Nichiren Shonin's teachings

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Minobu
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Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by Minobu »

I'm really happy as of late.
There is this saying that Tibetan Buddhism is a complete teaching. The reason they give is that so many different practices are incorporated into the whole. Vipassana and various Tantric and Mahamudra practices all are accepted.

If one understand the Gohonzon one sees that every aspect of Buddhism is right there , in front of you and inside you. It's the make up of the Buddhist world in Samsara. Total and complete.

To knock this practice in any way or have ill feelings towards it for some odd reason , if you are a Buddhist, is a grave error. What ever sect you belong to the Lotus Sutra covers it all.

All things Buddhist and all sentients of various degrees of enlightenment and power that are considered Buddhist in nature are represented in the Ceremony In The Air.

To practice this Buddhism is to practice all things Buddhist. One reaps the benefit of everything that was ever taught through Odaimoku with Gohonzon inscribed by Nichiren Shonin.

If one looks at the Lotus Sutra through the lens of a tale told by Lord Nargajuna Buddha, it is a tale that encompasses all things Buddhist.
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Re: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by Hazel »

I think any of the many traditions, when diligently practiced, lead to enlightenment. That definitely includes Nichiren! It appears to be a rich practice of dedicated practitioners. Dedication is key.

Edit:

Also, it's great to hear you've been happy!
Happy Pride month to my queer dharma siblings!

What do you see when you turn out the lights?
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Re: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by illarraza »

Minobu wrote: Fri Dec 24, 2021 4:52 pm I'm really happy as of late.
There is this saying that Tibetan Buddhism is a complete teaching. The reason they give is that so many different practices are incorporated into the whole. Vipassana and various Tantric and Mahamudra practices all are accepted.

If one understand the Gohonzon one sees that every aspect of Buddhism is right there , in front of you and inside you. It's the make up of the Buddhist world in Samsara. Total and complete.

To knock this practice in any way or have ill feelings towards it for some odd reason , if you are a Buddhist, is a grave error. What ever sect you belong to the Lotus Sutra covers it all.

All things Buddhist and all sentients of various degrees of enlightenment and power that are considered Buddhist in nature are represented in the Ceremony In The Air.

To practice this Buddhism is to practice all things Buddhist. One reaps the benefit of everything that was ever taught through Odaimoku with Gohonzon inscribed by Nichiren Shonin.

If one looks at the Lotus Sutra through the lens of a tale told by Lord Nargajuna Buddha, it is a tale that encompasses all things Buddhist.
Great post and happy New Year.

M
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Re: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by Aemilius »

There are no "final" or "complete" Dharma teaching, because words are empty of inherent existence. Words change, meanings change, the world and societies change. Time passes and a "complete teaching" is or becomes an incomplete teaching. Time devours everything.
New things and new situations appear in the human society. Humanity itself can become something else, like dinosaurs that went extinct but left the birds that continue their lineage in the present time period.
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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Re: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by Queequeg »

Aemilius wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 9:38 am There are no "final" or "complete" Dharma teaching, because words are empty of inherent existence. Words change, meanings change, the world and societies change. Time passes and a "complete teaching" is or becomes an incomplete teaching. Time devours everything.
New things and new situations appear in the human society. Humanity itself can become something else, like dinosaurs that went extinct but left the birds that continue their lineage in the present time period.
Buddha's wisdom is the complete and final teaching. That is what Nichiren taught that NMRK is. The Lotus Sutra is a teaching on the relation between upaya and the Buddha's wisdom.
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: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by Aemilius »

