At times during our practice we may worry about whether we should be chanting towards some specific objective or directing our prayers in general towards kosen rufu and achieving our human revolution. Or we may become concerned why it appears that some of our prayers seem not to be answered.

In the Gosho Letter to Domyo Zemmon Nichiren Daishonin alleviates our worries, clarifying the relationship between our prayers and the resulting benefit, concluding with the essential point that as long as we maintain strong faith in the Gohonzon all our wishes will be fulfilled in both our present and future existences.

Conspicuous prayer
Conspicuous prayer refers to the times when we have a concrete goal or desire, or perhaps are facing a serious difficulty and chant sincerely for a solution to the situation. Our minds might tell us that there is no way out of a seemingly deadlocked situation, but the fact is that through strong prayer our Buddha wisdom emerges to reveal far more possibilities that our limited minds first imagined.

Nichiren Daishonin demonstrated the power of such prayer when he narrowly escaped execution at Tatsunokuchi: just as the executioner’s sword was about to fall, a brilliant orb – possibly a meteor – shot through the sky, terrifying the soldiers detaining the Daishonin and making the execution impossible. In the Gosho 'On Prayer' he says: " … the prayer made by the votary of the Lotus Sutra is answered as surely as an echo comes back from the sound, a shadow follows the body, a clear pool reflects the moon, a cold mirror draws moisture to it, lodestone attracts iron, amber gathers dust, and a polished mirror reflects the shape of things."

Conspicuous response
Conspicuous response refers to the clearly recognizable benefits we accrue as a result of our prayers, and is a reflection of our growing good fortune. It appears, for example, when the benefit of the Gohonzon must be shown to new believers. It is the kind of benefit people often receive quite soon after they begin to practise; having chanted for something specific like money or a job, its immediate appearance can almost seem miraculous. In other words, conspicuous response from our prayers enables us to gain greater confidence in our Buddha state and sustains us in our daily practice.

Nichiren Daishonin said that in terms of the three proofs used for judging the validity of a religion, documentary and theoretical proof were vital, but that actual proof was most important. In this sense, conspicuous benefits provide actual, demonstrable proof of the power of this practice.

However, such conspicuous benefits are not the prime reason we practise Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism and if we regard faith only as something to help in overcoming personal problems or for accruing material benefits we will get lost in a very shallow view of this practice. In guidance given by President Ikeda he said: '… the benefits of the Mystic Law are ‘inconspicuous’ and therefore must be evaluated over the course of a lifetime. As common mortals, we tend to be always seeking a quick solution, taking a short-sighted view of things, and making superficial judgements. However, the Buddha’s wisdom permeates the three existences of past, present and future. Therefore, as a result of one’s prayers, even if that prayer is not answered immediately, one will eventually find himself moving in a positive direction towards benefit. Although from our perspective it may appear that a prayer has not been answered, when viewed from the ‘Buddha’s eye’ it has actually, in substance, been fulfilled. It is difficult for the eyes of common mortals to perceive the law of cause and effect which pervades past, present and future.

Inconspicuous prayer
Most important of all is maintaining a steady and consistent practice throughout our lives. Maybe we are not always chanting with a specific object in mind but, quite naturally, as we carry out the three elements of faith, practice and study, we accumulate good fortune in our lives. Nichiren Daishonin encourages us to have faith ‘like flowing water’ rather than like fire, which is discarded when we can’t immediately see a conspicuous result.

Having struggled with a particular problem and clearly seen a beneficial result we may then find it difficult to sustain our practice, the original aim that started us practising having been achieved. Or, similarly, we may have been challenging a thorny problem for months or even years, not having seen a conspicuous result. Soka Gakkai second president Toda, in his essay ‘On Benefit’, encourages us to continue:
The benefit that a person receives upon joining SGI is evidence of the great power of the Dai-Gohonzon, and it is because of such evidence that we can confidently proclaim this religion to be absolute. But the benefit that a new member has thus far received through his practice is by no means the end. In fact, to be satisfied with the benefits one sees as a new member would be a grave mistake. After maintaining a correct practice of faith like flowing water for three, five, ten or even twenty years, then, without expectation or thought on our part, surprising benefits will appear. If you ask why this is so, it is because these benefits appear as a proof of that person’s eventual attainment of Buddhahood.

Inconspicuous result
The ultimate result, then, of our steady practice to the Gohonzon is establishing the state of Buddhahood in our lives. From the moment we chant daimoku to the Gohonzon we can manifest our highest life condition. In doing so we can fully express our great qualities and strengths, while redirecting and overcoming the sway of our negative and selfish impulses. Without even realizing it we begin to expand our state of life and reveal the four virtues of eternity, happiness, true self and purity.

Nichiren Daishonin refers to the actual proof of his Buddhism as the purification of the six senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and the ‘mind’ which integrates and makes sense of the information supplied by the other five senses). In other words, inconspicuous benefit means to be able to see and understand things as they really are, without the distorting ‘mirror’ of our karma.

Prayer and benefit
We can therefore see from the above that when Nichiren Daishonin refers to conspicuous prayer and conspicuous response, he means those times when our sincere prayer is answered immediately and we can open up a way to solve our problems or fulfil our desire.
Conspicuous prayer and inconspicuous response is when our strong, specific prayer does not necessarily lead to an immediate result but instead we accumulate benefit in our life through our prayer that will reveal itself gradually over time. What we want will come either to us at later time, when we are fully able to benefit from it; or we will realize with hindsight that fulfilling the desire really would not have made us happy anyway.

Inconspicuous prayer and inconspicuous response refers to the fact that, due to the fortune we accumulate through a consistent practice, our lives are naturally purified and enriched and we will attain a life condition of deep happiness that cannot be destroyed by external events.

Finally, inconspicuous prayer and conspicuous response signifies that the latent benefits we have accumulated through our steady practice will appear at a crucial moment to protect us.However, Nichiren Daishonin clearly points out the importance of strong faith at all times. In his guidance ‘My Problem’ president Toda exhorts us to practise strongly so as to experience the full benefits of the Gohonzon continuously:
Although our lives are filled with a supreme treasure, if our power of faith or power of practice is insufficient, we will be unable to cause this treasure to rise to the surface of our daily lives. If we cannot understand this point and allow our powers of faith and practice to grow weak we will no longer be able to receive benefit. It would also be a pitiful waste if, not believing this, we stopped practising, throwing away this supreme treasure.

Nichiren Dashonin’s Buddhism teaches the oneness of life and its environment, and that an environment is a reflection of the individual living within it. It can be seen then that the conspicuous benefits we receive are a result of the reformation or changes in our inner life.
However, we cannot tap the great treasures of Buddhahood if we are not challenging our human revolution and individual growth. When we practise and chant daimoku strongly and consistently we can transform even our seemingly negative experiences into benefit, for they can all become causes for our growth and serve to strengthen our Buddhahood. In this way, as president Ikeda describes, we can win a victory in life:

Set for yourself a target in faith to achieve in ten years, and one to achieve in twenty years. In that time, a sapling can grow into a big tree and a child can become an adult. It happens before we know it. As we steadily continue our faith, our seed of Buddhahood ripens and develops tremendously in just the same way. We will no doubt complete lives of perfect fulfilment in the long run. I want you to advance courageously, confident of this, and mobilize all the energy in your life.

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This page was last modified on Sunday, August 20, 2006.