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Lecture in Praise of Nichiren DaishoninJune 2015, Oko Lecture

The Joy of propagating Buddhis

!y"and doing #haku!ukuAre you doing shakubuku with joy, or do you unwillingly conducting it? There may

be some among you who neglect Shakubuku due to some reasonsbecause you feelshy about doing Shakubuku, feel that you do not have enough knowledge aboutBuddhism, or may think that you lack sufficient personal e perience!

"owever, if you have been upholding Buddhist practice in #ichiren Shoshu, youshould e perience joy, positive feelings, and benefits!Therefore$ you should not feelshy or be at a loss about what to say! %o not complicate things in your mind! Simplytell people your direct thoughts about the good things that you felt, the benefits thatyou received, and the joy that you felt at the timeall those thoughts and feelingsfrom the time you took faith until now! This way, you will be able to accomplishShakubuku without fail&

'e were born into the (atter %ay of the (aw with the mission to do Shakubuku! )nthe Treasure Tower * Ken ht $ eleventh+ chapter of the (otus Sutra, Shakyamuniencouraged the people three times to propagate true Buddhism in the (atter %ay of the (aw! "e asked, )s there someone who will propagate the (otus Sutra after my

passing?- )n response, numerous bodhisattvas taught by the Buddha of the theoreticalteaching and those from the various directions vowed to propagate the (otus Sutraafter the passing of Shakyamuni!"owever, the Buddha refused their offer! "e wouldnot permit them to propagate it! )nstead, he transferred that task to Bodhisattva ./gy/and the Bodhisattvas of the 0arth as numerous as the sands of si ty thousand 1anges2ivers, who emerged from the earth!

The (otus Sutra predicts that those who propagate true Buddhism in the (atter %ay

of the (aw will encounter the three powerful enemies e tremely arrogant lay people (zokushzjman) ,- e tremely arrogant priests (dmonzjman) ,- and

e tremely arrogant false sages (senshzjman) !-

#ichiren %aishonin, the True Buddha of the (atter %ay of the (aw and thereincarnation of Bodhisattva ./gy/ made his advent in the (atter %ay of the (awase act predicted in the (otus Sutra! "e himself also encountered persecutions from thethree powerful enemies, and endured tremendous hardships in order to propagate themystic (aw (Myh) !

'e are the followers of the Bodhisattvas of the 0arth, because we believe in theBuddhism of #ichiren %aishonin and we strive to do Shakubuku, just as he

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instructed!There is no greater joy than to be included among the followers of the trulyhonorable Bodhisattvas of the 0arth and to be able to put forth our efforts in doingShakubuku!

#ichiren %aishonin teaches the following in the Letter to Hren *"/ren3sh/+4

)t is e pounded that the benefits of revering and making offerings to the votaryof the (otus Sutra in the (atter %ay of the (aw are a hundred, a thousand, tenthousand, and a hundred thousand times greater than those that can beaccumulated by upholding faith with the three categories of body, mouth, andmind, and making offerings to a living Buddha for kalpa!

*Gosho , p! 567+

8urthermore, in the 1osho A Sage Knows the Three E !sten"es o# L!#e*Sh/ninchisan9eji+, the %aishonin states4

), #ichiren, am the votary of the (otus Sutra! Because ) follow in the footstepsof Bodhisattva #ever %isparaging, those who despise and slander me shallhave their heads broken into seven pieces! )n contrast, the fortune of those who

believe in me will grow to the heights of :ount Sumeru! *Gosho , p! ;n the contrary, he e pounds that those who believe in him, honor him, and make offerings to him will amass greatbenefits ashuge as :ount Sumeru! )ndeed, we do Shakubuku because we believe in the correctdoctrines and principles of the Buddhism of #ichiren %aishonin! To e press our gratitude and talk about the preciousness of #ichiren %aishonin s Buddhism is to

praise and honor it! The benefits of doing so are immeasurably huge!

Anyone can do Shakubuku actually! "owever, there are the principle of the threerules of preachingthe robe, the throne, and the room (ezash!tsu no sank!) teachesus the spirit that we must uphold in doing Shakubuku!

The robe (e) refers to clothing, and it represents heart@spirit of gentleness andforbearanceheart and we must encounter all matters with them! %oing Shakubukuoften re=uires patience! There are times when we receive une pected abuse from

people! Some of you are putting forth your utmost efforts to do Shakubuku, evenwhen you, yourselves, are going through tremendous hardships in life! There may be

individuals who insult you and say, )f your religion is so great, why don t you speak to me about it after you show some prosperity in your own life?- 'e should never be

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upseted by such words! 'e must not hesitate or waver! )nstead, we must continue todo Shakubuku! The teachings e pound that those who slander people who are doingShakubuku will receive negative effects! >n the contrary, those who are slandered areable to e piate their negative karma and receive benefits! As we repeat this in our lives, we will find that those slanderers will change! 8irst and foremost, it is

important not to get angry, not to give up, and not to slacken in our continuing effortsto do Shakubuku!

