Three things are required - a good teacher, a good believer, and a good
teaching - before prayers can be effective and disasters
banished from the land. (Writings
of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, p.880)
2nd week
Great evil portends the arrival of great
good. If all of Jambudvipa were to be thrown into chaos, there could be
no doubt that
[this sutra would] "be widely propagated
throughout Jambudvipa." (Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, p.1122)
3rd week If you want to understand the causes that existed in the past, look at
the results as they are manifested in the present.
And if you want to understand what results
will be manifested in the future, look at the causes that exist in the
present. (Writings
of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, p.279)
4th week Thus within the tents of command they were able to devise strategies that
assured victory a thousand miles away. (Writings
of Nichiren Daishonin Volume II, p.391)
5th week For those who have faith in the Lotus Sutra, but whose faith is not deep,
it is as though a half moon were lighting the darkness. But
for those who have profound faith, it is as though a full moon were illuminating
the night. (Writings
of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, p.94)
February 2009
1st week
Now when Nichiren and his followers perform ceremonies for the deceased,
reciting the Lotus Sutra and chanting Nam-myoho-
renge-kyo, the ray of light from the daimoku reaches all the way to the hell of incessant suffering and makes it possible for
them to attain Buddhahood then and there.
(The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, p.17)
2nd week The fact that her prayers have gone unanswered is like a strong bow
with a weak bowstring, or a fine sword in the hands of a coward.
It is in no sense the fault of the Lotus Sutra. (The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p.489)
3rd week
My followers are now able to accept and uphold
the Lotus Sutra because of the strong ties they formed with it in their
past existences. (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p.217)
4th week No matter how earnestly Nichiren prays for you, if you lack faith, it will
be like trying to set fire to wet tinder.
Spur yourself to muster the power of faith. (The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p.1000)
March 2009
1st week
Therefore, I say to you, my disciples, try practicing as the Lotus Sutra teaches, exerting yourselves without begrudging
your lives! (The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p.584)
2nd week The moon moves from the west eastward, a sign of how the Buddhism of India
spread in an easterly direction.
The sun rises in the east, an auspicious
sign of how the Buddhism of Japan is destined to return to the Land of
the Moon.
(The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-II, p.936)
3rd week The destiny of Japan depends solely upon
Nichiren. A house without pillars collapses, and a person without soul
is dead.
Nichiren is the soul of the people of this
country. (The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p.772)
April 2009
1st week
There are many people who set their hearts on enlightenment, but only a few who continue
their practice and in fact
attain the true way.
(The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p.758)
2nd week A sword, even when exposed to a great fire,
withstands the heat for a while, because it has been well forged.
(The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p.839)
3rd week
Always be determined to denounce slander
against the correct teaching to the best of your ability.
(The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p.626)
4th week Not even the wisdom of the Buddha can fathom the blessings that one will obtain by giving alms to Nichiren and by becoming
his disciple and lay supporters.
(The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p.384)
5th week I, Nichiren, conscious of the age we live
in, now wish to give wide propagation to this doctrine [of the Three Great
Secret Laws]. (The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-II, p.988)
May 2009
1st week
There is no true happiness for human beings other than chnating Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
(The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p.681)
2nd week It is the power of the bow that determines
the flight of the alrrow, the might of the dragon that controls the movement
of
the clouds, and the strength of the wife
that guides the actions of her husband. (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p.656)
3rd week By tasting a single drop, one can tell the flavor of the great ocean, and
by observing a single flower in bloom, onc can
predict the advent of spring. (The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p.268)
4th week If a dog barks at a lion, its bowels will
rot. The asura demon who shot an arrow at the sun had his head split into
seven pieces.
The true Word teachers are like the dog or
the asura, while the votary of the Lotus Sutra is like the sun or the lion. (The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p.613)
June 2009
1st week
Bodhisattva Never Disparaging of old said that all peole have the
Buddha nature and that, if they embrace the Lotus Sutra,
they will never fail to attain Buddhahood.
(The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p.756)
2nd week Believers in the Lotus Sutra should fear those who attempt to obstruct
their practice more than they fear bandits, burglars,
night raiders, tigers, wolves, or lions.
(The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p.495)
3rd week Therefore you must resolve that if, this time, you give up your body and
sacrifice your life for the sake of the Lotus Sutra,
it will without fail become the source of
satisfaction of countless, innumerable kalpas of lifetimes.
