"I was a “fortune baby” basically born into the Organization with both parents practicing. All I can say is run. It’s a cult and has scarred me for life." -Carpentergirl
Thursday, April 29, 2021
Nichiren Daishonin's view of the occult and the superiority of the Lotus
Nichiren Daishonin says of the occult in Letter to the Brothers:
"The Record of the Western Regions tells about a hermit who lived in Deer Park at Vārānasī, India, in the hopes that he could master occult powers. He learned to turn tiles and pebbles into jewels and change the forms of humans and animals, but he could not yet ride on winds and clouds or travel to the Palace of the Immortals. In order to accomplish these goals, he took as his assistant a man of integrity. Giving him a long sword, the hermit instructed him to stand in one corner of a practice platform, and told him to hold his breath and utter not a word. If the man remained silent through the whole night until dawn, the hermit was certain to master the occult. Determined, the hermit sat in the center of the platform with another long sword in hand and chanted incantations. Making his assistant take a vow, he said, “Even at the cost of your life, say nothing!” The man answered, “Though I die, not a word will leave these lips.”
In this manner they passed the night until, just as dawn was about to break, the man cried out suddenly, and the hermit immediately failed in his attempt. He reproached the man, saying, “How could you have broken your vow? This is deplorable!” Repenting deeply, the man said: “I dozed off for a little while, and in a dream, my previous master appeared and rebuked me. Yet I endured this, not uttering a word, for my debt of gratitude to you is much greater. My former master grew furious and threatened to behead me, but I still said nothing. Finally I was beheaded, and when I saw my own corpse proceeding on its journey from death to the next life, my sorrow was indescribable. Still, I did not speak. Eventually I was reborn in a Brahman family in southern India. The pain I felt on entering and leaving the womb was unbearable, yet I held my breath without crying. I grew up to be a young man and took a wife. My parents died; my child was born; I felt sorrow and joy, but said not a word. Living on like this, I reached my sixty-fifth year. Then my wife said to me, ‘If you still refuse to say anything, I will kill your beloved child.’ The thought flashed through my mind that I was already in the last years of my life, and that if my child were killed I could not beget another. Feeling that I must shout . . . I suddenly awoke.”
"The hermit said, “We were not strong enough. You and I have been deceived by a devil. Our task has ended in failure.” Lamenting, the man of integrity said, “Because I was so weak-willed, you have failed to master the occult.” The hermit regretfully replied, “It is my fault for not having admonished you enough beforehand.” Nonetheless, as the record states, the man was so grieved he could not fulfill his obligation to the hermit that he brooded over it and died miserably.
In China the occult evolved from Confucianism, and in India it is found among the non-Buddhist teachings. Yet it does not even approach the Hinayana teachings of the Āgama sutras, much less the connecting teaching, the specific teaching, or the perfect teaching. Therefore, how could it measure up to the Lotus Sutra? The four devils fiercely oppose the mastery of even such a shallow art as the occult. How much greater, then, are the tribulations that will confront the disciples and lay supporters of the person who is the first to embrace and the first to propagate in Japan the seven characters of Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, the ultimate principle of the Lotus Sutra. It is impossible to imagine, let alone describe in words. - Letter to the Brothers
And further down in the same writing:
"...As practice progresses and understanding grows, the three obstacles and four devils* emerge in confusing form, vying with one another to interfere... One should be neither influenced nor frightened by them. If one falls under their influence, one will be led into the paths of evil. If one is frightened by them, one will be prevented from practicing the correct teaching.” This statement not only applies to me, but also is a guide for my followers. Reverently make this teaching your own, and transmit it as an axiom of faith for future generations.
The three obstacles in this passage are the obstacle of earthly desires, the obstacle of karma, and the obstacle of retribution. The obstacle of earthly desires is the impediments to one’s practice that arise from greed, anger, foolishness, and the like; the obstacle of karma is the hindrances presented by one’s wife or children; and the obstacle of retribution is the hindrances caused by one’s sovereign or parents. Of the four devils, the workings of the devil king of the sixth heaven are of this last kind.
