Myogyoji News, Jan/Feb 1994
By Reverend Shoshin Kawabe, Myogyoji temple, West Chicago
Nichiren Daishonin states in the " True Object of Worship For Attaining Buddhahood," concerning recitation of the Sutra:
"There is doubt that we should not read the provisional teaching because of my sentence in the 'True Object of Worship'. This is a wrong view. As a result, I sometimes wrote that you must discard the provisional gate. The provisional gate [I referred to] is not the provisional teaching [of the Hoben chapter of Gongyo] we now read. I refuted the provisional teaching of the Mt. Hiei Tendai sect as a teaching whose time is past. If you practice according to T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo in the Latter Day of the Law, it is like using last year's calendar." (Gosho Zenshu, p. 972)
Good morning. Today is the last Oko lecture for this year and I am very glad to see all the members who have come to express their sincere gratitude to Nichiren Daishonin. I have respectfully offered your gokuyo to the Gohonzon and I prayed for the peace and happiness of you all. I also prayed for your pure faith and good health and continued appreciation to the Gohonzon.
Today I would like to conclude my lecture series on "Gohonzon and Gongyo" However, I would like to offer a piece of advice before I start on that subject. There are some members who think, "I love theory!" or "I'm more of a theorist." but in fact they prefer their own theories to those of the Daishonin's Buddhism. They only accept their own ideas and if Buddhism doesn't agree with their own ideas they can't accept it. This is not real faith to practice True Buddhism. They are full of conceit. Please think about this. Why do people fall into unhappiness and experience mental struggle and suffering? The answer is because they base their human activity on superficial knowledge without realizing that this is the root of all evil in Buddhism.
This is exactly the law of cause and effect. The effect of their suffering is from the activity of their past causes based on shallow understanding. Most people never notice this simple fact. This is the reason that we have to practice as well as we can in order to overcome all suffering.
We must be careful, however, not to keep our own arbitrary thinking about this Buddhism. This is a big mistake. this is the basis of thinking of the SGI's slander today. The Daishonin cautions against this in "The Fourteen Slanders":
Arrogance; negligence; arbitrary, egotistical judgements; shallow, self-satisfied understanding; attachment to earthly desires; lack of seeking spirit...
We must learn by focusing our attention on True Buddhism's point of view, not just by holding to our own point of view by independent study.
There is a commonly held idea that "every religion is the same." This is one of the most popular ways of making a mistake in learning True Buddhism. If you think in this way, you will never be able to solve the problems of life. For, in fact, the various religions, Christianity or Islam, and their founders, would never say that the other's religion is a good one.
Today's society tends to view all religions as equally good and all religious teachings as basically having the same message. These points of view may be common sense for today's lifestyle but it is a great misunderstanding, even ignorant and irresponsible, to consider the different religions in this way. The focus of religious leaders who do so is one of trying to make good relationships with each other and consequently they betray their own teachings.
Originally, each religion and sect asserted their own religious justice and truth. But truth doesn't have a plural number because truth means that there is only one truth. Nichiren Daishonin states in the Gosho, "Repaying Debts of Gratitude":
"When we look at the world, we find each of the various
seas saying, "we are the one,we are the one!" But within a nation,
there can be only one man who is sovereign. If two men try to be sovereign,
the county will know no peace. Likewise, if one house has two masters,
it will surely face destruction. Must it not be the same with the sutras?
Among the various sutras, there must be one which is the monarch of all.
Yet the ten sects and seven sects I have mentioned all argue with each
other over which of the sutras it is and can reach no consensus. It is
as though seven men or ten men were all trying to be the monarch of a single
nation, thus keeping the populace in constant turmoil.
"Wondering how to resolve this dilemma, I made a vow. I decided
that I would not heed the claims of these eight or ten sects, but would
do as the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai did and let the sutras themselves be
my sole teacher, in this way determining which of the various teachings
of the Buddha's lifetime are superior and which are inferior. With this
in mind, I began to read through all the sutras. In a scripture called
the Nirvana Sutra, the Buddha say's. "Rely on the Law and not upon
persons." Relying on the Law here means relying on the various sutras.
Not relying upon persons means not relying on persons other than the Buddha,
such as Bodhisattvas Fugen and Monjushiri or the various Buddhist teachers
I have enumerated earlier. If we are to believe these dying words of the
Buddha, we must conclude that the Lotus Sutra is the only bright mirror
we should have, and that through it we can understand the heart of all
sutras." (MWND, Vol. 4, p, 176)
As you see, there is only one True Law. We must spread this true teaching and practice from person to person. Having true faith and getting others to practice is called shakubuku. The basic spirit of shakubuku is "The refutation of heretical or erroneous views and the elucidation of right views or teachings." So that if you prove the truth of another religious sect at the same time, thus isn't real shakubuku activity. Please etch this deeply in your memory or you will make mistakes in your life's training in this Buddhism and faith. With this understanding, I'm going to give today's sermon.
As you know, the SGI made their own changes in the silent prayers in the Sutra Book and also made an imitation (forged) Gohonzon to serve the SGI members. The SGI was warned against such acts and committing such sins against True Buddhism. These acts are called "inherently wrong views" which is a statement from today's opening Gosho. I tell you this upfront, before my sermon. The result of all this is that the SGI revealed their true character; they think of Gongyo as only a ceremony and of the Gohonzon as only an object. No matter how the SGI pretends to practice Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism with their own forged Gohonzons, they will never be able to attain Buddhahood.
