Learning from the Gosho - The Four Virtues and Four Debts of Gratitude

When the Buddhas of the three existences of past, present and future appear in the world, they all preach the importance of repaying the Four Debts of Gratitude. And the worthy men of antiquity, the Three Sovereigns, The Five Emperors, Confucius, Lao Tzo, Yen Huei and the others, taught the practice of the Four Virtues.

The Four Virtues are: (1) Filial piety towards one’s father and mother, (2) Loyalty to one’s lord, (3) Courtesy towards one’s friends and (4) Pity and kindness towards those less fortunate than oneself.

First, being filial towards one’s father and mother means that though a parent may act unreasonably or speak in a tone of ill will, one never shows the slightest anger or looks displeased. One never in any way disobeys a parent; is always mindful of providing a parent with all manner of good things, and if this happens to be impossible, in the course of a day one at least smiles twice or thrice in their direction.

Second, being loyal to one’s lord means that one never has anything to be ashamed of in serving him. Though it may mean sacrificing one’s own life, if it will benefit one’s lord, one acts with a willing heart. For though one’s trustworthiness may at first go unnoticed, in time it will be openly rewarded.

Third, treating one’s friends with courtesy means that, although one may encounter them ten or twenty times in the course of a single day, one greets them courteously as though they had traveled a thousand or two thousand miles to see one, never showing them indifference.

Fourth, treating those who are less fortunate with pity and kindness means that, toward those whose circumstances are inferior to one’s own, one thinks of such persons as one’s own children and shows them consideration at all times, exercising pity and compassion.

These, then are the four virtues, and if you observe them in this manner, you may be called a worthy man or sage. If you pay attention to these four concerns, then although you may err in other ways, you will still deserve to be called a good man. If you can follow these four patterns of behavior, then although you have never read all the three thousand volumes of the Confucian and Taoist classics, it will be as though you had in fact read them.

Source: Writings of Nichiren Daishonin - II (Pg. 636)

The Birds of the Snow Mountains - By Daisaku Ikeda

If winter comes, can spring be far behind? When I hear these words, my heart warms up. Winter indeed never fails to turn into spring. But the word winter may remind many people including me of the snow covered mountains of the Alps, or the white mountain ranges of the Himalayas.

There is a commentary on the Lotus Sutra called, 'Gathered Leaves of the Lotus Sutra from a Grove on Eagle Peak’ which includes the legendary story of Kankucho (literally, birds tormented by cold). This commentary is a well known Chinese work on the Lotus Sutra, the highest Buddhist scripture expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha in India. The story is as follows:

In ancient times, there were mountains in India called Snow Mountains. These mountains were so high that the cold there penetrated to the marrow and as the name indicates snow lay deep on the ground throughout the year. In the mountains lived two homeless birds called Kankucho. When evening fell and darkness gathered, the female bird, unable to bear the cold, would cry, “I am perishing from the cold”. To which the male bird would reply, “Let us build a nest when the day dawns”. But as soon as the sun rose and the birds were bathed in the warm sunshine, they forgot all about the cold which tormented them during the night. They reasoned – “We might be destined to die today or tomorrow; nothing is changeless in this world and we are strangers to eternal peace and tranquility”. Thus they spent their entire life in vain without ever building a nest.

This story may bring to mind ‘The Ant and the Grasshopper’ which appears in Aesop’s fables: “Why should we work assiduously when we never know what tomorrow may bring”. This ostensibly wise attitude makes the bird all the more pitiful.

I believe this story offers a penetrating insight into the darker side of the human nature. There are more cases than we imagine where people habitually make great efforts at pretence but betray their true nature at a crucial moment. No matter how serene another’s life may appear to be, that person invariably may have some suffering or trouble which others are not aware of. Even though we may not suffer as often as the Kankucho birds who were tormented every night, human beings are destined to face great difficulties at least several times or several dozen times in the course of our lives, with hardly more than a staff to lean on. If we wait till the last moment, however no matter how frantically we prepare either to retreat or to advance and stake our lives, it will be too late as time is irreversible. Then all we can do is cry out in agony just as the birds cried in distress in the bitter cold of the snow mountains.

What I mean by a staff is some steadfast belief or a firm mind which remains unperturbed even in the face of greatest difficulties. I tend to believe that the nest that the Kankucho birds kept vowing to build implies not only a warm dwelling place but also a foundation on which an unwavering mind can be established and a spirit that will neither be carried away by pleasure nor be defeated by suffering can root. The foolishness of Kankucho birds represents nothing other than the vulnerability of the human mind to change and fluctuation. It also indicates the human tendency to take the line of least resistance avoiding immediate task that require prompt action.

You can live like rootless seaweed, adrift at the mercy of the waves or you can live upto your conviction. I firmly believe that the choice will determine whether or not you can make your life worth living. If you choose the latter, I think you need a deep solid core in your life. In order for you to develop that core, you must take constant efforts, to train yourself spiritually.

Source: Treasures of the Heart (Pg. 49-52)

Learning from the Gosho - Letter to Misawa

Although the people who study Buddhism outnumber the dust particles of the land, those who actually become Buddhas are fewer than the specks of dirt that can be placed on a fingernail. This the World-Honored One of Great Enlightenment clearly states in the Nirvana Sutra. On reading it, I wondered why it should be so difficult, but after some thought I realized that indeed it must be so. Although people study Buddhism, it is difficult for them to practice it correctly either because of the ignorance of their minds, or because, even though wise, they fail to realize that they are being misled by their teachers.

Moreover, even though one may encounter a wise teacher and the true sutra and thereby embrace the correct teaching, when one resolves to break free from the sufferings of birth and death and attain Buddhahood, one will inevitably encounter seven grave matters known as the three obstacles and four devils, just as surely as a shadow follows the body and clouds accompany rain. Even if you should manage to overcome the first six, if you are defeated by the seventh, you will not be able to become a Buddha.

Let us leave the first six for now. The seventh is caused by the devil king of the sixth heaven. When an ordinary person of the latter age is ready to attain Buddhahood, having realized the essence of all the sacred teachings of the Buddha’s lifetime and understood the heart of the important teaching set forth in Great Concentration and Insight, this devil is greatly surprised. He says to himself, “This is most vexing. If I allow this person to remain in my domain, he not only will free himself from the sufferings of birth and death, but will lead others to enlightenment as well. Moreover, he will take over my realm and change it into a pure land. What shall I do?” The devil king then summons all his underlings from the threefold world of desire, form, and formlessness and tells them: “Each of you now go and harass that votary, according to your respective skills. If you should fail to make him abandon his Buddhist practice, then enter into the minds of his disciples, lay supporters, and the people of his land and thus try to persuade or threaten him. If these attempts are also unsuccessful, I myself will go down and possess the mind and body of his sovereign to persecute that votary. Together, how can we fail to prevent him from attaining Buddhahood?”

Source: Writings of Nichiren Daishonin - I (Pg. 894-895)

Learning from the Gosho - The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra

Question: Is it possible, without understanding the meaning of the Lotus Sutra, but merely by chanting the five or seven characters of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo once a day, once a month, or simply once a year, once a decade, or once in a lifetime, to avoid being drawn into trivial or serious acts of evil, to escape falling into the four evil paths, and instead to eventually reach the stage of non-regression?

Answer: Yes, it is.

Question: You may talk about fire, but unless you put your hand in a flame, you will never burn yourself. You may say “water, water!” but unless you actually drink it, you will never satisfy your thirst. Then how, just by chanting the daimoku of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo without understanding what it means, can you escape from the evil paths of existence?

Answer: They say that, if you play a koto strung with a lion’s sinews, then all the other kinds of strings will snap. And if you so much as hear the words “pickled plum,” your mouth will begin to water. Even in everyday life there are such wonders, so how much greater are the wonders of the Lotus Sutra!

We are told that parrots, simply by twittering the four noble truths of the Hinayana teachings, were able to be reborn in heaven, and that men, simply by respecting the three treasures, were able to escape being swallowed by a huge fish. How much more effective, then, is the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra, which is the very heart of all the eighty thousand sacred teachings of Buddhism and the eye of all the Buddhas! How can you doubt that by chanting it you can escape from the four evil paths?

The Lotus Sutra, wherein the Buddha honestly discarded expedient means, says that one can “gain entrance through faith alone.” And the Nirvana Sutra, which the Buddha preached in the grove of sal trees on the last day of his life, states, “Although there are innumerable practices that lead to enlightenment, if one teaches faith, then that includes all those practices.”

Thus faith is the basic requirement for entering the way of the Buddha. In the fifty-two stages of bodhisattva practice, the first ten stages, dealing with faith, are basic, and the first of these ten stages is that of arousing pure faith. Though lacking in knowledge of Buddhism, a person of faith, even if dullwitted, is to be reckoned as a person of correct views. But even though one has some knowledge of Buddhism, if one is without faith, then one is to be Nichiren, follower of the Great Teacher Kompon [Dengyo] considered a slanderer and an icchantika, or person of incorrigible disbelief.

