unimportant day

[gregkavarnos]

Hate to be the one to point this out to you Ram but when "you" die your understanding of the Lotus Sutra will die with "you". Unless of course you happen to become fully enlightened by then. Then "you" will still die but "your" understanding (as Dharma) will continue.

I received Lotus sutra in an isolated room in Pune (india) with no buddhist near me.
My death of last birth could not isolate me from lotus sutra.
In this birth i have further strengthened my link with lotus sutra by putting up a strenous
effort for last 20 years.

Yes, well, the one VERY weak link in the chain that attaches you to the Lotus Sutra is that you have not gone to a qualified teacher to have them explain it to you. This has lead to your less-than common interpretation of it. If you wish to let 20 years of effort go down the drain due to your egotistical belief that only you understand the Lotus Sutra, well... it's your life, you can waste it any way you wish.

PS How do you know there were no Buddhists near you in Pune, we Buddhists are a sneaky mob and can be found hiding almost everywhere!

[Seishin]

Ram, I have read your posts on this sight and on others. What you post about the Lotus Sutra, ego, emptiness etc isn't Buddhism. I think this is the main reason you have not found one person who agrees with you. You are asking Buddhists, but you are not talking about Buddhism, you are talking about Ram-ism.

I wish you well on starting your own religion.

Gassho,
Seishin.

[gregkavarnos]

One question that arose in my mind when I reread the thread again is: if Ram does not need Buddhists given he is the Lotus Sutra then why does Ram waste so much time on various Buddhist forums trying to push his product? Why does he expend so much energy telling us all how wonderful and knowledgable he is? What does Ram really, actually, want from us lowly and ignorant Buddhists?

[JKhedrup]

Humility is important for those who would cultivate the instructions of the lotus sutra:

The Buddha restrained Shariputra, "If I preach this matter [the Lotus Sutra], all the gods, men, and asuras in all the worlds shall be alarmed, and the arrogant monks shall fall into a great trap. Indeed...

My dharma is subtle and hard to imagine.
Those of overweening pride,
If they hear it, shall surely neither revere it nor
believe in it."

Yet Shariputra again addressed the Buddha, "I beseech you to preach, I beseech you to preach!..." [The Buddha, prevailed upon by Shariputra, began to teach, but as he began,] in the assembly monks, nuns, lay brothers, and lay sisters to the number of five thousand straightway rose from their seats and, doing obeisance to the Buddha, withdrew. For what reason? This group had deep and grave roots of sin and overweening pride, imagining themselves to have attained and to have borne witness to what in fact they had not. Having such faults as these, therefore they did not stay. The World-honored One, silent, did not restrain them.

The Buddha declared to Shariputra, "My assembly has no more branches and leaves, it has only firm fruit. It is just as well that such arrogant ones as these have withdrawn. Now listen well, for I will preach to you."

If the disciples had thought they already knew everything they had to cultivate, the Buddha would not have spoken the Lotus Sutra. Similarly, Tibetans say that "On the steep mountain of pride the lake of virtue cannot abide." If we do not make our mind receptive to instruction, we cannot progress. The great saints of the past relied on teachers to travel the path to liberation. Self-enlightened ones (praktyekabuddhas) are rare in this world, and even they progress based on imprints from studying with teachers in previous lives.

[Seishin]

One question that arises in my mind while I reread the thread again is if Ram does not need Buddhists given he is the Lotus Sutra then why does Ram waste so much time on various Buddhist forums trying to push his product? Why does he expend so much energy telling us all how wonderful and knowledgable he is? What does Ram really, actually, want from us lowly and ignorant Buddhists?

Ego.

I see it in myself sometimes

[viniketa]

In this birth i have further strengthened my link with lotus sutra by putting up a strenous effort for last 20 years.

Ram - It would seem that you do have a very strong connection to the Lotus sutra. I think what people are trying to suggest is that you might be able to expand your knowledge by looking at the work of others who have also had a strong connection as well as at schools of Buddhism which base its practices on the sutra.

[ram peswani]

[*]

Ram, I have read your posts on this sight and on others. What you post about the Lotus Sutra, ego, emptiness etc isn't Buddhism. I think this is the main reason you have not found one person who agrees with you. You are asking Buddhists, but you are not talking about Buddhism, you are talking about Ram-ism.

I wish you well on starting your own religion.

Gassho,
Seishin.

Some of my best and simple writings are in "Danger zone" of Free Sangha" and also in BWB.
They may clear your understanding of EGO.

[gregkavarnos]

Some of my best and simple writings are in "Danger zone" of Free Sangha" and also in BWB.

So you are here to advertise your view?

[Seishin]

[*]

Ram, I have read your posts on this sight and on others. What you post about the Lotus Sutra, ego, emptiness etc isn't Buddhism. I think this is the main reason you have not found one person who agrees with you. You are asking Buddhists, but you are not talking about Buddhism, you are talking about Ram-ism.

I wish you well on starting your own religion.

Gassho,
Seishin.

Some of my best and simple writings are in "Danger zone" of Free Sangha" and also in BWB.
They may clear your understanding of EGO.

As I said Ram, I have read your opinion on those forums. Your understanding is muddled at best. I prefer to read the sutras.

Gassho.

