Hi everyone who bothers to read this,
For many years now it has been my own personal policy to not chant to any Omandala derived from Taisekiji - whether the currents HPs or a Nichikan as used by SGI or whatever. But I have now reconsidered this. I think it does more harm than good to have such an attitude. Let me explain why:
To begin with, I did not want to do so because I thought it would come across as though I were endorsing doctrines that I do not follow. But I have realized that most people do not care about these issues and the way my stance really comes across is as an endorsement of sectarianism.
Also, I view the Omandala as the depiction of the Ceremony in the Air wherein the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha transmits the Wonderful Dharma to all beings. So chanting to a Taisekiji Omandala with such a view would be against the intention for which they inscribed it - to depict Nichiren as the True Buddha. But in actuality there is no substantial difference between what is inscribed on a Taisekiji Omandala and the one's Nichiren himself made. The difference is in interpretation. And there is no one who can force me to take up their interpretation when I see that inscription. All things in the world, all phenomena, are viewed by each of us differently in accordance with our karma. The Omandalas are no different. So why not have many people chanting to the same Omandala each with their own understanding and faith? That is the way it is anyway, even among members of the same school.
In any case, as it is I already bow and say Odaimoku when visiting other temples which are not even Nichiren Buddhists. I do this out of courtesty to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas. If I can show such respect to other schools and even other religions, then why not to my fellow Nichiren Buddhists with whom I am in overall agreement except concerning three particular issues (the Dai-Gohonzon, the transfer documents, and the Nichiren as Buddha theory)?
Also, in reading the Flower Garland and other sutras and the Lotus Sutra itself, it became apparent that it is ok for people to regard their teachers and the various bodhisattvas as Buddhas. We should even treat each other as Buddhas in accord with Chapter 20. So if some people want to see Nichiren as a Buddha and that encourages their faith in Odaimoku and the Lotus Sutra, then I should not start arguments or division over it. I do not agree, but there are times and places for explaining why I do not.
Finally, if Bodhisattva Never Despise can greet even those who persecuted and reviled him with a deep bow and words respecting their buddhahood, then why should I hold back myself from respecting the expression of buddhahood modeled on the Omandalas that Nichiren himself inscribed (as all Omandalas are - including the one's from Taisekiji)?
So as the New Year approaches I make a resolution to form solidarity with all my fellow Odaimoku chanters in the years ahead and to pull down the barriers of sectarian strife.
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei
In reading through Thich Nhat Hanh's Revised Precepts for monks and nuns in the recently published "Freedom Wherever We Go: A Buddhist Monastic Code for the Twenty-First Century" I got to thinking again about the role of monasticism and precepts in Buddhism.
A long time ago according to the book "Buddhist Thought" by Paul Williams, the various schools of Buddhism were diffentiated not by doctrine but by their way of living, in other words the precepts they followed. In reading the precepts and the stories which gave rise to them in the Vinaya, it becomes glaringly obvious that the main reason the laypeople supported the monks and nuns and thereby the Buddha Dharma was because they found the conduct of the monks and nuns extremely admirable and even edifying. It fully conformed to the ideal of the spiritual life which they had in their hearts long before the Buddha had to say anything. Many of the precepts came about because laypeople complained about the behavior of the monks and nuns. On occasion (like the quarrel at Kosambi) the laypeople withdrew their support and did not give alms because the monastics had failed to live up to this way of life of enlightened beings. Doctrine was not a primary consideration here.
Moving forward to today, we find people going around telling laypeople who they should or should not support based on doctrinal or institutional considerations. And we find laypeople looking for teachers among those who have a good understanding of doctrine and/or who uphold the doctrines they prefer. Actually living in accord with a Buddhist way of life insofar as integrity, compassion, and real understanding of people's problems and how to overcome them has become secondary or even totally unimportant. Afterall, if just chanting the right phrase trumps any other form of meritorious behavior or spiritual development, then what difference does actual behavior make? And if one sect or groups is the "correct" one that leads to liberation, then you have to toe the line and stay in that group/org/sects good graces so you don't miss out on the deal no matter how arrogantly or atrociously or insensitively they act. As for the minister/senior leaders/gurus or whatever - you better kowtow to them no matter how much they lie, cheat, and steal (hopefully no killing is involved but then again I've read some awful stories that did go that far or at least involved physical violence - see "The Buddha From Brooklyn")
As I read the Classical and the Revised Vinaya I feel a longing for a form of Buddhism that reveres the Lotus Sutra and Odaimoku but also looks not to theory or institutional frameworks as the arbiter or right and wrong but to the yardstick of actual admirable living. Respect for those whose words and actions and intentions can actually be trusted and for a community of people like that. Unfortunately we are stuck in the ten worlds and this is very difficult to find - so people try to make do with doctrines and authoritarian structures and monopolies on truth instead.
I feel a longing and a sadness in myself. I read the Vinaya and know that I can not live up to it myself. I am not willing to give up my family so that I can be equally available to all. I am not willing to give up my job with its good pay and benefits in order to live a bare and unstable life as a full time minister (let alone monk). I am not willing to give up my role playing games, graphic novels, DVDs, fantasy and sci-fi novels, and all the other entertainments I have. I rather enjoy my secular life style and not because I am some modern day Vimalakirti demonstrating the Dharma in the midst of delusion. I like it solely because I find it comfortable and enjoyable and even though I know it is impermament I want to enjoy as much of it as I can while it lasts. So I am more like those kings or brahmins who were more than eager to consider the Dharma and spend time hosting and speaking to the Buddha and his disciples but were quite unwilling to give up any of their wealth or position. I am among those that the Buddha patiently told to "do as you see fit" as they excused themselves from their meetings with the Buddha to return to the responsibilities, entanglements, and ephemeral joys of their home lives. I am not cut out to be a monk that is for sure.
So I know what I find admirable and edifying. Wish I could do it myself, but I would not dare to. The conduct that the Revised Vinaya outlines certainly fits the bill I think, and if I were ever to meet someone who was really living that way I couldn't help but think: now there is someone who is really living the Dharma instead of just preaching it. There is someone I would like to support and whose insights and teachings would be worth listening to.
[Coda]
I would also admire anyone who lived up to the spirit of the Buddha's teachings to Sigala - the ideal way of life for laypeople. There are some things in there that are out of date, but with a bit of tweaking (as I attempted in my Family Values article at Ryuei.net) I think there are many things in there which I would like to live up to myself. That is something to chant for right there.
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei
Just the other day I found myself trying to explain what happens to
people and animals when they die to my seven year old daughter.
Julie's aunt in Japan died while she was there visiting last summer
and it was a very tragic time and Julie was right there for the
funeral and cremation and everything. Everyone told her that her
aunt went to heaven and that we were all chanting for her sake. This
past Sunday she asked if pets go to heaven. This is probably because
Yumi and I were talking about my parents concern for their very old
and sickly orange tabby Tiger. So I decided it was time to explain
the Buddhist view as simply as I could. Here's how it worked out:
I showed her a picture from my copy of the Bhagavad Gita As It Is
(yes, the Hare Krishna translation with all the hokey but useful
pictures in it) of the spectrum of life that goes from skeleton to
fetus to baby to the person in various stages of growth, maturity,
decline, old age, and then death and on to fetus form again. This is
a depiction of reincarnation but works to illustrate the Buddhist
concept of rebirth as well if one explains that it is karma and not
a "self" that is being transferred. But she is too young for such
subtle distinctions now anyway. So, I showed her this picture and
told her this is where we come from - we are wrapped up and very
tiny and stay in our mother's womb (I then referred to the picture
of the pregnant woman on the outer ring of the Tibetan Wheel of
Becoming that I used in Dharma Flower that depicts the twelvefold
chain of dependent originiation). Before being a fetus and then a
baby, we were someone different who had died (referring to the
skeleton in the Bhagavad Gita picture). After we are born (referring
to the picture of the woman giving birth on the outer ring of the
Wheel of Becoming) we begin to grow up and get older (referring back
to the Bhagavad Gita picture). I then asked her how old she was
compared to the stages of maturity so she pointed to a young child.
