easydisco said:
Well said...........well said. Much love to you all.
dg
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Chanting Growers Group
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Well said...........well said. Much love to you all.
dg
Om Mani Padme Hum
G
Guest
Dutchgrown said:
Thank you for shining light on the power of the law for all to recognize. May your appreciation for the law grow in line with your faith and love for all. Consider yourself a testament to the power of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, because I know that I already do!
Like the roar of the lion, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!
Woooo hoooo
Woooo hoooo
Now there ya go thats what we been talking about all along .. the power of daimoku. Been lots of chanting going on for the site and everyone who missed it like we did. Great to be home. Lets keep up all the great chanting ive see people doin.
nam myoho renge kyo
Woooo hoooo
Now there ya go thats what we been talking about all along .. the power of daimoku. Been lots of chanting going on for the site and everyone who missed it like we did. Great to be home. Lets keep up all the great chanting ive see people doin.
nam myoho renge kyo
THANKS FOR ALL THAT FUCKING ROARING!
Don't be afraid, Don't be defeated. Faith! Victory of Gold!!!
These words NEVER fail to be true. Thank you for everyone's continuing prayers for this place we call home. There's no place like home!
Welcome home everyone!
Thomas
Don't be afraid, Don't be defeated. Faith! Victory of Gold!!!
These words NEVER fail to be true. Thank you for everyone's continuing prayers for this place we call home. There's no place like home!
Welcome home everyone!
Thomas
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MONDAY, May 22nd, 2006
"Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to enjoy. Regard both suffering and joy as facts of life, and continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, no matter what happens."
(Happiness in This World - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 681) Selection source: SGI member's experience, Seikyo Shimbun, May 22nd, 2006
-- WORDS OF THE WEEK --
The Daishonin states,
"So the battle goes on even today."*
To achieve kosen-rufu is an eternal challenge.
Let's now move on to the next step and
take the necessary and appropriate action!
Through patience, perseverance and consistency,
let's be victorious in every challenge we undertake, one after another!
Daisaku Ikeda
* "On Practicing the Buddha's Teachings" - WND, page 392
"Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to enjoy. Regard both suffering and joy as facts of life, and continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, no matter what happens."
(Happiness in This World - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 681) Selection source: SGI member's experience, Seikyo Shimbun, May 22nd, 2006
-- WORDS OF THE WEEK --
The Daishonin states,
"So the battle goes on even today."*
To achieve kosen-rufu is an eternal challenge.
Let's now move on to the next step and
take the necessary and appropriate action!
Through patience, perseverance and consistency,
let's be victorious in every challenge we undertake, one after another!
Daisaku Ikeda
* "On Practicing the Buddha's Teachings" - WND, page 392
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G
Guest
Nam myoho renge kyo!"Without training, we cannot build a sound foundation for our lives. No matter what difficulty or hardship we may encounter, it’s important that we keep chanting daimoku, refusing to be discouraged, and use our problems to make ourselves stronger. This is what is meant by the Buddhist principle that the 'sufferings of birth and death are nirvana' (OTT, 174)."
SGI Newsletter No. 6835, The New Human Revolution—Vol. 18: Chap. 4, Dynamic Strides 17, translated May 17th, 2006
SGI Newsletter No. 6835, The New Human Revolution—Vol. 18: Chap. 4, Dynamic Strides 17, translated May 17th, 2006
G
Guest
today is a very nice day to see many friends come together again.
Training, i have the day off tomorrow, going to SGI. I have been feeling such positive energy lately that its allmost a little scarry and i have just scratched the surface of this. I was just hangin at the Babba's outdoor thread (i seem to be drawn there like a horse to water) His post gave me goosebumps, very strange feeling.
Feeling full of positve energy at the moment that like i said is a bit overwhelming.
I suppose training will allow me to focus this energy and use it to help better myself/my family/my friends and those in need of some positive energy?
im not on schrooms. lol
>>>>>nam myaho renge kyo>>>>>>
peace
bonz
Feeling full of positve energy at the moment that like i said is a bit overwhelming.
I suppose training will allow me to focus this energy and use it to help better myself/my family/my friends and those in need of some positive energy?
im not on schrooms. lol
>>>>>nam myaho renge kyo>>>>>>
peace
bonz
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G
Guest
positive energy is always good bonzo. send some my way. im looking at shrooms as we speak should i go on a journey? peace
In order to expand on this point by Mr. Ikeda...
In order to expand on this point by Mr. Ikeda...
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings (OTT pgs. 173-174)
Translated by Burton Watson
Nichiren
Chapter Twenty-three: Former Affairs of the Bodhisattva Medicine King
Point Three, regarding the passage "Such is this Lotus Sutra. It can cause living beings to cast off all distress, all sickness and pain. It can unloose all the bonds of birth and death."
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The very heart of the Lotus Sutra is the teaching that earthly desires are enlightenment, and that the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana. Here the two expressions "cast off" and "unloose" would seem to go directly counter to this teaching.
However, we should take the words "cast off" in the sense of "becomming enlightened concerning." If we look with the eyes of wisdom as they are opened by the "Life Span" chapter of the essential teaching, we will become enlightened to the truth that sickness, pain, and distress are, and have always been, an innate part of life. Such is the wisdom of the Buddha of limitless joy.
The phrase "unloose all the bonds of birth and death" means to unlock us from the error of supposing that we are now encountering birth and death for the first time and to help us to realize that birth and death have always been an innate part of life. Thus we are released from the bonds of supposing that we will attain enlightenment for the first time [as Shakyamuni did in this lifetime in India]. These two expressions "cast off" and "unloose" are in fact expressions of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
In order to expand on this point by Mr. Ikeda...
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings (OTT pgs. 173-174)
Translated by Burton Watson
Nichiren
Chapter Twenty-three: Former Affairs of the Bodhisattva Medicine King
Point Three, regarding the passage "Such is this Lotus Sutra. It can cause living beings to cast off all distress, all sickness and pain. It can unloose all the bonds of birth and death."
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The very heart of the Lotus Sutra is the teaching that earthly desires are enlightenment, and that the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana. Here the two expressions "cast off" and "unloose" would seem to go directly counter to this teaching.
However, we should take the words "cast off" in the sense of "becomming enlightened concerning." If we look with the eyes of wisdom as they are opened by the "Life Span" chapter of the essential teaching, we will become enlightened to the truth that sickness, pain, and distress are, and have always been, an innate part of life. Such is the wisdom of the Buddha of limitless joy.
