What Does Nam-myoho-renge-kyo Mean and Why Do We Chant It? Please Share!

What does Nam-myoho-renge-kyo mean, 

and why do we chant it? 

By Jamie Lee Silver of ChantforHappiness.com - 

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The literal translation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is:

"I fuse my life 

with the Mystic Law of cause and effect 

through sound vibration (or sutra)." 

It is the title of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha's highest teaching that declares that ALL people possess the Buddha Nature...all people ARE Buddhas...and we can access this nature by calling it forth in our lives 
by chanting this phrase. 

Being a Buddha - 
is tapping the river of life that runs through ALL life - summoning the mystic law 
by realizing 
we ARE the Mystic Law...being in rhythm with all we desire...and staying determined to create value for our own lives and the lives of others through our practice.
We not only chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo ~ 
we ARE Nam-myoho-renge-kyo ~the Mystic Law. 

I like to think of it as "I am one with the rhythm of all life." It is the rhythm that exists within all of life...the reason for the turning of the tides...the reason for the seasons...the atoms that exist within every single cell...from an elephant to a spec of dust...to the cells in our hearts and minds. Everything possesses this connectedness...this rhythm.  
It is all encompassing and contains the wisdom and energy of all of life itself...the whole universe. 

When we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo we tap into that energy and access it for our lives...and we direct it towards our desires and for the fulfillment of happiness for all. In this practice, it's okay to have desires. More than okay! We don't have to alleviate them. Desires make us who we are and lead us to chant. 

When we chant 
we change the internal life within our lives. 
We change the core and fiber of our lives. 
We change our karma. 
And when we make that internal change, 
our ENVIRONMENT (everything that is not within our own skin, our jobs, our relationships, our sense of self, everything we experience and think) 
ALL of that changes to reflect our internal change. 
We call this "Human Revolution."

When we chant we harness the energy that is our birthright. And we chant twice a day, every single day, to get and keep our lives in rhythm. 

When we are in rhythm we are in the right place at the right time... to find out about and get the job...or to meet the man of our dreams...or to protect our child from danger. When we are in rhythm life isn't so much of a struggle as it is a joy...we see the beauty in everything and we feel our lives overflowing with appreciation. 

We chant for something and get it or something better. We get access to internal happiness and strength that cannot be blown away by any event or obstacles. And we do get obstacles when we chant. 

In fact, we view obstacles themselves as benefits, as strange as that may sound....because obstacles make us chant more, and when we chant more we draw even higher life conditions and deeper satisfaction into our lives. 

What can we chant FOR? 
Anything. Make sure to write your list, and rewrite it when you achieve those goals.

We chant for others, we chant for our planet, our countries, and ourselves. 
We can chant for whatever our desire may be...even if it might not be the "right" desire for us. In the act of chanting, we will change our karma and our desires themselves will naturally begin to shift. We will open our lives to the deeper wisdom within...the deeper yearning, the REAL desires that we have forgotten or given up on. We will grow. We will prosper and we will blossom. 

We will gain the wisdom of the right action to take - because ACTION springs from wisdom. 

The challenge is...we need to DO it. We have to chant to bring all this rhythm and harmony out. And that's why we practice together as an organization, the SGI, The Soka Gakkai, our fellowship of friends who support each other, chant for each other, and create a new Soka family for each practitioner. We are so fortunate. 

I hear from people all over the world, and some have strong SGI groups in their towns and others are completely alone. I love that we can connect through the power of the internet. From the moment I began chanting 30 years ago I have had the deep desire to share this practice, this practice that WORKS, with everyone who is looking for the real, practical means of creating happiness and results in their lives. 

We are in this life together...sharing our challenges and our successes. If you are not yet connected to the SGI please go to sgi-usa.com and find your local members. You will be so glad you did. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Some Powerful Quotes from Daisaku Ikeda:

THIS moment, this instant, is important, 
not some unknown time in the future. 
Today, this very day is what matters. 
You must put your whole being 
into the time that exists now. 
For future victory rests in the present moment.

BUDDHISM holds that 
everything is in a constant state of flux. 
Thus, the question is 
whether we are to accept change passively 
and be swept away by it, 
or whether we are to take the lead 
and create positive changes on our own initiative. 
While conservatism and self-protection
might be likened to winter, night and death, 
the spirit of pioneering and attempting to realize 
the ideals evokes the images of spring,
morning and birth.

