Chanting Growers Group

[Babbabud]

Congratulations PassTheDoobie !!!!!

Congratulations PassTheDoobie !!!!!

Motivational/Inspirational Thread 2005 - PassTheDoobie
Thread Title: The Chanting Growers Thread
Link: http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=3819

Way to go PTD. Be sure to PM your safe addy to Dutchgrown to claim your prize.
Thanks so much for a wonderful thread. I understand how much time you spend doing this and appreciate how much you care about us all. Congratulations my friend .... your karma deserves this prize and ten thousand more for the love you show us all.!!

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Congrats to PTD and all here in the 'Chanting Growers Group' who continue to post and peruse to learn more about Nam myoho renge kyo and Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism.

 

[SoCal Hippy]

And congratulations to the Babba's also; just saw they had won an award for:
Grow Thread 2005 (Outdoor) - the Babba's
Title: Babba's Outdoor Grow 2005
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=12593

Awesome Grow dude. Super job well done.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

How the hell did this happen? (But my humble thanks to however it did!)

How the hell did this happen? (But my humble thanks to however it did!)

Motivational/Inspirational Thread 2005 - PassTheDoobie
Thread Title: The Chanting Growers Thread
Link: http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=3819QUOTE]

This is for you Bud! So in actuality you got two awards!


Congratulations and my heartfelt gratitude for your genuine friendship. We are Brothers from the past, and thanks to the actions we have taken in this lifetime, have assured that we will be so again in the future. I am lucky to know you. My deepest respect and gratitude to you and Mrs.B!

Sorry we couldn't hook up SoCal. It won't happen again. No matter what. Without you, the thread would not exist either. The award is for all of us, not anyone of us. I have no idea why it was awarded, other than for the universe to express that what we are doing here is cool. "Don't stop!"

Ok, we'll keep going then, I guess...

Infinite respect,

Thomas

 

[SoCal Hippy]

"Understand then that the votary who practices the Lotus Sutra exactly
as the Buddha teaches will without fail be attacked by the three
powerful enemies."

(WND, 395)

On Practicing the Buddha's Teachings

 

[SoCal Hippy]

"My disciples, you should believe what I say and watch what happens.
These things do not occur because I myself am respect worthy, but
because the power of the Lotus Sutra is supreme. If I praise myself,
people will think that I am boastful, but if I humble myself, they will
despise the sutra. The taller the pine tree, the longer the wisteria
vine hanging from it. The deeper the source, the longer the stream. How
fortunate, how joyful! In this impure land, I alone enjoy happiness and
delight."

(WND, 642)
A Sage Perceives the Three Existences of Life
Written to Toki Jonin in 1275

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to enjoy. Regard both suffering and joy as facts of life, and continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, no matter what happens."

(Happiness in This World - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 681) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, January 21st, 2006

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"In both work and Gakkai activities, it is important to achieve something worthwhile in your present situation. You may think that you could do a better job if you were in a different department or lived in a different community, but life is not so easy. Unless you strengthen and improve yourself, you’ll always confront the same problems and dissatisfaction, wherever you are. You are the key to everything in your life."

SGI Newsletter No. 6705, Constantly Transform Yourself, (At an Executive Leaders Conference, held at the Soka Culture Centre in Shinanomachi, Tokyo, on November 25, 2005) Translated Jan. 18th, 2006

 

[PassTheDoobie]

The Selection of the Time / WND pg. 538 (continued)

The Selection of the Time / WND pg. 538 (continued)

Question: In his Treatise on the Ten Stages of the Mind, The Precious Key to the Secret Treasury, and A Comparison of Exoteric and Esoteric Buddhism, the Great Teacher Kobo makes such statements as: "Each vehicle that is put forward is claimed to be the vehicle of Buddhahood, but when examined from a later stage, they are all seen to (111) be mere childish theory"; "[Shakyamuni Buddha] is in the region of darkness, not in the position of enlightenment (112)"; "[The various exoteric Mahayana sutras such as the Lotus Sutra] are comparable to the fourth (113) flavor, that of butter"; and "The Buddhist teachers of China vied with one another to steal the ghee [or True Word] and claim that it is the possession (114) of their own school." What are we to make of such statements put forth in these commentaries?

Answer: I have been greatly astonished at the statements in these commentaries and have accordingly searched through the various sutras, including the three attributed to the Thus Come One Mahavairochana. But I do not find a single word or phrase in the sutras to indicate that, in comparison to the Flower Garland and Mahavairochana sutras, the Lotus Sutra is mere "childish theory," that with regard to the Six Paramitas Sutra T'ien-t'ai acted as a thief, or that the Protection Sutra describes Shakyamuni Buddha as being "in the region of darkness." These are all utterly ridiculous assertions. And yet for the past three hundred or four hundred years, a sufficiently large number of intelligent persons in Japan accepted them, so that they have now come to be looked upon as perfectly reasonable and well founded. I would like for a moment, therefore, to discuss some of the more patently false opinions put forth by Kobo and point out other absurdities in his thinking.

It was during the period of the Ch'en and Sui dynasties that the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai likened the Lotus Sutra to ghee, the finest flavor. It was [some two hundred years] later, in the middle years of the T'ang dynasty, that (115) the Tripitaka Master Prajna translated the Six Paramitas Sutra and introduced it to China. Only if the Six Paramitas Sutra - which compares the dharani teachings to ghee - had existed in China during the Ch'en and Sui dynasties would it make any sense to claim that the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai "stole the ghee of the True Word teachings."

A similar example exists in the case of the priest Tokuitsu of Japan. He bitterly criticized the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai for rejecting the doctrine of the teachings of the three periods that is set forth in the Profound Secrets Sutra, declaring that T'ien-t'ai had used his three-inch tongue to destroy (116) the Buddha's five-foot body. The Great Teacher Dengyo in turn attacked Tokuitsu, pointing out that the Profound Secrets Sutra was first introduced to China by Hsüan-tsang in the early decades of the T'ang dynasty. In other words, it was brought to the country a number of years after T'ien-t'ai Chih-che, who lived during the Ch'en and Sui, had already passed away. How then could he have rejected a doctrine that was not introduced to China until the period after his passing? Faced with such an argument, not only was Tokuitsu reduced to silence, but his tongue broke into eight pieces, and he died.

But this is nothing compared to the evil accusations made by Kobo. In his writings he labels as thieves Fa-tsang of the Flower Garland school, Chia-hsiang of the Three Treatises, Hsüan-tsang of the Dharma Characteristics, and T'ien-t'ai, as well as other various Buddhist leaders of northern and southern China, and in fact all theTripitaka masters and Buddhist teachers who have lived since the time when Buddhism was first introduced to China in the Later Han.

In addition, it should be noted that likening the Lotus Sutra to ghee was by no means a comparison invented by T'ien-t'ai on his own initiative. The Buddha himself said in the Nirvana Sutra that the Lotus Sutra is like ghee, and later Bodhisattva Vasubandhu wrote that the Lotus Sutra and the Nirvana Sutra are comparable to ghee. (117) And Bodhisattva Nagarjuna terms the Lotus (118) Sutra a "wonderful medicine." So if one who compares the Lotus Sutra to ghee is a thief, then are not Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, the Buddhas of the ten directions, Nagarjuna, and Vasubandhu thieves?

Though Kobo's disciples and the True Word priests of To-ji temple in Japan may be so poor-sighted that they cannot distinguish black from white with their own eyes, they should trust (119) the sight of others and recognize the misfortunes invited by their own faults. Moreover, where are the precise passages in the Mahavairochana and Diamond Crown sutras that refer to the Lotus Sutra as a "childish theory"? Let them produce them! Even if these sutras should perhaps refer to the Lotus Sutra in those terms, it may quite possibly be an error in translation. Such matters should be examined with great care and attention before they are put forward.

