Guidance by Dr. Tetsugai Obo

Chairman of Seminar Bureau of Doctor Division

April 23, 2000

This meeting consists of doctors, nurses, and medical staff of the
medical field that took place at Atsugi Peace Center.

How do you do!

This is the first time I came here.  For all people in Kanagawa I gave
this seminar in Kanagawa Culture Centre. Probably, for the majority of
the people here, this is the first time we have met. So, please be kind
to me. (Introduction from the chairman was not translated.)

A few years ago, around February, I went to give a seminar in
Kashiwazaki where you can see Sado Island.  This is also close to
President Makiguchi’s birth home and Makiguchi Memorial Hall, It was
Saturday. I saw my patients in the morning and took a bullet train in
the afternoon in order to give a seminar in the evening. It was 10:30 pm.
by the time the seminar was over.  Since I was already there, I wanted
to go see President Makiguchi’s birth house.  I asked the YMD to take me
there.  There is only an empty lot as the house no longer exists.
Approximately 100 feet away is Arahama shore.  It was very windy.  Even
though it was snowing there was no snow accumulation.  The reason I am
speaking about Arahama is the mystical connection of the time and place
of the birth of President Makiguchi.  From Arahama Shore you can see
Sado Island to your right.  When Nichiren Daishonin was exiled to Sado,
he traveled from Kamakura north to Teradomari and from Teradamori to
Sado.  Two and a half years later he traveled back from Sado south to
Bangin Cape in Kashiwazaki.  This route represents an alphabetical
character U shape.  President Makiguchi was born directly at the bottom
of this U, which is the half point of Nichiren Daishonin’s travel
route.  He was born in 1871 that is exactly 600 years after the
Daishonin was exiled in 1271.  How mystical the time and place!  I had
an impression that there should be something more to this.  After
thinking about it, I could see more.

In Japan there are two different cultures: one is the culture of the
village; and the other, the culture of the ocean.  The mentality of the
village culture is to go with the flow. This means that the people of
the village culture are particularly concerned with what everyone else
thinks about them. In essence, public opinion equals the village.
Therefore, when we Japanese leave the village, we have a tendency to act
much more differently than we do at home.  After all, there is no one
that we know who is watching our actions.  A good example is during
World War II.  Japanese soldiers raped women and massacred children in
China.   Since those soldiers were outside of their country (village),
they had no problem with acting savagely.  The lack of morals that the
Japanese soldiers exhibited was the characteristic of the Japanese
people.  For the Japanese, the public means village.  What the villagers
think of you becomes most important.  This is similar to the disorder of
agoraphobia. For people with agoraphobia meeting people who are familiar
to them is most challenging to them. Instead, meeting strangers is less
problematic.  Thus, this is a disorder caused by the fear of the public
immediately surrounding the individual.  Strangers are not part of the
public (village) therefore they are non-threatening.  For many Japanese,
the village-like mentality deeply lies in their consciousness.  To be
aware of people? eyes means to be aware of the eyes of familiar
people.  In this culture, people are taught not to view things as black
and white, not to take a position either way, not to be arrogant, or
audacious, or meddlesome.

This year, I have been thinking about this.  I see many psychiatric
patients, patients with asthma, patients with sinus infection, patients
with eczema, and patients with severe allergy.  I have seen more than
10,000 patients so far in my practice.  What I found in common with all
these patients was their conformity.  I hardly see non-conforming
people.   Imagine that out of 10,000 people the vast majority of them
are conformists!  How interesting! I can? help thinking that
conformists are more susceptible to having an illness.  The word
conformist, in Japanese, majime, has changed its meaning over the past
decades.   It used to mean Serious or sincere, but now it means to go
with the flow of custom or culture. Above all, Japanese culture is
troublesome.  It is a culture that promotes sickness.

Thus, modesty, the virtue of humbleness, being refined, males should say
little, females should be one step behind, being considerate, being
harmonious, suppressing yourself, not being audacious, not being over
confident, and not being arrogant one word to kill yourself is
Japanese culture. Therefore, the more conforming you are, the more
devastated you will become.  In general, conformists lack individuality
and are passive.  Leaders in society, such as presidents of companies,
tend to be arrogant and aggressive and powerful.  They also lack common
sense and are authoritative in nature.

