"Hinayana" is a pejorative, the same way Christians belittle the Jewish Torah by referring to it as the "OLD Testament." "Theravada" is a better term, and despite Nichiren's denunciation of the Theravada scriptures, I have found them fascinating and totally appropriate to this time period. I'll give you a sample in a bit. Keep in mind that there is no trace of the Lotus Sutra before the end of the 1st Century CE - WHY would the "highest teaching" of Shakyamuni Buddha, supposedly the only teaching he taught for the final EIGHT years of his life (we'll just forget for now about the Nirvana Sutra that came after that) *not* be even written down until over 500 YEARS after Shakyamuni Buddha's supposed death?? If you are up on your first century religious movements, you'll see strong similarities in the Lotus Sutra - how "salvation" is now opened up for even the previously disqualified (the dragon king's daughter), how devotion is now a personal thing (that's the product of tribes and previously closed societies being thrown together to the point that the gods that favored "our" group now favor special individuals instead), intolerance, etc. One would have to wonder why Shakyamuni Buddha would spend an entire lifetime carefully setting out some "80,000" teachings, so that there would be a teaching that pretty much anybody could understand and relate to, only to then say, "In these more than forty years, I have not yet revealed the truth," and "Though they [the Buddhas] may set forth various paths, they do so in truth for the sake of the Buddha vehicle", and "Honestly discarding the provisional teachings, I will expound only the supreme Way." That's a scam. Somebody else wrote it. If you want to read Nichiren's torturous casuistry in defending the primacy of the Lotus Sutra, go here: [nichiren.info] Supreme boredom alert!
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The great Vietnamese Buddhist sage Thich Nhat Hanh set up the Deer Park Monastery not too far from where I live: [deerparkmonastery.org] I went there once some years ago and sat in on part of their "gongyo". They use a sutra book as the SGI does, but it has the English translation of each line right below - WAY superior to the SGI "Just mumble without understanding, and if you want to understand BUY a book!" approach. Because my children were small and squirmy, I could only sit in for a brief time, but here's what they were saying:

Quote

"Properly considering the robe, I use it: simply to ward off cold, to ward off heat, to ward off the touch of flies, mosquitoes, simply for the purpose of covering the parts of the body that cause shame.
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"Properly considering almsfood, I use it: not playfully, nor for intoxication, nor for putting on weight, nor for beautification; but simply for the survival and continuance of this body, for ending its afflictions, for the support of the chaste life, (thinking) I will destroy old feelings (of hunger) and not create new feelings (from overeating). Thus I will maintain myself, be blameless, and live in comfort.
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"Properly considering the lodging, I use it: simply to ward off cold, to ward off heat, to ward off the touch of flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun and reptiles; simply for protection from the inclemencies of weather and for the enjoyment of seclusion.
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"Properly considering medicinal requisites for curing the sick, I use them: simply to ward off any pains of illness that have arisen and for the maximum freedom from disease." [www.accesstoinsight.org]

As you can see, that ^ is all eminently sensible stuff - how much "keeping up with the Joneses" and other harmful delusions might be resolved by pondering such practical thoughts?
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Also, take a look at the Kalama Sutra - that's where the summary quote below comes from - it's often referred to as "The Buddha's Charter of Free Inquiry": [www.accesstoinsight.org]

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“Now, Kalamas, don’t go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, ‘This contemplative is our teacher.’ When you know for yourselves that, ‘These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare & to happiness’ — then you should enter & remain in them.

I guess we can see why those who wished to impose control and submission and conformity onto the populace didn't want the people reading THAT!!
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And a coupla popular paraphrases:

Quote

“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.”
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“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.”

