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A History of Gongyo
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JazzIs TvRicky
Jul 15, 2017, 7:03:25 AM7/15/17
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http://www.geocities.ws/chris_holte/Buddhism/IssuesInBuddhism/tonoko.html
History of Gongyo
Good morning. The lecture today will continue with last months subject of Buddhist practice.
Introduction
The questions for today, listed in this months schedule, center on Gongyo:
What in brief is the History of Gongyo?
What format did Nichiren Daishonin set down for the observance of Gongyo,
and where is it stated?
When was the five-prayer morning and evening format for Gongyo established, and by whom?
Is there any other acceptable format for the observance of Gongyo?
Do priests and lay believers do Gongyo following the same format?
Believers have often been encouraged to do a "vigorous" Gongyo; when observing Gongyo is it more important to maintain a particular rythm or to enunciate each syllable correctly?
Is there a particular demeanor one should have while doing Gongyo?
Is it appropriate to affect an unnatural quality of voice or posture in efforts to observe Gongyo more correctly?
[Questions and Answers, "extended" prayers and when to add an extra prayer]
Taking these questions together, I'll begin with an overview of sorts, an introduction to the history of Gongyo, and then cover the questions about correct demeanor and attitude towards Gongyo. I'm going to be using this chalk-board during the lecture today -- can everyone see it? (Note efforts in the original text were made to amplify the original text where illustrations were used. If I can I'll try to find out if there are graphics that can compensate for what was lost in transmission between this text (which I got from Artie from New York) and how it should be presented.
Overview:Oral Legacy
First of all, the customs and practices of Nichiren Shoshu have grown, of course, out of the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin, but the Daishonin himself left no "rule" book on Buddhist Practice. Also with regard to the transmission of orthodox doctrine and practice, there has always been a strong tradition in Nichiren Shoshu of oral teachings. In other words, if you are looking for a seven hundred year old document that states Gongyo is to be done exactly in the manner that you learned to do it, you aren't going to find it. Much of what I learned as a young acolyte at Taisekiji about the rules and regulations of Nichiren Shoshu was presented through lectures and instructions by senior priests. What they taught, though, was based on the written and oral legacy of Nichiren Daishonin, and on the records left by Nikko Shonin and the successive high priests. To take a single instance, the color of this robe I'm wearing is the same color as the robe that Nichiren Daishonin wore. We know that he wore gray robes because he said so in the Gosho. Although it was not codified as a regulation of Nichiren Shoshu until quite a while after the Daishonin's passing, Nichiren Shoshu priests, nonetheless, always wore gray robes.
A Brief History of Gongyo
and origin of the Five/3 format.
With respect to Gongyo, Nichiren Daishonin addressed himself to the subject direct in the "Gasshui Gosho", a letter to the wife of Shijo Kingo. He says therein:
Among those twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra, the noblest are the Hoben and Juryo Chapters. The other chapters are all secondary. Therefore, for daily practice, recite the extended parts of the Hoben and Juryo chapters. When you recite the Hoben and Juryo chapters, the virtues of the other chapters are naturally contained ithin them."
In "Reply to Soya" he says:
"I wrote down the extended part of the Hoben chapter for you. Recite it together with the Jiga-ge of the Juryo chapter that I wrote for you previously."
These two writings are specific references to the Daishonin's "format" for Gongyo. He says you must recite the Hoben and Jigage chapters. That is clear, isn't it?
Naturally, Nikko Shonin and the successive High Priests left records that contain references to Gongyo. For instance, the ninth High Priest Nichiu Shonin (1419-1482), whose writings were recorded by his disciples, states in the "Kegi Sho" that on the first and the fifteenth of each month, the first prayer for Gongyo should be done while facing east. According to the Ushidan Sho Kiki Gaki Sho, Nichiu Shonin did Gongyo three times a day: in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. The Dosan Mikyo Shidai, a record dated 1535, left by the twelfth High Priest, Nicchin Shonin, states the following about the format of Gongyo:
"The first prayer in the morning should be done at the Miedo Temple [on the Head Temple Grounds]. The Hoben and Juryo chapters should be recited three times each, followed by three hundred Daimoku."
This first prayer was a prayer of Gratitude to the True Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin, the second High Priest, Nikko Shonin and the third High Priest, Nichimoku Shonin.
"The second prayer, one of gratitude for the Buddhist Gods, was offered at the Ten Kyo Temple [also on the head temple grounds], and consisted of reciting the Hoben and Juryo chapters once each followed by one hundred Daimoku.
"The third prayer, one of gratitude to the Gohonzon, was the recitation of the Hoben and Juryo Chapters once each, followed by one hundred Daimoku at the main Temple.
"The fourth prayer, for Kosenrufu, was offered at the Miedo Temple again, with the Hoben and Juryo chapters being recited once each, followed by one hundred Daimoku.
"The Fifth prayer, followed the same format as the fourth prayer, and was offered at the Mitsubo [also on the Head Temple Grounds] for the ancestors of all priests and believers.
The first prayer of the evening was the same as the third morning prayer, and the second evening prayer was the same as the second morning prayer. The third evening prayer was offered at the "Miedo" temple in gratitude to Nichiren Daishonin and the two successive High Priests. The fourth evening prayer, also at the Miedo Temple, was the recitation of the Juryo Chapter three times, followed by three hundred Daimoku for Kosenrufu. The fifth evening prayer was the same as the fifth morning prayer.
So the record of 1535 states that both morning and evening prayer and the second evening Gongyo consisted of five prayers. At the Head Temple, the prayers were offered moving from one Temple to another. The sutra and Daimoku were chanted at a specific place for a specific prayer and then they moved on to the next temple. The one hundred or three hundred Daimoku following the Sutra recitation may not seem like much to you, but remember they weren't chanting at the "speedy" pace many of you have become accustomed to using. We estimate, from the amount of time it took them to complete Gongyo, that one hundred Daimoku must have taken at least five minutes. The main temple, was of course different from the one you know today, but many of you may have seen the Miedo temple, or at least you have seen photographs of it. Ten Kyo was a platform built specifically for offering prayers for the protection of the Buddhist Gods. Mutsubo is part of the priests' residence.
Two hundred years later, in 1740, the 31st High Priest, Nichiin Shonin, recorded a five-prayer morning, three-prayer evening format in the Toke Kiki Gaki. By this time people were doing one entire morning or evening Gongyo in one place, and rather than chanting Daimoku between prayers, they were doing Sansho of Hiki-Daimoku [Hiki-Daimoku (slow recital three times), and then chanting Daimoku after the sutra recitation was completed. That format, however, was still different from the recitation we are familiar with today. For instance, the third evening prayer was the recitation of the Jiga-ge three times. You know, the section that begins,
Ji ga toku bur-rai
Sho kyo sho kosshu...,
...That is the Jiga-ge. So the Jiga-ge was recited three times and that was the third evening prayer. For the fourth prayer of morning Gongyo, the hoben chapter was recited alone, without the Juryo Chapter.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, people were practicing Gongyo with almost the same five-prayer morning, three-prayer evening format that is familiar today. They were not, however, praying for their personal desires during the fourth prayer. Rather if they had a sick relative or some urgent concern they added an extra prayer to Gongyo. That is, they made an additional rectiation and then offered the special prayer.
You can see that, while the format of Gongyo has shifted a bit over time, the recitation of the Hoben and Juryo Chapters has been constant since the days of the Daishonin.
Questions and answers
Question: Are the Hoben and Juryo chapters that we have been taught ot recite the "extended" chapters mentioned in Nichiren Daishonin's writings?
Question: Well then, how do we decide whether to add an extra prayer or not? Also, why do you sometimes recite the Hoben and Juryo chapters only one time each at meetings before beginning Daimoku?
About the first part of your question, you must know how you feel about your life with respect to prayer. It is a natural feeling. Don't you know how you feel? Adding an extra prayer to Gongyo involves natural feeling towards Gohonzon, not strategy. The Komon Shu Chi Soku (1927), the record that states if something is deeply affecting your life, then you may recite the Hoben and Juryo chapters one extra time and pray for your deep concern, was written at a time when there was a stricter tradition and there was no prayer for personal concerns included in the format for Gongyo.
Today, the fourth prayer of Gongyo allows for personal prayers. In the fourth prayer of Gongyo we pray for Kosen-rufu first, and then we make our personal prayers. This indicates that Kosen-rufu is paramount and that our personal prayers should be under the umbrella of such faith. Once again, I hasten to add, this is not a technique. I am definately not suggesting the rediculous practice such as making up a list of wishes and trying to convince the Gohonzon that you want them fulfiled for the "sake" of Kosen-rufu. "I need this new aparment with a new wardrobe (car, stereo, vcr, million dollars, etceteras...) I promise I will spend all my time working for Kosen-rufu." The idea of bargaining like that is nonsense, and is deeply insulting to the Gohonzon. If you really care that much for Kosen-rufu, you will devote yourself wholeheartedly, million dollars or no. If adding on an extra prayer becomes that much of a question, I would say please chant Daimoku -- as sincerely as possible -- instead.
Attitude and Demeanor
The second part of your question touches on the issues of attitude and demeanor during Gongyo, as well as format. When I first came here from Japan, my strongest initial impression was that everyone wanted to do the speediest Gongyo possible. I must say, I didn't really know what to think. It was as if the goal was to fly through Gongyo. I was accustomed to hearing Soka Gakkai members in Japan chanting slurred, "flying" daimoku, but I had never heard anyone reciting the Sutra in the manner I heard when I arrived here. It was not only untraditional -- frankly, it didn't sound very nice. When I asked some members why they did Gongyo that way, many of them said that they were taught that they should try to do Gongyo like that, adding that, if they did Gongyo at a slower pace, they wouldn't have time to chant Daimoku.
I introduced the format of reciting the entire sutra book through once, followed by Daimoku and the offering of all the prayers at the end, to stress to believers that chanting pure Daimoku is the most important thing in Buddhist Practice. If someone is racing through a five-prayer-morning and three-prayer evening recitation, and even at that, having only enough time left over for five minutes of hurried Daimoku, it is definately preferable to recite the Hoben and Juryo Chapters once steadily and rhythmically, and to follow that with chanting of pure Daimoku.
I learned this from the late high Priest, Nittatsu Shonin. In the course of fulfilling hte responsibilities of his position, he naturally found it necessary to visit many Nichiren Shoshu Temples for one reason or another. When he visited Tokyo, he usually stayed at the Branch Temple that I was assigned to as an assistant for a time. I did Gongyo many times with Nittatsu Shonin, and that is the way he did Gongyo when he visited the Temple. He went through the Hoben and Juryo Chapters once, chanted Daimoku for a long time, and then prayed all five prayers at the end of the Daimoku. This is not strange or secret; many priests have done Gongyo with Nittatsu Shonin using this format. So, priests might follow this format sometimes, or might recite the extend Hoben and Juryo Chapters sometimes, but what they all bear in mind is that the Daimoku is the primary practice of their faith.
Just for your information htere is a special recitation of Gongyo that some priests -- expecially older priests -- sometimes do, that involves dropping some consonants and emphasizing some vowels. It takes less time to recite the Sutra this way -- some of hte older priests can recite the Hoben chapter in this style with one breath -- but it takes a lot of training, and the sound of it in no way resemebles the slurred, quick Gongyo I was referring to before.
History of Gongyo
Good morning. The lecture today will continue with last months subject of Buddhist practice.
Introduction
The questions for today, listed in this months schedule, center on Gongyo:
What in brief is the History of Gongyo?
What format did Nichiren Daishonin set down for the observance of Gongyo,
and where is it stated?
When was the five-prayer morning and evening format for Gongyo established, and by whom?
Is there any other acceptable format for the observance of Gongyo?
Do priests and lay believers do Gongyo following the same format?
Believers have often been encouraged to do a "vigorous" Gongyo; when observing Gongyo is it more important to maintain a particular rythm or to enunciate each syllable correctly?
Is there a particular demeanor one should have while doing Gongyo?
Is it appropriate to affect an unnatural quality of voice or posture in efforts to observe Gongyo more correctly?
[Questions and Answers, "extended" prayers and when to add an extra prayer]
Taking these questions together, I'll begin with an overview of sorts, an introduction to the history of Gongyo, and then cover the questions about correct demeanor and attitude towards Gongyo. I'm going to be using this chalk-board during the lecture today -- can everyone see it? (Note efforts in the original text were made to amplify the original text where illustrations were used. If I can I'll try to find out if there are graphics that can compensate for what was lost in transmission between this text (which I got from Artie from New York) and how it should be presented.
Overview:Oral Legacy
First of all, the customs and practices of Nichiren Shoshu have grown, of course, out of the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin, but the Daishonin himself left no "rule" book on Buddhist Practice. Also with regard to the transmission of orthodox doctrine and practice, there has always been a strong tradition in Nichiren Shoshu of oral teachings. In other words, if you are looking for a seven hundred year old document that states Gongyo is to be done exactly in the manner that you learned to do it, you aren't going to find it. Much of what I learned as a young acolyte at Taisekiji about the rules and regulations of Nichiren Shoshu was presented through lectures and instructions by senior priests. What they taught, though, was based on the written and oral legacy of Nichiren Daishonin, and on the records left by Nikko Shonin and the successive high priests. To take a single instance, the color of this robe I'm wearing is the same color as the robe that Nichiren Daishonin wore. We know that he wore gray robes because he said so in the Gosho. Although it was not codified as a regulation of Nichiren Shoshu until quite a while after the Daishonin's passing, Nichiren Shoshu priests, nonetheless, always wore gray robes.
A Brief History of Gongyo
and origin of the Five/3 format.
With respect to Gongyo, Nichiren Daishonin addressed himself to the subject direct in the "Gasshui Gosho", a letter to the wife of Shijo Kingo. He says therein:
Among those twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra, the noblest are the Hoben and Juryo Chapters. The other chapters are all secondary. Therefore, for daily practice, recite the extended parts of the Hoben and Juryo chapters. When you recite the Hoben and Juryo chapters, the virtues of the other chapters are naturally contained ithin them."
In "Reply to Soya" he says:
"I wrote down the extended part of the Hoben chapter for you. Recite it together with the Jiga-ge of the Juryo chapter that I wrote for you previously."
These two writings are specific references to the Daishonin's "format" for Gongyo. He says you must recite the Hoben and Jigage chapters. That is clear, isn't it?
Naturally, Nikko Shonin and the successive High Priests left records that contain references to Gongyo. For instance, the ninth High Priest Nichiu Shonin (1419-1482), whose writings were recorded by his disciples, states in the "Kegi Sho" that on the first and the fifteenth of each month, the first prayer for Gongyo should be done while facing east. According to the Ushidan Sho Kiki Gaki Sho, Nichiu Shonin did Gongyo three times a day: in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. The Dosan Mikyo Shidai, a record dated 1535, left by the twelfth High Priest, Nicchin Shonin, states the following about the format of Gongyo:
"The first prayer in the morning should be done at the Miedo Temple [on the Head Temple Grounds]. The Hoben and Juryo chapters should be recited three times each, followed by three hundred Daimoku."
This first prayer was a prayer of Gratitude to the True Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin, the second High Priest, Nikko Shonin and the third High Priest, Nichimoku Shonin.
"The second prayer, one of gratitude for the Buddhist Gods, was offered at the Ten Kyo Temple [also on the head temple grounds], and consisted of reciting the Hoben and Juryo chapters once each followed by one hundred Daimoku.
"The third prayer, one of gratitude to the Gohonzon, was the recitation of the Hoben and Juryo Chapters once each, followed by one hundred Daimoku at the main Temple.
"The fourth prayer, for Kosenrufu, was offered at the Miedo Temple again, with the Hoben and Juryo chapters being recited once each, followed by one hundred Daimoku.
"The Fifth prayer, followed the same format as the fourth prayer, and was offered at the Mitsubo [also on the Head Temple Grounds] for the ancestors of all priests and believers.
The first prayer of the evening was the same as the third morning prayer, and the second evening prayer was the same as the second morning prayer. The third evening prayer was offered at the "Miedo" temple in gratitude to Nichiren Daishonin and the two successive High Priests. The fourth evening prayer, also at the Miedo Temple, was the recitation of the Juryo Chapter three times, followed by three hundred Daimoku for Kosenrufu. The fifth evening prayer was the same as the fifth morning prayer.
So the record of 1535 states that both morning and evening prayer and the second evening Gongyo consisted of five prayers. At the Head Temple, the prayers were offered moving from one Temple to another. The sutra and Daimoku were chanted at a specific place for a specific prayer and then they moved on to the next temple. The one hundred or three hundred Daimoku following the Sutra recitation may not seem like much to you, but remember they weren't chanting at the "speedy" pace many of you have become accustomed to using. We estimate, from the amount of time it took them to complete Gongyo, that one hundred Daimoku must have taken at least five minutes. The main temple, was of course different from the one you know today, but many of you may have seen the Miedo temple, or at least you have seen photographs of it. Ten Kyo was a platform built specifically for offering prayers for the protection of the Buddhist Gods. Mutsubo is part of the priests' residence.
Two hundred years later, in 1740, the 31st High Priest, Nichiin Shonin, recorded a five-prayer morning, three-prayer evening format in the Toke Kiki Gaki. By this time people were doing one entire morning or evening Gongyo in one place, and rather than chanting Daimoku between prayers, they were doing Sansho of Hiki-Daimoku [Hiki-Daimoku (slow recital three times), and then chanting Daimoku after the sutra recitation was completed. That format, however, was still different from the recitation we are familiar with today. For instance, the third evening prayer was the recitation of the Jiga-ge three times. You know, the section that begins,
Ji ga toku bur-rai
Sho kyo sho kosshu...,
...That is the Jiga-ge. So the Jiga-ge was recited three times and that was the third evening prayer. For the fourth prayer of morning Gongyo, the hoben chapter was recited alone, without the Juryo Chapter.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, people were practicing Gongyo with almost the same five-prayer morning, three-prayer evening format that is familiar today. They were not, however, praying for their personal desires during the fourth prayer. Rather if they had a sick relative or some urgent concern they added an extra prayer to Gongyo. That is, they made an additional rectiation and then offered the special prayer.
You can see that, while the format of Gongyo has shifted a bit over time, the recitation of the Hoben and Juryo Chapters has been constant since the days of the Daishonin.
Questions and answers
Question: Are the Hoben and Juryo chapters that we have been taught ot recite the "extended" chapters mentioned in Nichiren Daishonin's writings?
Question: Well then, how do we decide whether to add an extra prayer or not? Also, why do you sometimes recite the Hoben and Juryo chapters only one time each at meetings before beginning Daimoku?
About the first part of your question, you must know how you feel about your life with respect to prayer. It is a natural feeling. Don't you know how you feel? Adding an extra prayer to Gongyo involves natural feeling towards Gohonzon, not strategy. The Komon Shu Chi Soku (1927), the record that states if something is deeply affecting your life, then you may recite the Hoben and Juryo chapters one extra time and pray for your deep concern, was written at a time when there was a stricter tradition and there was no prayer for personal concerns included in the format for Gongyo.
Today, the fourth prayer of Gongyo allows for personal prayers. In the fourth prayer of Gongyo we pray for Kosen-rufu first, and then we make our personal prayers. This indicates that Kosen-rufu is paramount and that our personal prayers should be under the umbrella of such faith. Once again, I hasten to add, this is not a technique. I am definately not suggesting the rediculous practice such as making up a list of wishes and trying to convince the Gohonzon that you want them fulfiled for the "sake" of Kosen-rufu. "I need this new aparment with a new wardrobe (car, stereo, vcr, million dollars, etceteras...) I promise I will spend all my time working for Kosen-rufu." The idea of bargaining like that is nonsense, and is deeply insulting to the Gohonzon. If you really care that much for Kosen-rufu, you will devote yourself wholeheartedly, million dollars or no. If adding on an extra prayer becomes that much of a question, I would say please chant Daimoku -- as sincerely as possible -- instead.
Attitude and Demeanor
The second part of your question touches on the issues of attitude and demeanor during Gongyo, as well as format. When I first came here from Japan, my strongest initial impression was that everyone wanted to do the speediest Gongyo possible. I must say, I didn't really know what to think. It was as if the goal was to fly through Gongyo. I was accustomed to hearing Soka Gakkai members in Japan chanting slurred, "flying" daimoku, but I had never heard anyone reciting the Sutra in the manner I heard when I arrived here. It was not only untraditional -- frankly, it didn't sound very nice. When I asked some members why they did Gongyo that way, many of them said that they were taught that they should try to do Gongyo like that, adding that, if they did Gongyo at a slower pace, they wouldn't have time to chant Daimoku.
I introduced the format of reciting the entire sutra book through once, followed by Daimoku and the offering of all the prayers at the end, to stress to believers that chanting pure Daimoku is the most important thing in Buddhist Practice. If someone is racing through a five-prayer-morning and three-prayer evening recitation, and even at that, having only enough time left over for five minutes of hurried Daimoku, it is definately preferable to recite the Hoben and Juryo Chapters once steadily and rhythmically, and to follow that with chanting of pure Daimoku.
I learned this from the late high Priest, Nittatsu Shonin. In the course of fulfilling hte responsibilities of his position, he naturally found it necessary to visit many Nichiren Shoshu Temples for one reason or another. When he visited Tokyo, he usually stayed at the Branch Temple that I was assigned to as an assistant for a time. I did Gongyo many times with Nittatsu Shonin, and that is the way he did Gongyo when he visited the Temple. He went through the Hoben and Juryo Chapters once, chanted Daimoku for a long time, and then prayed all five prayers at the end of the Daimoku. This is not strange or secret; many priests have done Gongyo with Nittatsu Shonin using this format. So, priests might follow this format sometimes, or might recite the extend Hoben and Juryo Chapters sometimes, but what they all bear in mind is that the Daimoku is the primary practice of their faith.
Just for your information htere is a special recitation of Gongyo that some priests -- expecially older priests -- sometimes do, that involves dropping some consonants and emphasizing some vowels. It takes less time to recite the Sutra this way -- some of hte older priests can recite the Hoben chapter in this style with one breath -- but it takes a lot of training, and the sound of it in no way resemebles the slurred, quick Gongyo I was referring to before.
JazzIs TvRicky
Jul 15, 2017, 7:24:59 AM7/15/17
to
The History of Gongyo (1)
Soka Spirit Editor
Published by
Posted on August 11, 2009
Daishonin never prescribed a specific format or number of repetitions.
While the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and the recitation of the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters of the Lotus Sutra constitute an unchanging facet of Buddhist practice, the forms these practices have taken over time—including such details as the number of times the sutra is recited in the morning and evening, and the accompanying silent prayers that go with each recitation—were all established after the Daishonin’s death and have evolved with the times. In this article, let us review the history of gongyo based on the Nichiren Daishonin’s writings in order to deepen our understanding of our daily Buddhist practice.
First of all, the Daishonin never prescribed a specific format or number of repetitions of sutra recitation, although he did frequently write of the importance of reciting the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters of the Lotus Sutra. For example, in 1264, the wife of Daigaku Saburo(*1) wrote to the Daishonin and told him that she was reciting the “Medicine King” chapter of the Lotus Sutra. In replying to her, he recommended that she recite both the “Expedient Means” and the “Life Span” chapters instead: “Therefore, for your regular recitation, I recommend that you practice reading the prose sections of the ‘Expedient Means’ and ‘Life Span’ chapters”(WND p. 71).
Eleven years later in 1275, the Daishonin composed a letter to Soya Kyoshin (*2) stating: “I have written out the prose section of the ‘Expedient Means’ chapter for you. You should recite it together with the verse portion of the ‘Life Span’ chapter, which I sent you earlier” (WND, p. 486).
Although we are not sure which prose section of the “Expedient Means” chapter the Daishonin meant here, as there are more than one in the chapter, the important thing is that he once again recommended the recitation of the these two chapters.
Further, in a 1276 letter to Matsuno Rokuro Saemon(*3) , the Daishonin states: “In your letter you write: ‘Since I took faith in this sutra, I have continued to recite the ten factors of life and the verse section of the ‘Life Span’ chapter and chant the daimoku without the slightest neglect’”(WND, p. 755-756). Here, “ten factors” refers to that part of the “Expedient Means” chapter that the SGI recites in gongyo; just as the words verse section of the ’Life Span’ chapter” correspond to that part of the chapter that the SGI also recites. These are the parts of the Lotus Sutra that the SGI used to refer to as “Section A” and “Section C” of gongyo.
Daishonin’s disciples and their practice
In 13th century Japan, not many people(*4) were able to read kanji, the Chinese characters into which the Lotus Sutra was translated into from Sanskrit. Therefore, the Daishonin sent letters to his literate disciples such as Toki Jonin(*5) and Shijyo Kingo(*6) , and asked them to read them to many other disciples. Furthermore, and unlike most other Buddhist priests of his day, the Daishonin often used the common language of the time (Hiragana, or Japanese phonetic characters) in his letters, so that as many of his followers as possible could read them.
Among the Daishonin’s disciples, many were farmers and common people such as the famous three brothers of Atsuhara Village(*7) . Their practice probably only consisted of chanting daimoku, since they could not read the Lotus Sutra. Obtaining a copy of the Lotus Sutra was expensive and very difficult, so it seems most unlikely that they would have had such a copy.
In fact, it seems likely that most disciples relied solely on chanting daimoku as their primary practice. At any rate, the Daishonin certainly stressed the importance of chanting daimoku as the primary practice.
In 1277, Nichiren Daishonin wrote a letter to Matsuno Rokuro Saemon: As I have been saying for some time, in your situation as a lay believer, you should just single-mindedly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo morning and evening, day and night” (WND p. 843).
A year later, in 1278, the Daishonin wrote to the lay nun Myoho(*8) : “The Heart of the Lotus Sutra is its title, or the daimoku, of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Truly, if you chant this in the morning and evening, you are correctly reading the entire Lotus Sutra.” (WND p.923)
The Atsuhara brothers must have chanted daimoku single-mindedly to fight as they did against governmental authority and to have been willing to sacrifice their lives for their beliefs. Although they probably did not recite the Lotus Sutra, they were examples of true disciples. Indeed, it was their strong faith and courageous actions that eventually led to the Daishonin inscribing the Dai-Gohonzon for the sake of people throughout the world.
