096 The Workings of Brahmā and Shakra

096 The Workings of Brahmā and Shakra

Author: The Ignorant Trio April 4, 2025 Duration: 15:05

This letter, written at Minobu in 1277, is entitled The Workings of Brahmā and Shakra, because it contains the passage, “The time will certainly come when, by the workings of Brahmā, Shakra, and other gods, the entire Japanese nation will simultaneously take faith in the Lotus Sutra.” In this letter Nichiren Daishonin encourages the nineteen-year-old Nanjō Tokimitsu, who succeeded his father as steward of Ueno Village in Fuji District of Suruga Province, to maintain his faith. He also advises Tokimitsu on how to respond to those who attempt to threaten or deceive him into discarding his faith. For if they succeed in their attempt, the Daishonin warns, they will use him “as a means for making many others abandon their faith.”


https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/96


Finding quiet moments for study and reflection can feel nearly impossible in the rush of daily life. Gosho Reading (Nichiren Buddhism) offers a simple, accessible way to engage with the writings of Nichiren Daishonin, turning mundane tasks into opportunities for spiritual nourishment. Hosted by The Ignorant Trio-three women who approach the material with genuine curiosity rather than scholarly authority-each episode features a clear, thoughtful reading of passages from the Gosho. You might hear them while commuting, cooking, or folding laundry, allowing the teachings to settle into the rhythm of your day. The hosts, occasionally joined by guests, read the letters and treatises with a focus on clarity and presence, creating a shared space for listening rather than academic analysis. This podcast doesn’t aim to lecture or interpret heavily; instead, it provides the text itself, spoken aloud, so listeners can absorb the wisdom directly and find their own connections. It’s a companion for those seeking to integrate practice into a busy schedule, making the profound teachings of Nichiren Buddhism available in a practical, auditory format. Join The Ignorant Trio for these readings and discover how listening can become its own form of daily practice.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 57

Gosho Reading (Nichiren Buddhism)
Podcast Episodes
147 The Meaning of Faith [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:37
This letter was written at Minobu in the fifth month of the third year of Kōan (1280). The lay nun Myōichi was a relative of Nisshō, one of Nichiren Daishonin’s six senior disciples, and lived in Kamakura. She was an ear…
145 Letter to Niike [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:13
Nichiren Daishonin wrote this letter in the second month of 1280 to Niike Saemon-no-jō, an official in the Kamakura shogunate. Niike was from Niike Village in Iwata District of Tōtōmi Province. He and his wife had been c…
086 Happiness In This World [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:29
In the third month of 1275, about one year before this letter was written, Nichiren Daishonin warned Shijō Kingo, his loyal samurai follower who was an early convert, that as a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra he must be…
004 The Izu Exile [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:30
In the eighth month of 1260, infuriated by Nichiren Daishonin’s refutation of the Pure Land school in his On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land, a group of Nembutsu followers attacked his dwellin…
003 A Ship to Cross the Sea of Suffering [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:33
Nichiren Daishonin wrote this letter at Kamakura in the first year of Kōchō (1261), about two weeks before he was exiled to Itō in Izu. Virtually nothing is known about the recipient, Shiiji Shirō, other than that he liv…
001 On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:46
This letter was written to Toki Jōnin in the seventh year of Kenchō (1255), two years after Nichiren Daishonin established his teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. At the time of this letter, the Daishonin was thirty-four ye…