Podcast photo — Shadows — by Alex Linch
Transcript
Hi,
I’m M. LaVora Perry. Today’s June 21, 2025, and this is Lotus Sutra Buddhism. This post is actually a do-over of one published on June 19th titled, “Buddhism is like the body and society is like the shadow," which is a quote by Nichiren. I unpublished it and I’m republishing it because I wanted to update its opening like this:
Before I say what I say next, I want to make it absolutely clear that I do not believe we need to be religious or read scripture in order to practice the essence of the Lotus Sutra, which is a teaching of the Buddha. He’s the man who founded Buddhism in India 3,000 years ago. The Buddha said the Lotus Sutra was his highest teaching. Based on what he taught, and on my personal belief, I believe the true practice of the Lotus Sutra is to revere yourself and all living beings and environments. Again, anyone can do this, religious or not.
I created the video that follows for members of my former Buddhist organization, the Soka Gakkai International, not specifically for Substack. However, I'm posting it here in case there are SGI members on Substack and in case non-members will find it valuable.
In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha taught that all living beings, environments, and things are one, not separate, and that we are all Buddhas — limitless, boundless, and eternal.
I left the SGI, which is supposedly a Lotus Sutra organization, because its members deify their now-deceased leader and strictly study his writings, not the Lotus Sutra. By doing so, they distort the basic idea of the Lotus Sutra — equality.
Because of oneness, whatever affects one of us, affects all of us. So, when the Buddhist organization with tens of millions of members worldwide distorts the Lotus Sutra’s teaching of equality, the entire world is thrown off balance. This is the premise of the video I made for SGI members during this time of unprecendented global peril.
You can read the Lotus Sutra online at NichirenLibrary.org and get my Lotus Sutra study guide at bit.ly/lotus-sutra-resources.
June 9, 2025
I wasn't gonna make a video today. This was my day to not do much except for, you know, to feel really bad about what’s going on in California. So I was gonna go to bed early. Then I got this comment on Facebook from one of the videos I posted saying that it’s slander to base one’s practice on what Daisaku Ikeda says, that that’s like the definition of slander. That’s what that particular video said.
So the person who said this is Sandra. And I have to thank you, Sandra, for giving me another opportunity to fulfill my vow as a Bodhisattva of the Earth. I don’t know if you’re the kind of person who always speaks up for what you believe in. You know, I appreciate it.
So what I decided to…I looked up all the passages that I think relate to what she wrote so that I can actually quote them. Because I want everyone who’s watching this, SGI members, to know that everything I’m saying is based on what the Buddha taught in the Lotus Sutra, his words, and what Nichiren taught in his writings, his words. Nothing I've said is just my opinion.
So what Sandra has said today was:
“To say the SGI slander of the Lotus Sutra has thrown the world into chaos is slander in and of itself. Don’t blame the SGI for what’s going on in the world. Nichiren said greed, anger, and stupidity are the causes of the world’s problems in the latter day of the law. I cannot agree with what you’re saying about the SGI.
“We SGI members are doing all we can to change the destiny of humankind. President Ikeda was our mentor. We followed his guidance. He didn’t make the SGI all about him. It was created so people can practice Buddhism as they are in a non-judgmental, non-authoritarian way. It was created to spread world peace through the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin.”
First thing I wanted to address is her saying, “Nichiren said greed, anger, and stupidity are the causes of the world’s problems.” Everything I’ve been saying is based on what happened in with me during COVID, less than two months before the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol of the United States by white supremacists.
So, on November 20th or 21st, I made a video[,Why and How the SGI's Slander of the Lotus Sutra Has Thrown the Planet into Chaos,] after reading “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land” and realizing that Nichiren said much more than greed, anger, and stupidity are the cause of calamities. And he repeatedly referred to that writing throughout his lifetime because it was so important.
So, I want to read to you what Nichiren said was the cause of calamities and disasters in a land where Buddhism is practiced. This is from “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land.” So, Nichiren wrote this letter as a dialogue between himself, the host, and a traveler. So, he said…
“Once there was a traveler who spoke these words in sorrow to his host: ‘In recent years, there have been unusual disturbances in the heavens, strange occurrences on earth, famine and pestilence, all affecting every corner of the empire and spreading throughout the land. Oxen and horses lie dead in the streets and the bones of the stricken crowd the highways. Over half the population has already been carried off in death and there's hardly a single person who does not grieve.’”
