Nichiren was right. Japan IS an evil country. (Please do not criticize me as a bigoted racist until viewing entire video and commenting on the video).

 

The Four Bodhisattva Vows

“Defilements are countless*; I vow to put an end to them.”

“Dharma methods are limitless; I vow to learn them all.”

“Living beings are innumerable; I vow to save them all.”

“Buddhahood is unsurpassable; I vow to realize it.”

*Examples of defilements:

ostentatiousness	grudge	gambling	ingratitude
dipsomania	ambition	dominance	faithlessness
manipulation	stinginess	pessimism	hostility
abuse	debasement	sexual lust	sarcasm
humiliation	jealousy	gluttony	unruliness
hurt	cruelty	unkindness	laziness
envy	indifference	negativity	furtiveness
sadism	enviousness	derision	falseness
high-handedness	know-it-all	rage	aggression
rapacity	effrontery	disrespectfulness	hard-heartedness
eagerness for power	lying	insidiousness	self-denial
inattentiveness	contempt	wrath	haughtiness
greed for money	seducement	vindictiveness	insatiability
voluptuousness	excessiveness	censoriousness	dissatisfaction
egoism	ignorance	hatred	greed
impudence	imposture	cursing	imperiousness
lecherousness	callousness	malignancy	torment
intolerance	blasphemy	shamelessness	irresponsibility
obsession	prejudice	arrogance	violent temper
garrulity	dogmatism	presumption	intransigence
oppression	prodigality	lack of comprehension	obstinacy
pride	conceitedness	delusion	quarrelsomeness
self-hatred	violence	vanity	hypocrisy
stubbornness	baseness	pretence	mercilessness
disrespect	ridicule	masochism	tyranny
capriciousness	deceit	anger	discord
calculation	unyielding	desire for fame	deception

Response to a Nichiren Shu believer.

Hello. Mark. 

Nichiren Shonin Written Mandala Gohonzon below are the written Kishi monjin sitting as well. Nichiren Chant and practice all 28 chapters from it. But instead any sect will say they are the truth from it. Lets forget it . In any sect have the same results the same Chanting the same daimoku . Shu are the larger group here in Japan in.Nichiren sect. We respect all other Nichiren Sects (other religion ) too. Here in Japan Shu are the most peacefull Nichiren sect saw ever. SHU priets and lay believers dont harm and talk bad to any Nichiren sects ever. (Like Shoshu Soka and Sgi do). Nichiren Shonin are free from chanting but we must just follow the law not person. Now Here is the answer:

What is Buddishm? What is Nichiren Shu? What is Nichiren Shonin's teachings about? If you ask any number of people these questions you will get a variety of answers, the accuracy of which will vary widely. It is an attempt to provide reliable answers to these questions. Many people throughout the world have heard of Buddhism, Though their perceptions of this religion are often colored by misconceptions. Buddishm is very differend from the religions of the west. It was founded by a man called the Buddha over two thounsend years or more ago in India. Shortly ,we will take a look at the Buddha's life and his teachings but for the moment, let's define what Buddhism is in order to clear up some commen misperceptions. Buddishm can be confusing because to some people it seems like a religion to others it seems like a philosophy, and to others it seems like an ancient tradition of psychology. Buddishm, however cannot be reduced to any of these categories. At its heart, buddishm is a word view based upon the awakening of the Buddha, and a way of life that leads to and consistent with an awakened world view. This "awakening" refers to an awakening from the sleep of delusion and self-centerdness. This is the enlightenment that freed the Buddha from suffering and enabled him to reach out compassionately to others so that they could share his freedom. The Buddha also described and demonstrated the perfect wisdom and great compassion of one who had awakened to the true nature of reality. Buddishm does not focus on woreshipping or appeasing some superhuman being whose powers and understanding are forever beyond our reach. Neither is Buddishm idolatry: Buddhist do not woreship arcane symbols, statues or a group of deities. It is true that buddhist believe in an ultimate reality, sometimes called the Buddha-nature, that enables us to attain awakening but this should not be confused with the historical person called the Buddha. The historical Buddha is revered as the one who taught the way but he does not transcend our ability to emulate him. Likewise, the Buddha-nature is not a person to woreship, but is the fertile ground from which we can bring out our own buddha-like qualities by practicing the Buddha's teachings. Unlike many religions of the west the ultimate reality does not save us from high.(god and buddha wont give you a state of mind) but instead invites us to realize it as our own true nature.

