Oko Sermon May 2008

Reverend Shogu Kimura

May 11, 2008 

 “Letter to Jakunichi-bo”

(“Jakunichi-bo gosho”)

 Gosho Passage:

It is extremely rare to be born as a human being. Not only are you endowed with human life, but you have had the rare fortune to encounter Buddhism. Moreover, out of the Buddha’s many teachings, you have found the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra and become its votary. Truly you have served tens of billions of Buddhas in your past existences!       (Gosho, p. 1393; MW-1, p. 235)

 1. Background of the Gosho

Nichiren Daishonin wrote this Gosho on the 16th day of the ninth month of the second year of Koan (1279), when he was 58 years of age. He addressed it to a woman of strong faith, living in Boshu Province (presently the southern area of Chiba Prefecture), who had sent a messenger all the way to Minobu to visit him. He sent this letter to the woman through Jakunichi-bo.

          The title of this writing is “Letter to Jakunichi-bo” (“Jakunichi-bo gosho”) because Jakunichi-bo’s name appears at the conclusion of the Gosho:

Jakunichi-bo, please convey all these teachings in detail …                  (Gosho, p. 1394; MW-1, p. 237)

It is assumed that this letter was written to the woman and was delivered to Jakunichi-bo who, in turn, gave it to her. It is also presumed that she had sent a messenger to ask Nichiren Daishonin to bestow a Gohonzon through Jakunichi-bo. This is apparent in the following passage:

Believe in the Gohonzon with all your heart, for it is the robe to protect you in the next life. (Gosho, p. 1394; MW-1, p. 237)

 This Gosho focuses entirely on the Gohonzon.

 Jakunichi-bo was a disciple of Second High Priest Nikko Shonin. His full name was Jakunichi-bo Nikke. In keeping with Nichiren Daishonin’s tradition, Nikko Shonin designated six main disciples, and Nikke was chosen as one of them. At Minobu, he directly served Nichiren Daishonin. When Nikko Shonin departed from Minobu and founded Head Temple Taisekiji, he established a lodging temple there and named it Jakunichi-bo. The entry gates of the eleven other lodging temples at Taisekiji are all painted black. The gate for the Jakunichi-bo alone is painted red. From olden times, the Jakunichi-bo has served as the principal temple to represent all the lodging temples.

 Jakunichi-bo Nikke constantly served Nikko Shonin and was a major figure in the protection and propagation of the Law.

 In the third month of the first year of Shochu (1324), Lord Nanjo Tokimitsu, the steward of the Ueno Region, offered his mansion to Jakunichi-bo Nikke, to establish a temple in memory of his deceased wife Myoren. This temple was named Myorenji, and Nikke is recorded as the founder.

 2. Essential Significance of the Gosho

In “Letter to Jakunichi-bo,” Nichiren Daishonin explains that we have been able to come into this world as humans and encounter him, something difficult to achieve, as a result of our benefits for serving tens of billions of Buddhas in our past existences. Based on our profound karmic bond with the Daishonin, we are able to embrace the Lotus Sutra and chant the Daimoku. Thus, he teaches that we must propagate the True Law just as he does. The Daishonin states:

Disgrace in this life is nothing. What counts is disgrace which appears in the next life. (Gosho, p. 1394; MW-1, p. 237)

              “Disgrace in this life” refers to the embarrassment or shame that we experience in this lifetime—suffering in this life. The “disgrace which appears in the next life” signifies the shame and suffering we will feel if we descend into the evil paths after death and are stripped of our clothes. (As legend has it, on the banks of the River of the Three Crossings, there is an old hag who strips off the clothes of those who did not uphold the correct practice while they were alive.)

Even though we are fortunate enough to have been born as humans and encountered True Buddhism, if we do not correctly carry through our faith and practice and if we do not propagate True Buddhism, we will be unable to overcome our difficulties. Furthermore, we will fall into the evil paths after our death. Therefore, at the end of this letter, the Daishonin urges, “Chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo and deepen your faith.” (ibid.) He instructs us, the people in the Latter Day of the Law, to embrace the Gohonzon and uphold a sincere practice throughout our lifetime.

 3. Issues of Faith Based on the Passage

The Daishonin explains in this Gosho that we are able to uphold our faith in and practice of True Buddhism because of our karmic bonds from previous lifetimes. In another Gosho, “The One-eyed Turtle and the Floating Sandalwood Log” (Gosho, p. 1354; MW-4, p. 295) the Daishonin illustrates how rare this actually is.

