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From Faith into Action:
When the Daishonin is no longer in the world, it is his writings — the Gosho — that we should make our master. So long as we continue practicing in accordance with the Gosho, what possible confusion can there be? (p. 230)

It should be pointed out that the “Law,” not the “person,” is to be regarded as the proper standard in all things. Putting the person first gives you an uncertain standard; it is to let that person’s mind become your master. In contrast, if you establish the Law as your standard, you will become the master of your mind (p. 233).

To forget the original teacher who had brought one the water of wisdom from the great ocean of the Lotus Sutra and instead follow another would surely cause one to sink into the endless sufferings of birth and death (“The Essentials for Attaining Buddhahood,” WND p. 747). Thus the Daishonin strictly admonishes us. To follow the Daishonin who is the ‘original teacher’ is the very meaning of our faith (p. 231).

Once a path is opened, those who follow can travel with composure and ease. Nichiren Daishonin, as the Buddha of the Latter Day, possessing the virtues of sovereign, teacher and parent opened a path to enlightenment for all people. For this we own him our eternal gratitude. To extend and expand the path that the mentor has graciously opened is the disciples’ mission (pp. 231-232).

The lifeblood of Buddhism exists only in the correct faith actually manifested in peoples’ lives. Correct faith — the vehicle of the life blood of Buddhism — is transmitted through the mentor and disciple relationship. Only when we follow the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin and Nikko Shonin can we perpetuate the pure flow of the Dashonin’s Buddhism for eternity. Should we follow the corrupt stream of Niko, who betrayed his master’s teachings, we would commit the serious offense of destroying the heart of Buddhism (p. 230).

Those who have a mentor in life are truly fortunate. The path of mentor and disciple is one that leads to personal development and growth. Those without a mentor may appear free and unbeholden to anyone, but without a solid standard or model on which to base themselves, their lives become aimless and wandering (p. 234).

As direct disciple of the Daishonin, we have summoned forth the three powerful enemies of Buddhism. Defeating their schemes and repelling their onslaughts, we have carved out a great path of kosen-rufu. This has been the unrivaled pride of Mr. Makiguchi, Mr. Toda and myself as Soka Gakkai presidents. It is indisputable proof that the Soka Gakkai is the foremost organization in the entire world acting in accord with the Buddha’s will and decree (pp. 231-234).

The World of Nichiren Daishonin’s Writings
Daisaku Ikeda: The mentor-disciple relationship in Buddhism is a life-to-life connection based on the mystic Law. Eternally speaking, it is a relationship between two people that takes place when the mentor, teacher, has something to communicate to the disciple, or student — whether it be knowledge, a skill, or a craft. In the case of Buddhism, however, it is the law that the mentor is communicating. The mentor-disciple relationship is necessary to correctly practice the Law and ensure its transmission.

Whether engaging in his own practice or instructing his follower in faith, Nichiren Daishonin always places great weight on the admonition. “Rely on the Law and not upon persons.” He also said that we should “seek out the votary of the Lotus Sutra and make him our teacher” (cf. WND, 278).

Faith in the Daishonin’s Buddhism is always based on the Law. We practice the law, and we spread the Law. Achieving the lofty and great objectives of attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime and realizing kosen-rufu require that we unite in spirit and advance with unity of purpose. Toward that end a teacher who correctly practices the law is vital. That is why the Daishonin’s successor, Nikko Shonin, strictly stated, “Without following the correct relationship of mentor and disciple, there is no attain Buddhahood.”

Masaaki Morinaka: The mentor-disciple relationship is indeed the timeless principle for ensuring the eternal perpetuation of the Law.

What enabled Nikko Shonin, the second high priest, to inherit the lineage of faith from Nichiren Daishonin as his true disciple? It was because he had served the Daishonin continually, endured persecutions by his side and conducted propagation activities boldly, exactly as his mentor instructed.

