To leave us with no choice but to restore faith day by day, Nichiren Shōnin expounds his teachings as follows:

“Reflecting deeply on my past, I, Nichiren, studied Buddhism from childhood and began to ponder and wish as follows: People’s life spans are never, for a single moment, static and continue to change. If you look closely at the state of one’s dying moment, you will find that the breath once exhaled is never inhaled again. That is exactly like when dew on top of a leaf falls off to the ground. Our life ends regardless of wisdom or foolishness, old age or youth. Therefore, since we have such a transitory life, we must learn about it deeply, keeping in mind day after day that the end of life is just before us, and that our life is limited.

“Thinking about it in this way, you must come to realize that the most important thing upon death is the noble heart as a fundamental part of human beings. There is no other way to realize the existence of that noble heart and cultivate it than to follow the proper faith. Since the proper faith is precisely the faith in the Odaimoku, you should devote yourself to it without delay.

“Since the proper mental activity arises with the proper faith, true peace is achieved only when people who are engaged in such a mental activity collectively form a nation. At that time, those who live there will live at peace both in mind and body.”