Conversation between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man

Having received life, one cannot escape death. Yet though everyone, from the noblest, the emperor, down to the lowliest commoner, recognizes this as a fact, not one person in a thousand or ten thousand truly takes the matter seriously or grieves over it. Suddenly confronted with evidence of the impermanence of life, we may be frightened at the thought that we have remained so distant from Buddhism and lament that we have been too engrossed in secular affairs. Yet we assume that those who have preceded us in death are wretched and that we who remain alive are superior. Busy with that task yesterday and this affair today, we are helplessly bound by the five desires of our worldly nature. Unaware that time passes as quickly as a white colt glimpsed through a crack in the wall, ignorant as sheep being led to the slaughter, held hopeless prisoners by our concern for food and clothing, we fall heedlessly into the snares of fame and profit and in the end make our way back to that familiar village in the three evil paths, only to set out on the road again, reborn time after time in the six paths of existence. What person of feeling could fail to grieve at such a state of affairs, or could fail to be moved to sorrow!

Alas! Neither young nor old know what fate awaits them--such is the way of our saha world. All those who meet are destined to part again--such is the rule in this floating world we live in. Although none of this had just struck me for the first time, [I was appalled at] seeing all those who took early leave of this world in the beginning of the Shoka era. Some of them left little children behind them, while others were forced to abandon their aged parents. How sad their hearts must have been when, though still in the prime of life, they were obliged to set off on their journey to the Yellow Springs. It was painful for those who departed, and painful for those left behind.

The king of Ch'u's passion for the goddess remained as a wisp of morning cloud, and Liu's grief at remembering his meeting with the immortal visitor was consoled by the sight of his descendants of the seventh generation. But how can a person like myself win release from sorrow? I find myself recalling the poet of old who hoped that, because he was a humble-hearted dweller in the mountains, he might be free of such sadness. Now, gathering together my thoughts as the men of Naniwa gather seaweed to extract salt, I give them form with my writing brush as a memento for people in later ages.

How sad, how lamentable it is! From the beginningless past, we have been drunk on the wine of ignorance, reborn again and again in the six paths of existence and the four forms of birth. Sometimes we gasp amid the flames of the hell of burning heat or the hell of great burning heat; sometimes we are frozen in the ice of the hell of the blood-red lotus or the hell of the great blood-red lotus. Sometimes we must endure the hunger and thirst that torment those in the realm of Hunger, for five hundred lifetimes not so much as hearing the words "food" or "drink." Sometimes we suffer being wounded and killed in the realm of Animality, wounding and killing that occur when the small are swallowed up by the large or the short engulfed by the long. Sometimes we face the contention and strife of the realm of Anger; sometimes we are born as human beings and undergo the eight sufferings of birth, old age, sickness, death, the pain of parting from loved ones, the pain of encountering those whom we hate, the pain of failing to obtain what we desire, and the pain that arises from the five components of body and mind. And sometimes we are born in the realm of Heaven and experience the five signs of decay.

And so we go round and round like a cartwheel in this threefold world. Even among people once related as father and child, parents reborn do not know that they were parents or children that they were children; and though husband and wife re-encounter one another, they do not know that they have already met. We go astray as though we had the eyes of sheep; we are as ignorant as though we had the eyes of wolves. We do not know our past relationship with the mother who gave us birth, and we are unaware when we ourselves will succumb to death.

And yet we have obtained birth in the human world, something difficult to achieve, and have encountered the sacred teachings of the Buddha, which are rarely to be met. We are like the one-eyed turtle finding a floating log with a hole in it that fits him exactly. How regrettable it would be, then, if we did not take this opportunity to sever the bonds of birth and death, making no attempt to free ourselves from the cage of the threefold world!

Then a wise man appeared and addressed the unenlightened man, saying, "You are quite right to lament as you do. But those who understand the impermanence of this world in this way and turn their hearts to goodness are rarer than ch'i-lin's horns, while those who fail to understand and instead give themselves to evil thoughts are more numerous than the hairs on a cow. If you wish to arouse the aspiration for enlightenment and to quickly free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death, then I know of the finest doctrine that there is for such a purpose. If you wish, I will explain it to you so that you may know of it."

At that time the wise man said, "You must listen with the ears of Ling Lun, borrow the eyes of Li Chu, and still your mind, and I will explain things to you. The sacred teachings of Buddhism number no less than eighty thousand, but the father and mother of all the sects, the most important teaching, is that concerning the precepts and rules of conduct. In India, the bodhisattvas Vasubandhu and Ashvaghosha and, in China, the priests Hui-k'uang and Tao-hsuan placed great emphasis on these. And in our own country, during the reign of the forty-fifth sovereign, Emperor Shomu, the Chinese priest Ganjin brought to Japan the teachings of the Ritsu sect, along with those of the Tendai sect, and established an ordination platform for administering the precepts at Todai-ji temple. From that time down to the present, the precepts have been revered over many long years, and the honor paid to them increases daily.

"In particular, there is the eminent priest Ryokan of Gokuraku-ji. Everyone, from the supreme ruler down to the common people, looks up to him as a living Buddha, and on observing his conduct, we find that it is indeed in keeping with such a reputation. He directed charitable activities at Ijima-no-tsu, collected rice at the Mutsura Barrier and used the funds to build roads in the various provinces. He set up barriers along the seven highways, collected a toll from everyone who passed by, and used the money to build bridges across a number of rivers. In such acts of compassion he is equal to the Buddha, and his virtuous deeds surpass those of the sages of the past. If you wish to quickly free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death, then you should observe the five precepts and the two hundred and fifty precepts, deepen your compassion for others, refrain from killing any living thing, and, like the eminent priest Ryokan, engage in building roads and bridges. This is the finest of all teachings. Are you prepared to embrace it?"

