Nichiren is turning over in his grave and I'm boiling mad

http://www.nbo.org.uk/who-we-are/nbo-committee/

More BS from the BS SGI religious corporation and political party.

"Soka Gakkai said May 16 the government should try to realize its goal through an amendment to the Constitution, which has to pass through the Diet and a national referendum, rather than reinterpreting the supreme law of the land through a Cabinet decision." -- Asahi Shimbun

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201405170053

Soka Gakkai knows that the majority of the Japanese people will support an amendment to Article 9 of the Constitution. They therefore will have their cake and eat it too [a show of opposing a change in Article 9 while Article 9 will, in the end, be amended]. SGI/New Komeito can then show their brainwashed puppet members that they opposed changing Article 9 but that the Japanese people spoke. "It wasn't our [New Komeito's] fault that Article 9 was amended. We fought VERY hard to retain Article 9." More BS from the BS SGI religious corporation and political party.

Does SGI believe that Nichiren and his disciples too should be re-educated?

"Such [interfaith] engagements lead to an understanding to contain and re-educate...religious purists." -- Keynote speaker at SGI Malaysia and SGI Institute of Oriental Philosophy symposium

"Resplendant and adamantine are my words. Listen carefully and discern."

"Resplendant and adamantine are my words. Listen carefully and discern." 

Nichiren would be more outraged towards the Soka Gakkai than he was with the provisional sects of his day. While alive, he could rain in his errant disciples through personal letters and direct communication. Today he must rely on his disciples and believers to police themselves.

The purpose of every letter Nichiren wrote was either to confront the

established sects and/or for 

raising disciples and believers 

to establish the true 

teachings and to refute the provisional sects. Today, many so-called Nichiren sects

slander the True Teachings and

seek 

approval from the interfaith community, the provisional sects, and from the  

non-Buddhists. 

The Opening of the Eyes, the Selection of the Time, Repaying Debts of 

Gratitude, The True 

Object of Worship, as well as, his more than six hundred letters and fragments of letters 

are living testaments to his great wish to develop his disciples and believers. He clarified for their sake and ours incorrect and correct Buddhist doctrines and for us to get along as "fish and the water in which they swim". All this he taught so the Law would long endure/

Nichiren never got his chance for a national debate. Other than his first public lecture in 1253, the local debate on Sado, and his meeting with the Regent Hei-no-saemon in 1274, he had little opportunity to confront the leaders of the established sects except indirectly through his writings and the conversion efforts of his disciples and believers. 

The so-called shortcomings of the Soka Gakkai are anything but. They are a Mount Sumeru of slander. Nichiren would be outraged, as are we, that the SGI fails to follow his teachings and admonitions, choosing instead to follow the person of Daisaku Ikeda. There are principles of "refutation" and "intervention" in Nichiren's Lotus Sutra Buddhism. He taught his disciples not to believe those who claim to be his followers unless they have some proof of it in his own hand. The proof today is the Lotus Sutra and his authentic writings, believing and upholding them. Nichiren was very clear about the exclusive faith and practice of the Lotus Sutra and that the forceful practices of the Lotus Sutra are to be employed in this degenerate age. Clear too are Nichiren's teachings on the staunch unity of his disciples if the Great wish is to be realized. He teaches that fifty or a hundred men in unity can overcome a great army in disarray. I enjoin you to create the type of unity that will move mountains. 

The only religion that can save humanity is the religion based on the correct Three Great Secret Laws and the Correct Three Treasures of the Juryo-hon Chapter of the Lotus Sutra. The Soka Gakkai tramples on these bedrocks of the Nichiren faith.  

Most people fail to see themselves, especially after having drunk the poison of erroneous teachings. Modeling ourselves on the Buddha (The Excellent Physician) and Nichiren Daishonin (the Buddha's messenger), we will awaken the SGI members to keep well the Three Great Secret Dharmas of the Chapter of the Measure of Life and the Good Excellent Medicine which is Namu Myoho renge kyo

Invitation to Clark Strand, SGI spokesperson, author, former senior editor of Tricycle and the Buddhist Review

Lets debate any topic of your choosing.

"If he fails to rebuke the enemies of the Lotus Sutra, then it will be impossible for him to realize enlightenment."

"[If] even one with deep faith does not rebuke the enemies of

the Lotus Sutra, no matter what great good he may produce,
even if he recites and copies the Lotus Sutra a thousand or ten
thousand times, or perfects the way of contemplating the
three thousand realms in one thought-moment, if he fails to
rebuke the enemies of the Lotus Sutra, then it will be impossible
for him to realize enlightenment. To illustrate, even if one
has served the court for ten or twenty years, if, knowing of the
ruler’s enemies, he fails to report them or to oppose them
himself, then the merit of his service will all be lost and he will
instead be guilty of a crime. You must understand that the
people of today are slanderers of the Dharma."
(Nanjõ Hyõe Shichirõ-dono gosho, STN 1: 321–22)20

Saturday Gosho lecture on the cause of Japan's disasters

“It also says: “Evil monks, hoping to gain fame and profit, will in many cases appear before the ruler, the crown prince, or the other princes, and take it upon themselves to preach doctrines that lead to the violation of the Buddhist Law and the destruction of the nation. The ruler, failing to perceive the truth of the situation, will listen to and put faith in such doctrines, and proceed to create regulations that are perverse in nature and that do not accord with the rules of Buddhist discipline. In this way he will bring about the destruction of Buddhism and of the nation.” — On Dealing With Disasters

This is exactly the situation in Japan today with the SGI/Komeito preaching false doctrines and counseling the ruling party which is creating perverse regulations, for example, those severely curtailing free speech, those allowing manufacture and sale of arms throughout asia and the world, those sanctioning an unprecedented post World War II military buildup, and those limiting assistance to TEPCO in the clean-up of Fukushima. 

“The Great Collection Sutra says, “If he [the ruler of the state] sees that my teaching is in danger of perishing and stands idly by without doing anything to protect it, . . . his country will become the scene of three inauspicious occurrences.” — ibid

“The Lotus Sutra states: “In that evil age there will be monks with perverse wisdom and hearts that are fawning and crooked who will suppose they have attained what they have not attained, being proud and boastful in heart. . . . These men with evil in their hearts . . . will address the rulers, high ministers, Brahmans, and householders, as well as the other monks, slandering and speaking ill of us, saying, ‘These are men of perverted views who preach non-Buddhist doctrines!’  — ibid

“If we consider the matter in the light of these passages, we will see that evil monks fill the country and preach doctrines that lead to the destruction of the nation and the violation of the Buddhist Law. The rulers and the four kinds of Buddhist believers who live in that nation, failing to perceive the truth of the situation, listen to and put faith in their words. Therefore they reject and turn their hearts away from these Mahayana sutras.” — ibid

The Japanese rulers and the people have rejected and turned their hearts away from the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin and towards the Human Revolution, New Komeito, and Daisaku Ikeda.

