4 Simple Ways to Embrace the Gohonzon

Gosho: Persecution by Sword and Staff

"As you crave food when hungry, seek water when thirsty, long to see a lover, beg for medicine when ill or as a beautiful woman desires powder and rouge, so should you put your fiat hint he Lotus Sutra. If you do not, you will regret it later."

When you are hungry, no one has to tell you, “Eat, you’ll feel better.” The impulse is to go get food arises from within you of its own accord. And when you are thirst, you don’t tell yourself, “If I don’t think about it, maybe it’ll go away.” If possible, you stop whatever you’re doing, and drink some water. When you are deeply in love, then waking or sleeping, you will always have that person in your thoughts; he or she is the only man or woman in the world for you. And when you are ill or injured, getting well takes immediate priority over everything. People with obscure diseases often exhaust their financial resources seeking medicine or doctors to relieve their pain. Moreover, people blessed with good looks naturally want to make the most of them. A great beauty may willingly spend hours in front of a mirror, determining the precise shade of make-up that will set off her looks to best advantage.
With each of these examples, Nichiren Daishonin teaches us something about the ideal attitude in faith that we should strive for. It is indeed great if we can turn to the Gohonzon immediately, spontaneously, and wholeheartedly under any circumstances, without being told to by anyone.

I feel this passage also indicates that we can confidently pray to the Gohonzon for the fulfilment of any desire whatsoever.

• “As you crave food when hungry, seek water when thirsty” might be read as indicating the most basic needs of the human being that must be met if one is to survive. 
• “Long to see a lover” could be said to represent more complex desires, involving emotional and spiritual needs as well as physical ones. 
• “Beg for medicine when ill” might be said to stand for problems – things that need to be corrected or resolved. 
• And “as beautiful woman desires powder and rouge” could be said to represent desires to fulfil our potential and enhance the meaning of our existence. 

In this way the Daishonin teaches us that faith in the Gohonzon can benefit people in every aspect of live. No matter how big or how small or what it may concern, nothing is outside the scope of the Gohonzon’s beneficial power.

Source: George M Williams, Vice President SGI

How to Respond to Difficulties

When difficulty arises, don’t assume a casual attitude, thinking, “Because I’ve been chanting daimoku, the problem will somehow solve itself.” Instead, take the matter seriously, pray to the Gohonzon to change poison into medicine, and courageously challenge your problem. Your earnest prayer will bring forth abundant wisdom and vigorous energy from within, which in turn will enable you to find a way out of your situation, no matter how adverse it may be.

Source: Guidelines of Faith by Satoru Izumi

The Only Strategy You Need to Win

No matter what situation may confront you, don’t allow yourself to become completely caught up in means and methods, but put into practice the teaching in the Gosho which states, “Employ the strategy of the Lotus Sutra before any other.” Establish an attitude of “Daimoku first under any and all circumstances.” Then, based on your daimoku, you can work out the best method. This is the prime point of faith, a posture centred on the Gohonzon.

Source: Guidelines of Faith by Satoru Izumi 

Spiritual Silk Road

As long as members of a family, an organization or a community each act out of egoistic motives, there will be a gulf between them. Only when one purifies his life to the point where he desires not only his own happiness but also others’ will a “spiritual Silk Road” be created. Soka Gakkai International President Ikeda, in a speech at Moscow State University declared there is a pressing need for a spiritual Silk Road connecting the minds and hearts of the peoples of the world. I think we also need a spiritual Silk Road on a smaller scale – one which connects us to our families, to our organization, and to our community

Source: Guidelines of Faith by Satoru Izumi 

Work and Gakkai Activities

When told that they must reconcile work and Gakkai activities, some members think, “That means not to devote ourselves a hundred percent only to one or the other. We only need to do both to a moderate degree. That is what Buddhism calls the middle way.” This is a wrong interpretation.

(States a member’s example) Having been appointed a group chief in the men’s division, he began to engage in activities even more vigorously than before. He ran a small factory with about a dozen employees. In a few months he realized that his business was not going well. Many people would have decided to stop activities altogether until the business was rehabilitated. (I recognize that there may be cases where this is the only alternative). The group chief, however, went a step further. He resolved to exert himself all-out to rebuild his business and at the same time, not to neglect activities even a bit. He earnestly chanted daimoku so that he would be able to do both in a most satisfactory manner.

