Category Archives: Blog

Blog

Silver Lining to Terrible Year

There is very, very little that you can say about 2020 that is not depressing, beginning with the loss of Ryusho Shonin. But in this world of COVID-19 and all that the pandemic has turned upside down, the expansion of the online Sangha of Nichiren Shu followers is at silver lining worth cherishing.

This morning I relished the extra hour of sleep delivered with the end of Daylight Savings and then did morning Gonyo. After my morning tea and news update (I am, after all, a retired newspaper editor) I joined Rev. Shoda Kanai and 10 others for the Nichiren Buddhist Kannon Temple of Nevada kito blessing service.

20201101-las-vegas-purification
Rev. Shoda Kanai

Not certain how efficacious a Zoom purification ceremony is, but I enjoy the intent.

After another tea break and an online game of Go (I won), I joined Rev. Ryuei McCormick and Shami Ryugan Herrick and the Nichiren Shu Buddhist Sangha of the San Francisco Bay Area. More than 20 people from around the world were on the call.

20201101_origin_myoho-renge-kyo

This slide from Shami Herrick’s presentation offers an Origin Story of the Daimoku:

When the Buddha realized Awakening he praised the Saddharma or Wonderful Dharma and Brahma came and congratulated him saying that this was what all Buddhas did. This is “Namu Myoho.” Brahma said to him, “Great Master, you must teach the people so they too may be Free.” The Buddha looked across the world and saw all the many beings, great and small, strong and weak, smart and dull and observed that they are all like beautiful Lotus Flowers growing in the muddy pond in various states of blooming. And so the Buddha agreed to teach – this is “Renge Kyo.” He vowed, I will teach this Wonderful Dharma, the Way Things Are, the Path to Freedom from Suffering. This shall be known as the Teaching of the Blossoming Lotuses of the Wonderful Dharma.

Dharma Talk Video

Now it’s time to do my evening service and 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra blog post and retire to an evening of leisure.

Blog

Protective Blessings and Flower Portents

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Before today’s Oeshiki Service at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church my son, Richard, and his girlfriend, Alexis, had Rev. Kenjo Igarashi bless Richard’s new truck. This is the second vehicle Rev. Igarashi has protected for Richard. The protective boundary prayer is marked by water, saki, salt and rice. Alexis wants to have her brother get his car protected next.

20201025_ren-shou-ou-shiInside, the church was decorated with blossoming cherry trees for the Oeshiki Service, the memorial service marking the passing of Nichiren on Oct. 13, 1282.  Rev. Igarashi explained that Nichiren’s life can be summarized by the four characters of Ren Shou Ou Shi. Ren – Lotus – recalls the Lotus Flowers that bloomed on Feb. 16, 1222, when Nichiren was born. Ou – Cherry – recalls the unseasonable cherry blossoms that bloomed at the temple when Nichiren died.  Rev. Igarashi also explained that Oeshiki is a celebration, a happy recognition of the benefits bestowed on us by Nichiren’s efforts to spread the teaching of the Lotus Sutra.

 

Peaceful Action, Blog, Books

Peaceful Action, Open Heart: Lessons from the Lotus Sutra

peaceful-action-open-heart-bookcoverFrom Amazon:

Peaceful Action, Open Heart shines 60 years of study and practice upon one of the crowning scriptures of the path of the Buddha, and is destined to be known as one of the most significant writings by Thich Nhat Hanh.

The Lotus Sutra is one of the most revered of Mahayana sacred texts and is sometimes called “the king of sutras.” Despite this fact, there are very few commentaries in English available today. Thich Nhat Hanh explores the Sutra’s main theme – that everyone has the capacity to become a Buddha, and that Buddha-nature is inherent in everything – but he also uniquely emphasizes the sutra’s insight that Buddha-nature is the basis for peaceful action. Since we all will one day become a Buddha, he says, we can use mindfulness practices right now to understand and find solutions to current world challenges. In his interpretation of the sutra, he suggests that if the practices, views, and insights of the Lotus Sutra would find application not only by individuals but also by nations, it would offer concrete solutions to transform individual suffering and the global challenges facing the world today.

