SGI-USA Study Curriculum

Learning from the Gosho: The Eternal Teachings of Nichiren Daishonin
by SGI President Ikeda

Lecture 3 - The Izu Exile (1)

Appreciation Is the Well Spring of Humanity

Appreciation is what makes people truly human. The Japanese word for thankful (arigatai) originally indicated a rare or unusual condition, and later came to denote a sense of joyful appreciation at an uncommon occurrence.

Having a spirit of appreciation for someone from whose actions one benefits, a sense that "this is the rarest and noblest thing," produces in one's heart a feeling of pride and self-esteem: "I am worthy of receiving such goodness." It provides one with spiritual support to go on living.

I once heard an episode involving a young man on the verge of committing suicide. Someone trying to dissuade him from this course suggested that he first write letters to everyone to whom he owed thanks. When the youth thought about all the people he ought to write and realized how many had supported and helped him along the way, the power to go on living welled up within him.

A spirit of gratitude strengthens and elevates our lives. By contrast, the arrogance of taking for granted the favors and help we have been fortunate enough to receive can make us mean and base-qualities, I fear, that could be said to characterize the Japanese today.

The Gosho we will now study (1) is a letter of appreciation that Nichiren Daishonin, the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, sent to the fisherman Funamori Yasaburo and his wife, whom he had met at his place of exile in Izu. He goes so far as to suggest that they are reincarnations of Shakyamuni --- who appeared in order to help him. The Daishonin was a person of the greatest appreciation and humanism.

I have received rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves, sake, dried rice, peppers, paper and other items from the messenger whom you took the trouble of sending. He also conveyed your message that this offering should be kept secret. I understand.

On the twelfth day of the fifth month, having been exiled, I arrived at the harbor. (2) When I left the boat, still in suffering, and even before learning your name, you kindly took me into your care. What destiny brought us together? You might have been a votary of the Lotus Sutra in times past. Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, you were born as Funamori Yasaburo to take pity on me. Being a man, it was perhaps natural for you to act as you did, but your wife might have been less inclined to help me. Nevertheless, she gave me food, brought me water to wash my hands and feet and treated me with great concern. It is beyond me to fathom [this karmic relationship]; I can only describe it as wondrous.

What caused you to believe in the Lotus Sutra and to make offerings to me during my more than thirty-day stay there? (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 2 [2nd ed.], p. 54)

At the beginning, the Daishonin lists all the items he has received as offerings. He replies from the heart to the sincerity with which each item is imbued. He takes not even a single piece of wrapping paper for granted. This is the Buddha's spirit.

Again, regarding the message from the couple, who were anxious about the Daishonin's safety, he tells them, "I have received the message, and I understand." One can almost hear the Daishonin's gentle voice. In just the first few lines of the letter, he puts their minds at ease and completely embraces them in his compassion.

On May 12, 1261, Nichiren Daishonin was exiled to Izu as a criminal, It appears he was transported there aboard a small vessel escorted by just a few officers and oarsmen. It is believed that they set out from Kamakura harbor in the morning and neared the shore of Ito late in the day. The boat, bound for Ito Harbor, drifted ashore in the harbor at Kawana, a short distance from Ito.

The Daishonin was no doubt exhausted from the long journey, and may also have been seasick. The fisherman Funamori Yasaburo came to the Daishonin's aid when he landed on the beach in his much beleaguered state.

For the next month, Yasaburo and his wife are said to have looked after the Daishonin, who subsequently went to the residence of the steward of the district, Ito Hachiro Zaemon. Yasaburo and his wife, with unwavering sincerity, secretly sent offerings there for the Daishonin. This Gosho is his letter of thanks.

Yasaburo and his wife may simply have been pure-hearted people who could not turn away when they saw someone having difficulties. Even so, the Daishonin's having encountered such benevolent people in his place of exile is extraordinary, and he expresses surprise.

Yasaburo and his wife were no doubt moved by the Daishonin's words. They probably thought to themselves in wonderment: "So in a past life we were votaries of the Lotus Sutra. And we have been living in this place in order to fulfill the promise we made then."

One can imagine them, having newly awakened to faith in the Lotus Sutra, smiling and discussing their sense of inspiration.

I was hated and resented by the steward and people of the district even more than I was in Kamakura. Those who saw me scowled, while those who merely heard my name were filled with spite. And yet, though I was there in the fifth month when rice was scarce, you secretly fed me. It would almost seem as though my parents had been reborn in Kawana close to Ito in Izu Province. (MW-2 [2nd ed.], 54-55)

All his life, the Daishonin was hounded by the bad name pinned to him by jealous people. But while the calumny was severe in Kamakura, he also had many followers there who knew the truth about him. Throughout Kamakura, the Daishonin's followers probably conducted a campaign of dialogue, telling people: "The priest Nichiren that I know is not the kind of person they say. There is no one more upright and gentle."

But in Izu he had neither disciples nor allies. So, when the Daishonin arrived there, having been made out to be a criminal by the authorities, malicious rumors spread uncontested. The villagers feared and hated the "evil priest" who had fallen in among them. Doubtless some thought to themselves that if they came upon the Daishonin they would do him in.

When the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai (3) was suppressed by the authorities more than 50 years ago, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, Josei Toda and their families were also, in Mr. Toda's words, "condemned by the entire populace as enemies of the nation." (4)

Yasaburo and his wife were not misled by the rumors about the Daishonin. They observed his character with their own eyes and bravely protected him, becoming his shield.

Not only that, but at a time of year when rice was scarce, they prepared rice for the Daishonin and otherwise exerted themselves on his behalf with the utmost sincerity. The fifth month of the old lunar calendar, when this letter was written, probably fell within the rainy season. Moreover, the topography of the Izu area greatly limits the amount of land that can be cultivated.

