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Byakuren-in Temple -白蓮院, 5-7-15 北小岩, Edogawa-ku (2026)

We belong to Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism and practice the orthodox teaching of the true Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, Nichiren Daishonin. 【What is Buddhism?】

Buddhism is a religion that was established by Shakyamuni Buddha who lived in India nearly 3,000 years ago. He observed people suffering as a result of the inevitable cycles of birth, old age, sickness, and death. In searching for

the means to alleviate that suffering, he realized, through his religious practices, that life is impermanent and subject to change, yet at the core of existence is something eternal and immutable: the eternal law of life, the law of causality. He clarified this eternity of life, and explained the reasons for the individual circumstances of our day-to-day lives.

Shakyamuni Buddha attained this enlightenment after many years of meditation and study. Then, for the next forty-two years, he expounded to his followers the teaching they should practice, so that they could realize for themselves the same enlightenment and liberation that he had gained. The most devoted followers became monks or nuns and were expected to abstain entirely from s*x, intoxicants, and all harmful, abrasive, or frivolous conduct. Like their teacher, the monks and nuns possessed only a robe and begging bowl. They moved constantly from place to place so that they would not become attached even to such rudimentary shelter as a certain tree or cave. In the afternoon or evening they would listen to sermons by the Buddha and then put the teachings into practice through meditation. These sermons were also attended by lay followers of the Buddha, interested and sometimes hostile followers of other religious persuasions, and the merely curious. Because of this diverse group of followers, Shakyamuni Buddha realized the necessity of presenting his teachings according to the capacity of the listeners. There were many different sutras that now have been classified according to their level of profundity. After 42 years, Shakyamuni revealed that up to that point he had preached only provisional teachings and was now ready to reveal the truth. This truth was the Lotus Sutra that he expounded during the final eight years of his life.

Nichiren Daishonin is the True Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, the age in which we now live. He made His advent in this world over 700 years ago in Japan. Through His study of Shakyamuni’s teachings, He determined the Lotus Sutra to be the only correct teaching for the Latter Day of the Law, a period of time beginning 2,000 years after Shakyamuni’s death. He revealed that all human beings have the potential to attain the enlightened state of Buddhahood in their present lifetime. He was able to reveal that all of life’s phenomena are manifestations of the eternal true entity of life, the Buddha nature. What is the purpose of practicing True Buddhism? The purpose of practicing True Buddhism is to awaken our ultimate potential life condition, Buddhahood, or enlightenment that is inherent in all living beings. We gain the benefit of increased wisdom, the ability to overcome our difficulties and suffering as well as developing a fortunate and happy daily life. We also practice with the goal of creating a peaceful society.

【What is the practice of True Buddhism?】

The three aspects of practice are faith, practice, and study. Faith is the developing belief and conviction in the Gohonzon. Practice includes practice for oneself and practice for others. Practice for oneself is chanting Nam-Myoho- Renge-Kyo and the twice daily recitation of Gongyo, consisting of portions of the Lotus Sutra. Once you begin to experience the actual benefit of the practice, you will naturally wish to share it with others. The act of propagating this Buddhism with a spirit of deep compassion is to help others to overcome their sufferings. Study is also an important aspect of the practice for the purpose of deepening our faith and confidence in the teachings. For a new believer who has little or no experience with True Buddhism, faith can be described as an expectation that benefit will manifest through chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to the Gohonzon. As your practice continues, you will develop confidence that you can bring forth the enlightened nature of Buddhahood in your life. Faith then develops in the form of conviction, and conviction develops through actual proof that gives you the confidence to continue the practice.

01/08/2024

Guidance from Reverend J. N
April, 26, 2020

Recently, I started to conduct a short study session immediately followed by our monthly Kosen-rufuShodaikai Ceremony. The last study session in March was focused on the “four types of punishment”,which is an important Buddhist doctrine explaining the cause of all misfortunes that equally befallpeople including us, the practitioner of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism. Since many of you, ourmembers in the outlying areas in particular, did not have an opportunity to learn this doctrine, I wouldlike to share it today, with some additional explanations for those who have already listened to it.

