Fraughtwithperil's Guest Blog

Chikushonin -

Good to see you back blogging again.

Personally, I don't find a problem with having a number of Nichiren schools, as long as they are willing to get along with each other. There are numerous examples of this available; many of the different schools utilize the facilities at Mt. Minobu & Kuon-ji, for example. Most Nichiren schools send their scholars to study at Rissho University side-by-side.

I have long felt that no one organization will be able to meet the needs of many different types of Nichiren practitioners. I believe that it is possible to work towards Nichiren's goal of spreading the Odaimoku from a number of different perspectives instead of a single one. This is how I interpret Nichiren's injunction to us that believers in the Lotus Sutra should be the last to abuse each other. I do not believe that itai doshin means we all have to belong to the same sangha or organization, as long as we are working toward the broader goal of spreading Nichiren's teachings towards a more peaceful and secure world. My 2c, of course; I am sure others' opinions will differ.

Namaste, Engyo Mike Barrett

I agree with Mike. My perspective is that there needs to be competition. Monopoly is close to an absolute evil. Nobody wants one political party, one oil company, etc. Why would we want One True Religion?

Religion is about the only area where there is truly a free market in America. And it seems to be thriving. There are dozens of churches just in my little town.

Dear Mike,

Thank you for comment. I assume that you are replying to my statement of self-reflection, “Do I add to the discord and disharmony, or will I live up to my name, chikushonin, which means ‘wisdom unifying all people’?”

This thought is not limited to the small world of the SGI, to the small world of Nichiren Shu, nor to the small world that some call ‘Nichirenism’. My reflection was both local to my immediate environment and universal.

You paraphrase Nichiren as stating, “Believers in the Lotus Sutra should be the last to abuse each other.” I have this to say:

When I practiced with the SGI I was constantly assaulted with praise “for the Members.” While non-Members were never-endingly courted to become Members, still, non-Members are never viewed as being as praise-worthy as Members. Even a great Movie Star’s bright light will instantly be eclipsed by a lesser Movie Star if another Member utters the phase regarding the latter, “He/She is a Member!” While it is stated that all living beings should be bowed to, because they, too, posses the potential to manifest their inherent Buddha-nature, it is clear, in the SGI, that “Members” are elevated above all other living beings by virtue of their designation as being a “Member”. This is keeps makes the world of the SGI so small. It is the same attitude that makes the world of so-called Nichirenism small. Here, ‘spreading Nichiren’s teachings’ is but another form of divide and conquer.

There are many forms of abuse. Some are more subtle than others. In the same Gosho that your paraphrase is taken from, The Fourteen Slanders, Nichiren is reported as having written, “Though one may have been fortunate enough to be born as a human being and may perhaps have even renounced the world in order to seek the truth, if he fails to study Buddhism and to refute its slanderers but simply spends his time in idleness and chatter, then he is no better than an animal dressed in priestly robes. He may call himself a priest and earn his livelihood as such, but in no way does he deserve to be regarded as a true priest. He is nothing but a thief who has stolen the name of priest. How shameful and frightening!

Here we can see that Nichiren was also of the mind that remaining silent regarding another’s slander, especially regarding false doctrines, is to be complicit in that slander. Even if that silence is held in the name of maintaining peaceful and friendly relationships, such as “as long as they are willing to get along with each other.”

In the Gosho ‘Embankments of Faith’ Nichiren writes, ”In the Nirvana Sutra, Shakyamuni states, ‘If even a good priest sees someone slandering the Law and disregards him, failing to reproach him, to oust him, or to punish him for his offense, then that priest is betraying Buddhism. But if he takes the slanderer severely to task, drives him off or punishes him, then he is my disciple and one who truly understands my teachings.’ This admonition forces me to speak out against slander in spite of the persecutions I face, for fear that I might become an enemy of Buddhism if I did not.”

And, ”Whether or not we reproach another for his slander, it is difficult to prevent him from committing a grave sin. If we see or hear a person commit slander and make no attempt to stop him even though he could be saved, we betray our great gifts of sight and hearing and so commit an act of utter mercilessness.

While life, it self, is eternal, the person that called himself Nichiren, having long ago made the journey to the Yellow Springs, I am compelled to speak on his behalf:

Those awakened to the wisdom that embraces all species, being fully endowed with all manner of expedient means, having realized the profound principle where ‘self equals others’, would never abuse anyone. Certainly, not by remaining silent.

Hello Robin.

Thank you for commenting. Let me replay to you this way:

Last night my teenage son told me that he was going to make a silkscreen t-shirt for himself with a well-known profile of Che Guevara. I told him he might want to do some research first, so he would know what he was advertising.

His reply was, “Huh? It just looks cool. Isn’t he some kind of Revolutionary? What’s wrong with that?”

So, we had a discussion. I shared with him what I learned about Che from watching the movie Motorcycle Diaries, which attempted to chronicle his youth.

Basically, we talked about how great Che’s goal was, to free the oppressed people of the South Americas, to unite the people, indigenous or not. While Che had a truly admirable goal, he lacked the wisdom to accomplish it.

I don’t know much about Che Guevara, and my ‘facts’ may be skewed. Nonetheless, what I shared with my son is that Che supported and fought side-by-side with Fidel Castro, to free the oppressed people of Cuba, only to see the leader of the Freedom Fighters become a brutal dictator in his own right.

The revolution won in Cuba, Che departed, with the mind to further his goal of freeing and uniting the people of all South America. He was killed in the process.

Like the Buddha, Che had tremendous compassing for the suffering people and wanted to free them. Unlike the Buddha, despite his great intentions, Che lacked the wisdom to accomplish his goal.

My son decided that while it was a cool picture, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea.

I suggested that if he changes his mind, he might include a caption above and below Che’s portrait, “Great Goal… …Wrong Action”

“Now the two thousand years of the Former and Middle Days of the Law have already passed, and it has been more than two hundred years since the Latter Day began. Now is the time when, because the impurity of thought prevails, more people fall into the evil paths with the intention of creating good causes than they do by committing evil. As for evil acts, even ignorant people may recognize them for what they are, and refrain from committing them. This is like extinguishing a fire with water. But people think that good deeds are all equal in their goodness; thus they adhere to lesser good and do not realize that, in so doing, they bring about major evil. (Nichiren, Encouragement to a Sick Person)

There are two kinds of competition. First, there is the competition where one strives to win at any cost. In this type of complementation, despite of appearances, there are no winners. In the second type, while one will party may prevail in the argument, everyone wins. I am in favor of the latter.

As for religion as a Monopoly, no one owns the Dharma. Awaken Buddhahood as a manifest reality and don’t worry about what form it may take.

Remember the Great Carts that the rich man presented in place of the three lesser carts that had been promised?

These wonderful carriages the man presented to each of his sons alike. The sons at that time danced for joy, mounting the jeweled carriages, driving off in all directions, delighting and amusing themselves freely and without hindrance. (Lotus Sutra)

Buddhahood as a manifest reality exists nowhere apart from manifesting in one’s actions the wisdom appropriate to the circumstance of the present moment.

How has the weather been in your little town? The power and influence that we are naturally endowed with does not stop at our physical bodies, our front doors, or the corner coffee shop. Weather is a local phenomenon.

"How has the weather been in your little town?"

Awesome, lately. We had a early to mid-summer dry spell. But it has been real nice since August.

Your son is fortunate to have a dad like you!