Nichiren Daishonin's letter to Shijo Kingo, September 11, 1277

Shijo Kingo sent a messenger to Minobu that autumn carrying a white quilted robe, a string of coins, persimmons, pears, and seaweed both fresh and dried. Nichiren Daishonin opened his reply by thanking him for each item by name. Then he turned to the reason Kingo had really written: his lord, Ema Mitsutoki, was gravely ill, and Kingo, a trained physician, had been the one called to treat him.

Three years earlier, Kingo had tried to convert Ema to the Daishonin's teaching. Ema refused, and Kingo's rivals used the refusal against him. They told Ema that Kingo had drawn his sword during a public debate and threatened a priest's life. It was a lie. Ema believed it anyway. He ordered Kingo to renounce his faith or lose his land, the same land Kingo's own brothers had already lost for the same belief. For three years Kingo lived under that threat, watching his enemies circle, guarding his own door at night.

Then Ema fell ill, and there was no one else nearby trained in medicine. Kingo went to him. He treated the lord who had nearly destroyed him, without hesitation and without revenge in it.

Nichiren wrote back on September 11, 1277. The letter is called "The Three Kinds of Treasure." He opens by naming the gifts he received and turns at once to his grief over Ema's illness. Only partway through does he warn Kingo that his enemies, quieted for the moment, are seething with hate underneath, and that a man who has just won can lose everything by relaxing too soon. The words this letter is remembered for come only after that warning, near the letter's close.

Here is the letter in full:

I have received various articles from your messenger, including a white quilted robe and a string of coins, and the goods mentioned in Toki's letter. The persimmons, pears, and fresh and dried seaweed are particularly welcome.

I am most grieved over your lord's illness. Although he has not professed faith in the Lotus Sutra, you are a member of his clan, and it is thanks to his consideration that you are able to make offerings to the sutra. Thus, these may become prayers solely for your lord's recovery. Think of a small tree under a large one, or grass by a great river. Though they do not receive rain or water directly, they nonetheless thrive, partaking of dew from the large tree or drawing moisture from the river. The same holds true with the relationship between you and your lord. To give another example, King Ajatashatru was an enemy of the Buddha. But because Jivaka, a minister in the king's court, believed in the Buddha and continually made offerings to him, the blessings accruing from his actions are said to have returned to Ajatashatru.

Buddhism teaches that, when the Buddha nature manifests itself from within, it will receive protection from without. This is one of its fundamental principles. The Lotus Sutra says, "I have profound reverence for you." The Nirvana Sutra states, "All living beings alike possess the Buddha nature." Bodhisattva Ashvaghosha's Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana says, "Because the true abiding Law invariably permeates one's life and exerts its influence, illusions are instantly extinguished, and the Dharma body manifests itself." Bodhisattva Maitreya's Treatise on the Stages of Yoga Practice contains a similar statement. What is hidden turns into manifest virtue.

The heavenly devil knew about this from before, and he therefore possessed your colleagues, causing them to invent that preposterous lie in order to prevent you from making offerings to the Lotus Sutra. Since your faith is profound, however, the ten demon daughters must have come to your aid and caused your lord's illness. He does not regard you as his enemy, but since he once acted against you by giving credit to the false accusations of your colleagues, he has become seriously ill, and the malady persists.

Ryuzo-bo, whom these people count on as their pillar of strength, has already been toppled, and those who spoke falsely of you have contracted the same disease as your lord. Because Ryokan is guilty of a much graver offense, it is more than likely that he will meet with or cause a bad accident. Surely he will not escape unharmed.

As things stand now, I have a feeling you are in danger. Your enemies are sure to make an attempt on your life. In backgammon, if two stones of the same color are placed side by side, they cannot be hit by an opposing stone. A cart, as long as it has two wheels, does not lurch all over the road. Likewise, if two men go together, an enemy hesitates to attack. Therefore, no matter what faults you may find with your younger brothers, do not let them leave you alone even for a moment.

While your foes busy themselves plotting against you, your lord places greater confidence in you than before. Therefore, although they appear to have quieted down, inwardly they are no doubt seething with hate.

