Queen Lolo
April 21, 2005
I’ve been thinking a lot about why I am turned off by discussions about which Gohonzon is the “real” one, what is the “correct” way to practice, what would Nichiren say about such-and-such. In fact, the more I read this stuff, the more I started questioning Nichiren Buddhism altogether.
Then it hit me. The problem for me isn’t Nichiren Buddhism. The problem is that all these academic musings are about the framework of the practice, not about the practice itself.
Buddhism is beautiful and true because it’s about direct, personal experience, not opinion or dogma or rules or anyone else’s idea of what you should do and how you must do it. And the “direct experience” of Nichiren Buddhism is chanting. I have to believe that if any of us were to meet Nichiren and ask him “What really matters?” he’d say, “Just chant. The rest is detail.”
The truth is, even if this isn’t what Nichiren would say, it’s what works for me. Turning something as precious as Buddhism into an academic subject and arguing the small print is as tiresome to me as having to write a book report on a beloved book. It removes me from the active experience and sucks the life out it. I want to read for the sheer pleasure of reading. I want to practice Buddhism for the sheer experience of practicing. Trying to figure out and bullfight over why we think an author wrote a book, what an artist meant by his painting, or which Gohonzon Nichiren would have endorsed removes us from the direct experience. And besides, trying to second-guess anyone is a total waste of time.
Having said all that, I simply adore reading and writing about Buddhism. But the subject matter needs to be REAL. It needs to be about personal experience. I don’t just mean “I chanted for ten hours and I got a new job” kind of experience. I want to know how Buddhist principles work in YOUR inner life. I want to hear heartfelt, genuine, gutsy, lay-it-out-on-the-table revelations of what Buddhism means to YOU and what YOU bring to the table of this amazing, varied practice.
I want us to share our practices, rather than simply debate the framework of it. Because the framework is just the framework, and personally I could care less which Gohonzon you chant to. Heck, chant to a brick wall or a photo of Mickey Mouse if that’s what works for you. What I want to know is -- What kind of life are YOU creating with your Buddhist practice? What is kind of life is your Buddhist practice creating for YOU?