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Saturday, February 29, 2020

"It is against the Mystic Law to criticize Christianity." -- Richard Causton, SGI UK Express

"Sensei has expressed his view that the time has come in the movement for kosen-rufu for dialogue with other religions to be initiated. 'We look upon you as our elder brother,' Sensei said at the time. [referring to the Vatican]

...Pointing out that, as believers in the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin, we must unfailingly uphold human rights, in particular freedom of worship - the right of individuals to worship as they please, provided they cause no harm to others in the process -Sensei pointed out as an example that it would be against the Mystic Law to criticize Christianity." -- Richard Causton, SGI UK Express 

Daisaku Ikeda's painful ordeal

"Taisaku Ikeda does not really wish to receive all of these honors, ride in chauffeured limousines, or stay in luxurious 5 star hotels. He endures all this suffering for the sake of the members. Promoting Mr. Ikeda as a world leader, on par with Ghandi and King, allows SGI members an opportunity to create boundless good fortune. When I think of his great sacrifice, it brings tears to my eyes.

One time, while Ikeda was in New York, there was some foul up on his flight plans. He was forced to ride on a train, with the unwashed masses. I was told he handled that painful ordeal with grace. What a guy!"

SGI are the evil milkmaids of this latter degenerate age

"And the ninth volume of the Nirvana Sutra, speaking of the propagation of the Lotus Sutra, states: 'After I have entered nirvana, in the last eighty years before the correct teaching has passed into extinction, at that time this sutra will be widely propagated throughout Jambudvīpa. In that age there will be evil monks who will steal this sutra and divide it into many parts, losing the color, scent, and flavor of the correct teaching that it contains. These evil men will read and recite this sutra, but they will ignore and put aside the profound and vital principles that the Thus Come One has expounded in it and replace them with ornate rhetoric and meaningless talk. They will tear off the first part of the sutra and stick it on at the end, tear off the end and put it at the beginning, put the end and the beginning in the middle and the middle at the beginning or the end. You must understand that these evil monks are the companions of the devil....

“For example, milkmaids sometimes add a great deal of water to their milk. And these evil monks do much the same. They mix in worldly sayings, thus presenting an erroneous version of the sutra and making it impossible for large numbers of living beings to expound the sutra correctly, copy it correctly, apprehend it correctly, pay it due honor, praise, offerings, and respect. Because these evil monks are concerned only in gaining profit and support, they are incapable of widely propagating this sutra. Few are the places they reach in their various preaching excursions, and these are not worth mentioning. The impoverished milkmaids go from place to place selling their watered milk, but although one may make gruel with it, it lacks the real flavor of milk. And this great vehicle scripture, this Great Nirvana Sutra, is like this. As it is passed from place to place it becomes increasingly thin and insipid until it has no flavor at all."

Daisaku Ikeda is both messenger and message

"I was a general member of Soka Gakkai for 30 years; and have been pretty much independent for 8 years. I see the Gakkai as a business, a sales & marketing organization that sells religion. I think the closest thing in the United States would be the large mass marketed evangelical Christian groups; the so called ‘Televangelists.’ Of course, in the US, the Gakkai does not use television; they use ‘on the ground’ network marketing.

I used to suspect that Soka Gakkai was sort of the PTL Club of Japan; with Ikeda in the role of Baker. Or maybe the PTL Club was a wannabe Soka Gakkai of the USA? I do not necessarily mean that in a bad way. Had Bakker not been so greedy and hedonistic; less of an Elmer Gantry, he might have done some good. Maybe a closer parallel would be Pat Robertson’s 700 Club / CBN, the late Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority, and Ralph Reed’s Christian coalition, all rolled into one? The late Oral Roberts was an earlier Ikeda like figure in the USA. I think the SGI is far more successful. Ikeda probably has more influence in Japan, than all the televangelists combined have in the USA.

The Gakkai also goes a little further with the veneration of Ikeda, maybe a lot further. In western culture, it seems over the top, odd, or even creepy, to name a lot of things after a leader while he is still active and/or alive. If it were the Nichiren Center, the Makiguchi Hall, or the Toda Gate; or if Ikeda were retired, I doubt so many eyebrows would be raised. Maybe the difference is East Asian / Japanese culture? Perhaps it seems odd to others that Americans tend to wait to honor someone, by naming things after them, until they are retired or deceased? I really do not know. It seems like the way they plaster Ikeda’s face everywhere; shades of Mao, Saddam Hussein, or Kim Jong Il, would be creepy in any culture.

At any rate, at the present time, it appears that the Soka Gakkai exists to market Daisaku Ikeda as sort of the Mahavira — the Hero of the world; or the Lokanatha — the World Honored One, of the new global age. Their aim always was and still is to establish “The Third Civilization.” This was actually supposed to be achieved by now; I think the target date, prior to the split with Nichiren Shoshu, was May 3 2001.

Finally, Barbara makes some good points about applying the ‘cult’ word here. IMO, Soka Gakkai International is more like a wealthy, powerful multinational corporation, whose primary business is religion. They also have their hands in media, publishing, education, and politics. Again, that sounds a lot like Robertson and the 700 Club. One difference is SGI seems to put more emphasis on Ikeda than the Buddha or Nichiren. The 700 Club still puts Jesus in the center. Ikeda is not only the messenger, to a large extent, he is the message. I think the veneration of Ikeda is not only excessive; but also hurts them. It is embarrassing enough that I can't be part of it. Of course, they did not ask me." -- Robin Beck

Forgive Soka Gakkai?

"It is only the icchantikas, or persons of incorrigible disbelief, those who slander the Law, and those who pretend to be foremost in observing the precepts who cannot be forgiven." -- Nichiren

Even were SGI to apologize and sincerely repent of their errors, I could never accept it. On the contrary, they not only show no contrition but boast that they are the only group of believers upholding the Nichiren faith. They persist in their erroneous doctrines and proclaim that that they are foremost in upholding the precepts through their piddling acts of charity.

How can changing Nichiren's Buddhism be "read in terms of Nichiren's Buddhism"?

Nichiren stated very clearly that "Shakyamuni Buddha resides in the hearts of those with sincere faith".

April 17 WT (1998), speech by Daisaku Ikeda delivered March 13, 1998:

“In contrast, this Gosho passage states that Shakyamuni Buddha resides in the hearts of those with sincere faith. Read in terms of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism, “Shakyamuni’ here refers to the original Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin himself.” p. 12

SGI's doctrine of Nichiren said THAT but meant THIS ("in terms of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism) is an evil doctrine. Beware when you see either. What Nichiren wrote is what he meant. It would put the Soka Gakkai leaders out of a job were they to take Nichiren at his word without changing his teachings. What Nichiren said IS Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism. How can changing Nichiren's Buddhism be "read in terms of Nichiren's Buddhism"?

"I've never heard of SGI's Bible [Holy Scripture or Manual of Forced Conversion] of Shakubuku" - SGI leader

"The Daishonin's soul would never reside within a Gohonzon he inscribed but which is in the possession of those who commit the slander of turning their backs upon Fuji Taisekiji." -- Soka Gakkai Shakubuku Kyoten, p. 340

Because the Shakubuku Kyoten both supports the Nichiren Shoshu and denounces the Soka Gakkai's present actions as heresies, SGI members are deprived of the Manual of Forced Conversion (Bible of Shakubuku). 

Were SGI "Nichiren" Buddhist an honorable man, he would have converted to Nichiren Lotus Sutra Buddhism

After demolishing SGI "Nichiren" Buddhist in debate, not only did he disappear but he never wrote another blog post on his blog. He was (is?) an SGI District Chief. Were he an honorable man, he would have converted to Nichiren Lotus Sutra Buddhism.

