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TaitenAndProud
Given the fact that the SGI is *notoriously* intolerant of other belief systems, the idea that they would allow more non-Gakkai faculty members than Gakkai faculty members is just too much to swallow. The SGI has always been about rewarding loyalty and President Ikeda worship, and I see no reason to think that won't pervade Soka U as well. The ol' apple can't fall far from the tree.

Daniel Habuki (President of Cult U.) is an Ikeda stooge of the highest order (President of The Dear Leader "Academic" Fan Club, in fact). This guy epitomizes the drone Japanese salaryman stereotype who only has two vocabulary words, "Yes, Sir!", and is completely incapable of forming an independent decision or thought without his higher up (Ikeda) first planting the seed in his brain or giving the go ahead first. (Sorry if that's a bit harsh, but it IS true.)

The $oka Cult Org. is indeed notoriously intolerant of other belief systems. I've witnessed it first hand, many, many times. Once again, they cult org. has tried to change its stripes - [www.youtube.com] to fit the times and clean up its appearance. Trust me, it's all a show. There is no tolerance behind closed doors or once you are in the cult org.; in fact, it can sometimes get downright ugly. This is evidence of the cult. org. caught in another lie. (On that note, I love how the gakkai cult representative in some of these "interfaith" conferences tricks everyone into saying the magic chant, NMRK (~ 4 min. mark). They believe that if you can get people to say it, you are "officially" planting the seed, getting fortune, etc.. But if the shoe where on the other foot, you'd never get gakkai members to say a prayer to Jesus, praise Allah, or utter Nami Amida Buddha. ESPECIALLY that last one!).


- Hitch



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/14/2013 09:36AM by Hitch.

Some more critical Cult U. reviews by actual students:

"mel November 14, 2012

This school is very average and to say it’s exceptional is a self-indulgent lie. One thing this school has more than enough of is PRIDE. It’s sickening. I was a student here. I watched people eat dinner, conforming and avoiding any criticism of this place. People responded like hungry wolves when one single article mentioned a tiny bit of doubt about the perfection of the school system. That’s how you spot weakness – cruel attempts to cover up your own flaws."

"greg May 6, 2012

You can tell how brainless these students are when all they do is praise the school in their reviews. What other student body would think so highly of an institution that there is no room for criticism? These people have their heads in a cloud. They want to think that the school changed their life, but if you really observe these students they are no different from how they started out. If they came in as judgemental, phony, and unimaginitive students, they most likely have left in the same fashion."

"john May 1, 2012

This school is ridiculous. The people here are brainwashed by their religious leader and forever will be. I have never seen a such a massive group of people acting like one hypnotized team of proud egotistical maniacs. They have to do everything in unison because they are too weak to go it alone. Every thought is the same although they try hard to pretend they thought of it all on their own – they just had someone to “guide” them in the “right” direction. The school is getting better now that it is not completely composed of spoiled rich kids of elitist parents. I can only hope the wiser students stay strong and show everyone else what a real education is.

Whatever the school brags about is bogus wrapped in a cute little ribbon. Even the study abroad programs are not all they are hyped up to be. Half of them are easy enough for a junior high student to get through, and everyone knows its actually a vacation for people to get wasted and say they actually accomplished something.

Whenever a professor is lacking in ability, they come in and give an excuse wrapped up in another pretty ribbon – they say it’s the student’s opportunity/responsibility to foster the way for fellow students. What a brilliant way to spend $160,000."

"brianna March 15, 2012

Soka University tries its best to stick to its motto of “fostering a steady stream of global citizens.” However, I have left this school with the realization that it does not help people to become independent thinkers. Maybe that is a symptom of all schools, but I was really disappointed with how much the students here depend on their professors. I don’t know how they would survive in another school where they have to use their own mind and the books assigned to them."

****

Found from another site of reviews:

"TIPS FOR PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS

if you already have a good head on your shoulders, you might feel a bit impatient here. professors here generally treat you like you don't know anything because it is often true of the students. students here really depend on professors for everything. there are many professors who have a really good reputation, and students maintain that reputation by always acting as if they are in awe at every word that is spoken in a lecture. it's all about reputation here. supposedly we value critical thinking but not many students really use it in their lives. the general sentiment here is, if you don't have anything good to say, don't say it. they will take offense to deep criticisms of the school unless you fluff it up with praises and a show of appreciation."

