From Explaining the Causation of the Ten Worlds by Nichiren with brief commentary

"Nowadays there are few people who are guilty of the five cardinal sins, but a great many who commit the ten evil acts. Sometimes you may find a person who, concerned about his next existence, is careful not to commit any of the ten evil acts and to act as a good person. But because of some quite natural error of ignorance, the person, though good in word and deed, in his heart believes in an evil teacher. Not only does that person himself put faith in the erroneous doctrines expounded by such a teacher, but he incites the rulers of the nation and the common people to embrace these same doctrines, or he persuades his wife and children, his followers, and members of his household to carry out the same religious practices that he does. Thus he prevents them from forming any ties with persons who would instruct them in the correct teaching, and keeps the common people and those related to him from experiencing a mind that responds with joy to that teaching. As a result, both he himself and others become slanderers of the Law, and those who would appear to be practicing good and putting aside evil in fact quite naturally end by committing deeds that lead to rebirth in the Avīchi hell. Cases of this kind are rife in this Latter Day of the Law.

The Venerable Ānanda was a nephew of King Shuddhodana and the son and prince of King Dronodana. He was a younger brother ofDevadatta and a cousin of the Thus Come One Shakyamuni. He served the Thus Come One for twenty years, attained the mind-perceiving meditation, and understood all the sacred teachings of the Buddha’s lifetime. After the Buddha entered extinction, King Ajātashatru became a convert to Buddhism under Ānanda’s direction.

Forty years after the Buddha’s entry into extinction, the Venerable Ānanda was passing through a bamboo grove when he came upon a monk who was reciting a verse of the teaching that went, “Though one be born a human being and live a hundred years, if one has not observed how the waters overflow and dry up, one cannot compare to a person who has lived only one day but has seen these things.”

When Ānanda heard this verse, he said to the monk, “This is not the Buddha’s teaching. You should not be practicing this.”

The monk then asked Ānanda, “What is the Buddha’s teaching?”

Ananda replied, “‘Though one be born a human being and live a hundred years, if one has not understood the Law of birth and extinction, one cannot compare to a person who has lived only one day but has fully understood that Law.’ This is the Buddha’s teaching. The verse that you were reciting is mistaken in its wording.”

At that time the monk took the verse he had learned from Ānanda to the monk who had taught him originally. But the monk who had been his teacher said, “The verse I taught you is the true teaching of the Buddha. The verse that Ānanda recited is not the Buddha’s teaching. Ānanda is old and senile and says many things that are in error. You should not believe him.”

The monk then discarded Ānanda’s verse and went back to reciting the erroneous one he had recited before. When Ānanda passed through the bamboo grove again and heard him doing so, he realized it was not the verse he had taught the monk and spoke to him about it once more, but the monk refused to heed him.

If errors such as this had already appeared a mere forty years after the Buddha’s passing, how much worse must things be now that over two thousand years have gone by!

The Buddha’s teaching was transmitted from India to China, and then from China to Japan. The scholars, the Tripitaka masters, the teachers who passed it down from one to another hardly relayed one doctrine in ten thousand in a condition that was free from error. And how much worse is the situation now when scholars of Buddhism put biased views above all else, are swayed by arrogance, contend with one another like fire against water, and never reach a conclusion. Even when a scholar appears who happens to relay the teachings as the Buddha proclaimed them, no one will believe or heed him. Hence hardly one person in ten thousand can avoid committing slander against the Law."

Today, no one propagates more errors than the SGI and the Nichiren Shoshu.

Soka Gakkai French Connection

 Soka Gakkai's French Connection

Japan Times Weekly

Nov. 4, 1995

A strange thing happened at Fumihiro Joyu's first press conference at the Foreign correspondents' Club of Japan. A sleight-of-hand trick was performed in front of dozens of news cameras, and clearly, many people in the Japanese media were pretending not to notice.

Why did Joyu, the media spokeman of Aura Shinrinkyo, meet the foreign press April 4? Because he knew that the Japanese media would never report the evidence that he was prepared to present.

What Joyu claimed -- and what was recorded on videotape by major networks -- is that Aum's "self-defense" squads, which have been accused of various kidnappings and murders, were trained and organized by former members of the Soka Gakkai using methods developed by SG's own security forces.

Joyu identified 27 Aum self-defense personnel as former Soka Gakkai members, and charged that many of these individuals mysteriously disappeared after the Sakamoto and Kariya kidnappings and before the subway gassing. One member of Aum's self-defense team described his training in strong-arm tactics in Soka Gakkai, and claimed that identical techniques were used in Aum.

These revelations could still have a direct bearing on the puzzling series of violent crimes attributed to Aum. So why haven't they broadcast or reported by the print media?

Because, at the close of the press conference, a foreign male, posing as a Frenchman, claimed to have taken photographs that proved No. 7 Satyam was an operating chemical-weapons plant. The next part of his act was to accuse Joyu of lying. An investigation by the Weekly has shown that the cameraman was not French as he claimed to the Japanese media. The Embassy of Italy confirmed that he is an Italian citizen. A call to his talent agency revealed that he also worked as an advertising model for a major department store's menswear department a year before appearing as a dancer in a recent malt liquor commercial.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police categorically asserted that it was not physically possible for any photographer, much less a foreign one, to have taken the photos as claimed. The building's perimeter was heavily guarded, according to a police spokesman, and access was restricted to investigative officers.

An inquiry with district prosecutors indicated that any violation of restricted areas under police investigation constitutes a criminal offense (as well as grounds for deportation). So as not to further incriminate this individual, the Weekly is not releasing his name. (Several American and European journalists in Tokyo have also complained that they have been professionally slandered by this same person.)

What about the photos? The police are investigating their source. Why did this Italian poseur claim to be a Frenchman? According to European journalists, his past associations -- which provided journalistic legitimacy to his media activities in Tokyo -- were with Paris-based publications. Though his photos have also appeared in some Japanese magazines, his first major French association was with a Paris-based weekly magazine called VSD. What does VSD have to do with Soka Gakkai?

The acronym VSD, (pronounced vah-ess-day), which stands for Vendredi-Saraedi-Dimanche (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), is a racy scandal magazine (with an unusually large volume of stories on Japan) published by a Paris-based media group. In August. it was revealed that the VSD general director, Jean-Pierre Canat, is a high-level official of Soka Gakkai International France, and that the media group's companies have been used by the sect to penetrate French political circles.

The charges, published in the weekly L'Evenement du Jeudi, go much further: They allege that Canat may be linked to a break-in and eavesdropping at the EDJ offices, and that France's counterintelligence service suspects Soka Gakkai of having been engaged in espionage.

In an article titled Ombre Japonaise (Japanese Shadow), EDJ investigative reporter Serge Faubert explained that four auditors are currently reviewing the invoices of VSD to untangle Canat's web of financial dealings. When questioned by Faubert, the VSD president- general director, Francois Siegal, claimed the audit was ordered because Canat had led a high-flying lifestyle and became mired in debt. But it appears that the probe is being driven by France's counterintelligence service. It should be noted that the Aug. 17-23 issue in which Faubert's article appeared, and an earlier one exposing SGI-F, have mysteriously disappeared from the few Japanese libraries that stock French periodicals. The Weekly obtained a copy overseas.