The wise man said, "Your ignorance is abysmal! Even a child knows what the five precepts and the two hundred and fifty precepts are. However, I will explain them for you. The five precepts comprise, first, the prohibition against taking life; second, the prohibition against stealing; third, the prohibition against lying; fourth, the prohibition against unlawful sexual intercourse; and fifth, the prohibition against drinking intoxicants. The two hundred and fifty precepts are numerous, and so I will not go into them here."

This man had an old acquaintance, a lay Buddhist believer living in retirement, who paid him a visit to cheer him up. At first the visitor spoke about the affairs of the past, likening them to a dream that is endless and hazy, and then he talked of the future, pointing out how vast and dark it is, how difficult to predict. After he had sought in this way to divert his listener and explain his own views, he said, "Most of us who live in this world of ours find we cannot help thinking about the life to come. May I ask what kind of Buddhist doctrine you have embraced in order to free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death or to pray for the welfare of those who have gone on to another life?"

The unenlightened man replied, "The other day an eminent priest called on me and instructed me in the five precepts and the two hundred and fifty precepts. In truth I am deeply impressed with his teachings and find them most admirable. Although I know I can never equal the eminent priest Ryokan, I have determined to do all I can to repair roads that are in poor condition and to build bridges over rivers that are too deep for wading."

Then the lay believer gave him words of advice, saying, "Your concern for the Way would seem to be admirable, but your approach is foolish. The doctrine you have just described to me is the lowly teaching of the Hinayana. That is why the Buddha has set forth eight analogies and why Bodhisattva Monju has described seventeen differences between the Hinayana and the Mahayana. The Buddha has said, for example, that the Hinayana is like the light of a firefly compared to the brilliance of the sun, or like plain crystal compared to emerald. Moreover, the teachers of India, China and Japan have written not a few treatises refuting the Hinayana teachings.

"I have heard it said that the sages of ancient times who observed the precepts could not bear even to utter the words 'kill' or 'hoard,' but would substitute some pure-sounding circumlocution, and when they happened to catch sight of a beautiful woman, they would meditate upon the thought of a corpse. But if we examine the behavior of the monks of today who supposedly observe the precepts, we find that they hoard silks, wealth and jewels and concern themselves with lending money at interest. Since their doctrines and their practices differ so greatly, who would think of putting any faith in them!

"And as for this matter of building roads and constructing bridges, it only causes people trouble. The charitable activities at Ijima-no-tsu and the collecting of rice at the Mutsura Barrier have brought unhappiness to a great many people, and the setting up of barriers along the seven highways of the various provinces has imposed a hardship upon travelers. These are things that are happening right in front of your eyes. Can't you see what is going on?"

Then the lay believer laughed and said, "Alas, you are the foolish one! Let me briefly explain to you the biased views of that sect. You should understand that when it comes to the Buddhist teaching, there is the Mahayana division and the Hinayana division, and that in terms of sects there are those based upon the provisional teachings and those based upon the true teaching. Long ago, when the Buddha taught the Hinayana doctrines in the Deer Park, he was opening the gate to a phantom city. But later, when the mats were spread for the teaching of the Lotus Sutra on Eagle Peak, then those earlier doctrines ceased to be of any benefit."

The other replied, "Although I am only a layman I have given myself earnestly to the practice of Buddhism, and from the time of my youth, I have listened to the words of many teachers and have done a certain amount of reading in the sacred scriptures. For those of us of this latter age, who have committed all manner of evil, there is nothing that can compare with the Nembutsu teachings that lead to rebirth in the Pure Land. Thus, Supervisor of Monks Eshin says, 'The teachings and practices that lead to rebirth in the Land of Perfect Bliss are the eyes and feet for those who live in this defiled latter age of ours.' The eminent priest Honen collected the most important passages from the various sutras and spread the doctrine of exclusive devotion to the practice of the Nembutsu. In particular, the original vows of the Buddha Amida surpass the vows of all other Buddhas in their worth and importance. From the first vow, that the three evil paths will not exist in his land, down to the last vow, that bodhisattvas will be enabled to attain the three types of perception, all of Amida's compassionate vows are to be greatly welcomed. But the eighteenth vow is particularly effective on our behalf. In addition, even those who have committed the ten evil acts or the five cardinal sins are not excluded, nor is any distinction made between those who have recited the Nembutsu only one time and those who have recited it many times. For this reason, everyone from the ruler down to the common people favors this sect far above the other sects. And how many countless people have gained rebirth in the Pure Land as a result of it!"

The unenlightened man said, "Truly one should be ashamed of the small and yearn for the great, abandon the shallow and embrace the profound. This is not only a principle of Buddhism but a rule of the secular world as well. Therefore I would like to shift my allegiance without delay to this sect you have described. Please explain its principles to me in greater detail. You say that even those who have committed the five cardinal sins or the ten evil acts are not excluded from the Buddha's compassionate vows. What, may I ask, are the five cardinal sins and the ten evil acts?"

The wise lay believer replied, "The five cardinal sins are killing one's father, killing one's mother, killing an arhat, shedding a Buddha's blood, and disrupting the harmony of the Buddhist Order. As for the ten evil acts, there are three acts of the body, four acts of the mouth, and three acts of the mind. The three evil acts of the body are killing, stealing and unlawful sexual intercourse. The four evil acts of the mouth are lying, flattery, defaming and duplicity. The three evil acts of the mind are greed, anger and stupidity."

At that time there was a practitioner of the esoteric sect who was extraordinarily diligent in upholding its teachings. He too came to call on the unenlightened man to console him. At first he spoke only of "wild words and ornate phrases," but in the end he discoursed on the differences between the two types of Buddhist teachings, those of the exoteric sects and those of the esoteric sect. He inquired of the unenlightened man, "What sort of Buddhist doctrines are you practicing and what sutras and treatises do you read and recite?"

