Daily Gosho - Reply to Kyo'o

Whilst this Gosho relates to the sickness of a young child, we can apply Nichiren Daishonin's guidance to any situation that we face. 

At our recent Area course in Florence, we were given this great guidance about challenging obstacles with this spirit of a lion's roar:

"Without a challenging or fighting spirit, we cannot attain Buddhahood. It is through this spirit that the causality of attaining Buddhahood becomes established as a solid and shining pillar of our lives. The term 'fighting spirit' can also be expressed in various other ways such as: the spirit of 'true cause'; of always starting from now; the resolve to never regress in faith; the heart of the lion king; the refusal to be defeated; faith that grows stronger day by day. (President Ikeda, Lectures On Attaining Buddhahood in this Lifetime p83)

As a district, we also studied this Gosho recently, and how we can muster up this deep conviction to absolutely win in our lives: Reply to Kyo'o Gosho Study

Bodhisattvas of the Earth: let's win together!

"Believe in this mandala with all your heart. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is like the roar of a lion. What sickness can therefore be an obstacle?"

(Reply to Kyo'o - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 412) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=412 Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, October 31st, 2012


Background
This brief letter was written in the eighth month of the tenth year of Bun’ei (1273) and was addressed to Kyo’o, Shijo Kingo’s infant daughter. Since Kyo’o was then only one year old, however, it may be assumed that the letter was meant for Shijo Kingo and his wife, Nichigen-nyo. They had two children, Kyo’o (Sutra King) and another daughter, Tsukimaro (Full Moon), who was a year older. Both were apparently named by Nichiren Daishonin.
This letter was written in response to news that Kyo’o had become seriously ill. At this time the Daishonin was living in exile on Sado Island.
The Daishonin explains the significance of the Gohonzon, the object of devotion. At the Tatsunokuchi Persecution in 1271, the Daishonin revealed his identity as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law. Only after this did he begin to inscribe the Gohonzon and bestow it on his followers, particularly those who had staunch faith in his teachings.
In this letter, the Daishonin says that the boundless benefits of the Gohonzon will surely cure Kyo’o’s sickness and urges Kingo and his wife to believe firmly in the Gohonzon.