Using Hinayana to differentiate from Mahayana - I've seen it used in numerous sources (including writings by HHDL) and in that usage, I would never think of it as pejorative. Also (from Wikipedia):

"Some Theravada Buddhists have opposed the identification of Theravada with Hinayana, as it is seen as more of a derogatory term. As Walpola Rahula noted in his Gems of Buddhist Wisdom:

We must not confuse Hînayâna with Theravâda because the terms are not synonymous. Theravâda Buddhism went to Sri Lanka during the 3rd Century BC when there was no Mahâyâna at all. Hînayâna sects developed in India and had an existence independent from the form of Buddhism existing in Sri Lanka. Today there is no Hînayâna sect in existence anywhere in the world. Therefore, in 1950 the World Fellowship of Buddhists inaugurated in Colombo unanimously decided that the term Hînayana should be dropped when referring to Buddhism existing today in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, etc. This is the brief history of Theravâda, Mahayâna and Hînayâna."


I often wonder if Walt Whitman ever did any reading on Buddhism; when I read the following many years ago, it echoes the paraphrases above:

"read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.”

We've discussed many times on this board how sgi has so little bearing on Buddhism that it should really call itself something else. Maybe when Senseless finally pops his clogs, they'll call it Ikeda-ism. Reddit has a couple of interesting threads ( [www.reddit.com] ), and it's interesting to see how the faithful are so defensive. Amusing (and not the least surprising) to read, too, that anyone who takes a position against it is parroting those wicked old priests.

I'm sure you noticed how SGI darling Orlando Bloom and his wife Miranda Kerr are now divorcing after only 2 or 3 years of marriage. How's that "actual proof" working out for everyone? I will give them props for having the maturity to put their concern for their young son first - it appears a very amicable split. But isn't the goal LASTING marriage??

Good points - the thing is that "Hinayana" literally means "lesser vehicle" which is compared with "Mahayana" which means "greater vehicle." So, yes, by comparison it IS pejorative. Interesting about the (brief) history of Hinayana, though - I did not know that. I realize a lot of people use the term "Hinayana," but I've only seen "Theravada" in the reputable sources, meaning the writings of Buddhist teachers and commentators. I used to know a guy who was doing his PhD in Buddhist studies, but we fell out of touch, which is a shame, because then I could ask him. I think he preferred "Theravada" too, but it's been a long time since we discussed it.

Since you brought it up, I hadn't thought about the comparison of having "greater" vs. "lesser" because it's clearly a competitive thing, isn't it? I wonder about the schism that must have occurred, leaving "Hinayana" behind in India where it all began. Sort of like how Protestant Christians fancy themselves so much more correct than the Catholicism that was the only Christianity up to that point.

I have to tell you, the timeline of Buddhism as generally accepted is not supported by the archaeology. The oldest evidence, the edicts of Ashoka, are typically pointed to as the first evidence of Buddhism, but there's nothing that indicates that the content of the edicts was itself based on any specific teacher and not the insights of the sovereign himself. So if we can't count the edicts of Ashoka as hard evidence of the existence of a Buddha, then we have to fast forward to the 1st Century CE, when the first Hellenized statue of the Buddha appears: [en.wikipedia.org]

There's a whole article in Wikipedia on Greco-Buddhism: [en.wikipedia.org] Alexander the Great and his subsequent generals spread Hellenistic ideas and ideals as far as India and, as we all know, there can't be contact between peoples and belief systems without cross-pollination occurring.

There is a strong tendency in all the religions to mythologize a distant past origins tale, as something of long standing is typically considered "better" and "more valid" and "more reliable" than something brand new. Regardless, we can see changes in Buddhism qua Buddhism over time and according to different locales, and the Pali Canon is considered the most authoritative and oldest Buddhist text. Even here, though, the earliest fragments are 8th-9th centuries, and the earliest complete copy is 15th Century! So, sure, people can say, "Oh, yeah, well, we've only got a copy from the 15th Century, but it really DID exist 2000 years earlier and in just this form - we just know it!" Why should we believe them?

I'll sheck out the Reddit threads in a bit - thanks for the link.

Oh, one last bit of interesting info - Sanskrit is a RECENT language - the earliest evidence of its existence is from 150 CE, in the Brahmi script (see Encyclopedia Brittanica). By the 5th Century CE, classical Sanskrit predominated on various inscriptions, replacing the various regional dialects, much the way English has become so widespread as a language.

