Chanting Growers Group

[PassTheDoobie]

Now I see what they were talking about. Dude, you don't have to be here if you don't want to be. You've been meditating seven years? You make me want to smile. I've been doing this since 1973.

What year were you born? And you think you have the right to come in here and be this disrespectful? And you've been meditating for seven years?

Like I said, you make me smile and your opinion is worth as much as anybody reading it would care to agree. You criticize others for saying they have answers with the same certainty you are being critical of. I think you are an ignorant hypocrite.

But that’s just me. Let the others that have been reading this thread for the last five years judge your credibility for what it’s worth. As the Daishonin says, to be criticized by a fool is no insult. I believe that to be true.

Please don't post again or we will consider you a troll. Thanks.

Best regards,

Thomas

 

[TrichyTrichy]

You have strengthened my metel. I thank-you for it.

Nam myoho renge kyo!!!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

well i appriciate u guys chanting for me i do, but please dont quote somebody else, it means nothing as they didnt say it to me and you didnt say anything original. like i said nobodys got a franchise on life, nobody! zero zip nadda......just the facts mates. golden rule platnum cause, ''do what ever u want as long as u dont hurt anyone.''............lion roar hippopotomus cackle optional-

One last time....

Don't tell us what to post or who to quote. That is not up to you. Don't read it if you don't like it, nobody asks you to read this thread. You've only been an IC member since February. We have been here much longer and you are being disruptive for no reason. I don't think anyone here gives a shit about what you have to say any more than you have made it clear you care about what we are saying. That's fine.

Now, go away! Thank you! We're being cool, but if you keep coming here to post after you have been asked not to, there will be consequences. Being a troll is not allowed by the ICMag terms of service. You break them at your own risk. Thanks.

Thomas

 

[PassTheDoobie]

The heart of strategy and swordsmanship derives from the Mystic Law. Have profound faith. A coward cannot have any of his prayers answered."

(The Strategy of the Lotus Sutra - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 1001) Selection source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shimbun, July 9th, 2007

 

[PassTheDoobie]

youve been warned

And so were you!

 

[Payaso]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo...

Sorry but dontae1000 had to go! At age 28 he has a lot to learn about manners and civility. I would smack his parents up side the head with a two by four if I lived in a different culture...

My apologies for not acting more swiftly, but the sword of Damocles was out boating with Mr and Mrs BOG today...we chanted while swirling around the lake looking for world peace.

I have placed dontae1000 in coventry for 1 week, and hope he is more polite upon returning.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

The world is an amusing place and it is oh, so wonderful to be here!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

The world is an amusing place and it is oh, so wonderful to be here!

Thanks Chris! That has to be the quote of the day!

Gratitude and respect,

T

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"To attain Buddhahood in this lifetime--in other words, to establish a life-state of indestructible happiness and open the way towards peace and happiness for all--it is essential to live one's life true to the commitment of kosen-rufu. Great persecutions and obstacles, however, lie in the path of those who seek to fulfil this vow. Therefore, the resolve to never abandon faith is crucial."

SGI Newsletter No. 7816, The New Human Revolution--Vol. 22: Chap. 3, High Seas 41, translated July 10th, 2009

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"The pride and courage of a life dedicated to truth and justice, and the unwavering hope and persistence to achieve victory--these are the greatest intangible treasures that we can pass on to our successors through the examples of our own lives."

SGI Newsletter No. 7815, Dialogues with World Citizens, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei—Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), from the June 16, 2009, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, translated July 9th, 2009

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Persecution by Sword and Staff / WND pg. 962

Persecution by Sword and Staff / WND pg. 962

The greatest of all the persecutions that I have suffered were the attempted beheading at Tatsunokuchi and the attack at Tojo.(1) None of the others were direct attempts on my life. I have been reviled, denounced, ousted, falsely accused, and struck across the face, but these were all comparatively minor incidents. I, Nichiren, am the only person in Japan to be abused in both body and mind [on account of the Lotus Sutra]. If anyone else has been slandered as I have, it was not because of the Lotus Sutra. One incident in particular I can never forget is how Sho-bo(2) seized the fifth scroll of the Lotus Sutra and struck me across the face with it. His attack on me stemmed from the three poisons.

Once in India there was a jealous woman(3) who hated her husband so much that she smashed everything in the house. Her excessive rage completely altered her appearance; her eyes blazed like the sun and moon, and her mouth seemed to belch fire. She looked exactly like a blue or red demon.(4) She seized the fifth scroll of the Lotus Sutra, which her husband had been reciting for some years, and trampled it savagely with both feet. Later she died and fell into hell, all of her except for her feet. Though the wardens of hell tried to force them down by beating them with iron staves, her feet remained outside of hell as a result of the relationship, albeit a reverse one, that they had formed with the Lotus Sutra by trampling on it. Sho-bo struck me in the face with the fifth scroll of the Lotus Sutra because he hated me. Thus he too has formed a reverse relationship with this sutra.

One incident occurred in India, the other in Japan; one was perpetrated by a woman, and the other by a man; in one, a pair of feet committed the violence, and in the other, a pair of hands; one happened because of jealousy, and the other because of the Lotus Sutra. However, the same fifth scroll of the sutra was involved in both instances. The woman’s feet did not enter hell, so why should Sho-bo’s hands fall into the hell of incessant suffering? The woman, however, hated only her husband and not the Lotus Sutra itself, whereas Sho-bo hated both the Lotus Sutra and me, Nichiren. Therefore, his entire body will enter the hell of incessant suffering. As the sutra states, “When his life comes to an end he will enter the Avichi hell.”(5) There is no mention of his hands being spared. How pitiful, how truly pitiful! Eventually, however, he will meet me again and be able to gain the fruit of Buddhahood, just as the four kinds of believers who arrogantly persecuted Bodhisattva Never Disparaging were ultimately saved by him.(6)

