Point One, regarding Bodhisattva Never Disparaging
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The word “Constantly” in the name [Constantly] Never Disparaging refers to the bodhisattva Never Disparaging who is constantly present in the three existences of past, present, and future. The name “Never 151Disparaging” refers to the three inherent potentials of the Buddha nature1 that is present in the minds of all living beings. The Buddha nature is the Dharma nature. And the Dharma nature is Myoho-renge-kyo.
Point Two, regarding the bodhisattva Gainer of Great Authority [to whom this chapter is addressed]
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The word “Gainer” stands for the manifested body, the word “Great” stands for the Dharma body, and the word “Authority” stands for the reward body.
Or again, we may say that the word “Gainer” stands for the truth of temporary existence, the word “Great” stands for the Middle Way, and the word “Authority” stands for the truth of non-substantiality.
The whole then represents the perfect unification of the three truths and the three bodies.
Point Three, regarding the Buddha Awesome Sound King
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The word “Awesome” refers to the element of form or body, and the word “Sound” refers to the element of mind. The word “King” refers to the nonduality of body and mind.
Now that we have entered the Latter Day of the Law, to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is to be an Awesome Sound King. The reason is that the word “Sound” stands for the daimoku, or titles, of all various provisional teachings, while the word “Awesome” stands for the five characters of the title [of the Lotus Sutra, Myoho-renge-kyo]. And the word “King” stands for the practitioners of the Lotus Sutra.
152The daimoku of the Lotus Sutra is like the roar of a lion, while the other sutras are like the cries of the other beasts. The Lotus Sutra is referred to as “king” because it is “king of the sutras” (chapter twenty-three, Medicine King).
Now when Nichiren and his followers chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they become the Buddha Awesome Sound King.
Point Four, on the passage “This monk, whatever persons he happened to meet, whether monks, nuns, laymen, or laywomen, would bow in obeisance to all of them and speak words of praise.”
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: This passage means to see and understand that now all living beings in the country of Japan have the capacity to embrace the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra [and thereby attain Buddhahood].
Point Five, regarding the passage “I have profound reverence for you, I would never dare treat you with disparagement or arrogance. Why? Because you are all practicing the bodhisattva way and are certain to attain Buddhahood.”
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: These twenty-four Chinese characters that make up this passage are different [in wording] from the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, but the meaning is the same. These twenty-four characters represent the Lotus Sutra in miniature.
Point Six, on the words “This monk did not devote his time to reading or reciting the scriptures, but simply went about bowing to people.”
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The word “bowing” means to press the palms together in obeisance. Pressing the palms together represents the Lotus Sutra. It represents, that is, the principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of life. That is why the text says that this monk “did not devote 153his time to reading or reciting the scriptures, but simply went about bowing to people.”
Point Seven, on the words “And if he happened to see any of the four kinds of believers far off in the distance, he would purposely go to where they were, bow to them and speak words of praise.”
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The words “whatever persons he happened to meet” or see, which appeared earlier, refer to seeing or perceiving that all people are endowed with the Buddha nature in their minds. This is the principle of the matter. But in the present passage concerning those whom the monk happened to “see far off,” because mention is made of the “four kinds of believers,” it refers to the actual practice involved.
Thus, the earlier passage means to see in terms of the element of the mind, while the present passage means to see in terms of the element of the body. The term “element of the body” refers to the enlightenment revealed in the essential teaching, the revelation that the four factors of teaching, practice, person, and principle converge on the one world of Buddhahood.2 To see in terms of the element of the mind refers to the meaning of the theoretical teaching, which is also a revelation in which the four factors converge on the one world of Buddhahood.
The single word “far” (on) in the phrase “far off” refers to the “far distant” (kuon) time revealed in the “Life Span” chapter. That 154is why the text says that the monk “would purposely go . . . bow to them.”
Point Eight, on the words “Among the four kinds of believers there were those who gave way to anger, their minds lacking in purity.”
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: Those who slander the Law are impure in both body and mind. First, impurity in the element of the mind is what this passage refers to when it says that “their minds” were “lacking in purity.” The impurity of the body is referred to in the passage in the “Simile and Parable” chapter that reads, “His body will always smell bad, / filthy and impure.”
Now Nichiren and his followers, who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, are pure and clean in both body and mind.
