Cris Roman wrote some interesting things in Ethics and Morality in Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism. Cris actually helped shape or, at the very least, brought to light the doctrines of the SGI to our shores in the sixties and seventies. Is his essay completely erroneous? No. That is the danger of the Soka Gakkai, their mixing the clean with the unclean, the correct with the mistaken. Is there any wonder why SGI members are confused? Let me explain.
Cris writes:
1)."Ultimately the goal, at least for me, is to arrive at a point
where personal suffering is minimized so that more and more of my
finite energy as a single human can be exerted in relieving the
suffering of others."
In pre-Lotus Sutra or provisional Buddhism, suffering (specifically
the Lower Six Worlds and generally, the Nine Worlds excepting
Buddhahood) can be eliminated or 'minimized". On the other hand,
the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren teach that the eternal Nine Worlds
exist in the eternal World of Buddhahood and visa versa.
Since this is so, Nichiren Daishonin teaches, "Suffer what there is to suffer and
enjoy what there is to enjoy and continue to chant Namu Myoho renge
kyo." Nichiren also states in one of his major writings, "relatively minor
hardhips, such as exile, imprisonment, torture and execution." One who
is practicing the Lotus Sutra while trying to eliminate or diminish suffering
[which is neither eliminatable nor even undiminshable] is destined for a
rude awakening based on reality. They will be unable to forge strong faith
and to obtain Buddhahood.
Nichiren compassionately prepared his disciples for not only the best of
times but the worst which are bound to befall a votary of the Lotus Sutra.
There is also the matter of the Eight Winds which befall everyone. Of course,
actual proof in the real world, as accomplished by Nichiren's disciple Shijo Kingo
is important but his change in circumstance was a product of his striving ever
more in faith and not his striving to diminish suffering. Nichiren Daishonin
writes in the Opening of the Eyes in which he entrusted to Shijo Kingo: "You
people, why then do you not also strive for the sake of the Law?" He did not say
"strive to end or diminish suffering." In this sense too, the Lotus Sutra, the teachings
of Tientai, and the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin differ from the earliest Buddhist
teachings on the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path
In Letter to Yorimoto (Shijo Kingo) he writes:
"Even though I myself have been able to withstand attacks with sticks
of wood or tiles and stones, vilification, and persecution by the
authorities, how could people such as lay believers, who have wives
and children, and are ignorant of Buddhism, possibly do the same?
Perhaps they would have done better never to have believed in the
first place. If they are unable to carry through with their faith to
the end, and uphold it only for a short while, they will be mocked by
others. So thinking, I felt pity for you. But during the repeated
persecutions I suffered and throughout my two sentences of exile, you
have demonstrated your resolve. Though that has been wondrous enough,
I have no words sufficient to praise you for having written a pledge
to carry through with your faith in the Lotus Sutra, in spite of your
lord’s threats and at the cost of your two fiefs."
Hardly was Shijo Kingo striving to eliminate suffering or acquire new lands.
Cris goes on to state:
2). "Buddhism does not promise the annihilation of all suffering.
Sakyamuni's teachings began when he perceived suffering as an
inevitable aspect of life. What Sakyamuni intended and what Nichiren
perfected was a way to totally illuminate my Buddha nature, thereby
providing me the wisdom and strength to eternally transform all the
sufferings of life and death into fundamental joy. Daimoku provides
the wisdom, strength and opportunity while the Bodhisattva ideal
supplies the moral imperative."
The Lotus Sutra does not promise the annihilation of any suffering,
not one iota. It promises Buddhahood. There is no transformation
whatsoever. There is no human revolution. There is only awakening to
the true nature of life and the joy derived from the Law. I'm not sure
what she means by, "...the bodhisattva ideal supplies the moral
imperative", so I won't say much except that, moral imperative is a
Buddhist, Confucian and Christian concept that lies in the World of
Tranquility, not the World of Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattvas imperative
is faith in the Lotus Sutra and actions to put into practice the words
of the Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin.
The SGI doctrines are so distorted that hearing them makes me realize
the true meaning of suffering. If I am correct that Cris Roman was formative or
even merely a vessel for the propagation of the SGI's erroneous doctrines, then
he should prostrate himself on the ground and apologize to those he hurt and
continues to hurt. Also, like Vasubandu, he should write dozens of essays and
thesis, both refuting his [their] previous mistaken doctrines while praising and
expounding the truth of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin's teachings.
Cris writes,
3)."Through Buddhist practice, I can elevate my perspective to a place
where I recognize my suffering as a lack of some sort of support from
an infinite universe with which I am one and to which I am
inextricably and eternally bound.'
Here we see a mixture of Lotus Sutra Buddhism, New Age, and Value
Creation philosophy. Suffering is not a lack of anyTHING. It is being
attached to wrong views and things. It is the beginningless and
endless Nine Worlds that is as much a part of us (and Buddhahood) as
our heart and liver, the dying of a child and the blooming of a flower.
