All disciples and believers of Nichiren should chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
with one mind (itai
doshin), transcending all differences among themselves to become as
inseparable as fish and the
water in which they swim. This spiritual bond is the basis for
the universal transmission of the
ultimate law of life and death. Herein lies the true goal of
Nichiren's propagation. When you are
so united, even the great hope for kosen-rufu can be fulfilled without
fail. But if any of Nichiren's
disciples should disrupt the unity of itai doshin, he will destroy
his own castle from within.
Nichiren has been trying to awaken all the people of Japan to faith
in the Lotus Sutra so that they
too can share the heritage and attain Buddhahood. But instead
they attacked me time and again,
and finally had me banished to this island. You have followed
Nichiren, however, and met with
sufferings as a result. It pains me deeply to think of your anguish.
Gold can neither be burned by
fire nor corroded or swept away by water, but iron is vulnerable to
both. A wise person is like
gold and a fool like iron. You are like pure gold because you
embrace the "gold" of the Lotus
Sutra. The Lotus Sutra reads in part, "Sumeru is the loftiest
of all mountains. The Lotus Sutra is
likewise the loftiest of all the sutras." It also states, "The
good fortune of the believer cannot be
burned by fire or washed away by water." It must be ties of karma
from the distant past that
have destined you to become my disciple at a time like this.
Shakyamuni and Taho Buddhas
certainly realize this truth. The sutra's statement, "In lifetime
after lifetime they were always
born together with their masters in the Buddha's lands throughout the
universe," cannot be
false in any way.