Gosho Study

 

“The Opening of the Eyes (2)”                   

 

Learning from the Gosho:  The Eternal Teachings of Nichiren Daishonin,  Pgs. 59-72

Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 2, pages 59-188 [71-214]

Living Buddhism, March 1998, Pages 6-11

 

 

 

         Possible supplemental resources:

 

 

 

Background:  Please refer to The Opening of the Eyes (1) packet

 

 

 

Pg.  2         1.  Revealing the Buddha in terms of the Person

 

 

 

Pg.  4         2.  Sovereign

 

 

 

Pg. 8          3.  Teacher

 

 

 

Pg. 11        4.  Parent

 

 

 

Pg. 17        5.  Revealing Buddhahood

 

 

 

 

 

1.  Revealing the Buddha in terms of the Person

 

         For some time now I have known that this nation is destined for destruction.  I knew that, if I reported this to the ruler, and if it were still possible that the nation might be preserved in peace and safety, then he would surely ask me to clarify [the meaning of my words]; but if the nation were indeed doomed, then the ruler would not heed my advice.  And if he did not heed my advice, then I knew that I would most likely be condemned to exile or execution.  Yet the Buddha has warned us:  “If, while understanding this matter, you still hesitate to risk your life and therefore do not declare it to the people, then you are not only my enemy but the deadly enemy of all living beings and are bound to fall into the great citadel of the Avichi Hell.”

         At this point I became troubled as to how to proceed.  If I spoke out with regard to this matter, there was no telling what might become of me.  My own safety was of little concern, but suppose that my parents, brothers and perhaps even one other person out of a thousand or ten thousand should follow me.  They, too, would surely be hated by both the ruler and the common people.  And if they were so hated, then, not having a full understanding of the Buddhist teachings, they would find it difficult to endure the attacks of others.  Though they had supposed that, by practicing the Buddha’s Law, they would gain peace and security, in fact they would find that, because they had embraced this teaching, they were beset by great hardships.  In that case they would then slander this Law as a distorted teaching and therefore fall into the evil paths.  How pitiful that would be!

         But if, on the other hand, I failed to speak out on this matter, then not only would I be going against the vow I made to the Buddha, but I would become the deadly enemy of all living beings and be condemned without fail to the Avichi Hell.  Thus, though I had debated which course of action to take, I made up my mind to speak out.

         I felt that once I had begun to speak out, it would not do to falter or desist along the way, and so I spoke out with ever-increasing vigor.  Then, just as the Buddha’s words in the sutra had predicted, the ruler grew hostile and the common people began to attack me.  And because they treated me with enmity, heaven grew enraged, the sun and moon displayed great changes in their behavior, and huge comets appeared.  The earth shook as though it would turn over, internecine strife broke out within the nation, and a foreign country attacked from without.  All happened just as the Buddha had predicted, and there was no longer any doubt the I, Nichiren, am the votary of the Lotus Sutra.

      Reply to Takahashi Nyudo, MW-6, 128-129

 

In judging the relative merit of Buddhist doctrines, I, Nichiren, believe that the best standards are those of reason and documentary proof.  And even more valuable than reason and documentary proof is the proof of actual fact. 

      Three Tripitaka Masters Pray for Rain, MW-6, 111

 

I, Nichiren, have also put my trust in this deity [Nitten, the god of the sun], and in this manner have carried on my struggles in Japan over the past several years.  Already I have the feeling that I have achieved victory.

         Consecrating an Image of Shakyamuni Buddha Made by Shijo Kingo, MW-6, 165

 

I, Nichiren, am the only person who is aware of this.  If, begrudging my life, I should refrain from speaking out, I would not only be failing to repay the debt of gratitude I owe to my country, but I would also be acting as the enemy of the Lord Buddha Shakyamuni.  On the other hand, I knew from the outset that if I set aside my fears and declared matters exactly as they are, I would be sentenced to death.  And even if I should escape the death penalty, I would surely be condemned to exile.  So great is the debt of gratitude I owe the Buddha, however, that I have not let myself be intimidated by others but have spoken out on these matters.

      Letter to Ichinosawa Nyudo, MW-6, 102

 

From a mundane view, I, Nichiren, am the poorest person in Japan, but in light of Buddhism, I am the wealthiest person in the world.  When I consider that this is all because the time is right, I am overwhelmed with joy and cannot restrain my tears.  It is impossible to repay my debt of gratitude to Lord Shakyamuni.  I think even the Buddha’s twenty-four successors are less fortunate than I; perhaps even the rewards of the Great Teachers T’ien-t’ai Chih-che and Dengyo do not equal mine.  That is because now is the right time to establish the object of worship of the four bodhisattvas.

            Establish the Four Bodhisattvas as the Object of Worship, MW-3, 296

 

The Great Teacher Miao-lo compared those who do not understand the truth of the Juryo chapter to animals who know no debt of gratitude.  In the Lotus Sutra itself, the phrase, ‘king of the sutras,’ [appearing in the Yakuo, (twenty-third) chapter] signifies the virtue of sovereign, and the phrase, ‘This sutra can save all the people,’ represents the virtue of teacher.  The phrase, ‘like Daibonten who is the father of all the people,’ indicates the virtue of parent.

         Now Nichiren and his disciples who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo are the fathers of all living beings, for we save them from the torments of the hell of incessant suffering.  The Nirvana Sutra states, ‘The sufferings of all living beings are the sufferings of the Buddha.’  And I say, ‘The sufferings of all living beings are Nichiren’s own sufferings.

         Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ, 758

 

Nichiren is the sovereign, father, mother and teacher of all living beings both below and above the heavens.  Now the ‘Life Span of the Thus Come One’ chapter of the Buddhism of Sowing from the distant past states:  ‘But now this threefold world is all my domain (indicating the virtue of sovereign) and the living beings in it are all my children (indicating the virtue of parent).  Now this place is beset by many pains and trials (including both the land and grass and trees growing in it).  I am the only person who can rescue and protect others (indicating the virtue of teacher).’  Throughout the three existences, Nichiren is the lord of this threefold world.

            Ubuyu Sojo no Koto, GZ, 879-880

 

Lectures on the “Expedient Means” & “Life Span” Chapters, Vol. 3, pg. 20-21

         Nichiren Daishonin is the Buddha of the “mystic principle of true cause.”  Though the original Buddha, he always practiced the bodhisattva way as an ordinary person.  From start to finish, he struggled as a common mortal.  The ordinary person is supreme.  This is the essence of the Daishonin’s Buddhism.

         Even after he had cast aside his transient role, as Bodhisattva Superior Practices (Jogyo), and revealed his true identity as the original Buddha at the time of the Tatsunokuchi Persecution, the Daishonin did not manifest any special physical characteristics such as the thirty-two features.  Nonetheless, the Law of kuon ganjo shone brightly in his heart.  And he carried out the actions of the original Buddha for the people  of the ten thousand years of the Latter Day.  The Daishonin manifested ultimate humanity.  This was his “casting off the transient and revealing the true.”

 

Three Virtues

 

Virtues of the Buddha	Characteristic	Motivation	SGI
Sovereign	Protecting	Unwavering sense of responsibility	Peace
Teacher	Guiding	Wisdom to guide	Education
Parent	Raising	Compassion	Culture

 

 

2.  Sovereign

 

I, Nichiren, am the greatest votary of the Lotus Sutra in Japan, and entirely without guilt.  I have expounded the Law to save all people from falling into the hell of incessant suffering for opposing the Lotus Sutra.

         On the Buddha’s Behavior, MW-1, 180

 

I, Nichiren, observing this state of affairs, proceeded to consult the great collection of Buddhist scriptures.  There I discovered the reason why these prayers are without effect and on the contrary actually make the situation worse, along with passages of proof to support it.  In the end I had no other recourse than to compile a work to present my findings, entitling it “Rissho ankoku ron.”  In the first year of the Bunno era (1260), cyclical sign kanoe-saru, on the sixteenth day of the seventh month, at the hour of the dragon (7:00-9:00 A.M.), I handed it to Yadoya Nyudo for presentation to His Lordship, the lay priest of Saimyo-ji who is now deceased.  This I did solely that I might repay the debt of gratitude that I owe to my native land.

         Rationale for Having Written the “Rissho Ankoku Ron”, MW-2, 47-8 [61-2]

 

I, Nichiren, understand the steps that should be taken to remedy the situation.  Other than the sage of Mount Hiei [Dengyo], I am the only person in all of Japan who does.  Just as there are not two suns or two moons, so two sages are not to be found standing side by side.  If these words of mine are false, then may I be punished by the ten demon daughters who protect the Lotus Sutra that I embrace.  I say all this solely for the sake of the nation, for the sake of the Law, for the sake of others, not for my own sake.

