Total Pageviews

Sunday, May 7, 2017

Nichiren on the proper object of worship

  • The true object of devotion is described by Nichiren as follows:

    "The treasure tower sits in the air above the sahā world that the Buddha of the essential teaching [identified as the pure and eternal land]; Myoho-renge-kyo appears in the center of the tower with the Buddhas Shakyamuni and Many Treasures seated to the right and left, and, flanking them, the four bodhisattvas, followers of Shakyamuni, led by Superior Practices. Manjushrī, Maitreya, and the other bodhisattvas, who are all followers of the four bodhisattvas, are seated below. All the other major and minor bodhisattvas, p.367whether they are disciples of the Buddha in his transient status or of the Buddhas of the other worlds, are like commoners kneeling on the ground in the presence of nobles and high-ranking court officials. The Buddhas who gathered from the other worlds in the ten directions all remain on the ground, showing that they are only temporary manifestations of the eternal Buddha and that their lands are transient, not eternal and unchanging"

    If SGI's Gohonzon fits this this description which I'm pretty sure it does ,well then it's OK. If the Gohonzon is OK, it doesn't mean that the SGI is OK, it all depends on the correctness of faith that is based on Nichiren's wisdom and what we subjectively experience from it in life
  • The Vimalakīrti Sutra states that, if the minds of living beings are impure, their land is also impure, but if their minds are pure, so is their land. There are not two lands, pure or impure in themselves. The difference lies solely in the good or evil of our minds.

    In reflection of the above passage Nichikan's Gohonzon or any other Gohonzon for that matter can appear pure or impure. As long as Nichirens description of the Gohonzon in Kanjinhonzonsho incorporates the true object of devotion described by Nichiren as follows:

    "The treasure tower sits in the air above the sahā world that the Buddha of the essential teaching [identified as the pure and eternal land]; Myoho-renge-kyo appears in the center of the tower with the Buddhas Shakyamuni and Many Treasures seated to the right and left, and, flanking them, the four bodhisattvas, followers of Shakyamuni, led by Superior Practices. Manjushrī, Maitreya, and the other bodhisattvas, who are all followers of the four bodhisattvas, are seated below. All the other major and minor bodhisattvas, whether they are disciples of the Buddha in his transient status or of the Buddhas of the other worlds, are like commoners kneeling on the ground in the presence of nobles and high-ranking court officials. The Buddhas who gathered from the other worlds in the ten directions all remain on the ground, showing that they are only temporary manifestations of the eternal Buddha and that their lands are transient, not eternal and unchanging"

    If the above remains evident, even though other aspects have been added or taken away, we can hpoefully strike a balance of the oneness of good and evil that enables us to transform delusion into enlightenment. We could spend the rest of our lives in search of the true Gohonzon, like being in search of the holy grail. And when we think that we have found it, how do you really know if it is the real McCoy.
  • "Again, in the sixth volume of the Nirvana Sutra, it is recorded: “The Buddha announced to Kāshyapa: ‘After I have passed into nirvana... this devil king Pāpīyas will in time try to destroy the correct teaching of mine.... He will change his form into that of an arhat or a Buddha. The devil king, though still subject to illusion, will assume the form of one who has been freed from illusion, and will try to destroy the correct teaching of mine.’” [Repaying Debts of Gratitude]

    "...And the devil king of the sixth heaven could imitate all the thirty-two features of a Buddha and manifest himself in the form of a Buddha in such a convincing manner that even the Venerable Ānanda could not tell whether it was the devil or the Buddha...." [The Relative Merit of Reciting the Daimoku and Amida's Name] --- Story in the Nirvana Sutra that even Ananda could not see through the disguises of devils who assume the form of a Buddha.

    “If now some other Buddha should appear and declare that the Lotus Sutra is not suitable for persons in this latter age of ours, he would obviously be contradicting the sutra itself. We know, therefore, that he would be the sort of ‘devil Buddha’96 that the Nirvana Sutra has predicted will appear after the Buddha has entered extinction and hence not worthy to be trusted. And, needless to say, the same applies of course to the sort of bodhisattvas, voice-hearer disciples, and monks previously mentioned. These would without doubt be devils appearing in the form of bodhisattvas, and so forth, just as the Nirvana Sutra predicted they will after the Buddha has passed into extinction." [On the Protection of the Nation

    I assert that the Nichikan Gohonzon is just such a devil assuming the form of a Buddha. How else to explain the mistaken faith, practices, and behavior of those of the Soka Gakkai?
  • Do you think that the previous Gohonzon of the Gakkai before the excommunication was any better? Has their behavior worsened, practices more obscure, faith become more mistaken?
  • Still, all their [SGI and NST] Gohonzons are based on Taisekeji false doctrines and inscribed and eye opened by evil monks. Therefore, their behavior and practices have been, are, and will be [until they adopt a correct view] false. Even their former forceful [shakubuku] practices were lame because it was no different than the forceful practices of the non-Buddhist religions [conversion to a false religion].

    You brought up a very important point yesterday, whom and what can we trust? The Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha, and Nichiren, for sure and those like minded individuals who place their trust in them, to a greater or lesser extent be they priest or layman. In a sense, the same goes in the secular realm. For the most part we can trust our parents, our sovereigns [as long as they don't persecute the votaries], and our wives and children but even here, trusting unconditionally may be a cause for regret. Never a cause for regret, faith in the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha, and Nichiren Daishonin. What do you think?
  • your question; I assert that the Nichikan Gohonzon is just such a devil assuming the form of a Buddha. How else to explain the mistaken faith, practices, and behaviour of those of the Soka Gakkai?

    your answer; Kempon Hokke's connection to Japanese right wing nationalists, Nichirenists, and especially Tanaka Chigaku's Kokuchukai.

    2. Doctrinal errors by Shamon Tsuchiya and other Kempon Hokke priests, for example, promoting the Dhammapada, silent meditation, and their extreme anti-Original Enlightenment stance [failing to distinguish between Nichiren's Original Enlightenment teachings and Chuko Tendai Original Enlightenment].

    3). Reverend Tsuchiya's siding with Islam and its brutal stance against homosexuals and against his own fellow member and my shakubuku, Israell Isaac.

    4). Modern Kempon Hokke's practice of interfaith, intimate association with the Nichiren Shu, in particular, and its practice of selling the Dharma.

    5). Reverend Tsuchiya's ill treatment of Jerry whose arguments and eye witness account of the reality of the modern Kempon Hokke opened my eyes to their errors.

    6). Refusal to be complicit in slander.

