On SGI's martyrs and our martyrs

SGI has its one martyr, Tsunesaburu Makiguchi. We have tens of thousands of martyrs who actually were Lotus Sutra practitioners, thousands of whom were slaughtered in one day at the hands of the Tendai warrior monks in 1536.

Come on SGI members, what would Nichiren say?

On October 29, three SSA representatives led by General Director Ong Bon Chai, and accompanied by Dr Gwee Yee Hean, paid a courtesy call on the President of the Singapore Buddhist Lodge Amitabha Center, Mr Lee Bock Guan. The visit and discussion further strengthens the understanding and friendship between the two Buddhist organizations.

Eradicating Sins

"Now if I, Nichiren, insignificant person that I am, were to go here and there throughout the country of Japan denouncing these slanders, then innumerable persons among the four categories of Buddhists who follow erroneous doctrines would in one instant join their innumerable voices in reviling me. At that time the ruler of the nation, allying himself with those priests who slander the Law, would come to hate me and try to have me beheaded or order me into exile. And if this sort of thing were to occur again and again, then the grave offenses that I have accumulated over countless kalpas would be wiped out within the space of a single lifetime. Such, then, was the great plan that I conceived, and it is now proceeding without the slightest deviation. So, when I find myself thus sentenced to exile, I can only feel that my wishes are being fulfilled.

Nevertheless, being no more than an ordinary person, I have at times been apt to regret having taken such a course. And if even I am troubled by such feelings, then how much more so in the case of a woman such as your wife, who is unaware of all the circumstances surrounding the matter. Persons like you and her do not have full knowledge of the Buddhist teachings, and it pains me to think how greatly you must regret that you ever chose to follow Nichiren. And yet, contrary to what might be expected, I hear that you two are even firmer and more dedicated in your faith than I myself, which is indeed no ordinary matter. I wonder if Shakyamuni Buddha himself may have entered your hearts, and it moves me so that I can barely restrain my tears." -- On Rebuking Slander of the Law and Eradicating Sins

SGI leader Jamie Lee Silver mixes the tasty rice of Namu Myoho renge kyo with the dung of Emotional Freedom Technique [EFT]

"Win in the Morning and You Win in Life! Keys to Releasing Emotions!

                                           

(Now you can subscribe by putting your name in the box to the right)

"No matter what happens, 

you must carry out the practice of gongyo 

and chant daimoku everyday. 

Doing gongyo and chanting daimoku 

give rise to a bright and vibrant life-force from the depths of your life, 

giving you the power to resolve life difficulties. 

Therefore, you should never neglect gongyo 

on account of being too busy or too tired. 

Never "pull the plug" of your faith."

Daisaku Ikeda, Ikedaquotes.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love hearing from all of you at chantforhappiness@gmail.com. Lately some of you have said it's just too hard to chant, and you can't seem to get back to where you were in your practice. 

This post might be able to help you release the emotions that can keep you from chanting. I have started incorporating a process called EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) "Tapping" into my life. 

EFT does not replace chanting, and it does not mean I am employing any other strategy besides the Lotus Sutra. I base my life on my chanting...my every morning and every evening, and every morning and every evening practice. I base my LIFE on this. And l believe chanting has brought other modalities for health and healing into my life, such as essential oils (yes I am a Young Living distributor, email me and I can tell you more about the oils), Yoga, and now EFT Tapping. 

I know how hard it can be to chant. I know emotions well up in us that seem just overwhelming. I know turning to face ourselves and face our life when we chant can be daunting. The Gohonzon is the mirror of our inner life...sometimes it is hard to see it! And I know the benefits of breaking through and creating a consistent practice are far beyond any happiness we have ever experienced. It's worth it! 

I also know that some of the most important things we need to chant about...some of the core issues...well, sometimes we just can't chant about them at all. They seem too painful to even chant about. 

So we need a release for that pain and anger and sadness. We need a valve to just let it out. Tapping has been working as a release valve for me. And I think it has been making my chanting even more focused, and helping me with my grief. 

To learn EFT, I took several courses from Nick and Jessica Ortner over the internet. And I learned the totally easy - impossible to do wrong - method of tapping on meridian points on my head, hand, and collar bone while releasing the emotion. 

Now I'm using "Faster EFT" to release emotions. I really ought to just demonstrate for you in a video. I'll look into doing this for you, and you can search on Youtube and find a ton of videos under EFT and tapping. 

You tap...focus on the emotion you want to release...speak words of release "I release this sadness, I release this pain, I release this sorrow." I feel the emotion in my body...and experience the release. 

And then, you can sit down to chant and really focus. 

I'm not saying this is for everyone...or making any kind of prescription for any of us. I am just saying this has been working for me for quite some time. I think it helped me to have the level head I needed to complete the divorce, and it is helping me come through this current wall of pain. 

Have a great day!"

How do we know what Nichiren actually taught?

The Nichiren Shoshu/SGI doctrine of Nichiren as True, Eternal, and Original Buddha, is ornate rhetoric and meaningless talk. The moment Nichiren revealed the Three Great Secret Laws, nothing remained hidden in the depths, either in the Lotus Sutra nor in the teachings of Nichiren. Faith or lack of faith in the teachings of Nichiren is the issue. 

Accurately following the teachings is different than originalism or seeking out what the Daishonin had in mind, the interpretation of others, or hearsay. Nichiren was a scriptural Buddhist. What Nichiren actually wrote is that which should be believed and embraced. It is not easy to cull what the Daishonin actually wrote because there are many forgeries in his name. But it is not impossible, as proven by the efforts of various scholars and scholar-priests. By utilizing their methods, we can come to know the truth of the teachings. One method is textual parsimony. What this means is that the writings are weighted. Those actually found in Nichiren's hand are weighted more heavily. Those considered more profound by the majority of priests and scholars, for example, the Five Major Works, are weighted more heavily. Those principles found in the majority of the authenticated works too, are weighted more heavily. The principles in the unauthenticated works are accepted or rejected in light of the Five Major Works and in light of the entire body of authenticated works. Utilizing this method, one can forge strong faith and therefore understanding [because fundamentally, Nichiren's teachings are consistent and not contradictory].

