153. Yadoya Mitsunori (n.d.) was an official of the Kamakura government. He is said to have been one of the seven individuals permitted access to the lay priest of Saimyo-ji, Hojo Tokiyori, when the latter was on his deathbed.
154. Here the Daishonin purposely mentions the burning of temples and the execution of priests in order to impress Hei no Saemon with the gravity of the offense of slandering the correct teaching. In On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land, however, the Daishonin explains the meaning of the Nirvana Sutra that describes the killing of slanderous monks. He says, “According to the Buddhist teachings, prior to Shakyamuni slanderous monks would have incurred the death penalty. But since the time of Shakyamuni, the One Who Can Endure, the giving of alms to slanderous monks is forbidden in the sutra teachings” (p. 23). He admonished the acting regent to abandon the government support of the Nembutsu and Zen priests who contradicted Shakyamuni Buddha’s teaching. If they did not, he said, Japan would face destruction.
155. Lotus Sutra, chap. 2.
156. The incident involving the scroll of the fifth volume of the Lotus Sutra occurred when Hei no Saemon came with his men to arrest the Daishonin at Matsubagayatsu on the twelfth day of the ninth month, 1271. The fifth volume contains the “Encouraging Devotion” chapter, which predicts that the votaries of the Lotus Sutra will be attacked with swords and staves and will face the three powerful enemies.
157. “Great Man” is an epithet of the Buddha.
158. This story is related in Record of the Western Regions. Gunaprabha first learned the Mahayana teachings but later regressed to the Hinayana teachings. When he met with Maitreya in the Tushita heaven, he
was so arrogant that he refused to receive instruction from him.
159. The Iron Belly Brahman was an arrogant Brahman in southern India who asserted that he possessed all types of wisdom within his belly. Fearful that it would burst, he tied iron sheet metal around it.
160. Outstanding Principles.
161. Lotus Sutra, chap. 23.
162. Ibid.
163. The bodhisattva to whom Shakyamuni addressed his preaching in the Profound Secrets Sutra.
164. Nagabodhi was the fourth of the first eight patriarchs of the True Word school. There are differing views concerning him, and some scholars even deny that he actually existed.
165. Satavahana was a king of southern India who appeared about seven centuries after Shakyamuni’s passing. He was converted to Nagarjuna’s teachings, and protected and supported Mahayana Buddhism.
166. Kashyapa is the bodhisattva addressed by Shakyamuni in the “Bodhisattva Kashyapa” chapter of the Nirvana Sutra. The fifty-two types of beings are those who gathered at the assembly of the Nirvana Sutra.
167. These ten eminent priests, including Fa-yün (467–529), ranked the Flower Garland Sutra first, the Nirvana Sutra second, and the Lotus Sutra third.
168. Lotus Sutra, chap. 23.
169. Ibid.
170. Outstanding Principles.
171. A Clarification of the Schools Based on T’ien-t’ai’s Doctrine.
172. Lotus Sutra, chap. 3.
173. Ibid., chap. 28.
174. Ibid.
175. Ibid., chap. 13.
176. Ibid.
177. On “The Words and Phrases.”
178. Lotus Sutra, chap. 14.
