- DaiGohonzon
- Some people chanting Nam Myoho renge kyo and others chanting Namu Myoho renge kyo
- Nichiren as True Buddha doctrine
- Failure to follow the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren
- Interfaith doctrine
- Fake writings and documents
- Faulty self-serving translations
- Anger, Avarice, and Stupidity
- Patriarchal transmission
- Warped faith, weak practice, and lame study
- Japanese hegemony
Monday, November 3, 2014
The causes of disunity in the Nichiren Buddhist community [please feel free to add to the list]
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Itai doshin Baby
ReplyDeleteyes, lets unite behind nichiren. the only true sangha is nichiren and his followers.
ReplyDelete"Sangha" is a Sanskrit word for 'group of people.' It takes a community of at least three monks or nuns living together to comprise a Sangha. It is not easy for a group of individuals from different backgrounds to practice spiritual cultivation together. During the Buddha's time there were groups numbering in tens of thousands living with him.
DeleteIn order to work together, monks or nuns need the Guidance of "The Six Points of Reverent Harmony," one being unity of precepts without disagreement and another, unity of views, without disagreement.
Since Nichiren followers are at least "united" on being excused from following precepts, forming a Sangha would be logically impossible.
“From infinite kalpas in the past
DeleteI have extolled and taught the Law of nirvana,
ending the long sufferings of birth and death.”
This is how I customarily preached.
Shariputra, you should know this.
When I looked at the buddha sons,
I saw incalculable thousands, ten thousands, millions
who had determined to seek the buddha way,
every one with a respectful and reverent mind,
all coming to the place of the Buddha,
people who in the past had listened to other buddhas
and heard the Law preached through expedient means.
Immediately the thought came to me
that the reason the thus come one has appeared
is so he may preach the buddha wisdom.
Now is precisely the time to do so.
Shariputra, you should understand
that persons of dull capacity and small wisdom,
who are attached to appearances, proud and overbearing,
are incapable of believing in this Law.
Now I, joyful and fearless,
in the midst of the bodhisattvas,
honestly discarding expedient means,
will preach only the unsurpassed way."
"Honestly discarding expedient means" ohgee.
Deletethe Buddha began to feel at ease. He was able to tell everyone, "just follow this path all the way. In this assembly of Bodhisattvas, for those on the Bodhisattva path I shall "set aside the skillful for the direct."
DeleteBased on this guidance, most of us can find the path, at least those of us who can get past the labels.
"Sariputra, you should know,
Those with the capabilities and limited wisdom,
The arrogant ones attached to appearances,
cannot believe this Dharma."
" the Buddha began to feel at ease,
joyful and without fear,
He could be at ease and,
In the assembly of Bodhisattvas,
Set aside the skillful for the direct
He began to teach the supreme path.
11. Shoju - Shakubuku
ReplyDeleteSorry such distinctions aren't documented in the Sutra without taking extreme liberties.
" they are deeply attached to the five desires,
Like a yak obsessed with his tail
They smother themselves with greed and cravings
Blind and in darkness, they see nothing
they do not seek the Buddha of mighty power,
or the Dharma which ends suffering."
"Thus, they are immersed in deviant views,
Hoping to shed suffering through suffering
For the sake of these sentient beings,
I give rise to great compassion."
Life itself is shoju AND shakubuku:
ReplyDelete“Great Strength, because at that time the four assemblies of Bhikshus, Bhikshunis, Upasakas, and Upasikas hatefully reviled me, for two hundred kotis of eons they did not encounter a Buddha or hear the Dharma or meet the Sangha. For a thousand eons they suffered great torment in the Avici Hell. Having received their punishment, they once again encountered Never-Slighting Bodhisattva, who taught and transformed them to anuttara-samyak-sambodhi."
"If there be those who don't believe,
And who slander this Sutra,
They thereby sever all
Worldly Buddha seeds.
Or if, with a scowl,
They harbor doubts and delusions
You should listen now,
As I sepak of their offense-retribution:
Whether a Buddha is in the world,
Or has entered into extinction.
If there be those who slander
A Sutra such as this one,
Who, seeing others read or recite it,
Copy it out or uphold it,
Scorn, despise, hate and envy them,
And harbor grudges against them,
As to their offense retribution,
Listen now, once again:
These people at life�s end
Will enter the Avichi hell
For an entire aeon.
At the aeon's end, born there again,
In this way they will revole,
Through uncountable aeons,
When they escape from the hells,
They shall take the bodies of animals,
Such as dogs or Yeh Kan,
Tall and emaciated,
Mottled, black, and scabbed,
Repulsive to others." -- Lotus Sutra Chapter 3 continued next page
Dosen't specify or differentiate anything regarding transmission. Sakyamuni always used patience and loving-kindness to teach. He wanted ordinary people to avoid slander of the Great Vehicle, thus he used skillful means to lead them to bodhi path like all past Buddhas did.
DeleteGood luck making affinities by telling people to chant or go to Avichi hell. How's that working out for you?
"Further, by human beings,
ReplyDeleteThey will be hated and scorned;
Always suffering from hunger and thirst,
Their bones and flesh will be withheld up.
During their lives they will be pricked by poisonous thorns;
When dead they will be buried under tiles and stones.
They suffer this offense retribution,
Because they have severed their Buddha seeds.
