New Year's Gosho

I have received a hundred mushimochi cakes and a basket of fruit. New Year's Day marks the first day, the first month, the beginning of the year and the start of spring. A person who celebrates this day will gain virtue and be loved by all, just as the moon becomes full gradually, moving from west to east, and the sun shines more brightly traveling from east to west.

First of all, as to the question of where exactly hell and the Buddha exist, one sutra states that hell exists underground and another sutra says that the Buddha is in the west. However, closer examination reveals that both exist in our five-foot body. The reason I think so is that hell is in the heart of a man who inwardly despises his father and disregards his mother, just like the lotus seed, which contains both flower and fruit at the same time. In the same way, the Buddha dwells inside our hearts. For example, flint can produce fire and gems possess value in themselves. We common mortals can see neither our own eyebrows, which are so close, nor heaven in the distance. Likewise, we do not see that the Buddha exists in our own hearts. You may question how is it that the Buddha can reside within us when our bodies, originating from our parents' sperm and blood, are the source of the three poisons and the seat of the carnal desires. But repeated consideration shows the validity of my claim. The pure lotus flower blooms out of the muddy pond, the fragrant sandalwood grows from the soil, the graceful cherry blossoms come forth from trees, the beautiful Yang Kuei-fei was born of a maidservant, and the moon rises from behind the mountains to shed light on them. Misfortune comes from one's mouth and ruins him, but fortune comes from one's mind and makes him worthy of respect.

The sincerity of making offerings to the Lotus Sutra at the beginning of the New Year is like flowers blooming from trees, a lotus unfolding in a pond, sandalwood blossoming on the Snow mountains, or the moon beginning to rise. Japan, in becoming an enemy of the Lotus Sutra has now invited misfortune from a thousand miles afar, whereas those who believe in the Lotus Sutra will gather fortune from ten thousand miles afar. The shadow is cast by the body, and just as the shadow follows the body, misfortune will befall the country whose people are hostile to the Lotus Sutra. The believers in the Lotus Sutra, on the other hand are like the sandalwood endowed with fragrance. I will write you again.

Nichiren

The fifth day of the first month.

Roots of Good Fortune 窪尼御前御返事

I have received the various gifts that you were kind enough to send.

The roots of good fortune are not determined by whether one’s offerings are large or small. Depending upon the country, the person and the time, the merit gained will differ in various ways. For example, even if one dries dung, breaks it up, passes it through a sieve and forms it into the likeness of a sandalwood tree, or of a woman, a heavenly goddess or a Buddha, when it is burned, it will give off no other fragrance but the stink of dung. Similarly, if one kills or robs others and takes from them the first fruits of the harvest, then even if one should offer one’s gains with the intent of acquiring merit and good fortune, that offering will instead become an evil deed.

The wealthy man Sudatta was the richest person in all of India. He built the Jetavana monastery as an offering and invited the Buddha there. Yet his monastery burned down and not a trace of it remained. This rich man originally gained his wealth by catching and selling fish, thus depriving them of life, and therefore in the end this monastery disappeared.

In the same way, the donations made by people today may seem impressive, but they are offerings of fiefs won in battle or of wealth gained by heedlessly oppressing the people. Though these gifts appear to be great acts of devotion to the Buddha, not only will the people who offer them fail to attain Buddhahood, but their contributions will vanish without a trace.

Again, even if one does no harm to others and honestly strives to make offerings, there will be cases in which one does not attain Buddhahood. To illustrate, if one plants good seed in a bad field, the seed itself will be ruined, and one will in turn suffer loss. Even if one is sincere, if the person to whom one makes offerings is evil those offerings will fail to produce benefit; rather, they will cause one to fall into the evil paths.

Your own offerings were not made to me, Nichiren, but to the Lotus Sutra. Therefore we must leave it to Shakyamuni Buddha, Taho Buddha and all the other Buddhas of the ten directions [to fathom the greatness of] the resulting benefits.

I have written to you about various events of this past year, but I must say that I do not recall at any time in my life such cold as we are now experiencing. The snow has fallen and piled up in great quantity. Even those with a strong resolve find it difficult to visit me. The fact that you have sent a messenger to me here shows that yours is certainly no ordinary sincerity!

With my deep respect,
Nichiren

The twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month

Reply to Kubo-no-ama Gozen

Reply to Jibu-bo 治部房御返事

I have received one to of polished rice, some myoga buds and one package of ginger.

People who present the Buddha with the cherry blossoms of spring, the crimson leaves of autumn, the clear water of summer and the snow of winter are all able to attain Buddhahood. How then could one who makes the Lotus Sutra an offering of rice, which sustains the life of the emperor and to the common people is more valuable than jewels, possibly fail to become a Buddha?

