Senji Sho – Part 1 – Text Transcript – April 17, 2019

be looking at one of the five major writings, I primarily focus on the five major writings because they are major writings. And the reason why they’re major writings is because they outline the doctrinal position, the proofs that Nichiren used as well as his ideas about how to practice why, we practice, and so forth the Lotus Sutra. So they are considered the doctrinal foundation of Nichiren Buddhism.

Okay.

Today we’re going to look at Senji Sho.

And this is selecting the right time.

A tract by Nichiren the Buddha’s disciple. And this is contained in volume one writings of Nichiren Shonin beginning on page 187.

The Buddha did not expand the Lotus Sutra for more than 40 years of because in chapter two, he says, The time was not right so for 40 years of the Buddhist lifetime after he attained enlightenment. He did not teach the Lotus Sutra or anything that approached the profundity of this particular sutra time plays an important role in Buddhism, more so than perhaps in, and other religions, we may not be custom to this and so it might be difficult for us to understand why time might be such an important concept in a religion.

And part of this is because we as humans tend to view things strictly in a linear progression and others we go from one point to the next point into the next point and frequently we go to each point and we expand upon or deepen our knowledge and information about the world in which we live. And so, we tend to view things that as time goes on, we get better or as time goes on, we know more or as time goes on. We are better able to understand and explain our relationship between ourselves and our lives.

And that may make perfectly good sense and if we’re dealing with, with science or technology. However, when it comes to religion.

This is what the Buddha understood that time isn’t really linear that, that there’s not necessarily a natural progression from one level of understanding to another level of understanding just be, because we have advanced in time. In fact, it was his understanding and and I believe that this is this is true, that as time goes on when it comes to religion and philosophy, we actually move further away from in a more negative direction. The original doctrines, and that an extended length of time just not necessarily indicate or guarantee, and ever deepening understanding and relationship to the original doctrine in Scripture, we, you know, really, we only have to look at what’s going on with the Bible right now and, and how they’re, it’s very contentious as to what this multi thousand year old document what its relationship to our contemporary time is it, and how do we interpret it in view of what is currently going on in society, our ancient texts did not necessarily address adequately some of the complexities that we face could temporarily. I recently gave a lecture at a temple Bethel, as part one of many lectures over a period of a month and a half that talked about the idea of science and religion and their compatibility. And one of the things that I believe is that, you know, our ancient texts were written, based on the scientific if you will, knowledge of that time. So, at the time that they were composed. They were contemporary and they were in line with understanding of science and understanding of ourselves and understanding of of nature and environment.

However, as time goes on.

Our understanding changes our discoveries increase, we learn new things about ourselves and about the environment in which we live.

And yet, our scriptures, don’t necessarily undergo the same change. And so, you know, what we have to be aware of is we’re interpreting. You know our ancient texts into a contemporary experience is not to be stuck on the scientific understanding that may have framed or influence the text itself so when you know when we discovered that the earth was round we actually we didn’t discover it just some one person came up with the idea or maybe a couple people simultaneously one person credit. But we discovered that the earth is, is in the round and not flat, which was the contemporary view of science and the environment and universe at the time that our ancient, the Bible was written. And so, they had the conflict between this old idea of science and doctrine based on that old idea and the rigidity of clinging to this old idea, that really had no real importance or significance, when it comes to the greater expanse of the teaching itself.

So, again, time is indeed very important. We just aren’t always willing or able or even open to considering what this relationship is.

So, this Senji Sho, and this is one of my, I guess. One of my favorite gosho.

