How to Chant according to [Daisaku Ikeda]:
SGI President Ikeda states: “The more specific and detailed the blueprint we have in our hearts, the better. The point is to continue vividly painting the target we have and to advance toward that goal single-mindedly. Then, at each instant, the reality of our lives will gradually approach the painting that is our aspiration. “Everything depends on what is in our hearts. Heartfelt prayers will definitely be answered” (Learning from the Gosho, p. 129). In praying to the Gohonzon, we should drop all pretense and just be ourselves, offering sincere prayers for the realization of all our desires. By so doing, we can elevate our life-condition and strengthen our life force to the point where we start sensing what to do about each of our specific goals.
In the final analysis, we should first decide that we are going to win before we chant. This strong determination coupled with our chanting enables us to summon forth the appropriate wisdom to deal with any of the inevitable difficulties we will encounter on the way toward achieving our goals. With this resolution, something positive will start welling up from within our lives through chanting. Worry should not be basis of our prayer, as this can undermine the power of chanting. Rather we should to resolve to win first, so that through each daimoku we chant we are tapping every human quality necessary for our victory.
By chanting such heartfelt daimoku to the Gohonzon, the very core of our lives aligns with the purest life force of the universe, melting away whatever negative effects we may otherwise have to experience due to our karma. “Various sins are just like dewdrops,” wrote the Daishonin. “The ‘sun of wisdom’ (Nam-myoho-renge-kyo) is capable of dissolving them all” (Gosho Zenshu, p. 786).
Chanting from the heart solidifies the condition of Buddhahood as the basis of our existence, which is described by the Daishonin as “the unchanging reality which reigns over all of life’s functions” (WND, 832). When Buddhahood is firmly established as the basis of our lives, we gain self-control without being defeated by the five poisons—greed, anger, foolishness, arrogance and doubt.
After chanting, we can return to the reality of our daily lives, acting with renewed confidence to touch the lives of other people and reach our goals. As the Daishonin states, “The purpose of the appearance in this world of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, lies in his behavior as a human being” (WND, 852).
Lastly, President Ikeda writes about the meaning of prayer in Buddhism, referring to the concept of a pledge or vow in The New Human Revolution. He says to a pioneer member in Brazil: “Prayer in Nichiren Buddhism means to chant daimoku based on a pledge or vow. At its very core, this vow is to attain kosen-rufu. It means chanting resolutely with the determination: ‘I will attain kosen-rufu in Brazil. Therefore, I will show magnificent actual proof in my work. Please enable me to bring forth my greatest potential.’ This is what our prayer should be like. “It is also important that we establish clear and concrete goals for what we hope to achieve each day and then pray and challenge ourselves to achieve each of them. This earnest determination gives rise to wisdom and resourcefulness, thereby leading to success. In short, to win in life we need determination and prayer, effort and ingenuity. It is misguided to dream of getting rich quick, expecting to encounter a rare stroke of luck or some shrewd moneymaking scheme. This is not faith. It is mere fantasy” (The New Human Revolution, vol. 1, pp. 250–251).
One might as well be practicing Tientai's Great Concentration and Insight, an impossible practice in this Latter Day, according to Nichiren.
How to Chant according to Nichiren Daishonin:
"Simply chant Namu Myoho renge kyo and strive to attain the way"; and "Thus he states: 'Chant the Lotus Sutra with your ordinary distracted mind. You do not have to enter into a state of mental concentration. Whether sitting, standing, or walking, just fix your whole mind on the words of the Lotus Sutra.'”
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