Noel Panton
2023-11-27 23:19:45 UTC
1850r2 ‘RESPONSE TO NOEL PANTON AND JOHN ARUNDEL re; MEDITATION 101 IN THE NICHIREN CAUCUS ... ’
Every now and again, one says or does something that brings you down with a bump! The posting of ‘MEDITATION 101 IN THE NICHIREN CAUCUS ... ‘ being just such an example . Firstly, the statement I made regarding “Mappo” being a Tendai-Shinto concept was completely wrong and out of order ~ and for posting this I profoundly apologies; and at the same time thank John Arundel for pointing out this error. Indeed, I don’t know where my mind was? Also Noel Panton for his strenuous efforts alerting me to the fact that TM might not be what the TM masters have led us to believe? Obviously this post got egg on my face and for anything said wrong or misled, I profoundly apologize. Both John and Noel made extremely pertinent points re Mappo and TM, as well as other points from other sources re; the origins of Mappo and TM mantras. I’m not a fan of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi so it cuts no ice at all. It does seem like the TM community has been misled, however, the origins of the Hindu gods and Vedic deities go far further back into Sanskrit times than does either Maharishi or TM ~ as does Hinduism ~ suggesting that these gods and terms are merely borrowed by Hindu tradition. The origins of Buddhism come from Brahmanism and the Vedas. Indeed, this is widely recognized. In which case, the practice of TM may not be such a slander after all. In so far as the origins of Mappo are concerned, Mappo was first mentioned in the Sutra of the Great Assembly, then the Lotus Sutra ~ and indeed many more times than Noel asserts, bringing up some very pertinent points. However, despite Noel’s concerns, I’m not so sure that TM is such an issue as Noel asserts? Indeed, the TM mantras are closely associated with the names of Hindu gods and Vedic deities. The names of these gods and deities are (as Noel posted);
TM Mantra Garland Sastra Tantra Devata
ENG, EM, ENGA, EMA, AING, AIM, AINGA, AIMA (essentially the same bija mantra) AIM AIM AIM Saraswati, Devi of learning, music, speech, the fine arts
SHIRING, SHIRIM SHREEM S’RÍM S’RÍM Mahalakshmi or Lakshmi, Devi of wealth
HIRING, HIRIM HREEM HRÍM HRÍM Bhuvanesvari, Mahamaya
KIRING, KIRIM KREEM KRÍM KRÍM Devi Kalika
SHYAM, SHYAMA Krishna
RAM, SHRIRAM (RAM plus SHRI, see below) RAM RAM RAM Agni, Deva of Fire.
I understand the TM mantras are as follows;
eng; em; enga, ema, ieng, iem, ienga, iema, Shirim, Shiring, Kirim, Kiring, hirim, hiring, and sham.
The same article as Noel posted also stated:
“When Is a Meaningless Sound Not Meaningless? When It’s a Tantric Name of a Hindu God”
This is an extraordinary comment since everything has meaning. It appears the jist of the comment is to inform those misled by TM teachers that they’ve been misled? But just because it is a Tantric name of Hindu deity, doesn’t mean that it’s bad. Indeed, the Rinmetsudo-Ji Gohonzon has many such deities just as Michael McCormick writes;
As on the Great Mandala is #81 in the Gohonzon Shu
Great Brahma Heavenly King
King Mara of the 6th Heaven
Shakra Devanam Indra
Surya (Sun)
Chandra (Moon)
Aruna (Myojo Tenji)
This is the most common Gohonzon issued by Nichiren Shu to its members (made of silk)
Devas: The Vedic Deities: On the mandala that Nichiren Shonin designed are several devas, deities from the Vedic cosmology of ancient India, which were accepted in Buddhism as the inhabitants of the heavens, the personifications of the forces of nature, fellow sentient beings in need of the Buddha’s teachings, protectors of the Buddha Dharma, and even as roles taken on by the various bodhisattvas. In many ways they are similar to the ancient Olympian gods of Greece or the Aesir of Teutonic myths. In fact, they may even have a common source in the ancient Aryan culture. Nevertheless, the Vedic gods living on and above Mt. Sumeru have not disappeared but are still worshipped directly in India within Hinduism and appear as the guardians of the Dharma, protectors of humanity, and even as embodiments of aspects of enlightenment in Buddhism. The term devas mean “shining ones.” In Philosophies of India, Heinrich Zimmer introduced the Vedic gods as follows: “Indian orthodox philosophy arose from the ancient Aryan religion of the Veda. Originally the Vedic pantheon with its host of gods depicted the universe as filled with the projections of man’s experiences and ideas about himself. The features of human birth, growth, and death, and of the process of generation were projected on the course of nature. Cosmic forces and phenomena were personalized. The lights of the heavens, the varieties and aspects of clouds and storm, forests, mountain masses and river courses, the properties of the soil, and the mysteries of the underworld were understood and dealt with in terms of the lives and commerce of divine beings who themselves reflected the human world. These gods were supermen endowed with cosmic powers and could be invited as guests to feast on oblations. They were invoked, flattered, propitiated, and pleased.” (p. 333)
Flammarion Iconographic Guides: Buddhism gives the following summary of the position of these gods, or devas, within Buddhism; “Devas are gods inhabiting the celestial stages of the world, and most of them are borrowed from the Indian pantheon. As we have seen, early Buddhism did not deny the existence of gods, but merely considered them to be spiritually inferior to the Buddha. The gods of Buddhism are not saviours, but beings with more power than humans. They live in pleasure for extremely long lives, but are nevertheless ultimately subject to the cycle of rebirth and suffering. They may be worshipped for material gain, and the earliest Buddhist literature contains stories of their service to the Buddha, and their promotion and protection of Buddhism. Thus we find the gods of the Indian pantheon assisting at all the major events in the life of the Buddha, more as attentive servants than as followers.” (p. 258)
The Guide also says; “Devas represent the first of the eight classes of supernatural beings (Japanese Hachibutshu) mentioned in the Lotus Sutra as being protectors of the Buddha and the Law, victoriously waging war on opposing forces.” (p. 260) The other seven are the nagas (dragons), the garudas (giant birds who prey on the nagas), the ashuras (the fighting demons), the yakshas (nature spirits), the gandharvas (celestial musicians), the mahoragas (giant snakes), and the kimnaras (another type of celestial musician who are half-human and half-bird). There is another class of beings associated with the devas who are called the apsaras. The apsaras are servants, court musicians, dancers, and retainers of the devas. Presumably, they are the most populous class of beings in the heavenly realms. Nichiren taught that all the gods had promised to protect those who uphold the Lotus Sutra. He frequently invoked the Vedic deities and the Shinto kami as his protectors as in the following passage from On Persecutions Befalling the Sage; “You may rest assured that nothing, not even a person possessed by a powerful demon, can harm Nichiren, because Brahma, Shakra, the gods of the sun and moon, the four heavenly kings, the Sun Goddess, and Hachiman are safeguarding him.” The other side of this, is that the gods would also abandon and punish those who slandered or turned away from the Lotus Sutra as in the following passage from his Letter to the Lay Priest Ichinosawa; “The reason, as I stated earlier, is that every single person in this country has committed the three cardinal sins. Therefore, Brahma, Shakra, the gods of the sun and moon, and the four heavenly kings have entered into the body of the Mongol ruler and are causing him to chastise our nation.” (pp. 530). Nichiren also frequently addressed prayers to the gods and encouraged his followers to do so as well, but always in the context of an overarching faith in the Lotus Sutra.
Dai Bontenno - Great Brahma Heavenly King: Brahma is a term for the highest class of deities residing in the Brahma Heavens. So in the first chapter of the Lotus Sutra, three different Brahmas are said to be present on Vulture Peak: Brahma Heavenly King, Great Brahma Sikhin, and Great Brahma Light. Great Brahma Heavenly King, however, is the chief of these and is believed to be the eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, and morally perfect creator of the world who resides in the Maha Brahma heaven of the realm of form. He is the lord of the Saha world, and the first member of the trimurti which represents the three modes of material nature: Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. In the sutras he says of himself, “I am Brahma, Great Brahma, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, the All-Powerful, the Lord, the Maker and Creator, Ruler, Appointer and Orderer, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be.” (p. 76, Long Discourses of the Buddha) Other beings believe Brahma’s self-testimony or have vague recollections of a past life in the Brahma heavens and therefore seek union with him or at least rebirth in his presence. Union with Brahma or rebirth in the Brahma heavens of the realm of form (or any of the heavens for that matter) is treated by the Buddha as a legitimate though lesser goal for those who are unable to transcend their theistic assumptions about the goal of the religious life. It is a lesser goal because it is still within the six worlds of becoming and therefore one can only abide in a heavenly existence until the causes and conditions (in this case meritorious karma) which support that life are exhausted. Furthermore, even as the preeminent or first being among beings, Brahma is still subject to rebirth in accordance with the law of cause and effect and cannot be apart from it. Brahma simply does not remember that he too came into being in the palace of Brahma due to causes and conditions at the beginning of the unfolding of the world. He believes that he is the sole cause for the creation of the world and its many beings, but once again he has overlooked the many other causes and condition involved. His self-testimony according to the Buddha is actually nothing more than self-delusion and egotism. As a being among beings who is also caught up in the round of birth and death, Brahma also must be considered in need of the Buddha’s instruction despite his pretensions.
In any case, the Buddha was sharply critical of the brahmins and their Vedic learning who claimed to teach the way to union with Brahma. In the final analysis, he pointed out that the theistic teachings are based on hearsay and are not themselves able to give direct knowledge of Brahma. As an expedient, the Buddha taught the value of purifying the mind, renouncing the householder’s life and meditating on the four infinite states of mind, “abodes of Brahma,” associated with Brahma: loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. In this way, one may be united with Brahma at death by emulating his good qualities through virtuous living and meditation. The Buddha Dharma itself, however, is able to take those who follow it far beyond even the divine realms. The Buddha had realized that even the divine states of being were phenomenal and subject to the same shortcomings as all other forms of phenomenal existence. So, while union with Brahma or rebirth in the heavens is looked upon as a worthy and attainable goal, it is not the final goal, for only the peace of nirvana can provide true peace according to the Buddha. The Buddha, however, did assert that in his past lives as a bodhisattva he too had been Brahma. According to the sutras, upon attaining enlightenment the Buddha was not sure whether he should attempt to teach others the Dharma. At that time Brahma himself came down from heaven and convinced the Buddha that he should teach and that there were those who would be able to understand. This story is recounted in chapter two of the Lotus Sutra where Brahma appears in the company of the Heavenly-King Shakra, the four heavenly kings, and many other gods. Brahma is also one of the deities who periodically makes an offering of music and showers the assembly with heavenly garments and lotus flowers. In chapter seven of the Lotus Sutra, Brahma Heavenly Kings from hundreds of billions of worlds all gathered to give offerings to Great Universal Wisdom Excellence Tathagata and requested that he turn the Wheel of the Dharma. Chapter eighteen asserts that anyone who persuades others to sit and hear the Lotus Sutra will obtain the seat of Brahma, so one of the causes by which one can become Brahma is to share the Lotus Sutra with others. Chapter nineteen asserts that Brahma will come to hear anyone who teaches the Lotus Sutra. Chapters twenty-four and twenty-five state that Bodhisattva Wonderful Voice and Bodhisattva World Voice Perceiver respectively can both transform themselves into Brahma (among many other forms) in order to expound the Dharma and save others. So based upon the testimony of the Lotus Sutra, Great Heavenly King Brahma is a devotee of the Lotus Sutra and may in fact be an appearance of one of the celestial bodhisattvas who uphold the Lotus Sutra.
Icon: A deity with four arms and four faces, each with a third eye. He is wearing the garments of an Indian king, including a crown on each head. In his upper right hand he carries a lance. The bottom right is in the Varada mudra which represents the act of making an offering. The top left arm holds a long stemmed lotus flower, while the lower left holds a vase of ambrosia. He is seated on a lotus flower which rests upon four (or seven) geese.