They will join the discarded Gohonzons in hell

Question:Who authorized the Nichiren Shoshu "Gohonzons" which were distributed to more than 600,000 Americans and how many remain?

Answer:The Nichiren Shoshu authorized them. Seven thousand or eight thousand remain. 
Question: Where are they now? 
Answer: They are in Gohonzon "hell". 

Question:Who has been spewing crap about the worthlessness of the 128 extant Nichiren Gohonzons? 

Answer:The "Nichiren" Shoshu and Soka Gakkai. They will join their discarded "Gohonzons" in hell.

The Nichiren Shoshu blames the Gakkai for everything and visa versa. Who printed up those 600,000+ discarded Gohonzons that the SGI freely distributed? The Nichiren Shoshu. What really irks me is their hypocrisy. SGI and Nichiren Shoshu criticize us for disrespecting Gohonzon, merely for putting pictures of Gohonzon on the web [virtual Gohonzon] but they treat "real" Gohonzons like dirt. They are hypocrites and we won't let them get away with their lies and deceit. The fact is that the other Nichiren sects respect Gohonzon far more than the Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu. More than 90% of Gohonzon bestowed by us are protected and enshrined, not thrown into the garbage or rolled up in sock draws.

Soka Gakkai members fail to reflect

They are destroying the Daishonmin's Buddhism piece by piece, a doctrine at a time. They think that they are better than Nichiren Daishonin and that they understand the Lotus Sutra and the times better than he. How much will they throw out of his Buddhism before they are no longer chanting Namu Myoho renge kyo but rather Namu SGI and Namu Ikeda? Has this already happened?

Did Nichiren teach a mechanical repetition of the Daimoku without an abiding faith in the Lotus Sutra ? If so, does that mean you don't believe in the Ten Factors?

Do you think that revering Ikeda is the same as a deep rooted belief in Shakyamuni Buddha? Appearance! Appearance is the first of the Ten Factors and the most important. Do you know who taught that? What did Daisaku Ikeda have to say about this in his original lecture on the heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life?

Do you think that a Nichikan Gohonzon is the same as a Nichiren Gohonzon? Do you think esho funi [oneness of person and the environment] is a doctrine of convenience or do you really believe in esho funi? If you believe in esho funi you are chanting to a slanderers Gohonzon, how could you avoid becoming a slanderer?

Have the countries where SGI teachings spread shown any palpable improvement? What about Ghana, France, Italy, Brazil. Singapore, and Malaysia? What about Burma? What about Sierra Leone, the Phillipines, the United States, Brazil, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Columbia? Is the world any better for the spread of the SGI teachings or is it worse.  A bit of reflection instead of self praise is in order. You may spread your vile teachings to every country in the universe but since it is not the teaching of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin it still equals zero.

Things are getting worse as SGI spreads to every corner of the globe

However, Nichiren promises:

"If you will truly give consideration to the troubles I have been describing and put entire faith in these words of mine, then the winds will blow gently, the waves will be calm, and in no time at all we will enjoy bountiful harvests." -- On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land

Thus proving that SGI fails to put their entire faith in the words (teachings) of Nichiren because the winds are hardly blowing gently, the waves are more destructive than ever, and few are enjoying bountiful harvests.

SGI's "decade of complete victory"

176 lawsuits filed between the Nichiren Shoshu temple and Soka Gakkai from 1991 to 2005: 

The temple filed 41

Soka Gakkai filed 135 

The temple won 116

Soka Gakkai won 22

38 cases reconciled

An observation, not a threat

Your SGI dictionary states, "opening the provisional and revealing the true... Abandoning the expedient or provisional teachings and revealing the true teaching of the Lotus Sutra." 

Nichiren followed the teaching of the Lotus Sutra, “Honestly discarding expedient means, I will preach only the unsurpassed way.” 

"Then, drawing the bow of the Buddha’s declaration, “I have not yet revealed the truth,” and notching the arrow of “honestly discarding the provisional teachings,” I have mounted the carriage drawn by the great white ox6 and battered down the gates of the provisional teachings." 

The only expedient means employed by the Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin was that they appeared to die. 

Nichiren also teaches: 

"But the bodhisattvas of superior capacity honestly discard expedient means and do not carry out the practice of gradual progress. They practice the Lotus Sutra, and when they attain its truth, they simultaneously acquire all manner of fortunate results. Persons such as these are called the people of the one vehicle." 

and 

"The Lotus Sutra, wherein the Buddha honestly discarded expedient means, says that one can “gain entrance through faith alone.” And the Nirvana Sutra, which the Buddha preached in the grove of sal trees on the last day of his life, states, “Although there are innumerable practices that lead to enlightenment, if one teaches faith, then that includes all those practices.” 

That is what SGI should be teaching, faith in the Lotus Sutra, not faith in the mentor. 

He teaches in the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra: 

"Coming now to the character myō, the Lotus Sutra says, “This sutra opens the gate of expedient means and shows the form of true reality.” The Great Teacher Chang-an states, “Myō means to reveal the depths of the secret storehouse.”20 The Great Teacher Miao-lo says of this, “To reveal means to open.”21 Hence the character myō means to open." 

The Buddha was speaking falsely when he taught in the first Fourteen Chapters that he gained Enlightenment for the first time under the Bodhis treee. From the 15th Chapter on he only taught the Imeasurable Lifespan of the Buddha. He abandoned that most important teaching of the first Fourteen Chapters. Likewise, he abandoned that the teaching that there are many Buddhas throughout Jambudvipa. 

