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Non-Duality, Duality, Zen and Nikkenism (Craig, Rob) )

Craig, Rob et al, have been beating Pat upside the head lately with
their various confusions concerning the following Gosho passage ...

From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, "Conversation between a Sage
and an Unenlightened Man". pp. 118-119:

"These various sutras expound partial truths such as 'the mind
itself is the Buddha, and the Buddha is none other than the mind.' The
Zen followers have allowed themselves to be led astray by one or two
such sentences and phrases, failing to inquire whether they represent
the Mahayana or the Hinayana, the provisional teachings or the true
teaching, the doctrines that reveal the truth or the doctrines that
conceal it. They merely advance the principle of nonduality without
understanding the principle of duality, and commit an act of great
arrogance, claiming that they themselves are equal to the Buddha. They
are following in the tracks of the Great Arrogant Brahman of India and
imitating the old ways of the Meditation Master Sanchieh of China. But
we should recall that the Great Arrogant Brahman, while still alive,
fell into the hell of incessant suffering, and that San-chieh, after
he died, turned into a huge snake. How frightful, how frightful
indeed!"

There is a simple fact, often stated by Nichiren, that there is no
distinction between a deluded mortal and the Great Shakyamuni or
Myoho-Renge-Kyo. This point aligns perfectly with the Secret Mystic
Expedient of the Lotus Sutra "All entities ARE the True Entity".

So, chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo manifests the oneness of person and
Law, whether one is in front of a Gohonzon or not. As a speaker (I
will spare him Craig's slander by not naming him) once said in a talk
called "Infinite Compassion", "There is so much Hell everywhere around
people. Isn't it nice to have one place where you can chant and focus
on enlightenment?" So this provides some reasons for having Gohonzon.

1. This compassionate thought occurred in much the same way to
Nichiren Daishonin towards his followers. The wondrous gift of
Gohonzon from Nikko's School (which excludes Nichiren Shoshu Minobu
Sect), is that you can be happy and at ease in front of Gohonzon, in
hellish surroundings and when your own five components experience a
weak life condition and you suffer greatly.

2. Gohonzon also keeps you from chanting to statues or other
slanderous things that would destroy your benefits of practice, and
cause you to suffer and lose faith needlessly. So it also functions to
occupy the potential focal point of slander: the person's view.

it's a promise.

Let's try and get this straight: The mistake the Zen guys make is
understanding Non-Duality, and forgetting Duality. (And SGI guys don't
make this mistake.)

So you see subject lines in alt.zen like "When I blink, does the
Universe disappear?" This distorted view of life is also perpetuated
by bad Quantum Mechanics as in the Copenhagen Convention. There, until
you collapse the wave function of something by making an observation,
it doesn't really exist. David Bohm's more sensible view of QM states
that the particle is really there from moment to moment between
observations, and that all the infinite set of possible constraints
and futures are carried by the wave function ASSOCIATED with the
particle. They have duality and non-duality, simultaneously, just like
the Lotus Sutra.

Conversely, Rob and Craig get it wrong (understanding Duality, and
forgetting Non-Duality) when they state that you are not equal to the
Buddha, even after Nichiren says there is no distinction.

To support Rob and Craig's distorted view, the phrase in the first
quote from the Gosho would have to read "[Zen guys] commit an act of
great arrogance, claiming that they are equal to the Buddha" which it
does not say. Instead it says "[Zen guys] commit an act of great
arrogance, claiming that they themselves are equal to the Buddha". The
way the Nichiren states it, their act of arrogance is to think that
they and ONLY they are the Buddha, when that is also true for the poor
victim that the Zen believer is about to behead, as "the hand that
holds the sword is the Buddha" - Suzuki. That person actually DOES
exist when you blink your eyes, Zen people.

Conversely, there is also non-duality. So, even though Rob and Craig
feel cut off from the rest of humanity, they are truly not.

HERE'S HOW THIS WORKS:

Ichinen Sanzen contains three realms (Five Components, World of Living
Beings, the Environment).

My Ichinen Sanzen contains my five components (Nichiren, the chanting
Person), and you as one in the Realm of all living beings (in Renge,
the True Entity).

Your Ichinen Sanzen contains your five components (Nichiren, the
chanting Person), and me as one in the Realm of all living beings (in
Renge, the True Entity).

