Tibetian vs. Nichiren Buddhism(2)
In chapter Twenty of the Saddharmapandarika-sutra (Lotus Sutra)
"The Original Buddha explians that Bodhisattva-Mahasattva Padmapani-Avalokiteshvara "paid homage to such numerous buddhas as these, revering, honoring, and extolling them; and after cultivating the roots of goodness, again he met thousands of myriads of kotis of buddhas and also under the Law of those buddhas preached this sutra;(Lotus Sutra) his merits being complete, he then became a buddha. Great Power Obtained! What is your opinion? Can it be that the Bodhiasttva Never Despise (Padmapani-Avalokiteshvara-Pali name'added') was at that time somebody else? He was [really] I myself. If I in my former lives had not received and kept, read and recited this sutra and preached it to others, I should not have been able so soon to attain Perfect Enlightenment. Because under former buddhas I received and kept, read and recited this sutra and preached it to others, I so soon attained Perfect Enlightenment."
The Buddha is saying that he attained enlightenment through this Lotus Sutra,
which he preached during the last eight years of his life, so this being the case, we should understand that Shakyamuni buddha is the Original and Eternal Buddha, the "Thus Come One", if you worship Padmapani-Avalokiteshvara then you go against what he, this Bodhisattva (The Buddha Shakyamnui), proclaimed, which was how he attained Buddhahood. This is also in perfect accordance with what the Buddha said in chapter two of the Lotus Sutra:
"Know, Sariputra! Of yore I made a vow, Wishing to cause all creatures To rank
equally without difference with me. According to the vow I made of old, Now
[all] has been perfectly fulfilled For converting all living beings And leading
them all by the Buddha-way. Whenever I meet any creatures I teach them all by the Buddha-way. [But] the unwitting [remain] confused And, going astray, never accept my teaching. I know that all these creatures Have never practiced the fundamental goodness, Are firmly attached to the five desires; By reason of
these desires, They have fallen into the three evil paths; Transmigrating into
the six states of existence, They suffer the utmost misery. Received into the
womb in minute form, Life after life they ever increase and grow, Poor in virtue and of little happiness. They are oppressed by all the distresses; They have entered the thickets of heretical views, Such as 'existence' or nonexistence;, Relying on these [false] views, Altogether sixty-two, They are deeply attached to these false laws, Firmly holding, inable to give them up, Self-sufficient and self-inflated, Suspicious, crooked, and faithless in mind; During thousands and milliards of kalpas They have not heard the name of a Buddha, Nor have they heard the True Law; Men such as these can hardly be saved. For this reason, Sariputra, I set up a tactful way for them, Proclaiming the way to end sufferings, Revealing it through nirvana. Though I proclaim nirvana, Yet it is not real extinction. When a son of the Buddha has fulfilled his course, In a world to come he becomes a buddha. [Only] by my powers of tactfulness Do I manifest the three-vehicle Law. [For] all the world-honored ones Expound the One- vehicle Way. Now let all in this great assembly Be free from doubts and perplexities. The Buddhas do not differ in their statements; There is One only and no secound vehicle. In the past countless kalpas Innumerable extinct buddhas, In hundreds, thousands, and milliards, Whose numbers cannot be counted, All such world-honored ones as these With various reasonings and parables And innumerable tactful powers Have proclaimed the various laws. [But] all these world-honored ones Proclaimed the One-vehicle Law, Converting numberless creatures To enter the Buddha-way."
A passage above says: "I know that all these creatures Have never practiced the fundamental goodness, Are firmly attached to the five desires; By reason of these desires, They have fallen into the three evil paths; Transmigrating into the six states of existence, They suffer the utmost misery. Received into the womb in minute form, Life after life they ever increase and grow, Poor in virtue and of little happiness."
The Tibetians too teach about transmigration and samsara, the endless cycle of birth and death or the "Bardo states". Roughly, by the reasonings of the Tibetian teachings, Since karma is infinite, having accumulated words thoughts and deeds since the infinite past, it will take an infinite amount of future lifetimes to change one's karma(to attain Buddhaood). According to the Lotus Sutra, this is still samsara. Only through Buddhahood, not even the life of a Bodhisattva, is one released from the cycle of birth and death. If it took an infinite amount of good deeds to become a Buddha, one could never be released from the cycle. The Lotus Sutra or Myoho renge kyo is like a glorious shower of rain that puts out all the fires of Samsara simultaneously.
