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Original Enlightenment and Nichiren as the Original Buddha

In describing Daniel Montogemery’s Fire in the Lotus, I mentioned that it appeared to adhere to a Nichiren Shu doctrinal line that Senchu Murano drew. This is most evident in Montgomery’s discussion of Original Enlightenment thought and the Ongi-kuden.

Senchu Murano’s 1998 booklet entitled Questions and Answers on Nichiren Buddhism contains a series of questions he was asked by his friends overseas.

Feb. 6, 1986, Daniel B. Montgomery asked:

“Are the Ongi-kuden and the Onko-kikigaki of any value or not?”

Murano responded on Feb. 24, 1986:

“Recent investigations have reached the conclusion that the Ongikuden was written by a priest of the Nikko Monryu during the Muromachi Period (1392-1467). It stresses the importance of the Hongaku-shiso (the philosophy of original enlightenment). The Hongaku-shiso was naturalistic optimism, which flourished in those days of national disintegration. The logic favored by the philosophers was, roughly speaking, we have the Buddha-nature; we are Buddhas in essence; we are already Buddhas; we do not have to practice anything. Thus, secularism was justified. The purpose of Buddhism became just to enjoy speculation by arbitrary self-will, ignoring the study of texts. Bold equations were endlessly created, such as “we are Buddhas,” “illusions are enlightenment,” “this world is the Buddha-land,” “one is three,” “three are one” etc., etc. These equations are fascinating, but produce no value. The Hongaku-shiso was advocated by the Medieval Age Tendai (Chuko Tendai), and many Nichiren Buddhists were also attracted to this philosophy. Even today, the impact of this philosophy is still found in the terminology of the liturgy of Nichiren Buddhism. The Onko-kikigaki was written probably by someone connected with the Itchi-ha, who attempted to cope with the Ongi-kuden, also during the Muromachi Period.”

In Fire in the Lotus, Montgomery examines the idea of Original Enlightenment thought as it evolved in Japan and shows how the distortion of Original Enlightenment theory led to Nichiren Shoshu’s idea that Nichiren, not Śākyamuni, is the original Buddha.

There is a difference between Original Enlightenment as taught in India and China, and as it developed in Japan, where it encountered ‘the basically optimistic Shinto mentality of the Japanese.’ In its pure form Original Enlightenment may be the highest reaches of Buddhist thought. The idea is that all the contradictions and conflicts of the world as we know it are transcended by Emptiness. Subject and object, male and female, mind and body, life and death, good and evil, and other polarities are not opposed to each other, but mutually dependent. Take away one, and you lose the other. In the Vimalakirti Sutra this idea of interdependence is expressed as non-duality (Japanese, funo.) Nonduality refers to the absolute, not to the everyday world, which is clearly full of dualities and contradictions.

In Japan, however, Tendai thinkers pushed the idea further. They affirmed the absolute nature of the contradictions. The everyday world is the absolute; it is not-two.

Yoshiro Tamura, in his study entitled ‘Interaction between Japanese Culture and Buddhism: The Thought of Original Enlightenment,’ points out that a very thin dividing line has been crossed here. From maintaining the tension between the absolute and the relative as not two, we have crossed over to the affirmation of the relative itself as the not-two (Osaki Gakuho, No. 138 (1985) 2).

This is the Japanese version of Original Enlightenment. It spread gradually, almost as if its proponents were not fully aware of what they were implying. The idea of Original Enlightenment was already developing at the time of the Kamakura reformers, and it became pervasive after them. It is found everywhere, especially in Tendai, Shingon, Nichiren, Kegon and Zen. It is forcefully repudiated only by the Pure Land schools, who reject this world entirely, putting all their hope in the world to come. But even there, it sometimes sneaked in by the back door, for we are saved naturally by Amida without any contrivance on our part.

The logic of Original Enlightenment is that since we are already enlightened, we do not have to do anything about it. We are already Buddhas just as we are. It follows that any religious practice — any morality, for that matter — will only confuse the matter. We must ‘do our own thing’ because ‘our own thing’ is the Buddha nature operating within us.

