"Renge" of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Renge

Renge means lotus flower. The lotus blooms and produces seeds at the same time, and thus represents the simultaneity of cause and effect. The circumstances and quality of our individual lives are determined by the causes and effects, both good and bad, that we accumulate (through our thoughts, words and actions) at each moment. This is called our "karma." The law of cause and effect explains that we each have personal responsibility for our own destiny. We create our destiny and we can change it. The most powerful cause we can make is to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo; the effect of Buddhahood is simultaneously created in the depths of our life and will definitely manifest in time.

The lotus flower grows and blooms in a muddy pond, and yet remains pristine and free from any defilement, symbolizing the emergence of Buddhahood from within the life of any ordinary person.

What Being a Nichiren Buddhist Means To Me

A friend from law school who has enjoyed reading this blog asked me to explain what being a Nichiren Buddhist means to me.

I could write pages and pages in response. But I don’t want to drag on – I’ll try to cut to the chase in as few words as possible.

In this Buddhist practice we aim to improve our lives by taking up the challenge to create value, to live without fear, to take responsibility for our circumstances, to care for our families, and to live with compassion for others. Through chanting, our core philosophy is expressed through a process of inner transformation that centers on the idea that the causes we make through our thoughts, words, and actions have influence that extends far beyond their immediate context.

As we chant, we undergo an individual, inner revolution, and we awaken to the responsibility we each have for our own circumstances and for our environment. This inner transformation leads us to take the actions that bring about personal fulfillment and happiness. Through chanting, we unlock our limitless potential and we dance with a free spirit: personal fulfillment, total and complete freedom.

We chant the words "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo" which roughly translates into “I devote my life to the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra.” Richard Causton, The Buddha in Daily Life, An Introduction to the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 97) (Rider-Random House, 1995). It’s called the Mystic Law because it explains the mutually inclusive relationship of life and all phenomena.

The Soka Gakkai, which translated means value-creating society, is a Buddhist movement that promotes peace and individual happiness based on the writings of Nichiren Daishonin, the 13th century Japanese monk who devoted his life to the happiness of each of us. He studied the 80,000 or so teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, who lived 2,500 years ago in Ancient India. Nichiren Daishonin discovered, hidden deep within the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, that chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo was the key to unlocking our potential. He first chanted Nam Myoho Renge Kyo on April 28, 1253.

How does chanting 4 or 5 words over and over again have such an effect?

I can confidently say I still don’t quite know the answer. There’s something mystical about it. It’s not something my mind can answer.

Final note about other religions and religious views. I was born Hindu and grew up in a Hindu family. I went to schools that consisted of students and teachers that were primarily Christian, Jewish, and Catholic. In college, I explored many different religions, including these that I just mentioned, in addition to the self-realization fellowship teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda. I also studied Bhagavad-Gita, the Koran, the Old and New Testaments, the Torah, the Dhammapada, and some works by Zen Buddhists. In my studies of each of these, I came across problematic issues that were never resolved.

As but one example, I've always had issues with blind faith and the idea that we have no way of scientifically proving the existence of God. I also had issues with shifting responsibility to things or beings outside of ourselves, because I've seen all too often how such a shift in responsibilty allows people to provide excuses for their own inaction, "bad luck", or other misfortunes.

Nichiren Buddhism is all about taking responsibility for everything in your life, and finding or creating value in everything you do. While I was hesitant about the chanting at first, after I learned how to chant it became not only enjoyable, but I felt better.

Nichiren Buddhism also does not require, unlike other schools of buddhist thought, to eliminate or stamp out all desires. Hence no need to move to a cave in the Himalayas (although in college this thought highly appealed to me at times)...indeed, in Nichiren Buddhism one's desires are actually the source of enlightenment. This was crucial to me -- because as a human being, I think it is only natural that we have desires.

I should also mention that different "schools" have arisen even within Nichiren Buddhism. Some schools have priests which demand or argue that people can only achieve enlightenment through them. I do not believe you need any kind of intermediary between yourself and your Buddhahood. Not only did Shakyamuni Buddha say this, but so did Nichiren Daishonin. As such, there are no priests in the Soka Gakkai! Your achieving your enlightenment and unlocking your Buddhahood is entirely and completely up to you.

Desires & Enlightenment

So the past few days I've been seriously contemplating my friend's question on an earlier post -- do you know any enlightened beings? I'm still thinking about that very good question. I've spoken with some other Buddhist friends on their response to this question.

Funny then, that I found this "guidance" in today's "Buddhism Day by Day: Wisdom for Modern Life", by Daisaku Ikeda. In some Buddhist schools of thought, the teaching is to eliminate desires because the belief is that they are a source of suffering. Nichiren Buddhim turns this concept on its head.

