Nichiren Buddhism

Japanese Buddhism
Schools
Hosso Kegon Ritsu Tendai Shingon Pure Land Zen Nichiren
Founders
Saichō Kūkai Hōnen Shinran Dōgen Eisai Ingen Nichiren
Sacred texts
Avataṃsaka Sūtra Lotus Sūtra Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sūtra Infinite Life Sūtra Mahāvairocana Sūtra Vajraśekhara Sūtra
Glossary of Japanese Buddhism

Nichiren Buddhism (日蓮系諸宗派: Nichiren-kei sho shūha) is a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren (1222–1282). Various forms of Nichiren Buddhism have had great influence among certain sections of Japanese society at different times in the country's history, such as among the merchants of Kyoto in Japan's Middle Ages and among some ultranationalists during the pre-World War II era. Nichiren Buddhism is generally noted for its focus on the Lotus Sutra and an attendant belief that all people have an innate Buddha nature and are therefore inherently capable of attaining enlightenment in their current form and present lifetime. It is also noted for positioning itself in opposition to other forms of Japanese Buddhism—in particular the Zen, Pure Land, esoteric, and Ritsu schools, which Nichiren saw as deviating from the orthodoxy of Mahayana Buddhism. Nichiren Buddhism is a comprehensive term covering several major schools and many sub-schools, as well as several of Japan's new religions. Nichiren Buddhists believe that the spread of Nichiren's teachings and their effect on practitioners' lives will eventually bring about a peaceful, just, and prosperous society.

The founder, Nichiren

Main article: Nichiren

Portrait of Nichiren

From the age of 16 until 32, Nichiren studied in numerous temples in Japan, especially Mt. Hiei (Enryakuji) and Mt. Kōya, in his day the major centers of Buddhist study, in the Kyoto–Nara area. He eventually concluded that the highest teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha (563?–483?BC) were to be found in the Lotus Sutra. The mantra he expounded on 28 April 1253, Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō, expresses his devotion to that body of teachings. During his lifetime Nichiren stridently maintained that the contemporary teachings of Buddhism taught by other sects (particularly Nembutsu, Zen, Shingon, and Ritsu) were mistaken in their interpretations of the correct path to enlightenment and therefore refuted them publicly and vociferously. In doing so, he provoked the ire of the country's rulers and of the priests of the sects he criticized; he was subjected to persecution which included an attempted beheading and at least two exiles. Some Nichiren schools see the incident of the attempted beheading as marking a turning point in Nichiren's teaching, since Nichiren began inscribing the Gohonzon and wrote a number of major doctrinal treatises during his subsequent three-year exile on Sado Island in the Japan Sea. After a pardon and his return from exile, Nichiren moved to Mt. Minobu in today's Yamanashi Prefecture, where he and his disciples built a temple, Kuon-ji. Nichiren spent most of the rest of his life here training disciples.

Schools

Today, Nichiren Buddhism is not a single denomination (see following lists). It began to branch into different schools within several years of Nichiren's passing, before which Nichiren had named six senior priests (rokurōsō) whom he wanted to transmit his teachings to future generations: Nisshō (日昭), Nichirō (日朗), Nikō (日向), Nitchō (日頂), Nichiji (日持), and Nikkō (日興). Each started a lineage of schools, but Nichiji eventually travelled to the Asian continent (ca. 1295) and was never heard from again, and Nitchō later in life (1302) rejoined and became a follower of Nikkō.

The reasons for the splits are numerous, entangled, and subject to different interpretations depending on which school is telling the story; suffice it to say that the senior priests had different understandings of what Nichiren's lifetime of teaching was about. Although the former five remained loosely affiliated to varying degrees, the last—Nikkō—made a clean break by leaving Kuon-ji in 1289. He had come to the conclusion that Nikō and the others were embarking on paths to heresy that he could not stem.

