"Believing in the perfect teaching means to 'awaken faith through doctrine [of the Lotus Sutra] and make faith the basis of one’s practice.'” -- Nichiren quoting the Maka Shikan of Tientai
If the doctrine is flawed, faith will be flawed. SGI's and Nichiren Shoshu's doctrines are flawed. Therefore, the members' faith is flawed. Believing that a living mentor or High Priest is required to attain Buddhahood is the most noxious poison for one's faith. Myoho renge kyo is the perfect doctrine. Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin are the perfect teachers. We maintain perfect doctrine through the Sutra scrolls and writings of Nichiren Daishonin.
"Amen"
ReplyDeleteBut I also feel that the ideas that Kempon Hokke and Nichiren Shoshu have about Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha may also be flawed as in my mind it doesn't fit in with the ultimate principle of ichinen sanzen. I have many points of agreements with the LSS but not on this.
ReplyDeleteNot any group or individuals have all the answers, but the answers can be found amongst the opposing sects in what they agree and disagree on. We really are all islands that come together and separate amidst the great Dharmic ocean
beware of the sick children of mappo of which the lotus sutra speaks of.
ReplyDeleteBeware of those who say they have the cure which the Lotus Sutra speaks
ReplyDelete“So, I will leave this
medicine with its wonderful colour, fragrance and taste here for you
now.”
Taking a closer look at this phrase “So, I will leave this medicine with
its wonderful colour, fragrance and taste here for you now.” , the word
“now” signifies the current age of Mappo, or the Latter Day of the
Law. “I will leave this medicine with its wonderful colour, fragrance
and taste here” means that Nichiren Daishonin left the Dai-Gohonzon,
the Great Object of Worship, at the Head Temple, Taisekiji in Japan so
that all humanity in their sincere and correct faith of True Buddhism
would be able to eradicate their evil karma accumulated since the
infinite past and obtain the great benefit of enlightenment in this
lifetime.
really ?????? i think not.
ReplyDeleteBeware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
ReplyDeleteBeware of slanderers, which come to you in Priests, business men and women's clothing and those from their mobile phones and computer terminals who could be wearing just about any thing or nothing at all
"When the Buddhas are viewed in terms of the unchanging equality of their enlightenment, there are no distinctions to be made among them. But when they are viewed in terms of the ever-present differences among their preaching, then one should understand that each of them has his own realm among the worlds of the ten directions, and that they distinguish between those with whom they have already had some connection, and those with whom they have no such connection.
ReplyDeleteThe sixteen royal sons of the Buddha Great Universal Wisdom Excellence each took up residence in a different one of the lands of the ten directions and there led their respective disciples to salvation. The Thus Come One Shakyamuni, who had been one of these sons, appeared in this sahā world. We ordinary people, too, have been born into the sahā world. Therefore, we must not in any way turn away from the teachings of the Thus Come One Shakyamuni. But people all fail to realize this. If they would look carefully into the matter, they would understand that [as the Lotus Sutra says] “I [Shakyamuni] am the only person who can rescue and protect others,”13 and that they must not cut themselves off from the helping hand of the Thus Come One Shakyamuni.
For this reason, all the living beings in this sahā world, if they detest the sufferings of birth and death and wish to have an object of devotion to which they can pay respect, should first of all fashion images of Shakyamuni Buddha in the form of wooden statues and paintings, and make these their object of devotion. Then, if they still have strength left over, they may go on to fashion images of Amida and the other Buddhas.
Yet when the people of this world today, being unpracticed in the sacred way, come to fashion or paint images of a Buddha, they give priority to those of Buddhas other than Shakyamuni. This does not accord either with the intentions of those other Buddhas, or with the intentions of the Thus Come One Shakyamuni himself, and is moreover at variance with secular propriety.
The great king Udayana, when he carved his image of red sandalwood, made it of no other Buddha, and the painting offered to King One Thousand Stupas15 was likewise of the Thus Come One Shakyamuni. But people nowadays base themselves upon the various Mahayana sutras, and because they believe that the particular sutra they rely on is superior to all others, they accordingly relegate Shakyamuni Buddha to a secondary position.
Relying on others [other than Shakyamuni Buddha], even including ourselves, is to rely on the preachings unsuited for this age. for this reason, Nichiren taught that one should only listen to those who preach with Sutra [Shakyamuni Buddha] in hand. Even regarding the preaching [mind] of Shakyamuni Buddha of the first forty years of his preaching life is a grave error.
ReplyDeleteNichiren teaches in the Rooster Diagram:
"When the Buddhas are viewed in terms of the unchanging equality of their enlightenment, there are no distinctions to be made among them. But when they are viewed in terms of the ever-present differences among their preaching, then one should understand that each of them has his own realm among the worlds of the ten directions, and that they distinguish between those with whom they have already had some connection, and those with whom they have no such connection.