In this society, from the standpoint of Japanese culture, I have
observed that bad people have more energy.  Good people are not
energetic and sickly after all.  From a Buddhist viewpoint,
one who is shining the true self of the entity of Myoho (mystic law) is
in a sense audacious.  Audacious people live according to the Mystic
Law.  On the other hand, conformists who suppress themselves actually
kill the entity of Myoho.  This is a slander.

The best example is the congressmen of the Japanese Democratic Party.
After the elections they were interviewed and their attitude was only
that of self-absorption.

It makes you wonder why they get elected but these people are truly
energetic, powerful and have a lot of fortune.

On the other hand, conforming and serious people lack fortune.
President Ikeda often says, ?et? be audacious, bold and tough.  Be
confident and persuasive. After all, this is the correct way. The
problem is not that bad people run the world but that good people are
killing themselves.
If serious people, kindhearted people, good people, and warmhearted
people speak up and stand up for justice and create momentum, selfish
people will automatically feel uncomfortable and eventually vanish.
President Makiguchi once said, only if we create this can we have the
era of humanistic competition. In fact, this Japanese culture of
being conforming and serious is the culture of the village.  If you act
differently you will become an outcast of the village.  The village
people do not like those people who speak clearly of black and white.

The Murayama administration was a good example of village culture.
During that time, the great Kobe earthquake occurred.  Many Japanese
people felt frustrated over how the government handled the disaster.
Many showed anger and questioned the administration why it didn’t help
the victims right away. The spokesperson responded by saying there is
nothing we can do about it.  We have follow the rules.  We can offer
help to the masses but not to individuals.  This incident showed the
lack of compassion by the government.  Village culture is unmerciful
because it prioritized the institution over the people.  In other words,
the village culture is a culture that oppresses people.  This kind of
culture is what is a fundamental base of the Japanese culture.

Another Japanese culture is called the culture of the ocean.  Do you
remember when the Japanese pitcher Nomo came to play for the Los Angeles
Dodgers?  At that time the major league was on strike.  Many wondered
what was going to happen to Nomo and questioned if he would make it in
the major leagues.  Many Japanese people and the mass media wrote
bashing articles against Nomo.  People asked him why are you going
overseas. Yet, Nomo came to America without any hesitations.  Before you
knew it he was in the All-Star game as a rookie.  Suddenly Japanese
paparazzi were on his side and praising him. They wanted Nomo to say, “I
will do my best for Japan.” However, he refused to say it.  Instead he
said, “I enjoy pitching.” We all thought Nomo must have been fluent in
English but he could hardly speak English.  In an interview after
winning the game, Nomo had a translator with him.  I was wondering if he
was scared.  By just looking at Nomo I felt that he doesn’t have a
typical Japanese attitude.  Later I found that he was born in Osaka but
his parents were originally from an island off the coast of Japan.
During the Muromachi period these islands were where pirates lived.
These people started Japanese villages in Southeast Asia.  These islands
are still islands of many fishermen.  Nomo’s parents had the culture of
the ocean people.  The ocean culture is very independent, energetic, and
open.

On the other hand, village culture is very concerned with the opinion of
the public, it is conservative and has a pattern of having two different
sides: smiling on the surface but disagreeing inside.   As I mentioned
before there a two types of culture within Japanese society.  It? fun
to talk about these cultures when I travel from place to place.   On the
ocean side of Japan there is a strong tendency for ocean culture and on
the mountain side there is the village culture.,  If you visit a region
which share both of these cultures the leaders of the Soka Gakkai ask
why is it so different even in the same organization?  After I explained
the village and ocean culture they could understand the differences.
Many Japanese religions and philosophies are based on the village
culture.  Do you know the only religion based on the ocean culture?
Yes, it’s the Daishonin’s Buddhism!  Nichiren Daishonin called himself
the son of the sendala,, in other words the son of a fisherman.  It is
the ocean culture.  In a time of strict class systems, the Daishonin
called himself the son of the sendala, and the sendala means “chandala” in
Sanskrit.  It is the lowest of the caste system.  It means the son of an
untouchable, and he was proud of that.  It was the time that you could
do anything you wanted if you were born in a higher caste.  The
Daishonin placed himself within the lowest class of his time.