The Lotus Sutra states:
"At that time the four groups
Were devoted to (material) things." (Chapter 20, Bunno)
"The Four types of devotees at that time
Were attached to [wrong views]" (ibid. Hurvitz)
Those delusional people who persecuted Bodhisattva Never Despise and
who hadn't met the Buddha in India must have been reborn as SGI
members in Mappo. Here they assert the very same thing as the "four
groups", only they are more arrogant. When the Bodhisattvas Never
Despise of this era tell them, "you will all become Buddhas", they
say, "we are already Buddhas. We don't need your false predictions."
Cris goes on:
"At this point, simple Newtonian physics would have me understand that
if I wish energies to be directed toward my being, I need to create
forces that emanate outward from my life. This is similar to the
attitude of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you," which
resonates with the Bodhisattva ideal."
Here he is mixing Buddhism with New Age and Christianity. Being a
Bodhisattva is not "wishing energies" to us like selfish beggars but
to follow the mandate of the Buddha of the 16th Chapter of the Lotus
Sutra and Bodhisattva Jogyo (Nichiren).
Further down we read:
4)."Similarly, the concept of the Middle way is bound up in the
determination of what the proper approach to a given situation may be.
Just as an artist might draw the line in the pictogram at either end
or in the middle, according to his or her individual propensity, so
too does the finding of the Middle Way imply that, under certain
circumstances, it may indeed involve going to an extreme."
and
"In seeking the Middle Way, the Buddhist invokes Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
and uses the wisdom that naturally wells up within to make the
appropriate causes at the appropriate times. Even our seeming mistakes
are made so we can learn. The promise of the Lotus Sutra is that life
will not end before we have realized our absolute power."
Here Cris mixes more New Age, SGI Value Creationionism, provisional
Buddhism and true Buddhism
In teaching that "...determination of what the proper approach to a given
situation may be" and "according to his or her individual propensity.",
cris and SGI do not go beyond the Hinayana view of precepts or, at best,
to the Mahayana practice of the paramitas, the conventional view of cause
and effect, and the teachings according to the capacitiies of individuals
(rather than according to the teachings that befit the time). Strategy boils
down to the faith and practice of the Lotus Sutra not the faith and practice
of proper approaches.
This is why the SGI members run around like cats chasing their tails,
wasting precious time with the "proper approach" to promoting the
World Tribune, the mentor disciple relationship, and employing every
strategy but the Lotus Sutra. How can you strategize for an exile, or an
attempt on your life? Only through deep faith in the Lotus Sutra and the
protection of Shakyamuni Buddha.
The character myo is endowed with all sorts of meritorious benefits.
Nichiren Daishonin states that the character Myo signifies perfect
endowment. He also states it means to open and to revive.
In the second paragraph Cris, to some extent, corrects his erroneous view
but unfortunately. he concludes,
"The promise of the Lotus Sutra is that life will not end before we have realized
our absolute power.'
It is a nice marketing ploy by the SGI and I know the SGI practices the ends justify
the means philosophy but Nichiren writes:
"Is any single great matter to be found in the other sutras? The Lotus
Sutra contains twenty outstanding principles. Among those twenty, the
most vital is the “Life Span” chapter’s revelation that the Buddha
first attained enlightenment numberless major world system dust
particle kalpas ago. People may well wonder what this revelation
means. Explain that it teaches that common people like ourselves, who
have been submerged in the sufferings of birth and death since time
without beginning and who never so much as dreamed of reaching the
shore of enlightenment, become the Thus Come Ones who are originally
enlightened and endowed with the three bodies. That is, it reveals the
ultimate principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of
life. From this perspective, you should firmly establish that the
Lotus Sutra is the most profound among all the Buddha’s teachings.
You may bring forth this point in an official debate, but not during
personal discussions. Should you indiscriminately mention it to
whomever you meet, on any occasion or at any time, you will certainly
incur punishment from the Buddhas of the three existences. This is the
doctrine that I have always referred to as my own inner realization."
This is another reason the SGI leaders are incurring punishment. They
go around indiscriminately preaching, "We are Buddhas, you are a
Buddha."
Cris Roman's writing, Ethics and Morality in Nichiren's Buddhism, cites
principally, one Writing of Nichiren Daishonin, On Attaining Buddhahood
In This Very Life. I would be remiss if I didn't point out that, despite his some
few insights regarding this writing, this writing is both a disputed text or, at best,
an early writing before Nichiren Daishonin fully developed his teachings. We too,
from time to time, use both Nichiren's disputed and early texts but The SGI's
bedrock foundation ARE the disputed texts, for example, The True Aspect of All
Phenomena, On the Treasure Tower, and the Ongi Kuden,
Why? Because their erroneous distorted doctrines such as, "Nichiren as True
Buddha", "we are Buddhas just as we are", 'the Lotus Sutra has lost its power in
the Latter Age", etc., are not found in the authenticated texts. Please also notice
that he relies heavily on the commentary of Mr. Matsuda. He would have done
better relying on the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin. One other comment
before returning to the text of his writings: There are other commentaries on
the ethics and morality of the Lotus Sutra which are more in depth and more
in line with the Lotus Sutra and the writings of Nichiren Daishonin than his [Cris'].