After the Daishonin passed away, Nikko Shonin wrote in his treatise, “On the Betrayal of the Five Senior Priests (Gosho Zenshu, p.1614),” that it was wrong to advocate that practitioners recite all the chapters of the Lotus Sutra. He insisted that followers of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism should simply recite the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters, as Daishonin instructed. Nikko Shonin also emphasized the importance of “chanting five character of daimoku.” Clearly, as a true disciple of Nichiren Daishonin, Nikko Shonin believed that one should chant daimoku as the primary practice.
During the time of Nichiu, the 9th high priest (1402-1482)
In Taiseki-ji(*9) the format of gongyo evolved over centuries and was modified with the changing of the times. In a record of 9th high priest Nichiu’s words and behavior entitled Various Accounts of the Teacher Nichiu (Essential Teachings of the Fuji School, vol. 2, p. 140), there is reference to performing gongyo three times each day. The times at which these gongyo services were performed seems to have been between the hour of the dragon and the hour of the snake (between 8 and 10 a.m.), at the hour of the horse (around noon) and during the hour of the dog (around 8 p.m.). In addition, in the same document, we find record of the content of what is referred to as “morning gongyo”—possibly ushitora gongyo, the early morning gongyo ceremony conducted at the head temple between the hour of the ox (ushi) and the tiger (tora) [between around 2 and 4 a.m.]. Moreover, priests at that time moved from building to building on the head temple grounds to conduct each recitation of the sutra:
The format of morning gongyo around 1480
At Godo(Main Temple):
1. Facing toward morning sky Recite A, B, C
2. Facing Gohonzon Recite A, A+, B, C
At Mieido(Image Temple):
3. Facing statues of the Three Teachers (Nichiren Daishonin, Nikko Shonin and Nichimoku Shonin) Recite A, B, C
When doing gongyo at Bo( lodging ),the format was different: Step 1 & 2 only
Notes
Throughout this article, each section of the gongyo indicated with following alphabetic symbols:
A: “Expedient Means” chapter (through the ten factors)
A+ : “Expedient Means” chapter (including the long prose portion)
B : “Prose” section of “Life Span” chapter
C : “Verse” section of the “Life Span” chapter
*1.Hiki Daigaku Saburo Yoshimoto (1202-1286): An official teacher of Confucianism to the kamakura shogunate in Japan. It is said that Yoshimoto converted to Nichiren”s teachings upon reading a draft of Nichiren’s treatise On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land. He and his wife both become strong believers.
*2.Soya Kyoshin (1224-1291): Also known as the lay priest Soya or Kyoshinbo. A follower of Nichiren who lived in Shimosa Province, Japan.
*3.A follower of Nichiren Daishonin who lived in the village of Matsuno in Ihara District of Suruga Province, Japan. His daughter married Nanjo Hyoe Shichiro,the father of Nanjo Tokimitsu. Matsuno converted to Nichiren’s teachings through his relationship with the Nanjo family. (For more detail, see The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, p.397)
*4.Generally, aristocrats, priests and samurai had a very high literacy rate in Kanji. Recent studies, however, show that literacy in Kanji among other groups in society may have been somewhat higher than previously understood. For example, a court document from the Kamakura period, submitted by farmers, was prepared in Kanji. Some believe that both the Kanji literacy rate and skills in math both improved toward the end of Kamakura period. (Matsuura, Yoshinori. Fukuiken-shi, Vol.2)
*5.Toki Jonin (1216-1299): A lay follower of Nichiren who lived in Wakamiya, Katsushika District of Shimosa Province, Japan. Toki became Nichiren’s follower around 1254.He served as a retainer to Load Chiba. While Nichiren was in exile on Sado from 1271 through 1274, Toki Jonin and Shijo Kingo, served as a rallying point for his followers. (For more detail, see The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, p.747)
*6.Shijo Kingo (c.1230-1300): A follower of Nichiren who lived in Kamakura, Japan. A Samurai retainer. Kingo was well versed in both medicine and the martial art. (For more detail, see The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, p.588-589)
*7.Three followers of Nichiren who were arrested and beheaded during the Atsuhara Persecution. They were brothers named Jinshiro, Yagoro, and Yarokuro, farmers in Atsuhara Village in Fuji District of Suruga Province, Japan. (For more detail, see The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, p.713-714).
*8.Lay nun Myoho lived in Okamiya in Suruga Province, Japan. She asked Nichiren whether one can attain enlightment by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo alone.
*9.The head temple of Nichiren Shoshu, located in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Founded by Nikko (1246-1333) in 1282. (For more detail, see The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, p.650-651).
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During the time of Nicchin, the 12th high priest (1469- 1527) : The origin of 5 prayer format.
“The five-prayer format of gongyo became formalized during the term of Nicchin, who served as high priest from 1482-1527” (Toryu gyoji sho ni manabu, p. 244). In his work On Reciting the Sutra at Each Temple, Nicchin indicates that morning and evening gongyo were conducted while making the rounds among various temples on the Taiseki-ji grounds. This was first recorded as having taken place on the evening of May 1, 1523, in which gongyo was conducted in the following manner:
Evening gongyo : May 1, 1523
At Hondo: Recite A, B, C, then, chant 100 daimoku
At Temmi-kyo: Recite A, B, C, then, chant 100 daimoku
At Miei-do: Recite A, B, C, then, chant 100 daimoku,
then recite B, C, B, C, B, C, B, C, and 300 daimoku
Morning gongyo: May 2, 1523
At Miei-do: Recite A, B, C, A, B, C, A, B, C, then chant 300 daimoku
At Tenmi-kyo: Recite A, B, C, then chant 100 daimoku
At Hon-do: Recite A, B, C, then chant 100 daimoku
At Miei-do: Recite A, B, C, then chant 100 daimoku
At Mutsubo(lodgings): [prayers for the deceased]
Whether this pattern of morning and evening gongyo was conducted every day is not clear. Nittatsu, the 66th Nichiren Shoshu high priest, suggested that “prayers of appreciation for the Gohonzon were offered at the Hondo, while prayers at the Miei-do were offered for gratitude to the Three Teachers and for the accomplishment of kosen-rufu, and during the outdoor prayer, appreciation was offered for the protection of the shoten zenjin, and furthermore, prayers for the deceased were offered at the priests’ lodgings, and that this formed the basis for today’s five-prayer format of gongyo”(Renge, July 1971, p.12).
During the time of Nissei, the 17th high priest (1600-1683): Origin of “one-site gongyo”
As noted, gongyo included reciting different parts of the sutra at several different buildings on the head temple. The change to “one-site” gongyo started during the tenure of Nissei, the 17th high priest. Nissei, however, is known for two major doctrinal errors: the first was the establishment of a statue of Shakyamuni as an object of devotion, and the second was the mandate that all Twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus sutra be recited during gongyo(*10). As mentioned above, this mandate directly contradicted the teachings of the Daishonin and of his great disciple Nikko Shonin who clearly specified the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters.
In 1631, some important buildings at the head temple burned to the ground. In the following year, Nissei built a new building called the “Daido,” which replaced the previous buildings. According to Nittatsu, “the practice of making the rounds among the various temples to perform gongyo was discontinued at that time”(p.42). Thus, one-site gongyo began.
During the time of Nichikan, the 26th high priest (1665-1726)
Interestingly enough, according to the historical documents, it was nearly 400 years after the passing of Daishonin, sometime between 1682 to 1719(*11) (between 23rd high priest Nikkei to 26th high priest Nichikan) that the practice of doing gongyo twice a day became an established practice at Taiseki-ji. In 1719, Nichikan sent a letter responding to a question from a lay believer in which he lists the form that gongyo was then carried out at the head temple. The following chart shows that format:
Gongyo at Taiseki-ji, in 1719
In the morning(between 2 and 4 a.m) [Silent prayers for:] 1. Recite A, B, C [Heavenly deities] 2. Recite A, A+, B, C [Gohonzon] 3. Recite A, B, C [Three teachers] 4. Recite A, B, C [Personal prayers] 5. Recite A, B, C [The deceased]
Evening
1. Recite A, B, C [Gohonzon] 2. Recite A, B, C [Three teachers] 3. Recite C, C, C [The deceased]
As the above chart shows, the gongyo conducted at Taiseki-ji at that time took at least 2 hours. In fact, it was Second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda who suggested shortening that form of gongyo, so that it could fit more easily into the daily lives of the ordinary lay people of his day. It was Toda’s desire to make the practice of gongyo more practical to a wide portion of the population, and thus make it more conducive to the original aim of Nichiren Daishonin, world-wide Kosen-rufu.
SGI’s new gongyo format toward a world religion
In the history of Taiseki-ji, many Buddhist formalities were created after the Daishonin’s passing, especially under the Tokugawa government’s parish system(*12),which was implemented during the 17th Century. These formalities include memorial books, memorial tablets, Buddhist altars, funeral services, family tombs, as well as changes to the format of gongyo.
Clearly, the format of gongyo has evolved over the centuries and has been modified with the changing of the times. One may ask why the Daishonin did not set a specific format for gongyo during his lifetime? One can only conclude that he had the foresight to see that such formality was unnecessary and that the practice would need to evolve over time, according to the social circumstances of his followers.
The appropriateness of such formalities must be judged according to the times and the people. If such formalities do not accord with the times and the people, then practitioners, finding themselves bound to archaic ways, will suffer and the progress of kosen-rufu will be impeded.
Nichiren Daishonin revealed the practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo for the sake of the entire world. This is reflected in the fact that the word “enbudai” which means “the entire world” is mentioned some 173 times in the Gosho. Focusing on the primary practice of daimoku, supplemented by the practice of gongyo, the Daishonin revealed a practice that is accessible to the great variety of people that exist around the world.
Notes
Throughout this article, each section of the gongyo indicated with following alphabetic symbols:
A: “Expedient Means” chapter (through the ten factors)
A+ : “Expedient Means” chapter (including the long prose portion)
B : “Prose” section of “Life Span” chapter
C : “Verse” section of the “Life Span” chapter
*10. For more about Nissei, See chapter 7 of The Untold History of the Fuji School: The True Story of Nichiren Shoshu, p.61-67.
*11. For example, at the time of Nisshu (the 22nd high priest from 1680 – 1682), priests at Taiseki-ji conducted three gongyo a day. Nisshu states: “At five temples in the Fuji school, three-gongyo -a-day has been practiced with reciting two chapters of “Expedient Mean” and “Life Span” –the essence of all the 28 chapters of the Lotus Sutra—since the time of founder [Nikko].”(Toryu gyoji sho ni manabu, p.252). Thus doing gongyo twice a day became an established practice after Nisshu’s tenure.
*12. For more about the Parish System, See chapter 6 of The Untold History of the Fuji School: The True Story of Nichiren Shoshu, p.53-59.
List of Works consulted:
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin (Tokyo: Soka Gakkai, 1999)
Hori, Nichiko ed. Nichiren Daishonin Gosho Zenshu [The Collected Writings of Nichiren Daishonin] (Tokyo: Soka Gakkai, 1952)
Hori, Nichiko ed. Fuji Shugaku Yoshu [Essential Teachings of the Fuji School] (Tokyo: Soka Gakkai, 1975), Vol. 2.
The Lotus Sutra.trans. Burton Watson (New York: Columbia University Press,1993 )
Hori, Nichiko. Fuji Nikko Shonin Shoden [A Detailed Biography of Nikko Shonin in Fuji School] (Tokyo: Seikyo Shimbunsha, 1974)
Ikeda, Daisaku ed. Gonin shoha sho ni manabu[Learning from “On the Betrayal of the Five Senior Priests”] (Tokyo: Seikyo Shimbunsha, 2000), 2vols.
Ikeda, Daisaku ed. Toryu gyoji sho ni manabu [Learning from “On the Practice of This School”]. (Tokyo: Seikyo Shimbunsha, 1990)
The SGI-USA Study Department ed. The Untold History of Fuji School: The True Story of Nichiren Shoshu (Santa Monica: World Tribune Press,2000)
Morino, Ted. “Gongyo, Our basic Buddhist Practice.” World Tribune, January 23, 1995
Saito, Katsuji. “On the Silent Prayers.” World Tribune, May 25, 1992.
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Soka Spirit Editor
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Daishonin never prescribed a specific format or number of repetitions.
While the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and the recitation of the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters of the Lotus Sutra constitute an unchanging facet of Buddhist practice, the forms these practices have taken over time—including such details as the number of times the sutra is recited in the morning and evening, and the accompanying silent prayers that go with each recitation—were all established after the Daishonin’s death and have evolved with the times. In this article, let us review the history of gongyo based on the Nichiren Daishonin’s writings in order to deepen our understanding of our daily Buddhist practice.
First of all, the Daishonin never prescribed a specific format or number of repetitions of sutra recitation, although he did frequently write of the importance of reciting the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters of the Lotus Sutra. For example, in 1264, the wife of Daigaku Saburo(*1) wrote to the Daishonin and told him that she was reciting the “Medicine King” chapter of the Lotus Sutra. In replying to her, he recommended that she recite both the “Expedient Means” and the “Life Span” chapters instead: “Therefore, for your regular recitation, I recommend that you practice reading the prose sections of the ‘Expedient Means’ and ‘Life Span’ chapters”(WND p. 71).
Eleven years later in 1275, the Daishonin composed a letter to Soya Kyoshin (*2) stating: “I have written out the prose section of the ‘Expedient Means’ chapter for you. You should recite it together with the verse portion of the ‘Life Span’ chapter, which I sent you earlier” (WND, p. 486).
Although we are not sure which prose section of the “Expedient Means” chapter the Daishonin meant here, as there are more than one in the chapter, the important thing is that he once again recommended the recitation of the these two chapters.
Further, in a 1276 letter to Matsuno Rokuro Saemon(*3) , the Daishonin states: “In your letter you write: ‘Since I took faith in this sutra, I have continued to recite the ten factors of life and the verse section of the ‘Life Span’ chapter and chant the daimoku without the slightest neglect’”(WND, p. 755-756). Here, “ten factors” refers to that part of the “Expedient Means” chapter that the SGI recites in gongyo; just as the words verse section of the ’Life Span’ chapter” correspond to that part of the chapter that the SGI also recites. These are the parts of the Lotus Sutra that the SGI used to refer to as “Section A” and “Section C” of gongyo.
Daishonin’s disciples and their practice
In 13th century Japan, not many people(*4) were able to read kanji, the Chinese characters into which the Lotus Sutra was translated into from Sanskrit. Therefore, the Daishonin sent letters to his literate disciples such as Toki Jonin(*5) and Shijyo Kingo(*6) , and asked them to read them to many other disciples. Furthermore, and unlike most other Buddhist priests of his day, the Daishonin often used the common language of the time (Hiragana, or Japanese phonetic characters) in his letters, so that as many of his followers as possible could read them.
Among the Daishonin’s disciples, many were farmers and common people such as the famous three brothers of Atsuhara Village(*7) . Their practice probably only consisted of chanting daimoku, since they could not read the Lotus Sutra. Obtaining a copy of the Lotus Sutra was expensive and very difficult, so it seems most unlikely that they would have had such a copy.
In fact, it seems likely that most disciples relied solely on chanting daimoku as their primary practice. At any rate, the Daishonin certainly stressed the importance of chanting daimoku as the primary practice.
In 1277, Nichiren Daishonin wrote a letter to Matsuno Rokuro Saemon: As I have been saying for some time, in your situation as a lay believer, you should just single-mindedly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo morning and evening, day and night” (WND p. 843).
A year later, in 1278, the Daishonin wrote to the lay nun Myoho(*8) : “The Heart of the Lotus Sutra is its title, or the daimoku, of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Truly, if you chant this in the morning and evening, you are correctly reading the entire Lotus Sutra.” (WND p.923)
The Atsuhara brothers must have chanted daimoku single-mindedly to fight as they did against governmental authority and to have been willing to sacrifice their lives for their beliefs. Although they probably did not recite the Lotus Sutra, they were examples of true disciples. Indeed, it was their strong faith and courageous actions that eventually led to the Daishonin inscribing the Dai-Gohonzon for the sake of people throughout the world.
After the Daishonin passed away, Nikko Shonin wrote in his treatise, “On the Betrayal of the Five Senior Priests (Gosho Zenshu, p.1614),” that it was wrong to advocate that practitioners recite all the chapters of the Lotus Sutra. He insisted that followers of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism should simply recite the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters, as Daishonin instructed. Nikko Shonin also emphasized the importance of “chanting five character of daimoku.” Clearly, as a true disciple of Nichiren Daishonin, Nikko Shonin believed that one should chant daimoku as the primary practice.
During the time of Nichiu, the 9th high priest (1402-1482)
In Taiseki-ji(*9) the format of gongyo evolved over centuries and was modified with the changing of the times. In a record of 9th high priest Nichiu’s words and behavior entitled Various Accounts of the Teacher Nichiu (Essential Teachings of the Fuji School, vol. 2, p. 140), there is reference to performing gongyo three times each day. The times at which these gongyo services were performed seems to have been between the hour of the dragon and the hour of the snake (between 8 and 10 a.m.), at the hour of the horse (around noon) and during the hour of the dog (around 8 p.m.). In addition, in the same document, we find record of the content of what is referred to as “morning gongyo”—possibly ushitora gongyo, the early morning gongyo ceremony conducted at the head temple between the hour of the ox (ushi) and the tiger (tora) [between around 2 and 4 a.m.]. Moreover, priests at that time moved from building to building on the head temple grounds to conduct each recitation of the sutra:
The format of morning gongyo around 1480
At Godo(Main Temple):
1. Facing toward morning sky Recite A, B, C
2. Facing Gohonzon Recite A, A+, B, C
At Mieido(Image Temple):
3. Facing statues of the Three Teachers (Nichiren Daishonin, Nikko Shonin and Nichimoku Shonin) Recite A, B, C
When doing gongyo at Bo( lodging ),the format was different: Step 1 & 2 only
Notes
Throughout this article, each section of the gongyo indicated with following alphabetic symbols:
A: “Expedient Means” chapter (through the ten factors)
A+ : “Expedient Means” chapter (including the long prose portion)
B : “Prose” section of “Life Span” chapter
C : “Verse” section of the “Life Span” chapter
*1.Hiki Daigaku Saburo Yoshimoto (1202-1286): An official teacher of Confucianism to the kamakura shogunate in Japan. It is said that Yoshimoto converted to Nichiren”s teachings upon reading a draft of Nichiren’s treatise On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land. He and his wife both become strong believers.
*2.Soya Kyoshin (1224-1291): Also known as the lay priest Soya or Kyoshinbo. A follower of Nichiren who lived in Shimosa Province, Japan.
*3.A follower of Nichiren Daishonin who lived in the village of Matsuno in Ihara District of Suruga Province, Japan. His daughter married Nanjo Hyoe Shichiro,the father of Nanjo Tokimitsu. Matsuno converted to Nichiren’s teachings through his relationship with the Nanjo family. (For more detail, see The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, p.397)
*4.Generally, aristocrats, priests and samurai had a very high literacy rate in Kanji. Recent studies, however, show that literacy in Kanji among other groups in society may have been somewhat higher than previously understood. For example, a court document from the Kamakura period, submitted by farmers, was prepared in Kanji. Some believe that both the Kanji literacy rate and skills in math both improved toward the end of Kamakura period. (Matsuura, Yoshinori. Fukuiken-shi, Vol.2)
*5.Toki Jonin (1216-1299): A lay follower of Nichiren who lived in Wakamiya, Katsushika District of Shimosa Province, Japan. Toki became Nichiren’s follower around 1254.He served as a retainer to Load Chiba. While Nichiren was in exile on Sado from 1271 through 1274, Toki Jonin and Shijo Kingo, served as a rallying point for his followers. (For more detail, see The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, p.747)
*6.Shijo Kingo (c.1230-1300): A follower of Nichiren who lived in Kamakura, Japan. A Samurai retainer. Kingo was well versed in both medicine and the martial art. (For more detail, see The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, p.588-589)
*7.Three followers of Nichiren who were arrested and beheaded during the Atsuhara Persecution. They were brothers named Jinshiro, Yagoro, and Yarokuro, farmers in Atsuhara Village in Fuji District of Suruga Province, Japan. (For more detail, see The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, p.713-714).
*8.Lay nun Myoho lived in Okamiya in Suruga Province, Japan. She asked Nichiren whether one can attain enlightment by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo alone.
*9.The head temple of Nichiren Shoshu, located in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Founded by Nikko (1246-1333) in 1282. (For more detail, see The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, p.650-651).
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During the time of Nicchin, the 12th high priest (1469- 1527) : The origin of 5 prayer format.
“The five-prayer format of gongyo became formalized during the term of Nicchin, who served as high priest from 1482-1527” (Toryu gyoji sho ni manabu, p. 244). In his work On Reciting the Sutra at Each Temple, Nicchin indicates that morning and evening gongyo were conducted while making the rounds among various temples on the Taiseki-ji grounds. This was first recorded as having taken place on the evening of May 1, 1523, in which gongyo was conducted in the following manner:
Evening gongyo : May 1, 1523
At Hondo: Recite A, B, C, then, chant 100 daimoku
At Temmi-kyo: Recite A, B, C, then, chant 100 daimoku
At Miei-do: Recite A, B, C, then, chant 100 daimoku,
then recite B, C, B, C, B, C, B, C, and 300 daimoku
Morning gongyo: May 2, 1523
At Miei-do: Recite A, B, C, A, B, C, A, B, C, then chant 300 daimoku
At Tenmi-kyo: Recite A, B, C, then chant 100 daimoku
At Hon-do: Recite A, B, C, then chant 100 daimoku
At Miei-do: Recite A, B, C, then chant 100 daimoku
At Mutsubo(lodgings): [prayers for the deceased]
Whether this pattern of morning and evening gongyo was conducted every day is not clear. Nittatsu, the 66th Nichiren Shoshu high priest, suggested that “prayers of appreciation for the Gohonzon were offered at the Hondo, while prayers at the Miei-do were offered for gratitude to the Three Teachers and for the accomplishment of kosen-rufu, and during the outdoor prayer, appreciation was offered for the protection of the shoten zenjin, and furthermore, prayers for the deceased were offered at the priests’ lodgings, and that this formed the basis for today’s five-prayer format of gongyo”(Renge, July 1971, p.12).
During the time of Nissei, the 17th high priest (1600-1683): Origin of “one-site gongyo”
As noted, gongyo included reciting different parts of the sutra at several different buildings on the head temple. The change to “one-site” gongyo started during the tenure of Nissei, the 17th high priest. Nissei, however, is known for two major doctrinal errors: the first was the establishment of a statue of Shakyamuni as an object of devotion, and the second was the mandate that all Twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus sutra be recited during gongyo(*10). As mentioned above, this mandate directly contradicted the teachings of the Daishonin and of his great disciple Nikko Shonin who clearly specified the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters.
In 1631, some important buildings at the head temple burned to the ground. In the following year, Nissei built a new building called the “Daido,” which replaced the previous buildings. According to Nittatsu, “the practice of making the rounds among the various temples to perform gongyo was discontinued at that time”(p.42). Thus, one-site gongyo began.
During the time of Nichikan, the 26th high priest (1665-1726)
Interestingly enough, according to the historical documents, it was nearly 400 years after the passing of Daishonin, sometime between 1682 to 1719(*11) (between 23rd high priest Nikkei to 26th high priest Nichikan) that the practice of doing gongyo twice a day became an established practice at Taiseki-ji. In 1719, Nichikan sent a letter responding to a question from a lay believer in which he lists the form that gongyo was then carried out at the head temple. The following chart shows that format:
Gongyo at Taiseki-ji, in 1719
In the morning(between 2 and 4 a.m) [Silent prayers for:] 1. Recite A, B, C [Heavenly deities] 2. Recite A, A+, B, C [Gohonzon] 3. Recite A, B, C [Three teachers] 4. Recite A, B, C [Personal prayers] 5. Recite A, B, C [The deceased]
Evening
1. Recite A, B, C [Gohonzon] 2. Recite A, B, C [Three teachers] 3. Recite C, C, C [The deceased]
As the above chart shows, the gongyo conducted at Taiseki-ji at that time took at least 2 hours. In fact, it was Second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda who suggested shortening that form of gongyo, so that it could fit more easily into the daily lives of the ordinary lay people of his day. It was Toda’s desire to make the practice of gongyo more practical to a wide portion of the population, and thus make it more conducive to the original aim of Nichiren Daishonin, world-wide Kosen-rufu.
SGI’s new gongyo format toward a world religion
In the history of Taiseki-ji, many Buddhist formalities were created after the Daishonin’s passing, especially under the Tokugawa government’s parish system(*12),which was implemented during the 17th Century. These formalities include memorial books, memorial tablets, Buddhist altars, funeral services, family tombs, as well as changes to the format of gongyo.
Clearly, the format of gongyo has evolved over the centuries and has been modified with the changing of the times. One may ask why the Daishonin did not set a specific format for gongyo during his lifetime? One can only conclude that he had the foresight to see that such formality was unnecessary and that the practice would need to evolve over time, according to the social circumstances of his followers.
The appropriateness of such formalities must be judged according to the times and the people. If such formalities do not accord with the times and the people, then practitioners, finding themselves bound to archaic ways, will suffer and the progress of kosen-rufu will be impeded.
Nichiren Daishonin revealed the practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo for the sake of the entire world. This is reflected in the fact that the word “enbudai” which means “the entire world” is mentioned some 173 times in the Gosho. Focusing on the primary practice of daimoku, supplemented by the practice of gongyo, the Daishonin revealed a practice that is accessible to the great variety of people that exist around the world.
Notes
Throughout this article, each section of the gongyo indicated with following alphabetic symbols:
A: “Expedient Means” chapter (through the ten factors)
A+ : “Expedient Means” chapter (including the long prose portion)
B : “Prose” section of “Life Span” chapter
C : “Verse” section of the “Life Span” chapter
*10. For more about Nissei, See chapter 7 of The Untold History of the Fuji School: The True Story of Nichiren Shoshu, p.61-67.
