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I. Birth, Entering the Priesthood, Studies

Nichiren Daishonin1 was born on the six-teenth day of the second month of 12222 ina fishing village called Kataumi in AwaProvince3, on Japan’s Pacific coast. His

childhood name was Zen’nichi-maro — zen meaning“good” and nichi, “sun.” Maro was a common end-ing for a boy’s name.

Regarding his birth, the Daishonin writes,“Nichiren...in this life was born poor and lowly to achandala4 family” (“Letter from Sado,” The Writingsof Nichiren Daishonin, p. 303). Here and in otherstatements, the Daishonin points out that he wasborn not with status or privilege but among the classof commoners who made their living through fishing.

This article begins a new series based onthe Soka Gakkai Study Department’srecently published book Kyogaku no Kiso(Essentials of Study). The first two

installments of “The Essentials of NichirenBuddhism” give an overview of the events ofNichiren Daishonin’s life. This month we coverthe Daishonin’s birth, his early Buddhist educa-tion, the establishment of his Buddhism and theearly persecutions that resulted from his efforts tospread his teachings. Part Two, which will appearin the March Living Buddhism, covers theDaishonin’s greatest persecution, the Sado exile,and the events of his final years.

PART 1

The Essentials ofNichiren Buddhism

The Essentials ofNichiren Buddhism

The Life of Nichiren DaishoninPART 1

The Life of Nichiren Daishonin

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E S S E N T I A L S T U D Y

At twelve5, he entered an Awa Province templecalled Seicho-ji, to begin his primary education.There was no public school system in Japan then,and education for the children of non-privileged fam-ilies was available only at Buddhist temples. Seicho-jiwas a prestigious and influential Tendai school tem-ple in the area. Although the Tendai school ofBuddhism upheld the Lotus Sutra, at Seicho-ji tem-ple Esoteric Buddhism6 and the Pure Land(Nembutsu) teachings — neither of which regardedthe Lotus Sutra highly — were also practiced.

Beginning early in his stay at Seicho-ji, theDaishonin would pray before a statue ofBodhisattva Space Treasury enshrined at the templewith the desire and vow to become “the wisest per-son in all Japan” (cf. WND, 175). Why such anextraordinary desire? We can surmise from his writ-ings that, even as a very young man, he sought thewisdom to answer important questions. For exam-ple, the year before his birth, there was an unset-tling turn of events known as the JokyuDisturbance, in which the retired Emperor Gotoba,along with two other retired emperors, attempted tooverthrow the shogunate (the military governmentheadquartered in Kamakura). The imperial forceswere defeated, and the three leaders were exiled.Nichiren Daishonin questioned why the imperialfamily — the long-established sovereign of the coun-try — had suffered such a tragic defeat even thoughit had sponsored the offering of prayers for victoryby priests of the prestigious Tendai and True WordBuddhist schools.

In addition, though Buddhism was the teachingof one Buddha, Shakyamuni, the Daishonin soughtto know why it had become so sectarian, havingdivided into many competing branches or schools.He was concerned that, though Buddhism existedto save ordinary people from suffering and to estab-lish peace and stability in society, it seemed to lackthe power to actually accomplish these things.

His writings tell us that as a youth he pursuedthe wisdom and capability to lead people and soci-ety away from suffering — the purpose for whichBuddhism was intended. He thus decided at six-teen to become a priest, renouncing secular life and

devoting himself entirely to Buddhist study.Entering the priesthood under the tutelage of

Dozen-bo, a senior priest at the temple, he took thename Zesho-bo Rencho (Rencho meaning LotusGrowth). He continued his studies at the centers ofBuddhist learning in Kamakura, Kyoto and Nara.Carefully reading all the sutras available to him, hedelved into the essential doctrines of both theHinayana and Mahayana streams of Buddhism. In“Letter to the Priests of Seicho-ji,” referring to him-self in the third person, the Daishonin explains thathe gained the ability to grasp the comparative mer-its of all the Buddhist sutras and teachings: “[As ayouth] he received great wisdom from the livingBodhisattva Space Treasury. He prayed to the bod-hisattva to become the wisest person in Japan. Thebodhisattva must have taken pity on him, for hepresented him with a great jewel as brilliant as themorning star, which Nichiren tucked away in hisright sleeve. Thereafter, on perusing the entire bodyof sutras, he was able to discern in essence the rela-tive worth of the eight schools as well as of all thescriptures” (WND, 650). The “great jewel” towhich he refers is the wisdom of the Mystic Law,the universal law by which all Buddhas becomeenlightened and the foundation of all otherBuddhist teachings.