First of all, we need to understand the clear distinction between “punishment” in Buddhism and the one in Catholicism, which is said to be given upon an offender by their supreme God. The meaning of“punishment” or even “sin” in Buddhism is a karmic consequence of one’s own action and behaviorresulting from the ignorance of cause and effect. Buddhism teaches that when one faces such aconsequence, it results from the lack of responsibility of one’s own action, and thus, one should actmore responsibly in words, deeds, and thoughts.

No one can deny that our human life is always full of joy and difficulty. Even Nichiren Daishoninexperienced countless life-threatening persecutions in pursuit of establishing peace and security in theworld for the sake of our happiness. Our happiness in life lies in discovering how to live our livesjoyfully by overcoming suffering. If we leave it entirely to the hands of God, there is no way for us tobecome truly responsible enough to find indestructible joy of happiness. We will be just like a boatwithout an oar aimlessly drifting about in the current of a river, and we will go wherever the river takesus to. Being truly responsible in our own actions means to acquire an oar to take charge of the courseof our lives, and we can become responsible when we truly understand cause and effect correctly.

When I was 18 years old serving as an assistant priest at Hongyoji temple in Tokyo, there was a pharmacy that I frequented. It was a family-owned pharmacy, and I would always see the husband standing at a casher. He knew that I was a Buddhist priest through my frequent visit. One day, when Iwas finishing the payment, he asked me “I have a question about the recent earthquake that causeddamage to more than 150,000 houses. I understand that if people are believing in something wrong,then they might have to face a negative result because of the negative power coming from believing init. But I assume that some of the victims of the earthquake were the believers of your religion. If yourreligion is true, why do your believers also have to suffer in the same situation together with those whobelieve in a wrong one?”

All of us know that if we firmly believe in the Gohonzon and strive to perform Gongyo, Shodai, andshakubuku, then we will always be protected. But still, there is a degree to which we are also involvedin unfortunate matters occurring within our community, nation, and the world. For example, if your Barangay lays down a new policy to which all the residents must conform, you need to follow it as partof the same community. If your country requires a certain percentage of VAT, youcannot evade it just because you are chanting Daimoku. If the societal economy falls into decline, sowill our individual livelihood.

Nichiren Daishonin states in “On Persecutions Befalling the Buddha”:

There are four kinds of punishment: general punishment, individualpunishment, conspicuous punishment, and inconspicuous punishment. Themassive epidemics, nationwide famines, riot, insurrections and foreigninvasion suffered by Japan are general punishment. Epidemics are alsoinconspicuous punishment. The tragic deaths of Ota and the others bothconspicuous and individual punishment.

1) General punishment (General karmic consequence: 総罰 sōbachi)This is an unfortunate event that falls upon many people simultaneously. For example, you may stillvividly remember the earthquakes that struck Mindanao last October. The eruption of Taal volcano inJanuary and the ongoing epidemic of the novel coronavirus that has become a global threat. These areall general punishment, or unfortunate events coming from the fact that there are many people whohave yet to embrace the correct teaching of the Daishonin.

2) Individual punishment (Individual karmic consequence: 別罰 betsubachi)This is probably the most common and easy way to explain karma. This individual punishmenthappens within an individual person’s life, such as an illness, traffic accident, a lack of financial ability,and so on.

3) Conspicuous punishment (Conspicuous karmic consequence: 顕罰 kenbachi)In the earlier Gosho passage, the Daishonin cited the example of Ota Chikamasa, who used to be adisciple of the Daishonin but gradually backslid and finally quit practicing, fell from the horse he wasriding on and passed away. This is a conspicuous punishment and also an individual punishment.

4) Inconspicuous punishment (Inconspicuous karmic consequence: 冥罰 myōbachi)This is a karmic ramification that is not forthcoming right away but has an insidious effect graduallycausing harm without our knowledge, which includes epidemics. This is also a situation in which ourkarma continues to accumulate inside of us and it often appears after we pass away. Therefore, one willnot be immediately aware of his inconspicuous punishment now but will be facing it at a later time.

The true Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin states in the Rissho Ankoku-ron:If marauders invade from other countries or revolt occurs from within, andthe people’s lands are pillaged, will they not be shocked? Will they not panic?If the nation is conquered and homes are lost, where will you flee? If you trulydesire your own peace and security, should you not first pray for peace of theentire nation?(“Rissho Ankoku-ron”, p.40)

“If marauders invade from other countries…”
The global pandemic has caused people to become “shocked” and in “panic” all over the world.

