The mere name of the Lotus Sutra

QUOTE*:

The Buddha said to the rakshasa daughters “Excellent, excellent! If you can shield and guard those who accept and uphold the mere name of the Lotus Sutra, your merit will be immeasurable. How much more so if you shield and guard those who accept and uphold it in its entirety.”

:UNQUOTE.

That’s worth repeating: “the mere name of the Lotus Sutra.” The mere name is “Myoho Renge Kyo,” which is its title in Japanese. When the Buddha used the term “mere name,” he must have anticipated the coming of the monk Nichiren who, basically, took that “mere name,” slapped the word “Nam” in front of it, and then dubbed the result to be the basic law of the universe.

Nichiren even went so far as to claim that saying “Nam myoho renge kyo” once was the equivalent of reading the entire Lotus Sutra once. Of course that’s utter nonsense for the same reason that saying the words “War and Peace” once is equal to having read that Russian novel once.

Nichiren advocated the chanting of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo and the daily recitation of the 2^nd and 16^th chapters of the 28 chapter Lotus Sutra. The reading of the other chapters was not advocated. So Nichiren basically positioned himself as the Votary of the Lotus Sutra but not all of it – only the parts he deemed important.

And who was Nichiren (who was not a Buddha) to contradict the Buddha Shakyamuni? In the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni repeats, over and over, that appropriate Buddhist practice is to read, recite, ponder, and teach to the best of your ability the Lotus Sutra. And not its “mere name” and not only two of its chapters to be cherry picked by some future monk.

So, who was Nichiren?

It’s not as important to ask that question as it is to ask, “Why did Nichiren’s supporters make such extravagant claims about their master?” Nichiren himself never claimed to be a buddha, which is remarkable given the thousands of pages of written material which form his legacy. Others took it upon themselves to claim that Nichiren was not only a Buddha, but was the first Buddha – the Buddha of beginningless time.

However, all those who attain Buddhahood do so by means of practicing the Lotus Sutra, as is claimed in the Lotus itself. So Nichiren could not have become a Buddha without having engaged in that practice.

The implication is that Nichiren was always a Buddha. But that sounds strange to me in light of his behavior during his life in Japan, from his birth in 1222 to his death (from cancer!) in 1262.

There was a famous incident in which Nichiren was led on horseback to be executed at Tatsunokuchi. On the way, he approached a statue of Bodhisattva Hachiman and asked to halt there while he reminded this Bodhisattva of his vow to protect the votaries of the Lotus Sutra. So there he was – the mighty Nichiren – talking to a rock (that statue), when all he had to do was use his supernatural powers (possessed by all buddhas) in order to save himself. Apparently he forgot that it’s not possible to kill a buddha – which is obvious since killing a buddha isn’t even listed as one of the five cardinal sins of Buddhism.

Also, he overlooks the fact that a buddha only gives the appearance of having a mortal body but in fact is (in a manner of speaking) an immortal, impervious energy being who is a shapeshifter, who once upon a time had a mortal body.

Or perhaps Nichiren might have called the name of Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World’s Sounds for help. Perceiver has an entire chapter in the Lotus Sutra detailing his powers to save living beings in distress who merely once call out his name – it not being necessary to speak to a statue carved in his (assumed) likeness.

Closing remarks

In the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni speaks of attaining wisdom that comes of itself – teacherless wisdom. In that spirit, I caution all Buddhists to be very skeptical of claims made on behalf of great teachers – be they the Dalai Lama or icons such as Nichiren Daishonin.

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Steven Searle, just another member of

the Virtual Samgha of the Lotus and

former candidate for US President (in 2008 & 2012)

Contact me at bpa_cinc@yahoo.com

Footnote:

QUOTE*:  This quote is from page 352, from the Burton Watson translation of The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, as published and copyrighted by the Soka Gakkai in 2009.