Buddha in Your Mirror : Practical Buddhism and the Search for Self

Rating:
Summary: amazing book
Review: After reading "Being Peace" (by thich nhat hanh), I realized Buddhism was for me. Being raised catholic all my life, Buddhism was not only a refreshing ideological change, but a much more empowering idea for me to have/act upon. This book is a wonder, and a necessary read for anyone truly interested in buddhism.

Rating:
Summary: amazing book
Review: After reading "Being Peace" (by thich nhat hanh), I realized Buddhism was for me. Being raised catholic all my life, Buddhism was not only a refreshing ideological change, but a much more empowering idea for me to have/act upon. This book is a wonder, and a necessary read for anyone truly interested in buddhism.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Introduction to Buddhism for Today's World
Review: For those who enjoy reading and are actively seeking a way to improve and enhance their lives, this book will likely be viewed as an essential addition to your library. In terms that are easy to digest yet profound, the authors introduce readers to the philosophy and practice of Nichiren Buddhism and offer real life stories that inspire and illuminate why and how Buddhist practice works.

M. LaVora Perry,
author of Taneesha's Treasures of the Heart
and Wu-lung & I-lung

Rating:
Summary: This Book Changed My Life
Review: I was a very lapsed Catholic who was searching for the next step in my spiritual evolution when I read this book. From then on I have been practicing Nichiren Buddhism and my life has been forever changed. In simple, believable language, this book leads you to a practice that helps you to find your Divinity.

Rating:
Summary: Use caution when reading this "Buddhist" text
Review: If you want a good introdution to Nichiren Buddhism, a better and less militant volume would be the accesible "Introduction to the Lotus Sutra", written by a Nichiren Shu priest; Shingo Suguro.

I was once a fanatical practicioner of what the Soka Gakkai proudly refers to as "true" Buddhism. This book, while claiming to be an "introduction to Buddhism", is in fact an introduction to the Soka Gakkai, an organization that was ex-communicated from it's mother entity, the Nichiren Shoshu. The Gakkai rebounded by railing against the "blasphemous action" of Nichiren Shoshu's High Priest, Nikken. The Gakkai basically forced all of it's "good" members to get rid of their Nikken Gohonzons, and changed the wording of the Gongyo practice to refelct a homage to the "high priest of Kosen Rufu", long dead and gone, and deleting all references to the Shoshu and it's High Priest. While I can understand the pain that ex-communication must cause, a "true" Buddhist would reflect on the causes of such a situation and try and accomodate a resolution. Instead, the Soka Gakkai pursued a legal action against Nikken, claiming that he attampted to procure a prostitute on a trip to America over 30 years ago. How very "Buddhist".

While I was a member of the Soka Gakkai, I was encouraged to disregard the previous training I had in Asian Buddhism (I recieved a degree in Comparative Religion from the Ohio State University), as this was the "bad" Buddhism and chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo was alone the "good" Buddhism. With some misgiving, I plunged into the practice for many, many years. I chanted for television sets, for girlfriends, for cars, for houses, for friends, for food, etc and etc. After all, did not Nichiren himself pen a gosho entitled "Earthly Desires are Enlightenment"? As I progressed in my practice, I became more-and-more miltitant towards the concept of forced "kosen rufu" (some say this translates to "world peace"), and I became highly persuaded that the Soka Gakkai was the sole propogator of "true Buddhism", and that all others, ESPECIALLY Shin or Pure Land Buddhism, were "heretical" and "blasphemous". Yes, I knew intellectually from my college studies in Buddhism (particularly Ch'an and Japanese Zen) that the idea of one Buddhist referring to another Buddhist as a "false Buddhist" was an oxymoron, but the practice of hour upon hour, sitting befoe the mighty Gohonzon, chanting for T.V. Dinners and bus fare, sort of won me over. I apologize for the sarcasm, but you'll just have to forgive me.

This book, while claiming to be an "introduction to Buddhism" is nothing of the sort! Tell me, where exactley does it expound the practice of Zen, Pure Land, or even Tendai and Shingon, other than to point out their "weaknesses"? Please understand, I want people to be Buddhists if at all possible, be it Nichiren, Shin (Pure Land), Shingon (Tibeten Vajrayana), Zen, Hua Yen, Tendai, or what have you. All Buddhism is essential to all Buddhist practice: you can reacxh sudden enlightenment by non-attached practice of any Buddhist "doctrine" In Tibet, if one is found unqualified to practice Tantric Buddhism, they are simply referred compassionatley to "other Buddhisms". Does the Soka Gakkai do this? The above mentioned Introduction to the Lotus Sutra, written by a Nichiren Shu priest who does indeed chant the Daimoku of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, puts most forms of Japanese Buddhism (including the hated Pure Land practice) in the spotlight, and encourages the reader to practice BUDDHISM period! No talk of "true" Buddhism, no mention of "false Buddhism", just a simple introduction to Buddhist practice with an emphasis on the Daimoku of Nichiren Buddhism. This is how true Buddhist interact with one another.

The author of this book is indeed a Buddhist, I would never slight his practice or call him "false". However, he does have an aganda, and that agenda is to indoctrinate folks into the practoce of the "true" Buddhism of the ex-communicated Soka Gakkai. This is an observable face, and, not to put anybody down, but the clear evidence is that almost all of the "reviews" of this book were written by people with virtually no knowledge of Mahayana Buddhism whatsoever. These are the people who preach Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to anyone who will listen, and in fact in the 70's, they used to stand on street corners and stop traffic handing out Gohonzons to any and all, attemtping to bring forth the apocolyptic Kosen Rufu. Using Tina Turner as an exemple of this form of Buddhism is sort of a laugh, as she openly admits that she no longer attends meetings and barely chants anymore. Notice that SHE didn't write the introduction to this wonderful book!

