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  • The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin I/II
    • Volume I
    • Volume II
  • The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras
  • The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings
  • The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism

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  • face-covering tongue

    [覆面舌] ( fumen-zetsu)

  • Fa-chao

    [法照] (n.d.) (PY Fazhao;  Hōshō or Hosshō)

  • Fa-ch’üan

    [法全] (n.d.) (PY Faquan;  Hassen)

  • Fa-hsiang school

    [法相宗] (PY Faxiangzong;  Hossō-shū)

  • Fa-hsien

    (PY Faxian) (1) [法顕] (c. 340–420) ( Hokken); (2) [法賢] (d. 1001) ( Hōken)

  • faith

    [信] ( shraddhā; Pali saddhā;  shin)

  • faith, practice, and study

    [信行学] ( shin-gyō-gaku)

  • Fa-lang

    [法朗] (507–581) (PY Falang;  Hōrō)

  • Fa-pao

    [法宝] (n.d.) (PY Fabao;  Hōbō)

  • farther shore

    [彼岸] ( higan)

  • Fa-shun

    [法順] (PY Fashun;  Hōjun)

  • Fa-tao

    [法道] (1086–1147) (PY Fadao;  Hōdō)

  • Fa-tsang

    [法蔵] (643–712) (PY Fazang;  Hōzō)

  • Fa-tsu

    [法祖] (n.d.) (PY Fazu;  Hōso)

  • Fa-yün

    [法雲] (PY Fayun;  Hōun) (1) (467–529); (2) (1087–1158)

  • fearlessness

    [無畏] ( vaishāradya;  mui)

  • field of good fortune

    [福田] ( punya-kshetra;  fukuden)

  • fiery pit

    [火坑] ( kakyō or kakō)

  • fifth five-hundred-year period

    [後五百歳] ( go-gohyakusai)

  • fifth scroll of the Lotus Sutra

    [法華経第五の巻] ( Hokekyō-daigo-no-maki)

  • fifty-two stages of bodhisattva practice

    [五十二位] ( gojūni-i)

  • figurative lotus

    [譬喩蓮華] ( hiyu-renge)

  • figurative renge

    [譬喩蓮華] ( hiyu-renge)

  • fire pit

    [火坑] ( kakyō or kakō)

  • fire-pit meditation

    [火坑三昧] ( kakyō-zammai or kakō-sammai)

  • Firmly Established Practices

    [安立行菩薩] ( Supratishthitachāritra;  Anryūgyō-bosatsu)

  • first four flavors

    [前四味・四味] ( zen-shimi or shimi)

  • first stage of development

    [初地] ( shoji)

  • first stage of security

    [初住] ( shojū)

  • five Āgamas

    [五部] ( go-bu)

  • five aggregates

    [五陰] ( go-on)

  • five ascetic practices

    [五法] ( go-hō)

  • five ascetics

    [五比丘] ( go-biku)

  • five Buddhas

    [五仏] ( go-butsu)

  • five cardinal sins

    [五逆・五逆罪] ( go-gyaku or go-gyakuzai)

  • five categories of Buddhas

    [五仏] ( go-butsu)

  • five components

    [五陰・五蘊] ( pancha-skandha;  go-on or go-un)

  • five correct practices

    [五正行・五種の正行] ( go-shōgyō or goshu-no-shōgyō)

  • five defilements

    [五濁] ( go-joku)

  • five delusive inclinations

    [五鈍使] ( go-donshi)

  • five desires

    [五欲] ( go-yoku)

  • five elements

    [五大] ( go-dai)

  • five false views

    [五利使] ( go-rishi)

  • five five-hundred-year periods

    [五箇の五百歳] ( goka-no-gohyakusai)

  • five flavors

    [五味] ( go-mi)

  • fivefold bodies of the Law

    [五分法身] ( gobun-hosshin)

  • fivefold comparison

    [五重の相対] ( gojū-no-sōtai)

  • fivefold meditation

    [五相成身観] ( gosō-jōshin-kan)

  • Fivefold Rules of Discipline, The

    [五分律] (Chin Wu-fen-lü;  Gobun-ritsu)

  • fivefold view of revelation

    [五重三段] ( gojū-sandan)

