Chanting Growers Group

[PassTheDoobie]

enlightenment of plants
[草木成仏] (Jpn.: somoku-jobutsu)

Also, enlightenment of insentient beings. The enlightenment of grass, trees, rocks, the land itself, or anything else that has neither emotion nor consciousness. The doctrine that insentient beings can attain Buddhahood derives from T'ien-t'ai's doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life. One of the component principles of this doctrine is the realm of the environment, or the insentient objective world. The doctrine teaches the mutually inclusive relationship of living beings and their environments, or that of sentient and insentient beings, thereby revealing that both manifest the same state of life. Therefore, when living beings manifest the state of Buddhahood, their environment simultaneously manifests the state of Buddhahood as well. In The Diamond Scalpel, Miao-lo (711-782) refuted the arguments of Ch'eng-kuan, the fourth patriarch of the Chinese Flower Garland (Hua-yen) school, who asserted that insentient beings do not possess the Buddha nature. Miao-lo wrote, "A plant, a tree, a pebble, a speck of dust-each has the Buddha nature, and each is endowed with cause and effect and with the function to manifest and the wisdom to realize its Buddha nature."

From source: The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism

 

[EasyMyohoDisco]

Excellent Study Material!

To all, It is a pleasure to know that among us, you can find brilliant Bodhisattvas of the Earth focused on kosen-rufu, each and everyday!

Be the hope others desperately seek, Turn the poisons in your everyday life to medicine for all, Convert your negative vibes into fruitful endeavors!

I am so glad each and everyday to chant to Gohonzon, lately money has been very tight and the lack of weed has been a little difficult to cope with when I lose focus, but working for kosen-rufu quenches the thrist that my cannabinoid receptors frequently spark. I have found happiness within the benefit I create in my life, through my Practice of the Mystic Law of Cause and Effect.

It takes a bold, brave daily outlook, followed by an equally optimistic attitude and away I GO!

Don't be Afraid! Don't be Defeated! Victory! Heart of Gold!

 

[SoCal Hippy]

The New Human Revolution

The New Human Revolution

Vol - 73 Dynamic Strides

....At the root of this recent attitude among young women was the belief that happiness comes from the outside. But happiness is something we must create in our hearts, through our own efforts. Happiness cannot be achieved without working for it. The famous German writer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) proclaimed: "He who sports with life / Can never prosper / He who cannot command himself / Forever stays a slave."

In addition, no life is free from suffering. No matter how glamorous some people's lives may appear from the outside, they all have their share of problems and worries. One may experience smooth sailing for a time, but it never lasts forever. Suffering is an inescapable part of being alive. Unhappiness comes from being defeated by that suffering, losing all hope, and succumbing to despair. The only way to avoid that is to build a strong, expansive spirit that cannot be beaten by any hardship.

The bigger our problems and difficulties, the greater the happiness we experience when we finally overcome them. In fact, it is in the very process of challenging our problems that our lives pulse with joy and fulfilment and a great wellspring of happiness rises up within us. The effort to transform ourselves into a strong, dynamic, and broad-minded person is called human revolution.

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Vol 70 - Lion's Roar

People who have a defined starting point are stong. We must never forget our starting point. As long as we keep it foremost in mind, we will never lose sight of the path of our convictions.

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Vol 57 - Mission

Each of us has a noble mission. When we awaken to that mission, the door to our inner life force is unlocked and immeasurable strength and wisdom well forth. Our fundamental mission is the realization of the sacred and unprecendented undertaking of kosen-rufu, the attainment of happiness and peace for all humanity.

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Vol 61

"Only labor and devotion to one's mission give life its worth"

"One truly committed individual can defeat ten thousand. If a leader is really dedicated, his troops will be likewise."

"Encouragement has the power to change disappointment to courage."

"Just as steel is forged in a furnace, our character can only be developed through intense hardship and struggles."

"The process of germination for fresh foliage of spring begins in the bitter cold of winter. In the same way, our lives, as well as human civilization, bear magnificent fruit through surmounting various hardships and challenges."

 

[PassTheDoobie]

THE FIVEFOLD COMPARISON

THE FIVEFOLD COMPARISON

The fivefold comparison is one set of criteria for the comparative evaluation of systems of thought and religions, especially of the Buddhist teachings. It is a standard that concerns the "correct understanding of the teaching," the first of the five guides for propagation.

The fivefold or five successive levels of comparison are: (1) Buddhism is superior to non-Buddhism, (2) Mahayana Buddhism is superior to Hinayana Buddhism, (3) true Mahayana (the Lotus Sutra) is superior to provisional (pre-Lotus Sutra) Mahayana, (4) the essential teaching (latter half) of the Lotus Sutra is superior to the theoretical teaching (former halo, and (5) the Buddhism of sowing (Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism) is superior to the Buddhism of the harvest (Shakyamuni's Buddhism).

Nichiren Daishonin established the principle of the fivefold comparison in his writing, "The Opening of the Eyes," in order to demonstrate the supremacy of Nam-myohorenge-kyo of the Three Great Secret Laws over all other teachings. The fivefold comparison can be briefly explained as follows:

1. BUDDHISM IS SUPERIOR TO NON-BUDDHIST TEACHINGS

Non-Buddhist teachings included Brahmanism in India and Confucianism and Taoism in China.

Non-Buddhist teachings are not as profound as Buddhism in that they do not reveal the causal law of life penetrating past, present and future. Without such a causal view of life and the world, the teachings cannot serve as a guideline for the people's ultimate, happiness.

Only through Buddhism, which elucidates the profound law of causality working within one's life, can all people attain absolute happiness.

Buddhism attributes the cause of all phenomena that bring about human happiness or unhappiness to the law of cause and effect functioning in the life of each individual, thereby enabling us to realize that the path to happiness lies within our lives, rather than outside. In contrast, non-Buddhist teachings generally ascribe the cause of such phenomena to external factors such as a transcendent beings or deities.

This is why this comparison is called 'in Japanese the comparison of the "Inner Way" (Buddhism) with the "Outer Way" (non-Buddhist teachings).

2. MAHAYANA BUDDHISM IS SUPERIOR TO HINAYANA BUDDHISM

Hinayana Buddhism is a teaching for those who aim only at personal emancipation. In contrast, Mahayana Buddhism aims at enlightenment both personal and for others. Hinayana Buddhism is expounded for persons of the two vehicles (Learning and Realization) and belongs to the teachings of what is known as the Agon period, the second of the five periods in T'ien-t'ai's classification of Shakyamuni's teachings according to the order of preaching. It is called Hinayana (lesser vehicle) because it leads only a limited number of people to enlightenment.

Hinayana Buddhism regards earthly desires as the cause of all suffering and asserts that suffering is eliminated only by eradicating those earthly desires. Hinayana practitioners aim at emancipation through austere practices. However, the ultimate goal of their practice can only be achieved at death, when both body and Mind-the sources of suffering-are extinguished.

Their practice has accordingly been derided by Mahayanists as the teaching of "annihilating one's consciousness and reducing ones body to ashes" Such a teaching, far from enabling all people to attain enlightenment, is entirely impossible to practice.

In contrast, Mahayana Buddhism is the teaching that expounds the bodhisattva practice as the means toward the happiness of both oneself and others. It is called Mahayana (greater vehicle) because it can carry many people to enlightenment.

Where Hinayana teaches the elimination of earthly desires, Mahayana aims at redirecting and transforming them into a source of enlightenment by awakening people to their Buddha nature and establishing the Buddha nature as their fundamental state of life.

3. THE MAHAYANA IS SUPERIOR TO PROVISIONAL MAHAYANA

True Mahayana, or the Lotus Sutra, is a full and direct statement of Shakyamuni's enlightenment. In contrast, provisional Mahayana, or the pre-Lotus Sutra Mahayana teachings, were expounded in various ways according to the people's capacity in order to prepare them to understand the Lotus Sutra.

In the classification of Shakyamuni's teachings, provisional Mahayana is identified with such teachings as those of the Kegon, the Hannya, the Amida and the Dainichi sutras, which deny the potential for Buddhahood for the people of the two vehicles. In contrast, true Mahayana reveals with concrete examples that all people, including those of the two vehicles, can attain enlightenment.

4. THE ESSENTIAL TEACHING OF THE LOTUS SUTRA IS SUPERIOR TO THE THEORETICAL TEACHING

The twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra are divided into two parts, the theoretical teaching and the essential teaching, according to the role and status of Shakyamuni Buddha depicted in each. The theoretical teaching consists of the first fourteen chapters of the Lotus Sutra, and the essential teaching, the latter fourteen chapters.

In the same manner as the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings, the theoretical teaching takes the form of preaching by the historical Shakyamuni who first attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree near the town of Gaya in India. Thus the theoretical teaching was expounded by Shakyamuni in a transient role or aspect that he had assumed in order to save the people.

In contrast, the essential teaching, especially its core, the 'Juryo" chapter, takes the form of preaching by Shakyamuni, who discarded his transient status and revealed his true identity as the Buddha who had attained Buddhahood in the remote past. The Buddha of the essential teaching is called a true Buddha, as opposed to the provisional Buddha of the pre-Lotus Sutra and theoretical teachings, who conceals his true identity.

The essential teaching treats Buddhahood as a reality manifested in the life of Shakyamuni Buddha, who gained his original enlightenment in the inconceivably distant past. Though Shakyamuni of the essential teaching had already attained Buddhahood, he was nevertheless born into this world as a common mortal, thus showing through his own example that Buddhahood is inseparable from ordinary human experience. For this reason, the essential teaching is considered superior to the theoretical teaching.

5. THE BUDDHISM OF SOWING IS SUPERIOR TO THE BUDDHISM OF THE HARVEST

This is a comparison between Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism of sowing, which reveals the Law of Nam-myohorenge-kyo indicated in the depths of the Juryo chapter, and the Buddhism of the harvest, Shakyamuni's essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra.

The process by which the Buddha leads people to enlightenment may be divided into three stages, called 41 sowing, maturing and harvesting." The Buddha first plants the seed of enlightenment in people's lives by teaching them the Law, then nurtures it through his preaching to elevate their capacity, and finally brings them to full enlightenment just as ripened grain is finally harvested.

The Buddhism of the harvest is for only those who have already accumulated good causes, that is, who have already received the seed of enlightenment from Shakyamuni in the remote past and nurtured it through Buddhist practice over the course of many lifetimes. For this reason, the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra was propagated for the sake of the people during Shakyamuni's lifetime and the Former and Middle Days of the Law, who had already received the seed of Buddhahood in prior lifetimes.

In contrast, the Buddhism of sowing, Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, implants the fundamental seed of Buddhahood, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, directly in the lives of the people of the Latter Day of the Law, who by definition have never accumulated good fortune through Buddhist practice in the past. Consequently, they can manifest Buddhahood only by receiving the seed of enlightenment, that is, by embracing the great Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo hidden in the depths of the "Juryo" chapter, the core of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra.