The vocabulary of Original Enlightenment produced grandiose slogans: ‘I am Buddha’; ‘illusions are enlightenment’; ‘this world is the Buddha-land’; ‘the three bodies of Buddha are one’; ‘one is three’; ‘earthly desires are enlightenment’; ‘body and mind are one’; ‘the sufferings of life and death are nirvana’. In his authenticated writings Nichiren rarely used such terms, and when he did, he carefully explained their meaning.

‘Earthly desires are enlightenment and … the sufferings of life and death are nirvana. When one chants Namu Myoho Renge Kyo even during sexual union of man and woman, then earthly desires are enlightenment and the sufferings of life and death are nirvana. Sufferings are nirvana only when one realizes that the entity of human life throughout its cycle of birth and death is neither born nor destroyed.’ (MW 2:229)

Nichiren’s explanation is orthodox Mahayana. Reality viewed from wisdom is nirvana and enlightenment (bodai); reality viewed from illusion is passion and suffering. In either case, reality is reality. Many Tendai, Shingon, and Pure Land teachers of the times crossed a subtle line here with their careless use of dramatic slogans, but Nichiren held to that line. A highly moral man, he objected to the amorality latent in Original Enlightenment. He saw it clearly in the iconoclasm of Zen, which he described as ‘inspired by devils.’

After his death, however, there appeared collections of his unauthenticated ‘oral teachings,’ which were loaded with the vocabulary of Original Enlightenment. A well-meaning author compiled a book to bring Nichiren up-to-date by recasting his teachings in the then-popular slogans of Original Enlightenment. He called it Ongi Kuden (‘Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings [attributed to Nichiren]’). Appearing at the height of the Original Enlightenment craze, it is saturated with its phraseology. Here is its exegesis of a line from Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra:

‘Since I truly became Buddha (there have passed) infinite, boundless . . .’ (Ga jitsu jobutsu irai muryo muhen): Gajitsu (‘I truly’) means Buddha’s attaining enlightenment in kuon, the infinite past. However, the true meaning is that Ga (‘I’) is indicative of all living things in the universe or each of the Ten Worlds, and that Jitsu (‘truly’) is defined as Buddha of Musa Sanjin (natural Three Bodies) . . . The person who realizes this is named Buddha. I (literally, ‘already’) means the past and rai (literally, ‘to come’) the future. Irai includes the present in it. Buddha has attained the enlightenment of Ga jitsu, and His past and future are of uncountable and unfathomable length . . . Kuon means having neither beginning nor end, being just as man is, and being natural. It has neither beginning nor end because Musa Sanjin is not created in its original form. It is just as man is because it is not adorned by the 32 wonderful physical features and 80 favorable characters [of a Buddha]. It is natural because the Buddha of Honnu Joju (‘unchanging inherently existing’) is natural. Kuon is Namu Myoho Renge Kyu Kuon Jitsujo — really enlightened, enlightened as Musa (‘not being produced by conditions’).
(Ongi Kuden, quoted by Ikeda, Science and Religion 200)

All the main ideas of Original Enlightenment are here: ‘just as man is’; ‘not produced by conditions’; ‘not adorned with any special characteristics’; ‘inherently existing’; ‘all living things are originally enlightened’. The only important idea which is missing is ‘earthly desires are enlightenment’, but that appears elsewhere in the same text: ‘Burn the firewood of earthly desires and reveal the fire of enlightened wisdom’ (Ongi Kuden, quoted by Kirimura, Outline of Buddhism 172).

Ongi Kuden, which may have been written at Taiseki-ji in the first place, became prominent in the theology of Nichiren Shoshu. It was widely believed to contain the authentic verbal teachings of Nichiren as recorded by Nikko. Ironically, one forgery provoked another one. The rival ‘Unity’ branch produced its own ‘oral transmission’ called Onko-kikigaki, and claimed that it had been put into writing by Niko of Mount Minobu. Its real purpose seems to have been to counteract the influence of Ongi Kuden. Only in recent times have both works come to be regarded as pious forgeries (Murano 1982).

