Did Nichiren Shonin create an entirely different Buddhism for our time

[Queequeg]

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.

Nichiren was teaching about buddha nature. If you follow up on that reference to that "Tientai school's commentary", this would be clear.

[Minobu]

So was this teaching distorted in shoshu?

Its Nichiren. He teaches this in Kanjin no Honzon sho - Object of devotion for observing the mind.

Its a unique way to look at things.

sorry Q i should hve been more specific.

I'm more concerned with this

the whole Lord Sakyamuni Buddha is the harvest and under Nichiren shonin it's the first time this batch of people got the seed and only if they hear the ODaimoku...

you know i don;' know stuff...more of a mystic.

this has been on me head for awhile and never had the opportunity to ask directly.

[Queequeg]

So was this teaching distorted in shoshu?

Its Nichiren. He teaches this in Kanjin no Honzon sho - Object of devotion for observing the mind.

Its a unique way to look at things.

sorry Q i should hve been more specific.

I'm more concerned with this

the whole Lord Sakyamuni Buddha is the harvest and under Nichiren shonin it's the first time this batch of people got the seed and only if they hear the ODaimoku...

you know i don;' know stuff...more of a mystic.

this has been on me head for awhile and never had the opportunity to ask directly.

That seems to have been Nichiren's view. Sort of.

[Minobu]

Its Nichiren. He teaches this in Kanjin no Honzon sho - Object of devotion for observing the mind.

Its a unique way to look at things.

sorry Q i should hve been more specific.

I'm more concerned with this

the whole Lord Sakyamuni Buddha is the harvest and under Nichiren shonin it's the first time this batch of people got the seed and only if they hear the ODaimoku...

you know i don;' know stuff...more of a mystic.

this has been on me head for awhile and never had the opportunity to ask directly.

That seems to have been Nichiren's view. Sort of.

So he said Lord Sakyamuni's students were harvested ? ...i get that..i believe that it makes sense...then in mappo though the whole Buddha of kuon ganjo plants the seed for first time is off ...no?

like Nichiren said we only get Tathagatagarbha after hearing Odaimoku?

thats weird.

it's important cause if He did say that then He also implies like people don't carry the seed to Buddhahood ..

all sentients even my dog has it actually...well she has passed on ..i miss her..send her Odaimoku...

those were the days ..no leash she was part of the gang hung out with me all the time every where i would go...

I would be on acid when i was 14 and try to keep her in my bed with me and she would look at me terrified lol...and leave...lol...

[tkp67]

The Buddha did not seek to make all beings equal. Your answer, as usual, is a complete a total non-sequitur.

QQ already refuted you on this point.

The ordinary and true aspect exist in all phenomenon simultaneously so all he is doing is using provision to argue against the true aspect.

Nichiren specifically taught discarding expedients. I discard them from my perspective as this is what Nichiren taught. It is verifiable through the LS.

Shariputra, you should know
that at the start I took a vow,
hoping to make all persons
equal to me, without any distinction between us,
and what I long ago hoped for
has now been fulfilled.
I have converted all living beings
and caused them all to enter the buddha way.
If when I encounter living beings
I were in all cases to teach them the buddha way,
those without wisdom would become confused
and in their bewilderment would fail to accept my teachings.

“Good men, the scriptures expounded by the thus come one are all for the purpose of saving and emancipating living beings. Sometimes I speak of myself, sometimes of others; sometimes I present myself, sometimes others; sometimes I show my own actions, sometimes those of others. ]All that I preach is true and not false.

“Why do I do this? The thus come one perceives the true aspect of the threefold world exactly as it is. There is no ebb or flow of birth and death, and there is no existing in this world and later entering extinction. It is neither substantial nor empty, neither consistent nor diverse. Nor is it what those who dwell in the threefold world perceive it to be. All such things the thus come one sees clearly and without error.

“Because living beings have different natures, different desires, different actions, and different ways of thinking and making distinctions, and because I want to enable them to put down good roots, I employ a variety of causes and conditions, similes, parables, and phrases and preach different doctrines. This, a buddha’s work, I have never for a moment neglected.