"Nichiren" Buddhist claimed I didn't answer responses 5-13

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

SGI "Nichiren" Buddhist and I debate the Lotus Sutra Buddhism of Nichiren

http://markrogow.blogspot.com/2014/06/nichiren-buddhist-contradicts-his.html
  1. http://markrogow.blogspot.com/2014/06/nichiren-buddhist-contradicts-nichiiren.html
  2. http://markrogow.blogspot.com/2014/06/nichiren-buddhist-contradicts-nichiren.html
  3. http://markrogow.blogspot.com/2014/06/nichiren-buddhist-contradicts-nichiren_30.html
  4. http://markrogow.blogspot.com/2014/06/nichiren-buddhist-contradicts-nichiren_9765.html
  5. http://markrogow.blogspot.com/2014/06/nichiren-buddhist-contradicts-nichiren_5648.html
  6. http://markrogow.blogspot.com/2014/06/nichiren-buddhist-contradicts-nichiren_8948.html
  7. http://markrogow.blogspot.com/2014/06/nichiren-buddhist-contradicts-nichiren_9239.html
  8. http://markrogow.blogspot.com/2014/06/nichiren-buddhist-contradicts-nichiren_6786.html
  9. http://markrogow.blogspot.com/2014/06/nichiren-buddhist-and-nichikan.html
  10. http://markrogow.blogspot.com/2014/06/nichiren-buddhist-contradicts-nichiren_9900.html
  11. http://markrogow.blogspot.com/2014/06/nichiren-buddhist-contradicts-nichiren_1927.html
  12. http://markrogow.blogspot.com/2014/06/nichiren-buddhist-contradicts-nichiren_4293.html
  13. http://markrogow.blogspot.com/2014/06/nichiren-buddhist-contradicts-nichiren_8984.html

The real Transfer Documents by Robin Beck

Revised 5-3-2006

On the Events After Nichiren’s Passing

The “Shuso Gosenge Kiroku” {Record of the Passing of the Founder} exists in the original at Nishiyama Honmon-ji, a Nikko lineage temple said to be the Head Temple of the Honmon Shu. The Kiroku is a detailed record of Nichiren’s last days. It was recorded, signed, & sealed by Nikko. It also bears the co-signatures & seals of Nissho, Nichiro, and Nichiji. We know a lot of what is in there, but have no complete or definitive translation. We do not even have a full outline. I know it does include:

The “Rokuroso”{6 Senior Successors}.
Details of the funeral & procession at Ikegami
The “Go-yui-gon”{Nichiren’s Last Will & Testament
“If the steward Hakiri turns his back to the Law, my spirit will cease to reside in Minobu.” — Nichiren

I know the “Shuso Gosenge Kiroku” does not include:

The“Go-ibutsu-haibun-cho” {Distribution of the Mementos} kept at Ikegami.
The“Minobusan-shuban-cho” {Minobusan Guard Rotation} kept at Ikegami.

I do not know if the Shuso Gosenge Kiroku includes the story that Nichiren commissioned the then 14 year old Nichizo, who was Nichiro’s half brother, with the task of converting the emperor in Kyoto.

A related document, the “Hakasho Mamorubeki Bancho no Koto” {The Shift for Protecting His Mausoleum} also exists in the original at Nishiyama. Of it, Rev. Shoshin Kawabe of Nichiren Shoshu wrote:

“In the 1st month of the next year, Nikko Shonin and disciples of the Daishonin enacted “The Shift for Protecting His Mausoleum.” … This enactment was ordained based on the Daishonin’s last will. On the back of this document are the signatures of four of the Six Major Disciples: Nissho, Nichiro, Nikko and Nichiji. Due to circumstances, Niko and Nitcho could not attend both the Daishonin’s funeral and the conference in Kuon-ji Temple.”

Also: Hakiri Dono Goho {Report to Lord Hakiri}, Sep 1282, Nichiren’s last recorded Gosho, recorded by Nikko, kept at Ikegami.

“I eventually plan to return to Mt. Minobu, but since I am now ill, nothing is certain about what may happen to me at any given time and place. No words can ever describe the magnitude of your kind support over a period of nine years, when people all over the nation of Japan hated and persecuted me. Thus, wherever I may meet my demise, I would like to be buried in the valley of Minobu. ”

“No matter where I die, please erect my tombstone at Mt. Minobu, where I chanted the Lotus Sutra in peace for nine years. My heart will go on to stay on Mt. Minobu forever.”

There are also three ‘thought to be authentic’ letters that provide us with useful information about the succession and the schism.

Mimasaka-bo Gohenji witten by Nikko October 12 1284. Download file
Here is another excerpt from that letter, translated by Murano:

“There is a serious incident (in Kamakura)…. Our friends in Kamakura are investigated…. Here we are not troubled…. The tomb at Minobu is trampled by deer. It is too miserable to look at. I do not mean to say that I ignore the duty of the other Senior Disciples ……”

A letter dated February 19th, 1285 written by Hakiri Sanenaga to Nikko, the original of which is kept at Nishiyama Honmon-ji Temple

“I have heard that the Lotus Sutra has prospered in Kuon-ji Temple. It is great. I am glad about this. I feel that by your living there, the late Sage is iving there.”


Finally, there is a draft of an internal Nikko lineage document called “Fuji Isseki Monto Zonchi no Koto” {Things for followers of Fuji to know aka Guidelines for Believers of the Fuji School. This was started in 1309 by Jakusen-bo Nitcho (1262-1310); first CP of Omosu Seminary. He never finished it. Nikko added notations after Jakusen-bo died. IIRC, the manuscript, with Nikko’s annotations, survives.

Of this, Kawai Kazuo wrote:

“In “Fuji isseki monto zonchi no koto” (Things for followers of Fuji to know”, you can read a piece of story about the images of Sage Nichiren. This document … “was written by Nitcho, the first chief instructor of Omosu Seminary, under Nikko’s direction, in the second year of Enkyo (1309) but was not completed because of Nitcho’s death.

I don’t know if there is an English translation of the document or not, but it seems to be important for people who are interested in the early history of NST. The document shows us how Nikko and his followers understood Nichiren’s teachings without adornment added after ages. It tells us about the disciples, the writings of Nichiren which Nikko collected, honzons, the ordination platform etc. But this document will draw attentions with what was not written there. For example, it tells about the ordination platform but not about the two famous transfer documents. It tells about honzons but not about the Dai Gohonzon of the second year of Ko-an.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
For your convenience here are translations of segments of “The Record of the Passing of the Founder”, as well as “The Shift for Protecting His Mausoleum.”

The Rokuroso {6 Senior Successors}:

“I hereby determine that the following six disciples: Renge Ajari Nichiji, Iyo-ko Nitcho, Sado-ko Niko, Byakuren Ajari Nikko, Daikoku Ajari Nichiro, Ben Ajari Nissho, in no order/at random , are my major disciples. Accordingly, I have selected them to carry out my matters into the future. Recorder, Nikko.“– Seiten, p.581)

2. {Summary?}

“Nichiren’s funeral was held at noon on the 14th of October. … At the head of the funeral procession was a torch bearer, followed by bearers of flowers, flags and incense. Nichiren’s coffin was the center of the procession.

Front Procession: Daikoku-ajari (Nichiro)

Jiju-bo, Shimotsuke-bo (Nisshu)Left: Renge-ajari (Nichiji)

Right: Dewa-bo
lzumi-bo{Nippo},Tajima-bo [Nichijitsu?], Kyo-bo {Nichimoku}, Shinano-bo, Iza-ko, Setsu-bo.

Rear procession: Ben-ajari (Nissho),
Left: Byakuren-ajari (Nikko),
Tamba-bo, Dayu-bo Chikuzen-bo, Suke-bo

3. Go-yui-gon {Nichiren’s Last Will & Testament}.

“The Honorable testament dictates: Of the Buddha; the standing statue of Shakya, must be placed beside [My] grave. Of the Sutra; My most essential writings, namely, the explanatory notes to the Hokkekyo, [Chu Hokekyo] are to be placed together, in the mausoleum. The six disciples as one, at the time of their watch, must read these. [literally: "Shakya standing statue grave beside must placed. My collection most essential writings namely explanatory notes Hokkekyo same basket place mausoleum. Six persons fragrant flower take turns read these."]

Other sacred teachings are not restricted in this manner. In accord with [his] last will, it is wholly recorded as above. The fifth year of Koan, the tenth month, the sixteenth day.” — Recorder, Nikko. 

“Hakasho Mamorubeki Bancho no Koto {The Shift for Protecting His Mausoleum}

The Enactment: No rank is observed.

The Shift for Protecting His Grave:

The 1st month: Ben-Ajari {Nissho}; The 2nd month: Daikoku-Ajari {Nichiro}; The 3rd month: Echizen-ko and Awaji-ko; The 4th month: Iyo-ko {Nitcho}: The 5th month: Renge-Ajari {Nichiji}, The 6th month: Echigo-ko {Nichiben} and Shimotsuke-ko { Nisshu};

The 7th month: Iga-ko and Chikuzen-ko; The 8th month: Izumi-ko {Nippo} and Jibu-ko {Kenshu Nichi’i}; The 9th month: Byakuren-Ajari { Nikko}; The 10th month: Tajima-ko and Kyo-ko {Nichimoku}; The 11th month: Sado-ko {Niko}. The 12th month: Tanba-ko and Jakunichi-bo {Nikke}.

The order of the shift above must be kept and served without negligence. The 1st month of the 6th year of Koan — (“Hakasho Mamorubeki Bancho no Koto” Complete Works of Successive High Priests of Nichiren Shoshu, Vol. I, pp. 86-87)

Japan's growing plutonium stockpile

The hawk becomes a dove

Clown Hidden long time Eagle Peak critic and former SGI fanboy awakens:

"I don't expect much but I do expect to get what I came for. I don't know what a cult is I can't claim to understand the finer points of philosophy. They say they are a peace organization. Other than some guady self promotion I don't see anything. There isn't any social or political leadership. I know that it counts how people feel but it almost seems that if I sent a dollar Green Peace or the NRA I'd done more for peace. It's embarrassing when anybody talks about how great we are unless we're a sports team or a teenage rock band. There is such a structured program it may as well all came from one person. It's almost as if you can't say anything but what they want you to say. And if you do the responses are canned phrases, or a sympathetic nod. If some one can't talk to someone they disagree with except to avoid any real discussion at any level. What does dialog mean? I know peace means world wide what I say. What do they really say? If you stand with them you can have any flavor sunshine you want."

What great benefits are flowing into the lives of Ikedabots these days?

SGI is based on the arbitrary opinions of those who completely disregard Nichiren and consequently, Shakyamuni Buddha and the Lotus Sutra. Their minds are warped and twisted. They cannot tell right from wrong, truth from lies, or good from evil. SGI-USA leaders resort to lies to *protect* their material gain and their undeserved status. No one, not even the brainwashed members would stand for it if these corrupt men didn't *protect* the members from the truth of their transgressions.

Nichiren refuted all the schools upon which SGI now bases it's teachings, Zen (Bushido) and Shingon Guru Yoga. He predicted the ruination of those who persecuted him and distorted the teachings of the Buddha for their own personal gain. Nichiren taught that it was due to the Votary of the Lotus Sutra that the Buddha's golden words were proven true.

What great benefits are flowing into the lives of Ikedabots these days? Check out the Q&A segment near the end of the live streaming of the Gosho Lecture on "Persecutions Befalling the Sage"-- posted just a few days ago. The senior MD leader claims "There was a mechanic right there at the gas station -ready and able (for his usual fee) to repair my leaking gas tank"-- and another YMD who talked about the rags to riches story of the SGI benefactor, the owner of an estate where the YMD enjoyed a wonderful camping experience uniting with "their mentor". Another Mens Division Chapter Chief  reported that "I donated my own money for the benefit of the YMD picnic-- chanting to "give freely" and not begrudge the contribution. Almost immediately after the event, I encountered an on-line "tip" for remortgaging my home." A Womans Division Region Leader stated, "Two more members of my family received Gohonzon, and though they are surrounded by "bad influences, " I am personally making sure they attend meetings and get benefits". A 35 year member, a former WD District leader said, "I just competed the training and received my certificate to teach yoga. I know practicing yoga does not lead to enlightenment, but it is a means to earn money and help myself and others improve their health - "win/win". A WD Zone leader gave her experience of past financial gain for her consistent financial contributions to the SGI.  "My dream victorian home became available. I will shakubuku every one of my neighbors with this experience. "An MD Zone Leader stated,  "I don't have obstacles, everything goes pretty smoothly in my life- benefits I receive for building the SG* organization in Boston."

Tariq Hassan held a special meeting in Boston ~2010-- by popular request from "long time*"members who were becoming discouraged because their benefits now paled in comparison to those they received in the early days of their practice. Tariq's guidance :"You need to set specific goals. Write them down, put them on your altar. Take actions based on your daimoku everyday until you achieve them."

So what does a National SGI Leader share with members who are seeking to understand the purpose of their practice? A secular formula for success -- As if Tony Robbins is superior to Nichiren.

SGI leaders will all come to ruin--- how many unwitting members can be spared from their fate??" - Katie

Another astute individual wrote:

"I just came across an experience in the 10/23/09 issue of the World Tribune that is so ridiculous that I have to post about it. It's by a woman in California talking about how she and her daughter, named Destiny, overcame their problems through chanting and reading Ikeda's guidance. Towards the end of the article it reads:" 

"I wish that I could hug President Ikeda and thank him for the difficulties he endured so that people like me can transform their lives and find happiness amid darkness. Destiny, now 4, chants with me every morning and evening, and asks to attend meetings every day. She has me start out the morning by reading out loud her favorite piece of President Ikeda's guidance. She asked me to frame it and put it on the wall next to our altar, which I did. He writes: 'Prayer is the courage to persevere. It is the struggle to overcome our own weakness and lack of confidence in ourselves. It is the act of impressing in the very depths of our being the conviction that we can change the situation without fail. Prayer is the way to destroy all fear. It is the way to banish sorrow, the way to light a torch of hope. It is the revolution that rewrites the scenario of our destiny.'" 

Did you catch that her daughter is 4 years old? Four! Asking me to believe that your four-year-old wants to go to an SGI meeting every day is one thing, but asking me to believe that she even remotely understands that bit of guidance is insulting to my intelligence." -- SGBye

I noted:

"Dr. Kawada [SGI Vice President] treated fourteen people with stage four cancer. Some were not even SGI members. Their doctors had given up on all of them. One even had to be brought in on a stretcher. All fourteen people joined the SGI. They all learned to chant following this guidance of using the right side of their brain to project an image of no cancer in their bodies. In the U.S., last-stage cancer patients are encouraged to draw a white cell eating a cancer cell. Though this has been shown to help, practicing Buddhism has an even bigger impact. In two months the person on the stretcher overcame their cancer. Then his doctor joined. Eventually all fourteen overcame their cancer." --SGI leader's gudance

Then why didn't top SGI leaders Shin Yatomi and Pascal Oliveira overcome their Stage IV cancers?

