SGI style Gohonzon?

[nichirenista]

I've only been to a few SGI meetings. I noticed their Gohonzons were very different from the one I was given by Nichiren Shu. The one I was given by Nichiren Shu is called the Shutei Gohonzon. I'm pretty sure the one below is the one I saw at SGI. It has a very different "vibe" from the Nichiren Shu Gohonzon. Anyway, does anyone know if this is the SGI Gohonzon, and if so, does anyone know its name?

[Queequeg]

It looks like the Gohonzon Soka Gakkai started issuing after the schism with Nichiren Shoshu. If so, it is a copy of one inscribed by Nichikan Shonin - a late medieval? early edo? period abbot of Taisekiji who is said to have been a reformer in the sect.

[Myoho-Nameless]

Wow that one is pretty! I like how it much reflects my boxy uninspired kanji style....I honestly prefer straightforward writing styles, flowery stuff is hard to make out, I uh.....can't even read cursive

Some gohonzons look like a seismograph had an epileptic seizure to me.

[Queequeg]

You should see the Gohonzon inscribed by Nittatsu Geka, the abbot of Taisekiji in the 70s-80s. Very clear, standard script. Nikken the last abbot before the present one had a freer hand.

In East Asia where calligraphy is a prized art, they say much can be realized through a person's handwriting. I think some forms of handwriting analysis in the West purport similar ideas.

The Gohonzon Shu is available online [quote=http://nichirenscoffeehouse.net/GohonzonShu/001.html]here[/quote]. These are images along with transcriptions of most of the known extant Nichiren Gohonzon. You can see how the format and his handwriting evolved over time.

If you look around online, you can find examples inscribed by many others.

[nichirenista]

Do you have a copy of the Nitattsu Gohonzon? I looked for it online and can't find it. I also like the workmanlike style of this SGI Gohonzon.

[reciproque]

I have a Nittatsu Gohonzon, acquired in March or April 1969. It's in excellent condition and as flat as can be.
Yes, from a physical point of view, I think it's very beautiful compared to all the ones I've seen. However, we should all not forget that developing an attraction towards the Gohonzon, over a certain level, becomes idolatry. Of course Nichiren never addresses the idea of idolotry using the term, but he does speak to the issue none-the-less. In his writing, On the True Aspect of the Gohonzon, he teaches, "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-renge-kyo".

[nichirenista]

The reason I ask this question was as follows…. I was told that the Gohonzon I was given at Nichiren Shu was a silkscreen of the last Gohonzon that Nichiren himself made; the Shutei Gohonzon. I was surprised to go to Soka Gakkai and see a Gohonzon that was not made by Nichiren. Unlike other schools of Nichiren Buddhism, Soka Gakkai teaches that Nichiren was The Buddha of our age. Guess I had figured that Soka Gakkai would therefore be doubly inclined to have a Gohonzon that was by Nichiren.

[Queequeg]

The reason I ask this question was as follows…. I was told that the Gohonzon I was given at Nichiren Shu was a silkscreen of the last Gohonzon that Nichiren himself made; the Shutei Gohonzon. I was surprised to go to Soka Gakkai and see a Gohonzon that was not made by Nichiren. Unlike other schools of Nichiren Buddhism, Soka Gakkai teaches that Nichiren was The Buddha of our age. Guess I had figured that Soka Gakkai would therefore be doubly inclined to have a Gohonzon that was by Nichiren.

There has been a long tradition of wood block reproduction of gohonzon, as well as carving reproductions into wood (the Shoshu so-called Dai-Gohonzon is an example). Other people inscribed Gohonzon also, a practice that started during Nichiren's life. Its a matter of practicality. The volume of Gohonzon that were required during Soka Gakkai's expansion would have been impossible to have them all inscribed by hand. I think part of the reason almost all Gohonzon are printed these days is primarily practical - volume required and the lack of people with both calligraphic skill and religious training to carry it out. There may also be sectarian limitations on authority to do so. Its also an expression of ideology - some Gohonzon by Nichiren have different composition, reflecting emphasis on one aspect or another. This was often done by Nichiren to address the specific spiritual needs of the recipient, and then the various schools select one or the other to express their teachings. I have a reproduction of a Nikko Shonin inscribed Gohonzon. Kitayama Hommonji used to issue Nichiren Gohonzon, but changed to emphasize the Nikko lineage. Its a subject that is probably worth some scholarly study.

