QA2000

Question: How do we live in this life and prepare for the next life? How do we live in this moment?

Answer: The Daishonin referred to himself as Nichiren the votary of the Lotus Sutra. Like the Daishonin, we should try everyday to be a votary of the Lotus Sutra. Of course, the most important thing in practicing the Lotus Sutra is to chant Namu-myoho-renge-kyo. But it is also very important to live everyday as the votary of Namu-myoho-renge-kyo.

No one has control over one's movements or actions. That is to say, one cannot do whatever one wants or pleases. Therefore we must chant. The Daishonin said, use this Law of Myoho-renge-kyo in your life no matter what you are doing, whether sitting, standing lying down or walking. The future continues on from this moment. There is no distinction or separation between the present and the future. The present and the future are one and the same. You must try to be close to Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, this is the most important thing. The way you are living now is the way you will die, and the way you will live in the future.

Question: If a person who has practiced true Buddhism all her life commits suicide, what happens to all her accumulated good fortune? What happens to her?

Answer: For someone to practice this Buddhism since birth is of inestimable value. I don't know why this person committed suicide, but our life itself is not ours. One may think so, but it is not our own. We did not create our life, and we did not buy it; we were granted it as a loan. To destroy yourself is an awful thing to do, especially since your life is borrowed and does not belong to you-it is not yours to do with as you please. But [for a person who has practiced all her life] her life was not in vain. If that person truly practiced the Daishonin's Buddhism then her sincerity is not wasted or lost.

Within us are the ten worlds, from Hell to Buddhahood. In the past we did a lot of bad things as well as a lot of good things. The future of that is right now. Right now we experience the effects of both good deeds and bad deeds. Even if we practice true Buddhism, if we commit bad deeds we will have a negative effect; and if we do good deeds we will have a positive effect.

There are some people who say that if there is no one to follow you in your practice, such as children, then you have wasted a whole lifetime of chanting. That is just not so, it is never a waste of time. The benefits accumulated from practice do not disappear.

Question: What is the traditional way of keeping one's parents', one's loved one's ashes? Can they be kept on or near the altar? Or is there a special place they should be kept?

Answer: In Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism we place only the Gohonzon of Namu-myoho-renge-kyo at the center of our attention, that is how we attain enlightenment. The ashes, the stupa (small tope with person's Buddhist name), pictures and other relics of the deceased are never placed on or near the altar. If you place these things on the altar you are displacing Gohonzon, which is the center of this practice. Your mind will be focused on the objects rather than on the Gohonzon.

For 49 days the spirit of the deceased is at your home. That is why the ashes are kept at your home for 49 days. After that you pray to Gohonzon for the enlightenment of the deceased. This is the correct way to treat the dead. If you keep ashes on the altar it is wrong. The ashes are not the object of our practice. In placing the ashes on the altar you are not following the teachings stated in the fifth prayer of Gongyo: "I sincerely pray for the earliest realization of world peace and happiness, through the Gohonzon's bestowal of equal benefits upon the entire universe and the whole world." By keeping the ashes on your altar your practice is self-serving and not magnanimous and for the good of the whole world.

In Japan some people cannot afford to buy a burial plot so they ask the temple they belong to to keep the remains of their loved ones.

Question: A non-Buddhist asked: How can innocent people (children) be killed (like those being shot in American schools) and god be just or fair?

Answer: As you know, even in Japan unbelievable incidents happen, one after another. It is written in the Lotus Sutra that during The Latter Day of the Law the five impurities will be rampant. These are: 1) impurity of the age caused by war, natural disasters, etc.; 2) impurity of thought, or illusions, caused by confusion in the realm of philosophy and religion; 3) impurity of desires, or ugly tendencies such as greed, anger and stupidity; 4) impurity of the people, weakened both physically and spiritually by impurities of thought and desires; and 5) impurity of life itself.

In the sutra it says, when people have impure thoughts and desires their lives, their minds, their environments, their countries, their world, the earth, the universe and everything in the universe will be disordered and confused. As years go by unimaginable occurrences happen more and more. In the same manner as the shootings happening in America, terrible things are happening in Japan. As the Daishonin says, "The mind is like the body, society like its shadow, when the body bends the shadow follows." Thus the disorder and chaos in society is a result of people's disbelief in the Law of true Buddhism. It is not only children who are dying, it is also adults. What is happening to innocent children and adults is symbolic or indicative of the five impurities.

My answer to this question is that it is very important to establish the religion that teaches the correct teachings. However, it is wrong to say, as the Soka Gakkai does, that if everyone believes in this Buddhism there will be no more war, no more sickness, no more poverty and no more crime. What is important is that everyone must follow the Law of Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, and try very hard to practice and pray. If you do not practice earnestly and follow the Law of Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, then you are not a true believer.

Question: There are people who spend their entire lives practicing other religions with such deep belief. Do they gain benefit for having had such deep faith, or is it wiped out at the end of one's life?