Practicing faith in perfect accord with the teachings of the original mentor, Nichiren Daishonin, and striving with a spirit of selfless dedication are requirements for a genuine Buddhist teacher fit to inherit the Daishonin’s legacy. Without these qualifications, even the priest, the chief executive of the head temple, becomes no more than the political head of a clerical bureaucracy far removed from Buddhism’s true teachings. It is utterly inconceivable that any trace of the heritage of faith could be found amid such circumstances.

Some 600 years after the Daishonin’s death, the priesthood capitulated to the demands of Japan’s militarist government. At the time, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, the first Soka Gakkai president, stood up resolutely to initiate the widespread propagation of the True Law in precise accord with the Daishonin’s teachings.

Makiguchi always based himself on the Gosho. It was impossible for him to find a mentor among the cowardly ranks of the priesthood who, fearing government persecution, kowtowed to the authorities by changing the silent prayers in gongyo, deleting portions of the Gosho and ordering the Soka Gakkai to accept the Shinto talisman.

He rose up with faith directly connected to Nichiren Daishonin, from which he summoned the immense power he needed to launch a struggle to refute the erroneous and reveal the true, exactly as the Daishonin had taught. He was arrested and thrown into prison, where he died a martyr. He read the Gosho truly with his life as a disciple of the Daishonin.

Nichijun was lavish in his praise of Makiguchi, saying: “He embodied the spirit of the Lotus Sutra from birth,” and “He was born an emissary of the Buddha.”

President Makiguchi made the Gosho his mentor, facing great persecution and revitalizing Buddhism in an age when the law was threatened with extinction. His endeavors show he was a visionary and pioneer of truly extraordinary caliber.

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi was, without doubt, a true teacher of Buddhism in modern times. Josei Toda chose Makiguchi as his mentor and joined his battle against persecution. By following his mentor, Toda engraved the Daishonin’s Buddhism in his life and, while in prison gained the profound realization that he himself was a Bodhisattva of the Earth, thus awakening to his mission. Upon his release, as the solitary heir to his mentor’s aspirations and ideals, he stood up amid the charred, war-ravaged landscape of Japan to accomplish kosen-rufu, the will of Nichiren Daishonin. (The New Human Revolution, Vol. 2, “Courageous Endeavor,” pp. 220-222)

The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra
The “original vow” of the Buddhas is to enable all people to walk the same path toward enlightenment ... The replacement of the three vehicles with one vehicle engendered a fundamental transformation in the mind and way of life of the disciple — a transformation from the way of mentor and disciple to the way of the oneness of mentor and disciple ... 

President Toda often said: “A blacksmith’s apprentice is a blacksmith, a fishmonger’s trainee is a fishmonger. In the same way the Buddha’s disciple is a Buddha. It all works out very neatly.... We are actively sharing the teachings with others just as the Daishonin instructed so we are the disciple of the Daishonin (Vol I, p. 157).

To the Buddha, all beings of the Ten Worlds are his children. But among all those children, those who embrace and uphold the Mystic Law can be called his “true children.”

“The Emergence of the Treasure Tower” chapter of the Lotus Sutra states:

 And if in future existences
 One can read and uphold this sutra,
 He will be a true son of the Buddha

(LS, Chapter 11, p. 191)

The Daishonin writes, “If you are of the same mind as Nichiren, you must be a Bodhisattva of the Earth” (WND, p. 385). There is a special significance to the Daishonin’s phrase “of the same mind.”

The SGI, whose members have made the Daishonin’s vow their own, working tirelessly to promote kosen-rufu, is an organization of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth carrying out the mission they pledged themselves to realizing in the infinite past. It is a gathering of disciples indivisibly united with the Daishonin (Vol. I, pp. 158-159).

Saito: Elsewhere in the same chapter, Purna says, “Only the Buddha, the World-Honored One, is capable of knowing the wish that we have had deep in our hearts from the start” (LS, Chapter 8, p. 144). The wish “deep in our hearts” is the original aspiration that the disciples have cherished in the depths of their lives. It seems to me that the desire to attain unsurpassed enlightenment and to lead all beings to happiness is an aspiration that, fundamentally, all people possess.

