Iain needs to fear slander of the Law, as Nichiren Daishonin and his followers do +
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.religion.buddhism.nichiren/5DLc_yCbSgA/gowoHAHtFQAJ
On Saturday, March 5, 2016 at 11:18:32 AM UTC-8, ***@gmail.com wrote:
||| Here's one for you Chas..."BOO!"...
|||
||| I know I shouldn't do that to people wracked with
||| phobias (irrational fears), who are scared of their own
||| shadow (not to mention, hell, yakuza, martial arts,
||| alternative healing arts, most movies, porn stars,
||| anything that could possibly touched toxic Zen, recycling
||| - probably - see the toxic Zen point) but I can't resist.
|||
||| There is a great way to overcome those phobias apart
||| from some good professional intervention. I know of a
||| really good practice that reliably brings forth the
||| qualities of wisdom, courage and compassion...not to
||| mention abundant life-force.
|||
||| Let me know if you're interested. It's not hard to
||| learn, can be bit difficult to carry on, like anything -
||| gym, diet, etc. etc.
|||
||| But do watch out for the cowboys, they'll have you
||| thinking you need to buy it and that you have to do extra
||| things for it to work AND they don't teach it right - well
||| they have to keep adding things to convince you theirs is
||| unique and change the formula to keep you hooked and keep
||| it profitable.
|||
||| It's - like soap powder really, you end up with less
||| active ingredient, mixed with with lots of useless crap
||| and you end up paying through the nose - advertising and
||| marketing costs.
|||
||| In some cases those additives are harmful, just like the
||| bakers additives in years gone by or the modern
||| equivalents that have made it into diets worldwide
||| especially in USA and UK...
|||
||| But you don't need those branded spiritual "products",
||| the original is simple, cheap and much more effective,
||| ditch the personal trainer, get a better results and save
||| yourself lots of money and harm.
|||
||| What about spiritual humanism, helping suffering people?
||| Oh well if you want to join an organisation that's
||| focussed on that well there are lots of aid agencies but
||| be careful, charities and "humanitarian" orgs. in
||| particular have a reputation for using this as a cover.
|||
||| You want to check out their finances in particular and
||| their mission statement. There should be independent
||| scrutiny and evidence on how effective they are at
||| achieving their goals and maximising use of their
||| donations. They should have good governance and financial
||| transparency and control.
|||
||| For example, a few have been found to be diverting funds
||| away from their primary goals and the people they're
||| supposed to be helping. In such orgs, a high percentage is
||| spent on administration costs, chief executive and senior
||| leaders salaries, plush offices, unnecessary technology
||| advertising, unnecessary real estate acquisition, vanity
||| projects, consultant costs, political lobbying,
||| entertaining etc.
|||
||| That leaves little to actually help the people they are
||| supposed to be helping or achieve the mission they are
||| supposed to be focused on.
|||
||| Three religious organisations provide a comparison to
||| SGI and a prompt for further research. SGI is by no means
||| the only player in this spiritual arena that espouses the
||| warm and fluffy values that it pushes forward. It was
||| distinct in its faith, belief in Gohonzon and Daimoku but
||| it seems not the quite understand what it teaches it
||| believes anymore or at least keeps changing it. Current
||| flavour of the month is 'mentor-disciple'
|||
||| Arguably there are other organisations that are much
||| more effective and from whom SGI may have borrowed.
|||
|||
||| The Quakers seem to have a good rep.
|||
||| https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quakers
|||
||| Originally from the UK, they seem to keep it small in an
||| organisational sense but are very good at putting their
||| beliefs into action, they've been doing it well for
||| centuries. The SGI deems to have borrowed quite a lot of
||| their approach, turned it into rhetoric but hasn't modeled
||| their organisation along Quaker lines and their sense of
||| equality of faith either.
|||
||| There's Tzu Chi, seems very good at actually helping
||| people in crisis and responding to disasters.
|||
||| https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzu_Chi
|||
||| Started in the 60's from a sewing circle of 6 people.
||| Also Lotus Sutra based but non Nichiren. Some
||| controversies.
|||
||| In the Nichiren line there's Rissho Kosei Kai. They
||| chant Daimoku but it's a different focus.
|||
||| Established before Mr Toda's Nichiren Shoshu Soka
||| Gakkai, it's entirely possible that RKK may have provided
||| NSSG (SGI) with some of the templates that the latter then
||| adopted for its organisational activities/structure. The
||| similarities are stiking. Equally, RKK may have learned
||| from NSSG (SGI). It's likely the two nay have learned
||| from each other but RKK seems to have attracted less
||| critical press, be generally well-regarded and better at
||| delivering practical help.
|||
||| https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risshō_Kōsei_Kai
|||
||| Is very good on interfaith, seems quite good on
||| campaigning to end poverty and hunger, some controversies
||| but generally seems to be effective and we'll thought of.
||| Has a similar discussion meeting type thing going on. Not
||| sure about financial transparency though. Might be worth
||| futher checking out.
A phobia is a psychological condition that you are uncredited to diagnose, that being an unreasonable fear of something that can only be feared by an irrational person.
You think you are making light of me (and WHO would care about THAT), but in fact you are making light of Nichiren Daishonin and the Lotus Sutra.
Iain, you should fear slander of the Law more than fearing attack or disapproval from the authorities, or from your peer group, or from the risk of death itself. Nichiren speaks volumes on this one topic, and in fact he never fails to warn his followers and whomever he is writing to, with regards to fearing slander of the Law. I will highlight the key points in UPPERCASE, so that you won't miss them, this time.
This on evil friends and mad elephants, from "On the Protection of the Nation", WND II
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-2/Content/181#para-347
... Therefore the Nirvana Sutra states: “Bodhisattvas and
... mahāsattvas, have no fear of mad elephants. WHAT YOU SHOULD
... FEAR ARE EVIL FRIENDS! WHY? BECAUSE A MAD ELEPHANT CAN ONLY
... DESTROY YOUR BODY; IT CANNOT DESTROY YOUR MIND. BUT AN EVIL
... FRIEND CAN DESTROY BOTH BODY AND MIND. A MAD ELEPHANT CAN
... DESTROY ONLY A SINGLE BODY, BUT AN EVIL FRIEND CAN DESTROY
... COUNTLESS GOOD BODIES AND COUNTLESS GOOD MINDS. A MAD
... ELEPHANT MERELY DESTROYS AN IMPURE, STINKING BODY, BUT AN
... EVIL FRIEND CAN DESTROY BOTH PURE BODY AND PURE MIND. A MAD
... ELEPHANT CAN DESTROY THE PHYSICAL BODY, BUT AN EVIL FRIEND
... DESTROYS THE DHARMA BODY. EVEN IF YOU ARE KILLED BY A MAD
... ELEPHANT, YOU WILL NOT FALL INTO THE THREE EVIL PATHS. BUT
... IF YOU ARE KILLED BY AN EVIL FRIEND, YOU ARE CERTAIN TO
... FALL INTO THEM. A MAD ELEPHANT IS MERELY AN ENEMY OF YOUR
... BODY, BUT AN EVIL FRIEND IS AN ENEMY OF THE GOOD LAW.
... THEREFORE, BODHISATTVAS, YOU SHOULD AT ALL TIMES KEEP FAR
... AWAY FROM EVIL FRIENDS.”
And also this on the same topic, from "Reply to Hoshina Gōrō Tarō", WND I
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/15#para-16
... Yet it should be known that, while the non-Buddhist
... practitioners possessed such impressive powers, they could
... not escape the flames of the Avīchi hell, not to mention
... those with only trivial powers of transformation. Even
... less can slanderers of the great vehicle avoid this fate.
... The priests of the True Word school are evil friends to
... all living beings. Avoid them; fear them. The Buddha
... states: “Have no fear of mad elephants. WHAT YOU SHOULD
... FEAR ARE EVIL FRIENDS! Why? Because a mad elephant can
... only destroy your body; it cannot destroy your mind. But
... an evil friend can destroy both body and mind. A mad
... elephant can destroy only a single body, but an evil
... friend can destroy countless bodies and countless minds. A
... mad elephant merely destroys an impure, stinking body, but
... an evil friend can destroy both pure body and pure mind. A
... mad elephant can destroy the physical body, but an evil
... friend destroys the Dharma body. Even if you are killed by
... a mad elephant, you will not fall into the three evil
... paths. But if you are killed by an evil friend, you are
... certain to fall into them. A mad elephant is merely an
... enemy of your body, but an evil friend is an enemy of the
... good Law.” THEREFORE, EVEN MORE THAN VENOMOUS SERPENTS
... OR MALEVOLENT DEMONS, ONE SHOULD FEAR THE EVIL FRIENDS WHO
... FOLLOW KŌBŌ, SHAN-TAO, AND HŌNEN. THIS IS JUST A BRIEF
... CLARIFICATION OF THE ERROR OF HOLDING DISTORTED VIEWS.