The Nichiren Shoshu doctrine that Nichiren himself is the Original Buddha follows logically from Original Enlightenment. Nichiren is originally enlightened to the true Dharma. ‘Original’ here does not mean first at a point in time, but eternal — timeless. We are all originally enlightened, and Nichiren reveals what this means. When we practice what he practiced (as when Shakyamuni practices what he practiced) we uncover our originally enlightened nature.

Nichiren is said to have realized his own Original Enlightenment at the moment the executioner raised the sword above his head on the beach at Tatsunokuchi. From that moment on Nichiren’s teachings are the infallible words of the Originally Enlightened Buddha.”

Fire in the Lotus, p177-180

To underscore this focus on the Ongi-kuden in Nichiren Shoshu at the expense of Nichiren Shu foundational teachings, Montgomery points out that in 1950, Jōsei Toda, a founder of Soka Gakkai, promised to rebuild Taiseki-ji, which had been largely abandoned during the war years. To do this, he vowed to emphasize the Ongi Kuden and to shun Chih-i’s philosophy. Montgomery points out that he gets this information from Daisaku Ikeda’s Human Revolution, Volume IV, pages 249-56.

Next: The Life of Kumārajīva

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Fire in the Lotus

Available on Amazon
When I first picked up Fire in the Lotus and saw that it devoted four chapters to Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai, I assumed it was going to be another homage to President Daisaku Ikeda. Instead I found a reasoned exploration of Nichiren Buddhism and its many varieties. If anything, Daniel Montgomery walks a doctrinal line established by Professor Senchu Murano (1908-2001), who translated the Lotus Sutra in 1974 for Nichiren Shu. Montgomery was the editor of the Second Edition revision of Murano’s translation.

Fire in the Lotus was published in 1991. As a result it does not address the excommunication of Soka Gakkai members by Nichiren Shoshu on Nov. 28, 1991. It also discusses groups such as Nichijo Shaka’s Buddhist School of America that have since disappeared. But on a whole, it stands up well today.

That’s not to say that I don’t have any complaints. Montgomery erroneously conflates the Parable of the Priceless Gem of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples, with the Parable of the Priceless Gem in the Top-Knot of Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.

Another parable in the Sutra treats the matter from a different angle. A young man became drunk after an evening of carousing and passed out. A wealthy friend had to leave him there, but decided first to do him a favour. He took a valuable jewel and placed it in the drunken man’s topknot. Surely, he reasoned, when his friend woke up, he would notice the jewel, use it to pay any expenses, and still have plenty left over for whatever he wanted.

But this did not happen. When the drunken man got up the next day, it never occurred to him that he was now wealthy. First he was thrown out of the inn for not paying his bill. Then things went from bad to worse. He wandered from place to place, doing odd jobs when he could and living from hand to mouth.

Years later, his wealthy friend ran into him and was shocked by his appearance. ‘What happened to you?’ he asked. ‘How did you lose all your money?’

‘What money? I never had any. You know that.’

The money from the jewel I left in your topknot. I left it for you so that you could pay your expenses, invest the rest, and go into business for yourself.’

The poor man dug into his topknot and, sure enough, there was the priceless jewel! It had been there all along. He had been a rich man, carrying a fortune with him wherever he went, but he had never known it.

