“It is said that, if a teacher has a good disciple, both will gain the fruit of Buddhahood, but if a teacher fosters a bad disciple, both will fall into hell. If teacher and disciple are of different minds, they will never accomplish anything.” (Flowering and Bearing Grain-WND 909)
April 24, 1979 – We commemorate this date every year as well as November 28, 1991. We do this because it is important to not only know what happened, but also to know why and how it happened in the perspective of Buddhist heritage – Oneness of Mentor and Disciple. This gives us an in-depth opportunity to ponder, seek, share, dialogue, study and chant about what is most important, in terms of practicing Nichiren Buddhism correctly. To understand what, how and why the events happened on those dates call on us to move closer and closer to the core of this Buddhism, to reverence for people. In a sense, it is easy to say, “They are wrong, we, SGI are right” in terms of practicing Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism. The next question we need to ask ourselves is, “How do we know this for sure?” The answer can only be found in one place: the Daishonin's writings. Let’s explore the heart of Daishonin’s teachings and spirit in SGI by using the following key questions and Gosho quotes to support our April District Discussion Meetings!
Soka Spirit & Soka Justice Resources
* Stormy April 24th, essay by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda (on the South Zone Blog)
* The True Purpose of Religion, essay by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda (on the South Zone Blog)
* Spiritual Independence pamphlet (distributed to each District in 2009)
* Seize The Day – Soka Justice page of World Tribune 12/18/2009, 1/29/2010, 2/26/2010
* Learning From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin: “Letter to the Brothers” Parts 1, 2 and 3 - Living Buddhism Jan-Feb, March-April 2010 issues
Sample Questions for Dialogue
* What does correct practice look like? What is the importance of practicing correctly?
* How does the oneness of mentor & disciple fit into practicing correctly?
* If you think you practice correctly, how do you demonstrate the oneness of mentor & disciple in your life?
Gosho Quotes to support above questions
* "Shakyamuni Buddha who attained enlightenment countless kalpas ago, the Lotus Sutra that leads all people to Buddhahood, and we ordinary human beings are in no way different or separate from one another." (The Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life-WND, 216)
* "Becoming a Buddha is nothing extraordinary. If you chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with your whole heart, you will naturally become endowed with the Buddha's thirty-two features and eighty characteristics. As the sutra says, 'hoping to make all persons equal to me, without any distinction between us,' you can readily become as noble a Buddha as Shakyamuni." (Letter to Niike-WND, 1030)
* "If you are of the same mind as Nichiren, you must be a Bodhisattva of the Earth." (The True Aspect of All Phenomena- WND, 385)
* “Of those who received the seeds of Buddhahood in the remote past and those who did so from the sons of the Buddha Great Universal Wisdom Excellence, many abandoned the seeds and suffered in hell for the long periods of numberless major world system dust particle kalpas and major world system dust particle kalpas, respectively, because they followed evil companions. Whether tempted by good or threatened by evil, if one casts aside the Lotus Sutra, one destines oneself for hell.” (The Opening of the Eyes -WND, 280)
* “The Great Teacher Nan-yüeh in his Four Peaceful Practices states, ‘If there should be a bodhisattva who protects evil persons and fails to chastise them… then, when his life comes to an end, he will fall into hell along with those evil persons.’ The meaning of this passage is that, if a practitioner of Buddhism should fail to chastise evil persons who slander the Law but give himself up entirely to meditation and contemplation, not attempting to distinguish between correct and incorrect doctrines, or provisional and true teachings, but rather pretending to be a model of compassion, then such a person will fall into the evil paths along with the other doers of evil.” (Conversation Between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man-WND, 129)
