Why the Lotus Sutra is not discarded -
From: LTCMARCINMD (ltcmarcinmd@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
)
Subject: Did Nichiren really think the Lotus Sutra was "Provisional"
View: Complete Thread (4 articles)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.buddhism.nichiren
Date: 2004-04-26 17:31:34 PST
[snip]
"Now in the Latter Day of the Law, neither the Lotus Sutra nor the
other sutras lead to enlightenment. Only Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo can do
so."
[snip]
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From: OrangBlossms (orangblossms@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
)
Subject: Re: Did Nichiren really think the Lotus Sutra was
"Provisional"
Newsgroups: alt.religion.buddhism.nichiren
Date: 2004-04-26 20:30:35 PST
If I recall in other GOSHO passages, chanting the DAIMOKU was reciting
the ENTIRE Lotus Sutra once.
Isn't that correct?
D
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From: MarcInMD (marcinmd@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
)
Subject: Re: Did Nichiren really think the Lotus Sutra was
"Provisional"
Newsgroups: alt.religion.buddhism.nichiren
Date: 2004-04-27 07:09:42 PST
That is correct... One way to recite the Sutra is to just chant it's
Title...
That in no way affirms the false NST point of view that the Sutra is a
provisional teaching
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I don't know about NST. The SGI follows the Gosho. I have capitalized
the two critical sections below for your perusal.
From: "On Establishing the Four Bodhisattvas as the Object of
Devotion", WND, p. 978
.. You also mentioned in your letter that the people
.. connected with Ota Jomyo are apparently saying that the
.. theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra can in no way
.. lead to enlightenment. They are making a serious
.. mistake. Remember this about the theoretical and
.. essential teachings of the Lotus Sutra: Which is shallow
.. and which profound, which superior and which inferior,
.. which lenient and which severe, and which subordinate
.. and which primary must be judged in accordance with the
.. time and the people's capacity. There are three periods7
.. in which the sacred teachings of the Buddha's lifetime
.. should be propagated; the people's capacity should be
.. thought of in the same way.
..
.. In the first five hundred years of the Former Day of the
.. Law following the Buddha's passing, only Hinayana
.. teachings spread, while in the next five hundred years,
.. provisional Mahayana teachings spread. The thousand
.. years of the Middle Day of the Law saw the rise of the
.. theoretical teaching. IN THE BEGINNING OF THE LATTER DAY
.. OF THE LAW, ONLY THE ESSENTIAL TEACHING SPREADS, BUT
.. EVEN SO, THE THEORETICAL TEACHING SHOULD NOT BE
.. DISCARDED. NOWHERE IN THE ENTIRE LOTUS SUTRA DO WE FIND
.. A PASSAGE SUGGESTING THAT WE SHOULD DISCARD THE FIRST
.. FOURTEEN CHAPTERS, WHICH COMPRISE THE THEORETICAL
.. TEACHING. When we distinguish between the theoretical
.. and the essential teachings on the basis of the
.. threefold classification of the entire body of the
.. Buddha's teachings, the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings were
.. to be spread in the Former Day, and the theoretical
.. teaching, in the Middle Day, but the Latter Day is the
.. time to propagate the essential teaching. IN THE PRESENT
.. PERIOD THE ESSENTIAL TEACHING IS PRIMARY, WHILE THE
.. THEORETICAL TEACHING IS SUBORDINATE. BUT THOSE WHO
.. THEREFORE DISCARD THE LATTER, SAYING IT IS NOT THE WAY
.. TO ENLIGHTENMENT, AND BELIEVE ONLY IN THE FORMER, HAVE
.. NOT YET UNDERSTOOD THE DOCTRINE OF NICHIREN'S TRUE
.. INTENTION. THEIRS IS A COMPLETELY DISTORTED VIEW.
..
.. This doctrine concerning the theoretical and essential
.. teachings is not my own [but was expounded by the
.. Buddha]. Those who would distort it can only be
.. possessed by the heavenly devil, or Papiyas, and will
.. topple others along with themselves into the great
.. citadel of the hell of incessant suffering. How foolish
.. they are! Teach this doctrine to others clearly as I
.. have taught you these many years. Those who call
.. themselves my disciples and practice the Lotus Sutra
.. should all practice as I do. If they do, Shakyamuni,
.. Many Treasures, Shakyamuni's emanations throughout the
.. ten directions, and the ten demon daughters will protect
.. them. Yet, for all that, [some people associated with
.. Ota Jomyo distort the teaching]. I cannot fathom what
.. could be in their minds.
What is in their minds is the deluded thoughts of being minions of the
Devil King of the Sixth Heaven, also known as Takejizaiten.
They are not votaries of the Law, but instead serve Takejizaiten by
testing the faith of votaries of the Law. Nobody escapes past
Takejizaiten out of the Threefold World, without correct faith in the
Lotus Sutra. He is the perfect gatekeeper, and ruler of his domain.
-Chas.
__________________________________________
From "The Entity of the Mystic Law", Writings of Nichiren Daishonin,
p. 426 ...
In the final analysis, the meaning of the Lotus Sutra is that the
metaphor is none other than the entity of the Law and that the entity
of the Law is none other than the metaphor. That is why the Great
Teacher Dengyo in his commentary says: "The Lotus Sutra contains a
great many metaphors and parables. However, when it comes to the major
parables, we find that there are seven of them. These seven parables
are none other than the entity of the Law, and the entity of the Law
is none other than these metaphors and parables. Therefore, there is
no entity of the Law outside of the metaphors and parables, and there
are no metaphors and parables outside of the entity of the Law. In
other words, the entity of the Law refers to the entity of the truth
of the essential nature of phenomena, while the metaphors and parables
represent the entity of the Mystic Law as manifested in actual
phenomena. The manifestations are none other than the entity of the
truth, and the entity of the truth is none other than the
manifestations. Therefore, it can be said that the Law and its
metaphors constitute a single entity. This is why the passages from
the treatises and the annotations by the Tendai school all explain the
lotus as both the Law itself and a metaphor for it."
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