Chanting Growers Group

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"In the well-known words of the English poet Shelley: 'If winter comes, can spring be far behind?'

"In 'The Opening of the Eyes,' the Daishonin writes: 'By observing a single flower in bloom, one can predict the advent of spring' (WND, 268). In the winter of life, too, if we advance with the Buddhism of the sun in our hearts, the warmth of spring is sure to come. The Daishonin also famously declares:

"'Those who believe in the Lotus Sutra are as if in winter, but winter always turns to spring. Never, from ancient times on, has anyone heard or seen of winter turning back to autumn. Nor have we ever heard of a believer in the Lotus Sutra who turned into an ordinary person.' (WND, 536)

"Life is a struggle, a struggle that we must win. And the Daishonin promises that the Buddhism of the sun enables us to do so. When each of you brings the fragrant flower of victory to bloom in your lives, the spring of hope will arrive.

"Mr. Toda once said: 'Obstacles exist to test and train us, so they are like a judo instructor who throws his students about to make them stronger. If you face every obstacle with the readiness to confront it and the determination to win, you’ll be able to overcome the most challenging difficulties.' He also said: 'The Daishonin’s Buddhism guarantees that those who suffer the most will become the happiest.' I hope all of you will cheerfully and positively show actual proof in your lives that winter always turns to
spring."

SGI Newsletter No. 6795, WOMEN'S DIVISION LEADERS CONFERENCE-PART 2 [OF 2], Feb 10th, 2006, Courage Is the Backbone of Faith, translated April 7th, 2006

 

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What is a Buddha?

What is a Buddha?

A Buddha is any being who has become awakened to the ultimate truth of life, one who perceives the true entity of all phenomena, and who leads others to attain the same enlightenment. In India the word buddha was originally a common noun meaning "awakened one," but in Buddhism it is used to mean one who has become awakened to the ultimate truth of life. In Hinayana the word means one who has entered the state of nirvana, in which both body and mind are extinguished. Provisional Mahayana generally teaches that one becomes a Buddha after eradicating illusions through aeons of austere and meritorious practices, gradually acquiring the thirty-two features of a Buddha. The perfect teaching of the Lotus Sutra views the Buddha as one endowed with the three virtues of sovereign, teacher and parent, who is enlightened to the truth of all phenomena and who teaches it to the people in order to save them from suffering. In Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law is the original Buddha eternally endowed with the three properties and the three virtues, who appears in the form of a common mortal and expounds the Mystic Law.

(from: http://sgi-usa.org/buddhism/faqs/buddha.htm )

 

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Who Is a Buddha?

Who Is a Buddha?

To many, the image conjured up by the word Buddha is of an otherwordly being, calmly remote from the matters of this world. Through meditation he has attained state of "nirvana" which will enable him to escape this world and its constant sufferings--the fruit of human delusion and desire.

However, this image does not reflect the truth about the life of Shakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism who lived in India around 2,500 years ago. He was a deeply compassionate man who rejected the extremes of both asceticism and attachment, who was constantly interacting with others and wanted all people to share the truth he had discovered.

The literal meaning of Buddha is "enlightened one." Enlightenment is a fully awakened state of vast wisdom through which reality in all its complexity can be fully understood and enjoyed. Any human being who is awakened to the fundamental truth about life can be called a Buddha.

However, many schools of Buddhism have taught that enlightenment is only accessible after an arduous process undertaken over unimaginably long periods of time--over many lifetimes, in fact. In dramatic contrast, what is considered Shakyamuni's last and highest teaching, the Lotus Sutra, explains that Buddhahood is already present in all life. It teaches absolute equality and emphasizes that even within the life of a person apparently dominated by evil, there exists the unpolished jewel of the Buddha nature. No one else gives it to us or judges whether we "deserve" it.

As with gold hidden in a dirty bag, or lotus flowers emerging from a muddy pond, we have first to believe our Buddha nature is there, then awaken and develop or "polish" it. In Nichiren Buddhism this can be done through devotion to the law contained in the Lotus Sutra and the chanting of the phrase "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo."

But Buddhahood is not a static condition or a state in which one can rest complacently. Rather, it is a dynamic experience and a journey of continual development and discovery.

When we continually reinforce the Buddhahood in our lives, we come to be ruled less and less by selfishness (or greed), anger and foolishness--what Buddhism terms the three poisons. As we fuse our lives with the enlightened life of the Buddha, we can tap the potential within us and change ourselves in a fundamental way.

As this inner state of Buddhahood is strengthened, we also develop a fortitude which enables us to ride even the wildest storms. If we are enlightened to the true, unchanging nature of life, we can joyfully surf the waves of difficulty which wash against us in life, creating something of value out of any situation. In this way our "true self" blossoms, and we find vast reserves of courage, compassion, wisdom and energy or life-force inside us. We find ourselves becoming more active and feeling deep inner freedom. And as we experience a growing sense of oneness with the universe, the isolation and alienation that cause so much suffering evaporate. We lessen our attachment to our smaller egotistical self, to difference, and become aware instead of the interconnectedness of all life. Gradually we find our lives opening up to those of others, desiring their happiness as much as our own.

However, while it is easy to believe that we all possess the lower life-states outlined in Buddhist teachings (hell, hunger, animality, anger and so on), believing that we possess Buddhahood is much more difficult. But the struggle to develop and constantly strengthen this state within our lives is well worthwhile.

