Nichiren’s Philosophy of Peace

Masahiro Kobayashi

CURRENTLY, the religion which has the most adherents in Japan isa form of Buddhism espoused by Nichiren, a priest of the thirteenthcentury. The reason why his teachings are so popular is because his wayof life offers courage and hope and has a strong humanistic appeal.
Nichiren’s claims were often taken as criticism of the state’s religious
and governing policies, and the established Buddhist schools were highly critical of him. For this reason, his life was one of continuous persecution. He was personally attacked four times, exiled twice, and once hehad a narrow escape from death execution. However, with hisindomitable life-force and ironclad determination to overcome any difficulty, no matter what the situation, he succeeded in overcoming all
obstacles, and his amazing ability in this regard broadened his appeal.
Dr. Srinivas lauds Nichiren in the following poem:
Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism
Is today blazing as World Religion
This Universalism
Is the offshootOf belief in individual,
Cultural traditions of all countries
And dedicated work to humanityTo gain Peace and Prosperity

Today, Nichiren Buddhism has spread to 190 countries and regions
around the world through the efforts of Soka Gakkai International. TheSGI president, Daisaku Ikeda, has endeavored to hold dialogues withleading world figures for the realization of peace, including many whodeveloped great respect for the SGI organization as a world religion. I
was greatly moved by Dr. Srinivas’ deep insight and understanding of
Nichiren Buddhism as shown in the poem above, and freshly re-determined to continue my efforts to convey Nichiren’s philosophy to others.
I was encouraged and touched to hear such high praise by a leading
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cultural figure of India, and as so I offer my sincerest gratitude to Dr.
Srinivas.
Nichiren’s appearance on the stage of history can be credited to his
submitting of a treatise entitled “On Establishing the Correct Teachingfor the Peace of the Land” to the top leader of the nation at the time. In
this work, he warned of the coming perils facing Japan, he also indicated what would be needed to actualize a world of peace. In 1260, Japan
had just entered its medievel age, ruled by a feudal government, andNichiren was 38 years old. Incidentally, Gandhi was also 38 years oldwhen he started the satyagraha movement in South Africa.
In the beginning of the treatise, Nichiren writes using a style evocative of classical Chinese poetry:...there have been unusual disturbances in the heavens, strange occurrences on earth, famine and pestilence, all affecting every corner of theempire and spreading throughout the land. Oxen and horses lie dead in
the streets, and the bones of the stricken crowd the highways. Over half
the population has already been carried off by death, and there is hardly
a single person who does not grieve. (WND, p. 6)

In the original manuscript, this section is composed of ten lines of four
Chinese characters each, making for rhythmical reading. This is theproduct of many revisions and is an example of Nichiren’s poetic ability.
However, the content of this poem is neither sentimental nor emotional,
nor is it merely a superficial expression of Nichiren’s sympathy. Instead
it describes in most vivid terms the sad state of affairs that existed at thattime, reflecting the true suffering of the common people.
Nichiren witnessed this hellish scene in the capital city, Kamakura,with his own eyes. The cause of all this suffering was not war, but natural disaster. Earthquakes, heavy winds, and rains brought about destruction, but then the secondary effects such as epidemics, hunger, and fires
struck the common people even harder, interrupting and halting normal
everyday life.
When the life of the common person was in danger—for example,
when he saw corpses lying in the streets of Kamakura—Nichiren acutely felt the preciousness of life. He once stated, “Life is the foremost of
all treasures” (WND, p. 1125). Staking his own life to protect the livesof the people, he wrote “On Establishing the Correct Teaching” as aquery to the governmental authorities of a state that disregarded its mostfundamental component—the people.
The content of this treatise unfolds as a dialogue between an imagi-

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nary host and his guest, in ten questions and nine answers. It begins withthe lament of the guest of the current state of affairs and ends with theguest firmly resolving to do what he can to change the situation. The
lament of the guest is also the lament of the host. The host offers, “I
have been brooding alone upon this matter, indignant in my heart, but
now that you have come, we can lament together” (WND, p. 7), and theguest replies, “I am not the only one pained by them; the whole populace is weighed down with sorrow” (WND, p. 7). It is clear that theguest and the host both share similar views regarding the current condition. Even if the social standing between the most powerful leader of thenation and a nameless priest is different, or even if two people hold differing views concerning religion, if their wish for peace remains intact
then a basis for dialogue can be established. The fact that Nichiren uses
the format of a dialogue between a Buddhist and a political leader topresent his case, shows his understanding of the power of dialogue as ameans to affect change, and the starting point for this treatise is a discussion about peace and how to achieve it.
The reason why Nichiren’s arguments are so compelling is because of
his focus on the people. He appeals to the leaders of the nation to prioritize stabilizing the life of the commoner. He aptly demonstrates through“On Establishing the Correct Teaching” that, no matter what scale aproblem may lie, whether it be a social, a national or even a global issue,
the common goal of peace for the common person is a universal basis
for opening lines of communication and understanding.
In this treatise Nichiren also predicts the occurrence of internal andexternal strife, and he warns of troubles to come. He bases his claims on
his analysis of the Buddhist scriptures, which he pored over meticulously, categorizing tragedies into those that had already occurred and those
yet to come. The two calamities still remaining were of military nature.
Having a war on top of the natural disasters that already plagued thecountry, he realized, would undoubtedly be a source of massive casualties to the powerless citizenry, leading soon thereafter to the downfall of
the nation. This warning to the leaders of the country can be taken as
Nichiren’s unequivocal stance against war.
The classical Chinese-style poem at the beginning of Nichiren’s treatise is the lament of the guest, who was clearly intended to be Hojo
Tokiyori, the leader of Japan at the time. This is an eloquent expressionof Nichiren’s belief that the mission and responsibility of peace lies withthe people in power.
Given the preceding remarks, at this point I would like to explore
Nichiren’s ideal of a political leader, drawing from his extensive writ-152NICHIREN’S PHILOSOPHY OF PEACE

