It is you, not I who needs to reflect

Why do I not accept criticism and insults from others, even fellow Buddhists, especially if they insult my wife, and I?  We perform the forceful practices of the Lotus Sutra, at the cost of our life, in PUBLIC and in private, and with threats and curses from the many. Is this situation, our (mine, yours, and Greg's), not much different than Nichiren's, save for degree but we are trying. Nichiren also teaches that one reason the Lotus Sutra is so incredibly hard to believe is:

"The sutra reads, “Before the multitude they seem possessed of the three poisons or manifest the signs of distorted views. My disciples in this manner use expedient means to save living beings.” - Lotus Sutra Chapter 8 cited by Nichiren in many essays including the Opening of the Eyes.

"A good believer is one who does not depend upon persons of eminence or despise those of humble station; who does not rely on the backing of superiors or look down on inferiors; who, not relying upon the opinions of others, upholds the Lotus Sutra among all the sutras. Such a person the Buddha has called the best of all people." - How Those Initially Aspiring to the Way Can Attain Buddhahood through the Lotus Sutra

We are the best of all people and should be, according to Nichiren, the last to criticize each other. Unless:

"...But if, as the sutras tell us, one observes deviations from the Buddha’s teachings and yet fails to censure them or to appeal to the ruler to take measures against them, then one is being untrue to the teachings and is not worthy to be looked on as a disciple of the Buddha." - Conversations Between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man

Whether one believes in the policies of Biden, or Trump, that hunting is good or that hunting is bad, in owning guns, or not owning guns, that abortion is good or that abortion is bad, or even though a warrior has killed hundreds, so long as he or she embraces the true teachings, without deviation, they are worthy of respect. As an example. Nichiren in his boundless compassion for his believer whose warrior son just died:

"No one born human, whether high or low, is free from sorrow and distress. Yet troubles vary according to the time and differ according to the person. In this respect, sorrow is like illness: no matter what malady one may suffer from, as it worsens, one will think that no illness could be more dreadful. There is the sorrow of parting from one’s lord, of parting from one’s parent, and of parting from one’s spouse, none of which can be lightly dismissed. However, one may serve another lord or find comfort in remarrying. But the sorrow of having lost one’s parent or child seems only to deepen as the days and months pass. Yet although death is sorrowful in any case, for parents to die and their children to live on is the natural course of things. It is pitiful indeed for an aged mother to be preceded by her child in death! You may well feel resentment toward both the gods and Buddhas. Why did they not take you instead of your son? Why did they let you survive only to be tormented by such grief? It must be truly hard to bear.

Even animals of little intelligence cannot endure parting from their young. The golden pheasant at Bamboo Grove Monastery plunged into flames and died to save her eggs. The stag at Deer Park offered himself to the king to save a female deer’s unborn fawn. How much greater, then, must be the love of human beings toward their children! Thus, Wang Ling’s mother smashed her own skull [and died to prevent her son from becoming a traitor], and the consort of Emperor Shen Yao had her abdomen cut open for the sake of an unborn prince. When you consider these examples, I am certain you must feel that you would not hesitate to plunge into fire yourself, or to smash your own skull if, by so doing, you could see your son again. In imagining your grief, my tears do not cease.

You say in your letter, “Because my son killed others, I would like you to tell me into what kind of place he may be reborn.” A needle sinks in water, and rain will not remain in the sky. Those who kill even an ant are destined for hell, and those who merely cut up dead bodies cannot avoid the evil paths. All the more must those who kill human beings suffer. However, even a large rock can float on the sea when carried aboard a boat. Does not water extinguish even a great fire? Even a small error will destine one to the evil paths if one does not repent of it. Yet even a grave offense can be p.663eradicated if one repents of it sincerely.

The monk who stole millet was reborn as an ox for five hundred consecutive lifetimes. The person who plucked water oats fell into the three evil paths. The more than eighty thousand kings, including Rāma, Bhadrika, Viruchin, Nahusha, Kārttika, Vishākha, Moonlight, Light Bright, Sunlight, Craving, and Holder of Many People, all ascended the throne by killing their fathers. As they did not encounter good teachers, their offenses could not be eradicated, and in the end they fell into the Avīchi hell.

There was a wicked man named Ajita in the city of Vārānasī. Falling in love with his own mother, he killed his father and made her his wife. When the arhat who had been his father’s teacher admonished him, he killed that arhat, and when his mother took another man for a husband, he killed her as well. Thus he committed three of the five cardinal sins. Shunned by his neighbors, he had no place to turn. He went to Jetavana Monastery and sought admittance to the Buddhist Order, but the monks refused. The evil in his heart grew more rampant than ever, and he burned down many of the monks’ quarters. Finally, however, he met Shakyamuni Buddha and was permitted to become a monk.

There was a kingdom called Small Stones in northern India that was ruled by a king named Dragon Seal. Dragon Seal killed his father, but later, horrified by his own act, he abandoned his country, presented himself before the Buddha, and repented of his wrongdoing; thereupon the Buddha forgave him.

