Nichiren

Japanese monk

• Born: March 30, 1222
• Birthplace: Kominato, Japan
• Died: November 14, 1282
• Place of death: Sochu-ji Temple, Ikegami, Japan

Through extraordinary dedication, Nichiren founded the Lotus sect of Buddhism, which, in turn, gave rise to a fervent Japanese nationalism.

For ten years, Nichiren conscientiously studied Buddhism as a monk of the prominent Tendai sect centered at Mount Hiei, near Kyoto. He came to believe that he alone could help the Japanese people and save the nation.

Life’s Work

In 1253, Nichiren began a turbulent ministry marked by confrontation with various governmental authorities. He propagated a new doctrine believed to have been preached by the historic Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, in his later career, a doctrine centered mainly on the Mahāyāna Buddhist sutra Saddharma-pundarika. He referred to himself as a reincarnation of the bodhisattva Vishish-tŃachāritra, an ancient disciple of the Buddha.

Early Life

Japanese sources trace the lineage of Nichiren (nee-chee-rehn), one of the most famous of Japan’s Buddhist leaders, to the Fujiwara

Early in his career, Nichiren became convinced that he would establish the true sect of Buddhism , a sect that would dominate the world from a holy see in Japan. This sect was known as the Lotus sect of Buddhism, and Nichiren’s role in history is inseparable from the rise and continuing influence of this doctrine.

Nichiren’s life and work, although rooted in traditional Japanese society, heralded an entirely new spirit of nationalism and religious intolerance. Although most great religious leaders came from southern Japan, Nichiren came from the eastern provinces. His religion was permeated with a patriotic fervor and bore a strong, independent spirit an offensive, temperamental disposition characteristic of the eastern samurai warriors of medieval Japan.

Just as the rise of Protestantism in early modern Europe is understandable only against the background of the dominant Catholic church, so Nichiren’s form of Buddhism must be understood in relation to the other sects that dominated Japanese history. Some of these sects had fallen into corrupt practices and were scorned by the populace, and much of Nichiren’s career was marked by vitriolic criticism of them. For example, Nichiren criticized the Tendai sect, of which he himself was a member. This sect was popular among the elite of Japan and stressed ornate ritualism and “high church” ceremonies. Nichiren also railed against the most popular sect, Amidaism, or the Pure Land (Jōdo) sect, which emphasized simple salvation by faith and complete trust in Amida Buddha. Pure Land Buddhism was popular with the poor and downtrodden, to whom it gave comfort for the battle of life and consolation in the hour of death. While the older forms of Buddhism were weakening, the Pure Land sect had matured during the great strife and chaos of a country in perpetual civil war and would compete with the Nichiren sect as the dominant belief.

All Japan’s traditional Buddhist sects, except that of Nichiren, had counterparts in China. The Zen sect, for example, appealed to the samurai class, with its simple and direct approach to salvation and emphasis on intellectual effort, self-reliance, and meditation. Buddhist sects were generally pacifist by nature and not exclusive. However, Nichiren’s new sect was seen as an unorthodox doctrine, hostile to other forms of Buddhism and given to militant, intolerant attitudes and behavior. This was the first sect of Japanese origin, a new doctrine whose time had come among a people prepared for its distinctive claims.

Nichiren and his adherents held that truth and salvation were to be found only in the Lotus Sutra , and an important part of their ritual was the repeated utterance of the mystic words Namu myōhō renge kyō, meaning “homage to the wonderful law of the Lotus Sutra.” This new doctrine, like most new types of protestant Buddhism that emerged in medieval Japan, was characterized by a highly dogmatic form of teaching. It offered a message similar to the messages of some Western religions, placing much emphasis on the “last days” and stressing a preparation for the advent of a savior. During this dark period of Japanese history, Nichiren and others emphasized the idea of mappo, or the “end of the holy Buddhist law.” Some historians speculate that this idea emerged from the pessimism of a degenerate era of feudal Japan characterized by misery, epidemics, and internecine warfare. Others challenge this notion and call attention to the eastern provinces of Japan, where the warrior clans were characterized by a vigorous creative spirit and a mood of confidence.

Whatever the case, Nichiren emerged with a new apocalyptic creed. This idea of a savior is not a central theme in traditional Buddhism, but there is mention in early Buddhist texts of a savior, Maitreya Buddha, who was to come in the dark ages. The apocalyptic characteristics of his doctrine distinguish Nichiren’s brand of Buddhism from various popular religions that emerged during his era.

Nichiren declared that he was a reincarnated bodhisattva who had come forth specifically to preach a singular truth that the “latter day of the Buddhist law” was to give way to a new era of salvation. This promise of a new era was the cardinal feature of the Lotus sect. His birth and mission, Nichiren maintained, were clearly described in the twelfth and thirteenth chapters of the Hokke scripture.

The general spiritual aspects of Nichiren’s teachings are fairly close to traditional Buddhism. The sect’s uniqueness was its emphasis on the role of the Lotus Sutra as the means of spiritually unifying the world and establishing peace. Nichiren preached and wrote often about peace, although he himself was very quarrelsome in his manner. He once admitted that he was the most uncompromising man in Japan, and he used strong language to condemn other Buddhist leaders; his sermons and invective against them were marked by such epithets as “devil,” “liar,” and “fiend.”