They may become camels
Or they may be born among asses,
Always carrying heavy burdens
And beaten with sticks and whips,
Thinking only of water and grass,
And knowing nothing else.
They suffer retribution such as this
Because of slandering this Sutra.
Some may become Yeh Kan,
Entering villages,
Their bodies covered with scabs and sores,
And also missing an eye,
Beaten and stoned
by young children,
Undergoing all this pain,
Even to the point of death.
Having died in this manner
They are then reborn as huge serpents,
Their bodies as long as five hundred Yojanas.
Deaf and stupid, without feet,
They writhe about on their stomachs,
Stung and eaten
By many small insects.
Undergoing suffering day and night
Without respite,
They suffer such retribution
For having slandered this Sutra.
If they become humans,
All their faculties are dim and dull.
They are squat, ugly palsied, lame,
Blind, deaf, and hunchbacked.
Whatever they may say,
People will not believe them.
Their breath ever stinking,
They will be possessed by ghosts,
Poor and lowly,
The servants of others,
Always sick and emaciated,
With no one to reply upon.
Although they may draw near to others,
Others will never think of them.
If they should gain something
They will quickly forget and lose it.
Should they study the ways of medicine,
Following the prescription to cure illness,
They will only make other�s illnesses worse.
Even to the point of death.
If they get sick themselves,
No one will try to save or cure them.
Although they take good medicine,
It will only increase their pains.
If they meet with rebellion,
They will be plundered and robbed.
People with such offenses,
Will preversely be subject to such misfortunes.
Offenders such as these
Will never see the Buddha,
The king among the sagely hosts,
Speaking the Dharma, teaching and transforming,
Offenders such as these
Will always be born indifficult circumstances.
Insane, deaf, with mind confused,
They will never hear the Dharma.
Throughout aeons as countless
As the Ganges River�s sands,
They will be born deaf and dumb,
With all their faculties incomplete;
They will always dwell in the hells,
Roaming there as if in pleasure gardens,
Or born in the other evil paths,
Which they will take as their house and home.
Among camels, asses, pigs, and dogs--
These are the places they will walk.
They undergo such retribution,
Because of slandering this Sutra.
If they become humans,
They will be deaf, blind, and dumb,
Poor and decrepit,
Yet adorning themselves therewith.
Swollen with water, or else dehydrated,
With scabs and boils,
And other such illnesses,
They will clothe themselves.
Their bodies will always stink
Of filth and impurity.
Deeply attached to the view of self,
Their hatred shall only increase.
Ablaze with sexual desire,
They are no different than birds or beasts.
They will suffer such retribution
For having slandered this Sutra.
I tell you, Shariputra,
Were I to speak of the offenses
Of those who slander this Sutra,
I wouldn't finish to the end of an aeon."
First passage from the Lotus Sutra above, Chapter 20
ReplyDeleteIts not a matter of "working out" ohgee, it's the way it is.
ReplyDeleteat that time, all Dharma kings,
ReplyDeleteAs well as Sovereign Sakras,
The Four Heavenly Kings who guard the world,
The king of great freedom heaven,
and the other multitudes of heavenly beings,
With retinues numbering in the billions,
reverently put their palms together and
requested that I turn the Dharma wheel
I then thought to myself,
where I to praise only the Buddha vehicle
" beings immersed in suffering
Would be unable to believe this Dharma
They would slander it out of disbelief
And fall into the three evil realms."
"I would rather not teach the Dharma,
And quickly enter Parinirvana
Then I recalled that the Buddhas of the past
Employed the power of skillful means
and as I now have attained the Path,
I should also teach the 3 vehicles."
“[If I used a lesser vehicle to convert even one person], I would be guilty of stinginess and greed, but such a thing would be impossible." -- Lotus Sutra Chapter 2
DeleteMaybe the Devadatta Chapter where the Buddha bestows blessing and prediction is missing from your copy of the Sutra. Also check if you have the chapter on Bodhisattva Never Disparaging.
ReplyDeleteI guess you missed it ohgee:
ReplyDelete“Great Strength, because at that time the four assemblies of Bhikshus, Bhikshunis, Upasakas, and Upasikas hatefully reviled me, for two hundred kotis of eons they did not encounter a Buddha or hear the Dharma or meet the Sangha. For a thousand eons they suffered great torment in the Avici Hell. Having received their punishment, they once again encountered Never-Slighting Bodhisattva, who taught and transformed them to anuttara-samyak-sambodhi." -- Lotus Sutra Chapter 20 On Bodhisattva Never Disparaging.
Unfortunately, some will have to pass through a thousand eons in the Avici Hell and billions more in the lesser hells, trillions more as dogs eating dogs, and quadrillions more in the Realm of the Asuras before realizing the Buddha's blessings. "In the future" may represent a moment or after the dissolution and formation of countless Major World Systems. For this reason, utmost care must be taken in how we "live" and even more importantly, how we live the Sutra. Taking Shakyamuni Buddha and his emissary Nichiren as our model is the noblest way to live.
I have your back Mark. I'll be guarding the door from the outside.
ReplyDeleteNo need ohgee. The door though narrow and small is always open [to those with a faithful heart].
ReplyDeletehttp://truenichiren.blogspot.nl/2014/11/the-downfall-of-buddhism.html
ReplyDelete