Activating Protective Functions

“That is why the Great Teacher Miao-lo stated, ‘The stronger one’s faith, the greater the protection of the gods.’ So long as one maintains firm faith, one is certain to receive the great protection of the gods. I say this for your sake. I know your faith has always been admirable, but now you must strengthen it more than ever. Only then will the ten demon daughters lend you even greater protection.” (“The Supremacy of the Law,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 614)

Ikeda Sensei’s Guidance

Citing a passage from the Great Teacher Miao-lo, Nichiren Daishonin emphasizes that those with firm faith in the Mystic Law are certain to be protected by the Buddhist gods. This is an assurance that the protective forces of the universe will safeguard all who devote themselves to kosen-rufu with unshakable commitment. …

He urges [Nichimyo] to strengthen her faith even more in order to teach her a cornerstone of Buddhist practice. This, in other words, is the spirit of always moving forward and continually growing—further today than yesterday, further tomorrow than today.

Nichiren Buddhism teaches the mystic principle of the true cause—meaning that a fresh cause can be made at each moment—and emphasizes the present and the future. No matter how admirably we may have exerted ourselves in our Buddhist practice in the past, if we allow our efforts to grind to a halt in the present, we will eventually stop growing in faith. As the saying goes, “Not advancing is regressing.” …