The phrase "unloose all the bonds of birth and death" means to unlock us from the error of supposing that we are now encountering birth and death for the first time and to help us to realize that birth and death have always been an innate part of life. Thus we are released from the bonds of supposing that we will attain enlightenment for the first time [as Shakyamuni did in this lifetime in India]. These two expressions "cast off" and "unloose" are in fact expressions of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
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"Life Span of the Thus Come One" chapter
[如来寿量品] (Jpn.: Nyorai-juryo-hon)
Abbreviated as the "Life Span" chapter. The sixteenth chapter of the Lotus Sutra, in which Shakyamuni Buddha reveals that he originally attained enlightenment in the far distant past rather than in his present life in India as his listeners generally thought. The chapter title "The Life Span of the Thus Come One" means the duration of Shakyamuni's life as a Buddha, that is, how much time has passed since he originally attained Buddhahood. T'ien-t'ai (538-597) of China ranks it as the key chapter of the essential teaching, or the latter fourteen chapters of the sutra. The chapter opens with three exhortations and four entreaties, in which the Buddha three times admonishes the multitude to believe and understand his truthful words, and the assembly four times begs him to preach. Shakyamuni then says, "You must listen carefully and hear of the Thus Come One's secret and his transcendental powers." He proceeds to explain that, while all heavenly and human beings and asuras believe that he first attained enlightenment in his present lifetime under the bodhi tree, it has actually been an incalculable length of time since he attained enlightenment. He then offers a dramatic description of the magnitude of this immeasurably long period. He describes taking a vast number of worlds, grinding them to dust, and then traversing the universe, dropping a particle each time one passes an equally vast number of worlds. Having exhausted all the dust particles, one takes all the worlds traversed, whether they have received a dust particle or not, and grinds them to dust. Then Shakyamuni says: "Let one particle represent one kalpa. The time that has passed since I attained Buddhahood surpasses this by a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a million nayuta asamkhya kalpas." Commentaries on this chapter refer to this cosmically immense period as "numberless major world system dust particle kalpas." In the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni thus refutes the view that he attained enlightenment for the first time in this life in India and reveals his original attainment of enlightenment in the remote past. T'ien-t'ai refers to this in The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra and The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra as "opening the near and revealing the distant," "casting off the transient and revealing the true," and "opening the transient and revealing the true." Here, "the transient" means Shakyamuni's transient status, and "the true" means his true identity. From his original attainment of Buddhahood, Shakyamuni declares, he has constantly been here in this saha world preaching the Law, appearing as many different Buddhas and using various means to save living beings. Though he says that he enters nirvana, he merely uses his death as a means to arouse in people the desire to seek a Buddha. He then illustrates this idea with the parable of the skilled physician and his sick children. In the parable, the children of a skilled physician have accidentally swallowed poison. Having lost their senses, they refuse the medicine their father offers them as an antidote. The father then goes off to a remote place and sends a message informing his children he has died. Shocked to their senses, the children take the medicine their father has left for them and are cured. The Buddha is compared to the father in this parable, living beings to the children who have drunk poison, and the Buddha's entry into nirvana to the father's report of his own death-an expedient means to arouse in people the aspiration for enlightenment. The chapter concludes with a verse section, which restates the important teachings of the preceding prose section.
In Profound Meaning, T'ien-t'ai interprets the "Life Span" chapter as revealing the three mystic principles of the true cause (the cause for Shakyamuni's original attainment of enlightenment), the true effect (his original enlightenment), and the true land (the place where the Buddha lives and teaches). He interprets the passage "Originally I practiced the bodhisattva way ... " as indicating the stage of non-regression, or the eleventh of the fifty-two stages of bodhisattva practice, which he explained as the true cause that enabled Shakyamuni to attain Buddhahood. In answer to the question of what Shakyamuni practiced in order to reach the stage of non-regression, Nichiren (1222-1282) identified it as the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Buddha of limitless joy
[自受用身] (Jpn.: jijuyushin)
Buddha of limitless joy is broader in meaning than Buddha of self-enjoyment, which is another translation of jijuyushin.
(1) T'ien-t'ai (538-597) identified the Buddha of limitless joy with the Buddha revealed in the essential teaching (latter half ) of the Lotus Sutra, whom he defined as the Buddha originally endowed with the three bodies-the Dharma body, the reward body, and the manifested body. Here, these three bodies are regarded as the three integral aspects of a single Buddha, i.e., the fundamental truth or Law to which he is enlightened (the Dharma body), the wisdom to realize it (the reward body), and the merciful actions to help people attain Buddhahood (the manifested body).
(2) Dengyo (767-822), the founder of the Japanese Tendai school, is quoted in Nichiren's Real Aspect of the Gohonzon as having stated, "A single moment of life comprising the three thousand realms is itself the Buddha of limitless joy; this Buddha has forsaken august appearances" (832). Dengyo identified the true identity of the Buddha of limitless joy as a single moment of life in which all three thousand realms exist. This is Dengyo's description of the same Buddha T'ien-t'ai mentioned.
(3) Nichiren (1222-1282) identified the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life as the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo that he realized within his own life. In other words, Nichiren established two concepts of three thousand realms in a single moment of life; one is T'ien-t'ai's and the other, his own. In his Treatment of Illness, Nichiren writes: "There are two ways of perceiving the three thousand realms in a single moment of life. One is theoretical, and the other, actual. What T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo practiced was theoretical, but what I practice now is actual. Because what I practice is superior, the difficulties attending it are that much greater. The doctrine of T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo was the three thousand realms in a single moment of life of the theoretical teaching, while mine is that of the essential teaching. These two are as different as heaven is from earth" (1114-115). T'ien-t'ai established the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life based on "the true aspect of all phenomena," the phrase from the "Expedient Means" (second) chapter of the Lotus Sutra.
On the other hand, Nichiren states in The Opening of the Eyes: "The doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life is found in only one place, hidden in the depths of the 'Life Span' chapter of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra. Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu were aware of it but did not bring it forth into the light. T'ien-t'ai Chih-che alone embraced it and kept it ever in mind" (224). Obviously what T'ien-t'ai embraced and kept ever in mind does not refer to the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life that he expounded publicly. Nichiren regarded it as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Nichikan (1665-1726), the twenty-sixth chief priest of Taiseki-ji temple, who is known for his commentaries on Nichiren's writings, interpreted Nichiren's teaching, saying that the Buddha of the essential teaching is not the eternal Buddha but the Buddha who attained enlightenment at a fixed point in time. From this viewpoint, the Buddha of the essential teaching is not eternally endowed with the three bodies, but is rather the Buddha who advanced to the state of limitless joy through the bodhisattva way, thereby acquiring the three bodies. In contrast, Nichikan stated that the Buddha who embodies eternal life endowed with all of the Ten Worlds and the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo whereby all Buddhas attained enlightenment, is originally endowed with the three bodies since time without beginning, and that that Buddha is what Nichiren called the Buddha of beginningless time. Nichikan concluded that Nichiren embodied that Buddha.
