MANY PATHS TO ENLIGHTENMENT?? by Stephanie Maltz

Well, your answers are quite sad to read. Instead of going back to
the source and re-reading Nichiren you say, "what you say about the
severe retribution for not following your brand of Shakyamuni's
teachings is truly astonishing".........how is this my brand? It's
Nichiren's teaching. I didn't find "passages to support (my)
beliefs"........and "goshos are open to interpretation, despite (my)
insistence that (I) alone know the truth". Goshos are exactly as they
are written, no interpretation at all when it's so clearly spelled
out. You say that my statements do not "pass the rationality test".

And you say "there cannot only be One Way". (Sorry, that's Nichiren'
message, there is ONLY one way, not two or three.) "There are many
paths to enlightenment as there are seekers". Fine words, but they
are a different teaching. They are not Nichiren's and they are not
the Lotus Sutra. In case you didn't notice, Nichiren is a
fundamentalist, and his is an exclusive practice, i.e. the Lotus
Sutra only. Likewise, Shakyamuni says that he has "not yet revealed
the truth", which is found only in the Lotus Sutra. You can't be a
Nichiren Buddhist if you don't believe Nichiren's words.

Nichiren was a "scriptural Buddhist". He relied solely on the
sutras. His earliest credo was from the Great Nirvana Sutra.....
"Trust the Dharma, do not trust human teachers. Trust the wisdom (of
the Buddha) do not trust human consciousness. Trust the sutras of
final meaning, do not trust the sutras of non-final meaning." The
Buddha taught three kinds of teaching: provisional, expedient, and
final. The final is the Lotus Sutra, with the Nirvana Sutra as a
"gleaning".

Or as T'ien t'ai said: "If something agrees with the (Lotus) sutra,
then record and use it. Do not believe in oral transmissions." In
the Tendai tradition of Nichiren's day, there was a "zenification"
happening, which implied that there was some meaning that was higher
than the text. Nichiren rejects this completely. Unfortunately, the
SGI/NST philosophy is in this vein , and is completely in opposition
to Nichiren.....

You rely on the opinions of Ted Morino....even if they contradict
Nichiren. This SGI talk is simply "New Age mysticism in Buddhist
robes". It is not Nichiren Buddhism. (It's easy for Ted Morino to
tell you anything because you haven't looked it up for yourself.
Isn't this risky, like taking a stock broker's word for an
investment? I had no luck until I read everything for myself).

Like it or not, Nichiren was a strict fundamentalist. His words, "All
other sutras lead to hell" is a direct quote, correctly translated.
Jesus is a "bad teacher" and his teaching causes terrible suffering,
especially after death......only Nichiren used the name "Honen" in
this type of example. Obviously, he didn't know about Jesus, but the
principle is the same. Sorry to shock you, but it's not me who says
so, it's Nichiren himself. And Nichiren says that if people find him
to be too strict, then they must consider Shakyamuni to be even more
strict in the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren merely reiterates the teaching
that Shakyamuni transmitted to him at the ceremony in the air (Chapter
11, Lotus Sutra).

Instead of going on in this vein, let me be blunt. You practice
Soka-Buddhism,.not Nichiren Buddhism. .Do you think that a fake
honzon can give the same benefit as a real one? The answer is that
you are not getting the benefits that Nichiren described. I don't
doubt that you feel your practice benefits you. Christians get
benefits also, even miracles. So does every religion in the world,
including paganism, shamanism, even Norman Vincent Peale's positive
thinking. It's not the yardstick that we can use to compare the
"results". I can use my mental strength to create a miracle, because
the human mind is truly remarkable. However, the human mind is not
the equivalent of the Buddha mind, even though the latter is found in
each of us.

Don't you see that the lack of knowledge about Nichiren (what have
you been reading for 14 years? Ikeda? WT? But never the Lotus
Sutra? Does this pass the "rationality test"?)....this lack of
knowledge about Nichiren has fueled a philosophy that is completely
removed from the original writings? You can recite the daimoku, but
if it doesn't reflect the truth, then you miss the benefit. This
kind of chanting will lead you to someday find the Lotus Sutra again,
perhaps in a future life, but it misleads you now. Shall I quote
goshos that are specific on this point? I'm not saying this to
inflame you or to give you "fire and brimstone". It's the exact
teaching that Nichiren presented, and it mirrors the Lotus Sutra
perfectly. If you truly believe that the Lotus Sutra is removed from
Shakyamuni and the daimoku of Nichiren, then your chanting is a
provisional teaching, not the true teaching. (I'm paraphrasing a
specific gosho, this is not my own invention.) I wish it were
otherwise, then it would be easy to "receive and keep" this teaching.
But it's very hard to believe and practice in an evil age, harder
that to carry a load of dry grass through a fire without getting
burned, etc.