[reiun]

]
all sentients even my dog has it actually...well she has passed on ..i miss her..send her Odaimoku...

those were the days ..no leash she was part of the gang hung out with me all the time every where i would go...

I would be on acid when i was 14 and try to keep her in my bed with me and she would look at me terrified lol...and leave...lol...

Oh no . . .

"lol"?

[tkp67]

I had read this some time ago and found it relevant. It is Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche's statement on the LS.

As I see it the big difference is that Nichiren is ultimately pointing to each individuals mind as the "perfect tailor" since one's own mind is most intimate with one's own cause, capacity and conditions while stating they should be discarded so the person does not become attached such things in the process. Of course everyone's mileage will vary.

Popularly known as the Lotus Sūtra, this is one of the most revered Mahāyāna sūtras in the history of Buddhism. Devotion to it as being superior to all other sūtras has, in China, Korea, and Japan, created traditions based solely upon this sūtra. The Japanese chant Namu myōhō renge kyō (南無妙法蓮華經 “Homage to the White Lotus of the Good Dharma Sūtra”) has become the primary practice of tens of thousands of so-called Buddhists around the world. The mere existence of this sūtra must have brought millions of people into the Dharma and done much to ensure devotion to Buddhism and patronage of it over millennia.
pf.­4

We should rejoice in this. But we should also be mindful that rigid attachment to the letter‍—rather than the spirit‍—of this sūtra has led to some misunderstanding and discord among Buddhists. And that is not a good thing. For example, the Lotus Sūtra has been wrongly invoked to justify gender bias, material grasping, and even self-immolation and militant proselytizing. So it is most important to read and study this profound sūtra with a proper understanding of its underlying meaning and spirit.
pf.­5

In the evolution of humankind, we have constantly strengthened our capacity to think and communicate in ways that not only convey information, but also create imagined worlds. It was this ability to forge common myths, imagined orders, and hierarchies that enabled us humans to cooperate in larger numbers than ever before, leading us to evolve from being hunter-gatherers to settling in small agrarian communities, and then in towns and cities. Over the centuries, we have come to believe more and more in the imagined realities of corporations, nations, and hierarchies.
pf.­6

We Buddhists are not immune to these belief systems. For example, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna Buddhists have evolved their own entrenched hierarchies that often look down on the Śrāvakayāna. Even the often-used term “Hīnayāna” can be used by Mahāyānists in a derogatory and chauvinist way to look down on the śrāvakas. This is really very important to note here because the Lotus Sūtra has been misused time and time again by such chauvinists to justify and entrench their feeling of superiority.

But here in the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha actually says:
pf.­7

“I teach many dharmas in the world
So that here and there I bring liberation from attachment.
I give the teaching of the three yānas,
Which is my supreme skill in methods.” (2.­25)

pf.­8

If one is a supreme being, if one has mastered the dexterity of skillful means to address the variety of people in the world, one is able to skillfully teach different methods or “yānas” to suit the characteristics and affinities of people who are naturally inclined to different proclivities. The Buddha continues, saying:
pf.­9

“Apart from the skillful methods of supreme beings
Who give the teaching of separate yānas,
There is only one yāna; there is no second,
And there is never in the world a third.” (2.­81)

pf.­10

This, to me, suggests that, apart from the supreme beings who have the capacity to differentiate yānas without categorizing them into hierarchies, for each of us more lowly beings there is only the yāna we are taught and that we should be practicing. This emphasizes the importance of the role of the teacher who gives us the practices suited to our own situation. It is merely our own egos and minds that search for reference points, make judgments, and habitually create these hierarchies. So, it may help to remember that no matter what we understand in this sūtra, the Buddha says:
pf.­11