And then also this, from "What It Means to Slander the Law", WND II
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-2/Content/188#para-84
... Answer: The various sutras say that one should shun the
... company of women, but I would point to the passage in the
... Nirvana Sutra, which the Buddha preached in the grove of
... sal trees just before his death: “Bodhisattvas! Though you
... can perceive the countless faults and ailings that attach
... to and beset your bodies, because you have made up your
... minds to accept and abide by the Nirvana Sutra, it will
... guide and protect you and will not cause you to be
... lacking. Bodhisattvas, have no fear of mad elephants. WHAT
... YOU SHOULD FEAR ARE EVIL FRIENDS! WHY? BECAUSE A MAD
... ELEPHANT CAN ONLY DESTROY YOUR BODY; IT CANNOT DESTROY
... YOUR MIND. BUT AN EVIL FRIEND CAN DESTROY BOTH BODY AND
... MIND. A MAD ELEPHANT CAN DESTROY ONLY A SINGLE BODY, BUT
... AN EVIL FRIEND CAN DESTROY COUNTLESS GOOD BODIES AND
... COUNTLESS GOOD MINDS. . . . EVEN IF YOU ARE KILLED BY A
... MAD ELEPHANT, YOU WILL NOT FALL INTO THE THREE EVIL PATHS.
... BUT IF YOU ARE KILLED BY AN EVIL FRIEND, YOU ARE CERTAIN
... TO FALL INTO THEM.”
...
... The meaning of this passage is that, if one cares about
... the next life, ONE SHOULD FEAR ALL KINDS OF CAUSES THAT
... LEAD TO REBIRTH IN THE EVIL PATHS. BUT EVEN MORE THAN SUCH
... CAUSES, ONE SHOULD FEAR EVIL FRIENDS OR TEACHERS.
In this passage Nichiren Daishonin goes into much detail describing precisely how the evil friending process works with deception and flattery, etc. Seems reminiscent of someone in this forum, yes?
From "On Reciting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra", WND II
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-2/Content/186#para-42
... Therefore the “Encouraging Devotion” chapter reads: “In a
... muddied kalpa, in an evil age there will be many things to
... fear. Evil demons will take possession of others and
... through them curse, revile, and heap shame on us. . . .
... [The evil monks of that muddied age], failing to understand
... the Buddha’s expedient means, how he preaches the Law in
... accordance with what is appropriate . . .” This passage
... means that, in that muddied and evil age, monks will fail
... to understand that the teachings they put their faith in
... are no more than an expedient means preached by the Buddha
... in accordance with what is appropriate. Thus when persons
... appear who clearly distinguish between the provisional
... teachings and the true teaching, these monks will revile
... them and attempt to refute their arguments. This is all
... because evil demons have taken possession of them, although
... they are not aware that this has happened.
...
... THEREFORE, WHAT THE UNINFORMED PEOPLE OF THIS LATTER AGE
... SHOULD MOST FEAR ARE NOT SWORDS AND STAVES OR TIGERS AND
... WOLVES, OR PERSONS WHO COMMIT THE TEN EVIL ACTS OR THE FIVE
... CARDINAL SINS, BUT RATHER THOSE MONKS WHO ARE EQUIPPED WITH
... THREE ROBES AND ONE BEGGING BOWL, THOSE BENIGHTED
... PRACTITIONERS OF ZEN, AND THE LAY BELIEVERS WHO ESTEEM
... MONKS WHO FOLLOW THE PROVISIONAL TEACHINGS AND HATE THOSE
... WHO PRACTICE THE TRUE TEACHING.
...
... For this reason, the twenty-second volume of the Nirvana
... Sutra states: “Have no fear of mad elephants. WHAT YOU
... SHOULD FEAR ARE EVIL FRIENDS! WHY? BECAUSE A MAD ELEPHANT
... CAN ONLY DESTROY YOUR BODY; IT CANNOT DESTROY YOUR MIND.
... BUT AN EVIL FRIEND CAN DESTROY BOTH BODY AND MIND. . . .
... EVEN IF YOU ARE KILLED BY A MAD ELEPHANT, YOU WILL NOT FALL
... INTO THE THREE EVIL PATHS. BUT IF YOU ARE KILLED BY AN EVIL
... FRIEND, YOU ARE CERTAIN TO FALL INTO THEM.”
...
... Regarding the meaning of this sutra passage, the Great
... Teacher Chang-an says: “MAD ELEPHANTS MERELY INFLICT HARM
... ON OTHERS; THEY DO NOT AROUSE EVIL IN PEOPLE’S MINDS. BUT
... EVIL FRIENDS EMPLOY ENTICING WORDS, DECEPTION AND FLATTERY,
... CLEVER SPEECH AND AN AFFABLE MANNER, AND IN THIS WAY CAUSE
... OTHERS TO DO EVIL. AND IN LEADING THEM TO DO EVIL, THEY
... ARE DESTROYING THE GOOD MINDS THAT ARE IN THEM. TO DESTROY
... GOOD MINDS IS TO KILL PEOPLE, THAT IS, TO CAUSE THEM TO
... FALL INTO HELL.”
...
... THIS PASSAGE OF COMMENTARY MEANS THAT EVIL FRIENDS WILL
... EMPLOY ENTICING WORDS, DECEPTION AND FLATTERY AND SPEAK IN
... A CLEVER MANNER, THEREBY GAINING CONTROL OVER THE MINDS OF
... IGNORANT AND UNINFORMED PEOPLE AND DESTROYING THE GOOD
... MINDS THAT ARE IN THEM. AND THE PASSAGE FROM THE NIRVANA
... SUTRA IS MEANT TO WARN US THAT PERSONS WHO SLANDER THE LAW
... AND ARE ICCHANTIKAS ARE MORE TO BE FEARED THAN THOSE WHO
... COMMIT THE TEN EVIL ACTS OR THE FIVE CARDINAL SINS. THE
... TERM “ICCHANTIKA” REFERS TO THOSE WHO SPEAK EVIL OF THE
... LOTUS AND NIRVANA SUTRAS.
In the Letter to Niike, WND I, Nichiren Daishonin warns us that simply associating with slanderers: "those with impure hearts" (beyond the point of shakubuku) is complicity.
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/145#para-8
... Neither Buddhas nor gods would ever accept contributions
... from those who slander the correct teaching. Then how can
... we human beings accept them? The deity of Kasuga Shrine
... proclaimed through an oracle that he would accept nothing
... from those with impure hearts, though he should have to
... eat the flames of burning copper; that he would refuse to
... set foot in their homes, though he should have to sit on
... red-hot copper. He would rather come down to a miserable
... hut with weeds choking the passageway, or to a poor
... thatched house. He declared that he would never visit
... persons lacking in faith, even if they hung sacred
... festoons for a thousand days to welcome him, but that he
... would go to a house where the people have a mind of
... faith, even though they might be in mourning for a
... parent. Lamenting that slanderers have overrun this
... country, the benevolent gods have abandoned it and
... ascended to heaven. “THOSE WITH IMPURE HEARTS” MEANS
... THOSE WHO REFUSE TO EMBRACE THE LOTUS SUTRA, AS IS STATED
... IN THE FIFTH VOLUME OF THE SUTRA. If the gods themselves
... regard alms from slanderers as more abominable than the
... flames of burning copper, how could we human beings
... possibly accept them? If someone were to kill our parents
... and then try to offer us some gift, could we possibly
... accept it? NOT EVEN WISE PERSONS OR SAGES CAN AVOID THE
... HELL OF INCESSANT SUFFERING IF THEY ACCEPT OFFERINGS FROM
... SLANDERERS. NOR SHOULD YOU ASSOCIATE WITH SLANDERERS, FOR
... IF YOU DO, YOU WILL SHARE THE SAME GUILT AS THEY. THIS
... YOU SHOULD FEAR ABOVE ALL.
...
... Shakyamuni Buddha is the father, sovereign, and teacher
... of all the other Buddhas and all the gods, of the whole
... assembly of human and heavenly beings, and of all living
... beings. How could the heavenly gods and benevolent
... deities rejoice if the Buddha were killed? Today all the
... people of our country have proved to be enemies of
... Shakyamuni Buddha, but more than laymen or laywomen, it
... is the priests with perverse wisdom and hearts who are
... the Buddha’s worst enemies. There are two kinds of
... wisdom, correct and perverse. NO MATTER HOW WISE A PERSON
... MAY APPEAR, IF HIS ASSERTIONS ARE WARPED YOU SHOULD NOT
... LISTEN TO HIM. NOR SHOULD YOU FOLLOW PRIESTS MERELY
... BECAUSE THEY ARE VENERABLE OR OF HIGH RANK. But if a
... person has the wisdom to know the true meaning of the
... Lotus Sutra, no matter how lowly he may appear, pay
... respect to him and make offerings to him as though he
... were a living Thus Come One . Thus it is written in the
... sutra. That is why the Great Teacher Dengyō says that
... the men and women who believe in this sutra, even if they
... lack knowledge or violate the precepts, should be seated
... above priests who observe all two hundred and fifty
... precepts of the Hinayana teachings, and never be seated
... in a humble position, and that this is all the more true
... of the priests of this Mahayana sutra.
And complicity in slander is a complex and wide-reaching phenomenon: for individuals, for families and for countries. Hence the importance of the Kosen Rufu movement and the profound punishment that comes from undermining it. From the "Letter to Akimoto", WND I
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/144#para-25
... In practicing the teaching of the Lotus Sutra, there are
... three principles that must be understood. The first is
... that regarding slanderers. The monk Superior Intent, the
... monk Shore of Suffering, the Scholar Vimalamitra, and the
... Great Arrogant Brahman are examples. These men dressed
... their bodies in the three robes, lifted a single begging
... bowl up before their eyes, and meticulously observed the
... two hundred and fifty precepts, and yet they were in fact
... enemies of the Mahayana and in the end fell into the great
... citadel of the hell of incessant suffering.
