Keys to Buddhism

While Buddhism is a household word, its true definition and intent are greatly misunderstood in America. The word has become clouded by the mixing of other Eastern philosophies and religions and by Asian culture. This posting will list the key points of Buddhism in an attempt to clarify its major points.

1. Buddha. This sanskrit word means enlightened person. It is not a god or otherworldly being. The original Buddha was Shakymuni Buddha who lived in India around 500 b.c. His teachings were intended to lead his followers to acheiving the exact enlightenment that he had attained. Buddhas see that all human beings have this same potential for enlightenment. In fact, when one sees that all living beings, including themselves, are Buddhas, they have attained enlightenment. Delusion is when one does not see others as Buddhas.

2. Buddhism is not a Theistic religion. Buddhism is not concerned with any kind of metaphysical power that is greater than the human being. It does not teach that we should worship or make offerings to any kind of supperior force for the bestowal of good fortune or for the answering of prayers.

This is not to say that Buddhism is not a mystical religion. Buddism expands and connects the concepts of Time and Space far beyond the boundries that we are used to believing in.

3. No Beginning and No End. There are no Creation myths in Buddhism. Life is a continuous flow, at every level of existance.

4. The 4 Sufferings. Birth, Old Age, Sickness and Death. The Buddha dedicated his life to solving the mystery of the 4 sufferings and how we can lead happy, fullfilling lives.

5. Cause and Effect. Everything that we experience is based on the workings of Cause and Effect. While we may not be able to match up every effect in our lives with an exact cause, nothing happens without a reason. Because we can not see all the inner workings of Cause and Effect, we call it the Mystic Law of Cause and Effect.

6. Karma. The accumulation of all the causes and effects that a person has made is called Karma. It can be thought of like a account that you have been making deposits and withdrawals into for your entire life. Sometimes you have deposited good causes and sometimes bad causes. This is what determines the condition of your life at the present time. By looking at the present, you can determine the type of causes that you have made in the past.

All Karma is mutable. That means that you have the power to change whatever the circumstances exist in your life at this moment. All you need is the correct key to create the greatest cause. The correct key is our Buddhist practice.

7. Heaven and Hell. Buddism does not believe in a separate realm called Heaven or Hell. These are not places that one goes to after death as a reward or punishment for living a good or bad life. Instead, Buddhism defines Heaven and Hell as states of life. Heaven is the temporary joy that is felt when released from some suffering or receiving some satisfaction. Hell is the feeling that life is absolute misery and that there is no way that anything can change.

8. The Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra is the highest of all of Shakyamuni's teachings. After attaining enlightement at the age of 30, he started to teach his enlightenment to his followers but quickly realized that they were not yet ready to understand it. He took a step back and started teaching in a way that the people could understand. In other words, he taught to their capacity. It is said that his teachings could have filled 80,000 volumes or sutras.

After 42 years of teachings to the people's capacity, he realized that his own lifetime of teaching was nearing an end. He changed his teaching style and, instead of teaching to the people's capacity, he preached the truth of his own enlightenment. This truth is contained within the Lotus Sutra. Shakyamuni spent the last 8 years of his life teaching it.

The full title of the Lotus Sutra is The Sutra of the Mystic Law of the Lotus.

9. Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. This is the title, in Japanese, of the Lotus Sutra. It is also the mantra that Nichiren's Lions chant to awaken their Buddha nature and to attain enlightenment.

Who is Nichiren Daishonin?

Nichiren was a great Buddhist priest who lived in the 13th century in Japan. He was born on February 12, 1222. From the time he was 12 years old, he new that the Lotus Sutra had to power to help mankind overcome all of their sufferings and to bring enlightenment, joy and happiness to everyone. He also knew that the Buddhist priests and teachers of the day were very confused about how to teach Shakyamuni's ultimate enlightenment (the Lotus Sutra). As a result of this confusion, the Buddhist teachings had become such a collage of truths, half truths and non truths that Buddhism has lost its power to save the people. Determined to change this and to re-light the torch of enlightenment throughout Japan and the rest of the world, Nichiren spent his life clarifying all of Shakymuni's teachings, teaching everyone from peasant farmers to ruling class lords, how to attain happiness and enlightenment in this lifetime.

Challenging the ruling establishment and trying to get both religious and secular leaders to establish a truly humanistic soceity was a formidable task. Nichiren was persecuted and harassed constantly throughout his life, was exiled 3 times, and almost beheaded.

Regardless of the hardship faced, Nichiren persevered and continued to spread the teaching of the Lotus Sutra until he passed away peacefully on October 13, 1282.

You can read more about Nichiren's amazing life at he following links:

• The Life of Nichiren Daishonin (excerpts)


• Nichiren Shonin

Welcome!

Welcome to Nichiren's Lions!

The purpose of this blog is to create a safe haven for people who want to learn or deepen their understanding of Nichiren's amazing teachings. From beginners who are just trying to find out what Buddhism is all about to those who may have some knowledge or experience with Buddhism but now want to take it to the next level or for those looking for kindred spirits as we quest together for enlightenment, all are welcome and will find something of value here.

Our platform for all discussions will be Nichiren's own writings and the Lotus Sutra.

In the next few blogs, I plan on posting a brief introduction to Nichiren, Buddhism and the Lotus Sutra. I will also be formulating a Charter that covers what is considered a "proper" daily Buddhist practice, thoughts on the Gohonzon (object of worship) and other hot and controversial topics like the role (if any) of Mentor and Disciple in our lives.

Thanks and remember to follow the Law and not the Person!

Ned
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo