After I have passed into extinction, in the last five-hundred-year period you must spread it abroad widely throughout Jambudvipa and never allow it to be cut off, nor must you allow evil devils, the devils’ people, heavenly beings, dragons, yakshas, kumbhanda demons, or others to seize the advantage!
Lotus Sutra - Medicine King chapter
Right on, Jikan. Nichiren wrote in one of his letters something to the effect that Buddha Dharma only endures in our selves. By practicing, it continues. By creating communities in which it is cultivated and shared, it has fertile ground to grow and spread. Our spiritual ancestors guarded the Buddha dharma with their lives, and its our responsibility to keep it safe for our heirs. Practice for oneself and for others.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
markatex wrote:As a Nichiren Shu practitioner myself, I think shakubuku has its place, but I'm not sure if the average lay person has any business trying to engage in it, and certainly not on the Internet. It can become very off-putting, very quickly. As it was explained to me, shakubuku is really only acceptable when you're dealing with a Buddhist audience (and maybe not even then). For everyone else, shoju is preferable.
I agree with Queequeg in theory, but my view of humanity in general is too pessimistic (realistic?) to believe that most people are capable of handling shakubuku in the conservative manner he (and Nichiren) described.
This is the Nichiren forum, but here's a koan: Is anyone ever ready to have a child?
Queequeg wrote:
What I have in mind as Shakubuku is much more basic than what I think you are considering shakubuku.
I don't think you sound crazy for pointing out that unrestrained greed and self interest crashed the world economy in 2007-8. I think that's conventional wisdom. Or using the Buddha's teachings to analyze how public policies grounded in greed, hatred and ignorance lead to suffering. Or urging that we, as a society bring harm to ourselves when we lack compassion for each other, or that ignoring the interdependence of all phenomena doesn't alter cause and effect.
Yeah, that's a broader definition of shakubuku, but a more important one in the larger scheme of things. I very much feel Nichiren's sense of urgency when looking at things that are happening in the world today, even as I hold out no hope whatsoever that humanity will survive another 100 years.
Nichiren wasn't a liar. That would imply that he knew reality to be otherwise, and intentionally misled. He was a human being working with limited information. The authoritative texts he consulted, the pinnacle of learning of his day, were composed a thousand years before he appeared. They say some wacky things.
There isn't a Buddhist master of the past that didn't get things wrong. We only handicap ourselves when we deify these people and fail to see their limitations. Many of those people believed the earth was a giant disc, floating on a sea of churning cream. There's a lot of nonsensical myth that has been woven into Buddhist teaching. Some of it is metaphor, some just speculation posing as knowledge.
In Nichiren I see someone who looked at the charlatans of his day posing as wise men and calling their bs. He sought to make awakening imminent when many others were intentionally or mistakenly obfuscating it. He was reacting against other teachers who said there is no awakening here and now, only after death; or other teachers who said you had to be invited into a secret society and learn how to recite secret gibberish and do the proper finger movements to get the spider up and down the spout; or yet others who said you should burn your books and play guess what I'm thinking with a master until you figure out the 'rule'. Or people who tell you 'if you buy this car, all your dreams will come true!' All that is not dharma. Its someone's vanity.
Instead, he emphasized, 'you want awakening? Its indivisible from your life. Look at your life.'
Maybe Nichiren got details wrong. Good. Then you can't deify him. You can, though, see the marker he posted in the dharmadhatu directing your attention to some profound insights identified as the lotus. Its nothing he invented, and he wasn't even one of the best explainers. But he did show how to keep the marker visible for others to find.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
This [Lotus] sutra deals with the original mind [of enlightenment] in the waking state. But because living beings are accustomed to thinking in the mental terms appropriate to a dream state, it borrows the language of the dream state in order to teach the waking state of the original mind. However, though the language is that employed in a dream state, the intention behind it is to give instruction in the waking state of the original mind. This is the aim of both the text of the Lotus Sutra itself and of the commentaries on it. If one does not clearly understand this, one will invariably misunderstand the wording of both the sutra and its commentaries.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
It is important to determine how the methods of practice of shoju and shakabuku are to be performed in this Defiled Age:
"'There are monks who preach the Dharma in various ways, but still they are not able to utter "the lion's roar" and refute evil persons who deny the Dharma. Monks of this kind can bring no merit either to themselves or to the populace. You should realize that they are in fact shirkers and idlers. Though they are careful in observing the precepts and maintain spotless conduct, you should realize that they are incapable of attaining Buddhahood." (Opening of the Eyes)
Some people(the SGI and the Nichiren Shu in particular) have argued very persuasively, utilizing the following two passages of the Opening of the Eyes as proof that the shoju methods predominate at this time.
