161 The Person and the Law
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Description
Nichiren Daishonin sent this letter from Mount Minobu to Nanjō Tokimitsu, the steward of Ueno Village in Suruga, in the ninth month, 1281. Nanjō Tokimitsu was then just twenty-two years old. Following the Atsuhara Persecution, in which Nanjō Tokimitsu had played an extremely important role in supporting the believers, government officials had taxed his estate heavily so that he had difficulty maintaining his family. Exactly what illness he was suffering from remains unclear; he recovered, however, and lived for some fifty years after this letter was written. The title of this letter, The Person and the Law, is derived from a passage of The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra that states that, since the Law is wonderful, the person who upholds it is worthy of respect. https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/161
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