“Answer: The Benevolent Kings Sutra says: “Those persons who should uphold and guard the three treasures of Buddhism will on the contrary become the destroyers of the three treasures, just as it is the worms that are born from the body of a dead lion that will feed on the lion’s flesh. It will not be the non-Buddhists [but in most cases the Buddha’s own disciples who will destroy this Buddhist Law of mine].”

SGI's Three Treasures are not the Three Treasures of the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren and his disciples.

If we go by this passage, those who destroy the nation and the Buddhist Law will come from among the disciples of the Buddha.” — ibid

This is self-explanatory.

“Question: These evil monks who destroy the correct teaching—do they destroy it with a teaching that resembles the correct teaching, or do they destroy it with an evil teaching?” — ibid

Nichiren goes on to say that those who destroy the correct teachings are those who embrace a teaching that resembles the correct teachings. To the ignorant, Nam Myoho renge kyo, the Nichikan Gohonzon, and the SGI faith is the same as Namu Myoho renge kyo, the Nichiren Gohonzon, and the Nichiren faith. Nothing could be further from the truth.

“As these passages demonstrate, those who slander the Law fail to realize in full how their acts affect others and proceed to commit grave faults, bringing about the destruction of the nation and the destruction of the Buddhist Law.” — ibid

These egotistical SGI heretics actually think that they are the avatars of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren who will ensure the peace and prosperity of Japan. The reality and modern history of the Japanese nation and rise of the Soka Gakkai demolishes their unwarranted faith. 

The Golden Light Sutra states: “He neither makes offerings to it [the sutra], honors it, nor praises it. . . Then many different types of disasters will occur in the country.” The Nirvana Sutra speaks of those who “hate and despise the unsurpassed Great Nirvana Sutra.” — ibid

Altering the Three Treasures, particularly changing the Three Treasures and converting the Three Treasures into Four Treasures [adding the Treasure of the Guru Ikeda which subsumes the Three Treasures of the Sutra and Nichiren] is to hate and despise the Three Treasures. Making offerings to the false Three and Four Treasures, is to dishonor the Three Treasures of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren.

"Question: If what you say is true, then why do persons who put their faith in the Mahayana sutras such as the Lotus Sutra or the True Word sutras encounter such disasters?

Answer: The Golden Light Sutra says: “The laws will be twisted until even the innocent are made to suffer.” The Lotus Sutra states, “They would bring unexpected disaster on him.”

The poor, unstudied, and unlearned SGI newbies are the innocents who are made to suffer. They expect to realize unsurpassed Supreme and Perfect Enlightenment but fall into the Lower Realms. This comes as a great shock to them.

"Judging from these passages that have just been quoted, such practitioners of the Lotus Sutra and True Word teachings have not yet reached any very profound level of practice, their minds are still weak in faith, and though their mouths recite the words of the sutra, they do not yet understand their meaning; they recite them only for the sake of fame or gain. –ibid

GAIN [“Goodness, Beauty, and Gain”] — The heart of the SGI teachings. A pity! A shame!

“Answer: The forces of karma do not operate in fixed ways. There is what is called karma that manifests itself in one’s present existence. Describing such cases, the Lotus Sutra says that a person “will in his present existence be afflicted with white leprosy. . . . And he will suffer from . . . severe and malignant illnesses.” The Benevolent Kings Sutra states: “If persons destroy the teachings of the Buddha, they will have no filial sons, no harmony with their six kinds of relatives, and no aid from the heavenly deities. Disease and evil demons will come day after day to torment them, disasters will descend on them incessantly, and misfortunes will dog them wherever they go.” And the Nirvana Sutra states: “If there are those who fail to put faith in this sutra, when they approach the time of death, they will encounter a world troubled by disorder, armed strife will break out, or they will find themselves the victims of the tyranny of rulers or the quarrels and contentions of warring families.”

Just so!

"Regarding the second type of karma, that which manifests itself in one’s next existence, the Lotus Sutra says, “If a person fails to have faith but instead slanders this sutra, . . . When his life comes to an end he will enter the Avichi hell.” And the Benevolent Kings Sutra states: “If persons destroy the teachings of the Buddha, . . . when they die, they will fall into the realms of hell, hungry spirits, and animals.” — ibid

Frightening! 

“Question: What is the quickest way to put an end to these disasters?

Answer: One must quickly take measures to deal with those who slander the Law. If this is not done, then although endless prayers are offered, they will not put an end to these disasters.

Question: What measures should be taken to deal with them?

Answer: The measures are indicated in the sutras. In the Nirvana Sutra we read, “The Buddha said, ‘With the exception of one type of person, you may offer alms to all kinds of persons. . . . [Persons of this one type] slander the correct teaching, and go on committing these grave acts. . . . With the exception of this one group of people called icchantikas, however, you may offer alms to all others, and everyone will praise you.’ ”

From this passage it is clear that one should take measures to see that no alms are given to persons of this type. In addition, there are many other measures to be taken, but I do not have time to discuss them all here.”

What can we do in this time and this place? Do not offer alms during the SGI May Contribution Campaign [or ever], immediately renounce your membership, and join us in reprimanding them. 

Proof:

"Answer: The Nirvana Sutra states: “Now I entrust the correct teaching, which is unexcelled, to the rulers, the ministers, the high officials, and the monks and nuns. If anyone should vilify the correct teaching, then the rulers, the ministers, and the four kinds of Buddhists should reprimand him and bring him to order. [In doing so, they] are not guilty of any fault.”

“Question: You yourself are a priest, and yet you are exposing the errors of other priests—is this not a blameful act?

Answer: The Nirvana Sutra says: “If even a good monk sees someone destroying the teaching and disregards him, failing to reproach him, to oust him, or to punish him for his offense, then you should realize that that monk is betraying the Buddha’s teaching. But if he ousts the destroyer of the Law, reproaches him, or punishes him, then he is my disciple and a true voice-hearer.”

When I read this passage, it seems to me that, in order to avoid being condemned as a “betrayer of the Buddha’s teaching,” I must not be fearful of how others may judge my actions,…” ibid

Trust Nichiren. Reprimanding the Soka Gakkai, you will be praised by the Buddha, the Buddhas of the Ten Directions, Nichiren Daishonin, and the Bodhisattvas of the Universe.

“But if, having once perused what I have written, they do not carry out the measures recommended in the passages I have quoted, then how can they escape the fate described in the Great Collection Sutra when it says: “Though for countless existences in the past the ruler of a state may have practiced the giving of alms, observed the precepts, and cultivated wisdom, if he sees that my teaching is in danger of perishing and stands idly by without doing anything to protect it, then all [the inestimable roots of goodness that he has planted through the practices just mentioned] will be entirely wiped out, and his country will become the scene of three inauspicious occurrences. . . . After his life has come to an end, he will be reborn in the great hell.”

This is surely the fate of Shinzo Abe and Daisaku ikeda.

"The passage in the Benevolent Kings Sutra states, “If a time should come when the good fortune of these rulers runs out, . . . then the seven disasters are certain to arise.” And the passage in the Great Collection Sutra says that “though for countless existences in the past the ruler of a state may have practiced the giving of alms, observed the precepts, and cultivated wisdom, . . . all [the inestimable roots of goodness that he has planted through the practices just mentioned] will be entirely wiped out.” — ibid

Ever more horrendous disasters are in store for the Japanese people under Abe and the New Komeito. My heart bleeds for the innocents who will suffer.

“In view of these passages, should one not set aside all other affairs and consider first of all why these disasters occur? If one does not do so, then more and more such disasters are bound to occur!

Such is my humble opinion. I leave it to others to accept or reject it.” — ibid

Lotus Sutra, Gosho, Human Revolution, World Tribune, Bible, Q'uran, Vedas, Torah

“Unless one can perceive the relative profundity of the various writings, one cannot judge the worth of the principles they reveal.” — The Opening of the Eyes

Helping Alex with his term paper

<< Hey there! I found out that you are an expert in Buddhism religion, so I am just curious if you can help me out with my project... >>

I got several books and doing my ISP on them, but still didn't get or got a little information for such questions as:

1) What are the basic beliefs, concepts?

2) How do they worship / celebrate?

3) Importnat feasts. Why?

4) Important Sites or Locations?

5) Hierarchy

6) Morals, etc.

7) What's your view on gays, abortion, etc.

8) Divisions...

9) WorldViews.

10) Prayers? Symbols? Rituals?

I would be very glad if you could help me to answer those...

Thanks in advance,

Alex.

I am far from an expert on Buddhism although I know a bit about Nichiren Lotus Sutra Buddhism. You have been led astray about my abilities. I am not interested in doing your paper for you but I will answer the questions above for your sake.

1) What are the basic beliefs, concepts?

The basic belief of Buddhism is that the through the Buddhist faith, practice and study one can overcome the Four Sufferings: Birth, Old Age, Illness and Death and transform them into the four virtues of true self, purity, eternity, and joy. My faith practice and study centers around the Law of Namu Myoho renge kyo or Adoration to the Wonderful Law of the Lotus Flower Sutra)\ and the Master of Teachings Lord Shaky [Shakyamuni] of the Original Doctrine which are both found within the Lotus Sutra.

2) How do they worship/celebrate?

That depends on the sect of Buddhism. Most Buddhist sects advocate at least twice daily religeous practice in the morning and the evening, either meditational [contemplational], devotional or both. Most Buddhist sects celebrate the birth, enlightenment (Nirvana), and the passing away of Shakyamuni Buddha on December 8th. This is known as Wesak day. They also celebrate New Years Day. We of the Kempon Hokke and most Japanese Nichiren sects also celebrate the days of the birth [Feb 16th], passing [Oct 13th], and enlightenment [Sept. 12th] of Nichiren Daishonin, the messenger of the Buddha.

We chant Namu Myoho renge kyo with faith in the the Great Object of Worship or Gohonzon which is the life and land of the eternal Buddha at the moment of transmission of Namu Myoho renge kyo to the masses of beings.We also chant the second and sixteenth chapters of the Lotus Sutra in the morning and the evening in a service called Gongyo which means assiduous practice. We chant these chapters in ancient Chinese with a Japanese pronunciation. I presently chant one half to one hour of Namu Myoho renge kyo a day and Gongyo which takes around five to fifteen minutes. I have done this for more than 30 years. Sometimes I chant a lot more and occassionally a lot less. We also celebrate the 28th of every month and many in our Sangha (group)  chant one hour together on this day. This is in memory of the first day that our founder Nichiren Daishonin chanted Namu Myoho renge kyo on April 28th 1253. Our daily worship of the Law and Eternal Buddha is really a celebration, so in a sense, we celebrate every day.

3) Important feasts. Why?

I love to eat so every meal to me is an important feast.

4) Important Sites or Locations?

Their are four "holy places" in India for most Buddhists:

Bodh-gaya: Where the historical Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.

Lumbini Gardens: The birthplace of the Buddha

Deer Park: The site of the Buddha's first sermon after attaining enlightenment.

Kusinara: Where the Buddha passed away.

Our sect also considers Ryojusen (Eagle or Vulture Mountain) in India and Mount Minobu in Japan to be sacred places: Ryojusen is where the Buddha preached the Lotus Sutra and Minobu is where Nichiren Daishonin is buried. In a sense, wherever one chants Namu Myoho renge kyo is a holy or sacred place, so our homes are most holy and sacred places.

5) Hierarchy

This really depends on the sect of Buddhism. In our Buddhism there is no hierarchy because every one who chants Namu Myoho renge kyo with faith in the Gohonzon, Lotus Sutra, and the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha is a Bodhisattva of the Earth, an exalted being in his or her's own right. The leader of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth is Bodhisattva Jogyo who was born as Nichiren Daishonin in 13th century Japan. Our teachers are Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin because of their deep faith and understanding of the Lotus Sutra and their behavior as human beings.

6) Morals, etc.

There are two major schools of Buddhism, Hinayana (lesser vehicle) and Mahayana (greater vehicle). The Hinayanists (or Theravadins) stress morals or behavioral rules and regulations. For Hinayana monks there are 250 rules, and for nuns there are 500. For laymen there are less rules but still many. Rule in Buddhism are known as precepts. For example, do not eat after 12 noon, do not drink alcoholic beverages, do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not sleep on a raised platform, etc. Most Mayahanists, especially the monks, follow ten precepts:

1. Not to kill or encourage others to kill.
2. Not to steal or encourage others to steal.
3. Not to engage in licentious acts or encourage others to do so. A monk is expected to abstain from sexual conduct entirely.
4. Not to use false words and speech, or encourage others to do so.
5. Not to trade or sell alcoholic beverages or encourage others to do so.
6. Not to broadcast the misdeeds or faults of the Buddhist assembly, nor encourage others to do so.
7. Not to praise oneself and speak ill of others, or encourage others to do so.
8. Not to be stingy, or encourage others to do so.
9. Not to harbor anger or encourage others to be angry.
10. Not to speak ill of the Buddha, the Dharma or the Sangha (lit. the Triple Jewel)) or encourage others to do so.

A corollary to the precepts are the Four Bodhisattva [those who delay their attainment of Supreme Enlightenment for the sake of others] vows:

However innumerable are sentient beings, I vow to save them all.

However inexhaustible are defilements [sins], I vow to extinguish them all

However immeasurable are the dharmas, I vow to master them all.

However unattainable is the Way, I vow to attain it.

In Nichiren Daishonin's Lotus Sutra Buddhism, there is only one precept which is known as the diamond precept: Chant Namu Myoho renge kyo with faith in the Three Treasures [The Law, Buddha and Sangha] and Three Great Secret Laws [Namu Myoho renge kyo, the Gohonzon, and the place where the Lotus Sutra is practiced]. We only practice this precept because those on the path to Supreme and Perfect Enlightenment always function to benefit oneself and others.

7) What's your view on gays, abortion, etc.?

There are no teachings which specifically address the issue of homosexuality or heterosexuality in the Mahayana, except in the monastic setting. The Buddha taught that abortion was wrong. Common sense and the Middle Way should prevail in all matters. Therefore, safe contraception is a far more preferable practice than abortion.

8) Divisions...

Hinayana(Theravadin) and Mahayana have been briefly discussed above. I would also like to add that today, most people in South East Asia practice Hinayana and most people in Japan, China, Korea and the rest of the world practice Mahayana. There is also a division called Vajrayana which is practiced in Northern India, Tibet, and Japan which involves magical practices. Vajrayana incorporates yoga, indigenous nature religions, and the teachings of the great Buddhist teacher Nagarjuna. I am partial to the Mahayana as it is universally accessible to all people and a correct practice definitely leads to Enlightenment.

The other division that you should know is the division of the Hinayana teachings called the Tripitaka (three baskets): 1). Sutra-pitaka = the discourses of the Buddha; 2). Vinaya-pitaka = the origins of the sangha (group of believers) and the rules of discipline regulating monks and nuns; 3). Abhidharma-pitaka = the discourses on the Buddha's teachings by the latter day saints and sages.

9) World Views.

That depends on the sect and the individual. We believe, in our sect, that all people have the potential to attain Buddhahood so all people are equal no matter what sins they may have committed. Through the redemptive power of the Buddhist faith and practice, all people can attain Enlightenment and become Buddhas, even in this lifetime. Our sect also believes that the major cause of the people's suffering is misleading religions and philosophies, so we have a duty to establish the Right Law (Namu Myoho renge kyo).

10) Prayers? Symbols? Rituals?

This too depends on the sect of Buddhism. There are basically four categories of "prayers". Three are meditations or contemplations: Vipasaana or meditation on the so-called three marks of existenc: Impermanence; suffering; and egolessness of all phenomena both mental and physical. This leads to the insight of "emptiness". Such insight is said to lead to the prevention of arising of passions; Shamatha is meditation for calming the mind and the technique is described as single pointedness. The Lotus Sutra meditation is known as will power consciousness (desiring to see the Buddha we do not begrudge our life). The last category is conventional prayer for the health and happiness of oneself and others both alive and deceased. Repentance, is a subcategory of conventional Buddhist prayer. Chanting Namu Myoho renge kyo encompasses all the various types of meditation and prayers and even surpasses the meditation of Great Concentration and Insight taught by Tientai the Great of China

Symbols: Many sects of Buddhism, even many Zen practitioners have various objects of worship, including Buddhas, Bodhisattvas (other compassionate beings), Deities etc. Our sect has the great object of worship known as the Gohonzon which is the actuality of the Master of Teachings Lord Shakyamuni of the Original Doctrine or the Original Eternal Buddha at the moment of transmission of Namu Myoho renge kyo to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth [us].

The Tibetian Buddhists have hundreds of rituals. We have the rituals of making offerings to the Gohonzon such as water, flowers or evergreens, fruit and incense and the ringing of a bell (offering of divine music). We also have prayer beads not unlike rosaries.

**************************************************************************

Also, "Do you believe in afterlife, hell, heaven?" and "What kind of music you are listening to?" , btw do you have some kind of miracles as we do in catholic religion? >>

Hi Alex. Yes I believe in an afterlife. This is a very complex topic to explain and ultimately it is a matter of faith. Let us begin with the Three Buddha Bodies or the Three bodies of the eternal Buddha: The Historical Buddha, Shakyamuni of India, was the earthly manifestation of the Eternal Buddha and represents self. We too have a temporary existence that represents self. This is the Manifestation-body of the Buddha or generally our manifest existence. The other Buddhas of the universe manifest here and in other quarters and represent not-self. Generally, other people are not we ourselves so, utilizing ourselves as a reference point, all other people represent not-self. This is the Reward-body (all the "branch" body Buddhas who make up the Reward Body of the Buddha) or generally, all other beings besides our selves. These two, both self (Shakyamuni as a manifest historical personage or we as a temporary existences) and not-self (all the other Buddhas in the universe, those beings rewarded for their efforts in the Buddhist practice, and more generally, everyone other than we ourselves),  make up the teaching of duality: The Buddha Shakyamuni is different from the other Buddhas of the universe and is the Original Teacher of all Buddhas since the infinite past. He is also different than we and we are different than he (self versus not-self). No-self is the Law Body of the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni and is omnipresent, exists eternally and is one with the Law of Myoho renge kyo. It represents no-self or the void and is the body that integrates the manifest Buddha and the other Buddhas of the universe [or ourselves and others].The Law-body of the Buddha is the teaching of non-duality. This is the teaching that there is no fundamental difference between Buddha Shakyamuni, the other Buddhas of the universe, us, atoms, specks of dust, plants, and animals, etc. it is the fundamental reality that underlies all phenomena both material and physical, something akin to string theory in physics. Restated: All phenomena or beings are in essence Buddha Shakyamuni, are eternal, omnipresent and one with the Law of Myoho renge kyo. The dual (self and not self) and the non-dual (no-self) are sometimes referred to as two but not two and one but not one. Actually (no longer as potential),  those who chant Namu Myoho renge kyo with absolute faith in the Law and Eternal Buddha are one with the Eternal Buddha, his life and land, behavior and function.

Now, as far as an afterlife, "our" karma or that which and whom we are as a temporary existence, was created, through "our" thoughts words and deeds since the infinite past. It has manifested as Mark and Alex (selves or temporary existences). Upon death, karma, being like energy, is neither created nor destroyed and is transformed via the process of death. We will never again manifest exactly as Mark or Alex but as other selves or temporary existences. At the moment of death we again return to the original state of no-self, become one with the, Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni and Law, yet, we still have created the karma to effect suchness or being when the time and conditions are ripe. If we made bad causes through our thoughts, words, and deeds, a being such as centipede, a person born without eyes or ears, or another unfortunate birth will ensue.

Making the causes to follow the path of Buddha and helping others to do the same, ensures a fortunate birth. Chanting Namu Myoho renge kyo with faith in the Gohonzon is the highest cause we can make to ensure "our" birth as a Bodhisattva or Buddha.

Hell and Heaven are realms of being whether referring to self, not-self or no-self. They are eternally abiding realms within all beings both sentient and insentient. Pain is Hell and pleasure is Heaven. Actually there are ten eternally abiding realms: Hell, Hunger, Animality, Anger, Tranquility (or Humanity), Rapture, Learning, Self Realization, Bodhisattva and Buddha. These are the ten realms that exist both in ourselves and our surroundings. Yet, there are one or several realms that we gravitate to depending on our karma. For example, though a person resides principally in the realm of Humanity, if he is accidently bumped on the street and punches the person who bumped him, he is at that moment in the realm of animality. A cat and dog, on the other hand, though predominantly in the realm of Animality can manifest Bodhisattva or the realm of compassion by acting selflessly to save its babies from a fire, for example. The more selfless one's actions, the more one becomes one with the no-self or Eternal Buddha which is one with the Law. The most selfless action we can take is to teach other to chant Namu Myoho renge kyo and take faith in the Master of Teachings Lord Shakyamuni of the Original Doctrine which is the Gohonzon as mentioned in our previos correspondence.

The greatest miracle in Buddhism is that a common mortal can become a Buddha. Benefits do occur however and may be inconspicuous or conspicuous and depend on the merits both ceded to us by the Law and the Buddha and created by us through our fath and practice. It is is proportional to the depths of our faith and practice.

I listen to Rock or Blues mostly. I like the Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Metallica, the Allman Brothers, Blue Oyster Cult, Jimi Hendrix, Albert King, B.B.King, The Eagles etc....

Hope you are well.

I would be happy to help anyone out who desires to know anything about Buddhism, even a word or a phrase

There are too many people like Mr. Wooley in the SGI. .

Here is something to mull over. On December 13th, 1997, a simple minded, lonely, schizophrenic man who moved to North Hollywood several months ago and who was doing quite nicely, was chanting in the SGI Culture Center located a block from his house. He was hardly capable of realizing the profound differences among the various Nichiren faiths and he is extremely trusting. When the person in charge, Edwin Wooley, started talking to Navin and learned he was believer in another Nichiren sect and Nevin showed him his Omamori Gohonzon, Mr. Wooley opened it up, despite Navin's protestestations, and tore it to shreds, claiming it was an heretical object. Navin subsequently became quite despondent and ran away to Northern California and began living in a homeless shelter. We lodged a protest with the SGI.

Can you imagine any disciple or believer in the Lotus Sutra doing such a thing to another human being? It is almost unthinkable. It was an act of depraved indifference to human life. There are too many people like Mr. Wooley in the SGI. .

Bada Bing Bada Boom

An SGI leader reports: Nichiren Shoshu General Administrator Charged with Breach of Trust over a Concubine. 

Curly of the Three Stooges: He sold the quills as authentic writing brushes of Nichiren? 

But not Daisaku Ikeda, Danny Nagashima, and David Witkowski

"All these beings are disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha.Since the various Buddhas themselves are emanations of Shakyamuni Buddha, it goes without saying that their disciples must be disciples of Shakyamuni. And of course the various decties of the sun, moon and stars, who have dwelt in the world from countless ages in the past must likewise be disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha." "(MW vol 2, Ibid, pg 152)

"Stop the Bullying" -- SGI anti-bullying programme

It’s the standard Soka Gakkai/Taisekiji tactic to muddle, confuse and unbalance any logical criticism of their “reading between the lines” approach to Nichiren’s orthodox religion. And if that tactic doesn't work, they resort to smearing the character of their critics. It amounts to “bullying” any and all opposition. It is ironic that the Nichiren Shoshu became the target of SGI bullying since 1990. It is also ironic that SGI spearheads an anti-bullying programme.

Ha Wagoso [disrupting the unity of believers] and other more serious slanders

SGI stresses that disrupting the unity of believers (Ha Wagoso) is the worst Buddhist sin and the principle cause for falling into  hell. Nichiren, on the other hand, teaches that slander of the profound teachings and evil companions is the worst sin:

“A person of wisdom should not fear enemy households, snakes, the poison of fire, the god Indra, the roll of thunder, attacks by swords and staves, or wild beasts such as tigers, wolves, and lions. For these can only destroy one’s life, but cannot cause one to fall into the Avichi hell, which is truly terrifying. What one should fear is slander of the profound teaching as well as companions who are slanderers, for these will surely cause one to fall into the frightful Avichi hell. Even if one befriends evil companions and with evil intent spills the Buddha’s blood, kills one’s own father and mother, takes the lives of many sages, disrupts the unity of the Buddhist Order, and destroys all one’s roots of goodness, if one fixes one’s mind on the correct teaching, one can free oneself from that place. But if there is someone who slanders the inconceivably profound teaching, that person will for immeasurable kalpas be unable to obtain emancipation. However, if there is one who can cause others to awaken to and take faith in a teaching such as this, then that person is their father and mother, and also their good friend. This is a person of wisdom. After the Thus Come One’s passing, that person corrects false views and perverse thoughts, and causes people to enter the true way. For that reason, he has pure faith in the three treasures, and his virtuous actions lead others to enlightenment.” (The Problem To Be Pondered Night and Day)

The SGI, because they correct correct views and compliant thoughts and cause people to enter the false way, stress the lesser evil of breaking the unity of believers (which, in the case of opposing the SGI for their greater evil of distorting the teachings, is actually a great good), second only to the greatest good of practicing as the Buddha Shakyamuni, the Lotus Sutra, and Nichiren Daishonin teach.

The SGI's slander of the correct teachings and true believers is by far the worst offense and the cause for falling into hell. Their teachings on Ha Wagoso is a smokescreen for the Soka Gakkai failing to uphold the golden teachings of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin. Nevertheless, the SGI in chanting Nam Myoho renge kyo [rather than Namu Myoho renge kyo], advancing the Nichiren as True Buddha doctrine, and taking Daisaku Ikeda as the Buddha of the modern age [while throwing out Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter of the Lotus Sutra], is the worse offender in disrupting the unity of believers.

