Thus I Heard

I have received the scroll of the entire Myoho-renge-kyo that you copied in small characters, as well as two quilted robes, ten kan of coins and a hundred folding fans as offerings for consecrating the sutra. In the first volume of the Hokke Mongu we find a passage, which states, The word !thus" of !thus I heard" indicates the essence of a doctrine heard from the #uddha. $nd the first volume of the Hokke Mongu Ki states, If !thus" does not indicate the teaching which surpasses the eight categories, then how can it be the teaching of the %otus &utra' The (egon &utra begins) Daihokobutsu Kegon &utra. Thus I heard. The Hannya &utra begins) Makahannya Haramitsu &utra. Thus I heard. The Dainichi &utra begins) Daibirushana Jimbenkaji &utra. Thus I heard. *hat does thus indicate in these and all other sutras' It refers to the title of each sutra. *hen the #uddha e+pounded a sutra, he put a title to it, revealing its ultimate truth. $fter the #uddha"s death, when his listeners such as ,nanda, Mon-u and (ongosatta compiled the #uddha"s teachings, they first stated the title of a sutra and then, Thus I heard. The essence of each sutra is contained in its title. .or e+ample, the land of India has seventy states and its borders measure ninety thousand ri, yet the people, animals, plants, mountains, rivers and earth within them are all included in the single word, India. $ll things that e+ist on the four continents of the world are clearly reflected on the face of the moon without e+ception. In like manner, the teachings of a sutra are encompassed in its title.

The titles of the Agon sutras, for instance, e+plain the conclusion of these sutras, which is that all things are impermanent. These titles are a hundred million times superior to the two characters meaning e+istence and none+istence which are used in the titles of #rahman sutras. .ollowers of all the ninety-five schools of #rahmanism, hearing the titles of the $gon sutras, abandoned their erroneous views and converted to the truth of impermanence. Those who hear the titles of the Hannya sutras reali/e the three teachings that all things are non-substantial in themselves 0taiku1, that the Middle *ay is independent of non-substantiality and temporary e+istence 0tanchu1, and that it is inseparably united with them 0futanchu1. Those who hear the title of the Kegon &utra perceive either of the last two of the above teachings. Those who hear the titles of the Dainichi, Hodo and Hannya sutras understand that all things, when analy/ed, prove to be without substance 0shakku1 or that all things are non-substantial in themselves2 that non-substantiality is independent of the Middle *ay and temporary e+istence 0tanku1 or that it is inseparable from them 0futanku12 that the Middle *ay is independent of nonsubstantiality and temporary e+istence or that it is inseparably united with them. However, those who listen to the titles of such provisional sutras are unable to reali/e the teachings of the mutual possession of the Ten *orlds, the hundred worlds and thousand factors, or the three thousand realms, which contain the benefit of supreme enlightenment. The sutras other than the %otus &utra do not e+pound this ultimate conclusion and so their followers are like common mortals of ri-soku the stage at which one is ignorant of his own #uddha nature. The #uddhas and bodhisattvas who appear in those sutras cannot equal common mortals of myoji-soku who have -ust embraced the %otus &utra, let alone approach the stage of kangyo-soku in which one"s actions accord with his

understanding, for they do not even chant the title of the %otus &utra. This is why the 3reat Teacher Miao-lo states in the Hokke Mongu (i, If !thus" does not indicate the teaching which surpasses the eight categories, then how can it be the teaching of the %otus &utra' The titles of the provisional sutras fall within the eight categories. These titles are like the meshes of a fishing net, while the title of the %otus &utra is like the rope, which gathers the meshes of the eight categories. Those who chant Myoho-renge-kyo, the title of the %otus &utra, even without understanding its meaning, reali/e not only the heart of the %otus &utra but also the essence of all the #uddha"s teachings. $ crown prince who is only one, two or three years old will, when he ascends the throne, reign over the empire and be obeyed by the regent and ministers, although he is presently unaware of this. $ baby has no conscious understanding but, taking the mother"s breast, grows naturally. In contrast, an arrogant minister who belittles a young crown prince will bring about his own downfall, as did 4hao (ao of the 4h"in dynasty. The scholars of the other sutras and sects who, as 4hao (ao did, look down upon the prince who chants only the title of the %otus &utra, will eventually fall into the hell of incessant suffering. However, if a votary of the %otus &utra who chants its title without knowing its meaning is frightened by the learned priests of other sects into forsaking his faith, then he is like the young puppet emperor Hu Hai who replaced the crown prince but was intimidated and killed by 4hao (ao. 5am-Myoho-renge-kyo is not only the heart of all the #uddha"s teachings but also the heart, entity and essence of the %otus &utra. 6et as wonderful as this teaching is, no one has spread it during the more than 7,778 years since the #uddha"s passing. The twentyfour successors of the #uddha in India did not propagate it, nor did T"ien-t"ai or Miao-lo of 4hina, nor 9rince &hotoku or the 3reat Teacher :engyo of ;apan.

Therefore, when I e+pounded it, people refused to believe it, thinking that it must be a false teaching. This is perfectly understandable. .or e+ample, if a lowly soldier had announced that he had seduced the beautiful court lady, *ang 4hao-chun, no one would have believed it. &imilarly, people cannot believe that a priest of such lowly birth could e+pound 5am-Myohorenge-kyo, the heart of the %otus &utra, which even T"ien-t"ai and :engyo, who ranked as highly as ministers and court nobles, did not propagate. 6ou may not know this, but the crow, the most despised of birds, can recogni/e omens of good and evil events that will occur during the year, which the eagle and the hawk cannot. $ snake is no match for a dragon or an elephant, but it can foresee the coming of a flood seven days in advance. <ven if 5argar-una and T"ien-t"ai had not known the teaching, which I propagate, if it is stated clearly in the sutra, one should not doubt it. If one holds me, 5ichiren, in contempt and does not chant 5am-Myoho-renge-kyo, he is like a baby who doubts its mother"s milk and refuses the breast, or a patient who is suspicious of his doctor and re-ects the medicine prescribed for him. 5argar-una and =asubandhu reali/ed this teaching but did not propagate it perhaps because they knew that the time was not right and that the people of their day had no capacity to understand it. >thers most probably did not spread it because they were ignorant of it. #uddhism spreads according to the time and the people"s capacity. $lthough I may not be worthy of this teaching, I e+pound it because the time is right. >ur contemporaries think of the five characters of Myohorenge-kyo only as a name, but this is not correct. It is the entity, that is, the heart of the %otus &utra. 4hangan, commenting on T"ien-t"ai"s e+planation of the title of the %otus &utra as set forth in the Hokke 3engi,? states, Hence his e+planation of the title in the preface conveys the profound meaning of the sutra as a whole,

and the profound meaning embodies the heart of the work. $ccording to this interpretation, Myoho-rengekyo is neither the scriptural te+t nor its meaning but the heart of the entire sutra. Those who seek the heart of the sutra apart from its title are as foolish as the turtle who sought the monkey"s liver outside the monkey, or the monkey who left the forest and sought fruit on the seashore.

5ichiren
The twenty-eighth day of the eleventh month in the third year of (en-i @A7BB 4. <.?