Why Nichiren teachings are not from the Lotus Sutra

[theseekerof]

The reason the title of this thread is like this is because Nichiren claims that all his teachings are from the Lotus Sutra only.

First of all Nichiren is not a Buddha nor did he claim to be a Buddha in the Daishonin's writings.

Here's how you know one is a Buddha according to the Lotus Sutra:

Lotus Sutra Chapter2:

“Shariputra, the insight of the Tathagata is broad and great, profound and far-reaching , immeasurable and unobstructed. His powers, his courage, his meditation, his liberation, and his concentration have enabled him to enter into the boundless and to fulfill the unprecedented Dharma

.

Lotus Sutra Ch:7

When you have gained comprehensive wisdom And the ten powers of the Buddha-dharma, And acquired the thirty-two characteristics, Then that is real extinction.

Here is the next comming buddha.

Lotus Sutra Chapter15.

There is a bodhisattva great one named Maitreya, who has been assured by Shakyamuni Buddha that he is to be the next buddha.

Lotus Sutra 18:

When people hear this Dharma They will become arhats Endowed with the six divine powers, The three kinds of knowledge, And eight kinds of liberation.

What devine power?
Lotus Sutra Ch27:

walking, standing, sitting, and lying down in the air; emitting water from the upper part of their bodies and fire from the lower, or emitting water from the lower and fire from the upper; enlarging themselves until they filled the sky and then becoming small again, or making themselves small and then appearing large again; vanishing from the air and suddenly appearing on the ground; going into the ground as though it were water; walking on water as though it were the ground. By showing various divine marvels like this, they led their father, the king, to cleanse his mind for faith and understanding.

Here's how all the Buddhas of the past, of the present and in the future claim that they are a Buddha.

Lotus Sutra Ch20:

A Tathagata, one worthy of offerings, truly awakened, fully clear in conduct, well gone, understanding the world, unexcelled leader, trainer of men, teacher of heavenly beings and people, a buddha, world-honored one.

Lotus Sutra Ch19:

Whatever they preach, It will always be the Dharma of previous buddhas.

2nd of all, according to the Lotus Sutra, no one can fathom the wisdom of the Buddha, thus no one can give out the meangs to the Buddha's teachings besides the Buddha himself.

Lotus Sutra Ch2:

Even a world Full of men like Shariputra, Using all of their mental powers together Could not fathom Buddha-wisdom.
Only a buddha can really grasp it.

Lotus Sutra Ch3:

Only because they trust the Buddha’s words Can any of the shravakas Follow this sutra — Not because they have any wisdom of their own.

Lotus Sutra Ch.5:

Practicing it step by step, All can gain the fruit of the Way.

Lotus Sutra Ch.15:

Step by step these Bodhisattva have been able to learn all kind of good teachings, and they are skillful in questions and answers.

Since Nichiren teaches nothing from the Lotus Sutra besides reciting the Title of the sutra, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, I have picked three Nichiren teachings and compare it with the Lotus Sutra.

Nichiren teachings taken from The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace

2.3

In accord with the Buddhist principle that “earthly desires lead to enlightenment,”

There is absolutely no where in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha says such thing as this.

On the contrary, this is what the Buddha say about worldly pleasures in the Lotus Sutra.

Lotus Sutra Ch13:

Cherishing evil in their hearts, Always thinking of earthly things,

Lotus Sutra Ch.2:

All living beings Are my children, But deeply attached to worldly pleasures, They are without wisdom.

attached to pleasures And blinded by ignorance. “Being like this, How can they be saved?”

In the evil world of the five pollutions only attachment to desires is delighted in. This kind of being Will never seek the Buddha way.

Lotus Sutra Ch3:

Moreover, because of the five desires and the desire for wealth, they undergo all kinds of suffering. Because of attachment to desire and striving, they endure much suffering in this life and later will suffer in a purgatory, or as animals or hungry spirits.

“Absorbed in these things, living beings rejoice and amuse themselves, without knowing or seeing or being alarmed or frightened.

though they encounter great suffering, they are not disturbed by it.

Do not crave its crude forms, sounds, scents, tastes, and sensations. If you become attached to them and learn to cherish them, you will be burned up by them.

So where and how did Nichiren get this teaching of “earthly desires lead to enlightenment,” from?

Taken from the Daishonin's writings:

Nichiren:

The true aspect of all phenomena indicates the two Buddhas Shakyamuni and Taho [seated together in the treasure tower]. Taho represents all phenomena and Shakyamuni, the true aspect.

Nichiren give this meaning on the true aspect of all phenomena in his own terms without any reference from the Buddha's teaching. Thus he got the meaning from thin air, having nothing to do with the Buddha's teachings.

Here's what the Buddha say about what the true aspect of all phenomena is.

Lotus Sutra Ch14:

“Next, the bodhisattvamahasattva should view all phenomena as empty, that being their true aspect.

They do not turn upside down, do not move, do not regress, do not revolve.

They are like empty space, without innate nature, beyond the reach of all words.

They are not born, do not emerge, do not arise.

They are without name, without form, without true being. They are without volume, without limits, without hindrance, without barriers.

It is only through causes and conditions that they exist, but because of upside-downness, errors are born.

Therefore I say that he should constantly delight in viewing the aspect of phenomena as this.

This is what I call the second thing that the bodhisattvamahasattva should associate himself with.”

bodhisattva does not act in such a way as to become attached to anything, but perceives the nature of the reality of all things, not acting, not discriminating — this is what I call the practices of bodhisattva great ones.

Lotus Sutra Ch4:

Through the long night, Studying and putting the Dharma of emptiness into practice, We gained release from the threefold world’s Illness of suffering and agony.

Lotus Sutra Ch1

Also I see bodhisattvas Who observe that the nature of all things Is not dual, But like empty space.

Continued:

The two Buddhas also indicate the two principles of the truth as object and the wisdom to grasp it. Taho signifies the truth , as object and Shakyamuni, the wisdom.
Although these are two, they are fused into one in the Buddha’s enlightenment.
These teachings are of prime importance.

They mean that earthly desires are enlightenment and that the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana.

