In Nichiren Buddhism, we speak often of the importance of the mentor-disciple spirit. What does it entails? Why does the Lotus Sutra expound the mentor-disciple relationship?
The mentor-disciple spirit serves the purpose of enabling disciples to realize their mission that they were born with. This mission is explained in the Lotus Sutra as to be born to strive together with our mentor to lead all people to happiness. It is through establishing the bond of mentor and disciple that we are awakened to the purpose of life. Put simply, the purpose of Buddhism is “to realize happiness for oneself and others” via the process of strengthening the mentor-disciple spirit.
However, the egoistic nature that exists within our lives is particularly strong and overbearing. We can all attest to the fact that humans tend towards selfishness. This selfishness clouds our lives, and the egoism in us is what hinders us from realizing and accepting kosen-rufu as our mission in life. But by establishing the mentor-disciple relationship, we are able to overcome our egoistic nature and be awakened to our true mission in life.
To further understand the concept of mentor-disciple spirit, we need to understand the preceding concepts of “reality and wisdom” and “general transfer and specific transfer”. So what is “reality and wisdom”?
The fact that “anyone can become a Buddha” corresponds to “reality”. However, in order for one to become a Buddha, one needs “wisdom”. And this “wisdom” is derived from “faith”. By chanting daimoku and exerting oneself for the sake of kosen-rufu as a “Buddha”, we can achieve the “fusion of reality and wisdom”.
If one does not make any effort to carry out the practice of propagation and focus only on one’s own well-being, the “fusion of reality and wisdom” will not take place. In other words, such an individual is not a Buddha.
For example, a Buddha can be said to be like a physician or doctor in the context of Buddhism. If a doctor does not work to save the lives of his patients, then he or she would fail to qualify as a true doctor.
In other words, the Gohonzon is “reality” and faith is “wisdom”. With strong faith, our lives become one with the Gohonzon in essence. So by chanting daimoku with absolute conviction in the Gohonzon, we can manifest the Buddha’s wisdom in our lives.
How about “general transfer and specific transfer”?
Firstly, in the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha transfers the teachings of Buddhism to his disciples collectively as a whole. This is termed “general transfer”. However, the teachings expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha would lose its beneficial powers in the Latter Day of the Law. For this reason, for the benefit of the people in the Latter Day of the Law, Shakyamuni Buddha transferred the teaching of “Nam-myoho-regnge-kyo” hidden in the depths of the Lotus Sutra to Bodhisattva Superior Practices. This is termed “specific transfer”.
What that means is the in current times with centuries’ worth of teachings dilution it is very difficult to identify what is true and what is inaccurate. General good senses are classified as general transfer of wisdom. But the correct wisdom to acquire to fuse with our reality lies in the specific transfer of wisdom to Bodhisattva Superior Practices. Hence, what is important is to identify the correct person who is manifesting the virtues of Bodhisattva Superior Practices as our mentor or teacher.
What then are the requirements for a good or correct teacher?
The phrase, “desiring little yet knowing satisfaction”, means to discard one’s personal desires and to devote one’s life for the realization of kosen-rufu. With some investigation, we can realize that Nichiren Daishonin and also the three successive presidents of the Soka Gakkai are individuals who did devote their lives for kosen-rufu.
The term “honesty” means to be always grateful to the Gohonzon. The opposite of this is “arrogance”. The arrogant and conceited usually abandon faith when they are not recognized or praised. Those who live their lives based on a vow for kosen-rufu will never do so. The Daishonin practiced in exact accordance with the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. This is what constitutes “honesty”.
Hence, millions of members of Soka Gakkai regarded Nichiren and the current president of Soka Gakkai International, Dr Daisaku Ikeda, as our mentor because they demonstrated the qualities of “desiring little yet knowing satisfaction” and “honesty”.
In summary…
To become a Buddha, we need a mentor. But it is important to choose the right mentor. So to ensure we chose the correct mentor, we have to apply the concept of “general transfer and specific transfer” to recognize the mentor.
And the correct mentor has to guide us to achieve the “fusion of reality and wisdom” so that we are not merely practitioners of Buddhism in theory, but also in actual application to improve our lives.