Nichiren further teaches: 

"In essence, the entity of Myoho-renge-kyo is the physical body that the disciples and followers of Nichiren who believe in the Lotus Sutra received from their fathers and mothers at birth. Such persons, who honestly discard expedient means, put faith in the Lotus Sutra alone, and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, will transform the three paths of earthly desires, karma, and suffering into the three virtues of the Dharma body, wisdom, and emancipation. The threefold contemplation and the three truths will immediately become manifest in their minds, and the place where they live will become the Land of Eternally Tranquil Light. The Buddha who is the entity of Myoho-renge-kyo, of the “Life Span” chapter of the essential teaching, who is both inhabiting subject and inhabited realm, life and environment, body and mind, entity and function, the Buddha eternally endowed with the three bodies—he is to be found in the disciples and lay believers of Nichiren. Such persons embody the true entity of Myoho-renge-kyo; this is all due to the meritorious workings that the spontaneous transcendental powers inherent in it display. Could anyone venture to doubt it? Indeed it cannot be doubted!" 

and 

"...No expedient or provisional teaching leads directly to enlightenment, and without the direct path to enlightenment you cannot attain Buddhahood, even if you practice lifetime after lifetime for countless kalpas. Attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime is then impossible." 

Since you Chas, Fail to discard expedient means, actually embracing them, you don't share the same Three Virtues as the Disciples and believers of the Buddha and Nichiren. 

For example, were your doctrine of "many Buddhas" correct, it would be OK to worship and revere Dainich Buddha or Amida Buddha. However, Nichiren teaches, 

"I explained to him that, by making five images of Amida Buddha, he was condemning himself to fall five times into the hell of incessant suffering. The reason for this, I told him, was that the Lotus Sutra—wherein the Buddha says that he is now “honestly discarding expedient means”25—states that the Thus Come One Shakyamuni is our father, while Amida Buddha is our uncle. Anyone who would fashion no less than five images of his uncle and make offerings to them, and yet not fashion a single image of his own father—how could he be regarded as anything but unfilial? Even hunters in the mountains or fishermen, who cannot tell east from west and do not perform a single pious act, are guilty of less offenses than such a person." 

Please the following to heart from the Opening of the Eyes: 

"The “Expedient Means” chapter, which belongs to the theoretical teaching, expounds the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, making clear that persons of the two vehicles can achieve Buddhahood. It thus eliminates one of the two errors found in the earlier sutras. But it nevertheless retains the provisional aspect, and fails to reveal the eternal aspect, of the Buddha’s enlightenment. Thus the true doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life remains unclear, and the attainment of Buddhahood by persons of the two vehicles is not properly affirmed. Such teachings are like the moon seen in the water, or rootless plants that drift on the waves. 

When we come to the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra, then the belief that Shakyamuni first obtained Buddhahood during his present lifetime is demolished, and the effects of the four teachings are likewise demolished. When the effects of the four teachings are demolished, the causes51 of the four teachings are likewise demolished. Thus the cause and effect of the Ten Worlds as expounded in the earlier sutras and the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra are wiped out, and the cause and effect of the Ten Worlds52 in the essential teaching are revealed. This is the doctrine of original cause and original effect. It reveals that the nine worlds are all present in beginningless Buddhahood and that Buddhahood is inherent in the beginningless nine worlds. This is the true mutual possession of the Ten Worlds, the true hundred worlds and thousand factors, the true three thousand realms in a single moment of life. 

When we consider the matter in this light, we can see that Vairochana Buddha seated on the lotus pedestal of the ten directions as described in the Flower Garland Sutra, the little Shakyamuni described in the Āgama sutras,53 and the provisional Buddhas described in the sutras of the Correct and Equal and the Wisdom periods such as the Golden Light, Amida, and Mahāvairochana sutras are no more than reflections of p.236the Buddha of the “Life Span” chapter. They are like fleeting reflections of the moon that float on the surfaces of various large and small bodies of water. The scholars of the various schools of Buddhism, confused as to [the nature of the Buddhas of] their own school and, more fundamentally, ignorant of [the Buddha of] the “Life Span” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, mistake the reflection in the water for the actual moon, some of them entering the water and trying to grasp it in their hands, others attempting to snare it with a rope. As T’ien-t’ai says, “They know nothing of the moon in the sky, but gaze only at the moon in the pond.” 

You Chas know nothing of the moon in the sky (Lord Shakya of the Essential Teachings). You gaze only at the moon (many independent Buddhas). 

There are dozens or more similar passages. Please wake up Chas. 

Regarding the teachings before the Lotus Sutra:

"Honestly discarding the provisional teachings I now will reveal the truth."

Teachings lose their power according to the time. A horse and buggy is no longer a practical means for transcontinental travel. The provisional teachings are no longer practical today. The teaching that all paths lead to the same place is an absurdity. Mein Kampf is a teaching. It is the teaching of Adolph Hitler. Does this teaching leads to the same place as the Lotus Sutra? No, the teachings of Mein Kampf lead to hell. The teachings of the Lotus Sutra lead to Buddhahood. Even the advanced teachings in the Flower Garland Sutra, for example, the "ten meditations", are useless in this Latter Day because those in the realms of Learning and Self Realization, our scientific and cultural leaders, are precluded from attaining Buddhahood through the teachings of the Flower Garland Sutra. Furthermore, no where in the Kegon Sutra are we exhorted to practice it in this degenerate age. Tientai taught the principle that the higher the teachings, the more people will be able to benefit. The Lotus Sutra is the highest teaching by the Buddha's own admission. Only the Lotus Sutra can benefit those people that the other sutras are powerless to benefit, we the people of this Latter Day.

In the Latter Day we must abandon all expedients and since the SGI is an expedient by their own admission, it must be abandoned. We, on the other hand have abandoned the expedient teachings and teach the truth directly. The SGI and especially your Sensei misunderstand Buddhism. 

Soren SGI: "Abandon all expedients," Mark? I have to confess, I cannot even begin to imagine how one would do that. Every waking moment of our lives involve expedient means to achieving something; if nothing else, we go on breathing in order to remain alive. 

