THE DHARMA FLOWER SUTRA SEEN THROUGH
THE ORAL TRANSMISSION
OF
NICHIREN DAISHÔNIN
ω

Preface

The ideograms of Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô
The One Instant of Thought Containing Three Thousand Existential Spaces
Mount Sumeru
Preposterous Numbers
Attitude To Faith

Before I go any further into this preface, I would like to say that if it were not for the encouragement of Gerhard Lenz and his enormous effort in typing and editing this manuscript, as well as all his patient advice, none of this “web project” would ever have come into existence.

The object of this web project is that since the existing translations either those of the powerful lay organization or at least two of the persuasions that are monkish orders tend to be either misleading or in the case of the lay organization sycophantic and misguided. This is mainly on account of a finicky desire to do translations that are either a reiteration of word for word of what was memorized verbatim by Ananda at the council of Râjagrha (ôshajo) near Spirit Vulture Peak (ryôjusen) or the writings of Nichiren Daishônin or the notes written down by his closest disciple Nikkô Shônin. This may well be scholarly accuracy, but if such a teaching is to be valid to westerners, then maybe a lot of soul searching will be necessary in order to make sense out of the incoherent utterances of monks who have made little attempt at learning the languages of the west or even the dictatorial claptrap of those responsible for the powerful lay organization. It is also extremely apparent that both these types of organizations have incredibly little knowledge of the enormous research conducted into the Buddha teachings by sinologists, sanscritologists, tibetanologists and japanologists in various countries in the West.

What is being attempted here is a close study of what it was that made Nichiren Daishônin realize that the salvation of humankind is to be found within the text (montei) of the Dharma Flower Sutra. I think it can be said that at extremely sparse intervals in the course of history there have been a few individuals who have really comprehended what existence is all about. Many of these persons came from the East. The first I would venture has to be the historical Shakyamuni, but apparently his teachings only really began to have a profound meaning after Nâgâjuna, Vasubandhu, Tendai, Myôraku and Nichiren Daishônin had made their appearance. Prior to the Buddha teaching there were Fu Xi, Shen Nong, Confucius, Mencias as well as many others who gave ordinary people the formula for the enlightenment of Buddhahood. The message is to devote our lives and found them on the simultaneousness of cause and effect that pervades the entirety of existence and is Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô in Japanese. It is the recitation of the title and subject matter of the Dharma Flower Sutra that makes us realize that the meaning of existence is here and now in each and every moment of our lives and that the Lotus Flower is the totality of all the possible reaches of our minds.

This is neither a strictly scholarly translation of The Sutra on the Lotus Flower of the Utterness of the Dharma (Myôhô Renge Kyô) nor is it a flat rendering of the Oral Transmission on the Meaning of the Dharma Flower Sutra of Nichiren Daishônin (Ongi Kuden). Nevertheless this is a serious attempt to make both of these texts more accessible to people who have less experience with Buddhist literature in general.

The purpose of this project is to encourage readers who seek individuation as C.G. Jung calls it and for those who already are familiar with the teachings of Nichiren Daishônin to embrace the implication of opening up one’s inherent Buddha nature with our persons just as they are. C.G. Jung wrote that individuation means beings undivided which entails a fundamental sense of well-being that harmonizes with all persons and everything that surrounds us. In other words we are happy. In the teaching of Nichiren Daishônin this sense of completeness means that our real identity is life itself, which has always been the basic ingredient of the whole of existence. This is not a handbook for some kind of quackish beatification, but a serious examination of the Buddha enlightenment of Nichiren Daishônin who saw in the Sutra on the Lotus Flower of the Utterness of the Dharma or simply the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokkekyô), the real meaning of the whole of life. According to Nichiren Daishônin in his Oral Transmission on the Meaning of the Dharma Flower Sutra, which was put into writing by his closest disciple Nikkô Shônin, that Kyô or Sutra are the dimensions in which existence takes place and wherein the simultaneousness of cause and effect (Renge) function, which is throughout the entirety of all existence (Myôhô).

When it comes to the Dharma Flower Sutra there are two distinct parts. The first part consists of the discourse that the Buddha Shakyamuni preached, which is the very essential part. Then there is the part that I describe as metric hymns. Originally these verses, which some scholars call stanzas, often consisted of a recurring group of often five ideograms which may or may not have rhymed. These verses are also called gathas in Sanskrit and in Japanese ge. It is my suspicion that these verses were a later addition in order to facilitate committing the contents of the sutra to memory. Even for the Buddha who saw existence as the singularity of its Utterness, which as the Buddha himself says in the Sixteenth Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathâgata, as neither being its reality nor not existing at all (hijitsu hiko), might have found it difficult to compose such verse spontaneously.

What I feel is important in such translating work is to try and bring the intention and the meaning of such a subject within the reach of the intelligent reader. In other words these translations are similar to the “explanatory interpretations” of the various schools that are involved in the propagation of this kind of teaching.

The next question arises as to what authority I have to undertake this task. I am now seventy-eight years of age and first started to seriously study both classical and modern Chinese when I was seventeen years old. This long and varied journey of life is filled with deep research and serious study that also included literary and modern Japanese, Tibetan and most of the languages of Western Europe. If one is embracing a language, then I suppose it must involve a similar inclusion of the cultures of the idioms concerned. Apart from my linguistic endeavours these translations are the expression of forty years of faith in the teaching of Nichiren Daishônin that was inherited by his successor Nikkô Shônin.

Before I started the practices of the teaching of Nichiren Daishônin I studied portions of the doctrines that came before the Dharma Flower Sutra both from the Chinese point of view as well as from the Tibetan. Here we are immediately placed in the contradictory situation of enlightenment as the total extinction of nirvana and the Buddha awakening as opening up our inherent Buddha nature with our persons just as they are (sokushin jô butsu). The latter concept of the purpose of the Dharma is reasonably applicable by means of the daily practices of Nichiren Schools (Kômon) that follow Nikkô Shônin. According to Nichikan Shônin 1665-1726, it is not so much how deeply we consciously believe, but the fact that we just get on and do our practice.

The Sutra on the Lotus Flower of the Utterness of the Dharma is a celebration of life itself even though some passages are difficult to swallow. If it were not for the Oral Transmission of Nichiren Daishônin, the deeper significance of many parts of this sacred writing would have been lost. The real meaning of this sutra is tucked away in the title which in plain English would read, “The time and place of the simultaneousness of cause and effect that constitutes the totality of existence.”

The reality of our lives is that we are suspended in a synchronistic balloon in which both 1) birth, maturing, becoming old, sickness, decline and the finality of death (shô, rô, byô, shi) which applies to living beings and 2) coming into existence, lasting as long as they should, falling apart and finally ceasing to exist (shô, jû, i, metsu) of all that is inanimate including stellar entities, are completely valid equations. I will attempt to explain how this contradictory equation is dealt with on the Fundamental Object of Veneration (gohonzon), which is a graphic description of all that the Dharma Flower Sutra entails as well as being a representation of everything that concerns our lives.

