Daily Gosho - Flowering and Bearing Grain

How fortunate for us that we practice today, in the Latter Day of the Law, with Sensei Ikeda as our mentor in faith. With Sensei’s lectures on the Gosho, we have a wealth of accessible information at our fingertips, to really help us ‘live’ the Gosho in our daily lives. Let’s repay our debt of gratitude to him by seeking his heart, and really showing the value of our lives as a disciple of Sensei.

"It is said that, if a teacher has a good disciple, both will gain the fruit of Buddhahood, but if a teacher fosters a bad disciple, both will fall into hell. If teacher and disciple are of different minds, they will never accomplish anything."

(Flowering and Bearing Grain - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 909) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=909 Selection source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shimbun, Sept 5th, 2012

Background
Nichiren Daishonin sent this message from Minobu in the fourth month of 1278 for the second memorial service for Dozen-bo. Dozen-bo had been a senior priest at Seicho-ji temple, where the Daishonin entered the priesthood. The Daishonin studied under him from the age of twelve. The letter was addressed to his former seniors at Seichoji, Joken-bo and Gijo-bo. When Nichiren Daishonin first declared the teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo at Seicho-ji in 1253, he strongly refuted the dominant Pure Land school. Tojo Kagenobu, the steward of the village and an ardent Pure Land believer, became enraged and ordered his arrest. Dozen-bo helped the Daishonin escape. However, fearing the others, Dozen-bo remained a priest of Seicho- ji to the end of his life, but the Daishonin never forgot his former teacher. In the seventh month of 1276, having learned of Dozen-bo’s death, the Daishonin wrote On Repaying Debts of Gratitude in honor of his memory and sent it to Joken-bo and Gijo-bo.