A Nichiren Shoshu footnote [and previously SGI footnote] asserts, "The white ox signifies the Dai Gohonzon". These groups assert many things of which there is no documentary, theoretical, nor actual proof. According to the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin, the white ox is the One Supreme Vehicle of Buddhahood expounded in the Parable of the Burning House, Lotus Sutra Chapter 3. Also, according to the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren, the Original Eternal Buddha is Shakyamuni.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
"Why must they vainly give credence to heretical doctrines?"
"So it is that some of them put their faith in heretical teachings, or pay honor to those who slander the Law. It distresses me that they should be so confused about right and wrong, and at the same time I feel pity that, having embraced Buddhism, they have chosen the wrong kind. With the power of faith that is in there hearts, why must they vainly give credence to heretical doctrines? (MW vol 1, Rissho Ankoku Ron, pg 43)
The Lotus Sutra, not personal awakenings or visions, is the manifest reality of the Buddha's Enlightenment.
"The content of awakenings and visions related to True Buddhism and The Wonderful Mystical Law, is all-encompassing and cannot be disputed if one has had the experience of these things." -- former Nichiren Shoshu member
There are hundreds of examples of mass psychosis, alien abductions, revelations of Jesus, the devil, and near death experiences. The problem with such claims is that there is no documentary, theoretical, nor actual proof. Remarkable but unprovable claims of Buddhist attainments and miracles is the reason that Nichiren enjoined us to the Sutra, the manifest reality of the Buddha's Enlightenment.
The Lotus Sutra and Genetics
"A birds egg contains nothing but liquid, yet by itself this develops into a beak, two eyes, and all the other parts which forma bird, and can fly into the sky". (MW vol , Letter to Nikke pg 259-260)
This happens by the processes of meiosis and mitosis. A Buddha is born through the process of following what the Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin taught.
A human being contains 46 chromosomes in every one of it's cells except in the sex cells which contain 23. When a sperm fertilizes an egg the 23 chromosomes from the male unite with the 23 chromosomes from the female to form 46 chromosomes. These 46 chromosome control the eventual shape structure, and function of the human body. Normal chromosomes will beget a normal body "mind".
There are certain anomalous processes that occur within chromosomes. They are called deletions, translocations, inversions, additions and mutations. There are control mechanisms that help to prevent these processes from occurring and there are repair mechanisms that can reverse some of these abnormal processes after they occur.
The Lotus Sutra and Gosho (Law) and The Buddha unite with the faith and practice of the believer to control the "shape, structure, and function" of the believer's Buddhahood. These can be likened to chromosomes of faith.
Normal chromosomes can be likened to the correct Law, the correct Buddha, a correct faith, and a correct practice. All these normal or correct conditions must be present in order to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime. Abnormal chromosomes can be likened to an incorrect Law, any Buddha (or person) besides the Original Buddha, an incorrect faith and/or incorrect practice. Any or all of these abnormal "chromosomes" are present should one fail to attain Buddhahood in this life.
Just as deletions, inversions, translocations, additions, and mutations within chromasomes lead to various congenital defects or other diseases such as cancer, the same type of processes within the Buddhist believer leads to a life state other than Buddhahood. Nichiren states in the Kaimoku Sho,
"They will tear off the first part of the Sutra and stick it on the end, tear off the end and put it at the beginning, put the end and the beginning in the middle, and the beginning at the middle or end". This is analogous to inversions and translocations of the Law.
In The Supreme Leader Of The World, Nichiren states, "However they are alike in that they all abandoned Shakyamuni Buddha". This is analogous to deletion of the Original Buddha.
The Akimoto Gosho talks about four faults in a vessel (the vessel of our faith and practice) and explains that "The Lotus Sutra is the Dharma water of the Buddha's wisdom". Refusing to believe in or practice the Lotus Sutra or believe in Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter of the Lotus Sutra is having an overturned vessel of faith and practice. This is analogous to having a mutation in one's faith or practice.
Correct faith and practice are like the enzymes that serve to maintain correct functioning, maintenance, and repair of chromosomes and lead to a good outcome for the believer's faith and practice.
