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tsukimoto
It's important to appreciate and value what a good teacher did for you -- but does that teacher expect you to devote the rest of your life to him, or her? To follow what he or she says, even after you are grown and out of school? To hang around them constantly, telling them how wonderful they are?
I had a really great eleventh-grade English teacher. However, I don't think she ever wanted or expected me to devote the rest of my life to following her. I think her goal was that I learn to write clearly and correctly, and critically evaluate what I read -- so that I could achieve my OWN goals for further education and a career.
That's the exact opposite of Ikeda's mentor-disciple teaching. The disciple does not get to take the teaching, and become independent; disciples always follow the mentor and always "owe" the mentor. There is no graduation.
Nichiren Daishonin himself said, "Follow the law and not the person."
In all fairness, there are different levels of teacher, and I do believe that for many, a teacher who brings the light of genuine spirituality into one's personal darkness may deserve a bit more reverence and remembrance than the one who interpreted Keats or taught you cursive writing. However, I think that what so many people object to about Ikeda is that he sets himself up not just as teacher, but as the one and only route to enlightenment, in apparent contradiction to Nichiren himself. It's frankly scary to watch so many people willingly throw away their ability to reason for this person, gradually permitting themselves to become more and more despotic in their thinking and behavior toward those who question Ikeda and the org. From what other mindset could the following statement (as referenced by Morgaine on page 231 of this forum), and so many like it, come from?
"For us, as practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism, mastering our minds means basing ourselves on the Gohonzon and Nichiren’s writings. And in Buddhism, it is the teacher or mentor who puts the teachings into practice that helps us connect to the Law. Mastering our minds means having a sincere seeking spirit in faith based on the shared commitment of mentor and disciple, and not being ruled by arrogant egoism or self-centeredness."
Oh, wait…maybe they're talking about some OTHER "mentor" than Ikeda, and some OTHER "disciple" than Average Joe Member…right?
I think it's useful to point out that the words above are immediately followed with this:
"Nichiren highlights the importance of living with inner mastery—mastery based on the Law—in the following passage: “Whatever trouble occurs, regard it as no more than a dream, and think only of the Lotus Sutra” (WND- 1, 502)." […]
which is followed in the next paragraph by:
"In the present age, we of the Soka Gakkai have been dedicating ourselves to mastering our minds through single-minded commitment to the Lotus Sutra (Nam-myoho-renge-kyo). As a result, we are showing magnificent actual proof of victory. There are now countless heroic members—ordinary people exerting themselves valiantly in their Buddhist practice—in Japan and around the world. They are truly treasures of kosen-rufu and treasures of humanity. Basing themselves on the Law and embodying the spirit
ransformed their karma and established a life- state of unshakable happiness. "[…]
(all from Page 53-54 of the 2010 Introductory Exam Study Guide)
Over and over again, the writings and thoughts of Nichiren are co-opted and twisted around to equate to "mentor/disciple," which, when used by the SGI means "devotion to Daisaku Ikeda," which circles back around to, "the only way to be heroic, valiant and okay is to give all your time and a lot of money to the Soka Gakkai,because to do otherwise is to be ruled by arrogant egoism or self-centeredness." The irony, of course, is in the fact that the real "arrogant egoism" is displayed by SGI and Ikeda himself, not by those who resist such distortions.