Dossier Sandaihiho

Sandaihiho-sho
by Nichiren

An essay on the three great mysteries

by Pier P. Del Campana (note)
Introduction - anglais - français

Sandaihiho-sho

It is written in the seventh volume of the Lotus Sutra, (note) in the chapter on the Divine Powers of the Tathagatas (réf.) : “In this scripture I have revealed and explained in brief all the doctrines (note) of the Tathagatas, all their Free Divine Powers (note), all the mysteries of their treasures, all their depths, etc.”

The Fa-huan-wen-chu (note) interprets this passage saying : “The very essence of the Lotus Sutra is contained in these four important sentences.”

Question : What is the doctrine contained in these four important sentences?

Answer : The Venerable Buddha kept this doctrine hidden when He started preaching after his first enlightenment (note), and also later when He taught the Four Flavors (note) and the Three Teachings (note), down to the time when He finished teaching the doctrine of the ‘kokai san-ken-ichi’. (note) He kept it secret till the time He began to teach the Doctrine of the Original Buddha, (note) when He explained the ‘ryakukai gon-ken-on’ (note), contained in the chapter on the bodhisattva gushing forth from the earth (réf.), the same doctrine which is later explained fully in the chapter on the Duration of the Life of the Tathagata (réf.). In it is revealed that He [the Buddha] achieved the true [actual] enlightenment from eternity. It is the doctrine of the True Object of Worship, of the Seat of Ordination, and of the Sacred Title, (note) and it is expressed in the five words ‘myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo’ (note)

The Master of the Doctrine, the Venerable Buddha, kept this mysterious doctrine hidden during the Three Worlds. (note) He did not even entrust it to Samantabhadra (note) or Manjusri, (note) much less to the disciples of lower rank. For this reason the scene at the time when these Three Mysteries were revealed was different from that at the time of the revelation of the doctrine of the Trace Buddha contained in the first fourteen chapters of the Lotus Sutra. In fact, the place of the revelation of the Three Great Mysteries was the Original Land of Tranquil Light, (note) and the Master who revealed it was the Original [Eternal] and Uncreated Buddha of the Three Bodies. (note) Those who were instructed were equally special : on this occasion they were the original disciples, ever praising the Eternal Lord, namely, the four bodhisattva, Superior Conduct, and the others (note) whom the Buddha called forth from the Great Land of Tranquil Light and to whom He entrusted (note) his doctrine. Dosen Risshi (note) says, commenting on this passage : “The doctrine which is handed down here is the very doctrine of the Eternal Enlightenment, and therefore it must be entrusted to the very disciples of the Eternal Enlightenment.”

Question : When, following the demise* of the Buddha, must this doctrine thus handed down and be preached?

Answer : It is written in the seventh volume of the Lotus Sutra, in the chapter of the Medicine King (réf.) : “In the fifth five hundred years, (note) this doctrine must be preached and propagated to all men (note) without interruption.” If one examines the scriptures with reverence, one must reach the conclusion that two thousand years have passed since the demise of the Buddha, covering the Age of the Right Law and the Age of the Imitation Law, and that we are now living in the fifth five hundred years, “in a time when quarrels and strafes are raging among my disciples and the White Law has disappeared.” (note)

Question : The mercy of all the Buddhas is like the moon in the sky : if the waters of receptivity (note) are clear, the moon will reflect its image of benefit in the waters of receptivity of all men without discrimination. How is it then that of the Three Ages - the Right Law, the Imitation Law, and the Latter Law - this doctrine is preached only in the Age of the Latter Law ? Does it not seem that this makes the mercy* of the Buddhas partial [and discriminating] ? What about this ? Answer : The moon of all Buddhas’ peaceful radiance shines its benefit [on all beings] and enlightens the darkness of all the nine worlds, (note) but its light cannot be reflected over the turbid and impure waters of the icchantika (note) who slander the Right Law. Moreover, the doctrines of the Little Vehicle and of the Provisional (note) Great Vehicle were appropriate for those who lived during the thousand years of the Age of the Right Law, and had the receptivity proper to that age. For those who lived during the thousand years of the Age of the Imitation Law, only the doctrine of the Trace Buddha - contained in the first part of the Lotus Sutra - was appropriate to their receptivity. But in these first five hundred years of the Age of the Latter Law, we have come to a time when, even among the second fourteen chapters of the doctrine of the Original Buddha, we must disregard the other thirteen, and preach only the doctrine of the chapter on the Duration of the Life of the Tathagata. However, this doctrine would not have been appropriate to the receptivity men had in the second five hundred years of the Age of the Imitation Law, much less for those in the first five hundred years of that same age. In the same way, the doctrine of the Trace Buddha - which was appropriate for the Age of the Imitation Law - would not have been capable of saving the men of the Age of the Right Law : they were not apt to comprehend the doctrine of the Trace Buddha. How much less could they have understood the doctrine of the Original Buddha ! But now that we have entered the Age of the Latter Law, the preceding doctrine of the Trace Buddha is absolutely incapable of freeing anyone from the chain of life and death.

