Ven. Kenjo Igarashi donned his best robes and performed the annual Nichiren Memorial Service, Oeshiki. In front of the altar were two artificial trees representing the cherry blossoms that appeared upon the death of Nichiren October 13, 1282, at the residence of Ikegami Munenaka near Tokyo.

Following the service, Rev. Igarashi continued his discussion of his experience during aragyo, the 100-day ascetic practice which he endured on five occasions.The practice features pouring ice-cold water over the body for purification several times a day and limiting sleep to less than 3 hours and food to just a thin porridge, miso soup and maybe a pickle twice a day. Through these hardships the priests work to remove their bad karma and earn the help of protective deities.

The universal message from all this is the need for both practice and study in everyone’s life. Not just studying the Lotus Sutra. Not just chanting the Odaimoku. Through study and practice, our bad karma is extinguished and our enlightment naturally appears.

I immensely enjoyed the Kaji Kito purification ceremony today. Ven. Kenjo Igarashi offered an explanation of the aragyo ascetic practice and the grueling nature of the 100-day trial – little sleep, cold showers, watery porridge and lots and lots of chanting. Days of chanting at first seek to clear the bad karma of the priest. Then days of chanting seek give the priest the merits to take on bad karma of church members when performing the Kaji Kito purification. It was compassion toward church members, not personal aggrandizement, that prompted Rev. Igarashi to undergo the 100-day aragyo ascetic practice five separate times.

During his talk and prior to the service in a conversation with me and another member, Rev. Igarashi discussed a misconception about the mandala Gohonzon perpetuated by SGI. I’ll paraphrase:

You don’t just walk in and ask for a Gohonzon. The priest is not a salesman in a store handing out Gohonzons. Your practice of Nichiren Buddhism, reciting the Lotus Sutra and chanting Odaimoku, activate the mandala Gohonzon of your life. The sacred object is not outside; it is within. Attending services, practicing at home, participating in the church and becoming a member of the church are all more important. It is when you finally understand that the outward manifestation of the mandala Gohonzon is only a reflection of your inner self that you can receive one.

The mandala Gohonzon is not “a happiness machine,” Rev. Igarashi said.

Today’s Sunday service was a nice change from the days of work leading up to and during the annual Fall Food Sale. Everyone had aches and pains.

We had three new people attending. One was a former SGI/Nichiren Shoshu practitioner trading up to Nichiren Shu. She had a friend with her.

And in the very back we had a guy who told me he was “checking out” the service when I greeted him. After the service I wanted to talk with him about his experience but by the time I finished collecting the uchiwa daikos from the ladies in the front and walked to the back where the traditional fan drums are kept, the guy was gone.

The church really needs a brochure for people who wander in. While much of today’s service was in English, the recitation of the portions of the Lotus Sutra and the Odaimoku were not.

The Ven. Kenjo Igarasha offered something of an overview for the guests. One part stuck with me.

Each character of the Odaimoku, he said, is a separate Buddha. Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo. Seven Buddhas. Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. Seven more. Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. Seven more. And seven more. And seven more. And pretty soon we’re talking some serious numbers. I imagined building layers and layers of protective Buddhas as I chant Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. As many as the sands of the River Ganges.

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi offered a lesson in Consciousness-Only as seen from the Nichiren perspective following the Sunday Ohigan ceremony in which he offered prayers for the ancestors of church members.

And before I begin I must underline that this is my understanding of what he said and is only as accurate as I can make it. Any errors are mine alone.

On one level, the chart he displayed offered an explanation of what exists when we are alive and what remains in the “special realm” after we die.

The eye, ear, nose, tongue and body sense organs do not “know” anything. The sixth level, thought, interprets the five sense organs. What we do with this information – our good and bad actions – are stored in the seventh level.

The eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind are the transitory part subject to birth and death that create the illusion that we conceive of as our world.

Our good and bad actions create a shell of intentions that shape our future. This shell encloses our pure Bodhisattva compassion. And that Bodhisattva compassion itself encloses our innate Buddha nature.