We are told that Confucius thought nine times before saying one word, and that Tan, the Duke of Chou, would bind up his hair three times in the course of washing it and spit out his food three times in the course of a meal [in order not to keep callers waiting]. (120) Thus we see that, even among the men depicted in the non-Buddhist writings who studied ephemeral, worldly affairs, those who were wise proceeded with great caution. How then can men like Kobo be so careless and shallow in judgment in matters pertaining to the Law?

Such erroneous views of Kobo's were handed down until they reached (121) Shokaku-bo, the founder of a temple called Dembo-in, who stated in his Rules of Rites for Revering the Buddha's Relics: "The figure worthy of true respect is the Buddha of the Nondual Mahayana. The three-bodied donkey-or ox-Buddha is not even fit to draw his carriage. The truly profound doctrines are the teachings of the twofold mandala. The teachers of the four doctrines of the exoteric vehicles are not worthy even to tend the sandals of those (122) who teach the mandala!"

The "teachers of the four doctrines of the exoteric vehicles" means the priests who teach the Dharma Characteristics, Three Treatises, Flower Garland, and Lotus doctrines, and the "three-bodied donkey- or ox-Buddha" means the four Buddhas, the lords of the teachings of the Lotus, Flower Garland, Wisdom, and Profound Secrets sutras. It is saying that these Buddhas and priests are not even worthy to act as ox-drivers or sandal-tenders for such True Word teachers as Kobo or Shokaku-bo.

There was a man in India known as the Great Arrogant Brahman who was born with innate wisdom and was (123) widely read. Both the exoteric and the esoteric teachings of Buddhism were stored up in his breast, and he had both the Buddhist and the non-Buddhist writings in the palm of his hand. Even the king and his ministers bowed their heads before him, and the common people looked up to him as a teacher and guide. But in the excess of his arrogance, he went so far as to make himself a dais supported by four legs representing the deities Maheshvara, Vishnu, and Narayana, along with the World-Honored One of Great Enlightenment, four sages whom the world holds in great honor, seating himself on it when he expounded his doctrines. He was like the True Word priests of our time when they spread their mandala with its representations of Shakyamuni and the other various Buddhas and perform their ceremony (124) of anointment, or like the Zen priests when they declare that the teachings of their school represent a great Law that steps upon the head of (125) the Buddha.

At this time there was a humble monk called the Scholar Bhadraruchi who declared that the Brahman should be corrected, but neither the ruler and high ministers nor the common people would listen to such a suggestion. In the end, the Brahman charged his disciples and lay supporters to go about spreading countless falsehoods and abusing and beating Bhadraruchi. But Bhadraruchi, disregarding the danger to his life, continued to denounce the Brahman until the ruler, coming to hate Bhadraruchi, arranged for him to debate with the Brahman in hopes of silencing him. Contrary to his expectations, however, the Brahman was the one defeated in the debate.

The king looked up to heaven, then threw himself upon the ground lamenting, and said, "I have been privileged to hear your words on this matter firsthand and to free myself from my erroneous views. But my father, the former king, was completely deceived by this man and by now has probably fallen into the Avichi hell!" So saying, he clung to the knees of the Scholar Bhadraruchi and wept in sorrow.

At Bhadraruchi's suggestion, the Brahman was placed on the back of a donkey so that he might be led in disgrace throughout India and shown to all. But the evil in his heart only grew stronger than ever, and in his living form he fell into the hell of incessant suffering. Was he any different from the followers of the True Word and Zen schools in the world today?

The Chinese Meditation Master Sanchieh (126) stated that the Lotus Sutra, which represents the teachings of the Buddha Shakyamuni, is a doctrine suited for the first and second stages of Buddhism, which correspond to the Former and Middle Days of the Law. For the Latter Day of the Law, however, he asserted that one should adopt the "universal teaching" that he himself had set forth. He declared that, if one should try to practice the Lotus Sutra in these present times, one would surely fall into the great Avichi hells of the ten directions because its teachings do not accord with the nature and capabilities of the people of the latter age.