One such article, Ethics in the Lotus Sutra, a collection of papers, states:
"As you will see on reading the papers, no consensus on any ethical
issue was reached. There was not even an agreement on whether or not
the Lotus Suutra taught an "ethics." In discussion, Gene Reeves argued
that "ethics" could be understood in three ways. First, in the
philosophical sense of the word, it is the systematic study of the
principles of right and wrong, and in this sense, is absent from the
Lotus. The second sense of "ethics" as a list of moral principles to
be followed is also lacking. However, Reeves argued, the Lotus Sutra
does contain "ethics" in the third sense of a telos or a guide for
doing good.
Damien Keown countered that none of the three senses captures the
essence of the Lotus. Keown suggests that it focuses on the nature of
the Buddha and his Dharma, and only touches on ethics tangentially.
There is no ethical analysis or discussion in the text, and it would
miss the point to derive an ethics from it. The parables cannot
support such an effort. In my view, Reeves is probably right. At any
rate, followers of the Lotus Sutra, like members of Rissho Kosei Kai,
certainly look to it as a practical guide to ethical life."
Cris goes on:
4)."With the Daishonin's Buddhism, people who do not have the
capability for such reflection -- the vast majority -- need simply to
chant daimoku in order to manifest the reality of the ultimate life
entity. This makes Buddhism infinitely more accessible, and rather
than indulging in only internal, reflective, somewhat selfish
meditative behaviors, the Buddhist can make real causes for the
creation of global peace and harmony."
The SGI would be a much less slanderous organization if all they
promoted was the chanting of the daimoku. But, according to these
heretics, daimoku isn't enough, you have to follow the living mentor,
Daisaku Ikeda, "The prime point of the Lotus Sutra". Worse, they go
around slandering the other practitioners who chant the daimoku, the
members of the Kempon Hokke, the Nichiren Shu, the HBS, the Nichiren
Shoshu, and the independents. They don't meditate but the leaders
rigorously promote "reflective behaviors". For example, if one
disputes a leader or asks too many questions, one is apt to hear from
a leader, "You lack faith. You should reflect upon it, chant Daimoku
about it" (about disputing the leader or the act of asking too many
questions). This promotes a trivializing of the daimoku, making it
into all those things Cris criticizes about meditation. Finally, here, he
equates accessibility with making the causes for global peace and
harmony. Certainly the SGI has made Nam(u) Myoho renge kyo
accessable but there is no more disruptive organization of Nichiren
believers from the past, in the present, and probably in the future.
Why? Because the daimoku they chant is the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra
in name only. Even a parrot can chant the daimoku. It is the heart too that
chants the daimoku and one's behavior as a human being.
Cris continues:
5)."I want to reiterate that Middle Way does not mean that you seek
the middle. It refers to the entity of life at the center or core of
all existence that projects the light which we see -- as well as the
shadow we do not -- upon the movie screen of our daily lives."
It is bad enough that the SGI has turned the Lotus Sutra into some new
age philosophy. Worse, they promote the Buddha as the Law (Dharma)
Body, misunderstanding and misappropriating the teaching of the Three
Buddha Bodies stating,
"The entity of life at the center or core of all existence that projects the light
which we see -- as well as the shadow we do not -- upon the movie screen of
our daily lives."
Where in the Lotus Sutra and writings of Nichiren Daishonin can we find
this doctrine? We find this doctrine in the Avatamsaka (Flower Garland
or Kegon) and the Buddha of Universal Life Sutras, not in the Lotus Sutra
and the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin. Nichiren writes:
"The sutras which came before the Lotus Sutra taught that all
phenomena derive from one's mind. The mind is like the earth, and
phenomena are like the plants growing in the earth. But the Lotus
Sutra teaches that the mind is one with the earth and the earth is one
with its plants. The provisional sutras say that a tranquil mind is
like the moon and a pure heart is like a flower, but the Lotus Sutra states
that the flower and moon are themselves heart and mind." (A Gift of Rice)
Nothing is "projected". We are the earth, moon and plants.
In conclusion, Cris writes:
6). "So what of homosexuality, abortion, capital punishment,
infidelity, gun control and all the other issues that have become buzz
words in our national obsession to define morality?"
Buddhism would say each man and woman must determine for him or her
self what the proper take on each of these subjects may be, and
encourage people to make their decisions based on the deepest wisdom
they find within."
He goes on to do the very thing he rails about, he promotes various
agendas. As long as homosexuals [or heterosexuals] chant the daimoku,
"they will surely attain Buddhahood". However, according to Nichiren, "not those
who chant the daimoku while destroying it's intent" [at least, not for the forseeable
future]..
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