Regarding the present cyberwarfare in which 18,000 vital governmental and non-governmental agencies were compromised including our vital infrastructure

"Because there are disputes in Buddhism, there arise disputes in the secular world" - Nichiren

“Because there are disputes in Buddhism, there arise disputes in the secular world. Mount Hiei has lost its calmness and a lot of troubles have been occurring in Kyoto.” (The Way To Argue Buddhist Doctrines)

How prophetic. Today when there is no calm on Mt. Minobu and Mt. Fuji, how much worse are the troubles in Tokyo, Washington, Moscow, Tel Aviv, Islamabad, Bangkok, and Damascus. Nichiren attributed his situation to the Buddhist sects going against the Lotus Sutra and abandoning Shakyamuni Buddha. The situation today with the Soka Gakkai and the Nichiren Shoshu is much worse, these sects having abandoned the Essential Teachings of the Lotus Sutra and Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter of the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren goes on to say,

“The Nembutsu school goes against the Lotus Sutra and follows the three Pure Land sutras, so they look upon Amida Buddha as their premier object of devotion and look down on Shakyamuni Buddha. The True Word priests regard Mahavairochana as the supreme Buddha, so they look down on Shakyamuni Buddha. As for precepts, Mahayana and Hinayana are different but both regard the Thus Come One Shakyamuni as the most important. Other Buddhas only give testimony to his words. Various schools have differences but they should look upon Shakyamuni. Only worms born of the lion’s body feed on the lion. Non-Buddhist teachings cannot defeat Buddhist teachings, but disputes from within will destroy Buddhism. This is the dying words of the Buddha. In Buddhism they believe in Hinayana and lose Mahayana, and they believe in provisional Mahayana teachings and lose true Mahayana teachings.”

The worms of the Fuji School (SGI and NST) feed on the Bodhisattvas of the Earth and Nichiren Daishonin. They bore into the Gohonzon, Lotus Sutra and Gosho, eradicating Buddha Shakyamuni of the Original Doctrine and destroying the principles within. They further confuse the people by asserting their superiority over the Hokke sects and deprecating the sincere disciples and believers of the Nichiren Shu and the Kempon Hokke.

The very worst offender in the entire world is the Soka Gakkai. As Nichiren states in the Pure and Far reaching Voice, “What is superior it takes to be inferior, and what is inferior it takes to be superior. That is the reason why now, when its prayers are being used in an attempt to ward off the Mongol invaders, such prayers are on the contrary about to bring the invaders down upon us.” The SGI is the reason the world is in such poor shape. Just as vibrations from a slanderous mind will cause the head to split into seven pieces, the vibrations of slanderous minds of the Ten Million Soka Gakkai members is causing the world to be disordered and to split into seven pieces.

Instead of adorning the superior teachings with value creationism and human revolution, they replace the Lotus Sutra with these inferior teachings and replace Shakyamuni Buddha with Daisaku Ikeda.

Nichiren states,

“But, leaving aside for the moment the question of which is superior and which inferior, I can say that, far from bringing you deliverance, the practice of these teachings will lead to rebirth in the evil paths. (A Sage and an Unenlightened Man).

As far as the slanderous Nichikan Gohonzon, the most perverted doctrine in the history of Buddhism, Nichiren states:

“Nevertheless, the schools of Buddhism other than Tendai have gone astray concerning the true object of devotion. The Dharma Analysis Treasury, Establishment of Truth, and Precepts schools take as their object of devotion the Shakyamuni Buddha who eliminated illusions and attained the way by practicing thirty-four kinds of spiritual purification. This is comparable to a situation in which the heir apparent of the supreme ruler of a state mistakenly believes himself to be the son of a commoner. The four schools of Flower Garland, True Word, Three Treatises, and Dharma Characteristics are all Mahayana schools of Buddhism. Among them the Dharma Characteristics and Three Treatises schools honor a Buddha who is comparable to the Buddha of the superior manifested body. This is like the heir of the supreme ruler supposing that his father was a member of the warrior class. The Flower Garland and True Word schools look down upon Shakyamuni Buddha and declare the Buddha Vairochana and the Buddha Mahavairochana to be their respective objects of devotion. This is like the heir looking down upon his own father, the supreme ruler, and paying honor to one who is of obscure origin simply because that person pretends to be the sovereign who abides by the principles of righteousness. The Pure Land school considers itself to be most closely related to the Buddha Amida, who is an emanation of Shakyamuni, and abandons Shakyamuni himself who is the lord of teachings. The Zen school behaves like a person of low birth who makes much of his small achievements and despises his father and mother. Thus the Zen school looks down upon both the Buddha and the sutras. All of these schools are misled concerning the true object of devotion. They are like the people who lived in the age before the Three Sovereigns of ancient China and did not know who their own fathers were. In that respect, the people of that time were no different from birds and beasts.” (Opening of the Eyes)

As far as Nichiren Buddhist ceremonies, in the SGI, those of the founding fathers, Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin are all but completely ignored while on May 3rd, for example, all praise is given to the Three Presidents of the Soka Gakkai. At their large meetings instead of singing songs in praise of the Lotus Sutra and Shakyamuni Buddha they sing songs in praise of Daisaku Ikeda. To make matters worse, the SGI political party Komeito is supported by the LDP rulers of Japan. Nichiren states:

“The great evil doctrine of these ceremonies over the years steadily made its way to the Kanto region, where it was embodied in the superintendents or attendant priests of various temples who repeatedly performed these ceremonies. The performers of these ceremonies from the beginning could not distinguish between correct and erroneous teachings, between superior and inferior doctrines, but assumed that it was sufficient merely to revere the three treasures. So, without a thought, they employed these ceremonies. And now not only the provinces of Kanto but the chief priests and superintendents of Mount Hiei, To-ji, and Onjo- ji have all come under the jurisdiction of the Kanto authorities, so that, as a result, the latter are in the position of supporting these ceremonies.”

Hasn’t the great evil of these ceremonies spread to all corners of the world, every district meeting singing Forever Sensei and Sensei For You? Is there any wonder why their prayers for peace are unanswered. to the contrary, war rages ever more intensely in every corner of the world.