In Japan today, many people claim they have mastered the practice of concentration and insight. But is there anyone who has actually encountered the three obstacles and four devils? The statement “If one falls under their influence, one will be led into the paths of evil” indicates not only the three evil paths but also the worlds of human and heavenly beings, and in general, all of the nine worlds. Therefore, with the exception of the Lotus Sutra, all of the sutras—those of the Flower Garland, Āgama, Correct and Equal, and Wisdom periods, and the Nirvana and Mahāvairochana sutras—will lead people toward the paths of evil. Also, with the exception of the Tendai school, the adherents of the seven other schools are in reality wardens of hell who drive others toward the evil paths. Even in the Tendai school are found those who profess faith in the Lotus Sutra, yet actually lead others toward the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings. They, too, are wardens of hell who cause people to fall into the evil paths."
* The Three Obstacles and Four Devils, Five Cardinal Sins, and Ten Evil Acts, from the Nichiren Library dictionary, slightly edited.
"(1) the obstacle of earthly desires, or obstacles arising from the three poisons of greed, anger, and foolishness; (2) the obstacle of karma, obstacles due to bad karma created by committing any of the five cardinal sins or ten evil acts; and (3) the obstacle of retribution, obstacles caused by the negative karmic effects of actions in the three evil paths. In a letter he addressed to the Ikegami brothers in 1275, Nichiren states, “The obstacle of earthly desires is the impediments to one’s practice that arise from greed, anger, foolishness, and the like; the obstacle of karma is the hindrances presented by one’s wife or children; and the obstacle of retribution is the hindrances caused by one’s sovereign or parents”
The four devils are (1) the hindrance of the five components, obstructions caused by one’s physical and mental functions; (2) the hindrance of earthly desires, obstructions arising from the three poisons; (3) the hindrance of death, meaning one’s own untimely death obstructing one’s practice of Buddhism, or the premature death of another practitioner causing one to doubt; and (4) the hindrance of the devil king, who is said to assume various forms (usually the authorities) or take possession of others in order to cause one to discard one’s Buddhist practice. This hindrance is regarded as the most difficult to overcome."
**The Five Cardinal Sins: "The most serious offenses in Buddhism. Explanations vary according to the sutras and treatises. The most common is (1) killing one’s father, (2) killing one’s mother, (3) killing an arhat, (4) injuring a Buddha, and (5) causing disunity in the Buddhist Order. It is said that those who commit any of the five cardinal sins invariably fall into the hell of incessant suffering. The last three offenses are collectively referred to as the three cardinal sins. Devadatta is well known for committing these three. According to Nichiren, there is no Buddhist order so there is no sin of causing disunity in the Buddhist Order in this time of the Latter Degenerate Age."
***The Ten Evil Acts: "They are the three physical evils of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct; the four verbal evils of lying, flattery or indiscriminate and irresponsible speech, defamation, and duplicity; and the three mental evils of greed, anger, and foolishness or the holding of mistaken views..."
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Tuesday, April 27, 2021
Monday, April 26, 2021
India receiving devastating karmic retribution
India is receiving devastating karmic retribution for the 20 million Buddhists killed by the Hindus and Muslims there. They are rapidly approaching the most covid-19 infections* in the entire world with no sign of relief. India has not enough ICU beds and not enough oxygen for seriously ill. Should they turn to the Lotus Sutra and Namu Myoho renge kyo, they can lessen their karmic retribution for their diabolic murderous ancestors.
*The New York Times stated that India's reported number of covid-19 victims are heavily understated.
Sunday, April 25, 2021
More Anonymous...Maup university in Ukraine.
Maup university in the Ukraine, is where neonazi and kkk grand dragon, David Duke, got his PhD in Racist, and racial studies. They hate black people too. I think zionism suks but, these nazis do really not care, otherwise they would not promote trump . 911 is a hot button issue for these criminals. It is a smoke screen to promote racism, and hate of most people on earth. Que lostima.como estupido and evilWatch "N/S Part 03: MAUP, an Antisemitic University in Ukraine" on YouTube.
