14
01
2008
Gods Law vs. Myoho Renge Kyo
Posted by: Paul Monaco in buddhism, tags: God, Myoho, Mystic LawIn a recent discussion with I had about world events and the future of mankind, the other person said, “The biggest problem in this world is that man.. Doesn’t abide by God’s law.”
That got me to thinking, to “abide by God’s law” implies that the God of which this person speaks does not have the power…. To enforce His own law?
Myoho, the mystic law.. Cannot be disobeyed or rejected. It does govern all.
When you drop a pen, it will fall to the ground. You can deny that it does, but still yet we can repeat our actions. You can attribute the fall to some other power, yet the results are always the same. Gravity is part of the mystic law just like every other function in the universe. Cause and effect, and it’s simultanaety.
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January 14th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
The other person may argue that man was granted free will to disobey God’s law. But one wonders why God did this. It’s like creating a rebellious teenager. Did He want competition? Do we give Him a headache? Keep Him up nights, worrying? Give him a reason to confiscate the car keys, or let us die in the wreck, taking the other drivers with us, just to teach us a lesson?
I’m being only half facetious. Because, really…WHY give us free will if He knows we’ll abuse it and end up with the devil’s own pitchfork up our ignoble behinds for all eternity? Seems like a sadistic trap to me. And that doesn’t square too well with their notion of a forgiving, unconditionally loving God.
The real problem I have with the whole “world going to hell in a handbasket because they don’t obey God’s law” thing is that it puts the locus of control outside ourselves. Things go well or badly with us depending on whether we obey Dad’s rules. But then, hey, we can always raise hell on Saturday and get forgiven on Sunday, right?
Anything wrong with that picture? Where, in the equation, do people take responsibility for their own mistakes? Or create their own happiness, and help others do the same? When, in other words, do they grow up? Or, in the words of Daisaku Ikeda, achieve their human revolution?
The Mystic Law of cause and effect is common sense. It doesn’t let you off the hook or allow you to keep hurting yourself and other people six days a week as long as you show up at church on the seventh. That can seem harsh to people, yes. You suffer the consequences of bad decisions. But you also enjoy the benefits of doing good for yourself and others. That, among other reasons, is why I’m a Buddhist.
January 16th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
God’s law was broken by the first two people that he created, Adam and Eve. He told them not to eat the apple, they did anyway and that got them thrown out of Paradise. = Perfect example of cause and effect.=. I had to get that in, because for some odd reason it still keys me off that they had to do that.
People will choose for themselves if they want to be good or bad.
People will choose to learn from mistakes or not. People will take the experiences that they are having, be it good or bad and either turning them into something they can build on or not.
People will continue treating other people the same way they want to be treated. And it doesn’t matter what faith these people belong to. It is a personal choice of what kind of human being they want to be.
Every religion has some kind of structure, law, commandments to live by, but it is the human race that has the choice to apply it to their daily lives or not . And every religion no matter what, has the same cause and effect, it is mankind that can make the difference of what kind of cause and effect it will be.
February 12th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Paulina and Vittoria…great comments! I love the Gosho passage “Earthly Desires Equal Enlightenment”. When we introduce this practice to someone who is suffering or seeking a solution to problems or challenges, we say ‘Try this Chant’. You can chant for anything you want. (Earthly Desires). Through chanting, however, earthly desires which are the cause of suffering to begin with…gives us a heightened awareness as we continue to chant and ultimate receive what we are chanting about…be it Beginner Benefit, or, deep prayer that we OURSELVES through FAITH and EFFORT manifest! I really LOVE this Practice of Nichiren Buddhism!