Mahayana and Nichiren Buddhism

NICHIREN BUDDHISM IS MAHAYANA

Since you have practiced for awhile I guess you know what Nichiren Buddhism teaches. Mahayana is a big subject and it might be easier to describe mahayana as the buddhism found in certain geographical areas rather than by doctrine.

Mahayana Buddhism can in general be characterized by:

Universalism, in that, in those schools of Mahayana that still have large followings, everyone will become a Buddha (see, for example, the Lotus Sutra);
Bodhicitta as the main focus of realization (see, for example, various Prajnaparamita Sutras);
Compassion through the transferral of merit;
Transcendental immanence, in that the immortal Buddha Principle (see, for example, Buddha-nature, Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Angulimaliya Sutra, Srimala Sutra, Tathagatagarbha Sutra) is present within all beings.
"Philosophical" Mahayana tends to focus on the first three characteristics (universalism, enlightened wisdom, compassion) and, in some schools, the Buddha-nature, without showing much interest in supernatural constructions, while "devotional" Mahayana focuses mainly on salvation towards other-worldly realms (see, for example, the Sukhavati sutras).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M...

 

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by: clown hidden @ Mon Mar 15, 2010 at 16:48:15 PM UTC

Mahayana?

I dunno. There are some who claim that Nichiren Buddhism is a sort of ultra-turbo Mahayana that unites Theravada and Mahayana to create some amazing third vehicle (yet not vajrayana) -- but I'm not quite sure what they're talking about. To me it sounds like a "concept" that was devised for sect self-promotional purposes, kind of like the Daigohonzon.

I think you can safely consider Nichiren Buddhism as Mahayana.

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by: deardenver @ Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 19:21:31 PM UTC

Nichiren Buddhism is Mahayana

In actuality, Nichiren Buddhism is one out of a number of different denominations (or schools) of Mahayana Buddhism. The realtionship between Nichirenism and Mahayana is akin to the relationship between Episcopalism and Protestantism; that being that while all Episcopalians are Protestant, not all Protestants are Episcopalian. Likewise, though all Nichiren Buddhists are Mahayanists, not all Mahayanists are Nichiren Buddhists.

There are many different types of Buddhism that go by the label Mahayana, such as Pure Land, T'ien-t'ai and Zen. Some traditions teach a multitude of practices, others concentrate on one major practice. Doctrinal emphasis may differ as well, while Nichirenism focuses on the concept of Three-Thousand Realms in One Thought-Moment, other Mahayana schools may focus on concepts such as Mind Only or Original Enlightenment.

My recommendation would be that you find out as much as possible about this center before paying them a visit - i.e., do your homework first. Personally, I would not be so much concerned with how much their belief system matches with my own, but with whether they would be tolerant and accepting of those owhose views differed from theirs. If they are inclusive enough to accept you and your Nichiren Buddhist practice, if they are universalistic enough that they do not feel a need to "convert" you, then you may well learn something worth while at this Mahayana Center and recapture a sense of Buddhist community as well.

In the Dharma Flower,
Ernesto Borges Torres

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by: Ernesto @ Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 04:56:36 AM UTC