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Great Vows and Magnificent Aspirations

The Sutra of Innumerable Meanings describes “ten inconceivable powers for beneficial effect” that accrue to those who practice the sutra. The tenth beneficial effect has several components but the one that I’m focusing on today is this:

“Still in the stages of having delusive worldly passions, they will for the first time be able to spontaneously produce countless and unlimited great vows and magnificent aspirations.”

My 800 Years of Faith project is only the latest example. My first vow, as outlined in my “About” page, was my vow prompted by Rev. Ryusho Jeffus’ definition of 500 Yojanas.

Each cycle through Myoho Renge Kyo Romanized is marked by a Post-it arrow on the inside front cover

Today marks the conclusion of my 80th cycle of reciting the shindoku pronunciation of the Lotus Sutra. I started this morning practice in March 2015. Some time in July, I started reciting the same portion of the sutra in English as part of my evening practice. In September, 2015, I decided to start daily blog  postings on a portion of each day’s reading. Beginning July 23, 2019, I added the two sutras that complete the Threefold Lotus Sutra – The Sutra of Innumerable Meanings and The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage – between cycles through Myoho Renge Kyo Romanized.

Recognizing that my Post-It arrow tally on the inside cover of Myoho Renge Kyo Romanized would reach the conclusion of the fifth column this month, I made a vow to record my recitation of Senchu Murano’s English translation of the Lotus Sutra and the BDK English Tripiṭaka translation of The Sutra of Innumerable Meanings and The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva.

My principal reason for recording the English translation was to illustrate that I don’t “chant” the English. I read it as if I were reading to my child. After all, we are the children of the Buddha; these are the words of the Buddha.

I should make clear that these are not professional recordings. If you listen while reading the text you will notice minor errors. In addition, I chose to recite the Dhāraṇīs from Myoho Renge Kyo Romanized in chapters 26 and 28 rather than Murano’s translation. In the Contemplation of Universal Sage, I have used the BDK English Tripiṭaka translation unchanged, which means all references to Universal Sage appear as Bodhisattva All-Embracing Goodness and the title is rendered The Sutra Expounded by the Buddha on Practice of the Way Through Contemplation of the Bodhisattva All-Embracing Goodness.

Still, as a whole, this faithfully reflects my practice, and that’s my secondary purpose. I am more than 70 years old. There may come a time when I can no longer recite aloud the text. I want to have the option to play these recordings.

Finally, on a recent morning while doing my hour-long walking meditation, another purpose for these recordings occurred to me. In 2003, a hospital doctor caring for my mother suggested it was time to stop trying to prolong her life. I agreed and my mother was moved into a private room to die.  She lingered for several days.

My mother’s favorite recording was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Philadelphia Orchestra performing Handel’s Messiah. I received permission from the nursing staff to set up my cd-player on auto-repeat. My mother never regained consciousness and quietly died on Dec. 16 while I listened with her to Handel’s Messiah.

During that recent walking meditation it occurred to me that I could fashion my recordings of the Threefold Lotus Sutra into an audio cd to be played for me on my deathbed.

For those who consider that a macabre thought, I offer the third beneficial effect of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings:

They will not feel that taking birth or experiencing death are things that need to be feared; …

The Threefold Lotus Sutra in 36 parts

Sutra of Innumerable Meanings – part 1 (36:43)
Sutra of Innumerable Meanings – part 2 (34:45)
Day 1 (17:09)
Day 2 (15:12)
Day 3 (18:30)
Day 4 (18:37)
Day 5 (20:20)
Day 6 (16:36)
Day 7 (18:11)
Day 8 (16:51)
Day 9 (18:48)
Day 10 (17:04)
Day 11 (14:26)
Day 12 (22:46)
Day 13 (18:02)
Day 14 (17:39)
Day 15 (14:52)
Day 16 (13:41)
Day 17 (19:26)
Day 18 (18:51)
Day 19 (15:20)
Day 20 (13:50)
Day 21 (14:40)
Day 22 (18:50)
Day 23 (15:27)
Day 24 (16:06)
Day 25 (15:04)
Day 26 (14:03)
Day 27 (12:36)
Day 28 (14:36)
Day 29 (14:51)
Day 30 (7:41)
Day 31 (12:01)
Day 32 (11:42)
Contemplation of Universal Sage – morning (34:07)
Contemplation of Universal Sage – evening (34:30)
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800 Years: Thus Have I Heard

Daimoku literally means “title” in Japanese. In the case of the Lotus Sutra, that title is Myoho Renge Kyo. The text of the sutra begins with the declaration, “Thus have I heard.” Since the principal practice for Nichiren Buddhists is recitation of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, it is useful to consider the “chicken or the egg” conundrum found in the relationship between the text of the sutra and its title.

In Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Nichiren writes:

“The five characters in Chinese “Myō, Hō, Ren, Ge, and Kyō” appearing above the sentence, “Thus have I heard” is the essence of the one-volume Lotus Sūtra in eight fascicles, the essence of all the sūtras, and the supreme and True Dharma for all Buddhas, bodhisattvas, men of the Two Vehicles (śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha), heavenly beings, human beings, asura demons, and dragon deities. [Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 50]

As Rev. Ryusho Jeffus explains in his Lecture on the Lotus Sutra:

“In understanding that ‘thus have I heard’ is referring to Myoho Renge Kyo we realize that Myoho Renge Kyo pre-exists the text of the sutra. In this understanding, Myoho Renge Kyo has always existed before the text explaining it. So, in this way Myoho Renge Kyo is the fundamental truth that exists outside of or independent of the actual text, which follows.”

The first chapter of the Lotus Sutra also reveals that this is not first time the sutra has been preached. As Shinjo Suguro points out in Introduction to the Lotus Sutra:

“Manjusri’s narrative on Sun-Moon-Light Buddha illustrates that the Lotus Sutra was expounded in the past just as it is in the present. It is the universal teaching transcending even the concept of time. It is not some recent invention. The subsequent appearance of twenty thousand Buddhas with the same name suggests that the personalities of all Buddhas originate in the spirit of the very first One. Here we get the first glimpse of the ‘infinite absolute Buddha,’ or Original Buddha, who will fully reveal himself in Chapter Sixteen, ‘The Duration of the Life of the Tathagata.’ “

Or as Gene Reeves puts it in Stories from the Lotus Sutra:

“Thus the books we have called ‘The Lotus Sutra’ and the like, whether in Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, French, or English, are at best representations or exhibits of the Sutra itself. Such pages of text, on wood or palm leaf or paper, are embodiments of the Sutra. This does not mean, however, that the Lotus Sutra itself is in any way more real than the concrete embodiments. Rather, it is only in such concrete embodiments – not only in printed texts, but also in recitation, in teaching, and in practicing it – that the Sutra lives.” [p42]

With our faith in the Lotus Sutra that we make concrete by reciting devotion to the title of the sutra, by sharing the teaching and by putting it into practice in our lives, we bring the Original Buddha Śākyamuni to life right here, right now.

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800 Years: The Middle Way

For a discussion of faith, it is necessary to consider what we are being asked to understand by faith. As Thich Nhat Hanh explains in Peaceful Action, Open Heart, the Introductory chapter prepares the audience to receive a very important teaching about ultimate reality.

“[T]his introductory chapter opens two doors. The first door is that of history, the events we experience and what we can see and know in our own lifetimes. The second door is that of ultimate reality, which goes beyond time and space. Everything, all phenomena, participate in these two dimensions. When we look at a wave on the surface of the ocean, we can see the form of the wave and we locate the wave in space and time. Looking at a wave from the perspective of the historical dimension, it seems to have a beginning and an end, a birth and a death. …

“At the same time, all beings and things also belong to the ultimate dimension, the dimension of reality that is not subject to notions of space and time, birth and death … . A wave is a wave, but at the same time it is water. … To talk about a wave, we need these notions: the wave arises and passes away … . None of these distinctions can be applied to the wave in its ultimate dimension as water. In fact, you cannot separate the wave from its ultimate dimension.

“Even though we are used to seeing everything in terms of the historical dimension, we can touch the ultimate dimension. So our practice is to become like a wave – while living the life of a wave in the historical dimension, we realize that we are also water and live the life of water.” [p31-33]

This is another way of understanding the Middle Way.

Consider the light emitted by Śākyamuni that illuminates all the corners of eighteen thousand worlds in the east. The congregation can see from this world the living beings of the six regions of those worlds, down to the Avchi Hell of each world, and up to the Akanistha Heaven of each world. Mañjuśrī recalls seeing the same good omen from a Buddha called Sun-Moon-Light.

In the historical dimension, we don’t see this simultaneous nature of the 10 worlds – the six regions plus the higher realms of śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas and buddhas. We see our provisional existence but not how each realm interpenetrates the other.