    If we judge the behaviour of the SGI/NST by their Gohonzon , then the same standard can be applied to Nichiren Shu and Keppon Hokke who you say have the correct Gohonzon yet they have mistaken faith, practices, and behaviour

    The reason why I think most of us come to NB is because we want to change our karma that changes our tendencies that change our behaviour
  • Noel, you write:

    "If we judge the behavior of the SGI/NST by their Gohonzon , then the same standard can be applied to Nichiren Shu and Keppon Hokke who you say have the correct Gohonzon yet they have mistaken faith, practices, and behaviour"

    And the Muslims, the Hindu's, the Christians, the Jews, the secularists... Everyone has a Gohonzon, something to which they devote themselves: Some whose Gohonzon without [external Gohonzon] is warped, some whose Gohonzon within [internal Gohonzon] is warped, and some whose internal and external Gohonzon is warped. In the case of the Soka Gakkai, both internal and external Gohonzon are mistaken. In the case of the Kempon Hokke, it is their internal Gohonzon..
  • How about some with [internal Gohonzon] that is not warped and an [external Gohonzon] that is warped
  • That is not possible if we believe Nichiren:

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

    Re: SGI's Islamic interfaith initiatives

    It is far better to be harshly persecuted for practicing as the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren teach than to be loved and respected through SGI's Islamic interfaith initiatives.
    Posted by at No comments:

    “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.
    Posted by at 1 comment:

    "Out From the Shadows Soka Gakkai, a strikingly wealthy sect, is also strikingly powerful at home in Japan. What is the aim of its U.S. splash? By Benjamin Fulford

