This is not an Official Shoshin-kai Website
The True Religion for Our Time - page 3
Nichiren Daishonin's Position
Nichiren Daishonin became a priest at Seicho-ji temple on Mount Kiyosumi. This temple followed the combined teachings of the Shingon and T'ien-t'ai sects. It was to achieve the following four objectives that the Daishonin became a priest:
1. To find the cause for the world's disorder.
2. To learn the teaching which surpasses all other religions in the world.
3. To achieve an enlightenment that corresponds to the correct teaching.
4. To transmit the correct teaching to his parents, his sovereign, other officials, and his relatives; to repay his debt of gratitude to them; and to enable them to achieve an enlightenment accordingly.
In order to realize his four objectives Nichiren Daishonin left the Kiyosumi temple and embarked on a 16-year-long journey of study and practice. He spent the majority of this time practicing and studying at Enryaku-ji temple on Mt. Hiei, the center of the T'ien-t'ai sect where the religion based on the Lotus Sutra got its start in Japan. By the time the Daishonin had arrived at Mt. Hiei the T'ien-t'ai sect had become a mixture of the Shingon, Zen, Nembutsu sects of Buddhism, and Shintoism, the national ritualistic belief and way of life. The priests would chant Namu-myoho-renge-kyo during the morning prayers and Namu-Amidabutsu (devotion to Amida Buddha) during evening prayers. There no longer existed a spirit of T'ien-t'ai from China, the essence of whose teaching is the Lotus Sutra, nor a spirit of Dengyo the Great who transmitted and propagated T'ien-t'ai's pure sect in Japan. The same is true with today's T'ien-t'ai sect. Nevertheless, they claim that the T'ien-t'ai sect is superior to all other sects, since all the sects of Buddhism in Japan originated from it. Yet they do not understand that all the founders of the various other Buddhisms left Mt. Hiei to start their own sects when after practicing the teachings of the T'ien-t'ai sect they found no salvation, and finally rejected the teaching of the T'ien-t'ai school.
After studying and practicing the teachings of many religions, Nichiren Daishonin came to the conclusion that the Lotus Sutra was the teaching that was superior to any other Buddhist scripture. It is the Law of "Enlightenment of all living things." Elucidated in the following sutra passages is the necessity for us to keep our faith pure, believing in the Lotus Sutra without mixing it with other teachings as the T'ien-t'ai sect had done:
- In the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings (the preface to the Lotus Sutra, or the first volume of the three-fold Lotus Sutra) we read, "In forty years and more I have not yet revealed the truth."
- In the Hoben-pon (2nd) chapter of the Lotus Sutra we read, "Honestly discard the provisional teachings and only proclaim the supreme Way [this Lotus Sutra]."
- And the Hiyu-bon (3rd) chapter of the Lotus Sutra reads, "Do not accept or believe any sutra other than the Lotus Sutra."
Thus by commingling its teachings with other teachings the T'ien-t'ai sect has, as well as many other religions, deteriorated and become adverse to the supreme doctrine.
The Lotus Sutra states that those who believe, practice and propagate this sutra will never fail to encounter life-threatening dangers. Despite this, once Nichiren Daishonin met with the Lotus Sutra he never begrudged his life to propagate it. The very act of presenting his treatise, Rissho-ankoku-ron, to the Kamakura government was an engagement in the refutation of mistaken views for it admonishes, "If you care anything about your own security you should pray for peace and tranquility throughout the nation. . . .Reform your beliefs and embrace the true and good doctrine of the Lotus Sutra." Because of this document and his subsequent propagation of Buddhism Nichiren Daishonin suffered three major persecutions at the hands of the Kamakura government: 1) exile to Izu Peninsula; 2) persecution at Tatsunokuchi beach which nearly resulted in his beheading; and 3) exile to the remote island of Sado. Although the government is obligated to observe the laws of the land, the Kamakura government incriminated Nichiren Daishonin without so much as an investigation or a trial, and tired, at least on one occasion, to assassinate him. As an expression of his hallowed commitment to propagate the Law he referred to himself in his writings as, "Nichiren, the votary of the Lotus Sutra."
Down the center of the Gohonzon, the scroll that is the object of worship in this faith, reads, NamuMyohorengekyo Nichiren Zaigoban. This indicates that we revere Nichiren Daishonin as the True bodhisattva for the Latter Day of the Law, meaning he is the true practitioner. He is the first one who practiced the Lotus Sutra and show us how; he is the one who considered the most important thing for us was to live truthfully with faith in the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. His life is the paradigm for attaining enlightenment through faith and practice. Zaigoban means that his spirit is still alive and viable within our resolve to keep this faith. He continues to preach and show us this Law of Namu-myoho-renge-kyo. Therefore, based on the concept of a law-centered faith rather than a charismatic-centered faith, such as those beliefs based on Shakyamuni Buddha, god or others, we revere Nichiren Daishonin as the True bodhisttava, who became enlightened, for the Latter Day. He is the one who transmitted the true Law; his life is a living example of living according to the Lotus Sutra. Notwithstanding, it must be said, he is not a charismatic.