Daisaku Ikeda states:

"The goal is not to eliminate desires; it is what one desires that is important. Earthly desires are enlightenment. The desire for supreme enlightenment, the search for enlightenment, is enlightenment. Satisfaction with one's accomplishments might seem like humility, but to underestimate life's potential is actually great arrogance."

On Being Human

The global debate about human rights--taking place in venues from the halls of the United Nations to the street corners of impoverished communities--has brought to the fore many conflicting value systems and worldviews. Individualism vs. communalism. Modernity vs. tradition. East vs. West. North vs. South. Economic and social rights such as the right to employment and decent housing vs. the civil and political rights to free speech and expression.

In the end, however, all concepts of human rights--including those that do not necessarily use the language of "human rights"--have their basis in some understanding of human dignity. In other words, people merit decent treatment because they possess human dignity, some kind of inherent worth that is theirs by the simple fact of being human.

In some traditions, this dignity derives from God, in whose image humanity was created. In other traditions, the unique capacity to think and reason is said to be the source of human dignity. More and more, however, the idea of human dignity as the basis for rights and prerogatives over nonhuman nature is being supplanted by the idea of special human responsibilities--to exercise responsible stewardship in nature and to treat all life with respect.

How does Buddhism understand human dignity? From where does it spring? What supports and sustains it?

The starting point for Buddhism is the value and sanctity of life. For example, in one letter to a follower, Nichiren states that the value of a single day of life exceeds all other treasures. Buddhism further views each individual life as a manifestation of a universal life force.

As the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore expressed this idea, "The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures. It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers."

From the Buddhist perspective, given the mind-boggling number of life-forms that fill the universe, human life is rare privilege with special responsibilities. As Nichiren, referring to a passage from the Nirvana Sutra, describes this: "It is rare to be born a human being. The number of those endowed with human life is as small as the amount of earth one can place on a fingernail."

What makes human life unique is the scale of our choice, the degree to which we are free to choose to act for good or evil, to help or to harm.

A recent book on the challenges of aging introduces the story of a young woman, married and with young children, who found herself suddenly in the position of having to care for her mother-in-law, bedridden following a stroke. At first the young woman could not understand why this had happened to her, why her already demanding life should be further burdened in this way. Through her Buddhist practice she was able to realize that she could, depending on how she chose to approach this situation, make of it an opportunity to create value. She was able to transform her initial feelings of resentment toward the older woman into a sense of appreciation.

Ultimately, the Buddhist understanding of human dignity is rooted in the idea that we are able to choose the path of self-perfection. We can, in other words, consistently make those difficult choices for creativity, growth and development. Buddhahood, or enlightenment, is how this state of self-perfection--a condition of fully developed courage, wisdom and compassion--is described. The idea that all people--all life, in fact--have this potential is expressed by the concept, stressed particularly in the Mahayana tradition, that all living beings possess Buddha nature.

In concrete, practical terms, this comes down to the idea that everyone has a mission--a unique role that only she or he can play, a unique perspective to offer, a unique contribution to make. As SGI President Daisaku Ikeda recently wrote in a book for high school students, "Everyone has a mission. The universe does nothing without purpose. The fact that we exist means that we have purpose."

The older woman in the story likewise sought to find a way to use her severely limited capacities to contribute to the well-being of the household. Since she still had use of her hands, she took up knitting--partly as a form of therapy, partly to make useful things for the family. She also enjoyed keeping watch over the home when the others were away.

From the Buddhist perspective, we always have the option of choosing to create value from even the most difficult situation. Through such choices we can fulfill our unique purpose and mission in life, and in this way give fullest expression to the inherent treasure of our human dignity. There is perhaps no more solid foundation for human rights than a general awakening to the human dignity that resides in every one of us.

[ From the July 2000 SGI Quarterly ]

New Rasmussen Report Indicates 53% of Americans Prefer Capitalism

A new Rasmussen Report came out yesterday, April 9, found here, indicating that "only 53% of American adults believe capitalism is better than socialism."

Investors, according to the Report, by a 5-to-1 margin choose capitalism. As for those who do not invest, 40% say capitalism is better while 25% prefer socialism.

The Report also notes a a partisan gap as well. Republicans - by an 11-to-1 margin - favor capitalism. Democrats are much more closely divided: Just 39% say capitalism is better while 30% prefer socialism. As for those not affiliated with either major political party, 48% say capitalism is best, and 21% opt for socialism.