Mark: Yes, abandon all expedients. Stop telling people, "you will definitely get that girlfriend if you chant" or " the abolition of all nuclear weapons will be realized in the next several decades, thanks to the SGI". Saying such things are an indication of "arrogant licentiousness". This is not the way to keep people chanting for fifty years as your (SGI's) miserable track record indicates. People will come to hate you for lying to them. People want to hear the Law not the arbitrary opinions of self proclaimed leaders. It is precisely because SGI does not abandon expedient means that you forfeit your right to call yourselves disciples of Nichiren but even more profoundly, you smother the seed to quickly attain Supreme Enlightenment. 

"In essence, the entity of Myoho reng kyo is the physical body that the disciples and followers of Nichiren who believe in the Lotus Sutra received from their fathers and mothers at birth. such persons who honestly discard expedient means, put faith in the lotus sutra alone and chant Namu Myoho renge kyo, will transform the three paths of earthly desires, karma and suffering into the three virtues of the Dharma body, wisdom and emancipation. The threefold contemplation and the Three truths will immediately become manifest in their minds, and the place where they live will become the Land of Eternally Tranquil Light. The buddha who is the entity of Myoho renge kyo, of the Juryo chapter of the essential teaching, who is both inhabiting subject and inhabited realm, life and environment, body and mind, entity and function, the buddha eternally endowed with the three bodies---he is to be found in the disciples and followers of Nichiren. Such persons embody the the true entity of Myoho renge kyo; these are the meritorious workings that the spontaneous transcendental powers inherent in it display. could anyone venture to doubt it? Indeed it cannot be doubted!" (Entity of the Mystic Law, pg.64) 

Then, on pg. 67 - 68 we read: 

Question: Since the beginning of the kalpa of continuance, has anyone become enlightened to the lotus that is the entity of the Mystic Law? 

Answer: 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 (the deep merging or fusion of objective reality or truth and the subjective wisdom to realize that truth, or the Buddha-nature inherent within one's life). 

In our present world as well he appeared in the kingdom of Magadha in central India, intending to reveal this lotus of the Mystic Law. But the people lacked the proper capacity and the time was not right. Therefore he drew distinctions reguarding this lotus of the single Law and expounded it as three kinds of flowers, delivering to the people of the provisional teachings of the three vehicles. For over forty years he guided and led them with these temporary teachings according to their capacities. During this period, because the capacities of the persons he addressed were so varied, he bestowed upon them the various flowers and plants of the provisional teachings, but he never spoke of Myoho renge kyo. That is why, in the Muryogi Sutra, the Buddha said: "In the past I sat upright in the place of meditation[forsix years] under the Bodhi tree...In these more than forty years, I have not yet revealed the truth." 

But when he preached the Lotus Sutra, he cast aside the various plants and flowers of the Hinayana doctrines and the provisional teachings, which correspond to the expedient means of the four flavors and three teachings, and explained the unique doctrine of Myoho-renge. When he opened the three figurative lotuses to reveal the single lotus of Myoho renge, the people of the provisional teachings with their four flavors and three teachings were able to gain the lotus of the first of the ten stages of security.(point of nonregression). Not until he revealed the lotus of 'opening the near and revealing the distant" were they able to obtain the lotus of the highest result, advancing to the second stage of security, the third stage of security, the tenth stage, the stage of near perfect enlightenment and finally, the highest stage of perfect enlightenment."(ibid).

Teaching the Human Revolution, Ikeda Guidances volume 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and the inane snippets of Gosho with hundreds of lines of Ikeda interpretation is not the way to ensure people will chant for fifty years and more or to attain to the higher stages of faith and practice. You cast aside the Lotus flower and embrace the Soka weed. You fail to teach the doctrine of Myoho renge kyo. You would do well to follow the lead of your friend who left the SGI for greener Buddhist pastures. If not, you will fail to see your life fulfilled in the manner you envisioned when you first started chanting. This is not a threat, this is an observation.

Soka Gakkai members delight in inferior teachings

"Hence the commentary says, “Such persons are outside the vehicle of the perfect teaching and therefore are called non-Buddhists.” And in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha declares, “Good men, [the Thus Come One observes how among living beings there are] those who delight in lesser teachings, meager in virtue and heavy with defilement.”

Soka Gakkai members are those who delight in lesser teachings

Nichiren categorically rejects Toda's teaching, "Buddha is life"

Answer: A sutra states: “The mind is the utmost enemy, and this enemy works the greatest evil. This enemy can bind persons and send them to the place of King Yama. When you are burning alone in the fires of hell because of the retribution for your evil deeds, you cannot hope to save the wife and children you cherished, your brothers, or your kin.”And the Nirvana Sutra says, “May I be the master of my mind and not let my mind become my master!”

Deluded and shameless as the mind is, to declare that “the mind itself is the Buddha” is to be a person who supposes he has attained what he has not attained, who supposes he has understood what he has not understood, is it not?"

Nichiren on prolonging life

"I, Nichiren, have to some small degree acted as an ally of the Lotus Sutra, and as a result I have met with these great difficulties. How immense, then, must be our gratitude toward Shakyamuni Buddha who, in lifetime after lifetime, has championed the cause of the Lotus Sutra! It is beyond the power of reckoning. Therefore the task set forth in the “Encouraging Devotion” chapter must never for a moment be neglected. More than ever, I look on it as a truly worthy one!

You speak of your desire to retire to the mountains. Although to do so would in general be to forsake the task of carrying out shakubuku, the practice essential to this, the Latter Day of the Law, still I know that you are suffering from illness. Moreover, when we are beset by so many natural disasters and problems of state, and when, no matter how often I warn the ruler, because he fails to understand how he himself is responsible, he refuses to believe my words, even I long for a life of retirement. How much more so must that be true in your case!

But if you should for a time retire to a dwelling in the mountain valleys, once your illness is mended and conditions are favorable again, you should set aside thoughts of personal well-being and devote yourself to the propagation of the teachings.

