> The Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni Bit
> The more you familiarize yourself with the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and
> Nichiren Daishonin, the less likely you are to fall for the misinformation
> spewed by Mark, Petry and similar ilk. -- SGI leader Terry Ruby
John Petry writes:
Ah the old terryfool routine. Can't refute it then spew a lot and
attack the messenger. Here terryfool refute this:
"A Buddha is in its simplest interpretation, means a person who is
incomparably wise and fully enlightened. Sakyamuni was portrayed as a
real human being who reached a state of enlightenment and eventually
entered Nirvana. He was a royal prince born to a society torn with
strife - poverty, caste and race discrimination were everywhere. His
own early life was one of absolute luxury. He renounced this life to
seek enlightenment. The fruit of his untiring efforts over the years
was the realization of the true nature of things and the discovery of a
path that could lead to freedom from suffering. The Buddha held that
the cause of suffering is the result of wrong attitudes; it is our
craving or desire that makes us suffer. Although Sakyamuni Buddha set
out the Eightfold path that could free us from suffering, he often
exhorted his monks to discover the way for themselves as for instance in
his last words to his disciple Ananda in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra.
"Self is the lord of self, for who else could lord be? Be ye lamps unto
yourselves. Look not for refuge to any beside yourself."
In response to Ananda’s entreaty to preach one last time, Sakyamuni
speaks about being a beacon of self and of being a beacon of the Law.
Sakyamuni taught that it is none other than one’s self and the Law that
are the guiding lights that illuminate the darkness of life and death.
And the true self referred to by Sakyamuni is the self realized in the
course of one’s actions in accordance with the Law of the Universe and
of life.
Sakyamuni also said, in a statement made just before his death, that
since all phenomena are transient, one should diligently apply oneself
to the perfection of one’s practice. His leaving behind such a
statement perfectly demonstrates the special character of Buddhism,
which points to the path of endeavour and diligence to perfect oneself
as a human being and to achieve self-realization.
One calls one who has awakened to the truth of life and the universe a
"Buddha". It is thought that many Buddhas have appeared in this
universe, expounded the Law and saved human lives.
Mahayana Buddhism teaches that many Buddhas have made their advent.
Here I would like to follow the currents of Buddhist history from the
death of Sakyamuni Buddha to the rise of Mahayana Buddhism. Buddhist
records indicate that following Sakyamuni’s death, people’s respect and
admiration for him deepened and questions arose about the meaning of his
death, and from this developed the theory of the Buddha’s three bodies.
At first it was said that the Buddha , as the eternal and indestructible
"body of the law" who is one with the law of life and the universe
appeared in this world to save people in the physical form of Sakyamuni
- in other words, as the "manifested" body. Later when the Buddha who
jointly possessed the two kinds of body - "the body of the Law" and the
"manifested body" - became widely revered, the idea of the "bliss body"
or spiritual strength to perceive the truth, developed.
And along with the theory of the bodies, or aspects of Buddhas, a theory
evolved concerning the appearance of Buddhas. First the concept of past
Buddhas developed, in which it was held that Sakyamuni and various other
Buddhas also appeared in the past. Then the concept of future Buddhas
developed, in which it is said that Bodhisattva Maitreya will be reborn
in this world as a Buddha in the future. The concepts of Buddhas in
other worlds and of becoming a Buddha in the next life also arose. For
instance, Amitabha Buddha is said to dwell in the western region of the
universe. Akshobya Buddha, in the eastern region of the universe, and
bodhisattvas, to be reborn in the Tushita heaven before attaining
Buddhahood. Finally a concept of present lifetime Buddhas took shape in
which it is taught that Buddhas exist throughout the ten directions of
the universe.
The Lotus Sutra is the scripture that incorporates and unites the
theories of the three bodies of the Buddha and of the appearance of the
Buddhas. This scripture is respected as a pivotal text in Japanese
Buddhism and has many followers.
In the 16th and most important chapter, entitled "The Life Span of the
Thus Come One", Sakyamuni reveals that he has been a Buddha since the
infinite past, that he has all along been preaching in this mundane
world and leading people to enlightenment, and that he has appeared as
various Buddhas in order to save all living beings and preached the Law
in accord with his listener’s capacity. He states that the reason he is
now about to leave this world is that, although the life span he has
attained by practicing the bodhisattva way is of infinite duration,
through the means of his death he can teach and instruct people.
Here, principally in the 16th chapter, the concept of the original
Buddha of the remotest past is revealed. In connection with this
concept, Tien-tai of China commented that because it is shown in the
"Life Span" chapter that Sakyamuni has appeared as various Buddhas in
response to the capacity of the people he will teach and enlighten, all
the Buddhas who appear in Mahayana Buddhism are united in the one
Buddha, Sakyamuni.
Based upon this Tien-tai called the Sakyamuni revealed in the "Life
Span" chapter, the Original Buddha and stated that he simultaneously
embodies the Law Body, the manifested body and the bliss body, and that
he is the Buddha whose true nature lies in the bliss body aspect. In
other words, the "Life Span" chapter identifies the historical personage
of Sakyamuni as the Original Buddha, presenting him as the manifestation
in historical reality of the suprahistorical or Original Buddha.
Accordingly it {the 16th chapter] teaches that the Buddha’s life span is
infinite. This is the concept of the Original Buddha of the remotest
past. The distinguishing characteristic of the Lotus is the fact that
it unites all Buddhas in the Original Buddha and perceives eternal life
or an infinite life span, in the person of the historical figure
Sakyamuni.
In this way, the concept of the original Buddha of the remotest past
revealed in the "Life Span" chapter incorporates and unifies the
Mahayana concepts of the three bodies and of the appearance of Buddhas;
this new concept clearly reveals the outstanding personality of
Sakyamuni, who is endowed with both eternity and reality, and filled
with great compassion to save the people. Nichiren agreed fundamentally
with this interpretation of Tien-tai, but he also pointed out that the
basis of the Eternal Original Buddha is the ultimate Law that caused all
Buddhas to become Buddhas. -- Daisaku Ikeda
Now you can claim as your silly wife has done that this is only the
chantmeister making nice with an astronomer and giving an historical
overview but it does point out the lie of your statement above as Ikeda
acknowledges, at the bare minimum by your spin of the facts, that the
Buddhists of the world undertand Sakyamuni of the 16th Chapter to be the
Eternal Original Buddha. So if you are now claiming that your Sensei
says no, then when was he lying, then or now?
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