Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo

On Attaining Buddhahood In This Lifetime

The Teaching, Capacity, Time and Country

Gongyo Is A Grand And Noble Rite

Sixteenth (Juryo) Chapter of the Lotus Sutra

excerpts from Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth & Death (pgs. 13-17)
by Daisaku Ikeda (2nd Edition)

...Nichiren lived during a period of social upheaval. Natural disasters, epidemics, famine and the threat of foreign invasion terrified the people of Japan. Nichiren was adament that such trouble had befallen the country because Buddhist teachers of his day neither understood nor taught the significance of the Lotus Sutra. He wrote several discourses and letters explaining his views, and he vigorously criticized the government and other Buddhist teachers, arousing such animosity that he was banished twice.

Any religion will assert the aboslute correctness of its teachings. For precisely this reason, religion can easily lead people astray. In full recognition of this, Nichiren struggled to refute the aspects of religion that keep people from entering the path to full awakening, without attacking the followers of specific schools or merely trying to expand his own school.

Nichiren's criticism of these aspects is summed up as the four dictums, which point out four unbalanced religious archetypes, and which represent a reasoned religious criticism that strictly identifies sources of self-righteousness and religious authoritarianism. Religion becomes unbalanced, Nichiren taught, through dogmatic emphasis of any of the following concepts:

• seeking salvation only through the external power of an absolute being
• seeking enlightenment only through direct perception of one's own mind and contentment with this self-enlightenment
• benefitting in this life through occult means
• allowing oneself to be controlled by precepts or standards

The perfectly balanced teaching succumbs to none of these extremes. Rather, it expounds the fusion of internal and external power as the means to transform the life of the individual as well as the surrounding circumstances. A fully developed religion, as conceived by Nichiren is completely balanced, harmoniously incorporating the religion's fundamental characteristics without bias or distortion...

...Nichiren wrote:

The four faces [of the treasure tower] represent the four sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death. These four aspects of life dignify the tower of our individual lives. By chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo through birth, aging, sickness and death, the fragrances of the four virtues [eternity,happiness, true self and purity] are made to issue forth [from our lives].

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo...indicates the ultimate Law of life and the universe and hence constitutes the cause for all beings to become enlightened. More specifically, nam is an expression of devotion, and Myoho-renge-kyo, the title of the Lotus Sutra, is used as a name for the ultimate reality. Nichiren interpreted the Lotus Sutra, in its entirety, as a clarification of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

This unique sutra refutes the idea that Shakyamuni first attained enlightenment as Siddhartha in India in the sixth century B.C.E., revealing instead that he had actually been the Buddha since the inconceivable remote past. This teaching points to the truth that Buddhahood has existed eternally in the lives of all people. In other words, to attain Buddhahood does not require us to become extraordinary beings but merely to strive to manifest our inherent Buddha nature.

Buddhism's ultimate purpose is to enable all human beings to realize the true nature of life. This truth, although alluded to in many sutras, cannot be fully revealed in words. Shakymuni himself realized it not through words but by devoting himself to many kinds of practice and finally by engaging in meditation under what is now called the bodhi (or bo) tree. Even before he attained enlightenment, however, both the ultimate truth and wisdom to perceive it were present within his life. What Shakyamuni did was to bring them forth, thereby breaking free from fetters of desire and illusion. He found it impossible, however, to convey this truth to other people completely through the medium of words. So, as he expounded his teachings, Shakyamuni helped his disciples fully understand them by prescribing various types of practice. Likewise, we today can attain enlightenment only by assiduously devoting ourselves to Buddhis practice. For this reason, both practice and study are equally indispensible. It is impossible to attain enlightenment either by practicing meditation alone or by studying the Buddhist teachings alone - both are necessary.

In the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni expounded the ultimate truth of life. Although he used thousands of words to describe it, however, no single word or phrase can clearly define it. Shakyamuni expected that his disciples and future followers would realize this truth through devotion to practices he had prescribed. Such practices require tremendous patience and effort, which in turn demand that one place complete belief and trust in the Buddha and in his teachings. But to follow this path involves renunciation of secular life and the devotion of all one's time to Buddhist practice. For this reason, for centuries the only people who could fully engage themselves in Buddhist practice were monks, priests and nuns. Lay believers supported them financially and materially, thereby accumulating much good karma for themselves, but generally they did not hope to attain enlightenment in their present existence.

Nichiren crystallized in universally accessible form the ultimate truth expounded in the Lotus Sutra, in effect opening the way for all people to attain enlightenment, or Buddhahood. He made this possible by clarifying in words the ultimate truth of life - the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. This phrase incorporates the two essential aspects of Buddhism: the truth itself and the practice to develop the wisdom to realize that truth. Nichiren taught his followers to believe in the truth expressed by Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and to chant the phrase. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo thus represents the goal of practice - and the goal of Shakyamuni and all the other Buddhas as well - and at the same time it is the means of achieving that goal...