Nichiren had written this to the governmental leader. He was…at this time, governmental leaders endorsed different types of Buddhism. So Nichiren’s hope was that these leaders would turn to the Lotus Sutra, abandon those other teachings, and thereby save the nation. What the sutras said, not only the Lotus Sutra, but other sutras that were taught before the Lotus Sutra in which the Buddha said that if the correct teaching isn’t practiced, is that if there’s a distortion in the realm of Buddhism, certain events will occur. There will be environmental disasters, floods, fires, storms, hurricanes, tsunamis, those kinds of things. There will be, droughts, which would lead to famine, which would lead to inflation because crops can’t grow. So there would be inflation and there would be pestilence, epidemics, and there would be civil unrest and ultimately foreign invasion.
Now, 20 years or so after Nichiren wrote this writing, all those things occurred by that time, including foreign invasion. The Mongols attacked, and they were a fierce force. Japan was a tiny island. The Mongols were an empire. They could have squashed the Japanese. So the second time, what ended up happening is all these big warships were coming. Big warships. A big tsunami, storm, some kind of storm that was big enough to push these ships back happened. And that was the last time the Mongols tried to attack. And Nichiren said it was his prayer to save the nation. That was his belief. But meanwhile, when he wrote this, Nichiren, none of those things had happened yet. They hadn’t happened yet.
So the host continues. “‘All the while, while these...’” awful things are happening… “‘Some put their whole faith in the ‘‘sharp sword’’of the Buddha Amida and intone the name of this lord of the Western land.’”
So he’s talking about Pure Land Buddhism, another type of Buddhism whose founder in Japan had said the Lotus Sutra wasn’t fitted to the people of that time. And so it should not be read. It should be discarded. And instead, the Pure Land teachings should be spread because they were more suited to the capacities of the people of the time. People could understand it. People could not understand the Lotus Sutra, said Honen.
“‘Others believe that hearing the name of the Buddha Medicine Master will heal all ills, and recite the sutra that describes this Thus Come One of the eastern region. There are those who follow the esoteric teachings of the True Word School and others who devote themselves entirely to seated meditation.’” So he goes on to describe different types of Buddhism that have cropped up. “‘But despite all these efforts, they merely exhaust themselves in vain. Famine and epidemics rage more fiercely than ever. Beggars are everywhere in sight and scenes of death fill our eyes. Corpses pile up in mounds.
“‘If we look about, we find that the sun and moon continue to move in their custom orbits and the five planets follow the proper course. The three treasures of Buddhism continue to exist. Then why is it that the world has already fallen into decline and that the laws of the state have come to an end? What is wrong? What error has been committed?’”
So here, Sandra, go back to what you said. “Nichiren doesn't simply say that greed, anger, and stupidity are the causes of the world’s problems in the latter day of the law. In this writing, he asked, “Why is this happening?” Let’s see if he actually says in this writing that the problem is simply greed, anger, and stupidity.
In “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land, its title itself tells you that there is a teaching that, if it's established, will bring about peace. So we can surmise, just by the title, that, apparently, the land isn’t following that teaching. And if that was true then, it’s true today.
“‘The host then spoke, ‘I have been brooding alone upon this matter,’” meaning, what error has been committed, “‘indignant in my heart. But now that you’ve come, we can lament together. Let us discuss the question at length.
“‘When a man leaves family life and enters the Buddhist way, it is because he hopes to attain Buddhahood through the teachings of the Buddha. But attempts now to move the gods failed to have any effect. And appeals to the power of the Buddhas produce no results. When I observe carefully the state of the world today, I see people who give way to doubt because of the lack of understanding on the part of the eminent priest.’”
In other words, the lack of understanding on the part of the top Buddhist leaders of the day. So I’m going to go back to what you said, Sandra. You said, “greed, anger, and stupidity'‘ are the cause of the world’s problems in the latter day of the law. However, in “On Establishing the Correct Teaching [for the Peace] of the Land,” I’m going to repeat, Nichiren says the problem is the correct teaching isn’t being practiced. He hasn’t mentioned greed, anger, and stupidity once. This is the beginning of one of his most important writings, one of the five major writings of Nichiren.
He says, “Okay, what could be the problem? What could be the problem?” “The host says, ‘I have pondered the matter carefully with what limited resources I possess. And I have looked a little at the scriptures for the answer.’”
And here’s the answer, according to Nichiren in “On Establishing the [Correct] Teaching for the Peace of the Land,” which is the basis for everything I’ve been saying since 2020 about the SGI’s slander. So the matter he’s been pondering carefully is why, since we’re a Buddhist country and Buddhism has spread all throughout the land, is the world in the state that it is? So the expectation that this…the implied expectation of this writing is that if Buddhism has spread throughout the land, there should be peace.
