The unenlightened man said, If it is as you say, then the blessings of the daimoku are very great indeed. But these blessings must differ according to whether or not one understands the significance of the daimoku. I am a man who carries a bow and arrows and devotes himself to the profession of arms. I have no understanding of the true nature of the Buddhist teachings. How could a person such as I gain any great amount of good fortune? The sage replied, According to the principle of the perfect and immediate enlightenment, there is no essential difference between the earlier and later stages of practice, and the blessings of the advanced stages are inherent in the initial stages as well. To carry out one practice is to carry out all practices, and there is no blessing that is not included thereby. Conversation between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man - WND-1, 132 This treatise is generally thought to have been written in 1265. Its recipient is unknown. However, toward the end of the work, the unenlightened man refers to himself as a man who carries a bow and arrows and devotes himself to the profession of arms, so it has been suggested that Nichiren Daishonin may have written it for someone of the samurai class.
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 00:15:00 +0000