“If the nation is conquered”
Many countries were “conquered” by the virus to the point where new measures and restrictions havebeen imposed one after another, as though the virus is manipulating those countries to its favor.

“homes are lost”
The normal and healthy function of their “homes” has been “lost”, and people are now living in anxiety,worry, and frustration in many aspects, both inside and outside of their “homes”.

“where will you flee?”
We see the invisible threat of the coronavirus in any countries, and there seems to be no escape wherewe can “flee” to find peace and security.

Then the Daishonin states, “If you truly desire your own peace and security, should you not firstpray for peace of the entire nation?” This is the reason all Nichiren Shoshu believers should performtheir Shodai with the spirit of their unbreakable unity and harmony to become truly one in mind to offertheir prayer through their Daimoku. “Repaying Debts of Gratitude” states:

Since Nichiren’s compassion is vast, Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo will prevail forten thousand years and beyond into the future. It possesses the beneficialpower to open the blind eyes of all the people in Japan [and the world], and itblocks the path to the hell of incessant suffering.(Gosho, p. 1036)

From the standpoint of true Buddhism, all people in the Latter Day of the Law, without an exceptionof a single person, possess the “blind eyes”. Their eyes are blinded and furiously by their three poisonsof greed, anger, and stupidity (=ignorance of cause and effect), which dominate their three categoriesof action – thoughts, words, and deeds. As the three poisons dominate our actions, our thoughts, words,and deeds become “derailed” off of their correct path along the way, and this causes us to suffer fromnegative karmic consequences. This is where suffering arises. Therefore, these three poisons are thesource of universal suffering and can be fueled inconspicuously by the effect of and the associationwith erroneous religions that aggravate the three poisons.

Nichiren Daishonin states in “Listening to the Buddha Vehicle for the First Time”:

If we inquire into the root cause of the suffering brought upon our body, wefind that it originates from the three poisons of greed, anger, and stupidity.(Gosho, p. 1208)

He also states in “Reply to Soya”

[In the evil age of the Latter Day of the Law] the three poisons increase, andpeople favor erroneous teachings and hold the correct Law in contempt.Famine occurs as a result of greed, pestilence as a result of the ignorance ofcause and effect, and warfare as a result of anger.(Gosho, p. 1368)

When we take a moment and closely examine the root cause of all problems occurring within oursociety, we will realize that those are caused as an extension of “greed”, “anger”, and “ignorance ofcause and effect”. Since most of the world population believe in erroneous teachings that don’t teachthe correct principle of cause and effect spanning the three existences of life, now the world is injeopardy of the uncontrollable pestilence (COVID-19), of which the Daishonin clarifies its fundamentalcause, by stating “pestilence as a result of the ignorance of cause and effect”.

In order for us to beable to truly remove all misfortunes and for us to be able to live a life of peace and security, shakubukumust be carried out.Nichiren Daishonin states in “Rulers of the Land of the Deities”:A sage will not meet with an untimely death.There are two meanings to this phrase, “untimely death”. One is the actual, unfortunate death thatarrives as a consequence of one’s negative karma deriving from the act of slandering the true Law. Theother meaning is the condition of one’s life (in the present life) that has fallen into the states of the threeevil paths: hell, hunger, and animality, which causes one to exhibit the indication of “one’s headbecomes split into seven pieces (zuhasa shichibu)” permeating their action, which further causes oneto lose their ability to make correct, Buddha-wisdom-based decisions in life, and thus, shuttingthemselves in the spiral of the living hell, hunger, and animality --- a life equivalent to the experienceof a death.

In order for us to be able to avoid those consequences, Nichiren Daishonin taught us to become “a sage”who “will not meet with an untimely death”. Let us examine who it is that is referred to as “a sage”in this passage. The following two passages are from the Gosho, “Consecrating an Image ofShakyamuni Buddha Made by Shijo Kingo”:

The Kegon sutra says, “Those who do not understand their debts of gratitudewill in many cases meet with an untimely death.”(Gosho, p. 994)…those who do not understand their debts of gratitude may meet with anuntimely death. Conversely, those who discharge their filial duties will notmeet with such a death.(Gosho, p. 995)

Since “those who do not understand their debts of gratitude may meet with an untimely death”,one who doesn’t “understand their debts of gratitude” is not a sage. Then he said, “those whodischarge their filial duties will not meet with such a death”. One who “will not meet with such adeath” is someone who “discharge their filial duties”, and thus, this is a sage.

