This series, prepared by the SGI-USA Study Department, aims to answer questions about the basics of Nichiren Buddhism.
Have you ever gotten lost trying to get to a new location? Having a map—or nowadays, a map app—makes a big difference in getting where you want to go.
Life, and Buddhist practice, is often likened to a journey, with absolute happiness, or Buddhahood, as the destination. The Gohonzon is like a map that helps you discover the treasure of Buddhahood within your own life.
Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the fuel or power source for tapping our Buddhahood. It is a simple practice accessible to anyone and everyone, but for many of us, it’s not so easy to chant every day or to believe in the unfathomable power of our lives.
This is why Nichiren Daishonin inscribed the Gohonzon, a mandala with written script, as our focus, or object of devotion. In contrast to worshipping a Buddha or higher power as externals, Nichiren inscribed the Gohonzon to serve as a mirror to reflect the internal life condition of Buddhahood that exists within each person. He established the practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon to enable all people to tap their Buddhahood and cause it to permeate every aspect of our lives.
Nichiren chose to use written characters on the Gohonzon to illustrate key elements of the Lotus Sutra’s Ceremony in the Air,[1] with Nam-myoho-renge-kyo down the center.
Rather than a painted or sculpted image, which suggests reliance on an outside power, he employed written characters to express the state of oneness with the Mystic Law that he realized in his own life. Chanting to the Gohonzon, we can realize that same state within our own life by prompting our Buddha nature to emerge.
Ikeda Sensei explains: “Such [a statue or image] could never fully express Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the fundamental Law that includes all causes (practices) and effects (virtues). The invisible attribute of the heart or mind, however, can be expressed in words” (June 2003 Living Buddhism, p. 34).
Having the Gohonzon enshrined in our homes enables us to readily chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and do gongyo every morning and evening—the basis of SGI Nichiren Buddhist practice.
Having a space in our homes dedicated to chanting to the Gohonzon, to calling forth our noble life condition of Buddhahood, helps us overcome the inertia of doubt and disbelief.
Just as applying makeup, shaving or fixing our hair nicely is much harder without a mirror, the Gohonzon is a spiritual mirror that reflects our inner condition and helps us recognize and bring forth the deepest and truest nature of our life—our innate Buddhahood.
Sensei says:
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings states: “Now when Nichiren and his followers chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they see and understand the ten thousand phenomena as though these were reflected in a bright mirror. This bright mirror is the Lotus Sutra. And in particular it is the ‘Treasure Tower’ chapter” OTT, p. 149.
Without a mirror, we can’t see our face. Similarly, we also need a bright mirror to see the treasure tower within our own lives. Nichiren inscribed the Gohonzon to serve as that mirror. The Gohonzon is a depiction of his own enlightened state as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law. Therefore, when we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with the Gohonzon as our bright mirror, our own inherent Buddhahood emerges powerfully. The purpose of the Gohonzon is to bring forth this treasure tower within each of us. (The Teachings for Victory, vol. 3, p. 124)
At times, we will all hit roadblocks—whether in faith, work, relationships or personal growth. But as long as we continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon, we can keep tapping the boundless treasure tower within that is as vast as the universe. We can discover infinite ways to create value in our lives and in society.
—Prepared by the SGI-USA Study Department
References
- The Lotus Sutra’s Ceremony in the Air: Covered in chapters 11 through 22 of the Lotus Sutra, this ceremony describes Shakyamuni Buddha raising high into the air the entire assembly that has gathered to hear him preach. During the ceremony, innumerable Bodhisattvas of the Earth make the same vow as the Buddha. The Ceremony in the Air serves as a representation of the emergence of our Buddha nature. ↩︎
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