Nichiren Buddhism: How To Practice Daimoku?

When we chant Daimoku to the Gohonzon, even if we are motivated by a BASE desire, the Gohonzon elevates our life condition such that as we continue praying over many months and years, gradually our prayer will become a more enlightened prayer.

That is because the characters on the Gohonzon show the lower nine worlds all arranged around the world of Buddhahood. This causes our own lower worlds to reveal the enlightened potential they inherently possess, i.e. our Buddhahood, as we chant Daimoku to the Gohonzon.

Picture Credit: http://www.slideshare.net/dalcoger

So how do we practice Diamoku correctly? How do we get the best possible results from our practice?

(Suggested reading: Nichiren Buddhism: Nam Myoho Renge Kyo - Meaning)

How To Practice Daimoku?

• Half your Daimoku each day should be for the happiness of others, not yourself.
  
  
• When you chant for something material, pray that the Gohonzon will grant your wish so that you can demonstrate the power of Buddhism to others.
  
  
• Chant more about your life condition than specifically for material benefits. After all, as you raise your life condition, your material benefits will come of themselves without your seeking them.
  
  
• Remember that even if you chant for a BMW, your Daimoku to the Gohonzon is elevating your life condition, because that’s how the Gohonzon works, and it’s the improvement in your life condition that really matters, not the BMW. The BMW is useful only because it provides a motivation for you to chant to the Gohonzon.
  
  
• Remember that your Daimoku to the Gohonzon for a BMW is working to give you wisdom and life force, and to strengthen your character attributes, such as being hard-working and responsible. This way you will be able to save your money faster, and earn more money. Your Daimoku is also reaching your environment so that you can form external connections that will give you more opportunities to make money.

In the end, just remember that the practice of Diamoku is all about "cause" and "effect". The very act of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, for ANY desire or intent, creates a "cause" that "effects" an ALL-ROUND improvement in your life condition. It is like boarding a train to "Buddhahood", and no matter where (i.e. which world) you boarded the train from, you WILL reach the destination if you remain on the train.

(Suggested reading: SGI-Experiences | SGI-Guidance)

Nichiren Buddhism: Nam Myoho Renge Kyo - Meaning

Truly beneficial mantras are not merely rhythmical devices. They also have a deep and positive content - a hopeful, empathetic, and empowering message. "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo", the mantra employed in Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism, is one such mantra.

Mantra (and Sutra) recitation should be syllabic, rhythmic and seamless, and at a moderate pace, not rushed. In the beginning, slow is OK. "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo" is chanted as "Nam-myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo”, i.e. 6 syllables.

Meaning of "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo"

NAM (rhymes with "Mum")

NAM is a contraction of NAMU, i.e. NAM+U. NAM means devotion to something, and U means getting back appropriate effects, based on your target and intensity of devotion. For example, some businessmen are devoted to making profit. That’s their NAM. Their U is both good and bad – wealth, and health problems perhaps. Buddhists choose the Universal Law, or the Buddha Nature, as their NAM, which includes and embraces all the lesser NAMs, such as making money. So, a businessman who devotes himself to the Universal Law will succeed at business more than he ever did previously.

MYOHO (each syllable rhymes with "Go")

MYO means the Mystic Law - the cause and maintainer of all that exists. It is the Eternal Truth, or the all-pervading Life Force. It exists within each one of us and within all things, but it cannot be sensed directly. It is the ultimate source of goodness, capability, wisdom, fortune and compassion. HO comprises of all the phenomenal manifestations (or expressions) of MYO - both physical and spiritual. HO is that part which can be grasped through the senses. So MYOHO, together, means the Mystic Law (or the Universal Life Force) and all its manifestations.

RENGE (pronounced as "Wren-Gay")

RENGE stands for the Lotus Flower, which flowers and seeds at the same time. Thus the Lotus Flower is a symbol for the simultaneity of cause and effect. When we chant, our Buddha Nature emerges simultaneously. But to make Buddhahood the central tendency in our lives, it takes years of repeated daily chanting. Also, the Lotus Flower blooms from a muddy swamp, yet it remains untainted by the mud. This symbolizes how Buddhahood can emerge from the life of an ordinary person, by devoting oneself to the Mystic Law and chanting.

KYO (rhymes with "Go")

KYO stands for Teaching (or Sutra). Specifically, it stands for the Lotus Sutra, the teaching that bridges the gap between the Buddha and the common mortal. KYO also means voice. Everything we utter is some kind of cause. It can be positive or negative, and the highest cause we can make is to use our voices to chant our devotion to the Mystic Law. KYO also means the warp of cloth, which symbolizes continuity. Nichiren Buddhism is over seven centuries old, and it comes from a long lineage of earlier Buddhist teachings going all the way back to Shakyamuni, 2500 years ago in India.

As a whole, NAM MYOHO RENGE KYO can be translated as "Devotion to the Mystic Law of cause and effect through sound." But that is only one possible translation. MYOHO RENGE KYO is the title of the Lotus Sutra. By adding NAM, Nichiren discovered the mantra that actually taps the Buddha Nature, or the Law of the Universe.

- Sourced from http://www.nichirendaishoninsbuddhism.com/.

(Suggested reading: SGI-Experiences | SGI-Guidance)