Material for Discussion Meetings (October)

Writings for Discussion Meeting

Passage

The Contemplation on the Mind-Ground Sutra states: “If you want to understand the causes that existed in the past, look at the results as they are manifested in the present. And if you want to understand what results will be manifested in the future, look at the causes that exist in the present.”

—“The Opening of the Eyes,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 279

Background

On August 14, 1947, at age 19, Ikeda Sensei had his decisive encounter with Josei Toda. As he waged a life-and-death struggle with tuberculosis, doctors told him that he probably wouldn’t live past the age of 30. 

After he decided to take Mr. Toda as his mentor in life and joined the Soka Gakkai 10 days later, on August 24, 1947, he began learning about the principles and aims of Nichiren Buddhism, finding joy, hope and a burning sense of mission to transmit Nichiren Buddhism for the happiness of all people. 

While pondering his own troubles with illness and the suffering he witnessed in postwar Japan, he came across the above passage that Nichiren Daishonin cites in his seminal work “The Opening of the Eyes.” Upon reading it, he said he was “profoundly moved … [and] understood then just how great this philosophy is” (October 1, 2021, World Tribune, p. 2).

Nichiren began writing “The Opening of the Eyes” in November 1271 while exiled on Sado Island. Despite facing immense hardships during that time, he upheld his vow to lead all people to enlightenment. 

He cites this passage from the Contemplation on the Mind-Ground Sutra to underscore the point that the key to understanding the workings of cause and effect is found in the present moment: The effects we see in the present are due to the causes we made in the past, and, more importantly, the effects that manifest in the future are determined by the causes we make in the present. 

As demonstrated by Sensei’s triumphant 95 years of life and the dynamic development of the SGI worldwide, when we make causes in the present based on resolute faith in the Mystic Law, we are certain to enjoy a life filled with fortune, benefit and happiness. 

—Prepared by the SGI-USA Study Department

Ikeda Sensei’s Encouragement

The Wondrous Law of Life and the Universe

Nichiren Daishonin writes, “There can be no discontinuity between the three existences of past, present, and future” (“The True Aspect of All Phenomena,” WND-1, 386). The past, present and future are not separate from one another but continuous and connected through the law of cause and effect. … 

Buddhism teaches that our life now, at this present moment, contains all causes from the past and all the results or effects that will manifest in the future. This simultaneity of cause and effect means that eternity is encapsulated in the present moment. The teaching of the Mystic Law, the reality of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, clearly elucidates this wondrous Law of life and the universe. 

The Buddha is called the Thus Come One, a term referring to the dynamic activity of life pulsing with wisdom at each moment. 

That’s why the present moment is what matters, not sometime in the future. We need to strive earnestly in faith, deepening our commitment to our Buddhist practice and transforming our karma, right here and now. This is the way to accumulate the causes for happiness, which also contain the effect or result of happiness. (The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 2, revised edition, pp. 214–15)

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Upsetting Attachments and Arousing Doubts: Overturning Our Assumptions 

Buddhist Concepts

“Wait a minute, what!? Did I have it wrong this whole time?”

We sometimes find out that what we long assumed to be true is not valid. 

For example, we might think we’re not good at something, but by trying it, we find we’re better than we imagined. 

It’s beneficial to have people who patiently help us break free from our limiting assumptions so we can see life’s deeper truths and possibilities. Buddhism calls such wise and tenacious people “good friends” in faith. 

And the overturning of limiting beliefs is called “upsetting attachments and arousing doubts,”^[1] one of the methods the Buddha employs to lead people to the correct teaching. It means disrupting the mind of a person attached to inferior teachings so that doubts about such teachings arise, causing the person to aspire for a deeper understanding of Buddhism. 

Examples of Upsetting Attachments in Buddhism

In “Emerging from the Earth,” the Lotus Sutra’s 15th chapter, Shakyamuni Buddha calls forth countless bodhisattvas of astonishing bearing from beneath the earth, leaving his audience dumbfounded to the point that they could only ask: Who are these magnificent bodhisattvas? Where did they come from?

In response, Shakyamuni reveals in the next chapter, “The Life Span of the Thus Come One,” the equally astounding truth that he first attained enlightenment not under the bodhi tree in India but in the remotest past. This lays the groundwork for his revolutionary teaching that Buddhahood is inherent in everyone. 

In Nichiren Daishonin’s treatise “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land,” written in 1260 as a dialogue, he repeatedly challenges the misguided beliefs of his interlocutor. After much resistance, that person comes to understand and enthusiastically join Nichiren’s quest to awaken all people. 

In 1271, Nichiren faced imminent execution at Tatsunokuchi with confidence, dignity and even joy. This caused his executioners, who had seen him as a vile criminal, to realize they had been wrong about him. Abandoning their plan, some even vowed to follow him. 

In more recent times, under Ikeda Sensei’s leadership, the Soka Gakkai resiliently overcame a plot by the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood to destroy it. This was despite the tendency of many people to assume that priests wield ultimate religious authority. In November 1991, the Soka Gakkai gained its spiritual independence from the priesthood and has since flourished, expanding its network of bodhisattvas to every corner of the world.

These events all exemplify the principle of upsetting attachments and arousing doubts.

The Challenge of Self-Transformation

Even in our efforts to help others, we may face an impasse unless we learn willingly from them and set aside our assumptions. Sensei wrote: 

Without such efforts [to exert ourselves to understand the other and see things through their eyes], particularly in times of heightened tensions, it is all too easy for our own ideas of what constitutes peace or justice to become a threat to the lives and dignity of others.^[2]

We all have precious life experiences, but leaning on past successes or failures can hinder future growth. To “know oneself” is essential, but sometimes we can do well to “no” ourselves, to stop clinging to time-worn ideas and habits and begin challenging our self-transformation.

As SGI Buddhists, we base ourselves on the spirit of the oneness of mentor and disciple and the writings of Nichiren Daishonin, which never change. 

On the other hand, the times and society keep moving. Doing things a certain way because we’ve always done so is not enough. Through the power of faith and our resolve to renew ourselves each day, we can build a fresh current of progress toward kosen-rufu, peace and personal victory. 

—Prepared by the SGI-USA Study Department

From the October 2024 Living Buddhism