One day early in the morning Nichiren Daishonin ascended mount Minobu. As he witnessed the rising sun at the submmit of the mountain, he would have wondered how he could fulfill his mission as the votary of the Lotus Sutra. (as predicted by Shakyamuni Buddha at the Ceremony of air.) He would have been asking all the Buddhas in the universe to help him and to guide him. In the beginning he would have started venerating the Lotus Sutra by uttering Nam, which means I honor, and then started reciting Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo, the first 5 syllables of the Lotus Sutra. Then he would have noticed that the wave created by these six syllables could contact the supreme power or universal power or the Buddha energy.
After that, while descending from mount Minobu, he kept on chanting "Nam Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo"; he introduced this as the Sadaswara Manthara (sadaswara means six syllables) and...Read More
How Chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo Works
Every prayer we offer to the Buddha will be answered in the best possible manner at the proper time.
As we have a deluded mind we cannot plan to achieve happiness and contentment. Therefore we need the correct guidance in order to achieve true happiness. When we chant we ask this guidance directly from the Buddha through the Buddha energy.
Chanting is like an arrow sent to a target. This arrow will definitely hit the target. Whatever the obstacle that comes in its way the arrow will pierce through or disperse in order to hit the target accurately. Likewise when we chant to achieve a goal we could overcome any obstacle that may come in our way.
How To Practice Lotus Sutra And Chanting
When I was first introduced to this practice, I was very critical. I thought that the people who engaged in the practice had no sense, because all I saw them doing was chanting "Nam Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo" while looking at a paper. Later I was confronted with a difficulty in life, I felt lost and was struggling to get out of it. I lost hope and as I was about to give up my fight, my sister (a member of SGI-UK) persuaded me to follow this practice. Reluctantly I started chanting just to please her. I was amazed by the effects chanting had on my life. The problem I was faced with miraculously resolved. Having experienced the power of chanting I was ashamed of my initial judgment. I could not help feeling that I had done wrong in insulting this great sutra by looking at it through a critical eye. This prompted me to tell others of my experiences so as to stop them making the same mistake that I made. This feeling motivated me to write this book too, so that I can help clear any initial confusion or misgivings that a person may have when beginning to practice the Lotus Sutra.
There are three steps associated with chanting. These are faith, practice and study. Practice is the most important factor. Even if you don’t have faith when you start practicing you will develop...Read More
How To Chant