Even during the physical union of man and woman, when one chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, then earthly desires are enlightenment and the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana. Sufferings are nirvana only when one realizes that life throughout its cycle of birth and death is neither born nor destroyed.

There is absolutely no where in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha says sufferings are nirvana only when one realizes that life throughout its cycle of birth and death is neither born nor destroyed.

Nichiren give this meaning in his own terms without any reference from the Buddha's teaching. Thus he got the meaning from thin air, having nothing to do with the Buddha's teachings.

Here's what the Buddha says about nirvana, birth and death.

Lotus Sutra Ch3:

My Dharma can free you from birth, old age, disease, and death and enable you finally to attain nirvana.

Fire is closing in on them. Pain and suffering threaten, but they do not care or become frightened, and have no thought of trying to escape.’

Now I have to find some skillful means to get my children to escape from this disaster.’

As long as all these beings have not escaped birth, old age, disease, death, anxiety, sorrow, suffering , and agony, and are being consumed in the burning house of the threefold world, how can they understand the wisdom of the Buddha?’

You need to get out of this threefold world quickly so that you can have the three vehicles, the shravaka, pratyekabuddha, and the buddha vehicles.

“All the living beings who escape the threefold world are given the enjoyments of buddhas — meditation, liberation, and so forth.

“Now I have rescued them And enabled them to escape from harm.

The threefold world is not safe, Just as a burning house Full of all kinds of suffering Is much to be feared

Always there is the suffering of Birth, old age, disease, and death. They are like flames Raging ceaselessly.

The Tathagata is already free From the burning house of the threefold world.

And enable you to escape the threefold world.

That was only freedom from birth and death, Not real extinction.

Lotus Sutra Ch18:

“Nothing in the world is stable, Like bubbles or spray or flames.

You should quickly cultivate Detachment from things.”

Continued

These principles are what is meant by the following passages. The FugenSutra states, ‘Without cutting off earthly desires and separating themselves from the five desires,11 they can purify their senses and wipe away their offenses.’ It is stated in the Maka shikan that ‘the ignorance and dust of desires are enlightenment and the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana.’

Here Nichiren found this idea of "earthly desire are enlightenment" through these two sources,The FugenSutra and the Maka Shikan and he incorporates its meaning into the Lotus Sutra.

Nichiren give this meaning in his own terms without any reference from the Lotus Sutra. Thus he got the meaning from another source, having nothing to do with the meaning in the Lotus Sutra.

Continued:

The Juryo chapter of the Lotus Sutra says, ‘At all times I think to myself: How can I cause living beings to gain entry into the unsurpassed way and quickly acquire the body of a Buddha?’ And the Hoben chapter states, ‘All the characteristics of the world are eternal.’

These two passages has nothing to do with earthly desire are enlightenment.

Nichiren give this meaning in his own terms without any reference from the Buddha's teaching. Thus he got the meaning from thin air, having nothing to do with the Buddha's teachings.

Nichiren teachings taken from The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace

2.3

A Buddha who has no connection to the actual sufferings of the nine worlds is not a genuine Buddha—namely, one who embodies the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds. This is the essential message of “Life Span,” the sixteenth chapter of the Lotus Sutra.

According to the Lotus Sutra the Buddha have escaped from all sufferings:

Here's ch.16 of the Lotus Sutra:

Lotus Sutra Ch16:

For the Tathagata there is no birth or death, neither retreat from nor emerge into the world.

In order to liberate the living, As a skillful means I appear to enter nirvana. Yet truly I am not extinct. I am always here teaching the Dharma.

If people see me all the time, They become arrogant and selfish, Indulge in the five desires without restraint, And fall into evil paths.

When the living witness the end of an eon, When everything is consumed in a great fire, This land of mine remains safe and tranquil, Always filled with human and heavenly beings.

Here if the Buddha has any connection with sufferings, his land would be burned up by the great fire also.

Lotus Sutra Ch3

The Tathagata is already free From the burning house of the threefold world.

And enable you to escape the threefold world.

Nichiren teachings taken from The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace

4.0

In his writings, Nichiren Daishonin uses Buddhist concepts and principles to teach us that rather than trying to escape troubles, we should courageously confront them, seeing them as opportunities to develop the lofty life state of Buddhahood.

at the end of 6.3

Buddhism looks directly at the suffering of life and offers a philosophy for living with joy by actively engaging with reality rather than trying to escape from it.

There is no true joy to be had in fleeing from suffering.

Lotus Sutra Ch3:

All the living beings who escape the threefold world are given the enjoyments of buddhas - meditation, liberation, and so forth.

Here because they escaped sufferings, they gain enjoyment from liberation and enjoyment in meditation.

[Caoimhghín]

Venerable Nichiren (who my phone tragically autocorrects to "Venerable Michigan" ) has a very particular hermeneutic for reading that text, and although case can be made for innovation or idiosyncratic interpretations of that hermeneutic on Ven Nichiren's part, he inherits it rather than spontaneously inventing it.

[Queequeg]

Well, here we go.

The reason the title of this thread is like this is because Nichiren claims that all his teachings are from the Lotus Sutra only.

The observation of the mind means to observe one’s own mind and to find the Ten Worlds within it. This is what is called observing the mind. For example, though we can see the six sense organs of other people, we cannot see our own. Only when we look into a clear mirror do we see, for the first time, that we are endowed with all six sense organs. Similarly, various sutras make reference here and there to the six paths and the four noble worlds [that constitute the Ten Worlds], but only in the clear mirror of the Lotus Sutra and of the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai’s Great Concentration and Insight can one see one’s own Ten Worlds, hundred worlds and thousand factors, and three thousand realms in a single moment of life.
-Kanjin no Honzon Sho

As Coemgenu touched on, a lot of what you are protesting is actually basic Mahayana, particularly as transmitted through Tendai. Nichiren taught Mahayana.

What he revealed was the Three Great Secret Laws in the Lotus Sutra -

The Honzon, the Kaidan, and Daimoku, which are there in the Lotus Sutra if you know where to look.