I then asked her how old I was and she pointed to the full grown man
in the center, then I asked her how old her Ojisan (her grandfather
in Japan who is in his eighties and is now bedridden after his
stroke a couple of years ago) is and she pointed to the very old man
just before the stage of dying. Then I pointed out that after death
a new life in the form of a new baby will appear. At this point I
referred to the outer ring of the Wheel again where a funeral
follows the birth and then the whole new cycle of life begins anew.
She seemed to grasp this.
Then I turned her attention to the six worlds and explained that
they showed the human world, the animals, the hungry ghosts, the
fighting demons, the heavens, and the hells. I told her that one can
be born in any of these according to the Buddha and briefly
explained that people who are nice and that we chant for have a good
chance of going to heaven, but that no one stays in any of them
forever but must die and be born again (referring back to the stages
of birth and death in the picture from the Gita). People may become
people again. People who are very mean and full of hatred and hurt
others will go to hell. People who just want to fight all the time
will become fighting demons. People who are too greedy will become
hungry ghosts, and people who don't think about what they are doing
will become animals. She seemed to understand this and in fact
pretended to be an official in heaven barring the fighting demons
from coming in by crossing her arms and saying, "You can't come in
if you keep fighting!" (Julie loves to pretend to be the teacher or
authority figure who gets to tell others what to do - something we
need to work on because I don't want her to grow up being bossy and
unable to mind her own business.)
Then I showed her the inner ring that shows people falling down or
climbing up. Inside that ring in the very center is a rooster, snake and pig.
I told her that the people going up are the ones who do good things for
others and the people falling are the ones who are selfish and do bad things.
They fall or rise within these six worlds. I then told her the three animals are
acting in ways that we should avoid so we don't fall down. The rooster does
nothing but eat all the time pecking at the ground and so is very greedy. The
snake likes to bite people because it is angry. The pig wallows in the mud and
is lazy and foolish. So we should not be like these animals if we want to move
up into the human or heavenly world. She seemed to understand that too.
I then explained why there were bodhisattvas in each of the six
worlds. I had told her not to worry about them until I had explained
the rest. I told her they were there to help everyone learn about
Buddhism and Namu Myoho Renge Kyo so that everyone could move into
the human and heavenly worlds and become more like the Buddha. She
asked me if this was why we chanted and went to the temple - so
that we could pray for her aunt and other people. I told her that
was part of the reason but we also chant so that we can become
better people right now.
Then I told her - we believe your aunt went to heaven because she
was very nice and a basically good person and also because we
chanted Odaimoku for her so that she would hear it and move to the
heavens or even come back later as a new baby. As for pets,
according to the Buddha they might come back in any of the other
worlds including heaven or even as people. (Anyway, heaven wouldn't
be complete if I somehow get there and my late dog Boo Boo isn't
around.) I'm not sure how much of that part she understood but it
seemed to satisfy her question. She asked me later if we could look
at the pictures and talk about them again sometime.
(The following is more pertinent to the other list where this post
originally appeared but I will leave it here anyway):
So I did not get into the distinctions between rebirth and
reincarnation with her, or the distinctions between a self that
reincarnates in contrast to a process of karmic inheritance wherein
there is no fixed self. But I did want to make sure that she
understood the traditional Buddhist view on the level a child can
appreciate so as to preempt and/or counteract any Judeo-Christian or
Islamic programming floating around in our culture. As she matures I
will explain things in a more refined and sophisticated way. In the
beginning the Hindu and Buddhist view (esp. the more mythic or
literal version that I am presenting to her) may not seem different
at all - but as she matures so will her ability to understand the
subtleties and important differences between the two views. And I
will also demythologize it for her and help her to think about these
things from both a scientific and a faith perspective so she can
think it though on her own and decide what makes sense. I will let
myself be guided by her questions and try to gauge her responses to
both traditional and more modern ways of thinking about these
things. For now, I am more concerned that she appreciate that birth
and death is natural, and that there is no need to worry about what
happens to those who die, but that people go where they need to go,
that they are still with us in many ways, and that no matter what we
can chant for all those we love whether living or dead. She didn't
seem distraught or confused by anything I told her, and she seemed
reassured that her aunt is in heaven, and eager to learn more. So
hopefully I explained things in the right way for her at this time.
