Daily Gosho - The Supremacy of the Law

You know those times when you've chanted. And then chanted some more. And nothing's changed yet?  And you start getting a bit jittery? Maybe that's just me then :) My impatience screams out for that instant transformation of the issue. My greater self knows that my sincere prayer and determinations are changing the really deep stuff, that karmic baggage as it were. But even so, there are times when I just want that conspicuous benefit, right now!

That's when I need to read this Gosho and in particular the first line. "Strengthen your resolve more than ever". That's it. That's all I need to do. Maintain and strengthen my faith. Keep on pushing myself with the absolute conviction that I will have a victory. Might not be tomorrow, but just "as surely as an arrow aimed at the earth cannot miss the target", the victory will arrive. It all depends on my ichinen, my strength of faith and my actions. It all depends on me.

"Strengthen your resolve more than ever. Ice is made of water, but it is colder than water. Blue dye comes from indigo, but when something is repeatedly dyed in it, the colour is better than that of the indigo plant.  The Lotus Sutra remains the same, but if you repeatedly strengthen your resolve, your colour will be better than that of others, and you will receive more blessings than they do."

(The Supremacy of the Law - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 615)

Background

Nichiren Daishonin wrote this letter at Minobu in the eighth month of the first year of Kenji (1275). It was addressed to Oto, the daughter of Nichimyo, an earnest believer living in Kamakura. This letter, though addressed to Oto, was obviously meant for her mother, whom the Daishonin had called the Sage Nichimyo in a letter dated the fifth month of 1272.

Virtually nothing is known about Nichimyo other than that she visited the Daishonin, with her daughter, while he was in exile on Sado Island. The journey to Sado was a dangerous one, and the Daishonin was greatly impressed by the strength of faith she demonstrated.

In this letter, the Daishonin says, “Ice is made of water, but it is colder than water. Blue dye comes from indigo, but when something is repeatedly dyed in it, the color is better than that of the indigo plant.” With this paraphrase of a passage in the well-known Chinese classic, Hsün Tzu, he encourages Nichimyo to strengthen her faith still more so she can gain even greater vitality and good fortune.

The title for this letter derives from a passage in The Annotations on the Nirvana Sutra that reads, “One’s body is insignificant while the Law is supreme. One should give one’s life in order to propagate the Law.” The Daishonin declares that however much people hate and persecute him, because the Law is supreme, it will spread without fail. Then, after his death, his remains, he adds, will be respected, as will those who have aided him.