They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step.

Having now made that first cause in posting my previous article, as a Buddhist, I must follow it to the ultimate manifest effect: to complete the serialization of the book I finished writing on New Year's Eve, 2000. It is a book that has essentially lain dormant in this computer these last years while my life has completely transformed. The file is entitled "3399," because I started writing it on the third day of third month in 1999.

It is the book I moved to South Dakota to write. It is the book, which motivated my life for 20 years. It represents the one shot I feel I have to explain Buddhism to the masses. Moreover, though I wrote it two years ago in completely different circumstances, from the bottom of my heart I feel there is nothing in the book I would change save some contextual references to another place and time. A little like the ultimate reality of life.

However, I am afforded an opportunity to rewrite a bit as I go. My goal is that what I wrote back then -- and believe even more today -- both communicates to the minds and resonates within the hearts of some of you out there.

From the outset, I want to make a few things perfectly clear:

I am not a scholar. I am not a man of religion although I consider myself very religious. I have no advanced degrees -- only a BA in psychology. What you find contained within these pages are only matters of my opinion. I would not foist them off as orthodoxy or dogma and will not entertain debates as to the "correctness" of my ideas. They are simply my ideas. I write them to stimulate, perhaps to entertain and hopefully to educate.

What I say about Nichiren Daishonin and his Buddhism is correct insofar as I understand it. I am acutely aware that there are tons of books, lay leaders, priests and sutras in other languages out there that would serve as resources to valiantly challenge some assertions that I might make.

As Dennis Miller would say, "Of course, that's just my opinion...I could be wrong."

There are only two things I know for certain. The first is, as Nichiren Daishonin taught, I have recited the Lotus Sutra and chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, without fail, every morning and evening since November of 1968. I have not met many who claim the same diligence.

The second thing is I have yet to meet anyone so completely in love with Nichiren Daishonin as I am. I am not saying that no one else is and, for God's sake, I'm not saying that my faith or practice is better than anyone else's. They're absolutely not! I'm just saying that I gush more about the greatness of Nichiren's works, his writings and his life than just about anyone I know. I believe, with every vibrating fiber of my being, that this man (and I emphasize his "humanity"), despite his absolute impoverishment, anonymity and wretched daily existence, manifest a compassion powerful enough to ripple through eternity and touch the life of every human being on this planet.

Because I believe and feel these things, I believe I have the right to write a book that expresses my ideas about Nichiren and his teachings. Others have the right to not read the book or express profound disagreement with anything or everything I have to say. Doesn't matter to me I just really need to say it.

One other thing I need to add is that what I say, I will say with absolute honesty, insofar as I know the truth. There is nothing to gain from lying. I will not insult those of you taking the time and energy to read my words by knowingly writing fiction.

The wonderful thing is: Just in case I happen to be right, and this book turns out to communicate a simple truth and become the greatest thing since sliced bread, I never need to worry about becoming anybody's leader or master or mentor or whatever this year's buzzword for "superior" might be. That's because my life and my past are so twisted and checkered, I could never stand the light of even the slightest scrutiny. I only believe what I believe.

Who am I to write a book about Buddhism? Absolutely nobody. Just a middle-aged guy who has thought about nothing else for over 20 years.

And now for the coming attractions. When we first began our communication, Lisa Jones, the editor of this lovely site, sent me an e-mail with some questions she said were of concern to many Buddhists, specifically Nichiren Buddhists, that she knows. She asked me about my take on them.

I will answer some of them here and my answers will be short and sweet. In truth, each question deserves a book worth of answers and I just happen to have written one. However, I hope you will consider this an appetizer....

Question 1: What is the basis in Nichiren Buddhism for mentor-disciple (previously called master-disciple), and who exactly is the mentor?
1. Nichiren
2. The Gohonzon
3. Sensei (Soka Gakkai President Daisaku Ikeda)
4. Shakyamuni (Gautama), the original Indian Buddha
5. All of the above

Answer: I find no fundamental basis in Nichiren Buddhism for the Mentor-Disciple relationship. Do I find a mention of it in Nichiren's writings? Of course, both as an amalgam of a perfect parent-child, teacher-student, or sovereign-subject relationship and, as an historical reference point for Nichiren and his own teachers, be they Shakyamuni or Dozenbo, Nichiren's first mentor.

Is this superior-subordinate relationship somehow intrinsic to Buddhist faith and practice? I think not. If all human beings possess Buddhahood -- the ultimate law manifesting universal consciousness within -- then external persons, places and things are simply triggers that ignite our own internal awareness, wisdom, compassion and sense of mission.

To vest power in an object, person or thing outside us is to diminish our own Buddha nature. Nichiren himself says in On Attaining Buddhahood dead link: "...Even though you chant and believe in Myoho-renge-kyo, if you think the Law is outside yourself, you are embracing not the Mystic Law but some inferior teaching."

With that, Nichiren dispenses with the notion that someone else holds the key to our enlightenment. Although religious organizational leaders and priests have sought throughout history to entrench their power, wealth and position by laying claim to serving as divine funnels for correct faith, it is clear there is no dogma in Nichiren's teaching to justify such claims.