The spying charges against Soka Gakkai International France, which claims 152000 members, were further detailed in a recent issue of the Shukan Bunshun. Quoting the newspaper Le Parisien, it reported that a secret network of Soka Gakkai operatives allegedly infiltrated the Mitsubishi group offices in Paris, which were used as cover for intelligence operations. It did not specify whether the secret agents were corporate employees sent from Japan or local hires, or a combination of both.

According to Le Parisien, the sect also tried to purchase a site next to one of France's most sensitive nuclear-research facilities. According to the Bunshun, the sect's spying had the support of Japan's diplomatic corps, specifically two former ambassadors of Japan to France, Akitane Kiuchi and Yoshihiro Nakayama.

In December 1992, Soka Gakkai-France pressed a libel suit against the newspaper Le Parisien in a Paris court for publishing charges that SGI-F agents had conducted nuclear spying. Nakayama filed a deposition as both an individual and a Japanese government official on behalf of the plaintiff, Soka Gakkai. He attested to its peace-loving principles and record of good works overseas.

Kiuchi, a former political secretary to the late Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka (who was linked to Soka Gakkai donations, in the book Tanaka Kakuei: Godfather of Japan, by Hirotatsu Fujiwara), joined the Foreign Ministry, and served as ambassador to Thailand and Malaysia before his appointment as envoy to France. He filed an affidavit certifying SGI's morals in November 1992, just four months after leaving his ambassadorial post.

Le Parisian won the libel case in lower court; Soka Gakkai, aided by the government officials' affidavits, managed to have the verdict overturned at the district level. In the near future, the case will be heard by France's Supreme Court, which will likely hear new evidence from the counterintelligence probe.

The sect's boldest intiative in France, according to Faubert of EDJ, has been its penetration of the human-rights group France-Libertes, led by Danielle Mitterrand. The Mitterrand affair started in 1988, when Kiuchi served as ambassador to Paris. In that year, an EDJ investigative team was tipped by an architect who complained that she had been cheated out of first prize in an architectural contest sponsored by the Mission of the Bicentennial of the French Revolution. The architect charged that Jean Pierre Canat had used his position with the VSD to influence the outcome, in revenge for her past criticisms against Soka Gakkai-France.

The subsequent media investigation revealed the sect's widespread use of bilateral cultural fronts to develop links with academic and political circles. The VSD opened the gates to the Bicentennial Mission, but it was just one of many stepping-stones for Soka Gakkai to political influence in Paris.

Since the mid-1970s, Daisaku Ikeda's key contact in France was the art critic and historian Rene Huyghe. As president of the Artistic Council of National Museums. Huyghe had organized several art exchanges 

Do not be sorry you don't lead an easy life, it is the path to Buddhahood.

 

One of the problems is that we lack imagination. Buddha's and Nichiren's lives were extremely hard but the SGI and others talk about a relatively easy life devoid of the privations of Buddha and Nichiren. In order to attain Buddhahood, thanks to the workings of the Law and the compassion and mercy of the Buddha, we are assailed with difficulties from day one so we can challenge and overcome them through the power of faith, practice, the power of the Law, and the power of the Buddha. Have you ever been really ill at night, a high fever or severe pain. The night seems to last forever but really it is only eight or ten hours and when the sun comes up, we usually feel much better and regain a sense of hope. Think of travelers to the New World caught in a monster storm that seems to never end. As long as they stay focused, protect the ship and protect their comrades and the captain, eventually the storm abates and calm seas prevail [until the next storm]. The Storms of the Buddha are called the Nine Great Persecutions and the storms of Nichiren are called the Five Great Persecutions. Minor difficulties that we would find oppressive and probably through which we could not even survive, eating snow, putrid rice gruel, grass, roots, and bracken, being spit upon by men, women, and children, having to run for our lives and being attacked by crazed warriors, were too numerous to mention. Do not be sorry you don't lead an easy life, it is the path to Buddhahood.

SGI doctrines are distorted and lead to delusion

Buddhas as we are?

SGI member: 

"Present within our lives is the Lord Shalyamuni who obtained the three enlightened properties of life before gohyaku-jintengo, the Original Buddha since time without begining." (MW vol 1, The True Object of Worship, pg 65) 

and

"The Lord Shakyamuni who declared 'I alone can save them,' at a time even more distant than gohyaku-jintengo, is none other than each of us." (MW vol 2, I2U Exile, pg 55)

So, since Shakyamuni, Nichiren and each of us are the same, then we must all be the eternal Buddha Shakyamuni. Then how can one deny that Nichiren is also the eternal, original Buddha? (And each of us too).

Reponse: 

First of all, the happiest New Years to you and yours. Thank you so much for your question. I have pondered your question all day, chanted about it, and hope that I can answer it to your satisfaction.

Nichiren Daishonin stated: "If you confuse the general with the specific, even in the slightest, you will fail to attain Buddhahood."

The Daishonin states in the Gosho, Dialogue on the Way to Correctly Hold the Sublime Lotus Sutra (Ji Myo Hokke Mondo Sho)

"The Lotus Sutra teaches:

If, in the future, there should be in any world, a good son or good daughter having a pure heart and reverential belief, free from doubt, such a one shall not fall into hell or become a hungry spirit or animal, but shall be born, instead, into the presence of the Buddhas of the universe."

You should definitely understand and embrace this passage, expecting, in the next lifetime, to be born into the presence of the Buddhas.

If you find yourself at the foot of a high cliff and, unable to scale the bank, discover that someone has lowered a rope to pull you up and asks that you seize it, should you hesitate to grasp the rope because you doubt the strength of your rescuer or the security of the rope? If you refuse to take hold of the rope, how can you be lifted from the depths? If you place trust in the words of the rescuer and stretch out your hands to clasp the rope, then you may be pulled from the abyss.

So then, how can you be saved if you doubt the strength of the Buddha who declares: "I alone can save and protect you?" How can you be saved if you question the security of the rope of the Lotus Sutra that teaches: "Only with faith can you enter into Buddhahood?" The Sublime Dharma reveals that, "If you believe in, and devote yourself to this Law you will, without fail, create the destiny to become a Buddha." If you hesitate to chant the Daimoku of the Sublime Dharma, it will be impossible for you to reach the peak of the precipice of enlightenment. Those who refuse to believe this will fall into hell. Thus, the Sutra teaches: "Those who doubt and disbelieve this Sutra will fall into the evil paths."

How could you possibly spend your life in vain, after having received a human life which is so difficult to receive, after having encountered Buddhism which is so rare to encounter?

If all of your relatives depart from your native village, leaving the path to your home abandoned and overgrown, your eagerness to return there will wane. If a loved one cannot be depended upon, and refuses to make a vow together with you for the future, then your longing to see the loved one will naturally diminish.

Then why do people not visit the Pure Land of Eagle Peak, an easy place to reach, and much more wonderful than the mansions of nobility? Why do people not long to see the Buddha’s figure, who tenderly declares, "I am your Father?" This thought causes me such overwhelming grief that my heart aches within my chest and my sleeves are heavy with tears.

Pensive or melancholy feelings may arise within you as you note the hue of the clouds in the evening sky, or the pale light of the moon as night gives way to dawn. At these moments, and at any and all other times, you should think of your eternal life. Think of it in the late afternoon of a day colored by the blossoms of spring; think of it on the morning of a heavy snow fall. Remember it on an evening as you watch the winds drive tufts of clouds across the sky. An outgoing breath does not wait for the incoming one. You should not at any moment forget the Buddha’s merciful pledge, "I am always thinking of how to save all living beings." Nor should you abandon the Sutra that reads, "There is no being who cannot become a Buddha." 

Yesterday became today and last year became this year, but can you be certain that you will see this year pass into the next? When we count the years that have passed since birth, we know exactly how long we have been living, but one is assured of not even one day more, nor of even a moment longer. Even with the knowledge that they may die at any moment, many people still are filled with self-conceit and stubbornly adhere to their own narrow ideas, or they foolishly waste themselves striving after fame and profit, neglecting to chant the Daimoku of the Sublime Law. It is truly lamentable that even though this Law allows anyone to realize Buddhahood, such people are unable to enter into the Buddha’s Path. How can the moon-light be reflected off the sleeve of a cold-hearted person?

As a life is nothing more than what exists in a single moment (Ichinen), the Buddha taught that it is a great benefit to believe in the Lotus Sutra and feel the joy of that belief for even a moment. If it were necessary to practice for even two or three moments to realize such joy, it would contradict the Buddha’s vow to allow all beings to enter, equally, the Buddha’s great wisdom, and therefore, it could not be the teaching to bring all beings to immediate enlightenment.

If a person is not in the seat of Eternal Tranquil Light, then any place will be full of agony. What pleasures can be enjoyed by those who are away from the home of true enlightenment?

I pray for you to cherish the Sublime Law, the Law of security in this life time and of wonderful existence in the next. Upholding the Sublime Law is the only real honor of this life time, the only genuine path guiding us into the next. Wholeheartedly chant Namu Myoho Renge Kyo yourself and teach it to others. To chant Namu Myoho Renge Kyo is the purpose of this human life and is the only support we can carry with us into the next.

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.

Nichiren

It is a good thing not to doubt one's own power. It is a sublime thing not to doubt the power of the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni and the Gohonzon.

Now, let us look at the first Gosho quote you posted:

"Present within our lives is the Lord Shakyamuni who obtained the three enlightened properties of life before gohyaku-jintengo, the Original Buddha since time without beginning." (MW vol 1, The True Object of Worship, pg 65)

An alternative translation is as follows:

"...Shakyamuni Buddha, within our minds, is an ancient Buddha without beginning, manifesting Himself in three bodies he attained Buddhahood in the eternal past......(Kanjin Honzon Sho, translated by Kyotsu Hori  P.94)

The Daishonin states in the Hoon Sho:

"Yet it was not I, Nichiren who made these important pronouncements. Rather it was in all cases the spirit of Shakyamuni Buddha that had entered into my body. And at having personally experienced this I am beside myself with joy." (MW vol 3, Ibid, pg 171)

In The Supremacy of the Law he states:

"When I was about to be beheaded, the Lord Buddha Shakyamuni took my place." (MW vol 3, The Supremacy of the Law, pg 199).

These passages are not inconsistent with the passage you posted. When we practice correctly, the Buddha enters into our mind. The Eternal Shakyamuni entered into the minds of the Great Saints and Sages of Buddhism such as Buddhamitra, Nagarjuna, Kumarujiva, Nan Yueh, Tientai, Chang-an, Miao-le, and Saicho in order to correctly expound the Lotus Sutra. The Daishonin states in the Kanjin Honzon Sho:

"The Causal Practices and the Virtues of the Effect of Buddhahood of Lord Shakya are fully possesed in the Five characters "Myoho renge kyo." When we receive and keep these Five Characters, he spontaneously yields and cedes to us the merit of those causes and effects."(Kempon Hokke Seiten).

The second passage you posted reads:

"The Lord Shakyamuni who declared 'I alone can save them,' at a time even more distant than gohyaku-jintengo, is none other than each of us." (MW vol 2, I2U Exile, pg 55)

Let us contrast this with three passages from three other writings of Nichiren Daishonin

"Shakyamuni Buddha, our father and mother, who is endowed with the three virtues of sovereign, teacher and parent, is the very one who encourages us, the people driven out by all other Buddha, saying, "I alone can save them." The debt of gratitude we owe him is deeper than the ocean, weightier than the earth, vaster than the sky. Though we were to pluck out our two eyes and place them before him as an offering until there were more eyes there than stars in the sky, though we were to strip off our skins and spread them out by the hundreds of thousands of ten thousands until they blanketed the ceiling of heaven, though we were to give him our tears as offerings of water and present him with flowers for the space of a hundred billion kalpas, though we were to offer him our flesh and blood for innumerable kalpas, until our flesh piled up like mountains and our blood overflowed like vast seas, we could never repay a fraction of the debt we owe to this Buddha! (MW vol. 4, The Learned Doctor Shan-wu-wei) 

"However, later seeking and entering the deep cave, you see a single hermitage. The voices of the reading and reciting of the Hokekyo echo against blue heaven and the words of discussing the doctrine of the One Vehicle are heard in the midst of the mountains. Informing [them, of your presence and requesting] admittance, you enter the chamber, place your mother's bones before the Master of Teachings Lord Shakya, cast your five limbs to the ground, press your palms together, and opening your two eyes, look up to the Holy Face: joy overflows your body and the pain of your heart suddenly ceases." (On Forgetting Ones Copy Of The Lotus Sutra, NOPPA Translation) 

"........, I was banished to Ito in the province of Izu. Eventually, on the second day of the second month of the third year of Kocho(1263), the year with the cyclical sign mizonoto-i, I was pardoned and allowed to return. After that, I became more determined than ever to attain enlightenment and continued to speak out." (Repaying Debts of Gratitude, 1276)

The passage from the Izu exile teaches that we are the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni ourselves. Nevertheless, the Daishonin qualifies this in the Hoon Sho, where he states, "I became more determined than ever to attain enlightenment". This is not the eternal nature of the enlightenment of the Original Buddha Shakya, the teacher of the Daishonin. The other two Gosho passages also give the impression that there is a distinction between the Eternal Shakyamuni and oneself. What are we to make of these seeming contradictions? 

We should examine to whom the Daishonin is speaking. Yasoboru was a Nembutsu believer before taking faith in the true Buddhism. The Daishonin probably felt that he had to break Yasoboru's attachment to something [another being] outside himself for his own salvation. Another example is the teaching to Abutsubo in On the Treasure Tower. The Hoon Sho, on the other hand, is one of the Daishonin's most important works. It was entrusted to Niko with Joken, Gijo, Dozen-bo, and all mankind, the recipients of this treatise. 

