Non-exclusivist independent Nichiren Buddhism

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Re: Non-exclusivist independent Nichiren Buddhism

Post by Queequeg »

I don't know about yoda and c3p0. Maybe you were yoda last time we met. Maybe you're yoda this time and just putting us all on as some expedient. Who the f knows these things?

If you look closely at the teachings of the great sages, there is only Ekayana, the single path. That doesn't quite mean what ordinary, deluded people think it means, though. If they actually understood, they'd at least have caught a fleeting glimpse through the fog, seen the peak of Everest. Does seeing come first? Or does the basic reality come first? Chicken or the egg? That's where the Buddha comes in - to introduce that dynamic propulsion, subject and object, to awakening - pointing out the peak, the way it really is. The sages tell us what will get us moving toward Buddhahood, even if we don't quite know that's where we're headed. The poor son thought he was just shoveling shit in the rich man's latrine. He didn't know he was the rich man's son, entitled to inherit the whole estate.

What does MINOBU need to hear that will get him a little further on the path? This is the question the Buddha asks herself constantly. I don't think I need to explain faith to you. Trust the Buddha. The rest will unfold because that's the way it really is.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
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Re: Non-exclusivist independent Nichiren Buddhism

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nice stuff to read

:good:
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Re: Non-exclusivist independent Nichiren Buddhism

Post by illarraza »

Soma999 wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 10:48 am Japanese have a specific mindset.
Authorities won’t listen to you because you are wise.
Monks can have deep sectarism.

When a « prophet » needs to change everything, he will makes a lot of enemies.

In this « samurai anger », many words are said and idea expressed.

Words in anger are always excessive. They should be understood as what they are.

Ideas in anger are excessive also.

To break the ancient forms, a deep fire is required.

A tradition with a new mindset, and that is what is the most important, is created.

Women are included. People don’t escape reality in false interpretation of pure-landism. No more secrets and elitism at every steps. It’s great.

But it is like a war also. Against all the old.

The tradition was borned. It has to evolve.

Otherwise, it will become exactly what Nichiren fought against.

What was fought was not specific practice, but specific mindsets.

Not doing practice from other traditions may be to precent mixing mindsets, or views. To keep it pure.

If there is no evolution, no openess, sectarism and rigidity will manifest. If they do manifest, the demons Nichiren wanted to expulse will come back. What was the remedee will turn into a poison.

Japan hold both deep openess and even universality, with a deep wisdom. And also sectarism and rigidity, which can flirt with patriotism and even military, as some sects demonstrate even today.

Nichiren Buddhism manifested in a very specific context, a complex situation, and certainly for good reasons. There was a need of it.

Now should one eat every words, or do some sorting and analysis, that is another question.

A good way to see if it works : does the beauty of the mind manifests ? Does quality emerged ? Are negativity subjugated ? Do openess manifest ?

If not, something is not practiced correctly.

Behind a practice, there is a philosophy. This is the philosophy which empowers the practice.

Just my two cents...
A hermeneutical revision of Nichiren’s key teachings or leaving Nichiren's key teachings unchanged are fundamental questions for those seeking the Way. By definition, "key teachings" can not be changed as the key ingredients for a delicious cake or spaghetti sauce can not be changed. Changing the Three Great Secret Laws or Three Pure Treasures or mixing in Vajrayana or Patriarchal Zen with the Lotus Sutra Buddhism of Nichiren, destroys the perfect recipe for Enlightenment. Likewise, substituting crisco lard, artificial fruit, and egg substitute for butter, real fruit, and fresh eggs, destroys the perfect cake recipe.

Here is a better example:

Let us start with cause and effect and let us end there too. Let us also talk about change. Let us say we want to cause an effect (goal). I’ll pick an effect. You are a manager of a large and busy restaurant so lets introduce a memorable spaghetti sauce alla bolognese. The goal is a delicious bolognese sauce. For those who don’t know, a bolognese sauce is a garlicky, tomatoey, thick meat sauce with a touch of cream. To make a memorable sauce, first of all we have to start with the finest ingredients: Vine ripened plum tomatoes, fresh garlic, a ground meat mixture of the finest beef and sausage. Fresh mushrooms, peppers, onions. Carrots for sweetness. Fresh picked bay leaves, oregano, rosemary, parsley, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Extra virgin olive oil, sweet cream, and the finest cooking wine. A grating of truffles.

