Fraughtwithperil's Guest Blog

Mike,
Are you asking if we can measure "kosen rufu?" I don't know the answer either. Our SGI area is trying to put on an exhibit called "Transforming the Human Spirit." For some of us it is very personal. One of our close friends was murdered 2 months ago and our city is becoming more violent day by day. We want to do something positive to help the people of this city, especially the youth. If we can make this happen, we believe we can begin to make a difference in our city. We are not trying to get more members, we want to help young people. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks Mike

Hi Mike.
I share the view of Nichiren Daishonin. When all the provisional Buddhists become Nichiren followers and when all the people of the Ten Worlds enter the path of Buddhahood, chanting Namu Myoho renge kyo together, this is Kosen Rufu.

Mark

Thanks, Nancy & Mark.

Nancy -

"Are you asking if we can measure "kosen rufu?" "

Well, that was the secondary part of the question. The primary art of the question is to define the goal of Nichiren Buddhism in society. Whether one uses the term "kosen-rufu" or not, I would like to understand (in detail) what people mean when they talk about goals above and beyond the personal for their own practice and for their group/organization.

Mark -

OK, I can understand your viewpoint. I'd be curious, in your case, to understand the intermediate steps between where we are today, and the situation you describe.

Namaste, Engyo Mike Barrett

I would say we are more along the beginning steps since this is still the beginning of the Latter Day. Looking around, things are pretty bad and going to get alot worse. People are still too complacent and self-satisfied, despite the burning house all around them. They have been taken in by inferior teachings and are steeped in the Three Poisons. Nichiren didn't state, for ten thousand years and for all eternity, for nothing. The SGI is too impatient and therefore has been prone to too many mistakes. Better to slowly and carefully build a solid foundation of a correct faith and practice than a tenuous one based on human expedients likely to be crushed under the weight of the Latter Day. Even Ikeda said, better to have one lion than one thousand lambs. Unfortunately, as we have seen, his actions do not match his words. each one must become a lion based on the Right Law, the Lotus Sutra and the authenticated Gosho of Nichiren. The only way to do this is to not alter a dot of the teachings as we incorporate them into our life and practice. It is not reactionary to go back to the lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin, it is revolutionary.

Mark

Interesting question, Mike, and appropos of this, I was asked yesterday by an SGI leader what it is that I am trying to accomplish by blogging (in particular, I suppose, about the Gakkai and its policies).

I think the Gakkai's teaching (and I think this is inherited from Nichiren himself), is that we sort of "esho funi" our environment, and that changes take place automatically and mystically as a result of our spreading the Daimoku. But you know this answer, it was probably a large part of your perspective for years.

I think we can tell if "its working" or not in part by paying attention to the discussions that pop up in places like this. I hope that, over time, people will feel more comfortable speaking their own minds, both about the practice itself and about its role in society, and as they do, we will get a better "pulse" just by reading their thoughts and their experiences.

If people are moving away from centralized authoritarian structures and toward more localized, congregational structures (which I think is probably happening, although not in the SGI), then I think this will translate out into greater involvement in social issues at the local level.

I think we also need to figure out who are our "allies" in society and in the realm of Buddhism, and gauge our progress by whether or not we are able to create functioning and cooperative relationships with them. Nichren Buddhism has a built-in problem with this, however, since Nichiren himself was so confrontative in regard to other sects. We'll see how this develops. One example of this is the fact that I am trying to investigate hospice and end-of-life caregiving informally for some people in the SGI who are interested in exploring this for the org. The people who have been actually doing this work are Tibetan and Zen practitioners (at least in the US). If the SGI is not willing to form alliances and learn from these groups, the labor may fall to other denominations. Hope that makes sense. Nice to see you blogging here, hope you and/or Myokei can become regulars.

Yer pal, Wahzoh

Hi Byrd:

How differently we see things. I've been around death and dying for 21 years now, not every day but many days. Hosspice and end of life care is next to useless whether practiced by the catholics
(the Calvary system), The Tibetians or the Zen men. True hospice is the Lotus Sutra and Shakyamuni Buddha and a family of votaries of the Lotus Sutra taking care of the patient at home. Home care in an enlightened environment is the key. i wouldn't have any one else but my wife taking care of me and she wouldn't have anyone else but me taking care of her (in those last crucial days and weeks).

Mark

I agree with the reformation of the human spirit concept. When I was young, people were talking about
political revolution. Along comes Soka Gakkai talking about a Human Revolution.

That really boils down to changing what it is that motivates people. People are driven by emotions, dsires, & thoughts like enmity, cruelty, envy, bigotry, avarice, self indulgence, revenge, laziness, stupidity, & confusion.

Human Revolution should mean transforming those to kindness, compassion, appreciation, equanimity, forbearance, diligence, concentration, and discernment.

Practice should enable people to see the former and cultivate the latter. All of conditioned existence is unsatisfying, stressful, and ultimately leads to sorrow.

This is caused because we are attached to impure pursuits of satisfaction from temporary phenomena, and these pursuits are rooted in the ego conceit.

We can overcome the stress of suffering and gain lasting satisfaction by awakening to the Wondrous Dharma Nature within; which is the source of unaffected purity, independent bliss, cognizance of that which is constant, and selflessness.

Providing access to The Way that enables people to awaken to the Wondrous Dharma within is how to achieve kosen rufu. The measure is if people who are doing the practice are actually changing from ignorant, defiled, selfish motives to wiser, purer, more selfless motives.

r

I have my own point of view on this. I think of Kosen Rufu as meaning to widely propagate the true teachings. I tak ethis as a directive to me personally. I don't apply this to the whole world but just to my envionrnment, which is my whole world. This happens in two ways one is somewhat theoretical,in how I try to think about things and in discussions with people on all sorts of topics I try to adopt the universalist orientation of valuing all people and be equal to all people. At least that is the ideal I'm working towards. The other is in promoting the buddist world view to people with specific reference to the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren,and Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. I think that by doing this I am widely declaring and propagating the truth of the Lotus Sutra as I am able within my enviornment and fufilling the mandate that Nichiren gave his followers. I would like to note that I feel it is my attempt to do this that is important and not the perceived results.

Dear Mr.Clown Hidden:

Why would you transmit the teachings of Nichiren or anyone else which is, according to you, defective or do you just transmit what you like and ignore the rest? o me, the Lotus Sutra and the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin are Pure and Perfect. Nichiren's "fighting spirit" (defect, according to you) is what gets me up on bleak Mappo mornings.

Mark

Yes, Mark, I have no problem accepting the parts of things I agree seem good to me and rejecting those parts that don't. I guess many people lacking any self respect will just swallow some ideology whole then one day they will wake up, realize they have been had, and learn to be discriminating. Nichiren was dead long before I was born and I don't accept him as the final word on anything. Which is not to say that I haven't been inspired by many of his good ideas. I don't want to be dogmatic or fundamentalist and I pity those who do.

Clown, everyone at the Ceremony in space that was a Bodhisattva from the Earth received merits from the Eternal Buddha. It is up to you, how you want to live your life as a Buddha2B, write your own game plan, make your own way, Buddha said don't "vedicize" my teaching, so I don't think chanting is that important, and definitely do everything in your native language, and stay away from everything has not worked, and question everything including what I just wrote.

TCB
Maltz