I think it would be wise to keep in mind that the Daishonin's teachings and understanding continued to develop throughout his life. Early on, before Tatsunokuchi and Sado. Nichiren Daishonin more fully embraced the principles of Original Enlightenment, that we are all Buddhas endowed with the Three Properties of the Buddha's life. Later, after Tatsunokuchi and during the Sado exile, he realized that it was only due to the Original Teacher, the Eternal Lord Buddha Shakyamuni's enlightenment, that we can  experience the boundless joy and benefit of the Lotus Sutra. For example, in the Opening of the Eyes we read, 

"But now that it has become apparent that Shakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment countless aeons ago, then the Bodhisattvas Nikko and Gakko, who attend the Buddha Yakushi of the eastern region, the Bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi, who attend the Buddha Amida of the western region, along with the disciples of all the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten direction and the great bodhisattvas who are disciples of the Buddha Dainichi as they are shown in the Dainichi and Kongocho sutras --- all of these beings are disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha. Since the various Buddhas themselves are emanations of Shakyamuni Buddha, it goes without saying that their disciples must be disciples of Shakyamuni. And of course the various deities of the sun, moon and stars, who have dwelt in this world from countless ages in the past, must likewise be disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha."

Lastly, let us look carefully at the entire paragraph of the passage that you cite: 

"We common mortals all have dwelt in the sea of suffering since time without beginning. But now that we have become votaries of the Lotus Sutra, we WILL (certain words capitalized for emphasis) without fail become Buddhas who are enlightened to the entity of body and mind which has existed since the infinite past. We WILL reveal the unchangeable nature innate within us, as well as the mystic wisdom which enables us to realize the mystic truth. We WILL enjoy a state of life as indestructible as a diamond. THEN how can we be in any way different from the Buddha who appeared from the sea? The Lord Shakyamuni, who declared, "I alone can save them," at a time even more distant than gohyaku jintengo, is none other than each of us. This is the teaching of ichinen sanzen expounded in the Lotus Sutra . Our Behavior is a personal demonstration of "I am here always, teaching the Law." Thus we are all entities embodying the supreme teaching of the Lotus Sutra and the august life of Shakyamuni Buddha, though ordinary people never realize this. This is the meaning of the passage in the Juryo chapter, ".....the deluded people cannot see me even when I am nearby." The difference between delusion and enlightenment is like the four different views of the grove of sal trees. Let it be known that the Buddha of ichinen sanzen is anyone in any of the ten worlds who manifests his inherent Buddha nature." 

We see in this long paragraph that the Daishonin teaches that we will attain Buddhahood in the future. He then goes on to delineate who will go on to attain Buddhahood; those who embody the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and the "august life of Shakyamuni Buddha" will go on to attain Buddhahood. This excludes the SGI and NST members who have abandoned the Lotus Sutra and Lord Shakyamuni. He then goes on to restate his teachings of the difference between a Buddha and a common mortal; the common mortal is deluded while a Buddha is enlightened. He concludes this paragraph defining Buddha, " Let it be known that the Buddha of ichinen sanzen is anyone in any of the ten worlds who manifests his inherent Buddha nature." 

Taking the paragraph in its entirety we must conclude that those who embrace the Lotus Sutra and embody the life of Shakyamuni Buddha will without fail reach the seat of enlightenment in the future. 

The snippet you cite, can only be understood correctly taken in light of the above paragraph, the entire Izu Gosho, the Five Major Works and the entire body of the Daishonin's teachings (keeping in mind the question of the accuracy of the NSIC translation and remembering that this Gosho falls into the pre-Tatsunokuchi teachings). "A common mortal is a Buddha, and a Buddha a common mortal" when and only when certain criteria are met: Embodying the Lotus Sutra and Lord Shakyamuni and manifesting one's inherent Buddhahood completely (is no longer deluded). To interpret the Daishonin's teachings to mean that we are the Buddha just as we are is irrational, egotistical, and simplistic. If we look at the Fukyo chapter of the Lotus Sutra which the Daishonin embodied, we read, "I dare not slight you, because you are all to become Buddhas." No where, not in one place, does the Lotus Sutra state you are Buddhas just as you are. SGI doctrines are distorted and lead to delusion.

Jeffrey Ourvan author of The Star Spangled Buddhist and director of the Toda Institute says,

"Trying to learn Buddhism without a teacher is, perhaps, like trying to learn to play the piano well on one’s own."

Response: Who should one take as teacher? Mr. Ourvan has taken Daisaku Ikeda as teacher. This is a serious mistake. Both Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren took the Law as their teacher. Only those who take the Law as teacher are qualified to be Buddhist teachers. Having encountered the Three Obstacles and Four Devils is proof that the teacher has taken the Law as teacher. Only the Gohonzon, Shakyamuni Buddha, and Nichiren Daishonin are worthy of being called Buddhist teachers.

Nichiren is a disciple of the Buddha in his True Identity

"The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai was a disciple of the Buddha in his transient status. But I, Nichiren, am a disciple of the Buddha in his true identity, and thus I am able to expound in full these matters that pertain to the essential teaching." - On the Importance of the Expedient Means and Lifespan Chapters of the Lotus Sutra

In most cases it is the Buddha’s own disciples who will destroy this Buddhist Law

"Because they fail to understand this principle, scholars of the Tendai school, looking at the interpretation that takes the earlier sutras and the Lotus Sutra to be in some respects alike in nature and forgetting the other interpretation that takes them to be completely unlike one another, in the end allow their thinking as members of the Tendai school to fall into views characteristic of the Flower Garland school. And because they fall into views characteristic of the Flower Garland school, they regress even further by embracing the perfect teaching of the Correct and Equal sutras and the Wisdom sutras. Eventually they reach the point where their views do not differ from those of Shan-tao and his like, and in the end they are the same as that slanderer of the Law, Hōnen. As the sutra says, it is worms from the body of the lion itself that will devour the lion.

The second volume of the Benevolent Kings Sutra states: “Great King, after I have passed into extinction, the four types of Buddhist disciples in the ages to come, the rulers, crown princes, and other princes of the various small countries, those persons who should uphold and guard the three treasures of Buddhism, will on the contrary become the destroyers of the three treasures, just as it is the worms that are born from the body of a dead lion that will feed on the lion’s flesh. It will not be the non-Buddhists but in most cases the Buddha’s own disciples who will destroy this Buddhist Law of mine and thereby commit a very grave offense.”

In the case of the Soka Gakkai, these disciples of the Buddha have adopted the Shingon practice of Yuiga Yoga and the Zen principle of a Patriarchal Transmission of the Law. For this reason, they are destroying the Law ofr Namu Myoho renge kyo." - Regarding the Attainment of Buddhahood by Persons of the True Vehicles

Several pasages from On the Protection of the Nation

"Answer: Rather than give my own answer, I will report what the Buddha himself has said of such a situation. The Benevolent Kings Sutra says: “Great King, after I have passed into extinction, the four types of Buddhist disciples in the ages to come, the rulers, crown princes, and other princes of the various small countries, those persons who should uphold and guard the three treasures of Buddhism, will on the contrary become the destroyers of the three treasures, just as it is the worms that are born from the body of a dead lion that will feed on the lion’s flesh. It will not be the non-Buddhists but in most cases the Buddha’s own disciples who will destroy this Buddhist Law of mine and thereby commit a very grave offense. The correct teaching will wither and fade, there will be no more people who carry out the correct practices, but evil practices will more and more prevail, so that the life span of the people will grow shorter each day, until they live no more than a hundred years.

“If persons destroy the teachings of the Buddha, they will have no filial sons, no harmony with their six kinds of relatives,85 and no aid from the heavenly deities. Disease and evil demons will come day after day to torment them, disasters will descend on them incessantly, and misfortunes will dog them wherever they go. And when they die, they will fall into the realms of hell, hungry spirits, and animals.”

