The One Essential Phrase

The spirit within one's body may appear in just his face, and the spirit within his face may appear in just his eyes. Included within the word Japan is all that is within the country's sixty-six provinces: all of the people and animals, the rice paddies and other fields, those of high and low status, the nobles and the commoners, the seven kinds of gems and all other treasures. Similarly, included within the title, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, is the entire sutra consisting of all eight volumes, twenty-eight chapters and 69,384 characters without exception. Concerning this, Po Chu-i stated that the title is to the sutra as eyes are to the Buddha. In the eighth volume of his Hokke Mongu Ki, Miao-lo stated that T'ien-t'ai's Hokke Gengi explains only the title, but that the entire sutra is thereby included. By this he meant that, although the text was omitted, the entire sutra was contained in the title alone. Everything has its essential point, and the heart of the Lotus Sutra is its title, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Truly, if you chant this in the morning and evening, you are correctly reading the entire Lotus Sutra.

Chanting daimoku twice is the same as reading the entire sutra twice, one hundred daimoku equal one hundred readings of the sutra, and a thousand daimoku, a thousand readings of the sutra. Thus if you ceaselessly chant daimoku, you will be continually reading the Lotus Sutra. The sixty volumes of the T'ien-t'ai doctrine present exactly the same interpretation. A law this easy to embrace and this easy to practice was taught for the sake of all mankind in this evil age of the Latter Day of the Law. A passage from the Lotus Sutra reads, "During the Latter Day of the Law, if one wishes to teach this sutra, he should employ the mild way of propagation." Another reads, "In the Latter Day when the Law is about to perish, a person who embraces, reads and recites this sutra must abandon feelings of envy and deceit." A third states, "In the Latter Day of the Law, one who embraces this sutra will be carrying out all forms of service to the Buddha." A fourth reads, "In the fifth five hundred years after my death, accomplish worldwide kosen-rufu and never allow its flow to cease." The intent of all these teachings is the admonition to embrace and believe in the Lotus Sutra in this Latter Day of the Law. The heretical priests in Japan, China and India have all failed to comprehend this obvious meaning. The Nembutsu, Shingon, Zen and Ritsu sects follow either the Hinayana or the provisional Mahayana teachings but have discarded the Lotus Sutra. They misunderstand Buddhism, but they do not realize their mistakes. Because they appear to be true priests, the people trust them without the slightest doubt. Therefore, without realizing it, both these priests and the people who follow them have become enemies of the Lotus Sutra and foes of Shakyamuni Buddha. From the viewpoint of the sutra, it is certain that not only will all their wishes remain unfulfilled, but their lives will be short and, after this life, they will be doomed to the hell of incessant suffering.

Even though one neither reads nor studies the sutra, chanting the title alone is the source of tremendous good fortune. The sutra teaches that women, evil men, and those in the realms of Animality and Hell--in fact, all the people of the Ten Worlds--can attain Buddhahood. We can comprehend this when we remember that fire can be produced by a stone taken from the bottom of a river, and a candle can light up a place that has been dark for billions of years. If even the most ordinary things of this world are such wonders, then how much more wondrous is the power of the Mystic Law. The lives of human beings are fettered by evil karma, earthly desires and the inborn sufferings of life and death. But due to the three inherent potentials of Buddha nature--innate Buddhahood, the wisdom to become aware of it, and the action to manifest it--our lives can without doubt come to reveal the Buddha's three properties. The Great Teacher Dengyo declared that the power of the Lotus Sutra enables anyone to manifest Buddhahood. He stated this because even the Dragon King's daughter was able to attain Buddhahood through the power of the Lotus Sutra. Do not doubt this in the least. Let your husband know that I will explain this in detail when I see him.

Nichiren

The third day of the seventh month in the first year of Koan (1278).