So it is, says the Buddha, with everyone. The priceless jewel, the Buddha nature, lies within us untapped. The only difference between the Buddha and us is that he knows this, has unraveled his topknot, and exposed the jewel of the Buddhahood. (Page 50)

Then there’s the question of how one writes the Daimoku in English. For most of the book, Montgomery uses Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. But occasionally Soka Gakkai’s spelling with Nam sneaks in. It is understandable when Montgomery is quoting a Nichiren Shoshu or a Soka Gakkai source, but then it pops up unexpectedly:

Even more extraordinary is the story of Nisshin Nabekamuri, the ‘pot-wearer’ (1407-88). A representative of Toki Jonin’s Nakayama School, he arrived in Kyoto at the age of 22, and promptly set to work writing a thesis in imitation of Nichiren’s, which he called, ‘Establish the Right Law and Rule the Country’. When he finished it he presented it to Shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori, which was a mistake. The Shogun had once been an ordained monk on Mount Hiei, and had inherited a bitter hatred for Nichiren Buddhism. He decided to break Nisshin for his impertinence. The young priest was arrested and tortured. Nisshin was not tortured only once, but daily for two years. The Shogun took a perverse delight in watching the sufferings of the priest; he supervised the daily tortures by fire, rack, sword, and whatever else he could think of. Nothing would make Nisshin stop chanting, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Finally the Shogun ordered that a metal pot be jammed over his head to keep him quiet, but from underneath the pot could still be heard, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

Nisshin’s ordeal might have continued indefinitely had not the cruel Shogun been assassinated one day while watching a theatrical performance. Nisshin was released, and the pot was removed from his head. He rebuilt his temple, which had been destroyed, took up his drum, and went back to the street corners to chant, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! Never one to avoid a challenge, he is said to have triumphed in 60 religious debates in the course of his 65-year career. (Page 161-162)

One assumes Montgomery got this version of the tale from Nichiren Shoshu/Soka Gakkai materials, but the inconsistency grates.

Montgomery has something of pattern of picking up material whole. For example, in discussing Shariputra’s dislike for women he quotes from Buddha-Dharma: New English Edition, published by the Numata Center for Buddhist Translation in 1984.

However, there is a delightful Sanskrit story that even Shariputra met his match when he encountered a woman saint in heaven and asked her, ‘Now that you have the ability, why don’t you change yourself into a man?’ Instead of answering him, she turned him into a woman and asked him if he felt any different.

That “delightful Sanskrit story” is actually the Vimalakīrti Sūtra and the “saint in heaven” is actually a goddess who has been living in Vimalakīrti’s room for 12 years. Here’s Burton Watson’s translation of the exchange:

Shariputra said, “Why don’t you change out of this female body?

The goddess replied, “For the past twelve years I have been trying to take on female form, but in the end with no success. What is there to change? If a sorcerer were to conjure up a phantom woman and then someone asked her why she didn’t change out of her female body, would that be any kind of reasonable question?”

“No,” said Shariputra. “Phantoms have no fixed form, so what would there be to change?”

The goddess said, “All things are just the same—they have no fixed form. So why ask why I don’t change out of my female form?”

At that time the goddess employed her supernatural powers to change Shariputra into a goddess like herself, while she took on Shariputra’s form. Then she asked, “Why don’t you change out of this female body?”

Shariputra, now in the form of a goddess, replied, “I don’t know why I have suddenly changed and taken on a female body!”

The goddess said, “Shariputra, if you can change out of this female body, then all women can change likewise. Shariputra, who is not a woman, appears in a woman’s body. And the same is true of all women—though they appear in women’s bodies, they are not women. Therefore the Buddha teaches that all phenomena are neither male nor female.”

Then the goddess withdrew her supernatural powers, and Shariputra returned to his original form. The goddess said to Shariputra, “Where now is the form and shape of your female body?”

Shariputra said, “The form and shape of my female body does not exist, yet does not not exist.”

The goddess said, “All things are just like that—they do not exist, yet do not not exist. And that they do not exist, yet do not not exist, is exactly what the Buddha teaches.”(Page 90-91)

All things considered, Fire in the Lotus is an excellent addition to any library devoted to Nichiren and the Lotus Sutra.

Next: Original Enlightenment and Nichiren as the Original Buddha

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Mothers’ Day 2021

Mothers’ Day

An offering of flowers

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Happiness is Coming


Attended the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church service celebrating the founding of Nichiren Shu on April 28, 1253. (Or May 17 for the scientists.) This was also the monthly Kaji Kito service.