The Daishonin fought against the highest authority of the nation.  The
Daishonin fought the authority head on without any support.  I think
that showed a great contrast between the Daishonin who had no class or
authority and the other with all power.  As they clashed the Daishonin
called authorities “The ruler of this little island country.”  For
people of the village culture this was inconceivable.  Only the
Daishonin, who truly was a man of the ocean culture, was capable of
making such a bold statement.  The Daishonin’s Buddhism is a philosophy
of the ocean culture.  That’s why it’s very independent, open,
progressive and energetic.

Nevertheless, the Daishonin’s Buddhism eventually became influenced
heavily by the village culture after his death.  The Daishonin’s
Buddhism became corrupted.  As a result the high priest became
absolute.  Eventually lay followers were considered too unworthy to see
the high priest. Another characteristic of the village culture was the
class system.  Old time villages consisted of landlords and tenants.
Tenants had to crawl in the presence of landlords.

Japan is an anachronistic country.  If you were from a higher class you
could build a gate for your house.  If you were not, then you could
not. In Japan, even what you wore depended on your status in society.
This was the village culture but in the ocean culture the majority of
the people were poor.  There was little difference among them.  Even the
Daishoni’s Buddhism, which is of the ocean culture, became corrupted by
the village culture.

Seven hundred years passed and President Makiguchi was born as a son of
a fisherman in Arahama.  He was raised in the ocean culture, so despite
the time period, he did not have a village mentality.  President Toda
was raised in Atsuta and born in Ishikawa prefecture.  He also was the
son of a fisherman.  One of his ancestors was captain of a fishing
boat.  He truly was a man of the ocean.  President Ikeda was a son of a
seaweed maker.  When looking at this, the Soka Gakkai entirely consists
of the ocean culture. It is directly connected to the Daishonin except
some areas that became village-like in the last 700 years.

Interestingly, my senior, Professor Miyata at Soka University, is
doing a research on President Makiguchi.  He suggested that if he ever
directly encountered the priests from the Head Temple he wouldn’t have
joined the Nichiren Shoshu sect.  President Makiguchi was in search of a
religion that could be the basis of his Soka educational system. In one
word, Soka education means to open up a person’s possibilities, to view
every student with a warm heart to help the student be independent and
logical.  He was searching for a religion that would lay a foundation
for his educational system.  Then he encountered  Nichiren Shoshu.  Priest
Horigome had founded a temporary branch office in Nakano.  Priest
Horigome was studying a philosophy at Waseda University.   He concluded
that Buddhism can no longer contribute to society as long as it remained
in the temple.  He thought they needed to start a religious movement in
which lay believers could play an active role.   That’s why he founded
that temporary branch.  When Priest Horigome, who believed in the
Buddhist movement of lay believers, and President Makiguchi, who
believed in the Soka educational system met , a religious movement based
on humanism started.  Ironically, there was no such tradition within
Nichiren Shoshu.  Because of that, from the very beginning the
priesthood thought that the Soka Gakkai was arrogant, and they also
claimed that the lay believers shouldn’t  be audacious.  This is a good
example of the confrontation between village culture and ocean culture.
In the past there was the Tanuki festival incident and many other
incidents that involved the priesthood and they all originated from the
difference between those two cultures, village and ocean.  I think that
these differences became more evident in situations such as the current
priesthood issues and the Soka Gakkai.  Therefore, this situation could
not have been avoided.

This is a prelude to what I really wanted to discuss.  Let’s go back to
the prime point and look at ourselves.

How many points could you give yourself out of 100 when looking at
yourselves right now?  Please raise your hand if you think you fall
within the range of  0 to 60 points.  Thank you very much.  Now raise
your hand if you think you fall between 61 to 99 points.  Usually only a
few people raise their hands here.  Most people raised their hands with
points 0 to 60.  Oh, the doctors division is different because most of
you raised your hands within the higher group.  How about 100 points?
Oh, two people raised their hands.  Thank you very much.  Except these
two, the rest of you are not practicing Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism.
Can you believe it?

Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism is the religion that teaches us that we
are 100 points.  As noted previously, the Daishonin’s Buddhism
emphasizes living audaciously, boldly, and tough.  It is hard to
understand this.  In Chinese characters shinjin (faith) means “Believe
from the heart.” Then what is it you are going to believe in?  It is the
Gohonzon and also the Lotus Sutra.  What does it mean to believe in the
Lotus Sutra?  It means to believe that oneself is the entity of the
Mystic Law.  The head is Myo, the throat is Ho, the chest is Ren, Ge is
the stomach, and the legs are Kyo.  We were taught that faith means to
believe that your life itself is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and the entity of
the Mystic Law. Do you remember this?  Would you rate
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo Buddha at 60 points?

Last November, I was invited to a district meeting to give a Gosho
lecture.  There were six French members from Southern France who owned
vineyards. SGI-France is considered a cult by the government and treated
unlawfully.  Everybody in France practices very seriously.  At this
meeting we studied “On Attaining Buddhahood in this Lifetime.” 
President Ikeda gave this Gosho in France. In the Gosho “...when you chant
Myoho and recite Renge, you must summon up deep faith that
Myoho-renge-kyo is your life itself” (WND page 3). When you chant
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo you name that your life is Myoho-renge-kyo.  Deepen
your faith as you declare your name Myoho-renge-kyo.  When studying I
asked the French members, “Who can believe that you are
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo Buddha in here?” All six of them raised their hands
by saying, YES! Three out of forty Japanese members raised their
hands.   Actually, Gakkai members live by the village culture.  The
Daishonin’s Buddhism and the Soka Gakkai should be a religion of the
ocean culture.  But it has become a religion of the village culture.
Well, it’s hard to understand, I’d like to make a comparison.  I have
written an article titled, “A Strange Principle” for the health section
of the Seikyo Shimbun. In observation of many people, conformists, hard
working, responsible, caring and altruistic people, mysteriously enough
come to a deadlock.  Those conforming to others while working hard
cannot break through.  These altruistic people often face rejection,
refusal, being made fun of, and in extreme cases are despised.  Have you
seen these people?  Serious conformists can’t advance.

On the contrary, irresponsible, arrogant, and shrewd people are
successful in every attempt. Since everything goes well and they are
targeted for flattery they become even more successful.  This is a very
popular phenomenon.  While I have encountered various types of people
and their lives, I have witnessed many of these cases.  What is this all
about?  Earnest people are fooled and the villains get fattened up.  I
have pondered Why?-for a long time but I didn’t get an answer.  I had
an opportunity to research while still contemplating this issue.  I
began to see the mechanism of the strange principle little by little.
Hesitantly, I wrote about it in the Seikyo Shimbun.  I was afraid that
it would be too controversial or that it would be cut, but I had to
write it anyway because I thought there must have been some people
bothered by the same thoughts.  Luckily, the article made it to the
final print, and some have responded.

One of the responses reads, as you have written I have done my best to
do shakubuku up until last year, to promote the Seikyo Shimbun, did lots
of zaimu, and fought with all my strength.  But this year I am fighting
illness and I’m on welfare.  Why, despite my hard work are all of these
things happening to me.  I don’t understand.  Even though it is written
so, it lacks thorough explanation and I still don’t understand what you
mean”  Immediately I answered his questions via letter and he was
really happy.  Actually, there is another principle that causes such
phenomena.  I selfishly named the principle that lies beyond such
superficial phenomena as “Strange principle” 

The principle means that, even if they are fighting for others in need,
their families, SGI activities, Kosen - Rufu, world peace and injustices
in the world, those who kill themselves and who neglect themselves will
eventually lose fortune.  Therefore, this is a principle that as long as
you neglect your own life, then others will neglect you.  People say, as
long as I persevere and endure someday my hardship will eventually pay
off.  Until then I must be patient. “Where there is unseen virtue, there
will be visible reward”  (WND page 907)  The harder you endure the
worse off you become.  One after another you go through even more
hardships.  Thus you are not making any “unseen virtue”. Why? Because
you are killing your life which is the entity of the Mystic Law.  You
accumulate fortune when you rejoice and enjoy whatever you do and when
you allow your life to shine as it is.  It will become your good fortune.  
Automatically, others will value your existence.

