The Buddha-Heart

We have said [before] that there is no distinction between the body of any given man and that of the Buddha himself. When the reason of this is understood, everyone ought to exercise the Buddha-heart as soon as any thought arises in his mind. The Buddha-heart means a heart that is set upon practicing the Great Way. Each man ought to pursue the interest proper to his true nature – the acquisition of enlightenment ‐ and to reap the fruits which accrue from the pleasures arising out of friendship for his fellow-men. But the generality of people, not being sufficiently firm in their determination, fail to preserve and enjoy those fruits; their will is weak, and their power of meditation inadequate. This is a human frailty for which provision is made. Instead of insisting upon the mental process, which is too severe for them, our Sect allows them to adopt a mechanical oral practice; in other words, it substitutes the repetition of the Daimoku, or Title of the [Lotus Sutra], for the intellectual discipline. The formula to be repeated is Na-mu Myo Ho Ren-ge Kyo, and these words form the Daimoku, the merits of which were known to Sakyamuni ages and ages ago.

Doctrines of Nichiren (1893)