 The story of the one-eyed turtle is a tale about a turtle that lives at the bottom of the ocean. It has only one eye, and no limbs. As if these complications are not enough, the turtle further suffers with a belly that feels as hot as molten steel and a back that feels as cold as the Snow Mountains. It is the turtle’s constant desire to cool its hot belly and warm its cold upper shell. The only way to accomplish this is to cool off its tummy on a piece of red sandalwood, which is the most precious of all trees, and to warm its upper shell in the warm rays of the sun.

 Unfortunately, the turtle is able to float to the surface of the water only once every one thousand years. The ocean is incredibly vast, and the turtle is extremely small by comparison. It would be rare, indeed, for him to encounter a piece of driftwood. It would be exponentially rare for this turtle to encounter a piece of floating sandalwood with a hole that is perfectly sized for his belly. Even if somehow it turns out that the turtle does encounter a floating sandalwood log with a hole that is perfect for his belly, he has only one eye, and is easily confused by directions. He may think he is swimming to the west toward the log, but actually is going in the opposite direction, toward the east. To make matters worse, the turtle has no limbs, so it is almost impossible for him to even try approaching the floating red sandalwood log.

 This parable teaches us about the difficulty of encountering True Buddhism. The vast ocean symbolizes the sea of suffering characterized by birth and death. The one-eyed turtle represents us, the people. The fact that the turtle has no limbs means that we do not possess the essential Buddha seed. The hot belly refers to the Eight Hot Hells, which arise as a result of anger. The cold upper shell signifies the Eight Cold Hells, which are caused by greed.

 The fact that the turtle is condemned to the bottom of the vast ocean for one thousand years symbolizes how difficult it is for all people to be reborn as humans, once they create negative karma and fall into the Three Evil Paths of Hell, Hunger, and Animality.

 The relative ease of encountering common driftwood and the difficulty of encountering precious, red sandalwood refer to the fact that, while it is simple to encounter sutras other than the Lotus Sutra, it is extremely difficult to come upon the Lotus Sutra.

Furthermore, the fact that the turtle may encounter a piece of floating red sandalwood, but it doesn’t have a perfectly-sized hole for his belly means that even though we may encounter the Lotus Sutra, it is extremely difficult to chant the essential Daimoku of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo.

The limbless condition of the turtle suggests the various degrees of arrogance manifested by people in the Latter Day of the Law, as they look down upon the supreme teaching and hail inferior teachings as being supreme.

 Thus, the story of the one-eyed turtle teaches us the difficulty of being born as humans in this world. It further explains how, even if we are born human, it is truly difficult to embrace True Buddhism and uphold the correct practice.

Our High Priest Nichinyo Shonin presented the following guidance at the Shodai-kai in January of this year:

There is the expression, “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” It refers to someone encountering the type of good opportunity that happens only once in one’s life. Even in a thousand years, let alone an indefinite time period, it is rarer and more difficult for one to be able to meet the votary of the Lotus Sutra.

Today, it is an extremely rare occurrence for us to be able to encounter the True Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin, who is the True Buddha of kuon ganjo. And even rarer still, are the immeasurable benefits that we, common mortals, are able to accumulate.

Not only have we been fortunate to encounter the True Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin, we also are extremely fortunate to be part of the grand celebration of the 750th Anniversary of Revealing the Truth and Upholding Justice through the Submission of the Rissho-ankoku-ron. This is even rarer than encountering the Udumbara Flower, which blooms once every three thousand years.

Therefore, we must not miss this opportunity, and with single-minded and wholehearted determination, aim to achieve the objectives for 2009 with our heart and soul. If we do not, it will be meaningless for us to have obtained birth in the human world, something difficult to achieve, and to have encountered the sacred teachings of the Buddha, which are rarely to be met. And moreover, we will ruin this opportunity to encounter the grand celebration of 2009, which will never happen again. (Dai-Nichiren, February 2008, pp. 67-68)

           Based on a profound karmic bond, we have been born into this world as humans at this time; we have encountered Nichiren Daishonin’s True Buddhism, which is difficult to do; and we are able to correctly uphold our faith and practice under the guidance of our High Priest. This is, indeed, a tremendous benefit for us. We must not waste this karmic bond and the great benefits from our past lifetimes. As we advance toward the great occasion next year of the 750th Anniversary of Revealing the Truth and Upholding Justice through the Submission of the Rissho ankoku-ron, let us form a solid unity between the priesthood and laity, characterized by different bodies but one mind (itai doshin). Let us proceed with great devotion to successfully achieve our shakubuku goals and our designated objectives.

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