This month in the SGI Graphic President Ikeda talked about his wife and
her smile.  Mrs. Ikeda is always smiling.  President Ikeda said, having
a smile should not be a result of your happiness. Smiling becomes the
cause to be happy.  Smiling when you are happy or smiling as a result of
your happiness is not the right way.  No matter how hard your life is,
you keep smiling.  Within your life fortune will accumulate. This is
what I mean by a “Strange principle” 

For instance, some say “You can overcome your problems if you do
shakubuku, if you promote Seikyo Shimbun you can be happy; you can be
happy if you try to do more zaimu.”  This is a life condition of hunger.
You are always expecting something in return so if you don’t overcome
your problem you would resent it.  It is different from the life
condition of Bodhisattva.  The Daishonin states, “Self and others
rejoice together.”; That’s why there is a famous allegory of Tokusho
Doji.  He wanted to donate something to the Buddha because of watching
others make their contributions. Since he didn’t have anything to give
he made a mud pie.  If he thought he could get something in return by
giving the mud pie, such as getting a benefit later or being reborn as
King Ashoka, if he did it as if he were trading using the mud pie, he
would not have gained any benefit.  One’s life gains benefit when one is
delighted to do so.  It is not “Give and take.” Neither is it the
spirit of self-sacrifice.  It is wrong to think, “As long as I do my
best and work hard selflessly, I will somehow get benefits.” Which
category do you think President Ikeda will fall into: a way to shine as
you live, or to endure everything?  Obviously, the first is the answer.
President Ikeda is rejoicing, otherwise he cannot possible write such
poems!  If he is suffering he cannot take photographs like that.
(Pointing at a photograph, taken by President Ikeda, of a field of
flowers on the wall in the center)

Please look at the photograph taken by President Ikeda!  Every time I
look at his photographs I feel that it is like either YWD or Women’s
Division are calling out for Sensei.  Do you agree?  If we attempt to
take a picture of those flowers, it won’t always turn out like that.
The flowers would look like they are just blooming there.  But President
Ikeda’s photographs seem to be communicating with you.  I was really
wondering why, then I realized that the Lotus sutra is a sutra of
delight.  President Ikeda is delightful and nature is responding to his
joyous life.  He takes a photo of nature in delight.  That’s why he
named his exhibit “ Dialogue with Nature.” The other day, I told this
story to a member of the culture division.  He said when he had dinner
with him, President Ikeda said, “Although not everyone can comprehend, I
can communicate with nature.  The outcome of the dialogues are my
photographs.” 

It surely is true.  This is the “Strange Principle.” Strange means Myo
and principle is Ho.  Thus, people who neglect the entity of the Mystic
Law lose fortune.  People who shine their entity of the Mystic Law
multiply fortune.  The question is which way you are.  Simply, it is
either way.  It is whether you shine in your life, and the direction in
which you enjoy living, or a direction in which you disrespect
yourself.  The most important thing is which way the basis of your life
is facing.

I would like to ask again, who would give themselves 100 points in this
audience?  There are a lot of honest people.  Sorry for side tracking
and making little sense.

We do Gongyo every morning and evening.  Do you remember the second
silent prayer?  Yes, it is appreciation for the Gohonzon, ? offer my
deepest praise and most sincere gratitude to the Dai-Gohonzon of the
Three Great Secret Laws, which was bestowed upon the entire world.·/div> 
Appreciation for the Gohonzon in the second prayer, do you all show
appreciation to the Gohonzon and realize that it is also your life?  Do
you all think that the Gohonzon is just placed in your shrine? The
Daishonin wrote to people like you, “If you think the Law is outside
yourself, you are not embracing the Mystic Law.”

Accordingly, it’s not the Lotus Sutra.  In another Gosho passage, ?ever
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. (WND page 832)  Within your heart, within
your life itself, “The Gohonzon exists only within the mortal flesh of
us ordinary people.” We have studied this.  Do you remember studying
that?  When we chant to the Gohonzon we actually put it outside
ourselves.  That’s strange. What we learn and what we do are completely 
different.

Why is this so?  In fact we are all poisoned by the village culture
previously mentioned and also by the Japanese culture.  The village
culture equals the Nembutsu culture. In the Nembutsu culture the
Gohonzon is absolute and the Daishonin is absolute.  While having no
fortune, having a low life condition, and having no strength some of us
need to appeal to the Gohonzon for mercy and for the Gohonzon to share
benefit and wisdom with us.  That is the Nembutsu culture.  If you
switch the Gohonzon with Amida Buddha, it makes sense.  The mechanism is
that we are so miserable let’s ask the Amida Buddha for its mercy.