In the course of his studies, Nichiren Daishoninarrived at some key conclusions, which may besummarized as follows: • The Lotus Sutra is supreme among all the sutrasthat Shakyamuni Buddha expounded.• The Mystic Law, to which Nichiren Daishoninhad awakened, is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the coreteaching of the Lotus Sutra. In the Lotus Sutra, theBuddha entrusts the Bodhisattvas of the Earth withthe mission of spreading the sutra’s teaching andsaving the people in the Latter Day of the Law.7

• The Daishonin recognized that, having awakened tothis essence of the sutra, or the Mystic Law, he, specif-ically, was the one to fulfill the mission of the leader ofthe Bodhisattvas of the Earth, Bodhisattva SuperiorPractices. That mission was to reveal the Mystic Lawas the teaching to be spread in the Latter Day.• The various Buddhist doctrines being promul-

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MUSASHI SHINANO SURUGA

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gated in Japan at the time all shared a common ele-ment — they slandered the Law; that is, they allrejected the correct teaching, the Lotus Sutra.Because of his rebuking the slander committed bythese schools, the Daishonin concluded, great diffi-culties and persecutions would surely assail him.

II. Declaring the Establishment of His Teaching

In the course of his studies, the Daishonin thusconfirmed his mission to propagate the MysticLaw and decided on the means to accomplishthis. He resolved to begin spreading his teaching,

well aware that this would invite harsh opposition.At noon on the twenty-eighth day of the fourth

month of 1253, at a hall in Seicho-ji temple calledthe Jibutsu-do, the Daishonin refuted the PureLand and other Buddhist schools. Resoundingly,he chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, proclaiming itas the one and only correct teaching capable ofsaving the people of the Latter Day of the Law.This event is known as his declaration of theestablishment of his teaching. In addition, on thisoccasion, he changed his name from Rencho toNichiren (Sun Lotus).

Nichiren Daishonin’s strict refutation of thePure Land school enraged its devout believer TojoKagenobu, the steward of Tojo Village in AwaProvince where Seicho-ji was located. BecauseKagenobu seemed intent upon harming him, otherpriests at the temple assisted the Daishonin in leav-ing Seicho-ji. Having avoided Kagenobu’s reach,the Daishonin then prepared to leave for Kamakura.Before departing, however, he led his parents totake faith in his teaching, bestowing upon his fatherthe Buddhist name Myonichi (Mystic Sun) andupon his mother, Myoren (Mystic Lotus).

Once in Kamakura, the Daishonin took up resi-dence in the area of Nagoe, in a simple dwelling at aplace called Matsubagayatsu. From here he propa-gated his teachings. He focused on refuting the doc-trines of the widely popular Pure Land and Zenschools while expounding the correct teaching ofthe Lotus Sutra, chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo

and spreading that practice to others.In the eleventh month of 1253, a person who

would take the name Nissho and become one of theDaishonin’s six senior priest disciples visited theDaishonin at Matsubagayatsu and embraced histeachings. That same year, Toki Jonin, a retainer oflord Chiba, the provincial constable of ShimosaProvince (which includes the northern part of pres-ent-day Chiba Prefecture), became a follower of theDaishonin. His message resonated with more peopleand accordingly, the number of those who embracedhis teachings grew steadily. Around 1256, such layfollowers as Shijo Kingo, Kudo Yoshitaka, andIkegami Munenaka took faith. The Daishonin heldlectures at his dwelling and elsewhere, and he beganto set his teachings down in writing. During thattime, he authored such works as “Questions andAnswers on the Various Schools” (Gosho Zenshu,pp. 375–82), and “On Attaining Buddhahood inThis Lifetime” (WND, 3–4).

