Parables:
  The Spider Thread
  Taishaku and the Fine Feathered Bird
  A Little Priest Fable
  Shakyamuni and the Lovers
  The Parable of the Zither
  SuShi and the Buddhist Monk
  Wo and Jah
  Stonecutter (Tao of Pooh)
  The Dancing Monk and the Self-Denying Monk
  24 Hours To Die

Essays:
  The Jewel and the Genome
  Mantras of Kitties
  The Mantras of Other Beings
  The Wave Theory of Karma
  Water Karma
  Gandhi on Anger
  Buddhas' Footprints
  Connections
  The Great Wish, the DaiGohonzon, and the SGI
  The Gakkai Spirit

Humor:
  The Daimoku Parrot
  The Excommunicated Newlyweds
 
 

Mr. Makiguchi and Fudo Myo-o

The traveler admired a carefully raked stone garden. The wavy rake lines all pointed, in a round about way, to the center stone. It was over seven feet tall!  Standing straight up!  And though it stood high off the ground, it seemed that an earthquake could not shake it. 

The traveler conjured meanings in the arrangement. He saw Fudo Myo-o, the Buddha who is immovable in fire. ("Fire" also means "trouble" in Chinese.)  In his right hand, Fudo holds a thunderbolt. The thunderbolt is the Buddha speaking in his loudest voice, shouting, "Make all things work for your enlightenment!" (Fudo Myo-o is on the right middle side of the Gohonzon.) 

The traveler remembered a man named Mr. Makiguchi who was leading a recitation of the Lotus Sutra in a stilt house when an earthquake hit. Some people, out of fear, leapt out the paper windows. Mr. Makiguchi did not lift an eyebrow nor skip a syllable of the Lotus Sutra. After invoking the True Dharma of the Mystic Law, he turned and said "Don't fear a mere earthquake!  Wait until you feel the turbulence of propagating the Law!" 

A caretaker of the garden noticed the traveler lost in thought and asked, "What is the meaning of this garden?" 

The traveler guessed "A stone that tall would normally look precarious but this stone appears so stable. It must mean Eternity? Courage? Standing for who you are is the only stable ground? How does such a tall stone give this impression?" 

The caretaker explained, "The stone you see is only seven feet above the ground. The stone itself is twenty-seven feet long. The master who built this garden buried twenty feet of the stone to express the word 'Indomitable'." 

The largest part of the SGI cannot be seen. It is buried in unrecognized effort and history. Because of it, we enjoy the practice of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism. We Rise from the Earth.  We are Immovable in Fire, and Unshaken by Earthquakes. 

___________________ 

Note: If you are interested, there is more information on Fudo Myo-o here. 

There are some photos of Mr. Makiguchi here and his biography here.