Although Shakyamuni Buddha revealed his enlightenment in the remote past as the effect of his Buddhist practice, he did not specify the original cause for his enlightenment, that is, the Law that led him to the supreme state of Buddhahood. In other words, Shakyamuni did not clarify the fundamental Law he himself had practiced to attain enlightenment.

Nichiren Daishonin disclosed that Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the ultimate cause for the enlightenment of all Buddhas, as well as the fundamental Law that Shakyamuni Buddha had practiced to attain enlightenment. Nichiren Daishonin embodied this Law in the form of the object of worship, the Gohonzon of the Three Great Secret Laws.

The comparison of the Daishonin's Buddhism and that of Shakyamuni Buddha concludes the fivefold comparison and declares that the Daishonin's Buddhism of sowing is the only way to enlightenment for all people in the Latter Day.

(source: unknown)

 

[PassTheDoobie]

fivefold comparison
[五重の相対] (Jpn.: goju-no-sotai)

Five successive levels of comparison set forth by Nichiren (1222-1282) in The Opening of the Eyes to demonstrate the superiority of his teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo over all other teachings.

(1) Buddhism is superior to non-Buddhist teachings. Nichiren takes up Confucianism and Brahmanism, and concludes that these non-Bud-dhist religions are not as profound as Buddhism in that they do not reveal the causal law of life that penetrates the three existences of past, present, and future.

(2) Mahayana Buddhism is superior to Hinayana Buddhism. Hinayana Buddhism is the teaching for persons of the two vehicles, or voice-hearers (Skt shravaka ) and cause-awakened ones (pratyekabuddha), who aim at personal emancipation; its ultimate goal is to put an end to the cycle of rebirth in the threefold world by eliminating all earthly desires. It is called Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle) because it saves only a limited number of people. In contrast, Mahayana Buddhism is the teaching for bodhisattvas who aim at both personal enlightenment and the enlightenment of others; it is called Mahayana (Great Vehicle) because it can lead many people to enlightenment. In this sense, the Mahayana teachings are superior to the Hinayana teachings.

(3) True Mahayana is superior to provisional Mahayana. Here true Mahayana means the Lotus Sutra, while provisional Mahayana indicates the Mahayana teachings that, according to T'ien-t'ai's system of classification, were expounded before the Lotus Sutra. In the provisional Mahayana teachings, the people of the two vehicles, women, and evil persons are excluded from the possibility of attaining enlightenment; in addition, Buddhahood is attained only by advancing through progressive stages of bodhisattva practice over incalculable kalpas. In contrast, the Lotus Sutra reveals that all people have the Buddha nature inherently, and that they can attain Buddhahood immediately by realizing that nature. Furthermore, the provisional Mahayana teachings assert that Shakyamuni attained enlightenment for the first time in India and do not reveal his original attainment of Buddhahood in the remote past, nor do they reveal the principle of the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds, as does the Lotus Sutra. For these reasons, the true Mahayana teachings are superior to the provisional Mahayana teachings.

(4) The essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra is superior to the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra. The theoretical teaching consists of the first fourteen chapters of the Lotus Sutra, and the essential teaching, the latter fourteen chapters. The theoretical teaching takes the form of preaching by Shakyamuni who is still viewed as having attained enlightenment during his lifetime in India. In contrast, the essential teaching takes the form of preaching by Shakyamuni who has discarded this transient status and revealed his true identity as the Buddha who attained Buddhahood in the remote past. This revelation implies that all the Ten Worlds of ordinary people are eternal just as the Buddha's are, and confirms that Buddhahood is an ever-present potential of human life. For these reasons, the essential teaching is superior to the theoretical teaching.

(5) The Buddhism of sowing is superior to the Buddhism of the harvest. Nichiren established this comparison based on the concept of sowing, maturing, and harvesting that T'ien-t'ai (538-597) set forth in The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra. In The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra, T'ien-t'ai cites the process by which the Buddha teaches, described in the "Parable of the Phantom City" (seventh) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, as well as the relationship of the Buddha and his disciples from the remote past explained in the "Life Span" (sixteenth) chapter of the sutra. All these ideas illustrate how the Buddha begins teaching his disciples by sowing the seeds of Buddhahood in their lives, helps those seeds mature, and finally harvests their fruit by leading them to the final stage of enlightenment or Buddhahood.

The Lotus Sutra describes this process as ranging over countless kalpas. The sutra does not, however, explain the nature of these original seeds, though it is clear that the seed of Buddhahood is essential for attaining Buddhahood. Nichiren identifies the seed as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and states that it can be found only in the depths of the "Life Span" chapter. By implanting this seed in one's life, one can attain Buddhahood. From this viewpoint, Nichiren identifies his teaching as the Buddhism of sowing (the teaching aimed at implanting the seed of Buddhahood) and Shakyamuni's as the Buddhism of the harvest (the teaching aimed at harvesting the fruit of enlightenment borne from the seed planted in the remote past). He explains that Shakyamuni appeared in India in order to harvest the fruit of Buddhahood borne from the seed he had sown and caused to mature in the lives of his disciples until that time. The people of the Latter Day of the Law who have no such seed implanted in their lives cannot harvest its fruit. Nichiren states, "Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, neither the Lotus Sutra nor the other sutras lead to enlightenment. Only Nam-myoho-renge-kyo can do so" (903).

From source: The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism

 

[PassTheDoobie]

six non-Buddhist teachers
[六師外道] (Jpn.: rokushi-gedo)

Also, six teachers of the non-Buddhist doctrines. Influential thinkers in India during Shakyamuni's time who openly broke with old Vedic tradition and challenged Brahman authority in the Indian social order. Their names are usually listed in Pali, rather than Sanskrit. They are as follows: (1)Purana Kassapa (Skt Purana Kashyapa), who denied the existence of causality, rejecting the idea that one's good or bad deeds yield corresponding gain or loss. Therefore he rejected all concepts of morality. (2) Makkhali Gosala (Maskarin Goshalin or Maskarin Goshaliputra), who asserted that all events are predetermined by fate, and that no amount of devotional effort or religious practice can alter them. He therefore advised people to resign themselves to the process of samsara, or transmigration. (3) Sanjaya Belatthiputta (Samjayin Vairatiputra), a skeptic who gave no definite answers to metaphysical questions. For example, when asked whether life continues after death, he is said to have replied that it might and yet again it might not, denying the possibility of certain knowledge in such areas. (4) Ajita Kesakambala (Ajita Keshakambala or Ajita Keshakambalin), who maintained a simple materialism according to which all things in the universe are formed of earth, water, fire, and wind. Since the world is composed of these elements alone, he said, life ends when the body dies, and it is therefore of no consequence whether one does evil or good in this life. For this reason, Ajita encouraged hedonism. He is regarded as the forerunner of the Lokayata school. (5) Pakudha Kacchayana (Kakuda Katyayana), who asserted that human beings are composed of seven unchangeable elements: earth, water, fire, wind, suffering, pleasure, and soul. He argued that one could not really kill another with a sword, since it would simply cut through the space between those elements composing the person. (6) Nigantha Nataputta (Nirgrantha Jnatiputra), founder of Jainism, who sought liberation through rigorous asceticism and absolutely forbade the killing of any living being.

From source: The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism

 

[PassTheDoobie]

I am much distressed to hear that your illness has become so serious. Swords exist to cut down enemies, however, and medicine exists to cure sickness. King Ajatashatru murdered his father and made himself an enemy of the Buddha. But after foul sores broke out on his body, he converted to the Buddha's teachings and embraced the Lotus Sutra, whereupon his sores healed and he prolonged his life by forty years.

[ Reply to the Lay Priest Takahashi, WND Page 610 ]

 

[SoCal Hippy]

'What really matters is how deep and pure a condition of life you can establish. The reality of problems will never disappear. One can either be influenced by them and sink into the great sea of suffering, or overcome them and build a mountain of happiness' Daisaku Ikeda

 

[Babbabud]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

This is one of my favorite all time post here on the chanting thread and I thought it should be put up for anyone who may have missed it Enjoy
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
______________________________________________

Ocean Culture Buddhism By Dr. Tetsugai Obo

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In Japan there are two different cultures: one is the culture of the village; and the other, the culture of the ocean. The mentality of the village culture is to "go with the flow." This means that the people of the village culture are particularly concerned with what everyone else thinks about them. In essence, public opinion equals the village. What the villagers think of you becomes most important.

For many Japanese, the village-like mentality deeply lies in their consciousness. In this culture, people are taught not to view things as black and white, not to take a position either way, not to be arrogant, or audacious, or meddlesome.

This year, I have been thinking about this. I see many psychiatric patients, patients with asthma, patients with sinus infection, patients with eczema, and patients with severe allergy. I have seen more than 10,000 patients so far in my practice. What I found in common with all these patients was their conformity. I hardly see non-conforming people.
Imagine that out of 10,000 people the vast majority of them are conformists! How interesting! I can't help thinking that conformists are more susceptible to having an illness.

The word conformist in Japanese, majime, has changed its meaning over the past decades. It used to mean "serious or sincere," but now it means "to go with the flow of custom or culture." Above all, Japanese culture is troublesome. It is a culture that promotes sickness.
[Japanese culture values] modesty, the virtue of humbleness, being refined -- males should say little, females should be one step behind -- being considerate, being harmonious, suppressing yourself, not being audacious, not being overconfident, and not being arrogant. In other words, to kill yourself is Japanese culture. Therefore, the more you conform to it, the more devastated you will become.

In general, conformists lack individuality and are passive. Leaders in society, such as presidents of companies, tend to be arrogant and aggressive and powerful. They also tend to lack common sense, however, and are authoritative in nature. In this society, from the standpoint of Japanese culture, I have observed that bad people have more energy. Good people are not energetic and are sickly after all.

From a Buddhist viewpoint, one who is shining the true self of the entity of Myoho (Mystic Law) is in a sense audacious. Audacious people live according to the Mystic Law. On the other hand, conformists who suppress themselves actually kill the entity of Myoho. This is slander.

The best example is the congressmen of the Japanese Democratic Party. After the elections they were interviewed and their attitude was only that of self-absorption. It makes you wonder why they get elected but these people are truly energetic, powerful and have a lot of fortune.
On the other hand, conforming and serious people lack fortune. President Ikeda often says, "Let's be audacious, bold and tough. Be confident and persuasive." After all, this is the correct way. The problem is not that bad people run the world but that good people are killing themselves.
If serious people, kindhearted people, good people, and warmhearted people speak up and stand up for justice and create momentum, selfish people will automatically feel uncomfortable and eventually vanish. President Makiguchi once said that only if we create this can we have the "era of humanistic competition."

In fact, this Japanese culture of being conforming and serious is the culture of the village. If you act differently you will become an outcast of the village. The people of village culture do not like those people who speak clearly of issues of black and white.