         Rationale for Having Written the “Rissho Ankoku Ron”, MW-2, 52 [66-7]

 

From the time that I was born until today, I, Nichiren, have never known a moment’s ease; I have thought only of propagating the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra.

         Persecution By Sword And Staff, MW-2, p.257 [305]

 

         I, Nichiren, may be a fool, but, having declared myself to be the messenger of Shakyamuni Buddha and the votary of the Lotus Sutra, it is nothing short of amazing that my words go unheeded.  And because of this failure, the nation now faces ruin.  Not only are my words not heeded, but I have been driven out of province after province, been dragged about, attacked and beaten, or sent into exile, and my disciples have been killed or had their lands taken away from them.

         If someone were to mete out such treatment to an actual messenger of his parents, could that person’s actions possibly be condoned?  And I, Nichiren, am parent to all the people of Japan, I am their sovereign, I am their enlightened teacher!  Should they turn against one like me?

         Letter to Ichinosawa Nyudo, MW-6, 105-106

 

Discussions on Youth #15  Art Vs. Arrogance:  Part 1

Kimura:  Art that comes from the soul is also often art expressing religious faith.  Great religions give birth to great culture.

 

Ikeda:  That is true as long as the religion does not ally itself with authoritarian forces.

         Without the backing of a sound philosophy rooted among the people, a culture will not flourish long.  Religions -- Buddhism in particular -- are indivisible from culture.  Religion and culture are two aspects of the same thing.  Both culture and Buddhism aim to inspire people from within.  As Chang said:  “The source of the creative inspiration for the art of Dunhuang may very well have been religious.  If the painters had not believed in Buddhism, they could not have created the wall paintings that they did.”

 

Igeta:  Oppressive authority and arrogance are fatal to culture, aren’t they?

 

Ikeda:  Yes.  When I was a boy, all Japan rushed headlong down the road of war.  In that atmosphere, anything artistic was widely regarded as unpatriotic.  The only music we had were military songs.  At school, we were taught only to draw soldiers and tanks or nurses tending the wounded on the battlefield.  Strong oppressive forces were brought to bear on our culture, such is the demonic nature of tyranny.

         While art and culture liberate people from within, authoritarianism oppresses people from without.  These are opposing forces.

 

Kimura:  There are not many leaders in our society who have a real understanding of beauty.  Rather, they try to exploit culture to realize their ambitions.

 

Ikeda:  That is why it is important for the people to support and encourage culture.  In a certain sense, the art of the European Renaissance articulated the people’s liberation from the oppressive authorities of church -- and state.  “This is the way people are meant to live!”  it expressed.  It was an assertion of the tremendous power of the people.  And the eternal worth and beauty of Renaissance art are still recognized today.

         That those in power do not try to understand art and culture is frightening, actually.  Their lack of appreciation for the finer aspects of human life makes it easy for them to go to war, to lean toward fascism.

. . .

Ikeda:  People who appreciate art and culture are important.  Cultured people value peace and lead others to a world of beauty, hope and bright tomorrows.  Tyrannical authority, on the other hand, only leads people to darkness -- the opposite of art.

         For that reason, nurturing and spreading an appreciation for art and culture are crucial in creating peace.

         WT, 12-27-97, Pg. 9       Discussions on Youth Art Vs. Arrogance, Part 1

 

President Ikeda’s Addresses in the USA (1996), Pg 62-64

Both Dewey and Makiguchi looked beyond the limits of the nation-state to new horizons of human community.  Both, it could be said, had a vision of global citizenship, of people capable of value-creation on a global scale.

         What then, are the conditions for global citizenship?

         Over the past several decades, I have been privileged to meet and converse with many people from all walks of life, and I have given the matter some thought.  Certainly, global citizenship is not determined merely by the number of languages one speaks, or the number of countries to which one has traveled.

         I have many friends who could be considered quite ordinary citizens, but who possess an inner nobility; who have never traveled beyond their native place, yet who are genuinely concerned for the peace and prosperity of the world.

         I think I can state with confidence that the following are essential elements of global citizenship:

 

·                 The wisdom to perceive the interconnectedness of all life and living.

·                 The courage not to fear or deny difference; but to respect and strive to understand people of different cultures, and to grow from encounters with them.

·                 The compassion to maintain an imaginative empathy that reaches beyond one’s immediate surroundings and extends to those suffering in distant places.

 

         The all-encompassing interrelatedness that forms the core of the Buddhist worldview can provide a basis, I feel, for the concrete realization of these qualities of wisdom, courage and compassion.

         The following parable from the Buddhist canon provides a beautiful visual metaphor for the interdependence and interpenetration of all phenomena.

         Suspended above the palace of Indra, the Buddhist god who symbolizes the natural forces that protect and nurture life, is an enormous net.  A brilliant jewel is attached to each of the knots of the net.  Each jewel contains and reflects the image of all the other jewels in the net, which sparkles in the magnificence of its totality.

         When we learn to recognize what Thoreau refers to as “the infinite extent of our relations,” we can trace the strands of mutually supportive life, and discover there the glittering jewels of our global neighbors.  Buddhism seeks to cultivate wisdom grounded in this kind of empathetic resonance with all forms of life.

 

President Ikeda’s Addresses in the U. S. (1996), Page 43

The Importance of Leaders

The role of leaders is important.  Everything is determined by the leaders behavior.

         A passage in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms explains that only those who possess genuine wisdom and virtue win the highest regard from people.

         It all comes down to you.  You have to polish and develop yourselves.  Should there be a leader or leaders in faith whom you do not like, all you have to do is determine not to become like them.  All you have to do is decide that you will become leaders who will make everyone feel comfortable and at ease.

 

President Ikeda’s Addresses in the U. S. (1996), Page 7-13

The Light of the Full Moon

         Tonight, a Full moon is shining in the sky.  Nichiren Daishonin writes:

The Lotus Sutra is like the moon in this night [the dark night of fundamental illusion].  For those who have faith in the Lotus Sutra but whose faith is not deep, it is as though a half moon were illuminating that dark night.  But for those who have profound faith, it is as though a Full moon were illuminating the night. (MW-7,8)

         Faith is light.  The hearts of those with strong faith are filled with light.  A radiance envelops their lives.  People with unshakable conviction in faith enjoy a happiness that is as luminous as the full moon on a dark night, as dazzling as the sun on a clear day.

         I hope that all of you, as top leaders of the kosen-rufu movement in the United States, will work with all your might to ensure that each member comes to shine with a happiness as bright and complete as the full moon.  Please pursue sincere and patient dialogue that will both encourage your members and deeply touch their hearts.  With warm concern and kindness, please treasure each person with all your heart and make your organization shine with an even greater harmonious unity as sublime as the full moon itself.

 

Treasuring Others’ Hearts Is the Key to Growth

         The SGI organization is a gathering of people.  So it is essential that we mix and interact with others, that our hearts are united and in rhythm with one another.  As the Daishonin says, “What matters is one’s heart” (MW-5, 289).

         Orders do not make an organization strong.  Far from it.  The spirit to treasure each person is what touches and moves people.  Behaving with a spirit of genuine concern, respect and courtesy toward each person is the greatest driving force for the organization’s development.

 

The Wise Are Certain; the Brave, Fearless

         Leaders must study continually.  Once a leader stops growing, those who look to him or her for guidance and support will suffer.  Therefore, today, I will share with you a few points on leadership from some Chinese classics.

         First, let’s look at the Analects, a compilation of the words and deeds of the great Chinese philosopher Confucius (552-479 B.C.E.):

The man of wisdom is never in two minds; the man of benevolence never worries; the man of courage is never afraid.

         In other words, a person of wisdom, possessing good sense and reason, never wavers.  A person of benevolence, having abundant compassion for others and few personal desires or ambitions, never frets or worries.  A person of courage, possessing boldness, never trembles in fear.

         Leaders need to have immense wisdom, compassion and courage.  Nonetheless, each person is different.  There are some who may have an outstanding intellect, others who may possess deep compassion for others, and still others who are filled with courage.  Through the Mystic Law, the different strong points of each person are utilized to the fullest to create the greatest possible value.

 

A Genuine Leader Rejoices in People’s Happiness

         Mencius (C. 371-289 B.C.E.), another great Confucian philosopher, who ranks alongside Confucius, observes:  “The people will delight in the joy of him who delights in their joy.”

         That is, if a leader rejoices in the happiness of the people, the people, in turn, will rejoice in the leader’s happiness.