The practitioner said, "There are two kinds of Buddhist teachings, the exoteric teachings and the esoteric teachings. The most profound doctrines of the exoteric teachings cannot compare even to the elementary stages of the esoteric teachings. From what you tell me, it seems that the doctrine you have embraced is the exoteric teaching put forth by Shakyamuni Buddha. But the doctrine that I adhere to is the secret teaching of Dainichi Buddha, the King of Enlightenment. If you are truly fearful of this burning house that is the threefold world we live in and long for the wonderful land of Tranquil Light, then you should cast aside the exoteric teachings at once and put faith in the esoteric teachings!"

The practitioner replied, "I am a hardheaded and foolish person and am not learned at all. Nevertheless, I would like to cite one or two passages and see if I can dispel your ignorance. The exoteric teachings are the doctrines preached in response to the request of Shariputra and the other disciples by a Buddha in the manifested-body aspect. But the esoteric teachings are those which the Buddha Dainichi, a Buddha in the Dharma-body aspect, preached spontaneously out of his boundless joy in the Dharma, with Kongosatta as his listener. These teachings constitute the Dainichi Sutra and the others of the three esoteric sutras."

The unenlightened man, wondering at this, asked what he wanted. At first the priest made no reply, but after the question was repeated he said, "The moon is dim and distant, the wind brisk and blustery." His appearance was quite out of the ordinary and his words made no sense, but when the unenlightened man inquired about the ultimate principle behind them he found that they represented the Zen teachings as they are expounded in the world today.

He observed the priest's appearance, listened to his words, and asked what he considered a good cause for entering the Buddha Way. The mendicant priest replied, "The teachings of the sutras are a finger pointing at the moon. Their doctrinal nets are so much nonsense that has been captured in words. But there is a teaching that enables you to find rest in the essential nature of your own mind--it is called Zen."

"If you are truly in earnest," said the priest, "you must face the wall, sit in Zen meditation, and make clear the moon of your original mind. That the Zen lineage of the twenty-eight patriarchs was passed on without break in India, and that the line of transmission was handed down through the six patriarchs in China is clear for all to see. It would be pitiful indeed if you should fail to understand what they have taught and remain caught in the nets of doctrine! Since the mind itself is Buddha and Buddha is none other than the mind, what Buddha could there be outside yourself?"

When the unenlightened man heard these words, he began to ponder various things and to quietly consider the principles he had heard. He said, "There are a great many different Buddhist doctrines, and it is very difficult to determine which are sound and which are not. It is only natural that Bodhisattva Jotai should have gone east to inquire about the truth, that

Zenzai Doji should have sought for it in the south, that Bodhisattva Yakuo burned his arms as an offering, and that Gyobo Bonji stripped off his skin. A good teacher is truly difficult to find! Some say that one should go by the teachings of the sutras, while others say that the truth lies outside the sutras. In pondering the rights and wrongs of these doctrines, he who has not yet fathomed the depths of Buddhism and stands gazing over the waters of the Law is in doubt as to how deep they may be; he who assesses a teacher does so with all the anxiety of a person walking on thin ice. That is why the Buddha has left us those golden words, 'Rely on the Law and not upon persons,' and why it is said that those who encounter the True Law are as few as the grains of earth that can he placed on a fingernail. If there is someone who knows which of the Buddhist teachings are true and which are false, then I must seek him out, make him my teacher and treat him with appropriate respect."

They say that it is as difficult to be born in the realm of human beings as it is to thread a needle by lowering the thread from the heavens, and as rare to see and hear the Buddha's teachings as it is for a one-eyed turtle to encounter a floating log with a hole just the right size to hold him. [Having this in mind] and believing that one must regard the body as insignificant and the Law as supreme, the unenlightened man climbed numerous mountains, impelled by his anxiety, going from one temple to another as his feet would carry him. In time he arrived at a rocky cave with green mountains rising sheer behind it. The wind in the pines played a melody of eternity, happiness, true self and purity, and the emerald stream that bubbled along in front sent its waves striking against the bank with echoes of the perfection of these four virtues. The flowers carpeting the deep valley bloomed with the hue of the true aspect of the Middle Way, and from the plum blossoms just beginning to open in the broad meadow wafted the fragrance of the three thousand realms. Truly it was beyond the power of words to describe, beyond the scope of the mind to imagine. One might have thought it the place where the Four White-haired Recluses of Mount Shang lived, or the site where some ancient Buddha had walked about after meditation. Auspicious clouds rose up at dawn, a mysterious light appeared in the evening. Ah, the mind cannot grasp it nor words set it forth!

The unenlightened man wandered about, pondering what was before him, now pausing in thought, now resuming his steps. Suddenly he came upon a sage. Observing his actions, he saw that the sage was reciting the Lotus Sutra; his voice stirred the seeker deeply. Peering in at the quiet window of the sage's retreat, he found that the sage was resting his elbows on his desk, pondering the sutra's profound meaning.

The unenlightened man answered, "I have lived all my life amid the dust of the secular world and have not yet learned how to free myself from the sufferings of birth and death. As it happened, however, I encountered various good teachers, from whom I learned first the rules of discipline and then the Nembutsu, Shingon and Zen teachings. But though I have learned these teachings, I am unable to determine their truth or falsity."

"From the realm where there is neither thought nor no thought above the clouds to the very bottom of hell, is there any being who receives life and yet succeeds in escaping death? Thus, even in the unenlightened secular writings we find it said, 'Though you may set out at dawn on the journey of life with pride in the beauty of your rosy cheeks, by evening you will be no more than a pile of white bones rotting on the moor.' Though you may move among the most exalted company of court nobles, your hair done up elegantly like clouds and your sleeves fluttering like eddies of snow, such pleasures, when you stop to consider them, are no more than a dream within a dream. You must come to rest at last under the carpet of weeds at the foot of the hill, and all your jeweled daises and brocade hangings will mean nothing to you on the road to the afterlife. The famed flower-like beauty of Ono no Komachi and Soto'ori Hime was in time scattered by the winds of impermanence. Fan K'uai and Chang Liang, in spite of their skill in the military arts, in the end suffered beneath the staves of the guardians of hell. That is why men of feeling in former times wrote poems such as these:

"This rule of life, that if one does not die sooner he will surely die later, should not at this late date come as a surprise to you. But the thing that you should desire above all is the Way of the Buddha, and that which you should continually seek are the teachings of the sutras. Now from what you have told me about the Buddhist doctrines you have encountered, I can see that some of them belong to the Hinayana division of Buddhism and some to the Mahayana. But, leaving aside for the moment the question of which is superior and which inferior, I can say that, far from bringing you deliverance, the practice of these teachings will lead to rebirth in the evil paths of existence."

