If you truly fear the sufferings of birth and death and yearn for nirvana, if you carry out your faith and thirst for the way, then the sufferings of change and impermanence will become no more than yesterday's dream, and the awakening of enlightenment will become today's reality.

Conversation between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man (2), WND, 130

Written in 1265 from Awa - recipient unknown

Myo represents death, and ho, life. Living beings that pass through the two phases of life and death are the entities of the Ten Worlds, or the entities of Myoho-renge-kyo.

The Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life, WND, 216

Written to Sairen-bo Nichijo on February 11, 1272 from Tsukahara on Sado

"The sufferings of birth and death are nirvana" exists only in realizing that the entity of life throughout its cycle of birth and death is neither born nor destroyed.

Earthly Desires Are Enlightenment, WND, 318

Written to Shijo Kingo on May 2, 1272 from Ichinosawa on Sado

When he was alive, he was a Buddha in life, and now he is a Buddha in death. He is a Buddha in both life and death. This is what is meant by that most important doctrine called attaining Buddhahood in one's present form.

Hell is the Land of Tranquil Light, WND, 456

Written to Ueno-ama Gozen on July 11, 1274 from Minobu

In the end, no one can escape death. The sufferings at that time will be exactly like what we are experiencing now. Since death is the same in either case, you should be willing to offer your life for the Lotus Sutra. This of this offering as a drop of dew rejoining the ocean, or a speck of dust returning to the earth.

The Dragon Gate, WND, 1003

Written to Nanjo Tokimitsu on November 6, 1279 from Minobu

According to the Buddhist Law, since life itself is eternal and universal, life and death are merely two aspects of the same thing. Neither is in any way subordinate to the other. There is a Japanese term, ku that helps us to understand the ultimate, eternal life governing individual living and dying. Ku transcends the concept of space and time, for it signifies limitless potential; it is the essence from which all things are made manifest and to which all things return. Being everlasting and all pervasive, it surpasses the space-time framework. In our many discussions of eternity, Toynbee said that he felt in the idea of ku an approximation of what he calls the ultimate spiritual reality.

It is impossible to do justice to the nature of ku in so short a time, but I should like to make a few points. First of all, ku is not nonexistence. In fact, it is neither existence nor nonexistence. These two terms represent human interpretations of reality based on the space-time axes by which we ordinarily gauge our experiences and environments. Ku is more profound, more essential; it is a fundamental reality. Its nature may be illustrated by reference to the universal experiences of human development. The psychological and physical changes which take place as the individual grows from infancy to maturity are so great that the entire person seems to be transformed. Yet throughout this process, there is a self that unites mind and body, and remains relatively constant. We are not always aware of this self, which is manifested on both the physical and the mental planes, but it is the fundamental reality that lies beyond the realm of existence and nonexistence.

According to Buddhist philosophy, this enduring self is directly connected with the great web of cosmic life, and so it is capable of operating eternally - now in the life phase and now in the death phase. This is why Buddhism interprets life and death as one. Since the lesser self is included in the greater self, each of us partakes of immutable cosmic life while living in the world of transience and change.

A New Humanism, pp. 124-5

To conceive of life and death as separate realities is to be caught in the illusion of birth and death. It is deluded and inverted thinking. When we examine the nature of life with perfect enlightenment [the true enlightenment of one awakened from the dream of illusions], we find that there is no beginning marking birth and, therefore, no end signifying death. Doesn't life as thus conceived already transcend birth and death?

Learning from the Gosho, pg. 178, October 1279

Nichiren Daishonin next reveals that the ultimate entity of life in all sentient beings - in all people - is also shoji ichidaji kechimyaku, or Myoho-renge-kyo. "Myo represents death, and ho represents life" is another way to say that the law of life and death is in itself myoho, the Mystic Law. The two phases of life and death, which are manifested in the ultimate entity of life, are together the Mystic Law. The law does not exist outside the realities of living and dying; our life itself is the Mystic Law. Then again, our lives in their repetition of the cycle of birth and death are also the entities of the Ten Worlds. Earlier I explained how birth and death occur in a moment of life by referring to the Ten Worlds. They do not mean types of environments or surrounding situations; the Ten Worlds are to be found in the life of everyone - in its rise and fall ebb and flow.

