Category Archives: Blog

O-Kay Pure Land

Pooh Blustery Day My son celebrated his 25th birthday earlier this month. They’re born and then they’re gone. Left behind are little ghosts, such as the toddler who loved Disney’s animated Winnie the Pooh stories. When he grew older, the Pooh stories were his retreat when anxiety struck.

“I need a Pooh movie,” he would say, and we would gather around the VHS player and watch together.

Last night, after watching the final U.S. Presidential Debate and the CNN commentary – you really can’t polish this turd – I needed a Pooh movie.

Having no personal equivalent of A.A. Milne’s classic tales, I chose instead to listen to an hour-long, four-part lecture about “The Pure Land in Nichiren Shu Buddhism.”

Seriously, this was a perfect Pooh movie.

Link to Youtube playlist
Link to YouTube playlist

The lecture is given by Rev. Kanto Tsukamoto at the Nichiren Shu Buddhist Temple in Dagenham, a suburb of London. (The first of the videos says the lecture was given in 2014 but it was only uploaded on YouTube between Oct. 15 and Oct. 18, 2016.) The videos are the creation of Choeizan Enkyoji, the Seattle Nichiren Buddhist Temple. (YouTube, Temple Website)

The first part of the movie offered a clear explanation of the fundamentals of Nichiren Shu doctrine, along with a very compelling explanation of why we practice both for personal merit and for the merit of others.

Of course, the bulk of the video covers the difference between the Pure Land of Amitābha Buddha and the Pure Land of Sakyamuni as taught by Nichiren Shonin.

The title of this post comes from the explanation of how one gets to the Pure Land after death. Followers of Amitābha Buddha believe one is reborn in a Pure Land far away in the West. This is called O-Jo.

The Lotus Sutra, in particular the 16th Chapter, teaches that there is no Pure Land separate from this Saha World.

The [perverted] people think:
“This world is in a great fire.
The end of the kalpa [of destruction] is coming.”
In reality this world of mine is peaceful.

For Nichiren followers, there is no difference between the pure land of Mount Sacred Eagle, where Sakyamuni preaches the Lotus Sutra, the spiritual land of Mount Sacred Eagle.

Although I always live here
With the perverted people
I disappear from their eyes
By my supernatural powers.

When they see me seemingly pass away,
And make offerings to my sariras,
And adore me, admire me,
And become devout, upright and gentle,
And wish to see me
With all their hearts
At the cost of their lives,
I reappear on Mt. Sacred Eagle
With my Samgha,
And say to them:
‘I always live here.
I shall never be extinct.
I show my extinction to you expediently
Although I never pass away.

Upon death, one is not “reborn” in a distant land. Instead, one passes through to the pure land of Mount Sacred Eagle. This is O-Kay.

The Gohonzon is the link between the real Mount Sacred Eagle and the spiritual Mount Sacred Eagle. It is our anchor. With our practice and study for ourselves and others we build a real pure land in this world.

If you are feeling anxious about things, this is a wonderful video to watch. We Bodhisattvas are stronger together.

The Mandala Gohonzon Within

Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016
Kaji Kito service, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016

I immensely enjoyed the Kaji Kito purification ceremony today. Ven. Kenjo Igarashi offered an explanation of the aragyo ascetic practice and the grueling nature of the 100-day trial – little sleep, cold showers, watery porridge and lots and lots of chanting. Days of chanting at first seek to clear the bad karma of the priest. Then days of chanting seek give the priest the merits to take on bad karma of church members when performing the Kaji Kito purification. It was compassion toward church members, not personal aggrandizement, that prompted Rev. Igarashi to undergo the 100-day aragyo ascetic practice five separate times.

During his talk and prior to the service in a conversation with me and another member, Rev. Igarashi discussed a misconception about the mandala Gohonzon perpetuated by SGI. I’ll paraphrase:

You don’t just walk in and ask for a Gohonzon. The priest is not a salesman in a store handing out Gohonzons. Your practice of Nichiren Buddhism, reciting the Lotus Sutra and chanting Odaimoku, activate the mandala Gohonzon of your life. The sacred object is not outside; it is within. Attending services, practicing at home, participating in the church and becoming a member of the church are all more important. It is when you finally understand that the outward manifestation of the mandala Gohonzon is only a reflection of your inner self that you can receive one.

