In the tenth month of the second year of Kōan (1279), this letter was written in reply to a letter to Nichiren Daishonin from Shijō Kingo, informing him that Kingo had been ambushed by enemies among his fellow samurai, but had managed to escape unharmed.

The Daishonin teaches Kingo that faith must always come first, before any other tactic or strategy, and that faith in the Mystic Law is the ultimate factor that determines victory or defeat.

https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/139

This letter was written at Minobu to the wife of the late lay priest Matsuno Rokurō Saemon who lived at Matsuno in Ihara District of Suruga Province. Their daughter had married Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō, and gave birth to nine children, among them Nanjō Tokimitsu. The lay priest and his wife are thought to have been converted to the Daishonin’s Buddhism through their relationship with the Nanjō family. Matsuno Rokurō Saemon died in 1278, the year before this letter was written.

At that time, disasters were frequent, and in particular, the famine that persisted through the autumn and winter of 1278 created untold misery. Despite this hardship, however, Matsuno’s wife made frequent offerings to the Daishonin. She appears to have done so even though she had not met him personally, and she continued to serve him in this way after her husband’s death. In praise of her sincere faith the Daishonin says, “Could it be that Shakyamuni Buddha has possessed your body, or were your roots of goodness from the past aroused?”

In this letter, Nichiren Daishonin first cites a passage from the “Peaceful Practices” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, which states how difficult it is to encounter the Lotus Sutra. Then he relates the story of the one-eyed turtle. The Daishonin elaborates on the story, explaining in detail the difficulty of a one-eyed turtle finding a floating piece of sandalwood with a hollow in it the turtle can fit into perfectly. Through this story, he shows how rare it is to meet the Lotus Sutra, and even more so to encounter the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo that is the sutra’s essence.

Next the Daishonin traces the introduction of the Lotus Sutra from India to China and then to Japan. Although many people in Japan claim to embrace the Lotus, he says, “None of them, however, ever chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo . . . nor do any of them urge others to chant it.” Thus, although people think that they believe in the Lotus Sutra, they do not embrace it correctly.

The final part of this letter refers to the Daishonin’s tenacious struggles during the more than twenty years since he first proclaimed Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. The Daishonin himself underwent all the persecutions that the Lotus Sutra says its votary in the Latter Day will face. Few people made any attempt to understand his teachings and many harassed him in various ways. This opposition, however, served only to strengthen his conviction that he was indeed the votary of the Lotus Sutra, whose activities are predicted in the “Encouraging Devotion” chapter. The letter concludes with praise for the sincerity of Matsuno’s wife.

https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/130

This letter was written on the twentieth day of the third month, 1272, some five months after Nichiren Daishonin had arrived on the island of Sado to begin his exile there. He addressed it to Toki Jōnin, a samurai serving as a leading retainer to Lord Chiba, the constable of Shimōsa Province, to Saburō Saemon (Shijō Kingo) in Kamakura, and to other staunch followers.

Nichiren Daishonin had been banished on the tenth day of the tenth month, 1271. Charges of treason had been brought against him by Ryōkan, the chief priest of Gokuraku-ji temple in Kamakura, and by Hei no Saemon, deputy chief of the Office of Military and Police Affairs. Hei no Saemon was resolved to execute the Daishonin at Tatsunokuchi before he was to be delivered to the custody of Homma Shigetsura, the deputy constable of Sado. The attempt at execution was unsuccessful, however, and after a delay of almost a month Homma’s warriors escorted the Daishonin to the coast of the Sea of Japan. After a delay there caused by bad weather, the Daishonin finally arrived on Sado on the twenty-eighth day of the tenth month.

Nichiren Daishonin was housed at first in a dilapidated structure known as Sammai-dō, where he lived exposed to the wind and snow that blew in through gaps in the roof and walls. After five months he was able to move to more comfortable quarters at Ichinosawa. The Daishonin engaged in debates with Pure Land and other priests and actively propagated his own teachings. While on Sado he wrote two major treatises, The Opening of the Eyes and The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind. In the second month, 1274, the Daishonin was pardoned and returned to Kamakura on the twenty-sixth day of the third month.

In this writing the Daishonin first states that the only way to attain Buddhahood is to be willing to offer one’s life, one’s most precious possession, to Buddhism. Next, he says that the method of propagation known as shakubuku is appropriate to this age, and that one can attain Buddhahood only by dedicating oneself to it. He then declares that he is the “pillar, sun, moon, mirror, and eyes” of and “father and mother” to the country; these are symbolic references to the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, who is perfectly endowed with the three virtues of parent, teacher, and sovereign. He also mentions his earlier prophecies in On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land concerning political upheaval and violent feuds within the country.

