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.