He carried out prostrations and penances at the proper hours six times each day and observed the four daily meditation periods, conducting himself like a living Buddha. Many people paid him honor, and his disciples numbered more than ten thousand. But one young woman dared to recite the Lotus Sutra and to censure him for his doctrines. As a result, he lost his voice on the spot and was reborn as a huge snake that devoured a number of his disciples and lay supporters, as well as girls and young women. And now Shan-tao and Honen, with their pernicious doctrine that not even one person in a thousand can be saved by the Lotus Sutra, are just like this man San-chieh.

Many years have passed now since these great sources of trouble, the Nembutsu, Zen, and True Word teachings, came into existence, and one should not underestimate their influence. But I feel that, if I speak out against them in this way, there will perhaps be those who will heed my words.

And yet there is something that is more evil than these three teachings, so evil that it is a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, million times more difficult to believe. Though the Great Teacher Jikaku was the third disciple of the Great Teacher Dengyo, everyone from the ruler on down to the common people believed him to be a more outstanding person than the Great Teacher Dengyo himself. He made an exhaustive study of the teachings of the True Word school and of the Lotus school, and stated in his writings that the True Word teachings are superior to those of the Lotus Sutra. As a result, the community of priests on Mount Hiei, which numbered three thousand, as well as the Buddhist scholars in every province throughout Japan, all came to accept his opinion on this matter.

The followers of Kobo had thought that, although he was their teacher, he had perhaps gone too far when he declared the Lotus Sutra inferior to the Flower Garland Sutra. But when they saw that the Great Teacher Jikaku put forth a similar opinion in his exegetical writings, they took it as an accepted fact that the True Word teachings were indeed superior to the Lotus Sutra.

Mount Hiei ought to have been the staunchest opponent to this opinion established in Japan that the True Word teachings are superior to the Lotus Sutra. Yet Jikaku silenced the mouths of the three thousand priests of Mount Hiei and prevented them from speaking out, and as a result, the True Word school was able to have its way. In effect, the Great Teacher Jikaku was the foremost ally of To-ji, the leading temple of the True Word school.

Though the Pure Land and Zen schools may have flourished in other countries, they would never have been able to spread throughout Japan in countless kalpas if Enryaku-ji temple on Mount Hiei had not given its assent. But the Reverend Annen, known as the first worthy of Mount Hiei, wrote a work called Different Views on the Teaching and the Time, in which he ranked the nine schools of Buddhism in the order of their superiority, placing the True Word school in the first place, the Zen school in the second, the Tendai Lotus school in the third, the Flower Garland school in the (127) fourth, and so forth. Because of this egregious error in interpretation, the Zen school has been able to spread its teachings throughout Japan, bringing the country to the brink of ruin. And Honen was able to propagate the teachings of the Nembutsu school, similarly causing the nation to be imperiled as a result of the opinions first put forth by Eshin in the preface to his Essentials of Rebirth in the Pure Land. The Buddha tells us that only the worms born from the body of the lion itself feed on the lion. How true are those words!

The Great Teacher Dengyo spent a period of fifteen years in Japan studying the Tendai and True Word doctrines on his own. He was endowed by nature with a wonderful degree of understanding, and without the aid of a teacher realized the truth. But in order to dispel the doubts of the world, he journeyed to China, where he received instruction in the teachings of the T'ien-t'ai and True Word schools. The scholars in China held various opinions, but Dengyo believed in his heart that the Lotus Sutra was superior to the True Word teachings. Therefore, he did not use the word "school" when referring to the True Word school, but simply spoke of the "concentration and insight" and "True Word" practices of the Tendai school. He decreed that two priests should be ordained each year and should spend a period of twelve years in study on Mount Hiei. In addition, he received an imperial edict designating the Lotus, Golden Light, and Benevolent Kings sutras as the three scriptures for the protection of the nation and decreeing that they be read (128) and recited in Shikan-in. It went on to liken these three sutras to the three treasures of the imperial household, the eternal and foremost treasures of the Japanese nation, which are the sacred jewel, the sacred sword, and the sacred mirror. After Dengyo's passing, the first chief priest of the Tendai school on Mount Hiei, the Reverend Gishin, and the second chief priest, the Great Teacher Encho, carried on Dengyo's intentions without any deviation.