The fifth scroll contains the very heart of the Lotus Sutra, for it reveals that the dragon king’s daughter attained Buddhahood in her present form. Devadatta represents the spiritual aspect of enlightenment, and the dragon king’s daughter, the physical aspect. The principle of attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form can be found nowhere else in the Buddha’s entire lifetime of teachings. The Great Teacher Dengyo enumerated ten outstanding points in which the Lotus Sutra surpasses all others.(7) One of them is the sutra’s “superiority in leading people to attain Buddhahood in their present form.” This is the most important doctrine of the Tendai school, and a section of The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra is devoted to this teaching of attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form. It is also a point of controversy between the True Word and Tendai schools. The dragon king’s daughter attained Buddhahood through the power of the Lotus Sutra. Bodhisattva Manjushri stated, “I constantly expounded the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law alone.”(8) The words “alone” and “constantly” are the core of this statement. However, The Treatise on the Mind Aspiring for Enlightenment reads, “Only in the True Word teachings [can one attain Buddhahood in one’s present form].” Which is one to accept, “only” or “alone” ? The word “only” in the treatise must be an error [in translation].(9)

The Immeasurable Meanings Sutra states, “In these more than forty years, I have not yet revealed the truth.” The Lotus Sutra reads, “The World Honored One has long expounded his doctrines and now must reveal the truth.”(10) Many Treasures Buddha affirmed that only the Lotus Sutra enables one to attain Buddhahood in one’s present form when he said, “All that you have expounded [in the Lotus Sutra] is the truth!”(11) No matter how firmly the sutras preached before the Lotus Sutra guarantee the attainment of Buddhahood, and no matter how much the believers in these provisional doctrines may wildly insist that this is so, it is as easy to refute these assertions as it is to smash a thousand earthen cooking dishes with a single hammer. This is what is meant by the statement “The Lotus Sutra is the teaching of shakubuku, the refutation of the provisional doctrines.”(12) The Lotus Sutra is indeed the most profound teaching.

Ever since Jikaku, scholars of the Tendai school have interpreted the passages from the three major works— The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra, Words and Phrases, and Great Concentration and Insight — in one way or another, and have given plausible explanations. Their views, however, are as useless to us now as last year’s calendar or yesterday’s meal. You should pay no attention to a person who says that in the first five hundred years of the Latter Day of the Law there exists a way to enlightenment apart from the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra, even if this were the Buddha’s teaching. How much more so if it was the opinion of some teacher. The “Devadatta” chapter of the Lotus Sutra states that Devadatta was the teacher of the Thus Come One Shakyamuni in some past existence. He who was once the teacher is now the disciple, and he who is now the disciple was formerly the teacher. In pondering this chapter, I, Nichiren, have realized that it reveals the profound meaning of the Lotus Sutra through the oneness of past and present, and the inseparability of the one who teaches and the one who learns. Therefore, the merciful Thus Come One Shakyamuni became the teacher of the wicked Devadatta, and the wise Manjushri became the teacher of the ignorant daughter of the dragon king. Certainly I can in no way be inferior to Manjushri or to the Thus Come One Shakyamuni. The men of Japan are like Devadatta, and the women are like the dragon king’s daughter. Whether by following it or opposing it, they will attain Buddhahood through the Lotus Sutra. This is the message of the “Devadatta” chapter.

Next, we come to the “Encouraging Devotion” chapter. Only I, Nichiren, have read with my entire being the twenty-line verse from this chapter, which the eight hundred thousand million nayutas of bodhisattvas proclaimed in a single voice. Since the Buddha’s passing, who else in the three countries of India, China, and Japan has ever read this verse as I have? No one even claims to have done so, nor do I believe that anyone has. The verse reads, “[There will be many ignorant people who will . . .] attack us with swords and staves.” Perhaps others have been beaten with staves, but I have never heard of any who were injured by the sword.

We know that Bodhisattva Never Disparaging was attacked with staves, as is written in the sutra, “Some among the group would take sticks of wood or tiles and stones [and beat and pelt him],” but he was not persecuted by the sword. T’ien-t’ai, Miao-lo, and Dengyo also escaped persecution by sword and staff, as the sutra states, “Swords and staves will not touch him.”(13) I, Nichiren, have met with persecution by both sword and staff. As I mentioned before, I was attacked with a sword at Matsubara(14) in Tojo and later at Tatsunokuchi. No one else has met with such persecution [for the sake of the Lotus Sutra] even once, but I have met with it twice. As for being attacked with staves, I have already been struck in the face by Sho-bo with the fifth scroll of the Lotus Sutra. The fifth scroll was used as a staff to strike me, and it is this very scroll that carries the passage that [votaries of the Lotus Sutra] will be attacked with staves. What a mysterious passage of prediction! Sho-bo hit me before dozens of people, and, though I knew it was for the sake of the Lotus Sutra, being an ordinary person, I felt miserable and ashamed. Had I had the strength, I would have wrested it from him, trampled on and broken it, and thrown it away. However, it was in fact the fifth scroll of the Lotus Sutra.

This brings to mind a story.(15) A father, anxious about his son’s future, thrashed the boy with a bow made of zelkova wood because he refused to study. At the time, the son resented his father’s action and hated the zelkova bow. However, he applied himself to his studies so much that eventually he [mastered Buddhism], thereby achieving emancipation himself and benefiting others. In retrospect, he saw that he owed his achievements to his father’s thrashings. It is said that he erected a memorial tablet made from a zelkova tree for the repose of his deceased father.

It is the same with me. When I attain Buddhahood, how will I be able to forget my obligation to Sho-bo? Much less can I forget the thanks I owe to the scroll of the Lotus Sutra [with which he struck me]. When I think of this, I cannot restrain my tears of gratitude.

The “Emerging from the Earth” chapter also explains something about me, because it states that Bodhisattva Superior Practices and his followers will appear in the Latter Day of the Law to propagate the five characters of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. I, Nichiren, have appeared earlier than anyone else. How reassuring to think that I will no doubt be praised by bodhisattvas equal in number to the sands of sixty thousand Ganges Rivers! Be that as it may, commit yourself to the Lotus Sutra and have faith in its teachings. You must not only believe in them yourself, but also encourage others to do the same, so that you may save those who were your parents in all your past existences.

From the time that I was born until today, I have never known a moment’s ease; I have thought only of propagating the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra. I do not know how long I or anyone else may live, but without fail, I will be with you at the time of your death and guide you from this life to the next. All the Buddhas of the past, present, and future attain enlightenment during the hours of the ox and the tiger.(16) In all three countries of India, China, and Japan, the place of Buddhist prayer is located to the northeast, in the direction of the demon gate.(17) These are profound teachings of Buddhism, which are reverently transferred from teacher to disciple. I will explain in more detail later.