The Case of the Renoir Paintings and the Case of the Safe
"Although the issue involving the purchase of Renoir paintings by Tokyo Fuji Art Museum and the discovery of a safe in the Tokyo dumps are old issues, as someone seems to have brought it up again on this newsgroup, I am providing the following information for those interested.
CASE OF THE RENOIR PAINTINGS--Since 1991, newspaper and magazine reports in Japan have implied that the Soka Gakkai received a Y 1.5 billion ($15 million) kickback from Mitsubishi Corp. for the purchase by the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum of two Renoir paintings--"Women After Bathing" and "Woman Reading." (And is again being rehashed in the media just prior to the next elections--I wonder why.) However, this is absolutely not the case and Soka Gakkai never received any payment whatsoever from any of the parties involved. (If it was guilty of anything, it was in its extreme naivete in the business negotiations, as can be learned from the following paragraphs.)
In 1989, Soka Gakkai Vice President Yorio Yahiro, who serves as the organization's chief legal counsel (through the date of this e-mail) learned that these paintings would be coming on the market for Y 3.6 billion ($36 million). He passed the information onto the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum which decided to purchase the paintings. However, due to insufficient funds, the Museum sought a trustworthy broker who was financially capable of purchasing the paintings and holding them for future transition to the Museum. Mitsubishi Corp. agreed to facilitate the purchase.
In March 1989, Mitsubishi Corp. delivered checks for Y 3.6 billion to the agent representing the sellers and received in return the receipt, the paintings and certificates of authenticity. The Museum, with support of Soka Gakkai, was then able to acquire the funding necessary to purchase the paintings from Mitsubishi Corp., which it did in September 1990. The purchase price at that time was Y 4.1 billion ($41 million), which included Y 500 million ($5 million) interest. It was later learned that the sellers' original price was only Y 2.1 billion ($21 million), a fact the Soka Gakkai was unaware of at the time. What the sellers chose to do with the money after it was paid by Mitsubishi was beyond the control of the Museum or the Soka Gakkai.
The whereabouts of most of the Y 1.5 billion became clear in June 1993 when the Tokyo District Court handed down five indictments for tax evasion to the agents who had received payment from Mitsubishi. Reiko Tachibana, director of the vase gallery Tachibana, and her staff were indicted for failing to report most of the Y 768 million ($7.68 million) they had received. Suguru Ishihara, president of Art France, another art dealer that had brokered the purchase, was charged with evading taxes on Y 432 million ($4.32 million) of income. Together, the brokers had hidden most of the Y 1.2 billion ($12 million) received from the transaction.
For her crime, Tachibana was sentenced to 10 months in prison and fined Y 18 million ($180,000). The others involved in the case were fined. Prosecutors called off the investigation on the outstanding ´300 million because of inconclusive evidence.
Thus, contrary to accusations, Soka Gakkai was the big loser. In addition to being overcharged for the paintings, it became subject to unwarranted attention in the media.
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DISCOVERY OF A SAFE--A police investigation revealed that a safe containing some Y 170 million ($1.7 million) in cash discovered in June 1989 at a dump near Tokyo, belonged to Mr. Haruo Nakanishi, a former director of the Seikyo Press of Soka Gakkai. The media reported this incident--the strange behavior of one person--and insinuated that the entire organization was somehow at fault. According to Mr. Nakanishi, whose employment has since been terminated, he had been involved in a business on the grounds of the Head Temple Taiseki-ji since 1970, inspite of the fact that the employment agreement with Soka Gakkai prohibited employees from owning and operating a business on the side. He made a profit of some Y 170 million ($1.7 million) over three years, which he kept in his personal safe located in a storeroom in the Seikyo Shimbun building. During a routine inventory and clean-up, the safe was found not to be registered in
the Seikyo Press's inventory log and was sent to the dump as a matter of course.
After the discovery of the safe and the money in it, Mr. Nakanishi admitted his mistake and offered his apologies. He has since donated all the money to the Red Cross. Soka Gakkai President Einosuke Akiya said at the time: "I am very sorry that such an unimaginable incident has occurred to disturb many people. The Soka Gakkai has always been very strict about its handling of money and personnel matters. Because of this tradition, the Gakkai has gained profound trust from its membership and society at large. However, this reputation was damaged because, regrettably enough, it was found that a leader of the Soka Gakkai Headquarters was involved in this incident. Many sincere members must be wondering why such a thing could happen. I empathize with them and apologize deeply."
