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In 1991, senior priests
at the highest level known as oke (literally means,
can convert), addressed a document to the Gakkai leadership
(the Noke Document) which contained the following three
statements:
- The {high priest} as the one and only recipient
of the heritage or lifeblood should be viewed as an
entity of veneration, inseparable from the Dai-Gohonzon
of the high sanctuary.
- Faith toward these two fundamentals [meaning the
Gohonzon and the high priest] must be absolute.
- The true Buddha, the Daishonin, the Dai-Gohonzon
of the high sanctuary, and the successive high priests
are all essentially one inseparable object of worship.
(Dai-Nichiren, Sept. 1991)
Needless to say, the doctrine that the high priest,
exclusively, is equally venerable as the Gohonzon and
Nichiren Daishonin exists nowhere in the teachings of
the Daishonin or Nikko Shonin. It is a doctrine that
varies markedly from the original teachings of the school.
In addition, High Priest Nikken made the following statement
in August 1997 at the head temple: Because the high
priest is the living Shakyamuni and Nichiren, if you
speak ill of him, you will fall into hell.
Nikko Shonin in his Twenty-Six Admonitions states, If
even the high priest of the time presumes to expound
his own teachings that differ from Buddhism, then you
should not make use of these. (Gosho Zenshu, P.1618)
In other words, if the high priest forsakes the teachings
and expounds his own doctrine, do not follow him. Actual
examples from history include the time that Nissei,
the 17th high priest, enshrined a statue of Shakyamuni
Buddha at branch temples and Nikkyo, the 62nd high priest,
gave guidance to believers to enshrine a talisman of
the Ise Shrine and worship to the shrine from afar.
On more than a few occasions, high priests of Nichiren
Shoshu have committed errors that amount to a degradation
or slander of Nichiren Daishonin's teachings.
Nikko Shonin also stated that a priest should strive
to be like Nichiren did, that is, a life of utmost integrity
dedicated to practicing and propagating the Buddha's
teachings. But, he further clarified, if the high priest
or a priest striving to perfect his learning should
engage in illicit relations with women, he should have
his position removed and become an ordinary priest.
It seems that Nikko Shonin was considering the possibility
that the high priest at some time in the future might
succumb to such weakness.
The high priest's mission is to protect the Daishonin's
teachings and transmit them to future generations. His
function is to represent the body of believers, not
to promote faith in himself.
The Daishonin states, Since Nichiren's disciples and
lay supporters believe solely in the Lotus Sutra, honestly
discarding expedient means and not accepting even a
single verse of the other sutras, exactly as the Lotus
teaches, they can enter the treasure tower of the Gohonzon
(The Real Aspect of the Gohonzon, WND, 832).
Faith based on the Gohonzon is the correct way of faith
and has been since the time of Nichiren Daishonin and
Nikko Shonin. To refer to the high priest and the Gohonzon
as hese two fundamentals is erroneous and betrays the
Daishonin's intent.
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