At this the unenlightened man exclaimed in surprise, "But were not all the sacred teachings that the Buddha expounded throughout his lifetime designed to benefit living beings? From the time of the preaching of the Kegon Sutra at the seven places and eight assemblies, down to the ceremony in which the Nirvana Sutra was expounded on the banks of the Hiranyavati River, all the doctrines were taught by Shakyamuni Buddha himself. Though one may perhaps be able to distinguish certain small degrees of relative merit among them, how could any of them possibly be the cause for rebirth in the evil paths?"

The sage replied, "The sacred teachings that the Buddha proclaimed in the course of his lifetime may be divided into the categories of provisional and true, Hinayana and Mahayana. In addition, they may be classified according to the two paths of the exoteric and the esoteric. Thus they are not all of the same sort. Let me for a moment explain the general nature of the problem and thus relieve you of your misunderstandings.

"When Shakyamuni, the lord of the threefold world, was nineteen years old, he left the city of Gaya, and went into retreat on the Dandaka Mountain where he carried out various difficult and painful austerities. He attained enlightenment at the age of thirty, and at that time instantly banished the three categories of illusion and brought to an end the vast night of ignorance. It might appear that he should at that time have preached the one vehicle of the Lotus Sutra in order to fulfill his original vow. But he knew that the people varied greatly in their capacities and that they did not have the receptivity to understand the Buddha vehicle. Therefore he devoted the following forty years or more to developing the people's inherent capacity. Then, in the last eight years of his life, he fulfilled the purpose of his advent in the world by preaching the Lotus Sutra.

"Thus it was that when the Buddha was seventy-two he preached the Muryogi Sutra as an introduction to the Lotus Sutra and therein stated: 'In the past I sat upright in the place of meditation under the Bodhi tree for six years and attained the supreme enlightenment. When I observed all phenomena with the eye of a Buddha, I knew that I could not expound my enlightenment just as it was. Why was that? Because I knew that people differ in their natures and their desires. And because they differ in their natures and desires, I expounded the Law in various ways. Expounding the Law in various ways, I made use of the power of expedient means. But in these more than forty years, I have not yet revealed the truth.'

"The meaning of this passage is that, when the Buddha was thirty years of age and sat in the place of enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, he observed the inner heart of all beings with the eye of a Buddha and realized that it was not the proper time to preach to them the Lotus Sutra, which reveals the direct way to the attainment of Buddhahood for all beings. Therefore, as one would wave an empty fist about to humor a little baby, he resorted to various expedient means, and for the following forty years or more he refrained from revealing the truth. Thus he defined the period of the expedient teachings as clearly as the sun rising in the blue sky or the full moon coming up on a dark night.

"In view of this passage, why should we, with the very same faith that could just as easily be directed toward the Lotus Sutra, cling to the provisional teachings of the sutras that preceded the Lotus Sutra, those doctrines defined by the Buddha to be empty, and as a result keep returning to the same old dwelling in the threefold world, with which we are already so familiar?

"Therefore, in the Hoben chapter in the first volume of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha says, 'Honestly discarding the provisional teachings, I will expound only the supreme Way.' This passage indicates that one should honestly discard the teachings that the Buddha set forth in the various sutras preached in the previous forty-two years, namely, the Nembutsu, Shingon, Zen and Ritsu doctrines to which you referred.

"The meaning of this passage is perfectly clear. And in addition, we have the warning delivered in the Hiyu chapter in the second volume, 'Desire only to receive and keep the scripture of the Great Vehicle, not accepting even a single verse from any of the other sutras.' This passage is saying that, no matter what year of the Buddha's life a sutra may have been preached in, one should not accept even a single verse from any of the sutras other than the Lotus Sutra.

"The varying doctrines of the eight sects are as numerous as so many orchids and chrysanthemums, and priests and lay believers differ in appearance, yet they all agree in claiming to cherish the Lotus Sutra. But how do they interpret these passages from the Lotus Sutra that I have just cited? These passages speak of 'honestly discarding' the earlier teachings and forbid one to accept so much as a single verse from any of the other sutras. But are the doctrines of Nembutsu, Shingon, Zen and Ritsu not based on the 'other sutras'?

"Now this sutra of Myoho-renge-kyo I have been speaking of represents the true reason why all Buddhas make their advent in the world and teaches the direct way to the attainment of Buddhahood for all beings. Shakyamuni Buddha entrusted it to his disciples, Taho Buddha testified to its veracity, and the various other Buddhas extended their tongues up to the Brahma Heaven, proclaiming, 'All that you [Shakyamuni Buddha] have expounded is the truth.' Every single character in this sutra represents the true intention of the Buddhas, and every dot of it is a source of aid to those who repeat the cycle of birth and death. There is not a single word in it that is untrue.

"Is not he who fails to heed the warnings of this sutra in effect cutting off the tongues of the Buddhas and deceiving the worthies and sages? This offense is truly fearful. Thus, in the second volume it says, 'One who refuses to take faith in this sutra and instead slanders it immediately destroys the seeds for becoming a Buddha in this world.' The meaning of this passage is that, if one turns his back on even one verse or one phrase of this sutra, he is guilty of a crime equal to that of killing all the Buddhas of the ten directions in the three existences of past, present and future.