    "The new $740 million Soka university in Aliso Viejo California claims to be a liberal arts institution that happens to be backed by a Buddhist organization. Opponents say it is a front for a $100 billion religio-fascistic corporation called Soka Gakkai that seeks to rule the world. Former Soka members describe it as just another doomed attempt by Soka leader Daisaku Ikeda to gain US respectability that has always eluded him. Neighbors of two-year-old Soka University in master-planned Aliso Viejo, Calif., were welcoming of its presence on 103 hilly acres. It promised added open space and open-mindedness as well: A peace-loving spiritual sect infusing undergraduates of all backgrounds with its global horizons and intellectual ambitions. Soka Gakkai International, an extension of a Japanese-based religious sect, had come to growth-oriented Orange County after years of frustration trying to expand a 42-acre graduate campus near Calabasas, 75CK miles north. There, in the Santa Monica Mountains, locals and green activists said Soka bustle would disturb the rustic scene. But the issues with Soka Gakkai turn out to go beyond NIMBY concerns with traffic or other usual town-and-gown headaches. They entail allegations of intimidation and blackmail; one strand even led to a probe of former Attorney General Janet Reno. As the California suburb around Soka's new academic jewel only later began to find out, this is one curious bunch, at least back home. And a wealthy one. Soka Gakkai (literally, "value-creating society") is said to have as much as $100 billion in worldwide assets, including castles in France and the UK and scores of other properties in the U.S. A claimed international membership of 12 million in 187 nations, including 300,000 in the U.S., every year give perhaps $3 billion in cash. Soka Gakkai also sells them funeral plots (for $10,000 or more a pop), assorted religious paraphernalia and a newspaper with 5.5 million subscribers. It also publishes various tracts spreading the words of its longtime leader, 76-year-old Daisaku Ikeda. These activities are given special tax status as a religious organization in most countries where it operates, including the U.S. Here, its holdings include training centers in Hawaii and Florida, a $5.7 million "culture center" near New YorkŐs Union SquareCK, an office high rise and auditorium across Wilshire Boulevard from each other near Santa MonicaŐs beach and, near Calabasas the "King Gillette Ranch" that served as Tara in the film "Gone with the Wind.". Soka also operates a trading house called PCE whose labor force works largely on a volunteer basis. According to its website among the many products in handles are wireless electronic reception equipment, ham radio, medical equipment and "computer related." It has a link to a company called iShining.com that sells, among other things, "underwear for protection against bad human gas (malodorous flatus)." Soka companies also do a thriving business selling religious paraphernalia to US believers. The impressive portfolio aside, the real mystery is what motivates Soka Gakkai. It is accepted in the West as a low-profile offshoot of traditional Buddhism, not so different from a host of other popular examples of Eastern or alternative religion. It claims to be a proponent of a school of Buddhism that uses chanting as a road to enlightenment. Emissaries of the sect regularly appear at the U.N. and other official venues touting international harmony and goodwill. Followers mount a traveling show trying to equate Ikeda with Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi, and have sought to get him considered for a Nobel peace prize. This might seem like benign grandiosity, but Ikeda has at times in his 44-year reign spoken starkly of seeking dominion. Here is what he told a Japanese writer in 1965: "I am the King of Japan, I am its president, I am the master of its spiritual life, I am the supreme power who entirely directs its intellectual culture." The organization is run in a totalitarian manner with top-down control. Believers are encouraged to be "many in body, one in mind." This means "You have make senseis [teachers] heart your own. You have to fulfill his [Ikeda's] dreams instead of your own," explains Lisa Jones, a former senior California- based follower who claims to have ghost written a book for Ikeda. His dream is Kosen Rufu, a state where the majority of the people in the world follow his creed. Soka University in Japan, among other things, trains the sect's believers in techniques for passing government exams. Over the years it has sent a steady stream of graduates into the police, the judiciary, the foreign ministry and other instruments of Japanese power. Today, Soka Gakkai exercises real political power in Japan and also South Korea. In last OctoberŐs Japanese parliamentary election, Ikeda took a leap towards realizing aims first set when he established the New Komeito (or Clean Government) party in 1964. Since 1999, New Komeito has been part of a ruling coalition with the countryŐs long-dominant but weakened Liberal Democratic Party. Within its own ranks, however, it marches to only one drummer. "He [Ikeda] is the shadow emperor, he manipulates [Komeito] from the shadows," says Toshimitsu Ryu, 81tk, a long time member of the Soka Gakkai inner circle. Results of JapanŐs October vote, when New Komeito, showed that at least 25% of LDP deputies would have lost the election without the support of SG followers, enough to give the opposition Democratic Party a plurality in the Diet. Komeito also got the LDP to agree to stand aside in certain districts where in ran, giving it enough seats to force the LDP to rely on a coalition with Komeito to keep power. "It is like becoming addicted to amphetamines," says Katsuei Hirasawa, an LDP member of parliament of his partyŐs link with Komeito. Such apprehension is understandable given statements Ikeda has made in the past about his goal of total power. Nor are its activities limited to Japan. A French Parliamentary report in 1983 refers to Soka Gakkai as a cult trying to infiltrate French cultural, scientific and economic organizations. A further French Parliamentary report in 1999 notes SGI had invested over $40 million in France and bought many prestigious locations including the former home of the writer Victor Hugo. In Italy meanwhile believers have begun asking why a religion that promotes peace and democracy is run in such a non-democratic manner. SokaŐs political influence already has spread beyond Japan. In his successful bid to be President of South Korea in 1998CK, Kim Dae Jung had a secret meeting with representatives of the Komeito party and made a deal to get the crucial votes of the 500,000 Korean Soka Gakkai believers, according to Gekkan Chosen, a Korean news magazine. Soka spokespersons admit such a request was made but claim their organization was both unable and unwilling to deliver such votes. In 2002 a group of Korean Soka Gakkai members sued the organization, saying about $200 million they donated to the sect has been misappropriated for the private enrichment of its leaders. Meantime, Soka Gakkai members in Japan have been charged with illegal wiretapping and breaking into private data bases to gather evidence against opponents. In February senior Soka Gakkai members were arrested for stealing data on 4.6 million subscribers to SoftbankŐs Yahoo BB broadband internet service. Seiji Takaoka, one of the Soka followers arrested in this case was previously caught illegally wiretapping the offices of the Japan communist party. No Japanese mayor newspapers reported the Soka Gakkai link to the case. Not so in the U.S. say Soka GakkaiŐs adherents. "The Japanese organization responds to the Japanese context, we respond to a liberal democratic context here," says William Aiken, US spokesman for the sect. "SGI in Tokyo announces annual goals, we adopt them as our own but a local committee helps decide how to go ahead. We publish ikedaŐs speeches, articles and dialogues," says Guy McCloskey, a senior US member based in California. "Our most fundamental activity is the neighborhood discussion meeting. The spreading of the word is based in individual relationships," he continues. Soka members are discouraged from involvement in U.S. politics, he says. However, there was talk of starting a US Komeito party in the 1960Ős and 70Ős when Soka was expanding rapidly in the US; claiming over 500,000 members at the time, says David Wigginton, a former member who himself considered running as a US Komeito candidate. SGI was being followed by the CIA and FBI at the time, he says. After a blizzard of negative publicity in the 70Ős, political plans were deemed hopeless and dropped, he says. SGI has also gone to great pains to make themselves visible at political gatherings. At George Bush SeniorŐs inauguration, they attracted attention by building the worldŐs largest chair, a 39 foot tall copy of one George Washington sat on. SGI has also managed to get itself into the Guiness Book of World Records by displaying the most American flags ever in a parade. They have gathered letters of praise from US political leaders like Senator Edward Kennedy and George Bush Senior who perhaps were not fully aware of who it was putting on the patriotic display. To curry favor in academia, meanwhile, Soka Gakkai has set up a front organization called the Boston Research Center for the 21st Century in a giant Georgian building next to Harvard University. There, Harvard Luminaries like John Kenneth Galbraith are invited for chats with Ikeda. Ikeda has over the years managed to meet famous people like the historian Arnold Toynbee, double Nobel prize winner Linus Pauling, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and countless others. The ensuing conversations are then widely published asbooks sold to the millions of Soka believers to show what a great global thinker he is. "They want to have him confirmed at a great global leader. Every year there is intense lobbying to get a Nobel prize," says Christopher Roman, who was a member from 1968 to 1983 and rose to a senior position in the organization. "Their plan is to totally remake global society based on buddhism...but it is really their own fascistic theocracy," says Lisa Jones, the former Soka writer. Recent episodes at Soka University in Aliso Viejo underscore those worries. It is a gorgeous campus with facilities on a par with anywhere in the world and a security camera network rivaling that of any casino. The buildings, surrounded by a regional park, have been made with the same stone as was used to build the Colosseum in Rome. Ikeda insisted on using it because he intends his university to last 2000 years, a Soka University spokesman explains. The university also features a mansion overlooking the park. It is set aside for VIPs, such as, in the words of one university official, "the President of Venezuela or Daisaku Ikeda." The sumptuous residence features gorgeous antique French style furniture, portraits of Ikeda and many art works, all covered in white cloth to keep them clean until the VIPs visit. Many of the 2,000 Soka Gakkai centers around the world feature sumptuous quarters set aside in this manner. These facilities are set aside in case Ikeda visits and feature such amenities as gold fixtures in the bathrooms, says Roman. Earnest university officials, blessed with a $540 million endowment that is as large per student as nearly any in America, are at pains to show this is a non-sectarian liberal arts college even though 85% of the students and many of the professors are Soka Gakkai members. It must be non-sectarian in order to be able to offer state or federal grants to their students. By openly calling itself a religious university, as many U.S. colleges do, it would not be eligible for many funds. The university was sued for $25 million by Linda Southwell, a liberal arts professor who alleged fraud, saying she had been hired on the premise she would be working for a non-sectarian college when in fact it was not. Her complaint disputed that "educational objectives are fostered at the university through the commitment to rigorous academic endeavor, free and open dialogue, and an appreciation for human diversity" when "in reality the curriculum is intended to reflect cult beliefs and perspectives" and speech and the people mix are also circumscribed. She also claimed Soka believers in the faculty got fatter pay checks. Soka University settled the pain-and-suffering lawsuit in a "satisfactory" manner that included a gag order on Southwell, her lawyer Brian Glicker says. Another professor who quit, Anne Houtman, described her time at the university as "very frightening." Asked why, she declined to elaborate, saying, "I am a single mother, I want to get all that behind me." Brian Glicker, SouthwellŐs lawyer, says heŐs heard from eight or ten other non-SGI staff members. John Sherridan, the former head librarian, thought he was putting together a library (called the Ikeda Library) for a liberal arts college, his lawyer, Stephen F. Rohde, says. But at one point, Sherridan claims, he was told by the former Soka Dean, Alfred Balitzer, that Ikeda was the "head head librarian." In yet another incident in February Ken Saragosa, a Soka University Professor and top SGI youth division leader was beaten up so badly by unknown assailants that he required multiple surgeries. University officials claim the attack had nothing to do with either Soka Gakkai or the university. Soka University’s student handbook says that "as leaders and decision makers," the schoolŐs graduates "will be guided by the ideal of a contributive life, a humanistic approach drawn from Buddhist thought." But Soka Gakkai newspapers and other publications, including hundreds of books in the Soka University library--open to the public, as the school had promised the community--all feature IkedaŐs interpretations of Buddhism: i.e. achieve world peace and democracy by becoming one with Ikeda and chanting a lot. The graduate campus, meanwhile, has been largely dedicated to training senior Japanese Soka University Graduates in English and then sending them around the world to spread the word. Like several of the students approached at Aliso Viejo, however, Fabiana Sanchez, 21, a junior from Venezuela and a Soka Gakkai believer, says she wants to do something for society or peace. She plans to return to her home country upon graduation and get involved in some sort of work "linking education and politics." Like all of the students talked to, she professed a strong attachment to Ikeda. This is a danger sign, say some in Japan. "One day you will look around and see everyone has the same vacuous smile on their faces, like in the sci-fi movies where aliens take over," warns Hiroshi Furuya, who defected recently after an 18-year stint as a senior Soka Gakkai headquarters employee. Soka Gakkai was originally founded in the 1930s to promote Nichiren Buddhism. Ikeda took over in 1960 as its third leader. After the 600-year old the Nichiren Buddhist sect disowned Ikeda and Soka Gakkai in the early 1990's Nichiren temples were vandalized and firebombed, and often surrounded by extreme rightist-type sound trucks linked to crime syndicates. Monks were attacked and Soka Gakkai youth groups intimidated worshipers. Photographs of Nichiren senior monks were manipulated to make it appear they were cavorting with women and published in SokaŐs mass newspaper. In the US mass meetings have been held to chant and pray for the death of a senior Nichiren priest. There was also an armory at SGI headquarters in the US in those days as well as a group of armed young men who wore black shirts and black cowboys hats and acted as guards for Ikeda, says Wiggington who says he participated in such duty. At the least, Soka Gakkai, which employs professional lobbyists, practices legal and public-relations jujitsu on adversaries. Which brings us to Janet Reno. Or rather, to her Florida lawyer friend Rebekah Poston, who allegedly used her connection to get RenoŐs Justice Department to open up files on an opponent of Soka Gakkai. Poston is a sect member. A House of Representatives committee investigation concluded in July 2000 that Poston used influence within Justice to get at decades-old and legally confidential arrest records in Seattle of a Soka Gakkai critic who the sect sought to compromise and discredit. Among those cited in the panelŐs 28-page report: Jack Palladino, a private investigator who figured in some of the Bill Clinton-era scandals. Palladino was found to have been hired by Soka GakkaŐs main U.S. lawyer to push the search for old arrest records that later would inspire PostonŐs FOIA request. Soka officials point out Poston was never charged with any crimes. A spokesman for Reno at that time dismissed the findings as part of witch-hunt of the Clinton administration by the House panelŐs chairman, Rep. Daniel Burton (R-Ind.) Incidents of this sort, as well as allegations of brainwashing by former SGI members, have meant SGI has become increasingly shunned over the years in the US. Soka Gakkai thought by now they would have hundreds of millions of members around the world and become the the great religion of the 21st century, Wigginton says. Instead membership has been stagnant or declining for the past three decades and the figure of 12 million believers is almost certainly inflated, he and other former members claim. Soka University is an attempt by Ikeda to gain respectability, create the appearance the sect is still expanding and leave his name to posterity as one of the great men of history, they believe. For the next generation his son Hiromasa who has been active in US sect affairs, is widely expected to take over control of the empire. Ikeda originally wanted him to become U.S. president, according to Yamada, Yamazaki and other former senior cult members. However, when Ikeda's designated heir, son Taku, died suddenly, Hiromasa was pulled back to Japan, they say. For his part, Hiromasa, like this father, speaks only to the very faithful. Many Soka observers in Japan predict Soka will splinter after Ikeda's death because Hiromasa lacks his father's charisma. Younger son Takumasa and many other factions are jockeying for succession, they say. If that happens, lawyers should thrive amid lawsuits to divvy up the $100 billion Ikeda legacy"
    Posted by at No comments:

