For my readers who like country music...Miranda Lambert's Mama's Broken Heart

 

Josei Toda was deluded, not Enlightened

Regarding Toda's Lecture on the Sutra Part 2, Likening Buddha to life was completely mistaken in light of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren. 

All that lives is destined to die. Life is marked by transience, suffering, impurity, and selfishness. The Original Buddha is eternal, joyful, pure, and selfless. The Buddha transcends life [and death]. Ikeda’s transgressions are far worse because of the principle of intent. He knows all too well the true and eternal principles of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin but persists in transmitting SGI’s [and Taisekaji's] distorted teachings. How many more untoward events in heaven and on earth will we have to experience because of Daisaku Ikeda’s transgressions? If Daisaku Ikeda and SGI continue to destroy and distort the teachings and fool the people, many more and severe sufferings will beset the people 

President Toda taught in his Lecture on the Sutra: “With this silent prayer, we express our sincere thanks to the Second High Priest Nikko Shonin, the founder of Head temple Taisekiji. Hossui-shabyo: Hossui is the Law or Buddhism metaphorically compared to clean water. Shabyo means “transfer. Now suppose here are two glasses, one of which is filled with water. The water is transferred from one glass into the other. The quality of the water remains unchanged through this transfer even though the shapes of the glasses may differ. Simililarly, the Hossui of Nichiren Daishonin was handed down from Nikko Shonin to Third High Priest Nichimoku Shonin. However, its geneuine purity was not changed in the least. This solemn tradition has been strictly maintained by the successive high priests of Nichiren Shoshu. YUIGA YOGA: This means that the life of Nikko Shonin equals that of Nichiren Daishonin. A Gohonzon called the “Tobi” (Flying) Mandala” is enshrined at Butsugenji Temple in Sendai City in Northeast Japan. It was inscribed co-operatively by the Daishonin and his immediate successor Nikko Shonin. This fact evidences what yuiga yoga signifies.” –Josei Toda as quoted in: From “Lectures on the Sutra” Third Edition, 1968 Seikyo Press. 

Please note that no where in the Lotus Sutra or the writings of Nichiren Daishonin, can we find the concepts or words, YUIGA YOGA but in Tendai/Shingon/Tibetan esotericism, this is a core principle. Central to Lamanism, an offshoot of Shingon, are the Four Treasures and the most important Treasure is the Treasure of the Guru. The other Three Treasures are subsumed within the Treasure of the Guru. This is known as Guru Yoga. The same goes for the SGI, whether it is implicit or implied. When SGI members or leaders chant Namu Myoho renge kyo, they are revering their Sensei. While they chant Namu Myoho renge kyo with their voices, they chant Namu Sensei in their hearts. Makiguchi and Toda read the Lotus Sutra according to the distorted teachings of the Taisekaji priests who adopted the two related Zen and Shingon concepts respectively: The Transfer of the Water of the Law; and Yuiga Yoga or the Oneness of living Master and Disciple. The SGI has adopted these distorted Zen and Shingon viewpoints, in contrast to the Lotus Sutra and writings of Nichiren Daishonin which state, “This Sutra”. More proof of SGI’s transgressions are Daisaku Ikeda’s teachings that mirror those of his deluded Sensei, Josei Toda. Ikeda once taught, “The basis of Nichiren Shoshu is the Lifeblood recieved only by a single person. To faithfully follow the High Priest of the bequethal of the Lifeblood is the correct way for priests and laybelievers. If one is mistaken about this single point, then everything will become insane.” And now he declares, “Following the Three Presidents of the Soka Gakkai is the basis of the Lifeblood of faith” 

Sad

"I was a “fortune baby” basically born into the Organization with both parents practicing.  All I can say is run. It’s a cult and has scarred me for life." -Carpentergirl

Nichiren Daishonin's view of the occult and the superiority of the Lotus

Nichiren Daishonin says of the occult in Letter to the Brothers:

"The Record of the Western Regions tells about a hermit who lived in Deer Park at Vārānasī, India, in the hopes that he could master occult powers. He learned to turn tiles and pebbles into jewels and change the forms of humans and animals, but he could not yet ride on winds and clouds or travel to the Palace of the Immortals. In order to accomplish these goals, he took as his assistant a man of integrity. Giving him a long sword, the hermit instructed him to stand in one corner of a practice platform, and told him to hold his breath and utter not a word. If the man remained silent through the whole night until dawn, the hermit was certain to master the occult. Determined, the hermit sat in the center of the platform with another long sword in hand and chanted incantations. Making his assistant take a vow, he said, “Even at the cost of your life, say nothing!” The man answered, “Though I die, not a word will leave these lips.”

In this manner they passed the night until, just as dawn was about to break, the man cried out suddenly, and the hermit immediately failed in his attempt. He reproached the man, saying, “How could you have broken your vow? This is deplorable!” Repenting deeply, the man said: “I dozed off for a little while, and in a dream, my previous master appeared and rebuked me. Yet I endured this, not uttering a word, for my debt of gratitude to you is much greater. My former master grew furious and threatened to behead me, but I still said nothing. Finally I was beheaded, and when I saw my own corpse proceeding on its journey from death to the next life, my sorrow was indescribable. Still, I did not speak. Eventually I was reborn in a Brahman family in southern India. The pain I felt on entering and leaving the womb was unbearable, yet I held my breath without crying. I grew up to be a young man and took a wife. My parents died; my child was born; I felt sorrow and joy, but said not a word. Living on like this, I reached my sixty-fifth year. Then my wife said to me, ‘If you still refuse to say anything, I will kill your beloved child.’ The thought flashed through my mind that I was already in the last years of my life, and that if my child were killed I could not beget another. Feeling that I must shout . . . I suddenly awoke.”

"The hermit said, “We were not strong enough. You and I have been deceived by a devil. Our task has ended in failure.” Lamenting, the man of integrity said, “Because I was so weak-willed, you have failed to master the occult.” The hermit regretfully replied, “It is my fault for not having admonished you enough beforehand.” Nonetheless, as the record states, the man was so grieved he could not fulfill his obligation to the hermit that he brooded over it and died miserably.

In China the occult evolved from Confucianism, and in India it is found among the non-Buddhist teachings. Yet it does not even approach the Hinayana teachings of the Āgama sutras, much less the connecting teaching, the specific teaching, or the perfect teaching. Therefore, how could it measure up to the Lotus Sutra? The four devils fiercely oppose the mastery of even such a shallow art as the occult. How much greater, then, are the tribulations that will confront the disciples and lay supporters of the person who is the first to embrace and the first to propagate in Japan the seven characters of Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, the ultimate principle of the Lotus Sutra. It is impossible to imagine, let alone describe in words. - Letter to the Brothers

And further down in the same writing:

"...As practice progresses and understanding grows, the three obstacles and four devils* emerge in confusing form, vying with one another to interfere... One should be neither influenced nor frightened by them. If one falls under their influence, one will be led into the paths of evil. If one is frightened by them, one will be prevented from practicing the correct teaching.” This statement not only applies to me, but also is a guide for my followers. Reverently make this teaching your own, and transmit it as an axiom of faith for future generations.

The three obstacles in this passage are the obstacle of earthly desires, the obstacle of karma, and the obstacle of retribution. The obstacle of earthly desires is the impediments to one’s practice that arise from greed, anger, foolishness, and the like; the obstacle of karma is the hindrances presented by one’s wife or children; and the obstacle of retribution is the hindrances caused by one’s sovereign or parents. Of the four devils, the workings of the devil king of the sixth heaven are of this last kind.

In Japan today, many people claim they have mastered the practice of concentration and insight. But is there anyone who has actually encountered the three obstacles and four devils? The statement “If one falls under their influence, one will be led into the paths of evil” indicates not only the three evil paths but also the worlds of human and heavenly beings, and in general, all of the nine worlds. Therefore, with the exception of the Lotus Sutra, all of the sutras—those of the Flower Garland, Āgama, Correct and Equal, and Wisdom periods, and the Nirvana and Mahāvairochana sutras—will lead people toward the paths of evil. Also, with the exception of the Tendai school, the adherents of the seven other schools are in reality wardens of hell who drive others toward the evil paths. Even in the Tendai school are found those who profess faith in the Lotus Sutra, yet actually lead others toward the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings. They, too, are wardens of hell who cause people to fall into the evil paths."

* The Three Obstacles and Four Devils, Five Cardinal Sins, and Ten Evil Acts, from the Nichiren Library dictionary, slightly edited. 

"(1) the obstacle of earthly desires, or obstacles arising from the three poisons of greed, anger, and foolishness; (2) the obstacle of karma, obstacles due to bad karma created by committing any of the five cardinal sins or ten evil acts; and (3) the obstacle of retribution, obstacles caused by the negative karmic effects of actions in the three evil paths. In a letter he addressed to the Ikegami brothers in 1275, Nichiren states, “The obstacle of earthly desires is the impediments to one’s practice that arise from greed, anger, foolishness, and the like; the obstacle of karma is the hindrances presented by one’s wife or children; and the obstacle of retribution is the hindrances caused by one’s sovereign or parents”

The four devils are (1) the hindrance of the five components, obstructions caused by one’s physical and mental functions; (2) the hindrance of earthly desires, obstructions arising from the three poisons; (3) the hindrance of death, meaning one’s own untimely death obstructing one’s practice of Buddhism, or the premature death of another practitioner causing one to doubt; and (4) the hindrance of the devil king, who is said to assume various forms (usually the authorities) or take possession of others in order to cause one to discard one’s Buddhist practice. This hindrance is regarded as the most difficult to overcome."

**The Five Cardinal Sins: "The most serious offenses in Buddhism. Explanations vary according to the sutras and treatises. The most common is (1) killing one’s father, (2) killing one’s mother, (3) killing an arhat, (4) injuring a Buddha, and (5) causing disunity in the Buddhist Order. It is said that those who commit any of the five cardinal sins invariably fall into the hell of incessant suffering. The last three offenses are collectively referred to as the three cardinal sins. Devadatta is well known for committing these three. According to Nichiren, there is no Buddhist order so there is no sin of causing disunity in the Buddhist Order in this time of the Latter Degenerate Age."

***The Ten Evil Acts: "They are the three physical evils of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct; the four verbal evils of lying, flattery or indiscriminate and irresponsible speech, defamation, and duplicity; and the three mental evils of greed, anger, and foolishness or the holding of mistaken views..."

April 28, 1253

Nichiren first chanted Namu Myoho renge kyo on April 28, 1253

Is Tracy McGrady the best small forward ever?

 

Namu the wolf, daughter of Fluffy

 

Excellent lecture by Sifu Silvain Chamberlain on the Gosho, The Story of Ohashi-no-Taro - Part 1 and 2

 

India receiving devastating karmic retribution

India is receiving devastating karmic retribution for the 20 million Buddhists killed by the Hindus and Muslims there. They are rapidly approaching the most covid-19 infections* in the entire world with no sign of relief. India has not enough ICU beds and not enough oxygen for seriously ill. Should they turn to the Lotus Sutra and Namu Myoho renge kyo, they can lessen their karmic retribution for their diabolic murderous ancestors.

*The New York Times stated that India's reported number of covid-19 victims are heavily understated.

More Anonymous...Maup university in Ukraine.

Maup university in the Ukraine, is where neonazi and kkk grand dragon, David Duke, got his PhD in Racist, and racial studies. They hate black people too. I think zionism suks but, these nazis do really not care, otherwise they would not promote trump . 911 is a hot button issue for these criminals. It is a smoke screen to promote racism, and hate of most people on earth. Que lostima.como estupido and evilWatch "N/S Part 03: MAUP, an Antisemitic University in Ukraine" on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/SLARckGZiTo

The World is a Mess by Anonymous...the answer is Namu Myoho renge kyo

THe world is a mess. Nato trying to start nuclear war with russia and china.

https://nuclear-news.net/2021/04/24/rising-threat-of-nuclear-war-is-barely-noticed-corporate-media-likes-it-that-way/

And yet the trmptards were trying to.start a war w china russia and iran. Biden is a weasel. Fascist light. established the nazis in ukraine to terrorize russians . the world under obama. What strange times we live in. Darned if u do and darned if u don't.. the Ukraine is dangerously close to a nuclear disaster as I write this. They have probably already had before disasters that are undocumented there have been nuclear waste buyers on above ground nuclear waste canisters. They're all reactors run farm Uranium and plutonium mixed. Now the us is using the racist nazis in ukraine to terrorize donbass and russia. I know tucker carlson don't care he is a rich kid empty suit trump hitler lover.

rs

In response to the gloomy employment prospects, societal fragmentation, and looming environmental catastrophe that young people find themselves in amid 21st century capitalism, in the last several years a meme character has appeared called The Doomer. A beanie-wearing version of the popular meme character Wojak, The Doomer is meant to encapsulate the experience of living with a sense of hopelessness towards the present and the future. Videos about the character often depict him getting screwed over in various ways by an uncaring capitalist order, sometimes deliberately in the same vein as the suffering of Arthur Fleck from Joker. And there are two locations that The Doomer most seems to be framed as living within: the United States and eastern Europe.