With the light of the Buddha’s wisdom, the simultaneous existence of the 10 worlds is revealed in the same way that the light of our Sun passing through a prism reveals the rainbow of colors inside.

The provisional reality and ultimate reality are not separate but one truth, the Middle Way. As explained in Lotus Seeds:

“The Truth of the Middle Way is the teaching that Emptiness and Provisionality are different ways of pointing out that the reality of anything, including our own lives, transcends the categories of existence and non-existence.”

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800 Years: Variations in Faith

In the first chapter of the Lotus Sutra proper, the Buddha emits a ray of light and illumines all the corners of eighteen thousand worlds in the east, down to the Avchi Hell of each world, and up to the Akanistha Heaven of each world, the congregation gasps in wonder at this omen. The word “faith” appears only once.

Maitreya Bodhisattva narrates what everyone in the congregation is able to see:

“They also saw the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas [of those worlds] who were practicing the Way of Bodhisattvas [in various ways] according to the variety of their karmas which they had done in their previous existence, and also according to the variety of their ways of understanding [the Dharma] by faith.”

Note the emphasis on the variation. We are not the same. The causes and conditions of each individual are as varied as there are people. And we each have our unique way of understanding the Dharma by faith.

This variation is a major theme of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings:

“Seeing that conditioned desires are innumerable, the bodhisattva expounds the teachings in infinite ways. Because there are infinite ways of exposition, there are infinite meanings as well. The infinite meanings stem from a single dharma.”

This concept of equality and difference is emphasized throughout the Lotus Sutra.

In the second half of Chapter 1, when Mañjuśrī responds to Maitreya’s question about the meaning of the great wonder of the Buddha’s illumination of 18,000 worlds, he recalls an event from his past life:

“Good men! Innumerable, inconceivable, asamkya kalpas ago, there lived a Buddha called Sun-Moon-Light, the Tathagata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. He expounded the right teachings. His expounding of the right teachings was good at the beginning, good in the middle, and good at the end. The meanings of those teachings were profound. The words were skillful, pure, unpolluted, perfect, clean, and suitable for the explanation of brahma practices. To those who were seeking Śrāvakahood, he expounded the teaching of the four truths, a teaching suitable for them, saved them from birth, old age, disease, and death, and caused them to attain Nirvāṇa. To those who were seeking Pratyekabuddhahood, he expounded the teaching of the twelve causes, a teaching suitable for them. To Bodhisattvas, he expounded the teaching of the six paramitas, a teaching suitable for them, and caused them to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, that is, to obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things.”

We are equal but different. Our faith is different but equal. In the end we seek one thing: “To obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things.”

“All of you, know this, join your hands together,
And wait with one mind!
The Buddha will send the rain of the Dharma
And satisfy those who seek enlightenment.”

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800 Years: The Chain of Propagation Forged by Faith

Before leaving the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings I want to touch on how faith and practice can open the gateway to faith for others. Consider the eighth beneficial effect of the Sutra of Innumerable meanings:

“Among men and women of good intent—either during or after the lifetime of a buddha—if there are those who are able to obtain this sutra and revere it, trust it, and look upon it as being nothing less than the actual person of a buddha, such people will come to love and take joy in this sutra, accept and keep faith with it, internalize it, recite it, make records of it, and respectfully embrace it.”

To “revere it, trust it, and look upon it as being nothing less than the actual person of a buddha” is the definition of having faith. And that faith makes it possible to practice: “love and take joy in this sutra, accept and keep faith with it, internalize it, recite it, make records of it, and respectfully embrace it.”

“Following and practicing the way of its teaching, they will strengthen their spiritual attitudes regarding the behavioral principles and forbearance while also perfecting their practice of having consideration for others.”

As we learned in the seventh beneficial effect of this sutra, “even though they do not practice to perfect the six spiritual attitudes, perfection in the six spiritual attitudes will naturally come to them.”

Thus with faith and practice:

“Compassion will awaken from deep within them through this unmatched all-ferrying Infinite Meanings Sutra, and they will expound it widely for people’s benefit. If someone has long since completely disbelieved that there are things like impurities and virtues, their presentation of this sutra—employing various skillful means—will have the powerful effect of inspiring such a person to belief. Through the influence of the sutra they will awaken that person’s mind, and he or she will spontaneously experience a change of heart. With the now-awakened trusting mind, that person, through dauntless effort, can acquire this sutra’s dynamic power for great beneficial effect, and he or she will be able to realize the Way and attain its fruits.”