*11. For example, at the time of Nisshu (the 22nd high priest from 1680 – 1682), priests at Taiseki-ji conducted three gongyo a day. Nisshu states: “At five temples in the Fuji school, three-gongyo -a-day has been practiced with reciting two chapters of “Expedient Mean” and “Life Span” –the essence of all the 28 chapters of the Lotus Sutra—since the time of founder [Nikko].”(Toryu gyoji sho ni manabu, p.252). Thus doing gongyo twice a day became an established practice after Nisshu’s tenure.
*12. For more about the Parish System, See chapter 6 of The Untold History of the Fuji School: The True Story of Nichiren Shoshu, p.53-59.
List of Works consulted:
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin (Tokyo: Soka Gakkai, 1999)
Hori, Nichiko ed. Nichiren Daishonin Gosho Zenshu [The Collected Writings of Nichiren Daishonin] (Tokyo: Soka Gakkai, 1952)
Hori, Nichiko ed. Fuji Shugaku Yoshu [Essential Teachings of the Fuji School] (Tokyo: Soka Gakkai, 1975), Vol. 2.
The Lotus Sutra.trans. Burton Watson (New York: Columbia University Press,1993 )
Hori, Nichiko. Fuji Nikko Shonin Shoden [A Detailed Biography of Nikko Shonin in Fuji School] (Tokyo: Seikyo Shimbunsha, 1974)
Ikeda, Daisaku ed. Gonin shoha sho ni manabu[Learning from “On the Betrayal of the Five Senior Priests”] (Tokyo: Seikyo Shimbunsha, 2000), 2vols.
Ikeda, Daisaku ed. Toryu gyoji sho ni manabu [Learning from “On the Practice of This School”]. (Tokyo: Seikyo Shimbunsha, 1990)
The SGI-USA Study Department ed. The Untold History of Fuji School: The True Story of Nichiren Shoshu (Santa Monica: World Tribune Press,2000)
Morino, Ted. “Gongyo, Our basic Buddhist Practice.” World Tribune, January 23, 1995
Saito, Katsuji. “On the Silent Prayers.” World Tribune, May 25, 1992.
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JazzIs TvRicky
Jul 15, 2017, 7:28:06 AM7/15/17
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The History of Gongyo (2)
Published by Soka Spirit Editor
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Part III
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Katie Higgins
Jul 15, 2017, 12:53:56 PM7/15/17
to
This is from Ricky's dharma wheel post on gongyo.
Qq posted this:
"One follow up.
We have addressed your assertions with references to gosho and sutra. There is only so much we can offer when you insist on reading passages out of context. You willfully insist only your reading is correct, and far from being the only person teaching what Nichiren taught, you seem to be lost in a room of mirrors.
It is rather ridiculous of you to insist that only you know the efficacy of Daimoku. That is quite demonstrably false - there are many many of us who know this. And what is unfortunate for you is that you are so caught up in your own reading, you can't see all the fellows around you and you are impervious to learning anything.
I'm not sure what purpose you think you are accomplishing here other than gratifying your apparent need to yell at people and tell them they're wrong and you, and only you (I assure you you are alone in that mind of yours) are right.
I do wish you well. I do hope you can help alleviate suffering in the dark corners of the world. You may wish to discount our heretical efforts, but I assure you, bodhicitta is widely felt.
You should go back and read the first chapter of the Lotus Sutra where the Buddha illuminates the lands in the East. Consider what the Buddha shows the assembly."
Maybe Ricky should " listen" ?
~Katie
Qq posted this:
"One follow up.
We have addressed your assertions with references to gosho and sutra. There is only so much we can offer when you insist on reading passages out of context. You willfully insist only your reading is correct, and far from being the only person teaching what Nichiren taught, you seem to be lost in a room of mirrors.
It is rather ridiculous of you to insist that only you know the efficacy of Daimoku. That is quite demonstrably false - there are many many of us who know this. And what is unfortunate for you is that you are so caught up in your own reading, you can't see all the fellows around you and you are impervious to learning anything.
I'm not sure what purpose you think you are accomplishing here other than gratifying your apparent need to yell at people and tell them they're wrong and you, and only you (I assure you you are alone in that mind of yours) are right.
I do wish you well. I do hope you can help alleviate suffering in the dark corners of the world. You may wish to discount our heretical efforts, but I assure you, bodhicitta is widely felt.
You should go back and read the first chapter of the Lotus Sutra where the Buddha illuminates the lands in the East. Consider what the Buddha shows the assembly."
Maybe Ricky should " listen" ?
~Katie
Noel
Jul 15, 2017, 7:58:40 PM7/15/17
to
JazzIs TvRicky
Jul 15, 2017, 8:06:53 PM7/15/17
to
Later on Q writes:
"Richard, you may not realize, but I am trying to understand what you are saying.
I agree that Nichiren counseled that those who are just embarking on the path should not concern themselves with any practice other than cultivating faith. This is done, as you assert, in the simplest, complete sense by chanting the daimoku with a mind of faith. No other practice is necessary to attain enlightenment in this body - but the meaning of daimoku with faith evolves with as one's faith evolves. And its this that you seem to condemn.
This is wrong. You won't agree and you will call me names, accuse me of heresy, etc. That is nothing I can control. That's on you.
As one's faith and practice evolves, it ripens into a reading of daimoku with our mind and body in the world we live - not just in front of the Gohonzon chanting daimoku.
You're aversion to gongyo seem to stem from your experience in NSA, SGI? Shoshu. In arguing with me and others, you seem to have in mind that we're telling people to recite the sutra five times in the morning and three times in the evening. This is not the case. I don't think anyone here has said that recitation of sutras is required to attain enlightenment.
Let's take a look at the section of the Shishin Gohon Sho, The Four Depths of Faith and Five Stages of Practice, you focus on, the section about reciting daimoku exclusively. This is based on the Seventeenth Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the portion included in the Chapter and Two Halves. Based on the sutra, and Zhiyi's (Tiantai's) commentary and Zhanran/Miao-lo' commentary on it, Nichiren teaches one first embarking on the path is not required to undertake all six paramitas - dana (generosity), sila (right behavior), ksanti (forbearance/patience), virya (diligence), dhyana (concentration), but only the paramita of prajna (wisdom). However, lacking in wisdom, we substitute adhimukti for prajna. Adhimukti is a condition of the mind in which the subject establishes resolve in a teaching. Its often translated as "faith", but has a different nuance. In any event, we hear the Buddha's teaching and through adhimukti accept what he teaches as true.
The teaching here is Myohorengekyo 妙法蓮華経. We express our resolve in its truth by adding Namu 南無, which is an expression of refuge/devotion. By chanting this, we are able to develop our resolve. We start with a faint, tentative resolve that ripens with repetition and reinforcement. And as you know, rounding out the Three Pillars, our faith and practice is enriched with study. These three serve to reinforce and enhance the others.
The passage of the Shishin Gohon Sho, as well as other Gosho explain that the Daimoku contains all the teachings and practices of the Buddha just as the two characters for Japan 日本 refers to all the provinces, all cities, towns, and villages, the mountains, the forests, and all the people of Japan. If someone wants to name all of those discrete dharmas, all the provinces, cities, towns, villages - let alone each being - there is a danger that they might lose their way and become confused, but there is nothing wrong if one is able to do so. In fact, with a little practice, it would not be a particular challenge to name all the provinces and reflect on unique features of each - thereby bringing to mind a more detailed and nuanced meaning to Japan 日本. If Japan is foreign to you, you could substitute your own country and think of the subdivisions.
Gongyo, as has been pointed out in this thread by participants, is a way to enhance our practice of daimoku. By reflecting on the three ways of understanding the ten factors, we develop our appreciation for the varied nature of reality. By reciting the 16th Chapter, we reflect on the beginningless and endless nature of Buddhahood.
These practices are not required, but if someone is inclined and capable, there is nothing that should hold them back." Q
It sounds to me like Q has awakened to Nichiren's Teachings and is clarifying his understanding very well!
I am A Teacher of The Law
"Richard, you may not realize, but I am trying to understand what you are saying.
I agree that Nichiren counseled that those who are just embarking on the path should not concern themselves with any practice other than cultivating faith. This is done, as you assert, in the simplest, complete sense by chanting the daimoku with a mind of faith. No other practice is necessary to attain enlightenment in this body - but the meaning of daimoku with faith evolves with as one's faith evolves. And its this that you seem to condemn.
This is wrong. You won't agree and you will call me names, accuse me of heresy, etc. That is nothing I can control. That's on you.
As one's faith and practice evolves, it ripens into a reading of daimoku with our mind and body in the world we live - not just in front of the Gohonzon chanting daimoku.
You're aversion to gongyo seem to stem from your experience in NSA, SGI? Shoshu. In arguing with me and others, you seem to have in mind that we're telling people to recite the sutra five times in the morning and three times in the evening. This is not the case. I don't think anyone here has said that recitation of sutras is required to attain enlightenment.
Let's take a look at the section of the Shishin Gohon Sho, The Four Depths of Faith and Five Stages of Practice, you focus on, the section about reciting daimoku exclusively. This is based on the Seventeenth Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the portion included in the Chapter and Two Halves. Based on the sutra, and Zhiyi's (Tiantai's) commentary and Zhanran/Miao-lo' commentary on it, Nichiren teaches one first embarking on the path is not required to undertake all six paramitas - dana (generosity), sila (right behavior), ksanti (forbearance/patience), virya (diligence), dhyana (concentration), but only the paramita of prajna (wisdom). However, lacking in wisdom, we substitute adhimukti for prajna. Adhimukti is a condition of the mind in which the subject establishes resolve in a teaching. Its often translated as "faith", but has a different nuance. In any event, we hear the Buddha's teaching and through adhimukti accept what he teaches as true.
The teaching here is Myohorengekyo 妙法蓮華経. We express our resolve in its truth by adding Namu 南無, which is an expression of refuge/devotion. By chanting this, we are able to develop our resolve. We start with a faint, tentative resolve that ripens with repetition and reinforcement. And as you know, rounding out the Three Pillars, our faith and practice is enriched with study. These three serve to reinforce and enhance the others.
The passage of the Shishin Gohon Sho, as well as other Gosho explain that the Daimoku contains all the teachings and practices of the Buddha just as the two characters for Japan 日本 refers to all the provinces, all cities, towns, and villages, the mountains, the forests, and all the people of Japan. If someone wants to name all of those discrete dharmas, all the provinces, cities, towns, villages - let alone each being - there is a danger that they might lose their way and become confused, but there is nothing wrong if one is able to do so. In fact, with a little practice, it would not be a particular challenge to name all the provinces and reflect on unique features of each - thereby bringing to mind a more detailed and nuanced meaning to Japan 日本. If Japan is foreign to you, you could substitute your own country and think of the subdivisions.
Gongyo, as has been pointed out in this thread by participants, is a way to enhance our practice of daimoku. By reflecting on the three ways of understanding the ten factors, we develop our appreciation for the varied nature of reality. By reciting the 16th Chapter, we reflect on the beginningless and endless nature of Buddhahood.
These practices are not required, but if someone is inclined and capable, there is nothing that should hold them back." Q
It sounds to me like Q has awakened to Nichiren's Teachings and is clarifying his understanding very well!
I am A Teacher of The Law
Noel
Jul 15, 2017, 10:23:42 PM7/15/17
to
Katie Higgins
Jul 15, 2017, 10:37:49 PM7/15/17
to
Hunh? The moderator of Dharma wheel has made some valid points regarding Ricky's - obsession to persuade--
Disregard for this sincere feedback speaks to your "practice ", which apparently lacks respect for others .
You two are free here to continue / my understanding is Dharma wheel is done with this
"Topic"
If you think it isn't a strategy to shut down
Discussion of the fourfold rise and fall , you are not paying attention 🙃
Others are hip to Ricky's jive 😉
~Katie
Disregard for this sincere feedback speaks to your "practice ", which apparently lacks respect for others .
You two are free here to continue / my understanding is Dharma wheel is done with this
"Topic"
If you think it isn't a strategy to shut down
Discussion of the fourfold rise and fall , you are not paying attention 🙃
Others are hip to Ricky's jive 😉
~Katie
Noel
Jul 15, 2017, 11:51:24 PM7/15/17
to
"Gongyo, as has been pointed out in this thread by participants, is a way to enhance our practice of daimoku. By reflecting on the three ways of understanding the ten factors, we develop our appreciation for the varied nature of reality. By reciting the 16th Chapter, we reflect on the beginningless and endless nature of Buddhahood.
These practices are not required, but if someone is inclined and capable, there is nothing that should hold them back." Q
Since your native tongue is English and not Chinese or Japanese that you place so much emphasis on for understanding Nichiren why are you having a problem with comprehending what Q has said when he says these practices are not required which means he is in total agreement with Richard
These practices are not required, but if someone is inclined and capable, there is nothing that should hold them back." Q
Chas.
Jul 16, 2017, 5:14:34 AM7/16/17
to
Readers will note that Mark Rogow and Katie smear along with what the KGB used to call the "useful idiots" Iain and now Noel and Ricky, while I quote the many history books to make my case against the un-indicted war criminals of Nichiren Shu, initiators and co-perpetrators of the Asian Holocaust against the peoples of the Pacific Rim and especially the Chinese people of Nanking.
These war criminals have never been brought to justice.
It is high time that they are hauled into court, because there is no statute of limitations on war crimes.
Justice for the victims of the Rape of Nanking and elsewhere, and prosecution of the war criminals of Nichiren Shu, whose radical militaristic followers and chaplains misled the Japanese people and the royalty into this abomination!
Their distortions of Nichiren Buddhism into Shinto statue worship is the cause, and that distortion continues to be perpetuated by Mark Rogow and Katie Higgins and their "useful idiot", Iain.
Their attacks on the SGI are merely a cover for their perpetual guilt over their complicity in war crimes while the founders of the SGI were cornered by Imperial Way Buddhism and their Shinto Talisman supporting the Pacifc War of Imperial State Zen. Mr. Makiguchi and Mr. Toda were ultimately imprisoned in Tokyo until Mr. Makiguchi's death and Mr. Toda's release at the end of the War, while the forces unleashed by Nichiren Shu (and with the complicity of the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood) ran rampant over China and the Pacific Rim.
here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_war_crimes
and here:
http://www.pacificwar.org.au/JapWarCrimes/Cross-section_JapWarCrimes.html
The Rape of Nanking (1937), also known as the Nanjing Massacre
The Bangka Island Massacre (1942): Slaughter of Australian Army Nurses
The Bataan Death March (1942)
The Sandakan Death March (1945)
Murder and cannibalism on the Kokoda Track (1942)
Conscripting women for sexual slavery in Japanese Army brothels (1937-1945)
Mutilation and murder of Dutch civilians in Borneo
Murder and cannibalism - captured American pilots
-Chas
These war criminals have never been brought to justice.
It is high time that they are hauled into court, because there is no statute of limitations on war crimes.
Justice for the victims of the Rape of Nanking and elsewhere, and prosecution of the war criminals of Nichiren Shu, whose radical militaristic followers and chaplains misled the Japanese people and the royalty into this abomination!
Their distortions of Nichiren Buddhism into Shinto statue worship is the cause, and that distortion continues to be perpetuated by Mark Rogow and Katie Higgins and their "useful idiot", Iain.
Their attacks on the SGI are merely a cover for their perpetual guilt over their complicity in war crimes while the founders of the SGI were cornered by Imperial Way Buddhism and their Shinto Talisman supporting the Pacifc War of Imperial State Zen. Mr. Makiguchi and Mr. Toda were ultimately imprisoned in Tokyo until Mr. Makiguchi's death and Mr. Toda's release at the end of the War, while the forces unleashed by Nichiren Shu (and with the complicity of the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood) ran rampant over China and the Pacific Rim.
here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_war_crimes
and here:
http://www.pacificwar.org.au/JapWarCrimes/Cross-section_JapWarCrimes.html
The Rape of Nanking (1937), also known as the Nanjing Massacre
The Bangka Island Massacre (1942): Slaughter of Australian Army Nurses
The Bataan Death March (1942)
The Sandakan Death March (1945)
Murder and cannibalism on the Kokoda Track (1942)
Conscripting women for sexual slavery in Japanese Army brothels (1937-1945)
Mutilation and murder of Dutch civilians in Borneo
Murder and cannibalism - captured American pilots
-Chas
Katie Higgins
Jul 16, 2017, 7:41:17 AM7/16/17
to
I happen to know the moderator is newly acquainted with the Chu-hokkekyo- and will have less difficulty than you embracing it .
You want handed to you., what others expect to have to work pretty hard to get ‼️
~Katie
You want handed to you., what others expect to have to work pretty hard to get ‼️
~Katie
Katie Higgins
Jul 16, 2017, 10:06:00 AM7/16/17
to
Noel, you are neglecting the study/ investigation that would illuminate the Nichiren's teachings/practice. That's on you -
You want to engage in " dueling Gosho passages" - and still are relying mostly on the sectarian spin that is at the root of the confusion around Nichiren's teachings.
I would also point out that it hasn't been very long since you derided Mark, Greg , Shinkei and me for being " Nichiren fundamentalists"; that you have not practiced with faith in what Nichiren actually wrote about Shakyamuni and the Lotus Sutra, showing no interest in translation errors and forged , fake documents that support Shoshu/ Gakkai.
You have formed many negative opinions of Shinkei with no real information about his background. You make snide remarks about my confidence in his understanding with no idea how I arrived at my conclusion that he is protecting and propagating the true teachings.
Why do you judge without evidence for your character aspersions ? This is a most disconcerting habit you share with Chas & Ricky , but there is an even more confusing aspect of your " style"; that is the way you disparage the key to understanding Nichiren - and again , you display an arrogant dismissal of the basic elements of Language and culture of Nichiren's time - recently you said " there are disagreements regarding the kanji "
類聚名義抄
Ruiju Myōgishō
No contentions at all. References to Your statement? NONE
In summary , I see you consistently defending the indefensible, like obnoxious Ricky , and trying to discredit sincere , genuine followers of Nichiren.
Basically , you Chas & Ricky come from a place of self proclaimed " knowing"- like you just cannot accept that our task is to delve deeper into the studying Nichiren- from many perspectives and yes, language and background are key - you have " original enlightenment " syndrome - like you guys believe it is up to you to " discern " with your own " true Buddha" status , what is what and who is who --
And once again I will state " original enlightenment " is bunk -we have " Buddha nature "- potential , a far cry from being " Buddha" and owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Shakyamuni Buddha for having the realm of Buddhahood inherently -/ only ungrateful fools would behave as though they have attained the Buddha eye simply chanting the daimoku with no grounding in the Buddha's teaching and less comprehension of Nichiren 'a bodily reading if it .
~Katie
You want to engage in " dueling Gosho passages" - and still are relying mostly on the sectarian spin that is at the root of the confusion around Nichiren's teachings.
I would also point out that it hasn't been very long since you derided Mark, Greg , Shinkei and me for being " Nichiren fundamentalists"; that you have not practiced with faith in what Nichiren actually wrote about Shakyamuni and the Lotus Sutra, showing no interest in translation errors and forged , fake documents that support Shoshu/ Gakkai.
You have formed many negative opinions of Shinkei with no real information about his background. You make snide remarks about my confidence in his understanding with no idea how I arrived at my conclusion that he is protecting and propagating the true teachings.
Why do you judge without evidence for your character aspersions ? This is a most disconcerting habit you share with Chas & Ricky , but there is an even more confusing aspect of your " style"; that is the way you disparage the key to understanding Nichiren - and again , you display an arrogant dismissal of the basic elements of Language and culture of Nichiren's time - recently you said " there are disagreements regarding the kanji "
類聚名義抄
Ruiju Myōgishō
No contentions at all. References to Your statement? NONE
In summary , I see you consistently defending the indefensible, like obnoxious Ricky , and trying to discredit sincere , genuine followers of Nichiren.
Basically , you Chas & Ricky come from a place of self proclaimed " knowing"- like you just cannot accept that our task is to delve deeper into the studying Nichiren- from many perspectives and yes, language and background are key - you have " original enlightenment " syndrome - like you guys believe it is up to you to " discern " with your own " true Buddha" status , what is what and who is who --
And once again I will state " original enlightenment " is bunk -we have " Buddha nature "- potential , a far cry from being " Buddha" and owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Shakyamuni Buddha for having the realm of Buddhahood inherently -/ only ungrateful fools would behave as though they have attained the Buddha eye simply chanting the daimoku with no grounding in the Buddha's teaching and less comprehension of Nichiren 'a bodily reading if it .
~Katie
Chas.
Jul 16, 2017, 1:08:29 PM7/16/17
to
On Sunday, July 16, 2017 at 7:06:00 AM UTC-7, Katie Higgins
[snip]
> And once again I will state " original enlightenment " is bunk -we have " Buddha nature "- potential , a far cry from being " Buddha" and owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Shakyamuni Buddha for having the realm of Buddhahood inherently -/ only ungrateful fools would behave as though they have attained the Buddha eye simply chanting the daimoku with no grounding in the Buddha's teaching and less comprehension of Nichiren 'a bodily reading if it .
>
> ~Katie
Actually, Katie, Mark, Iain, Noel and Ricky, it is you who practice Tendai. The traitorous Tendai practice that Nichiren Daishonin decried: of sucking up to and honoring the 4 dictums and the Shinto statue worshipers.
You are projecting your own Tendai corruption onto others.
What in heaven's name is so difficult to understand about the common mortal being the true Buddha? It has nothing at all to do with the "original enlightenment" of corrupted Tendai traitors, who just want to sit on their ass and do nothing.
SGI members accept that the enlightenment they attain upon chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to the Gohonzon means that they have to walk that talk: the characteristics of a Buddha are the characteristics of a Bodhisattva bent on doing Kosen Rufu. Law -> Wisdom -> Action, and the action of shakubuku speaks the loudest: shakubuku manifests your Buddhahood most clearly.
All living beings are Buddhas, endowed with the three Bodies of the Buddha received from their parents.
From "On the Treasure Tower," WND I, pp. 299-300:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/31#para-3
.. YOU, YOURSELF, ARE A THUS COME ONE WHO IS ORIGINALLY
.. ENLIGHTENED AND ENDOWED WITH THE THREE BODIES. You should
.. chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with this conviction. Then the
.. place where you chant daimoku will become the dwelling
.. place of the treasure tower.
He says it plainly right there: "You, yourself, ARE A THUS COME ONE WHO IS ORIGINALLY ENLIGHTENED AND ENDOWED WITH THE THREE BODIES." Nichiren Daishonin is not just being a cheerleader for Abutsu-bo here, he really means it.
From "Conversation between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man," WND I, p. 131:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/13#para-202
.. THE BUDDHA NATURE THAT ALL THESE BEINGS POSSESS IS CALLED
.. BY THE NAME MYOHO-RENGE-KYO. THEREFORE, IF YOU RECITE THESE
.. WORDS OF THE DAIMOKU ONCE, THEN THE BUDDHA NATURE OF ALL
.. LIVING BEINGS WILL BE SUMMONED AND GATHER AROUND YOU. AT
.. THAT TIME THE THREE BODIES OF THE DHARMA NATURE WITHIN
.. YOU—THE DHARMA BODY, THE REWARD BODY, AND THE MANIFESTED
.. BODY—WILL BE DRAWN FORTH AND BECOME MANIFEST. THIS IS
.. CALLED ATTAINING BUDDHAHOOD. To illustrate, when a caged
.. bird sings, the many birds flying in the sky all gather
.. around it at once; seeing this, the bird in the cage
.. strives to get out.”
And there he says it again, very clearly, no interpretation required. "... if you recite the words of the daimoku once ... This is called attaining Buddhahood."
From "The Unanimous Declaration by the Buddhas of the Three Existences regarding the Classification of the Teachings and Which Are to Be Abandoned and Which Upheld," WND II, pp. 847-848:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-2/Content/315#para-105
.. THE SENTIENT BEINGS AND THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE TEN WORLDS
.. ARE THE BUDDHA OF THE DHARMA BODY, ONE WHO POSSESSES THE
.. VIRTUE OF THE THREE BODIES IN A SINGLE ENTITY. Once one has
.. understood this, one will fully realize that all phenomena
.. are the Buddhist Law. This is known as the stage of hearing
.. the name and words of the truth. FROM THE STAGE OF HEARING
.. THE NAME AND WORDS OF THE TRUTH ONE PROCEEDS DIRECTLY TO
.. THE ATTAINMENT OF BUDDHAHOOD IN ONE’S PRESENT FORM. Thus
.. in the teaching of perfect and immediate enlightenment
.. there are no successive stages of practice.
Note the phrase: "From the stage of HEARING THE NAME AND WORDS OF THE TRUTH one proceeds directly to the ATTAINMENT OF BUDDHAHOOD IN ONE’S PRESENT FORM."
From hearing the daimoku -> directly to attaining Buddhahood.
Then he says: "Thus in the teaching of perfect and immediate enlightenment THERE ARE NO SUCCESSIVE STAGES OF PRACTICE."
Thus, there are no extra practices needed to attain Buddhahood.
Enlightenment or Buddhahood is attained by hearing or chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo for the very first time. In that moment you are a participant in the ceremony in the air.
From "The Entity of the Mystic Law," WND I, p. 429:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/47#para-89
.. Therefore, we understand that, once the “Life Span”
.. chapter of the essential teaching had been revealed, ALL
.. THOSE IN THE ASSEMBLY ON EAGLE PEAK BECAME ENLIGHTENED TO
.. THE LOTUS OF THE ENTITY. Those of the two vehicles, the
.. icchantikas, or persons of incorrigible disbelief, and
.. the determinate groups, as well as women and evil men,
.. ALL GAINED AN AWAKENING TO THE LOTUS OF THE ETERNAL BUDDHA.
All living beings are Buddhas, and they all attain Buddhahood/enlightenment in the ceremony in the air, which you participate in, upon any contact with the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra.
From "Conversation between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man," WND I, p. 133:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/13#para-217
.. “It is the same way with the practitioners of the Lotus
.. Sutra. THOUGH THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND THE PRINCIPLES OF
.. BUDDHISM AND MAY NOT KNOW THAT THEY ARE SUFFERING FROM
.. DELUSION, IF ONLY THEY HAVE FAITH, THEN WITHOUT A DOUBT
.. THEY WILL BE ABLE TO FREE THEMSELVES simultaneously from
.. the illnesses of the three categories of illusion—illusions
.. of thought and desire, illusions innumerable as particles
.. of dust and sand, and illusions about the true nature of
.. existence. THEY WILL REACH THE LANDS OF ACTUAL REWARD AND
.. TRANQUIL LIGHT, AND CAUSE THE THREE BODIES OF A THUS COME
.. ONE THAT THEY INHERENTLY POSSESS TO SHINE.
In Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo IS EQUAL TO FAITH, chanting it and even hearing it is attaining enlightenment and manifesting your inherent Buddhahood.
From "The Teaching, Practice, and Proof," WND I, p. 470:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/57#para-20
.. People may well wonder what this revelation means. Explain
.. that it teaches that COMMON PEOPLE LIKE OURSELVES, who have
.. been submerged in the sufferings of birth and death since
.. time without beginning and who never so much as dreamed of
.. reaching the shore of enlightenment, BECOME THE THUS COME
.. ONES WHO ARE ORIGINALLY ENLIGHTENED AND ENDOWED WITH THE
.. THREE BODIES.
And that means through the revelation (hearing the daimoku, chanting it) of the Lotus Sutra itself, we common people become the Thus Come Ones (plural,) not through some Bodhisattva path. We perform as Bodhisattvas, BECAUSE WE HAVE ATTAINED BUDDHAHOOD THROUGH CHANTING NAM_MYOHO_RENGE_KYO TO THE GOHONZON.
From "The One Essential Phrase," WND I, p. 922:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/121#para-1
.. SINCE THE LOTUS SUTRA DEFINES OUR BODY AS THE DHARMA BODY
.. OF A THUS COME ONE, OUR MIND AS THE REWARD BODY OF A THUS
.. COME ONE, AND OUR ACTIONS AS THE MANIFESTED BODY OF A THUS
.. COME ONE, ALL WHO UPHOLD AND BELIEVE IN EVEN A SINGLE
.. PHRASE OR VERSE OF THIS SUTRA WILL BE ENDOWED WITH THE
.. BENEFITS OF THESE THREE BODIES. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is only
.. one phrase or verse, but it is no ordinary phrase, for it
.. is the essence of the entire sutra. YOU ASKED WHETHER ONE
.. CAN ATTAIN BUDDHAHOOD ONLY BY CHANTING NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO,
.. AND THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION OF ALL. THIS IS THE
.. HEART OF THE ENTIRE SUTRA AND THE SUBSTANCE OF ITS EIGHT
.. VOLUMES.
Just by chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, we can attain Buddhahood. He doesn't say how long we have to chant, because it happens immediately.
From "The Entity of the Mystic Law," WND I, p. 420:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/47#para-29
.. IN ESSENCE, THE ENTITY OF MYOHO-RENGE-KYO IS THE PHYSICAL
.. BODY THAT THE DISCIPLES AND FOLLOWERS OF NICHIREN WHO
.. BELIEVE IN THE LOTUS SUTRA RECEIVED FROM THEIR FATHERS AND
.. MOTHERS AT BIRTH. Such persons, WHO HONESTLY DISCARD
.. EXPEDIENT MEANS, PUT FAITH IN THE LOTUS SUTRA ALONE, AND
.. CHANT NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO, WILL TRANSFORM THE THREE PATHS
.. OF EARTHLY DESIRES, KARMA, AND SUFFERING INTO THE THREE
.. VIRTUES OF THE DHARMA BODY, WISDOM, AND EMANCIPATION. The
.. threefold contemplation and the three truths will
.. immediately become manifest in their minds, and the place
.. where they live will become the Land of Eternally Tranquil
.. Light. The Buddha who is the entity of Myoho-renge-kyo, of
.. the “Life Span” chapter of the essential teaching, who is
.. both inhabiting subject and inhabited realm, life and
.. environment, body and mind, entity and function, THE BUDDHA
.. ETERNALLY ENDOWED WITH THE THREE BODIES—HE IS TO BE FOUND
.. IN THE DISCIPLES AND LAY BELIEVERS OF NICHIREN.
Notice the qualifying phrase:
"Such persons, WHO HONESTLY DISCARD EXPEDIENT MEANS, put faith in the Lotus Sutra alone, and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, will transform the three paths of earthly desires, karma, and suffering into the three virtues of the Dharma body, wisdom, and emancipation."
You have to "honestly discard expediant means" to gain the benefits of the three bodies: you can't worship statues, practice the four dictums (Zen, Nembutsu, Tantric/True Word, Shakyamuni's provisional precepts), join with Shinto, or chant to pirated printouts of Gohonzon stolen by traitorous, thieving, murderous priests of Nichiren Shu, who betrayed Nichiren Daishonin by distorting his Buddhism into a statue-worshiping Shinto cult forcing Shakyamuni into the role of God Almighty, which he would have rejected as utterly narcissistic. That slander of complicity cancels your benefits of the three bodies.
From "The Doctrine of Three Thousand Realms in a Single Moment of Life," WND II, p. 87:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-2/Content/180#para-43
.. THIS MYOHO-RENGE-KYO IS A TERM DESIGNATING THE ESSENTIAL
.. NATURE OF OUR MINDS, OR, MORE GENERALLY SPEAKING, THE
.. ESSENTIAL NATURE OF THE MINDS OF ALL LIVING BEINGS, THE
.. EIGHT-PETALED WHITE LOTUS BLOSSOM. THE WORDS OF THE BUDDHA
.. HIMSELF TEACH US THIS. From time without beginning until
.. the present, these bodies of ours have transmigrated
.. through the realm of birth and death, in a state of
.. delusion as to the essential nature of the mind that is
.. within these bodies. BUT NOW THAT WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED THE
.. LOTUS SUTRA AND CHANT THE DAIMOKU THAT REPRESENTS THE THUS
.. COME ONE OF ORIGINAL ENLIGHTENMENT, WHO POSSESSES THE THREE
.. BODIES IN A SINGLE BODY, THE THUS COME ONE BECOMES
.. MANIFEST. In our present existence we achieve the inner
.. realization and attainment of Buddhahood that is known as
.. the attainment of Buddhahood in our present form.
Once again, he states it clearly and without any amount of chanting or time passage: our Buddhahood "becomes manifest" at the point when we "have encountered the Lotus Sutra and chanted the daimoku."
It's so simple, why can't you and Jackie Stone just get this through your thick skulls?
You are calling Nichiren Daishonin a Tendai distorter preaching "original enlightenment," and you should cease and desist!
-Chas.
[snip]
> And once again I will state " original enlightenment " is bunk -we have " Buddha nature "- potential , a far cry from being " Buddha" and owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Shakyamuni Buddha for having the realm of Buddhahood inherently -/ only ungrateful fools would behave as though they have attained the Buddha eye simply chanting the daimoku with no grounding in the Buddha's teaching and less comprehension of Nichiren 'a bodily reading if it .
>
> ~Katie
You are projecting your own Tendai corruption onto others.
What in heaven's name is so difficult to understand about the common mortal being the true Buddha? It has nothing at all to do with the "original enlightenment" of corrupted Tendai traitors, who just want to sit on their ass and do nothing.
SGI members accept that the enlightenment they attain upon chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to the Gohonzon means that they have to walk that talk: the characteristics of a Buddha are the characteristics of a Bodhisattva bent on doing Kosen Rufu. Law -> Wisdom -> Action, and the action of shakubuku speaks the loudest: shakubuku manifests your Buddhahood most clearly.
All living beings are Buddhas, endowed with the three Bodies of the Buddha received from their parents.
From "On the Treasure Tower," WND I, pp. 299-300:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/31#para-3
.. YOU, YOURSELF, ARE A THUS COME ONE WHO IS ORIGINALLY
.. ENLIGHTENED AND ENDOWED WITH THE THREE BODIES. You should
.. chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with this conviction. Then the
.. place where you chant daimoku will become the dwelling
.. place of the treasure tower.
He says it plainly right there: "You, yourself, ARE A THUS COME ONE WHO IS ORIGINALLY ENLIGHTENED AND ENDOWED WITH THE THREE BODIES." Nichiren Daishonin is not just being a cheerleader for Abutsu-bo here, he really means it.
From "Conversation between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man," WND I, p. 131:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/13#para-202
.. THE BUDDHA NATURE THAT ALL THESE BEINGS POSSESS IS CALLED
.. BY THE NAME MYOHO-RENGE-KYO. THEREFORE, IF YOU RECITE THESE
.. WORDS OF THE DAIMOKU ONCE, THEN THE BUDDHA NATURE OF ALL
.. LIVING BEINGS WILL BE SUMMONED AND GATHER AROUND YOU. AT
.. THAT TIME THE THREE BODIES OF THE DHARMA NATURE WITHIN
.. YOU—THE DHARMA BODY, THE REWARD BODY, AND THE MANIFESTED
.. BODY—WILL BE DRAWN FORTH AND BECOME MANIFEST. THIS IS
.. CALLED ATTAINING BUDDHAHOOD. To illustrate, when a caged
.. bird sings, the many birds flying in the sky all gather
.. around it at once; seeing this, the bird in the cage
.. strives to get out.”
And there he says it again, very clearly, no interpretation required. "... if you recite the words of the daimoku once ... This is called attaining Buddhahood."
From "The Unanimous Declaration by the Buddhas of the Three Existences regarding the Classification of the Teachings and Which Are to Be Abandoned and Which Upheld," WND II, pp. 847-848:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-2/Content/315#para-105
.. THE SENTIENT BEINGS AND THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE TEN WORLDS
.. ARE THE BUDDHA OF THE DHARMA BODY, ONE WHO POSSESSES THE
.. VIRTUE OF THE THREE BODIES IN A SINGLE ENTITY. Once one has
.. understood this, one will fully realize that all phenomena
.. are the Buddhist Law. This is known as the stage of hearing
.. the name and words of the truth. FROM THE STAGE OF HEARING
.. THE NAME AND WORDS OF THE TRUTH ONE PROCEEDS DIRECTLY TO
.. THE ATTAINMENT OF BUDDHAHOOD IN ONE’S PRESENT FORM. Thus
.. in the teaching of perfect and immediate enlightenment
.. there are no successive stages of practice.
Note the phrase: "From the stage of HEARING THE NAME AND WORDS OF THE TRUTH one proceeds directly to the ATTAINMENT OF BUDDHAHOOD IN ONE’S PRESENT FORM."
From hearing the daimoku -> directly to attaining Buddhahood.
Then he says: "Thus in the teaching of perfect and immediate enlightenment THERE ARE NO SUCCESSIVE STAGES OF PRACTICE."
Thus, there are no extra practices needed to attain Buddhahood.
Enlightenment or Buddhahood is attained by hearing or chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo for the very first time. In that moment you are a participant in the ceremony in the air.
From "The Entity of the Mystic Law," WND I, p. 429:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/47#para-89
.. Therefore, we understand that, once the “Life Span”
.. chapter of the essential teaching had been revealed, ALL
.. THOSE IN THE ASSEMBLY ON EAGLE PEAK BECAME ENLIGHTENED TO
.. THE LOTUS OF THE ENTITY. Those of the two vehicles, the
.. icchantikas, or persons of incorrigible disbelief, and
.. the determinate groups, as well as women and evil men,
.. ALL GAINED AN AWAKENING TO THE LOTUS OF THE ETERNAL BUDDHA.
All living beings are Buddhas, and they all attain Buddhahood/enlightenment in the ceremony in the air, which you participate in, upon any contact with the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra.
From "Conversation between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man," WND I, p. 133:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/13#para-217
.. “It is the same way with the practitioners of the Lotus
.. Sutra. THOUGH THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND THE PRINCIPLES OF
.. BUDDHISM AND MAY NOT KNOW THAT THEY ARE SUFFERING FROM
.. DELUSION, IF ONLY THEY HAVE FAITH, THEN WITHOUT A DOUBT
.. THEY WILL BE ABLE TO FREE THEMSELVES simultaneously from
.. the illnesses of the three categories of illusion—illusions
.. of thought and desire, illusions innumerable as particles
.. of dust and sand, and illusions about the true nature of
.. existence. THEY WILL REACH THE LANDS OF ACTUAL REWARD AND
.. TRANQUIL LIGHT, AND CAUSE THE THREE BODIES OF A THUS COME
.. ONE THAT THEY INHERENTLY POSSESS TO SHINE.
In Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo IS EQUAL TO FAITH, chanting it and even hearing it is attaining enlightenment and manifesting your inherent Buddhahood.
From "The Teaching, Practice, and Proof," WND I, p. 470:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/57#para-20
.. People may well wonder what this revelation means. Explain
.. that it teaches that COMMON PEOPLE LIKE OURSELVES, who have
.. been submerged in the sufferings of birth and death since
.. time without beginning and who never so much as dreamed of
.. reaching the shore of enlightenment, BECOME THE THUS COME
.. ONES WHO ARE ORIGINALLY ENLIGHTENED AND ENDOWED WITH THE
.. THREE BODIES.
And that means through the revelation (hearing the daimoku, chanting it) of the Lotus Sutra itself, we common people become the Thus Come Ones (plural,) not through some Bodhisattva path. We perform as Bodhisattvas, BECAUSE WE HAVE ATTAINED BUDDHAHOOD THROUGH CHANTING NAM_MYOHO_RENGE_KYO TO THE GOHONZON.
From "The One Essential Phrase," WND I, p. 922:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/121#para-1
.. SINCE THE LOTUS SUTRA DEFINES OUR BODY AS THE DHARMA BODY
.. OF A THUS COME ONE, OUR MIND AS THE REWARD BODY OF A THUS
.. COME ONE, AND OUR ACTIONS AS THE MANIFESTED BODY OF A THUS
.. COME ONE, ALL WHO UPHOLD AND BELIEVE IN EVEN A SINGLE
.. PHRASE OR VERSE OF THIS SUTRA WILL BE ENDOWED WITH THE
.. BENEFITS OF THESE THREE BODIES. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is only
.. one phrase or verse, but it is no ordinary phrase, for it
.. is the essence of the entire sutra. YOU ASKED WHETHER ONE
.. CAN ATTAIN BUDDHAHOOD ONLY BY CHANTING NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO,
.. AND THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION OF ALL. THIS IS THE
.. HEART OF THE ENTIRE SUTRA AND THE SUBSTANCE OF ITS EIGHT
.. VOLUMES.
Just by chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, we can attain Buddhahood. He doesn't say how long we have to chant, because it happens immediately.
From "The Entity of the Mystic Law," WND I, p. 420:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/47#para-29
.. IN ESSENCE, THE ENTITY OF MYOHO-RENGE-KYO IS THE PHYSICAL
.. BODY THAT THE DISCIPLES AND FOLLOWERS OF NICHIREN WHO
.. BELIEVE IN THE LOTUS SUTRA RECEIVED FROM THEIR FATHERS AND
.. MOTHERS AT BIRTH. Such persons, WHO HONESTLY DISCARD
.. EXPEDIENT MEANS, PUT FAITH IN THE LOTUS SUTRA ALONE, AND
.. CHANT NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO, WILL TRANSFORM THE THREE PATHS
.. OF EARTHLY DESIRES, KARMA, AND SUFFERING INTO THE THREE
.. VIRTUES OF THE DHARMA BODY, WISDOM, AND EMANCIPATION. The
.. threefold contemplation and the three truths will
.. immediately become manifest in their minds, and the place
.. where they live will become the Land of Eternally Tranquil
.. Light. The Buddha who is the entity of Myoho-renge-kyo, of
.. the “Life Span” chapter of the essential teaching, who is
.. both inhabiting subject and inhabited realm, life and
.. environment, body and mind, entity and function, THE BUDDHA
.. ETERNALLY ENDOWED WITH THE THREE BODIES—HE IS TO BE FOUND
.. IN THE DISCIPLES AND LAY BELIEVERS OF NICHIREN.
Notice the qualifying phrase:
"Such persons, WHO HONESTLY DISCARD EXPEDIENT MEANS, put faith in the Lotus Sutra alone, and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, will transform the three paths of earthly desires, karma, and suffering into the three virtues of the Dharma body, wisdom, and emancipation."
You have to "honestly discard expediant means" to gain the benefits of the three bodies: you can't worship statues, practice the four dictums (Zen, Nembutsu, Tantric/True Word, Shakyamuni's provisional precepts), join with Shinto, or chant to pirated printouts of Gohonzon stolen by traitorous, thieving, murderous priests of Nichiren Shu, who betrayed Nichiren Daishonin by distorting his Buddhism into a statue-worshiping Shinto cult forcing Shakyamuni into the role of God Almighty, which he would have rejected as utterly narcissistic. That slander of complicity cancels your benefits of the three bodies.
From "The Doctrine of Three Thousand Realms in a Single Moment of Life," WND II, p. 87:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-2/Content/180#para-43
.. THIS MYOHO-RENGE-KYO IS A TERM DESIGNATING THE ESSENTIAL
.. NATURE OF OUR MINDS, OR, MORE GENERALLY SPEAKING, THE
.. ESSENTIAL NATURE OF THE MINDS OF ALL LIVING BEINGS, THE
.. EIGHT-PETALED WHITE LOTUS BLOSSOM. THE WORDS OF THE BUDDHA
.. HIMSELF TEACH US THIS. From time without beginning until
.. the present, these bodies of ours have transmigrated
.. through the realm of birth and death, in a state of
.. delusion as to the essential nature of the mind that is
.. within these bodies. BUT NOW THAT WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED THE
.. LOTUS SUTRA AND CHANT THE DAIMOKU THAT REPRESENTS THE THUS
.. COME ONE OF ORIGINAL ENLIGHTENMENT, WHO POSSESSES THE THREE
.. BODIES IN A SINGLE BODY, THE THUS COME ONE BECOMES
.. MANIFEST. In our present existence we achieve the inner
.. realization and attainment of Buddhahood that is known as
.. the attainment of Buddhahood in our present form.
Once again, he states it clearly and without any amount of chanting or time passage: our Buddhahood "becomes manifest" at the point when we "have encountered the Lotus Sutra and chanted the daimoku."
It's so simple, why can't you and Jackie Stone just get this through your thick skulls?
You are calling Nichiren Daishonin a Tendai distorter preaching "original enlightenment," and you should cease and desist!
-Chas.
Katie Higgins
Jul 16, 2017, 2:35:51 PM7/16/17
to
Wonder how you would interpret Nichiren's teachings if you had not been misled regarding the realm of Buddhahood and attaining Buddhahood ?
What if you hadn't been chanting for years believing you are a " true Buddha", discarding Shakyamuni as a " provisional Buddha" ?
What if you didn't spam up this forum , disrupt discussions and reposting scandalous crap ?
I can't really take you seriously because you act like you " know it all "-/ like you " know what motivates people you have never met "- like you can assess the influence of Japanese medieval Tendai and original enlightenment- when all you have is the Gakkai " don't go there " attitude -
You never heard of the Chu-Hokkekyo- I learned of it a few months ago from scholarly research 😊 It's real - it's in Nichiren's own hand and your " sect" blew it off . Why? Because SGI/NST IS threatened by the truth -
You certainly don't show any enthusiasm- even interest in discoveries around more sound direct info about Nichiren and his teachings - odd , to say the least -/ until I recall you believe you are s " true buddha "-/ blah blah blah 😬
~ Katie
What if you hadn't been chanting for years believing you are a " true Buddha", discarding Shakyamuni as a " provisional Buddha" ?
What if you didn't spam up this forum , disrupt discussions and reposting scandalous crap ?
I can't really take you seriously because you act like you " know it all "-/ like you " know what motivates people you have never met "- like you can assess the influence of Japanese medieval Tendai and original enlightenment- when all you have is the Gakkai " don't go there " attitude -
You never heard of the Chu-Hokkekyo- I learned of it a few months ago from scholarly research 😊 It's real - it's in Nichiren's own hand and your " sect" blew it off . Why? Because SGI/NST IS threatened by the truth -
You certainly don't show any enthusiasm- even interest in discoveries around more sound direct info about Nichiren and his teachings - odd , to say the least -/ until I recall you believe you are s " true buddha "-/ blah blah blah 😬
~ Katie
Chas.
Jul 17, 2017, 12:10:28 AM7/17/17
to
If your Chu Hokkekyo is real, authenticate it by carbon dating [1,2] and the kind of advanced imagery that reveals forgeries [3]
Otherwise, stop presenting it as evidence: extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. [4]
1.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerator_mass_spectrometry
2.
https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/videos/785-comparing-radiocarbon-dating-methods
3.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes_Palimpsest#Imaging_and_digitization
4.
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Extraordinary_claims_require_extraordinary_evidence
Otherwise, stop presenting it as evidence: extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. [4]
1.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerator_mass_spectrometry
2.
https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/videos/785-comparing-radiocarbon-dating-methods
3.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes_Palimpsest#Imaging_and_digitization
4.
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Extraordinary_claims_require_extraordinary_evidence
Katie Higgins
Jul 17, 2017, 11:11:06 AM7/17/17
to
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
by Queequeg » Sat Jul 15, 2017 5:56 am
勤行 gongyo
善戒経云。若無菩薩性者。雖復発心勤行精進雖復発心懃修精進。終不能得阿耨菩提
From Chu Hokkekyo, Nichiren's annotated Lotus Sutra.
'Gotta do gongyo to attain bodhi.'
http://genshu.nichiren.or.jp/documents/ ... 0/id-2100/
Link to the Chu Hokkekyo.
Carbon dating not required, Chas-- original is a "cultural treasure" one of two possessions Nichiren named in his last will and testament-- the other? Nichiren's standing statue of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Factual evidence, historical reference and-- Nichiren's calligraphy on his personal copy of the Threefold Lotus Sutra.
Another reason to "ditch the orally transmitted" made up lectures on the Lotus Sutra--
~Katie
Chas.
Jul 18, 2017, 1:31:46 AM7/18/17
to
(1.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerator_mass_spectrometry
(2.)
https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/videos/785-comparing-radiocarbon-dating-methods
(3.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes_Palimpsest#Imaging_and_digitization
(4.)
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Extraordinary_claims_require_extraordinary_evidence
Katie Higgins
Jul 18, 2017, 6:41:02 AM7/18/17
to
Is there no one in your inner circle of SGI buddhas, who had heard of the Chu-Hokkekyo?
No? Can't find out what' all the fuss is about?
Maybe you should consider carbon dating your SGI doctrine --circa-medieval Japanese Tendai !
~Katie
No? Can't find out what' all the fuss is about?
Maybe you should consider carbon dating your SGI doctrine --circa-medieval Japanese Tendai !
~Katie
Chas.
Jul 18, 2017, 9:51:29 PM7/18/17
to
Until a document like this is thrown into the ring along with its disputations and the authentication of carbon dating and imagery to prove scientifically that it has not been doctored, IT IS IN DISPUTE!
You remove the dispute by scientific snslysis, not the reverse of putting forth your claim as negating the necessity of science.
That is hogwash denialism, as in climate, holocaust and Obama's birth place.
I can see you are no fan of the scientific method, or Karl Popper.
"Not even wrong" - Pauli.
-Chas.
You remove the dispute by scientific snslysis, not the reverse of putting forth your claim as negating the necessity of science.
That is hogwash denialism, as in climate, holocaust and Obama's birth place.
I can see you are no fan of the scientific method, or Karl Popper.
"Not even wrong" - Pauli.
-Chas.
Katie Higgins
Jul 19, 2017, 8:06:28 AM7/19/17
to
FYI Chas -- your ignorance and laziness is not the standard for reacting to the presentation. Of original writings of Nichiren .
Don't you know how to validate historical , cultgural treasures that illuminate Nichiren's thoughts because the writing is in his own hand ?
Why not start validating and reading translation - then you can deal with why your Shoshu spawned organization would hope the Chu/ Hokkekyo was never " discovered "!!
~ Katie
Don't you know how to validate historical , cultgural treasures that illuminate Nichiren's thoughts because the writing is in his own hand ?
Why not start validating and reading translation - then you can deal with why your Shoshu spawned organization would hope the Chu/ Hokkekyo was never " discovered "!!
~ Katie
JazzIs TvRicky
Jul 19, 2017, 7:49:00 PM7/19/17
to
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JazzIsTvRicky
I would like to discuss my findings within the body of Nichiren's Teachings which are available and widely read in this 'The Latter Day of The Law', and the meaning of 'Faith' as taught by Nichiren. I believe that the recitation of Shayamuni's Lotus Sutra is 'Simply Chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo' exclusively without any other recitation or chant. Including, the recitation of any part or whole of the Lotus Sutra as taught by Shakyamuni Buddha. Gongyo is not mentioned by Nichiren but was introduced by later Priest of Nichiren Buddhist Sects.
Sincerely, JazzIs, A Votary of The Lotus Sutra
Top
User avatarQueequeg
Global Moderator
Hi JazzIs,
First, welcome to the forum! Happy to have you join us.
Are you declaring that Nichiren taught to exclusively chant the daimoku? Where do you get this? Nichiren stated otherwise in numerous writings.
As a daily religious practice, one should recite the daimoku, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Those persons who are able to do so should further recite a verse or a phrase of the Lotus Sutra. As a supplementary practice, if one wishes, one may offer praise for Shakyamuni Buddha, Many Treasures Buddha, or the Buddhas of the ten directions, for all the various bodhisattvas or the persons of the two vehicles, the heavenly beings, the dragon deities, or the eight kinds of nonhuman beings [who protect Buddhism]. Since we live in an age when there are many uninformed people, there is no need for believers to attempt at once to practice the meditation on the three thousand realms in a single moment of life, though if there are persons who wish to do so, they should learn how to practice this type of meditation and carry it out.