For, in the words of Daisaku Ikeda, "[Buddhahood] is the joy of joys. Birth, old age, illness and death are no longer suffering, but part of the joy of living. The light of wisdom illuminates the entire universe, casting back the innate darkness of life. The life-space of the Buddha becomes united and fused with the universe. The self becomes the cosmos, and in a single instant the life-flow stretches out to encompass all that is past and all that is future. In each moment of the present, the eternal life-force of the cosmos pours forth as a gigantic fountain of energy."

(from: http://www.sgi.org/english/Buddhism/more/more15.htm )

 

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Buddha (Skt, Pali)
[仏] (Jpn.: hotoke or butsu)

One enlightened to the eternal and ultimate truth that is the reality of all things, and who leads others to attain the same enlightenment. Buddha was originally a common word meaning awakened one or enlightened one, referring to those who attained any kind of religious awakening. In Buddhism, it refers to one who has become awakened to the ultimate truth of all things and phenomena. In this context, the term Buddha at first was applied exclusively to Shakyamuni. Later, however, with the development of Buddha as an ideal, numerous Buddhas appeared in Mahayana scriptures. These include such Buddhas as Amida and Medicine Master. Expressions such as "the Buddhas of the ten directions" and "the Buddhas of the three existences" communicate the idea that Buddhas, or the potential for enlightenment they represent, pervade the universe and are eternally present.

Various definitions of Buddha are set forth in Buddhist teachings. In Hinayana teachings, it means one who has entered the state of nirvana, in which both body and mind are extinguished. Mahayana teachings generally maintain that one becomes a Buddha only after innumerable kalpas of austere and meritorious practices, by eradicating illusions and earthly desires and acquiring the thirty-two features of a Buddha. The Lotus Sutra views Buddha as one who manifests the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent, who is enlightened to the true aspect of all phenomena, and who teaches it to people to save them from suffering. Philosophy based on the Lotus Sutra, including that of T'ien-t'ai and Nichiren who regarded the sutra as Shakyamuni's most profound teaching, recognizes the potential of every person to become a Buddha.

From source: The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism

 

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Shakyamuni (Skt)
[ 釈尊・釈�牟尼] (Jpn.: Shakuson or Shakamuni)

Also known as Gautama Buddha. The founder of Buddhism. "Shakyamuni" means "sage of the Shakyas," Shakya being the name of the tribe or clan to which his family belonged. Opinions differ concerning the dates of his birth and death. According to Buddhist tradition in China and Japan, he was born on the eighth day of the fourth month of 1029 B.C.E. and died on the fifteenth day of the second month of 949 B.C.E., but recent studies have him living nearly five hundred years later. The view prevalent among scholars is that Shakyamuni lived from about 560 to about 480 B.C.E., though some scholars hold that he lived from about 460 to about 380 B.C.E. He was the son of Shuddhodana, the king of the Shakyas, a small tribe whose kingdom was located in the foothills of the Himalayas south of what is now central Nepal. Shakyamuni's family name was Gautama (Best Cow), and his childhood or given name was Siddhartha (Goal Achieved), though some scholars say the latter is a title bestowed on him by later Buddhists in honor of the enlightenment he attained.

According to the Buddhist scriptures, Shakyamuni was born in Lumbini Gardens, in what is now Rummindei in southern Nepal. His mother, Maya, died on the seventh day after his birth, and he was raised thereafter by her younger sister Mahaprajapati. In his boyhood and adolescence, he is said to have excelled in both learning and the martial arts. Though raised amid the luxuries of the royal palace, he seems to have very soon become aware of and been profoundly troubled by the problem of human suffering. As a young man, he married the beautiful Yashodhara, who bore him a son, Rahula. He became increasingly possessed, however, by a longing to abandon the secular world and go out in search of a solution to the inherent sufferings of life. Buddhist scriptures describe four encounters, which served to awaken in him an awareness of these four sufferings common to all people-birth, aging, sickness, and death-and a desire to seek their solution. Eventually he renounced his princely status and embarked on the life of a religious mendicant.

Having left the palace of the Shakyas at Kapilavastu, Shakyamuni traveled south to Rajagriha, the capital of the kingdom of Magadha, where he studied first with Alara Kalama and then with Uddaka Ramaputta, both teachers of yogic meditation. Though he quickly mastered their respective forms of meditation, he did not find the answers to his questions in these disciplines. Leaving Rajagriha, he proceeded to the bank of the Nairanjana River near the village of Uruvilva, where he began to engage in ascetic practices in the company of other ascetics. For six years, he subjected himself to disciplines of appalling severity, far surpassing those of his companions, but he found it entirely impossible to reach emancipation through such self-mortification and eventually rejected these practices as well. To restore his body, which had been weakened by long fasting, he accepted milk curds offered him by a girl named Sujata. Then, near the city of Gaya, he seated himself under a pipal tree and entered meditation. There he attained an awakening, or enlightenment, to the true nature of life and all things. It was because of this enlightenment that he came to be called Buddha, or "Awakened One." According to Buddhist tradition in China and Japan, Siddhartha renounced secular life at age nineteen and attained enlightenment at thirty. (Modern scholars generally place these ages at twenty-nine and thirty-five, respectively.) The pipal tree was later called the bodhi tree, bodhi meaning enlightenment, and the site itself came to be called Buddhagaya.

After his awakening, Shakyamuni is said to have remained for a while beneath the tree, rejoicing in his emancipation yet troubled by the knowledge of how difficult it would be to communicate what he had realized to others. For a while, he vacillated as to whether he should attempt to teach others what he had achieved. At length, however, he resolved that he would strive to do so, so that the way to liberation from the sufferings of birth and death would be open to all people. First he made his way to Deer Park in Varanasi, where he preached and converted five ascetics who had formerly been his companions.

