Daily Gosho - On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime

Ok, so it's lighting the candles, making sure my butsudan is clean, and offering incense at gongyo time - but actually, it's so much more than that. These rituals are part of our daily practice of course, but they bring great benefits to our lives, without fail. We're offering them to the Gohonzon, but really, to ourselves. 
It sometimes becomes second nature to do these things so I'm really determined to think about every part of my practice, making sure I keep the spirit of Nichiren Daishonin in my heart. That strong belief that every act I carry out is creating 'treasures of the heart'' in my life. And of course, like everything in this practice, it's the spirit that's most important. Not giving 'cause I think I'll get something back, and not begrudging my giving. 

"Whether you chant the Buddha's name, recite the sutra, or merely offer flowers and incense, all your virtuous acts will implant benefits and roots of goodness in your life. With this conviction you should strive in faith."

(On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 4) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=3 Selection source: The New Human Revolution, Seikyo Shimbun, August 25th, 2012

Background

This letter was written to Toki Jonin in the seventh year of Kencho (1255), two years after Nichiren Daishonin established his teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. At the time of this letter, the Daishonin was thirty-four years old and was living in Kamakura, the seat of the military government. Toki was a staunch follower of the Daishonin who lived in Wakamiya in Shimosa Province. He received some thirty letters, including Letter from Sado and one of the major treatises, The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind. A retainer of Lord Chiba, the constable of Shimosa, Toki had become a follower of the Daishonin around 1254.

Of all his writings from the mids, On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime focuses most clearly on the tenets of the Daishonin’s Buddhism; many of the other works of this period are aimed chiefly at refuting the erroneous doctrines of other schools and discussing theoretical questions. This short essay not only reflects the theories T’ien-t’ai formulated based on the Lotus Sutra, but also reveals the concrete practice for attaining Buddhahood - namely, chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo - that is missing in T’ient’ai’s theoretical framework.

Myoho-renge-kyo is the title of the Lotus Sutra, but to the Daishonin it is much more; it is the essence of the sutra, the revelation of the supreme Law itself. Apparent in this work are both the depth of his thought and his conviction that Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the only teaching that can lead people to Buddhahood in this lifetime.

Daily Gosho - Happiness in This World

My fave lines from my favourite Gosho... Crap stuff is going to happen in our lives...fact. The difference is that as we have Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo in our lives, we can do something about it. We can take action. We can lessen our karmic retribution. We can change poison into medicine and change our suffering into mission.  We might not enjoy a stress-free existence but with every gongyo, and every minute of daimoku we chant, we are polishing the mirror inside and making the cause (and effect) for future happiness. Empowering or what!

"Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to enjoy. Regard both suffering and joy as facts of life, and continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. no matter what happens."

(Happiness in This World - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 681) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=681 Selection source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shimbun, August 20th, 2012


Background
In the third month of 1275, about one year before this letter was written, Nichiren Daishonin warned Shijo Kingo, his loyal samurai follower who was an early convert, that as a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra he must be prepared to meet further difficulties and hardships.
In the present work, the Daishonin explains the nature of true happiness. It lies, he says, in chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Suffering is unavoidable, he adds, encouraging Shijo Kingo to “regard both suffering and joy as facts of life, and continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, no matter what happens.” The Daishonin emphasizes that this is the way to experience “the boundless joy of the Law,” or the state of Buddhahood.

Daily Gosho - Letter from Sado

Let's be as courageous as Nichiren Daishonin, who despite facing slander, persecution and exile, kept his courage, faith and determination throughout. He did this out of compassion for those living in the Latter Day of the Law. Every time we do Gongyo, we are redeterminating to practice with this courageous spirit - the heart of a lion king - and if we are the same mind as Nichiren, we most definitely are Bodhisattvas of the Earth... 

"... those with the heart of a lion king are sure to attain Buddhahood. Like Nichiren, for example."

(Letter from Sado - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 302) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=301  Selection source: SGI President Ikeda's guidance, Seikyo Shimbun, August 5th, 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.