[dude]

I don't agree with the first premise of the launch post.
In my opinion, Nichiren knew he was the true buddha and said so, albeit obliquely.
Taking everything in the Gosho at face value is an absurd mistake.

[Queequeg]

Taking everything in the Gosho at face value is an absurd mistake.

Well, I suppose anything can mean anything if you put it that way.

[hopefullotus]

Taking everything in the Gosho at face value is an absurd mistake.

Well, I suppose anything can mean anything if you put it that way.

But dude has a point right? Nichiren was human and humans are subject to flaws. Even though he was a buddha, he was subject to the ten worlds like all of us. So I feel taking any writing (Lotus Sutra or Gosho) 100% literally is not effective. Also, as you say, Nichiren interpreted things in the Lotus Sutra to formulate his practice. And I feel in that same spirit, we have to interpret Nichiren on many levels (consider his humanity and flaws, his country/culture, his time/era, etc).

[Queequeg]

That's not what dude is talking about.

[hopefullotus]

Oh hm ok... maybe I am misreading/misunderstanding then. My bad.

[dude]

Taking everything in the Gosho at face value is an absurd mistake.

Well, I suppose anything can mean anything if you put it that way.

No, what I mean by that is, I (and this is just me talking) maintain that Nichiren set the example of what happens when a common mortal embraces the Lotus Sutra. Shakyamuni set the example of how a Buddha appears in this world.
The Shoho Jisso Sho states "... though it is thought that Shakyamuni Buddha possesses the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent for the sake of all of us living beings, that is not so. On the contrary, it is common mortals who endow him with the three virtues.
There are other passages, some of them subject to argument I'm sure, but implying something, such as "A person named Nichiren was beheaded at Tatsunokuchi, his soul having reached Sado Island."
This is of course contrary to what really happened, since the execution in fact was disrupted, but it implies something.

[Queequeg]

We'll have to agree to disagree.

[dude]

I so assent.
I think further discussion will raise some of the other points we agree on and those on which we don't.

[theseekerof]

Dude wrote:
Nichiren knew he was the true buddha and said so, albeit obliquely.


There was no ambiguity that Sidartha Gotema is Shakyamuni Buddha. Everyone acknowledge that Sidartha Gotema is Shakyamuni Buddha, the fully enlightenment one.

But when it come to Nichiren, there is ambiguity to whether he's a Buddha or not; causing much confusion to the one who knows that Nichiren is not a Buddha.

The one who thinks Nichiren is a Buddha is unable to give reference to where Nichiren specifically declares that he is indeed the next Buddha.

But if he was truly the next Buddha, after Shakyamuni Buddha, Nichiren would make it clear that he is indeed the next Buddha, instead of causing unnecessary confusion to all his followers.

Here's how all the Buddhas declared that they are a Buddha.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 20:

A Tathagata, one worthy of offerings, truly awakened, fully clear in conduct, well gone, understanding the world, unexcelled leader, trainer of men, teacher of heavenly beings and people, a buddha, world-honored one.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 8:

The five hundred bhikṣus Will become Buddhas one after another. They also will be called Universal-Brightness.

One who has become a Buddha will say to another:

“You will become the next Buddha after my extinction.

Lotus Sutra Chapter15.

There is a bodhisattva great one named Maitreya, who has been assured by Shakyamuni Buddha that he is to be the next buddha.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 2

That Buddha will appear in his world at first as a prince. The prince will give up his princeship and worldly fame. He will renounce the world at the end of his life as a layman, And attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.

Queequeg wrote:
What he revealed was the Three Great Secret Laws in the Lotus Sutra -
The Honzon, the Kaidan, and Daimoku, which are there in the Lotus Sutra if you know where to look.


Only when you want to hide something or have some secret, thats when you use codes and hidden meanings in your speech, so that your enemy cannot decipher the meanings of your words when they overheard your conversation.

But the buddha did not keep any secret nor did he try to hide any of his teachings on attaining the great Vehicle. There is no hidden meanings in the Buddha's teachings. In fact he was straight forward in all of his teachings. He wants all of his teachings to be heard. He makes it plain and simple to understand by using various teachings to them with stories of previous lives, parables, similes and discourses, that is to say, with various expedients according to the individual's understanding.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 8:

Only the Buddha, only the World-Honored One, knows the wishes we have deep in our minds.

He expounds the Dharma with expedients by his insight according to the various natures of all living beings of the world , and saves them from various attachments.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 2:

The Tathagata himself give witness to the unexcelled way, the great Vehicle, the universal dhamma.

If I lead even a single person By the Lesser Vehicle, I would fall into greed which is something that cannot happen.

I do not deceive Those who believe me and rely on me. I am not greedy or jealous Because I have eliminated all evils.

“Shariputra, the insight of the Tathagata is broad and great, profound and far-reaching , immeasurable and unobstructed. His powers, his courage, his meditation, his liberation, and his concentration have enabled him to enter into the boundless and to fulfill the unprecedented Dharma.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 5:

I understand both the present world and the worlds to come as they really are. I am one who knows all, one who sees all, one who knows the Way, one who opens the Way, one who teaches the Way. Come to me, all you human and heavenly beings and asuras, and hear the Dharma!

Lotus Sutra Chapter 7:

Bhikṣus, know this! My wisdom is pure, wonderful, Free from āsravas and from hindrance. I know those who lived innumerable kalpas ago.

In the Daishonin's writings
Nichinyo Gozen Gohenji -

After the Buddha's death, in the two thousand years of the Former and Middle Days of the Law, not even the term "object of worship of the essential teaching" was mentioned, let alone the object itself being inscribed. Nor was there anyone capable of inscribing it. 

Now, over two hundred years have passed since the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law. How awesome that Nichiren was the first to inscribe this great mandala as the banner of propagation of the Lotus Sutra, when even such great masters as Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, T'ien-t'ai and Miao-lo were unable to do so!

Since Shakyamuni Buddha's wisdom is pure, wonderful, Free from āsravas and from hindrance, and his insight is profound and far-reaching , immeasurable and unobstructed. He understood both the present world and the worlds to come as they really are and he is the one who knows all, and the one who sees all, Shakyamuni Buddha would have created an object of worship of the essential teaching such as the Honzon, if he sees it as necessary, but he didn't.

