Authentic Nichiren Lotus Sutra Buddhism teaches us to abandon attachments to wealth, land, physical beauty, enemies, even friends and family members (realizing that all to which we are attached is ultimately ephemeral).
Well then, LOL, you are talking about everything dear to the heart! .....whose heart you may ask? Who wouldn't want to be more beautiful?.......a nose job here, a face-lift there, full head of hair everywhere!? .......but, can we wait until the stroke of 10 or 11?.....it would be no problem walking away from the above after the body has been spent......and really, the thought of rocking in a chair on the front porch, fully in thought of the Wonderful Law, and wishing, praying for worldly peace.....well then, that is something to look forward to.
What is meant by the word, "attachment"? And what does it look like to "abandon attachments to ...even friends and family"? Nichiren's deep concern and compassion for his followers and references to his parents and hometown are beautifully expressed in his writings as are the heartfelt prayers that encouraged and uplifted those suffering from illness and grief. I think we should put a finer point on this concept by noting that 1) We owe a debt of gratitude to our parents, and ALL living beings, and 2) "Abandoning" friends and family members does not reflect human values and proper conduct that are the heart of our culture, our society and our kinship with literally all living beings. So, maybe this is not a "teaching"? After all, it is our hearts that "matter most" and our concern for others, our caring and commitment to bringing benefit to others through our faith that is "exemplary" bodhisattva practice. There could be translation issues as well as the historical and cultural context that should be considered before just taking the above literally as a "teaching". Maybe, at the end of our lives, IF we attain Buddhahood this "ephemeral" aspect of all phenomena will be clear-- but while we are living and embracing myoho renge kyo, I think that we have to stay grounded in the truth of the interconnection of ALL living beings and the special significance of those closest to us. ~Katie
Apparently you have not read my discourse on attachments. In a nutshell, Nichiren teaches in the Opening of the Eyes:
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.”
If even attachment to the perfect teaching is bad, then attachment to all ephemoral things (money, cars, beauty, even parents, wives, and children). Love, gratitude and appreciation has nothing to do with abandoning attachments.
Nichiren teaches in On Repaying Debts of Gratitiude:
HE old fox never forgets the hillock where he was born;1 the white turtle repaid the kindness he had received from Mao Pao.2 If even lowly creatures know enough to do this, then how much more should human beings! Thus Yü Jang, a worthy man of old, fell on his sword in order to repay the debt he owed his lord Chih Po,3 and the minister Hung Yen for similar reasons cut open his stomach and inserted the liver of his dead lord, Duke Yi of Wei.4 What can we say, then, of persons who are devoting themselves to Buddhism? Surely they should not forget the debts of gratitude they owe to their parents, their teachers, and their country.
But if one intends to repay these great debts of gratitude, one can hope to do so only if one learns and masters Buddhism, becoming a person of wisdom. If one does not, one will be like a man who attempts to lead a company of the blind over bridges and across rivers when he himself has sightless eyes. Can a ship steered by someone who cannot even tell the direction of the wind ever carry the traveling merchants to the mountains where treasure lies?
If one hopes to learn and master Buddhism, then one cannot do so without devoting time to the task. And if one wants to have time to spend on the undertaking, one cannot continue to wait on one’s parents, one’s teachers, and one’s sovereign. Until one attains the road that leads to emancipation, one should not defer to the wishes and feelings of one’s parents and teachers, no matter how reasonable they may be.
Many people may think that counsel such as this runs counter to secular virtues and also fails to accord with the spirit of Buddhism. But in fact secular texts such as The Classic of Filial Piety make clear that there are times when one can be a loyal minister or a filial child only by refusing to obey the wishes of one’s sovereign or parents. And in the sacred scriptures of Buddhism it is said, “By renouncing one’s obligations and entering the Buddhist life one can truly repay those obligations in full.”5 Pi Kan refused to go along with his sovereign’s wishes and thereby came to be known as a worthy man.6 Prince Siddhārtha disobeyed his father King Shuddhodana and yet became the most outstanding filial son in all the threefold world. These are examples of what I mean."
Can and do read Nichiren. Why would anyone who chants daimoku with strong faith want or need “ Mark’s discourse”? It’s like you have this unreasonable attachment to your “self”, unaware that you , like all living beings , are a temporary union of five components. It’s like you have no faith in the teaching : “ ALL who maintain their faith will receive the same benefit as the Buddha Himself” I contend that encouraging chanting - no matter what, is the best cause, and the one cause where a believer can know exactly how true their words of encouragement are. We’re on solid ground with the basics. Marty
When are you planning to break your attachment to your “ enemies”?
