The biggest problem that is faced by any "lineage" or in any "mentor/disciple" relationship, is that our mentors aren't perfect, and we aren't perfect. Therefore, "transmissions" are always in danger of being garbled. Any lineage/school that doesn't acknowledge that fact of life, is in danger of making grievious mistakes in teaching Buddhism. The founder of my sect discusses this when he discusses the mistakes of Shingon and Tendai in his own country. in the Gosho "Ho'on Sho" or "Repaying Debts of Gratitude."
- Nichiren says:
- "In Japan, as we have seen, only on Mount Hiei in the time of the Great Teacher Dengyo was there a votary of the Lotus Sutra. Dengyo was succeeded by Gishin and Encho, the first and second chief priests of the sect, respectively. But only the first chief priest Gishin followed the ways of the Great Teacher Dengyo. The second chief priest Encho was half a disciple of Dengyo and half a disciple of Kobo."
Dengyo travelled to Japan and brought back both the Lotus Sutra and the Mahavairochana Sutra. At the time when he travelled to China, the "Imperial" dynasty was in the process of moving from it's old capitol to a new capitol in Kyoto. And the new dynasty was so impressed with the T'ient'ai/Tendai Teachings that they embraced them. Dengyo was succeeded by "Gishin", followed by Eshin, followed by Encho. Encho was impressed by Kobo Daishi's wisdom and was tricked or seduced into also adopting the teachings of Mudras and Mantras contained in the "Mikkyo" or Shingon Sutras (Dainichi or Mahavairochana Sutra). These sutras taught invocations and rituals meant to influence the world. These teachings were also good for impressing laymen and potential benefactors.
"The third chief priest, Jikaku, at first acted like a disciple of the Great Teacher Dengyo. But after he went to China at the age of forty, though he continued to call himself a disciple of Dengyo and went through the motions of carrying on Dengyo's line, he taught a kind of Buddhism that was wholly unworthy of a true disciple of Dengyo. Only in the matter of the precepts for perfect and immediate enlightenment established by Dengyo did he conduct himself like a true disciple."
""He was like a bat, for a bat resembles a bird yet is not a bird, and resembles a mouse yet is not a mouse. Or he was like an owl or a hakei beast. He ate his father the Lotus Sutra, and devoured his mother, those who embrace the Lotus Sutra. When he dreamed that he shot down the sun, it must have been a portent of these crimes. And it must be because of these acts that, after his death, no grave was set aside for him."
Jikaku Daishi, as Dengyo's third disciple, is also credited with the wholesale introduction of the esoteric teachings into Tendai Buddhism. For more on him visit the link:jikaku.html. Nichiren saw how he had betrayed the teachings of the Lotus Sutra when he accepted into Tendai Buddhism the teachings of the mudras and mantras. He pointed out that the vision of shooting the sun was an ominous one and not a portentous one. These teachings are at variance with what the Lotus Sutra itself says is a correct practice of Buddhism, and Nichiren is here excoriating Jikaku Daishi's dishonesty at embracing them.
"The temple Onjo-ji, representing Chisho's branch of the Tendai sect, fought incessantly with the temple Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei, which represented Jikaku's branch of the sect, the two going at each other like so many asuras and evil dragons. First Onjo-ji would be burned down, then the buildings on Mount Hiei. As a result, the image of Bodhisattva Miroku that had been the special object of worship of Chisho was burned, and the special object of worship of Jikaku, as well as the great lecture hall on Mount Hiei, were likewise burned. The monks of the two temples must have felt as though they had fallen into the hell of incessant suffering while they were still in this world. Only the Main Hall on Mount Hiei remained standing."Nichiren gets to the heart of the matter, with regard to the consequences of "slander of the Dharma" (dishonesty!). He is saying that this sort of sectarian conflict is actual proof of the errors of the disciples(Jikaku and Chisho) of Dengyo who had distorted his teachings.