"If we use the teachings of the sutras as a mirror in which to examine our present world, we will see that it is a difficult thing to find one who does not betray the Lotus Sutra. And if we understand the true meaning of these matters, we can see that even a person who merely refuses to have faith cannot avoid being reborn in the hell of incessant suffering. How much more so is this true, then, for someone like the eminent priest Honen, the founder of the Nembutsu sect, who urged people to discard the Lotus Sutra in favor of the Nembutsu! Where, may I ask, in all the five thousand or seven thousand volumes of sutras is there any passage that instructs us to discard the Lotus Sutra?

"The priest Shan-tao, who was revered as a practitioner who had mastered the Nembutsu meditation and honored as a living incarnation of Amida Buddha, designated five kinds of incorrect practices that are to be discarded and said of the Lotus Sutra that it cannot save 'one in a thousand'; by which he meant that if a thousand people put faith in that sutra, not a single one of them will attain Buddhahood. And yet the Lotus Sutra itself says, 'Among those who hear of this Law, there is not one who shall not attain Buddhahood.' This indicates that if they hear this sutra, then all beings in the Ten Worlds, along with their environments, will attain the Buddha Way. Hence the sutra predicts that Devadatta, though he has committed the five cardinal sins, will in the future become a Buddha called Heavenly King, and tells how the dragon king's daughter, though as a woman subject to the five obstacles and thought to be incapable of attaining Buddhahood, was able instantly to achieve enlightenment in the southern realm. Thus even the dung beetle can ascend through the six stages of practice and is in no way excluded from achieving Buddhahood.

"In fact, Shan-tao's words and the passages of the Lotus Sutra are as far apart as heaven and earth, as different as clouds from mud. Which one are we to follow? If we stop to ponder the logic of the matter, we will realize that Shan-tao is the deadly enemy of all Buddhas and sutras and the foe of wise priests and humble lay believers alike. If the words of the Lotus Sutra are true, then how can he escape the hell of incessant suffering?"

At these words, the unenlightened man flushed with anger and said, "You are a person of no more than humble station in life, and yet you dare to utter such ugly accusations! I find it very difficult to judge whether you speak out of true understanding or out of delusion, and to tell whether your words stand to reason or not. It behooves us to remember that the priest Shan-tao is said to have been a manifestation of Amida the Well Attained or of his attendant, Bodhisattva Seishi. And the same is said of the eminent priest Honen, or that he was a reincarnation of Shan-tao. These were both outstanding men of antiquity, and in addition they had acquired extraordinary merit through their religious practices and commanded the most profound degree of understanding. How could they possibly have fallen into the evil paths?"

The sage replied, "What you say is quite correct, and I too had great respect for these men and believed in them as you do. But in matters of Buddhist doctrine one cannot jump to conclusions simply on the basis of the eminence of the person involved. The words of the sutras are what must come first. Do not make light of a teaching just because the person who preaches it is of humble station. The fox of the kingdom of Bima who recited the twelve-character verse that goes, 'There are those who love life and hate death; there are those who love death and hate life,' was hailed as a teacher by the god Taishaku, and the demon who recited the sixteen-character verse that begins, 'All is changeable, nothing is constant,' was treated with great honor by Sessen Doji. This was done, however, not because the fox or the demon was of such eminence, but simply out of respect for the doctrines they taught.

"Therefore, in the sixth volume of the Nirvana Sutra, his final teaching delivered in the grove of sal trees, our merciful father, Lord Shakyamuni, said, 'Rely on the Law and not upon persons.' Even when great bodhisattvas such as Fugen and Monju, men who have returned to the stage just preceding full enlightenment, expound the Buddhist teachings, if they do not do so with the sutra text in hand, then one should not heed them.

"The Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai states, 'That which accords with the sutras is to be accepted and heeded. But put no faith in anything that in word or meaning fails to do so.' Here we see that one should accept what is clearly stated in the text of the sutras but discard anything that cannot be supported by the text. The Great Teacher Dengyo says, 'Depend upon the preachings of the Buddha and do not put faith in traditions handed down orally,' which expresses the same idea as the passage from T'ien-t'ai's commentary. And Bodhisattva Nagarjuna says, 'Rely on treatises that are faithful to the sutra; do not rely on those that distort the sutra.' This passage may be understood to mean that even among the various sutras, one should discard the provisional teachings put forth prior to the Lotus Sutra and put one's faith in this sutra, the Lotus. Thus both sutras and treatises make it perfectly clear that one should discard all scriptures other than the Lotus.

"Nowhere in all the five thousand or seven thousand volumes of sutras listed in the K'ai-yuan era catalogue do we find a single scriptural passage that expresses disapproval of the Lotus Sutra and advises one to discard it or to cast it aside, nor any passage that says it is to be classified among the incorrect practices and abandoned. [If you disagree,] you had better find some reliable passage from the sutras [that will support your view], so that you may rescue Shan-tao and Honen from their torments in the hell of incessant suffering.

"The practitioners of the Nembutsu in our present day, priests as well as ordinary lay men and women, not only violate the words of the sutras but also go against the instructions of their own teachers. Shan-tao produced a commentary in which he described five kinds of incorrect practices that should be abandoned by practitioners of the Nembutsu. Speaking of these incorrect practices, the Senchaku Shu says: 'Concerning the first of the incorrect practices, that of reading and reciting sutras, he [Shan-tao] states that with the exception of the recitation of the Kammuryoju Sutra and the other Pure Land sutras, the embracing, reading and recitation of all sutras, whether Mahayana or Hinayana, exoteric or esoteric, is to be regarded as an incorrect practice.... Concerning the third of the incorrect practices, that of worshiping, he states that with the exception of worshiping the Buddha Amida, the worshiping or honoring of any of the other Buddhas, bodhisattvas or deities of the heavenly and human worlds is to be regarded as an incorrect practice. Concerning the fourth of the incorrect practices, that of calling on the name, he states that with the exception of calling on the name of the Buddha Amida, calling on the name of any other Buddha, bodhisattva or deity of the heavenly and human worlds is to be regarded as an incorrect practice. Concerning the fifth of the incorrect practices, that of praising and giving offerings, he states that with the exception of praises and offerings directed to the Buddha Amida, the praising of and giving of offerings to any other Buddha, bodhisattva or deity of the heavenly and human worlds is to be regarded as an incorrect practice.'

