The Steadfast Sage – Nichiren Daishonin

There is a moment in practice when you need to see the face of the person who carried this Law through exile, persecution, and execution orders. And still chanted.

This is that face.

The Steadfast Sage is a wall art of Nichiren Daishonin seated in prayer, rendered against aged gold with the daimoku rising above him in ink. The composition is vertical. The presence is immediate. His face is lined. His hands are joined. The robes are layered and heavy. Nothing in the image is soft.

Nichiren Daishonin wrote the Gosho from Sado Island in the middle of winter, surrounded by the graves of executed criminals, with no certainty he would survive. He did not stop. The texts that practitioners read today came from that same place, that same posture.

This belongs on the altar wall, in the study, in the room where you face the Gohonzon each morning. Practitioners who have placed it there say they feel the weight of it before they even begin to chant.

Print details:

• Size: 24×36 inches (61×91.5 cm)

The seed of this practice was planted by someone who paid the full price for it. Every morning you sit in front of this image, you are in the presence of that cause.

FAQ

Who is depicted in this print?

Nichiren Daishonin, the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist monk who established the practice of chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo based on the Lotus Sutra.

What does the calligraphy above the figure represent?

The vertical brushwork renders the daimoku — Namu Myoho Renge Kyo — the central practice taught by Nichiren Daishonin.

Where is this print sold?

Exclusively at store.nmrkob.com, the official store of NMRKOB.