#e t, the throne (za) represents a liberation from attachments and the ability towithstand outside control! All people, for the most part, tend to form an attachment tothings and conditions! 8or e ample, we are prone to think of our environment asunchangingthat the same conditions will continue indefinitely! )n fact, however,there is not a single thing in the world that is fi ed and unchanging!>ur lives also arenot fi ed! 0ven if we are currently e periencing terrible conditions, if we e ert our

utmost efforts in our faith and practice, we can advance in a positive direction andchange our conditions without fail!

)n the same way, when we do Shakubuku, it is important not to be influenced bycurrent conditions as we talk to people! The contents of what we say should befocused on #ichiren %aishonin s Buddhism and on the benefits and joy that we havereceived as a result of our faith and practice! Some of us may be of low social stationand we may be financially challenged to make ends meet! "owever, as long as whatwe talk about consists of the teachings of the True Buddha and the benefits of acorrect Buddhist practice, there definitely will come a time when we can reach the

people s hearts!Also, many individuals who seem to be fine on the surface may be privately carrying various problems and hardships in their hearts! )t is important for us to continue to do Shakubuku without being influenced by our arbitrary thoughts!

8inally, the room (sh!tsu) refers to great compassion! )n the 1osho, $e%ay!ng &e'ts o# Grat!tude *"/ on3sho+, the %aishonin states4

Since #ichiren s compassion is vast, #am3:yoho32enge3 yo will prevail for ten thousand years and beyond into the future!

*Gosho , p! 6 7C+

"aving compassion in our hearts is essential when we do Shakubuku! Dompassionrefers to the removal of suffering and providing happiness! 'hen people uphold faithin #ichiren Shoshu as a result of our Shakubuku and when they embrace and practiceto the %ai31ohon9on of the "igh Sanctuary of the 0ssential Teaching, their hardshipsand sufferings can be eliminated, and they can receive true happiness in their lives!

:any people are undergoing various kinds of problems and hardships in their lives,

such as family issues, trouble with relatives, educating their children, difficulties atwork, and illnesses! 'e must teach them that the negative karma from evil causes in

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the past, which represent the core cause of suffering and hardships, can be e piatedthrough maintaining the faith, and they can proceed in a positive direction withoutfail!'hen we can lead people to happiness through Shakubuku, this becomes our own happiness!

The most important issue in doing Shakubuku is for us to understand and truly rejoicethat it is, indeed, a great benefit for us to be able to propagate true Buddhismand lead people to happiness!

)n the long history of .apan, there were times when religious worship and propagation were strictly regulated! %uring such times, "okkeko believers who wereour predecessors encountered countless persecutions, and the hardships theye perienced were too numerous to be entirely recorded in writing or speech!

Durrently, in different countries around the world, believers are living under variousconditions and may be encountering hardships in doing Shakubuku! Based on the principle of the profound and clear observation Eby the Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and1uardian deitiesF- (my no shran) , the 1ohon9on is definitely looking upon theactivities of each of us, as we propagate Buddhism through Shakubuku! These great

positive causes will bring forth tremendous benefits in our lives without fail!

"igh Griest #ichinyo Shonin presented the following directions to us4

'e will be able to create world peace and bring happiness to the people byeliminating slander and establishing the true (aw of sowing the seed of the truecause! 'e must keep this in mind! ) keenly feel that we should repay our debtof gratitude to our founder, #ichiren %aishonin by single3mindedly conductingShakubukurefuting heresy and revealing the truthno matter whatdifficulties may arise!

* &a!'yakuh , #o! H C+

(et us take to heart the new goal designated by "igh Griest #ichinyo Shonintheestablishment of an organi9ation of 5 , "okkeko believers by the year I I6when we will be celebrating the auspicious occasion of the 5 th anniversary of theadvent of our founder #ichiren %aishonin! (et s do actual Shakubuku full of joy!Then, as a result of the benefits of doing so, let us celebrate the sacred anniversary of the birth of #ichiren %aishonin and establish solid happiness for ourselves and for others!

) would like to conclude my sermon for today by sincerely praying for your continued good health, for your lives to be filled with great happiness, and for the

ever3increasing accomplishments in your practice!

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