VII. Concerning the Devil of Death One of the Three Obstacles and Four Devils mentioned in Buddhism is called the Devil of Death. This term simply refers to such fatal calamities as premature, accidental or unforeseen deaths. Or, the term can also connote the doubts about faith which arise from such an accident or death, and because of which, in the end, a person foolishly nips the attainment of Buddhahood in the bud. There is no mistake that the loss of life due to a traffic accident or unexpected disaster is certainly a tragic event. But the loss of faith which can result from such tragedy is the most lamentable thing of all.The Nirvana Sutra warns that this loss of faith destroys innumerable good deeds and deprives us of good thoughts, and further, destroying purity of heart, this loss of faith becomes the cause for falling into the hell of incessant suffering. What could be the causes for such tragic disasters and unnatural deaths? The first thing that comes to mind is carelessness and negligence. I believe that living in this danger-filled modern society, all of us have encountered one or two such near-miss experiences. If we think about such situations as driving in a car, or children running out into traffic, just being alive today is a thing to be wondered about. In Encouragement to a Sick Person, the Daishonin states: It is amazing that I should have survived until now. (MW, 6-32) But are there not people who are under the illusion that because they have faith and embrace the Mystic Law, they can do anything they want, or it will be all right even if they are a little excessive? If there are such people, they had better correct such superficial ideas immediately. It is exactly because we are disciples of the Daishonin and members of Nichiren Shoshu that we must be all the more careful on a day to day basis, and must eliminate arrogance, negligence and haughtiness from our hearts. Our caution to maintain pure faith and prudence is the greatest safeguard in preventing unforeseen calamity. In The Strategy of the Lotus Sutra, the Daishonin tells Shijo Kingo: It is a matter of rejoicing that your usual prudence and courage, as well as your firm faith in the Lotus Sutra, enabled you to survive unharmed. (MW, 1-245) The second cause for tragedy and unnatural death is retribution for slandering the True Law. There is a passage in the Hosshi Chapter of the Lotus Sutra which states: If, with a single evil word, someone slanders either a lay person or a priest who recites the Lotus Sutra, that sin is extremely grave. (Kaiketsu, p. 386) If a person slanders the True Law, is filled with jealously and resentment for practitioners of Buddhism and compounds slanderous disbelief within his heart, that person will unknowingly spoil his own fortune, and will internally sustain invisible sins, which will, in due course, manifest distinctly in that persons life as external retribution in the form of illness, injury or unexpected accident. The intensity of this slander will further become general retribution, devastating the hearts of a whole nations people, and resulting in the economic and territorial aggression of war. In An Outline of the Zokurui and Other Chapters, Nichiren Daishonin warns: Even among those who embrace the Lotus Sutra according to its words, there are some who resent the votary of the Lotus Sutra either because of their greed, anger and stupidity, or because of worldly matters, or because of his various actions. (MW, 5-267) This passage gives us a warning about the horror of the sin of the person who might be said to be a believer in the Mystic Law, but who, because of the direct effects of earthly desire, is filled with jealous resentment, turns his back on the Buddha and deceives the Master. The third reason for such tragedies, as was stated earlier, is that an unnatural death may be for the sake of lessening one s karmic retribution. I cite once again this significant passage from the Nirvana Sutra. Even if one suffers a vicious death, is severely condemned, reviled, whipped, beaten or imprisoned in chains; or even if one starves or suffers privations, he will not fall into hell. As the Hiyu Chapter of the Lotus Sutra explains, the Buddha sees the true aspect of our world. He sees living beings seared and consumed by birth, old age, sickness and death, care and suffering...they undergo the pain of poverty and want, the pain of parting from loved ones, the pain of encountering those they detest - all these many different kinds of pain. Yet living beings, drowned in the midst of all this, delight and amuse themselves, unaware, unknowing, without alarm or fear. They feel no sense of loathing and make no attempt to escape. (The Lotus Sutra, Translated by Burton Watson, p. 59) In spite of the existence of the finest, most priceless jewel with which one can overcome illness, tragic disasters and unnatural deaths, the present situation is that people revile it and will not