a Thus Come One Shakyamuni. They emit great beams of light that penetrate the earth and shine upon the three evil paths and the great citadel of the hell of incessant suffering. They also shine toward the east, west, north, and south, and upward, ascending to the realm where there is neither thought nor no thought.29 They visit the realm where your departed father is dwelling, wherever it may be, and there hold discourse with him.
“Who do you think we are?” they say. “We are the characters of the verse section of the ‘Life Span’ chapter of the Lotus Sutra that your son Horen recites each morning. These characters will be your eyes, your ears, your feet, your hands!” Thus do they earnestly converse with him.
And at that time your departed father will say, “Horen is not my son. Rather he is a good friend to me.” And he will turn and pay respects in the direction of the saha world. For what you are doing is an act of true filial devotion.
We speak of upholding the Lotus Sutra. But although there is only one sutra, the manner in which we uphold it may vary from one period to the next. There may be times when a person literally rends his flesh and offers it to his teacher, and in this way attains Buddhahood. Or at other times a person may offer his body as a couch to his teacher, or as so much firewood. At yet other times a person may bear the blows of sticks and staves for the sake of the sutra, or may practice religious austerities or observe various precepts. And there may be times when, even though a person does the things described above, he still does not attain Buddhahood. It depends upon the time and is not something fixed.
Therefore, the Great Teacher T’ient’ai declared, “The method chosen should be that which accords with the time.”30 And the Great Teacher Chang
an said, “You should let your choices be fitting and never adhere solely to one or the other.”31
Question: At what times should one offer one’s body, and at what times should one observe the precepts?
Answer: A person of wisdom is one who, understanding the time, spreads the teachings of the Lotus Sutra accordingly; this is his most important task. If a person’s throat is dry, what he needs is water; he has no use for bows and arrows, weapons and sticks. If a person is naked, he wants a suit of clothes but has no need for water. From one or two examples you can guess the principle that applies in general.
Suppose there is a great demon who is working to spread the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. In such a case one should offer one’s own body as alms to the demon; there is no need to offer any other food or clothing.
Or suppose there is an evil ruler who is bent upon destroying the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. In such a case, even at the cost of one’s life one must not obey him. And if there should be eminent priests who keep the precepts and practice religious austerities, and who appear to be spreading the teachings of the Lotus Sutra but are, in fact, subverting them, you should perceive the truth of the matter and reprimand them.
The Lotus Sutra says, “We care nothing for our bodies or lives but are anxious only for the unsurpassed way.”32 And the Nirvana Sutra states, “It is like a royal envoy who . . . would rather, even though it costs him his life, in the end conceal none of the words of his ruler.” The Great Teacher Chang-an commented on this: “ ‘[A royal envoy . . . would rather], even though it costs him his life, in the end conceal none of the words of his ruler’ means that one’s body is insignificant while the Law is supreme. One should