See also: Buddha of self-enjoyment; Buddha of beginningless time
Buddha of self-enjoyment
[自受用身] (Jpn.: jijuyushin)
One of the four bodies of a Buddha. These four bodies correspond to the three bodies. They are (1) the self-nature body, which corresponds to the Dharma body; (2) the body of self-enjoyment, which corresponds to the reward body; (3) the body of beneficence, which also corresponds to the reward body; and (4) the transformation body, which is similar to the manifested body. A Buddha of self-enjoyment is one who enjoys the benefits of enlightenment he attained as a result of his past meritorious achievements, such as Shakyamuni when he attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree. This concept of Buddha is contrasted with that of a Buddha of beneficence who responds to the people's desire and benefits them through the various teachings that they hope to hear.
Buddha of beginningless time
[久遠元初の自受用身] (Jpn.: kuonganjo-no-jijuyushin)
Also, eternal Buddha, original Buddha, or true Buddha. The Buddha who has been eternally endowed with the three bodies-the Dharma body, the reward body, and the manifested body, thereby embodying the eternal Law or the ultimate truth of life and the universe. This term appears in Nichiren's (1222-1282) writing given to his successor Nikko and signed by Nichiren. Titled On the Mystic Principle of the True Cause, it refers to "the Mystic Law, uncreated and eternal, of the Buddha of beginningless time," and states that the Mystic Law lies in the depths of the "Life Span" (sixteenth) chapter of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra. Nichikan (1665-1726), the twenty-sixth chief priest of Taiseki-ji temple, identified Nichiren as that Buddha, based on the fact that Nichiren was the first to spread the Mystic Law. According to Nichiren, the Japanese term jijuyushin literally means the "body that is freely received and used." The Buddha of beginningless time is also called the Buddha of limitless joy-indicating the Buddha who freely derives boundless joy from the Law while enjoying absolute freedom, and who directly expounds the Law that he realized within his own life. In the "Life Span" chapter, Shakyamuni revealed his attainment of Buddhahood numberless major world system dust particle kalpas in the past. No matter how far in the past, however, it occurred at a fixed point in time and therefore is not eternal. Moreover, he did not clarify the Law or cause that enabled him to attain enlightenment at that time.
In contrast, the Buddha of beginningless time is eternal and also represents eternal life endowed with both the nine worlds and Buddhahood. In The Opening of the Eyes, Nichiren states: "This is the doctrine of original cause and original effect. It reveals that the nine worlds are all present in beginningless Buddhahood and that Buddhahood is inherent in the beginningless nine worlds. This is the true mutual possession of the Ten Worlds, the true hundred worlds and thousand factors, the true three thousand realms in a single moment of life" (235). Here "original cause" refers to the "beginningless nine worlds," and "original effect" to "beginningless Buddhahood." What Nichiren defined as "the true three thousand realms in a single moment of life" is the original state of life. To manifest this state of life is the attainment of Buddhahood for all people. Nichiren established the practice that enables everyone to achieve this by inscribing the Gohonzon, or the object of devotion that embodies this original state of life, and prescribing the invocation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
See also: Buddha of limitless joy; true Buddha
true Buddha
[本仏] (Jpn.: hombutsu)
A Buddha in his true identity, in contrast to his transient or provisional identity. This term is applied in two specific ways:
(1) To Shakyamuni Buddha as he describes himself in the "Life Span" (sixteenth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra; that is, as having attained Buddhahood in the remote past, countless kalpas ago. In that chapter, Shakyamuni states: "In all the worlds the heavenly and human beings and asuras all believe that the present Shakyamuni Buddha, after leaving the palace of the Shakyas, seated himself in the place of meditation not far from the city of Gaya and there attained supreme perfect enlightenment. But good men, it has been immeasurable, boundless hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayutas of kalpas since I in fact attained Buddhahood." With this statement, Shakyamuni redefines his identity as a Buddha who originally attained his enlightenment in the remarkably remote past. From the standpoint of the philosophy of the Lotus Sutra, the Shakyamuni who is thought to have attained enlightenment in the current life under the bodhi tree in India is a "provisional Buddha," or a Buddha in his transient identity. In this provisional identity, Shakyamuni is seen as a temporary manifestation of the true Buddha who employed various temporary, expedient teachings to prepare people to understand his true identity and true teaching and thereby lead them to enlightenment. From the perspective of the content of the Lotus Sutra, the true Buddha corresponds to the Shakyamuni depicted in the essential teaching (latter half ) of the Lotus Sutra, while the Buddha in his transient identity is the Shakyamuni of the theoretical teaching (first half ) of the sutra.
(2) As a reference to Nichiren (1222-1282), applied to him traditionally by those in the lineage of his disciple Nikko. In The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra, T'ien-t'ai (538-597) refers to the true cause and the true effect as the first two of the ten mystic principles of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra based on the revelation of Shakyamuni's original attainment of enlightenment in the remote past. He associates the true cause with the sentence in the "Life Span" chapter, "Originally I practiced the bodhisattva way, and the life that I acquired then has yet to come to an end," and the true effect with the sentence, "Since I attained Buddhahood, an extremely long period of time has passed." In the remote past, Shakyamuni practiced the bodhisattva way (the true cause) and attained Buddhahood (the true effect). Shakyamuni never specifically reveals, however, what teaching he originally practiced, the original cause or seed of his Buddhahood.
Regarding this, Nichiren states: "The doctrine of the sowing of the seed and its maturing and harvesting is the very heart and core of the Lotus Sutra. All the Buddhas of the three existences and the ten directions have invariably attained Buddhahood through the seeds represented by the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo" (1015). From this perspective, Nichiren is regarded as the teacher of the true cause, and Shakyamuni as the teacher of the true effect. This is because in the Lotus Sutra Shakyamuni revealed his eternal Buddhahood, the effect of his original bodhisattva practice. He did not, however, reveal the true cause or the nature of the specific practice by which he attained it. Nichiren, on the other hand, revealed the teaching and practice of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which he identified as the true cause that enables all people to attain Buddhahood. This viewpoint identifies Nichiren as the true Buddha.
Nichiren explains the passage of the Lotus Sutra cited above, "It has been immeasurable, boundless hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayutas of kalpas since I in fact attained Buddhahood," in The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings. He says, "'I in fact' is explaining that Shakyamuni in fact attained Buddhahood in the inconceivably remote past. The meaning of this chapter, however, is that 'I' represents the living beings of the phenomenal world. 'I' here refers to each and every being in the Ten Worlds. 'In fact' establishes that 'I' is a Buddha eternally endowed with the three bodies. This is what is being called a 'fact.' 'Attained' refers both to the one who attains and to what is attained.
