Gosho Passage - October 8, 2025

"You must never think that any of the eighty thousand sacred teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha’s lifetime or any of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions and three existences are outside yourself. Your practice of the Buddhist teachings will not relieve you of the sufferings of birth and death in the least unless you perceive the true nature of your life. If you seek enlightenment outside yourself, then your performing even ten thousand practices and ten thousand good deeds will be in vain. It is like the case of a poor man who spends night and day counting his neighbor’s wealth but gains not even half a coin."

From Gosho "On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 3)

Gosho Passage - October 7, 2025

"Volume five of Great Concentration and Insight states: “Life at each moment is endowed with the Ten Worlds. At the same time, each of the Ten Worlds is endowed with all Ten Worlds, so that an entity of life actually possesses one hundred worlds. Each of these worlds in turn possesses thirty realms, which means that in the one hundred worlds there are three thousand realms. The three thousand realms of existence are all possessed by life in a single moment. If there is no life, that is the end of the matter. But if there is the slightest bit of life, it contains all the three thousand realms."

From Gosho "The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 354)

Gosho Passage - October 6, 2025

"The Nirvana Sutra teaches the principle of lessening one’s karmic retribution. If one’s heavy karma from the past is not expiated within this lifetime, one must undergo the sufferings of hell in the future, but if one experiences extreme hardship in this life [because of the Lotus Sutra], the sufferings of hell will vanish instantly. And when one dies, one will obtain the blessings of the human and heavenly worlds, as well as those of the three vehicles and the one vehicle. Bodhisattva Never Disparaging was not abused and vilified, stoned and beaten with staves without reason. He had probably slandered the correct teaching in the past. "

From Gosho "Lessening One’s Karmic Retribution" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 199)

Gosho Passage - October 5, 2025

"Instead I would like to say that your beloved father is comparable to King Rinda, and you yourself are comparable to Bodhisattva Ashvaghosha. The white swans are the Lotus Sutra, the white horses are Nichiren, and the neighing of the white horses is the sound of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. And so, in the same way that, when King Rinda hears the sound of the horses, his complexion brightens and his strength increases, when your beloved deceased father hears the sound of your voice chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, he will delight in his Buddhahood."

From Gosho "White Horses and White Swans" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 1066)

Gosho Passage - October 4, 2025

"Let us openly and clearly outline the virtues of Myoho-renge-kyo! Just as poisonous compounds are changed into medicine, so these five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo change evil into good. The Spring of Jewels is so called because, in this spring, stones are changed into jewels. In the same way, these five characters can change ordinary human beings into Buddhas. Therefore, because your beloved departed father chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo while he was alive, he was a person who attained Buddhahood in his present form, in the same way that stones change into jewels. The actions you have taken, then, are the very height of filial piety and concern."

From Gosho "White Horses and White Swans" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 1064)

Gosho Passage - October 3, 2025

"The fourth volume of the Lotus Sutra states, “If there were a person who spoke only one word to curse the lay persons or monks or nuns who uphold and preach the Lotus Sutra, then his offense would be even graver than that of cursing Shakyamuni Buddha to his face for the space of a kalpa.”[...] Take these teachings to heart, and always remember that believers in the Lotus Sutra should absolutely be the last to abuse one another. All those who keep faith in the Lotus Sutra are most certainly Buddhas, and one who slanders a Buddha commits a grave offense."

From Gosho "The Fourteen Slanders" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 756)

Gosho Passage - October 2, 2025

"A passage from the Lotus Sutra reads that it is “the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand.” Many hear about and accept this sutra, but when great obstacles arise, just as they were told would happen, few remember it and bear it firmly in mind. 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."

From Gosho "The Difficulty of Sustaining Faith" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 471)

Gosho Passage - October 1, 2025

"The Lotus Sutra, on the other hand, is known as a sutra that was preached in accordance with the Buddha’s own mind. Because the Buddha’s mind is an excellent mind, persons who read this sutra, even though they may not understand its meaning, will gain inestimable benefit. Mugwort that grows in the midst of hemp, or a snake inside a tube [will as a matter of course become straight], and those who associate with people of good character will consequently become upright in heart, deed, and word. The Lotus Sutra exerts a similar influence. The Buddha will look upon one who simply puts faith in this sutra as a good person."

