Nichiren Buddhism

supa_naga SG

Originally posted by neutral_onliner:
Yo supa_naga,

Buddhism is not just abt understanding but [b]Realisation.Just becos ordinary beings who manage to study the whole sutra they wanted to claim tat they hav becone buddhas?Stealing Lord Sakyamuni Buddha teaching and claim to be a founder?Yo..yo..yo got pay copyright or not???

i agree wf paperflower(which all TRUE buddhists do)

we do not take refuge in ordinary beings like what... the president their regulations & political activities when comes to religious practice!

we take refuge in the triple gem - buddha, dharma & sangha. this has to be reminded again & again why because people still make the same ignorant mistakes over & over again!

promoting peace & harmony yet slandering what the buddha taught is a shrewd way of getting ppl to take refuge & believe in them & not the triple gem. & to use a fiery ''preacher'' to ''threaten'' those who do not follow will go to hell, then I would say those ''preacher'' are the ones going to hell!

no where in the proper buddhist traditions we are guided to be violent & to slander each other tradition. never! this goes to show that it is people create out of wrong path & cultivation - zou3 huo3 lu4 muo2.
[/b]

Dear neutral_onliner,

I think u hv made a mistake as paperflower's reply is in response. to Spirit of Fire's postings whom I believe is a member of SSA that claims Nichiren as True Buddha.

So, I think ur msg should be directed to him. Like what I said earlier, this is a political conflict between Nichiren Shoshu & Soka Gakkai. But, all this conflict has caused Nichiren Shu which has nothing to do with them to be innocently dragged into their wasteful conflict due name similarity.

May Shoshu & Soka return to the Heart of Sakyamuni soon...

Buddha's Grace,
Supa Naga

supa_naga SG

Dear bohiruci,

I'm not sure which Buddhist association do you mean. So, I'll state their names (then & now) & affliation with years of formation so as to verify :

SGI -

Singapore Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist Association, formed in 1972, affliated to Nichiren Shoshu as Soka Gakkai was a lay org of Shoshu. Renamed Singapore Soka Association (SSA) in Jan 1992 due to split between Shoshu & Soka in Dec 1991 & become SGI branch in Singapore.

Nichiren Shoshu -

Shobo Nichiren Shoshu Singapore, formed in 1991 during Soka-Shoshu split. The Shoshu branch in Singapore itself split into another 2 org's later till 2003, i.e. Nichiren Buddhism Association & Nichiren Shoshu Hokke Buddhist Association. All 3 org's merged again in 2003 as Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist Association (Singapore).

Nichiren Shu -

Lotus Sutra Buddhist Association (LSBA) formed in 1986 by ex-Soka members. Independent & not affiliated to any Nichiren school but loosely in contact with Shoshu. Renamed in Shobo Nichiren Shoshu Singapore in 1991 as above till 2003 & reverted back as LSBA due to question of correctness of Shoshu doctrines with breaking of affliation & becoming independent.

Gained contact with Nichiren Shu in early 2004 with questions cleared by NShu. Officially affiliation with NShu in 13 Nov 2004 & things continue ever since.

Status present : Lotus Sutra Buddhist Association (LSBA) is the Nichiren Shu branch in Singapore from Nov 2004 & are Sakyamuni Buddha based (therefore in the mainstream).

So, bohiruci. If you mean LSBA, it is the above. What it is now in 2006 is totally different from 1997 then. I hope you will visit them again to see for yourself.

May you receive Blessing of Lord Sakyamuni Buddha.

Buddha's Grace,
Supa Naga

bohiruci SG

its alrite , I more interested in Chinese Mahayana practise of Tientai Wink

supa_naga SG

K. Well, whether it is Tien-tai, Tendai or Nichiren, anything topic on Sakyamuni Buddha & Lotus Sutra k b shared & discussed.

Why not we continue over to the Nichiren Buddhism sgforum @ http://nichirenbud.sgforums.com/ .

Yours in Lord Buddha's,
Supa Naga

supa_naga SG

Dear sgforumers in Dhamma,

After seeing so much contributions to this thread, I see that all these Q&As should have cleared much doubts. Nevertheless, this is open to more msgs where I'd like to suggest that we continue this topic to a major scale to a full forum @ http://nichirenbud.sgforums.com/ .

Hope to see u all there...

Yours in Lord Buddha's Grace,
Supa Naga

AE86tofu SG

u are wrong abt this one....president ikeda to us is our mentor.....not a buddha....we are thought that everyone is a living buddha and its up 2 themselves 2 manifest the buddhahood in them.....

and yes we have to study goshos....but dun get it wrong....writings and teachings of the president are just encouragements...inspirations...i wonder where did u get this info from

neutral_onliner SG

Hi to all,

check tis out... Cool

An Eternal Now SG

Ah hem... why you posted SGI link? no SGI link allowed...

bohiruci SG

hey neutral_onliner , It is indeed excellent you pointing some correction to some info ,that is a good effort , as you know this buddhist forum policy

maybe you can tell what is the gist ,in words of the webpage you are trying to show to

any person's reply Smile

with sincerity
bohiruci

An Eternal Now SG

gd advice Smile

neutral_onliner SG

Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
[b]Ah hem... why you posted SGI link? no SGI link allowed... b]

sorry guys Cool

AE86tofu SG

and BTW Moderator can u plz remove the gohonzon pic…I dun think its appropriate 2 post tt pic…

An Eternal Now SG

Ok Smile

supa_naga SG

Daisaku Ikeda has virtually become the spiritual leader of SGI where things even go to the extend of addressing him as the Buddha of the Latter-Day of the Law as based on one of the recent issues of SSA Times.