Prayers for our ancestors in which we transfer our merit received from chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo and studying the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma seek to mitigate that shell of intentions that will control our ancestors’ future lives.

For myself, I saw this chart and was reminded of Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma, and promised effect “the good men or women who keep, read, recite expound or copy this sutra after my extinction, will be able to obtain.”

And considering this from the inside out, I appreciated this picture of universal Buddha nature, this seed, that exists wrapped in compassion. The goal of chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo is to realize this equality and difference.

Attended the regular Sunday service at Myosho-ji, Wonderful Voice Buddhist Temple, in Charlotte, NC. Rev. Ryusho Jeffus‘s Dharma talk following the service was a discussion of the doctrinal differences between Nichiren Shu and Soka Gakkai. In the video below Ryusho references Rev. Shoryo Tarabini‘s “A response to questions from Soka Gakkai practitioners regarding the similarities and differences among Nichiren Shu, Nichiren Shoshu and the Soka Gakkai.” You can read that here.

I keep telling myself: Self, ask the priest if his sermon can be recorded. And for some reason I never find the right opportunity. Instead I try to recap what I learned, knowing full well that at best I have only a partial understanding.

Following today’s Kaji Kito service, Ven. Kenjo Irgarashi discussed the importance the Lotus Sutra in this age of Mappo, the Latter Day of Degeneration in which we live today.

The characters on the left say, loosely, the Lotus Sutra benefits all sentient beings. And by all he means all. While the plan of salvation in other religions is designed solely for human beings, not for animals, in Nichiren Buddhism everyone benefits from contact with the Lotus Sutra including those pets who hear the Odaimoku. I have one cat who joins me each morning for gonyo. She’s definitely going to enjoy a better life next time around.

The characters on the right say, loosely again, the Lotus Sutra is the only salvation in the age of Mappo.

And, finally, the center characters retell Nichiren’s lesson that in the age of Mappo few will believe in the Lotus Sutra. As the Daily Dharma from Aug. 22, 2016, explained: “In this world of conflict, it can seem like very few people are practicing the Buddha Dharma with us. Nichiren compared those beings alive in this world of conflict to the amount of soil in the whole earth, while those who keep and practice the Lotus Sūtra are like the dirt under a fingernail.”

Rev. Igarashi reminded everyone that it is the rope of the Daimoku he discussed at the last service that we can use to rescue ourselves in this Age of Mappo.

The Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church is taking orders now for its annual Fall Food Sale. Unlike the June Bazaar, which sold food on a first-come, first-served basis and ran out of popular items such as the barbecued teriyaki chicken halves, this is a presale event. All orders placed before Oct. 1 will be guaranteed for pickup on Oct. 8 between 11am and 2pm.

This year’s menu has Barasushi ($4.50 ea), Bento ($10 ea), Curry Rice ($5.50 ea), Spam Musubi ($4 ea), Teriyaki Beef Sandwich ($5 ea), Teriyaki Chicken ($7 ea) and Udon ($5 ea).

Orders can be placed online and paid securely with a credit card or you can download and print out a form and send that form and your check to the church office. It’s important to place orders as early as possible to guarantee your order can be filled on Oct. 8.

Order Now

The Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church holds three fund-raisers during the year in order to raise money for operating expenses. This is a vital effort considering the many areas where the money is needed right now. The roofs on the main building and the community center are more than 20 years old. (The roof on the priest’s home and the carpark were replaced earlier this year.) The exterior paint has peeled off the eaves of the main roof. If you can’t attend the Fall Food Sale but would like to make a donation click here.

Today was the monthly Kaji Kito purification service at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church.

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi discussed his sadness at the passing of an old friend as the thread running through his sermon.

When Rev. Igarashi graduated from college in Japan he and his friend Taikyo Nakamura were assigned to the Los Angeles Nichiren Shu temple as assistant priests to complete their training. Nakamura struggled with the demands of the work. Rev. Igarashi laughed and said he struggled too. In the 1970s, when Rev. Igarashi was assigned a position in San Francisco, Nakamura was sent to Portland. But Nakamura’s struggles continued and his conflicts with the Portland temple’s members finally caused him to leave the priesthood and return to secular life. The two former friends eventually lost contact with each other. They had not spoken for more than 20 years when Rev. Igarashi learned that Taikyo Nakumura had died. (Here’s the Oregonian obituary.)