With my deep respect. As you crave food when hungry, seek water when thirsty, long to see a lover, beg for medicine when ill, or as a beautiful woman desires powder and rouge, so should you put your faith in the Lotus Sutra. If you do not, you will regret it later.

Nichiren

The twentieth day of the fourth month in the second year of Koan (1279), cyclical sign tsuchinoto-u

Reply to Ueno

Background

This letter was written to Nanjo Tokimitsu, the steward of Ueno Village in Fuji District of Suruga Province, in the fourth month of 1279. The Daishonin’s life at Minobu was entering upon its fifth year; Nikko Shonin was actively propagating the teaching in the Atsuhara area near Mount Fuji in Suruga.

In the body of this letter, Nichiren Daishonin explains the significance of the chapters, from the “Devadatta” (twelfth) through the “Emerging from the Earth” (fifteenth), contained in the fifth volume or scroll of the Lotus Sutra, in terms of his own enlightenment. He reveals the profound meaning of the persecutions “with swords and staves” that befell him, particularly when he was struck with the fifth scroll of the Lotus Sutra just before the attempted execution at Tatsunokuchi. The “Encouraging Devotion” (thirteenth) chapter, especially the twenty-line verse section, enumerates the types of persecutions that votaries of the Lotus Sutra will undergo in the fearful latter age after Shakyamuni Buddha’s passing. Nichiren Daishonin declares that only he has lived out this chapter’s predictions, thus identifying himself as the votary of the Lotus Sutra. By citing the “Emerging from the Earth” chapter, the Daishonin equates himself with Bodhisattva Superior Practices, and also hints at his identity as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.

Notes

1. Tatsunokuchi was the name of the execution grounds in Kamakura where the deputy chief of military and police affairs, Hei no Saemon, attempted to behead the Daishonin in 1271. The attack at Tojo refers to the Komatsubara Persecution. On the eleventh day of the eleventh month, 1264, the Daishonin was ambushed by Tojo Kagenobu, the steward of Tojo Village in Awa, and his men. He received a sword cut on his forehead and had his hand broken.
2. Sho-bo is a title indicating the deputy or vice chief of a government ministry, and it is surmised that there were several individuals of the same title. Here reference is to a Sho-bo who was originally a follower of the Daishonin’s teachings, but later abandoned his faith. When Hei no Saemon went to arrest the Daishonin on the twelfth day of the ninth month, 1271, he accompanied him as his retainer. The fifth scroll or volume, wrapped around a wooden staff, includes four chapters, from the twelfth through the fifteenth. Included therein is the so-called twenty-line verse section of the “Encouraging Devotion” (thirteenth) chapter, which states that votaries of the Lotus Sutra will be attacked with swords and staves.
3. The source of this story is not known. A somewhat similar story, but involving a Chinese woman, appears in The Lotus Sutra and Its Traditions.
4. A blue or red demon refers to the demons that punish the denizens of hell.
5. Lotus Sutra, chap. 3.
6. This story is found in the “Never Disparaging” chapter of the Lotus Sutra. Bodhisattva Never Disparaging practiced the Lotus Sutra, and because of their slander of the sutra, the people — priests and nuns, laymen and laywomen — fell into the hell of incessant suffering. Eventually, however, due to the reverse relationship they had formed with the Lotus Sutra, they met Never Disparaging again and were able to attain enlightenment.
7. These are enumerated in the third volume of The Outstanding Principles of the Lotus Sutra. The following sentence refers to the eighth principle.
8. Lotus Sutra, chap. 12. According to this chapter, the dragon king’s daughter conceived the desire for enlightenment when she heard Bodhisattva Manjushri preach the Lotus Sutra in the dragon king’s palace. Later, she appeared before the assembly at Eagle Peak and attained enlightenment immediately, without changing her dragon form.
9. The Daishonin attributes this error to the translation of The Treatise on the Mind Aspiring for Enlightenment done by Pu-k’ung of the True Word school. In The Doctrine of Attaining Buddhahood in One’s Present Form, the Daishonin asks if rejecting the above treatise does not amount to rejecting its author, Nagarjuna, and answers, “It is more likely that the translator distorted the meaning according to his personal views” (p. 1056). Obviously Nagarjuna could not have missed the Lotus Sutra’s description of the dragon king’s daughter attaining Buddhahood in her present form.
10. Lotus Sutra, chap. 2.
11. Ibid., chap. 11.
12. The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra.
13. Lotus Sutra, chap. 14.
14. This refers to what is now commonly known as Komatsubara.
15. The following story appears in Tales from the Three Countries. The son later became Ensho (883–967), a chief priest of Enryakuji.
16. The hours 1:00 to 5:00 A.M., which Buddhism traditionally regards as a crucial interval in which, according to Chinese tradition, life moves from the negative (yin) to the positive (yang), from sleep to waking, or from death to life.
17. The direction of the demon gate refers to the inauspicious direction, that is, northeast. In both Kyoto and Edo (now Tokyo) Buddhist temples were built to the northeast, the direction of the demon gate, to protect the cities against evil forces. Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei, for instance, was built to the northeast of Kyoto.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

You should pay no attention to a person who says that in the first five hundred years of the Latter Day of the Law there exists a way to enlightenment apart from the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra, even if this were the Buddha’s teaching. How much more so if it was the opinion of some teacher.

Persecution by Sword and Staff / WND pg. 962

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Certainly I can in no way be inferior to Manjushri or to the Thus Come One Shakyamuni.

Persecution by Sword and Staff / WND pg. 962

 

[PassTheDoobie]

As you crave food when hungry, seek water when thirsty, long to see a lover, beg for medicine when ill, or as a beautiful woman desires powder and rouge, so should you put your faith in the Lotus Sutra. If you do not, you will regret it later.

Persecution by Sword and Staff / WND pg. 962

 

[PassTheDoobie]

The Doctrine of Attaining Buddhahood in One’s Present Form

The Doctrine of Attaining Buddhahood in One’s Present Form

WND / pg. 1052

Question: In Japan, there are the six schools, the seven schools, and the eight schools. Among these, which school teaches the attainment of Buddhahood in one’s present form?

Answer: According to the Great Teacher Dengyo, this doctrine is found only in the Lotus Sutra, while according to the Great Teacher Kobo, it is found only in the True Word teachings.

Question: What proof can you show to support this?