         To strive not only for one’s own happiness but to constantly think and pray about how you can contribute to the happiness of others, and to take joy in doing so--this is the SGI spirit.  This also parallels the spirit of American democracy.  In our organization, there is no one above or below; everyone is equal.  The higher our leadership position, the more humbly we must work for the happiness of the members.  This is how genuine Buddhist leaders behave.

 

Brimming with Unpretentious Humanity

         In the Analects, Confucius says:  “Only a well-balanced admixture of these two [native substance and acquired refinement] will result in gentlemanliness.”

         “Native substance” refers to a person’s unadorned inherent qualities, while “acquired refinement” refers to the learning and cultural polish that a person acquires.  Confucius declares that an outstanding leader possesses a harmonious balance of both those attributes.

         I hope that, as leaders, you will study ceaselessly and strive to deepen your character and refinement.  At the same time, I would like you to be brimming with a genuine and unpretentious humanity.

 

Gandhi:  a Tireless Speaker and Writer

         In honor of the full moon tonight, I turn now to the Land of the Moon, India.

         The father of India’s movement for independence, Mohandas K. (Mahatma) Gandhi (1869-1948), was a person of action who literally walked from one corner of the nation to the other.  He was also a tireless speaker and writer.  Not only did he warmly encourage the people with his voice, but his pen was never still.  His lifetime writings are said to number more than 10 million words.  He kept writing even in prison, where he spent nearly six years.

         What was one of Gandhi’s great weapons in his struggle to communicate his ideas to the people?  It was publishing his own newspaper.  He believed that a newspaper’s sole purpose is to serve the people.  Through his newspaper, he called for nonviolent resistance and rallied the people to this cause.  The autobiography he began to write in prison was also serialized in the paper and tens of millions of Indians across the land waited eagerly to read each installment.  In the meantime, it was ordinary, nameless youth who spread Gandhi’s message--conveyed to them via the pages of his newspaper--widely among the populace.

         The gallant youth division members of the SGI-USA are also exerting themselves admirably.

         With newspaper in hand, the youth of India boldly set off to rural villages and spoke of Gandhi’s spirit of nonviolence.  And in what must have been a moving sight to behold, they read out Gandhi’s writings for those who were illiterate, transmitting his ideals orally.  Millions across the land learned in this way.  Through the selfless efforts of these courageous yet unrecognized youth, the spiritual message of Gandhi permeated every corner of Indian society and inspired the people to unite and take action.

         All of you, my dear friends of America, are spreading the message of Nichiren Daishonin.  You are immeasurably noble and precious emissaries of the Buddha.  I press my palms together in fervent reverence and appreciation for your sincere and dedicated efforts.  You are truly to be commended.

         I also take this opportunity to voice my unceasing gratitude for our uncrowned friends in Japan who each day deliver the Soka Gakkai newspaper, the Seikyo Shimbun, to members’ homes.

         The purpose underlying all of Gandhi’s writings and speeches was to make the people wise and strong.  Once when Gandhi was traveling around the country, a peasant threw a sheet of paper into his car.  On it was written a poem by a renowned Indian poet of antiquity.  Gandhi was moved to declare that no other peasantry in the world was as cultivated as India’s, and he cited the piece of paper as ample proof.  Nothing delighted Gandhi more than seeing the people become enlightened.

         Genuine leaders personally take on the most demanding challenges, work the hardest, and rejoice when people grow wise and become happy.

         Equipped with the new awareness Gandhi had given them, the Indian people joined in the struggle for independence one after another.  Their strength came from correctly understanding the significance of his movement.  Women, who for centuries had been confined to the home, now marched in demonstrations shoulder to shoulder with men, liberating themselves from the chains that had long bound them.  The power of the awakening masses gave rise to a vast groundswell toward independence.

         Gandhi declared, “Unwearied ceaseless effort is the price that must be paid for turning faith into a rich infallible experience.”  In the final analysis, faith not accompanied by action is merely an abstraction.  Ceaseless effort is what makes our faith a living and breathing part of us. And making our faith in the Daishonin’s Buddhism an active and indivisible part of our lives is what it means to attain Buddhahood.

         Tireless and unflagging effort--this is the spirit of the American members who are making all-out efforts at the forefront of the SGI movement.

         In the year 2000, we will celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the kosen-rufu movement in America.  Let us take good care of our health and strive to create a momentous history of the people by boldly carrying on our movement for peace through speech and the written word.

 

3.  Teacher

 

If a tree is deeply rooted, its branches and leaves will never wither.  If the spring is inexhaustible, the stream will never run dry.  Without wood, the fire will burn out.  Without earth, plants cannot grow.  Nichiren is like the plant, and my master the earth.  I, Nichiren, am indebted solely to my revered teacher, Dozen-bo, for the fact that I have become the votary of the Lotus Sutra and that now I am widely talked about, both in a good and bad sense. . . The rice plant flowers and bears grain, but its spirit remains in the soil.  Therefore, the stalk sprouts to flower and bear grain once more.  The blessings which I, Nichiren, obtain from propagating the Lotus Sutra will return to Dozen-bo.  How sublime!  It is said that if a master has a good disciple, both will attain Buddhahood, but if a master fosters a bad disciple, both will fall into hell.  If master and disciple are not of the same mind, they cannot accomplish anything.

         On Flowers and Seeds, MW-1, 217-8

 

But I, Nichiren, am the foremost votary of the Lotus Sutra for the entire world.  Therefore, people who ally themselves with those who slander me or treat me with malice deserve to meet with the greatest difficulties in the world, such as the great earthquake that rocked Japan in the Shoka era, or the great comet that appeared as a punishment upon the entire world in the Bun’ei era.  Just look at these happenings!  Though in the centuries since the Buddha’s passing there have been other practitioners of Buddhism who were treated with malice, great disasters such as these have never been known before.  That is because there has never before been anyone who taught the people at large to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!  With respect to this virtue, is there anyone in the whole world who dares to face me and say he is my equal, anyone within the four seas who dares to claim he can stand side by side with me?

         The Selection of the Time, MW-3, 111-2

 

When the world makes you feel downcast, you should chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, remembering that although the sufferings of this life are painful, those in the next life could be much worse.  And when you are happy, you should remember that your happiness in this life is nothing but a dream within a dream, and that the only true happiness is that found in the pure land of Eagle Peak, and with that thought in mind, chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

         The Fourteen Slanders, MW-3, 216

 

President Ikeda’s Addresses in the USA (1996), Pg 61-62

         It was Toda’s constant and impassioned plea that humanity could be liberated from horrific cycles of war only by fostering new generations of people imbued with a profound respect for the sanctity of life.  He therefore gave the highest possible priority to the work of education.

         Education is a uniquely human privilege.  It is the source of inspiration that enables us to become fully and truly human, to fulfill a constructive mission in life with composure and confidence.

         The end point in the development of knowledge isolated from human concerns is the weaponry of mass destruction.  At the same time, it is knowledge also that has made society comfortable and convenient, bringing industry and wealth.  The fundamental task of education must be to ensure that knowledge serves to further the cause of human happiness and peace.

         Education must be the propelling force for an eternally unfolding humanitarian quest.  It is for this reason that I consider education the final and most crucially important undertaking of my life.  This is also the reason I deeply concur with the view expressed by President Levine that while education is perhaps the slowest means to social change, it is the only means.

         Global society today faces a myriad of interlocking crises.  These include the issues of war, environmental degradation, the North-South development gap and divisions among people based on differences of ethnicity, religion or language.  The list is long and familiar, and the road to solutions may seem all too distant and daunting.

         It is my view, however, that the root of all of these problems is our collective failure to make the human being, human happiness, the consistent focus and goal in all fields of endeavor.  The human being is the point to which we must return and from which we must depart anew.  What is required is a human transformation--a human revolution.

 

President Ikeda’s Addresses in the USA (1996), Pg 68

         Our daily lives are filled with opportunities to develop ourselves and those around us.  Each of our interactions with others -- dialogue, exchange and participation -- is an invaluable chance to create value.  We learn from people and it is for this reason that the humanity of the teacher represents the core of the educational experience.

         Makiguchi argued that humanistic education, education that guides the process of character formation, is a transcendent skill that might best be termed an art.

 

 

Living Buddhism, Jan. 1998, Pgs. 15-16, President Ikeda, October 21, 1997, New Delhi

Without the ameliorating influence of education, strongly held beliefs, whether political or religious, can quickly succumb to the pitfalls of dogmatism and self-righteousness. . . .  Education makes us free.  The world of knowledge and of the intellect is where all people can meet and converse.  Education liberates people from prejudice.  It frees the human heart from its violent passions.  It is education that severs the dark fetters of ignorance about the laws that govern the universe.

