What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

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Minobu
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Re: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

Post by Minobu »

The Cicada wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 3:44 am

From the perspective of emptiness, we are illusory and so are our sufferings. We mistake ourselves and our sufferings for being "real," but for an illusion suffering over illusions, such things are "real" in their own misguided way. It is for this reason that the Buddha has pity for us, though in reality it "doesn't matter" one way or another since everything is empty, and there is no pity to be had.
Contrary to someone who said emptiness is not a philosophy but a view...
first up once understood the effects vary from person to person, philosophically.
look at the above.
Once you take existance out of the picture entirely you end up with the above and what others are claiming.

Suffering is very real . it's not an illusion. what is illusory is the absence of inherency which leads to change.
So it is sort of illusory .
Lord Nagarjuna saw that what we dwell in and in fact everything is absent of inherent existence.

Does this make it any less real or just the fact nothing stands alone and is therefore in a state of constant change.
Pushing the emptiness view to the point of nihilism and it's all nothing and it's not really real anyway so who cares...
you will never gain an argument with those fellows. lol..
any joy or beauty is also taken out of the picture along with suffering.

And it is just absurd. Forcing some arcane nothingness view about the very feeling of the keyboard as they type it out is absurd.

Every moment is filled with gazillions of goings on...the only emptiness is the fact none of those gazillion goings on can happen in and of themselves.

co dependent/ co arising....the words ..think hard... they connote an emptiness of inherency...thats it.

so even though there is nothing inherent does not mean that means it is all nothing, not real.

It's what we are ..an ever changing reality . so yeah there is not one moment where it is hard coded here . it's always changing so you don't have something you can nail down.
Beings are here and are suffering and Lotus Buddhism is the way to realize liberation and buddhahood in this degenerate age.

we realize it in helping one another along with ourselves.

how can there be absolutely no persons when you can type "compassion is helping one another"
People take something way too far...make claims about enlightenment and this is the real deal and wait till you die to go to some heaven like realm..
not me.
Lotus Buddhism is about sticking around and living with the suffering as a Bodhisattva . there is no room for nihilism or buying into the reward of eternal bliss in heaven when you die.

A lot of energy went into making Samsara beautiful and not entirely a hellish place to live...we can thank the enlightened ones and the gods for that.
A rinpoche told me that. so i don't know people...what are these people pushing?
suffer what there is to suffer and enjoy what there is to enjoy.
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Re: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

Post by Minobu »

Queequeg wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 4:14 pm
Shakyamuni appeared in this Saha world in perfect complement to the us beings here. He is the perfect upaya for us. Amitabha, Mahavairocana and other buddhas of the ten directions, all of which are emanation bodies of this same Buddha, have only imperfectly appeared in this Saha world,
actually i disagree with the bolded
They suit their purpose perfectly in the right time and age.
Beings need to go through stages..not everyone is a Bodhisattva of the Earth
All the Buddha's medicine is perfect ...when to use it and who to use it another story.
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Re: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

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Minobu wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 4:54 pm
Queequeg wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 4:14 pm
Shakyamuni appeared in this Saha world in perfect complement to the us beings here. He is the perfect upaya for us. Amitabha, Mahavairocana and other buddhas of the ten directions, all of which are emanation bodies of this same Buddha, have only imperfectly appeared in this Saha world,
actually i disagree with the bolded
They suit their purpose perfectly in the right time and age.
Beings need to go through stages..not everyone is a Bodhisattva of the Earth
All the Buddha's medicine is perfect ...when to use it and who to use it another story.
We're not talking about any other time and age. We are talking about the Saha world, now. The bolded part needs to include "in this Saha world" to be understood correctly.

Shakyamuni's Perfect teaching is suited for all beings in the Saha world now.
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: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

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Queequeg wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 5:02 pm
Minobu wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 4:54 pm
Queequeg wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 4:14 pm
Shakyamuni appeared in this Saha world in perfect complement to the us beings here. He is the perfect upaya for us. Amitabha, Mahavairocana and other buddhas of the ten directions, all of which are emanation bodies of this same Buddha, have only imperfectly appeared in this Saha world,
actually i disagree with the bolded
They suit their purpose perfectly in the right time and age.
Beings need to go through stages..not everyone is a Bodhisattva of the Earth
All the Buddha's medicine is perfect ...when to use it and who to use it another story.
We're not talking about any other time and age. We are talking about the Saha world, now. The bolded part needs to include "in this Saha world" to be understood correctly.