pick it up. Even though they hear the True Law, they entertain misgivings and doubts, and do not have the courage to understand true reason. Because of this, people are unable to lighten the most severe calamities. It is explained in Buddhism that the four sufferings and eight sufferings, which occur in every persons life, are clearly trivial in comparison to falling into the hell of incessant suffering as a result of slanderous disbelief. These sufferings are: 1) the suffering of birth; 2) the suffering of sickness; 3) suffering caused by the aging of the body, and subsequent decrease in vitality and life condition; 4) the suffering of death (although this term refers to the anxiety one experiences at the last moment of ones life, that suffering is clearly less severe than the incessant suffering of hell); 5) the suffering of parting from those whom one loves (the suffering which arises from parting from ones body at death, from wealth, and from immediate family and other relatives; 6) the suffering of meeting those one hates (ultimate evil retribution and fear of the infinite); 7) the suffering of being unable to obtain what one seeks (seeking freedom from evil teachings, suffering and bad fortune, but being unable to attain it; also suffering from vainly desiring a hoped for situation, a variety of beneficial powers, good teachings, comfort, good effects and supporting conditions, but being unable to obtain them); 8) sufferings arising from the five components of life, i.e., form (physical aspect of life), perception, conception, volition to act, and consciousness. Tragic accidents and calamities are not the only things to be dreaded. Far more fearful is for these to result in doubts about faith, loss of the True Law, turning to erroneous ideologies, philosophies and religions, and the undermining of body, mind and life itself. The is why the Nirvana Sutra explains: Do not fear such things as evil elephants. You should rather fear evil friends. The reason for this is that an evil elephant can destroy only the body, but not the heart. Evil friends can destroy both body and heart together. Looking at it from a different angle, even if a practitioner of the True Law should happen to encounter an unexpected, tragic accident, we should realize that through the beneficial power of the True Law, he will rather.. 1. draw the effects he would otherwise receive in his next life, to receive them in the present. 2. lessen the grave retribution of incessant suffering. 3. receive a lesser punishment in this lifetime instead of falling into hell in the future, and both here and now, simultaneously transform past slanders against the Law and future karmic suffering, thereby achieving a supreme reformation in his life. Furthermore, should a person die because of an accident or disaster, there is actually no other way to offer true memorial prayers for their immediate attainment of the supremely enlightened state of Buddhahood than through the True Supreme Law of Myoho Renge Kyo. The more tragic and pitiful the individuals demise, the more we must offer memorial prayers through this True Law to assist their attainment of Buddhahood. There is absolutely no other direct path to Buddhahood for a person whose slander of the Law and heresy are great, than through the Supreme Law of Myoho Renge Kyo. I hope that you will never forget the following passage that the Daishonin wrote in Hell and Buddhahood. Even though one may practice the provisional teachings for uncountable aeons, he will only fall into hell if he turns against the Lotus Sutra. (MW, 2-240) There is also this passage from Repaying Debts of Gratitude. A hundred years of practice in the land of Perfect Bliss cannot compare to the benefit gained from one days practice in this impure world. (MW, 4-272) The Daishonin is giving us instruction that even if our life in this world is brief, the benefit we can obtain by embracing the Mystic Law and chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo for even one day is greater than practicing in the land of Perfect Bliss for one hundred years. Moreover, the following explanation is given in On the Protection of the Nation. At the moment of death, even though a person who believes in the Lotus Sutra neither prays to the Buddha, recites the Sutra nor enters a place of Buddhist practice, he shall obtain the benefit of unconsciously illuminating the universe and soundlessly reciting the entirety of the sutras. Though he does not reach to pick up the scroll of a single sutra, he shall receive the benefit of having taken hold of the entire eight volumes of the Lotus Sutra. (Zenshu, p. 56) How important is it that we embrace the Mystic Law? You should know that this immense Mystic Law exists for the sake of living people, whether they are troubled, sick or unhappy, who want their lives to blossom with great strength and breadth, both in this life and the next. But the Mystic Law also exists for