The Basic Nichiren Shu Service

service-guideThe Nichiren Buddhist International Center offers an audio CD that accompanies the Liturgy of Nichiren Shu booklet. What I’m offering here is an example of the service that can be used until you receive the material from Nichiren Buddhist International Center.

Home practice starts by chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo three times and then ringing the bell three times. This is followed by:


Shindoku is the traditional reading of the Lotus Sutra in Nichiren Buddhism. The version of the Lotus Sutra used by Nichiren was translated to Chinese by Kumarajiva. His work is considered the best at keeping the original meaning and melody of the Sanskrit version. Shindoku is the Japanese reading of the Chinese characters. This reading keeps the melody and allows us to read the original Kumarajiva version.

Keep the tempo with one beat each word.

Pronunciation Guide to Shindoku.
Vowels pronounced
a–as in Father.
i–e as in we.
u–as in rule
e–as in egg
o–as in go
Consonants are mostly the same as in English except for F and R. Fu sounds more like Hu. Ryu or Ryo have more of a L sound with a little d added. Closer to the sound made in saying Lieu or Low. Keep the tempo with one beat each word.

* Shindoku explained

Invocation

Honor be to the Great Mandala,
The Perfect Circle of all Honorable Ones,
Revealed by our founder Nichiren Shonin.
Honor be to the Eternal Buddha Śākyamuni,
Our original Teacher,
The Lord of the Dharma,
Our Great Benefactor,
Who attained enlightenment in the remotest past.
Honor be the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the
Wonderful Dharma,
The Teaching of Equality, The Great Wisdom,
The One Vehicle.
Honor be to our Founder,
The Great Bodhisattva Nichiren Shonin,
Dispatched by Our Original Buddha.
Honor be to Renge-ajari Nichiji Shonin,
The first overseas missionary.
Honor be to the protective deities of the Dharma.
We honor all of you.
May you come to this consecrated place out of your compassion toward us,
See us with the light of your wisdom,
and accept our offering of chanting the Sutra and
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo!

Japanese recording of Invocation

Kaikyoge

Japanese

Mujo-Jinjin
Mimyo-no Ho-wa
Hyakusen Mango-nimo
Aitatematsuru
Koto Katashi
Ware Ima Kenmon Shi
Juji Surukoto wo Etari
Negawakuwa Nyorai no
Dai Ichigi wo Gesen
Shigoku no Daijo
Shigi Subekarazu
Kenmon Sokuchi
Mina Bodai ni Chikazuku
No-sen wa Ho-shin
Shosen wa Hosshin
Shikiso-no Monji wa
Sunawachi Kore O-jin nari
Muryo-no Kudoku
Mina Kono Kyo-ni
Atsumareri
Kono Yueni Jizai ni
Myo-ni Kunji
Mitsu ni Yakusu
Uchi Muchi
Tsumi wo Messhi
Zen wo Sho-zu
Moshi wa Shin Moshi wa Ho-
Tomo ni Butsudo-wo Jo-zen
Sanze no Shobutsu
Jinjin no Myo-den Nari
Sho-jo-Sese
Chigu Shi Cho-daisen


The most profound and wonderful teaching
is presented in this sutra.
This sutra is difficult to meet
Even once in thousands and millions of aeons.
Now we have been able to see,
hear, receive and keep this sutra.
May we understand the most excellent teaching of the Tathagata!

The most excellent teaching of the
Great Vehicle is very difficult for us to understand.
We shall be able to approach enlightenment
when we see, hear, or touch this sutra.
Expounded is the Buddha’s truth.
Expounding is the Buddha’s essence.
The letters composing this sutra
are the Buddha’s manifestation.

Just as perfume is caught by something put nearby,
so shall we be richly benefited by this sutra,
even when we are not aware of being so benefited,
because infinite merits are accumulated in this sutra.

Anyone can expiate his past transgressions,
do good deeds,
and attain Buddhahood by the merits of this sutra.
It does not matter whether he is wise or not,
or whether he believes the sutra or rejects it.

This sutra is the most wonderful and
most excellent taught by the Buddhas
of the past, present, and future.
May we meet and receive it,
Birth after birth, world after world!