"When the country is full of ignorant or evil persons, then shoju is the primary method to be applied, as described in the Anrakugyo chapter. But at a time when there are many persons of perverse views who slander the Law, then shakubuku should come first, as described in the Fukyo chapter." (ibid)
"...This is because there are two kinds of countries, the country that is passively evil, and the kind that actively seeks to destroy the Law. We must consider carefully to which category Japan at the present time belongs."(ibid).
Let us take the United States as an example. Some people cite as proof that the United States and its leaders are merely passively evil because they let us practice and spread the True Law in the land. However, as pointed out by Nichiren Daishonin in the Gift of Rice, "the sixth volume of the Lotus Sutra reads, "No affairs of life or work are in any way different from the ultimate reality", and "The true path of life lies in the affairs of this world." The United States, in light of these passages does indeed actively seek to destroy the Law: The United States is engaged in war upon war, it has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, it is the greatest source of global pollution, it is the most glaring example of greed is good, and the most powerful Christian country in the world. Is the United States not killing votaries or potential votaries of the Lotus Sutra all over the world?
If we are incapable of uttering the lion's roar, we will fail to attain Buddhahood.
"When the time is right to propagate the supreme teaching, the provisional teachings become enemies. If they are a source of confusion, they must be thoroughly refuted from the standpoint of the true teaching. Of the two types of practice, this is shakubuku, the practice of the Lotus Sutra. With good reason, T-ien-t'ai stated: 'The practice of the Lotus Sutra is shakubuku, the refutation of the provisional doctrines.' The four easy practices in the Anrakugyo chapter are shoju. To carry them out in this age would be as foolish as sowing seeds in winter and expecting to reap the harvest in spring." (On Practicing the Buddha's Teachings)
There are three aspects to attaining Buddhahood through the power of the Lotus Sutra. The first is faith, the second is practice, and the third is study. Practice encompasses practice for oneself and practice for others. There are two methods of practice for others, the shoju method (gentle approach) and the shakabuku method (forceful approach). We can liken the two approaches to the gentle compassion of a mother and the strict compassion of a father. If a child's problem behavior is not overly serious the mother, through gentle caring and guidance can assist the child. If a child's problem behavior is totally out of control, the child carrying a gun to school, for example, the strict and stern admonishments of a father is appropriate to alter the destructive course of the child. The two methods of propagation are like this.
In the world, during the times of Shoho (~ 3000-2000 years ago) and Zoho (~ 2000-1000 years ago), society and individuals (as a whole) exhibited only mildly abherent and abhorant behaviors, so the shoju method was the principle and appropriate method to employ to awaken the people. From approximately 1000 years ago to the present, individuals and society became so steeped in the Three Poisons (Anger, Avarice and Stupidity) that shakabuku became the principle and appropriate method of propagation.
"In terms of the practices to be adopted, there are shoju and shakabuku. It is a mistake to practice shakabuku at time when shoju is called for, and equally erroneous to practice shoju when shakabuku is appropriate. The first thing to be determined, therefore, is whether the present period is the time for shoju or the time for shakabuku." (Conversations between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man).
"The methods of shoju and shakubuku are also like this. When the True Law alone is propagated and there are no erroneous doctrines or misguided teachers, then one may enter the deep valleys and live in quiet contentment, devoting his time to reciting and copying the Sutra and to the practice of meditation...But when there are provisional sects and slanderers of the Law in the country, then it is time to set aside other matters and devote oneself to rebuking slander...One should practice shakubuku...."(ibid)
"Shoju is to practiced when throughout the entire country only the Lotus Sutra has spread, and when there is not even a single misguided teacher expounding erroneous doctrines."(ibid).
We live in a horrendous time.
In the treatise Establishment of the Right Law to Save the Country, Nichiren states:
"We should rather elliminate heretical teachings than perform ten thousand prayers."
"But the present age is a defiled one. Because the minds of people are warped and twisted, and provisional teachings and slander alone abound, the True Law cannot prevail. In times like these, it is useless to practice the reading, reciting and copying [of the Lotus Sutra] or to devote oneselves to the methods and practices of meditation. One should practice ONLY shakabuku, and if one has the capacity, use his influence and authority to destroy slander of the Law, and his knowledge of teachings to refute erroneous doctrines."(ibid).
