Tricycle magazine has suddenly discovered Nichiren Buddhism, and they seem to like it. Now I feel a bit regretful about the whoop-ass mr. oaks unleashed on their editors for their Ikeda lovefest. (But not tooo regretful -- several good points were raised in that thread.)
Jeff Wilson announced a new translation of the Lotus Sutra. This is fantastic news for all of us who love Burton Watson's translation but wonder about SGI sectarian spin in it. Now we have a new alternative.
Wilson followed up with excerpts from Tale of Genji illustrating the role of the sutra in Japanese culture.
Also, don't miss Lin Jensen on The Arising of the Ad Hoc Sangha. I know many Nichiren Buddhists are struggling with the notion of sangha, having found SGI unsuitable but not knowing where to go now.
This passage reminded me of a cross between the "Ceremony in the Air" and the "Phantom City" in the Lotus Sutra:
A sangha inclusive of all beings is a thought difficult to wrap the mind around, a little like trying to relate the infinite scope of the material universe to the bit of ground you happen to be standing on. And yet, while a sangha comprised of Buddhist followers holds for me a particular sense of belonging, the most intimate instances of Dharma fellowship have sprung up from within this greater sangha in places and among people I could never have anticipated.
Ultimate/eternal sangha is the Ceremony in the Air. Provisional sangha is like a Phantom City that arises then dissolves depending on temporal circumstances.
Sorry for the sparse posting lately. Markp, thanks for your contributions about ichinen sanzen -- no comments so far, but many readers. Happy holidays, everyone!
2 comments
I really don't expect many comments though because Ichinen Sanzen is, according to Nichiren, "the teaching of the unfathomable and related directly to the Buddha's own enlightenment, as well as was the basis for his (Nichiren's) own inner realization."I've actually had other Nichiren Buddhists tell me that they didn't have to study Ichinen Sanzen because all that is needed to attain enlightenment is to chant the Daimoku. That is true, but in which lifetime? And sadly, it is a fact that people that chant die every day having not attained enlightenment. Anyway, thanks for the knowledge that people are reading what I have posted, and to those that read this, the best is yet to come. You have to get through the preliminaries first. :)
Dear Beryl,It's Andrew Cooper from Tricycle, again. While it's true that the two articles we ran in the current issue represent a big step in our coverage of Nichiren Buddhism, it is not exactly true to say that it is altogether new territory for us. Most especially, it would be wrong to say that we have just discovered the Lotus Sutra. In fact, in our Spring 2006 issue, we featured a special section devoted to the Lotus. It included a fine piece by Jan Nattier on its place in early Mahayana history and, what might be of greater interest to readers of this web site, an interview with Princeton scholar Jacqueline Stone that focused on its influence on the four great reformers of Japanese Kamakura Buddhism: Dogen, Honen, Shinran, and Nichiren. Still, your general point is a fair one: we have under-reported Nichiren Buddhism. But we are trying to do better. In the Dharma, Andrew Cooper