"Those who produce forged writings and say that they are Gosho, or who practice with the view that the essential and theoretical teachings [of the Lotus Sutra] are the same, are parasites in the lion's body." -- Nikko Shonin
Matsuoka affrms, for example, that On the First Bath, The 106 Articles, and On the True Cause, are all forged Gosho.
The Nichiren Shoshu/SGI scholar, Dr. Jacqueline Stone goes into the matter of forged Gosho in some depth in her dissertation Some Disputed Writings in the Nichiren Corpus:
The Nichiren Shoshu/SGI scholar, Dr. Jacqueline Stone goes into the matter of forged Gosho in some depth in her dissertation Some Disputed Writings in the Nichiren Corpus:
Wow! This is quite an eclectic collage of *scholarly* opinion. Submerged in the massive content of both links, this one thought became a compelling distraction: How can one hope to gain understanding of such profound teachings without *faith*--? NOT how can I grasp the main points in these dissertations through my faith, BUT, how barren of *faith* these dissertations are.
ReplyDeleteBuddhist scholars and Japanese Buddhism Historians are not stupid, but if they remain in the realm of *men of the two vehicles* who have not aroused faith in the Lotus Sutra, I am not inclined to consider their *work* as definitive commentaries on Nichiren.
~Katie
My opinion is that the truth is the truth as long as the priests or scholars are honest and consistent. Their conclusions are even more meaningful should they share the same faith as Nichiren. When it comes to thusness/suchness, or reality as it is, it is as it is regardless of the faith of the priest or scholar. That is why, or example, Nichiren occasionaly cited and praised the work of Shan-wu-wei and even Eshin desite their incorrect faith.
Delete" Nichiren occasionaly cited and praised the work of Shan-wu-wei and even Eshin despite their incorrect faith."
DeleteNichiren had firm unwavering faith in the Lotus Sutra. Isn't that the key to perceiving the *truth* and understanding all world affairs?
Where is the truth in the Shoshu treatise that defends the position of NST with regard to the SGI's claims against them?
I am probably the most unlearned, unscholarly Buddhist here, but I would stake my life on my faith based comprehension of Nichiren's teachings and practice, that have provided me all the proof I need that he did not inscribe a *dai-gohonzon* and did not write transfer documents on his death bed .
Seeking, not criticizing!
~Katie
Yes oh Yes.... keep enjoying Nichiren Shu behaving like Shingon priest casting spells and using the dharanis of the lotus sutra to manipulate daily events. How much is the Shutei Gohonzon now being sold in their temples? Is this any better than the Soka Gakkai leaders asking for money this month of May? Or does Nichiren Shu have to beg alms to support Westerners and their deluded idea that it is OK to mix a crucifix and a Gohonzon in the same altar. Nothing changed in 2000 years. We can play "interfaith" all we like and allow temple visits across the board, but we can never tolerate how their bastardize the lotus sutra by making a magic witchcraft circus out of Nichiren Buddhism all the way to selling their Gohonzons like omamori to the wandering and curious tourist Americans. Maybe Soka Gakkai international can lend a hand and let President Ikeda finally release his own Ikeda Gohonzon inscription we are all waiting for.
ReplyDeleteNo one criticizes the Nichiren Shu more than me. Their faith and practice is abhorent to me. So too the Nichiren Shoshu's
DeleteQuestion:Who authorized the Nichiren Shoshu "Gohonzons" which were distributed to more than 500,000 Americans and how many remain?
Answer:The Nichiren Shoshu authorized them. Seven thousand or eight thousand remain.
Question: Where are they now?
Answer: They are in Gohonzon "hell".
Question:Who has been spewing crap about the worthlessness of the 128 extant Nichiren Gohonzons?
Answer:The "Nichiren" Shoshu and Soka Gakkai. They will join their discarded "Gohonzons" in hell.
The Nichiren Shoshu blames the Gakkai for everything and visa versa. Who printed up those 500,000+ discarded Gohonzons that the SGI freely distributed? The Nichiren Shoshu. What really irks me is their hypocrisy. SGI and Nichiren Shoshu criticize us for disrespecting Gohonzon, merely for putting pictures of Gohonzon on the web [virtual Gohonzon] but they treat "real" Gohonzons like dirt. They are hypocrites and we won't let them get away with their lies and deceit. The fact is that the other Nichiren sects respect Gohonzon far more than the Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu. More than 90% of Gohonzon bestowed by us are protected and enshrined, not thrown into the garbage or rolled up in sock draws.