Do gongyo and chant daimoku with a fresh spirit. 
And, filled with renewed vitality, 

build a history of accumulating fresh benefit.

All quotes from Ikedaquotes.org

The Buddhist Concept of Wisdom

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We chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo  ~  which means 

"I fuse my life 

with the mystic law of cause and effect 

through sound vibration." 

We pray for exactly what we want. This is the one form of Buddhism that says we can keep our desires, and make the world a happier place through achieving them. 

We pray for our lives to blossom forth with happiness, so that others can see an example of a truly happy life (no matter what obstacles we may face! We turn all poison into medicine) with the end goal of "kosen-rufu" a world of peace and respect for all living beings. 

Wisdom is a natural outcome of this prayer.  

Through creating our own happiness we are transforming the world. This is the essence of the Soka Gakkai (SGI). You can click on the link to the right to find out more. What follows is a passage on the Buddhist view of Wisdom. Enjoy! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buddhist Concepts – Wisdom....

A Buddha is characterized as a person of profound wisdom. The idea of wisdom is core to Buddhism.  But wisdom can be a vague and elusive concept, hard to define and harder to find.  How does one become wise?  Is wisdom something that we can actively develop, or must we merely wait to grow wiser as we grow older?  Perhaps it is because wisdom is such an indistinct concept that it has lost value as a relevant ideal in modern society, which has instead come to place great store in information and the attainment of knowledge.

Josei Toda, second president of the Soka Gakkai, characterized the confusion between knowledge and wisdom as one of the major failings of modern society.

His critique is starkly demonstrated in the astonishing progress of technology in the last century. While scientific and technological development has shown only a mixed record of alleviating human suffering, it has triumphed remarkably in its ability and efficiency in unleashing death and destruction.

Toda likened the relationship between knowledge and wisdom to that between a pump and water. A pump that does not bring forth water (knowledge without wisdom) is of little use.

This is not to deny the importance of knowledge. But knowledge can be utilized to generate both extreme destructiveness and profound good.

Wisdom is that which directs knowledge toward good--toward the creation of value.

Buddhist teachings, such as the concept of the five kinds of wisdom, describe and analyze in detail the dynamics of wisdom and how it manifests at different levels of our consciousness.

When wisdom is functioning in our life, it has the effect of enabling us to overcome the ingrained perspectives of our habitual thinking and arrive at a fresh and holistic view of a given situation. We are able to make a broad assessment of facts, perceive the essence of an issue and steer a sure course toward happiness.

Buddhism also likens wisdom to a clear mirror that perfectly reflects reality as it is. What is reflected in this mirror of wisdom is the interrelatedness and interdependence of our life with all other life. This wisdom dispels our delusions of separateness and awakens in us a sense of empathetic equality with all living things.

The term "Buddha" describes a person who freely manifests this inherent wisdom. And what causes this wisdom to well forth in our lives is compassion.

Buddhism sees the universe, and life itself, as an embodiment of compassion--the interweaving of the "threads" of interdependent phenomena, giving rise to and nurturing life in all its wonderful and varied manifestations.

It teaches that the purpose of human life is to be an active participant in the compassionate workings of the universe, enriching and enhancing life's creative dynamism.
Therefore, it is when we act with compassion that our life is brought into accord with the universal life force and we manifest our inherent wisdom. The action of encouraging and sharing hope with others awakens us to a larger, freer identity beyond the narrow confines of our ego. Wisdom and compassion are thus inseparable.
Central to Buddhist practice is self-mastery, the effort to "become the master of one's mind.  "This idea implies that the more profoundly we strive to develop an altruistic spirit, the more the wisdom of the Buddha is aroused within us and the more powerfully we can, in turn, direct all things--our knowledge, our talents and the unique particularities of our character--to the end of creating happiness for ourselves and others.

Speaking at Tribhuvan University in Nepal in 1995, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda commented, "To be master of one's mind means to cultivate the wisdom that resides in the inner recesses of our lives, and which wells forth in inexhaustible profusion only when we are moved by a compassionate determination to serve humankind, to serve people."
If human history is to change and be redirected from division and conflict toward peace and an underlying ethic of respect for the sanctity of all life, it is human beings themselves who must change. The Buddhist understanding of compassionate wisdom can serve as a powerful basis for such a transformation.

