"The Great Teacher Miao-lo says in his commentary (Hokke Mongu Ki, seven): Therefore we know that if, in the latter age, one is able to hear the Law even briefly, and if having heard it, one then arouses faith in it, this comes about because of the seeds planted in a previous existence.' And he also says (Maka Shikan Bugyoden Guketsu): "Being born at the end of the Middle Day of the Law, I have been able to behold these true words of the sutra. Unless in a previous existence one has planted the seeds of auspicious causation, then it is truly difficult to encounter such an opportunity."(Rebuking Slander of the Law, MW vol. 6)
It is thanks to the good causes that we made in previous existences that we have encountered Namu Myoho renge kyo. It is not thanks to the Soka Gakkai as they would have us believe. It is also thanks to the good causes that we made that we have strong faith in the Gohonzon, the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin. Finally, it is thanks to these good causes that we now practice the Mystic Law correctly. What terrible causes have they made, the believers in Islam, Christianity, and especially the members of the Soka Gakkai and the Nichiren Shoshu? Truly, it can not be imagined.
yes indeed !!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIn the Gosho "Teaching, Practice and Proof," the Daishonin explains:
ReplyDelete"In the Shobo and Zobo periods, the benefit that people obtained was
conspicuous benefit, because the relationship they formed with the
Lotus Sutra during the distant past had finally matured. However, the
people in Mappo receive the seed of Buddhahood for the first time.
Therefore, their benefit is inconspicuous." (Gosho, p. 1104)
Thus, the people in Mappo have made no good causes in terms of Buddhism - no "seeds" have been planted. This is the most basic definition of the people of Mappo, the Evil Latter Day of the Law - they have made no good causes in any lifetime. That's what makes the Latter Day of the Law evil, you see.
A comment from "marcinmd" from 2001:
ReplyDelete"Nichiren Shonin brought the Hokke sect into Mappo. To be a believer means to accept that we live in Mappo and what that means in terms of how to practice effectively. Different conditions apply now in terms of people's spiritual capacity and their lack of contact with the Budha-Dharma in past lives. This is why there is a single imperative in Mappo, This is to spread the Daimoku (the highest Dharma encapsulated in a single phrase) and plant the initial seed of enlightenment in as many people as we can. This too is not "illusionary." The seed of enlightenment is actually planted in the life stream of those who hear the Daimoku and it can be cultivated in this one life by earnest practice."
nice work doris.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell if you're being sarcastic, greg. I learned this little factoid about Mappo years and years ago; I remember how incensed my fellow SGI members, even some leaders, would become when I explained that no one living in the Latter Day of the Law had made any good causes toward the Lotus Sutra in any previous lifetime. That is why Nichiren Buddhism is referred to as "the Buddhism of sowing", which is supposedly superior to
ReplyDelete"the Buddhism of the harvest", after all. A lot of people learn a little about cause and effect and karma and, based on confusing scriptures and ignorant commentary, decide they happen to like the idea that they were devout Lotus Sutra votaries in previous lifetimes. Here is an example, from Nichiren's "The Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life": "It must be ties of karma from the distant past that have destined you to become my disciple at a time like this. Shakyamuni and Taho Buddhas certainly realize this truth. The sutra's statement, 'In lifetime after lifetime they were always born together with their masters in the Buddha's lands throughout the universe,' cannot be false in any way." Just not in the age of Mappo!! It doesn't apply to us!! But people don't tend to like hearing "You must have been a real dick in the past to be born here in Mappo!!"
The Tripitaka Master Shan-wu-wei
Delete"This sahā world occupies the lowest position among all the worlds of the ten directions. Among these worlds, it holds a place like that of a prison within a nation. All the persons in the worlds of the ten directions who have committed any of the ten evil acts, the five cardinal sins, the grave offense of slandering the correct teaching, or other terrible crimes and have been driven out by the Buddhas, Thus Come Ones, of those worlds, have been brought together here in this sahā land by the Thus Come One Shakyamuni. These people, having fallen into the three evil paths or the great citadel of the hell of incessant suffering and there duly suffered for their offense, have been reborn in the realm of human or heavenly beings. But because they still retain certain vestiges of their former evil behavior, they are inclined to easily commit some further offense by slandering the correct teaching or speaking contemptuously of persons of wisdom". Nichiren
Therefore one can conclude with a fair amount of confidence, that:
Delete"... it can be concluded that the peace of our country will be realized if slanderers of the Right Dharma are eliminated and keepers of the Right Dharma are respected.”
doris. i mean what i say and say what i mean. there is a rhythm to the universe, a time for planting and a time for harvest. shakyamuni clearly explains that his merits and good results were causes made long ago. nichiren was his example in and for the latter day. nichiren clearly explained that there is one entity and one vehicle, not two not ten. to chant the daimoku while acting against its intent is not the daimoku of nichiren and the lotus sutra. yet, the sgi and others teach that when one chants the daimoku there is no distinction. but there is. so, rather than lead to a greater enlightenment, it leads to a greater delusion. i like what you write. cheers.
ReplyDeleteHi there Greg, can you explain Shakiamuni Buddha for us?,
DeleteI mean; Can you make/mark your clear distinctions between Siddharta Gautama and the deity that supposedly Expounded the LS?
After that, can you decode Hongaku for us as well?, From Chi.i's pov please, not Nichiren's ... so that [we] can make some sense of Mappo Though? ...
Then ... if you have some spare time: Can you explain Honen, Shinram and Dogen for us as well (In the context of Tendai/Hongaku/Mappo) ...
Doris you cannot say all, it does not make sense and it is not what the Lotus Sutra teaches.The Buddha said that there will be Bodhisattvas of the Earth that vowed to help and spread the teachings in this day and age in Mappo.So you cannot say all but many had not made the causes in the age of Mappo.I know I am a Bodhisattva of the earth after a profound spiritual experience which was backed up and could be proved. When I was a child I knew the teachings of the Lotus Sutra without being taught by anyone.It was deep in my memory.
ReplyDelete> "The Buddha said..."
ReplyDeleteNot entirely correct, is it?, If you'd care to reformulate your sentence beginning more like:
"The Mahayana (Chinese Buddhism) Scriptures say: .... blady, blady, blady, bla .... "
The Buddha (the two legged being going round by the name of Gautama, not the dude with the white tuff of hair sticking out of his forehead) also said:
"Attachment causes suffering" ... yet this is a blog in which some people state they "would be willing" to lay down their lives to protect Their Mentor, being that Nichiren or Whoever ...
Basic, isn't it?, but very understandable.
...
Can you also explain clearly how your identity as a Bodhisattva of the earth has traveled through time and space to meet you right here in your "current body"? ...
(in biological terms please so we can all understand.
eg. explain away the special container that you used for transmigration of "your soul").
Many thanks (in advance).
ps: "When I was a child" ... have you ever looked in the mirror and spot a blue-ish aura?
"If there is a man who utters words of disparagement: "You are nothing but a madman! In vain are you performing these practices! You shall never get anything for them!" The retribution for sins such as this shall be that from age to age he shall have no eyes. If there is anyone who makes offerings and gives praise, in this very age he shall get his present reward. If, again, one sees a person receiving and holding this scripture, then utters its faults and its evils, be they fact of not fact, that person in the present age shall get white leprosy. If anyone makes light of it laughs at it, from age to age his teeth shall be far apart and decayed, he shall have ugly lips and a flat nose, his arms and legs shall be crooked, his eyes shall be pointed and the pupils out of symmetry, his body shall stink, he shall have sores running pus and blood, his belly shall be watery and his breath short: in brief, he shall have all manner of evil and grave ailments." (Chap.28 Lotus Sutra)
ReplyDeleteNichiren believed that denying the truth of the Lotus Sutra, was the most serious of sins. Nichiren referred to this as "Hobo" (Slander of the Dharma). He warned that those who denounce the truth of the Lotus would suffer in the deepest Hell. Because, the Lotus Sutra promises salvation to beings in the "latter, evil age," Nichiren taught that anyone in the age of Mappo who believed in other doctrines, or trusted in evil teachers (like Nikken or Ikeda) were destined for hell.
"The Lotus Sutra is the correct path to Buddhahood."
"If someone does not believe the Lotus Sutra and slanders it, he kills his seeds of Buddhahood in this life. When his life is over, he will be reborn in the deepest hell. After a kalpa he will be born again in hell, and this cycle will continue for countless kalpas."