Of the ~15,000,000 Nichiren Shoshu Gohonzons bestowed throughout their history with the Soka Gakkai, ~700,000 remain. The "Enlightened Masters of the Law" bestowed ~14,300,000 Gohonzons that were eventually discarded or destroyed. Nichiren, on the other hand, was prudent, wise, and restrained. Of the 200 or so Gohonzon that he bestowed more than 700 years ago, at least 128 are still extant.
Nichiren Shoshu is completely justified for rejecting to mix our religious beliefs with Nichiren Shu at ANY threat of the Japanese imperial government. No political group, Soka Gakkai, komeito, Shoshinkai or whatever Nichiren Shu magickal booga booga shamans will ever coerce or force Nichiren Shoshu to abandon the purity and orthodox beliefs of Nichiren Daishonin. Not even the failing memberships of Soka Gakkai can destroy the power of the Dai Gohonzon. And that Daisaku Ikeda can bask in his glorified manhood all he wants, he is expelled forever from the Taisekiji Head Temple of the Essential Teachings.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't always so:
Delete"In 1874, Taisekiji Temple became part of the Shoretsu Branch of Nichiren Buddhism by the decree of the new Meiji government. In 1876, the eight major temples of the Nikko Lineage seperated from the other Shoretsu Sects and became the Komon-ha. In 1899, the Komon-ha became the Honmon Shu. In 1900, Taisekiji Temple seperated from the Honmon Shu and took the name Nichiren Shu Fuji-ha. In 1912, it finally took the name Nichiren Shoshu. The Honmon Shu became a part of Nichiren Shu in 1941. In 1950, the Yoboji Temple seceded from Nichiren Shu and became Nichiren Honshu. Nishiyama Honmonji also went independent. Shimojo Myorenji and Hota Myohonji joined Nichiren Shoshu. Kitayama Honmonji, Koizumi Kuonji, and Yanase Jitsujoji temples all remained with Nichiren Shu." - Ryuei
Hey President Ikeda, how many more individuals need To be reborn with bad karma and earn punishments so you can enjoy a lifetIme or money greed and honorary awards. I guarantee you when you finally die, your memory will live on but you will noT escape the punishmenTs in the next lifetime. You will not reach nirvana just yet. Remember the old teachings of Taisekiji regarding negative karma, it is better to experience conspicuous effects now in same lifetime, rather than insconpicous effects in future lifetimes. Your karmic slander is being contained and tallied up... No escaping it!!!!!! Now release that goddamn Ikeda Gohonzon NOW... Popcorn.
ReplyDeleteReally? You are thrilled, excited, and expecting to be entertained by the continuation of the slander your high priest's spawned in the Gakkai, their once *great claim to world wide propagation*?
DeleteYou are gleeful anticipating the horrific karmic retribution of your once faithful alms giving Gakkai president? The NST and the SGI are mirror twins- All of you tilting back your swelled heads and spitting hateful venom, that falls on your own ugly faces!
How perverse you are, Dirham, oblivious to your own abhorrent degradation of Nichiren and the Lotus Sutra.
~Katie
Now, he should get lost because I won't tolerate anyone coming here to continuously praise the Nichiren Shoshu clowns while slandering us.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteYou should tolerate me. I am the one that has the honesty to tell you your failed ways old geezer. You have no followers. Nobody believes your interpretation of the Lotus Sutra. SGI members look at you with disdain and skepticism. Nichiren Shoshu temple members look at you with betrayal and doubt. Nichiren Shu members could care less what you think or say on the internet. You are just babbling and babbling "telephone books" on the internet with no substance. You just like Greg are rejected SGI members.... failures of a bygone era that serves no more purpose to Soka Gakkai nor the glorification of President Ikeda or High Priest Nikken. Accept your defeat! Yield!
DeleteYou know what you can do with your BS numbers game...
Delete"The truth of Buddhism has nothing to do with the opinion of the majority. All that is important is whether a belief is in accord with the scriptures. And, further, the golden words of the Buddha have already informed us that in the age of the Latter Day of the Law those who uphold the Right Dharma would be few in number. Thus the Nirvana Sutra says that "those who uphold the Right Dharma are as few as the grains of earth on a fingernail, and those that slander the Dharma are as numerous as the earth in all the ten directions"
hey dirham, you are back. you are right about the shu , and you are right about the gakkai. however, you are wrong about the shoshit. sgi was born of the erroneous teachings of the shoshit who don't follow nichiren or the eternal buddha shakyamuni. study the authentic gosho's. cheers!