    What are they afraid of?

    Top SGI leader: "I do agree that we need to be careful about circulating guidance and notes of any kind. Things are often taken out of context or may even be bogus. A bit ago, someone was circulating "guidance" from Dr. Kawada (IOP) that turned out to be phony--he never said it. I always check to see if something is an official SGI pub prior to forwarding to friends/family. The internet has all sorts of shit on it...." 


    Posted by at No comments:

    Gohonzon is the Object of Worship in terms of the Law AND in terms of the "Person"

    Nichiren speaks of the object of worship in terms of the Law and in terms of the person.  For example, in terms of the person, he states: "The object of devotion as set forth in the 'Life Span' chapter is Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, eternally endowed with the three bodies, who since the beginning of numberless major world system dust particle kalpas in the past has had deep and abiding affinities with this land of ours." And in terms of the Law he states: "They should make the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra their object of devotion."
    Posted by at No comments:

    "So it is also with those who are able to receive and keep this Sutra." -- Nichiren

    "Though this mandala has but five or seven characters, it is the teacher of all Buddhas throughout the three existences and the seal that guarantees the enlightenment of all women." (On Offering Prayers to the Mandala of the Mystic Law)

    "I have dedicated my life to Shakyamuni Buddha and the Lotus Sutra, extending compassion to all living beings and rebuking slanders of the Law." (MW vol 5, A Sage and an Unenlightened Man, pg 107) 

    "And among the Sutras, the Lotus Sutra is a manifestation in writing of Shakyamuni Buddha's intent; it is his voice set down in written word." (The Pure and Far Reaching Voice, pg 147) 

    "Shakyamuni Buddha and the written words of the Lotus Sutra are two different things but their heart is one. Therefore, when you cast your eyes upon  the words of the Lotus Sutra you should consider that you are beholding the living body of the Buddha Shakyamuni." (Ibid, pg 147) 

    "However the Buddha recognizes each character as a golden Lord Shakyamuni.' This is the meaning of the statement that '[one who is able to hold this Sutra] thereby holds the Buddha's body'.  Those who practice Buddhism but adhere todistorted views destroy this loftiest of Sutras." (MW vol 5, Reply to Soya Nyudo,pg 164) 

    "Only the Lotus Sutra represents the wonderful teaching preached directly from the golden mouth of Shakyamuni Buddha, who is perfectly endowed with the three bodies." (MW vol 5, Letter to Myomitsu Shonin, pg 196) 

    "Therefore, the words of this Sutra are indeed the very soul of Shakyamuni Buddha. And since every single word constitutes the soul of the Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha will protect persons who practice this Sutra as though he were protecting his very own eyes. He will accompany such persons just as a shadow accompanies a body. How then could the prayers of such persons not be answered." (MW vol 7, On Prayer, pg 34) 

    "The Shakyamuni Buddha who lived in a past even more distant than gohyaku-jintengo-became enlightened to the Lotus that is the entity of the Mystic Law. Thereafter, in age after age and lifetime after lifetime, he declared that he had attained the way and he revealed the fundamental principle of wisdom and reality." (MW vol 7, The Entity of the Mystic Law, pg 67) 

    "The Buddha taught that offering one's little finger for the sutra is more rewarding than covering an entire galaxy with seven kinds of jewels. Sessen Doji offered his life, and Gyobo Bonji ripped off his own skin to seek the truth of Buddhism. Since nothing is more precious than life itself, those who dedicate their lives to the Buddhist practice are certain to attain Buddhahood. If they are prepared to offer their lives, why should they begrudge any other treasure for the sake of Buddhism? On the other hand, if one is loath to part with his material possessions, how can he possibly give away his life, which is far more valuable? 

    Society dictates that one should repay a great obligation to another even at the cost of his own life. Many warriors die for their lords, perhaps even more than one would imagine. A man will die to defend his honor; a woman will die for a man. Fish want to survive; they deplore their pond's shallowness and dig holes to hid in, yet tricked by bait, they take the hook. Birds in a tree fear that they are too low and perch in the top branches, yet bewitched by bait, they too are caught in snares. Human beings are equally vulnerable. They give their lives for shallow, worldly matters but rarely for the noble cause of Buddhism. Small wonder they do not attain Buddhahood."(Letter to Sado)

    Commentary: 

    Nichiren teaches that rice is not merely rice but life itself. Similarly, the Lotus Sutra is food for all the Buddhas of the universe. and the the life of the Original Eternal Buddha and his disciples ["Among all the living they are supreme." -- LS Ch.23] However, we are not ipso facto supreme. We are supreme in relation to our connection with the object (Lotus Sutra) "So it is also with those who are able to receive and keep this Sutra." -- Nichiren 
    Posted by at No comments:

    Response to the SGI/NST skeptics by Mark Strumpf

    "The one change that there may be is that now it seems that the complete strawman argument that Shakyamuni did not "write" the Lotus Sutra (based on  language usage analysis) has been dropped because it has been pointed out that  no one in the Traditional Nichiren Buddhist Community (Non-SGI/NSS) makes the claim that the Lotus Sutra was "written" by Shakyamuni but rather preached by him. That is some progress at least. 