The ideograms of Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô

I promised a friend of mine that I would explain what the title and subject matter of the Dharma Flower Sutra means as it is inscribed on the Fundamental Object of Veneration for most of the Nichiren Schools. Along with this title and theme, I also would be clarifying the significance of the individual Chinese ideograms concerned. Iin a number of cases the meaning and purport of these signs has changed over the millennia that separate the Buddhist language of Nichiren Daishônin and the inscriptions on the oracle bones of the Hsia (Xia) dynasty 2205 BCE. Also I would like to underline the fact, in spite of what some scholars say, that without the Oral Transmission of the meaning of the Dharma Flower Sutra it might be impossible to reach a real understanding of what this profound teaching is about. As for the archaic definitions of the Chinese ideograms concerned I have solely relied on Mr. Chang Hsüan’s book The Etymologies of 3000 Chinese characters in common usage that was published by the Hong Kong University Press in 1968.

The Buddhist term for devotion is written with two ideograms “nan” which means south and “mu” which means “to come to nothing” or obliterate. Both these Chinese ideograms are used only for their phonetic value to represent the sound of the Sanskrit word “namas”.

The first ideogram “nan” which, as I said before, in the present day languages that either use or refer to Chinese ideograms means “south”. In one of the oldest glossaries of the Chinese language, the Shuo wên chieh tzû (setsu mon ge ji) or “Discerning the signs and explaining the ideograms”, it says, “The branches of trees and plants grow in a southerly direction.” The next ideogram that is used in this phonetic representation of “Namu” is in the “Discerning the signs and explaining the ideograms” means “to come to nothing” and it is pronounced (in present day Chinese) as wu. My teacher in Buddhist studies the Venerable Hsin Kuang explained this character as being a picture of a thicket of trees being consumed by fire and coming to nothing.

However, if we are to understand this word “nam(u)” properly then perhaps it might be better to quote what Nichiren Daishônin had to say about it. The Oral Transmission of the meaning of the Dharma Flower Sutra states that nam(u) is a word that comes from Sanskrit, here when rendered into Chinese it means to devote and establish one’s life. The Object of Veneration upon which we devote our lives and establish them is both the person of Nichiren Daishônin and the Dharma which involves the one instant of thought containing three thousand existential spaces. The person is the eternal Shakyamuni who is present within the text of the Sutra on the Lotus Flower of the Utterness of the Dharma [The Dharma Flower Sutra]. The Dharma is the Dharma Flower Sutra as the recitation of its title and subject matter (Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô) and its Fundamental Object of Veneration upon both of which we dedicate and establish our lives. Again devotion means to turn to the principle of the eternal and unchanging reality (shohô jissô) which must entail the one instant of thought containing three thousand existential spaces as it is expounded in the teachings derived from the external events of Shakyamuni’s life and work (shakumon). The establishment of one’s life means that it is founded on the wisdom of the original archetypal state (honmon) which is reality as it changes according to karmic circumstances.

This introduction to the Sutra on the Lotus Flower of the Utterness of the Dharma [The Dharma Flower Sutra] later on states that the Nam(u) of Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô is derived from Sanskrit and that Myôhô, Renge and Kyô are words of Chinese origin.

In the inscription on the Fundamental Object of Veneration the Daishônin uses a style of writing that is referred to as “Calligraphy with whiskers” (hige monji). In the case of Nam(u) the ideogram for “south (nan)” sits straight on top of the ideogram “to come to nothing (mu)” which may imply that those two characters are pronounced as a monosyllable. When the question is raised why such a peculiar writing? Then I would suggest that even outside of our teaching, prayers and mantras are often recited and intoned in a particular way. This is simply because they are too important to utter in an ordinary conversational voice. In China, Taoist talismans and charms are often written in what also might be described as “whiskery writing (hige monji)” because the content is supposedly too profound for an ordinary calligraphic style.

Myô, in the text of Discerning the Signs and Explaining the Ideograms there is a small addendum that says, "It is unthinkable since it is known that the book of Hsü (Xu) must have originally had this ideogram. I can only suggest that it had been overlooked. It seems to have been derived from the category of ideograms (radical) under feminity and the ideogram for few (hsiao), serves as an indication of how this ideogram was pronounced.” However from a Buddhist point of view the Universal Teacher Tendai defined the ideogram myô as that which cannot be pondered over nor can it be discussed (fushigi). Nichiren Daishônin in his thesis on The Real Aspect of All Dharmas states that the real aspect of existence (hô) has to be all dharmas (i.e. include the whole of existence). Then all dharmas have to include the ten ways in which dharmas make themselves present to any 1) of our six sense organs [i. eye, ii. ears, iii. nose, iv. tongue, v. body and vi. mind] (Nyoze sô), 2) their various inner qualities (Nyoze shô), 3) their substance or what they really are (Nyoze tai), 4) their potential strength and energy (Nyoze riki), 5) the manifestation of that energy and strength which is their influence (Nyoze sa), 6) their fundamental causes (Nyoze in), 7) along with their karmic circumstance (Nyoze en), 8) the effects they produce (Nyoze ka) and 9) their apparent karmic consequences (Nyoze hô). 10) Also in any way dharmas make themselves present to any of our six sense organs have a coherence with their “apparent karmic consequences” which are present in every instant of life. These ten ways in which dharmas or existence can become apparent must involve the ten psychological dimensions of existence, or what it is called in Buddhist terminology the ten realms of dharmas [1) hell and suffering, 2) hungry ghosts or craving or wanting, 3) animal instinctiveness, 4) shuras or the bombastic extravaganza and anger of titans, 5) human equanimity, 6) impermanent ecstasies and joys, 7) intellectual research, 8) partial enlightenment due to affinities with the arts, literature, music and philosophy, 9) benevolent beings and people who think of others, 10) the enlightenment of the Buddha. These ten realms of dharmas have to posses some kind of embodiment and an objective environment or as beings in the intermediary dimension between dying and being reborn or the realms of the imagination.

Later on in the same thesis the Daishônin says that the whole of existence or all dharmas are Myôhô Renge Kyô. I suggest that if we read over these two passages carefully we will come to understand that the ideogram (myô) is an utterness or an entirety that infers the simultaneousness of cause and effect by simply being the whole of its own existence. So that it is the common denominator and the motivating force of this thing we call life. Here it might be useful to mention that the word utterness or myô implies the enlightened realm of the Buddha which is the immateriality and the latency of noumena along with the empty space that separates one atomic particle from another (kû). The state of enlightenment that was attained by Shakyamuni Buddha is said to be the extinction of all being and all illusion as well as the destruction of all karma, which in his teaching is the cause of rebirth. According to the doctrine of the universal vehicle (mahâyâna) nirvana denotes neither coming into being (fushô) nor coming to nothingness (fumetsu). This enlightened dimension is also equated with the wisdom (chi) and discernment (e) of the enlightened that have the ability to perceive with no error what is true and what is false. On the other hand the word dharma (hô) designates existence as what we take in through our various organs of sense. This is probably the reason why people who do the practices of the various Nichiren schools concentrate on the ideogram (myô) when they chant the title and theme (daimoku).

