BuddhaJones - Recent Comments

re; Martin Bradley

markp — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:50:10 GMT

I really like Martin Bradley's translations! I believe him to be the foremost translator of the Gosho because he translates the ones written in Classical Chinese, not the ones that were translated to Japanese first, so he is getting the correct interpretation. The ones written in Chinese were also all the important Gosho. Just wish he had more time.

Also, even though I may be critical of Nichiren Shoshu, I am just as critical of all the sects, and officially I am a member of Nichiren Shoshu. I have just been forbidden to teach by the priesthood, and I understand why, but that is not why I am critical of them. I am critical because I think they have decided that we aren't capable of understanding Buddhism so they teach only to have faith. Thats fine for most people, but no matter what anyone thinks, no one will attain enlightenment in this life until they also start to understand Buddhism. You need both components, not just one. Nichiren had both! :)

Authority

joeisuzu — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:43:54 GMT

I saw the original videos of Milgrams experiments in college in the sixties. Here's some more on it. Short version.
http://www.veoh.com/browse/vid...

Martin Bradley

clown hidden — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:54:17 GMT

Hi Frank,
Where can I find the second part? I didn't see it at dharmagateway.

Mark,
Surprising to see you be complimentary towards anything Nichiren Shoshu related.

Nichiren Buddhism is Mahayana

Ernesto — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:56:36 GMT

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

Excellent!

markp — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:58:45 GMT

I have always considered Martin Bradley to be the absolute best interpreter of the Gosho, and this only enforces that. I'm glad to hear that he is still working. :)

Dharma Flower Sutra

joeisuzu — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:08:53 GMT

Thanks. More please.

Mahayana?

deardenver — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:21:31 GMT

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.

NICHIREN BUDDHISM IS MAHAYANA

clown hidden — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:48:15 GMT

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...

FAITH IN CREDENTIALS

clown hidden — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:36:47 GMT

Someone is a priest in the Catholic Church so if I accept the authority of the church I accept that this person is legitimate. According to some Hindus if the Guru didn't have a Guru then he is not considered legitimate because he is not vouched for by some lineage. The zen master can make the pronouncement that someone is qualified to teach. If you really had faith that someone was an enlightened teacher you would accept them on their own. If you realize that you can not tell an enlightened teacher from a charlatan then you need some governing body that you have faith in to tell you who is who. But if you don't believe the authorities than their opinion carries no weight.

Breaking Away

joeisuzu — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:13:36 GMT

"Like" SGI? No kidding. What SGI needs are those Love Boat-Captain Stubing hats, like Scientology. "Hey, looks good on you". Actually, SGI is getting even more like Scientology with a mandatory declaration of faith signed by every leader who wishes to remain so or face what is spasmodically termed "disqualification". If you're joining as a new member of the SGI, do you know that the people who are supposedly guiding you in learning how to be a capable person in life through Buddhism, have signed a form in which they have agreed to think like they are told to think and feel how they are told to feel about actions they are yet to take in the future? No, they do not.

By they way, Mr. Davis, you can't expel an apostate. If you call them an apostate, then they have already abandoned whatever belief it was that held them there.