Scene 21 The Kanjin Honzon-sho Masterpiece

On April 25^th, 1273, St. Nichiren wrote what is considered the masterpiece work of his life long mission, the Kanjin honzon sho (Introspection into the Mind's Original Nature). In this text he explained that Sakyamuni Buddha's two types of enlightened virtue-his practice of the bodhisattva path and the result of that practice-are inherent in the five-character title Myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo (Saddharma-Pundarika-Sutra) Consequently. if one holds to these five characters, he will spontaneously acquire these virtues of the Buddha.

Scene 22 The Mandala Devised

On July 8^th, 1273, St. Nichiren, brushed the seven sacred characters Na-mu Myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo down the center of a piece of silk material measuring about two feet, six inches by five feet, eight inches. This mandala is a symbolic expression, derived from the unified truth of the Lotus Sutra, of the interpenetration of oneself and the entire universe; the unity of microcosm and macrocosm. This mandala is used as a symbol of the Lotus Sutra and an object of worship. Concentration on this mandala and the recitation of the praise of the Lotus Sutra Na-mu Myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo are the essential practices of the Buddhist sect founded by St. Nichiren.