On the Ceremony in the Air

Nichiren Shonin
(Kiyosumi-dera)

 

From the Analect of the Kempon Hokke
 

"Lest we get too clever in tossing about words like "gohonzon"
or "buddha", let's keep in mind the essential reality that NO
ONE (not any high NS priest or scholar, has a clue what a "gohonzon" or a "buddha" really is.  We have Nichiren's word
that the "gohonzon" is the ongoing "ceremony in the air" and
we have Shakyamuni's word that "only a buddha and a buddha" can know the ultimate reality that the gohonzon embodies.

It is a mystery.  An Absolute mystery.  A plant follows the
course of the sun daily.  Animals follow the biological clocks
of the movement of stars. Neither plants nor animals "understand" why they follow these "laws" or what the stars and the sun mean.  Likewise, we "follow" the Law and we respond to inherent Buddhahood, but we haven't a clue about this ultimate reality.

So, it's superficial speculation to say that the gohonzon is
"only a manifestation of the Eternal Buddha but is not the
Eternal Buddha in actuality."  If Nichiren says that a gohonzon which has had its "eyes opened" to the Lotus Sutra is imbued
with the "soul" (tamashii) of the Eternal Buddha then it is foolish
to determine the gohonzon to be a "manifestation and merely
a piece of paper."  That's relying on our human senses to imply "value" or "reality."  Our human senses cannot gauge reality
at all, according to the Lotus Sutra, because human senses are composed of "attachments" and "illusions."  What looks like paper and ink to our senses is only what we "think" we see.
We also see the birth and death of all things, whereas the
Buddha says that this is an illusion.  We see "self and others."
The Buddha says this is an illusion.  There is no "self" to
"attain enlightenment." That's just how we perceive the flow
of things.

A gohonzon whose eyes are "opened" to the Lotus Sutra
is inherently different from a gohonzon whose eyes are
"opened" to the "offshoot" teachings of SGI/NST and
other sects.  In neither case is the gohonzon merely a
"piece of paper", waiting to be "activated" by the chanting
of practitioner. Such a prejudice would mean that the "flesh
and blood" of a human being is somehow "superior" to the
"paper and ink" of the gohonzon.  This presupposes that the "matter" or material that constitutes the "outer wrapping"
is the "true reality". However, the Lotus Sutra teaches that
there is no "truth" in material reality.

 Material reality is an impermanent, constantly changing
 series of phenomenon. "Buddha-reality" is neither
 "substantial" nor "non-substantial", but a "middle way"
 that is called "ku" (poorly identified as "void", but the
 word does not do justice to the concept).
 
Likewise, "middle way" has two meanings in Buddhism.
It refers to the superficial concept of "neither extreme" but
it also means the deeper concept of "neither substantial or
non-substantial." It is the ninth consciousness that cannot
be perceived by the six senses or the usual human reasoning.
 WE cannot put faith in any conclusions that are drawn by
prejudices about material objects, be they made of flesh,
crystal, paper or electrons.  The "reality" is not confined
or defined  by the "material" we see.

So, when making sweeping statements about the
"gohonzon", the bottom line is, no one alive today on this
planet can even hazard a guess about what it actually is.
"Manifestation" sounds like a nice rationalization, but I
don't think it is even remotely plausible.

When we chant to a "Nichiren" gohonzon, we really don't
know anything about what we're doing, just like the plant
which follows the sun doesn't have any consciousness about
what it's doing.  When we chant to an SGI/NST  gohonzon,
we don't know what the "difference" is.  (Given our lack of
reliable "sense", why take a chance?  Since it is all based
on faith, why not take faith as Nichiren "recollected" it when
he transcribed the gohonzon, exactly as he received it at the
ceremony in the air.  He explains, without equivocation,
that he didn't "invent" the gohonzon but "received" from
the Eternal Shakyamuni himself.)

Even in arguments about the "True Buddha", the glaring
question is bypassed....What is a "Buddha" in the first place?
IF that cannot be defined within the limitations of human
senses, then what sense is there in saying that Nichiren is
the "true" buddha and the Eternal Shakyamuni is the
"cast-off" buddha (Taisekiji's own theological term, not
ours.).  It's a conclusion of profound ignorance, imputed
by "interpretation".  It's not based on Nichiren's own
statements.  It's the doctrines of kabbalistic , cryptic
translations by later priests of questionable intentions.