He goes on to discuss Kobo Daishi again, as part of making the same point:
"The lineage of Kobo Daishi has likewise ceased to be what it should have been. Kobo left written instructions that no one who had not received the precepts at the ordination platform [established by Ganjin] at Todai-ji should be allowed to become head of To-ji temple. The Retired Emperor Kampyo, however, founded a temple [in Kyoto] called Ninna-ji and moved a number of monks from To-ji to staff it, and he also issued a decree clearly stating that no one should be allowed to reside in Ninna-ji unless he had received the precepts for perfect and immediate enlightenment at the ordination platform on Mount Hiei. As a result, the monks of To-ji are neither disciples of Ganjin, nor are they disciples of Kobo. In terms of the precepts, they are Dengyo's disciples. However, they do not behave like true disciples of Dengyo. They turn their backs on the Lotus Sutra, which Dengyo considered to be supreme."Nichiren points out how the disciples of both the Tendai-shu and the Shingon-shu neglected the words and teachings of the Lotus Sutra and of Dengyo Daishi, and even on their own founders (Ganjin and Kobo). He goes on to say:
"Kobo died on the twenty-first day of the third month in the second year of the Jowa era (835), and the imperial court sent a representative to offer prayers at his funeral. Later, however, his disciples gathered together and, bent on deception, announced that he [had not died at all but] had entered a state of deep meditation, and some of them even claimed that they had had to shave his head [because his hair had grown long]. Others asserted that while he was in China, he had hurled a three-pronged diamond-pounder all the way across the ocean to Japan; that in answer to his prayers, the sun had come out in the middle of the night; that he was an incarnation of Dainichi Buddha; or that he had instructed the Great Teacher Dengyo in the eighteen paths of esoteric Buddhism. Thus by enumerating their teachers's supposed virtues and powers, they hoped to make him appear wise, in this way lending support to his false doctrines and deluding the ruler and his ministers."The Tendai Sect, to this day places the Lotus Sutra side by side with the mudras and mantras derived from the Shingon Teachings. And to this day, the Shingon Sect repeats the lies perpetuated by these "followers" of Kobo Daishi. Rather than advance the merits or demerits of their teacher on their own merits, they made up stories about his supernatural powers. Rather than try to reconcile his teachings with those of Shakyamuni, Nagarjuna, T'ien-t'ai, or Dengyo, they tried to turn him into a Buddha and thus obfuscate the truth. When so-called disciples try to make their teacher into a "true Buddha" or a living Buddha, they are only betraying the Dharma and making the cause for both themselves and their teacher to continue suffering from the delusions and miseries of this world and perhaps suffer more (fall into the hell of incessent suffering), since they share in the responsibility of not contributing to a better world.
There is a saying "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, befuddle them with BS." But the consequences of such BS are truly awful:
"In addition, on Mount Koya there are two main temples, the original temple and the Dembo-in. The original temple, which includes the great pagoda, was founded by Kobo and is dedicated to the Buddha Dainichi [of the Womb World]. The temple called Dembo-in was founded by Shokaku-bo and is dedicated to the Dainichi of the Diamond World. These two temples fight with each other day and night, in the same way as Onjo-ji at the foot of Mount Hiei and Enryaku-ji on top of Mount Hiei. Was it the accumulation of deceit that brought about the appearance in Japan of these two calamities, [these quarrelsome temples of Mount Koya and Mount Hiei]?"This "Accumulation of Deceit" is an awful thing, because it leads to the perpetration of conflicts. If you read about the conflicts that have occured within Japan, ostensibly over religion, but in fact over turf and power issues. An arbitrary and irresponsible attitude toward the "Law" or "Truth" or "Dharma" of Buddhism leads people to valorate personal relationships and feelings over written documents, logic, or even reality. Some Eastern people follow such a path of Guru/Disciple, that if the Guru says the moon is made of cheese, they'll start looking for crackers to eat it with. This is not the correct path of mentor disciple as taught by Nichiren, though he acknowledges that disciples of such people are guilty mainly of being decieved by their teacher. In fact it is a betrayal of ones teacher and of Buddhism to teach in this fashion (See mentor.html). Unfortunately, such people soon become the mentors of later ages, and thus cause all sorts of mischief.
Nichiren writes next:
"You may pile up dung and call it sandalwood, but when you burn it,it will give off only the fragrance of dung. You may pile up a lot of great lies and call them the teachings of the Buddha, but they will never be anything but a gateway to the great citadel of the hell of incessant suffering."
So Would Nichiren have supported the notion that there is a special inheritance passed from High Priest to High Priest? Maybe. He most definately taught that we all have the ability to attain "Buddhahood in our present form" and so he may have taught (and his disciples definately developed the idea) that we are the "true Buddha" (if we act as disciples of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth and true votaries of the Lotus Sutra).Would he have supported the doctrine that he was a living Buddha or the "original Buddha" and Shakyamuni a provisional one? Probably not. Rather, what he saw as central, was the eternal truths of Buddhism. To him the central admonition was "follow the Dharma" and he would have been aghast at his disciples trying to turn him into an object of worship or the "sole" True Buddha.
Nichiren dismisses all forms of "BS", regardless of their source, as a source of suffering. If we want to truly follow our mentors we will do the same.
I'm reduplicating work I posted at the irgosho discussion site a while ago, concentrating on things that relate to my central arguments about the meaning of mentor/disciple and inheritance. For more you can read the archives at that site:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/irgosho/message/4484 and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/irgosho/message/4340.
www.manjushri.com/TEACH/cMitsung.htm and http://www.shingon.org/home.html