Finding a Partner: Gosho Guidance for Love, Waiting and Choosing

Few things touch the heart as deeply as the search for a life partner. The waiting, the hoping, the meetings that go nowhere, the relationships that end, the families with their own ideas. It can be one of the loneliest roads to walk, even when everyone around you has an opinion.

Nichiren Daishonin wrote to people who knew these feelings well: a woman long separated from her husband, raising her daughter alone; young followers making their way in life; brothers and their wives facing a family that opposed them for twenty years. His letters speak to the heart, without judgement.

> "Even the darkness becomes bright when a lantern is lit, and even muddy water becomes clear when the moon shines on it." > — Easy Delivery of a Fortune Child, WND-1, 186

Wherever you are on this road, there is something in the Gosho for you.

What are you going through?

Still Single · "I'm still waiting for the right person." Friends are marrying, the questions keep coming, and you're wondering why it hasn't happened for you yet.

Proposals Falling Through · "Proposals keep falling through." Meetings go well, then silence. Each rejection feels more personal than the last.

Marriage Pressure · "My family keeps pushing me to marry." Every conversation at home turns to marriage, and you feel caught between their hopes and your own heart.

Heartbreak · "My relationship ended before marriage." A breakup, a partner who cheated, or love that wasn't returned has left you hurting.

Family Doesn't Approve · "My family won't accept who I love." You've found someone, but caste, religion, background or horoscopes stand between your family and your choice.

Is This the One? · "I'm not sure they're right for me." You're close to a big decision, and doubts keep pulling you back and forth.

Starting Again · "I want to find love again." After a divorce or the loss of a spouse, you're hoping for love again, and wondering what others will say.

Loving the Wrong Person · "I love someone I shouldn't." They're married, unavailable or bad for you, and you know it, but you can't let go.

Every article follows the same path

Each one starts with what you're feeling, then shares a letter the Daishonin wrote to someone in a similar situation, with the passage and its page in The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin. It ends with one small step you can take tonight, and real experiences from members who walked the same road.