I practice Nichiren Buddhism with Soka Gakki International (SGI). This is my experience of faith, practice, and study.

People first coming into contact with the religious practice of the Soka Gakkai International may be struck by the stress placed on the p...

Nichiren (1222-1282), the priest who established the form of Buddhism practiced by the members of the SGI, is a unique figure in Japanese social and religious history. In a society where great emphasis has often been placed on keeping conflict hidden from sight, Nichiren was outspoken in his criticism of the established Buddhist sects and secular authorities. His chosen method of propagation was "shakubuku"--a sharp and relentless dialectic between different perspectives in quest of truth. The appraisal offered by Uchimura Kanzo, the renowned Japanese Christian thinker and writer, in his 1908 Representative Men of Japan, expresses the ambivalent reaction Nichiren continues to provoke: "Nichiren minus his combativity is our ideal religious man." While Nichiren demonstrated a severely critical stance toward what he regarded as distortion or corruption of the core message of Buddhism, his letters of guidance and encouragement to his followers record a tender concern for people who were disregarded within medieval Japanese society. For instance, he wrote many letters to female lay believers in which he showed a remarkable understanding of their sufferings and emphasized the Lotus Sutra's message that all people can become enlightened as they are, men and women. Nichiren's sympathy for the downtrodden in society is related to the circumstances of his birth. His father was a fisherman on the seacoast to the east of what is now Tokyo, and as such Nichiren identified himself as "the son of a chandala [untouchable caste] family." Life in feudal Japan was harsh and brutal, especially for the masses at the bottom of the strict social hierarchy. Experiencing firsthand the misery of the common people, Nichiren had from an early age been driven by a powerful desire to find a way of resolving the problem of human suffering. What we know of Nichiren's life and thought comes to us principally through his voluminous writings. In addition to major treatises on doctrinal issues, he penned many hundreds of letters addressed to his followers. Some of his most important writing was done under dire circumstances--in exile, for example, on a snow-blown island in northern Japan. Announcing the Teachings When Nichiren was 12, he began studying at a temple near his birthplace. There he was tutored in the teachings of the major schools of Buddhism of the time. And there he prayed with the earnest wish and vow to become, in his words, "the wisest man in Japan." In response to his prayer, Nichiren writes, he was bestowed with a "great jewel" of wisdom. SGI President Daisaku Ikeda has noted that the wisdom we are able to unleash from within is proportionate to our sense of responsibility. The young Nichiren was moved by a burning sense of responsibility to alleviate the enormous misery he saw about him, and it was this that enabled him to gain insight into the essential nature of human life and reality. Nichiren began an exhaustive study of the multitude of often contradictory teachings and sutras of Buddhism. From age 16 to 32, Nichiren traveled to Kamakura and Kyoto, visiting the major centers of Buddhism, studying the massive volume of sutras, treatises and commentaries. The conclusion he reached was that the heart of Shakyamuni's enlightenment is to be found in the Lotus Sutra and that the principle or law to which all Buddhas are enlightened is expressed in the phrase "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo," from the title, or daimoku, of that sutra. At the same time, he understood clearly that to promote faith in the Lotus Sutra as the exclusive vehicle for enlightenment would be to engage in public criticism of existing schools of Buddhism, many of which taught that access to the Buddha Land was only possible after death. While Nichiren advocated using Buddhist practice to challenge one's circumstances and develop inner strength, the traditional schools encouraged resignation and passivity. A strong counterreaction could be anticipated, and Nichiren writes of his own inner struggle over the question of whether or not to speak out. Persecution Deciding that to remain silent would be to lack compassion, on the 28th day of the fourth month (according to the lunar calendar) of 1253, Nichiren made a public declaration