English version

Myohorengekyo Hoben Pon Daini

Shindoku
bell_icon indicates where to sound bell. The final Nyo ze section is repeated three times. The bell is sounded at start of the third repetition and at Ho in penultimate line.

Ni Ji Se Son
Ju San Mai
An Jo Ni Ki
Go Shari Hotsu
bell_iconSho Buc chi E
Jin Jin Mu Ryo
Go Chi E Mon
Nan Ge Nan Nyu
bell_iconIs sai Sho Mon
Hyaku Shi Butsu
Sho Fu No Chi
Sho I Sha Ga
Butsu Zo Shin Gon
Hyaku Sen Man Noku
Mu Shu Sho Butsu
bell_iconJin Gyo Sho Butsu
Mu Ryo Do Ho
Yu Myo Sho Jin
Myo Sho Fu Mon
Jo Ju Jin Jin
Mi Zo U Ho
Zui Gi Sho Setsu
I Shu Nan Ge
Shari Hotsu
Go Ju Jo Buc chi Rai
Shu Ju In Nen
Shu Ju Hi Yu
Ko En Gon Kyo
Mu Shu Ho Ben
In Do Shu Jo
Ryo Ri Sho Jaku
Sho I Sha Ga
Nyo Rai Ho Ben
Chi Ken Hara Mitsu
Kai I Gu Soku
Shari Hotsu
Nyo Rai Chi Ken
Ko Dai Jin Non
Mu Ryo Mu Ge
Riki Mu Sho I
Zen Jo Ge Das San Mai
Jin Nyu Mu Sai
Jo Ju Is Sai
Mi Zo Hu Ho
Shari Hotsu
Nyo Rai No Shu Ju Fun Betsu
Gyo Ses Sho Ho
Gon Ji Nyu Nan
Ek ka Shu Shin
Shari Hotsu
Shu Yo Gon Shi
Mu Ryo Mu Hen
Mi Zo Hu Ho
Bus shitsu Jo Ju
Shi Shari Hotsu
Fu Shu Bu Setsu
Sho I Sha Ga
Bus sho Jo Ju
Dai Ichi Ke U
Nan Ge Shi Ho
Yui Butsu Yo Butsu
Nai No Ku Jin
Sho Ho Jis So
bell_icon*Sho I Sho Ho
Nyo ze so
Nyo ze Sho
Nyo Ze Tai
Nyo ze Riki
Nyo ze sa
Nyo ze In
Nyo ze En
Nyo ze Ka
bell_iconNyo ze Ho
Nyo Ze Hon Matsu Ku Kyo To


Thereupon the World-Honored One emerged quietly from his samādhi, and said to Śāriputra:

bell_icon“The wisdom of the present Buddhas is profound and immeasurable.
bell_iconThe gate to it is difficult to understand and difficult to enter.
bell_iconTheir wisdom cannot be understood by any Śrāvaka or Pratyekabuddha because the present Buddhas attended on many hundreds of thousands of billions of past Buddhas, and practiced the innumerable teachings of those Buddhas bravely and strenuously to their far-flung fame until they attained the profound Dharma which you have never heard before, and became Buddhas, and also because since they became Buddhas they have been expounding the Dharma according to the capacities of all living beings in such various ways that the true purpose of their various teachings is difficult to understand.

“Śāriputra! Since I became a Buddha, I also have been expounding various teachings with various stories of previous lives, with various parables, and with various similes. I have been leading all living beings with innumerable expedients in order to save them from various attachments, because I have the power to employ expedients and the power to perform the pāramitā of insight.

“Śāriputra! The insight of the Tathāgatas is wide and deep. The Tathāgatas have all the states of mind towards innumerable living beings, unhindered eloquence, powers, fearlessness, dhyāna-concentrations, emancipations, and samādhis. They entered deep into boundlessness, and attained the Dharma which you have never heard before.

“Śāriputra! The Tathāgatas divide the Dharma into various teachings, and expound those teachings to all living beings so skillfully and with such gentle voices that living beings are delighted. Śāriputra! In short, the Buddhas attained the innumerable teachings which you have never heard before. No more, Śāriputra, will I say because the Dharma attained by the Buddhas is the highest Truth, rare to hear and difficult to understand. Only the Buddhas attained the highest Truth,
bell_icon*that is, the reality of all things
in regard to their appearances as such,
their natures as such,
their entities as such,
their powers as such,
their activities as such,
their primary causes as such,
their environmental causes as such,
their effects as such,
bell_icontheir rewards and retributions as such,
and their equality as such despite these differences.