****

I particularly enjoyed "John's" review above and the "critical thinking" bit in the "Tips" portion. I'd say those two, especially, are pretty accurate.



- Hitch

Nichiren does indeed clarify his non-violent stance in Establishing the Correct Law for the Peace of the Land:

Nichijew, he establishes his INTOLERANT stance - from that same Gosho:

"If you wish to bring about the tranquility of the empire as soon as possible, first of all, you had better put a ban on the slanderers of the True Dharma throughout the nation.

You, my guest, have seen clear statements in the Nirvana Sutra outlawing slanderers of the True Dharma. Yet you ask me such a question. Is it because you don't understand them, or is it because you don't know the reason for them? What the Nirvana Sutra means is not that we should outlaw disciples of the Buddha at all but that we should solely chastise slanderers of the True Dharma.

Those who wish to uphold the True Dharma should arm themselves with swords, bows and arrows, and halberds, instead of observing the five precepts (against killing, stealing, adultery, lying, and drinking alcohol), and keeping propriety. ... Therefore, those laymen who wish to defend the True Dharma should arm themselves with swords and sticks in order to defend it just as King Virtuous (who killed numerous monks) did.

One who kills an ant will fall into the three evil realms (hell, the realm of hungry spirits, and that of beasts and birds [[i]aka hell, hunger, and animality[/i]]) without fail, but one who eliminates a slanderer of the True Dharma will reach the stage of non-regression, and eventually will attain Buddhahood. ... King Virtuous, who killed slanderers to defend the True Dharma, was reborn in this world as Shakyamuni Buddha.

On the other hand, if he accuses the destroyer of the dharma, chases him out, or punishes him strictly, such a man is My disciple, one who truly hears Me.

King Siladitya of ancient India was a sage who protected Buddhism. Punishing only the ringleader, the king spared the lives of other members who rebelled against him, banishing them from his kingdom. Emperor Hsuan-tsung of T'ang China was a wise ruler who protected Buddhism. He executed 12 Taoist masters, eliminating enemies of the Buddha and restoring Buddhism.

If you wish to bring about peace in our country and pray for happiness in this life, as well as in the future, then waste no time. Think hard and take the necessary measures to thoroughly deal with slanderers of the True Dharma.

Is it not the best way to prevent calamities from overtaking the land to ban the one evil teaching, the source of all the troubles, instead of having various devotional services?

Slanderers of the True Dharma will be suffering in a large hell due to their cumulative evil karma of destroying the True Dharma. ... When their serious crime is reduced and they are allowed to be reborn in the human world, they will be born in the family of the blind, outcasts, or base people who clean toilets and bury dead bodies. Or they will be born without eyes, mouth, ears, or hands functioning properly."

What a horrid, judgmental, arrogant man!! Look how he blames the poor, the destitute, and the handicapped for causing their own problems because of evil behavior from previous lifetimes! Do you think this is an appropriate perspective for a modern person to hold? Notice that Nichiren defines "slanderers of the True Dharma" as "anyone who preferred a different flavor of Buddhism." Naturally, "the True Dharma" meant "Nichiren's own interpretation." Nichiren obviously wished harm on the competition; he just wanted OTHER PEOPLE to do it. He wants fascism - he wants the government to adopt and enforce his own personal intolerant attitude (and make him famous in the process).

Let's face it - all this talk of "devils" and "protective gods" and "omens" is clearly primitive superstition. The country of Japan has obviously survived to this day, despite Nichiren's dire warnings that it would be utterly destroyed unless the WHOLE COUNTRY converted en masse to his own preferred religion! This alone proves that Nichiren, aside from being completely intolerant, was just plain *wrong* :)

What you need to realize is that there are a *lot* of Buddhists who regard the Lotus Sutra and Nirvana Sutra, both referenced above, to be late and unreliable. There is no sign of either before the late 1st Century CE (which is why they share the same intolerant focus with Christianity). Think about that for a moment - if the Lotus Sutra were, indeed, Shakyamuni Buddha's "highest teaching", the one he spent the final 8 years of his life expounding (until he expounded the Nirvana Sutra last but we don't care about that), WHY did it take some 6 CENTURIES for anyone to bother to write it down? Accepting the 5th Century BCE dates for Shakyamuni Buddha's lifetime as fact, of course. The Nirvana Sutra is unknown before the 2nd Century CE.

