A Ship to Cross the Sea of Suffering
When I asked him about what you told me the other
day, I found it to be exactly as you said. You should therefore strive in faith more than
ever to receive the blessings of the Lotus Sutra. Listen with the ears of Shih K'uang and
observe with the eyes of Li Lou.
In the Latter Day of the Law, the votary of the
Lotus Sutra will appear without fail. The greater the hardships befalling him the greater
the delight he feels, because of his strong faith. Doesn't a fire burn more briskly when
logs are added? All rivers run to the sea, but does its fullness make the rivers flow
backward? The currents of hardship pour into the sea of the Lotus Sutra and rush against
its votary. The river is not rejected by the ocean; neither does the votary reject
suffering. Were it not for the flowing rivers there would be no sea. Likewise, without
tribulation there would be no votary of the Lotus Sutra. As T'ien-t'ai stated, "All
rivers flow to the sea, and logs make a fire roar.
You must realize that it is because of a deep
karmic relationship from the past that you can teach others even a sentence or phrase of
the Lotus Sutra. The sutra reads, "It is extremely difficult to save those who are
deaf to the True Law." The "True Law" means the Lotus Sutra.
A passage from the Hosshi chapter reads,
"If there is someone, whether man or woman, who secretly teaches to one person even a
single phrase of the Lotus Sutra, let it be known that he is the envoy of the
Buddha." This means that anyone who teaches others even a single phrase of the Lotus
Sutra is clearly the Buddha's envoy, whether he be priest or nun, lay man or woman. You
are a lay believer and one of those described in the sutra. One who hears even a sentence
or phrase of the Lotus Sutra and cherishes it deep in his heart may be likened to a ship
which navigates the sea of suffering. The Great Teacher Miao-lo stated, "Even a
single phrase cherished deep in one's heart will without fail help him reach the opposite
shore. To ponder one phrase and practice it is to exercise navigation.
A passage from the Lotus Sutra reads, "...as
though one had found a ship to make the crossing. This ship might be described as follows:
The Lord Buddha, a shipbuilder of infinitely profound wisdom, gathered the lumber of the
four tastes and eight teachings, planed it by honestly discarding the provisional teachings,
cut and assembled the planks, using both right and wrong,and completed the craft by driving
home the spikes of the one, supreme teaching. Thus he launched the ship upon the sea of
suffering. Unfurling the sails of the three thousand conditions on the mast of the
Middle Way doctrine, driven by the fair wind of "all phenomena reveal the true entity,
the vessel surges ahead, carrying all believers who can enter Buddhahood by their pure faith.
Shakyamuni Buddha is the helmsman, Taho Buddha mans the sails, and the four Bodhisattvas led
by Jogyo strain in unison at the creaking oars. This is the ship in "a ship to make the
crossing," the vessel of Myoho-renge-kyo. Those who board it are the disciples and
followers of Nichiren. Believe this wholeheartedly. When you visit Shijo Kingo, please
have an earnest talk with him. I will write you again. With my deep respect, The twenty-eighth day of the fourth month MWND Vol 1.
p. 9.
The Daishonin was then forty years old and residing in Kamakura. One year earlier, he had
submitted a letter of remonstration to the former regent Hojo Tokiyori, who, though officially
retired, was politically the most powerful man in Kamakura.
Possibly having heard of a plot to exile him, the Daishonin wrote this Gosho telling his
disciples to be brave, even if persecution should occur. The former half states that the
votary of the Lotus Sutra is certain to appear in the Latter Day of the Law and to meet with
great persecution. The Daishonin says, "The greater the hardships befalling him the greater
the delight he feels, because of his strong faith. Doesn't a fire burn more briskly when
logs are added?" The name "votary of the Lotus Sutra" can be applied only to one who has
met, confronted and overcome the great hardships described in the sutra.
The latter part encourages Shiji Shiro to have faith that the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra is
the "ship" that can unfailingly transport him to the distant shore of enlightenment. The
Lotus Sutra is the highest of all Shakyamuni's teachings, and in the Latter Day of the Law,
it corresponds to the Gohonzon.
Nichiren
This letter was written on April 28, 1261, about two weeks before Nichiren Daishonin was exiled
to Izu Peninsula. Shiji Shiro lived in the province of Suruga. Little is known about him, but
from this letter it is apparent that he knew one of the Daishonin's leading disciples, Shijo
Kingo.