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The above information is being contributed by some concerned SGI members who plan to try to make small contributions to this newsgroup when time allows. Many points of contention, however (like doctrinal and philosophical ones), can be argued over relentlessly without a compromise.
Contrary to what some have said on this newsgroup, the staff for Soka Gakkai's website is small. Most of their time is spent updating the website and answering e-mail sent to the website. In the evenings, besides their personal activities, they (as SGI members worldwide tend to do) participate in SGI discussion meetings and study meetings and other SGI gatherings.
"More valuable than the treasures of the storehouse are the treasures of the body, and the treasures of the heart are the most valuable of all. From the time you read this letter on, strive to accumulate the treasures of the heart! (Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 2, page 279)
* * * * *
More similarities between the Nichiren Shoshu and Tendai* [Mikkyo rhymes with Mixio]
Nichiren Shoshu Kuden [Oral] transmission
"Because the true existence of the Tetsugi Masters passes through all the Buddhas of the Three Existences (of the past, present and future), and has passed through our Great Founder, through the successive generations of High Priests, shedding each in turn, you must be very, very careful to believe this with all your being, and my disciples must believe in me in exactly the same way." -- 9th Nichiren Shoshu High Priest, Nichiu Shonin [believed to have died a leper after fabricating the DaiGohonzon]
"Kuden transmission was a common practice of the Tendai Sect and derived from the false belief that the enlightenment of various teachers, "Shikan" or personal insight, trumped the wisdom of the scriptures. This is a dangerous teaching according to Nichiren because it destroys faith in the Scripture of the Fine Dharma of the Lotus Flower Sutra. Embracing such a false doctrine, one comes to the mistaken belief that personal insight may reveal things that contradict or superscede the teachings of the Buddha. It relies on the notion that there are "Kuden" (secret teachings) that can be passed by hand [or mouth] and in the case of the Nichiren Shoshu teachings that Buddhahood itself can be "passed" from one "Tetsugi Master" to another.
The origin of secret transmission doctrines within the Tendai Sect was largely a response to the gentrification of the Priesthood as more and more nobles entered the priesthood and some means had to be found to short circuit the years of training and demonstrated mastery otherwise required in order to qualify a priest for the Chief Priesthood of a Temple. It also was based on the incorrect notion that since enlightenment is found within all beings there is no need for cultivation of enlightenment or use of Buddhist logic. Masters could awaken and pass on hidden meanings. The extreme extension of the logic is the Zen Sect. Nichiren Shoshu's use of it is no less poisonous. Such a "transmission" is useful to quell not only dissent but legitimate questions.
Nichiren attacked this entire approach to his teachings so it is odd that Nichiu should have relied on such an approach to establish the legitimacy of his school. It is no wonder that Nichiren Shoshu had such a hard time of it among the other schools and that it wasn't until very recently that they established their own University but they still send their monks to the University established by the Minobu School [Rissho University] for advanced education." -- author unknown
*Tendai [Mikkyo] is a mixture of Tentai and Shingon practices
NBAA [Nichiren Buddhist Association of America] too is a derivative of the slanderous Tendai
They have no documentary proof to substantiate their assertions, merely the opinions and so-called "self realizations" of their founders, the Heimburgs.
The very heart of the Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai doctrine derives from the slanderer Eshin's Fourfold Rise and Fall
Beware! if you have any questions about this, you may ask Jerry "Shinkei" Marcheso.
Questions/Poll: For the nearly 600,000 former SGI-USA* members that comprise the SGI 95% attrition rate
- How long were you chanting before you decided to quit the SGI?
- What position in the organization did you hold when you left?
- How old were you when you left?
- Why did you leave?
- Do you still chant/belong to another Nichiren sect, organization, or to another religion?
- Where did you live when you practiced the Ikeda sect religion?
- Have you experienced any lasting negative effects from your SGI participation?
- Are you happier having left the Soka Gakkai?
*You may answer this poll if you are an ex-member from any SGI affiliate, for example SGI-UK, SGI Singapore, etc...
Steven points out
"Someone posts an experience criticizing the SGI and rather than accepting their view, SGI members are COMPELLED to criticize, and give 'guidance', point out how WRONG that person is to feel the way they do. and then they have the nerve to invite them BACK to the organization which they were just told nearly destroyed their life!