...
... In recent times in Japan there have been men like Kōbō,
... Jikaku, and Chishō who observed the precepts just as those
... earlier monks did and who did not differ from them in
... wisdom. But because they asserted that the True Word
... teaching of the Mahāvairochana Sutra ranked first and the
... Lotus Sutra ranked second or third, if my view of the
... matter should by any chance be correct, they are now in
... the great citadel of the hell of incessant suffering.
...
... IT IS A FEARFUL THING TO UTTER SUCH WORDS, AND STILL MORE
... DOES ONE HESITATE TO PUT THEM INTO WRITING. BUT WHEN THE
... BUDDHA HIMSELF HAS DECLARED THAT THE LOTUS SUTRA IS
... FOREMOST, IF ONE LEARNS OF A PERSON WHO RANKS IT SECOND OR
... THIRD AND, OUT OF FEAR OF OTHER PEOPLE OR OF GOVERNMENT
... AUTHORITIES, FAILS TO SPEAK OUT, THEN “ONE IS IN FACT HIS
... ENEMY,” THAT IS, ONE IS ACTING AS A FEARFUL ENEMY TO ALL
... LIVING BEINGS. THIS IS STATED IN BOTH THE SUTRAS AND THE
... COMMENTARIES, AND SO I SPEAK OUT.
...
... TO SPEAK OUT WITHOUT FEARING OTHERS AND WITHOUT FLINCHING
... BEFORE SOCIETY—THIS IS WHAT THE SUTRA MEANS WHEN IT SAYS,
... “WE CARE NOTHING FOR OUR BODIES OR LIVES BUT ARE ANXIOUS
... ONLY FOR THE UNSURPASSED WAY.”
...
... It is not that one does not recall the calumny, the staves
... and stones that were suffered by Bodhisattva Never
... Disparaging. It is not that one is unafraid of the world.
... It is just that the censure of the Lotus Sutra is even
... more severe. It is like the case of Sukenari and
... Tokimune, who acted as they did even though they found
... themselves in the camp of the shogun, because they longed
... to avenge themselves upon their enemy and were
... ashamed at the thought of failing to do so.
...
... THE ABOVE IS THE PRINCIPLE RELATING TO INDIVIDUAL
... SLANDERERS.
...
... AS FOR THE FAMILIES OF SLANDERERS, THE FAMILY MEMBERS MAY
... PASS THEIR ENTIRE LIVES WITHOUT SLANDERING THE LOTUS
... SUTRA. BUT EVEN THOUGH THEY PRACTICE IT EVERY HOUR OF THE
... DAY AND NIGHT, THE FACT THAT THEY WERE BORN INTO THE
... FAMILY OF A SLANDERER MEANS THAT THEY WILL INVARIABLY BE
... REBORN IN THE HELL OF INCESSANT SUFFERING. For example,
... those persons who were born into the family of the monk
... Superior Intent or the monk Shore of Suffering and became
... their disciples or lay supporters all fell, against their
... will, into the hell of incessant suffering. Or it is like
... the family members of Yoshimori. Setting aside those who
... gave their lives in battle, even the children still in
... their mothers’ wombs, torn from their mothers’ bellies,
... were killed before birth.
...
... NOW I, NICHIREN, HAVE MENTIONED THE THREE GREAT TEACHERS
... KŌBŌ, JIKAKU, AND CHISHŌ, WHO BOLDLY STATE IN THEIR
... WRITINGS THAT THE LOTUS SUTRA REPRESENTS THE REGION OF
... DARKNESS, THAT IT IS A FALSE AND DELUDED DOCTRINE. IF WHAT
... THE LOTUS SUTRA ITSELF SAYS IS CORRECT, THEN WHAT DO YOU
... SUPPOSE WILL BECOME OF THE PRIESTS AT MOUNT HIEI, TŌ-JI,
... ONJŌ-JI, THE SEVEN MAJOR TEMPLES OF NARA—AT ALL THE 11,037
... TEMPLES THROUGHOUT JAPAN? IF THE EXAMPLES CITED EARLIER
... ARE ANY INDICATION, THEY WILL WITHOUT A DOUBT FALL INTO
... THE GREAT CITADEL OF THE HELL OF INCESSANT SUFFERING.
...
... SUCH IS THE PRINCIPLE RELATING TO THE FAMILIES OF
... SLANDERERS.
...
... NEXT, WE COME TO THE COUNTRY OF SLANDERERS. THOSE PERSONS
... WHO HAPPEN TO LIVE IN A COUNTRY WHERE THERE ARE SLANDERERS
... OF THE LAW WILL ALL—EVERYONE IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY—BE
... CONDEMNED TO THE GREAT CITADEL OF THE HELL OF INCESSANT
... SUFFERING. JUST AS ALL THE VARIOUS WATERS GATHER IN THE
... GREAT OCEAN, SO ALL KINDS OF MISFORTUNE GATHER ABOUT SUCH
... A COUNTRY. THEY WILL ABOUND IN THE WAY THAT GRASS AND
... TREES ABOUND ON A MOUNTAIN.
...
... When the three calamities pile up month after month and
... the seven disasters appear day after day, then hunger and
... thirst will prevail and the country will be changed into a
... realm of hungry spirits. When plague and disease sweep
... over the land, the country will become a realm of hell.
... When warfare breaks out, it will be transformed into a
... realm of asuras. And when parents, brothers, and sisters,
... ignoring the fact that they are kin, begin taking each
... other for a husband or wife, the country will become a
... realm of animals. Under such circumstances, one does not
... have to wait until death to fall into the three evil
... paths. While one is still alive, the country in which one
... lives will be changed into these four evil realms.
...
... SUCH IS THE PRINCIPLE RELATING TO A COUNTRY WHERE
... SLANDERERS LIVE.
...
... The people in such a country will be like those who lived
... in the Latter Day of the Law of the Buddha Great
... Adornment, or in the defiled age of the Buddha Lion Sound
... King. Or if what the Repaying Debts of Gratitude Sutra
... tells us is true, people will eat the flesh of their own
... deceased parents or brothers or sisters or of any other
... dead person, and they will eat live creatures as well.
...
... JAPAN AT PRESENT IS JUST SUCH A COUNTRY. THE ENTIRE NATION
... IS FULL OF PEOPLE WHO EAT HUMAN FLESH SUCH AS THE TEACHERS
... OF THE TRUE WORD SCHOOL, PRIESTS OF THE ZEN SCHOOL, AND
... OBSERVERS OF THE PRECEPTS. AND THIS HAS COME ABOUT WHOLLY
... AS A RESULT OF THE FALSE DOCTRINES OF THE TRUE WORD SCHOOL.
...
... Ryūzō-bō is merely one of the countless eaters of human
... beings whose case has happened to come to light. In a
... spirit similar to his, people procure human flesh and mix
... it with boar or deer meat, or cut it up and blend it with
... fish or fowl, pound it or pickle it, and then sell
... it. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE EATEN
... IT. ALL THIS HAS HAPPENED BECAUSE THE COUNTRY HAS BEEN
... CAST ASIDE BY THE HEAVENLY GODS AND ABANDONED BY THE
... BENEVOLENT DEITIES WHO WATCH OVER AND PROTECT IT. IN THE
... END, THIS COUNTRY WILL BE ATTACKED BY OTHER NATIONS, ITS
... INHABITANTS WILL FALL TO FIGHTING AMONG THEMSELVES, AND IT
... WILL BE TRANSFORMED INTO A VERITABLE HELL OF INCESSANT
... SUFFERING.
...
... BECAUSE I, NICHIREN, HAVE FOR SOME TIME BEEN ABLE TO SEE
... THE GREAT ERROR OF ITS WAYS, BECAUSE I WISH TO AVOID THE
... OFFENSE OF COMPLICITY IN SLANDER, BECAUSE I FEAR THE
... ACCUSATIONS OF THE BUDDHA, AND BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND MY
... OBLIGATIONS AND WISH TO REPAY THE DEBT OF GRATITUDE I OWE
... MY COUNTRY, I HAVE ANNOUNCED AND MADE KNOWN ALL OF THIS TO
... THE RULER OF THE COUNTRY AND TO ALL ITS INHABITANTS.
Even the buddhist gods fear slandering the Law. This is why they flee countries where slander of the Law prevails widely, unabated by refutation and shakubuku. This causes their protection to dwindle for an entire country.