The Daishonin states in another Gosho, "All teachings are ultimately the revelation of Buddhist truth". Shakabuku is the method for refuting teachings when they are a source of slander or confusion. Included among these teachings are the the omniscience of science and Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, and occult theology. All these teachings lead to suffering and their adherents all assert that their teachings are equal or superior to those of the Lotus Sutra. These teachings and their adherents must be taken severely to task, as Aryasinha did, even at the cost of his life. Do you think Aryasinha lost his life for practicing shoju?
There is a balance between the preservation of the purity of the teachings and a liberal interpretation of the teachings in order to convince others to convert. If you compromise the teachings in your eagerness to be everything to everybody, you end up being nothing to nobody. in effect you are doing neither shoju nor shakabuku but merely destroying the teachings. Is this not the case with the Soka Gakkai and the Nichiren Shu today?
In those few cases when a person is either readily ammenable to the teachings of the Lotus Sutra or when a Lotus Sutra adherent's faith and practice is basically correct and one's faults not overly serious, no strict admonishments are necessary. In this case, the shoju method may be employed. Having faith in Jesus while praying to the Gohonzon, is a serious transgression. Another example is studying the Human Revolution at the expense of studying the Lotus Sutra.
Speaking about Brahamanism, Nichiren states:
"Erroneous teachings such as these are too numerous to be counted. Their adherents pay as much respect and honor to the teachers who propounded them as the various deities pay to the God Taishaku or the court ministers pay to the ruler of the empire But not a single person who adheres to these ninety five higher or lower teachings ever escape from the cycle of birth and death." (Opening of the Eyes)
In reference to Taoists he declares:
"But since such a man knows nothing about the past or the future, he can not assist his parents, his sovereign or his teacher in making provisions for their future lives, and he is therefore guilty of failing to repay the debt he owes them. Such a person is not a true wise man or sage."(ibid)
We would never employ gentle practices with the Hindu or Taoist adherents, why should we with Christian adherents?
The Lotus Sutra states, "In the whole universe there are not even two vehicles, how much less a third."(LS Ch. 2).
Nichiren Daishonin was a very strict teacher out of great compassion for humanity. In one of his Five Major Writings, "Establishing the Right Law to Save the Country", he teaches that the cause of personal, societal, and environmental problems are mistaken ideas, false views, false religions, and false beliefs. He asserted, whether to use one or the other methods (gentle or assertive), depends not on the inborn capacity of the individual, not on the land, and not on the order of propagation [of the teachings] but rather on the time and the teachings themselves. During the Former and Middle Days, one gained emancipation through shoju but today in Mappo, the defiled degenerate age, one gains emancipation through the shakabuku method. Only the most powerful medicine will do for the most serious illnesses: Nuclear weapons, war having killed hundreds of millions of people in the twentieth century alone, pollution, famine, , massive earthquakes, floods, nuclear accidents, new deadly strains of disease, the destruction of the rain forests, massive and growing dead zones in the sea..., problems one would expect to encounter in this Defiled Age. Nichiren Daishonin taught these are caused by the rampancy of misleading philosophies and religions incapable of transforming the Three Poisons [Greed, Anger, and Animality] into the Three Noble Attributes of the Buddha, Dharma Body, wisdom, and emancipation.
Nichiren performed the forceful practices towards all save for his own faithful disciples and believers. The heretical sectarians of his day and even some of his "adherents" arrogantly admonished him to cease and desist, that his methods were too confrontational, too diffficult to practice. In response to such criticism, he wrote:
"Though I may be a person of little ability, I have reverently given myself to the study of the Mahayana. A blue fly, if it clings to the tail of a thoroughbred horse, can travel ten thousand miles....I was born as the son of the one Buddha, Shakyamuni and I serve the king of scriptures, the Lotus Sutra. How could I observe the decline of the Buddhist Law and not be filled with emotions of pity and distress." (Establishing the Right Law for the Peace of the Land)
"The provisional Buddhist teachings have sprouted here and there like so many weeds, even in the United States. There are more than one thousand provisional Buddhist denominations and permutations and their evil doctrines are embraced by millions of believers or supporters. Even worse, radical Christian fundamentalism and Bibleism is spreading to all corners of the heartland, its adherents actively working to stifle the sowing of the seeds of Myoho and to destroy our basic human rights of free speech and freedom of religion.