In accordance with your request, I have written out on a separate scroll of paper the prayer for preventing disaster and prolonging life that is appropriate for a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day of the Law and am sending it herewith. You should recite it once every day without fail. I myself, since the day I first took faith [in the Lotus Sutra], have recited these passages every day, making a vow and praying to the Buddhas and the gods, and although I have encountered great difficulties of various kinds, because of the profound influence of the benefits bestowed by the Lotus Sutra and the golden words of Shakyamuni Buddha, I have managed to survive until today.

Thus you should understand that so long as a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra remains unwavering in faith, free of all false alliances, entrusting himself wholeheartedly to the Lotus Sutra and practicing in accordance with the Buddha’s golden words, he will without fail be able to prevent disaster and prolong his life in this present existence, to say nothing of in the life to come. Splendid recompense will be his, and he will fulfill his great vow to broadly proclaim and propagate the Lotus Sutra."

CAUTION

Soka Gakkai article Wikipedia... "Just make sure we are all on the same page." --SGI editor

The article violates the rules COI [conflict of interest] and POV [point of view].

The SGI is an enemy of the Buddha and the Lotus Sutra.

"AIDS isn't a problem, it's an opportunity" -- SGI teaching

Some proof the SGI has brainwashed people:

Seemingly intelligent and accomplished people, professionals etc. seeking personal guidance from uneducated and ignorant rabble like Mr. Kasahara, on a daily, weekly or monthly basis; Believing that lying is ok as long as the goals of SGI are met. SGI practice thus leads to moral bankruptcy which is readily apparent to everyone except the sgi member himself. 

Anecdotal evidence that members are unable to see reality as it is: 

The SGI has an old saying, "AIDS isn't a problem it's an opportunity." Reality is, first you tackle the problem and then rejoice. This is the natural order of things. We do not practice Hinduism, bliss, bliss, joy, joy. We practice the exalted teachings of Buddha and Nichiren. First you pull out the arrow from the chest and then you heal. "Joy of joys, I have an arrow in my chest" is not Buddhism. Look for some authentic statues or pictures of Buddha and Nichiren. They were dead serious. They weren't Lamas or $GI senior leaders giggling at a bad joke. 

One day, I was walking in the street after having done several hours of Daimoku and I was, as we used to say in the SGI, lit up. I met an old SGI "friend" of mine, a high level leader who was glaring at me as all my old SGI friends who know my opinions are want to do. I said hi. He said, "Mark, you appear so unhappy since you left the SGI." My heart really went out to this person and even though I don't usually invite "insane" people to my house to learn about Nichiren's true Lotus Sutra Buddhism, I invited him so that he may have the opportunity to encounter the beautiful Nichiren practice and Nichiren Gohonzon,. He declined and told me I will fall into hell. 

Further proof of disordered thinking is that SGI members lie and oftentimes don't even know they are lying: 

Everytime an SGI member argues about SGI or Ikeda or Buddhism and even when they cite the Lotus Sutra or Gosho, he is lying about the true nature of the SGI and Buddha Shakyamuni. One who lives a lie is a perpetual liar and can expound no truths: SGI--->Ikeda; Ikeda--->Ikeda; Gosho--->Ikeda; Nam Myoho renge kyo--->Ikeda; Buddha--->Ikeda; Lotus Sutra--->Ikeda; This is implicit or implied. 

To recap, the root causes of the disordered thinking and disorganized thought in the SGI are lying, erroneous guidance on the basics of the Nichiren faith [the Three Treasures of the Lotus Sutra, for example], and the mixing of the Lotus Sutra with the unclean practices of Japanese Bushido [Master Disciple teachings]. Even teaching the SGI's mistaken views out of ignorance makes men into napalm spewing demons let alone those who know and lie intentionally (those at the top). The leaders and sycophynts in SGI thus abuse the members using both subtle and not so subtle group dynamics and brainwashing techniques. 

The SGI is not the Buddha Shakyamuni's Sangha led by Jogyo. It is Ikeda's Sangha led by Ikeda. He has not only appropriated the rightful position of the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni but also that of Bodhisattva Jogyo. Ikeda, to SGI, is the Treasure of the Buddha and the Treasure of the Sangha (or Priest) all wrapped up into one. Even the treasure of the Law is distorted with the leaders and members chanting Nam Myoho renge kyo with their mouths but Nam Ikeda Sensei with their hearts. The new members, I have been talking to, want to practice Buddhism, not Ikedaism, not Human Revolution, Value Creationism nor feel good new age mysticism. They want to learn about the Lotus Sutra and the Gosho. They yearn to connect to the Lotus Sutra and Gosho, not to President Ikeda and the Human Revolution. The subtle pressures put on the members to connect to Ikeda are nothing short of intense while the Lotus Sutra is mystified and demeaned as being too difficult to understand by lesser men than Ikeda and Toda. Then we have people with real problems, health issues, social issues who are guided by the liars and sycophants and the unenlightened worldlings in SGI who have never even read the Lotus Sutra. Those who claim to have attained what they have not, those who haven't even read the Lotus Sutra, yet claim to be reading it with their bodies. I go all over online and speak to new members. The people I speak to, the people before the guilt, propaganda, and brainwashing have set in, have myriad doubts about the SGI and then they begin to have doubts in Nichiren's teachings and I tell them to at least try and keep a modicum of faith in the Lotus Sutra: "The SGI does not chant the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra or they wouldn't behave as they do." At best, the SGI Daimoku can be called mechanical. At worst, it will destroy the teachings of the Buddha and Nichiren.

The two types of words: Written and spoken

There are two types of words: Written and spoken. There are two types of general structural entities of all phenomena: waves [which correspond to spoken words] and particles such as atoms which correspond to the ink on written words. Of course, written and spoken words are inextricably interrelated and codependent as are waves and particles. What binds the spoken and the written words, waves and particles, are "strings" or vibrational entities. The vibrational rythm, resonance, and frequency of strings [which science has not yet characterized] has been characterized by Buddhism as Namu Myoho renge kyo which may be written (Gohonzon) or spoken (mantra). 

The very same waves, particles and strings that comprise words, written or spoken, comprise brain and mind. 

Someone wrote: 

"Words can cause *real* confusion but are not themselves real." 

I responded: 

Others' words are very real and they can hurt more than a stick or even a knife, not exactly the same way but just as deeply, just as scarring. There have been people who have died over words, broken hearts and wounded egos. The converse is also true, words can stir us to greatness, to soldier on when we can barely crawl, powerful enough to bring us to blissful joy or even to heal very real ailments. Namu Myoho renge kyo can change a man into a Buddha. For this reason we must not take the Gohonzon or the Lotus Sutra lightly or the mantra, Namu Myoho renge kyo. The words themselves are Enlightenment and Buddhahood. The words of the Lotus Sutra are the words of the Original Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni.

The infinite lifespan of the Buddha

"In the sixteenth chapter, "Duration of the Life of the Buddha," the sutra also declares: ‘As I said before, it is immeasurably long since I, Sakyamuni Buddha, obtained Buddhahood. My life spans an innumerable and incalculably long period of time. Nevertheless, I am always here and I shall never pass away.’" -- The True Object of Worship

"Finally in the sixteenth chapter, the Buddha sometimes appears as a Buddha in the realm of Buddha but other times appears as some of the others who reside in the other Nine Realms. This indicates that the ten realms are included in the realm of Buddha." [ibid]

"Born to the human world, Prince Siddhartha, young Sakyamuni, became the Buddha. This evidence should be enough to convince you to believe that the realm of Buddhas exists in the realm of men." [opcit]

"In fact Sakyamuni began to preach, planting the seed of Buddhahood in the eternal past... Sakyamuni Buddha continued to guide His disciples until they were all sure to attain Buddhahood during the preaching of the Lotus Sutra in His present life, completing the series of His preaching which began in the eternal past."

"It means that Sakyamuni Buddha, within our minds, is an ancient Buddha without beginning, manifesting Himself in three bodies, and attaining Buddhahood in the eternal past described as 500 dust-particle kalpa ago." 

"In the same chapter, another passage reads: ‘The duration of My Life, which I obtained through the practice of the way of bodhisattvas, has not yet expired. It is twice as long as the length of time stated above: 500 dust-particle kalpa.’ This reveals the bodhisattva-realm within our minds. The bodhisattvas described in the fifteenth chapter, ‘Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground,’ who have sprung out of the great earth, as numerous as the number of dust-particles of 1,000 worlds, are followers of the Original Buddha Sakyamuni who resides within our minds."  -- [the preceding passages are from the True Object of Worship

These passages mean that Sakyamuni Buddha, Taho Buddha, and all Buddhas are in our minds, and that we, the upholders of the Lotus Sutra, follow in their footsteps and inherit all their merits.

"Now , when the Eternal Buddha was revealed in the essential section of the Lotus Sutra, this world of endurance (Saha-world) became the Eternal Pure Land, indestructible even by the three calamities of conflagration, flooding, and strong winds, which are said to destroy the world. It transcends the four periods of cosmic change: the kalpa of construction, continuance, destruction and emptiness. Sakyamuni Buddha, the Lord-preacher of this pure land, has never died in the past, nor will He be born in the future. He exists forever throughout the past present and future. All those who receive His guidance are one with this Eternal Buddha." -- The Opening of the Eyes

"How lucky I am to be able to go to the Pure Land of Mt. Sacred Eagle and extinguish within one life my sin of slandering the true dharma ever since the eternal past! How glad I feel to be able to go to the Pure Land of Mt. Sacred Eagle and wait on Lord Sakyamuni Buddha, whom I have not yet seen! May I guide first of all those rulers of this land who have persecuted me. May I tell Sakyamuni Buddha about my disciples who have assisted me. May I present this great merit to my parents, who gave birth to me, before I die." -- On the buddhas Prophecy

"I, Nichiren, of Awa Province graciously received the teaching of the Lotus Sutra from three masters (Sakyamuni, T’ien-t’ai, and Dengyo) and spread it in the Latter Age of the Decadent Dharma. -- [ibid]

Taking guidance directly from Sakyamuni Buddha who resides in our mind, we reveal the truth of Buddhahood in the World of Men. We who chant Namu Myoho renge kyo with a correct faith in the Gohonzon, Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha, and Nichiren Daishonin, are the Tom Bradys of the religious realm. Does Tom Brady takes guidance from the local high school football coach? He may be civil when listening to the coach's advice but in his heart he knows that he is Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback who ever lived. We are the greatest living beings who ever lived since we embody the Three Great Secret Laws inherited from the Original Buddha and we follow Nichiren Daishonin the Supreme votary of the Lotus Sutra.

Nichiren on evil spiritual friends

A passage from reply to Lord Hakii

"I, Nichiren am the foremost practitioner of the Hokekyo in Japan. If among Nichiren's disciples and lay donors you come later than me, then even before the God Brahma, the Emperor Shakra, The Four Great Celestial Kings or the Emperor of the Dharma Yama, proclaim, 'I am the disciple of the foremost practitioner of the Lotus Sutra in Japan, the priest Nichiren,' and you shall pass.

