“The sufferings of birth and death are nirvana” exists only in realizing that the entity of life throughout its cycle of birth and death is neither born nor destroyed. The Universal Worthy Sutra states, “Without either cutting off earthly desires or separating themselves from the five desires, they can purify all their senses and wipe away all their offenses.” Great Concentration and Insight says, “The ignorance and dust of desires are enlightenment, and the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana.” The “Life Span” chapter of the Lotus Sutra says, “At all times I think to myself: How can I cause living beings to gain entry into the unsurpassed way and quickly acquire the body of a Buddha?” The “Expedient Means” chapter says, “The characteristics of the world are constantly abiding.” Surely such statements refer to these principles. Thus what is called the entity is none other than Namu-myoho-renge-kyo."(
"For example, Shakyamuni Buddha once ascended to the heaven of the thirty-three gods to fulfill his obligations to his deceased mother. But because of the Buddha’s transcendental powers, with the exception of the Venerable Maudgalyayana, no one in the entire land of Jambudvipa was aware of it. Thus, even though Buddhism is before their very eyes, if people lack the proper capacity, it will not be revealed, and if the time is not right, it will not spread. This is a principle of nature. It is as if, for instance, the tides of the ocean were ebbing and flowing in accordance with the time, or the moon in the heavens were waning and waxing."
"Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, treasured this Gohonzon in his heart for numberless major world system dust particle kalpas, and even after he appeared in this world, he did not expound it until more than forty years after his first preaching. Even in the Lotus Sutra he did not allude to it in the earlier chapters of the theoretical teaching. He began things in the “Treasure Tower” chapter, he revealed it in the “Life Span” chapter, and he brought things to a close in the“Supernatural Powers” and “Entrustment” chapters."-- Reply to Niiama
Thus we are not aware of the phases of life and death because appearance and nature, the way in which we quantify and qualify phenomena, change so radically between life and death, much more so than the union of egg and sperm becomes a great blue whale. Even Kirlian photography, infrared cameras, gamma ray detectors, Bodhisattvas of the Kegon or Mahavarochaina Sutra etc. are not adequate to see the appearance and nature through the phases of life and death. A Buddha with a Buddha sees these things and one day we may have the technology to see the appearances.
"Transmigrating" is used in the Lotus Sutra to describe the process of change from life to death:
"Transmigrating in the six states of existence,
They suffer the utmost misery.
Received into the womb in minute form,
Life after life they ever increase and correct,
Poor in virtue and of little happiness.
They are oppressed by all the distresses;
They have entered the thickets of heretical views,
such as 'existence' or 'non-existence';
Relying on these (false) views,
Altogether sixty-two,
They are deeply attatched to these false laws,
Firmly holding unable to give them up,
Self-sufficient and self-inflated,
Supicious crooked and faithless in mind;
During thousands and milliards of kalpas
They have not heard the name of the Buddha,
Nor have they heard the True Law;" (Lotus Sutra Chapter 2, Expedient
Means)
"With regard to the transfer of teachings, it is divided into two categories: general and specific. If you confuse the general with the specific even in the slightest, you will never be able to attain Buddhahood and will wander in suffering through endless transmigrations of births and deaths." -- Nichiren Daishonin
"The Lotus Sutra reads, “The true aspect of all phenomena [can only be understood and shared between Buddhas. This reality consists of the appearance, nature . . . and] their consistency from beginning to end.” The “Life Span” chapter states, “It has been immeasurable, boundless [hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayutas of kalpas] since I in fact attained Buddhahood.” In this passage, “I” refers to all beings in the Ten Worlds. Because all beings of the Ten Worlds are inherently Buddhas, they dwell in the pure land. The “Expedient Means” chapter reads, “These phenomena are part "With regard to the transfer of teachings, it is divided into two categories: general and specific. If you confuse the general with the specific even in the slightest, you will never be able to attain Buddhahood and will wander in suffering through endless
transmigrations of births and deaths." -- Nichiren Daishonin
“But now this threefold world is all my domain, and the living beings in it are all my children. Now this place is beset by many pains and trials. I am the only person who can rescue and protect others, but though I teach and instruct them, they do not believe or accept my teachings.” — Lotus Sutra Chapter 3
“This passage means that to us living beings the Thus Come One Shakyamuni is our parent, our teacher, and our sovereign.” — Nichiren Daishonin
“Again, of all these chapters, only in the eight chapters did he reveal and transfer the object of devotion to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth.” — Nichiren Daishonin
“In this manner the Buddha displayed the wonders of his ten supernatural powers, and in what is termed the transfer of the essence of the sutra, he extracted the core of the Lotus Sutra and transferred it to the four bodhisattvas. He fervently enjoined them to bestow it after his passing upon all living beings of the ten directions.” — Nichiren Daishonin
“The essence of the “Entrustment” chapter of the Lotus Sutra is as follows: [Rising from his seat in the treasure tower,] the Buddha stood in open space and, in order to transfer the Lotus Sutra, patted no fewer than three times the heads of Bodhisattva Superior Practices and his followers, Manjushri and his followers, the great Brahma, Shakra, the gods of the sun and moon, the four heavenly kings, the dragon kings, the ten demon daughters, and others. They had clustered before the Buddha as thickly as dewdrops, crowding four hundred ten thousand million nayutas of worlds, like the grasses of Musashino Plain or the trees covering Mount Fuji. They knelt close to one another, bent their bodies so that their heads touched the ground, joined their palms together, and streamed sweat. Shakyamuni Buddha patted their heads just as a mother strokes the hair of her only child. Then Superior Practices, the gods of the sun and moon, and the others received the Buddha’s auspicious command and pledged to propagate the Lotus Sutra in the latter age.” — Nichiren Daishonin
“The correct teaching of the time can be propagated only by a person of wisdom. This is why Shakyamuni Buddha, after expounding all the sutras, entrusted the Hinayana sutras to Ananda and the Mahayana sutras to Manjushri. Concerning the heart of the Lotus Sutra, however, the Buddha refused to transfer it to any of the voice-hearers [such as Ananda] or to bodhisattvas such as Manjushri. The Buddha instead summoned Bodhisattva Superior Practices and entrusted it to him.” — Nichiren Daishonin
“When he was Prince Sattva in a previous existence, the Thus Come One Shakyamuni gained merit by feeding his body to a starving tigress, and when he was King Shibi, he gained merit by giving his flesh to a hawk in exchange for the life of a dove. And he declared in the presence of Many Treasures and the Buddhas of the ten directions that he would transfer this merit to those who believe in the Lotus Sutra as you do
in the Latter Day of the Law.” — Nichiren Daishonin
“The five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo were transferred from Shakyamuni and Many Treasures, the two Buddhas inside the treasure tower, to Bodhisattva Superior Practices, carrying on a heritage unbroken since the infinite past. — Nichiren Daishonin
The important point is to carry out your practice confident that Namu- myoho-renge-kyo alone is the heritage that was transferred from Shakyamuni and Many Treasures to Bodhisattva Superior Practices. — Nichiren Daishonin
“Demonstrating ten supernatural powers, the Buddha transferred the five characters of Myoho- renge-kyo to the four great bodhisattvas: Superior Practices, Firmly Established Practices, Pure Practices, and Boundless Practices. — Nichiren Daishonin
“Shakyamuni Buddha did not transmit the five characters of Namu-myoho- renge-kyo, the heart of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra, even to the bodhisattvas Manjushri and Medicine King, let alone to any lesser disciples. He summoned from beneath the earth the great bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds and, as he preached the eight chapters, transferred it solely to them.
— Nichiren Daishonin
” The Buddha first transferred the Lotus Sutra to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, and then to the bodhisattvas taught by the Buddha in his transient status, the bodhisattvas of other worlds, Brahma, Shakra, the four heavenly kings, and others. — Nichiren Daishonin
Shakyamuni summoned these great bodhisattvas and transferred Myoho-renge-kyo to them. — Nichiren Daishonin
“Instead he summoned forth the bodhisattvas Superior Practices, Boundless Practices, Pure Practices, and Firmly Established Practices and their followers from the great earth of Tranquil Light and transferred the five characters to them. — Nichiren Daishonin
“In this manner the Buddha displayed the wonders of his ten supernatural powers, and in what is termed the transfer of the essence of the sutra, he extracted the core of the Lotus Sutra and transferred it to the four bodhisattvas. — Nichiren Daishonin
“And these blessings enjoyed by the Buddha can be transferred by him to people who put their faith in the Lotus Sutra. — Nichiren Daishonin
"But the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, the heart of the eighty thousand sacred teachings and the core of the Lotus Sutra, he neither entrusted to Mahakashyapa or Ananda, nor transferred to great bodhisattvas such as Manjushri, Universal Worthy, Perceiver of the World’s Sounds, Maitreya, Earth Repository, or Nagarjuna. Even though these great bodhisattvas hoped that he would do so and requested it of him, the Buddha would not consent. He summoned forth a venerable old man called Bodhisattva Superior Practices from the depths of the earth, and then, in the presence of the Buddha Many Treasures and the Buddhas of the ten directions, from within the tower adorned with the seven kinds of treasures, the Thus Come One Shakyamuni entrusted the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo to him." — Nichiren Daishonin
“This is the teaching that was transferred to the bodhisattvas who had been the disciples of the Buddha since the remote past.” — Nichiren Daishonin
“Shakyamuni Buddha transferred this teaching to Bodhisattva Superior Practices, and now Nichiren propagates it in Japan. — Nichiren Daishonin
“Answer: Are those who have received the teachings directly from their teacher invariably free from error, while those who appear in later ages and examine and clarify these teachings are to be regarded as worthless? If so, then should we throw away the sutras and instead rely upon the four ranks of bodhisattvas? Should a person throw away the deed of transfer received from his father and mother and instead depend upon oral transmissions?” — Nichiren Daishonin
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