Offering of Merits

I now show my appreciation to the Three Treasures of the Lotus Sutra: the Buddha, Dharma and Saṃgha, for my being able just now to chant the Odaimoku and recite the Lotus Sutra, and offer the merits of the chanting of the Odaimoku and the reciting of the Lotus Sutra to all those who have granted me favors with gratitude and to those who have passed away.

I have the honor of chanting the Odaimoku and reciting the Lotus Sutra in front of the Maṇḍala Gohonzon which shows its perfect harmony and is unprecedented in history.

I call on “Kuonjitsujō-no-Shakamunibutsu,” the Eternal Buddha Śākyamuni, or the Original Buddha who continues his eternal relief mission. I call on “Namu-myōhō-renge-kyō,” the fundamental law of cause and effect which works beneath all existences, including human beings. I call on the “Honge-jōgyō (Superior-practice Bodhisattva) Nichiren Daibosatsu,” the Buddha’s messenger, assigned especially to the period of Mappō, the Latter Age of the Dharma, who revealed the existence of the Original Buddha and the true law of Namu-myōhō-renge-kyō. I pray from the bottom of my heart and offer my profound appreciation to these fundamental Three Treasures, all expounded in the Lotus Sutra.

Namu-myōhō-renge-kyō

Specifically, I pray that the merits of our faith will reach the spirits of our ancestors. At the same time, I pray that all spirits, related and unrelated, will attain Buddhahood.

The concluding parts of the Juryō-hon (Chapter XVI: the Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata) and the Jinriki-hon (Chapter XXI: the Supernatural Powers of the Tathagatas) of the Lotus Sutra, which we have just recited, read as follows: “I have only one wish. That is to know how I can quickly lead you to the right way of faith so that you can attain Buddhahood. For that purpose, chant Odaimoku and lead your life following the teachings of the Odaimoku, even if you cannot see me. If you do so, you will certainly walk along the Way of the Buddha and attain enlightenment in this world.”

Namu-myōhō-renge-kyō
Easy Readings of the Lotus Sutra