NICHIREN BUDDHISM SHARES HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION

As a member of Soka Gakkai International, or SGI, I appreciate inclusion in Andrea Buchanan's Nov. 13 article, "Midwestern Buddhists." The article was focused on Zen Buddhism and what might be termed traditional Buddhism.There are a number of differences, however, in Nichiren Buddhism, which SGI members practice, and Buddhism as widely understood in the West.Nichiren Buddhism is founded on the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin, a Buddhist teacher and sage who lived in Japan in the 13th century.The fundamental practice of Nichiren Buddhism is chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, meaning roughly "devotion to the universal law of cause and effect through harmonious vibration." This practice activates the Buddhanature within the individual. The world of Buddhahood is, in Nichiren's teachings and in the Lotus Sutra of Shakyamuni Gautama, the ultimate goal of Buddhist practice.Similarly, nirvana is not liberation from the cycle of birth and death, but rather liberation from suffering which arises from delusion. Nichiren Buddhists hold that life and death are repeated endlessly. There is no cessation.Nichiren based Nam-myoho-renge-kyo on the Lotus Sutra, the title of which is rendered as Myoho-renge-kyo in Chinese characters pronounced in Japanese fashion. He contended that the title represents the essence of this sutra, and is itself the most profound Buddhist teaching.Based on passages from the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren insisted that the "one vehicle" of the sutra, or chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, equals all the other practices of Buddhism, that practitioners need not attempt through sheer willpower to observe eight, a hundred or thousands of monastic rules about life.Rather, he wrote to his followers in over 100 letters that survive to this day and are in English translation, by chanting and sharing the practice with others who wish to hear about it, the individual comes to deeply understand cause and effect, or the "dharma" or "law" of life, from deep within.In Buddhism, the central truth remains unchanged, while the form of teaching changes to fit the time and the people.Shakyamuni's teachings, with literally hundreds of rules of conduct, were appropriate to his age. In the same way, the seemingly simple practice taught by Nichiren is appropriate to the present age. Few people have the resources to retire and devote their entire lives to meditation and self-reflection. And, unlike the centuries from Shakyamuni's time until quite recently, the shape of society is not determined by an elite few.Today, in the age of the common people, the message of Nichiren Buddhism is that each of us has the inherent potential for enlightenment for doing great good for self and others. Conversely, we also have the potential as human beings in the opposite direction.By strengthening one's inherent Buddhanature day to day through practice, one is able to use wisdom, courage and compassion in everyday life with family, job and community. Nichiren Buddhism is not a monastic religion, as are many other Buddhist schools. Buddhism as originally taught by Shakyamuni Buddha was a vital, dynamic philosophy that he shared with a wandering "sangha," or community of monks and the common people of ancient India. Shakyamuni had no permanent residence from the time he decided to pursue enlightenment until he died.The "museumization" of Buddhism into monasteries came many years following Shakyamuni's death. This institutionalization of Buddhist teachings, and indeed the control of Buddhist priests and temples by the samurai government for its own ends, was a major sticking point for Nichiren. He echoed Shakyamuni's career by living and teaching among the common people of Japan. Only during the last eight years of his life did he have a permanent residence.Nichiren passed away in 1282. His teachings were not widely known, even in Japan, until early this century when two Japanese educators, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and Josei Toda, founded the lay movement which became known as Soka Gakkai or Value Creating Society. Both were persecuted and imprisoned for their beliefs and for opposing World War II by the Japanese militarist government, much as Nichiren was by the samurai six centuries earlier.Soka Gakkai International came to this country in 1960. Among more prominent members are John Astin, Patrick Duffy and Herbie Hancock.The anniversary of the Soka Gakkai's founding will be celebrated this Saturday at a special meeting of the SGI Far Reaches District. Anyone interested is invited to call 204-0509 for more information. S.D. Yana Davis of Jackson is a member of the U.S. chapter of Soka Gakkai International.

CELEBRATION

WHAT: The anniversary of Soka Gakkai's founding.

WHO MAY ATTEND: Anyone interested in Nichiren Buddhism.

WHEN: Saturday.

INFORMATION: 204-0509.