Total Pageviews

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

No greater arrogance than for SGI to offer no scriptural proof of interfaith and Mentor-Disciple

Could there be any greater arrogance than SGI having no scriptural proof for their doctrines of interfaith and living mentor in the seat of the Law?

"In the more than 2,220 years since the Buddha’s passing, neither the Buddha of the “Life Span” chapter nor the five characters that are its essence have been propagated. When I consider my present rewards, I wonder whether they do not perhaps exceed even those of Dengyō and T’ien-t’ai, and surpass even those of Nāgārjuna and Vasubandhu. If I had no scriptural or doctrinal proof for this, how could there possibly be any greater arrogance?"

Nagashima, Hall, Aiken and Barret destine themselves to the Avici Hell


"It is like the case of those who take service in the palace of the ruler and labor diligently there. Some are rewarded by the ruler’s favor and some are not. But if any of them commits the slightest error, it is quite certain that that person will be punished. It is the same way with the Lotus Sutra. No matter how fervently a person may appear to put faith in it, if, knowingly or unknowingly, he has dealings with the enemies of the Lotus Sutra, he will undoubtedly end up in the hell of incessant suffering."  

We content ourselves with trifles and are delighted by them

"Since the beginningless past, we living beings have never for an instant been separated from this wish-granting jewel of Myoho-renge-kyo. But, befuddled by the wine of ignorance, we fail to realize that it is hidden in the lining of our robes, and we are content with merely a little gain. Though we are living beings who, simply by chanting Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, could quickly attain Buddhahood, we observe petty precepts such as the five precepts or the ten good precepts, being reborn as a result in the realm of heavenly beings, as deities such as Brahmā or Shakra, and thinking that a wonderful accomplishment. Or at times we are born as human beings, becoming rulers of various countries, high ministers, court nobles, or other court officials, and we think ourselves incomparably happy. Thus we content ourselves with such little gains and are delighted with them.

However, the Buddha has taught that these accomplishments are mere prosperity in a dream, a phantom joy, and that we should simply accept and uphold the Lotus Sutra and quickly become Buddhas."

Josei Toda's inferior enlightenment

Toda's enlightenment was based on the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, not on the Lotus Sutra, the Namu Myoho renge kyo, nor Nichiren's Gohonzon. His enlightenment was born of the following passage from the Sutra of Infinite Meanings:

His body is neither existing nor nonexisting; 
Without cause or condition, 
Without self or others; 
Neither square nor round, 
Neither short nor long; 
Without appearance or disappearance, 
Without birth or death; 
Neither created nor emanating, 
Neither made nor produced; 
Neither sitting nor lying, 
Neither walking nor stopping; 
Neither moving nor rolling, 
Neither calm nor quiet; 
Without advance or retreat, 
Without safety or danger; 
Without right or wrong, 
Without merit or demerit; 
Neither that nor this, 
Neither going nor coming; 
Neither blue nor yellow, 
Neither red nor white; 
Neither crimson nor purple, 
Without a variety of color. 

Toda taught that by contemplating this passage he came to understand that Buddha is life itself. Neither the Buddha of the Lotus Sutra nor Nichiren Daishonin in any of his authentic writings taught that Buddha is life itself. Toda's enlightenment does not go beyond the Shingon master's enlightenment who understood "Buddha" as non-substantial or merely the Dharma Body. The fact is, the Three Bodied Tathagata (Buddha) has both form and fragrance. Reason this for a moment. The cockroach has life. Does that mean that the cockroach is Buddha?

Protection and protecting the teachings

"But before that, he had revealed his enlightenment in the form of the Lotus Sutra. Therefore, the words of this sutra are indeed the very soul of Shakyamuni Thus Come One. And since every single word constitutes the soul of the Buddha, Shakyamuni Thus Come One will protect those who practice this sutra as though he were protecting his very own eyes. He will accompany them just as a shadow accompanies a body. How then could the prayers of such persons not be answered?" -- On Prayer

In real Buddhism it is the Master of Teachings Lord Shakya who protects us.

Things that make no sense department...see the latest SGI cult video on the "Lotus Sutra": 

Now go to the ten minute mark, "...and that's why we have a mentor". This assertion comes out of left field, not following one iota the point of attaining Buddhahood discussed immediately prior. In effect, this is inserting Ikedaism into the Lotus Sutra Buddhism of Nichiren. This is hardly protecting the teachings but rather, it is the action of the personality cult of Ikeda to destroy the teachings.

The importance of the character Mu

Only Namu Myoho renge kyo is correct because Namu Myoho renge kyo is the personal name of the Supreme Law. Neither Nam Myoho renge kyo, Namo Miao Fa Lien Hua Ching, Namas Saddharma pundarika sutra nor Devotion to the Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Wonderful Dharma is the name of the Supreme Law. 

Even were Nichiren to have written the Daimoku in brail, it is written Namu Myoho renge kyo. Nichiren never wrote Nam Myoho renge kyo, not once in thirty years, not on his Gohonzons nor in his writings.

“And when the two characters for Namu are prefixed to Myoho-renge-kyo, or the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law, we have the formula Namu-myoho-renge-kyo.” -- The Opening of the Eyes

"The jewels of this jeweled vehicle are the seven precious substances which adorn the great cart. The seven jewels are precisely the seven orifices in one's head, and these seven orifices are precisely the [seven characters] na-mu-myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo, the essential Dharma for the Final Dharma Age." -- Recorded Lectures of Niko [Ongi Kikigakai]

Nichiren on discarding even a single character of the Lotus Sutra:

"A single character of the Lotus Sutra is like the great earth, which gives rise to all things. A single character is like the great ocean, which contains the water from all rivers. A single character is like the sun and moon, which illuminate all four continents.

“Now the Latter Day of the Law, is the time when the seven characters of Namu Myoho renge kyo-the heart of the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra that Shakyamuni Buddha who had achieved enlightenment in the remote past, along with the bodhisattvas Jogyo, Muhengyo and the others is to propogate-will alone spread throughout the country.” 

"In the first five hundred years of the Former Day of the Law following the Buddha’s passing, only Hinayana teachings spread, while in the next five hundred years, provisional Mahayana teachings spread. The thousand years of the Middle Day of the Law saw the rise of the theoretical teaching. In the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law, only the essential teaching spreads, but even so, the theoretical teaching should not be discarded. Nowhere in the entire Lotus Sutra do we find a passage suggesting that we should discard the first fourteen chapters, which comprise the theoretical teaching. When we distinguish between the theoretical and the essential teachings on the basis of the threefold classification of the entire body of the Buddha’s teachings, the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings were to be spread in the Former Day, and the theoretical teaching, in the Middle Day, but the Latter Day is the time to propagate the essential teaching. In the present period the essential teaching is primary, while the theoretical teaching is subordinate. But those who therefore discard the latter, saying it is not the way to enlightenment, and believe only in the former, have not yet understood the doctrine of Nichiren’s true intention. Theirs is a completely distorted view."

"Thus a single word of this Lotus Sutra is as precious as a wish-granting jewel, and a single phrase is the seed of all Buddhas." 

"Again, a single character equals innumerable others, for the validity of the sutra was attested to by the Buddhas of the ten directions. The treasures bestowed by a single wish-granting jewel equal those bestowed by two such jewels or by innumerable jewels. Likewise, each character in the Lotus Sutra is like a single wish-granting jewel, and the innumerable characters of the sutra are like innumerable jewels. The character myō was uttered by two tongues: the tongues of Shakyamuni and Many Treasures. The tongues of these two Buddhas are like an eight-petaled lotus flower, one petal overlapping another, on which rests a jewel, the character of myō.

The jewel of the character myō contains all the benefits that the Thus Come One Shakyamuni received by practicing the six pāramitās in his past existences: the benefits he obtained through the practice of almsgiving by offering his body to a starving tigress and by giving his life in exchange for that of a dove;9 the benefits he obtained when he was King Shrutasoma who kept his word, though it meant his death, in order to observe the precepts;10 the benefits he obtained as an ascetic called Forbearance by enduring the tortures inflicted upon him by King Kāli;11 the benefits he obtained as Prince Earnest Donor and as the ascetic Shōjari, and all his other benefits. We, the people of this evil latter age, have not formed even a single good cause, but [by bestowing upon us the jewel of myō] Shakyamuni has granted us the same benefit as if we ourselves had fulfilled all the practices of the six pāramitās. This precisely accords with his statement “Now this threefold world is all my domain, and the living beings in it are all my children.” Bound as we common mortals are by earthly desires, we can instantly attain the same virtues as Shakyamuni Buddha, for we receive all the benefits that he accumulated. The sutra reads, “Hoping to make all persons equal to me, without any distinction between us.” This means that those who believe in and practice the Lotus Sutra are equal to Shakyamuni Buddha."