The founding of the Nichiren school brought to mind the account contained in “Nichiren, The Buddhist Prophet” by Masaharu Anesaki:

The young monk, now no longer a seeker after truth, but a reformer filled with ardent zeal, bade farewell to the great center of Buddhism on Hiei and went back to the old monastery on Kiyozumi, which he had left fifteen years before. He visited his parents, and they were his first converts. His old master and fellow monks welcomed him, but to their minds Nichiren, the former Renchō, was nothing more than a promising young man who had seen the world and studied at Hiei. Keeping silence about all his plans and ambitions, Nichiren retired for a while to a forest near the monastery. Everyone in the monastery supposed that he was practicing the usual method of self-purification, which they themselves employed; but, in fact, Nichiren was engaged in a quite different task, and occupied with his original idea, neither shared nor guessed by anyone else.

The seven days of his seclusion, as the tradition says, was a period of fervent prayer, in preparation for launching his plan of reformation and proclaiming his new gospel. When his season of meditative prayer had reached the stage when he was ready to transform it into action, Nichiren one night left the forest and climbed the summit of the hill which commands an unobstructed view of the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. When the eastern horizon began to glow with the approaching daybreak, he stood motionless looking toward the East, and as the golden disc of the sun began to break through the haze over the vast expanse of waters, a loud voice, a resounding cry, broke from his lips. It was “Namu Myōhō-renge-kyō” “Adoration be to the Lotus of the Perfect Truth!” This was Nichiren’s proclamation of his gospel to heaven and earth, making the all-illumining sun his witness. It happened early in the morning of the twenty-eighth day of the fourth lunar month 1253.

The proclamation of the Lotus of Truth, with the sun as witness, was, indeed, the first step in translating into action the ideal symbolized in his name, the Sun-Lotus. After this unique proclamation, Nichiren came back among human beings, and at noon of the same day, in an assembly hall facing south, he preached his new doctrine, and denounced the prevailing forms of Buddhism, to an audience composed of his old master and fellow monks, and many others. There was none who was not offended by his bold proclamation and fierce attack. Murmurs grew to cries of protest; and when the sermon had been finished, everyone assumed that the poor megalomaniac was mad. The feudal chief ruling that part of the country was so incensed that he would not be satisfied with anything short of the death of the preposterous monk. This lord, who was Nichiren’s mortal foe throughout the subsequent years of his mission, was watching to attack Nichiren, who was now driven out of his old monastery. His master, the abbot, pitied his former pupil, and gave instruction to two elder disciples to take Nichiren to a hidden trail for escape. It was in the dusk of evening that Nichiren made his escape in this way. The sun, which at its rising had beheld Nichiren’s proclamation, the sun which at noon had witnessed Nichiren’s sermon, set as the hunted prophet made his way through the darkness of a wooded trail; only the evening glow was in the sky. What must his thoughts have been? What prospect could he have cherished in his mind for his future career and for the destiny of his gospel?

As Rev. Igarashi pointed out in his sermon, after this declaration Nichiren suffered years of persecution, but he was not unhappy because he was living out the prediction in the Lotus Sutra that those who propagate this sutra in today’s Age of Defilement are sure to be harassed.

Rev. Igarashi explained that he became a monk on April 28, 1968, 53 years ago.

“At that time I was not happy,” he said. “That’s why I decided to become a monk. Maybe I can get something good, I thought. Becoming a monk completely changed my life. Little by little I studied Nichiren Buddhism and the Lotus Sutra and little by little my mind changed. Then I came to the United States and my life was very hard and not happy. Many priest who come from Japan don’t stay because it is very hard. But I stayed because I was happy to propagate the Lotus Sutra here in the United States.”

Just as Nichiren was happy to experience the persecution foretold in the Lotus Sutra, Rev. Igarashi was happy to be propagating the Lotus Sutra in America. He changed his life with the Lotus Sutra.

