Gosho/Goibun of Nichiren
The issue of forged transmission documents is not that hard. We pretty much know what is in dispute and why. One can read about them at my blog and decide for yourself. A good place to start would be The Real Transfer Dox. Later on, I plan to re-examine how those things surfaced in history.
The forged Gosho issue is more difficult; that is why I have stayed away from it so far. There are two lists that I know of which can be accessed on line. These show the most authenticated of the Gosho/Goibun. But I was told that even some of these might not exist in Nichiren's hand. Some might be very early copies; or even later copies of letters that were known to have once existed in the original. Some of these might have script errors, or may ever have been tampered with. However, most are likely rock solid.
Listing of Authenticated Gosho (Goibun) of Nichiren DaiShonin
On the other end of the spectrum, there are some obvious forgeries. These contain gross errors and even anachronisms. I picture some Edo Era warlord forcing a monk to make a forgery at sword point. So the clever monk slyly inserts a clue. For example, Nippo Den, dated 1280, has this phrase:
"[Nichiren] enscribed the Kaidan-in Honzon and Nippo engraved it. This is the present plank Honzon. That is, it is the Gohonzon that was in the Grand Hall at Minobu. Becauseof Nippo's long and masterful expertise as an artisan, he made one statue of the Daishou 3 su-n (9 cm.) tall....The plank Honzon and statues are now at Fuji....When Nikko left Minobu, Nippo left with him." -- Nippo Den/Biography of Nippo, Nichiren Shoshu Seiten, pgs. 731-732
That was not written in 1280. Nikko left Minobu n 1288. Also, Izumi-ko Nippo most likely did not go with him. See Statue at Ikegami Honmonji from 1288
There are gradients in between well authenticated writings and sloppy forgeries. Ryuei has explained this in some detail, but I have never managed to overcome my 'glazed eye syndrome' {thina-middha} long enough to read and absorb his comments thoroughly.
This is an area that SGI should investigate and then update the background material in the WND. If a Gosho is suspect, we should know why. Or if a Gosho is A+ authenticated, we should know the details. For example, did a copy of "Reply to Kyo'o" magically appear just in time to support Nichikan's theories? Who made the copy, and when? What do they say happened to the original? Is the story credible? [See 'I, Nichiren, have inscribed my life' ... Forged Gosho?]
Suggested reading: forgeries
Ehipassikho,
robin
Posted by rbeck at April 10, 2006 03:44 AM