ENGLISH OKO LECTURE
"GONGYO"
Reverend Taishin Takano
Chief Priest
Myogyoji Temple
June 21, 1987
We must not judge happiness or unhappiness by the superficial
phenomena we see before our eyes. True happiness lies in continuing
to enrich our lives and daily existences by bringing forth the life
condition of Buddhahood inherent in each of our lives.
In order to do this, we must devote ourselves to the True
Teachings to which the Buddha was enlightened; we must also increase
our faith and practice in the way prescribed by the Buddha.
The Law to which the Buddha was enlightened after long periods
of practice, the essence of human life, and the life condition of
enlightenment -- these are all very profound and are difficult for
us to understand.
If, however, we shy away from Buddhism because it is difficult,
we will neither be able to achieve true happiness nor a fulfilling
life. The Buddha, therefore, led the people by using different
methods.
Shakyamuni expounded:
"Ever since I was enlightened, I have propagated
the teachings by means of various relevant stories and
parables; I have led mankind in numerous ways."
In other words, in order to expound the profound Law to which he was
enlightened, the Buddha used relevant stories and parables; moreover,
he used numerous means to lead the people to enlightenment.
T'ien-t'ai the Great described the Buddha's use of parables in
the following way:
"He teaches them about the presence of the wind by
moving the trees, and he instructs them of the existence
of the moon by raising his fan."
This means that although one cannot see the wind itself, he can learn
of its existence by seeing the trees move; and for those who are
unaware of the moon in the heavens, they can be led to look up at the
sky by raising a familiar fan high into the air.
In the same way, the Buddha used language, relevant stories,
parables and other methods which were familiar to the people to
expound the True Law.
If a person isolates the relevant stories and parables in the
Buddhist scriptures and criticizes the Buddhist teachings as being
"unrealistic" or "juvenile fables", then, his reading can only be
considered a shallow interpretation that is oblivious to the true
intentions of the Buddha.
When you read the Buddhist teachings, and listen to the sermons
on Buddhism, you must not be trapped on the literal level; you must
listen carefully and pay special attention to the true intent of the
Buddha behind these words.
Doing daily gongyo is the basic foundation of our faith. It
is the most important practice we must do. Without gongyo there
can be no faith. Today I would like to say a few words about our
attitude and conduct in doing gongyo.
Gongyo is an important ceremony in which we express our gratitude
to the Buddha and recite our prayers and desires. We must, therefore,
keep a correct posture and dress properly when we do gongyo. We must
not dress untidily, for example, just because it is hot.
Gongyo includes the practice of kita, or "practicing for others".
It is important, therefore, to think of your influence on other
people, and act with consideration for those around you.
Nichiko Shonin, the fifty-ninth high priest of Nichiren Shoshu,
said the following about our attitude in chanting daimoku:
"When we chant daimoku, we must not be careless
and lazy in our conduct; and we must not be inattentive
and digressive in our attitude. The words we utter
must be neither too fast nor slurred. We must chant
calmly, resonantly, and at a medium pitch. There is no
fixed amount of daimoku we must chant. It is up to our
individual circumstances to determine the amount. We
must chant so that our whole body reverberates with joy.
We must exert ourselves until we become absolutely one
with the Gohonzon."
As he has said, although there is no set amount of daimoku that you
must chant, it is most important to do as much as possible until you
are completely satisfied.
The words in the sutra must be pronounced accurately, and the
silent prayers must also be recited correctly.
The times for gongyo are basically once in the morning and once
in the evening, but there are no particular hours set for them. Your
individual situations will differ according to such things as your
jobs, so please make a gongyo schedule which suits you and causes no
strains in your livelihood. It is important to make gongyo a habit
in your daily lives, since it is a practice which you will be
continuing forever.
Your daily gongyo, however, must not become a mere force of
habit. You must not forget to bear in mind the fundamental seriousness
that is captured in the phrase: "Desiring with all his heart to see
the Buddha, he does not begrudge his own life".
Let me now discuss the attitude you should have when you do your
morning and evening gongyo. The morning is the starting point of your
day. As the Buddha's disciple who desires kosen-rufu, the propagation
of the Mystic Law, you should pray that you can make the day ahead of
you significant, and that you will be able to show actual proof of the
benefits of the Mystic Law in your daily lives. You must recite the
five prayers so that you will be able to make a fresh start for the
day.
During evening gongyo, you must recite the three prayers to
express gratitude for the day which was protected by the three treasures
of the Buddha, the Law, and the priest.