And my Ichinen Sanzen and your Ichinen Sanzen are not in any way
distinct from each other, or anyone in the Three Existences (Past,
Present, Future). The only difference is where the viewpoint is
located, which Five Components is doing the viewing.

What's fascinating to me is that both mistakes have the same effect.
Whether you think you are isolated from others, or that you alone are
the Buddha, you are in either case destined for a lonely existence.

Happiness is, once again, found in the middle. Since the Noble ego and
the small self are joined, then everyone's problems are yours, and you
absolutely have no way to fix your own life, other than Shakubuku ...

From "Conversation between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man". p. 126:

"Now, in widely propagating the Buddhist teachings and bringing
salvation to all people, one must first take into consideration the
teaching, the capacity of the people, the time, the country, and the
sequence of propagation. The reason is as follows. In terms of the
time, there are the periods of the Former, the Middle, and the Latter
Days of the Law, and in terms of the teachings, there are the Hinayana
and the Mahayana doctrines. In terms of the practices to be adopted,
there are shoju and shakubuku. It is a mistake to practice shakubuku
at a time when shoju is called for, and equally erroneous to practice
shoju when shakubuku is appropriate. The first thing to be determined,
therefore, is whether the present period is the time for shoju or the
time for shakubuku."

"Shoju is to be practiced when throughout the entire country only
the Lotus Sutra has spread, and when there is not even a single
misguided teacher expounding erroneous doctrines. At such a time, one
may retire to the mountain forests, practice meditation, or carry out
the five, the six, or the ten practices.89 But the time for shakubuku
is very different from this. It is a time when many different sutras
and teachings spring up here and there like so many orchids and
chrysanthemums, when the various schools command a large following and
enjoy renown, when truth and error stand shoulder to shoulder, and
when Mahayana and Hinayana dispute which is superior. At such a time,
one must set aside all other affairs and devote one's attention to
rebuking slander of the correct teaching. This is the practice of
shakubuku."

"If, failing to understand this principle, one were to practice
shoju or shakubuku at an inappropriate time, then not only would one
be unable to attain Buddhahood, but one would fall into the evil
paths. This is firmly laid down in the Lotus and Nirvana sutras, and
is also clearly stated in the commentaries by T'ien-t'ai and Miao-lo.
It is, in fact, an important principle of Buddhist practice."

So, Craig's negative view of SGI members running around the park
telling people about Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, is the view of a person
falling hopelessly into the evil paths. This is the natural result of
the practice of Nichiren Shoshu Minobu Sect: they can only pervert and
distort, and cannot really do shakubuku, since they are not followers
of Nikko, because of unceasing and profound violations of the 26
Admonitions.

The final proof of the point about chanting away from the Gohonzon is
the following:

From "Conversation between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man". p. 131:

"While by rights nothing should be beyond the grasp of the Buddha
wisdom, the Buddha says here that the blessings that accrue from
accepting and embracing the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra are the one
thing that wisdom cannot measure."

So, you cannot state in any way, that you know what the benefits are
from chanting away from the Gohonzon. This is the only thing that
cannot be known or perceived clearly. I do think that you gain a
larger perspective of appreciation for that benefit as you go along,
if you don't get deadlocked, or go Nikken's way.

Myoho, according to Nichiren in the Ongi Kuden, means "to open, to
revive, to be fully endowed" I sincerely believe, that when you chant,
you are not just reviving your own Five Components, and not just in
this realm, or at the present time. My sneaking suspicion, is that we
are reviving life itself.

-Chas.
_____________________________________________

From "The Entity of the Mystic Law", Writings of Nichiren Daishonin,
p. 418:

The Great Teacher Nan-yüeh says, "The entity of the mind is endowed
with two aspects, the defiled and the pure. However, it does not have
two different forms but is single in nature and without distinction."
[The Mahayana Method of Concentration and Insight.] And the example of
the mirror [See Note] that he gives truly presents a thorough
explanation of the subject. For a more detailed understanding, one may
also refer to his interpretations in The Mahayana Method of
Concentration and Insight.

Note: The example of the mirror is expounded in Mahayana Method of
Concentration and Insight. Through the example of the inseparable
relationship between an object and its image reflected in the mirror,
Nan-yüeh reveals that a living being and a Buddha are "two but not
two" in essence; in other words, common mortals of the nine worlds are
inherently endowed with Buddhahood.