I’ve written more on this particular gosho than on many others. And even as I was preparing for this lecture, I had new insight if you will and a greater appreciation for it so I just, I must admit that this one and Rissho Ankoku Ron are my favorite writings. What you see the picture here is a picture of the space where nature and lived at Mount Minobu, and this ceremony here was done at the 750th anniversary or 800. Let’s see I guess this would be about the 800, or seven maybe 775 anyway it somewhere around between 750 and 800 anniversary of Nichiren coming to mount Minobu when this was just a couple of years ago, when this happened. If you go to Mount Minobu. And this particular site is. It’s normally empty it’s full of people right now but it’s very, kind of in a remote location at Mount Minobu. You have to go up the hill and you head as if you’re going to the founders grave, where Nichiren’s, some of Nichiren’s remains are placed, off to the side off to the left hand side you go up another little tiny Hill, you can see it from the path to the founders grave but you have to go up a little, little side path and you go to the spot there. And here in this picture it looks brightly lit and, you know, nice and clean and spacious. However, the reality of the situation it’s very dark there because it’s so covered by these huge stately old trees. And so it has a very isolated feeling to it and you could almost imagine the isolation that Nichiren experienced when he was at Minobu. And now when you go there is full of lots of things lots of temples and buildings and, you know, resident temples what we call bo where people pilgrim temples where people come and stay to go worship there. So it’s, you know, it’s not completely covered but it’s not as high so you don’t get that isolated feeling, generally speaking, when you’re walking around the mountain, you know, bo and the surrounding little village at the bottom of the hill. But when you walk over to Nichiren’s hermitage site. You really do get a sense of this isolation that he may have experienced and will certainly good experience, because there’s nothing around and when I go to Mount Minobu you know everybody makes this big thing out of going to the founders grave and the reality of the situation is,  there’s actually no relics of tNichiren at his grave site. It is strictly a monument and, but yet people treated as if as if, you know, his relics are indeed there, that’s sort of how the Japanese kind of do things. But anyway, they’re not as concerned with what really, maybe a fact as they are with what is the myth, and so the message important to them.

But this particular site when you.

One of the most moving.

And I say emotional places for me when I go to Mount me know, before I entered the monastery and your dojo. The last part of your training to reach ordination where you live in the monastery and practice and undergo the, the grueling environments and activities of monastery their names before I entered the monastery. I spent. Well I arrived in Japan about a week early so that I could get used to the, the, times change, get over jet lag, and just kind of ease myself into this much more slower, much more intentional and certainly a cut off an isolated kind of practice at the monastery. I stayed at a bow there. For most of that, that five days and spent a good part of every day just at this site at the Hermitage site of nature.

I become careful when I’m there just just thinking about, you know, the great effort that Nichiren put forth to make this practice possible for me today.

Anyway,  this document was written in 1275 when nature was 53 years old and of the original hundred and 10 pages, 109 still exist, of the hundred and 107 of the pages exists are at, Myohokke-ji  temple and Kamazawa and Mishima city Shizuoka Prefecture, and of the, of the other remaining pages the other four pages that are three pages that are not accounted for this 172 of the pages existed for different temples, often wonder if that means that each triple has a quarter of a page but at any rate, to have the remaining pages, three pages are at four temples and, including drew Han Ji temple in Kyoto. And then there is, so there is one page that is on accounted for that still exists, it doesn’t mean that nobody ever saw it, or that it wasn’t documented as being original and let me take a moment out here to talk about how we sort of classify the nature of his writings, not all denominations few that do this the circular so Soka Gakkai a neutral shows you do not follow this classification standard however, As far as I know virtually all the other Buddhist denominations, do as here to this somewhat loose classification on nutrients writings. First off, those in order to be considered authentic. We have authentic, and we have an authentic. In order to be considered authentic.

Either the original must still exist or a verifiably documented copy

must exist so if it’s a copy, and we don’t know who wrote it. We don’t know who saw it. We don’t know who made a comparison between the copy and the original, then we do not consider it to be an original or authentic copy or matrons writing.

So, if it’s cob. If it’s been copied and the original no longer exists and that copy was documented witness and compared, then we do include that in the classification of being original document.

The other way that we classify documents that might be questionable is to look at the, at what is taught in the doctrine or what is said in the doctrine. So, one very famous and popular nature and writing that is highlighted in particular by the soco got guy, which is a nice sounding go show on attaining Buddha hood has not been verified as being authentic. In fact, it is highly suspicious that it is authentic and get it sounds nice so you know we we also consider that loosely that that we can’t verify it. We highly suspect that it might be not genuine or not.

An authentic nutrient go show, and yet we say that it’s not harmful. And so, we’re, you know, generally speaking most American priests will quote it with the caveat that it’s not considered an original are authentic nature and writing. So, on attaining Buddha hoods which you will find in the Forgot guys collection of nutrients writings. So it’s a it’s a really nice, nice encouraging letter. However, we don’t consider it authentic.