English version


*This final section is repeated three times. Bell at start of third repetition and at Ho in penultimate line.

Why We Chant Ten Suchnesses Three Times

Myohorengekyo Nyorai Juryohon Daijuroku

Shindoku
bell_icon indicates where to sound bell.

Ji Ga Toku Butsu Rai
Sho Kyo Sho Kos shu
Mu Ryo Hyaku Sen Man
Oku Sai A So Gi
bell_iconJo Sep Po Kyo Ke
Mu Shu Oku Shu Jo
Ryo Nyu O Butsu Do
Ni Rai Mu Ryo Ko
bell_iconI Do Shu Jo Ko
Ho Ben Gen Ne Han
Ni Jitsu Fu Metsu Do
Jo Ju Shi Sep po
bell_iconGa Jo Ju O Shi
I Sho Jin Zu Riki
Ryo Ten Do Shu Jo
Sui Gon Ni Fu Ken
Shu Ken Ga Metsu Do
Ko Ku Yo Sha Ri
Gen Kai E Ren Bo
Ni Sho Katsu Go Shin
Shu Jo Ki Shin Buku
Shichi Jiki I Nyu Nan
Isshin Yoku Ken Butsu
Fu Ji Shaku Shin Myo
Ji Ga Gyu Shu so
Ku Shutsu Ryo Ju Sen
Ga Ji Go Shu Jo
Jo Zai Shi Fu Metsu
I Ho Ben Riki Ko
Gen U Metsu Fu Metsu
Yo Koku U Shu Jo
Ku Gyo Shin Gyo Sha
Ga Bu O Hi Chu
I Setsu Mu Jo Ho
Nyo To Fu Mon Shi
Tan Ni Ga Metsu Do
Ga Ken Sho Shu Jo
Motsu Zai O Ku Kai
Ko Fu I Gen Shin
Ryo Go Sho Katsu Go
In Go Shin Ren Bo
Nai Shutsu I Sep po
Jin Zu Riki Nyo ze
O A So Gi Ko
Jo Zai Ryo Ju Sen
Gyu Yo Sho Ju Sho
Shu Jo Ken Ko Jin
Dai Ka Sho Sho Ji
Ga Shi Do An Non
Ten Nin Jo Ju Man
On Rin Sho Do Kaku
Shu Ju Ho Sho Gon
Ho Ju Ta Ke Ka
Shu Jo Sho Yu Raku
Sho Ten Kyaku Ten Ku
Jo Sa Shu Gi Gaku
U Man Da Ra Ke
San Butsu Gyu Dai Shu
Ga Jo Do Fu Ki
Ni Shu Ken Sho Jin
U Fu Sho Ku No
Nyo Ze Shitsu Ju Man
Ze Sho Zai Shu Jo
I Aku Go In Nen
Ka A So Gi Ko
Fu Mon San Bo Myo
Sho U Shu Ku Doku
Nyu Wa Shichi Jiki Sha
Sok Kai Ken Ga Shin
Zai Shi Ni Sep po
Waku Ji I Shi Shu
Setsu Butsu Ju Mu Ryo
Ku Nai Ken Bus Sha
I Setsu Butsu Nan Chi
Ga Chi Riki Nyo Ze
E Ko Sho Mu Ryo
Ju Myo Mu Shu Ko
Ku Shu Go Sho Toku
Nyo To U Chi Sha
Mot To Shi Sho Gi
To Dan Ryo Yo Jin
Butsu Go Jip pu Ko
Nyo I Zen Ho Ben
I Ji O Shi Ko
Jitsu Zai Ni Gon Shi
Mu No Sekko Mo
Ga Yaku I Se Bu
Ku Sho Ku Gen Sha
I Bon Bu Ten Do
Jitsu Zai Ni Gon Metsu
I Jo Ken Ga Ko
Ni Sho Kyo Shi Shin
Ho Itsu Jaku Go Yoku
Da O Aku Do Chu
Ga Jo Chi Shu Jo
Gyo Do Fu Gyo Do
Zui O Sho Ka Do
I Ses Shu Ju Ho
bell_iconMai Ji Sa Ze Nen
I Ga Ryo Shu Jo
Toku Nyu Mu Jo Do
bell_iconSoku Jo Ju Bus shin

