[SGI-ToMyFriends-Wagatomo] 11th April 2013 To My Friends and Daily Gosho + 12th April 2013 Daily Enc.

A translation of President Ikeda's "To My Friends"
published in the Seikyo Shimbun and more.

Thursday, April 11th, 2013
-- TO MY FRIENDS --
Buddhism teaches the principle of Cherry, Plum, Peach and Damson.*
Let's live true to our unique selves
and fully blossom in our individual missions.
I hope that each one of us, without exception,
can shine on the stage of our life's play
standing out as an indomitable hero or heroin!

* Gosho: (Ongi kuden - Gosho Zenshu, page 784, The Record of the
Orally Transmitted Teachings, page 200) "When one comes to realise and
see that each thing--the cherry, the plum, the peach, the damson--in
its own entity, without undergoing any change, possesses the eternally
endowed three bodies, then this is what is meant by the word ryo 'to
include' or all-inclusive."

Thursday, April 11th, 2013
--- DAILY GOSHO ---
"More valuable than treasures in a storehouse are the treasures of the
body, and the treasures of the heart are the most valuable of all.
From the time you read this letter on, strive to accumulate the
treasures of the heart!"

(The Three Kinds of Treasure - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin,
Vol.1, page 851). Selection source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shimbun, April 11th, 2013

Friday, April 12th, 2013
---- DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT ----
"Though we speak of the three obstacles and four devils appearing, no one wishes to have to face adversity. That is surely a natural human reaction. But Nichiren Daishonin says that the appearance of the three obstacles and four devils is a source of joy. How could that be? It doesn't seem possible. But it is, in fact, by overcoming the steep hills and inclines of obstacles that we can forge our lives and ascend the summit of Buddhahood, where we can savour the sublime vista of eternity, happiness, true self, and purity.[1]

" My mentor, second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda, often spoke about the three obstacles and four devils. He said they represented the valleys of training and development that lie in between the hills of benefit that we climb on the way to scaling the highest mountain of Buddhahood.[2]

"The important thing is how we approach the three obstacles and four devils. We need to 'own' them, to look at them as something we ourselves have summoned up. It may seem that we are being assailed by the three obstacles and four devils, but the true reality is just the opposite. Because we have voluntarily set ourselves to the task of climbing the peak of Buddhahood, they have arisen. The fact that we encounter these obstacles and devilish functions is proof that we are upholding the correct teaching and advancing in the right direction. We are in charge; we are the protagonists. The three obstacles and four devils are a trial we must surmount in order to attain lasting happiness imbued with the noble virtues of Buddhahood. When we achieve that awareness, then the struggle against the three obstacles and four devils is indeed a great joy."

SGI Newsletter No. 8746, Learning from the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin: The Teachings for Victory [46] "The Three Obstacles and Four Devils." "The Wise Will Rejoice!"—Let's Achieve Eternal Victory through Undefeated Buddhist Practice, from the November 2012 issue of the Daibyakurenge, translated 8th April 2013

[1] Eternity, happiness, true self, and purity are known as the four virtues. Describing the noble qualities of the Buddha's life, the four are explained as follows: "eternity" means unchanging and eternal; "happiness" means tranquillity that transcends all suffering; "true self" means true and intrinsic nature; and "purity" means free of illusion or mistaken conduct.
[2] Mr. Toda once said: "In making the ascent from a low-lying mountain to a high mountain, you will inevitably have to pass through valleys in between. . . . If attaining Buddhahood is compared to reaching the summit of the highest mountain, then the benefit you receive upon first taking faith corresponds merely to scaling a low-lying mountain. Attaining Buddhahood means scaling a far higher mountain. It is vital that you don't lose your way in the valleys you pass through on your journey. These are valleys where the three obstacles and four devils vie with one another to attack. You mustn't become drunk on the benefit that you receive upon first taking faith. You mustn't become remiss in your daily Buddhist practice, but always remember that the purpose of faith is to climb out of these valleys." [Translated from Japanese. Josei Toda, Toda Josei Zenshu (Collected Writings of Josei Toda), (Tokyo: Seikyo Shimbunsha, 1983), vol. 3, pp. 444–45.]

* The Japanese kanji is available by clicking on Seikyo Shinbun's web-
site address at http://www.seikyoonline.jp/news/index.html

--WAGATOMO NI OKURU--
BUPPO WA [OBAITORI].
JIBUN RASHIKU IKIIKI TO
SHIMEI NO HANA O SAKASEYO!
ZENNIN GA JINSEI NO GEKI NO
FUKUTU NO MEIYU TO KAGAYAKE!

-- KYO NO GOSHO --
"KURA NO TAKARA YORIMO MINO TAKARA SUGURETARI MINO TAKARA YORI KOKORO
NO TAKARA DAIICHI NARI KONO ONFUMI O GORAN ARAN YORIWA KOKORO NO
TAKARA O TSUMASE TAMAUBESHI"
(Gosho Zenshu, page 1173)


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