ReplyDeleteNO thanks, I was not asking for your advice. IF I want your advice to tell me what to do I will ask you. Until then you don't know any better to keep your unwanted suggestions to yourself. When Nichiren Shoshu fails to expound correct Nichiren Buddhism that is when I will decide to believe your ugly disgusting lies. I am not interested in your sermon so go try to convince somebody else. Your knowledge is impure, far from the orthodox teachings of the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood. You are in the same gutter level like the Nichiren Shu, worthless and devoid of any enlightenment.
ReplyDeleteWe've already demonstrated through a very great preponderance of the evidence that Nichiren Shoshu expounds its own brand of pseudo-Buddhism, from its fake grievously slanderous DaiGohonzon to its insipid and incorrect Bequeathal to One Sole Individual doctrine [other than from Shakyamuni Buddha to Jogyo Nichiren].
DeleteYou demonstrated nothing. Nothing that you said or will say in ten thousand years will convince me. You are the deluded one. It sucks you havent rejoined Soka Gakkai back again. I think thats where you truly belong.
DeleteGreg, I'm sure you are a banned individual who has no privilege to see the Dai Gohonzon. You deserve this Karma and I want you to know that you should remain to be expelled from Taisekiji in this lifetime and all of future lifetimes. You carry both slander and evil in your mind in heart. It is my sincere hope that you are born and reborn in your karmic misery of anger and pure hatred against the orthodox beliefs of Nichiren Shoshu. Your self-entitled knowledge of Nichiren Buddhism is self-righteous and pure Poison. Poison deserves death, this is your destined curse. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteNo you didn't walk away out of your own free will. You were excommunicated and kicked out by the temple priesthood. Now you are hurt and bleeding inside because you have lost many years devoting yourself to a faith that rejected you-----that didn't want you. Have some dignity to admit that to yourself. You are NO Nichiren Shoshu member. You are NO SGI member. You are NO Christian either. You are rejected by religion in all sides, you are an island pushing yourself to religion that has abandoned you a long time ago! Sad and pathetic, really. :)
DeleteAnd you, Dirham? Hailed by the bottom feeders, I see.
DeletePraised by these fools as well? No doubt.
Large group are they? Mainstream appeal? Fabulously well to do?
Now let's see, what does the Lotus Sutra tell us about *your* *street cred*?
"“These monks are greedy
for profit and support
and therefore they preach non-Buddhist doctrines
and fabricate their own scriptures
to delude the people of the world.
Because they hope to gain fame and renown thereby
they make distinctions when preaching this sutra.”
Because in the midst of great assemblies
they constantly try to defame us,
they will address the rulers, high ministers,
Brahmans, and householders,
as well as the other monks,
slandering and speaking evil of us,
saying, “These are men of perverted views
who preach non-Buddhist doctrines!”
But because we revere the Buddha
we will bear all these evils."
Yup, there it is-- you're impact is on par with a fart in a windstorm!
~Katie
like the sgi......... the nichiren shoshit members don't really care what the true teachings are. shame on you dirham!
DeleteMy my!! Which teaching of Nichiren are you being your *behavior* on?
ReplyDeleteCan you quote the passage from Nichiren's writings that supports your pronouncements, Dirham?
How strange it is to witness the venom you spew for the Gakkai, the *children of the Buddha* your Taisekiji blow hards poisoned! Excommunication did not break the bonds you share with those who worshipped the fake dai-no-honzon and believed your high priest's treacherous lies! The grudge match you are performing is very instructional. What a frightful thing it is to slander the Lotus Sutra and betray Nichiren!
How tragic! How pitiful!
~Katie
Perfect Katie except Dirham is Nichiren Shoshu.
DeleteRight. I find it strange that Dirham treats the Gakkai as a *separate*, adversarial sect. It is like a family shunning & disowning one of its members and assigning him/her an identity that changes his/her birth name -- wanting the world to view the cast off as the *outsider* they, the *family* has decided he is! And in that vein, there is this irrational denial that the Gakkai was *schooled* by his High Priests, and has ingested the same *poison* he is still drinking!
DeleteSince the Gakkai was Shoshu born and bred, Dirham's curses are sure to return to "the originator". I wonder why he does not realize that?
