Nichiren as Honbutsu

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Queequeg
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Nichiren as Honbutsu

Post by Queequeg »

I've been reflecting on this doctrine identifying Nichiren with the Honbutsu lately and am hoping to explore this idea in a sympathetic way. This subject is ordinarily inflected with harsh reactionary emotions all around. I'd like to try and discuss this without all that drama. Personally, this is an idea I was taught but have since rejected. That said, reflecting on this, I realize I don't know if I really understood this teaching and how it impacts practice.

Since the user Gohonzon has recently made an appearance and is knowledgeable on Shoshu teachings, I am hoping he could explain the teaching and answer questions that might arise.

I will be moderating this thread strictly. Any of the usual sectarian flame war shenanigans will not be tolerated. If things get emotional and out of hand, this thread will be locked.
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.
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Re: Nichiren as Honbutsu

Post by westcountry »

so what's your question about this specifically? I do love a bit of study :D
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Re: Nichiren as Honbutsu

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To quote myself...
Queequeg wrote: Wed Feb 07, 2018 6:04 pm explain the teaching
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,
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Re: Is Nichiren Shu the most traditional of all the Nichiren sects?

Post by joy&peace »

is Nichiren the True Buddha of our age?
Om Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate bodhi svaha
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Re: Is Nichiren Shu the most traditional of all the Nichiren sects?

Post by Virgo »

joy&peace wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 3:09 am is Nichiren the True Buddha of our age?
Well, that would depend on who you ask. If you ask Nichiren Shoshu or SGI they would say yes.

Kevin...
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Re: Is Nichiren Shu the most traditional of all the Nichiren sects?

Post by Bois de Santal »

Virgo wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 3:12 am
joy&peace wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 3:09 am is Nichiren the True Buddha of our age?
Well, that would depend on who you ask. If you ask Nichiren Shoshu or SGI they would say yes.
Actually I'm not sure they would say yes.

Ultimately their argument is that if Shakyamuni attained enlightenment in the distant past then he must have had a teacher, and that teacher must be the original (eternal) buddha. Who then reappeared as Nichiren in the latter age.

In any case, the True Buddha must, de facto, be eternal and thus transcends all ages.
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Re: Nichiren as Honbutsu

Post by narhwal90 »

SGI would probably say "thats what we say, but thats not the point of the practice" and then try to move the discussion into human revolution sorts of dialog eg transform yourself and thereby transform the world. If pressed, then likely the "True Buddha" proposition would be laboriously interpreted as Nichiren founding an effective practice for everyone in this latter day, and sadly, Shakyamuni would appear infrequently as a distant elder statesman sort of influence. The reincarnation line might show up too but likely idiosyncratically via folks who adopt that view & share it.
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Re: Is Nichiren Shu the most traditional of all the Nichiren sects?

Post by Virgo »

Bois de Santal wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 8:45 am
Virgo wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 3:12 am
joy&peace wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 3:09 am is Nichiren the True Buddha of our age?
Well, that would depend on who you ask. If you ask Nichiren Shoshu or SGI they would say yes.
Actually I'm not sure they would say yes.

Ultimately their argument is that if Shakyamuni attained enlightenment in the distant past then he must have had a teacher, and that teacher must be the original (eternal) buddha. Who then reappeared as Nichiren in the latter age.

In any case, the True Buddha must, de facto, be eternal and thus transcends all ages.
True Buddha in this sense is equivalent to Eternal Buddha.

Kevin...
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Re: Nichiren as Honbutsu

Post by justsomeguy »

I will admit that entering Nichiren Shoshu, the doctrine of Nichiren as the True Buddha was a bit jarring. I think part of the reason for that was that I had an Americanized sense of what Buddhism is and how it's practiced. My prior understanding of the religion was all over the place, mixing Therevada concepts with Mahayana, with a sprinkling of Vajrayana elements here and there. So Nichiren Shoshu definitely came as a shock, but it has been very instructional. Posing this same question to our temple priest, I was given the explanation that yes, Nichiren is regarded as the "True Buddha" of this age (mappo). At first, I had taken the "Nichiren as True Buddha" claim to be disparaging against Shakyamuni, but that was my fault for thinking that they were implying that Shakyamuni was somehow "False" (binary thinking). But then it was explained to me that Nichiren, as the Buddha of True Cause, preceded Shakyamuni, the Buddha of True Effect. More was said of course, but that's the gist, and it helped me put the role of Shakyamuni in Nichiren Shoshu into perspective. He's still an integral and necessary element of Shoshu's teachings.