In society what people value are the words of the ruler and the words of their parents. One who turns one’s back on the instructions of one’s parents is guilty of a lack of filial piety and will be abandoned by heaven. One who fails to do the bidding of the ruler of the country is a person who disobeys royal edicts and will have his life taken away. Cherishing the desire for enlightenment from inconceivably distant kalpas in the past, we have done such things as abandoning our countries, our wives and children, or our own lives, for the sake of attaining enlightenment in future existences. When we thus draw near to achieving Buddhahood, and when we encounter the scripture entitled Myoho-renge-kyo, which is the single vehicle, the Devil of the Sixth Heaven, ruler of the threefold world, reasons: "If this person should become a Buddha, I will suffer loss on two counts. First of all, if he frees himself from the threefold world, he will escape my control. Second, if he becomes a Buddha, his parents and siblings will also depart from the saha world. How can I stop this from happening?"

He produces various emanations and, with these, takes possession of our parents, enters the body of the ruler of our country or becomes a respected priest, exhorting us to commit evil acts, making threats or resorting to flattery. Or else he becomes a high-ranking priest, a great priest, a wise man or someone who upholds the precepts and, with the Kegon or Agon sutras or Nembutsu or Shingon teachings in hand, attempts to turn our devotion from the Lotus Sutra and toward these other teachings, using deception to prevent us from becoming Buddhas.

The fifth volume of the Lotus Sutra states that "when the Latter Day of the Law arrives, a great demon will first enter the bodies of the sovereign, ministers and common people, and curse or strike and wound the votary of the Lotus Sutra. If this fails, he will appear as an immeasurable multitude of priests who, employing all the other sutras, attempt to win the votary over. If this does not succeed, he will become a great priest who upholds the two hundred and fifty precepts and the three thousand rules of conduct, and wheedle the sovereign and deceive his wife so that the votary is exiled or an attempt is made on his life.^"

We may also refer to the detailed descriptions in the Fukyo chapter of the seventh volume, the Hosshi chapter of the fourth volume and the Hiyu chapter of the second volume, as well as in the forty-volume Nirvana Sutra and in the Shugo Sutra, which differ not in the least from the conditions of the present time. In addition, the events in the area of Kashima in Suruga Province, especially as they affected you personally, must have brought these things to mind. In a way that bears no comparison with other matters, disobeying the prohibitions that one’s parents or the sovereign may put forward regarding the Lotus Sutra will in fact constitute filial piety toward one’s parents and accord with the prayers of the sovereign [for peace].

Furthermore, Japan is an unusual country, a country that respects the gods and honors the Buddhas. However, because everyone, from the sovereign on down to the common people, hates Nichiren for propagating the Lotus Sutra, though they may revere all the gods and make offerings to all the Buddhas, these meritorious acts only turn into great evil. This is like moxibustion causing the outbreak of virulent boils, or medicine turning into poison. The prayers they offer to all the Buddhas and gods turn into faults, and the country itself is about to become the possession of foreign countries. Moreover, for some time I have been telling people that the time will come when those of high standing will all suffer agonies that are a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand times worse than those suffered by the Heike clan at the time of their destruction.

By considering the magnitude of the punishment suffered by those who harbor enmity toward the Lotus Sutra, we can understand the magnitude of the benefits obtained by devoting oneself to it. For example, if a man murders his parents, then no matter how many causes for great good he may create, his efforts will not be acceptable to heaven. But if one kills an enemy of the Lotus Sutra, even if that enemy should be one’s father or mother, this great crime will turn into a cause for great good. Even if a person should be an archenemy of all the Buddhas of the three existences and the ten directions, if he believes in a single phrase of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddhas will not abandon him. With this in mind, please carefully consider the nature of this matter. Because the messenger is in a hurry, I cannot write in detail, but I will write to you again.

With my deep respect, 
Nichiren

The twenty-second day of the eighth month

Reply to Jibu-bo

Clear Sake Gosho 上野尼御前御返事

I have received all your gifts: one container of clear sake, ten metal pouring pots, one hundred steamed rice cakes, one bucket containing perhaps two sho of syrup, a basket of koji oranges and ten skewers of dried persimmons. I have read your message that your joy at the beginning of spring has unfolded like the cherry blossoms and waxed full like the moon.

Your late son Goro comes inevitably to mind. The blossoms that once fell are about to bloom again, and the withered grasses have begun to sprout anew. Why does the late Goro not return as well? Ah, if he were to come back with the evanescent flowers and grasses, then even though we are not Hitomaro, we would wait by the blossoms; even though we are not tethered steeds, we would never leave the grass!

A certain sutra passage says that children are one’s enemies. Perhaps there is reason for this. The bird known as the owl devours its mother, and the beast called hakei destroys its father. A man called An Lu-shan was killed by his son, Shih Shih-ming, and the warrior Yoshitomo killed his father, Tameyoshi. Thus the sutra has grounds for saying that children are one’s enemies.

