Basics of Buddhism

 

     Nichiren Buddhism is the Buddhist religion for today’s society. It occupies over 156 countries and territories worldwide. The reason it is so wide spread is it’s basic tenets; which we liken to that of a 3-legged stool…without any one leg, the stool cannot stand.

 

       The stool’s legs of Nichiren Buddhism are Faith, Practice, and Study. What I hope to convey here is a feel for the importance of each.

 

       Let’s start with faith…faith for us starts in the beginning with an expectation of wanting to better our lives and be in control of our happiness. It starts with specific goals and things that we want, appearing as coincidences in the beginning.  Some members may recall my first bowling experience and coincidence of cutting down on my missed spares from upwards to 15 in a series down to 3…saving me a lot of money and my team places in the standings. But…over the years it becomes a quest to change on the most fundamental level – our karma – to do our human revolution. Our faith lies in a universal law of life that was contained and hidden in the depths of the Lotus Sutra, the supreme teaching of Buddhism…that is Myoho–Renge-Kyo.

 

        Shakyamuni, the first living Buddha gave us the first reference, it was Nichiren who elucidated in the 13^th century, its true meaning. By adding Nam to the phrase it was complete. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo literally means we devote or fuse our lives with the mystic law of cause & effect through the invocation or teaching of the law.

 

         Quick definition starts with nam from the word namus meaning to devote or literally fuse one’s life with. Devotion, I don’t think needs to be explained. We hopefully by this point in our lives have experienced devotion from a mother, teacher or mentor on the job.

 

         Myoho is profound where Nam is basic. Mystic law or Myoho is that aspect of life that exists both in a physical as well as spiritual sense…difficult to perceive…my best example is gravity. Certainly we know gravity is a law and exists, but we cannot fully perceive this force or law. I know if I pick up an object and release it…it will fall toward the ground.

 

          Renge literally is the lotus flower symbolizing two things…the simultaneity of cause & effect (one of the few flowers to do so) and karmic reality within our own lives. The importance here is that for every cause we make…thought, word and action has an effect attached to it. The only thing that is variable is when and to what extent the effects will occur. The additional significance of the lotus is that it reflects the karmic reality of our lives. Both the layers of consciousness are portrayed by the lotus, one is the storehouse of all the causes and effects accumulated along with the deepest level which is our pristine layer which is buddhahood…the lotus grows in a muddy swamp, symbolizing how our innate and most beautiful life condition can well forth from such a muddied existence…much like the pristine and beautiful lotus blossom.

 

         Kyo means through the invocation and teaching of the law. Daily we make the supreme cause of both chanting, sharing and studying this mystic law…to determine in the morning to make the most of each day manifesting our Buddha nature outwardly, in the evening to reflect and renew determination for the next day. That is why this is often referred to as the Buddhism of the Sun.

 

        When we chant nam-myoho-renge-kyo, we are harmonizing with this ultimate law and making the supreme cause for our lives…to take responsibility for our circumstances, most importantly our happiness. 

 

         We believe when it comes to faith, as Nichiren stated that for a faith to be true there are three proofs to be met…theoretical, documentary and actual proof. Does the religion make sense according to society’s mores, customs, science, etc? Does the religion have a literal history of writings & philosophy to document a progression of ideas & concepts? Does the religion most importantly produce actual benefit for the time and energy invested?

 

         REMEMBER!!! We chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo…NOT!!! When we gonna know???

 

         Now we come to practice…there are two distinct parts to Buddhist practice and what makes this Buddhist practice so powerful…practice for self and practice for others. Practice for self involves chanting morning & evening gongyo (prayers literally meaning assiduous practice) along with abundant daimoku (repetition of mantra N-M-R-K) to energize our days. We determine in the morning, reflect in the evening, again determining anew for the next day…often why we call this the Buddhism of the sun…the sun rises and sets each day.

 

         We practice to the gohonzon, which acts as a mirror for us to see our true nature…our Buddha nature and manifest this outwardly in our environment…after all we are the Buddha (awakened one)! We are just stripping away our own delusion to reveal our beautiful and most basic nature. When we chant we become more aware of the causes we make and take better action to produce greater benefit.

 

          Practice for self involves chanting morning & evening with enough time to manifest our Buddha nature and making offerings to our altar as a reflection of causes we will make in our own lives. Practice for others…such as introducing others…chanting with others…being here – supporting activities IS practice for others. The benefit is truly appreciating connecting your life to others and supporting others especially those drastically diverse from yourself. I HOPE this gives us all hope for a greater world to live in.

 

          Finally but most importantly is study! I strongly feel that belief or faith is the foundation in our lives…but understanding is what needs to be accomplished on this life journey of human revolution…it is what unlocks the true power of our innate wisdom we accumulate. Study in terms of this Buddhism keeps us from lapsing into arrogant views or relegated to what I call Phill’s Buddhism…a singular viewpoint of this vast practical religious/life philosophy.

   

         Nichiren Buddhism has the Lotus Sutra, the Gosho (Nichiren’s major writings consisting of letters encouraging his followers in everyday matters of faith), and our own international organization – SGI – President Daisaku Ikeda’s many diverse and encouraging speeches & writings about faith, practice and study.

 

         Deepening our understanding helps us to truly bring forth our courage, confidence and the joy we need everyday. I thank you all for allowing me to share my feelings about what are the basics of this profound religion. I hope and will pray this opens a path of happiness for each and every one of you.

 

 

 

Presentation by Phillip Glashofer

3/31/05