Tag: shōju

• 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

• The 13th-Century Monk Who Said ‘Ignore Everyone’—And Why It’s the Secret to Deeper Listening

  

  Introduction: The Practitioner’s Paradox In any spiritual path, a fundamental tension exists between two essential guides: the wisdom of others and the truth of our own experience. On one hand, we have sacred texts, traditions, and teachers—a map charted by those who have already walked the path. To ignore this map is to risk getting…

  William Altig

  October 23, 2025

  Nichiren

  Buddha’s gaze, Buddha-nature, daimoku, Expedient Means (Upāya), experiential insight, fundamental darkness (ganpon no mumyō), Gohonzon, golden words of the Buddha, guru (lama), Guru Yoga, Ichinen Sanzen, insight meditation, Kaidan, kalyāṇa-mitta (spiritual friend), Kamakura period, Kangyur, kenshō, kōans, Kālāma Sūtta, Latter Day of the Law, Lotus Sūtra, Mahayana philosophy, Mappō, Mutual Inclusion of the Ten Realms (jikkai gogu), Namu Myōhō-renge-kyō, Nichiren, Nichiren Buddhism, Nyosetsu Shugyō-shō, One Vehicle (Ekayāna), Pali Canon (Tipiṭaka), practitioner’s paradox, provisional doctrines, satori, scriptural authority, scriptural literalism, Shakubuku, shōju, spiritual bypassing, Tathāgatagarbha, Ten Realms, Tengyur, Theravada Buddhism, Three Great Hidden Dharmas, Three Thousand Realms, Tiantai School, transmission outside the scriptures, Vajrayana Buddhism, vipassanā, zazen, Zen Buddhism