In the Daishonin's writings
On Attaining Buddhahood
- Issho Jobutsu Sho -

Nichiren state that:

Myoho-renge-kyo is the king of sutras, flawless in both letter and principle. Its words are the reality of life, and the reality of life is the Mystic Law (Myoho). It is called the Mystic Law because it explains the mutually inclusive relationship of life and all phenomena. That is why this sutra is the wisdom of all Buddhas.

If you have deep faith in this truth and chant Myoho-renge-kyo, you are certain to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime.

And the reason why this sutra is the wisdom of all Buddhas and is considered to be the foremost of all the sutras is because:

Lotus Sutra Chapter 2:

Śāriputra! What is the one great purpose for which the Buddhas , the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds?

The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to open [the gate to] the insight of the Buddha, and to cause them to purify themselves.

They appear in the worlds in order to show the insight of the Buddha to all living beings . They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to obtain the insight of the Buddha. They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to enter the Way to the insight of the Buddha. Śāriputra! This is the one great purpose for which the Buddhas appear in the worlds.”

The Buddhas , the Tathāgatas, only teach and transform Bodhisattvas. All they do is for one purpose, that is, to show the insight of the Buddha to all living beings, to cause them to obtain the insight of the Buddha.

It has nothing to do with Nichiren's mystic law.

In the Lotus Sutra the Buddha never teach that If you have deep faith in this truth and chant Myoho-renge-kyo, you are certain to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime.

Shakyamuni Buddha attain supreme enlightenmen not from Chanting Myoho-renge-kyo, there is no historical account that Shakyamuni Buddha became fully enlightened from chanting Myoho-renge-kyo.

Here's what all the Buddha teaches in order to cause all livings beings to attain supreme enlightenment:

Lotus Sutra Chapter 2:

Śāriputra! I also expound various teachings to all living beings only for the purpose of revealing the One Buddha-Vehicle. There is no other vehicle, not a second or a third. Śāriputra! All the present Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters also do the same.

Śāriputra! When a kalpa is in decay, the living beings are so full of illusions, so greedy, and so jealous that they plant many roots of evil. Therefore, the Buddhas divide the One Buddha-Vehicle into three as an expedient.

I expounded various sūtras Because those sūtras were a basis for the Great Vehicle.

All the Buddhas in the past, present, and future Expounded, are expounding, and will expound In the same manner the Dharma beyond comprehension. I also will expound it in the same manner.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 19:

Whatever they preach, It will always be the Dharma of previous Buddhas.

What are the three vehicles?

Lotus Sutra Chapter 1:

1:Shravaka Vehicle.

They are like the children who came out of the burning house to get a goat carriage.

“For those who sought to be
shravakas he taught the Dharma of the four truths for overcoming birth, old age, disease, and death and for attaining nirvana.

What 4 truths?
There is suffering

The origin of suffering

The cessation of suffering

And the path that lead to the cessation of suffering which is this 8 noble path.

2:Pratyekabuddha

They are like the children who came out of the burning house to get a deer carriage.

For those who sought to be pratyekabuddhas he taught the Dharma of the twelve causes and conditions.

“And what, bhikkhus, is dependent origination?

With ignorance as condition, volitional formations [come to be]; with volitional formations as condition, consciousness; with consciousness as condition, name-and-form; with name-and-form as condition, the six sense bases; with the six sense bases as condition, contact; with contact as condition, feeling; with feeling as condition, craving; with craving as condition, clinging; with clinging as condition, existence; with existence as condition, birth;

with birth as condition, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair come to be.

Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering.

This, bhikkhus, is called dependent origination.

“But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volitional formations; [2] with the cessation of volitional formations, cessation of consciousness; with the cessation of consciousness, cessation of name-and-form; with the cessation of name-and-form, cessation of the six sense bases; with the cessation of the six sense bases, cessation of contact; with the cessation of contact, cessation of feeling; with the cessation of feeling, cessation of craving; with the cessation of craving, cessation of clinging; with the cessation of clinging, cessation of existence; with the cessation of existence, cessation of birth; with the cessation of birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair cease.

Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.”

3:Bodhisattvas Vehicle

They are like the children who came out of the burning house to get an ox carriage.

And for the bodhisattvas he taught the six transcendental practices to lead them to attain supreme awakening and all-inclusive wisdom.

Hopefullotus wrote:
Even though he was a buddha, he was subject to the ten worlds like all of us. So I feel taking any writing (Lotus Sutra or Gosho) 100% literally is not effective. Also, as you say, Nichiren interpreted things in the Lotus Sutra to formulate his practice. And I feel in that same spirit, we have to interpret Nichiren on many levels (consider his humanity and flaws, his country/culture, his time/era, etc).

Yes Nichiren interpreted things in the Lotus Sutra to formulate his own practice, he did not get his teachings from his own Buddha's insight nor did he claim to have any of Buddha's insight such as this:

Lotus Sutra Chapter 2:

“Shariputra, the insight of the Tathagata is broad and great, profound and far-reaching , immeasurable and unobstructed. His powers, his courage, his meditation, his liberation, and his concentration have enabled him to enter into the boundless and to fulfill the unprecedented Dharma.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 5:

I understand both the present world and the worlds to come as they really are. I am one who knows all, one who sees all, one who knows the Way, one who opens the Way, one who teaches the Way. Come to me, all you human and heavenly beings and asuras, and hear the Dharma!

Since Nichiren interpreted things in the Lotus Sutra to formulate his own practices and teachings it is not the practice and teachings from the Lotus Sutra.

Here are the practices and teachings from the Lotus Sutra that you won't be able to find in any of the Nichiren's practices and teachings.

It is about detachment, understanding emptiness, and an escape from the triple world.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 1:

Single-mindedly removing distractions, Concentrating their thoughts while in mountain forests, For tens of thousands of millions of years, They seek the Buddha way.

Having taught this sutra, sitting cross-legged, the Buddha entered the state of concentration called the place of innumerable meanings, in which his body and mind were completely motionless.

