Your offering of barley is more precious than an offering of gold or precious stones. The grain of barley left by Sage Rita transformed into a golden man. How is it possible that the barley donated by Tokimitsu this time does not change itself into the letters of the Lotus Sūtra?

May the letters of the Lotus Sūtra transform into Śākyamuni Buddha, and then into the two wings of your late father, Lord Hyōeshichirō, flying to the Pure Land of Mt. Sacred Eagle. May he then return to Japan to embrace your body and protect you!

Tokimitsu-dono Gohenji, Reply to Lord Tokimitsu, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Pages 26

It is stated in the Great Wisdom Discourse by Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna, “If this is so, isn’t it correct to say that the Flower Garland Sūtra and other Wisdom Sūtras are not the secret dharma, but that instead the Lotus Sūtra, which expounds the doctrine of attaining Buddhahood by the Two Vehicles, is the secret dharma? The Lotus Sūtra is like a great medicine master who can transform poison into medicine.” Commenting on this, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai states, “As a good physician can change poison into medicine, the Two Vehicles, who are considered incapable of attaining Buddhahood, were guaranteed by the Lotus Sūtra to become Buddhas in the future. This is indeed the transformation of poison into medicine. Therefore, it is stated in the Great Wisdom Discourse that no other sūtras but the Lotus Sūtra is the secret dharma.” The Great Concentration and Insight again states, “The Lotus Sūtra is called “myō (wonderful)” because it can remedy the mind of the Two Vehicles which no other sūtra can.” Grand Master Miao-lê says, “The Lotus Sūtra is said to be ‘myō’ as it can cure what is difficult to be cured.”

Ōta Nyūdō-dono Gohenji, A Reply to Lay Priest Lord Ōta, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 33-34

The 11,037 Buddhist temples in Japan, 66 provinces and two islands (Iki and Tsushima), all enshrine Buddhas consisting of portraits and wooden statues. Some temples existed before the introduction of Shingon Buddhism to Japan while others were established after. At any rate, these Buddhas have become Buddhas enlightened by the Lotus Sūtra, hence their eyes all should be eyes of the Lotus Sūtra as it is preached in the Sūtra of Meditation on the Universal Sage Bodhisattva cited above: “This hōdō (Mahāyāna) sūtra is the eyes of Buddhas.” Grand Master Miao-lê also states in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra: “This Lotus Sūtra makes the eternal presence of the Buddha-nature the throat, the practice of the One Vehicle teaching the eye, revival of the Two Vehicles the heart, and revealing the eternal life of the True Buddha, the life.”

Kangyō Hachiman-shō, Remonstration with Bodhisattva Hachiman, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 268-269

Great events are foreshadowed by great omens. The birth of the Buddha, His first preaching, and His death were paralleled by omens, good or bad, as great as never seen before or after. It was because the Buddha was the greatest sage of all. When the Buddha was born, according to various sūtras, rays of light in five colors shone in four directions, so the night looked as bright as the day. When He passed away, it is said, twelve white rainbows spanned north and south and the sun stopped shining, so the day became as dark as the night. For 2,000 years afterward, during the Ages of the True Dharma and the Semblance Dharma, although many sages had been born and had died, such great omens as those which preceded the birth and death of the Buddha never occurred before.

Nevertheless, the great earthquake and strange phenomena in the sky which we have had since the Shōka Era (1257-59) till this year, the tenth year of the Bun’ei Era (1273), are comparable to those great omens at the time of Śākyamuni Buddha’s birth and death. You should know from these occurrences that a man as great as the Buddha is going to be born or is about to pass away. A great comet rose in the sky. Which great ruler or his subject does it foreshadow? An earthquake shook and tilted the great earth three times. Which sage or wise man does it foretell? You should know that these are not ordinary omens, good or bad, large in size. They solely foreshadow the rise or decline of this great dharma!

Kembutsu Mirai-ki, Testimony to the Prediction of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 177

It is said in the Nirvana Sūtra that the dharma is more important than our lives, so we should propagate the dharma at the cost of our lives. My life is insignificant; I have been struck and hated by the people. Nevertheless, because the dharma is important, it will inevitably spread. With the Lotus Sūtra spreading I should be more revered after I die than when I am alive. If my remains should be revered, then they should be beneficial to the people. If my remains should be beneficial, I should be revered just as Great Bodhisattva Hachiman. You should know that all men and women who support me will then be respected just as Takenouchi-no-Sukune, who served Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, or his young prince.

The merit of opening the eyes of a blind man is beyond description. How much more does it take to open the eyes of all sentient beings in Japan? Moreover, what does it take to open the eyes of all blind people throughout the world?

Oto Gozen Go-shōsoku, A Letter to Lady Oto, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 124-126

QUESTION: How did the great earthquake of the Shōka Era and the great comet of the Bun’ei Era happen?

ANSWER: T’ien-t’ai has said, “Men of knowledge know the causes of phenomena, and only snakes know the way of snakes.”

QUESTION: What does that mean?

ANSWER: It means that when Bodhisattva Superior Practice emerged from the earth as described in the fifteenth chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, even such bodhisattvas as Maitreya, Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, and Medicine King, who had reached only one step below Buddhahood by conquering the forty-one steps of darkness of mind, did not know that he had been called upon to spread “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō,” the essence of the “Life Span of the Buddha” (16th) chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, in the Latter Age of Degeneration. It was because they had not yet conquered the fundamental darkness of mind and therefore were still considered ignorant.

Senji-shō, Selecting the Right time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 238

Rivers come together to form an ocean. Particles of dust accumulate to become Mt. Sumeru. When I, Nichiren, began having faith in the Lotus Sutra, it was like a drop of water or a particle of dust in Japan. However, when the sutra is chanted and transmitted to two, three, ten, a million and a billion people, it will grow to be a Mt. Sumeru of perfect enlightenment or the great ocean of Nirvāṇa. There is no way other than this to reach Buddhahood.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his essay on Selecting the Right Time (Senji-shō). In our quest for enlightenment, we may become discouraged by the enormity of our task. When we sweep away one delusion, another appears. When we benefit one being, the needs of millions more become clear. Nichiren reminds us persevering though these difficulties and strengthening our faith in the Buddha’s wisdom are more important than any outcome we seek.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

T’ien-t’ai says in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra: “Looking at the heavy rainfall, one should know the size of the dragon which causes the rain to fall. Seeing the abundance of the lotus flowers, one can see the depth of the pond where the lotus grows.” Miao-lê interprets this in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra: “Men of knowledge know the cause of phenomena, and only snakes know the way of snakes.” Only the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra knows the rise of the great dharma by looking at great omens.

Kembutsu Mirai-ki, Testimony to the Prediction of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 177-178