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From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Tuesday, March 25, 2014:
A wife who leads her husband to take faith will enjoy the same benefit as Lady Pure Virtue. All the more fortunate is a case like yours, in which both wife and husband have faith! It is like a bird possessing two wings, or a cart having two wheels. What is there that you two cannot achieve? Because there is a heaven and an earth, a sun and a moon, the sun shines and the rain falls, and the plants and trees of benefit will surely blossom and bear fruit.
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 915
An Outline of the "Entrustment" and Other Chapters
Written to Nichinyo on June 25, 1278
When one is at a crossroads in one's life,
those who have a starting point, a raison d'etre, for their dreams are strong.
To all of my dear young friends,
live out your lives to the full and fulfil the vow
that you yourselves make in your youth.
Let's advance with the type of courage
that can never be quashed or defeated!
From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Wednesday, March 26, 2014:
The Buddha explained how difficult it is for a one-eyed turtle to find a floating sandalwood log with a suitable hollow, even after immeasurable, boundless kalpas. He employed this analogy to illustrate the rarity of encountering the Lotus Sutra. One should be aware, however, that, even if one should encounter the floating sandalwood log of the Lotus Sutra, it is rarer still to find the hollow of the Mystic Law of the daimoku, which is difficult to chant.
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 958
The One-eyed Turtle and the Floating Log
Written to the widow of the lay priest Matsuno on March 26, 1279
8 years ago I obtained my Gohonzon from the SGI. Best move of and for my life! It all started on about page 160 on the Original Chanting Growers thread.
From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Thursday, March 27, 2014:
You also are a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra, and your faith is like the waxing moon or the rising tide. Be deeply convinced, then, that your illness cannot possibly persist, and that your life cannot fail to be extended! Take care of yourself, and do not burden your mind with grief.
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 656
The Bow and Arrow
Written to the lay nun Toki on March 27, 1276
From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Friday, March 28, 2014:
The heart of the Lotus Sutra is its title, or the daimoku, of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Truly, if you chant this in the morning and evening, you are correctly reading the entire Lotus Sutra. Chanting daimoku twice is the same as reading the entire sutra twice, one hundred daimoku equal one hundred readings of the sutra, and a thousand daimoku, a thousand readings of the sutra. Thus, if you ceaselessly chant daimoku, you will be continually reading the Lotus Sutra.
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 923
The One Essential Phrase
Written to the lay nun Myoho on July 3, 1278
From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Saturday, March 29, 2014:
Now, if you wish to attain Buddhahood, you have only to lower the banner of your arrogance, cast aside the staff of your anger, and devote yourself exclusively to the one vehicle of the Lotus Sutra. Worldly fame and profit are mere baubles of your present existence, and arrogance and prejudice are ties that will fetter you in a next one. Ah, you should be ashamed of them! And you should fear them, too!
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 58
Questions and Answers about Embracing the Lotus Sutra
Recipient unknown; written in March 1263
From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Sunday, March 30, 2014:
To mix other practices with this Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is a grave error. A lantern is useless when the sun rises. How can dewdrops be beneficial when the rain falls? Should one feed a newborn baby anything other than its mother's milk? No addition of other medicines is needed with a good medicine.
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 903
The Teaching for the Latter Day
Written to Nanjo Tokimitsu on April 1, 1278
From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Monday, March 31, 2014:
I have written out the prose section of the "Expedient Means" chapter for you. You should recite it together with the verse portion of the "Life Span" chapter, which I sent you earlier. The characters of this sutra are all without exception living Buddhas of perfect enlightenment. But because we have the eyes of ordinary people, we see them as characters.
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 486
Reply to the Lay Priest Soya
Written to the Lay Priest Soya in March 1275
From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Tuesday, April 1, 2014:
This teaching was not propagated in the Former or Middle Day of the Law because the other sutras had not yet lost their power of benefit. Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, neither the Lotus Sutra nor the other sutras lead to enlightenment. Only Nam-myoho-renge-kyo can do so. This is not my own judgment. Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, the Buddhas of the ten directions, and the bodhisattvas who emerged from the earth as numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds have so determined it.
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 903
The Teaching for the Latter Day
Written to Nanjo Tokimitsu on April 1, 1278
From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Wednesday, April 2, 2014:
Though I may be a person of little ability, I have reverently given myself to the study of the Mahayana. A blue fly, if it clings to the tail of a thoroughbred horse, can travel ten thousand miles, and the green ivy that twines around the tall pine can grow to a thousand feet.
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 17
On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land
Submitted to Hojo Tokiyori on July 16, 1260
From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Thursday, April 3, 2014:
If one doubts the strength of the Buddha when he says, "I am the only person who can rescue and protect others"; if one is suspicious of the rope held out by the Lotus Sutra when its teachings declare that one can "gain entrance though faith alone"; if one fails to chant the Mystic Law which guarantees that "such a person assuredly and without doubt [will attain the Buddha way]," then the Buddha's power cannot reach one, and it will be impossible to scale the embankment of enlightenment.
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 59
Questions and Answers about Embracing the Lotus Sutra
Recipient unknown; written in March 1263
From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Friday, April 4, 2014:
Each of you should summon up the courage of a lion king and never succumb to threats from anyone. The lion king fears no other beast, nor do its cubs. Slanderers are like barking foxes, but Nichiren's followers are like roaring lions.
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 997
On Persecutions Befalling the Sage
Written to all followers (and entrusted to Shijo Kingo) on October 1, 1279
From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Saturday, April 5, 2014:
I, Nichiren, observing this state of affairs, proceeded to consult the great collection of Buddhist scriptures. There I discovered the reason why these prayers are without effect and on the contrary actually make the situation worse, along with passages of proof to support it. In the end I had no other recourse than to compile a work to present my findings, entitling it On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land.. . . This I did solely that I might repay the debt of gratitude that I owe to my native land.
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 161
The Rationale for Writing "On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land"
Written to Hogan on April 5, 1268