From Gosho "The Bodies and Minds of Ordinary Beings" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 1128)

Gosho Passage - September 30, 2025

"In China there lived a woman named Hsi-shih who went to the mountains to pick young herbs and in this way provided for her aged mother. The gods, taking pity on her, moved the king, the ruler of the state of Yüeh, to go out hunting, and when he saw her, he made her his consort. And because your daughter exercises filial devotion, the gods will surely protect her, and the Buddhas will look on her with favor. For among all the good roots or meritorious acts, the foremost is filial service to one’s father and mother. And your daughter does all this out of faith in the Lotus Sutra. Such faith is like pure water poured into a golden vessel not a drop of it will be wasted. How wonderful, how wonderful!"

From Gosho "On the Meritorious Act of Filial Devotion" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume II, page 816)

Gosho Passage - September 29, 2025

"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. I was born as the son of the one Buddha, Shakyamuni, and I serve the king of scriptures, the Lotus Sutra. How could I observe the decline of the Buddhist Law and not be filled with emotions of pity and distress?"

From Gosho "On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 17)

Gosho Passage - September 28, 2025

"The Lotus Sutra offers a secret means for leading all living beings to Buddhahood. It leads one person in the realm of hell, one person in the realm of hungry spirits, and thus one person in each of the nine realms of existence to Buddhahood, and thereby the way is opened for all living beings to attain Buddhahood."

From Gosho "Letter to Horen" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 512)

Gosho Passage - September 27, 2025

"In China there lived a woman named Hsi-shih who went to the mountains to pick young herbs and in this way provided for her aged mother. The gods, taking pity on her, moved the king, the ruler of the state of Yüeh, to go out hunting, and when he saw her, he made her his consort. And because your daughter exercises filial devotion, the gods will surely protect her, and the Buddhas will look on her with favor. For among all the good roots or meritorious acts, the foremost is filial service to one’s father and mother. And your daughter does all this out of faith in the Lotus Sutra. Such faith is like pure water poured into a golden vessel not a drop of it will be wasted. How wonderful, how wonderful!"

From Gosho "On the Meritorious Act of Filial Devotion" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume II, page 816)

Gosho Passage - September 26, 2025

"The Lotus Sutra offers a secret means for leading all living beings to Buddhahood. It leads one person in the realm of hell, one person in the realm of hungry spirits, and thus one person in each of the nine realms of existence to Buddhahood, and thereby the way is opened for all living beings to attain Buddhahood."

From Gosho "Letter to Horen" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 512)

Gosho Passage - September 25, 2025

The blessings that you, the Honorable Jōren, acquire through your faith in the Lotus Sutra will lend strength to your kind father. Though Devadatta fell into the Avīchi hell, the Buddha predicted that he would in the future become a Buddha named Heavenly King Thus Come One. This was because he belonged to the same extended family as the Buddha. In your case, the relationship is one of father and son. How could the fact that you embrace the Lotus Sutra fail to bring blessing to the departed spirit of your late father?

From Gosho "Letter to Joren-bo" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume II, page 572)

Gosho Passage - September 24, 2025

"In essence, the appearance of the treasure tower indicates that on hearing the Lotus Sutra the three groups of voice-hearers perceived for the first time the treasure tower within their own lives. Now Nichiren’s disciples and lay supporters are also doing this. In the Latter Day of the Law, no treasure tower exists other than the figures of the men and women who embrace the Lotus Sutra. It follows, therefore, that whether eminent or humble, high or low, those who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo are themselves the treasure tower, and, likewise, are themselves the Thus Come One Many Treasures. No treasure tower exists other than Myoho-renge-kyo. The daimoku of the Lotus Sutra is the treasure tower, and the treasure tower is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo."

From Gosho "On the Treasure Tower" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 299)

Gosho passage - September 23, $year$

"The Lotus Sutra is made up of 69,384 characters. Though in our eyes each individual character may appear to be no more than a character in black ink, in the Buddha’s eyes, each one is a Buddha. For example, a ruler called King Golden Grains turned sand into gold. A man named Mahanama turned rocks into gems. Wood immersed in the Spring of Jewels changes into lapis lazuli. Waters that enter the sea all become salty. Birds that approach Mount Sumeru turn golden-hued. Agada medicine changes poison into medicine. And the wonder of the Lotus Sutra is also like that; it changes ordinary people into Buddhas."

