On the Meritorious Act of Filial Devotion Chapter2

On the Meritorious Act of Filial Devotion Chapter2

Background

The great monarch named King Ashoka ruled over nearly the whole continent of Jambudvīpa, where the sun shines down. In a past existence, when the king was a boy of five named Virtue Victorious, he presented a mud pie to Shakyamuni Buddha as an offering. Because of this, he was reborn as a great king. This little boy had no profound motive in what he did but acted in a spirit of play. But because the Buddha is so venerable a being, from this one trifling act the boy was able to receive such a splendid reward. The Lotus Sutra is superior to the Buddha in venerability, as the moon in its light surpasses the stars or the sun surpasses a lamp. Your motive in sending these gifts far surpasses that of the boy Virtue Victorious.

 

Background

The year of this letter is not indicated, but it is thought to have been written in 1279. This is because there is a similar reference to farm work and the construction of a shrine in another letter written in the same month of 1279. Entitled The Unmatched Blessings of the Law and addressed to the lay priest Nishiyama, it says, “Moreover, at the present time, because of farm work and the building of the shrine, people have no spare time” (I, p. 974). The shrine mentioned in these letters is thought to be Fuji Sengen Shrine.

The lay nun of Kubo was a widow who lived with her young daughter at Kubo in Fuji District of Suruga Province. Little is known about her, but one explanation identifies her as the wife of the lay priest Takahashi Rokurō Hyōe, who died of an illness. From the contents of the several letters addressed to the lay nun, she appears to have been a believer of pure faith who frequently sent offerings to the Daishonin.

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