It is many hundreds of thousands
Of billions of trillions
Of asaṃkhyas of kalpas
Since I became the Buddha.

bell_iconFor the past innumerable kalpas
I have always been expounding the Dharma
To many hundreds of millions of living beings
In order to lead them into the Way to Buddhahood.

bell_iconIn order to save the perverted people,
I expediently show my Nirvāṇa to them.
In reality I shall never pass away.
I always live here and expound the Dharma.

bell_iconAlthough I always live here
With the perverted people
I disappear from their eyes
By my supernatural powers.

When they see me seemingly pass away,
And make offerings to my śarīras,
And adore me, admire me,
And become devout, upright and gentle,
And wish to see me
With all their hearts
At the cost of their lives,
I reappear on Mt. Sacred Eagle
With my Saṃgha,
And say to them:
“I always live here.
I shall never be extinct.
I show my extinction to you expediently
Although I never pass away.
I also expound the unsurpassed Dharma
To the living beings of the other worlds
If they respect me, believe me,
And wish to see me.
You have never heard this
Therefore, you thought that I pass away.”

I see the perverted people sinking
In an ocean of suffering.
Therefore, I disappear from their eyes
And cause them to admire me.
When they adore me,
I appear and expound the Dharma to them.

I can do all this by my supernatural powers.
I live on Mt. Sacred Eagle
And also in the other abodes
For asaṃkhya kalpas.

The perverted people think:
“This world is in a great fire.
The end of the kalpa of destruction is coming.”
In reality this world of mine is peaceful.
It is filled with gods and men.
The gardens, forests and stately buildings
Are adorned with various treasures;
The jeweled trees have many flowers and fruits;
The living beings are enjoying themselves;
And the gods are beating heavenly drums,
Making various kinds of music,
And raining mandārava-flowers on the great multitude and me.

This pure world of mine is indestructible.
But the perverted people think:
“It is full of sorrow, fear, and other sufferings.
It will soon burn away.”

Because of their evil karmas,
These sinful people will not be able
To hear even the names of the Three Treasures
During asaṃkhya kalpas.

To those who have accumulated merits,
And who are gentle and upright,
And who see me living here,
Expounding the Dharma,
I say:
“The duration of my life is immeasurable.”
To those who see me after a long time,
I say, “It is difficult to see a Buddha.”

I can do all this by the power of my wisdom.
The light of my wisdom knows no bound.
The duration of my life is innumerable kalpas.
I obtained this longevity by ages of practices.

All of you, wise men!
Have no doubts about this!
Remove your doubts, have no more!
My words are true, not false.

The physician, who sent a man expediently
To tell his perverted sons
Of the death of their father in order to cure them,
Was not accused of falsehood although he was still alive.

In the same manner, I am the father of the world.
I am saving all living beings from suffering.
Because they are perverted,
I say that I pass away even though I shall not.
If they always see me,
They will become arrogant and licentious,
And cling to the five desires
So much that they will fall into the evil regions.

I know who is practicing the Way and who is not.
Therefore I expound various teachings
To all living beings
According to their capacities.

bell_iconI am always thinking:
“How shall I cause all living beings
To enter into the unsurpassed Way
bell_iconAnd quickly become Buddhas?”

English version

Read one of the these Lotus Sutra excerpts

The Coming of the Buddhas

(From Chapter 2, Expedients)

The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to open [the gate to] the insight of the Buddha, and to cause them to purify themselves. They appear in the worlds in order to show the insight of the Buddha to all living beings. They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to obtain the insight of the Buddha. They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to enter the Way to the insight of the Buddha. Śāriputra! This is the one great purpose for which the Buddhas appear in the worlds.

The Triple World

(From Chapter 3, A Parable)

The triple world is not peaceful.
It is like the burning house.
It is full of sufferings.
It is dreadful.

There are always the sufferings
Of birth, old age, disease and death.
They are like flames Raging endlessly.
I have already left
The burning house of the triple world.
I am tranquil and peaceful
In a bower in a forest.

