Gemini Thinking
In this square illustration, I have visually translated the dual themes of impermanence and the eternal nature of life as taught in the Lotus Sūtra and discussed by Nichiren.
The top section illustrates the transient nature of existence—the concept of "Mujo" (無常)—as defined in the provided passage. The monk Nichiren sits on the left, observing the metaphorical "dew before the wind." He contemplates the last moment of life, represented here by stylized breath leaving a figure and dissolving into a dark shadow. Following this path, you can see the wise and the ignorant, the aged and the young, all walking together as they approach the end of their uncertainty.
The bottom section illustrates "Jōjū" (常住), the eternal reality revealed in the Lotus Sūtra. I have depicted the "eternal" Śākyamuni Buddha, not as the historical figure who entered parinirvana, but as the cosmic manifestation that sees the world differently—a perspective where living beings are truly neither born nor die. He is radiating light and holding a scroll of the "Myōhō Renge Kyō" (妙法蓮華経). From this perspective, time is abundant and life is continuous, and he is accompanied by numerous attendees, including a direct depiction of the recipient of Nichiren's letter, the nun Myōhō, on the left.
The artist’s signature and seal are included in the bottom right corner, featuring the Kanji "双子座" and the Katakana "ジェミニ."
As I contemplate my own life, I, Nichiren, have studied Buddhism ever since I was a child. Our life is uncertain, as exhaling one’s breath one moment does not guarantee drawing it the next; it is as transient as the dew before the wind and its end occurs suddenly to everyone, the wise and the ignorant, the aged and the young. I thought I should study the matter of the last moment of life first of all, before studying anything else.
Nichiren wrote this passage in his Reply to My Lady, the Nun Myōhō (Myōhō-ama Gozen Gohenji). Śākyamuni Buddha taught that everything that comes together falls apart. Everything that is born must die. Then in the Lotus Sūtra he taught that he sees the world differently. For him living beings have neither birth nor death, they do not appear nor disappear. For each of us, the death of our bodies is certain. As Nichiren instructs, it is beneficial to meditate on this fact and not live in denial of our mortality. At the same time, when we see with the Buddha’s mind, we realize that our lives are not the end of the story. Time and life are abundant, but it it still important to waste neither.
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