“The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra”
Oko Sermon for May 2005
Reverend Shogu Kimura
Question:You talk about fire, but unless you put your hand in a flame, you will never burn yourself. You may say “water, water!” but unless you actually drink it you will never satisfy your thirst. Then how, just by chanting the Daimoku of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo without understanding what it means, can you escape from the evil paths of existence?
Answer:
They say that if you play a koto strung with a lion’s sinews, then all the other kinds of strings will snap. And if you so much as hear the words “pickled plum,” your mouth will begin to water. Even in everyday life there are such wonders, so how much greater are the wonders of the Lotus Sutra! (Gosho, p. 353; MWND-3 p. 3)
Good morning everyone. Today, on this occasion of the May Oko sermon in our expression of gratitude to our master Nichiren Daishonin, I have sincerely recited the sutras and chanted Daimoku together with you. Moreover, I have sincerely prayed for you to eliminate your sins and negative karma from this and infinite past lifetimes; for you to redouble your faith; for you to enjoy a safe and long life; for peace and harmony to reign in your home; for all matters to proceed forth smoothly; and for the successful achievement of all your great objectives in this and future existences. I am certain that the Daishonin would be truly pleased to see so many of you in attendance today.
The gosho on which we are focusing today is “The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra” (Hokke daimoku sho). Let me begin by briefly presenting you with the historical background of this gosho. This work was written on the 6th day of the 1st month of the 3rd year of Bun’ei (1266). The Daishonin was 45 years of age and staying at Kiyosumi Temple in Awa Province. The person to whom this gosho was addressed is uncertain, but the individual was apparently someone who was a devout Nembutsu believer. Three years prior to this, in the 2nd month of 1263, the Daishonin returned to Kamakura, following his exile to Izu for approximately 2 years. The next year, in the fall, the Daishonin’s mother fell ill, and he returned to Awa Province (currently Chiba Prefecture) to see her. He wrote in his gosho that he prayed for her to overcome her illness, and as a result, she prolonged her life for 4 years. Thereafter, the Daishonin stopped by in Awa to engage in propagation activities. As the title of this gosho reveals, it presented an explanation of the benefits and significance of performing Daimoku.
In the beginning, the Daishonin wrote:
You talk about fire, but unless you put your hand in a flame, you will never burn yourself. You may say “water, water!” but unless you actually drink it you will never satisfy your thirst. Then how, just by chanting the Daimoku of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo without understanding what it means, can you escape from the evil paths of existence.
Indeed, simply talking about fire would never enable us to feel its heat; and if we do not drink water, we would not be able to quench our thirst.
Next, he wrote:
Then how, just by chanting the Daimoku of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo without understanding what it means, can you escape from the evil paths of existence?
The “evil paths” referred to in this passage are alternatively known as “evil life conditions” (aku shu) and “evil paths” (aku do).
These represent the life conditions and circumstances of suffering of those who have performed negative karmic deeds. They consist of the life conditions of Hell, Hunger, and Animality – the three evil paths – of the Ten Worlds. When the life condition of Anger is added to these three, they represent the four evil paths (shi aku shu).
Why, then, does chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, without understanding its meaning, enable us to avoid these evil paths and to attain the life condition of enlightenment? I am certain that you have wondered how you can achieve true happiness simply by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. The Daishonin used the following analogy to address this issue.
They say that if you play a koto strung with a lion’s sinews, then all the other kinds of strings will snap.
The lion’s sinews here signify Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the very entity of Nichiren Daishonin. The “other kinds of strings” represent all teachings other than Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Thus, once we chant the Daimoku of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, all other teachings would be rendered powerless.
Then, the Daishonin wrote:
And if you so much as hear the words “pickled plum,” your mouth will begin to water.
Imagine that there is a pickled plum or a piece of sour lemon before you. These are extremely sour. What happens? You will probably find your saliva starting to flow naturally in your mouth. In this passage, the pickled plum represents the Gohonzon of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and the mouth beginning to water signifies the emergence of Buddhahood, through the chanting of Daimoku. Even without actually eating the sour items, our mouths start to water, as a result of our imagination. We do not really know why the saliva starts to flow, but it is an indisputable fact.
