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Brief Guidances

Deepest Gratitude for All Our Dedicated Medical and Healthcare Professionals

SAN JOSE, CA - JULY 22: Nephrologist Padma Yarlagadda, left, speaks with dialysis nurses, Aurea Tabilas, center, and Fan Jin, right, at the dialysis unit at Regional Medical Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, July 22, 2020. On June 22, the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid released new data showing that dialysis patients had the highest rate of hospitalization among all Medicare beneficiaries with COVID-19, were more likely to have COVID-19 linked complications such as diabetes and heart failure, and were largely African-American. Recent research has also shown kidney failure as a potential complication from serious coronavirus cases. Those undergoing regular dialysis treatment are highly susceptible to infection. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
San Francisco Chronicle/Hearts Newspapers / Getty Images

Since taking [the good medicine you sent], my complaint [affliction] has diminished steadily and is now a mere one-hundredth fraction of its former intensity. I wonder if Shakyamuni Buddha has entered into your body to help me, or perhaps the Bodhisattvas of the Earth have bestowed upon me the good medicine of Myoho-renge-kyo.

“The Two Kinds of Illness,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 920


Nichiren Daishonin here expresses his deep gratitude to Shijo Kingo, an accomplished physician. Medical care is a sacred endeavor rooted in the spirit of compassion.

Our Doctors Division members and, indeed, all our dedicated medical and healthcare professionals strive day and night to save lives and restore health and vitality to those who are ill. They truly embody the spirit of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Nichiren is surely aware of all their noble, dedicated efforts.

Basing your lives on the Mystic Law and taking utmost care of your own health as well, summon forth powerful life force to win in your battles with the devil of illness.

Just like Kingo and his wife, Nichigen-nyo, may your lives shine with victory in accord with the principle that “unseen virtue brings about visible reward” (“The Farther the Source, the Longer the Stream,” WND-1, 940).

From the Sept. 15 issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper

Attaining the Same Enlightened Life State as the Buddha

Adversity Enables Us to Shine