of his beliefs. As anticipated, his insistence on the sole efficacy of the Lotus Sutra--with its core tenet that all people are in fact Buddhas--in the present era of confusion and corruption was met with disbelief and hostility. The steward of the region, a devout follower of the Pure Land school, took steps to have Nichiren arrested. And from this point on, Nichiren's life would be a succession of harassment, persecution and abuse. One reason for this is that the authorities recognized Nichiren's uncompromising insistence on the equality of all people as a direct threat to the established power structure, which victimized the impoverished majority. The established schools of Buddhism had been incorporated into this structure, providing an effective means for the feudal authorities to strengthen and extend their power over the populace. Priests of these schools, who occupied a privileged position within the social hierarchy, were deeply implicated in this exploitative system and had no reason to challenge the status quo. This is a further reason why Nichiren was able to attract a significant following despite the risks that such allegiance would entail. The Lotus Sutra predicts that those who attempt to spread its teachings in the corrupt latter days will meet severe trials. Nichiren interpreted the persecutions that befell him as evidence that he was fulfilling his mission in life. In 1260, in the wake of a series of devastating natural disasters, Nichiren wrote his most famous tract, the Rissho ankoku ron (On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land). In it, he developed the idea that only by reviving a spirit of reverence for the sanctity and perfectibility of human life through faith in the Lotus Sutra could a truly peaceful order be restored and further disaster forestalled. He presented this treatise to the highest political authorities of Japan and urged them to sponsor a public debate with representatives of other schools of Buddhism. The call for public debate--which Nichiren would repeat throughout his life--was ignored, and he was banished to the Izu Peninsula. The years that followed brought further banishment and the decisive crisis of his life--an attempt to execute him on the beach of Tatsunokuchi. By his account, moments before the executioner's sword was to fall, a luminous object--perhaps a meteor--traversed the sky with such brilliance that the terrified officials called off the execution. Nichiren was banished to Sado Island where, amidst extreme deprivation, he continued to make converts and write treatises and letters. In part because the predictions he had made in the Rissho ankoku ron had come true, after almost two and a half years on Sado, Nichiren was pardoned and returned to the political center of Kamakura. It is said he was offered a temple and official patronage if he would desist from his criticism of other schools of Buddhism, but he refused. Nichiren retreated to Mount Minobu, and there he wrote copiously and trained his successors. Transmission During this period, the priest Nikko, who had accompanied Nichiren throughout his tumultuous career and would inherit the teachings, was gaining converts in nearby Atsuhara village. The priests of a Tendai temple in the area, angered at this, began harassing the converts. Eventually, they instigated an attack by samurai against unarmed peasant converts and their arrest on false charges of theft. Twenty of the peasants were arrested and tortured, and three were executed in 1279. Where earlier persecutions had targeted Nichiren himself, this time it was the lay believers who were the victims. Despite their lack of an in-depth theoretical knowledge of their newly adopted faith, these peasant followers remained steadfast in the face of the ultimate threat. For Nichiren, this signaled a crucial turning point, inspiring his confidence that his teachings would be maintained and practiced after his own passing. Where he had to date inscribed sacred mandalas (Gohonzon) for individual believers, he now inscribed the mandala explicitly dedicated to the happiness and enlightenment of all humankind. This symbolized the establishment of Nichiren Buddhism as a universal faith. Nichiren died of old age three years later, his mission complete. Transmission of his teachings and the fulfillment of his vision of peace founded on respect for the sanctity of life is the central inspiration for SGI members worldwide. Source: http://www.sgi.org/buddhism/buddhist-concepts/the-life-of-nichiren.html