Stamped with his signature depth of vision, lucidity, and clarity, Thich Nhat Hanh’s insights based on the wisdom of the Lotus Sutra invoke a wide range of contemporary topics and concerns, such as the Palestinian-Israeli war, the threat of terrorism, and the degradation of our environment. In proposing radical new ways of finding peaceful solutions to universal, contemporary conflicts, he not only challenges the U.N to change from an organization to a real organism working for peace and harmony in the world, but also encourages all branches of all governments to act as Sangha. In so doing, he demonstrates the practical and direct applicability of this sacred text to today’s concerns.

This book has been re-released with a new title. The earlier hardcover edition was entitled Opening the Heart of the Cosmos.

One must assume that the publisher offered the third paragraph for purposes of expanding the potential reach of the book. While the environment is an important aspect of Thich Nhat Hanh’s teaching, the suggestion that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the United Nations are significant topics is unfounded, at least in the 2008 edition published under the title, Peaceful Action, Open Heart.”

I was introduced to this book in July, 2020, when Ryuei Shonin announced the creation of an Amazon Wish List for his Lotus Sutra Study program. This is the first book by Thich Nhat Hanh that I’ve read. And as with Nikkyō Niwano’s commentary on the Lotus Sutra, I feel a need to distance myself from some of the interpretations of Thich Nhat Hanh.

Here is an example from Thich Nhat Hanh’s discussion of the Buddha’s prediction for Shariputra in Chapter 3, A Parable:

Hearing this the Buddha said, “Shariputra, in past lives you studied and practiced with me, and I taught you the bodhisattva way. But in this lifetime you forgot it and, following the path of the shravaka, believed you had reached the final goal of your practice, nirvana. Now, through teaching this Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma, I am able to reestablish you on the bodhisattva path. In the future you will become the Buddha Flower Glow (Padmaprabha) in a Buddha Land called Free of Defilements (Viraja). You will do as I do, and teach the three vehicles to guide living beings, and finally you will also teach the One Vehicle, just as I am teaching now.”

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p46-47

Thich Nhat Hanh book’s endnotes indicate that he is using Leon Hurvitz’s translation of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma for his English language quotes, but in this instance Thich Nhat Hanh has not only grossly paraphrased but also fabricated new text.

Here’s the relevant portion from Hurvitz:

“Flower Glow, the Thus Come One, shall furthermore by resort to the three vehicles teach and convert the beings. Śāriputra, though the time of that buddha’s emergence shall not be an evil age, by reason of his former vow he shall preach the dharma of the three vehicles.”

Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma, p51

Few things in the Lotus Sutra are more puzzling to me than the prediction that Śāriputra will teach the Three Vehicles even though the kalpa in which he becomes that Buddha “will not be an evil age.” If only the Buddha, as Thich Nhat Hanh erroneously inserts, had added, “finally you will also teach the One Vehicle, just as I am teaching now.” But the Buddha doesn’t say Śāriputra will ever teach the One Vehicle or the Lotus Sutra.

Before I start posting quotes here from the book I’ll be posting several articles concerning problems of one sort or another that I have with Thich Nhat Hanh interpretation.

Having said that, I should underline my overall satisfaction and favorable opinion of “Peaceful Action, Open Heart: Lessons from the Lotus Sutra.”

I fully endorse this from the Introduction:

This book shows how the teachings of the Sutra can help us realize the practices of mindfulness, compassion, and love for the well-being of our family, our community, our society, and the world.

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p8

And this beautiful poem by Thich Nhat Hanh:

Reciting the Lotus Sutra

At night as I recite the Lotus Sutra
The sound moves the galaxies
The Earth below wakes up
In her lap suddenly flowers appear

At night as I recite the Lotus Sutra
A jeweled Stupa appears resplendent.
All over the sky bodhisattvas are seen
And Buddha’s hand is in mine.

—Thich Nhat Hanh

Book Quotes

Book List

Foundations, Blog

Experiencing The Interpenetrating Ten Worlds

I am currently processing quotes I have saved from “Foundations of T’ien-T’ai Philosophy: The Flowering of the Two Truths Theory In Chinese Buddhism” by Paul L. Swanson. I won’t be posting these until late January, 2021, after I finishing posting quotes from Peaceful Action, Open Heart: Lessons from the Lotus Sutra by Thich Nhat Hanh, which I’ll start tomorrow. Since one of the T’ien-T’ai Philosophy quotes pertains a recent blog post, I figured I should get it in now while it is still relevant.