"Disbelief is not following the teaching. What is called slander of the sutra is nothing other than disbelief." (Nembutsu mugen jigoku sho, STH, p.34)
"I was led through the alleys of Kamakura like a traitor. They destroyed the room in my hut in which I enshrined the teachings of the Buddha and where I worshiped Shakyamuni. Several of them trampled the statue of Buddha and the scrolls of the scriptures into the mud. They even took the scrolls of the Lotus Sutra which I held and beat me ith them. There had been no provocation which should have led to this; I had committed no crime. I was guilty only of spreading the Lotus Sutra." (Jinkoku Gosho, STH, p.892)
"This scripture has many enemies even now when the Tathagata is present. How much worse it will be after his nirvana." (Chapt.10 Lotus Sutra)
"After the Buddha's passing into extinction, in a frightful and evil age": "ignorant men," "monks of twisted wisdom, their hearts sycophantic and crooked," and "prideful hermits, who say of themselves that they are treading the True Path, holding mankind cheaply because they covet profit and nourishment." (Chapt. 13 Lotus Sutra)
Take refuge in the Lotus Sutr
"But the great bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds who emerged from the earth have first of all lived in this sahā world for an incalculably long period of time; second, they have been disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha since the far distant past, when he first set his mind on and attained enlightenment; and third, these bodhisattvas were the first persons in the sahā world to receive the seed of Buddhahood from the Buddha. Therefore, in terms of the bonds of karma from the past that tie them to the sahā world, they surpass the other great bodhisattvas."
ReplyDeleteThat's quoting from scriptures Mark ... I asked for a physical/biological explanation for the "container" that enables an identity to transmigrate trough time and space and materialize as and when,, in order for us to understand correctly that it is the same one that existed 2500yrs ( or a bn for that matter) ... whatever you are able to come up with ...
DeleteI've chanted the August Tittle, and I don't believe I was at the ceremony ... nor do I believe I was anywhere previous to my lifetime, am I slanderer of the LS? ...
on the same note ... I can understand the every molecule of my body (and that's the only entity I can recognize as being myself, I mean, my whole self including my mental activity), will dissipate into a billion-billion constituents ...
How do you regroup them? how can the primary blocks of existence retain Karma and how can they regroup to form (me) again as a 'Bodhisattva'? (including mission please)
I think the answer you're looking for, Pedro Ramos, is "magic." "Mystic" is another word that means "magic". Hocus pocus!
DeleteHow and why are you grouped now that you are made up of ten quadrillion quadrillion atomic and sub-atomic particles derived from star matter? Can you say that you will not be regrouped after your dissipation? Magic? Because we have not yet derived at the scientific principles involved? Is life energy? I seem to remember something about the conservation of energy. Why not the conservation of nature? Because psychology is an infantile science? Because neuroscience is not much more advanced than psychology? Because our understanding of quantum mechanics is barely touching the surface of dark matter which has never been observed?
DeleteThe theory of the Steady State Universe is gaining momentum on the Big Bang. In a hundred years the Big Bang may be the whimper that was. Likewise, all who discounted transmigration and rebirth may be eating crow on Thanksgiving. Only the teaching of rebirth affords ultimate responsibility for weal and woe. The opposite of magic or God.
DeleteActually, I'm a long-time steady-stater, myself. Granted, I have very little actual knowledge of cosmology, but from what little I've read, I find the steady-state model more convincing. Or, rather, the "modified steady-state" - I don't know if that's a real name (I just call it that) - meaning an eternal universe punctuated from time to time with localized "big bang"-type events. As a rapid expansion pushes everything ahead of it, we, being on the inside, would only be able to see up to the edge of that expansion limit. Anything to the outside would necessarily be invisible to us. Since you seem interested in steady state, I would like to recommend two sites - an article from the early 2000s on an astronomer couple who both stood firm on steady state on the basis of the data: http://www.utsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050216/news_lz1c16theory.html
DeleteAnd here, an excerpt: "In other words, there have been a number of theories over the years which propose the idea that our universe is cyclical. And some have even argued that there is physical evidence which supports them. Most notably, maps of our universe's cosmic background radiation, which some have interpreted as containing rings of radiation consistent with remnants of a previous -possibly even multiple- big bang(s).[SEE: eternal inflation and bubble collision ]. So if this whole quantum vacuum bubble thing turns out to be true, it could be a strong indication that the universe we currently live in, is just one of many iterations in a potentially endless series. Then again, future measurements of the proposed higgs particle could invalidate all these things -cause that's just how theoretical physics works. Either way, I certainly can't proclaim to understand all of this well enough to speculate as to weather or not it really does lend any further validity to the idea of a cyclical universe." For the rest and links to sources, go to http://godlessgeekblog.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2013-01-01T00:00:00-05:00&updated-max=2014-01-01T00:00:00-05:00&max-results=37
Lotus Sutra Buddhism supplies answers to the very profound questions of being.
ReplyDeleteIndividual Karma...
One child is born sightless to poverty stricken parents in a drought and war ravaged region of Africa and another born to immensely wealthy parents in a penthouse in Zurich. One child is born with an IQ of 60 and can barely feed himself and another is reading an encyclopedia by the age of two. A four year old girl who never took a music lesson can play several different instruments while another with cerebral palsy can not even hold a spoon. One child is born into the Brahman caste and another into an untouchable family. Still another overcomes her disability and goes on to develop a cure for AIDS while a perfectly healthy world class athlete suffers a career ending compound fracture of the femur. There are five billion examples of differences in fortune, wisdom, physical and mental drive and abilities.
There are rarely encountered adults and even children who have a documented first hand knowledge of historical individuals, events, and locations and there are unmistakable shared physical and mental characteristics among certain deceased and living individuals with no associated shared heredity. Only the doctrine of Karma reasonably explains and answers this observable reality.
Collective Karma...
Examples of collective karma are those with cerebral palsy, those born white, those killed in the holocaust, doctors, lawyers, indian chiefs. Either there is individual and group responsibility or there is none. Weal and woe either happens by chance, the will of god, or through the thoughts, words, and actions of individuals and groups. Those who have faith in the Lotus Sutra believe in personal and group responsibility caused by the thoughts, words, and deeds of individuals and groups accumulated since the infinite past. Who is the agent of your weal or woe? I hit my thumb with a hammer. I would be a fool to blame someone else. Likewise, only fools blame God, others, the environment, or chance for their misfortune.
Nichiren Daishonin on Karma:
"Question: How can you be certain that the exiles and sentences of death imposed on you are the result of karma created in the past?
Answer: A bronze mirror will reflect color and form. The First Emperor of the Ch'in dynasty had a lie-detecting mirror that would reveal offenses committed in this present life. The mirror of the Buddha's Law makes clear the causal actions committed in the past. The Parinirvana Sutra states: "Good man, because people committed countless offenses and accumulated much evil karma in the past, they must expect to suffer retribution for everything they have done. They may be despised, cursed with an ugly appearance, be poorly clad and poorly fed, seek wealth in vain, be born to an impoverished and lowly family or one with erroneous views, or be persecuted by their sovereign. They may be subjected to various other sufferings and retributions. It is due to the blessings obtained by protecting the Law that they can diminish in this lifetime their suffering and retribution."
Namu Myoho renge kyo and Karma...
Karma can be the most comforting or the most disquieting belief. Everything depends on one's Buddhist faith and practice, true and correct or false and mistaken. Certitude of karmic reward is always comforting while certitude of karmic retribution may or may not be disquieting. You will have to repay your karmic debt. If you have accumulated much karmic reward, the debt seems insignificant. If you have accumulated little karmic reward, your debt seems oppressive. Chanting Namu Myoho renge kyo with a correct faith and teaching others to do the same, is the way to accumulate infinite karmic reward. Your travails will pale in significance.
OMg Mark Rogow, You've just shot yourself on the foot on-line:
Delete"Collective Karma...
Examples of collective karma are those with cerebral palsy, those born white, those killed in the holocaust, doctors, lawyers, indian chiefs. Either there is individual and group responsibility or there is none. Weal and woe either happens by chance, the will of god, or through the thoughts, words, and actions of individuals and groups. Those who have faith in the Lotus Sutra believe in personal and group responsibility caused by the thoughts, words, and deeds of individuals and groups accumulated since the infinite past. Who is the agent of your weal or woe? I hit my thumb with a hammer. I would be a fool to blame someone else. Likewise, only fools blame God, others, the environment, or chance for their misfortune.
