Reaching Eagle Peak
Reaching Eagle Peak
Does chant the daimoku guarantee that a practitioner will reach Eagle Peak upon their death? If not, then what conditions must met according to Nichiren? What actions will definitely prevent this reunion with Lord Shakya?
Re: Reaching Eagle Peak
Reply to Mother of UenoThe late Shichirō Gorō did not take after other people in Japan today. Though still a youth, he followed in the footsteps of his sagacious father. And at an early age, having not yet turned twenty, he began chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and thus he became a Buddha. This is what the sutra means when it says, “Then not a one will fail to attain Buddhahood.” I hope that, if you, his loving mother, are thinking with longing about your son, you will chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and pray to be reborn in the same place as the late Shichirō Gorō and your husband, the late Nanjō...
To be guarded by the four heavenly kings and their retainers is a great honor. But with the protection of all the four heavenly kings, all the stars and constellations, all the deities of the sun and moon, all the Shakras and Brahmās, one can be completely confident. Moreover, all the persons of the two vehicles, all the bodhisattvas, Bodhisattva Maitreya in the inner court of the Tushita heaven, Bodhisattva Earth Repository on Mount Kharadīya, Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World’s Sounds on Mount Potalaka, and Bodhisattva Manjushrī on Mount Clear and Cool, each together with all their followers, will guard and protect the votaries of the Lotus Sutra, so one may indeed rest assured. And furthermore, Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions will come of their own accord and watch over one through all the hours of the day and night, which is an honor beyond the power of words to express.
It was this splendid sutra that the late Shichirō Gorō put his faith in and through which he attained Buddhahood. And today, on the forty-ninth day following his passing, all the Buddhas have surely gathered about him in the pure land of Eagle Peak, seating him on their palms, patting his head, embracing him, and rejoicing, welcoming him with affection as one would welcome a moon that has just risen, or blossoms that have just burst into bloom.
On Practicing the Buddha’s TeachingsLife flashes by in but a moment. No matter how many terrible enemies you may encounter, banish all fears and never think of backsliding. Even if someone were to cut off our heads with a saw, impale our bodies with lances, or shackle our feet and bore them through with a gimlet, as long as we are alive, we must keep chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Then, if we chant until the very moment of death, Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions will come to us instantly, exactly as they promised during the ceremony at Eagle Peak. Taking our hands and bearing us on their shoulders, they will carry us to Eagle Peak. The two sages, the two heavenly kings, and the ten demon daughters will guard us, while all the heavenly gods and benevolent deities will raise a canopy over our heads and unfurl banners on high. They will escort us under their protection to the treasure land of Tranquil Light. How can such joy possibly be described!
The Swords of Good and EvilIn the next life you should use this sword as your staff. The Lotus Sutra is the staff that helps all the Buddhas of the three existences as they set their minds on enlightenment. However, you should rely on Nichiren as your staff and pillar. When one uses a staff, one will not fall on treacherous mountain paths or rough roads, and when led by the hand, one will never stumble. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo will be your staff to take you safely over the mountains of death. The Buddhas Shakyamuni and Many Treasures, as well as the four bodhisattvas headed by Superior Practices, will lead you by the hand on your journey. If I, Nichiren, precede you in death, I will come to meet you at your last moment. If you should precede me, I will be sure to tell King Yama all about you. Everything that I tell you is true. According to the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren is the guide who knows the passes and gorges along the way. Devote yourself single-mindedly to faith with the aim of reaching Eagle Peak.
Service for Deceased AncestorsThose who have become the disciples and lay supporters of such a Nichiren—especially your deceased mother, Myōhō, the anniversary of whose death falls on the twelfth day of this month—are votaries of the Lotus Sutra and my lay supporters. How could she possibly have fallen into the world of hungry spirits? No doubt she is now in the presence of Shakyamuni Buddha, Many Treasures Buddha, and the Buddhas of the ten directions. Perhaps they are saying, “So this is the mother of Shijō Kingo!” and, with one accord, patting her on the head and praising her joyfully. And she is probably saying to Shakyamuni Buddha, “What a splendid son I have.”
