Master - Apprentice - Successor

BUILDING OUR OWN FUTURE

Do you know the name of this famous church?  It’s the Sagrada Família by Gaudi.  How long do you think it took to build?  Would you be surprised to know it’s still not finished! 

Initially it was someone else’s project and was started in 1882, but a year later Gaudi took over and improved the design.  When he died 45 years later it was still only 25% finished, and it isn’t expected to be completed until 2026!

Since his death, senior architects and project managers have overseen the continuation of this construction in accordance with Gaudi’s designs, and, even after a fire destroyed the plans during World War 2, his successors managed to redraw the designs from memory.

New and Old Construction

This cathedral is a very ambitious project which is one of the reasons it has taking so long, and without funding from the government, the speed of construction is dependent on the voluntary donations of visitors to the cathedral and private individuals.

But, whereas this cathedral could well have been left as an unfinished monument to Gaudi and remained 25% complete, the spirit of Gaudi’s apprentices, and their successors, to fulfil their mentor’s vision has maintained the momentum of construction.

THIS is the spirit of July 3^rd. 

MAKING A VOW

July 3^rd is not just about how great Mr. Makiguchi, Josei Toda or President Ikeda are as individuals, but it’s about recognizing their shared determination to see Buddhism spread throughout Japan and the world. 

July 3^rd 1944 was the day that Josei Toda, the second president of the Soka Gakkai, was released from prison and on his way home he saw the state of Tokyo at that time – a city that had been bombed with many people suffering.  That evening he sat before his Gohonzon and vowed:

“Gohonzon and Nichiren Daishonin!  I, Josei Toda, swear to work to achieve kosen-rufu”

But making a vow for kosen-rufu is not exclusive to the Soka Gakkai, it originates with, and is a continuation of, the vows of Shakyamuni and Nichiren Daishonin.

In the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni talks about why buddhas appear in the world:

“The buddhas, the world-honoured ones, wish to open the door of buddha wisdom to all living beings, to allow them to attain purity.  This is why they appear in the world.”  (LSOC2, 64)

He mentions his own vows:

“Shariputra, you should know that at the start I took a vow hoping to make all persons equal to me, without distinction between us.” (LSOC2, 70)

“At all times I think to myself: How can I cause living beings to gain entry into the unsurpassed way and quickly acquire the body of a buddha?”  (LSOC16, 273)

And he asks us to do the same:

“Now I entrust it to you.  You must single-mindedly propagate this Law abroad, causing its benefits to spread far and wide. … You must accept, uphold, read, recite, and broadly propagate this Law, causing all living beings everywhere to hear and understand it.”  (LSOC22, 319)

“After I have passed into extinction, who can guard and uphold, read and recite this sutra?  Now in the presence of the Buddha let him come forward and speak his vow” (LSOC11, 217)

Nichiren began his own spiritual journey of enlightenment by making a vow to become the wisest person in Japan, and later, after nearly being beheaded at Tatsunokuchi Beach, he declared his great vow in “The Opening of the Eyes”:

“This I will state.  Let the gods forsake me.  Let all persecutions assail me.  Still I will give my life for the sake of the Law”  (WND-1, p280)

“Here I will make a great vow.  Though I might be offered the rulership of Japan if I would abandon the Lotus Sutra, accept the teachings of the Meditation Sutra, and look forward to rebirth in the Pure Land, though I might be told that my father and mother will have their heads cut off if I do not recite the Nembutsu – whatever obstacles I might encounter, so long as persons of wisdom do not prove my teachings to be false, I will never yield!  All other troubles are no more to me than dust before the wind.  I will be the pillar of Japan.  I will be the eyes of Japan.  I will be the great ship of Japan.  This is my vow, and I will never forsake it!”  (WND-1, p280)

In another letter he warns followers of Shakyamuni’s earlier teachings of the vow of a bodhisattva:

 “It is the nature of bodhisattvas to put off their own nirvana until they fulfil the vow to save all others.  If persons of the two vehicles cannot attain Buddhahood, then how can bodhisattvas fulfil their vow to save all people?  With this vow unfulfilled, they too cannot attain Buddhahood.” (WND-2, 278)

And in two other letters, he encourages his followers to make a great vow:

“Now you should make a great vow and pray for your next life”  (WND-1, p626)

“My wish is that all my disciples make a great vow” (WND-1, p1002)

BUILDING OUR OWN FUTURE

We are the architects of our own future - a future that shines with Shakyamuni and Nichiren’s vision of kosen-rufu and based on the foundation of a great vow to reveal our Buddhahood and to teach others to reveal their Buddhahood.