Kuon-ji eventually became the central temple of today's Nichiren Shu, one of the two largest branches and the one encompassing the numerous minor schools of the Minobu branch into which most of the schools and temples started by Nikō, Nisshō, Nichirō, Nichiji and some by Nikkō have been subsumed. The other dominant branch is centered at Taiseki-ji, the head temple of today's Nichiren Shōshū school. Taiseki-ji, which Nikkō founded in 1290 after leaving Kuon-ji, was the starting point for the other schools of the Kōmon-ha (興門派, kō from Nikkō) or Fuji-ha (富士派, from the locality) branch.

Other traditional Nichiren schools include several sub-schools that call themselves just Hokke Shū, the Honmon Butsuryū Shū, and the Kempon Hokke Shū. Several of Japan's new religions are also sub-sects of or otherwise based on one or another of the traditional Nichiren schools. The Reiyūkai, Risshō Kōsei Kai, and Nipponzan Myōhōji Sangha stem from one or another of the Kuon-ji/Minobu branch schools, whereas Sōka Gakkai, Shōshinkai, and Kenshōkai trace their origins to the Nichiren Shōshū school.

Major Nichiren Buddhist schools

The following lists are from the Japanese Wikipedia article on Nichiren Buddhism.

Traditional schools and their head temples

Head temple names are given in Roman letters only when the reading could be confirmed. Japanese characters preceded by "ja:" link to articles in the Japanese Wikipedia.

• Nichiren Shōshū: Sōhonzan Taiseki-ji 日蓮正宗 総本山 大石寺
• Nichiren Shū: Sozan Minobuzan Kuon-ji 日蓮宗 祖山身延山 ja:久遠寺
• Honmon Butsuryū Shū ja:本門佛立宗 大本山宥清寺
• Kempon Hokke Shu: Sōhonzan Myōman-ji 総本山妙満寺
• Hokkeshū, Honmon Ryū 法華宗（本門流）大本山光長寺・鷲山寺・本興寺･本能寺
• Hokkeshū, Jinmon Ryū 法華宗（陣門流）総本山本成寺
• Hokkeshū, Shinmon Ryū 法華宗（真門流）総本山本隆寺
• Honmon Hokke Shū: Daihonzan Myōren-ji 本門法華宗 大本山妙蓮寺
• Nichiren Honshū: Honzan Yōbō-ji ja:日蓮本宗 本山 ja:要法寺
• Nichiren Shū Fuju-fuse-ha: Sozan Myōkaku-ji 日蓮宗不受不施派 祖山妙覚寺
• Nichiren Hokke Shū ja:日蓮法華宗 大本山正福寺
• Hokke Nichiren Shū 法華日蓮宗 総本山 ja:宝龍寺
• Hompa Nichiren Shū 本派日蓮宗 総本山宗祖寺
• Honke Nichiren Shū (Hyōgo) 本化日蓮宗（兵庫） 総本山妙見寺
• Fuju-fuse Nichiren Kōmon Shū 不受不施日蓮講門宗 本山本覚寺
• Honke Nichiren Shū (Kyōto) ja:本化日蓮宗（京都）本山石塔寺
• Shōbō Hokke Shū 正法法華宗 本山 ja:大教寺
• Honmon Kyōō Shū ja:本門経王宗 本山日宏寺
• Nichiren Kōmon Shū 日蓮講門宗

Non-traditional schools

• Reiyūkai (Spiritual-Friendship-Association) Founded in 1920 by Kakutaro Kubo and Kimi Kotani, Reiyūkai considers itself the grandfather of lay-based new religions devoted to the Lotus Sutra and ancestor veneration.
• Risshō Kōsei Kai
• Nipponzan Myōhōji
• Kokuchūkai ja:国柱会 (also 國柱会)
• Shōshinkai
• Fuji Taisekiji Kenshōkai (also, just Kenshōkai) ja:富士大石寺顕正会
• Honmon Shōshū 本門正宗
• Sōka Gakkai