The SGI which embraces the expedient teachings whereby the ends of lying and withholding justify the means, make a mockery of the essential teachings, the Great Direct Way to Buddhahood. Daisaku Ikeda, for example, never once mentions in his peace proposals, Namu Myoho renge kyo or Buddha Shakyamuni. Another example are the many meetings and SGI ceremonies where Nichiren, the Lotus Sutra or Shakyamuni Buddha aren’t even mentioned once while “SGI” and “Daisaku Ikeda” are proclaimed dozens of times. Nichiren states in the Entity of the Mystic Law:

“T’ien-t’ai says, “Even successors of the Buddha of the provisional teachings do not know people who have received instruction from the Buddha of the theoretical teaching, and people taught by that Buddha do not know people who have received instruction from the Buddha of the essential teaching. ”The Great Teacher Dengyo explains, “This is a direct way but it is not the great direct way. “He also says, “Because they have not yet understood the great direct way to enlightenment.” The point being made in these passages is clear.

The bodhisattvas of the teachings preached before the Lotus Sutra or of the theoretical teaching have, in a certain sense, eradicated delusion and gained understanding of truth. Nevertheless, in the light of the essential teaching, they have gained only a temporary cutting off of delusion, not the kind that extends beyond a certain dimension. Therefore, it is said that they have in fact not yet cut off delusion.

Thus, although it is said that the bodhisattvas had already gained entrance [to enlightenment] through the various sutras, the term “gained entrance” is simply applied here in a temporary manner as a means of disparaging the achievement of the people of the two vehicles. Therefore, even the great bodhisattvas of the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings and the theoretical teaching arrive at the realization of the lotus of the Buddha only when they are exposed to the essential teaching, and achieve a true cutting off of delusion only when they hear the teachings of the “Life Span” chapter.”

In Teaching Practice and Proof, Nichiren teaches us,

“How naive are those who cling only to the stump of one sutra without knowing which are superior and which inferior among all the sutras! Even if one cannot [read all the sutras and] discern this for oneself, there can be no mistaking that the Lotus Sutra is the only sutra whose truth was attested to by Shakyamuni Buddha, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas who are Shakyamuni’s emanations.

Should one nonetheless view the Lotus Sutra as false and misread the Buddha’s words “I have not yet revealed the truth” as “I have already revealed the truth,” one’s distorted vision would be inferior even to that of cattle or sheep. Exactly what is meant by the passage in the “Teacher of the Law” chapter: “Among the sutras I have preached, now preach, and will preach, this Lotus Sutra is the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand” ? Does the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra not make it clear that Shakyamuni taught the practice of Buddhist austerities spanning myriads of kalpas before declaring, “In these more than forty years, I have not yet revealed the truth” ? These passages are nothing less than the Buddha’s own statements of the relative superiority of the various sutras he expounded during his some fifty years of teaching. The relative superiority of the sutras corresponds to whether or not they lead to Buddhahood.”

The teachings of Value Creationism and Human Revolution do not lead to Buddhahood yet the SGI teaches these instead of the Lotus Sutra. They base their assertions on treatises and not the Lotus Sutra, not even the treatises of the Daishonin but rather those of Nichikan, Toda and Ikeda. They disgard the Lotus Sutra as too profund to be understood or not applicable to the people of the Latter day. They disgard the Lotus Sutra which leads to Buddhahood in one thousand out of one thousand instances while embracing the teachings of the Three Presidents that never once in seventy five years as practiced by millions and millions of SGI members has led to Buddahood, even in one instance.

Nichiren states in Those Initially Aspiring to the Way:

“Therefore, when people declare that their own sutra surpasses the Lotus Sutra, or that their own school is superior to the Lotus school, they are like persons of inferior rank calling someone of high rank a commoner, or retainers whose families have for generations been in the service of a certain lord turning against him and declaring him to be their servant. How can they escape grave retribution?”

Daisaku Ikeda’s wisdom is as brilliant as the sun and moon, and his virtue is extolled far and wide, yet he is confused as to which teachings are shallow or deep, inferior or superior, and has led millions of people astray. This is the reason that he has suffered personal and specific retribution.

Not reflecting nor learning a thing, he flaunts his knowledge and acts as if he were wise, though he is an ordinary person, who regards the superior teachings as inferior and the inferior teachings as superior. He regards the powerless teachings of the Soka Gakkai as those leading to enlightenment, and declares teachings inappropriate for the people’s capacity to be appropriate for them. Thus he believes that the teaching of Value Creation and Human Revolution is superior and the Lotus Sutra is inferior and that the former suits the people’s capacity but the latter teachings do not. (excerpted and paraphrased from the One Eyed Turtle and the Floating Log)

Nichiren states:

“Thus they place such pronouncements (Value Creation, Human revolution, peace proposals) on the same level as the Lotus Sutra, considering the two to be of equal authority; or they regard these teachings as superior to the Lotus Sutra; or they reason that though their teacher’s pronouncements are inferior they are well suited to the capacity of the people.” (The Teaching that Accords with the Buddha’s Mind)

“Remember this about the theoretical and essential teachings of the Lotus Sutra: Which is shallow and which profound, which superior and which inferior, which lenient and which severe, and which subordinate and which primary must be judged in accordance with the time and the people’s capacity.” (On Establishing the Four Bodhisattvas as the Object of Worship.”

The SGI teachings are based on the gentle methods of the Theoretical teachings rather than the strict and superior Essential teachings. It has brought confusion to the Buddhist order.

Because they hate us, the ignorant people choose the SGI which is inferior and detest the superior. As Nichiren says, “It is as though one were to assert that a dog is braver than lion, or that the stars appear brighter than the sun.”(One Eyed Turtle) We are considered men of erroneous views although we practice according to the teachings. Despite all this, we feel as Nichiren, “tears spring to my (our) eyes and joy fills my (our) entire body.” (ibid. One Eyed Turtle)

Nichiren states:

“As more Buddhist sutras were brought to China, it became apparent that some were superior in content or more profound than others. They belonged to different categories such as Hinayana and Mahayana, exoteric and esoteric, provisional and true. To illustrate, all stones are invariably inferior to gold, but gold itself is divided into several grades. No gold found in the human world can match the gold mined from the Jambu River.1 But the gold from the Jambu River is in turn far less valuable than the gold stored in the Brahma heaven. In the same way, all the Buddhist sutras are like gold, but some are finer and more profound than others.” (The Supremacy of the Law)

Toda was confused, believing the fools gold of the Taisekaji teachings were superior to the twenty-four carat gold of the Lotus Sutra Nichiren's teachings. Spreading such vile teachings as these, the SGI members and leaders accumulate slander upon slander which, by now, has now grown into a Mount Sumeru of slander. Is there any doubt that the world, far from being a better place for the spread of the SGI teachings, has become a boiling cauldron of death and despair? There is no doubt!

