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to no. 12
Natal Mandala
to no. 2
Lotus
Sutra
to no. 1
Binaural
Beats
to no. 3
Seth
[2] Chant Lotus Sutra
[Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo]
ABSAdomain no.: 2
[Primary] Knowledge Type: Esoteric
Role in ABSAprime's Worldview: Very high
ABSAlink(s): TBA [through ABSAdomain interaction]
Degree of Difficulty: Fairly easy
"It has been an immensely long period of time since I became a Buddha. My lifespan is immeasurable asamkhya kalpas.” -- Shakyamuni Buddha [the threefold lotus sutra]
“Be kind and gentle, you will attain Buddhahood.” Shakyamuni Buddha [the threefold lotus sutra]
"Neither the pure land nor hell exists outside oneself; both lie only within one's own heart. Awakened to this, one is called a Buddha; deluded about it, one is called an ordinary person." -- Nichiren Daishonin
“The Lotus Sutra teaches that all people can attain Buddhahood, just as they are, in this lifetime. A person only needs to follow the Bodhisattva path--taking compassionate action for others, based on the recognition that true happiness for yourself is impossible while others suffer.” -- Daisaku Ikeda
ABSAprime and the Lotus: A love story
For this ABSAdomain, we went to the experience of ABSAprime herself. In the 1980s, when my wife and I were enrolled in the same graduate program (doctoral), we first became cognizant of ABSAprime; She was completing her M.S. in religious studies, and we learned that she had been introduced to an organization that today is called Soka Gakkai International (SGI).
SGI’s purpose is to promulgate the ideas of Nichiren, a 12th century Buddhist monk whose central doctrines dealt with certain teachings of the Buddha, held by many to be this religion's most secret and esoteric: these are said to be contained in the Lotus Sutra (SGI is one of a number of sects promulgating Nichiren’s doctrines as elaborated in the Lotus Sutra).
So, is this stuff "legit"?
Short answer: very "legit." Central teachings of SGI are, first, that every individual is potentially a Buddha (an “enlightened” or “awakened” one) in the current lifetime (and that's an important qualification, given that many sects of Buddhism propose spiritual advancement through engaging in successive [reincarnated] existences); and second, that powerful change agents are unleashed by repeatedly chanting the title of the Lotus Sutra, the phrase in ancient Japanese, “nam-myoho-renge-kyo,” together with some brief prayers in ancient Japanese that explain the portions of the Lotus Sutra most relevant to the chanter's emergent Buddhahood.
The great thing about chanting this phrase is what it invokes, You concentrate on what you want to achieve and by saying the phrase “nam-myoho-renge-kyo” (the “nam” that precedes the actual title is an honorific), you summon the forces, many of which, however natural or benign, will remain completely unknown to you, to aid you in your quest.
Please! It's that simple!?
Yes, it really is as simple as just saying Nam-Myoho-renge-kyo, over and over. We know and needed to have something emerge as a solution in the most trying of circumstances, he has chanted the phrase “nam-myoho-renge-kyo” one hundred thousand times, thereby ensuring that this outcome would be realized. In your humble editor's case, in five tries, it's never failed. About Dr. Philly Jo's experiences, I can't really say, but I am pretty sure she gets similar results.
Believe us, we know how eccentric this sounds, but (as we always, always, always say) try it for yourself. You're not being sold a bill of goods here, but are being "gifted" with an absolutely astonishing secret. Still, as our hero Robert Anton Wilson (see ABSApundit04, Illuminatus! ), it is utterly amazing how you can state the simplest truths, and yet be understood to have said the exact opposite.
Now, at this point (and I can almost hear the outcry from outraged Buddhists!) people might be infuriated that, in the previous paragraph, I implied that you can experience the rewards of the Lotus Sutra approach to Buddhism in a very simple act (chanting the title of the Lotus Sutra), but that I failed to note the incredibly rich religious imagery in the book.
I didn't fail to note this: I just know that the phrase Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo is your entry portal. Of course, it's obvious this phrasing was designed for precisely the reason I mentioned: it's an easy-to-remember phrase (some psychologists, a la Gibson, might refer to it as an "affordance") that "hooks" you into further study.
But SGI's approach is far more benign than the approaches taken by some other psychic liberation disciplines. There is one thing I've noticed in neophytes: doing the SGI prayers (which you can learn in surprisingly little time) leads to the "noob" (i.e., you!) wanting to know what those phrases in ancient Japanese actually mean. That, in turn, leads to deeper involvement with the very impressive variety of literature and commentary provided by Soka Gakkai International. In other words, you (once again) should go as far into SGI territory as you decide you are comfortable going.