Another sutra passage says that children are a treasure. King Myoshogon was destined, after his life had ended, to fall into the hell called the great citadel of incessant suffering, but he was saved by his son, the crown prince Jozo. Not only was he able to escape the sufferings of that great hell, but he became a Buddha called Sal Tree King. A woman called Shodai-nyo, for the faults of greed and stinginess, was confined in the realm of hungry spirits, but she was saved by her son Maudgalyayana and was freed from that realm. Thus the sutra’s statement that children are a treasure is in no way false.

The late Goro was sixteen years old. Not only did he surpass others in his disposition and good looks, but he was fully endowed with a man’s strengths and was praised by all. Moreover, his obedience to his parent’s will was like water taking the shape of its container or a shadow following a body. You relied upon him as the pillar of your household; you thought of him as your staff upon the road. All the wealth in your family coffers existed for this child; so did the family retainers. You must have been firmly convinced that, when you died, you would be carried by him on his back to the graveyard, and that there would be nothing left for you to worry about. But lamentably, he has preceded you in death. "Why, why did this happen? It must be a dream, an illusion! I will wake up, I will wake up!" you must have thought. But without your having awakened, already one year has given way to the next. You do not know how long you will have to wait.  You must feel that, if only he had left word where you could go and meet him, then without wings, you would soar to the heavens, or without a boat, you would cross over to China. If you heard he was in the bowels of the earth, then how could you fail to dig into the ground?

And yet there is a way to meet him readily. With Shakyamuni Buddha as your guide, you can go to meet him in the pure land of Eagle Peak. The sutra states, "If there are those who hear the Law, then not a one will fail to attain Buddhahood." This means that even if one were to point at the earth and miss it, even if the sun and moon should fall to the ground, even if an age should come when the tides cease to ebb and flow, or even if flowers should not turn to fruit in summer, it could never happen that a woman who chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo would fail to be reunited with her beloved child. Continue in your devotion to faith and bring this about quickly!

With my deep respect,
Nichiren

The thirteenth day of the first month

Reply to Ueno-ama Gozen

Reply to Lady Onichi-nyo 王日女殿御返事

I had already received the three hundred coins that you sent by the hand of Ben-bo [Nissho], and now you have again sent me two hundred coins.

The Buddha, being truly worthy of respect, never judges by the size of one’s offerings. In the past, Tokusho Doji offered a mudpie to the Buddha, and was reborn as King Ashoka and ruled over all of Jambudvipa. A poor woman cut off her hair and sold it to buy oil [for the Buddha], and not even the winds sweeping down from Mount Sumeru could extinguish the flame of the lamp fed by this oil. Accordingly, your offerings of two and three strings of coins are far greater even than those made by one who, ruling over the country of Japan, offers the entire nation and a pagoda he has constructed that is adorned with the seven kinds of treasures and that towers as high as the Trayastrimsha heaven.

A single character of the Lotus Sutra is like the great earth, which gives rise to all things. A single character is like the great ocean, which contains the water from all rivers. A single character is like the sun and moon, which illuminate the four quarters.

This single character changes and becomes the moon. The moon changes and becomes a Buddha? Rice plants change and become seedlings. Seedlings change and become stalks. Stalks change and become rice. Rice changes and becomes a person. And a person changes and becomes a Buddha. A woman changes and becomes the single character myo. The character myo changes and becomes Shakyamuni Buddha seated on a lotus pedestal. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

With my deep respect,
Nichiren

To Lady Onichi

Bodhisattva Hachiman 四条金吾許御文（八幡抄）

I have received the white quilted robe and the ten ryo of cotton that you were kind enough to send. The year is drawing to a close, and here in the mountains where I live, the wind blows fiercely and my little dwelling is as full of holes as a wicker basket. I have the leaves of plants for my floor covering and wear clothes made of paper, so that my body becomes as cold as a stone, and the things I have to eat are like ice. When I received the quilted robe, I thought that I would put it on immediately and get warm, but you had written that it was for New Year’s Day of the coming year. I wonder if even the Venerable Mahakashyapa, who retired to Mount Kukkutapada to await the coming of the Honored One of Compassion 5,670 million years in the future, could feel as impatient as I do.

But enough of that. Shiiji Shiro told me that you have been discussing the Buddhist teachings in the presence of your lord, which delights me no end. In reward, I will write to you now about a very important doctrine.

Most people, both the wise and the ignorant, will tell you that Great Bodhisattva Hachiman is a manifestation of Amida Buddha, and this claim is not without reason. In the documents of middle antiquity and in oracles from Hachiman himself, there have been a few instances when he was identified with Amida Buddha. This has come about because people have each at heart become Nembutsu believers, so that they are like someone who mistakes a red stone for a lump of gold or who sees a stump in the field and thinks it is a hare.