[reciproque]

Virtually all Gohonzons are reproduced by some method of mechanical printing.

I understand the question your asking is actually why not just reproduce a Nichiren authored Gohonzon, instead of that of a cleric or some authority from any of the various schools? The reason that this is not done is because of the doctrine of a "person to person transmission" of the Great Dharma, from a master to his successor.

This doctrine stipulates that the head of a school is the recipient of the enlightenment of the original teacher, or master, which in this case is Nichiren. In other words (and I have heard many clerics within Nichiren Shoshu state this) the sitting master acts as an intermediary for all clergy and laity wishing to obtain the same enlightenment as Nichiren. Therefore, one of the first tasks of an incoming new the High Priest is to inscribe a new Gohonzon and that Gohonzon becomes the standard during the tenure of that particular High Priest. It has even been argued, albeit unsuccessfully, that all older Gohonzons should be returned to the Temple in exchange for a new one at each changing of the High priest.

Nichirenista, the question is a contentious one as it throws fuel on the fire of the schism that exist between the different schools claiming orthodoxy. My own view on this is that orthodoxy is a fundamental obstacle for everyone as it has no recognizable solution. If anything good might come out of this, it is that these disputes should encourage us to turn towards Nichiren's oft stated assertion that the Gohonzon can only be found within ourselves and that the responsibility of orthodoxy becomes a personal quest to move towards a greater understanding of the Original Great Dharma, an understanding realized through faith, practice and study

[nichirenista]

Thanks for the responses everyone. About this question being a contentious one, I'm sort of starting to understand why other schools of Buddhism may look at Nichiren Buddhism wearily. It seems EVERYTHING is potentially contentious. Frankly, it's a bit of a headache. I just finished reading an article by Jacqueline Stone about Nichiren's views on "dharma slander." She writes that people criticized him for focusing most of this writings on his thesis that his school of Buddhism was superior to others, rather than on explaining his school of Buddhism. I can't help but think this may have trickled down to the present day. Is everyone trying to "be" Nichiren?

[nichirenista]

I should probably add that Stone wrote that many of Nichiren's explanations of how to practice his school of Buddhism, was transmitted orally to followers. His criticisms of other schools we're written down for nonmembers to read.

[Blanche]

The gohonzon is an image of a Nittatsu Shonin gohonzon from Nichiren Shoshu. It dates to before the 1991 excommunication of Daisaku Ikeda and removal of Soka Gakkai/SGI as approved lay organizations of Nichiren Shoshu. The rest of the members who still hadn't transferred their registration to a Nichiren Shoshu temple weren't officially excommunicated until 7 or 8 years later (but the SGI didn't bother to tell US that). Here is an image of the current gohonzon being issued/sold by SGI - it was smuggled out of a Nichiren Shoshu temple by priests sympathetic to/paid by Soka Gakkai, and it's basically a xerox copy of this other priest's calligraphy, Nichikan Shonin. If you want to see SGI members' heads explode, ask them why it's better to have a copy of a gohonzon transcribed by some priest a coupla hundred years ago instead of a copy of a gohonzon in Nichiren Daishonin's own hand, which you can download off the Internet! If you head over to Nichiren's coffeehouse, you can peruse their gohonzon gallery.

The Nittatsu gohonzon is in the "formal" style. Nichiren drew gohonzons in all sorts of different styles, from just "Nam myoho renge kyo" and nothing else on up to the formal style pictured. Someone I knew went to visit Taiseki-Ji in the 1980s and was there for the annual gohonzon airing, when they bring out all the old gohonzons and hang them out. He saw several in Nichiren's own hand that were just the "NMRK" on a page. I have two antique Nichiren Shu gohonzons I bought off eBay - they're each about 5' tall (enormous) and they're in a more simple style somewhere between the plain "Nam myoho renge kyo" and the formal style, but closer to the plain NMRK. You can see pictures of them both here: https://www.reddit.com/r/sgiwhistleblow ... hypocrisy/

The greenish one is almost 135 years old; the black/red one is almost 110 years old.

