Today I was asked in an email for a further clarification of my article "Chanting as Prayer and Illumination." Specifically I was asked how it related to the God and petitionary prayer. If I understood the question - this person was wondering how or if Odaimoku chanting related to a response from God - whether an answer or assistance or change in circumstance. At least that is how I understood the question. For privacy sake I cannot share the initial letter. But since my response did not refer to any personal particulars and since it is an attempt to clarify the article at Ryuei.net I would like to share it here. Also, maybe someof you might have a comment or critique that will provide more insight or at least a better way of articulating things. So here it is:
First of all, you might want to read my FAQ for Christians which is at my site in the Miscellany Section. The thing is that in Buddhism there are "gods" including the self-proclaimed creator god Brahma (who is on the Gohonzon) and then there are mystical aspects of the Buddha like Dharmakaya that seem similar to Christian ideas of a Godhead and so on. But Buddhism does not believe in an overall anthropocentric creator deity (Brahma is portrayed as deluded) who is in charge of everything and an eternal being, or even Being. Rather, from the Buddha's point of view what is ultimately real is the selfless flow of causes and conditions - what in Nichiren Buddhism we call Myoho or Mystic Law according to some translations.
Ok, but what does this mean for you or us rather. If you read the gosho you will see that Nichiren frequently refers to offering prayers to the gods or to receiving the help and protection of the gods like Brahma, Shakra, the gods of the sun and moon and stars and the Shinto deities Hachiman and Amaterasu. Nichiren just naturally related to these beings as most people in his time did. He believed that by upholding the Lotus Sutra he would receive the protection and assistance of these beings. But there are other gosho where he makes it clear that all these beings are aspects of ourselves, of the true nature of our life. This is typical in Buddhist thought generally - you can view things in a mythic way with external gods and realms of rebirth, or you can view all this as a way of portraying and relating to your own inner qualities - qualities that are reflected in your environment. Actually these qualities aren't simply external or internal they are of the nature of the interdependent flow of causes and conditions. So we can take a devotional approach and beseech the aid of the many beings portrayed on the Gohonzon as personifications or manifestations of the power of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, or we can take a more psychological approach and see all this as expressions of our own inner insight, power, balance, and harmony with the forces of life (causes and conditions). Either way is supported by Buddhism. You don't have to force yourself to believe in gods and spirits, but on the other hand you don't have to reduce everything to just pschology either. Whatever way of relating to the interdependent flow of causes and conditions that works best for you is the right way.
But here is an important thing - whether you believe in God or deities or psychological forces or whatever - you must ultimately reflect on the true nature of your own life. If you have the gosho (or you can even find it online) read "On Attaining Buddhahood." That gosho is excellent in that it points us back to realizing our true nature and not looking for some external fix. It is discovering and actualizing our own true nature as awakened beings - as the awakened/awakening personal aspect of the interdependent flow of causality - that is the whole point of our practice. And from there everything else will fall into place. Or sometimes not - but as awakened beings we will be able to deal with that with equanimity, sefless compassion, and effectiveness. And to realize and actualize our true nature does not require belief, but only trust and confidence in yourself and in the practice. And this trust and confidence comes from just doing it - you don't have to overthink it or force yourself to feel something you don't feel or suppress doubts or distraction - just sit down before the Gohonzon and chant through all the distraction and negativity, keep chanting until it subsides on its own.
Go ahead and chant about all your concerns and wishes and feelings - but chant about these things without any hope or fear or expectation. That's all just extra baggage. Or if you do have hopes, fears, expectations, just chant about those too and don't beat yourself up for having them - and then let them go on their own way. Keep returning to Namu Myoho Renge Kyo itself and let it shine on you just as you are with all your feelings, thoughts, wishes, dreams, anxieties and fears just as they are. It is all this that makes up the causes and conditions of your life at this moment. See deeply into that. If you could see a picture form of the Gohonzon you would see that the Odaimoku is written in such a way that the strokes of each character reach out and embrace all the beings arrayed around it - from the Buddhas and bodhisattvas all the way down to the hungry ghosts and hell-dwellers. In the same way, in our practice, let the Odaimoku simply reach out and embrace all those parts of yourself. There is no need to force anything, just let it happen. Just be present to it. Out of that consistent practice will come insight, an ability to just be with yourself, and a trust that things will work out and you will find your way to what you need to do or perhaps to the way to not do anything but just let things be if that is what is called for.
Again, I am afraid I am not answering this adquately. I guess I just want to convey that chanting is indeed both prayer and meditation - and in both cases it is not about forcing yourself to feel or believe something or getting some immediate result. It is about letting go, nonjudgementally observing and illuminating yourself and your causes and conditions, and just being fully present to yourself and your life. This is how to attain buddhahood in your very body as you practice, this is how to abide in the buddha-nature of all the forces around and within you. It is a supreme letting go that will then allow for clear seeing and the empowerment to make the right cause at the right time as you go about your daily affairs.
Again, I am sorry if this has only added to your confusion, but I send it in the hopes that maybe something here might give you a different perspective that will help.
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei