We embrace the Gohonzon of the Three Great Secret Laws and exert ourselves in the three ways of faith, practice and study. For what purpose do we do this? Needless to say, on the individual level, it is to change our destiny for the better and attain enlightenment in this lifetime. Collectively, it is to propagate our faith, each to the best of his ability, in order to achieve kosen-rufu, the task entrusted to us by the original Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin. To accomplish these aims, we must establish, and continue to maintain, a correct attitude in faith. For this, it is vital that we practice exactly as the Daishonin teaches in the Gosho.
For the Gosho is the very scripture the original Buddha left for us people in the Latter Day of the Law; every sentence and phrase was written out of his infinite mercy. That’s why it is vital to read it and devote ourselves to applying it to our lives. By in delibly imprinting the passages of the Gosho on our minds we can deepen our faith. An earnest reading of the Gosho fills us with courage, conviction and hope, and impels us to strive harder in our practice.
It goes without saying that the spread of the Mystic Law in a family or a community begins with one person. The joy of faith shown by a single person embracing the Gohonzon, the actual proof of his change in destiny and the revitalization of his life, will never fail to spark a desire for Buddhism in the people around him. Therefore, we who burn with a sense of mission for kosen-rufu must treasure each and every member, conducting sincere dialogue and guidance so that all members without exception will be able to call forth strong faith. We must also renew, from day to day, our sense of gratitude for our good fortune to be able to study the Gosho and tell even a single sentence or phrase of it to others.
“The True Entity of Life” states, “Only I, Nichiren, at first chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, but then two, three and a hundred followed, chanting and teaching others. Likewise, propagation will unfold this way in the future. Doesn’t this signify ‘emerging from the earth’? At the time of kosen-rufu, the entire Japanese nation will chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, as surely as an arrow aimed at the earth cannot miss the target.” Exactly as the above passage says, we now find our selves moving in a broad current toward kosen-rufu, an achievement unprecedented in Buddhist history. This we owe entirely to the immeasurable mercy of the original Buddha.
Now is the time for each of us to establish correct faith in the Gohonzon, develop our wisdom and capability, and show to the world the actual proof of the Gohonzon’s benefit. For this purpose, it is becoming more and more important to inspire individuals by continuing one-to-one guidance, teaching passages of the Gosho and relating experiences.
Of all activities, the first president, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, exerted his greatest energy in individual guidance. He gave considerate and detailed advice to whomever came to see him at his house in Mejjiro, Tokyo. A discussion meeting of only a small number of people would consist mainly of Mr. Makiguchi giving guidance to individual participants. I remember one cold night in winter. A woman, who had come for his advice, was about to leave, carrying her child on her back. Mr. Makiguchi rose, fetched several sheets of newspaper and inserted them between the child’s back and the nenneko (a short coat which covers both mother and child). “This will keep your baby warmer,” he said.
Both the second president, Josei Toda, and the third president, Daisaku Ikeda, took the initiative in giving individual guidance with all their might. Steady, thorough guidance of individual members is the tradition of the Nichiren Buddhism, the activity to which the successive presidents have attached the greatest importance since the early days of the organization. Speeches we hear at large meetings tend to leave only a vague impression and easily slip from memory. What remains in our minds throughout our lives is the guidance we receive personally from our seniors, words of encouragement we hear at a meeting of only a few people, or quotations from the Gosho which seem to penetrate and dispel all our agonies.
Indeed, it is not too much to say that one-to-one guidance, filled with sincerity and confidence, has accumulated to form the solid foundation of the grand movement for kosen-rufu which we see today.
It is clear from the Gosho that the fundamental spirit to “treasure each individual” is a guideline the Daishonin taught through his own behavior. For instance, “Letter from Sado” says, “There is very little writing paper here in the province of Sado, and to write to you individually would take too long. However, if even one person fails to hear from me, it will cause resentment. Therefore, I want all sincere believers to meet and read this letter together for encouragement.”
For another example, “Reply to Toki” states, “I am deeply concerned about your wife’s sickness. I feel as if I myself had fallen ill. Therefore, I keep telling the Buddhist gods day and night to cure her.” All activities for kosen-rufu are in themselves the work we perform as emissaries of the Gohonzon. Let us pray fervently that, in carrying out these activities, we may be able to manifest even a fraction of the original Buddha’s boundless mercy. Naturally, treasuring each individual member is not something that should be accomplished at the cost of the unity and harmony of the whole.
All members of a family or organization must respect each other’s position, trust each other and form a life-to-life bond with one another so that each can give full play to his capability, It is necessary to build a harmonious family with the unity of itai-doshin (many in body, one in mind) and a vibrant organization with firm solidarity, in which each member has a unique and indispensable role to play. Both individual guidance and the treasuring of each individual member assume their true significance when considered in the context of the whole.
