We had a daimoku toso at my house last night. A Daimoku toso is a meeting where you chant Daimoku (Nam Myoho Renge Kyo), usually for an hour or more. They're cool.
We used to have these regularly but no one was showing up.
Back in the 80's of course these were standard practice for every campaign. Once a year, sometimes more, Men's Division would do an all-nighter. There were stories of guys chanting into the wee hours and actually hallucinating.
Gee whiz, isn't that fun...
None the less tozos are great. They remind me of the simple value of being an SGI member - meetings.
Those of us Gakkai members and ex-Gakkai members live and practice in a time where being a Nichiren Buddhist is fraught with peril. There is much controversy, and SGI is clearly losing its place "under the radar".
Nonetheless the SGI has a frame-work that makes it easy to hold and attend meetings where you can chant with other Nichiren Buddhists, and that is a wonderful thing. Other Independent Nichiren groups, break-aways and sanghas which have a presence on the World Wide Web have had difficulty through the last decade trying to recreate this.
Nichiren Shu doesn't really emphasize meetings at member’s homes, which is neither here nor there in my opinion. Of course Nichiren Shu has wicked-cool temples which pretty much makes up for the lack of home meetings. Other Nichiren groups I have read about have attempted in various forms to have meetings or conventions, the success of which I am not aware. I know that it must be hard to coordinate, organize and advertise something which SGI does on a normal regular basis.
The conflict is - I feel - that most of us started practicing this Buddhism in SGI so when we leave we hunger for the aspects of the Gakkai that were really satisfying and helped us all practice this wonderful Buddhism.
I appreciate that I am still able to practice in SGI. I feel bad for those who are not and maybe don’t realize that you don’t have to agree with everything SGI does, say or believes in order to go to a meeting.
Rev. Greg, Shidoshi
Sometimes I chant slow, sometimes fast, it depends on what I feel is needed. I find slow chanting can be calming or sometimes boring. Fast chanting can be energizing or habitual. Of course my attitude is what determines how it effects me. I recite Gongyo faster in the morning and slower in the evening, depending on time factors. When I'm really worried about something I tend to immerse myself in reciting the sutra and O'daimoku, that is doing several recitations of the sutra including the prose section of Gongyo+ one hour or more of daimoku. Sound familiar? Dave in ks
Posted by: Dave at October 17, 2004 08:21 PMGreg & Byrd (& all) -
For what its worth, I generally chant more slowly than I once did, especially when chanting alone. From this experience I can understand what your priest acquaintence is talking about. I feel that people like to chant rapidly because its easier for them to keep in rhythym together, if you aren't using a mokusho or mokugyo (wood drums) or something else for that purpose.
Another thing that I have found enjoyable is the rhythym pattern used in Shodaigyo. Shodaigyo is a chanting and meditation service; the chanting portion begins extremely slowly, with the pace building at a very measured rate of increase until it is going as fast as I have ever chanted. The rhythym is maintained by mokusho and taiko(if available). The experience of Odaimoku chanted by many voices augmented by the drums must be experienced; it cannot really be described. When closing, the speed of repetition drops off (again at a measured rate) more quickly, back down to nearly the original extremely slow pace before the final three Odaimoku. This has a very satisfying and powerful feel to it, and when bracketed with the silent sitting portions of the service is unlike anything else I have tried. One acquaintance (an acomplished meditator but new to mantra chanting) said her "brain felt scrubbed"; I have always remembered that comment.
Namaste, Engyo Mike Barrett
Posted by: Engyo Mike Barrett at October 5, 2004 02:09 PMByrd in LA,
Thanks for your response. Funny thing about chanting fast...
I recently had a discussion with a Shoshinkai priest and he brought up the issue of chanting speed. He said that if we chant to fast our daimoku begins to sound like a magic incantation and that it was important to chant slow enough to pronounce each word.
On the other hand I get quite irritated when my members chant at the speed of a funeral march.
So yeah, like all things it is left to each of us to discover ourselves in everything we do, including how fast we prefer to chant....
Excellent point... Thanks again...