I also see Bodhisattva renouncing desires, Always living in empty, quiet places, Profoundly cultivating meditation And obtaining the five divine powers.

Again, I see children of the Buddha With minds free from attachments, With this wonderful wisdom Seeking the unexcelled way.

All these princes, hearing that their father had left his home and attained supreme awakening, renounced their royal positions and, following him, left home.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 3:

When that buddha is still a prince, He will abandon his realm, give up worldly glory, And in his final incarnation Leave home and attain the Buddha way.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 16:

“Good sons, the Tathagata sees that among the living there are those who prefer lesser teachings, and are of little virtue and heavy with filth. For these people I teach about how as a young man I left home and attained supreme awakening."

Lotus Sutra Chapter 1:

Also could be seen were bodhisattvas Who had entered deeply into various states of meditation And were at rest, motionless in body and mind, Seeking the unexcelled way.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 2:

Shariputra, ever since I became a buddha, I have used a variety of causal explanations and a variety of parables to teach and preach, and countless skillful means to lead living beings, enabling them to give up their attachments.

Enriched with powers of meditation and wisdom, He uses it to liberate the living.

From eons and eons ago I have praised and taught the doctrine of nirvana — “The miseries of birth and death are forever ended!” This is how I usually taught.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 3:

My Dharma can free you from birth, old age, disease, and death and enable you finally to attain nirvana.

All the living beings who escape the threefold world are given the enjoyments of buddhas — meditation, liberation, and so forth.

The Tathagata is already free From the burning house of the threefold world.

And enable you to escape the threefold world.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 8:

Do not say that Purna protects only my teachings and helps me propagate them! In his previous existence he also protected the right teachings of nine thousand million Buddhas and helped them propagate their teachings. Under those Buddhas also he was the most excellent expounder of the Dharma. He clearly understood the truth of emptiness expounded by those Buddhas, and obtained the four kinds of unhindered eloquence.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 4:

Because all things are empty and tranquil Without coming to be, without extinction, Without being large, without being small, Without fault, without action.

Through the long night, Studying and putting the Dharma of emptiness into practice, We gained release from the threefold world’s Illness of suffering and agony.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 7:

because they refused to become attached to anything and freed themselves from fault, obtained profound and wonderful meditation, the three kinds of knowledge, the six divine powers, and the eight kinds of liberation.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 12:

Those in the air, originally shravakas, taught shravaka practices, even though they were now all practicing the Great Vehicle principle of emptiness.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 14:

bodhisattva does not act in such a way as to become attached to anything, but perceives the nature of the reality of all things, not acting, not discriminating — this is what I call the practices of bodhisattva great ones.

Lotus Sutra Chapter 18:

“Nothing in the world is stable, Like bubbles or spray or flames.

You should quickly cultivate Detachment from things.”

[Queequeg]

*yadda yadda*

Your premise at the start of this thread has been critiqued.

The reason the title of this thread is like this is because Nichiren claims that all his teachings are from the Lotus Sutra only.

Nichiren never made any such claim.

What he actually taught was that the the Essential Teaching of the Lotus Sutra is only found in the Lotus Sutra.

You need to back up with your arguments and address the faults of your basic premise.

2nd of all, according to the Lotus Sutra, no one can fathom the wisdom of the Buddha, thus no one can give out the meangs to the Buddha's teachings besides the Buddha himself.

If I understand you correctly, Nichiren would agree with this 100%. This is why Nichiren taught "Namu Myohorengekyo" and not "Namu What I Say.

Since Nichiren teaches nothing from the Lotus Sutra besides reciting the Title of the sutra, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, I have picked three Nichiren teachings and compare it with the Lotus Sutra.

No, you did not establish this. You made some claims about what Nichiren taught without offering any proof that the words you put in his mouth are his.

Nichiren teachings taken from The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace

No. That book is a compilation of the purported teachings of Daisaku Ikeda. You really ought not confuse what that man, Ikeda, has to say with what Nichiren taught.

If you want to discuss what Nichiren actually taught, you ought to refer to Nichiren's writings, of which over 700 have survived to this day.

In accord with the Buddhist principle that “earthly desires lead to enlightenment,”

I don't know where this quote comes from.

Bonno soku bodai is often translated as "Earthly Desires are Enlightenment." Bonno is klesha. Bodai is bodhi. This is basic Mahayana.

Nichiren directly mentions bonno soku bodai in several writings and refers to it implicitly throughout his writings - its a teaching with a particular meaning in the Tiantai-Tendai tradition - and Nichiren cannot be understood outside of the context of Tiantai/Tendai. Tendai Daishi (Zhiyi) refers to this teaching in Mohezhikuan (Jp. Maka Shikan; Tr. by Swanson as "Clear Serenity, Quiet Insight"), and it is explained extensively in Tiantai/Tendai writings. It is often paired with the teaching - Sufferings of Samsara are Nirvana.

From the Mohezhikuan:

The perfect-and-sudden [method of practicing cessation-and-contemplation] involves taking the true aspects [of reality] as the object from the very beginning. Whatever is made to be the object [of contemplation], it is the Middle; there is nothing that is not truly real. [When one attains the state of contemplation wherein] reality itself (dharmadhatu) is fixed as the object [of contemplation], and thoughts are integrated with reality itself, [then one realizes that] there is not a single color or scent that is not the Middle Way. It is the same for the realm of the individual, the
realm of Buddhas, and the world at large. All [phenomena experienced through] the aggregates (skandha) and senses (ayatana) are thusness; therefore there is no [substantial] suffering that needs to be removed. Since ignorance (avidya) and the exhausting dust [of passionate afflictions
(kleša)] are indivisible with bodhi-wisdom, there is no origin [of suffering; i.e., craving] to be severed. Since the extreme [dualities] and false [views] are [indivisible with] the Middle and what is right, there is no path to be cultivated. Since [this cyclic world of] samsara is [indivisible with] nirvana, there is no extinguishing [of craving] to be realized. Since suffering and its causes do not exist [substantially], there is no mundane world [to be transcended]; since the path and the extinction [of craving] do not exist [substantially], there is no transcendent world [to be gained]. There is purely the single true aspect [of reality-as-it-is]; there are no separate things outside this true aspect. For things in themselves (dharmata) to be quiescent is called “cessation”; to be quiescent yet ever luminous is called “contemplation.” Though earlier and later [stages] are spoken of, they are neither two nor separate. This is called perfect-and-sudden cessation-and-contemplation.