The truth is that Hachiman is a manifestation of Shakyamuni Buddha. I say this because in the province of Osumi there is an inscription on a stone to that effect. That stone is now broken into two. On one part are written the two characters that comprise the name Hachiman. The other part bears this inscription: "Long ago on Eagle Peak he preached the Lotus Sutra. Now he has manifested himself as the Great Bodhisattva and resides in the main shrine." This is the first proof that Hachiman is Shakyamuni Buddha.

But there is even more definite proof Great Bodhisattva Hachiman’s father was Emperor Chuai, the fourteenth human sovereign of Japan, and his mother was Empress Jingu, the fifteenth sovereign. [Their son,] Emperor Ojin, the sixteenth sovereign, was the one now known as Great Bodhisattva Hachiman.

His father, Emperor Chuai, being commanded by the Sun Goddess, was about to cross the ocean to attack the kingdom of Silla [on the Korean Peninsula]. But the king of Silla put a curse on him, and as a result Emperor Chuai passed away at Hakata. At that time his consort, Empress Jingu, was already pregnant with the prince. But in order to avenge the late emperor, she amassed a force of several tens of thousands of horsemen and crossed the sea to the kingdom of Silla.

While the ship was still on the waves, she could feel that the hour had come for her child to be born. At that time Empress Jingu addressed the babe in her womb, saying, "Are you a prince, or are you a girl child? If you are a prince, then listen well to what I say. I am crossing over to the land of Silla in order to attack the enemy of your father, Emperor Chuai. Since I am only a woman, I want you to act as my commander in chief. If you are destined to be the sovereign of Japan, then you must not be born just now, but must remain in my womb during the time of battle and from there serve as commander in chief to my tens of thousands of horsemen and carry out the attack on your father’s enemy. But if you do not heed my words and instead insist upon being born at once, then I will cast you into the sea. You must not bear a grudge against me!"

The child accordingly remained in the womb as before. At that time the empress donned a belt made of stones in order to chill her womb and proceeded on her way to Silla where she subjugated the kingdom. When she returned to Japan, she went to the Usa Shrine in the province of Buzen, and there her child was born. He had been in the womb for three years, six months and three days, and was born on the eighth day of the fourth month of a year with the cyclical sign kinoe-tora. This was the child who was later to be known as Emperor Ojin. At the age of eighty, he passed away on the fifteenth day of the second month of a year with the signmizunoe-saru. He is the chief god of Mount Otoko, a guardian deity to the dynasty that rules our country. His enshrined form is not particularly unusual, but he is nevertheless revered for his mysterious powers. He is the deity now known as Great Bodhisattva Hachiman.

Now Shakyamuni Buddha was born in the kalpa of continuance in the ninth period of decrease, when the human life span measured a hundred years. His father was King Shuddhodana and his mother, Lady Maya. He was born in the state of Kapilavastu in central India, in a place called the Lumbini Gardens, on the eighth day of the fourth month of a year with the sign kinoe-tora. After living for eighty years, he passed away on the banks of the Ajitavati River at Kushinagara in eastern India on the fifteenth day of the second month of a year with the sign mizunoe-saru. It was the same with the present Great Bodhisattva Hachiman. Though one was born in India and the other in Japan, and though they had different fathers and mothers, both were born on the eighth day of the fourth month of a year with the sign kinoe-tora and died on the fifteenth day of the second month of a year with the sign mizunoe-saru.

During the 2,220 and more years since the Buddha passed away, whether in India, China, Japan or anywhere else in the entire land of Jambudvipa, those born as sages and worthy men are all said to have been manifestations of Shakyamuni Buddha. But no one has ever heard of such a coincidence as the one I have just pointed out.

In addition to this strange coincidence, there is the matter of Great Bodhisattva Hachiman’s vow. When he preached the Lotus Sutra [as Shakyamuni Buddha] in India, he said, "Honestly discarding expedient means... ," and in Japan he vowed that he would make his residence on the heads of honest persons. Nevertheless, on the fourteenth day of last month, the eleventh month, at the Hour of the Rat (around 12:00 P.M.), he burned down his sacred shrine and ascended to the heavens. if we consider the reason, we Will see that, though this deity had vowed to reside on the heads of honest persons, there were no longer any honest persons on whose heads he might reside. Being thus left without a dwelling place, he ascended to the heavens.

But the strangest thing of all in this country of Japan is the fact that, although its people have been born in a land related to Shakyamuni Buddha, they have discarded this Buddha, and all, every one of them alike, have become followers of Amida Buddha. They have cast aside Shakyamuni, with whom they have a deep bond, and pay reverence to Amida Buddha, with whom they have no connection at all.