Buried in the report's findings is the following statement: "The question posed by Rasmussen Reports did not define either capitalism or socialism".

What?!!?! Can this really be an effective poll given that no definition of each is offered prior to the survey? Both terms are incredibly loaded. Socialism to many has a negative connotation, especially here in the United States. So much so that the next logical question --- what is socialism and what would it look like -- is never even considered.

Welcome to Richistan

In an interesting article entitled The Rich and the Rest of Us, published in the June, 2008 edition of the Nation magazine, authors John Cavanagh & Chuck Collins point out that "[t]he richest 1 percent of Americans currently hold wealth worth $16.8 trillion, nearly $2 trillion more than the bottom 90 percent. A worker making $10 an hour would have to labor for more than 10,000 years to earn what one of the 400 richest Americans pocketed in 2005."

They claim that Richistan did not suddenly appear in the United States, but instead evolved as a result of a three-decade "war against common sense" that "has preached that tax cuts for the rich help the poor, that labor unions keep workers from prospering, that regulations protecting consumers attack freedom. Duly inspired, our elected officials have rewritten rules that run our economy -- on taxes and trade, on wage policies and public spending -- to benefit wealthy asset owners and global corporations."

What is Enlightenment?

From the SGI-USA website:

The word enlightenment calls to mind those who practice austerities and thereby gain extraordinary powers beyond the reach of common mortals. Nichiren Daishonin, however, taught that enlightenment, or Buddhahood, is a condition of life accessible to everyone, under any circumstances, by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

It is only our inability to believe this— what we call our fundamental darkness or delusion—that prevents us from calling forth our Buddhahood.

Nichiren explains: “When deluded, one is called an ordinary being, but when enlightened, one is called a Buddha. This is similar to a tarnished mirror that will shine like a jewel when polished. A mind now clouded by the illusions of the innate darkness of life is like a tarnished mirror, but when polished, it is sure to become like a clear mirror, reflecting the essential nature of phenomena and the true aspect of reality. Arouse deep faith, and diligently polish your mirror day and night.How should you polish it? Only by chanting Nam-myoho-rengekyo” (“On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 4).

We “arouse deep faith” by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon with the firm conviction that we already possess Buddhahood. This conviction overrides our habits and preconceived attitudes, enabling us to call forth the Buddha’s courage, compassion and wisdom, which we can apply to any circumstance. Even the daily challenges we face head-on become the means by which we can live fulfilled, happy lives.

Using the analogy of a lion, Nichiren describes how this powerful animal unleashes the same force “whether he traps a tiny ant or attacks a fierce animal” (“Reply to Kyo’o,” WND-1, 412).

Our inherent Buddhahood is the source of limitless power and wisdom that enables us to tackle any situation, however big or small, and guides us toward the best course of action.

Enlightenment is not a fixed state we someday achieve. Rather, it is a lifelong process of challenge and renewal—a vigilant championing of the inherent dignity of life through thought, word and deed.

Revisiting Marx

I could write quite a bit about Marx. To fend off any NSA observers or those that are quick to judge, I’m not a communist (nor have I ever been a communist).

However, I do not believe that we have ever witnessed, in the known history of the world, a truly socialist state --- as Marx defined socialism.

I also do not believe Marx advocated for the overthrow of any government (despite popular belief that he did, thanks to Lenin and the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917). Instead, I believe Marx’s theory was descriptive – he described what he believed was the natural evolution of social systems, beginning with feudalism and its evolution into capitalism, and the evolution of capitalism to socialism. In other words, Marx believed socialism was inevitable. As the contradictions of capitalism become more apparent to the proletariat, or the workers, inevitably, according to Marx, the proletariat would rise up and take back the means of production.

Today, Marx and his theories are quickly dismissed for a few reasons. First, people understandably but mistakenly attribute the failed Soviet Union as an example of Marx’s theories in practice. The other reason is, well, we live in a capitalist society. Marx himself realized that the ruling ideas of any epoch are the ideas of the ruling class. The ruling class, in capitalist society, are the owners of the means of production, the bourgeois.

In any event, one of the redeeming features of Marxist political theory is it can provide a useful framework to understand many of today’s perceived social crisis and problems. It provides a prism, so to speak, by which we can analyze the basis and causes of modern social phenomena.

Why, you ask, am I writing about this on a blog that ostensibly deals with Buddhism? Well, I actually believe there is a relationship between Buddhism and socialism. More on this in blogs to come. It will also help explain my way of thinking about the world in which we find ourselves...