The Murayama administration was a good example of village culture. During that time, the great Kobe earthquake occurred. Many Japanese people felt frustrated over how the government handled the disaster. Many showed anger and questioned the administration as to why it didn't help the victims right away. The spokesperson responded by saying, "There is nothing we can do about it. We have to follow the rules. We can offer help to the masses but not to individuals." This incident showed the lack of compassion by the government.

Village culture is unmerciful because it prioritizes the institution over the people. In other words, the village culture is a culture that oppresses people. This kind of culture is what is a fundamental base of the Japanese culture. But there is another Japanese culture called the culture of the ocean.
Do you remember when the Japanese baseball pitcher Nomo came to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers? At that time the major league was on strike. Many wondered what was going to happen to Nomo and questioned if he would make it in the major leagues. Many Japanese people and the mass media wrote bashing articles against Nomo. People asked him why he was going overseas.

Yet Nomo came to America without any hesitation. Before you knew it he was in the all-star game as a rookie. Suddenly Japanese paparazzi were on his side and praising him. They wanted Nomo to say, "I will do my best for Japan." However, he refused to say it. Instead he said, "I enjoy pitching."
We all thought Nomo must have been fluent in English, but he could hardly speak it. In an interview after winning a game, Nomo had a translator with him. I was wondering if he was scared. By just looking at Nomo I felt that he didn't have a typical Japanese attitude.

Later I found that he was born in Osaka but his parents were originally from an island off the coast of Japan. These islands are still islands of many fishermen. Nomo's parents had the culture of the ocean people. The ocean culture is very independent, energetic, and open.
On the other hand, village culture is very concerned with the opinion of the public, it is conservative and has a pattern of having two different sides: smiling on the surface but disagreeing inside.

On the ocean side of Japan there is a strong tendency for ocean culture and on the mountain side there is the village culture. When visiting a region which shares both of these cultures, some leaders of the Soka Gakkai will ask why it is so different even in the same organization. After I explain the village and ocean culture they can understand the differences.
Nichiren Buddhism is Based on Ocean Culture
Many Japanese religions and philosophies are based on the village culture. Do you know the only religion based on the ocean culture? Yes, it's the Daishonin's Buddhism!

Nichiren Daishonin called himself the son of the sendala, in other words the son of a fisherman. It is the lowest of the caste system. It means the son of an untouchable, and he was proud of that. It was the time that you could do anything you wanted if you were born in a higher caste. The Daishonin placed himself within the lowest class of his time.
The Daishonin fought against the highest authority of the nation. The Daishonin fought authority head-on without any support. I think that showed a great contrast between the Daishonin who had no status or authority and the others with all power.

As they clashed the Daishonin called authorities "the ruler of this little island country." For people of the village culture this was inconceivable. Only the Daishonin, who truly was a man of the ocean culture, was capable of making such a bold statement.

The Daishonin's Buddhism is a philosophy of the ocean culture. That's why it's very independent, open, progressive and energetic. Nevertheless, the Daishonin's Buddhism eventually became influenced heavily by the village culture after his death. The Daishonin's Buddhism became corrupted. As a result the high priest became absolute. Eventually lay followers were considered too unworthy to see the high priest.

Seven hundred years passed and President Makiguchi was born as a son of a fisherman in Arahama. He was raised in the ocean culture, so despite the time period, he did not have a village mentality. President Toda was raised in Atsuta and born in Ishikawa prefecture. He also was the son of a fisherman. One of his ancestors was captain of a fishing boat. He truly was a man of the ocean. President Ikeda was a son of a seaweed maker. When looking at this, the Soka Gakkai entirely consists of the ocean culture. It is directly connected to the Daishonin except some areas that became village-like in the last 700 years.

Interestingly, my senior, Professor Miyata at Soka University, is doing research on President Makiguchi. He suggested that if he [Makiguchi] had ever directly encountered the priests from the Head Temple he wouldn't have joined the Nichiren Shoshu sect.

President Makiguchi was in search of a religion that could be the basis of his Soka educational system. In one word, Soka education means to open up person's possibilities, to view every student with a warm heart to help the student be independent and logical. He was searching for a religion that would lay a foundation for his educational system. Then he encountered [Priest Horigome of] Nichiren Shoshu.

Priest Horigome had founded a temporary branch office in Nakano. Priest Horigome was studying philosophy at Waseda University. He concluded that Buddhism could no longer contribute to society as long as it remained in the temple. He thought they needed to start a religious movement in which lay believers could play an active role. That's why he founded that temporary branch.

When Priest Horigome -- who believed in the Buddhist movement of lay believers -- and President Makiguchi -- who believed in the Soka educational system -- met, a religious movement based on humanism started.
Ironically, there was no such tradition within Nichiren Shoshu. Because of that, from the very beginning, the priesthood thought that the Soka Gakkai was arrogant. They also claimed that the lay believers shouldn't be audacious. This is a good example of the confrontation between village culture and ocean culture.

In the past there was the Tanuki festival incident and many other incidents that involved the priesthood and they all originated from the difference between those two cultures, village and ocean. I think that these differences became more evident in situations such as the current priesthood issues with the Soka Gakkai. Therefore, this situation could not have been avoided.
This is a prelude to what I really wanted to discuss. Let's go back to the prime point and look at ourselves.

The Strange Principle

How many points could you give yourself out of a score of 100 right now? Please raise your hand if you think you fall within the range of 0 to 60 points. Thank you very much.

Now raise your hand if you think you fall between 61 to 99 points. Usually only a few people raise their hands here. Most people raised their hands with points 0 to 60. Oh, the doctors division is different because most of you raised your hands within the higher group.

How about 100 points? Oh, two people raised their hands. Thank you very much. Except these two, the rest of you are not practicing Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism. Can you believe it?

Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism is the religion that teaches us that we are 100 points. As noted previously, the Daishonin's Buddhism emphasizes living audaciously, boldly, and tough. It is hard to understand this.
In Chinese characters shinjin (faith) means "believe from the heart." What is it you are going to believe in? It is the Gohonzon and also the Lotus Sutra. What does it mean to believe in the Lotus Sutra? It means to believe that oneself is the entity of the Mystic Law. The head is Myo, the throat is Ho, the chest is Ren, Ge is the stomach, and the legs are Kyo.
We were taught that faith means to believe that your life itself is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and the entity of the Mystic Law. Do you remember this? Would you rate Nam-myoho-renge-kyo Buddha at 60 points?
Last November, I was invited to a district meeting to give a Gosho lecture. There were six French members from Southern France who owned vineyards. SGI-France is considered a cult by the government and treated unlawfully. Everybody in France practices very seriously. At this meeting we studied "On Attaining Buddhahood in this Lifetime."

The Gosho says "...when you chant Myoho and recite Renge, you must summon up deep faith that Myoho-renge-kyo is your life itself." When you chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo you name your life Myoho-renge-kyo. Deepen your faith as you declare your name Myoho-renge-kyo.
When I asked the French members, "Who can believe that you are Nam-myoho-renge-kyo Buddha in here?" All six of them raised their hands by saying YES! Three out of forty Japanese members raised their hands.
Actually, Gakkai members live by the village culture. The Daishonin's Buddhism and the Soka Gakkai should be a religion of the ocean culture. But it has become a religion of the village culture. Well, it's hard to understand... I'd like to make a comparison.

The Strange Principle

I have written an article titled, "A Strange Principle," for the health section of the Seikyo Shimbun. After observing many people, I have found that conformists -- hard working, responsible, caring and altruistic people -- mysteriously enough come to a deadlock. Those conforming to [the expectations of] others while working hard cannot break through. These altruistic people often face rejection, refusal, being made fun of, and in extreme cases are despised. Have you seen these people? Serious conformists can't advance.

On the contrary, irresponsible, arrogant, and shrewd people are successful in every attempt. Since everything goes well, they are targeted for flattery and they become even more successful. This is a very popular phenomenon. I have encountered various types of people and their lives, and I have witnessed many of these cases. What is this all about? Earnest people are fooled and the villains get fattened up. I pondered "why?" for a long time but I didn't get an answer.

I had an opportunity to research while still contemplating this issue. I began to see the mechanism of the strange principle little by little. Hesitantly, I wrote about it in the Seikyo Shimbun. I was afraid that it would be too controversial or that it would be cut, but I had to write it anyway because I thought there must be some people bothered by the same thoughts. Luckily, the article made it to the final print, and some people responded.
One of the responses read: "As you have written I have done my best to do shakubuku [teach people about Buddhism] up until last year, to promote the Seikyo Shimbun, did lots of zaimu [financial contribution], and fought with all my strength. But this year I am fighting illness and I'm on welfare. Why, despite my hard work are all of these things happening to me? I don't understand. Even though it is written so, it lacks thorough explanation and I still don't understand what you mean."

Immediately I answered his questions via letter and he was really happy. Actually, there is another principle that causes such phenomena. I selfishly named the principle that lies beyond such superficial phenomena as the "strange principle".

The principle means that, even if they are fighting for others in need -- for their families, doing SGI activities for kosen-rufu, working for world peace and against injustices in the world -- those who kill themselves and who neglect themselves will eventually lose fortune.
Therefore, this is a principle that as long as you neglect your own life, then others will neglect you.

People say, "As long as I persevere and endure someday my hardship will eventually pay off. Until then I must be patient." The Daishonin wrote: "Where there is unseen virtue, there will be visible reward."
But the harder you endure the worse off you become. One after another you go through even more hardships. Thus you are not making any "unseen virtue."

Why? Because you are killing your life which is the entity of the Mystic Law. You accumulate fortune when you rejoice and enjoy whatever you do and when you allow your life to shine as it is. It will become your good fortune. Automatically, others will value your existence.

Smiling Is Contagious

This month in the SGI Graphic President Ikeda talked about his wife and her smile. Mrs. Ikeda is always smiling.

President Ikeda said, "Having a smile should not be a result of your happiness. Smiling becomes the cause to be happy. Smiling when you are happy or smiling as a result of your happiness is not the right way. No matter how hard your life is, you keep smiling. Within your life fortune will accumulate." This is what I mean by a "strange principle."

For instance, some say, "You can overcome your problems if you do shakubuku, if you promote Seikyo Shimbun you can be happy. You can be happy if you try to do more zaimu." This is a life condition of hunger. You are always expecting something in return. If you don't overcome your problem you will resent having made the effort. This is different from the life condition of Bodhisattva. The Daishonin states: "Self and others rejoice together."
There is a famous allegory of Tokusho Doji. He wanted to donate something to the Buddha because of watching others make their contributions. Since he didn't have anything to give he made a mud pie. If he thought he could get something in return by giving the mud pie, such as getting a benefit later or being reborn as King Ashoka -- if he did it as if he were trading the mud pie -- he would not have gained any benefit.

One's life gains benefit when one is delighted to do so. It is not "give and take." Neither is it the spirit of self-sacrifice.

It is wrong to think, "As long as I do my best and work hard selflessly, I will somehow get benefits." Which category do you think President Ikeda falls into: finding a way to shine as he lives, or [meekly] enduring everything? Obviously, the first is the answer.

