Katie: Somehow, Nichiren’s strong opposition to slanderous schools in his time, has become the template for Mark and Greg to attack others who actually embrace and recite Myoho Renge Kyo!
Mark: I can't speak for greg but NO ENGLISH SPEAKING NICHIREN BUDDHIST alive today has demonstrated such a strong opposition to Zen Buddhism, Vajrayana (Tibetan and Shingon) Buddhism, and Pure Land Buddhism (on the Alternate Zen and Tibetan sites, on Dharma Wheel and wherever these provisional sects are active on the internet) THAN I. Regarding my opposition to the various Nichiren sects and those who chant Nam(u) Myoho renge kyo with a warped faith, I am guilty. Look at the disunity among the Nichiren faiths, their various doctrines and practices. NO ONE has raised the banner of unity more than I. Without a unified faith, practice, and doctrine, there will never be unity among the Nichiren sects. If you believe so, you are either blind or ignorant. All one needs to see is the state of the world and especially wherever the various sects, particularly where the Soka Gakkai, Nichiren Shu and Nichiren Shoshu has spread their ugly permutations of Nichiren Lotus Sutra Buddhism, is to know that what they have spread is NOT the Lotus Sutra Buddhism of Nichiren which promises peace and security in this world.
Look at the state of the world, especially Japan, America, Brazil, South Korea, Europe, India, Russia, the Middle East, most all the places where the various Nichiren sects have spread. Is this many in body and one in mind? In Nichiren's writing of the same name, we read:
"King Chou of Yin led seven hundred thousand soldiers into battle against King Wu of Chou and his eight hundred men. Yet King Chou’s army lost because of disunity while King Wu’s men defeated him because of perfect unity. Even an individual at cross purposes with himself is certain to end in failure. Yet a hundred or even a thousand people can definitely attain their goal, if they are of one mind. Though numerous, the Japanese will find it difficult to accomplish anything, because they are divided in spirit. "
We would expect that with thirty million plus people chanting Nam(u) Myoho renge kyo, were we in perfect unity, that we would be able to defeat (create peace) in a world of seven billion people by Nichiren's reasoning.. How far away from peace are we? I didn't creat the disunity. I have called for the Nichiren sects to adopt the same faith, practice, and doctrines as Nichiren for 25 years.
Regarding, "Even an individual at cross purposes with himself is certain to end in failure", teaching, for example, that Namu Myoho renge kyo is "insufficient" unless one embraces the "eternal mentor Daisaku Ikeda", is to be at cross purposes with oneself and is the failure of SGI members to reach their goals on an individual member and to be truly Enlightened. Another example is, how can so-called "learned" Nichiren priests, support the building of a Shingon temple? This too is having cross purposes, not only with one's self but with the self of Nichiren and the Buddha.
Katie: None of us is enlightened — it is the teaching, Myoho Renge kyo that is perfect, not us, and certainly not circumstances in the threefold world.
Mark: Speak for yourself. The Lotus Sutra Chapter 23 and Nichiren teach that because the teaching one embraces is perfect, the person is worthy of respect. SGI's, Nichiren Shoshu's, and Nichiren Shu's teachings are not the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren. Therefore, their teachings are not perfect, and especially their leaders and priests are not worthy of respect. I embrace to the best of my ability the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and the authentic teachings of Nichiren. You and Jerry no longer embrace the perfect teachings or you would speak out as I. You have been blinded by the evil rhetoric of the various sects rather than attempting to follow the pure and perfect teachings of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren. Nichiren teaches in his second most important writing, the Opening of the Eyes:
"In the ninth volume of the Nirvana Sutra we read: “Good man, there are icchantikas, or persons of incorrigible disbelief. They pretend to be arhats, living in deserted places and speaking slanderously of the correct and equal sutras of the great vehicle. When ordinary people see them, they all suppose that they are true arhats and speak of them as great bodhisattvas.” It also says: “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.”
As to your assertion that this Threefold World is not perfect, you are contradicting yourself. In another comment you correctly cited the Lotus Sutra Chapter 16, The Lifespean of the Tathagata:
and all is consumed in a great fire,
this, my land, remains safe and tranquil,
constantly filled with heavenly and human beings.
The halls and pavilions in its gardens and groves
are adorned with various kinds of gems.
Jeweled trees abound in flowers and fruit
where living beings enjoy themselves at ease.
The gods strike heavenly drums,
constantly making many kinds of music.
Mandarava blossoms rain down,
scattering over the Buddha and the great assembly.
My pure land is not destroyed,
yet the multitude sees it as consumed in fire,
with anxiety, fear, and other sufferings
filling it everywhere.
These living beings with their various offenses,
through causes arising from their evil actions,
spend asamkhya kalpas
without hearing the name of the three treasures.
But those who practice meritorious ways,
who are gentle, peaceful, honest, and upright,
all of them will see me
here in person, preaching the Law"
The Buddha also states in Chapter 16, "It is not as the Three Worlds see the Three Worlds. In such a matter as this the Tathagata sees clearly and is without error."
I suggest you study again Chapter 23 of the Lotus Sutra and reflect on the words of the Buddha in Chapter 16 and Nichiren in the Opening of the Eyes cited above.
actual proof is what really matters. its a very funny looking kosen rufu is it not? "because to a man , people turn their backs on what is right , society becomes disordered and the spirits run rampant". check your spirits.
ReplyDeletegregorio
Yes, actual proof is the big one ! Truly, there are differences as vast as there are individuals who chant daimoku , regarding how “ kosen rufu” looks. I see and appreciate strong evidence of progress across many domains- my own life- family, work, community, relationships; the steady rise of youth becoming active and involved in our democracy; the unity amongst developed nations in support of Ukraine and loudly denouncing Putin’s evil agenda. Advancement not perfection — but a good start towards the remaining 9000 plus years of Mappo.
ReplyDeleteMy spirit is stronger than ever ! It is my responsibility and through my own efforts that it remains so.
I encourage you to look within yourself and resist the urge to blame others for any circumstance in which you are not yet able to perceive myo ho ren ge kyo! Those five characters permeate all phenomena! Difficult to believe and difficult to understand😊
~ Katie
Katie: None of us is enlightened — it is the teaching, Myoho Renge kyo that is perfect, not us, and certainly not circumstances in the threefold world.
ReplyDeleteMark: Speak for yourself. The Lotus Sutra Chapter 23 and Nichiren teach that because the teaching one embraces is perfect, the person is worthy of respect.
Are you saying "worthy of respect"="enlightened being"? surely, not!
Are you actually showing respect to others who embrace/recite the daimoku?
sure doesn't appear so.
Marty
Are you saying that receiving and keeping the Daimoku is not enlightenment, that both the Daimoku of faith and practice for oneself is NOT Enlightenment? Surely you jest. Nichiren teaches:
ReplyDelete“But since you are so extremely foolish, let me give you an analogy. Myoho-renge-kyo is the Buddha nature of all living beings. The Buddha nature is the Dharma nature, and the Dharma nature is enlightenment. The Buddha nature possessed by Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions; by Superior Practices, Boundless Practices, and the other Bodhisattvas of the Earth; by Universal Worthy, Manjushrī, Shāriputra, Mudgalyāyana, and the others; by the great Brahmā and the lord Shakra; by the deities of the sun and moon, the morning star, the seven stars in the Big Dipper in the northern sky, the twenty-eight constellations, and the countless other stars; by the heavenly gods, the earthly deities, the dragon deities, the eight kinds of nonhuman beings, and the human and heavenly beings who gathered in the great assembly to hear the Buddha’s preaching; by King Yama—in short, by all living beings from the realm where there is neither thought nor no thought above the clouds down to the flames in the lowest depths of hell—the Buddha nature that all these beings possess is called by the name Myoho-renge-kyo. Therefore, if you recite these words of the daimoku once, then the Buddha nature of all living beings will be summoned and gather around you. At that time the three bodies of the Dharma nature within you—the Dharma body, the reward body, and the manifested body—will be drawn forth and become manifest. This is called attaining Buddhahood. To illustrate, when a caged bird sings, the many birds flying in the sky all gather around it at once; seeing this, the bird in the cage strives to get out.” - A Sage and an Unenlightened man
"What is meant by this “wisdom”? It is the entity of the true aspect of all phenomena, and of the ten factors of life that lead all beings to Buddhahood. What then is that entity? It is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. A commentary states that the profound principle of the true aspect is the originally inherent Myoho-renge-kyo.3 We learn that that true aspect of all phenomena is also the two Buddhas Shakyamuni and Many Treasures [seated together in the treasure tower]. “All phenomena” corresponds to Many Treasures, and “the true aspect” corresponds to Shakyamuni. These are also the two elements of reality and wisdom. Many Treasures is reality; Shakyamuni is wisdom. It is the enlightenment that reality and wisdom are two, and yet they are not two
These are teachings of prime importance. These are also what is called “earthly desires are enlightenment,” and “the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana.” Chanting Namu-myoho-renge-kyo during the physical union of man and woman is indeed what is called “earthly desires are enlightenment,” and “the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana.” “The sufferings of birth and death are nirvana” exists only in realizing that the entity of life throughout its cycle of birth and death is neither born nor destroyed. The Universal Worthy Sutra states, “Without either cutting off earthly desires or separating themselves from the five desires, they can purify all their senses and wipe away all their offenses.” Great Concentration and Insight says, “The ignorance and dust of desires are enlightenment, and the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana.” The “Life Span” chapter of the Lotus Sutra says, “At all times I think to myself: How can I cause living beings to gain entry into the unsurpassed way and quickly acquire the body of a Buddha?” The “Expedient Means” chapter says, “The characteristics of the world are constantly abiding.” Surely such statements refer to these principles. Thus what is called the entity is none other than Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.- The Sufferring of Life and Death are Nirvana or Earthly Desires are Equal to Enlightenment.
So yes, speak for yourself. I have other examples
We’re on a path.
ReplyDeleteMoments of enlightened perception and experiences that reveal profound workings of the Mystic Law.
Obviously and I mean very clearly appreciated, we don’t have enlightened beings in this age.
I’m beginning to see how you have strayed from scripture into a zone of superiority.
But still wonder when you will notice what is more obvious.
You speak and act like the so called evil people you roast here.
Mappo poison will take thousands of years to eradicate .
Get busy on that and you will discover how level our playing field is.
Marty