How can this most distressing of situations be remedied?

Nichiren states:

“I decided that I would not heed the claims of these eight or ten schools, but would do as the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai did and let the sutras themselves be my sole teacher, in this way determining which of the various teachings of the Buddha’s lifetime are superior and which are inferior.”

To remedy this situation and repay our debts of gratitude to Shakyamuni Buddha, the Lotus Sutra, our parents, brothers, wives, and children and to all the people of Jambudvipa, we can do exactly as Nichiren did. We can investigate thoroughly the teachings of the various Nichiren sects matching them with the Lotus Sutra and the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin:

“Among the various sutras, there must be one that is the monarch of all. Yet the ten schools and seven schools I have mentioned all argue with one another over which of the sutras it is and can reach no consensus. It is as though seven men or ten men were all trying to be the monarch of a single nation, thus keeping the populace in constant turmoil.

Wondering how to resolve this dilemma, I made a vow. I decided that I would not heed the claims of these eight or ten schools, but would do as the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai did and let the sutras themselves be my sole teacher, in this way determining which of the various teachings of the Buddha’s lifetime are superior and which are inferior. With this in mind, I began to read through all the sutras.

In a scripture called the Nirvana Sutra, the Buddha says, “Rely on the Law and not upon persons.” Relying on the Law here means relying on the various sutras. Not relying upon persons means not relying on persons other than the Buddha, such as the bodhisattvas Universal Worthy and Manjushri or the various Buddhist teachers I have enumerated earlier.” (Repaying Debts of Gratitude)

and

Lastly, coming to the just and correct conclusion that it is the Hokke sect that is superior and the teachings of the Lotus Sutra alone that leads to Buddhahood, we can spread these teachings far and wide, repudiating the wrongs of the Soka Gakkai, the Nichiren Shoshu, provisional Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. The world will become peaceful, calm, and secure.

When, “The Buddha is looked upon as the sovereign and the gods as his ministers; the relations between superior and inferior are correctly ordered in accordance with the rules of propriety, and therefore the nation should be well governed.” (King Rinda) Then, we will experience a new world, a land of Eternal Quiescent Light.

Thanks to SGI radiation and now Covid-19...Tokyo says COVID-19 strain on hospitals is severe, raises alert to highest

 https://news.yahoo.com/tokyo-says-covid-19-strain-050027554.html

> 7 foot Chet Holmgren # 1 High School Basketball player in the country, GUARD

 

Nichiren was a scriptural Buddhist

Myoho renge kyo translated by Leon Hurvitz... Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma

"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)

On “Great Concentration and Insight” comments on this passage as follows: “Though they are monks, they destroy the teachings of Buddhism. Some break the precepts and return to lay life, as Wei Yüan-sung did. Then, as laymen, they work to destroy the teachings of Buddhism. Men of this kind steal and usurp the correct teachings of Buddhism and use them to supplement and bolster the erroneous writings. The passage on ‘twisting what is lofty...’ means that, adopting the outlook of the Taoists, they try to place Buddhism and Taoism on the same level, to make equals of the correct and the erroneous, though reason tells us that this could never be. Having once been followers of Buddhist teachings, they steal what is correct and use it to bolster what is incorrect. They twist the lofty eighty thousand teachings of the twelve divisions of the Buddhist canon and force them into the mean context of Lao Tzu’s two chapters and five thousand words, using them to interpret the base and mistaken teachings of that text. This is what is meant by ‘destroying what is exalted and dragging it down among the base.’” These comments should be carefully noted, for they explain the meaning of the foregoing description of events.

The Twelve Scriptural Categories mentioned by Nichiren:

In The Supreme Essence: A Commentary on the Difficult Points of “The Noble 8,000 Verse Sutra on Far-Reaching Discrimination” (‘Phags-pa shes-rab-kyi pha-rol-tu phyin-pa brgyad-stong-pa’i dka’-‘grel snying-po mchog, Skt. Aryashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita Panjika Sarottama), Ratnakarashanti (Shantipa) has said, “Expositions on themes of practice, melodic verses, revelatory accounts, metered verses, special verses, ethical narratives, illustrative accounts, ancient narratives, past life accounts, epic presentations, fabulous accounts, and decisive explications are the twelve scriptural categories.” What each of these twelve are and how they fit into The Three Baskets is as follows:

1). Expositions on themes of practice (mdo, Skt. sutra) – what Buddha has to say in a brief and condensed format

2). Melodic verses (dbyangs-kyis bsnyad-pa, Skt. geya) – verses that Buddha uttered during the course of and at the conclusion of his sutras

3). Revelatory accounts (lung-bstan-pa, Skt. vyakarana) – Buddha’s revelations of what has happened in the past or prophesies of what will occur in the future, such as the The Sutra of the White Lotus of the True Dharma (Dam-pa’i chos padma dkar-po’i mdo, Skt. Saddharma Pundarika Sutra; The Lotus Sutra). Another way of explaining melodic verses and revelatory accounts is that the former are scriptures of interpretable meaning and the latter of definitive meaning.

4). Metered verses (tshigs-su bcad-pa, Skt. gatha) – two-to-six-lined verses composed by Buddha

5). Special verses (ched-du brjod-pa, Skt. udana) – praises that Buddha uttered with joy for the sake of the long life of his teachings, and not for the sake of specific individuals

6). Ethical narratives (gleng-bzhi, Skt. nidana) – rules, codified by Buddha for those who are ordained, concerning which actions constitute a breach of their vows

7). Illustrative accounts (rtogs-par brjod-pa, Skt. avadana) – teachings of Buddha given with examples for ease of comprehension by the listener

8).Ancient narratives (de-lta-bu byung-ba, Skt. itivrttika) – stories Buddha told from ancient times

9).Past life accounts (skyes-pa’i rabs, Skt. jataka) – accounts of the difficult ascetic practices that Buddha performed in his previous lives while engaging in the conduct of the bodhisattvas. An example is The Sutra about the Arya Bodhisattva Arthasiddhi ('Phags-pa rgyal-bu don-grub-kyi mdo, Skt. Aryajinaputra Arthasiddhi Sutra).

10). Epic presentations (shin-tu rgyas-pa, Skt. vaipulya) – presentations of the vast and profound aspects of such topics as the six far-reaching attitudes (six perfections) and ten arya bodhisattva levels of mind (ten bhumis) of The Basket of the Mahayana or Bodhisattva Sutras.