    I think the motivation for these attacks on the Lotus Sutra comes out of John and others being rather stung by good evidence that many Goshos and treatises like the Ongi Kuden that NSS/SGI rely on, may well not be authentic. Hurt by this, they have lashed back with "Well !!!! The Lotus Sutra isn’t authentic either!!" Now from the point of view of a modern skeptic who has lost all spiritual insight, this has a sort of logic to it. Also, it can have appeal from the point of view of Nichiren Shoshu who has a big motivation to dismiss and degrade Shakyamuni and the Lotus Sutra and replace them with their own theories. However, from where the rest of Nichiren Buddhism sits, these criticisms are a complete irrelevancy and show that SGI and Nichiren Sho Shu practice a completely different religion than Nichiren Daishonin's.

    Here is their confusion. They simply cannot fathom that the Eternal Buddha and the Historical Buddha are the same though they preach from different levels. They do not understand that the first part of the Sutra is preached from an earthly level (subject more to the jaundiced eye of the hard skeptic) and that the Honmon (second half of the Lotus Sutra) is free of all time and space. What is revealed there is the Life Span of the Buddha and the Daimoku itself. 

    The Eternal Buddha may be thought of as an "Inconceivable Omni-Present Field of Cognition" (from Tendai). So the universe is not simply matter and phenomena (emptiness) but is also perfectly perceived. The entire foundation of the Hokke sect (all followers of the Lotus Sutra, especially from Tendai through Dengyo and Nichiren) is based on this. Without it there is no "Three Fold Truth of Existence’ and there is no Ichinen Sanzen. All that would be left is a Hinnyanist conception of Buddhism which the SGI seems to be veering towards (people are called Buddha because of their great contributions, Toda for example which is really the doctrine of becoming an ‘Arhat’ found in the Lesser Vehicle). When one tries this sort of disconnect and rejection of the Mahayana, that is all you are really left with. But this is being done selectively and with partisanship I think. For example, one of the central doctrines of both NSS and SGI is the ideas and methods of  ‘Original Enlightenment’ where you are to polish your ‘Buddha Nature’ to reveal your already existing Buddhahood. The problem is, the idea of a ‘Buddha Nature’ is found only and exclusively in the Mahayana which these guys are denouncing. Nichiren said that the real proof of the Lotus Sutra was is his own appearance on earth as the predicted votary of the Lotus Sutra. Do you really think that John [NST] and Terry [SGI] are privy to insights deeper than Tendai, Dengyo and Nichiren, all of whom adhered to the Mahayana and supported and understood the Honmon’s preaching that there is one omni-present central Buddha? Now here there is a difference between Nichiren Sho Shu and SGI. The NSS still nominally agrees with the Truth of the Lotus Sutra but sees Nichiren as its earthly manifestation. The Gakkai is spinning off into some sort of formulation like "The Force" in the movie Star Wars. So these criticisms can not really touch the core teachings of the Lotus Sutra because we are clearly told that they are preached free of all time and space. Further we cannot discard them because Nichiren tells us that the very essence of the Lotus Sutra is the Daimoku and specifically it is found in Chapter 16. If we have no "Inconceivable Field of Cognition", then Nichiren is a false prophet and the Daimoku is worthless. Tendai himself said that "He was personally present" when this fundamental Truth was preached on Vulture peak. The modern skeptic has no spiritual capacity or inner wisdom to understand such things and will quickly pass over it simply as a manner of speaking. 

    Finally it is nearly impossible to debate such matters with NSS/SGI because you cannot look to the Gosho itself for proof by their rules. They have the theory of reading the Sutra and Gosho "From the Depths" which simply means that Nichiren (and Tendai etc) don’t really mean what they have written. When Nichiren preaches clearly and unmistakably about the Eternal Buddha, they say "He doesn’t really mean it" . When Nichiren preaches that all depends of the Truth of the Lotus Sutra, they say "He really doesn’t mean it". When Nichiren identifies the Eternal Buddha  as Shakyamuni, they say ‘He doesn’t really mean it".   

    The rest of us say he did mean what he wrote, the Daimoku absolutely depends on the Lotus Sutra and is its quintessent meaning and the Honmon is true, Eternal and untouchable by skeptics." -- Marc S.
    Posted by at No comments:

    The reason SGI Gohonzons are not valid

    "From the "Myoho Mandara Kuyo Ji" by Nichiren Daishonin to a female believer, "I have written the Myoho Renge Kyo Gohonzon and consecrated it for you" (translated by Senchu Murano) 

    In the Gosho The Selection of the Time, Nichiren says of the conditions of his day, "And in the ceremony carried out at the consecration of Buddhist images or paintings, the 'opening of the eyes,' the priests of all the eight sects of Buddhism now use the mudras and mantras associated with the eyes of the Buddha Dainichi!' (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 3, p. 156) 

    In his collected writings, the Daishonin refers to the eye-opening ceremony or to offerings for the eye-opening, in seventeen places. 

    In most of these instances, he raises the issue for the purpose of refuting the validity of eye-opening ceremonies conducted with Shingon rites, teaching instead that the eye-opening ceremony should be conducted with the Lotus Sutra.  

    For instance, he says: "In performing the eye-opening ceremony for painted or wooden Buddha images, the only authority to rely on is the Lotus Sutra and the Tendai sect.... It is the power of the Lotus Sutra that makes it possible to infuse such paintings and statues with a -soul- or spiritual property. This was the realization of the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai. In the case of living beings, this doctrine is known as attaining Buddhahood in one's present form; in the case of painted and wooden images, it is known as the enlightenment of plants and trees." (MW-6, 161-2) 

    The principle of the enlightenment of plants and trees makes it possible for statues or paintings made of trees or plants to become infused with the life of the Buddha; and this principle is clarified only by the doctrine of ichinen sanzen, which is contained in the Lotus Sutra and must be performed by a believer of the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni.

    The Daishonin states that images of the Buddha whose eyes have been 'opened' by the heretical Shingon teaching 'have been rendered soulless and sightless' (MW-2, p. 265) and, worse still, 'have been possessed by the Devil of the Sixth Heaven, bringing ruin upon their own worshipers' (ibid). He further states, 'Demons occupy [such Buddha images] and deprive people of their lives....Moreover, devils enter those images and deprive people of benefits' (MW-4, p. 35) 

    If your Gohonzon has had it's eyes opened not by a believer in the Eternal Buddha, but by a believer in the false-premise of the Eternal Nichiren, then your Gohonzon is not valid. 

    The Daishonin says that eye-opening ceremonies conducted by priests who do not follow the Lotus Sutra actually summons demons and the devil king to inhabit the Buddha images. Elsewhere in the Gosho (in 'On The Enlightenment of Trees and Plants'), the Daishonin discusses eye-opening ceremonies for memorial tablets (toba). There, too, he teaches that unless ceremonies are based on the Lotus Sutra and the doctrine of ichinen sanzen, neither will any trees and plants attain Buddhahood, nor will any true opening of the eyes take place. 