Rev. Igarashi explained much of our unhappiness stems from our past karma.

“That’s why we chant Namu Myoho Renge Kyo and feel happy. That’s why I want all of you to chant the Lotus Sutra and Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. If we chant Namu Myoho Renge Kyo we can change our lives. If we are happy, then I’m pretty sure happiness is coming.”

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Lessons and Learning

20210411_memorial-prayers
Ven. Kenjo Igarashi explains meaning of Memorial Prayers

Following the Hanamatsuri service Sunday, Ven. Kenjo Igarashi brought out his portable chalkboard and set in on an easel next to his lectern. Already written in chalk were two Chinese characters. These were labeled E and Kou, which translate to Memorial Prayers.

For some reason I feel compelled to point out that the easel originally was part of a large floral display used at a funeral.  After the funeral, the display was moved to the parking lot and attendees were invited to scavenge individual flowers to take home. When all the flowers were gone, Rev. Igarashi kept the easel. The thin green legs of the easel and the green chalkboard look as if they were purchased together. The easel can be found on the altar dais behind a curtain next to his lectern.

And I think the juxtaposition of these two peripherally related tidbits inadvertently illustrates why I am unable to give a detailed recounting of  the sermon Rev. Igarashi gave on the topic of Memorial Prayers.

Last month, I recorded  Rev. Igarashi’s sermon after the Ohigan service, knowing in advance that I’d want a record of what he  said so I could add it to my Higan content. But instead of immediately posting the sermon after I transcribed the recording, I let it sit around for a week. Sunday I didn’t record the sermon and instead I am left to try to remember the lesson he gave.

Here is my dilemma: I want to explain the lesson I took from the sermon on E Kou without impugning Rev. Igarashi’s lesson. What I took in, what I recall, the lesson I received – it’s quite possible none of that was Rev. Igarashi’s intent.

This is what happens when “a bhikṣu, a bhikṣunī, an upāsakā, an upāsikā, or some other wise person, whether young or old, rejoices at hearing this sūtra in a congregation after my extinction. After leaving the congregation, he or she goes to some other place, for instance, to a monastery, a retired place, a city, a street, a town, or a village. There he or she expounds this sūtra, as he or she has heard it, to his or her father, mother, relative, friend or acquaintance as far as he or she can. Another person who has heard [this sūtra from him or her], rejoices, goes [to some other place] and expounds it to a third person. The third person also rejoices at hearing it and expounds it to a fourth person. In this way this sūtra is heard by a fiftieth person.” [Chapter 18, The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra]

What I can provide is my “fiftieth person” understanding. Please don’t blame Rev. Igarashi.

For Memorial Services, I’ve operated under a simple understanding: I accumulate merit with my practice and during the services I transfer that merit to my deceased ancestors. “Simple” is key here. Rev. Igarashi explained that the merit attained from our daily practice allows us to seek the intercession of Śākyamuni, Tahō Buddha, the great Bodhisattvas and all the protective deities. That’s where the power to help our deceased ancestors lies.

When I heard this I was reminded of a quote from Nichiren:

The Lotus Sūtra is called “Zui-jii,” namely it expounds the true mind of the Buddha. Since the Buddha’s mind is so great, even if one does not understand the profound meaning of the sūtra, one can gain innumerable merits by just reading it. Just as a mugwort among hemp plants grows straight and a snake in a tube straightens itself, if one becomes friendly with good people, one’s mind, behavior, and words become naturally gentle. Likewise, the Buddha thinks that those who believe in the Lotus Sūtra become naturally virtuous.

Zui-jii Gosho, The Sūtra Preached in Accordance to [the Buddha’s] Own Mind, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 155

It is this merit of Śākyamuni that we are able to transfer to our deceased ancestors. The more we practice Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, our practice of the Lotus Sutra, the greater the merit. Rev. Igarashi explained that we need to devote our entire body to the effort. Not literally but figuratively like Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva, in the previous life of Bodhisattva Medicine King, who sacrificed his body as an offering to the Buddha.