There is absolutely no where in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha says such thing as this.

Actually, at the heart of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha states:

Since I attained buddhahood
the number of kalpas that have passed
is an immeasurable hundreds, thousands, ten thousands,
millions, trillions, asamkhyas.
Constantly I have preached the Law, teaching, converting
countless millions of living beings,
causing them to enter the buddha way,
all this for immeasurable kalpas.
In order to save living beings,
as an expedient means I appear to enter nirvana
but in truth I do not pass into extinction.
I am always here, preaching the Law.
I am always here,
but through my transcendental powers
I make it so that living beings in their befuddlement
do not see me even when close by.
When the multitude sees that I have passed into extinction,
far and wide they offer alms to my relics.
All harbor thoughts of yearning
and in their minds thirst to gaze at me.
When living beings have become truly faithful,
honest and upright, gentle in intent,
single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha,
not hesitating even if it costs them their lives,
then I and the assembly of monks
appear together on Holy Eagle Peak.
At that time I tell the living beings
that I am always here, never entering extinction,
but that because of the power of expedient means
at times I appear to be extinct, at other times not,
and that if there are living beings in other lands
who are reverent and sincere in their wish to believe,
then among them too
I will preach the unsurpassed Law.
But you have not heard of this,
so you suppose that I enter extinction.
When I look at living beings
I see them drowned in a sea of suffering;
therefore I do not show myself,
causing them to thirst for me.
Then when their minds are filled with yearning,
at last I appear and preach the Law for them.
Such are my transcendental powers.
For asamkhya kalpas
constantly I have dwelled on Holy Eagle Peak
and in various other places.
When living beings witness the end of a kalpa
and all is consumed in a great fire,
this, my land, remains safe and tranquil,
constantly filled with heavenly and human beings.
The halls and pavilions in its gardens and groves
are adorned with various kinds of gems.
Jeweled trees abound in flowers and fruit
where living beings enjoy themselves at ease.
The gods strike heavenly drums,
constantly making many kinds of music.
Mandarava blossoms rain down,
scattering over the Buddha and the great assembly.
My pure land is not destroyed,
yet the multitude sees it as consumed in fire,
with anxiety, fear, and other sufferings
filling it everywhere.
These living beings with their various offenses,
through causes arising from their evil actions,
spend asamkhya kalpas
without hearing the name of the three treasures.
But those who practice meritorious ways,
who are gentle, peaceful, honest, and upright,
all of them will see me
here in person, preaching the Law.
At times for this multitude
I describe the Buddha’s life span as immeasurable,
and to those who see the Buddha only after a long time
I explain how difficult it is to meet a buddha.
Such is the power of my wisdom
that its sagacious beams shine without measure.
This life span of countless kalpas
I gained as the result of lengthy practice.
You who are possessed of wisdom,
entertain no doubts on this point!
Cast them off, end them forever,
for the Buddha’s words are true, not false.

This is kind of PhD level Buddhism, but here's the basic argument:

When Buddha Shakyamuni first turned the wheel at Sarnath to the Five Ascetics, he taught the Four Noble Truths. He described the cause of suffering as craving (trishna). Craving is related to klesa, and in some cases the words are used more or less interchangeably. Klesa are in ways derivative of craving. Klesa are elaborated into lists, in East Asia most commonly as 108, but are in practice, innumerable (hence the reference in the quote from Mohezhikuan that refers to "exhausting dust" because they are irritants as numerous as dust.) Klesa basically derive from the three poisons of desire, aversion and ignorance. Desire is the instinct to seek pleasure, aversion is the instinct to avoid displeasure, and ignorance is at the root of all desire and aversion - we impulsively act on desires and aversions because we fundamentally misunderstand our real nature. We think that this pleasure or that avoidance of displeasure will relieve us of suffering once and for all, but we do not realize that grasping and avoiding does not relieve us of suffering but merely perpetuates it. In early teachings of the Buddha, he taught that we can end the cycle by not acting on our cravings. Break that cycle long enough and karma will be exhausted... the spinning of samsara will simply roll to a halt when it is no longer propelled.

Later, the Buddha taught emptiness which reveals all dharmas, including each link in the chain of causation, to be without essential reality. Samsara could simply be released by seeing that it is insubstantial: Realize Emptiness and *poof* what is left but liberation.

But these teachings have shortcomings. For one, these paths in and of themselves terminate in individual benefit. There is no regard for the suffering of others. Secondly, and this is a deeper critique - its actually a reactionary path that pits suffering as a categorical evil to be avoided and ended... it turns out, these paths are expressions of klesa at very subtle levels.

In the higher Mahayana teachings on Buddha Nature and Tathagatagarbha, nothing is to be avoided, nothing is to be sought, realization of emptiness is not the end - its just a further insight about reality. What really is happening is a timeless awakening: Buddhaseeds are cast in Buddhafields, where they sprout and grow into Buddhas. Buddhas are like the farmers of these fields, with hosts of bodhisattva farmhands. We are given a glimpse of this view in the first chapter of the Lotus Sutra where the Buddha emits a beam of light from his forehead and illuminates the lands in the East:

At that time the Buddha emitted a ray of light from the tuft of white hair between his eyebrows, one of his characteristic features, lighting up eighteen thousand worlds in the eastern direction. There was no place that the light did not penetrate, reaching downward as far as the Avichi hells and upward to the Akanishtha heavens.

From this world one could see the living beings in the six paths of existence in all of those other lands. One could likewise see the buddhas present at that time in those other lands and could hear the sutra teachings that those buddhas were expounding. At the same time one could see the monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen who were carrying out religious practices and attaining the way. One could also see the bodhisattvas mahasattva who, through various causes and conditions and various types of faith and understanding and in various forms and aspects, were carrying out the way of the bodhisattva. And one could also see the buddhas who had entered parinirvana, and could also see how, after the buddhas had entered parinirvana, towers adorned with the seven treasures were being erected for the buddha relics.