The SGI has grown to 12 million members, so it says, in 192 countries. The SGI has been around since... the Soka Gakkai was founded in Japan, but the Soka Gakkai International has been around since the [70s]? Praying for world peace? Praying for kōsen-rufu? And what have we actually seen happen? The world has gotten worse and worse and worse. Why — when Buddhism has spread all around the land, all around the world — haven’t we seen peace yet? When we’ve got all these people chanting, why aren’t your prayers being answered, but instead the opposite is happening? That is the central question of “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land.” Why aren’t your prayers working?
“‘I have pondered the matter carefully and with what limited resources I possess and have looked a little at the scriptures for an answer. The people of today all turn their backs upon what is right. To a person, they give their allegiance to evil. This is the reason that the benevolent deities have abandoned the nation and departed together, that sages leave and do not return. And in their stead, devils and demons come and disasters and calamities occur. I cannot keep silent on this matter. I cannot suppress my fears.’”
So when Nichiren is talking about demons and devils [and benevolent deities], this is all metaphorical.
“The guest said... ‘These disasters that befall the empire, these calamities of the nation, I’m not the only one pained by them. The whole populace is weighed down with sorrow. Now I have been privileged to enter the orchid room and listen to these enlightening words of yours. You speak of the gods and sages taking leave and of disasters and calamities arising in sequence. Upon what sutras do you base your views?’
“The host said, ‘There are numerous passages that could be cited and a wide variety of proofs. For example, in the Golden Light Sutra we read, ‘‘The four heavenly kings said to the Buddha, ‘‘‘Though this sutra exists in this nation, its ruler has never allowed it to be propagated.’’”
Now the ruler in many of the nations where SGI members are is the people. These are places where the people are the ruler.
So again, “‘‘Though the sutra exists in this nation, its ruler has never allowed it to be propagated. In his heart, he turns away from it, and he takes no pleasure in hearing his teachings. He neither makes offerings to it, honors it, nor praises it. Nor is he willing to honor or make offerings to the four kind of Buddhists who embrace this sutra.’’’”
The four kind of Buddhists are monks and nuns and laymen and laywomen.
“‘‘In the end, he makes it impossible for us and the other countless heavenly beings who are our followers to hear this profound and wonderful teaching. He deprives us of the sweet dew of his words and cuts us off from the flow of the correct teaching so that our majesty and strength are drained away. Thus, the number of beings who occupy the evil paths increases. And the number who dwell in the human and heavenly realm decreases. People fall into the river of sufferings of birth and death and turn their backs on the road to Nirvana.’’”
Okay, so what does all that mean? That means that the correct teaching isn't being taught. It’s not being followed. When Nichiren says, “They turn their back on good,” SGI members are taught to turn your back on the Lotus Sutra. Now, I’m not saying Daisaku Ikeda’s writings are evil. What makes them evil is that they’re not used to turn you back to the Lotus Sutra. If you were taught to read the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren’s writings and to use Daisaku Ikeda’s writings as a supplement to doing that, that would be fine. But that’s not what happens in the SGI. Your primary study material is Daisaku Ikeda’s writings.
That’s why you, Sandra, don’t know what it says in “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land.” That’s why you think that the only problem we’re experiencing today is greed, anger, and stupidity; and that what we’re seeing has nothing to do with the realm of Buddhism, when [what we’re seeing today] has everything to do with the realm of Buddhism from a Buddhist perspective, from the perspective of the Lotus Sutra, is a core teaching. This is all in “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land.” And the whole point of this writing, which I’ve been reiterating since 2020 — you should be reading this writing because we’re living in this world today — is that when Buddhism is disordered, society is disordered.
So Sandra, it’s not just greed, anger, and stupidity. Of course, you know, at the core, it is greed, greed, anger, and stupidity. But as a Buddhist, you can do something directly to change the world, which is to embrace the Lotus Sutra. And, by that, I do not mean Daisaku Ikeda’s books, Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren repeatedly says that in his writings, you should read the Lotus Sutra.] So, SGI members, your core reading should be the Lotus Sutra, and then Nichiren's writings.
And since the SGI isn’t doing that, and we’re on the verge of, in the United States, our country is in a dictatorship, and this whole kind of situation that’s happening in our country is happening in many countries around the world, and a lot of these dictatorial leaders have nuclear weapons, our planet could literally be destroyed to the point where life can't exist on it anymore.