Some people are harassed by bill collectors. Some students go through agony as they cram for examinations. There are many more examples of life in the state of Hell, but basically the tortures of Hell always come back to the question of life and death. The intense desire to live on and the desperate attempt to escape death give rise to the anguish and agonies of Hell, which are, then, nothing but the results of such desires. The state of Hunger revolves around greed, and so that, too, is related to life and death. In this way everyday life, in its depths, always involves life and death. Patients groan with and fear the pain of illness because they do not want to die. Some seek fame and status; others set their minds on learning. All derive from their attitudes toward life.

As long as we take the occurrences of every day lightly, we will not understand life's true meaning. Joy, anger, sorrow and pleasure may seem trivial, but they are ultimately related to the question of life and death. Because we are human, we may consciously or unconsciously evade relating our feelings and activities to life and death, but in the depths of the changing phenomena of the Ten Worlds, this problem of life and death is the most serious question of all. Only when we squarely confront it, recognize it and reflect our recognition in the way we live, can we improve the state of our life. The human revolution is the process of transition from the six paths to the four noble worlds, from the two vehicles (Learning and Realization) to Bodhisattva to Buddhahood. It is a revolution that can only take place when we seek the ultimate law and root our attitude toward life and death firmly within it.

Let us next consider why the Daishonin says, "Myo represents death, and ho represents life." It is impossible to imagine anything about the state of death. Where does it exist, and how? Even if told that it continues to exist as part of universal life, we remain unconvinced. Death, therefore, is myo, a mystic phenomenon. In contrast to death, manifest life appears in many ways, shapes and forms. Like a law, it manifests one or another of the Ten Worlds in accordance with the workings of the Ten Factors of Life. When you do not eat for a long time, you crave food-the state of Hunger. When ridiculed, you are upset or angry - the world of Anger. This is the natural law of life. Life, therefore, is ho, or law.

The Chinese character for ho consists of the ideographs for "water" and "passing away" combined. Together they mean "flow of water." Water represents the even, eternal and impartial, that which pervades the universe. "Passing away" symbolizes the flow of time from the infinite past to the infinite future. In some ancient literature we read that the radical "passing away" also indicates "an existence that banishes evils." All streams, be they rapids rushing down mountainsides or large rivers meandering through plains, flow on and on, never stopping, until they finally empty their waters into the ocean. The Buddhist sees the rise and fall of all phenomena, sometimes manifest and at other times latent, in terms of causality. He observes law within the movements of everything, not in a still, abstract form. It is probably for this reason that Buddhism regards the flow of water as symbolic of law. Buddhist law exists in the realities of everyday life, in the actual feelings of being alive. Hence shoho (literally, all laws) of shoho jisso is translated as "all phenomena."

Selected Lectures on the Gosho, Vol. 1, pp. 111-13

Life is eternal. The universe, as well, is eternal and limitless. Life and the universe are one and inseparable. At one with the great universe, life simply repeats the phases of birth and death endlessly. This true nature of life is clarified in the Lotus Sutra, and particularly in Nichiren Daishonin's teachings-the Lotus Sutra of the Latter Day of the Law. Emerging from and returning to the great universe-this is life's magnificent drama of birth and death.

The entire Lotus Sutra itself is an elucidation of the two laws of life and death. As you know, the first of the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra is the Jo (Introduction) chapter, which begins with the phrase nyoze gamon, or "thus I heard." The last of the Lotus Sutra is the Fugen (Encouragements of Bodhisattva Fugen) chapter, which ends with the phrase sarai niko, or "they bowed in obeisance and departed." The Lotus Sutra begins with the character nyo, or "thus," and ends with the character ko, or to "depart."

Regarding this, the Daishonin states in the "Ongi kuden":

"The two characters nyo and ko represent the two laws of birth and death."

