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PassTheDoobie

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With regard to this, Words and Phrase, volume one, says, "'This is what,' etc., are words indicating faith and compliance. Faith means understanding of what one has heard, and compliance means that [one proceeds to follow it as] one follows the path of teacher and disciple."

(Ongi kuden - Gosho Zenshu, page 709, The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, page 10) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shinbun, July 3rd, 2010
 
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PassTheDoobie

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"'One's body and mind at a single moment pervade the entire realm of phenomena' (WND-1, 366)--these are the immortal words of the Great Teacher Miao-lo of China. The inner realm of our life is so vast that it encompasses the entire universe.

"When we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with our whole being for the sake of kosen-rufu, we cannot fail to move the heavenly deities--the positive forces of the universe. As Nichiren Daishonin writes in a letter to a female follower: 'If one can move Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, can the grass and trees fail to respond, can the waters remain calm?' (WND-2, 811).

"Similarly, when we speak to others based on earnest prayer, our words cannot fail to touch their lives. Let's therefore foster friendships with big, wide-open hearts. Let's courageously share our convictions and ideals with many others, cherishing each encounter. Every effort we make towards that end represents a brilliant opportunity to help others form a connection with Buddhism. Herein lies the path to creating peace. Herein lies the path to happiness and victory."

SGI Newsletter No. 8028, OUR BRILLIANT PATH TO VICTORY, The Victory of the Women’s Division Is the Victory of Soka, from the May 22, 2010, issue of the Seikyo Shinbun, translated July 2nd, 2010
 
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PassTheDoobie

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Hi Forest! I hope things are well with you Brother!

Where have Easy and Wilson! been?

I hope everyone not posting is busy having a wonderful holiday weekend with loved ones! Happy 4th of July to those of you in the States!

Bowing in humble obeisance,

T
 
Babbabud

Babbabud

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Nam myoho renge kyo
Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Enjoying some barbecue with the mrs .... then we will spend tomorrow evening on the boat out on the lake watching the fireworks show.
Just put a fesh engine in the boat .. should be a great time.
Truly enjoy your post pb4ugo... glad to see you on the thread !!
Much love to everyone who reads this thread !! Lets keep turning poison into good meds :)
Nam myoho renge kyo
 
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PassTheDoobie

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PassTheDoobie said:
And please understand that I won’t let this thread be a platform for anyone to attack Daisaku Ikeda. He gets enough of that elsewhere. If you want to jump his shit, you can do it there.

I don't want the bad karma.

Bowing in humble obeisance,

Thomas
Click to expand...

By the way, Mark has now confirmed that he is Buku. I was quite sure I was not wrong. I was not. He is what he is and I make no apologies for saying he's not welcome here.

T
 
Dutchgrown

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How nice to see you here unclefishstick! :jump: I'm still trying to soak up all the basic information myself. There is much to read and learn from here and sooooo happy to see you are checking out this thread! :jump:

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!
 
Babbabud

Babbabud

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Welcome to our little place of beauty and love Unclefishsticks ... so so happy to see you here.
Nam myoho renge kyo
 
unclefishstick

unclefishstick

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thank you for pointing out the trailhead to me! so many paths to explore on our way through life....now i just need to find out what Nam Myoho Renge Kyo! means! LOL
 
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PassTheDoobie

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unclefishstick said:
thank you for pointing out the trailhead to me! so many paths to explore on our way through life....now i just need to find out what Nam Myoho Renge Kyo! means! LOL
Click to expand...

Here you go Fish! This is pretty hard core but it's the truth! I hope you can get your head around it. We look forward to having you join the conversation. It's our honor to help you in any way that we can!

What is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo?

Is it very difficult to know what ‘Nam-myoho-renge-kyo’ is? It is, in a word, the name of Nichiren Daishonin, the eternal True Buddha. Analytically speaking, each of ‘Nam’, ‘myoho’, ‘renge’ and ‘kyo’ has a very profound meaning.

