Letter from Sado, WND, 302

Written to Toki Jonin on March 20, 1272 from Tsukahara on Sado

If I add my own interpretation, it will be as if I had profaned these passages, but in essence they mean that Shakyamuni's practices and the virtues he consequently attained are all contained within the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo. If we believe in these five characters, we will naturally be granted the same benefits as he was.

The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind Established in the Fifth Five-Hundred-Year

Period after the Thus Come One's Passing, WND, 365

Written to Toki Jonin on April 25, 1273 from Ichinosawa on Sado

Then, if we chant until the very moment of death, Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions will come to us instantly, exactly as they promised during the ceremony at Eagle Peak. Taking our hands and bearing us on their shoulders, they will carry us to Eagle Peak. The two sages, the two heavenly kings, and the ten demon daughters will guard us, while all the heavenly gods and benevolent deities will raise a canopy over our heads and unfurl banners on high. They will escort us under their protection to the treasure land of Tranquil Light. How can such joy possibly be described?

On Practicing the Buddha's Teachings, WND, 395

Written to all believers in May of 1273 from Ichinosawa on Sado

The Venerable Maudgalyayana put his faith in the Lotus Sutra, which is the greatest good there is, and thus not only did he himself attain Buddhahood, but his father and mother did so as well. And, amazing as it may seem, all the fathers and mothers of the preceding seven generations and the seven generations that followed, indeed, of countless lifetimes before and after, were able to become Buddhas.

On Offerings for Deceased Ancestors, WND, 820

Written to Jibu-bo's grandmother on July 13, 1279 from Minobu

It is the desire of the original Buddha that each of your families is harmonious and happy. I also sincerely hope that, treasuring your lives and doing your best at your jobs, each of you without exception will lead a victorious life. It is for this reason that we carry out our practice of faith.

My Dear Friends in America Collected Addresses 1990-1996, pg. 22

A person whose life is based on faith is strong. He or she is more worthy and more beautiful than any other.

Faith is not for anyone but yourself - it is all for you. Working to spread the Daishonin's teachings, devoting yourself to chanting daimoku, and studying the Gosho and Buddhist theory while you are young are all tasks that transform your life into a garden of blessings and merits.

Joy of Living, Speeches to the YWD, page 67

Songs from My Heart, p. 60

As I have been saying for some time, in your situation as a lay believer, you should just single-mindedly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo morning and evening, day and night, and observe what happens at the last moments of your life. At that time, hasten to the summit of perfect enlightenment, and look around you in all directions. The entire realm of phenomena will have changed into the Land of Tranquil Light, with the ground made of lapis lazuli, the eight paths marked off by golden ropes, the four kinds of flowers raining down from the heavens, music resounding in the air, and Buddhas and bodhisattvas all being caressed by breezes of eternity, happiness, true self, and purity. We, too, will surely be among their number. The Lotus Sutra is indeed such a splendid sutra!

Reply to Matsuno, WND, 843

Written to Matsuno Rokuro Saemon on September 9, 1277 from Minobu

Strengthen your faith now more than ever. Anyone who teaches the principles of Buddhism to others is bound to incur hatred from men and women, priests and nuns. Let them say what they will. Entrust yourself to the golden teachings of the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha, T'ien-t'ai, Miao-lo, Dengyo, and Chang-an. This is what is signified by the expression, "practicing according to the Buddha's teaching." The Lotus Sutra reads, "If in that fearful age one can preach this sutra for even a moment, [one will deserve to receive alms from all heavenly and human beings]." This passage explains that in the evil age of the Latter Day of the Law, when evil persons stained by the three poisons prevail, anyone who believes in and upholds the correct teaching, for even a short time, will receive offerings from heavenly and human beings.

Now you should make a great vow and pray for your next life. If you are disbelieving or slander the correct teaching even in the slightest, you will certainly fall into the great citadel of the hell of incessant suffering. Suppose there is a ship that sails on the open sea. Though the ship is stoutly built, if it is flooded by a leak, those on the ship are sure to drown together. Though the embankment between rice fields is firm, if there is an ant hole in it, then surely; in the long run, it win not remain full of water. Bail the seawater of slander and disbelief out of the ship of your life, and solidify the embankments of your faith. If a believer's offense is slight, overlook it, and lead that person to obtain benefits. If it is serious encourage him to strengthen his faith so that he can expiate the sin.

The Embankments of Faith, WND, 626

Written to Sennichi on September 3, 1275

Question: Is there any sutra passage which says that inconspicuous benefits are limited to the Latter Day of the Law?

Answer: A passage from the Yakuo chapter in the seventh volume of the Lotus Sutra reads: "This sutra is beneficial medicine for the illnesses of all mankind. If one is ill and can hear of this sutra, his illness will vanish immediately, and he will find perpetual youth and eternal life." The Great Teacher Miao-lo says: "To regard the last five-hundred-year period after the Buddha's passing as the time when no one can attain benefit is a superficial viewpoint. The beginning of the Latter Day of the Law will not be without inconspicuous benefit, for it is the time when the great teaching will be propagated. The last five-hundred-year period corresponds to that time."

