Petzold, Buddhist Prophet Nichiren , p 75-77In view of his uncompromising attitude, it is no wonder that Nichiren earned the reputation of being intolerant. His vehemence against other sects cannot be questioned. And yet, it seems that he has been somewhat misrepresented.
In the Risshó-ankokuron there is an argument between the Visitor and the Master of the House, who represents Nichiren, which turns on the question of whether or not the Government should suppress by force such heresies as taught by Hōnen. …
The Master, that is, Nichiren, consequently takes the stand: In the fight against blasphemy, only the sin, not the person, must be killed, by depriving the blasphemers of the gifts they receive from the State and communities, i.e. by cutting them off from their livelihood. This will induce the false prophets to give up priesthood and thus be silenced and unable to commit their sin.
This was not exactly the method of the Inquisition, and [Arthur] Lloyd [who translated Risshó-ankokuron] is therefore wrong in drawing a parallel between this treatise by Nichiren, written in 1258-60, and the revision of the measures of Innocent III for “the detection and punishment of heretics” brought about by the Council of Toulouse in 1229. As is evident from the preceding quotations, Nichiren had no inclination to engage in the edifying sport of roasting heretics at the stake. Instead, he insisted on rendering the “enemies of Buddhism” harmless by boycotting them. The application of this method he considered not only as right, but as his duty, in pointing to the “Mahā-Pari-Nirvāṇa-Sūtra” that says: “However virtuous a priest may be, if he neglects to eject transgressors, to make them repent or renounce their sins, hearken! he is wicked and hostile to Buddhist Law. If he casts them out to make them be repentant and amend their negligence, he is worthy to be my disciple and truly virtuous.” (Satomi, p. 100)
Monthly Archives: May 2023
Daily Dharma – May 25, 2023
Ajita! Anyone who[, while he is staying outside the place of the expounding of the Dharma,] says to another person, ‘Let us go and hear the sūtra called the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma which is being expounded [in that place],’ and causes him to hear it even for a moment, in his next life by his merits, will be able to live with the Bodhisattvas who obtain dhāraṇīs.
The Buddha gives this explanation to Maitreya (whom he calls Ajita – Invincible) in Chapter Eighteen of the Lotus Sutra. The dhāraṇīs are promises made by Bodhisattvas to protect those who keep and practice the Lotus Sūtra. They are included in the sūtra so that we can use them to remind these Bodhisattvas, and ourselves, of the protection we enjoy from our practice. This protection is not just meant for us. It is for all beings. When we share the teaching of the Wonderful Dharma with others, we help them become aware of their potential to become enlightened.
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Day 6
Day 6 continues Chapter 3, A Parable
Having last month concluded today’s portion of Chapter 3, A Parable, we return to the top and consider why the Buddha was not guilty of falsehood when he gave his children the large carts of treasures.
“The children rode in the large carts, and had the greatest joy that they had ever had because they had never expected to get them. Śāriputra! What do you think of this? Do you think that the rich man was guilty of falsehood when he gave his children the large carts of treasures?”
Śāriputra said:“No, World-Honored One! He saved his children from the fire and caused them to survive. [Even if he had not given them anything,] he should not have been accused of falsehood because the children should be considered to have already been given the toys [they had wished to have] when they survived. He saved them from the burning house with the expedient. World-Honored One! Even if he had not given them the smallest cart, he should not have been accused of falsehood because he thought at first, ‘I will cause them to get out with an expedient.’ Because of this, he should not. Needless to say, he was not guilty of falsehood when he remembered his immeasurable wealth and gave them the large carts in order to benefit them.”
The Buddha said to Śāriputra:
“So it is, so it is. It is just as you say. Śāriputra! The same can be said of me. [I thought, ‘] I am the father of the world. I eliminated fear, despondency, grief, ignorance and darkness. I obtained immeasurable insight, powers and fearlessness. I have great supernatural powers, the power of wisdom, the paramita of expedients, the paramita of wisdom, great compassion, and great loving-kindness. I am not tired of seeking good things or of benefiting all living beings. I have appeared in the triple world, which can be likened to the rotten and burning house, in order to save all living beings from the fires of birth, old age, disease, death, grief, sorrow, suffering, lamentation, stupidity, darkness, and the three poisons, to teach all living beings, and to cause them to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. I see that all living beings are burned by the fires of birth, old age, disease, death, grief, sorrow, suffering and lamentation. They undergo various sufferings because they have the five desires and the desire for gain. Because they have attachments and pursuits, they have many sufferings in their present existence, and will suffer in hell or in the world of animals or in the world of hungry spirits in their future lives. Even when they are reborn in heaven or in the world of humans, they will still have many sufferings such as poverty or parting from their beloved ones or meeting with those whom they hate. Notwithstanding all this, however, they are playing joyfully. They are not conscious of the sufferings. They are not frightened at the sufferings or afraid of them. They do not dislike them or try to get rid of them. They are running about this burning house of the triple world, and do not mind even when they undergo great sufferings.[‘]
Whoever Believes in This Sutra Obeys the Precepts
[N]ichiren rejects the Hinayāna and Mahāyāna kai, and maintains that purity can be gained only through a pure teaching. And as the teaching was preached by Buddha, the purity of Buddha himself becomes a thing of fundamental importance. Nichiren says in this respect that by manifesting the fundamental truth of the enlightenment of the very substance of Myō Hō Ren Ge Kyō all living beings inherited also the purity of the Wonderful Teaching. Since they were unaware of it themselves, they lost the purity of it. If one believes that the wonderful substance of the Original Buddha Śākyamuni is the very essence of one’s own substance, and if one trusts in and practices Namu Myō Hō Ren Ge Kyō, then the kaitai of incomparable purity becomes active naturally. Textually, Nichiren says in the Kanjin Honzon: “The Venerable Śākyamuni of wonderful enlightenment is our blood and flesh. His merits of cause and effect are our bones and marrow.” “Śākyamuni’s two dharmas of cause and practice and effect-virtue are possessed completely in the five characters of Myō Hō Ren Ge Kyō. If we accept and keep these five characters, then he naturally gives us his merits of cause and effect.” Nichiren says, thus, that the wonderful substance of ourselves is manifested openly and truly only by the Myō Hō Ren Ge Kyō. Whoever believes in