“A lord of the world appears in the world
In order to teach the wisdom of buddhahood.
That is his one activity, there is no second:
The buddhas do not guide beings with a lesser yāna.” (2.­82)

pf.­12

We must always remember that a tathāgata “appears in this world for that one deed and one action, for that one great deed and great action, and with that intention.” A tathāgatha does not discriminate between beings, nor judge the yānas that are taught to them or by them. Remember, the Buddha is also known as the Tathāgata, and also has many more names, including Arhat, the Tibetan of which literally translates as a “foe-destroyer.” But in his case, foes were not people. They were his emotions and his habit of clinging to his ego, which he overcame. Throughout his previous one thousand lifetimes as a bodhisattva, the only things the Tathāgata ever destroyed were his emotions and his ego; he never once harmed a single being.
pf.­13

And so, when we talk about the motivation of tathāgatas to appear in this world, we must remember that, like the Buddha, they have as their only intention and motivation the enlightenment of others. As a buddha, the Tathāgata possesses “supreme skill in methods” and teaches according to “the various aspirations, natures, and thoughts of beings.” In a way, we can say that the Dharma teachings one receives are like bespoke suiting: a tall, lanky man and a round, jolly one could be wearing the same suit, made of the same cloth, and the same thread, but with the skill of an experienced tailor, they are fitted‍—bespoke‍—for the individual. From afar, passers-by would say these two men are wearing the same suit, because the end result is that both are wrapped in the same cloth and both look good in it, but the methods used, the size of the patterns, and the particular cut might have been very different. Similarly, the ways in which the Dharma is taught are meant to be similarly bespoke. The Buddha says:
pf.­14

“I teach the Dharma by using a variety of teachings on accomplishment, and various teachings on causes, reasons, parables, supports, and skillful methods.” (2.­59)

The idea is that whatever method‍—or whichever yāna‍—is taught to a particular being, that method is the one that will most efficiently awaken that being. In that sense, this idea of a hierarchy is no longer as real as we think.
pf.­15

It is really this idea of skillful means that is so important in this sūtra, and that can help us to appreciate all yānas. The Tibetan for skillful methods is thabs (Skt. upāya). The word thabs brings with it the connotation of a “trick”‍—or even a “catalyst,” because skillful methods speed things up without affecting the elements involved.

https://read.84000.co/translation/toh113.html

[Minobu]

]
all sentients even my dog has it actually...well she has passed on ..i miss her..send her Odaimoku...

those were the days ..no leash she was part of the gang hung out with me all the time every where i would go...

I would be on acid when i was 14 and try to keep her in my bed with me and she would look at me terrified lol...and leave...lol...

Oh no . . .

"lol"?

state your case laddy buck..

you don't think all sentients have a buddha nature?

Tibetans have a saying...we all have been each other's mother at least 500 times.

that includes the ants the worms dogs cats everything...

what you don;t think you were once a dog...

you do realize out of all the sentients the human realm is said to be the most precious and there are lots of sentients wishing to be one.
So like you think your Buddha nature comes and goes and only happens when you are a human...

so yeah lol on...

[reiun]

state your case laddy buck..

you don't think all sentients have a buddha nature?

Absolutely I do.

You terrified a dog, then lol'ed here about it.

[Queequeg]

sorry Q i should hve been more specific.

I'm more concerned with this



you know i don;' know stuff...more of a mystic.

this has been on me head for awhile and never had the opportunity to ask directly.

That seems to have been Nichiren's view. Sort of.

So he said Lord Sakyamuni's students were harvested ? ...i get that..i believe that it makes sense...then in mappo though the whole Buddha of kuon ganjo plants the seed for first time is off ...no?

like Nichiren said we only get Tathagatagarbha after hearing Odaimoku?

thats weird.

it's important cause if He did say that then He also implies like people don't carry the seed to Buddhahood ..

Yeah. Its a unique interpretation.

[tkp67]

does the seed of buddhahood mean buddha nature or the cause to realize it? I would assume the later.

[Minobu]

state your case laddy buck..

you don't think all sentients have a buddha nature?

Absolutely I do.

You terrified a dog, then lol'ed here about it.

our medium is not the best ...

and i thought you thought it strange that all sentients have the buddha nature...

i get a lot of flak lol...so sometimes i jump on people...

well i never actually terrified her just she looked so worried...

i wanted company ....

[Minobu]

That seems to have been Nichiren's view. Sort of.