After that, Shakyamuni's efforts to propagate his teaching advanced rapidly. In Varanasi he converted Yashas, the son of a rich man, and about sixty others. Then he headed back toward the site of his enlightenment, the village of Uruvilvanear Gaya. There he converted three brothers- Uruvilva Kashyapa, Nadi Kashyapa, and Gaya Kashyapa-who were leaders among Brahman ascetics, along with their one thousand followers. The Buddha then set out for Rajagriha in Magadha, where he converted its king, Bimbisara, as well as Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, who would become two of the Buddha's leading disciples. The latter two were at that time followers of Sanjaya, one of the six non-Buddhist teachers. Together with Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, all of Sanjaya's followers-said to number 250-forsook him and entered the Buddhist Order. Mahakashyapa also became another of the Buddha's disciples in Rajagriha shortly thereafter.

The Buddha made several trips to his childhood home, Kapilavastu, resulting in the conversion of many people, including his younger half brother Nanda, his son Rahula, his cousins Ananda, Aniruddha, and Devadatta, and a barber named Upali. Shakyamuni's father, Shuddhodana, and his former wife, Yashodhara, are also said to have embraced the Buddhist teachings. The Buddha permitted his foster mother, Mahaprajapati, to enter the Buddhist Order, and thus the order of Buddhist nuns was established. At that time there was a powerful kingdom called Kosala that rivaled Magadha. In Shravasti, the capital of Kosala, a wealthy and influential merchant named Sudatta became the Buddha's lay follower and patron. He had met Shakyamuni while on business in Rajagriha and converted. Sudatta built Jetavana Monastery in Shravasti as an offering to the Buddha, and Shakyamuni is said to have spent twenty-five rainy seasons at this monastery with his disciples. Prasenajit, the king of Kosala, also became a Buddhist.

In the fifty years (forty-five according to modern scholars) from the time of his awakening until he died, Shakyamuni continued to travel through much of India to disseminate his teachings. Among the places where he concentrated his efforts were the cities of Rajagriha in Magadha; Shravasti in Kosala; Vaishali, capital of the Vriji confederacy; and Kaushambi, the capital of Vatsa. The Buddha's disciples in the monastic order were also active in spreading his teachings. Mahakatyayana was a native of the kingdom of Avanti in the western part of central India and made several converts there, including the king. Purna propagated Shakyamuni's teachings in Sunaparanta in western India north of present-day Bombay.

Thus even during Shakyamuni's lifetime, his teachings spread not only in central India but also to more remote areas, and people of all classes converted to Buddhism. The new religious movement, however, was perceived by many as a threat to the old Brahmanic order, and in the course of his efforts Shakyamuni personally underwent numerous hardships, representative of which are the so-called nine great ordeals. Persevering in the face of adversity, he continued to preach his message of emancipation, expounding the teachings in various ways according to the circumstances and capacity of his listeners. The teachings he left are so numerous that they later came to be called the eighty thousand teachings.

Shakyamuni died at age eighty. The year before his death, he stayed at Gridhrakuta (Eagle Peak) near Rajagriha. Then he set out on his last journey, proceeding northward across the Ganges River to Vaishali. He spent the rainy season in Beluva, a village near Vaishali. During this retreat he became seriously ill, but recovered and continued to preach in many villages. Eventually he came to a place called Pavain Malla. There he again became ill after eating a meal prepared as an offering by the village blacksmith, Chunda. Despite his pain, he continued his journey until he reached Kushinagara, where in a grove of sal trees he calmly lay down and spoke his last words. He admonished his disciples, saying: "You must not think that your teacher's words are no more, or that you are left without a teacher. The teachings and precepts I have expounded to you shall be your teacher." His final words are said to have been, "Decay is inherent in all composite things. Work out your salvation with diligence." His body was received by the Mallas of Kushinagara and cremated seven days later. The ashes were divided into eight parts, and eight stupas were erected to enshrine them. Two more stupas were built to house the vessel used in the cremation and the ashes of the fire. In the same year, the First Buddhist Council was held in the Cave of the Seven Leaves near Rajagriha to compile Shakyamuni's teachings.

From source: The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism

 

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Nichiren
[日蓮]

(1222-1282) The founder of the Buddhist tradition, that is based on the Lotus Sutra and urges chanting the phrase Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as a daily practice. Nichiren revealed that Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (Myoho-renge-kyo being the title of the Lotus Sutra) represents the essence of the Lotus's teaching. He embodied it in a mandala called the Gohonzon and taught that chanting that phrase with faith in the Gohonzon is the practice that enables people in the present age, the Latter Day of the Law, to attain Buddhahood.

Nichiren was born on the sixteenth day of the second month, 1222, in Tojo Village of Awa Province, Japan. His father was Mikuni no Taifu, and his mother, Umegiku-nyo. His childhood name was Zennichi-maro (also called Zennichi-maru). In 1233 he entered a nearby temple of the Tendai school called Seicho-ji, where he studied both Buddhist and secular teachings under the senior priest Dozen-bo. According to Nichiren's Letter to the Priests of Seicho-ji, written in 1276, Zennichi-maro prayed before a statue of Bodhisattva Space Treasury at Seicho-ji to become the wisest person in Japan. As a result, the letter says, he obtained "a great jewel," or a jewel of wisdom that later enabled him to grasp the essence of all the sutras.

