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Contents
1. Nichiren
Buddhism
* Nichiren Shu
* the Lotus Sutra
* Our Practice
* Major Temples
2. The Buddha
& Nichiren
Shonin
* Life of the Buddha
* Life of Nichiren Shonin
* History of Nichiren
Buddhism
3. History of
Nichiren Mission
of Hawaii
* Part
I (When the Nichiren
Buddhism came to Hawaii)
* Part
II (Before the World War
II)
* Part
III (After the World War
II)
4. Sunday
Service
* Morning Service
* First Sunday - Kito
Service
* Second Sunday -
Combined
Service
* Third Sunday -
Special
Service
* Forth Sunday -
Shodaigyo
Service
* Fifth Sunday -
Activity Day
* This
Year's Calendar of
Services and Events
5. Memorial
Service
* About
Memorial Service
* How
to hold Memorial
Service
6. Funeral Service
* About Funeral Service
* About other Services
related
to Funeral
Service
* How to hold Funeral
Service
7. Kito (Blessing)
Service
* About Kito Service
* How to hold Kito
Service
8. Wedding
Ceremony
* About Wedding
Ceremony
* How to hold Wedding
Ceremony
9. Other
Activities
* Columbarium (Niches)
* Eitaikyo (Perpetual
Memorial
Service)
Program
* Eitaikuyoto (Eternal
Peace
Tower)
* Visitation
* Class
* Counseling
* Sunday School
* Fujinkai (Women's
Auxiliary)
* Rainbow Conference
* Fundraise
10. Newsletter
* This Month's Newsletter
* Archive
11. This Month's
Sermon
* This Month's Sermon
* Archive
12. Facilities
and Map
* Facilities and
Pictures
* Map
13. Links
14. Contact us
15. Copyright |
THIS
MONTH'S SERMON
by Rev. Chishin Hirai
I would like to talk about a difference between Sakyamuni Buddha and Amida
Buddha. As you may know, the largest Buddhist denomination in Hawaii is
Honpa Hongwanji. Honpa Hongwanji, Higashi Hongwanji and Jodo Mission
enshrine the same Amida Buddha. However, we enshrine Sakyamuni Buddha
instead. Why do we enshrine different Buddhas?
Let me talk about Sakyamuni Buddha first. Buddhism is a religion
established by Sakyamuni Buddha about 2,500 years ago in India. What He
preached remains as sutra. It is said that we have about 84,000 sutras
today. Sakyamuni Buddha is the preacher of all sutras. Please understand
that there is no sutra preached by any other in Buddhism. That's why all of
other Buddhas like Amida Buddha enshrined by Hongwanji, Kwannon Bodhisattva
enshrined by Soto Mission, Dainichi Buddha enshrined by Shingon Mission and
Yakushi Buddha enshrined by Tendai Mission appear in the sutras preached by
Sakyamuni Buddha.
The Buddha enshrined on the left in the depths of the main altar of our
temple is Sakyamuni Buddha. On the right side, there is Taho Buddha who
certifies the truthfulness of what Sakyamuni Buddha teaches only when
Sakyamuni Buddha preaches the best teaching. As I said, Taho Buddha appears
in the Lotus Sutra, but does not appear in the Amida Sutra which Hongwanji
and Jodo Mission believe. Nichiren Shonin teaches us that this is one of
the proofs showing superiority of the Lotus Sutra. On the other hand,
Sakyamuni Buddha preached in the Amida Sutra that Amida Buddha is a master
of Western Paradise. It means that Amida Buddha is the Buddha for the next
world, not for this world where we are now living. So, Amida Buddha cannot
save us here in this world.
Nichiren Shonin said that people who believed in Amida Buddha were perverted
people. It is because they were confused as to who a real father was. For
example, a father tells his children that Uncle Amida living far away in the
West is a very nice person. The children are confused and wonder why their
father can't help them more although they are having a hard time. They
think that their father in front of them might not be their real father.
They heard that Uncle Amida living far away in the West was a nice man
although they have never met him. Uncle Amida must have been their real
father. They misunderstand and dearly wished to see Uncle Amida. Those
perverted children are people who believe in Amida Buddha.
Moreover, we are having a hard time. We want to be saved. If there is
Amida Buddha who can save us in the West, we have to go there in order to be
saved. That means that we have to commit suicide. However, Sakyamuni
Buddha teaches us not to kill ourselves. We are living now. We have to
survive here. Sakyamuni Buddha is the one who can save people like us who
have to keep on living until the last moment in this world. Sakyamuni
Buddha is our real father. Sakyamuni Buddha also can save us even in the
next world because He is our real father. Nichiren Shonin told us that
Sakyamuni Buddha always can save us not only during the lifetime but also
after this life. However, Amida Buddha cannot always save us.
You may wonder why Sakyamuni Buddha does not take us to his land directly.
It is because it is for us to find the way. If a parent always holds his
child in his arms, the child will never learn how to stand or walk by
himself. That is not a good thing. That's why Sakyamuni Buddha shows the
way to go in order to let us grow. We are just like a child who has just
begun to walk. The child cannot always avoid obstacles. That's why parents
try to keep obstacles away from a route where the child is going to walk.
The way to walk is the Lotus Sutra. Unfortunately, the child cannot always
walk in a straight line. He sometimes turns right and fall down. He
sometimes turns left and hits his forehead and cries loudly. We have some
troubles because we turn right unintentionally. Or, we sometimes turn left
although we know that we should go straight. Although Sakyamuni Buddha
shows us the way, we are still losing our way. That's why Nichiren Shonin
shows us again the way to go.
We are always having troubles. We are always confused. No matter how
deeply confused we are, we should not forget our real father. Amida Buddha
is not our real father and he appears in parables to lead children like us
to the right way. Unfortunately, children sometimes cannot understand which
is a real story or which is a parable. Nichiren Shonin tried to make sure
that our real father is Sakyamuni Buddha and His best teaching will lead
people is the Lotus Sutra and the Odaimoku. So, please be confident in your
faith.
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