Last week I wrote of a Holy War in Buddhism referencing what I perceived as some attitude and behavior that was consistent with Buddhist philosophies.
As I suspected, word spread quickly through my group of my disagreement with the pack. Certain seniors in faith began appearing at meetings I regularly attended in which they normally do which was not surprising but welcome as it did let me see some different perspective as well as some unexpected agreement.
As I pull farther away from the Soka Gakkai I embrace more the root texts of the Gosho (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin) and the Lotus Sutra. I consider this an exercise in Right Mindfulness, one of the Eightfold Paths. I’ve interpreted right mindfulness as a method to counter basic human ignorance with continuous alertness and self-examination.
In Nichiren’s letter to the Tripitaka Master Shan-Wu-Wei (wnd v1. P171) “Yet the Thus Come One Shakyamuni entered this saha world with the title “One Who Can Endure.” He is so called because he does not berate its people for the slanders they all commit, but shows them forbearance. These, then, are the special qualities that the other Buddhas lack.”
Perhaps my interpretation is wrong, locally members only wish to quote Daisaku Ikeda and not any root text. The Gosho then continues..
“We ordinary people, too, have been born into the saha world. Therefore we must not in any way turn away from the teachings of the Thus Come One Shakyamuni. But people all fail to realize this. If they would look carefully into the matter, they would understand that [as the Lotus Sutra say] “I Shakyamuni] am the only person who can rescue and protect the others,” and that they must not cut themselves off from the helping hand of the Thus Come One Shakyamuni.
I present these passages as support to my belief that the Daishonin did not intend for us to interpret his plea to defend this Buddhism as a call to jihad attacking all teachings that were not in agreement to his own. To agree with this would mean that one would have to defend against all other religions that do not conform to the interpretations of Nichiren.
Perhaps a more logical and Buddha-like interpretation of the Daishonin is to valiantly defend our Buddhism to the best of our ability when we are directly addressed. When we are approached by those who tell us how we will be doomed to a life of hell if we do not embrace their savior as our own. This is when it is time for us to defend our practice and hold steadfast.
My journey into Buddhism began several years ago shortly after the passing of my wife. I had joined the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai and have absolutely no regrets. They taught me practice of Nichiren Buddhism and have been a valuable resource to have all my questions about Buddhism answered.
I was so thirsty for knowledge that I went to as many meetings as I could possible go to, in hopes of learning more about the life of Nichiren and Shakyamuni
Once I had a good understanding of the basics, it seemed that more and more emphasis was placed on shakubuku, or the propagation of this Buddhism. I fully understand how any organization, religious or not, Buddhist or baseball needs to actively have a means of bringing new members in order for the organization to grow. In our chapter it seemed to be more of an obsession. Each meeting revolved around recruitment and very little attention was giving to the basics of the practice.
This trend continued and as it did I attended fewer and fewer meetings. I still enjoyed the practice and have full faith it as the correct teaching and on a daily basis I chant and continue to receive incredible benefits. I’m still actively telling everyone I can about the practice and how wonderful it is, but at this point I am totally embarrassed to bring them to a meeting and have opted to provide them with alternative resources which will be a topic for another post in the future.
So here I am, happily going to my weekly toso which primarily consist of group chanting and some study along with our monthly meeting at our state’s activity center. Then while in a personal conversation with another member one of our more enthusiastic leaders jumps in ranting and raving about the “priesthood issue”. Evidently he got wind that I wasn’t particularly interested in it.
In the past, the Soka Gakkai and the Shoshu Temple worked in harmony. The Temple being clergy based and SGI the lay arm. Long story short, they had a falling out. I’m not even going to go into details on this as 1) it was before my time and I have no first had involvement in it. 2) It’s become very partisan. Each side has their own story and quite frankly I’m not going to devote my life to figure out who’s correct. 3) Leave me alone and let me practice MY Buddhism.
So now, I no longer go to our monthly meetings and am awfully close to dropping my affiliation with the SGI all together and have had several people (from the SGI and other organizations) express interest in forming an ad hoc local group for the purpose of study, advancement and true world peace efforts with an eye towards globalization.
