Nichiren Shōshū

Nichiren Shōshū' (日蓮正宗) is a form of Buddhism based on the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin (1222–1282), regarded by believers as the True Buddha. Nichiren Daishonin's foremost disciple, Nikko Shonin (1246–1333), established Nichiren Shoshu's current Head Temple Taiseki-ji. Nichiren Shoshu has adherents throughout the world, with the largest concentrations in Indonesia and Japan, as well as others in Taiwan; South Korea; North, Central, and South America; the Philippines; Europe; and Ghana.

Overview

Nichiren Shoshu considers itself to be the orthodox Buddhist denomination of Nichiren Daishonin's "True Buddhism" with a substantial international membership. Its Head Temple, Taiseki-ji, is located on the lower slopes of Mount Fuji. The denomination's name Nichiren Shōshū means "Orthodox Nichiren School" and the denomination is sometimes referred to as "The Fuji School" in reference to Taiseki-ji's location. Nichiren Shoshu is the most well-known and widespread proponent of Nichiren Daishonin's teachings throughout the world, and represents what it teaches is the true "Heritage of the Law" in faithfully transmitting the Daishonin's Buddhism of the True Cause in a direct lineage of successive High Priests from Nikko Shonin, who was Nichiren Daishonin's pre-eminent disciple-priest, chosen by him to be his successor as the Second High Priest to carry on the propagation of the entirety of Nichiren Daishonin's True Buddhist practice in the Latter Day of the Law. This direct transmission of the Law to one person is specifically set forth in Nichiren Daishonin's writing, the "One Hundred and Six Articles."

The central object of worship within the True Buddhist practice of Nichiren Shoshu is the Dai-Gohonzon (Great Gohonzon). All gohonzons inscribed and issued by the successive High Priests of Nichiren Shoshu are authorized transcriptions of the Dai-Gohonzon and derive their beneficial power from it. Taiseki-ji is visited regularly each year by Nichiren Shoshu believers from around the world who come to worship the Dai-Gohonzon. Nichiren Shoshu has over 700 local temples and temple-like facilities in Japan, nearly a dozen in the Americas, and several in Europe, Africa, and Asia outside Japan.

Nichiren Shoshu is currently led by the Sixty-Eighth High Priest Nichinyo Shonin (1935–). As with Nikko Shonin and the successive High Priests before him, the current High Priest of Nichiren Shoshu has received the Heritage of the Law from his predecessor in an unbroken line of succession that began with Nichiren Daishonin.

Nichiren Shoshu priests distinguish themselves from those of most other schools in that they wear only white and gray robes and a white surplice, exactly as Nichiren Daishonin himself did. Since the Meiji Era, Nichiren Shoshu priests, like those of many other Japanese Buddhist sects, have been permitted to marry.

Nichiren Shoshu believers are organized in temple-based congregations known as Hokkeko. Most attend services at a local temple, or in private homes when no temple is nearby, at least once a month. Services are usually officiated by a priest, but lay leaders sometimes fill in when no priest is available. When they gather, believers frequently study Nichiren Shoshu teachings, particularly the various writings of Nichiren Daishonin, called Gosho.

Religious study is generally led by the priest, and congregations are organized as Hokkeko chapters throughout the world.

Doctrines and practice

Much of Nichiren Shoshu's underlying teachings are, overtly, extensions of Tendai (天台, Cn: Tiantai) thought, including much of its worldview and its rationale for criticism of Buddhist schools that do not acknowledge the designation by historical Buddha Shakyamuni of the Lotus Sutra to be Buddhism's highest teaching. For example, Nichiren Shoshu doctrine adopts or extends Tendai's classification of the Buddhist sutras into five time periods and eight categories (五時八教: goji-hakkyō), its theory of 3,000 interpenetrating realms within a single life-moment (一念三千: Ichinen Sanzen), and its view of the Three Truths (三諦: Santai). Because of these similarities, as well as space considerations, this article will confine itself to discussion of the hows and whys of Nichiren Shoshu's central doctrine: How it views Nichiren Daishonin and his lifetime of teaching, and why its believers practice the way they do.

View of Nichiren Daishonin's lifetime of teaching

Nichiren Shoshu holds that in revealing and propagating his teachings, Nichiren Daishonin was fulfilling the mission of his advent according to a prophecy made by the historical Buddha Shakyamuni (Siddhartha Gautama; 563?–483?BC). Shakyamuni foretold that the True Buddha (久遠元初の御本仏: Kuon Ganjo no go-hombutsu; see Eternal Buddha) would appear in the "fifth five hundred-year period following the passing of Sakyamuni," at the beginning of a later age called Mappō, and spread the ultimate Buddhist teaching (Honmon, or the "true" teaching) to enable the people of that age to attain enlightenment, as by then his own teachings (Shakumon, or the "provisional" teaching) would have lost their power to do so.

