Chanting Growers Group (2013-∞)

[SoCal Hippy]

The Gohonzon is the essence of the Lotus Sutra and the eye of all the
scriptures. It is like the sun and the moon in the heavens, a great ruler of
earth, the heart in a human being, the wish-granting jewel among treasures, and
the pillar of a house.

(WND, 624)
On Upholding Faith in the Gohonzon
Written to the lay nun Myoshin on August 25, 1275

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Advancement -- Nichiren Daishonin teaches the spirit that "not to advance is to
retreat." The point is to continue forging ahead despite any storms or hardships
that may arise, to be fearless and advance like a lion.

Daisaku Ikeda

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Weird]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Weird]

It says in the “Encouraging Devotion” chapter and in the “Never Disparaging” chapter [that the votary of the Lotus Sutra will meet with persecution]. Life is limited; we must not begrudge it. What we should ultimately aspire to is the Buddha land.
Nichiren

https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/28

 

[SoCal Hippy]

"Arouse deep faith, and diligently polish your mirror day and night. How should you polish it? Only by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo."

(On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, page 4)

 

[SoCal Hippy]

[/"Nichiren Daishonin states: 'There is definitely something extraordinary in... the way in which summer, autumn, winter, and spring give way to each other. Something uncommon also occurs when an ordinary person attains Buddhahood' (WND-1, 637).

"In Japan, when winter gives way to spring, there is often a strong warm wind coming from the south that marks the change of season. Although the strong winds can be unpleasant, they are actually happy tidings that spring will soon arrive.

"The same is true in our lives. Anxiety, suffering, and problems are all signs of personal growth. As the expression goes, 'No pain, no gain.'

"Don’t let the winds of anxiety hold you back. Press ahead steadily, one step at a time. There’s no need to rush or compare yourself to others. Just confidently follow your own unique path, in your own unique way.”

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[Desiderata]

No Pain No Gain...

No Pain No Gain...

[/"Nichiren Daishonin states: 'There is definitely something extraordinary in... the way in which summer, autumn, winter, and spring give way to each other. Something uncommon also occurs when an ordinary person attains Buddhahood' (WND-1, 637).

"In Japan, when winter gives way to spring, there is often a strong warm wind coming from the south that marks the change of season. Although the strong winds can be unpleasant, they are actually happy tidings that spring will soon arrive.

"The same is true in our lives. Anxiety, suffering, and problems are all signs of personal growth. As the expression goes, 'No pain, no gain.'

"Don’t let the winds of anxiety hold you back. Press ahead steadily, one step at a time. There’s no need to rush or compare yourself to others. Just confidently follow your own unique path, in your own unique way.”

Daisaku Ikeda

J
Just follow your own true path with confidence.

 

[Weird]

Since the Lotus Sutra defines our body as the Dharma body of a Thus Come One, our mind as the reward body of a Thus Come One, and our actions as the manifested body of a Thus Come One, all who uphold and believe in even a single phrase or verse of this sutra will be endowed with the benefits of these three bodies. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is only one phrase or verse, but it is no ordinary phrase, for it is the essence of the entire sutra. You asked whether one can attain Buddhahood only by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and this is the most important question of all. This is the heart of the entire sutra and the substance of its eight volumes.

https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/121

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[easyDaimoku]

Proud to be a Chanting Grower. So grateful for all of you.

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

 

[Weird]

QUESTION: In Japan, there are the six schools, the seven schools, and the eight schools. Among these, which school teaches the attainment of Buddhahood in one’s present form?
Answer: According to the Great Teacher Dengyō, this doctrine is found only in the Lotus Sutra, while according to the Great Teacher Kōbō, it is found only in the True Word teachings.
Question: What proof can you show to support this?
Answer: The Great Teacher Dengyō states in his Outstanding Principles of the Lotus Sutra: “You should understand that, among the sutras that the other schools rely upon, there are none that teach the doctrine of entering [Buddhahood] in one’s present form. Although a few of them appear to teach this doctrine, they limit such attainment to those who have reached the eighth of the ten stages of development or higher. They do not acknowledge [the attainment of Buddhahood in] the form of an ordinary person. Only the Tendai Lotus school clearly teaches this doctrine of entering [Buddhahood] in one’s present form.”
Outstanding Principles also declares, “Neither teacher nor disciples need undergo countless kalpas of austere practice in order to attain Buddhahood. Through the power of the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law they can do so in their present form.”
It also says, “You should understand that this passage1 is inquiring whether there are any persons who have attained Buddhahood, and so intends to manifest the great power and authority of this sutra.”
The purpose of these passages of commentary is to clarify that the attainment of Buddhahood in one’s present form is limited to the Lotus Sutra alone.