the sake of those who have already died in the past. I hope you will pay particular attention to this next passage, which is also from On the Protection of the Nation. Both priests and lay believers should pray earnestly to be able to discern between heretical and true paths. After that, you should embrace the True Law and pray for your next life. Should you lose your life hereafter and fall into the three evil paths, even if you regret it later, it will be too late. At the same time, you should always think that this is the last moment of your life, and with that sense of mission and resolution, you should offer your life for the propagation of the Mystic Law. In Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life, the Daishonin states: Be resolved to summon forth the great power of your faith, and chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo with the prayer that your faith will be steadfast and correct at the moment of your death. (MW,1-25) He further states in Reply to Ueno-dono: You are going to die one way or another. Since this is so, you should offer you life for the sake of the Lotus Sutra, even if tentatively. (Zenshu, p. 1561) If you possess the conviction that this is the last moment of your life and single-mindedly yearn to see the Buddha, not begrudging your life to do so, if you live for the sake of the Lotus Sutra and offer your life for the propagation of the Mystic Law, there should be no reason for doubt, interference or jealous resentment. If you do that, you should be able to live fully and imperturbably on a daily basis. We are taught in the Gosho, The Gift of Rice: But what is the meaning of Nam? This word derives from Sanskrit, is pronounced kuei-ming in Chinese and kimyo in Japanese, and means to devote ones life. Ultimately it means to offer our lives to the Buddha. (MW, 1-267) Even Confucius states: If you hear about the True Path one morning, you should not mind dying that same evening. Rather than doubting that you may die today, or being frightened, you should follow the Daishonins golden words from The Strategy of the Lotus Sutra. Regard your survival as wondrous. Moreover, you should be grateful that you have been able to live until today, and should deeply consider the significance of the joy of your having been able to encounter the supremely profound secret of the Mystic Law sooner than other people in this world. As the words, “...let us live longer”, from the Juryo Chapter of the Lotus Sutra indicate, we should consider each mornings awakening as a new life bestowed on us by the Buddha. In other words, we are reborn each and every day. We should further live each day with a feeling of dignity and a desire to make that day significant. Today will never come again. It is only because we think in terms of a seventy or eighty year life span that we are careless about today. Instead of that, it is important to discover how to live today without the slightest regret. If you live for your mission with this kind of resolution, then no matter how painfully sad the realities that befall you may be, True Buddhism will cause the potential of Buddhahood within your life to blossom forth, and give you the wisdom and power to overcome those difficulties. The most important thing in life is not how to succeed, but how to overcome painfully sorrowful tribulations, obstacles, and devils. I want to tell you that True Buddhism will foster that power deep within your heart. VIII. Concerning Definite (Immutable) and Indefinite (Mutable) Karma People often say such things as, No matter what I do, I just dont have any luck. Then again, there are those who do not seem to work very hard, but who ride the waves of success to become stars and celebrities. That may not be so bad as long as a person actually feels more blessed than others, but when such a person lapses into adverse circumstances, in many cases he will try to sidestep his own neglect and lack of faith and self-righteousness to blame others, or curse himself, and finally judge things emotionally and become embroiled in unfounded rumors or popular opinion. However, as I mentioned earlier in reference to the lessening of karmic retribution, Buddhism posits: ...because you committed countless offenses and accumulated much evil karma in the past, you must expect to suffer retribution for everything you have done. You may be reviled, cursed with an ugly appearance, be poorly clad and poorly fed, seek wealth in vain, be born to an impoverished or heretical family, or be persecuted by your sovereign. It is due to the blessings obtained by protecting the Law that one can diminish in this lifetime his suffering and retribution. (MW, 2-200) The Letter to the Brothers states: ...the blessings gained by practicing the True Law are so great that we can change our karma to suffer terribly in the future by meeting relatively minor sufferings in this life. (MW, l-138) We are told that we should realize