[ram peswani]

[*]

One question that arose in my mind when I reread the thread again is: if Ram does not need Buddhists given he is the Lotus Sutra then why does Ram waste so much time on various Buddhist forums trying to push his product? Why does he expend so much energy telling us all how wonderful and knowledgable he is? What does Ram really, actually, want from us lowly and ignorant Buddhists?

Ram is trying to feed the seed of Lotus sutra in as many as readers as he can.
He is trying to arouse curiousity in the mind of readers regarding lotus sutra.
I want someone to come forward and challange my reading and expansion of Lotus sutra.
Simply saying this is Ram- ism is accepting defeat.

I have written many many articles. Let anyone take any one of the points written in these articles
and counter the writings. None has come forward to give an alternate reading of Lotus sutra
on any of my points in one last year.

Why are my writings creating the feeling in someone of "lowly ignorant Buddhists"?
Is it too difficult to accept that you do not understand lotus sutra?
FreeSangha readers did not respond like you did earlier and now. Their response was graceful
and helpful to them and me.
We are supposed to help each other to grow our Wisdom..
And if we are not truthful to ourselves, we will never progress.

[Seishin]

Everytime someone challenges your "ideas" you shoot them down saying they are wrong because they do not agree with you. That isn't an arguement, this is just being defensive. It makes having any kind of discussions with you tedious. I think that is why people don't reply to your posts. I myself have questioned your views on the Lotus Sutra a few times and you basically told me that I was wrong because you were right. Like Greg said, it seems the only reason you've come here is to advertise your view.

If you are really, honestly interested in open discussion then why not take part in our very own discussion thread on the Lotus Sutra viewtopic.php?f=41&t=428

Gassho,
Seishin.

[Seishin]

Ram, I'm sorry if my posts are upsetting you. I have a tendency to be direct which can make my posts seem quite cold, which they are not I can assure you

On freesangha, one poster has pointed out that you are using "confirmation bias" which is basically what I was trying to say. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias I think this is worth pondering for a while.

Gassho,
Seishin.

[gregkavarnos]

I want someone to come forward and challange my reading and expansion of Lotus sutra.
Simply saying this is Ram- ism is accepting defeat.

This has been done already in a number of threads that you started on this forum. The problem with challenging your view is that you accept no other view except your own as being valid. You do not want people to challenge your view, you want them to accept it.

Why are my writings creating the feeling in someone of "lowly ignorant Buddhists"?

Because you continuously point out to us that you came to your realisation of your view without the help of Buddhists. That you know the Lotus Sutra (a Buddhist text) better than Buddhists. That you refuse to accept the analyses and arguments of Buddhist scholars on the lotus Sutra. That you believe that Buddhists do not understand the Lotus Sutra...

FreeSangha readers did not respond like you did earlier and now. Their response was graceful and helpful to them and me.

My and other forum members response to you was grateful and helpful initially, until you showed your true intent. Now my response has changed over time shaped by your egotistical attitude and claims to omniscience.

We are supposed to help each other to grow our Wisdom. And if we are not truthful to ourselves, we will never progress.

Very true! WE are supposed to help each other and develop our wisdom. WE must be truthful to oursleves. Unfortunately you place yourself outside of this "WE" due to your deluded perception of yourself as "the one true knower".

I am no longer interested in your claims to omniscience nor in your assisting you in further developing your egotism.

This thread is finshed.

[ram peswani]

Below I write a dream in meditation of to night. As for myself , me (ram, riju) is a
lonely sentient living in a very small corner of Pune (India). A very common
ordinary man as every one else is. But Dreams have no limitation.


When I think of God .....Awareness comes in front and says, Here I Am.
When I think of vast creation.....Suniata/ Emptiness comes in front and says, All
that you see and do not see, came from Me.
When I see different forms of Creation.......Cause and Effect comes in front of me.
When I see the source of Cause.......Laws of Nature come in front of me.
When I see these Laws.............Lotus sutra comes in front me. Lotus sutra is a
science behind the collection of these laws with
a cohesive core in the form of Nirvan.
When I see Nirvan......Millions and Billions of Buddhas come in front each
upholding and forcing these laws on the universe.
When I see Buddhas.....I see each of them controlling and ruling over different
universe, assisted by bhoddisattvs,Gods and dieties, with
different laws. These universes are vast 100/1000/100000
million years of age.There are billions of stars, milkiways
and galaxis, earths,moons and vast sentients including
me.
ME....... I see myself as having taken the rebirth by my choice in a very dark
corner of one of these universes. Size of this corner is not even billionth, trillilonth
part of the vast universes.
I was born holding in my hands a torch of light of Lotus sutra with this darkness
surrounding me.
20 years back this light in my hands was a flicking small point. Millions of
darkened sentients attacked this light, as they were adjusted to the darknes (fear,
jealousies, hatred).
They could not extinguish this tiny small flickering light. Because it had the
backing of the AWARENESS (GOD) and His army.
Today that light is a blazing flame of WISDOM of Buddhas. It has come into this
darkened corner to brighten this part of darkened universe.

IT IS INEVITABLE.

[gregkavarnos]

Due to the incredibly similar nature of this post/thread to the original, now locked thread, I have decided to merge them in order to avoid the same old discussions.