Response:

Having chanted Namu Myoho renge kyo more than 30,000,000 times, you are preaching to the choir. The Buddha and Nichiren spent their entire lives correcting wrong thought. This too is an aspect of Nichiren Lotus Sutra Buddhism. Nichiren did not limit setting right the wrong thought of the authorities and the mistaken understanding of the priests of the various sects but also his own disciples. Sammibo and Ota Jomyo come to mind. Regarding Sammibo, Nichiren lamented that he didn't more forcibly correct him. Likewise our compassion to correct the mistaken beliefs of the SGI and the Nichiren Shoshu, for example..

To my slanderous critics, my answer to your vitriol and hatred towards me...

Namu Myoho renge kyo and study the Lotus Sutra and Gosho. Use the Gosho and the Lotus Sutra to refute me not your emotional opinions, otherwise it is dust in the wind. When you rebuke me, since I back up my assertions with the Lotus Sutra and writings of Nichiren, you are rebuking the teachings and surely will fall into the lower realms. 

Lets not criticize SGI members they chant Daimoku

 Spouse is SGI maniac causing trouble in our marriage

Hi All,

Wanted to bring my story here. I am married to my spouse for 6+ Years. She has been a staunch SGI member with annual donations and volunteer activities such as FNCC, Bykeren, hosting and district memberships.

Few things I have observed

1. She is a staunch feminist outside but fails to see Gender roles in SGI such as Gajokai and Byekeren

2. She is pragmatic but truely believes that chanting can change the world but she herself has lost the empathy and gratitude. She is more lost and self centered in general

3. SGI seems to be making her donate $5000+ a year. She says she is dojng by her own. She is like more I do, better the cause but it is actually quite the opposite. She would go to thrift store to buy clothes but will donate 5K. She has her eyebrows raised if I have to support 5K a year for my aging parents but she can donate 5K to SGI (ofcourse her own earned money). I am not financially in bad shape, it is just different rules and priorities that hits me

4. There have been incidents where I was sleeping, she woke me up just because she wants me to look after a kid as she wants to attend and present weekly meeting disregarding the facts that I am more sleep deprived due to my schedule. When conversations get heated and went so far that she almost pressed charges on me while I am feeling being emotionally abused here. I think she was so much focussed on SGI that she has lost any empathy for people around her. Not sure if I am a bad person and want people to choose what they like but if it starts affecting your life, I feel helpless.

5. The last incident has ensured that I cannot question her on this and if I do, the situation is such that I will be in trouble.

6. I have seen lots of trouble in their districts and politics with appointment of roles, it makes me cringe how people want power and control in the name of religion,

I am suffering in the marriage. I love my child and I will not be able to live without him so I am not even thinking of letting go of it. Moreover, I want family to be together but SGI seems to be a big thorn in what used to be a happy marriage. I want the same person to get out of SGI but I cannot influence that. This cult is ruining my personal life. As long as she is active member and prioritizes family over SGI, I am okay with it (as long as you are praying and chanting only). Anything beyond that is something making th entire family suffer.

Criticize me all you want, you are nothing but dogs barking at a lion.

"But let us consider. Who is it who is cursed and spoken ill of by the populace? Who is the priest who is attacked with swords and staves? Who is the priest who, because of the Lotus Sutra, is accused in petitions submitted to the courtiers and warriors? Who is the priest who is “again and again banished,” as the Lotus Sutra predicted? Who else in Japan besides Nichiren has fulfilled these predictions?"

