"It is a question of whether you want to live in the comfortable market place of ideas. or in the eternal perception of your Buddha-nature. Beyond faith and beliefs. Anyone can be an armchair music critic. Few will take the bitter medicine (WND: 690; 994)...less than .0001%.There is no alternative to mastering the intellectual components of ichinen sanzen that will also deconstruct your attachment to your assumed role as spokesman and critic of Nichiren Buddhism. We do not have the pure faith and non-discursive intuition of Japan. Cognition is required. You have invested a great amount of psychic energy in this role of critic but if you do not see directly into the human psychodynamic, you will never taste the true intention behind the Daishonin's advent, "to make all equal to me." It is a stark choice to follow his discourse or endless painful austerities bereft of direct insight (1: 3-4) to which you enjoy now and believe you can hold your own. "Give them a wide berth." It is beyond my power to say more." - Hugh Moon
Just now
Dear Mr. Moon,
The Lotus Sutra and Nichiren gave us a recipe to follow in order to obtain Buddhahood and create the Buddha's Land.
If one deviates from the reipe for a delicious cake, especially if one uses rancid ingredients, not only will one fail to bake a delicious cake but the consumers of the cake will fall ill. SGI and most of the organized Nichiren sects have failed to follow the recipe of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren. I am not now a critic of the Lotus Sutra Buddhism of Nichiren, nor have I ever been.
Having chanted tens of millions of Daimoku, studied intensely, and thought deeply about the reasons for the unremitting decline and devastation of Japan and the abject failures of my former comrades to realize their goals and create the Buddha's Land of peace and security in this life and the next, I have come to the conclusion that their (SGI, NST, NShu, HBS, KHK) recipe, not only fails to follow that of Nichiren, but their ingredients are rancid. To point out the deficiencies of all the sects here is not within the scope of my reply to you.
Particularly the SGI and your Sensei have failed to follow Nichiren's recipe, failing to incorporate the Eternal Buddha of the Juryo Chapter into the recipe for obtaining Buddhahood and creating the Buddhas Land.
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 operant 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 depreciated. 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. Nichiren teaches:
"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
Lastly, your criticism that a non Japanese can never understand the Lotus is falllacious.
"Are persons who receive instruction orally from their teacher invariably free from error, while those who appear in later ages and who seek and investigate to be regarded as worthless? If so, then should we throw away the sutras and instead follow traditions handed down from the four ranks of bodhisattvas? Should a man throw away the deed of transfer received from his father and mother and instead rely upon oral transmissions? Are the written commentaries of the Great Teacher Dengyo so much trash, and the oral traditions handed down from the Great Teacher Jikaku the only guide to truth?" (Gosho Zenshu, p.1258)
And, most importantly, from On Repaying Debts of Gratitiude:
"Question: When it comes to those who maintain that the Lotus Sutra is superior to the True Word eachings, should they try to make use of these commentaries by jikaku, or should they reject them?
Answer: Shakyamuni Buddha laid down a rule for future conduct when he said that we should “rely on the Law and not upon persons.” Bodhisattva Nagarjuna says that one should rely on treatises that are faithful to the sutras, but not rely on those that distort the sutras. T’ien-t’ai states, “That which accords with the sutras is to be written down and made available. But put no faith in anything that in word or meaning fails to do so.” And the Great Teacher Dengyo says, “Depend upon the preachings of the Buddha, and do not put faith in traditions handed down orally.”(The Selection of the Time)
"Instead of wasting all those supplies and making work for other people by insisting upon traveling all the way to China, they should have made a more careful and thorough study of the doctrines of the Great Teacher Dengyo, who was their own teacher!. " (Repaying Debts of Gratitude)
The Lotus Sutra and Nichiren gave us a recipe to follow in order to obtain Buddhahood and create the Buddha's Land.
If one deviates from the reipe for a delicious cake, especially if one uses rancid ingredients, not only will one fail to bake a delicious cake but the consumers of the cake will fall ill. SGI and most of the organized Nichiren sects have failed to follow the recipe of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren. I am not now a critic of the Lotus Sutra Buddhism of Nichiren, nor have I ever been.
Having chanted tens of millions of Daimoku, studied intensely, and thought deeply about the reasons for the unremitting decline and devastation of Japan and the abject failures of my former comrades to realize their goals and create the Buddha's Land of peace and security in this life and the next, I have come to the conclusion that their (SGI, NST, NShu, HBS, KHK) recipe, not only fails to follow that of Nichiren, but their ingredients are rancid. To point out the deficiencies of all the sects here is not within the scope of my reply to you.
Particularly the SGI and your Sensei have failed to follow Nichiren's recipe, failing to incorporate the Eternal Buddha of the Juryo Chapter into the recipe for obtaining Buddhahood and creating the Buddhas Land.
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 operant 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 depreciated. 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. Nichiren teaches:
"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
Lastly, your criticism that a non Japanese can never understand the Lotus is falllacious.
"Are persons who receive instruction orally from their teacher invariably free from error, while those who appear in later ages and who seek and investigate to be regarded as worthless? If so, then should we throw away the sutras and instead follow traditions handed down from the four ranks of bodhisattvas? Should a man throw away the deed of transfer received from his father and mother and instead rely upon oral transmissions? Are the written commentaries of the Great Teacher Dengyo so much trash, and the oral traditions handed down from the Great Teacher Jikaku the only guide to truth?" (Gosho Zenshu, p.1258)
And, most importantly, from On Repaying Debts of Gratitiude:
"Question: When it comes to those who maintain that the Lotus Sutra is superior to the True Word eachings, should they try to make use of these commentaries by jikaku, or should they reject them?
Answer: Shakyamuni Buddha laid down a rule for future conduct when he said that we should “rely on the Law and not upon persons.” Bodhisattva Nagarjuna says that one should rely on treatises that are faithful to the sutras, but not rely on those that distort the sutras. T’ien-t’ai states, “That which accords with the sutras is to be written down and made available. But put no faith in anything that in word or meaning fails to do so.” And the Great Teacher Dengyo says, “Depend upon the preachings of the Buddha, and do not put faith in traditions handed down orally.”(The Selection of the Time)
"Instead of wasting all those supplies and making work for other people by insisting upon traveling all the way to China, they should have made a more careful and thorough study of the doctrines of the Great Teacher Dengyo, who was their own teacher!. " (Repaying Debts of Gratitude)
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