Mentor-Disciple Dialogue #2

Sorry for the three year delay for those of you waiting for the rest of this series, but finally hear is part two ...

As before, throughout this short series of dialogues, A MEMBER (AM)  represents the doubts and concerns I’ve had about the mentor-disciple relationship over the years, and the DISTRICT LEADER (DL) represents my understanding of the mentor-disciple relationship today.

THE MAJESTY OF THE LION KING

AM:     So how does Nichiren see the role of the mentor?

DL:       Using Shakyamuni’s example that those who embrace the Lotus Sutra “will stroll about without fear like the lion king.” (Burton Watson, The Lotus Sutra and Opening and Closing Sutras, p249), Nichiren talked about the lion king and its cubs.  I sometime visualise this as a wildlife documentary with David Attenborough narrating:  “Here we see the Lion King in his natural habitat, the Saha world.  He spends his days nurturing and raising his cubs and teaching them how to protect the Law and overcome any persecutions, obstacles and challenges as they one day ascend to the throne and become lion kings in their own right.”

AM:     Is that what the Lion King does?

DL:       Absolutely. This analogy really gets to the heart of the nurturing spirit of the mentor-disciple relationship.  It’s a relationship totally devoid of arrogance, power, or subservience.  The lion king doesn’t try to manipulate his pride, but relies on wisdom, courage and compassion to protect the Law and nurture EVERY cub.  There are no runts in the lion king’s family – each and every one of us, regardless of age, race, sex, status or intelligence, is worthy of respect, protection, and encouragement, and all of us have the potential within us to be lion kings and support others. 

AM:     Cool.  Am I lion cub or a lion king?

DL:       As we grow in faith, deepen our understanding of the practice and challenge every obstacle and persecution, we bring forth the “expansive state of life of a lion king” (Daisaku Ikeda, The World of Nichiren Daishonin’s Writings: Volume 1, p278) and it’s this quiet confidence and majestic nature that touches other people’s hearts revealing the true benefits of Nichiren Buddhism.  In the past I have sometimes sat back, not bothered with meetings and let others get on with kosen-rufu, but through President Ikeda’s words, daimoku and study, I have been emboldened to reawakened the lion king in me and to stand up not only for my own happiness, but to protect and nurture others.  This is the power of the mentor’s encouragement.     

AM:     This sounds good, but Nichiren frequently quotes Shakyamuni’s warning in the Nirvana Sutra to “Rely on the Law and not upon persons”?  Isn’t he saying we don’t need a mentor?  Or we should make the Law our mentor?

  DL:     I used to think so, and the Law is the ultimate truth of the universe, but through study, I also learnt that people are “constantly reborn in company with their teachers”(Burton Watson, The Lotus Sutra and Opening and Closing Sutras, p178) and in “The Opening of the Eyes”, Nichiren explained “’Not relying upon persons’ means …if they do not preach with the [Lotus] sutra in hand, then they are not to be accepted.”(WND-1, p263). 

This is important because there are so many potential teachers or mentors that could lead us astray, and sometimes even our own minds can work against us.  President Ikeda clarifies the Buddha’s warning, saying “We need to make the Law our master, and take a correct practitioner of the Law as our standard.” (The World of Nichiren Daishonin’s Writings: Volume 1, p289)

AM:     So how can we choose the right mentor?

DL:       Excellent question.  The responsibility for choosing a mentor is down to us, and our practice will only develop to the extent that we choose the correct mentor, embrace the correct teaching and receive the correct support and encouragement. 

Nichiren said “It is hard to encounter a master like [me]” (WND-2, p1062) and I believe that it’s ultimately up to us to chant daimoku, awaken our Buddha wisdom and clearly “see” the true nature of potential teachers, so that we can find someone who truly embodies the Law.  In “The Human Revolution - Vol. 12”, President Ikeda explains that he embraced Josei Toda as his mentor because he was convinced “there was no other leader genuinely committed to realizing kosen-rufu or who embodied Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism” (p423-424).

Also, in an experience by a female member from SGI-Slovenia (a country with a history of dictators and communism), she explains how she overcome her reluctance to “worship” someone because she realised “the disciple chooses the mentor…so [she] was in complete control of this… heart-to-heart level, Buddha to Buddha.” relationship (“Art of Living” – Sept. 2002, p31).

This is so important because we are NOT being forced to accept an authoritarian leader, but to choose an authoritative leader who knows how to make “the ‘Law’ not the ‘person’… the proper standard in all things.” (Daisaku Ikeda, “Faith Into Action”, p233) 

Neither Shakyamuni, Nichiren nor President Ikeda have told us there is something only they can do, but not us, or expected us to do anything, that they aren’t doing themselves.  This all sounds reasonable, but some Lotus Sutra schools of Buddhism – including some Nichiren Buddhist schooIs – teach that we are unable to attain some of the things their founders or high priests attain, or they expect us to do things, which they are not doing. 

I know without daimoku, I wouldn’t have overcome my own cynicism or arrogance, and clearly seen the truth of the importance of the mentor-disciple relationship and the reality of President Ikeda’s example of a 21^st century Buddhist.