Gosho 秋元御書 Letter to Akimoto

御経の文に難信難解(なんげ)と説かれて候が身に当つて貴く覚え候ぞ、

A passage in the Lotus Sutra says that the sutra is “the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand,” and I have learned the value of this passage through my own experience.

The Lotus Sutra teaches,“it is the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand”. This statement has been manifested [ in reality], which fills me with gratitude.

謗(ぼう)ずる人は大地微(み)塵(じん)の如し、信ずる人は爪上(そうじょう)の土の如し。

Slanderers are as numerous as the dust particles of the land; believers are as few as the specks of dirt that can be placed on a fingernail.

Those who slander the sutra are as numerous as the dust particles of the earth. Those who take faith in it are as few as the grains of sand one can place on a fingernail.

謗ずる人は大海・進む人は一てい(渧)なり。

Slanderers are a huge sea, and upholders, one drop of water.

Those who slander the Lotus Sutra are like the great ocean, while those who devote themselves to it are like a single drop of water.


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