Not only did the firm’s business begin flourishing again, but the person found even more time than before for activities. Note that he did not choose between work and activities. Only when he resolved to carry out both successfully with an eye to the future did he see a new path open before him. To reconcile work and activities is not to perform both halfway, but to perform both to the fullest extent. For this purpose, consider carefully what you should do, and chant earnestly. Then wisdom will inevitably well up within you, showing you a splendid way out of your difficulty.

Source: Guidelines of Faith by Satoru Izumi 

You Are the "Lotus Flower"

The only place that a lotus can bloom and grow thick, healthy roots is in the mud and slime of a lotus pond. If the lotus started to hate its dirty pond and snuck away to some school swimming pool, how could it ever bloom? What would happen to its roots? People may complain of all kinds of troubles in life, but it’s only because of such difficulties that you can attain your human revolution. This is the principle of changing poison into medicine. If you clean the mud out of the pond and pave it with concrete, what’ll happen to the lotus? It’ll never bloom. The pond represents our problem-filled world, the lotus is you and the mud is your problems – the indispensable nourishment for your human revolution, your own growth. No matter how muddy or dirty its pond is, the lotus can still bloom beautifully.

Therefore, in order to attain your human revolution, you have to stay in the pond and struggle to grow right in that mud. In other words, without all kinds of difficulties and problems in life, you can’t really grow as a human being. The organization may do something you don’t agree with , but that doesn’t mean you have to get out. Your effort to overcome those difficulties makes you grow. But whatever you do to overcome them should be based on sincere daimoku to the Gohonzon. Otherwise, you will neither change your karma nor achieve any lasting success. In order to change your karma you have to bring forth strong vitality and establish an unshakable self amid this troubled, mundane world. With consistent efforts you can bring the beautiful flower of your human revolution to bloom.

Don’t ever run away again. Instead, chant lots of daimoku to the Gohonzon. Pledge to become an individual who can really contribute to kosen-rufu. Always remember the principle of the lotus flower. 

Source: Guidelines of Faith by Satoru Izumi

Hold on Just a Little Longer

Gosho: Earthly Desires are Enlightenment

“Carry through with your faith in the Lotus Sutra. You cannot strike fire from flint if you stop halfway. Bring forth the great power of faith..”

I would like to pay special attention to the words, “Bring forth the great power of faith...”. This concept is very important. Faith is actually a power, a very real power. In fact, it is the most fundamental power of the universe. It can move anything. But to strengthen our faith to this extent takes effort. Whenever a crisis or challenge arises, we should gear ourselves to meet it by chanting abundant daimoku, praying from the very depths of our life. In this way, we are certain to win, demonstrating both to ourselves and to those around us how fruitful and effective efforts based upon faith really are.

Another essential point is “Carry through with your faith in the Lotus Sutra.” This passage teaches us the importance of maintaining our faith under any circumstances, until the last moment of life. Periods of intense suffering or hardship are often the times when people tend most to be swayed by doubt and abandon their faith. Yet once we are resolved to “carry through with our faith in the Lotus Sutra,” intense suffering or hardship can provide us with a perfect opportunity to change our destiny. All we have to do is use it to get closer to the Gohonzon. Then we can not only resolve the problem at hand but further elevate our state of life.

Source: George M Williams, Vice President SGI

Continue Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo

Gosho: Happiness in this World

“Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to enjoy. Regard both suffering and joy as facts of life and continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, no matter what happens. Then you will experience boundless joy from the Law.” 

In this passage, “Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to enjoy” pertains to the realm of relative happiness. while “joy derived from the law” means the happiness which is absolute. Joys and sorrows are part of living. There will always be both good times and bad. We should not allow ourselves to be swept off course by either sufferings or pleasure, for example, by abandoning ourselves to doubt and despair in times of trouble or growing heedless and complacent when things are going well. Rather, just as Nichiren Daishonin teaches, let’s “continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, no matter what happens”. 