In 1237 he was formally ordained and took the name Zesho-bo Rencho. Soon after, he left for Kamakura, the seat of the shogunate, to further his studies. Thereafter he returned briefly to Seicho-ji and then set out again for such major centers of Buddhist learning as Mount Hiei, Mount Koya, Onjo-ji temple, and other temples in the Kyoto and Nara areas. During these years he studied all of the available sutras and commentaries, as well as the teachings of the different Buddhist schools. He became firmly convinced that the highest of Shakyamuni's teachings is the Lotus Sutra, and that the great pure Law that leads directly to enlightenment in the Latter Day of the Law is implicit in that sutra. He was also convinced that his was the mission of Bodhisattva Superior Practices, who, according to the Lotus Sutra, was entrusted with the task of propagating that Law in the Latter Day. He resolved to declare the sutra's supremacy and point out the misconceptions of the prevailing Buddhist schools, though he knew that the Lotus Sutra predicts its votary will experience severe persecutions.

In 1253 he returned to Seicho-ji. There at noon on the twenty-eighth day of the fourth month, he preached to an assembly of priests and villagers who had gathered to hear the results of his studies. In that first sermon, he declared that the Lotus Sutra is the true teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha, and that its essence, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, is the very teaching in the Latter Day of the Law that enables all people to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime. On this occasion he renamed himself Nichiren (Sun Lotus). He also severely criticized the widespread Nembutsu (or Pure Land) doctrine as one that drives people into the hell of incessant suffering. TojoKagenobu, the steward of the area and an ardent Nembutsu believer, became furious on hearing this. He ordered his warriors to seize Nichiren, who narrowly managed to escape with the help of the priests, Joken-bo and Gijo-bo, who were his seniors when they were desciples together at Seicho-ji. After converting his parents and giving the Buddhist name Myonichi (Wonderful Sun) to his father and Myoren (Wonderful Lotus) to his mother, he headed for Kamakura to launch his efforts to spread his teaching. In Kamakura he lived in a dwelling at a place called Matsubagayatsu in Nagoe. He devoted the next several years primarily to converting individuals, eventually gaining a number of followers. Among the first priests to become his disciples were Nissho and Nichiro. Laypersons who converted were mostly samurai, including Toki Jonin, Shijo Kingo, Kudo Yoshitaka, and the Ikegami brothers.

Japan at that time was experiencing a succession of unusually severe storms, earthquakes, drought, famine, epidemics, and other disasters. Corpses littered the streets. Government relief measures and the prayers offered by shrines and temples were no help. An earthquake that struck Kamakura in the eighth month of 1257 destroyed the greater part of the city. Nichiren, determined to clarify a solution to these calamities based on Buddhist principles, went to Jisso-ji temple in Suruga Province to do research in its sutra library. During his stay there, Nikko, then a boy of thirteen studying at the nearby Shijuku-in temple, became Nichiren's disciple. He would later become his successor. On the sixteenth day of the seventh month, 1260, Nichiren submitted a treatise titled On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land to Hojo Tokiyori, the retired regent who was nevertheless the most influential man in the Kamakura shogunate. In that work, he attributed the disasters ravaging the country to slander of the correct teaching and belief in false teachings. In particular, he criticized the dominant Nembutsu school. Of the three calamities and seven disasters described in the sutras, he predicted that the two disasters that had yet to occur-internal strife and foreign invasion-would befall the nation without fail if it persisted in supporting misleading schools. He urged that the one vehicle teaching of the Lotus Sutra be embraced immediately. The submission of On Establishing the Correct Teaching is regarded as the first of his several remonstrations with Japan's rulers.

There was no official response to this document, but a crowd of Nembutsu believers, incited by priests and high government officials, attacked Nichiren's dwelling on the night of the twenty-seventh day of the eighth month. He narrowly escaped with a few disciples and stayed briefly with Toki Jonin in Shimosa Province. His sense of mission, however, would not allow him to remain there long. The next spring Nichiren returned to Kamakura. This time leaders of the Nembutsu priests accused him of defamation, and the shogunate, without trial or further investigation, sentenced him to exile in Ito on the Izu Peninsula.

The boatmen charged with his transport did not take him to Ito, but abandoned him on a beach called Kawana to the mercy of the local inhabitants, many of whom were Nembutsu believers and were in any case hostile to exiles. Nichiren was sheltered for a time by a fisherman named Funamori Yasaburo and his wife. Later Nichiren won the favor of the steward of Ito when he successfully prayed for the steward's recovery from a serious illness. Nichiren was pardoned and returned to Kamakura in the second month of 1263. Concerned about his aged mother (his father had died in 1258), Nichiren returned to his native Awa in the autumn of 1264. He found his mother critically ill. He prayed for her, and she recovered and lived four more years. He stayed in Awa for awhile to conduct propagation activities.

On the eleventh day of the eleventh month, while still in Awa, he set out with a group of followers to visit Kudo Yoshitaka, one of his samurai believers, at Yoshitaka's invitation. En route, Nichiren and his party were ambushed by TojoKagenobu and his men at a place called Komatsubara. Nichiren's disciple Kyonin-bo was killed, and Kudo Yoshitaka, who came rushing to the scene, died of wounds he suffered in the fight. Nichiren sustained a sword cut on his forehead and a broken hand. This incident is called the Komatsubara Persecution.

During the next three years or so, Nichiren devoted himself to propagation in Awa, Kazusa, Shimosa, and Hitachi provinces, and then returned to Kamakura. Early in 1268, an official letter from the Mongol Empire arrived in Japan with a demand that Japan acknowledge fealty to it or prepare to be invaded. The arrival of the letter from the Mongols substantiated Nichiren's earlier prophecy of foreign invasion.

