Courageous Offerings

I once heard about a story of a young man on the verge of committing suicide. Someone trying to dissuade him suggested that he first write letters to everyone to whom he owed thanks. When the youth thought about all the people he ought to write and realized how many had supported and helped him along the way, the power to go on living welled up within him.

A spirit of gratitude strengthens and elevates our lives. By contrast, the arrogance to take for granted the favors and help we have been fortunate enough to receive can make us mean and base—qualities, I fear, that could be said to characterize the Japanese today.

The letter we will now study is a one of appreciation that Nichiren Daishonin sent to the fisherman Funamori Yasaburo and his wife, whom he had met at his place of exile in Izu. He goes so far as to suggest that they are reincarnations of Shakyamuni who appeared in order to help him. Nichiren was a person of the greatest appreciation and humanism.

I have received the rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves, sake, dried rice, peppers, paper, and other items from the messenger whom you took the trouble to send. He also conveyed your message that these offerings should be kept secret. I understand.

When, on the twelfth day of the fifth month, having been exiled, I arrived at that harbor I had never even heard of before, and when I was still suffering after leaving the boat, you kindly took me into your care. What karma has brought us together? Can it be that, because in the past you were a votary of the Lotus Sutra, now, in the Latter Day of the Law, you have been reborn as Funamori no Yasaburo and have taken pity on me? Though a man may do this, for your wife, as a married woman, to have given me food, brought me water to wash my hands and feet with, and treated me with great concern, I can only call as wondrous.

What caused you to inwardly believe in the Lotus Sutra and make offerings to me during my more than thirty-day stay there? (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 35)

At the beginning, Nichiren lists all of the items he received. He replies from the heart to the sincerity imbuing each item. He takes not even a single piece of wrapping paper for granted. This is the Buddha’s spirit.

Again, regarding the message from the couple, who worried about his safety, he tells them: “I have received the message, and I understand.” One can almost hear Nichiren’s gentle voice. In just the first few lines, he puts their minds at ease and completely embraces them in his compassion.

On May 12, 1261, the government exiled Nichiren to Izu as a criminal. It appears just a few officials and oarsmen transported him there aboard a small vessel. It is believed that they set out from Kamakura harbor in the morning and, bound for Ito harbor, neared the shore of Ito late in the day. The boat drifted ashore in the harbor at Kawana, a short distance from Ito.

Nichiren, no doubt exhausted from the long journey, may also have been seasick. The fisherman Funamori Yasaburo came to the Daishonin’s aid when the latter landed on the beach in his beleaguered state.

For the next month, Yasaburo and his wife looked after Nichiren, who subsequently went to the residence of the steward of the district, Ito Hachiro Saemon. Yasaburo and his wife, with unwavering sincerity, secretly sent offerings there. This is his letter of thanks.

Yasaburo and his wife may simply have been purehearted people who could not turn away when they saw someone having difficulties. Even so, Nichiren’s having encountered such benevolent people in his place of exile is extraordinary, and he expresses his surprise.

Yasaburo and his wife were no doubt moved by the Daishonin’s words. They probably thought to themselves in wonderment, “So in a past life we were votaries of the Lotus Sutra and we have been living in this place in order to fulfill the promise we then made.”

One can imagine them, having newly awakened to faith in the Lotus Sutra, brightly smiling and discussing their inspiration.

I was hated and resented by the steward and the people of the district even more than I was in Kamakura. Those who saw me scowled, while those who merely heard my name were filled with spite. And yet, though I was there in the fifth month when rice was scarce, you secretly fed me. Have my parents been reborn in a place called Kawana, in Ito of Izu Province? (WND-2, 35)

All his life, the Daishonin was hounded by the bad name jealous people had pinned on him. But while the defamation was severe in Kamakura, he also had many followers there who knew the truth about him. Throughout Kamakura, the Daishonin’s followers probably conducted a campaign of dialogue, telling people: “The priest Nichiren that I know is not the kind of person they say. There is no one more upright and gentle.”

But in Izu he had neither disciples nor allies. So when the Daishonin arrived there, having been made out to be a criminal by the authorities, malicious rumors spread uncontested. The villagers feared and hated the “evil priest” who had fallen in among them. Doubtless some thought to themselves that if they came upon Nichiren they would do him in.

When the authorities suppressed the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai^[1] more than 50 years ago, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and Josei Toda and their families were, in Mr. Toda’s words, “accused of being enemies of the nation.”^[2]

But the rumors did not mislead Yasaburo and his wife. They observed Nichiren’s character with their own eyes and bravely protected him, becoming his shield.

Not only that, but at a time of year when rice was scarce, they prepared rice for him and exerted themselves on his behalf with the utmost sincerity. The fifth month of the old lunar calendar [when this letter was written] probably fell within the rainy season. Moreover, the topography of the Izu area greatly limits the amount of land that can be cultivated.

Yasaburo may have had to go out fishing more often than usual, and his wife must have had to scrimp to make ends meet. Nichiren was aware of all of their efforts. With his one comment that rice must have been very scarce, the weight of their painstaking toils must have instantly lightened.

As Buddhists, we need to be sensitive to other people’s situations, to put out the antennas of the heart, as it were. Such concern and sensitivity, which the Daishonin here exemplifies, is an essential part of the makeup of a Buddhist.

In this regard alone, it is plain that Nichiren Shoshu priests today, in their decadent conduct, are the exact opposite of Nichiren.^[3] The opposite of the Buddha is a “devil,” an enemy of the Buddha. Nichiren Daishonin could not possibly condone the priesthood, which has trampled on the sincere offerings that people have made by the sweat of their brows.

Even while Nichiren was with them, Yasaburo and his wife were no doubt time and again impressed by his delicate sensitivity. Their hearts must have brimmed with joy at Nichiren’s sincerity as he responded to their kindness with heartfelt gratitude.

Even under the most adverse circumstances, Nichiren always created allies through his conduct. Such a drama unfolded even in the Tatsunokuchi Persecution, when the military government, having failed to behead Nichiren, had him taken to the residence of Lord Homma Rokuro Saemon in Echi. There, the Daishonin ordered sake for the soldiers who had accompanied him from Kamakura and commended them on their labors throughout the night. Who has ever heard of a prisoner praising his arresting officers? And in this case, only a little while earlier the soldiers had been trying to have him beheaded.

Some had hated the Daishonin for many years. But his complete composure won him friends even among people such as they. Some wound up throwing down their Nembutsu beads and swearing to follow him.

Ultimately, Buddhism comes down to people. I did not wait to place my trust in [second Soka Gakkai President Josei] Toda until after I had learned about the Daishonin’s teaching. Rather, I came to have trust in Buddhism because I first believed in the person, Josei Toda.

Incidentally, Kawana was a small village, and word of Nichiren’s arrival there must have spread quickly. But there was no great commotion. This was perhaps because the residents trusted and respected Yasaburo. Here again, the person was the all-important factor.

The power of the people always protected Nichiren. Kosen-rufu is shouldered by ordinary people of sincerity, not by some faction of clever elites.

I hope men’s division members, in particular, will become modern Funamori Yasaburos, commanding solid trust and credibility in their communities and staunchly protecting the precious children of the Buddha who are advancing the work of kosen-rufu.

SGI Members Are Carrying Out the Work of the Buddhist Deities

The fourth volume of the Lotus Sutra states,“[I will send … ] men and women of pure faith, to offer alms to the teachers of the Law.” The meaning of this sutra passage is that the heavenly gods and benevolent deities will assume various forms such as those of men and women, and present offerings to help the persons who practice the Lotus Sutra. There can be no doubt that this refers to you and your wife being born as a man and a woman, and making offerings to Nichiren, the teacher of the Law.