"Therefore, a single word from one of these kings can destroy the kingdom or insure order within it. The edicts handed down by rulers represent a type of pure and far-reaching voice. Ten thousand words spoken by ten thousand ordinary subjects cannot equal one word spoken by a king." 

"Similarly, though we gather together all the various sutras, such as the Flower Garland Sutra, the Āgama sutras, the Correct and Equal sutras, the Wisdom, Nirvana, Mahāvairochana, and Meditation sutras, they could never equal even a single character of the Lotus Sutra."

"Shakyamuni Buddha and the written words of the Lotus Sutra are two different things, but their heart is one. Therefore, when you cast your eyes upon the words of the Lotus Sutra, you should consider that you are beholding the living body of the Thus Come One Shakyamuni."

"The characters of this sutra are all without exception living Buddhas of perfect enlightenment. But because we have the eyes of ordinary people, we see them as characters. For instance, hungry spirits perceive the Ganges River as fire, human beings perceive it as water, and heavenly beings perceive it as amrita. Though the water is the same, it appears differently according to one’s karmic reward from the past."

The blind cannot see the characters of this sutra. To the eyes of ordinary people, they look like characters. Persons of the two vehicles perceive them as the void. Bodhisattvas look on them as innumerable doctrines. Buddhas recognize each character as a golden Shakyamuni. This is what is meant by the passage that says, “[If one can uphold this sutra], one will be upholding the Buddha’s body.”1 Those who practice with distorted views, however, are destroying this most precious sutra. You should simply be careful that, without differing thoughts, you single-mindedly aspire to the pure land of Eagle Peak. A passage in the Six Pāramitās Sutra2 says to become the master of your mind rather than let your mind master you. I will explain in detail when I see you.

“Now this Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law I have been speaking of represents the true reason why all Buddhas make their advent in the world and teaches the direct way to the attainment of Buddhahood for all living beings. Shakyamuni Buddha entrusted it to his disciples, Many Treasures Buddha testified to its veracity, and the other Buddhas extended their tongues up to the Brahmā heaven, proclaiming, ‘All that you [Shakyamuni] have expounded is the truth!’ Every single character in this sutra represents the true intention of the Buddhas, and every brushstroke of it is a source of aid to those who repeat the cycle of birth and death. There is not a single word in it that is untrue."

"Even if one were to prepare a feast of a hundred flavors, if the single flavor of salt were missing, it would be no feast for a great king. Without salt, even the delicacies of land and sea are tasteless."

“The Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law, before which I bow my head, in its single case, with its eight scrolls, twenty-eight chapters, and 69,384 characters, is in each and every one of its characters the true Buddha who preaches the Law for the benefit of living beings.”

"Every single character in this sutra represents the true intention of the Buddhas, and every brushstroke of it is a source of aid to those who repeat the cycle of birth and death. There is not a single word in it that is untrue."

"If one discards one word or even one brushstroke of the sutra, the offense is graver than that of one who kills one’s parents ten million times over, or even of one who sheds the blood of all the Buddhas in the ten directions." 

I can supply dozens more similar passages. 

Were believers to chant together, some chanting Namu Myoho renge kyo and others chanting Nam Myoho renge kyo, how discordant it would be. Some chanting Namu Myoho renge kyo and others chanting Nam Myoho renge kyo is one of the principle causes of Nichiren faith disunity. One may spout all the theoretical reasons in the world why Nam Myoho renge kyo is equally correct but reality and actuality trumps them all.

Throwing out the character Mu is to throw out a golden Buddha from the heart of the Lotus Sutra. Perhaps the SGI should remove the character Mu from their Gohonzons as they have from Nichiren's writings?

Who cares

Who cares what 12,000,000 SGI common mortals say (about Nam and Namu). Here's what The Supreme Votary of the Lotus Sutra says:

“And when the two characters for Namu are prefixed to Myoho-renge-kyo, or the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law, we have the formula Namu-myoho-renge-kyo.” -- The Opening of the Eyes

SGI should immediately stop calling themselves, "Nichiren Buddhists".

Talk Wikipedia Editor and SGI member Daveler16 stated: "You belong to a religion that does not think the SGI is teaching a correct teaching...." In this statement we can cull an important point. In stating the obvious, that I belong to a different religion than the Soka Gakkai, he admits that the Soka Gakkai is not the religion of Nichiren Daishonin. All scholars and priests, classify the Soka Gakkai as a "new religion". I am a member of the religion established by Nichiren himself, an old religion. Then, my assertion stands, SGI should immediately stop calling themselves, "Nichiren Buddhists". Not only are they not followers of Nichiren but they are not followers of Shakyamuni Buddha. Therefore, not only should they stop referring to themselves as Nichiren Buddhists but they should stop referring to themselves as Buddhists. They are followers of the three presidents of the Soka Gakkai and Daisaku Ikeda in particular. They should call their "new religion" just plain Soka Gakkai or Ikedaism and refer to themselves as Ikedists or followers of Ikeda. Then and only then would they be true to themselves and others.

Why do SGI Buddhas since time without beginning rely on the guidance of non-Buddhists?

Toda International Advisory Panel:

Dr.   Kamoludin N.   Abdullaev
Director, Central Asia Research & Development Center
Dushanbe ,     TAJIKISTAN

Dr. David Abram 
Director, Alliance for Wild Ethics 
Santa Fe, NM USA

Dr.   Kamel   Abu Jaber 
President, Jordan Institute of Diplomacy 
Amman ,     JORDAN

Prof.   Amitav   Acharya 
Deputy Director, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies 
Nanyang Technological University 
SINGAPORE

Ambassador   Alvin P.   Adams, Jr.
Ambassador of the United Nations of America (Ret.)
Honolulu , Hawai`i

Prof.   Jeffrey   Addicott
Director, Center for Terrorism Law
St. Mary's University School of Law
San Antonio , TX   USA

Dr.   Ladan   Afrasiabi Parandoosh
Society of Iranian Professionals
Scotsdale , AZ   USA

Dr.   Mahasti   Afshar
Program Research Associate
The Getty Conservation Institute
Marina Del Rey , CA   USA

Ambassador   Beni Prasad   Agarwal
President, Association for Asian Union, a Forum for Confederation in the Sub-Continent
Mayur Vihar, Phase - I , New Delhi   INDIA

Dr.   Amir   Ahmadi
West Vancouver , BC   CANADA

Prof.   Fereshteh   Ahmadi
Associate Prof., Department of Sociology
Uppsala University
SE-751 ,  SWEDEN

Dr.   Ghodsi   Ahmadi
West Vancouver , BC   CANADA

Mr.   Mohamed Al-Makki   Ahmed
Correspondent, Al Hayat
Arabic Daily Newspaper
Doha ,  QATAR

Dr.   Amir Ismail   Ajami
International Programs
Associate Director, CALS International Programs, The University of Arizona
Tucson , AZ   USA

Ms.   Ella   Akerman
Mediterranean Studies
King's College London, University of London
London ,     ENGLAND

Prof.   Jamsheed   Akrami
William Paterson University
Wayne , NJ   USA

Mr.   Esref   Aksu
School of History, Philosophy, Poli Sci & Int'l Relations
University of Wellington
Victoria, Wellington NEW ZEALAND

Prof.   Kazem   Alamdari
Department of Sociology
California State University, Los Angeles
Chatsworth , CA   USA

Ambassador A. Amir Alanbari
Iraqi Ambassador Plenipotentiary to the Holly See (Rome)
Paris   FRANCE

Dr.   Hasan A.   Alanbari
Counselor, Vice Dean of Research
Jordan Institute of Diplomacy
Amman ,     JORDAN

President   Mohammad Adnan   Al-Bakhit
Al al-Bayt University
Mafraq ,     JORDAN

Prof.   Tamara   Albertini
Dept of Philosophy
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, Hawai`i   USA

Dr.   Ousseina   Alidou
Visiting Assitant Prof., Cleveland State University
Columbus , OH   USA

Dr.   Hossein   Alikhani
President, Centre for World Dialogue
CY 1687 Nicosia ,     CYPRUS

Dr.   Douglas   Allen
Associate Prof., Dept of Management
Daniels College of Business, University of Denver
Denver , CO   USA