https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/151

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Weird]

The principle of the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds is the most profound doctrine of the Lotus Sutra, the very heart of the teachings of this school of ours. In the sutras that were preached in the forty and more years preceding the Lotus Sutra it was kept secret and never revealed. But in the sutra teachings set forth in those forty and more years, we find numberless ordinary mortals who were able to cut off the illusions of thought and desire, reach the stage where they are free of outflows, and attain the unconditioned state represented by the two types of nirvana.6 Bodhisattvas as countless as particles of dust were able to overcome the general and specific types of illusion7 and to quickly transcend the bonds that tie them to the two categories of transmigration.8

https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-2/Content/182

 

[Weird]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[Weird]

Question: Why do you abandon the expansive or the simplified approach and concentrate only on essentials?
Answer: The Tripitaka Master Hsüan-tsang abandoned the simplified approach and favored expansion. Thus he took the Larger Wisdom Sutra in forty volumes and expanded it into six hundred volumes. The Tripitaka Master Kumārajīva, on the other hand, abandoned the expansive approach and favored simplification. Thus he took Great Perfection of Wisdom in one thousand volumes and reduced it to one hundred volumes.
I, Nichiren, have abandoned both the approach that expands and that which condenses and favor the essence of the matter, which means the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo that were transmitted to Bodhisattva Superior Practices.
When Chiu-fang Yin18 was appraising horses, he paid no attention to whether they were black or yellow but concentrated only on picking a thoroughbred. When Chih Tao-lin19 lectured on the sutras, he put aside questions of detail and concentrated on getting at the basic meaning. Shakyamuni Buddha has already entered the treasure tower and is seated side by side with the Buddha Many Treasures, the emanations of the Buddha have gathered from the ten directions, the Bodhisattvas of the Earth have been summoned, and the essence, the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, has been entrusted to these bodhisattvas so that they may transmit it to the Latter Day of the Law. No one in the present age can doubt this.

---> https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-2/Content/235

 

[Weird]

The Lotus Sutra is the teacher of all the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three existences. The Buddhas of the ten directions are the Buddha Good Virtue in the east, the Buddha Sorrow-Dispelling Virtue in the southeast, the Buddha Sandalwood Virtue in the south, the Buddha Giver of Treasure in the southwest, the Buddha Infinite Brightness in the west, the Buddha Flower Virtue in the northwest, the Buddha Banner-like Virtue in the north, the Buddha Three Vehicle Practice in the northeast, the Buddha Vast Myriad Virtue of the zenith, and the Buddha Brilliant Virtue of the nadir.2
The Buddhas of the three existences are the thousand Buddhas of the past Glorious Kalpa,3 the thousand Buddhas of the present Wise Kalpa,4 and the thousand Buddhas of the future Constellation Kalpa,5 as well as all the other Buddhas depicted in the Mahayana and Hinayana, provisional and true, and exoteric and esoteric sutras, including the Flower Garland, Lotus, and Nirvana sutras. These Buddhas, as well as the bodhisattvas in the worlds of the ten directions who are as numerous as particles of dust, all originate from the single character myō, or wonderful, of the Lotus Sutra [Myoho-renge-kyo].

---> https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/127

 

[Weird]

The “Supernatural Powers” chapter states, “As the light of the sun and moon can banish all obscurity and gloom, so this person as he advances through the world can wipe out the darkness of living beings.” In this passage from the sutra, in the five-character phrase “this person as he advances through the world,” to whom do you think “this person” refers? I believe that it must be the person who is the reincarnation of Bodhisattva Superior Practices. The sutra states, “After I have passed into extinction, [one] should accept and uphold this sutra. Such a person assuredly and without doubt will attain the Buddha way.”1
I am sure that you, too, are one who assists Bodhisattva Superior Practices in his propagation efforts.

---> https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/142

 

[Weird]

I DEEPLY appreciate your visit here and your constant concern over the numerous persecutions that have befallen me. I do not regret meeting with such great persecutions as the votary of the Lotus Sutra. However many times I were to repeat the cycle of birth and death, no life could be as fortunate as this. [If not for these troubles,] I might have remained in the three or four evil paths. But now, to my great joy, I am sure to sever the cycle of the sufferings of birth and death, and attain the fruit of Buddhahood.

https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/35