In this first part of the Gosho Nichiren Daishonin divides illness into two kinds - illness of the body and illness of the mind. He is not referring to physical and mental illness as we would classify them, but looking at the fundamental cause of illness. An illness which basically has a physical cause is an 'illness of the body'. An illness whose cause lies within the mind or within one's life itself is an 'illness of the mind'.

Nichiren Daishonin explains that an illness of the body can be diagnosed and treated successfully by a skilled doctor, but illness of the mind is caused by the three poisons of greed, anger and ignorance. These arise from the fundamental darkness which is inherent in all human life and which, as the source of all illusions and earthly desires, causes all suffering.

In many Buddhist writings human sufferings and delusions are likened to illness. The Juryo chapter of the Lotus Sutra, for example, which we recite each morning in gongyo, contains the parable of the excellent physician whose children take poison while he is away. When he returns he prepares medicine which some of his children take and are cured. The minds of the others are so affected by the poison however, that they refuse the medicine. In the end the physician leaves them, saying they should take the medicine and not worry about whether it will cure them or not. He then sends a false message saying he is dead, which brings the poisoned children to their senses. They take the medicine and are cured.
Shakyamuni then explains that the Buddha is the excellent physician and the people his children; the medicine is the Lotus Sutra which, when 'taken' or followed, will cure people of the suffering which stems from their delusions about the true nature of life; as he states in the Yakuo (23rd) chapter: "This sutra provides good medicine for the ills of the people of Jambudvipa' (The Lotus Sutra, Watson, pp.288 and 332).

The Three Poisons

As we all have the three poisons within our lives, we have distorted views about life, and suffer or even reject the 'good medicine' of faith in the Gohonzon. The poison of greed causes us to want more and more, and never be satisfied. On a large scale this produces serious economic distortions worldwide, leading to such disasters as inflation and famine. When our lives are driven by the anger of our egos we are arrogant and disrespect others, convinced that we alone are right. On a large scale this leads to war.

Stupidity or ignorance means that our lives are dominated by instinct and we cannot see the true working of life or understand the strict law of cause and effect. On a large scale this produces 'pestilence' - widespread sickness caused by the failure to live correctly, ranging from such things as stress and obesity in the West, to epidemics of cholera, pneumonic plague and other diseases elsewhere in the world.

Whether the disorders caused by the three poisons manifest themselves in a physical way as illness, or spiritually as disharmony and unhappiness in our lives, there is no easy solution. They cannot simply be cured by the right pill and, even if the symptoms of an illness caused by the three poisons disappear, the poison will merely be manifested in a different form. As Nichiren Daishonin says, "Only a Buddha can cure them".
Specifically, Nichiren Daishonin is explaining that some Buddhist teachings are deeper than others; the more profound the teaching, the deeper it penetrates the illusions about life it can correct. Thus, Hinayana teachings, which are shallow in comparison to the later Mahayana teachings, can correct some of the basic misconceptions people hold about life, and the sufferings that arise from them.

However, if people know about the more profound teachings of Mahayana Buddhism - in particular Shakyamuni's highest teaching, the Lotus Sutra - and slander them, either by consciously disregarding or even belittling them, then not only will they suffer, but their sufferings will actually be made worse by practicing the lesser, Hinayan teachings. To give an analogy, a person with a simple headache might take a painkiller to relieve his suffering; but if he tries to treat a brain tumor in this way, masking the pain may mean the real cause of his suffering will go untreated and therefore get much worse. In this context, Nichiren Daishonin states that slander of the Lotus Sutra is the most serious of all bad causes one can make and can be eradicated only through the practicing his teachings.
From the general viewpoint, people in the West are largely ignorant of Buddhism and do not know which teaching is shallow and which profound. The suffering that arises from 'slandering the Lotus Sutra' can thus be understood to mean that when our lives are out of harmony with the Law of life on a fundamental level we become unhappy and ill. In this sense, not slandering means basing our lives on our regular practice to the Gohonzon. This enables us to reveal the highest state of life, Buddhahood, and thus positively affect everyone and everything around us, with whom we are inextricably linked.

We are all strongly influenced by the values of our society, whether we agree with them or not. Even if we did not actively practice Christianity before we became Buddhists, in this country [UK] our outlook on life has been shaped by Christian values through such institutions as our schools and legal system. So even though we are chanting to the Gohonzon, it is very common when faced with a serious illness, difficulties or deep unhappiness to approach the problem from a Christian perspective. In other words, we seek the answer to human problems in an external deity.

