Where strong winds cause the grasses to bend and flashes of lightning fill people with alarm – in a world such as ours, how wonderful it is that to this day you remain unshaken in your faith! They say that when roots are deep, the leaves will not wither; when there is a jewel in the heart of the fountain, its water never cease to flow. And how deep are the roots of your faith, how pure the jewel in your heart. How admirable, how admirable!
(The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Vol 2, p755)
This letter was written at Minobu on the twenty-seventh day of the sixth month in 1278 to a widow who lived with her daughter in Kubo in Fuji District of Suruga Province.
She is accounted to be a member of the Yui family, the aunt of Nikko Shonin and wife of the lay priest Takahashi Rokuro Hyoe.
Together with her husband, lay nun of Kubo practiced faith sincerely and even after her husband’s death, she maintained pure faith in the Daishonin’s teachings under the guidance of Nikko Shonin.
************************************
In the course of our lives, there will be times when we encounter various obstacles. At times, strong winds may blow; flashes of lightning may fill our lives with fear. It is at such moments, however, that our faith is put to the test.
In this passage, Nichiren Daishonin described the world that we live in as a place “where strong winds cause the grasses to bend and flashes of lightning fill people with alarm…”
At the time of this letter, the people in Japan were living in fear of a looming attack from the Mongols. At the same time, there were rampant outbreak of pestilence and famine, one after another, filling the people’s hearts with great uncertainty and fear.
Some decadent individuals of the clergy in various Buddhist schools made use of such sentiments of the people to their advantage.
The situation was quite bad for the community of the Daishonin’s disciples in the Kubo region where lay nun of Kubo was residing as most of the landlords in that area belonged to the ruling Hojo clan and the Daishonin’s disciples were under great oppression due to the collusion of the political and religious authorities.
They were looking out for every opportunity to persecute the Daishonin’s disciples.
In response to her sincerity, the Daishonin cited a legend that stated, “When roots are deep, the leaves will not wither; when there is a jewel in the heart of the fountain, its water will never cease to flow.”
Through this, the Daishonin praised lay nun of Kubo that the roots of her faith were deep and that the resolve in her heart was as pure as jewel, free of all worldly attachments.
Just like the analogies of “roots” and “jewel” used by the Daishonin here, our faith may not be visible. However, as long as the roots of one’s indomitable faith are deeply grounded into the great earth, one will surely be able to victoriously surmount all obstacles, enable the leaves of happiness to flourish in one’s daily life and to nourish the society with the water of compassion.
However, there is one important point to bear in mind. In order to maintain such faith, one needs to confront all life’s adversities squarely in the face, chant daimoku earnestly with a life-or-death resolve and to exert oneself wholeheartedly for kosen-rufu. Only through such actions can one ground the roots of one’s faith with depth and strength in one’s life.
SGI President Ikeda said, “It is essential to put down strong and deep roots of faith. So long as a tree has such roots, even though at some point it may be unable to receive sufficient nutrition, given ample water and sunlight, it will gradually develop into a great, sturdy tree. This is the same with advancement in life and in faith. As courageous people who are living proof of the validity of this Buddhism, I hope that you will cheerfully work to shed great rays of happiness upon the harsh realities of society.”
Let us resolve that now is the time to build the roots of a lifelong faith and courageously challenge and overcome life’s difficulties that stand before us and score personal victories.
Key points of the Gosho passage:
1. Nichiren Daishonin described the world that we live in as a place “where strong winds cause the grasses to bend and flashes of lightning fill people with alarm…” This means that we are living at a time when our faith is being frequently tested by obstacles and difficulties that tend to sway our faith. If we do not make a resolve to continue and strengthen our faith in such times, then our faith will easily be destroyed.
2. The Daishonin stated “that when roots are deep, the leaves will not wither; when there is a jewel in the heart of the fountain, its water will never cease to flow.” This means that when we are able to deepen our faith to a state in which no amount of difficulties can cause us to slacken in faith, then our victory and happiness are assured just like leaves will never wither if the roots are deep.
