Lineage in Nichiren

markatex
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by markatex »

I think that's sort of ridiculous. There's no "oral transmission" in Nichiren Buddhism the way there is in Zen or (I assume from what you say about the shami's background) Tibetan Buddhism. On the other hand, sangha is important and I don't think our practice should be solitary if we can help it. Teachers (real ones you develop an actual relationship with) are indispensable. I live less than 3 hours from a temple, but lots of people aren't that lucky. Online contact with a teacher may not be ideal, but it's better than nothing and is the only realistic solution for most people at this time.

In Nichiren's time, many of his followers were basically solitary practitioners because they had no choice. They communicated with Nichiren through letters, which was far less efficient than what we have available today.

However, there is a tendency I've noticed for people to wall themselves off and do their own thing. I don't know if that's because of a general disinterest/distrust in anything "organized" or what. But in general, it's a hindrance and it shouldn't be encouraged.
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Nyedrag Yeshe
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by Nyedrag Yeshe »

markatex wrote: Tue Oct 31, 2017 5:00 am I think that's sort of ridiculous. There's no "oral transmission" in Nichiren Buddhism the way there is in Zen or (I assume from what you say about the shami's background) Tibetan Buddhism. On the other hand, sangha is important and I don't think our practice should be solitary if we can help it. Teachers (real ones you develop an actual relationship with) are indispensable. I live less than 3 hours from a temple, but lots of people aren't that lucky. Online contact with a teacher may not be ideal, but it's better than nothing and is the only realistic solution for most people at this time.

In Nichiren's time, many of his followers were basically solitary practitioners because they had no choice. They communicated with Nichiren through letters, which was far less efficient than what we have available today.

However, there is a tendency I've noticed for people to wall themselves off and do their own thing. I don't know if that's because of a general disinterest/distrust in anything "organized" or what. But in general, it's a hindrance and it shouldn't be encouraged.
I can't agree on enough! But what this shami is missing, is the possible opportunity of making Dharma available to people living in conditions where there is no Dharma, people that in a future might be in positions that may help in Dharma spread. Like someone with a calling to the priesthood, that can travel, ordain and bring the tradition to a region where it's absent! But as I said, I think the worst point, is dismissing the idea of Nichiren Shonin of transmission as something that transcends human barriers, something that the only real basis is our Buddha nature and NMHRK!
“Whatever has to happen, let it happen!”
“Whatever the situation is, it’s fine!”
“I really don’t need anything!
~Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorje (1161-1211)
ओं पद्मोष्णीष विमले हूँ फट । ओं हनुफशभरहृदय स्वाहा॥
འ༔ ཨ༔ ཧ༔ ཤ༔ ས༔ མ༔ ཀརྨ་པ་མཁྱེན་ནོ།
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Nyedrag Yeshe
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by Nyedrag Yeshe »

Queequeg wrote: Tue Oct 31, 2017 4:35 am Sorry for having gone preachy. I'll step down from the :soapbox: .

I felt compelled to push back on the confining tendency of the shami's assertion. I wish the best for the shami. His background is very interesting.
You are nothing about to be sorry in truth! Actually, you answered my first question quite succinctly!

In fact, I couldn't be happier if you could be even more preachy and provide me with some more information and resources on this issue!
“Whatever has to happen, let it happen!”
“Whatever the situation is, it’s fine!”
“I really don’t need anything!
~Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorje (1161-1211)
ओं पद्मोष्णीष विमले हूँ फट । ओं हनुफशभरहृदय स्वाहा॥
འ༔ ཨ༔ ཧ༔ ཤ༔ ས༔ མ༔ ཀརྨ་པ་མཁྱེན་ནོ།
narhwal90
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by narhwal90 »

In the old NSA and SGI nowadays there is an oral method of propagation, perhaps more a style but it does follow conventions. SGI calls it "heart to heart", where the member tries to share with a newcomer their experience of the practice; how its transformed their lives etc. Its not a secret method, being characteristic of articles in the various SGI publications and it is frequently heard and used in meetings. In a forum with only more or less experienced members, the general focus is more guidance given by various leaders up to Mr Ikeda but not as much Dharma as I personally prefer.
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Queequeg
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by Queequeg »

