Top 5 Goshos by Buddha Nichiren Daishonin
Discover my new video showing the top 5 Goshos in Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism.
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).