In this way, Nichiren Shoshu teaches that Nichiren Daishonin is the True Buddha and that his Dharma, or Mystic Law (Myōhō: mystic in the sense of profound, sublime, or unfathomable), is the True Buddha's ultimate teaching. Nichiren Shoshu's recognition of Nichiren Daishonin as the True Buddha is its reason for referring to him as Nichiren Daishōnin ("Great Sage Nichiren").

Object of Veneration

Nichiren Shoshu teaches that personal enlightenment can be achieved in one's present form and lifetime (即身成仏 sokushin jōbutsu). Central to their practice is chanting Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō and are collectively called the San Dai Hihō (三大秘法: Three Great Hidden, or Secret, Laws) as their existence is believed to have been “hidden in the depths of the text” (文底秘沈: montei hichin) of Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra and therefore remained secret until Nichiren Daishonin revealed them. Singly, they are called, respectively, Honmon no Honzon, Honmon no Kaidan, and Honmon no Daimoku, where honmon may be understood to mean "of the ultimate, or 'True', or Essential Teaching". They come together in the Dai-Gohonzon, which is called Honmon Kaidan no Dai-Gohonzon ("the Great Object of Veneration of the Sanctuary of the True Teaching") and is believed to embody them collectively as facets of itself. The Dai-Gohonzon is thus revered as the ultimate object of veneration—ultimate because, like no other, it opens up the possibility for all people, and enables all those who venerate it, to attain enlightenment, making it the culmination of Nichiren Daishonin's lifetime of teaching (一大秘法 Ichi Dai Hihō: One Great Secret Law).

Transcriptions of the Dai-Gohonzon

The transcriptions of the Dai-Gohonzon made by the successive high priests of Nichiren Shoshu are called, simply, Gohonzon (go is an honorific prefix indicating respect). Most Gohonzon in temples are on wood tablets into which the inscription is carved (the tablets are coated with black urushi and the characters, gilded), while most of those in homes are in the form of a paper scroll. Although Gohonzon enshrined in temples and similar facilities are personally inscribed by one of the successive high priests, those in private homes can be either personally inscribed or printed using traditional wood-block printing. Personally inscribed Gohonzon are bestowed upon believers of long standing or in recognition of major accomplishments in faith and have a dedication on the far right naming the recipient. Printed Gohonzon have the dedication "for the recipient" on them.

Regardless of their type, all Gohonzons issued by Nichiren Shoshu have been consecrated by one of the successive High Priests in an Opening of the Eyes Ceremony conducted in the Dai-Gohonzon's sanctuary, and all have the same power provided that one believes in the Three Treasures (namely, the True Law of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, the True Buddha in the person of Nichiren Daishonin, and the True Priesthood responsible for propagating the True Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin down through the centuries), as defined by Nichiren Daishonin himself in his Gosho The Four Debts of Gratitude. A Nichiren Shoshu priest, acting as proxy for the High Priest, bestows the Gohonzon on new believers upon their initiation into the faith at a local temple. Personal Gohonzons are enshrined in the home in a Butsudan (altar). Home altars generally include a candle, a bell, incense, a vessel containing water, and an offering of fresh greens or fruit. When a Gohonzon is bestowed upon an individual, the individual pledges to stand by and protect the Gohonzon throughout the recipient's life.

The Significance of the Dai-Gohonzon and the Three Treasures in Nichiren Shoshu

The significance of the Dai-Gohonzon (and its constituent facets) in Nichiren Shoshu is that it is the ultimate Buddhist teaching revealed by the True Buddha (Nichiren Daishonin), and that inscribing the Dai-Gohonzon for all to worship fulfilled the purpose of Nichiren Daishonin's advent. This is stated by Nichiren Daishonin himself in his Gosho.

A fundamental doctrine in Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism is reverence for the Three Treasures. Called sambō or sampō (三宝) in Japanese, the Three Treasures are the Buddha (butsu: he who reveals the Law), the Law (hō: Dharma or "body of teachings"), and the Priesthood (sō: he who receives from the Buddha, maintains the purity of, and transmits the Law). In Nichiren Shoshu, Nichiren Daishonin himself is the Treasure of the Buddha; the Mystic Law of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo is the Treasure of the Law; and Nichiren Daishonin's successor Nikkō and each of the successive High Priests are the Treasure of the Priesthood. The central importance for Nichiren Shoshu believers of revering and expressing gratitude to the Three Treasures in the True Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin is explained in the Gosho The Four Debts of Gratitude.

