It was 755 years ago today that Nichiren went to the top of a mountain and chanted Nam(u)-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. He then came back down to the Seicho-ji temple, and gave a lecture in which he declared the Lotus Sutra to be the Buddha's Supreme Teaching. This teaching could be encapsulated and made accessible to everyone by the simple practice of chanting the Sutra's titles: Myoho-Renge-Kyo. According to legend, this new way of looking at things went over none too well with those who had come to hear his talk, and Nichiren spent much of the remainder of his life in exile, or otherwise "on the lam".
So, let's take this day to think about what it is that we have in our practice of chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra.
It's a good day for saying "thank you", for looking back at our time of practice, and for looking forward to explore the future of Nichiren Buddhism in the West.
How do you see Nichiren Buddhism taking root in the West? What do the next 700 years have in store for this form of Buddhism?
Enquiring minds want to know,
Byrd in LA
Posted by wahzoh at April 28, 2008 12:46 PM