Thus, we can chant to solve a problem and at the back of our minds may be the hope that someone or something will come along and solve it for us. Or we may think that we cannot have Buddhahood in our lives because, having been taught that we can never be as good as God, we believe we are not good enough to be a Buddha. What we are doing here is using a lesser teaching to try to overcome our suffering. We may find it very difficult to change these beliefs because they can be deeply ingrained in our lives.

In addition, illness has the effect of weakening our life force, making it difficult to carry out our daily practice. We all know what a debilitating effect even a heavy cold has on our lives, so how much more difficult is it to practice strongly when we are suffering from a serious illness.

Illness and Karma

It helps us to challenge our illness when we understand that the condition of our life at any moment is the result of past causes we have made, our karma. We create this karma through our thoughts, words and actions. The causes we make are stored in our lives until the conditions are right for the effects to be manifest. When we are really suffering through illness we usually find it hard to accept that this is the effect of past causes ourselves have made, especially if they are not apparent in this lifetime and must have been made in previous lifetimes.

However, as Nichiren Daishonin says, "There can be no discontinuity between past, present and future" (MW1p93). When, through continual chanting and study, we understand that life is eternal, we are also able to understand that we can change our karma. In the same way that when we suffer we are experiencing the effects of our past negative causes now, through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo we are laying down the most positive causes now which will manifest themselves as happiness and good fortune in the future. Fueled by our daimoku, this understanding gives us the courage and tenacity to keep challenging our illness, through a combination of faith and what we personally feel to be the best medical treatment.

When we start to challenge our illness or problem we cannot tell the depth of our karma, however. As the Daishonin states, "it is impossible to fathom one's own karma" (MW1p37). Further, as the Gosho "On Prolonging Life" explains, there are two types of karma, mutable and immutable. Generally speaking, immutable karma produces a fixed effect at a specific time; the effects of mutable karma are not specific either in terms of how or when they appear. Incurable illness, and the timing and nature of one's death, are traditionally held in Buddhism to be examples of immutable karma, but Nichiren Daishonin explains that through practicing his teachings even this immutable karma can be changed: "Sincere repentance will eradicate even immutable karma, to say nothing of karma which is mutable...When I, Nichiren, prayed for my mother, not only was her illness cured, but her life was prolonged by four years"(MW1p229-230).

Challenge

Rather than view an illness as a cause for us simply to suffer, then, we can look upon it as an opportunity to change our karma. This karma may have manifested itself in all sorts of ways in our lives. For example, our outlook on life may be very pessimistic and may cause us to worry about everything. We may have always been life this even as a child and see this attitude as intrinsic to our character. Eventually, this may cause a physical or mental illness through stress.

In challenging that illness we can also challenge a huge area of suffering in our lives, but this may not be apparent at first. We may doubt the Gohonzon when the illness is not quickly overcome, but we must remember that we are struggling not just with our illness but possibly with our whole outlook on life. When we do this and accept responsibility for our condition, it opens up our lives in unimaginable ways, regardless of our physical condition.
Probably the most difficult illness to challenge are mental illnesses. As the Daishonin states, they appear in many forms and levels of severity, ranging, in contemporary terms, from depression and anxiety to psychotic conditions such as schizophrenia and paranoia. Given the broad scope which the phrase 'mental illness' embraces, it is impossible to say categorically how one should approach it through faith. For some people with less severe illnesses - various forms of depression for example - a strong and regular practice, guidance in faith and wise medical treatment will normally lead to overcoming this kind of illness. For others with more serious conditions, it is vital to receive medical advice and treatment immediately. Chanting daimoku can magnify the symptoms of this kind of illness. Hence, if we are close to someone suffering from a mental illness, we can practice strongly to create a positive, safe and stable environment for him or her. Through our strong practice we can affect that person in a positive way and offer the best support, while keeping our own life force powerful and consistent. Wherever possible, though, whether the illness involves ourselves or someone close to us, individual guidance is strongly recommended.

Japan during Nichiren Daishonin's lifetime went through a period of natural disasters, famines and epidemics. In 1260 Nichiren Daishonin wrote the Rissho Ankoku Ron (On Securing the Peace of the Land through the Propagation of True Buddhism) which he submitted to the retired regent Hojo Tokiyori, the most influential person in the ruling clan. In this treatise he stated that the sufferings of the Japanese nation were caused by the people's slander of the True Law and their adherence to 'provisional' - early and incomplete - Buddhist teachings, particularly those of the Jodo sect, whose followers sought salvation by calling on the name of a legendary Buddha called Amida.

