The Daishonin could not be any clearer on the importance of understanding the superiority of the essential teaching over the theoretical teaching. Letโs now look at the specific reasons as to why the essential teaching is superior to the theoretical teaching.๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐น๐ณ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด. ๐ข๐ป๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ต. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐โฆ.๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐, ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐น๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐. ๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฎ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ป๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ฒ๐ป๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฑ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ, ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฎ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ป๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ฒ๐ป๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ-๐ต๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ-๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ-๐ผ๐น๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ-๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ-๐ผ๐น๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐. ๐ข๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ.
(๐๐ค๐จ๐๐ค ๐ฏ๐๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ช, ๐ฅ. 995)
The Daishonin explains that the theoretical teaching corrected one of the faults of the pre-Lotus Sutra teaching: persons of the two vehicles could not attain Buddhahood. Thus, Shakyamuni Buddhaโs revelation of the doctrine of the true entity of all phenomena (๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ซ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ฐ) and his predictions of the attainment of enlightenment of the persons of the two vehicles formed the basis of the doctrine of theoretical ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ป๐ฆ๐ฏ. However, there is still another flaw that exists in this teaching; it is preached by a provisional Buddha: Shakyamuni who attained enlightenment for the first time in India (๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ซ๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐จ๐ข๐ฌ๐ถ). The Daishonin explains in ๐๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ถ-๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ,
Thus, the Daishonin explains that the theoretical teaching does not reveal true or actual (๐ซ๐ช) ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ป๐ฆ๐ฏ. This is because ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ป๐ฆ๐ฏ revealed in the theoretical teaching is based on the true entity of all phenomena expounded by a provisional Buddha. Thus, this teaching lacked concrete substance and existed in name only. Furthemore, because the persons of the two vehicles, for whom Shakyamuni prophesied the attainment of Buddhahood, believed that Shakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment for the first time in India and did not know of the true cause and true effect of the Buddhaโs original enlightenment in the inconceivably remote past, they still possessed the illusion of thought (๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ธ๐ข๐ฌ๐ถ) and the illusion of desire (๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐ถ), thus unable to overcome the illusion of fundamental darkness (๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ข๐ฌ๐ถ). When one considers these various points, the flaws of ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ป๐ฆ๐ฏ revealed in the theoretical teaching become clear.๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐ (๐๐ค๐๐๐ฃ) ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐น๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ-๐๐ผ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฎ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ๐. ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ฏ๐๐ฃ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฒ๐ป๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ฒ๐ป๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ด๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ. ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ณ๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ธ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐น๐ผ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ.
(๐๐ค๐จ๐๐ค, ๐ฅ. 536)
With regards to the essential teaching, the Daishonin states in ๐๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ถ-๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ,
The essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra reveals that Shakyamuni attained enlightenment in the inconceivably remote past (๐ฌ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฏ-๐ซ๐ช๐ต๐ด๐ถ๐ซ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฌ๐ถ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ). Therefore, when Shakyamuni reveals his enlightenment in terms of original cause, original effect, and original land, the attainment of Buddhahood by all people ceases to be a mere theory, and thus exists in concrete reality, overcoming the flaws of ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ป๐ฆ๐ฏ of the theoretical teaching. Hence, this doctrine is referred to as actual (๐ซ๐ช) ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ป๐ฆ๐ฏ. Thus, the superiority of the essential teaching over the theoretical teaching is clearly defined. I will note, however, that in the Latter Day of the Law, both the essential teaching and the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra are defined as theoretical ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ป๐ฆ๐ฏ when compared to Myoho-Renge-Kyo hidden in the depths of the Life Span (๐๐ถ๐ณ๐บ๐ฐ; sixteenth) chapter. The Daishonin states in ๐๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ถ-๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ,๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ธ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ฏ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฎ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ. ๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ. ๐ง๐ต๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฒ๐ป ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฒ๐ป ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ. ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐. ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐น๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฎ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฎ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐น๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ๐. ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฒ๐ป ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐บ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐น๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ.
