11 September 1281 (Age: 60)
I have received one horse-load of supplies including salt, one sack of soybeans, one package of seaweed and a bamboo container of sake. As you have not come to see me since your return from the province of Kozuke1, I have been eagerly awaiting word from you and now your letter has arrived. I cannot fully express in words my gratitude for the sincere offerings you sent along with your letter.
As you know, Tokusho Doji gave mud pies to the Buddha as an offering. It is said that as a benefit of the merit he thereby gained, he was later reborn as the Great King Ashoka, who reigned over most of India. Mud pies have no intrinsic value but because of the immense virtue of the Buddha, Tokusho Doji received such great good fortune. Even so, Shakyamuni Buddha taught that, “the merit of making an offering to the Votary of the Lotus Sutra for but a single day in the Latter Day of the Law is a billion times greater than that of offering uncountable treasures to the Buddha for one hundred million kalpas.” Your sincerity in making heartfelt offerings to the Votary of the Lotus Sutra for several years, is even more deserving of praise. As the golden words of the Buddha state, you will surely be born in the pure land of Eagle Peak in your next life. What splendid good fortune!
This place is deep in the mountains, far removed from any village or hamlet. No dwellings can be seen in any direction. Even here, in this desolate location, within the mortal flesh of my bosom.
1. Nichiren, secrete the Ultimate Mystic Law received from Lord Shakyamuni at Eagle Peak. Therefore, my heart is where all Buddhas enter nirvana; my tongue is the place where they preach the law, my throat is the place where they are born, and my mouth is where they attain enlightenment.
Should this mountain, where the most august Votary of the Lotus Sutra resides, be regarded any less highly than the pure land of Eagle Peak? Because the Law is ineffably supreme, the Person is venerable and because the Person is venerable, the place is sacred. The Mystic Powers (Jinriki) Chapter states, “…in a forest, under a tree, in a priests’ quarters… the Buddhas enter parinirvana.” Those who travel to this place to pay their respects will instantly eradicate the negative karma they have accumulated since the remote past and transform their sins of the three categories of action2 into the three virtues3.
Once there was a woeful wanderer who journeyed to Icy Lake in central India in hopes of easing his troubled mind. Finding that the cool waters of Icy Lake had extinguished the burning anguish in his soul, he exclaimed, “It’s as though I had reached Clear Cool Pond’ as described in the sutras. All my hopes have been realized!” Icy Lake and this place are different, but the principle is the same.
Eagle Peak of India is now Mount Minobu of Japan. A long time has passed since you last visited here. Please arrange your affairs so that you can set out as soon as possible. I look forward to seeing you again.
I am deeply touched by your admirable devotion. Truly, it is beyond description.
The eleventh day of the ninth month in the fourth year of Koan Nichiren
Reply to Lord Nanjo
Your messenger informs me that you are suffering from a serious illness. I earnestly hope you will recover quickly and visit me as soon as possible.
Notes
1. Located in modern-day Gunma Prefecture, Japan
2. Mental, verbal and physical action, that is, thought, words and deeds. The Sanskrit word karma originally meant action. Every action, both good and evil, imprints a latent influence in one’s life.
3. The body of the Law, wisdom and emancipation, which a Buddha possesses. The body of the Law is the truth that the Buddha has realized or the true entity of life; wisdom is the capacity to realize this truth; emancipation is the state of being free from the sufferings of birth and death.
4. Its clear and icy water is said to remove all sufferings and satisfy all desires. (Skt. Anavatapta)
5. From the Bodhisattva Medicine King (Yakuo Bosatsu) Chapter of the Lotus Sutra. The water from this clear, cool lake is said to remove all oppressive, burning desires. It describes the immense power of the Lotus Sutra.
