LifeAndSoulofBuddhism, Blog

Chanting ‘Namu-Amida-Butsu’

I am not a member of Risshō Kōsei Kai, but I have long found the organization founded by Nikkyō Niwano to be a wealth of information on the Lotus Sutra. No other Buddhist organization of which I am aware places as much emphasis on the study of the Threefold Lotus Sutra. I have benefitted from reading a half-dozen books on the Lotus Sutra and Buddhism published by Kōsei Publishing.

Still, I’ve stumbled over aspects of Risshō Kōsei Kai philosophy. The most recent stumble came after reading Nikkyō Niwano’s The Lotus Sutra Life and Soul of Buddhism. Originally published in Japan in 1969 and released in English in 1970, the book is subtitled, A Modern Introduction to the Lotus Sutra Giving a Better Understanding of the Buddha’s Teachings.

Nikkyō Niwano, while writing on the topic Religion Purifies the Inmost Part of Man’s Mind, uses the example of Dr. Kiyoshi Oka, a mathematician.

His religious life, chanting “Namu-Amida-Butsu,” is a practice in which the exercise of the conscious mind is mostly suspended and the soul of man enters a spiritual state of perfect selflessness. It is not difficult to imagine that as he continued to do this practice everyday, his mind became so extremely serene that he attained a spiritual state of mind seen in the world of the store-consciousness. Thus we can understand how Dr. Oka perceived a mathematical truth through a kind of inspiration or revelation.

In all times and places, there have been numerous instances where scholars and artists have made a great discovery by inspiration when they attained a spiritual state of perfect selflessness. Such instances teach us that we must reconsider our present situation which has been too biased by a materialistic way of life.

Lotus Sutra Life and Soul of Buddhism, p25-26

Later, in discussing how to overcome obstacles that prevent us from following “the Buddhist Way left to us by Śākyamuni,” Nikkyō Niwano writes:

So long as our mind is filled with this egoistic attachment, there is no room to receive the “truth that gives life to all things.” However hard we may try to understand Buddhism, without such room in our minds, the truth runs idly around and does not permeate into the mind. Therefore, our salvation and happiness cannot be achieved by our egoistic attachment.

Unlike Buddhist priests or monks, however, we who lead ordinary lives have egoistic attachments which always appear or disappear. This is because man cannot escape his destiny when it is based on his illusion that he cannot overcome the struggle for existence without his egoistic attachment. If we leave our mind untreated, it never fails to be filled with the egoistic attachment. Accordingly, it is necessary for us to sit down quietly before a Buddhist altar for a fixed time in the morning and evening, and recite the sutras and repeat the Daimoku, the sacred title of the Lotus Sutra, or invoke the name of Amida Buddha.

We can extinguish our egoistic attachment while devoting ourselves to these practices. We can attain a spiritual state of so-called perfect selflessness. When we attain such a state of mind, the light of the truth streams spontaneously through our mind and permeates into its depth.

Lotus Sutra Life and Soul of Buddhism, p53-54

As a Nichiren Shu practitioner, I was startled by Nikkyō Niwano’s repeated suggestion that invoking the name of Amida Buddha was a recommended practice. I was immediately reminded of the quote from Nichiren’s letter “Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude”:

Chanting “Namu Myōhōrengekyō” swallows up the functions of “Namu Amidabutsu (Buddha of Infinite Life),” “Namu Dainichi shingon (Great Sun Buddha’s mantras),” and “Namu Kanzeon bosatsu (Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva)” as well as of all the Buddhas, sūtras, and bodhisattvas. All these will be of no use without the functions of the Lotus Sūtra. This can be seen by everyone, for it has been realized in front of everyone. I, Nichiren, recite “Namu Myōhōrengekyō,” the function of “Namu Amidabutsu (Buddha of Infinite Life)” disappears just as the moon wanes, the tide ebbs, grasses in autumn and winter wither and ice melts under the sun.

Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, p53.

I have been attending a 34-week Rissho Kosei-kai in North America (RKINA) advanced course on the Threefold Lotus Sutra, and I took the opportunity to ask Rev. Takashi Yoshizawa, the instructor, about this idea that Namu Amida Butsu was somehow equivalent to Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. In answer he invoked Rissho Kosei-kai’s interfaith doctrine. Essentially, the Truth is one. Imagine that truth as the summit of a mountain. The various religious practices – Buddhist and non-Buddhist alike – are simply different paths to that summit.

I’m not unfamiliar with the “Truth is one” concept and its value. For example, Shinjo Suguro’s Introduction to the Lotus Sutra offers this:

Although the ultimate Truth is one in essence, human beings have various conflicting ideas about it. Nevertheless, we are able to advance toward a higher truth, overcoming conceptual conflicts, since we all believe firmly that the Truth is only one. Indeed, human progress is possible only because we are confident of the existence of a Universal Truth. After all, it is our confidence in the ultimate Truth that leads to the formation of our attitudes toward faith.

Not all paths reach the summit of a mountain, and some paths will be more direct. While I embrace the idea that all religions can have beneficial effect, I’m not prepared to accept that all religious practices are essentially equal.

This is not my first foray into the interfaith question. In May 2020, I wrote four lengthy blog posts on the topic: