A general designation for the Nichiren school, that is, all of the schools and sects that derive from the original teachings and vision of Nichiren (1222-82), even though it never existed as a unified school. All groups agreed with the main outlines of Nichiren's teachings. (1) The Lotus Sūtra stands at the summit of all Buddhist scriptures. It represents the culmination of all of the Buddha Śākyamuni's preaching and sets forth his complete vision in a straightforward fashion without resort to skillful means (upāya-kauśalya). One achieves liberation in this age of the Decline of the Dharma (Japanese, mappō) by simply chanting its title (Japanese, daimoku). (2) The teachings of the Lotus Sūtra have five principal aspects leading to its implementation: (a) Teaching: the contents of the sūtra itself; (b) Object: that the proper object to whom the teachings are directed is to be those who damage the true teachings; (c) Time: that the age of mappō is the appropriate time for beings to be saved by the sūtra; (d) Master: that Nichiren himself had been the most appropriate master to expound this teaching, as evidenced by the persecutions he had received as a result of his preaching; and (e) Country: that Japan was the right country where all the above four elements existed. (3) All other forms of Buddhism and all other religious practices whatsoever were distractions and impediments in the Way, to be discarded in favour of the chanting of the daimoku.
In spite of the agreement on the above three points, some controversy and schism occurred as certain groups adapted to current religious conditions more than others. Thus Nichiren's disciples experienced discord within the first generation after his passing. Nichiren had left no provisions for any kind of centralized control over the teachings and activities of his disciples, and so no unified school came into being. Each of his major disciples staked out their own territories and doctrines, and set up their own institutions. There were three major areas of disagreement. (1) The issue of fuju-fuse: this term, meaning ‘no receiving and no giving’, indicated a complete break with all other schools of Buddhism. Those who espoused this view held that only exclusive faith in the saving power of the Lotus Sūtra could bring peace and security, and put this view into practical action by eschewing all contact with other groups. Other leaders, while accepting the superiority of Nichiren's teachings, felt that some degree of cooperation and contact with other Buddhist schools did not endanger or vitiate the true teachings, and so they were more willing to make overtures to other institutions and engage in cooperative ventures and ceremonies. Proponents of the fuju-fuse position at first suffered punishment and exile for their unwillingness to work with others, and persecution induced them to band together as a school based on this principle. Finally, in 1876 the government granted permission for the establishment of the Fuju-fuse-ha. A second group, the Fuju-fuse Kōmon-ha, gained government recognition in 1882. (2) Shakubuku: this term means ‘to bend and shake’, and is used to describe an extremely confrontational style of proselytization. Some Nichiren groups adopted it and would harangue people on the streets and disrupt other religious gatherings, while other groups preferred other, less abusive forms of evangelization. (3) The status of the two major divisions of the Lotus Sūtra. The scripture is commonly divided into two sections, the ‘manifestation gate’ (Japanese, shakumon) and the ‘origin gate’ (Japanese, honmon). The first demonstrates that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas deploy expedient teachings as manifestations of the truth in order to assist beings to enlightenment (bodhi), while the second reveals the truth manifested in a more direct manner. Some Nichiren groups held that the sūtra was equally holy in all its parts, while others held that the ‘origin gate’, since it states the truth directly, is superior to the ‘manifestation gate’.
During the Meiji era (1868-1912), the various streams of Nichiren teaching coalesced into definite schools. Aside from the two Fuju-fuse schools listed above, the others are as follows. The Nichiren-shū, which advocated the equality of both sections of the Lotus Sūtra, formed in 1874. In the same year, five other branches gained recognition, all maintaining the superiority of the honmon section: Myōmanji, Happon, Honjōji, Honryūji, and Fuji-ha. These five all changed their names in 1891 to, respectively: Kempon Hokkeshū, Honmon Hokkeshū, Hokkeshū, Honmyō Hokkeshū, and Honmonshū. In 1900 the Daisekiji in Shizuoka broke from the Honmonshū to form the Nichiren-shū fuji-ha, changing its name in 1913 to the Nichiren Shōshū. It gained a wide following, and spawned a lay auxiliary group called the Sōka Gakkai (Value Creation Society) founded in 1937 by Makiguchi Tsunesaburō (1871-1944). This group broke from the Nichiren Shōshū and became independent in 1992.
Nichiren-shū
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Nichiren-shū (日蓮宗: "Nichiren School") is the oldest of the Nichiren Buddhist schools. It is a confederation of lineages that go back to Nichiren's original disciples. It is less well known internationally than Nichiren Shōshū.