  • five great wisdom kings

    [五大明王] ( godai-myō’ō)

  • five guides for propagation

    [五綱] ( go-kō)

  • five heavens of purity

    [五浄居天] ( shuddhāvāsa;  go-jōgo-ten)

  • five honored ones

    [五大尊] ( godaison)

  • “Five Hundred Disciples” chapter

    [五百弟子品] ( Gohyaku-deshi-hon)

  • five hundred precepts

    [五百戒] ( gohyaku-kai)

  • five improper ways of livelihood

    [五邪・五種邪命] ( go-ja or goshu-jamyō)

  • five impurities

    [五濁] ( go-joku)

  • five kinds of correct practices

    [五正行・五種の正行] ( go-shōgyō or goshu-no-shōgyō)

  • five kinds of sundry practices

    [五種の雑行] ( goshu-no-zōgyō)

  • five kinds of wisdom

    [五智] ( go-chi)

  • five major principles

    [五重玄] ( gojū-gen)

  • five major writings

    [五大部] ( godai-bu)

  • five meditations

    [五停心観] ( gojōshin-kan)

  • five meditations for stopping the mind

    [五停心観] ( gojōshin-kan)

  • five mighty bodhisattvas

    [五大力菩薩] ( godairiki-bosatsu)

  • five natures

    [五性] ( go-shō)

  • five obscurations

    [五蓋] ( go-gai)

  • five obstacles

    [五障] ( go-shō)

  • five obstacles and three obediences

    [五障三従] ( goshō-sanjū or goshō-sanshō)

  • five or seven characters

    [五字七字] ( goji-shichiji)

  • five pāramitās

    [五波羅蜜] ( go-haramitsu)

  • five paths

    [五道・五趣] ( go-dō or go-shu)

  • five patriarchs of the Chinese Pure Land school

    [浄土五祖] ( Jōdo-goso)

  • five periods

    [五時] ( go-ji)

  • five periods and eight teachings

    [五時八教] ( goji-hakkyō)

  • five powers

    [五力] ( go-riki)

  • five practices

    [五種の修行] ( goshu-no-shugyō)

  • five precepts

    [五戒] ( go-kai)

  • five proclamations of the Buddha

    [五箇の鳳詔] ( goka-no-hōshō)

  • five pure-dwelling heavens

    [五浄居天] ( go-jōgo-ten)

  • five regions of India

    [五天竺・五天] ( go-tenjiku or go-ten)

  • five roots

    [五根] ( go-kon)

  • five schools of Zen

    [五家] ( go-ke)

  • five senior priests

    [五老僧] ( go-rōsō)

  • five sense organs

    [五根] (, Pali pancha-indriya;  go-kon)

  • five signs of decay

    [五衰] ( go-sui)

  • five skandhas

    [五陰] ( go-on)

  • five spicy foods

    [五辛] ( go-shin)

  • five stages of practice

    [五品] ( go-hon)

  • five strong-flavored foods

    [五辛] ( go-shin)

  • five sundry practices

    [五種の雑行] ( goshu-no-zōgyō)

  • five supernatural powers

    [五神通・五通] ( go-jinzū or go-tsū)

  • five tastes

    [五味] ( go-mi)

  • five teachings and ten doctrines

    [五教十宗] ( gokyō-jisshū)

  • five teachings of Mahādeva

    [大天の五事] ( Daiten-no-goji)

  • Five Temples

    [五山] ( Gozan or Gosan)

  • five thousand and forty-eight volumes

    [五千四十八巻] ( gosen-shijūhachi-kan)

  • five thousand arrogant persons

    [五千の上慢] ( gosen-no-jōman)

  • five transcendental powers

    [五神通・五通] ( go-jinzū or go-tsū)

  • five types of decay

    [五衰] ( go-sui)

  • five types of vision

    [五眼] ( go-gen)

  • five types of wisdom

    [五智] ( go-chi)

  • five vehicles

    [五乗] ( go-jō)

  • five wisdom Buddhas

    [五智如来] ( gochi-nyorai)

  • fixed karma

    [定業] ( jōgō)

  • Fixed Light

    [錠光仏] ( Jōkō-butsu)

  • flame-emitting meditation

    [火生三昧] ( kashō-zammai)