This Lotus Sutra becomes a ship on the rivers of the Three Paths, the Great White Ox Cart on the Mountain of going Forth in Death, becomes a lamp on the paths of the underworld, and is a bridge to take us to the Spiritual Mountain. When you are at the Spiritual Mountain, seek at the ushitori (northeastern) gallery. I will certainly await you. But it depends on the mind of faith of each one. If just the mind of faith is weak, no matter how much you call yourself a disciple or lay donor of Nichiren, by no means will you be accepted. If one is of two minds and merely the mind of faith is weak, think of it as the stone from a mountain rolling down into a valley or the rain from the sky falling to the great earth: There can be no doubt of the Great Avici Hell. At that time do not resent me, Nichiren: It really depends on the faith of each one. The fact that those who formed conditional links under Daitsu Buddha fell to hell and passed through kalpas more than the dust of lands in an easterly direction touched or untouched by ink drops made from the elements of a great trichilocosm (sanzen jintengo) and the group that put down the seeds of Buddhahood under the Original Buddha in the Most Distant Pass fell to hell and passed through kalpas more than the dust of five hundred thousands of tens of thousands of tens of millions of nayutas of asamkheyas of great trichilocosms (gohyaku jintengo) is because they met evil spiritual friends and believed in the Lotus Sutra in a neglectful manner. Really having the mind of faith, indeed, when you go to the Spiritual Mountain, seek for me, Nichiren. At that time I shall tell you in detail." -- Reply to lord Hakii (KHS, p. 541)

John Petry and Dave Cole debate

NSIC = Nichiren Shoshu International Center

NONA = Nichiren Shu of North America

Dave Cole: No actually that is Major Writings I quoted. Your translation sucks.

John Petry: Citation please? When did you become an expert?

DC: I became an expert when I promised, you became a empty shell when you abandoned faith.

JP: Never mind the chest puffing. Let's have the citations for your opinion.

DC: The citations? I already said twice, it is from the Major Writings here it is again, you know Watson et. all. MW-5, 207, Letter of Petition from Yorimoto"

"The Lotus Sutra states, 'Now this threefold world is all my domain. The living beings in it are all my children.' If this scriptural statement is correct, then Lord Shakyamuni is the father and mother, teacher and sovereign of all the people in Japan. Amida Buddha does not possess these three virtues. However, you ignore the Buddha of the three virtues and invoke the name of another Buddha [Amida] day and night, morning and evening, sixty or eighty thousand times a day. Is this not an unfilial deed? It was Shakyamuni Buddha himself who originally taught that Amida had vowed to save all people; but in the end he regretted it and said, 'I alone can save them.' After that, he never again taught that there are two or three Buddhas who can save the people. No one has two fathers or two mothers. What sutra says that Amida is the father of this country? What treatise indicates him as its mother? [NSIC version, page 225]

"So I listened to the sermons of various priests and inquired into which teaching leads to Buddhahood. And I came to believe that, according to the teaching of the Lotus Sutra, the sage Nichiren is the sovereign of the threefold world, the father and mother of all people, and the emissary of Shakyamuni Buddha - Bodhisattva Jogyo." [NSIC version, page 227]

"When the sage Nichiren, the envoy of Shakyamuni Buddha, was exiled because of the false charges leveled against him by the priest Ryokan, fighting broke out within one hundred days, just as he had predicted - and a great number of warriors perished." [NSIC version, page 231]

JP: The wonderful thing about the NSIC translations is that they try hard to fiddle with the wording to make it conform to NST/SGI doctrine. But they often then have glaring inconsistencies in them which show the errors. A comparison of the English in the above shows that the NONA version is a more exact translation and the NSIC version has fiddled with the language.

The Japanese version shows that it should read:

"As a result I have come to believe in the Lotus Sutra in which it is expounded that Nichiren Shonin is the Bodhisattva Jogyo [Superior Conduct] commanded by Sakyamuni Buddha, Lord of the Saha World and parent of all living beings, to appear in the Latter Days of the Degeneration as a messenger of the Buddha with the duty of propagating the Lotus Sutra. NONA translation, page 206 [the Japanese language version is on page 207].

If we look at the NSIC version we see that the changing of the language to make Nichiren "the sovereign of the threefold world, the father and mother of all people" [NSIC version, page 227] is inarticulate and contradictory to other statements in the Gosho itself. The most immediate conflict arise in the next phrase: "and the emissary of Shakyamuni Buddha - Bodhisattva Jogyo." [NSIC version, page 227] Were this language to be read as Dave would like, namely that it makes Nichiren the "true" Buddha, it would then make the "true" Buddha subordinate to Sakyamuni Buddha [Sakyamuni the Honbutsu or the Eternal Original Buddha of the 16th Chapter] since Nichiren is his [Sakyamuni's] emissary, the Bodhisattva Jogyo.

The NONA translation is further reinforced simply by looking at other language in the Gosho as translated by the NSIC:

"The Lotus Sutra states, 'Now this threefold world is all my domain. The living beings in it are all my children.' If this scriptural statement is correct, then Lord Shakyamuni is the father and mother, teacher and sovereign of all the people in Japan."

The writer clearly believes this statement about Sakyamuni being the parent teacher and sovereign as true as he immediately states:

"Amida Buddha does not possess these three virtues. However, you ignore the Buddha of the three virtues and invoke the name of another Buddha [Amida] day and night, morning and evening, sixty or eighty thousand times a day. Is this not an unfilial deed? It was Shakyamuni Buddha himself who originally taught that Amida had vowed to save all people; but in the end he regretted it and said, "I alone can save them.' After that, he never again taught that there are two or three Buddhas who can save the people. No one has two fathers or two mothers. What sutra says that Amida is the father of this country? What treatise indicates him as its mother?"

Similarly if Sakyamuni is the parent, teacher and sovereign, then Nichiren cannot be for the same question arises as posed by Nichiren in the above passage. What person can have two mothers?; two fathers?; two sovereigns?; two teachers?

[in the Japanese sense of a sensei]. The correctness of the NONA translation is confirmed later in the NSIC version when it states the following:

"When the sage Nichiren, the envoy of Shakyamuni Buddha, was exiled because of the false charges leveled against him by the priest Ryokan, fighting broke out within one hundred days, just as he had predicted - and a great number of warriors perished." NSIC version page 231.

Note that the above quote is very similar to the NONA translation:

"In the eighth year of the Bun'ei Era [1271] when Nichiren Shonin, messenger of Sakyamuni Buddha, was exiled because of the slander of Ryokan-bo, a civil war broke out within one hundred days, as Nichiren predicted, and not a few warriors lost their lives." NONA translation, page 214.

