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Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Zen and the SGI

“The fifth volume of Great Concentration and Insight states, “There is a type called Zen men, but their masters and disciples are blind [to the truth] and lame [in practice], and both masters and disciples will fall into hell.” In the seventh volume we read: “[There are ten ways necessary for understanding and practicing Buddhism correctly. Of these, except one], the nine ways have nothing in common with the ordinary priests of the world who concentrate on the written word, nor do they have anything in common with the Zen masters who concentrate on practice. Some Zen masters give all their attention to meditation alone. But their meditation is shallow and false, totally lacking in the nine ways. This is no empty assertion. Worthy persons of later ages who have eyes to see will understand the truth of what I say.” 

The seventh volume of On “Great Concentration and Insight” states: “‘Priests who concentrate on the written word’ refers to men who gain no inner insight or understanding through meditation, but concern themselves only with characteristics of the doctrine. ‘Zen masters who concentrate on practice’ refers to men who do not learn how to attain the truth and the corresponding wisdom, but fix their minds on the mere techniques of breath control. Theirs is the kind of [non-Buddhist] meditation that fundamentally still retains outflows. ‘Some Zen masters give all their attention to meditation alone’ means that, for the sake of discussion, T’ien-t’ai gives them a certain degree of recognition, but from a stricter viewpoint they lack both insight and understanding. The Zen men in the world today value only meditation [as the way to realize the truth] and have no familiarity with doctrinal teachings. In relying upon meditation alone, they interpret the sutras in their own way. They put together the eight errors and the eight winds, and talk about the Buddha as being sixteen feet in height. They lump together the five components and the three poisons, and call them the eight errors. They equate the six sense organs with the six transcendental powers, and the four elements with the four noble truths. To interpret the sutras in such an arbitrary manner is to be guilty of the greatest falsehood. Such nonsense is not even worth discussing.” — The Opening of the Eyes 

SGI members go to toso after toso, chanting one million Daimoku after another, yet they sometimes assert that the prime point of the Lotus Sutra is the oneness of SGI mentor and disciple or that the Lotus Sutra teaches interfaith and other times they assert that the prime point of the Lotus Sutra is the Buddha-nature possessed by all beings. They know nothing of the doctrines contained in the 16th Chapter of the Lotus Sutra and the Opening of the Eyes. They lack both insight and understanding. In the end, they are guilty of the greatest falsehoods. 

There are several reasons for the slanders and distortions which characterize SGI’s teachings: 

1). Except for Makiguchi, the SGI members have not experienced martyrdom. They have had a relatively easy go with propagation and have, on occasion, resorted to bullying tactics themselves, something a Buddhist who has experienced severe persecutions first hand would never resort to. 

2). The way of the Samurai and Bushido [way of the warrior], remnants of the retainer/lord relationship, the principle of saving face, and the Zen Buddhist model of master/disciple relationship characterizes the Soka Gakkai 

3). Possibly the greatest digression from the Way of Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin is the zennification of the SGI. The Buddha stated: “be a lamp unto yourself” and the Buddha as well as the Daishonin taught that we should follow the Law and not persons. It should be obvious that the SGI exhortations to seek guidance, going so far as to have a Guidance Division, is actual proof of this distortion. Those who embrace the highest Law and the Supreme Object of Worship, need never be impelled to seek guidance and develop what is virtually a master/disciple relationship with anyone, even one deemed a senior in faith.

In Zen Buddhism, whatever the master says is followed without hesitation or question. In SGI, one often hears, “Follow no matter what.” I have heard such arbitrary non-Buddhist opinions as, “‘If you sincerely follow the guidance of your leaders, even if they are wrong, you will gain tremendous benefit.” Such teachings are endemic in the Soka Gakkai and in Zen. This is not the Lotus Sutra Buddhism of Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin. 

Even if the SGI were to adopt the Object of Worship of the Original Doctrine and admit that the identity of the Original Eternal Buddha was Lord Shakya, it will take many generations to purge the SGI of the Way of the Samurai, Bushido values, the way of lords and retainers, and the insidious master/disciple teachings of Zen. 