In Mohezhikuan, Zhiyi discusses the Six Identities (also Six Stages in SGI literature). The Verbal Identity (also The Stage of Hearing the Name and Words of the Truth) commences, "When you hear of the one true bodhi-wisdom ... whether from a teacher or from [reading] the scripture scrolls." This stage of Verbal Identity corresponds to those in the Latter Day who hear the Daimoku for the first time. (See the gosho Shishin-gohon-sho - Four Stages of Faith and Five Stages of Practice). The practice at this stage is exemplified by Bodhisattva Sadaparibhuta (Fukyo Bosatsu, Bodhisattva Never Disparaging, LS Chapter 20) who greets everyone saying, "I would never dare disparage you since you will all be Buddhas!", and by Nichiren, who spread NMRK in the Saha world.

IMO, reading NMRK from a computer screen is similar to reading a scriptural scroll - the medium is different, but the teaching is conveyed in both cases by the written word. I've seen enough examples of people who have undertaken refuge in the Daimoku based on little more than learning of this teaching through the internet. It goes without saying that it would be of immense merit to connect with others and further learning in person, at least occasionally, if and when possible, but as Mark pointed out, Nichiren taught by written correspondence, and its not clear how his practice should be distinguished from ours on this point. To put an in person oral transmission requirement would seem to undermine the Buddha's constant thought - "how do I most efficiently bring beings to attain the body of the Buddha?" Not imposing such a limitation would keep in the flexible spirit of propagation.

In the Tibetan tradition, my understanding is that the importance of oral transmission is the need to connect with an authentic, realized teacher who brings the student into the mind of realization. I'm sure I am mis-stating this.

In the Lotus Teachings, we receive the teaching directly from the Eternal Buddha who is ever present, specifically embodied in the scripture he left behind, the Lotus Sutra, and derivatively, the rest of the Buddhist corpus opened through the Essential Teaching. The sutra texts are the reverberation of the Buddha's Pure and Far Reaching Voice throughout this world, causing us to Hear the Name and Words. When we sit before the Gohonzon and invoke NMRK, we are in that moment receiving the transmission of the Buddha's most profound 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,
DGA
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by DGA »

Nyedrag Yeshe wrote: Sun Oct 29, 2017 7:13 pm I was not very much clear in the first post, but I`m referring to the notion of having to actually listen to the teachings from teachers in order to gain realizations on practice, this is a central issue in TB Buddhism, this is the point I think the Shami was referring to! Owing maybe to his TB past? Can't know, but what I know is that Nichiren himself was quite critical of this position! The Shami insisted that people cannot learn Nichiren Buddhism in online groups, but only going to a physical temple and get the transmission from teachers!
Or it may have to do with the danka system. :shrug:
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by DGA »

Minobu wrote: Sun Oct 29, 2017 7:53 pm
Also i did a five year intense stretch with a Rinpoche whom i am very fond of and very grateful to...
unfortunately i cannot even mention on this site what became of him...which i see nothing wrong with for i know the guy...some inter sect stuff...begins with S


I want to thank you for this post. Why?

For a long time I have read your posts and found them confusing. I couldn’t follow your thinking.

With this specific detail, I now have some context for your style of writing, your thinking, and the urgency with which you write.

So thank you.

I think it would be worthwhile to discuss the role of kami in Japanese Buddhist culture generally.
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Minobu
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by Minobu »

DGA wrote: Wed Nov 01, 2017 12:25 am
Minobu wrote: Sun Oct 29, 2017 7:53 pm
Also i did a five year intense stretch with a Rinpoche whom i am very fond of and very grateful to...
unfortunately i cannot even mention on this site what became of him...which i see nothing wrong with for i know the guy...some inter sect stuff...begins with S


I want to thank you for this post. Why?

For a long time I have read your posts and found them confusing. I couldn’t follow your thinking.

With this specific detail, I now have some context for your style of writing, your thinking, and the urgency with which you write.

So thank you.

I think it would be worthwhile to discuss the role of kami in Japanese Buddhist culture generally.
for the life of me i do not understand what you mean at all
nor do i think you actually get me
illarraza
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by illarraza »

Nyedrag Yeshe wrote: Tue Oct 31, 2017 3:15 am As a trainee, maybe he is still ignorant about many aspects of Nichiren Shonin's thought, as his background is Tibetan Buddhism, he must be still attached to his former views from TB.

