The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1910-07-21
of the anniversary of his death, which

of the anniversary of his death, which
took place 1882 at this spot
Nichiren was born at Eliminate on
the Bay of Yedo in 1922. When II
years old he became an acolyte of the
Shingon sect and at - a priest He
quickly. however. became discomfort
ed with the teachings of that body.
and had various miraculous revela-
tons 1t was at this time that he
adopted the name of Nichiren. by
which he is called now, which has
reference to his miraculous birth
Like so many other saints and deities
in all religions. his was an immaculate
conception. In a dream his mother
saw the sun resting upon lotus
flower. with the result that Nichiren
was born His life is full of miracles
He did not need to study the canon
of sacred scripture. but received it al
a moment of revelation. He composed
a formula of four words-Namu, myo
no, renge. kyo-the repetition of which
is the essence of his worship and the
chief religious act of his sect. He was
eternally getting into trouble with
rulers in his lifetime. and always es
Gaping from their efforts to destroy
him. Thus. on one occasion he was
sentenced to execution. but the knife
of the eXecutioner had no effect upon
him. His greatest temple is at Mino
bu. where he spent a considerable por
ton OF his life. The one at Ikegami Is
perhaps the second in Importance OF
the sect, which is large one In its
membership. Zeal and intolerance
were the essence of Nichiren's char
acter. and zeal and intolerance form
the marked characteristics of his fol
lowers to the present day. Nichiren
was the very democrat of Buddhism.
He not only taught the worship of the
great Gautama, and other worship
common to Buddhists. but extended
divinity to all the world. According
to his teachings. not only man. but
animals. plants, and mud itself are
capable of attaining to Buddhahood
After plodding and splashing for a
mile and three-quarters through q
liquid mud that would do credit to St
Louis, one can but feel grateful at his
discovery.
Two days later with better weather
we visited lkegami once again. this
time TO secure some pictures. 1t is
almost a typical Buddhist temple
After mounting the great stairway one
passes under the heavy. deliberately
, decorated gateway of red painted
wood. guarded by the two great Mic
| figures. into the temple courtyard Be.
| fore us to the left is the main temple
| dedicated to Buddha himself, and
known for that reason as the Shaka
shrine. To the right is the founders
High up behind the great TEN
! pie are the priests quarters. The
old ones were destroyed by fire
some years ago. but new ones
have been, and are being, constructed
BY chance we were taken through
them. and the rooms were SO large
| and lofty. SO clean and beautiful, as to
arouse our envy, and make us wish
that we, too. were Buddhist priests
entitled to occupy them. At the last
one to which we were taken a delight
full surprise came to us. We looked
the garden of the monastery. Its
beauty lies largely in the fact that II
is to a great degree unartifcial. A
natural basin has been utilized, the
further border of which rises in love.
ly pine-covered ridge as background
Within this natural basin is a pretty
pond, a little stream of water and
rock work partly artificial. planted
with splendid shrubs and trees A
scene of perfect peace and tranquility,
What a contrast between the two
aspects of our little street, Two
days ago the din and hustle and con
fusion; today. the calm AMI peace and
loneliness. Yet as We pass again be.
tween tie double line of little shops
and booths, now listless and deserted
we now and then come upon a bit OF
promise for the future. Groups OF
small boys. almost toddlers, are out
upon the streets with toy banners and
illuminated miniature lanterns and
small drums and tin cans on which
they beat. the while muttering
Manu-, myoho, renge, kyo." They are
playing. but it is training for future
/ celebrations of the Festival of Ter
Hundred Thousand Lanterns" and in
these little fellows of four or five
years old, We see signs of the same
vigorous earnestness shown b. the
groups of pilgrims of the other night
1t is this same vigor and force and
earnestness. the same devotion and
blind enthusiasm. which hurled the
hands of Japanese soldiers up the
slopes at Port Arthur.
The sect of Nlchiren is militant and
warlike.
Copyright. 1910. by W. G. Chapman)