The Lotus Sutra and the writings of Nichiren Daishonin trump the worldly ephemeral successes of the two mentors. The ten million Soka Gakkai converts, by virtue of their false mistaken faith and practice based on the Taisekaji teachings mixed with value creationism, Yui Yoga, and Bushido, have become demons who will destroy True Buddhism in no time. Nichiren states in the writing, Happiness In This World: 

“There is no true happiness other than upholding faith in the Lotus Sutra. This is what is meant by “peace and security in their present existence and good circumstances in future existences.”” 

He further states in Embracing the Lotus Sutra: 

“Now, if you wish to attain Buddhahood, you have only to lower the banner of your arrogance, cast aside the staff of your anger, and devote yourself exclusively to the one vehicle of the Lotus Sutra. Worldly fame and profit are mere baubles of your present existence, and arrogance and prejudice are ties that will fetter you in the next one. Ah, you should be ashamed of them! And you should fear them, too!” 

One million times zero equals zero. Since the Soka Gakkai rejects the Lotus Sutra teachings and Buddha Shakyamuni of the Juryo-hon Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, how can SGI member’s happiness be anything but an ephemeral happiness? SGI members’ happiness is based on worldly fame and profit, not unlike the zenmen. 

We hear over and over about what SGI, "achieved” but what did they really achieve? Nichiren states, quoting the Nirvana Sutra:

“Kashyapa, because [in the past] I devoted myself to the correct teaching, I have been able to achieve this diamond-like body that abides forever and is never destroyed.” 

In the USA there are perhaps twenty or thirty million new evangelical believers in the last ten years. They espouse great happiness but Nichiren states, “because [in the past] I devoted myself to the correct teaching…” We should ask ourselves, are the Soka Gakkai teachings the correct teachings? Is it correct to abandon Shakyamuni Buddha and the Lotus Sutra? The ten million Soka Gakkai adepts faith and practice is based on a dream or more appropriately termed a nightmare, the nightmare of the Taisaekaji teachings expounded by Toda and Ikeda: 

“…the Gohonzons that we recieve are also the living flesh of the Original Buddha whose eyes have been opened according to the principles of the actual Ichinen Sanzen in the passages depths of the Juryo Chapter and the true attainment of Buddhahood by plants and trees. Why would this very Gohonzon not be the true aspect of the eye opening of wooden and painted images? This is absolutely not found in the heretical sects outside of Nichiren Shoshu, and is a profoundly secret doctrine which only Nichiren Shoshu possesses.”– Daisaku Ikeda Soka Gakkai Daibyaku Renge 

“….He knew all too well that the age of the Latter Day of the Law had already come, when prophecy foretold a decline in the power of Shakyamuni’s Buddhism; he knew it would have been entirely inappropriate to bring back Shakyamuni’s Buddhism as a new set of beliefs. He was able to bring the people a totally new kind of Buddhism because he was convinced of his identity and missions to save all people in the Latter Day of theLaw.” — Daisaku Ikeda (pg. 212 Selected Lectures on the Gosho)

The Lotus Sutra admonishes him: 

“Shame on such monks! — they will preach their own fictions.”

And Nichiren states: 

“I had gone to many centers of the religion during those twenty years, in the quest of Buddhist truths. The final conclusion I arrived at was that the truth of Buddhism must be one in essence. Many people lose themselves in the labyrinth of learning and studies, through thinking that every one of the diverse branches might help to the attainment of Buddhist ideals.” — Works pp 1770-71 

And again in Myoho Bikuni Go-henji: 

“According to the Zen Sect, the true teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha are not transmitted through sutras. They say that sutras including the Lotus Sutra are like a finger to point at the moon or a ferry to cross a river; and that it is no use after seeing the moon or crossing the river. Zen Buddhists say such a thing as they learned, without thinking what they say. But they are actually slandering Shakyamuni Buddha and preventing propagation of the Lotus Sutra. Thus, the people in this country are all committing a grave sin, more serious than the Five 
Evils, without realizing it.”

In Those Initially Aspiring to the Way, he writes: 

“…As for other types of people, it would appear that, even if they do not understand the meaning of the Lotus Sutra and are ignorant but have earnest faith, then they will invariably be reborn in a pure land. For it says in the Lotus Sutra, “They will be born in the presence of the Buddhas of the ten directions,” and “She will immediately go to the World of Peace and Delight.” These passages give clear proof that one who has faith in the Lotus Sutra will be reborn in a pure land. 

