This volume, a project of the English Translation Committee of the Nichiren-shu Overseas Propagation Promotion Association (NOPPA), constitutes all 23 writings of Buddhist reformer Nichiren Shonin (1222-1282) included in the Nichiren Shonin Zenshu, Volume II: Theology 2, published in 1996.

-- Robert E. Morrell, Washington University

Here is a chronicle of this important figure of Japanese Buddhism which tells of his conflicts with the rulers of his time and of his teachings. Nichiren was a Buddhist reformer, who saw the Lotus Sutra as the cornerstone of the Dharma. His life and teachings continue to serve as an inspiration and guide for people's lives today.

A revised translation of the writings of Nichiren Shonin. Great care and scholarship was used to remove the centuries of Westernised idioms infused into the original asiatic languages. These idioms create mysticism where it does not belong or exist, creating great misunderstandings and contradictions where there are none. The Buddha's precious teachings were always based on observable phenomena and actions. The paradigms of Buddhist practice are Practice, Study, and developing a strong mind of determination and conviction. There is no faith required. "Faith" is a Western idiom of belief without substantiation or observable phenomena. This is totally antithetical and corruption of Buddha's teaching. You will find no such confusing language in our corrected translations. We continue to look for such errors and we are dedicated to the mission of correct translation of the Buddha's teaching and the lineage of scholarship that follows.

The Odaimoku, which literally means "the title" is used in Japanese Buddhism to refer to the repeated recitation of a mantra. The Odaimoku of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo is derived from the Lotus Sutra, the essential mantra of Nichiren Shu. In this book is also explained the meaning of each single word composing the Odaimoku, so that one might have a deeper understanding of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo and its implications on one's life and enlightenment.

Includes a foreword by Mark Unno and Taitetsu Unno. Jeff Wilson started his walk on the Buddha's Path as a Zen practitioner-taking up a tradition of vigorous self-effort, intensive meditation, and meticulous attention to rectitude in every action. But in Jeff's case, rather than freeing him from his suffering, he found those Zen practices made him nothing short of insufferable. And so he turned to Shin Buddhism-a path that is easily the most popular in Zen's native land of Japan but is largely unknown in the West. Shin emphasizes an ''entrusting heart,'' a heart that is able to receive with gratitude every moment of our mistake-filled and busy lives. Moreover, through walking the Shin path, Jeff comes see that each of us (himself especially included) are truly ''foolish beings,'' people so filled with endlessly arising ''blind passions'' and ingrained habits that we so easily cause harm even with our best intentions. And even so, Shin holds out the tantalizing possibility that, by truly entrusting our foolish selves to the compassionate universe, we can learn to see how this foolish life, just as it is, is nonetheless also a life of grace. Buddhism of the Heart is a wide-ranging book of essays and open-hearted stories, reflections that run the gamut from intensely personal to broadly philosophical, introducing the reader to a remarkable religious tradition of compassionate acceptance.