And later on it says: “Great King, in future ages the kings of the various small countries and the four types of Buddhist disciples will of their own initiative commit faults of the type that bring about the destruction of their own nation. . . . Evil monks, hoping to gain fame and profit, will in many cases appear before the ruler, the crown prince, or the other princes, and take it upon themselves to preach doctrines that lead to the violation of the Buddhist Law and the destruction of the nation. The ruler, failing to perceive the truth of the situation, will listen to and put faith in such doctrines. . . . When this happens, it will not be long before the correct teaching passes into extinction.”

Nichiren on "those disciples of his" unable to avoid disasters

"But I will say no more of these matters. In the case of my own disciples there are also those who may have difficulty avoiding disaster. Those people who abused and attacked the bodhisattva Never Disparaging in the end, we are told, “took faith in him and willingly became his followers.” But because they had earlier committed grave slander, they were first obliged to fall into the great citadel of the Avīchi hell and to undergo great suffering there for a thousand kalpas.

And today among my disciples there are those who seem to have faith, to give allegiance, and to willingly follow my teachings. But they do so in name only. If among them there are those whose hearts are not fully committed but who harbor only shallow faith, then they will without doubt fall into the hell of incessant suffering, where they will be confined for one kalpa, two kalpas, ten kalpas, or a hundred kalpas, if not for a thousand kalpas.

If they hope to escape such a fate, they should burn their arms as did the bodhisattva Medicine King or peel off their skin like Aspiration for the Law; they should throw their bodies to the ground like the boy Snow Mountains or, like King Suzudan, serve with all their heart. If not this, then let them fling their five limbs to the earth, let the sweat pour from their whole body. Or if not this, then let them bring wonderful treasures and heap them before the Buddha, or let them become menials in the service of one who upholds the sutra. Or let them carry out practice in a timely manner in accord with the four ways of preaching.

If among my disciples there are those whose faith is weak and paltry, then when they are on their deathbed, they will manifest signs that they are destined for the Avīchi hell. And at that time, they must not hold me to blame!" - Making Clear the Meaning of Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land

Proof that there are slanderers who chant and embrace Myoho renge kyo:

"How great is the difference between the blessings received when a sage chants the daimoku and the blessings received when we chant it" to reply, one is in no way superior to the other. the gold that a fool possesses is no different from the gold that a wise man possesses; a fire made by a fool is the same as a fire made by a wise man. HOWEVER, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE if one chants the daimoku while acting against the intent of this sutra".

"And today among my disciples there are those who seem to have faith, to give allegiance, and to willingly follow my teachings. But they do so in name only. If among them there are those whose hearts are not fully committed but who harbor only shallow faith, then they will without doubt fall into the hell of incessant suffering, where they will be confined for one kalpa, two kalpas, ten kalpas, or a hundred kalpas, if not for a thousand kalpas." - Meaning of Establishing the Correct Teachings

"In the same way, the renegade disciples say, “Though the priest Nichiren is our teacher, he is too forceful. We will spread the Lotus Sutra in a more peaceful way.” In so asserting, they are being as ridiculous as fireflies laughing at the sun and moon, an anthill belittling Mount Hua, wells and brooks despising the river and the ocean, or a magpie mocking a phoenix. Namu-myoho-renge-kyo." -Letter from Sado

Soka Gakkai leaders and Nichiren Shoshu priests and believers are slanderers and renegade disciples: Practice of interfaith; mixing of practices, ie: Yuiga Yoga or Guru Yoga as advocated by Josei Toda and put into practice by Daisaku Ikeda (SGI mentor/disciple); a Zen derived Patriarchal Transmission practiced in Nichiren Shoshu and SGI (Three Presidents doctrine) instead of a transmission through Namu Myoho renge kyo, Gohonzon, and Lotus Sutra; Reliance on the Presidents and the High Priests instead of absolute reliance on the Law; doctrines most often derived from Goshos NOT in Nichiren's hand (both SGI and NST); depreciating the 28 Chapter Lotus Sutra, its Prologue and Epilogue Sutras, claiming that Daisaku Ikeda's Human Revolution novels are "The Lotus Sutra of the modern age"; depreciating Shakyamuni Buddha, thus having a different Three Treasures than Nichiren (both Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu); and SGI slandering the Nichiren Shoshu and the Nichiren Shoshu slandering the SGI, despite both being Fuji schools having virtually the same doctrines AND Both SGI and NST slandering the "Orthodox" sects, for example, the Nichiren Shu and the Kempon Hokke.

"The Jikaku and Chishō factions war with each other incessantly; the latter-day followers of Kōbō in the head temple on Mount Kōya and those of Shōgaku-bō in Dembō-in [on Mount Negoro], Mount Hiei and Onjō-ji temple, wrangle back and forth like asura demons, fight like so many monkeys and dogs."

“They entirely look up to groups of icchantikas and rely on them as leaders and, reverencing slanderers against the Dharma, make them national teachers (ie: Ikeda). Taking up the Classic Filial Piety of Confucius, they beat their parents’ heads and, WHILE CHANTING THE LOTUS SUTRA of Lord Shakya with their mouths, THEY GO AGAINST the MASTER OF TEACHINGS.”

Nichiren, quoting Dengyo states, “Although they praise the Hokkekyo, on the contrary, they kill the heart of the Hokke.”

"Many such examples of slander are also found among Nichiren’s disciples and lay believers." - Nichiren

and

Now I, Nichiren, understand these things because of what I myself have undergone. But even if there are those among my disciples who understand them, they fear the accusations of the times; believing that their lives, which are as frail as dew, are in fact to be relied upon, they backslide, keep their beliefs hidden in their hearts, or behave in other such ways.

"For persons of the Tendai Lotus school to chant Namu-myoho-renge-kyo themselves and yet give their approval when others repeat the Nembutsu would be strange enough. Yet not only do they fail to remonstrate with them, but they criticize one who does confront the Nembutsu school, which is strange indeed!"

and

"Therefore, no matter how I explain and try to persuade my own disciples, they still cannot seem to overcome their doubts, but behave like icchantikas, or persons of incorrigible disbelief. Therefore, I have quoted these passages of explanation from T’ien-t’ai, Miao-lo, and others in order to silence their ungrounded criticisms." - The Opening of the Eyes

and

"Now you should make a great vow and pray for your next life. If you are disbelieving or slander the correct teaching even in the slightest, you will certainly fall into the great citadel of the hell of incessant suffering. Suppose there is a ship that sails on the open sea. Though the ship is stoutly built, if it is flooded by a leak, those on the ship are sure to drown together. Though the embankment between rice fields is firm, if there is an ant hole in it, then surely, in the long run, it will not remain full of water. Bail the seawater of slander and disbelief out of the ship of your life, and solidify the embankments of your faith. If a believer’s offense is slight, overlook it, and lead that person to obtain benefits. If it is serious, encourage him to strengthen his faith so that he can expiate the sin."

and

"Therefore, I say to you, my p.584disciples, try practicing as the Lotus Sutra teaches, exerting yourselves without begrudging your lives! Test the truth of Buddhism now! Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Namu-myoho-renge-kyo."

and

How lamentable! And what I find even sadder is that I will be unable to save those disciples of mine who have pitied my sufferings.

and

“Is this really true?” Some of my disciples may be asking. “Does Nichiren really have an understanding superior to that of Jikaku and Chishō?” But I am only going by what the Buddha predicted in the sutras."

and

"In the same way, the renegade disciples say, “Though the priest Nichiren is our teacher, he is too forceful. We will spread the Lotus Sutra in a more peaceful way.” In so asserting, they are being as ridiculous as fireflies laughing at the sun and moon, an anthill belittling Mount Hua, wells and brooks despising the river and the ocean, or a magpie mocking a phoenix. Namu-myoho-renge-kyo."

and

"Daigaku and Uemon no Tayū had their prayers answered because they followed my advice. Hakiri seems to believe my teachings, but he ignored my suggestions about his lawsuit, and so I have been concerned about its progress. Some good seems to have come of it, perhaps because I warned him that he would lose unless he followed my advice. But because he did not listen to the extent I had hoped, the outcome has been less fruitful than he expected.

