Sadly, the SGI itself teaches this directly, which probably has something to do with why SGI members beleive it:
"Buddhism is a teaching conveyed through the mentor-disciple relationship. The oneness, or shared commitment, of mentor-disciple forms the essence of Buddhist practice. If we forget the mentor-disciple relationship, we cannot attain Buddhahood. Nor can we achieve eternal happiness or realise kosen rufu. For it is through the bond of mentor and disciple that the Law is transmitted. Buddhism is the Law of life; and the Law of life cannot be transmitted through words and concepts alone." (Lectures on the Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life - SGI Malaysia 2009 page 115)"
All this in a lecture on a Gosho that never even hints at mentor-disciple transmission. All this from an organisation that claims to follow Nichiren's teaching (and be the only legitimate inheritor of that teaching). All this when the statement is completely unsupportable on the basis of the Gosho and a direct slander of the Sutra. Yet SGI members accept it in a circular logic that tells them that the Mentor knows the heart of the Lotus Sutra and Nichirens teaching and is at one with it, so if he says this, it must be right, this is what the Nichiren means.
Nichiren: "It's raining, wear a coat or get wet and catch a chill"
Mentor: "There is rain in the sky but if you follow the way of mentor-disciple through diligent unstinting practice and by donating the money you would have wasted on a raincoat to our lofty and glorious cause, you can show actual proof of the undomitable, fighting spirit of the Daishonin's Buddhism by standing, stalwart and uncomplaining in the rain, directing traffic at one of our glorious events to promote kosen rufu, winning over every obstacle and difficulty until you break through to realise there was always sun above the clouds and in a matter of time, as you polish your lives by contributing everything you have, with every last ounce of your being, to our glorious organisation, the only true inheritor of Nichiren's compassionate buddhism to bring forth the wellspring of eternal and everlasting joy, changing your karma and purifying your lives, so they shine with the radiance if the Buddhism of the sun, until finally, it is relected in your environment and you finally know you have won. This is the Gakkai spirit! Nothing is more noble and precious than the Gakkai members who are willing to undergo such hardships, to prove the power of their faith and work tirelessly for the sake of kosen rufu, giving their lives and everthing they've got, tirelessly to spread our grassroots movement for peace, culture and humanism into eternity...Mr Toda used to say to me, when I hadn't slept for 5 years, was racked with fever and complaining "Senichi...
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ReplyDeleteSadly, the SGI itself teaches this directly, which probably has something to do with why SGI members beleive it:
ReplyDelete"Buddhism is a teaching conveyed through the mentor-disciple relationship. The oneness, or shared commitment, of mentor-disciple forms the essence of Buddhist practice. If we forget the mentor-disciple relationship, we cannot attain Buddhahood. Nor can we achieve eternal happiness or realise kosen rufu. For it is through the bond of mentor and disciple that the Law is transmitted. Buddhism is the Law of life; and the Law of life cannot be transmitted through words and concepts alone." (Lectures on the Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life - SGI Malaysia 2009 page 115)"
All this in a lecture on a Gosho that never even hints at mentor-disciple transmission. All this from an organisation that claims to follow Nichiren's teaching (and be the only legitimate inheritor of that teaching). All this when the statement is completely unsupportable on the basis of the Gosho and a direct slander of the Sutra. Yet SGI members accept it in a circular logic that tells them that the Mentor knows the heart of the Lotus Sutra and Nichirens teaching and is at one with it, so if he says this, it must be right, this is what the Nichiren means.
Nichiren: "It's raining, wear a coat or get wet and catch a chill"
Mentor: "There is rain in the sky but if you follow the way of mentor-disciple through diligent unstinting practice and by donating the money you would have wasted on a raincoat to our lofty and glorious cause, you can show actual proof of the undomitable, fighting spirit of the Daishonin's Buddhism by standing, stalwart and uncomplaining in the rain, directing traffic at one of our glorious events to promote kosen rufu, winning over every obstacle and difficulty until you break through to realise there was always sun above the clouds and in a matter of time, as you polish your lives by contributing everything you have, with every last ounce of your being, to our glorious organisation, the only true inheritor of Nichiren's compassionate buddhism to bring forth the wellspring of eternal and everlasting joy, changing your karma and purifying your lives, so they shine with the radiance if the Buddhism of the sun, until finally, it is relected in your environment and you finally know you have won. This is the Gakkai spirit! Nothing is more noble and precious than the Gakkai members who are willing to undergo such hardships, to prove the power of their faith and work tirelessly for the sake of kosen rufu, giving their lives and everthing they've got, tirelessly to spread our grassroots movement for peace, culture and humanism into eternity...Mr Toda used to say to me, when I hadn't slept for 5 years, was racked with fever and complaining "Senichi...