How to be a Buddha; The Real Aspect of the Gohonzon

SGI study chief Mr. Morinaka for the first time lectured in Seattle, Washington. On August 20th, to a packed auditorium, he talked about "The Real Aspect of the Gohonzon" by Nichiren Daishonin. His lecture drew heavily from commentary written by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda.

As background, Mr. Morinaka discussed some of the history of Buddhism and observed that Buddhism branched into two main practices:

1. Meditative
2. Praying to statues

Meditation nowadays, he said, is often thought of as achieving tranquility, peace of mind. Some schools even advocate trying to sever attachments. However, in the past, Tien Tai of China practiced a different type of meditation whose intent was to observe ones innate limitless Buddhahood and to manifest it.

Praying to statues, on the other hand, Mr. Morinaka observed was separating ourselves from Buddhahood. A statue externalizes the Buddha. The greater we imagine the external Buddha to be, the lesser we ourselves feel. We feel tinier and more insignificant.

As I ponder these observations, it brings to mind some oft quoted words of Nichiren Daishonin.

"Never seek this Gohonzon outside yourself. The Gohonzon exists only within the mortal flesh of us ordinary people who embrace the Lotus Sutra and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo." ("The Real Aspect of the Gohonzon," Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 832)

and

"Even though you chant and believe in Myoho-renge-kyo, if you think the Law is outside yourself, you are embracing not the Mystic Law but an inferior teaching." ("On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime," WND page 3)

So, we can see that even if we are chanting daimoku, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, to the gohonzon, if we think the gohonzon is outside ourself, instead of observing our own innate limitless Buddhahood and manifesting it, we actually can feel tinier and more insignificant -- as if we are praying to a statue of an external Buddha.

This reminds me of a point made by Christopher Small in his book Music, Society, Education. Small observed that Western Industrialized Society has created a type of priesthood called "experts." The more we idolize "experts" and unquestioningly believe what they say, the tinier and more insignificant we feel. "I'm not an expert," is a phrase we often hear and maybe have said ourselves. When we put anyone on a pedestal, be it an Olympic athlete, a rock star, a politician, an economist, a scientist or even an SGI leader, the more we idolize them as "others" outside of ourselves, the tinier and more insignificant we feel.

Of course we admire greatness, beauty and wisdom. We feel deep appreciation for what our mentors and role models teach us. But, if we forget that we are all one, that each of us is a microcosm of the entirety of humanity, all of life and indeed the whole universe, then we are externalizing that person whom we admire, seeing them as outside of ourself. And when we externalize them, the more we worship their greatness, then the tinier and more insignificant we feel. Rather than feeling inspired to achieve greatness ourselves, we can actually lose hope and even succumb to despair.

Despair is rampant because Western Industrialized Society teaches us the false belief that we are all separate from other people, the natural world and the cosmos. It is a new habit we are developing, learning to strengthen our awareness of our innate limitless Buddhahood and to manifest it.

Mr. Morinaka, in his lecture, repeatedly emphasized the importance of faith; it is up to ones faith to elicit the power of the gohonzon. With faith as the foundation of our practice and study we do our human revolution and strengthen our conviction that we each are as limitlessly powerful and indomitable as the entire universe spanning past, present and future and that nothing is impossible.

The Sun of Jiyu Over a New Land; the complete poem

Since this major work of Daisaku Ikeda, "The Sun of Jiyu Over a New Land," is only quoted in truncated versions elsewhere online, I decided to type out the entire poem and post it on this blog as a public service.

In response to the Rodney King Riots of 1992, SGI president Ikeda wrote this poem of hope to the SGI-USA members of Los Angeles, and by extension, the people of the entire world.

"The Sun of Jiyu Over a New Land" inspired the SGI youth of Los Angeles to present a Global Family Festival at the Ikeda Auditorium in Santa Monica, California in 1998. During the rehearsal period we, of the Documentary Committee, would read the entire poem aloud together every week.

You can also find this poem in the book To My Dear Friends in America; Collected U.S. Addresses 1990-1996, by Daisaku Ikeda, World Tribune Press, 2008, pages 202 - 215.