But I always regarded exactly this point of simplicity and direct access to practice, in contrast to the views of other schools in Nichiren's time that privileged and/or restricted access to practice, to be one of the most endearing elements of Nichiren Buddhism in general. His view came as a big surprise, not to say a shock, coming from a Nichiren Shu apprentice!

In fact, he was one of the first Brazilians to be ordained in Tibetan Monasticism!
The transmission is through the scrolls of the Lotus Sutra (Gohonzon and 28 Chapter Lotus Sutra) and writings of Nichiren Daishonin according to the founder of the Kempon Hokke, Nichiju Shonin. Nichiren often talks of the transmission of the Five or Seven characters from Shakyamuni Buddha of Juryo Chapter of the Lotus Sutra to Jogyo Bosatsu (specifically) and to us generally.

Mark
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by illarraza »

Queequeg wrote: Tue Oct 31, 2017 7:11 pm In Mohezhikuan, Zhiyi discusses the Six Identities (also Six Stages in SGI literature). The Verbal Identity (also The Stage of Hearing the Name and Words of the Truth) commences, "When you hear of the one true bodhi-wisdom ... whether from a teacher or from [reading] the scripture scrolls." This stage of Verbal Identity corresponds to those in the Latter Day who hear the Daimoku for the first time. (See the gosho Shishin-gohon-sho - Four Stages of Faith and Five Stages of Practice). The practice at this stage is exemplified by Bodhisattva Sadaparibhuta (Fukyo Bosatsu, Bodhisattva Never Disparaging, LS Chapter 20) who greets everyone saying, "I would never dare disparage you since you will all be Buddhas!", and by Nichiren, who spread NMRK in the Saha world.

IMO, reading NMRK from a computer screen is similar to reading a scriptural scroll - the medium is different, but the teaching is conveyed in both cases by the written word. I've seen enough examples of people who have undertaken refuge in the Daimoku based on little more than learning of this teaching through the internet. It goes without saying that it would be of immense merit to connect with others and further learning in person, at least occasionally, if and when possible, but as Mark pointed out, Nichiren taught by written correspondence, and its not clear how his practice should be distinguished from ours on this point. To put an in person oral transmission requirement would seem to undermine the Buddha's constant thought - "how do I most efficiently bring beings to attain the body of the Buddha?" Not imposing such a limitation would keep in the flexible spirit of propagation.

In the Tibetan tradition, my understanding is that the importance of oral transmission is the need to connect with an authentic, realized teacher who brings the student into the mind of realization. I'm sure I am mis-stating this.

In the Lotus Teachings, we receive the teaching directly from the Eternal Buddha who is ever present, specifically embodied in the scripture he left behind, the Lotus Sutra, and derivatively, the rest of the Buddhist corpus opened through the Essential Teaching. The sutra texts are the reverberation of the Buddha's Pure and Far Reaching Voice throughout this world, causing us to Hear the Name and Words. When we sit before the Gohonzon and invoke NMRK, we are in that moment receiving the transmission of the Buddha's most profound teaching.
Excellent

Mark
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by illarraza »

illarraza wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 7:20 am
Nyedrag Yeshe wrote: Tue Oct 31, 2017 3:15 am As a trainee, maybe he is still ignorant about many aspects of Nichiren Shonin's thought, as his background is Tibetan Buddhism, he must be still attached to his former views from TB.

But I always regarded exactly this point of simplicity and direct access to practice, in contrast to the views of other schools in Nichiren's time that privileged and/or restricted access to practice, to be one of the most endearing elements of Nichiren Buddhism in general. His view came as a big surprise, not to say a shock, coming from a Nichiren Shu apprentice!

In fact, he was one of the first Brazilians to be ordained in Tibetan Monasticism!
The transmission is through the scrolls of the Lotus Sutra (Gohonzon and 28 Chapter Lotus Sutra) and writings of Nichiren Daishonin according to the founder of the Kempon Hokke, Nichiju Shonin. Nichiren often talks of the transmission of the Five or Seven characters from Shakyamuni Buddha of Juryo Chapter of the Lotus Sutra to Jogyo Bosatsu (specifically) and to us generally.