"This passage of commentary is saying that with regard to the first incorrect practice, that of reading and reciting sutras, there are fixed rules for priests and lay believers of the Nembutsu, both men and women, concerning which sutras are to be read and which are not to be read. Among the sutras that are not to be read are the Lotus, Ninno, Yakushi, Daijuku, Hannya Shin, Tennyo Jobutsu and Hokuto Jumyo sutras, and, in particular, among the eight volumes of the Lotus Sutra, the so-called Kannon Sutra [actually the Kanzeon Bosatsu Fumon chapter], which is commonly read by so many people. If one reads so much as a single phrase or a single verse of these sutras, then, although he may be a devoted practitioner of the Nembutsu, he is in fact grouped among those who follow incorrect practices and cannot be reborn in the Pure Land. Yet now, as I observe the world with my own eyes, among those who chant the Nembutsu I see many people who read these various sutras, thus going against their teachers and thereby committing one of the seven cardinal sins.

In addition, in the passage concerning the third kind of incorrect practice, that of worshiping, it is said that with the exception of the worship of Amida flanked by two honored bodhisattvas, the worshiping or honoring of any of the earlier mentioned Buddhas, bodhisattvas or heavenly deities and benevolent gods is to be regarded as an incorrect practice and is forbidden to practitioners of the Nembutsu. But Japan is a land of the gods. It was created by the august deities Izanagi and Izanami, the Sun Goddess Amaterasu Omikami deigns to have her dwelling here, and the Mimosuso River for many long ages down to the present has continued to flow [through the grounds on which her shrine is located]. How could anyone who was born in this country heed such an erroneous doctrine! In addition, as we have been born under the all-encompassing sky and enjoy the benefits of the three kinds of luminous bodies, the sun, the moon and the stars, it would be a most fearful thing if we should show disrespect to the gods of these heavenly bodies.

"Again, in the passage concerning the fourth kind of incorrect practice, that of calling on the name, it says that there are certain names of Buddhas and bodhisattvas that the Nembutsu believer is to call on, and certain names of Buddhas and bodhisattvas that he is not to call on. The names he is to call on are those of the Buddha Amida and his two honored attendants. The names he is not to call on are those of Shakyamuni, Yakushi, Dainichi and the other Buddhas; those of Jizo, Fugen, Monju, the gods of the sun, moon and stars; the deities of the shrines in Izu and Hakone, Mishima Shrine, Kumano Shrine, and Haguro Shrine; the Sun Goddess Amaterasu Omikami; and the Great Bodhisattva Hachiman. If anyone so much as once recites any of these names, then, although he may recite the Nembutsu a hundred thousand or a million times, because he committed the error of calling on the name of one of these Buddhas, bodhisattvas, the gods of the sun and moon, and other deities, he will fall into the hell of incessant suffering and fail to be reborn in the Pure Land. But when I look about at the world, I find Nembutsu believers who call on the names of these various Buddhas, bodhisattvas, heavenly deities and benevolent gods. Thus, in this matter as well, they are going against the instructions of their own teachers.

"In the passage concerning the fifth incorrect practice, that of praising and giving offerings, the Nembutsu believer is enjoined to make offerings to the Buddha Amida and his two bodhisattva attendants. But if he should offer even a little bit of incense or a few flowers to the earlier mentioned Buddhas, bodhisattvas or heavenly deities and benevolent gods, then, although the merit he has gained from the Nembutsu practice may be laudable, because of the error he has committed, he is condemned to be classified among those who carry out incorrect practices. And yet, when I look around the world, I see the Nembutsu believers paying visits to various shrines and offering streamers of paper or cloth, or entering various Buddhist halls and bowing in reverence there. In this, too, they are going against the instructions of their teachers. If you doubt what I say, then look at the text of the Senchaku Shu. It is very clear on these points.

"Again, the Kannen Homon Sutra by the priest Shan-tao says, 'With regard to intoxicants, meat and the five strong-flavored foods, one must vow never to lay a hand on them, never to let his mouth taste them. One must pledge, "If I should go against these words, then may foul sores break out on both my body and mouth." The meaning of this passage is that the Nembutsu believers, men and women lay believers, nuns and priests alike, must not drink wine and must not eat fish or fowl. In addition, they must not eat any of the five strong-flavored foods, the pungent or strong-smelling foods such as leeks or garlic. If any Nembutsu believers fail to abide by this rule, then in their present life they will find foul sores breaking out on their bodies, and in the next life they will fall into the hell of incessant suffering. In fact, however, we find many Nembutsu laymen and laywomen, nuns and priests, who pay no heed to this prohibition but drink as much wine and eat as much fish and fowl as they please. They are in effect swallowing knives with which to wound themselves, are they not?"

Thereupon the unenlightened man said, "In truth, as I listen to your description of the doctrine, I can see that even if the Nembutsu teaching could in fact lead one to rebirth in the Pure Land, its observances and practices are very difficult to carry out. And of course, since the sutras and treatises upon which it is based all belong to the category of provisional expositions, it is perfectly clear that it can never lead to rebirth in the Pure Land. But surely there is no reason to repudiate the Shingon teachings. The Dainichi Sutra constitutes the secret teaching of Dainichi Buddha, the King of Enlightenment. It has been handed down in an unbroken line of transmission from Dainichi Buddha to Shan-wu-wei and Pu-k'ung. And in Japan the Great Teacher Kobo spread the teachings concerning the mandalas of the Diamond World and the Womb World. These are secret and arcane teachings that concern the thirty-seven honored ones. Therefore, the most profound doctrines of the exoteric teachings cannot compare even to the elementary stages of the esoteric teachings. Hence the Great Teacher Chisho, of the Later Toin Hall, stated in his commentary, 'Even the Lotus Sutra cannot compare [to the Dainichi Sutra], much less the other doctrines.' Now what is your view on this matter?"