Nichiren Daishonin on Karma:
"Question: How can you be certain that the exiles and sentences of death imposed on you are the result of karma created in the past?"
I suggest you write an essay addressed to the Jewish community explaining that the holocaust is their own fault in light of the teachings of the Lotus Sutra ... extend it to the Chinese population decimated by the Japanese Imperial Army ... in fact, extend it to the whole set of minorities that suffered collective persecution ... Include the Japanese population of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Their fault for not listening.
Do it compassionately so they can ALL understand.
I have a little Karma Test for you Pedro.
DeleteWhose Karma Is It?
1). A lady who lives in Flint Michigan goes into the Lotto store,
buys a quick pick ticket and wins $168,000,000.00
a. Lancelot Link's (the star chimp)
b. The Lady's next door neighbor
c. President Bush's
d. Everyone's in Flint Michigan because the Lady is sure to share her winnings with everyone there.
e. The lady's who bought the ticket?
Whose Karma Is It?
2). Capone the street thug has been mugging little old ladies for
five years and was just convicted of five counts of manslaughter. He gets forty-five to sixty years in prison without the possibility of
parole.
a. President Bush's
b. The Icelandic peoples' who haven't had a case of manslaughter in thirty years
c. Vito Corleone's because, Capone, Corleone, Napolitan, what's the difference
d Capone's
e. None of the above, karma doesn't exist
Whose Karma Is It?
3). 37 countries made an olympic bid to become the next host of the olympics. China won and it is jubilant.
a. Charley Chaplin's
b. Dolly Parton's
c. The Ivory Coast's
d. Tibet's
e. China's
Whose Karma Is It?
4). Six Million Jews are killed in the Holocost.
a. The Irish people's
b. The Bolivian's
c. The Mennonite's
d. The Jew's
e. Hitler's
Whose Karma Is It?
5). A child of six has never picked up an instrument before. His
mother buys him a little piano. He hears Bach's Fugue 13 For the
Harpsichord one time on the radio and he perfectly mimics it note for note while his mother almost feints in amazement.
a. Sharon Stone's because she too plays the piano
b. The Jews'
c. The child's
d. The piano's because it is a magic piano
e. Bach's. He wrote the Fugue
Whose Karma is it
6). Indonesia suffers the worst natural disaster of the century. An
Earthquake magnitude 9.0 causes a tidal wave, the likes of which no one has seen for millenia. 400,000 people die and 2 million people are made homeless.
a. Betty Midler's
b. The Indonesian people's
c. The Blarney Stone's
d. President Bush's because he is the cause of ll things wrong in the world
e. Russia's because they gave $2,000,000.00 in relief while having a GDP of $1,200,000,000,000.00 and spending two hundred billion a year on new weapon systems.
Whose Karma Is It?
7). Tania Flores, born into a poor family in East Harlem, loves to
study everything she can get her hands on. Everyday for twelve years she comes home from school and does four hours of homework. She then does her chores and reads a new book. She is number one in her high school class and enters the six year college-medical doctor program at city college where she excells and becomes a brain surgeon who invents a new cerebral artery bypass system that prevents the death of thousands of stroke victims and the severe morbidity of ten of thousands of other stroke victims.
a. The Puerto Rican people's
b. Tania's father who was a drug addict and abused Tania from the day she was two years old until the day he died (when she was 6) from an overdose of heroin
c. Tania's
d. Jesse the Body Ventura's
e. Rev. Ryuei's because he is a Nichiren priest
"There were, to be sure, some persons who were able to gain release from the six paths through the Flower Garland, Āgama, Correct and Equal, or Wisdom sutras. They did so, however, not through the power of these various sutras but because they were persons who in the distant past had received the seeds of enlightenment from the Lotus Sutra. Without waiting for Shakyamuni Buddha to preach the Lotus Sutra, their capacities were therefore able to mature. With a slight impetus from these other sutras preached prior to the Lotus, the seeds received from the Lotus Sutra in the distant past were able to sprout and develop, and in this way these persons gained rebirth in a pure land or attained Buddhahood.
ReplyDeleteFor example, there are the cause-awakened ones who live in a time when there is no Buddha in the world but who, by observing the scattering of the blossoms or the falling of the leaves, are able to attain the insight of pratyekabuddhas by themselves. Or there are those who, because of their filial devotion to their parents, are able to be reborn in the Brahma heaven. Merely observing the blossoms and leaves or being filial to one’s parents does not constitute a religious practice that insures them the insight of pratyekabuddhas or rebirth in the Brahma heaven. But it acts as a kind of impetus, bringing into play the effects of religious practices carried out in their past existences, and in this way enables them to gain rebirth in the Brahma heaven or attain the insight of pratyekabuddhas."
Nichiren on the Buddhism of the Sowing and the Buddhism of the Harvest
ReplyDeleteThe original manuscript of the Kanjin Honzon Sho [True Object of Worship] is designated a National Treasure by the Japanese government and is kept in the treasure storehouse of the Hokekyoju Temple in Ichikawa City, Japan. The document is considered crucial to the understanding of Nichiren Daishonin. Nichiren refers to the treatise as being of the "utmost importance".
The Kanjin Honzon Sho from the Major Works of the SGI is translated from the Gosho Zenshu which is the modern Japanese translation of the original Chinese and medieval Japanese Gosho translated by Nichiren Shoshu priests. One should note that the Nichiren Shoshu and the SGI are the only Nichiren sects that advocate Nichiren as True Buddha and the only sects that rely on Gosho Zenshu. The Major Works translation reads:
"The “Teacher of the Law” chapter of the Lotus Sutra states, “Since hatred and jealousy toward this sutra abound even when the Thus Come One is in the world, how much more will this be so after his passing?” The “Treasure Tower” chapter states, “They [the Buddhas] make certain that the Law will long endure. . . . [The Thus Come One Many Treasures, I myself ], and these emanation Buddhas who have gathered here, surely know this is our aim.” Look at what the “Encouraging Devotion” and “Peaceful Practices” chapters state about the future. The theoretical teaching was preached for the people after Shakyamuni Buddha’s passing.
As regards the essential teaching, it was addressed exclusively to the people early in the Latter Day of the Law. On the surface, the Buddha seems to have preached this teaching for the enlightenment of the people of his day; he planted the seeds of Buddhahood in their lives in the remote past [numberless major world system dust particle kalpas ago] and nurtured the seeds through his preaching as the sixteenth son of the Buddha Great Universal Wisdom Excellence [major world system dust particle kalpas ago] and through the first four flavors of teachings and the theoretical teaching in this life. Then with the essential teaching he brought his followers to the stage of near-perfect enlightenment and finally to that of perfect enlightenment.
In actuality, however, the essential teaching bears no resemblance whatsoever to the theoretical teaching. The preparation, revelation, and transmission of the essential teaching are intended entirely for the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law. The essential teaching of Shakyamuni’s lifetime and that revealed at the beginning of the Latter Day are both pure and perfect [in that both lead directly to Buddhahood]. Shakyamuni’s, however, is the Buddhism of the harvest, and this is the Buddhism of sowing. The core of his teaching is one chapter and two halves, and the core of mine is the five characters of the daimoku alone." Kanjin Honzon Sho (SGI Major Works ) pp 169-170
The Kanjin Honzon from the NOPPA translation of the Nichiren Shu is translated directly from the Showa Tehon which is a copy of the original collection of Gosho written in Chinese and medieval Japanese. The NOPPA translation reads.
"It is stated in the tenth chapter of the Lotus Sutra, 'The Teacher of the Dharma': 'This sutra has aroused much hatred and jealousy even in the lifetime of the Buddha. How much more can this be expected after His death!' And in the eleventh chapter, 'Appearance of the Stupa of Treasures': 'Taho Buddha and the Buddhas in manifestation (funjin Buddhas) from all the worlds in the universe gathered together to make this dharma live forever....Buddhas in manifestation should remember My (the Buddha's) intention to keep on spreading the dharma forever.'You may find similar statements in the thirteen chapter, 'Encouragement for Upholding this Sutra', and fourteenth chapter, 'Peaceful Practices'. They show that the theoretical section of the Lotus Sutra is directed to those in the beginning of the Latter Age.
cont....