"The Sun of Jiyu Over a New Land"

To my treasured friends of Los Angeles, the city of my dreams.

A brilliant, burning sun

rises above the newborn land, 

aiming toward a new century,

raising the curtain on a new stage

of humanity's history.

Shedding its light equally on all things,

it seeks the sky's distant midpoint. 

In this land wrapped in the limitless light

of the morning sun,

my splendid American friends

make their appearance;

bearing the world's hopes,

with power and vigor they commence their progress anew.

To my beloved and treasured friends I say:

"Long live America renewed!

Long live the SGI-USA reborn!"

Ah! This enchanting city, Los Angeles!

Land of freedom and pioneering spirit!

From jagged mountain ranges 

to the Pacific Ocean,

variegated nature changes ceaselessly --

rich agricultural lands nurtured by the sun's dazzling rays,

and the groundbreaking efforts 

of those who came before.

Downtown, clusters of buildings soar skyward.

To think that this vast metropolis 

could grow from a single aqueduct

stretched across the barren desert

from beyond the distant mountains!

It is said that in America

new winds blow from the west.

And indeed, the fresh breezes

of new ways of thinking,

new styles of living,

have arisen in California

and spread to the entire United States.

So many stories of the silver screen,

created here in Hollywood,

have delivered bountiful gifts

of romance and dreams 

to the world's peoples.

This rich spiritual soil, 

this great earth alive with diversity

of peoples and traditions -- 

giving rise to new culture,

a new humanity.

Los Angeles is a city pregnant with future,

a city where, in the words of one writer,

you can set new precedents 

with your own energy and creativity.

And more, Los Angeles is a bridge

linking East and West,

a land of merging and fusion

where cultures of the Pacific

encounter traditions of the West.

Ah, the Pacific that opens before our eyes!

The boundless, free and untamed sea

for which the great Melville

voiced his respect and praise:

"It rolls the mid-most waters on the world.

. . . the tide-beating heart of earth."

Once, the Mediterranean

was inland sea and mother to the 

civilizations of the surrounding regions --

Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In like manner, the Pacific's depths

must not divide -- 

but be the cradle of a new civilization,

an enormous "inland sea" connecting

the Americas North and South,

the continents of Asia and Australia.

This is my firm conviction --

California will be the energy source 

for the Pacific region

in the twenty-first century

and Los Angeles its eastern capital.

In October 1960, I took my first steps on

the American continent

in California, the Golden State.

The honor and glory of becoming 

the first chapter established in North America 

belong to the Los Angeles Chapter. 

Since then, this city has been

the core and center of kosen-rufu

in the United States, the starting point

for worldwide kosen-rufu.

My dear friends, never forget

this mission which you

so decidedly possess.

In the thirty-three years since that time, 

I have visited Los Angeles seventeen times.

Kansai is the heart

whose beating drives the movement 

for kosen-rufu in Japan;

Los Angeles plays this self-same role for the entire world.

For this reason, on each visit,

staking all, I drove in deep

and deeper

the piling of construction.

In 1980,

the first SGI General Meeting was held,

and in 1987, Soka University of America

opened its doors.

Ah, February 1990!

I postponed my visit 

to South America and for seventeen days

gave myself heart and soul

to the work of encouraging

my beloved fellow members

here in Los Angeles!

Those impassioned, consuming days of

unceasing toil and action

are the collaborative 

golden poems of shared struggle.

Nor can I ever forget the spring of 1992 ---

even now my heart is rent with pain 

when I recall how the 

tragic news of the civil unrest in Los Angeles

raced around the world.

Heartrending images

of the evening sky shrouded in black smoke,

of buildings collapsing in flames,

once peaceful streets shattered by riot,

the entire city gripped

by a battlefield tension.

People standing lost in confusion,

a woman holding an infant cried out

-- What has become of the ideals of this country?

What are we supposed to teach our children? --

Her woe-filled words tore 

like talons at my heart.

I received continuous reports,

extended prompt relief.

And, putting everything aside,

I sat before the Gohonzon and 

single-mindedly prayed --

for the safety of my treasured friends,

for the immediate restoration of order,

for a world without violence and discrimination.

Ah, America, land bringing together

so many different peoples!

