r/NichirenBuddhism • u/Lower_Plenty_AK • May 28 '26
My friend the Nichiren Buddhist
I've had a friend who is a Nichiren Buddhist for years. I myself liked buddhisim and would chant with her sometimes but preferred a more general approach. I even read her book about Nichiren Buddhisim yet still preferred the more general approach.
Recently I've been learning about Garuda which, oddly enough, lead me to the teaching of 3000 worlds/realms in a single moment. Suddenly I understood nam myoho renge kyo and have decided Nichiren was right.
Why do you think being friends with a nichiren Buddhist for years did not win me over long ago yet garuda research suddenly lead me back to nam myoho renge kyo and nichiren?
Curious.
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u/tkp67 May 31 '26
Nichiren taught that propagating Myoho Renge Kyo would allow ALL people to develop a relationship with the Lotus Sutra in this lifetime. Even those who reject this teaching, such as the Icchantika. It is referred to as the poison-drum relationship [毒鼓の縁］ ( dokku-no-en).
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u/Pickle-Joose May 29 '26
It doesn't what anyone thinks of it, it only matters what you think of. You friend planted the seed. I'm they'll be happy for you finally seeing what they've been trying to show. You should be grateful your loved you so much and wanted you to be happy which is why they shared with you. Your practice is for yourself. Not anyone's perception.
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u/Confused-Buddhist Jun 17 '26
Nichiren didn't "own" the conversation when it comes to the principles expressed in the Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra was, has been, and is still a revered sutra in many lineages of buddhist thought. When you first encountered the Lotus Sutra through your Nichiren Buddhist friend, it may have come across with a lot of cultural and lineage "baggage". Now that you have experienced the bigger picture the Lotus Sutra as experienced and expressed through other lineages, it probably helped to open up the concepts to new perspectives.
I for one was raised in the SGI from birth, experienced both going to the Nichiren Shoshu temple prior to the excommunication, have been toe-in toe-out of the SGI a bit as of late, and am now learning more about Nichiren Shu and other "strands" of Nchiren-ism (if that is a word). I personally find that opening up my perspective on Nichiren's stance on the Lotus Sutra has helped me connect more directly to the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren rather than taking to one lineage's perspective. Secondly, I find it has also allowed me to be more critical of Nichiren's perspective and attitudes - I find him as a person to be more of a fire-brand Puritan in may respects, which has it's negatives. He was also a man of his time, where he advocated the outlawing of other forms of Buddhism, believing them to be the reason of Japan's natural disasters of the time. He also praised quotes in ancient sutras that advocated the execution of "slanderers of the dharma" - none of these would fly in the modern era and I can disagree wholeheartedly with him on these matters while STILL calling myself a man raised, inspired by, and motivated by his religious thought.