One reason I like Nichiren is that he was a critic. I never was impressed by Buddhism prior to running into Buddhism. As Dharma Jim notes Buddhism is frequently been seen as an almost nihilistic religion:
(see this thread: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dharma-house/message/1888)
"Freedom from attachments" meaning a kind of spirituality divorced from the material world. This is seen in Theravada. A kind of resigned acceptance of the world is seen in Zen. In history Buddhism was a "refuge" for people seeking to escape the world -- with the consequence that the Confucian inspired king of China was forced to forcibly disrobe monks and attack the sangha. The Tibetan monks before being kicked out of their country were most famous for living in palaces of relative wealth and luxury at the expense of their people.
The major historic persecutions of Buddhists weren't inspired by shear nastiness, but by the behavior of Buddhists. By seeking to live in ivory towers they invited
barbarians to attack those towers. Just as the greed of Christian monks inspired
barbarian Magyars and Vikings to attack them.
Both Nichiren, and the founder of Tendai, sought to create a Buddhism that would directly benefit the common folks -- and it is that that i liked about Buddhism.
Chris
Posted by cholte at August 10, 2007 08:35 PM