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei
The following is something that I have been contemplating since college (back in 1988 to be specific) but never got around to writing down. Well tonight I wrote it down. So here is how I see the life of the Buddha in accord with the Major Arcana of the Tarot:
Major Arcana of the Buddha
0 The Fool
Not yet awake, the bodhisattva Siddhartha seems strangely foolish in refusing to conform to the familiar patterns of daily sleepwalking.
I. The Magician
The seer Asita weeps to see the baby bodhisattva wishing there were enough magic to enable him to live to see the day of his awakening.
II. The High Priestess
Mother Maya passes beyond the veil of worlds, bereft of her son until the day the Buddha pierces that veil to impart the secrets of the Higher Dharma.
III. The Empress
Aunt Mahaprajapati raises the bodhisattva as her own, but because of him she will come to trade crown and silk for a shaven skull and patchwork rags.
IV. The Emperor
King Suddhodana looks with pride upon his son, an emperor in the making, but the day will come when he will sees his son begging in the streets.
V. The Hierophant
The Brahmin priests train the young prince in all the arts of science and theology, but in time he will see through their fraud and reject them.
VI. The Lovers
The bodhisattva weds the beautiful Princess Yashodhara and so comes to experience what it means to be a lover, husband, and father but this too he will forsake.
VII. The Chariot
Riding in his chariot, he sees what lies in wait for all beings – old age, sickness, and death. Seeing a renunciant he realizes what course to follow.
VIII. Strength
In order to find a way to end all suffering, the bodhisattva musters his strength and resolves to leave all luxuries and worldly indulgence behind.
IX. The Hermit
He leaves the palace in the dead of night, enters the forest, casts off his finery, cuts off his long black hair, and takes up the rags of a renunciant himself.
X. Wheel of Fortune
In the forests he wanders among those who have also left home seeking to break the bonds of samsara, the wheel of perpetual gain and loss, birth and death.
XI. Justice
Driving the wheel is the inexorable law of karma, our self-created destiny wherein there is no luck but only justice.
XII. The Hanged Man
Seeking to break through all this, the bodhisattva turned his life upside down, starving himself in order to pass beyond all craving and every bodily need.
XIII. Death
But in the end, he came no closer to the answer to suffering but found himself on the brink of death, and at that point he found a new life.
XIV. Temperance
The Middle Way became clear. The path between self-indulgence and self-denial lay in living simply and seeing more clearly and deeply than ever before.
XV. The Devil
Sitting beneath the Bodhi Tree he at last aroused the devil himself. The bodhisattva was ready to let go of the world, but Mara was not about to let him go.
XVI. The Tower
The bodhisattva saw through Mara’s tricks, the tricks of his own mind, and shattered the tower of ego with his insight. It would never again be rebuilt.
XVII. The Star
As the morning star arose the bodhisattva Siddhartha was no more. In his place was Shakyamuni Buddha, and the Buddha saw a world filled with buddhas.
XVIII. The Moon
Some were submerged in ages of delusion, sleepwalking in the dim moonlight of their dreams and nightmares, not suspecting that they too were buddhas.
XIX. The Sun
Others were emerging due to ages of merit, walking in the sunshine of compassionate action and wise consideration. Suspecting but not yet knowing the truth.
XX. Judgment
Brahma himself came down to plead the world’s case for the Buddha. And the Buddha decided in the world’s favor. He would share the Wonderful Dharma with all.
XXI. The World
From that day until this the world became the Buddha’s world, a Pure Land of Tranquil Light, seeming to burn but actually filled with radiance that has no beginning or end.