If lay believers and their teacher pray with differing minds, their prayers will be as futile as trying to kindle a fire on water. Even if they pray with one mind, their prayers will go unanswered if they have long made the error of attacking greater teachings with lesser ones. Eventually, both lay believers and their teacher will be ruined."

and

“If there are those who possess differing ideas concerning the three treasures, then truly you should know that these people can no longer hope to take refuge in, or rely upon, the three pure treasures. They will never gain benefit from any of the precepts, and in the end, they will fail to obtain the fruits of the voice-hearer, the cause-awakened one, or the bodhisattva.”

and

"In that age there will be evil monks who will steal this sutra and divide it into many parts, losing the color, scent, and flavor of the correct teaching that it contains. These evil men will read and recite this sutra, but they will ignore and put aside the profound and vital principles that the Thus Come One has expounded in it and replace them with ornate rhetoric and meaningless talk. They will tear off the first part of the sutra and stick it on at the end, tear off the end and put it at the beginning, put the end and the beginning in the middle and the middle at the beginning or the end. You must understand that these evil monks are the companions of the devil.”

Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that without a correct faith how one may develop a resistance to Nichiren's exemplary practice.

"Among my disciples, those who think themselves well versed in Buddhism are the ones who make errors. Namu-myoho-renge-kyo is the heart of the Lotus Sutra. It is like the soul of a person. To revere another teaching as its equal is to be like a consort who is married to two emperors, or who secretly commits adultery with a minister or a humble subject. It can only be a cause for disaster

and

The second volume of the Benevolent Kings Sutra states: “Great King, after I have passed into extinction, the four types of Buddhist disciples36 in the ages to come, the rulers, crown princes, and other princes of the various small countries, those persons who should uphold and guard the three treasures of Buddhism, will on the contrary become the destroyers of the three treasures, just as it is the worms that are born from the body of a dead lion that will feed on the lion’s flesh. It will not be the non-Buddhists but in most cases the Buddha’s own disciples who will destroy this Buddhist Law of mine and thereby commit a very grave offense.”

and

"Now I, Nichiren, understand these things because of what I myself have undergone. But even if there are those among my disciples who understand them, they fear the accusations of the times; believing that their lives, which are as frail as dew, are in fact to be relied upon, they backslide, keep their beliefs hidden in their hearts, or behave in other such ways."

and

"However, there is a difference if one chants the daimoku while acting against the intent of this sutra." - Letter to Matsuno or Fourteen Slanders Gosho

and

"Take these teachings to heart, and always remember that believers in the Lotus Sutra should absolutely be the last to abuse one another. All those who keep faith in the Lotus Sutra are most certainly Buddhas, and one who slanders a Buddha commits a grave offense."

and

"Among my disciples there are some who, apparently still intent on slandering the correct teaching, accuse me, saying, “This priest is acting as an enemy of Great Bodhisattva Hachiman.” It seems they fail to realize that, when it is only reasonable to expect prayers to be answered and yet they are not, one may rightly reproach the object of worship..." - On Reprimanding Hachiman

and

The second volume of the Benevolent Kings Sutra states: “Great King, after I have passed into extinction, the four types of Buddhist disciples36 in the ages to come, the rulers, crown princes, and other princes of the various small countries, those persons who should uphold and guard the three treasures of Buddhism, will on the contrary become the destroyers of the three treasures, just as it is the worms that are born from the body of a dead lion that will feed on the lion’s flesh. It will not be the non-Buddhists but in most cases the Buddha’s own disciples who will destroy this Buddhist Law of mine and thereby commit a very grave offense.” - On Dealing with Disaster

and

"In the first five hundred years of the Former Day of the Law following the Buddha’s passing, only Hinayana teachings spread, while in the next five hundred years, provisional Mahayana teachings spread. The thousand years of the Middle Day of the Law saw the rise of the theoretical teaching. In the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law, only the essential teaching spreads, but even so, the theoretical teaching should not be discarded. Nowhere in the entire Lotus Sutra do we find a passage suggesting that we should discard the first fourteen chapters, which comprise the theoretical teaching. When we distinguish between the theoretical and the essential teachings on the basis of the threefold classification of the entire body of the Buddha’s teachings, the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings were to be spread in the Former Day, and the theoretical teaching, in the Middle Day, but the Latter Day is the time to propagate the essential teaching. In the present period the essential teaching is primary, while the theoretical teaching is subordinate. But those who therefore discard the latter, saying it is not the way to enlightenment, and believe only in the former, have not yet understood the doctrine of Nichiren’s true intention. Theirs is a completely distorted view.

This doctrine concerning the theoretical and essential teachings is not my own [but was expounded by the Buddha]. Those who would distort it can only be possessed by the heavenly devil, or Pāpīyas, and will topple others along with themselves into the great citadel of the hell of incessant suffering. How foolish they are! Teach this doctrine to others clearly as I have taught you these many years. Those who call themselves my disciples and practice the Lotus Sutra should all practice as I do. If they do, Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, Shakyamuni’s emanations throughout the ten directions, and the ten demon daughters will protect them. Yet, for all that, [some people associated with Ōta Jōmyō distort the teaching]. I cannot fathom what could be in their minds." On Establishing the Four Bodhisattvas as the Object of Devotion

The Specific and the General Transmissions of the Law

 Nichiren on the General Transmission:

"Answer: In this passage, Shakyamuni Buddha explains that he is entrusting to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, his original disciples, the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, which is the essence of the Lotus Sutra. Shakyamuni, who attained enlightenment countless kalpas in the past, says elsewhere, "By now the original vows that I made have already been fulfilled. I have converted all living beings and caused them all to enter the Buddha way." Thus, he has already fulfilled his earlier vow. Then, intending to charge his disciples with the task of accomplishing widespread propagation in the fifth five hundred years after his death, he called forth the Bodhisattvas of the Earth and entrusted them with the heart of the sutra, the lotus of the entity of the essential teaching. This passage represents the ultimate purpose for which Shakyamuni Buddha appeared in the world, the secret Law that he attained in the place of meditation. It is this passage that gives proof of the lotus of the entity that, for those of us who live in the Latter Day of the Law, assures the attainment of Buddhahood in both the present and future."

and

"It is the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo that constitute the Great Pure Law that will be spread widely in the Latter Day of the Law. And it is the great bodhisattvas who sprang up from, the earth in numbers equal to the dust particles of a thousand worlds who were entrusted with the task of spreading it abroad. Therefore Nan-yueh, T’ien-t’ai and Dengyo, though in their hearts they understood the truth, left it to the leader and teacher of the Latter Day to spread it widely, while they themselves refrained from doing so."