ReplyDeleteThe essential section of the Lotus Sutra is preached solely for those living in the beginning of the Latter Age. At first glance it appears that the seed of Buddhahood was planted in them by the Eternal Buddha in the eternal past or 500 dust particle kalpa ago. The seed germinated and grew within them with the help of all the sutras from the Lotus Sutra preached by the sixteenth prince of Daitsuchisho Buddha in 3,000 dust particle kalpa in the past to all those preached by Sakyamuni in his life before the Lotus Sutra and the theoretical section of the Lotus Sutra. Finally the essential section of the Lotus Sutra enabled them to attain Buddhahood.
On closer examination, however, the essential section differs from the theoretical section. That is to say the essential section, all through the prologue, the main discourse, and the epilogue, was preached for those people in the beginning of the Latter Age of the Decadent Dharma. The teaching of the essential section during the lifetime of Sakyamuni Buddha and that which would spread in the beginning of the Latter Age are likewise absolutely perfect. However the former is for attaining enlightenment, whereas the latter is for sowing the seed of Buddhahood. While the former is crystallized in the sixteenth chapter, 'Duration of the Life of the Buddha', with half a chapter each preceding and following it, the latter is solely embodied in the five characters of Myo, Ho, Ren, Ge, and Kyo, the title of the Lotus Sutra." Kanjin Honzon Sho, Nichiren Shu (NOPPA 1991) pp 120 - 122;
What was referred to by Nichiren as "the teaching for attaining enlightenment" [MW - Buddhism of the Harvest] is the teaching by the historical Buddha during his lifetime, i.e., his spoken words to his disciples. In the Age of Mappo we can only rely on the Lotus Sutra but the manner of its faith, practice, and propagation in the Age of Mappo differs from that done by the historical Buddha during his lifetime. We rely on the Daimoku transmitted by the Buddha to the Bodhisattvas from underground who are commissioned to expound the Lotus Sutra in this Age of Mappo. In Chapter 15 of the Lotus Sutra, the various provisional Bodhisattvas from this and other worlds ask to expound the Lotus Sutra. However, the Buddha demurs saying, "I do not want you to uphold this sutra...." Kanjin Honzon Sho, Nichiren Shu (NOPPA 1991) p 124; MW p 172.
Nichiren, referencing Tien-tai, discusses this rejection: "After all, Sakyamuni Buddha could not reveal his innermost enlightenment, or the great dharma hidden in the lines of the Duration of the Life of the Buddha Chapter [Chapter 16] to those great bodhisattvas from other worlds who had been guided by the teaching of the theoretical section." Kanjin Honzon Sho, Nichiren Shu (NOPPA 1991) p 126; MW 173.
Nichiren continues, explaining that in this Age of Mappo, the essence of the Lotus Sutra, Myo Ho Renge Kyo is taught to the people by the Bodhisattvas from underground, who are the original disciples of Sakyamuni Buddha:
"Lands at the beginning of the Latter Age slander the true dharma and those who live there have poor capacity for comprehension and faith in Buddhism. Therefore, instead of relying on Buddhas from other worlds, the Buddha called out great bodhisattvas from underground to entrust them with the task of transmitting the five characters of Myo, Ho, Ren, Ge, and Kyo, the essence of the 'Duration of the Life of the Buddha' chapter, to the people in this world. It meant also that those guided by the teaching of the theoretical section were not the original disciples of Sakyamuni Buddha." Kanjin Honzon Sho, Nichiren Shu (NOPPA 1991) p 126; MW 173.
cont......
ReplyDelete"Having thus manifested the ten divine powers, Sakyamuni Buddha transmitted the five characters of Myo, Ho, Ren, Ge, and Kyo to the original disciples of the Buddha since the eternal past, who had sprung up from underground." Kanjin Honzon Sho, Nichiren Shu (NOPPA 1991) p 140; MW 176.
"Tien-tai comments on this in his 'Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra': Following 'Thereupon Sakyamuni Buddha said to the host of bodhisattvas' is the third section of the chapter on the Divine Powers, summarizing the essence of the Lotus Sutra and transmitting it to the bodhisattvas from underground." Kanjin Honzon Sho, Nichiren Shu (NOPPA 1991) p 142; MW I:76.
"The manifestation of the ten divine powers in the 21st chapter on the 'Divine Powers' is for the sake of transmitting the five characters of Myo, Ho, Ren, Ge Kyo to the four bodhisattvas of Jogyo, Muhengyo, Jyogyo and Anryugyo, representing the host of bodhisattvas who had sprung from underground." Kanjin Honzon Sho, Nichiren Shu (NOPPA 1991) p 142; MW I:76-77.
Nichiren goes on to explain that the time had only just arrived for the bodhisattvas from underground to appear and propagate Myoho Renge Kyo, the excellent medicine for the Latter Age:
"Now we are at the beginning of the Latter Age of the Decadent Dharma, when Hinayana teachings strike down Mahayana teachings, provisional teachings destroy true teachings, east is taken for west and west for east, and heaven and earth are upside down. Under these circumstances, the four ranks of bodhisattva-teachers who preach the theoretical section of the Lotus Sutra remain in hiding. Gods desert the land which they are supposed to protect. Then, for the first time, those bodhisattvas from underground appear in this world to encourage ignorant people to take the five characters of Myo, Ho, Ren, Ge, and Kyo, the excellent medicine of the Latter Age. Many ignorant people would fall into hell by slandering the five characters, but they would be saved eventually. (NOPPA) pp. 143
The meaning of the Buddhism of the Sowing and the Buddhism of the Harvest is not that there are two different Buddhisms, the Buddhism of Shakyamuni and the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin. It means that this Latter Day is for sowing the seeds of Buddhahood, not for harvesting the seeds.
On transmigration for Pedro
ReplyDelete"The Lotus Sutra reads, "The true aspect of all phenomena [can only be understood and shared between Buddhas. This reality consists of the appearance, nature . . . and] their consistency from beginning to end." The "Life Span" chapter states, "It has been immeasurable, boundless [hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayutas of kalpas] since I in fact attained Buddhahood." In this passage, "I" refers to all beings in the Ten Worlds. Because all beings of the Ten Worlds are inherently Buddhas, they dwell in the pure land. The "Expedient Means" chapter reads, "These phenomena are part of an abiding Law, [and] the characteristics of the world are constantly abiding." Since it is the way of the world that birth and death are eternally unchanging characteristics of life in the three existences of past, present, and future, there is no need to grieve or to be surprised. The single word "characteristic" represents the eight characteristics, or phases, of the Buddha's existence. Even these eight phases do not transcend the two words birth and death. To be enlightened in this way is referred to as the attainment of Buddhahood in one's present form by the votaries of the Lotus Sutra."(Hell Is the Land of Tranquil Light)
"The sufferings of birth and death are nirvana" exists only in realizing that the entity of life throughout its cycle of birth and death is neither born nor destroyed. The Universal Worthy Sutra states, "Without either cutting off earthly desires or separating themselves from the five desires, they can purify all their senses and wipe away all their offenses." Great Concentration and Insight says, "The ignorance and dust of desires are enlightenment, and the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana." The "Life Span" chapter of the Lotus Sutra says, "At all times I think to myself: How can I cause living beings to gain entry into the unsurpassed way and quickly acquire the body of a Buddha?" The "Expedient Means" chapter says, "The characteristics of the world are constantly abiding." Surely such statements refer to these principles. Thus what is called the entity is none other than Namu-myoho-renge- kyo."(Sufferings Of Birth and Death are Nirvana)
"For example, Shakyamuni Buddha once ascended to the heaven of the thirty-three gods to fulfill his obligations to his deceased mother. But because of the Buddha's transcendental powers, with the exception of the Venerable Maudgalyayana, no one in the entire land of Jambudvipa was aware of it. Thus, even though Buddhism is before their very eyes, if people lack the proper capacity, it will not be revealed, and if the time is not right, it will not spread. This is a principle of nature. It is as if, for instance, the tides of the ocean were ebbing and flowing in accordance with the time, or the moon in the heavens were waning and waxing."
"Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, treasured this Gohonzon in his heart for numberless major world system dust particle kalpas, and even after he appeared in this world, he did not expound it until more than forty years after his first preaching. Even in the Lotus Sutra he did not allude to it in the earlier chapters of the theoretical teaching. He began things in the "Treasure Tower" chapter, he revealed it in the "Life Span" chapter, and he brought things to a close in the "Supernatural Powers" and "Entrustment" chapters."(Reply to Niiama)
cont....