Answer: The Great Teacher Dengyo states in his Outstanding Principles of the Lotus Sutra: “You should understand that, among the sutras that the other schools rely upon, there are none that teach the doctrine of entering [Buddhahood] in one’s present form. Although a few of them appear to teach this doctrine, they limit such attainment to those who have reached the eighth of the ten stages of development or higher. They do not acknowledge [the attainment of Buddhahood in] the form of an ordinary person. Only the Tendai Lotus school clearly teaches this doctrine of entering [Buddhahood] in one’s present form.”

Outstanding Principles also declares, “Neither teacher nor disciples need undergo countless kalpas of austere practice in order to attain Buddhahood. Through the power of the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law they can do so in their present form.”

It also says, “You should understand that this passage(1) is inquiring whether there are any persons who have attained Buddhahood, and so intends to manifest the great power and authority of this sutra.”

The purpose of these passages of commentary is to clarify that the attainment of Buddhahood in one’s present form is limited to the Lotus Sutra alone.

Question: What evidence can you show that would indicate the opinion of the Great Teacher Kobo?

Answer: In his Comparison of Exoteric and Esoteric Buddhism, the Great Teacher Kobo states, “The Treatise on the Mind Aspiring for Enlightenment says: ‘Only in the True Word teachings can one attain Buddhahood in one’s present form, because these teachings expound the practice of samadhi meditation. No such exposition is to be found in the other types of teachings.’ I would like to point out that this treatise represents the secret storehouse, the heart and core, of all the thousand treatises written by the great sage Nagarjuna. In the passage just quoted, the phrase ‘other types of teachings’ refers to the various doctrines expounded by the body of beneficence and by the various transformation bodies.(2) These are all doctrines of the exoteric teachings. But the words ‘these teachings expound the practice of samadhi meditation’ refer to the teaching expounded by the body whose nature is the Dharma and to the samadhi practice carried out in the esoteric teachings of the True Word school. These are set forth in the hundred thousand verses of praise in the Diamond Crown Sutra and in other texts.”

Question: The opinions put forward by these two great teachers are as incompatible as water and fire. Which one are we to believe?

Answer: These two great teachers were both outstanding sages. They went to China in the same year, and there both alike received instruction in the True Word esoteric teachings. The Great Teacher Dengyo had as his teacher of the two mandalas(3) the Reverend Shun-hsiao. The Great Teacher Kobo had as his teacher of the two mandalas the Reverend Hui-kuo.

Both Shun-hsiao and Hui-kuo were disciples of Pu-k’ung. And the Tripitaka Master Pu-k’ung was sixth in a direct line of succession from the Thus Come One Mahavairochana.(4) From the standpoint of both the transmission they had inherited and their own accomplishments, the great teachers Dengyo and Kobo were valued by the people of the time as though they were the sun and moon. They were looked up to as if they were the minister of the left and the minister of the right. For a person of shallow learning to try to decide what is right and what is wrong is difficult indeed. [Were I to do so,] I would surely get a bad reputation throughout the land and call down great difficulties upon myself. Nevertheless, I will attempt to examine their doctrines with a critical eye and clarify their truth or falsehood. [To that end, allow me to ask you something.]

Question: When the Great Teacher Kobo says that the doctrine of attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form is found only in the True Word teachings, on what sutras or treatises is he relying?

Answer: The Great Teacher Kobo is relying on Mind Aspiring for Enlightenment by Bodhisattva Nagarjuna.

Question: What proof do you have of this?

Answer: In his Exoteric and Esoteric, the Great Teacher Kobo cites the passage from Mind Aspiring for Enlightenment that reads, “Only in the True Word teachings [can one attain Buddhahood in one’s present form] . . . No such exposition is to be found in the other types of teachings.”

Question: Is there any sutra text to support this view?

Answer: In his Doctrine of Attaining Buddhahood in One’s Present Form, the Great Teacher Kobo states: “The six great elements(5) interpenetrate without obstruction and are always united. The four types of mandalas(6) are not disassociated from one another. When the Buddha bestows the three mysteries and one responds with one’s own three mysteries, Buddhahood will become manifest immediately. The aspect that is infinitely and mutually reflecting, like the jewels of Indra’s net, is what is referred to as ‘present form.’ The Buddha is naturally endowed with all embracing wisdom. More numerous than dust particles are those possessing the fundamental entity of the mind and its attendant mental functions. Each is endowed with the five kinds of wisdom, that is, boundless wisdom. When the power of the round-mirror wisdom(7) functions perfectly, this is the true wisdom of awakening.”

Question: I am somewhat in doubt as to what sutra passages this commentary is based on.

Answer: It is based on the Diamond Crown and Mahavairochana sutras.

Question: May I ask what sutra passages these are?

Answer: The Great Teacher Kobo cites as his proof this passage: “The person who practices this samadhi can actually attain the Buddha’s enlightenment.”(8) He also cites this passage: “Without casting off this body, one can attain the supernatural power of being anywhere at will. Strolling in the realm of the Great Void, one masters the mystery of the body.”(9) And this passage: “I [Mahavairochana] realized that I am originally unborn.”(10) And this: “All phenomena are from the beginning unborn.”(11)

Question: I would like to make an objection. These passages are indeed from the Mahavairochana and Diamond Crown sutras. But one refers to the Thus Come One Mahavairochana’s attainment of enlightenment; another asserts that the True Word practitioner can acquire the five transcendental powers(12) in his present body; and another describes how a bodhisattva in the ten stages of devotion may in his present body move on to the next stage, the stage of joy.(13) But these still do not explain how in one’s present life one can gain awareness of the non-birth and non-extinction of all phenomena, much less how one can attain Buddhahood in one’s present form.

Moreover, Mind Aspiring for Enlightenment [on which Kobo bases his argument] is not even a sutra. To base one’s arguments on a treatise is to commit the error of turning one’s back on what is superior and following what is inferior. It also violates the Buddha’s teaching that one should “rely on the Law and not upon persons.”(14)

[The hypothetical questioner retorts:] But the True Word priests of To-ji temple speak ill of Nichiren, saying, “You are only an ordinary man, whereas the Great Teacher Kobo was a bodhisattva who had reached the third stage of development.(15) You have not yet reached the state of realizing the non-birth and non-extinction of all phenomena in your present form, while the Great Teacher Kobo attained Buddhahood in his present form before the emperor’s very eyes.(16) And moreover, because you have not yet received any imperial edict [bestowing such a title upon you], you are not a Great Teacher.(17) Therefore, you do not qualify as a teacher of the country of Japan. (This is their first point.)