         Finally, it is through education that we are liberated from powerlessness, from the burden of mistrust directed against ourselves.  To awaken the abilities that have been lying dormant within.  To arouse and extend the soul’s aspiration to become full and complete.  Can there be any more sublime experience in life?”

 

Dialogue on the Lotus Sutra #14, Seikyo Times, December 1996

[Pg. 23]            Ikeda:  Compassion, wisdom and earthly desires, of course, belong to the realm of the intangible, of nonsubstantiality, and they should not be viewed in a phenomenal sense.  On that premise, to put it simply, the Buddha’s enlightenment does not lie in “eradicating” earthly desires, but rather in infusing them with compassion and wisdom.  It is a matter of changing the turbid river of earthly desires, karma and suffering into a pure stream of compassion and wisdom, of turning the “negative waves” of life into “waves of goodness.”

         Those who achieve this possess a perfectly tranquil and serene state of life in the sense that they are not troubled by earthly desires; at the same time, their lives have a vigorous dynamism.  The Buddha’s state of life is like the ocean.  No matter what turmoil there may be on the surface, in its depths there is absolute calm and tranquillity.  And the Buddha’s life constantly pulses with “waves of goodness.”  The Buddha is called the Thus Come One because the workings of the Mystic Law “come thus,” or manifest in a direct and unalloyed fashion, in his life.

         This is the Buddha’s enlightenment in perfect unification with the Mystic Law.

 

[Pg. 26-28]      Ikeda:  “Unsurpassed aspiration” means a desire to attain the Buddha’s unsurpassed enlightenment.  That this enlightenment can in fact be attained is also part of the teaching of the Lotus Sutra.  Since the Buddha’s unsurpassed enlightenment is the manifestation of his compassion and wisdom to save people, this aspiration is informed by the wish to lead all beings to enlightenment just as the Buddha does.

 

Saito:  Elsewhere in the same chapter, Purna says, “Only the Buddha, the World-Honored One, is capable of knowing the wish that we have had deep in our hearts from the start” (LS8, 144).  The “wish deep in our hearts from the start” means the original aspiration that the disciples have cherished in the depths of their lives.  It seems to me that the desire to attain unsurpassed enlightenment and to lead all beings to happiness is an aspiration that, fundamentally, all people possess.

 

Ikeda:  Isn’t that what we call the Buddha nature?  The term Buddha nature does not appear in the Lotus Sutra.  But it seems that this is what “original aspiration in the depths of one’s life” indicates.

 

Suda:  Understanding the causes and conditions that existed in the past, then, in essence means understanding the aspiration -- the Buddha nature -- in the depths of one’s being.

 

Ikeda:  Stated more simply, this fundamental wish could be described as an aspiration or desire for the happiness of oneself and others.  The very simplicity of this might seem anticlimactic, since it’s something that all people understand on some level; but making this spirit one’s guiding and fundamental spirit is in fact extremely difficult.  This is because of hindrances in the form of earthly desires, ignorance, greed, egoism and a spirit of divisiveness that prevent people from doing so.

         To base our lives thoroughly on this spirit, therefore, we need a teacher, a mentor, who can guide us in the right direction.  It seems that his is what the “Phantom City” chapter teaches through the elucidation of the karmic causes and conditions linking mentor and disciple over an extremely long period of time.

         In short, “causes and conditions” indicates the eternal bonds that form between people.  These bonds certainly do not exist apart from human beings; nor do they fetter or bind people from without.

. . .  And of cause and condition, cause is naturally primary.  Conditions function to support and assist the cause.  In the path of mentor and disciple, too, the awareness of the disciple is primary.  The response of the mentor depends on the strength of the disciple’s seeking spirit, sense of responsibility and determination.

         That said, the Buddha industriously teaches and guides his disciples over past, present and future, never abandoning any of them.  He educates them and embraces them in his mercy.  It seems to me that this immense compassion of the Buddha is the main point the Lotus Sutra seeks to convey.

         The disciples believe in and seek out the mentor, and the mentor protects and trains the disciples.  The mentor, ultimately, does not abandon even disciples who have forgotten their pledge.  This most beautiful of human bonds is the relationship of mentor and disciple in Buddhism.

 

Saito:  The mentor-disciple relationship in Buddhism is neither a one-way relationship from the mentor above to the disciple below, nor is it an oppressive, feudalistic type of master-servant relationship.

 

Endo:  If I may make a digression, Dr. Karel Dobbelaere, former president of the International Society of Religion, citing the profound ties between our successive presidents, has observed that the Soka Gakkai is pervaded by the mentor-disciple relationship.  He also feels that the Soka Gakkai’s unity, built on these human bonds of mentor and disciple, provides members with a great deal of guidance and direction.  In other words, he sees human bonds as constituting the very nucleus of the SGI.

 

Ikeda:  That’s a keen insight.  “The ‘cause and condition’ for our appearance in this world,” President Toda declared, “is to hoist up the great flag of kosen-rufu.”  That’s the raison d’être of the SGI organization.  And the essence of this organization is the mentor-disciple relationship.

         In Buddhism, therefore, mentor and disciple are comrades advancing together toward the common objective of kosen-rufu, toward the creation of a world where the ideals and principles of Buddhism are widely embraced.  The mentor-disciple relationship is an extension of the kind of relationship that exists between those with greater experience in life or in faith and those with lesser.  In one sense, mentor and disciple stand face to face.  Yet on a more fundamental level, mentor and disciple are comrades facing in the same direction.

 

4.  Parent

 

Twenty-one years ago I, Nichiren, understood what was to come.  Since then I have suffered persecution day after day and month after month.  In the last two or three years, among other things, I was almost put to death.  The chances are one in ten thousand that I will survive the year or even the month.  If anyone questions these things, let him ask my disciples for details.  What joy is ours to expiate in one lifetime our slanders from the eternal past!  How fortunate to serve the Buddha who has never been known until now!  I pray that before anything else I can guide to the truth the sovereign and those others who persecuted me.

         On the Buddha’s Prophecy, MW-1, 116-117

 

I, Nichiren, am the only person in all Japan who understands this.  But if I utter so much as a word concerning it, then parents, brothers and teachers will surely censure me and the ruler of the nation will take steps against me.  On the other hand, I am fully aware that if I do not speak out, I will be lacking in compassion.  I have considered which course to take in the light of the teachings of the Lotus and Nirvana sutras.  If I remain silent, I may escape persecutions in this lifetime, but in my next life I will most certainly fall into the hell of incessant suffering.  If I speak out, I am fully aware that I will have to contend with the three obstacles and four devils.  But of these two courses, surely the latter is the one to choose.  If I were to falter in my determination in the face of persecutions by the sovereign, however, it would be better not to speak out.

         The Opening of the Eyes-Part 1, MW-2, 95 [113]

 

         Aside from the agony which awaits slanderers in the next life, I have enjoined Bonten, Taishaku, the gods of the sun and moon, and the Four Heavenly Kings to punish in this life those who have become enemies of the Lotus Sutra, as a warning to the people.  You will see by the results of my prediction whether I, Nichiren, am the votary of the Lotus Sutra or not.

         When I speak in this way, the ruler and others may think I am making threats, but I in no way speak out of hatred.  I speak out of profound compassion to let them eradicate in this life the tortures of the hell of incessant suffering into which they are otherwise destined to fall.  The Great Teacher Chang-an said:  “He makes it possible for the offender to rid himself of evil, and thus he acts like a parent to the offender.”  I, Nichiren, who admonish them for their evil, am father and mother to the ruler and the teacher of all mankind.

         The Royal Palace, MW-3, 74

 

A person who spreads the teaching of the Lotus Sutra is father and mother to all the living beings in Japan.  For, as the Great Teacher Chang-an says, “He makes it possible for the offender to rid himself of evil, and thus he acts like a parent to the offender.”  If so, then I, Nichiren, am the father and mother of the present emperor of Japan, and the teacher and lord of the Nembutsu believers, the Zen followers and the Shingon priests.

         The Selection of the Time, MW-3, 109

 

I, Nichiren, may be a stupid man, but I am surely not inferior to a fox or a demon.  The noblest people in the present age are in no way superior to Taishaku or Sessen Doji, yet because of my low social position, they have rejected my wise words.  That is why the country is now on the brink of ruin.  How lamentable!  And what I find even sadder is that I will be unable to save my disciples who have pitied my sufferings.

