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"The people of Japan are certain to encounter the calamity of war." -- Nichiren

"But this is a trifling matter compared to what is to come. Hereafter, I have no doubt that the officials and the countless common people ofJapan will without exception suffer a fate like that of heaps of dry grass towhich a torch has been set, or like huge mountains crumbling and valleys being filled up, for our country will be attacked by enemies from abroad.

''The passages of scripture I have quoted indicate that, if the rulers, heeding the slanders of evil monks or the vicious talk of others, should inflict punishment on persons of wisdom, then warfare will immediately break out, great winds will blow, and attackers will appear from foreign lands. In the second month of the ninth year of Bun’ei (1272), fighting did in fact break out between two factions of the ruling Hōjō family;73 in the fourth month of the eleventh year of Bun’ei, there were violent winds;74and in the tenth month of the same year, the Mongol forces attackedJapan. Has not all of this come about because of the treatment that has been given to me, Nichiren? This is exactly what I have been predicting from times past. Can anyone be in doubt about the matter?''

I, Nichiren, am the only one in the whole country of Japan who understands why these things will happen. But if I speak out, I will be treated as King Chou of the Yin dynasty treated Pi Kan, tearing open his chest; as King Chieh of the Hsia dynasty treated Kuan Lung-feng, cutting off his head; or as King Dammira treated the Venerable Āryasimha, beheading him. I will be banished like the priest Chu Tao-sheng, or branded on the face like the Tripitaka Master Fa-tao.

In the Lotus Sutra, however, it is written, “We care nothing for our bodies or lives but are anxious only for the unsurpassed way.” And the Nirvana Sutra warns, “[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.”

If in this present existence I am so fearful for my life that I fail tospeak out, then in what future existence will I ever attain Buddhahood? Or in what future existence will I ever be able to bring salvation to my parents and my teacher? With thoughts such as these uppermost in my mind, I decided that I must begin to speak out. And, just as I had expected, I was ousted, I was vilified, I was attacked, and I suffered wounds. Finally, on the twelfth day of the fifth month in the first year of the Kōchō era (1261), the year with the cyclical sign kanoto-tori, having incurred the wrath of the authorities, I was banished to Ito in the province of Izu. Eventually, on the twenty-second day of the second month in the third year of Kōchō, cyclical sign mizunoto-i, I was pardoned and allowed to return.

After that, I became more determined than ever to attain enlightenment and continued to speak out. Accordingly, the difficulties I encountered became increasingly severe, like great waves that rise up in a gale. I experienced with my own body the kind of attacks with sticks and staves that Bodhisattva Never Disparaging suffered in ancient times. It would seem that even the persecutions suffered by the monkRealization of Virtue in the latter age after the passing of the Buddha Joy Increasing could not compare to my trials. Nowhere in all the sixty-six provinces and the two offshore islands of Japan, not for a day, not for an hour, could I find a place to rest in safety.

Even sages who persevere in their practice as earnestly as did Rāhulain ancient times, strictly observing all the two hundred and fifty precepts, or men who are as wise as Pūrna, speak evil of Nichiren when they encounter him. Even worthies who are as honest and upright as the court officials Wei Cheng112 and Fujiwara no Yoshifusa,113 when they see Nichiren, forsake reason and treat him unjustly.

How much more so is this the case with the ordinary people of the day! They behave like dogs who have seen a monkey, or hunters in pursuit of a deer. Throughout the whole of Japan, there is not a single person who says, “Perhaps this man has some reason for his behavior.”

But that is only to be expected. For whenever I come upon a person who recites the Nembutsu, I tell him that those who believe in theNembutsu will fall into the hell of incessant suffering. Whenever I come upon a person who honors the True Word teachings, I tell him that True Word is an evil p.728doctrine that will destroy the nation. And to the ruler of the nation, who honors the Zen school, I declare that Zen is the invention of the heavenly devil.

Since I willingly bring these troubles upon myself, when others vilify me, I do not rebuke them. Even if I wanted to rebuke them, there are too many of them. And even when they strike me, I feel no pain, for I have been prepared for their blows from the very beginning.

And so I went about with ever increasing vigor and ever less concern for my safety, trying to persuade others to change their ways. As a result, several hundred Zen priests, several thousand Nembutsu believers, and even more True Word teachers went to the magistrate or the men of powerful families, or to their wives or their widows who were lay nuns, and filled their ears with endless slanders concerning me.

