Daily Gosho - The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra

Reminding me that every time I do Gongyo, I can chant for my family's eternal happiness and that they are reborn into a family who practices...

"Myo means to revive, that is, to return to life."

(The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 149) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=141&m=0&q= Selection Source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shinbun September 24th, 2012

Background

This letter was written in the first month, 1266, for a woman of advanced years. Nothing is known about her other than that she was a new believer in Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism and lived in Amatsu of Awa Province. This letter explains in plain terms the rewards of the simple practice of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo by saying that this phrase and its components contain all the powers of the Buddha, and that one who chants it can tap all the benefits of Buddhism and thus revitalize one’s life.

In the fall of 1264, one year after he had been pardoned from his exile in Izu, Nichiren Daishonin returned to his birthplace in Awa Province. News of his mother’s grave illness and the lessening of official pressures prompted his decision to return home. However, Tojo Kagenobu, the steward of this district and a passionate believer in the Nembutsu, was still incensed over the Daishonin’s refutation of the Pure Land teachings eleven years earlier and was lying in wait for him.

The Daishonin’s primary concern was to visit his mother, and their reunion seems to have had a great effect upon her and she quickly recovered. Kudo Yoshitaka and the other disciples in the area were anxious to see him and urged him to visit Kudo’s manor. On the eleventh day of the eleventh month, 1264, accompanied by messengers sent to guide them, the group set out. When they reached a place known as Komatsubara, they were ambushed by Tojo Kagenobu and his Nembutsu followers. Kudo, who came rushing to the Daishonin’s aid, and another disciple lost their lives. The Daishonin suffered a sword slash on his forehead and had his left hand broken.

At considerable personal risk, the Daishonin remained in Awa from 1264 through 1267 and conducted vigorous propagation activities, working with and among the people. In 1266, the Daishonin stayed for a while at his old temple, Seicho-ji, where he wrote several doctrinal treatises, including the present letter.

This letter consists of two sections. In the first section, the Daishonin addresses the question of whether or not one can benefit from chanting the daimoku (Nam-myoho-renge-kyo) without understanding the meaning of the Lotus Sutra, and stresses the necessity of faith in attaining Buddhahood.

Citing the examples of Mahakashyapa and Shariputra, he states that, even without understanding, one can eradicate any evil karma and accumulate boundless benefit, as long as one carries out the practice of chanting the daimoku with firm faith.

In the second section, the Daishonin clarifies the great blessings contained in the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, the title of the Lotus Sutra. He explains three meanings of the character myo: to open, to be fully endowed, and to revive. Finally, he states that only the Lotus Sutra enables women to attain Buddhahood, and urges the recipient of this letter to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and forsake her attachment to the Nembutsu.

At the beginning of this letter, the Daishonin calls himself a “follower of the Great Teacher Kompon.” Kompon, meaning fundamental, is another name for the Great Teacher Dengyo. He was the founder of the Japanese Tendai school, which he based on the teachings of T’ien-t’ai of China. He traveled to China to master T’ien-t’ai’s doctrines and, after returning to Japan, repudiated all the schools based on the Buddha’s provisional teachings and devoted himself to propagating the Lotus Sutra. The phrase “follower of the Great Teacher Kompon” implies that the Daishonin is the legitimate successor to the Buddha’s teaching contained in the Lotus Sutra.