I encourage you to read this book, in order to gain accurate knowledge of the practice of the SOKA GAKKAI. Read it from this perspective and you can't go wrong. But if you read it searching for the path to "tru" Buddhism, I assure you that soon you will be "changing your karma" by chanting to the Gohonzon for everything from chewing gum to radios, and don't doubt that for a single minute.

I am quite sure that many of the truly zealous adherants of the Soka Gakkai will complain quite loudly because of my firm exposition of this book and the ex-communicated "lay" organizattion, the Soka Gakkai, claiming that I am "narrow minded", "mean spirited", and, if they are really honest, a "false" Buddhist". Please note that this type of stuff is very similar to the attitudes prevalent in Fundamentalist Christianity, and even a cursory examination of even the most basic Buddhist texts will show you that this type of behavior is actually NON-BUDDHIST in every way, shape and form!

As a personal disclaimer, I suppose I practice "Zen" as far as my insight into non-attachment and the essential purity of my true mind, but I read from almost all of the Asian, particularly Japanese, Buddhist traditions. I read texs on Amida Buddha and the Shin sangha, the teachings of the esoteric Shingon sect, both Soto and Rinzai Zen groups, and even T'ien T'ai (Tendai) and the great Hua Yen path. And yes, I do in fact reflect upon the Gosho of Nichiren, noticing that he truly never meant for his practice to be "true" in the sense that he always used ither Buddhist sutras and even Taoist teachings to make his point. While he DID preach that the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra was the vital essence of Buddhism, he never really stopped using the texts of most other Buddhist sects nor did he ever discourage his followers from studying them. The simple fact is that Nichiren is kinda looked upon by the academic community as a renegade fanatic who stirred up trouble wherever he went. However, I feel that this is too simplistic and I regard Nichiren as simply another Buddhist sage who sought to lead all sentient being to enlightenment, nothing more. I refuse to call myself a member of ANY organized Buddhist sect, knowing that the teaching of the Sixth Patriarch of Cha'n (Chinese Zen) Buddhism clearly taught one to be wary of those who call themselves "great" (as in "Daishonin", or "great sage"), or fancy themselves to be "teachers". A teacher should be enlightened him or her self, otherwise they are just expounding rigid rules, precepts, and practices, with nothing to base them on other than the fact that they learned them in a Buddhist text! Sometimes they feel that they are "enlightened" because of the experience of an altered state brought on by meditation or chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo for hours, but these experiences are nothing but emotional/mental reflexes to single minded concentration, nothing more. Actually, ine reaches sudden enlightenment when they no longer NEED to chant, pray, meditate, be mindful, or use prayer wheels. I myself am noewhere near enlightenment, but I will close by telling you this: I am a LOT closer to the essence of "true Buddhism" since I fled the control of the Soka Gakkai, embraced Zen, and learned non-attachment and disregard for "good" or "evil", realizing that the TRUE "evil" is to brand one form of Buddhist practice as "heretical", "blasphemous", and "false", while raisng your own practice to the level of "pure truth, free from error and complete in-and-of itself". This book secretly does just that, and as long as you REALIZE this, you can gain a lot of insight into the ex-communicated Soka Gakkai and even percieve the karmic consequenses of too much attachment and too little compassion.

Thanks, and enjoy the book!

Rating:
Summary: Especially relevant to these confusing times
Review: The Buddha in Your Mirror does an outstanding job of explaining why and how each individual can make a difference in these confusing times. The authors clearly lay out the basic premises of Nichiren Buddhism in a way that should appeal to anyone who has ever wondered, "What is Buddhism and how is it relevant to my life?" As someone who has benefited from the book, I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: A Book on Buddhism that Makes Sense!
Review: This book is amazing. This book is a guide to becoming happy. In clear, easy to understand, encouraging words, the Buddha in Your Mirror gets to the heart of Buddhism, and instructs one on how to practice Buddhism correctly in this day and age. One of the most encouraging ideas in the book, is that everyone has a Buddha nature inside of them, and that anyone can tap into to this resevoir of happiness. Concepts such as Esho Funi (the oneness of life and environment), illustrate how our surroundings mirror our life condition, and the way to change our surroundings is by changing ourselves first, and then our environment responds to that change. This book leads people of this day and age who are thursting for happiness and trying to understand life, on the straight path to enlightenment. Putting this book's teachings (Nichiren Buddhism) to work takes effort, but the results are invaluable.

Rating:
Summary: Nichiren Buddhism! Improving your life for the better.
Review: This is a great book. But read for yourself! Buddha In Your Mirror makes absolute sense and prove to be practical because of the way it applies the principles of buddhism in our daily lives. Whether you're at work, with your friends, with joy, or facing obstacles, this book teaches that Buddha nature is WITHIN you to realize. Because Buddhism is practical, and chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo allows one to tap into that awakened nature. This book made me hold on to each page and read word for word. I testify to this as a profound book on Nichiren Daishonin's teachings. Isn't it time for you to discover yourself in the mirror?

Rating:
Summary: Excellent intro to Nichiren Buddhism
Review: This is a very good and simple book for those who are interested in Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism. You can also check out sgi-usa.org

Rating:
Summary: Simplicity and eloquence at its best
Review: This is an excellent book for the person that wants a clear explanation of what Buddhism is truly about.
Read it and believe it...
It works..