The Lotus Sutra is different.  President Ikeda over the period of four
and a half years has taught us the Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra.  In the
Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra he mentioned the most directly.  The word Ken
means to view, hotou means the Treasure Tower.  This means to view the
Treasure Tower.  This Treasure Tower appears in the Lotus Sutra.  The
height of the Treasure Tower is a 500-yojun.  If calculated, it would be
more that 500 times the height of the Himalayas.  Mount Fuji is pretty
high but the Himalayas are twice the size of Mount Fuji.  The Treasure
Tower is more than 500 times that size.  Well, that’s magnificent.
Nevertheless, it’s not a mountain of scraps but it’s a tower of
treasures.  It is very majestic, splendid, and universal.  This grand
Treasure Tower actually symbolises the greatness of our lives.  In other
words, to realise that our life and existence is universal, splendid,
magnificent, and eternal is called Kenhotou. The Daishonin inscribed the
Gohonzon using the ceremony of the Treasure Tower.  Thus, the Daishonin
clearly explained that the Gohonzon is the clear mirror used to view our
bodies as the greatest Treasure Tower.

However, even if we study so, we worship the mirror and we find
ourselves reflected in the mirror as unworthy.  It shows us how poisoned
we have been by the Nembutsu culture.  That’s why as mentioned earlier
in the strange principle, we tend to go to the direction, “As long as I
endure.”  We rejoice only in good times but we cannot rejoice or enjoy
when we are down.  We begin to say, “I’m not worthy.” 

The Lotus Sutra is a sutra that teaches us that even when our life
condition is the worst, “I’m still great.” Did you know that?  There is
a difference between the Lotus Sutra and provisional teachings.  It is
called the Five - Fold comparison. The reason why the Lotus Sutra is
superior to the provisional teachings is because theoretically, the
Lotus Sutra preaches the attainment of enlightenment for the people of
the two vehicles, evil people, and women.  At that time, the public
neglected those people.  Therefore, the provisional teachings did not
help them.

On the contrary, the Lotus Sutra taught that those people, who were
discriminated against and neglected by the public, were truly great.
This philosophy was revolutionary.  It was truly humanistic.  From the
standpoint of life philosophy, people of the two vehicles, evil people,
and women are in fact the life condition of yourselves when you are
down.  It is the most miserable self.  In comparison with others you
can’t help thinking that you are inferior, and within yourself, in such
miserable circumstances, you need to believe that you are the entity of
the Mystic Law; that is the true meaning of embracing the Lotus Sutra.

It is why it is difficult to believe and difficult to understand.
(nanshin nange).  It is not difficult to see yourself as great if you
are healthy, in rhythm, and admired.  Yet it is difficult to believe,
and understand yourself as great when you face the biggest failure, face
being ridiculed, and face depression.  Believing yourself as great is
the true meaning of embracing the Lotus Sutra.

We are called “Compassionate Doctors Division.”  I was unable to
understand the meaning of compassion (jihi).  Although the Doctors 
Division was often called compassionate, the more I pondered, the less I
comprehended.  In Japanese ji means benevolence, which I understood, yet
I could not understand the word hi which means sad.  Some say jihi means
to share suffering with others, another is to eliminate pain and give
joy.  Yet I still didn’t understand.  At that time I read a passage in
President Ikeda’s essay, “When your soul is victorious, your sadness
becomes hi of the word jihi.” When I read that I had a revelation.  I
was reading jihi as a meaning to be benevolent and sad, which made me
more confused.  If read by the Chinese character, it reads to be
benevolent in times of sadness.  Thus, it means to embrace yourself with
a warm heart ­ when you are at your lowest point, when you are in the
midst of the worst suffering, or in the depths of your anxiety.  Here
lies the aspect of a victorious life.   For those who are able to
embrace themselves in the midst of suffering, their sadness is no longer
sadness.  Such sadness itself will be transformed into courage when
embraced by one’s own compassionate heart.  Despair will evolve into
hope.  The true meaning of an indestructible life lies only this way.
Only those who embrace themselves can truly cherish others who are
suffering as it if were their own.   For example, when you are low you
don’t like yourself.   Later when you are feeling better and seeing
others in the same situation you may say, “That a pity!” Yet, deep
within yourself you judge them by thinking. “How weak, he is a failure
after all” The way you judge yourself is exactly how you judge
others.  Only when embracing and respecting your lowest self with a
compassionate heart like “I love me” or “I’m truly great” can you respect
other people.

