There is a saying in embryology, "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny". What this means is, the stages of human embryo development are closely mimicked by the evolutionary development of animals from a single cell organism (fusion of egg and sperm), to invertebrates such as jelly fish, to higher invertebrates such as worms, to vertebrates such as amphibians, fish, mammals, and then man.
Likewise, there are stages in the development of the Buddhist Law which are reflected in the enlightenment of the practitioner who embrace the Law at a particular stage of its development. Thus, for example, the enlightenment of the Theravadin practitioner reflects the Theravadin Law. Since the pinnacle of development of the Buddhist Law is the Scripture of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law, the enlightenment of the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra surpasses that of the practitioner at any other stage of development of the Buddhist Law. The most important matter is always the Law one embraces, not the priests, leaders, or body of believers.
The lifeblood and transmission of the Law is the Law itself [Sutra scrolls and Gohonzon]. Believing that the lifeblood is transmitted through priests or living [or dead] masters [mentors] is to arrest one's development in a stage so far from Supreme Enlightenment (fully realized man) that it is barely recognizable from the deluded state. This is akin to an embryo arrested in the early stages of embryologic development. A few days or weeks practice to a correct object of worship is all that is needed to bear out my assertion.
very good. truth is gain, bur gain is not necessarily truth, in the sense that it reflects enlightened wisdom. which we all know ikeda and the sgi/nst do not.
ReplyDeleteI suppose this means that one day that you Mark Rogow will become the eternal Mark Rogow Buddha the same as what happened to the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha through kalpas of development or cultivation
ReplyDeleteThanks Noel.
ReplyDelete"With full understanding of Shakyamuni’s teachings, the four great voice-hearers said, “This cluster of unsurpassed jewels has come to us unsought.” They represent the world of the voice-hearer that is within ourselves. The Buddha stated, “At the start I took a vow, hoping to make all persons equal to me, without any distinction between us, and what I long ago hoped for has now been fulfilled. I have converted all living beings and caused them all to enter the Buddha way.” Shakyamuni Buddha, who has attained perfect enlightenment, is our own flesh and blood. His practices and the resulting virtues are our bones and marrow. The “Treasure Tower” chapter of the Lotus Sutra says, “He who is capable of guarding the Law of this sutra will thereby have offered alms to me and to Many Treasures.... One who guards this sutra will also have offered alms to the emanation Buddhas who have come here adorning and making brilliant all the various worlds.” Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions represent the world of Buddhahood within ourselves. By searching them out within us, we can receive the benefits of all these Buddhas. This is what is meant by the following passage: “If one listens to them [the preachers of the Law] for even a moment, one will immediately attain supreme perfect enlightenment.” The “Life Span” chapter reads, “It has been immeasurable, boundless hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayutas of kalpas since I in fact attained Buddhahood.” The Shakyamuni Buddha within our lives is the eternal Buddha since time without beginning, who obtained the three bodies more than numberless major world system dust particle kalpas ago. The “Life Span” chapter states, “Originally I practiced the bodhisattva way, and the life span that I acquired then has yet to come to an end but will last twice the number of years that have already passed.” He was speaking of the world of the bodhisattva within ourselves. The bodhisattvas, as numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds, who emerged from beneath the earth, are the followers of the Shakyamuni Buddha present in our lives. They follow the Buddha just as T’ai-kung Wang and Tan, the Duke of Chou, served as ministers to King Wu of the Chou dynasty and later assisted his son and successor, the infant King Ch’eng; or just as the Chief Minister Takenouchi supported Empress Jingū and later her grandson Crown Prince Nintoku as a highly valued minister. The bodhisattvas Superior Practices, Boundless Practices, Pure Practices, and Firmly Established Practices represent the world of the bodhisattva within ourselves. The Great Teacher Miao-lo says: “You should understand that one’s life and its environment at a single moment encompass the three thousand realms. Therefore, when one attains the Buddha way, one puts oneself in accord with this fundamental principle, and one’s body and mind at a single moment pervade the entire realm of phenomena.”
Wow that was amazing, where did that come from, what Gosho was that
ReplyDeleteThe True Object of Worship
ReplyDeletevery nice.
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