Our Hero (aka the Lotus Sutra Song) Words by Greg Fain
There’s a book called the Lotus Sutra, you really oughta know about
A holy book that has the power to remove all fear and doubt
And this book tells the story of a man who means the world to me
Who could just as well’ve been a woman If not for male hegemony
They call him the Bodhisattva Never Disparage,
or the Bodhisattve Never Despise
And I’m makin’ it my life’s ambition
to see the world through his pure eyes
And he says
Chorus:
I would never disparage you or keep you at arm’s length
Where you only see your weaknesses, I only see your strength
I would never despise you or put you down in any way
Because it’s clear to me
I can plainly see
You’ll be a buddha someday
I love you
Now Bodhisattva Never Disparaging lived countless kalpas in the past
In a time of the Counterfeit Dharma,
and he was something of an outcast
Because the monks and nuns of his time were noted for their arrogance and vanity
And these were the folks who exercised great power and authority
But my boy never concerned himself if they treated him like a freak
He’d just bow to everybody equally and these are the words he’d speak
Chorus
I would never disparage you or keep you at arm’s length
Where you only see your weaknesses, I only see your strength
I would never despise you or put you down in any way
Because it’s clear to me
I can plainly see
You’ll be a buddha someday
I love you
He never read or recited the scriptures much
He only liked to practice respect
But the monks and nuns of his time didn’t meet it like you’d might expect Instead they cursed him and reviled him and they wished that he would go Because they all had self-esteem issues, like most everyone else I know
They beat him and pelted him with clubs and stones,
and they tried to drive him away
But he’d just run off to a safe distance
And then he’d turn around and say
Chorus
I would never disparage you or keep you at arm’s length
Where you only see your weaknesses, I only see your strength
I would never despise you or put you down in any way
Because it’s clear to me
I can plainly see
You’ll be a buddha someday
I love you
And so it went on for years and years
He was the target of scorn and abuse
Yet still our hero shed no tears nor did he ever wonder what’s the use
Until it reached the end of his natural lifespan and he laid down fixin’ to die
And then he heard the Holy Lotus Sutra being preached up in the sky
And his life was extended for millions of years and he’s livin’ to this day
And in the pages of the Lotus Sutra, you still can hear him say
Chorus
I would never disparage you or keep you at arm’s length
Where you only see your weaknesses, I only see your strength
I would never despise you or put you down in any way
Because it’s clear to me
I can plainly see
You’ll be a buddha someday
I love you
Practicing as Fukyo did - now in this evil age, one can be assured that one will not need to endure the harsh treatment Fukyo met as a result of his practice .
ReplyDeleteI believe Nichiren clarifies his connection to Bodhisattva Never Disparage in terms of “ actual proof of correct practice”. Nichiren endured much worse for rebuking slander !
It is a mistake to think that Fukyo ‘s practice is correct for this evil age we live in 😬
~ Katie
in fukyo's time the slander of the law was not as sever as it is in the latter age. the sgi, shu, etc like other chapters read this "never disparaging from a preparatory teaching perspective. christianity is a good example of a preparatory teaching in the latter day. in its time it served a purpose but in the modern age not only has it lost its power, but has become not the medicine but the poison. nichiren teaches..."to mix this myoho renge kyo with anything else is a GRAVE MISTAKE". in spite of this, for selfish gain, with a weak heart and mind, this is what has been the fate of real and correct buddhism. we blame ikeda, nichiren shoshu , nichiren shu and its branches and leaves.
Deleteall buddhism teaches a respect for life so in the lotus sutra this is no great revelation. so the great misinterpetation that the sects put on this as the prime point only reaches preparatory truth and goes no higher than the christian code of fake forgiveness. it the end it only tolerates the intolerable and at the same time forgives the unforgivable.
nowhere in buddhism does it condone slander of the law or its votaries. nor does it encourage the acceptance of wrong though...the cause for universal suffering and is comfortable but of no use.
just prior to the buddha expounding...he uttered "in these more than forty years , i have not yet reviled the complete truth. in other words, the buddha began to teach from his own enlightenment rather than to the understanding of common mortals. the lotus sutra cannot be read and understood from the perspective of the preparatory teaching ...rather the preparatory teaching should be read from the perspective of the lotus sutra. for this the first ingredient is....FAITH IN THE LOTUS SUTRA. this is the grave error of the money grabbing so called nichiren sects. the " never disparaging chapter, from the perspective of the lotus sutra, teaches how to attain enlightenment in the latter age..the practice is that first one must create a poison drum relationship. next, if one upholds the law in the latter day, one will call forth hatred and jealousy .........this is what nichiren understood, related to and practiced. "easy to begin, difficult to continue. more than most...cannot!
revealed not reviled.
DeleteWell said. Greg . I can attest to the preference for “ the guidance of Ikeda-bots” over the teachings of Nichiren -/ following persons who “ appear to have attained “ benefit of Nichiren’s teachings -/ its a crock that persists because hardly anyone who joins SGI/NST trusts in what Nichiren taught ; because respect for the Gosho is second to the “ advice of leaders : priests “—
ReplyDelete“go along to get along “ is definitely the mantra of SGI leaders -/ complicity with slander of the Lotus Sutra is their legacy .
~Katie
yes katie, yes. its a shame that even what nsa/sgi taught and practiced in the early days(67' - 75). and although not totally correct....was not continued. can u imagine if the growth of the sgi in america had stayed on a quasi simi correct course, how things could be? but no...further and further away to correct faith.
Delete"Excellent. These Zennist minstrels, along with the SGI and the Nichiren Shu never touch upon the 1000 kalpas in Avici Hell that befell the persecutors of Fukyo. How many more kalpas will befall the persecutors of Nichiren? Nevertheless, Nichiren did teach the peaceful practices for example, in the Opening of the Eyes...
ReplyDelete"The Nirvana Sutra says: “It is like the case of a poor woman. She has no house to live in and no one to aid or protect her, and in addition she is beset by illness, hunger, and thirst; she wanders through various places, begging for a living. While staying at an inn, she gives birth to a baby, but the master of the inn drives her away. Though the baby has just been born, she takes it up in her arms and sets out, hoping to journey to another land. But along the way, she encounters fierce wind and rain, and she is troubled by cold and bitten by mosquitoes, gadflies, hornets, and poisonous insects. Coming at length to the Ganges River, she clasps her child in her arms and begins to cross it. Although the current is very swift, she will not let go of her child, and in the end both mother and child are drowned. But through the merit that the woman gained by her loving tenderness, she is reborn after her death in the Brahmā heaven."
Even more importantly, he taught loving kindness in the way he treated his faithful disciples.
Some few people will only understand the Shoju. To embrace only the shakubuku method is mistaken, I believe. Predominantly shakubuku but not exclusively is the teaching of Nichiren.
yep !
Delete