Letter to Ko-no-ama Gozen

I have received three hundred mon of coins from the wife of Abutsu-bo. Since both of you are of the same mind, have someone read this letter to you and listen to it together.

I have also received the unlined summer robe you sent to me here in the recesses of this mountain in Hakiri Village, Kai Province, all the way from the province of Sado where you live. The Hosshi chapter in the fourth volume of the Lotus Sutra states: "If there is one who, in his quest for the Buddha Way, shall throughout one kalpa join his palms and in my presence praise me with countless verses, because of this praise of the Buddha he will gain immeasurable benefit. But one who praises the bearers of this sutra will have blessings surpassing even that." This means that the benefit of making offerings to a votary of the Lotus Sutra in the evil age of the Latter Day of the Law surpasses that of serving in all sincerity as noble a Buddha as Shakyamuni with one's body, mouth and mind for an entire medium kalpa. Although this may seem unbelievable, you should not doubt it, because such are the Buddha's golden words.

The Great Teacher Miao-lo further clarifies this passage from the sutra by saying, "If there is one who troubles [a preacher of the Dharma], then his head will be split into seven pieces; if there is one who makes offerings [to the preacher], his good fortune will surpass that of the ten honorable titles." In other words, the benefit of making offerings to a votary of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day of the Law exceeds that of making offerings to a Buddha endowed with the ten honorable titles. On the other hand, one who persecutes a votary of the Lotus Sutra in the impure age will have his head broken into seven pieces.

I, Nichiren, am the most extraordinary person in Japan. The reason I say so is this. The seven reigns of heavenly gods I will set aside, and the five reigns of earthly gods are beyond my knowledge, but throughout the ninety reigns from the time of the first human emperor Jimmu until the present, or during the more than seven hundred years since the reign of Emperor Kimmei [when Buddhism was introduced to this country], no one has ever been so universally hated as Nichiren on account of either secular or Buddhist matters. Mononobe no Moriya burnt down temples and pagodas, and Kiyomori Nyudo had Todai-ji and Kofuku-ji temples destroyed, but the people of their clans did not harbor hatred toward them. Masakado and Sadato rebelled against the imperial court, and the Great Teacher Dengyo incurred antagonism from the priests of the seven major temples of Nara, but these men were not hated by priests, nuns, laymen and laywomen throughout the whole of Japan. In my case, however, parents, brothers, teachers and fellow priests - every single person from the ruler on down to the common people - treat me as if I were their parents' enemy, and show me more hostility than if I were a rebel or a robber.

Thus, at times I have been vilified by several hundred people; and at other times, besieged by several thousands, I have been attacked with swords and staves. I have been driven from my residence and banished from my province. Finally I twice incurred the regent's displeasure, being exiled once to Izu Province and again to Sado Island. When I was banished to Sado in the northern sea, I had neither provisions to sustain me nor even clothes as coarse as those made of wisteria vines to cover my body. The people there, both priests and laity, hated me even more than did the men and women of Sagami Province. Abandoned in the wilderness and exposed to the snow, I sustained my life by eating grass.

I felt as though I were personally experiencing the sufferings of Su Wu, who survived by eating snow while living in captivity in the land of the northern barbarians for nineteen years, or of Li Ling, who was imprisoned in a rocky cave on the shore of the northern sea for six years. I underwent this ordeal not because of any fault of my own but solely because of my desire to save all the people of Japan.

However, while I was in exile there, you and your husband Ko Nyudo, avoiding the eyes of others, brought me food by night. You were ready to give your lives for my sake without fearing punishment from the provincial officials. Therefore, although life in Sado was harsh, I was loath to leave, feeling as if my heart were being left behind, and I seemed to be pulled back with each step I took.

I wonder what karmic bonds we formed in the past. Just when I was thinking how mysterious it was, you sent your most precious husband as your messenger to this distant place. I thought it must be a dream or an illusion. Even though I cannot see you, I am convinced that your heart remains here with me. Whenever you yearn for me, Nichiren, look toward the sun which rises in the morning and the moon which appears in the evening. I will invariably be reflected in the sun and the moon. In the next life, let us meet in the pure land of Eagle Peak. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

Nichiren
The sixteenth day of the sixth month

Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 4, page 139.


Pismo Ko-no-ami Gozen

Primio sam tri stotine mona kovanog novca od Abutsu-boove žene. Budući da ste oboje istih stavova, neka vam neko pročita ovo pismo i slušajte ga zajedno.

Takođe sam primio neobrađenu letnju odoru koju ste mi poslali ovde u zabiti ove planine u Hakiri Selu, u Kaj provinciji, čak iz provincije Sado gde živite. Hosši poglavlje četvrtog toma Lotos Sutre tvrdi: "Ako ima nekog ko će, u svom traganju za budinim putem, tokom jedne kalpe sklopiti dlanove i u mom prisustvu me hvaliti bezbrojnim stihovima, stoga što hvali Budu zadobiće neizmernu dobrobit. Ali onaj ko hvali donosioce ove sutre imaće blagoslove koji čak i to prevazilaze". To znači da dobrobit od ponuda pokloniku Lotos Sutre u zlom dobu Potonjeg Dana Zakona prevazilazi dobrobit služenja, u svoj iskrenosti, takvom jednom uzvišenom budi kao što je Šakjamuni, svojim telom, ustima i umom, tokom cele jedne srednje kalpe. Mada to može da izgleda neverovatno, ne treba da sumnjate u to, jer takve su zlatne reči Bude.

