TagOpening of the Eyes

Those who lead victorious lives, striving with a stand-alone spirit and steadfastly upholding the correct teaching, are free of the slightest doubt or regret. Their state of mind is like a clear, cloudless blue sky. “This I will state. Let the gods forsake me. Let all persecutions assail me. Still I will give my life

In “The Opening of the Eyes,” Nichiren Daishonin writes, “If there exists a votary of the Lotus Sutra, then the three types of enemies are bound to exist as well” (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 278). Persecution by the three powerful enemies—arrogant lay people, arrogant priests and arrogant false sages—arises in response

Kosen-rufu is a struggle to spread the Lotus Sutra so that all people in the evil age of the Latter Day of the Law can attain enlightenment. Obstacles and devilish forces of every imaginable kind are sure to assail the votaries of the Lotus Sutra who take up this challenge. In particular, the three powerful

The widespread propagation of the Mystic Law in the Latter Day—this is the great vow expressed in the Lotus Sutra, representing not only the individual wish of Shakyamuni but the shared aspiration of Many Treasures Thus Come One and all Buddhas and bodhisattvas throughout the ten directions and three existences. In the three pronouncements of

When he established his teaching in 1253, Nichiren Daishonin foresaw that great difficulties and obstacles would inevitably lie ahead of him. Nevertheless, he stood up as the votary of the Lotus Sutra, vowing to summon up “a powerful and unconquerable desire for the salvation of all beings and never to falter in [his] efforts” (“The

I, Nichiren, am the only person in all Japan who understands this [that the other Buddhist schools proffer slanderous teachings and cause people to fall into the evil paths of existence]. But if I utter so much as a word concerning it, then parents, brothers, and teachers will surely censure me, and the ruler of

Preface Religion is the pillar of humanity. Philosophy is the backbone of life. The Soka Gakkai has advanced based on the strength of its members’ solid grounding in Buddhist study, a pursuit that can be likened to the rigorous training of a master swordsman. Opening the pages of Nichiren Daishonin’s writings with the spirit of