The doctrine which is now necessary to save us from the chain of life and death is only the one contained in the chapter on the Duration of the Life of the Tathagata. Considering this, we see that there is absolutely no partiality or discrimination in the way all the Buddhas lead us to salvation.

Question : I now understand clearly that, after the demise of the Buddha, the doctrine to be preached was entrusted to the disciples of the Original Teaching and to those of the Trace Teaching, respectively, according to the Three Ages of the Right, Imitation, and the Latter Law. But it is not yet clear to me on what scripture your statement is based, that only the doctrine contained in the chapter on the Duration of the Life of the Tathagata can save the sentient beings of this impure and evil Age of the Latter Law. I would like to hear those scriptural texts.

Answer : You are asking so insistently, that I will answer your question. But remember that once you have heard the answer, you must believe firmly. It says in the chapter on the Duration of the Life of the Tathagata : “I have prepared this good medicine, and I am going to leave it with you : take it and drink it, and firmly believe that it will cure you”. (note)

Question : Now I can see clearly from this text that the doctrine contained in the chapter on the Duration of the Life of the Tathagata is the only one that can save man in this impure and evil Age of the Latter Law. After this I should really not put any more unwanted questions. And yet I would like to ask : what is the essence of the Three Great Mysteries?

Answer : To me [Nichiren] there is no matter of greater importance than these Three Great Mysteries, and since your desire is most commendable, (note) I will say a few words about them. The Original [true] Object of Worship which is established in the chapter on the Duration of the Life of the Tathagata is that very same Original and Uncreated Buddha of the Three Bodies, the Master and Lord Buddha who has been enlightened since eternity, and has such a deep and warm (note) relation to this world of ours. (note) In the chapter on the Duration of the Life of the Tathagata this is explained in the passage : “The secret and immanent Divine Powers of the Tathagatas etc”. (note) The Fa-huan-wen-chu, in the ninth chapter, interprets this passage in the following way : “Hi : secret, signifies the truth that One Body is equal to the Three Bodies. Mitsu : mystery signifies the truth that the Three Bodies are equal to the One Body. Also, I [T’ien-t’ai] call hi what has not been revealed from eternity, and I call mitsu what the Buddha alone is capable of knowing. The Buddha is the Three Worlds is equal to the Three Bodies - and this truth He has kept hidden and has not revealed in any of the other scriptures”. (note) The Sacred Title (note) is of two kinds : the Sacred Title of the Ages of the Right Law and the Imitation Law, and the one of the Age of the Latter Law. In the Age of the Right Law, Vasubundhu (note) and Nagarjuna (note) used to recite the Sacred Title, but their Sacred Title went only as far as a personal ascetical practice. In the Age of the Imitation Law, Nan-yueh, (note) T’ien-t’ai and the others also recited the Sacred Title, but that too was intended merely as a persona ascetical practice, and was not preached for the benefit of others. This is the Sacred Title understood as a conceptual and meditative practice. But now - as we are living in the Age of the Latter Law - the Sacred Tile which I, Nichiren, recite is definitely different from that of the previous ages : it is the ‘Namu-myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo’ that embraces both the personal practice and the work of leading others to salvation. (note) They are the five words which express the Fivefold Mystery of ‘myo, tai, shu, yu, kyo’. (note)

