See The Cause of My Life

I am currently publishing here daily quotes taken from A Buddhist Kaleidoscope: Essays On The Lotus Sutra, an anthology edited by Gene Reeves. My 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra practice is currently using The Threefold Lotus Sutra: A Modern Translation for Contemporary Readers for my afternoon English recitation. And now I’m reading Buddhism for Today: A Modern Interpretation of the Threefold Lotus Sutra.

All three are published by Kosei Publishing, the printing arm of Rissho Kosei-Kai. And Buddhism for Today was written by the founder of Rissho Kosei-Kai, Nikkyō Niwano, 1906–1999.

I was incredibly impressed by the content of A Buddhist Kaleidoscope and I’m enjoying reading aloud this new translation of the The Threefold Lotus Sutra, but it was when I started Nikkyō Niwano’s commentary on the Lotus Sutra that I felt a need to step back and distance myself from Rissho Kosei-Kai doctrine.

My hunger for commentary on the Lotus Sutra is insatiable. Nikkyō Niwano’s stated reason for writing his commentary mirrors my own reason for maintaining this website:

I regret greatly that the Lotus Sutra, which includes the supreme teachings of the Buddha, appears to be so difficult and that it is studied by only a limited number of people and by specialists in religion. The Lotus Sutra is neither truly appreciated nor understood by people in general, and therefore it does not penetrate people’s daily lives. This is the first reason for my decision to write this book. My earnest desire is to explain the Lotus Sutra so that its spirit can be understood by modern people and gain their sympathy, although I have remained faithful to the original intent of the sutra to the last.

We cannot truly understand the Lotus Sutra by reading only part of it. It is both a profound teaching and a wonderful work of art, unfolding like a drama. Therefore, we cannot grasp its true meaning unless we read it through from beginning to end. However, it is not easy to read the sutra, with its difficult and unfamiliar terminology, from cover to cover, and to grasp its meaning. We need a commentary that will help us understand the sutra in the context of our lives today. This is the second reason for my decision to write this book.

At the same time, we must always honor the original intent of the Lotus Sutra, as it is a noble work of art. Even in translation we find in the sutra an indescribable power that permeates our hearts. I think that readers will be able to understand the Lotus Sutra all the more if they consult it while reading this book. I believe, too, that they will be able to sense something of the spirit of the Lotus Sutra from this book.

If readers who understand the spirit of the sutra recite key portions morning and evening, its spirit will become more and more strongly rooted in the depths of their minds, and will surely be manifested in the conduct of their daily lives so that a new life will open before them. In this hope and belief, I have written this book.

And yet I am put off by Nikkyō Niwano’s view of modern Nichiren Buddhism:

From the standpoint of the history of the human race, two thousand five hundred years [since the death of Śākyamuni] is only a short time. In Japan, Buddhism, which was introduced from China, had a strong power for a time whenever a learned or distinguished priest appeared. But after a short time this power declined quickly. The thirteenth-century priest Nichiren, the founder of the Nichiren sect, for example, is believed to have infused new life into Japanese Buddhism. However, following his death, the teachings diverged from his true intention and degenerated into formalism.

And again:

The Lotus Sutra is thought to have been recorded about seven hundred years after the death of Śākyamuni Buddha. I see a deep meaning in the fact that the changes in Buddhism during its first seven hundred years established a pattern of change that has been followed throughout its long history. In the twentieth century, when Buddhism has adhered too much to form and has lost the power to save people, a religious movement has again arisen among lay devotees to restore Buddhism to Śākyamuni’s true teachings and by the efforts of these lay believers is now spreading throughout Japan.

This new movement to reevaluate the Buddha’s teachings has been spreading throughout the world, not only in Japan. In Western countries, there are many people who are unsatisfied with monotheism, atheism, or materialism d finally seek the solution to their problems in Buddhism.

I have heard before the argument that Nichiren temples in Japan focus too much on memorial and funeral services, which pay the bills, and not enough, if at all, on propagation. I actually don’t know. And since my only experience in formal Nichiren services is based on five years of American temple practice that followed more than a quarter-century of organized lay services, what I have to say really doesn’t amount to much.