-On Reciting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra
To accept, uphold, read, recite, take delight in, and protect all the eight volumes and twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra is called the comprehensive practice. To accept, uphold, and protect the “Expedient Means” chapter and the “Life Span” chapter is called the abbreviated practice. And simply to chant one four-phrase verse or the daimoku, and to protect those who do so, is called the essential practice. Hence, among these three kinds of practice, comprehensive, abbreviated, and essential, the daimoku is defined as the essential practice.
-The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra
I have written out the prose section of the “Expedient Means” chapter for you. You should recite it together with the verse portion of the “Life Span” chapter, which I sent you earlier.
Reply to the Lay Priest Soya
As for the Lotus Sutra, one may recite the entire sutra of twenty-eight chapters in eight volumes every day; or one may recite only one volume, or one chapter, or one verse, or one phrase, or one word; or one may simply chant the daimoku, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, only once a day, or chant it only once in the course of a lifetime; or hear someone else chant it only once in a lifetime and rejoice in the hearing, or rejoice in hearing the voice of someone else rejoice in the hearing, and so on in this manner to the fiftieth hearer. And if one were to be at the end, even if one’s faith were weak and one’s sense of rejoicing diluted like the frailty of a child of two or three, or the inability of a cow or horse to distinguish before from after, the blessings one would gain would be a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, million times greater than those gained by persons of keen faculties and superior wisdom who study other sutras, persons such as Shāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, Manjushrī, and Maitreya, who had committed to memory the entire texts of the various sutras…
First of all, when it comes to the Lotus Sutra, you should understand that, whether one recites all eight volumes, or only one volume, one chapter, one verse, one phrase, or simply the daimoku, or title, the blessings are the same. It is like the water of the great ocean, a single drop of which contains water from all the countless streams and rivers, or like the wish-granting jewel, which, though only a single jewel, can shower all kinds of treasures upon the wisher. And the same is true of a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, or a million such drops of water or such jewels. A single character of the Lotus Sutra is like such a drop of water or such a jewel, and the hundred million characters are like a hundred million such drops or jewels…
Therefore, when it comes to the Lotus Sutra, it is praiseworthy to recite any chapter you have placed your trust in, whichever chapter that may be...
But to return to your question. As I said before, though no chapter of the Lotus Sutra is negligible, among the entire twenty-eight chapters, the “Expedient Means” chapter and the “Life Span” chapter are particularly outstanding. The remaining chapters are all in a sense the branches and leaves of these two chapters. Therefore, for your regular recitation, I recommend that you practice reading the prose sections of the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters. In addition, it might be well if you wrote out separate copies of these sections. The remaining twenty-six chapters are like the shadow that follows one’s body or the value inherent in a jewel. If you recite the “Life Span” and “Expedient Means” chapters, then the remaining chapters will naturally be included even though you do not recite them. It is true that the “Medicine King” and “Devadatta” chapters deal specifically with women’s attainment of Buddhahood or rebirth in the pure land. But the “Devadatta” chapter is a branch and leaf of the “Expedient Means” chapter, and the “Medicine King” chapter is a branch and leaf of the “Expedient Means” and the “LifeSpan” chapters. Therefore, you should regularly recite these two chapters, the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters. As for the remaining chapters, you may turn to them from time to time when you have a moment of leisure.
-Expedient Means and Life Span Chapters
We speak of upholding the Lotus Sutra. But although there is only one sutra, the manner in which we uphold it may vary from one period to the next. There may be times when a person literally rends his flesh and offers it to his teacher, and in this way attains Buddhahood. Or at other times a person may offer his body as a couch to his teacher, or as so much firewood. At yet other times a person may bear the blows of sticks and staves for the sake of the sutra, or may practice religious austerities or observe various precepts. And there may be times when, even though a person does the things described above, he still does not attain Buddhahood. It depends upon the time and is not something fixed.
Therefore, the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai declared, “The method chosen should be that which accords with the time.” And the Great Teacher Chang-an said, “You should let your choices be fitting and never adhere solely to one or the other.”
-Letter to Horen
I have received your gift of a sack of rice, sent in donation for a memorial service on the anniversary of Ueno’s passing. I will offer it in the presence of the Buddha and recite the verse section of the “Life Span” chapter of the Lotus Sutra.
-On Filial and Non-Filial Conduct
Etc. etc.
Also, it seems you may be putting too much emphasis on the word "gongyo" (勤行). This is a generic Buddhist term that means "energetic practice". Its used widely in Japanese Buddhism to refer to ritual practice, particularly sutra recitation.
“Once you have given up the ghost, everything follows with dead certainty, even in the midst of chaos.”
-Henry Miller
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JazzIsTvRicky
Queequeg wrote:
Hi JazzIs,
First, welcome to the forum! Happy to have you join us.
Are you declaring that Nichiren taught to exclusively chant the daimoku? c Nichiren stated otherwise in numerous writings.
Answer: Yes I am! And thank you for your wonderful welcome! I will address each point you so beautifully and sincerely make with, as you have done, "Sutra in Hand"...
As a daily religious practice, one should recite the daimoku, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Those persons who are able to do so should further recite a verse or a phrase of the Lotus Sutra. As a supplementary practice, if one wishes, one may offer praise for Shakyamuni Buddha, Many Treasures Buddha, or the Buddhas of the ten directions, for all the various bodhisattvas or the persons of the two vehicles, the heavenly beings, the dragon deities, or the eight kinds of nonhuman beings [who protect Buddhism]. Since we live in an age when there are many uninformed people, there is no need for believers to attempt at once to practice the meditation on the three thousand realms in a single moment of life, though if there are persons who wish to do so, they should learn how to practice this type of meditation and carry it out.
-On Reciting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra
My reply: From the same Gosho -On Reciting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra- "Volume ten of On “The Words and Phrases,” speaking of those who carry out the five practices listed in the “Teacher of the Law” chapter, says: “They have not yet completely entered the five stages of practice [that belong to the stage of perception and action].” And it also says: “They are not to be regarded as completely at the stage of ordinary practitioners.” According to these passages, though persons carrying out the five practices listed in the “Teacher of the Law” chapter could be interpreted as carrying out the five stages of practice that belong to the stage of perception and action, they could also be interpreted as being at the preceding stage, the stage of hearing the name and words of the truth. If we go by these passages of interpretation, when ordinary mortals who are at the stage of hearing the name and words of the truth and have no real understanding of the teachings rejoice on hearing the Lotus Sutra, they will enjoy the same benefits as those who rejoice for even a moment on hearing only one verse or one phrase of the sutra, and those who rejoice on hearing word of the Lotus Sutra passed along by fifty persons in succession."
This is referred to as The stage of 'Myoji-soku'.....stage of hearing the name and words of the truth ［名字即］ ( myōji-soku): The second of the six stages of practice, stages in the practice of the Lotus Sutra formulated by T’ien-t’ai (538–597). The stage at which one hears the name of the truth (i.e., one hears a Buddhist term for the ultimate reality such as “the true aspect of all phenomena”) and/or reads the words of the sutras and thereby understands intellectually that all beings are potential Buddhas and that all phenomena are manifestations of the universal Law. See also six stages of practice.
This Buddhist doctrine is consistent in Nichiren's Teachings and is thoroughly expounded and taught in one of the 'Ten Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin' as designated b Nikko Shonin the Second High Priest.
"Within these chapters of transmission, the four stages of faith and five stages of practice expounded in the in Fumbetsu Kudoku chapter represent the most important essential in the practice of the Lotus Sutra, a mirror to persons living in the time of the Buddha and after his passing."
"My own opinion is that, of these three interpretations, that which equates these two stages with the stage of myoji-soku accords best with the text of the Lotus Sutra itself."
"In particular, the passages in the Juryo chapter that speak of those who have "lost their minds" and those who have "not lost their minds" refer in both cases to the stage of myoji-soku. One should also consider the passages in the Nirvana Sutra that read "Whether one believes or does not believe, he shall directly be born in the Buddha land,"
"Again, in the phrase "a single moment's faith and understanding," the word "faith" applies to the first of the four stages, and the word "understanding," to those that follow. And if this is so, then "faith without understanding" would apply to the first of the four stages of faith. The second stage of faith is described in the sutra as that at which one "generally understands the purport of the words" of the sutra. And in volume nine of the Hokke Mongu Ki we read: "The initial stage is different from the others, because in the initial stage there is as yet no understanding."
"With regard to the stage achieved by the fiftieth person, there are two interpretations. The first interpretation holds that the fiftieth person falls within the stage of "rejoicing on first hearing the Lotus Sutra," [and is thus at the level of kangyo-soku.] The other interpretation holds that the fiftieth person cannot yet be said to have entered the stage of "rejoicing on first hearing the Lotus Sutra" but is still at the level of myoji-soku. This latter interpretation reflects the view that "the truer the teaching, the lower the stage [of the persons it can bring to enlightenment.]"
Your opening question is "Are you declaring that Nichiren taught to exclusively chant the daimoku?"
Shakyamuni Buddha said in the Nirvana Sutra: "Rely on the Law" now i will take you to the answer of your most sincere query!
-On the Four Stages of Faith and the Five Stages of Practice-
Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 6, page 211. continues....
"Question: For practitioners in the Latter Day of the Law, who have just aroused the aspiration for enlightenment, what types of practice are restricted?
"Answer: Such persons are restricted from practicing almsgiving, the keeping of the precepts, and the others of the five paramitas, and are directed to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo exclusively. This practice corresponds to the capacity of persons at the stages of "producing even a single moment's faith and understanding" and "rejoicing on first hearing the Lotus Sutra." It represents the true intention of the Lotus Sutra."
Next Nichiren becomes very strict with the Questioner...
"Question: The sutra passage you have just quoted seems to support your argument. But can you offer any passages from the treatises or commentaries?"
"Answer: What commentaries would you like me to cite? Are you referring to the treatises by the four ranks of saints of India? Or are you referring to works written by Buddhist teachers of China and Japan? In either case, it amounts to rejecting the root and searching among the branches, seeking the shadow apart from the form, or forgetting the source and prizing only the stream. You would ignore a sutra passage that is perfectly clear and instead seek an answer in the treatises and commentaries. If there should be some later commentary that contradicts the original sutra passage, would you then cast aside the sutra and follow the commentary?"
"Nevertheless, I will comply with your wishes and cite some passages. In the ninth volume of the Hokke Mongu we read: "There is a danger that a beginner will be led astray by subordinate concerns, and that this will interfere with the primary practice. The beginner should directly give all his attention to embracing the sutra; that is the highest type of offering. Though one may set aside formal practices, if one maintains [meditation on] the principle, then the benefits will be many and far-reaching."
"And the words "should directly give all his attention to embracing the sutra" do not refer to the sutra as a whole. They mean that one should embrace the daimoku, or title, of the sutra exclusively and not mix it with other passages. Even recitation of the entire sutra is not permitted. How much less the five paramitas!"
My friend dose this answer your initial question? But let us continue learning from Nichiren himself...
-On the Four Stages of Faith and the Five Stages of Practice-
Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 6, page 211. continues....
"Question: Why do you not advocate the meditation on the three thousand realms in a single life-moment (ichinen sanzen), but instead simply encourage the chanting of the daimoku?"
Answer in part:"Miao-lo says: "When, in order to be brief, only the title of the sutra is mentioned, the entire sutra is thereby included."
"Question: If a person simply chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with no understanding of its meaning, are the benefits of understanding thereby included?"
"Answer: When a baby drinks milk, he has no understanding of its taste, and yet his body is naturally nourished in the process...."
"Question: Why do you say that all teachings are contained within the daimoku?"
"Answer, The five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo do not represent the sutra text, nor are they its meaning. They are nothing other than the intent of the entire sutra. So, even though the beginner in religious practice may not understand their significance, by practicing these five characters, he will naturally conform to the sutra's intent."
"Question: When your disciples, without any understanding, simply recite with their mouths the words Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, what level of attainment do they reach?"
"Answer:Therefore I entreat the people of this country: Do not look down upon my disciples! If one inquires into their past, they are great bodhisattvas who have given alms to Buddhas over a period of eighty myriads of millions of kalpas, and who have carried out religious practices under Buddhas as numerous as the sand of the Hiranyavati and Ganges rivers. And if one speaks of the future, they are endowed with the benefit of the fiftieth person, surpassing that of one who gives alms to all living beings for a period of eighty years. They are like an infant emperor wrapped in swaddling clothes, or a great dragon who has just been born. Do not despise them! Do not look on them with contempt!"
Hopefully you will earnestly study this Gosho which will lead you to others.And with a more profound understanding and insight your eyes will be opened widely! The Daishonin teaches with a method not unlike that of Shakyamuni Buddha.
To accept, uphold, read, recite, take delight in, and protect all the eight volumes and twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra is called the comprehensive practice. To accept, uphold, and protect the “Expedient Means” chapter and the “Life Span” chapter is called the abbreviated practice. And simply to chant one four-phrase verse or the daimoku, and to protect those who do so, is called the essential practice. Hence, among these three kinds of practice, comprehensive, abbreviated, and essential, the daimoku is defined as the essential practice.
-The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra
My Reply: This Gosho answers your question also!
I have written out the prose section of the “Expedient Means” chapter for you. You should recite it together with the verse portion of the “Life Span” chapter, which I sent you earlier.
Reply to the Lay Priest Soya
My Reply: nowhere in Nichiren's writings are the terms, exclusively, only, solely. single-mindedly, etc used to in conjunction with the recitation of Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra. Only when he refers to Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. This Gosho is not among the "Ten Major Writings' which among those writings this admonition of Daimoku is the only thing you need do to correctly read and recite the Lotus Sutra. Search among them and you will become enlightened to the truth of what 'faith' in Nichiren's Teachings mean.
As for the Lotus Sutra, one may recite the entire sutra of twenty-eight chapters in eight volumes every day; or one may recite only one volume, or one chapter, or one verse, or one phrase, or one word; or one may simply chant the daimoku, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, only once a day, or chant it only once in the course of a lifetime; or hear someone else chant it only once in a lifetime and rejoice in the hearing, or rejoice in hearing the voice of someone else rejoice in the hearing, and so on in this manner to the fiftieth hearer. And if one were to be at the end, even if one’s faith were weak and one’s sense of rejoicing diluted like the frailty of a child of two or three, or the inability of a cow or horse to distinguish before from after, the blessings one would gain would be a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, million times greater than those gained by persons of keen faculties and superior wisdom who study other sutras, persons such as Shāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, Manjushrī, and Maitreya, who had committed to memory the entire texts of the various sutras…
First of all, when it comes to the Lotus Sutra, you should understand that, whether one recites all eight volumes, or only one volume, one chapter, one verse, one phrase, or simply the daimoku, or title, the blessings are the same. It is like the water of the great ocean, a single drop of which contains water from all the countless streams and rivers, or like the wish-granting jewel, which, though only a single jewel, can shower all kinds of treasures upon the wisher. And the same is true of a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, or a million such drops of water or such jewels. A single character of the Lotus Sutra is like such a drop of water or such a jewel, and the hundred million characters are like a hundred million such drops or jewels…
Therefore, when it comes to the Lotus Sutra, it is praiseworthy to recite any chapter you have placed your trust in, whichever chapter that may be...
But to return to your question. As I said before, though no chapter of the Lotus Sutra is negligible, among the entire twenty-eight chapters, the “Expedient Means” chapter and the “Life Span” chapter are particularly outstanding. The remaining chapters are all in a sense the branches and leaves of these two chapters. Therefore, for your regular recitation, I recommend that you practice reading the prose sections of the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters. In addition, it might be well if you wrote out separate copies of these sections. The remaining twenty-six chapters are like the shadow that follows one’s body or the value inherent in a jewel. If you recite the “Life Span” and “Expedient Means” chapters, then the remaining chapters will naturally be included even though you do not recite them. It is true that the “Medicine King” and “Devadatta” chapters deal specifically with women’s attainment of Buddhahood or rebirth in the pure land. But the “Devadatta” chapter is a branch and leaf of the “Expedient Means” chapter, and the “Medicine King” chapter is a branch and leaf of the “Expedient Means” and the “LifeSpan” chapters. Therefore, you should regularly recite these two chapters, the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters. As for the remaining chapters, you may turn to them from time to time when you have a moment of leisure.
-Expedient Means and Life Span Chapters
In this Gosho -Recitation of the Hoben and Juryo Chapters- Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 6, page 3. which is classified as Nichiren's before Sado Teachings.
You left out this part, Nichiren writes:
"If unexpectedly you should feel yourself approaching death, then even if you are eating fish or fowl, if you are able to read the sutra, you should do so, and likewise chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Needless to say, the same principle applies during your period of menstruation.
Reciting the words Namu-ichijo-myoden amounts to the same thing. But it is better if you just chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, as Bodhisattva Vasubandhu and the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai did. There are specific reasons why I say this."
Nichiren says: "As for my teachings, regard those before my exile to Sado as equivalent to the Buddha’s pre-Lotus Sutra teachings. I had thought that if the ruler of this country desired to govern well, he would summon the priests of the Shingon sect for an open debate with me, and that, on that occasion, I would reveal for the first time the true teaching of supreme importance. Before my exile, I withheld this teaching even from my disciples for fear that if I should tell them, even in confidence, they might inadvertently disclose it to the Shingon priests, who would then avoid the debate. This is why I refrained from revealing the true teaching to all of you as well"
-Letter to Misawa-
Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 3, page 251.
We speak of upholding the Lotus Sutra. But although there is only one sutra, the manner in which we uphold it may vary from one period to the next. There may be times when a person literally rends his flesh and offers it to his teacher, and in this way attains Buddhahood. Or at other times a person may offer his body as a couch to his teacher, or as so much firewood. At yet other times a person may bear the blows of sticks and staves for the sake of the sutra, or may practice religious austerities or observe various precepts. And there may be times when, even though a person does the things described above, he still does not attain Buddhahood. It depends upon the time and is not something fixed.
Therefore, the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai declared, “The method chosen should be that which accords with the time.” And the Great Teacher Chang-an said, “You should let your choices be fitting and never adhere solely to one or the other.”
-Letter to Horen
I have received your gift of a sack of rice, sent in donation for a memorial service on the anniversary of Ueno’s passing. I will offer it in the presence of the Buddha and recite the verse section of the “Life Span” chapter of the Lotus Sutra.
-On Filial and Non-Filial Conduct
The point here is most recommendations Nichiren gives for reciting the Sutra is connected with funerals or memorial services. Yet his instruction for faith is perfectly centered on the chanting of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. for instance to show how powerful the Daimoku is and how it relates directly to embracing the Lotus Sutra the Daishonin writes:
"This Myoho-renge-kyo is a term designating the essential nature of our minds, or, more generally speaking, the essential nature of the minds of all living beings, the eight-petaled white lotus blossom. The words of the Buddha himself teach us this. From time without beginning until the present, these bodies of ours have transmigrated through the realm of birth and death, in a state of delusion as to the essential nature of the mind that is within these bodies. But now that we have encountered the Lotus Sutra and chant the daimoku that represents the Thus Come One of original enlightenment, who possesses the three bodies in a single body, the Thus Come One becomes manifest. In our present existence we achieve the inner realization and attainment of Buddhahood that is known as the attainment of Buddhahood in our present form."
-The Doctrine of Three Thousand Realms in a Single Moment of Life- WND Vol II Pg.87
And
"Chanting the daimoku, or title, of the Lotus Sutra is the same as carrying out meditation. Ignorant persons may find this difficult to believe. But the second volume of Great Concentration and Insight by T’ien-t’ai has a passage “regarding recitation and silence” in which the word “recitation” refers to recitation of the Lotus Sutra and “silence” to the practice of meditation or contemplation. And again, in the first volume of his Meaning of the Four Teachings, T’ien-t’ai states: “Not only [are such practices as recitation] not a needless waste of effort, they are essential in enabling one to grasp the principle involved.”
-The Doctrine of Three Thousand Realms in a Single Moment of Life- WND Vol II Pg.85.
Etc. etc.
Finally I will end with another of Nichiren's 'Ten Major Writings' Nichiren writes:"In the same way, one who chants the daimoku as the Lotus Sutra teaches will never have a twisted mind. For one should know that, unless the mind of the Buddha enters into our bodies, we cannot in fact chant the daimoku." and "But for some reason there were none who chanted the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra, the heart and core of the Buddha’s entire lifetime of teachings.
You should inquire very carefully into the reason why this was so.
The Blessings of the Lotus Sutra WND Vol.I
This my friend is not my arbitrary interpretations and comes from seriously studying the entire body of Nichiren's Teachings not some of his teachings, over my 35 years of faith, practice, and study.
Thank you for your time and input. I suggest you trust Nam Myoho Renge Kyo it needs no other flavoring, the Cook is the Buddha!
Also, it seems you may be putting too much emphasis on the word "gongyo" (勤行). This is a generic Buddhist term that means "energetic practice". Its used widely in Japanese Buddhism to refer to ritual practice, particularly sutra recitation.
I don't know where you have practiced or what sect you have practiced in, but your statement makes little sense to me, for Gongyo is emphasized throughout the world and by Millions of Nichiren Buddhism Practitioners.
Sincerely, JazzIs
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Myoho-Nameless
JazzIsTvRicky wrote:
I believe that the recitation of Shayamuni's Lotus Sutra is 'Simply Chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo' exclusively without any other recitation or chant
These days I tend to do that anyway. But thats because I am lazy. Actually I wan't to get back to the whole enchilada. With mole sauce. Mole sauce contains everything but the kitchen sink, and my bell and candles accumulate dust.
I just don't belong.
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User avatarQueequeg
Global Moderator
Ricky,
Following your reading of the of the Four Depths of Faith and Five Stages of Practice would mean that you should have stopped reading that text when you got to, "They mean that one should embrace the daimoku, or title, of the sutra exclusively and not mix it with other passages."
As I understand, the logic of the Lotus Sutra is not linear. I think its well illustrated by Zhiyi's discussion of the Relative and Absolute Sublime - the Relative Sublime is exemplified by the progressive refinement of teachings -
Buddhist teachings are greater than non-Buddhist teachings; Provisional Mahayana is greater than Hinayana; Mahayana is greater than Provisional Mahayana; Lotus Sutra is greater than All Teachings Before and After; Essential is greater than Provisional; Five or Seven Characters is greater than the Essential...
Then you have the Absolute Sublime - which in this case would be the principle of Myohorengekyo. This Absolute Sublime, however, is a funny thing. It embraces everything, and it follows, the provisional is opened by to reveal the real.
I have written out the prose section of the “Expedient Means” chapter for you. You should recite it together with the verse portion of the “Life Span” chapter, which I sent you earlier.
Reply to the Lay Priest Soya
My Reply: nowhere in Nichiren's writings are the terms, exclusively, only, solely. single-mindedly, etc used to in conjunction with the recitation of Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra. Only when he refers to Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. This Gosho is not among the "Ten Major Writings' which among those writings this admonition of Daimoku is the only thing you need do to correctly read and recite the Lotus Sutra. Search among them and you will become enlightened to the truth of what 'faith' in Nichiren's Teachings mean.
First, 10 writings or not, this letter to Soya was written after Tatsunokuchi, and so demonstrates that Nichiren was teaching his followers to recite more than just the daimoku in their daily practice.
If you say, the only essential practice is the Daimoku, I have no argument. If you say, Daimoku is the only practice, and everything else is precluded, I don't agree.
“Once you have given up the ghost, everything follows with dead certainty, even in the midst of chaos.”
-Henry Miller
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User avatarQueequeg
Global Moderator
Myoho-Nameless wrote:
JazzIsTvRicky wrote:
I believe that the recitation of Shayamuni's Lotus Sutra is 'Simply Chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo' exclusively without any other recitation or chant
These days I tend to do that anyway. But thats because I am lazy. Actually I wan't to get back to the whole enchilada. With mole sauce. Mole sauce contains everything but the kitchen sink, and my bell and candles accumulate dust.
Hey, kid, graduation isn't the end, its just the beginning. Get off the couch and do something. That enchilada aint making itself.
“Once you have given up the ghost, everything follows with dead certainty, even in the midst of chaos.”
-Henry Miller
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Myoho-Nameless
Cut me some slack. I actually used my gohonzon this morning. Though rather than a couch, I have been in bed >.<
going around my juzu twice. And I am going to have to settle for general tso's tempeh tonight. yum.
I just don't belong.
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User avatarQueequeg
Global Moderator
Slack? You millennials...
Now that I'm closer to the age where I can tell stories about walking to and from school uphill, both ways through the driving snow 13 months out of the year than having to listen to them, I'm taking advantage to hassle the next generation.
“Once you have given up the ghost, everything follows with dead certainty, even in the midst of chaos.”
-Henry Miller
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narhwal90
While I'm dubious about the proposition also, it might be posed in a stronger form; that recitation of the sutra is not needed, but study of it is. I've always been told essentially that daimoku & gongyo are the two legs of one's practice (with study being the ...err.. third lol)- but it does make me wonder if recitation has an esoteric aspect.
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JazzIsTvRicky
narhwal90 wrote:
While I'm dubious about the proposition also, it might be posed in a stronger form; that recitation of the sutra is not needed, but study of it is. I've always been told essentially that daimoku & gongyo are the two legs of one's practice (with study being the ...err.. third lol)- but it does make me wonder if recitation has an esoteric aspect.
I think my friend you are on to something. Wisdom is emerging beautifully and esoteric is a unique outlook. Think about the Buddhist concept of Zuiho Bini.
The hope is in the Gohonzon's absolute mercy and the truth of Buddhism's potential to actually spread widely as foretold by Shakyamuni and craved out relentlessly by Nichiren and his followers of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
The real difference in other organized religions and Nichiren's Buddhism is the fact that we have the Gohonzon of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. Cause and effect is strict.
Thank you for taking the time and sharing your thoughts, on this very important Doctrinal Discovery.