The third chief priest, the Great Teacher Jikaku, also went to T'ang China, where he spent ten years studying the relative merits of the exoteric and esoteric teachings under eight distinguished (129) priests. He also studied under priests of the T'ien-t'ai school (130) such as Kuang-hsiu and Wei-chüan. But in his heart he believed that the True Word school was superior to the T'ien-t'ai school. He felt that his teacher, the Great Teacher Dengyo, had not gone into the matter in sufficient detail, that he had not remained for an extended period in China and hence had acquired only a rough understanding of the True Word doctrines.

After Jikaku returned to Japan, he founded a great lecture hall called Soji-in west of Shikan-in in the Toto (131) area on Mount Hiei, in which he established the Thus Come One Mahavairochana of the Diamond Realm as an object of devotion. In front of this image, he composed, on the basis of Shan-wu-wei's commentary on the Mahavairochana Sutra, a seven-volume commentary on the Diamond Crown Sutra and a seven-volume commentary on the Susiddhikara Sutra, making a total of fourteen volumes.

The essence of these commentaries is as follows: "There are two types of teachings. One is called the exoteric, which corresponds to the doctrine of the three vehicles; in this, worldly truth and the superior truth of Buddhism are not completely fused. The other is called the esoteric, which corresponds to the doctrine of the one vehicle; in this, worldly truth and the superior truth of Buddhism are fused together into a single entity. In turn, there are two types of esoteric teachings. One is called the esoteric teachings of theory; these are the doctrines found in works such as the Flower Garland, Wisdom, Vimalakirti, Lotus, and Nirvana sutras. But these, though they teach the nondualism of worldly truth and the superior truth, say nothing about mantras and mudras. The second is called the esoteric teachings of both theory and practice; these are the doctrines found in the Mahavairochana, Diamond Crown, and Susiddhikara sutras. These teach the nondualism of worldly truth and the superior truth, and also explain mantras and mudras."

This essentially means that, in regard to the relative superiority of the Lotus Sutra and the three True Word sutras just mentioned, they agree in principle, both teaching the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, but mudras and mantras are not mentioned in the Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra thus represents the esoteric teachings of theory, while the three True Word sutras represent the esoteric teachings of both theory and practice. They are hence as far apart as heaven and earth, or clouds and mud, say the commentaries. Moreover, Jikaku insists that this is no private interpretation of his own, but represents the essential view put forward by the Tripitaka Master Shan-wu-wei in his commentary on the Mahavairochana Sutra.

But perhaps he felt that the relative worth of the Tendai and True Word schools was still a matter of doubt, or perhaps he hoped to dispel the misgivings of others. In any event, the biography of the Great Teacher Jikaku states as follows: "After the great teacher had completed writing his commentaries on the two sutras and thus accomplished his aim, he wondered to himself whether or not his commentaries conformed to the will of the Buddha, for he believed that if they did not conform to the Buddha's will they should never be widely circulated in the world. He therefore placed the commentaries before the image of the Buddha and determined to spend seven days and seven nights earnestly praying and endeavoring to make clear the validity of his purpose. On the fifth day, early in the morning at the time of the fifth watch, he dreamed that it was high noon and the sun was shining in the sky. Looking up, he took a bow and shot an arrow at it. The arrow struck the sun, which immediately began to roll over and over. After he woke from his dream, he realized that his views were profoundly in accord with the will of the Buddha, and he determined to transmit his commentaries to future ages."

