@Mark Rogow No problem. I had just posted a comment identifying myself. I hadn't asked any questions. My debts basically boil down to:1- What happens if at the end of the term I do not receive any concrete benefits, manifest any of my goals or receive proof of Daimoku's power? (How should I interpret the lack of results?2- How long should I wait for something to happen (How long is it normal to practice Daimoku without getting any concrete benefits or receiving conclusive proof?)3- How can someone like me, who never believed in anything, never had faith in anything or belief, develop their faith in Buddhism and Daimoku, if nothing happens?4-What if I pray to manifest goals that are not possible or that Daimoku cannot help to achieve? (Simply does not receive an answer? Do I waste my time?)5- What can I set as a goal or not for chant Daimoku?Thanks again for your attention
@Andre Leite da Silva I will answer your questions in order. Regarding benefits:The principle benefits of the Lotus Sutra is a purification of the Senses (see Chapter 19 of the Lotus sutra, the Benefits of the Teacher of the Law). Nichiren teaches: "Concerning prayer, there are conspicuous prayer and conspicuous response, conspicuous prayer and inconspicuous response, inconspicuous prayer and inconspicuous response, and inconspicuous prayer and conspicuous response. But the only essential point is that, if you believe in this sutra, all your desires will be fulfilled in both the present and the future. The third volume of the Lotus Sutra states, “Although the devil and the devil’s people will be there, they will all protect the Law of the Buddha.” And the seventh volume states, “[If a person who has an illness is able to hear this sutra, then] his illness will be wiped out and he will know neither old age nor death.” You must not doubt these golden words." - Letter to the Lay Priest Domyoand"Question: You have mentioned above that the teaching, practice, and proof are not all present in each of the three periods of the Former, Middle, and Latter Days of the Law. If so, how do you explain the Great Teacher Miao-lo’s statement, “The beginning of the Latter Day of the Law will not be without inconspicuous benefit, for it is the time when the great teaching will be propagated”?Answer: The meaning of this passage is that those who obtained benefit during the Former and Middle Days of the Law received “conspicuous” benefit, because the relationship they formed with the Lotus Sutra during the lifetime of the Buddha had finally matured. On the other hand, those born today in the Latter Day of the Law receive the seeds of Buddhahood for the first time, and their benefit is therefore “inconspicuous.” The teaching, practice, and proof of this age differ greatly from those of Hinayana, provisional Mahayana, the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings, or the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra. There is no one now who can gain benefits [like those of the Former and Middle Days of the Law]. According to Miao-lo’s commentary, the benefits in the Latter Day are inconspicuous, and people can therefore neither perceive nor understand them.Question: Is there any sutra passage which says that inconspicuous benefits are limited to the Latter Day of the Law?Answer: A passage from the “Medicine King” chapter in the seventh volume of the Lotus Sutra reads: “This sutra provides good medicine for the ills of the people of Jambudvīpa. If a person who has an illness is able to hear this sutra, then his illness will be wiped out and he will know neither old age nor death.” The Great Teacher Miao-lo says: “To regard the last five-hundred-year period after the Buddha’s passing as the time when no one can attain benefit is a superficial viewpoint. The beginning of the Latter Day of the Law will not be without inconspicuous benefit, for it is the time when the great teaching will be propagated. The last five-hundred-year period corresponds to that time.” - The Teaching Practice and Proof
@Andre Leite da Silva Regarding how long should you wait, one Daimoku may be enough and 1,000,000 may be insufficient. One million is 3 hours a day for 2 months at a brisk pace or 2 hours a day for 3 months also at a brisk pace.
@Andre Leite da Silva Regarding how long you need wait, from my perspective, the greatest inconspicuous benefit is being able to chant Namu Myoho renge kyo at this time of strife.
@Andre Leite da Silva Regarding manifesting impossible goals, let me give you an example. You lose an arm and chant for your arm to be as it was. Realizing the eternity of life (another inconspicuous benefit), you will come to realize that in your next life, you WILL be whole and you will be able to accomplish your goals without that arm like the drummer for Def Leppard, Rick Allen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDcPEvpQCss
@Andre Leite da Silva Above, i replied about certain goals for chanting a million Daimoku. May I suggest you try chanting the 6 or 7 beat full Daimoku, Namu Myoho renge kyo. Also, try teaching the Daimoku to even one other. As Nichiren teaches:"Bodisattva Fukyo (NeverDespise or NeverDisparaging) in the past, saying that all beings have the Buddha Nature and if they keep the Lotus Sutra, they will certainly attain Buddhahood and to slight them is tantamount to slighting Buddhas. Thus, he established the Practice of Bowing in Reverence; saying that, even those who do not keep the Lotus Sutra, if they were to keep it, have the Buddha Nature and would become Buddhas. He thus performed Bowing in Reverence in this way to those who did not keep it. How much more to the householders and priests who keep the Lotus Sutra. In the fourth fascicle of this Sutra it is taught that if one demeans, with even one evil word, those who keep and preach the Lotus Sutra, be it a householder or one who has left the household, the magnitude of the sin is beyond the sin of directly disparaging the Buddha Shakya. It is also preached, 'Whether true or untrue, those who keep the Lotus Sutra should not, even forgetfully, disparage each other, should they? The reason is that all those who keep the Lotus Sutra are necessarily Buddhas and to disparage a Buddha is to earn oneself a sin. When one understands it in this way, the merit of the Title (Daimoku) which one chants must be equal to the merit of Lord Shakya.""But for your person, as a householder, the essence is for you to chant 'Namu Myôhô renge kyô' with no other thought and also to make offering to the monks. And also, if it is according to the Sutra text, one should also 'expound it according to their strength', shouldn't one? When the world is sorrowful, though you think, 'Even the sufferings of the present life are painful, how much more the sufferings of the world to come,' chant 'Namu Myôhô renge kyô', and when it joyful also, think, 'The joy of the present life is a dream within a dream; it is the joy of the Pure Land of Spiritual Mountain (Ryôzen jôdo) that is the true joy' and with this chant 'Namu Myôhô renge kyô', and, practicing without backsliding, wait for the time approaching the very end and see! If you run and climb the Mountain of Sublime Enlightenment and take a good look at the four directions, how fantastic! The Realm of Dharmas is the Land of Tranquil Light with lapis lazuli as its earth and the eight ways bounded with ropes of gold, and from the heavens the four types of flowers rain down, in the void music is heard, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas caressed by the winds of Eternity, Bliss, Self and Purity, indeed rejoice and are happy. And is it nearing the time when we too shall be ranked in that number, disporting and playing and taking pleasure. When the mind of faith is weak, one cannot go to such an auspicious place; one cannot go!" (The ninth day of the twelfth month of the Second Year of Kenji (1276): KHS, p.581) -- Matsuno dono gohenji (Reply to Lord Matsuno or the Fourteen Slanders) "One who listens to even a sentence or phrase of the sutra and cherishes it deep in one’s heart may be likened to a ship that crosses the sea of the sufferings of birth and death. The Great Teacher Miao-lo stated, “Even a single phrase cherished deep in one’s heart will without fail help one reach the opposite shore. To ponder one phrase and practice it is to exercise navigation.” Only the ship of Myoho-renge-kyo enables one to cross the sea of the sufferings of birth and death." A ship to cross the Sea of Suffering
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