Shakyamuni had the vision of kosen-rufu when he awoke to the ultimate reality of life and all phenomena and explained that the Lotus Sutra should be taught far and wide, but many people couldn’t see his idea clearly.

Nichiren Daishonin grasped the meaning of the Lotus Sutra and, as well as ensuring he taught others how great it was, he created a blueprint for a daily practice that made The Lotus Sutra more accessible to everyday people.

Seven hundred years later, Mr. Makiguchi, Josei Toda and President Ikeda are the project managers of kosen-rufu within the Soka Gakkai.  Times may have changed, but the way to spread this Buddhism, one-to-one with our friends and by shining in our daily lives within our families, workplaces and communities is the same.

THE FOUNDATION OF THE S.G.I.

Mr. Makiguchi started the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai and established an organisation of 3000 members around the Tokyo area.

After the war, Josei Toda, stood alone, but tried to gather some of these former members together to share his great vow and his vision of kosen rufu.  And, through his encouragement, organisation and faith spread Nichiren Buddhism throughout Japan with a total of 800,000 households before he died.

President Ikeda has gone on to build upon this by continuing to inspire members in Japan and overseas to enable the SGI to be established and to expand through 193 countries.

THE SPIRIT OF JULY 3

We are now entrusted with the spread of Buddhism within our own countries and communities, and on July 3^rd – “Mentor-Disciple Day” - we are the ones that make a vow to stand up and share Nichiren Buddhism with others.  The great vow of a single individual committed to advancing kosen-rufu with the same passion, intention and spirit as Shakyamuni, Nichiren Daishonin and the three founding presidents of the SGI.

Shakyamuni's Shakubuku Style

In one of my previous posts “The Teacher of the Law” I looked at the various stages of the Buddha’s teachings and how he chose to break down the true aspect of all phenomena into smaller stages to fulfil his vow “to make all persons equal to [him], without any distinction between us” (The Lotus Sutra & Its Opening and Closing Sutras (2000), p70).  Over the last few posts I’ve looked at some of these earlier practices, but this time we continue with Shakyamuni’s journey and how he introduced this path to enlightenment to his first followers.  These early teachings (including the Pali Canon) are part of the Agama Period which Shakyamuni taught for 12 years and formed the basis of the Therevadan and Vinaya schools of Buddhism.

After becoming enlightened and thinking through how he could teach this wisdom to others, Shakyamuni returned to Varanasi and Deer Park to reveal the first stage of the Mystic Law to the five ascetics that he had practiced with before.	Æ	When we awaken to the wonder of the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra, we want to share this joy and knowledge with the people around us that we know, such as our friends, family, classmates, etc.
At first, they weren’t very excited to see him and doubted his enlightenment because he had previously turned his back on these austere practices.	Æ	The people we talk to may not initially be interested in what we have to say and may even be disparaging of our faith.
But when they noticed his confident attitude and his demeanour, they realised that there was something different about their old friend and wanted to know what his secret was.	Æ	Often it’s our attitude and behaviour as Buddhists, especially how we react when facing sickness, challenges and negativity in our lives, which make people want to know more about our practice.
Hearing these early teachings, they decided to become followers of Shakyamuni and the Buddhist Order was born.  Shakyamuni’s first disciples is thought to have been Ajnata Kaudinya.	Æ	The people we introduce to Nichiren Buddhism may initially show an interest and decide to come along to a discussion meeting, but after a period of study and practice they may decide to join our Buddhist Order – the SGI.