Nichiju interprets the General Transmission:

"Among the disciples of the school of Nichiju, nobody should be chosen, directly or indirectly as an heir disciple. However, anybody among the priests or the laymen of my congregation that spreads the teaching in Kyoto and swears that other sects are the root of all evils and that only the Hokke Sect makes us enter Nirvana can be my disciple. And if candidates are equally gifted, they should propagate during the summer, practicing in turn. You should consider a person who spreads the teaching like this as the true disciple of Nichiju and Nichiren Shonin. So in the days to come, this shall be my will."

Nichiren on the Specific Transmission:

"Accordingly, at the present time in the Latter Day of the Law, other than the envoy of the Thus Come One, there can be no one who understands and produces this passage as proof of the lotus of the entity. Truly it is a passage of secret meaning. Truly it is a matter of great concern. Truly it is to be honored and admired. Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, Namu-myoho-renge-kyo!"

and

"Bodhisattva Superior Practices received the water of the wisdom of the Mystic Law from the Thus Come One Shakyamuni and causes it to flow into the wasteland of the people’s lives in the evil world of the latter age. This is the function of wisdom. Shakyamuni Buddha transferred this teaching to Bodhisattva Superior Practices, and now Nichiren propagates it in Japan. With regard to the transfer of teachings, it is divided into two categories: general and specific. If you confuse the general with the specific even in the slightest, you will never be able to attain Buddhahood and will wander in suffering through endless transmigrations of births and deaths."

Commentary

"The leader and teacher of the Latter Day" is specific to one man, Nichiren Daishonin (Bodhisattva Jogyo). "Bodhisattvas of the Earth" is general to all those who follow Nichiren. There are not superior and inferior Bodhisattvas of the Earth. The responsibilities of laymen and priests are blurred in Mappo and there is only one High Priest and one leader, Nichiren Daishonin.

Question: The Lotus Sutra states that there are many leaders of his own great assembly with various large and small retinues of followers. Wouldn't that mean Daisaku Ikeda, the High Priest of the Nichiren Shoshu, the Chief Bishop of Minobu. Nikkyo Niwano, and others? 

Answer:  At this time, there is only Nichiren Daishonin and his followers. Those who follow Nichiren Daishonin and are of the same mind as he ["The bodhisattvas, as numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds, who emerged from beneath the earth and (who are) the followers of Shakyamuni Buddha present in our lives"] are indeed leaders of his own great assembly with various large and small retinues.

Daisaku Ikeda, the High Priest of Nichiren Shoshu, the Chief Bishop of Minobu and Nikkyo Niwano, however, are not of the same mind as Nichiren. Nikkyo Niwano, despite chanting the daimoku, failed to  even acknowledge Nichiren Daishonin as the leader of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth.  Daisaku Ikeda and the High Priest of Nichiren Shoshu throw out Shakyamuni Buddha. The Bishop of Minobu allows all sorts of sundry practices and a false transmission between priests and lay believers [not to mention interfaith]. 

Since they are not of the same mind as Nichiren and are not his followers, they are not Bodhisattvas of the Earth. Since they are not Bodhisattvas of the Earth, they are not even inheritors of the general transmission. 

A passage from The Embankments of Faith

 "There are many degrees of slander: shallow and profound, slight and heavy. Even among those who embrace the Lotus Sutra, very few uphold it steadfastly both in mind and in deed. Few are the practitioners who are able to uphold this sutra. But those who do will not suffer serious retribution even if they have committed minor offenses against the sutra. Their strong faith expiates their offenses as surely as a flood extinguishes tiny fires." - The Embankments of Faith

 

 The Universal Salty Taste

THERE are six kinds of flavors. The first is subtle, the second, salty, the third, pungent, the fourth, sour, the fifth, sweet, and the sixth, bitter. Even if one were to prepare a feast of a hundred flavors, if the single flavor of salt were missing, it would be no feast for a great king. Without salt, even the delicacies of land and sea are tasteless.

The ocean has eight mysterious qualities. First, it gradually becomes deeper. Second, being deep, its bottom is hard to fathom. Third, its salty taste is the same everywhere. Fourth, its ebb and flow follows certain rules. Fifth, it contains various treasure storehouses. Sixth, creatures of great size exist and dwell in it. Seventh, it refuses to house corpses. Eighth, it takes in all rivers and heavy rainfall without either increasing or decreasing.

[The Nirvana Sutra] compares “it gradually becomes deeper” to the Lotus Sutra leading everyone, from ordinary people who lack understanding to sages who possess it, to attain the Buddha way. The reason [the sutra uses the metaphor] “being deep, its bottom is hard to fathom” is that the realm of the Lotus Sutra can only be understood and shared between Buddhas, while those at the stage of near-perfect enlightenment or below are unable to master it. “Its salty taste is the same everywhere” compares all rivers, which contain no salt, to all sutras other than the Lotus, which offer no way to attain enlightenment. [The Nirvana Sutra] compares the water of all the rivers flowing into the sea and becoming salty to the people of different capacities instructed through the various provisional teachings who attain the Buddha way when they take faith in the Lotus Sutra. It compares “its ebb and flow follows certain rules” to upholders of the Mystic Law who even though they were to lose their lives would attain the stage of non-regression. It compares “it contains various treasure storehouses” to the countless practices and good deeds of all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, and the blessings of the various pāramitās being contained in the Mystic Law. The reason for “creatures of great size exist and dwell in it" is that, because the Buddhas and bodhisattvas possess great wisdom, they are called “creatures of great size,” and that their great bodies, great aspiring minds, great distinguishing features, great evil-conquering force, great preaching, great authority, great transcendental powers, great compassion, and great pity all arise naturally from the Lotus Sutra. The reason for “it refuses to house corpses” is that with the Lotus Sutra one can free oneself for all eternity from slander and incorrigible disbelief. The reason for “without either increasing or decreasing” is that the heart of the Lotus Sutra is the universality of the Buddha nature in all living beings.

The brine in a tub or jar of pickled vines ebbs and flows in accordance with the brine of the sea. One who upholds the Lotus Sutra and is subjected to imprisonment is like the salt in a tub or jar, while the Thus Come One Shakyamuni who freed himself from the burning house is like the salt of the sea. To condemn one who upholds the Lotus is to condemn the Thus Come One Shakyamuni. How astonished Brahmā, Shakra, and the four heavenly kings must be! If not now, when will the ten demon daughters’ vow to split the head of one who persecutes a follower of the Lotus into seven pieces be carried out?

Ajātashatru, who had imprisoned King Bimbisāra, suddenly broke out in virulent sores in his present existence. How can one who has imprisoned an upholder of the Lotus not suffer from virulent sores in this existence?

Nichiren

SGI and NST members, repeat after Nichiren...