And who else but I in the entire United States is spoken ill of, exiled, and banished in the virtual world in more places for asserting the superiority of the Lotus Sutra? Who else upholds Nichiren's Four Dictums, admonishing the provisional Buddhists and not for one year, two years, five years but for almost 25 years? Who else corrects SGI's and Nichiren Shoshu's bizarre doctrines for the sake of the purity of the Law? Who else in the United states has experienced first hand for the sake of this Sutra and support of the Eternal Buddha and Nichiren? Hatred and Jealousy towards this Sutra and the Sutra's votaries abound even when the Buddha was in the world and how much worse will it be after his passing. 

Were only the daimoku important and not the doctrines of the Lotus Sutra then why did Nichireen write hundreds of pages on the doctrines of the Lotus Sutra and The Identity of the Eternal Buddha? Nichiren teaches:

"If it is not the proper Object of Worship (Gohonzon), even though there be no falsehood [even if the practitioner is sincere] it will not form the seed [of Buddhahood]. The Daimoku of the Hommon [Doctrine of the Original, found in the Lotus Sutra] is the seed of Buddhahood. This is because the Eternal Shakyamuni of the Honmon has put his Causal Practices (his myriad practices that lead to enlightenment) and his Virtues of the Effect (the merits of the effect, which is Buddhahood) into the seven characters of Namu Myo Ho Renge Kyo." (The True Object of Worship)

Gerald Aitken's mostly accurate perspective on the practice of Nichiren Buddhism (81 pages).

http://geraldaitkenwriter.weebly.com/uploads/2/6/6/5/26652375/ndbuddhism.pdf

Fighting Daimoku? Ugly Daimoku? Chipmonk Daimoku?

 

From the True Object of Worship

"Now, the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra says that Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, attained Buddhahood numberless major world system dust particle kalpas ago, and that the cause that made this possible was the practice he had carried out at that time. Since then he has manifested emanation bodies throughout the worlds of the ten directions and preached all the sacred teachings of his lifetime to teach and convert people as numerous as the dust particles of the land. When we compare THE NUMBER OF DISCIPLES in the essential teaching with that of disciples in the theoretical teaching, the former is like the ocean, and the latter, like a drop of water, or the one, like a great mountain, and the other, like a speck of dust. What is more, a bodhisattva of the essential teaching is far superior to any bodhisattva of the theoretical teaching, including Manjushrī, Perceiver of the World’s Sounds, or any of the others who gathered from the worlds in the ten directions. The difference between them is even greater than that between Shakra and a monkey."

"Do not look down upon my disciples!"

Therefore, I entreat the people of this country: Do not look down upon my disciples! If you inquire into their past, you will find that they are great bodhisattvas who have given alms to Buddhas over a period of eight hundred thousand million kalpas, and who have carried out practices under Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Hiranyavatī and Ganges rivers. And if we speak of the future, they will be endowed with the benefit of the fiftieth person, surpassing that of one who gave alms to innumerable living beings for a period of eighty years. They are like an infant emperor wrapped in swaddling clothes, or a great dragon who has just been born. Do not despise them! Do not look on them with contempt!" - On the Four Stages of Faith and Five Stages of Practice

A modern historian's Hx of Nichiren

 

"The Japanese are fine people. How dare you call them evil and stupid. You reveal yourself by your hate speech you racist bigot."

 

From the Wealthy Man Sudatta

"I will teach you how to become a Buddha easily. Teaching another something is the same as oiling the wheels of a cart so that they turn even though it is heavy, or as floating a boat on water so that it moves ahead easily. The way to become a Buddha easily is nothing special. It is the same as giving water to a thirsty person in a time of drought, or as providing fire for a person freezing in the cold. Or again, it is the same as giving another something that is one of a kind, or as offering something as alms to another even at the risk of one’s life."

Conversation on Reddit with a new practitioner

What’s the daily practice like? Right now I started saying diamoku for 4 hours a day. What can I add

You may tell others about Namu Myoho renge kyo. You may also recite the 2nd and 16th Chapter or any Chapter of the Lotus sutra. There is a saying, 1 Daimoku may be enough and 1 million Daimoku may be insufficient. Are you able to chant 4 hours a day and take care of your work/school, other activities? I once did 3 hours a day for 2 months and 2 hours a day for 3 months. I used to perform long chants for a several days or a week at a time. Now, I get the same effect with 15 minutes of chanting and strong faith. Please remember, faith is first and foremost.. so proud of you. Namu Myoho renge kyo

I have a completely mindless full time job as a janitor. So i can concentrate on daimoku as much as I am able. I hope to do more chanting as my concentration improves.