Nyo signifies birth, and ko, death. Then the Daishonin states, "Nyo signifies to compress the entire universe into one mind, and ko indicates to expand one mind into the universe." The universe is condensed to form a single entity of life, which means birth. Nyo signifies "thus," "equally" or "as it is." This indicates that a single entity of life is endowed impartially with all laws and principles in precisely the same way as the universe itself.

On the other hand, death means that a single entity of life expands to pervade and merge with the universe. An individual entity of life brings its activities to a temporary end and departs. Then, it becomes fused with the universe in a state of non-substantiality, as described in the above passage: "ko (depart) indicates to expand one mind into the universe."

The Daishonin also states, "Ko means to open, and nyo means to combine." Birth occurs when the universe is compressed into an individual "self," and all laws are combined into a single entity of life. Death is the "opening," or merging, of this entity of life back into the universe. These two phases of birth and death are inherent in the ultimate reality of life.

The Lotus Sutra clarifies this true aspect of life, in which the cycle of birth and death is repeated eternally from the point of view of its connection with the universe. The sutra's view of life and the universe and its philosophy of life and death, are astonishingly profound and startlingly vivid.

Buddhism in Action, Vol. VII, pp. 134-5

No view of the nature of existence can offer direct proof of what happens after death. It seems, therefore, that rather than trying to compare the relative merits of different views, it is far more fruitful to ask how a particular view influences people's lives in the present whether it makes them strong or weak, happy or miserable.

Buddhism teaches that life is eternal. It encourages us to use this existence to thoroughly polish the eternal entity of our lives. Eternal happiness, it explains, lies precisely in making such efforts.

With the view that life continues eternally over past, present and future, accomplishing human revolution becomes the ultimate purpose. When we polish and revolutionize our lives, then life is joyful and death is joyful, too. We will also experience happiness in our future lives. What else can we call eternal?

Learning From the Gosho, P. 180

No matter how much wealth, authority or fame a person may possess, the problem of life and death is a fundamental issue that absolutely no one can avoid. Still, at no time in history have people been able to arrive at a solution to this problem of life and death....

All of you who embrace faith in, practice and study the Buddhist law are great pioneers who are challenging this ultimate frontier or life and death.

My Dear Friends in America: Collected U.S. Addresses 1990-1996, pg. 156

To die happily is extremely difficult. And since death is the final settlement of accounts for one's life, that is when our true self comes to the fore. We practice faith to live happily and to die happily. One who has faith in the Mystic Law will not die unhappily. (9/26/96)

Faith into Action, pg. 23

The state of mind with which we meet death will greatly influence the course of our lives over eternity. If one is unconcerned by how one dies, or if one dismisses any connection between this existence and the next, then there probably isn't' any need to practice the Daishonin's Buddhism. But the truth is that life is eternal; that our existence continues even after we die. Moreover, during the latent stage of death before rebirth, we cannot change the essence of our lives; we cannot carry out a Buddhist practice. Only while we are alive as human beings can we practice Buddhism. 3/24/97

Faith into Action, pg. 23-24

It is not true that because we practice faith in the Mystic Law our lives will be free of worries. And of course, it is certain that we will eventually die. Nevertheless, through our minds of faith, we can illuminate our lives with the brilliant light of wisdom and the flame of happiness shining forth from the depths of our lives.

For this reason, no matter what happens, as long as you embrace faith you will never be deadlocked; you have nothing to fear. Turning everything into a source of energy to advance still further, you can continue vigorously climbing the hill of growth and hope in life. By challenging your circumstances with composure in this fashion, you can perfectly establish a vast and eternally unshakable inner state as if you were kings and queens of life.

Writing about Nanjo Tokimitsu's father, Nichiren Daishonin writes: "when he was alive, he was a Buddha in life, and now he is a Buddha in death. He is a Buddha in both life and death." (WND, 456) This also applies to the great seniors in faith whom you yourselves have known. In life, great good fortune, and in death, great satisfaction - in fact, a single person can enact an infinitely respectable drama of life and death in this world. I hope that you will continue making tenacious efforts based on the three pillars of faith, practice and study, all the while cherishing lofty pride in being philosophers who embrace the great Buddhist Law.