In “A comparison of the Lotus and Other Sutras,” Nichiren says, “When one examines all the various sutras in the clear mirror of the Lotus, it is evident that…” It’s evident that the True Word sutras and the Pure Land sutras “are teachings expounded in accordance with the people’s capacity.”
As you know, as an SGI member, because other members have said this many times, Daisaku Ikeda’s writings are easier to read than the Lotus Sutra. They’re more fitted to your capacity, [SGI members have said.] More than one has told me this. “It’s hard to read the Lotus Sutra.”
So I’m going to repeat what Nichiren said about that kind of thinking: “When one examines all the various sutras in the clear mirror of the Lotus, it’s evident that the True Word sutras… and the three Pure Land sutras are teachings expounded in accordance with the people’s capacity. And yet, because the people have made those teachings the basis of their practice, this truth has been obscured in Japan for now more than years.”
So he’s not actually saying that having a teaching that’s suited to the people’s capacity is the ideal. The Lotus Sutra wasn’t taught with the Buddha having in mind what the people’s capacity is kind of thinking. “Let me talk to people based on their capacity.” When the Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra — and he says this in the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren repeats it — he wasn’t thinking, “Okay, let me break this down in a way that you can understand.” He said, “You know what? At this point, I have prepared you. You’re ready to hear from my enlightenment. You’re ready to hear the full Buddha, the full Buddha wisdom, the Lotus Sutra. He wasn't teaching thinking, “Are they able to understand this?” He said, “I’m going to tell you…I’m going to speak from my enlightenment.” And Nichiren said that was a superior teaching, the Lotus Sutra.
So saying that Daisaku Ikeda’s teachings are more suited to the people's capacity is actually a belief that is the opposite of how the Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra. You can understand the Lotus Sutra. You just have to start reading it. The more you read it, the more you’ll get out of it.
“Because Buddhism has gradually been turned upside down, the secular world has also been plunged into corruption and chaos.” I’m going to repeat that. “Because Buddhism has gradually been turned upside down, the secular world has also been plunged into corruption and chaos. Buddhism is like the body and society is like the shadow. When the body bends, so does the shadow.”
So the answer [to] “Why is the world like it is right now?” Nichiren doesn’t say it’s just because of greed, anger, and stupidity. In this writing, “A comparison of the Lotus and Other Sutras,” he clearly states what the problem is. He also states it in “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land, but it’s a much longer writing. In this one, he sums it all up into two sentences: “Because Buddhism has gradually been turned upside down, the secular world has also been plunged into corruption and chaos. Buddhism is like the body and society is like the shadow. When the body bends, so does the shadow.”
That’s the problem. That's why we’re seeing the chaos and calamities and destruction that we’re seeing today — because Buddhism is distorted. And the largest Buddhist organization in the world is the SGI. It’s a global organization. So this distortion isn’t just limited to the world of land of Japan like it was during Nichiren’s time. This distortion in Buddhism, because of the SGI, because the SGI is supposed to be upholding the Lotus Sutra, because it’s upholding Daisaku Ikeda’s teachings instead of the Lotus Sutra, that disorder, that slander has rippled all around our world and created the situation we’re in now.
The Soka Gakkai's constitution: “The three founding presidents,” Article Three, '“The three founding presidents of the Soka Gakkai shall be regarded as eternal mentors of worldwide kosen rufu.” And then it says, “This organization shall regard Ikeda Sensei as the mentor of worldwide kōsen-rufu and the president and spiritual leader of the SGI in perpetuity. The organization shall regard Ikeda Sensei as the mentor of worldwide kosa rufu and the president and spiritual leader of the SGI IN PERPETUITY.
long pause
Who does the Lotus Sutra say is the spiritual leader of Buddhism based on the Lotus Sutra? Because, if what the SGI is saying doesn’t match up with what the Lotus Sutra says, that’s slander. This is from the “Teacher of the Law” chapter of the Lotus Sutra: “All bodhisattvas who attain supreme perfect enlightenment in all cases do so through this sutra. All bodhisattvas who attain supreme perfect enlightenment, in all cases do so through this sutra.” In other words, the teacher in the Buddhism of the Lotus Sutra is the Lotus Sutra. The teacher, the mentor in perpetuity, the spiritual leader of the Buddhism of the Lotus Sutra, of Nichiren Buddhism, which is based on the Lotus Sutra, the spiritual leader is the Lotus Sutra.