The World is a Mess by Anonymous...the answer is Namu Myoho renge kyo
THe world is a mess. Nato trying to start nuclear war with russia and china.
And yet the trmptards were trying to.start a war w china russia and iran. Biden is a weasel. Fascist light. established the nazis in ukraine to terrorize russians . the world under obama. What strange times we live in. Darned if u do and darned if u don't.. the Ukraine is dangerously close to a nuclear disaster as I write this. They have probably already had before disasters that are undocumented there have been nuclear waste buyers on above ground nuclear waste canisters. They're all reactors run farm Uranium and plutonium mixed. Now the us is using the racist nazis in ukraine to terrorize donbass and russia. I know tucker carlson don't care he is a rich kid empty suit trump hitler lover.
rs
In response to the gloomy employment prospects, societal fragmentation, and looming environmental catastrophe that young people find themselves in amid 21st century capitalism, in the last several years a meme character has appeared called The Doomer. A beanie-wearing version of the popular meme character Wojak, The Doomer is meant to encapsulate the experience of living with a sense of hopelessness towards the present and the future. Videos about the character often depict him getting screwed over in various ways by an uncaring capitalist order, sometimes deliberately in the same vein as the suffering of Arthur Fleck from Joker. And there are two locations that The Doomer most seems to be framed as living within: the United States and eastern Europe.
Among the younger inhabitants of late-stage capitalism that the character is supposed to represent, there's certainly a kinship between those within the U.S. and those within the former communist bloc. As we in the core of global imperialism experience the growing poverty, corruption, and dysfunctionality of an empire that's turned to neoliberal austerity in its time of crisis. The social bonds and economic security which existed in these countries with social nets have been gutted, and replaced by a neoliberal kleptocracy where the working class gets left behind during crises like the pandemic.
The Green Run and the stupid billionaires by Unknown
The Green Run
A graveyard of dead babies and, dead mother's, from the green run in walla walla washington. Hanford could blow up at anytime and, destroy washington state like mayak, in russia. They want to put more nuclear reactors there. That is the billionaires and government. Their greed and depravity, knows no bounds.
I don't care if these sound like trigger words. Think of what happened with the Green Run and Mayak. Hanford is poisoning the columbia river, with a steady stream of Radionuclide, from hanford flowing into the columbia river.
Friday, April 23, 2021
Why do people leave the Soka Gakkai?
"I have been practicing in the SGI since before a toddler. I no longer have faith. Any thoughts?"
I have not a few thoughts on why your faith has weakened. I have been in contact with dozens and dozens of ex members, including so-called fortune babies (those born into the SGI) and near fortune babies. There are a multitude of reasons that Soka Gakkai members abandon the faith and practice of the Lotus Sutra. As you may know, in the United States, more than 600,000 NST/SGI Gohonzons were bestowed and from the number of World Tribune subscriptions of ~ 35,000, we can estimate that at least 550,000 people have abandoned the SGI faith. Fortunately, a large minority who abandoned the SGI either continue to have faith or have come to have faith in Nichiren Lotus Sutra Buddhism. They have faith in Namu Myoho renge kyo, the Gohonzon, the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha, and Nichiren Daishonin. Unfortunately, a large majority of former SGI members will never again in this lifetime chant the Daimoku because they have completely lost their faith. Some of those who quit the Soka Gakkai and have lost their faith will, after 1, 5, 10, 20 years or more years, again embrace the Daimoku. Very few of those who leave the Soka Gakkai will ever return to the Soka Gakkai. Most of those who continue to have faith in the Three Jewels and Three Great Secret Laws (or those who regain faith in them), either become independents, join the Nichiren Shoshu (a bad move) or join the more orthodox sects (a good or a bad move depending on a myriad of factors that I will not touch on here).
Most of the reasons people abandon the Lotus Sutra permanently are highlighted by Nichiren.
1). The behavior of top leaders/priests fails to match their talk (they talk the talk but fail to walk the walk).
2). Realization that one's object(s) of veneration is an incorrect object(s) of veneration (lack of benefit).
