Gosho Passage - July 7, 2020

"When in one’s heart one takes faith in Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the heart becomes a dwelling and Shakyamuni Buddha takes up residence there. At first one is not aware of this, but gradually, as the months go by, the Buddha in the heart begins to appear as in a dream, and one’s heart becomes bit by bit ever more joyful. "

From Gosho "The Buddha Resides in a Pure Heart" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 885)

Gosho Passage - July 6, 2020

"In your letter you write: “Since I took faith in this sutra [the Lotus], I have continued to recite the ten factors of life and the verse section of the ‘Life Span’ chapter and chant the daimoku without the slightest neglect. But how great is the difference between the blessings received when a sage chants the daimoku and the blessings received when we chant it?” To reply, one is in no way superior to the other. The gold that a fool possesses is no different from the gold that a wise man possesses; a fire made by a fool is the same as a fire made by a wise man. However, there is a difference if one chants the daimoku while acting against the intent of this sutra. There are various stages in the practice of this sutra [and various forms of slander exist accordingly]. [...] There are fourteen evil causes: (1) arrogance, (2) negligence, (3) wrong views of the self, (4) shallow understanding, (5) attachment to earthly desires, (6) not understanding, (7) not believing, (8) scowling with knitted brows, (9) harboring doubts, (10) slandering, (11) despising, (12) hating, (13) envying, and (14) bearing grudges.’” Since these fourteen slanders apply equally to priesthood and laity, you must be on guard against them."

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

Gosho Passage - July 5, 2020

"If you care anything about your personal security, you should first of all pray for order and tranquillity throughout the four quarters of the land, should you not?"

From Gosho "On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 24)

Gosho Passage - July 4, 2020

"The entity of Myoho-renge-kyo in all its splendor - just what is this entity? If we hope to answer this, we must say that it is the eight-petaled white lotus that is the true nature of our own lives. Since this is so, then the essential nature of our lives is Myoho-renge-kyo. And once we have come to understand that Myoho-renge-kyo is not the name of a sutra but is the entity of our own lives, then we will see that our own lives are in fact the Lotus Sutra, and the Lotus Sutra is none other than the sacred word preached by the Buddha in order to make manifest the entities that are our lives. And seeing that, we will know that we ourselves are Thus Come Ones of original enlightenment, who possess the three bodies within a single body. Once we have become enlightened to this, then all the delusions and mistaken habits of thought that we have entertained from the beginningless past until the present will be swept away like yesterday’s dreams and will vanish without a trace."

From Gosho "On the Ten Factors" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume II, page 80)

Gosho Passage - July 3, 2020

Since I heard from you about Kyo’o, I have been praying to the gods of the sun and moon for her every moment of the day. [..] The Gohonzon was never known, let alone inscribed, by anyone in the Former or Middle Day of the Law. 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. In inscribing this Gohonzon for her protection, Nichiren was like the lion king. This is what the sutra means by “the power [of the Buddhas] that has the lion’s ferocity.”1 Believe in this mandala with all your heart. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is like the roar of a lion. What sickness can therefore be an obstacle?

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

Gosho Passage - July 2, 2020

"if we inquire into the root of the suffering that is inflicted upon our persons, we find that it derives from the three poisons of greed, anger, and foolishness. Through the two paths of earthly desires and suffering, karma is created. And this path of karma is none other than what binds us to the realm of birth and death. We are like birds shut up in a cage. How can these three paths of earthly desires, karma, and suffering be called three causes leading to Buddhahood? [...] I would like simply to quote the words of Bodhisattva Nagarjuna, the thirteenth of the Buddha’s successors and founder of the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai’s line, who in explaining the word myo, or “wonderful,” in the term myoho says it is “like a great physician who can change poison into medicine.”"

From Gosho "What It Means to Hear the Buddha Vehicle" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume II, page 743)

Gosho Passage - July 1, 2020

"All those who consider themselves my disciples should know that now is the time for the four bodhisattvas to appear. Therefore, even if it should cost you your lives, you must never discard your faith. Toki, Saburo Saemon-no-jo, Kawanobe, Acharya Yamato, and the rest of you, gentlemen and priests, should read this letter to one another and listen. In this defiled age, you should always talk together and never cease to pray for your next life."

From Gosho "The Votary of the Lotus Sutra" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 449)