So he said Lord Sakyamuni's students were harvested ? ...i get that..i believe that it makes sense...then in mappo though the whole Buddha of kuon ganjo plants the seed for first time is off ...no?

like Nichiren said we only get Tathagatagarbha after hearing Odaimoku?

thats weird.

it's important cause if He did say that then He also implies like people don't carry the seed to Buddhahood ..

Yeah. Its a unique interpretation.

so hopefully third time is a charm..

you are definitely saying Nichiren Taught that during Mappo no one has the Buddha nature till they hear the ODaimoku..

well thats amazing if it is true.

i think it is an interpretation thing cause it makes zero sense.

[reiun]

i get a lot of flak lol...so sometimes i jump on people...

Understood. You should find instruction and eventually solace in Nichiren's teaching re. karma, I'm sure.

well i never actually terrified her just she looked so worried...

i wanted company ....

My dog of 16 years passed almost exactly one year ago. I appreciate what such a relationship as you might have had with yours means.

If you still drop, but worry trusted friends, maybe reconsider?

[Malcolm]

This passage says nothing about the Buddha making all beings equal.

I had read this some time ago and found it relevant. It is Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche's statement on the LS.

As I see it the big difference is that Nichiren is ultimately pointing to each individuals mind as the "perfect tailor" since one's own mind is most intimate with one's own cause, capacity and conditions while stating they should be discarded so the person does not become attached such things in the process. Of course everyone's mileage will vary.

Popularly known as the Lotus Sūtra, this is one of the most revered Mahāyāna sūtras in the history of Buddhism. Devotion to it as being superior to all other sūtras has, in China, Korea, and Japan, created traditions based solely upon this sūtra. The Japanese chant Namu myōhō renge kyō (南無妙法蓮華經 “Homage to the White Lotus of the Good Dharma Sūtra”) has become the primary practice of tens of thousands of so-called Buddhists around the world. The mere existence of this sūtra must have brought millions of people into the Dharma and done much to ensure devotion to Buddhism and patronage of it over millennia.
pf.­4

We should rejoice in this. But we should also be mindful that rigid attachment to the letter‍—rather than the spirit‍—of this sūtra has led to some misunderstanding and discord among Buddhists. And that is not a good thing. For example, the Lotus Sūtra has been wrongly invoked to justify gender bias, material grasping, and even self-immolation and militant proselytizing. So it is most important to read and study this profound sūtra with a proper understanding of its underlying meaning and spirit.
pf.­5

In the evolution of humankind, we have constantly strengthened our capacity to think and communicate in ways that not only convey information, but also create imagined worlds. It was this ability to forge common myths, imagined orders, and hierarchies that enabled us humans to cooperate in larger numbers than ever before, leading us to evolve from being hunter-gatherers to settling in small agrarian communities, and then in towns and cities. Over the centuries, we have come to believe more and more in the imagined realities of corporations, nations, and hierarchies.
pf.­6

We Buddhists are not immune to these belief systems. For example, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna Buddhists have evolved their own entrenched hierarchies that often look down on the Śrāvakayāna. Even the often-used term “Hīnayāna” can be used by Mahāyānists in a derogatory and chauvinist way to look down on the śrāvakas. This is really very important to note here because the Lotus Sūtra has been misused time and time again by such chauvinists to justify and entrench their feeling of superiority.

But here in the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha actually says:
pf.­7

“I teach many dharmas in the world
So that here and there I bring liberation from attachment.
I give the teaching of the three yānas,
Which is my supreme skill in methods.” (2.­25)

pf.­8

If one is a supreme being, if one has mastered the dexterity of skillful means to address the variety of people in the world, one is able to skillfully teach different methods or “yānas” to suit the characteristics and affinities of people who are naturally inclined to different proclivities. The Buddha continues, saying:
pf.­9

“Apart from the skillful methods of supreme beings
Who give the teaching of separate yānas,
There is only one yāna; there is no second,
And there is never in the world a third.” (2.­81)

pf.­10

This, to me, suggests that, apart from the supreme beings who have the capacity to differentiate yānas without categorizing them into hierarchies, for each of us more lowly beings there is only the yāna we are taught and that we should be practicing. This emphasizes the importance of the role of the teacher who gives us the practices suited to our own situation. It is merely our own egos and minds that search for reference points, make judgments, and habitually create these hierarchies. So, it may help to remember that no matter what we understand in this sūtra, the Buddha says:
pf.­11

