New Year’s Day Prayers at Buddhist Temple

Nichiren Daishonin states in “Winter Always Turns to Spring:”

Those who practice the Lotus Sutra are as if in winter, which never fails to turn into spring. Never have I seen or heard of winter turning into autumn. Nor have I ever heard of any believer in the Lotus Sutra who remained a common mortal. A passage from the sutra reads, “Among those who hear of this Law, there is no one who can not attain Buddhahood.”

(Gosho, page 832)

New Year’s Day has been celebrated in various ways since ancient times and marks the renewal of a person’s determination to open the way to happiness.  In the Gosho (major writings of Nichiren Daishonin), “Reply to Akimoto,” Nichiren Daishonin states:

In considering the order of the five seasonal festivals, we find that they correspond respectively to the five characters of Myoho-Renge-Kyo. New Year’s Day celebrates the character Myo.

Making determinations and chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo indicates the significance of New Year’s Day.

Each year, the High Priest performs a solemn New Year’s Gongyo with priests and believers at the Head Temple, Taisekiji. Following Gongyo, the High Priest gives warm guidance to all believers. Each local temple, like Myosenji Temple, also conducts New Year’s Gongyo following the Nichiren Shoshu tradition of celebrating New Year’s Day.

To learn more about Nichiren Shoshu Ceremonies, click here.

 

 

Reference: Nichiren Shoshu Ceremonies, pages 1-4.