A Japanese devotee's journey from Catholicism to Zen

Differences in Doctrines and Practices: Nichiren Shu, Nichiren Shoshu, and Soka Gakkai Nichiren Buddhism is one of the most eminent branches of Mahayana Buddhism that is based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk, Nichiren (1222-1282). Under Nichiren Buddhism, there are several major schools and many sub-schools. The common denomination they have in …

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"A clear awareness and correct understanding of the nature of death can enable us to live without fear and with strength, clarity of purpose and joy. Buddhism views the universe as a vast living entity, in which cycles of individual life and death are repeated without cease. Death is therefore a necessary part of the life process, making possible renewal and new growth." As a philosophy, Buddhism has always stressed the importance of squarely confronting the reality of death. Death, along with illness and aging, is defined in Buddhism as one of the fundamental sufferings that all people must face. Because of this emphasis, Buddhism has sometimes been associated with a pessimistic outlook on life. Quite the opposite is, in fact, the case. Because death is inevitable, any attempt to ignore or avoid this most basic "fact of life" condemns us to a superficial mode of living. A clear awareness and correct understanding of the nature of death can enable us to live without fear and with strength, clarity of purpose and joy. Buddhism views the universe as a vast living entity, in which cycles of individual life and death are repeated without cease. We experience these cycles every day, as millions of the some 60 trillion cells that comprise our bodies die and are renewed through metabolic replacement. Death is therefore a necessary part of the life process, making possible renewal and new growth. Upon death our lives return to the vast ocean of life, just as an individual wave crests and subsides back into the wholeness of the sea. Through death, the physical elements of our bodies, as well as the fundamental life-force that supports our existence, are "recycled" through the universe. Ideally, death can be experienced as a period of rest, like a rejuvenating sleep that follows the strivings and exertions of the day. Buddhism asserts that there is a continuity that persists over cycles of life and death, that our lives are, in this sense, eternal. As Nichiren wrote: "When we examine the nature of life with perfect enlightenment, we find that there is no beginning marking birth and, therefore, no end signifying death." In the fifth century C.E., the great Indian philosopher Vasubandhu developed the "Nine-Consciousness Teaching" that provides a detailed understanding of the eternal functioning of life. In this system, the first five layers of consciousness correspond to the senses of perception and the sixth to waking consciousness. The sixth layer of consciousness includes the capacity for rational judgment and the ability to interpret the information supplied by the senses. The seventh layer of consciousness is referred to as the mano-consciousness. This layer corresponds to the subconscious described in modern psychology and is where our profound sense of self resides. Beneath this is the eighth, or alaya-consciousness. It is this layer of consciousness that contains the potential energy, both positive and negative, created by our thoughts, words and deeds. This potential energy, or profound life-tendency, is referred to as karma. Again, contrary to certain assumptions, Buddhism does not consider karma to be fixed and unchangeable. Our karmic energy, which Buddhist texts describe as the "raging current" of the alaya-consciousness, interacts with the other layers of consciousness. It is at this deepest level that human beings exert influence upon one another, on their surroundings and on all life. It is also at this level that the continuity of life over cycles of birth and death is maintained. When we die, the potential energy which represents the "karmic balance sheet" of all our actions--creative and destructive, selfish and altruistic--continues to flow forward in the alaya-consciousness. It is this karma that shapes the circumstances in which the potential energy of our lives becomes manifest again, through birth, as a new individual life. Finally, there is the ninth level of consciousness. This is the very source of cosmic life, which embraces and supports even the functioning of the alaya-consciousness. The purpose of Buddhist practice is to stimulate and awaken this fundamentally pure amala-consciousness, or wisdom, which has the power to transform even the most deeply established flow of negative energy in the more shallow layers of consciousness. The questions of life and death are fundamental, underlying and shaping our views of just about everything. Thus, a new understanding of the nature of death--and of life's eternity--can open new horizons for all humankind, unleashing previously untapped stores of wisdom and compassion. Source: http://www.sgi.org/buddhism/buddhist-concepts/the-eternity-of-life.html

Explore Japanese and Korean Buddhism: from sects, philosophies, and nuances. Learn what sets them apart and see where they intersect.

Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō[a] are Japanese words chanted within all forms of Nichiren Buddhism. In English, they mean "Devotion to the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra" or "Glory to the Dharma of the Lotus Sutra".[2][3]

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The Japanese Teacher Nichiren Believed That The Essence Of Buddhism Could Be Found In The Lotus Sutra The Japanese Teacher Nichiren Believed That The Essence Of Buddhism Could Be Found In The Lotus Su

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Myoshinji is a Buddhist temple where people from all backgrounds come to learn the teachings of True Buddhism, and practice for the enlightenment of society.

