Daily Gosho - The Problem to Be Pondered Night and Day

So this Gosho is the reason why I don't get my sleep quota! And by the sounds of it, I'm not alone! I'm cutting short my sleep time because I made a vow in the distant past to propogate the Mystic Law, and if that means less sleep, so be it! This is my mission, this is my aim, and I will not begrudge my life in achieving kosen-rufu. I'm not superhuman, I am tired, but my sense of purpose and my vow to my mentor is overiding... *PS, it's important to remember that we need a sense of balance in our lives too - let's use our wisdom and use our time carefully!


"In the light of the above points, this shows, my followers, that you had better cut short your sleep by night and curtail your leisure by day, and ponder this! You must not spend your lives in vain and regret it for ten thousand years to come."

(The Problem to Be Pondered Night and Day - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 622)  http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=620 Selection source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shimbun, August 11th, 2012

Background

This letter was written to Toki Jonin, a learned and dedicated disciple who lived in Shimosa Province. In it Nichiren Daishonin stresses the extreme seriousness of the offense of slander and also the importance of embracing the supreme Buddhist teaching. The letter is dated simply the twenty-third day of the eighth month, and though it is generally thought to have been written in the first year of Kenji (1275) at Minobu, no firm conclusion has been reached in this regard. Other opinions are that the Daishonin wrote it in 1276 or even in 1273 while he was still on Sado Island.

In the Daishonin’s teaching, rather than adherence to a specific code of conduct, one’s fundamental posture toward the Mystic Law, or ultimate reality, determines one’s happiness or unhappiness in life. A person who seeks and awakens to the ultimate truth within will attain enlightenment, while one who remains in ignorance of it or even slanders it will continue to be bound by suffering. Hence the Daishonin’s emphasis on exclusive commitment to the Lotus Sutra, which teaches the direct attainment of Buddhahood for all people.

In the last part of this letter, the Daishonin raises a question that had crossed many people’s minds: on the basis of what sort of insight does he dare to criticize such eminent teachers of the past as Kobo, Jikaku, and Chisho? However, instead of answering this question directly, he simply says, “You had better cut short your sleep by night and curtail your leisure by day, and ponder this!” This passage, from which the letter takes its name, suggests that the most important task of our human existence is to seek out and uphold the correct teaching leading to enlightenment.

Daily Gosho - The Opening of the Eyes

Nichiren's cry to the world and his disciples. When push comes to shove, do I have the heart of my mentor? When assaulted by persecutions, am I going to stand up for the sake of the Law? Even if I am alone, faced with slander, persecution and abuse?         You betcha!

"This I will state. Let the gods forsake me. Let all persecutions assail me. Still I will give my life for the sake of the Law."

(The Opening of the Eyes - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 280) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=220 Selection source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shimbun, August 10th, 2012

Background

This treatise is one of Nichiren Daishonin’s five most important writings, in which he reveals his identity as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law who possesses the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent. In the second month of the ninth year of Bun’ei (72), still in exile under harsh conditions on Sado Island, the Daishonin completed this work in two volumes and addressed it to Shijo Kingo, one of his leading disciples in Kamakura and a samurai who was in the employ of the ruling Hojo clan, on behalf of all his followers. When the Daishonin was taken to Tatsunokuchi in Kamakura in , Shijo Kingo accompanied him, having resolved to die by his side, and personally witnessed his triumph over execution. Also, he had journeyed to Sado to visit the Daishonin in exile and sent his messengers to him with writing materials and other necessities.

The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind, written in 1273, clarifies, from the viewpoint of the Law, the object of devotion that enables all people to attain Buddhahood. The Opening of the Eyes treats the same subject in terms of the Person; that is, it shows Nichiren Daishonin to be the Buddha who would establish the object of devotion for all humankind to achieve Buddhahood. The object of devotion is the embodiment of the Daishonin’s enlightenment to Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the Law implied in the depths of the Lotus Sutra.

Nichiren Daishonin’s life on the forbidding island of Sado was full of hardship; his hut was open to wind and snow, and he lacked food, clothing, and writing materials. In addition to his physical suffering, he was greatly troubled by the news that many of his followers in Kamakura had abandoned their faith. Feeling himself constantly facing the shadow of death, the Daishonin wrote this treatise to encourage his disciples as though it were his last will and testament.