And SGI members probably sit up nights wondering why people hate the SGI... Do you really NOT see this? Oh, well. They'll figure it out someday." -- Steven
You don't need Ikeda in order to be involved with peace, culture, and education
In fact, this secular culture festival before the Asian Youth Olympic Games, blows anything the SGI has ever done out of the water.
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Since they [SGI, Nichiren Shoshu, Nichiren Shu, Honmon Butsuryu Shu, and the Rissho Kosei Kai] are not of the same mind as Nichiren, they are not inheritors of the transmission
Nichiren on the General Transmission:
"Answer: In this passage, Shakyamuni Buddha explains that he is entrusting to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, his original disciples, the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, which is the essence of the Lotus Sutra. Shakyamuni, who attained enlightenment countless kalpas in the past, says elsewhere, "By now the original vows that I made have already been fulfilled. I have converted all living beings and caused them all to enter the Buddha way." Thus, he has already fulfilled his earlier vow. Then, intending to charge his disciples with the task of accomplishing widespread propagation in the fifth five hundred years after his death, he called forth the Bodhisattvas of the Earth and entrusted them with the heart of the sutra, the lotus of the entity of the essential teaching. This passage represents the ultimate purpose for which Shakyamuni Buddha appeared in the world, the secret Law that he attained in the place of meditation. It is this passage that gives proof of the lotus of the entity that, for those of us who live in the Latter Day of the Law, assures the attainment of Buddhahood in both the present and future."
and
"It is the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo that constitute the Great Pure Law that will be spread widely in the Latter Day of the Law. And it is the great bodhisattvas who sprang up from, the earth in numbers equal to the dust particles of a thousand worlds who were entrusted with the task of spreading it abroad. Therefore Nan-yueh, T’ien-t’ai and Dengyo, though in their hearts they understood the truth, left it to the leader and teacher of the Latter Day to spread it widely, while they themselves refrained from doing so."
Nichiju interprets the General Transmission:
Nichiren on the Specific Transmission:
"Accordingly, at the present time in the Latter Day of the Law, other than the envoy of the Thus Come One, there can be no one who understands and produces this passage as proof of the lotus of the entity. Truly it is a passage of secret meaning. Truly it is a matter of great concern. Truly it is to be honored and admired. Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, Namu-myoho-renge-kyo!"
and
"Bodhisattva Superior Practices received the water of the wisdom of the Mystic Law from the Thus Come One Shakyamuni and causes it to flow into the wasteland of the people’s lives in the evil world of the latter age. This is the function of wisdom. Shakyamuni Buddha transferred this teaching to Bodhisattva Superior Practices, and now Nichiren propagates it in Japan. With regard to the transfer of teachings, it is divided into two categories: general and specific. If you confuse the general with the specific even in the slightest, you will never be able to attain Buddhahood and will wander in suffering through endless transmigrations of births and deaths."
Commentary
"The leader and teacher of the Latter Day" is specific to one man, Nichiren Daishonin (Bodhisattva Jogyo). "Bodhisattvas of the Earth" is general to all those who follow Nichiren. There are not superior and inferior Bodhisattvas of the Earth. The responsibilities of laymen and priests are blurred in Mappo and there is only one High Priest and one leader, Nichiren Daishonin.
Question: The Lotus Sutra states that there are many leaders of his own great assembly with various large and small retinues of followers. Wouldn't that mean Daisaku Ikeda, the High Priest of the Nichiren Shoshu, the Chief Bishop of Minobu. Nikkyo Niwano, and others?
Answer: At this time, there is only Nichiren Daishonin and his followers. Those who follow Nichiren Daishonin and are of the same mind as he ["The bodhisattvas, as numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds,
Daisaku Ikeda, the High Priest of Nichiren Shoshu, the Chief Bishop of Minobu, Nikkyo Niwano, and Nissen however, are not of the same mind as Nichiren. Nikkyo Niwano, despite chanting the daimoku, failed to even acknowledge Nichiren Daishonin as the leader of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. Daisaku Ikeda and the High Priest of Nichiren Shoshu throw out Shakyamuni Buddha. The Bishop of Minobu allows all sorts of sundry practices and a false transmission between priests and lay believers [not to mention interfaith] and Nissen proclaimed his joy to have been born in a Buddha-less world.