         Should any calamity befall us, you should immediately come to visit me here, where you will be welcomed wholeheartedly.  Should the worst happen, then let us starve together among these mountains.

         The Supremacy of the Law, MW-3, 202

 

Only the Lotus Sutra reveals that a woman can attain Buddhahood, and therefore I have come to realize that this sutra is the very one that makes possible true requital for a mother’s kindness.  To repay that debt, I have vowed to enable all women to chant the daimoku of this sutra.

         The Sutra of True Requital, MW-6, 251

 

In all Japan, I, Nichiren, alone have understood why such things are happening.  At first I pondered whether or not I should speak out.  Yet what was I to do?  Could I turn my back on the teachings of the Buddha who is father and mother to all living beings?  Resolving to bear whatever might befall me, I began to speak out, and in these more than twenty years I have been driven from my dwelling, my disciples have been killed, I have been wounded, exiled twice and finally came close to being beheaded.  I spoke out solely because I have long known that the people of Japan would meet with great suffering and felt pity for them.  Thoughtful persons should therefore realize that I have met these trials for their sake.  If they were people who understood their obligations or who were capable of reason, then out of two blows that fall upon me, they would receive one in my stead.

         Reply to Yasaburo, MW-6, 233

 

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo that I, Nichiren, now chant will enable all people throughout the Latter Day of the Law to attain Buddhahood.

         Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ, 720

 

When it comes to understanding the Lotus Sutra, I have only a minute fraction of the vast ability that T’ien-t’ai and Dengyo possessed.  But as regards my ability to endure persecution and the wealth of my compassion for others, I believe they would hold me in awe.

         The Opening of the Eyes, MW-2, 100 [118]

 

If we go by the Lotus Sutra and the commentary of Chang-an, then Nichiren is a compassionate father and mother to all the people of Japan.  Heaven may be lofty, but it has sharp ears and can hear what is happening.  Earth may be deep, but it has keen eyes with which to observe.  Heaven and earth by now know [how the situation stands].  And yet I, who am father and mother to all people, am cursed and reviled and sent into exile.  The abuses of government that have taken place in this country in the past two or three years are such as have never been heard of in former ages, and exceed all bounds of reason.

         Rebuking Slander of the Law and Eradicating Sins, MW-6, 71

 

Bodhisattva Never Disparaging’s (Fukyo’s) practice to pay reverence to people is compassionate, for he taught that all people are to become Buddhas.  Though he was attacked with sticks and staves, tiles and stones by those who would not listen to him, he continued to expound the true teachings and thereby caused them to form a relationship with Buddhism.  He did so because he possessed compassion.

         Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ, 769

 

To work out solutions according to the sufferings of the people is compassion; this condition of life is called bodhisattva.

         Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ, 774

 

I have merely been trying to make all the people of Japan hold in their mouths the five or seven characters of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.  Mine is like the compassion of a mother trying to breast-feed her baby.

         Kangyo Hachiman Sho, GZ, 585

 

All the sufferings of the people are without exception Nichiren’s own sufferings.

         Kangyo Hachiman Sho, GZ, 587

 

When both oneself and others have wisdom and compassion, this is called joy.

         Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Ongi Kuden, GZ, 761

 

Discussions on Youth #15  Art Vs. Arrogance:  Part 1

But whatever our present situation may be, the pursuit of culture is an eternal concern.  Culture is indispensable to making our lives richer, more enjoyable and more worthwhile.

         There is no denying that human beings have a cruel aspect of rivalry, war and jealousy.  But we also have another side -- our wish to live richer, more beautiful and brighter lives, the interaction of these two tendencies is the story, the history, of our species.

         That’s why culture and art are so crucial.  They encourage our better aspect, helping us enjoy the most fulfilling lives we can.  And they nurture the virtue of goodness, the desire to make this earth a paradise.  This is the ideal way to live as human beings.  It’s what distinguishes us from other animals.

         WT, 12-27-97, Pg. 9                            Discussions on Youth                Art Vs. Arrogance, Part 1

 

Discussions on Youth #16  Art Vs. Arrogance:  Part 2

         Creating and appreciating art set free the soul trapped deep within us.  That is why art causes such joy.  Art, quite aside from any questions of skill or its lack, is the emotion, the pleasure of expressing one’s life exactly as it is.  Those who see such art are moved by its passion, it , strength, its intensity and its beauty.  That is why it is impossible to separate a fully human life from art.

         The Buddhist concept of cherry, plum, peach and damson -- that each person should live earnestly, true to his or her unique individuality -- has much in common with culture and art.  Culture is the flower in of each individual’s true humanity, which is why it transcends national boundaries, time periods and all other distinctions.  Likewise, correct Buddhist practice means cultivating one self and serving as an inspiration for leading a truly cultured life.

 

Igeta:  I can see now what a profound role culture plays in human existence.  A society that regards culture as a mere extra is not a fully humanistic society.

 

Ikeda:  The power of culture may be hard to detect at times, but it a fundamental force, since it transforms the human heart.  Political and economic developments may be flashier and make the news more often, but culture and education are the forces that actually shape any age.  We must not make the mistake of looking only at the shallow waters that bubble noisily over the rocks; the deep currents are even more important in knowing the true nature of the river.

         WT, 01-09-1998, Page 11          Discussions on Youth #16      Art Vs Arrogance -- Part 2

 

Discussions on Youth #16  Art Vs. Arrogance:  Part 2

Ikeda:  Peace and culture are one.  A genuinely cultured nation is a peaceful nation, and vice versa.  When conflicts multiply, culture wanes and nations fall into a hellish existence.  The history of the human race is a contest between culture and barbarity.  As we leave the tension, of the Cold War behind, the pressing question becomes “What will the coming century be like?”  Only culture is a force strong enough to put an end to conflict and lead humanity in the direction of peace.

         WT, 01-09-1998, Page 12          Discussions on Youth #16      Art Vs Arrogance -- Part 2

 

Discussions on Youth #16  Art Vs. Arrogance:  Part 2

Ikeda:  That’s probably true.  We will face a “creativity competition.”  But it’s far easier to talk about creativity than to actually be creative.  Being creative is a fierce struggle.  Creative people always face opposition from conservatives, and they must endure the loneliness and isolation of the misunderstood.  They need courage.  They need tenacity.  They need to have faith in their endeavor that isn’t swayed by petty considerations of gain and loss.

 

Kimura:  When people say the Japanese are not creative, they may be pointing to the fact that many Japanese lack such faith and courage.

 

Ikeda:  I would like you, our young people, to make Japan and the world into a creative, culturally rich society.  The 20th century killed far too many, beginning with its two world wars.  Though it is spoken of as the century in which civilization made its greatest advances, it has also been the century of the most barbaric massacres.  Auschwitz, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, the Nanking massacre, and the Stalinist purges are all symbols of that barbarism.  They are lessons to us all:  Even an apparently civilized, society will never have peace without truly cultured individuals who love humanity.  Without that, the products of modem civilization become the tools of demons.

         Mr. Makiguchi taught that education is the highest of all arts, the art of creating the values of fine character.  His words are golden.  Art does not belong to a select few.  Nurturing people, cultivating the self is also art.  Art is displayed in a beautiful life, beautiful actions, beautiful prayer.

         The wonderful art of peace is devoting ourselves entirely to linking one beautiful human heart to another.  When such cultivated lives and culture itself are joined, the truly humane culture of the 21st century will be born.  When fully realized humanity and art come together, a truly humane art will be born.  It is your mission to forge that spectacular and creative future.

         WT, 01-09-1998, Page 13          Discussions on Youth #16      Art Vs Arrogance -- Part 2

 

Dialogue on the Lotus Sutra #18,  Living Buddhism, May 1997, Pg. 33

Ikeda:  There certainly is rhythm in the universe.  And the rhythm of the life of an individual pulsates in perfect harmony with it.  It seems to me that life, in essence, is an expression of a sympathetic resonance between the macrocosm of the universe and the microcosm of our lives.

         In terms of “rhythm,” the universe itself produces a kind of cosmic rhythm.  It is a compassionate rhythm that enables all living things to grow and advance.  You might even call it a “wavelength” of compassion.  Living beings are “receivers” that can intercept this wavelength.  No matter where we are, when we “tune in” to the “frequency” of Buddhahood, our lives are embraced in this compassionate melody infusing us with the spirit to realize growth in our lives and help others do the same.

         We could also use the image of a tuning fork to describe this phenomenon.  If you have two tuning forks of the same wavelength and you ring one, then the other tuning fork, even if it is at some distance from the first, will start ringing spontaneously.

 

Saito:  What you’ve described is the acoustical phenomenon of resonance.