Chapter 3 of the Lotus Sutra states: 

“Whether during the Buddha’s lifetime
Or after his extinction
If there be any who slander
Such a sutra as this,
Who, seeing those who read and recite,
Write or hold this sutra, scorn and despise, hate and envy them
And bear them a tenacious grudge.
Concerning the recompense of such people’s sin,
After their lifetimes end
They will enter into the Avici hell.” 

Although neither the evangelicals nor the SGI members have faith in the Lotus Sutra, it is better to be an evangelical who doesn’t slander the Lotus Sutra than an SGI member who slanders both the Lotus Sutra and the true believers of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren. Their holier than thou pronouncements based on the heretical SGI teachings are a castle built on sand.

As far as SGI’s assertions that the SGI teachings frees one from birth and death, that is not possible if one is to believe Nichiren Daishonin that the Lotus Sutra is the means: 

“What I call the Heritage of the Great Thing Concerning Life and Death is nothing else than the Scripture, the Lotus of the Perfect Truth. Fo rthe Sacred Title of the Lotus was handed down from the two Buddhas, Sakyamuni and Prabhuta-ratna (Taho or “Many Treasures”), to the Boddhisattva Visista-caritra (Jogyo or “Emminent Conduct”), when the Buddhas appeared in the Heavenly Shrine, and from eternity the heritage has been kept without interruption.”

In another writing, we read, 

“Then to utter the Sacred Title of the Lotus with the conviction that the three are one — the three, that is, Sakyamuni, the Buddha who from eternity has realized Buddhahood; the Lotus Sutra, which leads all beings without exception to Buddhahood; and we, beings in all the realms of existence.” 

How can you be one with Buddha Shakyamuni who from eternity has realized Buddhahood if you reject Him? Chanting mechanical daimoku with no conviction in Shakyamuni is not the way to free oneself from the fetters of birth and death. 

On Establishing the Correct Teaching states; 

“The host said: There are numerous passages that could be cited and a wide variety of proofs. For example, in the Golden Light Sutra we read: “[The four heavenly kings said to the Buddha], ‘Though this sutra exists in the nation, its ruler has never allowed it to be propagated. In his heart he turns away from it, and he takes no pleasure in hearing its teachings. He neither makes offerings to it, honors it, nor praises it. Nor is he willing to honor or make offerings to the four kinds of Buddhists who embrace the sutra. In the end, he makes it impossible for us and the other countless heavenly beings who are our followers to hear this profound and wonderful teaching. He deprives us of the sweet dew of its words and cuts us off from the flow of the correct teaching, so that our majesty and strength are drained away. Thus the number of beings who occupy the evil paths increases, and the number who dwell in the human and heavenly realms decreases. People fall into the river of the sufferings of birth and death and turn their backs on the road to nirvana.” 

The Selection of the Time states: 

“The Buddha says determining the future, “Depend upon the teaching, not upon the people. Bodhisattva Nagarjuna says, “If one depends upon the scripture it is a correct argument; if one does not depend upon the scripture it is an incorrect argument.” T’ien-t’ai says, “Again, if it conforms to the scripture, quote and use it. If there is no corresponding sentence or corresponding meaning, then one should not believe and accept. ” Dengyo says, “Depend upon what the Buddha taught, not upon the oral tradition.” If one follows these scriptures, treatises and commentaries, then one should not base oneself on dreams. Once should only treasure the passages in the scriptures and treatises…” 

Since the SGI abandons the scriptures, treatises, and commentaries, what is it that they have faith in? The words and the oral teachings of Toda and Ikeda? I don’t see anything about a mentor being necessary for attaining Buddhahood nor that new car or raise.

Nichiren writes: 

“The essential key to Nichiren’s disciples and followers is, namely, adherence to the Lotus Sutra.” 

The Lotus Sutra states: 

“But if one, after the Buddha’s extinction,
In the midst of an evil world
is able to preach this sutra, this is indeed hard…..(LS Ch.11) 

What the Soka Gakkai teaches is not “this Sutra”. 10,000,000 million SGI believers or 1,500,000,000 Muslims, are not equal to one Nichiren believer that has faith in the golden words of the Sutra. Most SGI members haven’t even read the Lotus Sutra. They go by the hearsay of the mentor, the Human Revolution, or the World Tribune. The SGI teachings on the Master-disciple relationship, value creation, receiving and giving guidance, no worth or role for solitary Bodhisattvas, the practice of shoju in this degenerate evil age, are all hearsay and oral teachings which Nichiren completely rejected. How sad for them. How sad that SGI members confuse Anger or Rapture for Buddhahood. 

