Gosho Passage - May 13, 2026

"One may ask why the results of these vows should be so long in appearing. 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 Prayer" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 345)

Gosho Passage - May 12, 2026

"There are two ways of perceiving the three thousand realms in a single moment of life. One is theoretical, and the other, actual. What T’ien-t’ai and Dengyo- practiced was theoretical, but what I practice now is actual. Because what I practice is superior, the difficulties attending it are that much greater. The doctrine of T’ien-t’ai and Dengyo- was the three thousand realms in a single moment of life of the theoretical teaching, while mine is that of the essential teaching. These two are as different as heaven is from earth."

From Gosho "The Treatment of Illness" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 1115)

Gosho Passage - May 11, 2026

"Worthy persons deserve to be called so because they are not carried away by the eight winds: prosperity, decline, disgrace, honor, praise, censure, suffering, and pleasure. They are neither elated by prosperity nor grieved by decline. The heavenly gods will surely protect one who is unbending before the eight winds. But if you nurse an unreasonable grudge against your lord, they will not protect you, not for all your prayers."

From Gosho "The Eight Winds" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 794)

Gosho Passage - May 10, 2026

"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 - May 9, 2026

"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 - May 8, 2026

"With regard to the debt of gratitude owed to our parents, our father may be likened to heaven and our mother to the earth, and it would be difficult to say to which parent we are the more indebted. But it is particularly difficult to repay the great kindness of our mother. [...] Since I have realized that only the Lotus Sutra teaches the attainment of Buddhahood by women, and that only the Lotus is the sutra of true requital for repaying the kindness of our mother, in order to repay my debt to my mother, I have vowed to enable all women to chant the daimoku of this sutra."

From Gosho "The Sutra of True Requital" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, pages 930-931)

Gosho Passage - May 7, 2026

"The sutra states, “The wisdom of the Buddhas is infinitely profound and immeasurable.” [...] What is meant by this “wisdom”? It is the entity of the true aspect of all phenomena, and of the ten factors of life that lead all beings to Buddhahood. What then is that entity? It is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. A commentary states that the profound principle of the true aspect is the originally inherent Myoho-renge-kyo. We learn that that true aspect of all phenomena is also the two Buddhas Shakyamuni and Many Treasures [seated together in the treasure tower]. “All phenomena” corresponds to Many Treasures, and “the true aspect” corresponds to Shakyamuni. These are also the two elements of reality and wisdom. Many Treasures is reality; Shakyamuni is wisdom. It is the enlightenment that reality and wisdom are two, and yet they are not two. These are teachings of prime importance. These are also what is called “earthly desires are enlightenment,” and “the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana.”"

From Gosho "Earthly Desires Are Enlightenment" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 317-318)