Sunday 26 August 2012

2/4 Mantra and Mandala


A couple of days ago I looked at differences between the Nichiren sects concerning leaders (http://nichirenbuddhist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/14-leaders-of-pack.html) and today the focus is on the chanting and the object of devotion.

Gongyo (Daily Practice)

Basically, all of the Nichiren schools have a daily practise (Gongyo), or twice daily practise, which includes a combination of recitations from the Lotus Sutra, silent prayers (of gratitude and intent), daimoku and bell-ringing/striking a wooden block.
All of the various schools have their own particular style but generally chant extracts which they consider to be the core of the Lotus Sutra.  Some ring the bell continuously during daimoku, some use it to indicate what stage of the gongyo they are at, some chant extracts from the two main chapters of the Lotus Sutra (2nd and 16th) and others use longer extracts from these chapters or key extracts from other chapters.  All believe that their way is the correct way to practice and is usually based on their founders’ (or subsequent leaders’) guidelines of what should be focussed on.  As Nichiren hasn’t really written about this practice, there doesn’t seem to be a major conflict online about how to do gongyo and most of the schools chant in Japanese (although some don’t).

 
“Nam” or “Namu”

The core of Nichiren’s teaching though is to chant “Nam(u)-Myoho-Renge-Kyo” and some Nichiren schools can get quite hung up on this issue, believing that because Nichiren Shoshu and the SGI says “nam” instead of “namu” we are not practising correctly and will get no benefit from our practise. 
Personally, I see it as something of a non-issue because the “mispronounced” word is a Japanese transliteration of the Sanskrit word “namas” which means “devotion”.  It’s not like a mispronunciation of the title of the Lotus Sutra “myoho-renge-kyo” but a small discrepancy over an approximation of a foreign word for devotion. 

If Nichiren wanted to avoid confusion, he could have used any of the Japanese words for devotion, but he obviously felt that the Sanskrit word more fully embodied the depth of this devotion/unity with the Lotus Sutra and wanted to include a Japanese approximation of it in his mantra.  Even though I think it’s a non-issue, let’s look at some examples of Japanese:
CONTEXTUAL PRONOUNCIATION -  Sometimes the final syllable of a word is pronounced as though the final vowel were not there:  Squirrel in Japanese is RISU and is pronounced RI-SU, but the verb to be - DESU - is often pronounced as DE-S not DE-SU.

PHONETIC CONTRACTION – Sometimes during conversation, or when speaking quickly, the final vowel sound may be dropped, especially when the following word starts with the same syllable sound.  If this is the case, we might get the use of NAMU AMIDA BUDDHA, NAMU ICHIJO-MYOTEN, NAMU NICHIREN, etc. but when the following word starts with an “M” we would get NAM(u) MYOHO RENGE KYO.
JAPANESE SYLLABLES - Unfortunately because we don’t have a recording of Nichiren chanting, we have to rely on the Gosho to guide us, but this doesn’t help us either.  Japanese is a syllabic language and while most of the Japanese syllables are two or three characters and usually end in a vowel there are also solitary vowels AND a solitary “n” and ”m” syllable.  i.e. the Japanese word for newspaper is shimbun, which has both the solitary “m” in the middle and a solitary “n” at the end.  In the Gosho, Nichiren sometimes refers to the seven syllables of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, but this is true whether we say “namu” or “nam” because although in English “nam” is one syllable, it is still two syllables - “na” and “m” – in Japanese.

As I say, I think this is something of a non-issue, but some sects get really worked up about this.  It’s a shame, but if it was such a big deal, I’m sure Nichiren would have clarified the correct pronunciation of “nam”/”namu” much more clearly in one of his letters, stressing that it should always be pronounced “MU” especially as the following word does start with an M and “NAM(u) MYOHO RENGE KYO” is so central to our practise.  He didn’t, so he either believed everyone was chanting correctly or he didn’t see it as an issue.

Which Gohonzon is Best?

A Gohonzon is a mandala used by the various schools of Nichiren Buddhism.  Carl Jung described a mandala as a universal expression of the human subconscious and Nichiren’s various Gohonzon are reifications of the Mystic Law of “nam-myoho-renge-kyo”. On the surface they represent pictorially or calligraphically the world and its spiritual nature, but on a deeper level they are a guide for transforming our ordinary human minds into enlightened ones. 
So why do we have a Gohonzon?

