Biggest Obstacle to Nichiren Buddhism?

by: beryl

Mon Aug 18, 2008 at 19:49:05 PM MDT

Propagating an Individual Practice in America

by: beryl

Mon Aug 18, 2008 at 12:37:24 PM MDT

Nichiren Buddhism is first and foremost a religion for the individual. I feel quite certain Nichiren did not envision a world full of people attending mass functions and contributing their time, energies and money to a centralized hierarchy.

Conversely, I am similarly convinced that he did envision a world in which all people had the opportunity to practice his teachings in their personal daily lives while relying on a modest clergy to somehow keep those teachings unsullied.

Total Responsibility

by: buddhajones

Fri Aug 15, 2008 at 15:22:50 PM MDT

Nichiren Buddhism is not a teaching that presents itself as the only way or requires people to believe or act in a certain ways. Rather, it is the only religious teaching, to my knowledge, that has no a priori requirement for its practice.  

Revenge of Nichiren!

by: brooke

Wed Aug 13, 2008 at 18:13:48 PM MDT

In another thread, Engyo made the observation that Nichiren wasn't making vengeful threats, he was reporting what was written in the Lotus Sutra. Still, I can't shake the feeling that vengeance and wrath are central to most Nichiren groups -- much more so than forgiveness and lovingkindness -- and I'm uncomfortable with this.

My question to you all: Do vengeance and wrath serve any valuable purpose in Nichiren Buddhism?

The Moment of Death, and Changing Karma

by: beryl

Wed Aug 13, 2008 at 13:40:18 PM MDT

Changing karma may be the quintessential benefit of practicing Nichiren Buddhism. Karma is the flow of internal cause to latent effect in time and space. If you want to know why your life is the way it is right now, look at all the causes that have preceded the present moment. If you want to know your future, look at what you're doing right now.

When we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, we gain the ability to change our karma. How is this possible? What does it mean?

Reject the Fear Indoctrination

by: beryl

Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 13:15:49 PM MDT

Fear indoctrination is accomplished by repeating threats of untimely death as punishment for disobedience, or threats of falling into an eternal, agonizing hell as punishment for any number of alleged crimes, including the "crime" of honestly misunderstanding the finer points of dogma. Fear indoctrination is a tool of propaganda.

Nichiren Buddhism, too, has elements of fear indoctrination. Some would argue that these threats or "warnings" come directly from Nichiren. For example, Nichiren warns that slanderers of the Lotus Sutra will have their heads split into seven pieces. Some Nichiren sects have used these statements to stoke fear in their members, claiming that even many Nichiren Buddhists are destined for endless torment simply because they belong to a different Nichiren group.

I call bullcrap. I reject the threats, even if Nichiren intended us to live in mortal fear -- which I wholeheartedly doubt.

The Nichiren community in America needs to reject fear indoctrination in all its forms. As long as we continue to make threats and foster fear related to the practice of chanting, we will be a sangha of superstitious dependents.

Your thoughts?

Here To Bear Witness

by: deardenver

Sat Aug 09, 2008 at 16:46:32 PM MDT

Lately, I've been thinking about personal relationships. I think eventually you get to a point in your life when you don't really "need" anything from your partner, friends or family members, and they don't need anything from you. You're not dependent on one another for validation, economic support, a sense of identity or even companionship.

You still love them, of course. You wouldn't want to live without them. But you could if you had to.

We're all on separate journeys with our own unique set of unwritten instructions. We're all arriving and leaving on unpredictable schedules. Our lives intersect for reasons we can't know.

Maybe the only thing you can "do" for someone -- and the only thing they can "do" for you -- is bear witness.

Bear witness to one another's very specific suffering and joy. Bear witness to one another's struggles and triumphs, large and small, but mostly small. Be able to affirm: This person lived. We were here together for a time. This person mattered to me.

Byrd was brave for putting verbal snapshots of herself online. She allowed people who would otherwise be strangers to witness her life.

She mattered to me.

Blessings for Byrd

by: beryl

Thu Aug 07, 2008 at 04:17:50 AM MDT

I wish I was as good a writer as Byrd and I knew how to express what I'm about to convey in the spiritually dignified manner that she deserves.

I live in the same building as Byrd. I was mentioned in one of her previous blogs about her cats. Sadly, Byrd has passed a way. I knew Byrd in a neighborly way. I thought Byrd had a wonderful, wonderful, heart. She was an evolved and conscious intelligent, loving, soul.

