In Nichiren Shu our main practice is chanting the Sacred Title of the Lotus Sutra, the Odaimoku of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. In addition we recite portions of Chapter II and Chapter XVI the two most important chapters in the Lotus Sutra. These two chapters are the heart of the sutra.
When we chant the Odaimoku it is as if we are reciting the entire Lotus Sutra, which is contained in the title Myoho Renge Kyo. Why is chanting the title equal to chanting the entire sutra? It is because the title of a writing is the summary of that writing. Just as if I were to say to you Moby Dick a variety of images, memories, feelings are called to mind. The same may be said of other books such as Harry Potter, Gone With the Wind, or countless others you may be familiar with. The ease of the recalling of memories depends greatly on how familiar you are with the contents of the book.
Because we may not be intimately familiar with the contents of the Lotus Sutra, the sound of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo may at first be simply foreign sounds. That is why it is important to study the Lotus Sutra so we become as familiar or more so than we are with the contents of any other book. And yet, the value of chanting Odaimoku is not dependent upon our intellectual understanding of the contents of the sutra, because the value of chanting lies in our devotion fundamentally.
The word Namu which is appended to the title Myoho Renge Kyo signifies our devotion to the contents of the Lotus Sutra. I believe that this single word, two characters as written in Chinese, symbolizes our heart. The degree with which we devote ourselves to living in accord with the teachings of the Buddha is a manifestation of our actual devotion. For it is not possible to really believe something at the core of one’s life and then live contrary to the teaching. This is not living a life of integrity.
Our chanting then serves the purpose of focusing our mind and our heart towards the teaching of Myoho Renge Kyo while in our daily life we strive to actually manifest the teaching through our actions. So our chanting infuses our life with the Myoho Renge Kyo. You could think of it like the plucking of a string sets that string in motion and produces a sound, think of a guitar or a piano, or harp. And so it goes the more you chant the more your life plays the beautiful music of enlightenment.
Also Namu is manifest in our actions so it is important to have our actions match our words or else the Namu is hollow and purposeless. The Namu we say with our voice needs to match the Namu that is manifest in our lives. And so Namu then is on the one hand something we say and on the other something we do. Having the two perfectly in accord, having them in harmony is the ultimate fulfillment of devotion. And it is that devotion which activates the Myoho Renge Kyo that already lies at the core of our lives.
Now I would like to talk a little about devotion, because that is one of the meanings of Namu, or Namaste the Indian word from which Namu derives. When I first began chanting I was told that I could get anything I wanted if I chanted the Odaimoku, but that in order to get that thing I had to really apply myself to diligently chanting. It wasn’t enough to only chant once in a while, or occasionally, or just a little. As you know I am not a big advocate of using the clock to gage how much you should chant. That being said however it is important to chant consistently and an amount that mirrors your devotion and your objective.
I was talking with some Buddhist monks from Vietnam one day and their opinion of Americans in their practice of Buddhism is most are lazy and insincere. The reason they felt this way was because Americans seemed to think that practicing occasionally or infrequently was sufficient. Even those who were slightly more dedicated spent less than an hour a day practicing Buddhism. The thought that was laughable to think it possible to achieve any benefit from Buddhism much less the lofty goal of enlightenment.
When you think about it almost everything that most people want they are willing to spend more time doing other things than attaining enlightenment. Watching an hour of TV, or playing video games, or many other things are much more time consuming and acceptable for most people. The idea of spending one hour or two hours a day in devotion to the thing we claim to be the most important thing in life seems unrealistic to most people, and yet they claim their devotion.
Matching your actions with your thinking is critical. Yes there are times when you will be unable to spend an hour or two hours, but if this practice is important to you if you really mean what you say, then you will find the time. Some things may need to change, but that is what attaining enlightenment is all about. Changing your life at its very core, changing the fundamentals of your life is the surest way to accomplishing your true happiness. This is the promise of Buddhism, your enlightenment.
We say Namu, but do we live Namu, we say Myoho Renge Kyo, but do we live Myoho Renge Kyo? We are still in the early days of this year, I encourage you to take a critical look at your life and see if your practice is really in line with your expectations. I suggest that you strive to make the Lotus Sutra the center of your life. In your mind try to cultivate an attitude that the Myoho Renge Kyo is the most important thing and chanting the Odaimoku is the thing that means the most to you and it comes first.
I have told this story before but I think it is worth repeating. When I first began to practice this Buddhism I was in the Marine Corps, this was back in 1969. I went to my senior, my mentor in this faith, to ask for some instruction about how to find the time to chant, go to meetings, and back then we went to meetings every single night and they were two hours long. I asked how is it possible to do my Marine Corps stuff, and all the other things and have time to chant an hour a day. My mentor asked me what was the first thing I did when I got back to the barracks at the end of my shift. I said, well I sit down on my footlocker, smoke a cigarette, take off my boots, and relax, and so forth. He said to me why not try putting the Odaimoku first in my life and see how it goes. Try chanting first then do other things. He said that if you put the important things in your life first then they will get done and the other things will find their own place. In business today, one of the things successful people do is to continually focus on the most important objective and not allow themselves to be distracted.
In your life, what do you put first, what is your most important objective? If it is to become happy, to eliminate suffering, to establish a solid foundation for joy then the surest way is to chant Odaimoku. If other things come before chanting then you are not putting the important things in life first. Now maybe the truth of the matter is you have no real interest in attaining enlightenment, and that is your choice, but then you are not a Buddhist, because fundamentally being a Buddhist means you are striving to attain enlightenment.
The degree to which you devote yourself, or if you don’t like the term devote then think of it as apply, or commit, or focus, or whatever, the degree to which you do this is the degree to which you will actually receive benefit. Your level of participation will determine the level of actual change to your life. There is no reward without effort.
I urge each of you to really make a determination from today to refocus your efforts, to really strive to practice daily and with a joyful heart knowing that what you are doing is certain to result in tremendous growth and change in your life.
When I first began practicing this Buddhism, when I first began chanting I was 19 years old. At that time I was encouraged to chant every day and to focus on not quitting and not slacking up for 10 years. At that time 10 years seemed like an impossibly long period of time. But I knew that I wanted to change my life and it was important to me. I also believed that by changing my life I could change the lives of others. I was in the military and very much opposed to war. I had a goal, you could say I had a life goal. It was important to me and I felt it was important to others. So I began my journey. Looking back over these past 45 years I can say that my life today is much greater than it would have been without Buddhism.
I really hope that you too can create a meaning filled life which you can look back on and say every moment was worth it. I promise you, if you set your mind to chanting every day, day in and day out, if you recite the sutra every day in ten years time you will be able to see a remarkable change in your life. And if you continue to do it throughout your life you will certainly attain a life of great joy and indestructible happiness.
This Lotus Sutra is the king of all the Buddha’s teachings. Over an over in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha says that this teaching of his is the most important, and superior to all the other teachings he had taught before. He says the reason why he is teaching this great sutra is so that the people who believe in it, who revere it, and who uphold it are guaranteed to attain enlightenment equal to that of all the Buddhas throughout time.
I hope you keep this promise of the Buddha in your mind as you go through your life. I also hope that you consider carefully what it is you are devoted to, what is most important in your life, and then make sure your actions are in accord with your dreams. There is no greater dream than attaining enlightenment, hold that in your heart, in your mind and in your actions.
[amazon_link asins=’B07H1XHQHX,1979530815,1097885003,147834198X,B00MVBFX1W,1979814023′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’ryusho0a-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=”]
