Published by Soka Spirit Editor
Posted on March 09, 2010
The Fallacy of The Eye-opening Ceremony
The Nichiren Shoshu priesthood contends that a Gohonzon that has not received a ritual “eye-opening” by the high priest has no power of benefit. They claim “the opening of the eyes conducted by the High Priests is of paramount importance for Nichiren Shoshu. (Nichiren Shoshu Monthly, February 2009, pp. 21–22) Although they claim it is of “paramount importance” there is no supporting doctrinal evidence that this ritual was ever meant to be performed for Gohonzon. They lamely claim there are writings by Nichiren and Nikko that “teach the principle of offering of the opening of eyes and necessity of this ceremony” but “unfortunately there are few such writings among the Daishonin’s Gosho [collected writings] and successive high priests documents.” (Ibid.) In other words, they don’t exist.
Nichiren Daishonin never mentioned an eye-opening ceremony being necessary for Gohonzon. He simply addresses the established religious tradition of this ritual as it applies to statues or painted images of the Buddha and in particular, refutes the practice as performed in Shingon and esoteric Buddhism.
He writes: “It is the power of the Lotus Sutra [Gohonzon] that can infuse such paintings and statues with a ‘soul’ or spiritual property” (WND-1, 684).
Ultimately, he explains, the seed of Buddhahood within both sentient and insentient beings—statues and paintings— is revealed in the theory of “three thousand realms in a single moment of life,” not in some ritual (see WND-1, 365).
In writings on the subject prior to his first inscription of Gohonzon (during his 1271 Sado exile), he uses the phrase “wooden or painted images” as in a 1264 writing, “Opening the Eyes of Wooden and Painted Images” (WND-1, 87). After he began inscribing Gohonzon, he continues to use the same phrase and does not include the Gohonzon mandala as needing an eye-opening ceremony. In fact in 1278 he writes “in the eye-opening ceremony for Buddhist wooden and painted images, only the Lotus Sutra should be used” (WND-2, 789). In other words, the Lotus Sutra (Gohonzon) is to be used if such a ritual is performed as was customary in thirteenth century Japan.
Nichiren writes in “Opening the Eyes of Wooden and Painted Images,” “A person can know another’s mind by listening to the voice. That is because the physical aspect reveals the spiritual aspect. The physical and spiritual, which are one in essence, manifest themselves as two distinct aspects; thus the Buddha’s mind found expression as the written words of the Lotus Sutra. These written words are the Buddha’s mind in a different form. Therefore, those who read the Lotus Sutra must not regard it as consisting of mere written words, for those words are in themselves the Buddha’s mind” (WND, Vol. 1, p. 86). There is no mention of the Buddha’s mind being shut until a ritual by a high priest was performed.
Former Nichiren Shoshu priest Mikio Matsuoka, who went on to earn a doctorate in Nichiren Buddhism and social philosophy from Tokyo University writes in his book, The Myths of Nichiren Shoshu:
“In accord with the principle of oneness of body and mind, the Buddha’s intent (mind) is manifested in the characters of the Lotus Sutra (body). Also, the characters of the Lotus Sutra change into the Buddha’s intent as they are. This reflects Nichiren’s enlightened perception. Therefore, Nichiren’s mandala that consists of characters, which are defined as the Lotus Sutra of the Latter Day of the Law, leads to the reason that ‘I, Nichiren, have inscribed my life’ (WND-1, 412).
“In this context, the Taiseki-ji school’s people should believe that the true Buddha’s life is innate in the characters of their object of devotion, Nichiren’s mandala Gohonzon. For this reason, when it comes to the conducting of an eye-opening ceremony for statues and paintings, Nichiren Shoshu should do so with the mandala object of devotion. The current Nichiren Shoshu’s contention that the character-based mandala takes on the life of the true Buddha thanks to the high priest’s prayer to it is opposed to Nichiren’s thought that the characters of the Lotus Sutra equal the Buddha’s will” (http://nichiren-shoshu.org/).
The priesthood started the practice of performing an eye-opening ceremony for Gohonzon after the death of Nichiren and Nikko. In their own archives there are records of many Gohonzon that never had such a ritual performed. Post World War II, all Gohonzon of Nichiren Shoshu were printed in Tokyo at Hodo-in temple and distributed to other temples in Japan as requested. These Gohonzon, after being mounted and packed into boxes for delivery, were never transferred to the head temple nor received an eye-opening ceremony from the high priest.
Eye witness accounts from former Nichiren Shoshu priests reveal that Nikken himself did not perform the ritual for Gohonzon that were distributed from the head temple.
In making their claim, Nichiren Shoshu states: “One should never worship anything as a Gohonzon that has not been authorized as such by the High Priest, who has inherited the Heritage of the Law, even if it was inscribed by Nichiren Daishonin himself…” (NST News, Special Issue, pp. 3−4). The phrase “even if it was inscribed by Nichiren Daishonin himself” is telling. It indicates that even if the Daishonin inscribed his life in the Gohonzon, unless the high priest has sanctioned it, it still has no power of benefit. It seems that the high priest can also close the eyes as well as open them.
In a letter to Shijo Kingo regarding the Gohonzon, Nichiren states: “Your faith alone will determine all these things. A sword is useless in the hands of a coward. The mighty sword of the Lotus Sutra must be wielded by one courageous in faith. Then one will be as strong as a demon armed with an iron staff. I, Nichiren, have inscribed my life in sumi ink, so believe in the Gohonzon with your whole heart” (WND-1, 412).
This sudden emphasis on the eye-opening ritual since the priesthood separated itself from the community of believers is another misguided attempt to give the clergy control over the faith of believers. “Faith is the basic requirement for entering the way of the Buddha” (WND-1, 141).