In addition, they have taken the day when Shakyamuni Buddha, their father, passed away, and assigned it to Amida Buddha, and taken the day when he was born, and assigned it to Yakushi [Buddha]. And though they appear to pay reverence to Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, they claim that his true identity is Amida Buddha. Not only have they discarded both true identity and manifestation,¹⁰ but they treat as an enemy anyone who tries to point out their error. That is no doubt the reason why this deity, Hachiman, being powerless to correct the situation, has ascended to the heavens.

The moon will cast its image on water, but its reflection will not dwell in muddy water. However, it will be mirrored even in the drops of dew on the trees above and on the leaves of the grass, if the dew is clear and pure. And in the same way, Hachiman will undoubtedly take up his residence on the head of an honest person, even though that person may not be the ruler of the nation.

Hachiman has vowed to take up residence on the heads of a hundred rulers. And yet he did not reside on the heads of the five rulers of our nation, namely, the eighty-first sovereign, Emperor Antoku; the eighty-second sovereign, the Retired Emperor of Oki; the eighty-third sovereign, the Retired Emperor of Awa; the eighty-fourth sovereign, the Retired Emperor of Sado; and the eighty-fifth sovereign, the Emperor of Higashi Ichijo. He declined to do so because they had the heads of men who are fawning and crooked. Instead, he took up residence on the heads of Yoritomo and Yoshitoki, though these men were mere servants of the throne. This was no doubt because they were honest men.

On considering this, we can see that because persons who put their faith in the Lotus Sutra are following an honest doctrine, Shakyamuni Buddha himself will protect them. How then could it happen that Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, who is his manifestation, would fail to protect them?

Though water may be pure at the outset, if it becomes muddied, the moon will not shine in it. But even though night soil is filthy, when it clears, the moon will not begrudge its reflection. The muddied water may be pure in nature, yet the moon will not shine in it. But the night soil, though impure in nature, will reflect the moon’s rays if it clears.

The muddy water may be likened to learned priests and eminent scholars who keep the precepts but turn their backs on the Lotus Sutra. The night soil may be likened to ignorant people without precepts whose greed is profound and whose anger is intense, but who put undivided faith in the Lotus Sutra alone.

The scripture known as the Nirvana Sutra lists the beings that have been able to attain the way through the Lotus Sutra, and the list includes such filthy creatures as dung beetles, vipers and scorpions. To express the wonderful power of the Lotus Sutra, Bodhisattva Nagarjuna. says that it enables "even such creatures as dung beetles to attain Buddhahood."

The Nirvana Sutra also refers to persons who cannot become Buddhas even through the Lotus Sutra, defining them as icchantika, or those of incorrigible disbelief, who appear to be like arhats or like great bodhisattvas. They are like the muddy water that, though originally pure, will not reflect the moonlight. Thus Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, because he hates dishonesty, has ascended to the heavens. But when he sees the votaries of the Lotus Sutra, how could he begrudge shedding his light on them?

My followers should believe the truth of this matter firmly. Great Bodhisattva Hachiman dwells with us here. Have no doubt about it! Have no doubt about it!

With my deep respect,
Nichiren

The sixteenth day of the twelfth month

Reply to the wife of Shijo Kingo

Reply to the Mother of Lord Ueno 上野殿母御前御返事（四十九日御書）

I have received the offerings that you sent for the forty-ninth day ceremony marking the passing of your son, the late Nanjo Shichiro Goro. As noted on the list, they consist of two strings of coins, one horseload of polished rice, one horseload of yams, pounded bean curd, konnyaku, one basket of persimmons, fifty citrons and other items. For the sake of your son’s repose, I have recited the entire Lotus Sutra once and the Jigage several times, and chanted the daimoku a hundred thousand times.

The sutra known as the Lotus Sutra is a scripture that has no match among all the sacred teachings of the Buddha’s lifetime. And, as indicated by its words "between Buddhas" it can only be understood between one Buddha and another. Those at the stage of near-perfect enlightenment or below, on down to ordinary mortals, cannot fathom it. This is why Bodhisattva Nagarjuna stated in his Daichido ron that persons below the level of Buddha should simply have faith, and in that way they can attain Buddhahood.

In the Hosshi chapter in the fourth volume of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha states: "Yakuo, now I say to you, I have preached various sutras, and among those sutras the Lotus is the foremost!" In the fifth volume it says: "Monjushiri, this Lotus Sutra is the secret storehouse of the Buddhas, the Thus Come Ones."

Among the sutras, it holds the highest place. In the seventh volume we read: "...so this Lotus Sutra is likewise. Among all the sutras, it holds the highest place." And we also read: "This sutra shines the brightest ... it is the most honored."

These passages of scripture do not represent some doctrine that I have put forward on my own. They are the truthful words of the Buddha, and hence it is impossible that they could be in error.

