Real Life with Ryuei

No Buddhism without Odaimoku, no Odaimoku without Buddhism

This was originally written in response to a member of the Nichiren Shu Yahoo Group, but the response was something I have been mulling over for years, so I have revised it a bit and share it hear for the consideration of whoever may care to read it:

In the Kanjin Honzon Sho, Nichiren Shonin wrote: "All the practices and enlightenment of Shakyamuni Buddha are contained in the five characters: Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo. When we receive and keep these five characters, we immediately obtain the merits of the Buddha's practices and enlightenment." - cited in the Sacred Services of Nichiren Shu published by the San Jose Nichiren Buddhist Temple.

I agree with this because I know what Namu Myoho Renge Kyo means. But I will admit that to the uninitiated it sounds like Nichiren is saying that chanting these particular Sino-Japanese syllables has the magical effect of instantly making us Buddhas. I think there is more to what Nichiren Shonin was saying than that however.

I know that Nichiren Shu members in Korea chant "Namu Myo Beop Yeon Hwa Kyeong." This was raised at a meeting of international ministers of Nichiren Shu and to my knowledge no objections were raised. Unlike Koreans or Chinese however, we English speakers do not have a native pronounciation of the characters that Nichiren used for the Odaimoku. I suppose we could chant "Namas Saddharma Pundarika Sutra," but I don't think it is as catchy as Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, and in any case the characters of the Odaimoku and even their Sino-Japanese pronounciation represent to me the line of transmission from the Sanskrit sutra to its translation into Chinese by Kumarajiva (which I feel is superior to the Sanskrit version) to its interpretation by Chih-i and Miao-lo, to its transmission to Japan by Saicho, and finally to its definitive (for us Nichiren Buddhists) interpretation by Nichiren Shonin. So I am all for sticking with the Sino-Japanese pronounciation, at least for those who don't have a native way of pronouncing those characters (for whom switching to a Japanese pronounciation could be problematic). But at the same time I think it is needful to point out what those characters symbolize. And by "symbolize" I am referring to Paul Tillich's definition of a symbol as something that points beyond itself but at the same time participates in that which it points to.

For some time I have said, "There is no Buddhism without zen and no zen without Buddhism." By that I mean that Buddhism without the equanimity and awareness, calmness and centering, symbolized by the word "zen" (which comes from the Sanskrit word dhyana by the same tortuous linguistic route that brought us Namu Myoho Renge Kyo) is not Buddhism. Conversely, zen that holds itself aloof from the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha is not zen at all, or at least it is not Buddhist zen but something else - perhaps a secular technique of calming and concentration that one can use to play better golf or maintain one's motorcycle, but it is no longer about liberation in the Buddhist sense.

My friend Taigen Roshi asked me if I could say the same about Odaimoku. "There is no Buddhism without Odaimoku, and no Odaimoku without Buddhism." I had to think about that. Obviously Shakyamuni Buddha sat in meditation and so do all Buddhists to this day (even Nichiren Buddhists as my sensei the Ven. Ryusho Matsuda pointed out to me when I first met him). But chanting seven Sino-Japanese symbols as the be all and end all practice of Buddhism was an innovation of Nichiren Shonin in the 13th century, more than 1,500 years of Buddhism had gone by up to that point, and more than 700 years would follow wherein most Buddhists in Asia would never even hear of Odaimoku until the 20th century. And at that point, they heard about it when Japan conquered their countries and sent in Buddhist missionaries (I am thinking in particular of Korea and Taiwan). I could easily say that there is no Odaimoku without Buddhism, by which I mean that while there are plenty of people chanting Odaimoku who know nothing about Buddhism, don't want to know anything about Buddhism, and who use Odaimoku as a magick spell for personal gain and for cursing enemies, it is not Odaimoku in the sense that Nichiren meant it. It is a counterfeit. But could I honestly tell Taigen Roshi, "There is no Buddhism without Odaimoku"?

I found that I could, if by Odaimoku I did not merely mean seven Sino-Japanese syllables but that which they represent which has been a core part of Buddha Dharma from the very beginning. From earliest times, mindfulness of the Dharma ("Dharmasmrti" is the Sanskrit term for this practice) has been one of the many methods of mind-cultivation ("cittabhavana" in Sanksrit) used in Buddhism. So Buddhism has always held that contemplating the Dharma itself is an important practice, but that is just one practice among many and includes contemplation of the four noble truths and eightfold path and dependent origination, which is not what we mean by "Devotion to the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Flower Teaching." Even beyond that, however, is what the Buddha did upon his awakening beneath the Bodhi Tree. According to the Connected Discourses (Samyutta Nikaya), he arose from the Bodhi Tree and considered to whom he should show reverence as his teacher. But he realized that it was nothing but the Wonderful Dharma (in Pali Sadhamma) which had been his teacher, and so he paid reverence to the Wonderful Dharma. Paying reverence to the Wonderful Dharma, which is what "Namu Myoho" means, is one of the first things the Buddha did. And this reverence became a life based on that Wonderful Dharma in every moment, and a life dedicated to sharing that Wonderful Dharma. Insofar as that goes, the Buddha at first hesitated to teach, but the god Brahama (the creator deity of Brahmanism) told him that some people were like lotus flowers just on the verge of rising up from the muddy water and coming into bloom. If the Buddha were to teach these people, who were like lotus flowers in various stages of maturity, they would come to bloom. This is what we mean by Renge which means "lotus flower". From that moment on all the Buddha's discourses, Kyo means "sutra" or "discourse", were aimed at bringing all people's enlightened qualities into bloom, or at least to plant the seed of such a blooming in their lives. So the Buddha's whole life was "Namu Myoho Renge Kyo," though of course he never chanted and certainly knew nothing of China or Japan (and Japan as a unified nation didn't even exist yet at that time, Japanese mythology aside). Namu Myoho Renge Kyo is a rich verbal symbol of what his life was all about: dedication to the Wonderful Dharma which brings people's enlightened qualities into bloom through the constant discourse of the Buddha's teaching and example, and in fact the discourse of life itself.

So I really can say, "Without Odaimoku there is no Buddhism, and without Buddhism there is no Odaimoku." And, with all that in mind, I can fully affirm what Nichiren claimed in Kanjini Honzon Sho: "All the practices and enlightenment of Shakyamuni Buddha are contained in the five characters: Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo. When we receive and keep these five characters, we immediately obtain the merits of the Buddha's practices and enlightenment."

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei

Posted by Ryuei at June 17, 2005 11:52 AM