“The Great Teacher Jikaku was a disciple of Dengyo and Gishin; the Great Teacher Chisho was a disciple of Gishin and Jikaku; and the Reverend Annen was a disciple of the Reverend An’ne. These three men have declared that the Lotus Tendai school represents the esoteric doctrine of attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form, while the True Word school represents the esoteric doctrine of and practice for attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form.(18) The great teachers Dengyo and Kobo were neither of them foolish men. In addition, sages show no partiality, and thus the three teachers Jikaku, Chisho, and Annen, though they lived in the mountain temple founded by Dengyo, concurred in their teachings with the intent of Kobo of To-ji temple. Accordingly, in Japan for the past four hundred years or more, no one has disputed their doctrines. Now, what do you, an unworthy person, mean by coming forward with these evil doctrines of yours?” (This is their second point.)

Answer: If you simply speak rudely and adopt an abusive attitude, I will not discuss the matter with you. I will discuss it only if you sincerely desire to hear the truth. But with people like you, if one makes no reply, then you suppose one to be incapable of responding. Therefore, I will answer you. But rather than adopting an abusive attitude or using rude language, you had better produce some clear passage from the sutras to support the assertions of the Great Teacher Kobo in whom you put such trust. In view of your abusive language and attitude, it would seem that in fact there is no sutra passage [substantiating the True Word doctrine] of attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form.

As for the matter of Jikaku, Chisho, and Annen, the great teachers Jikaku and Chisho embraced the doctrines of the Great Teacher Dengyo while they were still in Japan. But after they journeyed to China, they adopted the doctrines of such teachers as Yüan-cheng and Fa-ch’ü an, and in their hearts discarded the doctrines of the Great Teacher Dengyo. Thus, although they lived in the mountain temple founded by Dengyo, they proved unfaithful to his teaching.

Question: What led you to this conclusion?

Answer: The commentary by the Great Teacher Dengyo states, “You should understand that this passage is inquiring whether there are any persons who have attained Buddhahood, and so intends to manifest the great power and authority of this sutra.” This section is related to a passage he quoted earlier in this commentary from the “Devadatta” chapter of the Lotus Sutra [in which Manjushri says], “When I was in the ocean [I constantly expounded the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law alone].”(19) The point of Dengyo’s comment is that, no matter how much people may talk about attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form, unless there are actual examples of persons who have done so, one should not heed their doctrine. It stands to reason that there can be no attainment of Buddhahood in one’s present form unless it is based on the sutra of the single truth that is pure and perfect. And in the True Word scriptures such as the Mahavairochana and Diamond Crown sutras, no examples of such persons are to be found.

Moreover, when we examine these True Word sutras, we see that they clearly belong to the categories of “combining, excluding, corresponding, and including.” They do not teach that persons of the two vehicles can attain Buddhahood, nor do they even suggest anywhere that Shakyamuni actually attained Buddhahood in the inconceivably remote past.

Were Jikaku and Chisho perhaps deceived by the commentaries of the Tripitaka masters Shan-wu-wei, Chinkangchih, and Pu-k’ung? Jikaku and Chisho appear to have been worthy men and sages, and yet they tended to honor what was distant and to despise what was close at hand.(20) They were bewitched by the fact that the three True Word sutras contained mudras and mantras, and completely forgot about the all-important path of attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form.

Thus, although the persons on Mount Hiei today seem to be propounding the Lotus Sutra’s doctrine of attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form, they are in fact propounding the attainment of Buddhahood in one’s present form as put forward by the Great Teacher Jikaku, Annen, and the others. The attainment of Buddhahood in one’s present form put forward by these persons is an attainment of Buddhahood in name but not in reality. The doctrines of such people are utterly at variance with those of the Great Teacher Dengyo.

According to the Great Teacher Dengyo, regardless of whether or not one has cast aside the body subject to transmigration through delusion with differences and limitations,(21) the intent of the Lotus Sutra is that one attains Buddhahood in one’s present form. But according to the doctrines of the Great Teacher Jikaku, if one casts aside the body subject to transmigration through delusion with differences and limitations, it is thought that one has failed to attain Buddhahood in one’s present form. People who propound such a view, however, have no understanding of what attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form really means.

Question: The Great Teacher Jikaku knew the Great Teacher Dengyo personally, studied directly under him, and inherited his teachings. You, on the other hand, are separated [from Dengyo] by more than four hundred years. Is this not so?

Answer: Are those who have received the teachings directly from their teacher invariably free from error, while those who appear in later ages and examine and clarify these teachings are to be regarded as worthless? If so, then should we throw away the sutras and instead rely upon the four ranks of bodhisattvas? Should a person throw away the deed of transfer received from his father and mother and instead depend upon oral transmissions? Are the written commentaries of the Great Teacher Dengyo so much trash, and the oral traditions handed down from the Great Teacher Jikaku the only guide to truth?

In Outstanding Principles, the Great Teacher Dengyo lists ten points that are not found in any sutra [other than the Lotus]. As the eighth of these, it names the sutra’s “superiority in leading people to attain Buddhahood in their present form.” Later on, the commentary states: “You should understand that this passage is inquiring whether there are any persons who have attained Buddhahood, and so intends to manifest the great power and authority of this sutra. . . . You should understand that, among the sutras that the other schools rely upon, there are none that teach the doctrine of entering [Buddhahood] in one’s present form.”

Are we to turn our backs upon this passage of commentary and accept the attainment of Buddhahood in one’s present form that the Great Teacher Jikaku says derives from the esoteric doctrines and practices of the Mahavairochana Sutra?

Question: Among the commentaries of the Great Teacher Dengyo, are there any that do not accept the word “only” in Mind Aspiring for Enlightenment’s statement [that “only in the True Word teachings can one attain Buddhahood in one’s present form”]?

Answer: Outstanding Principles states, “Neither teacher nor disciples need undergo countless kalpas of austere practice in order to attain Buddhahood. Through the power of the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law they can do so in their present form.” Thus, as you can see, this commentary does not accept the word “only” in Mind Aspiring for Enlightenment’s statement.

