(And my commentary
The correct object of worship of Nichiren Shoshu is the Dai-Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary of the Essential Teachings, as is clearly stipulated in the third article of the Nichiren Shoshu Shuki (The Rules and Regulations of Nichiren Shoshu). This article states, "Nichiren Shoshu regards the Great Mandala of the High Sanctuary of the Essential Teachings, revealed by the founder Himself, as the object of worship to which we devote our lives and upon which we place complete reliance."
Other schools "deny the Dai-Gohonzon" which is considered a "great slander" in Nichiren Shoshu. Most of the Nichiren Schools believe that the Dai-Gohonzon is any of the 120 or so existing scrolls that can be proven to have been inscribed by Nichiren himself over the period from right after the Tatsunokuchi persecution to his death in 1282. They have trouble believing the origin myth of the Dai-Gohonzon. According to them, even these original Gohonzon aren't valid anymore because they belong to incorrect sects of Buddhism. When the Gakkai was forced to secede from NST it was teaching the same doctrine, only suddenly their Gohonzon were said to be "no-honzon" because they were "no longer" connected to the High Priest and to this very same Dai-Gohonzon in their possession. We had no choice but to change our understanding of the Gohonzon.
Nichiren Shoshu teaches:
This Dai-Gohonzon was revealed by our Founder Nichiren Daishonin to achieve the ultimate purpose of his advent in this world as the True Buddha. As he states in "On Persecutions Befalling the Buddha":
"Now in the second year of Ko'an (1279), it is twenty-seven years since I first proclaimed the true teaching . . . The Buddha fulfilled the purpose of his advent in a little over forty years . . . For me it took twenty-seven years." (Shinpen, p. 1396; MW-1, p. 239)
The "Articles to be Observed after the Passing of Nikko" states,
blockquote> "I, Nikko, transfer to Nichimoku the Dai-Gohonzon of the second year of Ko'an (1279), which was transferred to me." (Seiten, p. 519) As this passage indicates, this Dai-Gohonzon has been handed down to Nikko Shonin, to Nichimoku Shonin and to the successive High Priests upon the transmission of the lifeblood of the Law entrusted to only one person.
This argument seems okay on it's face, but when one examines it one comes to have doubts. First, Nichiren inscribed a number of large (Dai-Honzon) in the year of Koan. Secondly, I've read that the one that he is referring to in this transfer document was actually one of large paper Gohonzon. Nikko could be indicating the wood Dai-Gohonzon, but just as likely he could be indicating another one. Scholars and the teachers of the other sects hotly deny that he was referring to the Wood Dai-Gohonzon and believe he was referring to a paper Gohonzon, that is still retained by Nichimoku's main residence Temple (which belongs to another lineage) to this day. In one sense it really is important to believe in the Dai-Gohonzon. But in another sense every one of his gohonzon were Dai-Gohonzon and this doctrine that we are seeing here is the idiosyncretic doctrine of the sect Nichiren Shoshu.
Nichiren Shoshu continues:
Nichikan Shonin explained,
"Above all, the Dai-Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary of the Essential Teachings of the second year of Ko'an is the supreme of the supreme, the ultimate purpose of all ultimate purposes of advents. It is, in fact, the foremost of the Three Great Secret Laws." (Yoshu, vol. 4, p. 221) This shows that the Dai-Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary of the Essential Teachings inscribed on October 12, 1279 is the object of worship which forms the doctrinal basis of Nichiren Shoshu.
The successive High Priests, through the authority they have received by inheriting that transmission, transcribe the Dai-Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary of the Essential Teachings, the Inner Realization of the Daishonin's enlightenment, and bestow the transcribed Gohonzon upon Priests and lay believers of Nichiren Shoshu.
I think that the notion of worshipping the Gohonzon is timeless, and that the Gohonzon scroll is the correct object of worship. However, there are always holes in any specific transmittal and the priests confuse general and specific when they think that a ceremony transfers the "inner realization" of the Daishonin's enlightenment. If only that were possible. This is not a teaching of Nichiren's. This is a distortion of a tendai Doctrine and a borrowing from Zen. It is basically BS passed off as dharma, that when burned smells just like BS and not a bit like the Buddhas pure dharma.(See the Gosho Repaying Debts of Gratitude (Ho'on Sho)
As you can see, the Nichiren Shoshu have all their doctrines neatly written down, with dotted i's and crossed t's. If you don't look very hard you will see a "one true sect." However, if you look at their textual sources you see that underneath the seeming "truth" are the same legendary and mythic qualities that plague other religions. For more on this go back to daigoh.html
Original source: Derek N.P.F. Juhl ([email protected])
[Refuting the Soka Gakkai's "Counterfeit Object of Worship," c. 1996, Nichiren Shoshu Temple]