Today I'm going to talk about Gongyo. The Daishonin states in "The Hoben And Juryo Chapters":
"...Among the entire twenty-eight chapters, the Hoben and the Juryo Chapters are particularly outstanding.The remaining chapters are all in a sense the branches and leaves of these two chapters.
"Therefore, for your regular recitation, I recommend that you practice reading the prose section of the Hoben and Juryo chapters. In addition, it might be well if you wrote out separate copies of these sections. The remaining twenty-six chapters are like the shadows that accompany a form or the value inherent in a jewel. If you recite the Juryo and Hoben chapters, then the remaining chapters will naturally be included even though you do not recite them." (MWND, Vol. 6, p. 10)
The 26th High priest, Nichikan Shonin, wrote about gongyo in much greater depth than I can present here in his Mappo So Sho (Teachings for the Latter Day). Nichiren Daishonin's Gongyo is chanting the Hoben and Juryo chapters and chanting daimoku.
Nichiren Daishonin states in "Establishing The Four Bodhisattvas As The Object Of Worship":
"Those who call themselves my disciples and practice the Lotus Sutra should all practice as I do." (MWND, Vol. 3, p. 298)
This is the reason we chant the Hoben and Juryo chapters and daimoku every morning and evening. In order to attain Buddhahood, we must do the Buddhist training "as a disciple of Nichiren." Sometimes a member asks, "Did the Daishonin do the whole Gongyo that we recite today?" as a way of justifying a deviation in practice based on the quotation from the "Establishing The Four Bodhisattvas As The Object Of Worship" Gosho. Honestly, I don't know exactly what kind of gongyo was recited back in the Kamakura era. Since this is only a monthly sermon and not a study course, this is all I will say about our present gongyo right now. The Gosho, however, can give us greater understanding of the different prayers we recite.
"The one vehicle of Myoho-renge-kyo is the ultimate teaching by which all Buddhas become enlightened, and it is the food that empowers the Buddhist gods." (GZ, p. 171)
This is the significance of the first prayer of gongyo.
"... The first offered himself as food to a demon.
The second sold his own blood and marrow. the third burned his arms, and
the fourth was ready to part with his head. Common mortals in the Latter
Day, however, though receiving the benefits of the three treasures, completely
neglect to repay them. How, then, can they attain the Buddha Way?"
(MWND, Vol. 5, p. 12)
This is the significance for the second and third prayers.
"'Emerging from the earth' signifies that at the time of kosen rufu everyone will endeavor to be a disciple of the Lotus Sutra."(GZ, p. 834)
This is the significance of the fourth prayer.
"By all means, offer devoted prayers for your [deceased] husband." (MWND, Vol. 2, p. 243)
This is the significance of the fifth prayer.
There are many such references thai give significance for the practice of doing the various prayers of gongyo. When we read the words of the Gosho, however, we must remember that we that have three distinctive features: word, meaning and spirit. Please do not become attached to learning only the words or you will not gain benefit for your effort. If you consider the spirit, I think you will realize that our gongyo is the same as the Daishonin's.
You must not do gongyo as a mere empty formality. This is another way of saying, "Don't make up your own theories on Buddhism."
In the "Reply To Hoshina Goro Taro", the Daishonin states:
"It can be neither discerned with one's mortal eyes nor clarified with one's shallow wisdom. One should use the sutras as his eyes and give precedence to the wisdom of the Buddha." (MWND, Vol. 4, p. 42)
We have always had the standard of chanting the Hoben and Juryo chapters for doing gongyo, but there have been changes during its long history. However, the High Priest teaches us everything correctly according to each time period. Because the high Priest has the Heritage of the Law from Nichiren Daishonin, it is important that we learn from him in our Buddhist training.
The Daishonin stated in the Hyaku Rokka Sho (The Writing of One Hundred Six Articles):
"We must respect Nikko and all successive High Priests as in my lifetime."
Please keep this passage deeply ingrained in your heart.
The Gohonzon is like the mirror which reflects our own life. Please try to do your practice, keep a gentle mind and really concentrate on the Gohonzon when you chant daimoku and gongyo to the best of your ability. You must strive for kyochi myogyo (fusion of subjective wisdom and objective reality) and, although you can't see it, your Buddhahood will appear and you will experience a great power and vitality that cannot be expressed in words. This should be the source of your power to overcome suffering and continue with your practice. But you will never have this experience if you don't keep an honest mind while doing your practice and gongyo.
The "True Cause For Attaining Buddhahood" Gosho states the following:
"Believing in the True Buddha's enlightened words
and chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo have the significance of accomplishing
the Buddha's life and revealing the absolute principle of eternal truth."
(GZ, p. 872)
The attainment of Buddhahood is not a final state but an on-going process. Maybe you will have difficulty accepting this, but please don't practice another religion. There is only one teaching that we must be devoted to and that is Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism. When we do gongyo, daimoku and shakubuku, this Buddhist training is the cause to actualize the state of Buddhahood. Please make sure to have a pure mind when you chant to the Gohonzon and never harbor a suspicious feeling when you are going to pray to the Gohonzon.
I'll conclude today's sermon by saying that I greatly appreciate you who support and protect Myogyoji Temple. I sincerely pray to the Gohonzon for your peace and happiness and for the success of the two hour daily shodai that begins in 1994. Thank you.
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