January 20, 2025
LOTUS JEWELS（Nichiren Shu News NO241）
Being uninformed, all people, laymen as well as clergy, are unable to distinguish between right and wrong. They just depend on the man, not upon the dharma. They follow the evil dharma in which many people put faith, even if they know it is an evil one, and they do not believe in the True Dharma advocated by one person without followers. It is sad that most people remain wandering in the world of illusion. It is regrettable that these sinful people, regardless of how good or bad they behave, are unable to escape the chain of birth and death.
—Nichiren Shonin,Shugo Kokka-ron (ST 15)
A Treatise on Protecting the Nation
Chapter 23 of the Lotus Sutra teaches, “The person who keeps this sutra is superior to any other living being.” But this is not the superiority that the world recognizes, the superiority of wealth, power or fame. Our superiority is the superiority of the Lotus Sutra itself, the superior teaching that all beings deserve respect and will become Buddhas. It can be difficult to find what to do as our fellow beings create so much calamity in their devotion to the evil teachings of fear, greed and selfishness. But no matter what we do, it is crucial that we maintain faith in our Buddha nature, and dedicate our superiority to the benefit of all beings.
—Rev. Shinkyo Warner