When good things happen, let’s chant daimoku in appreciation. When trouble comes, let’s chant daimoku to change poison into medicine. If you can use everything that happens to you, pains and pleasures both, to strengthen your bond with the Gohonzon, you can purify and elevate your life-condition, gradually establishing Buddhahood as your basic tendency. As you do so, you will begin to experience an indescribable happiness that is independent of circumstances – the “boundless joy from the Law.”

Source: George M Williams, Vice President SGI

Two Kinds of 'Happy' - Which One are You?

Gosho: Happiness in this World

"There is no greater happiness for human beings than chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo”

There are two kinds of happiness; relative and absolute. Relative happiness might include professional success, a rewarding family life, material possessions, good health, status in the community, and so forth. While all these are important in their own way, they depend on outward circumstances, and are therefore vulnerable to change. People who base themselves solely on relative happiness are governed by their environment and have no reliable foundation in life.

In contrast, absolute happiness – the goal of our Buddhist practice – lies on a completely different plane. It cannot be obtained by having wealth, power or people close by who care for you. Absolute happiness comes from awakening to your own Buddha nature, and from your commitment to a mission to help other people do the same.

Because this happiness derives from the eternal Mystic Law, it can become absolute. Even in the midst of the worst conditions of relative unhappiness, nothing can ever destroy it or take it from you. Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with Faith in the Gohonzon is what allows us to develop this indestructible confidence and joy. Thus the Daishonin says ‘There is no greater happiness for human beings than chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” Please bear in mind that any happiness you may experience by comparing yourself to others and feeling better off, is transient.

Source: George M Williams, Vice President SGI

How to Remain Undefeated

Gosho: Happiness in this World

“Never let life’s hardships disturb you.”

If you have the naïve and unrealistic expectation that your Buddhist practice will magically eliminate all difficulties from your path, then even minor hardships will seem overwhelming. Rather than seeking to avoid difficulties, let’s develop the strength and confidence to overcome them, using each one creatively as an opportunity to grow.

When we first begin our Buddhist practice, we naturally do not have firm faith. When confronted with sickness, impending divorce, unemployment, or other major problems, it is hard for us to imagine that chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo could indeed enable us to resolve such difficulties. But, encouraged by something we may have read in the gosho or by our seniors in faith, or perhaps simply because we have nowhere else to turn, we decide we have nothing to lose by trying. We pray with a new determination to the Gohonzon, and, to our astonishment, a solution emerges. But that solution is only part of the benefit. The other, more profound part is that our faith in the Gohonzon has also increased. 

Over the years, as we challenge and conquer one difficulty after another through our daimoku, our confidence in the Gohonzon in our own Buddha nature and in our ability to triumph over life’s hardships becomes invincible. That confidence itself will be our ‘peace and security in this life,” for it enables us to meet life with perfect freedom and assurance. 

Source: George M Williams, Vice President SGI

How Many Things Can You Chant For?

YOU can chant for as many things as you like. A person with many wishes and dreams should pray earnestly to fulfil each one. Buddhism is reason. Sometimes our immediate prayers are realised and sometimes they are not. When we look back later, however, we will be able to say with absolute conviction that everything turned out the way it did for the very best. - Daisaku Ikeda

Accumulate Good Fortune NOW

Anyone would think that victory is impossible and that’s probably how you feel right now. But don’t forget this marvellous Gohonzon we have. It has the power to transform something you’d normally think is impossible into something possible. Those who give up before they try, thinking that it’s impossible, don’t really know the power of the Mystic Law. Only people who can bring forth the Mystic Law’s power can succeed at anything they try.

The strategy of the Lotus Sutra means to put faith in the Gohonzon first in whatever we do, and then make our very best effort upon that basis. In this way, we can bring the impossible within reach.

If one devotes himself to the practice of faith in this way, good fortune is sure to follow. Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism is a teaching for accumulating inexhaustible good fortune.

No matter how well educated, healthy or wealthy a person may be, or how comfortable his circumstances may appear, when his good fortune comes to an end, life will be miserable. No matter how high one’s status or position, if the direction of his life is not in harmony with the fundamental Law of life, he will not be happy. Those people who practice to the Gohonzon already have good fortune, because they have been able to meet this supreme Law. And, as they continue to practice, they are accumulating more good fortune all the time.