'Attain' means to open or reveal. It is to reveal that the beings of the phenomenal world are Buddhas eternally endowed with the three bodies. 'Buddhahood' means being enlightened to this." Here Nichiren is saying that every being is essentially "a Buddha eternally endowed with the three bodies," a true Buddha. In this sense, "true Buddha" refers to the Buddha nature eternally inherent in the lives of all living beings. In The True Aspect of All Phenomena, Nichiren states, "A common mortal is an entity of the three bodies, and a true Buddha. A Buddha is a function of the three bodies, and a provisional Buddha" (384).
true cause
[本因妙] (Jpn.: honnin-myo)
Also, the mystic principle of the true cause. One of the ten mystic principles of the essential teaching (latter half ) of the Lotus Sutra formulated by T'ien-t'ai (538-597) in The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra. It refers to the practice that Shakyamuni carried out countless kalpas in the past in order to attain his original enlightenment. The term contrasts with the true effect, or the original enlightenment Shakyamuni achieved countless kalpas before his enlightenment in India. The true cause is indicated by the phrase in the "Life Span" (sixteenth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, "Originally I practiced the bodhisattva way ..." Profound Meaning defines "bodhisattva way" as the true cause of Shakyamuni's original enlightenment. Shakyamuni did not clarify, however, what the bodhisattva way was. T'ien-t'ai interpreted it as a reference to the first stage of security, or the eleventh of the fifty-two stages of bodhisattva practice, i.e., the stage of non-regression, the attainment of which he defined as the true cause for Shakyamuni's original enlightenment. However, what teaching or Law Shakyamuni had practiced to attain the stage of non-regression remained unclear. Nichiren (1222-1282) identified the true cause, or fundamental Law, that enables all Buddhas to attain their enlightenment, as the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Because he fully revealed the true cause for attaining Buddhahood and established a universal way of practice, in his lineage Nichiren is called the teacher of the true cause, while Shakyamuni is called the teacher of the true effect.
From source: The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism
[如来寿量品] (Jpn.: Nyorai-juryo-hon)
Abbreviated as the "Life Span" chapter. The sixteenth chapter of the Lotus Sutra, in which Shakyamuni Buddha reveals that he originally attained enlightenment in the far distant past rather than in his present life in India as his listeners generally thought. The chapter title "The Life Span of the Thus Come One" means the duration of Shakyamuni's life as a Buddha, that is, how much time has passed since he originally attained Buddhahood. T'ien-t'ai (538-597) of China ranks it as the key chapter of the essential teaching, or the latter fourteen chapters of the sutra. The chapter opens with three exhortations and four entreaties, in which the Buddha three times admonishes the multitude to believe and understand his truthful words, and the assembly four times begs him to preach. Shakyamuni then says, "You must listen carefully and hear of the Thus Come One's secret and his transcendental powers." He proceeds to explain that, while all heavenly and human beings and asuras believe that he first attained enlightenment in his present lifetime under the bodhi tree, it has actually been an incalculable length of time since he attained enlightenment. He then offers a dramatic description of the magnitude of this immeasurably long period. He describes taking a vast number of worlds, grinding them to dust, and then traversing the universe, dropping a particle each time one passes an equally vast number of worlds. Having exhausted all the dust particles, one takes all the worlds traversed, whether they have received a dust particle or not, and grinds them to dust. Then Shakyamuni says: "Let one particle represent one kalpa. The time that has passed since I attained Buddhahood surpasses this by a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a million nayuta asamkhya kalpas." Commentaries on this chapter refer to this cosmically immense period as "numberless major world system dust particle kalpas." In the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni thus refutes the view that he attained enlightenment for the first time in this life in India and reveals his original attainment of enlightenment in the remote past. T'ien-t'ai refers to this in The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra and The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra as "opening the near and revealing the distant," "casting off the transient and revealing the true," and "opening the transient and revealing the true." Here, "the transient" means Shakyamuni's transient status, and "the true" means his true identity. From his original attainment of Buddhahood, Shakyamuni declares, he has constantly been here in this saha world preaching the Law, appearing as many different Buddhas and using various means to save living beings. Though he says that he enters nirvana, he merely uses his death as a means to arouse in people the desire to seek a Buddha. He then illustrates this idea with the parable of the skilled physician and his sick children. In the parable, the children of a skilled physician have accidentally swallowed poison. Having lost their senses, they refuse the medicine their father offers them as an antidote. The father then goes off to a remote place and sends a message informing his children he has died. Shocked to their senses, the children take the medicine their father has left for them and are cured. The Buddha is compared to the father in this parable, living beings to the children who have drunk poison, and the Buddha's entry into nirvana to the father's report of his own death-an expedient means to arouse in people the aspiration for enlightenment. The chapter concludes with a verse section, which restates the important teachings of the preceding prose section.
In Profound Meaning, T'ien-t'ai interprets the "Life Span" chapter as revealing the three mystic principles of the true cause (the cause for Shakyamuni's original attainment of enlightenment), the true effect (his original enlightenment), and the true land (the place where the Buddha lives and teaches). He interprets the passage "Originally I practiced the bodhisattva way ... " as indicating the stage of non-regression, or the eleventh of the fifty-two stages of bodhisattva practice, which he explained as the true cause that enabled Shakyamuni to attain Buddhahood. In answer to the question of what Shakyamuni practiced in order to reach the stage of non-regression, Nichiren (1222-1282) identified it as the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Buddha of limitless joy
[自受用身] (Jpn.: jijuyushin)
Buddha of limitless joy is broader in meaning than Buddha of self-enjoyment, which is another translation of jijuyushin.
(1) T'ien-t'ai (538-597) identified the Buddha of limitless joy with the Buddha revealed in the essential teaching (latter half ) of the Lotus Sutra, whom he defined as the Buddha originally endowed with the three bodies-the Dharma body, the reward body, and the manifested body. Here, these three bodies are regarded as the three integral aspects of a single Buddha, i.e., the fundamental truth or Law to which he is enlightened (the Dharma body), the wisdom to realize it (the reward body), and the merciful actions to help people attain Buddhahood (the manifested body).
(2) Dengyo (767-822), the founder of the Japanese Tendai school, is quoted in Nichiren's Real Aspect of the Gohonzon as having stated, "A single moment of life comprising the three thousand realms is itself the Buddha of limitless joy; this Buddha has forsaken august appearances" (832). Dengyo identified the true identity of the Buddha of limitless joy as a single moment of life in which all three thousand realms exist. This is Dengyo's description of the same Buddha T'ien-t'ai mentioned.