The most important debts of gratitude to be repaid is the one we owe to the Three Treasures. It is whenwe repay our dept of gratitude to the Three Treasures that we can truly and correctly repay the ones weowe to the rest for the first time.

How do we repay our debt of gratitude to the Three Treasures in our daily practice? To name a few, itis by upholding and protecting the three treasures (the treasures of the Buddha, the Law, and thepriesthood), attending our Kosen-rufu activities especially the Oko Ceremony where we gather togetherto repay our debts of gratitude to the Three Treasures, and last but not least, carrying out the practicefor oneself (daily Gongyo and Shodai) and the practice for others (shakubuku and helping others’ faithto grow).

The 67th High Priest Nikken Shonin states:

Those who chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo are the votaries of the Lotus Sutra.Even if they lack in wisdom, even if they are foolish, even if they are incapableof taking virtuous deeds, if they firmly believe in and chant Daimoku,Bodhisattvas and guardian deities will surely protect them.

When we say “chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-kyo” or “chant Daimoku”, we must understand that there aredual meaning to it.

One is the “Daimoku of faith (信之題⽬)”, and the other the “Daimoku of practice (⾏之題⽬).” The“Daimoku of faith (信之題⽬)” is to have full faith or trust in the Gohonzon, while the “Daimoku ofpractice (⾏之題⽬)” means to put one’s faith into the act of Daimoku. We will not even see any signof benefit through our Shodai, if we chant with doubt. Likewise, even if we have faith, if our faithdoesn’t translate into the act of Shodai, it is as though we have a complete set of materials to build ahouse but are merely sitting in front of those materials laying around – no action. If we chant theDaimoku of faith and the Daimoku of practice, no matter how grave our karma may be, we will receiveprotection from the Gohonzon and all the guardian deities will descent upon us to protect us from anycritical harms of the Four Punishment and an untimely death. When all people in the world sincerelyembrace and practice to the Gohonzon, all people and their land will also be protected from any criticalharms through their Shodai that will be purifying and resonating throughout the world.

Our 68th High Priest Nichinyo Shonin states:

We have only one year remaining until the auspicious occasion of the 800thanniversary of the advent of our Founder Nichiren Daishonin. Keeping thesegolden words in our hearts, each of us must refute heresy and do shakubuku inorder to purify the extremely chaotic world today, in the defiled age of theLatter Day of the Law, aiming toward the realization of the happiness of allmankind and the establishment of the true Buddha land, not to mention therealization of the individual’s happiness. I sincerely wish each of you will taketo heart that this is the most important thing for us to do now and make furthergreat advancement toward the achievement of our goal.

Let us all strengthen our faith and practice, strive in our shakubuku all the more, and save as manypeople as we can through our heart-to-heart dialogue with them about the importance of embracingNichiren Daishonin’s true Buddhism.

19/07/2024

In the second prayer of the Liturgy book, we find the following part:

"…the fusion of the realm of the Original Infinite Law and
the inherent wisdom within the Buddha of Kuon Ganjo"

This entire section is condensed into the four characters; 境智冥合 (kyōchi myōgō), or “the fusion of the objective reality and subjective wisdom.”

境 (kyō) indicates the object (to be perceived by the practitioner), and 智 (chi) is the wisdom-driven ability of the mind of the practitioner (perceiving the object). 冥 (myō) means “inconspicuous”, and 合 (gō) means to fuse. Kyōchi myōgō is the state in which we (chi), the practitioners offering Daimoku to the object, and the Gohonzon (kyō), the object, are harmoniously integrated in a single moment of our life.

