Daimoku as the Seed of Buddhahood Chapter3
When I spoke out in this way, people felt hatred and rejected it, but the late Ueno believed and thus attained Buddhahood. You are all his kin and therefore I am certain you will be able to carry out this resolve. Is this not what is meant by the sayings that a mite clinging to a fleet horse flies a thousand miles, and that the ivy winding around the pine tree soars a thousand feet? Each of you possesses the same heart as the late Ueno.
A man who offered a mud pie to the Buddha was reborn as a king.1 Because the Lotus Sutra is a teaching superior to the Buddha, having made offerings to it, how could you possibly fail to both enjoy benefit in this lifetime and attain Buddhahood in the next?
Moreover, since you are poor, you have no servants. There are obstacles at mountains and rivers. Even if you have a firm resolve, it may be difficult to act upon. But judging from the resolve you are displaying now, I see that yours is hardly ordinary. There can be no doubt that the ten demon daughters of the Lotus Sutra will protect you. How reassuring it is to think so! It is impossible to say all that I wish.
With my deep respect,
Nichiren
The first day of the eleventh month in the first year of Kōan [1278]
Reply to Kurō Tarō
Background
Nichiren Daishonin wrote this letter on the first day of the eleventh month in 1278 at Minobu to Kurō Tarō, a believer who is thought to have been a relative of Nanjō Tokimitsu. After thanking Tarō for his offerings to the Lotus Sutra，the Daishonin laments that now that 2,220 and more years have passed since the Buddha’s extinction, the latter age has begun and men of wisdom have gradually diminished in numbers. Foolish people predominate and reject the Daishonin’s message that Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the seed of Buddhahood. But the late Ueno, or Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō, the father of Nanjō Tokimitsu, believed it and thus attained Buddhahood. The Daishonin praises his kin, including Tarō, and says that they possess the same heart as Hyōe Shichirō. He tells Tarō that his resolve to bring offerings despite his limited means and the rigors of the journey to Minobu ensures that he too will enjoy benefit, gain the protection of the ten demon daughters, and attain Buddhahood.
Notes
1. This refers to the boy Virtue Victorious, who offered a mud pie to Shakyamuni Buddha. According to The Story of King Ashoka, as a result of this offering, Virtue Victorious was later reborn as King Ashoka.