By what means of transportation did you come to the temple today? I assume that most of you came here by car. As you drove your automobile, did you have a complete understanding of the fundamental principles that cause a car to move? I think that the majority of you gave no thought to such principles. In fact, most of you would probably not make any effort to understand those principles. As long as you know how to drive correctly, you are able to arrive to your destination, even if you do not know the principles that enable a car to move.
As these analogies suggest, we will receive benefits by chanting the Daimoku of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, even if we do not understand exactly why we receive them. This is, indeed, a mystery that is beyond our comprehension, as common mortals in the Latter Day of the Law. Our hearts and minds represent a true mystery. Have you ever wondered about the essential nature of our hearts?
Our hearts feel “heavy” when we encounter problems in our lives. When those problems are resolved, we feel “light-hearted.” It is evident, then, that we possess an essential heart. However, it is difficult to fathom the essential nature of our hearts.
This difficulty emerges because the heart is intangible. There may be individuals who, themselves, do not know the true nature of their hearts, from day to day and from situation to situation. Under these conditions, such people manifest unhappiness in their lives of confusion and bewilderment.
An individual may feel that she loves a person so much that she is willing to die for him. But the next year, she may find that she does not even want to see his face. Then, some time later, she may be lonely and she may seek to find a lover who is rich and handsome. When she finds a lover, she feels happy, and then, when the two separate, she goes through the same cycle once again. All these emotions are manifested in the heart of one individual. The human heart is truly a mystery. This person manifested a life in which she drifted through the cycle of the six paths ranging from Hell to Rapture. Happiness that one feels while circulating in these six paths is like a balloon that has gotten away and is drifting in the sky. People in the Latter Day of the Law are captives of their own egotistical ways and are attached to lowly pleasures based on sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. They believe that they are immortal, and they mistakenly consider their corrupt, muddled entities and hearts to be pure.
In Buddhism, we use ten classifications to describe the conditions that we actually manifest from within our lives. They are: Hell, Hunger, Animality, Anger, Tranquility, Rapture, Learning, Realization, Bodhisattva, and Buddhahood. These ten worlds are manifested based on karmic associations. Another set of ten worlds are contained within these ten. These do not easily undergo transformation from one minute to the next. In other words, these ten types of life conditions lie in the essential core of each individual.
The mutual possession of the ten worlds (jikkai gogu) describes the condition in which the additional ten worlds are contained in each of the ten worlds that characterize our lives. These ten worlds multiplied by the additional ten worlds represent one-hundred worlds. The Daishonin wrote:
The doctrine of the three-thousand realms in a single moment of life (ichinen sanzen) begins with the concept of the mutual possession of the ten worlds. (Gosho, p. 526)
Indeed, this principle of the mutual possession of the ten worlds represents the essential framework of the doctrine of the three-thousand realms in a single moment of life (ichinen sanzen), which enables common mortals to attain Buddhahood. The doctrine of the three thousand realms in a single moment of life (ichinen sanzen) is truly profound, and I cannot thoroughly explain it today. I will not focus on it today, but I will address it on another occasion.
If a person does not encounter Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and he does not understand the essential nature of his heart, he will be unable to escape the suffering of the six paths for his entire life. Moreover, even if he embraces True Buddhism, if he does not chant the Daimoku of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, he will be unable to manifest the life condition of Buddhahood.
Our High Priest Nikken Shonin stated the following during the April Kosenrufu Daimoku Meeting:
What is the true nature of our hearts? The true entity of the heart is none other than Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which is exemplified by the passage, “I, Nichiren, have inscribed my life in sumi ink.” We uphold Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as the true entity of the Buddha and the Law, and this, in turn, represents the very entity of our hearts. We must clearly understand that that the essential nature, the essential entity, and the true entity of our hearts directly represent Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Then, this signifies that it is absolutely essential to chant Daimoku in our daily practice. (Dai-Nichiren, April 16, 2005)
He further presented us with the following directions:
The true objective of our Buddhist practice lies in cultivating a correct perspective on your hearts. When you correctly look upon your hearts, you will find that, unbeknownst to you, benefits will be clearly manifested in your activities, conduct, and lives. … Your internal benefits will be directly manifested externally. I am convinced that they will be manifested within your individual lives.