Okay, here’s a map of Japan, I’m not sure if you or anyone who will be watching this, subsequently, is really too much aware of Japanese geography and such but you can see the areas she’s Shizuoka highlighted and expanded upon and down there. And, and, and then off to the north, north east of that you see Tokyo, and then east of Tokyo, where you see the airplane for not each International Airport is Chiba Chiba Prefecture is where psychology and tobacco tobacco control g temples are located ton Georgie is the, the temple that was erected on the site nearby or at where nature was actually born when he was born there was no temple there. However, you know, the temple was directed it so it’s called tongue Georgie which means baby boomer a baby temple. And so this is the birth temple birthplace symbol of nutrition and then just just beyond that and that is in that little Bay Area you see a little Bay, just beyond that, more towards the towards see the Pacific Coast is where say trilogy actually hundred G is on the Pacific Coast as well so it’s about where that airplane is, and then say Georgie is just maybe well I don’t know.

You know when I, when I go there I either take a bus or a cab but certainly it’s, you know, a little bit too long of a walk to do, and still have time, but it’s probably about an hour drive from ton Georgie to say trilogy, say trilogy is where nature and trained and actually became a Buddhist priest. It’s also where each row proclaimed the supremacy of the Lotus Sutra and, and by chanting Nam boom you’re holding your co and establish that as the most efficacious universal practice that we can engage in to express and practice the Lotus Sutra.

Okay.

So to study Buddhism, first of all, first of all, we must know the right time. This is quotation from from niches right.

Other. The Buddha didn’t reveal his two most important teachings one the enlightenment of the people of the two vehicles, and number two attaining enlightenment, eternal past, nor did expand becoming a Buddha in one printer in once president body or 3000 existences in one thought until he taught the Lotus Sutra.

trip.

And he didn’t do this solely based on the capacity of the people but because of time was not right.

Now, you know, thinking about this. As long as the Buddha is current is present with his contemporary disciples. In other words, both people lived, alongside of him and practice alongside of him.

It’s most appropriate that you’d be talking about the present, and about educating them and bringing them into the concept, making them aware of enlightenment. You know, I was thinking of another analogy so when you’re with I don’t know if you’ve ever raised a child. I have not, so I’m only speaking theoretically here and not based on actual proof but when you raise a child at first to begin speaking kind of baby speak to the child well first year to your, you know, maybe you’re good, and God God and stuff like that, then, then you advance into baby speak, and you might not speak in complete sentences or my, you know, avoid using difficult and complicated words, so you’re speaking to that child in the present. However, if you only spoke to that child. As if that child were a 20 year old, and use complex sentences complex thoughts and complex words.

You wouldn’t really be speaking to the child as it is, but to the child, it might become.

So when we think about our interactions with our environment with our friends and so on so forth. We don’t generally, as, as a matter of.

It’s a matter of, you know, our normal operating principle or procedure. We don’t generally speak to people as we think they may be in five years or 10 years or 20 years we speak to them in the present time. Now occasionally we may say you know in 10 years.

I predict that you will be such and such or, you know, given the, the nature of your yourself in 10 years I can see you as being a doctor or a lawyer or something along that nature but that’s not our normal way of interacting with our friends and peers.

So, you know, it’s most appropriate that with a Buddha is speaking with his contemporary disciples that he speak to them in the present in terms of the present. And generally speaking, that’s how the Buddha taught for the first 40 so years of his life until we come to the Lotus Sutra and know the Buddha is approaching the last eight years of his life. I’m sure that he guessed that his life was coming to an end soon, just as you know i’m also anticipating, you know, more, I guess you could say, more,

more intensely or more realistically that I too am approaching the end of my life and whereas I’ve may have known this all along, and I did indeed know there’s all along, it, it wasn’t something that really hit home or seemed appropriate to prepare for when I was in my 30s or 40s. Not as much as it does now that I’m you know almost 70.

So as I’m approaching 70 it’s much more appropriate that I’d be engaging in activities that you know are contemplating and preparing for the end of my life.

And this is what I believe and this is what chaplaincy tries to practice, and I think it’s a, the most healthy way that we can approach to live our life all to all too often we only want to remain in the present or the past and fear and dread the future.

And yet the future is unavoidable.

So, you know, as the Buddhists approaching this end of life.

You know he’s thinking not so much about contemporary matters as he is. How will this continue beyond himself and other he’s thinking about his legacy you thinking about what he can leave for the future. He has trained these contemporaries of his and his taught them and he has brought them up to a certain level of understanding and vitamins and now it’s time to think of the future and so you know at this point the Buddha tests his gaze, not 200 years from now or 300 years from now or 500 years from now, but thousands of years into the future. I think that this is one of the, the things that we don’t often appreciate about the Buddha. And, you know, when I was speaking about the idea of science and religion whether or not they were compatible he said, Buddhism is in the unique position of science. Now recognizing that much of what the Buddha taught. Much of what the left us is now being proven true, whereas it was ignored or considered untrue, years ago.

