Over the past few years, I’ve written
about different aspects of the mentor-disciple relationship, and this year I
decided to represent the importance of this relationship through a dialogue
between a member and a district leader. Throughout this short series of dialogues, the MEMBER represents the doubts and concerns I’ve had about the mentor-disciple relationship over the years, and the DISTRICT LEADER represents my understanding of the mentor-disciple relationship today.
Dialogue
Between A District Leader And A Member .
[Daimoku comes to an end… “Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo.”]
DL: Thank you, that was
wonderful. I’m so glad we managed to get
together today. The Mentor-Disciple
relationship is such an essential part of our Buddhist practice and I wanted to
make time to answer your questions and deal with some of your concerns after last
week’s chapter study.
AM: Thanks, I really appreciate it. I guess my main question is that the Soka
Gakkai seems to be the only Buddhist group that seems to stress the mentor-disciple
relationship, so is it just an SGI thing or is it a Buddhist concept? Also, why does a practice that’s supposed to
be focused on human revolution and self-development encourage us to form an
attachment to a special person?
TRUE INTENT AND MISCONCEPTIONS
DL: Wow, those are two big
questions. I’ll try and cover the second
part later, but let’s have a look at the origin of the Mentor-Disciple
relationship first, because any Buddhist school that says it’s not based on the
spirit of mentor and disciple has already started to stray from Shakyamuni’s true
intention.
AM: How come?
DL: In the middle of the Lotus
Sutra, the assembled followers are shocked to learn that Shakyamuni is
entrusting this important teaching to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, but
Shakyamuni knows that it’s only these disciples from previous lifetimes that
truly understand his intent and share his vow “to make all people equal to
[him]” (Burton Watson, Lotus Sutra
(2009), LSOC2, p70)
AM: So our mentor-disciple relationship comes from the Lotus Sutra?
DL: That’s right. And in
Chapter 7, “The Parable of the Phantom City”, we are introduced to a Buddha
from the distant past called Great Universal Wisdom Excellence Thus Come One,
whose sixteen sons (including Shakyamuni in a previous existence) follow their
father’s example and transmit the same Lotus Sutra they were taught to awaken
other living beings. These sixteen
princes totally embrace this spirit of Mentor and Disciple. Later, after Shakyamuni Buddha entered
Nirvana, and in some cases even while he was still alive, most schools of
Buddhism started to deify him and set themselves the unattainable goal of
becoming celestial Buddhas in a long distant future lifetime. But, once we no longer view the Buddha as a
human, the path of mentor and disciple is broken. That’s why President Ikeda explains “The
highest offering to the Buddha is not to worship something reminiscent of the
Buddha. Rather it is to inherit the
Buddha’s spirit … as one’s own way of life [upholding] the philosophy that
everyone is a Buddha and tirelessly [striving] to save all from suffering” (“Buddhism
Day by Day”, p297)
AM: Did
Nichiren feel the same?
DL: Of course. As a disciple of Shakyamuni, he was dedicated
to clarifying the difference between the provisional and the true teaching of
the Buddha, showing that he understood the Buddha’s intent and mission to
ensure the Lotus Sutra is protected and preserved for future generations, but he
also continues the spirit of equality, when he writes “I and my disciples” (WND – 1, p283) and “Nichiren and his
followers” (i.e. WND1, p395, p479, p618,
p1076 and also WND2, p487), fully embracing the oneness of mentor and
disciple. The SGI might be one of the
only Nichiren schools following this principle, but that confirms we have
stayed true to the spirit and intention of both Shakyamuni and Nichiren.
AM: Wow,
I didn’t realise that, but how does that relate to the SGI today?
DL: In the same way as Nichiren reaffirmed
Shakyamuni’s wonderful teaching of the Lotus Sutra, the two founding presidents
of the Soka Gakkai – Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and Josei Toda – refused to
compromise their faith when the priesthood asked them to enshrine the Shinto
talisman with their Gohonzon, and in May 2014, President Ikeda echoed President
Toda’s declaration, that the “essence of the Soka Gakkai spirit is … for each
of us to take the Daishonin’s spirit as his own and strive to help others
embrace faith in the Mystic Law and realize genuine happiness” (Newsletter 8982)
AM: So why does the mentor-disciple relationship
cause confusion?
DL: Society
can be suspicious of organisations with charismatic leaders – even though SGI
members who have left the organisation, and the media, don’t see President Ikeda as charismatic
- and some SGI members’ respect for Sensei
can sometimes seem like its deifying him or putting him on a pedestal. I was initially cynical of the
mentor-disciple relationship, especially with the negative publicity in the
Japanese media and the framing of the priesthood issue, but this was a valuable
lesson for me. I realized if people
misunderstand the mentor-disciple relationship, or the role of the mentor and
disciple, they might turn away from the SGI or start to idolize President Ikeda’s
greatness, rather than focussing on, and developing, their own potential. But I know that by chanting
“Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” – the reality of this relationship will be revealed to
them.
AM: So what changed your mind?
DL: I was always moved by Sensei’s sincerity
and compassion which shines through in his writings and his down to earth attitude
in the HQ videos, but at one meeting, a youth division member answered a
question concerning the source of our happiness or benefit, saying “Because you
taught us Sensei!” and President Ikeda responded “No. It’s because Nichiren Daishonin taught
us”. I realised he doesn’t want all the
glory. He doesn’t want us to sit around
talking about how great he is, but to share with others how great Nichiren
Buddhism is. And I’ve realised more and
more each year that my practice wouldn’t be what it is today without his
guidance and inspiration.
(TO BE CONTINUED … )