Why do you suppose that, in these two sutras, the Buddha does an about-face from his previous generous, magnanimous, completely pacifist stance? That the Buddha should tell people to *IGNORE* the precepts already established, in favor of violence against fellow human beings? Does that not concern you? One of the sutras the SGI does not want you to read is the Kalama Sutra (thought I recommend it highly: Read the Kalama Sutra by clicking here!) Here is a summary of the main points:

“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”

Often referred to as "The Buddha's Charter of Free Inquiry", this fits with the character of the Buddha AND with the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, whereas all that more modern, intolerant content does not.

Judging something to be "good" or "bad" is evidence of *attachment* and *delusion*, because we all know there's nothing inherently "good" or "bad." Even the SGI acknowledges this. The SGI also acknowledges #3 of the Four Noble Truths: "Attachment leads to suffering." So lip service is paid to "attachment is bad". But all of this "evil priests" "slanderers of the True Dharma" etc. - it's completely based in attachments and delusions! Nichiren wanted to bend reality to his will - a most UN-enlightened, UN-Buddhist attitude - and sought to persuade, even pressure and coerce, others to agree with him. This is not Buddhist behavior! It is disrespectful and arrogant, which are both the antithesis of Buddhism! The Buddha was able to see from the perspective of eternity, and knew that each person was already doing his best, so the best course of action was to accept and encourage each person, trusting that, in the fullness of time, he would walk his own path as only he could. The Buddha never presumed to tell other people what to do - when you see people ordering other people to do this or that, it should be a flashing red light that what you're reading or hearing is *NOT* Buddhism!

Nichiren was all in a kerfuffle over what he perceived as the imminent destruction of Japan. Japan was not destroyed. Japan continues to this day! Nichiren was clearly deluded, and I don't think we need to pay any more attention to him or his fascist, intolerant, medieval views. We've outgrown them, and we've progressed beyond that point (hopefully). We live in a pluralistic society where the government guarantees basic protections under the law to all citizens, a policy that Nichiren would fight tooth and nail against. There are so many religions that it has become clear that religious belief is like visiting a buffet - you are free to take whatever you like, whatever appeals to you, and pass the rest on by. But you are not allowed to choose for anyone else! You can pass on the whole darn buffet if you like - so what? The supernatural does not exist. Superstitions are primitive manifestations of fear and ignorance. There is no "magic" out there, no "curses", no dire demonic threats waiting to rain down on the unwary. You can practice Buddhism if you like; you can quit at any time; and you can ignore it if it doesn't appeal to you! The Buddha acknowledged this - that is why he made it clear that he taught "A way" - not "THE way." There is *no* "THE way." Everyone will choose something different - one size fits all actually fits none. Any religion that presents itself as "one size fits all" proves with that premise that it is wrong.

"Nichiren does indeed clarify his non-violent stance in Establishing the Correct Law for the Peace of the Land: the giving of alms to slanderous monks is forbidden in the sutra teachings."

Those who believe in "the sutra teachings" I'm sure behave to the best of their ability according to their understanding of the sutra's teachings. Their interpretation may not agree with Nichiren's interpretation of the sutra teachings in question, of course. Do you *REALLY* think the government shouldlegislate which religious organizations are allowed to accept donations? Nichiren did! He frequently petitioned the government to take action against other sects of Buddhism (on his own behalf and for his own benefit - he wished to be The Only Government-Approved Priest and Religion)! If our government were to enact a policy where no one is allowed to give donations to the SGI, would you feel that was "not intolerant"? If there were legal punishment associated with such a ban (it wouldn't be much of a ban without teeth, right?), would you consider that "non-violent"? Or would you think it was all *fine*, so long as the banned/persecuted religion wasn't your own?

Just a few thoughts.

"Even were it not the case, when Nichiren made that statement about his persecutors having their heads cut off at Yui beach [1274], he had recently been sentenced for execution and subsequent exile to certain death in a cold and foreboding place. Please compare his life to the comfortable life of the Princeton grad and Nobel laureate Thich Nat Hanh and the Dalai Lama who was born with a platinum spoon in his mouth."

Why should it be necessary to deprecate or sneer at the leaders of other religious movements? Is personal suffering some measure of a person's ability to understand anything? Do people have to suffer to medieval standards in order to be taken seriously?

