Sometimes I am prone to analyse. And ponder. And then worry some more... Actually the only thing I need to concern myself with is to make sure my three practices are as they should be...the rest I can leave to the mystic law of the universe, trusting the power of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Employing the strategy of the Lotus Sutra before any other...
"Whatever trouble occurs, regard it as no more than a dream, and think only of the Lotus Sutra."
(Letter to the Brothers - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 502) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=493 Selection source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shimbun, August 1st, 2012
Background
The two brothers to whom this letter is addressed were the sons of Ikegami Saemon no Tayu Yasumitsu, who held an important post in Kamakura in the government’s Office of Construction and Repairs. The older brother, Munenaka (Ikegami Uemon no Tayu Munenaka; d. 1293), was probably converted to Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism in , and the younger brother, Munenaga (Ikegami Hyoe no Sakan Munenaga; d. 1283), shortly thereafter.
The father, Yasumitsu, was a loyal follower of Ryokan, chief priest of Gokuraku-ji temple of the True Word Precepts school, and vehemently opposed the beliefs of his two sons for over twenty years. In fact, he went so far as to disown his elder son on two occasions, in 1275 and 1277. Primogeniture, the right of the eldest son to succeed to the wealth and social prestige of the family, was a vitally important aspect of Japanese society. The individual scarcely existed outside a family context, and centuries of intra-family rivalry, feuding, and even murder attested to the importance of being first in line for inheritance. Virtually insurmountable social and economic sanctions existed against disowned persons.
By disowning Munenaka, their father in effect was provoking rivalry between the two sons by tempting Munenaga to trade his beliefs for the right to his father’s estate. The Daishonin sent letters of encouragement to the two brothers and their wives, urging them all to unite and maintain their faith. In 1278 the brothers finally succeeded in converting their father to the Daishonin’s teachings.
When the Daishonin’s health began to fail in 1282, at the urging of his disciples he set out for the hot springs of Hitachi. Sensing that death was immi
nent, however, he shunned the hot springs in favor of a trip to Munenaka’s residence in Ikegami in what is present- day Tokyo. There, after having taken measures to ensure the perpetuity of his teachings, he passed away on the thirteenth day of the tenth month, 1282.
Letter to the Brothers mentions three ways in which obstacles should be viewed in the light of Buddhism: (1) as an opportunity to use strong faith to purge oneself of bad karma from the past; (2) as an instance of evil friends attempting to obstruct one’s practice; and (3) as an example of the negative function of the devil king of the sixth heaven possessing one’s parents or others in order to destroy one’s faith.
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