This is the level where teachings like "klesa are bodhi" have relevance. This is the Lotus Sutra where the Buddha explains his awakening, described alternatively as occurring in the inconceivably remote past or nitya, eternal or maybe more accurately, atemporal, and yet involving causes. If that latter description does not makes sense, I don't think its supposed to; its one of those riddles meant to break conventional thinking. The Lotus Sutra, particularly the "Chapter and Two Halves" (Second half of Ch. 15 though the first part of Ch. 17), is taught from the atemporal perspective of the Buddha. "When I look at living beings / I see them drowned in a sea of suffering... / When living beings witness the end of a kalpa / and all is consumed in a great fire / this, my land, remains safe and tranquil / constantly filled with heavenly and human beings." This teaching is stated succinctly in the Vimalakirti Sutra -

At that time Śāriputra was influenced by the Buddha’s numinous charisma to have this thought: “If the bodhisattva’s buddha land is pure according to the purity of the bodhisattva’s mind, then when our World-honored One was a bodhisattva his mind must have been pure. Nevertheless, this buddha land is so impure!”

The Buddha knew what he was thinking and asked him, “What do you think? Although the blind do not see them, can the sun and moon be anything but pure?”

[Śāriputra] answered, “No, World-honored One! This is the fault of the blind, not that of the sun and moon.”

[The Buddha said], “Śāriputra, it is through the transgressions of sentient beings that they do not see the purity of the Tathāgata’s (i.e., my) buddha land. This is not the Tathāgata’s fault! Śāriputra, this land of mine is pure, but you do not see it.”

In this view, klesa are neither substantial nor insubstantial; beings are caught up in them, suffer because of them, but they are illusory, and likewise, so is their suffering. The Buddha explains in the passage above that he is always here, contriving conditions that will lead beings out of thickets of their own making so that they can see how things really are: "safe and tranquil." As the Buddha states, "The true aspect of all phenomena can only be understood and shared between buddhas," and, "at the start I took a vow / hoping to make all persons / equal to me, without any distinction between us / and what I long ago hoped for / has now been fulfilled."

What you object to is a commentarial gloss on the Lotus Sutra that is actually informed by a broad and deep understanding of Mahayana.

There is much more to Nichiren than you give credit for. All you are really commenting on is your own views and the selective reading you choose.

The true aspect of all phenomena indicates the two Buddhas Shakyamuni and Taho [seated together in the treasure tower]. Taho represents all phenomena and Shakyamuni, the true aspect.

Nichiren give this meaning on the true aspect of all phenomena in his own terms without any reference from the Buddha's teaching. Thus he got the meaning from thin air, having nothing to do with the Buddha's teachings.

That's a symbolic gloss.

When the Buddha attained awakening, he touched the Earth to call it as a witness to his awakening. In the Lotus Sutra, Taho serves a similar function, but because the teaching of the Lotus Sutra can only be shared between Buddas. Only a Buddha can witness Shakyamuni's teaching of the Lotus Sutra. Many Treasures (Taho) is a poetic reference to the world of phenomena.

Here's what the Buddha say about what the true aspect of all phenomena is.
(snip)

You left out reference to the most important reference to the True Aspect in Chapter 2:

The true aspect of all phenomena can only be understood and shared between buddhas. This reality consists of the thus appearance, thus nature, thus entity, thus power, thus influence, thus internal cause, thus relation, latent effect, thus manifest effect, and their thus consistency from beginning to end.”

Whatever instruction the Buddha gives to bodhisattvas to dwell in the True Aspect is a provisional teaching.

Continued:

The two Buddhas also indicate the two principles of the truth as object and the wisdom to grasp it. Taho signifies the truth , as object and Shakyamuni, the wisdom.
Although these are two, they are fused into one in the Buddha’s enlightenment.
These teachings are of prime importance.

They mean that earthly desires are enlightenment and that the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana.

Even during the physical union of man and woman, when one chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, then earthly desires are enlightenment and the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana. Sufferings are nirvana only when one realizes that life throughout its cycle of birth and death is neither born nor destroyed.

See the above explanation on bonno soku bodai.

Continued

These principles are what is meant by the following passages. The FugenSutra states, ‘Without cutting off earthly desires and separating themselves from the five desires,11 they can purify their senses and wipe away their offenses.’ It is stated in the Maka shikan that ‘the ignorance and dust of desires are enlightenment and the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana.’

Here Nichiren found this idea of "earthly desire are enlightenment" through these two sources,The FugenSutra and the Maka Shikan and he incorporates its meaning into the Lotus Sutra.

Nichiren give this meaning in his own terms without any reference from the Lotus Sutra. Thus he got the meaning from another source, having nothing to do with the meaning in the Lotus Sutra.

Actually, Fugen Sutra is considered part of the Lotus Sutra. And Maka Shikan is based on the Lotus Sutra.

Continued:

The Juryo chapter of the Lotus Sutra says, ‘At all times I think to myself: How can I cause living beings to gain entry into the unsurpassed way and quickly acquire the body of a Buddha?’ And the Hoben chapter states, ‘All the characteristics of the world are eternal.’

These two passages has nothing to do with earthly desire are enlightenment.

Nichiren give this meaning in his own terms without any reference from the Buddha's teaching. Thus he got the meaning from thin air, having nothing to do with the Buddha's teachings.

You keep asserting that, but it doesn't make it true.

Nichiren teachings taken from The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace

I hope you realize how ridiculous that statement is. Again, don't equate Ikeda's ideas with Nichiren.

When the living witness the end of an eon, When everything is consumed in a great fire, This land of mine remains safe and tranquil, Always filled with human and heavenly beings.

Here if the Buddha has any connection with sufferings, his land would be burned up by the great fire also.

No. As explained above, the burning is just the mistaken views of living beings.

Queequeg wrote:
What he revealed was the Three Great Secret Laws in the Lotus Sutra -
The Honzon, the Kaidan, and Daimoku, which are there in the Lotus Sutra if you know where to look.