Must everyone who did not suffer according to a feudal Japanese priest's own accounts be dismissed out-of-hand? Why? And can we be sure that Nichiren wasn't embellishing the tales just a tad?

Did Nichiren die in that "cold and foreboding place"? If not, then how could his exile ever be referred to (honestly) as "certain death"? It obviously wasn't! We have only Nichiren's side of these tales - that should give anyone cause for pause.

And, finally, do two wrongs make a right? Does the fact that HE'd almost been executed for practicing a different religion somehow make it all right for others to be executed for practicing a different religion? Should *anyone* be executed for a religion?

What you find in the Gosho is incompatible with our modern understanding of human rights and religious freedom. Nichiren would be against both! At least Thich Nhat Hahn and the Dalai Lama have been outspoken on the subjects of human rights, tolerance, and peaceful behavior. Nichiren? Not so much! A great many people will tell you that they have been helped enormously by the teachings of Thich Nhat Hahn and the Dalai Lama. Must we disbelieve them because these philosophers were, according to you, "born with a platinum spoon in their mouths"? If you want to criticize corrupt and spoiled theologians, why don't you point to the Catholic Church and its legions of child-molesting priests? Why make a point of condemning two leaders of different Buddhist movements? Tibetan Buddhism is not the same as Chinese Buddhism. Vietnamese Buddhism is not the same as Tibetan Buddhism! Zen Buddhism is not the same as Nichiren Buddhism, and Nichiren Buddhism is not the same as Shin Buddhism! Why not let everyone make up their own minds? When you condemn these leaders for what you regard as their privileged circumstances, you just make yourself look bitter and mean. The Dalai Lama has to live in exile. To have to live apart from one's own people isn't a nice thing - it sounds like you're full of sympathy for Nichiren's brief episodes of that. For the Dalai Lama, it's been most of his life.

The samurai and shogun and empire are all (effectively) gone - so what? Time marches on. Things change. I'll bet you'd have a hard time finding *anyone* who was willing to go back to the 12th Century CE! So since progress has swept away the ruling government of Nichiren's time, does that mean it was properly punished for not forcing all the people to convert to Nichiren's preferred religion? Nichiren did say that JAPAN would be destroyed, though! How much does he need to be demonstrably *wrong* about before people will start suspecting that perhaps he wasn't what he made himself out to be, or what the SGI would make him into? Would you say that Japan would be better off if it were still functioning according to feudal standards, with a ruling shogunate, an imperial family pulling strings behind the scenes, and armies of samurai?

You don't think there's anything at all odd-sounding about describing Shakyamuni Buddha as a former murderer who was *rewarded* for murdering priests?

Also, there are other Nichiren sects who are convinced that many of the Gosho canonized by Nichiren Shoshu (and the SGI) are not authentic. They hold other Gosho to be more authentic/more important. They have Gosho that Nichiren Shoshu (and the SGI) hold to be inauthentic. So who's right? Is it just a matter for belief and faith, evidence need not apply? Or is the fact that you *like* it all it takes to prove to your satisfaction that it's obviously authentic, and all that archaeology/paleography/scholarly study be damned?

Back for a moment to what Nichiren said about handicapped and the poor: SOMEONE needs to clean the toilets and bury the dead bodies, right? Isn't that a necessary function within society? So why should we condemn it?? Why should we look down on those who provide this valuable service for the rest of us? Isn't all work worthy of respect? Aren't ALL PERSONS worthy of respect? Nichiren obviously didn't think so.

I remember SGI leaders standing up at meetings and declaring that no one who did NOT chant Nam myoho renge kyo could ever experience true happiness. What a pompous, self-important statement to make! First of all, how can anyone feel qualified/authorized to pass judgment on other people's lives and states of mind, especially when they haven't even met them?? That's not Buddhist behavior. From what I saw and experienced for myself in the SGI, chanting Nam myoho renge kyo was no guarantee of happiness! There are plenty of people who insist they're perfectly happy, in their lives, with their relationships, and with their religions (or lack thereof). Why should we not accept their word on the matter? THEY should know, shouldn't they? If anyone can know? Why should we declare that they're just *wrong* about their own judgment and their own lives? That's ludicrous! Insane!