Remember Buddhism is to escape SAMSARA not dwell in it! If you dismiss or
place another Buddha, or Bodhisattva above the Buddha (Shakyamnui) , who was Bodhisattva Padmapani-Avalokiteshvara (In a former life), and worship his former existence as a Bodhisattva (funjin buddha, buddha in manifestation), are you not SLANDERING the Buddha, and do you not have it upside down or backwards? Or does the Dalai Lama, i.e. Tibetan Buddhists think the Buddha's words are false?
Furthermore, this is explaining why the Tibetan people are OPPRESSED:
"They are oppressed by all the distresses; They have entered the thickets of
heretical views, Such as 'existence' or nonexistence;, Relying on these [false]
views, Altogether sixty-two, They are deeply attached to these false laws,
Firmly holding, inable to give them up, Self-sufficient and self-inflated,
Suspicious, crooked, and faithless in mind;" (The THREEFOLD Lotus Sutra,
cahpter 2 pg. 65-66)
It further states in passages from St. Nichiren's (Bodhisattva Jogyo) writing:
The Establishment of the Right Teaching for the Protection of the Country -
Rissho Ankoku Ron - "Once there was a traveler who spoke these words in sorrow to his host:
'In recent years, there are unusual disturbances in the heavens, strange
occurrences on earth, famine and pestilence, all affecting every corner of the
empire and spreading throughout the land. Oxen and horses lie dead in the
streets, the bones of the stricken crowd the highways. Over half the population
has already been carried off by death, and in every family someone grieves.
All the while some put their whole faith in the "sharp sword" of the Buddha
Amida and intone the name of this lord of the Western Land; others believe that
hearing the name of the Buddha Yakushi will "heal all ills," and recite the
sutra that describes this Thus Come One of the Eastern Region. Some, putting
their trust in the passage in the Lotus Sutra that says, "His illness will be
wiped out and he will know neither old age nor death," pay homage to the
wonderful words of that sutra; others, relying upon the sutra passage that
reads: "The seven disasters vanish, the seven blessings at once appear,"
conduct ceremonies at which a hundred priests expound the sutra at a hundred
preaching platforms. There are those who follow the esoteric teachings of the
Shingon sect and conduct rituals by filling five jars with water; and others
who devote themselves entirely to seated meditation and try to perceive the
emptiness of all phenomena as clearly as the moon. Some write out the names of the seven guardian spirits and paste them on a thousand gates, others paint
pictures of the five mighty bodhisattvas and hang them over ten thousand
thresholds, and still others pray to the heavenly gods and earthly deities in
ceremonies conducted at the four corners of the capital and on the four
boundaries of the nation. The rulers, taking pity on the plight of the common
people, carry out government on the national and local levels in a benevolent
manner.
But despite all these efforts, they merely exhaust themselves in vain. Famine
and epidemics rage more fiercely than ever, beggars are everywhere in sight,
and scenes of death fill our eyes. Corpses pile up in mounds like observation
platforms, dead bodies lie side by side like planks on a bridge.
If we look about, we find that the sun and moon continue to move in their
accustomed orbits, and the five planets follow the proper course. The three
treasures of Buddhism continue to exist, and the period of a hundred reigns has
not yet expired. Then why is it that the world has already fallen into decline
and that the laws of the state have come to an end? What is wrong? What error
has been committed?
The host then spoke: I have been brooding alone upon this matter, indignant in
my heart, but now that you have come, we can lament together. Let us discuss
the question at length.
When a man leaves family life and enters the Buddhist way, it is because he
hopes to attain Buddhahood through the teachings of the Buddha. But attempts
now to move the gods fail to have any effect, and appeals to the power of the
Buddhas produce no results. When I observe carefully the state of the world
today, I see people who give way to doubt because of the lack of understanding
[on the part of eminent priests]. They look up at the heavens and mouth their
resentment, or gaze down at the earth and sink deep into anxiety.