Guidelines For Propagation

In “Nembutsu Practitioners Destined For Hell”, Nichiren writes “… those who hope to spread the teachings of the Buddha must take into consideration certain factors, namely, the teaching to be spread, the capacity of the people, the time, the country, and the sequence in which the teachings are propagated.”  (WND-2, p297)

These five factors are also referred to as the five guides and explain the things we need to think about when telling others about Nichiren Buddhism and the Lotus Sutra.

The first consideration is the correctness of the teachings, and the fact that according to Shakyamuni himself, he waited until the people were ready to hear his complete and supreme understanding of the realities of life and death in the Lotus Sutra.  Even in the Lotus Sutra he explains that it is a difficult teaching to hear, but until that time he led people to approximate understandings of this wisdom in the best way he could based on their capabilities.

This brings us to the second guideline we need to consider which is people’s ability to understand the teachings and, like Shakyamuni, we need to think about how we can best lead people to understand the wisdom of The Lotus Sutra.  Fortunately, along with studying the Lotus Sutra and the Gosho, Nichiren revealed that the way to achieve happiness in this lifetime was to chant "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo".  This is often our starting point when introducing people to the practice, but some people may be more open to the logical aspect of Nichiren Buddhism, such as the concepts of cause and effect, the ten worlds, etc.

The third factor is the time and recognizing that what had been taught in the past (the provisional teachings) has been replaced, or updated, by the eternal (the true teachings).  i.e. the Lotus Sutra surpassed and replaced the earlier teachings.  The earlier teachings may still be of interest from a historic point of view which allows us to see the progression in the Shakyamuni's teachings, and it may still give comfort to the followers who still practice such a way, but it is the true teachings detailing the philosophy and practice of the Lotus Sutra, which we should be propagating today.

In “Nembutsu and the Hell of Incessant Suffering”, Nichiren mentions that “The four volumes that make up [the Pure Land’s] three sutras do not in any way represent the true intention of Shakyamuni Buddha, nor do they represent the true reason for which the Buddhas of the three existences of past, present, and future make their appearance in the world. … They are, for example, like the scaffold that one erects when one is building a tower.  The Nembutsu is the scaffold, while the Lotus Sutra is the treasure tower. … Those who persistently cling to the Nembutsu after the Lotus Sutra has been preached are thus like persons who, after the tower has been erected, cling to the scaffold and make no use of the tower.  How could they fail to be guilty of going against the builder’s wishes?”  (WND-2, p25)

The fourth factor recognizes the historical and cultural situation that exists in the country where you are propagating, such as freedom of religion laws and other legislation which may affect shakubuku. 

And the fifth is an understanding of the kind of things that have already been propagated within the country so far, i.e. what is the current state of religion in that country?  What schools of Buddhism are people familiar with?  Do we need to radically change people’s idea of Buddhism as a contemplative solitary pursuit for enlightenment and show them that it can be a relevant philosophy and practise for the 21^st century and beyond?  Do we need to logically correct people’s attachments to an earlier Buddhist teaching and lead them to the Lotus Sutra?  Do we live in a country that is typically cynical of religion or one that embraces any and all religions?

 
When we propagate Nichiren Buddhism, we are like doctors prescribing the best medicine to enable people to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime with the glorious side effect of ensuring the peace of the land (and the world).  Concerning this point, Nichiren writes, “It is the rule in propagating Buddhism that one must always learn the nature of the teachings that have already spread.  To illustrate, when giving medicine to a sick person, one should know what kind of medicine was administered before.”  (Encouragement To A Sick Person, WND-1, p80)

What is Kosen Rufu?

Now I Entrust It To You

I used to have a very vague idea of what kosen-rufu was and just had some image of world peace. During kosen-rufu gongyo (an hour of daimoku for “kosen rufu” on the first Sunday of the month in the UK) I would chant "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo" and think about politicians hugging or people of all different nations holding hands in a circle and kids playing without a care in the world.

 

2011 was a terrible year for news and many people were being blown all over the place between Hell and Rapture in response to the news and events around the world on a nightly basis. The riots across London in August made people feel that life just didn’t seem worth living. They thought what the hell is going on. And at times, even I wondered if the SGI really could make a difference in people’s lives and deal with problems on this scale?

