BACKGROUND:

This letter is a reply to Ota Jomyo's report that he was suffering from illness. It was written on November 3, 1275, at Mount Minobu, when Nichiren Daishonin was fifty-four years old. In the preceding year he had left Kamakura for the recesses of Mount Minobu. There, after retiring to an out-of-the-way place, he devoted himself to laying an eternal foundation for his Buddhism as a universal religion.

Ota Jomyo was a devout believer living in the province of Shimosa in central Japan. He was an official of the government and his colleague, Toki Jonin, is thought to have introduced him to faith in the Daishonin's Buddhism. Both men worked together in that area to protect the Daishonin and propagate his teachings. Around 1278, Ota was tonsured, though he remained a layman. He assumed the religious name of Myonichi (Mystic Sun), given him by the Daishonin. He is also called Ota Nyudo, "nyudo" meaning one who is tonsured like a monk but lives outside a temple, usually in his own home. Ota Jomyo received many writings, including "On the Three Great Secret Laws," from the Daishonin, a fact which attests to the seriousness with which he regarded his religion. He died on April 26, 1283, the year after the Daishonin passed away, at the age of sixty-two.

In this letter, Nichiren Daishonin clarifies the fundamental cause of Ota's illness. He explains that since Ota Jomyo had renounced his former faith in the Shingon doctrine and professed faith in true Buddhism, the evil effect of his past mistaken faith had appeared as sickness so that he could eradicate it once and for all. In other words, his past karma had become manifest so that he could erase it. The Daishonin then assures him of the essential cure for his disease-faith in the Lotus Sutra, that is, the law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Nichiren Daishonin explains that his Buddhism is the supreme medicine for suffering people throughout the world.
 

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PODACI O GOŠOU

Ovo pismo je odgovor na vest Ota Đomjoa da je patio od neke bolesti. Napisano je 3. novembra, 1275. na planini Minobu, kada je Ničiren Dajšonin imao 54 godine. Prethodne godine bio je napustio Kamakuru i povukao se na planinu Minobu. Tu, nakon što se povukao u ovu zabit, posvetio se postavljanju večne osnove svom budizmu kao jedne univerzalne religije.

Ota Đomjo beše posvećeni vernik koji je živeo u provinciji Šimosa u centralnom Japanu. Bio je vladin službenik, a za njegovog kolegu Toki Đonina se veruje da ga je uveo u veru u Dajšoninov budizam. Obojica su radila zajedno u tom području na tome da zaštite Dajšonina i na propagiranju njegovog učenja. Oko 1278. Ota beše obrijao vrh glave, mada je ostao laik. Uzeo je religiozno ime Mjoniči (Mistično Sunce), koje mu je dao Dajšonin. Takođe su ga zvali i Ota Njudo; "njudo" znači onaj ko je obrijan kao kaluđer ali živi van hrama, obično u vlastitom domu. Ota Đomjo je primio mnogo spisa, uključujući "O tri velika tajna zakona", od Ničirena, činjenica koja potvrđuje ozbiljnost kojom je prihvatio njegovu religiju. Umro je 26. aprila, 1283., godinu dana nakon što je Dajšonin preminuo, u dobu od šezdeset dve godine.

U ovom pismu, Ničiren Dajšonin razjašnjava temeljni uzrok Otaove bolesti. On objašnjava da otkada se Ota Đomjo bio odrekao svoje prethodne vere u šingon doktrinu i iskazao veru u pravi budizam, loš efekt njegove prošle pogrešne vere se pojavio kao bolest, tako da ju je mogao temeljno odstraniti jednom za svagda. Drugim rečima, njegova prošla karma je bila postala manifestna, tako da ju je mogao izbrisati. Dajšonin ga tada uverava da je suštinski lek za njegovu bolest vera u Lotos sutru, to jest, u zakon Nam Mjoho Renge Kjoa. Ničiren Dajšonin objašnjava da je njegov budizam vrhunski lek za one koji pate širom sveta.
 

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