In Nichiren Buddhism, a Middle Way is chosen between the way of awakening through self-effort and the way of awakening through total reliance on the Buddha. This Middle Way is the practice of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, which is the seed of awakening. This seed eventually bears fruit as the realization that the true nature of our lives is none other than the true Focus of Devotion, the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha.

Just as Myoho Renge Kyo expresses the actual awakening of the Buddha, the addition of Namu expresses our faith in the Wonderful Dharma and our determination to achieve Buddhahood ourselves. Namu Myoho Renge Kyo is the unification of our practice to attain awakening and the actual awakening of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha.

Myoho Renge Kyo, the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, is not simply a scripture or a kind of conceptual teaching. It represents the true nature of reality itself. While the title – Myoho Renge Kyo – is the name of the scripture, more importantly it refers to the ultimate reality, which is what the scripture is teaching. Myoho Renge Kyo is the unity of the life of Shakyamuni Buddha and the Wonderful Dharma, and the union of the Buddha’s awakening and our own Buddha-nature. By reciting the title, we are calling upon and bringing to mind the profound teaching, or Wonderful Dharma, of the Lotus Sutra. We recite the title because the Buddha-nature within us responds to its meaning and significance. In turn, the Odaimoku acts as a catalyst that brings out our awakening.

The recitation of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo is the verbal expression of our heartfelt wish to attain Buddhahood. It is also a statement of our firm faith that Buddhahood is the true nature of our lives, which can be realized anew in every moment. In avowing these ideas, we plant the seed of awakening within our lives and within the lives of others. The more we nourish this seed through our practice, the more our life will manifest the qualities of a buddha.

For a clearer understanding of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, let us take a closer look at each of the words.

• Namu comes from the Sanskrit word Nnmas, which means “I devote myself to.” This affirms that when all other self-oriented methods of attaining happiness have failed, we come to recognize that true happiness is only found in the True Dharma.
• Myoho means “True Dharma” or “Wonderful Dharma.” It refers to the dynamic and interdependent true nature of life, in which everything exists through mutual support and transformation. In fact, the Buddha-nature is another name for life’s inherent potential to recognize its own true nature.
• Renge means “Lotus Flower.” This illustrates the workings of the Wonderful Dharma by symbolizing the unity of cause and effect–in this case aspiration and realization–because the lotus produces flowers and seeds simultaneously. It also symbolizes the blossoming of the puriry of Buddhahood from out of the muddy water of ordinary life, just as the pure white lotus flower blooms from th depths of a muddy swamp.
• Kyo mean “Sutra,” which is what the Buddhist scriptures are called. Sutra means “a thread of discourse.” In this context, it refers to all the teachings of the Buddha which culminate in the Lotus Sutra. In a larger sense, because all phenomena manifest the buddha’s teachings, all phenomena can be considred the Buddha’s teachings and actual manifestations of the truth of the Lotus Sutra. Likewise, the Buddha’s teaching reflects the true nature of all phenomena.

The third of the Three Great Secret Dharmas is the Odaimoku, Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. In Sino-Japanese, the title of the Lotus Sutra is “Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo.” These five characters are themselves an expression of the essential core of the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha taught in the Lotus Sutra. Because the Odaimoku embodies the essence of the Lotus Sutra, the five characters “Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo” are the key to unlocking the Buddha-nature that resides within all life. When the word Namu, meaning “devotion,” is added to the title, it becomes Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, or “Devotion to the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.” According to Nichiren, by chanting “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo” we are expressing our faith in the Eternal Buddha and opening our lives to all the qualities and merits of Buddhahood.

The second of the Three Great Secret Dharmas is the Kaidan, or Precept Platform. The Precept Platform is considered any place where one chants Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, thereby basing one’s life upon the true spirit of Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings. Traditionally, the Precept Platform was the place where one made formal vows to follow the precepts of Buddhism as a member of the clergy. Nichiren Shonin universalized the concept of the Precept Platform so that all people could uphold the essential teaching and practice of the Lotus Sutra at all times through chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. In Nichiren Buddhism there is no essential difference between the clergy and the laity. The Buddha-nature is equally accessible to all. In addition, the practice of Nichiren Buddhism does not require one to live in a monastery or attend intensive retreats. It is a practice that can be done anytime and anywhere, both by those with families and those who live alone. The most important thing is simply to practice so that wherever you find yourself becomes your Precept Platform.

The Focus of Devotion is not to be worshiped as an idol. Rather it is an expression of awakening, presented in such a way that it allows us to perceive warmly and intimately the living reality of Buddhahood.

It is very important to keep in mind that the statues or mandalas are not idols or fetishes to be treated with superstitious reverence. They are expressions of the reality of Ichinen Sanzen, which transcends the duality between the animate and inanimate. Therefore, they have the potential to express Buddhahood, just as anything and anyone else. Because they are specifically depicting the Focus of Devotion, the life of the Buddha, we should treat them respectfully, though not as an idol.

The Focus of Devotion is the means by which we can express and personify Buddhahood, the goal of Buddhist practice. By using images such as the mandala, the mind is given a focus, as well as something to motivate, inspire, and even challenge it. The Focus of Devotion also serves as a reminder that Buddhism is not about abstract principles and theories. Instead, it is a living reality that awakens us from within our own minds and hearts.

In order to portray his insight, Nichiren Shonin inscribed the Ceremony in the Air as a mandala in Chinese calligraphy. This mandala is not some icon or external power that we ask to intercede for us. Instead, the Great Mandala concretely manifests the Focus of Devotion enabling us to more easily identify with the Eternal Buddha and realize our own Buddhahood. Of course, Nichiren Shonin was not against using statues or portraits to represent the Focus of Devotion. In most Nichiren Shu temples, the Focus of Devotion is represented by statues of Shakyamuni Buddha and Many Treasures Tathagata flanking a stupa with Namu Myoho Renge Kyo inscribed upon it. Other representations of the Focus of Devotion might feature a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha and the four great bodhisattvas who were the leaders of the bodhisattvas who emerge from beneath the earth, a simple statue of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha, a simple inscription of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, or even an elaborate display of statues representing all the beings portrayed on the calligraphic mandala. The calligraphic mandala, however, is the most popular form of the Focus of Devotion for enshrinement in one’s home. No matter what form it takes, the point of the physical object or objects used to portray the Focus of Devotion is to help us become aware of, and participate fully in, the reality of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha at the Ceremony in the Air.