Nichiren Daishonin later described his motives behind the work in his Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra: “After everyone had gone, I began to put into shape a work in two volumes called The Opening of the Eyes, which I had been working on since the eleventh month of the previous year. I wanted to record the wonder of Nichiren, in case I should be beheaded. The essential message in this work is that the destiny of Japan depends solely upon Nichiren. A house without pillars collapses, and a person without a soul is dead. Nichiren is the soul of the people of this country” ( p. 772).

The title The Opening of the Eyes means to enable people to see the truth, in other words, to free people from illusions and distorted views and awaken them to an understanding of the correct teaching and its correct teacher. The work describes the role the Daishonin played in championing the supremacy of the Lotus Sutra and in spreading its teachings, as he himself viewed and experienced it. A passage from this treatise reads: “On the twelfth day of the ninth month of last year, between the hours of the rat and the ox (11:00 P.M. to 3:00 A.M.), this person named Nichiren was beheaded. It is his soul that has come to this island of Sado” ( p. 269). It was through the Tatsunokuchi Persecution that Nichiren Daishonin revealed his true identity as the eternal Buddha. This passage refers to the death of a common person named Nichiren and indicates that from then on the Daishonin was to reveal in full his enlightenment as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.

Nichiren Daishonin begins this treatise with the words, “There are three categories of people that all human beings should respect. They are the sovereign, the teacher, and the parent” (p. 220). The three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent are equated with the qualifications of a Buddha. The virtue of sovereign is the power to protect all living beings; the virtue of teacher is the wisdom to lead all to enlightenment, and the virtue of parent means compassion to nurture and support them. These three virtues constitute a theme that runs throughout this treatise, and at the conclusion of this work the Daishonin declares, “I, Nichiren, am sovereign, teacher, and father and mother to all the people of Japan” (p. 287).

At the outset Nichiren Daishonin discusses Confucianism, Taoism, Brahmanism, Hinayana, and provisional Mahayana Buddhism, and then moves on to the Lotus Sutra. He attributes the disasters ravaging Japan to the confusion in Buddhism and the failure by both rulers and subjects to recognize the supremacy of the Lotus Sutra. Here he cites two reasons why the sutra is supreme. One is that the theoretical teaching (the first half of the sutra) reveals that people of the two vehicles can attain enlightenment, a possibility utterly denied in the previous forty- two years of the Buddha’s preaching. This substantiates the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds and the statement that Buddhahood is open to all. The other reason is that, in the essential teaching (the latter half of the sutra), Shakyamuni Buddha proclaims that he first attained enlightenment in an unfathomably remote past.

The Daishonin states that Shakyamuni Buddha himself declared that the Lotus Sutra is “the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand.” In this sutra the Buddha implied the supreme teaching, as stated: “The doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life is found in only one place, hidden in the depths of the ‘Life Span’ chapter of the

essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra” (p. 224). The Daishonin takes the position that only the revelation of the truth of Buddhism can save the nation and the people. This conviction, he says, has moved him to propagate the essence of the Lotus Sutra in spite of the persecution that he knew he would incur. He realized that his followers might doubt him because of the apparent failure of the gods to protect a votary of the Lotus Sutra. Therefore, he stated: “This doubt lies at the heart of this piece I am writing. And because it is the most important concern of my entire life, I will raise it again and again here, and emphasize it more than ever, before I attempt to answer it” (p. 243).

The second part of this treatise discusses the “Emerging from the Earth” and the “Life Span” chapters of the Lotus Sutra, where Shakyamuni Buddha summons forth countless bodhisattvas from beneath the earth and reveals that he actually attained enlightenment in the remote past, and that all the Buddhas of the other sutras are his emanations and all the bodhisattvas, his disciples. Nichiren Daishonin clarifies that the Buddha of the “Life Span” chapter is the teacher of all Buddhas.

At this point, an implicit analogy begins to emerge. The doubt held by Shakyamuni’s disciples about how he could possibly have taught the countless Bodhisattvas of the Earth in this life leads to the revelation of his true identity as the Buddha who attained enlightenment countless kalpas ago. Similarly, the doubt held by the Daishonin’s followers about why he has been exiled and suffered so many persecutions leads to an understanding of his true identity as the Buddha of the Latter Day.

Then the Daishonin mentions the principle of sowing, maturing, and harvesting. He points to the unsurpassed Law whereby all Buddhas attain enlightenment - Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. This Law is what lies in the depths of the “Life Span” chapter. Nichiren Daishonin directly teaches this Law, the true cause for attaining Buddhahood, and his Buddhism is called the Buddhism of sowing because it implants this “seed of enlightenment” in the lives of those who practice it. In this light, he possesses the virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent for humanity as a whole.

Nichiren Daishonin explains that each sutra has its own claim to excellence; he also gives examples of statements in which various sutras assert their own superiority to other teachings. But the Lotus Sutra alone declares that it is supreme among all sutras, and the Daishonin reconfirms its supremacy. The Lotus Sutra speaks of the three powerful enemies of the sutra and prophesies opposition and hostility toward the sutra and its votary. All this the Daishonin had himself encountered; all this is predicted in the sutra. As the votary of the Lotus Sutra, he vows to stake his life on the cause of saving all people, saying: “Let the gods forsake me. Let all persecutions assail me. Still I will give my life for the sake of the Law. . . . I will be the pillar of

Japan. I will be the eyes of Japan. I will be the great ship of Japan. This is my vow, and I will never forsake it” (pp. 280 –81). Then he assures his disciples that they will definitely attain Buddhahood as long as they do not permit themselves to be overcome by doubts, even when difficulties befall them.

In the final section of this treatise, Nichiren Daishonin explains that there are two ways to propagate the Lotus Sutra: shoju, or gentle persuasion, and shakubuku, or strict refutation. Here, the Daishonin argues that both methods should be used, because there are two kinds of countries, those whose people are ignorant of the correct teaching of Buddhism and those whose people deliberately oppose it. But Japan, as a nation that slanders the correct teaching, requires the shakubuku method. Then he concludes that to remove suffering and give joy to the people is the Buddha’s teaching. The Daishonin has devoted himself to refuting and rooting out the causes of human misery. For him, the exile to Sado was only a “small suffering” in this life. Indeed, he feels “great joy” because of the results he is confident will come in the future.

Daily Experience - the four sufferings

Here's an experience I gave recently at Chapter Study. Really happy to chat further on this experience - I've condensed it slightly for twitterville... OK, here goes!

As a child I was unusually worried about the sufferings of life and death. I think this was because my mum had died when I was two from ovarian cancer. She was only 27. My spiritual home was with my grandparents, where I was doted upon. I was showered with love, affection and fed in only the way a Jewish family can. It was like living at The Ritz - I loved it!
However I was a very sad child, constantly worried about the day when my grandparents would die. Even at the age of five, I had zero self-esteem and felt like something was missing in my life.
This feeling only got worse when my parents split up. The stress on me was really heavy as I felt very responsible for my siblings. It affected me so much to the extent that one day I woke up and my body was temporarily paralysed through stress. Talk about the mind and body being inseparable! 
As a teenager, my school suggested I go to counselling which did help, but was a very temporary solution. I had the great fortune of meeting the practice when I was 21, in 1995. I started to chant the day after my first discussion meeting. I received Gohonzon in 1997 and then developed a very strong practice within the Youth Division.
My son Louis was born in 2002. I'd chanted for the 'easy delivery of a fortune child'. 27 hours of labour later, he was born very traumatically. He received a 1 out of 10 health score and had been damaged through labour. I was convinced he was dead and that it was my fault. 
Within eight hours, I'd developed psychotic post-natal depression and the voices in my head started, telling me to harm my baby. I never did, as I could fight the messages, but it was extremely frightening and drained me completely.
 My practice which had been so strong, instantly suffered. I could not look at the Gohonzon; the only thing I wanted to do was sleep my life away.  I was 27 then, and convinced I would die that year, just like my mum. Thoughts of suicide constantly plagued me, but somewhere deep inside, I must have recognized my own Buddhahood and I certainly would not have done anything to cause my son suffering.
This continued for about eighteen months, and over time, the anxiety attacks stopped and I resumed my practice.  I tried medicines, counselling, but as ever, it was my practice that saved me.
The next six months were about to become even more traumatic. My mum told us she'd been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, just like my real mum and it was terminal. This shook my practice once more although I did carry on chanting.
That year, I received a call from King George's Hospital to say my nan had been taken ill. When I got there, the consultant sat me down and told me that she had cancer and was very close to dying.  This was the moment I'd dreaded all my life but because I had my practice, I knew our connection was eternal. She died within four days with me at her bedside. 
I picked myself up again, as I was now responsible for my granddad as he was suffering quite badly. He died within a year of losing my nan.  Another loss that shook my life.
When I thought things couldn't get any worse, my mum died the following year. As she reached the end of her life, I was tortured by thoughts that I hadn't supported her enough. And that's when I hit rock bottom. I had daily panic attacks, I became agrophobic, I couldn't get out of the tube station in the morning to get to work. I felt like the worst daughter in the world, the worst mum to my son, in fact the most unlovable person in the world. I am ashamed to say that again, my practice completely slipped away, and my life became very small again. Getting Louis dressed for school and getting to work were massive achievements for me at that time. 
I resumed counselling sessions. After six weeks, my sister rang to ask how it was all going. I said ok to which she replied "But are you chanting about it?". It was like a lightbulb had gone off. 
Christmas 2010, I received a phone call to say my second stepmum had died suddenly. She was only 43. With my stronger life-state, I was able to chant for her eternal life without my faith or practice suffering.
I drew my strength from the training I received in Youth Division, and it gave me the courage to transform these experiences and suffering into victories and an absolute transformation of my life-state. I took on more responsibility and really determined to practice even harder as a disciple of Sensei. I have devoted my life to the three practices, kosen-rufu and our beloved SGI organisation.

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. Since you pay frequent visits to me regardless of the difficulties, your belief is comparable to flowing water. It is worthy of great respect! Two Kinds of Faith http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=899

Daily Gosho - Reply to the Mother of Ueno

Nichiren Daishonin's compassion for Ueno abounds throughout this Gosho. His sincere words are so comforting for those of us who have suffered with grief or who are experiencing it currently. We will be reunited at Eagle Peak, for sure...

"The seeds of one kind of plant are all the same; they are different from the seeds of other plants. If all of you nurture the same seeds of Myoho-renge-kyo in your hearts, then you all will be reborn together in the same land of Myoho-renge-kyo. When the three of you are reunited there face to face, how great your joy will be!"

(Reply to the Mother of Ueno - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 1074) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=1074 Selection source: SGI President Ikeda's guidance, Seikyo Shimbun, August 9th, 2012


Background
This letter was written at Minobu in the tenth month of the third year of Koan (1280) to the lay nun Ueno, the mother of Nanjo Tokimitsu. Nichiren Daishonin acknowledges offerings that she had sent him on the occasion of the forty-ninth-day memorial service following the death of her youngest son, Shichiro Goro, and encourages her in the face of her grief.
The lay nun Ueno was the daughter of Matsuno Rokuro Saemon and the wife of Nanjo Hyoe Shichiro, the steward of Ueno Village in Fuji District of Suruga Province. The lay nun’s husband passed away in 1265, while she was pregnant with their youngest son, Shichiro Goro.Shichiro Goro visited Minobu together with his elder brother Tokimitsu to see the Daishonin on the fifteenth day of the sixth month in 1280. The Daishonin had great expectations for the young man, but he died suddenly, at the age of sixteen, on the fifth day of the ninth month of that same year. No sooner had the Daishonin received the news of Shichiro Goro’s death than he wrote a letter of condolence to the lay nun Ueno and Nanjo Tokimitsu.
This present letter is also called On Intermediate Existence. “Intermediate existence” indicates the interval of time between death and rebirth, and was widely believed to last for forty-nine days. On the basis of this belief, people conducted a memorial service on the forty-ninth day.
To reassure the lay nun Ueno that her son has attained Buddhahood, the Daishonin discusses the great benefit gained from embracing the Lotus Sutra, and asserts that a votary of the sutra will be protected by Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and all the other Buddhas.

Daily Gosho - Reply to Kyo'o

Sitting here, writing today's blog, I'm in a situation where I need to achieve the impossible. It's something that 'logically' can't be achieved. I won't know if I've got my victory until March 2013. So I suppose I have two choices... worry about it for six months - or muster my faith! There is only one choice. Victory campaign starts today!

"Kyo'o's misfortune will change into fortune. Muster your faith, and pray to this Gohonzon. Then what is there that cannot be achieved?"

(Reply to Kyo'o - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 412) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=412 Selection source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shimbun, August 8th, 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.

Daily Gosho - Letter from Sado

So no matter what difficulties, abuse or slander we face as practitioners of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, please rest assured that we can change our karma by changing our 'iron' into a 'fine sword', proving the power of the practice once more.
How do we do this? By chanting nam-myoho-renge-kyo, knowing that after 'great evil', comes 'great good'. Our faith may be tested at times, but following Nichiren's example, let's continue no matter how big the adversity which faces us...there is nothing we cannot transform...

"Iron, when heated in the flames and pounded, becomes a fine sword. Worthies and sages are tested by abuse."

(Letter from Sado - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 303) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=301 Selection source: Gosho study for Ikeda Kayokai, Seikyo Shimbun, August 7th, 2012


Background
This letter was written on the twentieth day of the third month, 1272, some five months after Nichiren Daishonin had arrived on the island of Sado to begin his exile there. He addressed it to
Toki Jonin, a samurai serving as a leading retainer to Lord Chiba, the constable of Shimosa Province, to Saburo Saemon (Shijo Kingo) in Kamakura, and to other staunch followers.Nichiren Daishonin had been banished on the tenth day of the tenth month, 1271. Charges of treason had been brought against him by Ryokan, the chief priest of Gokuraku-ji temple in Kamakura, and by Hei no Saemon, deputy chief of the Office of Military and Police Affairs. Hei no Saemon was resolved to execute the Daishonin at Tatsunokuchi before he was to be delivered to the custody of Homma Shigetsura, the deputy constable of Sado. The attempt at execution was unsuccessful, however, and after a delay of almost a month Homma’s warriors escorted the Daishonin to the coast of the Sea of Japan. After a delay there caused by bad weather, the Daishonin finally arrived on Sado on the twenty eighth day of the tenth month.
Nichiren Daishonin was housed at first in a dilapidated structure known as Sammai-do, where he lived exposed to the wind and snow that blew in through gaps in the roof and walls. After five months he was able to move to more comfortable quarters at Ichinosawa. The Daishonin engaged in debates with Pure Land and other priests and actively propagated his own teachings. While on Sado he wrote two major treatises, The Opening of the Eyes and The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind. In the second month, 1274, the Daishonin was pardoned and returned to Kamakura on the twenty-sixth day of the third month.
In this writing the Daishonin first states that the only way to attain Buddhahood is to be willing to offer one’s life, one’s most precious possession, to Buddhism. Next, he says that the method of propagation known as shakubuku is appropriate to this age, and that one can attain Buddhahood only by dedicating oneself to it. He then declares that he is the “pillar, sun, moon, mirror, and eyes” of and “father and mother” to the country; these are symbolic references to the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, who is perfectly endowed with the three virtues of parent, teacher, and sovereign. He also mentions his earlier prophecies in On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land concerning political upheaval and violent feuds within the country.
Lastly, he gives an elaborate explanation of karma or destiny, stating that his present difficulties arise from the fact that he slandered the Lotus Sutra in a past existence. Using himself as an example, he elucidates to his disciples the kind of spirit and practice by which they can alter their karma. He adds that persons who try to propagate the correct teaching of Buddhism vigorously will invariably face opposition, and that such opposition in reality presents an opportunity for them to change their karma. Those who have given up their faith and instead criticize are admonished that their actions bear the heaviest consequences. He compares their lack of vision to fireflies who laugh at the sun.

Daily Gosho - The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings

Loving the reminder of the 'great vow' that we, the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, all made at Eagle Peak. That we would stand up, united with our mentor, and propagate the Lotus Sutra.  As Sensei says in his speech "On Eagle's Peak" (17th September 2006), 

"To strive in faith with the same commitment as one’s mentor means to continue advancing amid great difficulty and adversity with unwavering resolve together with the mentor toward the goal of realizing the great vow of kosen-rufu. Those who maintain this spirit in faith throughout their lives will be able to gain the vast and expansive life-state of the pure land of Eagle Peak -the state of Buddhahood - for all eternity. Moreover, they will be able to lead their family and loved ones to that state of life as well."

Unwavering. Determined. Committed. Let's strive even harder, creating unity based on the oneness of mentor and disciple, and propagate with courage, conviction and compassion....

"The 'great vow' refers to the propagation of the Lotus Sutra."

(The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, page 82) Selection source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shimbun, August 6th, 2012