From Gosho "Offerings for the Object of Devotion" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume II, page 671)

Gosho Passage - September 22, 2025

"Entering into the relation of teacher and lay supporter is the result of a bond that bridges the three existences. Never seek the three benefits of sowing, maturing, and harvesting from anyone else. These golden words cannot possibly be wrong: “Those persons who had heard the Law dwelled here and there in various Buddha lands, constantly reborn in company with their teachers,” and “If one stays close to the teachers of the Law, one will speedily gain the way of enlightenment. By following and learning from these teachers one will see Buddhas as numerous as Ganges sands.” How could the person mentioned in the “Devadatta” chapter where it says, “In the place where they are born they will constantly hear this sutra,” refer to anyone but you?"

From Gosho "On the Five Seasonal Festivals" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume II, page 375)

Gosho Passage - September 21, 2025

"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 that reigns over all of life’s functions. To be endowed with the Ten Worlds means that all ten, without a single exception, exist in one world. Because of this it is called a mandala. Mandala is a Sanskrit word that is translated as “perfectly endowed” or “a cluster of blessings.” This Gohonzon also is found only in the two characters for faith. This is what the sutra means when it states that one can “gain entrance through faith alone.”"

From Gosho "The Real Aspect of the Gohonzon" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 832)

Gosho Passage - September 20, 2025

"When we revere Myoho-renge-kyo inherent in our own life as the object of devotion, the Buddha nature within us is summoned forth and manifested by our chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. This is what is meant by “Buddha.” To illustrate, when a caged bird sings, birds who are flying in the sky are thereby summoned and gather around, and when the birds flying in the sky gather around, the bird in the cage strives to get out. When with our mouths we chant the Mystic Law, our Buddha nature, being summoned, will invariably emerge. The Buddha nature of Brahma and Shakra, being called, will protect us, and the Buddha nature of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, being summoned, will rejoice. This is what the Buddha meant when he said, “If one can uphold it [the Mystic Law] even for a short while I will surely rejoice and so will the other Buddhas."

From Gosho "How Those Initially Aspiring to the Way..." (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 887)

Gosho passage - September 19, $year$

"The Great Teacher Miao-lo says: “You should understand that one’s life and its environment at a single moment encompass the three thousand realms. Therefore, when one attains the Buddha way, one puts oneself in accord with this fundamental principle, and one’s body and mind at a single moment pervade the entire realm of phenomena.”"

From Gosho "The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 366)

Gosho Passage - September 18, 2025

"Before, I had thought that your sincerity was just an ordinary matter, but now, for the first time, I have sensed the depth of your faith. If anything should happen to you, just as the moon emerges to shine in the dark night, so the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo will appear as a moon for you."

From Gosho "The Sons Pure Storehouse and Pure Eye" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 1050)

Gosho Passage - September 17, 2025

"A fire burns higher when logs are added, and a strong wind makes a kalakula grow larger. The pine tree lives for ten thousand years, and therefore its boughs become bent and twisted. The votary of the Lotus Sutra is like the fire and the kalakula, while his persecutions are like the logs and the wind. The votary of the Lotus Sutra is the Thus Come One whose life span is immeasurable; no wonder his practice is hindered, just as the pine tree’s branches are bent or broken. From now on, always remember the words “This sutra is hard to uphold."

From Gosho "The Difficulty of Sustaining Faith" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 471)

Gosho Passage - September 16, 2025

"... there were physicians in China named Huang Ti and Pien Ch’üeh, and there were physicians in India named Water Holder and Jivaka. They were the treasures of their age and teachers to the physicians of later times. But the man called the Buddha was a superb physician who far surpassed them. This Buddha expounded the medicine of immortality. This is the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo we have today. Moreover, he specifically taught that these five characters are “good medicine for the ills of the people of Jambudvipa."

From Gosho "The Good Medicine for All Ills" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 937)

Gosho Passage - September 15, 2025

"Before, I had thought that your sincerity was just an ordinary matter, but now, for the first time, I have sensed the depth of your faith. If anything should happen to you, just as the moon emerges to shine in the dark night, so the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo will appear as a moon for you."