[ Courtesy January 2003 SGI Quarterly]

The Heart of the Lotus Sutra ~ We are the Buddhas of Absolute Happiness

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I've been reading the Lotus Sutra every day lately. I'm rereading the incredible book by Daisaku Ikeda "The Heart of the Lotus Sutra," and also the translation in the back of the Gongyo book we recite each day. And it's fascinating me. 

We are Buddhas, we are all Buddhas. This is the message of the Buddha. This is the message of Nichiren Daishonin and Daisaku Ikeda. 

And we access our Buddhahood by chanting the name of the Mystic Law inherent in our lives...Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. 

We have heard this time and again, and part of the reason we chant is to bring forth this feeling, this conviction, this knowing with our own lives. We are spending our lives exploring what it means to be a Buddha. 

So, it says at the back of the Gongyo book:

'Since I attained Buddhahood

the number of kalpas that have passed

is an immeasurable hundreds, 

thousands, ten thousands, 

millions, trillions, asamkhyas. 

Constantly I have preached the law, 

teaching, converting 

countless millions of living beings, 

causing them to enter the Buddha way, 

all this for immeasurable kalpas. 

In order to save living beings, 

as an expedient means I appear to enter nirvana

but in truth I do not pass into extinction. 

I am always here, preaching the law. 

I am always here, 

but through my transcendental powers

I make it so that living beings in their befuddlement

do not see me even when close by." 

The Liturgy of the Soka Gakkai International, page 22

If WE are the Buddha, as we know we are...this passage is further proof that we are eternal...that we are each eternal. 

We are the Buddha. Ben is the Buddha. We are all the Buddha, in the process of revealing this to ourselves. 

This morning I chanted two hours when I first woke up, and feel so grounded and centered after communing with my highest and best self. 

We are so fortunate to have this altar, this practice, and this Gohonzon to center our thoughts and focus our appreciation and desires. 

I am chanting for every door to open to me...for all I need to be shown to me...to change from the inside out, and accept all the good that is coming to me. I am chanting to be more useful for kosen-rufu than I HAVE EVER BEEN...that this year I (and all of us Boddhisatvas) truly, happily, joyously expand our lives...expand our happiness...expand our capabilities  ~ while welcoming in person after person who wants to join us in this lovely, beautiful dance of joy! 

Nam-myoho--renge-kyo!

Life is Eternal ~ Letters from Ben Part Two

Oh my goodness! Did you see today's Gosho quote?

"The sutra states, 
"If there are those who hear the law, 
then not one will fail to attain Buddhahood." 
This means that, 
even if one were to point at the earth and miss it, 
even if the sun and moon should fall to the ground, 
even if an age should come 
when the tides cease to ebb and flow, 
or even if flowers should not turn to fruit in summer, 
it could never happen 
that a woman who chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo 
would fail to be reunited with her beloved child. 
Continue in your devotion to faith, 
and bring this about quickly!"

(Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 1092)
The Gift of Clear Sake
Written to the lay nun Ueno on January 13, 1281

And I answer Nichiren Daishonin "YES!" 
I am reunited with my beloved, eternal child. 
And I can teach anyone how to connect with their loved ones as well, and how to chant the Mystic Law. 
I have been chanting for a clear path, for certainty, and for me to be aware of the doors opening so I can step right on through. Thank you!
I am collecting quotes in Buddhism that support eternal life and the naturalness of this type of communication. Do you have any to share with me? Write me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com

In light of this, I'd like to share another exchange between me and my Ben. For those new to this site, Ben "died" (I hate to use that word. Yes, he did die as we commonly understand it, but he is alive in spirit. Do you have any suggestions of words or expressions I could use instead of that one?) on July 2nd, 2015 when he was 22. He had been suffering from Schizophrenia for almost 3 years. 

On 7/23/15 I wrote:

Dearest boy, 
how I miss you, 
yet how grateful I am that your suffering is over. 
Do you have any words for me, 
heart of my heart...dear child of mine?

And As I was writing the above words, I could already hear his words coming into my brain - and I kept my pen to the paper and I wrote:  

My son Aaron is on the left, Ben is on the right

Mom, 

It is not over, our love goes on

Nothing can keep us apart. 

Not time

Not space

Not death

Not even death. 

We are together forever and ever. 

Even if it looks like I am gone

I am not

I am right here

beside you

smiling at you

With my arms around you

and you know, seeing my smile, 

you know that this lifetime is not all, 

is not it, is not over. 

We will live on

We do live on

We will always live on

You, me, in every incarnation

Laughing, loving, with our hearts smiling. 

This lifetime, this last one, 

I got sick. 