You're happy with SGI's version of Nichiren, but don't fool
yourself into thinking that the benefit "is all the same".
And don't expect me or anyone else who has walked both roads
to buy into the SGI "crock". I've been there and
back.....so have many others. As for the "world peace"
angle, more people have quit SGI than have stayed .
Conservatively, 2 million gohonzons have been sold in this
country but the membership today is probably under 10,000 in
the US. Do the math for yourself. If there is so much
benefit via the SGI way, why have so many left? People
don't leave if they are benefitting from something.
Realistically, the Gakkai is a means to drive people away
from the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren. How many Americans have
a bad taste in their mouth for Nichiren, just because they
were shuttled through the SGI? How many people can tolerate
the heavy handed "senior leader" tyranny? How many lives
have been ruined, marriages broken up, and careers wasted?
How many people have been crushed by the demands of insane
activities, min-ons and conventions? Or "guidance"? In order
to create "world peace" SGI would have to go back and win
these people back again. It won't happen.

Don't bother to convince me otherwise on these points, I saw more in
my years with SGI than you can even imagine. And I talk to new
people every day, who left five or more years ago. It hasn't changed
and the horror stories are still the same. My e-mail is full, every
day, of posts from people who write about their pain over the SGI
experience. Do you think that these people are lying to me, and
would waste their time in writing if they hadn't been spiritually
duped? Or abused by "leaders"? Shall I believe you and tell these
people that they must be mistaken? Shall I adopt the stance of
"denial", and lie to myself about what I went through? I see very
clearly the pattern that my life had in SGI. It's only because I
practice the orthodox way that I can see with crystal clarity what my
own life is about, and what it was about then. (I am being very
specific here, and the precise experiences that I refer to are the
basis of my spiritual convictions. They are significant and
substantial, not just "feelings" .) Are you saying that this "actual"
proof of mine is invalid? Or that I can't compare the differences
between then and now? Are you doubting my experience that the real
benefit did not happen until I "parted from the false and adopted the
true"? (That's from the sutra.)

If you find Nichiren's words too harsh to accept at face value, then
stay with Soka-"Buddhism". But don't try to convince me that "it's all
the same". The "results" are completely different and the final
destinations are in opposite directions. I'm sorry you don't study
for yourself but rely on "scholars" like Ted Morino .........it's
lethal. You can accept the New Age philosophy without much personal
damage....but when you use new Age to destroy the teaching of
Nichiren, then it's a different scenario. You can strike your fist
at the air without damage , but if you strike a rock, then your hand
will break. To attack other teachings is to strike the air, but to
attack the Lotus Sutra (and SGI says it has no power, a serious
attack) is to strike a rock. It doesn't matter if you do so in
ignorance, your hand will still break. It doesn't matter if you give
the order to kill people or if you are the soldier who carries out
the order, the retribution is the same. Teacher and disciple fall to
hell together. Do you recognize these last two statements? They're
directly from Nichiren.

Enough said. I sincerely hope you consider both sides carefully.
We are a network, not a "leader-based' organization like
SGI, so don't think that I'm trying to get you to switch for the sake
of "our side". The purpose of this post is not to drum up
membership, like some "shakabuku campaign". The issue is doctrine
only, and the truth. Not some interpretation (based on lies,
sadly)......all "benefits" flow from the truth. The philosophy that
you described in your letter (new-age buddhism) is not Nichiren. No
amount of rationalization will make it so. At least admit to the
"revisionism" of SGI and consider seriously if it hasn't altered the
truth. Then consider what benefit can come from adopting the truth,
and what harm comes from accepting a lie. Base it on the words of
Nichiren and the Lotus Sutra only. Don't make "me" the issue. It's
cult mentality to attack the messenger, to see things as "us" vs.
"them". Remove "me" from the discussion and look at the issue of
doctrine only. If you don't study the doctrine you can be duped.

Gassho