Most of us who are active in an organized religion from time to time experience frustration, not with the actual faith but with the day to day logistics and mindset of the organization or a particular subset of it. I know my experience is not unique nor is it exclusive to the SGI, the Buddist orgainzation I belong to.
Lately I’ve been very discouraged with my practice. Meetings that once expounded the wisdom of the Lutus Sutra seem to be now filled with discussions about how we can effectively introduce new members to the practice. Sure growth is important, but when that is the primary focus it is very easy to lose sight of our primary practice.
Now being a Buddhist, I’m all to aware of what happens when we start slipping. Already I’m seeing the signs of karmic sewage creeping into my environment. People close to me having difficulties, ill feelings manifesting within me and my argumentative nature trying to vocalize itself. I can see things could easily get ugly!
So today I made the determination to refresh my faith. First I carefully disassembled my altar and carefully put it back together cleaning and polishing it. Then I light the candles and incense and as I chant Daimoku in front of the Gohonzon I specifically focus on this situation knowing that if I continue this destructive line of thinking I can easily lose my faith and all the amazing benefits I have received from this practice. I didn’t expect an answer to come to me so quickly, but it did.
What I must do is focus on the core of my practice and the very reasons why I embarked on this path. The SGI is a wonderful organization that gives me ready access to resources and guidance, but it in and of itself is not Buddhism. For me, it is the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and more specifically it’s interpretation and explanation by Nichiren Daishonin.
Now mind you, I have no intentions of leaving the SGI. At least not yet.. but for me, my primary course of study will be the Lotus Sutra and Gosho. Of course this study will be supplemented by my continued actions for create great cause for the future and to create value in this world for we are all Bodhisattva’s of the universe.
Members of the Soka Gakkai are very aware of the importance of participating in discussion meetings and group activities. My local group does wonderful job of supporting its members offering them encouragement, so well in fact that I feel any efforts I make myself are either redundant or they utilize a skill that I am weak at.
Part of my determination for 2008 The Year Of Capable People and Development, is to raise the bar on all my efforts and activities. To me, this doesn’t mean just “showing up” and appearing active, but to take actual actions with measurable results and explore opportunities in areas that may not be so well developed.
JOIN ME EVERY SATURDAY AT 6pm EASTERN TIME
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo - The practice of Nichiren Buddhism centers on chanting Nam-Myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon. It is so wondrously simple that anyone can do it, yet so profound it can unlock the highest potential in any individual. It is, therefore, the ultimate reality of life and the universe.
My premier broadcast (view recording) on December 29th, 2007 drew over 30 views which shouldn’t have amazed me knowing the powers of myho, but it did. I hope I can utilize this venue as a means to connect to members and those curious about the practice who for any number of reasons may have difficulties finding someone to practice with, especially those who may not live in a well populated district.
Your comments and suggestions are encouraged. I will be experimenting with format and duration over the next several airings.
“Faith is a source of unfathomable good fortune and wisdom. When just one woman stands up with faith, a pure and refreshing realm of happiness and peace will emerge and expand from wherever she is. When the sun of truth and justice rises, the night of unhappiness and iniquity will be dispelled without fail” - Kaneko Ikeda
The January-February issue of Living Buddhism is focusing on The Women of the SGI-USA. The Sokka Gakkai is a Buddhist lay organization dedicated to world peace and the practice of Nichiren Buddhism.
The Lotus Sutra preached by Shakyamuni is a great teaching of gender equality. Nichiren states..
“There should be no discrimination among those who propagate the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo in the Latter Day of the Law, be they men or women” (WND-1, 385)
and while praising a female disciple of particularly strong faith…
“Only in the Lotus Sutra do we read that a woman who embraces this sutra not only excels all other women, but also surpasses all men” (WND-1, 464)
The equality of this practice is one of the key aspects that has led to my embracing of it. There is no discrimination what so ever between the sexes or races. We are simply all human beings.
Last Wednesday, marked the anniversary of 12-million Soka Gakkai members being excommunicated by the Nichiren Shoshu high priest, Nikken in 1991. (more info)
This is well before my involvement with the Soka Gakkai and my emotional ties to this event are not as defined as those of senior members who were practicing at that time but it does make me reflect a bit on what lead me down this path.