Finally:

Regarding those conceited men and women who think that somehow, without their guidance, the Daimoku and Gohonzon is insufficient  to attain Buddhahood...They can talk your ear off, are often quite charming, but they are inveterate liars. They always have some experience about Sensei, how they overcame mesothelioma, otitis media*, or Bell's palsy**, by seeking and following Sensei.

*Actual SGI experience overcoming common ear infection. Another ridiculous experience i encountered

** "I overcame Bell's Palsy in three weeks, not nine months as predicted by my doctors. The Nichikan Gohonzon works!!!" -- Richard SGI member

You must have some unlearned doctors Richard. Most people overcome their Bell's Palsy in a week or two. Jerry Marcheso, while an independent, overcame brain cancer through a correct faith. SGI picks up on utter ordinariness and makes a big deal of it because there are so few extraordinary benefits in the Soka Gakkai [save, of course, for dear leader's 300 + bought or cajoled honors and awards from secular fools].

Anyway, Nichiren Daishonin taught that even such "miracles" as overcoming brain cancer, let alone Bell's Palsy, pales in significance to faithfully practicing as the Lotus Sutra teaches, an impossibility for SGI members. The goal for the disciples and believers of Nichiren is Supreme and Perfect Enlightnement, not obtaining a dream Victorian home or a life without obstacles.

On the premature death of the "master professor" of Soka Buddhism Shin Yatomi

Nichiren teaches: 

"The Nirvana Sutra in essence teaches us that when persons who have faith in the Buddhist teachings and are determined to free themselves from the sufferings of birth and death grow a little faint in heart, the Buddha inflicts illness upon them in order to encourage them to strive harder. He does so to embolden them, to drive them forward."

In essence, this means that the Buddha inflicts illness to awaken a seeking spirit for the Law. Shin Yatomi mistakenly awakened a seeking spirit for Sensei rather than for the Law. He embraced not the Lotus Sutra and the teachings of Nichiren but rather the teachings of Ikeda. Nichiren also teaches, "To give an analogy, a mild illness can be cured with ordinary medicine, but a severe illness requires an elixir". Late stage lung cancer requires the elixir of the Lotus Sutra not Ikedaism.

Likewise, he was an enemy of Nichiren. By altering and teaching an inferior religion [Ikedaism], he was ostensibly attacking Nichiren:

"Those persons who treat Nichiren as an enemy all attack him. The heavenly gods all [abandon] this country. [The Lotus Sutra] states, “[If this person] on seeing those who read, recite, copy, and uphold this sutra, should despise, hate, envy, or bear grudges against them,...” It also says, “[He will be] plagued by many ailments, thin and gaunt.” And the eighth volume states, “[And he will] suffer from severe and malignant illnesses.” The second volume also states, “Though he might practice the art of medicine and by its methods cure someone’s disease, the person would grow sicker from some other malady and perhaps in the end would die.” And it goes on to say, “If he himself had an illness, no one would aid or nurse him, and though he took good medicine, it would only make his condition worse.”

Lastly and most importantly, as taught by Nichiren, the most severe illnesses ["malignant illnesses"] are caused by slandering the Law and the votaries of the Lotus Sutra. Shin Yatomi slandered the Law and the votaries by claiming that not one member of the orthodox sects will attain Buddhahood through their faith and practice and that their copies of Nichiren inscribed Gohonzons have no power.

Blessings for respecting the monks of the true teachings

“How reassuring, that those who respect the monks of the correct teaching and admonish those who are evil and in error receive such blessings as these!.” - Nichiren 

How pitiful that SGI hates all Nichiren priests.

Monday, February 24, 2020

Worlds worst lecture ever on the persecutions befalling the sage by Soka Gakkai youth leaders

    Naturally, "The video is no longer available" but the 36 comments say it all:
  1. https://markrogow.blogspot.com/2016/08/worlds-worse-lecture-ever-on.html#comment-for

"They (Soka Gakkai leaders) were legends in their own minds."

"I started in a sort of rural area too. They called us an ‘outlying area.’ Our activities were self motivated and at a natural pace for where lived. We started growing; which attracted the attention of the nearest urban activity center. We started getting a lot advice and encouragement to step up the pace; among other things. In the minds of some ‘senior’ leaders, we were not getting the right kind of benefits. There was always a lot of talk about leading incredible or amazing lives and showing lots of what they saw as actual proof. Some of the leaders were very aggressive, too ‘pushy.’ They were also authorities on everything Buddhist and legends in their own minds. I got sick of hearing 'that is not Buddhism’ or 'True Buddhism is about …’ Also, the goals they set for ‘shakubuku’ were grossly unrealistic. I tried to be a good follower and finally just got burnt out on it. There was way too much high drama." -- Robin

12 ways Soka Gakkai (not-Nichiren pseudo-Buddhism) is different from Nichiren Lotus Sutra Buddhism


1. You do not have to convert to Buddhism to chant. Anyone can chant. It's like meditation or yoga..it's a practice. 

Nonsense:

2. The goal of this practice is RESULTS, also called actual proof, or benefits. In other words - you get what you chant for- or something better - as long as you do not give up. 

Nonsense. The goal is Enlightenment. 

3. In this practice, each person is a Buddha and possesses the entire power of the universe within their own lives. This is the awakening that the original Buddha experienced under the Bodhi tree. We all possess the potential for bringing forth our own Buddhahood (happiness and strength) through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, right now, in this lifetime ~ without having to focus on making other changes in our lives. 

Nonsense: Those who live, behave, and teach as the Buddha and Nichiren are Buddhas. SGI members are arrogant, self serving, duplicitous, and unlearned. SGI/Ikeda's Human Revoluton is change. The Truth of Temporary Existence is change. 

4. We have a Living Mentor ~ Daisaku Ikeda is the President of the Soka Gakkai International. I write about him often. Several of the posts last week were on the mentor and disciple relationship. Daisaku Ikeda is an extraordinary human being that we connect with through his writings, his speeches, his actions and through our own hearts. 

You have Daisaku Ikeda. He is as good as dead, if not already dead. We have Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin...

“Shakyamuni Buddha, the Lord-preacher of this pure land, has never died in the past, nor will he be born in the future. He exists forever, throughout the past, present and future.”

You take guidance from Ikeda. We, as Nichiren, take guidance from The Eternal Buddha. 

5.There are no lifestyle, diets, rules of behavior or “paths” to memorize or carefully trod. There is the keen awareness that life operates under the strict law of cause and effect, and at each moment WE are creating our lives, but most of us knew that already! 

Nonsense. "The purpose of the appearance in this world of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, lies in his behavior as a human being” 

6. Desire is not the enemy. Your desires lead you to chant...when you chant you change your karma. Each person chants for their desires from their heart. Alleviation of desire is not the goal of this practice. Neither is mindlessness. We focus when we chant. Nonsense."Simply chant Namu Myoho renge kyo and strive to attain the way"; and "Thus he states: 'Chant the Lotus Sutra with your ordinary distracted mind. You do not have to enter into a state of mental concentration. Whether sitting, standing, or walking, just fix your whole mind on the words of the Lotus Sutra.'” 

Nonsense. Regarding desires [attachments], the 5th of the 14 slanders is attachment to earthly desires. 


7. There are no clergy, no robes and no temples. YOU have direct access to the power of the universe, your own Buddha power within. No intermediaries are needed. We SGI members practice together because we grow and learn together. There are SGI (Soka Gakkai - Value Creating Organization) community centers, and many smaller meetings are held in people’s homes. We are all normal people in the world living extraordinarily happy lives. 

Nonsense. Nichiren was a priest. He had many priest disciples, not a few who were faithful to Nichiren until their last moment. They protected and preserved his teachings until today. Nichiren taught to follow the priests with enlightened wisdom and those who perform the forceful practices, not interfaith.

