Yesterday, I summarized Rev. Kenjo Igarashi’s sermon in which he told the tale of an SGI member who sought to switch to Nichiren Shu in the hope of having better success chanting for a new girlfriend.

I could relate to the guy. I spent roughly 26 years believing that the purpose of chanting daimoku was to get stuff – a new job, a raise, even a child. But that all started to fall apart in the summer of 2008 when I was laid off the day after I learned my wife had breast cancer. I didn’t abandon my faith. Instead, I chanted more. I did more SGI activities. I attended more meetings. But, as I’ve explained before, the more I dug looking for water to slake my thirst, the more I realized I wasn’t digging in the right place. It did not take long after I began attending services at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church in January 2015 that I discovered the wellspring of Buddhism.

So, why bring this up now?

In writing yesterday’s post I was unable to quickly produce a reasoned explanation of why I chant.  Instead I offered this milquetoast explanation:

The purpose of the Lotus Sutra is to save all livings beings. Chanting the Odaimoku puts oneself in alignment with the sutra. We practice for ourselves but we also practice for others. We don’t practice to get stuff.

My failure was underscored for me when I read the Day 10 quote from Nichiren found in the Raihai Seiten, which I use in my daily practice:

All the good deeds and virtues of the Buddha Sakyamuni are manifested in the title of the Lotus Sutra, that is, in the five characters: Myō Hō Ren Ge Kyō. However sinful we may be, we shall be naturally endowed with all the deeds and virtues of the Buddha if we adhere to these five characters.

Kanjin Honzon Sho

I really felt that I should have done better in describing why I chant. The purpose of this website is to make quotes I’ve read available to me in just such a situation, but I couldn’t be bothered to search this site.

Sheepishly, I now belatedly offer quotes from a post I wrote on Nov. 1, 2015:

Rev. Shoryo Tarabini in his book, Odaimoku: The Significance of Chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, writes:

I am often confronted with the question, “if I chant Namu Myoho Renge Kyo will I receive benefits?” There are some people who chant the Odaimoku solely for material benefit and personal gain. The protective and beneficial powers of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo are not only vast and profound, they are limitless. One can chant, when in need for material or even financial benefit and those prayers will be indeed answered.

However, to practice the chanting of the Buddha’s eternal enlightenment for mere material or economic gain is, to say the least, the smallest of the merit and the most insignificant benefit one will receive. And while not negating the necessity at times to chant and pray for certain things when confronted with problems in life, people who – only – chant for everyday material gain, are still at an infant level of their understanding of Buddhism and development. One who instead strives to practice and live in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha, will certainly obtain tranquility and immense satisfaction in all facets of life over time.

Rev. Ryusho Jeffus, in his book, Lecture on the Lotus Sutra, writes:

Buddhism … is not about prosperity practice. Our goal should be to eliminate suffering, and attachment to material gain is an attachment, and bound to eventually lead to more suffering. No thing is immune to decay, even wealth and if not the wealth then certainly the body. The goal of our practice is to become enlightened, to manifest our inherent Buddha potential, and thereby convert our lands into the Buddha’s pure land.

Rev. Ryuei Michael McCormick, in “Lotus World: An Illustrated Guide to the Gohonzon,” writes:

It should be clear that the Odaimoku is more than simply the title of the Lotus Sutra. Neither is chanting the Odaimoku viewed by Nichiren Buddhism as merely a concentration device or a mantra practiced for accruing benefits. It is an expression of the practitioner’s faith and joy in the Buddha’s teaching contained in the Lotus Sutra, the teaching that buddhahood is not only a potential within all our lives but an active presence leading us to awakening in this very moment. The Odaimoku is like a seed that we plant within our lives. Continuing to chant Namu Myoho Renge Kyo as our essential daily practice, we nurture that seed so that ultimately the wisdom and compassion of buddhahood can bloom within us and within all beings.

Attended the Matsubagayatsu Persecution Service at the Sacramento Nichiren Church on Sunday. By 11:30 am the temperature outside under the canopies was more than 90 degrees on its way to a forecast high for 101. Cloth masks made it seem even hotter and the fans set around the perimeter failed to cool.

August 27, 1260, just forty-one days after Nichiren Shonin submitted his “Rissho Ankoku-ron” to the Shogunate, a mob set fire to Nichiren’s hermitage in the Matsubagayatsu section of Kamakura. According to legend, a white monkey alerted Nichiren to the danger and led him to safety.

The topic of Rev. Kenjo Igarashi‘s sermon was the power of the Odaimoku and to illustrate this he told the story of man who started attending services in Long Beach where Rev. Igarashi officiates once a month. (Well, not since the pandemic hit, but once a month before then.)

This new guy explained to Rev. Igarashi that he had been chanting the daimoku with SGI for many years and had decided that he might have better luck with Nichiren Shu. Seems he was chanting for a new girlfriend.

The purpose of the Lotus Sutra is to save all livings beings. Chanting the Odaimoku puts oneself in alignment with the sutra. We practice for ourselves but we also practice for others. We don’t practice to get stuff.

The white monkey who saved Nichiren illustrates the power of the Odaimoku, Rev. Igarashi explained. Protective deities watch out for those who chant Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.

Help in times of trouble: That’s what chanting brings.

New girlfriends: Not so much.