11). Fabulous accounts (rmad-du byung-ba, Skt. adbhutadharma) – descriptions of such marvelous, wondrous things as the wisdom, extra-physical powers and saintly deeds of the Buddhas, pratyekabuddhas (self-realizers), and shravakas (listeners)

12).Decisive explications (gtan-la phab-pa, Skt. upadesha) – the precise meaning of the works in The Basket of Sutras by specifying the individual and general definitions of things.

Nichiren was a "scriptural Buddhist". He relied solely on the sutras. His earliest credo was from the Great Nirvana Sutra..... "Trust the Dharma, do not trust human teachers. Trust the wisdom (of the Buddha) do not trust human consciousness. Trust the sutras of final meaning, do not trust the sutras of non-final meaning." The Buddha taught three kinds of teaching: provisional, expedient, and final.

The final is the Lotus Sutra, with the Nirvana Sutra as a "gleaning". Or as T'ien t'ai said: "If something agrees with the (Lotus) sutra, then record and use it. Do not believe in oral transmissions." In the Tendai tradition of Nichiren's day, there was a "zennification" happening, which implied that there was some meaning that was higher than the text. Nichiren rejects this completely:

The Zen school says it is a separate transmission outside the sutras, independent of words or writing. [What is your opinion on this?]

Answer: Generally speaking, there are three types of teachings that are propagated in the world. First is the Confucian teaching, which is of twenty-seven varieties. Second is the Taoist teaching, which comprises twenty-five schools. Third are the twelve divisions of the Buddhist scriptures, or what the T’ien-t’ai school defines as the four teachings and the eight teachings. Does the Zen school claim that it is something outside these teachings?

It is customary among physicians to name anyone who departs from the basic practices of medicine a “practitioner of outside ways.” In human society one speaks of those relatives who are of a surname other than one’s own as “outside relatives.” And in Buddhism, that which departs from the sutras and treatises is known as an “outside way.”

The Nirvana Sutra states, “If there is any person who does not abide by the expositions of the Buddha, you should understand that this person is a servant of the devil.” And volume nine of On “Great Concentration and Insight” says, “Before the Lotus Sutra, they were disciples of an outside [non-Buddhist] way.” - Letter to Renjo

Is Nichiren not the votary of the Lotus Sutra? Are the voice-hearers protecting those who disparage the Lotus Sutra as a mere written teaching and who put forth their great lies about what they call a special transmission?104 Are they guarding those who write “Discard, close, ignore, abandon!”105 urging people to close the gate to the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and to throw away its scrolls, and who cause the ruin of the temples dedicated to the practice of the Lotus Sutra? The various heavenly deities swore before the Buddha to protect the votary of the Lotus Sutra, but now that they see how fierce are the great persecutions of this muddied age, do they fail to come down? The sun and the moon are still up in the sky. Mount Sumeru has not collapsed. The ocean tides ebb and flow, and the four seasons proceed in their normal order. Why then is there no sign of aid for the votary of the p.248Lotus Sutra? My doubts grow deeper than ever.

“Thus we see that this single truth of Zen was transmitted to Mahākāshyapa apart from the sutras. All the teachings of the sutras are like a finger pointing at the moon. Once we have seen the p.117moon, what use do we have for the finger? And once we have understood this single truth of Zen, the true nature of the mind, why should we concern ourselves any longer with the Buddha’s teachings? Therefore, a man of past times has said, ‘The twelve divisions of the scriptures are all idle writings.’

“If you will open and read The Platform Sutra of Hui-neng, the sixth patriarch of this school, you will see that this is true. Once one has heard even a single word and thereby grasped and understood the truth, what use does one have for the teachings? How do you consider this principle?”

The sage replied: “You must first of all set aside the doctrines for the moment and consider the logic of the matter. Can anyone, without inquiring into the essential meaning of the Buddha’s lifetime teachings or investigating the basic principles of the ten schools, presume to admonish the nation and teach others? This Zen that you are talking about is something that I have studied exhaustively for some time. In view of the extreme doctrines that it teaches, I must say that it is a highly distorted affair.

“There are three types of Zen, known respectively as Thus Come One Zen, doctrinal Zen, and patriarchal Zen.72 What you are referring to is patriarchal Zen, and I would therefore like to give you a general idea of it. So listen, and understand what it is about.

“It speaks of transmitting something apart from the teachings. But apart from the teachings there are no principles, and apart from principles there are no teachings. Don’t you understand the logic of this, that principles are none other than teachings and teachings none other than principles? This talk about the twirled flower, the faint smile, and something being entrusted to Mahākāshyapa is in itself a teaching, and the four-character phrase about its being ‘independent of words or writing’ is likewise a teaching and a statement in words. This sort of talk has been around for a long while in both China and Japan. It may appear novel to you, but let me quote one or two passages that will clear up your misconceptions.

“Volume eleven of The Supplement to T’ien-t’ai’s Three Major Works states: ‘If one says that we are not to hamper ourselves by the use of verbal expressions, then how, for even an instant in this sahā world, can we carry on the Buddha’s work? Do the Zen followers themselves not use verbal explanations when they are giving instruction to others? If one sets aside words and phrases, then there is no way to explain the meaning of emancipation, so how can anyone ever hear about it?’

“Farther on, we read: ‘It is said that Bodhidharma came from the west and taught the “direct pointing to the mind of man” and “perceiving one’s true nature and attaining Buddhahood.” But are these same concepts not found in the Flower Garland Sutra and in the other Mahayana sutras? Alas, how can the people of our time be so foolish! You should all put faith in the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddhas, the Thus Come Ones, tell no lies!’

“To restate the meaning of this passage: if one objects that we are hampering ourselves with doctrinal writings and tying ourselves down with verbal explanations, and recommends a type of religious practice that is apart from the teachings of the sutras, then by what means are we to carry on the Buddha’s work and make good causes in this sahā world of ours? Even the followers of Zen, who advocate these views, themselves make use of words when instructing others. In addition, when one is trying to convey an understanding of the Buddha way, one cannot communicate the meaning if one sets aside words and phrases. Bodhidharma came to China from the west, p.118pointed directly to people’s minds, and declared that those minds were Buddha. But this principle is enunciated in various places even in the provisional Mahayana sutras that preceded the Lotus Sutra, such as the Flower Garland, Great Collection, and Great Wisdom sutras. To treat it as such a rare and wonderful thing is too ridiculous for words. Alas, how can the people of our time be so distorted in their thinking! They should put their faith in the words of truth spoken by the Thus Come One of perfect enlightenment and complete reward, who embodies the principle of the Middle Way that is the true aspect of all things.

“In addition, the Great Teacher Miao-lo in the first volume of his Annotations on ‘Great Concentration and Insight’ comments on this situation by saying, ‘The people of today look with contempt on the sutra teachings and emphasize only the contemplation of truth, but they are making a great mistake, a great mistake indeed!’

"However, during the fifty or more years since the Kennin era (1201–1204), the priests Dainichi and Budda7 have spread the teachings of the Zen school, casting aside all the various sutras and postulating a doctrine that is transmitted outside the scriptures. And Hōnen and Ryūkan have established the Pure Land school, contradicting the teachings of the true Mahayana and setting up the provisional doctrines. These men are in effect casting aside gems and instead gathering stones, abandoning the solid earth and trying to climb up into the air. They know nothing about the order in which the various doctrines should be propagated. The Buddha warned of such persons when he said that it was better to encounter a mad elephant than an evil friend.8

"Wondering how to resolve this dilemma, I made a vow. I decided that I would not heed the claims of these eight or ten schools, but would do as the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai did and let the sutras themselves be my sole teacher, in this way determining which of the various teachings of the Buddha’s lifetime are superior and which are inferior. With this in mind, I began to read through all the sutras."

"In a scripture called the Nirvana Sutra, the Buddha says, “Rely on the Law and not upon persons.” Relying on the Law here means relying on the various sutras. Not relying upon persons means not relying on persons other than the Buddha, such as the bodhisattvas Universal Worthy and Manjushrī or the various Buddhist teachers I have enumerated earlier."

In the same sutra, the Buddha also says, “Rely on sutras that are complete and final and not on those that are not complete and final.” When he speaks of the “sutras that are complete and final,” he is referring to the Lotus Sutra, and when he speaks of “those that are not complete and final,” he means the Flower Garland, Mahāvairochana, Nirvana, and other sutras preached before, during, and after the preaching of the Lotus Sutra.

If we are to believe these dying words of the Buddha, we must conclude that the Lotus Sutra is the only bright mirror we should have, and that through it we can understand the heart of all the sutras."

"Accordingly, let us turn to the text of the Lotus Sutra itself. There we find it stated that “This Lotus Sutra [is the secret storehouse of the Buddhas, the Thus Come Ones]. Among the sutras, it holds the highest place.” If we accept these words of the sutra, then, like the lord Shakra dwelling on the peak of Mount Sumeru, like the wish-granting jewel that crowns the wheel-turning kings, like the moon that dwells above the forest of trees, like the knot of flesh that tops the head of a Buddha, so the Lotus Sutra stands like a wish-granting jewel crowning the Flower Garland, Mahāvairochana, Nirvana, and all the other sutras."

"If we set aside the pronouncements of the scholars and teachers and rely upon the text of the sutra, then we can see that the Lotus Sutra is superior to the Mahāvairochana, Flower Garland, and all the other sutras as plainly and as easily as a sighted person can distinguish heaven from earth when the sun is shining in a clear blue sky."

"And if we examine the texts of the Mahāvairochana, Flower Garland, and the other sutras, we will find that there is not a word or even a brushstroke in them that resembles the above-cited passage of the Lotus Sutra. True, at times they speak about the superiority of the Mahayana sutras as compared to the Hinayana sutras, or of the Buddhist truth as opposed to secular truth, or they praise the truth of the Middle Way as opposed to the various views that phenomena are non-substantial or that they have only temporary existence. But in fact they are like the rulers of petty kingdoms who, when addressing their subjects, speak of themselves as great kings. It is the Lotus Sutra that, in comparison to these various rulers, is the true great king.

The Nirvana Sutra alone of all the sutras has passages that resemble those of the Lotus Sutra. For this reason, the Buddhist scholars who preceded T’ien-t’ai in both northern and southern China were led astray into declaring that the Lotus Sutra is inferior to the Nirvana Sutra. But if we examine the text of the Nirvana Sutra itself, we will find that, as in the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra, the comparison is being made between the Nirvana Sutra and the sutras of the Flower p.693Garland, Āgama, Correct and Equal, and Wisdom periods that were expounded during the first forty and more years of the Buddha’s preaching life. It is in comparison to these earlier sutras that the Nirvana Sutra declares itself to be superior.

Moreover, the Nirvana Sutra, comparing itself with the Lotus Sutra, says: “When this [Nirvana] sutra was preached . . . the prediction had already been made in the Lotus Sutra that the eight thousand voice-hearers would attain Buddhahood, a prediction that was like a great harvest. Thus, the autumn harvest was over and the crop had been stored away for winter [when the Nirvana Sutra was expounded], and there was nothing left for it [but a few gleanings].” This passage from the Nirvana is saying that the Nirvana is inferior to the Lotus Sutra."

"The above passages [from the Lotus and Nirvana sutras] are perfectly clear on this point. Nevertheless, even the great scholars of northern and southern China went astray, so students of later ages should take care to examine them very thoroughly. For the passage [from the Lotus Sutra] not only establishes the superiority of the Lotus Sutra over the Nirvana Sutra, but indicates its superiority over all other sutras in the worlds of the ten directions".

I, Nichiren, am the most loyal subject in all of Japan. I do not believe that there has ever been, nor ever will be, anyone who can equal me in this respect. The reason I say so is as follows: When the great earthquake struck during the Shōka era (1257–1259) and the huge comet appeared in the first year of Bun’ei (1264), a number of wise persons, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist, performed divinations, but they could neither determine the causes of these disasters nor foretell what was to come. As for me, I secluded myself in a scripture library, and after pondering the matters based on the Buddhist p.1008teachings, I concluded that, because the people revere the priests of provisional Mahayana and Hinayana teachings, such as True Word, Zen, Nembutsu, and Precepts, and make light of the Lotus Sutra, the heavenly kings Brahmā and Shakra would rebuke them by ordering a country in the west to attack Japan. I submitted a written warning to this effect to the lay priest of Saimyō-ji, now deceased. People of all religions scoffed at it and dismissed it, but nine years later, in the fifth year of Bun’ei, an official declaration arrived from the great Mongol empire announcing its intention to attack Japan. Because my prediction had thus come true, the Nembutsu priests, True Word teachers, and others resented me and plotted against my life."