This is the "strange principle." Strange means Myo and principle is Ho. People who neglect the entity of the Mystic Law lose fortune. People who shine their entity of the Mystic Law multiply fortune.

The question is which way you are. Simply, it is either way. It is whether you shine in your life, and the direction in which you enjoy living, or a direction in which you disrespect yourself. The most important thing is which way the basis of your life is facing.

I would like to ask again, who would give themselves 100 points in this audience? There are a lot of honest people.

The Gohonzon Exists in You

We do Gongyo every morning and evening. Do you remember the second silent prayer? Yes, it is appreciation for the Gohonzon: "I offer my deepest praise and most sincere gratitude to the Dai-Gohonzon of the Three Great Secret Laws, which was bestowed upon the entire world."
Do you all show appreciation to the Gohonzon and realize that it is also your life? Or do you all think that the Gohonzon is just placed in your shrine? The Daishonin wrote to people like you, "If you think the Law is outside yourself, you are not embracing the Mystic Law."

In another Gosho passage, "Never seek this Gohonzon outside yourself. The Gohonzon exists only within the mortal flesh of us ordinary people who embrace the Lotus Sutra and chant Nam-myoho-rengy-kyo."
Within your heart, within your life itself -- "the Gohonzon exists only within the mortal flesh of us ordinary people." We have studied this. Do you remember studying that? Yet when we chant to the Gohonzon we actually put it outside ourselves. In other words, what we have learned and what we do are completely different. Why is this so?

In fact, we are all poisoned by the village culture previously mentioned and also by the Japanese culture. The village culture equals the Nembutsu culture. In the Nembutsu culture the Gohonzon is absolute and the Daishonin is absolute.

While having no fortune, having a low life condition, and having no strength, some of us need to appeal to the Gohonzon for mercy and for the Gohonzon to share benefit and wisdom with us. That is the Nembutsu culture. If you switch the Gohonzon with Amida Buddha, it makes sense. The mechanism is that we are so miserable -- let's ask the Amida Buddha for its mercy.
The Lotus Sutra is different. President Ikeda over the period of four and a half years has taught us the Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra. [In this dialogue] the word ken means to view, hotou means the Treasure Tower. This means to view the Treasure Tower.

This Treasure Tower appears in the Lotus Sutra. The height of the Treasure Tower is a 500 yojun. If calculated, it would be more that 500 times the height of the Himalayas. Mount Fuji is pretty high but the Himalayas are twice the size of Mount Fuji. The Treasure Tower is more than 500 times that size. Well, that's magnificent.

Nevertheless, it's not a mountain of scraps but it's a tower of treasures. It is very majestic, splendid, and universal.
This grand Treasure Tower actually symbolizes the greatness of our lives. In other words, to realize that our life and existence is universal, splendid, magnificent, and eternal is called kenhotou.

The Daishonin inscribed the Gohonzon using the ceremony of the Treasure Tower. Thus, the Daishonin clearly explained that the Gohonzon is the clear mirror used to view our bodies as the greatest Treasure Tower.
However, even though we study this, we worship the mirror and we find ourselves reflected in the mirror as unworthy. This shows us how poisoned we have been by the Nembutsu culture. That's why as mentioned earlier in the strange principle, we tend to go in the direction of "as long as I endure." We rejoice only in good times but we cannot rejoice or enjoy when we are down. We begin to say, "I'm not worthy."

The Lotus Sutra is a sutra that teaches us that even when our life condition is the worst, we are still great. Did you know that?

There is a difference between the Lotus Sutra and provisional teachings. It is called the five-fold comparison. The reason why the Lotus Sutra is superior to the provisional teachings is because theoretically, the Lotus Sutra preaches the attainment of enlightenment for the people of the two vehicles, evil people, and women. At that time, the public neglected those groups of people. Therefore, the provisional teachings did not help them.

On the contrary, the Lotus Sutra taught that those people who were discriminated against and neglected by the public were truly great. This philosophy was revolutionary. It was truly humanistic.

From the standpoint of life philosophy, [these people who are discriminated against] are in fact the life condition of ourselves when we are down. It is our most miserable self. In comparison with others, you can't help thinking that you are inferior. Within yourself, in such miserable circumstances, you need to believe that you are the entity of the Mystic Law. That is the true meaning of embracing the Lotus Sutra.

That is why the Lotus Sutra is difficult to believe and difficult to understand. It is not difficult to see yourself as great if you are healthy, in rhythm, and admired. Yet it is difficult to believe, and understand yourself as great when you face the biggest failure, face being ridiculed, and face depression.
Believing yourself as great is the true meaning of embracing the Lotus Sutra.

A Great Buddha Is Reading This

I was unable to understand the meaning of compassion (jihi). Although the Doctors Division was often called compassionate, the more I pondered, the less I comprehended.

In Japanese ji means benevolence, which I understood, yet I could not understand the word hi which means sad. Some say jihi means to share suffering with others, another is to eliminate pain and give joy. Yet I still didn't understand. At that time I read a passage in an essay by President Ikeda: "When your soul is victorious, your sadness becomes hi of the word jihi." When I read that I had a revelation.

I had been reading jihi as meaning to be benevolent and sad, which made me more confused. If read by the Chinese character, it reads to be benevolent in times of sadness. Thus, it means to embrace yourself with a warm heart when you are at your lowest point, when you are in the midst of the worst suffering, or in the depths of your anxiety. Here lies the aspect of a victorious life.

For those who are able to embrace themselves in the midst of suffering, their sadness is no longer sadness. Such sadness itself will be transformed into courage when embraced by one's own compassionate heart. Despair will evolve into hope. The true meaning of an indestructible life lies only this way.
Only those who embrace themselves can truly cherish others who are suffering and regard others' suffering as it if were their own. For example, when you are low you don't like yourself. Later when you are feeling better and seeing others in the same situation you may say, "What a pity!" Yet deep within yourself you judge them by thinking, "How weak. He is a failure after all."

The way you judge yourself is exactly how you judge others. When embracing and respecting your lowest self with a compassionate heart like "I love me" or "I'm truly great," you can respect other people.

Gohonzon means the object of fundamental respect. President Ikeda has said, "What do we fundamentally respect? It is one's life. Our life has the highest value. It is the foundation of respect. The respect of one's life therefore cannot be based on whether one succeeds or fails. No matter what happens, we must start from respect. This is the meaning of embracing the Gohonzon. This is Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism.

So now, who is going to give 100 points to yourself? (laughter) Thank you very much. There are so many obedient people. There are still a few people who could not raise their hand. I want to make one more point.

In the Gosho, "The Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life", it reads: "Shakyamuni Buddha who attained enlightenment countless kalpas ago, the Lotus Sutra that leads all people to Buddhahood, and we ordinary human beings are in no way different or separate from one another. To chant Myoho-renge-kyo with this realization is to inherit the ultimate law of life and death. This is a matter of the utmost importance for Nichiren's disciples and lay supporters, and this is what it means to embrace the Lotus Sutra."
This is the foundation of the Daishonin's Buddhism. "This is what it means to embrace the Lotus Sutra." This is the most important sentence of the Gosho. Nichiren Daishonin, the Gohonzon, and oneself are in no way different or separate from one another. "To chant Myoho-renge-kyo with this realization is to inherit the ultimate law of life and death."

Because of that, when we grade ourselves with 60 points we are grading the Gohonzon 60 points and Nichiren Daishonin 60 points. Aren't we? Yet they are "in no way different or separate from one another." Don't we call this slander?
The person who says, "I grade the Gohonzon and the Daishonin 100 points but I grade myself 60 points" doesn't believe that they are "no way different or separate from one another." We call this disbelief.

People who do not grade themselves with 100 points, we call "slanderers" and "disbelievers." In the same Gosho it says, "Those who disbelieve and slander the Lotus Sutra will immediately 'destroy all the seeds for becoming a Buddha in this world.' Because they cut themselves off from the potential to attain enlightenment, they do not share the heritage of the ultimate law of life and death."

"Those who disbelieve and slander the Lotus Sutra" -- those who cannot believe in themselves 100 percent "will immediately destroy all the seeds for becoming a Buddha in this world."

Those who grade themselves a Buddha of 100 points -- those who believe and enjoy it -- live with the life condition of great security and are received and supported by a thousand Buddhas when they come to the end of their life. "How can we possibly hold back our tears."
If you can not raise your hand here, you will never be able to raise your hand. I will ask you once again. I am not threatening you. This is what the Daishonin says. This is the last time I will ask you. Do you grade yourself 100 points? (Big laughter) Thank you very much.

You Are a Great Buddha

First you have to decide "A great Buddha is sitting." Making this decision requires courage. This is what we call the courage of faith. You have to recognize from the bottom of your heart: "I am the truly great Buddha." This means "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the greatest joy among joys."
After this meeting when you're going home, please think, "The great Buddha is walking." Great Buddha is looking at a mirror, reflecting a life and praising this life. This is the true meaning of doing gongyo and chanting daimoku.
Probably if I say this some people will argue that this is arrogant. I have a concern that this is going back to the village culture. So I want to talk about arrogance.

Arrogance is the mind of oneself being superior to others. It means that arrogant people are always comparing themselves to others. "I am doing more, I am fighting more. I am a bigger leader, I am richer, etc."
Arrogant people feel secure by confirming their superiority. This function of life is called "arrogance."

The reason people feel more secure when they compare themselves with others is because they have anxiety in the depths of their lives. They have disbelief and inferiority at their core, thus they become anxious after short periods of relief. Later on, they catch others and need to be reassured that, "I'm more impressive, I'm greater!" These kinds of people, who continue to show off, are called arrogant. Deep within their arrogant hearts they have inferiority and self-doubt.

On the other hand, the world's greatest people -- as an old Japanese proverb says "the riper the rice grain, the lower it hangs" -- the greater the person the more humble he is. They respect other people because they have confidence and pride in themselves.

Such confidence and pride does not come from the recognition of others. The world's greatest people did not become the best because of recognition. The public recognizes these people because they are the forerunners of the fields in which others paid no attention.

Fundamentally the greatest way of living is to have confidence and pride in oneself. At a glance, to view yourself as "I am a great Buddha, I rate myself a perfect 100 points" seems arrogant. Actually, it equals the greatest way of living. Since it is similar to having an arrogant attitude, it is called "the arrogance of the Lotus Sutra."

The arrogance of the Lotus Sutra is the correct way because its meaning is fundamentally different from arrogance in attitude.

President Ikeda repeatedly says, "You are Buddhas. Don't be deceived. Please believe that you are all Buddhas." I bet we don't really believe what our mentor says, do we? We think President Ikeda is just saying that to encourage us. We think he is saying "You are Buddhas" to encourage us, but the truth is different. We take our mentor's words as encouragement, but we don't really believe it. Such an attitude is arrogant.