The two sets of writings are mutually incompatible.

Regarding the documents that Taisekiji attributes to Nikko, Yamanaka Kihachi, one of the great Nichiren scholars of the twentieth century and an expert on Nikko's authenticated writings, has written an exhaustive study on Nikko. He examined ALL of his writings, including the Taisekiji documents that the Nichiren Shoshu attribute to him. His comments were as follows: "If one examines all the authenticated writings of Nikko and then compares them to the documents that are housed at Taisekiji, the authentic writings are 180 degrees apart from those at Taisekiji." The two sets of writings are mutually incompatible.

Following the SGI teachings to a T and then Nichiren's

I spent many hours chanting for Sensei's health, welfare, accident free trips, rain free trips, successful meetings, and to develop my life as he.

Now I refute evil doctrines, evil religions, evil philosophies, and evil people in order that the Law long endure and I chant for absolute peace, harmony and joy to be established throughout the entire world.

"The Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma" by Leon Hurvitz Lotus Sutra, Chapter 2 Part 2

SADDHARMAPUNDARIKASUTRA
THE MYÔHÔ RENGE KYO
"The Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma" by Leon Hurvitz
Lotus Sutra, Chapter 2
Part 2
Skillful Means

At that time the World-Honored One, wishing to restate this meaning, proclaimed gathas, saying:Bhiksus and bhiksunis
Harboring arrogance,
Upasakas with pride,
And upasakas of no faith --
In the fourfold assembly,
The likes of these,
Five thousand in number,
Not seeing their own faults,
Having flaws in their discipline,
And jealously guarding their blemishes,
These of slight wisdom have already left:
The chaff of the multitude,
Thanks to the Buddha's imposing majesty,
Is gone.
These persons, ill-equipped with merit,
Are not worthy to receive this Dharma.
This multitude has neither branches nor leaves,
But has only firm fruits.
Shariputra, listen well:
The dharma that the Buddhas have gained
By resort to incalculable expedient powers
They preach to the beings.
The thoughts thought by the beings,
The sundry ways trodden by them,
The nature of their several desires,
The good and evil deeds in their former births --
The Buddha knows them thoroughly.
Knowing them, and
Resorting to various means and parables
And to their powers,
and to the powers of phrases and other expedients,
He causes all to rejoice.
Now he preaches sermons,
Gathas and former matters,
Former lives and things that have never been before.
Again, he preaches cause and condition,
Parables and verses repeating the prose,
And dialogue scriptures.
Those of dull faculties,
Who desire lesser dharmas,
Who out of sheer greed cling to birth and death,
Who in the presence of incalculable Buddhas
Still fail to tread the profound and subtle Path,
And who are tormented by multitudinous woes --
For these I preach nirvana.
Devising this expedient device,
I enable them to enter into the Buddha's wisdom.
I never told them, "You all
Shall be able to achieve the Path of the Buddha."
The reason I never told them
Is that the time to tell it had not yet come.
Now is precisely the time
To preach the Great Vehicle definitively.
This Dharma of mine, in nine divisions,
I preach by matching it to the beings,
Keeping the entry into the Great Vehicle as the basis:
This is why I expound this teaching.
There are sons of the Buddha
Whose thoughts are pure and supple,
And also whose faculties are keen,
Who in the presence of incalculable Buddhas
Have trodden the profound and subtle Path.
For these sons of the Buddha
I preach this sermon of the Great Vehicle.
I prophesy to such persons as these
That in a future age
They shall achieve the Buddha's Path,
Because with profound thought
They are mindful of the Buddha
And because they practice
And keep a pure discipline.
When they hear that they
Shall attain Buddhahood,
These persons have a great joy
That permeates their bodies.
The Buddha,
Knowing the course of their thoughts,
Therefore preaches the Great Vehicle to them.
A voice-hearer or a bodhisattva
Who hears of the Dharma I preach
So much as a single gatha
Shall in every case achieve Buddhahood,
Of that there is no doubt.
Within the Buddha-lands of the ten directions
There is the Dharma of only One Vehicle.
There are not two, nor are there yet three,
Save where the Buddha,
Preaching by resort to expedients
And by merely borrowing
Provisional names and words,
Draws the beings to him.
In order to preach Buddha-wisdom,
The Buddhas come into the world.
Only this one cause is true,
For the other two are unreal.
To the very end
He does not resort to the Lesser Vehicle
To ferry the beings across.
The Buddha himself dwells
In the Greater Vehicle;
Whatever dharmas he acquires,
Adorned with the strength
Of concentration and wisdom,
Through them does he rescue the beings.
He himself bears witness
To the Unexcelled Path,
To the undifferentiating Dharma
Of the Great Vehicle.
If by resort to the Lesser Vehicle
I were to convert
So much as one person,
I should have fallen victim to greed,
And this sort of thing would never do.
A man in faith takes refuge in the Buddha,
believing that the Thus Come One does not deceive,
Also that, having no thought of greed or malice,
He cuts off the evil in the dharmas;
It is for this reason
That the Buddhas in the ten directions
Alone are fearless.
I, with marks adorning my body,
Radiantly give light to the world.
Being venerated by incalculable multitudes,
For them I preach the seal of reality-marks.
Shariputra, be it known
That formerly I took a vow,
Wishing to cause all multitudes
To be just like me, no different.
In keeping with my former vow,
All is now fulfilled,
For I have converted all living beings,
Causing them all
To enter into the Buddha Path.
If, upon every encounter with the beings,
I had taught them all the Buddha Path,
The ignorant, confused and gone astray,
Would not have accepted my teaching.
Because I knew that these beings
Had never cultivated wholesome roots;
That they were firmly
Attached to the five desires;
That, through delusion and greed,
They were subject to agony;
That, by reason of their desires,
They fell into the three evil destinies;
That they spun like wheels
In the six destinies,
Receiving all manner of woe and harm;
That, receiving the frail form of a foetus,
For generation after generation
They would constantly grow;
That men of slight virtue and little merit
Were attacked by multitudinous woes;
That, entering into
The luxuriant forest of wrong views,
Whether of existence,
Or of nonexistence, or the like,
And relying on these views,
They fulfill sixty-two of them;
That, profoundly attached
To vain and arbitrary dharmas,
They firmly seize upon them
And cannot cast them aside;
That their pride and arrogance are lofty,
Their sycophantic, crooked hearts insincere;
That for a thousand myriads of millions of kalpas
They neither hear the Buddha's name
