still not hated by the priests, nuns, laymen, and laywomen of the entire land of Japan. In my case, however, parents, siblings, teachers, and fellow priests— every single person from the ruler on down to the common people— torment me as if I were their parents’ enemy, or even more than if I were a rebel or a robber.
Thus, sometimes I have been vilified by several hundred people; other times, besieged by several thousand, I have been attacked with swords and staves. I have been driven from my dwelling and ousted from my province. Finally, I twice incurred the wrath of the country’s ruler and was exiled first to the province of Izu and then to the island of Sado. And when, with neither provisions to sustain my life nor even garments made of wisteria vine to cover my body, I was banished to Sado in the northern sea, the priests and lay believers of that province hated me even more than the men and women of Sagami Province4 did. Abandoned in the wilderness and exposed to the snow, I sustained my life by plucking grasses.
I realized through my own experiences what it was like for Su Wu, who survived by eating snow in the land of the northern barbarians for nineteen years, and for Li Ling, who suffered in a rocky cave by the northern sea for six years. This was not because of any fault of my own, but solely because I
meant to save the country of Japan.
While I was there, however, you and your husband, the lay priest of Ko, being apprehensive of the eyes of others, brought me food in the middle of the night. Never fearing even punishment from the provincial officials, you are persons who were ready to sacrifice yourselves for me. Thus, though it was a harsh land, when I left, I felt as if the hair that had been shaved from my head were being tugged from behind and as if with each step I took I were being pulled back.
Just when I was wondering what sort of karmic bonds from the past this was due to, and when I least expected it, you sent your most precious husband as your messenger all the way here. Is it a dream or an illusion? Even though I cannot see you, I am certain that your heart is here. If you find that you miss me, always look at the sun that rises [in the morning] and the moon that rises in the evening. Whatever the time, I will be reflected in the sun and the moon. And in our next life, let us meet in the pure land of Eagle Peak. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
The sixteenth day of the sixth month
To the lay nun of Ko in Sado Province
This letter was written at Minobu in the sixth month of the first year of Kenji (1275) to a lay nun who lived in a village that was the seat of the provincial government of Sado Island. Ko means provincial office. Hence the name “the lay nun of Ko.” While the Daishonin was in exile on Sado, she
and her husband, known as the lay priest of Ko, converted to his teachings, presented him with offerings, and helped protect him. After the Daishonin was pardoned and left Sado, her husband, like Abutsu-bo, made the long journey to Minobu to visit him.
