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3. The Story of the Fuji School
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After Nichiren Daishonin
and Nikko Shonin's deaths, their spirit and doctrine were
compromised by many of those responsible to uphold them.
During Japan's Edo Period (1600-1865), the government
established what is known as the Temple Parish System.
[In this system, people were legally required to belong
to a local Buddhist temple, regardless of their personal
religious beliefs. Priests, as proxies of the government,
exercised authority over residents of their parishes.]
Under this system, the authority of priests over the laity
increased dramatically. The discriminatory thinking that
priests were considered superior and lay believers inferior
became institutionalized.
Within Nichiren Shoshu, also known as the Fuji School,
three disturbing tendencies emerged: (1) the view that
priesthood is superior to laity; (2) the view that the
high priest is infallible; (3) the overemphasis on rituals
and formalities.
Within Japanese Buddhism in general, rites and ceremonies
such as funerals and memorial services came to be viewed
all-important. Even within the schools originating from
Nikko, core tenets and convictions were lost. With the
Temple Parish System, funerals and memorial services and
other rites were central. Nichiren Shoshu gradually transformed
itself along with Japanese Buddhism in general into "funeral
Buddhism," a description that addresses the tendency
of Buddhism in Japan to focus almost exclusively on funerals
and memorial services.
Recognition that Buddhism is a means to enable people
to become happy amid the realities of life was gradually
lost. Instead, priests became preoccupied with their own
authority and worked to establish a clear distinction
between themselves and the laity.
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