In the future I may write more about this, but for now I feel strongly that eliminating the priesthood and replacing it with a lay-leadership is a bad proposition. Yes, more can be done toward propagation and inspiring existing members to broaden their understanding of the Lotus Sutra, but the priests I’ve met in America – with strengths and weaknesses like us all – are invaluable.

Nikkyō Niwano’s introduction to Buddhism for Today also raises some doctrinal questions for me:

[D]uring the seven hundred years following Nichiren’s death, the true spirit of the Lotus Sutra was again forgotten. Some people in Japan even believe that they can be saved merely by beating hand drums and repeating over and over again the formula including the title of the Lotus Sutra, Namu Myōhō Renge-kyō – I take refuge in the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law – or that their prayers will be answered if they only worship the verbal [?] mandala written by Nichiren, which centers on this formula.

The contents and spirit of the Lotus Sutra are very holy. The practice of its teaching is also holy. We lead ordinary everyday lives, but by understanding the teaching of the sutra, believing it, and practicing it, we try to approach a state of mind free from illusion and suffering. We realize that people should live in harmony and render service to each other. If one has such a feeling for even a few hours a day, his health and circumstances will naturally change for the better – this is his true salvation. That all the people in the world have such feelings and live happily – this is the ultimate idea and vow expressed in the Lotus Sutra.

Indeed, the Lotus Sutra is the teaching of human respect, self-perfection, and peace. In short, it is the teaching of humanism. Today, just seven hundred years after the death of Nichiren, we must restore the spirit of the Lotus Sutra and establish a better life for the sake of ourselves, our families, our societies, and the entire world.

Nikkyō Niwano doesn’t discuss this topic further so I’m unsure what he imagines replaces Namu Myōhō Renge-kyō. I can’t imagine moving the Daimoku out of the center of my practice of Buddhism. The Daimoku enhances my study and practice of the Lotus Sutra.

And then there’s this:

Some people argue over the relative merits of various sutras and even harbor the illusion that the comparative merits of the sutras stem from differences in Sakyamuni’s teachings. This is a serious mistake. No sutra was compiled by Sakyamuni himself. The fact is that he preached his numerous sermons to countless people during the fifty years between his first sermon to the five monks at the Deer Park in (Benares) and his death at eighty years of age. From among these many sermons each group of disciples and their followers placed in their own sutras the sermons that they had heard directly or had been taught by others. Through whatever sutra we may study the teachings of Sakyamuni, Sakyamuni himself is the same honored one who casts the same light of wisdom on us. Therefore, although the Lotus Sutra is certainly the most excellent teaching among the many sutras, it reflects a basic misunderstanding to despise other sutras by excessively extolling the Lotus Sutra.

How can one not excessively extol the Lotus Sutra after reading and reciting it?

As Nichiren writes:

There are ten similes preached in the “Medicine King Bodhisattva” chapter, the first of which is the simile of a great ocean. Let me speak of this simile. In the continent of Jambudvīpa, where we human beings live, there are 2,500 rivers. In the continent of Aparagodānīya there exists 5,000 rivers. Altogether 25,900 rivers flow in the four continents lying in the four directions from Mt. Sumeru. Some of these rivers are as long as 100 or 250 miles. Others are as short as 25 miles, 100 yards, or six feet. None of these rivers, however, can compare to an ocean in depth.

Likewise, the Lotus Sūtra is supreme among all the sūtras—all the sūtras expounded before the Lotus Sūtra such as the Flower Garland Sūtra, the Āgama sūtras, the Hōdō sūtras, the Wisdom Sūtra, the Revealing the Profound and Secret Sūtra, the Amitābha Sūtra, the Nirvana Sūtra, the Great Sun Buddha Sūtra, the Diamond Peak Sūtra, the Sūtra on the Act of Perfection, and the Sūtra of Mystic Glorification—all the sūtras preached by Śākyamuni Buddha, the Great Sun Buddha, the Buddha of Infinite Life, Medicine Master Buddha as well as all the sūtras preached by all the Buddhas in the past, present and future.

Yakuō-bon Tokui-shō, The Essence of the “Medicine King Bodhisattva” Chapter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 28

See Nikkyō Niwano and the Lotus Sutra

Book Quotes