"The Great Teacher Kobo of Mount Koya, of whom you have spoken, was a teacher who lived in the time of Emperor Saga. He received a mandate from the emperor directing him to determine and explain the relative profundity of the various Buddhist teachings. In response, he produced a work in ten volumes entitled Jojushin Ron. Because this work is so broad and comprehensive, he made a condensation of it in three volumes, which bears the title Hizo Hoyaku. This work describes ten stages in the development of the mind, from the first stage, the 'mind of lowly man, goatish in its desire' to the last stage, the 'glorious mind, the most secret and sacred.' He assigns the Lotus Sutra to the eighth stage, the Kegon Sutra to the ninth stage, and the Shingon teachings [of the Dainichi Sutra] to the tenth stage. Thus he ranks the Lotus Sutra as inferior even to the Kegon Sutra, and as two stages below the Dainichi Sutra. In this work, he writes, 'Each vehicle that is put forward is claimed to be the vehicle of Buddhahood, but when examined from a later stage, they are all seen to be mere childish theory.' He also characterizes the Lotus Sutra as a work of 'wild words and ornate phrases,' and disparages Shakyamuni Buddha as being lost in the realm of darkness.

"Still your thoughts and listen to what I say! In all the five thousand or seven thousand volumes of sutras that the Buddha preached during his lifetime, or the three thousand or more volumes of the Confucian and Taoist scriptures, is there anywhere a passage clearly stating that the Lotus Sutra is a doctrine of 'childish theory,' or that it ranks two stages below the Dainichi Sutra, being inferior to the Kegon Sutra as well, or that Shakyamuni Buddha was lost in the realm of darkness and is not worthy even to serve as an ox-driver to Dainichi Buddha? And even if such a passage did exist, one would certainly have to examine it with great care!

"When the Buddhist sutras and teachings were brought from India to China, the manner of translation depended upon the inclination of the particular translator, and there were no fixed translations for the sutras and treatises. Hence the Learned Doctor Kumarajiva of the Later Ch'in dynasty always used to say, 'When I examine the Buddhist teachings as they exist in China, I find that in many cases they differ from the Sanskrit originals. If the sutra translations that I have produced are free from error, then, after I am dead and cremated, my body, since it is impure, will no doubt be consumed by the flames, but my tongue alone [with which I have expounded the true meaning of the sutras] will not be burned.' And when he was finally cremated, his body was reduced to a pile of bones, but his tongue alone remained, resting on top of a blue lotus blossom and emitting a brilliant light that outshone the rays of the sun. How wonderful a happening!

"Thus it came about that the translation of the Lotus Sutra made by the Learned Doctor Kumarajiva in particular spread easily throughout China. And that is why, when the Great Teacher Dengyo of Enryaku-ji attacked the teachings of the other sects, he refuted them by saying, 'We have proof in the fact that the tongue of the Learned Doctor Kumarajiva, the translator of the Lotus Sutra, was not consumed by the flames. The sutras that you rely upon are all in error!'

"Again, in the Nirvana Sutra the Buddha says, 'When my teachings are transmitted to other countries, many errors are bound to be introduced.' Even if among sutra passages we were to find the Lotus Sutra characterized as useless or Shakyamuni Buddha described as a Buddha who was lost in the realm of darkness, we should inquire very carefully to see whether the text that makes such statements belongs to the provisional or the true teaching, to the Mahayana or the Hinayana, whether it was preached in the earlier or the later part of the Buddha's life, and who the translator was.

"It is said that Lao Tzu and Confucius thought nine times before uttering a single word, or three times before uttering a single word. And Tan, the Duke of Chou, was so eager to receive his callers that he would spit out his food three times in the course of a meal and wring out his hair three times in the course of washing it [to show them the greatest courtesy]. If even the people described in the shallow, non-Buddhist writings behaved with such care and circumspection, then how much more so should those who study the profound doctrines of the Buddhist scriptures!

"Now nowhere in the sutras and treatises do we find the slightest evidence to support this contention [that the Lotus Sutra is inferior to the Dainichi Sutra]. The Great Teacher Kobo's own commentary says that one who slanders persons and disparages the Law will fall into the evil paths. A person like Kobo will invariably fall into hell-there can be no doubt of it."

The unenlightened man seemed to be dazed, and then suddenly began to sigh. After some time, he said, "The Great Teacher Kobo was an expert in both the Buddhist and non-Buddhist writings and a teacher and leader of the masses. In virtuous practices he excelled the others of his time, and his reputation was known everywhere. It is said that when he was in China, he hurled a three-pronged diamond-pounder all the way across the more than eighty thousand ri of the ocean until it reached Japan, and that when he expounded the meaning of the Heart Sutra, so many sufferers from the plague recovered their health that they filled the streets. Thus he was surely no ordinary person, but a manifestation of a Buddha in temporal form. We can hardly fail to hold him in esteem and put faith in his teachings."

The sage replied, "I at first thought the same way. But after I entered the path of the Buddha's teachings and began to distinguish what accords with its principles from what does not, I realized that the ability to perform miraculous acts at will does not necessarily constitute a basis for determining the truth or falsity of Buddhist teachings. That is why the Buddha laid down the rule that we should 'rely on the Law and not upon persons,' which I mentioned earlier.