Sincerely, JazzIs
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JazzIsTvRicky
Queequeg wrote:
Ricky,
Following your reading of the of the Four Depths of Faith and Five Stages of Practice would mean that you should have stopped reading that text when you got to, "They mean that one should embrace the daimoku, or title, of the sutra exclusively and not mix it with other passages."
As I understand, the logic of the Lotus Sutra is not linear. I think its well illustrated by Zhiyi's discussion of the Relative and Absolute Sublime - the Relative Sublime is exemplified by the progressive refinement of teachings -
Buddhist teachings are greater than non-Buddhist teachings; Provisional Mahayana is greater than Hinayana; Mahayana is greater than Provisional Mahayana; Lotus Sutra is greater than All Teachings Before and After; Essential is greater than Provisional; Five or Seven Characters is greater than the Essential...
Then you have the Absolute Sublime - which in this case would be the principle of Myohorengekyo. This Absolute Sublime, however, is a funny thing. It embraces everything, and it follows, the provisional is opened by to reveal the real.
I have written out the prose section of the “Expedient Means” chapter for you. You should recite it together with the verse portion of the “Life Span” chapter, which I sent you earlier.
Reply to the Lay Priest Soya
My Reply: nowhere in Nichiren's writings are the terms, exclusively, only, solely. single-mindedly, etc used to in conjunction with the recitation of Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra. Only when he refers to Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. This Gosho is not among the "Ten Major Writings' which among those writings this admonition of Daimoku is the only thing you need do to correctly read and recite the Lotus Sutra. Search among them and you will become enlightened to the truth of what 'faith' in Nichiren's Teachings mean.
First, 10 writings or not, this letter to Soya was written after Tatsunokuchi, and so demonstrates that Nichiren was teaching his followers to recite more than just the daimoku in their daily practice.
If you say, the only essential practice is the Daimoku, I have no argument. If you say, Daimoku is the only practice, and everything else is precluded, I don't agree.
Firstly this Gosho -Letter to Soya- was written to a 'Lay Priest' one who conducts funerals and memorials which is referred to in most of Nichiren's references on reciting Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra. This Gosho dose not say recite it as a practice or prayer. There is no explanation of why Nichiren sent this letter. However, further into this writing, Nichiren says: "The Rokuharamitsu Sutra states that one should become the master of his mind rather than let his mind master him. I will explain in more detail when I see you.
Seek what "more detail" means and 'Rely on the Law"
However, let me introduce you to a wonderful realization! Nichiren writes in the Gosho, -Sovereign, Teacher, and Parent-
"Since the beginningless past, we living beings have never for an instant been separated from this wish-granting jewel of Myoho-renge-kyo. But, befuddled by the wine of ignorance, we fail to realize that it is hidden in the lining of our robes, and we are content with merely a little gain.Though we are living beings who, simply by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, could quickly attain Buddhahood, we observe petty precepts such as the five precepts or the ten good precepts, being reborn as a result in the realm of heavenly beings, as deities such as Brahmā or Shakra, and thinking that a wonderful accomplishment. Or at times we are born as human beings, becoming rulers of various countries, high ministers, court nobles, or other court officials, and we think ourselves incomparably happy. Thus we content ourselves with such little gains and are delighted with them."
You end your argument without "Sutra in Hand" and make the statement: "If you say, the only essential practice is the Daimoku, I have no argument. If you say, Daimoku is the only practice, and everything else is precluded, I don't agree. And that's fine.
However it is not I who said it. It is in the Scripture of Nichiren, again let me refresh your memory!. Nichiren writes in the Gosho -The Teaching for the Latter Day-
"This teaching was not propagated in the Former or Middle Day of the Law because the other sutras had not yet lost their power of benefit. Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, neither the Lotus Sutra nor the other sutras lead to enlightenment. Only Nam-myoho-renge-kyo can do so. This is not my own judgment. Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, the Buddhas of the ten directions, and the bodhisattvas who emerged from the earth as numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds have so determined it. To mix other practices with this Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is a grave error. A lantern is useless when the sun rises. How can dewdrops be beneficial when the rain falls? Should one feed a newborn baby anything other than its mother’s milk? No addition of other medicines is needed with a good medicine."
Please when you are debating Doctrine, back up your argument with Scripture rather than your own personal opinions. But this is to be expected my friend. Shakyamuni Buddha says so in his teachings. I will end with his admonition one that is to be relied on and taken seriously. Nichiren writes in the Gosho:
-Conversation between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man-
"The sage replied: “What you say is quite true, and I would be inclined to hold the same opinion. But when we examine the sutras, we find that they tell us not to begrudge our lives [for the sake of the Law], and also say that [one should spread the Buddha’s teachings] even at the cost of one’s life."
I would then ask this question! How did Nichiren Attain Buddhahood? Do you know? Have you even asked the question? I have! And this is what I found which relates perfectly to the Gosho I quoted from above, which is my friend, another of the 'Ten Major Writings'.
In the Gosho: -Letter to Gijo-bo- Nichiren reveals his cause for attaining Buddhahood. Nichiren writes:
"So what is really important is that the teachings of the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds, of the hundred worlds and thousand factors, and of three thousand realms in a single moment of life are the essence of this sutra. These teachings are described in the work entitled Great Concentration and Insight."
"Next, the teaching of the “Life Span” chapter is what I, Nichiren, personally depend on. The verse section of the chapter states, “. . . single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha, not hesitating even if it costs them their lives.” As a result of this passage, I have revealed the Buddhahood in my own life. The reason is that it is this sutra passage that has enabled me to embody the Three Great Secret Laws, or the reality of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, that is found in the “Life Span” chapter. But keep this secret, keep it secret."
"I, Nichiren, say that “single” stands for myō, or mystic, “mind” for hō, or law, “desiring” for ren, or lotus, “see” for ge, or flower, and “Buddha” for kyō, or sutra. In propagating these five characters, practitioners should “not hesitate even if it costs them their lives.”
Nowhere in this proclamation dose he mention 'recitation of Shayamuni's Lotus Sutra'...Case closed!
Sincerely, Richard H Brown, 'A Votary of the Lotus Sutra' (Gohonzon of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo)
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illarraza
Not quite Richard...
"In light of all this, we can say that each morning [when he recites the verse section of the “Life Span” chapter] the priest Hōren is sending forth golden-hued characters from his mouth. These characters are in number, and each character changes into a sun, and each sun changes into a Thus Come One Shakyamuni. They emit great beams of light that penetrate the earth and shine upon the three evil paths and the great citadel of the hell of incessant suffering. They also shine toward the east, west, north, and south, and upward, ascending to the realm where there is neither thought nor no thought.29 They visit the realm where your departed father is dwelling, wherever it may be, and there hold discourse with him."
Good enough for Horen but not good enough for Richard?
Mark
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illarraza
"I HAVE written out the prose section of the “Expedient Means” chapter for you. You should recite it together with the verse portion of the “Life Span” chapter, which I sent you earlier."
I can supply more than fifty other similar passages post Tatsunokuchi. Also, calling all teachings of Nichiren prior to Sado provisional is not the meaning of the sentence which reads: "As for my teachings, regard those before my exile to the province of Sado as equivalent to the Buddha’s pre-Lotus Sutra teachings."
In context, he is talking about his failure to condemn the True Word teachings and the revelation of the Secret Law of Gohonzon ...
"...The True Word and Tendai schools slander the Lotus Sutra and should be severely rebuked. But without great wisdom it is hard to differentiate correctly between their doctrines and the teachings that Nichiren spreads. Therefore, at times we refrain from attacking them, just as I did in On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land." -- Letter to Misawa
"With the appearance of this teaching, all the teachings advocated by the scholars and teachers of Buddhism during the Former and Middle Days of the Law will be like stars after sunrise, or an awkward apprentice beside a skilled craftsman. It is stated that once this teaching is revealed in this era, the Buddha images as well as the priests of the temples built in the Former and Middle Days will all lose their power to benefit people, and only this great teaching will spread throughout the entire land of Jambudvīpa. Since all of you have a bond with this teaching, you should feel reassured." -- Ibid.
When Nichiren talks about the great power of Daimoku before his exile to Sado, how could you possibly describe this teaching as provisional.
Mark
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JazzIsTvRicky
Mark Ihave thoroughly dealt with you and your proclivity towards making up Buddhism.
Where are the Gosho's which explain that Nichiren was not talking about his teachings before and after Sado? In -Letter to Misawa-. Where did your explanation emanate from?
Mark your lack of "Sutra in Hand" arguments are only convincing to those who are unaware of Buddhism and the fact that there is Scripture which is available to all.
Go back and tell Katie I see her chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo soon.
Thank you Mark for revealing teachings which reveal the absurdity of reciting.Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra.
The Medicine of this 'one vehicle' of the 'Gohonzon of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo' is perfect and pure! Try it some day!
Sincerely, Richard H Brown (JazzIsTvRicky)
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User avatarQueequeg
Global Moderator
JazzIsTvRicky wrote:
Firstly this Gosho -Letter to Soya- was written to a 'Lay Priest' one who conducts funerals and memorials which is referred to in most of Nichiren's references on reciting Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra. This Gosho dose not say recite it as a practice or prayer. There is no explanation of why Nichiren sent this letter. However, further into this writing, Nichiren says: "The Rokuharamitsu Sutra states that one should become the master of his mind rather than let his mind master him. I will explain in more detail when I see you.
The letter goes on to explain that every character is a Buddha.
My man, before you accuse people of making stuff up, check yourself. Where do you get this memorial service angle? It's not a giant corruption that pretty much all Nichiren traditions recite the expedient means and life span chapters. There actually is a direct continuity through the centuries.
“Once you have given up the ghost, everything follows with dead certainty, even in the midst of chaos.”
-Henry Miller
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JazzIsTvRicky
Queequeg wrote:
JazzIsTvRicky wrote:
Firstly this Gosho -Letter to Soya- was written to a 'Lay Priest' one who conducts funerals and memorials which is referred to in most of Nichiren's references on reciting Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra. This Gosho dose not say recite it as a practice or prayer. There is no explanation of why Nichiren sent this letter. However, further into this writing, Nichiren says: "The Rokuharamitsu Sutra states that one should become the master of his mind rather than let his mind master him. I will explain in more detail when I see you.
The letter goes on to explain that every character is a Buddha.
My man, before you accuse people of making stuff up, check yourself. Where do you get this memorial service angle? It's not a giant corruption that pretty much all Nichiren traditions recite thouroughlythe expedient means and life span chapters. There actually is a direct continuity through the centuries.
Thank you, for taking your valuable time to ask me your question, rather than seeking the answer for yourself as Nichiren did!
This important doctrinal subject is not to be treated with such lackadaisical ichinen or determination. I would expect you of all persons on this particular site to have thoroughly researched your own question, then with 'Sutra in Hand' respond with faith as your guide. You rather disappoint me my friend!
However I will deal with your surprised shock with faith.
As for your assertion that: "It's not a giant corruption that pretty much all Nichiren traditions recite thouroughly the expedient means and life span chapters. There actually is a direct continuity through the centuries.
I will address that with this. As late as the 1950's lay believers of Nichiren Buddhist sects did not recite Shayamuni's Lotus Sutra as a daily practice they simply chanted the Daimoku of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo to the Object of worship (Gohonzon) of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. You are referring to the Priest. Where is your proof of the statement you made within Nichiren's Teachings as to the direction he gave on Gongyo! And I must add, if in fact you have not studied and read the entirety of Nichiren's Teachings your road map is limited at best. There is a method to his Scriptural Writings.
Question: What vow did Nichiren make, concerning his pursuit of Buddhism? Did Nichiren fulfill his vow?
I will now return to Scripture! In The Ongi Kuden 'Record of the Orally Transferred Teachings, compiled by Nikko and approved by Nichiren himself. I chose to refer to Nichiren's Lectures on Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra. The chapter titled:
Chapter Ten: The Teacher of the Law
Sixteen important points reads as follows:
-Point One- 'concerning “the teacher of the Law”'
"Now Nichiren and his followers, who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, are the greatest among the teachers of the Law. For when one reaches a realization of the true aspect of all phenomena (shohō), then one will find that everything, from the burning of the fierce fires of hell to the effect of attaining Buddhahood, exists in one’s life, and that one is a teacher of the Law concerning the principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of life.
Again we may say that the word “Law” in the title “The Teacher of the Law” represents the daimoku, and the word “teacher” represents Nichiren and his followers"
-Point Two- "on the persons who “have fulfilled their great vow, . . . because they pity living beings, they are born in this evil world so they may broadly expound this sutra.”-
"The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The “great vow” refers to the propagation of the Lotus Sutra. “Because they pity living beings” refers to all the living beings in the country of Japan. The persons who “are born in this evil world” are Nichiren and his followers. “Broadly” means to expound the sutra throughout the southern continent of Jambudvīpa. “This sutra” refers to the daimoku. Now the above passage refers to Nichiren and his followers, who chant the daimoku, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo."
Am I not understanding this straightforward teaching?
-Point Six-
" regarding the passage “Shāriputra, you should know / that at the start I took a vow, / hoping to make all persons / equal to me, without any distinction between us, / and what I long ago hoped for / has now been fulfilled. / I have converted all living beings / and caused them all to enter the Buddha way.”
"The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The “I” here refers to Shakyamuni Buddha, who in fact attained Buddhahood in the remote past. This Shakyamuni Buddha of the essential teaching is none other than we, living beings.
The “me” in the phrase “equal to me” [that is, the Buddha] represents the last seven of the ten factors of life. The living beings of the nine worlds represent the first three of the ten factors. We living beings are the parent, and the Buddha is the child. Father and son constitute a single entity, a beginning and end that are ultimately equal. We living beings are described in the “Life Span” chapter of the Lotus Sutra as the Buddha eternally endowed with the three bodies.
Nichiren and his followers, who today chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, are the ones meant here."
Dose this not include all of us who consistently seek Nichiren as our Teacher? He says: we are "the Buddha eternally endowed with the three bodies.' Mark totally disagrees with Nichiren Daishonin's declaration above!
Do you also call Nichiren a great liar?
"you should understand that this is what is referred to by the words “what I long ago hoped for / has now been fulfilled.”
In the phrase “has now been fulfilled” (kon ja i manzoku), the character i means “already.” What is the passage referring to when it says that “now it has already been fulfilled”? On the whole, the commentaries of T’ien-t’ai indicate that the “already” refers to the pronouncement on the “true aspect of all phenomena” made earlier by the Buddha. But from the point of view of the teachings of our school, you should understand that it refers to Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and that this is what is being described in the words “now it has already been fulfilled.”
-Point Seven- regarding the passage “Now I, joyful and fearless, / in the midst of the bodhisattvas, / honestly discarding expedient means, / will preach only the unsurpassed way.”
"The connecting teaching and the specific teaching are one-sided and secondary, not the correct and primary teaching. But now the Buddha discards all these biased and distorted teachings and honestly preaches only the one way.”
"Honestly” refers to the principle that earthly desires are enlightenment and the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana. The “one way” that the commentary speaks of is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, it is Nichiren and his followers, is it not, who honestly work to propagate the one way?"
So the 'One Way' seems to me to be what we 'The Bodhisattva of the Earth' are called forth to spread world wide while casting aside all others.
Sincerely, Richard H Brown
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User avatarQueequeg
Global Moderator
JazzIsTvRicky wrote:
Thank you, for taking your valuable time to ask me your question, rather than seeking the answer for yourself as Nichiren did!
This important doctrinal subject is not to be treated with such lackadaisical ichinen or determination. I would expect you of all persons on this particular site to have thoroughly researched your own question, then with 'Sutra in Hand' respond with faith as your guide. You rather disappoint me my friend!
However I will deal with your surprised shock with faith.
As for your assertion that: "It's not a giant corruption that pretty much all Nichiren traditions recite thouroughly the expedient means and life span chapters. There actually is a direct continuity through the centuries.
I will address that with this. As late as the 1950's lay believers of Nichiren Buddhist sects did not recite Shayamuni's Lotus Sutra as a daily practice they simply chanted the Daimoku of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo to the Object of worship (Gohonzon) of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. You are referring to the Priest. Where is your proof of the statement you made within Nichiren's Teachings as to the direction he gave on Gongyo! And I must add, if in fact you have not studied and read the entirety of Nichiren's Teachings your road map is limited at best. There is a method to his Scriptural Writings.
You did not answer my question. As for support for of my disagreement with your view? See above.
“Once you have given up the ghost, everything follows with dead certainty, even in the midst of chaos.”
-Henry Miller
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JazzIsTvRicky
I must not understand your Question. What is it again? I will do my best to answer you as completely as possible.
Sincerely, Richard H Brown
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narhwal90
I'm with Q on this, some of his citations are for priests and some for lay, and recitation is recommended if not prescribed (among other things) for both. Which isn't to say the modern forms of gongyo are defined but thats enough reason for me to do them.
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JazzIsTvRicky
narhwal90 wrote:
I'm with Q on this, some of his citations are for priests and some for lay, and recitation is recommended if not prescribed (among other things) for both. Which isn't to say the modern forms of gongyo are defined but thats enough reason for me to do them.
I would suggest you consider being on the side of actual scripture rather than what seems correct. In the Gosho: -On the Four Stages of Faith and The Five Stages of Practice- one of Nichiren's 'Ten Major Writings' Nichiren writes:
"Question: For practitioners in the Latter Day of the Law, who have just aroused the aspiration for enlightenment, what types of practice are restricted?
"Answer: Such persons are restricted from practicing almsgiving, the keeping of the precepts, and the others of the five paramitas, and are directed to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo exclusively. This practice corresponds to the capacity of persons at the stages of "producing even a single moment's faith and understanding" and "rejoicing on first hearing the Lotus Sutra." It represents the true intention of the Lotus Sutra."
"In this passage of commentary, "subordinate concerns" refers to the five paramitas. If the beginner tries to practice the five paramitas at the same time [that he embraces the Lotus Sutra], that may work to obstruct his primary practice, which is faith. Such a person will be like a small ship that is loaded with wealth and treasure and sets out to cross the sea. Both the ship and the treasure will sink.
"And the words "should directly give all his attention to embracing the sutra" do not refer to the sutra as a whole. They mean that one should embrace the daimoku, or title, of the sutra exclusively and not mix it with other passages. Even recitation of the entire sutra is not permitted."
As you see it is clear here what we as those in the stage of myoji-soku should practice and what we should not practice. Search the other 'Ten Major Writings' and those text will clarify this doctrine.
The Buddha says: "Rely on the Law" I think this is what will lead you to a conclusion based on faith.
Thank you for participating. if i can offer anything more please let me know.
Sincerely, JazzIs
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JazzIsTvRicky
Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Fri Jun 24, 2016 11:51 am
I would like to discuss my findings within the body of Nichiren's Teachings which are available and widely read in this 'The Latter Day of The Law', and the meaning of 'Faith' as taught by Nichiren. I believe that the recitation of Shayamuni's Lotus Sutra is 'Simply Chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo' exclusively without any other recitation or chant. Including, the recitation of any part or whole of the Lotus Sutra as taught by Shakyamuni Buddha. Gongyo is not mentioned by Nichiren but was introduced by later Priest of Nichiren Buddhist Sects.
Sincerely, JazzIs, A Votary of The Lotus Sutra
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User avatarQueequeg
Global Moderator
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Fri Jun 24, 2016 4:13 pm
Hi JazzIs,
First, welcome to the forum! Happy to have you join us.
Are you declaring that Nichiren taught to exclusively chant the daimoku? Where do you get this? Nichiren stated otherwise in numerous writings.
As a daily religious practice, one should recite the daimoku, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Those persons who are able to do so should further recite a verse or a phrase of the Lotus Sutra. As a supplementary practice, if one wishes, one may offer praise for Shakyamuni Buddha, Many Treasures Buddha, or the Buddhas of the ten directions, for all the various bodhisattvas or the persons of the two vehicles, the heavenly beings, the dragon deities, or the eight kinds of nonhuman beings [who protect Buddhism]. Since we live in an age when there are many uninformed people, there is no need for believers to attempt at once to practice the meditation on the three thousand realms in a single moment of life, though if there are persons who wish to do so, they should learn how to practice this type of meditation and carry it out.
-On Reciting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra
To accept, uphold, read, recite, take delight in, and protect all the eight volumes and twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra is called the comprehensive practice. To accept, uphold, and protect the “Expedient Means” chapter and the “Life Span” chapter is called the abbreviated practice. And simply to chant one four-phrase verse or the daimoku, and to protect those who do so, is called the essential practice. Hence, among these three kinds of practice, comprehensive, abbreviated, and essential, the daimoku is defined as the essential practice.
-The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra
I have written out the prose section of the “Expedient Means” chapter for you. You should recite it together with the verse portion of the “Life Span” chapter, which I sent you earlier.
Reply to the Lay Priest Soya
As for the Lotus Sutra, one may recite the entire sutra of twenty-eight chapters in eight volumes every day; or one may recite only one volume, or one chapter, or one verse, or one phrase, or one word; or one may simply chant the daimoku, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, only once a day, or chant it only once in the course of a lifetime; or hear someone else chant it only once in a lifetime and rejoice in the hearing, or rejoice in hearing the voice of someone else rejoice in the hearing, and so on in this manner to the fiftieth hearer. And if one were to be at the end, even if one’s faith were weak and one’s sense of rejoicing diluted like the frailty of a child of two or three, or the inability of a cow or horse to distinguish before from after, the blessings one would gain would be a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, million times greater than those gained by persons of keen faculties and superior wisdom who study other sutras, persons such as Shāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, Manjushrī, and Maitreya, who had committed to memory the entire texts of the various sutras…
First of all, when it comes to the Lotus Sutra, you should understand that, whether one recites all eight volumes, or only one volume, one chapter, one verse, one phrase, or simply the daimoku, or title, the blessings are the same. It is like the water of the great ocean, a single drop of which contains water from all the countless streams and rivers, or like the wish-granting jewel, which, though only a single jewel, can shower all kinds of treasures upon the wisher. And the same is true of a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, or a million such drops of water or such jewels. A single character of the Lotus Sutra is like such a drop of water or such a jewel, and the hundred million characters are like a hundred million such drops or jewels…
Therefore, when it comes to the Lotus Sutra, it is praiseworthy to recite any chapter you have placed your trust in, whichever chapter that may be...
But to return to your question. As I said before, though no chapter of the Lotus Sutra is negligible, among the entire twenty-eight chapters, the “Expedient Means” chapter and the “Life Span” chapter are particularly outstanding. The remaining chapters are all in a sense the branches and leaves of these two chapters. Therefore, for your regular recitation, I recommend that you practice reading the prose sections of the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters. In addition, it might be well if you wrote out separate copies of these sections. The remaining twenty-six chapters are like the shadow that follows one’s body or the value inherent in a jewel. If you recite the “Life Span” and “Expedient Means” chapters, then the remaining chapters will naturally be included even though you do not recite them. It is true that the “Medicine King” and “Devadatta” chapters deal specifically with women’s attainment of Buddhahood or rebirth in the pure land. But the “Devadatta” chapter is a branch and leaf of the “Expedient Means” chapter, and the “Medicine King” chapter is a branch and leaf of the “Expedient Means” and the “LifeSpan” chapters. Therefore, you should regularly recite these two chapters, the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters. As for the remaining chapters, you may turn to them from time to time when you have a moment of leisure.
-Expedient Means and Life Span Chapters
We speak of upholding the Lotus Sutra. But although there is only one sutra, the manner in which we uphold it may vary from one period to the next. There may be times when a person literally rends his flesh and offers it to his teacher, and in this way attains Buddhahood. Or at other times a person may offer his body as a couch to his teacher, or as so much firewood. At yet other times a person may bear the blows of sticks and staves for the sake of the sutra, or may practice religious austerities or observe various precepts. And there may be times when, even though a person does the things described above, he still does not attain Buddhahood. It depends upon the time and is not something fixed.
Therefore, the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai declared, “The method chosen should be that which accords with the time.” And the Great Teacher Chang-an said, “You should let your choices be fitting and never adhere solely to one or the other.”
-Letter to Horen
I have received your gift of a sack of rice, sent in donation for a memorial service on the anniversary of Ueno’s passing. I will offer it in the presence of the Buddha and recite the verse section of the “Life Span” chapter of the Lotus Sutra.
-On Filial and Non-Filial Conduct
Etc. etc.
Also, it seems you may be putting too much emphasis on the word "gongyo" (勤行). This is a generic Buddhist term that means "energetic practice". Its used widely in Japanese Buddhism to refer to ritual practice, particularly sutra recitation.
“Once you have given up the ghost, everything follows with dead certainty, even in the midst of chaos.”
-Henry Miller
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JazzIsTvRicky
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Fri Jun 24, 2016 5:26 pm
Queequeg wrote:
Hi JazzIs,
First, welcome to the forum! Happy to have you join us.
Are you declaring that Nichiren taught to exclusively chant the daimoku? c Nichiren stated otherwise in numerous writings.
Answer: Yes I am! And thank you for your wonderful welcome! I will address each point you so beautifully and sincerely make with, as you have done, "Sutra in Hand"...
As a daily religious practice, one should recite the daimoku, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Those persons who are able to do so should further recite a verse or a phrase of the Lotus Sutra. As a supplementary practice, if one wishes, one may offer praise for Shakyamuni Buddha, Many Treasures Buddha, or the Buddhas of the ten directions, for all the various bodhisattvas or the persons of the two vehicles, the heavenly beings, the dragon deities, or the eight kinds of nonhuman beings [who protect Buddhism]. Since we live in an age when there are many uninformed people, there is no need for believers to attempt at once to practice the meditation on the three thousand realms in a single moment of life, though if there are persons who wish to do so, they should learn how to practice this type of meditation and carry it out.