“A lord of the world appears in the world
In order to teach the wisdom of buddhahood.
That is his one activity, there is no second:
The buddhas do not guide beings with a lesser yāna.” (2.­82)

pf.­12

We must always remember that a tathāgata “appears in this world for that one deed and one action, for that one great deed and great action, and with that intention.” A tathāgatha does not discriminate between beings, nor judge the yānas that are taught to them or by them. Remember, the Buddha is also known as the Tathāgata, and also has many more names, including Arhat, the Tibetan of which literally translates as a “foe-destroyer.” But in his case, foes were not people. They were his emotions and his habit of clinging to his ego, which he overcame. Throughout his previous one thousand lifetimes as a bodhisattva, the only things the Tathāgata ever destroyed were his emotions and his ego; he never once harmed a single being.
pf.­13

And so, when we talk about the motivation of tathāgatas to appear in this world, we must remember that, like the Buddha, they have as their only intention and motivation the enlightenment of others. As a buddha, the Tathāgata possesses “supreme skill in methods” and teaches according to “the various aspirations, natures, and thoughts of beings.” In a way, we can say that the Dharma teachings one receives are like bespoke suiting: a tall, lanky man and a round, jolly one could be wearing the same suit, made of the same cloth, and the same thread, but with the skill of an experienced tailor, they are fitted‍—bespoke‍—for the individual. From afar, passers-by would say these two men are wearing the same suit, because the end result is that both are wrapped in the same cloth and both look good in it, but the methods used, the size of the patterns, and the particular cut might have been very different. Similarly, the ways in which the Dharma is taught are meant to be similarly bespoke. The Buddha says:
pf.­14

“I teach the Dharma by using a variety of teachings on accomplishment, and various teachings on causes, reasons, parables, supports, and skillful methods.” (2.­59)

The idea is that whatever method‍—or whichever yāna‍—is taught to a particular being, that method is the one that will most efficiently awaken that being. In that sense, this idea of a hierarchy is no longer as real as we think.
pf.­15

It is really this idea of skillful means that is so important in this sūtra, and that can help us to appreciate all yānas. The Tibetan for skillful methods is thabs (Skt. upāya). The word thabs brings with it the connotation of a “trick”‍—or even a “catalyst,” because skillful methods speed things up without affecting the elements involved.

https://read.84000.co/translation/toh113.html

[Minobu]

i get a lot of flak lol...so sometimes i jump on people...

Understood. You should find instruction and eventually solace in Nichiren's teaching re. karma, I'm sure.

well i never actually terrified her just she looked so worried...

i wanted company ....

My dog of 16 years passed almost exactly one year ago. I appreciate what such a relationship as you might have had with yours means.

If you still drop, but worry trusted friends, maybe reconsider?

Ha .. i was the acid king back in the day...
I was great to drop acid with...

my first trip was 13 and we did not know what it was...we wanted weed and the guy said this was better cause there was no smell and he did not have any weed...

he just said we had to make plans not to see out parents for 8 hours..

feburary 1st 1969...so like we are peaking and we shared the same hallucination...

we were hugging each other in the middle of the street in montreal...and the blocks are small..so we could see sveral street lights down...so like we see two red and blue square box truck pass through the intersection perfectly timed to see in the next block two red and blue car of the same model pass perfectly ..like opening up a curtain to see another curtain open up...

so we are like looking and going wow...oh wow...

thing is there were no cars or trucks of that color red and blue and the trucks and cars were of no known make or model...

our minds melded and we watched this cartoon unfold...





me old man knew and like increased my allowance and pretended not to know...

I think i posted a story once about how he did this whole thing with a match ...

anyway i was around 6 when i got Lucky and she died when i was 17...actually we had to put her down for she had cancer...

i still think of her often...she was incredible.....