(3) Nichiren (1222-1282) identified the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life as the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo that he realized within his own life. In other words, Nichiren established two concepts of three thousand realms in a single moment of life; one is T'ien-t'ai's and the other, his own. In his Treatment of Illness, Nichiren writes: "There are two ways of perceiving the three thousand realms in a single moment of life. One is theoretical, and the other, actual. What T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo practiced was theoretical, but what I practice now is actual. Because what I practice is superior, the difficulties attending it are that much greater. The doctrine of T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo was the three thousand realms in a single moment of life of the theoretical teaching, while mine is that of the essential teaching. These two are as different as heaven is from earth" (1114-115). T'ien-t'ai established the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life based on "the true aspect of all phenomena," the phrase from the "Expedient Means" (second) chapter of the Lotus Sutra.
On the other hand, Nichiren states in The Opening of the Eyes: "The doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life is found in only one place, hidden in the depths of the 'Life Span' chapter of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra. Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu were aware of it but did not bring it forth into the light. T'ien-t'ai Chih-che alone embraced it and kept it ever in mind" (224). Obviously what T'ien-t'ai embraced and kept ever in mind does not refer to the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life that he expounded publicly. Nichiren regarded it as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Nichikan (1665-1726), the twenty-sixth chief priest of Taiseki-ji temple, who is known for his commentaries on Nichiren's writings, interpreted Nichiren's teaching, saying that the Buddha of the essential teaching is not the eternal Buddha but the Buddha who attained enlightenment at a fixed point in time. From this viewpoint, the Buddha of the essential teaching is not eternally endowed with the three bodies, but is rather the Buddha who advanced to the state of limitless joy through the bodhisattva way, thereby acquiring the three bodies. In contrast, Nichikan stated that the Buddha who embodies eternal life endowed with all of the Ten Worlds and the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo whereby all Buddhas attained enlightenment, is originally endowed with the three bodies since time without beginning, and that that Buddha is what Nichiren called the Buddha of beginningless time. Nichikan concluded that Nichiren embodied that Buddha.
See also: Buddha of self-enjoyment; Buddha of beginningless time
Buddha of self-enjoyment
[自受用身] (Jpn.: jijuyushin)
One of the four bodies of a Buddha. These four bodies correspond to the three bodies. They are (1) the self-nature body, which corresponds to the Dharma body; (2) the body of self-enjoyment, which corresponds to the reward body; (3) the body of beneficence, which also corresponds to the reward body; and (4) the transformation body, which is similar to the manifested body. A Buddha of self-enjoyment is one who enjoys the benefits of enlightenment he attained as a result of his past meritorious achievements, such as Shakyamuni when he attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree. This concept of Buddha is contrasted with that of a Buddha of beneficence who responds to the people's desire and benefits them through the various teachings that they hope to hear.
Buddha of beginningless time
[久遠元初の自受用身] (Jpn.: kuonganjo-no-jijuyushin)
Also, eternal Buddha, original Buddha, or true Buddha. The Buddha who has been eternally endowed with the three bodies-the Dharma body, the reward body, and the manifested body, thereby embodying the eternal Law or the ultimate truth of life and the universe. This term appears in Nichiren's (1222-1282) writing given to his successor Nikko and signed by Nichiren. Titled On the Mystic Principle of the True Cause, it refers to "the Mystic Law, uncreated and eternal, of the Buddha of beginningless time," and states that the Mystic Law lies in the depths of the "Life Span" (sixteenth) chapter of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra. Nichikan (1665-1726), the twenty-sixth chief priest of Taiseki-ji temple, identified Nichiren as that Buddha, based on the fact that Nichiren was the first to spread the Mystic Law. According to Nichiren, the Japanese term jijuyushin literally means the "body that is freely received and used." The Buddha of beginningless time is also called the Buddha of limitless joy-indicating the Buddha who freely derives boundless joy from the Law while enjoying absolute freedom, and who directly expounds the Law that he realized within his own life. In the "Life Span" chapter, Shakyamuni revealed his attainment of Buddhahood numberless major world system dust particle kalpas in the past. No matter how far in the past, however, it occurred at a fixed point in time and therefore is not eternal. Moreover, he did not clarify the Law or cause that enabled him to attain enlightenment at that time.
In contrast, the Buddha of beginningless time is eternal and also represents eternal life endowed with both the nine worlds and Buddhahood. In The Opening of the Eyes, Nichiren states: "This is the doctrine of original cause and original effect. It reveals that the nine worlds are all present in beginningless Buddhahood and that Buddhahood is inherent in the beginningless nine worlds. This is the true mutual possession of the Ten Worlds, the true hundred worlds and thousand factors, the true three thousand realms in a single moment of life" (235). Here "original cause" refers to the "beginningless nine worlds," and "original effect" to "beginningless Buddhahood." What Nichiren defined as "the true three thousand realms in a single moment of life" is the original state of life. To manifest this state of life is the attainment of Buddhahood for all people. Nichiren established the practice that enables everyone to achieve this by inscribing the Gohonzon, or the object of devotion that embodies this original state of life, and prescribing the invocation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
See also: Buddha of limitless joy; true Buddha
true Buddha
[本仏] (Jpn.: hombutsu)
A Buddha in his true identity, in contrast to his transient or provisional identity. This term is applied in two specific ways:
(1) To Shakyamuni Buddha as he describes himself in the "Life Span" (sixteenth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra; that is, as having attained Buddhahood in the remote past, countless kalpas ago. In that chapter, Shakyamuni states: "In all the worlds the heavenly and human beings and asuras all believe that the present Shakyamuni Buddha, after leaving the palace of the Shakyas, seated himself in the place of meditation not far from the city of Gaya and there attained supreme perfect enlightenment. But good men, it has been immeasurable, boundless hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayutas of kalpas since I in fact attained Buddhahood." With this statement, Shakyamuni redefines his identity as a Buddha who originally attained his enlightenment in the remarkably remote past. From the standpoint of the philosophy of the Lotus Sutra, the Shakyamuni who is thought to have attained enlightenment in the current life under the bodhi tree in India is a "provisional Buddha," or a Buddha in his transient identity. In this provisional identity, Shakyamuni is seen as a temporary manifestation of the true Buddha who employed various temporary, expedient teachings to prepare people to understand his true identity and true teaching and thereby lead them to enlightenment. From the perspective of the content of the Lotus Sutra, the true Buddha corresponds to the Shakyamuni depicted in the essential teaching (latter half ) of the Lotus Sutra, while the Buddha in his transient identity is the Shakyamuni of the theoretical teaching (first half ) of the sutra.