This triple world
Is my property.
All living beings therein
Are my children.

There are many sufferings
In this world.
Only I can save
[All living beings].

Dispatch of Monks and Nuns

(From Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma)

I will manifest the four kinds of devotees:
Bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, and men and women of pure faith,
And dispatch them to him
So that they may make offerings to him,
And that they may lead many living beings,
Collecting them to hear the Dharma [from him].

If he is hated and threatened
With swords, sticks, tile-pieces or stones,
I will manifest men and dispatch them to him
In order to protect him.

The Appearance of the Stupa

(From Chapter 11, The Appearance of the Stupa)

Thereupon a loud voice of praise was heard from within the stupa of treasures:

“Excellent, excellent! You, Śākyamuni, the World-Honored One, have expounded to this great multitude the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Teaching of Equality, the Great Wisdom, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas. So it is, so it is. What you, Śākyamuni, the World-Honored One, have expounded is all true.”



Nichiren Shōnin’s Instruction

Sokun
The following exerpts are the most frequently quoted in ceremonies. You may use any of Nichiren Shonin’s writings as a part of your service. When used in ceremony, these are usually read after sutra chanting and before Odaimoku.

Shōho Jissō Shō
Have faith in the Great Mandala Gohonzon, the most venerable one in the entire world. Earnestly endeavor to strengthen your faith so that you may be blessed with the protective powers of Śākyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures, and Buddhas in manifestation throughout the Universe. Strive to carry out the two ways of practice and learning.

Without practice and learning, Buddhism will cease to exist. Endeavor yourself and cause others to practice these two ways of practice and learning, which stem from faith. If possible, please spread even a word or a phrase of the sūtra to others.

(Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 4 p. 79)

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo Throughout the World

NYOSETSU SHUGYO SHO

When all the people under the heaven and various schools of Buddhism are all converted to the one and true vehicle, and when only the Lotus Sutra flourishes and all the people recite "Namu Myoho Renge Kyo" in unison, the howling wind will not blow on the branches, falling rain will not erode the soil, and the world will become as good as during the reigns of the Chinese Emperors Fu-hsi and Shen-nung. You will see that such times will come when the calamities cease to exist, people live long, and men and their faith become eternal, there should be no doubt about the proof of tranquility in life.

(Background : May 1273, 51 years old, at Sado, Showa Teihon, p.733)

See A Phrase A Day

Great Compassion

HO-ON JO

I, Nichiren, believe my compassion is boundless because I am devoting myself to salvation of all mankind, overcoming many persecutions. Therefore, "Namu Myoho Renge Ryo," the teaching for the people in the Latter Age of the Declining Law, will spread forever beyond the ten-thousand-year period. It has the merit of curing the (religious) blindness of all people and blocks the way to hell. This merit is superior to those of Dengyo of Japan, T'ien-t'ai of China, Nagarjuna of India, and Kasyapa, who was the Buddha's disciple.

Therefore, the practice for a hundred years in the peaceful Pure Land is not worth the merit of chanting Odaimoku for one day in this defiled world. Propagation of the Lotus Sutra in the two-thousand-year period following the death of the Buddha does not give benefit as much as spreading Odaimoku for a while in the Latter Age of the Declining Law. This is not due to my wisdom; it is solely due to the time of the Latter Age in which I live.

(Background ; July 21, 1276, 54 years old, at Minobu, Showa Teihon, p.1248)

See A Phrase A Day

Great Compassion of the Buddha

KANJIN HONZON SHO

When the sun shines bright in the sky, everything is made clearly visible on the earth. In the same manner, when one knows the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, he will understand the meaning of the occurrences in the world. For the sake of those who live in the Latter Age of the Declining Law, who are too infantile to understand the Lotus or the Perfect Truth, and who are ignorant of the treasure of the truth of the "Three Thousand Existences in One Thought " the Eternal Buddha will hang the treasure of the five characters (Myo-Ho-Ren-Ge-Kyo) around people's necks. The four great Bodhisattvas who are apostles will protect the keepers of the five letters, as T'ai Kung-wang and Duke of Chou supported the young ruler Chen-wang, or as the four elders attended Emperor Hui-ti in China.