In the fourth month Nichiren sent his newly written rationale for having completed the treatise On Establishing the Correct Teaching to a government official named Hogan, pointing out that the prediction made in the treatise was beginning to come true and urging the shogunate to heed his admonitions. On the eleventh day of the tenth month, he sent eleven letters to influential political and religious leaders, including the regent Hojo Tokimune, urging them to abandon their faith in erroneous teachings and demanding the opportunity for a public religious debate. There was no response.

In 1271 the country was troubled by persistent drought, and the shogunate ordered Ryokan of Gokuraku-ji temple to pray for rain. Hearing of this, Nichiren sent Ryokan a written challenge, offering to become his disciple if Ryokan succeeded; on the other hand, if Ryokan failed, he should become Nichiren's disciple. Ryokan readily agreed, but despite his prayers and those of hundreds of attendant priests, no rain fell. Far from keeping his promise, he vindictively began to spread false rumors about Nichiren, using his influence among the wives and widows of shogunate officials. On the tenth day of the ninth month, Nichiren was summoned to court and interrogated by Hei no Saemon, the deputy chief of the Office of Military and Police Affairs (the chief being the regent himself ). He reemphasized the errors of the True Word (Shigon), Zen, and Nembutsu schools and repeated his prediction that the country would face ruin if it continued to reject the correct teaching.

On the evening of the twelfth day of the ninth month, Hei no Saemon, with a large group of his soldiers, attacked and arrested Nichiren. As he later wrote, Nichiren said to Hei no Saemon at the time: "Nichiren is the pillar and beam of Japan. Doing away with me is toppling the pillar of Japan!" (579). Hei no Saemon then maneuvered to have Nichiren beheaded and had him taken late that night to the execution grounds at Tatsunokuchi. Just as the executioner had raised his sword to strike, a brilliant object shot across the sky, illuminating everyone like bright moonlight. Nichiren wrote later: "The executioner fell on his face, his eyes blinded. The soldiers were filled with panic" (767). In the end, they abandoned the execution. Nichiren wrote about this incident, called the Tatsunokuchi Persecution, in The Opening of the Eyes: "On the twelfth day of the ninth month of last year [1271], between the hours of the rat and the ox [11:00 P.M. to 3:00 A.M.], this person named Nichiren was beheaded. It is his soul that has come to this island of Sado and, in the second month of the following year, snowbound, is writing this to send to his close disciples" (269). Nichikan (1665-1726), the twenty-sixth chief priest of Taiseki-ji temple, interpreted this passage to mean that the ordinary person Nichiren died at Tatsunokuchi, but the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law Nichiren survived. This is called "casting off the transient [status] and revealing the true [identity] (Jpn hosshaku-kem-pon)." After this, Nichiren began to inscribe the object of devotion known as the Gohonzon.

On the tenth day of the tenth month, after an almost one-month stay in Echi in Sagami Province, Nichiren left under escort for Sado Island, his designated place of exile, and arrived at Tsukahara on Sado on the first day of the eleventh month. There he was assigned as his dwelling a dilapidated hut in a graveyard, exposed to the wind and snow. On the sixteenth day of the first month in the following year, several hundred priests from Sado and the mainland came to confront him in religious debate. In what is known as the Tsukahara Debate, Nichiren refuted those priests and won converts. In the second month of that year, Nichiren's prediction of internal strife came true when Hojo Tokisuke, an elder half brother of Regent Hojo Tokimune, made an abortive attempt to seize power. In the fourth month Nichiren was transferred from Tsukahara to the more comfortable residence of the lay priest Ichinosawa. While on Sado he wrote many of his most important works, including The Opening of the Eyes, The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind, The Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life, The True Aspect of All Phenomena, The Entity of the Mystic Law, On the Buddha's Prophecy, and On Practicing the Buddha's Teachings.

In the second month of 1274, the shogunate issued a pardon for Nichiren, and he returned to Kamakura the next month. On the eighth day of the fourth month, Hei no Saemon summoned Nichiren and, in a deferential manner, asked his opinion regarding the impending Mongol invasion. Nichiren said that it would occur within the year and reiterated that this calamity was the result of slandering the correct teaching. On this occasion the shogunate offered to build him a large temple and establish him on an equal footing with all the other Buddhist schools, but Nichiren refused. He instead again refuted the errors of the shogunate.

The shogunate continued its support of the True Word and other schools. Convinced that he had done all he could to warn the nation's leaders of their religious errors and of what would ensue as a result, Nichiren now turned his efforts to ensuring the correct transmission of his teachings to posterity. In keeping with an old maxim that a worthy man who warns his sovereign three times and still is not heeded should withdraw to a mountain forest, he left Kamakura on the twelfth day of the fifth month, and went to take up residence at the foot of Mount Minobu in Kai Province. There he gave lectures on the Lotus Sutra and devoted himself to training his disciples. He also continued to write, producing such important documents as One Taking the Essence of the Lotus Sutra, The Selection of the Time, and On Repaying Debts of Gratitude.