The mandala Gohonzon is not “a happiness machine,” Rev. Igarashi said.

Seven Buddhas

Oct. 9, 2016, Sunday service
Oct. 9, 2016, Sunday service

Today’s Sunday service was a nice change from the days of work leading up to and during the annual Fall Food Sale. Everyone had aches and pains.

We had three new people attending. One was a former SGI/Nichiren Shoshu practitioner trading up to Nichiren Shu. She had a friend with her.

And in the very back we had a guy who told me he was “checking out” the service when I greeted him. After the service I wanted to talk with him about his experience but by the time I finished collecting the uchiwa daikos from the ladies in the front and walked to the back where the traditional fan drums are kept, the guy was gone.

The church really needs a brochure for people who wander in. While much of today’s service was in English, the recitation of the portions of the Lotus Sutra and the Odaimoku were not.

The Ven. Kenjo Igarasha offered something of an overview for the guests. One part stuck with me.

Each character of the Odaimoku, he said, is a separate Buddha. Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo. Seven Buddhas. Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. Seven more. Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. Seven more. And seven more. And seven more. And pretty soon we’re talking some serious numbers. I imagined building layers and layers of protective Buddhas as I chant Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. As many as the sands of the River Ganges.

Consciousness-Only

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi offering a lesson in Conciousness-Only
Ven. Kenjo Igarashi offering a lesson in Conciousness-Only
Sunday lesson
Sunday lesson

Viewed from the inside out, our inherent Buddha nature is surrounded by a Boddhisattva Nature of pure compassion. This basic goodness is hidden from us by our karma created by our actions. Viewed from the outside in, the visual, tactile, gustatory, olfactory and auditory inputs are interpreted by our thoughts and prompt our actions. These actions harden the shell around our basic goodness.

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi offered a lesson in Consciousness-Only as seen from the Nichiren perspective following the Sunday Ohigan ceremony in which he offered prayers for the ancestors of church members.

And before I begin I must underline that this is my understanding of what he said and is only as accurate as I can make it. Any errors are mine alone.

On one level, the chart he displayed offered an explanation of what exists when we are alive and what remains in the “special realm” after we die.

The eye, ear, nose, tongue and body sense organs do not “know” anything. The sixth level, thought, interprets the five sense organs. What we do with this information – our good and bad actions – are stored in the seventh level.

The eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind are the transitory part subject to birth and death that create the illusion that we conceive of as our world.

Our good and bad actions create a shell of intentions that shape our future. This shell encloses our pure Bodhisattva compassion. And that Bodhisattva compassion itself encloses our innate Buddha nature.

Prayers for our ancestors in which we transfer our merit received from chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo and studying the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma seek to mitigate that shell of intentions that will control our ancestors’ future lives.

For myself, I saw this chart and was reminded of Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma, and promised effect “the good men or women who keep, read, recite expound or copy this sutra after my extinction, will be able to obtain.”

And considering this from the inside out, I appreciated this picture of universal Buddha nature, this seed, that exists wrapped in compassion. The goal of chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo is to realize this equality and difference.

The Doctrines of Nichiren Shu vs. Soka Gakkai

Attended the regular Sunday service at Myosho-ji, Wonderful Voice Buddhist Temple, in Charlotte, NC. Rev. Ryusho Jeffus‘s Dharma talk following the service was a discussion of the doctrinal differences between Nichiren Shu and Soka Gakkai. In the video below Ryusho references Rev. Shoryo Tarabini‘s “A response to questions from Soka Gakkai practitioners regarding the similarities and differences among Nichiren Shu, Nichiren Shoshu and the Soka Gakkai.” You can read that here.

Practicing in the Age of Mappo

Altar flowers for the Kaji Kito service Sept. 4, 2016
Altar flowers for the Kaji Kito service Sept. 4, 2016

Ven. Kenjo Irgarashi sermon discussed the importance of the Lotus Sutra in the period  of Mappo, the Later Age of Degeneration
Ven. Kenjo Irgarashi sermon discussed the importance of the Lotus Sutra in the period of Mappo, the Later Age of Degeneration

I keep telling myself: Self, ask the priest if his sermon can be recorded. And for some reason I never find the right opportunity. Instead I try to recap what I learned, knowing full well that at best I have only a partial understanding.