 

Ikeda:  Yes.  To continue the analogy, when the tuning fork of our lives begins to ring with compassion, then, even if at first we are all alone, other turning forks will start to ring with the same compassion.  And though at first perhaps only two or three will catch the rhythm, others will definitely follow.  Compassion has a certain “wavelength”; but some person has to be the first to sound it.  However, a tuning fork will not ring if it is left lying on its side; to produce a sound, it must stand upright.  The same is true with our lives.

[Pg. 34]            In the “Treasure Tower” chapter, the gathering of the Buddhas in the ten directions is like so many tuning forks starting to ring in unison in response to the reverberations of the tuning fork of Shakyamuni’s spirit “to make certain the Law will long endure” (LS11, 177).  This is a grand illustration of the principle of sympathetic resonance.

 

[Pg. 36] Ikeda:  If you consistently take action in the arenas of power based on humanism, you are certain to encounter difficulties.  This is an example of the principle of “the six difficult and nine easy acts” that we find in the “Treasure Tower” chapter.

 

[Pg. 37] Saito:  The second transformation of the land signifies the purification of the illusions as innumerable as particles of dust and sand.  They are the countless worries that arise when they struggle to help others become happy.

 

Ikeda:  That’s right.  This is something SGI members all experience.  Before taking faith, we struggle earnestly just to overcome our own worries and sufferings.  But after taking faith, we increasingly come to worry about the well-being of others.  For example, we may worry about how to encourage someone who is sick.  These are noble worries.  . . .

           For people who embrace the Mystic Law, to worry about friends and pray for their happiness comes naturally.  Without hesitation, SGI members dive right into the reality of the saha world, with all its conflict, to come to the aid of people who are suffering.  Yet we should not forget just how noble such efforts are.

         The sutra says that in the second and third transformations Shakyamuni purifies two hundred ten thousand million nayutas of lands in the eight directions.  This is the very image of the expansion of kosen-rufu.

         SGI members dare to take on this most difficult work for those who are struggling the hardest.  And by their actions, they are constructing the hardest.  And by their actions, they are constructing “cities of tranquil light” in all parts of the world.  As a result of their encouragement, friends who had been in the depths of suffering stand up and enact a “drama of revitalization” based on the Mystic Law.  This itself is the splendid transformation of an “impure land” filled with suffering into a “pure land” pervaded with joy.

 

Saito:  Each person’s human revolution can fundamentally transform the destiny of an entire country.

 

Ikeda:  Put into words, the transformation of the land may sound static; but since it comes about through individuals earnestly grappling with reality, it is actually a highly dynamic principle.  As the sutra indicates where it says, “The saha world thereupon immediately changed into a place of cleanness and purity” (LS11, 173), the pure land is not to be found in some other world.  Rather, this world itself becomes the land of tranquil light.

         Put succinctly, the Buddha’s land is a place where many human Treasure Towers are constructed, where everyone shines as a “tower of treasure.”  The appearance of forests of these Treasure Towers creates the Buddha’s land.

 

[Pg. 41]  Ikeda:  Everyone prizes his or her own life.  But the Lotus Sutra says that unless this Great Law is revealed and spread, humankind will remain shrouded in darkness.  Therefore, the Daishonin made a firm resolution.  Only those who do “not hesitate even if it costs them their lives” are votaries of the Lotus Sutra.

         However, this in itself cannot account for the extreme difficulty of the six difficult acts.  In fact, the Lotus Sutra is not the only sutra to discuss difficulties.  In this connection, we are better served if we focus on the problem of the fundamental darkness inherent in human life, to which we referred a little earlier.

         The Lotus Sutra, remember, is the “teaching for transforming life.”  It articulates the Great Law for conquering fundamental darkness or ignorance.  Fundamental darkness is the underlying illusion inherent in life.  While there are various points of view, Nichiren Daishonin says that “fundamental darkness manifests itself as the Devil of the Sixth Heaven” (MW-3, 279).

 

[Pg. 42]  Ikeda:  The Devil of the Sixth Heaven can be thought of as the fundamental tendency to seek to use everyone and everything as a means.  In a sense, this is a natural inclination that all beings possess.  By contrast, to actively seek to support other people and improve our environment is extremely difficult.  Compassion, love of humanity, the spirit to serve others -- these are wonderful qualities; but manifesting them in our actions is extremely difficult.

         The universe and one’s own life are in essence one.  Even though people may understand this intellectually , usually they fail to grasp it in the depths of their lives.  This could be termed fundamental darkness.  Because of this ignorance about the true nature of life, people try to make everything and everyone in the universe serve them, to turn them into a means.  This is the function of the Devil of the Sixth Heaven, of the devilish nature of power.

         The Lotus Sutra explains that the self is one with the universe.  The practice of the Lotus Sutra is the practice of compassion.  It is to [Pg. 43] respect and revere everyone as a Treasure Tower and to become happy conjointly with others in accord with the principle of the oneness of self and others, while overcoming the various difficulties we face.

         In the course of carrying out this practice, we will definitely have to battle our own fundamental darkness.  And because by our efforts we are stimulating and activating the fundamental darkness in other people’s lives, we are sure to encounter difficulties.. . .

         The point is that changing the inner world is far more difficult than changing the outer world.  That’s what the doctrine of the six difficult and nine easy acts teaches.

 

 

5.   Revealing Buddhahood

 

 

Little streams come together to form the great ocean, and tiny particles of dust accumulate to form Mount Sumeru.  When I, Nichiren, first took faith in the Lotus Sutra, I was like a single drop of water or a single particle of dust in all the country of Japan.  But later, when two people, three people, ten people, and eventually ten thousand billion people, come to recite the Lotus Sutra and transmit it to others, then they will form a Mount Sumeru of wonderful enlightenment, a great ocean of nirvana!  Seek no other path by which to attain Buddhahood!

         The Selection of the Time, MW-3, 172-3

 

The great stature, the great aspiring mind, the great extraordinary features, the great evil-conquering forces, the great preaching, the great authority, the great occult powers, the great compassion of these Buddhas and bodhisattvas--all originate from the Lotus Sutra.

         The Universal Salty Taste, MW-4, 4

 

The Lotus Sutra, on the other hand, is known as a zuijii sutra, one that was preached in accordance with the Buddha’s own mind.  Because the Buddha’s mind is a superior mind, persons who read this sutra, even though they may not understand its meaning, will gain inestimable benefit.

         Mugwort that grows in the midst of hemp or a snake inside a tube [will as a matter of course become straight] and those who associate with people of good character, though they themselves have no particular virtue, will consequently become upright in heart, deed and word.  Though one may not be outstanding in other ways, if he puts faith in this sutra, the Buddha will look upon him as a good person.

         The Bodies and Minds of Ordinary Beings, MW-6, 268

 

Lectures on the “Expedient Means” & “Life Span” Chapters, Vol. 3, pg. 19-20

         This practice of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging --light-hearted, persistent and among the people -- is the true cause for attaining Buddhahood.  It seems to me, in other words, that his practice must typify Shakyamuni’s original practice of the bodhisattva way in the remote past.

         The practice of discussing and praising the Mystic Law among people deepens an individual’s own faith in the Mystic Law and ultimately enables him or her to attain the true effect of Buddhahood.  Practice is itself mystic. . . .

         Only when we carry out bodhisattva practice can we understand true faith.  Only if we practice can we comprehend the profound significance and manifest the immeasurable benefit of faith.

         A way of life based on the principle of the true cause is that of those who practice among the people without putting on airs.  There is no need whatsoever for such people to “get all dressed,” as it were.  Honest and straightforward, they give others peace of mind and plant the seeds of happiness in others’ hearts through their unaffected actions.  This is the bodhisattva practice of the true cause.

 

Lectures on the “Expedient Means” & “Life Span” Chapters, Vol. 3, pg. 21

         Our Buddhist practice is not one of revering the true effect.  Since embracing the Mystic Law is in itself enlightenment, when we embrace the Gohonzon we can immediately manifest the world of Buddhahood in our lives.  The bodhisattva practice of the Buddhism of the true cause is to direct ourselves toward the nine worlds while basing ourselves on the life of Buddhahood.  It is, it might be said, to dive headlong into the mundane reality of society dominated by the nine worlds, based on the life of Buddhahood.

         In other words, our practice entails constantly going back and forth between the practice for oneself of doing gongyo and chanting daimoku and the practice for others of spreading the Mystic Law.  The key to manifesting the world of Buddhahood lies in this continuing activity.