Dr.   Joseph   Allotey
Dept of Biological Sciences
University of Botswana
Gaborone ,     BOTSWANA

Prof.   Hooshang   Amirahmadi
Chair, Dept of Planning & Policy Development
Rutgers University
New Brunswick , NJ   USA

Prof.   Robert   Anderson
Director, Dialogue Institute
Simon Fraser University
Vancouver , BC   CANADA

Dr.   Walter Truett   Anderson
President, World Academy of Art and Science
President's Office
Kensington , CA   USA

Prof.   George   Andreopoulos
Center for Int'l Human Rights - John Jay College of Criminal Justice
City University of New York
New York , NY   USA

Dr.   Elena   Androunas
Director, COMCON Consulting Center
Moscow ,     RUSSIA

Mr.   Jamshid   Anvar
CEO, Ja Associates
(former Director, United Nations)
1296 Coppet ,     SWITZERLAND

Dr.   S. Huw   Anwyl
Senior Minister & CEO, Shepherd of the Hills Church
Laguna Niguel , CA   USA

Prof.   Ibrahim G.   Aoude'
Department of Ethnic Studies
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu , HI   USA

Ms.   Karen   Armstrong
Writer & Religious Historian
London ,     ENGLAND

Dr.   Richard T.   Arndt
Washington , DC   USA

Dr.   Andrew   Arno
Associate Prof., Dept of Communication
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu , Hawai`i   USA

Mr.   Bagher   Asadi
Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the U.N., Chairman of Group of 77/2001
Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United States
New York , NY   USA

Ms.   Sergut   Asfaw
Volunteer Facilitator, Senior Programme Producer (Radio)
Addis Ababa ,     ETHIOPIA

Dr.   Gasper Cleophas   Ashimogo
Senior Lecturer, Sokoine University of Agriculture
Chuo Kikuu , Morogoro   TANZANIA

Reverend   Naim   Ateek
Director, SABEEL Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center
C/O Janet Lahr Lewis, Coordinator
Jerusalem , ISRAEL

Prof. Samuel Ayonghe 
Vice Dean, Faculty of Science University of Buea
Buea, CAMEROON 

Please notice, these are just the "A's"

Of what can these men advise that Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter and Nichiren Daishonin can't? The SGI involved with the Toda Institute are fools, especially Olivier Urbain.

Too cowardly to refute Catholicism, General Director Nakajima of Soka Gakkai Italy passes his time in idle chatter

Is SGI's manner the same as Nichiren's?

Is SGI discussing pedophile priests, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Holy See's tacit support of Adolph Hitler, and the superiority of the Lotus Sutra and Namu Myoho renge kyo over Catholicism? Hardly and the world descends ever more rapidly into misery and decline.


21/03/2013: The Institute of Buddhist Soka Gakkai Italian has been officially invited to the Vatican to the audience with the new Pope Francis, on the occasion of the meeting between the Holy Father and religious denominations recognized in our country. At the end of the speeches there was the ritual greeting of the Bishop of Rome. During the meeting is held a brief meeting between the Head of the National Women Mrs. Asa Nakajima and His Holiness the Pope Francis. Ms. Nakajima brought greetings from the Master Daisaku Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai Buddhist community as a whole Italian along with some gifts. His Holiness, returning affectionately, it is focused on the Juzu given to him as a symbol of prayer as a basis of faith. The hearing is held at the Sala Clementina. hearing was attended among others: the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Community of Rome, Riccardo Di Segni, President of the Islamic Cultural Center of Italy Abdellah Redouane, the European head of the Sikhs Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh, the leader of the Hindu American Ghanapati and the international leader of Rissho Kosei Kai Buddhist school, Nichiko Niwano. The center IBISG also attended the inauguration ceremony of the "Petrine Ministry" that is took place the previous day in St. Peter's Square." -- SGI Italy 

The three calamities and seven disasters are here now.

"As a result, the three calamities in time appear in the world, and the region within the four seas is most likely to be beset by the seven disasters. At that time living beings for the first time learn the meaning of suffering and joy." - Nichiren

Yale, Harvard, Princeton, MIT professors not visiting Fukushima for even a minute

But the homeless and Japanese immigrants working there 8-16 hours a day.

Fukushima apocalypse now


Tuesday, October 30, 2018

The German people are very intelligent (page views now)

                                           Graph of most popular countries among blog viewers
EntryPageviews
Germany
30
United States
30
Singapore
6
Ukraine
1
 

Despots, children, and propaganda



Daisaku Ikeda is the Japanese Jesus Christ

"The mentor is the spiritual foundation or earth, a source of spiritual sustenance. From that earth, the disciple brings flowers of victory to bloom eternally."(SGINL 7720) -- Daisaku Ikeda

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” -- John 14:6

“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.” -- John 11:25

They know nothing of the Nichiren faith.

Learning Nichiren Lotus Sutra Buddhism from "Sifu" Sylvain Chamberlain or "Sensei" Kanjin Cederman

It is impossible to learn Nichiren Lotus Sutra Buddhism from these men. Why? Because they don't practice Nichiren Lotus Sutra Buddhism. They don't practice shakubuku (break and subdue). Nichiren Daishonin was the master of the forceful practices. In order to learn Nichiren Lotus Sutra Buddhism, one needs to learn from the master of shakubuku, Nichiren Daishonin and his disciples and believers. Nichiren teaches:

“Shoju is to be practiced when throughout the entire country only the Lotus Sutra has spread, and when there is not even a single misguided teacher expounding erroneous doctrines. At such a time, one may retire to the mountain forests, practice meditation, or carry out the five, the six, or the ten practices. But the time for shakubuku is very different from this. It is a time when many different sutras and teachings spring up here and there like so many orchids and chrysanthemums, when the various schools command a large following and enjoy renown, when truth and error stand shoulder to shoulder, and when Mahayana and Hinayana dispute which is superior. At such a time, one must set aside all other affairs and devote one’s attention to rebuking slander of the correct teaching. This is the practice of shakubuku."

“The methods of shoju and shakubuku are also like this. When the correct teaching alone is propagated and there are no erroneous doctrines or misguided teachers, then one may enter the deep valleys and live in quiet contentment, devoting one’s time to reciting and copying the sutra and to the practice of meditation. This is like taking up a writing brush and inkstone when the world is at peace. But when there are provisional schools or slanderers of the correct teaching in the country, then it is time to set aside other matters and devote oneself to rebuking slander. This is like taking up weapons on the battlefield."

“In past times the world was honest, people were upright, and there were no erroneous teachings or erroneous doctrines. Therefore, one could behave in a proper manner and carry out one’s religious practices peacefully and amicably. There was no need to take up staves and berate others, no occasion to attack erroneous teachings.

“But the present age is a defiled one. Because the minds of people are warped and twisted, and provisional teachings and slander alone abound, the correct teaching cannot prevail. In times like these, it is useless to practice the reading, reciting, and copying [of the Lotus Sutra] or to devote oneself to the methods and practices of meditation. One should practice only the shakubuku method of propagation, and if one has the capacity, use one’s influence and authority to destroy slander of the correct teaching, and one’s knowledge of the teachings to refute erroneous doctrines."

“Assert aloud, ‘The various sutras have no attainment and are the source of falling to hell; the Hokekyo alone is the Dharma for Attaining Buddhahood and try to break and subdue the people and dharmas of the various sects.”

“The monks and laity who are disciples should reverence and make offering to the person who has firmly declared, ‘The various sects are the source of falling to hell; the Hokke sect alone will attain Buddhahood.’”

“Fourth, when we spread the teaching by means of “breaking and subduing” we confront believers in wrong doctrines and have discussions from a rational standpoint based on the above-mentioned Three Proofs (Textual Proof, Reasonable principles, and Actual Proof).

“This time is fixed as the time when ‘they are firm in struggle and the Pure Dharma is hidden and sinks’, an occasion of the mixing and confusion of the Provisional with the Real.”