It's okay that we seem like we are arrogant, or audacious or bold although people might not like it. If we change our attitude this way, everything strangely starts to open up.

The world will not take Japan seriously if Japanese people remain in the village culture. Finally, the time has come to spread the philosophy of the Lotus Sutra that possesses the independence of the ocean culture to the world. In a sense, the time has come for the Soka Gakkai to take the lead. It's not a good idea that the Soka Gakkai remains like the village culture.

When you go to bed, think: "A great Buddha is going to sleep now." In the morning, as you wake up, no matter how you feel, think: "A great Buddha is waking up." When you change clothes, when going to the bathroom, when washing your face, and making miso soup, think "This miso soup is made by a great Buddha. This is a great bowl of miso soup." Live your life by praising your own life, enjoy whatever you do, and taste every bit of it.

Each morning wake up with the Buddha, and each evening go to sleep with the Buddha. Live life with joy every moment -- this is the true meaning of the practice of reading the Lotus Sutra with your life.

We chant three times at the end of this meeting. Let's chant three times while remembering that this chanting praises our lives.

Thank you very much for today!
______________________________________________

Originally posted by SoCal ... thanks brother !!

 

[southwind]

Alive

Alive

Greetings


A BOW IN SPIRIT TO ALL;

I have awoken late today after going into the Hospital yesterday for very scary and painful tests.

I also have a large stone passing from my right Kidney and can hardly sit still
it feels as if a knife is in my side and bladder or my back is broken.

And I must see another Doctor today for the Bi-polar illness and another Doctor on Friday for my Kidney disease.

My printer will not work.

Perhaps it is not time to print the words or Karma is yet again trying to block things..ever watchful and active is the Karma!

I am in pain

I am alive

I can use my hands and head and read the teaching on these pages

I can still be kind to the Nurses ,Adminstrators ,Anesthesiologists and Doctors
I am seeing this week and today I can still ask them How are they?

I can still ask if they enjoy their work and ask about them , I can still get outside of me and be kind. I can still encourage others, I can still help my friend who I live with her worries and problems and work.


I can still be good to my Garden and my kitties.


I can still pray and recite the words as I go under anesthesia and go for tests and for surgery.

I can still breath and live.


These things these illnesses I wonder how much Conformity has made them appear, I wonder about Karma, I wonder...

But Today, I will do my best and be as kind and compassionate to others as I can.

I will do what I can.


and have faith.

G.


PS.

PTD / T: The communication I recieved from you made my heart happy and my face blush, Thank you so much for your wonderful letter.

I will try.

 

[EasyMyohoDisco]

Southwind, Just chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

I will chant for you tonight and everyday going forward. Please make a good cause to try and attend an SGI meeting after your treatment, it is my sincere hope that you will prove the power of this practice by taking your karma into your own hands and making the conscious actions required to overcome sansho-shima. I know my life couldn't be what it is today without the incredible hardships, illnesses, misdiagnosis, subversive agendas against me, exile, and misrepresentations among other trials and tribulations. Those of us who expirience great hardships truly learn to appreciate and be happy practicing the Mystic Law, not that I am precluding others, just saying "HOW SWEET IT TRULY IS".

We are all connected, If a butterfly flaps its wings in Tokyo you'll feel it in Amarillo Texas. If you make a good cause you will reap the benefit you sow!

I look forward to your next posts very much. Thanks again!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

On the Four Stages of Faith and the Five Stages of Practice / WND pg. 783

On the Four Stages of Faith and the Five Stages of Practice / WND pg. 783

I have received the string of blue-duck coins(1) that you sent. Scholars of Buddhism these days all agree on the following: Whether in the Buddha's lifetime or after his passing, those who wish to practice the Lotus Sutra must devote themselves to the three types of learning. If they neglect any one of these, they cannot attain the Buddha way.

In the past, I, too, subscribed to this opinion. Setting aside here the sacred teachings of the Buddha's lifetime as a whole, let us examine the question in the light of the Lotus Sutra. Here, too, we may set aside the teachings contained in the preparation and revelation sections.(2) That brings us to the transmission section, which constitutes a clear mirror for the Latter Day of the Law and is most to be relied upon [in determining this matter].

The transmission section has two parts. The first is that of the theoretical teaching and consists of the five chapters beginning with the "Teacher of the Law" chapter. The second is that of the essential teaching and consists of the latter part of the "Distinctions in Benefits" chapter through the eleven chapters that comprise the remainder of the sutra. The five chapters from the theoretical teaching and the eleven and a half chapters from the essential teaching combine to make sixteen and a half chapters, and in these it is clearly explained how one should practice the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day of the Law. If this is not convincing enough, then further examining the matter in light of the Universal Worthy and Nirvana sutras(3) will surely leave no doubt.

Within these chapters of transmission, the four stages of faith and the five stages of practice expounded in the "Distinctions in Benefits" chapter refer to what is most important in the practice of the Lotus Sutra, and are a standard for those living in the time of the Buddha and after his passing.

Ching-hsi(4) writes, "'To produce even a single moment of belief and understanding' represents the beginning in the practice of the essential teaching.”(5) Of these various stages, the four stages of faith are intended for those living in the Buddha's lifetime, and the five stages of practice, for those living after his passing. Among these, the first of the four stages of faith is that of producing even a single moment of belief and understanding, and the first of the five stages of practice is that of rejoicing on hearing the Lotus Sutra. These two stages together are the treasure chest of the hundred worlds and thousand factors and of three thousand realms in a single moment of life; they are the gate from which all Buddhas of the ten directions and the three existences emerge.

The two sage and worthy teachers T'ien-t'ai and Miao-lo established these two initial stages of faith and practice, and put forth three interpretations concerning them. One equates them with the stage of resemblance to enlightenment, the ten stages of faith, and the stage of the iron-wheel-turning king.(6) The second equates them with the first of the five stages of practice, which are identified with the stage of perception and action, at which one has not yet severed the illusions of thought and desire. The third equates them with the stage of hearing the name and words of the truth.

In reconciling these differences of interpretation, Great Concentration and Insight states: "The Buddha's intentions are difficult to determine. He explained things differently according to the differing capacities of his listeners. If only we understand this, then what need is there for troublesome disputes?"

My opinion is that, of the three interpretations, the one that refers to hearing the name and words of the truth accords best with the text of the Lotus Sutra. For, in describing the first of the five stages of practice that apply to the time after the Buddha's passing, the sutra speaks of those who "[hear this sutra and] do not slander or speak ill of it but feel joy in their hearts."(7) If one equates the stage described here with a level as advanced as the five stages of practice at the stage of resemblance to enlightenment, then the words "do not slander or speak ill of it" would hardly be appropriate.

In particular, the passages in the "Life Span" chapter that speak of those who are "out of their minds" and those who are "not out of their minds" refer in both cases to the stage of hearing the name and words of the truth.(8) The Nirvana Sutra says, "Whether they have faith or do not have faith . . . ," and "If there are living beings who, in the presence of Buddhas numerous as the sands of the Hiranyavati River, have conceived the desire for enlightenment, then when they are born in an evil age such as this, they will be able to accept and uphold a sutra like this and will never slander it."(9) One should also consider these passages.

Again, in the four-character phrase "a single moment of belief and understanding," the word "belief " applies to the first of the four stages of faith, and the word "understanding," to those that follow. And if this is so, then faith without understanding would apply to the first of the four stages of faith. The second stage of faith is described in the sutra as that at which one "generally understands the import of the words"(10) of the sutra. And in volume nine of The Annotations on "The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra" we read, "The initial stage of faith is different from the others, because in the initial stage there is as yet no understanding."

Then we come to the following "Responding with Joy" chapter, where the initial stage of rejoicing on hearing the Lotus Sutra is restated and clarified in terms of fifty persons who in turn hear and rejoice in the Lotus Sutra, the merit that they gain thereby decreasing with each successive person. With regard to the stage achieved by the fiftieth person, there are two interpretations. The first interpretation holds that the fiftieth person falls within the stage of rejoicing on hearing the Lotus (11) Sutra. The other interpretation holds that the fiftieth person cannot yet be said to have entered the stage of rejoicing on hearing the Lotus Sutra but is still at the stage of hearing the name and words of the truth. This is what one commentary means when it says, "The truer the teaching, the lower the stage [of those it can bring to enlightenment]."(12)

Thus, for example, the perfect teaching can save people of lower capacity than can the doctrines of the four flavors and three teachings. Similarly, the Lotus Sutra can save people of lower capacity than can the perfect teaching expounded prior to the Lotus Sutra, and the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra can save more people than can the theoretical teaching - people of any capacity at all. One should carefully ponder the six-character phrase: "the truer the teaching, the lower the stage."

Question: In the Latter Day of the Law, is it necessary for beginners in the practice of the Lotus Sutra to devote themselves to all three types of learning associated with the perfect teaching?

Answer: This is a very important question, and so I will be consulting the text of the sutra in answering you. In describing the first, second, and third of the five stages of practice, the Buddha restricts those at these stages from practicing precepts and meditation, and places all emphasis upon the single factor of wisdom. And because our wisdom is inadequate, he teaches us to substitute faith for wisdom, making this single word "faith" the foundation. Disbelief is the cause for becoming an icchantika and for slander of the Law, while faith is the cause for wisdom and corresponds to the stage of hearing the name and words of the truth.

T'ien-t'ai states: "When persons have reached the stage of resemblance to enlightenment, the benefits they have accrued will not be forgotten when they are reborn in another existence. But for persons at the stage of hearing the name and words of the truth or at the stage of perception and action, those benefits will be forgotten when they are reborn in succeeding existences, though there may be some among them who do not forget. Even in the case of persons who have forgotten those benefits, if they should encounter a good friend, then the roots of goodness that they planted in their previous existences will be revived. If they encounter an evil friend, they will lose their true mind."(13)

This is probably what happened to the two eminent men of these middle days, the great teachers Jikaku and Chisho of the Tendai school. They turned their backs upon the teachings of T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo, who had been good friends to them, and instead transferred their allegiance to Shan-wu-wei, Pu-k'ung, and others, who were evil friends. And many of the scholars in the latter age have been deluded by Eshin's introduction to his Essentials of Rebirth in the Pure Land and have as a result lost the true mind of faith in the Lotus Sutra, giving their allegiance instead to the provisional teachings associated with Amida. They are persons who have abandoned a great doctrine and instead chosen lesser doctrines. If we judge from examples in the past, they will probably suffer for countless kalpas in the three evil paths. It is persons such as these that T'ien-t'ai meant when he said, "If they encounter an evil friend, they will lose their true mind."

Question: What proof can you offer to support your claim?

Answer: Volume six of Great Concentration and Insight states: "Persons who are saved by the teachings preached previous to the Lotus Sutra are those who have reached a high level of attainment. The reason is because these teachings are mere expedients. Those saved by the perfect teaching of the Lotus Sutra belong to a low level of attainment, because this teaching represents the truth."