ReplyDeleteThus we are not aware of the phases of life and death because appearance and nature, the way in which we quantify and qualify phenomena, change so radically between life and death, much more so than the union of microscopic egg and sperm becoming a great blue whale. Even Kirlian photography, infrared cameras, gamma ray detectors, Bodhisattvas of the Kegon or Mahavarochaina Sutra etc. are not adequate to see the appearance and nature through the phases of life and death. A Buddha with a Buddha sees these things and one day we may have the technology to see the appearances.
"Transmigrating" is used in the Lotus Sutra to describe the process of change from life to death:
"Transmigrating in the six states of existence,
They suffer the utmost misery.
Received into the womb in minute form,
Life after life they ever increase and grow,
Poor in virtue and of little happiness.
They are oppressed by all the distresses;
They have entered the thickets of heretical views,
such as 'existence' or 'non-existence' ;
Relying on these (false) views,
Altogether sixty-two,
They are deeply attatched to these false laws,
Firmly holding unable to give them up,
Self-sufficient and self-inflated,
Suspicious, crooked, and faithless in mind;
During thousands and milliards of kalpas
They have not heard the name of the Buddha,
Nor have they heard the True Law;"
(Lotus Sutra Chapter 2, Expedient Means)
"The Benevolent Kings Sutra states: "If persons destroy the teachings of the Buddha, they will have no filial sons, no harmony with their six kinds of relatives, and no aid from the heavenly deities and dragons. Disease and evil demons will come day after day to torment them, disasters will descend on them incessantly, and misfortunes will dog them wherever they go. And when they die, they will fall into the realms of hell, hungry spirits, and animals. Even if they should be reborn as human beings, they will be destined to become soldiers or slaves. Retribution will follow as an echo follows a sound, or a shadow follows a form. Someone writing at night may put out the lamp, but the words he has written will still remain. It is the same with the effect of the deeds we perform in the threefold world."
The second volume of the Lotus Sutra says, "If a person fails to have faith but instead slanders this sutra . . . When his life comes to an end he will enter the Avichi hell." And in the "Never Disparaging" chapter in the seventh volume, it says, "For a Humble "Those who commit slander of the Law are in most cases reborn in the hell of incessant suffering or, in a few cases, in one of the six lower paths." (On Rebuking Slander of the Law and Eradicating Sins)
One should, by all means, carefully examine the teachings one embraces so as to avoid slander.
"With their teachings for a ship, could one ever cross over the sea of the sufferings of birth and death? With their teachings for a bridge, could one ever escape from the maze of the six paths? But the Buddha, our great teacher, has advanced beyond even transmigration with change and advance, let alone transmigration with differences and limitations. " (Opening of the Eyes)
Important point on the two populations of people in Mappo coming this evening for Doris... The two general types of people, those who have received the seeds of enlightenment in the past and those who have not.
ReplyDeleteIf so, Lady Nichimyo, then Nichiren was wrong. And if Nichiren was wrong about that, what ELSE was he wrong about?
ReplyDelete"There are rarely encountered adults and even children who have a documented first hand knowledge of historical individuals, events, and locations and there are unmistakable shared physical and mental characteristics among certain deceased and living individuals with no associated shared heredity. Only the doctrine of Karma reasonably explains and answers this observable reality."
ReplyDeleteI realize there are *urban legends* to that effect, but perhaps you can provide us with links to just ONE of these documented cases. Thanks in advance.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=proof+of+rebirth
Delete"Examples of collective karma are those with cerebral palsy, those born white, those killed in the holocaust, doctors, lawyers, indian chiefs. Either there is individual and group responsibility or there is none. Weal and woe either happens by chance, the will of god, or through the thoughts, words, and actions of individuals and groups. Those who have faith in the Lotus Sutra believe in personal and group responsibility caused by the thoughts, words, and deeds of individuals and groups accumulated since the infinite past. Who is the agent of your weal or woe? I hit my thumb with a hammer. I would be a fool to blame someone else. Likewise, only fools blame God, others, the environment, or chance for their misfortune."
ReplyDeleteIn and around Bhopal, India, where the Union Carbide industrial disaster sickened and killed so many people 30 years ago, people live surrounded by contaminated water and buried hazardous waste. And, unsurprisingly, illnesses and birth defects are widespread. So they'd be "foolish" to blame the poisoned environment? To hold Union Carbide responsible for the lasting damage their negligence has caused? That's "foolish" for blaming Union Carbide, which took advantage of lax regulation and cheap, unsuspecting workforce to reap insane profits before its own dereliction of duty caught up with it - and everyone else? It's the victims' responsibility now?
It's a simple "yes" or "no" question, Mark.
See "Bhopal's toxic legacy lives on, 30 years after industrial disaster", an article on the topic. So, if we think the Lotus Sutra is the best teaching out there, we have to regard these unfortunates being born with such severe birth defects as having earned their obvious "punishment" by slandering the Lotus Sutra in previous lifetimes? What do you think such a conclusion would do to our attitude toward them, whether we will become MORE or LESS willing to help them? Since they deserved it, after all. Isn't it up to THEM to work through their karma? Nobody can do it for them, after all.
"Children are born with conditions such as twisted limbs, brain damage, musculoskeletal disorders ... this is what we see in every fourth or fifth household in these communities."
So I guess Bhopal, India, is where slanderers get reborn when they're finally released from the Avichi Hell - is that right? They're in their slanderers' ghetto where they belong, nothing more to see here, people, move along.
It certainly is their karma for having slandered the Lotus Sutra or committed the Five Cardinal Sins in a previous existence. Still, correctly assigning blame is a function of wisdom. Those agents of the Bhopal disaster will suffer the very same fate as their victims. This is the marvelous function of cause and effect or "what goes around comes around". This is the reality of eternal life. So please be careful.
DeleteNichiren acknowledges he was not Bodhisattva Jogyo:
ReplyDelete"The LS states that Bodhisattva Jogyo and the other Bodhisattvas of the Earth will appear in the first five hundred years of the Latter Day of the Law to propagate the Mystic Law... I, Nichiren, am neither Bodhisattva Jogyo nor his messenger..." ("Admonitions against Slander")
"The Parinirvāna Sutra states: “...because people committed countless offenses and accumulated much evil karma in the past, they must expect to suffer retribution for everything they have done. They may be despised, cursed with an ugly appearance, be poorly clad and poorly fed, seek wealth in vain, be born to an impoverished and lowly family or one with erroneous views, or be persecuted by their sovereign.” It continues: “They may be subjected to various other sufferings and retributions. It is due to the blessings obtained by protecting the Law that they can diminish in this lifetime their suffering and retribution.” Were it not for Nichiren, these passages from the sutra would virtually make the Buddha a liar. The sutra says, first, “They may be despised”; second, “They may be cursed with an ugly appearance”; third, “They may be poorly clad”; fourth, “They may be poorly fed”; fifth, “They may seek wealth in vain”; sixth, “They may be born to an impoverished and lowly family”; seventh, “They may be born to a family with erroneous views”; and eighth, “They may be persecuted by their sovereign.” These eight phrases apply only to me, Nichiren." ("Letter from Sado")
Oh, please. Stop being such a drama queen, Nichiren. Most of those are simply characteristics of poverty. Are we thus validated in scorning the poor because they obviously deserve to be poor?
Nichiren acknowledges he slandered the LS while he was a Nembutsu priest - here's what Nichiren says the LS says about that scenario:
"It also says, 'If a person fails to have faith but instead slanders this sutra, immediately he will destroy all the seeds for becoming a Buddha in this world. . . . When his life comes to an end he will enter the Avīchi hell.' This passage means that, if one does not believe in the LS but instead turns against it, one will immediately destroy the seeds for attaining Buddhahood in this world. After death, one will fall into the hell of incessant suffering."
Nichiren acknowledges that he is guilty as charged:
"Since Nichiren himself committed slander in the past, he became a Nembutsu priest in this lifetime, and for several years he also laughed at those who practiced the LS, saying that “not a single person has ever attained Buddhahood” through that sutra, or that “not even one person in a thousand” can be saved by it. ... In the past I despised the votaries of the LS. I also ridiculed the sutra itself...
So, according to the LS, Nichiren destroyed any "seeds" he might have had. Thus, Nichiren was "seedless", consistent with the definition of Mappo (no one has any "seeds").