Though Buddhism was the teaching of oneBuddha, Shakyamuni, Nichiren Daishoninsought to know why it had become so sectar-ian, having divided into many competingbranches or schools. He was concerned that,though Buddhism existed to save ordinary peo-ple from suffering and to establish peace andstability in society, it seemed to lack the powerto actually accomplish these things.

Sakamoto Photo Research Laboratory/CORBIS

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III. Submitting “On Establishing theCorrect Teaching” and the Persecutionthat Resulted

As Nichiren Daishonin was commencing hispropagation activities in Kamakura, almostevery year saw natural disturbances such asunusual weather patterns and great earth-

quakes. Major famines, fires and epidemics wererampant. In particular, a severe earthquake rockedthe area in the eighth month of 1257, topplingmany important structures in Kamakura and inflict-ing widespread injury and damage. The people’smisery and despair deepened.

In response to these circumstances, theDaishonin strove to clarify the fundamental cause forthe afflictions of his nation and to reveal the meansfor eradicating them. In the second month of 1258,he entered Iwamoto Jisso-ji, a temple in Suruga

Province (today, central Shizuoka Prefecture), wherehe carefully perused the Buddhist sutras. It was atthis time that Nikko, later the Daishonin’s immedi-ate successor, became his disciple.

Based on this research, Nichiren Daishoninwrote his treatise “On Establishing the CorrectTeaching for the Peace of the Land.” On the six-teenth day of the seventh month of 1260, he sub-mitted that document to the retired regent, HojoTokiyori, the most powerful figure in the Kamakurashogunate. This is known as the first of his remon-strations with the sovereign.

In “On Establishing the Correct Teaching,” theDaishonin first points out that the cause for thenation’s continual calamities lay in the people havingturned their backs on the correct Buddhist teachingand instead supporting erroneous doctrines andteachers. The prime example of such an erroneousteaching was that of the Pure Land school foundedby Honen. (Pure Land based itself on the Nembutsupractice — chanting the name of the Buddha Amidain hopes of being reborn by virtue of Amida’s gracein the Pure Land of Perfect Bliss.)

The Daishonin also asserted that if the peopleof Japan would withdraw their support for this“one evil doctrine” of the Pure Land teaching andplace their faith in the correct teaching, this wouldensure the realization of a peaceful and secureland. If they did not heed this advice, he warned,then among the calamities and disasters describedin the sutras to befall those who oppose the correctteaching, the two that had yet to occur — internalstrife and invasion from abroad — would definitelyhappen. By addressing Hojo Tokiyori, the de factoleader of the nation, in this treatise, the Daishoninadmonished the rulers to quickly embrace the cor-rect teaching of Buddhism.

The shogunate leaders, however, ignored hisearnest appeal. Worse, prominent Pure Land adher-ents, with the quiet support of key government offi-cials, conspired to attack Nichiren Daishonin.

In 1260, on the evening of the twenty-seventhday of the eighth month, a group of Pure Landbelievers attacked the Daishonin’s dwelling atMatsubagayatsu, intending to kill him. Those

POP QUIZ1) What was the date of Nichiren

Daishonin’s birth? To what class of thirteenth-century Japanese society washe born?

2) What moved the Daishonin to vow tobecome “the wisest person in all Japan”?

3) What conclusions did the Daishoninreach after his extensive study at the centers of Buddhist learning inKamakura, Kyoto and Nara?

4) On what date did Nichiren Daishoninfound his Buddhism?

5) What is the core message of theDaishonin’s treatise “On Establishingthe Correct Teaching for the Peace of theLand”?

6) Thus far, what major persecutions havebefallen the Daishonin?

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responsible for the assault were backed by HojoShigetoki, the father of Hojo Nagatoki, then theregent of the Kamakura government. The incidentbecame known as the Matsubagayatsu Persecution.Fortunately, the Daishonin narrowly avoided theassault. For a time, he left Kamakura.