8. We are changing our karma every time we chant. We can change our karma. Karma is not immutable. Suffering is not "Noble", but it is part of life. The goal of chanting is HAPPINESS, not to learn to be better sufferers. 

Nonsense. Nichiren teaches that we change our karma when we encounter the Three Obstacles and Four Devils. For example:

"I SEE from your letter that you have been stricken with a painful affliction. On the one hand, knowing that you are in agony grieves me, but on the other, I am delighted. The Vimalakīrti Sutra states: “At that time the wealthy Vimalakīrti thought to himself, ‘I am ill, lying on my bed, [yet why does the World-Honored One, man of great compassion, not take pity on me]?’ . . . At that time the Buddha said to Manjushrī, ‘Go visit Vimalakīrti, and inquire after his illness.’” The Nirvana Sutra says, “At that time the Thus Come One . . . assumed the appearance of one who is ill in body and lay on his right side like a sick man.” The Lotus Sutra states, “[The Thus Come One is well and happy], with few ills and few worries.” The eighth volume of Great Concentration and Insight states: “Vimalakīrti lay on his sickbed in Vaishālī, making his illness a pretext to promote the teachings . . . Through his death, the Thus Come One taught the eternity [of life], and through illness, the power [of Buddhism].” It also says: “There are six causes of illness: (1) disharmony of the four elements; (2) improper eating or drinking; (3) inappropriate practice of seated meditation; (4) attack by demons; (5) the work of devils; and (6) the effects of karma.” 

The Nirvana Sutra reads: “There are three types of people whose illness is extremely difficult to cure. The first is those who slander the great vehicle; the second, those who commit the five cardinal sins; and the third, icchantikas, or persons of incorrigible disbelief. These three categories of illness are the gravest in the world.”

It also states: “One who creates evil karma in this life . . . will surely suffer in hell. . . . But by making offerings to the three treasures, one avoids falling into hell and receives the retribution in this life, in the form of afflictions of the head, eye, or back.” Great Concentration and Insight states, “Even if one has committed grave offenses . . . the retribution can be lessened in this life. Thus, illness occurs when evil karma is about to be dissipated.” In his Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom, Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna says: “Question: . . . [Answer]: If that is so, then none of the sutras, from the Flower Garland to the Wisdom sutras, is a secret teaching, but the Lotus Sutra is secret. . . . [The Lotus Sutra is] like a great physician who can change poison into medicine.”T’ien-t’ai explained the quotation further, saying: “This can be likened to a skilled physician who can change poison into medicine. . . . That persons of the two vehicles were given the prophecy of their enlightenment in this sutra means that it can change poison into medicine. This is what Great Perfection of Wisdom means when it says, ‘The various sutras are not secret teachings; only the Lotus Sutra is secret.’” Great Concentration and Insight says, “The Lotus Sutra can cure them [illnesses], which is why it is called myō, or wonderful.” Miao-lo says, “Because it can cure what is thought to be incurable, it is called myō, or wonderful.”

The Nirvana Sutra states: “King Ajātashatru of Rājagriha was wicked by nature . . . He killed his father, and thereafter, in a fit of remorse, he developed a high fever . . . Because of the fever from remorse, boils broke out over his entire body. They were foul and evil-smelling, so that none could come near. At that time his mother, Vaidehī, tried to help by applying various medicines, but this only made the boils worse; there appeared to be no hope of recovery. The king said to his mother, ‘These boils have their origin in the mind; they do not arise from the four elements. Though people say that there is a physician who can cure them, that could not possibly be . . .’ Then the World-Honored One, the compassionate and merciful teacher, entered into the moon-loving meditation for the king’s sake. Upon entering meditation, he emitted a brilliant ray of light. This ray of clear coolness fell upon the body of the king, and instantly the boils were healed.”

The Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law, which is the great wisdom of equality, says in its seventh volume: “This sutra provides good medicine for the ills of the people of Jambudvīpa. If a person who has an illness is able to hear this sutra, then his illness will be wiped out and he will know neither old age nor death.”

In light of the above quotations, it would seem that your illness cannot have originated in anything other than the six causes of disease. I will set aside the first five causes for the moment. Illnesses of the sixth, which result from karma, are the most difficult to cure. They vary in severity, and one cannot make any fixed pronouncements, but we know that the gravest illnesses result from the karma created by slandering the Lotus Sutra. Even Shen Nung, Huang Ti, Hua T’o, and Pien Ch’üeh threw up their hands, and Water Holder, Water Carrier, Jīvaka, and Vimalakīrti likewise kept silent. Such illnesses can only be cured by the good medicine of the one Buddha Shakyamuni’s Lotus Sutra, as that sutra itself explains.

The Nirvana Sutra, referring to the Lotus Sutra, states: “Even the offense of slandering this correct teaching [will be eradicated] if one repents and professes faith in the correct teaching. . . No teaching other than this correct teaching can save or protect one. For this reason one should take faith in the correct teaching.” The Great Teacher Ching-hsi said, “The Nirvana Sutra is itself pointing to the Lotus Sutra and saying that it is the ultimate.” He further said: “It is like the case of a person who falls to the ground, but who then pushes himself up from the ground and rises to his feet again. Thus, even though one may slander the correct teaching, one will eventually be saved from the evil paths.”

Bodhisattva Vasubandhu was originally a scholar of Hinayana Buddhism. In an effort to prevent Mahayana Buddhism from spreading throughout the five regions of India, he wrote five hundred treatises onHinayana. Later, however, he encountered Bodhisattva Asanga and abandoned his erroneous views on the spot. Facing Asanga, he said that, in order to eradicate this offense all at once, he wanted to cut out his own tongue. Asanga stopped him, saying, “Vasubandhu, use that tongue to praise Mahayana.” Vasubandhu immediately wrote five hundred Mahayana treatises in which he refuted Hinayana. He also made a vow that, as long as he lived, he would never place the Hinayana teachings on his tongue. In this way he eradicated his past offense and was later reborn in the heaven where Bodhisattva Maitreya dwells.

Bodhisattva Ashvaghosha, a native of eastern India, was thirteenth among the successors of the Buddha’s teachings. At one time Ashvaghosha had been a leader of Brahmanism. When he debated with the Buddhist monk Punyayashas over the validity of their respective teachings, however, he quickly realized the superiority of Buddhist teachings. Ashvaghosha was prepared to behead himself in order to pay for his past offense, saying, “I have been my own worst enemy, leading myself to hell.” But Punyayashas admonished him, saying, “Ashvaghosha, do not behead yourself! Use that head and mouth to praise Mahayana.” Ashvaghosha soon thereafter wrote The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana, in which he refuted Brahmanism and Hinayana. This marked the beginning of the spread of Mahayana Buddhism in India.

The Great Teacher Chi-tsang of Chia-hsiang-ssu temple was among the most outstanding scholars in China. He was the founder of the Three Treatises school, and lived on Mount Hui-chi in Wu. Believing that none could equal him in knowledge, he raised the banner of his pride to its highest. He challenged the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai to discuss the meaning of the passage that states, “Among the sutras I have preached, now preach, and will preach, [this Lotus Sutra is the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand].” In the debate Chi-tsang was soundly defeated and thereupon renounced his misguided beliefs. In order to expiate his serious offense of slander of the correct teaching and of those who upheld it, he gathered more than one hundred eminent scholars and begged the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai Chih-che to lecture to them. Chi-tsang used his body as a bridge for the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai to climb [onto the preaching platform], supporting T’ien-t’ai’s feet with his head. Moreover, he served T’ien-t’ai for seven years, cutting firewood and drawing water for him. He ceased giving lectures of his own, dispersed his followers, and in order to purge himself of his great conceit, refrained from reciting the Lotus Sutra. After the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai’s death, Chi-tsang had an audience with the emperor of the Sui dynasty to pay his respects. As he was leaving, he clutched His Majesty’s knees and tearfully bade him farewell. Sometime later, Chi-tsang looked into an old mirror and, seeing his reflection, condemned himself for his past errors. All these many acts of penitence were done to eradicate his karmic disease.