One idea of this is the degradation of an organization. Something I’ve kind of looked at organizational structure.

Few years ago I just kind of did a little. I guess you could say a little side venture and looked at organizational structure and organizational theory, and one of the, one of the ideas and organizational theory is that over time the organization begins to degrade the original founders are no longer round or maybe very few of them, and they win the original creators of an organization, whether it be government, such as United States, or whether it be just a club, when the when the, the originators are still present. They are still present with the mission in deeply embedded in their lives the mission or the reason for the creation of the organization.

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And they’re very intimate with it, and those who come along to the organization or join later are able to interact with the founders and learn from the founders. They’re deeply held conviction or ideas or motivations and so on so forth. We think about the United States, you know, 250 years of all gone by, not a great deal of time and consider it entire history of humankind. 250 years have gone by and we are you today. over what our founding fathers meant what they believed what they left us, and. And so, the, the government that we have now whether or not you agree with it or not is immaterial.

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But it is truly so that the government that we have now is not like the government that these original founding fathers created may possibly not even be what they have in mind. And that is one of the things that we debate about.

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So, 250 years and already our example of creating an organization and structure and a government and way to be politic.

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We don’t have a clue, in many cases, what these people had in mind.

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So imagine the Buddha is looking forward and he understands this he understands that as time goes on.

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The original mission or the original idea begins to degrade fewer and fewer people have interaction with or have had contact with the people who began or originated or discovered or whatever you want to do so. The Buddha says you know in 50 or 75 years it’s not going to be a single person left, who I will know, or who knew me.

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And so there will be a gap in our relationship.

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And that is a space where uncertainty, where misunderstanding, can, can grow.

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Looking further ahead thousands and thousands of years. The Buddha imagined. I’m guessing, and based on what I read I suspect there’s some truth is the Buddhist realized that thousands of years into the future. People will not have a clue what he felt, what do you thought, What do you even taught and how to interpret what he taught, and in a way that’s the situation we find ourselves in. Even today, and hence we have the, the name of the time, the age of degeneration.

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Now the actual laying out of that time or the actual demarcation of that time doesn’t have not presented in the Lotus Sutra So, you know, there are various organizations that run around saying, you know, the Lotus Sutra says you know in 2500 years you know the age of degeneration will began and, and that will be the time for the appearance of the party suffers from underground, and that is not true. There is no reference in the Lotus Sutra directly to his 2500 years, that actually appears and another sutra and neutral drew that from another sutra and use that as part of his validation for the appearance of the Lotus Sutra.

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And the reason for practicing the Lotus Sutra is this particular time.

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So, the Buddhist looking forward into time, and he understands that things will become degenerated things will become diluted things will become misunderstood. Things will become misrepresented and so on so forth. They said, Okay, I understand that, I get that. And, and that is to be expected. And when that happens, remember that this teaching that I’m going to teach you now the Lotus Sutra is the appropriate, the most appropriate teaching for that time, regardless of how difficult or complex it may be in fact, I’m going to tell you repeatedly. It’s going to be very difficult, that people will have a tough time understanding this particular teaching, and yet. This particular teaching is the, the most appropriate teaching for that but your particular period of time.

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Because it reveals my true intent for the future.

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And you know in the Lotus Sutra he gives all these predictions of future enlightenment to the to his contemporary disciples and He said, You know, he said, Now is not your time, or enlightenment, your enlightenment will occur in the future as well.

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And because we’re focusing from now on into the future. This Lotus Sutra is what I’m going to teach and. And then he, you know, then the appearance of the body suffers from underground and sold so for that. And this relationship this connection between us and the Lotus Sutra is revealed. Okay, it’s not manifest yet because it’s not time.

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You know, the expanse of time has not occurred. But get when that time occurs, we should know that we have this connection to the Buddha, that we are not separated by the Buddha by 2500 years or so that we actually have an intimate relationship with the Buddha, as well as his contemporary disciples, however, is contemporary disciples will not be here on this earth. This saw how world. However, we will be. And we should always be mindful that we are directly connected to the Buddha based upon our practice.

