A person wrote: Does it matter to you that Shakyamuni is black? I want more than a yes or no. A person replied: I didn't know he was! I won't tax you for a source. The royal genealogy of Shakyamuni is well known. The Shakya's were not Africans. As possible descendents of Ninhirtsag, have you considered that he might have been BLUE! as royalty and gods are depicted in the color illustrations of Vedic writings and images, hence, our modern phrase of "royal blue bloods"? But I digress, in the greatest sense, it doesn't matter. Buddhas manifest preaching the Law, under the guise of innumerable sects, using expedient means for the people, time and place, to teach the one truth - to manifest the innate characteristics of Buddhahood, one must chant Nam myoho renge kyo. No more, no less. The Lotus Sutra and Nichiren constantly repeat: "Trust the Law, not the person." If those words are false then all of Buddhism is false. That being the case, anyone of any sect who says rakaat is an expendible accessory of practicing Buddhism, even if cloaked in a priestly garment, is slandering true Buddhism. The effects that cause is making for them is well documented in Sutra and Gosho, so I shall not elaborate further upon it here. Chant Nam myoho renge kyo. Chant Nam myoho renge kyo. Chant Nam myoho renge kyo. In numerous places, in both the Lotus Sutra and the Gosho of Nichiren Daishonin, we find the instruction, "Rely upon the Law, not the person." Also in both, we find the aphorism,"The gold possessed by a fool, is as valuable as the gold possessed by the king." In the Gosho we are told: << ... In kindling a fire, three things are needed: a good piece of steel, a good flint and good tinder. The same is true of prayer. Three things are required -- a good teacher, a good believer, and a good doctrine. ...>> In the Lotus Sutra we are told: << Though the buddhas in future ages Proclaim hundreds, thousands, kotis, Countless schools of doctrine, In reality they are [but] the One-vehicle.>> (page 70, Chap. 2, Hoben Chapter, Lotus Sutra.) << The present buddhas in the universe, Whose number is as the sands of the Ganges,.. They display various kinds of ways, Really they are [but] the [One] Buddha-vehicle.>> (page 71, Chap. 2, Hoben Chapter, Lotus Sutra.) Nichiren Daishonin, appeared as a Japanese. Orville and Wilbur Wright appeared to by Caucasian Americans. Because I believe in (rely upon) the Law, not the person, I made my travel to visit the Dai-Gohonzon by aircraft. When the present buddhas in the universe, display various kinds of ways, they display various racial characteristics. This is an expedient way to defeat racism. Buddhism is a truth not captive to any one race, nation nor planet. A true Buddhist cannot defeat racism by demagogic cozying with it, but can deflect the inherent prejudice, of a particular people, at a particular place and time in history, toward the correct Way. My friend, in an earlier correspondence you wrote: << ... If there is a G-d the way the Europeans interpreted the bible, why is their racism? Is the racist G-d different from the non-racist G-d? I have put that question to another egroup that i'm in. No one can answer that question. However, as true Buddhists we can answer that question. Simply put, there is the Law of Cause and Effect. The Law will support any effort you do whether it is good or bad. ... >> I submit that you are at the beginning of an explanation which is straightforward but reprehensible to the sensibilities of most human beings. It is proven time and again, in actual proof, that the manifestations of the Law in this Threefold World take on the appearance of ordinary events blending and flowing, one to another. So, too, is the mundane explanation of why there is racism and gods relationship to it. However logical the theoretical proof of the origin of racism is, and it does obey the K.I.S.S. principle of computer programming (Keep It Simple, Stupid), the written proof is extraordinarily long, as it should be due to the extraordinary conclusions. Therefore, I am agreeable to enter into a discussion with you, or any of the other readers of this, about the origins and maintainence of racism, if you, and/or, they are willing to study the written proof, as I have already done. "The Buddha's intentions are difficult to determine. He explained things differently in accordance with the differing capacities of the people he was addressing. If only we understand this, then what need is there for troublesome disputes?" On the Four Stages of Faith and the Five Stages of Practice Gosho. "The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume Six. NSIC publications, Tokyo, 1981, page 211. I feel that Shakyamuni is only not the Historical but the Original Buddha and Nichiren is Bodhistsava Jogyo and a prophet of Shakyamuni. Read Hell and Buddahood in MW Vol. II pg 239, published by NSIC. Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo "If a sage admonishes his sovereign three times and still is not heeded, he should depart the country." Commentary of "Hell and Buddhahood Gosho", a.k.a. the "Hell is the Land of Tranquil Light Gosho". The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume Two. NSIC publications, Tokyo, 1981, page 244.