We saute the garlic in the olive oil till just before it turns brown, then we add the peppers, onions, mushrooms and carrots and in a separate pan we brown the meat in a little olive oil. While the meat is browning we add our spices to the vegetable saute and then, in a minute or two we add the peeled tomatoes and finest cooking wine. We turn down the heat a bit and add the golden browned meat mixture. We stir the sauce with a wooden spoon every fifteen minutes for the next 6 or 7 hours and add a little more wine and water to achieve a slow reduction. We add the cream and the grated truffle mixture, and continue to stir every fifteen minutes for another hour or two. at the same time we are preparing the home made paste. Boil the water and put the home made pasta in the boiling water for 3 minutes. We drain every drop of water from the pasta, add butter and pour our magnifico sauce over the spaghetti. Finally we add the grated aged cheese, a mixture of parmagiana and Romano cheese from Parma Italy. We pour ourselves a glass of Barolo and we go to town while sopping up the sauce in fresh baked Italian bread.

We have made a meal to die for. We have followed the recipe of the masters of Italian cooking.

Now I give you another scenario. We take Delmonte stewed tomatoes, garlic salt, a ground meat mixture of possum and raccoon, mushrooms, carrots, onions, etc. that have been lying in the refrigerator for two months, throw it all into liquefied Crisco lard, add Mad Dog Twenty-Twenty a touch of tobasco sauce, and buttermilk and stir for fifteen or twenty minutes. Put it over overcooked Ronzoni Spaghetti and add some grated Velveeta cheese. You call this “Bolognese” sauce. You accompany the meal with white bread and beer that has been opened three days ago.

You can not separate the means from the ends even when making a meal. How can you separate the means from the ends when revealing Buddhahood and realizing Kosen Rufu? What some have done to Nichiren Lotus Sutra Buddhism is to make it virtually unrecognizable to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and protective deities throughout the universe. Although it contains, tomatoes [twisted Three Treasures], meat [rancid Three Great Secret Laws], and inferior cheese and spices [doctrines], it is hardly Nichiren Daishonin's recipe. You may call both bolognese sauce [Lotus Sutra Buddhism] but the Buddhas and bodhisattvas can tell the difference. There is no possibility of attaining Buddhahood or Kosen Rufu with a recipe that so dramatically differs from Nichiren Daishonin's. Even were you to add several fine ingredients to the slop you created, it would be unfit for human or heavenly consumption.

Mark
Last edited by illarraza on Tue Jan 12, 2021 9:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Non-exclusivist independent Nichiren Buddhism

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Here's a reason to preach the entire Buddha Dharma to all, from the very words of the Lotus Sutra:
“In future ages if there are good men and good women who have faith in the wisdom of the thus come one, you should preach and expound the Lotus Sutra for them, so that others may hear and understand it. For in this way you can cause them to gain the buddha wisdom. If there are living beings who do not believe and accept it, you should use some of the other profound doctrines of the thus come one to teach, benefit, and bring joy to them. If you do all this, then you will have repaid the debt of gratitude that you owe to the buddhas.”
-The Lotus Sutra, Chapter 22, Entrustment.