Since they are not of the same mind as Nichiren and are not his followers, they are not Bodhisattvas of the Earth. Since they are not Bodhisattvas of the Earth, they are not even inheritors of the general transmission.
Because SGI has thrown out truth for "gain"
they will never accept Nichiren's doctrines nor our assertions.
It is obvious the transmission is through the Sutra scrolls and not through a face to face transmission
There are two lineages of Buddhism discussed in the Maka Shikan. The first is "the lineage of the twenty-four successors". The second is "the lineage of contemporary masters", from Nagarjuna through Hui-wen to Hui-ssu and Chih-i himself. There are even longer temporal breaks between the lineage of contemporary masters and that of the twenty-four successors, some as long as several centuries or more. Therefore it is obvious that the transmission was through the Sutra scrolls and commentaries and not through a face to face bestowal. Besides, SGI has television and subway advertisements and even a television channel [hehe "life to life"], not to mention their publications. The Nichiren Shoshu so-called face to face bestowal too has been broken many times.
More importantly, we have the instructions of Nichiren Daishonin:
“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)
The Nichiren as True Buddha Gohonzon
Nichiren writes in Repaying Debts of Gratitude:
“Miao-lo wrote commentaries on T’ien-t’ai’s works in thirty volumes, the writings known as The Annotations on “Great Concentration and Insight,” The Annotations on “The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra,” and The Annotations on “The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra.” Not only did these thirty volumes of commentary serve to eliminate passages of repetition in T’ien-t’ai’s works and to elucidate points that were unclear, but at the same time, in one stroke, they refuted the Dharma Characteristics, Flower Garland, and True Word schools, which had escaped T’ien-t’ai’s censures because they did not exist in China during his lifetime.”
This happened towards the end of the former half of the Middle Day of the Law. Then, in the latter half of the Middle Day, Nichiren writes about Saicho:
“Immediately he vowed to do something about the situation, saying, ‘Because the people of Japan are all patrons of those who are slandering the correct teaching, the nation will surely fall into chaos.’ He thereupon expressed his criticisms of the six schools, but when he did so, the great scholars of the six schools and the seven major temples of Nara rose up in anger and flocked to the capital, until the nation was in an uproar. These men of the six schools and seven major temples were filled with the most intense animosity toward Saicho. But as it happened, on the nineteenth day of the first month in the twenty-first year of the Enryaku era (802), Emperor Kammu paid a visit to the temple called Takao-dera, and he summoned fourteen eminent priests— namely, Zengi, Shoyu, Hoki, Chonin, Kengyoku, Ampuku, Gonso, Shuen, Jiko, Gen’yo, Saiko, Dosho, Kosho, and Kambin— to come to the temple and debate with Saicho.”
After defeating them in debate, thanks to Saicho, Japan united under the provisional teachings of the Lotus Sutra.
Today, the disorder in the Nichiren community, with respect to the essential teachings, is much worse than the disarray during the Daishonin’s day regarding the provisional sects, let alone the situation among the various sects during the Middle Day. What’s more, the former ruling party in Japan supports the Komeito and therefore, the SGI. Nichiren, the Buddhist Prophet wrote, quoting the Nirvana Sutra in the Opening of the Eyes:
“At that time, this sutra will be widely propagated throughout Jambudvipa. 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.”
This is the reality of the world today. The SGI has widely propagated the Lotus Sutra throughout the world but the teachings have lost the color, scent and flavor of the correct teaching that it contains. The SGI leaders and members read and recite this Sutra but they ignore and put aside the vital principles that the Thus Come One has expounded in it. They have replaced the vital principles with ornate rhetoric such as: “We chant the Lotus Sutra to refute the Lotus Sutra”; “Nichiren is the Original Eternal Buddha”; “Myoho renge kyo is the Original Eternal Buddha.”; “Nichiren said this but he meant that.”; and “The SGI is the only group of true believers”.
Is not the reality laid out in the Rissho Ankoku Ron, the reality of warfare, famine, fires, floods, drought, etc. upon us to an even greater degree than during the time of Nichiren, despite the widespread propagation of the Sutra throughout Jambudvipa? The reasons are, the Law has been changed and the Gohonzon has been altered, the vital principles of the Lotus Sutra have been forgotten, and there is no unity in the Nichiren Sangha.
