In our decision to dedicate ourselves, we entrust our very life and take refuge within the enlightened world of the Lotus Sutra. Namu, therefore, signifies that as we take shelter in the Buddha, we are embracing every aspect of the Buddha’s compassion, wisdom and enlightened life. On the other hand, it also indicates that in order to achieve this, we choose, then strive, to live our lives in accordance with the spirit and teachings of the Buddha, as his good son, daughter and student.
Odaimoku: The Significance Of Chanting Namu Myoho Renge KyoQuotes
A Change in Our Surroundings
When we mistakenly place our happiness on the fulfillment of desires then we will always repeat the cycle of sufferings. If however we can begin to change ourselves in a fundamental way, if we change our outlook, if we change our very core of life, then slowly but surely the environment in which we live begins to change. It is not just our perception but our true self that changes which then influences the change in our surroundings.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1Devotion to All of Life
The Lotus Sutra is more than a theoretical teaching to ponder. It is a teaching that repeatedly both demonstrates action as well as instructs each practitioner to engage in action. The formula that Nichiren gave us is the action of Namu based upon Myoho Renge Kyo. It isn’t simply a devotion to the Lotus Sutra. It is a devotion to all of life from the Lotus Sutra manifest in our individual actions.
Physician's Good MedicineThe Buddha’s Example
As to the relation between the particular and the universal, the case of Buddha is not only an example, but the typical representative. He was born as a human being, passed through mental struggles, and finally attained Buddhahood, and lived the fifty years of his ministry as the Truth-revealer. This is an actual life of a particular person, and no one can deny its facts, except the docetists, against whom the orthodox Buddhists took a united stand. Yet he was a Buddha, because he was enlightened in cosmic truths and realized the universal nature of Buddhahood, which is called Bodhi, or Enlightenment. He is Bodhi incarnate, so to speak, and Bodhi is the universal and fundamental nature (dhammata) of the spiritual existence, which is pre-existent to appearance of particular Buddhas, and the a priori basis of their attainment.
Nichiren, The Buddhist ProphetRevering the Teachings of the Buddha
In Chapter X we have a transition which shifts the importance of revering the relics of the Buddha to revering the teachings of the Buddha. In this shift we replace the body of the Buddha with the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha makes it clear that Buddhas are not entities to be worshiped; it is their teachings that are important.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraKarma and Destiny
The Buddha was aware that the process of cause and effect extends beyond a single lifetime. Based upon his deep insight into the processes of life and death and of cause and effect, the Buddha saw that who we are and what we are faced with in this life are the result of our actions in previous lifetimes. Furthermore, what we will become in future lifetimes will be determined by what we do in the present. In other words, our every thought, word, and deed has the power to create our own destiny, both now and in the future.
Lotus SeedsFirm and Full Dedication
The word Namu … comes to signify a firm and full dedication of our lives, in both its physical and spiritual aspects. In other words, we express our faith in the Buddha and his teachings, particularly in the Lotus Sutra, and at the same time dedicate ourselves to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha in every possible way.
Odaimoku: The Significance Of Chanting Namu Myoho Renge KyoCommunion with Buddha
The rulership of a single monarch implied the equality of all people, just as faith in the unique personality of Buddha as the saviour of all mankind presupposed the intrinsic value and destiny of every individual to be in communion with him.
History of Japanese ReligionThe Buddha Land that Surrounds Us
In the “Weight of Glory”, C.S. Lewis tells the story of a woman who gave birth to a son while confined as a prisoner in a dungeon. Since the boy had never seen the outside world, his mother tried to describe it by making pencil drawings. Later when they were released from prison, the simple pencil sketches were replaced by the actual images of the beautiful world.
In some ways we may think of our selves, our sufferings as being in a dungeon. In fact in Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra it says: “The perverted people think this world is in a great fire. The end of the kalpa of destruction is coming.’”
In other words we all too easily see the suffering and refuse to see the Buddha land that surrounds us.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1The Boiling Pot of Water
Study leads to prayer and prayer leads to action. This is what chanting the Odaimoku is all about. It is not enough to sit and chant. One must get up and do something. The water never boils unless placed in a pot and the pot placed above a fire. No matter how much I may know about the theory of boiling water, it is useless without action. Expressing joy and devotion to Myoho Renge Kyo by chanting needs to be followed with Myoho Renge Kyo being manifest in our devotion to saving, teaching, and bringing benefit to our entire environment.
Physician's Good Medicine