~Katie
dirham, strange that you do not know the history of your own chosen school(nst). way back the shu kicked the shit out of the tiny little elitist shoshit sect. both in numbers and finances, and in priest training schools. shoshit acolytes studied to become priest at shu sponsored schools. why? because shoshit could not afford their own academies. only through the growth and development of the soka gakkai did they found their own schools and gosho's. how nuts is this? from the diseased roots(nst) came the diseased tree(sgi). both collaberating to produce the rotten fruit of both the shoshit and its child the sgi. you can miserly hoard and chant to your phony dai nohonzon as much as you like. you may stick your head as deep in your fake priest ass as you like. here , for those who know what the teachings are , it means nothing.
Deleteare your priests still too busy to refute slander. takano can kiss my ass as well.
Dirham, it is you who resides in hell, in the hellish Nichiren Shoshu. the Nichiren Shoshu High Priests, the self proclaimed priest intermediaries who alone "understands the heart of the Lotus Sutra," and who assert that "Sakyamuni is but a cast off Buddha." Equally revealing is that Nichiren Shoshu is both mirror and mother of the slanderous Soka Gakkai, Look at the child's face and you see the resemblance to the child's parent. Nichiren teaches, "If the source is muddy, the stream will not flow clear; if the body is bent, the shadow will not be straight." -- Nichiren Shoshu is the muddy source and crooked tree and SGI its cloudy stream with shadow bent.
ReplyDelete"If the source is muddy, the stream will not flow clear; if the body is bent, the shadow will not be straight." -- Nichiren
There will be many ignorant people
who will curse and speak ill of us
and will attack us with swords and staves,
but we will endure all these things.
In that evil age there will be monks
with perverse wisdom and hearts that are fawning and crooked
who will suppose they have attained what they have not attained,
being proud and boastful in heart.
Or there will be forest-dwelling monks
wearing clothing of patched rags and living in retirement,
who will claim they are practicing the true way,
despising and looking down on all humankind.
Greedy for profit and support,
they will preach the Law to white-robed laymen
and will be respected and revered by the world
as though they were arhats who possess the six transcendental powers.
These men with evil in their hearts,
p.233constantly thinking of worldly affairs,
will borrow the name of forest-dwelling monks
and take delight in proclaiming our faults,
saying things like this:
“These monks are greedy
for profit and support
and therefore they preach non-Buddhist doctrines
and fabricate their own scriptures
to delude the people of the world.
Because they hope to gain fame and renown thereby
they make distinctions when preaching this sutra.”
Because in the midst of great assemblies
they constantly try to defame us,
they will address the rulers, high ministers,
Brahmans, and householders,
as well as the other monks,
slandering and speaking evil of us,
saying, “These are men of perverted views
who preach non-Buddhist doctrines!”
But because we revere the Buddha
we will bear all these evils.
and
and
ReplyDeleteThe evil monks of that muddied age,
failing to understand the Buddha’s expedient means,
how he preaches the Law in accordance with what is appropriate,
will confront us with foul language and angry frowns;
again and again we will be banished
to a place far removed from towers and temples.
All these various evils,
because we keep in mind the Buddha’s orders,
we will endure.
If in the settlements and towns
there are those who seek the Law,
we will go to wherever they are
and preach the Law entrusted to us by the Buddha.
We will be envoys of the world-honored one,
facing the assemblies without fear.
Your priests are the present day second of the Three Powerful Enemies of the Lotus Sutra and you are the first.
Nichiren writes:
"Nowhere in all the five thousand or seven thousand volumes of sutras listed in the Kai-yuan era catalogue do we find a single scriptural passage that expresses disapproval of the Lotus Sutra and advises one to discard it or to cast it aside, nor any passage that says it is to be classified among the incorrect passages or abandoned. [If you disagree] you had better find some reliable passage from the sutras [that will support your view], so that you may rescue Shantao and Honen from their torments in the hell of incessant sufferings"
Yet, Nichikan who was known as the restorer of the Nichiren Shoshu wrote:
"The purpose of the Hoben-pon is to smash the provisional teachings, the Purpose of the Juryo-hon is to smash the Hoben-pon, and the purpose of the Daimoku is to smash the Juryo-hon."
The Hoben-pon represents the Three Bodied Tathagata in his historical aspect, the Juryo-hon represents the Three Bodied Tathagata in his Bliss Body aspect and the Daimoku represents the Three Bodied Tathagata in his Dharma Body aspect. That is why the Daishonin said you can not forsake even the theoretical section of the Lotus Sutra. You can not separate the Three Buddha Bodies except as an artificial construct.
