“But, without any thought for my person or my life, I chant Namu-myoho renge-kyo.” — Nichiren Daishonin
“When I meet you, I don’t ask: “Are you keeping faith?” The reason is that I take your shakubuku for granted. What I really want to ask you is how your business is, whether you are making money, and if you are healthy. Only when all of you receive divine benefits do I feel happy. A person who says “I keep faith; I conduct shakubuku” when he is poor – I don’t consider him my pupil. Your faith has only one purpose: to improve your business and family life. Those who talk about “faith” and do not attend to their business are sacrilegious. Business is a service to the community. I will expel those of you who do nothing but shakubuku without engaging in business.” — Josei Toda
And
“How can we live happily in this world and enjoy life? If anyone says he enjoys life without being rich and even when he is sick – he is a liar. We’ve got to have money and physical vigor, and underneath all we need is life force. This we cannot get by theorizing or mere efforts as such. You can’t get it unless you worship a gohonzon…It may be irreverent to use this figure of speech, but a gohonzon is a machine that makes you happy. How to use this machine? You conduct five sittings of prayer in the morning and three sittings in the evening and shakubuku ten people. Let’s make money and build health and enjoy life to our hearts’ content before we die!” — Josei Toda
" I will expel those of you who do nothing but shakubuku without engaging in business.” — Josei Toda
ReplyDeleteI am proud to join Nichiren and form the ranks of his followers-- ALL of us "expelled" from the Gakkai by Second SGI President Josei Toadstool !
I see my error regarding both the offenses and the fate of Toda -- Can there be anything worse than degrading Nichiren and then using his name to propagate a slanderous teaching?
The legacy continues with the reign of Ikeda Senseless and the SGI's mantra:
"Let’s make money and build health and enjoy life to our hearts’ content before we die!” — Josei Today
addendum-- " and suffer together in the Avici hell for countless kappas!!"
And this is a choice!
~Katie
agreed!
Delete"the three presidents"............aka the three highjackers . ha ha ha.... how stupid are the sgi/nst membership?
ReplyDeleteits called -"running stop signs", aka "turning ones back on whats right", and it goes like this. initially upon joining the cult everyone wants to encourage you and they want to know what your thoughts and problems are. this feels good and it is something that many people don't experience much in modern society. shortly, people are asked to do and say things that they don't agree with or feel comfortable with. over time they are expected to dismiss their better judgement. the sgi cult is big on "receiving guidance". receiving guidance is another word for brainwashing, or getting past your own true feelings and/or your own sense of right and wrong. long story short, over time one begins to pay less attention to what they truly feel and more to what they are told they should feel. the more one runs their own stop signs, the deeper the delusion/slander. the ones that remain loyal to themselves will leave the cult and it is easy for them to see how bazaar the cult really is. unfortunately, the damage done is that most end up putting the blame equally on the teachings of buddhism. this is the great evil. "running stops signs" is not a sign of a healthy life and practice.
nichiren never once taught that people should disregard their own thinking. he encouraged people to resolve their doubts and questions through faith, practice and study of the teachings of buddhism. sgi/nst keep their members ignorant of the teachings. great evil.
its good to keep in mind that for all the members that the sgi/nst claim to have, many, many more have left.
the shu is steeped in the provisional teachings and they also hate nichiren. just another buddhist business. avarice, anger and stupidity.
Yes, greg, and I am reminded of the emphasis on improving one's circumstances from day one-- which is not a bad thing, and actually does provide, potentially, at least, an experience with the Mystic aspect of the practice. BUT-- once experiencing the connection between prayer and result, it seems odd that the prayers do not expand to encompass greater goals for the sake of others, or society.. The SGI maintains, via guidance, the focus on personal gain and material & worldly status., which it uses to attract more members.
DeleteIt is possible to experience a material benefit as *joy* from the Law--or rather view FAITH itself as the benefit, and then seek the teachings of Nichiren for direction on deepening one's faith-- or to deepen one's understanding of the practice of chanting daimoku-- BUT, this is not what happens in the SGI-- the focus is always the "Material, tangible benefit"-- and the next one, and the bigger one , and the ultimate one-- until there is absolutely no connection between one's practice of chanting and the teachings of Nichiren.
But, to see how Toda promoted personal, material gain as the purpose and actual proof of Nichiren's Buddhism-- makes me feel sick. Toda has been exalted as an *enlightened* being by Ikeda.
"
“How can we live happily in this world and enjoy life? If anyone says he enjoys life without being rich and even when he is sick – he is a liar. "
And yet-- unless we can experience the joy of the Law under such difficult circumstances, how we can truly develop faith in the Law?-
Josei Toadstool would call me, a liar! But since I have experienced joy from the Law *because *of hardships and adversity, that I incurred standing up for the Law, I would simply dismiss the assessment of this howling jackal, this insufferable gadfly !!