While the Great Teacher Jikaku was in Japan, he made a thorough study of the teachings of both Dengyo and Kobo, and he spent a period of ten years in China studying under the eight distinguished priests, including the Tripitaka Master Pao-yüeh of southern India, learning all the loftiest and most secret doctrines. On this basis, he completed his commentaries on the two sutras. In addition, he prayed to the image of the Buddha, and awoke from dreaming that he had seen the arrow of wisdom strike the sun of the Middle Way. So great was his joy that he requested Emperor Nimmyo to issue an edict acknowledging Mount Hiei as a center of the True Word practice.

Though he was the chief priest of the Tendai school, he virtually became a True Word prelate, declaring that the three True Word sutras were the works that would ensure peace and protection of the nation. It has now been more than four hundred years since he spread these doctrines. The eminent leaders who have accepted them are as numerous as rice and hemp seedlings, and the fervent believers who have embraced them are as plentiful as bamboo plants and rushes.

As a result, of all the temples established throughout Japan by Emperor Kammu and the Great Teacher Dengyo, there is not one that has not become a propagator of the True Word doctrine. Both courtiers and warriors alike invite True Word priests to attend to their religious needs, look up to them as their teachers, confer offices upon them, and place them in charge of temples. And in the eye-opening ceremony carried out at the consecration of wooden and painted Buddhist images, the priests of all the eight schools of Buddhism now use the mudras and mantras of the Thus Come One Mahavairochana and the honored one Buddha Eye!


Notes:

111. Precious Key to the Secret Treasury.. This statement implies that each of the many schools claims to be the vehicle of Buddhahood, but that their doctrines prove to be shallow when compared with the doctrine of the True Word school.
112. Ibid. This statement represents a comparison of Shakyamuni Buddha and Mahavairochana Buddha.
113. Exoteric and Esoteric. On the basis of the Six Paramitas Sutra, Kobo divided all the Buddhist teachings into five categories, which he compared to the five flavors of fresh milk, cream, curdled milk, butter, and ghee. He likened the Mahayana sutras, including the Lotus Sutra, to the fourth flavor, butter, and the True Word teachings, to ghee, the finest flavor.
114. Ibid. Kobo especially slanders T'ien-t'ai, who set forth "the five periods and eight teachings" and compared the period of the Lotus and the Nirvana sutras to the finest flavor of ghee. Kobo on this basis accused T'ien-t'ai of stealing the True Word doctrine.
115. Prajna (Chin Pan-jo) was a native of Kashmir who arrived in Canton in 781 and in Ch'ang-an in 790. He translated a large number of works, including the Six Paramitas Sutra.
116. The Dharma Characteristics priest Tokuitsu's condemnation is cited in Dengyo's Essay on the Protection of the Nation. Dengyo's rebuttal also appears in the same work.
117. Treatise on the Lotus Sutra.
118. Great Perfection of Wisdom.
119. "Others" refers to Shakyamuni, Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, and others who compared the Lotus Sutra to ghee.
120. These anecdotes are mentioned in Records of the Historian. Tan, the Duke of Chou, was a younger brother of Emperor Wu of the Chou dynasty. He implemented a number of reforms in state affairs and established a firm foundation for the dynasty. He was so eager to find able persons and anxious not to overlook anyone that he would receive visitors even while washing his hair or during the course of a meal. The Daishonin cites this example to explain the importance of being conscientious.
121. Shokaku-bo is another name for Kakuban (1095-1143), the precursor of the New Doctrine branch of the True Word school. Dembo-in was the temple he established on Mount Koya. After it was moved to Negoro, it became the head temple of the New Doctrine branch.
122. In this quotation, the Buddha of the Nondual Mahayana refers to Mahavairochana Buddha, who represents the essential oneness of the Womb and Diamond Realms. The three-bodied donkey- or ox-Buddha refers to Shakyamuni Buddha, who expounded the exoteric teachings. The three bodies of a Buddha are the Dharma body, the reward body, and the manifested body. The twofold mandala refers to the Diamond Realm and Womb Realm mandalas, the objects of devotion of the esoteric teachings.
123. The following story, including the details concerning the Scholar Bhadraruchi, is based on a passage in The Record of the Western Regions.
124. The consecration ceremony in which water is poured on the head of the person to be initiated.
125. Presumably a reference to The Record of the Buddha and the Patriarchs of Various Dynasties, which relates how, when Emper-or Su-tsung of the T'ang dynasty asked the priest Hui-chung about the meditation in which there is no distinction between self and others, Hui-chung replied that the emperor should step on the head of the Buddha.
126. San-chieh, more commonly known as Hsin-hsing (540-594), was the founder of the San-chieh, or Three Stages, school that flourished during the Sui dynasty. Hsin-hsing, basing his calculations on one of the many theories concerning the matters that existed at that time, claimed that the Latter Day of the Law had arrived in 550. He also asserted that, in this degenerate world, there was no alternative other than to practice a universal teaching that did not distinguish the efficacy of various sutras. He held that the Buddha nature was inherent in all sentient beings. The school acquired enormous wealth that was eventually confiscated; it was banned in 713.
127. As for the other five schools, Annen ranked the Three Treatises school fifth, the Dharma Characteristics school sixth, the Precepts school seventh, the Establishment of Truth school eighth, and the Dharma Analysis Treasury school ninth.
128. Also called Ichijo Shikan-in. An-other name for Kompon Chudo, the main temple building on Mount Hiei.
129. The True Word priests: Tsung-jui, Ch'uan-ya, Yüan-cheng, I-chen, Fa-ch'üan, Pao-yüeh, K'an, and Wei-chin.
130. Kuang-hsiu (771-843) was the eighth patriarch in the lineage of the T'ien-t'ai school in China. He was a disciple of Tao-sui, one of the Chinese teachers of the Great Teacher Dengyo. Wei-chüan (n.d). was Kuang-hsiu's disciple.