Gohonzon means the object of fundamental respect.  President Ikeda’s
guidance said, “What do we fundamentally respect?  It is one’s life.
Our life has the highest value.  It is the foundation of respect.  The
respect of one’s life therefore, can not be based on whether one
succeeds or fails.  No matter what happens, we must start from respect.
This is the meaning of embracing the Gohonzon.”

This is the guidance of twenty or thirty years ago.  This is Nichiren
Daishonin’s Buddhism.  So now, who is going to give 100 points to
yourself?  (laughter) Thank you very much.  There are so many obedient
people.

There are still a few people who could not raise their hand.  I want to
make one more point.  In the Gosho, “The Heritage of the Ultimate Law of
Life” (WND page 216), it quotes Shakyamuni Buddha who attained
enlightenment countless kalpas ago, the Lotus Sutra that leads all
people to Buddhahood, and we ordinary human beings are in no way
different or separate from one another.  To chant Myoho-renge-kyo with
this realisation is to inherit the ultimate law of life and death.  This
is a matter of the utmost importance for Nichiren’s disciples and lay
supporters, and this is what it means to embrace the Lotus Sutra. This
is the foundation of the Daishonin’s Buddhism.  This is what it means
to embrace the Lotus Sutra. This is the most important sentence of the
Gosho.  In this Gosho, “Shakyamuni Buddha who attained enlightenment
countless kalpas ago” is Nichiren Daishonin.  “The Lotus Sutra that
leads all people to Buddhahood” is the Gohonzon.  “We ordinary human
beings” means oneself.  Nichiren Daishonin, the Gohonzon, and oneself
are in no way different or separate from one another.  To chant
Myoho-renge-kyo with this realisation is to inherit the ultimate law of
life and death.

Because of that, when we grade ourselves with 60 points we are grading
Gohonzon 60 points and Nichiren Daishonin 60 points.  Aren’t we?  They
are “In no way different or separate from one another.” Don’t we call
this “Slander”? The person who said I grade the Gohonzon and the
Daishonin 100 points but I grade myself 60 points doesn’t believe “No
way different or separate from one another.  We call this “disbelief”. 
People who do not grade themselves with 100 points, we call Slanderers 
and disbelievers.

In the same Gosho (page 217), it says, “Those who disbelieve and slander
the Lotus Sutra will immediately destroy all the seeds for becoming a
Buddha in this world. Because they cut themselves off from the
potential to attain enlightenment, they do not share the heritage of the
ultimate law of life and death.” Those who disbelieve and slander the
Lotus Sutra, those who cannot believe oneself 100 points “Will
immediately destroy all the seeds for becoming a Buddha in this
world.”  Concerning one who disbelieves the Lotus Sutra, because the
sutra states, “When his life comes to an end he will enter the Avichi
hell, the wardens of hell will surely come for one and take one away by
the hand.”  At the end of one’s life the warden will come and take your
hand.

“For one who summons up one’s faith and chants Nam-myoho-rengy-kyo with
the profound insight that “Now is the last moment of one’s life” the
sutra proclaims, “When the lives of these persons come to an end, they
will be received into the hands of a thousand Buddhas, who will free
them from all fear and keep them from falling into the evil paths of
existence.”  How can we possibly hold back our tears at the
inexpressible joy of knowing that not just one or two, not just one
hundred or two hundred, but as many as a thousand Buddhas will come to
greet us with open arms!”
 Those who grade themselves a Buddha of 100 points, those who believe 
and enjoy it, live with the life condition of great security and are received 
and supported by a thousand Buddhas  when they come to the end of their life.
  “How can we possibly hold back our tears.” Which one would you like?  
The warden of hell or a thousand Buddhas?  If you can not raise your hand here, you will never be able to raise your hand.  I will ask you once again. 
 I am not threatening you. This is what the Daishonin says.  
This is the last time I will ask you. Do you grade yourself 100 points? 
(Big laughter)  Thank you very much.

