Passage 1: “Letter to Niike”
Be diligent in developing your faith until the last moment of your life. Otherwise you will have regrets. For example, the journey from Kamakura to Kyoto takes twelve days. If you travel for eleven but stop with only one day remaining, how can you admire the moon over the capital?
—The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 1027
Passage 2: “On Prayer”
We know that the prayers offered by a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra will be answered just as an echo answers a sound, as a shadow follows a form, as the reflection of the moon appears in clear water, as a mirror collects dewdrops, as a magnet attracts iron, as amber attracts particles of dust, or as a clear mirror reflects the color of an object.
Passage 3: “Reply to Kyo’o”
Muster your faith, and pray to this Gohonzon. Then what is there that cannot be achieved? There can be no doubt about the sutra passages that say, “This sutra can fulfill their desires, as a clear cool pond can satisfy all those who are thirsty,” and “They will enjoy peace and security in their present existence and good circumstances in future existences.”
The Spirit of Faith
The following is excerpted from A Foundation for Your Life, p. 149.
Taking faith in Nichiren Buddhism does not mean that all difficulties will disappear. Being alive means that we will have problems of one kind or another. But no matter what happens, it’s important that we remain firm in our hearts. The Mystic Law is the teaching of “earthly desires are enlightenment” and “the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana.”
As long as we have the spirit of faith to dedicate our lives to advancing kosen-rufu, everything that happens to us will become our benefit without fail. Though we may not realize it while it’s happening, gradually our lives enter a path where all wishes are fulfilled and we can honestly say, “Everything that I’ve gone through has really been for the best.”
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