Buddha created the current system of Buddhism we have today with the powerful Skillful Means of Ekayāna, and one day when everyone will be Enlightened as Buddha has said, thst He has succeeded in making all beings exactly like Himself, all equal in the Dharma and in an Enlightened Buddhic state, there will not be discrepancies amidst our words or deeds. Everyone will agree. We must all work together towards that Time. So I beleive that when one is not preaching the most direct Teachings of the Lotus Sutra, they aught to go for the next best thing. And always implement the Teachings and Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra in all of their actions and deeds, as well as all of their life, this way they will live Enlightenment. All of Enlightenment comes from the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra, as stated by Buddha within it's pages--no one can come to Enlightenment unless they come to it by the Lotus Sutra. But all of Buddhism, and I move to say all of Spirituality and Metta come from the wellspring of the Stream of the Lotus Sutra. Sometimes in veiled and sometimes in very open forms. Enlightenment can take an instant when one upholds and understands the principles of the Lotus Sutra, and for someone who has been taught the principles of the Dharma through it's Mystic Law in a veiled Way, and once they get to the heart of the matter, it can take an instant as well. The Lotus is the most powerful Mahakaruna given to us by the Buddha. Om!

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.
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Re: Non-exclusivist independent Nichiren Buddhism

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Queequeg wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 4:31 pmNichiren stripped the path of practicing for others to pointing out the peak, and practice for oneself to single mindedly focusing on the goal of ascending Buddhahood.
I think this was how the teaching manifested because it reflects the causes, conditions and capacities of the peoples at the time.

It most certainty isn't limited to that perspective but daimoku can be used in any fashion. How else could it lead people steeped in the three poisons to liberation? Now of course that metric (liberation) comes into question but I don't believe liberation is the end goal until it is in sight for the entire population and that this is a facet of this teaching. I have some predication for this but don't want to clog the thread up unreasonably.

This of course is not to say the teaching did not propagate as experienced by many here or historically for that matter.

Nichiren's interpretation of the Lotus has a few levels of purpose the ultimate of which is manifestation of buddhahood across the entire populous, a commitment that should not be begrudged even if it seems out of reach in this existence.

I think if all human realm perspectives were employed as a measure it would prove the practical and effective means to propagate these teachings across a demographic.
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Re: Non-exclusivist independent Nichiren Buddhism

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tkp67 wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:14 pm
Queequeg wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 4:31 pmNichiren stripped the path of practicing for others to pointing out the peak, and practice for oneself to single mindedly focusing on the goal of ascending Buddhahood.
I think this was how the teaching manifested because it reflects the causes, conditions and capacities of the peoples at the time.
There isn't anything else. "Don't seek this Gohonzon outside yourself" etc. To suppose there is an alternative is to suppose the reality of rabbit horns and other such phenomena that are merely conceptual.
It most certainty isn't limited to that perspective but daimoku can be used in any fashion. How else could it lead people steeped in the three poisons to liberation? Now of course that metric (liberation) comes into question but I don't believe liberation is the end goal until it is in sight for the entire population and that this is a facet of this teaching. I have some predication for this but don't want to clog the thread up unreasonably.
"The goal I set out has been achieved."

What you are thinking about is, from a gradual perspective, the sleight of hand of the sudden teaching. In the sudden and perfect, there is nothing but liberation, the perpetual unfolding of the thought moment. The way awakening seems to happen from a linear, gradual perspective is that one goes from ignorance to knowledge, but on close examination, change itself is a sleight of hand, dependent on the linear nature of experience. There is, to put it poetically, the blossoming moment. The reason the path is called sudden is because the path itself is the point. Everything else is upaya - from the appearance of the buddha on down to shoveling shit in the latrine. Buddhanature is complete and perfect at all times. You're not "using" daimoku. You are just acknowledging that you are on the path. Well, I suppose you can use anything any way you like - its all empty and subject to projection.
Nichiren's interpretation of the Lotus has a few levels of purpose the ultimate of which is manifestation of buddhahood across the entire populous, a commitment that should not be begrudged even if it seems out of reach in this existence.

I think if all human realm perspectives were employed as a measure it would prove the practical and effective means to propagate these teachings across a demographic.
Yeah, I don't really understand what you're saying.