Among the younger inhabitants of late-stage capitalism that the character is supposed to represent, there's certainly a kinship between those within the U.S. and those within the former communist bloc. As we in the core of global imperialism experience the growing poverty, corruption, and dysfunctionality of an empire that's turned to neoliberal austerity in its time of crisis. The social bonds and economic security which existed in these countries with social nets have been gutted, and replaced by a neoliberal kleptocracy where the working class gets left behind during crises like the pandemic.

Nuclear News and the tears flow

https://nuclear-news.net/2021/04/24/rising-threat-of-nuclear-war-is-barely-noticed-corporate-media-likes-it-that-way/ 

Mayak...Third worst nuclear accident in history

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayak

The Green Run and the stupid billionaires by Unknown

https://youtu.be/RKd9sS2IORM

The Green Run

A graveyard of dead babies and, dead mother's, from the green run in walla walla washington. Hanford could blow up at anytime and, destroy washington state like mayak, in russia. They want to put more nuclear reactors there. That is the billionaires and government. Their greed and depravity, knows no bounds.

I don't care if these sound like trigger words. Think of what happened with the Green Run and Mayak. Hanford is poisoning the columbia river, with a steady stream of Radionuclide, from hanford flowing into the columbia river.

https://nuclear-news.net/2021/04/20/bill-gates-and-28-other-billionaires-pushing-their-small-nuclear-reactors-on-the-pretext-that-theyre-clean/

Why do people leave the Soka Gakkai?

"I have been practicing in the SGI since before a toddler. I no longer have faith. Any thoughts?"

I have not a few thoughts on why your faith has weakened. I have been in contact with dozens and dozens of ex members, including so-called fortune babies (those born into the SGI) and near fortune babies. There are a multitude of reasons that Soka Gakkai members abandon the faith and practice of the Lotus Sutra. As you may know, in the United States, more than 600,000 NST/SGI Gohonzons were bestowed and from the number of World Tribune subscriptions of ~ 35,000, we can estimate that at least 550,000 people have abandoned the SGI faith. Fortunately, a large minority who abandoned the SGI either continue to have faith or have come to have faith in Nichiren Lotus Sutra Buddhism. They have faith in Namu Myoho renge kyo, the Gohonzon, the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha, and Nichiren Daishonin. Unfortunately, a large majority of former SGI members will never again in this lifetime chant the Daimoku because they have completely lost their faith. Some of those who quit the Soka Gakkai and have lost their faith will, after 1, 5, 10, 20 years or more years, again embrace the Daimoku. Very few of those who leave the Soka Gakkai will ever return to the Soka Gakkai. Most of those who continue to have faith in the Three Jewels and Three Great Secret Laws (or those who regain faith in them), either become independents, join the Nichiren Shoshu (a bad move) or join the more orthodox sects (a good or a bad move depending on a myriad of factors that I will not touch on here).

Most of the reasons people abandon the Lotus Sutra permanently are highlighted by Nichiren.

1). The behavior of top leaders/priests fails to match their talk (they talk the talk but fail to walk the walk).

2). Realization that one's object(s) of veneration is an incorrect object(s) of veneration (lack of benefit).

3). Having met an incorrect teacher or teachers.

4). Having encountered poor spiritual friends.

5). Realizing that the SGI doctrines are inconsistent and fail to match the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren

6). SGI lack of financial transparency

7). Some abandon the Soka Gakkai (or even the Nichiren Lotus Sutra faith) for more mundane reasons such as hatred, jealousy, arrogance, lack of forbearance, racism).

8). Another subset of people abandon the Soka Gakkai and especially the Lotus Sutra Buddhism of Nichiren because of the six difficult acts (Chapter 11 of the Lotus Sutra.)

9). Many leave the Soka Gakkai because of perceived Ikeda Worship and/or the heavy burden of banal activities:

10). Few leave the Soka Gakkai because of the Three Obstacles and Four Devils, because it is nigh impossible to encounter the Three Obstacles and Four Devils in the Soka Gakkai due to their interfaith practices. In the history of the Soka Gakkai they have but one martyr, Makiguchi. The Nichiren co-fraternities in the 16th century experienced many thousands of martyrs and the great reformers such as Nikkyo Shonen had his ears and nose cut off before a debate with the Nembutsu and everal of his young disciples were killed. Nisshin Shonin, the "pot-headed" monk, experienced a myriad of tortures before claiming victory.

11). Some leave the Soka Gakkai because their questions were never answered.

12). A few were excommunicated, like the Independent Reassessment Group, and the Malaysian leaders who questioned SGI's finances and the Chicago Six who also questioned where the money had gone.

13). Many were studied in the Human Revolution novel but failed to study the Lotus Sutra and major writings of Nichiren.

There are many other possible reasons why people abandon the Soka Gakkai.

Depending on the reason or reasons and the karma of the individual, one will be more or less likely to maintain one's faith and practice of the Law after leaving the Soka Gakkai. if the person is afflicted of slandering the Law, it will be difficult to continue or to again embrace the teachings. Likewise, if one were physically abused at the hands of a leader, it will be difficult for them to continue or to regain one's faith. And finally, if one can not solve the several Lotus Sutra Buddhist paradoxes, one will likely not continue faith or regain faith.

I encourage you to forget everything you learned in the Soka Gakkai and to begin to develop the same faith and practice as Nichiren. The difference is night and day.

Multi million-dollar SGI boasts about their pitifully small charitable contributions.

SGI-USA DONATES MORE THAN 15,000 MASKS (disposable). It is on the following website and on the tongue of many members as an important act of charity.

https://web.archive.org/web/20210122003831/https://www.sgi-usa.org/memberresources/contributions/docs/FinancialOverview.pdf

A box of 50 face masks RETAIL costs $7:00. In bulk, an institution can buy disposable masks from 3 cents to 5 cents a mask. At 5 cents each, 15,000 facemaks would cost $700.00 and at 3 cents each, 15,000 face masks would cost $420.00 dollars. WOW, SO CHARITABLE. Lets all praise the Soka Gakkai!

How sad! An experience by a former SGI person born into the practice.

Dear mom and dad,

As you all know, it has been 35 years since I stopped practicing. I know that you all have been hoping and even chanting for me to return to the practice. I know that you blame my grandparents and my aunts and uncles for the cessation of my practice. I know that you think that this practice is the key to happiness. I know you thought that your practice would impart so much benefit into my life. However this is/was not the case.

When I lived and practiced with you all, life was not that great. There were so many days that I would come home from school and be alone because you all were running to meetings. Sometimes one of the lady NSA members would babysit me, but other times I was alone. For so many dinners, I would eat dry Corn Flakes because the milk had spoiled. I used to hate the weekends because that meant that I had to go meetings with you all no matter how far they were. When most people regale their childhood weekends, they talk about sleepovers with their friends, cousins, or even grandparents. My childhood weekend tales involve riding six hours in a station wagon to someone's house where I had sit on a tatami mat and chant over five hours with you all. And if I nodded during the meeting, I was chided by one of the Japanese seniors in faith for giving in to one of the troops of sansho shima. My childhood with you all was a colossal nightmare. Do you know how many times I wanted to share with you some good news only for you to be more preoccupied with recruiting other people or kosen rufu? And all of the times that I got in trouble in school, I was trying to get your attention. For once, I wanted to come before this practice, but it was no use.

So finally, one time I had gotten in trouble, and my grandparents came. You said that they acted under the influence of sansho shima and dissuaded me from the practice. I say that they're intervention was the best thing that ever happened to me. With my grandparents, I had someone home when I got home. And when they were gone briefly, like no more than 30 minutes, one of my aunts or uncles was home. When I lived with my grandparents, I ate a warm dinner with someone I knew as opposed to a total stranger. When I lived with my grandparents, I had a weekends of actual fun. And by fun, I mean that I didn't have to tell myself, "You're making a good cause." My grades significantly improved while I was with my grandparents. My grades improved to where i graduated from high school an honor graduate. The improve was not because of your chanting. Rather it was because I knew and felt that someone actually cared about me.

Now thanks to your importunate behavior, I decided to look into Daisaku Ikeda. I stumbled on this quote: "If a mother sincerely carries out her activities, her children will, without fail, emulate her spirit. On the other hand, if she is reluctant to participate in activities, her children will also have disdain for the practice. It is ultimately the mother who determines everything."

Ikeda was wrong. It was your insane dedication to activities that caused me to hate the activities. It was the times that you couldn't make time for me, but you could find a hooker to recruit that caused me to hate activities.

After reading this letter, I want it to be very clear. I have no need or desire for a worthless practice. I have no need or desire for a corpulent master, or as you call Ikeda today, mentor. SGI has taken enough from my life, and I would consider it a great day if SGI crumbled and ended up like the Aggressive Christian Missions Training Corps.

Sincerely,No Fukudoshieturn to the practice. I know that you blame my grandparents and my aunts and uncles for the cessation of my practice. I know that you think that this practice is the key to happiness. I know you thought that your practice would impart so much benefit into my life. However this is/was not the case.

When I lived and practiced with you all, life was not that great. There were so many days that I would come home from school and be alone because you all were running to meetings. Sometimes one of the lady NSA members would babysit me, but other times I was alone. For so many dinners, I would eat dry Corn Flakes because the milk had spoiled. I used to hate the weekends because that meant that I had to go meetings with you all no matter how far they were. When most people regale their childhood weekends, they talk about sleepovers with their friends, cousins, or even grandparents. My childhood weekend tales involve riding six hours in a station wagon to someone's house where I had sit on a tatami mat and chant over five hours with you all. And if I nodded during the meeting, I was chided by one of the Japanese seniors in faith for giving in to one of the troops of sansho shima. My childhood with you all was a colossal nightmare. Do you know how many times I wanted to share with you some good news only for you to be more preoccupied with recruiting other people or kosen rufu? And all of the times that I got in trouble in school, I was trying to get your attention. For once, I wanted to come before this practice, but it was no use.

So finally, one time I had gotten in trouble, and my grandparents came. You said that they acted under the influence of sansho shima and dissuaded me from the practice. I say that they're intervention was the best thing that ever happened to me. With my grandparents, I had someone home when I got home. And when they were gone briefly, like no more than 30 minutes, one of my aunts or uncles was home. When I lived with my grandparents, I ate a warm dinner with someone I knew as opposed to a total stranger. When I lived with my grandparents, I had a weekends of actual fun. And by fun, I mean that I didn't have to tell myself, "You're making a good cause." My grades significantly improved while I was with my grandparents. My grades improved to where i graduated from high school an honor graduate. The improve was not because of your chanting. Rather it was because I knew and felt that someone actually cared about me.

Now thanks to your importunate behavior, I decided to look into Daisaku Ikeda. I stumbled on this quote: "If a mother sincerely carries out her activities, her children will, without fail, emulate her spirit. On the other hand, if she is reluctant to participate in activities, her children will also have disdain for the practice. It is ultimately the mother who determines everything."

Ikeda was wrong. It was your insane dedication to activities that caused me to hate the activities. It was the times that you couldn't make time for me, but you could find a hooker to recruit that caused me to hate activities.

After reading this letter, I want it to be very clear. I have no need or desire for a worthless practice. I have no need or desire for a corpulent master, or as you call Ikeda today, mentor. SGI has taken enough from my life, and I would consider it a great day if SGI crumbled and ended up like the Aggressive Christian Missions Training Corps.

Sincerely,

Recent letter to an ex-SGI member

The person misses the focus and energy of chanting a half hour of Nam Myoho renge kyo when SGI.

