Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō
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Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō (南無妙法蓮華經, also, in some schools Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō; Devotion to the Law of the Lotus Flower Scripture) is a mantra that is chanted as the central practice of all forms of Nichiren Buddhism. The mantra is referred to as Daimoku (題目, title; also, in some schools, O-daimoku: お題目) and was first revealed by the Japanese Buddhist teacher Nichiren on the 28th day of the fourth lunar month of AD 1253 at Seichō-ji (also called Kiyosumi-dera) near Kominato in current-day Chiba, Japan. The practice of chanting the daimoku is called shōdai (唱題). The purpose of chanting daimoku is to attain perfect and complete awakening (enlightenment).
Meaning
As Nichiren explained the mantra in his "Ongi Kuden" (御義口傳), a transcription of his lectures on the Lotus Sutra, Namu or Nam (南無) derives from the Sanskrit "namas", and Myōhō Renge Kyō is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese title of the Lotus Sutra in the translation by Kumārajīva (hence, daimoku).
Nam(u) is used in Buddhism as a prefix expressing the taking of refuge in a Buddha or similar object of veneration. In Nam(u) Myōhō Renge Kyō, it represents devotion or conviction in the Mystic Law of Life as expounded in the Lotus Sutra, not merely as one of many scriptures, but as the ultimate teaching of Buddhism, particularly with regard to Nichiren's interpretation.
The Lotus Sutra is held by Nichiren Buddhists, as well as practitioners of the Chinese Tiantai (also, T'ien T'ai) and corresponding Japanese Tendai sects, to be the culmination of Shakyamuni Buddha's 50 years of teaching. These schools view the phrase Myōhō Renge Kyō as the distillation of the entire sutra. For them, all the sutra's teachings are summarized in its title. By extension, followers of Nichiren Buddhism also consider Myōhō Renge Kyō to be the name of the ultimate law permeating the universe.
Broken down, Myōhō Renge Kyō consists of Myōhō (妙法), "sublime," "unfathomable" or "mystic" law, the Dharma underlying all phenomena; Renge (蓮華), the Lotus Flower, which blooms and bears seeds at the same time and therefore signifies cause and effect; and Kyō (經, "thread passing all the way through a bolt of cloth", but also "scripture"), meaning a teaching of the Buddha.
The seven characters na-mu-myō-hō-ren-ge-kyō are written down the centre of the Gohonzon, the mandala venerated by most Nichiren Buddhists.
Precise interpretations of Nam(u)-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō, how it is pronounced, and its position in Buddhist practice differ slightly among the numerous schools and sub-sects of Nichiren Buddhism, but "I take refuge in (devote or submit myself to) Myōhō Renge Kyō" might serve as a universal translation.
References
http://www.nichirenscoffeehouse.net