         Accordingly, the Buddhism of the true cause exists in the way of life, the practice, of ceaselessly striving to improve one’ immediate, everyday surroundings and to carry the age and society forward.  The principles “faith manifests itself in daily life” and “Buddhism manifests itself in society” are thus central to the Daishonin’s Buddhism.

 

President Ikeda’s Addresses in the U. S. (1996), Pages 63-67  (Seikyo Times, Aug. 1996, Pgs 9-11)

President Ikeda’s Lecture at Teachers College, Columbia University,  June 13, 1996

         “Thoughts on Education for Global Citizenship”

(Summary by SFRG)

The essential elements of global citizenship:

1.        The wisdom to perceive the interconnectedness of all life and living.

2.        The courage not to fear or deny difference; but to respect and strive to understand people of different cultures, and to grow from encounters with them.

3.        The compassion to maintain an imaginative empathy that reaches beyond one’s immediate surroundings and extends to those suffering in distant places.

 

         In the Buddhist view, wisdom and compassion are intimately linked and mutually reinforcing.

         Compassion in Buddhism does not involve the forcible suppression of our natural emotions, our likes and dislikes.  Rather it is to realize that even those we dislike have qualities that can contribute to our lives, and can afford us opportunity to grow in our own humanity.

         Further, it is the compassionate desire to find ways of contributing to the well-being of others that gives rise to limitless wisdom.

 

         Buddhism teaches that both good and evil are potentialities that exist in all people.  Compassion consists of the sustained and courageous effort to seek out the good in any person, whoever they may be, however they may behave.  It means striving, through sustained engagement, to cultivate the positive qualities in oneself and in others.

         Engagement requires courage.  Engagement without courage remains mere sentiment.

 

         Buddhism calls a person who embodies these qualities of wisdom, courage and compassion, who strives without cease for the happiness of others, a bodhisattva.

         The practice of the bodhisattva is supported by a profound faith in the inherent goodness of people.

         Knowledge must be directed to the task of unleashing this creative, positive potential.

         The insight to perceive the evil that causes destruction and divisiveness, and that is equally part of human nature, is also necessary.  The bodhisattva’s practice is an unshrinking confrontation with what Buddhism calls the fundamental darkness of life.

 

         “Goodness” can be defined as that which moves us in the direction of harmonious coexistence, empathy and solidarity with others.  The nature of evil, on the other hand, is to divide:  people from people, humanity from the rest of nature.

         The pathology of divisiveness drives people to an unreasoning attachment to differences and blinds them to human commonalities.  This is not limited to individuals, but constitutes the deep psychology of collective egoism, which takes its most destructive form in virulent strains of ethnocentrism and nationalism.

         The struggle to rise above such egoism, and live in larger and more contributive realms of selfhood, constitutes the core of the bodhisattva’s practice.  Education is, or should be, based on the same altruistic spirit as the bodhisattva.

 

President Ikeda’s Addresses in the U. S. (1996), Pages 101-7  (World Tribune, July 5, 1996, Page 6)

21st SGI General Meeting, FNCC, June 23, 1996

         “A Full and Satisfying Life Is the Touchstone of Happiness”

(Summary by SFRG)

Ultimately, happiness rests on how you establish a solid sense of self or being.

 

1.        The first condition for happiness is fulfillment.

   It is a matter of what you feel inside; it is a deep resonance in your life.

   To be filled each day with a rewarding sense of exhilaration and purpose, a sense of tasks             accomplished and deep fulfillment--people who feel this way are happy.

2.        The second condition for happiness is to possess a profound philosophy.

   You are truly bodhisattvas.

   Each of you is translating this unsurpassed philosophy into action and spreading its             message far                     and wide.

3.        The third condition for happiness is to possess conviction

   The important thing is to hold on resolutely to one’s convictions, come what may, just as the                         Daishonin teaches.

   People who possess such unwavering conviction will definitely become happy.

4.        The fourth condition is living cheerfully and vibrantly.

         Those who are always complaining and grumbling make not only themselves but everyone else                           around them, miserable and unhappy.

         Those who always live positively and filled with enthusiasm, who possess a cheerful and sunny                            disposition that lifts the spirits and brightens the hearts of all they meet are not only happy                           themselves but are a source of hope and inspiration for others.

         Those who have lost  the ability to rejoice and fell genuine delight or wonder--live a dark,                                   cheerless existence.

         Those who possess good cheer can view even a scolding by a loved one, such as a spouse or                            partner, as sweet music to their ears.

         It means having the wisdom and perception to actually move things in a positive direction by                               seeing things in their best light, while all the time keeping our eyes firmly focused on reality.

         Faith and the teachings of Buddhism enable us to develop that kind of character.  The                                         acquisition of such character is a more priceless treasure than any other possession.

5.  The fifth condition for happiness is courage.

         Courageous people can overcome anything

         The cowardly, because of their lack of courage, fail to savor the true, profound joys of life.

6.  The sixth condition for happiness is tolerance.

         Those who are tolerant and broad-minded make people feel comfortable and at ease.

         Leaders must not intimidate or exhaust others.

         They must be tolerant and have a warm approachability that makes people feel relaxed and                                            comfortable.

         Not only are those who possess a heart as wide as the ocean happy themselves, but all those                             around them are happy, too.

The six conditions are all ultimately expressed in the single word faith.  A life based on faith is a life of unsurpassed happiness.

         The Daishonin writes, “[Chanting] Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the greatest of all joys” (GZ 788).  I hope all of you will savor the truth of these words deep in your lives and show vibrant actual proof of that joy.

 

Dialogue on the Lotus Sutra #13, Seikyo Times, October 1996

[Pg. 19]            That is a difficult question to answer, but to put it simply, attaining Buddhahood is not so much a matter of arriving at a destination or reaching a goal as internalizing the process of continually strengthening the world of Buddhahood in our life.  This is termed “entering the unsurpassed way.”

         In the theoretical teaching, or first half, of the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni had not yet departed from the view that attaining Buddhahood necessitates practicing for countless eons.  So, naturally, the prophecies Shakyamuni makes for his disciples are of attaining enlightenment in the distant future.  But Shakyamuni’s true intention is to enable all people to advance along the same path as he.  The bestowal of prophecy assures the Buddha’s disciples that they have definitely entered the “path of life,” the “road leading to absolute happiness,” along which the Buddha himself has traveled.

         This is not the enlightenment expounded in the earlier sutras or the theoretical teaching (first half) of the Lotus Sutra; it is not a matter of becoming a Buddha “endowed with august attributes.”  Advancing along the same path as the Buddha is itself attaining Buddhahood.

[Pg. 20]            Specifically, following the same path as the Buddha means accepting and upholding the Lotus Sutra; that is, to engrave in one’s life the Buddha’s spirit as revealed in the Lotus Sutra and to live in accord with that spirit.  It means living in such a way as to never depart from the spirit of the Buddha, under any and all circumstances.  Such unwavering commitment ensures that we will never deviate from the Buddha way. . . .

         This means that those who accept and uphold the Lotus Sutra can advance without fail along the path of the Buddha, and are certain Buddhahood.

[Pg. 21]            The Dharma-realm is the universe, the world, all living beings.  The five elements indicate life.  To “offer up the five elements to the Dharma-realm means to carry out the actions of bodhisattvas who make an offering of their lives to bring benefit to others.  In other words, following the path of the bodhisattva is itself attaining Buddhahood.

         The essential teaching, or second half, of the Lotus Sutra presents a new view of attaining enlightenment.  This is found in the revelation in the “Life Span of the Thus Come One” (sixteenth) chapter that the Buddha enlightened from the remote past has, since attaining Buddhahood, been continuously carrying out bodhisattva practice.  In becoming a Buddha, Shakyamuni did not cease to be a bodhisattva.  In concrete terms, the Buddha’s actions and stance in society consist of bodhisattva practice.  Even after attaining enlightenment, the Buddha continues to adhere to the path of bodhisattva practice.  This, in other words, is “the Buddha way.”

         From the standpoint of the essential teaching, attaining Buddhahood is not so much a “goal” or a special “state,” but a path.  We could probably even go so far as to say that the only difference in someone’s condition before and after attaining Buddhahood has to do with whether this path is firmly established in the person’s life.

         “Firmly establishing this path” means solidifying in our lives a spirit of yearning for the happiness of oneself and others, and continuously taking constructive action with that spirit.

[Pg. 25]            The important point here is that, upon attaining Buddhahood, the personality and total life experience of each of these disciples come to shine as virtuous enlightened attributes.  As long as we have faith, no effort is wasted.  This is the great benefit of the Lotus Sutra.