Nichiren took the logic of the sudden and perfect to A logical end, not the only logical end.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
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Re: Non-exclusivist independent Nichiren Buddhism

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Queequeg wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 3:00 pm
tkp67 wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:14 pm
Queequeg wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 4:31 pmNichiren stripped the path of practicing for others to pointing out the peak, and practice for oneself to single mindedly focusing on the goal of ascending Buddhahood.
I think this was how the teaching manifested because it reflects the causes, conditions and capacities of the peoples at the time.
There isn't anything else. "Don't seek this Gohonzon outside yourself" etc. To suppose there is an alternative is to suppose the reality of rabbit horns and other such phenomena that are merely conceptual.
To think that all people are homogeneous however limits the perspective of propagation to how it was first expressed and does not reflect how it might express in others. Boundaries regarding the boundless begin in the mind and were meant to be abolished. Assuming a teaching is static in expression is not reflective of impermanence.
QQ wrote:
It most certainty isn't limited to that perspective but daimoku can be used in any fashion. How else could it lead people steeped in the three poisons to liberation? Now of course that metric (liberation) comes into question but I don't believe liberation is the end goal until it is in sight for the entire population and that this is a facet of this teaching. I have some predication for this but don't want to clog the thread up unreasonably.
"The goal I set out has been achieved."

What you are thinking about is, from a gradual perspective, the sleight of hand of the sudden teaching. In the sudden and perfect, there is nothing but liberation, the perpetual unfolding of the thought moment. The way awakening seems to happen from a linear, gradual perspective is that one goes from ignorance to knowledge, but on close examination, change itself is a sleight of hand, dependent on the linear nature of experience. There is, to put it poetically, the blossoming moment. The reason the path is called sudden is because the path itself is the point. Everything else is upaya - from the appearance of the buddha on down to shoveling shit in the latrine. Buddhanature is complete and perfect at all times. You're not "using" daimoku. You are just acknowledging that you are on the path.
[/quote]

I feel as if you are putting great importance on that specific stage and specific understanding. Not that this in and of itself is a bad thing. Nichiren also discusses this in detail (the various expression of path). However my take is that not only are these valid but necessary. He describes them as bodhisattva paths some of which are steeped in provision and some that are not. As I observe it this variation serves as an influence to those who are at like levels of development. Almost as if each designation serves a purpose for others while a person evolves (or even devolves) through the process.

I would not discount the user of daimoku in the moment as a means of effective meditation whose object is the cause and effect of shakyamuni's teachings for the entirety of his existence(s) until now.

Now of course there is a sticky wicket in there because not everyone who remains a lotus practitioner feels these teachings can stand on their own for completion. This is both absolutely valid based on the specific scenario. Arguably both are required for proper propagation and reflect the equanimity of the buddha as understood in the Lotus.

The dragon girl who achieved perfect enlightenment for example represents (among other things) that some arise from the darkness having completed the perquisites for enlightenment. This is another topic my mind has considered for some time.

Everything fantastic in that sutra translates to an ordinary state and experience. They aren't separate things but describe the same phenomenon by revealing the essence of such things by function.

From the perspective of this sutra the state of buddhahood is anything but ordinary and transcends any other state regardless of how it is derived. This is one reason it is unbreakable.
qq wrote:
Nichiren's interpretation of the Lotus has a few levels of purpose the ultimate of which is manifestation of buddhahood across the entire populous, a commitment that should not be begrudged even if it seems out of reach in this existence.

I think if all human realm perspectives were employed as a measure it would prove the practical and effective means to propagate these teachings across a demographic.
Yeah, I don't really understand what you're saying.

Nichiren took the logic of the sudden and perfect to A logical end, not the only logical end.
[/quote]

He also understood the various minds that would encounter buddhism and created a system where one vehicle would reveal the various vehicles in practitioners lives and solidify them to the one vehicle. This is the end game of Shakyamuni's existence. It wasn't about personal liberation outside the liberation of others.

It just couldn't be evoked in one existence across all beings.

Imagine an Othello board where each turn is measured in generations and the ultimate goal is to propagate liberation. Even if it follows typical game play the process itself takes time and each generation effects the ebb and flow of the propagation of delusion and liberation respectively. Even if liberation is had one one's own or through province it does not possess the attributes to propagate the teachings across generations in the same manner but province is a part and parcel of existence, an inseparable part the human experience and condition.

If one puts too much priority on the specifics of path in one's own life does this in and of itself draw away from the one vehicle? I believe this is what Nichiren was concerned about. Not the particular focus has on that path in one's own life but rather the priority put on that path as a premium methodology. Basically Shakyamuni's mind did not possess a sectarian bias against a given path or progression. How do you propagate this aspect of his enlightenment?

I think daimoku and the gohonzon are excellent tools that accomplish this. However while the teachings are often applied in a perspective of abolishing the provisional this is imho rudimentary application that was considered by Nichiren.

My feeling is he thought (based on the people, technology etc at the time) that if he gave this phrase and a person believed it and used it that person would encounter two basic types of peoples. Those who understood and those who did not. Those who did not are one dynamic. But those who do are another. I know a practitioner who learned just daimoku and this led to him actually finding someone who knew it and directed him to resources where he could formalize practice.

The teaching in all of its simplicity manifests in immeasurable ways which I have yet to exhaust conceptually. One of those subtle factors that leads me to believe Nichiren was himself minimally a great Bodhisattva Mahasattva if not a thus come one.
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Re: Non-exclusivist independent Nichiren Buddhism

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tkp67 wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 3:42 pm The teaching in all of its simplicity manifests in immeasurable ways which I have yet to exhaust conceptually.
All that conceptualizing might be a problem. YMMV.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
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Re: Non-exclusivist independent Nichiren Buddhism

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Queequeg wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 5:10 pm
tkp67 wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 3:42 pm The teaching in all of its simplicity manifests in immeasurable ways which I have yet to exhaust conceptually.
All that conceptualizing might be a problem. YMMV.
It is the long and meandering path that is not quick nor sudden. It is not a problem unless it causes attachment or internal discord.

It might also simply mean that every time I am given a reason to consider how it has manifested in a particular moment it is not identical to how it manifests in other moments. It might be a reflection of my own causes, capacities and conditions.

The gohonzon of one's own life ....

:anjali:
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Re: Non-exclusivist independent Nichiren Buddhism

Post by illarraza »

Brahma wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:37 am Here's a reason to preach the entire Buddha Dharma to all, from the very words of the Lotus Sutra:
“In future ages if there are good men and good women who have faith in the wisdom of the thus come one, you should preach and expound the Lotus Sutra for them, so that others may hear and understand it. For in this way you can cause them to gain the buddha wisdom. If there are living beings who do not believe and accept it, you should use some of the other profound doctrines of the thus come one to teach, benefit, and bring joy to them. If you do all this, then you will have repaid the debt of gratitude that you owe to the buddhas.”
-The Lotus Sutra, Chapter 22, Entrustment.

Buddha created the current system of Buddhism we have today with the powerful Skillful Means of Ekayāna, and one day when everyone will be Enlightened as Buddha has said, thst He has succeeded in making all beings exactly like Himself, all equal in the Dharma and in an Enlightened Buddhic state, there will not be discrepancies amidst our words or deeds. Everyone will agree. We must all work together towards that Time. So I beleive that when one is not preaching the most direct Teachings of the Lotus Sutra, they aught to go for the next best thing. And always implement the Teachings and Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra in all of their actions and deeds, as well as all of their life, this way they will live Enlightenment. All of Enlightenment comes from the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra, as stated by Buddha within it's pages--no one can come to Enlightenment unless they come to it by the Lotus Sutra. But all of Buddhism, and I move to say all of Spirituality and Metta come from the wellspring of the Stream of the Lotus Sutra. Sometimes in veiled and sometimes in very open forms. Enlightenment can take an instant when one upholds and understands the principles of the Lotus Sutra, and for someone who has been taught the principles of the Dharma through it's Mystic Law in a veiled Way, and once they get to the heart of the matter, it can take an instant as well. The Lotus is the most powerful Mahakaruna given to us by the Buddha. Om!