The essential point of faith is to continue to do your morning
and evening gongyo -- like flowing water -- correctly and without ever
missing a day. This, in turn, will be the wellspring, or the source
of your benefits.
Our lives are characterized by jukkai-gogu, the mutual possession
of the ten worlds. This means that there are various life conditions
inherent in our lives; different life functions are brought out
depending on the stimuli and forces in the environment. Take
Buckingham Fountain, for example. The water in the fountain is color-
less and transparent, but depending on the lights which shine on it,
it takes on many different colors. In the same way, our lives change
in many ways according to the forces in our environment. Among all
the life conditions, the most noble and absolute state of happiness is
called Buddhahood. There is no other way to manifest this life
condition except to face the Gohonzon, and recite the sutras and
chant daimoku.
By manifesting the Buddha's life condition in the body of a
common mortal, we are able to lead a powerful daily life that is
filled with tremendous joy.
The Daishonin wrote:
"It is like the birds in the skies flocking to
the singing bird in a cage; and when the birds flock
to the cage, the bird within tries to get out and
join them in the skies. In the same way, when we
voice the Mystic Law, the Buddha nature within us
will definitely manifest itself."
He also expounded:
"If you chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, how can there
be any sin that goes unforgiven, and how can good
fortune not come your way? This is the truth, and
it is tremendously profound. You should embrace and
accept this."
And Nichikan Shonin stated:
"If you believe in this Gohonzon and chant
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, no prayers will go unanswered,
no sins will go unforgiven,, no good fortune will
be obstructed from coming your way, and no principles
will be kept from manifesting themselves."
In this way, only when the strong powers of faith and practice are
vitalized can the tremendous powers of the Buddha and of the Law in
the Gohonzon be manifested. In turn, these four powers -- faith,
practice, Buddha, and Law -- will compete to establish great benefits
and good fortune.
I always tell you the following when I address you at the
gojukai, or Gohonzon acceptance ceremony:
The Gosho states:
"To accept is easy, to continue is difficult.
But Buddhahood lies in continuing faith."
Gongyo is the great essential path to our enlightenment. It is,
however, not an easy task to be consistent in doing our morning and
evening gongyo, without ever missing a prayer. Throughout the Gosho,
the Daishonin teaches us the great importance of carrying through
strong faith like flowing water, without ever slackening.
Moreover, he expounds that there are two kinds of benefits.
In his gosho entitled, "Teaching, Practice and Proof", ("Kyo, Gyo,
Sho Gosho), the Daishonin says:
"Those who obtained benefit during the Former
and Middle days of the Law received."conspicuous"
benefit, because the relationship they formed with
the Lotus Sutra during the lifetime of the Buddha
had finally matured. On the other hand, those born
today in the Latter Day of the Law receive the seed
of Buddhahood for the first time, and their benefit
is therefore inconspicuous."
In other words, he is saying that in mappo, the Latter Day of the
Law, the most prevalent benefits are apt to be inconspicuous rather
than conspicuous.
Many people have experienced the benefit of curing illnesses
and solving other hardships in life through faith. These, however,
represent only a fraction of the benefits of embracing the Gohonzon.
These overt, transient benefits are called conspicuous benefits.
The benefits of embracing the Gohonzon are vast and eternal, so
our goals in faith should be equally great and profound. Like the
clear, calm spring which wells forth endlessly, we must eternally
bring forth the life condition of Buddhahood from the depths of our
lives; we must strongly and confidently improve our own lives. This
life condition is none other than an inconspicuous benefit, and it
is, indeed, a great benefit.
Nichikan Shonin stated the following:
"The strong spirit which believes in the Lotus
Sutra is called the life condition of Buddhahood."
By doing morning and evening gongyo assiduously, and by carrying
through faith like flowing water for three, five, and ten years, you
will be able to increasingly open up your own Buddha nature and
approach the life condition of Buddhahood.
A small child's growth, for example, cannot be measured in one
or two days; however, with the passing of two or three years, you can
see remarkable development.
In the same way, as time goes by, you will find that a great gap
will definitely develop in the life conditions and benefits between
those who do earnest, consistent gongyo, and those who do not.
I would like to conclude my sermon for today by asking each one
of you to continue your daily practice calmly and consistently, no
matter what hardships you may encounter. I pray sincerely that you
will achieve the state of the inconspicuous benefit, (that is, the
life condition that is absolute and indestructible as the diamond
stone).
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