Back to the 100,000 reps point, hearing this, most people are like, “Whoa, are you serious?” We are, and accomplishing this feat is not as troublesome as it might first appear. The act of chanting (and that is not just the title phrase, but occasional and periodic brief prayers [also in ancient Japanese] that go with it) are extraordinarily engaging, particularly with the attractive setup for one's chanting, including an ornate cabinet typical called a butsudan, recommended for altars that are used in this practice. Here’s one of the many butsudans you can view on the Web.
The Above photograph is from an
outstanding company: Nakayama Butsudans
(www.nakayamabutsudans.com).
Visit them and prepare to be awestruck.
Join with the whole world
One great thing about chanting this phrase is what it invokes; You concentrate on what you want to achieve and by saying the phrase “nam-myoho-renge-kyo” (the “nam” that precedes the actual title is an honorific), you summon forces, many of which, however natural or benign, will probably remain to a great extent unknown to you.
This will aid you in your quest. And please don't muddy the waters by defaulting to the usual nonsensical attribution that you're somehow bringing forth something objectionable entities, like summoning "demonic forces" [puh-leeze!] :-) Remember, right as you're chanting this strange and captivating phrase, literally thousands, even millions, all over the world are at the same time chanting the exact same phrase! It's a heady, exhilirating feeling...
Although ABSAprime and I are working on a broader, more inclusive description of what we think happens to your goals (and accounts of your accomplishments) when you chant (watch for the upcoming ABSAgram on this), we can say at this point that chanting—at least in our view—does not so much cause elements to come into existence, as it opens new connections between elements that already exist, whether in "reality" or imagination. for us, this just usually means there are connections we simply did not see prior to chanting.
How does this help in creating reality?
The philosophy underlying Nichiren practice enthusiastically encourages the sustenance of connections such as those we just spoke of, involving a virtually endless population of “consultants” (including folks who’ve gone beyond their earthly existence; scholars; and all of those practitioners chanting while you are chanting [not to mention all the "consultant guides" they are contacting as they chant!). Just let that sink in for a moment: it's quite awesome!
As you chant, you can bet that strange thoughts will appear to you, seemingly out of nowhere, and with apparently little connection to what one would normally think of as “reality”. As is the case with creative activities like brainstorming [see ABSAdomain07, Dynamic Organizations], the results are intercombinations between what is, and what is possible, yielding insight that often seems truly miraculous.
And in the end, no matter how many consciousnesses are involved, it’s all you—you achieved several solutions relying only on what you already knew. As we said earlier, there'll be much more on this throughout your experience with us.
And it's really fun to show off with!
Put bluntly, the SGI ritual is just a super-fun thing to do. It looks great, sounds impressive, and is a public production worthy of anyone's time. [side note: ABSAprime, who, prior to university teaching, had considerable experience as a stage actor, judges the SGI ceremony to be a terrific achievement in public performance.] It's a great way to display your emerging spirituality to sympathetic communicants, and once you've mastered the prayer ritual (which, with regular practice you will actualize perfectly, in very little time).
it's a really cool thing to perform, either by yourself or with others. Also, it doesn't take a whole lot of effort to learn all you need to know to start. Obviously, you can learn the key phrase, Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo in a few seconds. As noted, the brief accompanying prayers, also in ancient Japanese, are surprisingly easy to learn and are especially enjoyable to perform. When you do this, you sound extremely "lit"!
Also, SGI practice requires minimal resource investment. Upon joining SGI in 1987, ABSAprime acquired a very modest boxwood butsudan (it cost about fifteen dollars, if memory serves—she was a poverty-stricken grad student at the time!) which has served her admirably ever since, over what is now more than a quarter century of practice. As ABSAprime's involvement in Nichirenistic practice continued over the years, she realized that, though she could afford a more expensive butsudan, her results with the modest butsudan had been so impressive that she was loathe to abandon it! We try not to thoughtlessly espouse superstitions like having lucky charms, but still... 🧧
Do you have to have equipment?
Nope!
First, what do you need? Really, nothing: just sit comfortably and repeat the phrase nam-myoho-renge-kyo as many times as you feel the need to. You could close your eyes, or you might light some incense, or relax into a yoga lotus position, or call upon background aural stimulation with binaural beats [ABSAdomain01]…really, whatever gets you “in the mood.” Believe us, this is more than sufficiently satisfying, and the results will astound you.
That said, the setting evoked by the ceremonial altar for the customary SGI ritual is quite enjoyable to behold and to think about (for a look at how impressive an altar can appear, check out the butsudan, above). The simplicity, charm and exotic air of the main ritual, performed with full regalia, is calming and restorative, especially as you learn--as, with regular practice, you soon will--to master it without needing to read from the prayer book.