There are schools that would prefer to translate the ideogram (myô) as having meanings such as “mystic, wonderful” or “without equal” in the sense that this concept is beyond comprehension. In this context the Universal Teacher Tendai explains the meaning of this ideogram from two points of view in order to demonstrate the depth of the Dharma Flower Sutra. The first meaning is comparative (sotai myô). This means that when the Dharma Flower Sutra is measured up to all the other sutras, then it is this sutra that surpasses all in its underlying profundity. Then there is the concept of (myô) as an absolute which is not only the common denominator of all existence but also its dynamism (zettai myô). This vision of the Dharma Flower Sutra cannot be compared to any other Buddha teaching because it integrates every aspect of the Dharma.

The ideogram for (hô) or Dharma has an extremely exotic archaic etymology of “where the Kirin (Kylin) or the Chinese unicorn goes it is the law.” However the usual definition is more or less “where water goes” which I would interpret that water finds its own level. Buddhists use this ideogram to express the various implications of the words Dharma and dharma or dharmas since they never come singly or in the singular. From the Buddha’s enlightened viewpoint all existence is the oneness of Myôhô Renge Kyô which must involve the one instant of thought containing three thousand existential spaces. Be that as it may we as ordinary people perceive existence as something multifarious, complex and definitely a plurality. This concept in my translations is written with a small “d”, as dharmas. These are anything that touches upon any one of our six senses, whether it is physically perceptible or even if it is something that is just in our minds. This concept has practically nothing to do with the original definition except that ideograms, like the words in our language change over the millennia. As a result, my understanding of Myôhô is either the Utterness of the Dharma or the entirety of all dharmas as the whole of existence.

Next we come to the ideogram “ren” which also has a native Japanese reading “hasu”. This ideogram is classed in a category (radical) of plants which in this case is at the top. The other part of the ideogram “ren” or “lien” in Chinese is simply used as a phonetic to show how this ideogram should be pronounced, but nevertheless has an independent meaning of “joining”, “connecting” or “to accompany”. The part of the ideogram “ren” has no bearing on its meaning. In many Japanese supermarkets this ideogram “ren” which can also be read “hasu” refers to the roots of the lotus plant which is the part that we eat and in Chinese medicine is said to be good for the lungs. But in actual fact this word stands for the whole of the lotus plant. In the teaching of Nichiren Daishônin, in his definition of Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô, this ideogram has the undertone of the fruition or effect as in the sentence “The Lotus Flower is the two dharmas of cause and effect, this again is cause and effect as a single entity”, or as in the Writing on the Eighteen Perfect Spheres where it states that the lotus plant has the implication of “the blossom (ge) is the cause that brings about the fruition”. Here I would like to stress that since Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô implies the whole of the Dharma or all dharmas, the ideograms of this title and subject matter (daimoku) cannot be seen as independent or individually separate.

Those who are familiar with the teachings of Nichiren Daishônin must be aware the “ge” is the word that almost inevitably follows “ren”. In the text of Discerning the Signs and Explaining the Ideograms, this ideogram simply defines this word for “flower” as “They look attractive and are splendid”. This character is derived from the category of ideograms (radical) for plants and also an archaic ideogram that seems to be the graphic representation of a flower in which the Book of Hsü (Xu) says that this ideographic image also shows how this ideogram should be pronounced.”

In the teachings of the Dharma Flower Sutra this particular ideogram (ge) usually refers to the flower of the White Lotus, the famous pundarika. This becomes apparent in the Tibetan title of this sutra “Dam pai chos kyi pundarikai mdo”. Also in the combination of the words “ren” and “ge”, the flower which is “ge” tends to have the implication of being the cause in the concept of the simultaneousness of cause and effect.

The Universal Teacher Tendai in this Recondite Significance of the Dharma Flower Sutra (Hokke Gengi), gives two explanations of the lotus flower. The first is the lotus flower as as simile or a metaphor to explain the fundamental nature of the Utterness of the Dharma (Myôhô). The lotus plant at the same moment has its flowers and seeds and is used as a symbolic image to allude to the simultaneousness of cause and effect which is the nature of the essential reality that runs through the whole of existence (shinnyo, bhûtathâta). Furthermore the lotus plant grows in muddy swamp water and the emergence of the white flower hints at the awakening of the Buddha nature in the ordinary individual. However this is still the Buddha teaching of Shakyamuni, whereas in the teaching of Nichiren Daishônin, our Buddha nature becomes manifest the first instant we decide to do the practices of his doctrine and to hold faith in it.

Then there is the second concept of the essence of the Dharma being comparable to the lotus plant. A concept that refers to the entity of the Dharma Flower Sutra not just as a symbol but what existence really is. In the Daishônin’s writing the Thesis on the Significance of the Actual Substance of the Utterness of the Dharma (Tôtaigi shô) he clearly states that Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô is the total embodiment of the Dharma.

A further examination of the simultaneousness of cause and effect can be illustrated by taking out a coin and tossing it up into the air. It is a foregone conclusion that the coin will hit the ground. The cause being that the coin was thrown up into the air. In fact all actions bring about a result; all actions are causes in themselves which generally speaking are referred to as “karma”. This word really means the “workings” and is derived from the Sanskrit root kr. The English word “create” is possibly related to this root.

Even though there is a certain lapse of time between that action that is the cause and whatever result it may have, in the Buddha teaching it is a fundamental concept that cause and effect are built into each other. In the Thesis on the Significance of the Actual Substance (of the Utterness of the Dharma) (Tôtaigi shô) it says that the Buddha had the insight to comprehend that the Utterness of the Dharma was contained in the simultaneousness of cause and effect. It is as if one were to conceive the underlying workings of the whole of existence like the cogs and wheels of some enormous clockwork machine. Some wheels and cogs are bigger and there are others that are smaller, each moving at different speeds but instead of a tightened spring it is their entirety which makes them all work together.

The last of these five ideograms that form the Chinese title of the Sutra on the Lotus Flower of the Utterness of the Dharma is “kyô” which in this case is equated with the Sanskrit term “sutra”. In the Discerning the Signs and Explaining the Ideograms it defines the ideogram “kyô” as “To weave” it belongs to the category of the ideograms (radical) for thread and the picture of running water beside it is an indicator as to how this ideogram should be pronounced [which in modern Chinese is ching (jing)]. This ideogram is used to express “longitude”, “canonical texts”, “a classic” and “the warp in weaving”. Some readers may have heard of the title Tao Tê Ching which is the caption of the text attributed to Lao Tzû. Here the word “ching” is the same ideogram. In imperial China many books have been given the title ching throughout its long history. In English the word “sutra” is usually understood as one of the discourses of the Buddha Shakyamuni of which there are many hundreds.