"'The Words and Phrases of the LS' refers to two types of people: those who [received the seeds of Buddhahood and] have good roots and those who do not. According to Nichiren, people in the Latter Day of the Law never received the seeds of Buddhahood from the Buddha in the past and must therefore first receive the seeds of Buddhahood in their lives. Then they can complete the whole process of maturing and harvesting in this lifetime." In a nutshell.
Sorry, everybody who prided themselves on being "Bodhisattvas of the Earth." It is very clear that you can't be - Mappo = seedless. Nichiren said it so it must be true.
That's what you learned in the Soka Gakkai. There are, at least several places that Nichiren claims to be the Bodhisattva Jogyo [and Nikko too regarding Nichiren]. They and NST teach that lie to leave an opening for their Nichiren as True Buddha doctrine.
DeleteThe inscription or laudatory text on a Gohonzon in 1274 (currently kept at Myohonji at Hota.), No.16 in the Catalogue of the Gohonzon Collection (Yamanaka Kihachi, Nichiren Daishonin Shinseki no Sekai, p 323 and type B (II) 7 no. 13 in Nichiren Daishonin Mandara zushu, pp. 58-59) reads:
"Since the entrance into Extinction of the Great Enlightened World Honored One there have passed in succession more than two thousand two hundred and twenty years. Even so, among the Three Countries of India, Han (China) and Japan, there has not yet been this Great Object of Worship (Dai Honzon). Either they have known but not yet spread it or they have not known it. Our Compassionate Father, by means of the Buddha Wisdom, has hidden and retained it, leaving it for the Latter Age. At the time of the last five hundred years, the Bodhisattva Jogyo comes forth in the world and for the first time spreads and proclaims it."
"My words (which have been predicted concerning conviction of Honge Jogyo may sound very boastful, but they were intended for the sake of helping the realization of Buddha's prophecy.... At any rate, who shall be qualified to be Honge Jogyo other than Nichiren, myself? The moon rises in the west and shines in the east, the sun rises in the east and shines in the west. Buddhism, too, is just like this. It came from the west to the east during the two thousand years of the Right and Fanciful Laws, but in the days of the Latter Law, Buddhism is for the sake of salvation from East to West....
According to Buddha's prophecy and considering all circumstances, now, Nichiren's age corresponds with the beginning of the Fifth Five Hundred Period. The True Buddhism shall go to the world from the Far East, Japan" (Nichiren's Works: Shinshio-Bunko & Ryogonkaku editions, Vol I., p. 476).
"Already the great Bodhisattva out of the earth has appeared, so that the great Law which the Buddha entrusted to him [summing up the salient points of His Laws], shall be evidence" (Nichiren's Works: Shinshio-Bunko & Ryogonkaku editions, Vol I., p. 325).
"I, Nichiren, am the greatest practitioner of the Hokekyo in the world" (Nichiren's Works: Shinshio-Bunko & Ryogonkaku editions, Vol I., p. 119).
"I, Nichiren, am the greatest sage in the world" (Nichiren's Works:
Shinshio-Bunko & Ryogonkaku editions, Vol I., p. 513).
"In the beginning of the Fifth Five Hundred Period the Bodhisattva Honge Jogyo appeared and propagated this Law for the first time" (Nichiren's Works: Shinshio-Bunko & Ryogonkaku editions, Vol I., p. 508).
continued...
Delete"I, Nichiren, have abandoned both the approach that expands and that which condenses and favor the essence of the matter, which means the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo that were transmitted to Bodhisattva Superior Practices."
Question: And what title and description would you give to the Law that is to be propagated in the Latter Day of the Law?
Answer: The answer to this is made clear in the secret Law handed down to Nichiren himself and kept in his mind. It is none other than Namu-myoho-renge-kyo.
Question: What passages can be cited to prove this?
Answer: The “Supernatural Powers” chapter states: “At that time the Buddha spoke to Superior Practices and the others in the great assembly of bodhisattvas, saying: ‘To put it briefly, [all the doctrines possessed by the Thus Come One, all the freely exercised supernatural powers of the Thus Come One, the storehouse of all the secret essentials of the Thus Come One, all the most profound matters of the Thus Come One]—all these are proclaimed, revealed, and clearly expounded in this sutra.’” The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai says: “The passage that begins ‘At that time the Buddha spoke to Superior Practices’ constitutes the third [of the three divisions of the prose section of the chapter describing] the transfer of the essence of the Lotus Sutra.”
And he also says: “The essence of all the essential passages in the Lotus Sutra is the four matters [represented by the four phrases]. [In other words], the entire Lotus Sutra is summed up in these four phrases. These four, which represent the essence of the sutra, are being transmitted to Superior Practices and the others.”
Question: The passage you have just cited deals with the transmission to Bodhisattva Superior Practices and the others. Why, then, do you speak about “the secret Law handed down to Nichiren himself and kept in his mind”?
Answer: I, Nichiren, am leading the way in propagating the secret Law that Bodhisattva Superior Practices has been entrusted to disseminate. Does this not mean that the transmission concerns myself?...."
"Although not worthy of the honor, I, Nichiren, was nevertheless the first to spread the Mystic Law entrusted to Bodhisattva Superior Practices for propagation in the Latter Day of the Law. I was also the first, though only Bodhisattva Superior Practices is so empowered, to inscribe [the object of devotion as] the embodiment of Shakyamuni Buddha from the remote past as revealed in the “Life Span” chapter of the essential teaching, of Many Treasures Buddha who appeared when the “Treasure Tower” chapter of the theoretical teaching was preached, and of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth who arrived with the “Emerging from the Earth” chapter. Though people may hate me, they cannot possibly alter the fact of my enlightenment."
Delete"The “Emerging from the Earth” chapter also explains something about me, because it states that Bodhisattva Superior Practices and his followers will appear in the Latter Day of the Law to propagate the five characters of Namu-myoho-renge-kyo....."
"In your official letter you also state, “I revere the elder of Gokuraku-ji temple as the World-Honored One reborn,” but this I cannot accept. The reason is that, if what the sutra states is true, the Sage Nichiren is the envoy of the Thus Come One who attained enlightenment in the remote past, the manifestation of Bodhisattva Superior Practices, the votary of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra, and the great leader in the fifth five-hundred-year period [following the Buddha’s passing]. In an attempt to have this sage executed, the Honorable Ryōkan submitted a letter of petition to the authorities proposing that he be beheaded; but for some reason the execution was not carried out, and he was instead exiled far away to Sado Island. Was this not the doing of the Honorable Ryōkan? I am sending you a copy of his petition together with this letter.
Even though the priest Ryōkan preaches day and night on each of the six days of purification21 against killing even a blade of grass, he actually proposed that the priest who propagates the correct teaching of the Lotus Sutra be beheaded. Has he not contradicted his own words? Is the priest Ryōkan himself not possessed by the heavenly devil?"
shakyamuni and his emissary for latter age nichiren, both first and foremost promoted faith in the lotus sutra. the lotus sutra is not a intellectual debate or experience. only thru faith can one enter. once one begins to take real faith(not the phony stuff) in the lotus sutra(myoho renge kyo), ones past karma begins to change. faith is the key that opens that door.
ReplyDeleteSo, that's It Greg Romero; "Salvation Through Faith Alone", that is your final answer?
ReplyDeleteVery Evangelical wouldn't you agree?
study the teachings pedro. that is exactly the foundation. you don't like it, go cry to someone else.
ReplyDeleteDoris, there are two processes and two general types of people:
ReplyDelete“The three groups of shomon disciples accumulated good fortune since sanzen jintengo [before being guaranteed enlightenment), and those who received the seed and reached enlightenment on hearing the first chapter of the Lotus Sutra accumulated good fortune since Gohyaku jintengo. How possibly could those who first received the seed during the lifetime of the Buddha all without exception achieve enlightenment in a mere two-thousand years? [They couldn't!] The reason is this: the effectiveness of Shakyamuni’s teachings begins at Kuon Ganjo, but ends with the two-thousand years of the Former and Middle Days of the Law. … Therefore the people of the Latter Day of the Law all innately have yet to possess the seed and so are of the capacity to receive the original seed of enlightenment directly.”--Nichikan’s Rokkan-sho, p.110
“The Lotus Sutra is like the seed, the Buddha like the sower, and the people like the field.” — The Essentials for Attaining Buddhahood.
