In Nichiren Shu, the mantra of the Odaimoku is … considered a fundamental practice that facilitates transformation. The phrase Namu Myoho Renge Kyo is the heart of the Lotus Sutra and the Eternal Buddha’s enlightenment. Nichiren Shonin taught us that by chanting these enlightened words of the Buddha, we too are able to open the enlightenment that has slept within our lives since ages past, referred to in Buddhist terms as Bussho, or our Buddha-nature. Bussho can also be translated as the “life of the Buddha” within each and every one of us. Therefore, the more we chant, the closer we become to the Buddha and the more our own Buddha-nature begins to grow, develop and blossom in a very natural and day-to-day manner.