[paragraph continues] Onjoji, Toji, and others, erected in all parts of the land, bear witness to the continuity of the Faith; copies of the Scriptures are as plentiful as the stars in the firmament, and the overhanging roofs of the temples are like a protecting cloud over the land. The sons of S'ariputra still set their faces to the Vulture's Peak; the disciples of Kakuroku still preserve the holy garments and vessels of S'akyamuni. How can you say that the traces of the Three Precious Things have disappeared, and despise the teaching of the present day? If you have any proof for your assertion, please show it me.

The Master. Quite true. Temples are very plentiful, and there is an abundance of sacred books. Buddhism has never lost its outward succession of preachers and adherents. But the priesthood is so corrupt that they lead men away from the paths of virtue, and the rulers are so ignorant that they cannot distinguish good from evil. Hear what is said in the Sutra of the Merciful King (Ninnokyo): "Evil monks, whose thoughts are on their own aggrandizement and wealth, preach doctrines which are destructive of religion and social order; princes and rulers, whose minds are ignorant and who cannot tell right from wrong, issue decrees and ordinances which are not after the Law. When these things come to pass, religion perishes and the country is brought to confusion." Again, it is written in the Sutra of the Great Decease: "The Bodhisattva need not fear the rutting elephant: but evil knowledge is a thing to be dreaded. The rutting

elephant can kill the body, but the soul may be saved: the evil knowledge which comes through bad friends will cast a man's soul into hell." The same thing is said in the Saddharma pundarika Sutra, and there is a passage in the Sutra of the Great Decease which tells us that when, at the end of the Period of the Upright Law, all the saints shall have entered into Nirvana, there will be monks, in the period of Image Law, who shall recite the Sutras only as a means of gaining a livelihood; who, although wearing the monkish Kesa, shall be like hunters in search of prey, like cats watching for mice. Pretending to be wise and righteous, they will be full of jealousy and covetousness. Through them will the way of Buddhism be evil spoken of.

Now, sir, when I look round me at the world, that is exactly what I see. How can I help speaking my mind about the wickedness of the monks?

The Visitor (angrily). I assure you you are wrong. Wise kings rule over their countries according to the eternal rules of Heaven and Earth; holy men bear rule by showing them the differences between right and wrong. By virtue of his being a holy man, it is the office of a priest to exercise influence in the State, and none but a good man