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Nichiren

 Japanese school based on the Lotus Sutra, emphasizing recitation of the daimoku
  • Tricycle Community 45 comments

    Understanding Nichiren Buddhism Paid Member

    While Tricycle is a nonsectarian and independent publication, most of our content reflects a perspective of what might be called meditation-oriented Buddhism. Most of our readers and contributors know Buddhism primarily in terms of the meditation traditions of Zen, Vipassana, or Vajrayana as they have been presented to a Western audience. Indeed, it is probably not an exaggeration to say that, for many of our readers, approaches to Buddhism, such as Nichiren, that are not based on a practice of quiet, focused sitting meditation are, other than in name, scarcely recognizable as Buddhist at all. More »
  • Tricycle Community 8 comments

    A Right to the Dharma Paid Member

    This article is part of an online special section about Nichiren Buddhism. We hope that by gathering these articles in one place and making them freely available, our Buddhist conversation will be broadened and that we can, all of us, more fully know ourselves in knowing one another. Read the other articles here. More »
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    Soka Gakkai - The Next Ten Years Paid Member

    By Richard Hughes Seager
    Soka Gakkai has its origins in Japan in the decades prior to the Second World War. It was founded as a lay organization by Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, a progressive educator and convert to Nichiren Shoshu, an umbrella school comprising some forty sects dedicated to the teachings of Nichiren. A thirteenth-century reformer, Nichiren criticized Pure Land and other schools for being subservient to the state and for not empowering common people. Seven hundred years later, this criticism was leveled once again by Makiguchi. More »
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    Green Koans Case 40: The Gift of Rice Paid Member

    By Clark Strand
    CASE #40:    The Gift of Rice In a letter to a follower, Nichiren Daishonin wrote: More »
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    Green Koans Case 22: Handing Down the Lotus Paid Member

    By Clark Strand
    CASE #22:    Handing Down the LotusIn the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni teaches: "One person, having heard, responds with joy and spreads the teachings, and the teachings in this way continue to be handed along from one to another until they reach a fiftieth person." More »
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    Green Koans Case 9: General Stone Tiger Paid Member

    By Clark Strand
    BACKGROUND:Nichiren (1222 – 1282) is the founder of the sect of Japanese Buddhism that bears his name. A firm believer in the unity of faith and social action, he challenged the political and religious order of his day. One of the great prose stylists of Kamakura era, his letters are filled with references to Chinese history and legend and demonstrate an encyclopedic knowledge of Buddhist scripture. Nichiren Buddhists believe it is possible to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (the title of the Lotus Sutra) with an attitude of intense devotion and faith. More »