I got so sick. 

But next one? Watch out!

We will be born together 

and all that negative karma will be gone

Poof. Gone. 

And we will share, share, share 

and bask, bask, bask

bask, bask, bask

in the light of our love. 

Your Forever Ben

What is True Success in Life?

The sun is always there - but we can't always see it! 

I've been riding on a high for these last few days, feeling the flow and momentum of the new year, and the excitement of a fun weekend and BOOM, we are hit with freezing cold weather, and I have a speech tomorrow, and suddenly some of the sadness and hopelessness resurfaces...

But, thankfully, my friend in faith came over and we chanted about 45 minutes. Part of that daimoku was "wondering Daimoku." That's what I call the type of chanting where you are not really praying, but just rolling ideas around in your head. I don't like it when I do this, but it is not a reason to stop...it's more a reason to keep going until I break out of it. By the end, I felt more rejuvenated and I'm going to bed early to wake up early for my speech. 

Once again, the importance of having friends in faith, and in never giving up, is crucial. I hope you all have friends in faith, and if you don't - it's a great goal to chant about!

Here are two of my favorite quotes:  

"What is success in life? 
Who are the truly successful? 
There are famous and powerful people 
who become pitiful figures in their old age. 
There are people who die alone, 
feeling empty and desolate. 
Just what is success? 
The English thinker Walter Pater (1839-94) wrote:
"To burn always with this hard, gemlike flame, to maintain this ecstasy, is success in life."

The person who lives life fully, glowing with life's energy, is the person who lives a successful life."



"Such things as money, fame and material possessions 
offer fleeting satisfaction 
that can be called relative happiness. 
However, when we transform our lives internally, 
when we develop within ourselves a brilliant inner palace, then we can be said 
to have established absolute happiness."

Daisaku Ikeda

Faith into Action, page 56

Life is Eternal - Communicating With Eternal Lives is Natural!

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Dear readers, I first posted this a few days ago, and took it down when someone wrote in criticizing me. I'm very thankful for that person, because when I took it down I heard from some amazing people requesting I re-post it. We are now in communication about this subject. So now, I am summoning up my courage and posting it again. 

You see, I don't think it is strange to be communicating with someone I deeply love, (and whose life IS eternal) even though they have left their physical body. To me, it is very natural to be writing to Ben and have his words flow through my head and hand  ~ so he can write back to me. And I think the knowledge of how to do this could help many people. 

Is this Buddhism? Well, doesn't Daisaku Ikeda talk about dialoguing every day with Josei Toda? Is this any different? I "hear" best through writing. So that is what I do. I'm going to spend some time looking up quotes in the Gosho and by Daisaku Ikeda that relate to communicating with eternal lives. 

As always, this blog is about chanting for happiness. It is not an official SGI publication. It is what I write from my heart to share the benefits of this practice. Continuing to communicate with my beloved Ben, who has been "gone" just six months, is a HUGE benefit! Read on. And thanks for writing in! 

The last three years strengthened my life and my practice. Now I am ready to soar.
As many of you know, my son came down with an illness of the brain. Schizophrenia. And I fought with all my life, with all my practice, and with every breath, to save his life. And although I did not save his earthly life, I have learned the true eternity of life. And I have something new to share with people who have lost loved ones and are still suffering. We are still connected to our loved ones, and we can communicate in writing. 

From the moment Ben left his physical body, there was a gorgeous white egret swooping down to the pond by my patio. I felt it was Ben, my boy, coming to say "Mom! Look, I am free! I am free of this horrible brain disease! I am self-sufficient and I am free." And I dreamed of him, with a huge smile on his face, arms outstretched to dance with me. 

And, on the Friday after his life celebration, I wrote to him and asked if he was right here and if he had any words for me.

I am not psychic. I am not special. I am open. 

Several years ago, I lost some dear friends and communicate with them using automatic writing. I have told many people about this, and everyone who has tried it is amazed that it's so easy. 

The process is simple. All I do is write to him, ask if he has words for me, and keep my pen on the paper. Before I have even written my whole letter to him I hear his words coming to me. I keep my pen on the paper, and just write what I hear. 

Below is our first exchange. I write anytime I want. He always writes back. 

Dear Ben, 

Soaring above us all

free and flying

you got your way

you ended your torturous road

you are released,

you are released.

And now, you will have all of us chanting for you

as your mission continues, 

right here, 

right now, forever. 