From Gosho "The Sons Pure Storehouse and Pure Eye" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 1050)

Gosho Passage - September 14, 2025

"The Lotus Sutra is the king of sutras, true and correct in both word and principle. Its words are the ultimate reality, and this reality is the Mystic Law (myoho). It is called the Mystic Law because it reveals the principle of the mutually inclusive relationship of a single moment of life and all phenomena. That is why this sutra is the wisdom of all Buddhas."

From Gosho "On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 3)

Gosho Passage - September 13, 2025

"The Lotus Sutra is the king of sutras, true and correct in both word and principle. Its words are the ultimate reality, and this reality is the Mystic Law (myoho). It is called the Mystic Law because it reveals the principle of the mutually inclusive relationship of a single moment of life and all phenomena. That is why this sutra is the wisdom of all Buddhas."

From Gosho "On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 3)

Gosho Passage - September 12, 2025

"The “Expedient Means” chapter in volume one of the Lotus Sutra states, “The wisdom of the Buddhas is infinitely profound and immeasurable.” A commentary says that the riverbed of reality is described as “infinitely profound” because it is boundless, and that the water of wisdom is described as “immeasurable” because it is hard to fathom. Is not the meaning of the sutra and the commentary that the way to Buddhahood lies within the two elements of reality and wisdom? Reality means the true nature of all phenomena, and wisdom means the illuminating and manifesting of this true nature. Thus when the riverbed of reality is infinitely broad and deep, the water of wisdom will flow ceaselessly. When this reality and wisdom are fused, one attains Buddhahood in one’s present form."

From Gosho "The Essentials for Attaining Buddhahood" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 746)

Gosho Passage - September 11, 2025

"The Buddha revealed that he had attained enlightenment countless kalpas in the past, which puzzled his listeners as greatly as if he had asserted that an old man of a hundred was the son of a man of twenty-five. And he also expounded the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, explaining that the nine worlds have the potential for Buddhahood and that Buddhahood retains the nine worlds. Thus a single word of this Lotus Sutra is as precious as a wish-granting jewel, and a single phrase is the seed of all Buddhas."

From Gosho "The Selection of the Time" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 539)

Gosho Passage - September 10, 2025

"[...] in the sixth volume of Miao-lo's Annotations on "The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra," in the passage that reads: "While the three thousand realms remain latent [in ordinary beings], they are all designated by the term 'ignorance.' But when the three thousand realms all manifest themselves as the result [of Buddhahood], then they are all designated by the term 'eternal happiness.'"

From Gosho "The Entity of the Mystic Law" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 419)

Gosho Passage - September 9, 2025

"The great lantern that illuminates the long night of the sufferings of birth and death, the sharp sword that severs the fundamental darkness inherent in life, is none other than the Lotus Sutra."

From Gosho "A Comparison of the Lotus and Other Sutras" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 1038)

Gosho Passage - September 8, 2025

"We are troubled by revolt in our own country, thieves and bandits fill the land, enemies come from abroad to attack us, and all our thoughts are of armed conflict. The people’s hearts are lacking in filial piety and they look on their own parents as strangers. [...] How thankful we must be that, in a world such as this, there are those who, because of some good karma accumulated in the past, are willing to support the votaries of the Lotus Sutra! How thankful we must be!"

From Gosho "On the Three Calamities" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume II, page 802)

Gosho Passage - September 7, 2025

"[...] in the sixth volume of Miao-lo's Annotations on "The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra," in the passage that reads: "While the three thousand realms remain latent [in ordinary beings], they are all designated by the term 'ignorance.' But when the three thousand realms all manifest themselves as the result [of Buddhahood], then they are all designated by the term 'eternal happiness.'"

From Gosho "The Entity of the Mystic Law" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 419)

Gosho Passage - September 6, 2025

"And yet, though one might point at the earth and miss it, though one might bind up the sky, though the tides might cease to ebb and flow and the sun rise in the west, it could never come about that the prayers of the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra would go unanswered."

