RELIGION or POLITICS - Why Buddhism????? (Cont'd)

Greetings oh great ones, thanks for visiting, Today I digress a bit but only to give a bit more background on the creator of Modern age Buddhism, Nichiren Daishonin. This is his take on RELIGION.

In thirteenth-century Japan, Nichiren promulgated these ideas, which are today practiced by millions of people in nearly 200 nations. Yet despite this widespread following, many people still know little but nothing of Nichiren's teachings.

Nichiren's teachings have also been misapplied and even exploited in the past as in the case of Japan's militarist aurthorities, who branded them as ultranationalistic and superpatriotic. Today, some characterize Nichiren's as exclusivist and sectarian. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

Nichiren lived during a period of social upheaval. Natural disasters, epidemics, famine, and the threat of foreigh invasion terrified the people of Japan. Nichiren was adamant that such troujble had befallen the country because Buddhist teachers of his day neither understood nor taught the significance of the Lotus Sutra. He wrote several discourses and letters explaining his views, and he vigorously criticized the government and other Buddhist teachers, arousing such animosity that he was banished twice.

Any religions will assert the absolute correctness of its teachings. For precisely this reason, religion can easily lead people astray. In full recognition of this, Nichiren struggled to refute the aspects of religion that keep from entering the path to full awakening, without attacking the followers of specific Buddhist schools or merely trying to expand his own school.

Nichiren'e critcism of these aspects i summed up as the four dictums, which point out four un-balanced religious archetypes, and which represent areasoned religious criticism that strictly identifies sources of self-righteousness and religious authoritarianism. Religion becomes un-balanced, Nichiren taught, through dogmatic emphasis of any of the following concepts:

1. SEEKING SALVATION ONLY THROUGH THE EXTERNAL POWER OF AN ABSOLUTE BEING.

2. SEEKING ENLIGHTMENT ONLY THROUGH DIRECT PERCEPTION OF ONE'S OWN MIND AND CONTENTMENT WITH THIS SELF-ENLIGHTENMENT.

3. BENEFITTING IN THIS LIFE THROUGH OCCULT MEANS.

4. ALLOWING ONESELF TO BE CONTROLED BY PERCEPTS OR STANDARDS.

The perfectly balanced teaching succumbs to none of thes extremes. Rather, it expounds the fusion of internal and external power as the means fo transform the life of the individual as well as the surrounding circumstances. A fully developed religion, as conceived by Nichiren, is completely balanced, harmonious-ly incorporating the religon's fundamental characteristics without bias or distortion.

The modern significance of Nichiren's four dictums lies not in simply refuting Japanese Buddhist schools but in fully developing the positive power of human life. His teaching transcends the narrow boundaries of a single shool. It is a religion for all humanity.

TOO REPEAT, A FULLY DEVELOPED RELIGON AS CONCEIVED BY NICHIREN, IS COMPLETELY BALANCED,  HARMONIOUSLY INCORPORATING THE RELIGION'S FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS "WITHOUT BIAS OR DISTORTION", A RELIGION FOR ALL HUMANITY.

Can your religion measure up??? If yes, great, and your faith should be Unlimited.

If not, you definitely should hang in with me and get involved in dialogue. If not now, WHEN??

\Cheers,   CJ