Hence, lets take Nichiren at his word, having faith that
his Buddhism is "transmitted" directly from the Lotus Sutra,
and that his "gohonzon" is not simply some "manifestation"
but a "reality' that transcends human senses.  One does not
"see" the ceremony in the air like one "sees" the skyline
of New York........one does not dismiss the gohonzon as a
"representation" of abstract Buddhist theory.  Otherwise,
why would Nichiren say that a "soul" inhabits the gohonzon,
and that the orientation of an "object of worship" is the most important thing of all?  It obviously is much more that it seems.
It's not just ink on rice paper.  There are 128 extant Nichiren gohonzons. They aren't just paper "manifestation" mandalas.  (Likewise, the so-called "dai-gohonzon" is not just a "hunk of wood".  It's much more sinister.  It's a fake, so what "soul"
imbues it?  How could it be "the living Nichiren" when it renders "worthless" all authentic Nichiren gohonzons?) Many SGI
leaders no the Dai-Gohonzon was not inscribed by Nichiren
but are afraid the "members" will quite!

After all, Nichiren said that ALL of the troubles of Japan
stemmed from worshiping the wrong "gohonzon" and replacing
the correct "gohonzon" with other provisional teachings and
their attendant "manifestation" (funjin) Buddhas, who are
"emanations" of the Original Eternal Shakyamuni.  These
are statements that transcend the scope of human intelligence.
Nichiren is telling us that there is MUCH more here than
meets the eye. In fact, it transcends the eyes, ears, nose
and mind.

From the "Myoho Mandara Kuyo Ji" by Nichiren Daishonin
to a female believer:

"I have written the Myoho Renge Kyo Gohonzon and
consecrated it for you" (translated by Senchu Murano)

In the Gosho 'The Selection of the Time,' St. Nichiren
says of the conditions of his day,

"And in the ceremony carried out at the consecration of
Buddhist images or paintings, the 'opening of the eyes,'
the priests of all the eight sects of Buddhism now use the
mudras and mantras associated with the eyes of the Buddha
Dainichi!'  (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin,
vol. 3, p. 156)

In his collected writings, the Daishonin refers to the
eye-opening ceremony, or to offerings for the eye-opening,
in seventeen places.  In most of these instances, he
raises the issue for the purpose of refuting the validity
of eye-opening ceremonies conducted with Shingon rites,
teaching instead that the eye-opening ceremony should
be conducted with the Lotus Sutra.

For instance, he says:  "In performing the eye-opening
ceremony for painted or wooden Buddha images, the
only authority to rely on is the Lotus Sutra and the Tendai
sect.... It is the power of the Lotus Sutra that makes it
possible to infuse such paintings and statues with a -soul-
or spiritual property.  This was the realization of the
Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai.  In the case of living beings,
this doctrine is known as attaining Buddhahood in one's
present form; in the case of painted and wooden images,
it is known as the enlightenment of plants and trees."
(MW-6, 161-2)

The principle of the enlightenment of plants and trees
makes it possible for statues or paintings made of trees
or plants to become infused with the life of the Buddha;
and this principle is clarified only by the doctrine of ichinen
sanzen, which is contained in the Lotus Sutra and must be
performed by a believer of the Eternal Shakyamuni.

The Daishonin states that images of the Buddha whose
eyes have been 'opened' by the heretical Shingon teaching
'have been rendered soulless and sightless'  (MW-2, p. 265)
and, worse still, 'have been possessed by the Devil of the
Sixth Heaven, bringing ruin upon their own worshipers' (ibid).
He further states, 'Demons occupy [such Buddha images]
and deprive people of their lives.... Moreover, devils enter
those images and deprive people of benefits' (MW-4, p. 35)

If your Gohonzon has had it's eyes opened not by a believer
in the Eternal Buddha, but by a believer in the false-premise
of the Eternal Nichiren, then your Gohonzon is not valid.

The Daishonin says that eye-opening ceremonies conducted
by priests who do not follow the Lotus Sutra actually summons
demon and the devil king to inhabit the Buddha images.
Elsewhere in the Gosho (in 'On The Enlightenment of Trees
and Plants'), the Daishonin discusses eye-opening ceremonies
for memorial tablets (toba) in only one place.  There, too,
he teaches that unless ceremonies are based on the Lotus
Sutra and the doctrine of ichinen sanzen, neither will any
trees and plants attain Buddhahood, nor will any true
opening of the eyes take place.
 
 

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