The Annotations on "Great Concentration and Insight" comments on this as follows: "This passage concerning the teachings preached previous to the Lotus Sutra makes clear the relative worth of the provisional and the true teachings, because it indicates that the truer the teaching, the lower the stage [of those it can bring to enlightenment]. Conversely, the more provisional the teaching, the higher must be the stage [of those who embrace it in order to attain enlightenment]." And volume nine of On "The Words and Phrases" says, "In determining a person's stage of attainment, the more profound the object of meditation, the lower will be the level of the practitioner [who can attain enlightenment thereby]."

I will say nothing here about followers of other schools, but why would scholars of the Tendai school set aside this interpretation that "the truer the teaching, the lower the stage," and instead accept the writings of the Supervisor of Priests Eshin? The teachings of Shan-wu-wei, Chin-kang-chih, and Pu-k'ung, and those of Jikaku and Chi-sho, can wait until later. This is a matter of utmost importance, the most important in the entire land of Jambudvipa. Thinking persons should listen to what I say. After that, if they wish to reject me, let them do so.

Question: For practitioners in the Latter Day of the Law, who have just aroused the aspiration for enlightenment, what types of practice are restricted?

Answer: Such persons are restricted from practicing almsgiving, the keeping of the precepts, and the others of the five paramitas, and are directed to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo exclusively. This practice corresponds to the capacity of persons at the stages of "producing even a single moment of belief and understanding" and "rejoicing on hearing the Lotus Sutra." It represents the true intention of the Lotus Sutra.

Question: I have never before heardsuch an assertion. It astonishes my mind and makes me wonder if my ears have not deceived me. Please clearly cite some passages of scriptural proof and kindly explain.

Answer: The sutra says, "[Such persons] need not for my sake erect towers and temples or build monks' quarters or make the four kinds of offerings to the community of monks."(14) This passage from the sutra makes it quite clear that practitioners who have just aroused the aspiration for enlightenment are restricted from almsgiving, the keeping of the precepts, and the others of the five paramitas.

Question: The passage you have just quoted restricts us only from erecting temples or towers, or providing for the community of monks. It says nothing about the keeping of the various precepts and the other practices.

Answer: The passage mentions only the first of the five paramitas, that of almsgiving, and skips mention of the other four.

Question: How do we know this?

Answer: Because a subsequent passage, in describing the fourth stage of practice, goes on to say, "How much more is this true of those who are able to embrace this sutra and at the same time dispense alms, keep the precepts . . . !" The sutra passages clearly indicate that persons at the first, second, and third stages of practice are restricted from practicing almsgiving, the keeping of the precepts, and the others of the five paramitas. Only when they reach the fourth stage of practice,(15) are they permitted to observe them. And because such practices are permitted only at this later stage, we may know that, for persons in the initial stages, they are restricted.

Question: The sutra passages you have just quoted seem to support your argument. But can you offer any passages from the treatises or commentaries?

Answer: What commentaries would you like me to cite? Are you referring to the treatises by the four ranks of sages of India, or to works written by Buddhist teachers of China and Japan? In either case, it amounts to rejecting the root and searching among the branches, seeking the shadow apart from the form, or forgetting the source and prizing only the stream. You would ignore a sutra passage that is perfectly clear and instead seek an answer in the treatises and commentaries. But if there should be some later commentary that contradicts the original sutra passage, would you then cast aside the sutra and follow the commentary?

Nevertheless, I will comply with your wishes and cite some passages. In volume nine of The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra it is stated: "There is a danger that a beginner will be led astray by subordinate concerns, and that this will interfere with the primary practice. The beginner should directly give all his attention to embracing this sutra; that is the highest type of offering. If one sets aside formal practices but maintains the principle, then the benefits will be many and far-reaching."

In this passage of commentary, "subordinate concerns" refers to the five paramitas. If the beginner tries to practice the five paramitas at the same time that he embraces the Lotus Sutra, that may work to obstruct his primary practice, which is faith. Such a person will be like a small ship that is loaded with wealth and treasure and sets out to cross the sea. Both the ship and the treasure will sink. And the words "should directly give all his attention to embracing this sutra" do not refer to the sutra as a whole. They mean that one should embrace the daimoku, or title, of the sutra exclusively and not mix it with other passages. Even recitation of the entire sutra is not per-
mitted. How much less are the five paramitas!

To "set aside formal practices but maintain the principle" means that one should set aside the keeping of the precepts and the other formal practices [of the five paramitas] and embrace the principle of the daimoku exclusively. When the commentary says that "the benefits will be many and far-reaching," it implies that, if the beginner should attempt to carry out various other practices and the daimoku at the same time, then all benefit will be completely lost.

Words and Phrases continues: "Question: If what you say is true, then upholding the Lotus Sutra is the fore-most among all the precepts. Why, then [in describing the fourth stage of practice], does the Lotus Sutra speak about 'one who can keep the precepts'? Answer: This is done in order to make clear by contrast what is needed at the initial stages. One should not criticize persons at the initial stages for failing to observe requirements that pertain only to the later stages."(16)

The scholars of today, ignoring this passage of commentary, would place ignorant people of the latter age in the same category as the two sages Nan-yüeh and T'ien-t'ai - a most grievous error!

Miao-lo further clarifies the matter as follows: "Question: If that is so, then is there no need to construct actual towers to house the Buddha's relics, and is there no need to formally keep the precepts? And further, is there no need to provide alms for monks who carry out the formal practices [of the six paramitas]?"(17)

The Great Teacher Dengyo declared, "I have forthwith cast aside the two hundred and fifty precepts!"(18 ) And the Great Teacher Dengyo was not the only one to do so. Nyoho and Dochu,(19) who were disciples of Ganjin, as well as the priests of the seven major temples of Nara, all in like manner cast them aside. Moreover, the Great Teacher Dengyo left this warning for future ages: "If in the Latter Day of the Law there should be persons who keep the precepts, that would be something rare and strange, like a tiger in the marketplace. Who could possibly believe it?" (20)

Question: Why do you not advocate the meditation on the three thousand realms in a single moment of life, but instead simply encourage the chanting of the daimoku?

Answer: The two characters that comprise the name Japan contain within them all the people and animals and wealth in the sixty-six provinces of the country, without a single omission. And the two characters that make up the name India - do they not likewise contain within them all the seventy countries of India?(21) Miao-lo says, "When for the sake of brevity one mentions only the daimoku, or title, the entire sutra is by implication included therein."(22) He also says, "When for the sake of brevity we speak of the Ten Worlds or the ten factors, the three thousand realms are perfectly encompassed therein."(23)

When Bodhisattva Manjushri and the Venerable Ananda came to compile all the words spoken by the Buddha at the three assemblies during the eight years [in which the Lotus Sutra was preached], they wrote down the title Myoho-renge-kyo, and to show their understanding [that the entire sutra is contained in these five characters], they proceeded with the words "This is what I heard." (24)

Question: If a person simply chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with no understanding of its meaning, are the benefits of understanding thereby included?

Answer: When a baby drinks milk, it has no understanding of its taste, and yet its body is naturally nourished. Who ever took the wonderful medicines of Jivaka knowing of what they were compounded? Water has no intent, and yet it can put out fire. Fire consumes things, and yet how can we say that it does so consciously? This is the explanation of both Nagarjuna and T'ien-t'ai, and I am restating it here.

Question: Why do you say that all teachings are contained within the daimoku?

Answer: Chang-an writes: "Hence [T'ien-t'ai's explanation of the title in] the preface conveys the profound meaning of the sutra. The profound meaning indicates the heart of the text, and the heart of the text encompasses the whole of the theoretical and essential teachings."(25) And Miao-lo writes, "On the basis of the heart of the text of the Lotus Sutra, one can evaluate all the other various teachings of the Buddha."(26)

Though muddy water has no mind, it can catch the moon's reflection and so naturally becomes clear. When plants and trees receive the rainfall, they can hardly be aware of what they are doing, and yet do they not proceed to put forth blossoms? The five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo do not represent the sutra text, nor are they its meaning. They are nothing other than the intent of the entire sutra. So, even though the beginners in Buddhist practice may not understand their significance, by practicing these five characters, they will naturally conform to the sutra's intent.

Question: When your disciples, without any understanding, simply recite with their mouths the words Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, what level of attainment do they reach?

Answer: Not only do they go beyond the highest level of the four flavors and three teachings, as well as that attained by practitioners of the perfect teaching set forth in the sutras that precede the Lotus Sutra, but they surpass by a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, million times the founders of the True Word and various other schools of Buddhism, such as Shan-wu-wei, Chih-yen, Tz'u-en, Chi-tsang, Tao-hsüan, Bodhidharma, and Shan-tao.

Therefore, I entreat the people of this country: Do not look down upon my disciples! If you inquire into their past, you will find that they are great bodhisattvas who have given alms to Buddhas over a period of eight hundred thousand million kalpas, and who have carried out practices under Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Hiranyavati and Ganges rivers. And if we speak of the future, they will be endowed with the benefit of the fiftieth person, surpassing that of one who gave alms to innumerable living beings for a period of eighty years.(27) They are like an infant emperor wrapped in swaddling clothes, or a great dragon who has just been born. Do not despise them! Do not look on them with contempt!

Miao-lo writes, "Those who vex or trouble [the practitioners of the Lotus Sutra] will have their heads split into seven pieces, but those who give alms to them will enjoy good fortune surpassing the ten honorable titles."(28) King Udayana behaved insolently toward the Venerable Pindolabharadvaja, and within seven years lost his life.(29) The lord of Sagami condemned Nichiren to exile, and within a hundred days armed rebellion broke out in his domain.(30)


The sutra says: "If anyone sees a person who accepts and upholds this sutra and tries to expose the faults or evils of that person, whether what he speaks is true or not, he will in his present existence be afflicted with white leprosy. . . . and other severe and malignant illnesses."(31) It also says, "That person will be born eyeless in existence after existence." (32)

Myoshin and Enchi contracted white leprosy in their present lifetime, while Doamidabutsu lost his sight. The epidemics that afflict our nation are punishments of the kind described as "the head being split into seven pieces." And if we surmise the degree of benefit according to the degree of punishment, then there can be no doubt that my followers "will enjoy good fortune surpassing the ten honorable titles."

