Actual proof for the ages

Daisaku [Great Building] Ikeda's great building, the Sho Hondo, is nothing but dust.

Banishing the seven disasters

 

"Within the nation there are two types of slanderers of the Law, those in the outer branches of government, and those within the central government. Those in the outer branches are the slanderers of the Law in the sixty-six provinces that make up Japan. Those in the central government are the slanderers within the ninefold bastions of the ruler’s city. If one does not take measures to control and outlaw these two types of slanderers in the inner and outer branches of government, then the gods who protect the nation’s ancestral shrines and the altars of the soil and grain will cease to do so, and the nation will face inevitable ruin. Why? Because the ancestral shrines are where the gods of the nation are worshiped, the altars of the soil honor the earth gods, and the altars of grain honor the gods of the five kinds of grain.

Now these two types of gods, the gods of the nation and those of the soil and grain, are starved for the flavor of the Law and they have abandoned the nation. Hence the nation has day by day fallen into a more ruinous state of decay.

Therefore On “Great Concentration and Insight” says: “The earth is so broad that one cannot pay proper respect to it all. Hence one marks off a certain area to create an altar of the soil. ‘Grain’ is the general term by which the five kinds of grain are known; it refers to the gods of the five kinds of grain. Thus in the place where the Son of Heaven dwells, the ancestral shrines are placed on the left, and the altars of the soil and grain on the right, and offerings are made to them in accordance with the four seasons and the five agents. Hence to bring ruin to the nation is to destroy the altars of the soil and grain.”

And therefore the great teacher of the Mountain school says: “In the nation when there are voices slandering the Law, the people will be reduced in number. But when in the family honor is paid diligently to the teachings, the seven disasters* will most certainly be banished.”

Thanks to Shinzo Abe, Taro Aso, Natsuo Yamaguchi, and Daisaku Ikeda, Japan has fallen into "a more ruinous state of [radiocative] decay

*The Lotus Sutra lists seven disasters from which people can be saved by the power of Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World’s Sounds: 

(1) fire, 

(2) flood, 

(3) rākshasa demons,

(4) attack by swords and staves, 

(5) attack by yaksha and other demons, 

(6) imprisonment, and 

(7) attack by bandits. 

Nichiren often cites the seven disasters listed in the Benevolent Kings Sutra: 

(1) extraordinary changes of the sun and moon, 

(2) extraordinary changes of the stars and planets, 

(3) fires, 

(4) unseasonable floods, 

(5) storms, 

(6) drought, and 

(7) war, including enemy attacks from without and rebellion from within. 

and in the The Medicine Master Sutra:

(1) pestilence, 

(2) foreign invasion, 

(3) internal strife, 

(4) extraordinary changes in the heavens, 

(5) solar and lunar eclipses, 

(6) unseasonable storms, and

(7) drought.

Soka Gakkai has no core principles

"I remember brainwashed gakkai members literally shedding tears over the beauty of the Nikken gohonzons, admiring the powerful calligraphy, then later, after the split, those same people looking at the same gohonzon with the same scorn as if they were casting their eyes upon used sheets of toilet paper. With a wave of the magical gakkai arm, they changed gohonzons (declaring which ones had "power" and which ones didn't), changed gongyo, changed the prayers and relegated the dai gohonzon to subsidiary status. Such shortsighted chutzpah was the beginning of the meltdown. It was indeed sheer stupidity.

It's pretty clear that the gakkai cult will say anything to make the winds blow in the direction that they desire and to justify whatever it is that they wish to do. There are no core principles to which they adhere and respect, they simply wing it, frivolously changing with the times." -- Hitch

The priest Nisshin, the Pot-Headed Monk with brief commentary

 

Nisshin Shonin

https://enkyojibuddhistnetwork.org/about-2/lineage/

"Kuonjoin Nisshin (1407-1488) is one of the most colorful and famous priests in the history of Nichiren Buddhism. He was, according to Jacqueline Stone, an authority on medieval Japanese Buddhism, “an uncompromising purist.” Nisshin’s efforts to spread the Lotus Sutra are said to be modeled after those of Nichiren himself. He followed and supported the initial efforts of Higo Ajari Nichizo (1269-1342), who was dispatched by Nichiren to preach the Dharma in Kyoto and reach the ears of the emperor, and Jogyoin Nichiyu (1298-1374), who presented a letter of admonition to the Emperor Godaigo. Additionally, he traveled and established many temples throughout Kyushu, Japan, including our home temple, Enkyoji. To understand true propagation and the spirit of shakubuku, we must understand some important aspects of his life.

