Tag: Final Dharma Age

• The Art of Refuting Ideas Without Attacking People

  

  Introduction: The Challenge of Meaningful Disagreement In our modern world, it often feels impossible to disagree on important topics without the conversation descending into personal attacks. We encounter ideas we believe are genuinely harmful, yet we are urged to be tolerant. This leaves us with a piercing question: How can we challenge ideas we find…

  William Altig

  November 16, 2025

  Nichiren, Uncategorized

  Admonishing the State, Atsuhara Affair, Bodhisattva Practice, daimoku, Faith Practice Study, Final Dharma Age, Gohonzon, Gyōchi, hōbō, Hōnen, Kamakura Shogunate, Kokka Kangyō, kosen-rufu, Lotus Sutra, Mappō, Martyrdom, Mongol Threat, Namu-myōhō-renge-kyō, Nanjō Tokimitsu, Nichiren, Nichiren Shoshu, Nikkō, Nyosetsu Shugyō-shō, One Vehicle, Persecution, Provisional Teachings, Pure Land Buddhism, Risshō Ankoku Ron, Sado exile, Shakubuku, shōju, Slander of the Dharma, Soka Gakkai, Tatsunokuchi Persecution, T’ien-t’ai, Three Powerful Enemies, zen

• Devadatta’s Enlightenment in the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren’s Philosophy

  

  1. Executive Summary This briefing examines the paradoxical concept of Devadatta’s enlightenment, a central tenet in the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren’s philosophy. Devadatta, cousin and notorious adversary of Shakyamuni Buddha, committed two of the five “Anantarika-karma” (grave offenses) and was traditionally condemned to the Avīci Hell, a realm of incessant suffering. However, the Lotus Sutra,…

  William Altig

  August 7, 2025

  Chapter 12, Nichiren, The Great Teachings of the Lotus of the True Law

  Adversaries as Teachers, Arhatship, Avici Hell, Bodhisattva Ideal, Buddha, Buddhahood, Buddhism, Changing Poison into Medicine, compassion., Devadatta, Dharma, Dragon King’s Daughter, Enlightenment, Ethical Implications, Final Dharma Age, Five Anantarika-karma, Grave Offenses, Heavenly King Buddha, Hell of Incessant Suffering, Ichinen Sanzen, Inherent Buddha-nature, Instantaneous Enlightenment, karma, Karmic Retribution, Kitō-shō, Lotus Sutra, Mahayana Buddhism, Mappo, Meditation, Nichiren, Non-dualistic Perspective, Philosophy, Religion, Schism in Sangha, Shakyamuni Buddha, Soteriology, Spiritual Growth, Theravada Buddhism, Treatise on Prayers, Universal Buddhahood, universal salvation