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I practice is what enables us to manifest This is this connection to the Buddha, this intimate relationship with the Buddha, so the Lotus Sutra is no longer a historical document, but it is a living, breathing contemporary alive however you want to put it. document.

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It does not do that does not become alive, it does not become a living, except through anyway but our practice.

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So while he’s teaching the present to his contemporary disciples, the future is irrelevant. And so he doesn’t speak of it. But when his focus shifts from the present into the future that is most appropriate, and he speaks of the future and the future is a time beyond the, the now and he’s talking specifically about when this teaching becomes degenerated. Now, or perverted.

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Now it’s my belief and other people have proposed it as well from various perspectives that that really this 2500 years is not a magical number it’s, but it was certainly culturally believed throughout India throughout China and Japan that 2000 roughly 2500 years after the Buddha Buddhist teachings would become so perverted, and so messed up. And so misunderstood as to make it difficult to practice this Buddhism and that there will be many different interpretations and misunderstandings occur. And, and pretty much people also believe that the Lotus Sutra would be the appropriate teaching for the, for that time perversion or misunderstanding.

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And yet, when that time comes, and someone appears to teach the Lotus Sutra.

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The argument against nature and teaching was that, it’s too complex for people that understand.

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And the trend says, No, no, no.

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We’re talking about time here as the qualifier for what document or what doctrine to teach, and that now is the appropriate time. Let’s see everyone in a little note here on my slideshow.

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Okay, I just wrote here on additional note that it would have seemed rather strange to his contemporaries, if he never spoke to them, and only spoke to a future generation. You know how long would you hang around if no one ever taught you anything but only taught for the future. Your child if you have a child would become distracted quite easily if you only spoke about college courses, when they’re in first grade. So it’s most appropriate that we speak to the present when we’re in the present.

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So there

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are three main issues say criteria for determining a teaching.

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The first off is the, the teaching itself. What’s the depth of the teacher what’s the complexity of the teaching how far does a teaching go.

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How far does it.

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The teaching. Take us how to enlightenment. The again. I mentioned the profundity are profound, is that teaching there the capacity of the people, it’s also a one of the five characteristics of how to determine a particular teaching capacity of the people you know this was the argument that was premier used by nutrients adversaries natured says that, you know, the Lotus Sutra said that people will have a difficult time understanding it so when the people are having a difficult time understanding the Lotus Sutra. It’s actually an appropriate teaching because that is the capacity of the people.

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Rather than looking at the ability of the people to understand and trying to match your doctrine up with that what we should look at is what the doctrine may say about what the people what their capacity will be those who just says the capacity of the people at this particular time will not really be up to par with the ability to, you know, with the complexity of this particular document and that’s the way it should be.

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So, you know, nature and says, This is what is to be expected. The people we should expect that the people will struggle to understand this, we should expect that it will be difficult to understand. This is what the Buddha taught. This is normal and this proves to capacity, the people is not expected to be superior.

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And the right time.

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He turned the Buddha says that this Lotus Sutra is not for his contemporary disciples, it is not for those people who appear immediately after his death, either it is for the people far far far into the future.

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And at that particular time there will arise or there will appear.

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People who will understand their relationship with and the superiority of the Lotus Sutra. And these people will be acting as if they are body Sophos from underground and of these people who practice at that particular time there will be one person who will be acting as superior body stop like job your body Safa nutrition, you know, never really claimed to be the reincarnation or the manifestation of bodies of the job, but he does say that he is exhibiting best he is living the life that that mirrors. Od Safa job yo.

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Okay, um, and and the teaching you know the Lotus Sutra is by far the most profound teaching because of those things that I named earlier in the last thing that we have the enlightenment of people have two vehicles. They have attaining enlightenment, in the eternal past and on into the future and the Brotherhood, Buddha in once president body and 3000 states of mind and a single existence or in songs and he’s appear no place else. Only in the Lotus Sutra.

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So the question that is frequently for pose just is what if the great Dharma is taught.

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And people are not ready for it, due to either their faith, or they are ignorant. Then, aren’t they likely to SandRidge then with that slander fall back on the teacher says one approach to argue with nature, nature and says, In this. Writing Center show. Suppose a road was built, and someone got lost on the way. Can we blame the person who built the road for that. Or, suppose a patient refused to take the medicine, a great doctor prescribed for him and died.

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Is this default to the doctor.