 

Dialogue on the Lotus Sutra #13, Seikyo Times, November 1996

[Pg. 26-27]      In other words, the inherent potential of innate Buddhahood indicates one’s heart and the inner realm of life itself.  Therefore, causing people to awaken to the great potential of their lives corresponds to the bestowal of prophecy of innate Buddhahood.

         Expressed more simply, it is to convey to each person:  “You, too, will realize the greatest the greatest happiness without fail.”  It is to give hope and revive a spirit of challenge in the hearts of those who, mired in the darkness of suffering, have grown resigned and weary.  In a stagnating and deadlocked society, it is to assert that human beings have the limitless potential to resolve all difficulties.

         Each person is an entity of the Mystic Law.  Each person is worthy of respect by virtue of his or her humanity.  This is what Bodhisattva Never Disparaging reveals with his life through his practice of revering others.

[Pg. 28]            How can we reduce the speed of this out-of-control vehicle and point humanity in the right direction?

         This is only possible through human revolution--a revolution in the life of each individual.  People themselves have to change.  We have to foster people who can “put themselves on the right track.”  It stands to reason that as the number of such people in society increases, the direction of society will also change.  [Dr. Aurelio] Peccei remarked, “The human revolution is the key to positive action leading to the adoption of a new course and the revival of human fortunes.” (Before It Is Too Late, Page 152)

         Buddhism cultivates in people the ability to put themselves on the “right track.”  The “right track” could be taken as meaning the path leading to happiness for both oneself and others.  We are entering the sure path toward that goal ourselves and helping others to do the same; this endeavor to provide inspiration and hope is the movement of human revolution.  It is the movement for peace, culture and education based on Buddhism that we in the SGI are promoting.

 

Dialogue on the Lotus Sutra #19, Living Buddhism, June 1997

[Pg. 32]            To attain Buddhahood, we have to thoroughly conquer our own ‘inner evil.’  The concrete means for doing so is struggling against and defeating “external evil.”  Struggling to defeat evil enables us to polish and purify our lives, and attain Buddhahood.  Because we strive against the ultimate evil, we attain the ultimate good.

         Nichiren Daishonin, likewise, having realized great victory, could say, “for me, my best allies in the attainment of enlightenment are Hei no Saemon and Regent Hojo Tokimune, as well as Tojo Kagenobu and the priests Ryokan, Doryu and Doamidabutsu.  I am grateful when I think that without them I could not have proven myself the votary of the Lotus Sutra” (MW-1, 186-87).  In other words, these evil people who had persecuted the original Buddha were changed into good people by his victory.

         Because of the model of such struggle set by Shakyamuni and Daishonin, we of later generations know where the correct path lies.  In that sense, Devadatta, Hei no Saemon and others functioned in part as teachers who revealed the “path of good” for later generations.

[Pg. 35]            The point is to advance while intently reflecting on, and grappling to overcome, the self; to defeat one’s inner weaknesses and advance.  When we do so, we are truly reading the “Devadatta” chapter.  In the final analysis, the bitter struggle between Shakyamuni and Devadatta is contained within each of us our lives.  When we understand the sutra in this light we are reading it from the standpoint of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism.

 

Dialogue on the Lotus Sutra #23,  Living Buddhism, October 1997, Pg. 47-48

Ikeda:  It comes down to people revolutionizing their state of life.  From a broad perspective, our efforts to cause countless Bodhisattvas of the Earth to emerge--to help many people revolutionize their lives--amount to a struggle to change the state of life of society at large.  It is a struggle to elevate the state of all humankind.  Isn’t this the transformation that “breaking through the earth” symbolizes?

 

Saito:  In that sense, the preconception held by those in the assembly of the Lotus Sutra--that Shakyamuni attained enlightenment for the first time during his present lifetime in India--is indicative of their confusion about the origin of their own lives.  They don’t understand the eternal energy of life that is the foundation and wellspring of their own existence.  This is comparable to the delusion of people in modern society. 

 

Ikeda:  That’s right.  Failing to comprehend the greatness of their own lives, they become attached to unimportant details.  The power of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth is the fundamental power we have as human beings to break through all differences--whether of ethnicity, race, gender or social standing--and lead people to happiness.  We are plain and unadorned ordinary people; we are thoroughly human and infinitely courageous.  This is the pride of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. 

         The appearance of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth is an earthshaking event attesting to the greatness of the underlying power of life.  We have to convey this to people throughout the world.  The transformation of the perception of the Buddha in the essential teaching amounts to a fundamental transformation in the perception of human beings. 

 

Dialogue on the Lotus Sutra #24,  Living Buddhism, November 1997, Pgs. 36-37

Ikeda:  The simultaneity of cause and effect is an extremely profound doctrine.  I propose that we discuss it in detail another time.

         For the time being, I’d just like to point out that the causality referred to here specifically indicates the causes and effects pertaining to the attainment of Buddhahood.  The state of Buddhahood is the effect, and the practice to attain that state is the cause.  The idea that these two could coincide seems counter‑intuitive; the usual assumption is that by carrying out Buddhist practice (the cause), a person later attains Buddhahood (the effect). 

         But when we practice Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (the True Cause for attaining Buddhahood), our practice already encompasses the world of Buddhahood (the True Effect).  Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is at once the True Cause and the True Effect of attaining Buddhahood.  This marvelous teaching of the Mystic Law embodying the simultaneity of cause and effect is compared to the lotus flower.  The important point here is that the Bodhisattvas of the Earth manifest this simultaneity of cause and effect in their lives. 

 

Saito:  Because outwardly they are bodhisattvas, they are still in the process of making causes to attain Buddhahood.  But in terms of their inner lives, they are Buddhas, that is, they have already gained the effect of Buddhahood. 

 

Ikeda:  Buddhahood is not a fixed or static condition.  Just as the fruit and flowers of the lotus mature at the same time, the effect, or the world of Buddhahood, develops in our lives simultaneous with our carrying out our Buddhist practice for kosen-rufu.  In that sense, the Bodhisattvas of the Earth signify eternal advance and eternal growth.  Conversely, if a person ceases to advance in faith, he or she is no longer a Bodhisattva of the Earth. 

 

Dialogue on the Lotus Sutra  #25,  Living Buddhism, January 1998, Pg. 32

The SGI is a “Gathering of Bodhisattvas”

Endo:  I recall an address that Professor Su Dongtian of Shenzhen University in China gave at a lecture meeting sponsored by the SGI of Hong Kong.

 

[Titled, “The Twenty-first Century and Buddhism—SGI President Ikeda’s Buddhist Thought and the Civilization of the Twenty-first Century,” it was held at the Hong Kong Culture Centre in September 1996.]

 

Characterizing the present as a time when most people are controlled by cravings and desires, Professor Su asserted that the “conscientious wisdom” of people such as yourself, Mr. Ikeda, was a bright light guiding humankind toward the future.  He credited you with having created many “gatherings of bodhisattvas,” mentioning the members of the Soka Gakkai in Japan and of the SGI of Hong Kong.

         Prof. Su further noted that the SGI is quite a unique organization in that its members are neither motivated in their activities by concern for profit or by ideology, nor bound by a set of rules or a contract.  Instead, ties of the heart and friendship, entirely free of any coercion or external pressure, form the basis of members’ association.

 

President Ikeda:  He really sees things very clearly.

         Everything comes from the self-directed power of the people themselves.  We have succeeded in helping people cultivate their own “inner power.”  This is a remarkable achievement.  And therein lies the SGI’s underlying strength.  It simply could never happen that so many people would carry on such vigorous activities over such a long time merely on the directive of some authority figure.  The SGI’s success in facilitating the empowerment of the people is truly the actualization of the Lotus Sutra’s teaching of “emerging from the earth.”

 

Dialogue on the Lotus Sutra #27, Living Buddhism, March 1998, Pg. 27

President Ikeda:  He puts his finger on the key point.  The essence of Buddhism lies in developing oneself through one’s own determination and tenacious effort -- not by depending on anyone or anything else.  We need to have the spirit to stand on our own initiative without relying on anyone.  We don’t need others’ sympathy or sentimentality.  We have to stand up and advance, even if there is no one to encourage us. 

         We resolutely and cheerfully take responsibility to change ourselves, our surroundings, society and the land where we live.  That is the principle of ichinen sanzen, or three thousand realms in a single moment of life.  What Buddhism teaches is not abstract theory; it is not a weak-kneed way of life of constantly clinging to something for support.  At the same time, neither is it to be confused with the egoism to arrogantly suppose, “I alone am correct and respectworthy.” 

         To believe in the great life force within oneself is at once to believe in the great life force existing within all people.  Buddhism teaches that we should treasure the lives of others just as highly as we treasure our own.