An SGI member writes:
"Who will ever join a religion that teaches that statues are equal to Gohonzon."
Reply:
Of course you have never heard of statue Gohonzon or Nin-Honzon because SGI refuses to teach the entirety of the Daishonin's Buddhism.
The SGI would admonish Nichiren Dasihonin himself if he were alive. In the Gosho, Establishing the Four Bodhisattvas as the Object of Worship, nowhere does Nichiren Daishonin specifically address painted images in this work. He states only "statues" or "objects of worship".
In the writing, "The Unmatched Fortune of the Law (MW, vol. 7), the Daishonin uses the word "image" not specifying painted or sculpted: "In the entire land of Jambudvipa, there has never before been a hall or pagoda that produced the image of Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter of the Lotus Sutra."
More revealing still are the Daishonin's words in the writing Rebuking Slander of the Law (MW vol. 6):
"During this period of twenty-two hundred years and more, worthy rulers and sage rulers have honored painted images or wooden images of Shakyamuni, the lord of teachings, as their principle object of worship. But although they have made depictions of the Buddhas of the Hinayana and the Mahayana teachings; of the Kegon, Nirvana and Kammuryojusutras; of the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra and the Fugen Sutra; of the Buddha of the Dainichi and the other Shingon sutras; and of the Buddhas Shakyamuni and Taho of the Hoto chapter, the Shakyamuni of the the Juryo chapter has never been depicted in a mountain temple or monastery anywhere."
Please note the phrase "painted images or wooden images".
The Daishonin states, referring to a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha fashioned by Shijo Kingo:
"This Buddha of yours, however is a living Buddha. It differs in no respect from the wooden image of the Buddha made by King Udayana, or that fashioned by King Bimbisara. Surely Bonten, Taishaku, the deities of the sun and moon, and the Four Heavenly Kings will attend you as a shadow accompanies a body and protect you always." -- Consecrating An Image of Shakyamuni Buddha Made by Shijo Kingo)
We also see in the writing, The Learned Doctor Shan-wu-wei that the Daishonin was overjoyed that Dozen-bo had fashioned an image of Shakyamuni Buddha:
"I explained all this in detail to Dozen-bo at the time of our interview, though it did not appear that he completely understood what I was saying. Nor did the other persons present on that occasion seem to understand. Later, however, I received word that Dozen-bo had com to take faith in the Lotus Sutra. I concluded that he must have renounced his earlier heretical views and had hence become a person of sound belief, a thought that filled me with joy. When I also heard that he had fashioned an image of Shakyamuni Buddha, I could not find words to express my emotion....."
The name of an entire Gosho is devoted to the clarification of this point: Opening the Eyes of Wooden or Painted Images. If only painted Images were to be included, the title of the Gosho would have been, Opening the Eyes of Painted Images or of Inscribed Images. However, the name of the Gosho and its contents demonstrate unequivocally that wooden images (statues), may be valid objects of worship.
Other important passages are to be found in the Kanjin Honzon Sho, Nichiren's most important writing. He states with the utmost clarity:
"Both the Buddhist and non-Buddhist scriptures permit wooden or painted images to be used as objects of worship, but Tientai and his followers were the first to explain the principle behind this act. If a piece of wood or paper did not have both material and spiritual, or lacked the inherent cause to manifest a spiritual nature, then it would be futile to rely upon it as an of worship."
and
"Even though statues and paintings were made of these Shakyamuni Buddhas during the two millennia, no image or statue was made of the Buddha of the “Life Span” chapter. Only in the Latter Day of the Law will the representation of that Buddha appear."
We see that the Daishonin unequivocally sanctions statues as objects of worship. We also see that your view is based on emotionalism, clinging to false views, and an unwillingness to listen to anything besides what you learn in the SGI. Your views and philosophy (SGI) must be rejected as unorthodox.
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