January 20, 2025
Nichiren Shonin and His Lay Followers（4）
By Rev. Kanji Tamura
Nichiren Shonin and Shijo Kingo Yorimoto (2) Religious Conflict with His Lord
About the time when Nichiren Shonin entered Minobusan, a rift occurred between Yorimoto and his master, Lord Ema, due to Yorimoto’s faith in the Lotus Sutra and the Odaimoku. Lord Ema was a devotee of Priest Ryokan (1217–1303) of the Gokurakuji Temple of the Shingonritsu Sect (a school of Buddhism which conducts prayer services through the Buddhist precepts as the source of power and energy) and Ryuzo-bo, a Tendai priest patronized by Ryokan.
Ryuzo-bo was an eloquent speaker who had a base of activities in the Kuwagayatsu Section of Kamakura. In the sixth month of the third year of Kenji (1277), Sammi-bo, a disciple of Nichiren, and Yorimoto went to Kuwagayatsu to listen to Ryuzo-bo preach. On this occasion Sammi-bo started arguing with Ryuzo-bo, refuting him and finally silencing him. One of Yorimoto’s colleagues who found out about this incident secretly reported it to Lord Ema. It made Lord Ema so furious that he demanded to know whether or not (1) Yorimoto was accompanied by an armed faction when he listened to Ryuzo-bo preach, (2) Yorimoto criticized Ryokan and Ryuzo-bo, whom Lord Ema believed in, and (3) Yorimoto did not obey his lord and parents, which he should by all means. And he ordered Yorimoto to submit a written pledge to the effect that Yorimoto abandon his faith in the Lotus Sutra following the lord’s order.
Conversely, Yorimoto immediately wrote a letter to Nichiren Shonin on Minobusan, vowing he would never submit such a written vow to his lord. Nichiren Shonin praised Yorimoto for his steadfast faith in the Lotus Sutra and encouraged him to carry through the Lotus faith to the very end, even if he had to go against his parents or lord. It was because to Nichiren Shonin the true repayment of indebtedness to the lord and parents was not attaining Buddhahood by himself but together with his parents and lord.
At any rate Yorimoto had his territories confiscated and was given a less desirable territory due to this incident. However, the situation began to change soon. We don’t know exactly why—perhaps due to Yorimoto’s honest and sincere character or he might have had a chance to cure the lord’s illness—but he was summoned by the lord at about the first month of the fourth year of Kenji (1278), his confiscated former territories were returned in the following year (1279), and his relationship with his lord became as solid as it used to be.
Shijo Kingo’s Art of Medicine
Yorimoto was a master in the art of medicine. It is known that he prepared various herb medicines. In the ninth month of the third year of Kenji (1277) Lord Ema came down with an illness. As his sickness lasted long, the lord had to be treated by Yorimoto. It is surmised that the illness of the lord helped Yorimoto to regain his lord’s trust. Nichiren Shonin, too, trusted Yorimoto’s art of medicine. In his letter to Shijo Kingo written in the sixth month of the first year of Koan (1278), Nichiren Shonin states that his long-lasting diarrhea, which started at the end of the previous year, had been reduced to one hundredth by the good medicine prepared by Yorimoto. Nichiren expresses his gratitude in this letter, “Is it the Lord Preacher Sakyamuni Buddha entering the body of Yorimoto in order to rescue me, Nichiren? Or is it the bodhisattvas emerged from the soil granting me the excellent medicine of the Lotus Sutra?” In his letter written in the ninth month of the second year of Koan (1279), Nichiren states, “Nichiren’s life and death is entrusted to him. I will not consult any other medicine man.” Thus Nichiren showed his utmost trust in Yorimoto as a medicine man.
Statue of Sakyamuni Buddha Constructed by Shijo Kingo and His Wife
In the second year of Kenji (1276), Yorimoto constructed a wooden statue of Sakyamuni Buddha and wrote a letter to Nichiren Shonin requesting him to hold a service to open its spiritual eyes. Nichiren wrote a reply stating that opening the eyes of Buddhist portraits and wooden statues must only be through the Lotus Sutra.
According to Nichiren, there are five kinds of eyesight (eyes of unenlightened beings, heavenly eyes, wisdom eyes, dharma eyes, and Buddha eyes), all of which are naturally equipped by those upholders of the Lotus Sutra. And Buddhas are all equipped with Three Bodies: Dharma Body (eternal, universal truth), Reward Body (reward of Buddhist practices), and Accommodative Body (body of the Buddhas appearing in the living beings). Nichiren states that these five types of eyesight and Three Bodies of the Buddha exist only in the Lotus Sutra, making it imperative to perform the eye-opening service through the Lotus Sutra.
Nichiren further explains the attainment of Buddhahood by grass and trees through the doctrine of “3,000 existences contained in one thought,” maintaining that only the Lotus Sutra can instill the spirit into the Buddhist portraits and statues. Namely, referring to the realm of environment (realm of grass and trees) of the “3,000 existences contained in one thought” doctrine, Nichiren states that because as portraits are drawn by colors made of grass and trees and wooden statues are carved out of trees, only the power of the Lotus Sutra can instill the spirits into the portrait and statue of the Buddha. The doctrine of “3,000 existences contained in one thought,” can be construed to mean that the Buddha’s momentary thought penetrates through all existences. Therefore, it is possible for the Lotus Sutra with the power of the “3,000 existences contained in one thought” to inspire the spirit of the Buddha into the portrait and statue made of grass and trees although they appear soulless at first sight. Thus, Nichiren states in this letter to Yorimoto that the statue of Sakyamuni Buddha “eye-opened” through the Lotus Sutra will become a living Buddha, and the King of the Brahma Heaven, the sun and moon, and the Four Heavenly Kings will protect Yorimoto all the time just as the shadow follows a body.
Also in the second year of Koan (1279) Yorimoto’s wife Nichigen-nyo, who was at a critical age of 37, constructed a wooden statue of Lord Preacher Sakyamuni Buddha and made an offering to Nichiren as a protection against calamities. Nichiren speaks of the vastness of her merit assuring her of peace and tranquility in this life and attaining Buddhahood in the next life.
In a letter written in the fifth year of Koan (1282), Nichiren praises Yorimoto for holding the Eighth Day Meeting on the eighth day of every month. As you know, April 8 is the day Sakyamuni Buddha was born. Nichiren states in this letter that he is happy to know Yorimoto and others, having faith in the Lotus Sutra and Sakyamuni Buddha, hold a meeting on a holy day of the Buddha to pay homage to the Buddha. Reading carefully these letters of Nichiren Shonin addressed to Yorimoto, we notice here and there our Founder’s realization that he is a follower of the Bodhisattva Disciple of the Original True Buddha who emerged from the soil.
(Trans. K. H.)
(to be continued)