Unfortunately, the government took no notice of the Rissho Ankoku Ron and proceeded to persecute Nichiren Daishonin and his followers. He points out again here that there is no point in Buddhist priests offering prayers, since they are trying to cure with inferior teachings the illnesses actually caused by those teachings. The lesson here is that it is important to know the fundamental cause of any illness before treating it, otherwise the treatment can just make matters worse.

The fundamental causes of the problems that we suffer from in today's society, both individually and collectively are clearly the three poisons (greed, anger and ignorance). This Gosho says wise men see omens and what they foretell, as snakes know the way of snakes. But it seems that today human beings, generally speaking, are not wise and have forgotten 'the way of humanity'. Unless we can develop the wisdom through our practice of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism to combat the Three Poisons, the causes that we are laying down in our lives through our thoughts, words and deeds will inevitably make our suffering worse. Once we base our lives on the Gohonzon, however, we can change our distorted way of looking at the world and can develop the wisdom and energy to live our lives creatively and valuably.

Nichiren Daishonin makes the point through the example of King Ajatashatru. He was a king who was violently opposed to Shakyamuni and Buddhism and committed many slanderous acts, including killing his parents and many of the Buddha's disciples. Eventually, his whole body erupted in painful boils and he realized he would soon die. However, even though he had done all these awful things, when he perceived the cause of his illness was his own evil and converted to Shakyamuni's teachings, he was able to cure his illness and prolong his life.

When Nichiren Daishonin wrote this letter he was living at Mount Minobu, a very remote area. He was dependent on his disciples' offerings to feed and clothe him. He was probably existing on a poor diet and had been suffering from diarrhea for the first half of the year; indeed, it was so serious he thought he might die. He was therefore very grateful for the medicines Shijo Kingo sent him to help his condition.

It is clear from the this that we should not feel it is a lack of faith which makes us ill or unable to cure an illness simply by chanting to the Gohonzon. If we are ill we should, like the Daishonin, seek medical attention; provided we tackle the cause deep in our lives at the same time, we will be able to find the right treatment. As President Ikeda said last year at the SGI Canada General Meeting, "If you're feeling unwell got to see a doctor. This is common sense. Faith, meanwhile, enables us to strengthen our fundamental life force to make the best of all medical science has to offer."

In another Gosho, 'Beneficial Medicine for All Ills', Nichiren Daishonin says, "A person's death does not necessarily come about through illness...From illness arises the mind that seeks the Way" (MW,Vol.5,p.280). In other words, illness can prompt us to start practicing or deepen our faith if we are already chanting. In this way it reveals one of its positive aspects, another being the fact that it enables us to identify with others suffering from illness.

However, as Nichiren Daishonin implies in this passage, we cannot know even our karma or the time of our death - let alone that of another person. Some people change their karma to die from a serious illness and go on to live for several years. Others die sooner, but from their spirit and their influence on the people around before they died we can see that they have changed their karma in this life.

The Eternity of Life

It is important for us to understand that life is eternal. Life and death are both part of the natural rhythm of the universe. We accept that the seasons have a cycle of birth in the spring, maturity in the summer, decline in the autumn and death in the winter. We can see that each season has its own beauty and value. We find it hard to accept that our lives have the same rhythm and that when we die our lives are in a state of latency, where we recharge our life-force to be born again in a fresh, new form. If we do not understand this it is easy to see death as some kind of failure, particularly death that comes at the end of an illness.
But in the Gosho 'On Prolonging Life', Nichiren Daishonin states;
"A single life is worth more than the universe. You still have many years ahead of you, and moreover, you have found the Lotus Sutra. If you live even one day longer, you can accumulate that much more good fortune. How precious life is! (MW, Vol.1,p.231).

Ultimately, as the Daishonin is saying here, what is important is the way in which we spend our lives, accumulating 'good fortune', rather than the age at which we die. And the greatest good fortune is to be able to live a life of hope and courage up to the moment of our death, whenever that may be.

The power of the Gohonzon is so great that through our strong practice to it we can bring up the life-force to challenge our circumstances day by day - whether we are struggling with an illness or any other of life's problems - and find treasure in each moment to the end of our lives.

edited/prepared by Wendy Sheridan

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This page was last modified on Sunday, August 20, 2006.