Nichiren states: 

“Then what teaching should the country of Japan learn if its people are to free themselves from the sufferings of birth and death? As for this question, the Lotus Sutra states, “After the Thus Come One has entered extinction, I will cause it [the Lotus Sutra] to be widely propagated throughout Jambudvipa and will see that it never comes to an end.” 

Note, it doesn’t say to cause "Value Creationism”, “Human Revolution”, or “Taisekaji Mysticism” to spread.

In the Opening of the Eyes, we also read: 

“It is also laid down that one should “rely on sutras that are complete and final and not on those that are not complete and final.” We must therefore look carefully among the sutras to determine which are complete and final and which are not, and put our faith in the former. Bodhisattva Nagarjuna in his Commentary on the Ten Stages Sutra states, “Do not rely on treatises that distort the sutras; rely on those that are faithful to the sutras.” The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai says, “That which accords with the sutras is to be written down and made available. But put no faith in anything that in word or meaning fails to do so.” The Great Teacher Dengyo says, “Depend upon the preachings of the Buddha, and do not put faith in traditions handed down orally.” Enchin, also known as the Great Teacher Chisho, says, ‘In transmitting the teachings, rely on the written words [ofscriptures]. ‘”

SGI's relies on the inferior teaching of the Human Revolution and those Nichiren Shoshu teachings that distort the Sutra and the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin. They depend more on the preaching of Daisaku Ikeda than they do on the preachings of the Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin and they hardly rely on the written words of the Sutra and Nichiren Daishonn. They are far more evil than the Zen men who make no pretense of practicing what the Buddha taught.

12 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. "I would like to share with everyone what I have learned thus far in life about meditation practice. I will also explain how Odaimoku, the chanting of Namu Myoho Rene Kyo that is my primary practice, is itself a form of meditation.

    In fact, the first time I visited the San Jose Nichiren Buddhist Temple, the head minister, Ven. Ryusho Matsuda, was leading their monthly session of sitting meditation. This surprised me because I believed that Nichiren Buddhists only chanted the Lotus Sutra and Odaimoku.

    When I asked him about it, Ven. Matsuda seemed a bit taken aback by my question. He told me, “Of course we meditate. All Buddhists meditate.” In time, I learned that Odaimoku itself is considered by Nichiren Buddhism to be a form of meditation or kanjin (spiritual introspection) to be more precise, whereas other forms of meditation like silent sitting are viewed as supportive or auxiliary practices.

    In particular, silent sitting is used in the practice of Shodaigyo Meditation before and after the chanting of Odaimoku in order to calm and center oneself beforehand, and to deepen one’s faith and abide in the effects of chanting Odaimoku afterwards.

    I will begin these instructions, however, with the silent sitting form of focusing on the breath as I have learned it, since this method is very simple, universal, and is a basic human activity that is not intrinsically tied in to any particular religion, denomination or sect.

    Also, as I mentioned in respect to Shodaigyo Meditation, silent sitting can be a good preliminary and follow-up to Odaimoku chanting, acting as a kind of setting for the jewel of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. In that way, one can be more fully present and appreciative of the primary practice of Odaimoku."


    http://nichiren-shu.org/Sanfrancisco/pages/study/one.htm

    Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,

    Ryuei

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    1. "Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, neither the Lotus Sutra nor the other sutras lead to enlightenment. Only Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo can do so… To mix other practices with this Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo is a grave error."


      "Among my disciples, those who think themselves well versed in Buddhism are the ones who make errors.

      Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the heart of the Lotus Sutra. It is like the soul of a person. To revere another teaching as its equal is to be like an empress who is married to two emperors or who secretly commits adultery with a minister or a humble subject. It can only be the cause for disaster.

      This teaching was not propagated in the Former or Middle Day of the Law because the other sutras had not yet lost the power of benefit.

      Now in the Latter Day of the Law, neither the Lotus Sutra nor the other sutras lead to enlightenment.

      Only Nam-myoho-renge-kyo can do so. And this is not merely my own opinion. Shakyamuni, Taho and all the other Buddhas of the ten directions as well as the innumerable Bodhisattvas of the Earth have so determined.

