Major Writings - Nichiren Daishounin

A Father Takes Faith
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The True Entity of Life
The One Essential Phrase
The Essence of the Juryo Chapter
The True Object of Worship
The Selection of the Time
The Problem to Be Pondered Night and Day
Reply to the Mother of Lord Ueno
The Bodies and Minds of Ordinary Beings
Teaching, Practice, and Proof
On Omens
On Persecutions Befalling the Buddha
The Votary of the Lotus Sutra Will Meet Persecution
Thus I Heard
The Izu Exile
The Origin of the Urabon
The Royal Palace
The Meaning of Faith
The Third Day of the New Year
Reply to the Followers
The Causal Law of Life
The Swords of Good and Evil
The Teaching for the Latter Day
The Unmatched Fortune of the Law
Easy Delivery of a Fortune Child
Letter to Konichi-bo
Letter to Misawa
An Outline of the Zokurui and Other Chapters
Consecrating an Image of Shakyamuni Buddha Made by Shijo Kingo
Curing Karmic Disease
Admonitions Against Slander
Bestowal of the Mandala of the Mystic Law
The Receipt of New Fiefs
The Unity of Husband and Wife
Letter to Ko-no-ama Gozen
Winter Always Turns to Spring
On Filial and Unfilial Conduct
A Father Takes Faith
A Warning against Begrudging One's Fief
The Mongol Envoys
Reply to Tokimitsu
Reply to Myoho Bikuni Gozen
Beneficial Medicine for All Ills
A Sage Perceives the Three Existences of Life
The Proof of the Lotus Sutra
Letter to Jakunichi-bo
Aspiration for the Buddha Land
Reply to Lord Shijo Kingo
The Universal Salty Taste
Good Fortune in This Life
The Wealthy Man Sudatta
Letter to Gijo-bo
New Year's Gosho
Persecution at Tatsunokuchi
Easy Delivery of a Fortune Child
Reply to Lord Matsuno's Wife
The Birth of Tsukimaro
Banishment to Sado
Great Evil and Great Good
Happiness In This World
Letter from Echi
Letter to Endo Saemon-no-jo
Letter to Priest Nichiro in Prison
On Flowers and Seeds
On Itai Doshin
Postscript to the Rissho Ankoku Ron
Reply to a Believer
Reply to Ko Nyudo
Reply to Lady Onichi-nyo
Reply to Lord Matsuno
Rissho Ankoku Ron
The Difficulty of Sustaining Faith
The Offering of a Summer Robe
The Property of Rice
The Wonderful Means of Surmounting Obstacles
Unseen Virtue and Visible Reward
Upholding Faith in the Gohonzon
The Drum at the Gate of Thunder

A Father Takes Faith

 

As I had not heard from you in a long time, I was feeling quite anxious. But nothing could be more wonderful than this matter of Tayu- no-sakan and yourself. It is indeed marvelous!

 

It is the usual way of things that when the latter age begins, sages and worthy men all vanish, and only slanderers, flatterers, smiling backstabbers and those of crooked principles fill the land. So we read in the sutras. To illustrate, as the water dries up, [fish in] the pond will be disturbed, and when the wind blows, the sea will not remain calm. We also read that in the latter age, because droughts, epidemics and great rains and winds come in succession, even the large-hearted become narrow, and even those who seek the Way lapse into erroneous views. This being the case, the sutras tell us, father and mother, husband and wife, and elder brother and younger brother will be pitted against one another, like a hunter and a deer, a cat and a mouse, or a hawk and a pheasant--to say nothing of quarrels among strangers. Ryokan and other priests, inspired by devils, deceived your father Saemon-no-tayu and attempted to destroy the two of you, but you yourself proved to be wise and heeded my admonition. Therefore, just as two wheels support a cart or two legs carry a person, as two wings enable a bird to fly or as the sun and moon aid all living beings, the efforts of you two brothers have led your father to take faith in the Lotus Sutra. It is solely on account of you, Hyoe-no-sakan, that matters have worked out in this way.

 

According to the teachings of the true sutra, when the world enters the latter age and Buddhism falls into complete disorder, a great sage will appear in the world. For example, the pine tree, which withstands the frost, is called the monarch of trees, and the chrysanthemum, which continues to bloom after other plants have withered, is known as a sacred plant. When the world is at peace, worthy men do not become apparent, but when the age is in turmoil, both sages and fools are revealed for what they are. How pitiful the Hei no Saemon and the lord of Sagami failed to heed me, Nichiren! If they had, they would surely not have beheaded the envoys from the Mongol nation who arrived before last year. No doubt they regret it now.

 

The eighty-first sovereign, the great ruler known as Emperor Antoku, commissioned several hundred Shingon teachers, including the Tendai chief priest Myoun, to offer prayers in an attempt to subdue Minamoto no Yoritomo, the general of the right. But their curses "returned to their originators," as the sutra says. Myoun was beheaded by Yoshinaka, and Emperor Antoku was drowned in the western sea. The eighty- second, eighty-third and eighty-fourth sovereigns, the tonsured Retired Emperor of Oki, the Retired Emperor of Awa and the Retired Emperor of Sado, as well as the reigning emperor--these four rulers had the Tendai chief priest and Administrator of Monks Jien, as well as more than forty other eminent monks, including the Omuro and others of the Mii-dera, offer prayers to subdue the Taira general Yoshitoki. But again, the curses "returned to their originators," and these four rulers were banished to remote islands.

