m the earth, should be taken as an expression of the cosmic body of the Buddha.

"116 Whereas Chinese

Buddhist commentators gave absolute value to the absolute taken as a basic principle, in Japan, Nichiren
attributed this absolute authority to a specific person in certain particular circumstances. Thus, to
believe Nichiren, he himself had actually received, two thousand years before, the store of the wisdom
of the Buddha, which he now in turn transmits to mankind. "On the 24th day of the second month of the
eleventh year of Bunei, on Mount Ryozen * (Grdhrakuta*) of the Pure Land, Nichiren, to whom Buddha
entrusted the store of the essential verities, respectfully received priestly ordination."117 "More than
2000 years ago Nichiren, as chief of the Bodhisattvas of the thousand worlds emerging out of the earth,
received from the very mouth of the Buddha the three great secret doctrines."118 In the Zen sect, too,
Dogen* (1200–1253), for example, teaches absolute devotion to the master. "In order to embrace
Buddhism, one must abandon his own judgments of good and evil. Rather must one follow the words
and examples of our Buddhist predecessors, regardless of god or evil. What one regards as good, either
in his own opinion or in that of other men, is not necessarily good. Therefore, heedless of the world's
gaze, and oblivious of one's own opinions, one should follow the teachings of the Buddha."119 "We
recognize immediately and instinctively that such persons as Sakyamuni* and Amida are Buddhas, for
their features are endowed with radiance and they are remarkable for their preaching and their grace.
If, however, a learned priest says that a toad or a worm is the Buddha, then one must abandon ordinary
knowledge and believe that a toad or a worm is the Buddha. But if one seeks in the worm the radiance
of countenance or the various virtues with which the Buddha is endowed, then one still has not
modified his prejudices. One must recognize as the Buddha only that which can be seen at a given
moment. Thus if one goes along modifying his prejudices in accordance with the words of the master,
one will naturally reach agreement. The scholars of recent days, on the contrary, cling to their own
prejudices and think that the Buddha must be such and such, according to their private opinions. If
anything should differ from their opinion, they say that it cannot be so, but wonder if it may be
something similar to their own preconceived notions. Thus in the main they are not devoted to the way
of the Buddha."120 Then he explains that one should conform absolutely to the various ascetic
practices, precepts and rules of the Zen sect, because they represent the continuous tradition of the
past. "It is false to insist upon ascetic practice as essential, believing thereby that one may reach
enlightenment, on the grounds that one should keep commandments and observe the fasts. One
observes such things because they are the routine of a monk and the Previous Released By -TSJ5J- Next
Previous Released By -TSJ5J- Next Page 453 customs of the house of the sons of Buddha. One should not
necessarily say that such things are essential because they are useful.''121 For this reason, Dogen *
planned to establish rationally each of the rules and doctrines of the Zen sect. However, he abandoned
his plan before completing it, and gave precedence to authority and tradition over rational thought. For
example, Buddhism recognizes four attitudes among the various daily activities of mankind, namely,
walking, standing, sitting, and reclining. One speaks of "Zen," however, only in connection with the
sitting position. Explaining the reason for this, Dogen says: "It may be asked, 'Why do the priests speak
of meditation and enlightenment only in connection with the sitting position?' and I answer, 'It is
difficult to know the way by which all the various Buddhas achieved enlightenment. If you seek the
reason, you must know that it is just because the priests employed (this way). You should not question
further. Our masters before us praised sitting in meditation (zazen) as the gateway to bliss. This is why w