Hi! My name is Mark. Almost everything we learned in the Soka Gakkai/Nichiren Shoshu was wrong: The chant is Namu Myoho renge kyo, not Nam Myoho renge kyo; A copy of a Nichiren inscribed Gohonzon is superior for developing strong faith; their doctrines on mentor-disciple and the infallibility of the High Priest is false. the succession is through the scrolls of the Sutra and writings of Nichiren Daishonin; Nichiren as True, Eternal, Original Buddha is wrong...It is Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter; their teachings on desires and attachment is mistaken; Gongyo may be recited in English. We can recite the entire 16th Chapter as the Nichiren Shoshu or any and all of the Lotus Sutra; We may have staues of Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren on the altar; Flowers may be offered; SGI interfaith is wrong; the forceful practices (shakubuku) is the principle practice in this day and age, not the peaceful practices (shoju). Nichiren practiced the forceful practices towards non-believers almost exclusively and the peaceful practices towards his disciples and believers (unlike the Soka Gakkai leaaders who habitually admonishes their own members and talks kindly towards other Buddhists and non-Buddhists and the Nichiren Shoshu priests who admonish everyone); They study principally the writings of Daisaku Ikeda and the High Priests and we study principally the Lotus Sutra and authenticated writings of Nichiren such as the Five Major Works (and when they do study Nichiren, they focus on the inauthentic/altered and earlier texts and the commentaries of Daisaku Ikeda and the priests.) No interpretation of the Lotus Sutra is necessary except for the Supreme Votary Nichiren's interpretation.

From my experience, the energy and focus of practicing as Nichiren did is realized within minutes of chanting rather than hours, let alone a half hour.

More on the Four Powers

There are Four Powers, the Power of Faith, the Power of Practice, the Power of the Buddha and the Power of the Law. The first two are cause generated. The latter two are condition generated. The Four Powers are eternal and unchanging. All Four Powers, both causes and conditions, must be correct in order to obtain Buddhahood. The SGI has two cause generated shortfalls and two condition generated shortfalls: Their warped faith and practice is their cause generated shortfall and their Object of Worship and mentor is their condition generated shortfall. In the Soka Gakkai, the Power of the Buddha is de-emphasized. At one time, it was taught in the SGI that we needed Gohonzon to obtain Buddhahood because it is the source of the Power of the Law and the Power of the Buddha and we do not have the strength nor wisdom to accomplish Buddhahood on our own. Now they erroneously teach that faith and practice alone is sufficient to attain Buddhahood.

"Suppose that a person is burning with fever. If he sits down beside a large body of cold water and stays there for a while, his fever will abate, but if he lies down beside a little body of water, he will continue to suffer as before. In the same way, if an icchantika, or person of incorrigible disbelief, who has committed the five cardinal sins and has slandered the Law, should try to cool himself beside the little bodies of water that are the Āgama, Flower Garland, Meditation, and Mahāvairochana sutras, the raging fever caused by his great offenses would never be dispelled. But if he should lie down on the great snowy mountain that is the Lotus Sutra, then the raging fever caused by the five cardinal sins, his slander of the Law, and his incorrigible disbelief would be dispelled instantly.

Therefore, ignorant people should by all means have faith in the Lotus Sutra. For although one may think that all the titles of the sutras are the same in effect and that it is as easy to chant one as another, in fact the merit acquired even by an ignorant person who chants the title of the Lotus Sutra is as far superior to that acquired by a wise person who chants some other title as heaven is to earth.

To illustrate, even a person with great strength cannot break a strong rope with his bare hands. But if one has a little knife, then even a person of meager strength can sever the rope with ease. Even a person with great strength cannot cut through a piece of hard stone with a dull sword. But if one has a sharp sword, then even a person of meager strength can cut the stone in two." -- Repaying Debts of Gratitude

"To illustrate, suppose that a person is standing at the foot of a tall embankment and is unable to ascend. And suppose that there is someone on top of the embankment who lowers a rope and says, “If you take hold of this rope, I will pull you up to the top of the embankment.” If the person at the bottom begins to doubt that the other has the strength to pull him up, or wonders if the rope is not too weak and therefore refuses to put forth his hand and grasp it, then how is he ever to get to the top of the embankment? But if he follows the instructions, puts out his hand, and takes hold of the rope, then he can climb up.

If one doubts the strength of the Buddha when he says, “I am the only person who can rescue and protect others”; if one is suspicious of the rope held out by the Lotus Sutra when its teachings declare that one can “gain entrance through faith alone”; if one fails to chant the Mystic Law which guarantees that “such a person assuredly and without doubt [will attain the Buddha way],” then the Buddha’s power cannot reach one, and it will be impossible to scale the embankment of enlightenment.

Lack of faith is the basic failing that causes a person to fall into hell. Therefore, the sutra states, “If with regard to this sutra one should harbor doubt and fail to believe, one will fall at once into the evil paths." -- Questions and Answers on Embracing the Lotus Sutra

Both self power (the Power of Faith and the Power of Practice) and other power (the Power of the Law and the Power of the Buddha) are necessary in this latter degenerate age in order to attain Buddhahood.

Chris: Note he is referring to Shakyamuni Buddha, the Lord of Teachings. This is not the same as his "transient status". You could say that this "Lord of Teachings" is the Well of Wisdom from which each of us draws our water. Nichiren calls him Shakyamuni, but the members of the Fuji School were not totally remiss to call the "Buddha of this well" Nichiren. Where they were remis was in calling each other names over the nomenclature rather than seeking to understand the point of the teaching -- which is that the Buddha Wisdom is available to all.

Response: Nomenclature? Nichiren called Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter Ri-Butsu or the very real Buddha, the Father, Teacher, and Parent of all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and beings. This Buddha's Law (teaching) is Myoho renge kyo.

Nichiren taught this reality extensively, only secondary to the the Daimoku (Namu Myoho renge kyo. SGI and the Nichiren Shoshu alter and diminish his (and the Lotus Sutra's) teachings on Shakyamuni Buddha.

Nichiren said that, because the times are severe [as predicted in the Daijuku Sutra and others], self power is not enough to attain the fruits of Buddhist practice or Buddhahood. We need, by necessity, to take refuge in the Law of Namu Myoho renge kyo (the Law to which the Eternal Buddha was originally and eternally Enlightened) by chanting it repeatedly and believing in the Original Eternal Buddha (Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter of the Lotus Sutra). Our lack of concentration, memory, volition, fortitude and compassion is so attenuated merely by having been born in this age, we may not by our power alone attain the same unsurpassed Enlightenment as the Original Buddha. Nichiren teaches:

"To illustrate, suppose that a person is standing at the foot of a tall embankment and is unable to ascend. And suppose that there is someone on top of the embankment who lowers a rope and says, “If you take hold of this rope, I will pull you up to the top of the embankment.” If the person at the bottom begins to doubt that the other has the strength to pull him up, or wonders if the rope is not too weak and therefore refuses to put forth his hand and grasp it, then how is he ever to get to the top of the embankment? But if he follows the instructions, puts out his hand, and takes hold of the rope, then he can climb up.

If one doubts the strength of the Buddha when he says, “I am the only person who can rescue and protect others”; if one is suspicious of the rope held out by the Lotus Sutra when its teachings declare that one can “gain entrance through faith alone”; if one fails to chant the Mystic Law which guarantees that “such a person assuredly and without doubt [will attain the p.60Buddha way],” then the Buddha’s power cannot reach one, and it will be impossible to scale the embankment of enlightenment." - Questions and Answers on Embracing the Lotus Sutra

The Buddha, by virtue of his limitless compassion, leaves for us, the people of this Latter Age, the Great Medicine of his Supreme and Perfect Enlightenment so that we may gain the very same inconceivable field of cognition as he. All we have to do is chant and believe in Namu Myoho renge kyo, the Buddha's excellent medicine. By virtue of the vast merit power of the Law and Eternal Buddha, the power to perceive and manifest Supreme and Perfect Enlightenment is transferred to us. Another way to put it is that we are perfected by the Buddha's limitless Enlightenment, mercy, and  teaching  of Namu Myoho renge kyo.

To attempt to separate The Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni's Enlightenment (Myoho renge kyo) from the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni is as futile as attempting to separate carbon from diamond. Namu Myoho renge kyo is the essential element of the Eternal Buddha's enlightenment. Without the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni there is no Namu Myoho renge kyo and without Namu Myoho renge kyo there is no Eternal Buddha.

There would be no proof of the unsurpassed utility and beauty of elemental carbon were it not for the diamond. There would be no proof of the supreme benefit of Namu Myoho renge kyo were it not for the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni.

Nichiren wrote in the True Object of Worship, in the section, The Pure Land of the Eternal Buddha:

"Now, when the Eternal Buddha was revealed in the essential section of the Lotus Sutra, this world of endurance (Saha-World) became the Eternal Pure Land, indestructible even by the three calamities of conflagration, flooding, and strong winds which are said to destroy the world. It transcends the four periods of cosmic change: the kalpa of construction, continuance, destruction, and emptiness. Sakyamuni Buddha, the Lord-preacher of this pure land, has never died in the past, nor will He be born in the future. He exists forever throughout the past, present, and future. All those who receive His guidance are one with this Eternal Buddha...."

And in the section, The Form of the true Object of Worship, he writes:

"The object of worship (honzon) at the scene of this transmission of "Namu Myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo" from the Eternal Buddha to his original disciples is: Suspended in the sky above the Eternal Buddha Sakyamuni's Saha-world is a stupa of treasures, in which Buddhas Sakyamuni and Taho sit to the left and right of "Myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo". They are waited on by four bodhisattvas such as Jogyo (Superior Practice) representing the original disciples of the Eternal Buddha called out from underground. Four more bodhisattvas including Manjusri and Maitreya, take lower seats as followers, other great and minor bodhisattvas, those converted by the Buddha in the theoretical section and those who came from other lands, resemble numerous people sitting on the ground and looking up at court nobles. Also, lined up on the ground, are Buddhas in manifestation (funjin Buddhas) who gathered together from all the worlds in the universe in praise of the Buddha's preaching who represent provisional Buddhas in their respective lands.

The true object of worship (honzon) such as this was not revealed anywhere else by Sakyamuni Buddha during the more than fifty years of His preaching in this life. Though He spent eight years preaching the Lotus Sutra, the scene was limited to the preaching in the air above Mt. Sacred Eagle conveyed in eight chapters, from the fifteenth to the twenty-second chapters. During the two millenium after the death of Sakyamuni Buddha, the ages of the True Dharma and the Imitative Dharma, some worshipped Sakyamuni Buddha accompanied by Kasyapa and Ananda as described in the Hinayana sutras; others worshipped Him accompanied by such bodhisattvas as Manjusri and Samantabhadra as he appeared in quasi-Mahayana sutras, the Nirvana Sutra, and the theoretical section of the Lotus Sutra. Many wooden statues and portraits were made of Sakyamuni as He preached Hinayana or quasi-Mahayana sutras, but statues and portraits of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha revealed in the Duration of Life of the Buddha" chapter of the Lotus Sutra were never made. Now in the beginning of the Latter Age of the Decadent Dharma, is it not the time that such statues and portraits are made?"

SGI godfather moderator of Reddit Nichiren.

"If you would have asked me nicely I might have reinstated you." 

Raymond contributed these excellent points regarding the True benefit of the Lotus Sutra

To realize and understand the original infinite cause of all phenomena which is stated in the Lotus Sutra , the Burton Watson translation is regardless and will not matter if you eat meat or not you will attain Enlightenment with this which is only shared between Buddhas, buddhahood does exist in hell just like all the other worlds to realize this original cause is the sole purpose of the Lotus Sutra the Lotus Sutra tells you the secret of this original cause in so many different ways and angles as it leaves it sitting in the center for you to understand that if you put all the Parables together you can attain enlightenment because every angle for enlightenment is absolutely covered in the Lotus Sutra where the secret of the original infinite cause of all phenomenal lies, or you can just chant the great title of the Lotus Sutra just the way nichiren did.. di=(great) moku =(title) for me chanting the dimoku came first reading the lotus was easier due to that fact... The essence of your existence is the Lotus Sutra, is the gohonzon you're pure existence is the original cause of all phenomena... Shakyamuni States I am always here preaching the law that's because the original infinite cause of all phenomena is always here he realized the Buddha thus he is the Buddha and is always here as well, along with all Buddahs..., the Lotus describes the buddha of our nature as well.

Thanks to Delbert Grady for finding this information from the diary of Edwin O. Reischauer, US Ambassador to Japan, 1961-1966.