    Our Gohonzons are made one at a time, not mass produced as other sects do. These are mounted by hand, and are printed on rice or parchment paper, and mounted in a high quality frame. You may choose a Nichiren Gohonzon inscribed after 1278 such as the Gohonzon for the Transmission of the Dharma (1280) or the White Lotus Gohonzon. 

    To receive the Gohonzon, whether full sized or small Omamori you first of all must be a believer in Nichiren Daishonin. Second, you fill out the "declaration of faith". 

    Nichiren says in the Nanjo-hyoe-shichiro-dono-gosho, "Shakyamuni is our father our teacher and our lord. Only Shakyamuni Buddha has three attributes concurrently. No other Buddha does." 

    Lotus Sutra Chapter 5: "I see all living beings equally. I have no partiality for them. There is neither `this one' not `that one' to me. I transcend love and hatred. I am attached to nothing. I am hindered by nothing. I always expound the Dharma to all living beings equally. I expound the Dharma to many in the same way as I do to one."

    Lotus Sutra Chapter 2: "I once vowed that I would cause all living beings to be as I am. That old vow of mine has now been fulfilled. I lead all living beings into the Way to Buddhahood." 

    It can be said that the Gohonzon is also the "spirit," "nature," or "heart" of the Lotus Sutra. As Bodhisattvas we have a kind of spiritually efficacious response, "A penetration effected, everywhere there is a response." I believe that is what is meant by this passage from the Opening of the Eyes: 

    "One should consider the fact that, if the Buddha had not attained enlightenment in the distant past, there could not have been so many disciples who were converted and instructed by him. The moon is not selfish with its reflection, but if there is no water, then its reflection will not be seen. The Buddha may be very anxious to convert all people, but if the connection he shares with them is not strong enough, then he cannot exhibit the eight phases of a Buddha’s existence..."

    He also writes,

    "The three bodies are as follows: first, the Dharma body of a Thus Come One; second, the reward body of a Thus Come One; and third, the manifested body of a Thus Come One. These three types of bodies of a Thus Come One are invariably possessed by all Buddhas. If we use the moon as an illustration, we may say that the moon itself is comparable to the Dharma body, its light to the reward body, and its reflection to the manifested body. Just as a single moon has these three different aspects, so a single Buddha possesses the virtues of these three different bodies."

    Similarly, the Buddha stated:

    "A thousand pools of water, 
    Moons in a thousand pools; 

    A moon can be reflected in as many pools of water as there are; if there are ten thousand pools, there are as many moons. The moon in the pool represents the "spiritual" being of Buddha. It is also nature and thoughts. Although there is the appearances of a thousand moons reflected in a thousand pools, there is only one moon. 

    The Gohonzon does not exist except in response to the circumstances created by us living beings. Nichiren's Gohonzon is identical with the Original Eternal World of Buddha. When the Buddha sees a Hell Realm, for example, no matter where in the universe of the many trillion of quadrillions of worlds, he dispatches a transformation body to teach and relieve the suffering of the living beings there. With these words, “Living beings are numberless. I vow to save them all,” and “At the start I took a vow, hoping to make all persons equal to me, without any distinction between us, and what I long ago hoped for has now been fulfilled.”, the Buddha has fulfilled his vows.

    The number of worlds that the Eternal Buddha returns to is completely beyond calculation or comprehension, because his reduplicated bodies exist for the sake of the limitless beings who are drowning again and again in the sea of suffering. 

    From the Jeta Grove, Shakyamuni said: "You know only what can be found within eighty thousand great aeons, but beyond that you know nothing. You are like people inside a house who are able to see everything within the walls but nothing outside of them. Over eighty thousand aeons ago, this old man was a firewood-gatherer who met a tiger in the mountain wilds one day. Frightened, he exclaimed `Namo Buddha' and as a result he was able to return home ." If we had not recited many Namo Buddha's or Namu Myoho Renge Kyo's in the past, we would not be here now, able to attain Buddhahood in our present body. 

    Nichiren teaches:
    "When water is clear, the moon is reflected. When the wind blows, the trees shake. Our minds are like the water. Faith that is weak is like muddy water, while faith that is brave is like clear water. Understand that the trees are like principles, and the wind that shakes them is like the recitation of the sutra."

    Our Gohonzon too is like a clear pool of water that reflects the World of Buddha. When we gaze at the Gohonzon with strong faith, our eyes fixed, we see the world as the Buddha sees it, the land of eternally tranquil light.

    The prime focus is to have a pool of water that does not distort the World of the Eternal Buddha. 

    When we chant to our Gohonzon, the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni manifests in our body, and he encourages us because we have firmly resolved to attain Buddhahood.
    Posted by at No comments:

    Three translations of one passage

    "At this time the countless Bodhisattvas of the Earth will appear and establish in this country the object of devotion, foremost in Jambudvipa, that depicts Shakyamuni Buddha of the essential teaching attending the eternal Buddha." -- Latest SGI translation of a Gosho passage from The True Object of Worship [based on the Nichiren Shoshu's modern Japanese Gosho Zenshu.

    "Now is when the Bodhisattvas of the Earth will appear in this country and establish the supreme object of worship on the earth which depicts Shakyamuni Buddha of the essential teaching attending the true Buddha." -- Older SGI translation also based on the Gosho Zenshu]. 

    "This is the very time when the original disciples of the Buddha will spring up from underground, attend both sides of the Eternal Buddha [Shakyamuni] revealed in the essential section of the Lotus Sutra and establish in this land of Japan the supreme object of worship in the world." -- Nichiren Shu's translation of the same passage from the Showa Tehon,  the Gosho in its original form.
    Posted by at No comments:

    "HIS SELF-PROMOTION IS SICKENING COMPARED TO SIDDHARTHA" -- Jules Dorais former 5 decade long SGI member