"What the Bleep Do We Know?" and Nichiren Buddhism

This movie, while a bit older now (released in February, 2004) is an incredible illustration of the science behind Nichiren Buddhism, although the label Nichiren Buddhism is never used. It brings to life “enlightenment” in a way that could previously only be described, but not defined, with words.

I’ve read many essays and other literature about the overlap between the latest in quantum physics and Buddhism (the best I’ve read is Life, An Enigma, a Precious Jewel, by Daisaku Ikeda, Kodansha Int.’l Ltd., 1982), but this medium is unique in its ability to teach where the latest theories are headed and where we are.

It’s worth renting. The movie's website is: www.whatthebleep.com

After seeing this film I have a new perspective in answering the question “Why chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo” and not something else?” Nam Myoho Renge Kyo has now been chanted for at least 700 years. In light of this film, I believe it must be the case that unique pathways and connections have developed around the sounds Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, not only in mind but also at the quantum level through space.

Jag me sabse bara rupaiya beta baap bada na bahia

In hindi there is an old proverb, "Jag me sabse bara rupaiya beta baap bada na bahia", which roughly means that "money is the greatest thing in the world and son, father or brother means nothing..."

When I was younger, I sometimes wondered why it was that families would fight over money, or why life-long partners could decide to divorce after years of being together. I've had two experiences in the past few years which have helped me better understand why some relationships come to a bitter end.

The first involved my business partner in what is now pretty much a failed venture. For a couple of years, everything was going smoothly. Our relationship was growing. The prospects for the business looked encouraging. He and I became good buddies; our families spent time together and we learned a great deal about each other. We were on a natural high with the dreams we both mutually shared.

When the business became strapped for cash, however, and we both realized the ship was sinking, things changed - quickly. My friend of so many years suddenly demanded to be in charge (before this point, we were both equal "co-owners"). We started to disagree on very fundamental decisions. When I refused to give-in, the business soon thereafter folded, and we never spoke again --- that was about 2 years ago. In the end, things got ugly.

The second experience involves my dad, who recently passed away. Once again this evil headed monster -- power and control -- is beginning to show its ugly head once again. This time, unfortunately, with my brother.

I'm amazed how money, power, and control change people even with the best intentions. My former business partner and friend of many years, and now, my brother, seem to be strangers.

This is obviously a big challenge for me to deal with. And i'm guessing it won't be the last time. I'm feeling betrayed, frustrated, hurt, and more than anything else, angry!

Question: What does Nichiren Buddhism say about this situation?

Answer: Well, there's a lot I believe it says.

First, I started with a Buddhist definition of anger -- the Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism says, on "anger", the following:

"In Buddhism, one of the three poisons, or three sources of vice and suffering, the other two being greed and foolishness. In Buddhism, anger refers particularly to malice born of hatred and is regarded as a great obstacle to Buddhist practice. It is seen as preventing one's heart from turning to goodness and as destroying the good roots of benefit accumulated through Buddhist practice. T'ient'ai (538-597) says in The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra, "Because anger increases in intensity, armed strife occurs. Buddhism emphasizes the practice of compassion and forbearance."

Ok...that helps...a little. But I know the anger is still there.

Second, Nichiren Buddhism speaks quite a bit of mirrors. Indeed, so much so that we believe human relations function as a kind of mirror -- we believe the people around us reflect our own state of life. I know this may be hard to swallow for casual readers of this blog, unexperienced with the daily practice of Nichiren Buddhism. So let me try to explain a little more to see if I can explain why we believe this.

"The environment that we find ourselves in, whether favorable or not, is the product of our own life. Most people fail to understand this, and tend to blame others for their troubles. To a greater or lesser extent, all people tend to see their own reflection in others. To a person who is possessed by the lust for power, even the most selfless, benevolent actions of others will appear as cunning moves undertaken to gain power. Similarly, to a person who has a strong desire for fame, actions based on conviction and consideration will be seen as publicity stunts. Those who have become slaves of money simply cannot believe that there are people in the world who are strangers to the desire for wealth."

How does this help me as a Buddhist living in modern-day society - as opposed to packing up, selling everything, and moving to a cave in the Himalayas? Well, it reminds me that ultimately, responsiblity for my environment -- and the people I find in it -- is completely my doing. That is to say, the environment in which I find myself, at any given moment, is the result of a series of choices i've made in the past.

My former business partner, and my brother, are reflections of my state of life. My state of life represents the outcome, or effect, of all of my past decisions and actions, or causes.

So I will chant to elevate my life-condition from one of anger to one of compassion, patience, and altruism. I'm going to chant to let go of the anger. And when my life-condition improves, I suspect, and as Nichiren Buddhism predicts, so too will my environment.