“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 Hōnen from their torments in the hell of incessant suffering."

"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)

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)

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

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 p.271many 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.” - The Opening of the Eyes

“Among the various sutras, there must be one that is the monarch of all. Yet the ten schools and seven schools I have mentioned all argue with one another over which of the sutras it is and can reach no consensus. It is as though seven men or ten men were all trying to be the monarch of a single nation, thus keeping the populace in constant turmoil.

Wondering how to resolve this dilemma, I made a vow. I decided that I would not heed the claims of these eight or ten schools, but would do as the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai did and let the sutras themselves be my sole teacher, in this way determining which of the various teachings of the Buddha’s lifetime are superior and which are inferior. With this in mind, I began to read through all the sutras.

In a scripture called the Nirvana Sutra, the Buddha says, “Rely on the Law and not upon persons.” Relying on the Law here means relying on the various sutras. Not relying upon persons means not relying on persons other than the Buddha, such as the bodhisattvas Universal Worthy and Manjushri or the various Buddhist teachers I have enumerated earlier.” (Repaying Debts of Gratitude)

Absolute Proof that there are BUDDHAS and there are buddhas in the Soka Gakkai

If one is rich and famous in Soka Gakkai, one is a BUDDHA and is able to have an altar with a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha. If one is poor and lowly in Soka Gakkai, one is  a buddha and admonished for having an altar with a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha as object of devotion. Would they snatch Tina Turner's Buddha statue off her altar as they did mine (and my statue was not even the central object of devotion, it was below and in front of the Gohonzon)? The answer is obvious. 

 

"Namu means devoting one's life to both the Law AND the Person of Shakyamuni." - Nichiren

“Namu derives from Sanskrit, and here [in Japan] it is rendered as kimyo , meaning ‘to devote one’s life.’ This means to devote one’s life to the Person and the Law. Devotion to the Law means to devote one’s life to the Lotus Sutra. Devotion to the Person means to devote one’s life to Shakyamuni.”

Response to Monsuhirbi87

Minobu: Where or in what kind of thing we should focus our mind during daimoku recitation ?

Mark: Nichiren states we should focus on the words and attaining the Way:

"Simply chant Namu Myoho renge kyo and strive to attain the way"; and "Thus he states: 'Chant the Lotus Sutra with your ordinary distracted mind. You do not have to enter into a state of mental concentration. Whether sitting, standing, or walking, just fix your whole mind on the words of the Lotus Sutra.'-- Nichiren

Monsuhirbi87: Mark. but could we say that when he says "words of lotus Sutra" , it could be the daimoku ? Because he's not speaking explicitly about daimoku.

Mark: To place this quote in context, keeping in mind that this is an early writing (1259), Nichiren writes in On the Protection of the Nation :

"The reason is that the Great Teacher Miao-lo declared that if people of dull capacities or those lacking in wisdom in this latter age carry out the practice of the Lotus Sutra, they will find it easy to practice, for Bodhisattva Universal Worthy and Many Treasures and the Buddhas of the ten directions will appear before them. Thus he states: “Chant the Lotus Sutra with your ordinary distracted mind. You do not have to enter into a state of mental concentration. Whether sitting, standing, or walking, just fix your whole mind on the words of the Lotus Sutra.”61

The purpose of this passage of commentary is to assure foolish persons of this latter age that they are included among those who can carry out the practice. The term “the ordinary distracted mind” is used in contrast to the term “the mind fixed in concentration.” Chanting the Lotus Sutra means chanting all eight volumes, one volume, one word, one phrase, one verse, or the daimoku, or title, and includes responding to the sutra with joy for a single moment and continual propagation to the fiftieth person. The words “whether sitting, standing, or walking” mean that there is no objection to [fixing your whole mind on the words of the Lotus Sutra while] carrying out the four activities of daily life. The term “whole mind” does not mean the mind that is concentrated in meditation, nor does it mean the mind that observes the truth. It is the mind that is found within the ordinary distracted mind of daily life.

The practice of fixing the mind on the words of the Lotus Sutra is not like fixing the mind on the words of the other sutras. Though one may chant only one word of the Lotus Sutra, within this one word are contained all the words of the eighty thousand precious doctrines of Shakyamuni, and it holds within it the blessings or benefits of all the Buddhas.

The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai states in volume eight of The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: “Though you do not hold in your hand a scroll of the sutra, yet you are constantly reading the sutra; though your mouth utters no words, you are chanting all the many sacred texts; though no Buddha is preaching the Law, at all times you can hear his pure sounds; though you do not ponder in your mind, everywhere you illumine the entire realm of phenomena.”

The meaning of this passage is that, although you may not hold in your hand the eight scrolls that make up the Lotus Sutra, if you are a person who has faith in the sutra, then all twenty-four hours of the day you are one who “upholds the sutra.” Though your mouth may not utter the sounds of one who is reciting the sutra, if you have faith in the Lotus Sutra, then every day, every hour, every instant you are one who reads all the sutras.

Though over two thousand years have already gone by since the Buddha passed into extinction, where there is a person who has faith in the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha’s voice still lingers there, and hour by hour, minute by minute, instant by instant that person hears the Buddha assuring him that he, the Buddha, has never died. Even though that person may not in his mind be meditating upon the principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, he will everywhere illumine the entire realm of phenomena in ten directions. All these virtues pertain solely to the persons who practice the Lotus Sutra.

For this reason, when one who has faith in the Lotus Sutra approaches one’s final hour, one will enjoy these benefits. Though one’s mind is not fixed in concentration on the Buddha, though one’s mouth does not recite the sutras, and though one may not be in a place of religious practice, without employing one’s mind one will illumine the entire realm of phenomena, without uttering a sound one will recite all the sutras, and without taking a single scroll in hand one will grip all eight scrolls of the Lotus Sutra."

To answer your question, since faith is first and foremost, at this time in the evolution of Nichiren's teachings, he taught that merely having faith in the Lotus Sutra and chanting but one word, one will attain Buddhahood. However, later on, it seems that chanting Namu Myoho renge kyo at the last moment is most beneficial.

I do not have a reference but I have heard that Nichiren was reciting the Jiga-ge (verse section of the Lotus Sutra) at the last moment of his death. Nichiren, of course, was the Supreme Votary of the Lotus Sutra, so whatever he was reciting from the Lotus Sutra at his last moment, he was a Buddha.

Nichiren also wrote in The Recitation of the Expedient Means and Life Span Chapters:

"On the other hand, if suddenly you should feel, for example, the approach of death, then even if you are eating fish or fowl, if you are able to read the sutra, you should do so, and likewise chant Namu-myoho-renge-kyo..." (1264).

and in The Teaching for the Latter Day, we read:

"Perhaps because of karma from past lives, or some other reason, this woman chanted Namu-myoho-renge-kyo at the moment of her death..." -written on Minobu regarding a recently deceased faithful "young lady". - at Minobu date?

"Life flashes by in but a moment. No matter how many terrible enemies you may encounter, banish all fears and never think of backsliding. Even if someone were to cut off our heads with a saw, impale our bodies with lances, or shackle our feet and bore them through with a gimlet, as long as we are alive, we must keep chanting Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, Namu-myoho-renge-kyo. Then, if we chant until the very moment of death, Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions will come to us instantly, exactly as they promised during the ceremony at Eagle Peak. Taking our hands and bearing us on their shoulders, they will carry us to Eagle Peak. The two sages,19 the two heavenly kings,20 and the ten demon daughters will guard us, while all the heavenly gods and benevolent deities will raise a canopy over our heads and unfurl p.396banners on high. They will escort us under their protection to the treasure land of Tranquil Light. How can such joy possibly be described!" On Practicing the Buddha's Teachings (1273)

In The Importance of the Moment of Death (1278), he wrote:

"And when your deceased husband chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo at the end on his deathbed, the evil deeds of a lifetime, and from the beginningless past, changed into the seeds of Buddhahood. This is what is meant by the teachings called “earthly desires are enlightenment,” “the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana,” and “attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form.”

Then again, in 1275 in Regarding an Unlined Robe, he seems to be saying any or all of the 69,384 characters of the Lotus Sutra will take one to the other shore:

"And being such a person, like Su Wu, I eat snow in order to sustain my life, or like Li Ling, wear a coat of straw to get through the days. In my mountain forest, when the trees bear no fruit, I spend two or three days without eating; when my deerskin garment is worn out, I go naked for three or four months. Yet for such a person, whom you have never even met, out of pity you send this robe to clothe my body—what profound kindness! When I don this robe, take my place before the Buddha, and recite the Lotus Sutra, then all the 69,384 characters that make up the sacred text, each individual character one by one, becomes a golden Buddha. Though the robe is only one, it clothes each and every one of the 69,384 Buddhas. And because that is so, the husband and wife who presented me with this robe will be visited by these Buddhas, who　will regard the couple as their supporters and watch over and protect them. For this husband and wife in their present existence they will be a prayer, a treasure; and when the husband and wife are on the point of death, they will be a moon, a sun, a path, a bridge, a father, a mother, an ox or a horse, a palanquin, a carriage, a lotus, a mountain, coming to greet and convey them to the pure land of Eagle Peak. Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, Namu-myoho-renge-kyo!"

For us, it would probably be safest to Chant Namu Myoho renge kyo at the last moment. Nichiren writes in the Selection of the Time:

"Those vicious and arrogant monks described in the Lotus Sutra in the beginning armed themselves with sticks and staves and used them to belabor Bodhisattva Never Disparaging. But later they pressed their palms together and repented of their error. Devadatta inflicted an injury on Shakyamuni Buddha that drew blood, but when he was on his deathbed, he cried out, “Namu (Devotion)!” If only he had been able to cry, “Namu Buddha (Devotion to the Buddha)!” he would have been spared the fate of falling into hell. But so grave were the deeds he had committed that he could only utter the word “Namu” and could not pronounce the word “Buddha” before he died.

"And soon the eminent priests of Japan will no doubt be trying to cry out, “Namu Nichiren Shōnin (Devotion to the Sage Nichiren)!” But most likely they will only have time enough to utter the one word, “Namu!” How pitiful, how pitiful!"

There is no doubt of the accuracy of Nichiren Daishonin's and Shakyamuni Buddha's recount of the current events of his time by Andinio

We can, of course, disagree on the importance or ideas behind the Rissho Ankoku Ron (Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land). We can agree that independent English-language scholarship about it is slim.

You are correct, there are no historical records about Nichiren besides his own writings. However, according to Habito & Stone, 1999:

Over the course of his career, Nichiren wrote voluminously; his extant corpus contains 498 writings, including both doctrinal essays and letters to his followers, as well as 66 charts, outlines, and extracts, to say nothing of several hundred additional holographic fragments. Of the 498 writings, an astonishing 115 works survive in Nichiren's handwriting, and another 25, destroyed in a fire at the Nichirensha head temple on Mt. Minobu in 1875, are known to have existed.

There are, of course, other examples of historical figures who do not appear in the annals of their times. The historical Jesus has been meticulously constructed based on the New Testament accounts and scant evidence after Jesus's death. From the standpoint of historicity, Nichiren's letters exist. Historians and religious scholars have studied and debated their meaning for centuries.

There are also reliable sources about the natural disasters and epidemics of that era preceding "On Establishing." The Brittanica Encyclopedia article on Nichiren was written by Pier Paolo del Campana, Emeritus Professor of Comparative Religion, Sophia University, Tokyo, a Jesuit-founded university. He states:

The country was at the time afflicted by epidemics, earthquakes, and internal strife.

Jacqueline Stone of Princeton University in Rebuking the Enemies of the Lotus: Nichirenist Exclusivism in Historical Perspective points to "the collective sufferings [Nichiren] saw around him—hunger, epidemics, the great earthquake of 1258 that leveled much of Kamakura, and especially the impending Mongol invasion."

There were unique political, cultural, and geographic circumstances that makes it difficult to trace the spread of disease in pre-medieval and medieval Japan. You are also correct in describing the horrific 753-757 smallpox episode that debilitated Japan. In fact, this episode continued over the centuries in cycles of approximately 10 years. (See: "Smallpox and the Epidemiological Heritage of Modern Japan: Towards a Total History" by Akihito Suzuki.

Epidemiologists have described the years between 1050 and 1260 as "transitional". During these years Japan was continually pounded by small pox, measles, influenza, mumps, and dysentary. However, with continued exposure to these diseases the adult population gradually obtained a degree of immunity although children were still at risk.

According to Nichiren's account he researched and wrote Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land between 1258 and 1260. What was occurring immediately antecedent that prompted him to undertake this project?