The second (Hōben) chapter of the Lotus Sutra says:

"What the Buddha has achieved is the rarest and most difficult-to-understand Law. The true entity of all phenomena can only be understood and shared between Buddhas."
(“The Lotus Sutra” Watson, p. 24)

The mystic Law that the Buddha attained is unfathomable by the mind of a common mortal. But, when one chants the Daimoku to the Gohonzon with deep faith, their mind (chi), which is presently deluded with their past karmic stain and is migrating within the nine worlds, mystically becomes fused with the dignified state and noble wisdom of the Gohonzon (kyō).
The 67th High Priest Nikken Shonin states on the occasion of the Study Session for the Lecture Priests held on August 24th in 1994:

Our “Nichiren Shoshu faith” will not be validated without perceiving the Gohonzon as the true Buddha and as the very life and entity of the Daishonin. The foundational principle of “attaining Buddhahood” lies in achieving the state of kyōchi myōgō with the true Buddha Nichiren Daishonin.
The quintessential point (in attaining Buddhahood) is to attain Buddhahood within the three thousand realms in our single life moment, while clearly seeing the Gohonzon as the true Buddha. This attainment of enlightenment is enabled by dispelling the delusions (obscuring the path to enlightenment) with our single-minded faith and by achieving kyōchi myōgō through the Daimoku of “the nine worlds are equal to Buddhahood, Buddhahood is equal to the nine worlds.”
Buddhahood will not emerge (in one’s life) while kyōchi myōgō is not yet achieved. When one does kyōchi myōgō, the world of Buddhahood becomes manifested within one’s life.

“Dispelling the delusions (obscuring the path to enlightenment) with our single-minded faith” means that the light of wisdom (here referred to as faith) disperses the fogs of all types of delusions we possess.
How is it possible for the wisdom to come forth from a common mortal who is still caught by the delusions? It would be arrogant of us to say that we already possess such wisdom and that we can use this wisdom to correctly see all matters at any moment. First and foremost, we must have strong faith and conviction in the Gohonzon in order for the wisdom to arise within us. This is called “substituting faith for wisdom” (以信代慧: ishin daie). Nichiren Daishonin states in “On the Four Stages of Faith and the Five Stages of Practice”:

"Because common mortals in the Latter Day of the Law are lacking in wisdom [when compared to those living in Shakyamuni’s lifetime], they must substitute faith and practice for wisdom. "
(Gosho, p. 1112)

Shariputra, the foremost disciple of Shakyamuni Buddha, was of the most intelligent wisdom among the Buddha’s disciples. Despite his sagacious wisdom, he was not able to comprehend the highest teaching of the Lotus Sutra. People tend to doubt or question the truthfulness of what is beyond the reach of their understanding. However, Shariputra sincerely embraced the Buddha’s teaching with his fully-opened heart and faith, and his sincere faith enabled him to acquire the wisdom that was deep enough to grasp the essential core of his teaching by which he attained enlightenment.
Likewise, since the wisdom of all common mortals (us) in the Latter Day of the Law are lacking, we must substitute our strengthened faith and practice for wisdom. Our faith is where the wisdom wells forth that enables us to dispel the delusions (obscuring the path to enlightenment) and achieve kyōchi myōgō with the Gohonzon.

In Zen Buddhism, for example, the practitioners are taught to compose their mind and observe it in a meditative state, and they say that this is where they perceive the life of the Buddha within themselves. However, in this practice, the object they observe is their own unenlightened, deluded life and the wisdom they use to observe it is also based on their common mortal mind. One’s Buddha nature will not open up when one relies on their still-deluded mind as the object to be fused with. Nichiren Daishonin reprimanded such individuals in “Letter of Petition from Yorimoto”:

"Everyone believes in those Buddhist teachers who were revered in their own time. But the Buddha enjoins us in the Nirvana Sutra as his final instruction, ‘Rely on the Law and not upon persons.’ "
(Gosho, p. 1128)

Our single-minded faith must not become influenced, swayed, hesitant, or determined by the words of those around us in our society, no matter how renowned or how much public recognition they have received, not to mention any unreliable and ungrounded information circulating ubiquitously in our day-to-day lives. Our faith is in the Gohonzon, and so our faith must be relying on the words and teaching of Nichiren Daishonin.

Nikken Shonin taught us in the earlier Gosho passage, “The quintessential point (in attaining Buddhahood) is to attain Buddhahood within the three thousand realms in our single life moment, while clearly seeing the Gohonzon as the true Buddha.” To explain “the three thousand realms in our single life moment” in a few words, it means that all living beings possess the equal potentiality to attain Buddhahood. All lives and their activities ranging from atomic particles to dust particles in the air, from plants and animals to human beings, from winds to the energy causing earthquake and all phenomena in the natural world, from rivers and mountains to entire universe, are essentially interconnected at the principle core of their nature, and therefore, everything has the potentiality for the attainment of enlightenment.