-On Reciting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra
My reply: From the same Gosho -On Reciting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra- "Volume ten of On “The Words and Phrases,” speaking of those who carry out the five practices listed in the “Teacher of the Law” chapter, says: “They have not yet completely entered the five stages of practice [that belong to the stage of perception and action].” And it also says: “They are not to be regarded as completely at the stage of ordinary practitioners.” According to these passages, though persons carrying out the five practices listed in the “Teacher of the Law” chapter could be interpreted as carrying out the five stages of practice that belong to the stage of perception and action, they could also be interpreted as being at the preceding stage, the stage of hearing the name and words of the truth. If we go by these passages of interpretation, when ordinary mortals who are at the stage of hearing the name and words of the truth and have no real understanding of the teachings rejoice on hearing the Lotus Sutra, they will enjoy the same benefits as those who rejoice for even a moment on hearing only one verse or one phrase of the sutra, and those who rejoice on hearing word of the Lotus Sutra passed along by fifty persons in succession."
This is referred to as The stage of 'Myoji-soku'.....stage of hearing the name and words of the truth ［名字即］ ( myōji-soku): The second of the six stages of practice, stages in the practice of the Lotus Sutra formulated by T’ien-t’ai (538–597). The stage at which one hears the name of the truth (i.e., one hears a Buddhist term for the ultimate reality such as “the true aspect of all phenomena”) and/or reads the words of the sutras and thereby understands intellectually that all beings are potential Buddhas and that all phenomena are manifestations of the universal Law. See also six stages of practice.
This Buddhist doctrine is consistent in Nichiren's Teachings and is thoroughly expounded and taught in one of the 'Ten Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin' as designated b Nikko Shonin the Second High Priest.
"Within these chapters of transmission, the four stages of faith and five stages of practice expounded in the in Fumbetsu Kudoku chapter represent the most important essential in the practice of the Lotus Sutra, a mirror to persons living in the time of the Buddha and after his passing."
"My own opinion is that, of these three interpretations, that which equates these two stages with the stage of myoji-soku accords best with the text of the Lotus Sutra itself."
"In particular, the passages in the Juryo chapter that speak of those who have "lost their minds" and those who have "not lost their minds" refer in both cases to the stage of myoji-soku. One should also consider the passages in the Nirvana Sutra that read "Whether one believes or does not believe, he shall directly be born in the Buddha land,"
"Again, in the phrase "a single moment's faith and understanding," the word "faith" applies to the first of the four stages, and the word "understanding," to those that follow. And if this is so, then "faith without understanding" would apply to the first of the four stages of faith. The second stage of faith is described in the sutra as that at which one "generally understands the purport of the words" of the sutra. And in volume nine of the Hokke Mongu Ki we read: "The initial stage is different from the others, because in the initial stage there is as yet no understanding."
"With regard to the stage achieved by the fiftieth person, there are two interpretations. The first interpretation holds that the fiftieth person falls within the stage of "rejoicing on first hearing the Lotus Sutra," [and is thus at the level of kangyo-soku.] The other interpretation holds that the fiftieth person cannot yet be said to have entered the stage of "rejoicing on first hearing the Lotus Sutra" but is still at the level of myoji-soku. This latter interpretation reflects the view that "the truer the teaching, the lower the stage [of the persons it can bring to enlightenment.]"
Your opening question is "Are you declaring that Nichiren taught to exclusively chant the daimoku?"
Shakyamuni Buddha said in the Nirvana Sutra: "Rely on the Law" now i will take you to the answer of your most sincere query!
-On the Four Stages of Faith and the Five Stages of Practice-
Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 6, page 211. continues....
"Question: For practitioners in the Latter Day of the Law, who have just aroused the aspiration for enlightenment, what types of practice are restricted?
"Answer: Such persons are restricted from practicing almsgiving, the keeping of the precepts, and the others of the five paramitas, and are directed to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo exclusively. This practice corresponds to the capacity of persons at the stages of "producing even a single moment's faith and understanding" and "rejoicing on first hearing the Lotus Sutra." It represents the true intention of the Lotus Sutra."
Next Nichiren becomes very strict with the Questioner...
"Question: The sutra passage you have just quoted seems to support your argument. But can you offer any passages from the treatises or commentaries?"
"Answer: What commentaries would you like me to cite? Are you referring to the treatises by the four ranks of saints of India? Or are you referring to works written by Buddhist teachers of China and Japan? In either case, it amounts to rejecting the root and searching among the branches, seeking the shadow apart from the form, or forgetting the source and prizing only the stream. You would ignore a sutra passage that is perfectly clear and instead seek an answer in the treatises and commentaries. If there should be some later commentary that contradicts the original sutra passage, would you then cast aside the sutra and follow the commentary?"
"Nevertheless, I will comply with your wishes and cite some passages. In the ninth volume of the Hokke Mongu we read: "There is a danger that a beginner will be led astray by subordinate concerns, and that this will interfere with the primary practice. The beginner should directly give all his attention to embracing the sutra; that is the highest type of offering. Though one may set aside formal practices, if one maintains [meditation on] the principle, then the benefits will be many and far-reaching."
"And the words "should directly give all his attention to embracing the sutra" do not refer to the sutra as a whole. They mean that one should embrace the daimoku, or title, of the sutra exclusively and not mix it with other passages. Even recitation of the entire sutra is not permitted. How much less the five paramitas!"
My friend dose this answer your initial question? But let us continue learning from Nichiren himself...
-On the Four Stages of Faith and the Five Stages of Practice-
Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 6, page 211. continues....
"Question: Why do you not advocate the meditation on the three thousand realms in a single life-moment (ichinen sanzen), but instead simply encourage the chanting of the daimoku?"
Answer in part:"Miao-lo says: "When, in order to be brief, only the title of the sutra is mentioned, the entire sutra is thereby included."
"Question: If a person simply chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with no understanding of its meaning, are the benefits of understanding thereby included?"
"Answer: When a baby drinks milk, he has no understanding of its taste, and yet his body is naturally nourished in the process...."
"Question: Why do you say that all teachings are contained within the daimoku?"
"Answer, The five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo do not represent the sutra text, nor are they its meaning. They are nothing other than the intent of the entire sutra. So, even though the beginner in religious practice may not understand their significance, by practicing these five characters, he will naturally conform to the sutra's intent."
"Question: When your disciples, without any understanding, simply recite with their mouths the words Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, what level of attainment do they reach?"
"Answer:Therefore I entreat the people of this country: Do not look down upon my disciples! If one inquires into their past, they are great bodhisattvas who have given alms to Buddhas over a period of eighty myriads of millions of kalpas, and who have carried out religious practices under Buddhas as numerous as the sand of the Hiranyavati and Ganges rivers. And if one speaks of the future, they are endowed with the benefit of the fiftieth person, surpassing that of one who gives alms to all living beings for a period of eighty years. They are like an infant emperor wrapped in swaddling clothes, or a great dragon who has just been born. Do not despise them! Do not look on them with contempt!"
Hopefully you will earnestly study this Gosho which will lead you to others.And with a more profound understanding and insight your eyes will be opened widely! The Daishonin teaches with a method not unlike that of Shakyamuni Buddha.
To accept, uphold, read, recite, take delight in, and protect all the eight volumes and twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra is called the comprehensive practice. To accept, uphold, and protect the “Expedient Means” chapter and the “Life Span” chapter is called the abbreviated practice. And simply to chant one four-phrase verse or the daimoku, and to protect those who do so, is called the essential practice. Hence, among these three kinds of practice, comprehensive, abbreviated, and essential, the daimoku is defined as the essential practice.
-The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra
My Reply: This Gosho answers your question also!
I have written out the prose section of the “Expedient Means” chapter for you. You should recite it together with the verse portion of the “Life Span” chapter, which I sent you earlier.
Reply to the Lay Priest Soya
My Reply: nowhere in Nichiren's writings are the terms, exclusively, only, solely. single-mindedly, etc used to in conjunction with the recitation of Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra. Only when he refers to Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. This Gosho is not among the "Ten Major Writings' which among those writings this admonition of Daimoku is the only thing you need do to correctly read and recite the Lotus Sutra. Search among them and you will become enlightened to the truth of what 'faith' in Nichiren's Teachings mean.
As for the Lotus Sutra, one may recite the entire sutra of twenty-eight chapters in eight volumes every day; or one may recite only one volume, or one chapter, or one verse, or one phrase, or one word; or one may simply chant the daimoku, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, only once a day, or chant it only once in the course of a lifetime; or hear someone else chant it only once in a lifetime and rejoice in the hearing, or rejoice in hearing the voice of someone else rejoice in the hearing, and so on in this manner to the fiftieth hearer. And if one were to be at the end, even if one’s faith were weak and one’s sense of rejoicing diluted like the frailty of a child of two or three, or the inability of a cow or horse to distinguish before from after, the blessings one would gain would be a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, million times greater than those gained by persons of keen faculties and superior wisdom who study other sutras, persons such as Shāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, Manjushrī, and Maitreya, who had committed to memory the entire texts of the various sutras…
First of all, when it comes to the Lotus Sutra, you should understand that, whether one recites all eight volumes, or only one volume, one chapter, one verse, one phrase, or simply the daimoku, or title, the blessings are the same. It is like the water of the great ocean, a single drop of which contains water from all the countless streams and rivers, or like the wish-granting jewel, which, though only a single jewel, can shower all kinds of treasures upon the wisher. And the same is true of a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, or a million such drops of water or such jewels. A single character of the Lotus Sutra is like such a drop of water or such a jewel, and the hundred million characters are like a hundred million such drops or jewels…
Therefore, when it comes to the Lotus Sutra, it is praiseworthy to recite any chapter you have placed your trust in, whichever chapter that may be...
But to return to your question. As I said before, though no chapter of the Lotus Sutra is negligible, among the entire twenty-eight chapters, the “Expedient Means” chapter and the “Life Span” chapter are particularly outstanding. The remaining chapters are all in a sense the branches and leaves of these two chapters. Therefore, for your regular recitation, I recommend that you practice reading the prose sections of the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters. In addition, it might be well if you wrote out separate copies of these sections. The remaining twenty-six chapters are like the shadow that follows one’s body or the value inherent in a jewel. If you recite the “Life Span” and “Expedient Means” chapters, then the remaining chapters will naturally be included even though you do not recite them. It is true that the “Medicine King” and “Devadatta” chapters deal specifically with women’s attainment of Buddhahood or rebirth in the pure land. But the “Devadatta” chapter is a branch and leaf of the “Expedient Means” chapter, and the “Medicine King” chapter is a branch and leaf of the “Expedient Means” and the “LifeSpan” chapters. Therefore, you should regularly recite these two chapters, the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters. As for the remaining chapters, you may turn to them from time to time when you have a moment of leisure.
-Expedient Means and Life Span Chapters
In this Gosho -Recitation of the Hoben and Juryo Chapters- Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 6, page 3. which is classified as Nichiren's before Sado Teachings.
You left out this part, Nichiren writes:
"If unexpectedly you should feel yourself approaching death, then even if you are eating fish or fowl, if you are able to read the sutra, you should do so, and likewise chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Needless to say, the same principle applies during your period of menstruation.
Reciting the words Namu-ichijo-myoden amounts to the same thing. But it is better if you just chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, as Bodhisattva Vasubandhu and the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai did. There are specific reasons why I say this."
Nichiren says: "As for my teachings, regard those before my exile to Sado as equivalent to the Buddha’s pre-Lotus Sutra teachings. I had thought that if the ruler of this country desired to govern well, he would summon the priests of the Shingon sect for an open debate with me, and that, on that occasion, I would reveal for the first time the true teaching of supreme importance. Before my exile, I withheld this teaching even from my disciples for fear that if I should tell them, even in confidence, they might inadvertently disclose it to the Shingon priests, who would then avoid the debate. This is why I refrained from revealing the true teaching to all of you as well"
-Letter to Misawa-
Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 3, page 251.
We speak of upholding the Lotus Sutra. But although there is only one sutra, the manner in which we uphold it may vary from one period to the next. There may be times when a person literally rends his flesh and offers it to his teacher, and in this way attains Buddhahood. Or at other times a person may offer his body as a couch to his teacher, or as so much firewood. At yet other times a person may bear the blows of sticks and staves for the sake of the sutra, or may practice religious austerities or observe various precepts. And there may be times when, even though a person does the things described above, he still does not attain Buddhahood. It depends upon the time and is not something fixed.
Therefore, the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai declared, “The method chosen should be that which accords with the time.” And the Great Teacher Chang-an said, “You should let your choices be fitting and never adhere solely to one or the other.”
-Letter to Horen
I have received your gift of a sack of rice, sent in donation for a memorial service on the anniversary of Ueno’s passing. I will offer it in the presence of the Buddha and recite the verse section of the “Life Span” chapter of the Lotus Sutra.
-On Filial and Non-Filial Conduct
The point here is most recommendations Nichiren gives for reciting the Sutra is connected with funerals or memorial services. Yet his instruction for faith is perfectly centered on the chanting of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. for instance to show how powerful the Daimoku is and how it relates directly to embracing the Lotus Sutra the Daishonin writes:
"This Myoho-renge-kyo is a term designating the essential nature of our minds, or, more generally speaking, the essential nature of the minds of all living beings, the eight-petaled white lotus blossom. The words of the Buddha himself teach us this. From time without beginning until the present, these bodies of ours have transmigrated through the realm of birth and death, in a state of delusion as to the essential nature of the mind that is within these bodies. But now that we have encountered the Lotus Sutra and chant the daimoku that represents the Thus Come One of original enlightenment, who possesses the three bodies in a single body, the Thus Come One becomes manifest. In our present existence we achieve the inner realization and attainment of Buddhahood that is known as the attainment of Buddhahood in our present form."
-The Doctrine of Three Thousand Realms in a Single Moment of Life- WND Vol II Pg.87
And
"Chanting the daimoku, or title, of the Lotus Sutra is the same as carrying out meditation. Ignorant persons may find this difficult to believe. But the second volume of Great Concentration and Insight by T’ien-t’ai has a passage “regarding recitation and silence” in which the word “recitation” refers to recitation of the Lotus Sutra and “silence” to the practice of meditation or contemplation. And again, in the first volume of his Meaning of the Four Teachings, T’ien-t’ai states: “Not only [are such practices as recitation] not a needless waste of effort, they are essential in enabling one to grasp the principle involved.”
-The Doctrine of Three Thousand Realms in a Single Moment of Life- WND Vol II Pg.85.
Etc. etc.
Finally I will end with another of Nichiren's 'Ten Major Writings' Nichiren writes:"In the same way, one who chants the daimoku as the Lotus Sutra teaches will never have a twisted mind. For one should know that, unless the mind of the Buddha enters into our bodies, we cannot in fact chant the daimoku." and "But for some reason there were none who chanted the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra, the heart and core of the Buddha’s entire lifetime of teachings.
You should inquire very carefully into the reason why this was so.
The Blessings of the Lotus Sutra WND Vol.I
This my friend is not my arbitrary interpretations and comes from seriously studying the entire body of Nichiren's Teachings not some of his teachings, over my 35 years of faith, practice, and study.
Thank you for your time and input. I suggest you trust Nam Myoho Renge Kyo it needs no other flavoring, the Cook is the Buddha!
Also, it seems you may be putting too much emphasis on the word "gongyo" (勤行). This is a generic Buddhist term that means "energetic practice". Its used widely in Japanese Buddhism to refer to ritual practice, particularly sutra recitation.
I don't know where you have practiced or what sect you have practiced in, but your statement makes little sense to me, for Gongyo is emphasized throughout the world and by Millions of Nichiren Buddhism Practitioners.
Sincerely, JazzIs
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Myoho-Nameless
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Fri Jun 24, 2016 6:42 pm
JazzIsTvRicky wrote:
I believe that the recitation of Shayamuni's Lotus Sutra is 'Simply Chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo' exclusively without any other recitation or chant
These days I tend to do that anyway. But thats because I am lazy. Actually I wan't to get back to the whole enchilada. With mole sauce. Mole sauce contains everything but the kitchen sink, and my bell and candles accumulate dust.
I just don't belong.
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User avatarQueequeg
Global Moderator
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Fri Jun 24, 2016 10:05 pm
Ricky,
Following your reading of the of the Four Depths of Faith and Five Stages of Practice would mean that you should have stopped reading that text when you got to, "They mean that one should embrace the daimoku, or title, of the sutra exclusively and not mix it with other passages."
As I understand, the logic of the Lotus Sutra is not linear. I think its well illustrated by Zhiyi's discussion of the Relative and Absolute Sublime - the Relative Sublime is exemplified by the progressive refinement of teachings -
Buddhist teachings are greater than non-Buddhist teachings; Provisional Mahayana is greater than Hinayana; Mahayana is greater than Provisional Mahayana; Lotus Sutra is greater than All Teachings Before and After; Essential is greater than Provisional; Five or Seven Characters is greater than the Essential...
Then you have the Absolute Sublime - which in this case would be the principle of Myohorengekyo. This Absolute Sublime, however, is a funny thing. It embraces everything, and it follows, the provisional is opened by to reveal the real.
I have written out the prose section of the “Expedient Means” chapter for you. You should recite it together with the verse portion of the “Life Span” chapter, which I sent you earlier.
Reply to the Lay Priest Soya
My Reply: nowhere in Nichiren's writings are the terms, exclusively, only, solely. single-mindedly, etc used to in conjunction with the recitation of Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra. Only when he refers to Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. This Gosho is not among the "Ten Major Writings' which among those writings this admonition of Daimoku is the only thing you need do to correctly read and recite the Lotus Sutra. Search among them and you will become enlightened to the truth of what 'faith' in Nichiren's Teachings mean.
First, 10 writings or not, this letter to Soya was written after Tatsunokuchi, and so demonstrates that Nichiren was teaching his followers to recite more than just the daimoku in their daily practice.
If you say, the only essential practice is the Daimoku, I have no argument. If you say, Daimoku is the only practice, and everything else is precluded, I don't agree.
“Once you have given up the ghost, everything follows with dead certainty, even in the midst of chaos.”
-Henry Miller
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User avatarQueequeg
Global Moderator
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Fri Jun 24, 2016 10:24 pm
Myoho-Nameless wrote:
JazzIsTvRicky wrote:
I believe that the recitation of Shayamuni's Lotus Sutra is 'Simply Chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo' exclusively without any other recitation or chant
These days I tend to do that anyway. But thats because I am lazy. Actually I wan't to get back to the whole enchilada. With mole sauce. Mole sauce contains everything but the kitchen sink, and my bell and candles accumulate dust.
Hey, kid, graduation isn't the end, its just the beginning. Get off the couch and do something. That enchilada aint making itself.
“Once you have given up the ghost, everything follows with dead certainty, even in the midst of chaos.”
-Henry Miller
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Myoho-Nameless
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Fri Jun 24, 2016 10:50 pm
Cut me some slack. I actually used my gohonzon this morning. Though rather than a couch, I have been in bed >.<
going around my juzu twice. And I am going to have to settle for general tso's tempeh tonight. yum.
I just don't belong.
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User avatarQueequeg
Global Moderator
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Fri Jun 24, 2016 10:58 pm
Slack? You millennials...
Now that I'm closer to the age where I can tell stories about walking to and from school uphill, both ways through the driving snow 13 months out of the year than having to listen to them, I'm taking advantage to hassle the next generation.
“Once you have given up the ghost, everything follows with dead certainty, even in the midst of chaos.”
-Henry Miller
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narhwal90
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Fri Jun 24, 2016 11:09 pm
While I'm dubious about the proposition also, it might be posed in a stronger form; that recitation of the sutra is not needed, but study of it is. I've always been told essentially that daimoku & gongyo are the two legs of one's practice (with study being the ...err.. third lol)- but it does make me wonder if recitation has an esoteric aspect.
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JazzIsTvRicky
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Sat Jun 25, 2016 2:02 am
narhwal90 wrote:
While I'm dubious about the proposition also, it might be posed in a stronger form; that recitation of the sutra is not needed, but study of it is. I've always been told essentially that daimoku & gongyo are the two legs of one's practice (with study being the ...err.. third lol)- but it does make me wonder if recitation has an esoteric aspect.
I think my friend you are on to something. Wisdom is emerging beautifully and esoteric is a unique outlook. Think about the Buddhist concept of Zuiho Bini.
The hope is in the Gohonzon's absolute mercy and the truth of Buddhism's potential to actually spread widely as foretold by Shakyamuni and craved out relentlessly by Nichiren and his followers of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
The real difference in other organized religions and Nichiren's Buddhism is the fact that we have the Gohonzon of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. Cause and effect is strict.
Thank you for taking the time and sharing your thoughts, on this very important Doctrinal Discovery.
Sincerely, JazzIs
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JazzIsTvRicky
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Sat Jun 25, 2016 4:10 pm
Queequeg wrote:
Ricky,
Following your reading of the of the Four Depths of Faith and Five Stages of Practice would mean that you should have stopped reading that text when you got to, "They mean that one should embrace the daimoku, or title, of the sutra exclusively and not mix it with other passages."
As I understand, the logic of the Lotus Sutra is not linear. I think its well illustrated by Zhiyi's discussion of the Relative and Absolute Sublime - the Relative Sublime is exemplified by the progressive refinement of teachings -
Buddhist teachings are greater than non-Buddhist teachings; Provisional Mahayana is greater than Hinayana; Mahayana is greater than Provisional Mahayana; Lotus Sutra is greater than All Teachings Before and After; Essential is greater than Provisional; Five or Seven Characters is greater than the Essential...
Then you have the Absolute Sublime - which in this case would be the principle of Myohorengekyo. This Absolute Sublime, however, is a funny thing. It embraces everything, and it follows, the provisional is opened by to reveal the real.
I have written out the prose section of the “Expedient Means” chapter for you. You should recite it together with the verse portion of the “Life Span” chapter, which I sent you earlier.
Reply to the Lay Priest Soya
My Reply: nowhere in Nichiren's writings are the terms, exclusively, only, solely. single-mindedly, etc used to in conjunction with the recitation of Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra. Only when he refers to Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. This Gosho is not among the "Ten Major Writings' which among those writings this admonition of Daimoku is the only thing you need do to correctly read and recite the Lotus Sutra. Search among them and you will become enlightened to the truth of what 'faith' in Nichiren's Teachings mean.
First, 10 writings or not, this letter to Soya was written after Tatsunokuchi, and so demonstrates that Nichiren was teaching his followers to recite more than just the daimoku in their daily practice.
If you say, the only essential practice is the Daimoku, I have no argument. If you say, Daimoku is the only practice, and everything else is precluded, I don't agree.
Firstly this Gosho -Letter to Soya- was written to a 'Lay Priest' one who conducts funerals and memorials which is referred to in most of Nichiren's references on reciting Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra. This Gosho dose not say recite it as a practice or prayer. There is no explanation of why Nichiren sent this letter. However, further into this writing, Nichiren says: "The Rokuharamitsu Sutra states that one should become the master of his mind rather than let his mind master him. I will explain in more detail when I see you.
Seek what "more detail" means and 'Rely on the Law"
However, let me introduce you to a wonderful realization! Nichiren writes in the Gosho, -Sovereign, Teacher, and Parent-
"Since the beginningless past, we living beings have never for an instant been separated from this wish-granting jewel of Myoho-renge-kyo. But, befuddled by the wine of ignorance, we fail to realize that it is hidden in the lining of our robes, and we are content with merely a little gain.Though we are living beings who, simply by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, could quickly attain Buddhahood, we observe petty precepts such as the five precepts or the ten good precepts, being reborn as a result in the realm of heavenly beings, as deities such as Brahmā or Shakra, and thinking that a wonderful accomplishment. Or at times we are born as human beings, becoming rulers of various countries, high ministers, court nobles, or other court officials, and we think ourselves incomparably happy. Thus we content ourselves with such little gains and are delighted with them."
You end your argument without "Sutra in Hand" and make the statement: "If you say, the only essential practice is the Daimoku, I have no argument. If you say, Daimoku is the only practice, and everything else is precluded, I don't agree. And that's fine.
However it is not I who said it. It is in the Scripture of Nichiren, again let me refresh your memory!. Nichiren writes in the Gosho -The Teaching for the Latter Day-
"This teaching was not propagated in the Former or Middle Day of the Law because the other sutras had not yet lost their power of benefit. Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, neither the Lotus Sutra nor the other sutras lead to enlightenment. Only Nam-myoho-renge-kyo can do so. This is not my own judgment. Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, the Buddhas of the ten directions, and the bodhisattvas who emerged from the earth as numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds have so determined it. To mix other practices with this Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is a grave error. A lantern is useless when the sun rises. How can dewdrops be beneficial when the rain falls? Should one feed a newborn baby anything other than its mother’s milk? No addition of other medicines is needed with a good medicine."
Please when you are debating Doctrine, back up your argument with Scripture rather than your own personal opinions. But this is to be expected my friend. Shakyamuni Buddha says so in his teachings. I will end with his admonition one that is to be relied on and taken seriously. Nichiren writes in the Gosho:
-Conversation between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man-
"The sage replied: “What you say is quite true, and I would be inclined to hold the same opinion. But when we examine the sutras, we find that they tell us not to begrudge our lives [for the sake of the Law], and also say that [one should spread the Buddha’s teachings] even at the cost of one’s life."
I would then ask this question! How did Nichiren Attain Buddhahood? Do you know? Have you even asked the question? I have! And this is what I found which relates perfectly to the Gosho I quoted from above, which is my friend, another of the 'Ten Major Writings'.
In the Gosho: -Letter to Gijo-bo- Nichiren reveals his cause for attaining Buddhahood. Nichiren writes:
"So what is really important is that the teachings of the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds, of the hundred worlds and thousand factors, and of three thousand realms in a single moment of life are the essence of this sutra. These teachings are described in the work entitled Great Concentration and Insight."
"Next, the teaching of the “Life Span” chapter is what I, Nichiren, personally depend on. The verse section of the chapter states, “. . . single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha, not hesitating even if it costs them their lives.” As a result of this passage, I have revealed the Buddhahood in my own life. The reason is that it is this sutra passage that has enabled me to embody the Three Great Secret Laws, or the reality of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, that is found in the “Life Span” chapter. But keep this secret, keep it secret."
"I, Nichiren, say that “single” stands for myō, or mystic, “mind” for hō, or law, “desiring” for ren, or lotus, “see” for ge, or flower, and “Buddha” for kyō, or sutra. In propagating these five characters, practitioners should “not hesitate even if it costs them their lives.”
