"As for myself, I, Nichiren, having been born in Japan in the first five hundred years of the Latter Day of the Law, have encountered the three powerful enemies and met with various types of calamity and trouble, just as the Thus Come One predicted would happen. But, without any thought for my person or my life, I chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. I ask you to consider with the utmost care whether I deserve to be called a correct teacher or an erroneous teacher.
Each of the proponents of the various schools I have mentioned above declares that he beyond all others has grasped the meaning of and is practicing the Lotus Sutra. But none of them have been exiled to the province of Izu as I was in the Kōchō era, or exiled to the island of Sado as I was in the Bun’ei era, or been led to the place of decapitation at Tatsunokuchi or faced the countless other difficulties that I have. If the sutra passages [that predict such difficulties] are true, then you should realize that I am the correct teacher, the good teacher, and that the scholars of the other schools are all erroneous teachers and evil teachers.
In addition to these, there are a great many other passages in the sutras and treatises that make clear the distinction between these two types of teachers, the good and the bad. But I am sure you are already familiar with them, so I will not go into them here.
How wondrous that in your letter you say that from now on you will reject the erroneous teachers of our time and will rely entirely upon me as the correct teacher! When the Thus Come One Shakyamuni, our original teacher, appeared in the world in order to expound the Lotus Sutra, the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the other worlds, like shadows and echoes, came forth and assisted him in his efforts to spread the teachings. Now it seems that they have appeared here in Japan as envoys of Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directionsto help me in my efforts to spread the teachings!
ReplyDelete"The people of today, [SGI] however, believe the pronouncements of their own teachers to be the golden words of the Thus Come One. Thus they place such pronouncements on the same level as the Lotus Sutra, considering the two to be of equal authority; or they regard these teachings as superior to the Lotus Sutra; or they reason that though their teacher’s pronouncements are inferior they are well suited to the capacity of the people." [SGI's *Interfaith*- and material gain teachings appeal to the lower herd instincts of the people]
Access to this quote may be viewed in its full context- minus my [brackets] at the link below.
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/132#para-9
~Katie