ON ATTAINING BUDDHAHOOD
If you wish to free
yourself from the sufferings of birth and death you have endured through
eternity and attain supreme enlightenment in this lifetime, you must awaken to
the mystic truth which has always been within your life. This truth is Myoho-renge-kyo. Chanting Myoho-renge-kyo
will therefore enable you to grasp the mystic truth within you. Myoho-renge-kyo is the king of sutras, flawless in both letter
and principle. Its words are the reality of life, and the reality of life is
the Mystic Law (Myoho). It is called the Mystic Law because it explains the
mutually inclusive relationship of life and all phenomena. That is why this
sutra is the wisdom of all Buddhas.
(Major Writings of
Nichiren Daishonin. Vol I.page 3)
THE SUPREMACY OF THE LAW
Strengthen your faith more than ever. Ice
is made of water, but it is colder than water. Blue dye is produced from
indigo, but if something is dyed in it repeatedly, it becomes bluer than the
indigo plant itself. The Lotus Sutra itself does not change, but as you
continue to strengthen your faith in it, you will be filled with more vitality
and receive more blessings than other people do.
(Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol 3)
THE ONE ESSENTIAL PHRASE
Even though one neither reads nor studies
the sutra, chanting the title alone is the source of tremendous good fortune.
The sutra teaches that women, evil men, and those in
the realms of Animality and Hell--in fact, all the
people of the Ten Worlds--can attain Buddhahood. We can comprehend this when we
remember that fire can be produced by a stone taken from the bottom of a river,
and a candle can light up a place that has been dark for billions of years. If
even the most ordinary things of this world are such wonders, then how much
more wondrous is the power of the Mystic Law.
(Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol 1, p 223)
THE EIGHT WINDS
A
truly wise man will not be carried away by any of the eight winds: prosperity,
decline, disgrace, honour, praise, censure, suffering and pleasure. He is
neither elated by prosperity nor grieved by decline. The heavenly gods will
surely protect one who does not bend before the eight winds.
(Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol 1, p 206)
HAPPINESS IN THIS WORLD
There is no greater happiness for human
beings than chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. The sutra
says, "The people there [in my land] are happy and at ease. "Happy and at ease" here means the joy derived
from the Law. You are obviously included among the "people," and
"there" indicates the entire world, which includes
(Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol
1, p 161)
The
Three Kinds of Treasure
"... do not
go around lamenting to others how hard it is for you to live in this world. To
do so is an act utterly unbecoming to a worthy man.
"It is rare to be born a human being.
The number of those endowed with human life is as small as the amount of earth
one can place on a fingernail. Life as a human being is hard to sustain - as
hard as it is for the dew to remain on the grass. But it is better to live a
single day with honour than to live to one hundred and twenty and die in
disgrace."
(Major Writings of Nichiren
Daishonin, Vol 2, p. 238)
HERITAGE OF THE ULTIMATE LAW OF LIFE
"Shakyamuni who attained enlightenment countless aeons ago,
the Lotus Sutra which leads all people to Buddhahood, and we ordinary human
beings are in no way different or separate from each other. Therefore, to chant
Myoho-renge-kyo with this realization is to inherit
the ultimate law of life and death. To carry on this heritage is the most
important task for Nichiren's disciples, and that is
precisely what it means to embrace the Lotus Sutra."
(Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol
1, p.22)
THE REAL ASPECT OF THE GOHONZON
Never
seek this Gohonzon outside yourself. The Gohonzon exists only within the mortal flesh of us ordinary
people who embrace the Lotus Sutra and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
The body is the palace of the ninth consciousness, the unchanging reality which
reigns over all life's functions.
(Major
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol 1, p.213)
Upholding Faith in the Gohonzon
"I am entrusting you with the Gohonzon for the protection of your young child. This Gohonzon is the heart of the Lotus Sutra and the eye of all
the scriptures. It is like the sun and moon in the heavens, a mighty ruler on
earth, the heart in a human being, the wish-granting jewel among treasures and
the pillar of a house.
When one embraces this mandala, all Buddhas and gods
will gather around him, accompanying him like a shadow, and protect him day and
night, as warriors guard their ruler, as parents love their children, as fish
rely on water, as trees and plants crave rain, or as birds depend on trees. You
should trust in it with all your heart."
Major
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 5, page 177.