[narhwal90]

I would very much prefer a copy of some of Nichiren's originals- many are very pretty. I'm enough of a creature of the old NSA and SGI today that I don't think I'd try to enshrine one. I will confess that I downloaded and printed a few from the coffeehouse and neither I or my printer burst into flames lol... I showed the Gohonzon-shu to a couple SGI friends of mine, they thought it was really cool- that site is a tremendous service to us all. The SGI can say all it wants to about this & that particular gohonzon, doesn't mean I have to adopt it. For my money the power to change me comes from the daimoku and my practice, not a particular edition of gohonzon on the wall. Yet here I am saying I don't think I'd enshrine one in place of my SGI gohonzon... go figure- I remain a work in progress.

[Minobu]

The gohonzon is an image of a Nittatsu Shonin gohonzon from Nichiren Shoshu. It dates to before the 1991 excommunication of Daisaku Ikeda and removal of Soka Gakkai/SGI as approved lay organizations of Nichiren Shoshu. The rest of the members who still hadn't transferred their registration to a Nichiren Shoshu temple weren't officially excommunicated until 7 or 8 years later (but the SGI didn't bother to tell US that). Here is an image of the current gohonzon being issued/sold by SGI - it was smuggled out of a Nichiren Shoshu temple by priests sympathetic to/paid by Soka Gakkai, and it's basically a xerox copy of this other priest's calligraphy, Nichikan Shonin. If you want to see SGI members' heads explode, ask them why it's better to have a copy of a gohonzon transcribed by some priest a coupla hundred years ago instead of a copy of a gohonzon in Nichiren Daishonin's own hand, which you can download off the Internet! If you head over to Nichiren's coffeehouse, you can peruse their gohonzon gallery.

The Nittatsu gohonzon is in the "formal" style. Nichiren drew gohonzons in all sorts of different styles, from just "Nam myoho renge kyo" and nothing else on up to the formal style pictured. Someone I knew went to visit Taiseki-Ji in the 1980s and was there for the annual gohonzon airing, when they bring out all the old gohonzons and hang them out. He saw several in Nichiren's own hand that were just the "NMRK" on a page. I have two antique Nichiren Shu gohonzons I bought off eBay - they're each about 5' tall (enormous) and they're in a more simple style somewhere between the plain "Nam myoho renge kyo" and the formal style, but closer to the plain NMRK. You can see pictures of them both here: https://www.reddit.com/r/sgiwhistleblow ... hypocrisy/

The greenish one is almost 135 years old; the black/red one is almost 110 years old.

Interesting story here and on reddit. the links on reddit don;t work so we cannot see them
Man I keep thinking of going back to talk to sgi and then this stuff pops up on my screen.

My mother was woman's division something or other and stuff but she was known as a rebel. For she never towed the party line. . she was offered some top position when she decided to join hokkeko . she refused the bribe and joined hokkeko only to be disappointed in that.

I wish she was alive to see the coffeehouse and more importantly Nichiren Shu .

I remember my old man saying when he died he would come back and haunt us if a thousand Buddhas did not greet him as promised. He had cancer and was cured and finally died of another form of cancer. which was cool for him for he made peace with everything after becoming a Buddhist and curing himself.

Odd enough the shit hit the fan about nine year or so after his death...i finally have come to terms with authentic Nichiren Shonin Dharma here, and chant to a real Nichiren Gohonzon from the coffeehouse.
I think they , me parents deceased somehow helped me out with the high command or something for i never have been more clear about what i am doing than now..this place helps a lot. and it's like real info and not hinged to some propaganda.


I am glad i did not have a mouthfull of coffee when i read this..

If you want to see SGI members' heads explode, ask them why it's better to have a copy of a gohonzon transcribed by some priest a coupla hundred years ago instead of a copy of a gohonzon in Nichiren Daishonin's own hand,

I think I'm in love
d



edit: about nine years after his death...he died in 80

[wxga102]

The SGI Gohonzon