In Daniel B. Montgomery’s Fire in the Lotus, he mentions that Mugaku Nishida (1850-1918) inspired the creation of the Nichiren lay organization Reiyukai, which was founded in 1924.

Nishida said:

The living individual is the body left behind by the ancestors in this world, so we should treat our ancestors as if they were our own bodies . . . In our hearts we have the seed of buddhahood, which also remains in the ancestors’ souls, so we must protect it for our own salvation. The salvation of the ancestors is our own salvation, and our salvation is the ancestors’ salvation.

Montgomery got the quote from Helen Hardacre’s “Lay Buddhism in Contemporary Japan,” p14, Princeton University Press, 1984.

I believe Nishida’s sentiment fits well with Nichiren Shu and the reason why memorial prayers and services are important. But that’s not to say I particularly like Reiyukai. Later in Fire in the Lotus, Montgomery quotes Joe Walters, Manager of Reiyukai America Association, on the subject of prayer:

Our prayer, which in reality is a sincere wish from the bottom of our heart, is not directed towards any particular deity, but is given freely for the ears of whomever or whatever is in the unseen world, the spiritual world, and may have the power to help us fulfill that wish. In this way, we can all harmoniously wish for and strive for world peace together.

Praying “to whom it may concern” has never been acceptable me. I Googled “praying to the universe” and got back 11.2 million results, including a pullout box with “Prayers for Surrender” from millennial-grind.com:

Universe, I surrender my agendas, timelines, and desires to you. I trust that you are leading me towards solutions of the highest good for all. 2. Universe, I step back and let you lead the way.

I just do better focusing my prayers on my causes and conditions while I embrace the protection from the ever-present Eternal Śākyamuni Buddha.

Fire in the Lotus includes a wonderful quote from Nikkyo Niwano, founder and president of Rissho Kosei-kai:

It was because of the guidance of my teacher, Sukenobu Arai, that I became fond of the Sutra, threw myself into it, and made it a part of me. Until then I had gone from one religion to another; each had the power to save, but they were like coarse nets through which many fish could slip. The more I read the Lotus Sutra, the more I realized that its truth was infinite in scope, infinite in precision, infinite in power to save. The Lotus Sutra, I saw, is a finely woven net through which no captive can slip. The ecstacy of discovering this made me want to shout and sing and dance for joy.

This I can relate to.