Rev. Greg, Shidoshi
Posted by: Rev. Greg at October 5, 2004 05:53 AMThanks for the blog, Greg. I no longer enjoy tosos very much,because I've gotten to a place where chanting as fast as most Gakkai members do (and maybe temple people, too, I don't know) is stressful and doesn't alow me to concentrate on the Daimoku or on the Sutra recitation. So, I fell out of the toso loop by default, and it's something I miss. I miss the group "feel", seeing all my friends, and the extra "oomph" that comes fromchanting with a group. But on the other hand, it is very hard for me to concentratewhen I'm chanting that fast. I don tknow if anyone else has hadthe problem of slowing down, savoring the Daimoku, and then not being able to kick back into 75 rpm at the drop of a hat? Byrd in LA
Posted by: Byrd in LA at October 5, 2004 05:15 AMThe early SGI modelled itself on the style of meetings of Hokkeko because Mr Makiguchi and Toda both were first members of Hokkeko. The idea of Zadankai came from there. I believe Mr Makiguchi converted from Nichiren Shu.
In Nichiren Shoshu we do not do 'Tosos' however. It is called Shodaikai...chanting meeting.
However all this is still very much a part of Nichiren Shoshu practise.
In Nichiren Shoshu members do get together on an impromptu basis just to chant together without it being an official thing but rather for their own enjoyment.
Of course there are times when all chant together for some reason or other such as for example every month when every member tries to attend Shodaikai.
During January it is customary to chant an hour minimum every day because the High Priest conducts an hour's Daimoku each day at the head Temple. I remember a few years back each member chanted frm January to April I think it was a minimum of two hours a day because the High Priest was doing the same at the Head Temple.
In UK a few years back some of us got together every two weeks or so to chant all day...from 11am to 7 pm...That was fun! I don't quite remember why we stopped that one...perhaps should start again...
Anyway..my point is that it is not only in SGI where people meet in homes to share their practise.
Naturally the Temples are the very heart of our faith but our homes are also a form of sanctuary where we train in our faith together with our fellow believers.
Jussi.
Thanks for the thoughts on Daimoku Tozo, and the above thought provoking comments above. I love Fraught with Peril forum where people can speak & learn from others, perhaps some going through same situations, or have done so in the past. Thank you to all of you.
Carol
Engyo Barrett -
Thanks for the response. I acknowledge everything you have said. I especially agree that there are many different experiences with SGI.
Dr.Mimi has hair-raising tales of her SGI experience in Modesto that are truly disturbing. I know there are other's who have not had an easy time.
People are people, and in the end reality *is* reality.
Rev. Greg
Posted by: Rev. Greg at September 30, 2004 01:47 AMRev. Greg -
"I appreciate that I am still able to practice in SGI. I feel bad for those who are not and maybe don’t realize that you don’t have to agree with everything SGI does, say or believes in order to go to a meeting."
One thing I would submit is that the second sentence above does not necessarily apply in all areas of SGI-USA; I don't doubt it is true where you are, but I and others have had different experiences.
Secondly, I don't just want to go to a meeting. I want to be a part of a sangha. Unfortunately the sangha I want to be part of does not bear a great resemblance to the way SGI-USA is currently implemented where I live. I chose not to try to force others (happy with their sangha as it was) to change; instead I (along with friends) decided to build the sangha I (we) want.
"I know that it must be hard to coordinate, organize and advertise something which SGI does on a normal regular basis."
Actually, it is no harder to do now than it was when I did the same thing with SGI-USA. I must acknowledge my debt of gratitude for the training I received there....I am putting it to wonderful use. Actually, it is often easier to do; I almost never have to grit my teeth and bite my tongue, and I no longer have to deal with cognitive dissonance.
SGI-USA meetings are not the only place where chanting with friends, conventions, conferences, and in general the practice of Nichiren's Buddhism can be found. I will not tell anyone practicing any form of Nichiren's Buddhism that they should leave their current sangha; but I will tell them not to be afraid to do so if they wish to.
Namaste, Engyo Mike Barrett
Posted by: Engyo Mike Barrett at September 29, 2004 11:13 PM