Doctrine and practices

Much of Nichiren's underlying teachings are, overtly, extensions of Tendai (天台, Cn: Tiantai) thought, especially as passed down from Saichō (also known as Dengyō; 767–822), including much of its worldview and its rationale for criticism of Buddhist schools that do not acknowledge the Lotus Sutra as the highest teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha. For example, Nichiren Buddhist 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). As in Tendai but in contrast to many other Buddhist schools, most Nichiren Buddhists believe that personal enlightenment can be achieved in this world within the practitioner's current lifetime (即身成仏: sokushin jōbutsu). Markedly different from Tendai and any other Buddhist lineage is the Nichiren Buddhists' practice of chanting o-daimoku (also: daimoku), the repeated recitation of the mantra (phrase) Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō. Most Nichiren schools also recite the Lotus Sutra (in Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese text) to varying degrees in their respective versions of the often daily or twice-daily gongyō service. Other details of Nichiren Buddhist practice can differ widely depending on the school. Some recite the whole Lotus Sutra, while others recite only certain chapters, parts of chapters, or verses. Some practitioners worship Buddhist statues or images, and others use the Gohonzon (a mandala Nichiren provided for his followers during his lifetime) as their focal point during prayer; others worship only statues or images of various types; whereas yet others venerate only a particular Gohonzon and transcriptions of it. Some schools (chiefly those stemming from Kuon-ji) keep Shinto shrines in their temple compounds and permit or encourage worship of indigenous Japanese deities, while those stemming from Taiseki-ji (but not Taiseki-ji and Nichiren Shōshū itself) tend to be very strict about their prohibition against worshiping anything exterior, rather they promote using the Gohonzon mandala as a visual representation of every person's inner Buddhahood. Some schools are very nationalistic^{[citation needed]}; others are not and are further strictly pacifist. Further, Nichiren Shoshu and other schools stemming from the priest Nikkō consider Nichiren to be the True (or Original) Buddha, whereas Nichiren Shu and the others descendant from the other five senior priests see him as a Bodhisattva Superior Practices.

Nichiren's Contribution to Buddhism

1- Revealing the “Direct Path to Enlightenment”: The path to enlightenment in pre-Lotus Sutra teachings extends gradually throughout many Bodhisattva stages requiring many lifetimes before reaching Buddhahood. The Lotus Sutra, however, teaches that Buddhahood is already inherent within one’s current life. The Bodhisattva practice of the Lotus Sutra is based on directly revealing one’s Buddha nature without gradual stages. Nichiren quotes Those who practice the Lotus Sutra are pursuing through this single act of devotion - the mind that is endowed with all manner of fortunate results. These are present simultaneously and are not acquired gradually over a long period of time. This is like the blossom of the lotus that, when it opens, already possesses a large number of seeds. From this perspective, the Bodhisattva practice (cause) and the revealing of Buddhahood (effect) are inseparable:Anyone who practices this Law [of the Lotus] will obtain both the cause and the effect of Buddhahood simultaneously.

According to Nichiren, the essence of the Lotus Sutra, which integrates all the Buddha’s teachings - is fully contained within its title : “Myoho-Renge-Kyo”: Therefore, one should understand that the [title] of the Lotus Sutra represents the soul of all the sutras. Nichiren viewed the words of the sutras as expressions of the mind of the Buddha, and further revealed that all the teachings of the Buddha are encoded within the single phrase of “Myoho-Renge-Kyo”, meaning: Wonderful Law/Dharma of the Lotus Flower Sutra.

The Buddhist way of “attaining enlightenment” requires a dedicated practice of devoting one’s life (namu) to the Universal Law or the Dharma. The Sanskrit word Namu means “devotion to" : The word Namu [南無] [which is sometimes contracted to 'Nam'] expresses feelings of reverence and a sense of compliance. By including the word Namu [a transliteration into Japanese of the Sanskrit Namas] (devotion) to Myoho-Renge-Kyo (the Universal Law of Life) Nichiren revealed that the Law of Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo is the direct path to Enlightenment, as it unifies one’s subjective self with the objective reality of life (the Dharma). The teaching of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo can be interpreted as expressing the state of being “one with the Law” and thus manifesting the state of Buddhahood.