From Gosho "On Preyer" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 345)

Gosho Passage - September 5, 2025

"At present the entire body of the Honorable Abutsu is composed of the five elements of earth, water, fire, wind, and space. These five elements are also the five characters of the daimoku. Abutsu-bo is therefore the treasure tower itself, and the treasure tower is Abutsu-bo himself. No other knowledge is purposeful. It is the treasure tower adorned with the seven kinds of treasures— hearing the correct teaching, believing it, keeping the precepts, engaging in meditation, practicing assiduously, renouncing one’s attachments, and reflecting on oneself. You may think you offered gifts to the treasure tower of the Thus Come One Many Treasures, but that is not so. You offered them to yourself. You, yourself, are a Thus Come One who is originally enlightened and endowed with the three bodies. You should chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with this conviction."

From Gosho "On the Treasure Tower" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, pages 299-300)

Gosho Passage - September 4, 2025

"Though the teaching I am now propagating seems limited, it is extremely profound. That is because it goes deeper than the teaching expounded by T’ien-t’ai, Dengyo, and others. It is the three important matters in the “Life Span” chapter of the essential teaching. Practicing only the seven characters of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo seems limited, but since they are the master of all the Buddhas of the three existences, the teacher of all the bodhisattvas in the ten directions, and the guide that enables all living beings to attain the Buddha way, it is profound."

From Gosho "Earthly Desires Are Enlightenment" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 317)

Gosho Passage - September 3, 2025

"Thus faith is the basic requirement for entering the way of the Buddha. In the fifty-two stages of bodhisattva practice, the first ten stages, dealing with faith, are basic, and the first of these ten stages is that of arousing pure faith. Though lacking in knowledge of Buddhism, a person of faith, even if dull-witted, is to be reckoned as a person of correct views."

From Gosho "The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 141)

Gosho Passage - September 2, 2025

"During the Former Day of the Law, Bodhisattva Vasubandhu and Bodhisattva Nagarjuna chanted the daimoku, but they did this solely as a practice for themselves and went no further than that. In the Middle Day of the Law Nan-yüeh and T’ien-t’ai likewise chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo; they did so as a practice for their own benefit, but they did not expound it widely for others. [...] Now, however, we have entered the Latter Day of the Law, and the daimoku that I, Nichiren, chant is different from that of earlier ages. This Nam-myoho-renge-kyo encompasses both practice for oneself and the teaching of others."

From Gosho "Receiving of the Three Great Secret Laws" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume II, page 986)

Gosho Passage - September 1, 2025

"for the matter of becoming a Buddha, ordinary people keep in mind the words “earnest resolve” and thereby become Buddhas. When we carefully consider what exactly earnest resolve refers to, it is the doctrine of observing the mind. When we inquire into what exactly the doctrine of observing the mind refers to, it means that offering one’s only robe to the Lotus Sutra is equivalent to peeling off one’s skin; and that in a time of famine, offering the food that is the only means for sustaining one’s life that day to the Buddha is offering one’s life to the Buddha."

From Gosho "The Gift of Rice" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 1125)

Gosho Passage - August 31, 2025

"Moreover, the Lotus Sutra states that it is “good medicine for the ills of the people of Jambudvipa.” The people of this world of Jambudvipa are suffering from illness, but they have the medicine of the Lotus Sutra. Now in your case, the three requirements are already present, so how could you fail to recover? But if you have doubts, I am powerless to help you."

From Gosho "Reply to the Lay Priest Takahashi" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 610)

Gosho Passage - August 30, 2025

"Now surely the peace of the world and the stability of the nation are sought by both ruler and subject and desired by all the inhabitants of the country. The nation achieves prosperity through the Buddhist Law, and the Law is proven worthy of reverence by the people who embrace it."

From Gosho "On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 18)

Gosho Passage - August 29, 2025

"Shakyamuni Buddha, who has attained perfect enlightenment, is our own flesh and blood. His practices and the resulting virtues are our bones and marrow. [...] Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions represent the world of Buddhahood within ourselves. By searching them out within us, we can receive the benefits of all these Buddhas."

From Gosho "The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind " (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 365)

Gosho Passage - August 28, 2025

"Now, at the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law, Day of the Law, I, Nichiren, am the first to embark on propagating, throughout Jambudvipa, the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, which are the heart of the Lotus Sutra and the eye of all Buddhas. During the 2,220 or more years since the Buddha’s passing, not even Mahakashyapa, Ananda, Ashvaghosha, Nagarjuna, Nan-yüeh, T’ient’ai, Miao-lo, or Dengyo has propagated them. My disciples, form your ranks and follow me, and surpass even Mahakashyapa or Ananda, T’ien-t’ai or Dengyo! If you quail before the threats of the ruler of this little island country [and abandon your faith], how will you face the even more terrible anger of Yama, the lord of hell? If, while calling yourselves the Buddha’s messengers, you give way to fear, you will be the most despicable of persons!"

