The Right Means for Teaching
Others
by Nikkyo Niwano
Some people who have joined Rissho Kosei-kai, even though
they have had the opportunity at least to come into contact with its teachings,
seem reluctant to apply its religious practices actively in their daily
lives. What prevents them from being more positive about their membership?
Can it be that other members have abandoned them, labeling them impossible
to persuade? We must ask ourselves why it is that such people have not
been able to commit themselves in a constructive way and carefully consider
what underlies their reluctance. We should try to reveal the spiritual
capacity of each person before we give up on him or her.
I am certain no one would dispute the rationality of the
Buddhist teaching of the Four Noble Truths. That is why Shakyamuni said
a person of superior spiritual capacity (Jpn., jokon) would be able
to understand them even if they are only shown in outline. That is, they
could be taught them by indicative means (jiten), through postulation
and definition. Shakyamuni also said that on the other hand a person of
average spiritual capacity (chukon) should be brought to understanding
through the explanation that happiness cannot be attained unless the Four
Noble Truths become the basis of one's daily life. This could be the hortative
teaching (kanten) that suffering must be diagnosed. Further, a person
of lesser spiritual capacity (gekon) should be given exact, detailed
proofs that Shakyamuni practiced in a certain way to attain enlightenment,
so that the person might be inspired to emulate him. This is called evidential
explanation, or shoten.
These three ways of explaining the Four Noble Truths are
known collectively as "the three turns of the wheel of the Dharma." They
need not be confined to the teaching of the Four Noble Truths. For example,
when we apply them to our own religious training, the indicative means
is to teach by example, the hortative is to encourage people to read Rissho
Kosei-kai newspapers and periodicals or to invite them to attend meetings
at branches, and the evidential is to describe for them our happiness at
having joined Rissho Kosei-kai and to encourage them to appreciate for
themselves what we have experienced. In this way, all will be able to grasp
the essence of the teachings. In turning the wheel of the Dharma (conducting
dissemination) we must consider very carefully which means best suits the
people to whom we are talking.
The Basis of Enlightenment
At the core of great doubt lies great enlightenment, according
to an old saying. Among the people who have joined the Sangha of Rissho
Kosei-kai are many who hold doubts about the unfamiliar religious faith,
because they have not yet attained complete belief. It is these people
who have the potential for great enlightenment. It is precisely those who
harbor the gravest doubts whose merits after attaining enlightenment are
the most profound. We must not unilaterally decide that because they express
doubts they will not be responsive. The chapter "Tactfulness" in the Lotus
Sutra says:
Rejoice greatly in your hearts,
Knowing that you will become buddhas.
It is with that attitude that we must teach by example, by
encouragement, or through proof, as the occasion demands.
Kannon (Avalokiteshvara) is said to have taught the Dharma
in thirty-three different forms. A person you may think is hopeless could
very well be an avatar of Kannon, hoping to awaken you to realization.
All Possess the Buddha-nature
The Lotus Sutra chapter "The Bodhisattva Never Despise"
is about a bodhisattva called that because he always venerated the inherent
buddha-nature in all the beings he encountered, and who eventually became
a buddha. With his hands in the position of respect he said to all he met,
"I could never despise you because you possess the buddha-nature within
yourself. Please open the flower of that buddha-nature and become a buddha."
In turn, the people to whom he said this jeered and mockingly called him
the "always slighted" bodhisattva.
I understand that the Sanskrit version of the Lotus Sutra
calls him Bodhisattva Always Despised (Sadaparibhuta), but the Chinese
translator Kumarajiva, comprehending the real essence of the chapter, interpreted
the name as "the bodhisattva who never despises others." Some people say
Kumarajiva erred, but I believe a scholar of his caliber could not make
such a mistake. His work is a fine example of translating the meaning,
not the exact words.
Bodhisattva Never Despise actually was Shakyamuni in one
of his former lives. This was made clear by the Buddha himself, who said,
"He was [really] I myself. If in my former lives I had not received and
kept, read, and recited this sutra and preached it to others, I should
not have been able so soon to attain perfect enlightenment." What is particularly
important is that those who slighted and looked down on Bodhisattva Never
Despise later repented their misdeeds and through that causality were able
to come into contact with the true Way.
Even people who speak slightingly of the teachings will
be able to enter the Buddha's Way through the correct causality, depending
on the appropriate guidance. The late Roman Catholic author Shusaku Endo
(1923--96) said true belief begins with the ultimate negation of the existence
of God and the Buddha. The very people who turn their backs and refuse
to listen to what we have to say may in fact be the ones who are closest
to entering the Buddha's Way.
A Postwar Revelation
In 1945, a divine revelation was received by Rissho Kosei-kai's
cofounder, Mrs. Myoko Naganuma, on October 13, the anniversary of the death
of the great Japanese priest Nichiren (1222--82). It was that the organization
should go forward in the spirit of Bodhisattva Never Despise so as to manifest
the buddha-nature of all beings, despite hardship and persecution.
At that time, following the end of the Second World War,
people were at a loss over how devastated Japan could recover and how to
make world peace a reality. Thus, the revelation to "undertake the practice
of veneration in the spirit of Bodhisattva Never Despise" had profound
significance. In his letter to his lay disciple Shijo Kingo in 1277, Nichiren
said, "The most vital thing in Buddhism is the Lotus Sutra and the most
essential chapter concerning the practice of the sutra is 'The Bodhisattva
Never Despise.' You had better ponder deeply the reason for that bodhisattva's
respectful conduct toward others. The wish behind the appearance in this
world of Lord Shakyamuni was to teach people the Way they should follow.
How wonderful. How wonderful."
It is important that people should lead their lives respecting
and venerating each other. To that end, the conduct of our daily lives
should center on revering the buddha-nature in those around us. Shakyamuni
came into the world to teach us that this is how we should manage our day-to-day
lives.
Thus when I visited China in April 1974 to invite religious
leaders there to participate in the second assembly of the World Conference
on Religion and Peace (WCRP II) later that year at Leuven, Belgium, I spoke
with them about the spirit of Bodhisattva Never Despise. Although this
was shortly after the storm of the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese religious
leaders and representatives from various government offices listened to
me with attentive, open minds, and expressed no doubts or reservations.
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Source: Rissho
Kosei-kai