In spite of the abundance of possible meanings of this ideogram, Nichiren Daishônin at the beginning of his Oral Transmission of the Meaning of the Dharma Flower Sutra gives this word “kyô” a special significance. “The Dharma realm or the realm where dharmas occur is the sutra (kyô) itself.”

The One Instant of Thought Containing Three Thousand Existential Spaces

Many, many years ago while living in Katmandu, I was on my way to visit the famous stupa at Bodnath, Nepal. If my memory does not misguide me, I was walking along the road flanked by a wooded grove when a magnificently looking Hindu ascetic came up to me and said in very British English, “Young man, what are you seeking?” to which I replied, “I am looking for the truth of what is life,” or something to that effect. Then the sannyasi responded, “We live all space all time simultaneously and without effort. Beyond that there is nothing more to learn. Good morning to you.”

Many years passed by before I fully realized that this elderly holy man had taught me a fundamental truth which is barely removed from the Buddhist concept of the “one instant of thought containing three thousand existential spaces.” Sometime later I heard this concept from my Chinese teacher the Venerable Hsin Kuang. It took many years of patient study and practice before I would fully understand that this philosophical and psychological equation is the whole of life which is Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô. Founding our lives and devoting them to the location and time of the simultaneousness of cause and effect that entails the whole of existence and is the total celebration of life itself. Even though the Buddha teaching does give room for stimulating prayer, reciting this formula can be used for supplication or beseechment. In time we can really learn through the experience of practice what our innermost desires and longings consist of.

Throughout these translations the term “the one instant of thought containing three thousand existential spaces” has been used exclusively, I shall now try to explain all the implications of this formula.

Three thousand (sanzen, trisahasra) is a concept in ancient Indian philosophy that appears to be a number of completeness, possibly because in the Indian countryside there were many who were unable to count. The term “three thousand” was first used to express “the entirety of all dharmas” (issai shohô). A dharma being anything that we can perceive through any of our sense organs or anything that goes on in our heads. So that the idea of one instant of thought containing three thousand existential spaces means that even the tiniest fragment of mental activity involves the totality of existence. Even though this numerical theory appears to be somewhat medieval, we might try to understand that in our own western languages, words like life, existence or water are more or less singularities. For instance if we say the word “existence” it has something of the undertone of “all existence” or if we just use the word “water” it has the implication of “all the water in the sea” or in the faucet.

For convenience, the one instant of thought containing three thousand existential spaces is figured in the following way. The first is the ten realms of dharmas. I use this term because the Chinese ideograms define them in this manner. These are the ten realms where dharmas exist as opposed to the whole of existence (Myôhô) which is the oneness of the enlightenment of the Buddha, which in the teaching of Shakyamuni, has all the implications of non-existence or nirvana. Nevertheless each one of these ten realms of dharmas contain the other ten so that these ten states of mind are all found in one another. In this way these ten realms of dharmas become one hundred. To this we have to modify one hundred realms of dharmas by the ten ways in which dharmas make their existence felt (jûnyoze) or the ten qualities of suchness so that we now have one thousand realms where dharmas occur. These one thousand varieties of realms where dharmas come about in various intensities is now modified and multiplied by the three existential spaces which are in fact three principals of differentiation. 1) the existential realm of the five aggregates, 2) the existential realm of sentient beings and 3) the existential realm which consists of the environments in which various kinds of existence take place. Now we have 10 realms x 10 realms x 10 ways of existence x 3 existential realms which equals 3000 existential realms.

I must say for the sake of putting our various mental states and moods into a schema where they can be grasped with greater clarity, as they are often indefinable at the edges, such as our complexes, joys, angers and sufferings, it is necessary to enumerate and describe each one of these states one by one.

The unhappiest realm of dharmas is hell (jigokukai) and the suffering of its denizens. This includes all suffering either physical or mental. Suffering begins at the stage of a thorn in your little finger, feeling the lash of pain caused by words that hurt, the pain of broken relationships, illness, injuries and loneliness, also including the horrors of war and the almost unimaginable dimension of the perpetrators and victims of things that happened during the second World War as well as well current bloodshed in Africa and the Middle East. Hell is also hate. Each one of us has suffered in some way or another. From a more conventional and stereotypical Buddhist point of view, there are according to various teachings of the individual vehicle (shôjô, hînayana) or the universal vehicle (daijô, mahâyâna), eight hot hells, eight cold hells which are situated under the world of humankind. Usually the descriptions of these hells are medieval and sadistic. In their iconographic way these portrayals are far removed from the real pain, suffering and mental anguish that many people experience. Among the objectives of the teachings of Nichiren Daishônin is to lead people away from such torments and to bring about their happiness and inner realization.

The second of these ten realms of dharmas is the dimension of hungry demons. In the Buddha teaching of Shakyamuni these hungry demons are seen more like ghosts who live in a purgatorial state which some people say is under the ground. It is their sad destiny that they are condemned to continually hanker after food, sex, drink, drugs and other things. It is documented that there are 39 classes of these unfortunate creatures.

This dimension is the second of the three lower karmic destinations. In traditional Buddhist iconography these beings are depicted as having long thin necks with swollen bellies that force them to crawl on the ground. There are also a number of Japanese paintings of the Edo period depicting hungry ghosts hanging around the more sordid and seedy establishments of the red light districts. The present day visualization would be closer to heroin addicts in need of a fix or alcoholic derelicts haunted by their thirst or the tobacco smoker who cannot do without a cigarette. This is the part of us that craves or wants and must have in order to continue. From a positive view, the perpetual need for food, nourishment, money etc. is the mechanism to defend the life within us in order to do the things that make life worth living. Again like all the other realms of dharmas, the mental state of the hungry demon is also endowed with all the other ten realms of dharmas.

In the teachings prior to those of Nichiren Daishônin the realm of dharmas of animality (chikushôkai) meant one to be born as an animal, even though there must be psychic entities that can only be incarnated in the animal world, such as those beings who were also animals in their former lives. One of the concepts of animality is a sentient being who is motivated by animal instincts and territorialities. Since we humans have also been described by some people as “hairless apes” then perhaps we can recognize that our animal qualities are not only limited to eating, defecation and sex but are also partly responsible for our class systems, hierarchies and feudalism in the office or other work places. However to be born with a human body gives us the opportunity to open up our minds so that we can understand what our existences are all about.

The ashuras (shurakai) originally in the brahmanic and Vedic mythology, were titanesque beings who were always vying with the devas (ten or shotenzenjin) for superiority. Traditionally they were defined as “ugly”, “not devas” and “without wings.” There were four categories of these beings that depended on the manner of their birth, which means that they were born from eggs or from a womb or born by transformation or as spawn in the water. Their habitat was the ocean which only came up to their knees, but other less powerful ashuras lived in mountain caves in the west.

