Cover Letter - Lord Toki

I have received the summer kimono, three sumi inksticks, and five writing brushes. I have written down some of my thoughts concerning the true object of worship and I am sending the treatise to you, Ota, Soya and the others. It concerns a very important matter, the purpose of my advent. Only those who are strong in faith and open-minded should be allowed to read it. The treatise contains much criticism and few answers. What it reveals, however, has never been heard of before, and is bound to startle those who read or hear of it. Even if you show it to others, never let three or four persons read it together at a time. In the twenty-two hundred and twenty odd years since the Buddha's passing, the ideas contained in the heart of this treatise have never been revealed before. Despite all the official persecutions befalling me, I expound it now at the beginning of the fifth half-millennium, when the time is ripe for its propagation. I hope those who read it will remain firm in their faith so that both master and disciples can climb Eagle Peak together to pay their respects to Shakyamuni, Taho, and all the other Buddhas in the universe.

With my deep respect,

Nichiren
The twenty-sixth day of the fourth month in the tenth year of Bun'ei (1273).