The Lotus, the wonderful sutra of the single vehicle, is the golden words of the three kinds of Buddhas. Likened to a bright jewel, it ranks highest among all the sutras that “I have preached, now preach, and will preach.” There are passages in the Lotus Sutra that say, “Among the sutras, it [the Lotus Sutra] holds the highest place,” and “[Among those sutras] the Lotus is the foremost!” The Great Teacher Dengyō said that [the Lotus school is] the school founded by the Buddha himself.1

9. We do not chant “to” anything outside of us. There is no Higher Power in this practice. When we are chanting we access our own wisdom and power as a the Buddha, or awakened one. We are chanting to our own lives. 

Nonsense. Ichinen Sanzen [3000 Worlds in a Moment of Existence includes the Three Realms] and Nichiren asserts that "in" and "out" are inseparable. The Gohonzon and correct Gohonzon is indispensable.

10. The main practice is reciting the words Nam-myoho-renge-kyo over and over and over. Everyone on earth recites the same phrase. It means: "I fuse my life with the mystic (unfathomable) law of cause and effect through sound vibration"

Nonsense. The correct phrase is Namu Myoho renge kyo. It means devotion to Wonderful Law of the Lotus Flower Sutra.

11. The SGI does not discriminate for any reason. All people...ALL people have the right to access the Mystic Law within their own lives. 

Nonsense. SGI has excommunicated thousands. Go to any meeting and forcefully assert the faults and flip flops of Daisaku Ikeda and see what happens.

12. There is no guilt, there is only the awareness of the law of cause and effect. 

Nonsense. Nichiren teaches, “Those who have yet to attain the truth should humble themselves before the highest principle, which is comparable to heaven, and feel abashed before all the sages. Then they will be monks with a sense of shame. When they manifest insight and wisdom, then they will be true monks.” --Nichiren

The benefit of dispensing the medicine of the Law to living beings

“Good men, the tenth inconceivable benefit and power of this sutra is this: Suppose there are good men or good women who, while the Buddha is in the world or after he has passed into extinction, are able to obtain this sutra, and are filled with great joy, greeting it as something rare. After they themselves have accepted, upheld, read, recited, copied, offered alms, and put it into practice as it directs, they will also be able far and wide to encourage those in household life and those who have left such life to accept, uphold, read, recite, copy, offer alms, explain, and preach the sutra and practice it as the Law directs. Because they have the power to cause others to practice this sutra, others will gain the ways and gain various stages. All this will come from the fact that these good men and good women are moved to compassion and have the power to convert others diligently. As a result, these good men and good women in their present bodies will be able to gain immeasurable dharani teachings. “While they are still at the stage of ordinary persons, while they are just beginning, they will find themselves naturally capable of committing themselves to countless asamkhyas of broad resolutions and great vows, demonstrating profound determination to save all living beings, exercising great compassion, rescuing multitudes far and wide from their sufferings, gathering to themselves a mass of good roots, and bringing enrichment and benefit to all. They will expound the moisture of the Law, pouring it everywhere to water the dry and barren places. They will show themselves able to dispense the medicine of the Law to living beings, bringing peace and happiness to all. Gradually they will come forth and ascend until they reside at the stage of the clouds of the Law. The moisture of their favor will water all places; nothing will be outside their compassion. They will encompass all living beings who suffer, causing them to enter upon the Buddha path. And because of all this, these people will, before long, gain Supreme Perfect Enlightenment." -- Immeasurable Meanings Sutra (3)

"No, no, no! We are not a cult" - Soka fan girl


"The Soka Gakkai is a Dangerous Cult"


Welcome Toni Occhiello

Nice to have you aboard.

Please don't compare Daisaku Ikeda with Nichiren Daishonin


Increasing lifespan thanks to science?

No, it was improvement in hygiene and sanitation. It was an achievement born of common sense and deduction. War, on the other hand, contributes mightily to a reduction of the human lifespan. Modern warfare is born of science.

Soka Gakkai leaders throw new members' statues of Shakyamuni Buddha in the trash

"I too had a most unpleasant experience with SGI and mine also came in the form of the Contribution video. The first red flag was when I walked into the meeting, there were only women. The second red flag was when Ikeda appeared on the screen….the women started to cry and say how much they loved him. The third was their insistence that I could not receive a gohonzon without the $50 to SGI. The fourth was when the SGI member who invited me to the meeting, came into my house, went into my bedroom and dismantled my altar with Shayamuni Buddha on it. She then stated that I would incur severe, bad karma for having such a statue on my altar.

I became enraged, threw her out of my home and asked her to never come back.The last straw was, after I sat and thought about it…why were there no men at the meeting…why were the women segregated? Why were we obligated to practice alone amongst ourselves? It was just strange.

Sitting in that room during the video, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I wanted to run away and fast…. something was just not right. Eventually, I was able to speak to that SGI member again and I conveyed to her that SGI had the feeling of a cult to which she replied: “If it was a cult, I would not be in it for 26yrs.” Immediately, my thought was, how can she not have an inkling of the cult-like atmosphere?

I felt sad for her because she did not realize that all those years, she has been participating in a cult and thus, would never be able to relate to me on any type of level other than that of the SGIs views.

Then the phone calls, emails and offers to “come visit you at your house” started. I simply stopped answering their calls, emails and gave a polite “no thank you” to the offers of visits.

As one who practices alone too, what I have found is that I practice in the way that feels “right” to me. In my observations, the reason there are so many different sects, not only in Buddhism, but in every other religion, is that as humans, we cannot agree upon the “correct” way to worship. This of course, is the ego telling us that our way is the only way and every other way is wrong.

I do my best to stay true to the practices…doing the rituals and prayers as prescribed. I’m sure since I have no teacher or others to guide me, that I sometimes do things incorrectly. However, what I am most sure about is that no matter what, the simple act of practicing, having faith and believing, studying and reading…all those things are correct. So don’t sweat the small stuff. Keep doing what you’re doing and may you gain great insight and wisdom." -- Tara

Miserable SGI cult leader Bobby Ash also took my statue of Shakyamuni Buddha from the altar and threw it in the trash. 

Earth enters sixth extinction event in half-a-billion years

A delusional disciple of the delusional mentor

Ric Dexter: Delusional Soka Gakkai North Texas Area Leader... 

"My teacher Daisaku Ikeda once said that if Muhammad, Jesus, Abraham, and the Buddha sat down at one table they would find more upon which they agreed than upon which they disagreed."

"The most dreadful things in the world are the pain of fire, the flashing of swords, and the shadow of death."

"The most dreadful things in the world are the pain of fire, the flashing of swords, and the shadow of death. Even horses and cattle fear being killed; no wonder human beings are afraid of death. Even a leper clings to life; how much more so a healthy person. The Buddha teaches that even filling the entire major world system with the seven kinds of treasures does not match offering one’s little finger to the Buddha and the [Lotus] sutra.1 The boy Snow Mountains gave his own body, and the ascetic Aspiration for the Law peeled off his own skin [in order to record the Buddha’s teachings]. Since nothing is more precious than life itself, one who dedicates one’s life to Buddhist practice is certain to attain Buddhahood. If one is prepared to offer one’s life, why should one begrudge any other treasure for the sake of Buddhism? On the other hand, if one is loath to part with one’s wealth, how can one possibly offer one’s life, which is far more valuable?" Nichiren Letter from Sado (island)

Some who practice as Lotus Sutra directs still destine themselves to hell

"...or persons who, though they practice the Lotus Sutra as the sutra itself directs, treat the votary of the Lotus Sutra with scorn and contempt—all such persons as these, when their present life comes to an end, will, the Buddha assures us, enter the Avīchi hell."

