Are Nichiren Buddhists usually conservative on liberal issues or?

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bcol01
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Are Nichiren Buddhists usually conservative on liberal issues or?

Post by bcol01 »

I have heard that many Nichiren sects in Japan are traditionally conservative. I'm wondering if this is true and to what extent if so.
In his writing, Hokkemongu (Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra), The Great Master Nichiren said, “If the practitioners of the Lotus Sutra wholeheartedly devote their life to the Lotus Sutra and practice according to its golden words, it is certainly needless to say that not only in the next life, but also in this lifetime they will overcome severe difficulty, prolong their life, receive the great, good fortune of unsurpassed enlightenment, and accomplish the great vow of the widespread, propagation of True Buddhism.”
markatex
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Re: Are Nichiren Buddhists usually conservative on liberal issues or?

Post by markatex »

That probably doesn't mean what it means in the US.
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justsomeguy
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Re: Are Nichiren Buddhists usually conservative on liberal issues or?

Post by justsomeguy »

This is an interesting question, because when I first started I wondered the same thing thing. What I have learned, and this is from the Shoshu perspective but I suspect it's probably the case for other Nichiren Buddhists outside of Japan, is that the issues that would define one as liberal or conservative (e.g. homosexuality, gender equality, etc.) are simply not focused on. What is stressed is that Buddhism is for everyone and that everyone's karma leads to certain life conditions that vary widely from person to person. The important thing is to focus on the practice and not dwell on issues. In that sense, Nichiren Buddhism (compared to U.S. attitudes on issues) seems very liberal and open. You aren't going to be turned away, for example, for being gay. You aren't going to be told to not love someone of the same gender or to not enjoy sex, alcohol and other worldly pleasures (but you should seek the middle way in all things). At least in the temple setting, we are guided toward acceptance and respect. I have my own karma to deal with, after all; it would be foolish for me to waste time judging you for yours. ;)

I'm sure you'll come across Nichiren Buddhists that are convervative on social issues that we are familiar with, but specific attitudes often don't seem to come from the practice so much as they come from cultural or environmental conditioning.
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justsomeguy
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Re: Are Nichiren Buddhists usually conservative on liberal issues or?

Post by justsomeguy »

Actually, I missed the "in Japan" part of your question. Sorry, I was speaking from a U.S. Nichiren experience. :emb:

We'd probably have to pick specific issues and ask what their stance on them is. I'm guessing it's largely affecting by their local culture though rather than Nichiren's teachings or doctrine.
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Queequeg
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Re: Are Nichiren Buddhists usually conservative on liberal issues or?

Post by Queequeg »

Your question is odd. What are "liberal issues"? What does it mean to be "conservative on liberal issues"?

Generally speaking, by American standards, pretty much all Buddhists in Japan, not just Nichiren Buddhists, are on the conservative side. Many Nichiren Buddhists in particular also tend to Japanese exceptionalism, if not nationalism. There are also Nichiren Buddhists who, owing to teachings about Mappo devotion to universal Buddhanature, end up looking like American progressives. But you have to understand that ideas that might seem similar to American ideas are often not informed by the same political and historical background. Even though some ideas might seem similar, faced with a choice, Americans and Japanese conservatives might break different ways.

To illustrate, conservative Japanese emphasize social harmony and this tends to play out with what we would consider socialist policies. The kind of individualism that conservatives in America tout would be considered selfish, narcissistic, and abhorrent.

More generally, consider this: Buddhism is for many the tradition handed down generation to generation - just as Christianity is the tradition for many Americans. The people who are Buddhist are cultivating continuity. In contrast, in the US, people who become Buddhist are radically breaking with their traditions. That difference in itself will tell you, Buddhists in Japan and the West are constitutionally and psychologically 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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Yavana
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Re: Are Nichiren Buddhists usually conservative on liberal issues or?

Post by Yavana »

bcol01 wrote: Sat Sep 29, 2018 8:54 pm I have heard that many Nichiren sects in Japan are traditionally conservative. I'm wondering if this is true and to what extent if so.
In SGI they taught us that there are no coincidences. A prominent symbol of the Buddha is the elephant... :shrug:
illarraza
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Re: Are Nichiren Buddhists usually conservative on liberal issues or?

Post by illarraza »

The Cicada wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 1:09 am
bcol01 wrote: Sat Sep 29, 2018 8:54 pm I have heard that many Nichiren sects in Japan are traditionally conservative. I'm wondering if this is true and to what extent if so.
In SGI they taught us that there are no coincidences. A prominent symbol of the Buddha is the elephant... :shrug:
Democrat or Republican, they all affirm our more than 5000 nuclear warheads. With the establishment of artificial intelligence (AI) and the bad actors stained with the Three Poisons of Anger, Animality, and Greed, we are ever closer to the brink. They all need to be repudiated and made to chant Namu Myoho renge kyo.

Mark
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Queequeg
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Re: Are Nichiren Buddhists usually conservative on liberal issues or?

Post by Queequeg »

illarraza wrote: Sun Oct 07, 2018 8:28 pm Democrat or Republican, they all affirm our more than 5000 nuclear warheads.
That is an excellent point.
With the establishment of artificial intelligence (AI) and the bad actors stained with the Three Poisons of Anger, Animality, and Greed, we are ever closer to the brink. They all need to be repudiated and made to chant Namu Myoho renge kyo.
I don't think anyone can be made to embrace saddharma, but they certainly need to Hear the Name, be criticized when they intentionally act against Saddharma.

Serious question -

What is your view on how Hokke Gyoja should conduct themselves as an inhabitant within the national borders of the United States?
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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Caoimhghín
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Re: Are Nichiren Buddhists usually conservative on liberal issues or?

Post by Caoimhghín »

The Cicada wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 1:09 am
bcol01 wrote: Sat Sep 29, 2018 8:54 pm I have heard that many Nichiren sects in Japan are traditionally conservative. I'm wondering if this is true and to what extent if so.
In SGI they taught us that there are no coincidences. A prominent symbol of the Buddha is the elephant... :shrug:
They also say if you meet the Buddha, kill him.
Then, the monks uttered this gāthā:

These bodies are like foam.
Them being frail, who can rejoice in them?
The Buddha attained the vajra-body.
Still, it becomes inconstant and ruined.
The many Buddhas are vajra-entities.
All are also subject to inconstancy.
Quickly ended, like melting snow --
how could things be different?

The Buddha passed into parinirvāṇa afterward.
(T1.27b10 Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra DĀ 2)
dude
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Re: Are Nichiren Buddhists usually conservative on liberal issues or?

Post by dude »

no, that's a zen thing
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Caoimhghín
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Re: Are Nichiren Buddhists usually conservative on liberal issues or?

Post by Caoimhghín »

dude wrote: Tue Oct 09, 2018 4:05 am no, that's a zen thing
Oh certainly. I had intended a rhetorical "they" rather than to refer to SGI particularly.
Then, the monks uttered this gāthā:

These bodies are like foam.
Them being frail, who can rejoice in them?
The Buddha attained the vajra-body.
Still, it becomes inconstant and ruined.
The many Buddhas are vajra-entities.
All are also subject to inconstancy.
Quickly ended, like melting snow --
how could things be different?

The Buddha passed into parinirvāṇa afterward.
(T1.27b10 Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra DĀ 2)
dude
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Re: Are Nichiren Buddhists usually conservative on liberal issues or?

Post by dude »

Ah, I see; of course
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