"Our sect is keen on scholarship and study, so reading the Dhammapada is a good guide for ethical living." Claudia of the new NEW Kempon Hokke sect.
No Rory. Your priest is wrong from the standpoint of Nichiren Daishonin's Lotus Sutra Buddhism as practiced by the spiritual descendants of the old Jumonryu [followers of Nichiju].
Please tell that to the Theravadan Burmese monks.
Anyway, I will correct your priest. The sole reason for a Nichiren Lotus Sutra Buddhist and follower of Nichiju to study the Dhammapada is to refute the Dhammapada and the Hinayana in general.
Actually there is one other reason. To use the Dhammapada to praise the Lotus Sutra.
ReplyDeleteBy merely reciting Namu Myoho renge kyo with profound faith in the correct Three Treasures and Three Great Secret Laws, one naturally leads an ethical life. This is the Diamond commandment of Nichiren's Lotus Sutra Buddhism.
ReplyDelete"The sage refutes the doctrines of those schools that are based on the provisional teachings and cites sutra passages to demonstrate that the supremacy of the Lotus Sutra was set forth by Shakyamuni Buddha himself."
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