Purity of the body is referred to in the passage in the “Benefits of the Teacher of the Law” chapter that reads, “If one upholds the Lotus Sutra / his body will be very pure.” Purity of the mind is referred to in the “Devadatta” chapter in the words “believe and revere it with pure hearts [minds].” The word “purity” refers to the mind that has faith in the Lotus Sutra, while the words “impurity” or “lack of purity” refer to slanderers of the Law.
Point Nine, on the words “Among the four kinds of believers there were those who gave way to anger, their minds lacking in purity, and they spoke ill of him and cursed him, saying, ‘This ignorant monk.’”
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: This is a famous passage in the Lotus Sutra in which the four kinds of believers in their overbearing arrogance curse the bodhisattva Never Disparaging, calling him an “ignorant monk.” To call “ignorant” the bodhisattva who bows in obeisance to whatever persons he happens to meet is the work of the devil king of the sixth heaven.
155This passage of the sutra acts as a bright mirror, showing us that, now that the world has entered the Latter Day of the Law, Nichiren and his followers, who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, will be slandered by being called “ignorant monks.” Without doubt, it is this very “ignorance” that gives us the capacity to embrace the Lotus Sutra.
Point Ten, on the words “when they saw that he had gained great transcendental powers, the power to preach pleasingly and eloquently, the power of great goodness and tranquility, and when they heard his preaching, they all took faith in him and willingly became his followers.”
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The word “heard” refers to the stage of hearing the name and words of the truth, the second of the six stages of practice. In effect, this passage concerns the daimoku that [as volume ten of Words and Phrases says] is “preached in a forceful manner, though it angers them.”
The word “all” refers to the four kinds of believers who were overbearingly arrogant. The word “faith,” shin, refers to the faith or belief that is without doubt. The word “willingly,” fuku, which literally means “to submit,” indicates that one submits and gives full allegiance to the Lotus Sutra. The word zui in the compound of zuijū, which literally means “to obey and follow” and is expressed as “became his followers” in the text, means that one’s mind is dedicated to the Lotus Sutra. The word jū means that one’s body is dedicated to the Lotus Sutra.3
In effect this is saying that now Nichiren and his followers, practitioners of the Lotus Sutra who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, are the bodhisattva Never Disparaging of the Latter Day of the Law.
156Point Eleven, on the words “Among the four kinds of believers he preached the Law with no fear in his mind.”
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The words “four kinds of believers” refer to all the living beings in the country of Japan. The words “preached the Law” refer to Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. “With no fear in his mind” describes the manner in which Nichiren and his followers now call out Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as they perform their shakubuku practice.4
Point Twelve, on the words “The bodhisattva Never Disparaging who lived at that time—could he be unknown to you? In fact he was none other than I myself!”
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The bodhisattva Never Disparaging is the present-day Shakyamuni Buddha. Shakyamuni Buddha is the lord of teachings of the “Life Span” chapter. And the lord of teachings of the “Life Span” chapter is we who are the practitioners of the Lotus Sutra.
This passage, then, is about us. Now Nichiren and his followers are the bodhisattva Never Disparaging.
Point Thirteen, concerning the passage “Gainer of Great Authority, at that time the four kinds of believers, the monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen, because anger arose in their minds and they treated me with disparagement and contempt, were for two hundred million kalpas never able to encounter a Buddha, to hear the Law, or to see the community of monks. For a thousand kalpas they underwent great suffering in the Avīchi hell.”
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: This passage relates how the four kinds of believers, because they treated 157the bodhisattva Never Disparaging with disparagement and contempt, were never able to encounter the three treasures for two hundred million kalpas, but fell into hell and underwent great suffering. But now that we have entered the Latter Day of the Law, those who treat Nichiren and his followers, who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, with disparagement and contempt are even worse than those others. Those others suffered for a thousand kalpas, but these will suffer “for a countless number of kalpas” (chapter three, Simile and Parable).
The “Buddha” spoken of in this passage, the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, is an ordinary mortal and an ordinary priest. The “Law” is the daimoku. The “community of monks” is we practitioners of the Lotus Sutra. We may be called Buddhas, and we may also be called ordinary priests, because “to have a profound realization of the perfect principle is called being a Buddha” (from volume seven of The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra). The perfect principle is the Lotus Sutra.
Point Fourteen, on the words “After they had finished paying for their offenses, they once more encountered the bodhisattva Never Disparaging, who instructed them in anuttara-samyak-sambodhi [supreme perfect enlightenment].”
