THE HON-IN-MYOU DAIHONZON

Also known as the Mannen Kugo Daihonzon

      

 

A.           Namu Myou Hou Ren Ge Kyou    南無妙法蓮華經

B.           Aizen Myou Ou    愛染明王

C.           Fudo Myou Ou    不動明王

 

1.            Namu Shaku Ke Muni Butsu    南無釋迦牟尼佛

2.            Namu Tahou Nyorai    南無多宝如来

3.            Namu Jyuu Hou Bun Shin Sho Butsu    南無十方分身諸佛

4.            Namu Jyou Gyou Busachi    南無淨行普薩

5.            Namu An Ryuu Gyou Busachi    南無安立行普薩

6.            Namu Zentoku Butsu    南無善德佛

7.            Namu Jou Gyou Busachi    南無上行普薩

8.            Namu Mu Hen Gyou Busachi   南無無邊行普薩

9.            Namu Ka Sho Sonja    南無迦葉尊者

10.       Namu Shari Hochi Sonja    南無舍利弗尊者

11.        Namu Tensho Hachiman Tou Sho Butsu   南無天照八幡等諸佛

12.        Namu Monju Shiri Busachi    南無文殊師利普薩

13.        Namu Fugen Busachi    南無普賢普薩

14.        Namu Miroku Busachi    南無弥勒普薩

15.        Namu Yaku Ou Busachi    南無藥王普薩

16.        Namu Dai Bon Ten Ou    南無大梵天王

17.        Namu Nichi Gatsu Ten Tou    南無日月天等

18.        Namu Ten Tai Shaku    南無天帝釈

19.        Namu Dengyou Daishi    南無傳教大師

20.       Namu Tendai Daishi    南無天台大師

 

 

D.     Inscribed in the midst of the mountains in the Village of Hakii, in the State of Kai, on that day in the twelfth month of the eleventh year of Bun’ei with the cyclical signs kinoe-inu.

 

文永十一年 太才甲戌 十二月 日, 甲斐國波木井鄉於 山中圖之.

 

E.     Nichiren    日蓮

 

F.          Following the Greatly Awakened World Honored One’s entry into extinction, more than two thousand two hundred and twenty years have passed. Even so, within the three countries: Yuezhi, China and Japan, this Daihonzon had yet to exist. Either It is known but not propagated, or It is not known at all.  I, the compassionate Father, exercising the Hotoke wisdom, hide and leave This for the future age of degeneration. At that time during the latter five hundred years, Bodhisattva Jogyo makes His appearance in the world, and for the first time, widely propagates This.

 

大覚世尊御入滅後經歷二千二百二十余年. 雖尔月漢日三ケ国之间未有此大本尊. 或知不弘之. 或不知之. 我 慈父 以佛智 隱留之, 爲末代殘之. 後五百歲之時, 上行普蕯出現於世 始宣弘之.

 

G.         Nichiren Daishounin’s signature　日蓮花押

 

Explanatory notes:

 

1.            That day: On Dec 15, 1274, Nichiren Daishounin wrote a letter titled “Ken Rissho-I-sho” 顕立正意抄 (The Realization of the Intent of the ‘Establishment of the Correct Teaching’). “Establishment of the Correct Teaching” is of course the Rissho Ankoku-ron, a treatise He wrote in 1260. In the Rissho, He mentioned seven disasters, of which only two, the “calamity of invasion from foreign lands” and the “calamity of mutiny within one’s own domain,” have yet to occur. Then in 1273, He wrote the Kanjin Honzon-sho, mentioning the mutiny of Hojo Tokisuke (1272), and reminding of one last prediction to come: foreign invasion. The Kanjin Honzon-sho reads:

 

“To interprete [the words of Dengyo], "fight and struggle" point to two problems [facing the country]; the current mutiny within our domain, and the impending [Mongol] invasion from the western seas. They indicate the time when the Supreme Honzon of the world will be established in this land; showing the Venerable Shakya of the quintessential teaching flanked by [Bodhisattvas] who emerged from a thousand domains on this earth. A Honzon such as this never existed in Yuezhi and China.”