(๐๐ค๐จ๐๐ค, ๐ฅ. 536; ๐๐-2, ๐ฅ. 104)
Additionally, he states in ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ-๐จ๐ฐ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ซ๐ช,๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ฏ๐๐ฃ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ต๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐ช๐ง๐ฎ๐ค ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ.
(๐๐ค๐จ๐๐ค, ๐ฅ. 526)
For the sake of brevity I will save discussion of this topic of sowing and harvesting for another post. But simply put, both the essential and theoretical teachings of the Lotus Sutra were preached to bestow the benefits of maturing and harvesting on those who possessed prior good causes โ already possessing the seed of Buddhahood. Thus, they cannot lead us common mortals in the Latter Day of the Law, who do not possess the seed of Buddhahood, to attain enlightenment. Therefore, in the age of the Latter Day of the Law, we must define Myoho-Renge-Kyo hidden in the depths of the ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐บ๐ฐ chapter as the one and only essential teaching (๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ถ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ๐ช ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ).๐ก๐ผ๐, ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐, ๐ป๐ฒ๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐ป๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ. ๐ข๐ป๐น๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐บ-๐ ๐๐ผ๐ต๐ผ-๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ-๐๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฎ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ.
(๐๐ค๐จ๐๐ค, ๐ฅ. 1219)
I hope that it has become clear that the distinction between the essential teaching and the theoretical teaching is a great one. The Daishonin makes clear that those who are unable to distinguish between the two are like those who are unable distinguish between heaven and earth or fire and water. Thus, we can say that the followers of the ๐ช๐ต๐ค๐ฉ๐ช-๐ฉ๐ข (equality faction), who assert the oneness or equality of the essential and theoretical teachings (๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ถ ๐ช๐ต๐ค๐ฉ๐ช), are likened to those who cannot distinguish between heaven and earth or water and fire.
The followers of such lineages try to defend their position by sometimes claiming that the essential teaching or theoretical teaching are one in the Buddhaโs intent, that the Daishonin lectured on passages from both halves of the Lotus Sutra, or even that the debate is completely unnecessary to oneโs practice. I would like to note, however, that the Daishonin specifically stated that the difference between the essential and theoretical teachings is ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ than the difference between the provisional and true teachings. Letโs consider the logic of this. Would the Daishonin have accepted the view of one of his disciples if they asserted that the Lotus and ๐๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ๐ช Sutras were equal? The answer would clearly be no as the Daishonin staunchly refuted those in the Tendai school who made such assertions. Thus, if the difference between the essential and theoretical teachings are even greater than the difference between the provisional and true teachings, asserting the equality between the two would be even more unacceptable than asserting the equality between the Lotus Sutra and the ๐๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ๐ช Sutra or the Lotus Sutra and the ๐๐ฎ๐ช๐ฅ๐ข Sutra. The Great Teacher Dengyo wrote in his ๐๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฌ๐ถ, โEven though he praises the Lotus Sutra, he destroys its heart.โ While those who assert the oneness of the essential and theoretical teachings may appear to uphold and praise Nichiren Daishoninโs Buddhism, they are in reality destroying its very heart. Thus, we must rebuke the heretical teachings of schools such as the ๐๐ช๐ฌ๐ช๐จ๐ข๐บ๐ข๐ต๐ด๐ถ, Minobu, and ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ข lineages (๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ณ๐บ๐ถ), who uphold the position of ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ถ ๐ช๐ต๐ค๐ฉ๐ช, and strive to correct their erroneous views so they can clear their illusions and attain the great benefit of attaining enlightenment in this lifetime and in their present form. This must be done from the standpoint of true compassion.
๐ ๐ค๐๐ฃ ๐ผ๐ง๐ช๐ฃ๐๐๐ก
๐๐๐ฆ-๐๐ฒ๐จ๐ก๐จ-๐๐๐ง๐ ๐-๐๐ฒ๐จ