Nichikan and the successive High Priests of Nichiren Shoshu are no different than the Shingon priests who separate and place Mahavairochaina or Dainichi Buddha (representing the Dharma Body) above the other Buddhas of the ten directions, including the Three Bodied Tathagata Shakyamuni. They know nothing of the Three Bodied Tathagata or the true teachings of the Lotus Sutra.
"Of course, since these are secret transmissions received by only a single person, there is no reason to expect that we would understand their contents. Fifty-sixth High Priest Nichio Shonin as well stated, "Even at the time of Kosen-rufu, the specific lifeblood bequeathal documents are not to be perused by others." (Research and Education Books, Vol. He instructs us that the specific bequeathal of the entity of the Law is a secret transmission which others are not permitted to peruse." [Dai Nichiren]
ReplyDeleteThe Transmission in the Latter Day
The transmission in the Latter Day is chanting Namu Myoho renge kyo to an authentic Gohonzon. Nichiren Daishonin and we, unlike the SGI and the Nichiren Shoshu, don't advocate a model based on "The Patriarchal Transmissions", "The Patriarchal Transmission of the Golden Mouthed Ones", or "The Patriarchal Transmission Through Current Masters."
"One should consider the fact that, if the Buddha had not attained enlightenment in the distant past, there could not have been so many people converted to his teachings." -- The Opening of the Eyes
Thus the Buddha is the source of both the Specific and the General transmission. The Gohonzon, though a text, is the reality of the Buddha.
"The Maka Shikan says: "If one lacks faith in the Lotus sutra he will object that it pertains to the lofty realm of the sages, something far beyond the capacity of his own wisdom to comprehend. If one lacks wisdom, he will become puffed up with his own arrogance and will claim to be the equal of the Buddha." - The Opening of the Eyes
In Shakyamuni's and Nichiren's Buddhism, there is neither an oral nor a patriarchal transmission of the teachings. The Succession Through the Scrolls of the Sutra is the true meaning of exoteric Mahayana Buddhism.
Nichiren Daishonin writes:
"Are persons who receive instruction orally from their teacher invariably free from error, while those who appear in later ages and who seek and investigate to be regarded as worthless? If so, then should we throw away the sutras and instead follow traditions handed down from the four ranks of bodhisattvas? Should a man throw away the deed of transfer received from his father and mother and instead rely upon oral transmissions? Are the written commentaries of the Great Teacher Dengyo so much trash, and the oral traditions handed down from the Great Teacher Jikaku the only guide to truth?" (Gosho Zenshu, p.1258)
To disabuse those who would take to heart the teachings of Buddhist elites, conmen, and posseurs, I would like to further cite Nichiren Daishonin and the Lotus Sutra:
"Putting all this aside, I will point out the truth for the sake of my followers. Because others do not choose to believe it now, they are persons who thereby form a reverse relation. By tasting a single drop, one can tell the flavor of the great ocean, and by observing a single flower in bloom, one can predict the advent of spring. One does not have to cross the water to faroff Sung China, spend three years traveling to Eagle Peak in India, enter the palace of the dragon king the way Nagarjuna did, visit Bodhisattva Maitreya [in the Tushita heaven] the way Bodhisattva Asanga did, or be present at the two places and three assemblies when Shakyamuni preached the Lotus Sutra, in order to judge the relative merits of the Buddha's lifetime teachings....
cont....
It is said that snakes can tell seven days in advance when a flood is going to occur. This is because they are akin to dragons [who make the rain fall]. Crows can tell what lucky or unlucky events are going to take place throughout the course of a year. This is because in a past existence they were diviners. Birds are better at flying than human beings. And I, Nichiren, am better at judging the relative merits of sutras than Ch'eng-kuan of the Flower Garland school, Chia-hsiang of the Three Treatises school, Tz'u-en of the Dharma Characteristics school, and Kobo of the True Word school. That is because I follow in the footsteps of the teachers T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo. If Ch'eng-kuan and the others had not accepted the teachings of T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo, how could they have expected to escape the sin of slandering the Law?
ReplyDeleteI, Nichiren, am the richest man in all of present-day Japan. I have dedicated my life to the Lotus Sutra, and my name will be handed down in ages to come. If one is lord of the great ocean, then all the gods of the various rivers will obey one. If one is king of Mount Sumeru, then the gods of the various other mountains cannot help but serve one. If a person fulfills the teaching of "the six difficult and nine easy acts" of the Lotus Sutra, then, even though he may not have read the entire body of sutras, all should follow him." -The Opening of the Eyes
Nichiren Daishonin is a far more accomplished Master than any past or present priest or layman.