Below is a picture of an SGI altar, fully decked-out:
From SGI's World Tribune [the organization's official publication]
(https://www.worldtribune.org/).
Before you are candles; beads; incense burner; bowl gong (so cool when one uses this—like being in one’s own temple); and offerings as gifts of fruit, flowers, evergreens, or other similar items.
The centerpiece, of course, is a scroll called a Gohonzon. I won't offer here an image of the scroll, since our users must decide for themselves the appropriate display (best authority on this, of course, is the SGI website), and the deliberately provocative style of ABSAprime's discourse (mine, too!) could be taken by the uninformed as disrespectful, though of course it isn't). The scroll rests behind the Butsudan's doors, closed when no worship is performed, open when it is.
The Gohonzon is the main object of devotion in SGI Buddhism. It is inscribed with Chinese and Sanskrit characters that depict the life-state of the Buddha in terms of its central mantra, nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the title of the Lotus Sutra. The main characters in the phrase are said to have been inscribed by Nichiren himself. As a focal point, facing the Gohonzon certainly puts one in an appropriate frame of mind to shape one’s destiny by focusing on the lessons of the Sutra.
ABSAprime's Dilemma
Here we encounter a problem. For years, ABSAprime used an image of the Gohonzon scroll on her various computers: on her laptop, for example, while on business trips, she has told of having often opened her laptop screen and done the evening ritual (called gongyo) wherever she was (pro-tip: it's definitely best to do this in private!).
Now, when she joined back in 1987, any display of the Gohonzon, other than the (very nice) one you got when you joined, was definitely a no-no. This being relatively early in the days of publicly available Internet, it was actually hard for her to obtain an image of the Gohonzon online. This may have been due in large part to SGI’s semi-strict rules about displaying it: as a sacred object, they held it to be important that they remain in charge of the distribution of this extraordinarily powerful symbol.
We applaud their commitment, but in the current media environment, one can find literally millions of instances of the scroll’s image, which leads us to think that, in the intervening years, SGI must have changed their official position on this (note: ABSAprime got some confirmation of this from ChatGPT, although since the practices of individual groups vary, this may just have been the position taken by her group).
Kosen-Rufu: Whatever it takes
The position of ABSAprime is that, since one of the goals of Nichirenism is worldwide peace through its practices (kosen-rufu ), using any means—provided it is respectful to the Sutra and its teachings—to achieve that is to the good. With everything taking place on the Web these days, it seems hardly possible to control who has access to it, and the more important it is—really, it’s hard to see how there could possibly be one more important!—the more vital it is that more people see it and learn about it.
SGI president Daisaku Ikeda puts it well: "Kosen-rufu is not simply a matter of spreading a religion, but a profound movement for human liberation. It is a movement to bring forth the inherent wisdom, courage, and compassion of each person to create a society based on the ideals of the Lotus Sutra. As each individual’s life changes, society itself changes, and this change is the true meaning of Kosen-rufu.” -- The New Human Revolution, Vol. 14, p. 52
So, give it a try—that’s all SGIers, and ABSAprime, and I, suggest. It works, we and they know it works, but prove it for yourself. If you want, locate an image of the Gohonzon scroll on the Web, and familiarize yourself with the suggestions for its proper display. As to all the suggestions you'll encounter, observe them to the degree to which you are comfortable and perhaps make the decision whether to get more deeply involved in the organization.
Answer to no one for your practice
All this serves to illustrate a core ABSApundit precept and one that we’ll return to again and again: every domain (“ABSA-“ or otherwise) we will talk about can be engaged, and pursued to varying levels of commitment. With some domains you can be something of a dilletante; others you can get deeper into; and one or two you might follow for the whole of your current Earthly existence. You shouldn't have to get too deeply into any of them...unless you...want...to.
But this should be your decision, not due to the influence of some human spiritual authority. Even with the proven results of ABSAdomains, we regularly reassess all of them, all the time. As we keep saying, there’s only one criterion for including any technique, any perspective, among our ABSAdomains and that is: did it work for ABSAprime?
And that brings us back to the subject of the SGI ritual. ABSAprime had such great results with her basic boxwood butsudan, It’d be fun to have a cool-looking butsudan, but it does not make any difference in how the practice enables you to control your future. That is the main thing we’re concerned with…
And as we (always) say: Check for yourself!
Below is a link (one of several) to the main prayer book used in SGI rituals. There may be some questions about this practice on the qualifying exam for this ABSAdomain (actually, SuperDomain [but more on that later!]). Otherwise...dive in and start chanting! What is it the our hero Richard Pryor used to say: "It'll have ya trippin'!"
"As Below, So Above"
[Graphics by Descript's Overlord and Microsoft's Powerpoint. Background videos by Wix.com].
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