    I HAVE BEEN DIVORCED FROM THE SGI FOR SOME TIME NOW, AND WONDERED HOW TO REFORM THE DOCTRINE, OR REJECT IT ENTIRELY. JUST LIKE NICHIREN REJECTED THE DEGENERATION OF HIS RELIGIOUS PEERS, PERHAPS THAT WAS A SUBTLE SIGNPOST, LEFT BEHIND TO GUIDE OUR OWN GENERATION
    .....SIDDHARTHA REJECTED SEXISM, CASTE/STRATIFICATION, AND SO ON. NICHIREN REJECTED NON/LOTUS SUTRAS AND EXEGISES, AND WE MAY HAVE TO FOLLOW THEIR PREROGATIVES. TO LET THE LAW CORRODE AND DIE IS THE GREATEST SLANDER. NOW, WE MAY BE THE ONLY BUDDHISTS ON THIS PLANET WHO SEEK REFORM. THIS ARISES FROM COMPASSION, WHICH IS THE LIFE-BLOOD OF BUDDHISM, POSSIBLY. I HAVE TRIED TO UPHOLD THE LAW FOR FIVE DECADES, FRUSTRATED HOWEVER, BY THE DEAD/WEIGHT INERTIA OF AN ORGANIZATION WHICH HAS BECOME DEMORALIZED AND HYPNOTIZED BY A CHARISMATIC, RELIGIOUS, SAGE/IDOL, WHO'S MATERIALISM AND SELF-ABSORPTION HAVE SURPASSED THE REALM OF SURREALISM AND THE BLATANTLY GROTESQUE. NEVER IN HISTORY HAS ANYONE REACHED THE MAGNITUDE OF THIS MAN'S NARCISSISM, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE ICONS WHO SPRING TO MIND. NAPOLEON, HITLER, MUSSOLINI, McARTHUR, MAO TSE TUNG, ARE CANDIDATES, BUT IKEDA'S FASCINATION WITH HIMSELF REPRESENTS A VIRULENT, WRECKLESS SELF-WORSHIP, BEYOND THESE DELUSIONAL PREDECESSORS. THE REASON IS THAT HE POSES AS A SPIRITUAL LEADER. HIS SELF-PROMOTION IS SICKENING COMPARED TO SIDDHARTHA, WHO NEVER CONSIDERED STANDING ABOVE HIS FOLLOWERS. IKEDA IS CONSTANTLY SEEN MILLING WITH MEMBERS, BUT IS THAT SOCIALIZING, NEVER MORE THAN FLY BY NIGHT ENCOUNTERS, OR PHOTO-OPS? I HAVE NEVER SEEN HIM WITH COLLEAGUES. ALL OF HIS UNDERLINGS ARE MINIONS, WHO RECEIVE GENEROUS SALARIES FOR RESPONDING WITH THE CONSTANT, HAI/HAI. OR YES, SENSEI. I RESPECT HIS EARLY EFFORTS, BUT SOMEHOW THE ORGANIZATION NOW IS A HOLLOW, LANGUISHING VESTIGE OF IT'S FORMATIVE DAYS, WHICH MUST BE THE RESULT OF IKEDA, SINCE THERE IS NO ONE ELSE TO LOOK AT. IKEDA HAS EATEN AND DIGESTED THE GUTS OF THE SGI FOR DECADES, AND THE RESULTING APATHY AND ATROPHY SPEAK PRECISELY FOR HIS LONG, WIZARD-OF-OZ LIKE LEADERSHIP. THIS IS AS CLEAR AS THE CLOUDLESS, TRANQUIL, AZURE SKY.
    Posted by at 3 comments:

    Saturday, May 6, 2017

    Anthony Elmore's best video


    Posted by at No comments:

    Forcing SGI members to see their ugly faces

    When I force SGI members to see their ugly face, they sometimes invoke the Lotus Sutra Chapter 13 about hatred and jealousy in the Latter Age. In order to refute this argument, it is enough to demonstrate how SGI's doctrines and practices deviate from the Lotus Sutra and its votaries. Therefore, the Lotus Sutra is certainly not talking about them. Sometimes, when we point out their reprehensible behavior, they trot out Ikeda's guidance on compassion and place the blame on human imperfection and failure to follow the mentor's guidance. Other times, they invoke the Lotus Sutra [Chapter 10] and the writings of Nichiren that it is slanderous to point out even the major misdeeds of the votaries of the Lotus Sutra, let alone the minor ones. Again, one should point out that they are certainly not votaries of the Lotus Sutra because votaries uphold and protect the Lotus Sutra while they alter and defame the Lotus Sutra. We can cite examples such as SGI interfaith and their rejection of Shakyamuni Buddha in favor of Daisaku Ikeda. Lastly, we can point out that their teachings have no power to elevate the human condition by citing examples of the misfortune and amorality of some of their most faithful and famous members. 

    Nichiren Daishonin always placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of those at fault while SGI ascribes fault along the lines of one's organizational status. 

    Sometimes they proclaim that we can't possibly understand the great wisdom and compassion of their mentor and top leaders, that what we see as black is actually white. Then we should point out that the principle of thusness or suchness is not altered in the slightest by human perception. 

    Their mentor is particularly reprehensible in light of the Lotus Sutra and the behavior of the Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin. He has taken the noble teachings of Lotus Sutra and Nichiren and turned it into the base [Ikedaism]. His words fail to match his actions and both his words and actions fail to match those of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha, and Nichiren Daishonin. The general members too, except for the very most bodhisattva neophyte, are complicit and can not hope to escape the horrible destiny that awaits them for slandering the Lotus Sutra and its votaries. In real Buddhism, there exists the principle of personal responsibility. Even SGI mind control can't absolve them of turning the Lotus Sutra into a cult of personality and hatred of the authentic teachings of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin
    Posted by at No comments:

    Soka Gakkai cult accused of conducting organized harassment in Japan

    Posted by at No comments:

    Shallow SGI Daimoku experience. How Sad!


                     The Afflictions of not having a Mercedes or a Mansion

     James: "This reliance on “actual proof” is not something made up by Rissho Kosei-Kai, SGI, President’s Niwano or President Ikeda, rather it is firmly rooted in Nichiren Daishonin’s statements that while theoretical or doctrinal proof have some merit, actual proof is the measuring stick around which any form of worship, particularly Buddhism, must be judged."

    Mark: A human being has Three Treasures, the Treasure of the Storehouse, the Treasure of the Body, and the Treasure of the Heart. By any measure, the Actual Proof obtained by Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin was their Treasure of the Heart. The Rissho Kosekai and SGI stress the Treasure of the Storehouse and the Treasure of the Body while Nichiren Daishonin and we stress the Treasure of the Heart. We do not deny the Treasures of the storehouse [food, clothing and shelter] but that is a given for a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra. So why emphasize it? Some votaries, like Shakyamuni even eschewed the Treasure of "Shelter". Was he not a supreme votary of the Lotus Sutra? The Lotus Sutra states, "This Sutra is the excellent medicine". Surely this doesn't refer to the afflictions of not having a Mercedes or a mansion.

    James: So it should be noted that Rissho Kosei-Kai members, as well as their SGI counterparts, also describe during Hoza how their Buddhist practice effected practical changes, i.e. actual proof, in themselves or in their life conditions.

    Mark: Better to stress how to become a Buddha by revealing our innate Buddhahood.

    James: Hence we often hear in Buddhist circles that Buddhism is about “winning and losing” which fundamentally is referring to this point about actual proof.

    Mark: Not embracing the Lotus Sutra as Nichiren did, at best, is an ephemeral liberation based on the Nine Worlds. I have been to thousands of SGI meetings. Their idea of winning is finding a female marijuana seed or a new house. Ours is overcoming the Three Obstacles, Four Devils, and attaining Supreme and Perfect Enlightenment.

    James: Finally I was extremely disappointed by the comment of poster Mark above, which essentially makes fun of the chanting of O’daimoku or Daimoku for prosperity. Indeed people do sometimes chant for things which essentially, upon further reflection, are not the best for them. However who amongst us truly knows what is best for us at any given moment?

    Mark: Awakening to the Shakyamuni Buddha who resides in our mind is to know what is best. In order to accomplish this, one needs good teachers such as Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter and Nichiren Daishonin.

    James: We may have an inkling but the unfathomable nature of ones actions can not be determined or fully revealed in the course of just a single life moment or over even a single lifetime.

