"I especially warn the priests on Mount Kiyosumi. If they treat me with less respect than they show their own parents or the three treasures, they will become wretched beggars in this life and will fall into the hell of incessant suffereing in the next. I will explain why. The villainous Tojo Saemon Kagenobu once hunted the deer and other animals kept by Seicho-ji and tried to force the priests in the various lodging temples to becomeNembutsu believers. At that time I pitted myself against Tojo and supported the lorde of the manor. I composed a fervernt oath that read, "If the two temples at Kiyosumi and Futama should come into Tojo's possession, I will discard the Lotus Sutra!" Then, I tied it to the hand of the object of worship (23), to which I prayed continuously. Within a year both temples were freed from Tojo's grasp..." -- Nichiren
FOOTNOTE 23: The object of worship: A statue of Shakyamuni Buddha.
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