As for the Seat of Ordination, (note) when the Law of the Sovereign and the Law of the Buddha are united and become one, and sovereign and subjects become one in their faith in the doctrine of the Great Three Mysteries, the same bond that existed in the days of old between King Utoku and the Monk Kakutoku will also exist in the future world of the impure and evil Age of the Latter Law. At that time an imperial edict and a decree of the shogun (note) will be granted ; a most exalted place - similar to the Vulture Peak* - will be found, and there the Seat of Ordination will be erected. We have only to wait for the right time for this to happen. This will mark the advent of the actual law established by the Buddha among men. To this Seat of Ordination will come not only all the people of the three countries - India, China and Japan (note) - to repent their sins and be saved, (note) but even Brahma and Indra (note) and the other gods will come and gather around it. Once this Buddha Law is established, the Seat of Ordination existing now at Enryaku-ji (note) will lose its reason for existence, since it is based merely on the precepts of the conceptual doctrine of the Trace Buddha. From the time the office of zasu, (note) was first established at Hiei-zan, the third and fourth zasu, (note) Jikaku and Chiso, without any reason, acted contrary to the teachings of the first Master Dengyo and of his disciple Gishin, and stated that the conceptual doctrines of the Shingon and of the Lotus Sutra had the same value, but, in concrete actuality, Shingon was superior to the Lotus Sutra. (note) Thus they brought disgrace upon our mountain [Mt Hiei], made a laughingstock of the Lotus Sutra, and, without reason, turned into mud the excellent precepts which were the pure and unstained Middle Way once professed at Enryaku-ji.

It is impossible to express in words how deplorable a matter this is. This loss is even greater than that which would come if the Soil of the Marisen (note) became good only to make bricks, and the groves of the sandal trees which grow there turned into thorny bushes. Even if there were learned monks who could still perceive the difference between right and wrong, and discern what is objective from what is biased, as our Master the Buddha taught us, how could they set foot in today’s Enryaku-ji ? They [the monks of Enryaku-ji] should consider and think seriously about the doctrine which is taught at present at Enryaku-ji, and understand clearly the right principle of this whole problem. I, Nichiren, received the oral and direct transmission of this doctrine more than two thousand years ago, personally from the mouth of the Master, the Great Enlightened One, the Venerable Shakya, when I was there present, in the person of the bodhisattva Superior Conduct, the first of the bodhisattva whom He [the Buddha] ordered to gush out of the earth. (note) The apostolate I perform now is nothing but the carrying out of the mission which was then entrusted to me on the Vulture Peak.

These are the unadulterated Three Great Mysteries which constitute the great doctrine of the chapter on the Duration of the Life of the Tathagata.

Question : What are the scriptural passages which are at the basis of the doctrine ‘One thought contains three thousand worlds’ ? (note)

Answer : As I will show, there are two kinds of texts. It is written in the chapter on Skilful Means : (note) “The true reality of everything is the so-called ten factors of existence….” and again down to the other passage : “All the Buddhas and the Venerable Ones have come into this world because they wanted to impart to all sentient beings the wisdom of the Buddha.”(réf.) Now, this is the conceptual doctrine of ‘One thought contains three thousand worlds’, namely, that the ordinary man of the lowest level has implanted in his heart the seed of becoming a Buddha. (note) The second kind of texts is to be found in the chapter on the Duration of the Life of the Tathagata, where it says : “But, O children of good families, verily it is a full eternity that has passed since I became a Buddha, etc. (réf.) This is the actual doctrine of ‘One thought contains three thousand worlds, ’ the doctrine which the Great Enlightened One, the Eternal Venerable One, has realized from eternity. And now, in the Age of Nichiren, this is the doctrine I preach and propagate with all my power. (note) I have kept this doctrine hidden in my heart for many years. Yet now I feel that if I do not consign it to writing and do not hand it down for my future disciples, they will certainly accuse me of being without mercy.

Least I may repent my not doing what I should have done when it is too late, I am writing this doctrine and sending it to you : read it and keep it to yourself. (note) Do not show it or talk about it to everybody indiscriminately : they would not understand it. The reason why all the Buddha came into this world to preach the Lotus Sutra is because in it the doctrine of the Three Great Mysteries is contained. Please, I beg you, keep it to yourself !

On the eighth day of the fourth month of the fourth year of Koan

[27 April 1281]

Response to the Lord Kingo