November 13, 1965

In my ongoing efforts to dialogue with the Japanese, I spoke for about two hours with Soka Gakkai president Daisaku Ikeda. My hope was to build good relations and influence his thoughts positively; Ikeda received me very warmly, and the conversation carried on smoothly. However, both he and his organization were astonishingly lacking in their understanding of global affairs & politics.

February 12, 1966

Two and a half hours of conversation with the Soka Gakkai's President Ikeda. This time (we met three and a half months ago), I visited their luxurious headquarters. Ikeda cleared the room, and we discussed extensively. Unlike our previous meeting, he strongly supported America's Vietnam policy and passionately advocated the re-militarization of Japan. In complete contrast to his earlier ambiguous stance, I sensed tendencies that were quite racist and authoritarian. It is of vital interest to see how the beliefs of this potentially influential organization will take shape. I intend to work to influence him, to move in a positive direction - opposition to nuclear weapons, for instance.

posthumously published as "Reischauer Taishi Nichiroku"

SGI members who claim, "We are Buddhas", are paranoid with faulty perception.

Here are two examples:

They, including one leader/moderator, accuse the founder of SGIwhistleblowers of being Nichiren Shoshu though she hates both Nichiren and chanting Namu Myoho renge kyo,

One other SGI member accuses my old friend of being Nichiren Shoshu even though he is as much Nichiren Shoshu as I.

The high life condition of Never Despise Bodhisattva?

SGI leader today, to me, "GET F--Ked". Before this, he stated that I was hostile.I then wrote:

If I weren't hostile towards men of incorrigeable disbelief, to whom would i be hostile? I'm also hostile to the Japanese, Indian, Russian, Chinese, and American governments, to all war mongers, Covid-19, and those who lie about Fukushima.

I then reminded him of the hostility of his Sensei, the mentor Daisaku Ikeda:

Guidance of Honorary President Ikeda - SGI Senior Leaders' Informal Discussions with Ikeda. March, 1994:

"This year determines if we win or lose. Go and win the great victory! If we win this year, after that, everything is ours.

Be more belligerent against Nichiren Shoshu. Don't worry! What do you think we made the Komeito for anyway! We have the police in our control as well. [=keisatsu mo daijobu da.]

Now we are finally entering the era of the Gakkai. We have in our grasp all things under the sky to take political control of the country. We no longer need the party name, komei (clean government). It is alright, now, that we let the Shin-ichi-kai handle concerns related to the parliament. "

Don't cower over one or two Judases in our midst. They are lower than worms. Stamp on them! Anyone who betrays the child of the Buddha will fall into hell."

After this, he cursed me.

How to Obtain Supreme and Perfect Enlightenment Quickly

Here is something I wrote to both a new believer and one who had recently left the SGI and converted to Nichiren Lotus Sutra Buddhism. 

The new believer wrote:

"Hello! I'm XYZ. I'm happy to learn more about Buddhism. I consider myself a layperson. I've read excerpts of the lotus sutra and own a copy I'm working through. I'm not super knowledgeable but I'd like to be. Any info is appreciated"

I responded:

We chant Namu Myoho renge kyo (not Nam Myoho renge kyo) to a copy of a Gohonzon inscribed by the venerable Nichiren. Also, similar to the Soka Gakkai, we do Gongyo morning and evening, reciting the same two parts of the 2nd and 16th Chapters of the Lotus Sutra. We may also chant the entire 16th Chapter and we may do Gongyo in English or Sino-Japanese. We can chant any Chapter of the Lotus Sutra if we so desire. Unlike the Soka Gakkai, we study the Lotus Sutra and the writings of Nichiren and take them to heart. I had written the following to a new believer:

The fairly new convert wrote:

"Just a suggestion but would it be possible to post more info on how to really dive into the teachings for a new believer coming into the Nichiren fold? There isn't much info out there other than by "those that shan't be named." or others with their own agenda. Would it be possible to maybe post some things that show how one can begin, continue and develop their practice for the long haul and integrate into everyday life from an authentic point not from a watered down, mixed point like what is being peddled as Nichiren Buddhism." -- Josh

My reply:

To begin to dive into the teachings, determine to chant Namu Myoho renge kyo for, at least, 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening. You may also recite portions of the 2nd and 16th Chapters of the Lotus Sutra in Sino-Japanese or your native language. You may find Sutra books containing these two chapters on line. From time to time you may also recite any or all of the Lotus Sutra as did Nichiren. I would avoid all sectarian prayers before or after your recitation of the Lotus Sutra unless they are based on the Lotus Sutra and writings of Nichiren. You may add your own personal prayers either before, after, or both before and after your recitation of Namu Myoho renge kyo and the Lotus Sutra. Your personal prayers too should be based on the Lotus Sutra and writings of Nichiren. They may be recited out loud or silently.

Choose a clean area of your home and set up an altar with blank wall, altar table, covered water cup [to change the water daily], vase for fresh flowers or evergreens [which should never be left on to wither and die], food bowl for offering fresh fruit [and try never to let the fruit rot], bell, incense dish, and candle holder. Initially, you may place a copy of the Lotus Sutra and a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha on the altar [be sure that it is Guatama or Shakyamuni and not Amida]. Make a great indestructible vow to continue chanting Namu Myoho renge kyo until the last moment of your life. To help you to continuously renew and strengthen your vow, it is necessary several things: To study the Lotus Sutra and the writings of Nichiren Daishonin on a daily basis if possible; to take as your teachers Shakyamuni Buddha of the Original Doctrine [Shakyamuni of the 16th Chapter of the Lotus Sutra or Gohonzon] and Nichiren Daishonin, the Supreme Votary of the Lotus Sutra. Integrating the teachings into your daily life is to chant the title of the Lotus Sutra with the same faith as Nichiren. When your vow is firm, you may ask your friend or family member who introduced you to the faith and practice to bestow upon you a mandala Gohonzon or you may print off a mandala Gohonzon and either frame it or mount it on a blank wall scroll. You should perform an Eye Opening Ceremony when you receive the Gohonzon. It can be found online. The Gohonzon should be placed on the wall above seated eye level or placed in a cabinet called a Butsudan [if you have pets or are surrounded by those who oppose your practice]. You should protect the Gohonzon. You may place a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha (and/or a statue of Nichiren Daishonin) and a copy of the Lotus Sutra on the altar. Usually, the statues and copy of the Lotus Sutra are placed in the middle in front of the Gohonzon but this is not a hard and fast rule. Nichiren was not absolutely clear as to the structure of a valid object of worship [devotion], be it a painted [inscribed] or a statue arrangement. This accounts for the different styles and arrangements of the objects of worship of the various sects. You can't go wrong with a copy of a Nichiren inscribed Gohonzon, particularly those from the Koan Era (1278 - 1281). .

There are two types of practice: The practice for oneself and the practice for others. The practice for oneself is to chant Namu Myoho renge kyo. We should also chant parts of the 2nd Chapter of the Lotus Sutra and the 16th Chapter of the Lotus Sutra (either the entire 16th Chapter or the verse section alone).

The practice for others can be further broken down into the peaceful practices and the forceful practices. Only the priests must perform both practices. Laymen and laywomen may or may not perform the forceful practices depending on their abilities. Nichiren performed principally the peaceful practices regarding his disciples and believers and principally the forceful practices regarding the believers and practitioners of other faiths.

You will develop and integrate your faith and practice by following the Master Nichiren and adopting his manner of reading the Lotus Sutra [a bodily reading].

Nichiren teaches and I paraphrase: "There are two main reasons people make mistakes in their Buddhist practice...they are ignorant of the real teachings, and they follow bad teachers."

To avoid ignorance of the teachings, you should study the Lotus Sutra and the authenticated writings of Nichiren Daishonin. Several scholars and priests have determined which are authentic writings (definitely or probably) of Nichiren and which are forged writings. You should seek their writings on the subject. Studying the Five Major writings of Nichiren and their various translations are a good starting point. Please remember that the writings of Nichiren are ultimately consistent. If you read something purported to be from Nichiren and it is inconsistent with the Five Major Works or the entire canon of Nichiren, it is suspect. Please also remember that Nichiren developed his teachings. The earlier authentic teachings should be weighted against the authentic teachings during and after his exile on Sado Island with one exception: Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land written in 1260 is one of the Five Major Works and considered by some to be on par with the Opening of the Eyes and the True Object of Worship (A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Object of Worship for the First Time in the Fifth 500 year period after the Death of Shakyamuni Buddha)

The objective of the Nichiren faith is Supreme and Perfect Enlightenment or Buddhahood. In order to achieve such an exalted state one must perform a bodily reading of the Lotus Sutra as did Nichiren. By striving to have the same faith as Nichiren, you will be protected by the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and Buddhist gods throughout the universe. To avoid following bad teachers, the only teachers to rely on are Shakyamuni of the Juryo (16th) Chapter of the Lotus Sutra (Gohonzon) and Nichiren Daishonin, the Supreme Votary of the Lotus Sutra.

Lastly, if you wish to engage other Buddhists with polemics (the forceful practices), you had better study the Sutra classification of Tientai the Great...

"Five periods and eight teachings ［五時八教］ ( goji-hakkyō): A system of classification of the Buddhist teachings set forth by T’ien-t’ai (538–597) in The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra to demonstrate the superiority of the Lotus Sutra over all the other sutras. The five periods is a classification of Shakyamuni Buddha’s sutras according to the order in which they were expounded and consists of the Flower Garland, Āgama, Correct and Equal, Wisdom, and Lotus and Nirvana periods. The eight teachings is an organization of the Buddha’s teachings by content and method of presentation. It consists of two sub-classifications—the four teachings of doctrine and the four teachings of method. The four teachings of doctrine, a classification by content, are the Tripitaka teaching, the connecting teaching, the specific teaching, and the perfect teaching. The four teachings of method, a classification by method of teaching, are the sudden teaching, the gradual teaching, the secret teaching, and the indeterminate teaching. See also eight teachings; five periods." - Nichiren SGI library

Mark

Perhaps SGI leaders can help Rio Ventura

 Rio Ventura: So...Mark. Let me get this straight. You: Debate on who may bestow Gohonzon - publish a nail-biting critique of the SGI as an organization, the points [many of which I agree wholeheartedly with] made by use of employing really some very impressively astute psycho-babble and fear-speak, 

Mark R.: Which of course, you never cite nor address, for example Lisa Jone's "psycho-babble and fear mongering" in her Definitive Analysis Why SGI is a Cult.

Rio Ventura: - you rail against many of your commenters with accusations of being summarily deluded, even commenters who have either identified themselves as ALSO having parted ways with the organization, or acknowledge your grievances but disagree with you on various points of how this is "occurring" to you [because context is created in language, of course, and yours, as is similarly throughout the duration of this article and subsequent comments, is increasingly suspicious and (perhaps) justifiably yet unapologetically hostile],

Mark R.: If my criticisms are justifiable, it goes without saying, they are unapologetic. As to being hostile, many said the same exact thing about Nichiren Daishonin.

Rio Ventura: - and NOW you yourself are taking personal, fiscal, and karmic responsibility for the transmisson of the True Object of Devotion for Observing One's Mind, the most sacred of objects, the GOHONZON [!!], and making it available for digital download?????????????? :-o Are you going to make up your own Buddhism while you're on a roll, because you're already behaving so insidiously shockingly that it seems like the next and most obvious outcropping? :-/

Mark R.: Exactly as did Nichiren. Were you too a Bodhisattva of the Earth, you could also take responsibility for the Transmission of the True Object of Worship. What do you think, Ikeda himself transcribes the Nichikan Gohonzon for the thousands of converts to the SGI every year? They too are digital downloads [as I bite my tongue in order to refrain from calling you a moron].

Rio Ventura: I GET why, in so very many instances, you are put off by the organization and I AGREE WITH YOU on many of these points. I am not one to pursue blind faith; if I was, I'd have never have strayed from my mother, the Jehovah's Witness MINISTER. :-(

I have always maintained that I would only ever continue this practice if it MADE SENSE, and I have many years of actual proof of how this practice WORKS, even from a quantum physical perspective. There is absolutely something to the claim that this is the ULTIMATE practice, religion, etc., and there is doctrinal directive to seek out actual proof on one's own. 

