Rissho Kosei-kai

[dsaly1969]

I practice with Rissho Kosei Kai which is a Lotus Sutra -centered "Ekayana" sect of Buddhism from Japan. RKK is obviously Nichiren influenced but does not consider itself to be a Nichiren school (so I guess this is the best category on this board).

The main practice of RKK is chanting portions of the chapters of the Lotus Sutra (in RKK we chant these in the language of our understanding - in my case English as the point is to understand what you are chanting - chanting helps you to focus and internalize) as well as O-Daimoku (basically the title of the Lotus Sutra) as well as Ti Sarana (Taking the Three Refuges). Our daily liturgy called Kyoten is most similar to that of Nichiren Shu. A practice unique to RKK is hoza which is a form of group counselling which uses the foundational teachings of Buddhism (the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path but also the Six Paramitas) as a framework to examine our everyday life problems and issues through the lens of Buddhadharma.

We consider ourselves to be mainstream Buddhism and engage in a lot of interfaith and peace activities. Many of us also practice sitting meditation as a part of our daily practice. RKK is very ecumenical and believes that there are "84,000" paths to enlightenment so we do not suffer from the "one true school" syndrome - folks should gravitate to the school of Buddhadharma which resonates best for them.


Here are some links to RKK websites:

http://www.rk-world.org/home.aspx

http://www.buddhistcenter-rkina.org/

Here is a link to the online text (and pdf download) for "Buddhism for Today" which is the RKK basic text used for study along with the Lotus Sutra:

http://www.rk-world.org/publications/bu ... y_toc.aspx

[rory]

Welcome! It's nice to see other Lotus Sutra Buddhists here. Doesn't RKK have a wonderful statue of Shakyamuni Buddha as its headquarters?
gassho
rory

[dsaly1969]

Welcome! It's nice to see other Lotus Sutra Buddhists here. Doesn't RKK have a wonderful statue of Shakyamuni Buddha as its headquarters?
gassho
rory

Hi Rory!

It is nice to meet you!

Yes, RKK uses a statue of the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni as its object of devotion in the same way that the Nichiren sects use a Gohonzon. Most RKK members have an altar with an image of the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni installed at their home altars (RKK ministers come out and bless and install the image formally.) RKK churches and some longtime practitioners may have the statues themselves. You can find an image of the one at RKK HQ here:

http://www.rk-world.org/devotion.aspx

When I first came across Lotus Sutra Buddhism, it was through SGI like many other folks. I was not comfortable with their particular emphasis and outlook so I went independent for quite a while and seriously looked at Nichiren Shu for which I still have high regard. When I ran across RKK it was the best fit for me (but I think that all of the various Lotus Sutra schools may meet the needs of particular individuals). RKK's daily practice itself is very similar to Nichiren Shu but their focus and emphasis was more in line with how I wanted to practice.

Gassho,

Dave

[rory]

Hi Dave;
that is a beautiful statue I too regard Rissho Kosei Kai as a Lotus Sutra School, you really stick with the sutra which I admire. I've enjoyed reading the magazine as well. In fact we had a discussion about how many followers of Lotus Sutra schools there are in Japan, and the figure someone posted omitted the 'new' religions, but really I see Rissho as totally mainstream.

It's true that we come to our various schools via different pasts: I was Pure Land, Nichiren Shu, Tendai then Kempon Hokke, my school is scholarly like yours and Nichiren Shu; we share the same core beliefs but stricter, but that really suits me. I regard anyone who worships the Eternal Buddha, Shakyamuni and the Lotus Sutra as a compadre!

rory

[dsaly1969]

Oh yeah, RKK is totally mainstream. Of course there are plusses and minuses to that. On the minus side, its mainstream and more moderate tone is a reason that RKK does not see a lot of membership growth as they are not driven as much by fervency. But in the past couple of years RKK has started making more efforts to outreach to English speaking seekers.

It's just good to know that there are other compadres out there. I'm also excited that RKK is finally getting an Online Sangha off the ground and they have been having live online RKK services and hoza on Saturdays. This will help with isolated RKK members like me as I do not get down to Los Angeles often anymore. And you know how quick Japanese organizations are to change and trying new things.

Gassho,

Dave

[dsaly1969]

Good news! After the requisite lengthy testing period, the RKK Online Sangha is now published and live!

http://rkina.org/onlineministry/index.html