Since I wrote to you in detail earlier,^[4] I will make this letter brief. (WND-1, 35)

Here, citing a passage from “The Teacher of the Law,” the Lotus Sutra’s 10th chapter, the Daishonin praises Yasaburo and his wife as heavenly deities. The “teacher of the Law” indicates Nichiren specifically. But in a general sense it also applies to his followers, to each of us who practice and spread the Mystic Law. And Nichiren says that the heavenly gods and benevolent deities assume a variety of forms in protecting these people.

Buddhism is not abstract theory; concepts such as benevolent deities have concrete and immediate application to our everyday lives. Our fellow members function as benevolent deities for us and so should be treasured and appreciated most highly.

Whenever we suffer, whether due to sickness, accidents, natural disasters or some other cause, they come running right away to offer encouragement. And when we have cause to rejoice, they join us in celebration. They pray to the Gohonzon with us, are always ready to discuss things and join us in taking action. Isn’t all this the work of our fellow members in the SGI? To possess such friends is certainly a most rare good fortune.

One scholar says admiringly of the SGI: “In a world where people are indifferent to the plight of others, it’s amazing to see people interacting so harmoniously.”

Truly, as the saying goes, it is in times of need that we know our friends. The SGI is a wonderful gathering of good friends. Where else can such a rich world of mutual protection and encouragement—such a golden palace of the people—be found?

Nichiren says: “Countless Buddhas of the ten directions; Superior Practices and the other bodhisattvas who emerged from the earth; Universal Worthy, Manjushri, and the other bodhisattvas of the theoretical teaching; Shariputra and the other great voice-hearer disciples; the great heavenly king Brahma, the gods of the sun and moon, and the other heavenly lords and deities; the eight kinds of nonhuman beings; the ten demon daughters; as well as the great and small deities of the country of Japan, will, as a shadow follows a form, guard anyone who has firm faith in this Lotus Sutra and who remains at all times stalwart and unwavering in that faith” (WND- 2, 638).

In light of Nichiren’s writings, SGI members are precious and noble beings who carry out the work of all Buddhas, bodhisattvas and heavenly deities. Therefore, let us by all means treasure our fellow members. And let us carry through with faith filled with gratitude for our profound and mystic connections with one another.(Learning From the Gosho, pp. 21–29)

Part two of this series can be found in the new reprint of Learning From the Gosho. 

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From the Heart

Meryl Shapiro / New York

Living Buddhism: Meryl, thank you for taking the time to share your experiences of contributing. To start, how were you introduced to Nichiren Buddhism?

Meryl Shapiro: In the late 1970s, a fellow attorney at my first job introduced me to the practice. I was really struggling at work—I was brand new and didn’t know anything. I had been assigned to a department I had no interest in, and the stress was overwhelming. There was only one other full-time woman attorney there, and she seemed immune to the pressure; I really admired her. She saw me struggling and gave me articles from the SGI publications to read. I couldn’t relate to the articles but when I was overwhelmed with grief from my grandmother’s death, I went to her for comfort. She wrote down Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and told me to recite these words morning and evening. From that day I have never missed chanting twice a day.

What was going on in your life at that time?

Meryl: I had a difficult relationship with my family, and my struggles with depression ran deep. When I was a senior in college, I attempted to take my own life. I had seen a therapist for seven years, but one day, he told me he didn’t think he could help me anymore—and I agreed. The heaviness in my life was strangling me. I had no hope. I did a lot of things to try to feel better, but nothing worked.

When I first started chanting, it was like the sun exploded inside me. This unbearable pain I had carried for so long began to heal. In that moment, I knew this practice was true—not because someone told me, but because I felt it in my life. I received the Gohonzon on February 23, 1980. From then on, I have practiced vigorously.

That’s an incredible transformation. When did you start contributing financially to the SGI-USA?

Meryl: Interestingly, no one initially told me about financial contributions. Early in my practice, I asked a district leader how I could donate. I was a lawyer—I knew organizations needed financial support to operate, and I couldn’t figure out how the SGI was able to stay afloat. Having no idea how much to contribute, I arbitrarily decided on $10 every month.

