Robin Beck

Kito & Kanjin part one; Ritual Magick

Recently some of the Nichiren Shoshu Hokkeko members were talking about a distinction between Prayer Daimoku 題目and Shodai 唱題 Daimoku 題目. Evidently, Nichiren Shoshu Priests had been stressing this difference to parishioners. This sort of resonated with me. I am assuming by prayer, they mean kito 祈祷 or just ki / inoru 祈. We see this in at least three places. One of these is the Kito sho 祈祷書?, an authenticated A-U Gosho composed by Nichiren at Ichinosawato in 1272. Another is the Kito Blessing done by specially trained Ministers of Nichiren Shu; who attend the 100 day aragyo training at Nakayama Hokkeji. There is also the Kito Honzon 祈祷本尊 Nichiren Shonin Gohonzon Catalogue # 037. From what I am able to discern, kito / inoru has pretty much the same meaning as prayer in English; to beseech, plea, supplicate, beg, and so on.

The purpose of kito prayer is evidently to influence the environment in some inscrutable manner so as to gain a material blessing, protection from harm, or a purification. This often infers a supernatural intervention by some sort of being, such as a deva or kami that can be invoked or summoned grant favors. Or, in some cases, there is a disturbed, restless, capricious or malevolent being, such as a preta, gaki, shade, troll, demon or other spirit, that must be warded off or even placated.

More sophisticated understandings are based on theories of subtle positive and negative energies that those with shamanic training or the right mantra / dharani / magic spell can control or influence. More profound theories are related to archetypal visual imagery, ritual symbolic magick, and psychodrama. Also, 'transfer of merit' is a traditional Buddhist rationale to explain praying to higher beings or praying for others. Connected with prayers are various forms of worship. There are several different Japanese words that can mean worship. Some examples I found include: ogamu 拝: supplicate, plea, adore, pray to; matsuri 祭 celebrate, festival, fete; and sai 斎: purification, worship, avoid, bar, exorcise.

These kinds of blessings & worship might be described as ritual magick, which is found in most schools of Buddhism, indeed in most religions. The roots are probably found in the ancient animistic religions of the various host countries. There are many forms. Prayers, incantations, and amulets for safe childhood delivery, called koyasu 子安 in Japan, have been popular since pre-Buddhist times. A more recent manifestation is the automobile blessing. In Buddhism, this sort of ritual is usually a source of controversy. Some think Buddhists should stick to teaching Dharma. However, the laity frequently demands ritual magick, and is willing to pay for it. Here is an example from Theravada:

http://www.thaiworldview.com/bouddha/ceremo17.htm

As someone at SGU pointed out, the Nichiren Shu Temple of London more or less advertises various services such as: "Tobyo-Heiyu: prayer for recovery from illness, Kaium: prayer for Raising your fortune, Shobai-Hanjo: prosperity of business, Juken: success in an examination, Shu-Shoku: finding work, Kotsu-Anzenn: free from traffic accident, Kanai-Anzen: safety of your family and security for the house, blessing for baby, house, car, property etc. ... the cost for each ceremony starts at £20." -- Link

We can think whatever we want about the efficacy and appropriateness of these sorts of Buddhist rituals. There is no doubt in my mind that it has been part of Nichiren Buddhism since Nichiren himself. Examples in the Gosho include Nichiren prolonging his mother's life, a star alighting in a plum tree, and Nichiren defeating Ninsho Ryokan in a 'praying for rain duel.' There are many more in the legends. There is even an example in the Pali Canon. Some tree pretas had been disturbing the meditation of some monks who were on a forest retreat. The Buddha taught the monks how to generate soothing mettawaves, by reciting the Metta Sutta. This placated the shades, who returned to their trees, and the monks were able to meditate in peace.

Soooo -- does Kito or Prayer Daimoku really work? Is it it more effective if a trained minister does it for us? Are the special Kito blessings done by specially trained Ministers even more effective? That is another entry. Moreover, there is much more to Nichiren Buddhism than material blessings. There is also what Nichiren Shoshu calls Shodai 唱題, or chanting meditation; with the purpose of achieving Kyochi Myogo 境智冥合, a sort of fusion with the Mandala Gohonzon. This is related to kanjin 観心. That is also another blog. Both Kito 祈祷 and kanjin 観心 are part of Nichiren Buddhism. Kito 祈祷 Prayer is something we can do either for ourselves or others; and others can do for us. There may even be some advantage to having a trained or advanced practitioner do this for us. Some might see this as superstition at worst, or ritual symbolic magiick / archetypal visual imagery / psychodrama at best. Or maybe it is skillful means to encourage cultivation of faith, and perhaps it actually works? At any rate, kanjin seems to be something that we have to do for ourselves. I do not think someone else can meditate and cultivate insight for us.

Posted by rbeck at April 19, 2008 07:10 PM