      To mix other practices with this Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is a grave error. A lamp will be useless after the sun rises. How can dewdrops be beneficial once the rain falls? Should one feed a newborn baby with anything other than its mother’s milk? Good medicine works by itself; there is no need to add other medicine.

      Somehow Ishikawa’s daughter remained true to this principle and continued to uphold her faith until the last moment of her life. How admirable!"

      The Teaching of the Latter Day

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  3. “Answer: It is the way of scholars these days to assert that only those who possess superior wisdom and strenuously exert themselves in the practice of meditation have the capacity to benefit from the Lotus Sutra, and to discourage persons who lack wisdom from even trying. But this is in fact an utterly ignorant and erroneous view. The Lotus Sutra is the teaching that enables all living beings to attain the Buddha way. Therefore, the persons of superior faculties and superior capacity should naturally devote themselves to contemplation and to meditating on the Law. But, for persons of inferior faculties and inferior capacity, the important thing is simply to have a heart of faith. Hence the sutra states: “If there are good men or good women who . . . believe and revere it with pure hearts and harbor no doubts or perplexities, they will never fall into hell or the realm of hungry spirits or of beasts, but will be born in the presence of the Buddhas of the ten directions.” One should have complete faith in the Lotus Sutra and look forward to being born in the presence of the Buddhas in one’s next life.” — Questions and Answers on Embracing the Lotus Sutra – 1263

    “Thus faith is the basic requirement for entering the way of the Buddha.” –The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra – 1266

    “Finally the Buddha was ready to preach the Lotus Sutra, the revelation section of his entire body of teachings, and stated, “The World Honored One has long expounded his doctrines and now must reveal the truth.” He also warned, “[In the Buddha lands of the ten directions there is only the Law of the one vehicle], there are not two, there are not three, except when the Buddha preaches so as an expedient means,” and he taught, “honestly discarding expedient means” and “not accepting a single verse of the other sutras.” Thus, ever since that time, the Mystic Law, “the Law of the one vehicle” of Buddhahood, has been the only teaching that enables all people to become Buddhas. Although no sutra other than the Lotus Sutra can provide even the slightest benefit, the scholars of the Latter Day claim that all sutras must lead to enlightenment because they were expounded by the Thus Come One. Therefore, they arbitrarily profess faith in any sutra and follow whatever school they choose, whether True Word, Nembutsu, Zen, Three Treatises, Dharma Characteristics, Dharma Analysis Treasury, Establishment of Truth, or Precepts. The Buddha said of such people, “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 Avichi hell.” Thus the Buddha himself concluded that one’s practice accords with the Buddha’s teachings only when one bases one’s faith firmly on the standard of these sutra passages, believing fully that “there is only the Law of the one vehicle.” –On Practicing the Buddha’s Teachings – 1273

    “Do the other sutras reveal that the Buddha originally attained enlightenment numberless major world system dust particle kalpas ago? Do they tell how the people formed a bond with the Lotus Sutra when it was expounded major world system dust particle kalpas ago? What other sutra teaches that one can gain immeasurable benefit by arousing even a single moment of faith in and understanding of it, or that incalculable benefits will accrue even to the fiftieth person who rejoices upon hearing of it? The other sutras do not claim that even the first, second, third, or tenth listener can obtain such great benefit, let alone the fiftieth.” — Teaching Practice and Proof – 1274
    cont...

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  4. “On the other hand, if you believe these doctrines, you will become a Buddha of perfect enlightenment. How, then, are you to go about nurturing faith in the Lotus Sutra? For if you try to practice the teachings of the sutra without faith, it would be like trying to enter a jeweled mountain without hands [to pick up its treasures], or like trying to make a thousand-mile journey without feet. The answer is simply to examine the proof that is close at hand, and thus to take hold of faith that is far off.” — Letter to Horen – 1275

    “But if we are weak in faith, we will never reach that wonderful place.” — Fourteen Slanders – 1276

    “And because our wisdom is inadequate, he teaches us to substitute faith for wisdom, making this single word “faith” the foundation. — On The Four Stages of Faith and the Five Stages of Practice – 1277

    “If the beginner tries to practice the five paramitas at the same time that he embraces the Lotus Sutra, that may work to obstruct his primary practice, which is faith.” (Ibid.)