What does Nichiren say about who is the spiritual leader in perpetuity of the Buddhism of the Lotus Sutra?” In “Letter to the Brothers,” he says: “The Lotus Sutra is the eye of all the Buddhas. It is the original teacher of Shakyamuni Buddha himself, the Lord of teachings. If one discards even one word or even one brushstroke of the Sutra, the offense is graver than that of one who kills one’s parents million times over. It’s more grave of even one who sheds the blood of all the Buddhas in the directions. Moreover, it is extremely difficult to meet a person who expounds the sutra exactly as the sutra directs. It’s even more difficult than for a one-eyed turtle to find a piece of floating sandalwood, or for someone to hang Mount Sumeru from the sky with the fiber of a lotus stem.”
So I want to just repeat the first part, the first two sentences: “The Lotus Sutra is the eye of all the Buddhas. It is the original teacher of Shakyamuni Buddha himself, the Lord of teachings. If one discards one word or even one brush stroke of the Sutra, the offense is graver than one who kills his parents million times over.” So by stating that the mentor of worldwide kōsen-rufu, and the president and spiritual leader of the SGI, an organization that is supposed to be based on the Lotus Sutra, to say that Daisaku Ikeda is the spiritual leader in perpetuity, eternally, that’s slander. The eternal teacher, according to the Buddha in the Lotus Sutra, The eternal mentor, the spiritual leader is the Lotus Sutra.
Nichiren said in “On Repaying Debts of Gratitude”: “In a scripture called the Nirvana Sutra, the Buddha says, ‘Rely on the Law and not upon persons.’ Relying on the law here means relying on the various sutras,” the teachings of the Buddha. “Not relying upon persons means not relying on persons other than the Buddha.” Persons like Dasaku Ikeda.
[Daisaku Ikeda] is not the perpetual mentor, the spiritual leader of the Soka Gakkai —Unless the Soka Gakkai is not based on the Lotus Sutra. And if that's the case, the Soka Gakkai shouldn’t say it is because you're lying. Your organization is lying. And that's slander because, according to Nichiren, you shouldn’t be relying on a person other than the Buddha. And who does the Buddha say to rely on? Repeatedly, in the Lotus Sutra? The Buddha says rely on the Lotus Sutra. Not upon persons. Not even upon the Buddha himself.
He never told people what to call him. In your constitution, it says you have to call Daisaku Ikeda “Sensei.” You have to. You can’t even think for yourself. You’re in a cult. You can’t even decide what you want to call him yourself.
The Nirvana Sutra says, the Buddha said, “Rely on the law and not upon a person.” The Nirvana Sutra was taught after the Lotus Sutra. And, in it, the Buddha just reiterated what he said in the Lotus Sutra, and made it clear that the Lotus Sutra was his highest teaching, which is what he said in the Lotus Sutra repeatedly.
So you guys are relying on a person, which the Buddha specifically said don’t do. You base everything on what that Daisaku Ikeda says. That is in exact opposition to what the Buddha told you to do. That’s slander. It’s not slander for me to tell you that it's slander. When you tell somebody that something is wrong and it is wrong, that’s not slander. Slander is if I said you were doing something, but in truth, you weren't doing it. That would be a lie. That’s slander. It’s not slander for me to tell you that you’re basing everything on Daisaku Ikeda, and the Buddha specifically said don't do that. That’s not slander. That’s me trying to correct your slander, to help you and our world.
Because I’m a Bodhisattva of the Earth. And I’m gonna tell you how Bodhisattvas of the Earth behave, and how people who do what you and your leaders do, including Diasaku Ikeda, how they behave. And then you decide which is which. Which one, do I look more like the people who are against the Lotus Sutra, the correct teaching, or do I look more like the people who are trying to protect it according to the Lotus Sutra itself?
So the “Encouraging Devotion” chapter of the Lotus Sutra is chapter 13. And what happens in this chapter is the Buddha says he’s nearing death and that he wants to make sure the law will endure long into the future. And he talks specifically about the latter day of the law, which will begin in the fifth five hundred years after his death, 2,500 years after his death. It was the latter day of the law when Nichiren appeared, and it is still the latter day of the law. Nichiren’s successor, in the Nichiren Shoshu tradition, Niko Shonin, said that the latter day of the law will continue for 10,000 years and more. So we're going to be in here for a while.
So, in the “Encouraging Devotion” chapter, different followers who came to hear the Lotus Sutra were telling the Buddha that, in the evil age to come, the latter day of the law, they would protect the sutra. And then these particular bodhisattvas spoke up saying that. And Nichiren quoted this passage frequently in his writings.