Dairokuten Ma-o - King Mara of the Sixth Heaven: The name Mara means “Murderer” and he is called that because he is the entity who attempts to “murder” the spiritual life of others. Though he is a personification of delusion and even evil, he is very different from the devil in other religious traditions. To begin with, he is not a leader of the fighting demons who rebel against the gods, nor does he dwell in hell. Rather, he lives in the highest heaven in the realm of desire, from whence he is able to manipulate, exploit, and trick all the other beings in the realm of desire - including the deities in the lower heavenly realms. His primary purpose is to ensure that no one escapes the cycle of birth and death. In some ways, he is like a jail warden who is trying to keep his “wards” trapped within the world of birth and death. In other ways he is like the owner of a casino who employs all kinds of entertainments and even occasional payouts in order to keep the gamblers at the roulette wheels and card tables. In the end, the gamblers always lose but Mara does his best to keep them fooled into thinking that somehow they can hit the jackpot and find ultimate happiness within the realm of desire. In the sutras, it is Mara who at first sends his daughters to seduce Siddhartha on the eve of his enlightenment. When Siddhartha sees through their beauty and reduces them to aged crones, Mara sends an army of demons to scare off the Buddha. This also fails. Siddhartha sits unmoved as the arrows and spears of the demons turn into flowers before they can hit him. Finally, Mara asks Siddhartha what entitles him to attain enlightenment. Siddhartha touches the ground and calls upon the earth itself to witness to the countless merits that he had accumulated over innumerable past lives as a bodhisattva. After his awakening, Mara tried to convince the Buddha that it would be impossible to teach anyone else the Dharma and that he should immediately enter parinirvana, but Brahma himself convinced the Buddha that it would be possible to teach others. Mara appears later in the life of the Buddha and unsuccessfully attempts to convince him to pass into parinirvana prematurely before the Dharma and the Sangha can be firmly established. Nichiren Buddhism often refers to Mara as part of the “three obstacles and the four devils” which was a teaching of Chih-i, the founder of T’ien-t’ai Buddhism. These are described in Dharma Flower:
The Faith, Teaching and Practice of Nichiren Buddhism (unpublished manuscript); “The three obstacles and the four devils were Chih-i’s way of cataloguing all the various phenomena which can keep us from practicing Buddhism. The three obstacles consist of self-centred desires or defilements, the unwholesome habits which arise from those defilements, and the painful consequences of such activity. The three obstacles describe the vicious circle created by our usual self-centred way of interacting with the world. They describe the way in which we bring so much unnecessary suffering upon ourselves, which naturally leads to further frustration and anxiety which then leads to even more selfishly motivated activities and so on, ad nauseum ... All of this keeps us mired in our own problems. If we are not careful, it will even prevent us from putting into practice the very teachings which can break the cycle; “The four devils consist of the devil of the five aggregates, the devil of the defilements, the devil of death, and the devil king of the sixth heaven. The devil of the aggregates refers to the inherent insecurity, anxiety, and outright suffering which results from trying to identify ourselves with various physical and mental components which are in constant flux. The devil of the defilements refers to the ways in which self-centred desires inevitably arise based upon the needs of the body and mind for nourishment, security, pleasurable stimulation, and self-aggrandizement. The devil of death refers to the dread, fear, and terror which arise in the face of the inevitable dissolution of the body and mind upon death. The devil king of the sixth heaven refers to those things in life which tempt us to forget about Buddhist practice and live only for worldly goals and aspirations. The devil king of the sixth heaven personifies all those people, situations, and inner impulses which tempt or threaten us to forsake Buddhism and return to the old cycle of unthinking habit, fleeting pleasures and familiar pains. One could say that the other name for the devil king of the sixth heaven is ‘the devil we know’ who attempts to frighten or cajole us away from the unfamiliar territory of liberation back into the vicious cycle of our self-centeredness.” (p.23)
Icon: A deity dressed like a great king (maharaja) draped with garlands. He holds a bow in one hand and five arrows in the other.
Shakudaikannin Dai-o - (Shakra Devanam Indra ) a.k.a. Taishakuten (Shakra): Indra is the ruler of the other thirty-two devas in the Heaven of the Thirty-three gods at the summit of Mt. Sumeru and also commander-in-chief of the Four Heavenly Kings. He is the god of thunder and lightning, the bringer of rain, the most powerful of the gods in the realm of desire, and the leader in the fight against the fighting demons (asuras) who constantly plot and scheme to overthrow the gods and on occasion even attempt to storm the heavenly palaces on the slopes of Mt. Sumeru. The name Shakra means “the mighty”, Devanam means “chief of the gods,” and Indra means “lord.” Indra is also known as Vajrapani which means the “Vajra Wielder.” He is called this because the thunderbolt which he wields is called the “vajra” or “diamond pounder.” Unlike the aloof and serene Brahma who sees himself as the omnipotent creator, Indra sees himself as the mighty lord who leads the heavenly hosts. Indra is also a follower of the Buddha and a protector of the Dharma. In fact, Indra often appears to test the resolve, patience, generosity, and compassion of the bodhisattvas, including Shakyamuni Buddha in his past lives. As an example, in the Nirvana Sutra, the story is told of how the bodhisattva who would become Shakyamuni Buddha was once a youth practicing asceticism in the Himalayas. Indra transformed himself into a ferocious demon (raskshasa) and began reciting the verse “All is changeable, nothing is constant. This is the law of birth and death.” The boy insisted on hearing the rest of the verse, but the demon demanded that the boy offer himself as food after hearing it. The boy agreed, so the rakshasa recited “Extinguishing the cycle of birth and death, one enters the joy of nirvana.” The boy inscribed the complete verse on all the surrounding rocks and trees and then leaped into the demon’s mouth, but at the last moment Indra changed back into himself and caught the boy in his arms. In other past lives, while still practicing as a bodhisattva, the Buddha himself appeared as Indra. The other bodhisattvas are also reborn, at times, as Indra. Indra is also well known for his net. The Net of Indra is said to cover the universe and contains jewels in each of its interstices which all reflect one another. This is a model for the interdependent nature of all phenomena according to the Buddha’s teachings. This image is especially associated with the Flower Garland Sutra. In chapter two of the Lotus Sutra, Indra is one of the deities who accompanies Brahma when he convinces the Buddha that he should teach the Dharma. Indra is also one of the deities who offers the assembly heavenly garments, lotus flowers and music. Chapter eighteen asserts that anyone who persuades others to sit and hear the Lotus Sutra will obtain the seat of Indra, so one of the causes by which one can become Indra is to share the Lotus Sutra with others. Chapter nineteen asserts that Indra will come to hear anyone who teaches the Lotus Sutra. Chapters twenty-four and twenty-five state that Bodhisattva Wonderful Voice and Bodhisattva World Voice Perceiver respectively can both transform themselves into Indra (among many other forms) in order to expound the Dharma and save others. So based upon the testimony of the Lotus Sutra, Indra is a devotee of the Lotus Sutra and may in fact be an appearance of one of the celestial bodhisattvas who uphold the Lotus Sutra.
Icon: A golden deity with a third eye in armor holding a vajra in his right hand, and with his left hand curled in a fist and resting on his hip. He sits in the posture of royal ease atop a white elephant which holds another vajra in its trunk.
Dai Nittenno (Surya) - Surya is the Vedic god of the sun, and one of the thirty-three gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-three. In esoteric Buddhism, Surya represents bodhicitta, the aspiration to attain enlightenment for all sentient beings.
Icon: A deity holding a sun disc in his right hand, his closed left hand rests on his hip. He is seated upon a lotus which is carried by three horses.
Dai Gattenji (Chandra) - Chandra is the Vedic god of the moon, and one of the thirty-three gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-three. In esoteric Buddhism, Chandra represents the universal purity of the buddha-nature which cools the passions and removes the three poisons.
Icon: A deity holding a moon disc in his right hand, his closed left hand rests on his hip. He is seated upon a lotus which is carried by three geese.
Myojo Tenji (Aruna): According to The Myths and Gods of India; “The Sun’s charioteer is the Red-One (Aruna), the wise elder brother of the bird Wings-of-Speech (Garuda). Aruna, like the resplendent Vivasvat, also a son of Kasyapa, is the deity of dawn. He stands on the chariot in front of the Sun, and his strong body shelters the world from the Sun’s fury. Aruna is said to be more beautiful even than the Moon.” (p.95). And although Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has most certainly misled TM followers over the nature of these Mantras, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the practice of TM is wrong so far as Nichiren’s Buddhism is concerned ~ especially when the Rinmetsudo-Ji Gohonzon itself contains so many Hindu deities and Vedic gods? Furthermore, the Rinmetsudo-Ji is a most interesting Gohonzon, since it’s the only one to contain “Maitreya”. Moreover, it is the primary Gohonzon used by the Nichiren Shu. However, Noel did note; “the TM technique itself is great and as you stated we can use the breath or daimoku as a point of reference to come back to when we get lost in the thought jungle of the mind. I have found this process happens during the practice of chanting while focusing on the Gohonzon. Don’t need to do a supporting practice before or after chanting. Nam[u] Myoho Renge Kyo is complete in itself no appetizers or deserts necessary. But this is my experience and each to their own as we are all need to go through whatever on this journey! Just sitting in front of Gohonzon chanting the mind becomes calm. There is so much diversity of what can happen. Sometimes prayer for others, realisation of important things that l need to do and answers to difficult situations, experiencing the restful awareness state that the mechanics of the TM technique without their mantras produce. Whatever is needed happens at the time!” But that isn’t exactly what I meant even though TM could be construed as a supporting practice. In the same vein anything that supports our lives could also be construed as a supportive practice. The whole point of TM is a method through which we can profoundly calm the mind, no bad thing during these hyped up times, especially prior to doing Gongyo, when we need 100% focus ~although often easier said than done! And as mentioned, meditations done in the Nichiren Shu tradition are not so easily achieved, at least not to the same depth. According to scientists measuring deep states of restfulness, no other technique has been found to achieve such a state of deep rest. I know those practicing Nichiren’s teachings would likely argue the point otherwise claiming that any other practices demean Nichiren’s teaching just as Noel explained; “Nam[u] Myoho Renge Kyo is complete in itself no appetizers or deserts necessary.” (The [u] gives Noel away lol!). But practicing TM is nor about detracting from what Nichiren taught, but enhancing it. As far as I know, none of the meditations practiced by the Shu or otherwise leads to such a profound state of restfulness and clarity of thought ???
The whole point was to help those practicing Nichiren’s teachings get more out of their practice, it wasn’t suggested as method of slandering Nichiren’s teachings in any way by mixing TM into the brew, but just a way of of calming our minds prior to Gongyo when feeling extremely anxed or distressed after a hectic day. Sometimes, one is just too distressed by events to do Gongyo, and the use some technique or other, whether based on Brahmanism, the Vedas or Hinduism seems immaterial in the context of all listed above? I could very well be wrong? Surely any practice through which we can profoundly calm ourselves must be hugely beneficial? This is the very reason why the Nichiren Shu and other Nichiren sects encourage a few minutes of silent meditation before and after Gongyo. Is this so wrong, although the more fundamental question must be whether such a practice as TM is slanderous? But this goes to the core of the argument and I’m not so sure that it is, simply because Buddhism, and by default Nichiren Buddhism, originated from Brahmanism, Hinduism and the Vedas. Gods and deities written on the Gohonzon reflect these origins and since all the Hindu gods that make up the TM mantras are also found in Sanskrit writings, I’m not so sure using TM is a slanderous act? After all, everything is contained within the Honmon O’daimoku of Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo ~ and TM is just another example of this ...MBB. C.
Noel Panton: The TM mantra’s are not meaningless but they say that so we don’t associate anything with-it as this meditation is designed to stop thinking...to transcend thought and into the unified field of creative consciousness....this happens to me while chanting in front of Nichiren’s 10 world Gohonzons while doing ordinary Daimoku.. TM’s mantras are the name of demi Gods of the Hindu pantheon. They all have special significance. Nichiren said not to mix practices! The method or technique in itself presents no challenge to the practice of O’daimoku, it’s just a method of calming oneself prior to the main practice ...
Noel Panton Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow. Putting it into perspective: “More important is figuring out whether the Ongi Kuden was forged. Now that’s really mixing Nichiren’s teachings. You have got to come down to Earth since there are just too many clangers ...” “The Buddha’s advice to the Kalamas, determining what is true or not should not be based on hearsay, or what some authority figure said, or on tradition but on what you yourself know to be true in your heart. If you go against this criteria then you are not a Buddhist but just another dogmatist who is using Buddhism as an external authority to bolster your own insecurity.” Also, I must stress that for the purposes of religious cultivation what matters is not who said it but what is said and the value of that. The Lotus Sutra itself is “apocryphal” and certainly not the verbatim words of the historical Shakyamuni Buddha ~ Michael McCormick
Noel, regarding any writings, if they’re not in the authors hand they MUST be viewed with some suspicion, unless notarized by the original author. Thank the powers that be that the original of the Kanjin Honzon Sho has been found. This is not rocket science but common sense. Furthermore, not only are the Ongi Kuden and The Twenty-Six Admonitions not in Nikko’s hand, but are full of clangers. Noel Panton Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow As an ecological restoration technician the land l work on is a mixture of weeds and Native species..The OTT is like the land and so are the writings under Nichiren’s name. Or When Is a Meaningless Sound Not Meaningless? When It’s a Tantric Name of a Hindu God. Primary-source selections below give much more detail, but “Table 1” lists common TM mantras with their associated gods. (Please note that English orthography varies somewhat, but the Sanskrit is basically the same in all sources quoted. Also the termination consonant, either “m” or “ng,” known as the Candra-bindu, are both the same nasal in Sanskrit and don’t appear to change the meaning.)