(Background : April 25, 1273, 51 years old, at Sado, Showa Teihon, p.720)

See A Phrase A Day

Realization of Buddhahood

KANJIN HONZON SHO

The Saha-world is the world of the Original Buddha and is the eternal Pure Land, which is free from the three calamities and the four kalpa. In this eternal world, the Buddha never disappeared in the past, nor is He to appear in the future. In consequence, all living beings under the Buddha in the Saha-world are one with Him and eternal. It is because those who believe in the Lotus Sutra, live in the land where they have united themselves with the Buddha and attained the truth of "the three thousand existences in one thought."

(Background : April 25, 1273, 51 years old, at Sado, Showa Teihon, p.712)

See A Phrase A Day

Three Great Vows

KAIMOKU SHO

To desert the teaching of the Lotus Sutra denotes falling into hell. I have made a vow : "Even if someone says that he would make me the ruler of Japan if I give up the Lotus Sutra and rely upon the Kammuryojukyo (Sutra of Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life) for my salvation in the next life, or even if someone threatens me saying that he will execute my parents if I do not say 'Namu Amida Butsu,' and even if many great difficulties fall upon me, I will not submit to them until a man of wisdom defeats me by reason." Other difficulties are like dust in the wind. I will never break my vow that I shall become a pillar of Japan, I shall become the eyes of Japan, and I shall become the great vessel of Japan.

(Background : February, 1272, 50 years old, at Sado, Showa Teihon, p.601)

See A Phrase A Day

Eternal Truth

RISSHO ANKOKU RON

You should promptly convert your wrong faith to the belief in the true and one vehicle faith at once. Then the triple world of the unenlightened will all become the land of the Buddha. Will the land of the Buddha decay? All the lands in ten directions will become the "treasure land." Will the "treasure land" be destroyed? When the land does not decay and is not destroyed, your body is safe and your heart tranquil. Believe these words and revere them.

(Background : July 1260, 38 years old, at Kamakura, Showa Teihon, p.226)

See A Phrase A Day

Cooperation

SHOJI ICHIDAIJI KECHIMYAKU SHO

My disciples and lay followers should eliminate discrimination between themselves and others. Cooperate with each other just as fish and water, and chant "Namu Myoho Renge Kyo" with one mind although you are different in person. Cooperation is the most important thing for your transmission of the teaching liberating from birth and death to your posterity. This is exactly what I have tried to disseminate till this day. If you can carry this out, our great vow to disseminate the Wonderful Dharma throughout the world will be fulfilled. If any one of you is different from the others not only in person but also in mind, he will be like a castle destroyer within a castle.

Note: This is the lone excerpt that is not included in A Phrase A Day

Keeping Odaimoku

KANJIN HONZON SHO

All the good deeds and virtues of the Buddha Sakyamuni are manifested in the title of the Lotus Sutra, that is, in the five letters: "Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo." 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 letters.

(Background : April 25, 1273, 51 years old, at Sado, Showa Teihcn, p.711)

See A Phrase A Day


Recitation of Odaimoku

daimoku-image
NAMU MYOHO RENGE KYO
I devote myself to the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of The Wonderful Dharma

There is no rule as to how many or how long to chant the Odaimoku. You may chant one Odaimoku or a hundred or more.

You may chant the whole twenty eight chapters, one chapter, one paragraph, one sentence or even one character, of the Lotus Sutra a day. Or, you may chant the daimoku, “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,” just once in a day or once in your whole life. Even if you may never chant the daimoku yourself, you may rejoice at hearing others chant it just once in your whole life. Or you may rejoice with others who rejoice at hearing a voice chanting the daimoku. The joy of the daimoku chanting transmitted 50 times this way from person to person, will grow weaker steadily until in the last fiftieth person it will be as uncertain as the mind of a two or three year old baby or as unpredictable as a horse or a cow, which cannot tell the difference between head and tail.
Nevertheless, the merit of such people is one hundred thousand billion times greater than that of those whose wisdom is as great as Sariputra, Maudgalyayana, Manjusri and Maitreya„…

Gassui Gosho,
Nichiren Shonin

The Difficulty of Retaining the Sutra

Hōtōge

This recording illustrates the odd beat structure of Hōtōge. There are no beats for the first two words – Shi Kyō – and then a single beat for each word thereafter until the final Yō, which gets a double beat. There are four beats per line, except those lines that are highlighted, which get three beats. Quick beats are struck where the words are linked. (Explanation for odd beat.)
Hotoge words with beats


It is difficult to keep this sūtra.
I shall be glad to see
Anyone keeping it even for a moment.
So will all the other Buddhas.
He will be praised by all the Buddhas.
He will be a man of valor,
A man of endeavor.
He should be considered
To have already observed the precepts,
And practiced the dhuta.
He will quickly attain
The unsurpassed enlightenment of the Buddha.