 

A few days later the broom brigade came out. People had gathered together through an internet campaign to clean up the streets. Life seemed much brighter and people started to feel more hopefully about the future. They realized, as did I. that people could make a difference within their communities. We can pick up a broom. We can volunteer to help with various causes. We can make donations to relief funds and charities. All of these activities can make a difference in our communities and make us feel better, but they are often short term fixes. We need long-term solutions to the problems in our communities and around the world. It was then that I really started thinking about the importance of kosen-rufu. I had a look online and found this quote by President Ikeda:

 

“For the members of the SGI, kosen-rufu means the ceaseless effort to enhance the value of human dignity, to awaken all people to a sense of their limitless worth and potential.”

I know it’s impossible for me to awaken ALL people to their limitless worth and potential, but I can influence the people around me.

We all know the phrase charity begins at home and the same is true of kosen-rufu. Kosen-rufu begins with us. It’s the example we set in our lives. The way we shine in our families, workplaces, schools and communities. It’s treating the people around us with respect and relating to them as individuals who possess the same potential to reveal their Buddhahood that we do. We smile warmly at the people we meet, and say a few words of greeting to a neighbour. This shared humanity creates value in our communities. Other people start to feel good about themselves and this good feeling will spread through the lives of the people they come into contact with as well.

People will pick up that we have something different about us. We seem to flow through life, riding the waves of the obstacles that come up. It doesn’t mean we don’t suffer at the break up of a relationship, the death of a loved one, being made redundant, etc. Everyone experiences loss in their lives, but it’s the positive way we deal with it and the growth in our personal development and faith that makes us shine.

 

In Chapter 22 of the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni says “Now I entrust it to you. You must accept, uphold, recite and broadly propagate this Law”. Joining the SGI and receiving our Gohonzon is like getting married and it’s a lifetime, eternal commitment. By receiving our Gohonzon we are promising to accept, uphold, recite and broadly propagate the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra in accordance with the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin to fulfil our vows as Votaries of the Lotus Sutra. We are committing our lives to the Mystic Law, our individual human revolution, shakubuku and kosen rufu.

 

KOSEN RUFU = HUMAN REVOLUTION + SHAKUBUKU

Kosen rufu needs both of these. There’s no point improving ourselves if we don’t also tell other people how to tap into the unlimited potential in their own lives. It doesn’t matter how good the teaching is, if we decide to keep it to ourselves. Similarly, there’s no point in telling others about our faith if we all decide to accept our own fundamental darkness and flaws, settling for anything less than being the best we can be. We need to work on our own weaknesses to become outstanding members of society and teach people about Nichiren Buddhism while we are doing it.

Changing Society One Person At A Time

How do societies change? They change because people change. As people change they change the way they vote, the way they relate to others and the things that are important to them. John F Kennedy said, “Our problems are manmade – therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants.”

 

Our mission as Bodhisattvas of the Earth is to rise up and help ourselves, and other people, to be as big as they want to be. To help them awaken their fundamental enlightenment, improving their lives and leading them to a state of absolute happiness. And then to join us in our mission to spread the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Buddhism far and wide.

You don’t need to be scared of talking to others. Just do your best to teach them about the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra and how to achieve happiness in their lives. If people are encouraged to embrace the faith straight away that’s great. But, even if they don’t, what’s important is that you have stirred up their life. You have spoken to their Buddha nature and planted a seed of compassionate wisdom and absolute joy in their lives. When they are ready for it to grow, it will be there waiting. They may not appreciate it at the time, but talking to them about Buddhism will be the greatest gift they will ever receive.

To be honest, we have no idea how far-reaching our words could be. President Ikeda was invited to his first meeting by an old school friend. I don’t know where that school friend is today, but we can clearly see the effects of his shakubuku on our organisation. All of President Ikeda’s achievements over the last 60 years came about because a friend invited him to a discussion meeting. When we talk to our friends and invite them to our meetings we have no idea how far this invitation could take them personally or to what extent it could benefit society.