So, back on Oct. 6 I discussed by idea of how to envision the “four realms of holy ones” – Śrāvaka, Pratyekabuddha, Bodhisattva and Buddha – that Nichiren said “are hidden from our eyes.”

Here’s my summary:

  • Śrāvakas: When we hear the Dharma and study Buddhisms we are in the realm of Śrāvakas.
  • Pratyekabuddhas: When we put into practice for ourselves what we have learned we enter the realm of Pratyekabuddhas.
  • Bodhisattvas: When we seek to help all others to gain what we have gained from learning about Buddhism and putting it into practice, then we enter the realm of Bodhisattvas.
  • Buddhas: This is the realm we enter when we chant Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, merging what we have learned and what we practice while seeking to have all others join this path.

Since I was discouraged from putting too much emphasis on this idea, I found this quote from Swanson’s book very interesting:

Chih-i divided the realms of existence into ten interpenetrating realms or destinies: hell, preta, beast, asura, man, gods, śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, bodhisattva, and buddha. These are not ten separate distinct worlds, but rather experiences or states of existence in one reality.

It may be more accurate to refer to these ten “destinies” as ten states of experience: hellish, to be full of insatiable appetite, brutish, combative, human, divine, ‘śrāvaka-like, pratyekabuddha-like, bodhisattva-like, and buddha-like. When one suffers the inevitable results of his or her misdeeds, one experiences the realm of hell. When one blindly follows sensual desires in a futile attempt to satisfy fleshly appetites, one experiences the realm of the preta. When one blindly follows one’s passions, one experiences the realm of beasts. When one fights with one’s fellow human being, one experiences the combative realm of the asura. When one joyfully listens to the music of Bach, one can experience the delightful realm of the gods. When one hears the teaching of the Buddha, one experiences the realm of the śrāvaka. When one performs an altruistic deed, one experiences the realm of the bodhisattva. When one has an insight into the true nature of reality, one experiences the realm of the Buddha. Chih-i’s claim that these realms are “interpenetrating” or “mutually inclusive” means that each sentient being experiences them all in accordance with its actions.

Foundations of T'ien T'ai Philosophy, p 6
Blog

The Merit of 10,000 Odaimoku

In cleaning up my desk, I found a photocopy of a translation of an article in the Nichiren Shu Shinbun No. 2373 published on Sept. 1, 2019. The article was written by Rev. Shincho Mochizuki, Ph.D., Professor, Minobusan University, and translated into English by Rev. Keiji Oshima.

Here’s the text of the article without the Japanese and Chinese characters:

The Number of the Characters of the Lotus Sutra Translated in Chinese and the Merit of Odaimoku

The Lotus Sutra we recite is one of three versions translated in Chinese, which are Shō Hokekyō translated by Dharmarakṣa (Jiku Hōgo), Tempon Hokekyō by Jñānagupta (Janakutta), and Myōhō Renge Kyō by Kumārajīva (Kumarajū).

Nichiren Shū uses Myōhō Renge Kyō and there are various opinions about the number of the characters this sutra contains. Nichiren Shōnin refers to its number in his writing Thank-you Note for a Clerical Robe and an Unlined Kimono (On-Koromo Narabini Hitoe Gosho), which was written in 1275 as an appreciation letter for the offering of the kimono and cloth for the robe from the wife of Toki Jōnin: “The Lotus Sutra has 69,384 characters and each of them is a Buddha.”

Chōkyō-ge, which is considered composed by Grand Master T’ian Tai Zhi Yi ( Tendai Daishi Chigi) who propagated the Lotus Sutra in China, also says that each character written in the Lotus Sutra should be the Buddha itself as following: “I deeply bow to the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, Saddharma Pundarika, of a unit of the 8 volumes containing 28 chapters composed of 69,384 characters. Each character of this sutra is the True Buddha. The True Buddha’s preaching benefits the living beings. All the living beings will have attained the Way of the Buddha. Thus, I bow to the Lotus Sutra.”

