Rissho Ankoku Ron - first dialogue section
Once there was a traveler who spoke these words in sorrow to his host:
"In recent years, there are unusual disturbances in the heavens, strange occurrences on earth, famine and pestilence, all affecting every corner of the empire and spreading throughout the land. Oxen and horses lie dead in the streets, the bones of the stricken crowd the highways. Over half the population has already been carried off by death, and in every family someone grieves.
All the while some put their whole faith in the 'sharp sword' of the
Buddha Amida and intone this name of the lord of the Western Paradise; others believe that
the Buddha Yakushi will 'heal all ills,' and recite the sutra that describes him
as the Tathagata of the Eastern Region. Some, putting their trust in the passage in the
Lotus Sutra that says, 'Illness will vanish immediately, and he will find perpetual
youth and eternal life,' pay homage to the wonderful words of that Sutra, others citing the passage in the Ninno Sutra that reads,
'The seven difficulties vanish, the
seven blessings at once appear,' conduct ceremonies at which a hundred preachers
expound the sutra at a hundred places.
There are those who follow the secret teachings of
the Shingon sect and conduct rituals by filling five jars with water; and others who
devote themselves entirely to Zen-type meditation and perceive the emptiness of all
phenomena as clearly as the moon. Some write out the names of the seven guardian spirits
and paste them on a thousand gates, others paint pictures of the five mighty bodhisattvas
and hang them over ten thousand thresholds, and still others pray to the gods of heaven
and the deities of earth in ceremonies conducted at the four corners of the capital and on
the four boundaries of the nation, certain that government on the national and local
levels is carried out in a benevolent manner.
But despite all these efforts, they merely exhaust themselves in vain. Famine and disease rage more fiercely than ever, beggars are everywhere in sight, and scenes of death fill our eyes. Cadavers pile up in mounds like observation platforms, dead bodies lie side by side like planks on a bridge.
If we look about, we find that the sun and moon continue to move in their accustomed orbits, and the five planets follow the proper course. The three treasures of Buddhism continue to exist, and the period of a hundred reigns during which the Bodhisattva Hachiman vowed to protect the nation has not yet expired. Then why is it that the world has already fallen into decline and that the laws of the state have come to an end? What is wrong? What error has been committed? "
The host then spoke:
"I have been brooding alone upon this matter, indignant in my heart, but now that you have come, we can lament together. Let us discuss the question at length.
When a man leaves family life and enters the Buddhist way, it is because he hopes to attain Buddhahood through the teachings of the Dharma. But attempts now to move the gods fail to have any effect, and appeals to the power of the Buddhas produce no results. When I observe carefully the state of the world today, I see ignorant people who give way to doubts because of their naivete. Therefore they look up at the heavens and mouth their resentment, or gaze down at the earth and sink deep into anxiety.
I have pondered the matter carefully with what limited resources I possess, and have searched rather widely in the scriptures for an answer. The people of today all turn their backs upon what is right; they give their allegiance to evil. That is the reason why the benevolent deities have abandoned the nation, why sages leave and do not return, and in their stead come devils and demons, disasters and calamities that arise one after another.
I cannot keep silent on this matter. I cannot suppress my fears."