that we can actually transmute our future incessant sufferings in hell by receiving a lesser retribution during this lifetime. Although there may be people who wonder how Buddhism can make such statements, or who are perplexed by them, the Shinchikan Sutra nevertheless states: If you want to understand the causes that existed in the past, look at the results as they are manifested in the present. And if you want to understand what results will be manifested in the future, look at the causes that exist in the present. (MW, 2-l97) As this passage indicates, if we look at the karmic seeds planted within a persons life, the fortuitous wisdom he or she possesses and the law which he or she practices, all of which are illuminated by the law of cause and effect transcending the Three Existences of past, present and future, we will probably see why Buddhism can make such claims. In the fifth volume of the Maka Shikan, the Great Master Tien-tai states: “Due to karmic actions in the past, a person entrusts his life to his mother and father to [reside in the mothers womb] and be born in his present body.” Further, in The Opening of the Eyes, the Daishonin states: “And the mirror of the Buddhas Law makes clear the causal actions committed in the past.” (MW, 2-200) Moreover, in the following passages, the Daishonin clarifies the smiling life condition of his inner heart as the votary of the Lotus Sutra, the True Buddha Able to Endure, who overcame such great persecutions as the exiles to Izu and Sado, and the Tatsunokuchi and Komatsubara.persecutions. As seen from the enlightened eye of wisdom of the Juryo Chapter of the Essential Teachings, the original possession of illness and suffering are clarified. Accordingly, this is the wisdom of the Buddha of Intrinsically Perfect Wisdom. (Ongi Kuden, Zenshu, p.773) Hearing of this, I rejoiced, saying that I had long expected it to come to this. (On the Buddhas Behavior, MW, 1-175) Therefore, with the knowledge that our present sufferings from illness are due to past karma, we should now practice of the True Doctrine of the True Law and the True Master, and know that the fortune of that practice will shine both now and in our future lives. What are the causes of definite and indefinite karma? What causes our karma to be heavy or light? Here is an explanation of definite karma given in the Yuga Shichi Ron. 1. Karma due to Desire (Jap., Igyo): This is karma which derives from desires for fame, riches, and honor, or from earthly desire or slander. 2. Karma due to Repetitive Action (Jap., Kagyo): This is heavy karma sustained from continuous slander repeated incessantly over a long period of time, or from accumulated slander committed through the encouragment of others. 3. Karma due to slander of a beneficial “Field” [object of veneration that enables one to cultivate fortune] (Jap., Den): Through slander of people to whom one owes a debt of gratitude, such as ones parents, or through slander of the Three Treasures (the Buddha, the Law and the Priesthood), one will lose good fortune and earn heavy karma. A person whose life possesses even one such offense will sustain heavy, definite (immutable) karma. Other, lighter, karma is indefinite (mutable). The fifteenth volume of the Kusha Ron gives the following explanation of definite karma. 1. Definite karma sustained through strong emotion. In other words, this refers to people who, motivated by strong earthly desire, commit slander. However, this may also result from profound reflection with a pure heart. If a person who has not yet encountered the True Law takes faith in a heretical religion, even though the person may reflect deeply based on a pure, but minor goodness, the result is that the person increasingly commits slander. No matter how well intentioned a person is, if he practices an evil path, minor goodness will be transformed into great evil. 2. Karma sustained through habitual conduct. This refers to people who accumulate slander through habits that are passed on by his forebears. 3. Karma arising from a conduct relating to that which possesses merit. This refers to the offenses of people who slander the merit of the Buddha, the Law and the Priesthood. In other words, it refers to people who slander the True Law. 4. Definite karma arising from conduct towards one’s mother and father. In other words, this is retribution that results from causing suffering, anguish, or injury to people to whom one owes a profound debt of gratitude, such as ones parents. However, if a person is fettered by the bonds of affection and thereby clings to the heretical religion of his mother, father or master, this will result in the sustaining of definite karma, even if it was done in the name of filial piety. The aforementioned represent heavy, immutable karma sustained because of evil conduct. Karma not contained within the aforementioned categories is indefinite or mutable. The above classifications discuss the severity of karma. The fourth chapter of the Daibibasha Ron, meanwhile, explains three periods in which karmic retribution (whether definite or indefinite) is received. 1.Present-life Karma (Present-life retribution): This refers to people who have made bad karmic causes in the present life, and who also receive that retribution during this life. This is explained in the Kanpotsu Chapter of the Lotus Sutra. If anyone sees a person who accepts and upholds this sutra and tries to expose the faults or evils of that person, whether what he speaks is true or not, he will in his present existence be afflicted with white leprosy. (The Lotus Sutra, Translated by Burton Watson, p. 324) The Great Master Tien-tai explains: The Lotus Sutra is the core of all the sutras.... if out of arrogance one does not refrain from slighting it, the tongue in ones mouth will break out in sores. 2. Next-life Karma (Next life retribution) This refers to people who have made bad karmic causes in their present existence, but who, instead of receiving retribution for their slander against the Law in this lifetime, will receive that punishment in their next existence. The Hiyu Chapter of the Lotus Sutra explains:If a person fails to have faith, but instead slanders this sutra, immediately he will destroy all the seeds for becoming a Buddha in this world...When his life comes to an end, he will enter the Avichi hell... (The Lotus Sutra, Translated by Burton Watson, p.74) The Daishonin explains the reason for this in The Opening of the Eyes. All these various similes illustrate the fact that icchantika of the most evil type will invariably fall into the hell of incessant suffering at the time of their successive rebirths. Therefore they do not suffer any immediate punishment in this life. (MW, 2-l99) At first glance, people who accumulate slander seem to enjoy a happy life. The reason they do not seem to suffer any kind of retribution in the present is because they will be punished either in their next or, as explained below, in a later lifetime. 2. Later Karma (Retribution received later than the next rebirth) This refers to people who make negative karmic causes in their present lives, and who will receive the effects after two or more rebirths. In his Shakusen, volume Ill, the Great Master Miao-1o chronicles: “Retribution for slander against the Law will continue for many aeons.” In The Opening of the Eyes, the Daishonin states: But not a single person who adheres to these ninety-five types of higher or lower [non-Buddhist] teachings ever escapes from the cycle of birth and death. Those who follow teachers of the better sort will, after two or three rebirths, fall into the lowest states of existence, while those who follow evil teachers will fall into the lowest states in their very next rebirth. (MW, 2-77) He makes it clear that if we do not base our lives on the Mystic Law, setting aside the good or evil of other matters, we will one day have to receive retribution for our slander against the Law. Therefore, you should know that in cases where the sufferings of daily life, the devil of illness, and other human afflictions are the result of light, indefinite (mutable) karma, such problems can probably be resolved either through ones own efforts or the powers of medical science. But you should also know that if the same sufferings are the result of heavy, definite (immutable) karma, no matter how hard one tries, there will be no relief. Even if one consults a doctor, it will be fruitless, and the suffering will penetrate more and more deeply. Whatever one says, there is no way to change immutable karma and find true relief, except through the Mystic Law. I would like you to read and engrave in your heart these words that the Daishonin wrote to Shijo Kingo in the Gosho, General Stone Tiger. The Yuga Ron of Bodhisattva Maitreya and the Dai Ron of Bodhisattva Nagarjuna both state that if ones illness is caused by immutable karma, even the most excellent medicine will turn I to poison, but if he believes in the Lotus Sutra, poison will change into medicine. (MW, 1-225) In this way, a person with immutable karma, who is unaware of the Mystic Law, will, in any event, have to suffer retribution one day, whether it be in this life, in successive rebirths or in the life following his next one. But in the case of mutable karma, the thirty-first chapter of the Nirvana Sutra states the following. Retribution for mutable karma will be received immediately upon encountering the [appropriate] influence. Without the influence, there will be no retribution. As this passage indicates, it is most important that we do not form relationships with evil masters, evil paths or evil doctrines. In The Entity of the Mystic Law, the Daishonin states: The mystic principle of the true aspect of reality is one, but if it encounters evil influences it will manifest delusion, while if it encounters good influences it will manifest enlightenment. (MW,7-59) This passage teaches that it is most important that we avoid evil influences and evil friends, that we form connections with good friends, the True Law and the True Doctrine, and walk unswervingly on the great path of life. The Nirvana Sutra explains the following about people who do not listen to the Lotus Sutra, and who lack faith and commit slander against the Law. 1. Their mutable karma will become immutable. 