From "Letter to Niike", WND I
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/145#para-12
... Now that I am spreading the Lotus Sutra as the Buddha’s
... envoy, however, everyone from the ruler on down to the
... common people has become a slanderer of the correct
... teaching. So far Hachiman has done everything possible to
... prevent hostility toward the Lotus Sutra from developing
... among the people of this country, as reluctant to abandon
... them as parents would be to abandon an only child, even
... if it were unfilial. BUT NOW IN FEAR OF BREAKING THE
... PLEDGE HE MADE AT EAGLE PEAK, HE HAS BURNED DOWN HIS
... SHRINE AND ASCENDED TO HEAVEN. EVEN SO, SHOULD THERE BE A
... VOTARY OF THE LOTUS SUTRA WHO WOULD GIVE HIS BODY AND
... LIFE FOR IT, HACHIMAN WOULD DWELL UPON HIS HEAD. But
... since both the Sun Goddess and Great Bodhisattva Hachiman
... have gone, how could the other gods remain in their
... shrines? Even if they did not wish to leave, how could
... they stay another day if I reproached them for not
... keeping the promise they made at Eagle Peak? A person may
... be a thief, but as long as no one knows, he can live
... wherever he wishes. But when denounced as a thief by
... someone who knows him, he is forced to leave his dwelling
... against his will. In the same way, because I know of
... their vow, the gods are compelled to abandon their
... shrines. Contrary to popular belief, this country has
... become inhabited by evil demons. How pitiful!
What are the major constituents of slander of the Law in a practical sense? They mostly come down to plagiarizing and appropriating Buddhism and the Lotus Sutra into their corrupted teachings and practices (hence Zen, the martial arts, etc.: what Iain calls my phobias)
The Opening of the Eyes (I)
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/30#para-18
... They refuse to acknowledge that even a single person
... possesses the Buddha nature. In spite of this, one will
... sometimes hear members of the Precepts and Establishment
... of Truth schools declaring that there are Buddhas in the
... ten directions, or that all living beings possess the
... Buddha nature. This is because the teachers of these
... schools who appeared after the passing away of the Buddha
... had STOLEN THESE MAHAYANA DOCTRINES AND INCORPORATED THEM
... INTO THE TEACHINGS OF THEIR OWN SCHOOLS.
...
... TO ILLUSTRATE, IN THE PERIOD BEFORE THE APPEARANCE OF
... BUDDHISM, THE PROPONENTS OF THE NON-BUDDHIST TEACHINGS IN
... INDIA WERE NOT SO BOUND UP IN THEIR OWN VIEWS. BUT AFTER
... THE APPEARANCE OF THE BUDDHA, WHEN THEY HAD LISTENED TO
... AND OBSERVED THE BUDDHIST TEACHINGS, THEY BECAME AWARE OF
... THE SHORTCOMINGS OF THEIR OWN DOCTRINES. THEY THEN
... CONCEIVED THE CLEVER IDEA OF APPROPRIATING BUDDHIST
... TEACHINGS AND INCORPORATING THEM INTO THEIR OWN DOCTRINES,
... AND AS A RESULT THEY FELL INTO EVEN DEEPER ERROR THAN
... BEFORE. THESE ARE EXAMPLES OF THE ERRORS KNOWN AS
... “APPROPRIATING BUDDHISM” OR “PLAGIARIZING BUDDHISM.”
After observing the history of plagiarizing and appropriating and distorting and piling slander upon slander for dozens of generations, Nichiren Daishonin came up with what Nikko Shonin called the "Four Dictims". From "Letter to Akimoto", WND I
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/144#para-15
... BUT I, NICHIREN, ONE MAN ALONE, DECLARE THAT THE
... RECITATION OF THE NAME OF AMIDA BUDDHA IS AN ACTION THAT
... LEADS TO REBIRTH IN THE HELL OF INCESSANT SUFFERING, THAT
... THE ZEN SCHOOL IS THE INVENTION OF THE HEAVENLY DEVIL,
... THAT THE TRUE WORD SCHOOL IS AN EVIL DOCTRINE THAT WILL
... DESTROY THE COUNTRY, AND THAT THE PRECEPTS SCHOOL AND THE
... OBSERVERS OF THE PRECEPTS ARE TRAITORS TO THE NATION.
...
... Because I do so, from the sovereign on down to the common
... people, all people fear me more than they would an enemy
... of their parents, an enemy from a past existence, a
... plotter of treason, a night raider, or a bandit. They
... rage, they curse, they strike at me. Those who slander me
... are given grants of land, while those who praise me are
... driven from their areas or fined, and the people who
... desire to kill me are singled out for rewards. And on top
... of all this, I have twice incurred the wrath of the
... authorities.
However, as it was in the case of T'ien-T'ai and Miao-lo, some new slanders have emerged since Nichiren Daishonin's lifetime. They also must be refuted. From "On Repaying Debts of Gratitude", WND I
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/88#para-79
... In the T’ien-t’ai school, however, there appeared a priest
... known as the Great Teacher Miao-lo. Though he lived more
... than two hundred years after the time of the Great Teacher
... T’ien-t’ai, because he was extremely wise and had a clear
... understanding of the teachings of T’ien-t’ai, he perceived
... that the meaning of T’ien-t’ai’s commentaries was that the
... Lotus Sutra is superior to the Profound Secrets Sutra and
... the Dharma Characteristics school, which were both
... introduced to China after T’ien-t’ai’s time, and to the
... Flower Garland school and the True Word school with its
... Mahāvairochana Sutra, both of which were first established
... in China.
...
... Up until then, either because T’ien-t’ai’s followers
... lacked the wisdom to see what was wrong, or because they
... feared others or were in awe of the ruler’s power, no one
... had spoken out. It was clear that a correct understanding
... of the teachings of T’ien-t’ai was about to be lost, and
... that the erroneous doctrines that were rife surpassed even
... those that had prevailed in northern and southern China in
... the period before the Ch’en and Sui dynasties. THEREFORE,
... MIAO-LO WROTE COMMENTARIES ON T’IEN-T’AI’S WORKS IN THIRTY
... VOLUMES, THE WRITINGS KNOWN AS THE ANNOTATIONS ON “GREAT
... CONCENTRATION AND INSIGHT,” THE ANNOTATIONS ON “THE
... PROFOUND MEANING OF THE LOTUS SUTRA,” AND THE ANNOTATIONS
... ON “THE WORDS AND PHRASES OF THE LOTUS SUTRA.” NOT ONLY
... DID THESE THIRTY VOLUMES OF COMMENTARY SERVE TO ELIMINATE
... PASSAGES OF REPETITION IN T’IEN-T’AI’S WORKS AND TO
... ELUCIDATE POINTS THAT WERE UNCLEAR, BUT AT THE SAME
... TIME, IN ONE STROKE, THEY REFUTED THE DHARMA
... CHARACTERISTICS, FLOWER GARLAND, AND TRUE WORD SCHOOLS,
... WHICH HAD ESCAPED T’IEN-T’AI’S CENSURES BECAUSE THEY DID
... NOT EXIST IN CHINA DURING HIS LIFETIME.
Sadly, it is quite difficult to call out the latter day followers so far removed from the initial crime of plagiarizing and appropriating the Lotus Sutra into their corrupted teachings. A good example of this is Dogen, who fancied the Lotus Sutra so much that he incorporated pieces into his writings. He is the father of Soto Zen (seated meditation), which is what most Zen believers practice, and he died not long after the Daimoku was first chanted on April 28, 1253.
Nichiren says that in spite of the extreme difficulty of calling out the profoundly ignorant followers of evil, that you must do so anyway. From "On Repaying Debts of Gratitude", WND I
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/88#para-31
... Question: Do you really proclaim that Ch’eng-kuan of the
... Flower Garland school, Chia-hsiang of the Three Treatises
... school, Tz’u-en of the Dharma Characteristics school, and
... Shan-wu-wei and the others of the True Word school on down
... to Kōbō, Jikaku, and Chishō are the enemies of the Buddha?
...
... Answer: This is a very important question, a matter of the
... gravest concern to the Buddha’s teachings. Yet, on
... examining the text of the sutra, I find that, if someone
... should declare that there is a sutra superior to the Lotus
... Sutra, then regardless of who that person may be, he or
... she cannot escape the charge of slandering the Law.
... Therefore, if we go by what the sutra says, then persons
... such as this must be regarded as enemies of the Buddha.
... And if, out of fear, I fail to point out this fact, then
... the distinctions of relative merit made among the various
... sutras will all have been made in vain.
...
... IF, OUT OF AWE OF THESE GREAT TEACHERS OF THE PAST, I
... SHOULD SIMPLY POINT AT THEIR LATTER-DAY FOLLOWERS AND CALL
... THEM ENEMIES OF THE BUDDHA, THEN THESE LATTER-DAY
... FOLLOWERS OF THE VARIOUS SCHOOLS WOULD SAY: “THE ASSERTION
... THAT THE MAHĀVAIROCHANA SUTRA IS SUPERIOR TO THE LOTUS
... SUTRA IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE OURSELVES INVENTED ON OUR
... OWN. IT IS THE DOCTRINE TAUGHT BY THE PATRIARCHS OF OUR
... SCHOOL. THOUGH WE MAY BE NO MATCH FOR THEM IN OBSERVING
... THE PRECEPTS, IN WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING, OR IN STATUS,
... WHEN IT COMES TO THE DOCTRINES THAT THEY TAUGHT, WE NEVER
... DIVERGE FROM THEM IN THE SLIGHTEST.” AND IN THAT CASE, ONE
... WOULD HAVE TO ADMIT THAT THEY ARE GUILTY OF NO FAULT.
...