So that means that anything written in Sanskrit has to be later than 150 CE. The Ashoka Edicts are written in Prakrit, not Sanskrit.

Oh great. Yet another new format (YAY) and my latest posts disappeared. WTH, admins???

I just made this post over somewhere on Reddit, so I'm going to post the same information here - it's important:

Re: "Nichiren says follow the Law, SGI follows the person!"

When the Nichiren Shoshu excommunicated the Soka Gakkai back in, what was it, 1990 or 1991, I was already a leader in the organization. I left in 2008 or 2009. Anyhow, what I didn't realize until just recently was that, under Japanese law, for the Soka Gakkai (SGI) to continue to claim its religious exemptions as a religious group, it had to change its doctrines. It had to become a NEW religion. Because the parent organization, Nichiren Shoshu, had excommunicated the SG, that meant that the SG would no longer be considered a religious organization, as it had previously identified itself as the main lay organization of Nichiren Shoshu. Since Nichiren Shoshu had publicly and legally declared that SG was no longer affiliated with Nichiren Shoshu, that meant that the SG could no longer ride on (actual Buddhist organization) Nichiren Shoshu's coattails. Let it be known that the SG and SGI's affiliation with the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood had been a prominent claim within the SG and SGI to demonstrate the validity of this extended lay organization. So this is where and when various changes began to occur. The prayers were changed; the Three Presidents (especially that glory hog Ikeda) were emphasized, and more and more, the members were exhorted to follow "the most wonderful path of mentor and disciple". It started out as "master and disciple," but given our country's history of slavery, there's just a tad of a negative connotation to "master" so they changed even that.

Notice that this fundamental change of doctrines was never publicized. It was never even publicly acknowledged. The members were never told about this legal requirement or its ramifications. THEY WERE NEVER TOLD THAT THE SGI WAS CREATING A BRAND NEW RELIGION. I think that one of the doctrines they adopted was "Hate the priesthood no matter what", because that was sure an unpleasant focus for a looooong time.

Now, if you look at their publications, what you find is about 95% Ikeda. Stories about Ikeda, reports of Ikeda's activities, writings purported to be by Ikeda, etc. etc. etc. It's become the All-Ikeda Organization. I guess that would be the best way to make it new - make it all about the worship of Ikeda! Nobody's done THAT before, not specifically!

Whither enlightenment?

The SGI promotes Toadface Icky-da as the most knowledgeable Buddhist scholar/sage in the world and likes to say that HE understands best of all how to practice correctly. WHICH is why everyone should strive to be more like Dai-sucky.

But is Daisaku Ikeda *enlightened*?

No one will say! If he's the best Buddhist on the planet and even HE isn't enlightened, what does that say about everyone else's chances?

Ask any SGI member - they'll hem and haw and pussyfoot around so as to avoid answering. To the SGI, apparently "enlightenment" has become the equivalent of "heaven", something you get when you die. I have also heard leaders say that you're enlightened while you're chanting. If so, then enlightenment is sure nothing special!

Does anyone know of any sort of documentation about what the SGI changed doctrinally after being excommunicated by Nichiren Shoshu so as to be able to claim it was a new religion (to keep its religious exemption)?

I just ran across this site: [surveymansays.blogspot.com]

There is an article on the main page titled "What would Ex-SGI members/leaders change about the SGI? (2008)"

There are comments from several different contributors, but the most popular changes appear to be: introduce democratic elections, get rid of Ikeda, more focus on the sutras and REAL Buddhism, less focus on Ikeda and commentaries. It's good stuff.

That survey is priceless! I didn't read all the comments, but my favorite was:

"I would disband it and put the top leaders in jail."

So many comments beg the question - if you're so unhappy in the group, why the hell are you still in it?

If I'm at a party being held by someone I despise, the food sucks, they're only pouring purple Kool-Aid, the conversation is stupid, the atmosphere is uncomfortable and the average IQ is hovering around retirement age, I'm outta there.

I would happy to see sgi and senseless sink into complete non-existence, but if you're staying in an organization that you see so much wrong with, that says more about you than it does the organization. Vote with your feet, ditwads!