NEW YEAR'S GOSHO
The sincerity of making offerings to the
Lotus Sutra at the beginning of the New Year is like flowers blooming from
trees, a lotus unfolding in a pond, sandalwood blossoming on the Snow
Mountains, or the moon beginning to rise….. those who
believe in the Lotus Sutra will gather fortune from ten thousand miles afar.
(New Year's Gosho, Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol 1, p 272)
Letter
to Konichi-bo
You say in your letter, "Because my
son killed others, I would like you to tell me into what kind of place he may
be reborn." A needle sinks in water, and rain will not remain in the sky.
Those who kill even an ant are destined for hell, and those who merely cut up
dead bodies cannot avoid the evil paths. All the more must they suffer who kill
human beings. However, even a large rock can float on
the sea when carried aboard a boat. Does not water extinguish even a great
fire? Even a small error will destine one to the evil paths if one does not
repent of it. Yet even a grave offence can be eradicated if one repents of it
sincerely.
(Letter to Konichi-bo, Major writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol 4, p 164)
REPLY
TO KYO'O
"A
sword is useless in the hands of a coward. The mighty sword of the Lotus Sutra
must be wielded by one courageous in faith. Then one will be as strong as a
demon armed with an iron staff."
(The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p 412)
POLISH YOUR MIRROR
… a tarnished mirror will shine like a jewel when polished. A
mind now clouded by the illusions of the innate darkness of life is like a
tarnished mirror, but when polished, it is sure to become like a clear mirror,
reflecting the essential nature of phenomena and the true aspect of reality.
Arouse deep faith, and diligently polish your mirror day and night. How should
you polish it? Only by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
(On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime - The Writings of
Nichiren Daishonin, p 4)
A
LANTERN IN THE DARK
Money serves various purposes according to our
needs. The same is true of the Lotus Sutra. It is a lantern in the dark or a
boat at a crossing. At times it is water and, at other times, fire. This being
so, the Lotus Sutra assures us of "peace and security in our present
existence and good circumstances in future existences"
(The
Swords of Good and Evil - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p 452)
THE TREASURES OF THE HEART
It is rare to be born a human being. The number of those endowed with
human life is as small as the amount of earth one can place on a fingernail.
Life as a human being is hard to sustain-as hard as it is for the dew to remain
on the grass. But it is better to live a single day with honour than to live to
one hundred and twenty and die in disgrace. Live so that all the people of
(The Three Kinds of Treasure - The Writings of Nichiren
Daishonin, p 851)
BECOMING A BUDDHA
Becoming
a Buddha is nothing extraordinary. If you chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
with your whole heart, you will naturally become endowed with the Buddha's
thirty-two features and eighty characteristics. As the sutra says, "hoping to make all persons equal to me, without any
distinction between us", you can readily become as noble a Buddha as Shakyamuni.
(Letter
to Niike - WND p1030)
KEEP
RIGHT ON TO THE END
Be
diligent in developing your faith until the last moment of your life. Otherwise
you will have regrets. For example, the journey from
(Letter
to Niike - WND p1027)
CHERISH NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO
To accept is easy; to continue is
difficult. But Buddhahood lies in continuing faith. Those who uphold this sutra
should be prepared to meet difficulties. It is certain, however, that they will
"quickly attain the unsurpassed Buddha way". To "continue"
means to cherish Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the most
important principle for all the Buddhas of the three
existences.
(The Difficulty of Sustaining Faith - WND p471)
Poison
into Medicine
Bodhisattva
Nagarjuna, in interpreting the single character myo of the Lotus Sutra states, "[The Lotus
Sutra] is like a great physician who changes poison into medicine". What
does poison signify? It is the three paths of earthly desires, karma and
suffering. What does medicine signify? It is the property of the Law, wisdom
and emancipation.
(Gosho
Zenshu, p.984)
Exert yourself in the two ways of practice and
study. Without practice and study there can be no Buddhism. You must not only
persevere yourself; you must also teach others. Both practice and study arise
from faith. Teach others to the best of your ability, even if only a single
sentence or phrase.
(The
True Entity of Life - WND p.386, MW vol 1 p.95)
A bird's egg contains nothing but liquid, yet by
itself this develops into a beak, two eyes, and all the other parts, and the
bird soars into the sky. We, too, are the eggs of ignorance, which are pitiful
things, but when nurtured by the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo,
which is like the warmth of the mother bird, we develop the beak of the
thirty-two features and the feathers of the eighty characteristics and are free
to soar into the sky of the true aspect of all phenomena and the reality of all
things.
(Letter
to Niike (WND p. 1030)