What’s Your Mantra Mean? TM Mantra Garland Sastra Tantra Devata
ENG, EM, ENGA, EMA, AING, AIM, AINGA, AIMA (essentially the same bija mantra) AIM AIM AIM Saraswati, Devi of learning, music, speech, the fine arts
SHIRING, SHIRIM SHREEM S’RÍM S’RÍM Mahalakshmi or Lakshmi, Devi of wealth
HIRING, HIRIM HREEM HRÍM HRÍM Bhuvanesvari, Mahamaya
KIRING, KIRIM KREEM KRÍM KRÍM Devi Kalika
SHYAM, SHYAMA Krishna
RAM, SHRIRAM (RAM plus SHRI, see below) RAM RAM RAM Agni, Deva of Fire
For a comprehensive discussion of how TM teachers picked your mantra, see Mike Doughney’s MINET.ORG. (We know of some mantra lists that differ from MINET’s in minimal ways.)
According to Tantric scholar Sir John Woodroffe’s Garland of Letters, Indian scriptures such as the Tantra of the Great Nirvana, and commentaries on the Mantra Sastra, the TM mantras are hardly secret. They have been widely available throughout India for centuries. They are known as bija or seed mantras, used to worship various devatas or Hindu deities. The Maharishi himself, in a quote from the Beacon Light of the Himalyas, admits that the mantras he dispenses invoke householder gods: “For our practice, we select only the suitable mantras of personal Gods. Such mantras fetch to us the grace of personal Gods and make us happier in every walk of life.” (Beacon Light of the Himalyas, Maharishi [Bala Brahmachari] Mahesh Yogi [Maharaj], 1955, p. 65
Where Did the Maharishi Learn the Mantras? According to sources quoted in Paul Mason’s The Maharishi and a current Shankracharya and co-disciple of the Maharishi’s dead master, Guru Dev, the TM mantras do not come from the tradition of Shankara. Where do they come from? There is some indication that the Maharishi patterned his teachings about mantra-based meditation after Swami Sivananda. Sworn court documents from the Kropinski trial point out striking similarities. And Sivananda’s career in Rishikesh, around the time Guru Dev (the Maharshi’s master) died, clearly parallels the Maharishi’s own. Creation has two sides: intelligence, which is the cause of everything, and the manifestations of intelligence, which are the physical and psychological features of the everyday world. Because Transcendental Meditation directly approaches intelligence, rather than the manifestations of intelligence, it solves problems by introducing harmony and well-being at the most basic level, and not by dealing with problems themselves. That’s why it is so effective.
Maharishi: The basic difference is that Transcendental Meditation, in addition to its simplicity, concerns itself only with the mind. Other systems often involve some additional aspects with which the mind is associated, such as breathing or physical exercises. They can be a little complicated because they deal with so many things. But with Transcendental Meditation there is no possibility of any interference. So we say this is the all-simple program, enabling the conscious mind to fathom the whole range of its existence. Transcendental Meditation ranges from active mind - or performing mind - to quiet mind - or resting mind. In this resting mind, one has purity and simplicity, uninvolved with anything other than the mind, uninvolved with any other practice. In Transcendental Meditation, because we deal only with the mind, we nourish all expressions of intelligence. The mind meditates, gains Transcendental Consciousness and brings about transformation in different fields of manifestation. All fields of life, which are the expression of intelligence, are nourished or transformed and made better through experiencing Transcendental Consciousness. The mind, of course, is always concerned with other aspects, such as the physiology of the body, the environment, and the whole universe for that matter. But since Transcendental Meditation deals only with the performance of the mind, from its active states to its settled state, it remains unconcerned with those other aspects, though it deals with them all, because intelligence deals with them all. -- Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, unknown interview, copyright presumably held by Maharishi Vedic University, The Maharishi Foundation, or another group within the TM family.
Noel Panton: Hindu Gods are all viewed as aspects of Brahman, different ways to visualize or connect with the fundamental reality Brahmin or the fundamental reality of God
Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow: Maharishi’s comments are revealing. I would suggest that these posts were written in the Christian tradition. However, I do take on board you’re concerns. As mentioned, issues of silent meditations in the Nichiren traditions seem to be too difficult for most, whereas TM is simple. I’ve never thought of it as having Hindu gods as mantras, which I have to agree does slur it, but I sense generally we only empower such mantras ourselves when we give meaning to them, whether Hindu or otherwise. The question is whether it detracts from Nichiren’s teachings? As a simple technique to achieve a profound state of restfulness prior to Gongyo, it seems not, but I could be wrong. I don’t see it as mixing the teachings. Maybe I will try using one of the other methods listed to achieve the same, but TM seems to have gone beyond its roots and is widely recommended as a useful tool for deep rest. I can’t bounce this off anyone since the SGI and NST are so radicalized anyway, and as for those in the Shu they seem a bit lost, but I sense that some form of calming centralizing meditation prior to chanting and Gongyo must be hugely beneficial. Let’s see where this takes us ...
Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow:The other point is that there’s never any claim that TM has anything to do with Nichiren’s teachings. The whole point of the post was to enlighten people to possible techniques they might be able to use as method of getting more out of their practice ... and does using a mantra that uses the name of a Hindu God equate to slander especially when Nichiren himself in goshos uses such analogies in both positive and negative senses. I agree, on the face of it, it does appear incorrect ...
Noel Panton: Just sitting in front of Gohonzon chanting the mind becomes calm. There is so much diversity of what can happen. Sometimes prayer for others, realisation of important things that l need to do and answers to difficult situations, experiencing the restful awareness state that the mechanics of the TM technique without their mantras produce. Whatever is needed happens at the time!
John Arundel: You wrote: “Mappo is based on Tendai-Shinto concepts and should be dropped immediately.” Really? Mappo is described by Shakyamuni Buddha in both the Sutra of the Great Assembly (Daijuku-kyo) and the Lotus Sutra. Additionally, both the Great Teachers Tiantai, Miaole, and Dengyo refer to the age of Mappo as when the Great Pure Law will emerge. The concept of Mappo is absolutely central to the Daishonin’s thought and his advent into this world. It is mentioned countless times in the Gosho. There is not one credible scholar that denies this. Here is a passage from one of the Daishonin’s most important treaties “Kanjin no honzon-sho”: “Out of great compassion for those who were unaware of the doctrine of ichinen sanzen (three-thousand realms in a single life-moment), the Buddha wrapped this gem within the five characters and used it to decorate the necks of those in the Latter Day who do not possess the seed of Buddhahood.” (Gosho, p. 661) How can you say the concept of Mappo should be “dropped immediately”?
John, thanks for this. My understandings of Mappo is that it’s an idea that is a carry-over from the Tendai, which makes sense in the context in which you put it. I need to research this that much further, but we need to extremely careful especially since NST have incorporated so many Tendai concepts ... The Three Ages of Buddhism are three divisions of time following Buddha’s passing:[1][2]
Former Day of the Dharma — also known as the “Age of the Right Dharma” (Chinese: 正法; pinyin: Zhèng Fǎ; Japanese: shōbō), the first thousand years (or 500 years) during which the Buddha’s disciples are able to uphold the Buddha’s teachings;[3]
Middle Day of the Dharma — also known as the “Age of Semblance Dharma” (Chinese: 像法; pinyin: Xiàng Fǎ; Japanese: zōhō), the second thousand years (or 500 years), which only resembles the right Dharma;[4]
Latter Day of the Dharma — also known as “the Degenerate Age of Dharma” (Chinese: 末法; pinyin: Mò Fǎ; Japanese: mappō), which is to last for 10,000 years during which the Dharma declines.[5]. In the Sutra of the Great Assembly (Sanskrit: Maha-Samnipata Sutra; Japanese: Daijuku-kyō), the three periods are further divided into five five-hundred year periods (五五百歳, Chinese: wǔ wǔ bǎi sùi; Japanese: go no gohyaku sai), the fifth and last of which was prophesied to be when the Buddhism of Shakyamuni Buddha would lose all power of salvation and a new Buddha would appear to save the people. This time period would be characterized by unrest, strife, famine, and natural disasters.[6]. The three periods are significant to Mahayana adherents, particularly those who hold the Lotus Sutra in high regard, namely the Tiantai and Tendai and Nichiren Buddhism, who believe that different Buddhist teachings are valid (i.e., able to lead practitioners to enlightenment) in each period due to the different capacity to accept a teaching (機根, Chinese: jīgēn; Japanese: kikon) of the people born in each respective period.
Noel Panton: John Arundel The Latter Day of the Law (Mappo) is mentioned in 13 Goshos!
Noel Panton: The TM mantra’s are not meaningless but they say that so we don’t associate anything with-it as this meditation is designed to stop thinking...to transcend thought and into the unified field of creative consciousness....this happens to me while chanting in front of Nichiren’s 10 world Gohonzons while doing ordinary Daimoku.. TM’s mantras are the name of demi Gods of the Hindu pantheon. They all have special significance. Nichiren said not to mix practices!
Hmmmm. You may be right, but I’ve suffered no ill effects, in fact the complete opposite. Yes TM hails from Shriva TM, so what you say makes sense, but from what I understand the technique solicites a profound state of restfulness, whether the mantra is derived from names of demi-God’s or not. The method or technique in itself presents no challenge to the practice of O’daimoku, it’s just a method of calming oneself prior to the main practice ... But surely mixing practices is like having pictures of Jesus all around your butsudan or such like, or reading the bible instead of the gosho when practicing O’daimoku to the Gohonzon ??? Not a simple meditation technique ?
Noel: You seem to be wrong about the names of the demi-God’s in the Hindu pantheon as TM mantras. I’ve just checked the listings of these demi gods and not one comes anywhere close to any of the TM mantras. So it’s not mixing deities of Hinduism into the practice. We are trying to get away from SGI/NST hocus pocus and buying into such nonsense is doing exactly that. The technique is purely mechanical in that it induces a deep state of transcendence, which surely is the complete opposite of mixing anything, since you’ve transcended everything and anything TO MIX lol. I think you’re barking up the wrong tree. More important is figuring out whether the Ongi Kuden was forged. Now that’s really mixing Nichiren’s teachings. You have got to come down to Earth since there are just too many clangers ...
Noel Panton: Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow the TM technique itself is great and as you stated we can use the breath or daimoku as a point of reference to come back to when we get lost in the thought jungle of the mind. I have found this process happens during the practice of chanting while focusing on the Gohonzon. Don’t need to do a supporting practice before or after chanting. Nam[u] Myoho Renge Kyo is complete in itself no appetizers or deserts necessary. But this is my experience and each to their own as we are all need to go through whatever on this journey!
Noel Panton: Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow Putting it into perspective: “More important is figuring out whether the Ongi Kuden was forged. Now that’s really mixing Nichiren’s teachings. You have got to come down to Earth since there are just too many clangers ...” “The Buddha’s advice to the Kalamas, determining what is true or not should not be based on hearsay, or what some authority figure said, or on tradition but on what you yourself know to be true in your heart. If you go against this criteria then you are not a Buddhist but just another dogmatist who is using Buddhism as an external authority to bolster your own insecurity.” Also, I must stress that for the purposes of religious cultivation what matters is not who said it but what is said and the value of that. The Lotus Sutra itself is “apocryphal” and certainly not the verbatim words of the historical Shakyamuni Buddha ~ Michael McCormick
Noel, regarding any writings, if they’re not in the authors hand they MUST be viewed with some suspicion, unless notarized by the original author. Thank the powers that be that the original of the Kanjin Honzon Sho has been found. This is not rocket science but common sense. Furthermore, not only are the Ongi Kuden and The Twenty Six Admonitions not in Nikko’s hand, but are full of clangers.
Noel Panton: Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow As an ecological restoration technician the land l work on is a mixture of weeds and Native species..The OTT is like the land and so are the writings under Nichiren’s name.