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.
Excellent, from the perspective of the "absolute myo". When the teachings are confounded, for example, those who practice the the way of the Flower Garland or Mahavairochana Sutra making claims of their superiority, Nichiren advises us to employ the "comparative myo":

"The word “wonderful” in the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law has two meanings. One is comparative myō, or wonderful, which indicates refuting the rough teachings and revealing the wonderful teaching. The other is absolute myō, which indicates opening up the rough teachings and merging them in the wonderful teaching." - Nichiren

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Re: Non-exclusivist independent Nichiren Buddhism

Post by illarraza »

Response to Tkp67:

Of course Nichiren was a great Bodhisattva Mahasattva and from the most profound perspective, he was a Buddha. Yet, Nichiren always gave his gratitude to Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter who transferred the Law directly to him in the remotest past. Nichiren is the teacher for the Latter Day precisely because the Lotus Sutra teaches thus. I would say, not only is Nichiren a Buddha but a an Ancient Buddha, on par with Taho (Many Treasures) Buddha, and superior to Medicine King Buddha, Vairochana Buddha, and Amida Buddha who too, are all emanations of Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter.

"...This is a far cry indeed from the Buddha’s usual preaching on the equality of all Buddhas [in their Dharma bodies], and in fact a cause of great astonishment. If Shakyamuni had attained enlightenment for the first time only some forty years earlier, there could hardly have been so many beings in the ten directions who had received his instruction. And even if he was privileged to possess emanations, there would have been no benefit in his showing them to his listeners. T’ien-t’ai, describing what went on in the astonished minds of the assembly, says, “It was evident to them that Shakyamuni Buddha possessed numerous emanations. Therefore, they understood that he must have attained enlightenment in the far distant past.” - Opening of the Eyes

"From the body of the single Buddha Sakyamuni, all Buddhas and bodhisattvas are produced." - Opening of the Eyes NOPPA edition

"In the “Life Span” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha says, “Sometimes I speak of myself, sometimes of others.” The Buddha Good Virtue of the eastern region, the Thus Come One Mahāvairochana of the center, the Buddhas of the ten directions, the seven Buddhas of the past, the Buddhas of the three existences, Bodhisattva Superior Practices and the other bodhisattvas, Manjushrī, Shāriputra and the others, the great heavenly king Brahmā, the devil king of the sixth heaven, the heavenly king Shakra Devānām Indra, the sun god, the moon god, the morning star god, the seven stars of the Big Dipper, the twenty-eight constellations, the five planets, the seven stars, the countless eighty-four thousand other stars, the asura kings, the heavenly gods, earthly gods, gods of the mountains, gods of the seas, household gods, village gods, and the rulers of all the various countries of the world—not one of these is other than [a provisional manifestation of] Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings! The Sun Goddess, Great Bodhisattva Hachiman—both these in their original form are Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings.

"Shakyamuni Buddha is like the one moon in the sky, and the various other Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and beings are like the reflections floating on ten thousand different bodies of water. Thus a person who fashions a single image of Shakyamuni Buddha is in effect making images of all the Buddhas of the worlds in the ten directions." - Concerning The Buddha Statue Fashioned by Nichigen-nyo

"The oral tradition says that the Buddha can become grass and trees. This means that the Shakyamuni Buddha of the “Life Span” chapter can manifest himself in grass and trees. The Lotus Sutra speaks of “the Thus Come One’s secret and his transcendental powers.” There is nothing in the entire realm of phenomena that is not the manifestation of the Thus Come One Shakyamuni." - The Oral Tradition Regarding the Enlightenment of Plants

“When Shakyamuni Buddha revealed that he had gained enlightenment in the far distant past and had since then been constantly in the world, it became apparent that all the other Buddhas were emanations of Shakyamuni… now it becomes apparent that Vairocana Buddha of the Kegon Sutra and various Buddhas of the Hodo, Hannya and Dainichi sutras are in fact all followers of Shakyamuni Buddha.” (MW V.2, p.149)

