This isn't the first time I've written about the Mentor-Disciple Relationship but today I wanted to focus on WHY the SGI recognize July 3rd as Mentor-Disciple Day and what it signifies.To check out previous posts on the mentor-disciple relationship go to mentor-disciple-day, part iv of leaders-of-the-pack and oneness-of-mentor-and-disciple or check out this summary of those previous posts:
1.
The
mentor-disciple relationship has its basis in the Emerging from the Earth
chapter of the Lotus Sutra when the Bodhisattvas of the Earth (the disciples)
rise up and vow to Shakyamuni (the mentor) to spread the teachings of the Lotus
Sutra.
2.
According
to Nichiren Daishonin, it’s our ties of karma that have destined us to
become his disciple and according to the Lotus Sutra we will constantly be
reborn in company with our teachers. (The
Ultimate Law of Life, WND-1, p217)
3.
In the Nirvana Sutra we are warned to "follow the Law not the person". Chanting allows us to awaken our Buddha wisdom and
open our karmic ties to “see” the true nature of potential teachers and
find a teacher who is following the Law (practising Nichiren Buddhism correctly)
in their own lives.
4.
President Ikeda is not our God or an object of
worship, but a lay believer of Nichiren Buddhism and a Bodhisattva of the
Earth. Many SGI members have a deep
respect and admiration for him and feel a deep gratitude towards him, based on
his role as a spiritual advisor and as an inspirational role-model in faith.
5. The ONENESS of the mentor-disciple relationship is not about doing what we are told by our mentor, but taking responsibility for our lives, making decisions and practising Buddhism with the same intent, determination and purpose as our mentor.
So what is the significance of July 3rd as Mentor-Disciple Day in the SGI? Do we need a special day to reflect on this relationship? Shouldn't we be giving thanks and expressing our gratitude to Shakyamuni, Nichiren Daishonin and our present mentor, Daisaku Ikeda, more frequently than once a year? Well obviously we do, because we recite two of the most important sections from Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra twice a day and also express our gratitude and appreciation to our significant mentors in our twice daily prayers.
Some other Nichiren Buddhist schools seem to focus on the "mentor" part of Mentor-Disciple Day and see it as yet another example of how SGI members love to idolise President Ikeda and raise him even higher on his pedestal, but this couldn't be further from the truth.
So what did happen today to make this a significant day in the SGI calendar? During World War 2, the military government had demanded that all religions enshrine, and pray to, a Shinto talisman to show their support for the state religion. At that time the Nichiren Shoshu school compromised their faith by acquiescing to the military and government pressure, and many of the founding members of the Soka Gakkai had turned their back on their faith for fear of persecution. Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and his disciple Josei Toda however, refused to compromise their faith in Nichiren Buddhism and were sent to prison.
Mr. Makiguchi died in prison for his beliefs on 18 November 1944, but the following year Josei Toda was released from Toyotama Prison on 3rd July. After making his way home and witnessing the devastation of Japan, he knelt before his Gohonzon and cried out "Gohonzon and Nichiren Daishonin! I, Josei Toda swear to work to achieve kosen-rufu" (Human Revolution: Volume 1, p27).
Consequently, Mentor-Disciple Day is a time to remember Josei Toda's vow to the Gohonzon and Nichiren Daishonin to advance kosen-rufu, and a celebration of his determination to rebuild the Soka Gakkai and continue the sincere efforts of his mentor Tsunesaburo Makiguchi to awaken people to the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra.
It is this that SGI members honour on July 3rd, and throughout the month of July, by reaffirming our own determinations to stand up as Bodhisattvas of the Earth and embracing our commitment to advance kosen-rufu with the same sincerity and intention as our mentor, President Ikeda. Mentor-Disciple Day is an opportunity for us to renew the promises we made to Shakyamuni Buddha to propagate the Mystic Law in the "Emerging from the Earth" chapter of the Lotus Sutra.
In the Gosho "Flowering and Bearing Grain" Nichiren writes, "If a tree is deeply rooted, its branches and leaves will never wither. If the spring is inexhaustible, the stream will never run dry. Without wood, a fire will burn out. Without earth, plants will not grow. ... It is said that, if a teacher has a good disciple, both will gain the fruit of Buddhahood, but if a teacher fosters a bad disciple, both will fall into hell. If teacher and disciple are of different minds, they will never accomplish anything.” (WND-1, p909)
So ultimately, 3 July is a day when we can celebrate the strength we gain, and the benefit we receive, from this eternal bond of mentor and disciple. WE can build on the results of Josei Toda's propagation campaigns conducted with the same spirit as Mr. Makiguchi, and WE can build on the results of President Ikeda's worldwide growth of kosen-rufu conducted with the same spirit as Josei Toda, by carrying out OUR OWN actions for shakubuku and growth with the same intent, determination and spirit as President Ikeda, based on the solid foundation of the Mystic Law of Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra and the daimoku, wisdom and encouragement of Nichiren Daishonin.