    “It will no doubt depend on the strength of your faith.” — The Real Aspect of the Gohonzon – 1277

    “Later he repented of it, revered the Great Teacher T’ient’ai, and put his faith in the Lotus Sutra; so he escaped the path of evil.” — Letter to Shomitsu-bo – 1277

    “As for other types of people, it would appear that, even if they do not understand the meaning of the Lotus Sutra and are ignorant but have earnest faith, then they will invariably be reborn in a pure land.” — How Those Initially Aspiring to the Way Can Attain Buddhahood Through the Lotus Sutra – 1277

    “One would therefore expect to find more victims of the epidemic among Nichiren’s followers than among the believers of Nembutsu, or priests of the True Word, Zen, and Precepts schools. For some reason, however, there is less affliction and death among Nichiren’s followers. It is indeed mysterious. Is this because we are few in number, or because our faith is strong?” — The Treatment of Illness – 1278

    Why is it that SGI members and especially leaders fall pray to more affliction and death and their roads [in general] are paved with broken dreams? As far as citing the death and misfortune of SGI [or NST] leaders and members who I have known or those whose misfortunes have been documented, not one event can be proven false. It is either punishment or the Three Obstacles and Four Devils. Since only those who practice as the Lotus Sutra preaches encounter the Three Obstacles and Four Devils, their misfortune is due solely to punishment [since they practice(d) in opposition to the teachings of the Sutra].

    From the perspective of the Lotus Sutra, the top SGI leaders, in particular, suffer(ed) punishment as an effect of bad causes and misdeeds against the Law and its votaries. I am as dispassionate as the effect itself. I am neither sad nor gleeful regarding the misfortunes of the enemies of the Law. Regarding my friends who were innocent victims of the warped SGI and NST faith and practice, of course I am saddened.

    To those here who are innocent victims of SGI and NST, believing the lies and distortions of these evil leaders and priests, I encourage you to stop listening to them and begin listening to Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin through the Lotus Sutra and Gosho. Believe with your whole heart that the Mystic Law, the Law of the one vehicle of Buddhahood, has been the only teaching that enables all people to become Buddhas.

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    1. Question: What part of the Lotus Sutra do you refer to, and what section of T’ien-t’ai’s commentaries?

      Answer: The “Expedient Means” chapter in volume one of the Lotus Sutra states, “The Buddhas wish to open the door of Buddha wisdom to all living beings.” This refers to the world of Buddhahood inherent in the nine worlds. The “Life Span” chapter states: “Thus, since I attained Buddhahood, an extremely long period of time has passed. My life span is an immeasurable number of asamkhya kalpas, and during that time I have constantly abided here without ever entering extinction.

      Good men, originally I practiced the bodhisattva way, and the life span that I acquired then has yet to come to an end but will last twice the number of years that have already passed.” Here the sutra refers to the nine worlds inherent in Buddhahood.

      The sutra states, “Devadatta will be called the Thus Come One Heavenly King.” This indicates that the world of hell also contains Buddhahood. In the sutra it says, “There were demon daughters, the first named Lamba . . . [The Buddha said to them], ‘If you can shield and guard those who accept and uphold the mere name of the Lotus Sutra, your merit will be immeasurable.’”

      Thus, the world of hungry spirits contains all the Ten Worlds. When the sutra speaks of “the dragon girl . . . attaining impartial and correct enlightenment,” it is indicating that the world of animals has the Ten Worlds. The sutra says that, by listening to one verse or one phrase of the sutra, the asura king Balin will attain supreme perfect enlightenment. Thus the world of asuras contains the Ten Worlds.

      The sutra says, “If there are persons who for the sake of the Buddha fashion and set up images . . . then all have attained the Buddha way,” meaning that the world of human beings contains the Ten Worlds. The sutra states that the great heavenly king Brahmā and the other deities declared, “We too in the same way will surely be able to attain Buddhahood.”Thus the world of heavenly beings contains the Ten Worlds. The sutra says, “Shāriputra . . . will be able to become a Buddha with the name Flower Glow Thus Come One.” Thus the world of voice-hearers contains the Ten Worlds.

