Enjoy...Buddhist paradoxes

"Some mis-teach the principle of the equality of the Buddha and the common mortal because they misunderstand the principle of the general and the specific. They sometimes teach that the common mortal is equal to the Buddha and sometimes that the common mortal is superior. It is different, the Buddha proclaiming that the common mortal is equal to the Buddha, since this realty is a Buddhist paradox. Understanding [living] the paradox with gratitude for Shakyamuni Buddha is a necessary part of the subjugation of ego vital for awakening. Nichiren scolded the Zenmen for this same transgression as the some Nichiren sects. I can support this view with the authenticated writings of Nichiren and the Lotus Sutra. They who mis-teach the equality of the Buddha and the common mortal can not. 

"Two but not two, one but not one".

Gratitude for Shakyamuni Buddha specifically and people generally is necessary for the subjugation of ego vital for awakening.

Another Nichiren school paradox is the following from Nikko's Twenty-six articles:

In one article, Nikko teaches that those who claim Gosho are forged are evil and in another article he teaches that those who forge Gosho are parasites. If the 26 Articles itself is forged [as asserted by many], there is no paradox. If they are true there is a paradox. However, it is a paradox easily resolved. One who criticizes false Gosho is upholding the Dharma while one who cites false Gosho is a parasite. It is equally true that one who criticizes authentic Gosho is evil and one who cites authentic Gosho is a disciple of Nichiren Daishonin.

Harder parodoxes to understand, Nichiren asserts that not only the Dharma Body of the Buddha has no beginning and no end but also the Reward Body and the Manifestation Body.

Still another paradox:

"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 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 Namu-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 Soka Gakkai takes the Gosho out of context in order to debase the Lotus Sutra. What this does to their believers, their minds of faith, and to the teachings, is unpardonable. 

The One Great Secret Law is Namu Myoho renge kyo. This is the teachings of Soka Gakkai, the Nichiren Shu, and the Kempon Hokke. 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, is nothing but a straw man argument. It is a logical fallacy.

Lord Ueno is none other 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."

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):

"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 was 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.

Here's one to solve:

Kanjin Honzon Sho ("True Object of Worship")

"It does not mean, however, that any of the Buddhas gives the seed of Buddhahood to the keeper of this sutra. The giver of the seed, the Lotus Sutra affirms, is none other the Original Buddha who reveals himself only in this sutra. It is the perfect Mahayana sutra that reveals the Buddha's accomplishment of a threefold procedure of teaching: To give the seed of Buddhahood to his sons; to grow it; and to let it bear fruit. 

The Lotus Sutra is the most perfect of sutras, because it completes the three-fold procedure of teaching. The keeper of this sutra is endowed with the three causes of Buddhahood: the immanence of Buddha-nature, the wisdom for the realization of Buddha-nature, and the qualifications required for the development of Buddha-nature." 

How does one develop that which is immanent? (I have worked out the answer if anyone is interested).

Another:

"All Gohonzons are the same but only the SGI Nichikan Gohonzon is valid."

Hope you enjoy!

Mark