Nichiren used the same strong language against the military government (bakufu) at Kamakura. His antagonism made him many enemies, and he was exiled for a time and subsequently released in 1263, only to return with renewed criticism of rival religions and government officials.

Nichiren’s mission must also be seen in the context of a special crisis that faced Japan a Mongol invasion. Nichiren distressed the high officers of the government by sharply criticizing their handling of the crisis and castigating them for lack of foresight and courage. The adherents of other Buddhist sects that he had attacked then plotted against him, and he was condemned for treason. Sentenced to death, Nichiren gained a stay of execution on the very site in which he was to be beheaded. The details of this incident are not clear, but Nichiren disciples interpret his evasion of death as a miracle.

In exile for three years on the island of Sado (1271-1274), Nichiren studied and meditated, perfected his doctrinal interpretation, and reached the conclusion that he was the savior about whom much had been said.

There were samurai warriors who admired Nichiren’s courage and facilitated his return to the capital in 1274, on the eve of the Mongol invasion. Government officials attempted to resolve their confrontation with this influential monk, but he was uncompromising. Until his death in Sochuji at Ikegami in 1282, he demanded that the government condemn all other sects as apostate, suppress their heresies, and unite Japan under the Hokke religion. Nichiren did have a more charitable side to his personality, apparent as he went among his poor followers. During his lifetime, however, the main body of his believers were the samurai warriors, attracted by his militant, crusading spirit.

Apart from his charismatic character, Nichiren was an eccentric scholar with a keen mind and a vigorous style, the author of religious treatises of great literary excellence. It is in this connection that Nichiren made an additional contribution, in the realm of Japanese national consciousness, that emerged only after his death. His influence here was probably even more significant than his founding of the religion that bears his name. Japan was the first nation in Asia, indeed the first non-Western nation, to experience the phenomenon of nationalism, and Nichiren contributed to this important development. This is best seen in his treatise Risshō ankoku ron (1260; On the Establishment of the Orthodox Teaching and the Peace of the Nation, 1980), which stressed the national crisis and maintained that only by espousing Nichiren Buddhism could the nation be saved.

His vision was actually broader than the country of Japan, for he claimed that his doctrine had universal validity, that his truths would emerge from Japan to be propagated throughout the world. He had visions of a universal Buddhist church, with a holy see located in Japan. This nationalistic aspect of religion was unique to Japan.

Nichiren left an indelible mark on the religious history of Japan. Indeed, while some religions have had a limited appeal and impact on the life of a nation, Nichiren’s religion has had a lasting appeal to the Japanese, many of whom have seen themselves as special and belonging to a nation that somehow has a mission in the world. No religion has done as much as Nichiren Buddhism to identify Buddhism with the national life of a country. Also, no other sect of Buddhism has been so characterized by an apocalyptic mysticism as that of Nichiren.

Following Nichiren’s death in 1282, the perpetuation of his particular brand of Buddhism was left in the hands of six disciples, and there was considerable sectarian conflict among rival factions that continued for centuries. The main headquarters of the dominant sect continued at Mount Minobu, with a rival branch of the religion located nearby. Fairly reliable reports indicate that, after World War II, the Nichiren sect numbered some 10 million adherents, with more than five thousand temples, while the rival sect numbered 300,000 adherents with two hundred temples.

Significance

Nichiren’s life was a series of crises, and his religion was a crisis-born, militant sect. It is generally seen as the culmination of a process of Japanization of the Buddhism introduced from China and Korea, and it bore the seeds of nationalism.

Nichiren’s brand of Buddhism is not to be dismissed as past history, for in the 1930’, there appeared a Buddhist renaissance inspired by the Nichiren sect. The movement was quickly eclipsed when it came into conflict with Japan’s military leaders on the eve of World War II. Following the war, however, the religion reemerged and produced a remarkable revival, becoming the most rapidly growing religion in Japan in the 1950’. The religion was again characterized by Nichiren’s deep-rooted doctrine and militant conviction. Soka Gakkai, as this revivalistic, intolerant religion was called, claimed to be the wave of the future for the Japanese people and the world. It gained millions of adherents, mainly among workers and less-educated people and, by 1955, had even influenced the political arena: Vigorous campaigns were waged to elect its representatives to the national assembly of Japan. This marriage between religion and politics harks back to Nichiren himself, who asserted that religion and national life were inseparable.

Bibliography

Anesaki, Masaharu. Nichiren: The Buddhist Prophet. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1916. This classic study on Nichiren was written by a recognized authority on Japanese history. Illustrated with maps.

Christensen, J. A. Nichiren: Leader of Buddhist Reformation in Japan. Fremont, Calif.: Jain, 2001. A look at the life of Nichiren, originally published in 1981 by the Buddhist Order of America.

Eliot, Charles N. E. Japanese Buddhism. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1959. A standard treatment of the Buddhist world from which Nichiren emerged.

Nichiren. Nichiren: Selected Writings. Translated by Laurel R. Rood. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1980. A selection of important primary writings by the prophet himself. Includes a lengthy bibliography and a helpful index.

Sansom, George B. Japan: A Short Cultural History. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1978. A standard work by a British scholar and diplomat that gives the historical context of Nichiren’s career.