3). Having met an incorrect teacher or teachers.
4). Having encountered poor spiritual friends.
5). Realizing that the SGI doctrines are inconsistent and fail to match the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren
6). SGI lack of financial transparency
7). Some abandon the Soka Gakkai (or even the Nichiren Lotus Sutra faith) for more mundane reasons such as hatred, jealousy, arrogance, lack of forbearance, racism).
8). Another subset of people abandon the Soka Gakkai and especially the Lotus Sutra Buddhism of Nichiren because of the six difficult acts (Chapter 11 of the Lotus Sutra.)
9). Many leave the Soka Gakkai because of perceived Ikeda Worship and/or the heavy burden of banal activities:
10). Few leave the Soka Gakkai because of the Three Obstacles and Four Devils, because it is nigh impossible to encounter the Three Obstacles and Four Devils in the Soka Gakkai due to their interfaith practices. In the history of the Soka Gakkai they have but one martyr, Makiguchi. The Nichiren co-fraternities in the 16th century experienced many thousands of martyrs and the great reformers such as Nikkyo Shonen had his ears and nose cut off before a debate with the Nembutsu and everal of his young disciples were killed. Nisshin Shonin, the "pot-headed" monk, experienced a myriad of tortures before claiming victory.
11). Some leave the Soka Gakkai because their questions were never answered.
12). A few were excommunicated, like the Independent Reassessment Group, and the Malaysian leaders who questioned SGI's finances and the Chicago Six who also questioned where the money had gone.
13). Many were studied in the Human Revolution novel but failed to study the Lotus Sutra and major writings of Nichiren.
There are many other possible reasons why people abandon the Soka Gakkai.
Depending on the reason or reasons and the karma of the individual, one will be more or less likely to maintain one's faith and practice of the Law after leaving the Soka Gakkai. if the person is afflicted of slandering the Law, it will be difficult to continue or to again embrace the teachings. Likewise, if one were physically abused at the hands of a leader, it will be difficult for them to continue or to regain one's faith. And finally, if one can not solve the several Lotus Sutra Buddhist paradoxes, one will likely not continue faith or regain faith.
I encourage you to forget everything you learned in the Soka Gakkai and to begin to develop the same faith and practice as Nichiren. The difference is night and day.
Thursday, April 22, 2021
Multi million-dollar SGI boasts about their pitifully small charitable contributions.
SGI-USA DONATES MORE THAN 15,000 MASKS (disposable). It is on the following website and on the tongue of many members as an important act of charity.
A box of 50 face masks RETAIL costs $7:00. In bulk, an institution can buy disposable masks from 3 cents to 5 cents a mask. At 5 cents each, 15,000 facemaks would cost $700.00 and at 3 cents each, 15,000 face masks would cost $420.00 dollars. WOW, SO CHARITABLE. Lets all praise the Soka Gakkai!
How sad! An experience by a former SGI person born into the practice.
Dear mom and dad,
As you all know, it has been 35 years since I stopped practicing. I know that you all have been hoping and even chanting for me to return to the practice. I know that you blame my grandparents and my aunts and uncles for the cessation of my practice. I know that you think that this practice is the key to happiness. I know you thought that your practice would impart so much benefit into my life. However this is/was not the case.
When I lived and practiced with you all, life was not that great. There were so many days that I would come home from school and be alone because you all were running to meetings. Sometimes one of the lady NSA members would babysit me, but other times I was alone. For so many dinners, I would eat dry Corn Flakes because the milk had spoiled. I used to hate the weekends because that meant that I had to go meetings with you all no matter how far they were. When most people regale their childhood weekends, they talk about sleepovers with their friends, cousins, or even grandparents. My childhood weekend tales involve riding six hours in a station wagon to someone's house where I had sit on a tatami mat and chant over five hours with you all. And if I nodded during the meeting, I was chided by one of the Japanese seniors in faith for giving in to one of the troops of sansho shima. My childhood with you all was a colossal nightmare. Do you know how many times I wanted to share with you some good news only for you to be more preoccupied with recruiting other people or kosen rufu? And all of the times that I got in trouble in school, I was trying to get your attention. For once, I wanted to come before this practice, but it was no use.
