and his virtue was higher than that of any of his predecessors. Yet he lost his way in Buddhism, and could not lay hold of Nirvana. Then he studied more diligently and meditated more profoundly than he had ever done before, and at last, throwing aside the Sutras, he devoted himself to the invocation of Amida's Name. This he did by revelation, having been commanded to hand down to posterity the practice of the Nembutsu.

Men spoke of him as an incarnation of Seishi, or that he was Zendo come to life again, and crowds of all ranks and of both sexes flocked to his sermons. His doctrines have now stood the test of many years, and yet you presume to set yourself up against the authority of S'akyamuni, and to deride the faith in Amida.

Why do you lay on the august administration the blame for the misfortunes of recent years? And how do you dare to abuse the teachers and saints of the preceding ages? You are blowing hair to find a wound; you are cutting the skin to make the blood flow. I have been astonished at the violence of your language, and I advise you to be cautious and to fear, lest trouble befall you. Even now it is risky to be seen speaking to you.

(Rises from his seat, takes his cane, and prepares to leave the house.)

The Master (detaining his visitor, and smiling). A

bitter taste and a bad smell are nothing when we are used to them. But when you are not used to a thing you are apt to be troubled by it. When you hear truth for the first time you think it is falsehood; you mistake a rogue at a first glance for a saint, and a true teacher for a false prophet. But let me explain the whole matter to you. When our master Shaka was preaching the Sutras of his whole life arranged according to the Five Periods, he preached his doctrines in a consecutive series so that he might the more easily distinguish the apparent Truth from the Absolute. Donran, Doshaku, and Zendo, however, seized hold of an Apparent Truth, and forgot the Absolute Truth that was yet to come. They did not understand the whole Truth of Buddhism. Honen was worse than they, for instead of merely following, he went beyond them, and advocated the giving up, closing, laying aside, and flinging away of all the many thousand works of the Mahayana Scriptures, as well as of all the innumerable Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and gods. And it was by such preaching that he deceived the people.