Following today’s Kaji Kito service, Ven. Kenjo Irgarashi discussed the importance the Lotus Sutra in this age of Mappo, the Latter Day of Degeneration in which we live today.

The characters on the left say, loosely, the Lotus Sutra benefits all sentient beings. And by all he means all. While the plan of salvation in other religions is designed solely for human beings, not for animals, in Nichiren Buddhism everyone benefits from contact with the Lotus Sutra including those pets who hear the Odaimoku. I have one cat who joins me each morning for gonyo. She’s definitely going to enjoy a better life next time around.

The characters on the right say, loosely again, the Lotus Sutra is the only salvation in the age of Mappo.

And, finally, the center characters retell Nichiren’s lesson that in the age of Mappo few will believe in the Lotus Sutra. As the Daily Dharma from Aug. 22, 2016, explained: “In this world of conflict, it can seem like very few people are practicing the Buddha Dharma with us. Nichiren compared those beings alive in this world of conflict to the amount of soil in the whole earth, while those who keep and practice the Lotus Sūtra are like the dirt under a fingernail.”

Rev. Igarashi reminded everyone that it is the rope of the Daimoku he discussed at the last service that we can use to rescue ourselves in this Age of Mappo.

2016 Fall Food Sale

Click on this image to pre-order your Sacramento Nichiren Church Fall Food Sale items
Click on this image to pre-order your Sacramento Nichiren Church Fall Food Sale items

Packages of food last year ready to be distributed
Packages of food ready to be distributed last fall

The Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church is taking orders now for its annual Fall Food Sale. Unlike the June Bazaar, which sold food on a first-come, first-served basis and ran out of popular items such as the barbecued teriyaki chicken halves, this is a presale event. All orders placed before Oct. 1 will be guaranteed for pickup on Oct. 8 between 11am and 2pm.

This year’s menu has Barasushi ($4.50 ea), Bento ($10 ea), Curry Rice ($5.50 ea), Spam Musubi ($4 ea), Teriyaki Beef Sandwich ($5 ea), Teriyaki Chicken ($7 ea) and Udon ($5 ea).

Orders can be placed online and paid securely with a credit card or you can download and print out a form and send that form and your check to the church office. It’s important to place orders as early as possible to guarantee your order can be filled on Oct. 8.

Order Now

The Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church holds three fund-raisers during the year in order to raise money for operating expenses. This is a vital effort considering the many areas where the money is needed right now. The roofs on the main building and the community center are more than 20 years old. (The roof on the priest’s home and the carpark were replaced earlier this year.) The exterior paint has peeled off the eaves of the main roof. If you can’t attend the Fall Food Sale but would like to make a donation click here.

Climbing Out of Hell With the Rope of Daimoku

Altar Flowers at the Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016 service at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church
Altar Flowers at the Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, service at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church

Today was the monthly Kaji Kito purification service at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church.

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi discussed his sadness at the passing of an old friend as the thread running through his sermon.

When Rev. Igarashi graduated from college in Japan he and his friend Taikyo Nakamura were assigned to the Los Angeles Nichiren Shu temple as assistant priests to complete their training. Nakamura struggled with the demands of the work. Rev. Igarashi laughed and said he struggled too. In the 1970s, when Rev. Igarashi was assigned a position in San Francisco, Nakamura was sent to Portland. But Nakamura’s struggles continued and his conflicts with the Portland temple’s members finally caused him to leave the priesthood and return to secular life. The two former friends eventually lost contact with each other. They had not spoken for more than 20 years when Rev. Igarashi learned that Taikyo Nakumura had died. (Here’s the Oregonian obituary.)

To continue the thread of his lesson, Rev. Igarashi recalled the Japanese children’s story, The Spider’s Thread.

I like the Wikipedia version:

Shakyamuni is meandering around Paradise one morning, when he stops at a lotus-filled pond. Between the lilies, he can see, through the crystal-clear waters, the depths of Hell. His eyes come to rest on one sinner in particular, by the name of Kandata. Kandata was a cold-hearted criminal, but had one good deed to his name: while walking through the forest one day, he decided not to kill a spider he was about to crush with his foot. Moved by this single act of compassion, the Buddha takes the silvery thread of a spider in Paradise and lowers it down into Hell.

