Gongyo—which includes reciting portions of the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span of the Thus Come One” chapters of the Lotus Sutra—is part of daily practice for Nichiren Buddhists. This series carries Ikeda Sensei’s explanations of gongyo, section by section. The full text can be found in The Heart of the Lotus Sutra, pp. 309–315.
Ji ga toku burrai. Sho kyo sho kosshu. Muryo hyaku sen man. Oku sai asogi. Jo seppo kyoke. Mushu oku shujo. Ryo nyu o butsu-do. Nirai muryo ko.
Literal translation: “Since I attained Buddhahood the number of kalpas that have passed is an immeasurable hundreds, thousands, ten thousands millions, trillions, asamkhyas. Constantly I have preached the Law, teaching, converting countless millions of living beings, causing them to enter the Buddha way, all this for immeasurable kalpas.” (The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, p. 270)
Ikeda Sensei:
As I have mentioned, the verse section of the “Life Span” chapter explains matters pertaining to the Buddha himself. However, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda made it a point to stress that the text can be read in two ways.
From a literal standpoint, “Since I attained Buddhahood” means since Shakyamuni became a Buddha. But a more profound meaning is found hidden in the depths of the text.
Regarding “attained Buddhahood,” my mentor taught: “The state of Buddhahood is not something that comes to us from without. Rather, this passage clearly describes the function of the Buddha that bounds forth from within our own lives.”
In other words, this passage’s literal meaning refutes the view that Shakyamuni first attained enlightenment during his lifetime in India. It clarifies that he in fact attained Buddhahood in the remote past, reiterating the teaching articulated earlier in the chapter that the Buddha’s life is eternal. …
Nichiren Daishonin indicates that this passage refers to the three bodies of a Buddha (see The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, p. 133). This passage elucidates the three bodies that are the fundamental life of the Buddha, and it indicates that since the beginningless past, our lives, too, have been endowed with these three bodies. This is the meaning of the passage in Nichiren Buddhism. …
The Dharma body is the Mystic Law itself, the eternal and unchanging truth. Since this is the true essence of the self, it corresponds to ga (self or I) in ga burrai.
The reward body is the Buddha’s wisdom to awaken to the Mystic Law, and the benefit and virtue with which a Buddha is endowed in reward for awakening to the Law. Since a Buddha is someone awakened to his or her original self, the reward body corresponds to butsu (Buddha) [which, in combination with rai, meaning here “to come” from a place of origin, contracts to form burrai].
The manifested body indicates the physical form a Buddha assumes in order to save the people. Fundamentally, such actions arise from the Buddha’s compassion. Since the Buddha appears where there are people, this body corresponds to rai (come).
These three bodies are the inherent properties of Shakyamuni who attained enlightenment in the remote past. …
We ourselves can manifest the eternally inherent three bodies, the vast state of life of the Buddha. This is a state of life seldom attained even when sought, a state of life so grand that the very idea of seeking it rarely even occurs to people. Through the single word “faith,” through steadfastly embracing the Mystic Law, we can attain Buddhahood on our own, the Buddhahood with which we are inherently endowed. As the sutra says, “This cluster of unsurpassed jewels has come to us unsought” (LSOC, 124).
In our hearts we possess the supreme treasure. The courage to face any difficulty, boundless hope, burning passion and inexhaustible wisdom—all of these are facets of the originally inherent jewel of our lives. Those who forge ahead in faith with this confidence are Buddhas. Their lives turn into clusters of “unsurpassed jewels.” In lifetime after lifetime and world after world, they are people of wealth and influence, leading lives of great fulfillment.
Ultimately, Buddhahood is attained on one’s own, not through someone else. It is something we achieve through our own efforts. Through faith in the Mystic Law, we can definitely manifest the great state of absolute freedom of the eternal and undying self. This is the essence of the verse section and the conclusion the “Life Span” chapter puts forth.
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