Shakyamuni's Perfect teaching is suited for all beings in the Saha world now.
yeah but His Emanations are also Perfect.
the time and place for Their teachings is another story..
but it's not like a dumbed down version of Sakyamuni appears...or there are dumbed down versions of Sakyamuni
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Re: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

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Minobu, your point is... what? Seems you've misunderstood what was written and are arguing with an apparitional QQ you conjured. Carry on, I'll watch from the sidelines.
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: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

Post by Malcolm »

Queequeg wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 5:02 pm Shakyamuni's Perfect teaching is suited for all beings in the Saha world now.
Yes, and all Buddhists follow Śākyamuni Buddha's teachings now because this is his dispensational era. Who ever said otherwise?

However, are you asserting that in all one billion worlds in the Sahaloka, that the present Buddha's teachings are spread there?
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Re: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

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Queequeg wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 5:20 pm Minobu, your point is... what? Seems you've misunderstood what was written and are arguing with an apparitional QQ you conjured. Carry on, I'll watch from the sidelines.
Queequeg wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 4:14 pm
Shakyamuni appeared in this Saha world in perfect complement to the us beings here. He is the perfect upaya for us. Amitabha, Mahavairocana and other buddhas of the ten directions, all of which are emanation bodies of this same Buddha, have only imperfectly appeared in this Saha world, and most only when summoned to testify to the veracity of Shakyamuni's most profound teachngs.
ok so i do not understand then..i just do not think Sakyamuni dumbs down to appear like you say here
all of which are emanation bodies of this same Buddha have only imperfectly appeared in this Saha world
i've misunderstood what...i'm not arguing ...just defending what Lord Buddha does and that it is never imperfect..
imperfect emanations :shrug:
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Re: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

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Malcolm wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 5:22 pm
Queequeg wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 5:02 pm Shakyamuni's Perfect teaching is suited for all beings in the Saha world now.
Yes, and all Buddhists follow Śākyamuni Buddha's teachings now because this is his dispensational era. Who ever said otherwise?
Some have.
However, are you asserting that in all one billion worlds in the Sahaloka, that the present Buddha's teachings are spread there?
Yes, and no.

Yes, since dharmakaya is the same for all worlds. No, because upaya arise in response to causes and conditions and are therefore different.
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: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

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Malcolm wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 5:22 pm
Queequeg wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 5:02 pm Shakyamuni's Perfect teaching is suited for all beings in the Saha world now.
in all one billion worlds in the Sahaloka,
Are all one billion worlds in the degenerative age...?
did the Harvest occur in all these worlds...?
the Harvest being all of Lord Shakyamuni Students from the infinite past attained Buddhahood in the first 1500 year periods after His Parinirvana .
The Harvest is over and the degenerate age is well into it's phase now???

Those Student Bodhisattvas have moved on and the teaching which led them have no power in the degenerative age..????
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Re: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

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Minobu wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 5:31 pm
Queequeg wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 4:14 pm
Shakyamuni appeared in this Saha world in perfect complement to the us beings here. He is the perfect upaya for us. Amitabha, Mahavairocana and other buddhas of the ten directions, all of which are emanation bodies of this same Buddha, have only imperfectly appeared in this Saha world, and most only when summoned to testify to the veracity of Shakyamuni's most profound teachngs.
ok so i do not understand then..i just do not think Sakyamuni dumbs down to appear like you say here
Don't put words in my mouth. I never said any buddhas' teachings are dumbed down. Those are your words. I wrote that some buddhas have only appeared here incompletely. That makes no suggestion that those teachings are dumb.
all of which are emanation bodies of this same Buddha have only imperfectly appeared in this Saha world
i've misunderstood what...i'm not arguing ...just defending what Lord Buddha does and that it is never imperfect..
imperfect emanations :shrug:
Never wrote "imperfect emanations". Again, putting words in my mouth. I wrote "only imperfectly appeared in this Saha world".
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: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

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Queequeg wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 4:14 pm
Shakyamuni appeared in this Saha world in perfect complement to the us beings here. He is the perfect upaya for us. Amitabha, Mahavairocana and other buddhas of the ten directions, all of which are emanation bodies of this same Buddha, have only imperfectly appeared in this Saha world, and most only when summoned to testify to the veracity of Shakyamuni's most profound teachngs.
Mahavairocana does not appear in this world at all, well, he does in a sense because Shakyamuni (nirmanakāya) is an emanation of Mahavairocana (sambhogakāya), and as stated in several sūtras, actual buddhahood is not attained here, but rather, in Akaniśtha. This also is course the reason eighth stage bodhisattvas and so in general do not take birth in the desire realm birth prior to manifesting the play of the twelve deeds of a supreme nirmanakaȳa buddha.