Finally, I was thinking how nice it would be if anti-SGI groups and individuals took a moment to reflect on the debt of gratitude they might owe to President Ikeda instead of using Mentor-Disciple Day as another opportunity to criticise him and the SGI. I genuinely believe that the SGI is practising Nichiren Buddhism correctly and that President Ikeda has been a strong influence in the development of my own understanding of Buddhism, but even people who think their own school of Nichiren Buddhism is the correct one may owe a debt of gratitude to President Ikeda. You might now be a member of another Nichiren sect, or practice as an independent Nichiren Buddhists, but if you were introduced to Nichiren Buddhism by an SGI member, a former SGI member, or used to practise as an SGI member, you owe a debt of gratitude to President Ikeda for his worldwide advancement of kosen-rufu which has enabled you to encounter, and make a connection with, the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra.
** In July 2015 I posted an entry about the origins of the mentor/disciple relationship with Shakyamuni: http://nichirenbuddhist.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/mentor-disciple-origins-shakyamuni.html5. The ONENESS of the mentor-disciple relationship is not about doing what we are told by our mentor, but taking responsibility for our lives, making decisions and practising Buddhism with the same intent, determination and purpose as our mentor.
So what is the significance of July 3rd as Mentor-Disciple Day in the SGI? Do we need a special day to reflect on this relationship? Shouldn't we be giving thanks and expressing our gratitude to Shakyamuni, Nichiren Daishonin and our present mentor, Daisaku Ikeda, more frequently than once a year? Well obviously we do, because we recite two of the most important sections from Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra twice a day and also express our gratitude and appreciation to our significant mentors in our twice daily prayers.
Some other Nichiren Buddhist schools seem to focus on the "mentor" part of Mentor-Disciple Day and see it as yet another example of how SGI members love to idolise President Ikeda and raise him even higher on his pedestal, but this couldn't be further from the truth.
So what did happen today to make this a significant day in the SGI calendar? During World War 2, the military government had demanded that all religions enshrine, and pray to, a Shinto talisman to show their support for the state religion. At that time the Nichiren Shoshu school compromised their faith by acquiescing to the military and government pressure, and many of the founding members of the Soka Gakkai had turned their back on their faith for fear of persecution. Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and his disciple Josei Toda however, refused to compromise their faith in Nichiren Buddhism and were sent to prison.
Mr. Makiguchi died in prison for his beliefs on 18 November 1944, but the following year Josei Toda was released from Toyotama Prison on 3rd July. After making his way home and witnessing the devastation of Japan, he knelt before his Gohonzon and cried out "Gohonzon and Nichiren Daishonin! I, Josei Toda swear to work to achieve kosen-rufu" (Human Revolution: Volume 1, p27).
Consequently, Mentor-Disciple Day is a time to remember Josei Toda's vow to the Gohonzon and Nichiren Daishonin to advance kosen-rufu, and a celebration of his determination to rebuild the Soka Gakkai and continue the sincere efforts of his mentor Tsunesaburo Makiguchi to awaken people to the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra.
It is this that SGI members honour on July 3rd, and throughout the month of July, by reaffirming our own determinations to stand up as Bodhisattvas of the Earth and embracing our commitment to advance kosen-rufu with the same sincerity and intention as our mentor, President Ikeda. Mentor-Disciple Day is an opportunity for us to renew the promises we made to Shakyamuni Buddha to propagate the Mystic Law in the "Emerging from the Earth" chapter of the Lotus Sutra.
In the Gosho "Flowering and Bearing Grain" Nichiren writes, "If a tree is deeply rooted, its branches and leaves will never wither. If the spring is inexhaustible, the stream will never run dry. Without wood, a fire will burn out. Without earth, plants will not grow. ... It is said that, if a teacher has a good disciple, both will gain the fruit of Buddhahood, but if a teacher fosters a bad disciple, both will fall into hell. If teacher and disciple are of different minds, they will never accomplish anything.” (WND-1, p909)
So ultimately, 3 July is a day when we can celebrate the strength we gain, and the benefit we receive, from this eternal bond of mentor and disciple. WE can build on the results of Josei Toda's propagation campaigns conducted with the same spirit as Mr. Makiguchi, and WE can build on the results of President Ikeda's worldwide growth of kosen-rufu conducted with the same spirit as Josei Toda, by carrying out OUR OWN actions for shakubuku and growth with the same intent, determination and spirit as President Ikeda, based on the solid foundation of the Mystic Law of Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra and the daimoku, wisdom and encouragement of Nichiren Daishonin.
Finally, I was thinking how nice it would be if anti-SGI groups and individuals took a moment to reflect on the debt of gratitude they might owe to President Ikeda instead of using Mentor-Disciple Day as another opportunity to criticise him and the SGI. I genuinely believe that the SGI is practising Nichiren Buddhism correctly and that President Ikeda has been a strong influence in the development of my own understanding of Buddhism, but even people who think their own school of Nichiren Buddhism is the correct one may owe a debt of gratitude to President Ikeda. You might now be a member of another Nichiren sect, or practice as an independent Nichiren Buddhists, but if you were introduced to Nichiren Buddhism by an SGI member, a former SGI member, or used to practise as an SGI member, you owe a debt of gratitude to President Ikeda for his worldwide advancement of kosen-rufu which has enabled you to encounter, and make a connection with, the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra.
** In July 2014 I posted an entry about making a great vow and the spirit of Mentor-Disciple Day: http://nichirenbuddhist.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/building-our-own-future.html
** And there is more information on the ONENESS of Mentor and Disciple here: http://nichirenbuddhist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/oneness-of-mentor-and-disciple.html
