That is why the Great Teacher Miao-lo (1) stated, “The strong one’s faith, the greater the protection of the gods.” (2) So long as one maintains firm faith, one is certain to receive the great protection of the gods. I say this for your sake. I know your faith has always been admirable, but now you must strengthen it more than ever. Only then will the ten demon daughters lend you even greater protection.
(Passage from “The Supremacy of the Law”, The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p612-617)
Background
This letter was written to the mother of Oto Gozen on 4 August 1275. The mother of Oto was Nichiren Daishonin’s female disciple living in Kamakura. During the Daishonin’s exile to Sado island, she traveled all the way there to visit the Daishonin with her infant daughter, Oto. The journey to Sado was a dangerous one, and the Daishonin was greatly impressed by the strength of faith she had demonstrated. In praise of her oure faith, he called her Sage Nichimyo.
The Mongol forces swept across the southern part of Japan in October of the previous year, terrorizing the whole nation. In this passage, the Daishonin reassured Nichimyo that as long as she continued strengthening her faith, she will be protected by the Buddhist gods, a metaphorical expression for the compassionate protective functions of the universe.
Explanation
Sage Nichimyo, the recipient of this letter, was a woman of resolute faith who had traveled to the distant island of Sado to seek Buddhism from her exiled teacher, Nichiren Daishonin. Touching on the invasion of the Mongol forces in Japan the previous year, Nichiren Daishonin emphasized in this letter that as long as one upholds strong and unwavering faith, one will never fail to be protected by the Buddhist gods.
In this passage, the Daishonin quoted the words of Miao-lo, who stated, “So long as one maintains firm faith, one is certain to receive the great protection of the gods.” This statement explained that it is one’s firm faith that will manifest the protective functions of the Buddhist gods. In other words, whether the functions of the Buddhist gods will be activated depends on the strength of one’s faith.
The term “faith” here means to believe in the Mystic Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. In a broader sense, faith also refers to our life-affirming approach to living based on the Mystic Law, including our care and respect for life. This means that taking precautions to ensure our health and safety is an important aspect of faith. The attitude that “I’ll be protected by the Buddhist gods because I chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, so there is no need for me to be careful of what I do,” is not Nichiren Buddhism.
Such attitude of taking things for granted does not constitute “firm faith”. The Buddhist gods are not external forces independent of our lives that we beseech for protection. Only with firm faith and prudence will the protective functions of the Buddhist gods be manifested.
Also in this passage, the Daishonin praised Nichimyo that her faith “has always been admirable”. At the same time, he encouraged her to “strengthen it more than ever”. The Daishonin taught her the importance of further deepening her faith and continuing to strive in her practice.
In other words, the Daishonin is saying that we should not complacently dwell on our past accomplishments and let our faith stagnate. This is because no matter how diligently we had practiced in the past, if we stop challenging ourselves, our innate delusion will grow and our Buddhahood will be overwhelmed by the negative forces of the devilish functions.
This is why it is important to continue striving for kosen-rufu with “ever-advancing faith”. Only then will the protective functions of the Buddhist gods be strengthened and manifested explicitly. On the other hand, if one’s faith stagnates, the functions of the Buddhist gods will be obscured.
SGI President Ikeda has said, “We talk about the ‘Buddhist gods’, but what moves them is ultimately ourselves. It is up to us to open a new path in life, it is up to us to discover our inner treasure house and wisdom, and it is up to us to blaze the trail of victory for all people. To lead such a dynamic existence is the way of life taught by Mahayana Buddhism and, especially, Nichiren Buddhism.”
Let us continue to forge ahead with courage and ever-advancing faith so that we can score great victories in life.
Footnotes:
1. The Great Teacher Miao-lo (711-782) – He is revered as the restorer of the T’ien-t’ai school and wrote commentaries on T’ien-t’ai’s major works, contributing to a classification of the school’s teachings.
2. “The stronger one’s faith, the greater the protection of the gods.” – Passage taken from the eighth volume of The Annotations on “Great Concentration and Insight” by Miao-lo.
(Passage from “The Supremacy of the Law”, The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p612-617)
Background
This letter was written to the mother of Oto Gozen on 4 August 1275. The mother of Oto was Nichiren Daishonin’s female disciple living in Kamakura. During the Daishonin’s exile to Sado island, she traveled all the way there to visit the Daishonin with her infant daughter, Oto. The journey to Sado was a dangerous one, and the Daishonin was greatly impressed by the strength of faith she had demonstrated. In praise of her oure faith, he called her Sage Nichimyo.
The Mongol forces swept across the southern part of Japan in October of the previous year, terrorizing the whole nation. In this passage, the Daishonin reassured Nichimyo that as long as she continued strengthening her faith, she will be protected by the Buddhist gods, a metaphorical expression for the compassionate protective functions of the universe.
Explanation
Sage Nichimyo, the recipient of this letter, was a woman of resolute faith who had traveled to the distant island of Sado to seek Buddhism from her exiled teacher, Nichiren Daishonin. Touching on the invasion of the Mongol forces in Japan the previous year, Nichiren Daishonin emphasized in this letter that as long as one upholds strong and unwavering faith, one will never fail to be protected by the Buddhist gods.
In this passage, the Daishonin quoted the words of Miao-lo, who stated, “So long as one maintains firm faith, one is certain to receive the great protection of the gods.” This statement explained that it is one’s firm faith that will manifest the protective functions of the Buddhist gods. In other words, whether the functions of the Buddhist gods will be activated depends on the strength of one’s faith.
The term “faith” here means to believe in the Mystic Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. In a broader sense, faith also refers to our life-affirming approach to living based on the Mystic Law, including our care and respect for life. This means that taking precautions to ensure our health and safety is an important aspect of faith. The attitude that “I’ll be protected by the Buddhist gods because I chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, so there is no need for me to be careful of what I do,” is not Nichiren Buddhism.
Such attitude of taking things for granted does not constitute “firm faith”. The Buddhist gods are not external forces independent of our lives that we beseech for protection. Only with firm faith and prudence will the protective functions of the Buddhist gods be manifested.
Also in this passage, the Daishonin praised Nichimyo that her faith “has always been admirable”. At the same time, he encouraged her to “strengthen it more than ever”. The Daishonin taught her the importance of further deepening her faith and continuing to strive in her practice.
In other words, the Daishonin is saying that we should not complacently dwell on our past accomplishments and let our faith stagnate. This is because no matter how diligently we had practiced in the past, if we stop challenging ourselves, our innate delusion will grow and our Buddhahood will be overwhelmed by the negative forces of the devilish functions.
This is why it is important to continue striving for kosen-rufu with “ever-advancing faith”. Only then will the protective functions of the Buddhist gods be strengthened and manifested explicitly. On the other hand, if one’s faith stagnates, the functions of the Buddhist gods will be obscured.
SGI President Ikeda has said, “We talk about the ‘Buddhist gods’, but what moves them is ultimately ourselves. It is up to us to open a new path in life, it is up to us to discover our inner treasure house and wisdom, and it is up to us to blaze the trail of victory for all people. To lead such a dynamic existence is the way of life taught by Mahayana Buddhism and, especially, Nichiren Buddhism.”
Let us continue to forge ahead with courage and ever-advancing faith so that we can score great victories in life.
Footnotes:
1. The Great Teacher Miao-lo (711-782) – He is revered as the restorer of the T’ien-t’ai school and wrote commentaries on T’ien-t’ai’s major works, contributing to a classification of the school’s teachings.
2. “The stronger one’s faith, the greater the protection of the gods.” – Passage taken from the eighth volume of The Annotations on “Great Concentration and Insight” by Miao-lo.
