Gosho Passage - December 21, 2025

"Explaining the heart of the Lotus Sutra, the Universal Worthy Sutra says, “Without either cutting off earthly desires or separating themselves from the five desires . . .” And the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai’s Great Concentration and Insight reads, “Earthly desires are enlightenment; the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana.” Explaining how the Lotus Sutra surpasses all the rest of the Buddha’s lifetime of teachings, Bodhisattva Nagarjuna’s Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom says, “[The Lotus Sutra is] like a great physician who can change poison into medicine.” This passage means that while a lesser physician cures illness with medicine, a great physician cures grave illness with virulent poison."

From Gosho "The Receipt of New Fiefs" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 946)

Gosho Passage - December 20, 2025

"A wisteria vine, by twining around a pine, may climb a thousand fathoms into the air; and a crane, because it has its wings to rely upon, can travel ten thousand ri. It is not their own strength that allows them to do these things. This applies likewise in the case of the priest Jibu-bo. Though he himself is like the wisteria vine, because he clings to the pine that is the Lotus Sutra, he is able to ascend the mountain of perfect enlightenment. Because he has the wings of the single vehicle to rely upon, he can soar into the sky of Tranquil Light. With wings such as these, he is a priest who can bring comfort to not only his parents and his grandfather and grandmother, but also all his relatives down to the seventh generation. How fortunate a woman you are to possess this fine jewel of a grandson."

From Gosho "On Offerings for Deceased Ancestors" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 820-821)

Gosho Passage - December 19, 2025

"In the Latter Day of the Law, the votary of the Lotus Sutra will appear without fail. The greater the hardships befalling him, the greater the delight he feels, because of his strong faith. Doesn’t a fire burn more briskly when logs are added? All rivers flow into the sea, but does the sea turn back their waters? The currents of hardship pour into the sea of the Lotus Sutra and rush against its votary. The river is not rejected by the ocean; nor does the votary reject suffering. Were it not for the flowing rivers, there would be no sea. Likewise, without tribulation there would be no votary of the Lotus Sutra."

From Gosho "A Ship to Cross the Sea of Suffering" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 33)

Gosho Passage - December 18, 2025

"Though numerous, the Japanese will find it difficult to accomplish anything, because they are divided in spirit. In contrast, although Nichiren and his followers are few, because they are different in body, but united in mind, they will definitely accomplish their great mission of widely propagating the Lotus Sutra. Though evils may be numerous, they cannot prevail over a single great truth, just as many raging fires are quenched by a single shower of rain."

From Gosho "Many in Body, One in Mind" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 618)

Gosho Passage - December 17, 2025

"Whether you chant the Buddha’s name, recite the sutra, or merely offer flowers and incense, all your virtuous acts will implant benefits and roots of goodness in your life. With this conviction you should strive in faith. The Vimalakirti Sutra states that, when one seeks the Buddhas’ emancipation in the minds of ordinary beings, one finds that ordinary beings are the entities of enlightenment, and that the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana. It also states that, if the minds of living beings are impure, their land is also impure, but if their minds are pure, so is their land. There are not two lands, pure or impure in themselves. The difference lies solely in the good or evil of our minds."

From Gosho "On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 4)

Gosho Passage - December 16, 2025

"The demon who appeared to test the boy Snow Mountains was actually Shakra. The dove saved by King Shibi was the heavenly king Vaishravana. It is even possible that the ten demon daughters have possessed your parents and are tormenting you in order to test your faith. Any weakness in faith will be a cause for regret. The cart that overturns on the road ahead is a warning to the one behind. In an age like this no one can help but thirst for the way. You may hate this world, but you cannot escape it."

From Gosho "Letter to the Brothers" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 497)

Gosho Passage - December 15, 2025

"Therefore, when once we chant Myoho-renge-kyo, with just that single sound we summon forth and manifest the Buddha nature of all Buddhas; all existences; all bodhisattvas; all voice-hearers; all the deities such as Brahma-, Shakra, and King Yama; the sun and moon, and the myriad stars; the heavenly gods and earthly deities, on down to hell-dwellers, hungry spirits, animals, asuras, human and heavenly beings, and all other living beings. This blessing is immeasurable and boundless."

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

Gosho Passage - December 14, 2025

"The sun is brilliant, and the moon, clear. The words of the Lotus Sutra are brilliant and clear, clear and brilliant, like the reflection of a face in a bright mirror, or the image of the moon on clear water. Yet could the Thus Come One’s pronouncement “In this present existence they will gain the reward of good fortune,” or his proclamation “In this present existence he will have manifest reward for it” possibly be empty only for Nanjo Shichiro Jiro? It is certain that, even if there were an age when the sun rises in the west, or a time were to come when the moon emerges from the ground, the Buddha’s words would never prove false. Judging from this, there cannot be the least doubt that your late father is now in the presence of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, and that you will receive great blessings in your present existence. How wonderful, how splendid!"

From Gosho "Good Fortune in This Life" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, pages 654-655)

Gosho Passage - December 13, 2025

"Gold can be neither burned by fire nor corroded or swept away by water, but iron is vulnerable to both. A worthy person is like gold, a fool like iron. You are like pure gold because you embrace the “gold” of the Lotus Sutra. The sutra states, “Just as among all the mountains, Mount Sumeru is foremost, so this Lotus Sutra is likewise.” It also states, “The good fortune you gain thereby . . . cannot be burned by fire or washed away by water.”"

From Gosho "The Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 217)

Gosho Passage - December 12, 2025

"Bodhisattva Never Disparaging’s age was the Middle Day of the Law, whereas this age is the defiled Latter Day of the Law. He was a practitioner at the initial stage of rejoicing, and I, Nichiren, am an ordinary practitioner at the stage of hearing the name and words of the truth. He sowed the seeds of Buddhahood with the twenty-four characters, while I do so with only the five characters [of Myoho-renge-kyo]. Although the ages are different, the process of attaining Buddhahood is exactly the same."

From Gosho "The Teaching, Practice, and Proof" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 474)

Gosho Passage - December 11, 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 - December 10, 2025

"When things are going smoothly in this world of ours, we suppose there is nothing to worry about, but these days the situation seems very threatening indeed. Whatever happens, however, you must not despair. Be firm in your approach, and if things should not go as you wish with regard to your lands, then determine to be more contented than ever, [...]"

From Gosho "On Polished Wheat" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 576)

Gosho Passage - December 9, 2025

"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)

Gosho Passage - December 8, 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 7, 2025

"What then does myo signify? It is simply the mysterious nature of our life from moment to moment, which the mind cannot comprehend or words express. When we look into our own mind at any moment, we perceive neither color nor form to verify that it exists. Yet we still cannot say it does not exist, for many differing thoughts continually occur. The mind cannot be considered either to exist or not to exist. Life is indeed an elusive reality that transcends both the words and concepts of existence and nonexistence. It is neither existence nor nonexistence, yet exhibits the qualities of both. It is the mystic entity of the Middle Way that is the ultimate reality. Myo is the name given to the mystic nature of life, and ho, to its manifestations. Renge, which means lotus flower, is used to symbolize the wonder of this Law. If we understand that our life at this moment is myo, then we will also understand that our life at other moments is the Mystic Law. This realization is the mystic kyo, or sutra. The Lotus Sutra is the king of sutras, the direct path to enlightenment, for it explains that the entity of our life, which manifests either good or evil at each moment, is in fact the entity of the Mystic Law."

From Gosho "On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 4)

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)