A republic of ideals

born beneath the lofty banners,

the uniting principles of

freedom and equality.

As this century draws to its close,

the soul of your idealism

grieves at the stark realities of racial strife.

What is to become of the

spirit of your nation

fostered by so many people of

wisdom and philosophy?

My treasured friends,

There is no question that your multiracial nation, America,

represents humanity's future.

Your land holds secret stores of unbounded possibility, transforming

the energy of different cultures

into the unity of construction,

the flames of conflict 

into the light of solidarity,

the eroding rivulets of mistrust

into a great broad flow of confidence.

On what can we ground our efforts to open

the horizons of such a renaissance?

It is for just this reason,

my precious, treasured friends,

that you must develop within yourselves

the life-condition of Jiyu --

Bodhisattva of the Earth.

As each group seeks its separate 

roots and origins,

society fractures along a thousand fissure lines.

When neighbors distance themselves 

from neighbors, continue your

uncompromising quest 

for your truer roots

in the deepest regions of your life.

Seek out the primordial "roots" of humankind.

Then you will without fail discover

the stately expanse of Jiyu

unfolding in the depths of your life.

Here is the home, the dwelling place

to which humankind traces

its original existence --

beyond all borders,

beyond all difference of gender and race.

Here is a world offering true proof

of our humanity.

If one reaches back to these fundamental roots,

all become friends and comrades.

To realize this is to "emerge from the earth."

Past, present, future . . . 

The causes and effects of the three existences

flow ceaselessly as the reality of life;

interlinked, they give rise to all 

differences and distinctions.

Trapped in those differences,

human society is wracked by 

unending contention.

But the Buddhism of True Cause,

expounded by the Daishonin whose

teachings we embrace,

enables us to break the spell

of past karma, past causes and effects,

and to awaken to the grand humanity

-- the life of Jiyu --

that had lain dormant in our hearts.

My mentor, President Toda,

taught us that when one embraces

the Mystic Law,

all intervening causes and effects

ebb and retreat, and there emerges

the common mortal of beginningless time.

This, another name for Bodhisattva of the Earth,

is the greatness and splendor

of the human being write large,

after all false distinctions and adornments

have been removed.

Awaken to the life of Jiyu within!

When the bright sun of True Cause rises,

the stars and planets of 

past cause and effect grow dim,

and the supreme world of

harmonious unity emerges -- 

the unity of friends and comrades

each manifesting the life-condition 

of Bodhisattva of the Earth,

offering timeless proof that, indeed,

"The assembly on Eagle Peak has not yet dispersed."

Ah, my treasured friends,

whom I so deeply love and respect!

It is critical for you now

to directly perceive

the web of life that binds all people!

Buddhism describes

the connective threads of 

dependent origination.

Nothing in this world exists alone;

everything comes into being and continues

in response to causes and conditions.

Parent and child.

Husband and wife.

Friends. Races.

Humanity and nature.

This profound understanding

of coexistence, of symbiosis -- 

here is the source of resolution for

the most pressing and fundamental issues

that confront humankind

in the chaotic last years of this century.

The Buddhist scriptures include

the parable of "Two Bundles of Reeds,"

aptly demonstrating this relation

of dependent origination.

Only by supporting each other

can the two bundles stand straight --

if one is removed, the other must fall.

Because this exists, so does that;

because that exists, so does this.

 For several brilliant centuries,

Western civilization has encouraged 

the independence of the individual

but now appears to be facing 

a turbulent twilight.

The waves of egoism

eat away at the shores of

contemporary society.

The tragedy of division

wraps the world in a thick fog.

Individuals are becoming 

mere scraps, mere fragments,

competing reed bundles of lesser self

threatened with mutual collapse.

My friends!

Please realize that you already possess

the solution to this quandary.

First you must break the hard shell 

of the lesser self.

This you must absolutely do.

Then direct your lucid gaze toward your friends, fellow members.

People can only live fully

by helping others to live.

When you give life to friends,

you truly live.

Cultures can only realize

their further richness

by honoring other traditions.

And only by respecting natural life

can humanity continue to exist.

Now is the time for you to realize 

that through relations

mutually inspiring and harmonious,

the greater self is awakened to dynamic action.

the bonds of life are restored and healed.