2- Establishing the Object of Devotion: For almost 2000 years after Shakyamuni’s passing, followers of the Buddha prayed to figurative statues of him- as their object of devotion. According to Nichiren using statue in prayers was suitable for the former periods of Buddhist practice, while in the current age (the Latter Day of the Law), statues and paintings - depicting the Buddha - will lose their power to benefit people. A parallel to this view (that traditional Buddhist practice in the Latter Day becoming powerless) - is found in the Buddhist eschatology of Mahayana Buddhism’s beliefs about the current age being a time of “decline” and “deterioration of Law” . However, contrary to all other Mahayana sutras regarding this subject, the Lotus Sutra predicted the flourishing of Buddhism in this current period and also far into the future. Given the prevalent belief of the predicted ineffectiveness of traditional practice in the current age - on one hand - and the predicted propagation and flourishing of the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren regarded the Lotus Sutra as the valid background for the Object of Devotion in the current age of Buddhism.

In the form of a mandala, Nichiren employed a central teaching of the Lotus Sutra: the emergence of the “Treasure Tower” or the Dharma of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo – to be the central part of the Object of Devotion, and he named this the Gohonzon. Gohonzon means “that which should be fundamentally respected”:this Gohonzon shall be called the great mandala never before known. In essence, the Gohonzon can be perceived as an embodiment of the “Life of Buddha”. Chanting to the Gohonzon would resonate with the “Life of Buddha” (or the inherent Buddha nature) of the practitioner. From this perspective the inscribed mandala reflects one’s inner Buddha nature: “Never seek this Gohonzon outside yourself”.

3- Setting a system of verification of beliefs (The Three Proofs):

Many spiritual beliefs and teachings which were spread in society at the time of Nichiren’s appearance were no more than superstitions or groundless views. In order to help ordinary people correctly evaluate the validity of a given doctrine, Nichiren established a set of three criteria, by which a certain teaching should be measured, and consequently accepted or rejected:

In judging the relative merit of Buddhist doctrines, I, Nichiren, believe that the best standards are those of reason and documentary proof. And even more valuable than reason and documentary proof is the proof of actual fact.

The first criterion of “reason” implies that to accept a given teaching, its contents should be consistent and lacking in contradiction. The proof of reason means that a meaningful doctrine should be relevant to the principle of cause and effect.

The second criterion for judging a teaching correct and true is that there should be documentary proof substantiating the essence of the teaching. This requirement for “documentary proof” is like citing credible reference in todays understanding.

However, the third criterion of “Actual Proof” is what Nichiren considered the most important. Even if a given theory sounds reasonable and has some documented grounding or references, if it cannot deliver actual proof (of being effective when applied in the real world) - then it should be discarded. This means that ideas or teachings which are beyond the scope of verification should be rejected as being invalid (a vision almost identical with today’s scientific criteria of examining the truth of given propositions).

The immediate application of this system for considering the validity of beliefs is that it gives researchers a systematic approach and clarity in evaluating religious arguments or doctrines. The reason why Nichiren stressed the importance of Actual Proof is that he considered teachings which cannot be proven (such as promising practitioners they would attain Buddhahood after death) as meaningless. Accordingly, only the doctrines which enable verifiable results in this present lifetime - can be regarded as meaningful teachings.

4- Precepts: Nichiren believed and taught that the only precept necessary for Mappo was the Diamond Chalice Precept, which is to uphold the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren, however, was celibate and practiced vegetarianism.

Nichiren's writings

Nichiren was a prolific writer. His personal communications and writings to his followers as well as numerous treatises detail his view of the correct form of practice for the Latter Day of the Law (Mappō); lay out his views on other Buddhist schools, particularly those of influence during his lifetime; and elucidate his interpretations of Buddhist teachings that preceded his. These writings are collectively known as Gosho (go is an honorific prefix designating respect).

Nichiren's Major Writings

The Five Major Writings are common to all Nichiren Schools, they are:

1) On Establishing the Correct teaching for the Peace of the Land (J. Rissho Ankoku Ron) - written between 1258-1260 CE.

2) The Opening of the Eyes (J. Kaimoku-sho) - written in 1272 CE.

3) The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind (J. Kanjin-no Honzon-sho) - written in 1273 CE.

4) The Selection of the Time (J. Senji-sho) - written in 1275 CE.