(to be continued)

 

[SoCal Hippy]

"Carry through with your faith in the Lotus Sutra. You cannot strike
fire from flint if you stop halfway. Bring forth the great power of
faith, and be spoken of by all the people of Kamakura, both high and
low, or by all the people of Japan, as "Shijo Kingo, Shijo Kingo of
the Lotus school!" Even a bad reputation will spread far and wide. A
good reputation will spread even farther, particularly if it is a
reputation for devotion to the Lotus Sutra."

(WND, 319)
Earthly Desires Are Enlightenment
Written to Shijo Kingo on May 2, 1272

 

[PassTheDoobie]

We have a couple of posts that don't show up. You read them only if you hit the reply button. Help GL!

 

[Green Lantern]

????

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Thanks GL!!!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

OK. Let’s have a raffle. After thinking about it, I decided that the thread is the thread because of all of us and not just me, so I am going to let the universe decide who gets the ICmag prize. All posts retroactive to those dated 12-25 and after, continuing through the end of February will be considered as entries. Now is the time to ask questions or just say hello.

It is the winners responsibility to directly PM DG with a safe addy for delivery of the prize, which happens to be Gypsy’s fabulous new stash box, just arriving in the next two weeks. Any post will qualify. If you are an IC member, make a post and give yourself a chance to win the stash box. If you aren’t an IC member, now is the time to join and become part of our international growing community. For the next month you can support the thread by acknowledging that you’re out there and maybe win a cool Gypsy Nirvana Stash Box doing it.

World Peace Is The Buddha’s Will. It will happen with or without you. February is the traditional month to tell others about Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism. It’s time to do Shakubuku! Please try and post something encouraging in the thread and don’t forget to tell someone else about Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

The Karma Is Yours. (Which also means use your brain and be cool. Please everyone, let’s make this a fun thing and not a pain in the ass for anyone.)