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You know, working in the hospital I witness. All too often, people, ignoring the advice of their doctor, becoming ill or, increasingly, you know, becoming ill again or increasingly more, you know, because they have ignored the advice of the doctor who can we blame.

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We can’t blame the doctor because the doctor gave that advice and, but we can hold the person who is who has chosen to ignore that. The, the advice. You know, we can hold them responsible. Can we can hold them responsible for their actions and and yeah you know in the hospital we’re kind of in the middle there that yes they are accountable, and we also have to treat them.

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And this kind of gets into one of the.

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Just say the harmful cycles that that Americans in particular I don’t know about the rest of the world but I do know that Americans, find themselves in that we ignore the advice of our doctors, we go the hospital. The hospital patches us up. And we think, Oh, it’s okay we can continue to ignore the advice of the doctors, I see that all the time when people are readmitted time after time for the same situation, ignoring the advice and the doctor, coming to the hospital expect to be patched up and repair did it does the best we can and send them on their way and they just repeat the cycle over and over again.

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So the point being laid out here is in response to some teachers in the past, who have said that the Lotus Sutra is too difficult for people. And so some other teachings should present it and you try to counter is that if a good road is built at a person gets lost. Is that the person is that the fault of the person constructed the road, or the person who may have not followed directions or may have veered off the path.

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And, you know, essentially show is, as it’s named. It is the selecting the right time attract by nature and the Buddhist disciple. So it’s understanding, the time, the time important so again.

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You know, it’s easy to think that time time How can time be so important. What difference does it make. And yet, neutral lays out what I believe to be very clear and understandable and logical approach to highlighting the importance of time.

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So the capacity of the people.

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Do not preach this suture to ignorant people. They’re not give it to others carelessly. Keep it and refrain from expounding it for a long time.

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And how do we reconcile these big argument with a mission of spreading the Lotus Sutra in the latter age of degeneration.

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And by intent I said, can’t I said she says that we must use wisdom to determine when the situation, or I’m sorry, I’m on the wrong slide here. Okay.

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So when the time is right is important to teach the Lotus Sutra regardless of the persecution. As an example, he points out body soften never despise who bowed to everyone saying, I respect you deeply, even though he was abused for doing so, he was teaching and practicing the Lotus Sutra of his time. Even the Buddhist says in the Lotus Sutra ignorant people will speak ill of us, and threatened us with swords or sticks.

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So when the time is right for the spreading of the teaching of the Lotus Sutra, we must do so regardless of what happened. So, going ahead here slightly. The Buddha has said in the Lotus Sutra, when this teaching should be taught. So we already have the correct time given to us the latter age of the Federation is Windows sutra should be spread.

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You know, I might point out here I’m not sure yours gym or anyone elses depth of understanding of the Lotus Sutra but the Lotus Sutra is sometimes referred to as the manifold Lotus Sutra.

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And this is speaking about how in different ages and at different times. The Lotus Sutra has appeared differently, and then practice differently from what will be appropriate in our particular age and time.

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So, our Buddha Chaka Mooney Buddha taught a 28 chapter Lotus Sutra bodies Borisov for never despise chair. Practice a 26 character Lotus Sutra. So his Lotus Sutra was 26 characters long, or roughly 20 something characters long. I think it’s 26 is very soft never despise Lotus Sutra was entirely. I bout you I respect you deeply, because I know you will attain boathook something to that effect. Loose translation.

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That was it. That was all it was too, but he’s not for never despise Lotus Sutra 26 or so characters long. Our Lotus Sutra 28 chapters long, very complicated very complex but then again we are complicated and complex beings.

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Heart other sutra never changes. It is the same.

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There are other times and other universities and other ages, and distant past, when the, the Lotus Sutra has been thousands of volumes. Big.

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The Lotus Sutra exists, many different ways, many different times. Many different practices throughout infinity from beginning last past to the, to the never ending future.

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And yet the heart of the Lotus Sutra. The core principle behind the Lotus Sutra never changes. It may look different, it may appear different but. At its core, it is the same.

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These are statements by Jen die that preaching should be suspended sometimes when people are abusive.

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Other times it’s better to preach, even if people are abusive, and sometimes preaching should be suspended with most people are abusive, although there are a few with faith, and sometimes preaching must be done, even if all people are abusive.

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These sounds similar but there are slight differences here so we must use wisdom to determine when the situation dictates that we should refrain or pull back from teaching, it would be helpful to look at this in terms of when teaching or spreading verges on forcing or heavy persuasion. Oftentimes when you it better to walk away, than to engage and pointless argument, respecting the Buddha in a, in every person, we should take heart in the example that party software never despise offers us out and respect and and other times it’s absolutely essential that we not back down. So while we might withdraw from an argument. We do not withdraw from our belief of the supremacy of the Lotus Sutra.

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We may allow someone to hold their view, even while believing that it is incorrect.

45:27

You know one example of this that I can offer is my experience when I was in the military and at first began practicing probably less than a month.

45:37

I’d be done practicing and had a big inspection in the barracks that I was looking back to the whole base at in the process at this inspection they look at your wall locker we’re all your belongings are kept that everything has to be folded in certain prescribed way and margin in certain ways and placed in your wall locker in very specific location said inside your wall locker you’re allowed one shelf or personal possessions and they can you know that’s where you keep anything that you hold that is not military you shoot that and it must be neat and neatly arranged, and every object or item, clearly visible as identifiable. Well, I had a boots in my private in my personal space within the wall, it’s a little small budget on and.

46:32

And when the inspecting general came by he went ballistic.

46:37

He and all the officers and senior enlisted that we’re a company with a.

46:42

Like all at one time, everybody started yelling and screaming at me from different directions asking me all these questions and telling me all these things.

46:51

And I am I am, I’m a very emotional person. And when I get under a lot of pressure. One of the ways I process it is, I start crying.

47:03

When I was in fraternity in college at the initiation and they’re doing all these things to me and harassing me. I started crying and I just couldn’t stop crying and so my fraternity Nick Daman college was tiny tears.

47:18

So, here I am and being yelled at and the summary of what they were saying was that I had to give it up I had to get rid of it. I couldn’t keep it, and had to quit practicing Buddhism, and the stick to that was, or the carrot from their perspective to me it was a stick, was that if I did not quit practicing Buddhism and get rid of all that stuff. Then my security clearance would be taken away. In which case, then I would be sent immediately to the front lines of Vietnam.

47:53

That’s a pretty heavy stick to be wielding at someone.

47:58

Nonetheless, I was. It’s an understatement to say that I was upset, that’s also very angry that, how could this be possible in a country where freedom of religion is theoretically guaranteed.

48:14

Minor, my. After you know after they left my response was that I would immediately write to my Congressman, and ask for congressional intervention and investigation into this punishment that was given to me, because I was also confined to barracks From then on, except for going to the chow hall and going to my classes. I was in education mode at that particular time training for my, my specialty. And so I was you know restricted to barracks I could no longer 10 meetings, could not practice my, my face freely.

48:55

So I called up my, my teacher at that particular time in explaining the situation to him and told him what my determination was to write to my congressman.

49:04

He said, No, he said don’t do that, is that I will tell you from, you know, from my first hand knowledge that if you write to your congressman which you may do if you want but if you write to your congressman. There’s a big Mark put on the outside of your personnel folder file folder. This is in the age of paper, and before electronic stuff on the outside of your folder your personnel record will be a mark on there, it says seeks congressional intervention, which then brands you as a troublemaker, oddly enough for the rest of your career.

49:43

you will be suspect you will be not trusted and all of the ramifications and implications of going outside of the chain of command and seeking someone else to intervene on your behalf.

49:57

Is that. Here’s an alternative said why don’t you just practice best you can. Under the circumstances and situation in which you find yourself and see if you cannot see if you can change things yourself.

50:13

And so I said, that’s an interesting challenge. I accepted and respected his wisdom, and I began doing that and, you know, part of what what changed in that process was was me.

50:30

I became a little bit better marine.

50:34

You know, I, I’m not a terribly organized person I’m not particularly attentive to creases in proper places and starch applied liberally throughout the area.

50:50

I’m not this is not me I’m, I’m not inclined to keep my shoes at the highest degree of reflectivity.

51:00

It’s just never that she’s not part of me I’m a blue jeans and flannel shirt kind of guy and so the military, Europe, the idea of uniforms, and I, we had a conflict. Well, I began to understand that environment I am in calls for a certain way of behaving. And when I do not behave that way or when I do not live within the guidelines of the environment that I live in then I should expect to be treated somewhat differently than people who do follow all the rules.

51:42

It was never quite possible for me to follow all the rules. However, I did learn to change and began to follow. Many of the rules over time.

