I’ve recently secured the oldest NSA Gongyo book I’ve never seen, one from 1961.
I love old Gongyo books and I’m not sure why. Perhaps I’ve enjoyed seeing the way NSA/SGI has evolved with Nichiren Shoshu through the decades, or not.
The oldest Gongyo translation I’d seen before getting this little book was in the back of the original “Lecture on the Sutra” by Josei Toda. This, admittedly, was my favorite book on Buddhism, at least before I found out Toda was mistaken on many important things. I mean no ill-will towards Toda Sensei; I sincerely believe he did the best he could.
Back when I still liked that book I was able to copy and re-publish it, in very limited amounts. I still have three copies of the bootleg version lying around.
Anyway, I love this little 1961 book. It has parts A, B and C of the Lotus Sutra, as all the older books did (that’s the first part of chapter 2, and the entire chapter 16, the essential chapter). The silent prayers are completely in Japanese and have no translation whatsoever, only the phonetic English (I call this the “trust us” version).
I have decided to re-publish this book too, for anyone out there that would like to enjoy one. My new version is a facimile of the original, with a blue card-stock cover with "The Liturgy of Nichiren Shoshu" on the front. The photocopy pages do show some of the original's wear but are clearly readable throughout..
Please e-mail me offline if you wish to buy one. US sales only please.
Posted by revgreg at March 13, 2006 10:00 PMI hope you didn't think you would shock anyone here with that little blurb Ray. Do you have the whole story? I'm a big fan of Yak culture! Pray tell more!
Rev. Greg
Posted by: Rev. Greg at April 3, 2006 08:58 PMThe soka gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu Temple were in deep trouble with the Yakuza and missing members
Posted by: ray at April 3, 2006 08:50 PMWill you be posting this as a pdf document or something, or do we order from you and if so how?
clown hidden
Posted by: clown hidden at April 2, 2006 06:15 PMOn Suffering:
I have not posted in a long time to any other yahoo groups and or blogs, simply when you given a statements or your opinions on something or simply ask a simple question on Buddhism and life you get knock down and you are not worthy into this Buddhism.
I feel this way, since I have lost my step son as he was murdered this year on May 7, 2006, I have blame myself on his suffering and well being. That Robby suffered so much from the horrid beatings and was murdered. Now, as I can see it as when I was in SGI they were bullies and they try to run your life, etc., I have a mouth I will use it and always have been. If this is wrong as being as a Buddhist then there shouldn't be no Buddhism. Buddhism is supposed to be compassion, warmth, well endowed, illuminating, pleasures, loving and caring not to well beings but to all natures ones beings.
We were all born into suffering we will die as in suffering plain and simple. Life does not change when we think that karma is supposed to be good or bad nothing changes. Suffering is supposed to be and expression of human life? The only expression of life is your Odaimoku and your practice and study and your true faith.
Teaching is supposed to be compassion to help out one another not putting them down by some priest who is arrogant in his own creed. Maybe we should focus on more on the Pali Canon more since the oldest teachings in Buddhism.
There will always be suffering thru thought, acting out, word effects, and what's inside the peoples minds. The Mindfulness' of Perspective. The nature of the mind is powerful and we meditate to comprehend the powerful mindfulness. The emotions is a good will to all well beings and as much as human beings with warmth's and kindness. The mindfulness is breathing observing every breath you take and the mind is still and contrasting to the fundamental of understanding the more truth of life. We are not supposed to take or to destroy life but we do. Do not steal we do that as well as in mind and or our own actions, sexual misconduct that has happened as well, false speech in all religion of Buddhism or other religions there is false speech, no alcohol or drugs we do that as well. The world is corrupted by mischievous fools as human beings. The world is suffering everything around you is suffering. You will never get away from the suffering.
That is why I am always questioning myself on death and why and we all suffer so much, and not seeing the real reality what it portrays right in front of you. Since of Robby's death in May I have seen so much suffering and death that my own mind is so cloudy like a thick black cloud hovering over me.
I do chant and ask these questions to myself and still no answers maybe in the old SGI ways I have seen what they did to me and it was a night mare and now as a Nichiren Shu Buddhist I think I am that to the least. I am still alone and still practicing BUT to find the right path in life and where to go and which path to follow is my question in my life now.
I have thrown myself into my job now that I do not have to be home but I work with exhaustion and collapse when I come home. My mind is shut down from being so tired is that suffering? Yes, it is. It's suffering cause I put myself there cause I do not want to face no more suffering or death in life.
