Chanting Growers Group (2013-∞)

[easyDaimoku]

Happy New Years Everyone !!!
Nam myoho renge kyo !!!

Happy Belated Birthday Babba and Thomas!

Happy New Year to All!!

Let's chant together for kosen-rufu, and align our life's missions with our desire to univerally eradicate sufferring by enabling others to chant "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo" like we do!!

 

[easyDaimoku]

In any moment within this lifetime- reveal your true self!

In any moment within this lifetime- reveal your true self!

attainment of Buddhahood
[成仏] ( Jpn jobutsu )

To become a Buddha. Several principles concerning the attainment of Buddhahood or enlightenment have been expounded on the basis of the sutras:

(1) Attaining Buddhahood in one's present form. This means to attain Buddhahood just as one is, without discarding the body of a common mortal. Also referred to as attaining Buddhahood as a common mortal, this principle was formulated by the T'ient'ai school on the basis of the Lotus Sutra. According to many of the teachings other than the Lotus Sutra, one can attain Buddhahood only after having discarded the body of a common mortal that gives rise to earthly desires and illusions. In contrast, the Lotus Sutra teaches that one can attain Buddhahood in one's present form, or as an ordinary person. This principle is often illustrated by the example of the dragon king's daughter who, according to the "Devadatta" (twelfth) chapter, attained Buddhahood in a single moment without changing her dragon form. The concept of attaining Buddhahood in one's present form contrasts with that of attaining Buddhahood through transformation of sex and character. The latter means, for example, that a woman must be reborn as a man in order to attain enlightenment.

(2) Attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime or in a single lifetime. This concept contradicts the idea that one must practice over a period of many kalpas in order to attain Buddhahood. This concept is essentially the same as attaining Buddhahood in one's present form. Other principles concern the attainment of Buddhahood by certain categories of people and derive from the Lotus Sutra per se:

(1) Attainment of Buddhahood by persons of the two vehicles. In the first half of the Lotus Sutra, persons of the two vehicles—voice-hearers and cause-awakened ones—receive a prophecy from Shakyamuni Buddha that they will attain Buddhahood in future ages. This prophecy refutes the view of the provisional Mahayana teachings, which deny persons of the two vehicles the attainment of Buddhahood, for they seek only personal salvation and do not strive to save others. The Lotus Sutra says that they will practice the bodhisattva way and attain Buddhahood.

(2) Attainment of Buddhahood by women. In the first half of the sutra, the dragon king's daughter attains Buddhahood, and Yashodhara, Mahaprajapati, and other women receive Shakyamuni's prophecy of their future enlightenment. Almost all sutras deny women the capacity for attaining Buddhahood and insist that they must be reborn as men in order to attain enlightenment. The Lotus Sutra, however, teaches that both women and men are equally endowed with the potential for Buddhahood, based on the teaching of the true aspect of all phenomena.

(3) Attainment of Buddhahood by evil persons. Even those who oppose and slander the correct teaching of Buddhism, such as icchantikas, or persons of incorrigible disbelief, can attain Buddhahood through a reverse relationship. That is, because they establish a connection with the correct teaching by opposing it, though they receive the negative effect, eventually they profess faith in it and attain Buddhahood. In the Lotus Sutra, this idea is illustrated by the examples of Devadatta and those who ridiculed and attacked Bodhisattva Never Disparaging. See also Buddhahood.


http://www.sgilibrary.org/search_dict.php?id=112

Nam myoho renge kyo!!

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Weird]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[Weird]

Were it not for the presence of the “Life Span” chapter among all the teachings of Shakyamuni, they would be like the heavens without the sun and moon, a kingdom without a king, the mountains and seas without treasures, or a person without a soul. This being so, without the “Life Span” p.184chapter, all the sutras would be meaningless. Grass without roots will die in no time, and a river without a source will not flow far. A child without parents is looked down upon. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the heart of the “Life Span” chapter, is the mother of all Buddhas throughout the ten directions and the three existences.