... NEVERTHELESS, IF I KNOW THAT THIS ASSERTION IS FALSE AND
... YET, OUT OF FEAR OF OTHERS, I FAIL TO SAY SO, THEN I WILL
... BE IGNORING THE STERN WARNING OF THE BUDDHA, WHO SAID,
... “[IT IS LIKE A ROYAL ENVOY WHO] WOULD RATHER, EVEN THOUGH
... IT COSTS HIM HIS LIFE, IN THE END CONCEAL NONE OF THE
... WORDS OF HIS RULER.”
What constitutes slander is in contrast, that which glorifies the Lotus Sutra even more: the ability of the Lotus Sutra to save ALL the people. From "Rebuking Slander of the Law", WND I
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/48#para-42
... ALL THE PEOPLE THROUGHOUT JAPAN HAVE BEEN LED ASTRAY BY
... THE WILD ASSERTIONS OF HŌNEN, WHO TELLS THEM TO “DISCARD,
... CLOSE, IGNORE, AND ABANDON” [THE LOTUS SUTRA], OR OF THE
... ZEN SCHOOL, WHICH DECLARES ITS TEACHING TO BE “A SEPARATE
... TRANSMISSION OUTSIDE THE SUTRAS,” SO THAT THERE IS NOT A
... SINGLE ONE WHO IS NOT DESTINED TO FALL INTO THE GREAT
... CITADEL OF THE HELL OF INCESSANT SUFFERING. So believing,
... over the past more than twenty years I have never ceased
... to cry out in a loud voice against these errors, fearing
... neither the ruler of the nation nor the common people. I
... am in no way inferior to the outspoken ministers Kuan
... Lung-feng and Pi Kan of old. I am like the thousand-armed
... Perceiver of the World’s Sounds, the bodhisattva of great
... compassion, who strives to rescue at once all the beings
... confined to the hell of incessant suffering.
...
... WHEN SEVERAL CHILDREN ARE CAUGHT IN A FIRE, THOUGH THE
... PARENTS WISH TO SAVE THEM ALL AT THE SAME TIME, HAVING
... ONLY TWO ARMS, THEY MUST DECIDE WHICH CHILD TO SAVE FIRST
... AND WHICH TO LEAVE UNTIL AFTER. THE LOTUS SUTRA IS A
... PARENT WITH A THOUSAND ARMS, TEN THOUSAND ARMS, OR A
... MILLION ARMS. THE SUTRAS PREACHED BEFORE THE LOTUS SUTRA
... HAVE ONLY ONE OR TWO ARMS, AS IT WERE. BUT THE LOTUS
... SUTRA, THROUGH WHICH THE BUDDHA HAS “CONVERTED ALL LIVING
... BEINGS AND CAUSED THEM ALL TO ENTER THE BUDDHA WAY,” IS
... A BODHISATTVA WITH INNUMERABLE ARMS.
Challenging Iain's depictions of these "phobias", Nichiren Daishonin warns his followers to be truly fearful of slander of the Law, outlining the punishments that go on and on ...
From "Reply to Hoshina Gōrō Tarō", WND I
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/15#para-14
... The Great Teacher Miao-lo states, “I call upon those with
... eyes to examine this thoroughly.” Is one not without
... eyes who regards the Lotus Sutra as inferior to the
... Flower Garland Sutra? The Nirvana Sutra reads, “If there
... are persons who slander the correct teaching of the
... Buddha, their tongues should be cut off.” Ah, how pitiful
... that those slandering tongues will utter no words in
... world after world, and that the eyes clouded by false
... views will fall out in lifetime after lifetime, seeing
... nothing! Moreover, the Lotus Sutra says: “If a person
... fails to have faith but instead slanders this sutra . . .
... When his life comes to an end he will enter the Avīchi
... hell.” IF THIS STATEMENT IS VALID, KŌBŌ WILL SURELY FALL
... INTO THE GREAT CITADEL OF THE HELL OF INCESSANT SUFFERING
... WHERE HE WILL UNDERGO AGONY FOR IMMEASURABLE MILLIONS OF
... KALPAS. YOU SHOULD ALSO RECOGNIZE THE FATE OF SHAN-TAO
... AND HŌNEN THROUGH HIS EXAMPLE. WHO AMONG THOSE ENDOWED
... WITH WISDOM WILL DIP INTO THE STREAM OF SUCH SLANDEROUS
... TEACHINGS AND BE CONSUMED TOGETHER WITH THESE MEN IN THE
... FLAMES OF THE AVĪCHI HELL? TRULY, THE PRACTITIONERS OF
... BUDDHISM SHOULD FEAR THIS. THESE ARE ALL PERSONS OF
... PROFOUNDLY DISTORTED VIEWS. IN THIS CONNECTION, WE FIND,
... AMONG THE TRUE AND GOLDEN WORDS OF THE THUS COME ONE:
... “[THIS DEVIL KING PĀPĪYAS WILL IN TIME TRY] TO DESTROY
... THE CORRECT TEACHING OF MINE. HE WILL BE LIKE A HUNTER
... WHO WRAPS HIS BODY IN A PRIESTLY ROBE. HE WILL CHANGE HIS
... FORM INTO THAT OF A STREAM-WINNER, A ONCE-RETURNER, A
... NON-RETURNER, AN ARHAT, A PRATYEKABUDDHA, OR A BUDDHA,
... AND WILL TRY TO DESTROY THE CORRECT TEACHING OF MINE.”
And those punishments apply to those slandering the Law and also those attacking the Sangha that faithfully propagates the Law correctly. From "Embracing the Lotus Sutra", WND I
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/8#para-41
... TO IGNORE THE SUPREMACY OF THE LOTUS SUTRA AND ASSERT THAT
... OTHER SUTRAS STAND ON A PAR WITH IT IS TO COMMIT THE WORST
... POSSIBLE SLANDER OF THE LAW, A MAJOR OFFENSE OF THE UTMOST
... GRAVITY. NO ANALOGY COULD SUFFICE TO ILLUSTRATE IT. THE
... BUDDHAS, FOR ALL THEIR POWERS OF MAGICAL TRANSFORMATION,
... COULD NEVER FINISH DESCRIBING ITS CONSEQUENCES, AND THE
... BODHISATTVAS, WITH ALL THE WISDOM AT THEIR COMMAND, COULD
... NOT FATHOM ITS IMMENSITY. THUS, THE “SIMILE AND PARABLE”
... CHAPTER OF THE LOTUS SUTRA SAYS, “IF I WERE TO DESCRIBE
... THE PUNISHMENTS [THAT FALL ON PERSONS WHO SLANDER THIS
... SUTRA], I COULD EXHAUST A KALPA AND NEVER COME TO THE
... END.” THIS PASSAGE MEANS THAT NOT EVEN A WHOLE KALPA WOULD
... BE TIME ENOUGH TO EXPLAIN THE FULL GRAVITY OF THE OFFENSE
... OF A PERSON WHO ACTS EVEN ONCE AGAINST THE LOTUS SUTRA.
...
... For this reason, a person who commits this offense will
... never be able to hear the preaching of the Buddhas of the
... three existences, and will be cut off from the doctrines
... of the Thus Come Ones, who are as numerous as the sands of
... the Ganges. Such a person will move from darkness into
... greater darkness. How could he escape the pains and
... sufferings of the great citadel of the Avīchi hell? Could
... a thoughtful person fail to dread the prospect of lengthy
... kalpas of misery?
...
... THUS THE SUTRA STATES, “IF THIS PERSON . . . ON SEEING
... THOSE WHO READ, RECITE, COPY, AND UPHOLD THIS SUTRA,
... SHOULD DESPISE, HATE, ENVY, OR BEAR GRUDGES AGAINST THEM .
... . . WHEN HIS LIFE COMES TO AN END HE WILL ENTER THE AVĪCHI
... HELL.” THIS PASSAGE MEANS THAT A PERSON WHO DESPISES,
... LOOKS DOWN ON, HATES, ENVIES, OR HOLDS A GRUDGE AGAINST
... THOSE WHO READ AND EMBRACE THE LOTUS SUTRA WILL FALL INTO
... THE GREAT CITADEL OF THE AVĪCHI HELL AFTER HE DIES. WHO
... COULD HELP BUT FEAR THESE GOLDEN WORDS OF THE GREAT SAGE?
... AND WHO COULD DOUBT THE CLEAR-CUT PRONOUNCEMENT OF THE
... BUDDHA WHEN HE SAID, “HONESTLY DISCARDING EXPEDIENT MEANS,
... [I WILL PREACH ONLY THE UNSURPASSED WAY]”?
In "On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land", WND I, Nichiren Daishonin, speaking as the host, strictly explains the matter of punishment to the guest, who is questioning why the punishments are so severe. You should listen to the hosts words, Iain, as if he were speaking directly to you. He declares his only hatred is for the act of slandering the Law.
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/2#para-101
... If we stop to consider, we must realize that, regardless
... of whether one is good or bad, right or wrong, if he is a
... priest, then he deserves to have alms and nourishment
... extended to him. For how could one beat and insult the son
... and still not cause grief and sorrow to the father? The
... Brahmans of the Bamboo Staff school who killed the
... Venerable Maudgalyāyana have for a long time been sunk in
... the depths of the hell of incessant suffering. Because
... Devadatta murdered the nun Utpalavarnā, he has for a long
... time gasped in the flames of the Avīchi hell. Examples
... from earlier ages make the matter perfectly clear, and
... later ages fear this offense most of all. You speak of
... punishing those who slander the Law, but to do so would
... violate the Buddha’s prohibitions. I can hardly believe
... that such a course would be right. How can you justify that?