[tkp67]

So the supreme beings who see distinction without hierarchy are the delusional ones and the lowly beings enlightened to their nature?

The passage implies that these distinctions they see are in the mind of the lowly being not their own. Why? it is all delusion and ignorance which obfuscates the buddha nature and draws the mind to make distinctions.

This passage says nothing about the Buddha making all beings equal.

I had read this some time ago and found it relevant. It is Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche's statement on the LS.

As I see it the big difference is that Nichiren is ultimately pointing to each individuals mind as the "perfect tailor" since one's own mind is most intimate with one's own cause, capacity and conditions while stating they should be discarded so the person does not become attached such things in the process. Of course everyone's mileage will vary.

Popularly known as the Lotus Sūtra, this is one of the most revered Mahāyāna sūtras in the history of Buddhism. Devotion to it as being superior to all other sūtras has, in China, Korea, and Japan, created traditions based solely upon this sūtra. The Japanese chant Namu myōhō renge kyō (南無妙法蓮華經 “Homage to the White Lotus of the Good Dharma Sūtra”) has become the primary practice of tens of thousands of so-called Buddhists around the world. The mere existence of this sūtra must have brought millions of people into the Dharma and done much to ensure devotion to Buddhism and patronage of it over millennia.
pf.­4

We should rejoice in this. But we should also be mindful that rigid attachment to the letter‍—rather than the spirit‍—of this sūtra has led to some misunderstanding and discord among Buddhists. And that is not a good thing. For example, the Lotus Sūtra has been wrongly invoked to justify gender bias, material grasping, and even self-immolation and militant proselytizing. So it is most important to read and study this profound sūtra with a proper understanding of its underlying meaning and spirit.
pf.­5

In the evolution of humankind, we have constantly strengthened our capacity to think and communicate in ways that not only convey information, but also create imagined worlds. It was this ability to forge common myths, imagined orders, and hierarchies that enabled us humans to cooperate in larger numbers than ever before, leading us to evolve from being hunter-gatherers to settling in small agrarian communities, and then in towns and cities. Over the centuries, we have come to believe more and more in the imagined realities of corporations, nations, and hierarchies.
pf.­6

We Buddhists are not immune to these belief systems. For example, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna Buddhists have evolved their own entrenched hierarchies that often look down on the Śrāvakayāna. Even the often-used term “Hīnayāna” can be used by Mahāyānists in a derogatory and chauvinist way to look down on the śrāvakas. This is really very important to note here because the Lotus Sūtra has been misused time and time again by such chauvinists to justify and entrench their feeling of superiority.

But here in the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha actually says:
pf.­7

“I teach many dharmas in the world
So that here and there I bring liberation from attachment.
I give the teaching of the three yānas,
Which is my supreme skill in methods.” (2.­25)

pf.­8

If one is a supreme being, if one has mastered the dexterity of skillful means to address the variety of people in the world, one is able to skillfully teach different methods or “yānas” to suit the characteristics and affinities of people who are naturally inclined to different proclivities. The Buddha continues, saying:
pf.­9

“Apart from the skillful methods of supreme beings
Who give the teaching of separate yānas,
There is only one yāna; there is no second,
And there is never in the world a third.” (2.­81)

pf.­10

This, to me, suggests that, apart from the supreme beings who have the capacity to differentiate yānas without categorizing them into hierarchies, for each of us more lowly beings there is only the yāna we are taught and that we should be practicing. This emphasizes the importance of the role of the teacher who gives us the practices suited to our own situation. It is merely our own egos and minds that search for reference points, make judgments, and habitually create these hierarchies. So, it may help to remember that no matter what we understand in this sūtra, the Buddha says:
pf.­11

“A lord of the world appears in the world
In order to teach the wisdom of buddhahood.
That is his one activity, there is no second:
The buddhas do not guide beings with a lesser yāna.” (2.­82)

pf.­12

We must always remember that a tathāgata “appears in this world for that one deed and one action, for that one great deed and great action, and with that intention.” A tathāgatha does not discriminate between beings, nor judge the yānas that are taught to them or by them. Remember, the Buddha is also known as the Tathāgata, and also has many more names, including Arhat, the Tibetan of which literally translates as a “foe-destroyer.” But in his case, foes were not people. They were his emotions and his habit of clinging to his ego, which he overcame. Throughout his previous one thousand lifetimes as a bodhisattva, the only things the Tathāgata ever destroyed were his emotions and his ego; he never once harmed a single being.
pf.­13

