Guidelines For Propagation

In “Nembutsu Practitioners Destined For Hell”, Nichiren writes “… those who hope to spread the teachings of the Buddha must take into consideration certain factors, namely, the teaching to be spread, the capacity of the people, the time, the country, and the sequence in which the teachings are propagated.”  (WND-2, p297)

These five factors are also referred to as the five guides and explain the things we need to think about when telling others about Nichiren Buddhism and the Lotus Sutra.

The first consideration is the correctness of the teachings, and the fact that according to Shakyamuni himself, he waited until the people were ready to hear his complete and supreme understanding of the realities of life and death in the Lotus Sutra.  Even in the Lotus Sutra he explains that it is a difficult teaching to hear, but until that time he led people to approximate understandings of this wisdom in the best way he could based on their capabilities.

This brings us to the second guideline we need to consider which is people’s ability to understand the teachings and, like Shakyamuni, we need to think about how we can best lead people to understand the wisdom of The Lotus Sutra.  Fortunately, along with studying the Lotus Sutra and the Gosho, Nichiren revealed that the way to achieve happiness in this lifetime was to chant "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo".  This is often our starting point when introducing people to the practice, but some people may be more open to the logical aspect of Nichiren Buddhism, such as the concepts of cause and effect, the ten worlds, etc.

The third factor is the time and recognizing that what had been taught in the past (the provisional teachings) has been replaced, or updated, by the eternal (the true teachings).  i.e. the Lotus Sutra surpassed and replaced the earlier teachings.  The earlier teachings may still be of interest from a historic point of view which allows us to see the progression in the Shakyamuni's teachings, and it may still give comfort to the followers who still practice such a way, but it is the true teachings detailing the philosophy and practice of the Lotus Sutra, which we should be propagating today.

In “Nembutsu and the Hell of Incessant Suffering”, Nichiren mentions that “The four volumes that make up [the Pure Land’s] three sutras do not in any way represent the true intention of Shakyamuni Buddha, nor do they represent the true reason for which the Buddhas of the three existences of past, present, and future make their appearance in the world. … They are, for example, like the scaffold that one erects when one is building a tower.  The Nembutsu is the scaffold, while the Lotus Sutra is the treasure tower. … Those who persistently cling to the Nembutsu after the Lotus Sutra has been preached are thus like persons who, after the tower has been erected, cling to the scaffold and make no use of the tower.  How could they fail to be guilty of going against the builder’s wishes?”  (WND-2, p25)

The fourth factor recognizes the historical and cultural situation that exists in the country where you are propagating, such as freedom of religion laws and other legislation which may affect shakubuku. 

And the fifth is an understanding of the kind of things that have already been propagated within the country so far, i.e. what is the current state of religion in that country?  What schools of Buddhism are people familiar with?  Do we need to radically change people’s idea of Buddhism as a contemplative solitary pursuit for enlightenment and show them that it can be a relevant philosophy and practise for the 21^st century and beyond?  Do we need to logically correct people’s attachments to an earlier Buddhist teaching and lead them to the Lotus Sutra?  Do we live in a country that is typically cynical of religion or one that embraces any and all religions?

 
When we propagate Nichiren Buddhism, we are like doctors prescribing the best medicine to enable people to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime with the glorious side effect of ensuring the peace of the land (and the world).  Concerning this point, Nichiren writes, “It is the rule in propagating Buddhism that one must always learn the nature of the teachings that have already spread.  To illustrate, when giving medicine to a sick person, one should know what kind of medicine was administered before.”  (Encouragement To A Sick Person, WND-1, p80)