{"id":667,"date":"2017-05-02T09:48:41","date_gmt":"2017-05-02T09:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/?p=667"},"modified":"2017-07-23T08:50:32","modified_gmt":"2017-07-23T08:50:32","slug":"march-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/index.php\/en\/2017\/05\/02\/march-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"March 2017 , High Priest Guidance"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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

March 5, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On this occasion of the March 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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The month of March already has begun in this \u201cThe Year to do shakubuku, develop your faith, and help others develop their faith and practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

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I imagine that all of you are devoting yourselves to your practice, day and night, aiming toward the achievement of this year\u2019s shakubuku goal.<\/p>\n

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The practice of shakubuku is our important mission, which was given to us by our Founder Nichiren Daishonin, the True Buddha in the Latter Day of the Law. Furthermore, it is the most important Buddhist practice, and essential for us to achieve the attainment of Buddhahood in this lifetime.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Daishonin teaches the following in the Gosho, Reply to the Wife of Abutsu-bo\u0304\u00a0<\/em>(Abutsu bo\u0304 ama gozen-gohenji):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Whether or not one refutes slander, will determine whether or not one will be able to free oneself from the grave karmic sins that one committed in the past. One\u2019s own negative karma can be eradicated if one teaches true Buddhism to others. \u00a0However, if one sees and hears slander and does not denounce it, then one\u2019s two virtues of correct sight and hearing immediately will deteriorate, and one will become a merciless and heartless individual. \u00a0The Great Teacher Zhangan stated, \u201cIf you associate with those [who slander the true Law] and lack the compassion to correct them, then you are, in fact, their enemy.\u201d \u00a0It is extremely difficult to eradicate a sin as grave as this. \u00a0The most important thing is to have a strong mind of benefitting others. (Gosho<\/em>, p. 906)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The negative cause of not conducting shakubuku toward a slanderer is extremely serious. \u00a0The Daishonin strictly admonishes that even though we can lessen our own karmic retribution through doing shakubuku, if we see slanderers but do not denounce them, we will become \u201cmerciless and heartless individuals whose two virtues of correct sight and hearing immediately will deteriorate.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTwo virtues of correct sight and hearing\u201d exactly means one\u2019s ability of seeing and hearing and the knowledge and experience gained through this ability. The Daishonin indicates that if one sees and hears slanders and neglects to correct them, this person eventually will ruin the gifts of good sight and hearing.<\/p>\n

Thus, the Great Teacher Zhangan stated that the sin of not conducting shakubuku but instead associating with a slanderer is so grave, that this offence is difficult to eradicate. \u00a0If you see those who slander the true Law, it is essential that you correct their error and shakubuku them based on compassion, and lead them to receive benefits.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Taking these passages to heart, we must understand the significance of this year\u2019s slogan: \u201cThe Year to do shakubuku, develop your faith, and help others develop their faith and practice.\u201d \u00a0Then, it is essential that the members of each chapter unite, based on the spirit of itai d\u014dshin,<\/em> and conduct shakubuku.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At the same time, it is extremely important on a broader basis that the members of the entire chapter make collaborative efforts to help the new members to develop their faith and practice.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHelp others develop their faith and practice\u201d indicates encouraging and promoting other members to become full-fledged Nichiren Shoshu believers. \u00a0Even though we achieve shakubuku, if we neglect helping a new member to develop his or her faith and practice, our shakubuku will become absolutely meaningless. \u00a0In order to accomplish k\u014dsen-rufu, we need a lot of human resources. \u00a0Thus, it is of paramount importance that we help the new members to develop their faith and practice to become resources for k\u014dsen-rufu in the future. \u00a0And, this responsibility lies with each chapter. \u00a0This is the crucial issue that the entire chapter must make all-out efforts to tackle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I hope that each chapter will realize how important it is to help a new member to become a full-fledged believer who will shoulder k\u014dsen-rufu in the future. \u00a0Thus, I expect that the whole chapter will gather strength and undertake this work along with shakubuku.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I sincerely wish for the further growth and development of each chapter, as well as the achievement of your goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guidance from Sixty-eighth High Priest Nichinyo Shonin On the Occasion of the March K\u014dsen-rufu Sh\u014ddai Ceremony March 5, 2017 Reception Hall, Head Temple Taisekiji     On this occasion of the March K\u014dsen-rufu Sh\u014ddai Ceremony, conducted here today at the<\/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":[33,35],"class_list":["post-667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-guidance","tag-2017-guidance","tag-high-priest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667","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=667"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":791,"href":"https:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667\/revisions\/791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.senmyozanhokkejitemple.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}