      The sutra says, “Those who seek to become pratyekabuddhas, monks, and nuns . . . all press their palms and with reverent minds wish to hear the teaching of perfect endowment.” Thus the world of pratyekabuddhas, or cause-awakened ones, has the Ten Worlds. The sutra describes the bodhisattvas who emerged from the earth, numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds, and who declared, “We ourselves wish to gain this great Law, true and pure.” Thus the world of bodhisattvas contains the Ten Worlds.

      The sutra says, “Sometimes I speak of myself, sometimes of others.” Thus the world of Buddhahood contains the Ten Worlds.

      The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind

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  5. "I have accordingly quoted the passages from the Lotus Sutra that read, 'In the evil age of the Latter Day of the Law if there is someone who can uphold this sutra . . . ,' 'in the latter age hereafter, when the Law is about to perish . . . ,' and 'they [the Buddhas] make certain that the Law will long endure' in order to demonstrate the error [of believing that the Lotus Sutra has lost its effectiveness]. " -- Nichiren

    But in order to assert that the Lotus Sutra has lost its effectiveness, the SGI often cites the following passage from Reply to Lord Ueno:

    "Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, neither the Lotus Sutra nor the other sutras lead to enlightenment. Only Nam-myoho-renge-kyo can do so. This is not my own judgment. Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, the Buddhas of the ten directions, and the bodhisattvas who emerged from the earth as numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds have so determined it. To mix other practices with this Namu-myoho-renge-kyo is a grave error. A lantern is useless when the sun rises. How can dewdrops be beneficial when the rain falls? Should one feed a newborn baby anything other than its mother's milk? No addition of other medicines is needed with a good medicine. Somehow this woman remained true to this principle, and continued to uphold her faith until the last moment of her life. How admirable, how worthy!

    With my deep respect,
    Nichiren

    The first day of the fourth month in the first year of Koan (1278)

    The Soka Gakkai takes the Gosho out of context in order to debase the Lotus Sutra. What this does to their believers, their minds of faith, and to the teachings, is unpardonable.

    The One Great Secret Law is Namu Myoho renge kyo. This is the teachings of Soka Gakkai, the Nichiren Shu, and the Kempon Hokke. The Nichiren Shoshu teaches that the One Great Secret Law is the DaiGohonzon. I will leave aside for the moment who is correct about the One Great Secret Law. Every last Nichiren Buddhist, from the newest member to the most experienced knows that there is no practice in the Latter Day other than chanting Namu Myoho renge kyo. SGI's oft repeated argument implying that the Nichiren Shu, the Honmon Butsuryu Shu, and the other Nichiren practitioners, neither practice nor understand the import of Namu myoho renge, is nothing but a straw man argument. It is a logical fallacy.

    Lord Ueno is none other the young samurai, Nanjo Tokimitsu. This writing is from 1278 in response to offerings he received from Lord Ueno and in memorium for the death of Lord Ueno's niece. Here the Daishonin is stating that Namu Myoho renge kyo is the practice for the Latter Day. We read in an earlier part of this letter [which SGI members never cite] :

    cont...

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  6. "After Many Treasures Buddha had closed the door of the treasure tower and the other Buddhas had returned to their original lands, not even Shakyamuni Buddha himself could have denied the Lotus Sutra, whatever other sutras he might have expounded in an effort to do so, because the other Buddhas had all joined in affirming its truth. That is why in the Universal Worthy and Nirvana sutras, which follow the Lotus Sutra, the Lotus Sutra is praised but never disparaged. Nonetheless, priests like Shan-wu- wei of the True Word school and the founders of the Zen school have repudiated the Lotus Sutra, and the entire Japanese nation has now taken faith in their teachings, just like those who were deceived by the rebels Masakado and Sadato. Japan is now on the brink of ruin because it has for many years been the archenemy of Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions, and in addition, the person who denounces these errors is persecuted. Because such offenses thus accumulate one atop another, our nation will soon incur the wrath of heaven."