"The Great Teacher Dengyo was disparaged by the priests of Nara, who said, "Saicho has never been to the capital of T'ang China!" (ibid.)
"The Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai trusted and obeyed Shakyamuni and worked to uphold the Lotus school, spreading its teachings throughout China." -- On the Buddha's Prophecy
"In the Tendai school, however, there appeared a priest known as the Great Teacher Miao-lo. Though he lived more than two hundred years after the time of the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai, he was extremely wise and had a clear understanding of the teachings of T'ien-t'ai..." - Repaying Debts of Gratitude
Who credentialed or certified Tientai, Miao-lo, or Nichiren? Nichiren Daishonin gave himself the Buddhist name Nichi-Ren. Who ordained Shakyamuni Buddha? This nonsense about seeking a living master will stifle your growth and development as a direct disciple of the Original Buddha. It is the evil priestly and monastic agenda to coerce you into accepting them as teachers and offering them alms, rather than the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin. Their's is not True Mahayana (exoteric Buddhism) which is based on the Succession Through the Scrolls of the Sutra and the authentic writings of Nichiren. The Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin teach that we are direct disciples of the Original Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni. Buddhism is accessible to all with or without a "face to face" transmission.
Nichiren Daishonin states:
"While the Great Teacher Jikaku was in Japan, he made a thorough study of the teachings of both Dengyo and Kobo, and he spent a period of ten years in China studying under the eight distinguished priests, including the Tripitaka Master Pao-yüeh of southern India, learning all the loftiest and most secret doctrines. On this basis, he completed his commentaries on the two sutras. In addition, he prayed to the image of the Buddha, and awoke from dreaming that he had seen the arrow of wisdom strike the sun of the Middle Way. So great was his joy that he requested Emperor Nimmyo to issue an edict acknowledging Mount Hiei as a center of the True Word practice.
cont...
Though he was the chief priest of the Tendai school, he virtually became a True Word prelate, declaring that the three True Word sutras were the works that would ensure peace and protection of the nation. It has now been more than four hundred years since he spread these doctrines. The eminent leaders who have accepted them are as numerous as rice and hemp seedlings, and the fervent believers who have embraced them are as plentiful as bamboo plants and rushes.
ReplyDeleteAs a result, of all the temples established throughout Japan by Emperor Kammu and the Great Teacher Dengyo, there is not one that has not become a propagator of the True Word doctrine. Both courtiers and warriors alike invite True Word priests to attend to their religious needs, look up to them as their teachers, confer offices upon them, and place them in charge of temples. And in the eye-opening ceremony carried out at the consecration of wooden and painted Buddhist images, the priests of all the eight schools of Buddhism now use the mudras and mantras of the Thus Come One Mahavairochana and the honored one Buddha Eye! -- Repaying Debts of Gratitude
Look what happened to Buddhism with men like Jikaku who studied under, "the Eight Distinguished Teachers", every one of them certified, credentialed and ordained. Also, the priestly shackle that some advocate, diminishes one's faith in the Supreme Law affirmed by all Buddhas (Myoho renge kyo). Others studied under men who were heretics or traitors to Nichiren and still others were trained, ordained and/or, certified by modern day disciples of these shameful men. Nichiren continues:
"Question: When it comes to those who maintain that the Lotus Sutra is superior to the True Word teachings, should they try to make use of these commentaries by Jikaku, or should they reject them?
Answer: Shakyamuni Buddha laid down a rule for future conduct when he said that we should "rely on the Law and not upon persons." Bodhisattva Nagarjuna says that one should rely on treatises that are faithful to the sutras, but not rely on those that distort the sutras. T'ien-t'ai states, "That which accords with the sutras is to be written down and made available. But put no faith in anything that in word or meaning fails to do so." And the Great Teacher Dengyo says, "Depend upon the preachings of the Buddha, and do not put faith in traditions handed down orally." -- The Selection of the Time
"Instead of wasting all those supplies and making work for other people by insisting upon traveling all the way to China, they should have made a more careful and thorough study of the doctrines of the Great Teacher Dengyo, who was their own teacher!." -Repaying Debts of Gratitude
"But after he went to China at the age of forty, though he continued to call himself a disciple of Dengyo and went through the motions of carrying on Dengyo's line, he taught a kind of Buddhism that was wholly unworthy of a true disciple of Dengyo." (ibid.)