To continue the thread of his lesson, Rev. Igarashi recalled the Japanese children’s story, The Spider’s Thread.

I like the Wikipedia version:

Shakyamuni is meandering around Paradise one morning, when he stops at a lotus-filled pond. Between the lilies, he can see, through the crystal-clear waters, the depths of Hell. His eyes come to rest on one sinner in particular, by the name of Kandata. Kandata was a cold-hearted criminal, but had one good deed to his name: while walking through the forest one day, he decided not to kill a spider he was about to crush with his foot. Moved by this single act of compassion, the Buddha takes the silvery thread of a spider in Paradise and lowers it down into Hell.

Down in Hell, the myriad sinners are struggling in the Pool of Blood, in total darkness save for the light glinting off the Mountain of Spikes, and in total silence save for the sighs of the damned. Kandata, looking up by chance at the sky above the pool, sees the spider’s thread descending towards him and grabs hold with all the might of a seasoned criminal. The climb from Hell to Paradise is not a short one, however, and Kandata quickly tires. Dangling from the middle of the rope, he glances downward, and sees how far he has come. Realizing that he may actually escape from Hell, he is overcome by joy and laughs giddily. His elation is short-lived, however, as he realizes that others have started climbing the thread behind him, stretching down into the murky depths below. Fearing that the thread will break from the weight of the others, he shouts that the spider’s thread is his and his alone. It is at this moment that the thread breaks, and he and all the other sinners are cast back down into the Pool of Blood.

Shakyamuni witnesses this, knowing all but still with a slightly sad air. In the end, Kandata condemned himself by being concerned only with his own salvation and not that of others. But Paradise continues on as it has, and it is nearly noontime there. Thus the Buddha continues his meanderings.

(Here’s a somewhat expanded version of the story.)

Rev. Igarashi bound the day’s lesson together with the “rope of the Daimoku.” The Daimoku, he explained, is a rope lowered to us in the suffering world by Nichiren. By climbing up the rope of Daimoku we can pull ourselves out of the suffering world.

“Don’t let go of the Daimoku,” Rev. Igarashi repeated several times.

I first heard about Nichiren Buddhism and the power of chanting devotion to the Lotus Sutra in August of 1989. In all of the years between then and now, I’ve never attended a Nichiren Buddhist funeral service. (I don’t consider the post-split Soka Gakkai services for members who pass away formal funeral services.)

Today I participated in my first funeral service. I even had a small role. Ven. Kenjo Igarashi asked me to be the person who lights the candles on the altar and makes the first incense offering before the service begins.

The day before the service I helped set up tables and shade awnings where people could eat refreshments after the service and I helped put everything away at the end of the day.

The funeral was for a Toyoko Nakatogawa, who was a member of one of eight families that founded the church in the 1930s. She had been an active member of the church all of her life. More than 200 people attended her funeral service.

For those of you outside California, you may not be aware that in 1942 all of the Americans of Japanese descent were rounded up and sent to camps for the duration of World War II. Toyoko, who was born in Sacramento in 1924, was a Sacramento High School student in 1942. When her classmates graduated she was in a camp. While she eventually received a diploma from the school district, she never received a document saying she had graduated from Sacramento High School.

I can’t pass up recounting the story told by a Chinese gentleman who was a classmate of Toyoko. Before the Japanese were trucked Tule Lake, Californa, they were forced into a temporary camp outside of town. This Chinese gentlemen and several others went out to see their classmates in the camp outside town. Everything was fine until they attempted to go home. The guards wouldn’t let them leave. “We all look alike apparently,” he said.

He did get out and eventually Toyoko returned to Sacramento. Since the class had been unable to graduate together they would celebrate instead their graduation from middle school, which they’d all attended together. He was the last of those classmates at the funeral service today.