In popular iconography the kings of the ashuras were represented with three or four faces and had either four or six arms. They also had palaces and realms similar to the devas. In the teaching of Nichiren Daishônin this realm of dharmas corresponds to the psychological mechanism of wanting to be the centre of attention, to be noticed by others and the desire to control. Often when these tendencies are frustrated they easily turn into anger, rage and jealousy. In simpler terms it has a lot to do with our being pretentious or a show-off. In the Thesis on the Fundamental Object of Veneration for Contemplating the Mind, Nichiren Daishônin mentions cajolery, wheedling and “buttering up” as part of this dimension. In a more positive sense this is the part of us that says that we need our own space which enables us to mentally and physically carry on living, in other words, all that our egos need.

The realm of dharmas of humanity (jinkai) is the sense of human equanimity and rationality. In spite of all the troublesome worries (bonnô) that plague our lives, there is a part that reassures us that things are not as bad as they seem and that everything is all right. It is this aspect of our personalities that gets on with daily living without too many upsets, in other words a satisfactory life. In the Buddha teaching of Shakyamuni the realms of dharmas of humanity meant to be born as a human being.

From the viewpoint of the teaching of Shakyamuni the realms of dharmas of the devas (tenkai) refer mainly to the merits of the divinities of Brahmanism and other Vedic teachings. The devas were said to have golden bodies, superhuman powers and extremely long lives filled with joy and ecstasy but, like all other life spans at some time or another they must come to an end. Many devas are the protectors of the Buddha teaching. According to Nichiren Daishônin’s writing on Securing the Peace of the Realm through the Establishment of the Correct Dharma one concludes that the devas protect human interests and that they are also nourished by religious rites especially the recitation of the title and theme (daimoku), Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô. There are many cultures with legends and mythologies concerning this kind of sentient being that would fit into the category of devas, for example elves, guardian spirits, local gods, saints, angels and ancestral divinities. There are a number of devas whose names are important to the Buddha teaching of Nichiren Daishônin and are inscribed on the Fundamental Object of Veneration (gohonzon).

One might ask if these tutelary essences could be archaic archetypal elements in the depth of our psyches that have influence over our lives in one way or another? When we create so much bad karma by doing things that are wrong, these archetypes can no longer take part in what we do, then these devas may no longer make their presences felt allowing more destructive energies to take their place. For anyone who has practiced the rites of the teachings of Nichiren Daishônin, we can only be aware of forces that in some way guide our lives, often in the most unexpected way. What I have just said about the devas is based on personal intuition. However someone might ask the question, “What are the devas?” I thought an allusion to their existence might be food for conjecture. Devas have extremely happy and ecstatic long lives that eventually must come to an end in a protractedly distant future. The concept of the realms of dharmas of the devas in the teaching of Nichiren Daishônin refers to our joys and epiphanies like falling in love, getting the right job, a great night out or the enjoyment of doing something useful or creative. However exhilarating or joyful our experiences may be we are always sooner or later compelled to return to the more stark dimension of normal realities of daily living. The realms of dharmas of the devas refer to the impermanence of all our joys, raptures and delights.

Next we have the realms of dharmas of the people who listen to the Buddha’s voice which is a literal translation of the Chinese ideograms. In the teaching of Nichiren Daishônin it refers to the dimension within us that wants to be informed, the desire for intellectual pursuits or just wanting knowledge. This is the part of us that is the inquirer and the part of us where learning is still a work in progress. This concept is applicable to the intellectuals of the present day.

Historically speaking, during the time of Shakyamuni these were the people who exerted themselves to attain the highest stage of the individual vehicle (hinayana) through listening to the Buddha. [Here I use the term “individual vehicle” because these teachings were for individual enlightenment. We can say that these people were only practicing for themselves as opposed to the practices of the universal vehicle (mahâyâna) which was an exposition of the Dharma for the people who were prepared to practice not only for the benefit of themselves but for others as well (bosatsu, bodhisattvas).] Later the expression shômon was used to designate people who understood the four noble truths; 1) suffering is a necessary aspect of sentient existence, 2) the accumulation of suffering is brought about by our lusts and our attachments to them, 3) the extinction of such suffering is possible and that 4) the teaching of the Buddha path leads to the elimination of such lusts and attachments. These people practiced with all their might to become arhats or arakan which is an inner realization of existence being nirvana. The object of the teaching of Nichiren Daishônin, is as I have said earlier, is to open up our inherent Buddha nature with our persons just as they are, which is not only within our grasp but a path towards a real fulfillment and realization.

The realm of dharmas of the people who are partially enlightened due to karmic circumstances (engaku) are from the viewpoint of the teaching of Nichiren Daishônin, individuals who through an involvement with the arts, music, literature, the sciences, philosophy or even religion have a deeper insight into the meaning of existence. This is a psychological dimension that is contrasted with the search for understanding and wanting to know the how and why of their circumstance. This realm of dharmas involves those people who have a deep understanding of what life entails but not all its secrets.

This kind of mental state is not only concerned with people who follow the various teachings of the Buddha but also many scientists, writers, artists, musicians and other people who try and have tried to follow an enlightened existence fall into this category.

However from a historical viewpoint these partially enlightened individuals were those who fully understood the links in the chain of the twelve causes and karmic circumstances that run through the whole of sentient existence. [1) A fundamental unenlightenment which is brought about by 2) natural causes and inclinations inherited from former lives. 3) The first consciousness after conception that takes place in the womb. 4) Both body and mind evolving in the womb which leads to 5) the five organs of sense and the functioning of the mind. 6) Contact with the outside world and the growth of receptivity or budding intelligence and discernment from the age of six to seven onwards. 8) The desire for love at the age of puberty and 9) the urge for a sensuous existence that forms 10) the substance for future karma. 11) The completed karma ready to be born again that faces in the direction of 12) old age and death.] Nevertheless the Buddha Shakyamuni saw people of the realm of dharmas who were partially enlightened due to karmic circumstances (engaku) as essential seekers of enlightenment for themselves.

The realm of dharmas of the bodhisattva (bosatsukai) is the ninth of these ten realms of dharmas. Originally this term bodhisattva is derived from two Sanskrit words; 1) bodhi which means knowledge, understanding, perfect wisdom or enlightenment and 2) sattva which has the sense of being, existence, life, consciousness or any living sentient being. While this concept is not entirely foreign to the teachings of the individual vehicle (hînayâna, shôjô), it was almost used exclusively to designate Shakyamuni in his former existences. In tales concerning the former lives of the Buddha he is often referred to as the Bodhisattva. According to the earlier teachings of the universal vehicle (mahâyâna, daijô) this expression referred to any person whose resolve was to attain enlightenment which in Chinese texts was understood as “a sentient being with a mind for the universal truth.” Later the term was used for people with an awareness that was all embracing. In the teachings of the universal vehicle the people who listened to the Buddha’s discourses (shômon) and those people who were partially enlightened due to various karmic circumstances (engaku) only made endeavours for their own enlightenment whereas the bodhisattva aims at the illumination and the realization of others. Roughly speaking this realm of dharmas designates the desire to seek their own enlightenment and at the same time have the compassion to strive for the happiness of others.