As you perform Shodai on a daily basis, your life condition itself will begin to transform at its depth. Wherever your life condition is right at this moment within the ten worlds, it will become illuminated by the light of Buddha’s wisdom and by the power of the mystic Law and will begin to radiate the life condition of Buddhahood from the innermost part of your life. It is just like diamond changes its color depending on how a ray of light passes through it to create a prism of reflection. Your Daimoku enables your individual life to become merged into the entire universe (the realm of the law permeating the universe – 宇宙法界: uchū hokai) to form a mystic state within a single moment of your life. This is one meaning of “to attain Buddhahood within the three thousand realms in our single life moment”.

After all, what makes all these benefits possible is your sincere faith and seeking spirit to pursue true Kosen-rufu and your effort to actually work toward building it. Everything hinges upon the faith of the believer who ceaselessly strives to strengthen their faith that always leads them to perform daily Gongyo, Shodai, study the teaching, support and protect the temple, perform shakubuku, and encourage others to do the same. Nichiren Daishonin states in “On Persecutions Befalling the Buddha”:

"Strengthen your faith day by day and month after month."

(Gosho, p. 1397)

Encourage others to join your Shodai (and area Shodai relay) and form a more solid spirit of Itai-doshin. This will become a more active swirl of your bond and joint practice leading to achieve Kosen-rufu.

18/07/2024

【BE THE SAME MIND AS NICHIREN DAISHONIN】

The primary practice of our Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist practice is the Daimoku of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. Here in lies the ultimate benefit that arises from our faith that leads to the practice for others. In other words, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the invocation of Daimoku we offer to the Gohonzon by which the path to the attainment of enlightenment in one’s present form opens forth.

The 67th High Priest Nikken Shonin once stated his concise yet profound guidance:

“Shodai is the key that opens forth the path for all matters.”

Our life consists of joy and suffering. When one performs Shodai while maintaining their full faith in the Gohonzon, the suffering that comes from their work, family, health, finance, and any other matters will, as it is, mystically transform into the state of supreme enlightenment. Our suffering, both mental and physical, will come to merge into the realm of the greatest joy, enabling us to be filled with tranquility and serenity, just as though the gusty wind of suffering at cold night becomes a gentle breeze under the compassionate light of the sun that peacefully permeates our body and mind.

The true Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin states in “The True Entity of Life”

”No matter what, maintain your faith as a votary of the Lotus Sutra, and forever exert yourself as Nichiren's disciple. If you are of the same mind as Nichiren, you must be a Bodhisattva of the Earth."

This “the same mind as Nichiren” will not be achieved through our conscious effort to make us think so. This is the mind that arises from within us as a natural result of the sincere Daimoku we offer. As suffering can experience the complete transformation into the greatest joy, our common mortal life condition that constantly circulates within the six lower worlds will change into the brave heart and compassionate life of a Bodhisattva of the Earth.

We must never forget that whether or not Kosen-rufu is going to be achieved rests upon our shoulders. No matter how difficult situations may become, the same mind between us and the Daishonin with regards to the practice for oneself and practice for others must not cease to exist. We must continue to guide others to the Gohonzon through our Shodai and shakubuku.

30/04/2024

【THE GREAT BENEFIT OF CHANTING DAIMOKU】

Chanting Daimoku (Shodai) is chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo with faith in the True Object of Worship of the Essential Teaching revealed by Nichiren Daishonin. High Priest Nichinyo Shonin gave this guidance:

"Even when various hardships or obstacles arise, you can overcome them and achieve your goals when you have absolute faith in the Dai-Gohonzon and practice with great determination. The source is definitely Shodai (chanting Daimoku)"
(Dainichiren, November 2014)

This means that, even when hardships happen to us, our prayers come true when we have faith in the Gohonzon and strive to chant Daimoku. Sixty-seventh High Priest Nikken Shonin taught:

"There are "faith" and "practice" in chanting Daimoku. Faith is to believe vigorously that the Gohonzon is the only way to attain Buddhahood. Practice is to chant Daimoku to the Gohonzon."
(Sandai hiho gi, p. 568)

Having faith in the Gohonzon and chanting Daimoku are our practice. It is important to strive to chant Daimoku as assiduously as we can.