Source: Guidelines of Faith by Satoru Izumi

Great Misfortune is Always Followed by Great good fortune

How should you deal (or help a member deal) when confronted with serious trouble?

No matter how great the misfortune may appear to be, the question is whether you yourself fully believe this principle of the Mystic Law. You may suspect that since the trouble is so serious, it may not be followed by great good fortune. That is not believing in this principle at all. The passage does not say, “Great misfortune is always followed by great good fortune, but super-great misfortune is not.”

If one of your members (or you yourself) is faced with a serious problem, you must emphasize the above passage and sincerely try to convince him of the Gohonzon’s power. His victory or defeat, so to speak, lies in whether or not he can bring himself to believe in this teaching. If he takes faith in it, then all he has to do is practice exactly as the Daishonin teaches.

There is no problem whatsoever which cannot be turned into a springboard for happiness, no poison which cannot be changed into medicine. Even if one fails in business, he will be able to recover as long as he maintains his faith. If often happens, however, that when one fails in business, he also allows himself to fail in faith. This is something about which we must be careful.

Source: Guidelines of faith by Satoru Izumi

Visible and Invisible Benefits of Chanting

Visible benefits are not as great as invisible benefits. In Buddhism the intangible benefits are truly great. I’m not denying the value of conspicuous benefits, but it’s important to understand this point. If you fail to do so, you may think you will always receive conspicuous benefits, and if you don’t, you may lose confidence in faith.

We can understand the concept of conspicuous and inconspicuous benefit in terms of absolute and relative happiness. To improve one’s life materially and physically is to attain relative happiness. But relative happiness, no matter how great, has nothing to do with absolute happiness. That’s why we are so often told not to be swayed by superficial things in our practice of true Buddhism. When you become rich, you might lose sight of that essential something in your faith, and forget about your absolute happiness. 

No matter what happens to you, you should continue to chant (Nam-myoho-renge-kyo) to the Gohonzon. 

When you feel happy, you should thank the Gohonzon for your happiness. 

When you feel sad, you should pray to the Gohonzon so that you can replace the sadness with joy. In any event, it is the Gohonzon alone that you can depend on.

Source: Guidelines of Faith by Satoru Izumi

Nothing is a Coincidence

When you suffer a setback or mishap, regard it as a warning from the Gohonzon to reflect on your attitude towards faith. Otherwise you may start complaining and soon get into bigger trouble. You might even wind up doubting your faith.

But if you take it as a strict warning from the Gohonzon, you can reflect on your attitude toward faith and thank the Gohonzon for the fact that the accident wasn’t serious. Then you can apologize to the Gohonzon for any past insincerity and pledge to strengthen your determination for kosen-rufu. This is how to avert more serious accidents that might happen in future. When something bad happens to you, no matter how trifling it may be, if you think of it as significant to your faith, you can make it a cause for happiness. On the contrary, even though something serious happens to you, if you faith to think it significant to your faith, it will become a cause for unhappiness.

Therefore, check your attitude toward faith so that you can consider even a small incident as something valuable and significant. That’s how you can change poison into medicine.

Source: Guidelines of faith by Satoru Izumi

They practice. Then why do they have problems?

Some members leave the faith simply because other members are involved in a traffic accident or lose property in a fire. Isn’t this acting a little too impetuously? Such people seem to believe that someone with faith should not die, get hurt, meet any accident or suffer loss in any way. Were that to be true, it would create terrible confusion in society.

“How old are you, granny?”

“Three hundred and sixty-five.”

A person’s face already bears quite a few wrinkles at the age of sixty-five; what would it look like 300 years later?

Refrigerators would sell poorly.

“Even if we eat spoiled food, we won’t get sick because we practice faith.”

“Since we have faith, we won’t die even if we don’t eat. Therefore we don’t need to work.”

Thus the world would be filled with lazy people. However, none of these things are in any way true.
Now, some members may protest, “Then it makes no difference whether we have faith or not, does it?” But we cannot tell just by looking at the immediate occurrence whether it is a benefit or loss. No incident can be categorically defined as benefit or loss in and of itself. Each phenomenon invariably contains the potential for either.