    Mark: The Rissho Kosei Kai and SGI have no power to transform common mortals into Buddhas, so,  of course you hold these baseless opinions.

    James: The key to me is that we as concerned and compassionate Buddhist not sit in some kind of mythical judgment over and against other human beings, lauding over them their perceived faults and limitations; but rather we should recognize that all of us are mired in our own personal set of disempowering delusions and only by vigorously engaging in our own personal struggles with “fundamental darkness” can we be victorious.

    Mark: The crystal clarity of a mind wholly intent on goodness, one modeled after Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin, is one of Pure and Perfect Enlightenment, a mind not fettered by evil karma, earthly desires, nor the sufferings of birth and death.

    James: As a Bodhisattva of the earth, that is a true practitioner of the Lotus Sutra, one invariably realizes that this Saha world with its seemingly endless series of obstacles and sufferings affords each of us the best crucible to transform not only our lives but the lives of others in to an indestructible life condition. In my opinion, at the end off the day there can be no greater life or joy than this.

    Mark: You contradict yourself. A correct faith and practice always reveals beginningless Buddhahood and the joy of joys.
    Posted by at No comments:

    "Kissy kissy I love you"


    Posted by at No comments:

    "The children (2) were burned alive in the fire." -- Experience by Anonymous


    Oh boy, where do I start. I am the first son of two boys. I just turned 48 and my brother will be 44 this year. He lives in San Jose and I live in Honolulu. My parents live down the street from me but I never go there or speak to them because of my mother. My father will be 71 this year, my mother is 75. She is from Japan. My mother joined a horrible Buddhist cult at the urging of her sister, while my father was stationed at Sasebo Naval Base in 1964. My father has been an alcoholic and heavy smoker ever since I was a baby. Although he eventually quit drinking around 1987 he continued to smoke for another 10 or so years. As you can imagine I did not have a happy family life. They argued every single night from as far back as I can remember, which would be around the age of 3 or so and continued until long after I left home at 18 to join the Air Force. I barely graduated high school and in fact dropped all remaining classes to graduate with the minimum number of credits because of the extreme tension at home. My mother always complained about my father. It's all she did all her life, complain about him, about how he wasn't a man compared to the men in the Buddhist cult. SGI-USA. Maybe some of you have heard of it or even belong to it. Used to be called NSA. Anyway, what this cult is doing to people in this country and around the world should come to the attention of every single national security and intelligence agency in the U.S. and abroad. Although it purports to be a peace loving Buddhist religious organization, it is nothing more than a self serving, publicity seeking, money hungry donation and recruitment machine. This cult has caused endless problems for this family since she joined it and only served to fuel her already unstable mental condition. She is adept at hiding her hateful bitterness to the world in front of strangers, but if you could only hear the things she says or the verbal, physical and emotional abuse I suffered with, by her hands, then you would immediately have her institutionalized in a State Mental Facility. You are fortunate to have tight knit families that take care of each other. And I applaud the self sacrificing efforts of all sons and daughters who are caring for their parents. Such a situation is unlikely to occur, in my family. My mother has told me, while sitting in front of that Buddhist alter with pure vengeance and hatred in her voice, how much she hates me. It was like the devil was right there in person. I was stomped on like a helpless puppy by her, when I was 7. When I was 15 she began withholding food from me, for not toeing the organizations' line correctly, with the correct attitude. I was viciously attacked by a very powerful Akita when I was 16 while delivering newspapers. My brother just happened to pass by and I showed him the wounds. They were clean through my arms. I guess he told my father because he came out of nowhere and my mother was right there, complaining about the situation because she wanted the car to go to a Buddhist meeting. Again, her tone was hateful and bitter. Like missing a meeting or should I say, to take care of her own child's medical emergency was no matter compared to going to a meeting, so she could get benefits. I know of a mother who during a fire, went to save the object of worship, a scroll made of paper and wood before taking into account the safety of her own children. The children (2) were burned alive in the fire. She could hear their screams as they were burning to death. I think this woman left the organization because she couldn't believe the treatment she got from it's leaders. They only urged her not to quit, but couldn't answer her questions concerning her children or what it was that made her go for that scroll and not save her children first. (Brainwashing.) Through the years I have tried in vain to be patient and absorb the attacks on my character but to no avail. Several years ago my father developed lung cancer and my mother blamed me, using my own fathers sickness, claiming that it was the power of this great organization that made my father contract this illness, claiming that because I talked bad about the religion, this is the result. It was my fault. America, my friends, be alert and vigilant. They will come knocking on your door someday or take advantage of you when you are vulnerable. I have not had contact with my family since that accusation and my own brother doesn't speak to me. I have become estranged from my father. I don't know what's going on, or what's going to happen. I communicate with my father only through e-mails, but I dare not call. He's doing O.K. but there's nothing I can do. I've wanted to get this off my chest for quite some time. And I don't mean to offend anyone.
    Posted by at No comments:

    Thursday, May 4, 2017

    Katie responds

    <<"Chris: Note he is referring to Shakyamuni Buddha, the Lord of Teachings. This is not the same as his "transient status". You could say that this "Lord of Teachings" is the Well of Wisdom from which each of us draws our water. Nichiren calls him Shakyamuni, but the members of the Fuji School were not totally remiss to call the "Buddha of this well" Nichiren. Where they were remis was in calling each other names over the nomenclature rather than seeking to understand the point of the teaching -- which is that the Buddha Wisdom is available to all.<<"

    Katie responds: And you could say that the concept of the "well of wisdom" is the product of lazy corrupt priests - maybe influenced by widely accepted christian view of the "eternal God whose only begotten son will save you IF you welcome him into your heart and profess your faith in him"??

    At the root of the Gakkai's errors is an undeniable similarity to Tendai, which can be criticized as NON- Buddhist because it's orally and secret transmissions divert from the basic tenet of "cause and effect"-- The "woo" the Gakkai preaches is no different than the made up tend teachings that would have completely corrupted Buddhism if it had not been for Nichiren-.

    Why? One wonders --- are there so many disingenuous, arrogant Gakkai leaders? Why?--one wonders is there such hypocrisy amongst the Gakkai leadership who feign virtue and behave in such unsavory ways?

    Well, one explanation could be that taking the True Buddha out of their teachings opened the way for their licentious natures to run rampant. They appear to have no "moral compass" and no interest in studying the true teachings that would demote "them" in an instant!!

    Shakyamuni Buddha attained perfect enlightenment -- the "effect" of causes he made over many kalpas- Shakyamuni's affinity for this saha world and his deep compassion for the living beings "trapped here" is the reason we living beings in this latter age have the "potential" to attain perfect enlightenment.FAITH in, and DEVOTION to the Lotus Sutra, and reverence for Shakyamuni is what Nichiren taught and practiced-- so, NO, one does not have to perform Shakyamuni's practice-- but if one has no clue as to the debt of gratitude we owe this One Buddha-- one will go the way of the Gakkai-- boasting of benefits and basking in the spoils of materialism as they propagate "Buddheo-Christian" teachings --
    Posted by at 5 comments:
    Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)