Queequeg wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 4:16 pm
Aemilius wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 9:38 am There are no "final" or "complete" Dharma teaching, because words are empty of inherent existence. Words change, meanings change, the world and societies change. Time passes and a "complete teaching" is or becomes an incomplete teaching. Time devours everything.
New things and new situations appear in the human society. Humanity itself can become something else, like dinosaurs that went extinct but left the birds that continue their lineage in the present time period.
Buddha's wisdom is the complete and final teaching. That is what Nichiren taught that NMRK is. The Lotus Sutra is a teaching on the relation between upaya and the Buddha's wisdom.
Is the final and complete teaching in human or some being's consciousness or is it a pile of paper?
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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Queequeg
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Re: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by Queequeg »

Aemilius wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:13 pm
Queequeg wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 4:16 pm
Aemilius wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 9:38 am There are no "final" or "complete" Dharma teaching, because words are empty of inherent existence. Words change, meanings change, the world and societies change. Time passes and a "complete teaching" is or becomes an incomplete teaching. Time devours everything.
New things and new situations appear in the human society. Humanity itself can become something else, like dinosaurs that went extinct but left the birds that continue their lineage in the present time period.
Buddha's wisdom is the complete and final teaching. That is what Nichiren taught that NMRK is. The Lotus Sutra is a teaching on the relation between upaya and the Buddha's wisdom.
Is the final and complete teaching in human or some being's consciousness or is it a pile of paper?
Its the Buddha wisdom. It appears as nirmanakaya, or any other forms as needed by beings. It appears as sutras as well as writings on secular knowledge, as necessary for the cultivation of beings. See the Lotus Sutra.
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: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by Malcolm »

Aemilius wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:13 pm
Is the final and complete teaching in human or some being's consciousness or is it a pile of paper?
There are two kinds of dharma: scripture and realization. Pretty sure QQ is referring the the last.
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Re: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by Queequeg »

Malcolm wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:59 pm
Aemilius wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:13 pm
Is the final and complete teaching in human or some being's consciousness or is it a pile of paper?
There are two kinds of dharma: scripture and realization. Pretty sure QQ is referring the the last.
Yes. Thank you. In Lotus School circles I believe its referred to as saddharma or 妙法 (Jp Myoho). As I understand, its the perspective that all buddhas have and teach from. I guess its also described as dharmakaya, or paramartha-satya. All depends on the aspect being discussed.
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: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by Caoimhghín »

In The Plucked Flower and the Faint Smile, an apocryphal Chinese Buddhist tale associated with the Chán tradition, the Buddha plucks a flower and holds it up. Venerable Mahākāśyapa smiles in response. Then, the Buddha says:
"I have the treasury of the true Dharma eye. I have Nirvāṇa as wondrous citta. I have signless dharmatā as the subtle dharma-gate, which is not standing on written word, which is external to scriptures, which is a special dispensation, which is entrusted to Mahākāśyapa."
Rather than the specific exegeses of Zen-adjacent sects, I believe it is "the Dharma generally" that is the special dispensation that is external to scriptures, that is not standing on written word (alone), that is entrusted to all true sons of the Buddha -- rather than strictly entrusted to an ahistorical "lineage of Mahākāśyapa" ending in the Chán dhyānins alone.

The texts point to the Dharma, but they are not the Dharma themselves.

The Dharma, textually-speaking, is inherited by us as a "braided river" rather than a "branching tree," but that is only speaking of texts and recensions of texts. The formal textual canons were formed from multiple (sectarian) groups who were not in the practice of reciting together. Any one of them could be more right or more wrong than any other. "The Dharma," rather than any body of texts or even body of memorized history, is the root of the tree whose branches become a braided river, IMO. The Dharma was maybe initially transmitted as collections of sayings attributed to the Buddha and laudatory praises of the three jewels, which then become particularized according to the lineages of reciters. The appearance of the contents of the Dharma before textualization, I think, were likely more fluid as an oral tradition. No proof though. It's a pet theory.

Speaking of the first Buddhist council, it is possible there was a universal council of Buddhists that determined one particular recension of the buddhavacana that is substantially "truer" than later sectarian recensions. The texts concerning it do not date from said council. To the authors of those texts mentioning it, it was long gone mythohistory.