Practice

The daily practice of Nichiren Shoshu believers consists of affirming and renewing their faith by performing gongyō twice a day, in the morning and in the evening. Gongyo is an indispensable component of practice in Nichiren Shoshu that entails reciting certain sections of the Lotus Sutra, declared by Shakyamuni Buddha to be his highest and most profound teaching, and chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to the Gohonzon while focusing on the Chinese character myō ("mystic law") near its center. Morning gongyo consists of a series of five sutra recitations followed by silently recited, prescribed prayers; whereas evening gongyo encompasses only three sutra recitations and the second, third, and fifth of the same silent prayers. This practice, particularly when shared with others, is regarded as the “true cause” for attaining the tranquil condition of enlightened life that allows believers to experience and enjoy more meaningfully fulfilled lives and to confidently confront and overcome the challenges of everyday life.

The logic behind this is that through thoughts, words, and deeds, every being creates causes, and every cause has an effect. Good causes produce positive effects; bad causes, negative ones (see karma). This law of causality is the universal principle underlying all visible and invisible phenomena and events in daily life. Nichiren Shoshu believers strive to elevate their life condition by acting in accordance with this law in their day-to-day lives and by sharing their faith with others, believing their Buddhist practice to be the ultimate good cause for effecting changes in life and attaining enlightenment.

The Excommunication of Soka Gakkai

In 1991, Nichiren Shoshu officially excommunicated the leaders of its then-largest lay organization, Sōka Gakkai, for their doctrinal deviations and disputes with the priesthood. In 1997, those non-leaders who chose to remain as members of the Soka Gakkai, instead of becoming members of Nichiren Shoshu, also lost their status as believers. The Soka Gakkai now operates as a doctrinally and organizationally distinct group.

External links

Official websites

• http://www.nichirenshoshu.or.jp/page/eng/index_e.htm (official Nichiren Shoshu web site)
• http://www.nst.org// Nichiren Shoshu temple organization in the US
• http://www.nst.org/articles/100Q&ABook.pdf A PDF book describing Nichiren Shoshu's doctrinal reasons for its excommunication of the Soka Gakkai for deviating from the true teachings of Nichiren Daishonin and Nichiren Shoshu.

Unofficial websites

• http://www.elbudismo.com.ar
• http://www.nichiren.com.br

Sources and references

English

• Basic Terminology of Nichiren Shoshu, Vol. 1, Nichiren Shoshu Shumuin, eds. Dainichiren Publishing Co., 2009. ISBN 4904429281, ISBN 978-4904429280
• Nichiren Shoshu Basics of Practice, Nichiren Shoshu Temple, 2003 (revised). No ISBN.
• Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism", Seiganzan Myoshinji Temple, 2007 [available for download and online at http://www.nichirenshoshumyoshinji.org/Introduction/Introduction.htm]
• The Gosho of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, Nichiren Shoshu Overseas Bureau, trans. Dainichiren Publishing Co., 2005. ISBN 4904429265, ISBN 978-4904429266
• The Gosho of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 2: Rissho Ankoku Ron, Nichiren Shoshu Shumuin, trans. Dainichiren Publishing Co., 2009. ISBN 4904429265, ISBN 978-4904429266
• The Doctrines and Practice of Nichiren Shoshu, Nichiren Shoshu Overseas Bureau, 2002. Also available online in its entirety.
• A Dictionary of Buddhist Terms and Concepts, Nichiren Shoshu International Center (NSIC), Tokyo, 1983. ISBN 4888720142.(Note: Despite its name, NSIC is no longer affiliated with Nichiren Shoshu; however, the dictionary largely reflects Nichiren Shoshu interpretations of terms and concepts.)

Japanese

• Nichiren Shōshū yōgi (日蓮正宗要義: "The essential tenets of Nichiren Shoshu"), Taiseki-ji, 1978, rev. ed. 1999
• Nichiren Shōshū nyūmon (日蓮正宗入門: "Introduction to Nichiren Shoshu"), Taiseki-ji, 2002
• Dai-Nichiren (大日蓮), monthly magazine published by Nichiren Shoshu. Fujinomiya, Shizuoka, Japan (numerous issues)
• Dai-Byakuhō (大白法), the Hokkekō organ newspaper. Tokyo (numerous issues)