Free Nichiren Buddhism
Still unsure whether to take this seriously or not. It's a bit long at 14:44, and can somewhat redundant and apparent in spots; catch the last 6 or 7 minutes
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5 comments
Hey, thanks for calling my attention to that video. I can't decide if I'm glad I watched it, or if I want those 15 minutes of my life back. Whoever made this video could have just posted a quick article that took one minute to read, but instead this person went to the enormous trouble of collecting photos and producing a video (yes, thanks, I needed to see photos of oreos, butter, and apples -- otherwise, I would have no idea what you were talking about....)Ok, complaining done.No, I have more complaining to do. This video illustrates just how needlessly uptight and superstitious Nichiren Buddhists can be. Offering food to the Gohonzon is a custom rooted in Japanese tradition of offering food to deceased ancestors. This practice was adapted to Buddhism, symbolically providing sustenance and offerings to the Buddha.There may be rules for what you can and can't offer based on Japanese custom. But again, this is Japanese custom and is not integral or even vaguely important in the practice of Buddhism.My advice: Relax. As Nichiren wrote, even offering "fruit, flowers, and incense" to the Gohonzon is meritorious. But far more meritorious is offering daimoku and gongyo to the Gohonzon. This is really the only offering you should be concerned about.
"Offering food to the Gohonzon is a custom rooted in Japanese tradition of offering food to deceased ancestors."There may be some confluence and mutual influence between Buddhist and indigenous Japanese traditions but your statement is not correct.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O...
Sorry, Queequeg, but unless you can offer up some proof that Buddhism prohibits the offering of oreo cookies to the Gohonzon, my statement stands.As I said: There may be rules for what you can and can't offer based on Japanese custom. But again, this is Japanese custom and is not integral or even vaguely important in the practice of Buddhism.Care to refute that with facts? Or are you among the superstitious ninnies who warn people of the spiritual peril of offering such things as butter to the Gohonzon? (All those Buddhists in Tibet who offered ghee, burned butter lamps, or drank buttered tea in the honor of the Buddha are sooo sorry for their transgressions...lol.)
"Offering food to the Gohonzon is a custom rooted in Japanese tradition of offering food to deceased ancestors. This practice was adapted to Buddhism, symbolically providing sustenance and offerings to the Buddha."Respectfully, sir, there is nothing in your first comment that suggests you contemplate any other basis for offering food to the Gohonzon except indigenous Japanese ancestor worship. I was pointing out that this is not true, and referred to a wikipedia article that explains that offering food is a widespread practice throughout the Buddhist world and has a long tradition. Nothing more, nothing less.Now it appears that you did contemplate alternative bases for offering food.There is no dispute.
according to legend, shakyamuni buddha gratefully accepted an offering of a mud pie from a little boy who attained full awakening. Meaning, the sincerity of offerings trumps material value or substance. I think sincerity is a good guideline, as well as common sense. I mean, milk would quickly spoil on most altars.FWIW, ancestor veneration and customs of making offerings to ancestors in asia and india predate the advent of buddhism. Lots of nonbuddhist cultures such as native americans make offerings too. It's not just a buddhist thing.