On terms of "what was original," we can look at how the textual tradition develops, but this isn't the Dharma realized. Unrealized, it is varied. If it weren't at least somewhat fluid before textual redaction, the texts would not be varied, one could argue. Oftentimes, bar serious differences in transmission, the difference between two parallel recensions of Buddhist scripture (speaking of Śrāvaka scripture here) is often the speaker and the circumstance. Oftentimes, the content of the text of the "sermon" section, with the accompanying gatha, is functionally identical. Obviously there are also plenty of exceptions to this similarity, and frequently people overstate the similarities of the different recensions of the older literature. All the same, it is frequently the material circumstances of the teaching, i.e. where and when and to whom, that is different between the schools, not the contents of the speech of the Buddha. It makes sense if this somewhat extraneous material was varied from a very early point, potentially before any actual formal schisms in the samgha. It could also be that it wasn't.

I think that one of the reasons why Buddhism is full of lists is that lists, especially chanted lists with a certain intonation and rhythm associated with them, are particularly easier to memorize than narrative discursion. The one Dharma, the two truths, the three jewels, the four truths, the five aggregates, the six sense fields, the seven limbs of Bodhi, the eightfold path, the nine stages of the corpse, etc. These are easy to remember and transmit, and IMO it is likely that these lists go furthest back, rather than the process of textualization also being a process of "listification." Rather than "the lists" being later summations.
Then, the monks uttered this gāthā:

These bodies are like foam.
Them being frail, who can rejoice in them?
The Buddha attained the vajra-body.
Still, it becomes inconstant and ruined.
The many Buddhas are vajra-entities.
All are also subject to inconstancy.
Quickly ended, like melting snow --
how could things be different?

The Buddha passed into parinirvāṇa afterward.
(T1.27b10 Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra DĀ 2)
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Re: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by Malcolm »

Caoimhghín wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 11:08 pm
Speaking of the first Buddhist council, it is possible there was a universal council of Buddhists that determined one particular recension of the buddhavacana that is substantially "truer" than later sectarian recensions. The texts concerning it do not date from said council. To the authors of those texts mentioning it, it was long gone mythohistory.
Ananda did not recite these texts at the first council, for that, Vasubandhu criticizes him. The "I" in "Thus I heard this spoken at one time" of Mahāyāna sūtras is not Ananda.
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Re: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by Aemilius »

Malcolm wrote: Thu Dec 30, 2021 12:01 am
Caoimhghín wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 11:08 pm
Speaking of the first Buddhist council, it is possible there was a universal council of Buddhists that determined one particular recension of the buddhavacana that is substantially "truer" than later sectarian recensions. The texts concerning it do not date from said council. To the authors of those texts mentioning it, it was long gone mythohistory.
Ananda did not recite these texts at the first council, for that, Vasubandhu criticizes him. The "I" in "Thus I heard this spoken at one time" of Mahāyāna sūtras is not Ananda.
Where does Vasubandhu say that? Elsewhere, in Mahayanasutra-alankara Commentary and in Vyakhyayukti "Principles of Exegesis", Vasubandhu defends the position that Mahayana sutras were taught by the Shakyamuni. By whom were they heard then?

I have read some passages of Vyakhyayukti that have been translated into english. I have heard that Vasubandhu discusses the origin of Mahayana in that work, but I haven't seen it with my own eyes.
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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Re: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by Malcolm »

Aemilius wrote: Thu Dec 30, 2021 9:55 am
Where does Vasubandhu say that? Elsewhere, in Mahayanasutra-alankara Commentary and in Vyakhyayukti "Principles of Exegesis", Vasubandhu defends the position that Mahayana sutras were taught by the Shakyamuni. By whom were they heard then?

I have read some passages of Vyakhyayukti that have been translated into english. I have heard that Vasubandhu discusses the origin of Mahayana in that work, but I haven't seen it with my own eyes.
Manjushri, Samantabhadra, etc.