~Katie
i maintain katie that toady, if alive today, or even 20 years ago, toadstool would slap the shit out of ikeda. this does not mean that i think that toadstool was ok. not at all. toady's deep connection to nichiren shoshit , not to mention the soka gakkai's eternal arrogance is really rather hideous. however, ikeda senseless is in a different zip code all together. even though ikeda claims toady as his master, i think he has deeply betrayed him as well.
ReplyDelete"but ...once experiencing the connection..................."
not the same daimoku that nichiren brought. like a counterfeit dollar bill. looks the same but not the same.
toadstool is beautiful!
well, according to Ikeda Senseless, the true teachings of his late, great mentor were *secret transmissions* to his true disciple. The second SGI President is dead, but his legacy lives on in the mind 3rd SGI President-- who can doubt it?? Or rather, who remains in the SGI once these doubts are voiced??
DeleteBut, what about this?
>> A person who says “I keep faith; I conduct shakubuku” when he is poor – I don’t consider him my pupil."<<
It bears noting that poor members cannot make financial contributions-- and at the time Toda said this, he must have noticed that the NST had wealthy members. Since this in no way reflects Nichiren's teachings, it stand to reason that the material wealth actual proof *teaching* came from the shoshit.
Do you think Ikeda betrayed his mentors' loyalty to NST? Just to be clear, is it the split and the drastic changes in SGI doctrine that you think would anger Toadstool??
~Katie
i don't remember (many years ago) senseless talking that much about nichiren , the lotus sutra, or the real teachings. it was always about mak, toadstool, and a lot about himself. from the early writings of the human rev story it was clear that at least according to shinichi yamamoto(ikeda) there was always tension with the nst. nst was a write off for the gakkai when the money started rolling in.
Deletealthough wrong, i think toadstool was very sincere about buddhism and even his relationship with the nst. also i think he cared about his country.
for ikeda , i think toadstool, the soka gak, nichirens buddhism
and even nst was a power vehicle for his own
agrandizement. i don't think toady would have approved of ikedas power trip. who knows, but toady's wife didn't care for the young ikeda. over the years, ikeda double speak is truly outrageous.
It's difficult to draw solid conclusions-- except for the astounding way that both SGI & NST have used a smoke and mirrors {euphemism for fraud} technique to avert attention from the basic teaching, "Rely on the Law, not upon persons"
DeleteI always had trouble with this-- under the assumption that we common mortals were together in the same boat trying to learn and share from Nichiren's writings. In my early days 1988-91, it was common practice to read from a Daily Guidance book at NSA meetings. As a new member I felt obligated to have some questions for the senior leaders who always presiding over the meeting. Someone read Ikeda's guidance du jour which happened to focus on *supporting the central figure* -- saying it was *crucial* for advancement.
I had not internalized any reverence for Ikeda, so I just thought my questioning this guidance would lead to a discussion about its contradictory message-- regarding *persons* , or at the very least describe in some detail how one might address her disagreement with a *central figure's* opinion-- I was dumbfounded by the way Ikeda's words were taken literally to mean Support the Central figure whether you agree with him/her or not-- *trust* your leaders... and "Sensei trusts the leaders"-- no discussion. period.
I kept questioning the *central figure*after the meeting and was told that I would *suffer* - lose fortune/benefits if I *disrupted unity*-- like this. This was an edict issued by common mortal, Ikeda-- and to most leaders it was this fear mongering that protected them from having dialogues with members based on the teachings..
It seemed like many longer term members and some leaders take the * agree to disagree* but follow the leader *guidance* in stride-- all disagreements are opportunities to do *human revolution* and polish your life-- It is so engrained now that the mere suggestion that Only the correct teaching matters - even, or especially for Greg Martin is scorned as an attempt to *disrupt unity*--for which you will pay a heavy price....or don't DARE rely on the Law unless it is authorized by a Person of status--- like Toadstool saying:
"…It may be irreverent to use this figure of speech, but a gohonzon is a machine that makes you happy. "
MAY be irreverent?? but, hey if Toadstool says it, why worry about it??
especially when the money keeps rolling in....
~Katie
thanks for sharing. karma of the people.
DeleteThose like Dirham of the Nichiren Shoshu cult have well learned the cult programming called "bull baiting": "GO BACK to your Sanitarium, weirdo. Cuckoo cuckoo!" -- Dirham
ReplyDeletedirhams goal: drag everyone he can down into the hole he's in.
Deleteno doubt he is related to the nembutsu who after hearing the real teachings of the lotus sutra, became enraged and wanted to hurt nichiren. dirham, the slander is already done. renge is the law. study the teachings and repent.