Ikeda: Isn’t that what we call the Buddha nature? The term Buddha nature does not appear in the Lotus Sutra. But it seems that this is what original aspiration in the depths of one’s life indicates.

Suda: Understanding the causes and conditions that existed in the past, then, in essence means understanding the aspiration — the Buddha nature — in the depths of one’s being.

Ikeda: Stated more simply, this fundamental wish could be described as an aspiration or desire for the happiness of oneself and others. The very simplicity of this might seem anticlimactic, since it’s something that all people understand on some level; but making this one’s guiding and fundamental spirit is in fact extremely difficult. This is because hindrances in the form of earthly desires, ignorance, greed egoism and divisiveness prevent people from doing so.

To base our lives thoroughly on this spirit, therefore, we need a teacher, a mentor, who can guide us in the right direction. It seems that this is what the “Phantom City” chapter teaches through the elucidation of karmic causes and conditions linking mentor and disciple over an extremely long time.

In short, “causes and conditions” indicates the eternal bonds that form between people. These bonds certainly do not exist apart from human beings, nor do they fetter or bind people externally. On the contrary, the disciples themselves perceive the cause for attaining Buddhahood at the core of their being. That is, they recollect their original aspiration. Also, they awaken to a sense of gratitude for the condition provided by their mentor — that is, for their relationship with him — in helping them develop this cause for the effect of Buddhahood. This sense of appreciation and excitement at realizing this supreme bond with the mentor is the spirit of “Phantom City.”

Saito: Tien-t’ai says of the “one great reason [lit. cause and condition]” for which all Buddhas make their appearance in the world: “Living beings possess the capacity to respond to the Buddhas; so this is calle the ‘cause.’ The Buddhas, observing this capacity, act in response to it; so this is called the ‘condition.’” He indicates that the “cause” rests with the disciples (i.e., living beings), while the “condition” rests with the Buddha.

Ikeda: Yes. And of cause and condition, cause is naturally primary. Conditions function to support and assist the cause. In he path of mentor and disciple, too, the awareness of the disciple is primary. The response of the mentor depends on the strength of the disciple’s seeking spirit, sense of responsibility and determination.

That said, the Buddha industriously teaches and guides his disciples over past, present and future, never abandoning any of them. He educates them and embraces then in his mercy. It seems to me that the Buddha’s immense compassion is the main point the Lotus Sutra seeks to convey.

The disciples believe in and seek out the mentor, and the mentor protects and trains the disciples. The mentor, ultimately, does not abandon even disciples who have forgotten their pledge. This most beautiful of human bonds is the relationship of mentor and disciple in Buddhism.

Saito: The mentor-disciple relationship in Buddhism is neither a one-way relationship from the mentor above to the disciple below nor is it an oppressive, feudalistic type of master-servant relationship (Vol. II, pp. 137-138).

Ikeda: From our standpoint, we have been born in this world to fulfill the “great wish” we have cherished since the remote past. When we have this conviction, we realize that all our sufferings and illusions in this life are expedient means for us to help others become happy.

Were we to appear before others blesses with every good fortune and completely free of suffering, then no one could understand the greatness of the Mystic Law. Furthermore, it is unlikely that we could understand people’s hearts. All our karmic sufferings we ourselves dared to choose so that we might overcome them and show proof of victory. We need to be confident of this. Since these are sufferings that we ourselves created in order to triumph over, our victory is certain. We cannot possible be defeated.

When we awaken to the great vow of kosen-rufu, that is, when we realize “from the beginning I have been a Buddha,” then even harsh destiny changes into mission. We are born with sufferings just like everyone else. By always practicing together with the people, we construct lives of ultimate happiness. This is the drama of mission that we enact.