2. Retribution for karma created in this life, that should have been received in this life, will be postponed until the next life. 3. Mild retribution will become severe retribution. 4. Retribution that should have been received while the person was alive, will be received with ore severity after the person has fallen into hell. In other words, slanderers of the Law may not seem to have anything untoward happen to them, and may seem to enjoy lives of ease. But in fact, they do not encounter suffering in this life because these kinds of people will receive in their next life the retribution that they were supposed receive in this one, and because retribution that they should have received while alive will be received more severely while they are living in hell. They live their lives like crazed or abortive mowers, whose fruit does not come to fruition in this lifetime. The Daishonin gives instruction concerning this matter in Letter to Horen. They are like men who have already been sentenced to execution and are awaiting their turn in prison. While they are in prison, regardless of what evil acts they may commit, they will receive no further punishment other than the death sentence already passed upon them. (MW, 7-121) The Daishonin compares a slanderer of the Law to a prisoner facing the death penalty. Even if he commits a number of unpardonable actions while in prison, if he has only a short while to live before his death sentence is carried out, it is not likely that he will be reprimanded for those actions. Further, Buddhism expounds the Five Signs of Decay of a Heavenly Being. No matter how prosperous or opulent a person becomes, no matter whether one becomes royalty, nobility, a person with imperial authority, or a celebrity, the influence of that status lasts at most five or ten years, and is no more than a fleeting dream, like a castle built on the sand. According to the Nirvana Sutra, the Five Signs of Decay of a Heavenly Being are: 1. His Clothing Will Become Dirty. No matter how beautiful ones clothes are now, they will become soiled, and will one day become stained. It is impossible to maintain their original beauty forever. Moreover, however many clothes one may have, one actually wears only a few items at a time. One cannot wear all ones clothing all at once; having wealth and finery does not instantly bring happiness. 2. The Flowers Crowning His Head Will Wither. No matter how splendid a mower garland may be, before long it will fade and wilt. In the same way, no matter how one boasts of youthfulness or intelligence, the mind grows old, and before one is aware of it, both mind and body are assaulted by illness. Of course, the only way to remain eternally youthful and maintain vigorously powerful vitality is to embrace and practice the True Law. 3. His Body Will Smell and Become Defiled. This refers to the thriving of the three poisons of greed, anger and stupidity within ones life. One will also eventually be afflicted with karmic illness and suffer from a dirty, foul-smelling body. 4. His Armpits Will Sweat. Dismayed by the affairs of the world and terrified by calamity, ones armpits will break out into a cold sweat. In other words, the joy derived from being royalty or nobility will, in an instant, make a complete turnabout, and before one realizes it, ones happiness and conviction will disappear and be lost. 5. He Will Feel No Value in Living. That is, in ones heart, one will not be able to find any intrinsic joy in lifes activities. Nor will ones life be vibrant. It could be said that this is a life condition is such that one can neither continue to enjoy one’s own position, nor freely or tranquilly accomplish ones mission, either at home, at the work place, or within society. When going off to work, one worries about ones superiors and colleagues, and when at home, one worries about work. One feels no inner composure, nor can one find enough contentment for enthusiasm to well up from the depths of ones heart. Neither can one find delight or joy in living. Such a situation could be called the inability to feel any value in being alive. In this way, when our lives are not based on the True Doctrine of the True Law and the True Master, when they are not founded on the world of Buddhahood, which is as indestructible as a diamond and causes a fragrant blossoming within our hearts, in the end, the meeting joy and pleasure we experience is like a momentary, crazed mower or an empty image that crumbles in an instant. That cannot be called