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: Though people may regret their error in slandering the Lotus Sutra and take faith in and give allegiance to the teachings, if their faith is shallow, they will still have to fall into the hell of incessant suffering. This is due to the vehemence with which they earlier committed slander. But after they have been plunged into the hell of incessant suffering for a thousand kalpas and the time has come for their release, then they will meet Nichiren once again. As the sutra says, “they once more” will encounter Nichiren.
Point Fifteen, concerning the passage “Gainer of Great Authority, you should understand that this Lotus Sutra 158richly benefits the bodhisattvas and mahāsattvas, for it can cause them to attain anuttara-samyak-sambodhi [supreme perfect enlightenment]. For this reason, after the Thus Come One has passed into extinction, the bodhisattvas and mahāsattvas should at all times accept, uphold, read, recite, explain, preach, and transcribe this sutra.”
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The practices carried out by the bodhisattva Never Disparaging are such as are described here. And as we may see, after the Buddha has passed into extinction, one should carry out the five types of practices related to the Lotus Sutra [namely, accepting and upholding it, reading it, reciting it, explaining and preaching it, and transcribing it].
Properly speaking, the twenty-five characters beginning with the words “For this reason” apply to Nichiren and his followers in the Latter Day of the Law. Therefore the text makes a point of saying “For this reason,” and goes on to explain that what follows applies to the time “after the Thus Come One has passed into extinction.” This is done because this is one of the chapters that pertain to the transmission of the sutra.
As a rule, the passages on the transmission of the sutra are meant for people of the present and the future. In a sense, the entire Lotus Sutra was preached for the sake of people who lived when the Buddha was in the world. But in a strict sense, it was meant for people of the present time, the Latter Day of the Law. Therefore the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo have been approved jointly by all the Buddhas of the three existences as something that is meant for people living in a future time “after the Thus Come One has passed into extinction.”
All the doctrines set forth in the various different chapters of the sutra are functions or applications of the daimoku, or title, of the sutra. For if [the daimoku of] the Wonderful Law that is the entity is meant to be applied in the Latter Day of the Law, then how could the same not apply to the various individual chapters? But this doctrine should be kept secret.
159The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai explains this idea by saying, “When one pulls on the main cord of a net, there are no meshes that do not move” (from volume one of Profound Meaning). And the Great Teacher Miao-lo says, “When for the sake of brevity one mentions only the daimoku, or title, the entire sutra is by implication included therein” (from volume eight of The Annotations on “The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra”).
Those who do not understand this are not qualified to propagate [the sutra] in the Latter Day of the Law.
Point Sixteen, concerning the true entity exemplified by the bodhisattva Never Disparaging as he is depicted here in this chapter
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The bodhisattva Never Disparaging represents the living beings of the Ten Worlds. Constantly throughout the three existences he carries out his practice of bowing in obeisance. And the words that issue from his mouth are the sounds of the Wonderful Law.
Even when the wardens of hell take up their clubs and berate offenders, [the offenders submit to the berating and so] their true entity is a kind of bow of obeisance. They would not dare to respond out of mere disparagement. If the offenders suppose that the wardens are punishing them unjustly, then in turn they are unjustly berating the bodhisattva Never Disparaging. This is what is meant by the practice of shakubuku.
Point Seventeen, concerning the various positions or standpoints from which the bodhisattva Never Disparaging’s bow of obeisance is carried out
There are fourteen such positions from which the bow of obeisance is conducted.
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The first position is that represented by the bow of obeisance carried out in the treasure tower. This is because the stupa or tower is composed of the five elements. The five elements are earth, water, 160fire, wind, and space. The stupa made of these is known as the treasure tower.
Vast as the Dharma-realm is, it is composed of nothing more than these five elements. Therefore it has been taught that the bow of obeisance is carried out within the treasure tower. Treat this as secret, treat this as secret.
Point Eighteen, concerning the bow of obeisance based on the passage on opening, showing, awakening, and causing to enter (chapter two, Expedient Means)
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: Another place where the bow of obeisance is conducted is the passage that tells how the Buddhas wish for the sake of all living beings to carry out four actions, namely, to “open, show, awaken, and cause them to enter” the Buddha wisdom. This passage in the “Expedient Means” chapter therefore represents the second place where the bow of obeisance is carried out.