And yet, there is not one person who says, “perhaps this man has reason for saying these things.” (A paraphrasing of a passage in Repaying Debts of Gratitude).
The SGI will continue to spread Nam(u) myoho renge kyo but will it spread the vital principles contained therein? Most importantly, will it spread the Great Secret Law of the Object of Worship?:
“Answer: ‘One: Japan and so on to the whole of Jambudvipa should uniformly take the Master of Teachings Lord Shakya of the Original Doctrine as the Object of Worship.”
The Great Teacher Miao-lo states:
“Even people whose minds deviate from truth will gain great blessings if they form a relationship with an object of truth. But if a person forms a bond with an object that deviates from truth, even if that bond is free from the hindrances of doubt, he will be unable to foster the seed of Buddhahood.”The SGI must return to the Gohonzon based on the Lord of Teachings, Shakyamuni Buddha of the Sixteenth Chapter of the Lotus Sutra for Kosen Rufu to be realized. It must repudiate the Nichiren as True Buddha Gohonzon of the Great Destroyer of Buddhism, Nichikan. This simple act would unify the Nichiren Sangha. The SGI would then be embraced by the disciples and believers of Nichiren and we would respect your peccadillos* and you ours. This action on the part of the SGI might even convince the Nichiren Shu to abandon their practice of the separate enshrinement of deities. If you fundamentally changed this one doctrine of the SGI faith, we would be overjoyed. We might bestow upon SGI members a Gohonzon based on Lord Shakya of the Original Doctrine.
Why the people fail to believe the good teacher Nichiren and his disciples and believe the evil teacher Ikeda and his disciples
"Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, though the teaching, the people’s capacity, and the time for propagation are in accord, we must expect all the more hostility. For this is the age when quarrels and disputes prevail, and the pure Law is obscured and lost. Moreover, the teacher is but an ordinary practitioner, and his disciples come from among evil people defiled by the three poisons. For this reason, people shun the good teacher and associate with evil teachers."
Proof that the DaiGohonzon is not the One Great Secret Law
"The Law has already appeared." -- Nichiren November 1271
Even were the DaiGohonzon inscribed by Nichiren in 1279, let alone if it was commissioned by Nichiu in the 15th century, the Law had already appeared by 1271.
I turned Tim Janakos-Kobayashi, SGI leader and graduate of Soka University of America, into a blathering idiot.
"Every thing we have been defending for or against, that if we didn't have to defend for or against it, would allow us to have all of us, as the infinite beings from time without beginning, would we be willing to destroy and uncreate everything that is and everything that brings up, times a Buddhazillion? Yeah? Right, wrong, good, bad, all nine, POD, POC, shorts, boys, and beyonds, Ho'opono'pono, Nam myo-ho ren-ge kyo." -- Tim Janakos-Kobayashi SGI leader and graduate of Soka University of America
Nichiren on the fate of SGI and Nichiren Shu members
"On the other hand, even if one does not commit a single evil deed throughout one’s entire lifetime, and observes the five precepts, the eight precepts, the ten precepts, the ten good precepts, the two hundred and fifty precepts, the five hundred precepts, or countless numbers of precepts; even if one learns all the other sutras by heart, makes offerings to all the other Buddhas and bodhisattvas, and accumulates immeasurable merit, if one but fails to put one’s faith in the Lotus Sutra; or if one has faith in it, but considers that it ranks on the same level asthe other sutras and the teachings of the other Buddhas; or if one recognizes its superiority, but constantly engages in other religious disciplines, practicing the Lotus Sutra only from time to time; or if one associates on friendly terms with priests of the Nembutsu, who do not believe in the Lotus Sutra but slander it; or if one thinks that those who insist the Lotus Sutra does not suit the people’s capacity in the latter age are guilty of no fault, then all the merit of the countless good acts one has performed throughout one’s life will suddenly vanish. Moreover, the blessings resulting from one’s practice of the Lotus Sutra will for some time be obscured, and one will fall into the great citadel of the Avīchi hell as surely as rain falls from the sky or rocks tumble down from the peaks into the valleys."
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