Rev. Igarashi recalled his five times through the grueling Aragyo 100-day ascetic practice to illustrate how he gained his ability to offer purifying prayers for those who attend Kaji Kito services.

I will be 70 in December. Not a lot of physical body I can devote to my practice, but what there is goes to Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.

20210412_new-juzu

While I was at the church I asked Rev. Igarashi to bless a new set of Juzu I had purchased from the Nichiren Buddhist International Center. The beads came with a brochure, which offered this tidbit:

Prayer Beads are used by all Buddhists and by many other religions as well. These beads are called Juzu or Nenju in Japanese, Mala by the Tibetans and in Sanskrit they are called Japamala. When the Romans first saw prayer beads (Japamala) used by the Hindus, they mistakenly heard “jap” instead of “japa.” Jap in Sanskrit stands for rose. Translated into Latin Japmala comes out as “Rosarium” and in English as “Rosary.” The Juzu or Mala may have been the inspiration for the prayer beads used by some Christians and Muslims today.

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Bathing the Baby Śākyamuni

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After a Zoom Hanamatsuri service, it was a joy to celebrate IRL – In Real Life – at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church.

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A Zooming Hanamatsuri

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Rev. Shoda Kanai put on a wonderful one-man show of celebrating the birth of Śākyamuni

Truly enjoyed today’s Hanamatsuri service over Zoom from the Nichiren Buddhist Kannon Temple of Nevada. In addition to the standard fare of sutra recitation and chanting daimoku, Rev. Shoda Kanai offered lotus petals (center), clanging cymbals (right) and bathed the baby Śākyamuni in sweet tea.

I’m looking forward to next week’s Hanamatsuri service at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church.

Zoom is nice but IRL is best. 😎

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Easy Does It

Easy Readings of The Lotus Sutra is 174 pages, bound in traditional Japanese expandable accordion style

For the next 12 days, I’ll be publishing excerpts from Easy Readings of The Lotus Sutra, a fascinating little book that is both “easy” to read and informative. It certainly meets its stated objective: “Although it is impossible to replace a teacher who could explain the liturgy, this book will be helpful for those who may have been chanting the Japanese without a clear notion of its meaning.”

An excellent example of this is the English translation of the Ten Suchnesses from Chapter 2

This true state of all things must be viewed from the following 10 kinds of perspectives: “sō” is the outside appearance; “shō” is the nature hidden inside; “tai” is the combination of the two. These three factors are the fundamentals of existence. “Riki” is the inner power; “sa” is the outside effect; “in” is the direct cause; “en” is the indirect cause; “ka” is the result; “hō” is a new interrelationship with the surroundings suitable to its effect. The factors of “hon”, which encompasses “sō” , “shō” and “tai”, and “matsu”, which encompasses the rest, are the factors existing in all things and always complement one another. This is “tō” or equality.

After I add this material I will incorporate it into my “Where to Begin” content.

Higan, Blog

Spring: The Time to Sow the Seed of Buddhahood

Offering incense during Daimoku chanting

Note: This is an edited transcription of a recording from Ven. Kenjo Igarashi’s sermon following the Ohigan ceremony March 28, 2021. For some reason I can’t explain I didn’t publish this then and now I can’t see any reason not to post it late. While I’m posting this April 3, 2021, it will appear in my timeline March 28, 2021.

Spring Paramita service

Time to sew the seed of Buddhahood in our minds. All the time we need practicing during Higan week.

Everyone wonders why we are born into this world, this suffering world. This world is not a happy world, not paradise. If you ask someone why, they will most likely say they do not know. But Nichiren Shonin said the answer is to become a Buddha. That’s why we are born into this world.

Everybody’s life is different because of their previous life. Maybe we’ve come back from hell, hungry spirits or animals or asura. Now we are living in this world. Maybe sometime someone comes back from heaven. That’s why everyone’s life is different. Everybody’s cause and condition is different.