“Now in the two thousand years of the True and Counterfeit [Dharmas] when they kept and relied upon the Lesser Vehicle and Provisional Great Vehicle, and practices putting one’s merit [effort] into them, in general there was benefit. Even so, although everyone who practiced those various sutras thought that they obtained the benefit by the various sutras upon which they relied, when we inquire on the meaning by the Hokekyo, they had not one bit of benefit. What is the reason why? It being when the Buddha was in the world they formed a connecting condition with the Hokekyo but it depended upon whether or not there was maturation or not in their capacities. Those whose capacities of the Perfect Teaching are pure and matured in the time [when the Buddha] was in the world attained Buddhahood. Those whose faculties and capacities were faint and inferior [or not yet mature] backslid to the True Dharma [era] and took their realization from the Jomyo [Vimalakirti], Shiyaku, Kan[muryoju]kyo, Ninno hannya kyo and so on, just as when [the Buddha] was in the world. And so in the True Dharma [era] was jointly possessed together of the three, teaching, practice and realization.
“In the Counterfeit Dharma [era] there was teaching and practice but no realization. Now on entering the Latter Dharma there are the teachings, but there is no practice or realization. There is not one person of those who formed the connecting condition when the Buddha was in the world. The two capacities of the Provisional and Real [Teachings] are all gone. At this time for the two [types] of people who are of the rebellious [sins] and blasphemy of the present era for the first time one takes Namu Myoho renge kyo of the ‘Chapter of the Measure of Life’, the Essence of the Hommon as the laying down of the seed (or, as the Buddha Seed). “‘This good, excellent medicine now I leave here. You should take and swallow it. Do not worry that you will not be cured’” refers to this.
It is as when long ago in the Counterfeit Dharma [era] of the past Buddha Ionno when there was not one person who knew the Great Vehicle, the Bodhisattva Fukyo came forth and chanted the Twenty-four Characters which the Master of Teachings had preached. Those who heard those Twenty-four Characters not lacking one person also [later] encountered the Great Being (Mahasattva) Fukyo and obtained benefit. This then was because they made the previous hearing of the Dharma the laying down of the seed (geshu).
cont....
Now it is also like this. That was the Counterfeit Dharma; this is the polluted evil Latter Dharma. That was a practicer of the First (Elementary) Following Joy [level]; this is a worldling of the Name {Identity]. That was the laying down of seed of the Twenty-four Characters; this is only the Five Characters [of the Daimoku]. Although the times of obtaining the Way (tokudo: Buddhahood) are different, their ultimate meaning of Attaining Buddhahood would be completely the same.” (STN, v. 2, 1479-1480) Kyogyosho Gosho
ReplyDelete“Though the people who say the Nembutsu, keep the precepts and so on are many, the persons who rely upon the Hokekyo are few. The stars are many but they do not illuminate the great sea. Grasses are many but they do not form the pillars of the Imperial Palace. Though Nembutsus are many, they are not the Way to become a Buddha. Though one keeps the precepts they do not form the seed for going to the Pure Land. It is only the Seven Characters ‘Namu Myoho renge kyo’ that are the seed for becoming a Buddha. Though, when I said this, people were jealous and did not adopt it, the late Lord Ueno by his believing it has become a Buddha.” (STN, v. 2, 1603) — Gosho unknown by me
There are two processes and two general types of people, according to Nichiren Daishonin: Those who received the seeds of Buddhahood in the past, those in the Higher Six Worlds; and those who never received the seeds, those in the Lower Four Worlds. For those who have already received the seeds, the Daimoku functions to water the seeds. For those who never received the seeds, hearing the Daimoku [Law] is the seed and practicing the Daimoku is the water. He states, “But many who neither received the seeds of Buddhahood nor formed ties with the Buddha in past existences…” and further along, “The sutra explains that all bodhisattvas, persons of the two vehicles, and human and heavenly beings received the seeds of Buddhahood numberless major world system dust particle kalpas ago.” Therefore, when he asserts, “If people do not possess innate Buddha wisdom, how could the Buddha say he wanted to open it? One must understand that Buddha wisdom is inherent in all human beings.” [Even those in the Four Lower Worlds who do not possess the Buddha seeds]. How do we reconcile these seemingly diverse teachings? The only way we can resolve the contradictions is that the the Buddha-nature is the FIELD of good fortune synonymous with Buddha wisdom in all beings but without the Buddha seeds and water of Myoho renge kyo, the field will lie fallow and Buddhahood will never open [manifest].
The following is the specific principle which Nichiren Daishonin taught us to bring forth when not engaged in formal debate:
“The people throwing sticks at Never Disparaging are Buddhas training Never Disparaging.” -- mistaken SGI member
No. Shakyamuni Buddha [Never Disparaging], the Original Eternal Buddha, is the one and only Buddha who has been enlightened since time without beginning and the one who has been training and guiding all others to Buddhahood. This is an integral part of Nichiren’s enlightenment and the enlightenment of all Buddhas throught the Ten Directions and Three Existences. Shakyamuni Buddha trained himself in the remotest past.
ReplyDeleteShakyamuni Buddha of India too is the Original Buddha throughout time and space, the sower of the seeds of Buddhahood in the wasteland of people’s lives since time without beginning. The Original Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni always and exclusively practices the True Law and has been doing so since time without beginning.
Nichiren writes in the Opening of the Eyes:
“Thus, in the various sutras other than the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni does not assemble those Buddhas who carry out different austerities and practices and who possess the three bodies nor does he identify them as emanations of himself. Only in the Hoto chapter of the Lotus Sutra does he do so. This chapter then, is intended as an introduction to the Juryo chapter that follows later. Shakyamuni Buddha who was believed to have attained enlightenment for the first time only some forty and more years previously, calls together Buddhas who had become enlightened as long ago as one or even ten kalpas in the past, and declares that they are emanations of himself. This is a far cry indeed from the Buddha’s usual preaching on the equality of all Buddhas [in their Dharma bodies], and in fact a cause of great astonishment. If Shakyamuni had attained enlightenment for the first time only some forty years earlier, there could hardly have been so many beings in the ten directions who had received his instruction. And even if he was privileged to possess emanations, there would have been no benefit in his showing them to his listeners. T’ien-t’ai, describing what went on in the astonished minds of the assembly, stated: “It was evident to them that Shakyamuni Buddha possessed numerous emanations. Therefore, they understood that he must have attained enlightenment in the far distant past.”
I have collected 98 additional passages of proof but it is difficult to save those who are deaf to the teachings of this Sutra..
Question: What is the Meaning of Original Buddha or Original Teacher?
ReplyDeleteAnswer: Original Teacher means that no matter how eminent, wise, or knowledgeable one may be, no matter how diligent one is in carrying out the Six Paramitas (Six Perfections), and no matter how long one practices the Six Paramitas, there is no way that one could come up with, let alone reveal, Myoho renge kyo independently of Shakyamuni Buddha. Shakyamuni Buddha, in the history of the universe, was the one unique individual capable of doing so. Nichiren realized this, taught this, and reverenced Shakyamuni Buddha for His astronomical feat of autonomous self-practice. That is why He, rather than any other individual, is revered as the person of the Gohonzon (Ninpo-Ika or Oneness of Person and Law).
We owe our very Enlightenment to this Buddha and this Buddha alone. The arrogance of those who misconstrue Shakyamuni Buddha’s and Nichiren Daishonin’s words for their own aggrandizement is cause to fall into the Lower Worlds and to remain there for a very long time. How can one follow someone who is so blind to the manifest reality that someone had to give them the Five Characters that they pay homage to? Daisaku Ikeda didn’t come up with the formula Myoho renge kyo. The High Priest didn’t come up with this formula, nor did you, Patrick. Even Nichiren Daishonin didn’t realize and expound the Lotus Sutra in the infinite past. It was Shakyamuni Buddha who taught Nichiren Daishonin and the other Bodhisattvas of the Earth the Lotus Sutra in the remote past. It was Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha who planted the seed of Myoho renge kyo in our Buddha-nature, the seed that, when watered with a correct faith and practice, grows into the magnificent tree of the Supreme Enlightenment of Myoho.
continued
ReplyDeleteSome NST member stated: “Now I know you find it hard to accept that Mahayana did not come from Gautama. Sorry to break the news to you. If you choose to worship a man, that contradicts Buddhism and is not what Nichiren meant.”
