Gosho Reading (Nichiren Buddhism)

This letter was written at Minobu in the eleventh month of the second year of Kōan (1279) to young Nanjō Tokimitsu, the steward of Ueno Village in Suruga Province. Tokimitsu embraced the Daishonin’s teaching quite early in life and revered Nikkō as his personal teacher.
It is a reply to a report by Tokimitsu about his role in protecting the Daishonin’s followers in the Atsuhara area, who were being persecuted by authorities associated with the Kamakura government. Tokimitsu used his influence to protect other believers, sheltering some in his own home and negotiating for the release of others who had been imprisoned. The Daishonin honored him for his courage by calling him “Ueno the Worthy.” In the ninth month of 1279, the government arrested on false charges twenty farmer believers, who all refused to recant their allegiance to the Daishonin, and on the fifteenth of the tenth month three of these farmers were beheaded.
The last paragraph of this letter hints at the anxiety gripping Japan in the wake of epidemics and rumors of war. The Daishonin emphasizes that, since death is inevitable, life should be devoted only to the loftiest ambition—enlightenment.
The Dragon Gate mentioned in this letter appears in Chinese folklore and, though it has not been conclusively identified, is thought to refer to a waterfall or rapids on the middle reaches of the Yellow River.

https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/140

This letter was written to Shijō Kingo, a samurai and one of Nichiren Daishonin’s most loyal followers, in the seventh month of the eighth year of Bun’ei (1271). Shijō Kingo had sent various offerings to the Daishonin as a donation for a memorial service to be held for his mother, who had passed away some years before on the twelfth day of the seventh month. The Daishonin wrote Kingo this letter in reply, explaining that, in the profoundest sense, only the act of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo benefits the deceased.

Traditionally held in Japan on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the service for deceased ancestors is a Buddhist observance honoring the spirits of the ancestors. This tradition originated in China and is based on the story of Maudgalyāyana’s saving his deceased mother that is related in the Service for the Deceased Sutra. Records indicate that the service for deceased ancestors was first held in China in 538, and in Japan in 657. Recent scholarship has established that the Service for the Deceased Sutra has its origins not in India, but in China, where filial piety was highly valued.

According to popular belief in Kamakura-period Japan, those who were greedy or egotistic in life would inevitably suffer from hunger in death. In this letter, the Daishonin discusses the various kinds of hungry spirits mentioned in Buddhist texts and explains the causes, that is, the evil acts they committed in past existences, that led them to acquire these forms.

The Daishonin also exposes the true motives of many of the priests of his day, referring to them as “Law-devouring hungry spirits” who use the Buddhist teachings as a means to gain personal fame and profit. Though they pretend to have a sincere desire to preach the Buddhist teachings, in their hearts they are greedy. They conceal the offerings they receive from others, keeping them to themselves. The Daishonin also censures those Buddhists, whether of the priesthood or of the laity, who neglect to pray for the repose of their deceased parents or teachers.

https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/21

In the tenth month of the second year of Kōan (1279), this letter was written in reply to a letter to Nichiren Daishonin from Shijō Kingo, informing him that Kingo had been ambushed by enemies among his fellow samurai, but had managed to escape unharmed.

The Daishonin teaches Kingo that faith must always come first, before any other tactic or strategy, and that faith in the Mystic Law is the ultimate factor that determines victory or defeat.

https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/139

This letter was written at Minobu to the wife of the late lay priest Matsuno Rokurō Saemon who lived at Matsuno in Ihara District of Suruga Province. Their daughter had married Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō, and gave birth to nine children, among them Nanjō Tokimitsu. The lay priest and his wife are thought to have been converted to the Daishonin’s Buddhism through their relationship with the Nanjō family. Matsuno Rokurō Saemon died in 1278, the year before this letter was written.

At that time, disasters were frequent, and in particular, the famine that persisted through the autumn and winter of 1278 created untold misery. Despite this hardship, however, Matsuno’s wife made frequent offerings to the Daishonin. She appears to have done so even though she had not met him personally, and she continued to serve him in this way after her husband’s death. In praise of her sincere faith the Daishonin says, “Could it be that Shakyamuni Buddha has possessed your body, or were your roots of goodness from the past aroused?”