true happiness or glory. In contrast, a person of the True Law can transform his life and environment into the land of eternally tranquil light, and carve for himself a life condition that allows him to take full pleasure in his own mission. Moreover, no matter how one might be assailed by the sufferings of past karma, one can.. 1. transform immutable karma into mutable karma; 2. turn around karmic retribution for present causes that should have been received in ones next life, so that it is received in this life, and attain the strong life condition written about in Letter to the Brothers: The doctrine of ichinen sanzen revealed in the fifth volume of the Maka Shikan is especially profound. If you propagate it, devils will arise without fail. Were it not for these, there would be no way of knowing that this is the true teaching. (MW, 1-l45) 3. make severe karmic retribution light; 4. receive light karmic retribution in this lifetime (instead of falling into hell in ones next life.) Again, it is stated in Letter lo the Brothers: This means that we, who now believe in the True Law, once committed the sin of persecuting its votary in the past, and should therefore be destined to fall into a terrible hell in the future.However, the blessings gained by practicing the True Law are so great that we can change our karma to suffer terribly in the future by meeting relatively minor sufferings in this life. (ibid.,p.l38) As this passage indicates, it is because of the power of the Mystic Law, because of the power Of its benefit, that we can both lessen and escape our karmic retribution, and in due course, bear the fruit of true, indestructible happiness. In the Gosho, On Prolonging Life, the Daishonin states: Sincere repentance will eradicate even immutable karma, to say nothing of karma which is mutable. (ibid., p. 229) When I, Nichiren, prayed for my mother, not only was her illness cured, but her life was prolonged by four years. (ibid., p. 230) As these passages indicate, the Daishonin proved that his mother was cured through the beneficial power of the Mystic Law, and instructed Toki Jonins wife that she should also be healed through the Mystic Laws beneficial power. You will not resolve immutable karma by being bitter about it or cursing it. The following instruction is found in Conversation between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man: If only you chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, then what offense could fail to be eradicated? What blessing could fail to come?This is the truth, and it is of great profundity. You should believe and accept it. (MW, 5-110) As this passage instructs, if we embrace the Dai-Gohonzon, chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo and attain the life condition of Buddhahood, which is as indestructible as a diamond, there is no need to fear anything, whether our karma is immutable or mutable. I believe that karmic suffering polishes human life and polishes faith, and increases the brilliance of ones happiness. The Great Master Miao- lo clarifies four forces that change immutable karma in the eighth volume of his Guketsu. Changing immutable karma entails four forces. The first is the power of the path, the second is the protection of the Buddha, the third is the method of treatment and the fourth is not begrudging ones life. The Twenty-sixth High Priest of Taisekiji, Nichikan Shonin, further stated in the Yakuo-bon Lecture on the Eradication of Illness (Research Text 10-608) : First, the power of the path is the power of faith, that is, faith in the golden words of the Master of the Juryo Chapter of the Essential Teachings. As for the second, the protection of the Buddha, if faith is already strong, one will obtain the protection of all the Buddhas. Obtaining the protection of the Buddha also depends on the aforementioned power of faith. Third, the method of treatment refers to the fact that we should chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, not doubting the Mystic Law of the Juryo Chapter of the Essential Teachings. Chanting the Mystic Law is the same as using fine medicine. And fourth, not begrudging ones life means that without begrudging our lives for even a split second, we should sweat day and night, morning and evening, to attain Buddhahood. With possession of these four forces, one can transform immutable karma without fail. First, with the power of faith, second, with the protection of the Buddha, third, with Daimoku, and fourth, without begrudging our lives, we should strive to teach all mankind the path to Buddhahood. In other words, the one supreme path to eradicating the immutable retribution of grave karma entails praying for Kosen-rufu and persevering in Shakubuku and teaching activities. Copyright 2003 Nichiren Shoshu Overseas Bureau. All Rights Reserved.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 11:50:07 +0000
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