Question: If one rejects Mind Aspiring for Enlightenment, is not one then rejecting Nagarjuna?

Answer: It is more likely that the translator distorted the meaning according to his personal views.

Question: If you reject any translator, then should you not also reject Kumarajiva, the translator of the Lotus Sutra?

Answer: In the case of Kumarajiva, there is actual proof [attesting to the validity of his translations]. But no such proof exists in the case of Pu-k’ung.

Question: May I ask what proof you refer to?

Answer: I refer to the fact that Kumarajiva’s tongue remained unburned.(22) You should inquire about the details.

Question: Were Jikaku and Chisho ignorant of this matter?

Answer: These two men put their trust in the doctrines of the Tripitaka masters such as Shan-wu-wei. That is probably the reason they rejected the correct teachings of the Great Teacher Dengyo. They are examples of men who relied upon persons and turned their backs upon the Law.

Question: Up until now, there has never been anyone in Japan who disputed the teachings of Jikaku, Chisho, and Annen. How do you explain that?

Answer: Do the followers of the Great Teacher Kobo accept the teachings of Jikaku and Chisho? Do the followers of Jikaku and Chisho accept the teachings of the Great Teacher Kobo?

Question: Although the two teaching lines may differ somewhat, they are not, as your teachings would be, as incompatible as water and fire. And neither do they criticize others as slanderers of the correct teaching, do they?

Answer: But how exactly should we describe slander of the correct teaching?? When the followers of non-Buddhist religions attack the Buddhist teachings, when followers of Hinayana attack Mahayana, when followers of provisional Mahayana look down on the teachings of true Mahayana, or when true Mahayana attempts to join forces with provisional Mahayana— when, in the final analysis, what is superior is designated inferior— such acts go against the Law and are therefore termed slander of the Law.

Where is there any scriptural evidence to support the Great Teacher Kobo’s contention that the Mahavairochana Sutra is superior to the Lotus and Flower Garland sutras? The Lotus Sutra, on the other hand, contains passages clearly stating that it surpasses the Flower Garland and Mahavairochana sutras. This is the meaning, for example, of the statement that, among all the sutras the Buddha has preached, now preaches, and will preach, [the Lotus Sutra stands supreme].(23) Though Kobo is highly honored, he can hardly escape the grave charge of contradicting Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the emanation Buddhas of the ten directions.

Now, rather than appealing to the authorities in an attempt to brow beat me, why do you not simply produce some reliable passage of scriptural proof ? You people look to human beings to be your allies. But I, Nichiren, make the gods of the sun and moon, Shakra and Brahma, my allies.

Gods of the sun and moon, open your heavenly eyes and look at what is happening! In the palaces of the sun and moon surely there are copies of the Lotus, Mahavairochana, and Flower Garland sutras. Compare them and see! Whose teachings deserve the higher place, those of Kobo, Jikaku, Chisho, and Annen, or those of Nichiren?

If in the doctrines I put forth there is even one part in a hundred or a thousand that accords with the truth, then how can you withhold your aid from me? And if the teachings of Kobo and the others are in fact false, then all the people in Japan will suffer the retribution of being born without eyes.(24) Will you not then regard them with great pity?

I, Nichiren, have twice been banished, and at one point was almost beheaded.(25) Those responsible were in effect attempting to cut off the heads of Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions.

There is only one god of the sun and one god of the moon, but you are the eyes and the life of all the living beings of the four continents. It is written in the sutras that you gods of the sun and moon feed upon the Law of the Buddha and thereby increase your brilliance and power. Persons who destroy the flavor of the Buddhist Law are in effect depriving you gods of your strength. They are enemies of all living beings. How can you gods of the sun and moon go on shining upon the heads of such persons, giving them long life, and sustaining them with clothing and food?

When the disciples of those three great teachers [Kobo, Jikaku, and Chisho] slander the Lotus Sutra, is it simply because the minds of you gods of the sun and moon have entered into them and are causing them to commit slander? Or if that is not the case and I myself am at fault, then you, the god of the sun, must show me so! Let those disciples be summoned to debate with me, and if I am bested in the argument and yet refuse to change my views, then you gods may take away my life!

But that is not what happens. Instead, you unreasonably hand me over to my enemies, like a baby monkey entrusted to a dog, or a baby mouse presented to a cat, to be attacked and tortured without mercy, and yet mete out no punishment to my tormentors. That is what I cannot countenance! As far as you gods of the sun and moon are concerned, I suppose I am a deadly foe. When I find myself in the presence of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, I will surely press charges against you. At that time, you gods must bear me no resentment!

You gods of the sun and moon, as well as you gods of the earth and sea, hear my words! And you gods who protect and guard Japan, hear me! I have not the slightest ill intention. Therefore, you must hasten to respond in an appropriate manner. And if you delay until it is too late, you must bear me no grudge! Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

With my deep respect,

Nichiren

The fourteenth day of the seventh month

Reply to Myoichi-nyo


Background

This letter was written at Minobu in the seventh month of the third year of Koan (1280) to a woman called Myoichinyo, about whom very little is known. One theory identifies her with the lay nun Myoichi, a relative of Nissho, one of the Daishonin’s senior disciples. Employing a question-and-answer format, the Daishonin addresses the issue of whether it is the Lotus Sutra or the esoteric True Word teachings that represents the doctrine that enables one to attain Buddhahood in one’s present form; hence the writing’s title.

This letter reflects the Daishonin’s conviction that explanations of doctrine should rest firmly on the authority of the Buddha’s own words as recorded in the sutras and not on the arbitrary opinions of later teachers.

The Daishonin states that the True Word priests heap abuse upon him for his criticism of their founder’s doctrines, a reaction that, in itself, he says, betrays the weakness of their doctrinal position. The Daishonin also refers to the True Word priests’ objection that Dengyo’s own successors in the Tendai school, men such as Jikaku, Chisho, and Annen, held the True Word teachings to be superior to the Lotus Sutra. In response to this point the Daishonin asserts that the True Word sutras do not begin to approach the profundity of the Lotus Sutra, with its unique doctrines of the attainment of Buddhahood by people of the two vehicles and the revelation of the Buddha’s original enlightenment in the distant past. Citing scriptural evidence, the Daishonin reiterates that only the Lotus Sutra enables all people to attain Buddhahood in their present form. To claim otherwise, he asserts, is to hold a superior doctrine to be inferior, which amounts to slander of the Law. He concludes by calling on all the deities to bear him witness and lend him their aid.