Lastly, he gives an elaborate explanation of karma or destiny, stating that his present difficulties arise from the fact that he slandered the Lotus Sutra in a past existence. Using himself as an example, he elucidates to his disciples the kind of spirit and practice by which they can alter their karma. He adds that persons who try to propagate the correct teaching of Buddhism vigorously will invariably face opposition, and that such opposition in reality presents an opportunity for them to change their karma. Those who have given up their faith and instead criticize are admonished that their actions bear the heaviest consequences. He compares their lack of vision to fireflies who laugh at the sun.

https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/32

Nichiren Daishonin wrote this letter while he was in exile in Itō on the Izu Peninsula. It was addressed to Kudō Sakon-no-jō Yoshitaka, known also as Kudō Yoshitaka, the lord of Amatsu in Awa Province.

Kudō Yoshitaka is said to have converted to Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings around 1256, about the same time Shijō Kingo and Ikegami Munenaka did, a few years after the Daishonin first proclaimed his teachings. While the Daishonin was in exile on Izu, Yoshitaka sent offerings to him and continued to maintain pure faith. He was killed defending the Daishonin at the time of the Komatsubara Persecution in the eleventh month of 1264. The Four Debts of Gratitude is the only letter still extant that the Daishonin addressed to him.

In this letter, in light of the reason for his banishment, Nichiren Daishonin expresses his conviction that he is a true practitioner of the Lotus Sutra. He mentions the “two important matters” that concern his Izu Exile. He states, “One is that I feel immense joy,” and explains the reasons for his joy. The greater part of the letter consists of this explanation. Following this, he states, “The second of the two important matters is that I feel intense grief.” Citing passages from the Lotus and Great Collection sutras that reveal the gravity of the offense of slandering the Law and its devotees, the Daishonin explains that he grieves at the thought of the great karmic retribution his tormentors must undergo. This is the concluding part of the letter.

In the body of the letter, the Daishonin gives two reasons for his “immense joy.” One is that he has been able to prove himself to be the votary of the Lotus Sutra by fulfilling the Buddha’s prediction made in the sutra that its votary in the Latter Day of the Law will meet with persecution. The other reason is that, by suffering banishment for the sutra’s sake, he can repay the four debts of gratitude. He declares that the ruler who condemned him to exile is the very person to whom he is the most grateful; thanks to the ruler, he has been able to fulfill the words of the Lotus Sutra and so prove himself to be its true votary.

Then, the Daishonin stresses the importance of repaying the four debts of gratitude set forth in the Contemplation on the Mind-Ground Sutra. The four debts of gratitude are the debts owed to all living beings, to one’s father and mother, to one’s sovereign, and to the three treasures—the Buddha, the Law, and the Buddhist Order. Among these four debts of gratitude, the Daishonin places special emphasis on the debt owed to the three treasures, without which one could not attain Buddhahood.

https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/6

This letter was written to Toki Jōnin, a learned and dedicated disciple who lived in Shimōsa Province. In it Nichiren Daishonin stresses the extreme seriousness of the offense of slander and also the importance of embracing the supreme Buddhist teaching. The letter is dated simply the twenty-third day of the eighth month, and though it is generally thought to have been written in the first year of Kenji (1275) at Minobu, no firm conclusion has been reached in this regard. Other opinions are that the Daishonin wrote it in 1276 or even in 1273 while he was still on Sado Island.

In the Daishonin’s teaching, rather than adherence to a specific code of conduct, one’s fundamental posture toward the Mystic Law, or ultimate reality, determines one’s happiness or unhappiness in life. A person who seeks and awakens to the ultimate truth within will attain enlightenment, while one who remains in ignorance of it or even slanders it will continue to be bound by suffering. Hence the Daishonin’s emphasis on exclusive commitment to the Lotus Sutra, which teaches the direct attainment of Buddhahood for all people.

In the last part of this letter, the Daishonin raises a question that had crossed many people’s minds: on the basis of what sort of insight does he dare to criticize such eminent teachers of the past as Kōbō, Jikaku, and Chishō? However, instead of answering this question directly, he simply says, “You had better cut short your sleep by night and curtail your leisure by day, and ponder this!” This passage, from which the letter takes its name, suggests that the most important task of our human existence is to seek out and uphold the correct teaching leading to enlightenment.

https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/72

This letter, written at Minobu in 1277, is entitled The Workings of Brahmā and Shakra, because it contains the passage, “The time will certainly come when, by the workings of Brahmā, Shakra, and other gods, the entire Japanese nation will simultaneously take faith in the Lotus Sutra.” In this letter Nichiren Daishonin encourages the nineteen-year-old Nanjō Tokimitsu, who succeeded his father as steward of Ueno Village in Fuji District of Suruga Province, to maintain his faith. He also advises Tokimitsu on how to respond to those who attempt to threaten or deceive him into discarding his faith. For if they succeed in their attempt, the Daishonin warns, they will use him “as a means for making many others abandon their faith.”

https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/96

This letter was written at Minobu in 1278 to Shijō Nakatsukasa Saburō Saemon, commonly called Shijō Kingo. Kingo was accomplished in both the practice of medicine and the martial arts. For nearly the entire first half of 1278, Nichiren Daishonin had suffered from debilitating and chronic diarrhea. Evidently Kingo had sent the Daishonin various medicines that had helped alleviate his illness.

In the fall of 1277 a virulent epidemic swept Japan, and Kingo’s lord became violently ill. Despite the lord’s deep-seated antagonism toward the Daishonin’s teachings, he turned to Kingo for help. Lord Ema was most grateful for Kingo’s ministrations and rewarded him with an estate three times larger than the one he already had. Yet the Daishonin warns Kingo to be constantly on guard and to take particularly great care to protect himself from attack while traveling.

https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/128

Nichiren Daishonin wrote this letter at Minobu in the seventh month of the third year of Kōan (1280) to the lay nun Sennichi, who lived on Sado Island. Sennichi was the wife of Abutsu-bō Nittoku, who had passed away the year before.

Abutsu-bō had originally been a Nembutsu believer, but soon after encountering the Daishonin, together with his wife, became his sincere follower and helped provide him with food and supplies during his stay on Sado.

After the Daishonin was pardoned from his exile and had taken up his residence at Minobu, Abutsu-bō, despite his advanced age, made at least three journeys to see him. He died on the twenty-first day of the third month, 1279, at the age of ninety-one. His son, Tōkurō Moritsuna, visited the Daishonin at Minobu later that year with his father’s ashes and laid them to rest there.

The lay nun Sennichi was concerned about the privations of the Daishonin’s life at Minobu, and in 1280 sent Tōkurō with various offerings for him. Tōkurō arrived at Minobu on the first day of the seventh month, and Nichiren Daishonin wrote this letter to the lay nun in acknowledgment of her sincere offerings, entrusting it to her son on his return journey.

In the beginning portion, the Daishonin declares that to read even one phrase of the Lotus Sutra is equivalent to reading all the teachings expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha during his lifetime. He assures the lay nun Sennichi that all persons who embrace the Lotus Sutra will attain Buddhahood, and therefore, in the light of the “clear mirror of the Lotus Sutra,” there can be no doubt that her late husband, Abutsu-bō, has attained Buddhahood as well.

In the remaining portion of the letter, the Daishonin encourages the lay nun in the face of her loneliness following her husband’s death, and also praises the filial devotion of her son, Tōkurō. Especially touched by Tōkurō’s two visits to Minobu for his father’s sake, the Daishonin concludes his letter by exclaiming, “Surely, there is no treasure greater than a child, no treasure greater than a child!”

https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/149

On the twenty-eighth day of the fourth month, 1253, Nichiren Daishonin established the teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo at Seichō-ji temple in his native province of Awa, and later he returned to Kamakura, the seat of the military government, to begin propagation. In examining the records, we find that in those days the era names were changed frequently. The year 1253 was in the Kenchō era. Three years later, in 1256, the era name changed to Kōgen, and the next year, to Shōka. Then, two years later, in 1259, it was changed to Shōgen, the following year to Bunnō, and the year after that to Kōchō. In the five years from 1256 to 1261, the era name changed five times. An era name was usually changed only on the accession of a new emperor, or when some natural disaster of severe proportions occurred; the frequency of these changes attests to the magnitude of the disasters that struck Japan during this period.

Link to the relevant part of the Gosho.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5 (of 5): This episode.

On the twenty-eighth day of the fourth month, 1253, Nichiren Daishonin established the teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo at Seichō-ji temple in his native province of Awa, and later he returned to Kamakura, the seat of the military government, to begin propagation. In examining the records, we find that in those days the era names were changed frequently. The year 1253 was in the Kenchō era. Three years later, in 1256, the era name changed to Kōgen, and the next year, to Shōka. Then, two years later, in 1259, it was changed to Shōgen, the following year to Bunnō, and the year after that to Kōchō. In the five years from 1256 to 1261, the era name changed five times. An era name was usually changed only on the accession of a new emperor, or when some natural disaster of severe proportions occurred; the frequency of these changes attests to the magnitude of the disasters that struck Japan during this period.

Link to the relevant part of the Gosho.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4: This episode