"So, black people, we got to protest…When the shit hits the fan, we’re going to get it real hard. So we need to start, you know, coming out to these things.”
I didn’t intend to turn this video into a Substack post. But time is of the essence. So I did. Here’s the transcript.
So Nichiren said, “Buddhism is like the body, and society like the shadow. When the body bends, so does the shadow" [“A Comparison of the Lotus and Other Sutras”]. And the Buddha taught that the Latter Day of the Law — which would begin 2,500 years after his passing and continue for 10,000 years or more — would be an age of “fear and evil” when the Bodhisattvas of the Earth would appear and spread the Lotus Sutra, a teaching of equality.
So that’s the age we’re in right now. And if you’re in the United States, what’s happening is that our democracy is being threatened. Democracies historically don’t survive the past 250 years. And then they break up. They crumble. So the United States is at the 250-year mark. [According to Politifact, the U.S. is the oldest democracy in the world.] And what happens when a democracy breaks up is it devolves into an autocracy, a dictatorship, something like that. And that’s what we’re witnessing in the United States.
So I really believe that my mission as a Bodhisattva of the Earth and as I, you know, I will do another presentation for Lotus Sutra Buddhism, my publication on Substack, regarding the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. But, I know I am a Bodhisattva of the Earth and I know that my mission at this time is to live the teaching of the Lotus Sutra and to, through my life, spread it — essentially, the teaching of never disparaging that Bodhisattva Never Disparaging embodied, the essence of the Lotus Sutra to not disparage yourself, to not disparage others.
I don’t have my voice because I went to a protest [on May 1, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio — part of the national May Day protests] and I was with the megaphone so I lost my voice.
So, anyway, the reason I’m on right now is to let people know that there are more protests. This is in line with Buddhism, Buddhism, and this beautiful concept that I want to… I would like to post about true cause and true effect. So the true cause, essentially, is our lives, the way we live. And the true effect of us living and being ourselves is [the attainment of Buddhahood [enlightenment]. And I’ll get more in depth; I’ll talk more in depth about that. But I just read it recently and it just blew my mind that the true cause for attaining enlightenment is being an ordinary human being.
So this is part of that. We got to fight this in the United States. And it’s happening all over the world. Democracies are being threatened. Countries are becoming autocracies. So in line with that, I’m going to share in the comments. Let’s see how I’m going to do this. I better just tell you [See protest dates and times below].
I went to today’s protest at West 25 and Market Square. There were three black people there, me and a young woman and a young man. So, black people, we got to protest because this is going to hit us hard. Everybody needs to get out there. We’re all needed, but black people, when the shit hits the fan, we’re going to get it real hard. So we need to start, you know, coming out to these things. I mean, come on. We’ve already got, you know, Mr. Garcia in that prison in El Salvador. It’s not actually a prison. It’s a place that they say that once you go there, you only come out in the casket. And President Trump has said he wants more people to go. The Republicans passed a bill so that now U.S. citizens born here can be arrested and detained and sent away, which is what Trump wanted. He said he would do that. [Correction: New Republic reports, “Republicans Kill Bill to Stop ICE from Deporting U.S. Citizens”].
I’m not going to go into it right now. But I just wanted to get this information out about the protest.
Whether we continue to exist as a democracy will be determined by what we do, me and you, right now. And I really hope young people will take the lead. That’s my prayer. That’s my determination, that our democracy will not fail. But this isn’t magical thinking. We all have to make that happen.
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
National Anti-Trump Protests May 1,2,3,4
Find one near you at indivisible.org and mobilize.us.
This is what's next in Greater Cleveland, Ohio
Friday, May 2
Mentor, Ohio: 10 am Eleanor B Garfield Park, 7967 Mentor Ave, Mentor OH 44060 Info
Saturday, May 3
Cleveland: 11 am Free Stamp, E. 9th & Lakeside Avenue East, Cle OH 44114 Info
Sunday, May 4
Chardon, OH: 12 pm Chardon Village Plaza (Marc’s)
Details are here:
https://coolcleveland.com/2025/04/may-day-national-day-of-action/
Free Lotus Sutra Study Guide
I’ve practiced Nichiren Buddhism for 38 years. During this time, I’ve lived Nichiren’s words: “Without practice and study, there can be no Buddhism.” I’ve created a Lotus Sutra study guide. It has sutra chapters and concepts in it that Nichiren emphasized.
Download the study guide 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
Quotes are from The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Chapters, Translated by Burton Watson (2009) and The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol 1. Free online versions of both, and the Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, are at NichirenLibrary.org.
Connect
lotussutrabuddhism@substack.com
Share this post