“Exert yourself in the two ways of practice and study. Without practice and study, there can be no Buddhism. You must not only persevere yourself; you must also teach others. Both practice and study arise from faith. Teach others to the best of your ability, even if only a single sentence or phrase.”
Nichiren Daishonin wrote the letter (of which this is an extract) in May 1273 on the island of Sado and sent it to one of his disciples, Sairen-bo. Sairen-bo was a learned priest who had formerly belonged to the Tendai sect, but he was drawn to the Daishonin’s noble character and became his disciple around February 1272. He followed his new teacher’s guidance faithfully, and out of his profound desire for understanding, asked the Daishonin to explain some fundamental Buddhist doctrines. In answer, the Daishonin wrote such important letters as “Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life”, “The Oral Teachings”, and “On the Attainment of Buddhahood by Insentient Beings”. “The True Entity of Life” is another of these letters. Its title comes from the phrases shoho jisso, or ‘the true entity of all phenomena”, which appears in the second chapter of the Lotus Sutra. Rather than giving a purely literal explanation, the Daishonin clarified the profound meaning of this phrase from the view point of his own enlightenment.
The passage above appears in the concluding section of the “The True Entity of Life” and explains the fundamental path of faith and practice for all followers of Nichiren Daishonin. As SGI members, we carry out the fundamentals of faith, practice and study just as the Daishonin taught us.
The three elements of faith, practice and study are actually inseparable. In this passage, however, Nichiren Daishonin with great insight draws a distinction between faith on the one hand and practice and study on the other. By doing so, he teaches us to base all our actions, including practice and study, on our faith in the Gohonzon.
I believe that one of his reasons for distinguishing faith from study and practice can be grasped from the sentence preceding aforementioned passage. It states:
“Believe in the Gohonzon, the supreme object of worship in the world. Forge strong faith and receive the protection of Shakyamuni, Taho and all the other Buddhas.”
If your faith in the Gohonzon is strong and profound, you will enjoy the protection of all the Buddhas in the universe. For this reason, it is important to maintain faith wholeheartedly, day by day, month after month and year after year.
In a similar vein, Nichikan Shonin, the 26th High Priest of Nichiren Shoshu, writes in the Threefold Secret Teaching that, “Strong faith in the Lotus Sutra is in itself Buddhahood”.
Both this quotation and the passage I just cited suggest that the purpose of our constant practice and study is to strengthen our faith in the Gohonzon. In conclusion, faith is deepened through practice and study, and at the same time, practice and study should be based on faith. We must understand this relationship and bear it in mind.
“Exert yourself in the two ways of practice and study”.
Practice and Study are like the two wheels of a cart or the two wings of a bird. Sometimes you may find it very difficult to continue both practice and study, but both are essential aspects of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism. As long as we pursue practice and study, we advance steadily towards the individual goal of attaining Buddhahood and the common goal of Kosen rufu. Some people may want to keep faith by themselves. However, it is not easy for someone practicing alone to make constant efforts up until the last moment of his life to strengthen his practice and study. This is why we need an organization in which we encourage each other. Moreover, in order to promote our noble goal of kosen rufu and foster the unity of many in body, one in mind, we must maintain close communication amongst ourselves.
Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism is not theoretical but actual. By this I mean that it is found in the three specific elements of faith in the Gohonzon, the practice of Gongyo and Shakubuku and the study of Daishonin’s teachings. By developing these three, we show clearly to others the way by which all people can attain true happiness.
Those who practice, but neglect study cannot explain this Buddhism convincingly or lead others to it. They will not only fail to fulfill their responsibility of propagating the great law but may even cause people to disrespect it.
On the other hand, those who devote themselves to study without practice cannot obtain real benefit. No matter how much they may know about the writings of Nichiren Daishonin, they cannot draw great good fortune from the Mystic Law. The ultimate aim of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism lies in attaining Buddhahood, and for this, practice is indispensible. One who boasts of his knowledge of Buddhism and finds self satisfaction in the study of abstract theory alone is no longer a Buddhist, much less a follower of Nichiren Daishonin. Many people of this sort neglect practice and make no effort to transmit the law into society or into the future. They assume a critical attitude towards those who embrace the Lotus Sutra, thereby creating bad karma for themselves.
Practice is divided into two: practice for oneself and practice for others. Simply stated, the former means to do Gongyo and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo; the latter means to do shakubuku and spread faith in the Gohonzon. These are the fundamental disciplines of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism. When you read the letters of Daishonin, you will find that some emphasize practice for oneself while others emphasize practice for others. “The True Object of Worship” written in April 1273, explains the Gohonzon theoretically, and reveals the path of enlightenment, setting forth the principle that embracing the Gohonzon is in itself attaining Buddhahood. It deals primarily with practice for oneself. However, ‘On Practicing the Buddha’s Teaching’, which was written in the following month, urges us to carry out practice for others, that is shakubuku.
In essence, as the Daishonin clearly declares in “The Three Great Secret Laws”:
“Now in the latter day of the law, the daimoku (i.e. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo) which Nichiren chants is different from that of previous ages. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo entails practice both for oneself and others.”
In short, one who courageously devotes himself to practice both for himself and for the benefit of other people, can be said to have strong and correct faith.
Of course, the most fundamental practice is to do Gongyo and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon. However, we sometimes find people who self righteously insist that because embracing the Gohonzon is in itself attaining Buddhahood, they need not practice Shakubuku to lead others to the Gohonzon, I want you to understand that such people lack compassion.
When we feel joy in faith and gratitude for the Gohonzon’s boundless mercy, that joy will be reflected in our daily lives and spread outwards into the society. At the same time, we will quite naturally desire to share our joy with others. All sincere efforts based on this desire produce great benefit, serve to deepen our faith and are definitely linked to the spread of Buddhism.
From another viewpoint, we do shakubuku and propagate this teaching because we wish to help people overcome their unhappiness. Fundamentally, people are unhappy because, ignorant of the Gohonzon which is the enlightenment of Nichiren Daishonin and the essence of all Buddhism, they live trapped in the six lower worlds and cannot overcome the sufferings of birth and death. They do not realize that the storms of the nine worlds are coming and think they are safe, when in reality they base their happiness on relatively transient and superficial things.
There is a widespread misunderstanding that religious faith is only a matter of a human being’s inner world, or that a religious person is one who withdraws to some quiet place and devotes himself to contemplation. If this were the case, religion would be too egoistic. As long as faith remains limited to one’s inner world, its significance will not be great. It should spread outwards and influence the realities of life and society. This is the meaning of Nichiren Daishonin’s ‘Rissho Ankoku Ron’. It is precisely because our faith can positively influence the environment that we dedicate ourselves to the cause of Kosen rufu.
The practice of shakubuku further strengthens the pillar of faith in your heart. Propagating the eternal and universal law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is an action of mercy, justice and conviction. In terms of time, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is eternal, and in terms of space, it pervades the entire universe. Therefore, our activities to propagate this Law will definitely contribute to lasting world peace and human welfare. In this sense, our Buddhist movement is laying the groundwork for peace and culture at the most fundamental level.
Source: The Buddhism of the Sun (Pg.109-112)
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