Essay on the Tibetian "Buddhist" Dorje Shugden conflict

The late Steve Searle on the Dalai Lama's love affair with monsters


Have you ever seen pictures of the protective deities embraced by Tibetan Buddhists? Some of them look like scary monsters. Pretty scary, indeed. And attempting to visualize these deities is part of the Dalai Lama's practice - part of what every Tibetan Buddhist practices.

Another part is dedication to a guru (teacher). And frankly, I don't get it. The Buddhism I know teaches this:

QUOTE:

Beneath the sala trees at Kusinagara, in his last words to his disciples, the Buddha said:

"Make of yourself a light. Rely upon yourself: do not depend upon anyone else. Make my teachings your light. Rely upon them: do not depend upon any other teachings."

[and]

"After my death, the Dharma [Buddhist Law] shall be your teacher. Follow the Dharma and you will be true to me."

[and]

"During the last forty-five years of my life, I have withheld nothing from my teachings. There is no secret teaching, no hidden meaning; everything has been taught openly and clearly." [Sorry, guys, but this means there are no esoteric teachings - Steve.]

:UNQUOTE: The Teaching of Buddha, copyright 1966 by Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai.

But I know why Dalai thinks so

There is a reason for everything. So even though, as one commentator expressed it, the Buddha meant, "Don't follow persons, follow the Law [Dharma]," the worship of protective deities has legitimate roots. For instance, the Buddha's highest teaching, The Lotus Sutra, assures great benefit for those who are "holding fast to the name of Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World's Sounds."

But the Buddha encourages us to "hold fast" to a particular Bodhisattva for one very good reason: The purpose is to give (in this example) Perceiver of the World's Sounds a chance to fulfill his vow to protect practitioners of the Way and thereby more quickly attain Buddhahood himself.

In other words, our devotion to a particular bodhisattva is not only meant to help us, but it's meant to help that bodhisattva attain Buddhahood.

There are 52 stages of bodhisattva practice, and those at the very highest stages (such as Perceiver) have god-like supernatural power, which they have sworn to the Buddhas to use in order to protect common, ordinary Buddhists including laymen living and working in society. However, these profoundly accomplished bodhisattvas sometimes fail in their vow [I'll explain that a bit later].

Meanwhile, consider what Shakyamuni Buddha has to say about Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World's Sounds:

QUOTE [quotes from the Buddha in The Lotus Sutra, Burton Watson translation]:

"If someone, holding fast to the name of Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World's Sounds, should enter a great fire, the fire could not burn him. This would come about because of this bodhisattva's authority and supernatural power. If one were washed away by a great flood and called upon his name, one would immediately find himself in a shallow place." [Page 299]

[and]

"If a person who faces imminent threat of attack should call the name of Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World's Sounds, then the swords and staves wielded by his attackers would instantly shatter into so many pieces and he would be delivered." [Page 299]

[and on page 301]

"Suppose also that there is a person who accepts and upholds the name of Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World's Sounds and even just once offers him obeisance and alms. The good fortune gained by these two persons would be exactly equal and without difference."

NOTE: That second person the Buddha is referring to is referred to in an immediately preceding passage:

"...suppose there is a person who accepts and upholds the names of as many bodhisattvas as there are sands in sixty-two million Ganges, and ...he offers them alms...What is your opinion? Would this good man or good woman gain many benefits, or would he not?"

:UNQUOTE.

But - and this is a big BUT...

The Buddha encourages us to "hold fast to" and give alms to various Bodhisattvas. For instance, he says on page 323: "And I will employ my transcendental powers to guard and protect those who can accept and uphold the name of Bodhisattva Universal Worthy."

BUT... the Buddha puts things in perspective with this key passage:

QUOTE:

"Even if a person were to fill the whole thousand-million fold world with the seven treasures as an offering to the Buddha and the great bodhisattvas..., the benefits gained by such a person cannot match those gained by accepting and upholding this Lotus Sutra, even just one four-line verse of it! The latter brings the most numerous blessings of all."

:UNQUOTE: [The Lotus Sutra, Burton Watson translation, page 285]

So even though The Lotus Sutra shows us the Buddha praising and encouraging devotion to the great Bodhisattvas, he is very keen to reinforce that it is the Lotus Sutra that is most praiseworthy and beneficial of all.

When vows aren't upheld

I had a particular incident in mind when I had written above: "However, these profoundly accomplished bodhisattvas sometimes fail in their vow."

It was over 8 years ago when my local Buddhist congregation learned that a long-time practicing laywoman member had not only been murdered, but her body had been hacked into pieces, placed into garbage bags, and ended up in a dumpster. During the memorial services, I kept waiting for the senior layperson to answer a question surely on the minds of many:

"If practicing SGI Buddhism is supposed to protect you from evil, why didn't it save this poor woman?"

While it's true that various entities have sworn to protect followers of the Way, it's also true that sometimes they f**k up. Bodhisattvas and Buddhas are not gods with omnipotent powers to protect; they themselves are limited by and subject to the law of karma - even though the Buddha claimed: "I am free to do what I will with the Law." [Still trying to figure out exactly what that means!]

Too many within the Western traditions think of them (erroneously) as being Christian God-like, though The Lotus Sutra does have this interesting statement from the Buddha:

"I am one who knows all things, sees all things, understands the way, opens up the way, preaches the way."

This is a bit subtle, but notice that he didn't say, "I am the one who..." For "the one" would describe a Western God. When Buddha says "I am one," in effect he's saying "I am one among many - including you who aspire to become Buddhas (once you reach that point) - who knows all things..."

Concerning this woman's violent death: There are other possibilities. The great Bodhisattvas - protectors of Buddhists worldwide - could have protected her but chose not to or perhaps that she herself had declined their protection! In the world of Buddhism, timing is important. Maybe she had to die when she did so that she could be reborn where - and when - she was most needed. And that wouldn't necessarily be here on planet earth.

As for the violence of her murder: That could well have been an exaggerated compression effect, which would serve to expiate huge chunks of her past negative karma. Wiping the slate clean in one stroke, as it were.

Why the Lotus Sutra?

I am on my (well over) 140th oral recitation (which is my daily practice) of the Burton Watson translation of The Lotus Sutra. When you consider that its 324-pages comprise a volume one inch thick, that would "translate" to a stack ten feet in height were 100 such volumes to be piled up. Or put another way - 32,400 pages. This is the largest part of my Buddhist practice; the other part being my attempts to share what I've learned along the way.

Each time I read this book, I pick up something I had missed in prior readings. You can easily see why I focus on this particular sutra when you consider:

Key Quotes from The Lotus Sutra

QUOTE [Page 98]:

"Those who have not yet crossed over I will cause to cross over, those not yet freed I will free, those not yet at rest I will put at rest, those not yet in nirvana I will cause to attain nirvana. Of this existence and future existence I understand the true circumstances. I am one who knows all things, sees all things, understands the way, opens up the way, preaches the way."

:UNQUOTE.

QUOTE [Page 164]:

"The sutras I have preached number immeasurable thousands, ten thousands, millions. Among the sutras I have preached, now preach, and will preach, this Lotus Sutra is the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand. Medicine King, this sutra is the storehouse of the secret crux of the Buddhas."