The tenth of the realms of dharmas is that of the Buddha enlightenment. To describe this psychological dimension is the most difficult since such an enlightenment is beyond any of my personal experiences. This realm of the Dharma is the oneness of existence as perceived by the Buddha. This perception of the singularity of the Dharma is understood as one of total freedom and a consciousness of the ultimate truth. The Dharma Flower Sutra makes it clear that the Dharma Realm of the Buddha is inherent in the lives of all sentient beings. As an experience this dimension is probably the clear light that is often seen by people in near death states which in the Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo thos sgrol) is described as “the point of entering the intermediary state between dying and rebirth (hchi khahi bar do). In the teaching of Nichiren Daishônin this is pointed out as “the silence and the shining light” that is in fact the fundamental nature of life itself which also accompanies us through our respective deaths.

These ten realms of dharmas which are in fact ten states of mind and also the dharmas that contributes to the composition of these mental and emotional conditions. That is the reason for using the term “realms of dharmas.” Just as in our ordinary lives there can be no experience that is not tinged with all the other things that have happened to us in our respective lifetimes. For instance no suffering is separate from all the other events in our existences. There cannot be any anger that is not correlated to what happened to bring about such a situation. It is the same with all of these realms of dharmas, none of which exist entirely on their own.

The mutual possession of the ten realms of dharmas is a concept of the Universal Teacher Tendai based on the teaching of the Dharma Flower Sutra. Here Tendai propounds that each one of these realms of dharmas contain the latent potentiality of the other ten. This is one of the concepts that form the basic structure of the theory of the one instant of thought containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen). The mutual possession of the ten realms of dharmas implies that our lives are not rooted in any one particular realm. But at any moment any one or more realms of dharmas can become manifest if there are the right karmic circumstances.

One of the more important implications of this concept is that all ordinary people who normally inhabit the first nine of the realms of dharmas is, that such persons can open up their inherent Buddha nature with their individualities just as they stand. In addition to this the Buddhas are also endowed with the first nine realms of dharmas and are fundamentally the same as we who are common mortals.

The idea of the reciprocity of the ten realms of dharmas can produce the notion that people having a propensity towards a particular realm of dharmas. However through continual practice and study people can come to realize that their real identity is the essence of life itself.

As I explained earlier, each realm of dharmas is furnished with the other ten giving us a sum of hundred realms of dharmas.

The ten ways in which existence can become perceptible to our various senses or the ten qualities of suchness (jûnyoze) which literally mean these ten factors of existence are “just like this” (nyoze=kaku no gotoki) is an analysis of existence which included all its changing aspects. Consider that machines used in modern hospitals can scan the human body layer by layer and other devices can view objects on a molecular level. While orbiting around Earth the Hubble Space Telescope allows astronomers to observe distant supernovae and uncover evidence that the universe is expanding at a greater rate than previously thought. The total human knowledge driven mostly by technology is now doubling every four years and will continue to do so, yet the ten facets of existence remain the same.

The Buddha Shakyamuni first expounded these ten qualities of suchness in the Second Chapter on Expedient Means of the Sutra on the Lotus Flower of the Utterness of the Dharma (Myôhô Renge Kyô, hôben bon dai ni), where he says, “Stop Sharihotsu, don’t say anything more. The reason being is that what the Buddha brought to perfection is the most awe-inspiring primary and difficultly understood Dharma.” The real aspect of all dharmas (Shohô jissô), can only by exhaustively scrutinized between one Buddha and another. What this real aspect is said to be (sho’i shohô), 1) in any way dharmas make themselves present to any of our six sense organs (i. eyes, ii. ears, iii. nose, iv. tongue, v. body and vi. mind (nyoze sô), 2) their various inner qualities (nyoze shô), 3) their substance or what they really are (nyoze tai), 4) their potential strength and energy (nyoze riki), 5) the manifestation of that energy and strength which is their influence (nyoze sa), 6) their fundamental causes (nyoze in), 7) along with their karmic circumstances (nyoze en), 8) the effects they produce (nyoze ka), and 9) their apparent karmic consequences (nyoze hô). 10) Also in any way dharmas make themselves perceptible to any of our six sense organs have coherence with “their apparent karmic consequences which are present in every instant of life (nyôze hon makku kyô tô).” This particular text gives us a foundation and a reason for replacing the three categories of vehicles to enlightenment with the single vehicle. The three vehicles being; 1) the hearer’s of the Buddha’s voice who were people who exerted themselves to attain the highest stage of the individual vehicle (shôjô,hînayâna) through listening to the discourses of the Buddha or the intellectuals of today (shômon), 2) people who due to their affinities with the sciences, arts, literature or music are partially enlightened (engaku) and 3) the bodhisattvas (bosatsu) who seek enlightenment not only for themselves but for others as well. This concept was expounded in the teachings derived from the external events of Shakyamuni’s life and work (shakumon) which stand in contrast to the doctrine that refers to the original archetypal state of existence (honmon). The teachings derived from the external events of Shakyamuni’s life and work tends to have a somewhat theoretical, presumptive and academic flavor. Nevertheless, be that as it may, those ten ways in which existence can become manifest or these ten qualities of suchness (jûnyoze) are applicable to all dharmas in such a way that there cannot be any real distinction between the Buddha and ordinary people. The process of clearing away these three vehicles to enlightenment in order to establish the single vehicle is referred to as “clearing away the three vehicles in order to reveal the one” or kai san ken ichi in Japanese.

The Universal Teacher Tendai takes advantage of the authority of this passage in the Sutra in order to establish the theory of the one instant of thought containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen). Whereas the ten realms of dharmas express different states of mind and their illusionary accompanying states of affairs, the ten qualities of suchness or the ten ways in which existence can become perceptible (jûnyoze) can be applied to any existential situation whatsoever. In this way both the realms of suffering (jigokukai) and the realm of the enlightenment of the Buddha (bukkai), in spite of their differences have the ten ways in which existence can be perceptible (jûnyoze) in common.

Reviewing these ten ways in which existence becomes apparent (jûnyoze), 1) Nyoze sô which is in any way that dharmas make themselves present to any of our six organs of sense. The same way they become perceptible from the outside which includes attributes such as colour, shape, composition, behavior and every other physical aspect. 2) Nyoze shô refers to the various inner qualities of dharmas, the words that we attach to them, those thoughts that we associate with them along with the characteristics that cannot be discerned from the outside. When it comes to human beings it refers to our psychological makeup, spiritual individualities and consciousness. 3) Nyoze tai is the substance of what beings or things really are which is a combination of their physical and psychic aspects. When it comes to the inanimate, it includes the various mental or spiritual features that we would like to assign to them. For instance what a child might endow its teddy bear with or a religious image along with all the special qualities that the devotee might attach to it.

