But in all this he was preaching, not Buddhism, but his own private opinions. He was a deceiver (mogo) and blasphemer (akku) such as we have but seldom seen hitherto, though now there are many of them, and it is a great pity that so many people should be captivated by his preaching and admire his Senchaku. The Books are now neglected, for no one reads anything but the three Sutras of the Pure Land; it is all the Buddha of the Western Paradise now, and the other Buddhas and Saints may go hang! A man like Honen can only be termed the pronounced enemy of the Buddhas, of the Scriptures, of the Saints, and of the common people. It is a terrible calamity that this heresy should have spread so widely.

You found fault with me just now for laying the blame of our recent calamities on the shoulders of the present administration. I have been afraid of the consequences myself, but allow me to give you a few historical examples to prove my assertion. [The historical examples are taken from China, and are intended to prove that when a Government neglects to promote the interests of true religion the country always has to suffer for it. The most striking instance is that of the troubles from invasions by barbarians which followed the Tang Emperor Wutsung's attacks on Buddhism in the seventh century A.D.] Honen himself lived during the administration of Gotoba;

we cannot find, even in the history of the Tang, a more striking instance than that. Please do not doubt or wonder at what I say. It is our duty to turn from wickedness and to follow after justice; to check wickedness at its source, and cut evil at the root.

The Visitor. I catch your drift, though I do not fully understand your meaning. I would, however, suggest that Buddhism is a wide topic, and that there are many ways of looking at it. By the way, have you ever yet presented a memorial to the authorities on this matter? Until you have done so, you, a man of the middle classes, have no right to speak as you do.

The Master. It is quite true. I am an insignificant person. Still, I have some knowledge of the Mahayana, and I know that a fly can ride a thousand miles on the tail of a racehorse, and that ivy can climb a thousand feet with the help of a pine tree. I am the servant of the Buddhas, and owe them fealty. How can I help being grieved when I hear the ruin of my Faith 2 It is said, in the Sutra of the Great Decease, that if a monk sees a man injuring Buddhism and fails to reprove him, he is a worthless brother; but that if he speaks up and reproves him, he is a true brother. I am scarcely worthy to be called a monk, yet I am trying to do my duty.

Are you aware that during the year of Gennin (1224-5) the monks of the Enryakuji and Kofukuji memorialized