Note that the new convert manifests a “now-awakened trusting mind” and with “dauntless effort” is “able to realize the Way and attain its fruits.”

Through faith and practice a circle is joined between the first person who had faith and the person whom he awakened and that person goes on to inspire another person thus creating another circle and with these circles a chain is formed.

The Sutra of Innumerable Meanings closes with this:

“Well done, you of good intent! Well done! Truly you are now successors of the Buddha! You are surely the ones capable of thoroughly eliminating suffering and alleviating misfortune with great kindness and compassion! You will be bountiful spheres of kindness for all living beings, excellent guides who benefit all far and wide, sources of great support for all living beings, and all living beings’ great benefactors!”

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800 Years: Bodhisattva Children

One of the things that I’ve always enjoyed about Buddhism is how it changes the binary concept of procreation to include an active role for the future child. It takes three to make a baby. This is famously illustrated in the story of Venerable Kāśyapa as told by Nichiren in his Kangyō Hachiman-shō [Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 270-271].

In the story, a childless Brahman named Nyagrodha threatens to burn down a forest god’s shrine after the god fails to answer Nyagrodha’s prayer for the good luck of having a child. The difficulty turns out to be that the gods couldn’t find anyone worthy of being Nyagrodha’s child. Eventually the gods find a heavenly being in the Brahma Heaven who was about to die. That child became Venerable Kāśyapa.

Getting back to the topic of faith, the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings offers this explanation of how Bodhisattva children are created:

“O you of good intent! So it is also with one who keeps faith with this sutra. The convergence of the buddhas and this sutra – the union of ‘king’ and ‘queen’ – gives birth to this bodhisattva child.”

Without our faith and practice the Buddha and his teaching would be childless. This is emphasized in Chapter 2 of Nichiren: The Buddhist Prophet by Masaharu Anesaki:

“The revelation of the eternal past is thus followed by the assurance for the everlasting future. The past and the future are united in the oneness of the Truth, by the unity of purpose, methods, and power, in all the Buddhas of all ages – in short, in the Sole Road of Truth [One Vehicle]. This is the cardinal teaching of the Lotus, as in other Buddhist books or systems; but the special emphasis laid by the Lotus, particularly in the last twelve chapters, is upon the question, Who shall really be the one who will perpetuate and realize this truth of the Sole Road? The Truth abides eternally, but it is an abstraction, a dead law, without the person who perpetuates the life of the Truth. The Buddha Śākyamuni, in his human manifestation, was the one, the Tathāgata par excellence; but who shall be the one in the future, nay in the present, in these days of degeneration and vice? This was the question of Nichiren, who at last, as the result of his hard experience and perilous life, arrived at the conclusion that he himself was the man destined to achieve the task of the Tathāgata’s messenger.”

Each person of faith breathes life into the Truth.

As Anesaki writes in Chapter 7:

“Noble and sublime may be the conception of the Supreme Being, but it is but an idol or image, a dead abstraction, if we ourselves do not participate in its supreme existence and realize in ourselves its excellent qualities. Thus, worship or adoration means a realization of the Supreme Being, together with all its attributes and manifestations, first through our own spiritual introspection, and second in our life and deeds.”

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800 Years: Only a Buddha and Another Buddha

In Chapter 2 of the Lotus Sutra we are told only a Buddha and another Buddha — Yui Butsu Yo Butsu – can fathom the ultimate reality, but the foundation for this was laid in the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings, the preface of the Lotus Sutra.

“And so, you of good intent, starting from when I established the Way and first began to expound the Dharma, until this moment in which I am discoursing on the all-ferrying Infinite Meanings Sutra, there has never been a time when I have not expounded suffering, emptiness, ever changingness, nonexistence of self, non-reality, non-unreality, non- greatness, non-smallness, intrinsic non-origination, continuing non-cessation, the formlessness of all things, that aspects and natures of phenomena neither come nor go, and that the four modes are the dynamic of living beings.