Honestly though, and not to minimize Nichiren's role in NShoshu by any means, it's not something that is harped on much from what I can tell. I'm still learning though. :)
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Re: Is Nichiren Shu the most traditional of all the Nichiren sects?

Post by justsomeguy »

Virgo wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 4:10 pm
Bois de Santal wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 8:45 am
Virgo wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 3:12 am
Well, that would depend on who you ask. If you ask Nichiren Shoshu or SGI they would say yes.
Actually I'm not sure they would say yes.

Ultimately their argument is that if Shakyamuni attained enlightenment in the distant past then he must have had a teacher, and that teacher must be the original (eternal) buddha. Who then reappeared as Nichiren in the latter age.

In any case, the True Buddha must, de facto, be eternal and thus transcends all ages.
True Buddha in this sense is equivalent to Eternal Buddha.

Kevin...
Yes, thanks for pointing that out Kevin! Sometimes the language of Buddhism can be confusing, and people like me tend to read that as "True vs. False". I've noticed that Buddhism translated into English leads to a lot of confusion in terms of language.
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Re: Nichiren as Honbutsu

Post by Queequeg »

The Buddha is attributed with the functions of Parent, Teacher and Sovereign. These ideas can be found throughout the Buddhist texts, as well as the Lotus Sutra. In Chapter 3 which relates the parable of the burning house, the Buddha explains:

Now this triple world is my property
And the sentient beings in it are my children.
There are now many dangers here
And I am the only one who can protect them.


Nichiren remarks on this passage:

This passage means that to us living beings the Thus Come One Shakyamuni is our parent, our teacher, and our sovereign.
-Encouragement to a Sick Person

The Nichiren as True Buddha doctrine is read into this statement from Kaimokusho:

"I, Nichiren, am sovereign, teacher, and father and mother to all the people of Japan."

He also says in Kaimoku sho:

"I will be the pillar of Japan. I will be the eyes of Japan. I will be the great ship of Japan. This is my vow, and I will never forsake it!"

Remarking on this, Nichiren wrote in Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra:

"After everyone had gone, I began to put into shape a work in two volumes called Kaimokusho, which I had been working on since the eleventh month of the previous year. I wanted to record the wonder of Nichiren, in case I should be beheaded. The essential message in this work is that the destiny of Japan depends solely upon Nichiren. A house without pillars collapses, and a person without a soul is dead. Nichiren is the soul of the people of this country. Hei no Saemon has already toppled the pillar of Japan, and the country grows turbulent as unfounded rumors and speculation rise up like phantoms to cause dissention in the ruling clan."

In the Nichiren as Honbutsu doctrine, these and other passages are read as Nichiren's declaration that he is the Buddha of Mappo, the Original Buddha.

This is not how most Nichiren Buddhists read these passages. I won't critique these ideas in this thread as this is the Shoshu forum.
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,
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Re: Nichiren as Honbutsu

Post by Bois de Santal »

Virgo wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 4:10 pm
Bois de Santal wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 8:45 am
Virgo wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 3:12 am
Well, that would depend on who you ask. If you ask Nichiren Shoshu or SGI they would say yes.
Actually I'm not sure they would say yes.

Ultimately their argument is that if Shakyamuni attained enlightenment in the distant past then he must have had a teacher, and that teacher must be the original (eternal) buddha. Who then reappeared as Nichiren in the latter age.

In any case, the True Buddha must, de facto, be eternal and thus transcends all ages.
True Buddha in this sense is equivalent to Eternal Buddha.

Kevin...
Sorry, evidently I failed to get my point across - I was trying to say that 'true buddha for our age' is an oxymoron. If we talk about our age, surely we limit the scope of the eternal/original buddha?