Mark
According to Nichiren, it is even a scriptural transmission to the suffering animals...

“.... because on its* face you displayed the Seven Characters “Namu Myoho renge kyo”, when the north wind blows the scaly tribe (fish) of the Southern Sea, meeting that wind, will leave the sufferings of the great sea and when the east wind comes the birds and deer of the western mountains, having had that wind touch their bodies, shall escape the Way of the Beasts and they shall be reborn in the Inner Cloister of Tushita. How much more the human beings who have a following joy (zuiki) for that sotoba, touching it to their hands and seeing it with their eyes! Think that it is like the moon’s reflection when the water is clear and the reverberation when they strike the drum that by the merit of that sotoba the departed parents shall also illuminate the Pure Land like the sun and moon of heaven and the person of filial nurture as well as his wife and children shall have a lifespan of a hundred and twenty years in the present world and in the after life shall go to the Pure Land of the Spiritual Mountain (ryozen jodo). Henceforth on subsequent sotobas you should display the Title (Daimoku) of the Hokekyo.” (Nakaoki nyudo goshosoku, STN, v. 2, 1718-1719)

Sotoba or Toba...tablet on which is written Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo or Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo.

Mark
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Minobu
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by Minobu »

Queequeg wrote: Tue Oct 31, 2017 7:11 pm


IMO, reading NMRK from a computer screen is similar to reading a scriptural scroll - the medium is different, but the teaching is conveyed in both cases by the written word. I've seen enough examples of people who have undertaken refuge in the Daimoku based on little more than learning of this teaching through the internet.
As this is my sole means at this time , the internet, it wasn't always so.
I have a background in having a Scroll enshrined in my home.
So i don;t know.
i do know this ;When the Nichiren shoshu Priest gave me Gojukai something happened .
i experienced eternity in a moment.
Being young i ran around the Kai Kan afterword talking about and asking people what it was like for them...
all i got was weird looks from wondering if it worked for them to i was some kinda of nut case....My father had already been cured and that was well known so the higher ups just fell silent.

I think the lineage is produced through faith...trying to own it and use it as a seal of approval is just wrong...
i definitely received something in that moment. And that was from a priest who later messed me up ..So it came from the huge scroll he bonked me on the head with.
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by Queequeg »

Minobu wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 4:35 pm I think the lineage is produced through faith...
i definitely received something in that moment.
Google search turns up Merriam Websters:

Faith - plural faiths play \ˈfāths, sometimes ˈfāt͟hz\
1 a :allegiance to duty or a person :loyalty lost faith in the company's president
b (1) :fidelity to one's promises (2) :sincerity of intentions acted in good faith
2 a (1) :belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) :belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion
b (1) :firm belief in something for which there is no proof clinging to the faith that her missing son would one day return (2) :complete trust
3 :something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially :a system of religious beliefs the Protestant faith

Its a funny word.

I think to understand that word, or more specifically, 信 (Jpn shin), we need to back up and understand what we mean by the being who undertakes faith.

Fundamentally, we are talking about the thought-moment (一念, Jpn ichinen) which is in turn defined as the three thousand [realms] (三千 Jpn. sanzen). The Three Thousand is the Ten Dharma Realms which mutually possess the Ten Dharma Realms, each of which are understood in terms of the Ten Factors; which manifest in the Three Realms - the being as five aggregates, the being as being along with the community of beings, the environment.

When the Thought Moment enters Myohorengekyo by Faith, the Three Thousand in that moment are realized to be Myohorengekyo.

I think you might have been one of the fortunate ones to instantaneously and dramatically experience that moment of entry through faith.
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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Queequeg
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by Queequeg »

Minobu wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 4:35 pm And that was from a priest who later messed me up ..So it came from the huge scroll he bonked me on the head with.
This is why I'm not so concerned about bad teachers. None of us is the perfect medium for the transmission of Myohorengekyo. We have flaws. The Sutra books have flaws - back when sutras were transcribed by hand, errors would occur, paper would rot and break down, ink would fade or wash out. When I convey Myohorengekyo, its all mixed up with my personal baggage and misunderstandings. Translations likewise are colored by the translator's view. And yet, all these imperfect expressions are the Perfect Myohorengekyo.