(2) As a reference to Nichiren (1222-1282), applied to him traditionally by those in the lineage of his disciple Nikko. In The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra, T'ien-t'ai (538-597) refers to the true cause and the true effect as the first two of the ten mystic principles of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra based on the revelation of Shakyamuni's original attainment of enlightenment in the remote past. He associates the true cause with the sentence in the "Life Span" chapter, "Originally I practiced the bodhisattva way, and the life that I acquired then has yet to come to an end," and the true effect with the sentence, "Since I attained Buddhahood, an extremely long period of time has passed." In the remote past, Shakyamuni practiced the bodhisattva way (the true cause) and attained Buddhahood (the true effect). Shakyamuni never specifically reveals, however, what teaching he originally practiced, the original cause or seed of his Buddhahood.
Regarding this, Nichiren states: "The doctrine of the sowing of the seed and its maturing and harvesting is the very heart and core of the Lotus Sutra. All the Buddhas of the three existences and the ten directions have invariably attained Buddhahood through the seeds represented by the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo" (1015). From this perspective, Nichiren is regarded as the teacher of the true cause, and Shakyamuni as the teacher of the true effect. This is because in the Lotus Sutra Shakyamuni revealed his eternal Buddhahood, the effect of his original bodhisattva practice. He did not, however, reveal the true cause or the nature of the specific practice by which he attained it. Nichiren, on the other hand, revealed the teaching and practice of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which he identified as the true cause that enables all people to attain Buddhahood. This viewpoint identifies Nichiren as the true Buddha.
Nichiren explains the passage of the Lotus Sutra cited above, "It has been immeasurable, boundless hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayutas of kalpas since I in fact attained Buddhahood," in The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings. He says, "'I in fact' is explaining that Shakyamuni in fact attained Buddhahood in the inconceivably remote past. The meaning of this chapter, however, is that 'I' represents the living beings of the phenomenal world. 'I' here refers to each and every being in the Ten Worlds. 'In fact' establishes that 'I' is a Buddha eternally endowed with the three bodies. This is what is being called a 'fact.' 'Attained' refers both to the one who attains and to what is attained.
'Attain' means to open or reveal. It is to reveal that the beings of the phenomenal world are Buddhas eternally endowed with the three bodies. 'Buddhahood' means being enlightened to this." Here Nichiren is saying that every being is essentially "a Buddha eternally endowed with the three bodies," a true Buddha. In this sense, "true Buddha" refers to the Buddha nature eternally inherent in the lives of all living beings. In The True Aspect of All Phenomena, Nichiren states, "A common mortal is an entity of the three bodies, and a true Buddha. A Buddha is a function of the three bodies, and a provisional Buddha" (384).
true cause
[本因妙] (Jpn.: honnin-myo)
Also, the mystic principle of the true cause. One of the ten mystic principles of the essential teaching (latter half ) of the Lotus Sutra formulated by T'ien-t'ai (538-597) in The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra. It refers to the practice that Shakyamuni carried out countless kalpas in the past in order to attain his original enlightenment. The term contrasts with the true effect, or the original enlightenment Shakyamuni achieved countless kalpas before his enlightenment in India. The true cause is indicated by the phrase in the "Life Span" (sixteenth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, "Originally I practiced the bodhisattva way ..." Profound Meaning defines "bodhisattva way" as the true cause of Shakyamuni's original enlightenment. Shakyamuni did not clarify, however, what the bodhisattva way was. T'ien-t'ai interpreted it as a reference to the first stage of security, or the eleventh of the fifty-two stages of bodhisattva practice, i.e., the stage of non-regression, the attainment of which he defined as the true cause for Shakyamuni's original enlightenment. However, what teaching or Law Shakyamuni had practiced to attain the stage of non-regression remained unclear. Nichiren (1222-1282) identified the true cause, or fundamental Law, that enables all Buddhas to attain their enlightenment, as the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Because he fully revealed the true cause for attaining Buddhahood and established a universal way of practice, in his lineage Nichiren is called the teacher of the true cause, while Shakyamuni is called the teacher of the true effect.
From source: The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism
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G
Guest
Bonzo said:
Now you have confirmed my belief your seeking spirit is on par with mine!
Bonz I feel very emotional right now, I am truly overjoyed at your words. Do you realize once again my prayers have been answered attributed to your benefit. Your comprehension that you must seek to further understand and practice the Law proves beyond a doubt, its time you seek to acquire your Gohonzon.
When you acquire you Gohonzon and begin your practice, then count on me to further encourage you anyway possible to attempt the unthinkable, instill the consistency we need to match our faith and continue propagating frequently our seeds of buddha joy (our very own posts) and expounding the absolute truth behind Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!
I have been watching your journey, watching your seeking spirit come into "phase" with our growing understanding of Nichiren Buddhism as I too find myself on common ground. Understanding the multifaceted aspects of practice is important, because qutie frankly I'm a pothead and sometimes even I wonder, "what are you doing EasyD!".
Should we not toke if we are to realize our unlimited potential, personally I don't really know because my personal revolution has brought me to the point where I am making significant changes that are making positive effects, and thats something I enjoy more than other things. However, toking is what I do and growing is just another part of me that I embrace just as I embrace my happiness at this moment with Bonz's growth within SGI, and also the thread is back in effect!!
All the days we missed out on this thread were not in vain for the most extraordinairy effects were realized.... Lets just say with Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, no mission is impossible!
May the protective forces enhance their protection and your personal growth continue to flourish.
nam myoho renge kyo
G
Guest
PassTheDoobie said:
As always thank you dearly for the great posts and continued supply of relavent, nourishing, potent wisdom from various resources. I must point out this excerpt applies to me considerably since recently in my studies I have had a stronger interest for more information relating to Shakymuni's and Nichiren's underlying motivation with respect to consistency within solely the personal realm of the complex configurations within some of our "personal natural processes" in other words, I am a disco duck and every saturday night I do the electric slide or the hustle but until I danced every saturday night without inhibitions without second thoughts never missing a sunday eventually dancing 7 days a week in a productive trance attracting the masses to my hot moves and they in turn passing on those moves and so forth, I did not reach the Travolta post barbarino glamour on the floor I bring every sunday.
Alright I made reference to cannabis and this is a cannabis site, its alright to go off in another direction, but back to the matter at hand, since Nichiren is the teacher of the true cause does that make me also the teacher of the true cause or the student of the true cause. I want to further understand my personal relationship with Nichiren and I have no basis besides my relationship with the Gohonzon, my relationship with my mentors and my meetings here and in my district. I want to know how what applies to Nichiren applies to me, how since I am finding that if I adjust my life in accordance with my understanding with the law, my progressive personal revolution will continue to flourish.
