James: "This reliance on “actual proof” is not something made up by Rissho Kosei-Kai, SGI, President’s Niwano or President Ikeda, rather it is firmly rooted in Nichiren Daishonin’s statements that while theoretical or doctrinal proof have some merit, actual proof is the measuring stick around which any form of worship, particularly Buddhism, must be judged."
Mark: A human being has Three Treasures, the Treasure of the Storehouse, the Treasure of the Body, and the Treasure of the Heart. By any measure, the Actual Proof revealed by Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin was in their Treasures of the Heart. The Rissho Kosekai and SGI stress the Treasures of the Storehouse and the Body while Nichiren Daishonin and we stress the Treasures of the Heart. We do not deny the Treasures of the storehouse [food, clothing and shelter] but that is a given for a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra, even one with just a robe and begging bowl. So why emphasize it? Some votaries, like Shakyamuni even eschewed the Treasure of "Shelter". Was he not a supreme votary of the Lotus Sutra? The Lotus Sutra states, "This Sutra is the excellent medicine". Surely this doesn't refer to the afflictions of not having a Mercedes or a mansion.
James: So it should be noted that Rissho Kosei-Kai members, as well as their SGI counterparts, also describe during Hoza how their Buddhist practice effected practical changes, i.e. actual proof, in themselves or in their life conditions.
Mark: Better to stress how to become a Buddha by revealing our innate Buddhahood.
James: Hence we often hear in Buddhist circles that Buddhism is about “winning and losing” which fundamentally is referring to this point about actual proof.
Mark: Not embracing the Lotus Sutra as Nichiren did, at best, is an ephemeral liberation based on the Nine Worlds. I have been to thousands of SGI meetings. Their idea of winning is finding a female marijuana seed or a new house. Ours is overcoming the Three Obstacles, Four Devils, and attaining Supreme and Perfect Enlightenment.
James: Finally I was extremely disappointed by the comment of poster Mark above, which essentially makes fun of the chanting of O’daimoku or Daimoku for prosperity. Indeed people do sometimes chant for things which essentially, upon further reflection, are not the best for them. However who amongst us truly knows what is best for us at any given moment?
Mark: Awakening to the Shakyamuni Buddha who resides in our mind is to know what is best. In order to accomplish this, one needs good teachers such as Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter and Nichiren Daishonin.
James: We may have an inkling but the unfathomable nature of ones actions can not be determined or fully revealed in the course of just a single life moment or over even a single lifetime.
Mark: The Rissho Kosei Kai and SGI have no power to transform common mortals into Buddhas, so, of course you hold these baseless opinions.
James: The key to me is that we as concerned and compassionate Buddhist not sit in some kind of mythical judgment over and against other human beings, lauding over them their perceived faults and limitations; but rather we should recognize that all of us are mired in our own personal set of disempowering delusions and only by vigorously engaging in our own personal struggles with “fundamental darkness” can we be victorious.
Mark: The crystal clarity of a mind wholly intent on goodness, one modeled after Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin, is one of Pure and Perfect Enlightenment, a mind not fettered by evil karma, earthly desires, nor the sufferings of birth and death.
James: As a Bodhisattva of the earth, that is a true practitioner of the Lotus Sutra, one invariably realizes that this Saha world with its seemingly endless series of obstacles and sufferings affords each of us the best crucible to transform not only our lives but the lives of others in to an indestructible life condition. In my opinion, at the end off the day there can be no greater life or joy than this.
Mark: You contradict yourself. A correct faith and practice always reveals beginningless Buddhahood and the joy of joys.