I dunno. Maybe I'm just nitpicking.
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Re: Nichiren as Honbutsu

Post by Virgo »

justsomeguy wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 4:37 pm I've noticed that Buddhism translated into English leads to a lot of confusion in terms of language.
Yes, I have come across the same problem.

kevin...
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Re: Nichiren as Honbutsu

Post by Queequeg »

There's a reason most of us don't buy it. Actually many reasons.
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,
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Re: Nichiren as Honbutsu

Post by ronnymarsh »

The teaching of Nichiren Shoshu is part of Mahayana Buddhism, and it is on this side that the idea of ​​Nichiren as Honbustu is constructed.

Although many think that the distinction between Mahayana and Hinayana thought is with regard to bodhisattvas practices against sravakas and pratyekabuddhas, or a more open and mythical religious position against something more rational, etc., the which each philosophy postulates, but precisely speaking, in the way the two understand the dharmas.

Hinayana philosophy tends to realism in Western terms. It postulates that the dharmas have real existence in themselves, either in the three times (sarvastivada) or in a single instant (Theravada).

The Mahayana philosophy, expressed in the Madhyamaka and Yogacara, goes against the reality of dharmas and proposes that they do not have reality even for an instant, their existence is purely empty.

In short, the distinction between the two thoughts is in the understanding of the "emptiness" (shunyata) between the two philosophies. What is called "hina" is one who thinks of a "small" emptiness, that is, the emptiness of atman, and what is called "maha" is one that thinks of a "great" void, which includes both the empty of atman as the emptiness of the dharmas themselves.

The best and most accessible description of this doctrine of the Mahayanist emptiness is the Heart Sutra, and understanding a little of that question helps to understand what the Honbustu theory in Nichiren Shoshu is about.

The distinction between the two main Buddhist philosophies has profound doctrinal and practical implications. An important doctrinal implication is that Hinayana thought conceives that in essence as in function / relation an ordinary mortal is distinct from a Buddha.

In Western philosophical terms we can say that Hinayana thought defends the ontological and epistemological distinction between a Buddha and an ordinary mortal.

The practical implication of this is that it is impossible, for example, for a non-Buddha to attain enlightenment in the present form, and for this he must undergo a profound transformation that goes from the deepest to the most superficial, after many ages being reborn and practicing until you reach the first of the four stages of enlightenment.

Mahayana thought, however, proposes something different: All things are ultimately empty, that is, they have the same essential nature. At this deeper level, then, there is no difference between a Buddha and an ordinary mortal, between Desires and Enlightenment or between Nirvana and Sansara. The only distinction that exists is the superficial level.

In Western philosophical terms we can say that Mahayana thought defends the ontological equality between a Buddha and a mortal, but maintains the epistemological distinction.

The practical implication of this is that it is possible to become a Buddha in the present form, since in essence we are all enlightened, the only thing we need to do is to express this enlightened nature.

The practices of the Mahayana schools are all thought from this point of view. No one needs to practice for ages and to transform "his" essence, but simply to express it, for his nature is the Buddha's nature.

Dogen, the founder of Soto-shu, for example, teaches that the only thing necessary to do is to "just sit." Sitting is the last act that a bodhisattva does before becoming a Buddha, after practicing for countless ages the paramitas, being reborn in the Tushita sky, being born as a human and entering the sangha. The expression of the effect of enlightenment is simply to "sit", as Shakyamuni did under the bodhi tree.

Shinran, founder of Jodoshin-shu, for example, teaches that the only thing necessary is "faith," for faith is the mind that does not doubt, namely the adamantine mind, which is the same mind as a Buddha. Thus, faith is the expression of the enlightened mind.

Among others.

So if we take Nichiren (Dai) shonin and analyze it, from the point of view of Mahayana, we have to accept that just as I, you, and all beings, (from the Tendai point of view, insensitive), ontologically speaking he is as Buddha as any other. To think in this way is not problematic, all Nichirenian schools agree with this.

The big question is what the tradition of the Fuji lineage teaches: Nichiren as Honbutsu.

Both in the Sutras, the agamas / nikayas, or the Mahayana sutras, what makes a Buddha special is because he reveals the Law / Dharma, the ultimate truth of reality.