  • Flower Garland period

    [華厳時] ( Kegon-ji)

  • Flower Garland school

    [華厳宗] (Chin Hua-yen-tsung;  Kegon-shū)

  • Flower Garland Sutra

    [華厳経] ( Buddha-avatamsaka-nāma-mahāvaipulya-sūtra; Chin Hua-yen-ching;  Kegon-gyō)

  • Flower Glow

    [華光如来] (1) ( Padmaprabha;  Kekō-nyorai); (2) ( unknown;  Kekō-nyorai)

  • Fo-lung-ssu

    [仏隴寺] (PY Folongsi;  Butsurō-ji)

  • foolishness

    [愚癡・癡・無明] (, Pali moha;  guchi, chi, or mumyō)

  • forbearance

    [忍・忍辱] ( kshānti;  nin or ninniku)

  • Forbearance

    [忍辱仙人] ( Kshāntivādin;  Ninniku-sennin)

  • foreign invasion

    [他国侵逼難] ( takoku-shimpitsu-nan)

  • foremost worldly stage

    [世第一法・世第一法位] ( sedaiippō or sedaiippō-i)

  • Forest of Gems in the Garden of the Law, The

    [法苑珠林] (Chin Fa-yüan-chu-lin;  Hō’on-jurin)

  • Forest of Meanings in the Mahayana Garden of the Law, The

    [大乗法苑義林章] (Chin Ta-ch’eng-fa-yüan-i-lin-chang;  Daijō-hō’on-girin-jō)

  • Forest of Merits

    [功徳林菩薩] ( Kudokurin-bosatsu)

  • “Former Affairs of King Wonderful Adornment” chapter

    [妙荘厳王本事品] ( Myōshōgonnō-honji-hon)

  • “Former Affairs of the Bodhisattva Medicine King” chapter

    [薬王菩薩本事品] ( Yakuō-bosatsu-honji-hon)

  • Former Day of the Law

    [正法] ( shōbō)

  • forty-eight minor precepts

    [四十八軽戒] ( shijūhachi-kyōkai)

  • forty-eight vows

    [四十八願] ( shijūhachi-gan)

  • forty-two levels of ignorance

    [四十二品の無明] ( shijūnihon-no-mumyō)

  • Fo-t’u-teng

    [仏図澄] (232–348) (PY Fotudeng;  Buttochō)

  • four activities of daily life

    [四威儀] ( shi-igi)

  • four Āgama sutras

    [四阿含経] ( shi-agon-gyō)

  • four bases of transcendental powers

    [四如意足・四神足] ( shi-nyoisoku or shi-jinsoku)

  • four bodhisattvas

    [四菩薩] ( shi-bosatsu)

  • four categories of Buddhists

    [四衆] ( shi-shu)

  • four continents

    [四洲] ( shi-shū)

  • four-continent world

    [四天下] ( shi-tenge)

  • four daily activities

    [四威儀] ( shi-igi)

  • four debts of gratitude

    [四恩] ( shi-on)

  • four devils

    [四魔] ( shi-ma)

  • four Dharma seals

    [四法印] ( shi-hōin)

  • four dhyāna heavens

    [四禅天] ( shizenten)

  • four dictums

    [四箇の格言] ( shika-no-kakugen)

  • four different views of the grove of sal trees

    [沙羅の四見] ( shara-no-shiken)

  • four easy practices

    [四安楽行] ( shi-anraku-gyō)

  • four elements

    [四大] ( shi-dai)

  • four encounters

    [四門遊観・四門出遊] ( shimon-yūkan or shimon-shutsuyū)

  • four evil paths

    [四悪趣・四悪道] ( shi-akushu or shi-akudō)

  • four fearlessnesses

    [四無所畏・四無畏] ( shi-mushoi or shi-mui)

  • four flavors

    [前四味・四味] ( zen-shimi or shimi)

  • four flavors and three teachings

    [四味三教] ( shimi-sankyō)

  • fourfold rise and fall

    [四重の興廃] ( shijū-no-kōhai)

  • Fourfold Rules of Discipline, The

    [四分律] (Chin Ssu-fen-lü;  Shibun-ritsu)