"This passage means that to us living beings the Thus Come One Shakyamuni is our parent, our teacher, and our sovereign. AlthoughAmida, Medicine Master, and other Buddhas are sovereigns to us living beings, they are neither parents nor teachers. Shakyamuni is the only Buddha endowed with all three virtues and to whom we owe a profound debt of gratitude. There are parents and parents, yet none of them can equal Shakyamuni Buddha. There are all manner of teachers and sovereigns, but none as admirable as he is. Could those who disobey the teaching of this parent, teacher, and sovereign possibly not be abandoned by the heavenly gods and the earthly deities? They are the most unfilial of all children. It is for this reason that the Buddha said, “Though I teach and instruct them, they do not believe or accept my teachings.” Even if they follow the sutras preached before the Lotus and practice them for a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, or a million kalpas, if they do not believe in the Lotus Sutra and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo even once, they will be unfilial. They will therefore be abandoned by the sacred ones of the three existences and the ten directions, and hated by both the heavenly gods and the earthly deities. (This is the first of the five guides for propagation.) -- Encouragement to a Sick Person

Thus we see that all Buddhas in this Saha World, whether ancient (Three Bodied Tathagatas) or more recent (so-called manifestation or Funjin Buddhas) are emanations of Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter (or students of Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter).

https://books.google.com/books?id=W7XqU ... as&f=false

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Re: Non-exclusivist independent Nichiren Buddhism

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Provisional interpretation of these teachings is not what Nichiren intended. Shakyamuni and Nichiren are talking about is the same nature the reader has yet to awaken to. The buddha's which are provisions of Shakyamuni's life cannot be found external to one's own.

The buddha simply say didn't say "hey everyone has the same potential to manifest a reality for themselves that profoundly influences others in the way of evil or good." for a reason but that is ultimately what the Lotus is all about.

If one denies Nichiren as true buddha in theory or actuality one has not grasped the meaning of these teachings. However this was not the immediate expectation thus if one is to propagate this sutra skillfully it is helpful to understand that the different monikers Nichiren bestowed himself in his own writings reveal his developmental insight into his own buddhahood.

Both Shakyamuni and Nichiren revealed the true aspect after discarding the provisional as they experienced it.
Nevertheless, even though you chant and believe in Myoho-renge-kyo, if you think the Law is outside yourself, you are embracing not the Mystic Law but an inferior teaching.
You must never think that any of the eighty thousand sacred teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha’s lifetime or any of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions and three existences are outside yourself. Your practice of the Buddhist teachings will not relieve you of the sufferings of birth and death in the least unless you perceive the true nature of your life. If you seek enlightenment outside yourself, then your performing even ten thousand practices and ten thousand good deeds will be in vain. It is like the case of a poor man who spends night and day counting his neighbor’s wealth but gains not even half a coin. That is why the T’ien-t’ai school’s commentary states, “Unless p.4one perceives the nature of one’s life, one cannot eradicate one’s grave offenses.”2 This passage implies that, unless one perceives the nature of one’s life, one’s practice will become an endless, painful austerity. Therefore, such students of Buddhism are condemned as non-Buddhist. Great Concentration and Insight states that, although they study Buddhism, their views are no different from those of non-Buddhists.
https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/1

On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime
illarraza wrote: Sat Jan 16, 2021 8:20 am Response to Tkp67:

Of course Nichiren was a great Bodhisattva Mahasattva and from the most profound perspective, he was a Buddha. Yet, Nichiren always gave his gratitude to Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter who transferred the Law directly to him in the remotest past. Nichiren is the teacher for the Latter Day precisely because the Lotus Sutra teaches thus. I would say, not only is Nichiren a Buddha but a an Ancient Buddha, on par with Taho (Many Treasures) Buddha, and superior to Medicine King Buddha, Vairochana Buddha, and Amida Buddha who too, are all emanations of Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter.

