drunk, reveals his evil side and causes trouble. Prior to the preaching of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha taught that those who gave alms to Mahakashyapa, Shariputra, Maudgalyayana, [and Subhuti] would fall into the three evil paths. He said that the minds of these voice-hearers were inferior to those of dogs or foxes. These four great voice- hearers adamantly upheld the two hundred and fifty precepts, and their observance of the three thousand rules of conduct was as perfect as the full moon on the fifteenth night. Nevertheless, until they embraced the Lotus Sutra, they were bitterly criticized by the Buddha. How much more would this be so in the case of the priests today who are inferior to them!
So flagrantly do the priests of Kenchoji and Engaku-ji temples7 break the code of ceremonies and the precepts, that they seem like a mountain that has collapsed into rubble. Their wanton behavior is like that of monkeys. It is utterly futile to look for salvation in the next life by giving alms to such priests. The benevolent gods who lend their protection have no doubt abandoned our land. Long ago the heavenly gods and benevolent deities, bodhisattvas and voice-hearers pledged in a single voice in the presence of Shakyamuni Buddha that, if a land hostile to the Lotus Sutra should exist, they would appear in the form of frost and hail in the sixth month to drive the land into famine; or turn into insects and devour the five kinds of grain;8 or cause droughts or floods to ruin the fields and farms; or become gales and sweep the people to their deaths; or transform themselves into demons and cause suffering for the people. Great Bodhisattva Hachiman was among those present. Does he not fear breaking the oath made at Eagle Peak? Should he break his promise, he would surely be doomed to the hell of incessant suffering— a fearful, ter
rible thing to contemplate. Until the envoy of the Buddha actually appeared in the world to propagate the Lotus Sutra, the rulers of the land were not hostile to it, for they revered all the sutras equally.
Now that I am spreading the Lotus Sutra as the Buddha’s envoy, however, everyone from the ruler on down to the common people has become a slanderer of the correct teaching. So far Hachiman has done everything possible to prevent hostility toward the Lotus Sutra from developing among the people of this country, as reluctant to abandon them as parents would be to abandon an only child, even if it were unfilial. But now in fear of breaking the pledge he made at Eagle Peak, he has burned down his shrine and ascended to heaven. Even so, should there be a votary of the Lotus Sutra who would give his body and life for it, Hachiman would dwell upon his head. But since both the Sun Goddess and Great Bodhisattva Hachiman have gone, how could the other gods remain in their shrines? Even if they did not wish to leave, how could they stay another day if I reproached them for not keeping the promise they made at Eagle Peak? A person may be a thief, but as long as no one knows, he can live wherever he wishes. But when denounced as a thief by someone who knows him, he is forced to leave his dwelling against his will. In the same way, because I know of their vow, the gods are compelled to abandon their shrines. Contrary to popular belief, this country has become inhabited by evil demons. How pitiful!
Many have spread the various teachings put forth by the Buddha in his lifetime, but until now, no one, not even T’ien-t’ai or Dengyo, has taught the most important of all.9 That is as it should be, for that teaching spreads with the advent of Bodhisattva Superior Practices during the first five
