Holte's corner

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Nichiren is worth studying for a lot of reasons.
The first reason is that he is an avatar of the Lotus Sutra. Indeed he is the formost avatar of the Lotus Sutra in this age. It is for that reason his chant of Nam myoho renge kyo is worth practicing and his teachings are worth taking into consideration. The chant of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is the "excellent medicine" of this age.

The second reason is that he is pretty much the only real Buddhist Prophet there ever has been. He told truth to power. He wasn't persecuted for lies or misrepresentations, but for speaking that truth.

The third reason is the reason of what makes that truth truth. The groundwork is understanding Upaya. But then once you understand Upaya you can soar into the great Universal Pure land that opens up in the Saha world. Just as the "70 elders" of the Mosaic vision were treated to the very briefest glimpse of the sacred mountain and the world transformed into Lapiz Lazuli, so that vision of a "transformed" world transforms our appreciation of reality. Make no mistake, this is not a matter of fantasy religion. Reality stays the same. However, when you start to realize that clay and hay make bricks, and that the transformative power of Upaya is aimed transforming the "saha world" into the pure land -- in real time -- you start to recognize that the pure land is here all along. As are hell and heaven. And it is our lives that decide together which world it is.
The Juryo chapter tells us -- among other things -- that the purpose of Upaya is not to build fantasy cities, "magic cities" but to make a journey of discovery.

And there are many other things and many other reasons.

I draw my energy from the lotus sutra. When my mind gets caught up in other things I start to lose energy. The evil of people who ignore reality and paint lies instead is something we do have to fight as well. This is the example Nichiren set. But we must also always be awakening to the warmth of the Pure Land within our minds and lives that rises when we let go of stupidities (attachments). The liars and betrayers who are out there cannot harm us half as much as our own vacilating minds.

Posted by cholte at September 3, 2004 06:42 PM