King Ajātashatru was by nature given to the three poisons of greed, anger, and foolishness, and was forever committing one or another of the ten evil acts. Moreover, he killed his father, attempted to take his mother’s life, and, accepting Devadatta as his teacher, massacred countless disciples of the Buddha. Due to his accumulated misdeeds, on the fifteenth day of the second month, the very day on which the Buddha was to pass away, virulent boils broke out in seven areas of his royal body, a sign that he would fall into the hell of incessant suffering. The king writhed in agony; he felt as if he were being burned by a great fire or doused with boiling water. His six ministers presented themselves before him and insisted that he should summon the six non-Buddhist teachers in order to have them cure his foul sores. This was just like the people of Japan today relying on leaders of the Zen and Precepts schools or priests of the Nembutsu and True Word schools as good teachers in the belief that the prayers of these men can subdue the Mongols and help them in their next life. Moreover, Devadatta, whom Ajātashatru regarded as his primary teacher, had memorized the sixty thousand non-Buddhist and eighty thousand Buddhist teachings. His understanding of both secular and religious matters was as clear as the sun, the moon, or a burnished mirror. He was like the learned priests of the Tendai school in the world today who are well versed in both the exoteric and esoteric teachings and know all the Buddhist scriptures by heart. Because Ajātashatru was guided by such teachers and ministers, he had refused to become the Buddha’s follower. And for this reason, his country, Magadha, had suffered repeated disturbances in the heavens and frequent strange occurrences on earth, being ravaged incessantly by violent winds, severe droughts, famines, and epidemics. Moreover, it had been attacked by another country. Now, in addition to all this, he was suffering from virulent boils, and his kingdom appeared to be on the verge of ruin. It was at this time that he suddenly presented himself before the Buddha and repented of his p.664evildoings, and his offenses were eradicated.

In any event, even though the parents may be evildoers, if the child is good, the parents’ offenses will be forgiven. On the other hand, although the child may be an evildoer, if the parents are good persons, their child’s faults will be pardoned. Hence, even though your late son, Yashirō, committed evil, if you, the mother who gave birth to him, grieve for him and offer prayers for him day and night in the presence of Shakyamuni Buddha, how could he not be saved? Moreover, because he believed in the Lotus Sutra, he may have become the one who will lead his parents to Buddhahood.

Those who believe in the Lotus Sutra should beware of and guard themselves against the sutra’s enemies. You should know that the Nembutsu priests, the observers of the precepts, and the teachers of the True Word school—in fact, all those who refuse to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo—are the enemies of the Lotus Sutra, no matter how earnestly they may read it. If you do not know your enemies, you will be deceived by them. How I wish I could see you personally and talk to you about these matters in detail! Whenever you see Sammi-bō or Sado-kō, who will visit your area from Minobu, have them read this letter to you. Place it in the custody of Myōe-bō. Those lacking in wisdom would no doubt mock me or criticize this letter as mere clever words on my part. Or they would compare me with others, saying, “This priest could never match the Great Teacher Kōbō, or surpass the Great Teacher Jikaku!” Consider those who say such things ignorant."

As long as we chant Namu Myoho renge kyo, without deviating from the Eternal Buddha's and The Supreme Votary Nichiren's teachings, are we not worthy of the greatest respect?

So too, some so-called Buddhists criticize me "that this is not 13th Century Japan." In light of the teachings on the Five Guidelines for Propagation of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren's teachings regarding them (that Time is most important), even the guide that the teaching must conform to the norms of the culture and customs takes a back seat to, "now is the time for the forceful (shakubuku practices)

Another reason the Time supersedes the other guides of propagation, is that precisely, because we are not so wise as to determine exactly the proper way to spread the teachings, it is better to instruct people to follow Nichiren and the Lotus Sutra, as written (a bodily reading as written). As we, his disciples, advance on the Way with ever stronger faith, I believe, we will naturally come to understand the best way to propagate his teachings, when and whom to criticize, and when and whom to praise. In this Latter Age, even at the expense of being incorrect as to the teachings suitability for a particular country, we must teach that the Succession is Through the Scrolls of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren and nowhere else, to follow the Law and not persons (even us)

I would like also, to speak about the degree of killing and being non-judgemental were the person (like King Ajatashatru and King Ashoka who killed 150,000 people in one battle alone) to repent and accept the Buddha's teachings. They are to be forgiven. How much more so, one who is loathe to kill, even an ant or a spider as was Ajatashatru and Ashoka after their conversion and those who point every one to the Lotus Sutra (Myoho renge kyo) and Nichiren, and not to themselves. 

I may add or subtract to my musings here as I continue to chant Namu Myoho renge kyo and study the Lotus Sutra and the writings of Nichiren. In conclusion, I was not going to accept your insults and it is you, not I who need reflect.