As most in my community, I was brought up a Catholic. We went through all the motions, Catechism, First Communion, Confirmation and even had a Catholic wedding (the first time around). But “going through the motions” was about all thee was to it. The blind faith and dogma just didn’t captivate me and filled me with many questions and even fewer answers.
Through out the years, a few people have convinced me to join them at their house of worship and I quickly noticed the same underlying problem. The preacher / priest / reverend was always this figure of authority that not only “spread the word” but also spoon fed his own personal views and philosophies of every aspect of life and politics.
When I was introduced to the Soka Gakkai and this correct practice of Nichiren Buddhism I quickly saw that this was different. Now don’t bombard me with comments about the SGI and the New Komeito Party. I know about all that and when you get to the upper levels of any large organization some political posturing is going to be necessary to protect ideologies and interests.
The difference was in the day to day grass roots level and the people in the organization I interact with regularly. Our leadership structure is that of responsibility, not authority. Leaders are in charge of organizing meetings and planning events. Leaders do also guide, but do so by seeking guidance themselves from the writings of Nichiren Daishonin. When we meet our leaders do have a basic plan in place and an itinerary of topics, but each member has ample opportunity to “take the floor” and bring up virtually any relevant topic or concern.
I guess what I’m trying to say is I’ve adopted this day as sort of my own time to reflect upon my personal Spiritual Independence.
When you practice Nichirin Buddhism you are very keenly aware of your actions, and how they immediately manifest into actions within the environment.
For the past 8 months I’ve been very annoyed at something. It wasn’t so much that the annoyance was so terrible, but the fact that I was allowing it to eat at me was bad. It was something that I knew shouldn’t have bothered me and I somehow knew that this action was actually for my benefit but yet I had some inner resentment as to how it was presented.
Though I prefer to not go into great detail on the matter, and for that matter the details of it are really unimportant.. what’s important is though you will receive many benefits with this practice, they aren’t always very obvious at first.
I recently had a knock on my door. I was very hesitant to answer thinking it was a solicitor. Peeking through the peep-hole I see a friendly face who brought me the gift of “The Human Revolution” By Daisaku Ikeda - boxed set. The gift was unexpected but oh so appropriate, a great deal of understanding came over me immediately. Thank you, my friend.
“A great human revolution in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation, and further, can even enable a change in the destiny of all humankind.” - Daisaku Ikeda
What karmic timing. Nearly a year ago when I launched PaulMonaco.com I kicked it off with the 2007 theme of the Soka Gakkai which was “2007 - Year of Advancement and Victory” and today in alignment with 2008 being dubbed “2008 - The Year of Capable people and Development” I launch both PaulMonaco.org and PaulMonaco.net!
Looking back over the past year it truly has been a year of advancement and victory for me. I’ve developed a very strong faith in my Buddhist practice, introduced several people to the practice one of which who has official professed his dedication to this Buddhism by receiving the Gohonzon and in general have just completly moved my karma in a positive direction.
Not only have I done much for myself by quitting smoking and drinking but my making of financial contributions both to the advancement of the Soka Gakkai as well as other charitable organizations such as Kiva.org have all caused benefits to come back to me tenfold.
With all this in mind, this site will focus on health, environmental, spiritual and other similar issues as seen through my Buddhist eyes.
Thank you for reading and being here to witness this stage of development in my life.
p.s. - More light hearted posts can be found at paulmonaco.com and to satisfy the inner geek in your paulmonaco.net has just been launched as well!
Last week I wrote of a Holy War in Buddhism referencing what I perceived as some attitude and behavior that was consistent with Buddhist philosophies.
Most of us who are active in an organized religion from time to time experience frustration, not with the actual faith but with the day to day logistics and mindset of the organization or a particular subset of it. I know my 
Members of the Soka Gakkai are very aware of the importance of participating in discussion meetings and group activities. My local group does wonderful job of supporting its members offering them encouragement, so well in fact that I feel any efforts I make myself are either redundant or they utilize a skill that I am weak at.
This practice just never stops amazing me!
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