Here’s a typical quote from Daisaku Ikeda (New Human Revolution Vol 17): Doubt is the source of fundamental delusion in life; it is what Buddhism calls fundamental darkness. It gives rise to anxiety and drags us into the depths of despair. Faith, meanwhile, is the struggle against the doubt that resides within our hearts. The power to win in that struggle comes from chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. A true champion is therefore someone who puts prayer first. Before I go any further [...]
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On Copying the Gohonzon
Is it wrong to copy the Gohonzon Oh boy, where do I start on this one? This topic has fuelled no end of internet flame wars due to people’s inability to step outside of their particular dogma. I think the argument is complex and based on several issues; What is the Gohonzon, specifically How can we disrespect the Gohonzon Who has the right to copy Gohonzon Will a copied Gohonzon work? I chanted at some length over this issue. It [...]
Why Nichiren Buddhism is growing in the UK
The decline of religion in the West The precise etymology of the word religion is debatable, but most definitions indicate a common belief system of sorts, or a binding force between humanity and an ideal, or mystic, element. Religion brings people together under a common viewpoint of how we should live and interact. It could be argued that since the collapse of Christianity’s power and authority in the West, that science, futurism, and even atheism have become religions in their own [...]
Common Soka Gakkai Myths
Well, the forces of Sansho Shima are upon me – if only I was a better linux administrator, then maybe I’d have finished the job I started 4 hours ago! While I wait for it to complete, I thought I would upload this article I have been thinking about in the past week or so. I’m a member of the SGI in the UK. I have read plenty of criticism of the SGI, and it saddens me deeply. As you [...]
Happiness, Compassion and the Mystic Law
As explained in On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime Happiness in buddhism differs from the common understanding. One of the most powerful teachings of Nichiren Daishonin lies in the short Gosho (teaching) On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime. In this lecture I would like to discuss how this Gosho can be applied to the question of happiness. Or, more accurately, how happiness is inextricably contingent upon compassion, and how compassion is contingent upon our grasping the Mystic Law. I’m not [...]
Revealing Buddhahood by example
The limits of my Buddhist wisdom was demonstrated profoundly to me recently when I learned that my grand-daughter had been born with a large cyst in her brain. It wasn’t clear if she was going to suffer from hydrocephalus, but she had a cyst that was approaching the size of a tennis ball in the right of her brain, and my daughter, who had worked for many years in a healthcare, demonstrating compassion and patience on a daily basis, now [...]
The hell of incessant suffering IS the land of tranquil light
By realising the mystic law inherent in all living beings, we escape the confines of the physical and realise the unlimited potential of the human spirit. Just as the sun dries the newly hatched butterfly’s wings, the compassion and warmth of the Lotus Sutra allows us all to soar from our pitiful cocoons and look out over a landscape of infinite possibilities. The potential for enlightenment exists within all human beings. An ungainly chick has the potential to become a [...]
20 years to receive the Gohonzon
I recently wrote an experience describing some of the life events that lead to me receiving [the] Gohonzon last year (I’ve never been sure people insist on omitting the definite article when referring to the Gohonzon). I originally sent this to my great friend, Jason Jarrett (pictured – me on the right) who had been so instrumental in nurturing my Buddhist faith. He read it out so beautifully in the October 2011 episode of his wonderful abuddhistpodcast. So, a few [...]
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