Reply: Gautama, the flesh and blood man himself, is Mahayana. You are another one who reads what Nichiren says but states “what he meant.” You are no different than he who you revile, Daisaku Ikeda.
“Answer: ‘One: Japan and so on to the whole of Jambudvipa should uniformly take the Master of teachings Lord Shakya of the Original Doctrine as the Object of Worship.” — Repaying Debts of Gratitude
This is the Great Secret Law of the Object of Worship. The Great Secret Law of the Invocation is Namu Myoho renge kyo. The Third Secret Law is that of the High Sanctuary which I will leave for the moment. A chair can not stand on two legs. You arbitrarily throw out the Great Secret Law of the Object of Worship because it grates on your sensibilities. Suck it up or create a new religion, like Ikeda. Isn’t that precisely what you are doing? That is why we of the modern Jumonryu are great. We preserve Nichiren Daishonin’s religion for those who wish to practice his way and we could give a rats petutey what you or anyone else thinks. Change the teachings and we will attack you with everything at our disposal. Start your own religion. See how many people follow you. You don’t even have one ten millionth the charisma of Ikeda nor one ten trillion the experience of the Daishonin, yet you would undermine the Great Man and his teachings. Shame on you. Unity for the sake of unity, at what expense? In the future, the teachings of the modern Jumonryu will prove to perfectly fit the capacities of all people. Yours and Ikeda’s will fall by the wayside because it is not based on the Enlightenment of the Buddha nor Nichiren but merely on your self satisfied understanding. You think many haven’t heard the correct teachings through the Kempon Hokke? We are coming up on one million views. Whether readily embracing the Daimoku through our efforts or despising the Daimoku for them, they form a relationship to the Sutra. They will attain Buddhahood.
“This is one of the most important points in the Lotus Sutra. The doctrine of the sowing of the seed and its maturing and harvesting is the very heart and core of the Lotus Sutra. ALL THE BUDDHAS OF THE THREE EXISTENCES AND THE TEN DIRECTIONS have invariably attained Buddhahood through the seeds represented by the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo. The words Namu Amida Butsu are not the seeds of Buddhahood, nor can the mantras or the five precepts act as such seeds. One must be perfectly clear about this point, because this is the fault referred to as being mixed.” -- Akimoto Gosho
Since this is so, Shakyamuni Buddha’s Myoho renge kyo has neither beginning nor end and Nichikan was deluded. The Nichiren Shoshu reveres a deluded man and the Soka Gakkai chants to a deluded man's Gohonzon. Through the Lotus Sutra Buddhist principles of the oneness of teacher and disciple and the onenesss of person and the environment, the Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai members are deluded.
outstanding dr. mark. namu myoho renge kyo !
ReplyDeleteHi Mr Pedro ,as a matter of fact I do see auras, have done for years .I can imagine if I could see yours it would be bright red!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat work Mark! you have done what you could to explain.We can only enter through faith if we understood at the beginning we would be in Buddhahood immediately. It is by casting away our arrogance we can start to understand and know what the Lotus Sutra is saying is the truth. People are at different stages of understanding but eventually all will arrive ,even if it takes eons.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, Lady Nichimyo, but Nichiren is very clear that Buddhahood is possible IN THIS SAME LIFETIME for people who are born in Mappo, the Evil Latter Day of the Law.
DeleteFor Mappo, all the rules change. Whereas in the Former and Middle Days of the Law, people had to remove themselves from society and practice austerities for lifetime after lifetime (per Nichiren's commentary) in order to grow their "seeds" of enlightenment into the "harvest" of Buddhahood, in Mappo, all bets are off. Because, by definition, every person alive during Mappo HAS NEVER ENCOUNTERED THE LOTUS SUTRA, and they are all - ALL - therefore "seedless". BUT, because Mappo is different and subject to different sorts of magic, anyone who learns of the Lotus Sutra teachings (and we can all agree this is possible even among the unexposed because books) can complete this formerly many-lifetimes-long process in a single lifetime. THAT is the supposed "power" of the Mystic Law, according to Nichiren and explained so carefully by him.
"Nevertheless, even though you chant and believe in Myoho-renge-kyo, if you think the Law is outside yourself, you are embracing not the Mystic Law but an inferior teaching. “Inferior teaching” means those other than this [Lotus] sutra, which are all expedient and provisional. No expedient or provisional teaching leads directly to enlightenment, and without the direct path to enlightenment you cannot attain Buddhahood, even if you practice lifetime after lifetime for countless kalpas. Attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime is then impossible." - Nichiren, "On Attaining Buddhahood IN THIS LIFETIME"
I hate to have to be the one to break it to you, but you are clearly practicing some inferior teaching. Since you believe it might take "eons", as you wrote, you don't get it. YOU will not attain Buddhahood in this lifetime - Nichiren is very clear on this point.
BTW, just a quick personal question, if you don't mind - are you at least 18 years old? Thanks.
"shakyamuni clearly explains that his merits and good results were causes made long ago."
ReplyDeleteYes, greg romero, that was in a different time period when such things happened. The rules were different then. Yet you're quoting a later and unreliable Mahayana teaching - in the earlier teachings, Shakyamuni is clear that the ONLY difference between himself and other common mortals is "I am awake." Shakyamuni clearly believed that, through his teachings, all other common mortals could potentially awaken, not just the ones who'd made all the right causes in previous lifetimes. Do you see the difference here? IF faith requires the completion of specific causes from previous lifetimes, then it's not available or accessible to anyone. That's the whole point of the "Evil Latter Day of the Law" - everyone's now fair game because all are, by definition, "seedless." Geddit?
The Former and Middle Days of the Law were times when people supposedly underwent a succession of rebirths in the process of "growing" their innate Buddhahood into the eventual "harvest" of enlightenment.
However, the Latter Day of the Law is "evil" because none of the people born in this age, Mappo, have ever had any contact with Buddhism. Because of that, and because of the magic properties of the age of Mappo, those who hear of Buddhism in THIS time period can develop their "seed" to the point of "harvest" in this same lifetime (the express program). That is why Nichiren wrote "Those concerned about their next life would do better to be common people in this, the Latter Day of the Law, than be mighty rulers during the two thousand years of the Former and Middle Days of the Law" and "Rather than be the chief priest of the Tendai sect, it is better to be a leper who chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!" in "On The Selection Of The Time". I recall a source that states, "It is better to be born a leper in the Latter Day of the Law than to be born a king in the Former or Middle Days of the Law", but I can't find the source. You can draw that conclusion from those two quotes, anyhow.
Nichiren quotes Miao-Lo in "On Rebuking Slander" that he was able to appreciate the Lotus Sutra because he'd been born in the Middle Day of the Law, and observed how difficult it is to encounter the teaching if he hasn't had the mystic cause planted in a previous existence. But that's why Nichiren goes to such lengths to describe how difficult it is to believe even one word of the Lotus Sutra ("to walk through a burning field with a pile of straw tied to one's back and not be burned" etc.). Because people in the Latter Day of the Law are seedless. Doesn't mean they can't appreciate the Lotus Sutra teachings - that's the whole point. They CAN. And when they do, it's BETTER for them because they can attain enlightenment in THIS lifetime (unlike the series of rebirths required in the Former and Middle Days). I don't see what's so difficult about this - Nichiren makes it *quite* clear. In fact, he goes out of his way to emphasize just how seedless the people of the Mappo are.
don't think so doris. nichiren explains that the japanese people are where and what they are because they have a reverse relationship with the law. he further explains that because of the causes he made in the past, he suffered in this life and that by promoting and protecting the law he is able to change that karma in this one lifetime. nothing trumps cause and effect.
ReplyDeletemystic does not mean magical. it means mysterious and not understood thru the logical mind. the condition of faith has a mysterious effect on many things. magical is more sgi type thinking. that why the buddha and nichiren taught that faith(correct faith) is first and foremost. for your consideration.
ReplyDeleteDoris, had you read my essays, you would seen that he speaks of two general populations: 1). Those who received the seeds in the far distant past but who eventually fell off the path, for example, Sariputra when he was asked by a Brahman to give him an eye when he was practicing the austerity of almsgiving and 2). those who never received the seeds. In the passage I cited above about auspicious causation, he is referring to those who reveived the seeds of Enlightenment in the past.
ReplyDelete