The (also known as or The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings) is a hermeneutic text in Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism. The Kuden[1] are the alleged oral teachings of Nichiren Daishonin on the Lotus Sutra, beginning on 1 January 1278 which were recorded and compiled by his senior disciple Nikkō Shōnin thirteen years after the death of his master.[2] [3]
The Hokkeko adherents of the Dai Gohonzon mandala regard this text as one of the most divinely hermeneutic treatises in Nichiren's writings, because it supposedly reveals some essential principles of Nichiren's teachings.[4] [5] [6]
The Nichiren Shoshu religion considers this text as an authoritative Buddhist scripture preserved at the repository of Nikko Shonin from the year 1295, recopied in the year 1539 (both lost to history). Due to claims of the text being divinely inspired, it vehemently rejects any re-interpretation of this text outside the confines of the sect.
Ongi kuden is a series of lectures on important sentences and phrases of the Lotus Sutra, and includes the following lectures:
Ongi kuden elucidates the following theories and concepts as interpreted by Nichiren Shoshu:
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is claimed to be the core practice of Nichiren's teachings,[7] is weighted on heavily with great significance on Ongi-Kuden. This Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is explained in Ongi kuden as follows:[8]
| Nam | 南 無 | Namo | Devotion | Dedication of one's life to the truth of Myoho-renge-kyo and to Nichiren Daishonin as the Buddha who embodies the truth, the Dai Gohonzon of the Three Great Secret Laws in terms of both Buddhist theory and religious practice. | |
| Myōhō | 妙 法 | Saddharma | The mystic law | Ignorance and enlightenment are a single entity, both hell and heavenly states are also singular essence. | |
| Renge | 蓮 華 | Puṇḍarīka | The Nelumbo nucifera flower | Singularity of both cause and effect (archetype symbolized by this flower) | |
| Kyō | 経 | Sūtra | Sutra or teachings | All phenomena through three existences of past, present, and future as embodied by the Buddha of Compassion, Nichiren Daishonin. |
A large number of Nichiren's writings collected and published by Soka Gakkai (called Gosho Zenshu[9]) has been called into question.
Some scholars have raised doubts about whether these texts were actually authored by Nichiren[10] or approved by him or his associates. Additionally, there has been debate over the authorship of Ongi Kuden, which is believed by some to have been compiled by Nikko Shonin rather than Nichiren Daishonin himself.
The Heibonsha World Encyclopedia states that a growing number of Nichirenist religious and textual writings, including Ongi Kuden, are regarded by some scholars as potentially forgeries.