June 2026 Gosho Quote

“Letter to Soya nyudo”

(“Soya nyudo dono-motogosho”) 

There are three periods after Shakyamuni’s passing. During the two thousand years of the Former and Middle Days of the Law, there were still those who possessed the seed of Buddhahood. These two time periods can be compared to the forty-odd years of teaching during Shakyamuni’s lifetime. If one does not understand the people’s capacity, the true teaching should not be thoughtlessly taught. Now is the Latter Day of the Law. Those who formed a karmic relationship with [Shakyamuni] Buddha during his lifetime have gradually declined in number, and those who had the capacity to attain Buddhahood through the pre-Lotus Sutra and the Lotus Sutra teachings have completely disappeared. This is the time when someone like Bodhisattva Never Disparaging will make his advent in the Latter Day of the Law and beat the poison drum.

(Gosho, p. 778)