And as far as appearing in this world, Śakyamuni is but the fourth buddha who will appear on this Jambudvipa, there are another 997 to go, until the Bhadrakalpa runs its course.
In comparison, in this world, for the causes and conditions of the beings in this world, they can only offer incomplete or at best, mixed benefit..
You absolutely cannot assert this with a straight face. The idea that the teaching of any buddha offers inferior or incomplete benefits to any beings in any world system is absolutely ludicrous.
We honor Shakyamuni as the supreme buddha...
Correction, as the supreme nirmanakāya buddha...
he is our teacher in this world.
Correct, Śākyamuni is our teacher, and all Buddhists here on this Jambudvipa recognize this.
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Re: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

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Queequeg wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 5:42 pm I wrote "only imperfectly appeared in this Saha world".
What does this even mean? How does a buddha imperfectly appear? Do you mean he is lacking arms and legs, a head, is blind in one eye?
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Re: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

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Queequeg wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 5:35 pm
Malcolm wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 5:22 pm
Queequeg wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 5:02 pm Shakyamuni's Perfect teaching is suited for all beings in the Saha world now.
Yes, and all Buddhists follow Śākyamuni Buddha's teachings now because this is his dispensational era. Who ever said otherwise?
Some have.
We are not referring to cultists and whack jobs like those idiots who think Nicherin is the "true buddha."
However, are you asserting that in all one billion worlds in the Sahaloka, that the present Buddha's teachings are spread there?
Yes, and no.

Yes, since dharmakaya is the same for all worlds. No, because upaya arise in response to causes and conditions and are therefore different.
So you mean some buddhas have five deeds, the others have 20? I don't think so.
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Re: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

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Queequeg wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 5:42 pm

Never wrote "imperfect emanations". Again, putting words in my mouth. I wrote "only imperfectly appeared in this Saha world".
ok my bad then..

you wrote
Queequeg wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 4:14 pm, Mahavairocana and other buddhas of the ten directions, all of which are emanation bodies of this same Buddha, have only imperfectly appeared in this Saha world,
i just interpreted that as saying the Buddhas who appeared were imperfect..You know like we say Lord Sakyamuni appeared in this world...which means he was in this world...or came to this world...popped in to do His thing...came slumming with us....we are not really talking about his appearance as in the color of his hair and eyes.

so i'm sorry ...if you use the wording Buddha appeared in this world and add imperfect...it's like an imperfect emanation..which is misleading...to me anyway..

totally different than the theatre of first attaining enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.

but then again you are talking theatre as in imperfectly appearing..

it's pretty heavy anyway...very heady stuff ...
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Re: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

Post by Minobu »

any takers?
i ask again.are all of the one billion worlds in the Saha Loka in the degenerative age?
I guess so because the harvest took place and when all of them finally attained Buddhahood ..the Degenerative age came to be and like all the teachings of old are ineffective now.
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Re: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

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Malcolm wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 5:52 pm
We are not referring to cultists and whack jobs like those idiots who think Nicherin is the "true buddha."
Now now , play nice... i would not go that far as referring to people who believe Nichiren is an emanation of the Primordial Buddha as wack jobs.
It's all up for debate like the very concept of Primordial Buddha...As a Rinpoche once told me"It all happened so long ago no one remembers, so the verdict is still up to debate" .
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Re: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

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Minobu wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 6:08 pm Now now , play nice... i would not go that far as referring to people who believe Nichiren is an emanation of the Primordial Buddha as wack jobs.
It is one thing to claim Nichirin is an emanation of the Buddha, that claim I have no problem, though of course I do not believe it. I was referring to the claim of some Nicherinistas that Nicherin is really the supreme buddha. That claim, if made by an ordained monk, is a sanghabheda, a schism in the Sangha. If made by a lay person, it is simply ignorant foolishness.
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Re: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