Nichiren Daishonin (1222 – 1282) is a Japanese Buddhist monk who lived during the 13th century of Japan. Having studied Buddha’s teachings from different schools of Buddhism such as Zen, Pureland and Tendai, Nichiren concluded that the Lotus Sutra is the ultimate teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. Nichiren’s interpretation of Buddhism is influenced by Master Zhiyi (Chih-I) …

"Nichiren's contribution was to establish a clear mirror, the Gohonzon, which perfectly reflects the state of Buddhahood inherent in life, and which could thus enable all people, regardless of their circumstances or ability, to draw out and manifest this Buddha nature. Nichiren's use of script rather than images reflects his commitment that this 'mirror' be universal, free of the connotations of race and gender inherent in depictions of specific personages." For most people, the word "Buddha" conjures up the image of a statue of an Asian male seated in meditation. It may seem contradictory for a religion that is otherwise considered relatively abstract to give such a central place to images of this kind. These images, however, are generally not worshipped by Buddhists in the same sense that the Biblical "heathens" are said to have worshipped their idols. Rather, they are symbolic depictions of the sublime qualities possessed by Buddhas and bodhisattvas to which practitioners aspire. Ideally, they function as a kind of mirror to aid practitioners in perceiving the profound dignity of their own lives and in manifesting that dignity in their actions. For Buddhist practitioners, this is the core challenge, to perceive the life condition of Buddhahood in their own life. In the Buddhism of Nichiren (1222--1282) and the tradition from which it draws, this is called the practice of "observing the mind." The difficulty of achieving this is such that practitioners had traditionally to devote their lives exclusively to meditative practice. Nichiren's contribution was to establish a clear mirror, the Gohonzon, which perfectly reflects the state of Buddhahood inherent in life, and which could thus enable all people, regardless of their circumstances or ability, to draw out and manifest this Buddha nature. The Gohonzon (lit. "object of devotion") is a scroll containing Chinese and Sanskrit script. Nichiren's use of script rather than images reflects his commitment that this "mirror" be universal, free of the connotations of race and gender inherent in depictions of specific personages. On the scroll are arranged the names of figures from the Buddhist canon that collectively symbolize the various potentialities of life. Down its center is inscribed "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo Nichiren," in bold Chinese characters. Myoho-renge-kyo is the Japanese version of the title of Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra (Skt Saddharma-pundarika-sutra). For the tradition within which Nichiren is situated, this sutra is regarded as Shakyamuni's most essential teaching. Nichiren regarded Myoho-renge-kyo itself as the fundamental Law or principle of the universe--of life--to which Shakyamuni was enlightened, the "essence" of Buddhahood. He writes, "Shakyamuni's practices and the virtues he consequently attained are all contained in the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo." Nichiren's name below Nam-myoho-renge-kyo on the Gohonzon expresses his conviction that the state of Buddhahood is not an abstract concept but is manifest in the life and behavior of human beings living in the real world. Nichiren inscribed Gohonzons for his individual followers, and believers today enshrine a printed transcription of the Gohonzon in their homes. The practice of Nichiren Buddhism is to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, facing the Gohonzon, thereby harmonizing your life with--or calling forth from within--the Buddha nature which it reflects. "Nam," meaning devotion, signifies this intent of summoning or harmonizing with. The Buddhist view of life is a profoundly holistic one that sees no essential separation between our lives and the life of the universe. When we draw forth the power of wisdom and compassion through prayer, we are drawing forth and directing the same universal wisdom and creative compassion that manifests in everything from the intelligent bonding of molecules to the symbiotic evolution of species, to the decay and formation of galaxies.Ultimately it is belief in their own potential that enables human beings to develop and to advance in the face of difficulties. The Gohonzon is an embodiment of a belief in the unlimited potential of life. The practice associated with it is an expression and actualization of this belief. As a "mirror," the Gohonzon could be said to perform a dual function. While it reflects and awakens us to the limitless richness and potential of our inner life, it also, in provoking introspection, helps us confront the bare reality of our life at that moment in time.Regardless of our religious beliefs, the success of any effort to guide our life toward fulfillment and value depends largely on an ability to honestly and courageously look within--to both confront the demons of our shadow and to seek out within our own lives those qualities with which we have invested our saints and idols. It seems that now, more than ever, our collective survival depends on our ability to carry this out. Source: http://www.sgi.org/buddhism/buddhist-concepts/the-gohonzon-observing-the-mind.html