Nichiren says that it is because the Law is worthy that the person who propagates it is worthy, for example.
Nichiren's teaching, looking closely at his writings, is built on the idea that the object of devotion, Honzon, should be the Law, for the Dharma is the master of all Buddhas. He did not take it out of his own head, it is something that is expressed in many sutras, for example, Shakyamuni says in the Agama Sutra (Samyuktaagama 1128): "Past Buddhas, future Buddhas, Present Buddha, all reverence, reverence, and continue revering the Perfect Law. "

Honbutsu, first, in Nichiren's teachings, is the Law itself, the Lotus Sutra, or rather, the Title of the Lotus Sutra: Namumyohorenguekyo. This is expressed with all the words in Shoho Jisso Sho (true aspect of all dharmas), and it is also something that all nichirenian schools defend, all consider (o) daimoku as the cause, essence and seed of enlightenment.

But the Fuji lineage, more precisely and Taisekiji lineage, goes beyond Nichiren's ontological analysis, and analyzes it also at the epistemological level, that is, its function / relationship with the environment and society.

Nichiren's role was to reveal the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra, the namumyohorenguekyo. This has obvious doctrinal implications.

If the (O) daimoku is the cause, essence and seed of Enlightenment, if it is the Original Buddha, who expresses it would be what?

Shakyamuni expressed the effect of enlightenment, he practiced the bodhisattva path, was born in the Tushite sky, was born as a human, entered the sangha and sat under the Bodhi tree. He preached the 80,000 teachings, etc. But in none of them did he express the cause, essence, and seed of enlightenment. That is, Shakyamuni's function / relation is that of the "effect", but not that of the cause.

It was not Shakyamuni who taught that people should contemplate the gohonzon mandala and sing the Odaimoku, it was Nichiren who did this. In a first analysis, this means that Nichiren gave "a new spin on the wheel of the Dharma," that is to say that he expressed enlightenment.

If Nichiren expressed enlightenment it means that his function / relation with the environment and the people who inhabit it is different from the function of an ordinary mortal, and identical to that of a Buddha. Therefore, it means that Nichiren is a Buddha. As he expressed the Law which is the cause, essence and seed of Enlightenment, ie, its relation / function is not only that of a Buddha of effect, but the Buddha of the cause.

This question is related to the doctrine of Ji in Ichinen Sanzen, that is, Ichinen Sanzen of the activity. The ichinen Sanzen's doctrine says that all beings have 3000 latent possibilities in every moment of mind / life. As conditions arise, certain worlds are expressed. An avid person for money expressed, at that moment the world of hunger, even in the form of a human being, possesses the mind of a black man, etc.

Likewise, when one expresses with one mind the Dharma, when one's thoughts and actions are pure, one is expressing Buddhahood, even in the form of a mortal human being, it possesses the mind of a Buddha, state of Buddha.

Nichiren not only realized this teaching as he is the teacher of the teaching, it can soon be said that he is the Original Buddha. This is called "ninpon ikka," or "oneness between the person and the law that she teaches" in the tradition of the Taisekiji lineage.
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Re: Nichiren as Honbutsu

Post by mansurhirbi87 »

Very nice, brother ronnymarsh :twothumbsup: :bow:
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Re: Nichiren as Honbutsu

Post by mansurhirbi87 »

IMHO it's not so important. Although i loved your perspective.
Something more important, i guess, is understand whats the difference between Shakyamuni, Tientai and Nichiren Lotus Sutra. Could you help us with it, brother ronnymarsh?
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Re: Nichiren as Honbutsu

Post by Queequeg »

ronnymarsh wrote: Sat Jan 26, 2019 4:18 am The teaching of Nichiren Shoshu is part of Mahayana Buddhism, and it is on this side that the idea of ​​Nichiren as Honbustu is constructed.

Although many think that the distinction between Mahayana and Hinayana thought is with regard to bodhisattvas practices against sravakas and pratyekabuddhas, or a more open and mythical religious position against something more rational, etc., the which each philosophy postulates, but precisely speaking, in the way the two understand the dharmas.

