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Saturday, September 15, 2018

Important teaching of Nichiren

"Earlier, you quoted a passage from the Daibontenno Mombutsu Ketsugi Sutra to prove your contention that Zen is 'a separate transmission outside the sutras.' But by quoting a sutra passage you were already contradicting your own assertion. Moreover, this sutra represents the provisional teachings, and, in addition, it is not listed either in the K'ai-yuan or the Chen-yuan era catalogues of Buddhist works. Thus we see that it is a work unlisted in the catalogues and a provisional teaching as well. Hence the scholars of our time do not refer to it; it cannot be used to prove anything." -- Nichiren Daishonin

Likewise, those writings of Nichiren not found in the Rokunai or Rokugai catalogs* can not be used to prove anything.

*The Rokunai Gosho catalog was collated by Toki Jonin shortly after the Daishonin's death and the Rokugai by various disciples within a hundred years of his death. Unfortunately there are some forgeries even in these early collections of writings,

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