The Great Mandala shows all the sentient beings of the ten worlds illuminated by the Odaimoku. The buddhas of past, present, and future are included in this. Shakyamuni Buddha represents the Buddhas of the present, while Many Treasures Tathagata represents all the Buddhas of the past, and the sentient beings of the other nine worlds are the Buddhas of the future. This shows that all the Buddhas of past, present, and future are unified with the Odaimoku.

It should be clear that the Odaimoku is more than simply the title of the Lotus Sutra. Neither is chanting the Odaimoku viewed by Nichiren Buddhism as merely a concentration device or a mantra practiced for accruing benefits. It is an expression of the practitioner’s faith and joy in the Buddha’s teaching contained in the Lotus Sutra, the teaching that buddhahood is not only a potential within all our lives but an active presence leading us to awakening in this very moment. The Odaimoku is like a seed that we plant within our lives. Continuing to chant Namu Myoho Renge Kyo as our essential daily practice, we nurture that seed so that ultimately the wisdom and compassion of buddhahood can bloom within us and within all beings.

Renge means “Lotus Flower,” … The lotus flower is rich in symbolism within Buddhism. In Nichiren Buddhism, two aspects are particularly emphasized. The first is the unification of cause and effect, the simultaneous nature of the aspiration for enlightenment and its realization. The lotus flower symbolizes this because it produces flowers and seeds at the same time. By chanting the Odaimoku, we express both the aspiration for enlightenment – the seed of awakening to the Wonderful Dharma – and also our awakened devotion to the Wonderful Dharma – the flowering of enlightenment. The second aspect is the undefiled flowering of enlightenment arising out of the defilements of ordinary life that are transformed by the power of Buddhist practice. In the same way, lotus flowers blossom untainted above the mud and water from which they draw their nourishment. Because it illustrates these two key principles, the lotus flower is a particularly important symbol for Nichiren Buddhists.

Generally, [Myoho,] the Wonderful Dharma, or “True Dharma,” refers to the true nature of life and reality. This true reality is that nothing exists independently; that is, everything is said to be “interdependent.” From the point of view of the Buddha’s enlightenment, everything that has being and every event that comes to pass only does so in relationship to every other thing and every other event. More specifically, the Wonderful Dharma is the Dharma that is taught in the Lotus Sutra itself.

Nichiren constantly admonished his followers to never seek the focus of devotion outside themselves. The Great Mandala Nichiren inscribed shows all the so-called ten worlds of existence, from the hells, heavens, and other forms of existence all the way up to the world of buddhahood, illuminated by the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Flower Sutra. According to a letter traditionally attributed to Nichiren, this mandala-gohonzon is a depiction of the true nature of our lives. Through our faith in the Lotus Sutra we will be able to awaken to this reality and fully express the world of buddhahood residing deep within us all.

[Gohonzons] are only expressions of the focus of devotion; the true focus of devotion is the Eternal Buddha transmitting the Wonderful Dharma to us in the depths of our lives. While statues and mandalas can be helpful, they cannot magically grant us enlightenment, nor do they have any other kind of power for us or over us except as a concrete aid to our own practice of Buddhism. We should not become obsessed or dependent upon them, no matter what they represent or what state of life they are expressing. The bottom line is our own practice and realization. The true focus of devotion is in the depths of our lives.

It should be noted that [gohonzons] are only considered to be the focus of devotion after they have received an “eye-opening” ceremony. … The object is acknowledged from that moment on as the living symbol of the focus of devotion; no longer is it simply an artistic representation. In other words, due to the practice of the Buddha’s teachings on its behalf by one who understands the essence of the Lotus Sutra, the statue or mandala is said to have “opened its eyes” and become a Buddha. From that time on, it represents the living presence of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha and serves as a catalyst for the realization of our own Buddhahood.

Based upon his understanding of the Ceremony in the Air, Nichiren taught that we should take refuge in the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha revealed in the Lotus Sutra as the unity of the historical, ideal, and universal aspects of Buddhahood. These are fully manifested by Shakyamuni Buddha and are also the potential that lies within all of us. The Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha, therefore, should be our focus of devotion if we want to realize for ourselves the true nature of the Buddha’s enlightened life and our own.

The life of a Buddha cannot be discussed in terms of a beginning or an end, because the true reality of life has no beginning or end. Though it may seem contradictory, this is in keeping with the three truths of emptiness, provisional reality, and the Middle Way. The life of the Buddha has no birth or death because it is a selfless expression of the dynamic and interdependent nature of life. However, as a part of the dynamic interplay of all things, the Buddha’s enlightenment unfolds in terms of this world’s concepts of birth and death, striving and awakening. From the perspective of the Middle Way, the Buddha’s enlightened life is what it is and cannot be defined as either transcendent or mundane, though it displays both aspects.