It wasn’t until my mother passed away, six years into my practice, that I truly embraced financial contribution. I had inherited a significant sum of money from her, and at the time, SGI-USA was holding a special contribution campaign. My first impulse was to contribute it all. Then doubt crept in and I was torn between profound fear versus profound appreciation for this practice. This internal battle began raging in my life.

What was that internal struggle like?

Meryl: It was extremely painful. No one knew about my inheritance, and no one told me I should donate any of it, I just wanted to. I was analyzing the pros and cons like a legal problem; if I lost the money and got nothing in return, I was young enough to earn it back. On the other hand, if I could continue to deepen my faith and receive even greater benefits than I had, what a treasure I would gain!

What helped you make that decision?

Meryl: I sought guidance from a senior in faith. I started telling her about my inheritance, and she immediately stopped me. She said: “Don’t tell me how much it is. I don’t want to know—it doesn’t matter. Contribution is an expression of appreciation for the practice, for the organization and for Ikeda Sensei. If you want to give, do it from your heart. But chant about it first.”

The truth was, I had already decided in my heart to give it all—I just needed to overcome my hesitation. I wanted to use this as an acid test to determine the validity of this faith. I had so much appreciation, but I wanted to see tangible actual proof.

Was there a time when you saw the impact of your heartfelt actions?

Meryl: Years later, I was trying to buy an apartment in New York and needed a down payment. I had completely forgotten about my contribution. One night, my father invited me to dinner. I was terrified he would ask me if I had the down payment—if I told him I had donated my inheritance, I thought he’d have a heart attack. So I chanted like a “demon armed with an iron staff,”^[5] praying that the topic wouldn’t come up.

We had a nice dinner, and just as we were waiting for dessert, my father reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope. He said, “I know you want to buy an apartment—here is money for your down payment.”

I was in shock. It was the exact amount I had contributed years earlier. This experience shook me. Since then, I have never hesitated to contribute or make any other causes in faith. Over the years, I’ve been protected financially—receiving significant raises and now, even though I’m retired, I have more than enough to live comfortably.

Looking back at your years of supporting the organization financially, how do you feel it has shaped your life?

Meryl: I don’t separate faith, practice and study from financial contribution—it’s all part of my practice. My struggles with mental health run deep, and negativity can creep in through a million different ways. But since the beginning of my practice, I have planted seeds of Buddhahood and introduced others to this Buddhism, making causes every day.

One experience stands out. Years ago, after spending the day doing shakubuku, I came home and did gongyo. Suddenly, I felt an overwhelming anger rise up inside me, like my head was about to explode. It was unbearable. I prayed the Gohonzon, “If this doesn’t end in 10 minutes, I’m never chanting again.” Nine minutes in, I felt what I can only describe as 50 pounds of dirt lifting from my life.

I realized then that all the causes I had been making—chanting, contributing, introducing others to Buddhism—were purifying my life. It wasn’t just about feeling better; I was cleaning out my karma at the deepest level. This practice gave me the opportunity to transform my suffering at its root.

That’s powerful. Any words of wisdom for those just starting to contribute?

Meryl: Just do it and see what happens. Many people value their money more than their time, but where does money come from? It comes from the time we spend working. So, in reality, money and time are the same.

When we contribute—whether it’s time, energy or financial resources—we are actually making an investment in our own health—our physical, mental and spiritual health. It’s all interconnected. Once you experience this for yourself, you’ll never hesitate to contribute again.

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A Life of No Fear 

Charles Johnson / California 

Living Buddhism: Thank you, Charles, for sharing your experiences. You have a unique perspective on money and May Contribution.

Charles Johnson: Yes, I’ve had many experiences in my life, including some ups and downs financially, but I never worry. I trust the Gohonzon completely. If by pursuing what I believe is correct, I end up in a bad place, I’m OK with it. But I’ve got to tell you, no matter what, the Gohonzon always keeps me afloat. 