I have pondered the matter carefully with what limited resources I possess, and
have searched rather widely in the scriptures for an answer. The people of
today all turn their backs upon what is right; to a man, they give their allegiance to evil. This is the reason that the benevolent deities have abandoned the nation and departed together, that sages leave and do not return. And in their stead come devils and demons, disasters and calamities that arise one after another. I cannot keep silent on this matter. I cannot suppress my fears.
The guest said: These disasters that befall the empire, these calamities of the
nation -- I am not the only one pained by them; the whole populace is weighed
down with sorrow. Now I have been privileged to enter your home and to listen
to these enlightening words of yours. You speak of the gods and sages taking
leave and of disasters and calamities arising side by side -- upon what sutras
do you base your views? Could you describe for me the passages of proof?
The host said: There are numerous passages that could be cited and a wide
variety of proofs. For example, in the Konkomyo Sutra we read: "[The Four
Heavenly Kings said to the Buddha,] ‘Though this sutra exists in the nation, its ruler has never allowed it to be propagated. In his heart he turns away from it, and he takes no pleasure in hearing its teachings. He does not make
offerings to it, honor or praise it. Nor is he willing to honor or make offerings to the four kinds of Buddhists who embrace the sutra. In the end, he makes it impossible for us and the countless other heavenly beings who are our followers to hear this profound and wonderful teaching. He deprives us of the sweet dew of its words and cuts us off from the flow of the correct teaching, so that our majesty and strength are drained away. Thus the number of beings who occupy the evil paths increases and the number who dwell in the human and heavenly realms decreases. People fall into the river of the suffering of birth and death and turn their backs on the road to nirvana.
" ‘World-Honored One, we, the Four Heavenly Kings, as well as our various
followers and the yakshas and other beings, observing this state of affairs,
have decided to abandon this nation, for we have no heart to protect it. And it
is not we alone who cast aside this ruler. All the great benevolent deities who
guard and watch over the countless different regions of the country will also
invariably reject him. And once we and the others abandon and desert this
nation, then many different types of disasters will occur in the country and
the ruler will fall from power. Not a single person in the entire population
will possess a heart of goodness; there will be nothing but binding and
enslaving, killing and injuring, anger and contention. Men will slander each
other or fawn upon one another, and the laws will be twisted until even the
innocent are made to suffer. Pestilence will become rampant, comets will appear again and again, two suns will come forth side by side and eclipses will occur with unaccustomed frequency. Black arcs and white arcs will span the sky as harbingers of ill fortune, stars will fall, the earth will shake, and noises
will issue from the wells. Torrential rains and violent winds will come out of
season, there will be constant famine, and grains and fruits will not ripen.
Marauders from many other regions will invade and plunder the nation, the
people will suffer all manner of pain and affliction, and there will be no
place where one may live in safety.’"
The Daijuku Sutra says: "When the teachings of the Buddha truly become obscured and lost, then people will all let their beards, hair and fingernails grow
long, and the laws of the world will be forgotten and ignored. At that time, loud noises will sound in the air and the earth will shake; everything in the world will begin to move as though it were a waterwheel. City walls will split and tumble, and all houses and dwellings will collapse. Roots, branches, leaves, petals and fruits will lose their medicinal properties. With the exception of the heavens of purity, all the regions of the world of desire will become deprived of the seven flavors and the three kinds of vitality, until not a trace of them remains any more. All the good discourses that lead people to emancipation will at this time disappear. The flowers and fruits that grow in the earth will become few and will lose their flavor and sweetness. The wells, springs and ponds will all go dry, the land everywhere will turn brackish and will crack open and warp into hillocks and gullies. All the mountains will be swept by fire and the heavenly beings and dragons will no longer send down rain. The seedlings of the crops will all wither and die, all the living plants will perish, and even the weeds will cease to grow any more. Dust will rain down until all is darkness and the sun and the moon no longer shed their light.