Sentient beings possess Buddha-nature but they are not Buddhas as they have not attain enlightenment yet.

Why do you have to study Ikeda's guide book on the Lotus Sutra instead of the Lotus Sutra itself. Perhaps you should open yourself up to more info other than isolating yourself to just materials of SSA study dept.

The info is based on the article posted on Pg. 3 which an email reply by Rev. Shoryo Tarabini of Nichiren Shu London in response to the email enquiry of a SGI member on the similarities & differences among Nichiren Shu, Nichiren Shoshu & Soka Gakkai.

supa_naga SG

The Gohonzon which means Honorific Object of Devotion in Japanese applies to all schools of Japanese Buddhism. As for the Nichiren school, the Gohonzon is in the form of the Paper Calligraphy Scroll by Nichiren Shonin.

There is no reason why it is not appropiate to post the Gohonzon pic as it is open, not exclusive & secretive. Anyway, below is the Gohonzon of Nichiren Shu & its Chinese translation chart.

Btw, if you all would like to more about the Gohonzon, do access the Nichiren Buddhism sgforum @ http://nichirenbud.sgforums.com .

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.

An Eternal Now SG

Oic.. thanks for telling us.

AE86tofu SG

we do not study ikeda's guide book.....and its not a guide book as what u think it is....its more like a form of encouragement....we DO have the book on the lotus sutra FYI

supa_naga SG

Yes... That's what I'm talking about on the Lotus Sutra guide book. Actually there are 2 sets:
- The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 1 to 5
- Ongi Kuden or The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings.

Though SSA had allowed members to read the Lotus Sutra, but you have to read it with the above guides.

On the whole, you got to have Right View & Right Understanding; i.e. the Buddha gem is the Eternal Sakyamuni Buddha, NOT Nichiren Daishonin. In fact, Nichiren Shonin had declared that he is just a disciple of Sakyamuni Buddha all his life & asked for the stature of Sakyamuni Buddha to be brought to him before he passed away.

So, AE86tofu. I sincerely hope that you can give yourself a chance to open up & see for yourself what Nichiren Buddhism really is, rather shutting yourself to just SSA study dept materials.

Gassho,
Supa Naga

An Eternal Now SG

By Herzog_Zwei, 23 July 2006 · 01:01 PM, moved from http://buddhism.sgforums.com/?action=thread_display&thread_id=182702&page=3

Here we go again... Quit trying to present false information, bohiruci. If the Lotus Sutra is widely known to be the sutra that Soka Gakkai rely on, then how can Soka Gakkai not recognise Buddha Shakyamuni? Secondly, it is also widely known information that Soka Gakkai recognises Nicheren as Bodhisatva Maitreya which according to Buddhist texts should be the present Buddha of the World.

"will lose their doubts, and the torrents of their cravings will be cut off: free from all misery they will manage to cross the ocean of becoming; and, as a result of Maitreya's teachings, they will lead a holy life. No longer will they regard anything as their own, they will have no possession, no gold or silver, no home, no relatives! But they will lead the holy life of chastity under Maitreya's guidance. They will have torn the net of the passions, they will manage to enter into trances, and theirs will be an abundance of joy and happiness, for they will lead a holy life under Maitreya's guidance." (Trans. in Conze 1959:241)

So according to the above text, Maitreya is supposed to supercede Shakyamuni's teachings and even position.

The only problem the public face will be that Soka Gakkai proclaims that all other denominations of Buddhism to be false and will hinder the way to enlightenment.

An Eternal Now SG

Secondly, it is also widely known information that Soka Gakkai recognises Nicheren as Bodhisatva Maitreya which according to Buddhist texts should be the present Buddha of the World.

"will lose their doubts, and the torrents of their cravings will be cut off: free from all misery they will manage to cross the ocean of becoming; and, as a result of Maitreya's teachings, they will lead a holy life. No longer will they regard anything as their own, they will have no possession, no gold or silver, no home, no relatives! But they will lead the holy life of chastity under Maitreya's guidance. They will have torn the net of the passions, they will manage to enter into trances, and theirs will be an abundance of joy and happiness, for they will lead a holy life under Maitreya's guidance." (Trans. in Conze 1959:241)

So according to the above text, Maitreya is supposed to supercede Shakyamuni's teachings and even position.

The only problem the public face will be that Soka Gakkai proclaims that all other denominations of Buddhism to be false and will hinder the way to enlightenment.

It is true that Maitreya will be the next Buddha, but that is certainly not Nichiren. Why? Because according to the sutras it will be 5.67 billion years before Maitreya Buddha comes. Before that, it will still be the era of Shakyamuni Buddha. Look into Shakyamuni Buddha's prophecy of Maitreya Buddha, he gave a very clear and precise description of how the people will be living then, and it is totally unlike now.

Maitreya will only come after a long period whereby the dharma completely died out on Earth, that is to say, not a single sutra expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha survived, the Sangha totally dissolves, and nobody even knows the name 'Buddhism'. Even though we may be living in dharma ending age, such a stage whereby all sutras disappear has not even come yet. Since the sutras expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha still exists, for example, Lotus Sutra, it is IMPOSSIBLE for maitreya become Buddha now.

We cannot just 'anyhow anyhow' assume someone we think to be great as Maitreya. I believe Nichiren DID NOT claim to be Maitreya. He did not claim to be Buddha, did he? Did Nichiren have the 32 Major Marks and 80 Minor Marks of a Buddha? I don't think so.

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