The Azuma Kagami chronicles the history of the Kamakura Shogunate from 1180-1266. We do know from this text that in 1256 there was a measles outbreak in the western provinces and it spread the following year to Kamakura. Regent Hojo Tokiyori lost his daughter as well as many other prominent clansmen in this epidemic. He himself fell ill to the disease, lost consciousness, and "miraculously" recovered. It is said that this experience prompted him to retire as regent although he continued to serve as the de facto leader of Japan. [See the dissertation by Roy Ron 2003 (uhm_phd_4313_r.pdf) for more information, pp. 235-236.]

We know that there was a major epidemic in 1257 that caused the authorities to close the Shokan era, 1257-1259. The subsequent Shogen era was changed again two years later, presumably due to continued famine and epidemics. A team of archeologists cite the Azuma Kagami and state it "describes the Kamakura of those days in which natural disasters, famines, and an epidemics occurred frequently, and where dead bodies of humans, cows, and horses, etc., filled the roads." Furthermore, they provide archeological evidence to support their finding.

In 2013 geoscientists, triangulated by chemical tests and anthropological evidence, were able to find conclusive evidence that in 1257 there was a hugh volcanic eruption in Samalas Indonesia which injected aerosols into the atmosphere of such magnitude that it reduced the solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface, cooled the atmosphere for several years, led to famines and crop failures around the world, and perhaps helped trigger the "Little Ice Age." This may have precipitated the Shoga famines of 1258 and 1259 (See 1 and 2).

I hope these sources cast some light on the matter.

Scamsei Ikeda versus Nichiren Daishonin

"This is from the description of the "Ikeda House" on the grounds of the former site for Soka University in Malibu (that plan was quietly scrapped and never spoken of again):

"Ikeda hates noise, so we laid lumber over the wooden floors, spread sound proofing material over it, and then laid a double layer of three inch thick boards. We then put Japanese cypress on top of that, giving the floor four layers of wood. We put Japanese cypress on the ceilings and the walls for sound proofing. The bedroom windows were double paned as well. We covered the floor with thick white shag carpet. The bed was king size, with gold plated piping. We demolished a parking area big enough to hold three limousines and built a rock-lined hot tub. The water is always maintained at 102 degrees with a heater, and the hot water flowed down over the rocks like a cascade. Ikeda was extremely pleased with it, and often said, 'This is my home in America."' Source

102° just happens to be the optimal hot tub temperature for coastal California, which can often get a bit chilly (40s-50s)." -- Blanche

The founders of the Honmon Butsuryu Shu Nichiryu Shonin and Nissen Shonin

 https://ryosetsu.com/nichiryu-shonin-reincarnation-of-nichiren-shonin/

https://ryosetsu.com/nissen-shonin-founder-of-honmon-butsuryu-shu/

Honmon Butsuryu Shu also fails to faithfully follow Nichiren. Can you see how they fail to follow Nichiren Daishonin faithfully? How their doctrine's deviate from his?

High Priest Nichiki (Honmon Butsuryu Shu) lecture with English subtitles

 

Please compare this priest's chanting to Daiaku Ikeda's

 

The Diamond Precept and the Six Perfections

In Nichiren Buddhism there is the Diamond Precept. One who chants Namu Myoho renge kyo is carrying out all the precepts, for example, do not kill. Equally, one who chants Namu Myoho renge has practiced the first five of the Six Paramitas* for countless Asemkhyeya of Kalpas (many quintillion of kalpas). 

The last and most important Paramita is the Paramita of Wisdom which "is excepted" (Chapter 17 of the Lotus Sutra). It is excepted because it is both Namu Myoho renge kyo and the infinite life span of the Tathagata. It is also the most difficult Paramita to perfect and the most beneficial Paramita. Lastly, it is the source of all the Paramitas.

Chanting Namu Myoho renge kyo is to have faith in the infinite life span of the Buddha and it is, in itself, the Practice of Wisdom. 

*The Six Paramitas (Practices or Perfections) are (1) generosity (dāna), (2) morality (śīla), (3) patience (kṣānti), (4) vigor (vīrya), (5) meditation (dhyāna), and (6) wisdom (prajñā).

Response to Narhwal90

 

I have no agenda wrt changing Nichiren, but I do not feel compelled to obey every word of his as some kind of eternal found truth. But thats just me...

We always talk about actual proof, well his practice does produce effects- that is proof to me. His claims about the various eternal hells people are bound for are untestable, and come off to me as a fear tactic. Since they are untestable I do not make any claims as to true or false- nor am I suggesting anything about what others should or should not think.

I wouldn't say "fear tactics" but rather cause and effect depending on the object of devotion. The example I like to use is a methamphetamine addict. His or her's object of devotion is methamphetamine. His whole life is devoted to procuring methamphetamines regardless of the consequences and no matter who he injures, including himself. Invariably, with few exceptions, his life is a living hell. His relationships are hellish, his health becomes hellish, his teeth rots, he develops a "meth heart", he loses weight, he tweaks, can not hold down a job, and goes broke, often living on the street or in a meth (crack) house. I would say this man lives in the World of Hell. Of course, there are secular Buddhists or even Nichiren secular Buddhists who do not believe in rebirth.

Nichiren teaches that, if you can readily see the Lower Six Worlds in operation, there is no reason to doubt the existence of the Four Noble Worlds, even if they don't manifest in the face. As a corollary, because Namu Myoho renge kyo, Gohonzon, and the Lotus Sutra are manifestly true, we can believe the Lotus Sutra (Shakyamuni Buddha) and Nichiren about rebirth. However, I still believe that one who does not believe in rebirth will attain Buddhahood in this very life, as long as one's faith in Namu Myoho renge kyo is profound. If one's faith in Namu Myoho renge kyo is profound, it is impossible to slander either Shakyamuni Buddha or Nichiren Daishonin (because of our gratitude towards them). I hear it all over the internet, mostly from ex-SGI, how terrible Nichiren is. Regardless, even were he a demon possessing a million faults, for teaching us the Daimoku, it is as if his faults are one drop of murky water in the great pure ocean of Nirvana. As the Lotus Sutra Chapter 28 teaches:

“If anyone sees a person who accepts and upholds this sutra and tries to expose the faults or evils of that person, whether what he speaks is true or not, he will in his present existence be afflicted with white leprosy.... and other severe and malignant illnesses.” It also says, “That person will be born eyeless in existence after existence” or moment after moment (if one does not believe in rebirth).

How much worse to expose the faults of the Supreme Votary of the Lotus Sutra.

In effect, these teachings are a warning.