And so, when we talk about the motivation of tathāgatas to appear in this world, we must remember that, like the Buddha, they have as their only intention and motivation the enlightenment of others. As a buddha, the Tathāgata possesses “supreme skill in methods” and teaches according to “the various aspirations, natures, and thoughts of beings.” In a way, we can say that the Dharma teachings one receives are like bespoke suiting: a tall, lanky man and a round, jolly one could be wearing the same suit, made of the same cloth, and the same thread, but with the skill of an experienced tailor, they are fitted‍—bespoke‍—for the individual. From afar, passers-by would say these two men are wearing the same suit, because the end result is that both are wrapped in the same cloth and both look good in it, but the methods used, the size of the patterns, and the particular cut might have been very different. Similarly, the ways in which the Dharma is taught are meant to be similarly bespoke. The Buddha says:
pf.­14

“I teach the Dharma by using a variety of teachings on accomplishment, and various teachings on causes, reasons, parables, supports, and skillful methods.” (2.­59)

The idea is that whatever method‍—or whichever yāna‍—is taught to a particular being, that method is the one that will most efficiently awaken that being. In that sense, this idea of a hierarchy is no longer as real as we think.
pf.­15

It is really this idea of skillful means that is so important in this sūtra, and that can help us to appreciate all yānas. The Tibetan for skillful methods is thabs (Skt. upāya). The word thabs brings with it the connotation of a “trick”‍—or even a “catalyst,” because skillful methods speed things up without affecting the elements involved.

https://read.84000.co/translation/toh113.html

[Malcolm]

You keep saying the Buddha makes sentient beings equal. Buddhas don’t modify anything, let alone sentient beings. “Equal” and “unequal” never enter into,it.

So the supreme beings who see distinction without hierarchy are the delusional ones and the lowly beings enlightened to their nature?

The passage implies that these distinctions they see are in the mind of the lowly being not their own. Why? it is all delusion and ignorance which obfuscates the buddha nature and draws the mind to make distinctions.

This passage says nothing about the Buddha making all beings equal.

I had read this some time ago and found it relevant. It is Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche's statement on the LS.

As I see it the big difference is that Nichiren is ultimately pointing to each individuals mind as the "perfect tailor" since one's own mind is most intimate with one's own cause, capacity and conditions while stating they should be discarded so the person does not become attached such things in the process. Of course everyone's mileage will vary.



https://read.84000.co/translation/toh113.html

[reiun]

anyway i was around 6 when i got Lucky and she died when i was 17...actually we had to put her down for she had cancer...

i still think of her often...she was incredible.....

Yes, of course, I can't feel exactly what you did, but I have had similar feelings. Kaya: bichon-poodle mix, 12 pounds, smart as hell, and brave. Cancer, kidney failure, and pancreatitis, the latter which was killing her at 16. I intervened. Miss her as you might Lucky.

[tkp67]

No I said the buddha said as much. Of course for the sake of leading ordinary minds past the state of distinction with hierarchy. The buddha was crystal clear when he said his enlightenment was beyond expression. He was also crystal clear when he said all he spoke was truth. If he simply said I see no distinctions, these things are obfuscation of the lowly minds I encounter it would put focus on the lowly person's act of obfuscation and not their capacity for liberation.

You keep saying the Buddha makes sentient beings equal. Buddhas don’t modify anything, let alone sentient beings. “Equal” and “unequal” never enter into,it.

So the supreme beings who see distinction without hierarchy are the delusional ones and the lowly beings enlightened to their nature?

The passage implies that these distinctions they see are in the mind of the lowly being not their own. Why? it is all delusion and ignorance which obfuscates the buddha nature and draws the mind to make distinctions.

This passage says nothing about the Buddha making all beings equal.