(The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-II, p.673)
4th week Persons who uphold this sutra, though they may be strangers to one another,
will meet on Eagle Peak. And how much more certain
is it that you and your late father, because you both have faith in the
Lotus Sutra, will be reborn there together! (The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-II, p.500)
July 2009
1st week
The sutra known as the Lotus Sutra is good medicine for the various ills
of body and mind. (The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-II, p.747)
2nd week Nichiren was like the lion king. This is
what the sutra means by "the power [of the Buddhas] that has the lion's
ferocity." (The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p.412)
3rd week A person of wisdom is not one who practices Buddhism apart from worldly
affairs but, rather, one who thoroughly
understands the principles by which the world
is governed. (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p.1121)
August 2009
1st week
Though a person may seem to have a very sound grasp of the Buddhism teachings,
if he does not understand how the
factors of time, capacity, country, and the proper sequence of propagation relate to the teachings, then although he may
labor in mind and body to put the teachings
into practice, he will achieve no success. (The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-II, p. 685)
2nd week Since you now appear certain to attain Buddhahood, perhaps the heavenly
devil and evil spirits are using illness to try to
intimidate you. Life in this world is
limited.Never be the least bit afraid.(The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin,p.1109)
3rd week Treating one's friends with courtesy means that, although one may encounter them ten or twenty times in the course of
a single day, one greets them courteously
as though they had traveled a thousand or two thousand miles to see one,
never showing them indifference. (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Vol-2,p.636)
4th week Even if a person of wisdom who embraces the correct teaching existed, how could he propagate it without lay believers
who supported him? (The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Vol-1 p. 752)
September 2009
1st week
Though a person may seem to have a very sound grasp of the Buddhism
teachings, if he does not understand how the
factors of time, capacity, country, and the proper sequence of propagation relate to the teachings, then although he may
labor in mind and body to put the teachings
into practice, he will achieve no success. (The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-II, p. 685)
2nd week It seems to me that on the path to attain Buddhahood it may invariably
be when one has done something like lay down
one's life that one becomes a Buddha. (The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p. 202)
3rd week Neither the pure land nor hell exists outside oneself; both lie only within one's own heart. Awakened to this, one is called
a Buddha; deluded about it, one is called an ordinary
person. (The Writings
of Nichiren Daishonin Volume-I, p. 456.)
4th week Since you now appear certain to attain Buddhahood,
perhaps the heavenly devil and evil spirits are using illness to try to
intimidate you. Life in this world is limited. Never be even the least bit afraid!
(The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume-I, p. 1109.)
5th week Faith means putting one's trust in the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, the Buddhas and bodhisattas of the ten
directions, and the heavenly gods and benevolent
deities, and chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo as a woman cherishes her
husband, as a man lays down his life for
his wife, as parents refuse to abandon their children, or as a child refuses
to leave
its mother. (The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume-I, p. 1036.)
October 2009
1st week
Those who believe in the Lotus Sutra are as if in winter, but winter always
turns to spring.
(The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume-I, p. 536.)
2nd week I am praying that, no matter how troubled
the times may become, the Lotus Sutra and the ten demon daughters
will
protect all of you, praying as earnestly
as though to produce fire from damp wood, or to obtain water from
parched ground.
(The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume-I, p. 444.)
3rd week Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to enjoy. Regard
both suffering and joy as facts of life, and continue
chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, no matter what
happens. (The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume-I, p. 681.)
4th week As for the votaries of the Lotus Sutra in
the Latter Day of the Law, the heavenly beings will surely guard and protect
them.
(The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume-I, p. 117.)
5th week Even a feeble person will not stumble if those supporting him are strong,
but a person of considerable strength,when alone,
may fall down on an uneven path. (The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 598)
November 2009
1st week
Though evils may be numerous, they cannot prevail over a single truth,
just as many raging fires are quenched by a single shower of
rain. This principle also holds true with Nichiren and his followers. (Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p.618)
2nd week The most important thing in practicing the Buddhist teachings is to follow
and uphold the Buddha's golden words, not the opinions
of others. (Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p.393)
3rd week In battles soldiers regard the general as
their soul. If the general were to lose heart, his soldiers would become
cowards.
(Writings
of Nichiren Daishonin, p.613)
4th week Always be determined to denounce slander
against the correct teaching to the best of your ability.
(The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume-I, p.626)
December 2009
1st week
You should understand from the above that even if one performs a good deed,should
it be an act of lesser good that
destroys great good, it will cause one to fall
into the evil paths.
(Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, p.79)
2nd week Misfortune comes from one’s mouth and ruins
one, but fortune comes from one’s heart and makes one worthy of respect.
(The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin p.1137)
3rd week Even if one is sincere, if the person to
whom one makes offerings is evil, those offerings will fail to produce
benefit; rather,
they will cause one to fall into the evil
paths. (The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p.1103)
4th week Even a feeble person will not stumble if
those supporting him are strong, but a person of considerable strength, when
alone,
may fall down on an uneven path. (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p.598)
5th week Evil friends will employ enticing words, deception and flattery and speak in a clever manner, thereby gaining control over
the minds of ignorant and uninformed people and destroying the good minds that are in them.
(The
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume II, p.221)