We are born into this world because we need practicing. Then we become a Buddha and help other people. We are not born into this world to become rich people or famous people. We are just born into this world to become a Buddha.

While we are practicing the six paramitas during paramita week we also have to think about our ancestors, our deceased parents. This is a matter of filial piety.

American’s think filial piety is satisfied if we just buy something for our parents on their birthday or some anniversary. In Buddhism we teach three kinds of filial piety. Just giving presents to parents is the lowest grade of filial piety. Intermediate filial piety is to obey your parents’ wishes. The higher grade filial piety is our memorial prayers. When parents pass away we cannot perform the lessor forms of filial piety. That’s why Nichiren Shonin said, If parents pass away we have to consider the question: Where did they go? If they are in the suffering world we try to save their spirit to a more good realm. That’s why we practice for ourselves and our parents.

I’ve been thinking, Was I dutiful to my parents. When I was 20 years old I became a minister and left home. After studying and practicing I moved to the United States when I was 27 years old. I didn’t call my parents when I arrived in the United States. It was too expensive. Was I a dutiful to my parents? Now my parents have passed away and I pray for them every day, seeking to send them to a better realm. That is my filial piety.

Everybody should pray for their parents. That’s why we have Higan and Obon to pray for deceased parents. They are waiting for your chanting and accept it and go to better realm and become a Buddha and never come back to the suffering world.

This is the teaching of Buddhism and Nichiren Shonin. That’s why we are born into this world — to become a Buddha.

Banner outside Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church
Banner says Namu Nichiren Bosatsu – Devotion to the Great Bodhisattva Nichiren

Missing from the Spring Higan service was the banner that always flies for special services. Rev. Igarashi said he did not fly the banner for Spring Higan for fear that the Chinese calligraphy might provoke anti-Asian problems. “I don’t want anybody to fool around with the banner so that is why he did not put up the banner this time,” he said.

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‘Why will the name be Myoho’

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When I chant the Daimoku, I sometimes chant “Namu” and sometimes the “u” is unvoiced and it sounds like “Nam.” Doesn’t change the significance of my devotion to the Lotus Sutra with or without the “u.”

But when I write the Daimoku I always write “Namu,” because that’s how it’s spelled when you romanize the two Chinese characters Na and Mu.

In “The Journey on the Path to Righteousness,” the manual for the Shodaigyo practice, Namu is explained:

Namu, as is written, is the character expressing the direction south, but, in this case, it does not mean south, or residing in the south. Characters used in this manner are commonly referred to as non-characters because the meaning of the characters is considered inconsequential. Rather, in this case, this is the transliteration of the Sanskrit word “Namah,” and can be defined as devotion (Kimyo or Kie). Two common definitions for these are: “I ask of” and “I offer up my life to”.

Journey of the Path to Righteousness, p 24-25

I’m not criticizing Narendra. In fact, I sincerely thank him for reading my posts on Facebook and taking the time to comment.

If anyone deserves criticism it’s the publishing arm of Soka Gakkai, which insists on “Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.” “Nam” is a phonetic contraction of “Namu,” they explain. But this phonetic contraction only applies for the Daimoku.

For example, the Soka Gakkai translation of On Repaying Debts of Gratitude (page 733) has this sentence:

Because I, Nichiren, chant and spread Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the power of Namu-Amida-butsu will be like a moon waning, a tide running out, grass withering in autumn and winter, or ice melting in the sun. Watch and see!

Why the inconsistency? Would chanting Nam-Amida-butsu be more effective?

For me, the question of writing “Namu” vs “Nam” gets to the meaning of the Daimoku.

Namu-myoho-renge-kyo means “Devotion to the Wonderful (myo) Dharma (ho) of the Lotus (ren) Flower (ge) Sutra (kyo).”

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo means “Why will the name be Myoho.” (See Google’s translation of Nichiren’s Nativity.)