ReplyDeleteWell then, LOL, you are talking about everything dear to the heart! .....whose heart you may ask? Who wouldn't want to be more beautiful?.......a nose job here, a face-lift there, full head of hair everywhere!? .......but, can we wait until the stroke of 10 or 11?.....it would be no problem walking away from the above after the body has been spent......and really, the thought of rocking in a chair on the front porch, fully in thought of the Wonderful Law, and wishing, praying for worldly peace.....well then, that is something to look forward to.
ReplyDeleteof course, I'm being facetious...but, I have a red line.....Dogs!....and all creatures great and small.
ReplyDeleteWhat is meant by the word, "attachment"? And what does it look like to "abandon attachments to ...even friends and family"?
ReplyDeleteNichiren's deep concern and compassion for his followers and references to his parents and hometown are beautifully expressed in his writings as are the heartfelt prayers that encouraged and uplifted those suffering from illness and grief. I think we should put a finer point on this concept by noting that 1) We owe a debt of gratitude to our parents, and ALL living beings, and 2) "Abandoning" friends and family members does not reflect human values and proper conduct that are the heart of our culture, our society and our kinship with literally all living beings.
So, maybe this is not a "teaching"? After all, it is our hearts that "matter most" and our concern for others, our caring and commitment to bringing benefit to others through our faith that is "exemplary" bodhisattva practice.
There could be translation issues as well as the historical and cultural context that should be considered before just taking the above literally as a "teaching".
Maybe, at the end of our lives, IF we attain Buddhahood this "ephemeral" aspect of all phenomena will be clear-- but while we are living and embracing myoho renge kyo, I think that we have to stay grounded in the truth of the interconnection of ALL living beings and the special significance of those closest to us.
~Katie
Apparently you have not read my discourse on attachments. In a nutshell, Nichiren teaches in the Opening of the Eyes:
ReplyDeleteThe 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.”
If even attachment to the perfect teaching is bad, then attachment to all ephemoral things (money, cars, beauty, even parents, wives, and children). Love, gratitude and appreciation has nothing to do with abandoning attachments.
Nichiren teaches in On Repaying Debts of Gratitiude:
HE old fox never forgets the hillock where he was born;1 the white turtle repaid the kindness he had received from Mao Pao.2 If even lowly creatures know enough to do this, then how much more should human beings! Thus Yü Jang, a worthy man of old, fell on his sword in order to repay the debt he owed his lord Chih Po,3 and the minister Hung Yen for similar reasons cut open his stomach and inserted the liver of his dead lord, Duke Yi of Wei.4 What can we say, then, of persons who are devoting themselves to Buddhism? Surely they should not forget the debts of gratitude they owe to their parents, their teachers, and their country.
But if one intends to repay these great debts of gratitude, one can hope to do so only if one learns and masters Buddhism, becoming a person of wisdom. If one does not, one will be like a man who attempts to lead a company of the blind over bridges and across rivers when he himself has sightless eyes. Can a ship steered by someone who cannot even tell the direction of the wind ever carry the traveling merchants to the mountains where treasure lies?
If one hopes to learn and master Buddhism, then one cannot do so without devoting time to the task. And if one wants to have time to spend on the undertaking, one cannot continue to wait on one’s parents, one’s teachers, and one’s sovereign. Until one attains the road that leads to emancipation, one should not defer to the wishes and feelings of one’s parents and teachers, no matter how reasonable they may be.
Many people may think that counsel such as this runs counter to secular virtues and also fails to accord with the spirit of Buddhism. But in fact secular texts such as The Classic of Filial Piety make clear that there are times when one can be a loyal minister or a filial child only by refusing to obey the wishes of one’s sovereign or parents. And in the sacred scriptures of Buddhism it is said, “By renouncing one’s obligations and entering the Buddhist life one can truly repay those obligations in full.”5 Pi Kan refused to go along with his sovereign’s wishes and thereby came to be known as a worthy man.6 Prince Siddhārtha disobeyed his father King Shuddhodana and yet became the most outstanding filial son in all the threefold world. These are examples of what I mean."
Can and do read Nichiren.
ReplyDeleteWhy would anyone who chants daimoku with strong faith want or need “ Mark’s discourse”?
It’s like you have this unreasonable attachment to your “self”, unaware that you , like all living beings , are a temporary union of five components.
It’s like you have no faith in the teaching : “ ALL who maintain their faith will receive the same benefit as the Buddha Himself”
I contend that encouraging chanting - no matter what, is the best cause, and the one cause where a believer can know exactly how true their words of encouragement are.
We’re on solid ground with the basics.
Marty