Daily Gosho - The Receipt of New Fiefs

Reading this Gosho extract, I am reminded of the passage "The purpose of the appearance in this world of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, lies in his behavior as a human being" from the Gosho 'The Three Kinds of Treasure'. Shijo Kingo had a great victory - Lord Ema gave him three new fiefs - and Nichiren warns his disciple against voicing any kind of complaint, i.e. using his Buddha wisdom when communicating to his employer. Whilst we may not always enjoy our work environment, let's chant to reveal our Buddhahood whilst striving for the right job for our lives - the one that provides 'beauty, benefit and good' according to President Makiguchi's guidance. For more detail on this, please visit The Meaning of Work.

President Ikeda's study lecture on Shijo Kingo and The Three Kinds of Treasure can be viewed at The Teachings for Victory.

"No matter how poor these estates might be, avoid complaining of it, either to others or to your lord. If you say, 'They are excellent, excellent lands,' your lord may add to your fiefs again. But if you say things like, 'The lands are poor,' or 'There are no profits,' you could very well be forsaken by both heaven and other people. You should bear this in mind."

(The Receipt of New Fiefs - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 945) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=945  Selection Source: Suntetsu, Seikyo Shinbun, October 11th, 2012


Background
This letter was written at Minobu to Shijo Kingo. Lord Ema, whom Shijo Kingo served, had for some time opposed his retainer’s belief in the Lotus Sutra and even harassed him by, for example, threatening to transfer him to a remote province unless he abandoned his faith. Kingo’s fellow samurai also treated him with hostility, and for a time it appeared that he might be ousted from the clan and lose his livelihood altogether. Kingo endured several years of adversity until finally, in 1277, his circumstances changed for the better. This improvement came about partially because in his capacity as a physician he was able to cure Lord Ema of a serious illness. Around the first month of 1278 he was permitted to accompany his lord on official errands. And in the tenth month, when this letter was written, Kingo was granted no less than three new fiefs.
From the content of this letter, however, it appears that he was not altogether pleased with what he had received. The new estates are thought to have been located on Sado Island or in some other remote area, which may have caused his dissatisfaction. In this letter, the Daishonin admonishes him against such feelings and urges him instead to appreciate the fact that circumstances are now improving.