And I want to say, as I said in a previous video, I didn’t really start reading the Lotus Sutra on a regular basis until about 2010, when I quit the SGI. What I did read a lot was Nichiren’s writings. And Nichiren’s writings are filled with quotes from the Lotus Sutra itself. And that’s how I learned what the Lotus Sutra taught. So when I started reading the Lotus Sutra more — not that I wasn’t reading it at all; I just wasn't reading it every day like I do now — it was from the basis of like knowing what Nichiren had said about it. And there were many passages that I had read often because I read them in Nichiren’s writings often. This was one of those passages.
So here’s the Buddha saying, “I’m going to be dying soon. Who’s going to protect my teaching after I die? Who’s going to protect the Lotus Sutra after I die? Who’s going to protect it in the evil age to come, in the latter day of the law?”
“At that time the world-honored one looked at the eight hundred thousand million nayutas of bodhisattvas mahasattva. These bodhisattvas had all reached the level of non-regression, turned the unregressing wheel of the Law, and had gained dharanis. They rose from their seats, advanced before the Buddha and, pressing their palms together with a single mind, thought to themselves, ‘If the world-honored one should order us to embrace and preach this sutra, we would do as the Buddha instructed and broadly propagate this Law. And then they thought to themselves, But the Buddha now is silent and gives us no such order. What shall we do?’
“At that time the bodhisattvas, respectfully complying with the Buddha’s will and at the same time wishing to fulfill their own original vows, proceeded in the presence of the Buddha to roar the lion’s roar and to make a vow, saying: ‘World-Honored One, after the thus come one has entered extinction we will travel here and there, back and forth through the worlds in the ten directions so as to enable living beings to copy this sutra, to receive, embrace, read, and recite it, understand and preach its principles, practice it in accordance with the Law, and properly keep it in their thoughts. All this will be done through the Buddha’s power and authority. We beg that the world-honored one, though in another region, will look on from afar and guard and protect us.’
“At that time the bodhisattvas joined their voices together and spoke in verse form, saying:
‘We beg you not to worry.
After the Buddha has passed into extinction,
in an age of fear and evil
we will preach far and wide.
There will be many ignorant people
who will curse and speak ill of us
and will attack us with swords and staves,
but we will endure all these things.’”
So the people that they just described right there are the first of the three powerful enemies. They are “ignorant people who will curse and speak ill of us.” And by ignorant, what this means, is they don't know what the Lotus Sutra teaches. That would be you, if you don’t know what the Lotus Sutra teaches, and Nichiren’s writings, which teach you about the Lotus Sutra. You are those people. If you weren’t. You wouldn’t follow Daisaku Ikeda. You’d follow the Lotus Sutra.
This is the second of the three powerful enemies:
“‘In that evil age there will be monks
with perverse wisdom and hearts that are fawning and crooked
who will suppose they have attained what they have not attained,
being proud and boastful in heart.’”
Those would be leaders who, you know, teach you, but don’t teach you about the Lotus Sutra. They think they have it. They got it. They understand because they know what Daisaku Ikeda taught. And that’s what they teach you through your publications — the World Tribune, Living Buddhism, at your meetings. They tell you what Daisaku Ikeda taught. And they think they got Nichiren Buddhism.
“‘Or…’” This is the third powerful enemy. And these enemies get harder and harder to recognize for who they are. So by the time you get to the third powerful enemy, this person is very difficult to recognize as an enemy of Buddhism.
“‘Or there will be forest-dwelling monks...’”
And “forest-dwelling” just simply means they are apart from common people.
“‘wearing clothing of patched rags and living in retirement,
who will claim they are practicing the true way,
despising and looking down on all humankind.
Greedy for profit and support…’”
Like your money.
“‘They will preach the Law to white-robed laymen
and will be respected and revered by the world…’”
Like Daisaku Ikeda.
“‘as though they were arhats who possessed the transcendental powers.
These men with evil in their hearts,
constantly thinking of worldly affairs,
will borrow the name of forest-dwelling monks
and take delight in proclaiming our faults…’”
The faults of the Bodhisattvas who vowed to protect the law. They will say about us things like this:
“‘‘These monks are greedy
for profit and support
and therefore they preach non-Buddhist doctrines
and fabricate their own scriptures
to delude the people of the world.
Because they hope to gain fame and renown thereby
they make distinctions when preaching this sutra...’’”
