What Does Nam-myoho-renge-kyo Mean, and Why Do We Chant it?

What does Nam-myoho-renge-kyo mean, 

and why do we chant it? 

By Jamie Lee Silver of ChantforHappiness.com -

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  

ALL people possess the Buddha Nature...all people ARE Buddhas...

and we can access this nature by calling it forth in our lives using 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. 
We 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...directed 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 (meaning 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. 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. 

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. 

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 35 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 from Ikedaquotes.org:

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."

Daisaku Ikeda, from Ikedaquotes.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Kauai with my son Aaron last September!

How to Chant for the First Time!

How to Chant. Please share with anyone interested in becoming happy!

How to be Happy! How to Chant for the first time. 

A great post to share with first time chanters.  Please forward this on!

(I had a request from a reader to teach her how to chant - this is my response, and part of the book I'm writing. Please forward this to anyone you'd like to introduce to this amazing practice!)

Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life!

Here you will learn how to chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

First of all make a list of what you really want in life. Take a new look at your desires and write them down.  Dream big. What do you really want? What do you want for yourself? What do you want for others? What do you want for the world? Make a list. There is no such thing as a “bad” desire as long as you wish no harm on others. Many Buddhists began chanting with desires that later turned into other desires. Don’t worry about it. Chant for what is really in your heart. Be true to yourself. 

I suggest having some sort of journal to write in. Writing in a journal helps you become aware of your progress and benefits.

Choose a place to chant comfortably. You’ll want to sit in a comfortable chair. Where would you feel most at ease chanting out loud? It is helpful to have something on the wall to focus on. It's helpful to rest your eyes on something slightly above eye level. It can be anything. When I first started chanting in my little two room apartment in San Francisco, I sat on the mattress on the floor and gazed up at the moon in a poster of Mono Lake. Choose something soothing to rest your eyes on. I find it helpful to have a table nearby for my tea, and other things I like to have close when I chant. You may want to put a little table up as an altar, but you don’t need that to begin. 

Write the words Nam Myoho Renge Kyo on a piece of paper (or use the card enclosed in this book). The words are pronounced as follows: 

Nahm, rhymes with Mom, 

meeyohoh, with three long vowels, 

rain gay, 

key oh. 

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. 

Nahm Meeyohoh Rain Gay Key Oh

Hold your hands with the palms facing in and touching each other in front of your heart. Sit with your back as straight as possible and say the words over and over and over again. 

You do not have to concentrate about what is in your mind at first. Just say the words. Breathe whenever you have to for as long as you like. See if you can chant for a few minutes, then a few minutes more. Chant for as long as you can!  

The rhythm should sound like a train moving, or horses running. There should be some energy to it. You can chant as fast or as slow as you wish. Speed of chanting is up to you. 

If you want to hear how it sounds you can go to the top left corner of this blog and chant with me. I begin slowly and speed up with more energy. 

See how it makes you feel. Can you chant for a little longer? Maybe even a little longer than that. Can you get to the point where you don’t have to think about the words, but can actually think about what you want? It may take a little time. Naturally you will begin to chant for what you want. You’ll see. 

When you are finished chanting you can write in your journal.

Start by writing an assessment of your life right now. What’s going well, what you’d like to improve on. Then write how you felt before chanting and after chanting. In your journal set a goal for how much you want to chant every day.  When I started, I could only chant five minutes a day in the morning and five minutes in the evening. I had a timer next to me and I’m sure there were times I stopped before I’d even reached five minutes! You will build up momentum! Commit to chant twice a day every day. Keep your goals in mind and you’ll remember your reasons for chanting! 

These words and this vibration go deep into the heart of your life itself. They summon forth your highest wisdom, vitality and sense of purpose. They also uproot the karma that is making you suffer, and give you the opportunity to change this karma forever. You will still have challenges and problems in life when you chant...but eventually you will see them as the opportunities they are. Problems are the FUEL you need to catapult your life into a life of happiness and joy. You have begun a journey to uncover the true happiness that exists in your shining Buddha life. Congratulations!
Also - make sure to search on Soka Gakkai followed by whatever country you live in. This site will help you to connect with people who will be happy to help you learn to chant, overcome your problems, and reveal your brilliant, wonderful self!  Fellow Soka Gakka members love to help each other. 
and go to IKEDAQUOTES.org to read Daisaku Ikeda's words. He is lighting the way for us all...and for YOU!