 

That day, having heard enough to know that Mongol forces had landed at Hakata Bay, on the main Japanese island, Nichiren Daishounin decided it was time to inscribe the Supreme Honzon. The words “Rissho” (立正) contain the characters “establish” (Ritsu 立) and “correct” (Sho 正). At the time of the Rissho Ankoku-ron, the word “correct” was used to represent the “Supreme Honzon.” Rissho actually means ‘to establish the Supreme Honzon.’ That was the intent. The Kanjin Honzon-sho clarified the “Intent of the Rissho” (Rissho-I 立正意) as the establishment of the Supreme Honzon, subject to the fulfillment of the final prediction in the Rissho. The Ken Rissho-I (顕立正意) or “Realization of the Intent of the Rissho” points to the actual establishment of the Supreme Honzon.

 

2.            Bun’ei: The eleventh year of Bun’ei = 1274

 

3.            Kinoe-inu: The cyclical signs Kinoe-inu (甲戌) marks 1274 as the year of the dog.

 

4.            The three countries: In the Kanjin Honzon-sho, they are written as Gasshi (月支), Kando (漢土) and Nihon (日本). On the Daihonzon, these are abbreviated into Gatsu (月), Kan (漢) and Nichi (日); representing Yuezhi, China and Japan respectively.

 

5.            Yuezhi (月支): is also written as (月氏). Either way, they refer to a people who originally lived in the area between the Tian Shan Mountains and Dunhuang. Around the second century BCE, due to constant harassment by the Huns, they migrated en masse and finally settled in Bactria (Afghanistan). There they consolidated themselves and became known as Kushans (貴霜). By mentioning Yuezhi (Gasshi) instead of India (Tenjiku), Nichiren Daishounin takes as His standpoint the Buddhism that originated with the Yuezhi, ie. the Mahayana.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuezhi

 

6.            Daihonzon: The object of veneration being studied here is the only one that Nichiren Daishounin gave this name: “Daihonzon.” It means “Great Object of Veneration.” Others were called “Mandara” or “Dai-mandara.”

 

7.            I: The character “Ga” (我) represents the Japanese words: “ware” (我れ) and “waga” (我が). “Ware” is the first-person pronoun translated as “I.” “Waga” is the possesive pronoun equivalent to “my” or “our” in the English language. Nichiren Daishounin is saying this Daihonzon never existed before His time. Now, in His capacity as the Compassionate Father, He inscribes It, then leaves It for Bodhisattva Jogyo to propagate. Therefore, in this instance, the proper reading is “Ware Jibu” (我れ慈父), which means Nichiren Daishounin said, “I am the Compassionate Father” because I inscribed this never before existing Daihonzon. The rest of us say “Waga Jibu” (我が慈父) to mean Nichiren Daishounin is “our Compassionate Father.”

 

8.            Hotoke wisdom (佛智): refers to the wisdom of the Compassionate Father. The 16th chapter of the Lotus Sutra states, “Ze ko ro yaku, kon ru zai shi” (是好良薬今留在此). It means, “This excellent medicine, I now leave It here.” ‘Leaving It here’ means to retain this Supreme Honzon in the world. Now, Nichiren Daishounin exercised His wisdom as the Compassionate Father by placing this Supreme Honzon (ie. The Hon-in-myou Daihonzon) in the care of Onodera Renzobo Nichimoku Shounin, upon whom He bestowed the title “Renzobo” (蓮蔵坊) at Ikegami on Oct 11, 1282. “Ren” (蓮) represents the Supreme Honzon which retained the enlightened Life of Nichiren (日蓮) in this world. “Zo” (蔵) means storehouse. Therefore, “Renzobo” is the hereditary title of the Onodera lineage that kept the Hon-in-myou Daihonzon (ie. The enlightened Life of Nichiren Daishounin), until the advent of Bodhisattva Jogyo (ie. The Messenger) in the latter 500 years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mar 7, 2005 (Updated Aug 12, 2007) © Fujimon