Finally, all were convinced that I was the gravest offender in the entire nation, for it was said that in my capacity as a priest I was saying prayers and spells for the destruction of Japan, and that I had reported that the late lay priests of Saimyō-ji and Gokuraku-ji had fallen into thehell of incessant suffering. Those widows who were lay nuns insisted that investigation was unnecessary; rather, I should have my head cut off at once, and my disciples should likewise be beheaded or exiled to distant lands or placed in confinement. So infuriated were they that their demands for punishment were immediately carried out.

On the night of the twelfth day of the ninth month in the eighth year of Bun’ei (1271), cyclical sign kanoto-hitsuji, I was to have been beheaded at Tatsunokuchi in the province of Sagami. But for some reason the execution was postponed, and that night I was taken to a place called Echi. On the night of the thirteenth day, people made a great uproar, saying I had been pardoned. But, again for reasons that are unclear, I was ordered into exile in the province of Sado.

While people speculated from one day to the next if I would be beheaded, I passed four years114 on Sado. Then on the fourteenth day of the second month in the eleventh year of Bun’ei, cyclical sign kinoe-inu, I was pardoned. On the twenty-sixth day of the third month of the same year, I returned to Kamakura, and on the eighth day of the fourth month I met with Hei no Saemon-no-jō. I reported on various matters and informed him that the Mongols would certainly invade Japan within that year. Then on the twelfth day of the fifth month, I left Kamakura and came to this mountain where I am now living.

All these things I have done solely to repay the debt I owe to my parents, the debt I owe to my teacher, the debt I owe to the three treasures of Buddhism, and the debt I owe to my country. For their sake I have been willing to destroy my body and to give up my life, though as it turns out, I have not been put to death after all.

If a worthy man makes three attempts to warn the rulers of the nation and they still refuse to heed his advice, then he should retire to a mountain forest. This has been the custom from ages past, and I have accordingly followed it.

I am quite certain that the merit I have acquired through my efforts is recognized by everyone from the three treasures on down to Brahmā,Shakra, and the gods of the sun and moon. Through this merit I will surely lead to enlightenment my parents and my teacher, the late Dōzen-bō.

“Because there are disputes in Buddhism, there arise disputes in the secular world. Mount Hiei has lost its calmness and a lot of troubles have been occurring in Kyoto.” (The Way To Argue Buddhist Doctrines)

How prophetic. Today when there is no calm on Mt. Minobu and Mt. Fuji, how much worse are the troubles in Tokyo, Washington, Moscow, Tel Aviv, Islamabad, Bangkok, and Damascus. Nichiren attributed his situation to the Buddhist sects going against the Lotus Sutra and abandoning Shakyamuni Buddha. The situation today with the Soka Gakkai and the Nichiren Shoshu is much worse, these sects having abandoned the Essential Teachings of the Lotus Sutra and Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter of the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren goes on to say,

“The Nembutsu school goes against the Lotus Sutra and follows the three Pure Land sutras, so they look upon Amida Buddha as their premier object of devotion and look down on Shakyamuni Buddha. The True Word priests regard Mahavairochana as the supreme Buddha, so they look down on Shakyamuni Buddha. As for precepts, Mahayana and Hinayana are different but both regard the Thus Come One Shakyamuni as the most important. Other Buddhas only give testimony to his words. Various schools have differences but they should look upon Shakyamuni. Only worms born of the lion’s body feed on the lion. Non-Buddhist teachings cannot defeat Buddhist teachings, but disputes from within will destroy Buddhism. This is the dying words of the Buddha. In Buddhism they believe in Hinayana and lose Mahayana, and they believe in provisional Mahayana teachings and lose true Mahayana teachings.”

The worms of the Fuji School (SGI and NST) feed on the Bodhisattvas of the Earth and Nichiren Daishonin. They bore into the Gohonzon, Lotus Sutra and Gosho, eradicating Buddha Shakyamuni of the Original Doctrine and destroying the principles within. They further confuse the people by asserting their superiority over the Hokke sects and deprecating the sincere disciples and believers of the Nichiren Shu and the Kempon Hokke.

