Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1999 26/3-4 Nichiren Shonin ^ View of Humanity The Final Dharma Age and the Three Thousand Realms in One Thought-Moment

Nichiren, like others regarded as the “founders ” of the new Buddhist move ments of the Kamakura period, takes as his starting point belief in the Final Dharma a ̂ e (mappo), when human capacity is said to have greatly declined, and liberation to be extremely difficult to achieve. Yet while mappo thought entails a recognition of human limitations, Nichiren also maintained jaith in the possibility of human enlightenment, on the basis of his understanding of the Tendai concept of “three thousand realms in one thought-moment ” (ichinen sanzen)，which sets forth the potential for buddhahood in ordinary worldlings. This classic essay, first published in 1968 and translated here from its reprint in 1997, analyzes how these two concepts of human capacity—one nemting, the other affirming-~are maintained in a dynamic tension at the foundation of Nichiren ys thought. It also presents an illuminating comparison with the teachings of Honen, another of the new Buddhist founders who lived slightly before Nichiren and had addressed similar issues