ings. There are two main aspects that he seeks in the ideal leader: (1) tobe a moral person of fine character and (2) to keep the people as thehighest priority.
To break down the first of these two qualities into more specific components:
Not to lie; to have virtue; to be resistant to being slandered; to listen toboth sides of an argument; to never succumb to corruption, even at theexpense of one’s life.

To further break down the second quality into more specific components:To help more people than your subordinates do; to know the sufferingsof the people; examine the fact of the matter; become the hands and feetof the people (work for the sake of the people).

Of course, there was a contemporary historical context for all of theindividual examples given above, and we need to take these backgroundissues and nuances into consideration. Here, though, I would like tolimit myself to introducing the various angles taken up by Nichiren in
his construction of the ideal leader.
His writings reflect his lifelong interest in politics, and this interest
becomes a unique feature of Nichiren himself. Actions and policies of
the government directly affect people’s lives, and the people’s happinesshangs in the balance. Nichiren states, “if one leader of the people misrules, the people are sure to suffer for it,” indicating his recognition of
the power government leaders have. The reason he kept such a vigilant
eye on political currents was so that he would know what kind of circumstances the people would be facing as a result of decisions made by
the government.
When comparing politics with religion, politics functions to remove
the external barriers to people’s happiness, whereas it is the mission ofreligion to provide the means to remove the internal barriers. Removing
internal barriers involves honest self-evaluation, and with religion a way
to establish peace within oneself can be found. However, as for removing external barriers to happiness, people are often at the mercy of theleaders in charge. Especially in cases where people are suffering from anatural disaster, for example, the main priority would be to provide
basic necessities for daily living. Even in this one respect, the responsibility of government is very large indeed, and it is because of the magni-

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tude of the influence of government that Nichiren speaks out so often.
He believed that the shared goal of religion and politics was peace andthat, on this point, there should be total agreement between the two.
Looking at the history of Japan and her many wars, Nichiren comments with sorrow and emphasizes the despair that armed conflictbrings. His view of looking at armed conflict from the perspective of
those who lost their lives and of those who lost the war is an identifying
characteristic of his thoughts on war. Regarding Japan’s battle with oneof the most powerful military forces of the time, the Mongolian Empire,
he writes,
As a result, the Mongols were able to attack the commoners, killing or
taking prisoners among the men, and herding the women together andpassing ropes through holes in their hands to tie them to their ships or
taking them prisoner. Not a single person escaped. (WND, p. 530)

In another writing, he viewed the invading Mongols as sages fromneighboring lands, describing them as Brahma and Shakra when viewed
from a Buddhist perspective. And in yet another text, he comments thatthe Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and the benevolent deities entered the body of
the Mongolian emperor to punish the leaders of Japan.
Nichiren, in contrast to the leaders of Japan, did not view the comingof the Mongols from a political standpoint, so he did not talk of the conflict in terms of winners or losers, attackers or defenders, invader and theinvaded. Instead, he focused on the tragedy that occurs on the level ofthe common people. His view always put the common person first.
It is also noteworthy that Nichiren himself never took to carryingarms or used weapons of any kind.
A disciple of Nichiren who was a warrior once sent a sword toNichiren. In response Nichiren remarked, “While you wore it at yourside, it was an evil sword, but now that it has been offered to the Buddha, it has become a sword for good” (WND, p. 451). Since weapons
are tools for the taking of life, he regarded them as evil.
As a matter of course, Nichiren never wore a sword after being
ordained a priest. His weapon of choice was not a sword, but the Lotus
Sutra. “Employ the strategy of the Lotus Sutra before any other … The
heart of strategy and swordsmanship derives from the Mystic Law. Have
profound faith. A coward cannot have any of his prayers answered”(WND, p. 1001). With the eloquence of a determined Buddhist, he statesthat no weapon is greater than courageous faith.
In actuality, Nichiren was a votary that is,a dedicated practitioner, of

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the Lotus Sutra and carried out his practice of its teaching with own life,
overcoming numerous severe persecutions during his religious ministry.
He reinterpreted the spirit of the Lotus Sutra, which is based on saving
the common people, into principles to live by, and became a fighter forthe peace of humankind.
I cannot help but to be deeply convinced that Nichiren’s philosophyof fighting for peace is invaluable not only for Japan, but also for theentire modern world.
ReferencesWND refers to The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, volume 1, published by Soka
Gakkai, 1999.
Watson refers to The Lotus Sutra, translated by Burton Watson, published by Columbia University Press, 1993.