Me, myself, and I

So I've finally decided to try this blogging thing. I tend to be a somewhat private person (a strong Type 5 "observer" for you enneagram fanatics), so am not quite sure how this will work out.

A Brief Introduction for Those First Learning About Nichiren Buddhism

Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism begins with the belief that all living beings have the potential to achieve enlightenment. That idea is the epitome of Mahayana Buddhism, one of the two principal divisions of Buddhism that arose in India after the passing of Shakyamuni Buddha. The followers of Mahayana Buddhism did not shut themselves off from society, as some other Buddhist groups did, but instead worked to spread Buddhism throughout the population and to assist others on the path to enlightenment. Mahayana is thus characterized by a spirit of compassion and altruism.

Mahayana Buddhism was in time introduced to China, where it in turn gave rise to various schools. One of the most important of these was founded by Chih-I (538-597), also referred to as the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai, and is known as the T’ien-t’ai school. It teaches that the Lotus Sutra is the highest of all the Mahayana sutras, and that all things, both animate and inanimate, possess a dormant potential for enlightenment. This doctrine is summarized in the theory known as three thousand realms in a single moment of life. The doctrines of the school were further clarified by Miao-lo (711-782), the sixth patriarch of the school.

T’ien-t’ai Buddhism was introduced to Japan as Tendai Buddhism in the early ninth century by the Great Teacher Dengyo, a Japanese priest who had gained a profound understanding of its doctrines in China. Later, in the thirteenth century, when Nichiren Daishonin studied at Mount Hiei, the headquarters of the Tendai school in Japan, he was able to confirm his conviction that the Lotus Sutra constitutes the heart of all Buddhism. Soon after, he began to teach the substance of his realization. According to his teachings, the workings of the universe are all subject to a single principle, or Law. By understanding that Law, one can unlock the hidden potential in one’s life and achieve perfect harmony with one’s environment.

Nichiren Daishonin defined the universal Law as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, a formula that represents the essence of the Lotus Sutra and is known as the daimoku. Furthermore, he gave it concrete form by inscribing it upon the mandala known as the Gohonzon so that people could manifest Buddha wisdom and attain enlightenment. In his treatise entitled The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind, he declares that chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with faith in the Gohonzon, the crystallization of the universal Law, reveals one’s Buddha nature.

All phenomena are subject to the strict principle of cause and effect. Consequently, the present state of one’s life is the summation of all the previous causes one has made. By chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, one is creating the most fundamental cause, a cause that will offset negative effects from the past and lead to absolute happiness.

Enlightenment is not a mystical or transcendental state. Rather it is a condition in which one enjoys the highest wisdom, vitality, good fortune, confidence, and other positive qualities, and in which one finds fulfillment in one’s daily activities, and comes to understand one’s purpose in being alive.

--from The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, pp. xxx-xxxi (Soka Gakkai, 1999).