Similarly the language for the first passage is almost identical:

"The chapter on the 'Parable' of the Lotus Sutra states: 'Now this Saha World is all my domain, where all living beings are my children.' If this is true, Lord Sakyamuni Buddha is the father, the master and the lord of all the people in Japan. Amida Buddha has no such three virtues as Sakyamuni Buddha. Never the less, people put aside this Buddha with three virtues, enshrine Amida Buddha and chant 'Namu Amida Butsu' 60,000 or 80,000 times every morning and evening. How can it not be an unfilial act?

Amida Buddha's original vow was originally expounded by Sakyamuni Buddha. As it was, however, an expedient teaching, it was stated later in the Lotus Sutra: 'I, Sakyamuni, alone can save all living beings.' The only Buddha who can save us, therefore is the very Sakyamuni Buddha. Sakyamuni never seems to have appointed two or three saviors; we do not have two father or two mothers, do we? Is there any sutra in the world that asserts Amida Buddha is the father of this country? Is there any commentary that mentions Amida Buddha is the mother of this country?"

Dave's theory falls yet again when the Gosho states:

"In your official letter you also state, "I revere the elder of Gokuraku-ji temple as the World-Honored One reborn," but this I cannot accept. The reason is: if what the sutra states is true, the sage Nichiren is the envoy of the Buddha who attained enlightenment in the remote past, the provisional manifestation of Bodhisattva Jogyo, the votary of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra, and the great leader in the fifth five-hundred-year period [following the Buddha's passing]. [NSIC version, page 217]

The differences here are subtle but it still supports the NONA translation:

"It is also stated in your lordship's letter that your lordship reveres Ryokan-bo, Chief Priest of the Gokurakuji Temple, as if he were an incarnation of Sakyamuni Buddha. However this is hard for me to accept for if the teaching of the sutras is correct, Nichiren is a reincarnation of Bodhisattva Visistacarita [Superior Practice], a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra and a direct disciple of the Original and Eternal Sakyamuni Buddha who attained Buddhahood in the remotest past, according to the essential part of the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren Shonin is a great leading master in the beginning of the fifth 500 year period after the Buddha's extinction." NONA translation, page 184.

The NSIC version seeks to perpetuate a meaningless and unsubstantiated distinction between the remote past and the remotest past based upon a very strained reading of the 16th chapter of the Latest Sutra. One that even the simplest reader can see is incorrect. In fact Prof. Burton who did the NSA translation of the Lotus Sutra indicates that the NONA version "the remotest" [or infinite] past is the correct interpretation.

"But as Ananda proceeds to describe the staggering number and variety of human, non human and heavenly beings who have gathered to listen to the Buddha's discourse, we realize that we have left the world of factual reality behind. This is the first point to keep in mind in reading the Lotus Sutra. Its setting, its vast assembly of listeners, its dramatic occurrences in the end belong to a realm that totally transcends our ordinary concepts of time, space and possibility.

Again and again we are told of events that took place countless, indescribable numbers of kalpas or eons in the past, or of beings or worlds that are as numerous as the sands of million and billions of Ganges rivers. Such "numbers" are in fact no more than pseudo-numbers or non-numbers, intended to impress on us the impossibility of measuring the immeasurable. They are not meant to convey any statistical data but simply to boggle the mind and jar it lose from its conventional concepts of time and space. For in the realm of Emptiness, time and space as we conceive them are meaningless; anywhere is the same as everywhere, and now, then, never, forever are all one."

On page xix: " In chapter sixteen Sakyamuni reveals the answer to this riddle. The Buddha he says is an eternal being, ever present in the world, ever concerned for the salvation of all living beings. He attained Buddhahood an incalculably distant time in the past and has never ceased to abide in the world since then. ... From this we see that in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha who had earlier been viewed as a historical personality, is now conceived as a being who transcends all boundaries of time and space, an ever abiding principle of truth and compassion that exists everywhere and within all beings." [Watson preface to the Lotus Sutra]

This shoots down the meaningless claim that the 16th chapter refers to a remote as opposed to remotest time, the language is clearly intended to mean an infinitely long time period, extending into the past and forward into the future. From here the attempt to then build the distinction between Nichiren as a true Buddha which is not supported by this gosho although it does try to make reference to a "provisional" manifestation of Bodhisattva Jogyo. The entire concept collapses like a house of cards. The passage in the NSIC version also reinforces the NONA version of "Sakyamuni Buddha, Lord of the Saha World and parent of all living beings" as opposed to the tortured NSIC translation of "the sage Nichiren is the sovereign of the threefold world, the father and mother of all people, and the emissary of Shakyamuni Buddha - Bodhisattva Jogyo." A claim at odds with the rest of the same Gosho as well as other Gosho and the Lotus Sutra."

Out of the burning house...a narrow path with one door

The exclusive faith and practice of the Lotus Sutra in Mappo is a narrow path with one door (Lotus Sutra Chapter 3). If one could become enlightened and create kosen-rufu through, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, the Soka Gakkai, the Pali Cannon, or the Three Vehicles, the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren would have taught the path wide with many doors. Those who assert otherwise are devils to be repudiated.   

The reason the world is in the state it's in, a state of sadness, greed, anger, stupidity, impurity, and prejudice (rather than joy, equanimity, magnanimity, compassion, purity, and empathy), is precisely because of the establishment of mistaken beliefs and inferior teachings that leave the people prostrate on the ground. Unless and until the Lotus Sutra alone flourishes, we will never have a world based on the enlightened life of the Buddha and the Law of Namu myoho renge kyo.

This belief is fundamental to the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin and the forceful practices are the way to Establish the Right Law. Declaring that the Lotus Sutra alone leads to Supreme Enlightenment and all other teachings lead to hell, one is a disciple and believer of Nichiren Daishonin. It is self apparent to the disciples and believers of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin, those with clear minds and those keenly able to correctly observe the world, that it is Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, secular humanism, belief in the sanctity of science, and heretical provisional Buddhism which has brought us to the brink. The elimination of these diseased religions and philosophies will bring about the land of eternal quiescent light.