Letter to the Samurai Kingo

I have received the various articles from your messenger, including a white winter robe and a string of coins, as well as the goods mentioned in Lord Toki's letter. The persimmons, pears, and fresh and dried seaweed are particularly welcome.

I am most grieved over your lord's illness. Although he has not professed faith in the Lotus Sutra, you are a member of his clan, and it is thanks to his consideration that you are able to make offerings to the sutra. Therefore all of your gifts are in effect prayers for your lord's recovery. Think of a small tree under a large one, or grass by a great river Though they do not receive rain or water directly, they nonetheless shrive, partaking of dew from the large tree or drawing moisture from the river. The same holds true with the relationship between you and your lord. To give another example, King Ajatasatru was an enemy of the Buddha. But because Jivaka, a minister in the king's court, believed in the Buddha and continually made offerings to him, the blessings accruing from his actions are said to have returned to Ajatasatru.

Buddhism teaches that when the Buddha nature manifests itself from within, it will obtain protection from without. This is one of its fundamental principles. The Lotus Sutra says, "I deeply respect you." The Nirvana Sutra states "All living things possess the Buddha nature." Asvaghosa's Daijo Kishin Ron says, "When the Buddha nature continuously manifests itself, it will quickly extinguish illusions and reveal the Law body." Bodhisattva Maitreya's Yuga Ron contains a similar statement. An inconspicuous deed will produce a conspicuous benefit.

The Devil of the Sixth Heaven probably knew the aforementioned principle, and he therefore possessed your colleagues, causing them to invent that preposterous lie in order to prevent you from making offerings to the Lotus Sutra. However, since your faith is profound, the Ten Goddesses must have come to your aid and thus caused your lord's illness. He does not regard you as his enemy, but since he once acted against you in giving credit to the false accusations of your colleagues, he has become seriously ill and the malady persists.

Ryuzo-bo, whom these people count on as their pillar of strength, has already been toppled, and those who spoke falsely of you have contracted the same disease as your lord. Ryokan is even more slanderous than they. He will probably encounter some bad accident, or stir up major trouble and find himself in serious distress. Surely he will not escape unharmed.

As things stand now, I have a feeling you are in danger. Your enemies are sure to make an attempt on your life. In backgammon, if two stones of the same color are placed side by side, they cannot be hit by an opposing stone. A cart, as long as it has two wheels, does not lurch all over the road. Likewise, if two men go together, an enemy will hesitate to attack. Therefore, no matter what faults you may find with your younger brothers, do not let them leave you alone even for a moment.

Your face bears definite signs of a hot temper. But you should know that the gods will not protect a short-tempered person, no matter how important they may think he is. If you should be killed, even though you might attain Buddhahood after your death, your enemies would be delighted, but we would feel only grief. This would indeed he regrettable. While your foes busy themselves plotting against you, your lord places greater confidence in you than before. Therefore, although they appear to have quieted down, inwardly they are no doubt seething with hate. So you should at all times behave unobtrusively in their presence. Pay greater respect to the other retainers of the clan than you have in the past. For the time being, when members of the Hojo clan are visiting your lord, refrain from calling on him, even if he should summon you.

If the worst should happen and your lord should die, your enemies would become masterless and would have nowhere to turn, though they do not seem to consider that fact. Unreasoning as they are, when they see you report to work more and more frequently, their hearts are bound to be fired with jealousy and their breath come in pants.

If the young nobles of the Hojo clan or the wives of those in power should inquire about your lord's illness, no matter who the person may be, get down on your knees, place your hands properly, and reply thus: "His malady is entirely beyond my poor skill to cure. But no matter how often I decline, he insists that I treat him. Since I am in his service, I cannot help but do as he says." Leave your hair untended, and refrain from wearing well-starched court dress, bright robes, or other colorful clothing. Be patient and continue in this way for the time being.

Perhaps you are well aware of it, but let me cite the Buddha's prediction about what the Latter Day of the Law will be like. In essence he states, "It will be a chaotic age in which even a sage will find it difficult to live. He will be like a stone in a great fire, which for a while seems to endure the heat but finally chars and crumbles to ashes. Worthy men will advocate the five great principles of humanity, but they themselves will find it hard to practice them." Thus the saying goes, "Do not remain in the seat of honor too long."

Many people have plotted to undo you, but you have avoided their intrigues and emerged victorious. Should you lose your composure now and fall into their trap, you will be, as people say, like a boatman who rows his boat with all his might only to have it capsize just before he reaches the shore, or like a person who is served no tea at the end of his meal.

While you are in your lord's mansion, if you stay in the room assigned to you, nothing will happen to you. But on your way to work at dawn or retuning from it at dusk, your enemies are bound to be lying in wait for you. Also, be very careful in and around your house in case someone should be hiding beside the double doors, inside the family sanctuary, under the floor, or in the space above the ceiling. This time your foes will use even more cunning in their plots than before. In the end, no one will be more dependable in an emergency than the night watchmen of Egara in Kamakura. However disagreeable it may be to you, you should associate with them amicably.

Minamoto no Yoshitsune found it utterly impossible to defeat the Heike until he won Shigeyoshi over to his side and in that way vanquished the rival clan. Shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo sought to take revenge on Osada for his father's death, but he would not behead the murderer until after he had conquered the Heike. It is even more vital for you to master your emotions and ally yourself with your four brothers. They had risked their lives to acquire their mansions, and these were confiscated by their lord because of their faith in the Lotus Sutra and because of their belief in Nichiren. Be considerate of those who believe in Nichiren and the Lotus Sutra, no matter what they may have done in the past. Moreover, if they frequent your house, your enemies will be afraid to attack you at night. It is not as if they were trying to avenge their fathers' deaths; certainly they do not want their plot to come out into the open. To one such as you who must avoid being seen, these four are the most dependable warriors. Always maintain friendly relations with them. But since you are hot-tempered by nature, you might not take my advice. In that case, it will be beyond the power of my prayers to save you.