Oh Ben, 

Write through me

laugh through me

live your happiness all around me. 

My dear boy, I know you never meant to hurt me. Not ever. 

Ben, maybe you’re sitting right next to me on this Friday ~ 

right here by the pool. 

What do you have to say? 

Mom, 

I did it. 

I meant to do it. 

~ at the time ~ 

and I knew it would make you sad, 

but somehow I still had to do it. 

I had to obey my mind, my legs, my feet, 

my incredible surge of strength and courage. 

I could not say no. 

It had to happen. 

And this story is not yet written, is not yet told ~

but will be. 

My life and death HAVE meaning~ 

Not HAD. 

Dearest Mom, my closest friend, don’t despair. 

I know you, 

                 you, 

                     you

will create a life of meaning, of love, 

of warmth and creativity. 

Together we will live on

Together we will always live on

Enjoy the sun

              Enjoy this day

                           Enjoy your life. 

                      

Your Ben

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to you, my friends. I hope the New year has been a fresh start for you. 

The Profound Eternity of Life

Buddhist Concepts – Wisdom....

A Buddha is characterized as a person of profound wisdom. The idea of wisdom is core to Buddhism.  But wisdom can be a vague and elusive concept, hard to define and harder to find.  How does one become wise?  Is wisdom something that we can actively develop, or must we merely wait to grow wiser as we grow older?  Perhaps it is because wisdom is such an indistinct concept that it has lost value as a relevant ideal in modern society, which has instead come to place great store in information and the attainment of knowledge.

Josei Toda, second president of the Soka Gakkai, characterized the confusion between knowledge and wisdom as one of the major failings of modern society.

His critique is starkly demonstrated in the astonishing progress of technology in the last century. While scientific and technological development has shown only a mixed record of alleviating human suffering, it has triumphed remarkably in its ability and efficiency in unleashing death and destruction.

Toda likened the relationship between knowledge and wisdom to that between a pump and water. A pump that does not bring forth water (knowledge without wisdom) is of little use.

This is not to deny the importance of knowledge. But knowledge can be utilized to generate both extreme destructiveness and profound good.

Wisdom is that which directs knowledge toward good--toward the creation of value.

Buddhist teachings, such as the concept of the five kinds of wisdom, describe and analyze in detail the dynamics of wisdom and how it manifests at different levels of our consciousness.

When wisdom is functioning in our life, it has the effect of enabling us to overcome the ingrained perspectives of our habitual thinking and arrive at a fresh and holistic view of a given situation. We are able to make a broad assessment of facts, perceive the essence of an issue and steer a sure course toward happiness.

Buddhism also likens wisdom to a clear mirror that perfectly reflects reality as it is. What is reflected in this mirror of wisdom is the interrelatedness and interdependence of our life with all other life. This wisdom dispels our delusions of separateness and awakens in us a sense of empathetic equality with all living things.

The term "Buddha" describes a person who freely manifests this inherent wisdom. And what causes this wisdom to well forth in our lives is compassion.

Buddhism sees the universe, and life itself, as an embodiment of compassion--the interweaving of the "threads" of interdependent phenomena, giving rise to and nurturing life in all its wonderful and varied manifestations.

It teaches that the purpose of human life is to be an active participant in the compassionate workings of the universe, enriching and enhancing life's creative dynamism.

Therefore, it is when we act with compassion that our life is brought into accord with the universal life force and we manifest our inherent wisdom. The action of encouraging and sharing hope with others awakens us to a larger, freer identity beyond the narrow confines of our ego. Wisdom and compassion are thus inseparable.

Central to Buddhist practice is self-mastery, the effort to "become the master of one's mind.  "This idea implies that the more profoundly we strive to develop an altruistic spirit, the more the wisdom of the Buddha is aroused within us and the more powerfully we can, in turn, direct all things--our knowledge, our talents and the unique particularities of our character--to the end of creating happiness for ourselves and others.

Speaking at Tribhuvan University in Nepal in 1995, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda commented, "To be master of one's mind means to cultivate the wisdom that resides in the inner recesses of our lives, and which wells forth in inexhaustible profusion only when we are moved by a compassionate determination to serve humankind, to serve people."

If human history is to change and be redirected from division and conflict toward peace and an underlying ethic of respect for the sanctity of all life, it is human beings themselves who must change. The Buddhist understanding of compassionate wisdom can serve as a powerful basis for such a transformation.

[ Courtesy January 2003 SGI Quarterly]