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Wednesday, August 7, 2013

They will never know such joy practicing in the Soka Gakkai.

“How fortunate that I can give my life for the Lotus Sutra! If I am to 
lose this worthless head [for Buddhahood], it will be like trading 
sand for gold or rocks for jewels.” — The Actions of the Votary of the 
Lotus Sutra 

“This I will state. Let the gods forsake me. Let all persecutions 
assail me. Still I will give my life for the sake of the Law. 
Shariputra practiced the way of the bodhisattva for sixty kalpas, but 
he abandoned the way because he could not endure the ordeal of the 
Brahman who begged for his eye. Of those who received the seeds of 
Buddhahood in the remote past and those who did so from the sons of 
the Buddha Great Universal Wisdom Excellence, many abandoned the 

seeds and suffered in hell for the long periods of numberless major world 
system dust particle kalpas and major world system dust particle 
kalpas, respectively, because they followed evil companions. 

Whether tempted by good or threatened by evil, if one casts aside the 
Lotus Sutra, one destines oneself for hell. Here I will make a great 
vow. Though I might be offered the rulership of Japan if I would only 
abandon the Lotus Sutra, accept the teachings of the Meditation Sutra, 
and look forward to rebirth in the Pure Land, though I might be told 
that my father and mother will have their heads cut off if I do not 
recite the Nembutsu—whatever obstacles I might encounter, so long as 
persons of wisdom do not prove my teachings to be false, I will never 
yield! All other troubles are no more to me than dust before the wind. 

I will be the pillar of Japan. I will be the eyes of Japan. I will be 
the great ship of Japan. This is my vow, and I will never forsake it!” 
— Opening of the Eyes 

“Life flashes by in but a moment. No matter how many terrible enemies 
you may encounter, banish all fears and never think of backsliding. 
Even if someone were to cut off our heads with a saw, impale our 
bodies with lances, or shackle our feet and bore them through with a 
gimlet, as long as we are alive, we must keep chanting Namu-myoho- 
renge-kyo, Namu-myoho-renge-kyo. Then, if we chant until the very 
moment of death, Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the 
ten directions will come to us instantly, exactly as they promised 
during the ceremony at Eagle Peak. Taking our hands and bearing us on 
their shoulders, they will carry us to Eagle Peak. The two sages, the 
two heavenly kings, and the ten demon daughters will guard us, while 
all the heavenly gods and benevolent deities will raise a canopy over 
our heads and unfurl banners on high. They will escort us under their 
protection to the treasure land of Tranquil Light. How can such joy 
possibly be described!” — On Practicing the Buddha’s Teachings 

They will never know such joy practicing in the Soka Gakkai. 

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