Gosho Passage - November 11, 2021

"All phenomena have their respective names, and the name in each case indicates the particular virtue or property inherent in that thing. For example, the person known as General Stone Tiger was so called because he was capable of penetrating a stone tiger with an arrow. And the minister Target Piercing was given that name because he could shoot an arrow through a target made of iron. In both cases, the name indicates the qualities of the person. In the case of the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law, the virtues and benefits of its eight volumes and twenty-eight chapters are all contained within the five characters that make up its title; it is like, for instance, the wish-granting jewel that contains ten thousand different jewels within it. This is what is meant by the doctrine that the three thousand realms are all contained within a single particle of dust."

From Gosho "White Horses and White Swans" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, pages 1061-1062)

Gosho Passage - November 10, 2021

"Now, if you wish to attain Buddhahood, you have only to lower the banner of your arrogance, cast aside the staff of your anger, and devote yourself exclusively to the one vehicle of the Lotus Sutra. Worldly fame and profit are mere baubles of your present existence, and arrogance and prejudice are ties that will fetter you in the next one. Ah, you should be ashamed of them! And you should fear them, too!"

From Gosho "Embracing the Lotus Sutra" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 58-59)

Gosho Passage - November 9, 2021

"Today there are people who have faith in the Lotus Sutra. The belief of some is like fire while that of others is like water. When the former listen to the teachings, their passion flares up like fire, but as time goes on, they tend to discard their faith. To have faith like water means to believe continuously without ever regressing."

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

Gosho Passage - November 8, 2021

"From the beginning, I pursued my studies because I wanted to master Buddhism and attain Buddhahood, and also to save the people to whom I am indebted. It seems to me that on the path to attain Buddhahood it may invariably be when one has done something like lay down one’s life that one becomes a Buddha. I think that perhaps it is encountering such difficulties as have already been explained in the sutra—being cursed, vilified, attacked with swords and staves, shards and rubble, and banished again and again—that is reading the Lotus Sutra with one’s life. My faith springs up all the more, and I am confident about my next existence. If I should die, I will definitely also save each of you."

From Gosho "Banishment to Sado" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 202)

Gosho Passage - November 7, 2021

"And when ordinary people in the latter age hear this doctrine, not only will they themselves attain Buddhahood, but also their fathers and mothers will attain Buddhahood in their present forms. This is the highest expression of filial devotion."

From Gosho "What It Means to Hear the Buddha Vehicle" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume II, page 744)

Gosho Passage - November 6, 2021

"From the beginning, I pursued my studies because I wanted to master Buddhism and attain Buddhahood, and also to save the people to whom I am indebted. It seems to me that on the path to attain Buddhahood it may invariably be when one has done something like lay down one’s life that one becomes a Buddha. I think that perhaps it is encountering such difficulties as have already been explained in the sutra—being cursed, vilified, attacked with swords and staves, shards and rubble, and banished again and again—that is reading the Lotus Sutra with one’s life. My faith springs up all the more, and I am confident about my next existence. If I should die, I will definitely also save each of you."

From Gosho "Banishment to Sado" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 202)

Gosho Passage - November 5, 2021

"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. If you chant myoho-renge-kyo with deep faith in this principle, you are certain to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime."

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