"...This is a far cry indeed from the Buddha’s usual preaching on the equality of all Buddhas [in their Dharma bodies], and in fact a cause of great astonishment. If Shakyamuni had attained enlightenment for the first time only some forty years earlier, there could hardly have been so many beings in the ten directions who had received his instruction. And even if he was privileged to possess emanations, there would have been no benefit in his showing them to his listeners. T’ien-t’ai, describing what went on in the astonished minds of the assembly, says, “It was evident to them that Shakyamuni Buddha possessed numerous emanations. Therefore, they understood that he must have attained enlightenment in the far distant past.” - Opening of the Eyes

"From the body of the single Buddha Sakyamuni, all Buddhas and bodhisattvas are produced." - Opening of the Eyes NOPPA edition

"In the “Life Span” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha says, “Sometimes I speak of myself, sometimes of others.” The Buddha Good Virtue of the eastern region, the Thus Come One Mahāvairochana of the center, the Buddhas of the ten directions, the seven Buddhas of the past, the Buddhas of the three existences, Bodhisattva Superior Practices and the other bodhisattvas, Manjushrī, Shāriputra and the others, the great heavenly king Brahmā, the devil king of the sixth heaven, the heavenly king Shakra Devānām Indra, the sun god, the moon god, the morning star god, the seven stars of the Big Dipper, the twenty-eight constellations, the five planets, the seven stars, the countless eighty-four thousand other stars, the asura kings, the heavenly gods, earthly gods, gods of the mountains, gods of the seas, household gods, village gods, and the rulers of all the various countries of the world—not one of these is other than [a provisional manifestation of] Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings! The Sun Goddess, Great Bodhisattva Hachiman—both these in their original form are Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings.

"Shakyamuni Buddha is like the one moon in the sky, and the various other Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and beings are like the reflections floating on ten thousand different bodies of water. Thus a person who fashions a single image of Shakyamuni Buddha is in effect making images of all the Buddhas of the worlds in the ten directions." - Concerning The Buddha Statue Fashioned by Nichigen-nyo

"The oral tradition says that the Buddha can become grass and trees. This means that the Shakyamuni Buddha of the “Life Span” chapter can manifest himself in grass and trees. The Lotus Sutra speaks of “the Thus Come One’s secret and his transcendental powers.” There is nothing in the entire realm of phenomena that is not the manifestation of the Thus Come One Shakyamuni." - The Oral Tradition Regarding the Enlightenment of Plants

“When Shakyamuni Buddha revealed that he had gained enlightenment in the far distant past and had since then been constantly in the world, it became apparent that all the other Buddhas were emanations of Shakyamuni… now it becomes apparent that Vairocana Buddha of the Kegon Sutra and various Buddhas of the Hodo, Hannya and Dainichi sutras are in fact all followers of Shakyamuni Buddha.” (MW V.2, p.149)

"This passage means that to us living beings the Thus Come One Shakyamuni is our parent, our teacher, and our sovereign. AlthoughAmida, Medicine Master, and other Buddhas are sovereigns to us living beings, they are neither parents nor teachers. Shakyamuni is the only Buddha endowed with all three virtues and to whom we owe a profound debt of gratitude. There are parents and parents, yet none of them can equal Shakyamuni Buddha. There are all manner of teachers and sovereigns, but none as admirable as he is. Could those who disobey the teaching of this parent, teacher, and sovereign possibly not be abandoned by the heavenly gods and the earthly deities? They are the most unfilial of all children. It is for this reason that the Buddha said, “Though I teach and instruct them, they do not believe or accept my teachings.” Even if they follow the sutras preached before the Lotus and practice them for a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, or a million kalpas, if they do not believe in the Lotus Sutra and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo even once, they will be unfilial. They will therefore be abandoned by the sacred ones of the three existences and the ten directions, and hated by both the heavenly gods and the earthly deities. (This is the first of the five guides for propagation.) -- Encouragement to a Sick Person

Thus we see that all Buddhas in this Saha World, whether ancient (Three Bodied Tathagatas) or more recent (so-called manifestation or Funjin Buddhas) are emanations of Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter (or students of Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter).

https://books.google.com/books?id=W7XqU ... as&f=false

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Re: Non-exclusivist independent Nichiren Buddhism

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