Although I am merely an ignorant layman, I think that some of our present day priests and so-called mentors should have made a more careful and thorough study of the doctrines of Nichiren Daishonin who they claim as their Buddhist Master. Then they wouldn't be teaching a type of Buddhism that is wholly unworthy of a true disciple of Nichiren. One mentor in particular has shackled his disciples to himself like a sick siamese twin who will eventually end up killing both himself and his sibling.
cont...
"At that time, after the great assembly had heard the Buddha speak of the great length of his life-span, incalculable, limitless asamkhyeyas of living beings gained a great advantage. At that time, the World-Honored One declared to the bodhisattva-mahasattva Maitreya: "O Ajita! When I preached on the great length of the life-span of the Thus Come One, living beings to the number of sands in six hundred and eighty myriads of millions of nayutas of Ganges rivers gained acceptance of [the doctrine of] the unborn dharmas. Again, a thousand times this number of bodhisattva-mahsattvas heard and were enabled to take hold
ReplyDeleteof the gateway of the dharanis. Again, bodhisattva-mahasattvas equal to the number of the atoms in one world-sphere gained joy in preaching and unimpeded eloquence. Again, bodhisattva-mahasattvas equal in number to the atoms in one world-sphere gained the dharani that can be turned to a hundred thousand myriads of millions of incalculable
[uses]. Again, bodhisattva-mahasattvas equal in number to the atoms in the thousand-millionfold world were enabled to turn the unreceding Wheel of the Dharma. Again, bodhisattva-mahasattvas equal in number to the atoms in two thousand middle lands were enabled to turn the pure Wheel of the Dharma. Again, bodhisattva-mahasattvas equal in number to the atoms in a minor thousand of lands were destined after eight rebirths to gain anuttarasamyaksambodhi. Again, bodhi-
sattva-mahasattvas equal to four times the number of atoms under four heavens were destined after four rebirths to gain anuttarasamvaksambodhi. Again, bodhisattva-mahasattvas equal in number to three times the number of atoms under four heavens were destined after three rebirths to gain anuttarasamyaksambodhi. Again, bodhisattva-maha-
sattvas equal in number to twice the atoms under four heavens
were destined after two rebirths to gain anuttarasamyaksambodhi." - Lotus Sutra Chapter 17
Nichiren Shonin quotes Nan-yueh:
"The Daigo Shojin Sutra says: 'Ordinary beings and the Thus Come One share a single Dharma body. Being pure and mystic beyond comparison, it is called Myoho-renge-kyo.'" -- Entity of the Mystic Law
and again:
"Those who practice the Lotus Sutra are pursuing through this single act of devotion the mind that is endowed with all manner of fortunate results. These are present simultaneously and are not acquired gradually over a long period of time. This is like the blossom of the lotus which, when it opens, already possesses a large number of seeds or results. Hence such persons are called the people of the one vehicle." -- The Entity of the Mystic Law
"Thereupon Shakyamuni Buddha rose from the seat of the Dharma, and by great supernatural powers, put his right hand on the heads of the innumerable Bodhisattva-mahasattvas, and said: "For many hundreds of thousands of billions of asamkhyas of kalpas, I studied and practiced the Dharma difficult to obtain, and [finally attained] Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Now I will transmit the Dharma to you. Propagate it with all your hearts, and make it known far and wide." --
cont...
Lotus Sutra, Chapter 22 Transmission
ReplyDeleteThe merit of the Buddha comes directly from the Buddha. After the close of Chapter 22, the replicas of Shakyamuni Buddha never again appear. They went back to their home worlds at the end of this chapter because the Buddha had entrusted Bodhisattva Jogyo and the Bodhisattvas of the Earth with carrying out the transmission of the Dharma in this Latter Age. The transmission of Buddhahood come from the Original Buddha Shakyamuni and nowhere else.
Nichiren Daishonin in the "Ho'on Jo" [Repaying Debts of Gratitude], enumerates the Three Great Secret Laws ("san dai hi ho"):
"The first is the object of worship (honzon). All the people in Japan as well as the rest of the whole world should revere the Lord Buddha Shakyamuni (Original and Eternal Buddha) revealed in the essential section (honmon) of the Lotus Sutra as the Object of Worship (honzon)..."; Second, there is the high sanctuary of true Buddhism; Third, in Japan, China, India and all the other countries of the world, every person, regardless of whether he is wise or foolish, shall set aside other practices and join in the chanting of Namu-myoho-renge-kyo."