At the age of 20 in the year of Oei 33, Nisshin made a statement regarding his spirit toward spreading the Dharma and reforming Buddhism in Japan: “One’s body is insignificant, but the Dharma is profound.” At the end of that year, he started his ascetic training, which lasted for 100 days from autumn through winter. Each night during the hours of 11pm to 3am, he went to the graveyard of what is now Hokekyoji Temple, modern Ichikawa City. He followed the esoteric tradition conferred in the Prayer Sutra known also as the Kito-Kyo. This was conferred by Nichiren for spiritual protection upon Toki Nichijo, who then transferred it to Nichiyu through secret transmission. Nisshin understood that he had received transmission of this teaching from Nichiyu, and due to that fact, he could not be killed or harmed and would be able to overcome any amount of torture.

Sitting in front of the stone grave stupas at the graveyard, he recited the Jigage verses of Chapter 16 each night one hundred times. This place was desolate and no one traveled there except for foxes and ghosts. According to legend, on the last night, all the stone stupa monuments recited the Jigage with him. One stupa stood out from the rest in its magnificent voice, but he could not make out whose grave it was. He embraced the stupa and pulled part of it off to identify it in the first morning light. When he returned in the morning sun, he realized that it marked the grave of Nichiyu, who had been the chief abbot of the Hokekyoji and whom he considered his spiritual protector. During this time it is stated that after peeling a fingernail away from his hand, he drew a mandala in his own blood mixed with the water from the pond where he had performed his freezing water absolutions every day. This act showed that he valued the Dharma over his own life.

As part of his propagation he was dispatched by his home temple of Nakayama Hokekyoji to oversee its branch temples located on the southern Japan island of Kyushu. Upon his arrival he found many of the temples to have enshrined bodhisattvas and deities not directly related to the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. He became very upset and criticized both the priests and laity publicly. This led to his expulsion from the lineage in the year 1437. Undaunted, he continued to admonish other priests and government officials including the shogun, Ashikaga Yoshinori, for their lack of devotion to the Lotus Sutra. The shogun censured Nisshin and ordered him to cease criticizing the government. Nisshin ignored the order and proceeded to write one of his most famous works, Rissho Chikokuron (立正治国論), which he sent to Ashikaga Yoshinori in 1439. This book was inspired and based on the Rissho Ankoku Ron, written by Nichiren. As a result, Nisshin was imprisoned beginning in 1440 for 2 years. Nisshin’s prison cell is said to have measured four feet, five inches high, and its width could only fit four tatami mats (less than 9 feet by 9 feet). Long nails pierced the ceiling. The cell contained up to twenty-eight people at a time. The prisoners in the cell could neither stand nor sit comfortably.

During his time in prison, Nisshin was horribly tortured on many occasions. One of the many tortures recorded was that in the intense heat of summer a large fire was made, and Nisshin was forced to walk across it. His captors stated that if he simply chanted and asked for Amida Buddha’s mercy, it would be granted. Nisshin stated that the flames and heat were indeed very difficult to endure, however the flames of hell of the slanderer of the Dharma were even more harsh, upon which he continued to chant the Odaimoku, Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. Next they took him out in the middle of the night, tied him to a tree and beat him over and over again. They again told him that if he relied on the power of Amida Buddha’s vows, he would receive mercy. Nisshin replied, “There is no way to describe how hard the cold is to endure. However, one who receives the Dharma of an evil teacher falls into the eight cold hells and is pierced by the ice of hell of the great red lotus. No comparison can describe how many times the suffering of cold in that hell exceeds my present torments. How could I, because I shunned a brief spell of cold in this world, plant the seeds for long kalpas of suffering.” He continued to chant the Odaimoku. Upon the rise of the sun, the shogun came to inspect Nisshin’s state and was angered to find that he had been able to endure this ordeal because of his great faith in the Lotus Sutra.

