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The Third Day of the New Year

BACKGROUND:

This letter was written at Minobu on the eleventh day of the first month in 1280, when the Daishonin was fifty-nine years old. It was addressed to Nanjo Tokimitsu, also known as Lord Ueno. The letter is a reply to the offerings Tokimitsu sent to the Daishonin to mark the third day of the new year.

At that time, the furor surrounding the Atsuhara Persecution, which had taken place a few months earlier, had not yet died down. Tokimitsu, who had wholeheartedly protected the Law and sheltered believers during the persecution, was assessed an unreasonably heavy tax by the government. As a result he was compelled to live very frugally. Despite these circumstances, he again made the same sincere donation to the Daishonin that he had made in previous years.

In the letter, the Daishonin assures Tokimitsu that the good causes he is making through his sincere dedication to Buddhist practice will certainly bring him great benefit. Noting that Tokimitsu had also sent gifts commemorating the first day of the year, and that the sincerity of his donation for the third day was even deeper, the Daishonin praises his follower for his earnest demonstration of faith.

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