I just want to address that “they make distinctions when preaching.” This is the third powerful enemy talking about the bodhisattvas who vow to protect the sutra. “Because they hope to gain fame and renown thereby, they make distinctions when preaching this sutra.” So distinction would be like saying, we’re not all practicing Nichiren Buddhism. There’s the SGI, who’s practicing Daisaku Ikedaism, and saying it’s Nichiren Buddhism, and then there’s actually the practice of the Lotus Sutra, which is what Nichiren taught followers to do. That’s a distinction. It’s not all the same just because we all chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.
This is the Bodhisattvas talking:
“‘‘Because they hope to gain fame and renown thereby
they make distinctions when preaching this sutra.’’
‘Because in the midst of great assemblies
they constantly try to defame us,
they will address the rulers, high ministers,
Brahmans, and householders…’”
Okay, so the third powerful enemy has political connections. Like, Daisaku Ikeda and the SGI. And connections with higher-ups in society. Brahmans would be that.
“‘and householders,
as well as the other monks,
slandering and speaking evil of us,
saying, ‘‘These are men of perverted views
who preach non-Buddhist doctrines!’’
‘But because we revere the Buddha
we will bear all these evils.
Though they treat us with contempt, saying,
‘‘You are all no doubt buddhas!’’
‘all such words of arrogance and contempt
we will endure and accept.
In a muddied kalpa, in an evil age,
there will be many things to fear.
Evil demons will take possession of others
and through them curse, revile, and heap shame on us.
But we, reverently trusting in the Buddha,
will put on the armor of perseverance.
In order to preach this sutra
we will bear these difficult things.
We care nothing for our bodies or lives
but are anxious only for the unsurpassed way.
In ages to come we will protect and uphold
what the Buddha has entrusted to us…’”
Which is the Lotus Sutra. Between the SGI, between Daisaku Ikeda and me, and other people like me, who is urging you to read the Lotus Sutra and to read Nichiren’s writings? Who is urging you to protect and uphold what the Buddha entrusted to you — the Lotus Sutra? Who’s doing that?
“‘This the world-honored one must know.
The evil monks of that muddied age,
failing to understand the Buddha’s expedient means,
how he preaches the Law in accordance with what is appropriate,
will confront us with foul language and angry frowns;
again and again we will be banished
to a place far removed from towers and temples.
All these various evils,
because we keep in mind the Buddha’s orders,
we will endure.
If in the settlements and towns
there are those who seek the Law,
we will go to wherever they are
and preach the Law entrusted to us by the Buddha.
We will be envoys of the world-honored one,
facing the assemblies without fear.
We will preach the Law with skill,
for we desire the Buddha to rest in tranquility.
In the presence of the world-honored one
and of the buddhas who have gathered from the ten directions
we proclaim this vow.
The Buddha must know what is in our hearts.’”
So that’s about the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. Bodhisattva of the Earth doesn’t just mean you “spread world peace.” And it's just, you know, this undefined thing. Bodhisattvas of the Earth pledged to protect the Lotus Sutra in the latter day of the law, which is now. If you're not directly reading and, uh, making sure that others know what the Lotus Sutra taught, not Daisaku Ikeda, you’re not fulfilling your vow as a Bodhisattva of the Earth.”
And I wanted to address why it’s not okay to just read Daisaku Ikeda’s writings because you think that the Lotus Sutra is too hard to understand. Why, that’s actually slander. I didn’t say that. Nichiren did.
I’m doing a search on NichirenLibrary.org, which is a Soka Gakkai website. I use it all the time. I highly recommend it because you can read the Lotus Sutra here, and Nichiren’s writings, and the Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism.
I don’t think that everything that the…You know, if it weren’t for the Soka Gakkai, I wouldn’t know…and Daisaku Ikeda and Jose Toda and President Makaguchi…I wouldn’t know anything about Nichiren Buddhism. I found out about it through the organization. Just like Nichiren found out about the Lotus Sutra from his teacher who didn’t correctly practice the Lotus Sutra. So Nichiren went back to his original teacher, Dōzen-bō, and taught him. “Hey, you weren’t practicing correctly. You aren’t practicing correctly right now. This is how you should be practicing.” And he taught him the importance of reading the Lotus Sutra and chanting the title of the Lotus Sutra.
Chanting the title is important. You’re doing that part. The problem is you deify Daisaku Ikeda. You consider him the person to follow. And the Buddha taught that what you should follow is the Law, the Lotus Sutra. That that’s the perpetual spiritual leader, not a person. It’s in “How Those Initially Aspiring to the Way Can Attain Buddhahood Through the Lotus Sutra.” So here Nichiren is using a question and answer format:
“Question: The Lotus Sutra says, ‘[The door to this wisdom is] difficult to understand and difficult to enter.’ The persons of our time cite this passage to argue that the Lotus Sutra is not fitted to the capacities of the people. And this seems to me to be very reasonable. What is your opinion?
