The Fallacy of The Eye-opening Ceremony The Nichiren Shoshu priesthood contends that a Gohonzon that has not received a ritual “eye-opening” by the high priest has no power of benefit. They claim “the opening of the eyes conducted by the High Priests is of paramount importance for Nichiren Shoshu. (Nichiren Shoshu Monthly, February 2009, pp. 21–22) Although they claim it is of “paramount importance” there is no supporting doctrinal…
Defeating the Enemy Within, Vanquishing the Enemy Without “There will be many ignorant people who will curse and speak ill of us. In that evil age there will be monks with perverse wisdom and hearts that are fawning and crooked.” (The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, p. 232). Buddhism is the ultimate practice and philosophy for transforming our lives for the better. It therefore deals with…
It would be much easier if chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo were as simple as a magician invoking abracadabra. Then anyone in any group could chant and get the same result by calling on some magical power in the universe. But it is not so. Although the Law is universal, if we cannot perceive it to be within our own lives, we cannot manifest its power. Nichiren explains this throughout his writings….
Promoting People-Centered Buddhism By Katsuji Saito, SGI Study Department Leader Revealing our innate Buddhahood against the gravity of our deep-seated ignorance of it may be likened to walking uphill. It is much easier to go along with an authoritarian vision of religion, which is why former Nichiren Shoshu high priest Nikken Abe’s religious orientation can easily sway many people. For this reason, we as SGI members have never…
In our practice to the Gohonzon, the Daishonin stresses our individual and direct relationship with the Gohonzon. In this regard, he writes to one believer: “No matter how earnestly Nichiren prays for you, if you lack faith, it will be like trying to set fire to wet tinder. Spur yourself to muster the power of faith” (WND, 1000-01). Daishonin makes it clear that each practitioner’s relationship with the Gohonzon…
Ralph Waldo Emerson gave up the ministry at age 29, in 1832. He could no longer accept the overemphasis on formality in his church. He felt people’s spiritual needs were being dismissed. In a sermon, he revealed his thoughts: “Freedom is the essence of this faith. It has for its object simply to make men good and wise. Its institutions should be as flexible as the wants of men….
The priesthood upholds the view that, without venerating the high priest, practitioners cannot attain enlightenment -a view that undermines the self-empowering properties of Nichiren Buddhism and the mentor-disciple relationship traditionally taught in all Buddhism. This is a relationship of oneness that results when self-reliant disciples voluntarily choose to take responsibility for the same goal of kosen-rufu as their mentor. The priesthood asserts that the high priest of Nichiren Shoshu,…
Welcome to our newly redesigned SGI-USA Soka Spirit website on Nichiren Buddhism! We hope you will enjoy our new look. At its core, Soka Spirit is about changing suffering into happiness—in particular, it’s about protecting and propagating the correct practice and teachings of Nichiren Daishonin that can bring about this transformation. This is always the larger context of any discussion pertaining to Soka Spirit. Buddhist scripture explains that the…
Of the six senior disciples designated by the Daishonin, all except Nikko Shonin betrayed their teacher’s will, thereby nearly destroying his teaching. On October 8, 1282, five days before his death, the Daishonin designated Nissho, Nichiro, Nikko, Niko, Nitcho and Nichiji as “main disciples” but noted that “the order of listing is irrelevant” (The Collected Essential Writings of the Fuji School, vol.8, pp.2-3). The order of the Daishonin’s designation…
Niko (1253-1314) propounded that “When those upholding the Lotus Sutra visit , the Buddhist deities as well will come to that shrine” (The chronological compilation of Nichiren Daishonin’s Writings, p. 1732). However, in his treatise “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land,” the Daishonin states that when people ignore the Law, all the Buddhist deities (i.e., the protective forces in the universe that…