Hinayana philosophy tends to realism in Western terms. It postulates that the dharmas have real existence in themselves, either in the three times (sarvastivada) or in a single instant (Theravada).

The Mahayana philosophy, expressed in the Madhyamaka and Yogacara, goes against the reality of dharmas and proposes that they do not have reality even for an instant, their existence is purely empty.

In short, the distinction between the two thoughts is in the understanding of the "emptiness" (shunyata) between the two philosophies. What is called "hina" is one who thinks of a "small" emptiness, that is, the emptiness of atman, and what is called "maha" is one that thinks of a "great" void, which includes both the empty of atman as the emptiness of the dharmas themselves.

The best and most accessible description of this doctrine of the Mahayanist emptiness is the Heart Sutra, and understanding a little of that question helps to understand what the Honbustu theory in Nichiren Shoshu is about.
I've never heard it discussed this way.

If distinctions such as Hinayana and Mahayana are going to be brought into this discussion, it would be through the lens of Tiantai.

The approaches to emptiness you describe above relate to the Tripitaka and Shared Teaching categories in the Four Teachings scheme.

Beyond those two are the Distinct and Perfect Teachings which approach emptiness in a three-fold manner.

In the Distinct Teachings, Emptiness and the Conditioned are distinct, exemplified by the bodhisattva who sits in equipose for herself and engages in the conditioned for others sake. This ability to navigate the two phases fluidly is the middle. Alternatively, there is a middle that is postulated as a higher order under which emptiness and the conditioned are subsumed.

In the Perfect Teaching, Emptiness and the Conditioned are perfectly integrated, meaning when one sees emptiness, one also sees the conditioned and the middle; and the same for each the conditioned and the middle.

Its this Perfect Teaching that explains how the Dragon King's Daughter can become a Buddha without changing her female, animal form.
The distinction between the two main Buddhist philosophies has profound doctrinal and practical implications. An important doctrinal implication is that Hinayana thought conceives that in essence as in function / relation an ordinary mortal is distinct from a Buddha.
Only the Perfect Teaching fully integrates the ordinary being and the Buddha. The Shared and Distinct Teachings, which are generally found in Mahayana, also require 3 eons of Bodhisattva practice to attain the Buddha Body.
Mahayana thought, however, proposes something different: All things are ultimately empty, that is, they have the same essential nature. At this deeper level, then, there is no difference between a Buddha and an ordinary mortal, between Desires and Enlightenment or between Nirvana and Sansara. The only distinction that exists is the superficial level.
Though Emptiness and the Conditioned are integrated, this does not efface the distinction between a Buddha and an ordinary mortal. This is why its critical to understand the how emptiness and conditioned relate as explained through the device of the Threefold Inclusive Truth. Effacing distinctions by reducing everything to emptiness was actually criticized by Zhiyi for being a biased view, ie. biased in favor of Emptiness. Its unbalanced and if considered the ultimate teaching does not lead to Bodhi.

The practical implication of this is that it is possible to become a Buddha in the present form, since in essence we are all enlightened, the only thing we need to do is to express this enlightened nature.
We are not intrinsically awakened. We have Buddhanature. There is a difference.

Buddha, and only Buddha, teaches us about Buddhanature. We then still tread a path to Bodhi. There is no intrinsic time line or activity requirement on that path, meaning it is possible to become a Buddha in a single lifetime, but this is an exceedingly rare achievement. That said, the distinction between one who only first hears of Buddhanature and a Buddha is whether one fully knows Buddhanature or not, directly. Zhiyi referred to the difference as between a flame when a torch is first lit and later when it is burning brightly. Alternatively, Nichiren referred to the difference between a newborn crown prince and a king.
The practices of the Mahayana schools are all thought from this point of view. No one needs to practice for ages and to transform "his" essence, but simply to express it, for his nature is the Buddha's nature.
You can't talk about emptiness and having an essence in the same breath.

So if we take Nichiren (Dai) shonin and analyze it, from the point of view of Mahayana, we have to accept that just as I, you, and all beings, (from the Tendai point of view, insensitive), ontologically speaking he is as Buddha as any other. To think in this way is not problematic, all Nichirenian schools agree with this.
Again, having Buddhanature is not the same as Buddhahood.