There are tens of thousands of religions in the world. People choose each of them, sometimes briefly, sometimes for a lifetime. They all insist that theirs is the one correct truth, and they're right - but they cannot speak for anyone else but themselves. The fact that there are people of EVERY religion (and none) who feel just as satisfied, content, and fulfilled with their religion (or lack thereof) as you do with yours should tell you something about the nature of human beings and their relationships with religion. Nichiren advocated *forcing* people, under pain of death, to follow his dictates; this alone shows that his views were horribly, fatally distorted.

Funeral Follies

What most SGI members aren't really aware of is that they actually embrace the Nichiren Shoshu orthodoxy - they use THEIR canon of scriptures, they accept THEIR origins/authority mythology, AND they accept the Dai-Gohonzon!

As soon as I learned that there were *other* Nichiren sects, apparently going back to the very beginning (!), my interest was piqued. HOW could there be others? Especially when, as we all learned, Nikko Shonin, the Daishonin's true successor and the only one who really "got" his teachings, had left at the other 5 senior priests' heresy, loading up the Daishonin's most important creation, the Dai-Gohonzon, on his back and walking serenely and piously off with it?

When I started looking into things, I found that the other Nichiren sects do not believe that the Dai-Gohonzon is even authentic! First of all, there were FIVE other senior priests, right? Would they allow li'l ol' Nikko to just up and walk away the most important item in the entire Nichiren school?? We don't hear that Nikko snuck away with it under cover of darkness, you'll notice! Five against one, with one virtually incapacitated by a big ol' door strapped to his back - nuh uh!!!

They believe that, at some point, the sect we now know as Nichiren Shoshu manufactured the Dai-Gohonzon to use as "proof" of its authority among the various Nichiren sects. This is commonplace behavior among religions - in medieval Europe, Catholic churches were all one-upping each other with who had the *best* saint corpse, or the *best* apostle bones, or the *best* crown of thorns - you name it! At one point, there were SEVEN different skulls of John the Baptist - including one from when he was a boy! The Shroud of Turin is an absolutely modern cult phenomenon - it has only held a spotlight within the last 50 or 60 years. There were upwards of 40 different shrouds earlier on. In fact, there were frequently lawsuits over which church got to claim that its mummy was the actual body of a given saint, because often churches in neighboring towns would each have such a corpse, and each claim it was (insert saint name here)! But I digress :)

So anyhow, what was the "heresy" of the 5 senior priests, you ask? Why, they went so far as to desecrate the sanctuary there on Mt. Minobu with a...it's almost too much to say...STATUE OF SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA!!! *le gasp*!! The horror! >>swoon<<

Well, other accounts tell us that Nichiren's most prized possession was...a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, and Nikko, who considered himself Preacher's Pet, was *quite* honked off when Nichiren left that coveted statue to a different priest! Hmmm...now I'm wondering if it was the *same* statue that the other priests put in their sanctuary, out of respect for their master's obvious affection for it. That would have been *terribly* wrong of them, right?

As you can see, it's quite the sordid mess! Great fun, though!

The cult org. (N$A, before the name change to $GI) manipulated us members BIG TIME with the "Dai-Gohonzon" bit, but now, it is apparently no longer a big deal. How quickly they change their tune (even on their once most SACRED tenets) and expect the membership to just plug-in a new memory chip with all the new instructions (i.e., beliefs) on it for automatic cerebral download - no thinking or questions allowed. Just forget everything we told you in the past, because it's all changed again.

The priests were "ok" folk, until the ex-communication. The cult org. kept the "general" membership completely in the dark about the rift for decades beforehand. The Nikken gohonzons were "beautiful", until the official order went out that he was the devil incarnate and suddenly, overnight, those same gohonzons became taboo objects - even mandating replacement (what a bunch of primitive, simplistic superstition).

It's all a manipulative psychological con-game. The cult org. inadvertently showed their cards and their bluff has been called. Hence, the declining numbers (in the USA) and the dysfunctional cult org. paranoia that has created what you see today --> the insecure rallying the wagons around The Dear Leader in his waning days and the transformation into the cult on steroids.

I agree, it has been great fun to watch the process unfold. It's going to get even more interesting when Hiromasa (zero charisma and a snooze-fest to listen to) takes over. He's already serving as The Dear Leader by proxy at cult events abroad.