“In the Latter Dharma the Greater and the Lesser, the Provisional and the Real, the Exoteric and the Esoteric [Teachings] are all only Teachings and have no Attainment. The whole of Jambudvipa has all become blasphemous against the Dharma. For the sake of the rebellious condition it is limited to just the Five Characters 'Myoho renge kyo' (Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Sublime Dharma) only. For example, it is like the ‘Chapter of Fukyo’. My disciples are the obedient condition (jun en); the country of Japan is the rebellious condition (gyaku en). (STN, v. 1, 816)

“....because this era is ‘firm in struggle and the Pure Dharma is hidden and sinks’ [Daijikkyo 55 (“Embudai hon”) (T.13.363)], and, on top of this, there are only evil countries, evil kings, evil ministers, evil commoners and they turn against the True Dharma and revere perverted dharmas and perverted teachers, so evil demons enter into the land and the Three Calamities and the Seven Disasters have arisen in abundance.” (STN, v. 1, 735)

“In the ‘Chapter of Expedience’ and so on it appears one is to preach this Sutra in light of the capacities [of the audience]; in the ‘Chapter of Fukyo’ it appears that, even though they blaspheme, one should just forcibly preach it. The former and latter [parts] of the one Sutra are like water and fire. However, Tendai Daishi reconciles them, saying, ‘As to those who already originally had good [karmic roots], Shakya guards them with the Lesser [Vehicle]; as to those who originally never yet had good [karmic roots], Fukyo forcibly poisons them with the Great [Vehicle].’ [Hokke mongu 10B (T.34.141a27-b1)] The heart (meaning) of the text is: For those who originally had good [karmic] roots and who should obtain understanding within the present lifetime one should directly preach the Hokekyo. However, if among them there are still capacities who hear yet are likely to blaspheme, one should temporarily prepare them with the Provisional Sutras and afterwards preach the Hokekyo. Those who originally have not had the good [karmic] roots of the Great [Vehicle], even now they are not going to believe the Hokekyo and for whatever reason are going to fall to the Evil Ways [of Rebirth] so just forcibly preach the Hokekyo and cause them to blaspheme and also make them form a rebellious condition. According to this commentary, in the Latter Age those without good [karmic roots] are many; those having good [karmic roots] are few. Therefore there is no doubt they will fall to the Evil Ways [of Rebirth]. We should all the same forcibly preach and cause them to hear the Hokekyo and they should form the condition of the poison drum, should they not? So there are none who contest that this is the season for preaching the Hokekyothat they may form the condition of blasphemy, are there?” (STN, v. 1, 204-205)

“In the Latter Age those without good [karmic roots] are many; those having good [karmic roots] are few.” 

“The Buddha did not cure any blasphemers against the Dharma, because there were none when the Buddha was in the world. In the Latter Dharma (mappo) it is full of the Strong Enemies of the One Vehicle. The benefit of the Bodhisattva Fukyo refers to this."

“...the surpassingly arrogant still form the distant cause [of Buddhahood]; how should hearing and believing be without manifest benefit?: Therefore, those who disparage and blaspheme form the cause of the poison drum.”

“Furthermore, it would be difficult for the worldlings of the Latter Age to avoid the Evil Ways of Rebirth anyhow; if just the same they fall to the Evil Ways of Rebirth, if one causes them to blaspheme the Hokekyo and fall, it would not resemble falling by worldly sin (seken no tsumi). As in the text, ‘Hearing the Dharma, giving rise to blasphemy, and falling to hell is superior to making offering to Ganges’ sands of Buddhas.’ and so on. [Maha shikan bugyoden guketsu 1-5 (T.46.174c)] The heart (meaning) of this text preaches that to blaspheme the Hokekyo and fall to hell is hundreds and thousands and myriad times superior to the merit of offering to, adhering to, and adoring Ganges’ sands of Buddhas, the Buddha Shakya, the Buddha Amida and so on.” (STN, v. 1, 260-261)

“Now at the beginning of the Latter Dharma, by the Lesser they strike the Great and by the Provisional they smash the Real [Great Vehicle]. East and West together are lost, Heaven and Earth are overturned. The Four Reliances of the [Bodhisattvas] Converted by the Manifestation [Buddha] are hidden and do not manifest themselves before [the world]. The devas (gods) abandon this country and do not guard it. At this time the Bodhisattvas Who Sprang from the Earth for the first time come forth and manifest themselves and take only the Five Characters ‘Myoho renge kyo’ and have the young children swallow them. [When Myoraku’s Hokke mongu ki 10chu (T.34.349b)commenting on the ‘Chapter of Jofukyo’ says,] ‘If, caused by blasphemy, they fall to the Evil [Ways of Rebirth], of necessity, caused by it, they shall obtain benefit,’ it refers to this. Let my disciples ponder this. The Thousand Realms [of the Bodhisattvas] Who Sprang from the Earth are the Master of Teachings Lord Shakya’s disciples who first gave rise to the Mind [of Enlightenment. They came not to the Place of Enlightenment Where He Attained Nirvana [Realization] nor did they visit His Final {Parinirvana] at the Pair of Sal Trees and had the fault of unfiliality. Nor did they come to the Fourteen [Chapters] of the Doctrine of the Manifestation (Shakumon) and at the Six Chapter of the Doctrine of the Original [from the Chapter of Yakuo 23 on] they rose from their seats and only during the Eight Chapters did they come back. Such high exalted Bodhisattvas promised to the Three Buddhas [Shakyamuni, Taho and the Buddhas of the Ten Directions] promised to receive and keep this [‘Myoho renge kyo’]. Shall they come forth at the beginning of the Latter Dharma?” (STN, v. 1, 719)

“At the present time, it is the Provisional Teachings which have become the enemy of the Real Teaching. If at the time of the age of diffusion of the One Vehicle, there is a Provisional Teaching that becomes an enemy, one may attack it from the Real Teaching. Within the practices of Subsuming and Breaking one calls this the Breaking and Subduing for the Hokke. Tendai says, ‘The Breaking and Subduing of the Hokke smashes the ideal truths of the Provisional Doctrines.’ Truly this has a reason!” (STN, v. 1, 735 l. 13 - 736 l. 1)

“With the lesser good of the Nembutsu of [A]mida, they lose the Great Good of the Hokekyo and the Nembutsu which is the lesser good surpasses the Five Rebellious Sins (gogyakuzai) which is a great evil.” (STN, v. 2, 1543 ll. 10-11)

“Now at the beginning of the Latter Dharma with the Lesser they strike the Great; with the Provisional they smash the Real; east and west are lost together; heaven and earth are overturned.” (STN, v. 1, 719 ll. 9-10)

“In general, those who would practice the Buddha Dharma should know the two aspects (lit., ‘gates’) of Subsuming and Breaking. All the Sutras and Treatises do not go beyond these two. Therefore, although the scholars of the sects within the country roughly learn the Buddha Dharma, they do not know the Way which corresponds to the time.

The four times and four seasons change one after another. In summer it is hot, in winter it is cold, in spring the flowers bloom, and in autumn the fruits form. Now in spring one should plant the seeds and in autumn take the fruits; if one plants the seeds in autumn and gathers the fruits in spring, how could they be gathered? In the time of extreme cold, thick garments are useful; in the time extreme heat, what would they do? A cool wind is useful in summer; in winter what would it do?

The Buddha Dharma is also like this. There is a time when the Lesser Dharma is diffused and will have benefit. There is also a time when the Provisional Great Vehicle may spread. There is also a time when the Real Teaching spreads and one will obtain Buddhahood. Moreover, the two thousand years of [the ages of] the True and Counterfeit [Dharmas] are the times when the Lesser Vehicle and Provisional Great Vehicle are diffused. The five hundred years of the beginning of the Latter Dharma is the time when only the Hokekyo, which is the Purely Perfect One Real [Teaching], ‘shall be widely proclaimed and diffused’ [‘kosen rufu’ in the ‘Chapter of Yakuo’ (T.9. 54c22)]. This time is fixed as the time when ‘they are firm in struggle and the Pure Dharma is hidden and sinks’ [Daijikkyo 55 (‘Embudai hon’) (T.13.363)], an occasion of the mixing and confusion of the Provisional with the Real.” (STN, v. 1, 735 ll. 4-12)

“When they are dyed by the perverted evil ones of the Shingon, Zen, Nembutsu Sect and so on they necessarily fall to hell; when they are dyed by the Hokekyo, they necessarily become Buddhas.” (STN, v. 2, 1252)

“However, if one does the practice of the Four Peaceful Joys, which is Subsuming and Accepting, at the present time, is it not planting seeds in winter and seeking a benefit? A rooster crying at dawn is useful; crying in the night is a baleful specter. At the time of the mixing and confusion of the Provisional with the Real, if one does not attack the enemies of the Hokekyo and closes oneself off in seclusion in the mountains and forest, and does the practice of Subsuming and Accepting, how can one not be a baleful specter that misses the time of practicing the Hokekyo? So at this time of the Latter Dharma who are they that have done the practice of Breaking and Subduing according to the Sutra text? Whoever it may be, let them not spare their voices to cry, ‘The other sutras have no Attaining of the Way and are the fundamental source of dropping to the hells; the Hokekyo alone is the Dharma for attaining Buddhahood!’” (STN, v. 1, 736 ll. 1-6)

“Question: If by cause of blasphemy they fall to suffering, for what reason does the bodhisattva create the cause of suffering?
“Answer: They have no good cause and, not blaspheming, they will likewise fall. If, caused by blasphemy, they fall to the Evil [Ways of Rebirth], of necessity, caused by it, they shall obtain benefit. It is as when a person falls over on the earth, but on the contrary rises from the earth. Therefore by blasphemy of the True he takes them to the fall of the Perverted.”

