How Long Should I Chant – February 16, 2012 Meditation
Nichiren born 1222 in Kominato Japan
Frequently I am asked how long should I chant? Sometimes this question is asked by folks who may have previously been told that they should chant an hour or more a day, or some other fixed goal to achieve.
Consider this: you can scrub a floor as a free person or as a slave. It is fundamentally up to you. We all have activities we must engage in, some several times a day, some less frequently. You can cultivate in yourself your own sense of freedom or entrapment.
Chanting the Odaimoku, Namu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo, can be much the same way. If we enslave ourselves to the Odaimoku then we are not cultivating happiness for ourselves.
Odaimoku can be chanted at any moment and during any activity we engage in or experience throughout our lives. And when we do this we can engage in a meditative activity regardless of what we are doing. We can meditate as we brush our teeth, or as we sit on the toilet, or as we cook our meals, or scrub the floor. It is simply a matter of what we choose to do and how we choose to do it.
I heard an interesting research project into exercise and burning calories. In test groups those who considered simple things like walking or even sitting as exercise and not just the simple act they were engaged in actually burn more calories than those who did not. By simply thinking exercise more calories were burned off than not thinking exercise. The mind is a very powerful organ in our bodies, one we frequently do not use to its maximum.
Of course it is perfectly acceptable and even optimum to set aside a certain amount of time, a dedicated time, to perform our Buddhist practice such as reciting the sutra and chanting. You can set this time aside in the morning upon arising or in the evening before retiring, or you can do both. But in either case if there is no cultivation of joy and appreciation then the results will not be the same as if there is joy and appreciation. We should not become a slave to the action.
“Deep in their minds they are thinking of me, and observing the pure precepts. Therefore, they will be filled with joy when they hear they will become Buddhas.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter II)
Cultivate a mind of joy in all things, chant the sacred title of the Lotus Sutra with great joy and at all times.
“Know that, when you remove your doubts, and when you have great joy, you will become Buddhas!” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter II)