In the tenth month of 1274, the Mongols launched a massive attack against the southern Japanese islands of Iki and Tsushima and advanced to Kyushu. Japanese losses were staggering, but one night when the Mongol forces returned to their battleships, an unexpected storm arose and heavily damaged the Mongol fleet, which then withdrew. In the fourth month of the next year, however, the Mongols sent an envoy relaying a threat of another invasion if the Japanese government did not acknowledge fealty to their empire. During this period, Nichiren was busy at Minobu writing letters, training his disciples, and lecturing on the Lotus Sutra. Nikko assumed active leadership in disseminating Nichiren's teachings, concentrating his efforts in Kai, Izu, and Suruga provinces. These activities led to an increase in converts among both the priesthood and laity, and eventually to more oppression. In Atsuhara Village of the Fuji area, in particular, believers were repeatedly threatened and harassed, and some were finally executed. In what later became known as the Atsuhara Persecution, twenty believers, all farmers, were arrested on false charges on the twenty-first day of the ninth month, 1279. Though tortured to force them to recant their beliefs, not one of the twenty farmers yielded. Three of them were beheaded on the fifteenth day of the tenth month (another account, the eighth day of the fourth month, 1280). Nichiren, seeing that his followers now had the strength to uphold their faith even at the cost of their lives, determined that the time had come to fulfill the ultimate purpose of his life. On the twelfth day of the tenth month, 1279, he inscribed the object of devotion (known as the Dai-Gohonzon) and dedicated it for the attainment of Buddhahood by all humanity.

Subsequently, his health began to fail. Sensing that death was near, Nichiren designated Nikko as his successor in a transfer document dated the ninth month of 1282. On the eighth day of the ninth month, he left Minobu at the urging of his followers to visit a hot spring in Hitachi. When he reached the residence of Ikegami Munenaka at Ikegami in Musashi Province, he realized that his death was imminent. There he lectured for his followers on On Establishing the Correct Teaching. On the eighth day of the tenth month, he named six senior priests and entrusted them with the responsibility for propagation after his death. Early on the morning of the thirteenth day of the tenth month, he appointed Nikko as the chief priest of Kuon-ji temple in Minobu, directing all believers to follow him. He died that morning, in the company of his disciples, both priests and laity. His lay followers conducted his funeral.

From source: The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism

 

[PassTheDoobie]

I have found that even those who appear to believe just as the sutra teaches may not actually have strong faith at all, as you are already well aware. . . The fact that her prayers have gone unanswered is like a strong bow with a weak bowstring, or a fine sword in the hands of a coward. It is in no sense the fault of the Lotus Sutra.

[ The Royal Palace, WND Page 489 ]

 

[Guest]

tough last couple days, I truly find refuge/sanctuary in this thread!

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"If you propagate it, devils will arise without fail. If they did not, there would be no way of knowing that this is the correct teaching."

(Letter to the Brothers - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 501) Selection source: “Kyo no Hosshin”, Seikyo Shimbun, April 12th, 2006

 

[Guest]

in the greedy chaos of the last grow i decided that the buddha must be put back in the grow room. now the plants are well, but my desires are no less profligate. now is the time to put the buddha back in the grower. (at least that's what i want lol)

om

 

[Guest]

ps and i didn't mean a statue - although not a bad idea...

 

[Guest]

Welcome herbie, take your time and enjoy this thread. Glad to see your brought "buddha" back in your life!

Seeking answers are only a few clicks away. Try www.sgi.org if you have any questions or feel free to post them here.

Lando and Herbie, hope to see you both again very soon! I will chant for you and everyone else here.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo! Nam Myoho Renge Kyo! Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

In any and every endeavour,
our unflagging determination and perseverance
are vital if we are to be successful!
The very basis for our victory is the daimoku that we chant.
Let’s make all the Buddhist gods move!
Through our earnest and powerful chanting,
let’s create a “great whirl-wind” that will make our surroundings
be protective and supportive of all our efforts!

* “For instance, if one shakes one’s head, one’s hair loosens, and if one’s mind comes into play, one’s body moves. If a great wind blows, the grasses and trees sway, and if the earth trembles, the sea is disturbed. If one moves the lord of teachings, Shakyamuni, what grasses and trees will fail to bend, or what waters will remain calm?” – “Nichigen-nyo’s Offering of a Shakyamuni Image”, Gosho Zenshu, page 1187

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"You mustn’t be passive. It’s important to struggle through all manner of difficulties, gaining many experiences and strengthening your conviction in faith."

SGI Newsletter No. 6799, The New Human Revolution—Vol. 18: Chap. 3, Moving Forwards 35, translated April 11th, 2006

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Buddhist gods
[諸天善神] (Jpn.: shoten-zenjin)

See also: heavenly gods and benevolent deities


heavenly gods and benevolent deities
[諸天善神] (Jpn.: shoten-zenjin)

Also, Buddhist gods, protective gods, tutelary gods, guardian deities, etc. The gods that protect the correct Buddhist teaching and its practitioners. Gods who function to protect the people and their land and bring good fortune to both. Heavenly gods and benevolent deities is a generic term for the Buddhist pantheon that includes Brahma, Shakra, the four heavenly kings, the Sun Goddess, the gods of the sun and moon, and other deities. Many of these gods and deities were traditionally revered in India, China, and Japan. They became part of Buddhist thought as Buddhism flourished in those areas. Rather than primary objects of belief or devotion, Buddhism tends to view them as functioning to support and protect the Buddha, the Law, or Buddhist teachings, and practitioners.