2012 has had its share of positive news, such as the London Olympics and the Queen's Jubilee, but there has also been a fair share of negative news as well -floods, hurricanes, corporate tax evasion, predatory paedophiles, a new war bubbling under in the Middle East, etc. As depressing as these news stories can be, as Nichiren Buddhists we are filled with hope.

This practise is not about having no reaction to bad news and disasters, it’s about dealing with those emotions in the higher life states of learning, realization, bodhisattva and Buddhahood. It’s about focussing our emotions on taking action and bringing about real lasting results in society by changing one person at a time.

 

WE CAN DO THAT. WE CAN TALK TO ONE PERSON. AND THEN WE CAN TALK TO ANOTHER. AND ANOTHER …

 

We are not helpless. Kosen-rufu is about knowing we can do something. We can talk to people about our faith. We can change people’s attitudes, one by one. Together, we can change our communities. We can change our cities. We can change our country. We can change the world.

Kosen-rufu is going on right now. It’s not a state of world peace in a hundred years time. It’s not some fuzzy image of people all over the world holding hands or politicians hugging. It’s the clear, bright flow of Shakyamuni’s wisdom (as revealed in the Lotus Sutra) in our lives today. Kosen-rufu IS the life-force of Nichiren Buddhism.

 

“Kosen-rufu is not merely a campaign for expanding the membership of the Soka Gakkai. It is the process whereby people who have changed their own lives through human revolution, influence their families, their local community and ultimately the nation. … Soka Gakkai members who have revolutionised their own lives, will display their abilities in their daily activities creating great waves. The waves will gradually form a new tide surging towards the next century contributing greatly to the eventual change in the destiny of all humankind.”(The Human Revolution: Vol. 9, p120)

Einstein and Hitler

Hitler and the Psychiatrist

During World War I, the stressful conditions on the frontline (disease, death, explosions) took their toll on some people who suffered from a nervous breakdown called 'shell shock'.  This breakdown manifested itself in many different ways, but one of the symptoms was called 'hysterical blindness'.

Adolf Hitler suffered from this type of "blindness" which he thought was caused by a mustard gas attack, but tests showed there was no physical reason to explain his blindness and he was sent to see a psychiatrist called Dr. Forster.  After weeks of treatment with no success, the psychiatrist decided to issue Hitler with a challenge to try and make him snap out of this state.   Dr. Forster told Hitler that he believed he was born with a great destiny.  His mission was to save the German race and if he really focussed on this destiny, he'd be able to see a chair in the corner of the room.  Hitler focussed all of his thoughts on this mission and slowly the chair in the corner of the room came into focus and his sight was restored.

From that moment on, Hitler had a steadfast belief in his destiny.  Before meeting that psychiatrist he was just an ordinary soldier with no aspirations or leadership potential, but his newfound belief in his great mission caused him to lead a country into a direction that shaped the entire world both at that time and for generations to come.

As a footnote to this incident, Hitler later had Dr. Forster killed to try and hide this event that became the turning point in his life.

Einstein's Compass

When he was four, Albert Einstein was sick in bed, and his father gave him a compass to play with to occupy some time.  The compass fascinated him and he couldn't understand why no matter which way he turned it, the needle kept pointing in the same direction.  His previous experience was that things move when you move them and this unseen force controlling the needle baffled him.


This need to understand movement and motion remained with him throughout his life and later he went on to perform experiments and write papers that revolutionised scientific thinking.  Many of his findings, are still instrumental in Atomic and Quantum sciences today, and there are countless inventions and products that are either directly or indirectly due to the findings of Einstein.

"One Stone Will Create A Thousand Ripples"

In both of these cases, we can see that the smallest of actions by one person (Dr. Forster's words of encouragement and Einstein's father's gift of a compass) can have an influence far beyond what you may think is possible. 

When we talk to people about Nichiren Buddhism or treat people with compassion (or even harshly)we have no idea how we may affect their future lives or the lives of countless others.  Every action we take (cause) plants a seed of effect in our lives and the lives of the people we interact with, which will manifest itself in any of a thousand ways in the present or the distant future. 

The two examples of Hitler and Einstein come from "The Winner's Bible" by Dr. Kerry Spackman