Probably you are well aware of it, but let me cite the Buddha's prediction about what the latter age will be like. In essence he states: "It will be a muddied age in which even sages will find it difficult to live. They will be like stones in a great fire, which for a while seem to endure the heat but finally char and crumble into ashes . . ." Thus the saying goes, "Do not remain in the seat of honor too long."

Many people have plotted to undo you, but you have avoided their intrigues and emerged victorious. Should you lose your composure now and fall into their trap, you will be, as people say, like a boatman who rows his boat with all his might only to have it capsize just before he reaches the shore, or like a person who is served no hot water at the end of his meal.

But since you are hot-tempered by nature, you might not take my advice. In that case, it will be beyond the power of my prayers to save you.

Ryuzo-bo and your elder brother plotted evil against you. Therefore, the heavenly gods so contrived it that the situation would develop exactly as you wished. Then how can you now dare to go against the wish of the heavenly gods? Even if you had accumulated a thousand or ten thousand treasures, of what use would they be if your lord should forsake you? He already looks to you as if you were his own parent, following you as water follows the shape of its container, longing for you as a calf longs for its mother, and relying on you as an elderly person relies on his staff. Is not his regard for you due to the aid of the Lotus Sutra? How envious your fellow retainers must be! You must hurry and talk with these four men and report to me how the matter goes. Then I will fervently pray to the heavenly gods for your protection. I have already informed them of how deeply you grieve over your deceased father and mother. They will surely receive the utmost consideration in the presence of Shakyamuni Buddha.

Over and over I recall the moment, unforgettable even now, when I was about to be beheaded and you accompanied me, holding the reins of my horse and weeping tears of grief. Nor could I ever forget it in any lifetime to come. If you should fall into hell for some grave offense, no matter how Shakyamuni Buddha might urge me to become a Buddha, I would refuse; I would rather go to hell with you. For if you and I should fall into hell together, we would find Shakyamuni Buddha and the Lotus Sutra there. But if you depart from my advice even slightly, do not blame me for what may happen.

Do not go around lamenting to others how hard it is for you to live in this world. To do so is an act utterly unbecoming to a worthy man.

It is rare to be born a human being. The number of those endowed with human life is as small as the amount of earth one can place on a fingernail. Life as a human being is hard to sustain, as hard as it is for the dew to remain on the grass. But it is better to live a single day with honor than to live to one hundred twenty and die in disgrace. Live so that all the people of Kamakura will say in your praise that Nakatsukasa Saburo Saemon-no-jo is diligent in the service of his lord, in the service of Buddhism, and in his concern for other people. More valuable than treasures in a storehouse are the treasures of the body, and the treasures of the heart are the most valuable of all. From the time you read this letter on, strive to accumulate the treasures of the heart!

The worthy man Confucius held to his belief "Nine thoughts to one word," which means that he reconsidered nine times before he spoke. Tan, the Duke of Chou, was so earnest in receiving callers that he would wring out his hair three times in the course of washing it, or spit out his food three times in the course of a meal, in order not to keep them waiting. Consider this carefully so that you will have no cause to reproach me later. What is called Buddhism is found in this behavior.

The heart of the Buddha's lifetime of teachings is the Lotus Sutra, and the heart of the practice of the Lotus Sutra is found in the "Never Disparaging" chapter. What does Bodhisattva Never Disparaging's profound respect for people signify? The purpose of the appearance in this world of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, lies in his behavior as a human being.

Respectfully, Nichiren

The eleventh day of the ninth month in the third year of Kenji (1277)

Kingo did not chant for his land to come back. He picked up a lancet and treated the man who had threatened to take it from him. Eight months later Ema recovered, the accusations against Kingo collapsed, and by 1278 his land was returned larger than before.

Nichiren had ranked it last before any of that happened. He told Kingo the storehouse mattered least, the body mattered more, and the heart mattered most, while Kingo still stood to lose everything. He gave that ranking as instruction in the middle of the danger, while the outcome was still unknown.

Read the letter again slowly. Notice where the warning ends and the ranking begins. Notice what Nichiren asks Kingo to do in this single moment, while the danger he is describing is still present.

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