at La Salle University. Thanks to Dr. Grosnick, I was provided with an excellent overview of basic Buddhist teachings and their development. Ever since that time, I have always made it a priority to discover the truth about the teachings and practices which I have been exposed to over the years and not to be afraid to revise or even overturn my current understanding if new evidence (whether scholarly or practical) should present itself.

From the beginning, I have been aware that the Mahāyāna sūtras were not literal recordings of actual sermons by the historical Śākyamuni Buddha. Nevertheless, they are recognized by Mahāyāna Buddhists as the “word” of the Buddha. This is because they conform to the “four seals of the Dharma.” The four seals of the Dharma refer to the three marks of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and selflessness which Buddhism teaches characterize all phenomena. The fourth seal refers to the perfect peace of nirvāna. The three seals or marks describe the real nature of phenomena so that we can free ourselves from attachment to those things which cannot bring us real happiness. The seal of nirvāna describes the state of true happiness which comes to those who have extinguished the flames of greed, hatred, and delusion. Traditionally, any teaching which is in line with the four seals can be considered an authentic teaching of the Buddha.

The Mahāyāna sūtras may not be the literal words of Śākyamuni Buddha, but they are in keeping with the four seals of the Dharma and therefore are the Buddha’s own teaching. Through their use of myth and poetry to convey the spirit of the Buddha’s teachings that lie within the words, the Mahāyāna sūtras may actually be better guides to the true intention of the historical Buddha than those sūtras which only attempt to record actual events and discourses. For this reason, my confidence in the veracity of the Mahāyāna sūtras, and the Lotus Sūtra in particular, has not been challenged by the knowledge that while their teachings are attributed to the Buddha the actual authors are unknown.

Until the mid-1990s, I thought that this problem did not exist when it came to the writings of Nichiren Shōnin, the founder of the school of Buddhism which I follow. I had no idea that a controversy had been raging back in Japan for over a century regarding the authenticity of many of his writings. Blissfully unaware of these debates, I continued to learn from English translations of all of these writings, both authenticated and dubious. Through the guidance of my sensei, the Ven. Ryūsho Matsuda, I have become more sensitive to the issue of discerning which writings definitively express Nichiren’s own views, and which are of a more doubtful origin. I am also very grateful to the Ven. Ryūsho Matsuda for checking the letters and treatises used in this work for authenticity based upon the latest Japanese research that would otherwise be unavailable to me.

In many cases, writings that have not been authenticated or that may in fact be pious forgeries nevertheless express insights perfectly complementary to those teachings that are certainly Nichiren’s. Here again, we can apply the principle of the four seals of the Dharma. In Nichiren’s case, we can also check any particular writing to see if it supports or contradicts teachings expressed in his authenticated works. For these reasons, I have retained the use of these unauthenticated writings in the same way that I am not concerned with the authorship of the Mahāyāna sūtras. I feel that the insights they contain can help deepen our understanding and appreciation of the Lotus Sūtra and Nichiren Buddhism. Within the text, I will say that a writing is by Nichiren only when the work in question has been authenticated. In the case of works that have not been authenticated, I will simply state that the writing is part of the sacred writings of the Nichiren tradition. By this I mean that the writing appears in the Shōwa Teihon, which is the critical edition of the collected works of Nichiren, both authenticated and attributed. The Shōwa Teihon contains the Goibun or Gosho, two synonymous terms which are best translated as “sacred writings.” The sacred writings include all those writings which Nichiren Buddhists have traditionally attributed to Nichiren. For each writing cited, I will provide background information in the footnotes to indicate whether or not there is a copy in Nichiren’s own handwriting, whether or not there is a reliable copy by a contemporary of Nichiren, and whether or not the writing appears in one or both of the early indexes which were compiled after Nichiren’s passing. The first index is called the Rokunai, or Inner Record, which was compiled around a century after Nichiren’s death. The second index is called the Rokuge, or Outer Record, and was compiled roughly two hundred years later. While being listed in the Rokunai or Rokuge does not prove authenticity, it does help date the writing in question.

I do want to make it very clear that I am not endorsing these letters as authentic or authoritative. Their inclusion is simply for the sake of the beauty and clarity of their teachings. They should not be construed as authoritative statements by Nichiren himself. Furthermore, I have only included unauthenticated passages that I felt are fully in the spirit of those writings which are authoritative, especially the “five major writings” which are the final court of appeal when it comes to Nichiren’s own teachings.

The five major writings are: 

1. Rissho ankoku ron (Treatise on Spreading Peace Throughout the Country by Establishing the True Dharma), 

2. Kaimoku-shō (Open Your Eyes), 

3. Kanjin no honzon-shō (Spiritual Contemplation and the Focus of Devotion), 

4. Senji-shō (Selecting the Right Time), and 

5. Ho’on-jō (Recompense of Indebtedness).

The translations from the Shōwa Teihon that appear in this book were prepared by Dr. Yumi Moriguchi-McCormick and myself and reviewed by my sensei, the Ven. Ryūsho Matsuda. I could not possibly express my gratitude to my sensei and to my wife for all their hard work. Without their assistance, I would not have been able to write this book.

Finally, the quotations from the Lotus Sūtra at the head of each chapter have been taken from Senchu Murano’s translation, The Lotus Sūtra.