See the Six Identities as taught by Zhiyi, on the basis of which Nichiren described the meaning of faith. (Shishin Gohonsho)
The big question is what the tradition of the Fuji lineage teaches: Nichiren as Honbutsu.

Both in the Sutras, the agamas / nikayas, or the Mahayana sutras, what makes a Buddha special is because he reveals the Law / Dharma, the ultimate truth of reality.
In the Lotus Sutra, the teaching and propagation of the Lotus Sutra follows this pattern:

A buddha appears and teaches the Lotus Sutra before parinirvana. After parinirvana, bodhisattvas teach the Lotus Sutra.

Shakyamuni transmitted the teachings to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth and entrusted them to fulfill this function in the Saha world.

Nichiren compared himself to Jogyo, as carrying out the function of Jogyo. Nichiren as Hombutsu doctrine says this is Nichiren being humble and that we have to read between the lines to understand he is actually declaring he is the hombutsu.
Nichiren says that it is because the Law is worthy that the person who propagates it is worthy, for example.
Yes, the Hokke Gyoja - the emissary of the Buddha.
Nichiren's teaching, looking closely at his writings, is built on the idea that the object of devotion, Honzon, should be the Law, for the Dharma is the master of all Buddhas. He did not take it out of his own head, it is something that is expressed in many sutras, for example, Shakyamuni says in the Agama Sutra (Samyuktaagama 1128): "Past Buddhas, future Buddhas, Present Buddha, all reverence, reverence, and continue revering the Perfect Law. "
The Triple Bodied Buddha cannot be dissected. The Buddha is Dharmakaya. Buddha is also Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya. You're going to have to explain how Nichiren distinguished the Dharmakaya from the other bodies of the Buddha and how this can be squared with his critiques of Shingon which he said made the error of distinguishing the Dharmakaya from the other bodies.

Honbutsu, first, in Nichiren's teachings, is the Law itself, the Lotus Sutra, or rather, the Title of the Lotus Sutra: Namumyohorenguekyo. This is expressed with all the words in Shoho Jisso Sho (true aspect of all dharmas), and it is also something that all nichirenian schools defend, all consider (o) daimoku as the cause, essence and seed of enlightenment.
Honbutsu is the Triple Bodied Buddha whose bodies have no beginning or end. Not just the Dharmakaya.
But the Fuji lineage, more precisely and Taisekiji lineage, goes beyond Nichiren's ontological analysis, and analyzes it also at the epistemological level, that is, its function / relationship with the environment and society.
If its admitted that this is not Nichiren's teaching, but something developed later, I wholly agree.
It was not Shakyamuni who taught that people should contemplate the gohonzon mandala and sing the Odaimoku, it was Nichiren who did this. In a first analysis, this means that Nichiren gave "a new spin on the wheel of the Dharma," that is to say that he expressed enlightenment.
In Nichiren's own words, the teaching of the Daimoku and Gohonzon in Mappo was a mission entrusted to Jogyobosatsu.

Can you elaborate how the Nichiren Shoshu position is squared with Nichiren's explicit teachings? Where does Nichiren explain he is Hombutsu?
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,
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Re: Nichiren as Honbutsu

Post by mansurhirbi87 »

IMHO all this questions : emptiness, relativity, buddhanature, enlightenment, original buddha, provisional buddha, boddhisatva can be better solved if before we solve the difference among Shakyamuni, Tientai and Nichiren Lotus Sutra or the "teaching" difference.

_/\_
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Re: Nichiren as Honbutsu

Post by Queequeg »

mansurhirbi87 wrote: Sat Jan 26, 2019 5:33 pm IMHO all this questions : emptiness, relativity, buddhanature, enlightenment, original buddha, provisional buddha, boddhisatva can be better solved if before we solve the difference among Shakyamuni, Tientai and Nichiren Lotus Sutra or the "teaching" difference.

_/\_
It's not a matter of solving, though. The Buddha taught certain teachings. That's the standard against which teachings are compared.
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,
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