... while SGI continues to recruit drug addicts, divorcees, cancer patients, teenagers with troubled juvenile problems,
ReplyDeleteThose people have every right to chant daimoku whether it is in sgi or not. Those people are seriously suffering.
Gross error? Lies? Fortunately we know the truth.
ReplyDeleteHi Jules, I have recently discussed this with Mark and Katie, hope it brings some clarification
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?hl=en-GB&v=1HF22rzF2zk
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo with 6 beats, 南無 (Namu) gets one beat.
Namu is a phonetic rendering of the Sanskrit Namah written with kanji, pronounced using the 音 (On) reading.
As in the case of In case of Ancient writings, their is the rule;
む (mu) of an auxiliary verb is to be read with
ん N or M depending on what sound comes after
E.g. Na m Myoho lips are together when we pronounce M
It is unnecessary to pronounce Mu but if it makes you feel better by all means go for it their is no Law against it as far as I know
I don't think it bothers those who chant Nam Myoho Lenge Kyo how much you like to MOO
cont...
ReplyDeleteMark RogowJune 29, 2016 at 7:22 PM
We just can never harmoniously chant together if you chant Nam Myoho renge kyo and I chant Namu Myoho renge kyo. Do you think that's what Nichiren desired?
Noel PantonJune 30, 2016 at 12:18 AM
Don't worry about the pronunciation Mark the beat is more important. Chant Namu in one beat not Na-mu with 2 beats. If I chanted Nam Myoho Lenge Kyo and you chant Namu Myoho Renge Kyo continuously in unison at the same time there will be not discord but rather an air of tranquillity and harmony to your surprise
Just try it with someone like I already have and you should also be pleasantly astonished and amazed, I hope
Noel PantonJune 30, 2016 at 1:09 AM
If we stretch out Daimoku it becomes 7 beats as in the longer slower silent prayers which is the same for Shoshu and other sects.
The 7 characters 6 beat format that I believe Nichiren chanted with the 7 characters 7 beats at different times is more of a likelihood rather than just one or the other.
Unless we have a Time machine and tape recorder we could never really know for sure and be able to prove exactly how Nichiren chanted.
Hey but isn't it great that if we chant 7 characters 6 beat with different sects and the 7 characters 7 beats with different sects the the differences melt into one through Nam/u Myoho R/Lenge Kyo as long as we use the same beats at the same time. Now you cant beat that
kevinhiggins85June 30, 2016 at 8:47 AM
Chiming in - with all due respects- Chanting NamU myoho renge kyo- is 7 beats- "nam-u/myo is a 3 *triplet*--
There is a youtube video that is perfect for practice-- can speed up chanting but always 7 beats. It was posted on this site --
~Katie
"To be clear, where in the Gosho does Nichiren actually explain the phonetic enunciation, for the benefit of his immediate followers? It sounds elemental, but the point is not trivial, according to some commentary on EPB
ReplyDeleteIf their are seven characters, that means seven, which seems pretty easy to count.....why have I been chanting merely six characters? will someone please clarify the doctrine of the pundarika sutra, so I can actually chant the correct invocation??
peace today..."
For further clarification, it is the best that I have been able to come up with on this nagging issue
I have some information for you regarding the pronunciation from Japanese sound pronunciation experts
Historical kana usage: How to read
Spellings in Historical kana usage have been unchanged all the time in spite of changes of pronunciation.
Now we are reading those spellings with modern pronunciation.
●In case of Ancient writings, the next rule is added.
む (mu) of an auxiliary verb is to be read with
ん N or M depending on what sound comes after
E.g. Na m Myoho lips are together when we pronounce M
Ko n ni chi wa lips open when we pronounce N
逢はむ→あわん awamu - awan(m)
～せむ→～せん semu - sen(m)
ありけむ→ありけん arikemu - ariken(m)
取りてむ→とりてん toritemu - toriten(m)
給ひなむ→たまいなん tamainamu - tamainan(m)
吹かむとす→ふかんとす fukamutosu - fukan(m)tosu
まかりなむずる→まかりなんずる makarinamuzuru - makarina
n(m)zuru
By the way since we are on the topic of Daimoku pronunciation the Japanese pronunciation of Renge is in between R and L but closer to L. We can say Lenge instead of Renge. It is as the Japanese do when they touch the palate with the tongue when they pronounce La Li Lu Le Lo not Ra Ri Ru RE Ro this is a mistake as is Namu Myoho Renge Kyo which should be Nam Myoho Lenge Kyo from what I have so far been able to ascertain from a non bias standpoint with information presented.
It is easier to pronounce Lenge than Renge as it rolls off the tongue and is easier to pronounce Nam Myoho Lenge Kyo than it is to pronounce Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. Why labour under unnecessary burden if it isn't necessary, isn't life already tough enough