Yasaburo may have had to go fishing more often than usual and his wife must have had to scrimp to make ends meet. The Daishonin was aware of all of their efforts. With his one comment acknowledging that rice must have been very scarce, the weight of their painstaking toils must have instantly lightened.

As Buddhists, we need to be sensitive to other people's situations, to put out the "antennas of the heart," as it were. Such concern and sensitivity, which the Daishonin teaches here through his own example, is an essential part of the makeup of a Buddhist.

In this regard alone, it is plain that the members of the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood today, in their decadent conduct, are the exact opposite of the Daishonin. The opposite of the Buddha is the devil, the enemy of the Buddha. Nichiren Daishonin could not possibly condone the priesthood now, which has trampled on the sincere offerings that people have made by the sweat of. their brows.

Even while the Daishonin was with them, Yasaburo and his wife were no doubt time and again impressed by his delicate sensitivity. Their hearts must have brimmed with joy at the sincerity of the Daishonin, who responded to their kindness with heartfelt gratitude.

Even under the most adverse circumstances, the Daishonin always created allies through his conduct. Such a drama unfolded even in the Tatsunokuchi Persecution, when the military government, having failed to behead the Daishonin, had him taken to the residence of Lord Homma Rokuro Zaemon in Echi. There, the Daishonin ordered sake for the officers who had accompanied him from Kamakura and commended them on their labors through the night. Who has ever heard of a prisoner praising his arresting officers? And in this case, only a little while earlier the officers had been trying to have him beheaded.

Some had hated the Daishonin for many years. But his complete composure won him friends even among such people. Some wound up throwing down their Nembutsu beads and swearing to follow him.

Ultimately, Buddhism comes down to the person. I did not wait to place my trust in President Toda until I had learned about the Daishonin's teachings. Rather, I came to trust Buddhism because I first believed in the person, Josei Toda.

Become Yasaburos of the Present Age

Incidentally, Kawana was a small village, and word of the Daishonin's arrival there must have spread quickly. But there was no great commotion. This was perhaps because Yasaburo had gained the trust and respect of the residents of the fishing village. Here again, the person was the all-important factor.

The Daishonin was always protected by the power of the people. Kosen-rufu is shouldered by ordinary people of sincerity, not by some faction of clever elites.

I hope men's division members, in particular, will become modern Funamori Yasaburos, commanding solid trust and credibility in their communities, and staunchly protecting the precious children of the Buddha who are advancing the work of kosen-rufu.

SGI Members Are Carrying Out the Work of the Buddhist Gods

The fourth volume of the Lotus Sutra states, "[If after I (Shakyamuni) have entered extinction there are those who can expound this sutra, I will send....monks and nuns and] men and women of pure faith, to offer alms to the teachers of the Law" (LS10, 168). The meaning of this passage is that the heavenly gods and benevolent deities will assume various forms such as men and women and present offerings to help one who practices the Lotus Sutra. There can be no doubt that you and your wife were born as just such a man and woman of pure faith and now make offerings to the teacher of the Law, Nichiren.

Since I wrote to you in detail earlier, I will make this letter brief. (MW-2 [2nd ed.], 55)

Here, citing a passage from "The Teacher of the Law" (10th) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the Daishonin praises Yasaburo and his wife as Buddhist gods. The "teacher of the Law" indicates Nichiren Daishonin specifically, but in a general sense it also applies to his followers, to each of us who practice and spread the Mystic Law. And the Daishonin says that the Buddhist gods assume a variety of forms in protecting us.

Buddhism is not abstract theory; concepts such as the Buddhist gods have concrete and immediate application to our everyday lives.

Our fellow members function as Buddhist gods for us, and so should be highly treasured and appreciated. Whenever we are suffering, whether due to sickness, accidents, natural disasters or some other cause, they come running straight away to offer encouragement. And when we have cause to rejoice, they join us in celebration. They pray to the Gohonzon with us, are always ready to discuss things, and join us in taking action. Isn't all this the work of our fellow SGI members? To have such friends is certainly a most rare good fortune.

One scholar says admiringly of the SGI "In a world where people are indifferent to the plight of others, it's amazing to see people interacting so harmoniously."

Truly, as the saying goes, it is in times of need that we know our friends. The SGI is a wonderful gathering of good friends. Where else can such a rich world of mutual protection and encouragement --- such a golden palace of the people --- be found?

The Daishonin says that incalculable Buddhas, Bodhisattva Superior Practices (Jpn Jogyo) and the other Bodhisattvas of the Earth, the bodhisattvas of the provisional teachings, King Brahma (Bonten), the gods of the sun and moon, the major and minor deities and all Buddhist gods protect those who firmly and wholeheartedly believe in the Lotus Sutra, watching over them just as the shadow follows the body (Gosho Zenshu, p. 1528).

In light of the Gosho, SGI members are precious and noble beings who carry out the work of all Buddhas, bodhisattvas and Buddhist gods. Therefore, let us by all means treasure our fellow members. Let us carry through with faith --- full of gratitude for our profound and mystic connections with one another.

Notes:

l. "Funamori Yasaburo Moto Gosho" (Gosho Zenshu, pp. 1445-46), written in June 1261 when the Daishonin was 40. Editor's note: For purposes of internal consistency, in the text of the Gosho there may occasionally be slight discrepancies with previously published translations.
2. At Kawana, a fishing village on the northeastern coast of Izu Peninsula.
3. Soka Kyoiku Gakkai (Society for Value Creating Education), predecessor of the Soka Gakkai.
4. From the essay "History and Conviction of the Soka Gakkai."

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