"The Nirvana Sutra says: “Rely on the Law and not upon persons. . . . Rely on wisdom and not on discriminative thinking.”
To rely on the Law means to rely on the constantly abiding Law of the Lotus and Nirvana sutras. Not relying on persons means not relying on persons who do not themselves rely on the Lotus and Nirvana sutras. Even though they may be Buddhas or bodhisattvas, if they are Buddhas and bodhisattvas who do not rely on the Lotus and Nirvana sutras, they cannot serve as good friends. And how much more is this so if they are merely scholars, translators of the sacred texts, or ordinary teachers!
To rely on wisdom means to rely on the Buddha. Not relying on discriminative thinking means that one does not rely on those who are on the level of near-perfect enlightenment or below."
When a High ranking Senior WD Leader came to Northridge Kaikan in California, I raised my hand and pointed to the HUGE Photo of president Ikeda alongside the Gohonzon and said "We once turned to face east to recite the first morning prayer and we were facing PI's photo. Before the breakup with Nichiren Shoshu, there were never any human photos in the Gohonzon Room because we were taught that the Gohonzon is the object of worship. I am sure PI would be the first to agree with that and would surely acknowledge that HE is not the Object of Worship. So why has his photo been hung alongside the Gohonzon? Also, Pres. Ikeda has often told us to 'Rely upon the Law, not upon persons'. --- That remark generated a large 'GASP' from the entire audience, as though I was disparaging PI but I just wanted the SGI to Follow Nichiren's Buddhism correctly. Two weeks later I was kicked out of the SGI-USA headquarters at the direction of General Director Fred Zaitsu for "Pontificating about President Ikeda's Photo on the wall" and I was not permitted to recite morning Gongyo! --- One week later I turned in my SGI issued Gohonzon and resigned my SGI-USA membership. I now have a beautiful Nichiren-inscribed Gohonzon. Thank You very much Mr. Zaitsu for showing me the True colors of the oSGI organization, that it does NOT follow Nichiren's Buddhism.
ReplyDeleteSo true !
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