[In his Words and Phrases, volume ten, T’ien-t’ai] interprets this to mean that within one’s heart one possesses the understanding of the bodhisattva Never Disparaging. He interprets this understanding to mean the understanding that all living beings possess innate Buddhahood. To open up the Buddha nature that is innate in them, the Buddhas appear in the world. This is what the sutra means when it says, “To open the door of Buddha wisdom to all living beings” (chapter two, Expedient Means).
Point Nineteen, concerning the bow of obeisance related to the passage “At all times I think to myself: / How can I cause living beings / to gain entry into the unsurpassed way / and quickly acquire the body of a Buddha?” (chapter sixteen, Life Span).
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The words “at all times” refer to the three existences. The word “think” indicates that the Buddha thinks of the Buddha nature inherent in all living beings. Consequently, the idea expressed in the words 161“quickly acquire the body of a Buddha” is the same as that expressed in the words [of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging] “you are all certain to attain Buddhahood.” Hence this passage has been taken to represent the bodhisattva Never Disparaging’s bow of obeisance.
The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai interprets it [in his Words and Phrases, volume ten] as “the replacement of the three vehicles with the one vehicle,” and as “the opening of the near and the revealing of the distant.” Treat this matter as secret. Treat it as secret.
Point Twenty, concerning the bow of obeisance related to the words “Originally I practiced the bodhisattva way” (chapter sixteen, Life Span).
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The word “I” here refers to Shakyamuni Buddha when he was carrying out the true cause of his original enlightenment. This passage concerning how the Buddha “originally practiced the bodhisattva way” refers to the practice of the bodhisattva Never Disparaging [who was reborn as Shakyamuni]. Hence it indicates a place where the bow of obeisance is carried out.
Point Twenty-one, concerning the bow of obeisance related to the words “birth, aging, sickness, and death”
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: Living beings as a whole fail to free themselves from the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death, but continue to wander deludedly in impermanence, change, and extinction. Therefore they fail to realize that they are capable of achieving enlightenment in a future existence. But when they come to realize this fact, then they will understand the doctrine that earthly desires are enlightenment and the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana. And when they do so, the person who has taught them has performed a bow of obeisance to them.
When the left and right hands of the bower are held apart, this 162symbolizes the fact that earthly desires [and enlightenment], the sufferings of birth and death [and nirvana], and the four kinds of believers of overbearing arrogance and the bodhisattva Never Disparaging are all quite separate entities. But when the two hands are brought together in a bow of obeisance, this symbolizes the fact that earthly desires are enlightenment, and that the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana. Then a bow of obeisance is performed to the fact that the Buddha nature inherent in the four kinds of believers of overbearing arrogance and the Buddha nature inherent in the bodhisattva Never Disparaging are both manifestations of the single Wonderful Law.
Point Twenty-two, concerning the bow of obeisance related to the Dharma nature
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The bodhisattva Never Disparaging plants his feet firmly on the three inherent potentials of the Buddha nature that represent the Dharma nature and the true aspect of reality, namely, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, [the heart of] the twenty-four characters [that make up the passage reading, “I have profound reverence for you, I would never dare treat you with disparagement or arrogance. Why? Because you are all practicing the bodhisattva way and are certain to attain Buddhahood” (chapter twenty)]. And then he bows to the four kinds of believers who in their ignorance are overbearingly arrogant. In doing so, he is performing a bow of obeisance to the Buddha nature dormant and undeveloped in living beings.
Point Twenty-three, concerning the bow of obeisance related to ignorance
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: When one sets up distinctions between self and others, then the “others” are the four kinds of believers of overbearing arrogance, and the “I” is the bodhisattva Never Disparaging. To set up distinctions between good and bad by regarding the bodhisattva Never 163Disparaging as a “good” person and the arrogant ones as “bad” persons is a sign of ignorance.
But when one recognizes this and performs a bow of obeisance, then one is bowing in obeisance to Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the principle in which good and bad are not two different things, in which correct and incorrect are one and the same.
Point Twenty-four, concerning the bow of obeisance related to the two characters that make up renge, or lotus blossom
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: Renge stands for the two factors of cause and effect. Where there is a bad cause, it will produce a bad effect; where there is a good cause, it will produce a good effect. The persons addressed by the bodhisattva Never Disparaging in their inner lives possess good causes that represent the three inherent potentials of the Buddha nature. When these potentials are actualized, they will produce good effects, which is why the bodhisattva bows to these persons in obeisance and declares that they are “all certain to attain Buddhahood” (chapter twenty).