Fantastic that you can chant Daimoku to your heart's content. How long are you chanting? Do you have Gohonzon? Which one. How old are you? I'm an old happy fart, 66 years old, happily married with 2 children and 2 grandchildren.

I dont have a gohonzon, im looking to save up for a butsudan. At my job I chant as much as my concentration allows, right now 4 hours. I used to think useless thoughts before, might as well chant now! married and 30. All the nichiren groups are far from me. Live in germany, but attracted to this practice as it is open to even busy people

If Gohonzon is safe, no Butsudan necessary and until you enshrine it, either in butsudan or on the wall you can keep it scrolled up and protected. I will send you a copy of a Nichiren Gohonzon if you wish.

Would be great to have a gohonzon. Just got a copy of the lotus sutra in book form. Have been reading it online in pdf, feel like now is the time to get serious and really read it thoroughly. Just short time I have been saying Daimoku, I already feel a shift in my life. Incredible...

Please remember, when practice progresses, the Three Obstacles and Four Devils vie with one another to hinder faith and practice. Please read Letter to the Brothers. Great read.

The meaning of "Single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha."

Next, the teaching of the “Life Span” chapter is what I, Nichiren, personally depend on. Although T’ien-t’ai and Dengyō also understood it in a general way, they never put it into words or proclaimed it. The same is true of Nāgārjuna and Vasubandhu. The verse section of the chapter states, “... single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha, not hesitating even if it costs them their lives.” As a result of this passage, I have revealed the Buddhahood in my own life. The reason is that it is this sutra passage that has enabled me to embody the Three Great Secret Laws, or the reality of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, that is found in the “Life Span” chapter. But keep this secret, keep it secret.

The Great Teacher of Mount Hiei [Dengyō] journeyed to China and received instruction on the point of this passage. “Single” of “single-mindedly” means the one pure way, and “mind” means all phenomena.2 That is why the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai, explaining the Chinese character for “mind,” said that its four brush strokes represent the moon and three stars, and that this implies that the mind of the effect [of Buddhahood] is pure and clean. I, Nichiren, say that “single” stands for myō, or mystic, “mind” for hō, or law, “desiring” for ren, or lotus, “see” for ge, or flower, and “Buddha” for kyō, or sutra. In propagating these five characters, practitioners should “not hesitate even if it costs them their lives.”

“Single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha” may be read as follows: p.390single-mindedly observing the Buddha, concentrating one’s mind on seeing the Buddha, and when looking at one’s own mind, perceiving that it is the Buddha. Having attained the fruit of Buddhahood, the eternally inherent three bodies, I may surpass even T’ien-t’ai and Dengyō, and excel even Nāgārjuna and Mahākāshyapa. The Buddha wrote that one should become the master of one’s mind rather than let one’s mind master oneself.4 This is what I mean when I emphatically urge you to give up even your body, and never begrudge even your life for the sake of the Lotus Sutra. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo." Letter to Gijo-bo

Response to an assertion...

Assertion: "You shouldn't call yourself a disciple of Nichiren, only Nichiren can make that determination."

Response: Nichiren isn't here except through his writings. That would mean, no one can call him or herself a disciple of Nichiren throughout the 700+ years since the death of Nichiren and only those who Nichiren called "my disciple" are his true disciples. One may determine whether or not one is a disciple of Nichiren by the following teaching of Nichiren: "Though people may claim to be disciples of Nichiren, if they do not possess some proof of that fact from my hand, you must not trust them." (Letter to the Lay Priest Ichinosawa).

Today, the proof of that fact from the hand of Nichiren are the writings of Nichiren himself. Those who follow most closely the writings of Nichiren may call themselves "a disciple of Nichiren" until proven that one fails to follow closely the writings.