So finally, one time I had gotten in trouble, and my grandparents came. You said that they acted under the influence of sansho shima and dissuaded me from the practice. I say that they're intervention was the best thing that ever happened to me. With my grandparents, I had someone home when I got home. And when they were gone briefly, like no more than 30 minutes, one of my aunts or uncles was home. When I lived with my grandparents, I ate a warm dinner with someone I knew as opposed to a total stranger. When I lived with my grandparents, I had a weekends of actual fun. And by fun, I mean that I didn't have to tell myself, "You're making a good cause." My grades significantly improved while I was with my grandparents. My grades improved to where i graduated from high school an honor graduate. The improve was not because of your chanting. Rather it was because I knew and felt that someone actually cared about me.
Now thanks to your importunate behavior, I decided to look into Daisaku Ikeda. I stumbled on this quote: "If a mother sincerely carries out her activities, her children will, without fail, emulate her spirit. On the other hand, if she is reluctant to participate in activities, her children will also have disdain for the practice. It is ultimately the mother who determines everything."
Ikeda was wrong. It was your insane dedication to activities that caused me to hate the activities. It was the times that you couldn't make time for me, but you could find a hooker to recruit that caused me to hate activities.
After reading this letter, I want it to be very clear. I have no need or desire for a worthless practice. I have no need or desire for a corpulent master, or as you call Ikeda today, mentor. SGI has taken enough from my life, and I would consider it a great day if SGI crumbled and ended up like the Aggressive Christian Missions Training Corps.
Sincerely,No Fukudoshieturn to the practice. I know that you blame my grandparents and my aunts and uncles for the cessation of my practice. I know that you think that this practice is the key to happiness. I know you thought that your practice would impart so much benefit into my life. However this is/was not the case.
When I lived and practiced with you all, life was not that great. There were so many days that I would come home from school and be alone because you all were running to meetings. Sometimes one of the lady NSA members would babysit me, but other times I was alone. For so many dinners, I would eat dry Corn Flakes because the milk had spoiled. I used to hate the weekends because that meant that I had to go meetings with you all no matter how far they were. When most people regale their childhood weekends, they talk about sleepovers with their friends, cousins, or even grandparents. My childhood weekend tales involve riding six hours in a station wagon to someone's house where I had sit on a tatami mat and chant over five hours with you all. And if I nodded during the meeting, I was chided by one of the Japanese seniors in faith for giving in to one of the troops of sansho shima. My childhood with you all was a colossal nightmare. Do you know how many times I wanted to share with you some good news only for you to be more preoccupied with recruiting other people or kosen rufu? And all of the times that I got in trouble in school, I was trying to get your attention. For once, I wanted to come before this practice, but it was no use.
So finally, one time I had gotten in trouble, and my grandparents came. You said that they acted under the influence of sansho shima and dissuaded me from the practice. I say that they're intervention was the best thing that ever happened to me. With my grandparents, I had someone home when I got home. And when they were gone briefly, like no more than 30 minutes, one of my aunts or uncles was home. When I lived with my grandparents, I ate a warm dinner with someone I knew as opposed to a total stranger. When I lived with my grandparents, I had a weekends of actual fun. And by fun, I mean that I didn't have to tell myself, "You're making a good cause." My grades significantly improved while I was with my grandparents. My grades improved to where i graduated from high school an honor graduate. The improve was not because of your chanting. Rather it was because I knew and felt that someone actually cared about me.
Now thanks to your importunate behavior, I decided to look into Daisaku Ikeda. I stumbled on this quote: "If a mother sincerely carries out her activities, her children will, without fail, emulate her spirit. On the other hand, if she is reluctant to participate in activities, her children will also have disdain for the practice. It is ultimately the mother who determines everything."
Ikeda was wrong. It was your insane dedication to activities that caused me to hate the activities. It was the times that you couldn't make time for me, but you could find a hooker to recruit that caused me to hate activities.