Vasubandhu makes this argument in the Vyakhyayukti. There is a paper on it at academia.edu.
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Re: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by illarraza »

Aemilius wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:13 pm
Queequeg wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 4:16 pm
Aemilius wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 9:38 am There are no "final" or "complete" Dharma teaching, because words are empty of inherent existence. Words change, meanings change, the world and societies change. Time passes and a "complete teaching" is or becomes an incomplete teaching. Time devours everything.
New things and new situations appear in the human society. Humanity itself can become something else, like dinosaurs that went extinct but left the birds that continue their lineage in the present time period.
Buddha's wisdom is the complete and final teaching. That is what Nichiren taught that NMRK is. The Lotus Sutra is a teaching on the relation between upaya and the Buddha's wisdom.
Is the final and complete teaching in human or some being's consciousness or is it a pile of paper?
There are two types of words: Written and spoken. There are two types of general structural entities of all phenomena: waves [which correspond to spoken words] and particles such as atoms which correspond to the ink on written words. Of course, written and spoken words are inextricably interrelated and codependent as are waves and particles. What binds the spoken and the written words, waves and particles, are "strings" or vibrational entities. The vibrational rythm, resonance, and frequency of strings [which science has not yet characterized] has been characterized by Buddhism as Namu Myoho renge kyo which may be written (Gohonzon) or spoken (mantra).

The very same waves, particles and strings that comprise words, written or spoken, comprise brain and mind.

Someone wrote: "Words can cause *real* confusion but are not themselves real."

I responded: Words are very real. They can hurt more than a stick or knife or ennoble more than the receipt of treasure or a comrade's embrace. People have died over words: Broken hearts, wounded egos, suicide, and war. Conversely, words can stir us to greatness, to soldier on when we can barely crawl, powerful enough to bring us to blissful joy or even to heal very real ailments. Namu Myoho renge kyo can change a man into a Buddha. For this reason we must not take the Gohonzon or the Lotus Sutra lightly or the mantra, Namu Myoho renge kyo. The words themselves are Enlightenment and Buddhahood, They are the words of the Original Eternal Buddha. They are the Lotus Sutra.

Mark
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Aemilius
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Re: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by Aemilius »

illarraza wrote: Fri Dec 31, 2021 7:40 am
Aemilius wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:13 pm
Queequeg wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 4:16 pm

Buddha's wisdom is the complete and final teaching. That is what Nichiren taught that NMRK is. The Lotus Sutra is a teaching on the relation between upaya and the Buddha's wisdom.
Is the final and complete teaching in human or some being's consciousness or is it a pile of paper?
There are two types of words: Written and spoken. There are two types of general structural entities of all phenomena: waves [which correspond to spoken words] and particles such as atoms which correspond to the ink on written words. Of course, written and spoken words are inextricably interrelated and codependent as are waves and particles. What binds the spoken and the written words, waves and particles, are "strings" or vibrational entities. The vibrational rythm, resonance, and frequency of strings [which science has not yet characterized] has been characterized by Buddhism as Namu Myoho renge kyo which may be written (Gohonzon) or spoken (mantra).

The very same waves, particles and strings that comprise words, written or spoken, comprise brain and mind.

Someone wrote: "Words can cause *real* confusion but are not themselves real."

I responded: Words are very real. They can hurt more than a stick or knife or ennoble more than the receipt of treasure or a comrade's embrace. People have died over words: Broken hearts, wounded egos, suicide, and war. Conversely, words can stir us to greatness, to soldier on when we can barely crawl, powerful enough to bring us to blissful joy or even to heal very real ailments. Namu Myoho renge kyo can change a man into a Buddha. For this reason we must not take the Gohonzon or the Lotus Sutra lightly or the mantra, Namu Myoho renge kyo. The words themselves are Enlightenment and Buddhahood, They are the words of the Original Eternal Buddha. They are the Lotus Sutra.