5) On Repaying Debts of Gratitude (J. Ho'on-sho) - written in 1276 CE.

Nichiren Shoshu and SGI revere Ten Major Writings of Nichiren. These are the five listed above, and also:

On Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra (J. Sho-hokke Daimoku-sho) - Written in 1260 CE.

On Taking the Essence of the Lotus Sutra (J. Hokke Shuyo-sho) - written in 1274 CE.

On the Four Stages of Faith and the Five Stages of Practice (J. Shishin Gohon-sho) - written in 1277 CE.

Letter to Shimoyama (J. Shimoyama Gosho-soku) - written in 1277 CE.

Questions and Answers on the Object of Devotion (J. Honzon Mondo-sho) - written in 1278 CE.

Sources and references

English

• Fire In The Lotus - The Dynamic Buddhism of Nichiren. Mandala - HarperCollins, 1991. ISBN 1-85274-091-4 (Out of print)
• A Dictionary of Buddhist Terms and Concepts. Nichiren Shoshu International Center, 1983 (Out of print)
• Writings of Nichiren Shonin, University of Hawai'i Press, Volumes I-VI.
• Selected Writings of Nichiren. Burton Watson et al., trans.; Philip B. Yampolsky, ed. Columbia University Press, 1990
• Letters of Nichiren. Burton Watson et al., trans.; Philip B. Yampolsky, ed. Columbia University Press, 1996
  Full disclosure statement: Although Soka Gakkai retains the copyrights on the foregoing three works and financed their publication, they show some deviation from similar works published under Soka Gakkai's own name.
• The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Japan. Paul Bowring and Peter Kornicki, eds. Cambridge University Press, 1993. ISBN 0-521-40352-9 (Referred to in text as Cambridge.)
• Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kondansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X; CD-ROM version, 1999. (Referred to in text as Illustrated.)
• The Doctrines and Practice of Nichiren Shoshu. Nichiren Shoshu Overseas Bureau, 2002
• Lotus Seeds - The Essence of Nichiren Shu Buddhism. Nichiren Buddhist Temple of San Jose, 2000. ISBN 0-9705920-0-0
• The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism. Soka Gakkai, 2002, ISBN 4-412-01205-0

Japanese

• Nichiren Shōshū yōgi (日蓮正宗要義; "The essential tenets of Nichiren Shoshu"). Taiseki-ji, 1978, rev. ed. 1999
• Shimpan Bukkyō Tetsugaku Daijiten (新版　仏教哲学大辞典: "Grand dictionary of Buddhist philosophy, rev. ed."). Seikyo Shimbunsha, 1985. No ISBN.
• Nichiren Shōshū-shi no kisoteki kenkyū (日蓮正宗史の基礎的研究; "A study of fundaments of Nichiren Shoshu history"). (Rev.) Yamaguchi Handō. Sankibo Bussho-rin, 1993. ISBN 4-7963-0763-X
• Iwanami Nihonshi Jiten (岩波　日本史辞典: "Iwanami dictionary of Japanese history"). Iwanami Shoten, 1999. ISBN 4-00-080093-0 (Referred to in text as Iwanami.)
• Nichiren Shōshū Nyūmon (日蓮正宗入門; "Introduction to Nichiren Shoshu"). Taiseki-ji, 2002
• Kyōgaku Yōgo Kaisetsu Shū (教学解説用語集; "Glossary of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist terms"). (Rev.) Kyōdō Enoki, comp. Watō Henshūshitsu, 2006.

External links

• Nichiren Shu UK
• Kempon Hokke Shu U.S. site
• Nichiren Shoshu's English website
• Nichiren Shu official website
• Nichiren's Coffeehouse interfaith directory
• Soka Gakkai International
• Nichiren Buddhist Association of America
• ReligionFacts.com on Nichiren Buddhism Contains some inaccuracies; e.g., the photo of an altar is not of a Nichiren Shoshu one.
• Reiyukai Japan and Reiyukai America
• Nichiren Shu in Italy and the rest of Europe
• Honmon Butsuryushu italian official web site
• Honmon Butsuryushu japanese official web site
• 富士宗学要集