Free Nichiren Buddhism
Engyo was kind enough to send me a photo of the Nichiren stupa being studied for its earthquake-resistant properties. From Nakayama Hokkekyo-ji in Chiba prefecture:
These two photos are from Ikegami Honmon-ji in Ikegami Ward, Tokyo:
Thank you, Engyo!
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3 comments
Wow - If I'd known this would be such a conversation killer, I wouldn't have sent the photos in!
You know, Engyo,I think it hit me on a subliminal level regarding what terrible disarray Nichiren's Buddhism is in and how ill-suited we are to agree on things as he wished/willed and be able to "widely propagate the Law". It's not that Nichiren's Buddhism doesn't have the moxie to change the karma of this planet. It does. And it doesn't take 33% of the people practicing to do it. It only takes 1 per 1,000,000, in my experience, if we understand the next level of what he was talking about and take Buddhism there for the future.What does that mean? Those who are protecting the True Law are, as always, protected by the Shotenzenjin and Life. Those who aren't often think they have to sell their souls and be cruel to survive. They don't know why they feel afraid and that their security is threatened. The question is, what does that mean? To understand ND's philosophy now? I think it is "Do no harm". "Find out who your Buddha really is and do that." "Protect those who are suffering with your daimoku and lead them to whatever part of the Way they can understand at this time." And so forth. I don't think it matters whether we add a bit of meditation and/or prayer to our practices or practice differently. It is the spirit of the matter, and understanding the nature of personal responsiblity for one's karma and doing recompense (zange) for that, seriously examining our character and tossing out the shoes/selfishness and meanness, and caring kindly for all others including animals and things, including the environment.We are not doing very well. The earth is quaking. How is our stupa?Regards,Armchair
Hi Engyo. I've been wiped out with a cold. Other folks are traveling, I think, or just rushing around because of the holidays. I heard that one of the "regulars" is suddenly out of a job.In my convalescence I've developed a habit of watching movie after movie on my computer using the free Netflix "watch instantly" feature. If you subscribe to Netflix, you might want to check it out. Saturday was Hitchcock day for me, with Strangers on a Train and The Man Who Knew Too Much back to back.Two movies that I highly recommend from a "Buddhist" perspective (whatever that means) are The Sea Inside and Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont.The Sea Inside illustrates the power of imagination to connect people who are separated from one another by insurmountable boundaries. It's a meditation on free will and what it means to live with dignity. Javier Bardem plays a paraplegic who, with the help of his attorney, fights for assisted suicide. Yes, it's a bit of a downer, but it's beautifully done, and it stays with you.In a similar vein, I watched The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, about a man who, as the result of a stroke, has "locked-in syndrome." The only thing he can move is one eye, and he writes a book through blinking (wow!) It's not that this is a bad movie, but the book is so much better, and you can probably read it in the same stretch of time it would take to watch the movie.If I told you Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont is a movie about the heavy themes of aging, death and memory, you probably wouldn't want to see it. But you must! It's a light, clever, heartwarming story of an older woman who moves to a hotel in London after the death of her husband. She develops a relationship with a young man who becomes a kind of honorary grandson. It's an absolute delight.So that's what I've been up to.