51:52

Also, my outlook my spirit my.

51:56

I guess you’d say my sense of being as well as a presentation of self to others, change.

52:04

And those people who persecuted me if you will begin to look at me and treat me differently.

52:12

Over a period of several months I gained my Liberty back and was able to get attending activities Tsonga meetings again.

52:21

I was given back then, we had Liberty passes. Let’s give it a Liberty passes to leave the base at night. Occasionally I got a Liberty pass to actually leave for the weekend. I very often but occasionally over a period of six months time, I, I gained back everything that was taken away from me again get back. Actually one of the main persecutors or objectors began to ask me for publications and information about Buddhism.

52:55

I also received a meritorious promotion. I had because of the, the punishment I missed cycle for automatic promotion. And so I was a few months delayed. And I was given a meritorious promotions meritorious promotion looks really good on your resume on your military resume because it says that outside of the, the, the course of normal promotion, because you’ve been there, because you thought the minimum amount of time of course this is military, the war time and so, you know, they followed time qualification pretty pretty strictly because there was always openings up above because people were getting killed. There’s always openings to be filled. So, I had not gotten that that normal in the course of just being their promotion.

53:53

Instead I got a meritorious promotions and meritorious promotion looks really good on your resume. I missed a few months pay because of it but it looked better.

54:04

And this kind of thing actually happened to me three times in the course of my four years of active duty. And each time.

54:13

After was over I received a meritorious promotions, all of my promotions when I was on active duty where meritorious promotions, the last time that happened.

54:25

The people who brought charges up against me for

54:32

practicing this religion and being a threat to national security. The people who brought those charges up to me and wanted me

54:43

wanted some sort of punishment to be applied to me. When those charges were brought up at my hearing it wasn’t a court martial and it was just sort of like a preliminary hearing and executive officer the second in command for our Squadron came to my defense.

55:02

Couldn’t get much better defense then second in command.

55:07

But he took it upon himself personally to speak on my behalf and say that. First off, there was nobody in the squadron, who boosted morale, who smiled. He even said that boosted morale and smiled and encourage people. It was nobody in the squadron who did it as effectively and consistently as I did.

55:32

There, nobody in the squadron.

55:35

You know, had that kind of presence. That was his impression, and nobody had the kind of presence that I did and that that presence was valuable. He also said that he believed that this was a result of my Buddhist practice had my faith and that if they wanted to prohibit me from practicing by religion in my, in the barracks which was the only place I had to practice, then they needed to provide me with dedicated space outside of the barracks, in which you engage in my Buddhist practice.

56:11

This is quite a dramatic change from front from when I first began my military career or not career but my military journey.

56:22

And all of that would not have happened if I had helped my guns and stuck to my position of past started I’m right and you’re wrong and I’m going to prove you wrong and I’m, you know, I’m going to prove me right. So there are times when we might step back from something and say no. Now is not the time now is maybe not the best strategic time to stand up and refuse to back down that, that there might be a different way to approach this idea. So at this temple my overarching philosophy is that we do not engage in propagation.

57:04

And if I you know the way I interpret the scripture the sutra, is that if we are all Buddha’s.

57:12

If all of us are Buddha there’s nothing to convert.

57:17

Because we’re already what we’re supposed to be, what our mission here at the temple is to teach and to awaken. What a what lies inherently in every human being. Whether that is in this lifetime or in the future.

57:33

If we truly believe what we say we believe, then there’s no pressure to convert somebody, there’s nothing to convert. There’s only providing an opportunity for awakening.

57:47

Okay, 505 500 years. Your, your periods after the budget, where’s this coming from the greatest simply and what time is Oh, I tell you what, we’re going to stop here tonight. And we’ll pick it up again next week we’re less than halfway through.

58:09

I will try to not be so long with it. If I am, then people can turn me off, or we can just keep continuing for as long as it takes to work through this. I got a little red light that says it’s time to plug it in. Time to what. Oh yeah. Yeah, the battery was running down so it’s like that’s the only reason I’m shuffling around. Okay, you’re fine You’re fine.

58:31

So what I would like to do at this point is, and say that my only objective here in this study is when we get to July I do want to be studying the ratio on Poker on which is the month that neutral submitted.

58:47

So we’ve got about 10 minutes left in our.

This transcript was generated by https://otter.ai

With Gassho,

Ryusho 龍昇

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