First you have to decide “I great Buddha is sitting.” Making this
decision requires courage.  This is, we call, courage of faith. You have
to recognise from the bottom of your heart “I am the truly great
Buddha.”  This means “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the greatest joy among
joys.” (from Ongi Kuden)

After this meeting, when you’re going home, please think, “The great
Buddha is walking.” ”Great Buddha is looking at a mirror, reflecting a
life and praising this life.”  This is the true meaning of doing Gongyo
and Daimoku.  Probably, if I say this, some people will argue that this
is arrogant.  I have a concern that this is going back to the village
culture.  So, I want to talk about arrogance.  Arrogance is the mind of
oneself being superior to others.  It means that arrogant people are
always comparing themselves to others; I am doing more, I am fighting
more.  I am a bigger leader, I am richer, etc.  Arrogant people feel
secure by confirming their superiority.  This function of life is called
“Arrogance.”

The reason people feel more secure when they compare themselves with
others is because they have anxiety in the depths of their lives.  They
have disbelief and inferiority thus they become anxious after short
periods of relief.   Later on, they catch others and need to be
reassured that, “I’m more impressive, I’m greater!” These kinds of
people, who continue to show off, are called arrogant.   Deep within
their arrogant heart they have inferiority and self-doubt.  The best
example is Nikken.  He is a mass of inferiority.  He can’t even say
“Thank you for your hard work” to President Ikeda after being informed
of President Ikeda’s contribution to the world.  Why? Because Nikken
feels inferior, he needs to be reminded that he is greater.  Such a
person cannot say words of appreciation.

On the other hand, the world’s greatest people, as an old Japanese
proverb says “The riper the rice grain, the lower it hangs,” the greater
the person the more humble he is.  They respect other people because
they have confidence and pride in themselves.  Such confidence and pride does
not come from the recognition of others.  The world’s greatest people
did not become the best because of recognition.  The public recognises
these people because they are the forerunners of the fields in which
others paid no attention.  Fundamentally the greatest way of living is
to have confidence and pride in oneself.  At a glance, to view yourself
as I am a great Buddha, I rate myself a perfect 100 points seems
arrogant.  Actually, it equals the greatest way of living.  Since it is
similar to having an arrogant attitude, it is called “The arrogance of
the Lotus Sutra.” The arrogance of the Lotus Sutra is the correct way
because its meaning is fundamentally different from arrogance in
attitude.

President Ikeda repeatedly says, “You are Buddhas,  Don’t be deceived.
Please believe that you are all Buddhas.”  I bet we don’t really believe
what our mentor says, do we?  We think President Ikeda is just saying
that to encourage us.  We think he is saying “You are Buddhas” to
encourage us, but the truth is different.  We take our mentor’s words as
encouragement, but we don’t really believe it.  Such an attitude is
arrogant.

It’s okay that we seem like we are arrogant, or audacious or bold
although people might not like it.  Yet, if we change our attitude this
way, everything strangely starts to open up.   I often realize that when
I see such cases and people.  Conformists are now deadlocked.  The
fundamental cause is Nembutsu mentality or “Village culture” The
world will not take Japan seriously if Japanese people remain in the
village culture.  Finally, the time has come to spread the philosophy of
the Lotus Sutra that possesses the independence of the ocean culture to
the world.  In a sense, the time has come for the Soka Gakkai to take
the lead.  It’s not a good idea that the Soka Gakkai remains like the
village culture.

When you go to bed, think “ ..great Buddha is going to sleep now” In the
morning, as you wake up, no matter how you feel, think “ great Buddha
is waking up” When you change clothes, when going to the bathroom,
when washing your face, and making miso soup, think “This miso soup is
made by a great Buddha.  This is a great bowl of miso soup.” Live your
life by praising your own life, enjoy whatever you do, and taste every
bit of it.

Each morning wake up with the Buddha, and each evening go to sleep with
the Buddha. (Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings)  Live life
with joy every moment ­ this is the true meaning of the practice of
reading the Lotus Sutra with your life.  We chant three times at the end
of this meeting.  Let’s chant three times while remembering that This
chanting praises our lives.

Thank you very much for today!