The "Introduction" (first) chapter of the Lotus Sutra describes a scene in which the heavenly beings or gods gather to hear the preaching of the sutra. The "Peaceful Practices" (fourteenth) chapter of the sutra says, "The heavenly beings day and night will for the sake of the Law constantly guard and protect [those who practice as the sutra teaches]." In the Lotus Sutra, the gods are regarded as the guardians of those who embrace the sutra. In The Treatment of Illness, Nichiren (1222-1282) writes, "The fundamental nature of enlightenment manifests itself as Brahma and Shakra, whereas the fundamental darkness manifests itself as the devil king of the sixth heaven" (1113). Here the gods are viewed as manifestations of the Buddha nature in one's life. The Golden Light Sutra reads: "Though this sutra exists in the nation, its ruler has never allowed it to be propagated. In his heart he turns away from it, and he takes no pleasure in hearing its teachings... . In the end, he makes it impossible for us [the four heavenly kings] and the other countless heavenly beings who are our followers to hear this profound and wonderful teaching. He deprives us of the sweet dew of its words and cuts us off from the flow of the correct teaching, so that our majesty and strength are drained away... . And once we and the others abandon and desert this nation, then many different types of disasters will occur in the country, and the ruler will fall from power." This passage may be interpreted as indicating that the gods gain their strength from the Buddhist Law, and that they are the inherent functions of nature and society that protect those who uphold that Law.

From source: The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism

 

[Guest]

Chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo for the innocent in Uganda

Chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo for the innocent in Uganda

Humanitarian Crisis in N. Uganda Neglected

By GEORGE GEDDA, Associated Press Writer Thu Apr 13, 2:49 AM ET

WASHINGTON - The young Ugandan was roused from his sleep by rebel forces one night and taken away. In time, he was thrust into battle, enduring several close brushes with death. He was a war veteran at age 11.
ADVERTISEMENT

A Ugandan girl, 15, also saw combat after being kidnapped by rebels, one of whom raped her. Life for her after she bore his daughter was a continuing torment. "I used to fight with my baby strapped on my back," she said.

However grim their stories, the two youngsters have been among the more fortunate of Uganda's war victims. Both managed to escape and now look forward to a brighter future, according to their recorded testimonies, made available by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The depredations of the cultlike Lord's Resistance Army has led to suffering on a mass scale for the Acholi population in northern part of Uganda — with little notice from the outside world.

The U.N. undersecretary for humanitarian affairs, Jan Egeland, says northern Uganda's 20-year war, a lethal mix of religion and brutality, is the world's most neglected humanitarian crisis.

It certainly is no match for the western Sudanese region of Darfur in terms of garnering world attention and sympathy, even though the two conflicts have much in common: the number of displaced in both is well in excess of 1 million, most of them housed in dreary camps. The strife in the two regions has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

But assistance from the United States and other countries is much higher for Darfur. It is an issue, says State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli, "that the senior leadership of this administration works on every single day." Visits to Darfur by top U.S. officials are frequent.

The African Union has 7,000 troops in Darfur and may be joined soon by several hundred
NATO advisers. Thousands of U.N. peacekeepers are being recruited for Darfur duty.

The international outreach in northern Uganda is much less ambitious. It was not until 18 years after the conflict started that the
U.N. Security Council officially took note of it in a resolution.

"Northern Uganda does not have a constituency," says John Prendergast of the International Crisis Group, which follows global hotspots.

Egeland said in early April that the war has forced northern Ugandans "to live in massive displaced persons camps that are not found anywhere in the world."

Last month,
President Bush blamed the region's violence on a "barbaric rebel cult." Sen. Sam Brownback (news, bio, voting record), R-Kan., says Washington should demand "a rapid and organized international response to the humanitarian disaster" in northern Uganda.

U.S. relief aid totals $95 million annually. Another $13 million is used for rehabilitating children who manage to escape their LRA captors. In Darfur, the United States provided $507 million in humanitarian relief last year and $765 million the year before.

The LRA is led by a shadowy figure, Joseph Kony, who says he wants to create a government guided by the Ten Commandments.

Like the LRA, the Ugandan government also has been accused of atrocities and of herding civilians into camps to ensure the rebels find no supporters in the countryside.

Efforts by Uganda's Kampala-based government to negotiate peace have failed repeatedly. Kony uses his captives as human shields to deter possible Ugandan Army offensives to capture or kill him.

Children have been a particular casualty of the war. According to U.N. estimates, the rebels have abducted at least 25,000 children, mostly for use as fighters or sex slaves. As the children grow older, they are often sent on kidnap missions to ensure a steady supply of new blood.

To avoid capture, up to 8,000 Ugandan "night walkers," mostly children, trek for miles each evening from their homes to secure camps lest they fall victim to LRA kidnappers.

Kony and his rebels operated for years from a haven in Sudan, launching cross border operations into northern Uganda. He is believed to have transferred his operation to the violence-plagued eastern Congo, where he is assured continued easy access to northern Uganda.

If Kony is captured, he could be hauled before the International Criminal Court, which last summer issued warrants for the arrest of Kony and four of his top lieutenants. One was later killed in battle.

The five were charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes. The warrants were the first issued by the court since it was formed four years ago.

 

[Babbabud]

nam myoho renge kyo!!
some chants aimed this way if possible. My back is so sore that i can barely stand up and must keep working .... some chants this direction please, I will try to work today as i only get paid for what i get done. Your chants will be so appreciated
nam myoho renge kyo

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Bud! Thank you so much! You asked for it and I got up and opened the Butsudan again and sent some (around thirty minutes) to you. I pray for your relief and remind you that many people will require the wisdom you gain from overcoming this obstacle. You asked for this to prove the power of the Law. So you must prove it, and I will do anything to help you that I can.

