Both the hardcover (left) and paperback (right) versions of my new book are now live on Amazon ( Hardcover is $16, while the paperback is $8. I ordered the hardcover edition for myself and I'm pretty satisfied with how it looks in person.

Another interesting passage from Nichiren's Kaimokusho that I've been wondering about for some time: "... the World-Honored One cursed Devadatta, saying, 'You are a fool who licks the spit of others!' Devadatta felt as though a poison arrow had been shot into his breast, and he cried out in anger, declaring: 'Gautama is no Buddha!'" I tracked this reference down, and it comes from a part of the Vinaya texts: Cullavagga, Khandaka 7, Chapter 3. In this text, Devadatta, who had become corrupted by his own hunger for fame and power, requests that Shakyamuni Buddha retire and let him lead the sangha instead. Shakyamuni denies his request quite harshly. The translation I found retells it like this: "I would not give over the Bhikkhu-saṃgha, Devadatta, even to Sāriputta and Moggallāna. How much less, then, to so vile and evil-living a person as you." This is not a literal translation, however. The actual term Shakyamuni used to describe Devadatta was "kheḷāpaka," meaning something like "phlegm-eater." It was apparently an insult used to denote someone who makes a living via dirty means. Interesting stuff.