“O you of good intent! What all this means is that the buddhas have but one message: they are able to conform universally to all voices by means of a single sound. From a single body they are able to manifest embodiments as countless and immeasurable as millions upon millions of myriads of Ganges Rivers’ sands; then, in each embodiment, manifest various shapes as countless as millions upon millions of myriads of Ganges Rivers’ sands; then, in each shape, display appearances as countless as some millions upon millions of myriads of Ganges Rivers’ sands. O you of good intent! This, in fact, is the profound and unimaginable realm of all of the buddhas! It is neither knowable by those of the two vehicles nor reachable by bodhisattvas in the tenth development stage! Only a buddha together with a buddha can fathom it completely!”

This unknowable and unreachable understanding is the realm of faith. A gate is held open by the Buddha and we are invited to enter and to walk along the path.

As the sutra promises:

“If there are living beings who can hear this sutra, they will reap great benefit. Why is this so? If they are capable of practicing it, they will surely realize and quickly achieve the full dynamic of ultimate enlightenment. As for those living beings who cannot hear it, it should be known that they are ones who miss out on great benefit: even after the passing of innumerable, unimaginable, infinite myriads of kalpas, they still will not realize and achieve the full dynamic of ultimate enlightenment. What is the reason for this? It is because, not knowing the great direct route to enlightenment, they travel an uphill path full of hardships that detain them.”

But those whose faith brings them to practice and study the Dharma develop great strength.

“A person with great strength can bear and carry all manner of heavy things. So it is also with people who keep faith with this sutra: they can shoulder the great responsibilities of ultimate enlightenment, and they can carry living beings away from the path of recurring births and deaths. They are capable of ferrying others even though they still cannot ferry themselves.”

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800 Years: The Progression Along the Path

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that faith along with practice and study is an interdependent progression that moves us along the path to Buddhahood. The Ten Merits discussed in the final chapter of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings illustrates how this works.

The first merit is contained within the sutra independent of any action by the listener: “My good children, first of all, this sutra can make an unawakened bodhisattva aspire to awakening.” This is the entry level of faith.

For the second through the fourth merits we witness a progression of benefits for those “beings who hear this sutra, whether the whole of it, a verse of it, or a phrase of it.” With the second merit they gain mastery of infinite meanings. In the third, their “delusions, while still existing, will be as if nonexistent.” And in the fourth, “they will gain courage and be able to ferry others across, although they will not be able to ferry themselves.”

With the fifth and sixth merit, we witness the abilities gained when “whether during the Buddha’s lifetime or after his passing away, there are good sons and good daughters who receive, embrace, read, recite, and copy this extremely profound and supreme Great Vehicle Sutra of Innumerable Meanings.” In the fifth merit, “[a]lthough they are still bound by their delusions and cannot yet free themselves from all the faults of an ordinary person, they will be able to reveal the way of great bodhisattvas.” In the sixth merit, “they will be able to teach the Dharma for living beings and enable them to break free from the delusions of birth and death and overcome all sufferings.”

For the remainder of the merits, we consider the consequences of putting the sutra to work in our life.

In the seventh merit, we meet those who “rejoice, believe, and delight in” this sutra: “Although they will still be unable to practice the Six Paramitas, the Six Paramitas will be naturally present in them.”

In the eighth merit, we consider those who “look upon [this sutra] with reverence and trust, just as if it were the very body of the Buddha”: “They will teach others far and wide by expounding this supreme Great Vehicle Sutra of Innumerable Meanings, using this sutra to demonstrate to those who have never once believed in the rewards of good and evil they do indeed exist.”

In the ninth merit, we see what happens to those who “jump for joy at having attained something extraordinary”: “They will be able, in an instant, to completely eliminate the heavy hindrance of any bad karma remaining from their former lifetimes.”

Finally, in the tenth merit, “there are good sons and good daughters who greatly rejoice in attaining this sutra, appreciating so rare a thing”: “They will be able to encourage laypeople and monastics far and wide to receive, embrace, read, recite, copy, pay homage to, and expound this sutra, and practice it as taught.”

This is the progression made possible by faith.

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800 Years: Threefold Lotus Sutra Lessons

For the rest of the year, I will focus my discussion of faith on the lessons found in the Threefold Lotus Sutra. I am starting today with the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings, not just because it is the first of three sutras, but because it sets the stage for what follows in the Lotus Sutra.