  • four forms of birth

    [四生] ( shi-shō)

  • four forms of meditation

    [四種三昧] ( shishu-sammai or shishu-zammai)

  • four good roots

    [四善根・四善根位] ( shi-zengon or shi-zengon-i)

  • four grave offenses

    [四重罪・四波羅夷罪] ( shi-jūzai or shi-haraizai)

  • four grave prohibitions

    [四重禁・四重] ( shijūkin or shijū)

  • four great continents

    [四大洲] ( shidai-shū)

  • four great heavenly kings

    [四大天王] ( shidai-tennō)

  • four great rivers

    [四大河] ( shidai-ga)

  • four great seas

    [四大海] ( shidai-kai)

  • four great voice-hearers

    [四大声聞] ( shidai-shōmon)

  • four guidelines

    [四釈・四種釈] ( shi-shaku or shishu-shaku)

  • four heavenly kings

    [四天王] ( shi-tennō)

  • four heavens of the world of formlessness

    [四無色天] ( shi-mushiki-ten)

  • four imperial persecutions of Buddhism in China

    [三武一宗の法難] ( Sambu-issō-no-hōnan)

  • four improper ways of livelihood

    [四邪命食・四不浄食・四食] ( shi-jamyōjiki, shi-fujōjiki, or shi-jiki)

  • four inferior flavors

    [前四味・四味] ( zen-shimi or shimi)

  • four infinite virtues

    [四無量心] ( shi-muryōshin)

  • four inverted views

    [四顚倒] ( shi-tendō)

  • four kalpas

    [四劫] ( shi-kō)

  • four kinds of believers

    [四衆] ( shi-shu)

  • four kinds of Buddhists

    [四衆] ( shi-shu)

  • four kinds of flowers

    [四華] ( shi-ke)

  • four kinds of lands

    [四土] ( shi-do)

  • four kinds of meditation

    [四種三昧] ( shishu-sammai or shishu-zammai)

  • four kinds of offerings

    [四事・四事供養] ( shiji or shiji-kuyō)

  • four-line verse

    [四句偈] ( shiku-ge)

  • four major disciples

    [四大弟子] ( shidai-deshi)

  • four major offenses

    [四重罪・四波羅夷罪] ( shi-jūzai or shi-haraizai)

  • four meditation heavens

    [四禅天] ( shizenten)

  • four meditations

    [四念処・四念住] ( shi-nenjo or shi-nenjū)

  • four meditations on formlessness

    [四無色定・四空定・四空処定] ( shi-mushiki-jō, shi-kū-jō, or shi-kūsho-jō)

  • four meetings

    [四門遊観・四門出遊] ( shimon-yūkan or shimon-shutsuyū)

  • four methods of winning people

    [四摂法・四摂事] ( shi-shōbō or shi-shōji)

  • four modes of conduct

    [四威儀] ( shi-igi)

  • four noble truths

    [四諦・四聖諦] ( chatur-ārya-satya;  shi-tai or shi-shōtai)

  • four noble worlds

    [四聖] ( shi-shō or shi-sei)

  • four objects of faith

    [四信] ( shi-shin)

  • four pārājika offenses

    [四重罪・四波羅夷罪] ( shi-jūzai or shi-haraizai)

  • four peaceful practices

    [四安楽行] ( shi-anraku-gyō)

  • Four Peaceful Practices, The

    [四安楽行] ( Shi-anraku-gyō)

  • four peaceful ways of practice

    [四安楽行] ( shi-anraku-gyō)

  • four-phrase essence of the Lotus Sutra

    [四句の要法] ( shiku-no-yōbō)

  • four-phrase verse

    [四句偈] ( shiku-ge)

  • four powers

    [四力] ( shi-riki)

  • four preceding flavors

    [前四味・四味] ( zen-shimi or shimi)

  • four ranks of bodhisattvas

    [四依の菩薩] ( shie-no-bosatsu)

  • four ranks of sages

    [四依] ( shie)

  • four realms of the world of formlessness

    [四無色界・四無色天・四無色処・四空処] ( shi-mushiki-kai, shi-mushiki-ten, shi-mushiki-sho, or shi-kū-sho)

  • four reliances

    [四依] ( shie)