In this letter, Nichiren Daishonin first cites a passage from the “Peaceful Practices” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, which states how difficult it is to encounter the Lotus Sutra. Then he relates the story of the one-eyed turtle. The Daishonin elaborates on the story, explaining in detail the difficulty of a one-eyed turtle finding a floating piece of sandalwood with a hollow in it the turtle can fit into perfectly. Through this story, he shows how rare it is to meet the Lotus Sutra, and even more so to encounter the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo that is the sutra’s essence.

Next the Daishonin traces the introduction of the Lotus Sutra from India to China and then to Japan. Although many people in Japan claim to embrace the Lotus, he says, “None of them, however, ever chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo . . . nor do any of them urge others to chant it.” Thus, although people think that they believe in the Lotus Sutra, they do not embrace it correctly.

The final part of this letter refers to the Daishonin’s tenacious struggles during the more than twenty years since he first proclaimed Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. The Daishonin himself underwent all the persecutions that the Lotus Sutra says its votary in the Latter Day will face. Few people made any attempt to understand his teachings and many harassed him in various ways. This opposition, however, served only to strengthen his conviction that he was indeed the votary of the Lotus Sutra, whose activities are predicted in the “Encouraging Devotion” chapter. The letter concludes with praise for the sincerity of Matsuno’s wife.
https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/130

This letter was written on the twentieth day of the third month, 1272, some five months after Nichiren Daishonin had arrived on the island of Sado to begin his exile there. He addressed it to Toki Jōnin, a samurai serving as a leading retainer to Lord Chiba, the constable of Shimōsa Province, to Saburō Saemon (Shijō Kingo) in Kamakura, and to other staunch followers.

Nichiren Daishonin had been banished on the tenth day of the tenth month, 1271. Charges of treason had been brought against him by Ryōkan, the chief priest of Gokuraku-ji temple in Kamakura, and by Hei no Saemon, deputy chief of the Office of Military and Police Affairs. Hei no Saemon was resolved to execute the Daishonin at Tatsunokuchi before he was to be delivered to the custody of Homma Shigetsura, the deputy constable of Sado. The attempt at execution was unsuccessful, however, and after a delay of almost a month Homma’s warriors escorted the Daishonin to the coast of the Sea of Japan. After a delay there caused by bad weather, the Daishonin finally arrived on Sado on the twenty-eighth day of the tenth month.

Nichiren Daishonin was housed at first in a dilapidated structure known as Sammai-dō, where he lived exposed to the wind and snow that blew in through gaps in the roof and walls. After five months he was able to move to more comfortable quarters at Ichinosawa. The Daishonin engaged in debates with Pure Land and other priests and actively propagated his own teachings. While on Sado he wrote two major treatises, The Opening of the Eyes and The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind. In the second month, 1274, the Daishonin was pardoned and returned to Kamakura on the twenty-sixth day of the third month.

In this writing the Daishonin first states that the only way to attain Buddhahood is to be willing to offer one’s life, one’s most precious possession, to Buddhism. Next, he says that the method of propagation known as shakubuku is appropriate to this age, and that one can attain Buddhahood only by dedicating oneself to it. He then declares that he is the “pillar, sun, moon, mirror, and eyes” of and “father and mother” to the country; these are symbolic references to the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, who is perfectly endowed with the three virtues of parent, teacher, and sovereign. He also mentions his earlier prophecies in On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land concerning political upheaval and violent feuds within the country.

Lastly, he gives an elaborate explanation of karma or destiny, stating that his present difficulties arise from the fact that he slandered the Lotus Sutra in a past existence. Using himself as an example, he elucidates to his disciples the kind of spirit and practice by which they can alter their karma. He adds that persons who try to propagate the correct teaching of Buddhism vigorously will invariably face opposition, and that such opposition in reality presents an opportunity for them to change their karma. Those who have given up their faith and instead criticize are admonished that their actions bear the heaviest consequences. He compares their lack of vision to fireflies who laugh at the sun.
https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/32