Tag: Five Periods and Eight Teachings

• A 13th-Century Monk’s Paradox That Reimagines Enlightenment

  

  We often picture spiritual wisdom as a distant peak, accessible only to the most dedicated climbers. The common cultural image suggests that the deepest truths are complex, abstract, and reserved for an elite few—monks, scholars, or gurus who have spent decades in seclusion and study. We assume that the path to enlightenment is an arduous…

  William Altig

  October 18, 2025

  Nichiren

  Buddha-nature, Common Teaching, daimoku, Democratization of Enlightenment, Doctrinal Classification, emptiness, faith, Five Periods and Eight Teachings, Great Concentration and Insight, Latter Day of the Law, Law-Power, Lotus Sutra, Mappo, middle way, Myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nichiren, One Buddha Vehicle, Other-Power (*tariki*), Paradox of Truth, Perfect Teaching, Provisional Existence, Provisional Teachings, Risshō Ankoku Ron, Self-Power (*jiriki*), Skillful Means, Specific Teaching, Spiritual Elitism, T’ien-t’ai Zhiyi, The truer the teaching the lower the stage, Threefold Truth, Tientai, Tripitaka Teaching, True Teachings, Upaya, Wonderful Dharma