In the third chapter of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings, the Buddha details ten inconceivable powers for beneficial effect that this sutra possesses. All of these include faith as a component, but the first beneficial effect of this sutra truly captures the potential when a person takes the first step of faith:

“The Buddha said: ‘O you of good intent! First, this sutra can enable a bodhisattva—whose mind has not yet produced it—to generate the aspiration for enlightenment; can awaken a mind of compassion in one who lacks kindness and sympathy; can awaken in one who is fond of killing a mind of expansive mercy; can awaken in one in whom envy arises a mind of sympathetic joy; can awaken in one who is in bondage to desires a mind that can rise above them; can awaken in a selfish one a mind of consideration for others; can awaken in the mind of an arrogant one the attitude of proper behavior; can awaken in one who is quick to anger a mind that is given to forbearance; can awaken in one who becomes lazy in discipline a mind of appropriate endeavor; can awaken in one who has unceasing thoughts a mind directed toward tranquility; can awaken an insightful mind in one who is deluded and confused; can awaken in one who is not yet able to ferry others a mind to convey them to freedom; can awaken in one who commits the ten harmful acts a mind of the ten virtues; can inspire in the mind of one drawn to conditioned phenomena the intent to transcend cause and condition; can create in one who tends to withdraw from commitment a mind that is resolute; can awaken in one whose conduct is unrestrained a mind to exert self-control; and can awaken in one who has delusive worldly passions a mind to purge and be rid of them. O you of good intent! This is known as the inconceivable power of the first beneficial effect of this sutra.’ “

Faith comes first. It is the good intent. There is no chicken or the egg conundrum. But faith alone is no more stable than a pogo stick. Instead, we practice and study and by practicing and studying we create a bulwark behind which we can battle the sanshō shima, the three hindrances and four devils, who inevitably attempt to obstruct the ordinary person who seeks to become a Buddha. As Nichiren says, “Although the wise will welcome them, those who are foolish fear them and retreat.” [Hyōesakan-dono Gohenji, Answer to Lord Ikegami Munenaga, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 93]

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800 Years: The Third Jewel

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Available on Amazon

Autumn Writings is the third volume of essays by Kanto Tuskamoto Shonin, the founder of Enkyoji Buddhist Network. Rev. Kanjin Cederman Shonin writes in the Forward:

“The most powerful reason that I wish to share these lectures with everyone is because of their simplicity and the easy-to-grasp explanations that Tsukamoto Sensei uses to share many very profound teachings.”

I’ve previously published quotes from Spring Writings and Summer Writings, and I will be publishing several quotes from Autumn Writings that relate to faith in the coming weeks.

What I want to do now is consider Rev. Tsukamoto’s guidance on the third jewel, the Sangha.

“At a Conversion Ceremony we, as Buddhists, vow to devote ourselves to the Three Treasures. Are you still devoted to the Three Treasures now? People who consider themselves Buddhists may have no problem with two of the Treasures – Buddha and Dharma. How about the third one, the Sangha/Temple? Actually, Sangha is very difficult. While the first two Treasures are to assist you in prayer and understanding, the third one, Sangha, is not only for prayer and understanding, but you also have to show your faith through your practical behavior and your commitment to the Sangha voluntarily.” [page 44]

For Rev. Tsukamoto, faith can’t exist without the sangha.

“If you were to lose your Sangha/Temple, what would happen to your faith? Some say, ‘I will continue my faith by myself’ or ‘I am okay because I do Gongyō every day on my own.’ However, it is not easy to maintain the Faith by yourself without the Sangha, because a Nichiren Shū Sangha/Temple is the best place to develop and practice your faith. This influence will appear in your Gongyō or prayer. If you continue to perform Gongyō alone every day, naturally you will fall into a habit of doing everything your own way. This will materialize in your chanting pronunciation and service manner. What is worse is that there will be no specialist like a Minister to correct what is wrong. You will not notice the errors by yourself and therefore will continue to do everything improperly and think that your way is correct.” [page 45]

In today’s interconnected world, I would argue that there is no place outside the sangha of believers. For me, Sanghas are like Italian restaurants. Each has its own flavor and focus, dictated by the chef’s tastes. We have an opportunity to find our sangha anywhere or everywhere in the world. Our task is to find the one we enjoy the most.

I do, however, agree with Rev. Tsukamoto’s point about Gohonzons and sangha membership:

“I often wonder why there are so many people who want to have a ‘Gohonzon,’ but no one wants a Sangha/Temple. This is very strange. Sangha/Temple should be a ‘top priority’ over a private Gohonzon because the Temple is ‘Kaidan’ – the precept dais – it is the only place able to offer a Gohonzon. Therefore, if you don’t have a Temple, you cannot receive a private Gohonzon.” [page 47]

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