...
... The host said: You have clearly seen the sutra passages
... that I have cited, and yet you can ask a question like
... that! Are they beyond the power of your mind to
... comprehend? Or do you fail to understand the reasoning
... behind them? I certainly have no intention of censuring
... the sons of the Buddha. MY ONLY HATRED IS FOR THE ACT OF
... SLANDERING THE LAW. According to the Buddhist teachings,
... prior to Shakyamuni slanderous monks would have incurred
... the death penalty. But since the time of Shakyamuni, the
... One Who Can Endure, the giving of alms to slanderous monks
... is forbidden in the sutra teachings. Now if all the four
... kinds of Buddhists within the four seas and the ten
... thousand lands would only cease giving alms to wicked
... priests and instead all come over to the side of the good,
... then how could any more troubles rise to plague us, or
... disasters come to confront us?
Written 27 years after first chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, Nichiren Daishonin writes about four kinds of punishment: general and individual, conspicuous and inconspicuous. He indicates that responding to the challenges posed by those facing these kinds of punishments takes the courage of the Lion King. From "On Persecutions Befalling the Sage", WND I
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/138#para-5
... In the past, and in the present Latter Day of the Law, the
... rulers, high ministers, and people who despise the
... votaries of the Lotus Sutra seem to be free from
... punishment at first, but eventually they are all doomed to
... fall. The same is true in the case of Nichiren. There
... seemed at first to be no signs of protection for me. The
... gods who vowed to protect the Lotus Sutra, however—Brahmā,
... Shakra, the gods of the sun and moon, and the four
... heavenly kings—by now have realized in terror that if they
... leave their oath to the Buddha unfulfilled, as they have
... done for these twenty-seven years, they will fall into the
... great citadel of the hell of incessant suffering.
... Consequently each of them is now striving to carry out his
... vow. The deaths of Ōta Chikamasa, Nagasaki Jirō Hyōe-no-jō
... Tokitsuna, and Daishin-bō, who was thrown from his
... horses, can be seen as punishment for their treachery
... against the Lotus Sutra. THERE ARE FOUR KINDS OF
... PUNISHMENT: GENERAL AND INDIVIDUAL, CONSPICUOUS AND
... INCONSPICUOUS. THE EPIDEMICS AND FAMINES THAT HAVE
... ATTACKED JAPAN, AS WELL AS THE STRIFE WITHIN THE RULING
... CLAN AND THE FOREIGN INVASION, ARE GENERAL PUNISHMENT.
... EPIDEMICS ARE A FORM OF INCONSPICUOUS PUNISHMENT. THE
... DEATHS OF ŌTA AND THE OTHERS ARE BOTH CONSPICUOUS AND
... INDIVIDUAL.
...
... EACH OF YOU SHOULD SUMMON UP THE COURAGE OF A LION KING
... AND NEVER SUCCUMB TO THREATS FROM ANYONE. THE LION KING
... FEARS NO OTHER BEAST, NOR DO ITS CUBS. SLANDERERS ARE LIKE
... BARKING FOXES, BUT NICHIREN’S FOLLOWERS ARE LIKE ROARING
... LIONS. The lay priest of Saimyō-ji, now deceased, and the
... present ruler permitted my return from my exiles when
... they found that I was innocent of the accusations against
... me. The present ruler shall no longer take action on any
... charge without confirming its truth. You may rest assured
... that nothing, not even a person possessed by a powerful
... demon, can harm Nichiren, because Brahmā, Shakra, the gods
... of the sun and moon, the four heavenly kings, the Sun
... Goddess, and Hachiman are safeguarding him. Strengthen
... your faith day by day and month after month. Should you
... slacken in your resolve even a bit, devils will take
... advantage.
...
... WE COMMON MORTALS ARE SO FOOLISH THAT WE DO NOT FEAR
... EITHER THE WARNINGS IN THE SUTRAS AND TREATISES, OR THOSE
... THINGS THAT SEEM SOMEWHAT REMOVED FROM US. When Hei no
... Saemon and Akitajō-no-suke, in their anger, wreak havoc
... upon us, you must demonstrate a firm resolve. Men are now
... being sent to Tsukushi [to fight the Mongols]; consider
... yourselves in the same position as those who are on their
... way or are already at the fortifications. So far our
... believers have not experienced sorrows of that sort. The
... warriors in Tsukushi, however, now face a dreadful fate,
... and if they are killed in battle, they are doomed to fall
... into hell. Although at present we are encountering the
... severe trials of persecution, in our next life we will
... become Buddhas. OUR PRESENT TRIBULATIONS ARE LIKE
... MOXIBUSTION; AT THE TIME, IT IS PAINFUL, BUT BECAUSE IT
... HAS BENEFICIAL AFTEREFFECTS, THE PAIN IS NOT REALLY PAIN.
In this passage from "Letter from Sado", WND I, Nichiren Daishonin writes about the confusion regarding Buddhism in his time, and in ours there is not less confusion. Then he explains why the heart of the lion is needed to fight for the true teaching, and against the false and corrupt teachings that have powerful and aggressive followers, such as Zen.
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/32#para-4
... Buddhism should be spread by the method of either shōju or
... shakubuku, depending on the age. These are analogous to
... the two worldly ways of the literary and the military. The
... great sages of old practiced the Buddhist teachings as
... befitted the times. The boy Snow Mountains and Prince
... Sattva offered their bodies when urged that by doing so
... they would hear the teaching in return, and that
... giving one’s life constitutes bodhisattva practice. But
... should one sacrifice one’s life at a time when it is not
... required? In an age when there is no paper, one should use
... one’s own skin. In an age when there are no writing
... brushes, one should use one’s own bones. In an age when
... people honor the observers of the precepts and the
... practitioners of the correct teaching while they denounce
... those who break or ignore the precepts, one should
... strictly follow the precepts. In an age when Confucianism
... or Taoism is used to suppress Shakyamuni’s teachings, one
... should risk one’s life to remonstrate with the emperor, as
... did the Dharma teachers Tao-an and Hui-yüan and the
... Tripitaka Master Fa-tao. In an age when people confuse
... Hinayana and Mahayana teachings, provisional and true
... teachings, or exoteric and esoteric doctrines, as though
... unable to distinguish gems from tiles and stones or cow’s
... milk from donkey’s milk, one should strictly
... differentiate between them, following the example of the
... great teachers T’ien-t’ai and Dengyō.
...
... IT IS THE NATURE OF BEASTS TO THREATEN THE WEAK AND FEAR
... THE STRONG. OUR CONTEMPORARY SCHOLARS OF THE VARIOUS
... SCHOOLS ARE JUST LIKE THEM. THEY DESPISE A WISE MAN
... WITHOUT POWER, BUT FEAR EVIL RULERS. THEY ARE NO MORE THAN
... FAWNING RETAINERS. ONLY BY DEFEATING A POWERFUL ENEMY CAN
... ONE PROVE ONE’S REAL STRENGTH. WHEN AN EVIL RULER IN
... CONSORT WITH PRIESTS OF ERRONEOUS TEACHINGS TRIES TO
... DESTROY THE CORRECT TEACHING AND DO AWAY WITH A MAN OF
... WISDOM, THOSE WITH THE HEART OF A LION KING ARE SURE TO
... ATTAIN BUDDHAHOOD. LIKE NICHIREN, FOR EXAMPLE. I SAY THIS
... NOT OUT OF ARROGANCE, BUT BECAUSE I AM DEEPLY COMMITTED TO
... THE CORRECT TEACHING. AN ARROGANT PERSON WILL ALWAYS BE
... OVERCOME WITH FEAR WHEN MEETING A STRONG ENEMY, AS WAS THE
... HAUGHTY ASURA WHO SHRANK IN SIZE AND HID HIMSELF IN A
... LOTUS BLOSSOM IN HEAT-FREE LAKE WHEN REPROACHED BY SHAKRA.
... Even a word or a phrase of the correct teaching will
... enable one to gain the way, if it suits the time and the
... capacity of the people. But though one studies a thousand
... sutras and ten thousand treatises, one will not attain
... Buddhahood if these teachings are unsuitable for the time
... and the people’s capacity.
In the Gosho letter "Wu-lung and I-lung", WND I below, Nichiren Daishonin deals with an example of a situation where slander of the Law is incurred at the death of a father with ceremonies based on teachings other than the Lotus Sutra. The Daishonin explains that the father's eternal life will be based on the meretorious practice of the daughter and the slanderous ceremonies will not have the deleterious effect that they might otherwise have had.
However, Nichiren Daishonin DOES NOT counsel her to join in with those slanderers and practicers of evil. In fact, it is her attitude of concern over the issue of slander of the Law that he praises. Be like her, Iain.
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/162#para-2
... In your letter you mention the anniversary of the passing
... of your compassionate father, the lay priest Matsuno
... Rokurō Saemon. You say, “Since he left many sons behind,
... memorial services for him will be conducted in as many
... different ways. I fear, however, that such ceremonies will
... be slanderous unless strictly based on the Lotus Sutra.”