Mark R.: Were that true, then you would have no qualms about entering into a rain challenge, debate, or similar actual proof challenge with me. By all means, you may bring along, Danny Nagashima, Ted Morino, and Linda Johnson to help you. Nichiren teaches that many make such claims but who is actually encountering the Three Obstacles and Four Devils? I am and this is another reason that I can take responsibility for transmitting the Gohonzon.

Rio Ventura: PLEASE UNDERSTAND that I am not talking about the SGI as having this ultimate power, the practice does, the gohonzon does, NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO DOES, but who is exactly in a position to steer newcomers in the most "correct" method of the 3 ways of faith/practice/study...you??? 

Mark R.: Me and all those who have the same mind as Nichiren.

Rio Ventura: Mostly because of my odd schedule [I work nights], I rarely attend group meetings anymore when I USED TO host them in my home, great ones, moving one, transformative ones! NEVER have I been told that I was not going to "receive benefit" for having missed these meetings. NEVER have I been told that I was "going to the hell of eternal suffering" for missing gongyo, not paying zaimu, voicing my concerns/opinions/disdain regarding Pres. Ikeda, or any of the other myriad things "good SGI Buddhist kiddies" are supposed to do or not do.

Mark R.: Were you in the SGI YMD? If you were, you are lying. The other possibility is that you are one of those rare individuals like David Aoyama who is not exhorted to attend the countless SGI meetings and activities. David Aoyama was a top SGI senior leader who died in one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center.

Rio Ventura: I have been in this organization for 28years. I have heard the George M. Williams-era horror stories. I [by choice] never took part in street shakubuku, although I can absolutely understand and appreciate the character building that sort of undertaking is bound to produce. Only someone so far out of their comfort zone can crash their inner mechanisms so fundamentally and open up a space for newfound ways of self-expression. Good on them, (although I spent a fair amount of time laughing at them when I was a teenager). My mother [aforementioned JH MINISTER!!) sent my brother to "look for me" at this "culture center" place to make sure I wasn't “joining a cult”. Oh, the irony. He got shakubuku'd and came home with a gohonzon. More. Beautiful. Irony.

Mark R.: I suggest you go to the George M. Williams memorial facebook page and see the accounts of the George Williams "horror stories" for yourself and the top SGI leaders like Dave Baldshun, Mike Kikamura, and Ted Morino who were all teary eyed at the departure of Ikeda's most faithful disciple EVER!.

Rio Ventura: I am mentioning all of this because what you are doing, saying and experiencing is the product of YOUR OWN very specific and fingerprint-like karmic equation. Your experiences with the SGI, whereas not unique, do not express the organization as a whole and I would not trade my history with them for anything. I have a very clear picture in my mind's eye about where my life would be if it had not intersected with the SGI, then NSA. The author [of The definitive analysis of why SGI is a cult] got 'indoctrinated'. I got a deeply ingrained sense of personal responsibility.

Mark R.: Your viewpoints belie your assertion. You reek of SGI indoctrination ["George Williams Horror Stories"].

Rio Ventura: The author got a paid position. I got flack for criticizing the "old vibe" of organization activities as 'the young Hitler youth movement". No one EVER ostracized me, criticized me, insulted me, forced me in any way/shape/form or, heavens forbid, asked for my gohonzon back [!!!], which (by the way) you could not pry from my cold, dead hands. How laughable and sad that someone would suggest such a thing. I am sincerely and profoundly disturbed by the notion that there might be leaders so misguided as to infer that someone should return their gohonzon under any circumstance except maybe the fear that they were liable to do it damage in some drug-fueled rage or something. 

Mark R.: Perhaps you were too insignificant to receive an SGI Letter of Excommunication and I notice, you didn't criticize the mentor or demand financial accountability. Also you never started a group such as the Independent Reassessment Group [IRG], all of these things actionable offenses that have lead to excommunication. As far as your cold dead hands, you don't have to wait. You are already cold and dead in the eyes of Nichiren, a walking dead man destined for hell:

"The other type are people who have slandered the correct teaching in their previous existences, slander it in their present existence, and for existence after existence go on creating karma that will condemn them to the hell of incessant suffering. These people, even though they may curse, will not have their mouths stopped. They are like men who have already been sentenced to execution and are awaiting their turn in prison. While they are in prison, regardless of what evil acts they may commit, they will receive no further punishment other than the death sentence already passed upon them. However, with regard to people who are eventually to be released, if they commit evil acts in prison, then they will receive warnings."

Rio Ventura: But I am equally floored and horrified that you have developed your own system for the wholesale distribution for the ‘True Object of Devotion’ via online order/request. The irony that you are throwing around the term “no-honzon” for anyone possessing of a Nichikan gohonzon and then procuring an acrylic protective shell for it from [Christian organization] ’Hobby Lobby’ is not lost on me for one moment. That is sheer comedic brilliance, right there, btw.

Mark R.: Sometimes online, sometimes in person. Always with the greatest respect and due diligence. You had better throw out your food, shoes, shirts, pants, appliances, pens, books, and house that were manufactured and assembled by Christians. If it disturbs your sensibilities to procure a fine protective frame for the Gohonzon from Hobby Lobby, I suggest you procure one from Michael's.

Rio Ventura: I am not programmed. I am not brainwashed. I already said I agreed about much of the feudalistic-style herding tactics and training. It's very old-world Asian. It doesn't work in a Western culture; I get it. It feels insidious. We resent it. Culturally, it's incongruous with our nature. But what you are also doing is equally as damaging as the movement for street-shakubuku in the 80’s. They made that into a numbers game and that was just awful. Know why? WHO could possibly mentor all of those people in simple faith, in the correct ways of practice, on accurate understanding of authentic doctrine. There was so much misinformation, so much member care not happening, so much fury and flurry and spinning of the non-stop activity wheel, that you know who REALLY suffered? All of the people who had this precious new jewel [the gohonzon] in their lives and NO IDEA what to do with it. Sooooooo many stopped practicing. Sooooooooooo many made terrible causes to mistreat or neglect their gohonzon. The gohonzon is the mirror of one’s life, one’s enlightenment. What happens if you “smash the mirror”, do you think? I’m speaking metaphorically, of course, but my point is simple: a gohonzon conferral ceremony is a beautiful rite-of-passage into this practice, and you do NOT have the authority - not karmically, not doctrinally, nor spiritually, and essentially what you are offering is the equivalent of wanting a Rolex but attaining a cheap Asian knock-off on eBay and expecting your experience with it to be anything remotely the same. So misguided, and I really hope anyone [else] who doesn’t know any better doesn’t take you up on your offer. 

Mark R.: Little of substance has changed in the SGI. Pure window dressing. As explained earlier, I do have the authority karmically, doctrinally, and spiritually to bestow Gohonzon because I have the same mind as Nichiren regarding the Gohonzon. As I have proven a thousand times, it is SGI whose mind differs from Nichiren. The Gohonzons that I confer all have had their eyes opened by Nichiren Daishonin. Yours have had their eyes opened by the slanderer Nichikan. The Gohonzon itself is the Great Ceremony in the Air. What other ceremony is purposeful?

Rio Ventura: From a doctrinal standpoint, you may want to closely reflect on the gosho, “On Omens”, and the revelation of ‘esho funi’, or ‘the oneness of life and its environment. While life and its environment may seem to be two independent phenomena, but fundamentally they are one and inseparable, you could stand to chant to unravel why your experiences with the SGI have been what they are and what internal darkness you are manifesting that led this to be so. 

Mark R.: Talking about omens, the exceptional drought on the doorstep of the SGI headquarters in Santa Monica and the Great Earthquake in Japan that killed thousands of SGI members tells us all we need to know about Esho Funi.

Rio Ventura: This is not a pissing contest, my dad cannot beat yours up in the schoolyard, and I’m not ‘better than you’. I’m saying that even though I’ve made similar observations about the org, my experiences have taken a very different path and you have forgotten that EVERYTHING possesses the “10 worlds”. The same knife that can stab you to death in an alley can be used surgically to save your life. The same organization you blanketly demonize is responsible for some of the dearest lifelong friends that I hold dear, and for imparting to me much of the most profound knowledge and wisdom I have to offer. 

Mark R.: If this missive is a reflection of the lifelong most profound knowledge and wisdom that you have accumulated, your SGI faith and practice has been a total failure. I suggest you send me your Nichikan Gohonzon from your "cold dead hands" and I will send you the beautiful Nichiren Gohonzon for the Transmission of the Dharma. Myo is to revive. You will be revived with a correct faith and practice and especially with a correct object of worship.

Rio Ventura: Nothing in and of itself is possessed of good or evil, per se. That’s for Christianity to sort out endlessly. Your experiences with the SGI, everyone’s experience with EVERYTHING, is a product of whatever karma they are here to sort out. Why does a 2yrs old get leukemia and die? Is it a tragedy? Is it unfair? No, it is KARMA. Is it profoundly sad for the parents? YES. IT IS THEIR KARMA to suffer the loss of a child in this lifetime. The child lived quickly and died because it is something THEY CHOSE to come here to do; IT WAS THEIR KARMA. The parents suffer the loss because that experience is SOMETHING THEY [collectively] CAME HERE TO DO. They are not being punished; again, that is a Judeo-Christian world view. 

Mark R.: Certainly there is tragedy but the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren teaches us how to overcome tragedy. Writing to a believer who just lost her teenage son. Nichiren teaches, "Now you must shun and abandon this heartless world, entrusting yourself to the Lotus Sutra..."

In another letter he writes:

"Tien-t’ai Chih-che propagated his teachings for thirty years. During the first twenty-nine years, expounding the doctrines contained in Profound Meaning, Words and Phrases, and other works, he explained the five periods and the eight teachings as well as the hundred worlds and thousand factors. He not only refuted the erroneous doctrines of the preceding more than five hundred years, but also clarified matters that had not been fully explained by the Buddhist scholars of India. TheGreat Teacher Chang-an states: “Even the great scholars of India were not in a class with him, and the Chinese teachers—well, one need hardly mention them. This is no idle boast—the doctrine he taught was indeed of such excellence.”9 How pitiful that T’ien-t’ai’s successors allowed those thieves, the founders of the Flower Garland and True Word schools, to steal the priceless gem of three thousand realms in a single moment of life and then, ironically, became their followers! The Great Teacher Chang-an was fully aware this would happen when he remarked in sorrow, “If this teaching should be lost, it would be a tragedy for the future.”

As far as your insipid view of punishment, Nichiren makes more than 200 citations for "punishment, punish, punished" but you throw out this vital Buddhist principle for expediency and [again] because it disturbs your fragile sensibilities. God is not the agent of punishment, it is our thoughts, words, and deeds. Again, as far as "tragedy" is concerned, Nichiren is very clear what is the greatest tragedy, "if this teaching should be lost".

SGI by throwing out the principles of punishment, slander, and especially Shakyamuni Buddha, for example, is creating the environment for the teaching to be lost. This is the real tragedy of the SGI teachings. 

Rio Ventura: If you understand this principle at its most fundamental core, it is immensely and profoundly comforting. Nichiren Daishonin himself in the Gosho, “Happiness in This World” said, “Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to enjoy. Regard both suffering and joy as facts of life, and continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, no matter what happens. How could this be anything other than the boundless joy of the Law? Strengthen your power of faith more than ever.” EVERY circumstance of one’s life, everyone they know, the era in which their life has manifest, every talent, impediment, minutiae of their lives is what they CAME HERE TO DO. THAT is the definition of karma. Karma is mutable; even CHANGING IT is what you came here to do. EVERYTHING in life is unfolding PRECISELY as it was meant to. If you have forgotten that, then you’re not actually practicing Buddhism, but perhaps that self-made philosophical creation I suggested you might be constructing for your own purposes.

Mark R.: Was Daisaku Ikeda born into this world to lead people into the evil teachings of the Nichiren Shoshu? This is what he did for over forty years. Was Nichiren born to recite and propagate the Nembutsu? This is what he did for more than ten years. Then, they had a revelation, an epiphany. Unfortunately, Daisaku Ikeda's was a partial revelation, a false epiphany at the expense of the Law while Nichiren's was a perfect revelation wholly based on the text of the True Sutra. " It is stated,

"The Nirvana Sutra says: “[World-Honored One, today I have learned the correct view for the first time. World-Honored One, up till today] we all have been people of mistaken views.” Miao-lo explains this by saying, “They themselves referred to the three teachings [they had practiced until that time] as mistaken views.” And Great Concentration and Insight says, “The Nirvana Sutra says, ‘Up till today we all have been people of mistaken views.’ ‘Mistaken’ is bad, is it not?” The Annotations on “Great Concentration and Insight” says: “‘Mistaken’ is bad. Therefore, let it be known that only the perfect teaching is good. There are two meanings involved here. First, what accords with the truth is to be accounted good, and what goes against the truth is to be accounted bad. This is the meaning from the relative viewpoint. [Second,] attachment [to this viewpoint] is bad, and transcending it is good. [This is the meaning from the absolute viewpoint.] From both the relative and absolute viewpoints, we should abandon all that is bad. To be attached to the perfect teaching is bad, and to be attached to the other [three] teachings is of course even worse.”

