Many of you saw the Tina Turner movie or you know about Tina Turner and her accepting the Buddhist faith in 1974. Tina did not have any Buddhist knowledge or some Japanese Priest to teach her Buddhism. Tina had no idea what she was saying, Tina only had hope and faith not in the Buddhist practice Tina had faith in her friend.
Nichiren Shonin writes in the Gosho “The Tree Tipitaka master pray for Rain:” “Therefore, the best way to attain Buddhahood is to encounter a good friend. How far can our own wisdom take us? If we have even enough wisdom to distinguish hot from cold, we should seek out a good friend.” Tina Turner has some real problems she did not seek out Buddhism she sought out a “Good Friend.
In the Gosho: “ Reply to Sairen-bo reads: “The Lotus Sutra states, “A good friend is the great cause and condition by which one is guided and led, and which enables one to see the Buddha and to conceive the desire for supreme perfect enlightenment.”
In the Gosho Three Tipitaka masters pray from rain this is what Nichiren writes about a good friend: “But encountering a good friend is the hardest possible thing to do. For this reason, the Buddha likened it to the rarity of a one-eyed turtle finding a floating log with a hollow in it the right size to hold him, or to the difficulty of trying to lower a thread from the Brahma heaven and pass it through the eye of a needle on the earth. Moreover, in this evil latter age, evil companions are more numerous than the dust particles that comprise the land, while good friends are fewer than the specks of dirt one can pile on a fingernail.
When it comes to the Buddhist faith I am not a Priest, I am not a Preacher, I am not the most knowledgeable Buddhist around however when it comes to the teachings of Nichiren Buddhism we are a “Good Friend.
We are the “Good Friend that Tina Turner found.” We have no Priest robes, no multi billion dollar organization. What we offer is the “Mandala of the Lotus Sutra.” When you Google the name you will find that we are the only Buddhist Sect that titles our Nichiren object of worship “The Mandala of the Lotus Sutra.” We at the Proud Black Buddhist World Association distinguish ourselves by issuing the “Mandala of the Lotus Sutra."
Nichiren sects like the SGI, Nichiren Shoshu and Nichiren Shu issues objects of worship called the Gohonzon. We distinguish ourselves by calling our “Object of worship” “The Mandala of the Lotus Sutra.” We believe that the term “Lotus Sutra” is important. We learned that a Mandala is an “An object of devotion on which Buddhas and bodhisattvas are depicted or on which a doctrine is expressed.” Let us give you a definition of our Mandala of the Lotus Sutra
The “Mandala of the Lotus Sutra” is a visual representation, in Chinese characters, of the Ceremony in the Air. This ceremony is described in the 11th (Treasure Tower) to 22nd (Entrustment) chapters of the Lotus Sutra. Within these chapters it is revealed that all persons can attain Buddhahood in this lifetime and Shakyamuni transfers the essence of the sutra to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth led by Bodhisattva Superior Practices (Jogyo), entrusting them with the propagation of the essence of the sutra in the Latter Day of the Law. For Nichiren, the “Mandala of the Lotus Sutra” embodies the eternal and intrinsic Law of Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, which he identified as the ultimate Law permeating life and the universe.
Nichiren writes in the Gosho “The Real Aspect of the Gohonzon;” This mandala is in no way my invention. It is the object of devotion that depicts Shakyamuni Buddha, the World-Honored One, seated in the treasure tower of Many Treasures Buddha, and the Buddhas who were Shakyamuni’s emanations as perfectly as a print matches its woodblock.”