Nichiren-shū does not accept Nichiren Shōshū's claim that Nichiren designated Nikkō his sole successor, though Nikkō lineages are a part of the Nichiren-shū confederation of lineages. Doctrinally, Nichiren-shū states that the Buddha to take refuge in is the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha of the 16th chapter of the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren is regarded as the appearance in this world of Superior Practice Bodhisattva who is given the mission in chapter 21 of the Lotus Sutra to uphold the true Dharma in the age after the historical Shakyamuni Buddha's passing.
Overview of Nichiren-shū
Nichiren-shū regards Nichiren as a Bodhisattva and not as a Buddha as Nichiren Shōshū does. Consequently, it does not regard other sects of Buddhism as false by default. Instead, Nichiren is seen as the votary of the Lotus Sutra fulfilling its prophecy in acting as the appearance of Bodhisattva Jōgyō ("Superior Practice"), who leads all bodhisattvas in propagating the Lotus Sutra. Shakyamuni Buddha is regarded as the Eternal Buddha as preached in the 16th chapter of the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren-shū places Nichiren in a high position as the messenger of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha or Original Buddha, but does not regard him as more important than Shakyamuni. The Original Buddha occupies the central role in Nichiren-shū; Nichiren—referred to as Nichiren Shōnin ("Saint Nichiren")—is the saint who refocused attention on Shakyamuni by rebuking other Buddhist schools for solely emphasizing other buddhas or esoteric practices or for neglecting or deriding the Lotus Sutra.
This can be seen in the emphasis of training in Nichiren-shū. The Lotus Sutra is paramount in study and in practice, and Nichiren's writings—called Gosho (御書) or Goibun (御遺文)—are seen as commentaries or guides to the doctrines of Buddhism. They include the Five Major Writings of Nichiren in which he establish doctrine, belief, and practice, as well as many pastoral letters he wrote to his followers.
Nichiren wrote frequently, and readers can verify or correct their understanding of the doctrines of Nichiren Buddhism through his surviving works. Unlike Nichiren Shōshū, Nichiren-shū is far more selective about which Gosho it deems authentic. Many Gosho that are accepted by these two schools are not accepted as genuine by Nichiren-shū on grounds that scholars have not verified their authenticity. This does not mean those gosho or alleged oral transmissions (like the Ongi Kuden) are rejected, but it does mean that they are viewed as secondary to authenticated materials and it is admitted that while they might have pastoral value they can not be definitively asserted as Nichiren's own teaching.
Another difference of Nichiren-shū is the positioning in its doctrine and practices of the Odaimoku (the mantra Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō) and of the mandala or Gohonzon. Nichiren-shū views these as the summit of the Dharma, but does not ignore other Buddhist practices. Forms of silent meditation (shōdai-gyō), artistic copying of the Odaimoku (shakyō), and the study of fundamental Buddhist concepts such as the Four Noble Truths and Taking Refuge are used as supporting practices in Nichiren-shū.
The calligraphic mandalas used by Nichiren-shū members are either prints of one of Nichiren's extant mandalas, or they are inscribed by Nichiren-shū clergy. All fully ordained Nichiren-shū ministers are able to inscribe and consecrate mandalas, but in practice few of them do. They usually bestow a copy of a Nichiren inscribed mandala, called the Shutei Gohonzon[1]<--Shutei しゅてい, or shūtei しゅうてい??-->, upon their members. Nichiren-shū also does not accept the Dai-Gohonzon of Nichiren Shōshū, as it believes there is no evidence that Nichiren created any wooden mandala or asked anyone to do so on his behalf. There is certainly no evidence that Nichiren ever designated any mandala as having more importance than the others or as being in any way necessary for practice.
In Japanese society, Nichiren-shū is more mainstream than Nichiren Shōshū in that it continues to have relationships with non-Nichiren Buddhist traditions. It is a confederation of the lineages of all those disciples of Nichiren who left lineages and its temples include Kuon-ji on Mt. Minobu (身延山, where Nichiren lived in seclusion and where he asked to be buried) and Ikegami Honmonji (where Nichiren died) and its temples have many of Nichiren’s most important personal artifacts and writings (which are considered national treasures in Japan) in their safekeeping. Nichiren-shū has recently begun to ordain non-Japanese ministers and to expand its presence in the West.
External links
- Nichiren Buddhist International Center
- Nichiren-shū Yahoo group moderated by one of the North American Nichiren-shū ministers
- Copy of a Gohonzon inscribed by Nichiren
- Website of one of Nichiren-shū's North American ministers
- Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of Greater New England
- Nichiren-shū in Italy and Europe, website predominantly in Italian, also in English, French and Spanish
- Nichiren-shū in the UK
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
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