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Malcolm wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 5:48 pm
Queequeg wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 4:14 pm
Shakyamuni appeared in this Saha world in perfect complement to the us beings here. He is the perfect upaya for us. Amitabha, Mahavairocana and other buddhas of the ten directions, all of which are emanation bodies of this same Buddha, have only imperfectly appeared in this Saha world, and most only when summoned to testify to the veracity of Shakyamuni's most profound teachngs.
Mahavairocana does not appear in this world at all, well, he does in a sense because Shakyamuni (nirmanakāya) is an emanation of Mahavairocana (sambhogakāya), and as stated in several sūtras, actual buddhahood is not attained here, but rather, in Akaniśtha.
I think we have differences of terminology and doctrine. Maybe we can resolve the former, I don't know if we will resolve the latter. In East Asia, Mahavairochana is usually Dharmakaya. Vairocana is a sambhogakaya of Shakyamuni as recounted in the Avatamsaka.

Shakyamuni as he appears in many sutras is indeed nirmanakaya - that's the Shakyamuni born in Lumbini... etc. There is then the Shakyamuni in the Life Span Chapter who is at once one and the same as the Shakyamuni who was born in Lumbini and the one who attained enlightenment in the infinite past. I don't know if this makes any difference to you, but this is what is meant in East Asian Lotus schools. This is the Shakyamuni that we say has three bodies without beginning or end. This is the Shakyamuni who emanates in the ten directions according to the needs of the various living beings, taking this name here, and that name there.

None of this is at odds with attaining Buddhahood in Akanistha. Akanistha is outside time and space as we know it in the Three Realms, so that's neither here nor there. The Lotus is silent on where and when Shakyamuni of the Life Span chapter attained enlightenment, except to say it was an inconceivably long time ago.
This also is course the reason eighth stage bodhisattvas and so in general do not take birth in the desire realm birth prior to manifesting the play of the twelve deeds of a supreme nirmanakaȳa buddha.
I am not familiar with the details of this teaching, so can't comment.
And as far as appearing in this world, Śakyamuni is but the fourth buddha who will appear on this Jambudvipa, there are another 997 to go, until the Bhadrakalpa runs its course.
This is wonderful. But we're not there yet. We're here.
In comparison, in this world, for the causes and conditions of the beings in this world, they can only offer incomplete or at best, mixed benefit..
You absolutely cannot assert this with a straight face. The idea that the teaching of any buddha offers inferior or incomplete benefits to any beings in any world system is absolutely ludicrous.
I can say that with a straight face because what you say I am saying is not what I am saying. :smile:

No other Buddha appeared perfectly as Shakyamuni did. Some may have appeared perfectly to some - like Vairocana in the Avatamsaka, but not to everyone. Some may have appeared imperfectly in the sense that the teaching we hear was only a part, or an echo that did not come through clearly. Shakyamuni is perfect in that he appeared perfectly, completely, and directly to all beings such that his Lion's Roar continues to shake the world.
We honor Shakyamuni as the supreme buddha...
Correction, as the supreme nirmanakāya buddha...
If Nirmanakaya, then Sambhogakaya, Dharmakaya, etc. Can't have just nirmanakaya. This is an important point of doctrine for us.
he is our teacher in this world.
Correct, Śākyamuni is our teacher, and all Buddhists here on this Jambudvipa recognize this.
Let's build on that common ground. :twothumbsup:
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: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

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Malcolm wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 6:13 pm
Minobu wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 6:08 pm Now now , play nice... i would not go that far as referring to people who believe Nichiren is an emanation of the Primordial Buddha as wack jobs.
It is one thing to claim Nichirin is an emanation of the Buddha, that claim I have no problem, though of course I do not believe it. I was referring to the claim of some Nicherinistas that Nicherin is really the supreme buddha. That claim, if made by an ordained monk, is a sanghabheda, a schism in the Sangha. If made by a lay person, it is simply ignorant foolishness.
Most of us who post here at DW do not subscribe to the Nichrien=True Buddha teachings and feel very much as you do about it.
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: What does it mean, "All other Buddhas are followers of Shakyamuni Buddha?

Post by Queequeg »

Minobu wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 6:04 pm any takers?
i ask again.are all of the one billion worlds in the Saha Loka in the degenerative age?
I guess so because the harvest took place and when all of them finally attained Buddhahood ..the Degenerative age came to be and like all the teachings of old are ineffective now.
The Harvest/Sowing distinction is Nichiren's. Most people won't know what that means.
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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