It is only after hearing and continuously recollecting the true Law that we can freely choose to be born in a particular circumstance. Even the Buddha changed his mind, "In these more than forty years I have not yet revealed the truth."

Rio Ventura: Buddhism 101, so to speak - “On Attaining Buddhahood” [N.D., Major Writings] - ”If you wish to free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death you have endured since time without beginning and to attain without fail unsurpassed enlightenment in this lifetime, you must perceive the mystic truth that is originally inherent in all living beings. This truth is Myoho-renge-kyo. Chanting Myoho-renge-kyo will therefore enable you to grasp the mystic truth innate in all life.”

Mark R.: Certainly this truth is not the oneness of Daisaku Ikeda and disciple.

Rio Ventura: Perhaps start chanting for SINCERE appreciation for every single facet and wonderful, awe-inspired, gut-wrenching, horrendous, elated, disillusioned, mountain-moving, etc., moment of your life and chant to stop complaining about the experience you chose to have with the SGI to the point where you are using it to make excuses for taking Buddhism into your own hands and delivering a watered down experience to others new in faith. 

Mark R.: Then Nichiren should have continued to praise the Nembutsu. SGI is watered down. It is not the Lotus Sutra Buddhism of Nichiren:

"And the ninth volume of the Nirvana Sutra, speaking of the propagation of the Lotus Sutra, states: 'After I have entered nirvana, in the last eighty years before the correct teaching has passed into extinction, at that time this sutra will be widely propagated throughout Jambudvīpa. In that age there will be evil monks who will steal this sutra and divide it into many parts, losing the color, scent, and flavor of the correct teaching that it contains. These evil men will read and recite this sutra, but they will ignore and put aside the profound and vital principles that the Thus Come One has expounded in it and replace them with ornate rhetoric and meaningless talk. They will tear off the first part of the sutra and stick it on at the end, tear off the end and put it at the beginning, put the end and the beginning in the middle and the middle at the beginning or the end. You must understand that these evil monks are the companions of the devil....

“For example, milkmaids sometimes add a great deal of water to their milk. And these evil monks do much the same. They mix in worldly sayings, thus presenting an erroneous version of the sutra and making it impossible for large numbers of living beings to expound the sutra correctly, copy it correctly, apprehend it correctly, pay it due honor, praise, offerings, and respect. Because these evil monks are concerned only in gaining profit and support, they are incapable of widely propagating this sutra. Few are the places they reach in their various preaching excursions, and these are not worth mentioning. The impoverished milkmaids go from place to place selling their watered milk, but although one may make gruel with it, it lacks the real flavor of milk. And this great vehicle scripture, this Great Nirvana Sutra, is like this. As it is passed from place to place it becomes increasingly thin and insipid until it has no flavor at all."

SGI pluralism and interfaith is to water down Buddhism. Removing Shakyamuni Buddha and replacing him with the SGI mentor is to water down Buddhism. Adding and abiding by the commentaries of Ikeda at the expense of the Lotus Sutra and writings of Nichiren Daishonin is to water down the Lotus Sutra.

Rio Ventura: It is their karma to choose to chant the true experience of the gohonzon into their own lives. Perhaps you can to manifest your own karma that chooses not to deliver this counterfeit experience for your own reasons of bitterness and self aggrandized authority. Anyone can say “Nam Myoho Renge Kyo”, but still take actions to lead someone down the incorrect path. It’s astounding to me that you could possibly not see that. 

Mark R.: A Freudian slip? Yes, I choose not to deliver a counterfeit SGI experience and to promote a bodily reading of the Lotus Sutra in the manner of Nichiren.

Rio Ventura: I believe it is the EXACT thing you are accusing the SGI of. Are all of their actions, tactics, ‘strategies’, etc. “value-creating” even though it supposedly their intention to be? Not at all, IMHO. Is their execution on various matters seemingly mis-guided, perhaps even begging of criticism? Absolutely. Can all of those things be said of causes YOU, YOURSELF are making, actions YOU are taking as well? Undoubtedly and positively. See? No difference. Esho funi…oneness of life and its environment.

Mark R.: I relay the teachings as the print matches the print block. I am guilty of no fault, hoping to save people such as yourself from falling into the great citadel of hell. My Esho Funi matches perfectly the text of the Sutra. Does yours?

Rio Ventura: I will chant for your happiness. (Gosh, how you must hate it when people say that now. That’s kind of a shame, given the immense generosity and Bodhisatva cause implied.) 

Study up, chant harder, and re-think it.

Mark R.: As long as you made this into a guidance session, here is my guidance to you:

You see what you want to see and believe what you want to believe. You have not delved deeply into the truth of even your own own teachings. Perhaps I can help you.

Nichikan wrote: 

"We recite the Hoben Pon (2nd chapter) to smash the provisional sutras, we recite the Juryo Hon (16th Chapter) to smash the Hoben Pon, and we recits the daimoku to smash the Lotus Sutra".

Nichiren wrote:

“Nowhere in all the five thousand or seven thousand volumes of sutras listed in the K’ai-yüan era catalog do we find a single scriptural passage that expresses disapproval of the Lotus Sutra and advises one to discard it or to cast it aside, nor any passage that says it is to be classified among the sundry practices and abandoned. If you disagree, you had better find some reliable passage from the sutras that will support your view, so that you may rescue Shan-tao and Honen from their torments in the hell of incessant suffering."(Coversations Between a Sage and Unenlightened Man).

Yet you do Gongyo and chant the Daimoku every day to this slanderer's Gohonzon. Why would you ever think for a moment that you too could escape the torments of hell?

In the "Toke Sanne Sho [On the Three Robes of Nichiren Shoshu]," Nichikan Shonin cites Nikko Shonin and Nichimoku Shonin as the Treasure of the Priest when revealing the Three Treasures of Nichiren Shoshu, and then states, "I say that all the Masters, the successive direct successors to the bestowal of the Law, are in this way included in the Three Treasures." (Seiten, p. 971)

Nichikan's Six Volume Writings" (Rokkan sho) is composed of the following: 

1)."The Threefold Secret Teaching" (Sanju hiden sho): In this writing Nichikan exhorts us us to abandon the Lotus Sutra and only embrace Namu Myoho renge kyo. This is bizarre since Namu myoho renge kyo means devotion to the Lotus Sutra (Myoho renge kyo).

2)."The Meanings Hidden in the Depths" (Montei hichin sho). In this equally bizarre writing he changes the Great Secret Law of the Object of Worship in terms of the person from the Original Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni to Nichiren Daishonin.

3)."Interpretations Based on the Law" (Egi hanmon sho). In this equally strange writing, Nichikan teaches that the Lotus Sutra was preached by Shakyamuni to explain Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism rather than Nichiren Daishonin explaining the Lotus Sutra through his commentaries. 

4)."Teachings for the Latter Day" (Mappo soo sho). In this writing, Nichikan attempts to overturn the use of statues as Objects of Worship despite the fact that Nichiren utilized and revered a Statue of Shakyamuni Buddha as an Object of Worship throughout his life, praised both Dozenbo, Toki Jonin, and Shijo Kingo for fashioning statues of Shakyamuni Buddha, and wrote about both "wooden and painted" images.

5)."The Practice of this School" (Toryu gyoji sho). In this slanderous writing, Nichikan says we chant the Daimoku to smash the Juryo Chapter and chant the Juryo Chapter to smash the Hobenpon. 

(6) The "Toke Sanne Sho" (The Three Robes of this School) explains the origin and significance of the traditional gray robe, the white surplice and the prayer beads of the Nichiren Shoshu priests. Here, he also goes on to overturn the Three Treasures of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren by asserting that Nichiren is the Treasure of the Buddha and that the heritage of the Law, the succession, is through the bequethal to one sole individual or the successive High Priests of Nichiren Shoshu (the Treasure of the Sangha). On the Juzu, he wrote:

"The Juzu is a means to guide persons of inferior capacity and force them into ascetic practices." 

"Juzu require an eye-opening ceremony before use. This can be done at your local temple." (Six Volume Writings," Rokkan-sho, p. 225) 

The Ryokkan Sho, far from being an Enlightened writing, is a bizarre writing.

Nichiren Daishonin, on the other hand, writes:

"When the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai applied the simile of ghee to the Lotus Sutra, basing himself on a passage in the Nirvana Sutra, he declared that among all the sutras the Lotus Sutra is worthy to be compared to ghee. The True Word teaching was introduced to China from India two hundred years or more after the time of T’ien-t’ai. How then could T’ien-t’ai possibly have stolen the ghee of the True Word teaching and called it the ghee of the Lotus Sutra? Of all strange events, this would be the strangest!

What evidence is there then for calling persons who lived two hundred years or more before the True Word teaching was even introduced to China thieves? Are we to put faith in these writings of the Great Teacher Kobo? Or are we to put faith in the Nirvana Sutra where the Buddha likens the Lotus Sutra to ghee?

If we are to regard the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai as a thief, then how are we to interpret this passage in the Nirvana Sutra? And if we accept the passage in the Nirvana Sutra as reliable and conclude that the writings of Kobo (Nichikan) are incorrect, then what are we to think of people who put faith in such erroneous teachings? All I can say is that one should compare the writings of the Great Teacher Kobo (Nichikan) and the pronouncements of the Buddha, and then put one’s faith in the one that proves to be correct." (On Prayer).

"But those who follow the teachings of Nichiren honestly discard the mistaken doctrines of the provisional teachings and the incorrect theories of the mistaken teachers, and, with all sincerity, put their faith in the correct teaching and the correct doctrines of the correct teacher. Accordingly they are able to gain the lotus of the entity and to manifest the mystic principle of the entity of the Land of Eternally Tranquil Light. This is because they put their faith in the golden words of the Buddha indicated in the “Life Span” chapter of the essential teaching and chant Namu-myoho-renge-kyo."(Entity of the Mystic Law)

Since the SGI fails, on this one vital criteria of putting "their faith in the golden words of the Buddha indicated in the “Life Span” chapter of the essential teaching", their land is the land of devils and hardships and not the Land of Eternally Quiescent Light. Wherever the teachings of the SGI spread, the people suffer and more tragedies and calamities occur. On the other hand, even one true practicer of the Lotus Sutra in a city or a country will bring good fortune and peace to the people.

Nichikan also wrote:

"The three groups of shomon disciples 

accumulated good fortune since sanzen 

jintengo [before being guaranteed 

enlightenment), and those who received 

the seed and reached enlightenment on 

hearing the first chapter of the Lotus 

Sutra accumulated good fortune since 

Gohyaku jintengo. How possibly could 

those who first received the seed during 

the lifetime of the Buddha all without 

exception achieve enlightenment in a 

mere two-thousand years? [They 

couldn't!] The reason is this: the 

effectiveness of Shakyamuni's teachings 

begins at Kuon Ganjo, but ends with the 

two-thousand years of the Former and 

Middle Days of the Law. ... Therefore 

the people of the Latter Day of the Law 

all innately have yet to possess the seed 

and so are of the capacity to receive the 

original seed of enlightenment directly." 

(Rokkan-sho, p.110)

Who can understand such nonsense? He is like SGI leaders. Nichikan just makes things up out of thin air. What ever pops into his head he writes and calls it the True Teachings. Nichiren says about such men who fail to preach with Sutra in hand, even though they be great bodhisattvas, don't listen to them. Nichikan wasn't even a Bodhisattva. He was a madman and he inscribed the Gohonzon to which SGI members fuse. How could every last member of the SGI fail to become a madman? Here is more proof.

Nichikan writes in his Montei Hichin-Sho ["The Teachings Hidden in the Depths of the Text"]: 

"Therefore know this: *"One of Perfect Freedom"* is His true state (honchi). Bodhisattva Jogyo is His transient reflection. And Nichiren is the manifestation of His true state (kenpon).