The Buddhist teachings were first introduced to Japan in the reign of the thirtieth sovereign, Emperor Kimmei. During the twenty reigns, or more than two hundred years, from that time until the reign of Emperor Kammu, although the so-called six schools of Buddhism existed in Japan, the relative superiority of the Buddhist teachings had not yet been determined. Then, during the Enryaku era (782806), a sage appeared in this country, a man known as the Great Teacher Dengyo. He examined the teachings of the six schools, which had already been propagated, and made all the priests of the seven major temples of Nara his disciples. In time he established a temple on Mount Hiei to serve as the head temple, and won over the other temples in the country to serve as its branches. In this way the Buddhist teachings of Japan came to be unified in a single school. The secular rule likewise was not divided but clearly established, so that the nation was purified of evil. If we were to speak of Dengyo's accomplishments, we would have to say that they all spring from the passage [declaring the Lotus Sutra to be foremost among all the sutras the Buddha] "has preached, now preaches, and will preach."(33)

In the period that followed, the three great teachers Kobo, Jikaku, and Chisho, claiming to be following Chinese authority, expressed the opinion that the Mahavairochana Sutra and the others of the three major True Word sutras are superior to the Lotus Sutra. Moreover, they appended the term "school" to the True Word teachings, a term that the Great Teacher Dengyo had purposely omitted in reference to that school, and thus recognized the True Word as the eighth school(34) of Buddhism. These three men each persuaded the emperor to issue an edict upholding the True Word and propagated those teachings throughout Japan, so that every temple accordingly went against the principles of the Lotus Sutra. In so doing, they utterly violated the passage concerning the sutras the Buddha "has preached, now preaches, and will preach," and became archenemies of Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions.

Thereafter, Buddhism gradually declined and the ruler's authority likewise became increasingly ineffectual. The protective deities who had dwelt here for so long, such as the Sun Goddess and Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, have lost their power. Brahma, Shakra, and the four heavenly kings have deserted the country, and the country is already on the point of ruin. What thinking person could fail to be pained at and to lament such a situation?

In conclusion, the false doctrines propagated by the three great teachers are disseminated from three temples: To-ji, Soji-in on Mount Hiei, and Onjo-ji.(35) If measures are not taken to prohibit the activities of these temples, then without a doubt the nation will be destroyed, and its people will fall into the evil paths. Although I have generally discerned the nature of the situation and informed the ruler, no one has ventured to make the slightest use of my advice. How truly pitiable!

Background

This work is one of Nichiren Daishonin's ten major writings. It is thought to have been written on the tenth day of the fourth month in the third year of Kenji (1277). In the previous month, Toki Jonin, one of the Daishonin's most learned and devout disciples, had sent him a letter via Nissho, one of the six senior priests. Toki had expressed concern about how he might carry out a correct practice and appended a list of specific questions. This work is the Daishonin's reply. In it he stresses that chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with faith in the Mystic Law is the correct practice for the Latter Day of the Law and contains the merit of all other practices within it, leading directly to Buddhahood.

In the opening section, the Daishonin takes issue with those of his contemporaries who hold that practitioners of the Lotus Sutra must devote themselves to the three types of learning: precepts, meditation, and wisdom. These three were traditionally said to encompass the whole of Buddhist practice. The Daishonin begins his explanation by discussing the "four stages of faith and the five stages of practice" enumerated by the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai on the basis of the "Distinctions in Benefits" chapter of the Lotus Sutra. The first stage of faith, that of "producing even a single moment of belief and understanding," and the first stage of practice, that of "rejoicing on hearing the Lotus Sutra," correspond to the status of practitioners in the Latter Day of the Law, the Daishonin says. Among various interpretations of these initial stages set forth in the recorded teachings of T'ien-t'ai and Miao-lo, he designates as most appropriate the view that they correspond to the stage of hearing the name and words of the truth, the stage where one first hears and takes faith in the Lotus Sutra. For people at these initial stages, the Daishonin continues, of the three types of learning, the Buddha restricted the practice of precepts and meditation, emphasizing only wisdom. And, because the wisdom of people in the Latter Day is inadequate, they should substitute faith; faith in the Lotus Sutra becomes the cause for acquiring the Buddha wisdom.

The Daishonin then criticizes Eshin's Essentials of Rebirth in the Pure Land, a work that had greatly encouraged Nembutsu practices in Japan. Pure Land adherents generally held that the Lotus Sutra was too profound for the limited capacities of people born in the Latter Day, emphasizing instead the "easy practice" of reciting Amida Buddha's name. The Daishonin replies that the higher the teaching, the lower the capacity of the people it can save; thus chanting the daimoku, or title, of the Lotus Sutra alone can bring all beings to Buddhahood.

The next part explains that people in the Latter Day, who are at the initial stages of practice, need not practice almsgiving, the keeping of precepts, or any other of the five paramitas, but should devote themselves exclusively to chanting the daimoku. It may be noted here that the Daishonin is not rejecting the spirit implicit in such acts as almsgiving, but rather is denying their efficacy as actual practices. The merit of all these good deeds, he says, is already inherent in the daimoku. The practice of daimoku contains all practices within itself. The Daishonin asserts that even those who chant it without understanding its meaning are certain to attain Buddhahood.

Notes

1. Blue-duck coins were copper coins imported from Sung-dynasty China, with a square hole in the center that made them look like a duck's eye.
2. The preparation and revelation sections are the first two of the three divisions of a sutra, the third being transmission. In the subsequent paragraph, the transmission section is applied to both the theoretical teaching and the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra. In terms of the theoretical teaching, it corresponds to the "Teacher of the Law" (10th) through "Peaceful Practices" (14th) chapters. In terms of the essential teaching, it corresponds to the latter part of the "Distinctions in Benefits" (17th) chapter through the end of the sutra, as well as the Universal Worthy Sutra.
3. According to the T'ien-t'ai system of classification, these two sutras represent the last that Shakyamuni Buddha expounded. The Universal Worthy Sutra is regarded as
an epilogue to the Lotus Sutra, and the Nirvana Sutra, as a restatement of its important teachings. Thus, in a broad sense, these two texts can be said to constitute the transmission section of the entire body of teachings.
4. Another name for the Great Teacher Miao-lo. Ching-hsi was the name of his birthplace.
5. The Annotations on "The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra."
6. The stage of resemblance to enlightenment is the fourth of the six stages of practice, and the ten stages of faith indicate the first ten of the fifty-two stages of bodhisattva practice. According to commentarial tradition, the various kinds of wheel-turning kings are used to represent different divisions within the fifty-two stages of bodhisattva practice. The lowest ranking of the kings, he who turns the iron
wheel, represents the initial stages, the ten stages of faith.
7. Lotus Sutra, chap. 17.
8. The reference here is to the parable of the skilled physician, whose sons swallow poison in his absence. Some are only mildly affected and retain their right mind, while others take leave of their senses. The physician (who represents the Buddha) offers to cure them with good medicine (the Lotus Sutra), but only those who are still in their right mind take it and are cured. As an expedient to save the others, the physician leaves home and has word sent that he has died in another country. In their grief, those children who have lost their minds finally decide to take the medicine and are cured. The Daishonin says here that both groups of children represent persons at the stage of hearing the name and words of the truth, because both have heard the Lotus Sutra.
9. In the Japanese text, the Daishonin gives only a few characters from each passage; the full quotations are supplied here in translation. The Hiranyavati River flows through Kushinagara, the capital of the ancient state of Malla in northern India. Shakyamuni is said to have entered nirvana in a grove of sal trees on the west bank of this river.
10. This phrase actually appears in The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra, where T'ien-t'ai comments on a passage of the "Distinctions in Benefits" chapter of the Lotus Sutra that reads, "If there is someone who, hearing of the long duration of the Buddha's life span, can understand the import of such words, the benefits that such a person acquires will be without limit or measure, able to awaken in him the unsurpassed wisdom of the Thus Come One."
11. This interpretation corresponds to the second of the three interpretations of the initial levels of practice, cited earlier, in which the five stages of practice, including
that of "rejoicing on hearing the Lotus Sutra," are equated with the stage of perception and action.
12. The Annotations on "Great Concentration and Insight." This passage consists of six Chinese characters in On "Great Concentration and Insight."
13. The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra.
14. Lotus Sutra, chap. 17. This quotation comes from the passage describing the second of the five stages of practice, that of reading and reciting the Lotus Sutra. The four kinds of offerings are food and drink, clothing, bedding, and medicine.
15. The fourth stage of practice is that of practicing the six paramitas while embracing the Lotus Sutra.
16. The wording of the Japanese text has been expanded here in translation for the sake of clarity.
17. On "The Words and Phrases." The implication is that, for those at the initial stages, such acts are included in faith.
18. The Documents Pertaining to "A Clarification of the Precepts." Dengyo rejected the two hundred and fifty precepts of Hinayana, while embracing the bodhisattva precepts of Mahayana.
19. Nyoho (Chin Ju-fa, d. 814), a Precepts priest, accompanied his teacher Ganjin (Chien-chen) to Japan, where he conferred precepts on Emperor Kammu. Dochu (n.d.) was a Japanese Precepts priest,under whom Encho, the second chief priest of Enryaku-ji, first entered the priesthood. In saying that Ganjin and his disciples cast aside the two hundred and fifty Hinayana precepts, the Daishonin may be referring to the fact that Ganjin was the first to bring to Japan the writings of T'ien-t'ai, on which Dengyo based his understanding of the Mahayana precepts.
20. The Treatise on the Lamp for the Latter Day of the Law. This work is traditionally attributed to Dengyo.
21. The seventy countries of India refer to the whole of India. The source for this figure may be Hsüan-tsang's Record of the Western Regions.
22. On "The Words and Phrases."
23. The Annotations on "The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra."
24. "This is what I heard" is the opening phrase of the Lotus Sutra, and of virtually all sutras.
25. Profound Meaning. This passage appears in Chang-an's preface to Profound Meaning and refers to T'ien-t'ai's own preface to the same work.
26. On "The Profound Meaning."
27. Lotus Sutra, chap. 18.
28. On "The Words and Phrases." "Have their heads split into seven pieces" refers to the vow made by the ten demon daughters in chapter 26 of the Lotus Sutra to afflict in this way anyone who troubles a teacher of the sutra. The ten honorable titles are epithets for the Buddha expressing his virtue, wisdom, and compassion.
29. This story appears in The Fourfold Rules of Discipline. Udayana was the king of Kaushambi in Shakyamuni's time. He revered the Buddha's disciple Pindolabharadvaja and visited him every day. His jealous minister persuaded the king that Pindolabharadvaja was insufficiently respectful and urged him to kill the disciple if the latter did not rise to greet him. Knowing this with his supernatural powers, Pindolabharadvaja rose from his seat to save the king from the offense of killing a disciple of the Buddha, but as a result of his own ill intent, the king was soon captured by an enemy ruler and died within seven years.
30. Lord of Sagami is another name for Regent Hojo Tokimune. The "armed rebellion" refers to an attempt on the part of his elder half brother, Hojo Tokisuke, to usurp the regency in the second month of 1272.
31. Lotus Sutra, chap. 28. The quotation immediately following is also from this chapter.
32. Myoshin, a priest-disciple of the Daishonin, later discarded his faith and turned against him. Enchi was a priest of Seicho-ji temple, where the Daishonin had entered the priesthood. The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra suggests that he was slanderous at heart and met with a miserable death (p. 777).
33. Lotus Sutra, chap. 10.
34. Eighth school: That is, in addition to the six schools and the Tendai school.
35. Temples descending, respectively, from the three great teachers Kobo, Jikaku, and Chisho. See To-ji and Onjo-ji in Glos-sary. Soji-in was founded on Mount Hiei by Jikaku in 851 as a center for esoteric practice.