A commentary of this last paragraph instructs...

"This passage of forming a connection to the True Dharma by blaspheming it, being punished, and then attaining Buddhahood in the future, is “forming the condition of the poison drum” (dokku kechien) and is the basis of Nichiren Shonin’s“shakubuku”.\

The theory of letting people blaspheme, fall and obtain the benefit of future Buddhahood (forced poisoning, the condition of the poison drum) is in the Tendai commentary itself and Nichiren Shonin connects it closely with the spread of the Daimoku by the Bodhisattvas Who Sprang from the Earth. And their appearance with this type of propagation is a necessity connected with the veracity of the Buddhas themselves:-- Graham Lamont

“...whoever it is among the monks’ assembly who are followers, carrying out propagation in the Capital and steadfastly saying, ‘The various sects are the root cause of falling to hell and the Hokke Sect alone shall attain Buddhahood’, to that person you monks and laity alike should show reverence and make offering.” (“On the Matter of Nichjju’s Legacy”)} In any case why is it that Nichiren Shonin says this: it relates to this time, the age when there are “only” (nomi) evil (blasphemous) people and “only” the Hokekyo can save them, even if it means largely doing so by having them fall to hell carrying the hidden seed of future Buddhahood (gyakuen). To do other wise is to act like some ghastly apparition out of season. It is to fail to carry out the Buddha’s injunction, particularly to Buddhist monks (priests) to castigate that which destroys the Dharma.

“If there is a good bhikshu who sees those destroying the Dharma, but sets it aside and does not upbraid, drive out, and accuse and deal with them, you should know this person is a hateful enemy within the Buddha Dharma.”(Daihatsunehangyo 3 (T.12.381a)

“Though it was at such a time, when the time was inauspicious, that I, Nichiren, received the Buddha's Edict and was born in this country, yet the Decrees of the King of the Dharma [the Buddha] are difficult to defy; so, relying upon the Sutra texts,I raised the battle of the two teachings, Provisional and Real,’put on the armor of endurance’ [a quotation from the ‘Chapter of Urging the Keeping’ 13: T.9.36c], brandished the sword of the Sublime Teaching, raised the flag of the Five Characters of the Sublime Dharma, the quintessence of the eight fascicles of the whole work [the Hokekyo], stretched the bow of ‘I have never yet revealed the Truth’ [Muryogikyo (T.9.386b1-2), loosed the arrows of ‘forthrightly abandoning the Provisional’ [The ‘Chapter of Expedience’ 2 (T.9.10a19), mounted the Great White Ox Cart [the ‘Chapter of the Parable’ 3 (T.9.14c14)], smashed through the Gate (Doctrine) of the Provisional, sallied to here, pushed forward to here, and destroyed the enemies, the Eight Sects and Ten Sects, Nembutsu, Shingon, Zen, Ritsu and so on; however, they either escaped, or withdrew, or, the ones taken alive became my disciples. Or they counterattacked, or, though I attacked and subdued them, the enemies were of great power and the one person of the Dharma King was powerless. Until now the battle has not stopped.

“When, because they are the Golden Words, ‘The Breaking and Subduing (shakubuku) of the Hokke (Dharma Flower [Sutra]) smashes the ideal truths of the Provisional Doctrines’ [Hokke gengi 9A (T.33.792b17)], I finally shall have attacked and subdued the groups of the Provisional Teachings and the Provisional Doctrine without excluding one person and made them retainers of the Dharma King and the various vehicles of the myriad commoners of the empire shall have become the One Buddha Vehicle and the Sublime Dharma alone shall flourish, then if the myriad commoners all together chant, ‘Namu Myoho renge kyo’, let each of you see the time: the blowing wind shall not whistle through the branches, the rain shall not smash the clods of earth, the age shall become the era of [Fu-]hsi and [Shen-]nung, in the present life they shall sweep away inauspicious disasters and obtain the technique of long life and not growing old, and persons and dharmas [phenomena] together shall manifest the principle of not growing old and not dying [or not dying before growing old]. One cannot doubt the proof [or prophetic] text, ‘peaceful and secure in this world.’” [The ‘Chapter of the Parable of Medicinal Plants’ (T.9.19b)]. (STN, v. 1, 732 line 14 - 733 l. 12)

“The Breaking and Subduing (shakubuku) of the Hokke (Dharma Flower [Sutra]) smashes the ideal truths of the Provisional Doctrines.”

“Our fundamental (original) teacher, the Tathagata Shakya, during the eight years [of the Hokekyo] of His time in the world practiced Breaking and Subduing. Tendai Daishi [did this] for more than thirty years and Dengyo Daishi for more than twenty years and now I, Nichiren, have for more than twenty years ‘smashed the ideal truths of the Provisional Doctrines’”. (STN, v. 1, 736 ll. 7-8)

The Buddha Taho says ‘It is all the Truth.’ [The ‘Chapter of Appearing of the Jewelled Stupa’ 11 (T.9.32c2)]

"And so they determine that there is attainment of Buddhahood in the Present Body (sokushin jobutsu) limited to the Hokekyo. No matter how much they preach that there is attainment of Buddhahood in the Previous Sutras, or how the people of the Provisional Sects madly rave, it will be ‘one hammer to a thousand earthen pans’. ‘The Breaking and Subduing (shakubuku) of the Hokke (Dharma Flower [Sutra]) smashes the ideal truths of the Provisional Doctrines’ refers to this. It is a most excellent and secret inner doctrine.” (STN, v. 2, 1634)

“All the Sutras (issaikyo) are all the preaching of the Golden [647] Mouth of the Buddha and are His Words (onkotoba) of no-lies. When we put them against the Hokekyo they are like lies, like prevarications, like bad-mouthing, like duplicity (or, double-dealing).

“It is this Sutra (onkyo) that is the True Word among True Words. It is the Sutra (onkyo) of True Words that the forthright (honest) one masters.” (STN, v. 1, 646-647)

“Question: For us to say that someone is the practicer who practices according to the preaching, in what way should we say he believes?
“Answer: What the people of the country of Japan of the present age all say is the person who practices in accordance with the preaching (nyosetsu shugyo) is:
“‘When the Vehicles are sublated (opened and merged) into the One Buddha Vehicle, they are all the Hokekyo and there is no matter of superiority and inferiority, shallowness or profundity. When one believes that saying the Nembutsu, keeping the Shingon (mantras), practicing Zen, and in general keeping and reciting all the sutras and the Names of the Buddha and the bodhisattvas are all the Hokekyo, one is said to be the person who practices in accordance with the preaching.’