All the four directions will be afflicted by drought, and evil omens will appear again and again. The ten evil acts will increase greatly, particularly greed, anger and stupidity, and people will think no more of their fathers and mothers than does the roe deer. Living beings will decline in numbers, in longevity, physical strength, dignity and enjoyment. They will become estranged from the delights of the human and heavenly realms and all will fall into the paths of evil. The wicked rulers and monks who perform these ten evil acts will curse and destroy my correct teaching and make it difficult for those in the human and heavenly realms to stay there. At that time the benevolent deities and heavenly kings, who would ordinarily take pity on living beings, will abandon this impure and evil nation and all will make their way to other regions.
The Ninno Sutra states: "When a nation becomes disordered, it is the spirits
which first show signs of rampancy. Because the spirits become rampant, all the people of the nation become disordered. Invaders come to plunder the country and the common people face annihilation. The ruler, the high ministers, the crown prince, the other princes and the hundred officials all quarrel with each other over right and wrong. Heaven and earth manifest prodigies and strange occurrences; the twenty-eight constellations19, the stars, the sun and the moon appear at irregular times and in irregular positions, and numerous outlaws rise up." !
One who is aware of what theTibetan people have endured, should surely be able to see a relationship in what St. Nichiren just stated above. "There are numerous passages that could be cited and a wide variety of proofs." (above Rissho Ankoku Ron.) , but since these passages I have provided clearly refutes the very heart of the Tibetan teachings; to do so, would be like administering medicine to the dead. And since it is, the Buddha himself that attested to this long before me, it would be superflous. The Buddha is the author of Buddhism, and so we must take his word as absolute. There are many forms of Buddhism that have developed since the time of the Buddha's advent, but few follow what he actually taught. Tibetan Buddhism resembles Hinduism more then Buddhism, this is a historical and doctinal fact that one could write a master thesis on. The Buddha has said that by reading, reciting and copying the Lotus Sutra, we are abiding in the One Great vehicle, which he clearly states is the way for the people of this world to attain Buddhahood. This was the reason for his advent in this Saha world.
I believe the Dalai Lama to be a sincere person, and I now hear him recite the
title of the Lotus Sutra from time to time- (Namu myoho renge kyo) if he really
wants to help the people of Tibet, he should refer to the scriptures, and abide
in the ONE great Vehicle of the Lotus Sutra-and follow what the Buddha has so
cleary stated, and purge his sect of the erroneous doctrine that has become
their teachings. His influence is great indeed; Americans are easily influenced
by Hollywood, and a cause to rally to help people who are OPPRESSED, but by
further propagateing these teachings they are destroying the Buddha's true
intent, and it creates negitive karma for all that follow in his path!
There is a principle in Buddhism that states that if the minds of the people
are impure, then the land they live in will also be impure, but if the minds of
the people are pure then so is the land in which they live. The body and mind
are like a vessel, so if we put impure and erroneous teachings into the minds
of the people then it upsets the water of the true Law; our Buddha nature. Our
Buddha nature is like a pure and clean vessel, but through many lives it
becomes clouded by delusion and wrong thought, deed, and action, if you mix
this vessel with muddy water then how can one drink it without becoming sick,
or quench their thirst for real Buddhist wisdom, or ever see the reality of
ones true self.
Let us all respect the Buddha and his teachings by following what he actually
taught; this I am sure is the intent of all those who truely belive in what the
Buddha preached. This is true filial devotion to the Buddha, and to "Bodhisattva
Padmapani-Avalokiteshvara." who is now Shakyamuni Buddha, we all then can escape the endless cycle of SAMSARA and "Speedily attain Buddhahood"
With the deepest respect for the "Thus Come One" Buddha....
The meaning of the title 'Padma-pani' is 'One that bears a Lotus'.
Understanding What is Provisional & What is Essential
"Neither Paradise nor Hell exists externally, for both exist within ourselves.
One who is awakened to this is called a Buddha and one who is not, a common mortal. This principal is revealed in the Lotus Sutra. Therefore, if one embraces the Lotus Sutra, he will find his Hell transformed into Paradise. Even if one may practice the provisional teachings for uncountable aeons, he will always be in Hell whenever he departs from the Lotus Sutra. This is not my own view. Sakyamuni and Taho Buddhas as well as all other Buddhas have proclaimed this." Nichiren (From A Reply to the Widow of Lord Ueno)
From the Kempon Hokke archives
Posted by markrogow at March 26, 2008 03:37 PM