BUDDHISM | LIFE LESSONS | PHILOSOPHY

Ancient Buddhist Wisdom Is Now More Relevant And Needed Than Ever.

You Can Learn To Become Happy And Transform Your Life For The Better.

Are you confident and happy about your life? Do you think that the future is going to be great? Can you be sure that whatever the future brings, you are on top of your game? Do you have a solid spiritual bedrock you can base your life on?

Or are you afraid of it?

There is so much uncertainty, danger, wars and hostility. Physical violence is getting more brutal, and at the same time, cyberbullying is spreading like a virus. It isn’t easy to believe in anything.

There are fake news, twisted views and manipulation blurring our horizon. The future looks dim and scary for millions — no, billions — of people.

Is there any solid teaching, philosophy or worldview we can use to make sense of all this?

I believe there is. I have studied the writings of a Medieval Buddhist scholar and priest, Nichiren Daishonin (1222–1282). His letters are written like yesterday — or sent like emails today.

This article gives a little overview of his extraordinary life and why he is now so relevant.

“Words and writing are the medium by which the minds of all living beings are revealed. A person’s writings tell us the nature of that person’s mind.” — Nichiren Daishonin WND-ll page 18.

Medieval Japan was a dangerous place.

The warlords (Shoguns) were in constant battles against each other. The clans allied with religious leaders who kept the people silent and obedient. It was a time of terror.

Things started to get really messy during the 13th century.

The imperial court in Kyoto was toothless, and both Buddhist and Shinto temples had to follow the Kamakura’s (today’s Tokyo region) military rule. Kamakura used the ancient temple system to collect heavy taxes and control people, and one particular Buddhist high priest, Ryokan, was on top of the game.

One towering figure exemplified the corruption of the whole nation.

Ryokan was considered almost a saint, but behind his facade, he was ruthless and power-hungry. The ruling Hōjō clan allowed him to prosper and gave him temples, manors and land. There was no limit to his ambitions and hunger for fame and esteem.

Suffering was the second name of the Japanese people.

Still, priests enjoyed luxurious lives, the military government had absolute power, and the country was in chaos: It was so bad that 1/3 of the population died. The famines, epidemics, earthquakes and floods and the menacing Korean invasion made the lives of ordinary people miserable. Not the ideal place to live, for sure.

Ryokan collected taxes and didn’t care. He had absolute religious power as a henchman of the ruling clan.

Nichiren was born as a son of a low-class family.

In 1222 one fisherman family got a son, Rencho, who was a bright and clever little fellow.

When he was 12, his parents sent him to the local Seichō-ji temple to get an education. There the young Rencho studied and entered the priesthood at 16.

He wrote later about his awakening at the Seichō-ji temple, where he wanted to become the wisest man in Japan and then had a vision where he got “a great jewel” of wisdom. He was ready to move on and find ways to prove that his enlightenment was real.

From pedestal to outlaw.

His reputation grew as an orator and foremost scholar.

He travelled to every major temple studying Buddhist and classical Chinese texts. He was learning, thinking and preparing to declare his truth. He saw that the only way out of misery was to change the Buddhist order radically and get the military government to accept it.

In 1253 he returned to his alma mater, Seichō-ji temple and there declared his teaching, renouncing all other schools of Buddhism as harmful, even dangerous.

Amongst the audience of his declaration was the local warlord Tōjō Kagenobu, the area steward who didn’t take Nichiren’s admonitions well.

They hated him — and feared his charismatic way of engaging with ordinary people. Nichiren was suddenly the most dangerous enemy of the establishment.

From that moment on, Nichiren was an outlaw.

He chose the name Nichiren, Sun Lotus, to symbolise his transformation from an ordinary priest into a teacher of Buddhist law. That law was like a sun illuminating people’s lives based on the strict law of cause and effect and equality.

“Lasting change starts with the resolve to secure peace for all. If you care anything about your personal security, you should first of all pray for order and tranquillity throughout the four quarters of the land, should you not?” — Nichiren Daishonin, On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land — WND, Vol. 1, page 24.

A following snowballed.

His reputation grew by the day.

His teachings were too revolutionary for the rulers and other Buddhist schools to swallow. He had to escape repeatedly, but his followers offered him shelter. Once he was almost beheaded and then exiled to remote Sado island, which was, in those days, a death sentence.

He wasn’t afraid of confronting the ruling clan and demanding the shogunate and priests be accountable for the terrible state of the nation. Ryokan was his nemesis and behind all persecutions.

Nichiren propagated equality for all (men and women, rich and poor) and everybody’s right to become happy, which was unheard of. He encouraged ordinary people to stand up for their rights and not follow corrupt priests and officials.

He could debate so successfully that Ryokan and other priests had no chance. As a result, Nichiren was persecuted, and his followers were killed and tortured. Only after decades of persecution did the government admit he was right.

Nichiren was pardoned but continued his teaching, remaining a rebel and a thorn in the flesh of the rotten ruling class until his peaceful death in 1288.

“When one lights a torch for someone at night, one brings light not only to another person but to oneself as well. Likewise, when one livens other people’s complexions, one livens one’s own, too, when one gives them strength, one gives oneself strength, too, when one prolongs their lives, one prolongs one’s own life as well.”- Nichiren Daishonin, WND, Vol.2, page 1066.

Nichiren’s legacy lives on.

Since the days of Nichiren, his teaching has proven to have profound relevance. But it is not just theoretical Buddhist philosophy that made Nichiren’s work so dangerous and long-lasting, but the practice he established for people.

Nichiren’s practice was a simple yet effective way to reveal the inner and infinite potential each of us possesses. It was a democratic way to help people become happy and fulfil their dreams. It happens without any middlemen like priests and gatekeepers.

And that’s what is so dangerous. Unlike many other schools of thought, religious organisations and churches, Nichiren’s revolutionary practice does not cost a penny.

Nichiren urged his followers to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (Myoho-renge-kyo being the title of the Lotus Sutra) in front of a paper scroll Nichiren described, The Gohonzon, and believe that they can become happy and fulfilled as they are. It’s more than meditation; it is an active practice to transform for the better.

Nichiren wrote his letters and treatises for the people to share and learn. Those documents are still available as excellent translations also in English.

“If you seek enlightenment outside yourself, then your performing even ten thousand practices and ten thousand good deeds will be in vain. It is like the case of a poor man who spends night and day counting his neighbour’s wealth but gains not even half a coin”. — Nichiren Daishonin, WND I, p4.

Today’s Nichiren Buddhism is spreading globally.

Now some 13 million people follow them, belonging to a global organisation for peace, culture and education, Soka Gakkai International (SGI).

The SGI is growing fast and contributing to society as a lay-Buddhist organisation working with the UN and other NGOs. Its founder Dr Daisaku Ikeda is one of the foremost Buddhist scholars and leaders and has founded universities, art museums, peace research centres and schools around the globe.

Nichiren’s teachings are now more relevant than ever when we look at climate change, pandemics, wars and famines. His words resonate with their beauty, strict logic and profound philosophical clarity.

Nichiren restored Buddhism to the original intent of Shakyamuni Buddha, the first historical Buddha. That intent is the equality of all and their potential to become enlightened (happy) as they are in this life without countless rebirths and austerities.

Nichiren’s teachings can give ordinary people tools to transform their lives — and thus cause a positive change in the world.

I am a curiosity expert; if you want to know how I can help you to become a more curious leader, creative and confident thinker, book a free discovery meeting with me here.

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