“It Is the Heart That Is Important”

This phrase is from a letter that Nichiren wrote to the

lay nun Sennichi
T & Y; Good morning everyone,
Y: I am Yash
T: And I am Tejas,
And we are here to demystify the concept of today’s
meeting
Which is oneness of mentor and disciple.

The lotus sutra is based on the spirit of oneness of

mentor and disciple. The diashonin’s buddhism too is a
teaching of mentor and disciple. Our prime point as
practitioners therefore is our vow to struggle together
with our mentor. In Nichiren Buddhism, the disciple’s
earnest desire to understand and apply to daily life the
mentor’s teaching and practice of Buddhism is critical.

The relationship between mentor and disciple can be

interpreted as The mentor being the needle and the
disciple being the thread. When sewing, the needle
leads the way through the cloth, but in the end it is
unnecessary, and it is the thread that remains and holds
everything together. Even tho it is the mentor that guides
the disciple, it is the disciple that establishes the
relationship by choosing and seeking out the mentor.

A fine example of the same can be demonstrated

through the life of Shinichi yamamoto.
Shinichi spent each moment of each day engaged in an
inner dialogue with himself. He was convinced of toda’s
perpetual awareness of his every action and his
innermost feelings, and was determined to live in such a
way that he could always report proudly to his mentor.

As he chanted diamoku each morning, he vowed in his

heart “sensei! I will do my very best again today, I’ll
triumph for your sake. Please watch me as I take action
as a true and faithful disciple”. This not only shows the
tightly knit relationship between Shinichi and his mentor
josei toda, but also shows shinichi’s strong and
wonderful spirit.

Further, from the standpoint of Nichiren Buddhism, an

exemplary mentor models behavior that inspires their
disciples to excel in life. The mentor strives to realize the
aim of Buddhism, which is to alleviate the suffering of all
people and create a society based on the humanistic
ideals of equality and respect for the dignity of all life
taught in the Lotus Sutra. No matter the struggles we
face, such a mentor can guide us in leading the most
valuable, effective and fulfilling lives.

Some practical ways to deepen our understanding of

this important component of our Buddhist practice is to
consistently ask ourselves questions like: How can I
apply Nichiren Buddhism today? What can I do to help
those around me? In this situation, how would my
mentor pray and act? Then, we seek answers by
chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and studying Sensei’s
guidance and Nichiren’s writings.
By always engaging in this process of self-reflection,
seeking solutions to our problems and taking full
responsibility for becoming happy and helping others do
the same, we can advance with the same spirit as our
mentor in faith and reveal our greatest potential of
Buddhahood.

To conclude, A mentor in Buddhism can be likened to a

masterful educator, who inspires students to excel in
their studies. While the students have to put in the hard
work to grow and advance, skillful teachers can help
them develop more quickly and move in the best
direction, compared to students who do so on their own.