Daily Gosho - The Three Kinds of Treasure

Ooh, Grade 2 study exam's all coming back to me now! So, Bodhisattva Never Disparaging kept going, didn't he.. No matter how he was treated, he maintained his respect and courtesy to others. So, I will redetermine to fight against my tendencies to behave in the state of Anger (one of the Four Evil Paths) and reveal my Buddha nature instead. Even if I'm being ridiculed and slandered, I'm going to keep doing the Never Disparaging thing..."I respect you"...and live as a human being, both worthy of respect and respectful of others... Emma

Bodhisattva Never Disparaging just kept on carrying on, even though he was getting hurt and people were saying mean stuff about him, he just said "they all had Buddhahood inside". I think that is a very honorable thing to do because I would find it hard not to be upset... Louis, Young Eagle

"What does Bodhisattva Never Disparaging's profound respect for people signify? The purpose of the appearance in this world of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, lies in his behaviour as a human being."

(The Three Kinds of Treasure - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 852) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=848 Selection source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shimbun, Sept 12th, 2012


Background
This letter was written at Minobu in the ninth month of 1277 and addressed to Shijo Nakatsukasa Saburo Saemon-no-jo Yorimoto, commonly known as Shijo Kingo, in Kamakura. Sometime around 1274, Shijo Kingo had begun making efforts to convert his lord, who was named Ema, to the Daishonin’s teachings. Lord Ema, however, did not respond positively. Instead, he reduced the size of Kingo’s landholdings and threatened to send him to the remote province of Echigo. Kingo’s colleagues spread scurrilous reports about him, and Kingo was accused of fomenting trouble at a debate in the sixth month of , during which the Tendai priest Ryuzo-bo was bested by the Daishonin’s disciple   Sammi-bo.
Nichiren Daishonin cautions Shijo Kingo and instructs him on the best course of behavior in his trying circumstances. Later that year Lord Ema fell ill, and Kingo, applying his medical skills, helped cure him. The lord was most grateful and in 1278 restored, and later even increased, Kingo’s landholdings.
At the outset of this letter, the Daishonin tells Kingo that he should remember his debt of gratitude to his lord, and stresses the Buddhist teaching that fundamental changes within oneself inevitably result in changes in the environment. He mentions that when he was about to be executed at Tatsunokuchi Kingo vowed to die by his side. Now Kingo is undergoing a severe ordeal and the Daishonin is exerting all his powers to protect him. The Daishonin says that, since Kingo was fortunate enough to have been born human and encountered the true teaching, he should accumulate “the treasures of the heart” and win the respect of others. Finally, through historical references to Emperor Sushun and others, the Daishonin teaches Kingo that as a Buddhist he should conduct his daily life admirably and be considerate of others.