Nichiren's own claims to orthodoxy during the years of his teachings were simply techniques by which he challenged the corruption of other sects during his lifetime and hoped to perpetuate the basics of his teaching in his tumultuous, feudal world. I do not believe they were techniques he meant all of his followers to emulate in the myriad years, nations and cultures to follow.

Cher was right: Sooner or later, we all sleep alone. No pope, priest, lay president, teacher, lover or friend will accompany us on the eternal journey that is our life. Take from them what words of wisdom they may offer, but never construe those words to be dictates from the universe about the purity of your faith or the direction of your life.

For those who simply must have some benchmark of correctness concerning their practice of the Buddhism taught by Nichiren Daishonin, I can only point you in two directions. One is toward the Gohonzon, described by Nichiren as, essentially, the object of worship that allows each and every human being on this planet to see the core of his or her life.

The other is toward the writings of the man himself -- Nichiren Daishonin's Major Writings (Gosho dead link). This guy actually put it all down himself.

You know what the problem with Shakyamuni and Jesus was? They didn't write it downlots of other guys, some with healthy agendas and some not, put it down for them in the centuries after their death. Talk about hearsay.

Yeah, I know the Gosho is arcane and hard to understand. That's okay. I guarantee the nuggets of pure truth contained within its pages are so golden, that repeated readings of even just a sentence or paragraph will ultimately provide unbelievable insight into what is happening within your own life. Some people may be able to help interpret it a bit for you or, rather, help you to interpret it for yourself. However, ultimately, figuring it out for oneself is the true mentoring mechanism within Nichiren Buddhism.

Question 2: What did Nichiren really mean by unity?

Answer: Okay, I ran too long on question one. The term itai doshin is often used to describe Nichiren's Buddhist concept of unity. The term translates as one mind, many bodies or, in my opinion: one truth, many lives. Unity is not a prescription for behavior. It is a process, a goal.

In my last article, I talked about the dynamic entropy of the Buddhist order, or sangha. The point I was trying to make is that there are six billion beings on this planet. Some practice Buddhism and some don't, but unity is ultimately found in a diminishing of friction and an increase in harmony amongst all of them. That is what Buddhism seeks for its believers and all humankind.

Does the goal of less friction and more harmony mean that we will never fight and ultimately eradicate all differences? No, but it does imply that we can grow to cherish our six billion differences while recognizing the fundamental Buddhist truth that we are all supremely respectworthy human beings. Wouldn't it be nice if those who contend they are Buddhists would take the first step in that direction? A bit more civility in action and dialogue would be a good start, especially among some of the Nichiren believers.

Perhaps then we can address some of the real problems in this world like the shame of people starving while there's more than enough food for everyone or the need to selflessly allocate resources in order to redistribute wealth and maybe bring the world's temperature down a few degrees.

In Nichiren Buddhism, unity should never be a buzzword or a call to arms. It is an expression of the universal truth -- at our core, we are all connected and we are all one, manifestations of the Mystic Law. As we are -- unique, precious, right, wrong, lovely, flawed individuals -- we each can use the Buddhist practice to move closer to our core and simultaneously closer to each other. No shows or demonstrations are needed -- except perhaps those of love, tolerance and compassion.

Question 3: What constitutes a Nichiren Buddhist worldview? What is a Nichiren Buddhist approach to the meaning of life?

Answer: Ah, finally an easy one. I refer you to WorldView 101: a writing by Nichiren Daishonin entitled The True Entity of Life dead link, or The True entity of All Phenomena or Shoho Jisso Sho, in which he explains the eternity of function and entity.

In summary, it's a lot like what Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It:
"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts...."

The premise is that the universe is an infinite, timeless expanse of energy and matter, which manifests, from moment to moment, the phenomenal reality of what we regard as life in time and space. That said, I would definitely refer you to the much longer (by dozens of pages) description of the Buddhist worldview, also known as ichinen sanzen, contained within the middle pages of my book.

I'm not trying to be facetious here. Just trying to say that when we talk about the Nichiren Buddhist worldview and the ultimate nature of life, we are first and foremost dealing with the infinite, and our minds don't really like that. We have trouble dealing with years of waiting or billions in governmental deficits. So, when we are forced to confront the reality of the infinite, our minds and reason rebel. All we are left with is faith.

What Nichiren Daishonin tried to do was create a practice of faith so powerful that each and every human being on this planet could work with the infinite. I absolutely believe he completely succeeded.

That's why I think the man was, to paraphrase my children, "totally awesome." That's what my book is about. Starting with the next installment, you can see if I actually manage to convey any of this stuff. As I said, this 300-page volume has been in my computer now for two years under the filename "3399." I think I may have to change that title.

After my last article, a person wrote Lisa to say that my use of the term "American Buddhist," in reference to me, communicated something to her. She said, "thinking of myself as an American Buddhist is like handing me the ownership papers to my religion."

I really liked that. I pretty much thought, "Wow, I should quit while I'm ahead. I've accomplished my goal." Truth is, I'd really like to give those papers to a few more people. After all is said and done, I do believe I am a true American Buddhist -- and there simply aren't that many of us around.

So, for the time being, the working title for the book is: An American Buddhist Tale: Nichiren Goes West. Hope you like it -- both the title and the book. If not, let me know. This, along with the rest of my life, is definitely a work in progress.