How can I understand that I feel as I am an envoy of the law but at the same a human encompassing shariputra's doubts and EasyDisco's immense appreciation? What is going on here? I have more questions now than I ever did.
sorry if I lost you, still trying to figure it out myself? lol
Easy, in my opinion one must first have a personal understanding of this:
Easy, in my opinion one must first have a personal understanding of this:
oneness of the Person and the Law
[人法一箇] (Jpn.: nimpo-ikka)
A principle established by Nichikan (1665-1726), the twenty-sixth chief priest of Taiseki-ji temple in Japan, with regard to Nichiren's (1222-1282) teaching, indicating that the object of devotion in terms of the Person and the object of devotion in terms of the Law are one in their essence. The Law is inseparable from the Person and vice versa. The "Treasure Tower" (eleventh) chapter of the Lotus Sutra states, "If one upholds this [sutra], one will be upholding the Buddha's body." This means that the Lotus Sutra is the Buddha's body; that is, the Buddha (Person) and the teaching (Law) he expounded are one and inseparable. Nichiren revealed and spread the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and inscribed it in the form of a mandala, known as the Gohonzon, to enable all people in the Latter Day of the Law to attain Buddhahood; for this reason he is regarded as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law. This is the object of devotion in terms of the Law, or the physical embodiment of the eternal and intrinsic Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo that Nichiren realized and manifested within his own life. Hence Nichiren is the object of devotion in terms of the Person. In his Reply to Kyo'o, Nichiren writes, "The soul of Nichiren is nothing other than Nam-myoho-renge-kyo" (412). This means that Nichiren realized Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as the origin and basis of his life and embodied it as a mandala. Nichiren also writes in the same reply, "I, Nichiren, have inscribed my life in sumi ink, so believe in the Gohonzon with your whole heart" (412). Ultimately, Nichiren's life embodied the principle of the oneness of the Person and the Law, as does the Gohonzon, the object of devotion he established.
From source: The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism
And the correct understanding can only come through faith. An intellectual understanding of this concept is of no real value in regard to answering your question. It must come from the depths of one's life. If one chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they have validated the fact that they are a Bodhisattva of the Earth. If one is a Bodhisattva of the Earth, this answer lies within one's life and is within one's grasp to correctly comprehend. But the key that unlocks the door to that wisdom is nothing other than faith.
As Ted Osaki explained it to me: Nichiren was born of the tenth world, and revealed the other nine. All other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are born of the nine worlds and reveal the tenth. However, based on the mercy and compassion of the Entity of the Law, who is the Buddha of limitless joy, who is the Buddha of beginningless time, who manifested in the saha world we call Earth, as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law; the enlightenment we have the potential to embody and experience is EXACTY THE SAME.
But because we experience the same enlightenment, that doesn't make us anything other than True Buddhas or Buddhas whose enlightenment reveals their original state by practicing and propagating the teaching of true cause revealed by, and embodied in the life of, the afore mentioned Entity of the Law--Nichiren. This is the Buddha known as the 'Thus Come One Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Have I just confused you more? Chant! You can only understand this through faith! Your experiences of seeing the power of the Law in your life through chanting are what allow you to have faith! So our problems are our great good fortune, because these are the stimuli that most often inspire us to awaken our Buddha nature!
Only with the awakening of our Buddha nature can we acquire the faith to achieve this wisdom. Wisdom is aquired through the function of compassion. Compassion is embodied in the process of using our life experiences (victories overcoming problems based on our practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon) to encourage others to also chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and practice Buddhism according to the teachings of Nichiren. It's all a big circle that just keeps going round and round.
And what that wheel is rolling towards is "The Buddha's Will"--kosen-rufu. AS BODHISATTVAS OF THE EARTH WE ARE ALREADY BUDDHAS, which is the basis of the Daishonin's teachings. We manifest as Bodhisattvas out of compassion for other living beings to allow them to manifest their Buddha natures as well. In the process we reveal the wisdom that already lies obscured and dormant within our own lives and the lives of all other living beings--Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Did that at all help answer your question?
Easy, in my opinion one must first have a personal understanding of this:
oneness of the Person and the Law
[人法一箇] (Jpn.: nimpo-ikka)
A principle established by Nichikan (1665-1726), the twenty-sixth chief priest of Taiseki-ji temple in Japan, with regard to Nichiren's (1222-1282) teaching, indicating that the object of devotion in terms of the Person and the object of devotion in terms of the Law are one in their essence. The Law is inseparable from the Person and vice versa. The "Treasure Tower" (eleventh) chapter of the Lotus Sutra states, "If one upholds this [sutra], one will be upholding the Buddha's body." This means that the Lotus Sutra is the Buddha's body; that is, the Buddha (Person) and the teaching (Law) he expounded are one and inseparable. Nichiren revealed and spread the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and inscribed it in the form of a mandala, known as the Gohonzon, to enable all people in the Latter Day of the Law to attain Buddhahood; for this reason he is regarded as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law. This is the object of devotion in terms of the Law, or the physical embodiment of the eternal and intrinsic Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo that Nichiren realized and manifested within his own life. Hence Nichiren is the object of devotion in terms of the Person. In his Reply to Kyo'o, Nichiren writes, "The soul of Nichiren is nothing other than Nam-myoho-renge-kyo" (412). This means that Nichiren realized Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as the origin and basis of his life and embodied it as a mandala. Nichiren also writes in the same reply, "I, Nichiren, have inscribed my life in sumi ink, so believe in the Gohonzon with your whole heart" (412). Ultimately, Nichiren's life embodied the principle of the oneness of the Person and the Law, as does the Gohonzon, the object of devotion he established.
From source: The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism
And the correct understanding can only come through faith. An intellectual understanding of this concept is of no real value in regard to answering your question. It must come from the depths of one's life. If one chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they have validated the fact that they are a Bodhisattva of the Earth. If one is a Bodhisattva of the Earth, this answer lies within one's life and is within one's grasp to correctly comprehend. But the key that unlocks the door to that wisdom is nothing other than faith.
As Ted Osaki explained it to me: Nichiren was born of the tenth world, and revealed the other nine. All other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are born of the nine worlds and reveal the tenth. However, based on the mercy and compassion of the Entity of the Law, who is the Buddha of limitless joy, who is the Buddha of beginningless time, who manifested in the saha world we call Earth, as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law; the enlightenment we have the potential to embody and experience is EXACTY THE SAME.