In the Gosho, “Questions and Answers on the Object of Devotion” we have the following conversation:







QUESTION: In the evil world of the latter age, what should ordinary men and women take as their object of devotion? 
ANSWER: They should make the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra their object of devotion.
QUESTION: Which is superior, a Buddha or a sutra?
ANSWER: As the object of devotion one should select which is superior… in Buddhism, Shakyamuni should be regarded as the object of devotion.
QUESTION: If that is so, then why do you not take Shakyamuni as your object of devotion, but instead make the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra the object of devotion?
ANSWER: …Shakyamuni Buddha and T’ien-t’ai are the ones who have declared that the Lotus Sutra should be the object of devotion.  And now, in this latter age, I, Nichiren, too, following the example of the Buddha and T’ien-t’ai, take the Lotus Sutra as the object of devotion.  I do so becaue the Lotus Sutra is the father and mother of Shakyamuni Buddha, the eye of the Buddhas, and Shakyamuni, Mahavairochana and all the other Buddhas of the ten directions were born from the Lotus Sutra.  Therefore, as the object of devotion I now take that which is capable of bringing forth such life force.

Even though Nichiren inscribed the Dai-Gohonzon on Oct. 12, 1279 for the happiness of all humanity, he doesn’t specifically refer to it in any of his writings, and throughout his life, he inscribed many subsequent Gohonzon with various scenes, characters and concepts from the Lotus Sutra.  All of them are intended to act as a representation of the Lotus Sutra, an embodiment of the Mystic Law and the reification of “Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo” and to act as a mirror to our lives.  They are not just objects of devotion, but objects of devotion for observing the mind.  The Gohonzon is the life of Nichiren Daishonin and the life of Shakyamuni Buddha.  And, equally as important, the Gohonzon is YOUR LIFE. 

When we chant we are connecting ourselves with the Buddha nature of the universe bringing forth our Buddhahood and accessing our Buddha wisdom. 
"A bronze mirror will reflect the form of a person but it will not reflect that person’s mind. The Lotus Sutra, however, reveals not only the person’s form but that person’s mind as well.  And it reveals not only the mind, it reflects, without the least concealment, that person’s past actions and future as well”   (Rulers of the Land of the Gods, WND2 – 619)

Despite all of this evidence from the Gosho though, some schools of Nichiren Buddhism still worship statues of the Buddha instead of a mandala or have both the Gohonzon and a statue of Buddha as their objects of worship.
With so many Gohonzon to choose from – there are 125 official Nichiren ones in existence as well as those inscribed by the priests of various schools - which one will give us the best benefit.  Is it the Dai-Gohonzon of Nichiren Shoshu?

In an article about the Dai-Gohonzon, Ted Morino, the SGI-USA Study Department Senor Advisor writes “What is most important is the power of our faith and practice, which enables us to tap the power of the Buddha and the Law in the Dai-Gohonzon and in all other Gohonzon, and within ourselves.”
He also quotes Daisaku Ikeda as saying “The Gohonzon enshrined at our home carries the same significance as the Dai-Gohonzon” and Mr. Morino continues “Since the Dai-Gohonzon is made of wood, its physical longevity is naturally limited. But the essence of the Dai-Gohonzon, the Law, will never perish because it inherently exists in the universe and within each of us.”

Returning to the Gosho, in The Real Aspect of the Gohonzon, Nichiren writes “Never seek this Gohonzon outside yourself. The Gohonzon exists only within the mortal flesh of us ordinary people who embrace the Lotus Sutra and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.” (WND1 – p832)
All of this implies to me that it is your faith in the Lotus Sutra, your practise of Nichiren Buddhism and your daimoku of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo (which is the actual “object” of devotion), that is more important than which version of the Gohonzon you have chosen to “observe your mind”. 

If anything, the only significance of your specific Gohonzon, is that it identifies which school of Nichiren Buddhism you belong to.  Some people argue online that their Gohonzon is more beautiful or more complete than that of another school, but again if all Gohonzon are embodiments of the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra, you are comparing the beauty and completeness of the same object, and implying that Nichiren’s decision to include, or not include, certain characters or the less symmetrical nature of some of his Gohonzon are reflections of his attitude to his followers.  As a Nichiren Buddhist I would be honoured to receive a Gohonzon from the Daishonin, even one that had bits “missed off” and it would be a great treasure irrespective of its aesthetic beauty.

BONUS – I’ve put links below for a website which has images of the 125 different mandala that Nichiren inscribed and also a youtube link which has the same mandala displayed as a video and it contains the chanting of “Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo”.

WARNING - Some of you may not want to check out this webpage or youtube video as they contain images of the Gohonzon, which some members and schools consider to be bad luck.  Personally, I have no problem with it and think it’s interesting from a historical point of view to look at the history of Nichiren’s embodiment of the Lotus Sutra over time.  Similarly, the youtube video was put on by a Nichiren Shu member and you may feel uncomfortable listening to their members chanting “namu” if you are used to chanting “nam”.  Again, for me watching and listening to this video is interesting from a study point of view, and I don’t feel it constitutes a change of faith.  If you do listen and prefer the sound of this chanting though, feel free to find out more about them (or Kempon Hokke another “namu” school) online.

Here are the links if you’re still interested:

The youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB3fTV74yco

On 30th August, the next post in this series looked at specific criticisms of the SGI such as commemorative days, politics and multi-faith initiatives:  http://nichirenbuddhist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/34-s-g-why.html

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