The numbers of the 7 characters of Odaimoku divided by Myōhō Renge Kyō of 69,384 characters is 9,912. Hence, approximately 10,000 times of chanting the Odaimoku is equivalent to reciting the whole 8 volumes of Lotus Sutra, in terms of the numbers of characters. You may see some temples have the monument with Odaimoku carved “Humbly fulfilled to chant 10,000 Odaimoku,” which tells that they accumulated the same merit as chanting the whole Lotus Sutra by chanting 10,000 Odaimoku. In order to contribute in accumulating this merit for their temple, the followers participate in the activities and chant Odaimoku.

Here’s the photocopy of the article.

Trivia point: If you do the recommended 300 Daimoku in the morning and again in the evening evening, which for me takes about 20 minutes at a time, then you recite the entire Lotus Sutra – 9,912 Daimoku – every 16 and a half days. In my practice, that means I accomplish this twice each cycle through my 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra (which takes 34 days when you add the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings and the Sutra of the Contemplation of Universal Sage). I like the idea of circumnavigating the Lotus Sutra three times each month.

Innumerable, Blog

Levels of Understanding and Meaning

Back on Oct. 8, 2020, I started enumerating the 10 Merits listed in the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings. I confess that I began this sequence to make my monthly posts regarding the opening sutra easier. Now I know the topic of my posts for the next nine months. But the inadequacy of this was underscored for me during the dharma talk on these merits following the Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of San Francisco Bay Area service Oct. 18.

Shami Mark Ryugan Herrick leads the ongoing lectures under the close supervision of Michael Ryuei McCormick. At the point in the lecture where the first merit was discussed, Ryugan mentioned my blog post and asked me to comment.

“This really sounds to me like a definition of what buddhism is supposed to do in your life,” I said, echoing the line I added to my post, “I can think of no better summary of the goals of becoming a Buddhist.”

The superficial nature of my response – of my basic understanding – was quickly underscored by Ryuei’s comment on this first merit.

Those aren’t a bunch of random nice things. The first category are the four Brahmaviharas or divine abodes also called the infinite states of mind — loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. Then that’s followed by the six perfections.

As that quote that you wrote earlier where Nichiren says when you take up the sutra your hands become a buddha, I think in other forms of buddhism you practice all of these difficult virtues and ideals so that you can attain buddhahood but with Nichiren Buddhism … we practice the daimoku, we practice the Lotus Sutra, so that all of these qualities become the benefits we receive through the practice. We’re not trying to be perfect so we can become buddhas. We’re trying to become buddhas so that we have all these wonderful qualities as the benefits to that.

The video below starts at the reading of the first merit. The entire lecture is nearly an hour and forty minutes. This is an excellent example of the firehose of information that the thirsty are offered whenever Ryuei McCormick lectures. It is well worth the time.

This is the third in the series of lectures on the Threefold Lotus Sutra. The first lecture can be found here and the second here.

There are additional videos at the Nichiren Bay Area YouTube Channel.

WONS, Blog

Laying Down the Banner of Arrogance, Casting Away the Club of Prejudice

Caged_Bird_in_TreeWhy do you suppose it is that suddenly something you thought was familiar becomes remarkable?

Take this snippet from a letter written by Nichiren in 1277 at  Minobu:

A singing bird in a cage attracts uncaged birds, and the sight of these uncaged birds will make the caged bird want to be free. Likewise, the chanting of Odaimoku will bring out the Buddha-nature within ourselves. The Buddha-nature of Bonten and Taishaku will be summoned by the chanting and will protect the chanter. The Buddha-nature of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will be pleased to be summoned. For attaining Buddhahood quickly, one must lay down the banner of arrogance, cast away the club of prejudice, and chant Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.

Awakening of the Buddha Nature,
Hokke Shoshin Jobutsu Sho


This is one of only two quotes from Nichiren that I remember from my years with Soka Gakkai. (The other is Itai Doshin Ji, One Spirit in Different Bodies.) And over the years I’ve never before been able to get past the cage that confines the bird and the bird wanting to be free. My thoughts instantly go to Maya Angelou’s 1969 autobiography “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.”

Then earlier this week I read this quote as part of my daily morning routine and suddenly realized I have never in all of these years read past the first sentence.

[T]he chanting of Odaimoku will bring out the Buddha-nature within ourselves. The Buddha-nature of Bonten and Taishaku will be summoned by the chanting and will protect the chanter. The Buddha-nature of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will be pleased to be summoned.

By chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō I inspire Bonten, the God Brahman, and Taishaku, the God Sakra Devanam Indra, to offer their protection. (Bonten and Taishaku are in the Nichiren Shu Mandala Gohonzon, Numbers 16 and 18 on the Lotus World map.)

Laying down the banner of arrogance, casting away the club of prejudice, I focus on inspiring Bonten and Taishaku and the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas, searching for just the right sound when I chant Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.

Blog

Finally back indoors

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It was very nice to be back indoors Sunday, even if we are still masked and socially distant from each other. We have not had indoor services at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church since July, when the state and county health officials banned indoor church services to slow the spread of COVID-19.

This has been one long year, without any services from February to June, indoor briefly in June and then outdoor from July to September. How long will limits on indoor services continue? Will indoor services again be prohibited with a second wave of COVID-19? Never before have I wished so much for a year to be over.

20200725_outdoor_setup
For July, August and September we held services under canopies on the grass between the Social Hall and the Temple. It was hot and the folding chair legs sank deep into the grass, but it worked.
WONS, Blog

How to Imagine the 10 Worlds in Daily Life

I really enjoy Nichiren’s view on the 10 Worlds in our daily lives:

As we often look at each other’s faces, we notice our facial expression changes from time to time. It is full of delight, anger, or calm sometimes; but other times it changes to greed, ignorance, or flattery. Anger represents hells; greed—hungry spirits; ignorance—beasts; flattery—asura demons; delight—gods; and calm—men. Thus, we see in the countenance of people six realms of illusion, from hells to the realm of gods. We cannot see four realms of holy ones (śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, bodhisattvas, and Buddhas), which are hidden from our eyes. Nevertheless, we must be able to see them, too, if we look for them carefully.

Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Verable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 134-135

Recently I’ve been puzzling over how to see the four higher worlds, what it means to be in the realm of śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha or bodhisattva or buddha.
–
Actually, buddhahood is the easiest. That’s where we are every time we chant Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō:

It is said that the merit of all the Buddhist scriptures (except the Lotus Sūtra) is found in the promise that men can become Buddhas after they have done good deeds, which means the attainment of Buddhahood is not certain. In the case of the Lotus Sūtra, however, when one touches it, one’s hands immediately become Buddhas, and when one chants it, one’s mouth instantly becomes a Buddha. For example, when the moon rises above the eastern mountain, its reflection immediately shows on the water. Sound and resonance also occur simultaneously.

Ueno-dono Gozen Gohenji, Reply to My Lady, the Nun of Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers II, Volume 7, Page 58-59

And every time we practice for others as we seek our own enlightenment we enter the realm of bodhisattvas.

As for the other two higher realms, why not describe it like this:

  • Śrāvakas: When we hear the Dharma and study Buddhism we are in the realm of Śrāvakas.
  • Pratyekabuddhas: When we put into practice for ourselves what we have learned we enter the realm of Pratyekabuddhas.

I asked Ryuei Shonin about my idea and this was his response:

All four higher realms involve practice though – but in different ways. I’d put it more like this:

Śrāvaka: When we hear the Dharma and understand the pervasiveness of suffering, begin to eradicate its causes, realize for ourselves the lessening of suffering, and continue to cultivate the eightfold noble path.

Pratyekabuddha: When we deeply contemplate the causal and conditioned nature of phenomena, in particular the causality of our own life in order to free ourselves from habitual patterns.

The difference between the Śrāvaka and Prayekabuddha is that, as it says in the Infinite Meanings and Lotus Sutra, the former practices the four noble truths (and eightfold path) while the latter contemplate the twelve-fold chain of dependent origination. The former are practicing a very practical and relatively simple path laid out by the Buddha (like following the 12 steps if you’re in AA), while the latter are thinking through all the implications of dependent origination for themselves. The latter takes a more philosophical mind and more self-reflection.

