The 5-fold 10-fold comparison - An introduction, by way of the Hanukkah Menorah, to my contention that both eastern and western religions all lead to

Day 1: The magazine Living Buddhism in its November-December 2010 has an article on The Fivefold Comparison (p94). As now is the 8-day festival of Hanukkah that Jews celebrate around the world, and because the menorah, the candelabra that is lighted each of the 8 days, is a perfect symbol for the unity of eastern and western religious traditions in progression toward Nichiren Buddhism, I would like to introduce my contention that Judaism and Christianity (and probably Islam, though, being ignorant of it, I cannot talk authoritatively about it) are not really non-Buddhist but rather are provisional teachings, of equal stature in terms of the True Buddhism of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as are the 79,999 teachings that Shakyamuni taught prior to the Lotus Sutra. In doing so, I hope to shed light in what is significant in our own heritage as Westerners that is of a progressive nature as well as clarify how much the truth of Buddhism that is revealed by the practitioner chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is already contained within the earlier teachings of our own heritage and is not, in fact, something foreign to it.

Now, although there are 10 comparisons I am presenting, just as there are 10 adjacent relationships between any 2 adjacent candles on the 9-candle menorah, I intend to present them in the subsequent 8 days because in actuality, just as each of the candles of the menorah, when viewed carefully, is on the same branch or stem as that equally farthest from the shamash, which is the central candle that is used every day to light each of the other 8, so, too, is each comparison mentioned in the Buddhist concept of the 5 Comparisons equivalent to one of the 5 western comparisons I am matching up with it. That will enable me to present each comparison on 5 of the 8 days, leaving 3 days left to introduce, which I am doing today, sum up and to wrap up.

As a final note for today's lecture, since I am bringing in the Festival of Hanukkah, which I know most of you are unfamiliar with, I would like to very briefly summarize its significance. In approximately 165 B.C.E., the Jews, in their long history of being persecuted by powerful people, were then being persecuted by the kingdom of Syrian under a king named Antiochus, who, trying to have the Hellenic culture of the ancient Greeks prevail in his kingdom, banned this very culturally different religion known as Judaism. The Jewish temple at the time was seized and converted into a Greek shrine dedicated to the god Zeus. The Jews, led by a leader named Judah Maccabee, revolted and eventually won back control of their temple. In rededicating their temple to their own religion, they needed to light a special lamp. But the oil they had would only last one day. Miraculously, however, this oil managed to last 8 days, giving them enough time to maintain the lights of the temple and to secure enough additional oil for the future. Thus, since that time, this miracle has been celebrated as the festival of Hanukkah, which literally means dedication. In fact, the holiday has been so inspiring to Jews throughout history as an example of faith, courage and dedication to an ideal that even my atheist Jewish parents lit a menorah every year for 8 days in our house while we sang songs, had special Hannukah chocolates and received money. After practicing Nichiren Buddhism, two other things related to Buddhism struck me about this holiday. There is a writing of Nichiren Daishonin called General Stone Tiger, in which Nichiren, using the example of a general who was so determined to avenge the killing of his mother by a tiger shot an arrow into a boulder he believed to be the tiger that he was able to penetrate and split it, illustrates the power of strong faith in the Gohonzon. I feel that the story of Hanukkah, in which a lamp that was by reasonable standards supposed to burn only for a day last for 8 instead, illustrates equally the power of the human spirit to move things previously thought unmovable. Nichiren says that if even these occurrences prove the power of faith in a non-Buddhist setting, how much more so then should our own practice of faith prove its tremendous power if only we practice with this same spirit of determination and resoluteness. The second thing that touches me is the name given to the holiday, which commemorates the re-dedication of the temple, symbolizing the ability to restore that which was damaged and start anew, which means “dedication”. The reason I think it is deep and significant is that Nam (Namu) of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo means exactly that—to dedicate one's entire life to something. Perhaps there is no way other than to begin this first courageous attempt on my part to light the candle shedding light on the deep parallels between western religion and Nichiren's Buddhism than in illustrating this fundamental Buddhist spirit which is so illustrative of this Jewish holiday.

I hope you will enjoy my insights and learn from them. If you respond, I probably will not be able to respond to you because my time is very limited. So don't be upset. I respond to many people who mass email me and never hear back from them. If you do not wish to receive this, please be comforted that there are only 7 more of these coming and all you have to do is simply click on the delete button. Once again, I apologize in advance for any disturbance and hope you understand it is not intentional.

Sincerely,
Marc Ginsburg