It may be very difficult for people who are extremely busy to perform Otsutome every day. They tend to have no spare time, especially in the mornings. But busy people really need to make and take time to relax and meditate, because in our busy lives and living in such a complex society, it is easy to lose sight of our own pace. We need time to recover our pace and rhythm of life.
Spring WritingsQuotes
Dividing the Lotus Sutra
The most important and frequently sited way of dividing up the Lotus Sutra is into two sections, one being the Provisional section, Shakumon, and the other the Essential, or Hammon. Chapters 1 through 14 are considered to be the Provisional teachings in the Lotus Sutra. Chapters 15 through 28 are the Essential portions of the Lotus Sutra.
One way of understanding this division is to think of the Provisional section as containing the causes for attaining the supreme enlightenment of Buddhas, whereas the Essential section contains the benefit or the result of the practices of the Provisional section.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraDependent Origination
Dependent Origination means that every thing is dependent on other things, or causes, for its existence. That is, all phenomena arise as the result of causes and conditions. Therefore, no phenomena have any existence intrinsic to themselves-they depend on other phenomena. In order to have one thing, you need to have other things working together to bring about and to support its existence. Everything depends upon everything else in this way.
Lotus SeedsMutually Inherent Cause and Effect
In Buddhism, the lotus flower and its simultaneous seed pods, symbolically demonstrate the cause of the plant (the seed) and the end result (its flower). In Buddhist terminology, this relationship is called Inga Guji – both cause and effect are mutually possessed. This principle of mutually inherent cause and effect is one of the most important concepts and principles of Buddhist philosophy, especially in regards to our inherent Buddha potential and manifesting enlightenment within our own life.
Odaimoku: The Significance Of Chanting Namu Myoho Renge KyoThe Gem Resident Inside Us
Enlightenment is the only indestructible condition of life, the gem resident inside us that allows us to exist in a constant state of happiness free from the illusions of suffering, and the illusions of birth and death.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1Faith
Enlightenment comes from faith and faith is a function deeper than intellect. Faith is a feeling not an idea.
Physician's Good MedicineThe Kaidan
The man has appeared, and the stage is determined. A definite organization must now be provided for actually effecting the transformation according to the instructions given by the Prophet. This idea gradually crystallized in Nichiren’s mind into a definite plan for establishing the centre of the universal church, the Holy See, the Kaidan.
Nichiren, The Buddhist ProphetOtsutome
Daily chanting is a basic and important prayer as a Nichiren Buddhist. It is called Gongyo, Shingyo or Otsutome. It means to chant every morning to the Buddha and Nichiren Shonin for your family’s security, peace for your ancestors and for the happiness of other people, and to chant every evening to express thanks to the Buddha and Nichiren Shonin for your family’s safety and peace that day. The feeling after Otsutome is so peaceful, and brings to our mind hopes for tomorrow. It is also a valuable time to meditate on one’s own daily life, and to reflect on our past life. Otsutome is an important daily event, as well as a practice for approaching enlightenment.
Spring WritingsTeaching with Parables
As I think about the various parables I tend to divide them up into three different kinds. One type of parable teaches a new concept in an illustrative way, the primary one of this category is the Burning House, and Simile of Herbs. Another category consists of parables which highlight the discovery of something that was always present; a realization, if you will. In this category I would put The Rich Man and the Poor Son, Gem in the Robe, Gem in the Top Knot, and perhaps the Physician and his Ill Children. The last category deals with difficulty of practice and in this category I would put the Magic City.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraThe Buddha’s Deep Understanding of Cause and Effect
The doctrine of Dependent Origination is the key insight upon which the entire teaching of the Buddha rests, because it describes the Buddha’s deep understanding of cause and effect.
As we have seen, the night the Buddha attained awakening, he reflected upon his own life and past lives; upon the lives, past lives, and future destinies of all other beings; and then upon causality itself. He observed, beginning with himself, how all beings forge their destinies through their own actions. He also saw how all phenomena arise and pass away as part of a network of mutually supporting causes and conditions. The Buddha shared this insight with others in many different forms, the best known being the Twelve-fold Chain of Dependent Origination.
Lotus Seeds