Procedure for receiving and bestowing Gohonzon for traditionalists

You must be chanting Namu Myoho renge kyo and the two essential chapters of the Lotus Sutra [Gongyo] at least daily [preferably twice a day] and you must sign one or both Declarations of Faith and return it to your friend in faith. Once you have signed the Declaration, you may receive and bestow Gohonzon on others and receive the Declaration of Faith from new believers.

DECLARATION OF FAITH 1

I, __________________________________, declare my faith in the doctrine of the Buddha founded sect:

1. I believe and accept the Hokkekyo or Lotus Sutra to be the Supreme Teaching of Buddha (The Jewel of the Dharma).

2. I believe the Eternal Buddha, Shakyamuni, revealed in the sixteenth Chapter of the Hokekyo, to be the True Object of Worship (The Jewel of the Buddha).

3. I accept the teachings of the Messenger of the Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin, the Earthly Manifestation of the Bodhisattva Jogyo, just as they are stated in his own writings (Jewel of the Sangha).

4. I accept the Direct Succession of the Dharma through the Scrolls of the Sutra. Having sincere faith in these teachings, I request that a Gohonzon Mandala be bestowed on me and I solemnly undertake to treat it always with proper reverence and should it become damaged or worn, I will either return it to a votary of the Lotus Sutra, be he priest or layman, or respectively repair or burn it in the proper manner [while reciting the Daimoku and the Jiga-ge].

Date: ___________________ Signed: __________________________

DECLARATION OF FAITH 2

I, ______________, do hereby affirm the following:

“I am a member of Nichiren Lotus Sect of Buddhism, I am chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra (the Primary Practice), as well as, chapters 2 and 16 of the Lotus Sutra (Secondary Practice) on a regular basis (daily).”

“I believe that the Mandala Gohonzon represents the land of Shakyamuni Buddha, the Eternally Enlightened Original Buddha, at the time of His transmission of the Law of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth (Ceremony in the Air).”

“I also make the following renunciations:”

“I hereby completely reject the teachings of all non-Buddhist religions. I hereby reject the teachings of non-Hokke Buddhist religions.”

“I hereby also reject all heretical teachings that have infiltrated Nichiren’s Buddhism, such as the belief that Nichiren is the Eternally Enlightened Original Buddha; belief in the so-called Dai Gohonzon; worship of various supernatural entities as independent beings, etc.”

Signed and dated: