I am glad to hear that you greeted the New Year with the pleasure of seeing flowers in full bloom and feeling happy like the full moon.
But I still remember the late Gorō, your son. It is during this time of the year when the blossoms bloom again and the dry grass begins to sprout. Why can’t the late Gorō come back to this world? If he were the delicate and transient flower and grass, I would never leave the flower, like Kakinomoto Hitomaro, the poet, nor the grass, like a hitched horse.
It is written in the passage of a Buddhist scripture that children are enemies. I think that there is a reason for this. I hear that the owl eats its mother and a beast called hakyō devours its father. A man, An Lushan, was killed by his son, Shih Shih-ming. A warrior called Minamoto Yoshitomo killed his father, Tameyoshi. Therefore, there is some truth to the Buddhist scripture that states children are enemies.
It is also written in the scripture that children are treasures. King Wonderful Adornment was destined to fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering upon death, but he was saved by a prince named Pure Store. Saved from suffering in hell, he ultimately became a Buddha called Śāla Tree King Buddha. A woman named Moggaliya was sent to the realm of hungry spirits for the sin of malice and greed, but she was saved by her child, Maudgalyāyana, escaping the suffering mandated in the realm of hungry spirits. Therefore, it seems reasonable for the Buddhist scripture to claim that children are treasures.
The late Gorō was 16 years old and had a more pleasing nature than most. An able man, he was admired by everyone. Moreover, he was filial and obedient to his parents much as water takes the form of a vessel and a shadow follows its form. You must have deeply relied upon him as a pillar of your home and a cane for support on the road. The box of treasures must have been saved for him, and your retainers who have served your family must have been for him. You were hoping that when you died you would be carried on his back to your grave and if this were so you would have had no regrets. Nevertheless, that he left you first must seem like a dream or illusion. If only this were so, I would love for you to be awakened from it soon. But it was neither a dream nor an illusion, and at last the year has come to an end.
I don’t know how long you must wait to meet him again. If I were to tell you where to meet him, you would no doubt fly up to the sky in spite of having no wings or sail even to China in spite of having no ship. If you heard that he was buried deep below the earth, wouldn’t you use all your energy to dig him out?
There is a way, however, to meet him easily. It is to have Śākyamuni Buddha lead you to the Pure Land of Mt. Sacred Eagle. It is written that all who listen to this Lotus Sūtra shall become a Buddha. Thus, even if a finger pointed to the earth were to miss it, the sun and the moon did not rise, the tide did not ebb and flow, and the flowers failed to bloom in summer, the woman who chants “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō” will surely be able to meet her son. Devote yourself to your faith.
Ueno-dono Gohenji, A Reply to Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 56-57