The Teaching, Practice, and Proof, WND, 473

Written to Sammi-bo Ajari on March 21, 1275 from Minobu

The Lotus Sutra, the core of Mahayana Buddhism, states that the purpose of existence, the eternal cycles of life and death, is to be "happy and at ease." It further teaches that sustained faith and practice enable us to know a deep and abiding joy in death as well as life, to be equally "happy and at ease" with both. Nichiren describes the attainment of this state as the "greatest of all joys."

A New Humanism: The University Addresses of Daisaku Ikeda, pg. 153

What does attaining Buddhahood mean for us? It does not mean that one day we suddenly turn into a Buddha or become magically enlightened. In a sense, attaining Buddhahood means that we have securely entered the path, or orbit, of Buddhahood inherent in the cosmos. Rather than a final static destination at which we arrive and remain, achieving enlightenment means firmly establishing the faith needed to keep advancing along the path of absolute happiness limitlessly, without end.

For Today & Tomorrow, pg. 205

In this lifetime, to demonstrate the power of faith in the Mystic Law to others some of you may have been born into poverty so that you could show actual proof by gaining secure and comfortable lives. Some of you may have been born with ill health so that you could show proof by growing strong and healthy. Irrespective of your situations, however, the light of faith in the depths of your beings will continue to shine on eternally with diamond-like brilliance.

For Today & Tomorrow, pg. 22

In a sense, there is no simpler Buddhist practice than doing gongyo and chanting daimoku. We do not have to undertake strange austerities as in some esoteric Buddhist traditions. With machinery, too, the more sophisticated the technology, the greater the ease of operation and use. Similarly, the very superiority of the Daishonin's Buddhism enables us to tap the life state of Buddhahood through the very simplest form of practice.

However, since our Buddhist practice takes place in the midst of our daily lives, it is all too easy for us to grow lazy and neglect it. In that respect, there is perhaps no more difficult practice when it comes to continuing. Nonetheless, if we challenge ourselves to keep up a little each day, before we realize it we will have built a path to happiness in the depths of our lives; we will have established a solid embankment that will prevent our ever being swept away toward unhappiness.

Discussions on Youth, Vol. 2, pg. 212-13

In our daily practice of gongyo each morning and evening, we are constantly praying for the happiness of all people. We are praying for the happiness of all living beings. This is a truly lofty state of life. Not only do we offer prayer; we also take action to actualize these prayers. That is, we exert ourselves for kosen-rufu. What a noble way to live!

Living Buddhism, September 1999, pg. 26

All of your painstaking efforts and vigorous actions during your youth will become a foundation for the remainder of your life. Please understand that carrying out lifelong practice should be your fundamental attitude or objective in faith as well as the way to bring your life to a brilliant completion.

Daily Guidance, Vol. III, page 369

Faith includes unfathomable benefit and limitless good fortune; it contains great power as vast as the universe, which can even transform the land in which one lives. Faith is the source of endless joy, limitless wisdom and boundless compassion, enabling one to fully use the treasures of the storehouse and the treasures of the body toward the establishment of eternal happiness. All of you already possess this supreme "nourishment" for human life. Al that remains is how to go about tapping its limitless power.

Life passes quickly. If you spend your youth meaninglessly, hesitating, complaining or criticizing others, or if you are defeated by your own lazy nature, you will soon find that your youth will have passed you by. Each and every day is very important. It is my hope that you will live a fulfilled life in which you feel as though each day is as valuable as a thousand years or even a thousand aeons. For this purpose, while young, you should persevere amid life's realities as you live with an expansive state of life, the kind of life-condition in which you always ponder the vastness of the universe and the eternity of time. From Today Onward, Vol. 2, pp. 122-23

Just as sleep and wake, wake and sleep, we are born and die, die and are born anew, thus maintaining an eternal cycle of life. Because each person carries his [her] own destiny, those who share the relationship of husband and wife, or parent and child, in this lifetime cannot maintain that relationship eternally. Only those who embrace the true and pure law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo - who have faith in the Gohonzon - receive immense benefit, maintaining their bonds with one another throughout eternity.

Seikyo Times 1/84, pg. 33

Through faith we open and magnificently construct the "pure land" in our hearts. One who does so is a "Buddha in life." After dying, such a person becomes a "Buddha in death." He or she will shine as a "Buddha in both life and death."

Seikyo Times, June 1994, pg. 12

Our worldly misdeeds and evil karma may have piled up as high as Mount Sumeru, but when we take faith in this sutra, they will vanish like frost or dew under the sun of the Lotus Sutra.

Letter to Niike, WND, 1026

Written to Niike Saemon-no-jo in February of 1280 from Minobu

If Nichiren's compassion is truly great and encompassing, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo will spread for ten thousand years and more, for all eternity, for it has the beneficial power to open the blind eyes of every living being in the country of Japan, and it blocks off the road that leads to the hell of incessant suffering.

On Repaying Debts of Gratitude, WND, 736

Written to Joken-bo & Gijo-bo on July 21, 1276 from Minobu