Nor hear the right Dharma;
That men the likes of these are hard to save;
For these reasons, Shariputra,
For their sakes I established
An expedient device,
Preaching ways that put an end to woe
And showing them nirvana.
Though I preach nirvana,
This is no true extinction.
The dharmas from their very origin
Are themselves eternally characterized
By the marks of quiet extinction.
The Buddha's son, having trodden the Path,
In an age to come shall be able to become a Buddha.
I, having the power to devise expedients,
Set forth the dharma of the three vehicles.
All the World-Honored Ones,
All of them, preach the Way of the One Vehicle.
Now these great multitudes
Are all to purge their doubts and uncertainties.
The Buddhas say without differing
That there is only One Vehicle, not two.
For numberless kalpas in the past,
Incalculable Buddhas, since passed into extinction,
Of a hundred thousand myriads of millions of kinds,
Their number not to be reckoned
World-Honored Ones in this manner,
By resort to various means and parables,
To the power of these and numberless other devices,
Expound the marks of the dharmas.
These World-Honored Ones,
All preaching the Dharma of the One Vehicle,
Convert incalculable beings
And cause them to enter into the Buddha Path.
Also, the Chiefs of the Great Saints,
Knowing all the worlds,
All the varieties of their gods, their men,
And their living creatures,
The wishes in the deepest thoughts of all these beings,
By resort to yet other devices
Help to clarify the Prime Meaning.
If there are varieties of living beings
Who, having encountered Buddhas in the past,
Have heard the Dharma or dispensed gifts,
Or else kept the discipline or endured ignominy,
Or advanced with vigor,
or cultivated dhyana or wisdom,
Who, in short, have in various ways
cultivated merit and wisdom,
Persons like these
Have all achieved the Buddha Path.
When the Buddhas have passed into extinction,
If a person is of good and gentle thought,
Living beings like him
Have all achieved the Buddha Path.
When the Buddhas have passed into extinction,
Persons who make offerings to their sharira
Shall erect myriads of millions of kinds of stupas,
Using gold and silver and crystal,
Giant clam shell and agate,
Gems of carnelian and vaidiirya,
With which they brightly and extensively adorn and
With dignity accouter the stupas.
Or there are those who erect stone mausoleums
Of sandalwood and aloeswood,
Of hovenia and other timbers,
Of brick, tile, clay, and the like.
Or there are those who in open fields,
Heaping up earth, make Buddha-shrines.
There are even children who in play
Gather sand and make it into Buddha-stupas.
Persons like these
Have all achieved the Buddha Path.
If any persons
For the Buddha's sake
Erect images, with carvings
Perfecting the multitudinous marks, they
Have all achieved the Buddha Path.
Some fashion them completely with the seven jewels,
Or with nickel, or copper, or bronze,
Or with white tin, or with alloys of lead and tin,
Or with iron, or wood, or, again, with clay.
Some coat them with resin and lacquer,
With art creating Buddha images.
Persons like these
Have all achieved the Buddha Path.
Those who with many-colored designs
create Buddha images,
Adorning them
With the marks of hundredfold merit,
Making them themselves
Or having them done by others,
Have all achieved the Buddha Path.
Even children in play,
With grass, sticks, and brushes
Or with their fingernails,
Draw Buddha images.
Persons like these,
Gradually accumulating merit
And perfecting thoughts of great compassion,
Have all achieved the Buddha Path.
Or, merely converting bodhisattvas,
They may save incalculable multitudes.
If any persons, in stupas and mausoleums,
To jeweled images and painted images.
With flowered and perfumed banners and canopies
And with deferential thoughts make offerings,
Or if they cause others to make music,
Beating drums and blowing horns and conchs,
Or sounding flutes, of many reeds or of only one,
And lyres, mounted on stands or not,
And lutes and cymbals,
Producing many fine sounds like these
And holding them all up as offerings;
Or if with joyful thought
They sing hymns of praise
To the excellences of the Buddha,
Producing so much as one tiny sound, they
Have all achieved the Buddha Path.
If anyone, even with distracted thought,
And with so much as a single flower,
Makes offering to a painted image,
He shall at length see numberless Buddhas.
There will be some
who prostrate themselves ceremoniously;
Others, again, who merely join palms;
Others yet who do no more than raise one hand,
Others yet again who incline their heads but slightly
All, in these several ways, honoring the images.
They shall at length see incalculable Buddhas,
Themselves achieve the Unexcelled Path,
Broadly rescue numberless multitudes,
And enter into nirvana without residue,
As, when the kindling wood is exhausted,
the fire goes out.
If any, even with distracted thought,
Shall enter a stupa or mausoleum
And recite Namo Buddhaya
[Homage to the Buddha] but once, they
Have all achieved the Buddha Path.
Under the tutelage of the Buddhas of the past,
Whether while they were in the world
Or after their extinction,
If any heard this Dharma, they
Have all achieved the Buddha Path.
The World-Honored Ones of the future
Shall be of number incalculable.
These Thus Come Ones
By resort to expedient devices
Also shall preach the Dharma.
All the Thus Come Ones,
By resort to incalculable expedient devices,
Save the living beings,
That they may enter into the
Buddha's knowledge free of outflows.
Of any who hear the Dharma,
None shall fail to achieve Buddhahood.
Every Buddha's former vow [is as follows]:
"Whatever Buddha Path I may have trodden,
I wish universally to cause the beings
All alike to attain this Path as well."
The Buddhas of ages to come,
Though they shall preach
Hundreds of thousands of millions
Of numberless gateways to the Dharma,
Shall, in fact, be doing it
For the sake of the One Vehicle.
The Buddhas,
Fhe Most Venerable of Two-Legged Beings,
Know that the dharmas are ever
Without a nature of their own.
By virtue of conditions
Is the Buddha-seed realized:
For this reason they preach the One Vehicle.
The endurance of the dharmas,
The secure position of the dharmas,
In the world ever abiding --
Having come to know these
On the Platform of the Way,
The Guide-Teacher preaches them
By resort to expedient devices.
Recipients of offerings of gods and men,
The Buddhas of the present in the ten directions,
In number like to Ganges' sands,
Having appeared in the world
To put the beings at their ease,
Also preach a Dharma such as this.
They know the prime Quiet Extinction;
By resort to expedient devices
They may demonstrate various paths, but
They do so, in fact,
For the sake of the Buddha Vehicle.
I know the acts of the multitudinous beings,
That which they are mindful of
In their deepest thoughts,
The deeds they have done repeatedly in the past,
The nature of their desires,
Their power of vigorous exertion,