Ryuzo-bo and your elder brother plotted evil against you. Therefore, Heaven so contrived that the situation would develop exactly as you wished. Then how can you now dare to go against the wish of Heaven? Even if you had accumulated a thousand or ten thousand treasures, of what use would they be if your lord should forsake you? He already looks to you as if you were his own parent, following you as water follows the shape of its container, longing for you as a calf longs for its mother, relying on you as an elderly person relies on his staff. Is his regard for you not due to the aid of the Lotus Sutra? How envious your fellow retainers must be! You must hurry and bring your tour brothers over to your side and report to me how the matter goes. Then I will fervently pray to the gods for your protection. I have already informed them of how deeply you grieve over the death of your father and mother. Shakyamuni Buddha will surely extend them his especial consideration.

Over and over I recall the moment, unforgettable even now, when I was going to be beheaded, you cried and wept, holding the bridle of my horse. How can I forget it as long as I live? If you should fall to hell because of your sins, I would not enter the heaven of Shakyamuni Buddha, no matter how he might invite me to Buddhahood, but I would go to hell with you. If I and you were in hell, Shakyamuni and the Scripture would surely be there. It would be like the moon illuminating the darkness, like cold water pouring into hot, like fire melting ice, or like the sun dispelling the darkness. But if you depart from my advice even slightly, then do not blame me for what may happen.

The plague which is raging at present will, as you predict, strike those in the higher ranks of society at the turn of the year. This is perhaps the design of the Ten Goddesses. For the time being stay calm and observe how things develop. And do not go around lamenting to others how hard it is for you to live in this world. To do so is an act utterly unbecoming to a worthy man. If one behaves in this way, then after he dies, his wife, overcome with sorrow at losing her husband, will tell other people about the shameful things he did, though she has no real intention of doing so. And that will in no way be her fault but solely the result of his own reprehensible behavior.

It is rare to be born a human being. The number of those endowed with human life is as small as the amount of earth one can place on a fingernail. Life as a human being is hard to sustain--as hard as it is for the dew to remain on the grass. But it is better to live a single day with honor than to live to one hundred and twenty and die in disgrace. Live so that all the people of Kamakura will say in your praise that Shijo Kingo is diligent in the service of his lord, in the service of Buddhism, and in his concern for other people. More valuable than treasures in a storehouse are the treasures of the body, and the treasures of the heart are the most valuable of all. From the time you read this letter on, strive to accumulate the treasures of the heart!

I would like to relate an incident that is customarily kept secret. In the history of Japan, there have been two emperors who were assassinated. One of them was the thirty-third emperor Sushun. He was the son of Emperor Kimmei and an uncle of Prince Shotoku. One day he summoned Prince Shotoku and said, "We hear that you are a mall of unsurpassed wisdom. Examine Our physiognomy and tell Us what you see there! "The prince declined three times, but the emperor insisted that he obey the Imperial command. Finally, no longer able to refuse, the prince reverently examined Sushun's physiognomy and then reported, "Your Majesty's countenance indicates that you will be assassinated by someone."

The emperor's complexion changed color. "What evidence do you have to support such a contention?" he asked. The prince replied, I see red veins running over your eyes. This is a sign that you will incur the enmity of others. "Thereupon the emperor asked, "How can We escape this fate?" The prince said, "It is difficult to evade. But there are soldiers known as the five great principles of humanity. As long as you keep these warriors on your side, you will be safe from danger. In the Buddhist scriptures these soldiers are referred to as 'forbearance,' one of the six paramitas."

For some time after that, Emperor Sushun faithfully observed the practice of forbearance. But, being irascible by nature, he violated the precept one day when one of his subjects presented him with a young wild boar. He withdrew the metal rod that was attached to his sword scabbard and stabbed the boar in the eyes with it, saying, " One of these days this is what We will do to that fellow We hate!" Prince Shotoku, who happened to be present, exclaimed, "Ah, what a fearful thing to do! Your Majesty will surely arouse the enmity of others. These very words you have spoken will be the sword that wounds you. "The prince then ordered articles of value to be brought out and divided among those who had heard the emperor's remark, [hoping to buy their silence]. One of them, however, told the high minister Soga no Umako about the episode. Umako believing that he was the one the emperor hated, won over Atai Goma, son of Azumanoaya no Atai Iwai, and had him kill the emperor.

Thus even a ruler on a throne must take care not to give unreserved expression to his thoughts. Confucius held to the proverb "Nine thoughts to one word," which means that he reconsidered nine times before he spoke. Tan, the Duke of Chou, was so earnest in receiving callers that he would bind up his hair three times in the course of washing it, or spit out his food three times in the course of a meal, in order not to keep them waiting. Think carefully about what I mean by this so you will have no cause to reproach me later. Such thoughtfulness is surely a part of Buddhism.

The key to all of Shakyamuni's teachings is the Lotus Sutra, and the key to the practice of the Lotus Sutra is expounded in the Fukyo chapter. What does Bodhisattva Fukyo's profound respect for people signify? The real meaning of the Lord Shakyamuni Buddha's appearance in this world lay in his behavior as a human being. How profound! The wise may be called human, but the thoughtless are no more than animals.

Nichiren

The eleventh day of the ninth month in the' third year of Kenji (1277)

[The text is based on "41. Three Kinds of Treasure" (Sanshu no Zaiho Gosho) in Letters of Nichiren (edited by Philip Yampolsky, copyrighted by NSIC and Soka Gakkai in 1996), pp. 331-7. It is more frequently referred to as Sushun Tenno Gosho (The Story of Emperor Sushun).]