Noel Panton: Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow Noel. You seem to be wrong about the names of the demi-God’s in the Hindu pantheon as TM mantras. I’ve just checked the listings of these demi gods and not one comes anywhere close to any of the TM mantras.” The TM mantras are an anglicized version that have been derived from various devatas, Hindu deities that are Tantric Names of a Hindu Gods. Your source of information must be wrong because this is correct as I have practiced TM so I can verify the following is true: http://minet.org/www.trancenet.net/secrets/mantras.shtml Or When Is a Meaningless Sound Not Meaningless? When It’s a Tantric Name of a Hindu God Primary-source selections below give much more detail, but “Table 1” lists common TM mantras with their associated gods. (Please note that English orthography varies somewhat, but the Sanskrit is basically the same in all sources quoted. Also the termination consonant, either “m” or “ng,” known as the Candra-bindu, are both the same nasal in Sanskrit and don’t appear to change the meaning.)
What’s Your Mantra Mean?
TM Mantra Garland Sastra Tantra Devata
ENG, EM, ENGA, EMA, AING, AIM, AINGA, AIMA (essentially the same bija mantra) AIM AIM AIM Saraswati, Devi of learning, music, speech, the fine arts
SHIRING, SHIRIM SHREEM S’RÍM S’RÍM Mahalakshmi or Lakshmi, Devi of wealth
HIRING, HIRIM HREEM HRÍM HRÍM Bhuvanesvari, Mahamaya
KIRING, KIRIM KREEM KRÍM KRÍM Devi Kalika
SHYAM, SHYAMA Krishna
RAM, SHRIRAM (RAM plus SHRI, see below) RAM RAM RAM Agni, Deva of Fire
For a comprehensive discussion of how TM teachers picked your mantra, see Mike Doughney’s MINET.ORG. (We know of some mantra lists that differ from MINET’s in minimal ways.) According to Tantric scholar Sir John Woodroffe’s Garland of Letters, Indian scriptures such as the Tantra of the Great Nirvana, and commentaries on the Mantra Sastra, the TM mantras are hardly secret. They have been widely available throughout India for centuries. They are known as bija or seed mantras, used to worship various devatas or Hindu deities. The Maharishi himself, in a quote from the Beacon Light of the Himalyas, admits that the mantras he dispenses invoke householder gods: “For our practice, we select only the suitable mantras of personal Gods. Such mantras fetch to us the grace of personal Gods and make us happier in every walk of life.” (Beacon Light of the Himalyas, Maharishi [Bala Brahmachari] Mahesh Yogi [Maharaj], 1955, p. 65
Where Did the Maharishi Learn the Mantras? According to sources quoted in Paul Mason’s The Maharishi and a current Shankracharya and co-disciple of the Maharishi’s dead master, Guru Dev, the TM mantras do not come from the tradition of Shankara. Where do they come from?
There is some indication that the Maharishi patterned his teachings about mantra-based meditation after Swami Sivananda. Sworn court documents from the Kropinski trial point out striking similarities. And Sivananda’s career in Rishikesh, around the time Guru Dev (the Maharshi’s master) died, clearly parallels the Maharishi’s own.
About Mantra Selection Criteria: MINET.ORG details the age and sex criteria that TM used over the years to select mantras. But there’s more to the story. On TranceNet editor John M. Knapp’s TM Teacher Training Course (Leysin, Switzerland, 1978), one of the course participant’s questioned the Maharishi closely about mantra selection. (From Knapp’s personal transcriptions.). The criteria you gave us say, 3 to 5 and 5 to 10 years. Which mantra do we use if they are 5?
“Three to five must mean until five. After that we use the next mantra.”
What if it’s the student’s birthday?
“The age they are that day.”
What if it’s their birthday tomorrow or next week?
“The same. The age they are that day.”
What if a “lady” lies about her age on the initiation form?
“That’s not our concern,” the Maharishi giggles. “The teacher is not responsible for a student’s karma.”
What if a TM teacher makes a mistake?
“It doesn’t matter much,” the Maharishi replied in apparent amused exasperation. “All the mantras are good for all the people.”
So much for the TM movement’s claims of unique mantras, scientifically selected according to ancient and secret formulas from the Shankaracharya tradition.” Noel Panton http://minet.org/www.trancenet.net/secrets/mantras.shtml
Advanced Techniques & What TM Teachers Knew? As TM teachers we were officially told repeatedly that “the mantras had no meaning for the meditators.”Like a lot of the language in the TM movement, this was fairly wisely. You’ll notice that the statement doesn’t read, “the mantras have no meaning.” Most of us as insiders understood this to mean that they had no meaning for the meditators, because we didn’t tell them the meaning. We saw tapes of Maharishi where he repeatedly explained that the sounds of the mantras, especially as one approaches transcendence, had the effect of summoning very refined “impulses of creative intelligence.” In other tapes, he explained that the “impulses of creative intelligence” or “laws of nature” were devas such as Indra, Agni, and so forth. He also explicitly said that in the proper state of consciousness, that repeating the name of “impulses of creative intelligence” in Sanskrit had the effect of creating or summoning the “form.” Nearly every TM teacher knew from reading “Beacon Light of the Himalyas,” from other TM teachers, and so forth that the mantras are actually the names or invocations for Hindu devas. In the 70s, Time magazine and other publications printed lists of translated mantras. Nearly every teacher had read such articles and knew that the mantras had meaning. Finally, every TM teacher had to memorize and pass innumerable tests on the word-by-word vocabulary in the puja. So every single TM teacher in the world is well aware that the word “shri” means “glorious or self-effulgent,” and “namah” means “I bow down.” So any TM teacher who tells you that they don’t know that the advanced techniques mean “I bow down to the glorious [deva]” is lying to you. For instance, the technique “SHRI AING NAMAH” translates as “I bow down to the glorious AING [Saraswati].”
For TM-EX’s explanation of advanced techniques, see Mike Doughney’s MINET.ORG
Note that there are other versions of the advanced techniques.]
Creation has two sides: intelligence, which is the cause of everything, and the manifestations of intelligence, which are the physical and psychological features of the everyday world. Because Transcendental Meditation directly approaches intelligence, rather than the manifestations of intelligence, it solves problems by introducing harmony and well-being at the most basic level, and not by dealing with problems themselves. That’s why it is so effective. Consider this example: The gardener supplies water to the root of a tree. That water, that nourishment, then reaches all parts of the tree - leaves, branches, flowers, fruit - through the sap. We can think of the sap as analogous to intelligence and the green leaves or yellow flowers as analogous to the manifestations of the intelligence. The leaves and flowers are the intelligence of the sap, after it has been transformed. So intelligence - like the leaves and flowers of a tree - appears as the many different forms of manifest life. Those manifestations include every aspect of existence, from the material and physiological, through the psychological, intellectual, and spiritual. All of those features of life come from transformations of intelligence. In meditation, we directly meet this essential intelligence. Therefore, we have the possibility of nourishing all of its other levels, and thus all levels of manifestation, in a way that is harmoniously related to the whole universe. How is Transcendental Meditation different from the various other forms of meditation? Maharishi: The basic difference is that Transcendental Meditation, in addition to its simplicity, concerns itself only with the mind. Other systems often involve some additional aspects with which the mind is associated, such as breathing or physical exercises. They can be a little complicated because they deal with so many things. But with Transcendental Meditation there is no possibility of any interference. So we say this is the all-simple program, enabling the conscious mind to fathom the whole range of its existence. Transcendental Meditation ranges from active mind - or performing mind - to quiet mind - or resting mind. In this resting mind, one has purity and simplicity, uninvolved with anything other than the mind, uninvolved with any other practice. In Transcendental Meditation, because we deal only with the mind, we nourish all expressions of intelligence. The mind meditates, gains Transcendental Consciousness and brings about transformation in different fields of manifestation. All fields of life, which are the expression of intelligence, are nourished or transformed and made better through experiencing Transcendental Consciousness. The mind, of course, is always concerned with other aspects, such as the physiology of the body, the environment, and the whole universe for that matter. But since Transcendental Meditation deals only with the performance of the mind, from its active states to its settled state, it remains unconcerned with those other aspects, though it deals with them all, because intelligence deals with them all. -- Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, unknown interview, copyright presumably held by Maharishi Vedic University, The Maharishi Foundation, or another group within the TM family. Cults come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Categories of cults that are recruiting successfully today include:
Eastern meditation: characterized by belief in God-consciousness, becoming one with God. The leader usually distorts and Eastern-based philosophy or religion. Members sometimes learn to disregard worldly possessions and may take on an ascetic lifestyle. Techniques used: meditation, repeated mantras, altered states of consciousness, trance states. Religious: marked by belief in salvation, afterlife, sometimes combined with an apocalyptic view. The leader reinterprets the Scriptures and often claims to be a prophet if not the messiah. Often the group is strict, sometimes using physical punishments such as paddling and birching, especially on children. Members are encouraged to spend a great deal of time proselytizing. (Note: included here are Bible-based neo-Christian and other religious cults, many considered syncretic since they combine beliefs and practices). Techniques used: speaking in tongues, chanting, praying, isolation, lengthy study sessions, many hours spent evangelizing, “struggle” (or criticism) and confession sessions. Political, racist, terrorist: fueled by belief in changing society, revolution, overthrowing the “enemy” or getting rid of evil forces. The leader professes to be all-knowing and all-powerful. Often the group is armed and meets in secret with coded language, handshakes, and other ritualized practices. Members consider themselves an elite cadre ready to go to battle. Techniques used: paramilitary training, reporting on one another, guilt, fear, struggle sessions, instilled paranoia, long hours of indoctrination. -- Captive
John Watt: Do these tantric names for deities have any power?
Noel Panton: John Watt Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow Here is an example of one of the many Bija Mantras in it’s original form that becomes anglicized and sold with the technique to new TM Practitioners and latter given add on’s called advanced techniques for plenty of more dollars and it goes on and on telling the practitioners (suckers) that they can become more powerful. The donkey and the carrot sort of thing!
Explanation:
Noel Panton: John Watt I can only go by my personal experiences and I would have to say undeniably YES
Noel Panton: Hindu Gods are all viewed as aspects of Brahman, different ways to visualize or connect with the fundamental reality Brahmin or the fundamental reality of God
John Watt: Noel Panton only Hindu God I am familiar with is Shiva. Interesting, I’ll check it out.
Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow: John, there is Shriva TM which I don’t know much about. However, after Noel’s comments I did delve into this that much further and the TM mantras chosen are designed as meaningless words, thoughts or sounds so as to be “a-religious” and not pertain to any particular religion whatsoever. That’s the beauty of TM, it’s a technique to achieve a profoundly restful state. It’s noteworthy that almost all the meditations listed are considered too difficult for the laity with their focusing on whatever, whereas the TM techniques achieve the same result seemingly with less effort. Thanks so much for the comments.
Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow: Noel as mentioned, I cannot find any names of any Hindu gods that match any of the TM mantras. Maybe you can help on that one.
Noel Panton: Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow it’s all on trancenet . How much evidence do you need
Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow: Most interesting that these Hindu gods go back to Sanskrit sources ...
Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow: Maharishi’s comments are revealing. I would suggest that these posts were written in the Christian tradition. However, I do take on board you’re concerns. As mentioned, issues of silent meditations in the Nichiren traditions seem to be too difficult for most, whereas TM is simple. I’ve never thought of it as having Hindu gods as mantras, which I have to agree does slur it, but I sense generally we only empower such mantras ourselves when we give meaning to them, whether Hindu or otherwise. The question is whether it detracts from Nichiren’s teachings? As a simple technique to achieve a profound state of restfulness prior to Gongyo, it seems not, but I could be wrong. I don’t see it as mixing the teachings. Maybe I will try using one of the other methods listed to achieve the same, but TM seems to have gone beyond its roots and is widely recommended as a useful tool for deep rest. I can’t bounce this off anyone since the SGI and NST are so radicalized anyway, and as for those in the Shu they seem a bit lost, but I sense that some form of calming centralizing meditation prior to chanting and Gongyo must be hugely beneficial. Let’s see where this takes us ...
Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow: The other point is that there’s never any claim that TM has anything to do with Nichiren’s teachings. The whole point of the post was to enlighten people to possible techniques they might be able to use as method of getting more out of their practice ... and does using a mantra that uses the name of a Hindu God equate to slander especially when Nichiren himself in goshos uses such analogies in both positive and negative senses. I agree, on the face of it, it does appear incorrect ...
Noel Panton: Just sitting in front of Gohonzon chanting the mind becomes calm. There is so much diversity of what can happen. Sometimes prayer for others, realization of important things that l need to do and answers to difficult situations, experiencing the restful awareness state that the mechanics of the TM technique without their mantras produce. Whatever is needed happens at the time!
Every now and again, one says or does something that brings you down with a bump! The posting of ‘MEDITATION 101 IN THE NICHIREN CAUCUS ... ‘ being just such an example . Firstly, the statement I made regarding “Mappo” being a Tendai-Shinto concept was completely wrong and out of order ~ and for posting this I profoundly apologies; and at the same time thank John Arundel for pointing out this error. Indeed, I don’t know where my mind was? Also Noel Panton for his strenuous efforts alerting me to the fact that TM might not be what the TM masters have led us to believe? Obviously this post got egg on my face and for anything said wrong or misled, I profoundly apologize. Both John and Noel made extremely pertinent points re Mappo and TM, as well as other points from other sources re; the origins of Mappo and TM mantras. I’m not a fan of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi so it cuts no ice at all. It does seem like the TM community has been misled, however, the origins of the Hindu gods and Vedic deities go far further back into Sanskrit times than does either Maharishi or TM ~ as does Hinduism ~ suggesting that these gods and terms are merely borrowed by Hindu tradition. The origins of Buddhism come from Brahmanism and the Vedas. Indeed, this is widely recognized. In which case, the practice of TM may not be such a slander after all. In so far as the origins of Mappo are concerned, Mappo was first mentioned in the Sutra of the Great Assembly, then the Lotus Sutra ~ and indeed many more times than Noel asserts, bringing up some very pertinent points. However, despite Noel’s concerns, I’m not so sure that TM is such an issue as Noel asserts? Indeed, the TM mantras are closely associated with the names of Hindu gods and Vedic deities. The names of these gods and deities are (as Noel posted);
TM Mantra Garland Sastra Tantra Devata
ENG, EM, ENGA, EMA, AING, AIM, AINGA, AIMA (essentially the same bija mantra) AIM AIM AIM Saraswati, Devi of learning, music, speech, the fine arts
SHIRING, SHIRIM SHREEM S’RÍM S’RÍM Mahalakshmi or Lakshmi, Devi of wealth
HIRING, HIRIM HREEM HRÍM HRÍM Bhuvanesvari, Mahamaya
KIRING, KIRIM KREEM KRÍM KRÍM Devi Kalika
SHYAM, SHYAMA Krishna
RAM, SHRIRAM (RAM plus SHRI, see below) RAM RAM RAM Agni, Deva of Fire.
I understand the TM mantras are as follows;
eng; em; enga, ema, ieng, iem, ienga, iema, Shirim, Shiring, Kirim, Kiring, hirim, hiring, and sham.
The same article as Noel posted also stated:
“When Is a Meaningless Sound Not Meaningless? When It’s a Tantric Name of a Hindu God”
This is an extraordinary comment since everything has meaning. It appears the jist of the comment is to inform those misled by TM teachers that they’ve been misled? But just because it is a Tantric name of Hindu deity, doesn’t mean that it’s bad. Indeed, the Rinmetsudo-Ji Gohonzon has many such deities just as Michael McCormick writes;
As on the Great Mandala is #81 in the Gohonzon Shu
Great Brahma Heavenly King
King Mara of the 6th Heaven
Shakra Devanam Indra
Surya (Sun)
Chandra (Moon)
Aruna (Myojo Tenji)
This is the most common Gohonzon issued by Nichiren Shu to its members (made of silk)
Devas: The Vedic Deities: On the mandala that Nichiren Shonin designed are several devas, deities from the Vedic cosmology of ancient India, which were accepted in Buddhism as the inhabitants of the heavens, the personifications of the forces of nature, fellow sentient beings in need of the Buddha’s teachings, protectors of the Buddha Dharma, and even as roles taken on by the various bodhisattvas. In many ways they are similar to the ancient Olympian gods of Greece or the Aesir of Teutonic myths. In fact, they may even have a common source in the ancient Aryan culture. Nevertheless, the Vedic gods living on and above Mt. Sumeru have not disappeared but are still worshipped directly in India within Hinduism and appear as the guardians of the Dharma, protectors of humanity, and even as embodiments of aspects of enlightenment in Buddhism. The term devas mean “shining ones.” In Philosophies of India, Heinrich Zimmer introduced the Vedic gods as follows: “Indian orthodox philosophy arose from the ancient Aryan religion of the Veda. Originally the Vedic pantheon with its host of gods depicted the universe as filled with the projections of man’s experiences and ideas about himself. The features of human birth, growth, and death, and of the process of generation were projected on the course of nature. Cosmic forces and phenomena were personalized. The lights of the heavens, the varieties and aspects of clouds and storm, forests, mountain masses and river courses, the properties of the soil, and the mysteries of the underworld were understood and dealt with in terms of the lives and commerce of divine beings who themselves reflected the human world. These gods were supermen endowed with cosmic powers and could be invited as guests to feast on oblations. They were invoked, flattered, propitiated, and pleased.” (p. 333)
Flammarion Iconographic Guides: Buddhism gives the following summary of the position of these gods, or devas, within Buddhism; “Devas are gods inhabiting the celestial stages of the world, and most of them are borrowed from the Indian pantheon. As we have seen, early Buddhism did not deny the existence of gods, but merely considered them to be spiritually inferior to the Buddha. The gods of Buddhism are not saviours, but beings with more power than humans. They live in pleasure for extremely long lives, but are nevertheless ultimately subject to the cycle of rebirth and suffering. They may be worshipped for material gain, and the earliest Buddhist literature contains stories of their service to the Buddha, and their promotion and protection of Buddhism. Thus we find the gods of the Indian pantheon assisting at all the major events in the life of the Buddha, more as attentive servants than as followers.” (p. 258)
The Guide also says; “Devas represent the first of the eight classes of supernatural beings (Japanese Hachibutshu) mentioned in the Lotus Sutra as being protectors of the Buddha and the Law, victoriously waging war on opposing forces.” (p. 260) The other seven are the nagas (dragons), the garudas (giant birds who prey on the nagas), the ashuras (the fighting demons), the yakshas (nature spirits), the gandharvas (celestial musicians), the mahoragas (giant snakes), and the kimnaras (another type of celestial musician who are half-human and half-bird). There is another class of beings associated with the devas who are called the apsaras. The apsaras are servants, court musicians, dancers, and retainers of the devas. Presumably, they are the most populous class of beings in the heavenly realms. Nichiren taught that all the gods had promised to protect those who uphold the Lotus Sutra. He frequently invoked the Vedic deities and the Shinto kami as his protectors as in the following passage from On Persecutions Befalling the Sage; “You may rest assured that nothing, not even a person possessed by a powerful demon, can harm Nichiren, because Brahma, Shakra, the gods of the sun and moon, the four heavenly kings, the Sun Goddess, and Hachiman are safeguarding him.” The other side of this, is that the gods would also abandon and punish those who slandered or turned away from the Lotus Sutra as in the following passage from his Letter to the Lay Priest Ichinosawa; “The reason, as I stated earlier, is that every single person in this country has committed the three cardinal sins. Therefore, Brahma, Shakra, the gods of the sun and moon, and the four heavenly kings have entered into the body of the Mongol ruler and are causing him to chastise our nation.” (pp. 530). Nichiren also frequently addressed prayers to the gods and encouraged his followers to do so as well, but always in the context of an overarching faith in the Lotus Sutra.
Dai Bontenno - Great Brahma Heavenly King: Brahma is a term for the highest class of deities residing in the Brahma Heavens. So in the first chapter of the Lotus Sutra, three different Brahmas are said to be present on Vulture Peak: Brahma Heavenly King, Great Brahma Sikhin, and Great Brahma Light. Great Brahma Heavenly King, however, is the chief of these and is believed to be the eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, and morally perfect creator of the world who resides in the Maha Brahma heaven of the realm of form. He is the lord of the Saha world, and the first member of the trimurti which represents the three modes of material nature: Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. In the sutras he says of himself, “I am Brahma, Great Brahma, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, the All-Powerful, the Lord, the Maker and Creator, Ruler, Appointer and Orderer, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be.” (p. 76, Long Discourses of the Buddha) Other beings believe Brahma’s self-testimony or have vague recollections of a past life in the Brahma heavens and therefore seek union with him or at least rebirth in his presence. Union with Brahma or rebirth in the Brahma heavens of the realm of form (or any of the heavens for that matter) is treated by the Buddha as a legitimate though lesser goal for those who are unable to transcend their theistic assumptions about the goal of the religious life. It is a lesser goal because it is still within the six worlds of becoming and therefore one can only abide in a heavenly existence until the causes and conditions (in this case meritorious karma) which support that life are exhausted. Furthermore, even as the preeminent or first being among beings, Brahma is still subject to rebirth in accordance with the law of cause and effect and cannot be apart from it. Brahma simply does not remember that he too came into being in the palace of Brahma due to causes and conditions at the beginning of the unfolding of the world. He believes that he is the sole cause for the creation of the world and its many beings, but once again he has overlooked the many other causes and condition involved. His self-testimony according to the Buddha is actually nothing more than self-delusion and egotism. As a being among beings who is also caught up in the round of birth and death, Brahma also must be considered in need of the Buddha’s instruction despite his pretensions.
In any case, the Buddha was sharply critical of the brahmins and their Vedic learning who claimed to teach the way to union with Brahma. In the final analysis, he pointed out that the theistic teachings are based on hearsay and are not themselves able to give direct knowledge of Brahma. As an expedient, the Buddha taught the value of purifying the mind, renouncing the householder’s life and meditating on the four infinite states of mind, “abodes of Brahma,” associated with Brahma: loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. In this way, one may be united with Brahma at death by emulating his good qualities through virtuous living and meditation. The Buddha Dharma itself, however, is able to take those who follow it far beyond even the divine realms. The Buddha had realized that even the divine states of being were phenomenal and subject to the same shortcomings as all other forms of phenomenal existence. So, while union with Brahma or rebirth in the heavens is looked upon as a worthy and attainable goal, it is not the final goal, for only the peace of nirvana can provide true peace according to the Buddha. The Buddha, however, did assert that in his past lives as a bodhisattva he too had been Brahma. According to the sutras, upon attaining enlightenment the Buddha was not sure whether he should attempt to teach others the Dharma. At that time Brahma himself came down from heaven and convinced the Buddha that he should teach and that there were those who would be able to understand. This story is recounted in chapter two of the Lotus Sutra where Brahma appears in the company of the Heavenly-King Shakra, the four heavenly kings, and many other gods. Brahma is also one of the deities who periodically makes an offering of music and showers the assembly with heavenly garments and lotus flowers. In chapter seven of the Lotus Sutra, Brahma Heavenly Kings from hundreds of billions of worlds all gathered to give offerings to Great Universal Wisdom Excellence Tathagata and requested that he turn the Wheel of the Dharma. Chapter eighteen asserts that anyone who persuades others to sit and hear the Lotus Sutra will obtain the seat of Brahma, so one of the causes by which one can become Brahma is to share the Lotus Sutra with others. Chapter nineteen asserts that Brahma will come to hear anyone who teaches the Lotus Sutra. Chapters twenty-four and twenty-five state that Bodhisattva Wonderful Voice and Bodhisattva World Voice Perceiver respectively can both transform themselves into Brahma (among many other forms) in order to expound the Dharma and save others. So based upon the testimony of the Lotus Sutra, Great Heavenly King Brahma is a devotee of the Lotus Sutra and may in fact be an appearance of one of the celestial bodhisattvas who uphold the Lotus Sutra.
Icon: A deity with four arms and four faces, each with a third eye. He is wearing the garments of an Indian king, including a crown on each head. In his upper right hand he carries a lance. The bottom right is in the Varada mudra which represents the act of making an offering. The top left arm holds a long stemmed lotus flower, while the lower left holds a vase of ambrosia. He is seated on a lotus flower which rests upon four (or seven) geese.
