Recently I was hunting for refills for a staple gun in the printer room at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church. This is also the room where Ven. Kenjo Igarashi keeps his extra copies of books. While I was looking for the staples I took the opportunity to browse the books on the shelf. That’s when I came across a 54-page booklet entitled “Questions and Answers on Nichiren Buddhism” by Senchu Murano. The booklet was published in 1998 by the Nichiren Shu Overseas Propagation Promotions Association. Rev. Igarashi said I was welcome to take a copy.
Beginning this morning I will be reprinting portions of the book over the next several days.
The book is divided into three chapters:
Chapter I. Buddhist Concepts
Chapter Il. The Mandala
Chapter Ill. The Komon Ha and Taisekiji Temple
The entire third chapter and portions of Chapter 1 focus on Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai. Since my purpose in publishing quotes on this site is to help me remember important topics and concepts, I don’t see a point in publishing the disputes with Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai. It’s not important to me. However, I am making available the entire book for download here.
When he expounds or reads this sūtra, he should not point out the faults of other persons or sūtras. He should not despise other teachers of the Dharma. He should not speak of the good points or bad points or the merits or demerits of others. He should not mention Śrāvakas by name when he blames them. Nor should he do so when he praises them. He should not have hostile feelings against them or dislike them. He should have this peace of mind so that he may not act against the wishes of the hearers. When he is asked questions, he should not answer by the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, but expound the Dharma only by the teachings of the Great Vehicle so that the questioners may be able to obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things.
The Buddha gives this explanation to Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra in which he describes the peaceful practices of a Bodhisattva. For us who aspire to be Bodhisattvas in this world of conflict, this passage reminds us not to create more conflict in our efforts to benefit others. Rather we should work to remind them of their good qualities and demonstrate the respect we want to receive.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