Bodhisattvas: The six perfections overlap a great deal with the eightfold path, but what is different is the explicit addition of generosity and patience. However, the Śrāvakas or voice-hearers do also teach the four noble truths to others. The real difference is that bodhisattvas have bodhicitta, a higher aspiration that involves remaining in the world of suffering (requiring patience) to build up the merit and wisdom so that they can attain buddhahood and thereby be able to share the Dharma most effectively with others (which is generosity of course). But note that this does not mean they will necessarily teach more than Śrāvakas. A beginner bodhisattva may not even be as good a teacher as a śrāvaka like Shariputra, but their aspiration is more all-encompassing even if they realize they have to mind their own business and build up their own practice and wisdom before presuming to teach others. We should be careful not to equate bodhisattvas with evangelicals who try to convert others before they have even fully transformed themselves.

Buddhas: One word that Tiantai uses for the Perfect teaching I find very striking – “uncontrived” (J. musa; 無作). What this means is that the Buddha’s actions are spontaneous unselfconscious and thoroughly authentic responses to every situation. Furthermore, as masters of skillful means they appear in and through the other nine worlds.

I like my summary:

  • Śrāvakas: When we hear the Dharma and study Buddhisms we are in the realm of Śrāvakas.
  • Pratyekabuddhas: When we put into practice for ourselves what we have learned we enter the realm of Pratyekabuddhas.
  • Bodhisattvas: When we seek to help all others to gain what we have gained from learning about Buddhism and putting it into practice, then we enter the realm of Bodhisattvas.
  • Buddhas: This is the realm we enter when we chant Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, merging what we have learned and what we practice while seeking to have all others join this path.

But that’s not doctrinal and perhaps potentially misleading.

As Ryuei cautioned during our email exchange:

Bottom line, you can’t and probably shouldn’t try to easily reduce the higher worlds to a simple image or concept like you can with the lower worlds.

See Experiencing The Interpenetrating Ten Worlds

Shodaigyo, Blog, Books

Perfecting Shodaigyo Practice

shodaigyo_bookcover
Available for purchase at NBIC

Yesterday I completed the third week of the Enkyoji Buddhist Network’s online classes. This week dealt with Shodaigyo, the Nichiren Shu alternative to the traditional sutra chanting service. Shodaigyo eschews shindoku and instead combines seated meditation and chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō. The simplicity of this format makes it an excellent vehicle for introducing the Daimoku to people unfamiliar with Buddhism.

The practice was established by Japanese Nichiren Shu Bishop Nichijun Yukawa in 1947. The fundamentals of Shodaigyo practice are detailed in Journey of the Path to Righteousness, an English translation by Rev. Shogen Kumakura, head priest of New York Daiseion-ji, of the most critical section of Rev. Tairyu Gondo’s manual on the liturgy of the Shodai-gyo, Chapter One: The Heart of Shodaigyo – The Manners and Practice.

Download Enkyoji Shodaigyo practice guide
This book offers minutely detailed instructions on the proper way to practice shodaigyo. As the book explains: “In following the above procedures, the effects of Shodaigyo Ceremony practice are improved.”

The reason for the development of this form of practice is detailed in the brief Introduction:

It is not easy for the practitioner to maintain a seriousness of heart for the most assiduous practice of chanting the Odaimoku. This being so, a variety of earlier methodologies for the practitioner have been taken into consideration for quite some time. The current form of Shodaigyo was developed from a foundation of those earlier methodologies. Today, this evolved form of Shodaigyo is practiced in Nichiren temples throughout the country of Japan and now around the world. Archbishop Nichijun Yukawa, my Sensei (mentor) and the founder of Gudo Dougan-Kai (The Association of the Same Wish for Those Seeking the Way), was the developer of this modern form of Shodaigyo. He propagated this current Shodaigyo form throughout Japan until he was until he was 93 years old.

“Shodaigyo is to chant the Odaimoku intently, staring deeply into the heart of the Self, in identification of the purified mind.”

Journey of the Path to Righteousness, p 2-3

I was previously introduced to the practice of Shodaiqyo at the four-day Enkyoji Buddhist Network 2017 Summer Retreat at the Seattle Choeizan Enkyoji Nichiren Buddhist Temple.

The pamphlet developed by the Enkyoji Network is available here.

Shodaigyo is sometimes combined with Reidan Daimoku Hand Gestures. You can read about those here.

For the next 25 days I’m going to postpone my quotes from Vasubandhu’s Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, and instead post quotes from Journey of the Path to Righteousness.

Book Quotes

 
Book List