Suppose someone’s house burns down. At the moment we cannot tell whether it is benefit or loss. What is important is how things will go after this mishap. Will he be able to live in a better house, or will he be reduced to living in a wretched shack? We need to wait for some time in order to determine whether that fire was a benefit or loss. As long as we continue our faith, we can change any kind of poison into medicine. Don’t be defeated by any difficulty or swayed by any external influence. Instead, continually strengthen your faith so that you can turn anyone and anything into a good influence, a springboard for you to advance towards your happiness.

Source: Guidelines of faith by Satoru Izumi

Sensei's Guidance on Fighting Evil

YOU are who you are. All you have to do is to walk resolutely in a manner true to yourself along your own path. The important thing is having the courage to fight evil or negative forces which obstruct the path of your conviction. If you leave evil to its devices, it only multiplies and will eventually make us its accomplices. Good exists only in one’s genuine efforts to fight evil. - Daisaku Ikeda

How Are Prayers Answered?

Gosho: Reply to Kyo’o

“The mighty sword of the Lotus Sutra must be wielded by one courageous in faith,” the Daishonin wrote. Here I would like to consider what it means to be ‘courageous in faith.’ Being courageous in faith means:

1. If you have a problem that needs solving, or a dream that you want to see fulfilled, you will take it straight to the Gohonzon and pray to attain your goal. Some people are afraid to attack their problem head-on through daimoku, thinking that it will somehow disappear automatically. This is not courageous faith. Other people never see their hopes realized because they decide in advance, “Oh, that’s impossible,” and never chant daimoku in earnest for what they desire. You can never discover the real power of the Gohonzon in this way. If you have a dream, especially an impossible one, then have the courage to stake your life on it and chant to the Gohonzon for its fulfilment.

2. Not giving in to doubt. Ofcourse, strong faith takes time to develop, and having doubts along the way is nothing to be ashamed of. But a brave person will pursue his practice until his doubts are resolved. A coward will let doubts get between him and his happiness and be defeated by them. It is well worth whatever struggle we must make to resolve our doubts and deepen our conviction.

3. Persevering until our goal is completed. Big dreams take more time and effort to accomplish than small ones. If you give in to frustration and impatience and give up halfway, you cannot enjoy the full benefit of Buddhist practice. Along the way, you may become discouraged or experience setbacks from time to time, and feel you are not making progress. In the long run, however, as the Daishonin says, ‘This sutra fulfils one’s desires.” There can be no exception. It was precisely for the sake of accomplishing the impossible that the Gohonzon was inscribed.

Muster up the lions’ courage and practice to the Gohonzon as the Daishonin teaches. There there is truly nothing that cannot be achieved.

Source: George M Williams, Vice President SGI

How To Do Gongyo?

The posture we assume during Gongyo is an expression of our faith in the Gohonzon. It is important that we assume a dignified posture, which is both fresh and solemn. You should sit with your back straight, while your eyes, filled with gratitude, look straight at Nam-myoho-renge-kyo inscribed down the center of the Gohonzon. During the silent prayers, keep your palms and bow your head naturally.

Gongyo and chanting constitute the basis of our faith, the prime point for accomplishing our objective – that is, our human revolution. Therefore, it is only natural to observe Gongyo in the most respectful manner and with an earnest attitude. Bearing this in mind, please strive to improve your Gongyo accordingly

When two or more persons observe Gongyo together, the participants should recite the sutra and chant daimoku in complete harmony with the one who leads. This is vital from the viewpoint of the principle of itai doshin (many in body, one in mind).

Suppose that all members of the family begin the day by doing morning Gongyo together. Even if your child belatedly joins somewhere in the middle of Gongyo, he does not need to start from the first prayer. The fervent prayer of the parent will complement the part which the child missed, so great is the power of the Gohonzon. However if your child, taking advantage of this, makes it a habit to join in late, you should of course correct him.

Source – Guidelines of faith by Satoru Izumi

Sensei's Guidance on Interaction

WHEN we interact with others with true sincerity, the other person will more often than not come to respect and value our own character. And this is all the more so when our actions are based on prayer. Conversely, holding others in contempt only leads to being held in contempt oneself. One whose life is tainted by feelings of hate towards others will come to be reviled by others. - Daisaku Ikeda