Nichiren Daishonin never revealed it and he never held back anything. Nichiren Shonin teaches that his true identity is that of Jogyo and hidden in the depths of the Juryohon is that he, as well as we, are Three Bodied Tathagatas, one with the Original Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni, our original teacher.

The Juryo (16) and Jinriki Chapters (21) of the Lotus Sutra and the Goshos, the Entity of the Mystic Law (Totaigi Sho), The Opening of the Eyes, The True Object of Worship, and Repaying Debts of Gratitude, explain why the Nichikan Gohonzon is a demon infested condition for the ruin of the individual, the nation, and the world.

'I likewise am the Father of the World, 

The One who saves 

from the various sufferings and travails" (Lotus Sutra Chapter 16)

"At that time the Buddha spoke to Superior Practices and the others in the great assembly of bodhisattvas, saying: "The supernatural powers of the Buddhas, as you have seen, are immeasurable, boundless, inconceivable. If in the process of entrusting this sutra to others I were to employ these supernatural powers for a immeasurable, boundless hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of asamkhya kalpas to describe the benefits of the sutra, I could never finish doing so. To put it briefly, all the doctrines possessed by the Thus Come One, the storehouse of all the secret essentials of the Thus Come One - all these are proclaimed, revealed, and clearly expounded in this sutra. (Lotus Sutra Chapter 21)

Nichiren comments on this passage:

"Answer: In this passage, Shakyamuni Buddha explains that he is entrusting to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, his original disciples, the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, which is the essence of the Lotus Sutra. Shakyamuni, who attained enlightenment countless kalpas in the past, says elsewhere, "By now the original vows that I made have already been fulfilled. I have converted all living beings and caused them all to enter the Buddha way." Thus, he has already fulfilled his earlier vow. Then, intending to charge his disciples with the task of accomplishing widespread propagation in the fifth five hundred years after his death," he called forth the Bodhisattvas of the Earth and entrusted them with the heart of the sutra, the lotus of the entity of the essential teaching. This passage represents the ultimate purpose for which Shakyamuni Buddha appeared in the world, the secret Law that he attained in the place of meditation. It is this passage that gives proof of the lotus of the entity that, for those of us who live in the Latter Day of the Law, assures the attainment of Buddhahood in both the present and future." 

Accordingly, at the present time in the Latter Day of the Law, other than the envoy of the Thus Come One, there can be no one who understands and produces this passage as proof of the lotus of the entity. Truly it is a passage of secret meaning. Truly it is a matter of great concern. Truly it is to be honored and admired. Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, Namu-myoho-renge-kyo!" (Entity of the Mystic Law)

"Answer: 'One: Japan and so on to the whole of Jambudvipa should uniformly take the Master of teachings Lord Shakya of the Original Doctrine as the Object of Worship." (Repaying Debts of Gratitude)

"Now, when the Eternal Buddha was revealed in the essential section of the Lotus Sutra, this world of endurance (Saha-world) became the Eternal Pure Land, indestructible even by the three calamities of conflagration, flooding, and strong winds, which are said to destroy the world. It transcends the four periods of cosmic change: the kalpa of construction, continuance, destruction and emptiness. Sakyamuni Buddha, the Lord-preacher of this pure land, has never died in the past, nor will He be born in the future. He exists forever throughout the past present and future. All those who receive His guidance are one with this Eternal Buddha." (Opening of the Eyes)

"In the same chapter, another passage reads: ‘The duration of My Life, which I obtained through the practice of the way of bodhisattvas, has not yet expired. It is twice as long as the length of time stated above: 500 dust-particle kalpa.’ This reveals the bodhisattva realm within our minds. The bodhisattvas described in the fifteenth chapter, ‘Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground,’ who have sprung out of the great earth, as numerous as the number of dust-particles of 1,000 worlds, are followers of the Original Buddha Sakyamuni who resides within our minds." (The True Object of Worship)

Nichikan asked us to abandon Shakyamuni Buddha and the Lotus Sutra. This is the purport of his Object of Worship. The Nichikan Gohonzon is neither based on the Lotus Sutra (Myoho renge kyo) nor on Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter of the Lotus Sutra. It is not based on the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin. Chanting to this Gohonzon is as if you were to take and revere the offering of a sumptuous meal from the murderer of your parents or praising the one who has kidnapped your child. You along with the offender (Nichikan) will both fall into the Lower Realms and the Sutra's promise of peace and security in this life and a fortunate birth in the next will allude you.

Further Proof of my assertion is the fact that SGI would take up this Gohonzon as their banner of propagation in the first place; the bizarre worldview of the SGI where Daisaku Ikeda is revered and praised at the expense of the Sutra, the Buddha, and Nichiren Daishonin; the misfortune that invariably befalls its leaders; and the lack of insight of the general members.

If you send me your Nichikan gohonzon, we will see to it that it is burned respectfully as an offering to Devedatta, the Ten Demon Daughters, the Lotus Sutra, and Shakyamuni Buddha or you may burn it yourself while reciting the Daimoku and the Jiga-ge for the repose of Nichikan, the greatest destroyer of Buddhism in human history.

Rio Ventura: Mark, My issue is not with the SGI; I have already AGREED that I do not fall in line with their tactics nor their business model, so using my come-uppance to you as a thinly-veiled opportunity to spew more of your vitriolic diatribe is pointless and transparent. Also, debating me in matters of doctrine is useless and not at all impressive; I have access to all of the same texts as you do and have a nearly 30 year practice in them to draw from.

Mark R.: Good luck Rio but all the texts or years of SGI practice at your disposal will not help you in the least.

Rio Ventura: My response had NOTHING to do with the SGI. It had to do with YOU, and by your own hand you have helped to prove my point. You have:

1. vaguely admitted that you would see nothing shocking or slanderous in starting your ‘own’ brand of Buddhism because you have the “same mind as the Buddha [Nichiren]”, so the presumption (I suppose) is that everyone who asserts that they also do gets to make up it up as they go along (which justifies your gohonzon sideline), even though “some people” are not Bodhisattvas of the Earth [which is nonsense, as ANYONE who chants daimoku IS],

Mark R.: My brand is Shakyamuni Buddha's and Nichiren Daishonin's brand. "My teaching" is Shakyamuni Buddha's and Nichiren Daishonin's teachings without adding or subtracting a dot. From the writing, The Bodies and Minds of Ordinary Beings, I am the third type of messenger, the extremely foolish one who would not think of adding or subtracting even a dot of the teachings because of my foolishness.

"The third type, being extremely foolish, will not presume to insert his own words and, being honest, will relay his lord’s message without deviating from it. Thus he is a better messenger than the second type, and occasionally may be even better than the first."

In another writing of Nichiren we read:

"In the same way, one who chants the daimoku as the Lotus Sutra teaches will never have a twisted mind. For one should know that, unless the mind of the Buddha enters into our bodies, we cannot in fact chant the daimoku."

The Buddha has entered my mind because I ceaselessly chant the Daimoku. Similarly, the term "Buddha's mind" signifies the Lotus Sutra itself or the Gohonzon. Since the Gohonzon I embrace not only has the physical aspect of a Nichiren Gohonzon but the nature or spiritual aspect of a Nichiren Gohonzon [Nichiren's abiding reverence for Shakyamuni Buddha for example], how can I possess anything less than the mind of the Buddha? On the other hand, the Gohonzon you embrace, its spiritual aspect, does not accord with the mind of Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren. It accords with the mind of the great slanderers Nichikan and Daisaku Ikeda who reject The Master of Teachings Lord Shakya of the Original Doctrine,

Rio Ventura: 2. passive-aggressively called me a “moron” in words you ‘held at your tongue’ (very enlightened of you…mind of Nichiren meets schoolyard).

Mark R.: Why don't you address the point? Let me refresh your memory:

Rio Ventura: - and NOW you yourself are taking personal, fiscal, and karmic responsibility for the transmisson of the True Object of Devotion for Observing One's Mind, the most sacred of objects, the GOHONZON [!!], and making it available for digital download?????????????? :-o Are you going to make up your own Buddhism while you're on a roll, because you're already behaving so insidiously shockingly that it seems like the next and most obvious outcropping? :-/

Mark R.:Exactly as did Nichiren. Were you too a Bodhisattva of the Earth, you could also take responsibility for the Transmission of the True Object of Worship. What do you think, Ikeda himself transcribes the Nichikan Gohonzon for the thousands of converts to the SGI every year? They too are digital downloads [as I bite my tongue in order to refrain from calling you a moron].

“This great portent [great earthquake] is a sign that our country is about to be destroyed by some other country. This will happen because the priests of the Zen, Nembutsu, and other schools are attempting to destroy the Lotus Sutra. Unless the heads of these priests are cut off and cast away at Yui Beach in Kamakura, the nation will surely be destroyed.”

Today the Great Earthquake is a portent that it is the priests and leaders of the Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai who are attempting to destroy the Lotus Sutra.

Nichiren had many choice words for his abusers and ignorant critics and how about the choice words your mentor and his leaders have for Nikken and those "Taiten" critics of the SGI? You are very selective and you are very hypocritical. Your argument about digital downloads is moronic.

Rio Ventura: 3. taken your less-than-thimbleful of knowledge about my life and experience as a YWD AND WOMEN’S DIVISION LEADER [thank you very much], and dismissed it out of hand calling me [and I quote] “insignificant” and “a liar”, simply and I suppose because my experiences don’t support your position, (very calculated, btw), and

Mark R: If you say so.

Rio Ventura: 4. positioned yourself as a high priest of this faith instead of even directing members to one of the myriad Nichiren Shosho temples across the United States, thus masquerading yourself as some self-imposed authority figure with the power to confer gohonzon, as if you know what that responsibility even means. I have at times regarded that avenue as the most unfortunate path I could imagine, intersecting with this incredible faith through a lineage of Japanese High Priests who assert themselves as intermediaries between a believer and the gohonzon, which ultimately lies in the core of one’s life and not in “a piece of paper”. I was wrong; this is far worse. Due diligence? Laughable. Oh, the terrifying arrogance.

Mark R.: Au Contrair mon ami. I am saying that anyone can bestow a Gohonzon on another or bestow a Gohonzon on oneself. It all depends on thinness or thickness of one's faith. It is the opposite of authoritarian, something I believe you can not understand being so enmeshed in the authoritarian Soka Gakkai. I also believe in diversity, unlike the SGI which only allows for the distribution of one sole Gohonzon and not even a Nichiren Gohonzon I might add. Any Nichiren Gohonzon is a valid object of worship and even any Gohonzon inscribed by a disciple of Nichiren who shares the same faith as Nichiren is a valid object of worship. A Nin-Honzon [statue arrangement Gohonzon] too is a valid object of worship since the Gohonzon exists in [correct] faith alone.

Rio Ventura: I think you have fought so hard to discredit my position, not because in some Bodhisattva manifestation you actually are moved to ‘protect’ me from some programming you are espousing the evils of. I think you just cannot grasp that anyone with a clearly higher life-condition than yours of Anger could ‘escape the grasp of the “evil empire”’ and yet look upon it with grace and deep appreciation for the opportunity and training it has given them to practice in this lifetime.

Mark R.: I think you discredit your own position. Since you lack a mirror [a valid object of worship] you fail to see yourself. You apparently aren't even aware of your Sensei's guidance on "righteous anger", let alone the Buddha's and Nichiren's. Rather than praise the SGI, have gratitude for the SGI, you should rather censure the SGI for leading you down the path of delusion and your inability to see yourself and to see clearly.

Rio Ventura; I think you are just angry with me, railing against the notion that I didn’t “fall for it”, that I never let the SGI tell me how to act or who to be, buy publications I didn’t want, or take part in drives for membership or financial support that I wasn’t motivated to get behind. I HAVE NO “mentor-aka-Ikeda/disciple relationship”, nor have I ever, and publicly so. I didn’t drink the Kool-Aid. No one harassed me; no one “cut me out”. I am sincerely sorry these things sound like they happened to you and it’s currently driving your behavior, but this is your path and all I can do is chant for your happiness and hope you don’t do too much damage whilst continuing to tumble into this abyss of bitterness and self loathing. For someone making the claims you are, even in our dialogue you have taken some pretty cheap shots, been simply caustic and nasty, unbecoming of the ‘enlightenment’ you supposedly possess. (I realize that I am just fueling your technique for the ‘next time’ you get into this with someone, helping you to ‘sharpen your tools’, so to speak, but after all, I AM NOT the one claiming to have “the same mind as Nichiren”, worthy of being a priest of this faith, which is what you’re essentially doing. I am certain this will not even live on the page long enough for the masses to read and decide for themselves, but if it reaches even one person, I will consider that enough.)