Notes

1. This refers to a passage of the “Devadatta” chapter, in which Bodhisattva Wisdom Accumulated asks Manjushri if, among those to whom he has taught the Lotus Sutra, there is anyone who has put the sutra into practice and gained Buddhahood. Manjushri replies that the dragon king’s daughter has attained the stage of non-regression and is capable of achieving the supreme Buddha wisdom. Then she appears and, in the presence of the assembly, attains Buddhahood in her dragon form.
2. “The body of beneficence” refers to the Buddha who appears in accordance with the wish of human beings, and who enables them to enjoy the benefits of the Law accordingly. “The transformation bodies” refers to the various bodies that Buddhas and bodhisattvas manifest in order to instruct and save people.
3. The two mandalas refer to the mandalas depicting the Diamond and Womb realms, described in the Diamond Crown Sutra and the Mahavairochana Sutra, respectively.
4. According to True Word tradition, the transmission of the esoteric teachings passed in succession from Mahavairochana Buddha to Vajrasattva, Nagarjuna, Nagabodhi, Vajrabodhi (Chin Chin-kang-chih), and Pu-k’ung.
5. According to ancient Indian belief, the basic constituents of all things — earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness.
6. Four kinds of objects of devotion described by Kobo in his Doctrine of Attaining Buddhahood in One’s Present Form. They are: (1) the great mandala, (2) the samaya mandala, (3) the Dharma mandala, and (4) the karma mandala.
7. The round-mirror wisdom indicates the great round mirror wisdom, one of the five kinds of wisdom, which perceives the world without distortion, just as a clear mirror accurately reflects all images.
8. Diamond Crown Sutra.
9. Mahavairochana Sutra.
10. Ibid.
11. Diamond Crown Sutra.
12. The five transcendental powers refer to the first five of the six transcendental powers; the powers of being anywhere at will, of seeing anything anywhere, of hearing any sound anywhere, of knowing the thoughts of all other minds, and of knowing past lives.
13. The stage of joy refers to the stage in which one rejoices at realizing a partial aspect of the truth. This represents the first of the ten stages of development.
14. Nirvana Sutra.
15. The third of the ten stages of development. It is called the stage of the emission of light, in which one radiates the light of wisdom.
16. Kobo is said to have transformed himself into Mahavairochana Buddha by invoking a spell at a religious ceremony presided over by Emperor Saga in 813.
17. The honorific title “Great Teacher Kobo” was posthumously granted Kobo in by Emperor Daigo.
18. Tendai esotericism defines the Lotus and Flower Garland sutras as esoteric, but because they explain nothing about mantras and mudras, which can be described as esoteric practice in its concrete form, they are considered to be merely teachings of esoteric doctrine. In contrast, the Mahavairochana, Diamond Crown, and Susiddhikara sutras, which describe the mudras and mantras, are considered to be teachings not only of esoteric doctrine but also of practice.
19. In response to this statement of Manjushri’s, Bodhisattva Wisdom Accumulated poses his question (see n. 1). Dengyo’s commentary regards the dragon girl as an actual example of the attainment of Buddhahood in one’s present form through the power of the Lotus Sutra.
20. That is, Jikaku and Chisho honored the three True Word teachers but slighted their own teacher Dengyo, who was closer to them in both place and time.
21. This refers to the transmigration of unenlightened beings through the six paths. In this repeating cycle of rebirth through the six lower deluded worlds, living beings are reborn with limited spans of life and in different forms in accordance with their karma.
22. According to tradition, when Kumarajiva’s body was cremated, his tongue remained unburned as a sign of the accuracy with which he had explained the meaning of the Buddhist teachings.
23. This refers to a passage in the
“Teacher of the Law” chapter of the Lotus Sutra.
24. That is, for their lack of discrimination in embracing erroneous teachings.
25. References are to the Izu Exile from 1261 to 1263, and the Sado Exile from 1271 through 1274, and to the unsuccessful attempt to execute the Daishonin at Tatsunokuchi near Kamakura in 1271.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Dengyo
[伝教] (767–822)
Also known as Saicho. The founder of the Tendai school in Japan. His posthumous honorific name and title are the Great Teacher Dengyo. At age twelve, he entered the Buddhist priesthood and studied under Gyohyoat a provincial temple in Omi Province.In 785 he attended the ceremony for receiving the entire set of Hinayana precepts at Todai-ji temple in Nara, and in the seventh month of the same year he went to Mount Hiei where he built a small retreat. There he studied Buddhist scriptures and treatises, especially those of the T'ient'ai school. In 788 he built a small temple on the mountain and named it Hieisan-ji (Temple of Mount Hiei). (After Dengyo's death, Emperor Saga renamed it Enryaku-ji in 823.) In 802, at age thirty-six, Dengyo was invited to Kyoto by the brothers and court nobles Wake no Hiroyo and Wake no Matsuna to lecture at their family temple, Takao-dera. There he expounded T'ient'ai's three major works to eminent priests representing the seven major temples of Nara. This event catapulted Dengyo to prominence, winning him the support of Emperor Kammu, and greatly enhanced the prestige of the T'ient'ai doctrine. In 804, accompanied by his disciple Gishin who acted as interpreter, Dengyo went to China. After making a pilgrimage to Mount T'ient'ai, the center of the T'ient'ai school, they stayed in the province of T'aichou, where the center was located. There Dengyo received the essentials of T'ient'ai Buddhism from Miao-lo's disciple Tao-sui and then from Hsing-man, another disciple of Miao-lo. He also received the bodhisattva precepts, or those of perfect and immediate enlightenment, from Tao-sui, the Zen teachings from Hsiao-jan, and the anointment of Esoteric Buddhism from Shun-hsiao. In 805 he returned to Japan and the next year established the Tendai school. In those days, all Buddhist priests were ordained exclusively in the Hinayana precepts. Dengyo wished to ordain his disciples with Mahayana precepts and made continual efforts to obtain imperial permission for the building of a Mahayana ordination center on Mount Hiei in the face of determined opposition from the older schools of Nara. Permission was finally granted a week after Dengyo's death in 822, and in 827 his successor Gishin completed the ordination center. After his return to Japan, in addition to this project, Dengyo concentrated his efforts on refuting the doctrines of the older Buddhist schools. In particular, his ongoing debate with Tokuitsu, a priest of the Dharma Characteristics (Hosso) school, is well known. That debate began in the early Konin era (810-824). Tokuitsu asserted that the one vehicle teaching of the Lotus Sutra was a provisional teaching that Shakyamuni Buddha expounded in accordance with the people's capacity, while the three vehicle teachings were true teachings, and that there are some people who are without the potential to attain Buddhahood. In opposition to this assertion, Dengyo maintained that all people have the Buddha nature, and that the one vehicle of Buddhahood expounded in the Lotus Sutra is the true teaching. Among Dengyo's major disciples were Gishin, Encho, Kojo, Jikaku, Chisho, and Ninchu. His works include The Outstanding Principles of the Lotus Sutra, A Clarification of the Precepts, An Essay on the Protection of the Nation, and The Regulations for Students of the Mountain School.


