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

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.

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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

The Great Concentration and Insight also lists the six causes of sickness: 1. lack of harmony among the four constituent elements of the material world (the earth element, the water element, the fire element and the wind element); 2. lack of moderation in eating and drinking; 3. inconsistent practice of sitting meditation; 4. problems caused by a demon; 5. actions of a heavenly demon; and 6. karmic retribution. It is preached in the Sūtra on the Great Extinction, “There are three categories of people with illness who are difficult to heal: in the first place are those who slandered the Mahāyāna sūtras; in the second place are those who committed the five rebellious sins; and in the third place are icchantika (those who do not have goodness in mind and therefore have no possibility of attaining Buddhahood). These three kinds of illnesses are the most serious of all types of diseases in the world.” The Nirvana Sūtra also preaches, “If one commits an evil act in this world, one will inevitably go to hell in the next world. However, if one gives offerings to the Three Treasures (Buddha, Dharma, and Saṃgha), one will receive a lighter form of retribution such as headaches, sore eyes, and backaches in this world instead of going to hell in the next world.” Interpreting this, the Great Concentration and Insight states, “Even if one committed a serious sin, for which one is destined to go to hell, one may be able to atone for the sin by enduring a lesser form of suffering in this world. This is the case when one becomes ill as it is due to a past sin being atoned for in this world.”

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

Mastering Buddhism … remains impossible without enough time to absorb it. And if you are to devote enough time to studying Buddhism, it will be nearly impossible to obey one’s parents, masters, and the sovereign as well. Those who aim at attaining Buddhahood cannot afford to be obedient to parents, masters, and sovereign until they reach the ultimate way to cut the chain of birth and death.

Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 2.

QUESTION: How do you know that you are a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra in the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration?

ANSWER: The following statements in the Lotus Sūtra attest it to be the truth: “Many people hate this sūtra with jealousy even in the lifetime of the Buddha, not to say after His death” (chapter 10, “The Teacher of the Dharma”). “Ignorant people will speak ill of us (who propagate this sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration), abuse us, and threaten us with swords and sticks. … We will be driven out of our monasteries from time to time” (chapter 13, “Encouragement for Upholding This Sūtra”). “Many people in the world will hate this sūtra and few will believe it” (chapter 14, “Peaceful Practices”). “People struck him (a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra) with sticks, pieces of wood, pieces of tile, and stones” (chapter 20, “The Never-Despising Bodhisattva”). “King of devils, his subjects, gods, dragons, yaksa demons, and kumbhāṇḍa demons will take advantage of the time (the first 500-year period in the Latter Age of Degeneration)” (chapter 23, “Previous Life of the Medicine King Bodhisattva”).

In order to see that these words of the Buddha are not false, when we see the faces of all the people in Japan, the king and his subjects, monks and nuns, and laymen and laywomen, reflected upon these clear mirrors of the Lotus Sūtra, there is nobody but I, Nichiren, who fits them perfectly. As for the time, we certainly are at the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration. Should there be no Nichiren today, these words of the Buddha would all be proved false.

Kembutsu Mirai-ki, Testimony to the Prediction of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 175

Compared with the Lotus Sūtra, the Amitābha Sūtra is a star after the sun rose and dew in heavy rain.

Therefore, Grand Master Dengyō asserted in his Clarification of the Precepts: “It is nonsense to give a cart pulled by sheep, deer or cows, after giving a great cart pulled by a white ox. It is needless for a wealthy man to clean the toilet after succeeding to the family business. Therefore, it is said in the Lotus Sūtra, ‘Honestly discarding the expedient teachings, the Buddha explains only the unsurpassed way.’ ” The Grand Master also said, “When the sun appears, stars disappear, and when one understands the proficiency of the Lotus Sūtra, he is able to see the deficiencies in the other sūtras.”

Shimoyama Goshōsoku, The Shimoyama Letter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 90

In the Lotus Sūtra it is guaranteed that Śāriputra would be Flower Light Buddha, Subhūti would be Beautiful Form Buddha, and the 1,200 śrāvaka disciples would all be Universal Brightness Buddhas. This was a great surprise that they had never dreamed of. They must have felt as though they entered a mountain of treasures upon the crumbling of Mt. Kun-lun. Thus it is stated in the passage of understanding by the Two Vehicles, “We were able to gain the supreme gem of treasures without seeking it.” Therefore, there is no doubt that all those in the realms of the Two Vehicles will protect the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra. Even lowly beasts and birds remember the favors they owe and try to repay them. It is said that a bird called wild goose never fails to take care of the mother goose on the verge of death. A fox is said to die facing toward the hill where it lived. Even beasts do not forget the favor they owe, how much more so with human beings?

Kitō Shō, Treatise on Prayers, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 57-58