Nowhere in this proclamation dose he mention 'recitation of Shayamuni's Lotus Sutra'...Case closed!
Sincerely, Richard H Brown, 'A Votary of the Lotus Sutra' (Gohonzon of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo)
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illarraza
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Sun Jun 26, 2016 9:34 pm
Not quite Richard...
"In light of all this, we can say that each morning [when he recites the verse section of the “Life Span” chapter] the priest Hōren is sending forth golden-hued characters from his mouth. These characters are in number, and each character changes into a sun, and each sun changes into a Thus Come One Shakyamuni. They emit great beams of light that penetrate the earth and shine upon the three evil paths and the great citadel of the hell of incessant suffering. They also shine toward the east, west, north, and south, and upward, ascending to the realm where there is neither thought nor no thought.29 They visit the realm where your departed father is dwelling, wherever it may be, and there hold discourse with him."
Good enough for Horen but not good enough for Richard?
Mark
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illarraza
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Sun Jun 26, 2016 10:05 pm
"I HAVE written out the prose section of the “Expedient Means” chapter for you. You should recite it together with the verse portion of the “Life Span” chapter, which I sent you earlier."
I can supply more than fifty other similar passages post Tatsunokuchi. Also, calling all teachings of Nichiren prior to Sado provisional is not the meaning of the sentence which reads: "As for my teachings, regard those before my exile to the province of Sado as equivalent to the Buddha’s pre-Lotus Sutra teachings."
In context, he is talking about his failure to condemn the True Word teachings and the revelation of the Secret Law of Gohonzon ...
"...The True Word and Tendai schools slander the Lotus Sutra and should be severely rebuked. But without great wisdom it is hard to differentiate correctly between their doctrines and the teachings that Nichiren spreads. Therefore, at times we refrain from attacking them, just as I did in On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land." -- Letter to Misawa
"With the appearance of this teaching, all the teachings advocated by the scholars and teachers of Buddhism during the Former and Middle Days of the Law will be like stars after sunrise, or an awkward apprentice beside a skilled craftsman. It is stated that once this teaching is revealed in this era, the Buddha images as well as the priests of the temples built in the Former and Middle Days will all lose their power to benefit people, and only this great teaching will spread throughout the entire land of Jambudvīpa. Since all of you have a bond with this teaching, you should feel reassured." -- Ibid.
When Nichiren talks about the great power of Daimoku before his exile to Sado, how could you possibly describe this teaching as provisional.
Mark
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JazzIsTvRicky
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Mon Jun 27, 2016 1:48 am
Mark Ihave thoroughly dealt with you and your proclivity towards making up Buddhism.
Where are the Gosho's which explain that Nichiren was not talking about his teachings before and after Sado? In -Letter to Misawa-. Where did your explanation emanate from?
Mark your lack of "Sutra in Hand" arguments are only convincing to those who are unaware of Buddhism and the fact that there is Scripture which is available to all.
Go back and tell Katie I see her chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo soon.
Thank you Mark for revealing teachings which reveal the absurdity of reciting.Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra.
The Medicine of this 'one vehicle' of the 'Gohonzon of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo' is perfect and pure! Try it some day!
Sincerely, Richard H Brown (JazzIsTvRicky)
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User avatarQueequeg
Global Moderator
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Mon Jun 27, 2016 5:18 am
JazzIsTvRicky wrote:
Firstly this Gosho -Letter to Soya- was written to a 'Lay Priest' one who conducts funerals and memorials which is referred to in most of Nichiren's references on reciting Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra. This Gosho dose not say recite it as a practice or prayer. There is no explanation of why Nichiren sent this letter. However, further into this writing, Nichiren says: "The Rokuharamitsu Sutra states that one should become the master of his mind rather than let his mind master him. I will explain in more detail when I see you.
The letter goes on to explain that every character is a Buddha.
My man, before you accuse people of making stuff up, check yourself. Where do you get this memorial service angle? It's not a giant corruption that pretty much all Nichiren traditions recite the expedient means and life span chapters. There actually is a direct continuity through the centuries.
“Once you have given up the ghost, everything follows with dead certainty, even in the midst of chaos.”
-Henry Miller
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JazzIsTvRicky
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Mon Jun 27, 2016 1:48 pm
Queequeg wrote:
JazzIsTvRicky wrote:
Firstly this Gosho -Letter to Soya- was written to a 'Lay Priest' one who conducts funerals and memorials which is referred to in most of Nichiren's references on reciting Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra. This Gosho dose not say recite it as a practice or prayer. There is no explanation of why Nichiren sent this letter. However, further into this writing, Nichiren says: "The Rokuharamitsu Sutra states that one should become the master of his mind rather than let his mind master him. I will explain in more detail when I see you.
The letter goes on to explain that every character is a Buddha.
My man, before you accuse people of making stuff up, check yourself. Where do you get this memorial service angle? It's not a giant corruption that pretty much all Nichiren traditions recite thouroughlythe expedient means and life span chapters. There actually is a direct continuity through the centuries.
Thank you, for taking your valuable time to ask me your question, rather than seeking the answer for yourself as Nichiren did!
This important doctrinal subject is not to be treated with such lackadaisical ichinen or determination. I would expect you of all persons on this particular site to have thoroughly researched your own question, then with 'Sutra in Hand' respond with faith as your guide. You rather disappoint me my friend!
However I will deal with your surprised shock with faith.
As for your assertion that: "It's not a giant corruption that pretty much all Nichiren traditions recite thouroughly the expedient means and life span chapters. There actually is a direct continuity through the centuries.
I will address that with this. As late as the 1950's lay believers of Nichiren Buddhist sects did not recite Shayamuni's Lotus Sutra as a daily practice they simply chanted the Daimoku of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo to the Object of worship (Gohonzon) of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. You are referring to the Priest. Where is your proof of the statement you made within Nichiren's Teachings as to the direction he gave on Gongyo! And I must add, if in fact you have not studied and read the entirety of Nichiren's Teachings your road map is limited at best. There is a method to his Scriptural Writings.
Question: What vow did Nichiren make, concerning his pursuit of Buddhism? Did Nichiren fulfill his vow?
I will now return to Scripture! In The Ongi Kuden 'Record of the Orally Transferred Teachings, compiled by Nikko and approved by Nichiren himself. I chose to refer to Nichiren's Lectures on Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra. The chapter titled:
Chapter Ten: The Teacher of the Law
Sixteen important points reads as follows:
-Point One- 'concerning “the teacher of the Law”'
"Now Nichiren and his followers, who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, are the greatest among the teachers of the Law. For when one reaches a realization of the true aspect of all phenomena (shohō), then one will find that everything, from the burning of the fierce fires of hell to the effect of attaining Buddhahood, exists in one’s life, and that one is a teacher of the Law concerning the principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of life.
Again we may say that the word “Law” in the title “The Teacher of the Law” represents the daimoku, and the word “teacher” represents Nichiren and his followers"
-Point Two- "on the persons who “have fulfilled their great vow, . . . because they pity living beings, they are born in this evil world so they may broadly expound this sutra.”-
"The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The “great vow” refers to the propagation of the Lotus Sutra. “Because they pity living beings” refers to all the living beings in the country of Japan. The persons who “are born in this evil world” are Nichiren and his followers. “Broadly” means to expound the sutra throughout the southern continent of Jambudvīpa. “This sutra” refers to the daimoku. Now the above passage refers to Nichiren and his followers, who chant the daimoku, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo."
Am I not understanding this straightforward teaching?
-Point Six-
" regarding the passage “Shāriputra, you should know / that at the start I took a vow, / hoping to make all persons / equal to me, without any distinction between us, / and what I long ago hoped for / has now been fulfilled. / I have converted all living beings / and caused them all to enter the Buddha way.”
"The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The “I” here refers to Shakyamuni Buddha, who in fact attained Buddhahood in the remote past. This Shakyamuni Buddha of the essential teaching is none other than we, living beings.
The “me” in the phrase “equal to me” [that is, the Buddha] represents the last seven of the ten factors of life. The living beings of the nine worlds represent the first three of the ten factors. We living beings are the parent, and the Buddha is the child. Father and son constitute a single entity, a beginning and end that are ultimately equal. We living beings are described in the “Life Span” chapter of the Lotus Sutra as the Buddha eternally endowed with the three bodies.
Nichiren and his followers, who today chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, are the ones meant here."
Dose this not include all of us who consistently seek Nichiren as our Teacher? He says: we are "the Buddha eternally endowed with the three bodies.' Mark totally disagrees with Nichiren Daishonin's declaration above!
Do you also call Nichiren a great liar?
"you should understand that this is what is referred to by the words “what I long ago hoped for / has now been fulfilled.”
In the phrase “has now been fulfilled” (kon ja i manzoku), the character i means “already.” What is the passage referring to when it says that “now it has already been fulfilled”? On the whole, the commentaries of T’ien-t’ai indicate that the “already” refers to the pronouncement on the “true aspect of all phenomena” made earlier by the Buddha. But from the point of view of the teachings of our school, you should understand that it refers to Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and that this is what is being described in the words “now it has already been fulfilled.”
-Point Seven- regarding the passage “Now I, joyful and fearless, / in the midst of the bodhisattvas, / honestly discarding expedient means, / will preach only the unsurpassed way.”
"The connecting teaching and the specific teaching are one-sided and secondary, not the correct and primary teaching. But now the Buddha discards all these biased and distorted teachings and honestly preaches only the one way.”
"Honestly” refers to the principle that earthly desires are enlightenment and the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana. The “one way” that the commentary speaks of is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, it is Nichiren and his followers, is it not, who honestly work to propagate the one way?"
So the 'One Way' seems to me to be what we 'The Bodhisattva of the Earth' are called forth to spread world wide while casting aside all others.
Sincerely, Richard H Brown
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User avatarQueequeg
Global Moderator
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Mon Jun 27, 2016 6:01 pm
JazzIsTvRicky wrote:
Thank you, for taking your valuable time to ask me your question, rather than seeking the answer for yourself as Nichiren did!
This important doctrinal subject is not to be treated with such lackadaisical ichinen or determination. I would expect you of all persons on this particular site to have thoroughly researched your own question, then with 'Sutra in Hand' respond with faith as your guide. You rather disappoint me my friend!
However I will deal with your surprised shock with faith.
As for your assertion that: "It's not a giant corruption that pretty much all Nichiren traditions recite thouroughly the expedient means and life span chapters. There actually is a direct continuity through the centuries.
I will address that with this. As late as the 1950's lay believers of Nichiren Buddhist sects did not recite Shayamuni's Lotus Sutra as a daily practice they simply chanted the Daimoku of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo to the Object of worship (Gohonzon) of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. You are referring to the Priest. Where is your proof of the statement you made within Nichiren's Teachings as to the direction he gave on Gongyo! And I must add, if in fact you have not studied and read the entirety of Nichiren's Teachings your road map is limited at best. There is a method to his Scriptural Writings.
You did not answer my question. As for support for of my disagreement with your view? See above.
“Once you have given up the ghost, everything follows with dead certainty, even in the midst of chaos.”
-Henry Miller
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JazzIsTvRicky
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Mon Jun 27, 2016 7:16 pm
I must not understand your Question. What is it again? I will do my best to answer you as completely as possible.
Sincerely, Richard H Brown
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narhwal90
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Mon Jun 27, 2016 8:31 pm
I'm with Q on this, some of his citations are for priests and some for lay, and recitation is recommended if not prescribed (among other things) for both. Which isn't to say the modern forms of gongyo are defined but thats enough reason for me to do them.
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JazzIsTvRicky
Re: Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects.
Tue Jun 28, 2016 4:49 pm
narhwal90 wrote:
I'm with Q on this, some of his citations are for priests and some for lay, and recitation is recommended if not prescribed (among other things) for both. Which isn't to say the modern forms of gongyo are defined but thats enough reason for me to do them.
I would suggest you consider being on the side of actual scripture rather than what seems correct. In the Gosho: -On the Four Stages of Faith and The Five Stages of Practice- one of Nichiren's 'Ten Major Writings' Nichiren writes:
"Question: For practitioners in the Latter Day of the Law, who have just aroused the aspiration for enlightenment, what types of practice are restricted?
"Answer: Such persons are restricted from practicing almsgiving, the keeping of the precepts, and the others of the five paramitas, and are directed to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo exclusively. This practice corresponds to the capacity of persons at the stages of "producing even a single moment's faith and understanding" and "rejoicing on first hearing the Lotus Sutra." It represents the true intention of the Lotus Sutra."
"In this passage of commentary, "subordinate concerns" refers to the five paramitas. If the beginner tries to practice the five paramitas at the same time [that he embraces the Lotus Sutra], that may work to obstruct his primary practice, which is faith. Such a person will be like a small ship that is loaded with wealth and treasure and sets out to cross the sea. Both the ship and the treasure will sink.
"And the words "should directly give all his attention to embracing the sutra" do not refer to the sutra as a whole. They mean that one should embrace the daimoku, or title, of the sutra exclusively and not mix it with other passages. Even recitation of the entire sutra is not permitted."
As you see it is clear here what we as those in the stage of myoji-soku should practice and what we should not practice. Search the other 'Ten Major Writings' and those text will clarify this doctrine.
The Buddha says: "Rely on the Law" I think this is what will lead you to a conclusion based on faith.
Thank you for participating. if i can offer anything more please let me know.
Sincerely, JazzIs
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Chas.
Jul 20, 2017, 12:34:11 AM7/20/17
to
Once again, your treason towards Nichiren Daishonin, by promoting the download of internet pirated Gohonzon printouts, using images of Gohonzon stolen by the traitorous priests who betrayed the Daishonin after his death by turning his Buddhism into a statue worshiping cult forcing Shakyamuni into the role of god almighty ... that treason of yours is not cloaked in the slightest by wrapping yourself in Gosho quotes taken from the website of the SGI you hate.
-Chas.
-Chas.
JazzIs TvRicky
Feb 12, 2020, 2:42:36 AM2/12/20
to
Important
Chas.
Feb 12, 2020, 3:05:13 AM2/12/20
to
"Teacher of Distorting Rhetoric" Ricky REMAINS TO THIS DAY The Laziest Babbling Fraud In Nichiren Buddhism, EVER! +
On Saturday, October 28, 2017 at 12:45:52 PM UTC-7, JazzIs TvRicky wrote:
[snip]
> No where in Nichiren’s Post Sado Teachings dose he equate the Recitation of Shakyamuni’s Lotus Sutra with “Faith”!
>
> As I have said in the Debate on Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects” your affinity towards Shakyamuni’s Lotus Sutra is proof of your lack of Faith in The Gohonzon of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!
>
> The Guilt Teachings of Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects is evident in your insistence of going against Nichiren’s Teachings and promoting the sell of Gongyo Books which your SGI-USA CULT changes often and regularly!
>
[snip]
>
> You are a deceptive and devious Slanderer if Nichiren’s Teachings Chas
>
> Sincerely Richard H Brown A Teacher 👨🏫 of The Law
As pre-Sado Island teachings go, they are illustrative of the supplemental practice Nichiren Daishonin continued to his death (recitation of part of the Hoben chapter and the Jigage verse section of the Juryo chapter), so I am getting it right and conversely it is you, Ricky who are the fraud.
Here are the Gosho passages refuting your ignorant rantings. In all of these post-Sado writings Nichiren Daishonin discusses doing gongyo as a filial act in appreciation of the Lotus Sutra and Shakyamuni Buddha who preached it (as the supplementary and not as the primary practice):
In 1275, "Reply to the Lay Priest Soya", WND I, p. 486:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/58#para-0
In 1275, "Letter to Hōren", WND I, p. 513, again on p. 516, again on p. 517, and finally on p. 518:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/62#para-74
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/62#para-95
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/62#para-104
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/62#para-105
In 1275, "New Year’s Greeting", WND II, p. 530:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-2/Content/243#para-1
In 1276, "The Fourteen Slanders", WND I, p. 756:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/92#para-4
In his 1276 autobiography of the Sado history, "The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra", WND I, p. 768:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/93#para-25
In 1280, "On Filial and Unfilial Conduct", WND I p. 1033:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/146#para-0
In 1280, "White Horses and White Swans", WND I, p. 1066 second paragraph, and again on the same page, fourth paragraph:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/152#para-1
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/152#para-3
Finally, at the end of 1280 and less than two years before his death, "Reply to the Mother of Ueno", WND I, p. 1072:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/154#para-0
The fact that you have made destroying Nichiren Daishonin's practice of Gongyo your cause celebre and that second fact that Nichiren Daishonin's own writings utterly refute you over and over, exposes the third fact that YOU, RICKY, ARE UNIQUE AS THE SINGLE LAZIEST BABBLING FRAUDULENT COMMENTATOR ON THE SUBJECT OF NICHIREN DAISHONIN'S PRACTICE OF THE BUDDHISM OF THE LOTUS SUTRA, EVER!
-Chas.
___________________________________________________________
On Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at 10:56:27 PM UTC-7, JazzIs TvRicky wrote:
> DAVE your presentations are more than welcome for instance: Nichiren The Buddhist Prophet is a most enlightening work so much valuable information and truly a work capturing Nichiren Daishonin’s Spirit of Faith!
>
> Thank you for taking the time to share and inform those of us who are not intimidated by those who have valuable contributions to the Spread of Nichiren Daishonin’s Teachings
>
> Sincerely Richard
Ricky, your attempts to deflect won't work. Your position on Gongyo is an affront to anyone who actually bothers to read the Gosho, everyone now knows this:
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.religion.buddhism.nichiren/4bHXAXgoy2I/kp9V18iOAgAJ
Let's see if you can respond intelligently this time.
-Chas.
___________________________________________________________
On Thursday, November 2, 2017 at 9:27:56 AM UTC-7, JazzIs TvRicky wrote:
> My position on Gongyo is Nichiren’s Teachings not mine your ignorance of Nichiren’s Teachings are not my fault Chas your lack of capacity in Study is grounded in prejudice and habit!
>
> Gongyo is your Gohonzon not The Gohonzon of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo! Which you and Your Soka Cult now deny as necessary in the practice of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism! How pitiful
>
Actually, as I have demonstrated in detail above:
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.religion.buddhism.nichiren/4bHXAXgoy2I/kp9V18iOAgAJ
Your position on Gongyo REQUIRES THAT YOU COMPLETELY IGNORE NICHIREN DAISHONIN"S TEACHINGS.
Your foolishness based solely upon your blatant and blind, willful ignorance is your trademark, Ricky.
-Chas.
___________________________________________________________
On Sunday, November 5, 2017 at 8:18:34 PM UTC-8, JazzIs TvRicky wrote:
> Chas the Gohonzon Burner and Statue Worshippers Guru! Nichiren is not God Chas. Read his teachings and stop with the deification off Shayamuni’s Lotus Sutra!
Now you have REALLY gone around the bend, Ricky. (1) I would be the last person in the world to do the dishonor to ANY HUMAN BEING by deifying them: which to me really means dehumanizing them. There are of course a large number of people who stand against deification of any sort, but I say that I would be the VERY LAST ONE (2) simply because it is in my nature to ignore social pressure of any sort. And that goes all the way back to my childhood. Finally (3) I think you have to be a nice person (the opposite of a hater) to want to make a God out of someone, and I am CLEARLY NOT A NICE PERSON.
Hence your current theorem about me does not pass the initial inspection by any 12-year-old, and what does that say about you?
-Chas.
___________________________________________________________
On Sunday, November 5, 2017 at 11:53:31 AM UTC-8, JazzIs TvRicky wrote:
[snip]
> I am A Thus Come One!
>
> Sincerely Richard H Brown A Teacher 👨🏫 of The Law
While it is clear from Nichiren Daishonin that the common mortal is the true Buddha, it is also clear from your laziness and utter foolishness that you are not a "Teacher of the Law", nor are you a "Thus Come One" and you are extremely unlikely to become one in this lifetime.
I do, however, predict in a vastly distant future that you will become that kind of great Buddha by virtue of your extremely poison drum relationship with the Lotus Sutra, your absolute hatred of Nichiren Daishonin and his teachings and your animus towards the Kosen Rufu movement in the SGI.
-Chas.
______________________________________________________
On Saturday, October 28, 2017 at 12:45:52 PM UTC-7, JazzIs TvRicky wrote:
[snip]
> No where in Nichiren’s Post Sado Teachings dose he equate the Recitation of Shakyamuni’s Lotus Sutra with “Faith”!
>
> As I have said in the Debate on Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects” your affinity towards Shakyamuni’s Lotus Sutra is proof of your lack of Faith in The Gohonzon of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!
>
> The Guilt Teachings of Gongyo as Practiced by Nichiren Buddhism Sects is evident in your insistence of going against Nichiren’s Teachings and promoting the sell of Gongyo Books which your SGI-USA CULT changes often and regularly!
>
[snip]
>
> You are a deceptive and devious Slanderer if Nichiren’s Teachings Chas
>
> Sincerely Richard H Brown A Teacher 👨🏫 of The Law
As pre-Sado Island teachings go, they are illustrative of the supplemental practice Nichiren Daishonin continued to his death (recitation of part of the Hoben chapter and the Jigage verse section of the Juryo chapter), so I am getting it right and conversely it is you, Ricky who are the fraud.
Here are the Gosho passages refuting your ignorant rantings. In all of these post-Sado writings Nichiren Daishonin discusses doing gongyo as a filial act in appreciation of the Lotus Sutra and Shakyamuni Buddha who preached it (as the supplementary and not as the primary practice):
In 1275, "Reply to the Lay Priest Soya", WND I, p. 486:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/58#para-0
In 1275, "Letter to Hōren", WND I, p. 513, again on p. 516, again on p. 517, and finally on p. 518:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/62#para-74
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/62#para-95
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/62#para-104
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/62#para-105
In 1275, "New Year’s Greeting", WND II, p. 530:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-2/Content/243#para-1
In 1276, "The Fourteen Slanders", WND I, p. 756:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/92#para-4
In his 1276 autobiography of the Sado history, "The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra", WND I, p. 768:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/93#para-25
In 1280, "On Filial and Unfilial Conduct", WND I p. 1033:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/146#para-0
In 1280, "White Horses and White Swans", WND I, p. 1066 second paragraph, and again on the same page, fourth paragraph:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/152#para-1
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/152#para-3
Finally, at the end of 1280 and less than two years before his death, "Reply to the Mother of Ueno", WND I, p. 1072:
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/154#para-0
The fact that you have made destroying Nichiren Daishonin's practice of Gongyo your cause celebre and that second fact that Nichiren Daishonin's own writings utterly refute you over and over, exposes the third fact that YOU, RICKY, ARE UNIQUE AS THE SINGLE LAZIEST BABBLING FRAUDULENT COMMENTATOR ON THE SUBJECT OF NICHIREN DAISHONIN'S PRACTICE OF THE BUDDHISM OF THE LOTUS SUTRA, EVER!
-Chas.
___________________________________________________________
On Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at 10:56:27 PM UTC-7, JazzIs TvRicky wrote:
> DAVE your presentations are more than welcome for instance: Nichiren The Buddhist Prophet is a most enlightening work so much valuable information and truly a work capturing Nichiren Daishonin’s Spirit of Faith!
>
> Thank you for taking the time to share and inform those of us who are not intimidated by those who have valuable contributions to the Spread of Nichiren Daishonin’s Teachings
>
> Sincerely Richard
Ricky, your attempts to deflect won't work. Your position on Gongyo is an affront to anyone who actually bothers to read the Gosho, everyone now knows this:
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.religion.buddhism.nichiren/4bHXAXgoy2I/kp9V18iOAgAJ
Let's see if you can respond intelligently this time.
-Chas.
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On Thursday, November 2, 2017 at 9:27:56 AM UTC-7, JazzIs TvRicky wrote:
> My position on Gongyo is Nichiren’s Teachings not mine your ignorance of Nichiren’s Teachings are not my fault Chas your lack of capacity in Study is grounded in prejudice and habit!
>
> Gongyo is your Gohonzon not The Gohonzon of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo! Which you and Your Soka Cult now deny as necessary in the practice of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism! How pitiful
>
Actually, as I have demonstrated in detail above:
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.religion.buddhism.nichiren/4bHXAXgoy2I/kp9V18iOAgAJ
Your position on Gongyo REQUIRES THAT YOU COMPLETELY IGNORE NICHIREN DAISHONIN"S TEACHINGS.
Your foolishness based solely upon your blatant and blind, willful ignorance is your trademark, Ricky.
-Chas.
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On Sunday, November 5, 2017 at 8:18:34 PM UTC-8, JazzIs TvRicky wrote:
> Chas the Gohonzon Burner and Statue Worshippers Guru! Nichiren is not God Chas. Read his teachings and stop with the deification off Shayamuni’s Lotus Sutra!
Now you have REALLY gone around the bend, Ricky. (1) I would be the last person in the world to do the dishonor to ANY HUMAN BEING by deifying them: which to me really means dehumanizing them. There are of course a large number of people who stand against deification of any sort, but I say that I would be the VERY LAST ONE (2) simply because it is in my nature to ignore social pressure of any sort. And that goes all the way back to my childhood. Finally (3) I think you have to be a nice person (the opposite of a hater) to want to make a God out of someone, and I am CLEARLY NOT A NICE PERSON.
Hence your current theorem about me does not pass the initial inspection by any 12-year-old, and what does that say about you?
-Chas.
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On Sunday, November 5, 2017 at 11:53:31 AM UTC-8, JazzIs TvRicky wrote:
[snip]
> I am A Thus Come One!
>
> Sincerely Richard H Brown A Teacher 👨🏫 of The Law
While it is clear from Nichiren Daishonin that the common mortal is the true Buddha, it is also clear from your laziness and utter foolishness that you are not a "Teacher of the Law", nor are you a "Thus Come One" and you are extremely unlikely to become one in this lifetime.
I do, however, predict in a vastly distant future that you will become that kind of great Buddha by virtue of your extremely poison drum relationship with the Lotus Sutra, your absolute hatred of Nichiren Daishonin and his teachings and your animus towards the Kosen Rufu movement in the SGI.
-Chas.
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