In the "Kanjin Honzon Sho" [True Object of Worship], he says:
"Shakyamuni Buddha, the Lord preacher of this pure land, has never died in the past, nor will He be born in the future. He exists forever throughout the past present and future." In the Senji Sho [Selection of the Time] we read, "It was not I, Nichiren, who made these three important predictions. I believe it was solely the spirit of Shakyamuni Buddha, entering my body, who made them."
On the Four Stages of Faith and The Five Stages of Practice Reads,
"Within these chapters of transmission, the four stages of faith and the five stages of practice expounded in the "Distinctions in Benefits" chapter refer to what is most important in the practice of the Lotus Sutra, and are a standard for those living in the time of the Buddha and after his passing.
Ching-hsi writes: "'To produce even a single moment's faith and understanding' represents the beginning in the practice of the essential teaching." Of these various stages, the four stages of faith are intended for those living in the Buddha's lifetime, and the five stages of practice for those living after his passing. Among these, the first of the four stages of faith is that of producing even a single moment's faith and understanding, and the first of the five stages of practice is that of rejoicing on first hearing the Lotus Sutra. These two stages together form a casket containing the treasures of the "hundred worlds and thousand factors" and the "three thousand realms in a single life-moment"; they are the gate from which all Buddhas of the ten directions and the three existences emerge."
cont...
ReplyDeleteNichiren Daishonin goes on to say,
"Answer: This is a very important question, and so I will be referring to the text of the sutra in answering you. In describing the first, second and third of the five stages of practice, the Buddha restricts those at these stages from practicing precepts and meditation, and places all emphasis upon the single factor of wisdom. And because our wisdom is inadequate, he teaches us to substitute faith, making this single word "faith" the foundation. Disbelief is the cause for becoming an icchantika and for slander of the True Law, while faith is the cause for wisdom and corresponds to the stage of myoji-soku.'
And again,
"Answer: Such persons are restricted from practicing almsgiving, the keeping of the precepts, and the others of the five paramitas, and are directed to chant Namu-myoho-renge-kyo exclusively. This practice corresponds to the capacity of persons at the stages of "producing even a single moment's faith and understanding" and "rejoicing on first hearing the Lotus Sutra." It represents the true intention of the Lotus Sutra. "
And further along:
"Question: When your disciples, without any understanding, simply recite with their mouths the words Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, what level of attainment do they reach?
Answer: Not only do they go beyond the highest level of the four tastes or the three teachings as well as that attained by practitioners of the perfect teaching set forth in the sutras that precede the Lotus Sutra, but they surpass by millions and billions of times the founders of the Shingon and various other schools of Buddhism-men such as Shan-wu-wei, Chih-yen, T'zu-en, Chi-tsang, Tao-hsuan, Bodhidharma and Shan-tao."
Nichiren Daishonin writes:
"Although Nichiren dwells in such a remote and forlorn retreat [Minobu], within the heart of his fleshly body he holds concealed the secret Dharma of the sole great matter (ichidaiji) transmitted by the Eternal Shakyamuni, master of teachings, on Vulture Peak." -Nanjo Hyoe Shichiro-dono gohenji
The Dharma is not handed down from a master to a disciple, but directly accessible to anyone at any moment via a personal relationship formed with the Buddha and the Lotus Sutra by chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.
From the Object of Devotion For Observing the Mind:
"...the Eternal Lord Shakyamuni's practices undertaken as the cause (for attaining Buddhahood), and his virtues acquired as their effect, are completely contained within the five characters of Myoho-Renge-Kyo. When we receive and hold these five characters, he will spontaneously transfer to us the merit of his causes and effects."
To conclude, when we chant Namu Myoho renge kyo with faith and reverence for the Gohonzon, the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni, the Daimoku, and spread the teachings to the best of our abilities, we are Bodhisattvas of the Earth, requiring no intercession by a high priest or SGI president.
no doubt about that!!!!!!!!!
DeleteI always look forward to Mark's multiple posts from authenticated Nichiren writings and accurately translated Lotus Sutra. Dirham's poison turned into medicine :-)
DeleteThanks again!
~Katie
I don't need to vomit any further, 100% of what you write is pretty much bullshit itself. Why bother to roll with the swine?
ReplyDeleteThat's right Dirham, Nichiren Shoshu hates and rejects the writings of Nichiren for the BS "hidden in the depths" make believe Taisekeeji teachings. keep believing a lie Dirham and it is you who will die with ten thousand regrets.
ReplyDeleteThanks and i look forward to your comments.
ReplyDeleteyes, well done, both.
Deletei hope dirham will have the courage to keep coming here and expose himself to the real teachings of buddhism.