The very worst offender in the entire world is the Soka Gakkai. As Nichiren states in the Pure and Far reaching Voice, “What is superior it takes to be inferior, and what is inferior it takes to be superior. That is the reason why now, when its prayers are being used in an attempt to ward off the Mongol invaders, such prayers are on the contrary about to bring the invaders down upon us.” The SGI is the reason the world is in such poor shape. Just as vibrations from a slanderous mind will cause the head to split into seven pieces, the vibrations of slanderous minds of the Ten Million Soka Gakkai members is causing the world to be disordered and to split into seven pieces.

Instead of adorning the superior teachings with value creationism and human revolution, they replace the Lotus Sutra with these inferior teachings and replace Shakyamuni Buddha with Daisaku Ikeda.

Nichiren states,

“But, leaving aside for the moment the question of which is superior and which inferior, I can say that, far from bringing you deliverance, the practice of these teachings will lead to rebirth in the evil paths. (A Sage and an Unenlightened Man).

As far as the slanderous Nichikan Gohonzon, the most perverted doctrine in the history of Buddhism, Nichiren states:

“Nevertheless, the schools of Buddhism other than Tendai have gone astray concerning the true object of devotion. The Dharma Analysis Treasury, Establishment of Truth, and Precepts schools take as their object of devotion the Shakyamuni Buddha who eliminated illusions and attained the way by practicing thirty-four kinds of spiritual purification. This is comparable to a situation in which the heir apparent of the supreme ruler of a state mistakenly believes himself to be the son of a commoner. The four schools of Flower Garland, True Word, Three Treatises, and Dharma Characteristics are all Mahayana schools of Buddhism. Among them the Dharma Characteristics and Three Treatises schools honor a Buddha who is comparable to the Buddha of the superior manifested body. This is like the heir of the supreme ruler supposing that his father was a member of the warrior class. The Flower Garland and True Word schools look down upon Shakyamuni Buddha and declare the Buddha Vairochana and the Buddha Mahavairochana to be their respective objects of devotion. This is like the heir looking down upon his own father, the supreme ruler, and paying honor to one who is of obscure origin simply because that person pretends to be the sovereign who abides by the principles of righteousness. The Pure Land school considers itself to be most closely related to the Buddha Amida, who is an emanation of Shakyamuni, and abandons Shakyamuni himself who is the lord of teachings. The Zen school behaves like a person of low birth who makes much of his small achievements and despises his father and mother. Thus the Zen school looks down upon both the Buddha and the sutras. All of these schools are misled concerning the true object of devotion. They are like the people who lived in the age before the Three Sovereigns of ancient China and did not know who their own fathers were. In that respect, the people of that time were no different from birds and beasts.” (Opening of the Eyes)

As far as Nichiren Buddhist ceremonies, in the SGI, those of the founding fathers, Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin are all but completely ignored while on May 3rd, for example, all praise is given to the Three Presidents of the Soka Gakkai. At their large meetings instead of singing songs in praise of the Lotus Sutra and Shakyamuni Buddha they sing songs in praise of Daisaku Ikeda. To make matters worse, the SGI political party Komeito is supported by the LDP rulers of Japan. Nichiren states:

“The great evil doctrine of these ceremonies over the years steadily made its way to the Kanto region, where it was embodied in the superintendents or attendant priests of various temples who repeatedly performed these ceremonies. The performers of these ceremonies from the beginning could not distinguish between correct and erroneous teachings, between superior and inferior doctrines, but assumed that it was sufficient merely to revere the three treasures. So, without a thought, they employed these ceremonies. And now not only the provinces of Kanto but the chief priests and superintendents of Mount Hiei, To-ji, and Onjo- ji have all come under the jurisdiction of the Kanto authorities, so that, as a result, the latter are in the position of supporting these ceremonies.”

Hasn’t the great evil of these ceremonies spread to all corners of the world, every district meeting singing Forever Sensei and Sensei For You? Is there any wonder why their prayers for peace are unanswered. to the contrary, war rages ever more intensely in every corner of the world.