And blossoms in delightful multitude

exude the unique fragrance 

of each person, of each ethnicity,

in precise accord with the principle of

cherry, plum, pear and damson.(1)

Our goal --

the Second American Renaissance.

Holding high the standard of humanity,

we advance --

from divisiveness to union,

from conflict to coexistence,

from hatred to fraternity.

In our struggle, in our fight,

there cannot be

even a moment's pause or stagnation.

My beloved friends,

Bodhisattvas of the Earth

readying yourselves

for the new century's dawn!

With you own efforts

bring about a renaissance here,

in this "magnetic land!"

The certain signs of America reborn,

Los Angeles rejuvenated,

are to be found within your hearts.

With this pride and conviction,

be victorious in your daily life,

overcome your own weaknesses every day.

Never forget that it is only through 

relentless challenge 

-- one step following another -- 

that you can steadily transform

your ideals into reality.

Buddhism is reason.

Therefore, always maintain self-control.

Be the master of your actions. 

Exercise common sense in society.

Keep a smiling countenance at home.

Be courteous to your friends and fellow members,

like a warm spring breeze to the suffering.

Reason exhaustively with the confused.

But, when you deal with the arrogant ones,

be bold and fearless like the Lion King!

Look!

Seen from the Malibu Training Center,

the Pacific Ocean's unbounded expanse

is bathed in radiant California sun.

An ocean of peace across whose surface 

innumerable waves murmur and dance.

Beloved Los Angelenos!

I want you each to be

like the California sunshine,

showering on all people

the bright light and warmth

of your compassion.

Be people who extend hope and courage,

who inspire respect and gratitude

wherever you go.

Buddhism teaches us the means

to overcome life's fundamental pain

-- the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death -- 

which none can escape,

and which no degree of wealth and fame

can relieve in the slightest.

Everyone, anyone -- 

when returned to

their solitary human existence,

is but a karma-laden "reed,"

trembling before the onslaught

of the four sufferings.

Seeking eternity within impermanence,

crossing over delusion to nurture confidence,

building happiness from anguish,

rush forward from today

toward tomorrow

in the prodigious battle that is

our human revolution!

For you are the Buddha's emissaries

upholding the ultimate philosophy of life!

Comrades!

Fellow Bodhisattvas of the Earth!

Born here, gathered together here in Los Angeles

that you might fulfill your mission --

Raise your voices in songs of praise 

for freedom, democracy and humanity!

Wave the banners of culture and peace!

Ah, Los Angeles!

Here is to be found SUA,

A palace of intellect for 

the Pan-Pacific era of the twenty-first century.

Here is located the World Culture Center,

dynamo of American kosen-rufu.

And here rises the splendid form

of the future site of the SGI Headquarters --

which will become the mainstay

of the grand endeavor of worldwide kosen-rufu.

Truly a new wind will blow from the west!

Los Angeles, the stage on which

you act with such freedom and vigor,

is the launching site for world kosen-rufu, 

the cornerstone that links East and West.

Walt Whitman, giant of 

the American Renaissance, penned these words:

"Come, I will make the continent indissoluble,

I will make the most splendid race 

the sun ever shone upon,

I will make divine magnetic lands,

With the love of comrades,

With the life-long love of comrades."(2)

Ah, Los Angeles!

The sun rises beyond the Rockies,

spreading its light over the wide Pacific.

Now! In its luminous beams,

let friend and friend pull together

in perfect unity, rowing into the seas --

embarking on a new leg

of our journey of kosen-rufu!

Grip the rudder,

hold firm to your course --

the Stars and Stripes,

the tricolor flag of the SGI,

ripple as a hopeful breeze fills our sails.

The lapping waves beat out their message

of congratulations upon our ship's bow!

Our destination --

America's distant future,

the lights and colors

of a Century of Life,

the brilliant glory of human harmony.

1. "Cherry, plum, peach and damson blossoms all have their own qualities, and they manifest the three properties of the life of the Buddha without changing their character" (Nichiren Daishonin, Gosho Zenshu, p. 784)

 2. Walt Whitman, "For You O Democracy," Leaves of Grass, 1860