If someone born to a commoner family should claim that he stands equal to a samurai, he would surely be faulted. And how much more so if he should claim that he is equal to the ruler of the nation, or even superior to the ruler! Not only would he himself be punished, but his father and mother and his wife and children would be made to suffer as well. It is like the case of a great fire that burns down houses, or of a great tree that, in falling, brings down the little trees around it as well.

It is the same with the Buddhist teachings. People who rely on the various sutras expounded in the Kegon, Agon, Hodo and Hannya periods, such as the Dainichi or the Amida Sutra, regard the one they believe in as best, without distinguishing the relative worth of the sutras. Thus they say, "Our Amida Sutra is equal to the Lotus Sutra," or "It is superior." Fellow believers, hearing their own sutra praised in this way, think it is a cause for joy. On the contrary, however, they are committing a serious offense, and the teachers of such doctrines, their disciples and their lay followers will fall as swiftly as flying arrows into the evil paths.

However, those who declare that the Lotus Sutra is superior to all the other sutras are justified in doing so. In fact, they will enjoy great benefits. This is because their declaration accords with what the sutra itself says.

Prefacing the Lotus Sutra is a work called the Muryogi Sutra. It is like the vanguard of generals who go before the procession of a great king to quell disturbances. This Muryogi Sutra states: "In these more than forty years, I have not yet revealed the truth." These words are like the great bows that the generals carry to drive away the king’s enemies with arrows, or the swords with which they cut those enemies down. They are like a royal proclamation, sharp as a sword, directed to the members of the Kegon sect who read only the Kegon Sutra, the priests of the Ritsu sect with their Agon sutras, the Nembutsu believers with their Kammuryoju Sutra, and the Shingon teachers with their Dainichi Sutra, chastising them for failing to follow the Lotus Sutra and bringing them to submission. They are like Yoshiie attacking Sadato, or Yoritomo destroying the forces of Kiyomori. These words of the Muryogi Sutra, "In these more than forty years..." are the sword and rope of King Fudo, or the bow and arrows of King Aizen.

When the late Nanjo Goro made his way across the mountains of death and the river of three crossings, the soldiers who escorted him and repulsed the mountain bandits of earthly desires and the pirates of past offenses and allowed him to proceed safely to the pure land of Eagle Peak were these words of the Muryogi Sutra: "In these more than forty years, I have not yet revealed the truth."

The Hoben chapter in the first volume of the Lotus Sutra states: "The World-Honored One has long expounded his doctrines and now must reveal the truth." And it also says: "[I] ... honestly discarding expedient means, will preach only the unsurpassed way." In the fifth volume we read: "Only the bright jewel that is in his topknot..." "This one jewel exists only on the top of the king’s head," and "...the way that powerful ruler did when he took the bright jewel he had guarded for so long and finally gave it away."

The import of these passages is this. The great collection of scriptures has been brought to this country of Japan, numbering 7,399 volumes, and each one of these various scriptures is a follower and retainer of the Lotus Sutra. To illustrate, the men and women in this country of Japan number 4,994,828, but all are subjects of one man, the ruler of the country.

As for the significance of these various scriptures, let me give an analogy that even an uncomprehending woman can understand immediately. Suppose that one is building a great pagoda. In addition to the lumber to be used in the pagoda itself, one gathers together a large quantity of small timbers and uses them to build a scaffolding ten or twenty feet in height. After one has done this, one uses the original lumber to construct the pagoda. And when the pagoda is completed, one then removes the scaffolding and discards it, leaving the pagoda in place.

Now the scaffolding represents the various other sutras, and the great pagoda, the Lotus Sutra. When the Buddha preached the other sutras, he was in effect erecting a scaffolding in preparation for the preaching of the Lotus Sutra.

In the same manner as the sutra describes when it says, "honestly discarding expedient means," persons who put their faith in the Lotus Sutra should first cast aside and fling away the Namu Amida Butsu invocation based on the Amida and other sutras, the teachings of the Shingon sect based on the Dainichi and other sutras, and the two hundred and fifty precepts of the Ritsu sect based on the Agon sutras and other teachings, and then they should embrace the Lotus Sutra alone. When one is preparing to build a great pagoda, the scaffolding is of great importance. But once the pagoda is completed, then the scaffolding is removed and thrown away. This is the meaning of the passage about "honestly discarding expedient means."

Though the scaffolding is necessary to complete the pagoda, no one would ever dream of discarding the pagoda and worshipping the scaffolding. And yet the persons who seek the way in the world today spend their whole lives reciting Namu Amida Butsu only, and never once chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. They are like persons who discard the pagoda and worship the scaffolding. They are examples of the secular saying -- seemingly wise, but actually foolish.

The late Shichiro Goro did not take after other people in Japan today. Though he was still a youth, he followed in the footsteps of his sagacious father. And at an early age, having not yet turned twenty, he began chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and thus he became a Buddha. This is what the sutra means when it says, "... then not a one will fail to attain Buddhahood." I hope that if you, his loving mother, are thinking with longing about your son, you will chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and pray to be reborn in the same place as the late Shichiro Goro and your husband, the late Lord Nanjo.

Seeds of one species are after all seeds of the same species, while seeds of a different species are seeds of a different species. If all of you nurture the seeds of Myoho-renge-kyo in your hearts, then you all will be reborn in the land of Myoho-renge-kyo. When the three of you are reunited there face to face, how great your joy will be!

Now when we open the Lotus Sutra and read what it says, we find these words: "The Thus Come One will cover them with his robe, and they will also be protected and kept in mind by the Buddhas who are now present in other regions."

The meaning of this passage is that the Buddhas of the ten directions will all assemble in throngs and fill in the lands to the east, west, north and south, in the eight directions, the major world system and all the four hundred billion nayutas of lands. They will be seated side by side like the stars in the heavens or the rows of rice and hemp plants on the earth, and will guard and protect the votaries of the Lotus Sutra just as the various ministers and subjects guard and protect the heir of a great ruler.

To be guarded by the Four Heavenly Kings and their retainers is a great honor. But with the protection of all the numberless Four Heavenly Kings, all the stars and constellations, all the deities of the sun and moon, all the Taishakus and Bontens, one can be completely confident. Moreover, all the persons of the two vehicles, all the bodhisattvas, Bodhisattva Miroku in the inner court of the Tushita heaven, Bodhisattva Jizo on Mount Kharadiya, Bodhisattva Kanzeon on Mount Potalaka, and Bodhisattva Monjushiri on Mount Clear and Cool, each together with all their followers, will guard and protect the votaries of the Lotus Sutra, so one may indeed rest assured. And furthermore, Shakyamuni, Taho and all the other Buddhas of the ten directions will come of their own accord and watch over one through all the hours of the day and night, which is an honor beyond the power of words to express.

It was this splendid sutra that the late Goro put his faith in and through which he attained Buddhahood. And today, on the forty-ninth day following his passing, all the Buddhas have surely gathered about him in the pure land of Eagle Peak, seating him on their palms, stroking his head, embracing him and rejoicing, welcoming him with affection as one would welcome a moon that has just risen or blossoms that have just burst into bloom.

When we consider why the Buddhas of the three existences and the ten directions should so firmly protect the Lotus Sutra, we come to understand that it is only natural. For the Lotus Sutra is the father and mother of the Buddhas of the three existences and the ten directions; it is their wet nurse and their lord.

The creatures called frogs feed on the sound of their mother’s voice, and if they are not able to hear their mother’s voice, they will not grow. The insect called a kalakula feeds on wind, and if the wind does not blow, it will not grow. Fish must have water, and birds depend upon trees to build their nests in. In the same way, for the Buddhas, the Lotus Sutra is their source of life, their sustenance and their dwelling. As fish live in water, so the Buddhas live in this sutra. As birds dwell in trees, so the Buddhas dwell in this sutra. As the moon’s reflection lodges in the water, so the Buddhas lodge in this sutra. You should understand that in a land where this sutra does not exist, there can be no Buddhas.

In ancient times there lived a ruler named King Rinda who ruled over the southern continent of Jambudvipa. What was it that this king required for sustenance? He listened to the neighing of white horses, and this became his food. As long as the white horses neighed, he grew more youthful, his complexion glowed, his spirit was vigorous, his physical strength remained undiminished, and he was able to conduct the affairs of state justly. Therefore, a great many white horses were gathered and cared for in his country. In this respect, he was like the ruler of Wei, who gathered a great many cranes, or Emperor Te-tsung, who loved fireflies. The white horses would neigh only if there were white swans who were singing, and, accordingly, a number of white swans were also gathered.

One time for some reason all the white swans disappeared, and, as a result, the white horses no longer neighed. So the king’s sustenance came to an end, and he was like full-blown blossoms that wilt under the dew, or a round moon that becomes shrouded in clouds. When it became apparent that the king was about to expire, his consort, his heir, the great ministers and all the people throughout the kingdom turned pale, like a child who has just been separated from its mother, and wet their sleeves with tears, crying, "What shall we do? What shall we do?"

In that country there were many non-Buddhist followers, persons like the members of the Zen sect, the Nembutsu priests, the Shingon teachers and the Ritsu priests of our own time. In addition, there were disciples of the Buddha, persons like the members of the Hokke [Lotus] sect today. These two groups were on very bad terms, as incompatible as fire and water or as hostile toward one another as the peoples called Hu and Yaeh.