These first three qualities of suchness (nyoze) refer to the threefold explanation of reality (santai) 1) that existence is only its physical attributes (Ke) which in terms of these first three ways in which we perceive dharmas is nyoze sô. 2) The second is existence which is the immateriality of the latency or noumena and can only be reached through our minds (Kû) which in this case is nyoze shô. 3) The third of these threefold explanations is the reality of all dharmas which is a combination of the two aspects of reality Ke and Kû which I have just explained. This is the middle way of reality (chûdô jissô) and in terms of the qualities of suchness is nyoze tai.

The following six qualities of suchness begins with “their potential, strength and energy (nyoze riki).” To “their apparent and karmic consequences (nyoze hô) are the functions, the various ways and intensities of the workings of life. “Their potential strength and energy (nyoze riki)” which is the fourth of the quality of suchness, represents the force or the potential energy in order to realize something in our lives or to set an action in motion. The fifth quality is “the manifestation of that energy and strength which is their influence (nyoze sa).” This is the action that comes about when the latent potentiality is set into motion. The sixth quality of suchness is “their fundamental cause (nyoze in)” that are the causes inherent in our lives which produce an effect which is either positive or negative. The seventh quality is “along with their karmic circumstances (nyoze en)” which is understood as a contributing cause or a concomitancy. A karmic circumstance is a condition or a situation that contributes to an effect. The eighth quality is “the effects they produce (nyoze ka)” that we are the result of what happens in the depth of our lives especially when there are karmic circumstances to bring such an effect about. Since the fundamental causes and the dormant results are somewhat latent in the deeper trenches at the bottom of our existences, there is often a certain lapse of time between the manifestation of that energy and the strength and the action that it caused and the effects that actions can produce. “Their apparent karmic consequences (nyoze hô) is the ninth quality of suchness. This is the concrete result that appears after an unspecified period of time as the consequence of both “the fundamental cause” “along with their karmic circumstances.”  “Also in any way dharmas make themselves perceptible to any of our six sense organs [i. eyes, ii. ears, iii. nose, iv. tongue, v. body and vi. mind], have coherence with “their apparent karmic consequences” which are present in every instant of life (Nyôze hon makku kyô tô). This last and tenth of these qualities of suchness is the integrating link between the way dharmas make themselves present to our six sense organs (Nyôze so) and their apparent karmic consequences (nyôze hô). These ten qualities of suchness are continually present to some degree or another throughout the whole of existence.

The first three of these ten qualities of suchness are grouped together and collectively defined as the substance of any dharma or any being that exists. Tthe following six qualities of suchness (riki, sa, in, en, ka, hô) are the various functions and qualities of all dharmas. All those ten ways that dharmas can become perceptible are inseparable from each other. This in fact is what the substance and the roles of the whole of existence consist of. In the theory of the one instant of thought containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen), these ten qualities of suchness (jûnyoze) modify the hundred realms of dharmas. Ten times the hundred mental states that have already been mentioned become a thousand qualities of suchness. It might also be of interest that these ten qualities of suchness are not mentioned in the original Sanskrit text of the Dharma Flower Sutra. One can assume that Kumarâjîva (Kumarajû) was making Shakyamuni’s preaching more explicit. This is precisely what we are doing in with these interpretive translations.

In conclusion to the theory of the one instant of thought containing three thousand existential realms we come to the three existential realms upon which sentient beings depend in order to exist (san seken). These three existential realms are in fact three formulas for the differentiation that exists between one person and another. The first is the existential realm of the five aggregates (go’on seken), the second is the existential realm of sentient beings as individuals (shujô seken) and the third is the existential realm of individual environments (kokudo seken). Although these concepts have their origin in the writings of Nâgâjuna (Ryûjû) they were assimilated by the Universal Teacher Tendai as the third supposition to support his meditational perception of the one instant of thought containing three thousand existential realms. Its worth mentioning that the Universal Teacher Tendai [T’ien T’ai in Chinese] is generally considered as the Buddha of the formal period of the Dharma (zôbô).

The five aggregates (go’on) are the elements that are the makeup of living beings and an existential realm (seken) is where sentient beings do what they do or where they live and die. These five aggregates are; 1) Shiki which is the physical aspect of any living being which also includes five of their six organs of sense [i. eyes, ii. ears, iii. nose, iv. tongue, v. body] with which the external world however illusionary can become perceptible to them. 2 Ju is the function of taking in external information through our various sense organs including the mind thatcoordinates the impressions of the first five senses. 3) Sô is conceptualization and thought. It is the way beings apprehend and form some kind of idea of what they have experienced. 4) Gyô is the decision to take on a course of action on account of what our minds have understood and thus having formed an idea of what to do. 5) Shiki, which is written with a different ideogram from the first aggregate, is the consciousness which has the function of discerning and the ability to distinguish one thing from another. Our consciousness can also establish opinions and store them up. This last aggregate integrates the other four. The first aggregate refers to our physical aspects while the other four signify our mental behavior.

The existential realm of sentient beings as individuals (shujô seken) consists of a temporary union of the five aggregates as mentioned. So that we are what we are from one moment to the next because living beings or sentient beings are only expressions that refer to this mutable instability of the five aggregates (go’on) that give us the impression we are conscious individuals. Whereas the significance of the five aggregates analyzes the physical and mental workings of a sentient being, the existential realm of sentient beings as individuals (shujô seken) designates a personality that is already established and is capable of functioning in relationship to its environment. This is a concept which implies what sort of sentient beings we are and at the same time this idea can be covered with a notion of plurality which suggests various groups of people.

The existential realm of individual environments (kokudo seken) specifiy the places which sentient beings inhabit and where their activities take place. This concept essentially differs from the ten realms of dharmas (jikkai) in the sense that they are varying states of mind, whilst the existential realms of individual environments are the manifest surroundings and conditions in which different kinds of sentient beings live. Originally in the teachings prior to those of Nichiren Daishônin the existential realms of individual environments (kokudo seken) were actual physical locations. For instance people who suffer were placed in various hells under the ground due to their karma. The ecstasies of the devas lived in a heavenly rapture somewhere high above the world. However since the ten realms of dharmas are subjective experiences, then the existential realms of individual environments also reflect the various aspects of life that are our own karmic fabrication.

As we continue with the theory of the one instant of thought containing three thousand existential realms (ichinen sanzen) we now have three existential realms upon which these thousand qualities of suchness (nyoze) are able to act out their respective modes of being. Both Dr. Soothill’s Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms and the Universal Dictionary for Buddhist Studies (fo hsueh ta tzŭ tien) of Ting Fu-pao list the entry for three thousand (sanzen) as a technical term to express all things everywhere, in other words, all dharmas (issai shohô). Hence the idea that one flash of mental activity pulls along with it the whole of existence. This is the same as the one instant of thought containing three thousand existential realms.