3. In order to cultivate such deep roots of faith, one needs to confront all life’s adversities squarely in the face, chant daimoku earnestly with a life-or-death resolve and to exert oneself wholeheartedly for kosen-rufu.
Translated and adapted from the August 2009 issue of The Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal.
(The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Vol 2, p755)
This letter was written at Minobu on the twenty-seventh day of the sixth month in 1278 to a widow who lived with her daughter in Kubo in Fuji District of Suruga Province.
She is accounted to be a member of the Yui family, the aunt of Nikko Shonin and wife of the lay priest Takahashi Rokuro Hyoe.
Together with her husband, lay nun of Kubo practiced faith sincerely and even after her husband’s death, she maintained pure faith in the Daishonin’s teachings under the guidance of Nikko Shonin.
************************************
In the course of our lives, there will be times when we encounter various obstacles. At times, strong winds may blow; flashes of lightning may fill our lives with fear. It is at such moments, however, that our faith is put to the test.
In this passage, Nichiren Daishonin described the world that we live in as a place “where strong winds cause the grasses to bend and flashes of lightning fill people with alarm…”
At the time of this letter, the people in Japan were living in fear of a looming attack from the Mongols. At the same time, there were rampant outbreak of pestilence and famine, one after another, filling the people’s hearts with great uncertainty and fear.
Some decadent individuals of the clergy in various Buddhist schools made use of such sentiments of the people to their advantage.
The situation was quite bad for the community of the Daishonin’s disciples in the Kubo region where lay nun of Kubo was residing as most of the landlords in that area belonged to the ruling Hojo clan and the Daishonin’s disciples were under great oppression due to the collusion of the political and religious authorities.
They were looking out for every opportunity to persecute the Daishonin’s disciples.
In response to her sincerity, the Daishonin cited a legend that stated, “When roots are deep, the leaves will not wither; when there is a jewel in the heart of the fountain, its water will never cease to flow.”
Through this, the Daishonin praised lay nun of Kubo that the roots of her faith were deep and that the resolve in her heart was as pure as jewel, free of all worldly attachments.
Just like the analogies of “roots” and “jewel” used by the Daishonin here, our faith may not be visible. However, as long as the roots of one’s indomitable faith are deeply grounded into the great earth, one will surely be able to victoriously surmount all obstacles, enable the leaves of happiness to flourish in one’s daily life and to nourish the society with the water of compassion.
However, there is one important point to bear in mind. In order to maintain such faith, one needs to confront all life’s adversities squarely in the face, chant daimoku earnestly with a life-or-death resolve and to exert oneself wholeheartedly for kosen-rufu. Only through such actions can one ground the roots of one’s faith with depth and strength in one’s life.
SGI President Ikeda said, “It is essential to put down strong and deep roots of faith. So long as a tree has such roots, even though at some point it may be unable to receive sufficient nutrition, given ample water and sunlight, it will gradually develop into a great, sturdy tree. This is the same with advancement in life and in faith. As courageous people who are living proof of the validity of this Buddhism, I hope that you will cheerfully work to shed great rays of happiness upon the harsh realities of society.”
Let us resolve that now is the time to build the roots of a lifelong faith and courageously challenge and overcome life’s difficulties that stand before us and score personal victories.
Key points of the Gosho passage:
1. Nichiren Daishonin described the world that we live in as a place “where strong winds cause the grasses to bend and flashes of lightning fill people with alarm…” This means that we are living at a time when our faith is being frequently tested by obstacles and difficulties that tend to sway our faith. If we do not make a resolve to continue and strengthen our faith in such times, then our faith will easily be destroyed.
2. The Daishonin stated “that when roots are deep, the leaves will not wither; when there is a jewel in the heart of the fountain, its water will never cease to flow.” This means that when we are able to deepen our faith to a state in which no amount of difficulties can cause us to slacken in faith, then our victory and happiness are assured just like leaves will never wither if the roots are deep.
3. In order to cultivate such deep roots of faith, one needs to confront all life’s adversities squarely in the face, chant daimoku earnestly with a life-or-death resolve and to exert oneself wholeheartedly for kosen-rufu.
Translated and adapted from the August 2009 issue of The Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal.