Saito: Out of pity and sympathy for those suffering, the teachers of the Law yearn to be born in an impure world. The Great Teacher Miao-lo of China calls this “deliberately creating the appropriate karma.” The teachers of the law are people who, because of the benefit they have accumulated from their Buddhist practice, could by rights be born in a “good land.” But they deliberately create the negative karma to be born in a world rife with evil so that they can spread Buddhism.

Ikeda: President Toda often said: “Someone who is too exemplary from the outset cannot go among the people. To spread Buddhism, we intentionally chose to be born as people who are poor or sick. “Life is like appearing in a play,” he would say.

He also said, “I lost my wife, and my daughter died. My business failed. Because I have known such suffering, I could become president of the Soka Gakkai.” People who have not experienced painful struggles or suffering cannot understand the hearts of others. Only if one has tasted life’s bitterness can one lead people to happiness.

To simply view your sufferings as “karma” is backward-looking. We should have the attitude: “These are sufferings I took on for the sake of my mission. I vowed to overcome these problems through faith.”

When we understand this principle of “deliberately crating the appropriate karma,” our frame of mind is transformed; what we have previously viewed as destiny, we come to see as mission. There is absolutely no way w cannot overcome sufferings that are the result of a vow that we ourselves made.

Fundamentally, Buddhism is a teaching about how to live, a teaching transmitted from mentor to disciple. The relationship of mentor and disciple is formed when there are two people who desire to follow the correct path in life and who seek a mentor and when a mentor responds to their spirit. But if the Buddha as the mentor ceases to be a human being and becomes a “god,” the, practically speaking the path of mentor and disciple cannot exist. (Vol. III, p. 31)

The mentor-disciple relationship is strict. Everything depends on how earnestly one can accept and at on even a single word of the mentor. A true disciple strives to actualize the mentor’s vision — not my mimicking the mentor, but by putting into action what the mentor has taught (Living Buddhism, January 2000, p. 31).

What is the meaning of the oneness of mentor and disciple in Buddhism? Physically, mentor and disciple are of course two different people. It is the heart, spirit and teaching that each upholds that makes them inseparable. Therefore, it is important to seek a mentor who correctly practices the Law, and to forge ahead with the aim of becoming one in spirit with that mentor.

A Relationship not based on a shared principle or spirit, but where one blindly follows the orders of another is a relationship of a boss and underling, or where one claims to be the disciple of he other, but only in form, is not the correct way of Buddhism. Buddhism is about the disciple taking on the spirit of the mentor to aspire eternally for kosen-rufu. (Living Buddhism, October 2000, p. 40)

The Lotus Sutra, which contains the core teachings of Mahayana Buddhism, describes the mentor’s aspirations for the disciple the: “At the start I took a vow, hoping to make all persons equal to me, without any distinction between us.”

This indicates that all people inherently endowed with the sources of infinite wisdom, courage, fortune and virtue that characterize the Buddha. The Buddha’s determination is to enable the disciple to equally manifest this same potential of life. This is a declaration of the underlying unity, or the oneness of mentor and disciple.

The mentor desires that the disciple will grow in capability, to the point of eventually surpassing the mentor. Embracing a profound sense of respect for the disciple, the mentor pours his or her life’s blood into the effort of fostering and training the disciple. Inspired by the mentor’s faith and expectations, the disciple in turn commits to a process of open-ended growth, determined to live with the same sense of responsibility to the mentor, to develop the same expansive life-state as the mentor (Message to the Opening of Soka University of America, August 24, 2001; World Tribune, September 7, 2001).

The bond of mentor and disciple comes down to the awareness of the disciple. It’s not about formality. Meeting he mentor on numerous occasions, or spending time at the mentor’s side, or being entrusted with a leadership position — these are all form [rather than essence]. Even if someone is physically far away from the mentor, or has never had the opportunity to speak directly with the mentor, if they are aware of their role as a disciple and strive to put the mentor’s words into practice, then the mentor-disciple relationship is alive and intact (Living Buddhism, January 2000).