Mount Sumeru

Mount Sumeru (Shumisen) was the mountain that stood in the centre of the world according to ancient Indian tradition. It was said to have measured 84,000 yojanas above the earth and another 84,000 yojanas underneath the surface. It was considered that a yojana was a measurement defined by a day’s march of the royal army, which would add up to something close to thirty kilometers a day. Tradition states that Mount Sumeru was made of gold, silver, emerald and crystal. The mountain had four slopes each one facing in the four directions of north, south, east and west. The Deva Taishaku (Skt. Shakra Devanam Indra) has his palace on the summit whereas the four heavenly deva kings live half way up its four slopes. Mount Sumeru is surrounded by seven concentric circles of mountain ranges that are of solid gold between which there are seven seas of perfumed water. The seventh mountain range is surrounded by an ocean of salty water in which the four continents Hotsubudai, Kuyani, Uttanotsu and Enbudai that are situated accordingly in the east, west, north and south. The world of humankind is Enbudai. Above the summit of Mount Sumeru there are various heavens in which some of the inhabitants have desires and appetites, other heavens have inhabitants that have form along with their surroundings, other heavens have inhabitants that consist of the immateriality of being without any form at all. There is a sun and moon that rotate around this cosmos and the salty ocean is surrounded by a circular range of iron mountains which form the outer limits of this universe.

However here I would like to emphasize that from the point of view of faith there is no contradiction between these ancient psychological concepts as the experience of being alive and our present day view that is based upon scientific thought, along with the psychological and philosophical research of C. G. Jung, Aldous Huxley and R. D. Laing and many others. Although this description of Mount Sumeru is somewhat sketchy, it might be worth pointing out that the cause of its existence is none other than the karma of those whose consciousness have survived the dissolution of other universes.

Attitude To Faith

Before delving into the question of the enormous numbers mentioned throughout the Dharma Flower Sutra, I thought it might be wise to quote the Zen monk Nansen (Nan Ch’üan) (748-834 C.E.) in order to have a kind of instruction as to how we might look at these apparent improbabilities that we encounter throughout this and many other sutras.

Nansen said to the assembly of monks, “We know nothing about the existence of the Buddhas of the past, present and future, all we know by experience are things like badgers and white bulls.”

What Nansen was trying to point out is that we have no means of really understanding what a great deal of the arcane and unrevealed content of the sutras really mean, all we can actually experience are the realities of our day to day lives. However in spite of the hermetic quality of so many of these kinds of references, it does not prevent us from making a qualified guess.

I am personally prepared to accept that what the Buddhas such as Gautama Shakyamuni or Nichiren Daishônin have said is the truth. I have also tried to make sense out of what the implications of those enormous astronomical numbers are. If we are prepared to accept the idea of the one instant of thought containing three thousand existential spaces (ichinen sanzen) along with the concept that plants, trees and the environment have an inherent Buddha nature, then perhaps we can become adjusted to the notion that anything that exists must entail the whole of existence or that any single being or object cannot be separate from the entirety of life. In the theory of Tendai we have only three thousand kinds of existential spaces, but in our experience of everyday reality the number of psychological wavelengths that exist at any given moment would automatically involve the enormous ciphers that are dotted about here and there throughout this sutra. All we can presume is that these myriads of myriads of myriads that are often mentioned in the sutric text might suggest that whatever our individual realities may be, we live all space, all time simultaneously and without effort.

Update No. 5

However before discussing the intricacies of the Fundamental Object of Veneration (gohonzon), I have to say that the way the Buddha teaching is being taught by each and all schools here in Japan amounts to little more than coercing people into a low level credulity and superstition. This declaration is particularly applicable to the monks in Taisekiji Temple.

To begin with Nam Myôhô Renge Kyô is a title and subject matter that consists of words and not some silly magic spell which if chanted will get the practitioners anything they might want. Nor is the Fundamental Object of Veneration a numinous shamanistic charm which if chanted at will comply with any desire that suits the fancies of the votary. If one would attentively read the first entry of the Oral Transmission of the Meaning of the Dharma Flower Sutra (Ongi Kuden) as part of this web project which is also the recording of Nichiren Daishônin’s intention and possibly his words written down by his closest disciple Nikkô Shônin. Then it might become possible that the meaning of this title and theme (daimoku) is to devote our lives and entrust them to the realms of dharmas where existence takes place in which the simultaneousness of cause and effect runs through their entirety. What this formula in sanscritized Chinese entails is that we are devoting and returning our lives to the very essence of what life really is. If one is patient enough to assimilate the significance of this title and theme as well as reciting it many times in front of the Fundamental Object of Veneration, we will gradually acquire wisdom, understanding and happiness, as well as knowing what our lives are all about. Equipped with this somewhat deeper insight, we can more easily make headway through the thorns and brambles of our respective existences. This gives us the subjective illusion that we are receiving benefits through our practice. But in actual fact these benefits are the reward for our faith in the existence of the realm of the Buddha in our lives as well as having grown up a in what is often not always a benevolent world.

Where the problems with our teaching really begin is that we are bedazzled and somewhat confused by the swaying robes of the monks as they piously strut along. Apart from one or two brave individuals who have made enormous efforts to learn local European languages and customs, for the most part, I have never met a single monk with whom I could easily talk to in English.

Why do I use the word “monk” instead of priest? The simple reason is that the ideogram for sô in the Japanese word sôryo is pronounced “sêng” in Chinese which is the first part of the Chinese rendering of the Sanskrit word for Sangha. The Japanese word sôryo simply means an associate of the assembly of monks, nuns and both male and female believers. I see no reason why we should give these people the special privilege of calling them priests. On the whole their level of study is less deep than one would imagine and in fact these people are neither better nor worse then we who are ordinary citizens. The Soka Gakkai through their organizational system at least tried to give us some understanding of what the teaching of Nichiren Daishônin is about. But some of us found that organization an enormous stumbling block.

As far as the west is concerned, perhaps the only way to follow this teaching is to practice and study on our own. A lot of translations of Buddhist texts exist in many European languages. We also have a rich tradition of the psychology of the profound. Here I would like to emphasize that the strength of the western mind is curiosity. In order to fathom the depth of Nichiren Daishônin’s Buddha teaching it might be necessary to plough our way through everything that has been written.

Because the Buddha teaching exists in Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetean and all languages that use Chinese ideograms which in this case also includes Vietnamese and that most people who do the practices of the teachings of Nichiren Daishônin are incapable of seeing the difference between the original version of the booklet of our devotional daily practice and a Chinese restaurant menu. I think it might be better to accentuate that the object of the Buddha teaching is to make us a little more aware of what our existences are all about, I also would like to stress the point that we should do our practice with a full awareness of what we are reciting and reading.

Martin Bradley
Kagoshima, Japan, 2010