The deductive logic of Oriental philosophy makes it still more difficult for the Western mind, accustomed to inductive logic, to realize the principle of the Hokekyo.

Deduction is ‘logical inference from a general rule or principle’ and Oriental philosophy begins with its supreme principle. For example, Shakyamuni first defined the ‘Myoho-renge-kyo’ (Hokekyo for short) and then he began to teach what it is. Another example is Tendai (T’ien-t’ai) the Great of China who expounded ‘Maka-Enton-Shikan’ (Also called Shikan or Maka-Shikan) as his highest principle and then proceeded to elucidate its contents.

In Mappo (the Latter Day of the Law), the True Buddha appeared as Nichiren Daishonin and established the Gohonzon of ‘Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo’ as the supreme object of worship. He taught that by worshipping the Gohonzon, everyone can discover the Ten Worlds (Jikkai) which are innate in his own life and attain Buddhahood or eternal happiness.

Some people draw a distinct line between science and religion, but they are one-sided. Science, be it natural, political or social, has its own particular object of study. Likewise, religion makes a close study of ‘life’. In a sense, religion is the ‘science of life’. It clarifies both the life of Buddha (Buddhahood) and that of ordinary people (Nine Worlds - because Buddhahood is excluded from the Ten Worlds) and establishes the way of living a truly happy life.

However, many contemporary religionists believe that religion is a sort of ‘mental culture’. They are mistaken. Since religion is ‘science of life’, it should reveal through theoretical and experimental studies how one can make his life happy and meaningful. It is because it adds much to your happiness that we urge you to chant more Daimoku and practice Shakubuku.

Apart from preparatory explanation, here is a brief account of ‘Nam~myoho~renge~kyo’.

‘Nam’ derives from the Sanskrit Namas. ‘Myoho-renge-kyo’ is composed of Chinese characters. The Sanskrit for ‘Myoho-renge-kyo’ is Saddharma Pundarika Sutra. This Sanskrit title was translated into Chinese by Raju Sanzo (Kumarajiva).

‘Nam’ means devotion of life which is the entity of body and mind. Therefore, it stands for devoting one’s body and mind to the object of worship. The object of worship is classified into two - the Person and the Law. A believer devotes himself to the Person who is Nichiren Daishonin and the Law which is Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. The Gohonzon is the entity of the Person and the Law.

The Daishonin states in His Ongi Kuden (The Record of the Daishonin’s Oral Teachings on the Hokekyo), “The inseparability of body and mind is called the supreme philosophy.” One’s body and mind are combined into one and are inseparable.

Body and mind should be one in a single life. It would be extremely confusing if one’s body were seated in his office while his mind rested at home. One’s body and mind should be always in perfect harmony, but in actuality it is sometimes extremely difficult. The perfect oneness of body and mind is what Buddhism calls Shiki-shin Funi (the inseparability of body and mind).

‘Myoho’ literally means mysterious or inscrutable phenomena. ‘Myo’ whose literal meaning is mysterious or inscrutable stands for Hossho (Buddhahood or enlightenment) and ‘ho’ literally meaning the law or phenomena, for Mumyo (Darkness or ignorance). Thus ‘Myoho’ means that both enlightenment and darkness are two sides of one thing like light and shadow. It also means that all phenomena represent nothing but the Ten Worlds. Nothing is as mysterious as human life.

‘Renge’ signifies the law of cause and effect. The cause and effect are of simultaneous nature. This is the law of ‘Renge’. A lotus blossom which bears both flower and seed at the same time is used as the example of this law.

The simultaneous nature of cause and effect means that both cause and effect are contained in a single moment of the existence of life. For example, the instant you touch fire, you feel heat. This action can be divided into cause and effect, but it takes place in one moment. When one becomes angry, his looks change. The cause and effect in this change are also simultaneous.

