The Gohonzon has no absolute value. Is the faith in the Daimoku what matters. The Daimoku is the essence, is equivalent to the healing power of the sutra concentrated.
The Gohonzon is only a support for the faith.
The Gohonzon has no absolute value
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Myoho-Nameless
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Re: The Gohonzon has no absolute value
I suppose, yes. Its optional. Though Nichiren bothered to go about creating them and spoke highly of them.
"Keep The Gods Out Of It. Swear On Your Heads. Which I Will Take If You Break Your Vow."- Geralt of Rivia
Re: The Gohonzon has no absolute value
I don't think applying non-Buddhist ideas about "absolute" and "value" makes much sense, and laboring under those paradigms will pose an obstacle to understanding the Gohonzon. But carry on - and don't mind us.
Could you do a courtesy, though? Start a thread called, "Mirko's Opinions" and just post these sorts of pronouncements there where we can keep them all together?
Thanks!
Could you do a courtesy, though? Start a thread called, "Mirko's Opinions" and just post these sorts of pronouncements there where we can keep them all together?
Thanks!
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,
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
Re: The Gohonzon has no absolute value
You seem to be trying to convinve yourself of what you say, and I have to agree with Queequeg. Besides, you don't absolutely need a Gohonzon to practice - but if you have one, you must respect it as the Buddha himself, and more so than your own life. If you decide not to practice, either return it to whoever gave it to you or keep it in a safe place with other valuables. Do not discard or damage it under any circumstances.
Re: The Gohonzon has no absolute value
It's faith in the eternal Buddha, Shakyamuni and the Lotus Sutra which is of prime importance. If the Gohonzon has it's eyes opened (kaigen[/i ]then yes treat it with respect, but if not then it is just paper, as Nichiren said.
gassho
Rory
gassho
Rory
Namu Kanzeon Bosatsu
Chih-I:
The Tai-ching states "the women in the realms of Mara, Sakra and Brahma all neither abandoned ( their old) bodies nor received (new) bodies. They all received buddhahood with their current bodies (genshin)" Thus these verses state that the dharma nature is like a great ocean. No right or wrong is preached (within it) Ordinary people and sages are equal, without superiority or inferiority
Paul, Groner "The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture"eds. Tanabe p. 58
https://www.tendai-usa.org/
Chih-I:
The Tai-ching states "the women in the realms of Mara, Sakra and Brahma all neither abandoned ( their old) bodies nor received (new) bodies. They all received buddhahood with their current bodies (genshin)" Thus these verses state that the dharma nature is like a great ocean. No right or wrong is preached (within it) Ordinary people and sages are equal, without superiority or inferiority
Paul, Groner "The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture"eds. Tanabe p. 58
https://www.tendai-usa.org/