28. This refers to the two of the five groups into which people are by nature divided according to the Dharma Characteristics school. People in these two groups can eventually attain the state of arhat and that of pratyekabuddha, respectively.
29. This refers to non-Buddhists who held fast to the view of void, denying the causal law, and, according to the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings of Buddhism, could not attain Buddhahood.
30. Sudaya was a Brahman master who taught Devadatta occult powers, according to the Increasing by One Agama Sutra.
31. Here, austerities established and practiced by Devadatta. According to The Great Commentary on the Abhidharma, they were: (1) wearing only clothing discarded by others after washing and mending it; (2) obtaining food only by begging; (3) eating only once a day; (4) always seating oneself outside under a tree; and (5) never eating salt or other food possessing the five tastes.
32. A mountain whose summit resembled an elephant’s head, located about 1.5 km southwest of Gaya in Magadha. In China it was translated as the Elephant-Headed Mountain.
33. The circle formed first when a world takes shape and living beings appear in it in the kalpa of formation. According to The Dharma Analysis Treasury, the power of the karma of living beings first causes a small wind to arise in space. This wind grows and forms the windy circle thought to lie at the base of a world. Upon this circle a watery circle and then a gold circle take shape, and upon them the land itself is formed, with its Mount Sumeru, seas, and mountains.
34. The two divisions of the threefold world, the realm where unenlightened beings transmigrate within the six paths. Beings in the world of form have material form but are free from desires, and those in the world of formlessness are free from both desire and the restrictions of matter.
35. Mo Hsi of the Hsia dynasty, Ta Chi of the Yin dynasty, and Pao Ssu of the Chou dynasty. All were favorites of the
ruler and helped bring about the downfall of the state.
36. This statement is not found in the extant Chinese versions of the Flower Garland Sutra. However, A Collection of Treasures written by Taira no Yasuyori during the Jisho era (1177–1181) cites it as a quotation from the Flower Garland Sutra.
37. A legendary river in the continent of Aparagodaniya located to the west of Mount Sumeru.
38. The Daishonin elsewhere teaches that faith in the Lotus Sutra will enable anyone, man or woman, to attain Buddhahood in one’s present form as an ordinary mortal. However, because the recipient of this letter was still strongly attached to the views of the Pure Land school, the Daishonin explained his teaching in a way that she could readily understand.
39. A figure described in a Chinese legend. When he saw a yellow crane being sold on the road, he felt pity for it, offered his clothes in exchange for it, and set it free. When he died, the crane flew down to his grave and continued calling his name for three years. As a result, he came back to life.
40. A hawk-like bird with poisonous feathers that appears in Chinese works.
41. Great Concentration and Insight.
42. On “Great Concentration and Insight.”
43. T’ien-t’ai is said to have been the reincarnation of Bodhisattva Medicine King, who was present at the assembly on Eagle Peak, because he attained an awakening through the “Medicine King” chapter of the Lotus Sutra.
44. The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra.
45. In the early ninth century, Dengyo went to China and learned the T’ien-t’ai teachings. After returning to Japan, he established the Tendai (Chin T’ien-t’ai) school and devoted himself to upholding T’ien-t’ai Buddhism. It is said that Tao-sui, one of Dengyo’s masters in China, identified him as the reincarnation of T’ien-t’ai, referring to T’ien-t’ai’s prediction.
46. Lotus Sutra, chap. 12.
