(Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3, verse section)
"The jewels of this jeweled vehicle are the seven precious substances
which adorn the great cart. The seven jewels are precisely the seven
orifices in one's head, and these seven orifices are precisely the
[seven characters] na-mu-myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo, the essential Dharma for
the Final Dharma Age. For us, living beings, the five characters of
the daimoku will become a boat at the river of the three crossings ;
they will remove the cold in the crimson-lotus hell. In the hell of
burning heat, they will become a cool breeze, and on the mountains of
death, they will become lotus blossoms. When we are thirsty, they will
become water, and when we are hungry, they will become food. When we
are naked, they will become a robe. They will become a wife, a child,
retainers, a clan--benefitting all living beings by conferring their
inexhaustible responsive workings. This is the meaning of "directly
arriving at the place of enlightenment." Accordingly, the fact that
one dwells nowhere else but in the Land of Tranquil Light is called
"directly arriving at the place of enlightenment." You should fix
your mind on the word "directly" and ponder it." [STN3:2563-64]
(Excerpt of the "Onko Kikigaki" , transcribed by Niko)
Nichiren Daishonin, our founder and teacher, says our Daimoku in the
later age becomes a boat, water, breeze, etc. Let no one tell you that
chanting Daimoku in the later day has no power to grant our needs. Our
purpose in life is notare not to become martyrs, we are in Kempon Hokke
Kai to spread the dharma and show the blessings of Buddha to the
entire world! In Eugene, Oregon, Bonnie Bennett asked Rev. Kubota how
to chant, and he told her to "think of Buddha as your Father, and
chant with a sincere seeking mind. You can chant for anything you
like."
From chapt. 23 of the Lotus Sutra
"This Sutra is that which can save all the living; this sutra can
deliver all the living from pains
and sufferings; this sutra is able greatly to benefit all the living
and fulfill their desires."
"It is able to deliver all the living from all sufferings and all
diseases, and is able to unloose all
the bonds of mortal life."
diseases, and is able to unloose all
the bonds of mortal life."
"In the last five hundred years after my extinction, proclaim and
spread it abroad in Jumbudvipa,
lest it be lost and Mara the Evil [One], his Mara-people, gods,
dragons, yakshas, kumbhandas,
and others gain their opportunity."
spread it abroad in Jumbudvipa,
lest it be lost and Mara the Evil [One], his Mara-people, gods,
dragons, yakshas, kumbhandas,
and others gain their opportunity."
The Lotus Sutra stands alone according to the words of Shakyamuni
and Nichiren.
We should pay the greatest of respect for anyone who can sit down and
chant the daimoku, even if that person must fight restless thoughts,
impure desires, or an undisciplined mind! The idea that "one sincere
daimoku is worth a million insincere daimoku" is another example of
"beasts wearing the skin of a humans" who try to discourage others
from chanting. They use their own viewpoint that the "state of mind"
is somehow what determines the effectiveness of the chanting. No
human being is in a position to judge such a thing, it's beyond our
abilities. We say that the act of chanting is proof enough of a "mind of
faith". For anyone who has chanted abundantly, they know what a hard
task it is, and how easily the mind wanders. It is not possible to maintain
an ideal condition of unwavering sincerity, with our defiled minds in the
polluted age of Mappo. Common people cannot act like saints, nor
should they feel that their chanting is ineffective, simply because they
doubt their "state of mind". As the Nike commercial says, "Just do it!"
The fact that a person even wants to chant, be it sincere or not, is the
rarest thing for our time period. So, for those who say, "A million daimoku,
chanted mechanically, is not worth anything!", we answer, "A million
daimoku is a million daimoku!" (Actually, a million daimoku is a very
difficult thing to accomplish, so the statement about "mechanical
chanting" does not even make sense!) If anyone claims that they have
the knowledge to judge whether daimoku is sincere or not, they are
acting as a demon who "claims to attain something that they haven't
attained".
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