Daily Gosho - The Two Kinds of Faith

Bit of a morning, this morning. Pesky work getting in the way of my life, lol. And so decision time - crack through yet more emails, or go to the Gohonzon, remembering the promise I made to be victorious during my morning gongyo. Gohonzon won, but I was reminded that this is a daily battle - to keep that consistent practice alive, with water-like faith and not succumb to the devilish functions around me. Let's keep winning!

"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.