"To those who are haughty (1) and lazy (2)
And to those with self-centered views (3),
Do not preach this Sutra.
Common shallow people (4),
Deeply attatched to the five desires (5),
Who on hearing cannot apprehend (6),
Do not preach it to them.
If any people do not believe in (7)
And vilify this Sutra (10)
Then they cut [themselves] off [from] all
The Buddha-seeds in the worlds;
Or if again they sullenly frown (8),
And cherish doubts and perplexities (9),
Listen to my declaration
Concerning the recompense of such people's sins:
Whether during the buddha's lifetime
Or after his extinction,
If there be any who slander
Such a Sutra as this,
Who, seeing those who read and recite,
Write or hold this Sutra,
Scorn and despise (11), hate (12) and envy (13) them
And bear them a tenacious grudge (14).
Concerning the recompense of such people's sin,
Listen now again:
After their lifetimes end
They will enter into the Avici hell...." (Lotus Sutra Chapter 3, The Parable of
the Burning House)
Sgi/Sokka Gakkai says that we don't need to study slander because it doesn't help with Kosen Rufu and these teachings are old and limited to Japan, no longer relevant. They think because Nichiren didn't know about Christians and Moslems that slander doesn't apply to them. I know all the leaders don't think like this and if they can't sort this out, it won't be too much longer before the organisation will start to implode if these words of wisdom are true.
ReplyDelete"A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand"
I don't care what they believe. They should just stop calling themselves Nichiren Buddhists. Nichiren references "slander" more than 500 times, including such thoughts as, "it will be the same in the future", "consistency from beginning to end", and "there can be no discontinuity between the past, present, and future."
ReplyDelete"There can be no discontinuity between the three existences of past, present, and future.: -- Shoho Jisso Sho
ReplyDeleteHi Noel. Can you dig up some Australian leaders' written guidances that "slander" is no longer a useful concept?
ReplyDeleteWhy doesn't the Gakkai reflect on itself, this following statement applies to all of us
Delete"At such a time, one must set aside all other affairs and devote one's attention to rebuking slander of the correct teaching. This is the practice of shakubuku" (WND-1, 126).
“Corrupt priests who live off Buddhism and greedily devour the believers' offerings have been a constant in history.
“The Nichiren Shoshu priesthood has become a truly corrupt and immoral school, while its priests, including Nikken, are nothing more than aberrant priests who transgress the teachings of Buddhism. When the True Law is endangered by an avalanche of heretical Buddhist teachings, the Daishonin instructs us: "At such a time, one must set aside all other affairs and devote one's attention to rebuking slander of the correct teaching. This is the practice of shakubuku" (WND-1, 126).
In light of this, to thoroughly rebuke the great slander of the Law that is being perpetrated by the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood is to practice Buddhism in a way that accords with the present time.” Daisaku Ikeda
The above can also be applied to the Gakkai, it is like they are also talking about themselves
They are getting rid of the religious words and the meanings are being lost because of their interpretation of what they deem to be is in accord with the present time
"There can be no discontinuity between the three existences of past, present, and future.: -- Shoho Jisso Sho/True aspect of all phenomena
The 2004 SGI-USA prayer book deleted the prayer for the forgiveness of slandering the Law
The 2008 SGI-USA prayer book changed karma to destiny and changing karma for human revolution and it goes on and on
I haven't any written guidance about slander as it was one of those things that nobody wants to talk about let alone write down. Recently a highly paid Japanese SGI headquarter leader said that slander has nothing to do with Kosen rufu and didn't believe that their is an individual that exists through the 3 phases of the eternal, past present and future. This is why so many SGI members laugh at the thought of going to the Avichi hell, because they believe that their is is no me (the eternal ever changing karmic stream of the individual aspect of the alaya consciousness) in the first place. This has become the prevailing concept because of the all consuming "NOW" its more like a Zen Eckart Tolle wannabe
DeleteI wrote this down straight after I retuned home why it was still fresh in my mind. This was from the former Australian General Director that was on the SGI payroll for 9 years. Most of the time I thought the problem was coming from him, little did I realize that it was coming from his paymasters even though I had suspicions that nobody was in charge but sneakily it was orchestrated from the top leaders
DeleteHis lecture was disappointing as there was no change in his attitude e.g.,"Their is no such thing as right or wrong in Nichiren Buddhism, whoever says this is the right way becomes an authoritarian". This means he is accusing the people who try to promote the teachings of Nichiren Buddhism as being authoritarian but the truth is if a shallow teaching is against a deeper teaching then that shallow teaching is regarded as slander.
After the meeting, my wife and I spoke to him. While she was trying to ask him how he understood P.Ikedas quote, since she thought he had become open hearted towards the teaching of life after death. As she was humbly speaking he constantly spoke over her in a loud and aggressive manner, I was so shocked by his arrogant behaviour, I could hardly speak. He was accusing her of being the only person out of 4,000 people that believe in the eternity of the individual. This is the same accusation, he said to her the last time they met. He even asked her to collect signatures from the people who believe the same as her.
So she asked people and although they knew that something is terribly wrong,they were too scared to speak out,much to her disappointment. By not speaking out, the problems only become worse, this is why it is taking such a long time to fix. One of the most important things, is to find the source of the problem. If people were trained to speak out,and not complain, problems could have been dealt with a lot sooner.
She was so upset from being shouted down by him, that she left,and asked me to talk to him. He said twice," she is destroying her life". I told him that she is only trying to help people to understand the true teachings of Buddhism. He said, "she tells people I am evil" I said, "That is because you slander the law, because you have delusional ideas of Nichiren Buddhism.You influence others and cut off people,meetings and study material that you dont agree with. You only seem to be able to focus on the humanitarian an universal aspects, where as my wife not only does that she also has a correct understanding of Nichiren Buddhism
I asked if he has read P.Ikedas book Unlocking the mystery of birth and death. He said, "yes it is all a matter of interpretation". I said. "Can you see that the Alaya consc is the individual aspect of our being that is the karmic record that makes us accountable throughout the never ending cycles of birth and death". His reply was,,, "what do you mean by me,there is no me. If I am wrong I will die a painful death" with a big smile on his face,like its a big joke.
I said, "according to the teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, our karma can catch up with us in a future life. Yes ,if you don't die a painful death in this life you could die a painful death in a future life" He the laughed,shaking his head and walked away. I could see through his words and body language that he really doesn't believe in rebirth ,and is not responsible for the consequences of his actions in the future,and what is also scary many of those close to him share the same view. This attitude has spread and is spreading every day throughout SGIA like a malignant cancer. If there is no right or wrong and no consequences why bother to learn about Nichiren Buddhism.