Study Materials

One Who Strives to the Utmost Receives Boundless Benefits!

Shakyamuni Buddha teaches, however, that one who makes offerings to the votary of the Lotus Sutra in the latter age for even a single day will gain benefit a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, million times greater than one would by offering countless treasures to the Buddha for one million kalpas. How wonderful then is your having wholeheartedly supported the votary of the Lotus Sutra over the years! According to the Buddha’s golden words, in the next life you are certain to be reborn in the pure land of Eagle Peak. What remarkable rewards you will gain!

Background

This letter is a reply Nichiren Daishonin wrote in Mt Minobu in the ninth month of 1281 in response to a serious illness report and sincere offerings made by his disciple. It is assumed that this letter was addressed to Nanjo Tokimitsu, the Daishonin’s disciple in Suruga (the central region of present-day Shizuoka Prefecture), or someone in the Nanjo family. However, the details are not very clear.

In this letter, based on the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, the Daishonin is teaching through the example of the boy Virtue Victorious who offered a mud pie to Shakyamuni, and was later reborn as King Asoka, that the benefit of making offerings to the votary of the Lotus Sutra will be a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, million times greater than this offering made to Shakyamuni.

Further, illuminated by the principle: “Since the Law is wonderful, the person is worthy of respect; since the person is worthy of respect, the land is sacred,” the Daishonin teaches that the place he, who is upholding the Mystic Law “the fundamental Law for attaining Buddhahood” is dwelling is a sacred place not inferior to the Pure Land of the Eagle Peak. And, he encourages Nanjo Tokimitsu to quickly recover from his illness and strongly wishes to see him again, and as soon as possible.

A Life of Great Vow is Indeed A Happy Life!

The heart is expansive! The heart is deeply profound! Buddhism expounds, “It is the heart that is important.” [WND-I, pg 1000] Let us struggle together with our mentor! Let us strive to the utmost for our comrades-in-faith! If we struggle through and through with such a strong “heart,” there will be boundless benefits brimming over!

In this Gosho, the Daishonin introduces the example of the boy Virtue Victorious. Through his “sincere heart” in offering a mud pie to Shakyamuni, he was reborn as King Asoka. After that, basing on the sutra passages of the Teacher of the Law chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the Daishonin related Shakyamuni’s teaching, “one who makes offerings to the votary of the Lotus Sutra in the latter age for even a single day will gain benefit a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, million times greater than one would by offering countless treasures to the Buddha for one million kalpas.”

The Latter Day of the Law is a time where great persecutions assailed far more than during Shakyamuni’s lifetime. In this Latter Age, the one who carries through the great vow of kosen-rufu for fundamentally saving all living beings is the votary of the Lotus Sutra of the Latter Day of the Law. To make offerings to the votary of the Lotus Sutra of the Latter Day of the Law is none other than to be connected to this great vow and to support and assist in fulfilling this great vow. Therefore, such a person will be able to receive boundless benefits.

In fact, during the few years when this Gosho was written, the Daishonin’s disciples were confronted with many adversities. With the embers of the Atsuhara Persecution in 1279 still lingering, the oppression from the authorities continued on. Epidemic and famine followed in succession. Economically, they were forced into poverty. In spite of all these, the disciple who received this Gosho was mindful of his mentor and continued to support his mentor during these few years. The Daishonin praises such strong will of his disciple and promises him the eternal happiness of the three existences that he will be born in the Pure Land of the Eagle Peak in his next existence.

SGI President Ikeda once said that in the Latter Day of the Law, the one and only organisation that accomplishes world kosen-rufu is Soka Gakkai. In light of the Gosho, the benefits of those comrades who strive sincerely for the sake of Soka Gakkai are immeasurable. There is no doubt that everything will be accumulated as great good fortune in the heart of each individual, and become the source of glory and prosperity of the family and clan, eternally into the future.