From Gosho "The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, pages 764-765)

Gosho Passage - August 27, 2025

"the Contemplation on the Mind-Ground Sutra states: “If you want to understand the causes that existed in the past, look at the results as they are manifested in the present. And if you want to understand what results will be manifested in the future, look at the causes that exist in the present."

From Gosho "The Opening of the Eyes" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 279)

Gosho Passage - August 26, 2025

"In this age, it is as natural for a woman to change her fixed karma by practicing the Lotus Sutra as it is for rice to ripen in fall or chrysanthemums to bloom in winter. When I prayed for my mother, not only was her illness cured, but her life was prolonged by four years. Now you too have fallen ill, and as a woman, it is all the more timely for you to establish steadfast faith in the Lotus Sutra and to see what it will do for you."

From Gosho "On Prolonging One’s Life Span" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 955)

Gosho Passage - August 25, 2025

"[...] though one may be ignorant and make meager offerings, if one presents those offerings to a person who upholds the truth, one’s merit will be great. How much more so in the case of people who in all sincerity make offerings to the correct teaching! In addition, we live today in a time of trouble, when there is little that ordinary people can do. And yet, busy as you are, in your sincerity you have sent me thick-stemmed bamboo shoots of the moso variety as offerings to the Lotus Sutra here in the mountains. Surely you are sowing good seeds in a field of fortune. My tears never cease to flow when I think of it."

From Gosho "The Bodies and Minds of Ordinary Beings" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 1134)

Gosho Passage - August 24, 2025

"Shakyamuni Buddha who attained enlightenment countless kalpas ago, the Lotus Sutra that leads all people to Buddhahood, and we ordinary human beings are in no way different or separate from one another. To chant Myoho-renge-kyo with this realization is to inherit the ultimate Law of life and death. This is a matter of the utmost importance for Nichiren’s disciples and lay supporters, and this is what it means to embrace the Lotus Sutra."

From Gosho "The Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 216)

Gosho Passage - August 23, 2025

"The Lotus Sutra is the staff that helps all the Buddhas of the three existences as they set their minds on enlightenment. However, you should rely on Nichiren as your staff and pillar. When one uses a staff, one will not fall on treacherous mountain paths or rough roads, and when led by the hand, one will never stumble. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo will be your staff to take you safely over the mountains of death."

From Gosho "The Swords of Good and Evil" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 451)

Gosho Passage - August 22, 2025

"There was once a ruler in India named Ashoka the Great. He reigned over a quarter of the land of Jambudvipa and, accompanied by the dragon kings,[...] On inquiring into the previous lifetime of this great sovereign, we find that in the days of Shakyamuni Buddha there were two little boys called Virtue Victorious and Invincible who once offered the Buddha a mud pie. Because of this act of sincerity, the boy Virtue Victorious was reborn within one hundred years as King Ashoka. The Buddha is of course respectworthy, but when compared with the Lotus Sutra he is like a firefly beside the sun or moon. The superiority of the Lotus Sutra to Shakyamuni Buddha is as great as the distance from heaven to earth. Presenting offerings to the Buddha produces benefits like that. How much more so is this true of the Lotus Sutra? If such a marvelous reward was brought about by the mere offering of a mud pie, how much more will come about as a result of all your various gifts!"

From Gosho "The Two Kinds of Faith" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 899)

Gosho Passage - August 21, 2025

"The lion king is said to advance three steps, then gather himself to spring, unleashing the same power whether he traps a tiny ant or attacks a fierce animal. [...] This is what the sutra means by “the power [of the Buddhas] that has the lion’s ferocity."

From Gosho "Reply to Kyo’o" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 412)

Gosho Passage - August 20, 2025

"What is called faith is nothing unusual. Faith means putting one’s trust in the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions, and the heavenly gods and benevolent deities, and chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as a woman cherishes her husband, as a man lays down his life for his wife, as parents refuse to abandon their children, or as a child refuses to leave its mother."

From Gosho "The Meaning of Faith" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 1036)