Dairokuten Ma-o - King Mara of the Sixth Heaven: The name Mara means “Murderer” and he is called that because he is the entity who attempts to “murder” the spiritual life of others. Though he is a personification of delusion and even evil, he is very different from the devil in other religious traditions. To begin with, he is not a leader of the fighting demons who rebel against the gods, nor does he dwell in hell. Rather, he lives in the highest heaven in the realm of desire, from whence he is able to manipulate, exploit, and trick all the other beings in the realm of desire - including the deities in the lower heavenly realms. His primary purpose is to ensure that no one escapes the cycle of birth and death. In some ways, he is like a jail warden who is trying to keep his “wards” trapped within the world of birth and death. In other ways he is like the owner of a casino who employs all kinds of entertainments and even occasional payouts in order to keep the gamblers at the roulette wheels and card tables. In the end, the gamblers always lose but Mara does his best to keep them fooled into thinking that somehow they can hit the jackpot and find ultimate happiness within the realm of desire. In the sutras, it is Mara who at first sends his daughters to seduce Siddhartha on the eve of his enlightenment. When Siddhartha sees through their beauty and reduces them to aged crones, Mara sends an army of demons to scare off the Buddha. This also fails. Siddhartha sits unmoved as the arrows and spears of the demons turn into flowers before they can hit him. Finally, Mara asks Siddhartha what entitles him to attain enlightenment. Siddhartha touches the ground and calls upon the earth itself to witness to the countless merits that he had accumulated over innumerable past lives as a bodhisattva. After his awakening, Mara tried to convince the Buddha that it would be impossible to teach anyone else the Dharma and that he should immediately enter parinirvana, but Brahma himself convinced the Buddha that it would be possible to teach others. Mara appears later in the life of the Buddha and unsuccessfully attempts to convince him to pass into parinirvana prematurely before the Dharma and the Sangha can be firmly established. Nichiren Buddhism often refers to Mara as part of the “three obstacles and the four devils” which was a teaching of Chih-i, the founder of T’ien-t’ai Buddhism. These are described in Dharma Flower:
The Faith, Teaching and Practice of Nichiren Buddhism (unpublished manuscript); “The three obstacles and the four devils were Chih-i’s way of cataloguing all the various phenomena which can keep us from practicing Buddhism. The three obstacles consist of self-centred desires or defilements, the unwholesome habits which arise from those defilements, and the painful consequences of such activity. The three obstacles describe the vicious circle created by our usual self-centred way of interacting with the world. They describe the way in which we bring so much unnecessary suffering upon ourselves, which naturally leads to further frustration and anxiety which then leads to even more selfishly motivated activities and so on, ad nauseum ... All of this keeps us mired in our own problems. If we are not careful, it will even prevent us from putting into practice the very teachings which can break the cycle; “The four devils consist of the devil of the five aggregates, the devil of the defilements, the devil of death, and the devil king of the sixth heaven. The devil of the aggregates refers to the inherent insecurity, anxiety, and outright suffering which results from trying to identify ourselves with various physical and mental components which are in constant flux. The devil of the defilements refers to the ways in which self-centred desires inevitably arise based upon the needs of the body and mind for nourishment, security, pleasurable stimulation, and self-aggrandizement. The devil of death refers to the dread, fear, and terror which arise in the face of the inevitable dissolution of the body and mind upon death. The devil king of the sixth heaven refers to those things in life which tempt us to forget about Buddhist practice and live only for worldly goals and aspirations. The devil king of the sixth heaven personifies all those people, situations, and inner impulses which tempt or threaten us to forsake Buddhism and return to the old cycle of unthinking habit, fleeting pleasures and familiar pains. One could say that the other name for the devil king of the sixth heaven is ‘the devil we know’ who attempts to frighten or cajole us away from the unfamiliar territory of liberation back into the vicious cycle of our self-centeredness.” (p.23)
Icon: A deity dressed like a great king (maharaja) draped with garlands. He holds a bow in one hand and five arrows in the other.
Shakudaikannin Dai-o - (Shakra Devanam Indra ) a.k.a. Taishakuten (Shakra): Indra is the ruler of the other thirty-two devas in the Heaven of the Thirty-three gods at the summit of Mt. Sumeru and also commander-in-chief of the Four Heavenly Kings. He is the god of thunder and lightning, the bringer of rain, the most powerful of the gods in the realm of desire, and the leader in the fight against the fighting demons (asuras) who constantly plot and scheme to overthrow the gods and on occasion even attempt to storm the heavenly palaces on the slopes of Mt. Sumeru. The name Shakra means “the mighty”, Devanam means “chief of the gods,” and Indra means “lord.” Indra is also known as Vajrapani which means the “Vajra Wielder.” He is called this because the thunderbolt which he wields is called the “vajra” or “diamond pounder.” Unlike the aloof and serene Brahma who sees himself as the omnipotent creator, Indra sees himself as the mighty lord who leads the heavenly hosts. Indra is also a follower of the Buddha and a protector of the Dharma. In fact, Indra often appears to test the resolve, patience, generosity, and compassion of the bodhisattvas, including Shakyamuni Buddha in his past lives. As an example, in the Nirvana Sutra, the story is told of how the bodhisattva who would become Shakyamuni Buddha was once a youth practicing asceticism in the Himalayas. Indra transformed himself into a ferocious demon (raskshasa) and began reciting the verse “All is changeable, nothing is constant. This is the law of birth and death.” The boy insisted on hearing the rest of the verse, but the demon demanded that the boy offer himself as food after hearing it. The boy agreed, so the rakshasa recited “Extinguishing the cycle of birth and death, one enters the joy of nirvana.” The boy inscribed the complete verse on all the surrounding rocks and trees and then leaped into the demon’s mouth, but at the last moment Indra changed back into himself and caught the boy in his arms. In other past lives, while still practicing as a bodhisattva, the Buddha himself appeared as Indra. The other bodhisattvas are also reborn, at times, as Indra. Indra is also well known for his net. The Net of Indra is said to cover the universe and contains jewels in each of its interstices which all reflect one another. This is a model for the interdependent nature of all phenomena according to the Buddha’s teachings. This image is especially associated with the Flower Garland Sutra. In chapter two of the Lotus Sutra, Indra is one of the deities who accompanies Brahma when he convinces the Buddha that he should teach the Dharma. Indra is also one of the deities who offers the assembly heavenly garments, lotus flowers and music. Chapter eighteen asserts that anyone who persuades others to sit and hear the Lotus Sutra will obtain the seat of Indra, so one of the causes by which one can become Indra is to share the Lotus Sutra with others. Chapter nineteen asserts that Indra will come to hear anyone who teaches the Lotus Sutra. Chapters twenty-four and twenty-five state that Bodhisattva Wonderful Voice and Bodhisattva World Voice Perceiver respectively can both transform themselves into Indra (among many other forms) in order to expound the Dharma and save others. So based upon the testimony of the Lotus Sutra, Indra is a devotee of the Lotus Sutra and may in fact be an appearance of one of the celestial bodhisattvas who uphold the Lotus Sutra.
Icon: A golden deity with a third eye in armor holding a vajra in his right hand, and with his left hand curled in a fist and resting on his hip. He sits in the posture of royal ease atop a white elephant which holds another vajra in its trunk.
Dai Nittenno (Surya) - Surya is the Vedic god of the sun, and one of the thirty-three gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-three. In esoteric Buddhism, Surya represents bodhicitta, the aspiration to attain enlightenment for all sentient beings.
Icon: A deity holding a sun disc in his right hand, his closed left hand rests on his hip. He is seated upon a lotus which is carried by three horses.
Dai Gattenji (Chandra) - Chandra is the Vedic god of the moon, and one of the thirty-three gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-three. In esoteric Buddhism, Chandra represents the universal purity of the buddha-nature which cools the passions and removes the three poisons.
Icon: A deity holding a moon disc in his right hand, his closed left hand rests on his hip. He is seated upon a lotus which is carried by three geese.
Myojo Tenji (Aruna): According to The Myths and Gods of India; “The Sun’s charioteer is the Red-One (Aruna), the wise elder brother of the bird Wings-of-Speech (Garuda). Aruna, like the resplendent Vivasvat, also a son of Kasyapa, is the deity of dawn. He stands on the chariot in front of the Sun, and his strong body shelters the world from the Sun’s fury. Aruna is said to be more beautiful even than the Moon.” (p.95). And although Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has most certainly misled TM followers over the nature of these Mantras, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the practice of TM is wrong so far as Nichiren’s Buddhism is concerned ~ especially when the Rinmetsudo-Ji Gohonzon itself contains so many Hindu deities and Vedic gods? Furthermore, the Rinmetsudo-Ji is a most interesting Gohonzon, since it’s the only one to contain “Maitreya”. Moreover, it is the primary Gohonzon used by the Nichiren Shu. However, Noel did note; “the TM technique itself is great and as you stated we can use the breath or daimoku as a point of reference to come back to when we get lost in the thought jungle of the mind. I have found this process happens during the practice of chanting while focusing on the Gohonzon. Don’t need to do a supporting practice before or after chanting. Nam[u] Myoho Renge Kyo is complete in itself no appetizers or deserts necessary. But this is my experience and each to their own as we are all need to go through whatever on this journey! Just sitting in front of Gohonzon chanting the mind becomes calm. There is so much diversity of what can happen. Sometimes prayer for others, realisation of important things that l need to do and answers to difficult situations, experiencing the restful awareness state that the mechanics of the TM technique without their mantras produce. Whatever is needed happens at the time!” But that isn’t exactly what I meant even though TM could be construed as a supporting practice. In the same vein anything that supports our lives could also be construed as a supportive practice. The whole point of TM is a method through which we can profoundly calm the mind, no bad thing during these hyped up times, especially prior to doing Gongyo, when we need 100% focus ~although often easier said than done! And as mentioned, meditations done in the Nichiren Shu tradition are not so easily achieved, at least not to the same depth. According to scientists measuring deep states of restfulness, no other technique has been found to achieve such a state of deep rest. I know those practicing Nichiren’s teachings would likely argue the point otherwise claiming that any other practices demean Nichiren’s teaching just as Noel explained; “Nam[u] Myoho Renge Kyo is complete in itself no appetizers or deserts necessary.” (The [u] gives Noel away lol!). But practicing TM is nor about detracting from what Nichiren taught, but enhancing it. As far as I know, none of the meditations practiced by the Shu or otherwise leads to such a profound state of restfulness and clarity of thought ???
The whole point was to help those practicing Nichiren’s teachings get more out of their practice, it wasn’t suggested as method of slandering Nichiren’s teachings in any way by mixing TM into the brew, but just a way of of calming our minds prior to Gongyo when feeling extremely anxed or distressed after a hectic day. Sometimes, one is just too distressed by events to do Gongyo, and the use some technique or other, whether based on Brahmanism, the Vedas or Hinduism seems immaterial in the context of all listed above? I could very well be wrong? Surely any practice through which we can profoundly calm ourselves must be hugely beneficial? This is the very reason why the Nichiren Shu and other Nichiren sects encourage a few minutes of silent meditation before and after Gongyo. Is this so wrong, although the more fundamental question must be whether such a practice as TM is slanderous? But this goes to the core of the argument and I’m not so sure that it is, simply because Buddhism, and by default Nichiren Buddhism, originated from Brahmanism, Hinduism and the Vedas. Gods and deities written on the Gohonzon reflect these origins and since all the Hindu gods that make up the TM mantras are also found in Sanskrit writings, I’m not so sure using TM is a slanderous act? After all, everything is contained within the Honmon O’daimoku of Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo ~ and TM is just another example of this ...MBB. C.
Noel Panton: The TM mantra’s are not meaningless but they say that so we don’t associate anything with-it as this meditation is designed to stop thinking...to transcend thought and into the unified field of creative consciousness....this happens to me while chanting in front of Nichiren’s 10 world Gohonzons while doing ordinary Daimoku.. TM’s mantras are the name of demi Gods of the Hindu pantheon. They all have special significance. Nichiren said not to mix practices! The method or technique in itself presents no challenge to the practice of O’daimoku, it’s just a method of calming oneself prior to the main practice ...
Noel Panton Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow. Putting it into perspective: “More important is figuring out whether the Ongi Kuden was forged. Now that’s really mixing Nichiren’s teachings. You have got to come down to Earth since there are just too many clangers ...” “The Buddha’s advice to the Kalamas, determining what is true or not should not be based on hearsay, or what some authority figure said, or on tradition but on what you yourself know to be true in your heart. If you go against this criteria then you are not a Buddhist but just another dogmatist who is using Buddhism as an external authority to bolster your own insecurity.” Also, I must stress that for the purposes of religious cultivation what matters is not who said it but what is said and the value of that. The Lotus Sutra itself is “apocryphal” and certainly not the verbatim words of the historical Shakyamuni Buddha ~ Michael McCormick
Noel, regarding any writings, if they’re not in the authors hand they MUST be viewed with some suspicion, unless notarized by the original author. Thank the powers that be that the original of the Kanjin Honzon Sho has been found. This is not rocket science but common sense. Furthermore, not only are the Ongi Kuden and The Twenty-Six Admonitions not in Nikko’s hand, but are full of clangers. Noel Panton Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow As an ecological restoration technician the land l work on is a mixture of weeds and Native species..The OTT is like the land and so are the writings under Nichiren’s name. Or When Is a Meaningless Sound Not Meaningless? When It’s a Tantric Name of a Hindu God. Primary-source selections below give much more detail, but “Table 1” lists common TM mantras with their associated gods. (Please note that English orthography varies somewhat, but the Sanskrit is basically the same in all sources quoted. Also the termination consonant, either “m” or “ng,” known as the Candra-bindu, are both the same nasal in Sanskrit and don’t appear to change the meaning.)
