Three Great Secret Laws

The Three Great Secret Laws三大秘法 : 

The Three Great Secret Laws三大秘法 The object of devotion of the essential teaching 本門本尊 The sanctuary of the essential teaching 本門戒壇 The daimoku of the essential teaching 本門題目 三大秘法是指本門本尊、本門戒壇、本門題目，是日蓮大聖人佛法的骨幹。自釋尊入滅後，從未有人說出和圖顯此三大秘法的法門。首先要指出這裡所說「本門」，並非釋尊所說的法華經本門，而是日蓮大聖人首次顯現的文底獨一本門。釋尊的龐大經教也是為了說出《法華經》的序曲。由於《法華經》蘊含著三大秘法，所以具有令眾生成佛的力量。在《大集經》中也有說過，在釋尊入滅之後，一千年這段期間的正法時代，還有往後之一千年間的像法時代為止，釋尊的教導還擁有可以令人們成佛的力量，但經過釋尊滅後二千年之後，進入末法，「白法隱沒」，釋尊的力量亦會隨之而消失。因為日蓮大聖人深知在末法，釋尊的《法華經》已經不能令眾生成佛，所以顯現出成佛根源之法的、久遠元初的妙法的三大秘法。日蓮大聖人顯現三大秘法，開啟出不論誰人也能容易成佛的道路來。可以說，日蓮大聖人將佛的領悟打開給萬人分享。 These are the core principles of Nichiren’s teaching. They are the object of devotion of the essential teaching, the daimoku of the essential teaching, and the sanctuary of the essential teaching. Here, "essential teaching" refers to the teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and not to the essential teaching, or the latter fourteen chapters, of the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren (1222-1282) established these three essential principles to enable people in the Latter Day of the Law to attain Buddhahood. They are called secret because they are implicit in the text of the "Life Span" (sixteenth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra and remained hidden or unknown until Nichiren revealed them. Nichiren regarded them as the vital teaching that Shakyamuni Buddha transferred to Bodhisattva Superior Practices in the "Supernatural Powers" (twenty-first) chapter of the sutra. The Three Great Secret Laws represent Nichiren's embodiment of the Mystic Law, to which he was enlightened, in a form that all people can practice and thereby gain access to that Law within their own lives.

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本門本尊是本佛日蓮大聖人以生命書寫而顯現出來的，那裡是實現貫穿宇宙與生命根源之法的南無妙法蓮華經。這個本門本尊正是在末法今時，令一切眾生成佛，得到根本幸福境涯的最優勝的本尊。 這個本門本尊是人、法兩面的。 所謂人本尊，是令末法的一切眾生成佛，與久遠元初妙法為一體的佛，即是末法本佛的日蓮大聖人。 所謂法本尊，是以人本尊的生命圖顯出來曼荼羅的本尊。　　大聖人有說：「這個御本尊是日蓮將魂魄染於墨而寫成的，你要相信啊！」（〈覆經王書〉，日文御書全集一一二四頁）人本尊的日蓮大聖人與法本尊的大曼荼羅是一體的，這個名為「人法一箇」。 The object of devotion of the essential teaching 本門本尊 At the core of the Three Great Secret Laws is the One Great Secret Law. This is the object of devotion of the essential teaching, or Nichiren's embodiment in the form of a mandala of the eternal Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which he fully realized and manifested in his life. He writes in The Person and the Law, "Deep in this mortal flesh I preserve the ulti-mate secret Law inherited from Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, at Eagle Peak" (1097). The object of devotion is viewed in terms of both Person and Law. The Person indicates Nichiren himself, who achieved the enlightenment and virtues of the eternal Buddha and who established the Buddhism of sowing for all people in the Latter Day of the Law. The object of devotion in terms of the Law is the Gohonzon, which embodies Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

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本門戒壇是安置本門本尊的場所。戒的意思是防非止惡，而戒壇本來是僧侶發誓奉持戒律的地方。可是，在大聖人的佛法上，無需奉持特別的戒律，唯一的戒律是要捨棄錯誤的宗教，純真地信奉御本尊和實踐正確的佛道修行。而且，大聖人的法門並非專為僧侶而設，是公開給世人的教導。故此，大聖人佛法的戒壇是給予一切人參拜，從而防止人墮入不幸與罪惡的深淵、實踐佛道修行而成佛的道場。成佛的修行是確信御本尊和唱題，所以安奉御本尊的地方就是本門戒壇了。 日蓮大聖人在廣宣流布之時，將一閻浮提總與的大御本尊安置的戒壇，建立作為祈念一切眾生的罪障消滅、世界恆久的和平與繁榮的根本道場。這個便名為「事之戒壇」。因為「事之戒壇」是自行化他的實踐配合廣宣流布發展之相，互起作用而建立的，所以在一九七二年落成的正本堂，就是含有這個意義而建立的。 還有，各人安置本門本尊，以強盛信心邁向廣宣流布，唱唸自行化他的題目的地方，稱為義之戒壇。 The sanctuary of the essential teaching 本門戒壇 Because embracing this object of devotion called the Gohonzon is the only precept in Nichiren's teaching, the place where it is enshrined corresponds to the place where one vows to observe the Buddhist precepts—the ordination platform, or sanctuary, of the essential teaching. The term precept in Buddhism implies preventing error and putting an end to evil. The sanctuary also has two aspects, the specified sanctuary and the general sanctuary. The former is the sanctuary to be built at the time of kosen-rufu, or wide propagation, in accordance with Nichiren's instruction. This is the place where the object of devotion Nichiren inscribed for all humanity (commonly known as the Dai-Gohonzon) is to be enshrined when his teaching has been widely spread and established. The general sanctuary is any place where one enshrines the object of devotion and engages in practice.

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本門題目的南無妙法蓮華經，是久遠元初本佛的寶號，它歸納在本門本尊之中。對於我們眾生來說是要相信本門本尊（信的題目）、唱誦南無妙法蓮華經（行的題目）。題目要信、行兼備，而且要自行（自己唱題）、化他（勸導他人唱題）才稱得上是正確的題目。 在字面上指的「南無」（歸命）於「妙法蓮華經」，並非對釋尊的《法華經》（妙法蓮華經）南無。確信法華經壽量文底獨一本門本尊，從而唱誦其「名字」，就是本門題目了。當唱誦之時，御本尊的無限力量會從自己的生命中湧現，每日的勤行、唱題（自行）和折伏（化他），是邁向成佛的主要佛道修行。 The daimoku of the essential teaching 本門題目 The daimoku of the essential teaching indicates the invocation or chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with faith in the object of devotion; it includes chanting the daimoku for oneself and teaching it to others. The daimoku of the essential teaching also has two aspects: the daimoku of faith and the daimoku of practice. The former means to believe in the Gohonzon, and the latter means to chant the daimoku and spread it.