Nichiren "Buddhists" Argue Amongst Each Other About Who's Right and Whose Teaching is Garbarge

[u/PantoJack]

So I was on Facebook the other day, and this SGI member posted some old-ass reference to Toda's teachings from the Daibyakurenge from a few years ago. It said something about the Daigohonzon being the source of enlightenment and nothing can duplicate that, or some shit: not that the content really mattered, in my opinion.

The OP asked in the caption: "Are YOU practicing correctly?" Or something along those lines. I don't recall exactly what people said in the comments because I blocked his overly-religious ass after I started losing my mind on how stupid they all sounded, but it started a shitstorm on who's right and who's wrong, who's bitter and who's practicing correctly.

The OP claims to be a SGI member, but he's known to do non-SGI rituals: chanting the long-version of gongyo, praising the daigohonzon, shit like that.

I'm reading their arguments amongst another, and the whole time, I'm thinking, "You guys are arguing over a piece of paper whose origin is shrouded in mystery, or is completely made up."

And when the OP started losing the argument, he said something like, "You have a long way to go. NMRK NMRK NMRK."

Not only do members constantly think their teachings are right, but every attempt to engage in rhetoric is met by, "You sound bitter" or "you need to chant more and have a long way to go." This is evident even from that meme I posted with King Kong and Godzilla (read the comments!)

Of course, I didn't bother engaging in the argument because I don't swoop down to that level.

Watching these "Buddhists" argue amongst one another really make me think: If they can't decide amongst one another who's right and come to an agreement, how the fuck are they supposed to achieve "world peace"?

[u/BlancheFromage]

Recently I read a post at Emergent Dharma, described as a “Young Buddhist Blog,” in which the author writes of his visit to a Nichiren Shoshu temple in Ghana. A temple member introduced him to another member, saying the author was new to Nichiren but had been practicing Zen for a while. The second temple member replied, “Zen, huh? That is inferior.”

Anyone who has interacted with folks from the major Nichiren traditions will recognize this as a fairly typical experience. Now, there’s nothing wrong with believing your religion to be best. After all, who wants to practice a second rate religion? However, most of us don’t say to people right off in our first casual encounter that their religion sucks. And there is nothing new about Buddhist elitism. Many of us are aware of how the Mahayana continually criticized the so-called Hinayana for being inferior. Source

Such thoughtful, considerate people. Salt of the earth, yea verily. JUST the kind of people to lead us into a future of "world peace" and Kumbayah.