 

Concerning this great evil teaching [of Shingon]: The three Great Teachers--Kobo, Jikaku and Chisho--repudiated Shakyamuni's golden words that designate the Lotus Sutra as supreme, reading them to mean that the Lotus Sutra ranks second or third and that the Dainichi Sutra is the highest. Because the above-mentioned emperors placed their trust in these distorted views, they destroyed both the nation and themselves in this life and fell into the hell of incessant suffering in the next.

 

This next special prayer ritual will be the third. Among my disciples, those who have passed away are probably now observing this with the Buddha's eye. And you who have been spared, watch with your mortal eyes! The ruler and other high-ranking officials will be carried off to a foreign country, and those people who conducted the prayer ritual will die insane, or flee to other provinces, or hide themselves in the mountains and forests. The messenger of the Lord Buddha Shakyamuni has twice been paraded through the street, and his disciples have been thrown into prison, killed, injured or driven from the provinces where they were living. Therefore, the guilt of those offenses will surely extend to each inhabitant of those provinces. For example, many will be afflicted with white leprosy, black leprosy or all manner of other terribly grave illnesses. My disciples should understand this matter thoroughly.

 

With my deep respect,

Nichiren

 

The ninth day of the ninth month

 

This letter is specifically intended for Hyoe- no-Sakan. It should also be shown to all my disciples in general. Do not disclose its contents to others.

  

Home
A Comparison of the Lotus Sutra and Other Sutras
A Ship to Cross the Sea of Suffering
Earthly Desires Are Enlightenment
Clear Sake Gosho
Letter to Niike
Letter to Domyo Zemmon
Letter to Akimoto
Letter from Sado
Reply to Nichigon-ama
Roots of Good Fortune
Reply to Jibu-bo
No Safety in the Threefold World - Nichiren Daishounin
Letter to Horen - Nichiren Daishounin
King Rinda - Nichiren Daishounin
Jozo and Jogen - Nichiren Daishounin
Bodhisattva Hachiman - Nichiren Daishounin
On Prayer - Nichiren Daishounin
The Opening of the Eyes Part I
The Opening of the Eyes Part II
Conversation between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man
Conversation between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man Part II
Establishment of the Legitimate Teaching for the Protection of the Country
How Those Initially Aspiring to the Way Can Attain Buddhahood Through the Lotus Sutra
The Learned Doctor Shan-wu-wei
The Entity of the Mystic Law
The Pure and Far-reaching Voice
Reply to Takahashi Nyudo
The Teaching, Capacity, Time, and Country
The Doctrine of Attaining Buddhahood in One's Present Form
Encouragement to a Sick Person
The Essence of the Yakuo Chapter
The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra
The Supreme Leader of the World
The Treasure of a Filial Child
The Supremacy of the Law
Reply to Nii-ama
The Workings of Bonten and Taishaku
The Story of Ohashi no Taro
The Teaching in Accordance with the Buddha's Own Mind
The Treatment of Illness and the Points of Difference between Mahayana and Hinayana and Provisional
Repaying Debts of Gratitude
On Practicing the Buddha's Teachings
On the Urabon
Letter to the Priests of Seicho-ji
Letter to Nichimyo Shonin
Letter to Shomitsu-bo
Questions and Answers on Embracing the Lotus Sutra
Reply to Sairen-bo
Rationale for Submitting the Rissho Ankoku Ron
Persecution by Sword and Staff
Rebuking Slander of the Law and Eradicating Sins
Recitation of the Hoben and Juryo Chapters
Reply to Lord Hakiri Saburo
Reply to Yasaburo
Letter to Ichinosawa Nyudo
Letter to Myomitsu Shonin
Reply to Hoshina Goro Taro
Wu-lung and I-lung
White Horses and White Swans
The Sutra of True Requital
The Kalpa of Decrease
The Farther the Source, the Longer the Stream
The Third Doctrine
The One-eyed Turtle and the Floating Sandalwood Log
Letter to Nakaoki Nyudo
General Stone Tiger
The Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life
Lessening the Karmic Retribution
Letter to the Brothers
Hell is the Land of Tranquil Delight
On Prolonging Life
On the Buddha's Behavior
On the Buddha's Prophecy
On the Treasure Tower
Propagation by the Wise
The Embankments of Faith
The Dragon Gate
Strategy of the Lotus Sutra
Reply to Kyo-o
The Person and the Law
The One Essential Phrase
The Gift of Rice
The Real Aspect of the Gohonzon
Letter of Petition from Yorimoto
Introduction and Preface to the Ongi Kuden: Namu Myoho Renge Kyo [Devotion to the Lotus Sutra]
Muryogi Sutra [Sutra of Innumerable Meanings]
Chapter 3: Simile and Parable [Hiyu]
Chapter 4: Faith and Understanding [Shinge]
Chapter 6: Prediction [Juki]
Chapter 7: Phantom City [Kejoyu]
Chapter 8: Prophecy of Enlightenment for Five Hundred Disciples [Gohyaku Deshi Juki]

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