After reading this letter, I want it to be very clear. I have no need or desire for a worthless practice. I have no need or desire for a corpulent master, or as you call Ikeda today, mentor. SGI has taken enough from my life, and I would consider it a great day if SGI crumbled and ended up like the Aggressive Christian Missions Training Corps.
Sincerely,
Recent letter to an ex-SGI member
The person misses the focus and energy of chanting a half hour of Nam Myoho renge kyo when SGI.
Hi! My name is Mark. Almost everything we learned in the Soka Gakkai/Nichiren Shoshu was wrong: The chant is Namu Myoho renge kyo, not Nam Myoho renge kyo; A copy of a Nichiren inscribed Gohonzon is superior for developing strong faith; their doctrines on mentor-disciple and the infallibility of the High Priest is false. the succession is through the scrolls of the Sutra and writings of Nichiren Daishonin; Nichiren as True, Eternal, Original Buddha is wrong...It is Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter; their teachings on desires and attachment is mistaken; Gongyo may be recited in English. We can recite the entire 16th Chapter as the Nichiren Shoshu or any and all of the Lotus Sutra; We may have staues of Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren on the altar; Flowers may be offered; SGI interfaith is wrong; the forceful practices (shakubuku) is the principle practice in this day and age, not the peaceful practices (shoju). Nichiren practiced the forceful practices towards non-believers almost exclusively and the peaceful practices towards his disciples and believers (unlike the Soka Gakkai leaaders who habitually admonishes their own members and talks kindly towards other Buddhists and non-Buddhists and the Nichiren Shoshu priests who admonish everyone); They study principally the writings of Daisaku Ikeda and the High Priests and we study principally the Lotus Sutra and authenticated writings of Nichiren such as the Five Major Works (and when they do study Nichiren, they focus on the inauthentic/altered and earlier texts and the commentaries of Daisaku Ikeda and the priests.) No interpretation of the Lotus Sutra is necessary except for the Supreme Votary Nichiren's interpretation.
From my experience, the energy and focus of practicing as Nichiren did is realized within minutes of chanting rather than hours, let alone a half hour.
Wednesday, April 21, 2021
More on the Four Powers
There are Four Powers, the Power of Faith, the Power of Practice, the Power of the Buddha and the Power of the Law. The first two are cause generated. The latter two are condition generated. The Four Powers are eternal and unchanging. All Four Powers, both causes and conditions, must be correct in order to obtain Buddhahood. The SGI has two cause generated shortfalls and two condition generated shortfalls: Their warped faith and practice is their cause generated shortfall and their Object of Worship and mentor is their condition generated shortfall. In the Soka Gakkai, the Power of the Buddha is de-emphasized. At one time, it was taught in the SGI that we needed Gohonzon to obtain Buddhahood because it is the source of the Power of the Law and the Power of the Buddha and we do not have the strength nor wisdom to accomplish Buddhahood on our own. Now they erroneously teach that faith and practice alone is sufficient to attain Buddhahood.
"Suppose that a person is burning with fever. If he sits down beside a large body of cold water and stays there for a while, his fever will abate, but if he lies down beside a little body of water, he will continue to suffer as before. In the same way, if an icchantika, or person of incorrigible disbelief, who has committed the five cardinal sins and has slandered the Law, should try to cool himself beside the little bodies of water that are the Āgama, Flower Garland, Meditation, and Mahāvairochana sutras, the raging fever caused by his great offenses would never be dispelled. But if he should lie down on the great snowy mountain that is the Lotus Sutra, then the raging fever caused by the five cardinal sins, his slander of the Law, and his incorrigible disbelief would be dispelled instantly.
Therefore, ignorant people should by all means have faith in the Lotus Sutra. For although one may think that all the titles of the sutras are the same in effect and that it is as easy to chant one as another, in fact the merit acquired even by an ignorant person who chants the title of the Lotus Sutra is as far superior to that acquired by a wise person who chants some other title as heaven is to earth.