When the Daishonin returned the followingyear on the twelfth day of the fifth month of 1261,the government had him arrested and, without afull investigation, exiled him to Ito on the Izupeninsula (southwest of Kamakura along thePacific coast). A fisherman named FunamoriYasaburo and his wife supported and protectedhim during this banishment.

While in Izu the Daishonin was asked andagreed to pray for a cure to the serious illness of thesteward of the area, Ito Hachiro Saemon. ItoHachiro recovered and became a believer in theDaishonin’s teachings.

In addition, during this period of exile, theDaishonin authored such writings as “The FourDebts of Gratitude” and “Teaching, Capacity,Time, and Country,” in which he made clear thatbecause he was persecuted severely for spreadingthe Lotus Sutra, he was indeed its votary — thevotary predicted by the sutra itself.

In the second month of 1263, at the instructionof Hojo Tokiyori, the Daishonin was pardoned,ending what became known as the Izu Exile, and hereturned to Kamakura.

The following year, he visited his home provinceof Awa. On the eleventh day of the eleventh month,1264, Nichiren Daishonin and several of his follow-ers were on their way to the home of the lay fol-lower Kudo Yoshitaka, at Amatsu in the sameprovince. At a place called Komatsubara, they wereattacked by a large group of warriors led by the areasteward, Tojo Kagenobu. Kudo Yoshitaka receivedword of the attack and rushed with a party of war-riors to defend the Daishonin. He was killed in theensuing struggle, along with another of theDaishonin’s disciples, a priest named Kyonin-bo.The Daishonin was cut on the forehead by a sword,and his left hand was broken. This incident isknown as the Komatsubara Persecution.

Next month: “The Tatsunokuchi Persecution —Revealing His True Identity”

1. Daishonin: an honorific meaning “great sage.” When applied toNichiren, it expresses a recognition of his role as the Buddha of the LatterDay of the Law. Throughout the series, “The Daishonin” will be used asan alternate reference for Nichiren Daishonin.2. The sixteenth day of the second lunar month of 1222 corresponds toApril 6, 1222, by the Gregorian calendar. Dates in this series relating toNichiren Daishonin’s lifetime are expressed in numbered months todenote the lunar calendar used in Japan at the time.3. The Daishonin’s birthplace — Kataumi in Tojo Village, Nagasa District,Awa Province — is today the town of Amatsu-Kominato in Awa County ofChiba Prefecture, Japan.4. Chandala: A Sanskrit and Pali term for the class of untouchables belowthe lowest of the four castes in the ancient Indian caste system. People inthis class handled corpses, butchered animals, and carried out other tasksassociated with death or the killing of living things. Nichiren declaredhimself to be a member of the chandala class because he was born to afisherman’s family.5. In reckoning a person’s age in Japan, from ancient times until asrecently as 1950, an infant was considered to be one year old at birth anda year added with the passing of each New Year’s Day. Ages given in thisarticle follow that system. In referring to the age of Nichiren Daishonin orhis contemporaries, this system will be followed.6. Esoteric Buddhism: A stream of Buddhist thought deriving from IndianTantrism that reveres as supreme the cosmic Buddha Mahavairochana andcenters its practice on mudras (mystic hand gestures) mantras (magicalspoken formulas) and mandalas (painted diagrams representing Buddhas,Bodhisattvas and various esoteric deities and doctrines). Esoteric tradi-tion was not confined to one particular school, but informed the practicesof various schools; in Japan, however, the True Word school adopted eso-teric practices almost exclusively.7. Latter Day of the Law: the period in which Shakyamuni’s teachings arepredicted to lose their power to save the people, thought to begin 2,000years after Shakyamuni’s death.

Nichiren Daishonin realized his mission to propa-gate the Mystic Law and decided on the means toaccomplish this. At noon on the twenty-eighth dayof the fourth month of 1253, he chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, proclaiming it as the one andonly correct teaching capable of saving the peopleof the Latter Day of the Law.

CORBIS