king be respectful towards the clergy, though he obey the precepts of morality, though he have wisdom to discern the right from the wrong, yet if he fail to protect Buddhism from the attacks that are made against it, his rule will only serve to bring unhappiness to his land, sickness and misery to himself, his queen, his children, and his courtiers, and in the end he will fall into Hell. The same is the testimony of the Ninnokyo. As sure as the sound follows the striking of the drum, as sure as the shadow follows the substance, or as characters written in the light remain (though invisible) after the light has been extinguished, so surely is it a fact that a grievous sin brings its own punishment. And what sin more grievous than to blaspheme against the Buddhas?

Woe unto them! They have missed the entrance gate that leads to the true Buddhism, and have fallen into the prison-house of a false sect. They are fettered, entangled, bewildered. Whither will their blind wanderings lead them? Stir up, I pray you, your slight desire for salvation and devote yourself with your whole mind to the unique excellence of the True Vehicle.

If you do this, then shall the Three Worlds become truly Buddha Lands, and the Ten Quarters treasure-houses that cannot be destroyed. If there be no decay and no destruction, the body will be in health, and the mind at rest. And the country will be in peace.

[The rest of the dialogue is unimportant. The visitor professes himself converted to the Master's views, and promises to take part in the active warfare against heresy.]

Footnotes

^308:1 A chronological study (if possible) would show that this statement is no exaggeration. During the whole thirteenth century Japan was visited, as were other countries, with the black plague.

^308:2 This is a quotation from a book called the "Hanshusan." It reminds one of the "two-edged sword" of the New Testament.

^308:3 The Lord of the Eastern Quarter is Akshobya. The Sutras connected with him are mostly incantations, very different from the Amida Sutras. The Chinese are much given to magic and sorcery, even Confucius having written a book on the subject. This may have been one of the reasons why one of the Han translators took with him some of the Akshobya Sutras. Those men, with a strange inconsistency, discouraged astrology whilst advocating the use of magic formulae.

^308:4 Hokke Shinjitsu, "the Truth of the Hokke." I believe this to be the name of some interpretation of the "Saddharma pundarika," possibly a commentary. It is interesting to find the tenets of "Christian Science" thus anticipated in Japan.

^308:5 As the seven fat kine in Pharaoh's dream were succeeded by the seven lean ones.