Hopefully, more & more people will eventually be able to see it, as time goes by. However, although I think the cult org. may have reached its peak in Japan and be in slight decline in America, it is still spreading like wildfire in countries abroad like Brazil, India, Singapore, etc.. It's going to be around for a long, long time and, unfortunately, screw around with many more minds and lives in the process.


- Hitch

Where are your sources that say it's "spreading like wildfire" in other countries, Hitch? My money's that they're Gakkai sources! We've seen the same thing with Christianity, claiming that, though Christianity is in decline in every developed country (every place we can actually check the numbers for ourselves, in other words), it's "spreading like wildfire" in countries like China, where no one can check their figures! Remember the SGI "membership cards" fiasco? If they're claiming that "it's spreading like wildfire", I'll wager it's a case of many being persuaded to come on in and get a Gohonzon, and then they're never seen again. It's the same thing with the Mormons - once they get someone on their membership rolls, that person stays there until his 120th birthday, even if they haven't heard from him in decades, even if it is well known that he is practicing a different religion now. They *say* that the 120th birthday thing is to make sure they give the apostate "plenty of time" to come back, you see - and we all know how many people live to the ripe old age of 120! It's just more religious cooking the books, and I'll bet that they're doing these same things in other countries. How would we ever check??

There is no religion worldwide that is converting masses of educated adults. Not a single one. Religions make wild claims for themselves, but no one else appears aware of the phenomena they claim. So I'll chock it up to more "tabloid behavior" - making up wild claims, and setting them sufficiently far away that they can be sure nobody's going to be able to go and check. Hell, they probably have Bat Boy working for them now!!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2013 11:12AM by TaitenAndProud.

"Spreading like wildfire" are my words based on what I've seen poking around since joining this mb. Countries like Brasil, India (Bharat Soka Gakkai), Malaysia, Korea, etc., all seem to be putting on some extremely intense meetings and CULTural festivals - of the heavily brainwashed kind. That said, the cult org. is also running into trouble in some of these countries with actual thinking members who are speaking out on the web.

Generally speaking, until humanity grows up, I'm afraid we are going to be stuck with "religion" (cults, included).


- Hitch

Oh, sure - wherever there is poverty, substandard education, lack of social safety nets, and a growing (or already alarming) gap between rich and poor, religion will flourish. But that doesn't make it any less a symptom of dysfunction. The fact that hundreds of thousands get the flu each flu season is not proof that the flu is good for you!

I remember those big "Culture Festivals" - participated in several of them during the late 1980s, in fact. But we don't see those being put on in the US any more, unless I've just missed those memos. It's like they were a symptom of crazy religious immaturity rather than a mature religious expression. We were also doing a lot of street shakubuku back then (God, how I hated that!!) But what do I know??

Hey, remember how every August used to be Shakubuku Month, and we'd be expected to state a numerical goal for how many people we planned to "help get gohonzon"? I always hated that - referred to it as "body count." How could I possibly know whether this practice would fit someone else's life or not?? One time, my YWD Chapter Chief came over with this Japanese girl I'd never seen before in tow. Japanese girl couldn't speak but about 12 words of English. When I expressed my concerns about "body count", she said something like, "Shakubuku...people...makes them happy!" Yeah, okay hon. Whatever *eye roll* It always struck me as fundamentally disrespectful, to declare a goal of how many people we would convince to want to change to be more like us.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2013 12:23PM by TaitenAndProud.

"You don't think there's anything at all odd-sounding about describing Shakyamuni Buddha as a former murderer who was *rewarded* for murdering priests" -- TaitanandProud."

I might if I knew nothing of the history and prophetic nature of the Mahayana Mahaparanirvana Sutra which was composed 800 years before the Muslims and Rajputs slaughtered 20,000,000 pacifistic Buddhists in India. The passages cited by Nichiren derive from this Sutra. Is "never again" a philosophy only appropriate for the Jewish people? Had the Buddhists of the Middle Ages taken to heart the passages from the Mahayana Mahaparanirvana Sutra, the third most horrific holocaust in the history of the world [after Stalin's slaughter of his own people and Mao's Cultural Revolution] might not have occurred. The priests and laymen of the other sects were not much better than the Muslims and Rajputs in persecuting Nichiren and his nascient group of believers. What should Nichiren have told the Regent, "Why don't you let the Zen, Tendai, and Pure Land monks and laybelievers continue to persecute me and my disciples?"

Nichijew



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2013 01:09PM by Nichijew.