Kobo
[弘法] (774–835)
Also known as Kukai. The founder of the True Word (Shingon) school in Japan. His posthumous honorific name and title are the Great Teacher Kobo. A native of Sanuki Province in Shikoku in southern Japan, he went to Nara in 788 and studied the Chinese classics, including Analects by Confucius, under the Confucian scholar Ato no Otari, his maternal uncle. In 791 he entered the Confucian college at Nara and continued his study of the Chinese classics. Around that time, a priest (Gonso according to one view) taught him the Esoteric Buddhist practice of chanting a certain mantra one million times with belief in Bodhisattva Space Treasury. This practice, it was said, would enable one to understand all the Buddhist teachings and memorize all the sutras. Kobo devoted himself to this practice. After this, he was ordained a Buddhist priest by Gonso in 793. In 797 he wrote The Essentials of the Three Teachings, proclaiming the superiority of Buddhism over Taoism and Confucianism. In 804 Kobo traveled to China and studied Esoteric Buddhism at Ch'ang-an under Hui-kuo. Hui-kuo schooled him in the esoteric doctrines of the Womb Realm and the Diamond Realm, gave him the name Universal Illumination and Diamond, and qualified him to transmit the secret doctrines. In 806, the year after Hui-kuo's death, Kobo returned to Japan, bringing with him copies of the two mandalas of Esoteric Buddhism, esoteric scriptures, and ritual prayer implements. After his arrival, he stayed at Kanzeon-ji temple in Chikuzen Province and elsewhere, and then went to the capital, Kyoto. In 810 he was appointed the chief priest of Todai-ji temple in Nara, and in 816 the imperial court granted him Mount Koya in Kii Province. There he built Kongobu-ji temple and devoted himself to the dissemination of Esoteric Buddhism. In 823 the imperial court presented him with To-ji temple in Kyoto, which he made into a center for the study and practice of Esoteric Buddhism. His works include A Comparison of Exoteric and Esoteric Buddhism, The Doctrine of Attaining Buddhahood in One's Present Form, and The Treatise on the Ten Stages of the Mind. Kobo was also an accomplished calligrapher.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

transmigration with differences and limitations
[分段生死] (Jpn bun-dan-shoji )

The transmigration of unenlightened beings among the six paths (the lower six of the Ten Worlds, from hell to the world of heavenly beings). In this repeating cycle of rebirth among the six paths, living beings are said to be born with limited life spans and in different forms according to their karma. This kind of transmigration is contrasted with "transmigration with change and advance," which refers to the transmigration of voice-hearers, cause-awakened ones, and bodhisattvas. See also transmigration with change and advance.


transmigration with change and advance
[変易生死] (Jpn hen’yaku-shoji or hennyaku-shoji )

The transmigration that voice-hearers, cause-awakened ones, and bodhisattvas undergo on the way to emancipation. It is contrasted with "transmigration with differences and limitations." Transmigration with change and advance means that one becomes free from transmigration with differences and limitations, or transmigration in the realm of delusion, and advances to higher stages of practice till one attains emancipation. See also transmigration with differences and limitations.


emancipation
[解脱] (Skt moksha, mukti, vimoksha, or vimukti; Jpn gedatsu )

Also, liberation or release. Release from delusions and earthly desires that leads to the attainment of freedom. It also means release from transmigration in the world of suffering. There are various stages of emancipation, but emancipation at its ultimate stage is the same as nirvana.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"In 'The Opening of the Eyes,' the Daishonin writes about Shariputra and other figures from the sutras who abandoned bodhisattva practice.

"In past lives, Shariputra practiced the bodhisattva way for a period of 60 kalpas, making offerings to people. When a Brahman appeared and asked him for one of his eyes, Shariputra responded by giving the Brahman his eye. The Brahman smelled the eye and, declaring that it stank, threw it on the ground and crushed it. This convinced Shariputra that it was impossible to save people of this sort and that he should concentrate on seeking only his own enlightenment instead. In spite of having practised almsgiving for 60 kalpas, Shariputra discarded his bodhisattva practice and lapsed into the Hinayana teachings. This is an instance of abandoning faith.

"The Brahman's act was so cruel and arrogant that Shariputra's response would appear reasonable from an ordinary perspective. But Buddhism, which teaches that the Law exists within the heart of each person, does not view things from the relative perspective of whether others or one's circumstances are good or bad. From the standpoint of the eternal and indestructible Law of life, all that matters is what one does oneself, whether one wins over oneself. That is the measure of everything."

SGI Newsletter No. 7816, The New Human Revolution--Vol. 22: Chap. 3, High Seas 41, translated July 10th, 2009

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"From this you should understand that anger can be either a good or a bad thing."

(On Reprimanding Hachiman - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.2, page 931)Selection source: "Myoji no Gen", Seikyo Shimbun, July 12th, 2009

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Just as an FYI, you all got A LOT of Daimoku from me today. I hope everyone is getting what they want. I hope everyone's faith can grow steadily based on personal experience, day by day. There's a reason why we are all together. It is an honor and pleasure!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

T

 

[SoCal Hippy]

When I think that I will surely eradicate these karmic impediments and in the
future go to the pure land of Eagle Peak, though various grave persecutions fall
on me like rain and boil up like clouds, since they are for the sake of the
Lotus Sutra, even these sufferings do not seem like sufferings at all.

(WND, 191)
The Origin of the Service for Deceased Ancestors
Written to Shijo Kingo on July 12, 1271