According to the above passage of the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai, in this latter age the persons who are lacking in good roots are many, and those who possess them are few. Therefore, many people are doubtless destined to fall into the evil paths in their next existence. And if they are destined for the evil paths in any case, then one should preach the Lotus Sutra to them forcefully and thereby allow them to create a “poison-drum relationship” with the sutra. Hence there can be no doubt that this latter age is the proper time in which to preach the Lotus Sutra to all people, thus enabling them to create a reverse relationship with it by slandering it." (On reciting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra"
"If, failing to understand this principle, one were to practice shoju or shakubuku at an inappropriate time, then not only would one be unable to attain Buddhahood, but one would fall into the evil paths. This is firmly laid down in the Lotus and Nirvana sutras, and is also clearly stated in the commentaries by T’ien-t’ai and Miao-lo. It is, in fact, an important principle of Buddhist practice." (pg. 126)
"Some people criticize me, saying, 'Nichiren does not understand the capacities of the people of the time, but goes around preaching in a harsh manner—that is why he meets with difficulties.' Other people say, 'The practices described in the "Encouraging Devotion" chapter are for bodhisattvas who are far advanced in practice; [Nichiren ought to follow the practices of] the "Peaceful Practices" chapter, yet he fails to do so.' Others say, 'I, too, know the Lotus Sutra is supreme, but I say nothing about it.' Still others complain that I give all my attention to doctrinal teachings. I am well aware of all these criticisms against me. But I recall the case of Pien Ho, who had his legs cut off at the knee, and of Kiyomaro (Pure Man), who was dubbed Kegaremaro (Filthy Man) and almost put to death. All the people of the time laughed at them with scorn, but unlike those two men, those who laughed left no good name behind them. And all the people who level unjust criticisms at me will meet with a similar fate. The 'Encouraging Devotion' chapter says, 'There will be many ignorant people who will curse and speak ill of us.' I observe my own situation in this passage. Why should it not apply to all of you as well? 'They will attack us with swords and staves,' the passage continues. I have experienced this passage from the sutra with my own body. Why do you, my disciples, not do likewise?" (pg. 209)
Question: "How should one practice if one takes faith in the Lotus Sutra?" (pg. 125)
Answer: "Shoju is to be practiced when throughout the entire country only the Lotus Sutra has spread, and when there is not even a single misguided teacher expounding erroneous doctrines." (pg. 126)
"The methods of shoju and shakubuku are also like this. When the correct teaching alone is propagated and there are no erroneous doctrines or misguided teachers, then one may enter the deep valleys and live in quiet contentment, devoting one’s time to reciting and copying the sutra and to the practice of meditation. This is like taking up a writing brush and inkstone when the world is at peace. But when there are provisional schools or slanderers of the correct teaching in the country, then it is time to set aside other matters and devote oneself to rebuking slander." (126 & 127)
"Therefore, we must look at the world today and consider whether ours is a country in which only the correct doctrine prevails, or a country in which erroneous doctrines flourish." (pg. 127)
"One should practice only the shakubuku method of propagation, and if one has the capacity, use one’s influence and authority to destroy slander of the correct teaching, and one’s knowledge of the teachings to refute erroneous doctrines."(127)
"Question: Then it would be wrong to say that faith in any sutra or any Buddha of the expedient and provisional teachings equals faith in the Lotus Sutra. But what of those who believe only in the Lotus Sutra and carry out the five practices set forth in the sutra or follow the practices described in the 'Peaceful Practices' chapter? Could we not say that their practice accords with the Buddha’s teachings?
"Answer: Anyone who practices Buddhism should first understand the two types of practice—shoju and shakubuku....
"In this age, the provisional teachings have turned into enemies of the true teaching. When the time is right to propagate the teaching of the one vehicle, the provisional teachings become enemies. When they are a source of confusion, they must be thoroughly refuted from the standpoint of the true teaching. Of the two types of practice, this is shakubuku, the practice of the Lotus Sutra. With good reason T’ien-t’ai stated, 'The Lotus Sutra is the teaching of shakubuku, the refutation of the provisional doctrines.'
"The four peaceful practices [in the 'Peaceful Practices' chapter] correspond to shoju. To carry them out in this age would be as foolish as sowing seeds in winter and expecting to reap the harvest in spring. It is natural for a rooster to crow at dawn, but strange for him to crow at dusk. Now, when the true and the provisional teachings are utterly confused, it would be equally unnatural for one to seclude oneself in the mountain forests and carry out the peaceful practice of shoju without refuting the enemies of the Lotus Sutra. One would lose the chance to practice the Lotus Sutra.
"Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, who is carrying out the practice of shakubuku in strict accordance with the Lotus Sutra? Suppose someone, no matter who, should unrelentingly proclaim that the Lotus Sutra alone can lead people to Buddhahood, and that all other sutras, far from enabling them to attain the way, only drive them into hell. Observe what happens should that person thus try to refute the teachers and the doctrines of all the other schools. The three powerful enemies will arise without fail.
"Our teacher, the Thus Come One Shakyamuni, practiced shakubuku during the last eight years of his lifetime, the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai for more than thirty years, and the Great Teacher Dengyo for more than twenty." (pg. 394, “On Practicing the Buddha's Teachings")
"The Lotus Sutra is the teaching of shakubuku, the refutation of the provisional doctrines." (pg. 392)
“Although few people slander the Lotus Sutra with actual words of abuse, there are none who accept it. Some appear to accept the sutra, but their faith in it is not as deep as their faith in the Nembutsu or other teachings. And even those with profound faith do not reproach the enemies of the Lotus Sutra. However great good causes one may make, or even if one reads and copies the entirety of the Lotus Sutra a thousand or ten thousand times, or attains the way of perceiving three thousand realms in a single moment of life, if one fails to denounce the enemies of the Lotus Sutra, it will be impossible to attain the way.” (WND p. 78)
“The Great Teacher Nan-yueh has stated, ‘If one sees a foe of the Lotus Sutra and yet fails to censure him, one becomes a slanderer of the Law and will fall into the hell of incessant suffering.’ Even a man of great wisdom, if he sees such a person and fails to speak out, will fall into the depths of the hell of incessant suffering, and as long as that hell shall endure, he will never escape.” (pg. 1021-1022)
"But the men of the Tendai school [who do not refute misleading teachings] are all great enemies of the people. [As Chang-an has noted,] 'One who rids the offender of evil is acting as his parent.'" (pg. 287)
“For persons of the Tendai Lotus school to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo themselves and yet give their approval when others repeat the Nembutsu would be strange enough. Yet not only do they fail to remonstrate with them, but they criticize one who does confront the Nembutsu school, which is strange indeed!” (pg. 856)
"The question, however, is not whether one lives in the Former, the Middle, or the Latter Day of the Law, but whether one bases oneself upon the text of the true sutra. Again, the point is not who preaches a doctrine, but whether it accords with truth." (pg. 168)
“A good believer is one who does not depend upon persons of eminence or despise those of humble station; who does not rely on the backing of superiors or look down on inferiors; who, not relying on the opinions of others, upholds the Lotus Sutra among all the sutras. Such a person the Buddha has called the best of all people.” (pg. 880)
“In both secular and religious realms, as is plain to see, good persons are rare while evil persons are numerous. Why, then, do you insist upon despising the few and favoring the many? Dirt and sand are plentiful, but rice and other grains are rare. The bark of trees is available in great quantities, but hemp and silk fabrics are hard to come by. You should put the truth of the teaching before everything else; certainly you should not base your judgment on the number of adherents.” (pg. 125)
“To ignore the supremacy of the Lotus Sutra and assert that other sutras stand on a par with it is to commit the worst possible slander of the Law, a major offense of the utmost gravity.” (pg. 61)
“Among my disciples, those who think themselves well versed in Buddhism are the ones who make errors. Namu-myoho-renge-kyo is the heart of the Lotus Sutra. It is like the soul of a person. To revere another teaching as its equal is to be like a consort who is married to two emperors, or who secretly commits adultery with a minister or a humble subject. It can only be a cause for disaster.” (pg. 903)
“Our seeing, hearing, and making no attempt to stop slander that, if we spoke out, could be avoided, destroys our gifts of sight and hearing, and is utterly merciless.
“Chang-an writes, ‘If one befriends another person but lacks the mercy to correct him, one is in fact his enemy.’ The consequences of a grave offense are extremely difficult to erase. The most important thing is to continually strengthen our wish to benefit others.