“I say, ‘It is not so. In sum, when one would practice the Buddha Dharma, one may not use the words of humans. One should just respectfully guard the Golden Words of the Buddha:

“Although our Original Teacher, the Tathagata Shakya, thought he would preach the Hokke (Dharma Flower Sutra), because the capacities of beings were not yet mature, he first preached the Expedients, which are the Provisional Teachings, during more than forty years and afterwards preached the Hokekyo,which is the Truth. In the Muryogikyo (Sutra of Immeasurable Meanings), the Preface Section of this Sutra, he points to the boundary marker between the Provisional and the Real and divides the Expedient from the Truth, when he says, ‘By the power of Expedience for more than forty years I have never yet revealed the Truth.’ [Muryogikyo (T.9.386b1-2)] The Eighty Thousand Great Beings, Daishogon, and so on, having understood and distinguished the reasons for ‘putting forth the Provisional, opening (sublating) the Provisional, abolishing the Provisional’ [as expounded in the Hokke gengi] and so on, say as their received understanding, ‘With the Sutras before the Hokke according to which one practices through successive kalpas, “in the end they do not attain Supreme Bodhi.”’ [Muryogikyo (T.9.387a28-b1)]

“Moreover, after coming to the Hokke, which is [the Section of] the Principal Significance, He starts by preaching, ‘As to the World Honored One’s Dharma, after a long time He is certainly about to preach the Truth.’ [The ‘Chapter of Expedience’ 2 (T.9.6a23)] , and issues prohibitions: ‘There are neither two nor again three [Vehicles], excluding the Expedient Preaching of the Buddha’, [The ‘Chapter of Expedience’ 2 (T.9.8a)] ‘forthrightly abandon Expedience’ [Ibid. (T.9.10a)], and ‘do not even receive one verse of other sutras’ [The ‘Chapter of the Parable’ (T.9.16a)]. After this, only the Sublime Dharma of which ‘there is only One Buddha Vehicle’ [The ‘Chapter of the Transformational City’ 7 (T.9.27b2)] is the Great [Vehicle] Dharma, which makes all beings Buddhas, and the sutras outside of the Hokekyo cannot have one bit of benefit; however, the scholars of the present in the Latter Dharma, think that because every [sutra] is the preaching of the Tathagata, they all will have attainment of Buddhahood, and they believe all and sundry of the sects and sutras, whether Shingon or Nembutsu or the Zen Sect, Sanron, Hosso, Kusha, Jojitsu, Ritsu and so on. It was about persons like this that [the Buddha] determined, ‘If a person does not believe but disparages and blasphemes this Sutra, such a one at once cuts off the Buddha seeds of all worlds” and so on to “that person, when life ends, enters Avici Hell.”’ [The ‘Chapter of the Parable’ 3 (T.9.15b)] The Buddha has determined that the one who takes the bright mirror of these rules as basis and does not differ one bit and believes that there is only One Buddha Vehicle is the person who practices in accordance with the preaching.” (STN, v. 1, 733 l. 12-735 l. 2)

“And so in the more than two thousand years since Lord Shakya's entering Extinction, out of the practicers who have practiced according to the preaching we put aside the three, Lord Shakya, Tendai and Dengyo. Within the Latter Dharma I, Nichiren, as well as my disciples and lay donors are such as these. If they do not say we are the ones who practice according to the preaching, Lord Shakya, Tendai, and Dengyo would not have been people who practiced according to the preaching. If Deva[datta], Kokkuri, Zensho, Kobo, Jikaku, Chisho, Shan-dao, Honen, Ryokanbo and so on are said to be the practicers of the Hokekyo, Lord Shakya, Tendai, Dengyo, and I, Nichiren, as well as my disciples and donors would be practicers of Nembutsu, Shingon, Zen, Ritsu and so on; if the Hokekyo is said to be an Expedient Provisional Teaching, then would the sutras of the Nembutsu and so on, on the contrary, become the Hokekyo? Though east become west and the west become east, though there be examples of the great earth along with the plants and trees which it holds flying up to become heaven and heaven along with the sun, moon, and constellations falling down to become the earth, how could there be this principle [of the Hokekyo and other sutras changing places]?” (STN, v. 1, 736 l. 13 - 737 l. 6)

“Now it is also like this. That was the Counterfeit Dharma (Fukyo's time); 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)

“...only evil countries, evil kings, evil ministers, evil commoners and they turn against the True Dharma and revere perverted dharmas and perverted teachers” (STN, v. 1, 735, cited above). Lamont states, "Even conceding that there are a few people who have planted the seed of Buddhahood, among the great number of blasphemers in the world they are 'like a little water in the midst of a great fire' and 'only result in evil karma.' (STN, v. 1, 778 ll. 1-

“No matter what sect it may be, if they speak the doctrine of the Shingon Sect, one should attack (semubeku) the twisted views of the Shingon.” (STN, v. 2, 1482 l. 14 - 1483 l. 1

and referring to the Nembutsu:

“And thereafter they should intensely (anagachi: fully or wholeheartedly) smash the human teachers of that sect.” (STN, v. 2, 1483 l. 9)

and by this Nichiren means:

“One should relate calmly but also forcefully, with eyes half-closed and with composed facial expression and quietly that they are such unenviable deaths.” (STN, v. 2, 1484 ll. 6-7)

Referring to the Ritsu (Precept sect), “With the Practicer is the Precept Keeper of the ‘Chapter of the Jewelled Stupa’ one should castigate (inveigh against) these.” (STN, v. 2, 1488 l. 2)

“This Sutra is difficult to keep;
If there is one who keeps it even for short while,
I shall at once rejoice
And the Buddhas shall likewise do so.
Such a person
Is one whom the Buddhas praise:
This one then is bold and fervent;
This one then is effortful.
This one is named keeper of the precepts,
One who practices the dhutas,
And so will quickly obtain
The Supreme Buddha Way.” (T.9.34b15-18)

Mr. Lamont goes on, "the Daimoku, which is declared to 'gather the merits of the myriad practices and myriad good [acts] of the Buddha of the Three Eras' is said to contain the merits of a myriad precepts: it is the Adamantine (Diamond) Jewel Receptacle Precept and 'because it is such an excellent precept, the various precepts of Previous [Sutras] and the Manifestation Doctrine (shakumon) have not one bit of merit.'" (STN, v. 2, 1488 l. 11)

“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)

In conclusion, today, at this time, in the United States and possibly in all of Jambudvipa, it is only we who practice the Lotus Sutra as did Nichiren. It is only we who can teach Nichiren's practice, the practice of Shakubuku. The Nichiren Shu and the Soka Gakkai with their interfaith practice, know nothing of the Nichiren faith.

Ending the confusion of Nam and Namu

Namaste : I was looking at a Indo-European Language Chart. It began at Proto Indo-European then went to Indo-Iranian, then to Indic, then to Vedic Sanskrit, then it had two languages that were not separated by a line, they were Classical Sanskrit & Middle Indic (Pali, Prakrits). Why was this chart this way, is it because they are so similar? Narapati m. Pali-English English-Pali | Pali grammar | Pali Alphabet 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Nagara - m. city. Naagarika - urban. Naama - n. name, mind. Namo - ind. honour. Narapati - m. king. Naar( - f. woman. Nara - m. man. Naatha - m. lord, refuge. „aati - m. relative. Nattu - m. nephew. „aatu - m. knower. Naavaa - f. ship, boat. Naavika - m. navigator. Nava - nine. Navama - ninth. Navuti - ninety. Netu - m. leader. Niraahaara - without food. N(ca - mean, low. Nicaya - n. accumulation. Nidahati - (ni + daha) lays aside. Nidhaaya - ind. p.p. having left aside. Nigacchati - (ni + gamu) goes away. Nigama - m. town, market N(harati - (n( + hara) takes away, removes. Nikkhamati - (ni + kamu) departs. Nikkha.nati - (ni +kha.na) buries. N(la - adj. blue. N(rasa - sapless, tasteless. N(roga - healthy. Nis(dati - (ni + sada) sits. Nitta.nho - arahant (Desireless One). Nivattati - (ni + vatu) ceases. 

Namaste or Namo transliterates into Namu (Indo-Aryan Prakrits.) not Nam there simply is no justification for the transliteration of Namaste to Nam . Nam can only be found in the Vietmamese dictionary meaning "burnt". 

Viet-nam or nam of Vietnam meaning possibly to go to a southern region or area, going south. To Chant Nam would not mean devotion to the law but would translate to mean burnt- Myohorengekyo or I guess possibly going south. If you find a english to Viet'nam'ese dictionary you will find this to be the case. 

Namah; Pali: Namo; to submit oneself to, from to bend, bow to, make obeisance, pay homage to; an expression of submission to command, complete commitment, reverence, devotion, trust for salvation, etc. -- Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms; with Sanskrit and Sanskrit -Pali index. William Edward Soothill & Lewis Hodous (page 298) 

If you study the religions or history of India the origin of Namaste (Namah; Pali: Namo) a sanskrit language from a time before the birth of the Buddha. Namo was used as above. Nam is not a correct translation in any way shape or form. Nam simple has no origin or relation to Namaste and completely alters the meaning and invocation of the title of the Lotus Sutra. 