  • four right efforts

    [四正勤・四正断] ( shi-shōgon or shi-shōdan)

  • four rivers

    [四河] ( shi-ga)

  • four roots of goodness

    [四善根・四善根位] ( shi-zengon or shi-zengon-i)

  • four seas

    [四海] ( shi-kai)

  • four stages of enlightenment

    [四果] ( shi-ka)

  • four stages of faith

    [四信] ( shi-shin)

  • four stages of faith and the five stages of practice

    [四信五品] ( shishin-gohon)

  • four stages of Hinayana enlightenment

    [四果] ( shi-ka)

  • four stages of meditation

    [四禅定] ( chatur-dhyāna;  shi-zenjō)

  • four standards

    [四依] ( shie)

  • four steps to transcendental powers

    [四如意足・四神足] ( shi-nyoisoku or shi-jinsoku)

  • four sufferings

    [四苦] ( shi-ku)

  • four tastes

    [前四味・四味] ( zen-shimi or shimi)

  • four teachers of the three countries

    [三国四師] ( sangoku-shishi)

  • four teachings of doctrine

    [化法の四教] ( kehō-no-shikyō)

  • four teachings of method

    [化儀の四教] ( kegi-no-shikyō)

  • fourteen slanders

    [十四誹謗・十四謗法] ( jūshi-hibō or jūshi-hōbō)

  • four topsy-turvy views

    [四顚倒] ( shi-tendō)

  • four treatises

    [四論] ( shi-ron)

  • four types of Buddhist believers

    [四衆] ( shi-shu)

  • four types of correct effort

    [四正勤・四正断] ( shi-shōgon or shi-shōdan)

  • four types of mandalas

    [四種曼荼羅] ( shishu-mandara)

  • four types of wheel-turning kings

    [四輪王] ( shi-rinnō)

  • four universal vows

    [四弘誓願] ( shigu-seigan)

  • four unlimited kinds of knowledge

    [四無礙智・四無礙] ( shi-muge-chi or shi-muge)

  • four unpardonable offenses

    [四重罪・四波羅夷罪] ( shi-jūzai or shi-haraizai)

  • four views of the sal grove

    [沙羅の四見] ( shara-no-shiken)

  • four virtues

    [四徳] ( shi-toku)

  • four ways of preaching

    [四悉檀] ( shi-shitsudan)

  • four wheel-turning kings

    [四輪王] ( shi-rinnō)

  • four wrong-headed views

    [四顚倒] ( shi-tendō)

  • Fragrant, Mount

    [香酔山・香山] (, Pali Gandhamādana;  Kōsui-sen or Kō-sen)

  • Fragrant Mountain

    [香酔山・香山] ( Kōsui-sen or Kō-sen)

  • Freely Enjoying Things Conjured by Others

    [他化自在天] ( Takejizai-ten)

  • Freely Perceiving

    [観自在菩薩] ( Avalokiteshvara;  Kanjizai-bosatsu)

  • Fudō

    [不動] ()

  • Fuji school

    [富士門流] ( Fuji-monryū)

  • Fuju Fuse Kōmon school

    [不受不施講門派] ( Fuju Fuse Kōmon-ha)

  • Fuju Fuse school

    [不受不施派] ( Fuju Fuse-ha)

  • full commandments

    [具足戒] ( gusoku-kai)

  • Funamori Yasaburō

    [船守弥三郎] (n.d.)

  • fundamental darkness

    [元品の無明] ( gampon-no-mumyō)

  • fundamental nature of enlightenment

    [元品の法性] ( gampon-no-hosshō)

  • Further Anthology of the Propagation of Light, The

    [広弘明集] (Chin Kuang-hung-ming-chi;  Kō-gumyō-shū)

  • fusion of reality and wisdom

    [境智冥合] ( kyōchi-myōgō)

