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Sunday, November 10, 2019

The spurious writing, The True Aspect of All Phenomena (Shoho Jisso Sho)

"Since time immemorial all people on the earth have been the Buddha Sakyamuni's beloved children. We have not realized the relationship, because we had been undutiful children. It is a unique relationship. As the moon reflects on calm water, the Buddha appears in our mind." -- Hokke Shuyo Sho

Yet, in the True Aspect of All Phenomena we read

"Therefore, the two Buddhas, Shakyamuni and Many Treasures, are Buddhas who are functions [of Myoho-renge-kyo]. It is Myoho-renge-kyo that is the true Buddha. This is what is described in the sutra as “the Thus Come One’s secret and his transcendental powers.” The “Thus Come One’s secret” refers to the entity of the Buddha’s three bodies, and it refers to the true Buddha. “His transcendental powers” refers to the functions of the three bodies, and it refers to provisional Buddhas. A common mortal is an entity of the three bodies, and a true Buddha. A Buddha is a function of the three bodies, and a provisional Buddha. In that case, though it is thought that Shakyamuni Buddha possesses the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent for the sake of all of us living beings, that is not so. On the contrary, it is common mortals who endow him with the three virtues."

The Lotus Sutra* and all authentic Gosho assert that we are disciples of Shakyamuni while only the True Aspect of All Phenomena and the Ongi Kuden assert that we are the Masters of Shakyamuni Buddha. 

A correct faith, according to Nichiren, depends on: Proper relationships with the Law; our relationship with the Gohonzon; Shakyamuni Buddha as our Teacher, Parent and Sovereign Master, not that we are Shakyamuni Buddha's teachers . Were we to follow the instructions in the Shoho Jisso Sho, that we are the teachers of Shakyamuni Buddha, we would be become puffed up with arrogance, as the SGI.

*With the exception of Chapter 1, understood as not yet having revealed the truth (of the one  Eternal Buddha)

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