As common mortals, we are characterized by the three poisons of greed, anger, and stupidity. As such, we continue to produce delusions in our daily lives. Thus, it is absolutely impossible for us to resolve these delusions by using only our intellect. There are many scholars in this world who conduct research on various topics and produce positive results. From the standpoint of Buddhism, even such intellectual endeavors represent incomplete forms of knowledge.
When you find that confusion and delusion exist in your heart, sit before the Gohonzon – even for 5 or 10 minutes – and chant Daimoku.
By chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with sincere conviction, you will understand that the Buddha nature exists within your heart. Only then can you understand that the same Buddha nature exists within the lives of others. To have “sincere conviction” means to “believe.” As the 26th High Priest Nichikan Shonin stated, “To believe means not to harbor any doubts.” Therefore, with sincere conviction, you must propagate Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to those who are as yet unaware of it. You will then be teaching them about true happiness.
The Daishonin wrote the following in his gosho, “How Those Initially Aspiring to the Way Can Attain Buddhahood Through the Lotus Sutra” (Hokke shoshin jobutsu sho):
Therefore, although the people may not heed it or may say that it does not suit their capacity, one should nevertheless persist in expounding to them the five-character title of the Lotus Sutra, because there is no other way apart from it to attain Buddhahood. (Gosho, p. 1315; MWND-6, p.195)
Thus, there is no way to attain enlightenment other than to expound the teachings of the Daishonin.
Bad-mouthing fellow believer’s functions to defile the life of the Buddha. You can easily see why we must refrain from doing so.
We have been fortunate enough to come into this world as humans and to encounter the True Buddhism of the Daishonin. If we continue to circulate in the cycle of suffering within the six paths, it would be pointless to embrace the Gohonzon, and it would be absolutely impossible to save others. There is only one way to manifest the benefits of Daimoku. It is to sincerely believe in the Dai-Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary of True Buddhism – which was inscribed by Nichiren Daishonin on the 12th day of the 10th month of the 2nd year of Koan (1279) – and to chant Daimoku. We receive benefits when we worship the Gohonzon, day and night, in the various temples and individual homes; we must never lose sight of the fact that the source of the power of these benefits is none other than the Dai-Gohonzon. If we lose sight of this point, we will digress from the correct path, and we may think that “we can chant Daimoku even if we do not go to the temple” or that “we can chant Daimoku at Myoshin-ji Temple, so we don’t need to go to the Head Temple.” If we lose sight of the essential principle in our faith, we will undoubtedly bring forth unhappiness. It is most important to revere and uphold the Dai-Gohonzon and to worship the Gohonzon in the various temples and individual homes.
I ask you all to repeatedly read the gosho passage for this month. Even if you do not understand the principle of motion that causes your car to move, you were able come to the temple today. In the same way, even if you do not understand the meaning of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, if you chant sincere Daimoku and if you assiduously work to propagate True Buddhism, you will, without fail, manifest absolute happiness, in the form of enlightenment, characterized by the principles of “the nine worlds are in themselves Buddhahood” (kyukai soku bukkai) and “Buddhahood is in itself the nine worlds” (bukkai soku kyukai).
Finally, I would like to conclude my sermon for today by reciting the following gosho passage from “How Those Initially Aspiring to the Way Can Attain Buddhahood Through the Lotus Sutra” (Hokke shoshin jobutsu sho):
When with our mouths we chant the Mystic Law, our Buddha nature, being summoned, will invariably emerge. (Gosho, p. 1322; MWND-6, p.208)
I ask you all to advance forth, never losing sight of the importance of chanting Daimoku in your daily lives.