 

[Bonzo]

Welcome Home DG!!!!! Sounds like you had an aweseom trip besides bein a bit under the weather, sorry to hear about that. By the way what is a Wot? I am chanting to travel more and it is one of my main goals for this year (at least one trip) Spain maybe? So glad to have you back! Hope that sickness goes away soon, sendin' a lil 'extra Daimoku your way

so glad you had fun and eperienced some good ( and maybe a tad heavy) vibes while you were there!

once again so glad you made it back ok!

peace

bonz






................................Nam myoho renge kyo.........................................

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Not even the wisdom of the Buddha can fathom the blessings that one will obtain by giving alms to Nichiren and by becoming his disciple and lay supporter.

[ The True Aspect of All Phenomena, WND Page 384 ]

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Gosho: On Prayer

Gosho: On Prayer

PRAYER: A REAL FORCE FOR CHANGE
BY MATILDA BUCK
[World Tribune 06/09/00, p. 4]

A woman is walking along a river bank, looking for a way to cross to the other side. Finally, she sees someone on the opposite bank and yells across, “Hey, how do you get to the other side?”

The other person yells back, “You already are on the other side!”

Perspective. Perspective in anything, especially in life, can make all the difference. In fact, a change in perspective — especially to one that’s clear and lofty — is one of the great benefits of our Buddhist practice. In this article, I would like to look at perspective in terms of prayer. After all, our practice entails very focused prayer twice a day — how can we make that prayer a real force for change in our lives?

Here’s a quiz. True or false — “When I chant to the Gohonzon…”

* I feel that something must be wrong with me.
* I doubt I can overcome my problems.
* I doubt I can reach my goals.
* I feel victimized by life.
* I relate to penitents and martyrs.
* I feel I don’t deserve to pray for my own happiness.
* I want the Gohonzon to reward me.
* I believe the Gohonzon is punishing me.
* I want the Gohonzon to save me.

If you answered “yes” to even one statement, first: don’t feel alone. Second: keep reading.
Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism empowers each individual to bring forth his or her Buddhahood. This is a con-scious posture we should try to take as we chant. Repeat after me: “At the core of my life, I am a Buddha. I can tap this power through my strong prayer. I can move toward my desires and I can contribute to my world.”

It sounds good, but for many of us, this is a difficult posture to sustain.

Not only do self-limiting attitudes (“Something must be wrong with me; things always fall through”) often seem natural and real, but the truth — that we are Buddhas — may seem unnatural, even preposterous and arrogant. This is how we feel, even though Nichiren Daishonin tells us repeatedly that Buddhahood is our true identity, and even though the Lotus Sutra, which we repeat twice a day, reveals that we all have the potential for Buddhahood just as we are. The idea that we have a deeper identity from which we can make this empowered prayer often is still theory for many of us.

To mark the women’s meetings last February, President Ikeda sent us a beautiful message that addressed this very thing, asking us to become happy based on our profound and strong prayer. He referred to Nichiren Daishonin’s letter “The One Essential Phrase,” which reads in part:

“Even though one neither reads nor studies the sutra, chanting the title alone is the source of tremendous good fortune. The sutra teaches that women, evil men, and those in the realms of animals and hell — in fact, all the beings of the Ten Worlds — can attain Buddhahood in their present form. [This is an incomparably greater wonder than] fire being produced by a stone taken from the bottom of a river, or a lantern lighting up a place that has been dark for a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand years. If even the most ordinary things of this world are such wonders, then how much more wondrous is the power of the Buddhist Law!” (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 923)

In his message, President Ikeda focuses on this phrase about the lantern that instantly lights a cave that has been dark for even 10,000 years. “The moment we sit in front of the Gohonzon and offer prayers, the sun of Buddhahood, the originally enlightened state inherent in our lives, arises, sending out brilliant lights,” he writes. But how many of us sit with that feeling as we chant to the Gohonzon? Up until a few years ago, I know I didn’t.

Don’t get me wrong. In my first two decades of practice, I had changed from a sad and confused person to one who could feel optimistic most of the time. I was able to turn around some tough situations, and I appreciated that I had found a noble and fulfilling way to live.

I also learned how to cope much better with the pain in my life. I kept this pain in a deep, dark cave at the pit of my life, hidden from my consciousness. But I could feel it, at a very deep level. That’s how carefully I had accommodated it all my life, working around it so I wouldn’t have to deal with it. It translated as a small voice that told me I would always live with pain, with restriction. I could build a lot of positive causes and effects on top of it, I could improve my situation, I could grow spiritually, but that dark cave would remain unchanged.

Until, that is, the lantern of Nam Myoho-renge-kyo exposed that cave and gave me enough light to see this reality at last. But it was not an easy process.

“I wonder,” I said to myself (and “wonder” was really the beginning of the process), “if I really believe that the core of my life is Nam Myoho-renge-kyo, or is it instead this deep acceptance of pain, the belief that I will never be without it?”

The answer that came back was a shock: “You have always lived with this pain,” my little voice in the cave said. “There is no other way. This is the true reality of your life.” Another voice countered with: “Nichiren Daishonin says the fundamental reality of my life is Nam Myoho-renge-kyo — Buddhahood. You can become truly happy.”

How could I deserve that kind of happiness? I thought, “Well, if I am a Buddha, I should become happy, but to tell the truth, I can’t imagine it. It doesn’t feel OK to be happy.”

What could I do?

I decided to try a new perspective, to chant from the perspective of a Buddha. I faked it for a while. I kept repeating to myself: “My life is Nam Myoho-renge-kyo; I am a Buddha; I am living as a Bodhisattva of the Earth; therefore, I can bring this power out and solve my problem. Not only do I deserve to be happy, I must become happy; that’s how I will demonstrate the Great Law.”

Because I was trying to chant from a different perspective, an empowered perspective, I began to see things differently. Small, almost imperceptible changes appeared. Think about that cave: Nothing could be more immutable than a place that’s been dark for 10,000 years. But even a little light that is shed consistently has an immediate, though inconspicuous, effect. Life that needs absolute darkness cannot continue; it will evolve or disappear. Life that needs light will begin to develop. The ecology of the cave will never be the same.

That’s what happened in my own life as I kept that light of my Buddhahood, that new, conscious perspective, going. Within one year, I had concretely changed a problem that had been with me all of my life. Inside my hid-den cave, that which fed on darkness shrank, and what needed light grew and thrived and eventually bloomed into an undeniable happiness.

Theoretically, I had known these principles for a very long time, but I think unconsciously the doubt that I could ever change that part of my life was so strong that it squelched any hope of trying, so I often chanted as though the Gohonzon “out there” might reward me for good behavior, but certainly I didn’t have the power to change this — it was too eternal and omnipresent. Consciously changing my perspective in my prayer, coming from the perspective that I was a Buddha and had the power of Buddhahood, helped me overcome my doubt and continue until I saw victory.

Overcoming doubt is a big issue when it comes to prayer. Praying from the empowered perspective of Buddhahood will help us overcome doubt. This is how President Ikeda encourages us: “One thing is certain: The power of belief, the power of thought, will move reality in the direction of what we believe and conceive of it. If you really believe you can do something, you can. This is a fact. When you clearly envision a victorious outcome, engrave it in your heart and are firmly convinced that you will attain it, your brain makes every effort to realize the mental image you have created. And then, through your unceasing efforts, that victory is finally made a reality.”

In closing, I would like to share some points on challenging doubt. In the World Tribune last year, Editor in Chief Ted Morino explains that doubt-free faith is not a fixed condition and does not mean unquestioning faith. In fact, questions are good. They lead us to delve more deeply in faith and strengthen our life-state. As we grapple with doubt, we build our own deep conviction. When we make the decision “I am going to look at this from the per-spective of Buddhahood, not just my own fearful-ness or cynicism or whatever,” doors will open. Ted describes the process of overcoming doubt and gaining both self-confidence and a stronger practice, based on the nine consciousnesses:

* First, using the six consciousnesses, choose to chant with trust in the Gohonzon and in the Buddhahood inherent in our own lives. Couple this with 100 percent effort — that is, prayer plus action — to win day by day. This is the basis for the rest of the steps. (This refers to the first six of the nine consciousnesses: the senses of hearing, sight, taste, touch, smell and conscious thought.)

* Second, persevere in this kind of effort, thus increasing our trust in ourselves subconsciously (the seventh consciousness).

* Third, as we continue this way, “to trust ourselves will become our tendency,” writes Ted Morino, “which is called karma” (the eighth consciousness).

* Fourth, as we practice Buddhism with positive feelings, our joy and self-confidence grow and we truly enjoy living, experiencing the fullness of the Law. This is the proof that we can strengthen our Buddhahood (ninth consciousness). In this life-condition, our self-confidence — our confidence in our Buddhahood — is unshakable.

Like the two people facing each other on the riverbank, happiness is a matter of perspective, of where you choose to stand. To achieve our own great happiness, to have the compassion and stamina to serve humanity, we need the power of the perspective of Buddhahood.

We are, all of us, already on the other side. Through a strong empowered prayer, we can begin to know this.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"From this you should understand that anger can be either a good or a bad thing."

(On Reprimanding Hachiman - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 2, page 931) Selection source: SGI President Ikeda's 2007 Peace Proposal, Seikyo Shimbun, January 26th, 2007

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Buddhist practice is about our never ending spirit to
"exert ourselves bravely and vigorously!"*
A resolute and selfless struggle is in itself
a reflection of our victorious life as a Buddha.
Today, again, let's be absolutely victorious
in each and every endeavour we undertake!

Daisaku Ikeda

*Yumyo shojin (He has exerted himself bravely and vigorously) - "Expedient Means" chapter of the Lotus Sutra

In the first place, "bravely and vigorously" means with faith. In his "Six-volume Writings" (Rokkan Sho), the twenty-sixth high priest, Nichikan, citing the interpretation, "'Bravely' means to act with courage; 'vigorously' means to use every ounce of one's wisdom," explains that "bravely and vigorously" means to courageously exercise one's powers of faith to the fullest.

Buddhist practice has to be carried out with determination and courage. When we bravely challenge ourselves with the spirit to accomplish 'more today than yesterday' and 'more tomorrow than today,' we are truly practicing. Without such a brave and vigorous spirit, we cannot break the iron shackles of destiny, nor can we defeat obstacles and devils. Our daily practice of gongyo is a drama of challenging and creating something new in our lives. When we bravely stand up with faith, the darkness of despair and anxiety vanishes from our hearts, and in pours the light of hope and growth. This spirit to courageously stand up is the spirit of faith. ......

Let us remember that the SGI has greatly developed precisely because we have bravely and vigorously exerted ourselves in faith - that is, with true earnestness. (Lectures on the "Expedient Means" and "Life Span Chapters of the Lotus Sutra by Daisaku Ikeda, Volume 1, page 58)