Does an experience come to mind?

Charles: Well first I’ll say I’m frugal. Fourteen years ago, I went green—I got rid of my car, bought a bike and started using light rail. It was an experiment at first, but it kept me in great shape, which is important as you near 75!

I’ve worked in computer programming and IT for years. In 2016, I was laid off—along with many co-workers—because we were over 65. That’s illegal, but proving it isn’t easy. I struggled to find work because of my age and even tried starting a business, but that failed. Then, because of my niche expertise, I landed a great job that not many people could do.

With steady income again, I created a plan: pay off my debts, cover essentials and contribute half of what remained to the SGI. A few years later, I joined a lawsuit against my former employer, assuming I’d get a small payout. Instead, I received a significant sum. Without hesitation, I stuck to my formula—half went to the SGI.

What motivates you to contribute so generously?

Charles: My financial contributions are my rent for living on Earth. It’s my way of expressing gratitude for the Mystic Law. As Buddhas, we’re here for one reason, namely to enable all people to attain the same enlightenment:

1. Open the door to Buddha wisdom to all living beings

2. Show it to them

3. Cause them to awaken to it

4. Induce them to enter the path

That’s my purpose. The Lotus Sutra teaches that there is no distinction between the Buddha and his followers. That means on Nichiren Daishonin’s best day and my worst day, we are the same. That thought inspires me to stand up like Nichiren.

I’ve experienced so much joy, encountered incredible people and gained everything through this practice. I feel compelled to give back. When I made that internal commitment, unexpected fortune followed. To me, that’s no coincidence.

Every time we chant, we ring the universe like a bell. As long as we continue, we’ll get through anything.

How did you develop such deep faith?

Charles: I first chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo at 12. My older brother, a genius, was exploring Zen Buddhism. One day, we read an article about the Soka Gakkai. It wasn’t positive, but it included the words Nam-myoho-renge-kyo in bold print. I remember reading it aloud together with him. That was my first time speaking Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

Seven years later, in 1970, I received the Gohonzon with the SGI. My brother suffered from his Zen practice, struggled in life and, sadly, took his own. But I owe my first encounter with chanting to him, and I’m forever grateful.

I went to university after starting my Buddhist practice and focused on STEM and the biophysics of protein folding, an area heavily reliant on computer work. While working in NASA’s physics lab, I gained software proficiency that paved the way for a profession after financial troubles forced me out of school in 1979,  leaving me without a degree and burdened with debt. Undeterred, I became a consultant, working around the world and ultimately securing 11 granted patents in distributed databases. Despite three failed attempts to start a company, I persevered, later earning 9 more patents in a platform research lab working with a brilliant group of Ph.D. researchers. 

Now at 73, I’m programming FPGAs for high frequency trading companies and EV charging systems. None of this would have been possible without the Gohonzon.

I had my own ups and downs with faith, but everything changed in 1999. That year, I met a woman who put me through emotional turmoil. To navigate it, I intensified my practice—chanting for hours daily and making a stronger commitment in SGI activities, especially efforts to help Nichiren Shoshu temple members return to the SGI. Because I needed to be well-versed in Buddhism, I began studying the writings of Nichiren Daishonin. Through this effort to help Ikeda Sensei’s movement and awaken people to the errors of the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood,¹ my faith in Sensei and the SGI became unshakable.

Now, I live each day for my family, even though they’re no longer here. I also plant seeds of Buddhahood in many people’s lives. I wake up with gratitude—thank you, Gohonzon; thank you, Sensei.

Why do you think it takes courage to make a cause like contributing financially?

Charles: It takes confidence. You have to trust that you’ll be OK, even without that money. When I was young, I didn’t contribute much—I had no money and no faith that I’d have more. But a senior in faith encouraged me, and I started making yearly contributions.

The benefit of Buddhist practice and causes like May Contribution is simple: I now live a life of no fear. And I know my mission—to help others.

From the May 2025 Living Buddhism