Source: Writings of Nichiren Daishonin - I (Pg. 141 - 142)

Learning from the Gosho - The Difficulty of Sustaining Faith

This is in regard to the passage “This sutra is hard to uphold.” According to Acharya Ben, you said to him: “I have been practicing the Lotus Sutra correctly since last year, when you told me that those who embrace this sutra will ‘enjoy peace and security in their present existence and good circumstances in future existences.’ Instead, however, great hardships have showered down on me like rain.” Is this true, or did he give me a false report? In either case, I will take advantage of this opportunity to resolve any doubts you may have.


A passage from the Lotus Sutra reads that it is “the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand.” Many hear about and accept this sutra, but when great obstacles arise, just as they were told would happen, few remember it and bear it firmly in mind. To accept is easy; to continue is difficult. But Buddhahood lies in continuing faith. Those who uphold this sutra should be prepared to meet difficulties. It is certain, however, that they will “quickly attain the unsurpassed Buddha way.”


To “continue” means to cherish Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the most important principle for all the Buddhas of the three existences. The sutra reads, “We will protect and uphold what the Buddha has entrusted to us.”


The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai stated, “One accepts because of one’s power of faith and continues because of one’s power of constant thought.” Another part of the sutra reads, “This sutra is hard to uphold; if one can uphold it even for a short while I will surely rejoice and so will the other Buddhas.”


A fire burns higher when logs are added, and a strong wind makes a kalakula grow larger. The pine tree lives for ten thousand years, and therefore its boughs become bent and twisted. The votary of the Lotus Sutra is like the fire and the kalakula, while his persecutions are like the logs and the wind. The votary of the Lotus Sutra is the Thus Come One whose life span is immeasurable; no wonder his practice is hindered, just as the pine tree’s branches are bent or broken.


From now on, always remember the words “This sutra is hard to uphold.”


Source: Writings of Nichiren Daishonin - I (Pg. 471)

The Principle of the Buddha Nature Manifesting from Within And Bringing Forth Protection from Without

Here, the Daishonin explains one of the key Buddhist principles – namely, the principle of “the Buddha nature manifesting itself from within and bringing forth protection from without “. In other words when we activate the Buddha nature inside us, it will induce the protective functions to work from without.

It is we ourselves who posses the Buddha nature, and as such it is also up to us to awaken to it and manifest it. When we practice the Daishonin`s Buddhism, the mystic life comes to “permeate our life and exert its influence“; that is our Buddha nature once revealed pervades in our life in the same way as the burning incense imbues our clothings with its fragrance. Our Buddha nature emerges like a fragrance wafting in the breeze. And while we speak of receiving protection from the heavenly deities or the positive forces of the universe, the first step in that process is to embark on our own inner transformation.

Chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo to the Gohonzon, the object of devotion in the Nichiren Daishonin`s Buddhism, is infact the same as summoning forth and praising the Buddha nature that is inherent in our own life and resides in all things in the universe. In response to the sound of our chanting, by which means we reveal our Buddha nature, all benevolent deities throughout the universe move into action to protect us. This principle succinctly expresses the unique character of Nichiren Daishonin`s Buddhism, which is completely different from faith that pins hope for salvation on the agency of some external power.

This concept of “Buddha nature manifesting itself from within“indicates a power that is existing and is generated from inside us. Buddhism is known as the inner way. Therefore we do not seek Buddhahood, or the life of Buddha, outside of us, but rather within.The life state of Buddha that is characterized by the four noble virtues of eternity, purity, trueself and happiness is found within our own mortal being that experiences the delusion of earthly desires and sufferings of birth and death .The Daishonin`s Buddhism enables us to tap into and manifest that benefit in our life.

In other words, because we all possess the Buddha nature, when we chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo with a clearly focused mind, the life of the Buddha is summoned forth within us and emerges. Manifesting our inner Buddhahood causes protection to arise from without. All of this hinges on our inner focus or resolve.

In the light of the principle of “The Buddha nature manifesting itself from within and bringing forth protection from without “, we can definitely change any situation or environment by transforming our fundamental mindset and revealing our Buddha nature. All fear vanishes the moment we believe with all our heart “ I alone am the scriptwriter of my life“.

Next, in this letter the Daishonin states: “What is hidden turns into manifest virtue“. Unseen virtue turns into conspicuous rewards. To practice the mystic law is to proceed along the path of victory; all virtue will manifest in visible form without fail. When we forge ahead with this deep, unshakable conviction, our future will open up in wonderful ways that we could never possibly have imagined. This is the conviction and the declaration of the Daishonin, The Buddha of the latter day of the law.

Source : Value Creation Jan 2010/Vol 5 /Issue 1: Pg. 69-71