 "Shakyamuni Buddha is the father, sovereign, and teacher of ALL the other Buddhas and ALL the gods, of the whole assembly of human and heavenly beings, and of ALL living beings."

A passage from the Lotus Sutra

“Those who are capable of embracing
the Lotus of the Wonderful Law
relinquish their claim to the pure land
and out of pity for living beings are born here.
Know that persons such as these
freely choose where they will be born,
and choose to be born in this evil world
so they may broadly expound the unsurpassed Law.” – Chapter 10 : The Teacher of the Law. 

The Lotus, represents the true intention of the Buddha

"Question: The Flower Garland school propounds the doctrine of the five teachings and declares all the other sutras to be inferior, and the Flower Garland Sutra, superior. The True Word school puts forth the doctrine of the ten stages of the mind, declaring that all the other sutras, being exoteric teachings, are inferior, while the True Word school, because it represents the esoteric teachings, is superior. The Zen school rejects all the sutras as belonging to the realm of written teachings and asserts “a separate transmission outside the sutras, independent of words or writing.” Because enlightenment, they say, is gained merely by sitting and facing the wall, the Zen school alone is superior. The Pure Land school sets forth two kinds of practices, correct and sundry. The Lotus Sutra and the various other sutras are rejected as belonging to the category of sundry practices, and hence one is urged to “discard, close, ignore, and abandon” them. The three Pure Land sutras, on the other hand, they claim, are adapted to the people’s capacity and are wonderful sutras belonging to the realm of correct practices. Thus each school in its conceit maintains its own biased attachment. But which one represents the true intention of Shakyamuni Buddha?

Answer: Each school declares its own sutra to be superior, all other sutras being dismissed as inferior, and on this basis labels itself the correct school. But their arguments are based merely upon the words of the teachers and not upon the Buddha’s teaching. Only the Lotus Sutrawas proclaimed superior by the Buddha himself when he expounded the simile of the five flavors, likening them to the teachings of the five periods. He also declared that of all the various sutras that he “has preached, now preaches, and will preach,” in terms of the path of attaining Buddhahood, none could rival the Lotus Sutra. These statements are in truth the Buddha’s own golden words.

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

On the other hand, the assertion that the various other sutras rank below the Lotus Sutra is not based upon the words of the teachers, but is plainly stated in the text of the sutra itself. In this respect, it is like a ruler asserting that he is superior to his subjects, or a samurai calling a commoner a person of low rank. What penalty could this possibly bring? This sutra, the Lotus, represents the true intention of the Buddha and the prime concern of T’ien-t’ai and Miao-lo." - How Those Initially Aspiring to theWay Can Attain Buddhahoodthrough the Lotus Sutra

Did Daisaku Ikeda's body suffer shame? What about those in SGI or NST who embrace their aberrant doctrines? What about those who support their aberrant doctrines?

"Question: Why should one discuss the relative worth of the various sutras?

Answer: The seventh volume of the Lotus Sutra states: “A person who can accept and uphold this sutra is likewise foremost among all living beings.” The “Medicine King” chapter of the Lotus Sutra lists ten comparisons indicating that this is the greatest of all the sutras preached by the Buddha in the past, present, and future. Of these ten comparison, the eighth is followed by the passage just quoted, and thus it becomes evident that the Buddha’s intention was not only to establish the superiority of the Lotus Sutra in comparison to the other sutras, but also to indicate that the votary of the Lotus Sutra is superior to all other kinds of persons.

The votaries of the Mahāvairochana Sutra and the other sutras are like the various mountains or stars or rivers and streams or the subjects of the various rulers. But the votaries of the Lotus Sutra are like Mount Sumeru, the sun and moon, or the great ocean.

And yet the world today despises and makes light of the Lotus Sutra, treating it like dirt or like a lowly subject of the ruler, while it respects and honors the erroneous men of the True Word teaching, awarding them the title of Teacher of the Nation and treating them like gold or like kings.

So the country has become full of persons of overbearing arrogance, causing the blue heavens to blaze with anger and the yellow earth to bring forth strange calamities. As small streams come together until they break down the walls and moats, so the sorrow and distress of the common people will pile up until it destroys the nation.

Question: In the Buddhist commentaries and the other types of non-Buddhist writings, are there any passages setting forth this view?

Answer: The memorial submitted to Emperor T’ai-tsung by the historian official Wu Ching states: “I make so bold as to observe that the government administered by Emperor T’ai-tsung, ruler in both civil and military affairs, has no equal in excellence, however far back we may seek in history. Even Yao of T’ang, Shun of Yü, Yü of the Hsia dynasty, T’ang of the Yin dynasty, Kings Wen and Wu of the Chou, Emperors Wen and Ching of the Han—none of these could compare to him.” Looking at the words of the memorial, we may wonder if Emperor T’ai-tsung was not a highly conceited ruler. But in fact he is praised because the skill and excellence with which he governed surpassed that of all these earlier sages mentioned in the memorial.

The Great Teacher Chang-an, speaking in praise of T’ien-t’ai, says: “Even the great scholars of India were not in a class with him, and the Chinese teachers—well, one need hardly mention them. This is no idle boast—the doctrine he taught was indeed of such excellence.” And the Dharma Teacher Ts’ung-i also praises him, saying, “Nāgārjuna and Vasubandhu cannot compare with T’ien-t’ai.”

The Great Teacher Dengyō has these words of praise: “The Tendai Lotus school is superior to the other schools because of the sutra that it is founded on. Therefore, in declaring its superiority, it is not simply praising itself and disparaging others. I hope that gentlemen of wisdom will examine the matter of sutras and on that basis decide which school they will follow.”

And he also says, “Those who can uphold the Lotus are foremost among living beings. This is borne out by the words of the Buddha himself. How could it be mere self-praise?”

Now if I may state my own humble view on the matter, I would say that Shan-wu-wei, Kōbō, Jikaku, Chishō, and the others all not only go against the intentions of the Buddha, but are persons of grave error who steal from the Law and contradict the Great Teacher Dengyō. Therefore Shan-wu-wei was reprimanded by King Yama, Jikaku has no grave mound, [Kōbō’s] disciples declare that he entered a “state of deep meditation” [instead of acknowledging his death], and the temples [of Jikaku’s and Chishō’s lineage] are repeatedly visited by great fires or massive attacks from soldiers.

The old texts tell us that if one is a temporal manifestation of a Buddha or a bodhisattva, then one’s dead body will not suffer shame, and yet they met with such a fate!

Question: As was done by the six older schools of Buddhism, did the True Word school ever submit a document in which it acknowledged its inferiority to the Tendai school?

Answer: Such a document will be found at the end of the tenth volume of The Annotations on “The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra.” The Great Teacher Dengyō wrote A Clarification of the Schools Based on T’ien-t’ai’s Doctrine and included such material. Those who have eyes would accordingly do well to open the text and see what it says.

It is my hope that scholars of this latter age will heed the sage words of Miao-lo and Dengyō and will put no trust in the crass statements of Shan-wu-wei or Jikaku. And I hope that the followers of my own teachings will give deep thought to this matter. Do not let fear of others in your present existence lead you to do something that will invite evil consequences in an existence to come.

With my deep respect,

Nichiren

The twenty-fourth day of the first month

To the lay priest Ōta Kingo"