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The Essence of the Juryo Chapter
When the Lord Shakyamuni expounded the Juryo chapter, he said, making reference to what all living beings had heard in
the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings and in the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra: "All gods, men and asuras of this world
believe that after leaving the palace of the Shakyas, Shakyamuni Buddha seated himself at the place of meditation not far
from the city of Gaya and attained the supreme enlightenment." This statement shows the idea held by all the Buddha’s
disciples and the great bodhisattvas from the time they heard Shakyamuni preach his first sermon in the Kegon Sutra, up through
the time he expounded the Anrakugyo chapter of the Lotus Sutra.
We find two flaws in the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings. First, [as Miao-lo says,] "Because they teach that the Ten Worlds are
separate from one another, they fail to move beyond the provisional doctrines." That is, they do not reveal the theory of
ichinen sanzen, the principle of discarding the provisional and revealing the true, or the capacity of those in the two vehicles
to attain Buddhahood, all of which are implicit in the doctrine of the ten factors stated in the Hoben chapter of the theoretical
teaching.
Second, "Because they teach that Shakyamuni first attained enlightenment in this world, they fail to discard the Buddha’s
provisional status." Thus they do not reveal the Buddha’s original enlightenment expounded in the Juryo chapter. These
two great doctrines [the attainment of Buddhahood by those of the two vehicles and the Buddha’s original enlightenment]
are the core of the Buddha’s lifetime teachings, the very heart and marrow of all the sutras.
The theoretical teaching states that persons in the two realms of shomon and engaku can attain Buddhahood, thus avoiding
one of the shortcomings found in the sutras expounded during the first forty years and more of the Buddha’s preaching.
However, since the Juryo chapter had not yet been expounded, the true doctrine of ichinen sanzen remained obscure and the
enlightenment of those in the two vehicles was not assured. In these respects the theoretical teaching does not differ from
the moon’s reflection on the water or rootless plants drifting on the waves.
The Buddha also stated: "However, men of devout faith, the
time is limitless and boundless - a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, nayuta aeons -- since I in fact attained
Buddhahood." With this single proclamation, he refuted as great falsehoods the words of the Kegon
Sutra, which states that Shakyamuni attained Buddhahood for the first time in this world; the Avon sutras, which speak of
his "first attainment of the path"; the Vimalakirti Sutra, which reads, "For the first time the Buddha sat beneath the tree";
the Daijuku Sutra, which states, "It is sixteen years since the Buddha first attained enlightenment"; the Dainichi Sutra,
which describes the Buddha’s enlightenment as having taken place "some years ago when I sat in the place of meditation";
the Ninno Sutra, which refers to the Buddha’s enlightenment as an event of "twenty-nine years ago"; the Muryogi Sutra,
which states, "Previously I went to the place of meditation"; and the Hoben chapter of the Lotus Sutra, which says, "When
I first sat in the place of meditation."
When we come to the Juryo chapter of the essential teaching the belief that Shakyamuni attained Buddhahood for the first
time in India is demolished, and the effects [enlightenment] of the four teachings are likewise demolished. When the effects
of the four teachings are demolished, their causes are likewise demolished. "Causes" here refers to Buddhist practice [to
attain enlightenment] or to the stage of disciples engaged in practice. Thus the causes and effects as expounded in both the
pre-Lotus Sutra teachings and the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra are wiped out, and the cause and effect of the Ten
Worlds in the essential teaching are revealed. This is the doctrine of original cause and original effect. It teaches that
the nine worlds are all present in the beginningless Buddhahood, and that Buddhahood exists in the beginningless nine worlds.
It is the true mutual possession of the Ten Worlds, the true hundred worlds and thousand factors, the true ichinen sanzen.
Considered in this light, it is evident that Vairochana Buddha seated on a lotus pedestal as depicted in the Kegon Sutra,
the sixteen-foot Shakyamuni described in the Agon sutras, and the other provisional Buddhas mentioned in the Hodo, Hannya,
Konkomyo, Amida and Dainichi sutras are no more than reflections of the Buddha of the Juryo chapter. They are like fleeting
images of the moon in the sky mirrored on the surface of the water held in vessels of varying sizes. The learned priests and scholars of the many sects are first of all confused as to the meaning
of the sutras upon which their own doctrines are based, and more fundamentally, they are ignorant of the teaching expounded
in the Juryo chapter of the Lotus Sutra. As a result, they mistake the reflection of the moon on
the water for the real moon shining in the sky. Some of them enter the water and try to grasp it with their hands, while others
try to snare it with a rope. As the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai says, "They know nothing of the moon in the sky,
but gaze only at the moon in the pond." He means that those attached to the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings or the theoretical teaching
of the Lotus Sutra are not aware of the moon shining in the sky but see only its reflection in the pond. The Sogi Ritsu also
tells of five hundred monkeys who, emerging from the mountains, saw the moon reflected in the water and tried to seize it.
However, as it was only a reflection they fell into the water and drowned. This writing equates the monkeys with Devadatta
and the group of six monks [who lived in the Buddha’s lifetime].
Were it not for the presence of the Juryo chapter among all the teachings of Shakyamuni, they would be like the heavens
without the sun and moon, a kingdom without a king, the mountains and seas without treasures or a person without a soul. This
being so, without the Juryo chapter, all the sutras are meaningless. Grass without roots will die in no time and a river without a source will not flow far. A child without parents is
looked down upon. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the heart of the Juryo
chapter, is the mother of all Buddhas throughout the ten directions and the three existences of past, present and future.
With my deep respect,
Nichiren
The seventeenth day of the fourth month
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