The Life Of Nichiren Daishonin
The Name "Nichiren" (Sun Lotus)

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When Rencho established the tenets of True Buddhism, he also changed his name to Nichiren, which derives from two passages in the Lotus Sutra. A passage from the Emerging from the Earth (Yujutsu; fifteenth) chapter reads: “…unsoiled by worldly things like the lotus flower in the water.” (Hokekyo, p. 425; The Lotus Sutra,Watson, p. 222) A passage from the Wondrous Powers (Jinriki; twenty-first) chapter states: “As the light of the sun and moon can banish all obscurity and gloom, so this person as he passes through the world can wipe out the darkness of living beings…” (Hokekyo, p. 516; The Lotus Sutra, Watson, p. 276)

In “Easy Delivery of a Fortune Child,” the Daishonin explains his choice of the name Nichiren. “Is there anything brighter than the sun and the moon? Is there anything purer than the lotus flower? The Lotus Sutra is the sun and the moon and the Lotus Flower. Therefore, it is called Myoho-Renge-Kyo (the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Mystic Law). Nichiren is also like the sun and the moon, and also like the lotus flower.” (Gosho, p. 464; MW-4, p. 87)

Like the sun that illuminates all darkness and like the lotus that emerges from mud to reveal a pristine blossom, Nichiren Daishonin, the reincarnation of Bodhisattva Jogyo, made his advent into this world to remove the darkness from the hearts of all people born during the ten thousand years of the Latter Day of the Law and to purify this evil age. This is the rationale behind Rencho’s choice of the name Nichiren.

In “Letter to Jakunichi-bo,” the Daishonin confides: “Giving myself the name Nichiren signifies that I attained enlightenment by myself.” (Gosho, p. 1393; MW-1, p. 236) The Daishonin indicates with these words that he himself embodies the realm of the Buddha. The Daishonin Begins Turning the Wheel of the Law

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