“Many such examples of slander are also found among Nichiren’s disciples and lay believers.” (pgs. 625-626)
"Now, in the Latter Day of the Law, who is carrying out the practice of shakubuku in strict accordance with the Lotus Sutra? Suppose someone, no matter who, should unrelentingly proclaim that the Lotus Sutra alone can lead people to Buddhahood, and that all other sutras, far from enabling them to attain the way, only drive them into hell." (pg. 394)
"The Lotus Sutra is the teaching of shakubuku, the refutation of the provisional doctrines." (pg. 392)
"If, failing to understand this principle, one were to practice shoju or shakubuku at an inappropriate time, then not only would one be unable to attain Buddhahood, but one would fall into the evil paths. This is firmly laid down in the Lotus and Nirvana sutras, and is also clearly stated in the commentaries by T’ien-t’ai and Miao-lo. It is, in fact, an important principle of Buddhist practice." (pg. 126)
"‘Rely on the Law and not upon persons.’ Even when great bodhisattvas such as Universal Worthy and Manjushri, men who have returned to the stage of near-perfect enlightenment, expound the Buddhist teachings, if they do not do so with the sutra text in hand, then one should not heed them.
"The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai states, ‘That which accords with the sutras is to be written down and made available. But put no faith in anything that in word or meaning fails to do so.’ Here we see that one should accept what is clearly stated in the text of the sutras, but discard anything that cannot be supported by the text." (pg. 109)
"A sutra says: 'Rely on the Law and not upon persons. Rely on the meaning of the teaching and not on the words. Rely on wisdom and not on discriminative thinking. Rely on sutras that are complete and final and not on those that are not complete and final.' The meaning of this passage is that one should not rely upon the words of the bodhisattvas and teachers, but should heed what was established by the Buddha." (pg. 872)
"If we merely rely upon the commentaries of various teachers and do not follow the statements of the Buddha himself, then how can we call our beliefs Buddhism? To do so would be absurd beyond description!
"Therefore, the Great Teacher Chisho stated that, if one claims that there is no division of Mahayana and Hinayana among the sutras and no distinction of partial and perfect among revelations of the truth, and therefore accepts all the words of the various teachers, then the preachings of the Buddha will have been to no purpose.
"T’ien-t’ai asserted, 'That which has a profound doctrine and accords with the sutras is to be written down and made available. But put no faith in anything that in word or meaning fails to do so.' He also said, 'All assertions that lack scriptural proof are to be branded as false.' How would you interpret such statements?" (pg. 56)
"The learned authorities in the world today suppose that there is no harm in mixing extraneous practices with the practice of the Lotus Sutra, and I, Nichiren, was once of that opinion myself. But the passage from the sutra [that I have just quoted] does not permit such a view." (pg. 1014 &1015)
"Therefore, the Great Teacher Chisho stated that, if one claims that there is no division of Mahayana and Hinayana among the sutras and no distinction of partial and perfect among revelations of the truth, and therefore accepts all the words of the various teachers, then the preachings of the Buddha will have been to no purpose." (pg. 56)
“In a country where non-Buddhist teachings have already spread, one should use Buddhism to refute them. For example, the Buddha appeared in India and defeated the non-Buddhists; Kashyapa Matanga and Chu Fa-lan went to China and called the Taoists to task; Prince Jogu was born in the country of Japan and put Moriya to the sword." (pg. 80)
"This passage from the Nirvana Sutra recounts the evil words that the various non-Buddhists spoke against Shakyamuni Buddha because he refuted the scriptures preached by their original teachers, the two deities and the three ascetics....In other words, persons who show no desire to hear or believe in the Lotus Sutra or who say that it does not match their capacity, though they may not actually slander it in so many words, are all to be regarded as persons of hatred and jealousy." (pg. 206)
"Our own age is not unlike theirs. The Taoists Ch’u and Fei of China, and Moriya in Japan, by relying on the major and minor deities of their respective countries, became enemies of Shakyamuni Buddha.
"There is a difference between the Taoists and Moriya on the one hand and our contemporary priests on the other in that the former preferred gods to a Buddha while the latter have replaced one Buddha with another. However, they are alike in that they all abandoned Shakyamuni Buddha." (pg. 838)
Let us forcefully awaken them to the best of our ability, teaching them of the manifest evil of their misguided beliefs and the workings of the Law of Cause and Effect. It is not the time to employ the gentle practices. We must assiduosly practice shakabuku.
Drink sake only at home with your wife, and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to enjoy. Regard both suffering and joy as facts of life, and continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, no matter what happens. How could this be anything other than the boundless joy of the Law? Strengthen your power of faith more than ever.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