... Shakyamuni Buddha’s golden teaching states, “The
... World-Honored One has long expounded his doctrines and now
... must reveal the truth.” The Buddha Many Treasures gave
... testimony, declaring, “The Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful
... Law . . . all that you [Shakyamuni] have expounded is the
... truth!” And the Buddhas of the ten directions gave
... credence to the sutra’s verity by extending their tongues
... to the Brahmā heaven.
...
... ...
...
... I-lung said, “It was my hand that wrote the titles. How
... could you have been saved? Moreover, I did not write them
... with sincerity. How could it possibly have helped you?”
... His father replied: “HOW IGNORANT YOU ARE! YOUR HAND IS MY
... HAND, AND YOUR BODY IS MY BODY. THE CHARACTERS YOU WRITE
... ARE THE CHARACTERS I WRITE. ALTHOUGH YOU HAD NO FAITH IN
... YOUR HEART, YOU NEVERTHELESS WROTE THE TITLES WITH YOUR
... HAND. THEREFORE, I HAVE ALREADY BEEN SAVED. THINK OF A
... CHILD WHO SETS FIRE TO SOMETHING AND, WITHOUT THE LEAST
... INTENTION OF DOING SO, CAUSES IT TO BE BURNED. THE SAME
... HOLDS TRUE WITH THE LOTUS SUTRA. IF ONE PROFESSES FAITH IN
... IT, ONE WILL SURELY BECOME A BUDDHA, EVEN THOUGH ONE MAY
... NOT EXPECT IT IN THE LEAST. NOW THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THIS
... PRINCIPLE, NEVER SLANDER THE LOTUS SUTRA. Since we are
... among the laity, however, we are in a better position to
... repent of our past slanderous words, no matter how grave
... they may have been.”
...
... I-lung reported all this to the ruler. The ruler said, “My
... wish has been answered with splendid results.” From then
... on, I-lung basked increasingly in the royal favor, and the
... entire populace of the country came to revere the Lotus
... Sutra.
...
... The late Gorō and the late lay priest Matsuno were,
... respectively, your son and father. YOU ARE THE LAY
... PRIEST’S DAUGHTER. I BELIEVE, THEREFORE, THAT HE MUST AT
... THIS VERY MOMENT BE IN THE INNER COURT OF THE TUSHITA
... HEAVEN. HŌKI-BŌ WILL READ AND EXPLAIN THIS LETTER TO
... YOU. Since I wrote in haste, it was impossible to furnish
... details.
Iain, you can complain all you want about your relationship with the ruler who has given you the message to deliver (see the below passage.) In the end you will either deliver the full content of Nichiren's unaltered message from the Lotus Sutra, or remain a traitor to the Daishonin and the Lotus Sutra.
What you are preaching now in your brand new Iain school, the practice of effectively "just chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and focus on the Lotus Sutra" is not what Nichiren teaches, no matter how you twist his words (and you are one hell of a good twister of words, Iain.)
Nichiren Daishonin and the Lotus Sutra both teach the way of shakubuku. Shakubuku is NOT the propagation of slander and distortions of the Lotus Sutra, which is what it would be to be propagating the Daimoku and the Lotus Sutra without its protection from corruption, distortion, appropriating and plagiarism of the Lotus Sutra. That protection from slander of the Law is shakubuku and that practice must be propagated along with the Lotus Sutra and its Daimoku, otherwise slander of the Law will invariably result.
From "On Repaying Debts of Gratitude"
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/88#para-33
... If, out of awe of these great teachers of the past, I
... should simply point at their latter-day followers and call
... them enemies of the Buddha, then these latter-day
... followers of the various schools would say: “The assertion
... that the Mahāvairochana Sutra is superior to the Lotus
... Sutra is not something that we ourselves invented on our
... own. It is the doctrine taught by the patriarchs of our
... school. Though we may be no match for them in observing
... the precepts, in wisdom and understanding, or in status,
... when it comes to the doctrines that they taught, we never
... diverge from them in the slightest.” And in that case, one
... would have to admit that they are guilty of no fault.
...
... NEVERTHELESS, IF I KNOW THAT THIS ASSERTION IS FALSE AND
... YET, OUT OF FEAR OF OTHERS, I FAIL TO SAY SO, THEN I WILL
... BE IGNORING THE STERN WARNING OF THE BUDDHA, WHO SAID,
... “[IT IS LIKE A ROYAL ENVOY WHO] WOULD RATHER, EVEN THOUGH
... IT COSTS HIM HIS LIFE, IN THE END CONCEAL NONE OF THE
... WORDS OF HIS RULER.”
...
... WHAT AM I TO DO? IF I SPEAK UP, I FACE FEARFUL OPPOSITION
... FROM THE WORLD AT LARGE. BUT IF I AM SILENT, I CAN HARDLY
... ESCAPE THE CONDEMNATION OF FAILING TO HEED THE BUDDHA’S
... STERN WARNING. FORWARD OR BACKWARD, MY WAY IS BLOCKED.
...
... YET PERHAPS IT IS ONLY TO BE EXPECTED. FOR, AS THE LOTUS
... SUTRA STATES, “SINCE HATRED AND JEALOUSY TOWARD THIS SUTRA
... ABOUND EVEN WHEN THE THUS COME ONE IS IN THE WORLD, HOW
... MUCH MORE WILL THIS BE SO AFTER HIS PASSING?” AGAIN
... ELSEWHERE, “IT WILL FACE MUCH HOSTILITY IN THE WORLD AND
... BE DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE.”
Leaving the Lotus Sutra unprotected by refusing to refute slander of the Law IS slander of the Law. And it is cowardice, as well. To attain supreme perfect enlightenment, you must be a heroic protector of the Lotus Sutra, like Nichiren Daishonin. That means being fearful of slander and then dealing with it, when it presents itself in a challenge to your buddhahood.
From "Condolences on a Deceased Husband", WND II
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-2/Content/299#para-49
... Unless I had some astute plan in mind, it seemed best to
... remain silent and not to speak out. And yet in the classics
... of non-Buddhist literature it is said that if a worthy man
... knows that the world faces destruction and fails to speak
... out, then he is a mere toady, a sycophant, a person with no
... sense of obligation. Therefore the worthy men Kuan
... Lung-feng and Pi Kan spoke out fearlessly on matters that
... concerned the safety of the nation, even though it meant
... that Kuan Lung-feng’s head was cut off and Pi Kan’s breast
... torn open.
...
... TURNING TO BUDDHIST LITERATURE, WE FIND THAT THE BUDDHA HAS
... WARNED THAT, IF A PERSON SEES AN ENEMY OF THE LOTUS SUTRA
... BUT FAILS TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST HIM BECAUSE OF FEAR OF THE
... WORLD, THEN HE IS A FOE OF SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA. NO MATTER HOW
... WISE OR GOOD HE MAY BE, HE WILL ASSUREDLY FALL INTO THE
... HELL OF INCESSANT SUFFERING. SUCH A PERSON IS LIKE A SON
... WHO SEES SOMEONE ABOUT TO KILL HIS PARENTS BUT FAILS TO
... WARN THEM, OR A MINISTER WHO SEES SOMEONE BRINGING RUIN ON
... HIS SOVEREIGN BUT, FEARFUL OF THE WORLD, DOES NOT SPEAK OUT
... IN REPRIMAND. SUCH BEHAVIOR THE BUDDHA PROHIBITS.
...
... For this reason, Bodhisattva Āryadeva, who was an envoy of
... the Buddha, was killed by a follower of the non-Buddhist
... teachings; the Venerable Āryasimha had his head cut off by
... King Dammira; the Chinese priest Chu Tao-sheng was driven
... into exile in a mountain in Su-chou; and the priest Fa-tao
... was branded on the face. All these men met with such fates
... because they honored the Buddhist teachings and did not
... quail before the authority of the ruler.
And likewise in "Letter to Akimoto", WND I
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/144#para-64
... THE BUDDHA HAS CONSTANTLY WARNED US, SAYING THAT, NO
... MATTER HOW GREAT AN OBSERVER OF THE PRECEPTS ONE MAY BE,
... NO MATTER HOW LOFTY IN WISDOM AND WELL VERSED IN THE LOTUS
... SUTRA AND THE OTHER SCRIPTURES, IF ONE SEES AN ENEMY OF
... THE LOTUS SUTRA BUT FAILS TO REBUKE AND DENOUNCE HIM OR
... REPORT HIM TO THE RULER OF THE NATION, INSTEAD KEEPING
... SILENT OUT OF FEAR OF OTHERS, THEN ONE WILL INVARIABLY
... FALL INTO THE GREAT CITADEL OF THE HELL OF INCESSANT
... SUFFERING. SUPPOSE, BY WAY OF ANALOGY, THAT ONE COMMITS NO
... TREASONABLE ACT ONESELF, BUT KNOWS OF SOMEONE WHO IS
... PLOTTING TREASON. IF ONE FAILS TO INFORM THE RULER, THEN
... ONE IS GUILTY OF THE SAME CRIME AS THE PERSON WHO IS
... PLOTTING TREASON.
...