Mark
Primarily words are mind. They are concepts in the mind or consciousness. Concepts exist in the consciousness that is kamadhatu and to some extent also in the consciousness that is in rupadhatu and arupyadhatu.
Words have been analyzed in many ways. For example, there words that consist of sounds/letters and there are the meanings of these words. Then there are meanings that denote the universals and meanings as particular objects. Universal is like the general word "house", which means the class of objects in general that have the characteristics of a house. Then there are particular material objects that are "houses". All particulars like houses etc are different from each other, i.e. different from other houses or other members of the class or universal in question.
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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Minobu
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Re: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by Minobu »

The variety of Buddhist teachings are all intended to nudge one towards eventual attainment of Buddhahood.
Nichiren's practice is flawlessly simple . It's here due to the nature of Mappo and aimed at the level of sentients that dwell on earth during this time of darkness.
It's method of dealing with karma can only be played out in Samsara during Mappo.So it's a practice aimed at the sundry daily life of sentients caught in a time when certain practices no longer enable one to reach the goal.
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Re: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by illarraza »

Minobu wrote: Sun Jan 02, 2022 3:15 pm The variety of Buddhist teachings are all intended to nudge one towards eventual attainment of Buddhahood.
Nichiren's practice is flawlessly simple . It's here due to the nature of Mappo and aimed at the level of sentients that dwell on earth during this time of darkness.
It's method of dealing with karma can only be played out in Samsara during Mappo.So it's a practice aimed at the sundry daily life of sentients caught in a time when certain practices no longer enable one to reach the goal.
Excellent Comment.

M
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Re: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

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Minobu wrote: Fri Dec 24, 2021 4:52 pmIf one understand the Gohonzon one sees that every aspect of Buddhism is right there , in front of you and inside you. It's the make up of the Buddhist world in Samsara. Total and complete.
Are there some treatises explaining how specific practices (śamatha-vipaśyanā, ānāpānasmṛti, smṛtyupasthāna, dānapāramitā etc.) are incorporated in the Gohonzon and/or the Odaimoku?
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?

2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.

3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.

4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.


1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
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Re: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by narhwal90 »

My understanding is that such practices would be considered subsidiary- daimoku is considered the fundamental and most important practice, more important even than sutra recitation. Generally Nichiren accepts some other practices; recitation, meditation on various principles, according to the capacities of the practitioner. I don't recall admission of any walking meditation forms though, nor have I heard of anything like koan practice. That said, service to the organization ie one's local organization/community center/temple does have some connotations similar to samu though it is not a designated practice form.

Some Nichiren schools incorporate what looks from the outside like vipasanna meditation in their practices, oriented around principles espoused by Nichiren or at least rooted in Tendai.

Treatise-wise there is not a lot to go on besides daimoku which he discusses extensively.
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Re: Nichiren Shonin's teachings

Post by illarraza »

Astus wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 9:03 pm
Minobu wrote: Fri Dec 24, 2021 4:52 pmIf one understand the Gohonzon one sees that every aspect of Buddhism is right there , in front of you and inside you. It's the make up of the Buddhist world in Samsara. Total and complete.
Are there some treatises explaining how specific practices (śamatha-vipaśyanā, ānāpānasmṛti, smṛtyupasthāna, dānapāramitā etc.) are incorporated in the Gohonzon and/or the Odaimoku?
Singlemindedness, awareness of the breath, calmness and tranquility, insight, and danaparamita are incorporated into the Gohonzon because Gohonzon is the Eternal Buddha at the Ceremony in the Air. The Lotus Sutra Chapter 17, Distinction of Benefits, teaches that one moment of joyful faith signifies having performed all the meditations and other paramitas (save for the paramita of wisdom) for quintillians of lifetimes or one would be unable to encounter the Gohonzon and Namu Myoho renge kyo.

Mark
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