My deepest thanks to all of you!

T

 

[SoCal Hippy]

So gracious PTD and thanks to you!!!

(have no idea what a 'stash box' is tho but I can guess)

 

[SoCal Hippy]

"Buddhism teaches that one characteristic of a bodhisattva is being
able to perceive the world's sounds. The insight needed to correctly
discern and grasp developments in society and the times -- even to
anticipate them before they happen -- is indispensable."

from SGI-USA
"For Today & Tomorrow"

 

[SoCal Hippy]

"If I remain silent, I may escape persecutions in this lifetime, but in
my next life I will most certainly fall into the hell of incessant
suffering. If I speak out, I am fully aware that I will have to
contend with the three obstacles and four devils. But of these two
courses, surely the latter is the one to choose."

(WND, 239)
The Opening of the Eyes
Written to Shijo Kingo in February 1272

 

[Babbabud]

Great meeting last nite mrsB enjoyed the group ... and I feel double fortunate
nam myoho renge kyo !!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"What is the true benefit of faith? It is to advance on the path of indestructible happiness across the three existences—past, present, and future. It is to construct in our lives during our time in this world the correct path of life that will guide us into eternity throughout the unending cycle of birth and death. This path is also the sure road to victory in the battle against evil, both within and without. Unless we actively challenge negative forces, we cannot realize lives of eternal happiness. If we run away from this struggle, we will end up wandering forever in the darkness of ignorance and illusion. If we give in to fear, the obstacles and devils that assail us will only increase. If we are cowardly, the workings of negative and destructive forces will eat away at our lives.

"It is vital that our fighting spirit is fuelled by strong faith so that we can break through ignorance and illusion and defeat obstacles and devilish functions. Not only is this the driving force for changing poison into medicine in our present existence, but also for radically changing the orientation of our lives across the three existences—that is, from transmigration grounded in ignorance (fundamental darkness) to transmigration grounded in the Dharma nature (enlightenment). Consequently, when we are firmly resolved to fight against evil, the great hardships we encounter become a source of great joy."

SGI Newsletter No. 6714, LECTURES ON “THE OPENING OF THE EYES” <FINAL INSTALMENT>, [20] Enjoying Infinite Benefit throughout Eternity, —The Boundless Joy of a Life of Unceasing Challenge Based on the Mystic Law, translated Feb. 1st, 2006

 

[mrwags]

I have no idea if this is posted yet but I'm growing more curious by the day regarding this way of life!?

http://members.freezone.co.uk/sunspark/nmhrk/sound.htm#nam

I guess I had to start from the beginning and feel it is in my best interest to know EXACTLY how to say it before I gave it a go and did a google search and this was the best one I found with sound included. I now will search for a book called Buddhism For Dummy's. I must say being raised a Christian I found many people try to make religion complicated. A good Christian was what they taught me and then gave me a long sermon regarding what it ment. To me it ment simply To Be Christ Like,no more no less,you know What Would Jesus Do? Simple. Love all and help thy neighbor. I saw the Buddha dolls when I was growing up and remember someone saying if a women rubbed his belly she would get pregnent. I know to you this is silly but am trying to convey how I first learned of him. That was 28 years ago and have never thought of him since. Now my life is almost half over and I come to this place to LEARN. Being a sponge for life I pride myself in knowing as much as I can before I die. I've been dead before and the uforic feeling that came with it change me forever and I guess made me that way. BUT I feel something has drawn me here to this thread and I just don't know why. I've thought about it for weeks now but never doing anything about it so now I feel the time has come to LEARN. I need a book an ABC book, so to speak so that I may learn more. I do feel tho I have lived my life close to Buddhist way and don't even know it so maybe if I read more I to can find the answer.

Your Ever Growing Newby
Mr.Wags


Nam Myoho Renge Kyo