... THE GREAT TEACHER NAN-YÜEH HAS STATED, “IF ONE SEES A FOE
... OF THE LOTUS SUTRA AND YET FAILS TO CENSURE HIM, ONE
... BECOMES A SLANDERER OF THE LAW AND WILL FALL INTO THE
... HELL OF INCESSANT SUFFERING.” EVEN A MAN OF GREAT
... WISDOM, IF HE SEES SUCH A PERSON AND FAILS TO SPEAK OUT,
... WILL FALL INTO THE DEPTHS OF THE HELL OF INCESSANT
... SUFFERING, AND AS LONG AS THAT HELL SHALL ENDURE, HE WILL
... NEVER ESCAPE.
...
... I, Nichiren, FEARING THESE ADMONITIONS OF THE BUDDHA,
... accordingly accused all those throughout the nation who
... were deserving of it, and more than once I was condemned
... to exile or to death. Believing that my past offenses had
... now been eradicated, and that I was blameless of any
... fault, I left Kamakura to take up residence on this
... mountain, and since then seven years have passed.
Cowards cannot attain the supreme perfect enlightenment of the Lotus Sutra in Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism. And being a heroic protector of the Lotus Sutra will not likely make you stylish, popular or sexy. From "Letter to Hōren", WND I
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/62#para-115
... Question: At what times should one offer one’s body, and
... at what times should one observe the precepts?
...
... Answer: A person of wisdom is one who, understanding the
... time, spreads the teachings of the Lotus Sutra
... accordingly; this is his most important task. If a
... person’s throat is dry, what he needs is water; he has no
... use for bows and arrows, weapons and sticks. If a person
... is naked, he wants a suit of clothes but has no need for
... water. From one or two examples you can guess the
... principle that applies in general.
...
... Suppose there is a great demon who is working to spread
... the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. In such a case one
... should offer one’s own body as alms to the demon; there is
... no need to offer any other food or clothing.
...
... OR SUPPOSE THERE IS AN EVIL RULER WHO IS BENT UPON
... DESTROYING THE TEACHINGS OF THE LOTUS SUTRA. IN SUCH A
... CASE, EVEN AT THE COST OF ONE’S LIFE ONE MUST NOT OBEY
... HIM. AND IF THERE SHOULD BE EMINENT PRIESTS WHO KEEP THE
... PRECEPTS AND PRACTICE RELIGIOUS AUSTERITIES, AND WHO
... APPEAR TO BE SPREADING THE TEACHINGS OF THE LOTUS SUTRA
... BUT ARE, IN FACT, SUBVERTING THEM, YOU SHOULD PERCEIVE THE
... TRUTH OF THE MATTER AND REPRIMAND THEM.
...
... The Lotus Sutra says, “We care nothing for our bodies or
... lives but are anxious only for the unsurpassed way.” And
... the Nirvana Sutra states, “It is like a royal envoy who .
... . . would rather, even though it costs him his life, in
... the end conceal none of the words of his ruler.” The Great
... Teacher Chang-an commented on this: “‘[A royal envoy . . .
... would rather], even though it costs him his life, in the
... end conceal none of the words of his ruler’ means that
... one’s body is insignificant while the Law is supreme. One
... should give one’s life in order to propagate the
... Law.”
...
... JUDGING FROM OUTWARD APPEARANCES, AT PRESENT I, NICHIREN,
... AM THE MOST PERVERSE MAN IN ALL OF JAPAN. AMONG A HUNDRED,
... A THOUSAND, TEN THOUSAND, OR A MILLION PEOPLE OF THE FOUR
... CATEGORIES OF BELIEVERS IN THE SIXTY-SIX PROVINCES AND TWO
... OUTLYING ISLANDS OF OUR COUNTRY, I AM DETESTED BY THE
... ENTIRE POPULACE OF BOTH HIGH AND LOW STATION. IN THE SEVEN
... HUNDRED OR MORE YEARS SINCE THE TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA
... WERE FIRST INTRODUCED TO JAPAN, THERE HAS NEVER BEEN
... ANYONE WHO WAS HATED TO SUCH A DEGREE BECAUSE OF THE LOTUS
... SUTRA. I HAVE NEVER HEARD THAT SUCH PERSONS EXISTED IN
... INDIA OR CHINA, NOR DO I BELIEVE THAT THEY COULD HAVE
... EXISTED. THUS, I AM THE MOST PERVERSE MAN IN THE ENTIRE
... LAND OF JAMBUDVĪPA.
...
... Because of this, even my own kindred dare not visit me, to
... say nothing of those who are not related to me. They fear
... the authority of the government officials and regard with
... apprehension the sneers of the populace. Persons who have
... been helped by me, not only in religious matters but in
... secular affairs as well, fearful of the eyes of others and
... hoping thereby to put an end to talk, make a show of
... condemning me, though I do not think they do so in their
... hearts.
As I wrote this, I had a brush with death on Friday going to work at 6:20 AM. I acquired some cosmetic injuries and a couple of broken bones, but thankfully it was no where near what it could have been. I saw this coming from some ways off, but the lessening of karmic retribution from Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism is truly the most wonderful thing. I sleep in the palm of the Buddha.
It is so important to keep chanting and fighting until the moment of your death. From "On Practicing the Buddha’s Teachings", WND I
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/42#para-20
... LIFE FLASHES BY IN BUT A MOMENT. NO MATTER HOW MANY
... TERRIBLE ENEMIES YOU MAY ENCOUNTER, BANISH ALL FEARS AND
... NEVER THINK OF BACKSLIDING. EVEN IF SOMEONE WERE TO CUT
... OFF OUR HEADS WITH A SAW, IMPALE OUR BODIES WITH LANCES,
... OR SHACKLE OUR FEET AND BORE THEM THROUGH WITH A GIMLET,
... AS LONG AS WE ARE ALIVE, WE MUST KEEP CHANTING
... NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO, NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO. THEN, IF WE
... CHANT UNTIL THE VERY MOMENT OF DEATH, SHAKYAMUNI, MANY
... TREASURES, AND THE BUDDHAS OF THE TEN DIRECTIONS WILL COME
... TO US INSTANTLY, EXACTLY AS THEY PROMISED DURING THE
... CEREMONY AT EAGLE PEAK. Taking our hands and bearing us on
... their shoulders, they will carry us to Eagle Peak. The two
... sages, the two heavenly kings, and the ten demon
... daughters will guard us, while all the heavenly gods and
... benevolent deities will raise a canopy over our heads and
... unfurl banners on high. They will escort us under their
... protection to the treasure land of Tranquil Light. How can
... such joy possibly be described!
I trust the Gohonzon absolutely and without limit. I will act in faith with the courage of a lion, no matter what occurs. From "Reply to Kyō’ō", WND I
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/45#para-2
... Since I heard from you about Kyō’ō, I have been praying to
... the gods of the sun and moon for her every moment of the
... day. ALWAYS CHERISH THE GOHONZON THAT I GAVE YOU SOME TIME
... AGO FOR HER PROTECTION. THE GOHONZON WAS NEVER KNOWN, LET
... ALONE INSCRIBED, BY ANYONE IN THE FORMER OR MIDDLE DAY OF
... THE LAW. THE LION KING IS SAID TO ADVANCE THREE STEPS,
... THEN GATHER HIMSELF TO SPRING, UNLEASHING THE SAME POWER
... WHETHER HE TRAPS A TINY ANT OR ATTACKS A FIERCE ANIMAL. IN
... INSCRIBING THIS GOHONZON FOR HER PROTECTION, NICHIREN WAS
... LIKE THE LION KING. THIS IS WHAT THE SUTRA MEANS BY “THE
... POWER [OF THE BUDDHAS] THAT HAS THE LION’S FEROCITY.”
... BELIEVE IN THIS MANDALA WITH ALL YOUR HEART.
... NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO IS LIKE THE ROAR OF A LION. WHAT
... SICKNESS CAN THEREFORE BE AN OBSTACLE?
...
... It is written that those who embrace the daimoku of the
... Lotus Sutra will be protected by the Mother of Demon
... Children and by the ten demon daughters. Such persons will
... enjoy the happiness of the wisdom king Craving-Filled and
... the good fortune of the heavenly king Vaishravana.
... Wherever your daughter may frolic or play, no harm will
... come to her; she will move about without fear like the
... lion king. Among the ten demon daughters, the protection
... of Kuntī is the most profound. BUT YOUR FAITH ALONE WILL
... DETERMINE ALL THESE THINGS. A SWORD IS USELESS IN THE
... HANDS OF A COWARD. THE MIGHTY SWORD OF THE LOTUS SUTRA
... MUST BE WIELDED BY ONE COURAGEOUS IN FAITH. THEN ONE WILL
... BE AS STRONG AS A DEMON ARMED WITH AN IRON STAFF. I,
... NICHIREN, HAVE INSCRIBED MY LIFE IN SUMI INK, SO BELIEVE
... IN THE GOHONZON WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART. THE BUDDHA’S WILL
... IS THE LOTUS SUTRA, BUT THE SOUL OF NICHIREN IS NOTHING
... OTHER THAN NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO. MIAO-LO STATES IN HIS
... COMMENTARY THAT THE HEART OF THIS SUTRA IS THE REVELATION
... OF THE BUDDHA’S ORIGINAL ENLIGHTENMENT AND HIS
... IMMEASURABLE LIFE SPAN.
Those fears of Nichiren Daishonin and Shakymuni Buddha, which are shared gratefully by myself and others are real. It is irrational to ignore them. You can disagree if you want, Iain, but you should be real careful of just who you make light of.
-Chas.