From another viewpoint, the cause represents the Nine Worlds or the life of ordinary people and the effect, Buddhahood or the life of Buddha. These two exist simultaneously in a single person’s life. For this reason, by worshipping the Gohonzon, one can attain Buddhahood. The ‘mysterious law with the simultaneous nature of cause and effect’ is called ‘Myoho-renge’.

Shakyamuni’s Buddhism relates the following story. Some 100 years after Shakyamuni’s death, there was a distinguished king called Asoka. Why he became such a king was disclosed in Buddhism. In a previous existence of his life, Asoka was born as a boy named Tokusho Doji (literally meaning a boy with excellent virtue.)

One day, the five-year-old boy was playing with his brother on the sand when Shakyamuni Buddha happened to pass by. The boy who had nothing to offer to the Buddha made a cake out of sand and offered it to him. Through this pious deed, the boy became King Asoka in his following existence.

Thus Shakyamuni’s Buddhism teaches cause and effect in these words: “The cause in one’s past can be known if the present condition is observed, and if one’s present behavior is considered, the effect which will result in the future can be foreseen.”

However, Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism teaches the law of ‘Myoho-renge’ or the law of the simultaneity of cause and effect. The difference between the two streams of Buddhism is obvious from the following:

Suppose there be a poor man. According to Shakyamuni’s Buddhism, he cannot make both ends meet and always finds himself in debt because he committed theft in a past existence. Therefore if he wants to become rich in the next life, he should offer alms to others.

However, the Daishonin is so merciful that He never leaves the poor man to his destiny even in this life. It was for this very reason that He established the Gohonzon for the salvation of all mankind. To worship the Gohonzon by chanting Daimoku is the cause for happiness and and so is Shakubuku. Then, even if one be lacking in the cause of becoming rich in his past existences, he will obtain the very cause by worshipping the Gohonzon.

A passage from the Kanjin-no Honzon Sho reads, “The two laws of cause and effect (Making the practice of religious austerity the cause, its meritorious result will be acquired) taught by Shakyamuni rest in the five characters of Myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo (which are indicative of the Gohonzon). If we have faith in these five, we shall be granted the benefit of the two laws.”

There is not a single Buddha suffering from poverty. Likewise, those who worship the Gohonzon can acquire the two laws of cause and effect possessed by the Buddha and never fail to become rich.

Lastly, what is ‘Kyo’? It signifies the voices and sounds of all. ‘Kyo’ represents the voices of human speech, the barking of dogs - even the croaking of frogs. Shoan (Chang-an) the Great of China says, “Voice makes an essential part of Buddhist practice.” In a broader sense, all the activities of the universe may well be called ‘Kyo’. ‘Kyo’ also represents the eternity of life.

The voices of those who are inherently possessed of Hossho (enlightenment) and Mumyo (darkness) and simultaneously obtain the cause and effect are the supreme ‘Kyo’. All these are part of the functions of ‘life’ contained in the universe. This is summed up in ‘Myoho-renge-kyo’.

As mentioned earlier, ‘Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo’ is the precious name of the True Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin. Furthermore, it is the ‘life’ of Nichiren Daishonin.

Since the Daishonin’s ‘life’ is Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, the life of His disciples is also Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. Hence a passage of the Gosho: “Do not seek the Gohonzon elsewhere. The Gohonzon actually exists in our hearts, the people who profess the Hokekyo and chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo.” (Reply to Nichinyo Goze)

(from Josei Toda: Lecture on the Sutra)


Start chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as soon as you can and see what happens!

Deep respect,

Thomas
 
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LolaGal

Pass The Doobie: Every time I start chanting, I close my eyes, and I see this rainbow, and I zoom through another dimension.

There I see Buddhist monks in a Tibetan monastery. They are chanting, and one can see me floating in this other dimension.

It is lots of fun to do this, but I usually start laughing and zoom back into my body.

What is up? I am not experienced in the Buddhist ways, so is this normal?

Lola.
 
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