Only when you want to hide something or have some secret, thats when you use codes and hidden meanings in your speech, so that your enemy cannot decipher the meanings of your words when they overheard your conversation.

Secret here does not carry the ordinary meaning of secret. Its right in the open. The problem that irked the devotees of the Lotus Sutra is that it did not apparently include a practice. But that is actually not so.

In the Transcendent Powers of the Tathagata chapter:

The transcendent powers of the buddhas are as immeasurable, limitless, and inconceivable as this. Yet if I were to use these transcendent powers to teach the benefits of this sutra so that it would be entrusted to you for immeasurable, limitless, hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of incalculable kalpas, I would not be able to reach the end of these qualities. To sum up, in this sutra I have clearly revealed and taught all the teachings of the Tathāgata, all the transcendent powers of the Tathāgata, all the treasure houses of the hidden essence of the Tathāgata, and all the profound aspects of the Tathāgata. For this reason, after the pari nirvāṇa of the Tathāgata, you should wholeheartedly preserve, recite, explain, and copy it, and practice according to the teaching. Those who accept, recite, explain, and copy it, and practice according to the teaching, in whichever land they may be, in a place where the sutra abides—either in a garden, a forest, under a tree, in a monk’s chamber, in a layman’s house, in a palace, on a mountain, in a valley, or in the wilderness—in all of these places they should erect and pay homage to a monument. Why is this? Because you should know that these places are the terraces of enlightenment where all the buddhas have attained highest, complete enlightenment, where all the buddhas have turned the wheel of the Dharma, and where all the buddhas entered parinirvāṇa.”


Honzon (istadevata). Who teaches the Lotus Sutra? Shakyamuni, particularly Shakyamuni as he reveals himself in the 16th Chapter. Shakyamuni is the honzon.

Kaidan, the place where practice is carried out. As described in the passage above, its anywhere a person "accepts, recites, explains, and copies" the Lotus Sutra... these places are the terraces of enlightenment (bodhimanda).

Daimoku - the title of the Lotus Sutra which is the essence of the entire teaching.

In the Lotus Sutra the Buddha never teach that If you have deep faith in this truth and chant Myoho-renge-kyo, you are certain to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime.

You are right. And Nichiren doesn't say that everyone attains Buddhahood in this lifetime except in a general sense that collapses cause and effect. But this doesn't mean one becomes a Buddha with 32 major and 80 minor characteristics. Buddha in that case is a more generic term relating to the Buddha Nature. And, the sutra repeatedly encourages people to recite it. Reciting the title is a way to recite it.

And in the Description of Merits chapter (17)

“O Ajita! Those sentient beings who hear about the great length of the Buddha’s lifespan, and can awaken even a single thought of willing acceptance, will all obtain immeasurable merit. If there are sons and daughters of a good family who, for the sake of highest, complete enlightenment, practice the five perfections of giving (dāna), good conduct (śīla), perseverance (kṣānti), effort (vīrya), and meditation (dhyāna), with the exception of the perfection of wisdom (prajñā), for eighty myriads of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas, their merit is not even a hundredth, a thousandth, a hundred thousandth of a myriad of a koṭi of the former person’s merit. It is so small that it cannot be conceived of through calculation or illustration. If there are sons and daughters of a virtuous family who possess such merit as the former, they will never revert from highest, complete enlightenment.”

Shakyamuni Buddha attain supreme enlightenmen not from Chanting Myoho-renge-kyo, there is no historical account that Shakyamuni Buddha became fully enlightened from chanting Myoho-renge-kyo.

And Nichiren never taught that Shakyamuni chanted "Namumyohorengekyo."

He did however practice the 24 character phrase when he was Sadaparibhuta:

I deeply respect you. I dare not belittle you. Why is this? Because all of you practice the bodhisattva path, and will become buddhas.

“O Mahāsthāmaprāpta, what do you think about this? Was Bodhisattva Sadāparibhūta of that time someone unknown to you? He was none other than I myself. If I had not preserved and recited this sutra and taught it to others in my previous lives, I would not have swiftly attained highest, complete enlightenment. Because I preserved and recited this sutra and taught it to others in the presence of previous buddhas, I swiftly attained highest, complete enlightenment.

Here's what all the Buddha teaches in order to cause all livings beings to attain supreme enlightenment:

Lotus Sutra Chapter 2:

Śāriputra! I also expound various teachings to all living beings only for the purpose of revealing the One Buddha-Vehicle. There is no other vehicle, not a second or a third. Śāriputra! All the present Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters also do the same.

...
1:Shravaka Vehicle.

2:Pratyekabuddha

3:Bodhisattvas Vehicle

[/quote]

What you don't seem to get is that the three vehicle are upaya. There is only one vehicle - The Buddhayana (Buddha Vehicle) also called the Single Vehicle (Ekayana). The Buddha teaches it as three because they're not ready to hear the Single Vehicle.

You really ought to read the whole text as a story. Don't worry about trying to find lines here and there that confirm your preconceived notions. Just start at the beginning and let it unfold like a novel. That's really the only way to understand the text. Your selective quoting leaves out the context of those quotes, which are integral to understanding the full import.

And actually, that's precisely one of the main themes of the Lotus Sutra: the teachings of the Buddha should not be parsed out and selectively venerated. The whole thing needs to be taken in at once. Its only then that the full meaning of particulars is revealed. This is actually basic Buddhism - dharmas are not self existent; they arise as discrete things only in context of the whole.

Its ironic that Nichiren's exclusive teaching is actually about a holistic view. What he taught was that if you selectively take a discrete teachings of the Buddha and treat that as the final teaching, you have turned away from the Dharma. The Lotus Sutra declares itself the final teaching. The irony is that in making that statement, it embraces all teachings as expressions of the the Ekayana.

Anyway, I don't know if there is really much else to discuss. You seem bent on critiquing Nichiren. If he's such a problem for you, you'd be best served by moving along.

[Jonatan]

excellent explanation queequeg ... it seems that Nichiren very much do not want it, or seek its doctrinal flaws.I am a practitioner of Nichiren Buddhism independently ... namu myoho rengue kyo.