Tuesday 19 February 2013
Daily Gosho - The Two Kinds of Faith
One of my favourite Gosho. Having stopped practicing for a while - my experience here - I really value and cherish my daily practice now. I found consistency to be the key to ensuring that my life being in rhythm with the universe. For me, it's not about a regimented practice where it becomes a 'painful austerity' as Nichiren describes in 'On Attaining Buddhahood' but that deep joy of choosing the practice daily and deepening my 'faith like water'...
"Today there are people who have faith in the Lotus Sutra. The belief of some is like fire while that of others is like water. When the former listen to the teachings, their passion flares up like fire, but as time goes on, they tend to discard their faith. To have faith like water means to believe continuously without ever regressing."
(The Two Kinds of Faith - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 899) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=899 Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, October 31st, 2012
Background
Nichiren Daishonin wrote this letter at Minobu to Nanjo Tokimitsu, the steward of Ueno Village in Suruga Province, in the second month of the fourth year of Kenji (1278). The previous year had been a time of turmoil. A serious drought had devastated crops, and the resulting famine brought countless hardships. In addition, an epidemic had swept the area, causing many deaths. At the same time, the threat of a second invasion by Mongol forces contributed to a general feeling of unease.
In this letter, Nichiren Daishonin expresses his gratitude for Nanjo’s offerings and praises him for his deep sincerity. He introduces the concept of the two kinds of faith: faith like ephemeral fire and faith like ever-flowing water. The Daishonin lauds Nanjo’s faith as being like the latter.
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First of all, thanks for remind us your life experience. It is a story that is well worth to tell.
ReplyDeleteThen let us mind the way we introduce other people to buddism: is it a way to realize every wish, like a kind of Magic, or is it a way to discover the real meaning of life within ourselves?
Is it a magic word, that can heal each deasease, or a long journey inside our body and mind?
Are we praying 5 hours per day and having a meeting every night, or 1 hour per day and 1 meeting per week, keeping in mind our family duties, our business, our spare time?
That's in practice the difference between the 2 kinds of faith.