In the Lotus, there is the famous parable where Devadatta in a past life was an evil brahmin who promised a king that he would teach the Lotus Sutra to him if the king became his servant. The King became the brahmin's servant for the sake of learning the dharma. Although the brahmin never actually taught the king the Lotus Sutra, the king gained immense merit. (My interpretation of this story is not the common understanding - most people think that the brahmin does teach the Lotus Sutra. Careful reading of the text, though, shows the brahmin never actually teaches the Lotus Sutra - From Kern's translation of the Nepali Sanskrit version: "That king meanwhile, strenuously and without engaging in other pursuits, roamed in every direction during thousands of kotis of complete Æons without being able to obtain the Sûtra called Dharma". The Kumarajiva version also lacks any mention that the brahmin actually taught the Lotus Sutra. Instead, the source of merit was actually the king's selfless devotion to seeking out the Dharma. The brahmin, then, even though he was a false teacher, served as a proxy against which the King could expend effort and gain merit. I think the same principle applies to those who follow a false teacher sincerely hoping to gain Dharma. This tale closely mirrors the jataka tale in which Devadatta is an evil brahmin who takes the king's wife and children. In that tale, also, Devadatta is painted in a sympathetic light.)
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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Minobu
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by Minobu »

Queequeg wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 5:44 pm
Minobu wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 4:35 pm And that was from a priest who later messed me up ..So it came from the huge scroll he bonked me on the head with.
This is why I'm not so concerned about bad teachers. None of us is the perfect medium for the transmission of Myohorengekyo. We have flaws. The Sutra books have flaws - back when sutras were transcribed by hand, errors would occur, paper would rot and break down, ink would fade or wash out. When I convey Myohorengekyo, its all mixed up with my personal baggage and misunderstandings. Translations likewise are colored by the translator's view. And yet, all these imperfect expressions are the Perfect Myohorengekyo.

In the Lotus, there is the famous parable where Devadatta in a past life was an evil brahmin who promised a king that he would teach the Lotus Sutra to him if the king became his servant. The King became the brahmin's servant for the sake of learning the dharma. Although the brahmin never actually taught the king the Lotus Sutra, the king gained immense merit. (My interpretation of this story is not the common understanding - most people think that the brahmin does teach the Lotus Sutra. Careful reading of the text, though, shows the brahmin never actually teaches the Lotus Sutra - From Kern's translation of the Nepali Sanskrit version: "That king meanwhile, strenuously and without engaging in other pursuits, roamed in every direction during thousands of kotis of complete Æons without being able to obtain the Sûtra called Dharma". The Kumarajiva version also lacks any mention that the brahmin actually taught the Lotus Sutra. Instead, the source of merit was actually the king's selfless devotion to seeking out the Dharma. The brahmin, then, even though he was a false teacher, served as a proxy against which the King could expend effort and gain merit. I think the same principle applies to those who follow a false teacher sincerely hoping to gain Dharma. This tale closely mirrors the jataka tale in which Devadatta is an evil brahmin who takes the king's wife and children. In that tale, also, Devadatta is painted in a sympathetic light.)
all of which opens up the hell gates of fake news....

lol...just kidding...
maybe not...

anyway..point is all these sects have merit...the whole this is the one true one....well...leads to closure...lol...

the whole blood thirsty torture killing threads in the news section has me crazy....

i got labeled...apparently by some Canadian ...the grief the guilt ...the Minobuness of it all...
Malcolm says it is ok to kill the infidel..
has HHDL to back him up on it...
yikes i'm a pacifist traitor...

not a healthy section for ole minobu here...got me worrying about my windscreen and flies and Squitters...i'm murdering them by the thousand...
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by Queequeg »

Minobu wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 5:55 pm all of which opens up the hell gates of fake news....
No. Devadatta still suffers retribution for being a false teacher. In this world, he fell directly into Avici Hell alive - the ground opened up and he fell into the ground. Maybe he stumbled on a sink hole.
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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Queequeg
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by Queequeg »

Queequeg wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 5:59 pm
Minobu wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 5:55 pm all of which opens up the hell gates of fake news....
No. Devadatta still suffers retribution for being a false teacher. In this world, he fell directly into Avici Hell alive - the ground opened up and he fell into the ground. Maybe he stumbled on a sink hole.
However, once you learn that a teacher is false, continuing to support them does become your own downfall.
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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Minobu
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by Minobu »

Queequeg wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 6:02 pm
Queequeg wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 5:59 pm
Minobu wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 5:55 pm all of which opens up the hell gates of fake news....
No. Devadatta still suffers retribution for being a false teacher. In this world, he fell directly into Avici Hell alive - the ground opened up and he fell into the ground. Maybe he stumbled on a sink hole.
However, once you learn that a teacher is false, continuing to support them does become your own downfall.
for real?
i shall pm you on this later...
thanks for everything so far ...i was joking around on that last post but you salvaged it..
lol..

ok i gotta ask...
nah save it for pm.
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Minobu
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by Minobu »

Queequeg wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 5:59 pm Maybe he stumbled on a sink hole.
in montreal come the spring it's potholes..
they got pot holes that can swallow the whole city...lol
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Re: Lineage in Nichiren

Post by Nyedrag Yeshe »

illarraza wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 7:36 am
illarraza wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 7:20 am
Nyedrag Yeshe wrote: Tue Oct 31, 2017 3:15 am As a trainee, maybe he is still ignorant about many aspects of Nichiren Shonin's thought, as his background is Tibetan Buddhism, he must be still attached to his former views from TB.

But I always regarded exactly this point of simplicity and direct access to practice, in contrast to the views of other schools in Nichiren's time that privileged and/or restricted access to practice, to be one of the most endearing elements of Nichiren Buddhism in general. His view came as a big surprise, not to say a shock, coming from a Nichiren Shu apprentice!

In fact, he was one of the first Brazilians to be ordained in Tibetan Monasticism!
The transmission is through the scrolls of the Lotus Sutra (Gohonzon and 28 Chapter Lotus Sutra) and writings of Nichiren Daishonin according to the founder of the Kempon Hokke, Nichiju Shonin. Nichiren often talks of the transmission of the Five or Seven characters from Shakyamuni Buddha of Juryo Chapter of the Lotus Sutra to Jogyo Bosatsu (specifically) and to us generally.

Mark
According to Nichiren, it is even a scriptural transmission to the suffering animals...

“.... because on its* face you displayed the Seven Characters “Namu Myoho renge kyo”, when the north wind blows the scaly tribe (fish) of the Southern Sea, meeting that wind, will leave the sufferings of the great sea and when the east wind comes the birds and deer of the western mountains, having had that wind touch their bodies, shall escape the Way of the Beasts and they shall be reborn in the Inner Cloister of Tushita. How much more the human beings who have a following joy (zuiki) for that sotoba, touching it to their hands and seeing it with their eyes! Think that it is like the moon’s reflection when the water is clear and the reverberation when they strike the drum that by the merit of that sotoba the departed parents shall also illuminate the Pure Land like the sun and moon of heaven and the person of filial nurture as well as his wife and children shall have a lifespan of a hundred and twenty years in the present world and in the after life shall go to the Pure Land of the Spiritual Mountain (ryozen jodo). Henceforth on subsequent sotobas you should display the Title (Daimoku) of the Hokekyo.” (Nakaoki nyudo goshosoku, STN, v. 2, 1718-1719)

Sotoba or Toba...tablet on which is written Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo or Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo.

Mark
This is very much interesting, and makes visible how much one's growth in Dharma relates to making connections! This also reminds me of Tibetan prayer flags in which mantras, sutras, and prayers are written, whoever is touched by the wind gets blessed and creates a connection with Dharma and Buddhahood!
“Whatever has to happen, let it happen!”
“Whatever the situation is, it’s fine!”
“I really don’t need anything!
~Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorje (1161-1211)
ओं पद्मोष्णीष विमले हूँ फट । ओं हनुफशभरहृदय स्वाहा॥
འ༔ ཨ༔ ཧ༔ ཤ༔ ས༔ མ༔ ཀརྨ་པ་མཁྱེན་ནོ།
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