Top
5 Goshos by Buddha Nichiren Daishonin
Discover my new video showing the top 5 Goshos in Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism.
New Year of the Wood Snake 2
1.
“Reply
to the Widow of Lord Ueno”: Those who practice ever more sincerely
when they listen to the teachings of the Lotus Sutra are the true
devotees of the Way. Tiantai said, “From the indigo to an even
deeper blue.” In essence, this means that something dyed with
indigo becomes increasingly bluer than the leaves of the indigo
plant. The Lotus Sutra is like the indigo. When we deepen our
practice, it is like the indigo blue that grows in intensity. (Gosho,
p. 337)
2.
Once
we chant Myoho-Renge-Kyo, this sound calls forth and manifests the
Buddha nature of all Buddhas, all phenomena, all bodhisattvas, all
people in the world of learning, all guardian deities, such as
Bonten, Taishaku, King Emma, the sun and moon, innumerable stars,
deities of the heavens and earth, and all living beings—including
individuals in the worlds of hell, hunger, animality, anger,
humanity, and rapture. The benefit of revealing this Buddha nature is
immeasurable and unfathomable. (Gosho, p. 1320)
3.
“Reply
to Myoho ama”: Face powder can change the color of black lacquer to
white, just like snow. When living beings approach Mount Sumeru, they
assume a golden hue. Those who embrace the title of the Lotus Sutra
will expiate the negative karma that they have accumulated in this
lifetime and since the remotest past—transforming negative karma
into the great merit of positive karma. Certainly, all the positive
causes from time without beginning will turn to gold. (Gosho, p.
1483)
4.
“Letter
from Sado”: When
an evil ruler tries to destroy the true Law, and heretical priests
support his efforts to do away with a person of wisdom, one who
maintains the heart of the lion king will definitely attain
Buddhahood. This is true of Nichiren. I say this not out of
arrogance, rather because I have a strong mind to protect the true
Law that I hold so dear. Fear always arises in the hearts of arrogant
people when they encounter a strong enemy. They are like the arrogant
asura
who shrank in terror and hid in a lotus flower in Lake Anavatapta
when he was confronted by Heavenly King Taishaku. If one practices
even a single character or phrase of the true Law in accordance with
the time and capacity of the people, one definitely will attain
Buddhahood. On the other hand, even though one masters a thousand
sutras and ten thousand treatises, if the teaching does not accord
with the correct time and capacity, it will never lead to
enlightenment. (Gosho,
p. 579)
5.
“Sado gokanki-sho: Incurring the Displeasure of the Authorities
Leading to the Sado Exile”: As for the path to becoming a Buddha,
it can be concluded that one can attain Buddhahood only by enduring
an event that might put one’s life at risk … Only by going
through such hardships could I read the Lotus Sutra with my life.
With this understanding, I can summon up even more faith and look
forward to my next life … If I can lay down my life, a life that
would have been lost in vain, for the sake of the Lotus Sutra, it
will be likened to turning a stone into gold. Thus, each one of you
need not lament over my circumstances. (Gosho, pp. 482-483).