Namaste (num'e sta'), n. a conventional Hindu expression on meeting or parting, used by the speaker usually while holding his palms together vertically in front of the bosom. [?]  -- Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (page.949) 

Transliterate; to change (letters, words, etc.) into corresponding characters of another alphabet or language: to transliterate the greek --Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary. (page. 1505) 

Transliterate; To represent (letters or words)in the characters of another alphabet. The American Heritage Dictionary. (page. 719) 

Translation; 1.The rendering of something into another language. 2.a version a different language: a french translation of hamlet. 3. change or conversion to another form, appearse, etc.; transformation: a swift translation of thought into action. 4. act or process of translating; stateof being translated. 5. Mech. motion in which all particles of a body movewith the same velocity along parallel paths. 6. Telegraghy. the retransmitting or forwarding of a message, as by rely. 7. Math. a function obtained from a given function by adding the same constant to each value of the variable of the given function and moving the graph of the function a constant distance to the right or left.  -- Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary. (page 1505) 

Translational, adj--- translationally, adv-syn 2. Translation, paraphrase, version refer to a rewording of something. A translation is a rendering of the same ideas in a different language from the original: a translation from Greek into English. A paraphrase is a free rendering of the sense of a passage in other words, usually in the same language: a paraphrase of a poem. A version is a translation,esp. of the Bible, or else an account of something illustrating a particular point of view: the Douy Version. -- Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary. (page 1505) 

If someone still can not understand that Nam simply has no origin in any prakrit or sanskirt language that has any relation to the transliteration from Namha, namo, namaste to nam , it can only be from not wanting to see the truth or just ignorance of the process of learning or thinking. Lets look at the thinking process based on a linguistic's point of view. 

What are the pros & cons. of the eclectic approach vs. the theory base approach? 

Namo ind. honour. Narapati m. If you are eclectic, you take in all the data you can and you ask all the questions you can think of, and you try to synthesis what you know. Because there is no particular direction to the questions you ask, you may ask interesting questions that will not occur to others. You may see facts which others will not see. The difficulty will be in knowing why or how these facts are important or whether they hang together. 

If you are theory-based, the theory tells you what facts to look for and what questions to ask. It provides a framework for your synthesis, and thus allows you to synthesize more neatly, and with less effort (because you are excluding irrelevancies). However, there will be some things that you never notice because the theory doesn't tell you to look for them. The theory will tell you to look in other places for other facts, and thus allow you to give a better description in some ways, at the same time as it may prevent you from finding some relevant things. 

Clearly, a mixture of the two is preferable: a framework gives you something to hang your work onto, but you don't want to be so blinkered that you can't see beyond the framework. 

In a theory-based approach, you have to try to find the answer to the question you are working on by using only the tools made available by the (latest version of) a particular theory. If the theory is appropriate for this domain of research and already accounts for a lot of other data within the same domain, then it just might be sufficient to solve your problem as well. 

In practice, theories dealing with complex phenomena are probably never perfect. We hope that they get better with time, but every improvement raises new questions and opens up new avenues of research. 

In the eclectic approach, you suppose that the most satisfactory answer to your question cannot be found in the latest version of your theory, so you look elsewhere and if you think you have found the answer elsewhere, you try to combine the new idea with the theory you already have. Nowadays there are millions of scientists around the world working on different theories of various phenomena. Sometimes these phenomena overlap with each other, e.g. biologists and chemists are both interested in the processes that are involved in creating life. So in such cases, it seems quite possible that one group can have the answer that another group is looking for, even without knowing it. n. name, mind. 

Namo ind. honour. What you're looking at is, of course, an oversimplification, as any such diagram would have to be. Old Indic (or, more properly, Old Indo-Aryan) was, like all well-established languages, a bundle of dialects, only of few of which are represented by what is commonly called `Vedic Sanskrit'. The others properly go under the generic label `Prakrit' (whose literal meaning is roughly `common language' as opposed to Sanskrit, which means `refined language'). Just about the only reason `Prakrit' typically appears on such charts as a label for certain varieties of Middle Indo-Aryan as opposed to Old Indo-Aryan is that it's only in the Middle Indo-Aryan period (roughly 1000 B.C.E. to 1000 C.E.) that you begin to get written records in Prakrit, as opposed to occasional Prakrit words or expressions getting into documents written primarily in Sanskrit. 

On the other side of the coin, once you get past about 1000 B.C.E. the language referred to as `Vedic Sanskrit' has developed into the language `Classical Sanskrit', so `Classical Sanskrit' is pretty much contemporary with Pali, Apabhramsa, Magadhi, and the other Middle Indo-Aryan Prakrits. The difference is that the Prakrits were *living* languages, as are the Modern Indo-Aryan languages like Hindi and Bengali: children were routinely learning them from their families and friends, and people were using them as all-purpose means of communication. Sanskrit, on the other hand, had turned into a literary language; few if any people learned it as their first language, but rather used it for very formal, elevated, or elite conversation and writing. It had become something like Latin in Mediaeval Western Europe -- and still to some extent has that status today. And so `Sanskrit' is never considered a `Middle Indo-Aryan' language, even though the `Classical' period of the language's *literary* history was coeval with the period that the Middle Indo-Aryan languages were being spoken, because most of the vocabulary and grammar of Classical Sanskrit was consciously based on that of the Vedic period, when Sanskrit had itself been a living language in the fullest sense of the term. 

There's no question that Sanskrit and Prakrit are very similar. Both are descended from Old Indo-Aryan, and almost all Sanskrit-speakers in any age have also of necessity been Prakrit-speakers. And, especially in the usage of the educated classes, because of the status that Sanskrit enjoys in the Hindu world the similarity is going to be emphasized; it's been said that any word that is a possible word in Sanskrit is ipso facto also a possible word in Hindi. So there would always be strong tendencies to keep the two types of language recognizably similar (while still maintaining the indications of class distinction that they imply; for instance, unlike the Prakrits Sanskrit never lost the Proto-Indo-European dual number or the three distinct past tenses, these being felt to be distinctive markers of an elite, highly civilized language). But it would be incorrect to say that the Middle Indo-Aryan Prakrits evolved out of Vedic Sanskrit; it would be more correct to say that they evolved out of Old Indo-Aryan Prakrits (of which we have *almost* no record), with a little bit of infusion from Sanskrit. 

The next section is I believe a good personal experience and further explanation of this issue. In my mind this ends anymore doubt to the controversy of whether to Chant Nam or Namu. Otherwise I can only conclude that a persons thinking process is not able to comprehend a basic documented fact that is backed up by all the known transliterations, dictionaries and literary proof. Also notwithstanding the testimonies of linguist and scholars in every direction. 

Great Vowel Shift 

From the Hokkedaimokusho ("On the Title of the Lotus Sutra"), Nichiren propagates the sacred formula "Namu Myoho Renge Kyo" (not Nam Myoho Renge Kyo) as being infallible as a means to achieve Buddhahood. "When the Buddha preached the Lotus Sutra, he disclosed the basket of all sutras. At this time living beings of the nine worlds saw for the first time the treasure of the basket of all sutras of forty years [period of Buddha's preaching]. 

"Is not, however, the title of the Lotus Sutra the heart of the 80,000 (i.e. all) sacred scriptures and the eye of all the Buddhas?" 

Nichiren said that we should chant the title of the Lotus Sutra wholeheartedly, in purity of mind,  stimulated by the wondrous recitation of the formula of Avalokitesvara (Chap. 25 of the Lotus Sutra). Attention has to be paid even to the sound of the utterance in order to gain deep joy and peace. Salvation by faith in a sacramental efficacy of "Namu 

Myoho Renge Kyo" which Nichiren propagates, and this activity for lay believers who cannot penetrate into the fine delicacies of the Sutra, can engage with their body and mind by recitation of the Title of the Sutra and the Sutra itself. 

"They have to regard it more delightful than a blind-born man who opens his eyes for the first time and sees his parents, or more rare than somebody who has been overthrown by a strong enemy, will have the chance to be dismissed and see again wife and children." (Borsig, op.cit, 375) 

From the Great Nirvana Sutra: 

"When someone enters the great ocean and bathes, he already has used water from al the various rivers." 

By chanting the title: "Namu Myoho Renge Kyo" we consume all the sutras, their teachings and blessings. 

I, like most of you, chanted the "6 Character Counterfeit Daimoku" while a member of Nichiren Shoshu/SGI. After I left in January 1975 I started reading other books about Nichiren Buddhism that were published by scholars and sects other than the SokaGakkai or Nichiren Shoshu. I noticed that in ALL the books that were not published by the Soka Gakkai, the Daimoku was written as "Namu Myoho Renge Kyo." 