What’s Your Mantra Mean? TM Mantra Garland Sastra Tantra Devata
ENG, EM, ENGA, EMA, AING, AIM, AINGA, AIMA (essentially the same bija mantra) AIM AIM AIM Saraswati, Devi of learning, music, speech, the fine arts
SHIRING, SHIRIM SHREEM S’RÍM S’RÍM Mahalakshmi or Lakshmi, Devi of wealth
HIRING, HIRIM HREEM HRÍM HRÍM Bhuvanesvari, Mahamaya
KIRING, KIRIM KREEM KRÍM KRÍM Devi Kalika
SHYAM, SHYAMA Krishna
RAM, SHRIRAM (RAM plus SHRI, see below) RAM RAM RAM Agni, Deva of Fire
For a comprehensive discussion of how TM teachers picked your mantra, see Mike Doughney’s MINET.ORG. (We know of some mantra lists that differ from MINET’s in minimal ways.)
According to Tantric scholar Sir John Woodroffe’s Garland of Letters, Indian scriptures such as the Tantra of the Great Nirvana, and commentaries on the Mantra Sastra, the TM mantras are hardly secret. They have been widely available throughout India for centuries. They are known as bija or seed mantras, used to worship various devatas or Hindu deities. The Maharishi himself, in a quote from the Beacon Light of the Himalyas, admits that the mantras he dispenses invoke householder gods: “For our practice, we select only the suitable mantras of personal Gods. Such mantras fetch to us the grace of personal Gods and make us happier in every walk of life.” (Beacon Light of the Himalyas, Maharishi [Bala Brahmachari] Mahesh Yogi [Maharaj], 1955, p. 65
Where Did the Maharishi Learn the Mantras? According to sources quoted in Paul Mason’s The Maharishi and a current Shankracharya and co-disciple of the Maharishi’s dead master, Guru Dev, the TM mantras do not come from the tradition of Shankara. Where do they come from? There is some indication that the Maharishi patterned his teachings about mantra-based meditation after Swami Sivananda. Sworn court documents from the Kropinski trial point out striking similarities. And Sivananda’s career in Rishikesh, around the time Guru Dev (the Maharshi’s master) died, clearly parallels the Maharishi’s own. Creation has two sides: intelligence, which is the cause of everything, and the manifestations of intelligence, which are the physical and psychological features of the everyday world. Because Transcendental Meditation directly approaches intelligence, rather than the manifestations of intelligence, it solves problems by introducing harmony and well-being at the most basic level, and not by dealing with problems themselves. That’s why it is so effective.
Maharishi: The basic difference is that Transcendental Meditation, in addition to its simplicity, concerns itself only with the mind. Other systems often involve some additional aspects with which the mind is associated, such as breathing or physical exercises. They can be a little complicated because they deal with so many things. But with Transcendental Meditation there is no possibility of any interference. So we say this is the all-simple program, enabling the conscious mind to fathom the whole range of its existence. Transcendental Meditation ranges from active mind - or performing mind - to quiet mind - or resting mind. In this resting mind, one has purity and simplicity, uninvolved with anything other than the mind, uninvolved with any other practice. In Transcendental Meditation, because we deal only with the mind, we nourish all expressions of intelligence. The mind meditates, gains Transcendental Consciousness and brings about transformation in different fields of manifestation. All fields of life, which are the expression of intelligence, are nourished or transformed and made better through experiencing Transcendental Consciousness. The mind, of course, is always concerned with other aspects, such as the physiology of the body, the environment, and the whole universe for that matter. But since Transcendental Meditation deals only with the performance of the mind, from its active states to its settled state, it remains unconcerned with those other aspects, though it deals with them all, because intelligence deals with them all. -- Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, unknown interview, copyright presumably held by Maharishi Vedic University, The Maharishi Foundation, or another group within the TM family.
Noel Panton: Hindu Gods are all viewed as aspects of Brahman, different ways to visualize or connect with the fundamental reality Brahmin or the fundamental reality of God
Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow: Maharishi’s comments are revealing. I would suggest that these posts were written in the Christian tradition. However, I do take on board you’re concerns. As mentioned, issues of silent meditations in the Nichiren traditions seem to be too difficult for most, whereas TM is simple. I’ve never thought of it as having Hindu gods as mantras, which I have to agree does slur it, but I sense generally we only empower such mantras ourselves when we give meaning to them, whether Hindu or otherwise. The question is whether it detracts from Nichiren’s teachings? As a simple technique to achieve a profound state of restfulness prior to Gongyo, it seems not, but I could be wrong. I don’t see it as mixing the teachings. Maybe I will try using one of the other methods listed to achieve the same, but TM seems to have gone beyond its roots and is widely recommended as a useful tool for deep rest. I can’t bounce this off anyone since the SGI and NST are so radicalized anyway, and as for those in the Shu they seem a bit lost, but I sense that some form of calming centralizing meditation prior to chanting and Gongyo must be hugely beneficial. Let’s see where this takes us ...
Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow:The other point is that there’s never any claim that TM has anything to do with Nichiren’s teachings. The whole point of the post was to enlighten people to possible techniques they might be able to use as method of getting more out of their practice ... and does using a mantra that uses the name of a Hindu God equate to slander especially when Nichiren himself in goshos uses such analogies in both positive and negative senses. I agree, on the face of it, it does appear incorrect ...
Noel Panton: Just sitting in front of Gohonzon chanting the mind becomes calm. There is so much diversity of what can happen. Sometimes prayer for others, realisation of important things that l need to do and answers to difficult situations, experiencing the restful awareness state that the mechanics of the TM technique without their mantras produce. Whatever is needed happens at the time!
John Arundel: You wrote: “Mappo is based on Tendai-Shinto concepts and should be dropped immediately.” Really? Mappo is described by Shakyamuni Buddha in both the Sutra of the Great Assembly (Daijuku-kyo) and the Lotus Sutra. Additionally, both the Great Teachers Tiantai, Miaole, and Dengyo refer to the age of Mappo as when the Great Pure Law will emerge. The concept of Mappo is absolutely central to the Daishonin’s thought and his advent into this world. It is mentioned countless times in the Gosho. There is not one credible scholar that denies this. Here is a passage from one of the Daishonin’s most important treaties “Kanjin no honzon-sho”: “Out of great compassion for those who were unaware of the doctrine of ichinen sanzen (three-thousand realms in a single life-moment), the Buddha wrapped this gem within the five characters and used it to decorate the necks of those in the Latter Day who do not possess the seed of Buddhahood.” (Gosho, p. 661) How can you say the concept of Mappo should be “dropped immediately”?
John, thanks for this. My understandings of Mappo is that it’s an idea that is a carry-over from the Tendai, which makes sense in the context in which you put it. I need to research this that much further, but we need to extremely careful especially since NST have incorporated so many Tendai concepts ... The Three Ages of Buddhism are three divisions of time following Buddha’s passing:[1][2]
Former Day of the Dharma — also known as the “Age of the Right Dharma” (Chinese: 正法; pinyin: Zhèng Fǎ; Japanese: shōbō), the first thousand years (or 500 years) during which the Buddha’s disciples are able to uphold the Buddha’s teachings;[3]
Middle Day of the Dharma — also known as the “Age of Semblance Dharma” (Chinese: 像法; pinyin: Xiàng Fǎ; Japanese: zōhō), the second thousand years (or 500 years), which only resembles the right Dharma;[4]
Latter Day of the Dharma — also known as “the Degenerate Age of Dharma” (Chinese: 末法; pinyin: Mò Fǎ; Japanese: mappō), which is to last for 10,000 years during which the Dharma declines.[5]. In the Sutra of the Great Assembly (Sanskrit: Maha-Samnipata Sutra; Japanese: Daijuku-kyō), the three periods are further divided into five five-hundred year periods (五五百歳, Chinese: wǔ wǔ bǎi sùi; Japanese: go no gohyaku sai), the fifth and last of which was prophesied to be when the Buddhism of Shakyamuni Buddha would lose all power of salvation and a new Buddha would appear to save the people. This time period would be characterized by unrest, strife, famine, and natural disasters.[6]. The three periods are significant to Mahayana adherents, particularly those who hold the Lotus Sutra in high regard, namely the Tiantai and Tendai and Nichiren Buddhism, who believe that different Buddhist teachings are valid (i.e., able to lead practitioners to enlightenment) in each period due to the different capacity to accept a teaching (機根, Chinese: jīgēn; Japanese: kikon) of the people born in each respective period.
Noel Panton: John Arundel The Latter Day of the Law (Mappo) is mentioned in 13 Goshos!
Noel Panton: The TM mantra’s are not meaningless but they say that so we don’t associate anything with-it as this meditation is designed to stop thinking...to transcend thought and into the unified field of creative consciousness....this happens to me while chanting in front of Nichiren’s 10 world Gohonzons while doing ordinary Daimoku.. TM’s mantras are the name of demi Gods of the Hindu pantheon. They all have special significance. Nichiren said not to mix practices!
Hmmmm. You may be right, but I’ve suffered no ill effects, in fact the complete opposite. Yes TM hails from Shriva TM, so what you say makes sense, but from what I understand the technique solicites a profound state of restfulness, whether the mantra is derived from names of demi-God’s or not. The method or technique in itself presents no challenge to the practice of O’daimoku, it’s just a method of calming oneself prior to the main practice ... But surely mixing practices is like having pictures of Jesus all around your butsudan or such like, or reading the bible instead of the gosho when practicing O’daimoku to the Gohonzon ??? Not a simple meditation technique ?
Noel: You seem to be wrong about the names of the demi-God’s in the Hindu pantheon as TM mantras. I’ve just checked the listings of these demi gods and not one comes anywhere close to any of the TM mantras. So it’s not mixing deities of Hinduism into the practice. We are trying to get away from SGI/NST hocus pocus and buying into such nonsense is doing exactly that. The technique is purely mechanical in that it induces a deep state of transcendence, which surely is the complete opposite of mixing anything, since you’ve transcended everything and anything TO MIX lol. I think you’re barking up the wrong tree. More important is figuring out whether the Ongi Kuden was forged. Now that’s really mixing Nichiren’s teachings. You have got to come down to Earth since there are just too many clangers ...
Noel Panton: Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow the TM technique itself is great and as you stated we can use the breath or daimoku as a point of reference to come back to when we get lost in the thought jungle of the mind. I have found this process happens during the practice of chanting while focusing on the Gohonzon. Don’t need to do a supporting practice before or after chanting. Nam[u] Myoho Renge Kyo is complete in itself no appetizers or deserts necessary. But this is my experience and each to their own as we are all need to go through whatever on this journey!
Noel Panton: Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow Putting it into perspective: “More important is figuring out whether the Ongi Kuden was forged. Now that’s really mixing Nichiren’s teachings. You have got to come down to Earth since there are just too many clangers ...” “The Buddha’s advice to the Kalamas, determining what is true or not should not be based on hearsay, or what some authority figure said, or on tradition but on what you yourself know to be true in your heart. If you go against this criteria then you are not a Buddhist but just another dogmatist who is using Buddhism as an external authority to bolster your own insecurity.” Also, I must stress that for the purposes of religious cultivation what matters is not who said it but what is said and the value of that. The Lotus Sutra itself is “apocryphal” and certainly not the verbatim words of the historical Shakyamuni Buddha ~ Michael McCormick
Noel, regarding any writings, if they’re not in the authors hand they MUST be viewed with some suspicion, unless notarized by the original author. Thank the powers that be that the original of the Kanjin Honzon Sho has been found. This is not rocket science but common sense. Furthermore, not only are the Ongi Kuden and The Twenty Six Admonitions not in Nikko’s hand, but are full of clangers.
Noel Panton: Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow As an ecological restoration technician the land l work on is a mixture of weeds and Native species..The OTT is like the land and so are the writings under Nichiren’s name.
