His life in solitary exile
The place where Nichiren was abandoned was a hut in a cemetery, little sheltered from wind and snow. No regular supply of food reached him. He was clad only in coarse hempen robes. It is a wonder how he survived these severities. He “felt in his body the eight kinds of icy cold,” yet there was a fire in his inner heart; he almost starved, but he was provided with spiritual ambrosia. Yet he would have died of cold and hunger if a zealous adversary, who at first attempted to kill him, had not been, contrary to his intention, converted by Nichiren. The man was a warrior who had come thither in attendance on the ex-emperor, who had been banished to the island more than fifty years before.
He continued to live there and was a devout Amita-Buddhist. The honest but simple-minded man, having heard of Nichiren’s antagonism to Amita-Buddha, determined to kill the devil monk. He approached the solitary hut and watched for an opportunity to stab the hated man, but was involuntarily attracted by Nichiren’s voice as he recited the [Lotus Sutra], and finally entered into religious discussion with him, because he thought it not proper for a Buddhist and a warrior to kill another without giving him warning and attempting to convert him. The man, no match in learning and piety for Nichiren, was converted by him whom he had formerly hated. His wife followed the example of her husband, and it was they who supplied Nichiren with food. They remained faithful to him until death; and, as in the case of the fisherman and his wife in Izu, the prophet never forgot to be grateful to them. Several tender letters written to them later are testimonies to the close relation established between the master and his converts. Hatred and persecution, on the one hand, but consolation and protection, both miraculous and human, on the other, all worked to strengthen Nichiren’s gratitude toward the [Lotus Sutra] and his faith in his mission as the messenger of Buddha.
In this way the severest of the winter season was passed. Several communications were meanwhile received from Nichiren’s followers on the mainland. By the time the snow and frost began to melt and the sun was pouring down its warm rays, the exile was no longer solitary and deserted, but had about him a few converts, and was preparing to continue his work.
The Exile In Sado And The Ripening of Nichiren's Faith in His Mission
A calm reflection and the attainment of faith in his mission 6o
His life in solitary exile 63
"The Heritage of the Great Thing Concerning Life and Death" 65
"Opening the Eyes "; the ethical aspects of religious life and faith 68
Absolute trust in Buddha's prophetic assurance 70
A better time, and Nichiren's thought about sin 73
NICHIREN: THE BUDDHIST PROPHET