Veliki Učitelj Mijao-lo dalje razjašnjava taj odeljak iz sutre govoreći: "Ako neko dodijava [propovedniku Darme], njegova će glava biti razdvojena* na sedam delova; ako neko čini ponude [propovedniku], njegova dobra sreća će prevazići dobru sreću deset počasnih naziva". Drugim rečima, dobrobit od ponuda pokloniku Lotos Sutre u Potonjem Danu Zakona nadmašuje onu od ponuda nekom budi obdarenom sa deset počasnih naziva. S druge strane, onome ko proganja poklonika Lotos Sutre u nečistom dobu glava će biti razbijena na sedam delova.

Ja, Ničiren, sam najneobičnija osoba u Japanu. Razlog što kažem tako je ovaj. Sedam carstava nebeskih bogova ću ostaviti po strani, a pet carstava zemaljskih bogova su izvan mog znanja, ali s kraja na kraj devedeset carstava od vremena prvog ljudskog cara Đimua do sadašnjeg ili tokom više od sedam stotina godina od vladavine cara Kimeja (kada je budizam uveden u ovu zemlju), niko nije bio tako sveopšte omražen kao Ničiren u vezi sa bilo kojim stvarima, budističkim ili svetovnim. Mononobe no Morija je spaljivao hramove i pagode, a Kijomori Njudo je uništio Todaj-đi i Kofuku-đi hramove, ali ljudi iz njihovih klanova nisu gajili mržnju prema njima. Masakado i Sadato su se pobunili protiv carskog suda, a Veliki Učitelj Dengjo je navukao na sebe neprijateljstvo sveštenika iz sedam glavnih nara hramova, ali ti ljudi nisu bili omraženi od sveštenika, kaluđerica, laika i laikinja širom Japana. U mom slučaju, međutim, roditelji, braća, učitelji i drugari sveštenici – baš svaka osoba od vladara pa sve dole do običnih ljudi – postupaju sa mnom kao da sam bio neprijatelj njihovih roditelja i pokazuju prema meni više neprijateljstva nego da sam bio neki pobunjenik ili pljačkaš.

Tako, jednom me je oklevetalo nekoliko stotina ljudi; a jedan drugi put, opkoljen sa nekoliko hiljada, bio sam napadnut mačevima i toljagama. Bio sam isteran iz svoje kuće i prognan iz svoje provincije. Na kraju sam dva puta navukao na sebe regentovo nezadovoljstvo, bio izgnan jednom u provinciju Izu i još jednom na ostrvo Sado. Kada sam bio prognan na Sado u severnom moru, niti sam imao neku opskrbu da se potpomognem, niti čak neku grubu odeću kakvu prave od vinove loze da pokrijem telo. Ovdašnji ljudi, i sveštenici i laici, mrze me čak i više nego što su me mrzeli muškarci i žene iz provincije Sagami. Napušten u divljini i izložen snegu, održavao sam život jedući travu.

Osećao sam da sam lično iskusio patnje Su Vua, koji je preživeo jedući sneg tokom življenja u ropstvu u zemlji severnih varvara devetnaest godina, ili Li Linga, koji je bio utamničen u pećini u stenama na obali severnog mora šest godina. Podvrgao sam se tom iskušenju ne zbog neke svoje greške, već jedino zbog svoje želje da spasem sve ljude Japana.

Međutim, dok sam ovde bio u izgnanstvu, ti i tvoj muž Ko Njudo, daleko od očiju drugih, donosili ste mi noću hranu. Bili ste spremni da date svoje živote za mene bez strahovanja od kazne od strane provincijskih zvaničnika. Stoga, iako je život na Sadou bio neprijatan, bejah nerad da odem, osećajući kao da bi mi srce ostalo tamo i izgledalo mi je da bih bio povučen nazad sa svakim korakom koji bih učinio.

Čudim se kakve karmičke veze smo stvorili u prošlosti. Baš kad sam razmišljao kako je to bilo misteriozno, ti si poslala svog najmilijeg muža kao svog glasnika u ovo udaljeno mesto. Mislio sam da to mora biti neki san ili nekakva varka. Čak iako ne mogu da te vidim, ubeđen sam da tvoje srce ostaje ovde sa mnom. Kad god čezneš za mnom, Ničirenom, pogledaj prema suncu koje izlazi ujutro i prema mesecu koji se pojavljuje uveče. Ja ću biti nepromenjeno odsijavan u suncu i mesecu. U sledećem životu, neka se sretnemo u čistoj zemlji Orlovog Vrha. Nam-mjoho-renge-kjo.

Ničiren

Šesnaesti dan šestog meseca 


Preveo Mića Mijatović 07. oktobra, 1998.  u Beogradu
Izvor: Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 4, page 139.
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* Rascepljena
 


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