From what little I know, Byrd passed away quietly and unexpectedly at her home in solitude. Byrd's passing was discovered on August 6th, 2008 by her neighbors in the Coop where she lives. The police (who called a coroner) indicated that according to a perscription they saw in her home, she had seen a doctor on July 25th for a heart issue.

I just thought I would share this information here, so you, her friends could pray, meditate, and support her spirit in its passing.

Also, Byrd had three cats. Although I'm guessing a family member of hers will be handling the details, if there is anyone of Byrd's friends who would be able to provide a loving home for any or all of her cats, I presume that Byrd would appreciate that.

God bless.

Posted by Byrd's neighbor at August 7, 2008 02:15 AM

Gongyo: An Intensely Personal Symphony

by: beryl

Tue Aug 05, 2008 at 15:11:47 PM MDT

The final "add on" to Nichiren Buddhist practice is something called gongyo, which involves the daily recitation of the Lotus Sutra.

I have repeatedly stated that the beauty of the Daishonin's teaching is in its accessibility to every human being, in any condition of life. Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon will yield results without fail. Gongyo is perhaps less accessible.

Although I personally find gongyo to be one of the loveliest features of the practice, it is also the most difficult to integrate into one's daily life. If the Gohonzon can be said to be the largest theoretical hurdle that one must clear in approaching the practice of the Daishonin's Buddhism, then gongyo is the greatest practical hurdle.

Why Spiritual Self-Defense Is Necessary

by: auntie

Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 14:18:52 PM MDT

If there's one mistake I made in those early days, it was to confuse the practice of chanting with the organization that promoted the practice of chanting.

The Eternal Buddha

by: robin

Fri Aug 01, 2008 at 15:43:47 PM MDT

More on Spiritual Self-Defense

by: Armchair

Fri Aug 01, 2008 at 14:20:05 PM MDT

For whatever reason, I have a life where I have to deal with many beings who take it upon themselves not to be kind to me.  Often, it is because I stand up for equality, compassion, and love (agape), the latter of which has not necessarily been taught, as such, in Buddhism.  Compassion, yes, but not love as an attribute of a/the Buddha.  At least in my studies.

Your Petunias Are The Wrong Type!

by: bloomingpouf

Fri Aug 01, 2008 at 12:23:40 PM MDT

True Horticulturist just get on with the plants, all of them. It's the part time types who believe that throwing chemicals about and planting some poor specimen in the wrong place, demanding that it grow as they require.. well they aint true Horties, just part time plant fascist and appearance oriented. It has to be made to look and appear right to them - even if it withers within days cos they have planted the wrong thing in the wrong place.

Flashback Friday Open Thread

by: beryl

Thu Jul 31, 2008 at 13:46:55 PM MDT

A Group That Serves You Versus One That Serves Itself

by: auntie

Wed Jul 30, 2008 at 01:24:35 AM MDT

Theoretical Underpinnings of the Gohonzon, Part Two

by: buddhajones

Wed Jul 30, 2008 at 00:13:43 AM MDT

Remember how I talked about the futility of trying to figure out which one of the Ten Worlds you might be in at any given moment? The theory of mutual possession explains that the Ten Worlds operate as a flowing continuum. Life is not a static process.

Who's Your Mentor?

by: beryl

Tue Jul 29, 2008 at 16:54:49 PM MDT

If the answer is yes, who exactly is our mentor? Shakyamuni? Nichiren? Life itself? None of the above?

My House Is Messy But Open

by: buddhajones

Thu Jul 24, 2008 at 14:07:06 PM MDT

Before we launched, I questioned the need for another Nichiren site. Message boards and blogs abound. Plus, I didn't want to get back in the fray. Nichiren practitioners aren't known for genteel manners. Online debate can become exhausting.

Plus, there's the Bowling Club. Mroaks observed, "Bowling -- ryhmes with controlling." I would add, "Club -- as in cudgel."

Theoretical Underpinnings of the Gohonzon

by: beryl

Wed Jul 23, 2008 at 14:26:56 PM MDT

According to all the Buddhist teachings, the essential nature of our own being is Buddha nature. But how can we perceive our essential nature?

Nichiren described the Gohonzon in a writing entitled "The True Object of Worship for Perceiving the Nature of Your Own Being." This concept of "perceiving the nature of your own being" is known as kanjin.

Open Thread

by: beryl

Wed Jul 23, 2008 at 10:59:51 AM MDT

What's on your mind? Got a good quote to share?