Noel Panton: Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow Noel. You seem to be wrong about the names of the demi-God’s in the Hindu pantheon as TM mantras. I’ve just checked the listings of these demi gods and not one comes anywhere close to any of the TM mantras.” The TM mantras are an anglicized version that have been derived from various devatas, Hindu deities that are Tantric Names of a Hindu Gods. Your source of information must be wrong because this is correct as I have practiced TM so I can verify the following is true: http://minet.org/www.trancenet.net/secrets/mantras.shtml Or When Is a Meaningless Sound Not Meaningless? When It’s a Tantric Name of a Hindu God Primary-source selections below give much more detail, but “Table 1” lists common TM mantras with their associated gods. (Please note that English orthography varies somewhat, but the Sanskrit is basically the same in all sources quoted. Also the termination consonant, either “m” or “ng,” known as the Candra-bindu, are both the same nasal in Sanskrit and don’t appear to change the meaning.)
What’s Your Mantra Mean?
TM Mantra Garland Sastra Tantra Devata
ENG, EM, ENGA, EMA, AING, AIM, AINGA, AIMA (essentially the same bija mantra) AIM AIM AIM Saraswati, Devi of learning, music, speech, the fine arts
SHIRING, SHIRIM SHREEM S’RÍM S’RÍM Mahalakshmi or Lakshmi, Devi of wealth
HIRING, HIRIM HREEM HRÍM HRÍM Bhuvanesvari, Mahamaya
KIRING, KIRIM KREEM KRÍM KRÍM Devi Kalika
SHYAM, SHYAMA Krishna
RAM, SHRIRAM (RAM plus SHRI, see below) RAM RAM RAM Agni, Deva of Fire
For a comprehensive discussion of how TM teachers picked your mantra, see Mike Doughney’s MINET.ORG. (We know of some mantra lists that differ from MINET’s in minimal ways.) According to Tantric scholar Sir John Woodroffe’s Garland of Letters, Indian scriptures such as the Tantra of the Great Nirvana, and commentaries on the Mantra Sastra, the TM mantras are hardly secret. They have been widely available throughout India for centuries. They are known as bija or seed mantras, used to worship various devatas or Hindu deities. The Maharishi himself, in a quote from the Beacon Light of the Himalyas, admits that the mantras he dispenses invoke householder gods: “For our practice, we select only the suitable mantras of personal Gods. Such mantras fetch to us the grace of personal Gods and make us happier in every walk of life.” (Beacon Light of the Himalyas, Maharishi [Bala Brahmachari] Mahesh Yogi [Maharaj], 1955, p. 65
Where Did the Maharishi Learn the Mantras? According to sources quoted in Paul Mason’s The Maharishi and a current Shankracharya and co-disciple of the Maharishi’s dead master, Guru Dev, the TM mantras do not come from the tradition of Shankara. Where do they come from?
There is some indication that the Maharishi patterned his teachings about mantra-based meditation after Swami Sivananda. Sworn court documents from the Kropinski trial point out striking similarities. And Sivananda’s career in Rishikesh, around the time Guru Dev (the Maharshi’s master) died, clearly parallels the Maharishi’s own.
About Mantra Selection Criteria: MINET.ORG details the age and sex criteria that TM used over the years to select mantras. But there’s more to the story. On TranceNet editor John M. Knapp’s TM Teacher Training Course (Leysin, Switzerland, 1978), one of the course participant’s questioned the Maharishi closely about mantra selection. (From Knapp’s personal transcriptions.). The criteria you gave us say, 3 to 5 and 5 to 10 years. Which mantra do we use if they are 5?
“Three to five must mean until five. After that we use the next mantra.”
What if it’s the student’s birthday?
“The age they are that day.”
What if it’s their birthday tomorrow or next week?
“The same. The age they are that day.”
What if a “lady” lies about her age on the initiation form?
“That’s not our concern,” the Maharishi giggles. “The teacher is not responsible for a student’s karma.”
What if a TM teacher makes a mistake?
“It doesn’t matter much,” the Maharishi replied in apparent amused exasperation. “All the mantras are good for all the people.”
So much for the TM movement’s claims of unique mantras, scientifically selected according to ancient and secret formulas from the Shankaracharya tradition.” Noel Panton http://minet.org/www.trancenet.net/secrets/mantras.shtml
Advanced Techniques & What TM Teachers Knew? As TM teachers we were officially told repeatedly that “the mantras had no meaning for the meditators.”Like a lot of the language in the TM movement, this was fairly wisely. You’ll notice that the statement doesn’t read, “the mantras have no meaning.” Most of us as insiders understood this to mean that they had no meaning for the meditators, because we didn’t tell them the meaning. We saw tapes of Maharishi where he repeatedly explained that the sounds of the mantras, especially as one approaches transcendence, had the effect of summoning very refined “impulses of creative intelligence.” In other tapes, he explained that the “impulses of creative intelligence” or “laws of nature” were devas such as Indra, Agni, and so forth. He also explicitly said that in the proper state of consciousness, that repeating the name of “impulses of creative intelligence” in Sanskrit had the effect of creating or summoning the “form.” Nearly every TM teacher knew from reading “Beacon Light of the Himalyas,” from other TM teachers, and so forth that the mantras are actually the names or invocations for Hindu devas. In the 70s, Time magazine and other publications printed lists of translated mantras. Nearly every teacher had read such articles and knew that the mantras had meaning. Finally, every TM teacher had to memorize and pass innumerable tests on the word-by-word vocabulary in the puja. So every single TM teacher in the world is well aware that the word “shri” means “glorious or self-effulgent,” and “namah” means “I bow down.” So any TM teacher who tells you that they don’t know that the advanced techniques mean “I bow down to the glorious [deva]” is lying to you. For instance, the technique “SHRI AING NAMAH” translates as “I bow down to the glorious AING [Saraswati].”
For TM-EX’s explanation of advanced techniques, see Mike Doughney’s MINET.ORG
Note that there are other versions of the advanced techniques.]
Creation has two sides: intelligence, which is the cause of everything, and the manifestations of intelligence, which are the physical and psychological features of the everyday world. Because Transcendental Meditation directly approaches intelligence, rather than the manifestations of intelligence, it solves problems by introducing harmony and well-being at the most basic level, and not by dealing with problems themselves. That’s why it is so effective. Consider this example: The gardener supplies water to the root of a tree. That water, that nourishment, then reaches all parts of the tree - leaves, branches, flowers, fruit - through the sap. We can think of the sap as analogous to intelligence and the green leaves or yellow flowers as analogous to the manifestations of the intelligence. The leaves and flowers are the intelligence of the sap, after it has been transformed. So intelligence - like the leaves and flowers of a tree - appears as the many different forms of manifest life. Those manifestations include every aspect of existence, from the material and physiological, through the psychological, intellectual, and spiritual. All of those features of life come from transformations of intelligence. In meditation, we directly meet this essential intelligence. Therefore, we have the possibility of nourishing all of its other levels, and thus all levels of manifestation, in a way that is harmoniously related to the whole universe. How is Transcendental Meditation different from the various other forms of meditation? Maharishi: The basic difference is that Transcendental Meditation, in addition to its simplicity, concerns itself only with the mind. Other systems often involve some additional aspects with which the mind is associated, such as breathing or physical exercises. They can be a little complicated because they deal with so many things. But with Transcendental Meditation there is no possibility of any interference. So we say this is the all-simple program, enabling the conscious mind to fathom the whole range of its existence. Transcendental Meditation ranges from active mind - or performing mind - to quiet mind - or resting mind. In this resting mind, one has purity and simplicity, uninvolved with anything other than the mind, uninvolved with any other practice. In Transcendental Meditation, because we deal only with the mind, we nourish all expressions of intelligence. The mind meditates, gains Transcendental Consciousness and brings about transformation in different fields of manifestation. All fields of life, which are the expression of intelligence, are nourished or transformed and made better through experiencing Transcendental Consciousness. The mind, of course, is always concerned with other aspects, such as the physiology of the body, the environment, and the whole universe for that matter. But since Transcendental Meditation deals only with the performance of the mind, from its active states to its settled state, it remains unconcerned with those other aspects, though it deals with them all, because intelligence deals with them all. -- Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, unknown interview, copyright presumably held by Maharishi Vedic University, The Maharishi Foundation, or another group within the TM family. Cults come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Categories of cults that are recruiting successfully today include:
Eastern meditation: characterized by belief in God-consciousness, becoming one with God. The leader usually distorts and Eastern-based philosophy or religion. Members sometimes learn to disregard worldly possessions and may take on an ascetic lifestyle. Techniques used: meditation, repeated mantras, altered states of consciousness, trance states. Religious: marked by belief in salvation, afterlife, sometimes combined with an apocalyptic view. The leader reinterprets the Scriptures and often claims to be a prophet if not the messiah. Often the group is strict, sometimes using physical punishments such as paddling and birching, especially on children. Members are encouraged to spend a great deal of time proselytizing. (Note: included here are Bible-based neo-Christian and other religious cults, many considered syncretic since they combine beliefs and practices). Techniques used: speaking in tongues, chanting, praying, isolation, lengthy study sessions, many hours spent evangelizing, “struggle” (or criticism) and confession sessions. Political, racist, terrorist: fueled by belief in changing society, revolution, overthrowing the “enemy” or getting rid of evil forces. The leader professes to be all-knowing and all-powerful. Often the group is armed and meets in secret with coded language, handshakes, and other ritualized practices. Members consider themselves an elite cadre ready to go to battle. Techniques used: paramilitary training, reporting on one another, guilt, fear, struggle sessions, instilled paranoia, long hours of indoctrination. -- Captive
John Watt: Do these tantric names for deities have any power?
Noel Panton: John Watt Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow Here is an example of one of the many Bija Mantras in it’s original form that becomes anglicized and sold with the technique to new TM Practitioners and latter given add on’s called advanced techniques for plenty of more dollars and it goes on and on telling the practitioners (suckers) that they can become more powerful. The donkey and the carrot sort of thing!
Explanation:
Noel Panton: John Watt I can only go by my personal experiences and I would have to say undeniably YES
Noel Panton: Hindu Gods are all viewed as aspects of Brahman, different ways to visualize or connect with the fundamental reality Brahmin or the fundamental reality of God
John Watt: Noel Panton only Hindu God I am familiar with is Shiva. Interesting, I’ll check it out.
Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow: John, there is Shriva TM which I don’t know much about. However, after Noel’s comments I did delve into this that much further and the TM mantras chosen are designed as meaningless words, thoughts or sounds so as to be “a-religious” and not pertain to any particular religion whatsoever. That’s the beauty of TM, it’s a technique to achieve a profoundly restful state. It’s noteworthy that almost all the meditations listed are considered too difficult for the laity with their focusing on whatever, whereas the TM techniques achieve the same result seemingly with less effort. Thanks so much for the comments.
Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow: Noel as mentioned, I cannot find any names of any Hindu gods that match any of the TM mantras. Maybe you can help on that one.
Noel Panton: Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow it’s all on trancenet . How much evidence do you need
Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow: Most interesting that these Hindu gods go back to Sanskrit sources ...
Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow: Maharishi’s comments are revealing. I would suggest that these posts were written in the Christian tradition. However, I do take on board you’re concerns. As mentioned, issues of silent meditations in the Nichiren traditions seem to be too difficult for most, whereas TM is simple. I’ve never thought of it as having Hindu gods as mantras, which I have to agree does slur it, but I sense generally we only empower such mantras ourselves when we give meaning to them, whether Hindu or otherwise. The question is whether it detracts from Nichiren’s teachings? As a simple technique to achieve a profound state of restfulness prior to Gongyo, it seems not, but I could be wrong. I don’t see it as mixing the teachings. Maybe I will try using one of the other methods listed to achieve the same, but TM seems to have gone beyond its roots and is widely recommended as a useful tool for deep rest. I can’t bounce this off anyone since the SGI and NST are so radicalized anyway, and as for those in the Shu they seem a bit lost, but I sense that some form of calming centralizing meditation prior to chanting and Gongyo must be hugely beneficial. Let’s see where this takes us ...
Murraysburg Bodhisattvas Vow: The other point is that there’s never any claim that TM has anything to do with Nichiren’s teachings. The whole point of the post was to enlighten people to possible techniques they might be able to use as method of getting more out of their practice ... and does using a mantra that uses the name of a Hindu God equate to slander especially when Nichiren himself in goshos uses such analogies in both positive and negative senses. I agree, on the face of it, it does appear incorrect ...
Noel Panton: Just sitting in front of Gohonzon chanting the mind becomes calm. There is so much diversity of what can happen. Sometimes prayer for others, realization of important things that l need to do and answers to difficult situations, experiencing the restful awareness state that the mechanics of the TM technique without their mantras produce. Whatever is needed happens at the time!