{"id":1154,"date":"2018-05-07T16:16:21","date_gmt":"2018-05-07T16:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/?p=1154"},"modified":"2018-05-07T16:16:21","modified_gmt":"2018-05-07T16:16:21","slug":"april-2018-high-priest-nichinyo-shonins-guidance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/index.php\/en\/2018\/05\/07\/april-2018-high-priest-nichinyo-shonins-guidance\/","title":{"rendered":"April 2018, High Priest Nichinyo Shonin’s Guidance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guidance from Sixty-eighth High Priest Nichinyo Shonin<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the Occasion of the April K\u014dsen-rufu Sh\u014ddai Ceremony<\/strong><\/p>\n

April 1, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reception Hall, Head Temple Taisekiji<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Good morning, everyone! \u00a0On this occasion of the April K\u014dsen-rufu Sh\u014ddai Ceremony, conducted here today at the Head Temple, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to the large number of participants in attendance. \u00a0As all of you know, Nichiren Shoshu currently is advancing powerfully with concerted efforts, devoting ourselves to propagate the Law, as we aim toward our goal\u2014to achieve a membership of 800,000 Hokkeko believers by 2021, when we will commemorate the 800th Anniversary of the advent of our Founder, Nichiren Daishonin.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It goes without saying that shakubuku is the ultimate act of compassion to save all living beings. \u00a0In particular, this is the evil age defiled by the five impurities\u2014where both natural and man-made disasters are frequently occurring, evil has become rampant, and the human condition is declining. \u00a0When we look at this tumultuous condition of the world today, it appears that everyone is running out of fortune. \u00a0I feel that now is the time for us to sow the seed of the mystic Law into the lives of as many people as possible and do shakubuku.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the Rissh\u014d ankoku-ron <\/em>(On Securing the Peace of the Land through the Propagation of True Buddhism), the Daishonin teaches that the root cause for a society in disorder is solely due to the poison of evil doctrines. \u00a0Unless we completely refute these erroneous teachings, neither human happiness nor world peace can be realized.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Daishonin also teaches in the Gosho, On Discerning Cause and Effect in the Ten Worlds<\/em> (Jippo\u0304kai myo\u0304 inga-sho\u0304):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Due to the offense of greed and theft, one will fall into the world of hunger. Even ordinary people can easily understand this. \u00a0Even good people, who are not greedy and do not commit other sins, will fall into the world of hunger if they commit slanders, or if they unknowingly come to believe in slanderous teachings by closely associating with slanderers. \u00a0Only a man of wisdom understands this. \u00a0We certainly must be fearful. (Gosho<\/em>, p. 208)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Everyone knows that if we steel something from someone else, we will fall into the world of hunger. \u00a0The Daishonin warns us that even though there may be good people who do not steel things, if they take faith in erroneous teachings or associate with slanderers, they may fall into the life condition of hunger without realizing that they have been influenced by slander. \u00a0We certainly must be fearful of slandering the true Law.<\/p>\n

The horror of slander is preached in many Goshos and other sutras. \u00a0We must refute and eliminate slanders in order to obtain peace and happiness. \u00a0Unless we put an end to slander, true happiness spanning the three existences of life will not come to us. \u00a0Refuting slander and teaching others about true Buddhism is exactly what we call shakubuku.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thus, the Daishonin teaches the following in the Gosho, The Tripitaka Master Shan Wu Wei<\/em> (Zemmui sanzo\u0304-sho\u0304):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Even if words are strict, if they can help the people, then they can be true and compassionate. \u00a0On the contrary, even if words sound compassionate, if they ruin people\u2019s lives, then they can be false and destructive…. Nichiren states that those who chant the Nembutsu will fall into the hell of incessant suffering, and that Zen and Shingon are also erroneous sects. \u00a0This may sound severe; however, it is true and compassionate. (Gosho<\/em>, p. 445)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Daishonin strictly asserts that Nembutsu leads to the hell of incessant suffering, and Zen and Shingon are evil teachings. \u00a0At first glance, his words may seem to be aggressive remarks or false denunciations. \u00a0However, his words in fact are the words that can save people. \u00a0They also are the compassionate words that can lead people to the life condition of true happiness. \u00a0These words are true and compassionate words. Shakubuku is exactly the act of compassion we can perform in which we wish for the happiness of others.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If we conduct shakubuku, it is inevitable that various obstacles and devils will arise, vying with one another. \u00a0However, no matter what hindrances or hardships we encounter, based on our faith in the Dai-Gohonzon, the supreme object of worship for the entire world, we must confront such difficulties, revering the following golden words:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Since the Law that one embraces is supreme, the person who upholds it also must be supreme. (Gosho<\/em>, p. 298)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We must know that the best way for a solution is to stand up to the difficulties with composure and conviction. \u00a0This absolute conviction toward the Dai-Gohonzon is important. \u00a0Accordingly, no matter what obstacles and devils may hinder us, if we, without succumbing to them, maintain our unwavering faith and practice for oneself and others, we surely will be able to establish true happiness in this lifetime and liberate ourselves from falling into the three evil paths.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I sincerely feel that now is the time for the members of each chapter to unite as one and single-mindedly devote themselves to do shakubuku, so that they will establish true happiness within, as we aim toward our goal\u2014to achieve a membership of 800,000 Hokkeko believers by 2021.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guidance from Sixty-eighth High Priest Nichinyo Shonin On the Occasion of the April K\u014dsen-rufu Sh\u014ddai Ceremony April 1, 2018 Reception Hall, Head Temple Taisekiji   Good morning, everyone! \u00a0On this occasion of the April K\u014dsen-rufu Sh\u014ddai Ceremony, conducted here today<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-guidance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1154"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1156,"href":"https:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1154\/revisions\/1156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}