But, if the book was published by the SGI/NShoshu, the daimoku was written as "Nam....." I called a friend who was a translator for Nichiren Shoshu, and she told me that they were instructed to write the daimoku as "Nam...", but it really was "Namu Myoho Renge Kyo." Since then, we learned about the "great vowel shift" in Japan in the 14th century, and the fact that the Soka Gakkai asked Taisekiji to drop the "mu" so they could chant faster. 

Needless to say, Universal Virtue woke me up, and every day during my morning and evening service I say "thank you". By the same token, when we tell those who insist that Nam is OK, that they have forgotten "a whole character", we fulfill the function of Universal Virtue. 

You might ask yourself, how can so many people be fooled? 

I found this story in, "The Transmission of the Dharma-pita" 

"A man lives up to a hundred years 
Without seeing a heron. 
Another man lives for only one day, 
But he has seen a heron. 
This man has much more wisdom and fame" 
At that time, Ananda was walking nearby and heard the bhiksu's recitation. 
He said to him, "the stanza you are reciting was not spoken by the Buddha. 
You should say, 
'If one man lives for a hundred years 
without perceiving the rise and fall of things, 
and if another lives for only one day 
but perceives the rise and fall of things, 
this [second] man possesses much more wisdom 
than the one who lives a hundred years.'*

Moreover, there are two kinds of people who slander the Buddha. One kind of people are infidels who slander the Buddha out of hatred and resentment. The other kind, though believers, do not properly accept and understand the meanings of the Sutras and are also considered slanderers of the Buddha. Just as a man with no feet and no mouth is nonfunctioning, these two kinds of people are nonfunctioning, as they cannot understand the proper meanings of the words jati (rebirth) and aristaka (heron) mentioned in the Sutra." And he also uttered the following stanza: 

An ignorant man has no wisdom; 
His actions are useless. 
If a wise man does not accept the Dharma, 
His wisdom is like poison. 
By hearing the recitation of right knowledge, 
One may gain the fruit of liberation. 

The bhiksu who recited the stanza returned to the place of his teacher and said, "Ananda said,'The World-honored One spoke thus: If one man lives for a hundred years without perceiving the rise and fall of things, and if another lives for only one day and perceives the rise and fall of things, the second man is much better than the one who lives a hundred years." The teacher said to his disciples, "Ananda is getting old. His memory has become poor." And he also uttered the following stanza: 

If a man reaches senility, 
He loses his power of memory. 
His wisdom and vigor 
Also grow old. 

He also said to his disciple, "Recite as you do. Do not follow his words." When Ananda went again to that place, he heard [the bhiksu] reciting the same stanza. The Elder Ananda said to him, "I have told you, this was not spoken by the Buddha." He answered Ananda, saying, "My teacher said that Ananda was getting old and that his memory had become poor." Ananda reflected and wished to go to the teacher to tell him the meaning. Then he considered the mind of the teacher: Would he accept his words? He saw in his mind that the teacher would not accept the meaning. He thought again: Was there any other bhiksu who could tell the teacher? And he saw that nobody could tell him. Ananda considered the matter, *

"If the Buddha were in the world, 
I would report the matter to him 
and to Sariputra, Maudgalyayana, Kasyapa, and others. 
But the Buddha and all the others have entered nirvana. 
I also wish to enter nirvana. 
By the power of the Buddha, 
the Dharma will abide for one thousand years." He also uttered the following stanza: 

Recluses such as they 
Have all passed away. 
Now between them and me, 
No distinctive mark will there be. 
I am now thinking of myself 
As a bird wafting in the wind. 
They have entered nirvana, 
Having cleared all impurities and bonds. 
They were lamps in the world 
That dispelled the darkness of ignorance. 
Of those great energetic ones 
Who observed numerous rules and ceremonies, 
I am the only one surviving, 
Like one tree remaining in a forest. 

The following quotes are from the Gassui Gosho, commonly known as the "Letter on Menstruation". This letter was written to the wife of Daigaku Saburo, answering her questions. The date of this writing is the 17th of the 4th month in the first year of Bun'ei Era (1264). 

"You should know that the merit of the Lotus Sutra is the same whether you chant the whole eight scrolls or just one scroll, one chapter, one stanza, one phrase, one character, or the Daimoku. For instance, a drop of ocean water contains the water of numerous rivers, large and small, while a wish-fulfilling gem produces numerous treasures. In this sense, a drop of ocean water is the same as numerous drops and a gem is the same as numerous gems. One character of the Lotus Sutra is like this one drop of ocean water or one wish fulfilling gem. Numerous characters of the sutra are like numerous drops of ocean water or numerous wish-fulfilling gems." 

"Since the Lotus Sutra is the true teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha, anyone who chants even one character of it will not fall into the three evil regions......" 

"If they don't believe in the Lotus Sutra, but consider it equal to other sutras; if they believe it superior to other sutras but practice other sutras all the time, with the Lotus Sutra only sometimes; if they believe in the Lotus Sutra but befriend "Pure Land" Buddhists who do not believe in it and slander it; or if they associate with those who claim that the Lotus Sutra is too difficult for us in the Latter Age of the Decadent Dharma to practice, but do not regard them as slanderers of the true dharma-such people will fall into the hell of incessant suffering. All the merit of these people accumulated in this life will vanish instantly, and even the merit of practicing the Lotus Sutra will eclipse temporarily. You should know that these people will go to the hell of incessant suffering. It is as certain as raindrops falling from the sky and mountain rocks rolling down into valleys." 

"As for chanting "Namu Ichijo Myoden" although it means the same, you should chant "Namu Myoho Renge Kyo" as Bodhisattva Vasubandhu, Grand Master Tien-T'ai and others did. There is a reason for me to say this." 

Following the instructions of Nichiren Daishonin I declare the following: 

1. As for chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, although it may mean the same, you should chant "Namu Myoho Renge Kyo" as the Great Bodhisattva's of the past did, as well as Nichiren Daishonin. To ignore this is not following the instruction of Nichiren Daishonin, but some inferior wanna-be Buddhist Honcho. 

2. Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai members have declared that the Lotus Sutra is inferior in this time period, and that it has lost it's power. These two groups have declared that Nichiren is a liar and continually spit on Shakyamuni Buddha's words. The members of these two groups will go to the hell of incessant suffering, for certain. I believe the words of Nichiren Daishonin, therefore I know that this is true. 

"It is written in the Lotus Sutra that one, who believes in every sutra, every Buddha and Bodhisattva, observes Buddhist precepts but doesn't believe in the Lotus Sutra and slanders it, will fall into the three evil regions without fail. In my opinion, everybody, laymen as well as monks, seem to slander the Lotus Sutra recently" 

3. By throwing Shakyamuni out of his own religion, by declaring a Bodhisattva (Jogyo) superior to the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni, by declaring that the Lotus Sutra has no power, or has lost its power the members of Nichiren Shoshu and SokaGakkai cults observe some sort of Anti-Buddhist practice that slanders the intent of Buddhism Itself! These groups are the cause for calamities in the world.

*The parable of Ananda was also cited by Nichiren.

Much of the previous work taken from the works of Steven Schaufele

Steven Schaufele, Ph.D. home: Yusheng Street Asst. Prof. of Linguistics, English Department Lane 8, #10, 2F Soochow University, Waishuanghsi Campus Shihlin District Taipei 11102 Taipei 11118 Taiwan, ROC Taiwan, ROC (886)(02)881-9471 ext. 6504 (886)(02)835-6966 Fax: (886)(02)883-5158 fco...@mbm1.scu.edu.tw 

Steve writes: I keep hearing people say that mu means could or can't, not or nothing. This is completely erroneous. Where is your source, please post it. The Sanskrit of Namu means Devotion that is it. Nam does not mean devotion. The only thing that can be found for the definition of Nam is in a Vietnamese dictionary. Nam is not Japanese or Indo, Sanskrit or Pakrit. Only Namu Namo Namaste, this transliterates into Namu not nam!! 

Also someone said its what in the heart, I believe what is in the heart of faith is important to but we cannot change Namu to Nam. Otherwise why even say Myohorengekyo. This statement sounds nice but to drop a character and alter Nichiren's invocation and teachings I am sure is not what is in any of our hearts! 

Dictionary: 

Nam. Phtro'ng-south (sao-th) /dong- . South-east- (ist) / t`ay- south wind.....  (Viet-ANH ANH-VIET BY Thung Dung Tu-Dieu- Vietnamese dictionary pg.164) OR Nam-- Burnt (English to -Vietnamese dictionary pg.561)

Author of above? Bruce,Stephanie Maltz, or Steve Polito.