Mark R.: You offer more proof that by abandoning Shakyamuni Buddha you can not distinguish black from white. I am not angry at you in the least and no life could be fortunate than mine. I just don't believe you but if it were true, you will never be an SGI leader and therefore, you will never have the ability to influence others within the SGI. Perhaps for this reason, you are left to your own devices. I also believe that you are treading on dangerous grounds for excommunication. Just don't be too vocal if you wish to remain SGI. One need only see, read, and hear the SGI guidances, videos, and lectures to know that you are not in the mainstream of SGI thought, let alone the thinking of the SGI mentor and his leaders. In fact, were you to blog or widely disseminate your beliefs about the SGI, you had better boldly declare that they are not the views of the SGI [a disclaimer] if you wish to remain SGI. Let me say something about SGI financials. Go to the SGI USA official website [http://www.sgi-usa.org/] and at the bottom of every page there is a bold exhortation, Financial Contributions Support our Buddhist Movement for Peace, not an exhortation to deepen one's faith, study the Lotus Sutra or the teachings of Nichiren, nor an exhortation to demonstrate against Nuclear Weapons. Burying your head in the sand won't change the reality of SGI, their partnership with Mitsubishi Heavy Industrials and the LDP, for example.

Rio Ventura: The words that were removed from the original Nichikan gohonzon were simply “Daigyo Ajari Honshobo Nissho”, which was the language of conferral to one specific individual. In order to make it more universal, the name of the intended recipient for THAT SPECIFIC PIECE OF PAPER was omitted. That is the grievous slander the SGI is guilty of, thus rendering them “no-honzon” in your quippy and cleverly disparaging language? *rolling eyes* By your definition, these recipients could not chant to these Gohonzon and attain benefit because they weren't 'intended' for anyone besides the original recipient? Nonsense. On the other hand, the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood has asserted that gohonzon transcription is a ‘secret transmission based on the bequeathal of the lifeblood received by only a single person’, in other words, only the high priest has the authority, by right of lineage. (I guess he forgot to check with you first.)

Mark R.: You are so off the mark that I believe you have not read one thing I wrote about Nichikan or the Nichikan Gohonzon. This is the weak Nichiren Shoshu argument, not our argument. I could give a rat's patootie that SGI removed the specific conferral on the slanderer Nichikan's Gohonzon. It is the heart of Nichikan that is rotten and by the principles of Esho Funi [Oneness of Person and the Environment] and Shiki Shin Funi [Oneness of Body and Mind], so is the Nichikan Gohonzon.

Rio Ventura: Whereas this is ALL superstitious nonsense, of course, and no more in my opinion than a doctrinal tug-of-war between the SGI and the priesthood, my problem is simply with [now PAY ATTENTION] your decision to make gohonzon available to anyone for any reason, regardless of your ability to mentor them in continued faith.

Mark R.: Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin are the only mentors. Perhaps you are not aware that Nichiren was a scriptural Buddhist? Here is what Nichiren teaches:

“Now , when the Eternal Buddha was revealed in the essential section of the Lotus Sutra, this world of endurance (Saha-world) became the Eternal Pure Land, indestructible even by the three calamities of conflagration, flooding, and strong winds, which are said to destroy the world. It transcends the four periods of cosmic change: the kalpa of construction, continuance, destruction and emptiness. Sakyamuni Buddha, the Lord-preacher of this pure land, has never died in the past, nor will He be born in the future. He exists forever throughout the past present and future. All those who receive His GUIDANCE are one with this Eternal Buddha.” -- The True Object of Worship

“Since Sakyamuni Buddha is eternal and all other Buddhas in the universe are his manifestations, then those great bodhisattvas converted by manifested Buddhas are also disciples of Lord Sakyamuni Buddha. If the “Life Span of the Buddha” chapter had not been expounded, it would be like the sky without the sun and moon, a country without a king, mountains and rivers without gems, or a man without a soul. nevertheless, seemingly knowledgeable men of such provisional schools of Buddhism as Ch’eng-kuan of the Hua-yen, Chia-hsiang of the San-lun, Tz’u-en of the Fa-hsiang, and Kobo of the shingon tried to extoltheir own canons by stating: “The Lord of the Flower Garland Sutra represents the reward-body (hojin) of the Buddha wheras that of the Lotus Sutra the accomodative body (ojin);” or “the Buddha in the sixteenth chapter of the Lotus is an Illusion; it is the great Sun Buddha who is enlightened.” clouds cover the moon and slanderers hide wise men. When people slander, ordinary yellow rocks appear to be of gold and slanderers seem to be wise. Scholars in this age of decay, blinded by slanderous words, do not see the value of a gold in the “Lifespan of the Buddha” chapter. Even among men of the Tendai school some are fooled into taking a yellow rock for gold. They should know that if Sakyamuni had not been the Eternal Buddha, there could not have been so many who received GUIDANCE from Him.” -- The Opening of the Eyes

I too am a scriptural Buddhist.

Rio Ventura: You have no bounds. I doubt you have the ability, the commitment, hell, even the infrastructure it would involve to make a lifelong commitment to mentoring each one of these individuals you are granting this solemn privilege to, regardless of their lack of understanding of the significance. If someone wants “to create [their] own little corner of the multiverse”, they don’t need a gohonzon to do it, because that’s not the solemn, lifelong oath they are taking to protect and propagate this faith in receiving one of your Hobby Lobby knock-offs.

Mark R.: It is a great slander to call the Nichiren Gohonzon a "Hobby Lobby knock off". Perhaps it is because you are a slanderer that you diminish the Nichiren Gohonzon or perhaps you don't really believe the teachings that "I am Myoho renge kyo" or "I am a Buddha". Were you to really believe these teachings, of course you would KNOW that you too are eminently capable of bestowing Gohonzon.

Rio Ventura: This is a grave slander and you should know better. What do you think will happen to these individuals, never taught how not to slander the gohonzon, never supported when their practice gets tough and inevitable challenges arise, when you have helped to facilitate Nichiren’s gravest [and as you said, “punishable”] fear, that this practice might be LOST because the bonus gift they receive by shopping at your gohonzon store is the mere cliff notes version of this practice??

Mark R.:  And you accuse me of being presumptive! SGI gives out Gohonzon like Las Vegas escort fliers. I have given out fourteen Gohonzon in the last three years and mounted several more. The average length of time that these believers have practiced is SEVEN YEARS with the SGI, the Nichiren Shu, or as an independent and I insist that the new new member practices for at least 90 days, day and night and that he or she demonstrates a faith of "Not sparing their bodily lives" and all must sign one or both of the following oaths:

A DECLARATION OF FAITH IN THE HOKKE SECT

I, __________________________________, declare my faith in the doctrine of the Hokke sect:

1. I believe and accept the Hokkekyo or Lotus Sutra to be the Supreme Teaching of Buddha (The Jewel of the Dharma).

2. I believe the Eternal Buddha, Shakyamuni, revealed in the sixteenth Chapter of the Hokekyo, to be the True Object of Worship (The Jewel of the Buddha).


3. I accept the teachings of the Messenger of the Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin, the Earthly Manifestation of the Bodhisattva Jogyo, just as they are stated in his own writings (Jewel of the Sangha).

4. I accept the Direct Succession of the Dharma through the Scrolls of the Sutra. Having sincere faith in these teachings, I request that a Gohonzon Mandala be bestowed on me and I solemnly undertake to treat it always with proper reverence and, should it become damaged or worn, I will return it to a priest for burning in the proper way.

Date: ___________________ Signed: __________________________

A DECLARATION OF FAITH IN THE HOKKE SECT

I, ______________, do hereby affirm the following:

“I am a member of Hokke Sect of Buddhism, I am chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra (the Primary Practice), as well as, chapters 2 and 16 of the Lotus Sutra (Secondary Practice) on a regular basis (daily).”

“I believe that the Mandala Gohonzon represents the land of Shakyamuni Buddha, the Eternally Enlightened Original Buddha, at the time of His transmission of the Law of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth (Ceremony in the Air).”

“I also make the following renunciations:”

“I hereby completely reject the teachings of all non-Buddhist religions. I hereby reject the teachings of non-Hokke Buddhist religions.”

“I hereby also reject all heretical teachings that have infiltrated Nichiren’s Buddhism, such as the belief that Nichiren is the Eternally Enlightened Original Buddha; belief in the so-called Dai Gohonzon; worship of various supernatural entities as independent beings, etc.”

Signed and dated:

Rio Ventura: What you are doing is tantamount to gifting them a lucky rabbit’s foot and wishing them good-luck-and-godspeed. You, nor any support of ANY organization or community of believers, regardless of which we decide to align ourselves OR take exception with, will not be on deck to help them not abandon their faith at their crucial moments. They’re on their own with YOUR “object of worship”, not Nichiren’s. That is the difference I have a problem with.

Mark R.: SGI has done such a fantastic job. Of the nearly 600,000 people who received the SGI/NSA Gohonzon, at most 40,000 continue to practice [according to the inflated World Tribune circulation figures]. Not one of the people to whom we [not I alone] have bestowed Gohonzon have stopped chanting. You are wrong. You are deluded and blind [to the truth].

Rio Ventura: As Nichiren Daishonin put it, “…since the Law is respectworthy, the Person who spreads the Law is also worthy of respect.” In that, I have the deepest respect for your efforts in expounding the True Law far and wide. In the 26th Admonition of Nikko Shonin, he states: “You should treasure those practitioners who are skilled in difficult debate, just as the late master did.” We are both treasured in the eyes of Nikko Shonin, who is ALONE, ‘the Treasure of the Priest’.
But in Article #1 of those same Admonitions, he states: “The doctrines of the Fuji school must not differ in the least from the teachings of the late master.” To that end, NO WHERE in Nichiren’s teachings have I ever read that one should just go ahead and inscribe their own gohonzon, or just have a friend provide them with one… I would be [rhetorically] interested in knowing where you got the notion that it would be ok for YOU to start doing it, for all the reasons I have previously stated and that Nichiren Daishonin himself intended. You are simply not qualified, and either dangerously deluded if you believe yourself to be or willfully distorting the teachings for your own purposes, which is even worse if you ask me…but no one was asking, really, so I will say this in closing:

Mark R.: You would do well to read Pedro Ramo's criticism:

Ms. Ventura, do you realize you are quoting from apocryphal writings of no study value whatsoever outside your sect, and that puts you in a really sticky position?

First you quote from "On Attaining Buddhahood", not a Nichiren text by any credible scholarship standards and now from the 26th Admonition of Nikko Shonin?

Sorry, but you could chant less and get some facts straighten up before entering a discussion like this.

and Dr. Jacqueline Stone's Thesis, Some disputed writings in the Nichiren corpus:

http://www.princeton.edu/~jstone/dissertation.html

More importantly, the transmission is through the scrolls of the Sutra and authentic writings of Nichiren Daishonin, not the edicts of the corrupt preists of Taisekeji.

Rio Ventura: Arguing with someone who is clearly not of sound mind is tantamount to being oneself insane. I will simply leave THIS here for you in case you perhaps one day experience a moment of lucidity:

Your delusions of grandeur and megalomania are out of control. I implore you to seek the guidance of a medical professional. Mostly, I will chant for the people whose karma led them to you as an access point for this beautiful and profound practice, and for the happiness of those you might infect in the future. You spoke of there indeed being “tragedy” in this world; in this I stand corrected. Your adept distortion of the sutra and the Major Writings for your own gain in the pursuit of that warm feeling of self-righteousness is indeed tragic. You and your counterfeiting are the worse type of charlatanism, even more alarming because I think you actually BELIEVE IT, and that actually trumps the priesthood and their atrocities towards the practice in my book. I never even considered it could get worse than that; there I go, being wrong again. You are your very own Devil King of the Sixth Heaven, and that’s impressive in the most unfortunate of ways. I wish you better things.
Sincerely,

Mark R.: Your SGI cult nature is coming out. Bull baiting a votary of the Lotus Sutra is cause for regret.