And then Nichiren answers, “Such an assertion is quite unfounded. The reason is because it is put forward by persons who have not grasped the true meaning of this sutra.”
So right there, um, Nichiren makes it clear that you’re supposed to be reading the Lotus Sutra. That saying that it’s not suited to your capacities, that therefore you have to read Daisaku Ikeda’s writings instead, is wrong.
I hope you will, Sandra and anybody who’s watching this, will read “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land,” and read it from the perspective of what we're experiencing today. I hope you will open the Lotus Sutra and start reading it. I recommend The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, translated by Burton Watson because the opening and closing [sutras] are considered the epilogue and prologue of the Lotus Sutra. The opening sutra is the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra, and the closing one is [“Encouragements of the Bodhisattva Universal Worthy…”] [I recommend Burton Watson’s translation it’s easier to read to me. Other translations have much older, archaic language.]
Let me make sure I addressed everything Sandra said. She said, “We SGI members are doing all we can to change the destiny of humankind. President Ikeda was our mentor. We follow his guidance. He didn't make the SGI all about him. It was created so people can practice Buddhism.”
Okay. Okay. So, all right. She says that the SGI…“He didn’t make the SGI all about him.” That doesn’t go with what it says in the constitution. It says “The organization shall regard Ikeda Sensei as the mentor of worldwide kōsen-rufu and the president and spiritual leader of the SGI in perpetuity.” So, if that’s not saying it’s all about him, that the SGI isn’t all about him, what is it saying?!
In this whole part, this whole founding presidents part, it doesn't say anything about the Lotus Sutra.
“The Objectives. This Organization shall have as its objective the propagation of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism throughout the world, expounding its teachings, conducting ceremonies and functions. Based on the true meaning of the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin, it shall strive to deepen and establish the faith of its members, aiming to support the attainment of the human revolution of each individual, and to contribute fundamentally to the realization of world peace and the cultural flourishing of humankind.”
So, “propagation of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism.” Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism is based on the Lotus Sutra. If you're going to propagate this, his Buddhism, the way he taught it, then reading the Lotus Sutra should be the foundation of the practice of the SGI. It is not. Therefore, you're not practicing Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism. You’re practicing Daisaku Ikedaism. I'm going to repeat that. According to the constitution of the SGI, the organization’s objective is “the propagation of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism throughout the world.” Nichiren repeatedly advised those followers of his who could read to read the Lotus Sutra. He quoted the Lotus Sutra often and said to read it. So did the Buddha in the Lotus Sutra. That should be the foundation of the SGI. That is the opposite of what the SGI teaches. Because you’re relying on a person, Daisaku Ikeda, not on the Law, the sutras.
If you did what the Lotus Sutra said, you would be reading the Lotus Sutra itself, not little snippets in Daisaku Ikeda’s writings. And you would be reading Nichiren’s writings. Those would be the foundation of your teachings, not the World Tribune and Living Buddhism all by themselves. Every member would have the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren's writings to rely on. Copies of them would be their basic reading material. That’s not what’s happening. That’s why I say the organization is slanderous. And I hope I’ve provided you enough proof that it is.
And what Nichiren urged people who followed slanderous schools of Buddhism to do during his age is to leave them. So I’m following his example. And because of him doing that, he was hounded his whole life. People didn’t like what he was saying. You don’t like what I’m saying. You’re telling me I’m wrong. You’re defending the SGI. And Daisaku Ikeda. When I read the “Encouraging Devotion” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, I feel like it’s describing my behavior, not yours. That my behavior aligns with what the Bodhisattva’s vowed to do in that chapter, and yours doesn’t. Because I’m standing up for the Lotus Sutra. And you’re standing up for Daisaku Ikeda.
Lotus Sutra Study Guide
I created a study guide that contains Lotus Sutra chapters and concepts that Nichiren emphasized. Download it here.
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
“Devotion to the Wonderful Law of the Lotus Flower Teaching of the Buddha”
Hear Deva Pramal, Mitten, and Manose chanting:
Read The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Chapters, Translated by Burton Watson (2009), Nichiren’s writings, and the Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism at NichirenLibrary.org.
Connect
lotussutrabuddhism@substack.com
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