I’ve been in Churchville, NY, for a week helping to prepare my wife’s parents’ house to be sold. Today, I took the opportunity to visit Kanjo Grohman’s Ro-Ō Zan Enkyoji Nichiren Buddhist Temple and attend the 9am service.

After the service we were discussing tea and the dharma and it occurred to be that understanding the properties of tea – this one will calm, this will energize, this will help digestion – is much like studying the dharma.

As Nichiren Buddhists we know that chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō is the essential practice. Nothing else is required. As I like to envision it, the daimoku is a magnifying glass that focuses the sunlight of the Buddha’s teaching into a single spot so hot that it can burn away our delusions.

But as our practice’s focus shifts from inward to outward, from easing our own troubles to saving all sentient beings, we benefit from studying. The example that came up in the meeting was the use of chamomile tea. Weakly brewed chamomile is soothing and helps relax and promote sleep. Strongly brewed chamomile is bitter and perfect for digestive distress.

In Ichidai Shōgyō Tai-i, Outline of All the Holy Teachings of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 81, Nichiren underscores the importance of study. He writes:

For one cannot correctly understand the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra without learning the pre-Lotus Sūtras, although one may study the pre-Lotus Sūtras without learning about other Sūtras.

In support of this, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai stated in his Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra, “When attempting to spread various sūtras other than the Lotus Sūtra, the essential part of the teaching will not be lost even if a doctrinal analysis of all the teachings of the Buddha is not rendered. When attempting to spread the Lotus Sūtra, however, the essence of the teaching may be lost if a doctrinal analysis is not made.” It is preached in the Lotus Sūtra (chapter 2, “Expedients”), “Although the Buddhas expound various teachings, it is for the purpose of leading the people into the world of the One Buddha Vehicle.” “Various teachings” here refer to all the pre-Lotus Sūtras. “For the purpose of leading the people into the world of the One Buddha Vehicle” means to expound all the scriptures of Buddhism to reveal the Lotus Sūtra.

Personally, I hold to the theory that, especially in a country like America where Buddhism is relatively unknown, it helps to know the expedient teachings that paved the way for the Lotus Sūtra.

However, even with such study, we need to keep our primary focus on the daimoku.

In Ueno-dono Gohenji, A Reply to Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 119, Nichiren writes:

Some of my disciples pretend to know the details of doctrines. They are mistaken. The odaimoku, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, is the essence of the Lotus Sūtra. It is like a human being’s spirit. If any other teachings were to be added to the odaimoku, it would be the cause of great trouble. It would be like the Empress marrying two Emperors, or committing adultery. The teachings of the Lotus Sūtra did not spread far enough during the Ages of the True Dharma and the Semblance Dharma. This was because these periods were intended for other sūtras.

We are presently living in the Latter Age of Degeneration. The Lotus Sūtra and other sūtras are no longer efficacious in bringing about enlightenment. Only the odaimoku can accomplish this. This is not my arbitrary opinion. It was so-arranged by the Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures, various Buddhas from all over the universe, and numerous great bodhisattvas from beneath the earth such as Superior Practice Bodhisattva.

It is a serious mistake to mix other teachings with the odaimoku. For example, when the sun rises, we no longer need to use lamps. When it rains, the dew is of no use. A baby does not need any nourishment except for milk. We do not need to add supplements to effective medicine.