The sixteen royal sons of the Buddha Great Universal Wisdom Excellence each took up residence in a different one of the lands of the ten directions and there led their respective disciples to salvation. The Thus Come One Shakyamuni, who had been one of these sons, appeared in this sahā world. We ordinary people, too, have been born into the sahā world. Therefore, we must not in any way turn away from the teachings of the Thus Come One Shakyamuni. But people all fail to realize this. If they would look carefully into the matter, they would understand that [as the Lotus Sutra says] “I [Shakyamuni] am the only person who can rescue and protect others,”13 and that they must not cut themselves off from the helping hand of the Thus Come One Shakyamuni.
For this reason, all the living beings in this sahā world, if they detest the sufferings of birth and death and wish to have an object of devotion to which they can pay respect, should first of all fashion images of Shakyamuni Buddha in the form of wooden statues and paintings, and make these their object of devotion. Then, if they still have strength left over, they may go on to fashion images of Amida and the other Buddhas.
Yet when the people of this world today, being unpracticed in the sacred way, come to fashion or paint images of a Buddha, they give priority to those of Buddhas other than Shakyamuni. This does not accord either with the intentions of those other Buddhas, or with the intentions of the Thus Come One Shakyamuni himself, and is moreover at variance with secular propriety.
The great king Udayana, when he carved his image of red sandalwood, made it of no other Buddha, and the painting offered to King One Thousand Stupas was likewise of the Thus Come One Shakyamuni. But people nowadays base themselves upon the various Mahayana sutras, and because they believe that the particular sutra they rely on is superior to all others, they accordingly relegate Shakyamuni Buddha to a secondary position."
Ichinen Sanzen does not mean to equate ourselves or other Buddhas with Shakyamuni Buddha except in the general sense.
we are equal in structure (general) that is never changing but not in cultivation( specific) which is ever changing
ReplyDeleteDo you find this explanation of the 5th point of the 5 comparisons are in line with Nichirens authenic teachings and that the gosho 'On attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime' is legitimate ?
The Buddhism of sowing is superior to the Buddhism of the harvest. Nichiren established this comparison based on the concept of sowing, maturing, and harvesting that T'ient'ai (538-597) set forth in The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra.
In The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra, T'ient'ai cites the process by which the Buddha teaches, described in the "Parable of the Phantom City" (seventh) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, as well as the relationship of the Buddha and his disciples from the remote past explained in the "Life Span" (sixteenth) chapter of the sutra. All these ideas illustrate how the Buddha begins teaching his disciples by sowing the seeds of Buddhahood in their lives, helps those seeds mature, and finally harvests their fruit by leading them to the final stage of enlightenment or Buddhahood.
The Lotus Sutra describes this process as ranging over countless kalpas. The sutra does not, however, explain the nature of these original seeds, though it is clear that the seed of Buddhahood is essential for attaining Buddhahood. Nichiren identifies the seed as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and states that it can be found only in the depths of the "Life Span" chapter.
By implanting this seed in one's life, one can attain Buddhahood. From this viewpoint, Nichiren identifies his teaching as the Buddhism of sowing (the teaching aimed at implanting the seed of Buddhahood) and Shakyamuni's as the Buddhism of the harvest (the teaching aimed at harvesting the fruit of enlightenment borne from the seed planted in the remote past).
He explains that Shakyamuni appeared in India in order to harvest the fruit of Buddhahood borne from the seed he had sown and caused to mature in the lives of his disciples until that time. The people of the Latter Day of the Law who have no such seed implanted in their lives cannot harvest its fruit. Nichiren states, "Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, neither the Lotus Sutra nor the other sutras lead to enlightenment. Only Nam-myoho-renge-kyo can do so" (The teachings for the latter Day)
I repeat my argument:
ReplyDelete"I have accordingly quoted the passages from the Lotus Sutra that read, 'In the evil age of the Latter Day of the Law if there is someone who can uphold this sutra . . . ,' 'in the latter age hereafter, when the Law is about to perish . . . ,' and 'they [the Buddhas] make certain that the Law will long endure' in order to demonstrate the error [of believing that the Lotus Sutra has lost its effectiveness]. " -- Nichiren
But the Soka Gakkai takes Gosho out of context in order to debase the Lotus Sutra which refutes SGI's erroneous teachings. What this does to their believers, their minds of faith, and to the teachings, is unpardonable. In order to assert that the Lotus Sutra has lost its effectiveness, the SGI often cites the following passage from Reply to Lord Ueno:
"Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, neither the Lotus Sutra nor the other sutras lead to enlightenment. Only Nam-myoho-renge-kyo can do so. This is not my own judgment. Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, the Buddhas of the ten directions, and the bodhisattvas who emerged from the earth as numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds have so determined it. To mix other practices with this Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is a grave error. A lantern is useless when the sun rises. How can dewdrops be beneficial when the rain falls? Should one feed a newborn baby anything other than its mother's milk? No addition of other medicines is needed with a good medicine. Somehow this woman remained true to this principle, and continued to uphold her faith until the last moment of her life. How admirable, how worthy!
