I’ve completed my 48th cycle through the 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra and before I set aside The Threefold Lotus Sutra: A Modern Translations for Contemporary Readers, I want to publish some quotes from the Preface discussing the importance of sutra recitation.

In chapter 17, “Specification of Merits,” the Buddha teaches another formula for how, after he has passed into nirvana, his followers can be true practitioners of the Lotus Sutra. This method consists of five elements: (1) rejoicing in the sutra, (2) reading and reciting it, (3) expounding it, (4) concurrently practicing the Six Paramitas, and (5) intensely practicing the Six Paramitas. Here the meaning of “reading and reciting” is deeper than in the aforementioned five practices of Dharma teachers: as our faith deepens, we do not simply read the sutra aloud but also come to appreciate it in our hearts and minds and study it in great depth.

In short, we are diligent in the practice of reading and reciting the sutra so that we can firmly receive and embrace it, that is, so that we can deepen our faith and devotion to it and make progress toward the attainment of buddhahood (the perfection of oneself). This is the first function of the practice of sutra recitation.

The second function of reading and reciting the sutra is to serve as an “offering,” or kuyo in Japanese, to the Three Treasures – the Buddha, his teachings, and the community of those who practice them – and it is also a bodhisattva practice undertaken for the sake of others. …

The third function of sutra recitation is to go beyond a merely intellectual understanding of the sutra’s contents. There are two ways of comprehending the Lotus Sutra: understanding it intellectually and understanding it bodily, that is, by reciting it orally. The act of reading the sutra aloud helps readers totally concentrate their consciousness on recitation without engaging their intellect to grasp the meaning of the words and phrases of the sutra. While the strength of modern intellectual comprehension is coherent logic founded on rational understanding, rhythmic recitation is capable of adding something more to our rational understanding of the literal meanings of the sutra.

According to the Japanese traditional belief called kotodama, spiritual power dwells within words, and therefore, when the mouth gives voice to words, it releases their inherent power, which is capable of stirring heaven and earth and all the living beings therein. Words work phonetically to produce rhythm and resonance, which are in turn the agents that guide the body and mind of the reciter to the realm of the sutra, that is, to the Buddha’s world of great harmony. Sutra recitation, in particular its rhythm and resonance, can liberate us from the disadvantage of the modern age — the habit of limiting our horizon of understanding to the intellectual comprehension of the sutra.

The experience of reciting the sutra aloud is quite different from reading it silently because sutra recitation provides more than just an intellectual understanding of the sutra. When we recite the sutra, we enjoy the pleasure of the rhythm of its sentences as well as the repetition of its set phrases and idioms, just as if we were reciting a poem or singing a song. We may even feel surrounded by the Buddha’s light and embraced by his compassion. This is a form of meditation.

This March will mark the completion of five years of daily Lotus Sutra recitation. It is a practice unlike anything I attempted during more than 25 years with Soka Gakkai. It is a practice that has brought profound benefit in my life and encouraged my Bodhisattva vow to help others attain the path. It is a practice I heartily recommend.