"The ascetic Agastya poured the Ganges River into one ear and kept it there for twelve years, the ascetic Jinu drank the great ocean dry in a single day, Chang Chieh exhaled fog, and Luan Pa exhaled clouds. But this does not mean that they knew what is correct and what is not in the Buddhist teachings, or that they understood the principle of cause and effect. In China, when the Dharma Teacher Fa-yun lectured on the Lotus Sutra, in no time at all flowers came raining down from the heavens. But the Great Teacher Miao-lo said that although Fa-yun had produced such a response, his words were not in accord with the truth [of the Lotus Sutra]. Thus Miao-lo accused him of having failed to understand the truth of Buddhism.

"The Lotus Sutra rejects the three types of preaching--that done by the Buddha in the past, the present and the future. It refutes the sutras preached before it, saying that in them the Buddha had 'not yet revealed the truth.' It attacks the sutras of the same period by declaring itself superior to those 'now being preached,' and repudiates the sutras expounded later by stating that it excels all those 'to be preached.' In truth, the Lotus Sutra is first among all sutras preached in the three categories of past, present and future.

"In the fourth volume of the Lotus Sutra, we read, 'Yakuo, I tell you this. Among all the sutras that I preach, the Lotus Sutra holds first place.' This passage means that at the gathering on Eagle Peak the Buddha addressed Bodhisattva Yakuo and told him that, beginning with the Kegon Sutra and ending with the Nirvana Sutra, there were countless sutras numbering as many as the sands of the Ganges, but that among all these, the Lotus Sutra that he was then preaching held first place. But evidently the Great Teacher Kobo misread the word 'first' as 'third.'

"In the same volume of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha says, 'For the sake of the Buddha Way I have in countless different lands from the beginning until now widely preached various sutras, but among them this sutra is foremost.' This passage means that Shakyamuni Buddha has appeared in countless lands, taking different names and assuming varying life spans. And it establishes that, among all the sutras he has preached in the various forms in which he manifested himself, the Lotus Sutra holds first place.

"In the fifth volume of the Lotus Sutra it is stated that the Lotus Sutra 'holds the highest place,' making clear that this sutra stands above the Dainichi, Kongocho, and all the other countless sutras. But evidently the Great Teacher Kobo read this as 'holds the lowest place.' Thus Shakyamuni and Kobo, the Lotus Sutra and the Hizo Hoyaku, are in fact completely at odds with each other. Do you intend to reject Shakyamuni and follow Kobo? Or will you reject Kobo and follow Shakyamuni? Will you go against the text of the sutra and accept the words of an ordinary teacher? Or will you reject the words of an ordinary teacher and honor the golden words of the Buddha? Think carefully before you decide what to accept and what to reject!

"Furthermore, in the Yakuo chapter in volume seven, ten similes are offered in praise of the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. The first simile concerns water, and in it streams and rivers are likened to the other various sutras, and the great ocean to the Lotus Sutra. Thus if anyone should assert that the Dainichi Sutra is superior and the Lotus Sutra inferior, he is in effect saying that the great ocean holds less water than does a little stream! Everyone in the world today understands that the ocean exceeds the various rivers in size, and yet they fail to realize that the Lotus Sutra is the first among sutras.

"The second simile concerns mountains. Ordinary mountains are likened to the other sutras and Mount Sumeru to the Lotus Sutra. Mount Sumeru measures 168,000 yojana from top to bottom; what other mountain could compare with it? To say that the Dainichi Sutra is superior to the Lotus Sutra is like saying that Mount Fuji is bigger than Mount Sumeru.

"This passage tells us that the Lotus Sutra is not only the foremost among all the doctrines preached by Shakyamuni Buddha in the course of his lifetime, but that it also holds first place among all the teachings and sutras preached by Buddhas such as Dainichi, Yakushi or Amida, and by bodhisattvas such as Fugen or Monju. Therefore, if anyone should assert that there exists a sutra superior to the Lotus, you must understand that he is expounding the views of the followers of non-Buddhist teachings or of the Devil of the Sixth Heaven.

"Moreover, as to the identity of Dainichi Buddha, when Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, who had been enlightened from remote ages past, for forty-two years dimmed his light and mingled with the dust of the world, adapting himself to the capacities of the people of the time, he, a Buddha who unites the three bodies in one, temporarily assumed the form of Vairochana. Therefore, when Shakyamuni Buddha revealed the true aspect of all phenomena, it became clear that Vairochana was a temporary form that Shakyamuni had manifested in response to the capacities of the people. For this reason, the Fugen Sutra says that Shakyamuni Buddha is given the name Vairochana Pervading Everywhere, and that the place where that Buddha lives is called Eternally Tranquil Light.

"Now the Lotus Sutra expounds the doctrines of the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds, ichinen sanzen, the unification of the three truths, and the inseparability of the four kinds of lands. Moreover, the very essence of all the sacred teachings expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha in his lifetime--the doctrines that persons of the two vehicles can achieve Buddhahood and that the Buddha attained enlightenment in the inconceivably remote past--is found only in this one sutra, the Lotus. Is there any mention of these most important matters in the three esoteric sutras you have been talking about, the Dainichi Sutra, the Kongocho Sutra and so forth? Shan-wu-wei and Pu-k'ung stole these most important doctrines from the Lotus Sutra and contrived to make them the essential points of their own sutras. But in fact this is a fraud; their own sutras and treatises contain no trace of these doctrines. You must make haste and remedy your thinking on this point!

"The fact is that the Dainichi Sutra includes each of the four types of teachings and expounds the kind of precepts whose benefit is exhausted when the bodily form comes to an end. It is a provisional teaching, designated by Chinese teachers as a sutra belonging to the Hodo category, the group of sutras which, according to T'ien-t'ai's classification, were preached in the third period. How shameful [to hold it above the Lotus]! If you really have a mind to pursue the Way, you must hurry and repent of your past errors! In the final analysis, this sutra of Myoho-renge-kyo sums up all the teachings and meditational practices of Shakyamuni Buddha's entire lifetime in a single moment of life, and encompasses all the living beings of the Ten Worlds and their environments in the three thousand realms."