Duh u nečijem telu može se ukazati na samom njegovom licu, a duh na licu može se ukazati u samim očima. U reči Japan sadržano je sve što se nalazi u šezdeset šest provincija ove zemlje: svi ljudi i životinje, pirinčana i druga polja, oni visokog i oni niskog statusa, plemstvo i obični ljudi, sedam vrsta dragulja i sva druga blaga. Slično tome, naslov Nam-mjoho-renge-kjo je cela sutra koja se sastoji od osam tomova, dvadeset osam poglavlja i 69384 karaktera bez izuzetka. Što se toga tiče, Po Ču-i smatra da je naslov za sutru ono što su oči za Budu. U osmom tomu njegovog Hoke Mongu Ki, Miao-lo smatra da Tjen-tajev Hoke Gengi objašnjava samo naslov, ali da je cela sutra uključena na taj način. Time on misli da je, mada je tekst zanemaren, cela sutra sadržana u samom naslovu. Sve ima svoju suštinsku tačku, a srce Lotos Sutre je njen naslov, Nam-mjoho-renge-kjo. Doista, ako ga recituješ ujutro i uveče, ti ispravno čitaš celu Lotos Sutru. 

Recitovati dajmoku dvaput je isto kao i čitati čitavu sutru dva puta, sto dajmokua isto je što i sto čitanja sutre, a hiljadu dajmokua - hiljadu čitanja sutre. Tako, ako neprestano recituješ dajmoku, neprekidno ćeš čitati Lotos Sutru. Šezdeset tomova Tjen-tajevog učenja predstavlja sasvim isto tumačenje. Zakon lak za prihvatanje i lak za praktikovanje beše podučavan za dobro celog čovečanstva u ovom lošem dobu Potonjeg Dana Zakona. Odeljak iz Lotos Sutre kaže: "Tokom Potonjeg Dana Zakona, ako neko želi da podučava ovoj sutri, treba da koristi blag način propagiranja". Jedan drugi kaže: "U Potonjem Danu Zakona, kada je Zakon na putu da iščezne, pojedinac koji prihvata, čita i recituje ovu sutru mora da napusti osećanja zavisti i lukavstva". Treći kaže: "U pedeset petoj stotini godina posle moje smrti izvrši kosen-rufu širom sveta i nikada nemoj dozvoliti da se njegov tok prekine". Svrha svih ovih učenja je savet da se Lotos Sutra prihvati i da se veruje u nju u ovom Potonjem Danu Zakona. Jeretički sveštenici u Japanu, Kini i Indiji, svi do jednog su propustili da shvate ovo očigledno značenje. Nembutsu, šingon, zen i ritsu sekte slede ili hinajana ili uslovljena mahajana učenja ali su odbacile Lotos Sutru. One pogrešno razumeju budizam, ali ne shvataju svoje greške. Stoga što istupaju kao pravi sveštenici, ljudi im veruju bez i najmanje sumnje. Prema tome, bez shvatanja toga, i ovi sveštenici i ljudi koji ih slede postaju neprijatelji Lotos Sutre i Bude Šakjamunija. Sa gledišta sutre, sigurno je da da neće samo njihove želje ostati neispunjene, već će i njihovi životi biti kratki i, posle tog života, biće osuđeni na pakao neprekidne patnje.

Čak i ako neko niti čita niti proučava sutru, samo recitovanje naslova je izvor ogromne dobre sreće. Sutra podučava da žene, loši ljudi i oni u području Animalnosti i Pakla - u stvari, svi ljudi Deset Svetova - mogu dostići budastvo. Ovo možemo pojmiti kada se setimo da vatra može biti proizvedena pomoću kamena uzetog sa dna reke i da sveća može osvetliti neko mesto koje je bilo mračno tokom bilion godina. Ako su čak i najobičnije stvari takva čuda, koliko je tek čudesnija moć Mističnog Zakona. Život ljudskih bića je zarobljen lošom karmom, zemaljskim željama i urođenom patnjom života i smrti. Ali usled tri prisutne mogućnosti buda prirode - urođenog budastva, mudrosti da se bude svestan toga i delovanja da se ovo manifestuje - naši životi bez sumnje mogu doći dotle da otkrijemo Budina tri svojstva. Veliki Učitelj Dengjo je izjavio da moć Lotos Sutre osposobljava svakog da manifestuje budastvo. Tvrdio je to stoga što čak i kćeri Kralja Zmaja behu sposobne da dostignu budastvo kroz moć Lotos Sutre. Ne sumnjaj u to ni najmanje. Neka tvoj muž zna da ću mu to detaljno objasniti kada ga vidim.

Ničiren

Treći dan sedmog meseca prve godine Koana (1278).
 

Izvor: Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, 1st ed.