On another occasion, Nisshin was locked in a heated bathhouse for three hours where there was little air. Bamboo skewers were applied to his testicles and gardening hoes heated bright red were applied under his arms over and over again. However, his demeanor did not change, and he continued to chant the Odaimoku. Finally, frustrated that they had been unable to break his resolve, his tormentors heated a pot until it glowed bright red and placed it over his head. His demeanor still did not change, and he continued to chant the Odaimoku. News of this amazing feat of defiance spread near and far and his reputation grew larger than life. He came to be known as the “pot wearing saint.” This became known as the Takehara persecution. Wishing to silence him once and for all, the shogun demanded that his tongue be cut off. The person administrating the order felt compassion for Nisshin and simply cut off the front of his tongue, which gave him a lisp for the rest of his life. Many of his captors realized quickly that this could not be any ordinary person, but only a bodhisattva born in this world.

From his prison cell Nisshin warned Ashikaga Yoshinori that in the Lotus Sutra it is said that the tormentor of the teacher of the Dharma will be surely punished. He predicted that within three years Yoshinori would reap what he had sowed. Yoshinori laughed and said that he had been tormenting Nisshin for more than a year and nothing had happened. Nisshin stated that perhaps 3 years was too long, at which time he predicted that within 100 days the shogun would receive his punishment. Once again he was ignored. On the evening of the 99th day, Yoshinori was assassinated by one of his vassals. After Yoshinori’s death his family wished to erase some of his terrible karma and released many of the imprisoned people from jail. However, Nisshin said that he would not leave until all of Yoshinori’s family members and the shogun’s entire clan became devotees of the Lotus Sutra. They could not oppose Nisshin, and all became followers of the Lotus Sutra. Nisshin was 35 when he left the prison.

Following his release from prison, Nisshin continued to spread the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. He was a very charismatic man and, because of his teachings, many people took refuge in the Lotus Sutra. He could no longer shave his head due to the scarring and so he wore his hair cropped much in the fashion of children of the time. When he administered sermons, people were able to hear and see first hand the cruelty of the government through his lisp and scars. Many considered him to be Nichiren reborn. They thought, “who else could overcome such severe torment and torture?”

Although he was very popular with the common people, many government officials and priests of the established order did not like the way Nisshin refused to compromise his ideals of exclusive devotion to the Lotus Sutra, making no accommodation to social custom or secular authority. As a result, in 1460, Honpoji, a temple in Kyoto founded by Nisshin, was destroyed. In the same year, after receiving complaints from priests of other sects in Hizen about Nisshin’s proselytizing, the 8th shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasu, ordered the governor of Hizen, Lord Chiba Taneshizu, to detain Nisshin and bring him at once to Kyoto. Chiba was one of Nisshin’s followers and hesitated to turn Nisshin over to the heretics in Kyoto whom he knew simply wished to make him disappear. He delayed leaving Hizen as long as he could, then deliberately took the long way to Kyoto: a journey which normally only required one month took them nine months. Chiba explained that they had been delayed by crowds of people along the route who wished to meet Nisshin and hear his teachings.

Nisshin was held in Kyoto for about year under house arrest, then was released in 1463. Following his release, he continued to spread the Dharma and worked hard to re-build Honpoji.

He died at the age of 82."

Commentary:

Nisshin, like Nikkyo the martyr, was expulsed from his lineage thanks to his strong "break and subdue" practice which frightened the cowardly monks. However, thanks to his indomitable spirit and the clamoring of his adoring laymen, he was eventually lauded as one of the great priests of the Toki Jonin lineage. Similarly, Nikkyo the martyr was eventually "rehabilitated" after 150 years by the low life Kempon Hokke priests when his actions of diamond-like bravery could no longer be ignored.

Figures, Ryuei "Shonin" who demonstrates zero self-restraint, can't help but criticize a great man and real Nichiren Priest out of pure jealousy. Nichiren Shu breeds evil men.

Excellent video by Myo SunLotus with commentary (by me)

Excellent my friend but please don't be so pessimistic. I, for example, really could die at any moment and still, thanks to the Gohonzon, I'm still here after a long life threatening illness and several near death experiences over the last 5+ years. One stupid doctor even wanted to put me in hospice and yet, I still work more than thirty hours a week, have a beautiful family, a very active life and perform near daily shakubuku activities. Kosen Rufu will happen and I don't believe it will take 10,000 years or more. It was mysterious that yesterday I too posted the Gosho, The Importance of the Moment of Death on my blog.

My take, and I believe Nichiren's take on Kosen Rufu is the following...

Nichiren believed that the only way to create the Buddha's Land is to convert a powerful, compassionate Wheel Rolling King who is one of the Four Great Bodhisattvas and to have Enlightened Priests as high ministers.The Soka Gakkai teaches a bottoms up transformation but Nichiren taught a top down transformation.

"The present ruler of Japan is in a position to do the same. If he will put his faith in this great pure Law, which assures its believers of “peace and security in their present existence and good circumstances in future existences,” and propagate it throughout the nation, then he will be looked up to by the people of all the provinces, and his name will be handed down in later ages as that of a worthy man. Indeed, he may come to be regarded as a manifestation of Bodhisattva Boundless Practices. And the wise man who works to propagate the five characters of the Mystic Law, no matter how lowly his station, should be looked upon as a manifestation of Bodhisattva Superior Practices, or perhaps as an envoy of Shakyamuni Thus Come One.

The bodhisattvas Medicine King, Medicine Superior, Perceiver of the World’s Sounds, and Great Power, on the other hand, were envoys of the Buddha during the two thousand years of the Former and Middle Days of the Law. Because their turn has already passed, they can no longer benefit people as they did in those ancient times. Just observe what happens when prayers are offered to them at present! All such prayers go unanswered. Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, it is the turn of the bodhisattvas Superior Practices, Boundless Practices, and the others." - How Those Initially Aspiring to the Way Can Attain Buddhahood through theLotus Sutra

"Know this: in the time for the practice of shakubuku the four bodhisattvas appear as worthy rulers who rebuke and convert ignorant rulers, and in the time for the practice of shōju they appear as priests to embrace and spread the correct teaching." - The True Object of Worship

The Bodhisattvas of the Earth are those who received the Law of Namu Myoho renge kyo from Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo chapter of the Lotus Sutra in the remotest past and who spread the Law in this Latter Age. There are Four Great Leaders of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth and the supreme leader is Jogyo Nichiren. Each of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth represent one of the Four Virtues of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth: Jogyo, Superior, or Emminent Conduct (Nichiren) represents True or Unconditioned Self; Muhengyo or Boundless Practices represents Eternity; Anrugyo or Firmly Established Practices represents Joy; and Jyogyo or Pure Practices represents Purity, As we see, the leaders of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth are most often born as Wheel Turning Kings. We could sure use one today!

H.R. McMaster on our failure in Afghanistan

 

Why is my blog the absolute best Nichiren blog on the internet?

My blog is the best Nichiren blog on the internet because no one loves the Master Nichiren more than I. I love Nichiren more than I love myself and I love myself to a fault. Nichiren was a genuine human being, without affectations, pretensions, nor insincerity. He cared for the teachings more than he cared for his own life. Those who would alter or distort the teachings of the Lotus Sutra were Nichiren's enemies and they are my enemies. The importance of the Lotus Sutra (Myoho renge kyo) is for saving the individual and society. To alter or distort the Lotus Sutra and/or the teachings of its Supreme Votary is to destroy a person's and society's ability to realize eternal happiness, true self, and purity. 

My blog presents the two practices of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren, the forceful and the gentle practices. All other blogs on Nichiren "Lotus Sutra Buddhism" present merely Nichiren's gentle practice, as if Nichiren's forceful practice (his most important practice) didn't exist. Only here will you come to understand Nichiren and his teachings unadulterated, his trials and tribulations for the sake of the teachings and mine as his disciple. Only here will you hear of Nichiren's other disciples and believers such as Nisshin the Pot Headed saint and the martyr Nikkyo. Only here will you find the teachings of never giving to nor receiving from slanderers. Only here will you learn of the Transmission or Succession Through the Scrolls of the Lotus Sutra and the writings of Nichiren (the Eternal Dharma Body of the Buddha and Nichiren). Only here will you learn to revere the Lotus Sutra and Eternal Buddha as did Nichiren through the scrolls of the Lotus Sutra (including, of course the Gohonzon). Only here will you find resources for examining the writings of Nichiren as to their authenticity or apocryphally. You will also learn here about textual parsimony. Only through chanting Namu Myoho renge kyo with the same faith as Nichiren will you become a Three bodied Tathagata in your own right. In order to have the same faith as Nichiren, one must study both the Lotus Sutra and his writings.

"The example of Nisshin (the pot headed monk) appears imbalanced" - Reverend Ryuei "Shonin" of the Nichiren Shu and my reply

 Ryuei: Yes - use of FORCE. According to you, Nisshin [the "Pot Headed Priest"] challenged the Shogun to suppress other sects of Buddhism. How do you imagine that sects can be **suppressed** except by the use of force? By demanding that the Shogun suppress other sects of Buddhism except for those that taught the Lotus, Nisshin was asking for the power of the state to be used in behalf of the sects he favored.

The use of force to propagate religion is quite against the Buddhism that I know. Again I would refer you to the teachings of the Dhammapada.

This seems to me to be the very kind of intolerance that makes the various monotheistic fundamentalisms so odious. How regrettable that there should be Buddhist sects also infected with the virus of fundamentalism and the "single truth!"

It is precisely *because* I believe the Buddha that I don't believe you. The example of Nisshin appears quite unbalanced. Such extremism can hardly be an example of the Middle Way. Nevertheless, I am sure that there is little I can say that will convince you. So let us end the discussion here. May you be well and speedily attain realization.

Mark: In India king Danmira beheaded Aryasinha for spreading the Dharma forcefully. Meanwhile, Many of his Buddhist contemporaries, both scholars and priests, remained in their "ivory towers" (monasteries) discussing the Dhammapada and the equality of the various forms of Buddhism. Aryasinha, on the other hand, was out among the people, preaching and speaking out against the injustice of Danmira's suppression of Buddhism.

Nisshin too was a Bodhisattva of Superb Action. He spoke out against the suppression of the Lotus sect of Nichiren's Buddhism by a Zennist Shogun more interested in maintaining his power and the status quo of the Zen teachings than practicing and spreading the compassionate and true teachings of the Buddha. The Shogun was no different than king Danmira.

Standing up to this cowardly, violent and arrogant Zen Shogun, Nisshin suffered severe persecution. However, no cause goes without an attendant effect. Thanks to Aryasinha, Buddhism spread to china and ultimately Japan while Brahmanism remained and continues to remain a regional and stagnant religeon. Thanks to Nisshin (and other Bodhisattvas of Superb Action) Japan has become a country in which the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren's teachings have spread. The Zen teachings, on the other hand, have settled to the natural level befitting its insignificance. Zen is once again proving itself to be the impotent force for change that it was when the Shogun rammed the red hot bronze bowl over Nisshin's head.

Nothing is as mysterious as the workings of Cause and Effect (Namu Myoho renge kyo). Nothing more wondrous. How sublime.

John Hughes Nichiren Shu teaching site much to love and much to hate

https://www.500yojanas.org/blog/ 

Sutra chanting and Jazz

 

"The Importance of the Moment of Death" by Nichiren

"IN your letter you write that your husband chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo day and night. You say that when the time drew near he chanted twice in a loud voice. And that his complexion was whiter than it had been in life, and that he didn’t lose his looks.

The Lotus Sutra reads, “[This reality consists of] the appearance... and their consistency from beginning to end.” The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom reads, “Those with a dark complexion at the moment of death will fall into hell.” The Protection Sutra reads, “There are fifteen types of signs that appear at one’s death showing that one will fall into hell. There are eight types of signs showing that one will be reborn in the realm of hungry spirits. There are five types of signs showing that one will be reborn in the realm of animals.” The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai’s Great Concentration and Insight reads, “The body turning dark represents the darkness of hell.”

Looking back, I have been studying the Buddha’s teachings since I was a boy. And I found myself thinking, “The life of a human being is fleeting. The exhaled breath never waits for the inhaled one. Even dew before the wind is hardly a sufficient metaphor. It is the way of the world that whether one is wise or foolish, old or young, one never knows what will happen to one from one moment to the next. Therefore I should first of all learn about death, and then about other things.”

So I gathered and considered the sacred teachings of Shakyamuni’s entire lifetime, as well as the writings and commentaries of scholars and teachers. Then I applied them as a bright mirror to the moment of people’s deaths and what followed after death, and found not the slightest discrepancy.

I saw that this person had fallen into hell, or that that person had been reborn in the world of human or heavenly beings. On the other hand, people in society were hiding the truth about the last moments of their teachers or their parents, saying only that they had been reborn in the Pure Land in the west. How pitiful that when their teacher has fallen into the evil paths of existence and is facing numerous unbearable sufferings, the disciples who remain in this world are praising his death, only making his sufferings in hell worse. They may be compared to one who clamps shut the mouth of a person guilty of a serious offense when he is being questioned, or to one who leaves another’s boil unopened so that it festers.

Be that as it may, you say in this letter that his complexion was whiter than it had been in life and that he didn’t lose his looks.

T’ien-t’ai says, “Pure white represents the realm of heavenly beings.” Great Perfection of Wisdom says, “Those whose faces are pink and white, and whose features retain their proper shape, are reborn in the realm of heavenly beings.” The record regarding the death of the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai reads, “His countenance was fair.” The record about the death of the Tripitaka Master Hsüan-tsang reads, “His countenance was fair.” A standard that identifies the sacred teachings of the Buddha’s entire lifetime is the teaching that “those who have performed evil deeds will remain in the six paths of existence, and those who have performed good deeds will be reborn in the four noble worlds.”

Judging from these passages of proof from the texts and this actual proof, I would say that your husband has surely been reborn in the realm of heavenly beings.

You also say in your letter that at the moment of death he chanted the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra twice. The seventh volume of the Lotus Sutra reads, “After I have passed into extinction, [one] should accept and uphold this sutra. Such a person assuredly and without doubt will attain the Buddha way.” There is not a single insignificant matter among all the sacred teachings of the Buddha’s entire lifetime. All are the golden words of Shakyamuni Buddha, who is our father, the great sage, and the lord of teachings; all are the truth; all are true words. They may be categorized as Hinayana or Mahayana, exoteric or esoteric, provisional Mahayana or true Mahayana. When we compare the teachings of the Buddha with the teachings of the two deities and three ascetics, Taoists, and other non-Buddhists, these latter are false words and the Buddha’s teachings true words.

But among these true words, there are lies, true words, words of excessive flourishes, and abusive words. Among these, the Lotus Sutra is the truest of true words, and the truest of truths.

Schools such as the True Word, Flower Garland, Three Treatises, Dharma Characteristics, Dharma Analysis Treasury, Establishment of Truth, Precepts, Nembutsu, and Zen are all schools formulated from the lies found amidst the true words. The Lotus school is true words that bear no resemblance to those schools. And not only are the words of the Lotus Sutra true, but when the false words of the sutras of Shakyamuni’s entire lifetime enter the great sea of the Lotus Sutra, compelled by the power of the Lotus Sutra, they become true words. How much more so, then, must this be the case with the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra.

White face powder has the power to make black lacquer as white as snow. Any color approaching Mount Sumeru takes on a golden hue. One who upholds the  daimoku of the Lotus Sutra transforms the black lacquer of the evil deeds of a lifetime, and  of countless kalpas of lifetimes in the past, into the great merit of good deeds. All the more so is this true of one’s good roots from the beginningless past, which all take on a golden hue.

And when your deceased husband chanted Namu-myoho-renge-kyo at the end on his deathbed, the evil deeds of a lifetime, and from the beginningless past, changed into the seeds of Buddhahood. This is what is meant by the teachings called “earthly desires are enlightenment,” “the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana,” and "attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form.”

And because you are the beloved wife of such a man, the teaching of women attaining Buddhahood without doubt also applies to you. And if this were to be a lie, Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and all the Buddhas of the ten directions, who are Shakyamuni’s emanations, would be liars, great liars, evildoers, and those who deceive all living beings and cause them to fall into hell. Devadatta would become the lord of the pure land of Tranquil Light. Shakyamuni, the lord of teachings, would be choked in the inferno of the great citadel of the Avīchi hell. The sun and moon would fall from the sky, the earth would overturn, the rivers would run backwards, and Mount Sumeru would crumble into dust.

It would not be Nichiren’s lie; rather it would be the lie of all the Buddhas in the ten directions and three existences. But consider: How could such a thing ever be? I will explain this matter in detail when we meet."

Nichiren

The fourteenth day of the seventh month

Please read this to the lay nun Myōhō.