    On the one hand we see that repudiating the Lotus Sutra is a cause for falling into hell and on the other hand we read that, "neither the Lotus Sutra nor the other sutras lead to enlightenment". How does one resolve this seeming paradox? Nichiren Daishonin writes in the True Object of Worship (Kanjin No Honzon Sho):

    "Answer: This is a matter that is difficult to believe and difficult to understand. T’ien-t’ai defined two points that are “difficult to believe and difficult to understand.” One lies in the realm of doctrinal teachings and the other in the realm of meditative practice. With regard to the former, in the sutras preached before the Lotus Sutra we read that persons of the two vehicles and icchantikas, or persons of incorrigible disbelief, are forever barred from attaining Buddhahood, and that Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, attained enlightenment for the first time in this world. Nevertheless, we find that the theoretical and the essential teachings of the Lotus Sutra repudiate both these statements. One Buddha who says two things as opposite as fire and water— who could believe him? This is the point that is “difficult to believe and difficult to understand” in the realm of doctrinal teachings.

    The point that is “difficult to believe and difficult to understand” in the realm of meditative practice, concerns the principle of the hundred worlds and thousand factors and that of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, which explains that even insentient beings are endowed with the ten factors of life, and that they are endowed with both material and spiritual aspects.":

    Thus we see that Nanjo Tokimitsu was confused by the Tientai practice of the Lotus Sutra that was prevalent in Nichiren Daishonin's day. The Lotus Sutra is practiced differently according to the time. Here Nichiren is talking about Tientai's Lotus Sutra teachings and practice. The Lotus Sutra itself must never be disparaged, contrary to the slanderous Soka Gakkai teachings. Disparaging the Lotus Sutra is why their members suffer in the Great Citadel of Hell, why Japan is on the verge of ruin, and why their teachings lead people into the Lower Three Worlds.

    One can not read the entirety of the writings, especially the Five Major Writings, and perceive that Nichiren Daishonin disparaged the Lotus Sutra. Soka Gakkai practitioners are evil people, according to Nichiren Daishonin.

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  7. “Nowhere in all the five thousand or seven thousand volumes of sutras listed in the K’ai-yüan era catalog do we find a single scriptural passage that expresses disapproval of the Lotus Sutra and advises one to discard it or to cast it aside, nor any passage that says it is to be classified among the sundry practices and abandoned. If you disagree, you had better find some reliable passage from the sutras that will support your view, so that you may rescue Shan-tao and Honen from their torments in the hell of incessant suffering."(Coversations Between a Sage and Unenlightened Man).

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    1. "Then on the night of the twelfth day of the ninth month in the eighth year of Bun’ei (1271), I was very nearly beheaded at Tatsunokuchi. From that time, I felt pity for my followers because I had not yet revealed this true teaching to any of them. With this in mind, I secretly conveyed my teaching to my disciples from the province of Sado.

      After the Buddha’s passing, great scholars and teachers such as Mahākāshyapa, Ānanda, Nāgārjuna, Vasubandhu, T’ien-t’ai, Miao-lo, Dengyō, and Gishin knew this teaching, but kept it in their hearts and did not express it in words. The reason was that the Buddha had forbidden them to spread it, stating, “After my passing, this great Law should not be revealed until the Latter Day of the Law arrives.”

      I may not be an envoy sent by the Buddha, but my appearance in this world coincides with the age of the Latter Day. Moreover, quite unexpectedly, I came to realize this teaching, which I now expound to prepare the way for a sage."

      Letter to Misawa

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    2. "Without exception, all these Buddhas, bodhisattvas, great sages, and, in general, all the various beings of the two worlds and the eight groups who appear in the “Introduction” chapter of the Lotus Sutra dwell in this Gohonzon. Illuminated by the light of the five characters of the Mystic Law, they display the dignified attributes that they inherently possess. This is the object of devotion.

      This is what is meant when the sutra says “the true aspect of all phenomena.” Miao-lo stated: “The true aspect invariably manifests in all phenomena, and all phenomena invariably manifest in the ten factors. The ten factors invariably manifest in the Ten Worlds, and the Ten Worlds invariably manifest in life and its environment.”

      It is also stated that the profound principle of the true aspect is the originally inherent Myoho-renge-kyo.

      The Great Teacher Dengyō said, “A single moment of life comprising the three thousand realms is itself the Buddha of limitless joy; this Buddha has forsaken august appearances.”

      Therefore, this Gohonzon shall be called the great mandala never before known; it did not appear until more than 2,220 years after the Buddha’s passing.

      The Real Aspect of the Gohonzon

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  8. the above is very important. without this clarification this could be a real issue and cause much confusion. great post!

    indeed, sgi/nst uses this to turn buddhism on its head.

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