Point Twenty-five, concerning the bow of obeisance related to the Land of Actual Reward
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: When the Ten Worlds are considered in ascending order, the Land of Actual Reward corresponds to the ninth world, that of the bodhisattva. Accordingly, we know that the Land of Actual Reward is where the bodhisattva Never Disparaging dwells. Because he performs a bow of obeisance there, it is known as the bow of obeisance related to the Land of Actual Reward.
Point Twenty-six, concerning the bow of obeisance related to the two words “pity” and “compassion” (jihi)
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The practice of making a bow of obeisance carried out by the bodhisattva Never Disparaging is based on the teaching that the people he 164bowed to were “all certain to attain Buddhahood” (chapter twenty) and therefore is an expression of pity and compassion. Hence, although the people might “take sticks of wood or tiles and stones and beat and pelt him” (ibid.), he nevertheless persisted in his effort, “preaching to them forcefully, though it angered them” (Words and Phrases, volume ten), an action that arose from his feelings of pity and compassion.
Since we are taught that the Buddha mind is a mind of great pity and compassion, a bow of obeisance is made in acknowledgment of this pity and compassion.
Point Twenty-seven, concerning the bow of obeisance related to the stage of progressive awakening, the fifth of the six stages of practice
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The bodhisattva is regarded as occupying the stage of progressive awakening. From this vantage point he performs a bow of obeisance to ordinary mortals who are in the first and lowest stage, that of being a Buddha in theory. Because of this disparity in their respective positions, the ordinary mortals in the stage of being a Buddha in theory fail to accept the bodhisattva’s prediction that they will attain Buddhahood but instead slander him by calling him “this ignorant monk” (chapter twenty).
Point Twenty-eight, concerning the bow of obeisance related to the stage of ultimate enlightenment, the sixth and highest stage of practice
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: In the phrase “whatever persons he happened to meet” or to see (chapter twenty), the word ken, to “meet” or to “see,” refers to the insight of a Buddha. Because the bodhisattva Never Disparaging, employing the insight of a Buddha, performed a bow of obeisance to the four kinds of believers of overbearing arrogance, it is considered that he performed a bow of obeisance from the standpoint of the stage of ultimate enlightenment.
165Point Twenty-nine, concerning the bow of obeisance related to the Dharma-realm
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The bodhisattva Never Disparaging makes a bow of obeisance from the standpoint of the Dharma-realm. The Dharma-realm is neither broad, nor is it narrow. Essentially, the word “Dharma” of the Dharma-realm stands for all the dharmas, or elements of the phenomenal world, and the word “realm” is the world or state of life in which they dwell.
Each realm or world, from the realm of hell to the state of Buddhahood, has its own patterns or rules (dharmas). Thus, the bodhisattva Never Disparaging conforms to the rules of the realm of the bodhisattva Never Disparaging, while the four kinds of believers of overbearing arrogance conform to the rules of the realm of the four kinds of believers. In this sense, the Dharma-realm makes a bow of obeisance to the Dharma-realm,5 a bow of obeisance acknowledging the fact that “self” and “others” are in fact not two different things.
For this reason, when the bodhisattva Never Disparaging makes his bow of obeisance to the four kinds of believers, the Buddha nature inherent in the four kinds of believers of overbearing arrogance bows in obeisance to the bodhisattva Never Disparaging. It is like the situation when one faces a mirror and makes a bow of obeisance: the image in the mirror likewise makes a bow of obeisance to oneself.
Point Thirty, concerning the bow of obeisance related to the attitude of forbearance
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: We are told 166that the four kinds of believers of overbearing arrogance in their anger cursed and abused the bodhisattva Never Disparaging, and that they slandered him further by calling his predictions that they would attain Buddhahood “vain and irresponsible” (chapter twenty). But after all that, it is said that the bodhisattva “did not give way to anger” (ibid.). Hence we know that he maintained an attitude of forbearance and from that position performed a bow of obeisance.
Of these fourteen positions from which the bow of obeisance is conducted, the first is known to the ordinary run of teachers. But the remaining thirteen are not known to the teachers of our present age.
This concludes the explanation of the fourteen standpoints from which the bow of obeisance is conducted.