Answer: One example of such people is Christians. Christians care about others, are charitable, and helpful. A practitioner of Christianity believes he will go to heaven after death because by helping others he is in service to god. Even after death he is still a servant of god. Christianity teaches that mankind is god's creation, and man belongs to him. If the teaching you believe in is wrong you become complacent or self-satisfied, and in complacency or self-satisfaction there is no benefit or enlightenment. A wrong teaching can never lead to a correct answer.

Nichiren Daishonin writes in "Rissho Ankoku Ron," "With the power of faith that is in their hearts, why must they vainly give credence to heretical doctrines?" What he means is, if you care anything about others, if you feel the pain of others, don't believe in heretical teachings. Ponder for a moment about what religion is the true teaching. Seek out the true religion, and eventually you will come to understand what is wrong in heretical thought, and from this wrong thought will emerge a true mind in the true religion. Those with a kind (faithful) heart cannot be influenced by heretical doctrine.

If one has faith in heretical religions, one's belief does not disappear in death. It remains with one. One remains sinful and culpable. Life itself is a continuum, but I don't believe if you have faith in the wrong teaching you will return as a human being.

Question: What is the Buddhist attitude toward organ donorship? Should people donate their body parts upon death?

Answer: What do you think? (See Discussion) At the time when Shakyamuni Buddha was preaching there were no organ donors, therefore there is no answer to this question in the sutra. Thus we must find the answer in other sources (Nichiren Daishonin's teachings). What is life? -- Is it time? -- Is it Years? -- Is it how you live?

Question: Why does the chant have to be in a foreign language? Why do the terms have to be in a foreign language?

Answer: The sutra is in Chinese. Kumarajiva, a Buddhist scholar, traveled from India to China where he was invited to study Chinese. He eventually translated the sutra into Chinese. It is his translation that we recite. Nevertheless, the way we pronounce the sutra is not Chinese, but Japanese.

In China kanji characters are used, and each kanji character has many meanings. For example kokoro means mind, spirit, heart, feeling. Namu from Namu-myoho-renge-kyo means I devote my life to belief. If you were to translate Namu-myoho-renge-kyo into English it would be a very long daimoku. But in fact, it could not be Daimoku because it would be too long. If the writing on the Gohonzon were translated into the language of every country it would never fit on the Gohonzon. Even among Japanese there is not one person who understands the meaning of Namu-myoho-renge-kyo and Daimoku. Japanese know there is some writing on the Gohonzon, but to them Gohonzon and the Lotus Sutra are a foreign language too. If the sutra was translated so that all people could understand it, it would be like a dictionary, and morning and evening Gongyo would take 20 to 30 hours to complete.

Within each kanji there is very deep meaning. Our practice of reciting the Lotus Sutra and studying this Buddhism deepens our faith. Don't think of Namu-myoho-renge-kyo and the sutra as Japanese, it does not belong to any one country. Just accept this as the universal language of the Daishonin.

Question: Aren't people just trying their best? What difference does it make whether people chant or not, aren't we all going to be reborn anyway?

Answer: Whether you believe in this religion or not, or whether you practice the wrong religion, everyone has the ten worlds, and everyone has the Buddha's life within them. Those who practice Nichiren Daishonin's teachings realize that they possess the Buddha nature. Those who do not believe in Daishonin's teachings do not know they have the Buddha nature. But for those who practice this teaching they must realize that this Buddha nature is like a diamond, which must be polished. That is, one must practice diligently. If you don't, you will be lost, confused or perverted due to impurities of thought and desire. As a result you will completely forget you possess the Buddha nature, and the opportunity will be discarded. You must realize that you should have gratitude for practicing true Buddhism, and you must appreciate chanting and want to chant more. In the end you will realize you have the Buddha nature, and how important it is to do this practice. The Buddha nature is synonymous with fortune. Those who do not practice do not realize they possess the Buddha nature as fortune.

Those who practice heretical religions look to god and Buddha to rescue them. Seeking benefits accumulates delusion. You will never know why you were born as a human being. You will be driven by desire to seek fame, fortune, high-ranking positions, and prestigious education to boost your pride. This is your purpose for living, and it is a waste of time.

The sutra teaches that we were born in this world to practice Namu-myoho-renge-kyo and attain enlightenment. Since fortune, position and pride are not the purpose of human life, if you live your life seeking these desires it wouldn't matter whether you were mold or a worm [for all the good it will do]. That is, because you were not born to seek your desires, you should never have been born human. The life of mold or a worm does not have to suffer, or work, or experience crime or war.

Question: Is it slander to expose the wrongdoing of a priest?

Answer: No, it is not slander. Both priests and believers are practicing together for enlightenment. It is very important to teach each other to follow the Law and not the person. If a teacher teaches you to follow him, he is teaching the wrong way. But if a teacher teaches you to follow the Lotus Sutra, he is teaching the right way. It is very important that we admonish each other and encourage each other. But human beings are very strict with others and lenient with themselves. You must look at yourself before you point out to other's their faults. You must be strict with yourself too. The goal of Daishonin's teachings is not to become perfect personalities. The goal is for we imperfect people with various faults to gather together and help each other attain enlightenment. Pointing out the faults of others and hurting them is not the objective of practice.

Kokoro

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
With Reverend Raido Hirota
2000

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