Although Nichiren’s thinking during this early period thus remained largely within the framework of Taimitsu, some of the beginnings of his distinctive teaching are nevertheless in evidence. Around this time, Nichiren began recommending to his disciples a practice that has since become almost uniquely associated with his tradition: chanting the daimoku or title of the Lotus Sūtra, in the formula “Namu-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō.” Myōhōrenge-kyō is the Sino-Japanese pronunciation for Miao-fa-lien-hua Ching, the title of the Chinese translation of the Saddharma-pundanka-sūtra made by Kumārajīva in 406 and regarded as authoritative throughout East Asia. “Namu,” a transliteration of the Sanskrit namo- (from namas), is an expression of devotion, veneration, praise, or the taking of refuge. Nichiren himself did not invent this practice. Use of the phrase “Namu-myōhōrenge-kyō” to express devotion to the Dharma is attested as early as the ninth century. Throughout the late Heian period, single phrases expressing faith in the Lotus were chanted—though not nearly as widely— in the same manner as the nenbutsu. These expressions were not unified but included such variants as “Namu- myōhō-renge-kyō,” “Namu-ichijōmyōden” (Namu to the wonderful scripture of the one vehicle), and so forth.42 Nichiren, however, was the first to define the daimoku as an exclusive practice and to provide it with a doctrinal foundation. His emphasis on the daimoku as an exclusive practice no doubt reflects the influence of Hōnen’s exclusive nenbutsu teaching, as others have pointed out. But the doctrinal basis he provided for it has deep roots in Taimitsu and also reflects his own distinctive synthesis. (Page 247-248)