Anyone who reads and recites this sūtra in the future
Is a true son of mine.
He shall be considered to live
On the stage of purity and good.

Anyone, after my extinction,
Who understands the meaning of this sūtra,
Will be the eye of the worlds
Of gods and men.

Anyone who expounds this sūtra
Even for a moment in this dreadful world,
Should be honored with offerings
By all gods and men.

English version

Prayer

We respectfully dedicate all our merits gathered up till
now to the Great Benevolent Teacher,
Śākyamuni the Eternal Buddha;
To the Supreme Teaching, The Lotus Sutra;
To the leader of the Declining Latter Age of the Dharma,
Our Founder, the Great Bodhisattva Nichiren Shonin;
And to the protective deities of the Dharma.

May all beings under the heavens and within the four seas live in accordance with the Wonderful Dharma!

May the Wonderful Dharma spread throughout the ten thousand years of the declining latter age of the Dharma!

May we realize this world is the Eternal Buddha’s Pure Land!

May peace permeate all the world and all people enjoy peace and happiness!

May all people live in safety and live long without misfortune!

May the peace and happiness last forever and all beings be prosperous!

May we purify our minds, limit our desires, learn to be content, feel free to experience the quiet unassuming joys of life, and learn to abandon all attachments formed in the mind!

We pray for the spirits of our ancestors and for all the spirits of the universe; We pray that all beings awaken to the true nature of reality which is the Buddha Dharma, and by the merits of following the teaching of the Lotus Sutra.

May all beings of all realms be helped equally, and overcome suffering, and gain the happiness of blissful liberation! With this prayer we endeavor to increase our understanding and appreciation of what others have given and contributed to us and to develop constant, mindful consideration of how our thoughts and actions will beneficially contribute to others.

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo

Memorial Prayer

We hereby offer our merits accumulated by chanting the Lotus Sutra and the Daimoku to the late ____________________ in order to have him/her partake of the joy of the Dharma.

May he/she stop suffering, leave the world of birth and death, and dwell in the world given to him/her as the reward for his/her good karmas, receive our offering of the savor of the Dharma, eliminate grave sins which he/she has committed from the beginningless beginning of the past, see the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten directions, hear the Wonderful Dharma, develop his/her Buddha nature by seeing the Truth and by doing good to obtain the three virtues of the Buddha, travel over the Dharma world by this Vehicle of Treasures, reach the place of enlightenment quickly, attain the Buddha insight, sit on the seat of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, and attain the enlightenment equivalent to that of the Buddha.

The Buddha says in the Lotus Sutra. Chapter 2: “Anyone who hears the Dharma will not fail to become a Buddha.”

He also says in Chapter 10: “If you hear the Dharma even for a moment, you will immediately be able to attain perfect enlightenment.”

The deities in Chapter 3 say: “We obtained merits by the good karmas we did in this life of ours and also in our previous existences. We also obtained merits by seeing the Buddha. May we attain the enlightenment of the Buddha by these merits.”

The Brahmans in Chapter 7 say: “May the merits we have accumulated by this offering be distributed among all living beings, and may we and all other living beings attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.”

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo

Memorial Prayer

The Four Great Vows

SHIGU SEIGAN

SHUJO-MUHEN SEIGANDO

Sentient beings are innumerable: I vow to save them all.

BONNO-MUSHU-SEIGANDAN

Our evil desires are inexhaustible: I vow to quench them all.

HO-MON MUJIN SEIGANCHI

The Buddha’s teachings are immeasurable: I vow to study them all.

BUTSUDO-MUJO-SEIGANJO

The way of the Buddha is unexcelled: I vow to attain the Path Sublime.

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo

On the Journey to a Place of Treasures