My Dear Friends in America: Collected U.S. Addresses 1990-1996, pg. 157

Ikeda: I think we can also say that the three assemblies in two places also expresses the oneness of life and death.

Endo: Yes. The Daishonin goes to say, "the passage 'all the members of the great assembly are in the air' refers to ourselves in death" (GZ, 742). Consequently, if the Ceremony in the Air represents death, then Eagle Peak represents life.

The three assemblies in two places thus also represents the dynamic movement from life to death and to life again. It reveals the true aspect of life and death as one inseparable phenomena.

Ikeda: That's true. I think we can so discuss this from the perspective of the Daishonin's works in "the Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life": The ultimate law of life and death as transmitted from the Buddha to all living beings is Myoho-renge-kyo.... Myo represents death, and ho, life' (WND, 216)...

Ikeda: Life and death are indeed the most fundamental issues we face. In a sense, the Lotus Sutra itself elucidates the two phases of life and death. The introduction chapter begins with the word this of the expression "This is what I heard" (LS1, 3), and the last word departed - "they bowed in obeisance and departed" (LS28, 324). Based on this, the Daishonin says" the two characters of nyo (this) and ko (departed) represent the two phases of life and death (GZ, 782).

Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, Vol. 1, pg. 105-106

Death is a certainty. Therefore, it's not whether our lives are long or short but whether, while alive, we form a connection with the Mystic Law - the eternal elixir for all life's ills. That, in retrospect, determines whether we have led the best possible lives. (LG, pg. 171)

Faith into Action, pg. 21

The original teaching of Buddhism is that our actions during our lifetimes are what fundamentally determine our fates after death. There are, of course, memorial services for the deceased in Buddhism. But here again, it is sincere prayers made by a person who upholds faith in the True Law that are communicated and extend benefits to the life-entity of the deceased. It is not the ceremony itself that is important. It is sending waves of love and good wishes from the heart of one who believes in the Mystic Law to the heart of another that is important. (Dialogue 2, 1994)

Faith into Action, pg. 243-4

Ikeda: The second Soka Gakkai president, Josei Toda, would often say that upon death our lives fuse with the universe. It's not a matter of there being a soul; rather, our life, as an entity of the oneness of body and mind, returns to the universe. The universe itself is one great living entity. It is a vast ocean of life. It nurtures all things, gives all things life and enables them to function. When things die, they return again to its embrace and receive new vitality. There is a boundless and overflowing ocean of life, which is always in motion. As it moves and changes, it enacts the rhythm of life and death. Our individual lives are like waves produced from the great ocean that is the universe; the emergence of a wave is "life," and its abatement is "death." This rhythm repeats eternally. This is not only true of the lives of people. Nichiren Daishonin says, "No phenomena - heaven or earth, Yin or Yang, the sun or the moon, the five planets, or any life-condition from Hell to Buddhahood - are free from birth and death" (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, pp. 21-22). "Heaven or earth, Yin or Yang, the sun or the moon, the five planets" refers to the realm of celestial bodies. Stars also experience birth and death. They have a life span. The Milky Way was born and it, too, will die; its life is limited. The laws of birth and death dictate this. The same holds true in the realm of the microscopic. Each of the Ten Worlds from Hell to Buddhahood, in all phenomena, experiences birth and death. For example, the state of Hell may manifest in life at one time, and in death at another. The Daishonin writes to his follower Nanjo Tokimitsu about his late father, "While he was in this world, he was a living Buddha, and now, he is a Buddha in death. His Buddhahood transcends both life and death" (MW-2 [2nd ed.], 207), indicating that the effect of Buddhahood he had attained in his life would continue even after death. All things in the universe weave an eternal rhythm of life and death. What, then, is the state after death in which one fuses with the universe like? Let's try to investigate this further. Why don't we first consider the moment of death, which is the transition from life to death?

Living Buddhism, February 1999, pg. 29-30

Death and rebirth are like going to sleep one day and waking up the next morning.

The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, Vol. II, pg. 208