To illustrate, even a person with great strength cannot break a strong rope with his bare hands. But if one has a little knife, then even a person of meager strength can sever the rope with ease. Even a person with great strength cannot cut through a piece of hard stone with a dull sword. But if one has a sharp sword, then even a person of meager strength can cut the stone in two." -- Repaying Debts of Gratitude
"To illustrate, suppose that a person is standing at the foot of a tall embankment and is unable to ascend. And suppose that there is someone on top of the embankment who lowers a rope and says, “If you take hold of this rope, I will pull you up to the top of the embankment.” If the person at the bottom begins to doubt that the other has the strength to pull him up, or wonders if the rope is not too weak and therefore refuses to put forth his hand and grasp it, then how is he ever to get to the top of the embankment? But if he follows the instructions, puts out his hand, and takes hold of the rope, then he can climb up.
If one doubts the strength of the Buddha when he says, “I am the only person who can rescue and protect others”; if one is suspicious of the rope held out by the Lotus Sutra when its teachings declare that one can “gain entrance through faith alone”; if one fails to chant the Mystic Law which guarantees that “such a person assuredly and without doubt [will attain the Buddha way],” then the Buddha’s power cannot reach one, and it will be impossible to scale the embankment of enlightenment.
Lack of faith is the basic failing that causes a person to fall into hell. Therefore, the sutra states, “If with regard to this sutra one should harbor doubt and fail to believe, one will fall at once into the evil paths." -- Questions and Answers on Embracing the Lotus Sutra
Both self power (the Power of Faith and the Power of Practice) and other power (the Power of the Law and the Power of the Buddha) are necessary in this latter degenerate age in order to attain Buddhahood.
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.
Response: Nomenclature? Nichiren called Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter Ri-Butsu or the very real Buddha, the Father, Teacher, and Parent of all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and beings. This Buddha's Law (teaching) is Myoho renge kyo.
Nichiren taught this reality extensively, only secondary to the the Daimoku (Namu Myoho renge kyo. SGI and the Nichiren Shoshu alter and diminish his (and the Lotus Sutra's) teachings on Shakyamuni Buddha.
Nichiren said that, because the times are severe [as predicted in the Daijuku Sutra and others], self power is not enough to attain the fruits of Buddhist practice or Buddhahood. We need, by necessity, to take refuge in the Law of Namu Myoho renge kyo (the Law to which the Eternal Buddha was originally and eternally Enlightened) by chanting it repeatedly and believing in the Original Eternal Buddha (Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter of the Lotus Sutra). Our lack of concentration, memory, volition, fortitude and compassion is so attenuated merely by having been born in this age, we may not by our power alone attain the same unsurpassed Enlightenment as the Original Buddha. Nichiren teaches:
"To illustrate, suppose that a person is standing at the foot of a tall embankment and is unable to ascend. And suppose that there is someone on top of the embankment who lowers a rope and says, “If you take hold of this rope, I will pull you up to the top of the embankment.” If the person at the bottom begins to doubt that the other has the strength to pull him up, or wonders if the rope is not too weak and therefore refuses to put forth his hand and grasp it, then how is he ever to get to the top of the embankment? But if he follows the instructions, puts out his hand, and takes hold of the rope, then he can climb up.
If one doubts the strength of the Buddha when he says, “I am the only person who can rescue and protect others”; if one is suspicious of the rope held out by the Lotus Sutra when its teachings declare that one can “gain entrance through faith alone”; if one fails to chant the Mystic Law which guarantees that “such a person assuredly and without doubt [will attain the p.60Buddha way],” then the Buddha’s power cannot reach one, and it will be impossible to scale the embankment of enlightenment." - Questions and Answers on Embracing the Lotus Sutra
The Buddha, by virtue of his limitless compassion, leaves for us, the people of this Latter Age, the Great Medicine of his Supreme and Perfect Enlightenment so that we may gain the very same inconceivable field of cognition as he. All we have to do is chant and believe in Namu Myoho renge kyo, the Buddha's excellent medicine. By virtue of the vast merit power of the Law and Eternal Buddha, the power to perceive and manifest Supreme and Perfect Enlightenment is transferred to us. Another way to put it is that we are perfected by the Buddha's limitless Enlightenment, mercy, and teaching of Namu Myoho renge kyo.
