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A Reply to
the Lady Nun Myōichi A mind of faith is in no way separate from other things. It is just like a wife who cares about her husband to the extent that a woman will throw away her life for him, or in the same way that parents will not abandon their child, or that a child will not be separated from its mother. This is in the same way as having a venerative faith in Shākyamuni, Abundant Treasure, the Buddhas of the ten directions along with the devas and spirits of good, as well as reciting Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō. Also you should in all honesty throw away the expedient means without ever believing in a single metric hymn from other sutric texts. In the same way as a woman refuses to part with her (makeup) mirror or as a man holds to his sword, it is in this spirit I suggest that you abandon the texts that came before the
Dharma Flower Sutra.
Respectfully, [Note: I translate Gozen as ‘Lady’, since the Daishōnin mentions a man wearing a sword. Thus we might presume that her husband was a samurai.] Myōichi-ama gozen gohenji |