:UNQUOTE.

QUOTE [Page 165]:

"The way of the bodhisattva is the same as this. As long as a person has not yet heard, not yet understood, and not yet been able to practice this Lotus Sutra, then you should know that that person is still far away from anuttara-samyak-sambodhi [the supreme enlightenment of a Buddha]. But if the person is able to hear, understand, ponder and practice the sutra, then you should know that he can draw near to anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Why? Because all bodhisattvas who attain anuttara-samyak-sambodhi in all cases do so through this sutra."

:UNQUOTE.

Steven Searle, just another member of the Virtual Samgha of the Lotus

"That last part is worth repeating: "Because all bodhisattvas who attain anuttara-samyak-sambodhi in all cases do so through this sutra." And yet, I don't hear the Dalai Lama spending oceans of time praising and teaching the Lotus Sutra. Instead, he speaks of Tibetan autonomy and plays with monsters. For these reasons I dub him heretic." - Steve.

Author of US Biowarfare Law: Studies Confirm Coronavirus Weaponized (February 22/2020)


Sunday, February 23, 2020

Why Myoho renge kyo remains precious despite Soka Gakkai and the other misguided sects

"The fact that the power of the precepts is not lost may be compared to a situation in which one uses gold and silver to fashion a vessel. As long as one can use it, it is of great value; but even if the vessel is broken and becomes useless, the materials it is made of do not cease to be precious.” -- Nichiren

Prime Minister Abe of Japan and the head of the SGI Komeito party discuss various matters

Yamaguchi [head of Komeito party]: How's it hangin' Shinzo, my man?
Abe [Prime Minister of Japan]: Never felt better Nutso... I mean Natsuo. How's dad [Ikeda]?
Yamaguchi: Fine, I think. Is the mike turned off?
Abe [bowing deeply]: Yes [fingers crossed]. Thanks for your full support on our new state's secrets Law.
Yamaguchi: No problem Shinzo. We [SGI] have been practicing the ancient art of secrets for more than seventy years, not to mention the art of lies and deception.
Abe: Ikeda Sensei is very wise, I just worry about his health, haven't seen or heard from him in a while and there are... there are rumors...
Yamaguchi: Shhh...It's a secret. Don't bring it up and don't bring up our affiliation with Mitsubitchi Heavy Industrials [defense] and I won't bring up Fukushima, your plan to repeal Article 9 of the constitution, and our secret nuclear military installations. Israel's got nothing on us... hehe
Abe: Right on Nutso. The Chinese are acting irrationally. Everyone knows they have absolutely nothing to fear [wink wink]. Besides we have the eagle watching our back and Obamasan says fuck the Russians and especially that weak titted Putin and his lying pawn, what's his name...
Yamaguchi: Shroden..
Abe: Yeah Shroden...He'll get whats coming to him, a polonium sandwich from hell [they break out laughing] The CIA is in Fukushima preparing it as we speak. And if any journalist so much as speaks one word about IT or anything for that matter, he'll wish he was a snow monkey in Hokkaido.
Yamaguchi: We [SGI] have dozens of top psychologists working for us, experts in brainwashing and thought control. If I can be of any help?
Abe: Thank you, thank you. Your techniques are legendary but not neceselly. If they [the journalists] say anything, we will force them to work on Fukushima nuclear reactor # 3 for ten years.
Yamaguchi: Excellent, excellent. Vely nice speaking with you.
Abe: Nice speaking with you too.

SGI members treat Nichiren Daishonin with scorn and contempt by altering his teachings

"...or persons who, though they practice the Lotus Sutra as the sutra itself directs, treat the votary of the Lotus Sutra with scorn and contempt—all such persons as these, when their present life comes to an end, will, the Buddha assures us, enter the Avīchi hell."

Who are the ignorant and benighted persons of today?

“Even those who turn their backs on the world amuse themselves with an inferior vehicle, clinging to mere branches and leaves. They are like dogs that tag after the servants. They pay honor to apes and monkeys, considering them like the god Shakra; they revere shards and rubble, looking on them as bright gems. With such ignorant and benighted persons, how can one discuss the way?”

Soka Gakkai members are guilty of the twenty cardinal sins

"Next, they have abandoned their father, Shakyamuni Buddha, and hence stand accused of the five cardinal sins. How can they escape falling into the hell of incessant suffering? And finally, they have turned their backs on their teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha, and thus are to be numbered among those who commit the seven cardinal sins. How could they fail to sink into the evil paths of existence?

Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, as we have already seen, possesses the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent in relation to the living beings of this sahā world. He is the Buddha to whom they are greatly indebted. Anyone who would abandon such a Buddha and put faith in the Buddha of some other realm, honoring and relying upon Amida or Medicine Master or Mahāvairochana*, is guilty of committing the twenty cardinal sins and hence will surely fall into the evil paths of existence."

*or Daisaku Ikeda

Gohonzon is the sacred image of Shakyamuni Buddha of the Essential teaching

"And then in time you arrived at this remote hollow and saw a lone hermitage where the sound of Lotus Sutra recitation echoed to the blue sky and the words expounding the single vehicle were heard among the mountains. Following the guide assigned you, you entered the chamber and then, when you had safely placed the remains of your mother before the sacred image of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, bowed your limbs and body to the ground in obeisance, pressed your palms together, and opened your eyes to pay homage to the noble visage, your body was filled with overwhelming joy and all suffering at once vanished from your mind." [1280]

"How wonderful, how welcome, how generous." - Nichiren

"Snow piles up five feet deep, blocking the mountain trails that are deserted to begin with, and no one comes to visit. My clothes are thin and hardly keep out the cold, my food supplies are exhausted, and it would seem that my life must come to an end. At such a moment, to receive a gift like yours, one that has saved my life, is an occasion for both joy and lamentation. Just when I had resigned myself to the thought of starvation, your gift came like oil added to a lamp that could hardly last much longer. How wonderful, how welcome, how generous the heart of the giver! Surely it must have been the design of Shakyamuni Buddha and the Lotus Sutra."

Ikeda and Komeito create regulations that are perverse in nature.

"The Benevolent Kings Sutra states: “Evil monks, hoping to gain fame and profit, will in many cases appear before the ruler, the crown prince, or the other princes, and take it upon themselves to preach doctrines that lead to the violation of the Buddhist Law and the destruction of the nation. The ruler, failing to perceive the truth of the situation, will listen to and put faith in such doctrines, and proceed to create regulations that are perverse in nature* and that do not accord with the rules of Buddhist discipline. In this way he will bring about the destruction of Buddhism and of the nation."

*For example, Ikeda and Komeito helping to institute the States Secrets Law and amending Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution.

Absolutely no merit offering alms to the SGI business suited priests according to Nichiren

"The “Teacher of the Law” chapter states: “In addition, if after the Thus Come One has passed into extinction there should be someone who listens to the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law, even one verse or one phrase, and for a moment thinks of it with joy, . . . you should understand that such persons have already offered alms to a hundred thousand million Buddhas.”

Tell your SGI leaders, "I have already offered alms to a hundred thousand million Buddhas. What need to offer money to you wealthy Japanese business suited priests of the pseudo-Buddhist Soka Gakkai religion?

An example of typical SGI cult Bull-baiting

"Mark, have you considered getting yourself some psychiatric help. I'm asking this in all seriousness, without any hostility or insult intended. You seem like you could honestly benefit from it." - Anonymous SGI cult bullbaiter 3/18/2018 on the post, Definitive Analysis Why SGI is a Cult.

Is there any greater arrogance than SGI having no scriptural proof for their doctrines of interfaith and 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?"