I hope everyone will remember that the obstacles we encounter have already been guaranteed to occur. Don't be afraid, and don't be defeated. None of what we face is insurmountable. Maintaining your persistent faith, undaunted, requires great courage more than great strength. No matter how down and out you let yourself slide, Daimoku will take you back to where you need to be as fast as your faith will allow it to. It can be as fast as instantaneous. It is up to you. Ultimately, you can count on no one but yourself. Maybe, because ultimately, it is all a reflection of you.

Good or bad.

So how is the image reflecting back in the mirror today?

To maintain a practice of Buddhism--chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and doing gongyo daily, sharing your experiences and encouraging others, and studying the teachings--is one of the most difficult things one can attempt to maintain devotion toward.

I pray for you all in deepest respect,

Thomas

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Perfect Imperfection: ASPIRATION for Buddhahood

Perfect Imperfection: ASPIRATION for Buddhahood

Having goals can lead us in a positive direction. In the process of striving for goals, we see our unknown potential unfold before us. As we make progress, however small, we feel a sense of fulfillment and excitement. "Yews, I am moving ahead!" This sense of advancement contributes to our happiness.

Buddhism stresses the value of goals. Attaining Buddhahood--becoming absolutely happy--is the ultimate goal of our Buddhist practice. Our "aspiration for Buddhahood," therefore, is the starting point of our Buddhist practice; it means to recognize our innate potential of Buddhahood and resolve to develop it while helping others do the same. A bodhisattva is someone who does just this, who is constantly working toward the goal of attaining enlightenment or bodhi.

In his Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom, Nagarjuna, an Indian Buddhist scholar from the second or third century, discusses the three types of enlightenment--the enlightenment of voice-hearers, cause-awakened ones and Buddhas. The enlightenment of a Buddha is the supreme bodhi, that is, the unsurpassed Buddha wisdom. Those who strive to achieve the Buddha wisdom are called bodhisattvas.

Bodhisattvas are said to make four great vows in their Buddhist practice toward enlightenment. They are: 1) to save innumerable living beings; 2) to eradicate countless earthly desires; 3) to master immeasurable Buddhist teachings; and 4) to attain the supreme enlightenment of a Buddha. Put another way, as they begin their journey toward true happiness, bodhisattvas: 1) resolve to help others become happy; 2) resolve to overcome their own delusions and weaknesses; 3) seek the wisdom of Buddhism to the best of their ability; and 4) never to lose sight of their ultimate goal of attaining Buddhahood.

In this regard, Nichiren Daishonin states: "Bodhisattva s invariably make the four great vows, but without fulfilling their first vow, which is to save all living beings, they cannot fulfill the fourth vow, which is to attain supreme enlightenment" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 522). The Daishonin suggests that our altruistic efforts to pray and work for the happiness of others are crucial to our own happiness.

We begin our Buddhist practice resolute and diligent about our daily prayers and Buddhist study. However, as time goes by, our initial "aspiration for Buddhahood" tends to wane, especially when we experience disappointments. Also, after we overcome an obstacle, or when things are going particularly well, we tend to relax in our resolve to continue practicing Buddhism. This is like setting out to climb the highest mountain in the world and giving up climbing discouraged by the first steep ascent, or being satisfied with reaching a small ridge half way up the peak.

In this regard, the Daishonin states:

Many hear about and accept this sutra, but when great obstacles arise, just as they were told would happen, few remember it and bear it firmly in mind. To accept is easy; to continue is difficult. But Buddhahood lies in continuing faith. Those who uphold this sutra should be prepared to meet difficulties. It is certain, however, that they will "quickly attain the unsurpassed Buddha way." To "continue" means to cherish Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the most important principle for all the Buddhas of the three existences. (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 471)

In the course of our practice, we encounter various obstacles and hardships. Being a Buddhist does not mean to be immune to life’s ups and downs; rather, it means having a powerful tool to awaken our supreme potential of Buddhahood and overcome our obstacles. When we mistake the goal of our Buddhist practice as having no obstacles, it will be easy to get confused and discouraged by the realities of conflicts and challenges. For this reason, it is important to understand the true goal of Buddhist practice as a dynamic process of developing the state of life in which we can overcome any obstacle through courage, wisdom and compassion.

In one sense, we are constantly reaching for the summit of our Buddhist practice since the attainment of Buddhahood is not a static condition we attain once and for all. With each step forward, our Buddhahood becomes stronger, more deeply rooted in our lives. So what is most important is to "continue’ as the Daishonin says. We will always have some challenges with or without our Buddhist practice. But as we continue to practice Buddhism and build our inner strength, we develop confidence that our lives will be ultimately secure no matter what may happen; we enjoy each moment while working for the happiness of others.

To continue our Buddhist practice, however, we must constantly renew our "aspiration for Buddhahood." Our determination to continue to practice Buddhism and strengthen our Buddha nature is the source of enlightened living and true happiness. We will always have some sort of problem as long as we live. In this sense, we will remain "imperfect." But as we continue practice Buddhism, we can constantly transcend our imperfect self, always growing in our capacity to challenge obstacles. This process of eternal progress and never-ending self-transcendence is in itself the attainment of Buddhahood; it is a state of "perfect imperfection" in which we can enjoy every moment of our lives.

September 2000
Living Buddhism
Page 6
By Shin Yatomi, SGI-USA vice Study Department chief, partly based on Yasashii Kyogaku (Easy Buddhist Study), published by the Seikyo Press in 1994.

 

[Sleepy]

thinking of all my friends in pain...

thinking of all my friends in pain...

i hope your back is better, babba.

to all our friends out there in pain...both body and mind.




you are in my thoughts.