  • Fu Ta-shih

    [傅大士] (497–569) (PY Fu Dashi;  Fu-daishi)

fivefold comparison [五重の相対] ( gojū-no-sōtai): Five successive levels of comparison set forth by Nichiren (1222–1282) in The Opening of the Eyes to demonstrate the superiority of his teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo over all other teachings.
  (1) Buddhism is superior to non-Buddhist teachings. Nichiren takes up Confucianism and Brahmanism, and concludes that these non-Buddhist religions are not as profound as Buddhism in that they do not reveal the causal law of life that penetrates the three existences of past, present, and future.
  (2) Mahayana Buddhism is superior to Hinayana Buddhism. Hinayana Buddhism is the teaching for persons of the two vehicles, or voice-hearers ( shrāvaka) and cause-awakened ones (pratyekabuddha), who aim at personal emancipation; its ultimate goal is to put an end to the cycle of rebirth in the threefold world by eliminating all earthly desires. It is called Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle) because it saves only a limited number of people. In contrast, Mahayana Buddhism is the teaching for bodhisattvas who aim at both personal enlightenment and the enlightenment of others; it is called Mahayana (Great Vehicle) because it can lead many people to enlightenment. In this sense, the Mahayana teachings are superior to the Hinayana teachings.
  (3) True Mahayana is superior to provisional Mahayana. Here true Mahayana means the Lotus Sutra, while provisional Mahayana indicates the Mahayana teachings that, according to T’ien-t’ai’s system of classification, were expounded before the Lotus Sutra. In the provisional Mahayana teachings, the people of the two vehicles, women, and evil persons are excluded from the possibility of attaining enlightenment; in addition, Buddhahood is attained only by advancing through progressive stages of bodhisattva practice over incalculable kalpas. In contrast, the Lotus Sutra reveals that all people have the Buddha nature inherently, and that they can attain Buddhahood immediately by realizing that nature. Furthermore, the provisional Mahayana teachings assert that Shakyamuni attained enlightenment for the first time in India and do not reveal his original attainment of Buddhahood in the remote past, nor do they reveal the principle of the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds, as does the Lotus Sutra. For these reasons, the true Mahayana teachings are superior to the provisional Mahayana teachings.
  (4) The essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra is superior to the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra. The theoretical teaching consists of the first fourteen chapters of the Lotus Sutra, and the essential teaching, the latter fourteen chapters. The theoretical teaching takes the form of preaching by Shakyamuni who is still viewed as having attained enlightenment during his lifetime in India. In contrast, the essential teaching takes the form of preaching by Shakyamuni who has discarded this transient status and revealed his true identity as the Buddha who attained Buddhahood in the remote past. This revelation implies that all the Ten Worlds of ordinary people are eternal just as the Buddha’s are, and confirms that Buddhahood is an ever-present potential of human life. For these reasons, the essential teaching is superior to the theoretical teaching.
  (5) The Buddhism of sowing is superior to the Buddhism of the harvest. Nichiren established this comparison based on the concept of sowing, maturing, and harvesting that T’ien-t’ai (538–597) set forth in The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra. In The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra, T’ien-t’ai cites the process by which the Buddha teaches, described in the “Parable of the Phantom City” (seventh) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, as well as the relationship of the Buddha and his disciples from the remote past explained in the “Life Span” (sixteenth) chapter of the sutra. All these ideas illustrate how the Buddha begins teaching his disciples by sowing the seeds of Buddhahood in their lives, helps those seeds mature, and finally harvests their fruit by leading them to the final stage of enlightenment or Buddhahood.
  The Lotus Sutra describes this process as ranging over countless kalpas. The sutra does not, however, explain the nature of these original seeds, though it is clear that the seed of Buddhahood is essential for attaining Buddhahood. Nichiren identifies the seed as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and states that it can be found only in the depths of the “Life Span” chapter. By implanting this seed in one’s life, one can attain Buddhahood. From this viewpoint, Nichiren identifies his teaching as the Buddhism of sowing (the teaching aimed at implanting the seed of Buddhahood) and Shakyamuni’s as the Buddhism of the harvest (the teaching aimed at harvesting the fruit of enlightenment borne from the seed planted in the remote past). He explains that Shakyamuni appeared in India in order to harvest the fruit of Buddhahood borne from the seed he had sown and caused to mature in the lives of his disciples until that time. The people of the Latter Day of the Law who have no such seed implanted in their lives cannot harvest its fruit. Nichiren states, “Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, neither the Lotus Sutra nor the other sutras lead to enlightenment. Only Nam-myoho-renge-kyo can do so” (903).


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