And the keenness or dullness of their faculties.
By the use of a variety of causes and conditions,
Parables, also words and phrases,
And by resort to expedient devices,
I preach in accord with what is appropriate.
Now I, too, am like them:
To put the beings at their ease,
By resort to various Dharma-gateways,
I proclaim the Buddha Path.
With the power of wisdom,
Knowing the natures and desires of the beings;
By resort to expedient devices I preach the dharmas,
Causing them all to gain joy.
Shariputra, let these things be known --
I, with the eye of a Buddha,
See the beings on the six courses
Reduced to poverty's extreme,
Having neither merit nor wisdom;
Entered upon the steep highway of birth and death;
Their woes, in constant succession,
Knowing no interruption;
Profoundly attached to the five desires,
Like a long-tailed ox in love with its own tail;
Covering themselves with lust and greed;
Blind and seeing nothing;
Seeking neither a Buddha of great might
Nor ways of cutting off woe;
Profoundly entered into wrong views;
By the use of woe wishing to cast off woe:
For the sake of these beings
I evince thoughts of great compassion.
When I first sat on the Platform of the Way,
Whether beholding the Tree or walking about,
Throughout three weeks
I thought such thoughts as these:
"The wisdom I have gained
Is the first among subtle things.
The beings, their faculties dull,
Are attached to pleasure and blinded by delusion.
Being of such sort as this,
How can they be saved?"
At that time the Brahma kings
And the chiefs of the gods, the Shakras,
The four god kings who protect the world
And the great gods who are their own masters,
As well as the other multitudes of gods and their retinues,
In the hundreds of thousands of myriads,
Reverently joining palms and doing obeisance,
Begged me to turn the Dharma-wheel.
I then thought to myself:
"If I merely praise the Buddha Vehicle,
The beings, sunk in woe,
Shall not be able to believe this Dharma.
Reviling the Dharma and not believing it,
They shall fall into the three evil courses.
I had rather not preach the Dharma,
But enter speedily into nirvana.
When I think back on the Buddhas of the past,
On the power of the expedient devices
Put into practice by them,
I know that in the Way I have now gained
I, too, must preach three vehicles."
When I had had these thoughts,
The Buddhas of the ten directions all appeared,
Comforting and instructing me with Brahma chant:
"Good, Shakyamuni!
You, the First of Guide-Teachers,
Having gained this unsurpassed Dharma,
Follow all the Buddhas
In using the power of expedient devices.
All of us, too, having gained
This most subtle prime Dharma,
For the sake of the varieties of living beings
Discriminated, preaching three vehicles.
Those of slight wisdom, desiring lesser dharmas,
Would not believe they could achieve Buddhahood.
For this reason, by resort to expedient devices,
We discriminated, preaching various fruits.
But, even though we preached three vehicles,
This was only for the purpose of teaching bodhisattvas."
Shariputra, be it known
That, when I heard the Saintly Lions'
Deep, pure, and subtle voices,
Joyfully I proclaimed "Namo Buddhebhyah!"
[Homage to the Buddhas]
And that then I had this thought:
"Having come into a defiled and evil world,
As the Buddhas preach,
So must I, too, in obedience, act."
When I had had these thoughts,
Straightway I went to Varanasi.
Since the quiet and extinct marks of the dharmas
Were not to be proclaimed in words,
By resort to the power of expedient devices
I preached to five bhikshus.
This is called "turning the Dharma-wheel.
Then there was the sound "Nirvana,"
As well as "Arhant,"
"Dharma," and "Sangha"--
Several and distinct names such as these.
Since remote kalpas
I have set forth with praise the Dharma of Nirvana:
'The woes of birth and death
Are forever terminated!'
It is thus that I ever preached.
Shariputra, be it known:
I see the Buddhas' sons,
Those who aspire to the Buddha Path,
In the incalculable thousands of myriads of millions,
All with deferential thought,
All coming before the Buddha,
Having formerly heard from the Buddhas
Dharmas preached by resort to expedient devices.
 Then I had this thought:
"The reason a Buddha emerges
Is to preach Buddha-wisdom.
Now is the very time for it!"
Shariputra, be it known that
Men of dull faculties and slight wisdom,
They who cling proudly to signs,
Cannot believe in this Dharma.
Now I, joyfully and fearlessly,
In the midst of the bodhisattvas
Frankly casting aside my expedient devices,
Merely preach the Unexcelled Path.
When the bodhisattvas hear this Dharma,
The network of their doubts is all cleared away:
 [I have said] "A thousand two hundred arhants
Shall also become Buddhas, every one of them.
As has been, for the Buddhas of the three ages,
The manner in which they preach the Dharma,
So I, too, now preach a Dharma without distinctions.
Buddhas emerge into the world
At remote intervals,
And to encounter them is difficult.
Even when they do emerge in the world,
To preach this Dharma is also difficult.
Throughout incalculable and countless kalpas,
To hear this Dharma is no less difficult.
And, as for one who can listen to this Dharma,
Such a person, too, is rare.
The udumbara flower, for example,
Is loved and desired by all,
Regarded as rare by both gods and men,
Appearing only once at great intervals of time.
One who, hearing the Dharma,
In joy and praise
Utters so much as a single word
Has already made offerings
To all the Buddhas in the three ages.
Such a person is very rare,
Rarer even than the udumbara flower.
Have no doubts:
I, being King of the Dharma,
Universally address the great multitudes,
Having recourse only to the Path of the One Vehicle,
Teaching and converting bodhisattvas,
And having no voice-hearing disciples.
All of you, Shariputra,
Voice-hearers and bodhisattvas alike,
Are to know that this subtle Dharma
Is the secret essential to the Buddhas.
Since the beings of the age of the five defilements
Long for and cling to their desires alone;
Since beings the likes of these
Shall never seek the Buddha Path,
And since wicked men in ages to come —
Hearing the Buddha preach the One Vehicle
But having gone astray
Neither believing nor accepting it —
Shall malign the Dharma
And fall into evil destinies;
Since there shall be those who disgrace
The pure aspirants to the Buddha Path;
I must for the likes of these
Broadly praise the Path of the One Vehicle.
Shariputra, be it known that
The Buddhas' Dharma is like this:
By resort to myriads of millions
Of expedient devices, and in accord
With what is appropriate for the situation,
They preach the Dharma;
But they who have not practiced it
Cannot understand this.
All of you —
Knowing now that the Buddhas,
The Teachers of the Ages,
In accord with what is peculiarly appropriate,
Have recourse to expedient devices —
Need have no more doubts or uncertainties.
Your hearts shall give rise to great joy,
Since you know that you yourselves
Shall become Buddhas.