To attempt to separate The Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni's Enlightenment (Myoho renge kyo) from the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni is as futile as attempting to separate carbon from diamond. Namu Myoho renge kyo is the essential element of the Eternal Buddha's enlightenment. Without the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni there is no Namu Myoho renge kyo and without Namu Myoho renge kyo there is no Eternal Buddha.
There would be no proof of the unsurpassed utility and beauty of elemental carbon were it not for the diamond. There would be no proof of the supreme benefit of Namu Myoho renge kyo were it not for the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni.
Nichiren wrote in the True Object of Worship, in the section, The Pure Land of the Eternal Buddha:
"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...."
And in the section, The Form of the true Object of Worship, he writes:
"The object of worship (honzon) at the scene of this transmission of "Namu Myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo" from the Eternal Buddha to his original disciples is: Suspended in the sky above the Eternal Buddha Sakyamuni's Saha-world is a stupa of treasures, in which Buddhas Sakyamuni and Taho sit to the left and right of "Myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo". They are waited on by four bodhisattvas such as Jogyo (Superior Practice) representing the original disciples of the Eternal Buddha called out from underground. Four more bodhisattvas including Manjusri and Maitreya, take lower seats as followers, other great and minor bodhisattvas, those converted by the Buddha in the theoretical section and those who came from other lands, resemble numerous people sitting on the ground and looking up at court nobles. Also, lined up on the ground, are Buddhas in manifestation (funjin Buddhas) who gathered together from all the worlds in the universe in praise of the Buddha's preaching who represent provisional Buddhas in their respective lands.
The true object of worship (honzon) such as this was not revealed anywhere else by Sakyamuni Buddha during the more than fifty years of His preaching in this life. Though He spent eight years preaching the Lotus Sutra, the scene was limited to the preaching in the air above Mt. Sacred Eagle conveyed in eight chapters, from the fifteenth to the twenty-second chapters. During the two millenium after the death of Sakyamuni Buddha, the ages of the True Dharma and the Imitative Dharma, some worshipped Sakyamuni Buddha accompanied by Kasyapa and Ananda as described in the Hinayana sutras; others worshipped Him accompanied by such bodhisattvas as Manjusri and Samantabhadra as he appeared in quasi-Mahayana sutras, the Nirvana Sutra, and the theoretical section of the Lotus Sutra. Many wooden statues and portraits were made of Sakyamuni as He preached Hinayana or quasi-Mahayana sutras, but statues and portraits of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha revealed in the Duration of Life of the Buddha" chapter of the Lotus Sutra were never made. Now in the beginning of the Latter Age of the Decadent Dharma, is it not the time that such statues and portraits are made?"
SGI godfather moderator of Reddit Nichiren.
"If you would have asked me nicely I might have reinstated you."
Raymond contributed these excellent points regarding the True benefit of the Lotus Sutra
To realize and understand the original infinite cause of all phenomena which is stated in the Lotus Sutra , the Burton Watson translation is regardless and will not matter if you eat meat or not you will attain Enlightenment with this which is only shared between Buddhas, buddhahood does exist in hell just like all the other worlds to realize this original cause is the sole purpose of the Lotus Sutra the Lotus Sutra tells you the secret of this original cause in so many different ways and angles as it leaves it sitting in the center for you to understand that if you put all the Parables together you can attain enlightenment because every angle for enlightenment is absolutely covered in the Lotus Sutra where the secret of the original infinite cause of all phenomenal lies, or you can just chant the great title of the Lotus Sutra just the way nichiren did.. di=(great) moku =(title) for me chanting the dimoku came first reading the lotus was easier due to that fact... The essence of your existence is the Lotus Sutra, is the gohonzon you're pure existence is the original cause of all phenomena... Shakyamuni States I am always here preaching the law that's because the original infinite cause of all phenomena is always here he realized the Buddha thus he is the Buddha and is always here as well, along with all Buddahs..., the Lotus describes the buddha of our nature as well.
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