Down in Hell, the myriad sinners are struggling in the Pool of Blood, in total darkness save for the light glinting off the Mountain of Spikes, and in total silence save for the sighs of the damned. Kandata, looking up by chance at the sky above the pool, sees the spider’s thread descending towards him and grabs hold with all the might of a seasoned criminal. The climb from Hell to Paradise is not a short one, however, and Kandata quickly tires. Dangling from the middle of the rope, he glances downward, and sees how far he has come. Realizing that he may actually escape from Hell, he is overcome by joy and laughs giddily. His elation is short-lived, however, as he realizes that others have started climbing the thread behind him, stretching down into the murky depths below. Fearing that the thread will break from the weight of the others, he shouts that the spider’s thread is his and his alone. It is at this moment that the thread breaks, and he and all the other sinners are cast back down into the Pool of Blood.

Shakyamuni witnesses this, knowing all but still with a slightly sad air. In the end, Kandata condemned himself by being concerned only with his own salvation and not that of others. But Paradise continues on as it has, and it is nearly noontime there. Thus the Buddha continues his meanderings.

(Here’s a somewhat expanded version of the story.)

Rev. Igarashi bound the day’s lesson together with the “rope of the Daimoku.” The Daimoku, he explained, is a rope lowered to us in the suffering world by Nichiren. By climbing up the rope of Daimoku we can pull ourselves out of the suffering world.

“Don’t let go of the Daimoku,” Rev. Igarashi repeated several times.

Funeral Service

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi
Ven. Kenjo Igarashi
I first heard about Nichiren Buddhism and the power of chanting devotion to the Lotus Sutra in August of 1989. In all of the years between then and now, I’ve never attended a Nichiren Buddhist funeral service. (I don’t consider the post-split Soka Gakkai services for members who pass away formal funeral services.)

Today I participated in my first funeral service. I even had a small role. Ven. Kenjo Igarashi asked me to be the person who lights the candles on the altar and makes the first incense offering before the service begins.

The day before the service I helped set up tables and shade awnings where people could eat refreshments after the service and I helped put everything away at the end of the day.

The funeral was for a Toyoko Nakatogawa, who was a member of one of eight families that founded the church in the 1930s. She had been an active member of the church all of her life. More than 200 people attended her funeral service.

For those of you outside California, you may not be aware that in 1942 all of the Americans of Japanese descent were rounded up and sent to camps for the duration of World War II. Toyoko, who was born in Sacramento in 1924, was a Sacramento High School student in 1942. When her classmates graduated she was in a camp. While she eventually received a diploma from the school district, she never received a document saying she had graduated from Sacramento High School.

I can’t pass up recounting the story told by a Chinese gentleman who was a classmate of Toyoko. Before the Japanese were trucked Tule Lake, Californa, they were forced into a temporary camp outside of town. This Chinese gentlemen and several others went out to see their classmates in the camp outside town. Everything was fine until they attempted to go home. The guards wouldn’t let them leave. “We all look alike apparently,” he said.

He did get out and eventually Toyoko returned to Sacramento. Since the class had been unable to graduate together they would celebrate instead their graduation from middle school, which they’d all attended together. He was the last of those classmates at the funeral service today.

Quotes Redux

Lotus Sutra Practice Guide bookcoverThe Magic City Book CoverNichiren The Buddhist Prophet bookcoverHistory of Japanese Religion bookcoverAwakening to the Lotus bookcoverPhysicians Good Medicine bookcoverLotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra bookcoverOdaimoku bookcoverLotus World bookcoverLotus in a Sea of Flames  bookcoverLotus Seeds bookcoverLecture on the Lotus Sutra bookcover
The Doctrine of Nichiren bookcover

Today at noon I start reposting the quotes I’ve selected from the books above. I’ll begin with the book introduction and then follow with a quote from each book every 10 days. As of last count, I have 839 quotes.

The 9 am posting from Lecture on the Lotus Sutra will continue until Sept. 10, when the last quote from the book will be published.