Gosho Passage - December 6, 2025

"Women support others and thereby cause others to support them. When a husband is happy, his wife will be fulfilled. If a husband is a thief, his wife will become one, too. This is not a matter of this life alone. A husband and wife are as close as a form and shadow, flowers and fruit, or roots and leaves, in every existence of life. Insects eat the trees they live in, and fish drink the water in which they swim. If grasses wither, orchids grieve; if pine trees flourish, cypresses rejoice. Even trees and plants are so closely related. The hiyoku is a bird with one body and two heads. Both of its mouths nourish the same body. Himoku are fish with only one eye each, so the male and female remain together for life. A husband and wife should be like them."

From Gosho "Letter to the Brothers" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 501-502)

Gosho Passage - December 5, 2025

"A man who offered a mud pie to the Buddha was reborn as a king. Because the Lotus Sutra is a teaching superior to the Buddha, having made offerings to it, how could you possibly fail to both enjoy benefit in this lifetime and attain Buddhahood in the next?"

From Gosho "Daimoku as the Seed of Buddhahood" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 805)

Gosho Passage - December 4, 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 - December 3, 2025

"Carry through with your faith in the Lotus Sutra. You cannot strike fire from flint if you stop halfway. Bring forth the great power of faith, and be spoken of by all the people of Kamakura, both high and low, or by all the people of Japan, as “Shijo- Kingo, Shijo- Kingo of the Lotus school!” Even a bad reputation will spread far and wide. A good reputation will spread even farther, particularly if it is a reputation for devotion to the Lotus Sutra. Explain all this to your wife too, and work together like the sun and moon, a pair of eyes, or the two wings of a bird. With the sun and moon, could there be a path of darkness? With a pair of eyes, no doubt you will see the faces of Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions. With a pair of wings, you will surely fly in an instant to the treasure land of Tranquil Light."

From Gosho "Earthly Desires Are Enlightenment" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 319)

Gosho Passage - December 2, 2025

"There is nothing to lament when we consider that we will surely become Buddhas. Even if one were to become an emperor’s consort, of what use would it be? Even if one were to be reborn in heaven, what end would it serve? Instead, you will follow the way of the dragon king’s daughter and rank with the nun Mahaprajapati. How wonderful! How wonderful! Please chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo."

From Gosho "The Bow and Arrow" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 657)

Gosho Passage - December 1, 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 - November 30, 2025

"The Lotus Sutra states, “[The doctrines that they preach . . .] will never be contrary to the true reality.” T’ien-t’ai commented on this, saying that “no worldly affairs of life or work are ever contrary to the true reality.” A person of wisdom is not one who practices Buddhism apart from worldly affairs but, rather, one who thoroughly understands the principles by which the world is governed."

From Gosho "The Kalpa of Decrease" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 1121)