Fundamentals of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism
1.
What We Believe
The
Original Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, Nichiren Daishonin, states:
Question:
What are the Secret Laws that Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, Tien-T’ai and Dengyo
left unfinished for more than two thousand years since the Thus-Come-One’s
(Buddha’s) passing?
Answer:
They are the Object of Worship (Gohonzon), the Precept Sanctuary (Kaidan),
and the five characters of the Name (Daimoku) of Essential Buddhism (Honmon).
The
essence of the faith and practice of Nichiren Shoshu is the Three Great
Secret Laws: the Object of Worship of Essential Buddhism (the Gohonzon of
Honmon), the Precept Sanctuary of Essential Buddhism (the Kaidan of Honmon),
and the Name of Essential Buddhism (the Daimoku of Honmon).
The Gohonzon of Honmon is the ultimate existence that we revere to
attain Buddhahood. Nichiren
Daishonin states:
I
have imbued and poured forth Nichiren’s life in sumi ink and have
inscribed it. Believe in it.
The Buddha’s heart is the Lotus Sutra, but
Nichiren’s life is nothing other than Nam–Myoho-Renge-kyo.
“The
Gohonzon of Honmon” is the life of the True Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin,
inscribed by his own hand. We
can fuse with the Gohonzon and attain the life of the Buddha by the practice
called “Gongyo and Shodai” to the Gohonzon, the very entity of the True
Buddha. Nichiren Daishonin
indicates that the Gohonzon of Honmon itself is the ultimate reality of
Buddhism.
“The
Kaidan of Honmon” is the place where the Gohonzon of Honmon is enshrined.
When we enshrine the Gohonzon in Temples and believer’s homes where
we strive to practice, they become “Kaidans by implication.”
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2008 NST Myosenji All Rights Reserved