The ruler issued a proclamation saying, "If these non-Buddhist followers cause the horses to neigh, then I will abolish the Buddhist teachings and put my faith entirely in the non-Buddhist doctrines, honoring them as the heavenly deities do Taishaku. But if the disciples of the Buddha cause the horses to neigh, then I will cut off the heads of all the non-Buddhist followers, seize their dwellings and hand them over to the disciples of the Buddha."

At this the non-Buddhist followers turned pale with fear, and the disciples of the Buddha fell to lamenting. But since that alone would not resolve matters, the non-Buddhist followers took their turn first. For seven days they carried out their practices, but no white swans gathered round, and the white horses failed to neigh.

Then it was the turn of the Buddha’s disciples, and they were assigned the next seven days for the performance of their prayers. At that time there was a young monk named Ashvaghosha or Horse Neigh, who, relying upon the Lotus Sutra, the object of the deepest respect for all the Buddhas, for seven days offered his prayers, whereupon white swans came flying to the platform where he was praying. As soon as one of these birds would utter a cry, one of the white horses would neigh. The king, hearing the sound of the neighing, rose up from his sickbed, and all the persons who had gathered there, beginning with the ruler’s consort, turned toward Ashvaghosha and bowed to him in reverence.

So the white swans came, one, two, three, then ten, a hundred and a thousand, filling the kingdom. And the white horses neighed, one horse, two horses, then a hundred, a thousand white horses, all constantly neighing. When the king heard this sound, his face became that of a thirty-year-old man. His mind was as clear and bright as the sun, and his administration was upright and fair, so that the rain of amrita fell down from the heavens, the common people bowed before his commands as though before a wind, and the kingdom prospered for countless ages.

The Buddhas are similar to this. Taho Buddha, during the time when the Lotus Sutra does not appear, remains extinct; but in an age when this sutra is recited, he makes his appearance in the world. And the same is true of Shakyamuni Buddha and all the other Buddhas of the ten directions.

Since the Lotus Sutra possesses this wonderful power, how could any person who upholds this sutra be abandoned by the sun Goddess, by Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, or by Great Bodhisattva Fuji Sengen? This is truly reassuring!

On the other hand, if a country should oppose this sutra, then no matter how sincerely its people may offer up prayers, that country will inevitably experience the seven disasters. You may be certain that it will be overthrown and destroyed by another country, like a ship that encounters a storm in the midst of the ocean, or like grass and trees that are withered by a great drought.

In a similar manner, in Japan today, no matter how prayers are offered up, because the people make light of Nichiren and his followers, the votaries of the Lotus Sutra, none of their various ways of praying are effective, and instead the forces of the great kingdom of the Mongols come to attack. Already the country is on the verge of destruction. Watch carefully from now on. Matters cannot continue as they are at present. You should understand once and for all that this is entirely due to the fact that the people all harbor enmity toward the Lotus Sutra.

It has now been forty-nine days since your son, the late Goro, passed away. Though impermanence is the way of all things, even one who merely hears the news of a persons having passed away finds it hard to bear. How much more deeply, then, must his mother or his wife grieve! I believe I can understand something of your feelings.

Though children may be young in years or more mature, though they may be ugly or even physically handicapped, their parents love them nonetheless. In your case, your child was a son, and in addition, he was blessed in every way, and he had a warm heart. When your husband, the late Lord Ueno, preceded you in death, he was still in the prime of life and your grief on that occasion was no shallow matter. Had you not been pregnant with his child, I know you would have followed him through fire and water. Yet when this son was safely born, you felt that it would be unthinkable to entrust his upbringing to another so that you could put an end to your life. Thus you encouraged yourself and spent the following fourteen or fifteen years raising your children.

How, then, are you to endure what has happened? You must have thought that in the future you would have two sons to rely upon. And yet on the fifth day of the ninth month of this year, this younger son, like the moon hidden in the clouds, like blossoms scattered by the wind, passed from sight. As you wondered whether or not you were dreaming, lamenting at how long the dream goes on, you felt that this would have two sons to rely upon. And yet on the fifth day of the ninth month of this year, this younger son, like the moon hidden in the clouds, like blossoms scattered by the wind, passed from sight. As you wondered whether or not you were dreaming, lamenting at how long the dream goes on, you felt that this dream is indeed like reality, and forty-nine days had already passed. And if it is indeed real, how will you bear it? The full-blown flower remains on the tree, while the bud just about to open has withered away. The aged mother remains behind, while the young son has departed. How heartless is the transience of the world!

Now you must shun and abandon this heartless world, entrusting yourself to the Lotus Sutra, in which the late Goro placed his faith, and quickly reach the eternally abiding and indestructible pure land of Eagle Peak. Your son’s father is on Eagle Peak; his mother remains in the saha world. I sympathize with the feelings of the late Goro, who is in the interval between the two of you.

There is much more that I would like to say, but I shall end here.

With my deep respect,
Nichiren

The twenty-fourth day of the tenth month

Reply to the mother of Lord Ueno