For more on this chapter -----> http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/18

 

[Weird]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[Weird]

Always I am aware of which living beings

practice the way, and which do not,

and in response to their need for salvation

I preach various doctrines for them.

At all times I think to myself:

How can I cause living beings

to gain entry into the unsurpassed way

and quickly acquire the body of a buddha?

----> http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/lsoc/Content/16

 

[Weird]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Weird]

I HAVE just carefully read your letter. To reply, the ultimate Law of life and death as transmitted from the Buddha to all living beings is Myoho-renge-kyo. The five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo were transferred from Shakyamuni and Many Treasures, the two Buddhas inside the treasure tower, to Bodhisattva Superior Practices, carrying on a heritage unbroken since the infinite past. Myō represents death, and hō, life. Living beings that pass through the two phases of life and death are the entities of the Ten Worlds, or the entities of Myoho-renge-kyo.

T’ien-t’ai says that one should understand that living beings and their environments, and the causes and effects at work within them, are all the Law of renge (the lotus).1 Here “living beings and their environments” means the phenomena of life and death. Thus, it is clear that, where life and death exist, cause and effect, or the Law of the lotus, is at work.

http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/29

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Weird]

“If there are good men or good women who, with regard to this sutra, can accept and uphold even one four-line verse, if they read and recite it, understand its meaning, and practice it as the sutra directs, the benefits will be very many.”

----> http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/lsoc/Content/26

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Weird]

The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: “The sutra as a whole” refers to the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra, the essential teaching and the theoretical teaching. “These four phrases” refers to the four principles of name, function, essence, and quality. “The essence of the sutra” refers to the five characters of the daimoku. “Hand it on to others” means handing it on to Bodhisattva Superior Practices. “It” refers to Myoho-renge-kyo.

This passage of the commentary is perfectly clear. Now when Nichiren and his followers propagate Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, this is the principle of essence or heart. The twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra are the principle of function. The recitation of [any of] the twenty-eight chapters is a supplementary practice, while p.222the recitation of the daimoku is the main practice. The supplementary practice is included within the main practice.

---> http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/ott/Separate-Transmission/2

 

[Weird]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[Weird]

Words and Phrases, volume five, says, “In this passage that describes the outward signs manifested by Shāriputra, the words ‘he immediately stood up, pressed his palms together’ refer to his acknowledgment of the Buddha’s words as it was expressed by his body.

“Previously, there had been the two realms, the provisional and the true, which were like two palms that are not pressed together. But now it is revealed that the provisional is identical with the true, and it is like two palms that are pressed together.

“As for the act of turning to face the Buddha, previously the provisional realm did not embody the cause for attaining Buddhahood, and the true did not embody the effect, that is, the attainment of Buddhahood. But now it is revealed that the provisional is identical with the true, and together they provide the great perfect cause for the attainment of Buddhahood. It is a cause that will invariably lead to the realization of the effect. Therefore the text says that Shāriputra pressed his palms together and turned to face the Buddha.”

The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: Gasshō, or “pressing the palms together,” is another name for the Lotus Sutra. Kōbutsu, or “turning to face the Buddha,” means that one encounters and pays respect to the Lotus Sutra. Pressing the palms together is an element of the body. Turning to face the Buddha is an element of the mind. The passage describes how one dances with joy when one comes to the realization that the elements of the body and the mind are the Wonderful Law.


---> http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/ott/PART-1/3

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Weird]

nam myoho renge kyo!

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Weird]

Belief and Understanding

The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: This “belief and understanding” is not limited to the belief and understanding of the four great voice-hearer disciples of intermediate capacity. It is the belief and understanding of the Wonderful Law, and therefore it is the belief and understanding of all the Ten Worlds and three thousand realms. It is the belief and understanding of renge, the lotus, and therefore it is the belief and understanding of all the Ten Worlds and three thousand realms that is clean and pure.

The entity or object of this belief and understanding is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

---> http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/ott/Separate-Transmission/2