The SGI which embraces the expedient teachings whereby the ends of lying and withholding justify the means, make a mockery of the essential teachings, the Great Direct Way to Buddhahood. Daisaku Ikeda, for example, never once mentions in his peace proposals, Namu Myoho renge kyo or Buddha Shakyamuni. Another example are the many meetings and SGI ceremonies where Nichiren, the Lotus Sutra or Shakyamuni Buddha aren’t even mentioned once while “SGI” and “Daisaku Ikeda” are proclaimed dozens of times. Nichiren states in the Entity of the Mystic Law:

“T’ien-t’ai says, “Even successors of the Buddha of the provisional teachings do not know people who have received instruction from the Buddha of the theoretical teaching, and people taught by that Buddha do not know people who have received instruction from the Buddha of the essential teaching. ”The Great Teacher Dengyo explains, “This is a direct way but it is not the great direct way. “He also says, “Because they have not yet understood the great direct way to enlightenment.” The point being made in these passages is clear.

The bodhisattvas of the teachings preached before the Lotus Sutra or of the theoretical teaching have, in a certain sense, eradicated delusion and gained understanding of truth. Nevertheless, in the light of the essential teaching, they have gained only a temporary cutting off of delusion, not the kind that extends beyond a certain dimension. Therefore, it is said that they have in fact not yet cut off delusion.

Thus, although it is said that the bodhisattvas had already gained entrance [to enlightenment] through the various sutras, the term “gained entrance” is simply applied here in a temporary manner as a means of disparaging the achievement of the people of the two vehicles. Therefore, even the great bodhisattvas of the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings and the theoretical teaching arrive at the realization of the lotus of the Buddha only when they are exposed to the essential teaching, and achieve a true cutting off of delusion only when they hear the teachings of the “Life Span” chapter.”

In Teaching Practice and Proof, Nichiren teaches us,

“How naive are those who cling only to the stump of one sutra without knowing which are superior and which inferior among all the sutras! Even if one cannot [read all the sutras and] discern this for oneself, there can be no mistaking that the Lotus Sutra is the only sutra whose truth was attested to by Shakyamuni Buddha, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas who are Shakyamuni’s emanations.

Should one nonetheless view the Lotus Sutra as false and misread the Buddha’s words “I have not yet revealed the truth” as “I have already revealed the truth,” one’s distorted vision would be inferior even to that of cattle or sheep. Exactly what is meant by the passage in the “Teacher of the Law” chapter: “Among the sutras I have preached, now preach, and will preach, this Lotus Sutra is the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand” ? Does the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra not make it clear that Shakyamuni taught the practice of Buddhist austerities spanning myriads of kalpas before declaring, “In these more than forty years, I have not yet revealed the truth” ? These passages are nothing less than the Buddha’s own statements of the relative superiority of the various sutras he expounded during his some fifty years of teaching. The relative superiority of the sutras corresponds to whether or not they lead to Buddhahood.”

The teachings of Value Creationism and Human Revolution do not lead to Buddhahood yet the SGI teaches these instead of the Lotus Sutra. They base their assertions on treatises and not the Lotus Sutra, not even the treatises of the Daishonin but rather those of Nichikan, Toda and Ikeda. They disgard the Lotus Sutra as too profund to be understood or not applicable to the people of the Latter day. They disgard the Lotus Sutra which leads to Buddhahood in one thousand out of one thousand instances while embracing the teachings of the Three Presidents that never once in seventy five years as practiced by millions and millions of SGI members has led to Buddahood, even in one instance.

Nichiren states in Those Initially Aspiring to the Way:

“Therefore, when people declare that their own sutra surpasses the Lotus Sutra, or that their own school is superior to the Lotus school, they are like persons of inferior rank calling someone of high rank a commoner, or retainers whose families have for generations been in the service of a certain lord turning against him and declaring him to be their servant. How can they escape grave retribution?”

Daisaku Ikeda’s wisdom is as brilliant as the sun and moon, and his virtue is extolled far and wide, yet he is confused as to which teachings are shallow or deep, inferior or superior, and has led millions of people astray. This is the reason that he has suffered personal and specific retribution.

Not reflecting nor learning a thing, he flaunts his knowledge and acts as if he were wise, though he is an ordinary person, who regards the superior teachings as inferior and the inferior teachings as superior. He regards the powerless teachings of the Soka Gakkai as those leading to enlightenment, and declares teachings inappropriate for the people’s capacity to be appropriate for them. Thus he believes that the teaching of Value Creation and Human Revolution is superior and the Lotus Sutra is inferior and that the former suits the people’s capacity but the latter teachings do not. (excerpted and paraphrased from the One Eyed Turtle and the Floating Log)

Nichiren states:

“Thus they place such pronouncements (Value Creation, Human revolution, peace proposals) on the same level as the Lotus Sutra, considering the two to be of equal authority; or they regard these teachings as superior to the Lotus Sutra; or they reason that though their teacher’s pronouncements are inferior they are well suited to the capacity of the people.” (The Teaching that Accords with the Buddha’s Mind)

“Remember this about the theoretical and essential teachings of the Lotus Sutra: Which is shallow and which profound, which superior and which inferior, which lenient and which severe, and which subordinate and which primary must be judged in accordance with the time and the people’s capacity.” (On Establishing the Four Bodhisattvas as the Object of Worship.”

The SGI teachings are based on the gentle methods of the Theoretical teachings rather than the strict and superior Essential teachings. It has brought confusion to the Buddhist order.

Because they hate us, the ignorant people choose the SGI which is inferior and detest the superior. As Nichiren says, “It is as though one were to assert that a dog is braver than lion, or that the stars appear brighter than the sun.”(One Eyed Turtle) We are considered men of erroneous views although we practice according to the teachings. Despite all this, we feel as Nichiren, “tears spring to my (our) eyes and joy fills my (our) entire body.” (ibid. One Eyed Turtle)

Nichiren states:

“As more Buddhist sutras were brought to China, it became apparent that some were superior in content or more profound than others. They belonged to different categories such as Hinayana and Mahayana, exoteric and esoteric, provisional and true. To illustrate, all stones are invariably inferior to gold, but gold itself is divided into several grades. No gold found in the human world can match the gold mined from the Jambu River.1 But the gold from the Jambu River is in turn far less valuable than the gold stored in the Brahma heaven. In the same way, all the Buddhist sutras are like gold, but some are finer and more profound than others.” (The Supremacy of the Law)

Toda was confused, believing the fools gold of the Taisekaji teachings were superior to the twenty-four carat gold of the Lotus Sutra Nichiren's teachings. Spreading such vile teachings as these, the SGI members and leaders accumulate slander upon slander which, by now, has now grown into a Mount Sumeru of slander. Is there any doubt that the world, far from being a better place for the spread of the SGI teachings, has become a boiling cauldron of death and despair? There is no doubt!

How can this most distressing of situations be remedied?

Nichiren states:

“I decided that I would not heed the claims of these eight or ten schools, but would do as the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai did and let the sutras themselves be my sole teacher, in this way determining which of the various teachings of the Buddha’s lifetime are superior and which are inferior.”

To remedy this situation and repay our debts of gratitude to Shakyamuni Buddha, the Lotus Sutra, our parents, brothers, wives, and children and to all the people of Jambudvipa, we can do exactly as Nichiren did. We can investigate thoroughly the teachings of the various Nichiren sects matching them with the Lotus Sutra and the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin:

“Among the various sutras, there must be one that is the monarch of all. Yet the ten schools and seven schools I have mentioned all argue with one another over which of the sutras it is and can reach no consensus. It is as though seven men or ten men were all trying to be the monarch of a single nation, thus keeping the populace in constant turmoil.

Wondering how to resolve this dilemma, I made a vow. I decided that I would not heed the claims of these eight or ten schools, but would do as the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai did and let the sutras themselves be my sole teacher, in this way determining which of the various teachings of the Buddha’s lifetime are superior and which are inferior. With this in mind, I began to read through all the sutras.

In a scripture called the Nirvana Sutra, the Buddha says, “Rely on the Law and not upon persons.” Relying on the Law here means relying on the various sutras. Not relying upon persons means not relying on persons other than the Buddha, such as the bodhisattvas Universal Worthy and Manjushri or the various Buddhist teachers I have enumerated earlier.” (Repaying Debts of Gratitude)

and

Lastly, coming to the just and correct conclusion that it is the Hokke sect that is superior and the teachings of the Lotus Sutra alone that leads to Buddhahood, we can spread these teachings far and wide, repudiating the wrongs of the Soka Gakkai, the Nichiren Shoshu, provisional Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. The world will become peaceful, calm, and secure.

When, “The Buddha is looked upon as the sovereign and the gods as his ministers; the relations between superior and inferior are correctly ordered in accordance with the rules of propriety, and therefore the nation should be well governed.” (King Rinda) Then, we will experience a new world, a land of Eternal Quiescent Light.

"Though the people of Japan think highly of the Lotus Sutra, because of their animosity toward me, the priest Nichiren, they refuse to chantNam-myoho-renge-kyo. But when invaders from the great kingdom of the Mongols strike once or twice again as they did at Iki and Tsushima,attacking and killing the men and taking the women prisoner; when they battle their way as far as the capital Kyoto and the city of Kamakura, seizing the sovereign himself along with his high ministers and hundred officials, flinging them in the dirt before their oxen and horses, and violently abusing them—how then will the people of Japan be able tokeep from chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo?

In the past, when I was struck several times in the face with the fifth scroll of the Lotus Sutra,17 I felt no resentment at it. In fact, I was actually delighted. For to be attacked in the manner described in the“Never Disparaging” chapter, to suffer assault as predicted in the“Encouraging Devotion” chapter, is indeed a high and precious honor.

But how vexing such attacks must be to Brahmā, Shakra, the gods of the sun and moon, and the four heavenly kings, who inscribed an oath in the presence of the Buddha that they would not permit evil men to strike the votary of the Lotus Sutra! It would be no small matter if those who slander me were to fail to incur punishment from the heavenly deities in their present existence. Not only will those deities [who fail to punish them] be destroyed throughout past, present, and future, but even now the Buddhas are surely taking an account of their actions. And when that happens, it will be no fault of Nichiren’s. Rather, by siding with those priests who slander the correct teaching, they are summoning great disaster upon themselves."

"I, Nichiren, am the most loyal subject in all of Japan. I do not believe that there has ever been, nor ever will be, anyone who can equal me in this respect. The reason I say so is as follows: When the great earthquake struck during the Shōka era (1257–1259) and the huge comet appeared in the first year of Bun’ei (1264), a number of wise persons, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist, performed divinations, but they could neither determine the causes of these disasters nor foretell what was to come. As for me, I secluded myself in a scripture library, and after pondering the matters based on the Buddhist p.1008teachings, I concluded that, because the people revere the priests of provisional Mahayana and Hinayanateachings, such as True Word, Zen, Nembutsu, and Precepts, and make light of the Lotus Sutra, the heavenly kings Brahmā and Shakra would rebuke them by ordering a country in the west to attack Japan. I submitted a written warning to this effect to the lay priest of Saimyō-ji, now deceased. People of all religions scoffed at it and dismissed it, but nine years later, in the fifth year of Bun’ei, an official declaration arrived from the great Mongol empire announcing its intention to attack Japan. Because my prediction had thus come true, the Nembutsu priests, True Word teachers, and others resented me and plotted against my life."

''Among all the diseases, the Buddha worried that the five cardinal sins, incorrigible disbelief, and slander of the Law were especially grave ones. Without a single exception, the people of Japan today are afflicted with the most serious of all illnesses, the grave illness of major slander. I refer to the followers of the Zen, Nembutsu, and Precepts schools, and tothe True Word teachers. Because their illness is so serious, neither do they recognize it in themselves, nor are others aware of it. And because this illness worsens, warriors from throughout the four seas will attack at any moment, and the ruler, his ministers, and the common people will all sink into the sea. To see this before one’s very eyes is indeed a painful thing.''

''All the people in Japan, both wise and foolish, from the sovereign on down to the common people, say that the priest Nichiren is no match for the scholars, teachers, great teachers, and eminent priests of old. I waited for the right time to dispel their distrust of me. The time finally came when a great earthquake occurred in the Shōka era, followed by the appearance of a huge comet in the Bun’ei era.3 Observing these, I made this prediction: “Our country will suffer two terrible disasters: internal strife and foreign invasion. The former will take place in Kamakura in the form of internecine strife among the descendants of theacting administrator.4 The latter may come from any direction, but that from the west5 would be the most violent. This latter will occur solely because all the Buddhist schools in Japan are incorrect, and Brahmā andShakra will therefore command other countries to attack us. So long as the country refuses to heed me, it will certainly be defeated, even if it has a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand generals as brave asMasakado, Sumitomo, Sadatō, Toshihito, or Tamura. If these words of mine prove false, then the people are free to believe in the distorted views of the True Word, Nembutsu, and other schools.” This is the prediction that I have made known far and wide.''