The Lotus Sutra says: “If there are good men or good women who, on hearing the ‘Devadatta’ chapter of the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law, believe and revere it with pure hearts and harbor no doubts or perplexities, they will never fall into hell or the realm of hungry spirits or of beasts, but will be born in the presence of the Buddhas of the ten directions, and in the place where they are born they will constantly hear this sutra. If they are born among human or heavenly beings, they will enjoy exceedingly wonderful delights, and if they are born in the presence of a Buddha, they will be born by transformation8 from lotus flowers.” The phrase “good women” is found in this passage of the sutra. If it does not refer to the deceased, Myōhō, then to whom does it refer? The sutra also states, “This sutra is hard to uphold; if one can uphold it even for a short while I will surely rejoice and so will the other Buddhas. A person who can do this wins the admiration of the Buddhas.” My praise of your mother counts for little, but the sutra says that she “wins the admiration of the Buddhas.” Thinking, “How encouraging, how encouraging!” you should apply yourself earnestly to faith. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
The Good Medicine for All IllsIn his present life, the lay priest does not appear to have had particularly strong faith in the Lotus Sutra. But due to the workings of his karma from the past, he has sunk into this long illness and now seeks the way day and night without cease. Any minor offenses he committed in this lifetime have probably already been eradicated, and the great evil of slander will also be extinguished because he has taken faith in the Lotus Sutra. If he were to go right now to Eagle Peak, he would be as delighted as if the sun had come out and he were able to see in all ten directions. He would rejoice, wondering how an early death could be so happy a thing. No matter what may happen on the road between this life and the next, he should declare himself to be a disciple of Nichiren. Although Japan is a tiny country, if one but announces that one is a vassal of the lord of Sagami, people will unaccountably fear one. I am the most unreasonable priest in Japan, but with regard to believing in the Lotus Sutra, I am the foremost sage in Jambudvīpa. My name resounds throughout the pure lands of the ten directions, and heaven and earth no doubt know it. If your husband declares that he is Nichiren’s disciple, I do not think that evil demons of any kind can claim ignorance of my name.
Letter to the Lay Priest NakaokiNow you two are the late lay priest Jirō’s son and daughter-in-law. It is perhaps because you are the son and daughter-in-law of so profoundly wise a man that, following in his footsteps, you not only believe in the Lotus Sutra, which the ruler of the country himself rejects, but also provide for the votary of the Lotus Sutra, each year bringing me offerings and traveling a thousand ri to see me. Moreover, on the thirteenth anniversary of the death of your infant daughter, you erected a sixteen-foot wooden grave tablet with the seven characters Nam-myoho-renge-kyo inscribed on it. When the north wind blows, it is said, fish in the southern sea who are touched by it will be released from their sufferings; and when the wind comes from the east, birds and deer in the western mountains who come in contact with it will escape from the realm of animals and be born in the inner court of the Tushita heaven. How much greater still will be the blessings of those human beings who rejoice at this tablet, touch it with their hands, or gaze upon it with their eyes! I believe that, because of the benefit derived from your erecting this wooden tablet, your deceased parents must be illuminating the path to the pure land as brilliantly as would the sun and moon in the heavens. Furthermore, you yourselves, their filial son and his wife, as well as your children, will live to be 120 in this existence, and after death you will be with your parents in the pure land of Eagle Peak. You should consider this to be as certain as the fact that the moon is reflected in clear water, or that a drum produces a sound when struck. Should you erect any wooden tablets in the future, be sure to have the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra inscribed on them as well.
Reply to the Wife of NanjōThe one who was ailing had correct faith at the time of death. Without doubt she has gone to the pure land of Eagle Peak. There can be no doubt about it.
The Large Carriage Drawn by a White OxIn the second volume of the Lotus Sutra we read of how one is “[to join the bodhisattvas and the multitude of voice-hearers] in mounting this jeweled vehicle and proceeding directly to the place of practice.”
On the twenty-eighth day of the fourth month in the fifth year of Kenchō [1253] I, Nichiren, for the first time clearly described the lineage of this large carriage drawn by a white ox, the one vehicle of the Lotus Sutra.
The teachers of the other schools of Buddhism gathered around like clouds and mist. And those of the True Word, Pure Land, and Zen schools rose up like hornets to attack me. I contended with them, describing the horns of this white ox that draws the jeweled carriage, which is foremost among all. These two horns are the doctrines set forth in the theoretical teaching and the essential teaching—the attainment of Buddhahood by persons of the two vehicles, and the attainment of Buddhahood in the remote past...
Again, this carriage I have been describing has the two doctrines, the theoretical teaching and the essential teaching, as its wheels, and it is hitched to the ox of Myoho-renge-kyo. It is a carriage that goes round and round in the cycle of birth and death, birth and death, in the burning house that is the threefold world. But with the linchpin of a believing mind [to keep the wheels in place] and the oil of determination applied to them, it can carry one to the pure land of Eagle Peak.