Why do we die? Is there is a reason why we die and why? Why do we grow old? Why is there suffering? These questions no Bishops or Priests can answer this cause they them selves do not know the answer the only they say to us is to Chant. Hmmmm well if that is the case then I want you all to go to the Nursing homes or hospital and see the people there dying and have illness that cannot be treated I want you to feel their pain of what they are feeling. Then come back and answer the questions. Maybe, just maybe I am sensitive to the fact that I have seen so much in my life and I have felt it that I cannot deal with it. This is normal for a human being to go thru its not the right of others to judge them or put them on a piece of plank wood and send them off down the river cause there is this ignorance and the arrogance that fails to be justified.
There is so much to life that we cannot fathom and not understand yet. But to breech someone cause they simple said their opinions is obscured. This was done to me so many times and been trash online on the yahoo groups that no one knows me for me but they have to be bullies and to act stupid in all it really boggles my mind.
Buddhism is and old teaching we learn and share from others and teach them and have compassion for one another not be to be arrogant like what is going on now into this Buddhism. To have faith we have to be strong how can we be strong if our own faith is being knock down? I thought we are supposed to be asking questions if this is so then why is our questions or statements or even the opinions we make is all wrong and you are right? I just do not get it. This is called emotions thru karma the nature of the mind. If it is not stabled cause we have some fool telling us we are not worthy enough in our own studies or faith then to me there is no true one teachings in any kinds of religions then.
I thought our minds are supposed to be like a swan that is so graceful that glides on the lakes that glistens. Not to be sheltered in a smoking bottle of a ship of suffering that is cap up and we are not allowed to get out to explore our own minds. No one not a priest or Bishop no one can tell you that you are bad or as such. You have mind you have your 6 senses you are capable to use to them with discreet. Not to be shot down. Then we are in the bottom pit of hell called suffering. I guess we all are in this bottom pit of suffering and we die like that too.
By nature of human being is exhausted by reality like the drop of the apple cart a bad seed fallen to the ground and it planted itself into the ground of the muck dirt and it blooms to this dreary apple tree the leaves is dark in colors an ill and its prevailing in its own nature attire. No sunshine no water to make it live to be a beautiful tree only the sufferings of karma.
Now if you think I am radical so be it I am only human we all make mistakes in our life we don't need others to make our own lives miserable cause their own lives are either. The hatred and not seeing what reality is supposed to be. Is this blinded my the mindfulness? I think so. It fuses together like a ghastly atom that splits its one self and then it makes many atoms of the mind that is complexes between one another of suffering.
Is there is a similarity of spirituality and reasons of faith? We only endowed what we what it to be into suffering and what we think we expect it to be. Spirituality is profound and strong as faith comes in with preserverances. Now can u fathom this or you still blinded on one sided of faith? That is called expressions.
I am still having difficult time of the birth, old age, illness and death maybe one day it will come to me with all the answers I have question myself who knows! But I do know one thing I do have a mind and I do have emotions and my feelings and I do have that right to express them even though you disagree with me. We are all different that is why we have a wonderful diversity of cultural. We only assume and diverse any thing in our own paths and then we indulged them in the wrong ways of our own path. Its like taking an apple and an orange its different and we cannot put them together cause of the differences. That is what this Buddhism is teaching us. If we don't get it now we will never will.
Thank you,
Mary Johnson
Rev. Greg,
"That's what she says to all the.........I don't usually meet like this" Oki-Doki (whatever, how may I procure one without pay pal?
Regards,
K
Neither the gongyo book nor the Lectures on the Sutra by Toda were copywritten, not that that would stop me mind you.
These are both very old, and many times re-written books.
Rev. Greg
Posted by: Rev.Greg at March 15, 2006 02:04 AMYou know, I have gotten some wild Gakkai publications over the years, too - although they're all copyrighted by the old NSA - things like the full-color, totally expensive glossy "We Love America" programs from Washington and Hawai'i. Somebody somewhere really ought to be collecting this stuff. Just think of how much it'll be worth....two hundred years from now!
Byrd in LA
P.S. Check to see if the book you have is copyrighted by anyone - it's usually in the front cover.
Posted by: Byrd in LA at March 14, 2006 11:23 PMif send me scans of the japanese, ill have Takako translate it for you. (if its normal japanese language)
Posted by: danny at March 14, 2006 03:56 AM