With my deep respect,
Nichiren
The first day of the fourth month in the first year of Koan (1278)
The One Great Secret Law is Namu Myoho renge kyo. This is the teachings of Soka Gakkai, the Nichiren Shu, the Kempon Hokke, most Nichiren sects and the disciples and believers in Nichiren. The Nichiren Shoshu teaches that the One Great Secret Law is the DaiGohonzon. I will leave aside for the moment who is correct about the One Great Secret Law. Every last Nichiren Buddhist, from the newest member to the most experienced knows that there is no practice in the Latter Day other than chanting Namu Myoho renge kyo. SGI's oft repeated argument implying that the Nichiren Shu, the Honmon Butsuryu Shu, and the other Nichiren practitioners, neither practice nor understand the import of Namu myoho renge kyo, is nothing but a straw man argument. It is a logical fallacy.
Lord Ueno is the young samurai, Nanjo Tokimitsu. This writing is from 1278 in response to offerings he received from Lord Ueno and in memorium for the death of Lord Ueno's niece. Here the Daishonin is stating that Namu Myoho renge kyo is the practice for the Latter Day. We read in an earlier part of this letter [which SGI members never cite] :
"After Many Treasures Buddha had closed the door of the treasure tower
and the other Buddhas had returned to their original lands, not even
Shakyamuni Buddha himself could have denied the Lotus Sutra, whatever
other sutras he might have expounded in an effort to do so, because
the other Buddhas had all joined in affirming its truth. That is why
in the Universal Worthy and Nirvana sutras, which follow the Lotus
Sutra, the Lotus Sutra is praised but never disparaged. Nonetheless,
priests like Shan-wu- wei of the True Word school and the founders
of the Zen school have repudiated the Lotus Sutra, and the entire
Japanese nation has now taken faith in their teachings, just like those
who were deceived by the rebels Masakado and Sadato. Japan is now
on the brink of ruin because it has for many years been the archenemy
of Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions,
and in addition, the person who denounces these errors is persecuted.
Because such offenses thus accumulate one atop another, our nation
will soon incur the wrath of heaven."
continued....
On the one hand we see that repudiating the Lotus Sutra is a cause for falling into hell and on the other hand we read that, "neither the Lotus Sutra nor the other sutras lead to enlightenment. How does one resolve this seeming paradox? Nichiren Daishonin writes in the True Object of Worship (Kanjin No Honzon Sho:
ReplyDelete"Answer: This is a matter that is difficult to believe and difficult to understand. T’ien-t’ai defined two points that are “difficult to believe and difficult to understand.” One lies in the realm of doctrinal teachings and the other in the realm of meditative practice. With regard to the former, in the sutras preached before the Lotus Sutra we read that persons of the two vehicles and icchantikas, or persons of incorrigible disbelief, are forever barred from attaining Buddhahood, and that Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, attained enlightenment for the first time in this world. Nevertheless, we find that the theoretical and the essential teachings of the Lotus Sutra repudiate both these statements. One Buddha who says two things as opposite as fire and water— who could believe him? This is the
point that is “difficult to believe and difficult to understand” in the realm of doctrinal teachings.
The point that is 'difficult to believe and difficult to understand', in the realm of meditative practice, concerns the principle of the hundred worlds and thousand factors and that of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, which explains that even insentient beings are endowed with the ten factors of life, and that they are endowed with both material and spiritual aspects."
Thus we see that Nanjo Tokimitsu must have been confused by the Tientai practice of the Lotus Sutra that was prevalent in Nichiren Daishonin's day. The Lotus Sutra is practiced differently according to the time. Here Nichiren is talking about Tientai's Lotus Sutra teachings and practice. The Lotus Sutra itself must never be disparaged, contrary to the slanderous Soka Gakkai teachings. Disparaging the Lotus Sutra is why their members suffer in the Great Citadel of Hell, why Japan is on the verge of ruin, and why their teachings lead people into the Lower Three Worlds.
One can not read the entirety of the writings, especially the Five Major Writings, and perceive that Nichiren Daishonin disparaged the Lotus Sutra. Soka Gakkai practitioners are evil people, according to Nichiren Daishonin.
Jacqueline Stone's argument too is untenable: that, as Nichiren developed his teachings, he came to believe that the Lotus Sutra itself is Namu Myoho renge kyo in the Latter Day and not that the practice of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day is Namu Myoho renge kyo. I cite for references such Gosho from 1276 on as:
Repaying Debts of Gratitude
Letter to Konnichi-bo
The Workings of Brahma and Shakra
The Receipt of New Fiefs
A Father Takes Faith
Letter to Misawa
The Embankments of Faith
An Outline of the Entrustment and Other Chapters
Reply to a Believer
A Father Takes Faith
Universal Salty Taste
Attaining Buddhahood in One's Present Form
A Comparison of the Lotus Sutra and Other Sutras
and these are just from Volume One. There are twice as many references in Volume Two [of the Gakkai works].
The deceit and treachery of these scripture twisters knows no bounds.
ReplyDeleteBullshit baffles brains, until we see through the mountains of crap