But because we experience the same enlightenment, that doesn't make us anything other than True Buddhas or Buddhas whose enlightenment reveals their original state by practicing and propagating the teaching of true cause revealed by, and embodied in the life of, the afore mentioned Entity of the Law--Nichiren. This is the Buddha known as the 'Thus Come One Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Have I just confused you more? Chant! You can only understand this through faith! Your experiences of seeing the power of the Law in your life through chanting are what allow you to have faith! So our problems are our great good fortune, because these are the stimuli that most often inspire us to awaken our Buddha nature!
Only with the awakening of our Buddha nature can we acquire the faith to achieve this wisdom. Wisdom is aquired through the function of compassion. Compassion is embodied in the process of using our life experiences (victories overcoming problems based on our practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon) to encourage others to also chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and practice Buddhism according to the teachings of Nichiren. It's all a big circle that just keeps going round and round.
And what that wheel is rolling towards is "The Buddha's Will"--kosen-rufu. AS BODHISATTVAS OF THE EARTH WE ARE ALREADY BUDDHAS, which is the basis of the Daishonin's teachings. We manifest as Bodhisattvas out of compassion for other living beings to allow them to manifest their Buddha natures as well. In the process we reveal the wisdom that already lies obscured and dormant within our own lives and the lives of all other living beings--Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Did that at all help answer your question?
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Beautiful Post
Beautiful Post
And the correct understanding can only come through faith. An intellectual understanding of this concept is of no real value in regard to answering your question. It must come from the depths of one's life. If one chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they have validated the fact that they are a Bodhisattva of the Earth. If one is a Bodhisattva of the Earth, this answer lies within one's life and is within one's grasp to correctly comprehend. But the key that unlocks the door to that wisdom is nothing other than faith.
As Ted Osaki explained it to me: Nichiren was born of the tenth world, and revealed the other nine. All other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are born of the nine worlds and reveal the tenth. However, based on the mercy and compassion of the Entity of the Law, who is the Buddha of limitless joy, who is the Buddha of beginningless time, who manifested in the saha world we call Earth, as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law; the enlightenment we have the potential to embody and experience is EXACTY THE SAME.
But because we experience the same enlightenment, that doesn't make us anything other than True Buddhas or Buddhas whose enlightenment reveals their original state by practicing and propagating the teaching of true cause revealed by, and embodied in the life of, the afore mentioned Entity of the Law--Nichiren. This is the Buddha known as the 'Thus Come One Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Have I just confused you more? Chant! You can only understand this through faith! Your experiences of seeing the power of the Law in your life through chanting are what allow you to have faith! So our problems are our great good fortune, because these are the stimuli that most often inspire us to awaken our Buddha nature!
Only with the awakening of our Buddha nature can we acquire the faith to achieve this wisdom. Wisdom is aquired through the function of compassion. Compassion is embodied in the process of using our life experiences (victories overcoming problems based on our practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon) to encourage others to also chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and practice Buddhism according to the teachings of Nichiren. It's all a big circle that just keeps going round and round.
And what that wheel is rolling towards is "The Buddha's Will"--kosen-rufu. AS BODHISATTVAS OF THE EARTH WE ARE ALREADY BUDDHAS, which is the basis of the Daishonin's teachings. We mainfest as Bodhisattvas out of compassion for other living beings to allow them to manifest their Buddha natures as well. In the process we reveal the wisdom that already lies obscured and dormant within our own lives and the lives of all other living beings--Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Did that at all help answer your question?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This has to be one of the most awesome post ever to grace the pages of this thread. PTD you amaze me brother ... this is so beautiful. Thanks so much for spending the time my friend. The happiness, joy and encouragement we recieve from this thread are immesurable. Thank you ALL so much .
nam myoho renge kyo
Beautiful Post
And the correct understanding can only come through faith. An intellectual understanding of this concept is of no real value in regard to answering your question. It must come from the depths of one's life. If one chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they have validated the fact that they are a Bodhisattva of the Earth. If one is a Bodhisattva of the Earth, this answer lies within one's life and is within one's grasp to correctly comprehend. But the key that unlocks the door to that wisdom is nothing other than faith.
As Ted Osaki explained it to me: Nichiren was born of the tenth world, and revealed the other nine. All other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are born of the nine worlds and reveal the tenth. However, based on the mercy and compassion of the Entity of the Law, who is the Buddha of limitless joy, who is the Buddha of beginningless time, who manifested in the saha world we call Earth, as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law; the enlightenment we have the potential to embody and experience is EXACTY THE SAME.
But because we experience the same enlightenment, that doesn't make us anything other than True Buddhas or Buddhas whose enlightenment reveals their original state by practicing and propagating the teaching of true cause revealed by, and embodied in the life of, the afore mentioned Entity of the Law--Nichiren. This is the Buddha known as the 'Thus Come One Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Have I just confused you more? Chant! You can only understand this through faith! Your experiences of seeing the power of the Law in your life through chanting are what allow you to have faith! So our problems are our great good fortune, because these are the stimuli that most often inspire us to awaken our Buddha nature!
Only with the awakening of our Buddha nature can we acquire the faith to achieve this wisdom. Wisdom is aquired through the function of compassion. Compassion is embodied in the process of using our life experiences (victories overcoming problems based on our practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon) to encourage others to also chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and practice Buddhism according to the teachings of Nichiren. It's all a big circle that just keeps going round and round.
And what that wheel is rolling towards is "The Buddha's Will"--kosen-rufu. AS BODHISATTVAS OF THE EARTH WE ARE ALREADY BUDDHAS, which is the basis of the Daishonin's teachings. We mainfest as Bodhisattvas out of compassion for other living beings to allow them to manifest their Buddha natures as well. In the process we reveal the wisdom that already lies obscured and dormant within our own lives and the lives of all other living beings--Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Did that at all help answer your question?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This has to be one of the most awesome post ever to grace the pages of this thread. PTD you amaze me brother ... this is so beautiful. Thanks so much for spending the time my friend. The happiness, joy and encouragement we recieve from this thread are immesurable. Thank you ALL so much .
nam myoho renge kyo
"Kyo'o's misfortune will change into fortune. Muster your faith, and pray to this Gohonzon. Then what is there that cannot be achieved?"
(Reply to Kyo'o - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 412) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, May 23rd, 2006
(Reply to Kyo'o - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 412) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, May 23rd, 2006
WOW....what a absolutely wonderful post of info PTD!
PTD, much love and respect; thank you for sharing such wonderfullness and for taking your time to enlighten and educate.
Much
dg
PassThe Doobie said:
PTD, much love and respect; thank you for sharing such wonderfullness and for taking your time to enlighten and educate.
Much
dg
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