[Shodai is the Source of Everything]

Nikken Shonin stated the following about Shodai:

"The key to unlock everything is chanting Daimoku"
(Dainichiren, January 1999)

The key to opening up a better state of life is accomplished entirely by chanting Daimoku. Even if we face obstacles, it is important to do Shodai right away and open up our lives with the benefit from the Daimoku.

Sixty-seventh High Priest Nikken Shonin gave various points of guidance about the significance of chanting Daimoku and its immeasurable benefits. Let's look at some of them.

❏　The Great Benefit of Daimoku

The Daishonin's lifetime teachings show genuine, mystic proof of Buddhism everywhere. However, the proof appears not only for the Daishonin, but also for all people who believe in Myoho-Renge-Kyo and carry out their practice. There is real proof demonstrated by people who received benefits, such as overcoming illness, correcting erroneous beliefs, having confidence in life, practicing with a strong life condition, improving their relationships with other people, and so on. Therefore, it is important to follow the Founder's instructions deeply and to strive in faith and in chanting Daimoku.
(Shodai is the Source of Everything - 3)

❏　Polishing Our Heart

We inherently possess the earthly desire of ignorance, and that always causes various sufferings. Therefore, our hearts are just like unpolished mirrors and they are always foggy. However, if a mirror is polished, it becomes brilliantly clear. If your heart becomes clear, then you can understand the true Law. Therefore, we, who havev foggy hearts always must polish them correctly. There is only one way to polish our heart. That is to just chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to the Gohonzon.

❏　Attaining Buddhahood with both Positive and Reverse Relationships

The benefit of Myoho-Renge-Kyo is to save both those who have a positive relationship by listening to the teaching and upholding correct faith, and those who have a reverse relationship by listening to the teaching and opposing it. Those who chant with joy become a Buddha. Those who disobey and oppose Myoho-Renge-Kyo will be saved in the future. This is because they create a positive relationship through their connection with the absolute mystic Law (Myoho), which is like an invisible net that is spread throughout the universe.

❏　Peace and Security in this Life and Good Circumstances in the Next

If you have faith in Myoho-Renge-Kyo and chant, you will have a peaceful life at the present time and you will be born into good circumstances in your next life. Therefore, you should not forget and go off course and run about only chasing fame and profit based on frivolous desires. Without being misled b various obstacles from inside or outside, you need to have a proper life in worldly affairs. You must single-mindedly have faith in the Gohonzon, which is the oneness of the person and the Law, and chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. It is also important to have the heart to actively tell others about true Buddhism.

❏　The Source of Propagating the Daimoku

Because the Daishonin propagated the Daimoku persistently even through he received various persecutions, which were predicted in the Lotus Sutra, we can chant Daimoku now. Also, we can obtain the great benefit of attaining Buddhahood only by chanting this Daimoku. The Daishonin is the only person who instructed all people to chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to attain Buddhahood. Therefore, there is nothing in the world that looks eye-to-eye and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with this tremendous, virtuous teaching. We should revere this great benefit, and we should chant Daimoku and do shakubuku with absolute conviction.

❏　Shodai Corrects a Twisted Heart

A twisted heart can be corrected by the benefit of chanting Daimoku. You must have faith in the mystic benefit that is preached in the Lotus Sutra and believe and chant sincerely, just as the sutra preaches. Then, a twisted heart will become straight. Chanting Daimoku manifests the buddha's heart, just as it is. When we chant single-mindedly, the Buddha's heart enters our hearts naturally. Furthermore, it is always important to keep the preciousness of Daimoku deep in our mind.

High Priest Nichinyo Shonin gave us the following guidance:

"All of those who chant the mystic Law (Myoho) with sincerity can attain Buddhahood through the boundless benefits of Myoho-Renge-Kyo. However, the important thing here is that our Shodai should not end with just chanting Daimoku... We should not keep the benefits we received from chanting only for ourselves."
(Dainichiren, September 2021, Summarized)

It is most important to do shakubuku with the benefits we accumulate by chanting Daimoku.

(NSM, May 2023)

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5-7-15 北小岩
Edogawa-ku, Tokyo
1330051

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