Or again, we might say that the mind king acts as the ox, while birth and death are like the wheels. The Great Teacher Dengyō states, “The two phases of life and death are the wonderful workings of one mind. The two ways of existence and nonexistence are the true functions of an inherently enlightened mind.” And T’ien-t’ai says, “The ten factors are [the true aspect of the Lotus and also the reality of the carriage drawn by a white ox] . . . the ultimate realm is the true aspect of life.”
You should think these passages of commentary over very carefully. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
Re: Reaching Eagle Peak
It is Gṛdhrakūṭaparvata, Vulture Head Mountain, not Eagle Peak. Kūṭa literally means "heap," but in this case, it is a simile for head. Gṛdhra means vulture, as well as greedy, probably in reference to the way vultures compete for food, leading to the Sanskrit metaphor, gṛdhrāṇa, "greedy as a vulture."The Cicada wrote: ↑Sun Dec 23, 2018 3:08 am Does chant the daimoku guarantee that a practitioner will reach Eagle Peak upon their death? If not, then what conditions must met according to Nichiren? What actions will definitely prevent this reunion with Lord Shakya?
Re: Reaching Eagle Peak
I sure envy your command of the goshos Q... is all that off the top of your head? Its a laborious google exercise for me...
Re: Reaching Eagle Peak
LOL. Nah. I've read a lot of these letters over the years, but only vaguely recall where to look. Key word search on Nichiren Library. There's actually one letter where Nichiren talks about being greeted by countless Buddhas at the moment of death, but my keyword search didn't locate it.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
Re: Reaching Eagle Peak
Yes, I don't know why Soka Gakkai translates it as Eagle Peak. I suppose there's something about eagles as opposed to vultures that in the judgment of the translators might be more agreeable. Then again, eagles hunt and kill their prey while vultures only take what's already dead. Carrion feasts get a bad rap, I suppose, but karmically speaking, blameless in contrast to killing for food.Malcolm wrote: ↑Sun Dec 23, 2018 5:25 pmIt is Gṛdhrakūṭaparvata, Vulture Head Mountain, not Eagle Peak. Kūṭa literally means "heap," but in this case, it is a simile for head. Gṛdhra means vulture, as well as greedy, probably in reference to the way vultures compete for food, leading to the Sanskrit metaphor, gṛdhrāṇa, "greedy as a vulture."The Cicada wrote: ↑Sun Dec 23, 2018 3:08 am Does chant the daimoku guarantee that a practitioner will reach Eagle Peak upon their death? If not, then what conditions must met according to Nichiren? What actions will definitely prevent this reunion with Lord Shakya?
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
Re: Reaching Eagle Peak
It's translated as "Eagle Peak" in the Chinese. Must have sounded cooler to non-Indians.
Re: Reaching Eagle Peak
Well, my understanding was that, so long as one keeps faith in the Lotus Sutra, one return to meet the Buddha when one dies. There's also mention of "The Land of Tranquil Light" in the SGI translated gosho that I've read. Regardless, it seems that it's a bit like the Nembutsu in that, if you chant and have faith, that's where you'll go.
Re: Reaching Eagle Peak
Probably not.
Re: Reaching Eagle Peak
Re: Reaching Eagle Peak
Its rendered as 靈鷲山The Cicada wrote: ↑Sun Dec 23, 2018 9:59 pm It's translated as "Eagle Peak" in the Chinese. Must have sounded cooler to non-Indians.
As best I can figure it - its "departed soul eagle mountain"
I suppose one can see some poetic interpretation... an eagle associated with the dead... the leap from there to vulture is not impossible.
In any event, the rendering as "Eagle Peak" into English, especially when we have access to the Sanskrit and Pali sources is misleading and may cause confusion.
Incidentally, I recently picked up the recent translation of the Dazhitulun, commentary on the Prajnaparamita Sutra attributed to Nagarjuna, and I'm at a section discussing the meaning of Grdhrakuta - rendered in Chinese as 鷲頭山 or Vulture/Eagle Head Mountain - a slightly different rendering. It discusses a. the peak resembling a vulture and a charnel ground south of Rajagrha that attracted vultures from Grdhrakuta. East Asian Buddhists would be familiar with this text.
Just playing around with google translate - it appears the character 鷲 still carries the meaning "vulture" in Chinese, but carries the meaning of "eagle" in Japan.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
Re: Reaching Eagle Peak
... You been holdin' out...
Re: Reaching Eagle Peak
Different bird. That would be 鹰 and not 鷲.The Cicada wrote: ↑Sun Dec 23, 2018 9:59 pm It's translated as "Eagle Peak" in the Chinese. Must have sounded cooler to non-Indians.