THE DAIMOKU (NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO)
“Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is only one phrase or verse, but it is no ordinary
phrase, for it is the essence of the entire sutra. ... Included within the
title, or daimoku, of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the entire sutra … without the
omission of a single character. … The heart of the Lotus Sutra is its title. … Truly, if you chant this in the morning and
evening, you are correctly reading the entire Lotus Sutra. Chanting daimoku twice is the same as reading
the entire sutra twice, one hundred daimoku equal one hundred readings of the
sutra, and one thousand daimoku, one thousand readings of the sutra. Thus, if you ceaselessly chant daimoku, you
will be continually reading the Lotus Sutra.” (“The One Essential
Phrase”, WND-1, p922-923)
“Question: Why do
you say that all teachings are contained within the daimoku?
Answer: Chang-an
writes: “Hence [T’ien-t’ai’s explanation of the title in] the preface conveys
the profound meaning of the sutra. The profound meaning indicates the heart of
the text, and the heart of the text encompasses the whole of the theoretical
and essential teachings.”
(“On The Four Stages of Faith”, WND-1, p788)
“Question: Is it possible, without
understanding the meaning of the Lotus Sutra, but merely by chanting the five
or seven characters of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo once a day, once a month, or simply
once a year, once a decade, or once in a lifetime, to avoid being drawn into
trivial or serious acts of evil, to escape falling into the four evil paths,
and instead to eventually reach the stage of non-regression?
Answer: Yes, it
is.”
(“The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra”, WND-1,
p141)
“When plants and trees receive the
rainfall, they can hardly be aware of what they are doing, and yet do they not
proceed to put forth blossoms? The five
characters of Myoho-renge-kyo do not represent the sutra text, nor are they its
meaning. They are nothing other than the intent of the entire sutra. So, even
though the beginners in Buddhist practice may not understand their
significance, by practicing these five characters, they will naturally conform
to the sutra’s intent.”
(“On The Four Stages of Faith”, WND-1,
p788)
“The Lotus Sutra
of the Correct Law says that, if one hears this sutra and proclaims and
embraces its title, one will enjoy merit beyond measure. And the Supplemented
Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law says that one who accepts and upholds the name
of the Lotus Sutra will enjoy immeasurable good fortune. These statements
indicate that the good fortune one receives from simply chanting the daimoku is beyond measure.”
(“The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra”,
WND-1, p143)
“Only the ship of Myoho-renge-kyo enables one
to cross the sea of the sufferings of birth and death.”
(“A Ship To Cross The Sea of Suffering”,
WND-1, p 33)
DAILY RECITATION OF CHAPTERS 2 AND 16 OF THE
LOTUS SUTRA
In 1264, Nichiren Daishonin replied to a question from the wife of
Daigaku Saburō concerning how to perform
gongyo. It’s clear from this reply – “The
Recitation of the “Expedient Means” and “Life Spans” Chapters" - that the
Daishonin had already established the daily practice of reciting extracts from these
two chapters of the Lotus Sutra…
“You say that you used to recite one chapter
of the Lotus Sutra every day, completing the entire sutra in the space of
twenty-eight days, but that now you read the “Medicine King” chapter once
a day. You ask if you should simply read each chapter in turn, as you were
originally doing.” (WND-1, p68)
“First of all, when it comes to the Lotus Sutra, you
should understand that, whether one recites all eight volumes, or only one
volume, one chapter, one verse, one phrase, or simply the daimoku, or title,
the blessings are the same. It is like the water of the great ocean, a single
drop of which contains water from all the countless streams and rivers… A
single character of the Lotus Sutra is like such a drop of water. …
On the other hand, a single character of the other
sutras, or the name of any of the various Buddhas, is like one drop of the
water of a particular stream or river. … One such drop does not contain the water of
countless other streams and rivers. Therefore,
when it comes to the Lotus Sutra, it is praiseworthy to recite any chapter you
have placed your trust in, whichever chapter that may be.” (WND-1, p69)
“Though no chapter of the Lotus Sutra
is negligible, among the entire twenty-eight chapters, the “Expedient Means”
chapter and the “Life Span” chapter are particularly outstanding. The remaining
chapters are all in a sense the branches and leaves of these two chapters.
Therefore, for your regular recitation, I recommend that you practice reading
the prose sections of the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters. … As for the remaining chapters, you may turn to them from
time to time when you have a moment of leisure.” (WND-1, p71)
“Also in
your letter, you say that three times each day you bow in reverence to [the
Gohonzon] and that each day you repeat
the words “Namu-ichijo-myoten” [“devotion
to the wonderful sutra of the one vehicle”] ten thousand times.” (WND-1, p71)
“Though reciting
the words ”Namu-ichijo-myoten”
amounts to the same thing, it would be better if you just chanted
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, as Bodhisattva Vasubandhu and the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai
did.” (WND-1, p72)
COMPREHENSIVE, ABBREVIATED AND
ESSENTIAL PRACTICE
“To accept,
uphold, read, recite, take delight in, and protect all the eight volumes and
twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra is called the comprehensive practice.
To accept,
uphold, and protect the “Expedient Means” chapter and the “Life Span” chapter
is called the abbreviated practice.
And simply to
chant one four-phrase verse or the daimoku,
and to protect those who do so, is called the essential practice.
Hence, among
these three kinds of practice, comprehensive, abbreviated, and essential, the daimoku is defined as the essential practice.
(“The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra”, WND-1, p141)
BLESSINGS AND INTENTIONS
In your letter you [lay priest Matsuno] write: “Since I
took faith in [the Lotus] sutra , I have continued to recite the ten factors of
life [from the “Expedient Means” chapter] and the verse section of the ‘Life
Span’ chapter and chant the daimoku without the slightest neglect. But how great is the difference between the
blessings received when a sage chants the daimoku and the blessings received
when we chant it?” To reply, one is in
no way superior to the other. The gold that a fool possesses is no different
from the gold that a wise man possesses; a fire made by a fool is the same as a
fire made by a wise man. However, there is a difference if one chants
the daimoku while acting against the intent of this sutra.
(“The Fourteen Slanders”, WND-1, p755-756)
